At least one race track has taken steps to insure the teams that use crate motors at their track are legal. Here is how they did it....
I ran a commentary a few months back that basically stated that the problem with enforcing the rules for sealed motors was the fact that they were sealed. The officials could not get inside to take a look and often refused to tech one of these motors. Now we finally have a solution.
Hickory Motor Speedway, an historic race track with quite a history with Nascar racing has modified its rules for the Late Model Stock class for teams that choose to run the "sealed" crate motors. Here is what the rules say.
"Crate motors are not required to be sealed at Hickory... If an unsealed crate motor is raced, it will be checked as if it were a built motor but MUST be completely stock...." The rules go on to say.... "If a competitor visits with a crate motor sealed at one of the consortium tracks, he needs to be prepared to remove the seals. Because the 'break-off bolts' are difficult to remove, HMS recommends removing them before racing or being prepared to remove them in post race inspection."
There ya go. The solution to inspecting a sealed motor. My congratualtions go out to the staff at Hickory Motor Speedway for being up on this issue. It is a model for all tracks that allow the "sealed" crate motors.