NASCAR Change not expected despite penalties

Inspectors swarmed garages looking for cheating evidence.
HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) -- NASCAR cracked down on the cheaters last weekend, so everyone will be especially vigilant about following the rules at Atlanta Motor Speedway, right?
Kyle Petty just shook his head.
No way.
"Everybody is still pushing the envelope," he said Friday, even as NASCAR inspectors swarmed through the paddock, sizing up cars for possible infractions. "It's not going to be as blatant, not going to be in your face so much. That's just the give and take of the sport."
Indeed, the hefty penalties handed down by NASCAR -- three crew chiefs were suspended and Jimmie Johnson lost his points lead -- are unlikely to change the culture in the garage.
From the earliest days, drivers and mechanics have looked for ways to increase speeds without running afoul of the inspectors. It's a game of cat and mouse with no clearly defined boundaries because the NASCAR rulebook is notorious for its vagueness.
Other sports
According to Petty, racing is just following the lead of other sports (except for golf, of course, with its tradition of players policing themselves).
In baseball, infielders learn they can turn double plays without actually touching second base, cutting a little time off their throws to first. In basketball, officials could call palming on virtually every dribble.
But Petty says football might have the most subjective rule of all.
"If there's one sport and one rule that you could bust everybody on every play, it's holding in football," Petty said. "Everybody knows it. The fans know it. The players know it. The officials know it. At any given time, they could call holding.
"That's the same way our sport is. At any given time, you could walk through that garage, follow the letter of the law and bust almost any team for something. But they don't do that. It's part of the game."
Newman has pole
Ryan Newman won his fifth straight pole at Atlanta, turning a lap of 194.690 mph Friday night as temperatures dipped into the upper 40s. It was the 29th career pole for Newman.
Bobby Hamilton Jr. turned in the best qualifying run of his career, putting up the second-fastest speed (193.785) to earn a front-row spot alongside Newman for Sunday's Golden Corral 500.
As for those who break the rules, NASCAR is clearly trying to send a message that some things are out of bounds.
Johnson's winning car at Las Vegas failed to pass inspection after the race, falling short of the minimum height requirement. NASCAR suspended his crew chief, Chad Knaus, for two races and docked Johnson 25 points in the standings, dropping him behind defending series champion Kurt Busch.
Alan Gustafson, crew chief for Kyle Busch, also received a two-week suspension when the runner-up car was found to be too high after the race.
But NASCAR saved the most severe punishment for Todd Berrier, crew chief for Kevin Harvick. Berrier received a four-week suspension for rigging the fuel tank to appear full when it actually wasn't during qualifying -- knowing a lighter car could run faster.
Doing nothing to mitigate his infraction, Berrier admitted he would probably do it again if he had the chance because he now realizes how he was caught by inspectors.
All three crew chiefs, who received hefty fines as well, appealed their suspensions, clearing them to stay with their teams this week. But only Knaus and Gustafson were in Atlanta -- Berrier began serving his penalty, knowing his only hope was to reduce the length of his suspension, not wipe it out altogether.
"We know that he did wrong and he knows he did wrong," car owner Richard Childress said. "We deserve a penalty, but not the amount that we got."
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