I have no clue what it's about, and have absolutely nothing against Chris or Jeff, I like em both. BUT I don't see Bloomington doing this without a pretty good reason, and if that's the case, I applaud them for actually having the balls to stand up and make a call/decision and show that there are consequences for breaking the rules.. no matter who you are..

The part that confuses me is that per their own message, BS sited a SPECIFIC DATE for a rules infraction that we know was a local show. I've been all through their website 2013 sprint car rule book and can find very little to warrant such actions. You'll see a list of about 4 approved tires, muffler do's & dont's, both including verbage of a possible event DQ for non compliance. Then a broad stroked motor section stating things like "look like a traditional sprint car", some valve and exhaust info and a warning about traction control but still pretty wide open as tech would go. Not even a c.i. standard.

Count me as one of many fans looking forward to a better explanation of events because I certainly don't see anything from a "rules" standpoint that a single night could justify a whole season ban of a car owner, cars, and that nights driver. It's a shame,really. I remember Bloomington to be a great track and am a fan of Walker and Windom. Both sprint car racing and Indiana lose when this happens.

Could it have possibly been a tire sample gone bad? That's one scenario.

Hopefully something is said soon

Bloomington FB page

Chris Windom: To clear any questions for all the fans and sprint car community, the infraction was a "failed" tire test on our RR tire. Some will agree, some will disagree with the penalty. All I know is that I showed up and drove the car that night, the same as I do in all other series. To serve me any sort of penalty, let alone a season ban to the whole team seems more like a personal issue. I enjoy the fans and racing at Bloomington Speedway so hopefully this issue can be resolved in the offseason!

Like I said no reason to ban for a whole year but it's their track

Wonder what they used for checking tire, I used a Durometer & even then numbers would vary between tires, new tires were softer than used. But even still number varied but were never lower than the new tires. I marked one tire w/ my grease marker, crew man I knew gave me some grief about it & wiped it off. Just harassing me, I went over used about half that grease marker on that tire. The mark went from the rim to the tread & about 6 inches at the top & 4 at the bottom, told him he gave any more guff he was outta here. He ended up getting that marker on his pants & stayed there till he threw them away. LOL

I tend to agree somewhat with what Chris Windom said there. Penalizing he team the team is one thing, but I just don't see why they would ban the driver in a situation like this. Unless it's one of those deals where the driver is also the owner/mechanic, too.

Jerry

So why is Windom even penalized? And a whole season cause he finished third in one race and the RR didn't Kosher?
A few race penalty for Walker Racing maybe. Seems a little harsh.

The penalty for such infraction is even listed

The Hoosier HT2, HTW, DT3 and HARD will be the only tires permitted on the right rear during the racing program. Any solvents or chemicals applied in any way to a tire that alters the original manufacture specifications of hardness of the compound or sidewall construction is prohibited. A durometer will be used in checking the compounds for manufacture specification ranges of hardness. If your tire doesn’t durometer correctly to standard ranges, you may be disqualified and your tire may be confiscated for testing. Tires that appear to be unusual and out of the ordinary will be examined closely.

However they cover themselves with this

The rules outlined may not cover every incident that may occur. In those situations the decisions of the Competition Director and/or Track Officials are final

The sad part to this is for the fans and "any" driver who may have had an opportunity to drive for Jeff Walker at any given point next year at Bloomington Speedway. Walker is one of very few "car owners" left around and even in a smaller pool of owners that are willing to run local shows.
If he truly failed a tire sample test, I would think there could be a smaller first time penaly. I would also wonder how samples are handled and marked to and from a "lab", and if there was any possibility at all for a mistake to be made.
Now for Jeff..... Congratulations on being forced to drive to Gas City, which is closer to home, and cutting your Friday night operating costs racing for the same money. Congratulations on not having to deal with the less.than desirable track prep as far as a car owner would be concerned. You have been forced to not eat up so many tires on Friday night.

If Walker cheated and got caught then that's just too bad. Personal responsibility with consequences can be a pain sometimes but if it happened that's called life. Windom may be a victim of circumstance with guilt by association and if so that's a kick in the rear but if he knew then that's called consequences as well. Perhaps only "The Shadow" knows.

I hope this slows down all the other guys soaking tires. I know Jeff is not the only one. Maybe everyone can just run the tires as they are, now!