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NASCAR America: Jeff Burton: Cost control leads to more rules

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Dave Burns reports on how Kevin Harvick's penalty at Texas will affect the Stewart-Haas Racing team, and the NASCAR America crew explores what Harvick's penalty shows about NASCAR rules.

The penalty against Kevin Harvick’s team that resulted in crew chief Rodney Childers’ suspension and Harvick no longer being locked in the championship four has ignited a debate over whether there are too many rules in the sport.

Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Nate Ryan discussed the topic on NASCAR America and the source of the rigid rulebook.

Ryan raised the idea that the cure for less penalties like Harvick’s is simply for there to be fewer rules.

“Philosophically, yes,” Burton said. “Here is the rub and the difficult position NASCAR’s in. If you told me that you’re going to let me do whatever I want to my phone ... How many millions of dollars am I going to spend to get this phone to do whatever I want to do? (Letarte’s) argument will be, ‘Wait a minute. If you let me do whatever I want, then I can do whatever I want. If you give me rules I’m still going to find my way within those rules and I’m going to have to spend the money to abide by the rules to still get the phone to do what I want to do. And that’s the most difficult situation.

“NASCAR trying to control costs and trying to make it fair for all the teams (has) created more rules.”

Has that made teams abide by the rules more and made it more affordable for teams?

Burton doesn’t know the answer to that, but knows “lawlessness is not the answer.”

Letarte has a simple belief.

“I’m team less rules.”

Watch the above video for more.