Those Cheatin' Ways!

50 Years of NASCAR Racing ~ Post 3

By Matt McLaughlin

Editor's note: This article is part of a special reprise of Matt McLaughlin's "50 Years of NASCAR Racing", written and published  in 1998 in commemoration of NASCAR 's 50th Anniversary celebration that year. In keeping with the RacersReunion mission of passing the history of our sport down to younger fans, Matt has kindly granted us permission to run the entire series. Please, sit back and enjoy as you take a journey back through the pages of history and perhaps relive a memory or two. Many thanks to Matt for his generosity in sharing. God bless you, my friend.

Think of NASCAR stock car racing history and a lot of things have remained constant over the years; three wide racing on the superspeedways, a little bumping and thumping on the short tracks, and frantic last lap dashes that prove, "it ain't over until it's over." And of course cheating. "Cheating" is one of the most hot button words in the English language. Accuse another player of cheating, even in a friendly card game, and you better be ready to use your fists to defend your opinion and dental work. To avoid enraging any fans of a particular driver or car owner, let's define cheating, not as an attempt to steal a victory or two, but the creative process of circumventing existing rules, exploiting inadvertent loopholes left open by the rule books, and bending rules right to the limit, though in some cases somebody should have heard a loud snap. During his days as a car owner for Mark Donohue's Trans Am series Camaro, Roger Penske coined one of the neatest euphemisms for cheating labeling it "the unfair advantage." Even the King of Stock Car Racing, Richard Petty was once quoted as saying to avoid getting caught, you had to "cheat neat." Almost as interesting as some of the hi-jinx that have gone on, are NASCAR's approach to catching, punishing and occasionally condoning cheating.