by Larry McReynolds

Updated: March 28, 2007, 5:30 PM EST

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NASCAR can't figure out how it would be a performance enhancement. This scenario is another part of the learning process with the Car of Tomorrow.

If the quarterpanel is down at Daytona and Talladega, the spoiler or wing is out of the air, and you're going to run faster. At Bristol, teams want the back of the car up just as high in the air as it can be so the spoiler is in the air, which keeps the car from bottoming out. I think NASCAR is a little confused about the low quarterpanel so you probably won't see or hear any penalties this week unless they jump to some conclusion right away.

With the roof and quarterpanels, NASCAR gives teams a tolerance. On the roof, there's a concern if it's low at any track, whether it's Daytona, Talladega, Martinsville or a road course. But on the quarterpanels, teams get a quarter-inch tolerance in post-qualifying and post-race inspection at Daytona and Talladega. NASCAR will allow them to be a quarter-inch lower than the mandated height. But everywhere else, the tolerance is on the high side. You can't be more than a quarter-inch higher than the mandated height. That's why everyone is scratching their heads on the No. 16 car after Bristol.

Going low

There are a lot of ways a car can get low. If you turn the jack bolts too many times and lower the car too much during the race, it can go below the quarter-inch tolerance. A spring can collapse, which certainly isn't impossible at Bristol. It's a little less likely to happen now with the stiffer spring these guys are running vs. the soft stuff that they were running with the current car.

Tolerance to a point

Dan from Clearwater, Fla.: Is it possible that teams could fail inspection so badly that they are unable to have a car ready by race time? When was the last time a team had to go home because they couldn't get their car through tech? And I am very curious to know if you think teams may be able to take advantage of the new car — and inspectors — and get away with stuff NASCAR may not be looking for because the car is so new?

Larry McReynolds: Right now, I don't think teams are trying to figure out how they can beat the system. I think they're just trying to figure out how to adhere to the system, especially with as many cars as we have there each week and the length of time it takes to get through inspection. The last thing you want to be doing is going through inspection while cars are practicing on the racetrack. But each team has to weigh out the risks vs. the gain.

I don't know that a car has missed a race because it didn't get through inspection. Every team has a backup car, and multi-car teams can use a teammate's backup car. At Daytona, Michael Waltrip had to go to a backup car because of his rule infraction, and he elected not to go to his backup car. He went to David Reutimann's backup car, which is perfectly legal. NASCAR has certainly taken some cars because they failed inspection. In recent years, the No. 20 car was confiscated at Texas and the No. 42 car was taken at Bristol. But I don't know that anyone has ever completely missed all of their track time simply because of missing inspection.

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The inspection process is a huge learning curve for NASCAR and the teams. I certainly saw some leniency at Bristol, and I'd say we'll see some leniency — within reason — at Martinsville. But since this is a learning experience for all parties involved, it's not a big deal being lenient at Bristol and Martinsville because aero isn't the end of the world at these two racetracks. I did hear NASCAR tell teams at Bristol that by the time we get to Phoenix, they're going to be much tighter with much less tolerance because Phoenix is a faster racetrack where aero plays a bigger role.

Once your chassis is certified, Nextel Cup director John Darby and NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton say the teams better not monkey with the eight or nine radio frequency ID tags that NASCAR places on it. If teams do mess them them, they could receive the most severe and stiffest penalties NASCAR has ever laid down.

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FOX race analyst Larry McReynolds has more than 25 years of NASCAR experience as a mechanic, crew chief and broadcaster. He and his fellow Crew Chief Club members take you behind the wall at www.crewchiefclub.com.

"How to Become a Winning Crew Chief" is on bookstore shelves, or you may order your own autographed copy from www.DWStore.com.