Diary of a proud man: Reiser takes full blame

(Editor's Note: Last week Bill Weber called Robbie Reiser, crew chief for Matt Kenseth in the Nextel Cup Series, and asked him if would like to keep a diary of his weekend at home while serving a four-race suspension for a rules violation at Daytona.)

Robbie Reiser is a huge race fan.

Bill Weber

"I love NASCAR," Reiser said last week.

"I feel fortunate just to walk into that garage every week. I'm proud to say I work here."

Right now, though, Reiser is not working there. He is barred from the racetrack for the first four races of the 2007 season after NASCAR found the car of Matt Kenseth to be illegal in post-qualifying inspection for the Daytona 500.

"We have new people on our team and we failed to tape-up the car properly and that's what led to the violation. I take total responsibility. It's my fault the tape did not hold the "caps" on [allowing an illegal air-flow through the rear wheel wells]. I'm responsible for everything on that car. I should have checked it. Next time, we'll use a solid cover. But the punishment does not fit the crime.

"I've lost some respect for NASCAR with regard to the inconsistencies of their calls. How can I say I have not? I'm not going to get into the whole thing but I don't think it's right, especially when a guy that wins a qualifying race is found to be one-inch low in post-race inspection and all that happens is he is put at the rear of the field [for the Daytona 500]."

Reiser believes the day is coming when NASCAR will hand out penalties that are even more severe. And, under the proper circumstances, that's fine with him.

"You have to follow the rule book. If something is found that enhanced the performance of the car, then you have to make the call."

Through the telephone, I could hear the emotion in his voice. He is crushed the event even occurred. He is a team leader. He is popular in the garage. I have always found him helpful and forthcoming. Well, almost always ...

His record in Nextel Cup is virtually spotless. In 2002, Kenseth won the race at Rockingham but the car roof was one-quarter of an inch too low in post-race inspection. Reiser told me the problem was traced back to a bad batch of springs.

Just 20 minutes after he was told of the problem at Daytona, Reiser was on the telephone to the president of DeWalt tools. (Continued)