When spectators filed out of the grandstands at Marysville Raceway Park after the final race Saturday, they left under the impression that John C. Anderson of Wilton won the wingless sprints main event by about a tire length.

Anderson was interviewed after the race over the loudspeakers and talked about his close win. It was only later, after most of the fans had gone home, that Anderson was disqualified after a post-race tech inspection discovered an illegal carburetor.

“We weighed his car and then let him go out for the awards presentation,” track promoter Paul Hawes said. “We didn’t want to stretch (the presentation) out.”

That’s because with the elaborate tech inspection the top four cars in each division go through after each race, Hawes said it takes at least 30 minutes for each division.

When the illegal carburetor was discovered, Hawes said Anderson wasn’t upset. “He said he had been using that carburetor for six years, and he was surprised it was never noticed.”

Anderson told Hawes he would have a different carburetor for the next race.

“These guys try and take every advantage they can get,” Hawes said of the drivers.

“(Drivers) try and push the rules as much as they can,” said Gray Poole, one of the tech inspectors at Marysville Raceway. “They will try and run a carburetor just a little bit bigger than it’s supposed to be, or run tires that are a little bigger than they are supposed to be.”

Anderson’s disqualification was the first since June 9, when Cortney Dozier’s win in the winged sprint class main event was overturned because Dozier did not go directly to the tech area after the race.

“The drivers are learning we won’t tolerate any (infractions),” Hawes said.

All of the big race tracks and the top organizations like NASCAR run cars through tech inspections, Hawes noted, but not many smaller tracks, such as Marysville Raceway Park’s quarter-mile dirt oval. That’s because it’s too cost prohibitive.

“I’ve got over $20,000 invested in tech equipment,” Hawes said.

One of the pieces of equipment is a fiber optics camera that inspectors can use to see inside engines.

There’s a simple reason why Hawes goes to the extent he does to inspect race cars. “I’m a racer and as far as I’m concerned I want to keep as level a playing field as possible.”

“Paul has tried very hard to make sure every driver adheres to the rules,” Poole said.

At the beginning of the season, only the winner of each main event was required to go to the tech area after the race. There, the driver would spin a wheel with 18 different numbers on it. The numbers corresponded to different inspections.

One related to tires and another dealt with the carburetor. Others related to the car’s weight and the cubic-inch size of the engine.

There also were a few spots on the wheel that gave the driver a free pass with no inspection.

“The wheel kept them from knowing what would be teched,” Hawes said.

Now, the top four finishers in each division’s main event are inspected, and it’s a secret each week as to what is being teched.

Hawes admitted he has seen some crazy things by drivers who want to bend the rules.

He has seen one race car that had a pump that helped shift water from the left to the right side. During the race, the water was used on the left side of the car to keep it on the track in the corners, but the water was pumped to the right side before it was teched so as to keep the car’s balance more in proportion.

Hawes has seen a driver used a 50-pound round weight that is inserted into the hollow axle by a crew member after a driver has finished his race and is headed to the tech area. The added weight helped make the car meet the minimum weight requirement.

Another driver had a solid lead radio slipped to him after a race, Hawes said.

Head tech inspector Joy Wilcox has seen her share of drivers who try to circumvent the rules.

“I’ve seen drivers grab handfuls of mud and throw them in the car, hoping to have the car make weight,” Wilcox said.

In other instances, Wilcox has seen drivers try and cut corners to stay out on the track.

One particular mini stock driver did not have the roll cage welded properly to the car. If the driver had been in an accident, he likely could have been seriously injured, she said.

“They are very inventive,” Poole said.

“Mainly we’re doing this to try and even the playing field for everyone,” Wilcox said.