The bust of Meyer Shank Racing raises serious questions, including how long has the cheating been going on?
The data on tire pressure collected by IMSA and Michelin was manipulated to cover up the Rolex 24-winning Meyer Shank team using lower tire pressures than recommended by the tire maker.
It’s a distinct advantage and penalized with a drive-through penalty if discovered during a race by IMSA through telemetry.
Who knew, who signed off on the cheating, and what other races did the team try manipulating tire air pressure data are among the many lingering questions.
The case of the circumvention of the tire pressure rules by Meyer Shank Racing in this year's Rolex 24 at Daytona is bumfuzzling.
More questions remain than answers after the severe points and financial penalties by IMSA as well as the disbarring of race engineer Ryan McCarthy. At the top of the list—was the risk of getting caught worth it?
The facts are that the data on tire pressure collected by IMSA and Michelin was manipulated to cover up the Meyer Shank team using lower tire pressures than recommended by the tire maker. It’s a distinct advantage and penalized with a drive-through penalty if discovered during a race by IMSA through telemetry.
The questions start with how long has this been going on? The discovery taints not only the victory in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, but the result in last year’s 24-hour as well as the victory in the season-ending Petit Le Mans last year, where Meyer Shank clinched the DPi WeatherTech Championship.
Any driver will tell you leaving the pits in a prototype car on cold tires is treacherous. If the tires are at a lower pressure, it makes the task somewhat easier, not to mention the possibility of faster lap times. If you start the stint with lower pressure, then the pressures remain relatively lower for the duration of a stint. This brings to mind Helio Castroneves’ final stint at Daytona in 2022 and the winning final stint of Tom Blomqvist at the Petit. Nothing builds confidence in a driver than knowing they have an advantage not available to the other drivers.
To confine the discussion to this year’s Rolex 24, where the Acura of Meyer Shank led almost twice as many laps as the next closest competitor, did the drivers know? Of course. The guys preparing the tires in the pits had to know as well. It’s not too far a leap from there to the team owner, Mike Shank, a hands-on guy and, as the episode with the leaking seal in transmission demonstrated, an avowed risk taker.
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