Did I miss the thread - methanol cheaters?

[Cass]

So, did the thread get pulled already, just like the IRL, sweep it under the rug and it'll go away?

With all the PR that the IRL is pushing ethanol I am rather surprised that methanol would rear its head! Sad that IRL is not making the team public, they should be forced to explain themselves. Why won't the IRL publish the rule book either?

Honda caught this one - and they notified the league of the offensive act, yet, not a word spoken. Honda said this tampering is a breach of contract and agreement for the engine lease program, they should stand up and pull the engines from the team. At least NASCAR has the guts to shame the team in public! IRL especially when we are looking at the "greatest spectacle in racing" thier words not mine....by not acting is making it a spectacle all right!

I've been waiting to see how the IRL could woo more fans.....this isn't it! Come on, RM called you out - now time to act!
Cass

[beachbum]

Most IRL fans left this forum some time ago. They got tired of being bashed by IRL haters.

[Hoss Ghoul]

http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/indycar/37531/

I just saw the article on Speed...no real surprise racing is all about trying to find an advantage, legal or otherwise.

[FerrrariF1]

Some how I doubt it ever happened and is just someone putting out false info trying to run on the coat tails of all the NASCAR cheating. If a team or teams did cheat as stated who are they disqualified?

Why? Because it most likely never happened and even Honda is trying to make a last ditch effort to drum up lagging tickets sales as well as TV ratings

[Hoss Ghoul]

I don't see how this would increase ticket sales, sure there's some controversy, but not the type that would generate ticket sales, IMO.

More likely the IRL doesn't want to say who it is or punish them because if they did they wouldn't have 33 cars in the field. Or perhaps it would embarrass and run off that teams sponsor, etc...those are more believable scenarios.

Probably a fine and a warning were handed down, as the article states this stuff is usually handled behind the scenes, unlike in NASCAR...for better or worse on that one.

[indycool]

It's clear from the column that this happened during PRACTICE and was caught during PRACTICE. It didn't mean anything. If it had not been caught until qualifying or the race, that's a different story.

[RGM Fan]

Messing with the fuel mixture has always been one of those "Beyond the Pale" offenses in racing. I have no doubt if this were 95 or earlier we would have seen the offender tossed from the garage because it can be soo dangerous and so hard to track.

As far as which teams were doing this all you really have to do is look at the practice sheets and see which back markers had jumped up practice times and then went back down for qualifying. I have a few guesses and they're both back markers who found speed early in the week.

Now here's the problem with having the series owner run a team in a series. All racers cheat, its part of the culture. So what happens when the owner's team gets caught with something like this? What is the right move?

[Jonesi]

As far as which teams were doing this all you really have to do is look at the practice sheets and see which back markers had jumped up practice times and then went back down for qualifying. I have a few guesses and they're both back markers who found speed early in the week.

I don't think there's enough infomation in the T&S sheets to definitively tell. Just the weather conditions can change the speeds 3-4mph on different days, and some teams hit the right setup, then and miss it on other days.
Even when they think they're simulating a qualifing run, having a couple of other cars on course, on the other side of the track can get the winds swirling to a 1/4-1/2mph change. A few cars is worth 1-2mph, and in the pack draft another 1-2mph. So those's times aren't helpful without knowning weather, #cars out, proximity to those cars, etc.
Historically there's usually been a driver or two sitting on pit wall on pole day, saying "We had 2-4 more mph on Xday, weather's the same, setting are the same. Where did the speed go?" They weren't all cheaters that got caught.

[Alexamateo]

Historically there's usually been a driver or two sitting on pit wall on pole day, saying "We had 2-4 more mph on Xday, weather's the same, setting are the same. Where did the speed go?" They weren't all cheaters that got caught.


Exhibit A: Chip Ganassi Racing, fastest every day up to qualifying, after qualifying 4th and 6th; they didn't even really get close. :p :

[45 Below]

It seems D&R have been caught with the smoking can ...

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070522/SPORTS0101/705220439

[CCFan]

Exhibit A: Chip Ganassi Racing, fastest every day up to qualifying, after qualifying 4th and 6th; they didn't even really get close. :p :


A point, but Honda said that it wasn't one of the top 3 teams. I can't believe that it would be Vision Racing either. Can you imagine the field day that the press would have if Tony's team got bagged by his own stewards?

[indycool]

Read 45 below's link......

[Jonesi]

Exhibit A: Chip Ganassi Racing, fastest every day up to qualifying, after qualifying 4th and 6th; they didn't even really get close. :p :

Prior to the D&R link, I would responded: Ganassi drivers were the fastest to 99%, then stayed 99.1% or 99.2%, while AGR & Penske found 99.3%, 99.4%.

[Alexamateo]

Jonesi, I wasn't saying Ganassi was cheating, I was offering them up as an example of the odds on favorite to win the pole, but they lost that 2-4 mph you mentioned "sitting on the pit wall saying where did the speed go?" I was not trying to say they were the ones "creatively interpreting the rules." :)

[RGM Fan]

Like I said a back marker who was suprisingly high on the practice sheets.

[call_me_andrew]

I think TG wants to avoid negative publicity. When the Daytona cheating feasco started to make NASCAR look bad, it became clear that cheating is not something you want the press to run with.

[Cass]

Explain this to me - an old container of methanol??

How does one even have an old container of methanol "laying around" when all teams run ethanol? From the fueling rig, to the hose, to the car...where does one "find" an opportunity to introduce a foreign substance to the tank?

IN CCWS, each team has the rig filled by measurements and by allotments that are supervised - does this not exist in IRL - can you just "bring to the table for fuel what you want"?? I thought they have those big tanks by the pit stalls, pre-filled and pre-allotted ethanol....

It was a rookie mistake by a team member doesn't fly with me. Its not like walking around with a can of soda, and accidentaly pouring it in the tank.....I would've liked to see the IRL test the actual pitlane tanks too.....lets really see what was in that big thing huh!

So far only D&R have been tagged, the Indystar article and Speedtv article both intimated that "teams" were caught.......interesting how this works out.