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February 15, 2007

Shouldn't the Owner Get Suspended?
By Dennis Michelsen

In any business the buck stops with the owner! On Sunday when the No. 55 NAPA Toyota of Michael Waltrip was found with a strange substance in the intake manifold NASCAR impounded the piece to determine what the substance could be. Michael Waltrip was quick to call it oil but according to NASCAR it sure didn't appear to be oil! Yesterday the Director of Operations, Bobby Kennedy, was sent home from Daytona. This comes on top of the departure of Crew Chief David Hyder. Both gentlemen will be suspended but the question that comes to my mind is this. Shouldn't the owner be suspended too?

Finding the Gray Areas
The NASCAR rulebook is much different than the rules in other sports. In baseball the strike zone is well defined, even if two umpires can't seem to agree on just where it should be in reality. In football we know how high and wide the field goal posts are placed. But in racing the rules evolve over time as creative Crew Chiefs find ways to use the gray areas to gain speed. There are certain things such as doctoring fuel, which are as well defined as the field goal height in football. But other rules are up for debate and often teams run afoul with NASCAR on their interpretation. This year four other Crew Chiefs were sent on fishing trips due to aerodynamic infractions. But what Michael Waltrip Racing attempted to do with the No. 55 car is much more serious! It also borders on being one of the dumbest moves in racing history!

How to Stop Blatant Rule Breaking
While a lot of the newer fans blow a gasket every time a team gets caught outside of the rules, I think it is and always has been part of racing at every level. If the Crew Chief of my favorite driver doesn't occasionally get caught being creative then in my opinion he isn't doing his job! But NASCAR seems concerned and wants to have a zero tolerance on breaking the rules. Well that's just fine but giving out suspensions and points penalties will not get it done. Hey NASCAR do you want to rein in the rule breakers? Park a team for a few races and do not let their sponsor move to another car and teams will be much more careful about the rules! The crazy thing is that some of the biggest stars as Crew Chiefs or Owners were also the cleverest at finding ways around the rules. Jeff Hammond is now a television commentator but back in the day he was very creative. Gary Nelson was the best at finding the gray areas and was hired by NASCAR to police the series and then do research and development. But if NASCAR wants to get serious then park the violator's car for a few races.

Owner Should Sit
The buck stops with the owner if anyone in his organization tries to pull a fast one with the rules. Michael Waltrip Racing blatantly broke the rules in the most idiotic way in recent history! If this violation was serious enough to get two guys suspended then what about the owner? Suspending Michael Waltrip from the sport for four weeks for the actions of his employees would be the proper thing to do. That includes not letting him attempt to qualify for the Great American Race too! If the rules are stomped on as in this case parking the car and suspending the owner will send a message to everyone else in the garage!