Michael Waltrip's a CHEAT!!

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Anyone see the news that they found components of jet fuel in his manifold? Not a big race fan, but I do enjoy watching the 500.

Any thoughts as to this development?

[Alpster]

Unfortunately NASCAR is frought with this. Guys who don't cheat are the exception not the rule (pun intended). He is only among a handfull who got caught. Sad for the sport.

Ronnie

[Siebert Outdoors]

I dont follow Nascar much either but he isnt a cheat.

He just got caught. ;D

This is my opinion on racing.

They all cheat to get an edge.  It just depends if the judges can find the cheat.

[roadwarrior]

I'm a relatively new fan, around five years or so, but I have been appalled by all the "routine" cheating or attempts at cheating. Some of it is a recognized aspect of the sport: making deals among the teams near the end of each race!

If NASCAR wants to continue to grow as a "mainstream" sport, they need to clean up their act, pronto!  

[Cigarlover 1]

He said today that he's feels horrible and is willing to take full responsibility yet he doesn't feel he should pull out of the race. He doesn't feel that horrible. IMO

I'm just getting sick and tired of cheating in sports period. Everytime I turn on the t.v. to watch a game or a race I have to wonder who's using enhancers and whose not. Really takes away from the enjoyment. Not to mention these athletes and sports figures have kids who look up to them. It's sending a really bad message.

[Hawgin]

This is a really bad start to the NASCAR career for Toyota.  First they only had 2 of their 8 cars qualify, and on top of that Waltrip had to cheat in an attempt to qualify.  As much as Toyota joining is already looked down upon by the die hard fans, this certainly isn't going to gain them any credibility.

[tipptruck1]

I have been watching nascar for over 15 years now. The cheating will always be there. The only is the cheating is going to stop is by having a few cup officals around the car all the time. I mean all the time from the ground up. From the time the teams start building the car to when it starts a race there must be some guys from nascar there. If nascar dosen't do that there will be cheating.

[Sam]

Michael had nothing to do with the cheating.

It was done without his knowledge.

I just hope Toyota doesn't get upset and pull out after this year.

Go Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards!

[carySE406]

Michael Waltrip isnt even guaranteed a spot in the Daytona due to the new team so hes now racing some other guys Toyota to try to qualify for the remaining 2 spots. I've never liked Michael, especially with DEI, so I'm a little glad. Oh yeah, GO JUNIOR!!

[frogtog]

I wonder why they don't just give everyone a polygraph like they do when we

are fishing tournaments. In the fishing rules it states you have to pass a polygraph in orter to win not that you cheated. Do this to all sports at random.

This will stop most of it.

[burleytog]

Cheating is what makes it fun.

[lunchbox508]

im in with burley on this one ;D

[Top]

In my opinion he is doing what a good leader should do... he is taking responsibility for the actions of his subordinates and his own... do I think he had anything to do with it? no... but his is doing what a good leader SHOULD do... accepting responsibility...

just my .02 cents worth..

AL

[SPEEDBEAD.]

Michael had nothing to do with the cheating.

It was done without his knowledge.

I just hope Toyota doesn't get upset and pull out after this year.

Go Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards!

Go Team Lowe's....I need a new hat!!!!  (I work there part time)

[Alpster]

In my opinion he is doing what a good leader should do... he is taking responsibility for the actions of his subordinates and his own... do I think he had anything to do with it? no... but his is doing what a good leader SHOULD do... accepting responsibility...

just my .02 cents worth..

AL

Al,

I agree! Wether or not he knew about it, he seems to be owning up to the responsibility. If he doesn't give in and pass the buck, I will give him the benifit of the doubt until it's proven otherwise.

Ronnie

[Hawgin]

In my opinion he is doing what a good leader should do... he is taking responsibility for the actions of his subordinates and his own... do I think he had anything to do with it? no... but his is doing what a good leader SHOULD do... accepting responsibility...

just my .02 cents worth..

That's all well and good, but if he honestly didn't know what was going with his car that is poor on his part.  If my name is the selling point, and a scandal like this would hurt my chances of marketing myself, my team, and my ability to make money you can bet I'm darn sure going to know what is going on with my car at all times.  A month from now anyone who is not a super die hard nascar fan won't know his crew chiefs name.  All they will remember is that Michael Waltrip cheated, even if he didn't know what was going on.  If he truly wants to be a good leader he needs to stay on top of what his people are doing.  

[Maxximus Redneckus]

I wonder why they don't just give everyone a polygraph like they do when we

are fishing tournaments. In the fishing rules it states you have to pass a polygraph in orter to win not that you cheated. Do this to all sports at random.

This will stop most of it.

YUP and if ur caught taking drugs ur banned  

[Catt]

How long has there been NASCAR?

That's how long I've been a fan

Waltrip's engine could not burn Jet Fuel.

It was Avgas 100/130 which can be used in some automotive engines. It has both research and motor octane numbers slightly over 100. Avgas 100/130 is green in color, contains four grams of lead per gallon, and is becoming hard to find.

[cart7t]

I'm a fan of OW racing, I watch Nascar on occasion.  This year I'll be watching to see how Juan does.  

On the Toyota deal. Well, I'm not sure I'd really consider Nascar a true legitimate sport anymore anyway, certainly not real racing.  They've shown a penchant over the past few years especially, to just make the rules up on the fly.  Punishments to cheaters are handled so poorly and unevenly that it's hard to take them seriously when they say they're going to crack down and get tough on this aspect.  Heck, it's all just a big show for fun anyway, sorta like WWF wrestting.  Real Nascar racing ended years ago.

What's funny is the last time Toyota was involved in a cheating scandle it was them on the accusing end.  It was CART in 2001 IIRC.  Honda had found a creative way to increase airflow into their turbo's and increase pressure by placing a spacer just under the the Plenum.  Toyota caught them and cried bloody murder. What goes around comes around.

BTW, I can't wait till Honda enters Nascar in a year or so.  The fans will just love those two companies slugging it out!  ;D

[Catt]

Cart7 you to funny dude  

NASCAR is the faster growing spectator sport in the world

[Madhouse27]

One thing I find kind of interesting is how some Nascar fans are holding the Waltrip situation against Toyota. The scandle is certainly a black eye for them. It puts a big damper on what was to be their exciting inauguration into Nextel Cup. Toyota isn't to blame here, if anything they are the biggest victim of this whole cheating deal. The reality is bad enough for Toyota. Even the most ardent Toyota haters shouldn't feel the need to implicate them along with Waltrips team. Ray Evernham had three crew chiefs suspended and we don't hear any conspiracy theories involving Daimler Chrysler. Waltrip and his crew did a ton of damage to his manufacturer, sponsors, reputation and fans. I kind of hope he can get through this.

[cart7t]

Cart7 you to funny dude  

NASCAR is the faster growing spectator sport in the world

I'm making no comment about Nascar's popularity. They certainly pack them in though it would appear that the sport has pretty much reached the limit as you're seeing more and more empty seats at Nascar events around the country.  It would seem though, that the fans aren't all that concerned about the integrity of the sport and are watching for the show, that's great.  My comment was made as far as taking Nascar as a serious sport, I don't think you can when the rules are broken or modified whenever it's deemed in the best interest of a team, a driver or even a race.

I was at Gateway for a truck race a couple years ago.  The end of the thing turned into a crashfest.  It was the first year of the Green/white/checkers finish. The race was actually extended 2 laps just so they could end under a green!  (As the trucks circled under yellow, they actually stopped counting laps!)  If you're going to compromise a race length just so the fans can have a better show to watch, I don't really see how you can count the racing series as a real sport.  

I'm making no comment on Nascar's popularity nor growth (though it's TV ratings have begun to sag the past year or so).  I don't think the series is setting a good example to today's younger fans who watch by sitting back and dishing out such weak and uneven punishment to cheaters.  

I'm hoping Montoya does well on Sunday BTW.  I watched him when he came over from Williams and drove for Ganassi in CART.  I didn't like the guy at first, seemed like a quiet, snotty, F1 elitist.  Then I saw him driving on his in-car camera during his first oval race ever.  He's got some of the fastest hands on the wheel and reaction time I've ever seen.  He's more than capable of beating anyone on that circuit now.  

[Catt]

You're going to talk about cheating by comparing NASCAR to open wheel

The cheating open wheel has long been worst than NASCAR and is part of the reason it died years ago.

Outside of Europe it gets no respect

[cart7t]

You're going to talk about cheating by comparing NASCAR to open wheel

The cheating open wheel has long been worst than NASCAR and is part of the reason it died years ago.

Outside of Europe it gets no respect

The last cheating scandal in OW was the Honda/Toyota spacergate incident that happened in 01/02.  Before that might be Roger Penske's infamous 209 pushrod V8's he brought to Indy in 1994 and wound up sweeping the top 3 starting positions and winning the race.  The engine technically wasn't cheating as there were no rules against it, he and Mercedes merely found a loophole in the existing tech regulations that didn't make it againtst the rules.

OW hasn't had that many cheating allegations over the years primarily because OW, whether CART or the IRL or Formula 1 have always had pretty loose technological rulebooks.  It's not uncommon for say a team like Ferrari in F1 to spend $1 million to redesign a wing plate or barge board just to win a single race.  The IRL's spec's are a little tighter but you just don't see the cheating going on there like you do in Nascar.  Not that it doesn't happen though.  

BTW, Open wheel racing died in this country when Tony George formed the Indy Racing League and split the OW racing fanbase in half.  It hasn't been the same since.

[Catt]

All forms of racing whether are cars, motorcycles, boats, or airplanes push the rules to the limits period. It's not cheating until you are caught but because no one is caught doesn't mean it doesn't exist.