Be careful when you order
Stock Car Racing History
This whole deal has gone past the ridiculous. For once NASCAR follows the rule book to the letter, which more than a few have griped about them not doing, and the again become the bad guy's.
In the simplest form, TRD screwed the pooch on this one. It's on them and their lack of quality control. Gibbs in the end holds ALL the responsibility for the product he presented to the race inspectors, ie; the race car. The part was shown to not conform with the rulebook and the fine was directly in line with precedents set in the past. I can't understand how this got turned into a performance enhancing effort by TRD. It only has to do with the specs for the part and that it didn't meet them. Gibbs isn't wrong but he is the one with the end responsibility. This is totally a Gibbs/TRD issue. And I can't believe I'm saying this, NASCAR got it right, BY THE RULE BOOK!
The fine and penalties being out of line? NOT! Go back to Carl Long with an Ernie Elliott engine found .017 over sized, the same fine and similar penalties eliminated his race team and his lively hood for a good while. It was another time that NASCAR was extreme but was correct as much as I hated that decision and still do.
Was Gibbs cheating, NO. Was TRD cheating,NO! But TRD did hold the total responsibility for supplying the correct parts and quality control. Gibbs trusted his chosen vendor and he's responsible to NASCAR that his vendor is following the NASCAR specs.
What adds to the mess created by TRD? The fact that they themselves confiscated three of Clint Bowyers engines including the one that was to be his primary for Richmond. Their records showed that there were problems with those as well. This is all on TRD, their lack of quality control.