The level playing field

By DAVID GREEN

Toyota's Craftsman Truck Series engines, as of a few days ago, now have the same restriction that was imposed in July on the engines powering Camrys in the Nationwide Series; to wit, the engines -- because of the architecture of their cylinder blocks -- must run horsepower-reducing tapered spacers underneath their carburetors.

Predictably, those in the Toyota camp are not happy. Much reaction from the spectator galleries is very likely tied to manufacturer loyalties, but not all of it; even some anti-Toyota fans have complained about NASCAR's attempt to micromanage technical rules.

I don't believe anyone, competitor or fan, wants honest-to-goodness unregulated, run-what-you-brung racing, in any category from four-cylinder dirt to Formula One. So, what we're debating here is not the matter of a sanctioning organization governing rules, but how they do it and the extent to which they regulate.

In her story published on TR.com, Associated Press writer Jenna Fryer quotes Toyota Racing Development president Lee White as saying the Japanese marque "is being punished for working hard." White goes on to state the company opinion that "there is no technical justification for this unjustly choke."

If you buy the argument that cylinder bore spacing has no impact on an engine's ability to produce horsepower, perhaps White is correct in his assessment of "technical justification." I'm not sure that's correct, but I'm no engineer.

I do know that the "hard work" cliche' has been twisted out of shape worse than anything except, possibly, the new generation's notion of "respect."

I think it's fairly safe to suggest every team works hard. Some work better than others, but just about all of them give a whole lot better effort than some of the 15- and 16-year-olds in my English classroom.

So, spare me the angst about hard work earning punishment. It's the dominance demonstrated by the Toyota trucks and Nationwide cars that attracted NASCAR's attention, whether they worked extra hard or just happened to stumble onto something that has "magic bullet" qualities. It's irrelevant how they achieved the dominant position; the question is whether that's a good thing for the series overall.

Unless you think you want unregulated racing, then we're back to the debate over details: At what point, and to what extent, and exactly how, should NASCAR (a) determine a need for action and (b) implement it?

Go ahead -- come up with an answer that will satisfy everybody.