With the 2024 NASCAR season well underway, there have been quite a few developing stories. While the most positive ones are coming out of Trackhouse Racing and Hendrick Motorsports‘ camps after the two superspeedway weekends, it seems like that prospect may yet be a stone’s throw away for Team Penske and Joey Logano. Despite many previously getting away with all sorts of cheats, Logano and the #22 Mustang crew were unable to get themselves out of NASCAR officials’ sights this time, with a modification to Logano’s glove leading to cheating claims.

Even though the incident may surprise newer fans of the sport, those who have been around for a while know that it’s quite surprising how obedient and law-abiding teams have become. But while the team’s reluctance to push the edges of the rulebook seems to put off some fans, the executive director of the CARS Tour revealed how the team’s watchful eyes have led to glorious times for the officials instead.

Teams and drivers play neighbourhood watch to drive down cheating incidents to a minimum

In Joey Logano’s case, the Penske star was caught using a webbed glove to block off the incoming air from the driver-side window, which has gaps in the net that add some drag to the car on straights. To counter this, the webbed glove would be placed perfectly in the gap, leading to an aerodynamic seal that gave Logano an advantage in qualifying. Reflecting on the incident, Kip Childress, the executive director of the CARS Tour, shared how other teams had also noticed the incident.

Childress stated on DJD Reloaded, “Well, it is a challenge and I know a number of folks have said that there was talk amongst the other competitors that this may be happening. So, I don’t know specifically if that’s the case but I know that you know drivers do. Not just drivers, crew members, and I think the crew members, as they’re pushing the cars up pit road and the drivers are getting ready” Using the example of superspeedways, Childress explained how the pit crew and drivers both would watch out for their competition and in a way, become the neighbourhood watch.

Childress went on to add, “I know that there are crew members that specifically have the duty of watching other cars. They watch them as they come through inspection. They’ll make a trip to the garage and take a look. And you know, everybody’s tryna keep tabs on everyone else and you know, it’s been that way in racing for as long as I’ve been around, that’s 40 some years.”

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After taking a look at what Childress had to say, it becomes evident that the teams are capable of doing their own policing, owing to which cheating instances have reduced to a large extent. But that’s not all. NASCAR is also always one step ahead of the teams, using every resource possible to beat the ‘innovators’ at their own game and enforce the rulebook fairly.

How NASCAR’s ‘ever-evolving’ rulebook poses a new challenge to cheaters

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For a sport that started on the very foundations of outrunning the law, the prospect of sticking to a guideline has never settled well with most. While we’re all aware of Smokey Yunick’s iconic shenanigans, those days may be far gone. Reflecting on how NASCAR resorted to hiring these very innovators to beat teams at their own game, Childress revealed how the officials know every move possible.

Childress stated, “That’s why you see so many officials that work for NASCAR now who have a past in the garage area, whether it be an engineer or a former crew chief or a former driver that are a part of the sport now so they have a pretty good idea of what their counterparts are thinking of or what they have been thinking of.” And whilst the officials themselves have a great idea of what the teams might be up to, the involvement of a legal team on top of that truly makes NASCAR’s rulebook tough to crack.

The director shared how there are both a legal team for NASCAR and the CARS Tour, ensuring the officials are on the right page at all times. Childress added, “We have someone take a look at things that we say, that we do, to make sure that we don’t overlook something or maybe that we don’t say something that might back us into a corner, so I know that happens.”

While these lawyers help the officials with their departments and decisions, the very nature of the rulebook itself poses a major challenge. Childress concluded by sharing the plight of those looking to cheat, “You will read something in any of the rulebooks one time and it will say something to you in one way, you may read it the very next day and read it totally differently, so it is an ever-evolving document.”

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After taking a look at how seriously NASCAR is taking the enforcement of the rulebook in the modern era, it’s safe to say the glorious cheats of yesteryears may never be topped.