“If you ain‘t cheatin‘, you ain‘t tryin.”

Every NASCAR fan has probably heard of this quote. It refers to the cheating that occurs. Sometimes it’s unintentional, but more often it’s an attempt to get an edge. Everyone does it, the well used saying seems to imply. And NASCAR officials want everyone to pay.

The latest attempt to curtail the cheating in NASCAR has come in the form of the Car of Tomorrow. Officials have stated directly that no changes can be made to this, and have a memo with explicit details on penalties out to all teams. But does that really matter?

It’s been seen that point penalties can be overcome, the cost of fines are meaningless, and pit bosses absence immaterial. Nothing being done at this time is a reason not to go after the bigger edge that an illegal tweak here or there provides.

Jenna Fryer makes a great argument that there is one solution. Take the drivers out of the race. It’s that simple. Fans will hate not seeing their favorite driver in the race. They will be livid when they find out it was due to a cheating penalty. Teams will not be able to afford losing fans because their driver can’t drive. The change would sweep every team quickly. It’s a penalty that can’t be adjusted to.

NASCAR officials need to read this article by Ms. Fryer. Fans do as well. Nothing is better than a good race, and that only can happen in a fair one. Rather than everyone competing to see who can cheat better, let’s see who can drive best.