|
 Since the beginning of the season, Toyota teams have dominated in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, capturing 14 wins so far. Many critics, especially Jack Roush, have argued that the Toyota teams have had so much success in the NASCAR Nationwide series because of a horsepower advantage in the engine package developed by Toyota Racing Development. After continuous testing throughout the season in the dyno machines, NASCAR finally acknowledged the critic's concerns and issued a technical bulletin requiring all the teams using Toyota engines to reduce the amount of horsepower in order to provide an even level of competition among the four manufacturers in the series. But will this move by NASCAR finally end criticism that the sanctioning body has shown favoritism towards Toyota?
Section 20A - 5.10.4 of the NASCAR Nationwide Series rulebook is amended as follows: “At all Events, unless otherwise specified, all engines with a cylinder bore spacing less than 4.470 inches must compete using a tapered spacer with four (4) 1.125-inch diameter holes. At all Events, unless otherwise specified, all engines with a cylinder bore spacing of 4.470 inches or more must compete using a tapered spacer with four (4) 1.100-inch diameter holes. Unless otherwise authorized, the carburetor restrictor will be issued by NASCAR.”
NASCAR officials were quick to point out that the rule was not targeted specifically at Toyota teams, rather teams running new, larger, engine packages.“Eventually, all teams that upgrade to new engine packages will be subject to this rule modification,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. Toyota has been the only manufacturer allowed to bring a larger engine package, mostly because the manufacturer is only in its second season of competition and had to start its program from scratch.
The issue that many drivers, owners, and fans have had is that NASCAR has not allowed the other manufacturers to move to newer engines, which are ready to be used as soon as NASCAR approves them. Chevy has been pushing to use its new engine, which many believe can compete with Toyota's package, but their requests have "fallen upon deaf ears". According to Chevy, NASCAR has yet to acknowledge the request made by Chevy.
Many individuals have speculated that NASCAR and Toyota formed a partnership at the beginning of the 2008 season, which allowed the manufacturer to go without the same checks that the other three manufacturers must go through, ultimately allowing the horsepower advantage in the new engines. While NASCAR would never enter into any form of partnership that would blatantly allow any manufacturer to have an advantage, the sanctioning body did not take the appropriate steps to ensure that the competition was fair until Tuesday's release of the technical bulletin.
While the economy has had a great deal to do with the slumping track attendance and television ratings, a good percentage of fans have stopped watching NASCAR recently due to the continuing dominance of Toyota teams, particularly the Joe Gibbs Racing teams, in NASCAR's top two series. By reducing the horsepower in the Toyota teams, NASCAR is not only hoping to level the playing field, but also is hoping to regain the fans which it had lost in the 2008 season.
Until the changes made to the Toyota engines prove that the field has been leveled, NASCAR will continue to face scrutiny that it has been playing favorites with the manufacturer. It should also be expected that in the coming months, NASCAR will finally approve the use of the new Chevy engine in the Nationwide Series, in order to prove that it is committed to fair competition. It appears that NASCAR has finally realized that allowing the dominance of one manufacturer, who has had a performance advantage, will mean poor track attendance and poor television ratings.
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
