20/02/2007
FEATURE BY MIKE LAWRENCE
Several American readers have drawn my attention to a major scandal preceding the Daytona 500. A Toyota Camry entered by Michael Waltrip Racing was found to have an illegal fuel additive.
I don't know why anyone would think that I would be interested in a case of a Toyota team cheating. Pitpass does not not normally cover NASCAR, but Toyota and cheating is guaranteed to grab our attention. For future reference, guys, next time easy on the sheer undiluted glee, we are supposed to wear sombre faces on occasions such as this.
It was the first appearance of a Toyota in the flagship Nextel Cup series and the Daytona 500 is not only the most prestigious NASCAR race on the calendar, it is one of the world's great races. The Ferrari 365/4 GTB was never officially called the 'Daytona', it was a nickname which stuck because of the respect that the world has for Daytona.
Some members of Waltrip's team have been excluded from NASCAR. An unprecedented fine of US$100,000 has been imposed and 100 points have been deducted from both the driver's and team owner's tally. If Waltrip does really well, he could be on zero points by mid season. This is not the best way to begin a new venture.
I must emphasise that Michael Waltrip Racing is not the only team running Toyota Camrys. Toyota supplies the cars and technical assistance, which is exactly what Chevrolet, Dodge and Ford do. There is no works team in NASCAR in the strict sense of the word, but the makers are in the thick of it. Detroit auto makers were in the thick of it even when they announced that they weren't. Every factory has a back door.
At the time of writing, and this must be stressed, there is no suggestion that Toyota itself had any part in the cheating which remains firmly within the camp of Michael Waltrip Racing.
There is another thing which should be stated. The Toyota Camry is the only car in the Nextel Cup which is actually made in the USA. The Ford Fusion is made in Mexico and the models fielded by Chevrolet and Dodge are made in Canada. In the UK we are at last able to buy Chevies, but they used to be called Daewoos and are made in Korea. Took my Daewoo to the levy but the levy was dry. That doesn't quite work.
Waltrip was allowed to compete in the 150 mile qualifying race, and he started the 500 and finished 30th. Some senior figures in NASCAR have expressed the opinion that he should have been disqualified from the race. My opinion on the matter doesn't count, but I wonder whether a ban might have been imposed were it not for the fact that a new manufacturer was entering the series.
Samples of the fuel have been sent for analysis to NASCAR's laboratory and the governing body will make an announcement in due course. Several of my correspondents made the point that NASCAR officials had been curiously non specific on the subject, though the penalties speak volumes. Speculation is running wild as to the nature of the additive with everything from ether to rocket fuel being proposed.
An interesting thing will be if they discover the source of the additive. I don't know about you, but there is no accessory shop in my neck of the woods which stocks performance enhancing additives, unless you believe the claims of STP and Wynn's. The additive came from somewhere and, presumably, someone bought it and there is a receipt somewhere, unless, Heaven forefend, it was specially supplied to Michael Waltrip Racing by, as it were, a factory with vast resources.
Everything is murky. According to some sources, the point at issue is the inlet manifold, which has been confiscated. Reports are confused, but apparently the illegal additive was found in the manifold, and/or possibly the manifold itself was illegal. Michael Waltrip has been making light of the manifold, but he would, wouldn't he? Simple question: who made the manifold? Someone did. A manifold does not simply materialise, especially not on a factory supplied car.
Waltrip has been acting the perplexed innocent. He is reputed to have said something along the lines that they confiscated the manifold so people are bound to speculate, so we just changed the manifold. No problem, apart from the exclusion of key personnel, a fine of US$100,000 and the docking of points. What, me worry?
Waltrip's race car was not allowed to compete so he took part in the qualifying race in a team spare. Reports say that the car looked like it had just taken part in the 500 itself by the end of practice. The guy was desperate, he was still at it when most drivers had left the track.
It was not just a case of changing the inlet manifold, Waltrip's race car was excluded. What is coming from the guy's mouth does not square with those points which are indisputable, like the swingeing penalties. There are dark corners in the affair, but there is a basis of fact.
Unfortunately, Toyota has a history of cheating. It is the only company to have been excluded from the World Rally Championship. A Toyota employee was found rigging an exam in Japan for the regular mechanics who service everyday cars.
Toyota paid Chip Ganassi a huge amount to switch from Honda engines with which the team had won four straight Champ Car races. At the 2000 Detroit Motor Show a Ganassi car was one display in Toyota colours the signage on the stand boasted of the team's success and omitted to mention Honda. The President of Honda spat razor blades.
Toyota perceives Honda as its greatest rival, though will never admit it. There is, however, a background story to why Suzuka has been dumped in favour of Fuji. Suzuka is regarded as one of the world's best circuits, perhaps second only to Spa, and is owned by Honda. Fuji, which is inadequate in many ways, not least in hotel rooms, is owned by Toyota.
There is something else, though Toyota claims an arms length distance from Michael Waltrip Racing, it has been providing the cash to pay over the going rate for the best personnel, US$20 30,000 is what I have heard. On the other hand, Toyota is making huge profits whereas GM and Ford are effectively bankrupt and Chrysler is up for sale. Splash money around the paddock, however. and nobody will like you, unless they are receiving some.
As I write, the industrial espionage charges against two former employees of Ferrari, have been postponed. For those new to this column, the allegation is that software used in the design of the Ferrari F2002 was purloined and used in the design of the Toyota TF103. Former employees of Toyota Motorsport, of a more senior level, who were arrested later, will be tried first.
Pitpass remains on the case. Actually, Toyota Motorsport keeps promising to invite me to their factory, but nothing's happened and I really like Cologne. A museum there has the most amazing Roman glassware and the Cathedral claims to hold the original gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, nothing like a laugh to start the day.
Pitpass editor, Chris Balfe, has been and he made sure that his flight ticket was a return. In the meantime, I have a Toyota promise. It's an offer from Toyota, made many times. It has to be worth something, surely? In the meantime I have this roll on which I can wipe my arse.
Message to Toyota Motorsport: I know who sent the internal email in May, 2004, telling all staff to destroy documents and programs bearing the Ferrari logo. You don't know how much I know. You don't know my source and you have never been able to catch me on a point of fact.
At the risk of this column becoming a book review page, I must recommend Tom Jensen's Cheating: An Inside Look at the Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers do in Pursuit of Speed. The title leaves little for the imagination. It does what it says on the tin. It's now in paperback, £6.59 from Amazon, and it is a fascinating read.
Tom Jensen keeps having to update his work, my copy has 'Winston Cup' in the title. My guess is that if Toyota remains involved, one day Tom will have to issue his work in two volumes.
That is only a guess. I know absolutely nothing about Toyota's shipments to Australia in the late 1960s, never heard a word about anything the least bit dodgy in the crates, honest, guv. There was a case in court and Toyota lost.
On a different matter, my thanks to all readers who appreciated my review of Joe Saward's book, Grand Prix Saboteurs, I think that I have replied to all. Nobody should be surprised by the fact that Pitpass gives credit where it is due, even to a book written by the editor of a rival, Grandprix.com. Without giving anything away, Joe and I are working together on the back of his book. We may be rivals, but that does not make us enemies.
Mike Lawrence
mike@pitpass.com
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