Innovation, Creativity or Just Cheating?

By Kindra K. Littrell

Anytime you put two or more people together in competition there is the possibility of cheating. In most sports cheating is just plain cheating. Corked bats, steroid enhanced muscles, fixed fights, bribed officials. All of these would be labeled as cheating by anyone. It is human nature to seek an easier, better way to win. Most competitors seek the win within the confines of the rules. Some competitors do not. Stock car racing is no different. What is different is the definition, method, and consequences of cheating in stock car racing.

The Definition

Cheat; verb, 1 a: to practice fraud or trickery b: to violate rules dishonestly

There is so much more to cheating and cheaters than the Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition you read above. Especially in stock car racing.

First you have those who almost never technically cheat, masters of the grey area. Smokey Yunick was one of the greatest of these masters. He found new and interesting ways to make his cars go faster all the time. He made an aluminum bumper to reduce weight. He ran oversized gas lines to run longer. There were not specific rules in NASCAR that prohibited these things. Smokey was just doing his job: finding ways to make the car go faster while not breaking any specific rules.

Then there are those who use their creativity to bend the rules. In 2006 Chad Knaus was penalized for modifying the #48 Chevy in such a way as to improve aerodynamics. Again, he did not violate a specific rule. All of the components of the car were legal. However, the way the parts were assembled altered the original design for the parts. His creativity cost him and his team.

Finally there are those who just plain cheat. There are countless stories about leaded helmets switched just before the race, weighted tires run just long enough to get to the first pit stop, and fuel additives that just happened to get dropped into the tank.  And even Smokey Yunick put wet sand in the roll bars and then let it leak out during the race. These are examples of the first part of our definition: “to practice fraud or trickery.”

The Method

There are also different methods to the madness of cheating in stock car racing. In basketball, football, track or even baseball, the main goal of any cheating is to improve the athlete’s performance. So the methods of cheating are usually centered around bodily enhancements like steroids. Athletes want to be stronger so they can hit harder, jump higher, run faster. In stock car racing the aim of any cheating is to improve the performance of the car, not the driver. Race teams want methods of cheating that give them lighter, faster, better running cars. They are not looking for a loophole in the rules to improve their driver’s physical abilities. Most cheating in competitive sports is about improving the athlete, not the equipment. Not so in stock car racing.

The Consequences

NASCAR began its life with what it found to be a cheating winner. The first NASCAR sanctioned event, a “Strickly Stock” race in 1949, was won by Glenn Dunnaway. He was later stripped of his victory because illegal modifications were found during post race inspection. NASCAR doesn’t take away victories anymore. They take away money, and lots of it. The crew chief of the #55 Toyota, driven by Michael Waltrip, was fined $100,000 in February of 2007 for several infractions. There were also suspensions and docking of points. There was still a #55 on the track come race day however. Even those who fail post race inspections don’t fear losing their victories anymore. The last time NASCAR stripped a driver of victory in a Cup race was 1955.

The consequences for cheating on a local level are much different. If infractions are found before the race, most often the team is asked to make the car legal before getting on the track and that’s it. If infractions are found after the race, local tracks are much more likely to strip the winner of the victory. If a monetary fine is imposed it is usually not a huge hit to the wallet. This reporter even knows of a driver (who shall remain nameless) who approached an official before a race, handed him the normal fine amount and said “here, I’m cheating and I thought I would just pay the fine upfront.”

However, local tracks walk a very fine line when dealing with those they would call cheaters. Track management doesn’t want to impose so many penalties that it runs drivers off. But they don’t want to allow so much cheating that honest race teams won’t come to their track. Rules and regulations at the local level are more about safety and affordability. Tracks want to keep everything safe and relatively cheap so they can have the highest car count possible. Keeping the playing field level in terms of car performance is almost secondary.

The Culture

Reading this article might give someone unfamiliar with stock car racing the idea that all race teams cheat. That is just not true. It would be more accurate to say that all race teams try to get as much advantage as possible without intentionally breaking the rules. Stock car racing is a culture in which the infamous “grey area” is coveted. That is the place where you get one up on your competition by working somewhere in between the black and white of the rule book. Those that can race in that grey area, like those that can hold the second groove at I-70 Speedway, are more likely to find themselves in victory lane.

So while no one should argue that cheating is good, it can be argued that pushing the limits of the rules, in stock car racing particularly, is good. It is good for the teams that can find an edge. It is good for the tracks that want close competition. And it is good for the fans who come to see a race, not a Sunday drive in a circle. There will always be cheaters in stock car racing. There will always be those who try to catch the cheaters. And there will always be somebody ready to write a new rule to try to make that grey area a little less grey.