Full Throttle

Race drivers love to complain, and that’s especially true when things aren’t going their way or their ream isn’t living up to expectations.

It’s been that way since Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 1895 and I see no chance it will abate in the near future.

It was only natural when seeing the latest Jeff Gordon quotes I filed them away along with a century of history preceding them.

But then I read them again: ” … NASCAR knows it’s happening,” Gordon said on Friday at Darlington Raceway. “They are the ones that see the cars come through inspection. They see it. When cars can’t even get on the scales because they’re running sideways, it’s something they need to address.”

Gordon’s referring to the cars doing the “crab-walk” down the straightaway. After a second reading the light bulb of cognition flicked on in my skull. “Yeah that’s it, that’s what I saw during Friday nights NNS event.”

At the time I thought nothing of it. After all the Cup series has just cast aside a car that can be best described as a Twisted Sister as compared to their street models. Prior to the CoT coming into being the old “template cars” were so bent out of shape they resembled something made during an Old-Fashioned Taffy Pull Party.

But there they were, the new car’s right rear hiked up like an incontinent dog in a fire hydrant factory.

I only wish I had a tape on the NNS event to go back and review it, because despite Gordon’s contention, more “legs were hiked” than just the pack of Roush-Fenway mongrels cars.

I seem to remember a much larger litter and NASCAR Series director John Darby not only admits to the phenomena but insists Hendrick Motorsports was the first to experiment with the new car as a twisted Sister and that Edwards’ #99 team was one of the last.

That leads me to believe I was correct in not calling out Jeffy as a whiner, but feel fully justified in saying he and any other members of Hendrick Motorsports thanking or speaking the same are Pots calling the Kettle black.

None of which bothers me in the slightest. If Roush, or any other team, finds a way to make the car work and NASCAR gives it a pass, more power to them both.

One thing I will do is pay closer attention to which teams are doing the crab walk down the Lady in Black’s straights this evening.

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