Famous Cheaters in Racing

Buckshot Frame Rails

Darrel Waltrip has one of the best stories with regards to flat out ignoring the rule book. Most cars that race have a minimum weight that the car must be at. Weighed on scales, the idea is to keep the competition about the drivers instead of one car having an advantage. This didn’t suit Waltrip who would fill the frame rails of his race car with BBs. After making weight a trap door would release the extra weight giving the car a major advantage. Pretty clever until he got caught!

>>Join the conversation about Famous Cheaters in Racing in in the LS1 Tech Forum!

Toyota's Illegal Turbo

Toyota created a masterpiece when they sidestepped regulations that mandated how much air could flow through a turbo. Similar to NASCAR they employed a restrictor plate that choked off the engine airflow. The genius behind Toyota’s design was to create a restrictor plate that when inspected off the car was completely legal. Once installed, the restrictor plate would move forward effectively creating a side channel for more air to flow into the engine. Up to 50 horsepower was gained which is substantial when you consider the cars were making around 300 horsepower!

>>Join the conversation about Famous Cheaters in Racing in in the LS1 Tech Forum!

Lotus Twin Chassis

Lateral thinking at its finest. In true Chapman style, team Lotus created two chassis: one inside the other in 1981. Called the “Type 88” one chassis would hold the body and underbody while the other side served to function as one giant upside down airplane wing. Essentially as the car moved the side skirts would “seal off” air from escaping the bottom of the car created the famous ground effect that sucked cars to the tarmac. Very smart as fans have come to expect from Lotus.

>>Join the conversation about Famous Cheaters in Racing in in the LS1 Tech Forum!

Four Pedal Formula 1

Steve Nichols, being the genius he is, figured out an extremely clever way to get cars to corner faster. He did this by creating a mechanical version of what modern stability control systems do inside his car. By giving the driver a 4th pedal that would brake the inside rear, it allowed drivers to dive into corners faster and alter the attitude of the car more effectively. The system, which was incredibly cheap to design, gave drivers of the Mclaren MP4/12 a brutal advantage. Unfortunately, some journalist dipped his camera into the pedal box and snapped a picture that would result in the system being banned.

>>Join the conversation about Famous Cheaters in Racing in in the LS1 Tech Forum!

NASCAR Traction Control

Allegedly held in tiny devices that can fit in someone’s pocket, these devices are often chucked out of the race car only to be found on track after the competition. The good ol’ boys have often looked for unfair advantages with traction control cheats being prevalent in NASCAR and other forms of motorsport. When I asked a former Cup Car engine builder several years ago about the two MSD boxes they use he explained that one is used as a traction control device. It’s unfortunate to think about some of the greatest drivers having to rely on the device, but a massive advantage as evident by lap times in all forms of racing.

>>Join the conversation about Famous Cheaters in Racing in in the LS1 Tech Forum!

Cheating vs Innovating

Hopefully, you don’t cheat when you race, but maybe this article will help you get some ideas about how to exploit the grey areas. Remember if you come up with something clever that isn’t in the rules you are being innovative, but if you outright break the rules you’re a cheat! Real competition is about outsmarting AND out driving the next guy. Until next time. 

>>Join the conversation about Famous Cheaters in Racing in in the LS1 Tech Forum!

For help with service of your car, check out the how to section of LS1Tech.com