NASCAR’s Spygate: Series rocked by intellectual property theft allegations

In a chaotic year for NASCAR comes allegations that one engineer at a Cup Series team acquired proprietary information from one team and shared it with another in what initially looks to be the stock car series’ version of Formula 1’s 2007 Spygate scandal.

The report comes from the AP, where multiple sources familiar with the situation shared details of the allegations that have been otherwise kept under wraps.

NASCAR Cup Series rocked by intellectual property theft allegations

Associated Press reporter Jenna Fryer that the series is aware of current allegations that an engineer from one team took proprietary information to another team.

According to the report, neither team involved in the situation has filed a complaint with NASCAR, which is why the series has failed to publicly acknowledge the allegations until this point.

However, the AP reports that “a brewing scandal” has been forming between the two teams involved, and that executives with six race teams also confirmed that there is an ongoing battle.

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One of those teams is Joe Gibbs Racing, a team that still has two cars in the Cup Series Playoffs.

The engineer that accessed proprietary information is said to be in a contract year with Joe Gibbs Racing, and has been in contact with several other teams on the grid about the prospect of working with them in the future.

NASCAR acknowledged to the AP that it has heard the engineer in question was paid cash by a team for setup information. That team is not in the Playoffs, according to the AP.

Social media has already erupted with suggestions that this situation be called NASCAR’s Spygate, a reference to the 2007 espionage scandal that rocked the Formula 1 world.

In the Spygate scandal, a former Ferrari F1 team employee named Nigel Stepney was accused of photocopying the Ferrari’s 2007 technical manual to distribute to Mike Coughlin at McLaren. When Ferrari discovered Stepney’s actions, it reported them to the FIA.

Ultimately, the FIA fined McLaren $100 million and barred the team from scoring World Constructors’ Championship points.

The situation in NASCAR is still evolving.

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