No tank cover coverup
HAMPTON, Ga. — 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.
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.
