Roush Denies Intentional Wrongdoing

[March 08, 2008]  HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) -- Jack Roush says it ain't so. Not everyone believes him.

Car owner Roush emphatically denied intentional wrongdoing Friday in the wake of NASCAR penalties that knocked driver Carl Edwards out of first place in the Sprint Cup points and put crew chief Bob Osborne on a six-week suspension.

"Jack is mad," a visibly upset Roush declared as he strode to a podium Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway to respond to Toyota official Lee White's claim in a published report that Edwards' No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing team had intentionally taken the cover off the car's oil tank to gain an aerodynamic advantage.

"He's a real nice guy," Roush said of White, a former Roush employee. "I respect him, but he's also a great racer and would seek any advantage he might think he had an opportunity for."

The 99 car failed post-race inspection last Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after NASCAR inspectors found there was no cover on the oil tank. Roush Fenway Racing said the cover came off when a bolt failed during the race, possibly due to vibration.

White had a hard time believing that could happen.

"I guarantee you the cover bolts didn't fall out, because if they fall, the engine leaks and you can't run," he said in a story published Friday in USA Today. "If you want something to fall off, you fix it so it can."

White, general manager of Toyota Racing Development, backed off slightly Friday from his published accusations.

"Safety is paramount in NASCAR," he told The Associated Press. "The point (of his published quotes) was, in my opinion, the penalty, because of the safety aspect, could have been more severe. Purely because of the safety aspect.

"Whether it was all done intentionally or not, that's not my job. That is (Sprint Cup director) John Darby's job, and he is pretty good at it. I'm not about to try and help him do his job."

Edwards was docked 100 points Tuesday, dropping him from the points lead to seventh in the standings. He was also stripped of the 10 bonus points he earned for the victory that followed a win six days earlier in California.

In addition to Edwards' penalty, Osborne was fined $100,000 and suspended for six weeks, and Roush was docked 100 owner points.

The team, which is still considering whether or not to appeal the penalties, has insisted that the cover came off during the race because of severe vibrations.

"It was tight," Roush said of the cover. "It was secure when the race started. Sometime during the 400 miles, it came off."

Roush said he is embarrassed by the penalties and the accusations. If necessary, he said he and anyone from his team even remotely involved with securing the cover on the oil tank would be willing to take lie detector tests to prove it was not removed intentionally.

"I can prove that I was not culpable here and nobody on the team was culpable, and I think that should make a difference," Roush said later Friday at the 99 hauler. "It would make a difference anyplace else in the world. There would be a difference between first-degree murder and manslaughter based on culpability. NASCAR doesn't provide for that difference."

Meanwhile, the team has made what he called a "Jack fix," wiring down the oil tank covers on its cars this week.

After Sunday's race, competitors circulated a photo via e-mail of Edwards doing his trademark celebratory backflip off his car with the cover clearly missing from the oil tank and a gap near the right rear fender.

Several crew chiefs have confirmed that by leaving the oil tank lid off and/or creating an opening that allows air to flow in, the air is able to circulate through the car, exit through the windows and create as much as 10 percent more downforce.

Edwards made no excuses Friday, saying he wants to put the penalties behind him and concentrate on going after his third straight victory here Sunday.

"After the race (in Las Vegas) that oil tank cover was definitely off the car," the driver said. "It was an absolute mistake or a failure for that (cover) to not stay in position. There was no intent at all and we suffered our penalties and that's the reality.

"The great thing about it is, the amount of downforce or advantage that might come from that, we don't even know. Unlike some of the other teams, we have not gone and tested illegal things. I specifically asked what kind of advantage would this be and my guys could not tell me."

A number of people in the Cup garage were amused by the Roush Fenway team's explanation. Elliott Sadler viewed it with some disdain, saying the Roush Fenway explanation insults his intelligence as a race driver.

"We spend three to four million dollars a year going to the wind tunnel trying to change body shapes, trying to do underneath the car, changing crush panels and doing stuff like that all the time - trying to get a gain and trying to get an advantage - when all you have to do is take the oil tank lid off and you get 100 counts of downforce," Sadler said.

Edwards said he is certain his Las Vegas car was good enough to win without any help from the missing oil cover.

"The bottom line is, I don't have anything going on Monday so, if Toyota or anyone else wants to just go line the cars up at Vegas and hire a flagman and run 400 laps again, I'd be glad to do it on Monday," Edwards said.

[Associated Press; By MIKE HARRIS]

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