Published: Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Childress rejects claims that team had advantage
A Speed TV report said the team had manipulated the cars' rims.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR and team owner Richard Childress Monday dismissed as "sheer fantasy" a television report that said race winner Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton had a performance advantage at New Hampshire International Speedway.
A Speed TV report Sunday said NASCAR inspectors had discovered that RCR teams had manipulated the rims on their Chevrolets to act as "bleeder valves" that slowly released air pressure in tires after the race. The practice is not technically illegal, and falls into a gray area of the rulebook that teams are supposed to respect.
The report left rival teams grumbling that Harvick may have cheated to win the first race in the Chase for the championship and take the points lead for the first time in his career.
"Those cars were completely legal, there was nothing wrong with either of them and the report stating otherwise is sheer fantasy and sensationalism journalism," NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said.
Childress branded the report "false and misleading." According to the story, NASCAR told the RCR teams it could not bring the modified rims back to the race track.
"Our cars passed post-race inspection and officials at NASCAR assured us last night and again today that no one from RCR was told at any time not to bring a part back to the race track," Childress said. "The reported events and conversations did not happen."
Speed defended the story by Bob Dillner, saying he has a "strong record of solid reporting from the NASCAR garage."
Johnson's latest hit
LOUDON, N.H. — Jimmie Johnson can never catch a break — not even on his 31st birthday and especially not when the championship is on the line.
Flawless week after week, race after race, he just can't figure out how to sustain it for a full season.
So the perpetual points leader is back in familiar territory following Sunday's 39th-place finish at New Hampshire International Speedway: Frantically fighting to keep his title hopes alive after yet another collapse.
An early engine problem pushed Johnson to the back of the field, where the competition isn't as clean and the racing is a little bit dicey. And when the traffic stacked up and Sterling Marlin had to swerve suddenly to avoid his own fender-bender, Johnson found himself in the line of fire.
Marlin bumped him, Johnson jerked the wheel, and his car went careening into the wall for a hard hit that shredded the sheet metal on his Chevrolet.
Unfortunately for Johnson, his misfortune came in the first week of NASCAR's Chase for the championship, when the points standings have been squeezed together to create a frantic, 10-week race to the Nextel Cup title. Had the wreck happened one week earlier, the fallout wouldn't have been nearly as disastrous.
But because it came during the Chase, Johnson will need a miracle to win his first title. After 22 weeks atop the points standings, he's ninth and 139 behind leader Kevin Harvick.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
A Speed TV report said the team had manipulated the cars' rims.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR and team owner Richard Childress Monday dismissed as "sheer fantasy" a television report that said race winner Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton had a performance advantage at New Hampshire International Speedway.
A Speed TV report Sunday said NASCAR inspectors had discovered that RCR teams had manipulated the rims on their Chevrolets to act as "bleeder valves" that slowly released air pressure in tires after the race. The practice is not technically illegal, and falls into a gray area of the rulebook that teams are supposed to respect.
The report left rival teams grumbling that Harvick may have cheated to win the first race in the Chase for the championship and take the points lead for the first time in his career.
"Those cars were completely legal, there was nothing wrong with either of them and the report stating otherwise is sheer fantasy and sensationalism journalism," NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said.
Childress branded the report "false and misleading." According to the story, NASCAR told the RCR teams it could not bring the modified rims back to the race track.
"Our cars passed post-race inspection and officials at NASCAR assured us last night and again today that no one from RCR was told at any time not to bring a part back to the race track," Childress said. "The reported events and conversations did not happen."
Speed defended the story by Bob Dillner, saying he has a "strong record of solid reporting from the NASCAR garage."
Johnson's latest hit
LOUDON, N.H. — Jimmie Johnson can never catch a break — not even on his 31st birthday and especially not when the championship is on the line.
Flawless week after week, race after race, he just can't figure out how to sustain it for a full season.
So the perpetual points leader is back in familiar territory following Sunday's 39th-place finish at New Hampshire International Speedway: Frantically fighting to keep his title hopes alive after yet another collapse.
An early engine problem pushed Johnson to the back of the field, where the competition isn't as clean and the racing is a little bit dicey. And when the traffic stacked up and Sterling Marlin had to swerve suddenly to avoid his own fender-bender, Johnson found himself in the line of fire.
Marlin bumped him, Johnson jerked the wheel, and his car went careening into the wall for a hard hit that shredded the sheet metal on his Chevrolet.
Unfortunately for Johnson, his misfortune came in the first week of NASCAR's Chase for the championship, when the points standings have been squeezed together to create a frantic, 10-week race to the Nextel Cup title. Had the wreck happened one week earlier, the fallout wouldn't have been nearly as disastrous.
But because it came during the Chase, Johnson will need a miracle to win his first title. After 22 weeks atop the points standings, he's ninth and 139 behind leader Kevin Harvick.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
NASCAR and team owner Richard Childress Monday dismissed as "sheer fantasy" a television report that said race winner...
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