JUNIORFAN88
04-01-2010, 09:17 AM
Thursday, Apr 1, 2010 7:45 am EDT
The Daily Dose: Hendrick cheating scandal exposed
By Bob Margolis
As the result of a two-month long Yahoo! Sports investigation, it can now be revealed that the reason why the Hendrick Motorsports teams have dominated so much these last few years is that they have been caught cheating by NASCAR inspectors.
From documents uncovered through the Freedom of Information Act, secret testing at a previously unknown racetrack in southern Idaho has been going on for over two years by a team of Hendrick Motorsports employees sworn to secrecy.
Yahoo! Sports has learned however, that the driver involved in those tests was Hendrick developmental driver Landon Cassill.
Secret testing may have taken place for a much longer period of time at a small track in Virginia, prior to the testing being done at the track Hendrick had built in the mountains of Idaho.
It was due to an unlikely chain of events that this investigation unfolded.
A Hendrick employee was stopped and arrested after entering a TSA security checkpoint in Denver, Co., last fall. He was carrying an illicit part from a specially designed carburetor that Hendrick has been using for several years. TSA agents originally thought it was an explosive device.
That arrest, which at the time was covered only by the local Rocky Mountain media, was brought to my attention by a good friend who lives outside of Denver who just so happened to read the story in the Rocky Mountain News.
My investigation began immediately.
At first, Hendrick employees scoffed at the idea that such a secret test team or track even existed, but a disgruntled Jimmie Johnson fan - who had overheard conversations over lunch at a local restaurant in Concord, N.C., between some Hendrick shop employees - contacted me and eventually sent me some items from one of the dumpsters at Hendrick Motorsports. What I found was a treasure trove of information.
Discarded items from a hotel in Idaho, used plane ticket jackets for Frontier Airlines (a Rocky Mountain-area airline) and matchbooks from a gentlemen's club in Boise were all the proof needed to get a meeting with Rick Hendrick.
Hendrick Motorsports spokesperson Jesse Essex, who I've known for many years, at first did his best to keep me away from Mr. Hendrick, but the evidence in my possession was overwhelming. He knew I had the story and eventually he had to arrange the meeting.
"I've been having sleepless nights about this," Hendrick said in an exclusive interview with Yahoo! Sports. "I knew eventually someone in the media would discover what was going on. I just had no idea that everything would come out now."
Only after I had asked several embarrassing questions did Hendrick finally break down and admit that indeed his teams have been using a proprietary device that operates in conjunction with the carburetor and gas pedal to allow drivers to gain a distinct advantage over the competition.
"When that whole oil reservoir thing blew up around Jack Roush, it hit a bit too close to home for us," said Hendrick. "We were worried that NASCAR inspectors would tell the world what we had developed and expose it."
Sources in the Cup garage say that several NASCAR inspectors had been asking questions about the Hendrick cars since the start of the season, and observers say that there had been whispers in the garage about a secret device for over a year.
According to Hendrick, one of the devices was discovered on Johnson's car at Las Vegas, and only after a secret meeting was arranged between Hendrick and NASCAR's Mike Helton and Robin Pemberton was Johnson allowed to participate in the race. Obviously, his results at that race speaks volumes as to how taking the device away from the team was able to affect performance.
Without the device, it's been clear that the Hendrick teams have been at a real disadvantage to the competition since then.
Hendrick also admitted another shocker to Yahoo! Sports.
He said that one of the primary reasons he had hired Dale Earnhardt Jr. was as an insurance policy.
"I knew eventually the truth behind why we won so many races last year would come out and that this organization would end up being the most hated in all of NASCAR," said Hendrick.
"With Jeff and Jimmie here, I certainly didn't need another big ego to have to deal with," Hendrick added. "But, I figured that having Junior here would be my insurance policy against sanctions from NASCAR. They would never prevent Junior from racing.
"Look, our guys are the best there is when it comes to 'pushing the envelope,' but I knew eventually that even the best in the business couldn't keep this facade going forever," he added.
Hendrick added that the secret device had also been tested by drivers in Europe before being used here in the United States, and that one of those involved with the testing was F1 driver Lewis Hamilton. Apparently, the use of the device is not illegal in Europe and therefore, with the permission of Ron Dennis, it was able to be used on Hamilton's McLaren F1 car.
It may have been responsible for Hamilton's remarkable performance last season. The young Brit nearly won the championship in his rookie season.
Unfortunately, the last thing Formula One needs right now is another scandal.
Hendrick also admitted that it was first tested and then used successfully by World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb.
I received word early Tuesday morning that there has been a press conference scheduled for this Friday morning at Texas Motor Speedway in which the device will be put on display and all four Hendrick drivers and crew chiefs, along with Rick Hendrick, will be available for questioning.
"I think the time is now to come clean on all of this," said Hendrick. "I personally have been troubled with this. Just look at how it's affected our karma this season.
"It's time to put this all behind us and move on. I hope our sponsors and fans will understand that we were only trying our best to help Jeff, Jimmie, Dale and Casey to win. And everyone knows they've needed the help this year."
The device was never given a name by the Hendrick engineers, so as to keep its secrecy. It's official part number was "RF220." People within the Hendrick organization had been referring to it quietly as "the piece."
When it was in use in Europe, drivers there gave it a French nickname, "le pied droit" which loosely translates into "the right foot."
By the way, April Fools.
The Daily Dose: Hendrick cheating scandal exposed
By Bob Margolis
As the result of a two-month long Yahoo! Sports investigation, it can now be revealed that the reason why the Hendrick Motorsports teams have dominated so much these last few years is that they have been caught cheating by NASCAR inspectors.
From documents uncovered through the Freedom of Information Act, secret testing at a previously unknown racetrack in southern Idaho has been going on for over two years by a team of Hendrick Motorsports employees sworn to secrecy.
Yahoo! Sports has learned however, that the driver involved in those tests was Hendrick developmental driver Landon Cassill.
Secret testing may have taken place for a much longer period of time at a small track in Virginia, prior to the testing being done at the track Hendrick had built in the mountains of Idaho.
It was due to an unlikely chain of events that this investigation unfolded.
A Hendrick employee was stopped and arrested after entering a TSA security checkpoint in Denver, Co., last fall. He was carrying an illicit part from a specially designed carburetor that Hendrick has been using for several years. TSA agents originally thought it was an explosive device.
That arrest, which at the time was covered only by the local Rocky Mountain media, was brought to my attention by a good friend who lives outside of Denver who just so happened to read the story in the Rocky Mountain News.
My investigation began immediately.
At first, Hendrick employees scoffed at the idea that such a secret test team or track even existed, but a disgruntled Jimmie Johnson fan - who had overheard conversations over lunch at a local restaurant in Concord, N.C., between some Hendrick shop employees - contacted me and eventually sent me some items from one of the dumpsters at Hendrick Motorsports. What I found was a treasure trove of information.
Discarded items from a hotel in Idaho, used plane ticket jackets for Frontier Airlines (a Rocky Mountain-area airline) and matchbooks from a gentlemen's club in Boise were all the proof needed to get a meeting with Rick Hendrick.
Hendrick Motorsports spokesperson Jesse Essex, who I've known for many years, at first did his best to keep me away from Mr. Hendrick, but the evidence in my possession was overwhelming. He knew I had the story and eventually he had to arrange the meeting.
"I've been having sleepless nights about this," Hendrick said in an exclusive interview with Yahoo! Sports. "I knew eventually someone in the media would discover what was going on. I just had no idea that everything would come out now."
Only after I had asked several embarrassing questions did Hendrick finally break down and admit that indeed his teams have been using a proprietary device that operates in conjunction with the carburetor and gas pedal to allow drivers to gain a distinct advantage over the competition.
"When that whole oil reservoir thing blew up around Jack Roush, it hit a bit too close to home for us," said Hendrick. "We were worried that NASCAR inspectors would tell the world what we had developed and expose it."
Sources in the Cup garage say that several NASCAR inspectors had been asking questions about the Hendrick cars since the start of the season, and observers say that there had been whispers in the garage about a secret device for over a year.
According to Hendrick, one of the devices was discovered on Johnson's car at Las Vegas, and only after a secret meeting was arranged between Hendrick and NASCAR's Mike Helton and Robin Pemberton was Johnson allowed to participate in the race. Obviously, his results at that race speaks volumes as to how taking the device away from the team was able to affect performance.
Without the device, it's been clear that the Hendrick teams have been at a real disadvantage to the competition since then.
Hendrick also admitted another shocker to Yahoo! Sports.
He said that one of the primary reasons he had hired Dale Earnhardt Jr. was as an insurance policy.
"I knew eventually the truth behind why we won so many races last year would come out and that this organization would end up being the most hated in all of NASCAR," said Hendrick.
"With Jeff and Jimmie here, I certainly didn't need another big ego to have to deal with," Hendrick added. "But, I figured that having Junior here would be my insurance policy against sanctions from NASCAR. They would never prevent Junior from racing.
"Look, our guys are the best there is when it comes to 'pushing the envelope,' but I knew eventually that even the best in the business couldn't keep this facade going forever," he added.
Hendrick added that the secret device had also been tested by drivers in Europe before being used here in the United States, and that one of those involved with the testing was F1 driver Lewis Hamilton. Apparently, the use of the device is not illegal in Europe and therefore, with the permission of Ron Dennis, it was able to be used on Hamilton's McLaren F1 car.
It may have been responsible for Hamilton's remarkable performance last season. The young Brit nearly won the championship in his rookie season.
Unfortunately, the last thing Formula One needs right now is another scandal.
Hendrick also admitted that it was first tested and then used successfully by World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb.
I received word early Tuesday morning that there has been a press conference scheduled for this Friday morning at Texas Motor Speedway in which the device will be put on display and all four Hendrick drivers and crew chiefs, along with Rick Hendrick, will be available for questioning.
"I think the time is now to come clean on all of this," said Hendrick. "I personally have been troubled with this. Just look at how it's affected our karma this season.
"It's time to put this all behind us and move on. I hope our sponsors and fans will understand that we were only trying our best to help Jeff, Jimmie, Dale and Casey to win. And everyone knows they've needed the help this year."
The device was never given a name by the Hendrick engineers, so as to keep its secrecy. It's official part number was "RF220." People within the Hendrick organization had been referring to it quietly as "the piece."
When it was in use in Europe, drivers there gave it a French nickname, "le pied droit" which loosely translates into "the right foot."
By the way, April Fools.