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NASCAR Finds Cheating After Nationwide Race

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The Associated Press

Published: August 18, 2008

BROOKLYN, Mich. - The No. 18 and No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing teams in the Nationwide Series likely will face big penalties after efforts to alter the results of a chassis dyno test.

NASCAR inspectors, preparing to do tests on horsepower numbers following Saturday's Nationwide race at Michigan International Speedway, found magnets under the gas pedals on the two Gibbs Toyotas.

Tony Stewart, making his last Nationwide start for the Gibbs team, finished third in the No. 20, and 18-year-old rookie Joey Logano was seventh in the No. 18. The race was won by Carl Edwards in a Ford.

Toyota has won 15 of 25 races this season in Nationwide, and all but one came in a Camry fielded by Gibbs. The exception was JGR driver Kyle Busch's victory at Charlotte in May in a car fielded by Braun Racing.

In the face of such domination, last month NASCAR ordered the Toyota Nationwide teams to use a smaller spacer to cut about 15 horsepower in their motors.

The incident Saturday was apparently an effort to keep the current numbers from looking too strong in the latest test.

"In our postrace inspection - yesterday was the day we were going to chassis dyno cars - our inspectors discovered some shims that were placed on the gas pedal stop," Robin Pemberton, vice president of competition for NASCAR, said Sunday. "It was magnets that were about a quarter-inch thick that prevented the accelerator from going 100 percent wide open.

"The intention was to manipulate the numbers that we get when we get our information and data off the dyno."

Pemberton said NASCAR officials will meet today and Tuesday to determine what penalties will be handed out.

"I anticipate that we haven't seen the end of it yet," Pemberton said when asked if the penalties were likely to be severe. "We historically don't make our decisions within a 24-hour period. It takes time to get everybody in a group and talk about it."

J.D. Gibbs, son of owner Joe Gibbs and president of the team, said JGR takes full responsibility for the actions of its employees.

"Let me just say that, first and foremost, that that was a really poor, foolish decision on the part of our key guys there at JGR," Gibbs said. "I want to apologize to NASCAR, to our partners, to Toyota guys. A couple guys chose to make a decision there that really impacts all of us."

DRIVER CHANGES: The Cup garage continued to buzz Sunday with talk of a few more driver's seats to be filled.

Although Richard Childress was not yet ready to confirm reports that Casey Mears, who will leave Hendrick Motorsports at the end of this season, will be in a fourth Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet next year, he did say, "I'll be glad to talk to you about the fourth car next week at Bristol."

Walt Czarnecki, an official at Penske Racing, said David Stremme is one of several drivers being considered to replace departing Ryan Newman in the No. 12 Dodge in 2009.

"David is certainly in the mix, but there's a lot of balls still in the air right now," Czarnecki said. "We hope to have something done in the next week or two, but nothing's set, yet."

The Associated Press

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