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Was Earnhardt Jr out-cheated by Carl Edwards and Roush-Fenway?

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by Charlie Turner

Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. The best NASCAR and IndyCar news and opinion, exclusive pictures and video. I'm Charlie Turner. Follow me on Twitter @onpitrow

March 7, 2008 11:35 pm EST 4 Comments

Untitled PostDoes this sound like a guy who has just been denied his first win for a new team - first in a couple years - because the guy that beat him, out-cheated him?

“I applaud them for being creative, and that’s how we got to where we are today because guys are creative to find ways to get an advantage,” Earnhardt said. “That’s what makes our cars drive better, drive faster. Like I said, I applaud them for doing that and trying to get that edge.”

That quote is from Lee Spencer’s great Foxsports.com article about the latest outbreak in hostilities between Jack Roush and Toyota - this time in the person of Lee White, GM of Toyota Racing Development and former Roushy himself.

This skirmish started with a USA Today story where White claimed that Edward’s oil tank violation at Las Vegas was intentional and referenced wind tunnel tests that Toyota ran in Germany; tests that “resulted in 170 extra pounds of down-force” when the lid was removed.

There is more and Marc has most of it but that was enough to set off Bulldog Jack - he is more of a bulldog than a cat, don’tcha think?  How’s this, from Jack, for a start - also from Spencer’s piece.

“my guess is that sometime last year they tested with that cover off, realizing it was illegal to find out what the effect was. Now why would they do that? “

“I wonder how many times they tested the rocket fuel for Michael Waltrip’s car before they decided to take that chance at Daytona”

This is getting pretty good you know?  Just when you think it’s a Ford vs Toyota cage match featuring a bulldog or a cat against a… a what… a samurai?  What the hell is that thing on the Toyota emblem anyway?  Then along comes the Rocket Man himself, Ryan Newman with a rather disgusted reaction to the Roush excuse that the bolt holding the lid on the oil tank worked loose due to vibration.  Thanks to Scene Daily..

“My car vibrates the same way, and my bolts were still in good condition,” and “If that was the case, they should have picked a different style bolt … so that it didn’t happen.”

Newman weighed in on the penalties too - saying he agrees with them.

… They’re putting their foot down, and it doesn’t pay to cheat.”

Carl Edwards doesn’t have a problem with that. Scene Daily..

“It’s fine with me if folks want to get worked up about it,” … We’re just racing hard. Something came loose, didn’t pass inspection and we got penalized.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr represented the Chevy camp and seems to agree that for Roush-Fenway to feign innocence is pretty lame.  More quotes from Lee’s article..

“..the guy that runs Roush, saying it was a bolt failure, that was ridiculous. He should just come out and be honest about it. ….saying NASCAR assures every bolt won’t fail. The guy doesn’t even know how many bolts hold the lid on, so how can he make any comment on it.”

Junior complimented Edwards, calling him a great driver and conceding that Carl likely would have won even with the oil tank secured.  It was typically frank talk by one of NASCAR’s real gentlemen.  And this last bit was all Junior too.

“When it comes down to it, you line them up and you race and the guy that crosses the finish line first is the winner. If you got out-cheated, you didn’t do your homework — you know what I mean? You didn’t do your homework.”

NASCAR would be better off if Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr did more of the talking and the cats, dogs and whatever those other things are, quieted down some.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media, Inc.

Filed under: Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr., It's Only Cheating if You Get Caught, NASCAR Rumors, Roush Racing, Ryan Newman, Sprint Cup Series, The Waltrips, Toyota 

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Comments

4 Responses to “Was Earnhardt Jr out-cheated by Carl Edwards and Roush-Fenway?”

  1. Joshua Lobdell on March 8th, 2008 11:37 am

    What a mess, Jack Roush has long accused other owners of cheating. When I worked for him he was ater Rick Hendrick saying that they were using chemicals to soften their tires. he also led a ill advised attack on TOyota and a lot of that is karmic justice. I rarely ever hear other owners calling out other owners of how they try to gain advatages.

    Let us be real honest every team out there is looking for a edge, and when one gets caught you pay the price and move on. that is what Hedrick does, and Ido belive they have been caught the most number of times over the last 10 seasons. Guys like Charlie and I should be leading the fight to keep these kind of stoirs in the limelight.

    Everyone is cheating read DW’s book and see that they were cheating on everything they could, it is NASCAR’s job to make it as fair as possible and catch the cheaters.

    If I were Jack Roush I would keep my mouth shut move on it is still early enough in the season to make up these points, win more races and make the chase.

  2. Tim Zaegel on March 8th, 2008 11:46 pm

    Great post, Charlie! All the cheating and penalties aside - and regardless of my opinion on such - I find it rather refreshing to see these inter-brand wars out in the open and the other guys in the garage being pretty open with their opinions. Much better than all of that robotic auto-response that we typically get from athletes these days.

  3. RevJim on March 9th, 2008 11:08 am

    I like the honesty we are seeing concerning the cheating. It is also good to see that finding an edge didn’t die with the introduction of the new car.
    Could the new trend in cheating, in view of the “black and white” penalty assessments being along the lines of, say a Dodge team sneaking Toyota headlight decals onto the front of a Ford?

  4. User Avatar Charlie Turner on March 9th, 2008 11:48 am

    The guys at the top of these pyramids - the Roushs, the Whites and their like - should really just shut up. To play “holier than thou” in a sport that has, at it’s foundation, a REQUIREMENT to innovate, which sits on the knife edge of being clever/cheating, is insulting to me. I KNOW that they ALL try to get away with stuff. When you get caught, from now on, let Carl Edwards do your talking for you Jack. It’s less embarrassing on Monday morning.

    Thanks for all the comments guys. You all make great points and add alot of depth to the discussion. I owe ya.

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