Springs, Springs, Springs

It appears as though NASCAR Inspectors have found themselves a brand new kick. SPRINGS! I have another name for it that they probably wouldn't like but I call it "NITPICKING." This is nothing more than just another way to manipulate the drivers and race teams and it's been no secret in the past that this is something that NASCAR Inspectors take a lot of pride in being able to do.

First of all, I feel that NASCAR Inspectors should be required to have a mechanical back ground that can be verified by past employment history instead of just somebody off of the street that applies for a job and has enough pull through some friend inside who represents them and helps them to get the job. It's very obvious that the Inspectors who are making these calls on some of these so called "illegal" springs have absolutely no mechanical knowledge whatsoever. Here's proof of that. A spring is a forged and tempered part instead of a precision machined part such as a valve or rocker arm. Here's an example of how the forging and tempering of a spring takes place. The steel is poured in melted form into a plain round steel rod and while it is still glowing hot, it is wrapped around a round mold to form its spiral shape and then the tempering process takes place beginning immediately while the steel is still hot. The amount of time that elapses during the cooling off period determines the amount of tension that goes into the spring therefore determining the amount of weight that the spring will support. Once a spring is built and the tension is governed into it, the "only" way that it can be altered is by re-applying heat to it and allowing it to cool again in a different span of time and this would destroy the factory paint which is on the spring and even if you re-painted it again it would be very obvious. Anybody that has any mechanical knowledge at all knows this and would be able to recognize it immediately.

And still another fact (not theory) is that during the course of a 400 or 500 mile race, the springs withstand a lot of punishment and wear, which is why they are in the car to begin with. I very seriously doubt that at the end of a race that ANY of the four springs which are in a car will measure exactly the same distance between the coils so if the NASCAR Inspectors want to be fair with everybody they need to measure the springs "before" the race while the springs are new instead of "after" the race when the springs are worn completely out. This is exactly the same as if they took a tire that came off of a car during a pit stop after it was completely worn out and measure it and decide that it was an illegal tire. Anybody with any mechanical knowledge at all can look at a spring even after it is worn out and see whether or not it has been tampered with in any way or if it is original the way it came out of the box. A spring is like a tire, there is absolutely no possible way that it can be tampered with without leaving visible signs.

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