Warren,
Sounds like a friend of mine that went heavy into drag racing about 40 years ago. He had an cammer Ford powered Anglia with a 3 inch shortened wheelbase to improve traction. He made a tape measure with 3 inches removed from the middle so he would pass tech inspections. Best job of welding thin metal and great repaint job. He still has the tape measure in his trophy case.
So we now know why they use their own measuring devices at all of the tracks.
Ron