When NASCAR made the rule change in the off season that any race winner in the top 3 series that fails post race inspection would be disqualified, a collective ” its about time” came from many peoples mouths, including mine. It is the right thing to do, no doubt, because I see it on a weekly, constant basis in the ranks of dirt racing. Any vehicle that isnt within legalities of the rulebook during post race teardown shouldnt be still awarded a win.
Well kids, it happened…but the first victim was unexpected.
With the ups and downs that Ross Chastain has encountered since last year, he didnt deserve it to happen to him. He straight dominated the M&M’s 200 at Iowa, in similar fashion that Christopher Bell dominated the Circuit City 250 later that day. Heres where I think this rule needs to be adjusted, and adjusted in a big way……..
NASCAR needs to establish a system to determine if any rule violation that warrants a disqualification is done out of intent/malice. I am a staunch advocate of this, because speaking from a driver/car owner view, its not fair to disqualify a driver and strip a win if his or her shock fails, or a spring collapses and causes the ride heights to settle .05 below minimum ride height requirements. The area in violation, whether its a corner of the respective vehicle, or even a whole end of the car, whether its front end or rear end, needs thorughly inspected fully, along with the components of the area { shocks, springs, suspension components, etc.). After a full inspection of the parts, if its deemed that a part failed due to stress/conditions, allow the team/driver to keep the win. If there is any part that is apparent somthing has been changed within the part that causes the part in question to change form, therefore causing the race vehicle to fall outside of requirements, then the disqualification is fully warranted.
There has to be a line drawn to determine if a rule violation is caused from part failure, or intent. Because in the racing world, I have seen things done with intent MANY TIMES.