NASCAR's Stepneygate? Roush says Toyota stole a part.

[HeilSvenska]

This didn't happen recently, but Jack Roush decided to blow the lid off of this now. NASCAR says no action will be taken agains Toyota, though.

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Team owner Jack Roush says that an undisclosed Toyota team stole a front sway bar from his team at Dover International Speedway in 2007, and that he is seeking relief from NASCAR, or possibly through legal channels, for subsequent research with that part. Roush says that the team's toolbox was next to that of a Toyota team last fall at Dover. The teams stored what he described as uniquely-painted bars, each labeled with a serial number, under the toolboxes. "The ... nondescript Toyota team, went behind my toolbox and took my bar out of my inventory and put it in their inventory and took it home with them," Roush said Friday at Martinsville Speedway. "That is a fact. It has not been refuted and it has been discussed with the team involved." In a story published Wednesday on ESPN.com, Jim Aust, president and chief executive officer of Toyota Racing Development, said that the Toyota team had returned a Roush Fenway part to that organization, though Aust said the part in queston was a spring. "I don't understand the whole procedure when a teardown happens," Aust said. "The only thing I know is it wound up with parts we had and [we returned it] to Roush. It's unfortunate it happened the way it did. It wasn't anything intentional. There's no reason to be done intentional. I have no idea how it happened to begin with." Roush said that there is no way the part was accidentally given to the wrong team as part of an inspection tear-down since the front sway bar is not a part of that process. Roush said a vendor that makes proprietary parts for teams was contacted in January by the Toyota team about reproducing the part. The vendor contacted Roush Fenway Racing and the team officials discovered the part was missing. At about the same time, Roush says his organization hired someone who had been with the Toyota team and they claimed to have seen the part there. Roush Fenway Racing was investigating on its own as well. "I found out about it, I wanted to go supersonic," Roush said. "[I thought,] 'We're going to get a search warrant, industrial espionage is going on ... They've had an opportunity to see what it does ... We've been damaged, we've been harmed by this theft.'" But, he said, before he could take action, one of his team managers contacted the team in question without Roush's knowledge. He said that the manager of the Toyota team involved said he didn't know anything about a Roush part being in his possession -- a claim Roush said he believes -- and that the two arranged to hand deliver the part back to Roush Fenway and the transfer was made early one morning. Roush said the part had been sandblasted and worked on, but that the serial numbers were still intact. Dissatisfied, he decided to go to NASCAR instead of through the legal system to get what he deems "relief" for what this cost his team. He said conversations are ongoing and that those are and should remain private. Roush says he's had three discussions with NASCAR officials "as I've attempted to work my way through this with an appropriate sanction and relief could be given to me for the theft that occurred." "We are still considering legal action," he said, adding that if his team discovered it could make the case, it could seek a restraining order against the team to prohibit use of similar parts. Roush refused to name the team involved, saying that he did not want to embarrass either the sponsor or the team, many members of which he believes did not know this had happened. Asked what it would take to satisfy him, Roush replied: "Show me something. I'll know what I like when I see it." He said that a public apology could be issued and that he'd like a guarantee that "somebody on the team won't misuse the information." Roush said that the issue might not have become public if not for a comment he made at Atlanta Motor Speedway. At that time, the investigation was ongoing, but Roush Fenway's Carl Edwards was penalized for an oil tank cover that was not attached to his car at Las Vegas. The following week, Toyota's Lee White questioned whether Roush intentionally skirted the rules. In a lengthy rebuttal of that, Roush says that he mentioned this parts issue and the potential for a restraining order against a Toyota team, a comment that was published this week and brought the issue to the forefront.

[RC45]

Hmm.. so it appears turning left requires special sway bars?

[graywolf624]

Of course it does. You can setup a suspension so it handles better one side to the other pretty easily.

[Pokiou]

what a waste.... making scandals lol