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via Getty

via Getty

Racing teams often try various strategies to gain an advantage over their rivals. But NASCAR cannot overlook major rule breaches. Recently, officials condemned ThorSport Racing for violating pre-race inspection rules at Milwaukee Mile. Until then, popular racer Hailie Deegan‘s teammate Ty Majeski was riding high on his Truck Series success at Indianapolis.

However, Majeski’s #98 Ford didn’t meet the required parameters before the Clean Harbors 175, resulting in L2 penalties. But the exact cause of the infraction remained unclear. Officials have now revealed the details of their transgression.

Ty Majeski and ThorSport Racing found guilty of vehicle manipulation

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The Managing Director of Craftsman Truck Series, Seth Kramlich, explained the intricacies of the probe carried out prior to the playoff race. The inspection began with checking the weight and tire pressure of Ty Majeski’s F-150 truck.

Thereafter, officials discovered leaking air from the wheel of the right rear tire. In order to reach the source of the leak, they removed the tire in question along with its valve stem. That is when they discovered evidence of manipulation of the stem cap.

Read More: Days after Indy triumph, Ty Majeski’s hunger flares amidst NASCAR’s Milwaukee return

Kramlich said, “The truck was rolled across our heights and weights station. From there, we obviously verify our tire pressures before we check rear camber. At that point in time, the official that was checking on rear camber had physically heard that there was air leaking from the tire. You could physically actually hear it.”

Upon a closer examination of the stem cap, they saw something unexpected inside. “So at that point in time, we took the tire off and took the valve stem off. We noticed that there was some manipulation to the valve stem cap. The one that’s wrong was on the right rear,” he explained.

Majeski awarded L2 penalties for flouting wheel regulations of Truck Series

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Ty Majeski qualified for the playoffs with seven Top 5 and thirteen Top 10 finishes in the regular season. Majeski began second in the playoff-opening race but showed right off the bat that he was here to win. The victory at Indianapolis Raceway Park cemented his entry into the next round of playoffs.

However, the L2 penalties received by flouting wheel rules might dampen his playoff journey. NASCAR docked 75 regular and 5 playoff points from both the driver and his team. Along with suspension and fine to their crew chief.

via Imago

Surprisingly, the cause of their folly turned out to be a small piece of metal. In the video posted by motorsport journalist Jeff Gluck, Seth Kramlich displayed the incorrect stem cap. It contained a small piece of metal which violated the wheel regulations specified by NASCAR. After verifying the abnormality, the wrongdoing was established.

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Kramlich continued, “So this is the one that’s incorrect. And you can see the kind of the little piece of metal that’s in their little kind of miniature rod that’s in there…So this cap is tightened down onto the wall stem. It slowly started releasing air until it was completely sealed. It would stop but with slight pressure it would release air from the tire. So obviously at that point we verified it in a dunk tank over a Goodyear.”

“And it was assessed that it was obviously manipulation of the tire through the valve stem hardware. Which is clearly spot on the rule book and they were issued the L2 penalty,” he added.

Kramlick concluded by asserting it wasn’t wise to disregard regulations. “So unfortunately for sure, but something we take very serious. It’s kind of one of those things that they don’t need to be messing with.”

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Nevertheless, Ty Makeski would still race ahead on account of the Indianapolis win. After finding the root cause, do you believe the penalties were fair and adequate in comparison to the breach?

Watch this story: Hailie Deegan Admits to Trust Issues with NASCAR, Inspired by Tony Stewart