Crew chief says others cheated first

AVONDALE, ARIZ. — Kevin Harvick’s crew chief says Stewart-Haas Racing modified the spoiler on Harvick’s car because other teams were already doing similar alterations.

Rodney Childers is suspended for the final two races of the season and working at the race shop in North Carolina as Harvick tries to overcome a devastating penalty issued this week for what NASCAR determined was a blatant case of cheating.

Harvick won last weekend at Texas. When the spoiler was removed from his No. 4 Ford during an extensive inspection in North Carolina, NASCAR discovered the part had been altered.

It is NASCAR’s belief that SHR built its own spoiler and tried to pass it off as one distributed by the vendor. The spoiler was offset to the right and NASCAR says it gave Harvick an aerodynamic advantage.

SHR did not appeal the penalty and acknowledged “NASCAR determined we ventured into an area not accommodated by its rule book.”

[AP PHOTO] In this Nov. 4 photo, Kevin Harvick (4) passes David Starr during the race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Harvick’s bid for a second NASCAR title suffered a massive setback when he was stripped of his berth in the championship race after series inspectors found his winning car from Texas Motor Speedway had been deliberately altered to give him a performance advantage.