Claire B. Lang reported on Sirius Satellite NASCAR Radio Channel 128 “Dialed In” show Thursday night that the #48 and #5 Chevy’s teams of Hendrick Motorsports were told they cars were too close to NASCAR tolerances at the NASCAR R&D Center in Concord, NC this week. The cars were taken to the R&D Center after Jimmie Johnson won the Sprint Cup race at Dover in the #48 with Mark Martin finishing 2nd in the #5 Chevy. Lang says she heard the teams were told not to bring the cars back to the track. Lang asked NASCAR if this was true and was told: “The 48 and 5 were brought back to the R&D center. We’ve been doing this since the inception of the new car as a part of routine post-race inspection. We bring the winner and a random pick back to the R&D center after each event. While both cars passed post race inspection, we informed the 48 and 5 they were extremely close on some of the tolerances.”(10-1-2009)
UPDATE Word circulated Wednesday night that NASCAR had found issues with the #48 Chevy as well as the #5 Chevy during inspection at the Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C. The two Hendrick Motorsports teams currently sit atop the points standings. The buzz within the NASCAR community suggests that the offset on the tail, which helps the rear of the car stick to the ground instead of spinning out, of the #5 Kellogg’s Chevy just made the tolerance. NASCAR allows a tolerance of 0.070 of an inch for the body off of the center line of the car. Suffice it to say, JJ’s #48 car didn’t make it. But by how much? NASCAR claims it was .006 over the tolerance. That’s about the thickness of two sheets of copier paper. Others in the garage hint at a charitable disposition on the part of the sanctioning body. So how did NASCAR view the situation with the Hendrick cars? “The 48 and 5 were brought back to the (Research and Development Center),” according to a NASCAR statement. “We’ve been doing this since the inception of the new car as a part of routine post-race inspection. We bring the winner and a random pick back to the R&D Center after each event. While both cars passed postrace inspection, we informed the 48 and 5 they were extremely close on some of the tolerances.”(in part from FoxSports)(10-2-2009)
UPDATE2: NASCAR has warned Hendrick Motorsports that the cars of Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin came very close to failing post-race inspection following their 1-2 finish at Dover last week. The two Chevrolets owned by Hendrick Motorsports came within less than an inch of surpassing the tolerated measurements on the body of their cars. Martin is currently leading the points, and three-time defending series champion Johnson is second in the standings. The crew chiefs for both drivers say they weren’t cheating, and in-race damage may have caused the cars to creep toward the maximum allowances. NASCAR is not penalizing either team, but they have been warned.(Associated Press)(10-2-2009)
