I think a few of you are skipping over the part that says "outside of the templates".
Meaning what was originally 'defined' as illegal, was an area of the car, that (at the time) didn't have a legal specification, nor an illegal one. If the rules, don't say it's illegal, can you really be so bent out of shape that they tried it?
Every single one of these teams is looking for any and every advantage they can find. I'm not even a #48 fan, but clearly Chad Knaus seems to be searching and pushing the limits farther than most and I commend him on that. If you admire people who are content on losing, or settling for safe, then be my guest. But if I'm in the driver seat, I want my Crew Chief to be the guy who's constantly searching for something new, something more, something else... ANYthing else.
You can cry and complain all you want, but as a competitor in any form, you have to push the limits, and accept that eventually you're gunna step over the line and get busted. That doesn't make you a cheater, it makes you an innovator. Being the first to find new ways to go faster, shouldn't be frowned upon. If there's no black and white rule against it, why wouldn't you try it?
This goes far beyond the body of a car. It can be something as simple as tire pressures. At one point, it was just accepted that as the tires heat up as you run, and you took into account, the increased pressure. So people started with lower pressures, so that once hot, they were at optimal pressure. This forces a period of slower laps, because the tires have to build pressure. So, finally, someone comes up with the idea, of a valve cap, that automatically releases pressure when the tire PSI exceeds a certain amount. This way you can start at optimal pressures, and the valve cap, allows the tire to maintain a set pressure, regardless of heat and pressure build up. At the time there was no rule against it. Is this person a cheater, or just smarter than the other guys?
How about when people realized they can use the 'timing lights' on pit road, to speed without getting caught? The rules just say you have to average XXmph between point A and B, based on time. So a crew chief is smart enough to realize, this means you can go as fast as you want between the 2 points that include your pit stop, because obviously, you'll never be able to speed in that sector, when your pitstop time is included. This allows you to go as fast as you want, leaving your pit, until you hit the light, which begins your next sector. Is the crew chief who came up with that a cheater, or just smarter than the other guys?
I'm just saying, being the first to find or try something 'new' doesn't automatically make you a cheater. It just means you're thinking and trying harder than the other guys at the track. There might be a rule against it next week, but that's the way it goes.
