[Locust]

Originally Posted by ka-t_240

Also - There is no way they would be pulling an engine at a SOLO event for protest.

Oh it happens.

Local events will tell you to pound sand if you try it but for a national event if someone is willing to put up the money to have your engine torn down then you can either forfeit or concede to it happening. If found to be illegal you're on the hook for your car. If not, the person who protested you is on the hook for putting it back together and paying for the work.

From the 2018 rules for you:

The protestor may request that the car be
disassembled, inspected, or any other test made, provided he or she posts a
cash bond with the PC sufficient to cover the expense of access to documen- tation, disassembly, inspection and reassembly. A protest may be reduced in
scope but not added to at the time the bond is set. Once a bond is posted, the
stipulated inspections shall be completed unless the protest is wholly or par- tially withdrawn by the protestor. The PC shall apportion the costs incurred,
including reassembly, up to the point of withdrawal, provided no illegality
has been discovered.

D. Where the circumstances warrant, the PC may require the protested party
to post bond or sign a repair order with a service establishment to cover
the costs of access to documentation, disassembly and inspection, in the
event judgment goes against him or her. The bond shall be established in
the same manner as a protestor’s bond.

8.3.6 Disposition of Bond and Protest Fee
If the car conforms to the rules, the protestor shall forfeit the bond and protest fee. After compliance with 8.3.6 the bond will be paid to the protested
party. The protest fee will be retained by SCCA®. If the car does not conform
to the rules, the entire protestor’s bond and protest fee shall be returned and
the protested party shall stand all expenses.

And before anyone gets the idea in their head that a particularly wealthy person could just throw engine protests at people all day....

8.8 REASONABLENESS
It is expected that protests shall be reasonable, logical, and based on sound
evidence, thus well-founded. A well-founded protest shall further be defined
as one upon which reasonable men or women may differ. A protest may be
well-founded even if not upheld.
8.8.1 Forfeiture of Protest Fee
If a protest is judged to be not well-founded, the protest fee shall be forfeited.
8.8.2 Vexatious Or Bad Faith Protests
A protestor who has acted in bad faith or in a vexatious manner may be penalized by the PC.
8.8.3 Return of Fee
The fee for a protest that is not upheld but is determined by the PC to be well
founded may be returned to the protesting party upon the decision of the PC.

By the way I can't provide details on it but this has happened or gone as far as to be in committee discussion at a recent nationals. But it wasn't for something as silly as a manufacturer recall and there was legitimate evidence that something might have been out of spec.