SONOMA, Calif.—On Saturday morning at Sonoma Raceway, NASCAR Cup Series managing director Brad Moran presented the counterfeit NACA duct confiscated after the Coca-Cola 600 from the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford for review.
While the moment wasn’t nearly as dramatic as the sanctioning body tearing down the Team Penske engine for all to see here 23 years ago, Moran was certainly driving home the point.
If a quarter-of-a-million-dollar fine wasn’t enough to get the garage’s attention, then a 120-point penalty along with 25 Playoff points and the loss of a crew chief for six races should be.
“Our message is we’re not going to back down,” Moran said. “It’s been a culture in the in this garage for decades. For us all to be strong, and to have the racing that we had last year continue on, we just need to break that habit and start using the parts as they were designed for.”
Last Wednesday, NASCAR levied Chase Briscoe and the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing team with a L3 penalty resulting from multiple violations of the rulebook, including Sections 14.1C&F (overall assembled vehicle rules), 14.6.A (underwing) and 14.6.3.B (underwing).
Moran said the piece was discovered through visual inspection—the textures between the authentic piece and the counterfeit are different. The duct didn’t conform once the NASCAR “stop-and-go gauge” measured the part.
“It was a part that was made and then and it was made for whatever reason, I guess, put on by error but it was on the vehicle,” Moran said. “It is a piece that should not have been made in the first place. It was spotted at our teardown at the R&D Center and that’s where the L3 penalty came from that were given out after the Charlotte weekend.
“We have some identifiable parts built into ours (original) that basically show us if it was made from the R&D center. Obviously, we put our stop-and-go gauge in it out there and it clearly didn’t fit.
“There are some defects that are built into each one—as it’s a 3D part and we know what they are. There are certain little characteristics that are in it. But again, that was after we scanned it and everything. It was a visual that doesn’t look like this part. Then, obviously, during our examination the more we examined it, the more we realize that’s not a part they bought.”
Moran was clear that the creation of the duct did not stem for a parts shortage. He added if a lack of parts becomes problematic that teams could reach out to the sanctioning body for solutions.
Moran was also adamant that there is room beyond the fines levied to SHR for the next organization that crosses the line. The sanctioning body is not averse to ramping up the penalties so the teams are on the same page with NASCAR.
“It’s unfortunate for the team and how it got here,” Moran said of the counterfeit part. “I can’t speak for the team, nor do I want to. It’s unfortunate that we find something like this. But again, it’s a culture and there’s risk verses reward. Everybody is trying to win, and everyone is trying to get in the playoffs. So we’ll monitor it.
“This is the low end of an L3. It’s a really big hit for any team. And if it continues and we feel we’re not where we need to be then, unfortunately, it’s going to ramp up because we’re not going to stop.
“The deal with this car is it needs to be run without modifying. It costs teams a lot of money on development, and all the owners agree and we all agreed where we need to be to make this a successful program, and we’re not going to give up. We’re going to make it a successful program.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer.
