I'm a little fuzzy about exactly what the variation of the screws were. I read on Marie's that it was how much of the threads stuck out on the side where they are normally staked to prevent them from working loose and falling out. If the carb guy machined them down a little, that almost sounds like blueprinting to me. NHRA said it was illegal, so that is what it is.

Cheating to me is having a 500 cubic inch engine, or aluminum rods or something really blatant. I think the word cheating shows intent to purposefully try to have an advantage. Both would be illegal. I can't see anyone purposefully cheating since their reputation is on the line. I have a friend that got caught with head gaskets that were .002" too thin. Was he cheating? No, he just didn't measure that set even though he had been running that brand for years and they came up too thin. He had a stack of the old ones at Belle Rose to prove it. Yes, he was illegal, but he wasn't cheating as I see it. You bet he'll measure those gaskets every time now.

Knowing a little about production tolerances, I suppose someone with a lot of money could buy 1000 Hemi carbs and find a set of screws that were the shortest and use them and they should be legal. I wonder if Holley will sell the butterfly screws separately?

Stewart should know about cheating. That '73 Missile car was illegal as hell as I see it. From talking with Oldfield, I suspect all of the Missile cars were illegal. Was it cheating, blueprinting or creative interpretation of the rules? Racers push the envelope and sometimes they get caught. I guess it depends on what side of the fence you are on as to whether something is cheating or blueprinting.