I think stuff like the clutch and other hidden maintenance items are a "given". They expect you to replace those items... bet you anything that if you were to have a chat with Jay after the race and say "yeah, we blew the 150,000 mile clutch 2 hours before the end", he's say "why the hell didn't you put a new one in???"

I'm not a big fan of cheating after the judging though, at least no "performance" cheating. I'd do something like swap out the ratty radiator for a nice new one, or change the rad hoses... something that would have been visible in tech and raised questions about $$$... but not something that's going to affect performance.

But, I guess it's all cheating, it's just a matter of degree.