Cheatgate
The Xander Clements traction control controversy, dubbed Cheatgate by the NASA Rallycross paddock, is a cheating scandal centered around American driver Xander Clements. It involved Clements running an illegal traction control modification on his Citroën Xsara RX race car in order to gain an unfair advantage.
Background[edit | edit source]
Clements, the young American from Georgia, was a new sign to the Citroën Junior team after an impressive debut podium in a private Mitsubishi in Gifhorn in 2012C. Josh Mertz, the Citroën team owner, immediately hired the American for a full time drive in one of the teams Junior Citroëns. The following week, Clements finished ninth in Charlotte. The Citroën team was denied a podium sweep in Canada, with Brandon Lambert beating Clements out to third. After missing the sixth round at the North Proving Grounds, Clements returned for the double header at the South Proving Grounds and Negus, and dominated the two events.
2013A Season[edit | edit source]
After those two performances, Clements was swapped with Erdmann into the Citroën senior team. Strangely, Clements blew the engine on the Citroën not once, but twice at Croft (once in his heat and once in the LCQ) while everyone else did not have issues. This prompted race official Dylan Livengood to look into the incident, which was overlooked as the following week in Valkenswaard, Clements raced with no issue.
Gifhorn[edit | edit source]
The third round of the championship saw a return to Germany, and another review by Dylan Livengood. In practice, Xander Clements was strangely a second quicker than the entire field, including championship leader David Krikorian. Krikorian was known as one of the best drivers on NASCAR 2003, and it prompted Dylan Livengood to investigate the issue. Telemetry studied from Car #36 determined that Clements had been running an illegal grip enhancing modification on his car.
Result and Outcry[edit | edit source]
Most of the field protested to the accusation. As a result, the German race was cancelled and rescheduled for the following week. What was an 18 car grid became 6, which Dylan Livengood went on to win. After that event, the 2013A schedule was cut short to the three races ran. Clements had his two career victories stripped, and he became the first driver to be suspended for cheating in NASA Rallycross history.
