Hendrick Bending the Rules? Keselowski Thinks So

[media-credit name=”Dan Sanger” align=”alignright” width=”249″][/media-credit]Is Hendrick Motorsports bending the rules? Brad Keselowski thinks so. It’s not beyond the realm of possibility. Of course you remember all those times Crew Chief Chad Knaus was suspended and fined? Certainly, like when you were in school, once guilty and always suspected was the rule. That may be part of it but Jimmie Johnson coming from the back of the pack to leading the race  until his engine expired has lots of folks wondering.

Keselowski commented during the race on how Hendrick cars used what he called “tricks” with their cars. Jack Roush and winner Greg Biffle mentioned at Michigan how they “fell behind” on some things, especially on Carl Edwards’ cars and had to get up to speed on certain things. It has opened up a new can of worms, but is it sour grapes or is it a legitimate gripe? Maybe the Hendrick Motorsports cars have people who just are smarter than other team’s engineers and technicians. No, do not shoot the messenger.

“There’s parts and pieces that move on the car after inspection that make the (Hendrick) cars more competitive,” Keselowski said. “Some guys have it and some don’t. There’s a question as to the interpretation of the rule.”

One thing is certain, Keselowski is outspoken and doesn’t pull any punches. He has been watching the HMS cars all season long, and his inability to compete with them over the last few races has him frustrated. Remember this is the same man I wrote about last week after a battle with Marcos Ambrose at Watkins Glen. He doesn’t mind getting beat, but he wants to be on an even playing field. He pointed a finger at his own organization, Penske Racing for racing fairly without pushing the envelope between getting by with something and getting caught.

“As a group at Penske racing, we have not felt comfortable enough to risk that name and reputation that roger has over those parts and pieces. Others have, which is their prerogative,” Keselowski said. “Living in the gray area …We’re going to have to make a re-evaluation of that internally to decide if that’s the right way to go.”

I found it interesting that after the race, NASCAR took six or seven cars back to their R&D center to inspect them. “Sometimes, it’s easier to take the whole car than just the engine,” Robin Pemberton said in an interview with Sirius-XM radio. What cars they took was a mystery at the time of this column.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

1 COMMENT

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

RacingJunk.com and Leaf Racewear Safety Equipment Giveaway

Latest articles

Austin Hill Surges to First Xfinity Victory at Talladega

The 31-year-old Hill from Winston, Georgia, led 19 of 113-scheduled laps and edged both Jeb Burton and teammate Jesse Love at the moment of caution on the final lap to record his third Xfinity victory of 2025 and his first ever at 'Dega.

Toyota GAZOO Racing NXS Post-Race Recap – Talladega – 04.26.25

Once the checkered flag flew in Saturday afternoon’s Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, Taylor Gray was the lead Toyota GR Supra in the 11th finishing position.

KALITTA, PROCK, HARTFORD & GADSON GET MISSION #2FAST2TASTY NHRA CHALLENGE WINS AT ZMAX DRAGWAY

Kalitta, Lee, Glenn and Herrera roll to No. 1 spots at American Rebel Light NHRA 4-Wide Nationals

KALITTA BREAKS ZMAX DRAGWAY TIME RECORD IN NO. 1 QUALIFYING RUN

Doug Kalitta posted the track’s Top Fuel elapsed time track record, with a 3.646 run, to claim the No. 1 qualifying position.

Best New Zealand Online Casinos