Following Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Texas Motor Speedway an issue with the throttle body of the No. 45 Chevrolet was discovered during post-race inspection.
Generally, throttle bodies are good for 1,500 miles. At that time teams can either replace or repair the part. The throttle body used on the No. 45 Chevrolet was a throttle body that had been used previously.
There is an issue with the current style of throttle body that causes the throttle body shaft to bend, which in turn causes the throttle to get stuck, or “hang wide open”.
As this poses an obvious safety issue, the throttle body in question was sent off for repairs.
The current throttle body comes from the supplier with Phillips-style bolts. The repairing party installed torx- style bolts during the repair process. These torx-style bolts are what caused the disqualification of the No. 45 Chevrolet at Texas Motor Speedway.
The throttle body itself and the performance of the part was not modified outside of NASCAR’s specifications in any way. The torx-style bolts created no performance advantage. The team feels confident that if the throttle body in question was tested, it would show no performance advantage.
While the team is confident in its innocence, it will not seek an appeal, based upon previous experience with the appeals system.
“I’m confident in our team and its ability to prepare first class race trucks within the confines of NASCAR’s rules,” said Niece Motorsports General Manager Cody Efaw. “We don’t have the funding or the wiggle room to carelessly cheat. There was no malicious intent in using torx bolts in the repair of the throttle body. Anyone who is familiar with how these race trucks operate knows that it is not a performance advantage in any capacity.”
Due to the numerous issues with the current throttle body, NASCAR informed teams that they would implement a new one. The new throttle body is set to be implemented at the end of the week.
Niece Motorsports PR