Cheaters winning again in NASCAR

[BOSSHOG]

Seven drivers were fined and six crew chiefs suspended for cheating after last weekends Nationwide (formerly) Busch race.

[RL3AO]

1. They were caught and suspended. Whats the problem?

You cheat. You will get caught. You will get suspended. No controversy. No destroyed tapes. If your rear spoiler is too high you get suspended. If you put illegal additives in your engine you get suspended. It sounds like you want to rip on NASCAR but they are doing something about it.

[BOSSHOG]

2. I am a big NASCAR fan

have been for years. The last two NASCAR champions (same team) were caught cheating, suspended, fined, slapped on the peepee. Did it stop them from winning the championship? No. I suggest that if such activity occurs a team will not make the chase at the end of the year. Jimmy Johnson and Chad Knaus really looked remorseful at the end of last season, with their fake smiles holding up that championship trophy. Yeah, NASCAR is doing stuff, I just don't think its a deterrent.

[RL3AO]

3. JJ is a great driver who uses Hendrick cars

I have no reason to think his domination is not legit. He had 20 top 5s and 10 wins. When you finish that high your car gets torn apart by NASCAR officials. If he (I mean Knaus) continued to cheat he would have been caught.

[BOSSHOG]

4. Which begs the question

Why cheat? Knaus got caught two years in a row. One might suggest that he did not learn his lesson or he knows the penalties are impotent. The success of the team is irrelevant to the wrongdoing. I will assume that there are a whole bunch of teams who play within the guidelines and rules of the organization. Why should they? The Patriots were pretty successful too.

[madinmaryland]

6. Maybe because Knaus is an idiot who has managed to get caught twice?

At least there are consequences for cheating in Nascar. From what I understand, most teams do push the envelop, though most will only do it to the point where they probably won't be caught.

[madinmaryland]

5. Looks like NASCAR should be running the NFL and MLB!!1!!

[BOSSHOG]

7. I have failed at communications and I apologize.

In the NFL and MLB and NASCAR cheaters are succeeding. I suggest disallowing CHEATERS from competing for championships in (whatever) sport you are talking about and maybe it might catch someones attention. If NASCAR was overseeing the NFL last year, the Patriots would have still been in the Super Bowl. If you are caught cheating, kiss your chance at a championship goodbye. Please someone help me. Am I wrong to suggest that integrity is a cool thing?

[SquireJons]

8. America is becoming the Land of the Cheaters

What with Bonds, and Clemens and Armstrong and Jones and the list goes on and on.

But NASCAR was founded on cheating and the France family runs it like the mafia. To me, NASCAR is the professional wrestling of auto racing.

[RL3AO]

9. People cheat in all sports.

Its not an American thing. Its human nature to try to get an edge.

[SquireJons]

10. So, dishonesty is just part of human nature?

Yes, some athletes cheat in all sports. That's why I included a cyclist and sprinter in my list which could have of course included pretty much all sports. But a couple of things stand out now. First, despite 15 years of obvious cheating in baseball, with long held records now broken, most fans really don't care. Same with Belicheck and the Patriots... "oh, they all do it."

Is that what I'm supposed to tell my son now? They all do it? So, I guess he should do it too, right? We have become the new East Germany with regards to sports and cheating through illegal methods. And we seem pretty damned proud of it too. In your face, world!

But NASCAR is different because the fix is in directed from the top, by the oligarchy that controls the "sport." They have long acknowledged that races "used to be fixed." Thank goodness those bad old days are gone. Not that we know for sure, since the French family makes all of the rules in secret, but like they say... "hey, trust us."

The best news I've heard in a while is that NASCAR has lost TV viewers for two straight years and is trying to juice things up with some good old fashion fist fights. This ought to be good.