Mark Martin's No. 6 Viagra team is focused on winning the season finale at Homestead on Sunday. Credit: Autostock
By Denise N. Maloof, CNNSI.com
November 16, 2002
9:18 PM EST (0218 GMT)
HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- The words were short and concise Saturday afternoon at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
"The spring rule, as written, is clear."
The statement -- part of a 14-sentence release -- summarized the opinion of the three National Stock Car Racing Commissioners who heard Roush Racing's formal appeal of three-week-old penalties against Mark Martin and his crew. By the time the ruling became public, Martin's crew chief, Ben Leslie, had already digested it.
"The rules are the rules," Leslie said. "That's their point, and they've got a strong argument."
He said he'd never allowed himself to consider a reversal. Sunday's Winston Cup season-finale is too important to mortgage on frustration or disappointment, and with Martin owning the only mathematical shot at catching Winston Cup points leader Tony Stewart, there was no use fretting that the deficit could be 64 points instead of 89.
"You can't dwell on anything in this sport," Leslie said. "Of course, this is the last race, but there's a thousand more of these to come. You've gotta move on."
The source of Leslie's loss-cutting is this: During post-race inspection at Rockingham, Martin's left front spring measured 4 3/8 inches instead of the NASCAR-prescribed 4 1/2 inches. A day later, owner Jack Roush was docked 25 owner points, Martin docked 25 driver points and Leslie was slapped with a $5,000 fine.
A collective howl within the Roush organization preceded Saturday's appeal. President Geoff Smith announced Wednesday -- the final day to do so -- that the company would pursue relief, and commissioners John Bishop, John Capels and chairman George Silbermann heard the arguments Saturday morning.
During his turn before the trio, Leslie said he "just explained to them the difference between our violation and the previous violations."
 | TIMELINE | | | | | | | | | |
|
|
This was the crux: The season's other two spring offenders -- Ward Burton's team and Jeff Green's team -- were nailed because of deliberate alternations to the part. Both drivers and owners suffered 25-point deductions, and crew chiefs Frankie Stoddard and Todd Berrier, respectively, were fined.
Leslie said he merely yanked a replacement spring from a box Sunday morning at Rockingham. Martin finished second, and the post-race inspection revealed what Roush Racing claimed was a manufacturer's defect. One of their defenses Saturday was proving that the too-short spring didn't give Martin an advantage.
"We realize that and admit that," Leslie said of the spring's illegality. "It's just a different set of circumstances totally -- no intent, no performance gain. We kind of expected the punishment to reflect that."
Or, fine all you want, but don't go for blood.
"If you were speeding taking your dog to the vet, the cop would be a little more lenient than if you were just out speeding," Leslie said.
On Saturday afternoon, Leslie twirled a small tool as the season's final Busch Series race thundered outside the Cup garage. He admitted he was, "frustrated after Rockingham, frustrated at myself."
Leslie has been fined three times this season, his first as Martin's crew chief, and all three penalties have stemmed from unintentional offenses, he said.
His first came from a car deemed too low after Martin's Coca-Cola 600 win. The second came for an unapproved window strap at Talladega this fall.
"I look at it like it's my responsibility," Leslie said of the fines. "In my case, all three times it was kind of circumstance, so I'm kind of a professional victim here right now. But it's still my responsibility. They're doing their job just like we're doing our jobs, and when something doesn't comply to the rulebook, we got a copy of the rulebook just like they do."
Jim Hunter, NASCAR's vice president for corporate communications, said there's a fine line as to whether a non-specification-legal part enhances performance.
| Follow Stewart, Martin at HMS | | | | |
|
|
"We could argue till we'll all blue in the face on that issue," Hunter said. "Not just this particular issue, but any number of issues that might come up. So the message to the teams is you are responsible for this, whether it's a part that comes out of a box, or it's a part that you build -- that part has to meet these specifications.
"And that's it in a nutshell."
Leslie doesn't feel as though as he's earned a red-letter reputation, saying NASCAR inspectors usually know the guys who try to sneak things through, and those who occasionally goof up a measurement.
"We try to use common sense," Leslie said. "We don't try to bring something to the race track that they're going to tell us they don't want to ever see it again. If something doesn't fit exactly perfect, we try to fix it for them."
And, yeah, Martin's crew will measure every spring now.
"I don't know," Leslie said with a grin, when asked if he'd recovered from the controversy. "I'll let you know."
|
