Tony Stewart’s Insider Claims ‘Cheating’ Is Not as Impactful as It Once Was in NASCAR

NASCAR’s history includes instances of cheating where drivers sought an edge. In 1967, Smokey Yunick brought a scaled-down Chevrolet Chevelle to the Daytona 500, outsmarting the factory teams with aerodynamic tweaks. Junior Johnson’s team faced a suspension in 1991 for an oversized engine, yet his ‘Yellow Banana’ car still competed. Jeff Gordon’s 1997 car, while not illegal, prompted new regulations after its championship win. In 2007, Michael Waltrip’s team encountered a major scandal with a jet fuel-like additive in their car, leading to severe penalties. Similarly, Jeremy Mayfield’s car had illegal fuel additives at Talladega, resulting in fines and points loss. Yet he won the following race at Auto Club Speedway.

In reference to these, SHR’s No. 4 team’s crew chief

Rodney Childers opened up on the topic. He explains how these are way past now, and with the current technology, it is not achievable.

SHR crew chief Rodney Childers on why attempting to cheat is tougher nowadays

In an interview with Cup Scene, Tony Stewart‘s team’s one of the important members explained why pushing the boundaries is not applicable now. The reason behind that is, that cars are fully manufactured in factories nowadays. Also, figuring out what’s wrong with these Next Gen cars is a bit tough, even for these experienced crew members. The interviewer asked if they feel like doing alterations to their cars specifically on occasions like the All-Star race. Just because it does not fall under the regular race no points will be deducted.

Childers replied, “I mean honestly to me I don’t think there’s such thing as pushing the envelope anymore you know? To me, I don’t even get into that anymore. If there’s something wrong with the car, I don’t know there’s something wrong with it. It’s just not what it once was 10 years ago. Now it’s kind of a little bit like a factory the way that the cars are built. They’re four or five weeks out and you know our Sonoma cars already on the floor. Our Charlotte cars on the floor, our Gateway cars on the floor.”

He added, “That’s just the way it is right now and it’s really up to us to sit here and look at these computer screens and figure out what springs to put in it. What shocks, what sway bars, what heights we’re going to run you what you can get by with air pressure.” No wonder the rules are getting strict! Childers also mentioned how it is practically impossible to surpass cars out there nowadays. Because they are all built almost the same.

He mentioned that they need to continue improving, acknowledging that they have been quite strong at some of the short tracks. Childers also pointed out that their performance at intermediate tracks has been better than it appears. He praised Josh Berry for doing a good job in qualifying. This might not be evident unless one is observing SHR #4’s telemetry data closely from the pit.

How to succeed in the All-Star race?

The 47-year-old noted that not many first-year drivers can run full throttle through a corner at tracks like Vegas and Texas. He recalled standing on pit road before the last race, feeling proud of the company they were in and the progress they’d made.

“It was going to be a good night, the other night. I should have put two tires on and maybe had a little better shot. But I was thinking that we might have multiple green white checkers, and have a shot of the top five with four tires. So, you know, it’s the All-Star Race I think, the key with it is really going to be getting your car to handle right. And a guy that likes a place like that. I think we’re fortunate from that standpoint you know”

The SHR member mentioned, that last year, Berry was driving the #48 car and managed to win the open. That had him qualify for the All-Star Race where he gained some experience. He added that they had already been at the track for the car test and were planning to participate in the Cars Tour race. He further noted that Berry loves and feels comfortable at such tracks, and they hope to be fast right from the start. Childers believes that merely pushing the envelope won’t necessarily affect the car’s speed. Instead, it’s about ensuring the car handles well, accelerates smoothly, and has effective brakes. That’s indeed a great piece of advice.

Are you excited about the All-Star race too? Who would you want to receive the checkered flag?