Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen got into trouble after finishing their race at the World Wide Technology Raceway last Sunday. The Trackhouse Racing teammates rode through the grass during the cool-down laps, in what is assumed to be an effort to increase the weight of their cars to meet the post-race inspection standards by collecting debris on their wheels.
Advertisement
Fans on social media were quick to shout foul on this, and the sanctioning body has now responded to the uproar with a threat. NASCAR has basically sent a warning to every team not to drive off the track during the cool-down laps. Brad Moran, the managing director of the Cup Series, said that teams would receive a memo discouraging the practice this week.
Mike Forde, the managing director of communications, underlined Moran’s statement on Hauler Talk. He said, “We did not care for it, not one bit. We’re going to just remind teams that this is something where we actually have a rule.
“I think we’re going to give (Trackhouse) a little bit of a warning. But there is a rule that says what they did — you could argue — broke a rule, and there could have been repercussions for it.”
The rule that Forde speaks of is 6421.b. Under this, the cars are considered to be under impound conditions as soon as they reach the checkered flag. They should not then be altered or adjusted in any way before reaching the inspection area.
Notably, Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman was disqualified after the race at Charlotte last year for his car failing to meet the minimum weight requirements.
The most logical explanation for what Chastain and van Gisbergen did is to meet the weight tolerance level. Even then, there appear to have been certain playoff cars that nearly failed post-race inspection.
Forde revealed, “These teams are pushing it so close to the line on weight. They know exactly how to math it out, where we give them a 17-pound tolerance after the race.
“In Darlington, we measured every single playoff car, and there were a couple of cars that were within a pound of almost failing and being DQd.”
Rest assured, NASCAR will not always turn a blind eye to this tactic in the future. Drivers in the playoffs would be better off being a bit more careful about staying within the lines of what is allowed and what is not.
