[Smoke+GibbsFan]

This is from the my local paper,

"NASCAR thought otherwise, and competition director Robin Pemberton said there was nothing accidental about it. The car initially passed a pre-qualifying inspection, and when the wing did not pass the next day, it was removed for further examination. Once off the car, NASCAR discovered the brackets had been intentionally modified, Pemberton said."

[Mike24]

Originally Posted by Smoke+GibbsFan

This is from the my local paper,

"NASCAR thought otherwise, and competition director Robin Pemberton said there was nothing accidental about it. The car initially passed a pre-qualifying inspection, and when the wing did not pass the next day, it was removed for further examination. Once off the car, NASCAR discovered the brackets had been intentionally modified, Pemberton said."

Thanks for the info! So it was intentional. It's good to see NASCAR cracking down on the cheating. It's good to see NASCAR giving Jr the same penalty as they gave Michael Waltrip back at Daytona. NASCAR needs to start being consistent with these penalties. If you break the rules intentionally, a huge fine, and docked 100 points.

[Racer Duck]

Originally Posted by Smoke+GibbsFan

This is from the my local paper,

"NASCAR thought otherwise, and competition director Robin Pemberton said there was nothing accidental about it. The car initially passed a pre-qualifying inspection, and when the wing did not pass the next day, it was removed for further examination. Once off the car, NASCAR discovered the brackets had been intentionally modified, Pemberton said."

I wonder if that means they (NA$CAR) brackets were completely legal during initial tech and then somebody modified them

-OR-

NA$CAR didn't find anything wrong during initial tech but when they took a closer look later, they found the brackets had been modified but the modifications were not detected in the initial inspection

-OR-

NA$CAR didn't find anything wrong during initial tech but when they took a closer look later, they found the brackets had been modified as you would a part in testing and they didn't meet the new specifications?

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by Racer Duck

I wonder if that means they (NA$CAR) brackets were completely legal during initial tech and then somebody modified them

-OR-

NA$CAR didn't find anything wrong during initial tech but when they took a closer look later, they found the brackets had been modified but the modifications were not detected in the initial inspection

-OR-

NA$CAR didn't find anything wrong during initial tech but when they took a closer look later, they found the brackets had been modified as you would a part in testing and they didn't meet the new specifications?

I've tried to follow this and it's been a slippery thing to get a good grasp of.

However, from what I "think" I understand, the time line goes something like this:
DEI tests the COT. Nothing has been etched in stone and teams use parts (wing brackets) which they think NASCAR will authorize.
NASCAR finally announces exact specs. The one mentioned above does NOT meet specs. Rather than throw away, DEI keeps illegal part.
5/10- DEI prepares car for Darlington. Eury Jr is at Jr's press conference. Unnamed shop personel mistakenly puts illegal wing bracket on car.
5/11-Car goes thru tech and wing is mounted by DEI personnel. Part is not detected.
5/11-Car qualifies. In post qual inspection, it is noticed that wing is set at 18 degrees (A max of 16 degrees is allowable). This causes to NASCAR inspectors to look closely at the bracket and <POW!> DEI is busted!
5/16-NASCAR levies fine. DEI appeals. They DO NOT appeal the finding of the wrong bracket; they appeal the severity of the fine to Eury.

I don't vouch for the exactness of the above, but from what I could gather, this might be how it happened.