arent NASCAR drivers basically cheaters when their crew chief and head mechanics are cheaters?

Question

its like Barry Bonds.......

Answer 1

I'd say most of the time that the drivers know about what's going on. Come on people. Michael Waltrip totally cheated and he even admitted it. That's why he's so upset. And last year, don't even get me started on Jimmie Johson because he totally knew what his crew chief was doing and Chad Knaus should have been canned too. That's the only reason #48 won the championship because they cheated on more than one occasion. Jimmie Johnson's team cheated more than once last year and still didn't even get punished as severe as Waltrip and that's not fair either. Chad Knaus should have been fired and watch this year if they get caught cheating again he still won't be. NASCAR is in love with #48.

Answer 2

No. They are the drivers & thta's their job, there are car owners & that's their job, so the crew chief's job is his. It's his job to make sure that the car is ready to go & will qualify for inspection-pre & post race. Nascar teams require a huge amount of people that all must work together to get the job done. They all each have their own responsibilities. Last week, some of those guys failed to work together as a team & decided not to have faith that their driver had the ability to win, so they cheated. That took away from alot of people,the driver that went out there & drove his best, the team that spent months getting that car ready, the car owner, the sponsors, the fans, the teams reputation, & nascar in general. There are probably people that will get suspended or lose their jobs that didn't know or have anything to do with it @ all, just b/c of the chain of command. For example, the gas man could have done his job, filled the tank w/ approved gas that was ok'd to be put in the car & signed off that he had done his job & then someone he trusted, worked closely w/ came along behind his back & put some additive in the gas tank, but it's the gas man job & name saying that he made sure the car was ready in that way. I can't believe that any anyone would do that, it just goes to show how big nascar has gotten & how money hungry people have become. I would love to see it go back to the good old days where racing was about the drivers actual ability & the team they had, instead of everyone's car looking the same, everyone not fighting b/c chevy got better mph's b/c of their new design so now ford has to have the same. Lets go back to the dirt track & race like back in the day-for fun & money, not money & fame.

Answer 3

Not really. They just drive the car. If the driver knows about the cheating, then yes, he is a cheater. As far as Barry Bonds, he was putting drugs in his body, he didn't have to do any of that. Crew chiefs can do things to the car that the driver has no clue about.

Answer 4

Drivers are basically contracted to drive the car the team provides. Crew chiefs are contractors who supervise the team that builds them. Rarely is the driver deeply involved in the cars construction.

So, no, in most cases the Driver is not directly a cheater because the crew cheats. But by association he may be penalized because he still derives the benefit of the cheating and by penalizing the driver the team is also penalized by extension.

Answer 5

The drivers aren't responsible for the bad choices the crew chief and the head mechanics choose. They are the driver's for there sponsors. I'm a NASCAR FAN and it's an intense feeling being thier live to watch them. Texas Motor Speed Way last April was my first race and it was cool and exciting. I will be going again this April. Maybe this will teach the crew chief's and head mechanics to make better choices in the near future. Let this be an example for those who will even think about cheating. It happens in every sport saddly to say. Go Tony Stewart and Dale Jr.

Answer 6

In an interview, Kyle Petty was the only honest driver to admit he had been pushing the envelope his entire career. All of them do, that's why it is racing and that's why we love it so much. Isn't it amazing that this "cheating" has given so many improvements to aerodynamics, drive train, suspension, tires, etc. throughout the entire automotive industry. Without these "cheaters" you would still be driving around in a Studebaker telling everyone how great a ride you have. Free thinking is a good thing. Besides, if you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'.

Answer 7

The majority of the time the drivers don't know what the crew chief does to the car. They get in and drive. During the race the two communicate on how to make the car handle better, and then the driver knows what is going on. But before the race most of the drivers don't know and don't want to know.

Answer 8

Some of the answers refer to drivers being "hired to drive" by the team and having nothing to do with the crew chief and mechanics. I need to point out that nobody hired Michael Waltrip. The team is called Michael Waltrip Racing for a reason. He owns it; he hired the crew chief and is the crew chief's boss.

Answer 9

Its exactly like Barry Bonds...are the rest of the players on the team cheaters because Barry is juiced.

Answer 10

I think in some cases the driver may sincerely not have had knowledge of what the crew chief is doing with the car. After listening to Michael Waltrip last night on ESPN, I felt bad for him cause of the predicament his crew chief got him into.