Mark Martin won the Pontiac Excitement 400, but the car was found to have an illegal carburetor spacer


Sunday 25th February 1990

Mark Martin won the Pontiac Excitement 400, but the car was found to have an illegal carburetor spacer. NASCAR found the spacer was 2½ inches tall, a half-inch more than allowed. Martin kept the victory, but was fined $40,000 (at record at the time), and was docked 46 points. At season’s end, Martin lost the championship by a mere 26 points to Dale Earnhardt, with the penalty representing the deciding margin. Later, it was admitted that the spacer plate was technically not illegal, and did not enhance the car’s performance, but actually fell within a “gray area” of the rulebook. NASCAR competition director Dick Beaty even stated that “We don’t know if [a taller spacer] is an advantage or not.


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