Parks...sounds plausible.
I was picturing some kind of powder residue left over from some compound in the fuel. Perhaps an unexpected color or feel that caught the inspectors attention.
However...now that I think of it, it probably wasn't in fuel itself...too easy to test. Perhaps some compound that when heated performs it's chemical duty. Or like you say..something that disolves in the air/fuel stream.
Although no longer a Nascar fan, growing up in Tenn I learned to appreciate the technical skills of these guys. Some very very sharp wrenches in Nascar. Cheating was for year a way of life in Nascar...you could almost be assured the winners were cheating back then...just not getting caught. Hell, back then even the manufacturers helped them cheat.
As for passing...well..you probably see more passing in Nascar than you do in modern F1. Nascar is of course far more difficult than unknowledgable people deem it. As are most things. It's as precise and as technologically advanced as allowed within the rules as is F1 racing. And it has no more soap opera drama than does F1. The tire research done for Nascar shows that the typical race car at 180mph on the banked turns is experiencing almost exactly the same level of traction as a street car on sheer ice. Got to take some skills to keep that up for 500 miles.
One thing I've learned from racing...is never to belittle other types of racing...it's never ever easy to build, race and win anything...whether is a lawn mower or a airplane.
JohnnyB
