NASCAR mailbag: Why do teams keep failing inspection?

Plus, questions on the two different tire compounds being used at the All-Star Race, and Martin Truex Jr.’s status as a championship contender.

Each week SB Nation's NASCAR reporter Jordan Bianchi answers your questions about the latest news and happenings within the sport. If you have a mailbag question, email jordanmbianchi@gmail.com.

Explain to me about teams having two tire compounds to pick from this weekend at the All-Star Race. Has this been done before and is this something that will happen at other races in the future? I only ask because I actually think NASCAR may be onto to something here.

--Brad

Teams having varying tire compounds is something many motor sport disciplines incorporate, but the All-Star Race marks the first NASCAR national division event where this is an option. Monster Energy Cup Series teams will be given the choice between two tire compounds: One they would traditionally use, and an alternate that is softer and supposed to improve lap times by as much as a half a second — though the falloff occurs quicker.

At their discretion, teams will have three sets of hard compound tires and a single softer compound set to use. The sets cannot be mixed and matched.

Whether multiple tire compounds becomes the norm in NASCAR and used in all points races hasn’t been decided, but it is being considered as a means to improve competition beyond just stage formats and a low-downforce aerodynamic rules package.

And smartly, before implementing the idea NASCAR is electing to use the exhibition All-Star Race as a platform under live conditions. Because as we’ve seen many times previously, ideas that look good on paper don’t always materialize favorably on the track. There is no better example of this than the high-drag aero package NASCAR officials so adamantly touted, which ultimately proved to be a big dud.

But regardless of how things turn out Saturday night, NASCAR deserves credit for its willingness to try something outside the box. If having multiple tire compounds can lead to a better on-track product, then it’s a worthy experiment to try.

It’s getting old to hear every week how some teams aren’t passing inspection and some drivers aren’t even taking part in qualifying. Is it really that hard to have inspection completed before qualifying? It feels like NASCAR can do better, but instead would just rather blame the teams.

--Griffin

It’s easy to take shots at the 800-pound gorilla, and NASCAR does itself no favors with decisions often lacking both consistency and transparency. But in the case of teams having repeated issues passing pre-qualifying technical inspection — such as 10 failing to pass last weekend at Kansas Speedway — the teams deserve a large share of the blame.

Where the majority of teams have run afoul is going through the Laser Inspection Station, which measures the car including the rear suspension skew — an area of emphasis that NASCAR said in the offseason it would crack down on. Still, because the better a car can handle going through a corner the faster it will be, this is an area teams try to exploit.

The perpetual game of cat and mouse is complicated further in that many crew chiefs contend the equipment NASCAR uses to measure has a small degree of variance. Thus the readings lack consistency and why a team will go through the LIS believing it will pass only to fail, and then have to start the entire inspection process anew.

But that LIS may not always be accurate is common knowledge. And yet, teams tenaciously insist on setting their cars right to the limit with no margin for error, which leaves NASCAR with little recourse when the measurements exceed its rules. Precisely an approach drivers, crew members, and fans have long lobbied.

Of course, now that cars are repeatedly getting held up with some not even making it onto the track, NASCAR is getting criticized when all it’s doing is steadfastly enforcing the rules equally and to the letter of the law.

Essentially, the sanctioning body finds itself in a no-win position when a team fails inspection. But at least this way, it can say its reaction has been consistent and unwavering. Exactly how it should be.

Is Martin Truex Jr. really a serious championship contender or is this just some driver off to a fluky start? I can’t see how he can keep winning like this all season, eventually his luck is going to run out.

--Tommy

Luck has nothing to do with Truex, crew chief Cole Pearn, and Furniture Row Racing’s emergence as a powerhouse organization capable of winning any given week. Any doubt whether the No. 78 team may have been a one-year wonder after Truex surprisingly qualified for the four-driver championship finale in 2015 was soundly erased after a dominating 2016 season where he won four times and led a series-best 1,809 laps.

All this season has been is a continuation of that superiority with two wins already through 11 races. Further testament to the solid foundation FRR has built where despite the addition of a second car for rookie Erik Jones, and despite de facto big brother Joe Gibbs Racing experiencing an uneven start where its four-driver roster remains winless, Truex and Pearn will continue to thrive.

If anything, expectations are such that anything short of Truex making a deep playoff run will be considered a disappointment; a high compliment to pay a driver who, as recently as three years ago, finished a woebegone 24th in points.