NASCAR 'Warns' Johnson, Martin Teams

NASCAR has warned the teams of championship leaders Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson that their Chevrolets were dangerously close to failing post-race inspection last week at Dover, Del., where the three-time defending series champion Johnson won the race and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Martin finished runner-up.

Johnson's crew chief Chad Knaus cautioned that there was no wrong-doing, no intent to do wrong and that the attention this is receiving is mostly media sensationalism.

"The cars were legal, that's the thing everybody has to understand,'' Knaus said Friday from this week's Sprint Cup Series venue, Kansas Speedway. "It's turned into a bigger issue than what it really should."

"There's a tolerance for everything and as long as you're within the tolerance that's fine, but when you start getting close to that line you've got to make sure that we understand why, and that's what we're trying to do."

Johnson also deflected the situation during his weekly news conference with the racing press on Friday.

"Well we weren't cheating,'' Johnson said. "The cars were not found illegal. It's not uncommon for cars to stick around at the tech center to be measured. The tech center has ways to measure the vehicle that teams don't have. So they're doing their work and doing their data and collecting all that stuff and the cars were there being inspected.

"Believe me if they weren't legal they wouldn't have been released. So it is what it is and I hate that it's drawing speculation and concern but the cars passed tech and here we are."

It may be much ado about nothing this time. But once again it has raised NASCAR's eternal $10 million question: when is pushing the limit being innovative? When is it cheating?

Certainly when you factor in the history of Knaus, who has been suspended before for technical violations, along with the fact these two teams have already set the bar for the 10-race Chase for the Championship, it's easy to understand why this courtesy "warning" from NASCAR is generating big buzz around the garage.

Johnson has won the past three championships and 10 points separate him from Martin in a push for an unprecedented fourth consecutive Cup title.

"First off if we were cheating I wouldn't be standing here, I'd back in Charlotte, so obviously that's not the case,'' Knaus said.

"It's a situation that we do a good job of building very, very good race cars and we take pride in that. We really do. We've always taken it to what we thought were the tolerances, but we never crossed that line and we don't cross that line.''

NASCAR inspectors said Martin's No. 5 Chevy and Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet were within an inch of not conforming to the body specifications following Sunday's race. Close, but not illegal, so obviously there were no penalties issued.

"They (NASCAR) said, 'look, you're a little close on the tolerance,' '' Knaus explained. "But ... they wanted to make sure it was the damage (during the race), it wasn't something that was built in intentionally because, like I've said, we've had so many cars there that have been within the tolerances and are acceptable and these were just a little bit off.

"It's just preventive maintenance more than anything, just to make sure that we don't have a situation.''

Fairly or not, this is receiving attention because of Knaus' past suspensions for pushing the envelope. In the past four seasons years, Knaus has been suspended for technical violations twice -- for a total of 10 races. The first of those was a four-race punishment after Johnson's car failed post-qualifying inspection for the season-opening Daytona 500, which Johnson went on to win.

Knaus' supporters will remind you, however, that you don't win three consecutive championships in NASCAR's most competitive era without successfully pushing the envelope.

Believe it or not, most of the competing teams -- even those directly racing Johnson for the championship -- are siding with Knaus on this one. At least publicly.

"Part of racing, part of this type of sport is that you have to push those boundaries and take it as far as you can,'' said Dodge driver Kasey Kahne, who is ranked 12th in the Chase standings.

"The Car of Tomorrow, since we've had it, is real cut and dry and you don't cross those boundaries. You stay on one side or another and if you cross them, you get hit pretty hard. That's how it's been with the Car of Tomorrow and (NASCAR) has shown it a few times.

"It's pretty black and white. You're either cheating or you're not, and if you're not, you're not."