Those close to the situation will say the intent was crystal clear, even if the NHRA will not comment on the record. The NHRA opted to decline comment on the racers who were fined and docked points, and another experienced both and was disqualified from the 70th annual NHRA U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. The NHRA said it is its policy to not comment on an ongoing investigation.  

The NHRA filed an action against Greg and Aaron Stanfield for violating the Factory X supercharger pulley rules discovered during a routine technical inspection at the Toyota NHRA US Nationals. Both Stanfields were required to correct the issue, then were docked 100 championship points and were fined $2500. 

Three infractions occurred in the Factory Stock Showdown, all related to the rules about the size of a supercharger pulley. NHRA's tech department deemed Doug Hamp, Lee Hartman, and Stephen Bell guilty. The three were fined $2500 and docked 100 championship points. 

NHRA also confirmed Tony Scott was disqualified from the event for violating the Factory Stock Showdown supercharger overdrive rules during a routine technical inspection. He was docked all points and fined $2500. 

So, what exactly was outside of the regulations?

The infractions focus on the two pulleys on the back of the Magnuson supercharger that go from the jack shaft to the rotor. During NHRA's technical inspection, one of the pulleys was found to be oversized.

All competitors with whom NHRA deemed their engines to have oversized pulleys were allowed to bring their engines to compliance and compete. A source close to the situation said NHRA opted against disqualification in sport's and competitors' best interests. 

The penalized infractions fell under the supercharger rule, which states that no modifications are permitted in the Factory X and Factory Showdown divisions.

The infractions are said to have provided as much as an 80-horsepower increase. 

So, how did the issue come to light? Sources close to the situation told CompetitionPlus.com that someone clued in the tech department that improprieties were there to be found. The issue might never have been known to NHRA if an alleged whistleblower hadn't come forward. 

The same day, after announcing the fining racers for having oversized pulleys in Factory Stock Showdown, the NHRA Technical Department increased the supercharger overdrive by changing the supercharger rear jack shaft pulley and rear cog pulley for the 2019-2023 Chevrolet COPO 350 from 32 teeth to 34 teeth on the jack shaft pulley and from 34 teeth to 32 teeth on the supercharger pulley. 

From a competitor's standpoint, Chris Holbrook, one of the pioneers of both Factory X and Factory Stock Showdown, has been very vocal in his protest of what transpired in Indianapolis. 

"Very disheartening," Holbrook said. "Kind of surprised me... takes balls to show up the U.S. Nationals that way."

Holbrook believes the encouragement for improprieties arrived when covers were allowed to be installed in the area of infraction. He alleges he warned NHRA ahead of the Indianapolis controversy that something of this nature could happen. 

"I asked a year ago why they were allowing them to put covers on the back of them," Holbrook said. "I said, 'To me, they're trying to hide something."

 "It still went in one ear and out the other."

Geoff Turk, whose Blackbird entry is among the frontrunners in the Factory X division, said the whole situation changes his opinion on racers he has long admired. 

"To see those people participating so heavily in these kinds of things that are being reported, what's really most disheartening is these people who I've respected, looked up to, tried to pattern my thinking around theirs because they just execute so well and they perform so well and they're so difficult to beat," Turk said. "These are people that when I beat them, I feel very, very good because I know how difficult it is to beat them. Now I know l, it was difficult to beat them in part because they were doing things that were way, way, way outside of the scope of what I would consider correct or right."

CompetitionPlus.com reached out to Greg Stanfield for comment but the driver/engine builder declined to comment at this time, citing the case is currently under appeal. 

CompetitionPlus.com also reached out to the affected Factory Stock Showdown drivers through their series public relations representative but didn't get a response at the time of this article's publication. It will be added to the story when and if a response comes. 

Those with inside knowledge of how the NHRA handled the situation say it's part of a new policy aimed at fixing an issue before it becomes a larger one. For instance, if a racer is deemed to have a blatant violation in the inspection, NHRA will give them a chance to right the wrong, but there could be ramifications. 

Turk said his future participation in Factory X will depend largely on how the NHRA handles situations beyond this one. 

"I challenge [NHRA] with... if you put in place rules that you do not have the resources to enforce, it's as if the rules don't really exist," Turk said. "I've learned this through my own career as a senior leader in large organizations, if you put in place a bunch of rules that you really don't have the ability enforce, you're kind of just kidding yourself. And unfortunately, we have a lot of very talented, very clever, very smart people who are competing in these classes and campaigning cars, building cars, building engines for people. Many of those people are drivers and they may not even be aware of a lot of these things, but those people who are aware of it are very, very bright.

In the end, Turk believes it's up to the racers to develop some form of self-policing and check their moral compass to prevent issues like this from happening again if they hope to keep racing this style of competition.

Then the question arises, "How long has this been going on?"

Multiple sources close to the investigation have said NHRA believes the infractions were going on well before the Indianapolis situation arose. In Factory X, the cars' inconsistency makes it difficult to corroberate such a claim. Still, in the Factory Stock Showdown, there are instances of nearly two-tenths of a second or more difference from Brainerd to similar conditions in Indianapolis. However, any conclusion is circumstantial at best. 

Some wholeheartedly believe this is purely coincidental, but it's hard to draw a conclusion with NHRA's silence as well as those sanctioned on the issue. 

Stanfield's appeal can only signal that this issue will continue for a while longer.