Dunn Benson Motorsports sent a sample of the same tire to another lab, it passed
Dunn Benson Motorsports was fined $28,970 following a failed tire test from the Dirt Late Model Dream back in June. The team was notified a week following the event.
The team appealed the penalty and say in front of the appeal council.
New for 2018, teams can fight back on tire testing if they truly want to prove their innocence. A lie detector test had to be passed by all team members. They passed.
As a result the fine was reduced to the minimum amount of $2,000.
What did you guys have to go through to get the penalty reduced?
“World Racing Group gave us the option for all of us to do a lie detector test. We all passed the lie detector test,” Bobby Pierce explains to RacingNews.co .
“We also went off and sent the tire to a different lab. Not that it matter for them because they don’t take it into consideration. It showed back clean.”
They sent the sample to the same Ohio lab that the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series uses for weekly tire tests. Sending the tire to a different lab had no effect on the successful appeal.
However, it did let the team know if the tire was actually clean. On a dirt track, it could have been someone else that cheated and they just ran over it.
In addition, the tire was from October 2017 and it was purchased by the team directly ahead of the race at Eldora. The tire had changed hands multiple times before that event. It was possible that someone else doped the tire before it event reached the hands of the team.
Sending the tire off to another lab only ruled out all of those above possibilities. It helped the team understand what they were dealing with. But, the lie detector is what cleared their names and reduced the fine.
“The lie detector test just lessens the fine. That doesn’t take away the penalty. But, my suspension was already served. I missed 4 races that I wanted to go to.”
“The fine… It was going to be about $28,000. My winnings were $13,000, double it. Plus, a $2,000 fine. So, it took away the winnings fine.”
“But, we still had to pay for the lie detector test and to get the other tire sent off for a test at the other lab. It’s still like $6,000.”
“Even though we’re innocent. It still doesn’t matter in the end. I don’t know, it’s kind of a screwy deal. It is what it is and now we’re done with it at least.”
I think everyone in the pit area would agree that we need tire testing. How can it be done differently?
“Like you said, we need tire testing. There’s no doubt in my mind that people are doing it. But, obviously with this situation… I don’t want it to happen to me again. And I don’t want it to happen to another innocent person.”
“It has happened to people, I’m sure, in the past that are in my same boat. They just get the tires, mount them up and somehow they’re illegal.”
Plan A: “My opinion on it… One, use a different lab. The lab we sent our tire to came back good. Not saying anything bad about this lab. But, maybe they’re not doing it the exact right way. Just like anything you do, there could be flaws here and there when you’re testing that many tires.”
Eldora Speedway sent off 46 tire samples to the North Carolina lab. Bobby Pierce was the only one that came back positive.
“I don’t know their exact process on how they do it all. But, something’s obviously not correct.”
“We were worried that if the tires are getting traded around back and forth. You know, we don’t know where that tires was before we got it. But, now that the tire was clean from the other lab. I’m kinda like, maybe it’s just the labs fault.”
Plan B: “Another idea that I’ve heard them talking about is to distribute all the tires at the track. But, then you run into the issue where what if people are still trying to dope their tires in the trailer during the week?”
When you sent that tire off did it come from the tire they tested or what it a separate tire from the same race?
“It was that tire.”
Did the lab send it directly to the other lab? Or did they send it back to you first?
“They sent it back to us. We cut another sample out of it and sent it off.”
“It was like a week after Eldora when we finally got a phone call that something was wrong with our tire. We immediately went into the steps of proving our innocence. I mean, I didn’t really have anything to do with it. The team did all of it.”
“I wasn’t trying to focus too much on it. But, at the end of the day, we wanted peace of mind. We wanted to prove our innocence. I feel like we finally got that.”
“I just sucks that even though we prove all that we still had to pay a fine. Hopefully, it just doesn’t happen to other people in the future.”
Wayne Castleberry is expected to release an official statement from the team this Monday.
More
Related: Bobby Pierce penalty reduced following lie detector test
Related: Bobby Pierce comments following failed tire test
Related: DIRTcar Penalty Report: 2018 Dirt Late Model Dream
Related: 2018 Dirt Late Model Dream Results (Saturday)
Related: 2018 Dirt Late Model Dream Results (Friday)
Related: 2018 Dirt Late Model Dream Results (Friday – Makeup)
Related: The winners of the first race and the second race of the NeSmith Series fail tire tests
Related: Two drivers fail tire test at Bubba Raceway Park
Related: Chili Bowl Nationals issues tire test warning
Related: Zack Dohm talks racing tire testing procedures
Related: “I was robbed of my biggest win ever.” -Zack Dohm
Related: Chris Madden issues statement on Eldora tire suspension
Related: Chris Madden suspended following World 100 (2017)
Related: Five Eldora Dream drivers disqualified (2016)
Links
Bobby Pierce | Dunn Benson Motorsports | Eldora Speedway | DIRTcar
