IF YOU AIN’T CHEATIN’, YOU AIN’T RACIN’

IF YOU AIN’T CHEATIN’, YOU AIN’T RACIN’
“King” Richard Petty

Although it’s absurd to compare roundy-round racing with anything off-road, the great Richard Petty’s quote on cheating is universal. My father always said, “You can’t turn a bad deal into a good deal“.   I never really listened to him though.  There’s a story here and I can’t resist telling it! The definition of the word “Cheat”, according to Websters.com, includes the following; “to defraud, swindle, deceive, influence by fraud, elude, deprive of something expected, violate rules or regulations…”

Sounds bad, huh?  Sure, some of the drivers break the rules and many of the rules have been long overlooked.  Recent breaking news is that the rules now are actually being enforced and man, has it changed the outcome of the 2009 SCORE Baja 500.  Some are saying that it will change SCORE racing as we know it…I agree.

“It’s our job to cheat; it’s their job to catch us”

There have been some classic cheater tricks through the years.  I’m not talking about mundane things like heat-reactive-accelerant lined intake manifolds, ride-height violations, body profile mods, “missing” oil tank caps and overly toed-in differential housings. Flat trackers can’t cut the infield at 200+ MPH or stop on a hot course to take a quick splash of fuel. Off-road racing is a totally different animal and that’s what I dig about it.
Let’s start with the nuts & bolts.

We’ve all likely heard of hidden on-off switches for dust lights and brake lights, used to slow and confuse competitors trying to “reel you in”.   Here’s a twist… At a recent short-course event, I noticed one of the racers with his brake lights ”stuck” ON!  Think about how this would affect your race, following this guy nose-to-tail through the hairpins & whoops, never knowing whether he’s on or off the long pedal.  Oddly enough, in the pits after that particular heat, the brake lights seemed to be working fine. It’s simple; the mud must have cleared from the pedal switch, right?  Wait, they use hydraulic pressure switches, don’t they?  I’ll have to check next time.

In the limited displacement classes, rumors of “cheater” engines have been around for years.  Start with three 1835 “Big Bore” cylinder kits and one stock bore 1600 jug, put ‘em together for an extra fast VW pancake power plant.  Sure, it’s a rough running, out-of-balance, self destructing, single-use S.O.B., but when you get to post-tech after spanking the entire class,  the tech guy tells you or your crew to “pull any spark plug” so he can “cc” a cylinder. The standard sized hole gets tested and you’re home free… It’s a1600!

“It’s only cheating if you get caught”

Best in the Desert events have a “qualifying” session before their races, where many of the entrants will be timed on a short section to establish the starting order.  This is always scheduled BEFORE pre-race technical inspection so you can imagine the possibilities.  One story involved the use of Nitrous Oxide, but the “juice” added so much power that excessive wheel spin actually caused the car to be slower and more difficult to handle.

In the “Pushing it to the Limit” department, at the Laughlin Pit Competition several years ago, a well known team was said to have installed shorter limit straps on their car to substantially cut the time needed to jack the wheels off of the ground.  They completed the competition in record time, taking home a substantial cash prize as a result. Was this cheating or just plain good prep?

How about the winning Trophy Truck at the 2004 Baja 1000?   This was the first year of SCORE’s mandated 60 MPH highway speed limit.  This particular Trophy Truck team, (racing a mildly modified ProTruck, no less!) capitalized on the rule change, designing a “fuel on the fly” system.  A chase truck was used to “push” the TT at the mandated 60 MPH speed while a brilliantly engineered, forward-mounted snout “mated” with the TT’s aft mounted fuel filler neck, dumping a fast {{pressurized!}} load of fuel.   As a result, SCORE’s “No Fueling on the Highway” rule was added to the book.   Good move on their part, I say.   Although it was a great idea, (a major factor in earning the win), everything about it spells danger.  Pressurized fuel and intermittent contact between moving vehicles (MAJOR static electricity issues!) would bring Murphy’s Law into effect in short order.

In 2007 at The Baja 1000, some guy just hopped on course on a motorcycle, sporting a number which was already entered in the race.  This clown never entered, didn’t pay an entry fee and most likely, didn’t follow the entire course.  He did cross the Finish Line in Cabo and was said to be bragging that he rode the entire race “solo”, including the trip from his home in San Clemente.   No comment.

Many years ago, in the area west and south of Mike’s Sky Ranch, the Baja 1000 course was routed along a zig-zag fence line around a local vineyard. A veteran Indy Car Racer, while doing some “creative” prerunning, found a locked gate to the property.  He was able to “cut a deal” with the vineyard’s owner to have a worker on site to open, then close and lock said gate at the appropriate time, providing an exclusive shortcut directly through the owner’s property.  Talk about “straightening out the line”!

With the addition of tracking devices, a whole new world opens up for those who choose to skirt the regs. You’re at your computer monitoring the tracker site. A car, truck or bike completely disappears from your screen and then after time, suddenly pops back up several miles downcourse?  What happened? Bad satellite signal?  Bad GPS reception?  Computer glitch?  Something blocking the antenna?  SOMETHING BLOCKING THE ANTENNA?    Who hasn’t thought of that?

“Deep pockets can only get you so far…. cheating is the next level.”

Let’s talk about air support.  This is really getting out of hand.  SCORE’s Rulebook has clear language regarding the use of aircraft for team support: ”Transmissions from any aircraft to any race or support vehicle(s) are not allowed unless the aircraft is being used solely as a manual or digital repeater for ground crews (a manual or digital repeater is defined as a device or person that transmits messages unchanged from one person to another).”  The rules go on to say, “No aircraft may be used to drop parts, tools, mechanics, pit support personnel, or otherwise create an unfair advantage over non-aircraft support entries”.   Enough said…

The bike guys have a few stories of their own.  Leaders have been rumored to ”kick down” the course markers during races.  Back in the two-stroke days, top-end rebuilds were about a 20 minute job, easily performed in chase vans between checkpoints  Engine changes were not uncommon, (in the mid-late 80’s, Husky used identical blocks for the 250 and 360 cc engines)  and even complete bike changes were said to have occurred.

One seasoned bike racer told me that they used to prerun backwards, (NOT advised!), in order to determine other cheaters’ course entry points.  It’s simple; when leaving the designated course, riders would take extra care not to leave any evidence of the shortcut entry points to avoid giving them away to other teams.  When re-entering the course however, tire tracks and ”roost” marks were easily identifiable, especially when searching for the evidence face-on.

“Rules are made to be broken”

As long as we have rules, people will break them.  As our sport progresses, racers will find new ways to skirt the rules.  Compare it the IRS.  As loopholes are found, the rule book gets thicker.

State and Federal Regulations place our sport in further jeapordy with each new mandate. Will we self-destruct due to our own growing list of rules?  Hopefully not!

Play nice now!