J.D. Gibbs admits Nationwide teams manipulated horsepower results
By Bob Pockrass - Associate Editor
Sunday, August 17, 2008
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David Griffin / NASCAR Scene
Joe Gibbs Racing President J.D. Gibbs addresses the media on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.
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BROOKLYN, Mich. – Calling it “a really poor and foolish decision on the part of our key guys,” Joe Gibbs Racing President J.D. Gibbs admitted his team attempted to influence the horsepower results during NASCAR testing following the Nationwide Series race Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.
Gibbs admitted his team used a piece that kept the throttle from being maxed out and the engine from producing maximum horsepower while the No. 18 and No. 20 team engines were tested on a chassis dynamometer.
“I want to apologize to NASCAR, to our partners, to Toyota guys,” Gibbs said Sunday. “A couple of guys chose to make a decision here that really impacts all of us.
“To me, the frustrating part is, 'Why?' … For us in the engine shop, that’s kind of a badge of honor. You win that engine dyno – good for you.”
Gibbs said he expected severe penalties but that he expected his teams to continue to race this year. He did not rule out firing the employees responsible as early as this week.
“No matter what NASCAR does, we’re going to address this issue in-house, figure out exactly what happened and those that were responsible. There’s going to be a punishment for that,” he said.
Horsepower in the Nationwide Series is a sensitive issue. Last month, NASCAR changed the spacer that limits air flow through the carburetor for Toyotas after it determined that the Toyotas had an advantage over the other manufacturers. The Toyota teams reacted angrily to the change, which was estimated to have cost them 15 or 20 horsepower.
The race at Michigan was the first at a track where horsepower could make a significant difference. Carl Edwards, in a Roush Fenway Racing Ford, won the race Saturday. Tony Stewart, driving the No. 20, was third while Joey Logano, driving the No. 18, was seventh. This year, the two JGR teams have combined for 14 victories and the No. 20 team leads the owner standings.
“I know [our guys] were probably frustrated from the standpoint [of] wanting to show that we have less horsepower than we had before and wanted it to look like we’re handicapped more than we actually were,” Gibbs said. “That is not an excuse. … To [possibly] come back and then win it again, that’s awesome and that would be a great story.”
Gibbs said his team acted alone and independent of Toyota. While stating that it wasn’t an issue in the race itself, Gibbs understood that the conduct was unacceptable.
“This one here is clearly … an intentional opportunity to lead somebody astray,” Gibbs said. “We’re not going to do that.”
Team owner Joe Gibbs released a similar statement.
“We will take full responsibility and accept any penalties NASCAR levies against us,” Joe Gibbs said. “We will also investigate internally how this incident took place and who was involved and make whatever decisions are necessary to ensure that this kind of situation never happens again.
“The expectations we set for everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing begins with me, and I personally apologize to NASCAR, our partners and our fans for the negative light this situation has cast upon all of us.”
Toyota Racing Development President Lee White said JGR remains in good standing with the manufacturer and will work through any damage to its reputation.
“Joe and J.D. will take care of that internally and whatever fans think they’re going to think and we’re just going to keep working on our stuff,” White said.
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Joey Logano
Comments
4 responses to "J.D. Gibbs admits Nationwide teams manipulated horsepower results"
steve songer said:
Aug 18, 2008 at 3:01 PMBeing a 'lifer' Redskin fan, nobody loves Joe Gibbs more than I, but there have been some SERIOUS issues with character in both his Busch and 'Cup camps this year. Denny purposefully causing a caution at Richmond, which in turn gave Kyle Busch the opportunity to prove yet again that he was a hammerhead, and then these guys sandbagging the HP numbers . . . not good at all for a man of such previously high integrity as Joe.
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» Confirm Abuse Reportjesse jesse Mcelroy said:
Aug 19, 2008 at 4:31 AMi love it,that's what racing is all about to get a advantage over the other teams.it's a shame nascar gives them rules for engines jgr does a better job on getting the horsepower,but now we going to penalize them for doing that.when hendrick racing was cheating we didn't think it was no big deal,because they were in the gray area.read the book jeff hammond wrote and see what nascar was built on.the teams have been cheating for ever.i like rcr but richard should have kept his mouth shut,forgot his team hasn't been caught for a while now.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportPB said:
Aug 19, 2008 at 1:58 PMDo a little research would you.. The reason the Toyotas won all those races is because they had a big horsepower advantage... Not because they built a better motor but because they were allowed by NASCAR to use their Cup motor with the appropriate carb, spacer, etc.. for the Nationwide Series... While Chevy for instance has been denied the right to use the Cup Motor Design (the R07 Motor)after repeated requests they have to still run the SB2 Motors.. NASCAR only recently decided that all of the new Motor Designs will have to run a more restrictive spacer.. Low and Behold the only one that has to do it right now is Toyota because none of the other Mfg's have been allowed to run the new designs.. I like Joe Gibbs but I firmly believe that this has been NASCAR trying to manipulate the series.. Let them all run the same generation motors and see what happens.. Then if Toyota wins no one can complain...
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» Confirm Abuse ReportMister Wynn said:
Sep 6, 2008 at 9:30 AMPersonally, and I admit to not having the knowledge that many of you have regarding motors and so one, I think NASCAR tinkers far too much with the rules trying to make things "fair". I see it as positively downright un-American. They need to remember that NASCAR is about initiative as much as it is about anything, and short of using a jet engine I think that teams should be allowed much more room making their cars better. This COT thing is all about leveling, not making things fair but making things the same. That is what I mean by un-American. Some cars, some drivers, and some crew chiefs and engineers are going to be better than others, it's the nature of life to be unequal. I think NASCAR should lay off the tightening of the rules every five minutes and allow the teams to use their skills and imaginations to improve their cars within what I belive should be broader, not more stringent, parameters. Just my opinion.
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