“First and foremost, I would like to apologize to the employees and partners of Joe Gibbs Racing. Because of poor decision making, I have failed you as the leader of this team and I am solely responsible for this situation. Secondly, I apologize to the men and women of NASCAR for my dishonesty and interference during a testing event. Going forward, I will work hard to regain the trust and respect that I once had with the fans, NASCAR and everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing, including our drivers, who had no knowledge or involvement in this transgression.”

Dave Rogers, No. 20 Nationwide Series Crew Chief:

“I apologize with great remorse for the actions that I took after the Michigan race last Saturday afternoon. My apology is extended to NASCAR, the NASCAR officials, Joe and J.D. Gibbs, our drivers, all of JGR’s sponsors, and especially to all of the JGR family members that I have misrepresented. Joe and J.D. Gibbs trust me to lead this race team with honesty and integrity. I have failed them and feel great remorse for doing so. I accept the penalties imposed by NASCAR and Joe Gibbs Racing and make no excuses.”

As much as we’d like to think otherwise, cheating is nothing new in NASCAR. It’s always been there, and every once in awhile someone gets caught.

--(Cont'd From Front Page)-- So where is the line drawn between just pushing your chances to the limit and falling over the edge? Is there a limit? Or is it just the luck of the draw whether you get caught or not? Are there teams that cheat as blatantly and as obviously as Dave Rogers and Jason Ratliff?

Both crew chiefs issued very carefully put together statements of apology, which in truth probably weren’t written solely in their own hand, but with the help of their PR folks. Do their apologies mean a whole hill of beans to anyone? Probably not, at least not now anyway.

The reputation of the teams, the owner and the drivers has been slapped down more than a few notches because of the actions of these two men. Were there more than just these two guys involved? Has it been going on all season? Has is spread from their Nationwide Series teams to their Sprint Cup Series teams? Are they all a bunch of cheaters? I seriously doubt that all of them can be thrown in the cheaters box, but it sure does bring to the surface a lot of suspicion and distrust. The fans and perhaps even other teams are now wondering about the legitimacy of past performances of these teams. And there is where the disservice of this episode lies.

Cheating is a given in this sport. These guys all know how to push it to the limit without going over the edge. Except every once in awhile they get a little sloppy and get detected. It’s nothing new, it won’t stop and someone else will slip up a little farther down the road.

And so now what? For one, I hope NASCAR tears up every single JGR car and checks every little tiny crevice and hiding spot before they put them back together. No, I am not hoping they find anything else, I’m hoping it will clear the doubts that many of us may have about the teams and the cars, allowing us to get past this so we can watch racing without that black cloud hanging out over the JGR garage. Even if they don’t find anything else, this is going to take a bit of work to clear our brains of suspicion.

As a fan, I’m disappointed, disgusted and downright ticked off. I’m disappointed that the sport that I hold above all others has its hands mixed up in such garbage. I’m disgusted because I know it happens a lot and just doesn’t get found out about. And I am angry as heck because if these guys would have played fair they would have gone down in the books as having a pretty decent year. Now the history books will have big fat question marks next to their finishes. Was it worth it? Do they really, truly regret their actions or do they just regret getting caught?

Now look back at those statements above? Will that mend the damage done? Ain’t no way, no how… in fact those words almost make my stomach turn over. It seems nobody plays fair in this game. Perhaps the slickest, sneakiest rats are the ones that will rise to the top of the score board. That’s pretty sad my friends, that’s pretty darn sad.

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