The truth behind a car that was so fast NASCAR banned it | Harvick’s Happy Hour

[@NASCARonFOX]

What do you think Jeff Gordon’s biggest impact was on Hendrick Motorsports?

[@TheBoringLlama]

Winning them 4 champions and or bringing in Jimmie Johnson lol

[@budracing68]

Feel like he drove everyone there to be better.

[@DewkChronic]

He was the guy people could think was Cole Trickle. Days of Thunder got a lot of new fans and they needed a guy to pull for and Jeff Gordon was that guy.

[@Grayson950815]

@@DewkChronicif they just said Geoff or Jeff they’re technically correct lol

[@BandDirector]

@@TheBoringLlama AGREED! My first race was ATL in ‘95 when Jeff won his first championship! I was hooked and a Gordon fan the rest of his career. 2 things have always bothered me though. I HATE the chase format and Gordon would have had his 7 championships (at least statistically according to Jayski’s site) if the chase hadn’t been introduced. I also think Gordon giving the 48 team all their best stuff when Johnson arrived set Johnson on his way. Johnson was a great driver, but I think Gordon was better. Those 13 wins in the ‘98 season is the most dominant performance in the modern era!

[@brandoncreswell]

More technical content like this please

[@bradlygray1974]

Absolutely!

[@meangreen99]

all nascar fans want is more cheating stories from the past and more ray evernham stories about 'cheating' lol

[@scallen3841]

There's nothing stock about a stock car

[@chrisanthony579]

Creative engineering and working in the grey area's is what made NASCAR great. It was a sport within a sport. Not so anymore with a 300+ page rule book and IROC cars.

[@brandoncreswell]

Love this idea

[@meangreen99]

i think the chances are that car was actually illegal and ray stil just doesnt admit it. why cant he just describe exactly what made it so fast? he does seem get detailed this time than other times he tells the story

[@Real28]

​@@meangreen99 I'm fine with him keeping it to the grave. Clearly whatever they did wasn't _technically_ illegal. If you pass tech, you're legal. Else the blame falls on the governing body. But it's the fact that Bill France said "it won't be tomorrow" which is what tells you it was legal, but they knew if no one else could figure it out, they'd RUN AWAY so they had to find something to ban.

[@meangreen99]

@@Real28 he actually talked more than he usually does about it, i typed halfway through the video. mostly just aero balance

[@silvy3047]

The next gen saved nascar

[@Dupontman627]

Gordon's the face of HMS

[@austinbeasley1300]

There's good evidence to suggest that if Gordon never went to HMS, HMS wouldn't have at least 11 of the current Championships they have now, Gordon got 4 and then recruited Johnson to HMS, so he's a huge part of the success of HMS, and as Mr.H gets older it's clear he's picked Jeff to own and run the company when he's gone, I also believe behind the scenes Kelly Earnhardt and Dale Jr have some part in development of HMS talent, and in the future I believe Dale Jr will eventually have a Cup team and it'll be closely partnered with HMS, kind of like 23XI and Gibbs is now, but one things for sure, Jeff is definitely the future of HMS even after all these years.

[@tillman40]

No Ray no Gordon , not the other way around

[@austinbeasley1300]

@@tillman40 ehhhh his Championships and 50+ wins after Ray left says otherwise.. Ray was definitely a great CC and helped Gordon with his car building skills and innovations but Jeff was still the best driver for years after Ray stopped working with him. If anything there’s a good case to be made that Jeff’s talent and abilities led to Rays success, not the other way around.

[@blucheer8743]

True as

[@easyenetwork2023]

@@austinbeasley1300Jeff was also part of turning multi-car teams into actual powerhouses along with Roush.

[@bjank4598]

Really miss the days in NASCAR. Just hard for me to get into nowadays

[@Herecomesthethruth]

I was there for that event

[@coletrickle-km7cl]

So FINALLY we get down to the nitty gritty as to WHY the T-rex was so dominant.

[@rls-ryan]

I was never a Gordon fan but had to respect that team. Ray was a beast of a crew chief.

[@silverfox7673]

NASCAR says go fast but no faster than anyone else

[@81casperflip]

It's truly sad that these kind of stories won't exist with the nextgen cars

[@paulday5722]

Gordon was the catalyst that changed HMS from a very good team to the sport's dominant force. All the ingredients were there, he brought them together and added his own talents and temperament to make it all work on the racetrack.

[@sergeantmasson3669]

@paulday5722, most cheating team in NASCAR history.

[@Phase_Line_Alpha]

@@sergeantmasson3669💀🤣

[@sergeantmasson3669]

@@Phase_Line_Alpha Stats/facts too difficult for your low-level IQ to comprehend?

[@goldenshark3182]

@@sergeantmasson3669 It’s not illegal if you don’t get caught! Just watch Dale Jr’s podcast interview of Darrell Waltrip, they all cheated dude.

[@sergeantmasson3669]

@@goldenshark3182 My name is not "dude" and not all NASCAR drivers/teams cheated. Where's your proof, not DW's hearsay?

[@martywatson9796]

Takes me back to when Nascar was fun and racing was really racing.

[@meangreen99]

i remember when people just watched nascar without complaing like little children snowflakes every single chance they got. get outta here dude

[@skeezix8156]

@@meangreen99we just watched it without complaining because it was left alone for decades and it worked. They have tinkered and messed around to the point it’s boring.

[@Gravijahz]

@@skeezix8156They definitely did not leave it alone, NASCAR went through an extreme amount of rule changes year by year. By the 90s, the era of racing I grew up on, they weren’t even stock cars anymore. There’s a reason the most skilled racers continue to dominate the sport. Because it’s still a sport that values driving. And that’s not even getting into road courses, which are their own beast. That doesn’t mean people have to like it. But I think too often people go to “I don’t like this anymore, it’s bad” when maybe you just grew out of it or your preferences changed. And it’s alright not to like modern NASCAR! Another thing is that it’s 2024 and you can watch any form of racing you want, across the entire world, whenever you want. V8 Supercars, sprint racing, trucks, endurance racing, DTM, if you like racing you’ve got a feast of options.

[@dennisgrant538]

NASCAR was at its best years ago when the cars were closer to stock. They resembled street cars

[@stevenbear1610]

Nascar ruined itself. Fans left when they reinvented the sport.

[@j_e_hill]

‘65 Malibu SS 396?!? That’d be a keeper today!

[@kylemarkley8615]

Other than maybe Junior Johnson, Ray Evernham stories are the absolute best stories

[@DewkChronic]

Lacquer, I remember that car too. Cars that win a CUP race get a name.

[@danielmclaughlin9043]

*Blacker

[@ryanmfussner]

Imagine if ray never left Jeff and HMS

[@kbentjg24]

At least 2 more championships he def wins in 2007 and 2014

[@paulday5722]

I sometimes imagine if HMS had paired Jimmie Johnson with an experienced Crew Chief in Robbie Loomis and put new CC Chad Knaus with veteran Jeff Gordon. Gordon would have ended up with 10+ Championships and over 100 wins.

[@sergeantmasson3669]

@@paulday5722 Delusional much, SIMP?

[@bradmurray7362]

Gordon definitely has more than 4 championships.

[@sergeantmasson3669]

@@bradmurray7362 WRONG. "four Gordon drove for Hendrick Motorsports from November 1992 through November 2015, winning four NASCAR Cup Series championships (1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001), 93 races and 81 pole positions while scoring 325 top-five finishes and 475 top-10s." Try again, SIMP.

[@stevebiddle8912]

What a fantastic interview!!

[@DaleCarterDrives]

When a NASCAR crew chief explains why the car was sooooo much faster than everyone else, the reasons given are almost never the REAL reasons. :-)

[@SWiFTMK7]

He’s retired. Guys have admitted to doing worse after retiring because who cares? I’m sure if there were more to it, he’d say. Why wouldn’t he?

[@jasonjackson5493]

He and Petree were ahead of their time

[@robgregory5136]

The fact that Jeff’s karaoke song is tom cruise in top gun is perfect

[@goldenveinband3620]

This is the history substance that will be missing in the future with these new cars and not being able to build your own cars. Took mechanics and engineering right out of the sport.

[@easyenetwork2023]

BTW, Ray saying T-Rex would have been legal had anybody else been driving it is a massive compliment. That means he knew Jeff was the best driver at the time and one of the best ever.

[@edhlavaty6914]

My Buddy works there and says the stuff guys are doing with springs down South is unheard of.Its just making it to the Northeast now.

[@gpawoodyshoneyhole]

I haven't watched this whole interview, did kevin ever ask him about casey Atwood? I'd love to hear his side of things.

[@MikeFerguson-pr5ft]

Like Bill's Thunderbird, NASCAR had to slow him down so everyone could keep up. That really didn't work so Chevrolet made the Chevy Thunderbird, the lumna

[@shanebeck8559]

That car still sits on the car stand outside his house

[@c.d.8975]

Ryan Preece is having a big impact on NASCAR CUP racing 😂😅😁😄😀🤣

[@VoodooDangerbird]

Do a Barrel Roll 🦊🛩️

[@pauljanssen7594]

Basically it's like this with NASCAR, if they can't control it they'll ban it! And I'm so tired of all the drivers acting like hooligans thinking they could just smash up the cars multiple time it looks more like a construction Derby than a NASCAR race.

[@easyenetwork2023]

Best crew chief HMS had. I love Chad, but Ray made HMS what they became. He and Jeff together built HMS into an empire.

[@tomscott3939]

good stuff!!

[@2bNIKEt1]

I mean this is proof that Nascar will always fall short of what its capable of

[@sergeantmasson3669]

Basically, legal on Sunday, banned on Monday.

[@davidlangley1844]

Jeff did well yes sir

[@JustinGulley-by3co]

Remember when Jeff Gordon won the Winston million because he got on top of his car and did a hat dance on it after every victory so they couldn't put a template on the car. And nascar approved the hat dance and never disciplined him ever.

[@garrycowan4747]

Wow, je ne savais pas ça , ils avaient penser à ça 😮 😂😂😂😂😂

[@sicfrynut]

didn't JJ do a victory burnout and backed the 48 into the wall during the celebration to throw it out of scale so it couldn't fit a template properly ??

[@JustinGulley-by3co]

@@sicfrynut Yes pretty much every time he won a race the template couldn't fit. Win a race and stomp the s*** out of the car in the victory lane. Lol

[@ericheisler5351]

Ray Evernham was behind that one.

[@sicfrynut]

that car was insanely fast and handled perfectly. i was in the infield between 3 & 4 with out arca driver and we were stunned how well that car was running (among 100,000 fans as well) . it was those short little arms that made it so quick.

[@noahb6846]

Ok guys we’ve got the setup put it in your iracing setups lmao

[@johnhaversack1634]

Just imagine what Gordon would have accomplished at HMS if he didnt have to give up his cars/people to the 48 in 2002.....many NASCAR people wouldnt have liked the outcome.

[@goldenshark3182]

If they kept the points system they had before switching to the gimmicky playoffs, Gordon would’ve been a 7x Cup champion and Jimme would’ve been a 3x champion, so it had nothing to do with any gear Jimmie may have received at Hendrick over Gordon, it had everything to do with the lame playoff system.

[@dustinbowen6411]

If nascar would throw away its rulebook I might start watching it again…

[@brianm2129]

The offered payoff wasn't big enough ? What I heard that was the issue.

[@shanebeck8559]

Bill Elliot had a car banded from Nascar before Jeff or Harvick every climbed into the seat. And it still sits on a car stand outside his home in Dawsonville Georgia

[@sicfrynut]

banjo matthews build it ? he had all kinds of tricks up his sleeve .

[@wara4632]

Instead of letting cars thrive, they hold it back due to feelings and who has the most money it seems, no wonder nascar an other types of racing is getting boring smh let the engineers build and let the driver's drive dang.

[@PoptartFps]

This has to be link the oil guys dad

[@KDill29]

Need more of this NASCAR On FOX. And less add driven (pun intended) races. That more than half the race is on the small screen, while adds play. Or how about coming back from comercials, say maybe 2 sentences, and go to commercials again. And maybe just show the driver pictures, instead of those comic drawn, super heroes pose b.s. Cause I love listening to the technical stories, and information. Hearing about the old days, when it was good....and I say old days, when im only 33. No one cares about the silver spoon kids, jumping up the classes faster than their lap times(Ty Gibbs). Maybe that'll help ya'll ratings. Just saying.

[@jeremygibbs2275]

Went back and watched that race last week. Laughed at how everyone, Gordon, Evernham, all of them were bragging in victory lane about how cheated up that car was. Fun race to watch.

[@happygil4698]

there's no I in karaoke.

[@illinoiscentralrailroadfan6015]

Thank you guys for all the years before 2015, to me NASCAR isn't worth watching anymore

[@timothynewton4453]

They always outlaw stuff and say get it off the track, I say gety with the program; whatever happened to healthy competition? Now all that remains is crybabies.

[@dontworry1568]

so why not use that style of setup going forward?

[@sicfrynut]

probably only good for short runs. they probably did, as nascar just told them to keep TRex out of competition, nothing about the setup. nascar originally said that the geometry of the roll cage compromised safety. that team won 3 of the next 5 championships so they probably incorporated ideas from that setup (at least on the 1.5 mile tracks).

[@alexmaclean1]

Ray is an excellent guest, but I'm really not buying Harvick as an interviewer.

[@kenallen2256]

Wasn’t the Mopar 426 Hemi outlawed ?

[@scallen3841]

Yep it was

[@EricBridge-f2r]

Like many corporations nowadays, great product innovation runs in parallel to Inclusion & Diversity initiatives

[@cameltanker1286]

All because NASCAR wanted nothing but parity.

[@craigrawlette4199]

I wish they would bring back the Dodge and get rid of the Toyota. Go back to the old days.

[@justinanderson9126]

I wanna here the story i cant remember.the driver but theyvwanted to inspect the egine the car cause it was so fast he just clutched an boom cant inspect it now after the race when he did his victory race

[@ericdale181]

Darrell Waltrip driving for junior Johnson in the first Winston All Star. Many say he graded the motor on purpose as he crossed the finish line to keep the motor from being inspected. Lol

[@ericdale181]

*Grenaded

[@MrBlackbutang]

Nascar doesn’t race anymore! It’s a drafting competition for years now Lets trade some paint for awhile now

[@jimbob90p]

gordon cheated in 1995 during a pit stop and was not penalized like he should have dale actually has 8 championships

[@ThyWillRot]

Who cares about 1995? Let it go.

[@90LPPlayer]

If you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin’ ta win!

[@sicfrynut]

what race was this ??

[@AnthonyLincoln-sg1py]

That 24 team cheated a lot in those days. Winston All Star race was just one of the few times they actual got caught!

[@jasondelaney6849]

What does Ray mean when he said put a pair of 450s in the back?

[@MsPanther]

Springs

[@jasondelaney6849]

@@MsPanther I see

[@90LPPlayer]

450 Lbs springs. The lower the number, the softer the springs. Typically a stiffer spring would be put in the front right to keep the right front tire down in the track and lessen body roll over on that corner. However, care must be taken…too much pressure on the right front tire will burn that tire up faster and the car will become tight and won’t turn, which causes the driver to become unhappy and increases lap times as he has to slow down in order to get the front to bite and set in the corner.

[@easyenetwork2023]

Springs, 450 lb springs.

[@RayTuttle-of5qd]

Kyle Petty said it best the original rule book was a single piece of paper now the rules look like a set of encyclopedias ! And now NASCAR sucks!

[@spunn_co]

i knew he was cheating

[@BadWolf762]

Traction Control.

[@willomalley7619]

Ray was as slimy as they come especially at Charlotte, just look at Kasey kanes cars there

[@BkBk-gy6vr]

He ruined Casey’s career. He signed him to a 3 year deal told him relax it’ll be a learning curve we don’t expect much until year 3 and turns his back on Casey and told him at Talledega his rookie year that he’s being replaced at the end of the season. What a dirt bag. He couldn’t win with his own team because he couldn’t cheat anymore.

[@Despiser25]

The generation of Drivers that DESTROYED NASCAR.

[@scallen3841]

Destroyed it really

[@90LPPlayer]

What generation of racers and crew chiefs do you think Ray learned from?