2007 NASCAR Thread

[JonInMiddleGA]

Hadn't seen one, figured I might as well start one.

[JonInMiddleGA]

And to kick things off, good grief could the welcome mat for Toyota be any more obvious? Watching Speed's coverage of the Twin 150's & every driver except one they talked to in the pre-race segment about the pressure of having to race their way in was a Toyota driver. (the exception was Kenny Wallace, who is a SC favorite)

[miami_fan]

Good. Someplace to put my honest but very uniformed questions about NASCAR in.

[Draft Dodger]

quite an interesting week for NASCAR...

[JonInMiddleGA]

Y'know, one of the better perks that working for myself has had is being able to watch the odd weekday events like this or Monday rainout makeups & such.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Pretty interesting scenarios in these qualifiers, 26 drivers for 8 open spots
(4 of those are going to drivers outside the top 35 in owner points based on their qualifying speed from Sunday)

Among them: 2 former Cup champions (Jarrett & Elliott), former Daytona winners like Ward Burton & Michael Waltrip, drivers trying to revitalize their careers like Mayfield & Skinner, newcomer A.J. Allmendinger, and 72 year old James Hylton. When the day is over, there'll be some good stories among those who get in and among those who don't.

Just for the heck of it, before they drop the green flag, I'll pick Mayfield & Sauter as the race-in guys from the first one and Skinner & Menard from #2.

[RendeR]

With the adjustments NASCAR keeps making to how they start the season its becoming very dangerous to move to a brand new team. All those Toyota teams and the guys driving them are going to be hard pressed to get into races early in teh season.

Micheal's team is all but screwed unless he pulls a miricle out of his ass today and thus far he's acting very Jesus-like......

So much for my darkhorse driver in Fantasy....Ragan in the #6 ford just crushed his hopes of running well on sunday.....Hopefully Bobby labonte and Jeff Burton will have awesome days for me.

[JonInMiddleGA]

10 laps to go, and James Hylton is in one of the two transfer spots. And Sorensen just blew an engine, so we'll run some of those remaining laps under caution.

C'mon James, just hang in there, for probably the most incredible story I can recall in the history of racing.

[spleen1015]

C'mon James, just hang in there, for probably the most incredible story I can recall in the history of racing.

Not really. The guy can't keep the draft when he is in the back of the field. The only reason he is in the top 10 is because he didn't pit. If he makes the race, he will be the in last of the cars that end the race running, if he doesn't wreck or blow up first.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Not really. The guy can't keep the draft when he is in the back of the field. The only reason he is in the top 10 is because he didn't pit. If he makes the race, he will be the in last of the cars that end the race running, if he doesn't wreck or blow up first.

Wouldn't have mattered. At 72, getting into the race would have been the most incredible story I've ever seen in racing. And the car itself was probably better than quite a few of the others trying to qualify today (and maybe a few of the top 35 too), as it was a Childress car that had been picked up for this opportunity.

Of course, he drifted out of line immediately on the restart & watched the freight train go right on by, ending his chances.

[spleen1015]

Waltrip races his way in. That's good!

[JonInMiddleGA]

Stewart wins the first Duel, Waltrip & Said get the transfer spots, with Said barely holding off the unsponsored car of Mike Bliss by about two feet.

Said was already in on time from Sunday, so David Reutimann moves up into the time qualifier slot, putting all three of Waltrip's cars into the race on Sunday.

Elminated: *Mayfield, W. Burton, Allmendinger, Elliott, K. Wallace, Bliss, Barrett, Whitt, and Hylton.

*Mayfield could get a reprieve if Sterlin Marlin could race his way in, then Mayfield's qualifying time would put him back into the 500.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Gotta love Hylton's post-race interview, which ended with him saying "we'll get 'em next time".

[RendeR]

was a good story, but I'm not a fan of his entry. its a one shot deal and would take away from a full time teams season.

I think NASCASR should only lock in those that finish in the top 20 of owners points, leave more wiggle room all around.


Check out Montoya flexing his meager skillset.

[JonInMiddleGA]

was a good story, but I'm not a fan of his entry. its a one shot deal and would take away from a full time teams season.

I think NASCASR should only lock in those that finish in the top 20 of owners points, leave more wiggle room all around.

I'm missing something here I think, those two things seem to be contradictory.

edit to add: And boy you jinxed the hell outta Montoya ;)

[MylesKnight]

How good will Montoya be?

[JonInMiddleGA]

How good will Montoya be?

This year? Flashes of brilliance mixed with a number of "one of those days" days.

In a few years? He might turn out to be a consistent top 15 guy who'll win several races a year.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Gordon wins the 2nd Duel, Joe Nemechek & Mike Wallace get the transfer spots as Marlin slows down to let Wallace take the spot (since Marlin was in on time regardless).

Bad luck for Jeremy Mayfield, who would have gotten the spot on qualifying time if Marlin had raced his way in.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Jeff Gordon will go the back of the field in Sunday's race, after his car failed post-race inspection. Something to do with the mounting bracket for the shocks being wrong, apparently unintentional, but it still allowed the car to ride too low on the track. No fines, no points deducted, but he'll start 43rd instead of 4th.

[miami_fan]

Jeff Gordon will go the back of the field in Sunday's race, after his car failed post-race inspection. Something to do with the mounting bracket for the shocks being wrong, apparently unintentional, but it still allowed the car to ride too low on the track. No fines, no points deducted, but he'll start 43rd instead of 4th.

Here is the first of many so bear with me. I am assuming that the team knew of the right mounting bracket to place on the car but they chose to put the wrong (illegal?) one one. Am I wrong in that assumption? If I am not, how does NASCAR determine that this incident was unintentional while the others from earlier in the week are deemed intentional?

[JonInMiddleGA]

I am assuming that the team knew of the right mounting bracket to place on the car but they chose to put the wrong (illegal?) one one. Am I wrong in that assumption? If I am not, how does NASCAR determine that this incident was unintentional while the others from earlier in the week are deemed intentional?

I think your assumption is wrong, although as the discussion on Speed mentioned, it's really impossible to know for 100% certain. As I understand it after several different explanations (which even one of the announcers didn't quite follow), they didn't put on the wrong bracket, but rather they installed the brackets incorrectly. Larry Mac tried to explain it, the bracket has like teeth that work sort of like a ratchet. Apparently, instead of having the teeth fit together (one inside the other, like a hand in a glove), the bracket was bolted out of position, with the two halfs butting against one another. And when the car hit a bump for the first time it shifted into the wrong position.

Since Gordon was complaining in the post-race about how poorly the car handled, and this could have negatively affected the handling, I suppose that's how they decided that there was not any intent, but just a mistake that did violate the rules (even if it hurt as much as it might have helped).

[JonInMiddleGA]

Whatever idiot decided to try to turn the Daytona pre-race show into a poor man's SB halftime show ought to be dragged behind a field filler for 500 laps.

[cartman]

NASCAR looks awesome in HD

[dime]

I might watch nascar if finishes like this were more common...wow!

[CU Tiger]

Whatever idiot decided to try to turn the Daytona pre-race show into a poor man's SB halftime show ought to be dragged behind a field filler for 500 laps.

It was interesting to watch that top glued to Clarkson's tit and hope the glue would give way....

[gkb]

It was interesting to watch that top glued to Clarkson's tit and hope the glue would give way....

Well I missed the pre-race stuff...and most of the race actually. This comment has me headed over to YouTube though...

[Craptacular]

Well, I think NASCAR fu&^#d this one up. They violated their own rules about throwing the caution at the end. Now I don't know if Bowyer wouldn't have ended up on his roof anyway, but they made the rule so guys wouldn't keep racing after a wreck, and they let it happen anyway. When Kenseth and the others started going sideways, the yellow should have come out instantly. Not only did it change the winner, but it made a huge difference in points. Guys like Busch and Kenseth lost 80 or 90 points because of that decision. Mark Martin said he was surprised they didn't throw the yellow, but he was too classy to whine about it.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Not good news for ESPN's Busch coverage

From www.jayski.com
Busch race on ESPN2, TV Ratings: NASCAR returned to the ESPN networks yesteday. ESPN2's Busch Daytona 300 delivered a 2.42 HH coverage rating and 2,221,415 households (based on Cable Fast Nationals).
* Most-viewed auto race in ESPN2's history
* 5th Highest-rated NASCAR Busch race on cable since 1996.
* 3rd most-viewed NASCAR Busch race on cable since 1996.
ESPN2's race rated 26% lower than TNT's 2006 race (2.42 vs. 3.28 HH cvg rtg). All key demos were down from last year as well. ESPN2's race rated 27% lower than the 3.3 HH cvg estimate.(ESPN)(2-18-2007)

[B & B]

but they made the rule so guys wouldn't keep racing after a wreck, and they let it happen anyway. When Kenseth and the others started going sideways, the yellow should have come out instantly. Not only did it change the winner...


Ridiculous.


In the NASCAR "overtime" the whole point is to not have a lame duck winner cross the finish line after hours and hours of racing because some shmuck peeled out in the last 5 or so laps. Now youre saying that with 1/4 of a lap to go and two racers are neck and neck that they should have blown the whistle and declared Martin the winner because of a major wreck behind them that had absolutely no effect on those two racecars dashing towards the finish line? Thats absurd man.

Yeah lets call it. Theres some big collisions behind us and it looks like Im ahead so lets just declare the winner with video footage confirmation at the time dipshit in 5th sideswiped that other guy. Forget about the finish line and stuff between the one and two cars.

Unreal. Fucking new age fans dont care about a photo finish and are worried about points in the first race of the season. Perhaps the whole NEXTEL garbage has skewed viewers into forgetting what real racing is all about.

[Oilers9911]

Ridiculous.


In the NASCAR "overtime" the whole point is to not have a lame duck winner cross the finish line after hours and hours of racing because some shmuck peeled out in the last 5 or so laps. Now youre saying that with 1/4 of a lap to go and two racers are neck and neck that they should have blown the whistle and declared Martin the winner because of a major wreck behind them that had absolutely no effect on those two racecars dashing towards the finish line? Thats absurd man.

Yeah lets call it. Theres some big collisions behind us and it looks like Im ahead so lets just declare the winner with video footage confirmation at the time dipshit in 5th sideswiped that other guy. Forget about the finish line and stuff between the one and two cars.

Unreal. Fucking new age fans dont care about a photo finish and are worried about points in the first race of the season. Perhaps the whole NEXTEL garbage has skewed viewers into forgetting what real racing is all about.

Ridiculous. Yes the rule is to avoid finishes under yellow but the rule also says that if the caution is thrown during the green/white/checker that the race was over and if 20 cars sideways doesnt reflect a caution flag I dont I dont know what does. In the other 35 races or whatever it is that would have been a yellow flag. By the way the fucking new age fans are not the only ones concerned about ppoints in the first race of the year. Ask the drivers if they care or not about points and you'll see you are the one that knows dick all.

[JonInMiddleGA]

... with 1/4 of a lap to go and two racers are neck and neck that they should have blown the whistle and declared Martin the winner because of a major wreck behind them that had absolutely no effect on those two racecars dashing towards the finish line? Thats absurd man.

No, "man", that's the way they conduct the rest of the laps and quite frequently the rest of the races, so that's how they should have conducted this one too. I've always been opposed to the instant yellow and preferred the traditional racing back to the line but that's not how they do it anymore ... unless it suits purposes that they give priority over calling it fairly to every driver.

Or maybe you would prefer that we start giving 4 strikes to batters in the 9th inning of the World Series, just so we can get a little more offense & maybe get a little boost in the ratings? Unless of course the pitcher has more years ahead of him & could provide a bigger draw to the younger and/or casual fans, in which case he only needs 2 strikes to record a K.

And "New age fans"? WTF? Bitch, I've been following this since well before they had a TV deal and only occasional radio coverage, so you might want to rethink that line of horseshit you just tried to shovel, because you're clearly talking out of your ass. As for "the Nextel garbage", that's exactly what produced today's crooked finish -- because ignoring their own rules & procedures made for better TV than calling it straight.

[dime]

I'm not a nascar fan, but I did see portions of the telecast and it's clear that nascar and/or fox are really trying to cross-sell...from the hype to the dummy-down explanations the broadcasters were giving: "the yellow line, that's like out of bounds..." "well the crew chief is a lot like a football coach..."

I think fox did the same thing with hockey a few years ago. At least there aren't any glowing tracers on the cars.

[Craptacular]

Ridiculous.


In the NASCAR "overtime" the whole point is to not have a lame duck winner cross the finish line after hours and hours of racing because some shmuck peeled out in the last 5 or so laps. Now youre saying that with 1/4 of a lap to go and two racers are neck and neck that they should have blown the whistle and declared Martin the winner because of a major wreck behind them that had absolutely no effect on those two racecars dashing towards the finish line? Thats absurd man.

Yeah lets call it. Theres some big collisions behind us and it looks like Im ahead so lets just declare the winner with video footage confirmation at the time dipshit in 5th sideswiped that other guy. Forget about the finish line and stuff between the one and two cars.

Unreal. Fucking new age fans dont care about a photo finish and are worried about points in the first race of the season. Perhaps the whole NEXTEL garbage has skewed viewers into forgetting what real racing is all about.

The point of the rule freezing the field immediately upon yellow was to improve safety for everyone behind the wreck, even if it meant the guys ahead of it couldn't race to the line. The overtime rule is more recent. Actually, the announcers even explained the rule during the red flag. The whole "green-white-checkered" system was set up to give one extra chance for the field to finish under green. It provided a better chance, but not a guarantee, that the race could finish under green. The rule is clear in that any caution in the two overtime laps causes an immediate freeze of the field and end of the race. Go ahead and bash the rule if ya want. I'm bashing NASCAR for not following their own rules.

This "new age fan" has been following racing for over 20 years, long before we ever knew about a cell phone. Get off your fucking high horse.

[cmp]

Good finish, but I can't help but be disappointed. I'd have much rather seen Martin win that than Harvick.

[kingfc22]

What a crazy finish. Really wanted Martin to win and I can't believe that Harvick was able to make the run from so far back in so little time.

[Dutch]

That was a good race. My wife and I are suckers for Tony S-t-e-w-a-r-t and were sad he lost it after climbing all the way back. We also were pulling for the return of Ricky Rudd and the introduction of Juan Pablo Montoya (of F1 fame).

How Kevin Harvick got that much speed in the last lap is interesting. A combination of his column pushing Harvick and Martin's column fighting Martin. The speed disparity became so great (since Martin and Co. really didn't think the outside would catch up) that it made for an incredible run from Harvick.

Notes:

Dale Earnhardt Jr was not highlighted nearly as much as in previous Daytona's...so that was a pleasant surprise.

Tony S-t-e-w-a-r-t had to have thrown his car out of sorts or lost his concentration after going from the back of the field all the way back up to first. Yes, it's easy to pass in NASCAR, but remember, it's equally easy to get passed. So any run from 40th to 1st is impressive. Tony S-t-e-w-a-r-t is turning into the Wayne Gretzky of NASCAR. When people see him in their rear-view mirror, they probably feel compelled to just get out of the man's way (lest he wreck them probably. :) )

Juan Pablo Montoya just found out that in Super Speedway racing the track is a very small part of the battle. Haking drafting partners is huge and without them, you lose. Can Juan Pablo Montoya get involved with the NASCAR crowd to find drafting buddies?

[Draft Dodger]

S-t-e-w-a-r-t. Stewart.

:)

[Draft Dodger]

I'm not a nascar fan, but I did see portions of the telecast and it's clear that nascar and/or fox are really trying to cross-sell...from the hype to the dummy-down explanations the broadcasters were giving: "the yellow line, that's like out of bounds..." "well the crew chief is a lot like a football coach..."

I think fox did the same thing with hockey a few years ago. At least there aren't any glowing tracers on the cars.

the video game replay thing is unbelievably ridiculous. In that, they reconstruct an accident using GPS and stuff. Which is a nice idea, except that a) it doesn't seem to be very accurate and b) even if it was, every single time they've used it, we had a clearer picture of what happened from the old-fashioned replays.

[Dutch]

S-t-e-w-a-r-t. Stewart.

:)

W-h-a-t-e-v-a-h. :)

[watravaler]

Wake me up when the real racing begins...see March 18...Melbourne, Australia

:runs away:

[Galaxy]

Wake me up when the real racing begins...see March 18...Melbourne, Australia

:runs away:

F1? I enjoy open-wheel racing (I long for the days of the IndyCar Series), but F1 is just boring to me. It's more "driving" more so than racing.

[Galaxy]

Ridiculous.


In the NASCAR "overtime" the whole point is to not have a lame duck winner cross the finish line after hours and hours of racing because some shmuck peeled out in the last 5 or so laps. Now youre saying that with 1/4 of a lap to go and two racers are neck and neck that they should have blown the whistle and declared Martin the winner because of a major wreck behind them that had absolutely no effect on those two racecars dashing towards the finish line? Thats absurd man.

Yeah lets call it. Theres some big collisions behind us and it looks like Im ahead so lets just declare the winner with video footage confirmation at the time dipshit in 5th sideswiped that other guy. Forget about the finish line and stuff between the one and two cars.

Unreal. Fucking new age fans dont care about a photo finish and are worried about points in the first race of the season. Perhaps the whole NEXTEL garbage has skewed viewers into forgetting what real racing is all about.

I've been a NASCAR fan since I could walk (I use to go to the local NASCAR-sponsor local track for years back in my days).

The rules are put in for safety. You have to remember, you still had a bunch of cars behind that field (remember, Busch was in 3rd place when he spun). I think it's horrible in a sense that the 40th place car can pass the car that had to slow or stop to avoid the wreck just a quarter of a mile or so from the line.

I do wonder about the speed of Harvick. He had a run off the turn, but he lost his "draft" as they turned down through the dog-leg. I was just amazed he kept it.

[spleen1015]

Does anyone remember the Daytona 500 ending under the lights? For some reason, I am annoyed by this.

[DanGarion]

It was interesting to watch that top glued to Clarkson's tit and hope the glue would give way....

PIX PLS KTHNX!

[Dutch]

Does anyone remember the Daytona 500 ending under the lights? For some reason, I am annoyed by this.

Global Warming.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I don't think I realized that ESPN had bought Setanta Sports until I saw it mentioned in this bit from www.jayski.com


UPDATE: LIVE NASCAR Nextel Cup returns to NASN on Sunday February 25th and will air on Setanta Sports Ireland (Sky Channel 434 in UK and 429 in ROI). Tune in at 8pm for all the exciting racing action from the Auto Club 500. Check back on nasn.com for further announcements about additional motor sport programming on NASN.(NASN.com)(2-21-2007)

(previously)

NASCAR on TV in Europe on hold UPDATE: Fears are growing that there will be no live Nextel Cup coverage for fans in Britain and the rest of Europe in 2007 as satellite TV station NASN struggles to reach an agreement with the series. NASN, whose parent company Setanta Sports has been bought by ESPN, has broadcast live or as-live coverage of every Nextel Cup race for the last three years. However their existing NASCAR contract finished at the end of 2006 and with barely a week to go before the 2007 season kicks off with the Budweiser Shootout [Feb 10th], fears are growing that fans in Europe will be blacked out. Even though ESPN have returned as a Nextel Cup broadcaster in the United States in 2007, their coverage isn't due to begin until the second half of the 2007 season with FOX and TNT covering the first 18 races, including the prized Daytona 500. (crash.net)

[Ryan S]

I don't think I realized that ESPN had bought Setanta Sports until I saw it mentioned in this bit from www.jayski.com (http://www.jayski.com)


The article is incorrect. Setanta Sports own the "North American Sports Network", and are currently in the process of selling it off to ESPN (It is just waiting for regulator approval).

[RendeR]

Tony Stewart wins in California with Denny Hamlin a very close second!


That is all.

[spleen1015]

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is leaving DEI at the end of the year. With the way this sport works, he will most likely be signed by another team by the end of this season.

I hope Gibbs can sign him.

[Atocep]

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is leaving DEI at the end of the year. With the way this sport works, he will most likely be signed by another team by the end of this season.

I hope Gibbs can sign him.

Dale Jr. and Truex are supposedly both leaving DEI to race under Jr.'s own team which as of now has only run Busch series races.

[spleen1015]

Dale Jr. and Truex are supposedly both leaving DEI to race under Jr.'s own team which as of now has only run Busch series races.

At his press conference today he said he hasn't signed a deal with anyone yet. Truex is still with DEI and he is in no part involved with what Jr is doing.

[miami_fan]

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/story?seriesId=2&id=2871375

Dale Earnhardt Inc. was notified Tuesday what the penalties are for infractions found on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s car at Darlington. They are heavy.

Earnhardt was docked 100 points while crew chief Tony Eury Jr. was fined $100,000 and suspended for six races beginning with the Coca-Cola 600 on May 27. Team owner Teresa Earnhardt also has been docked 100 owner points.

Eury Jr. expected the penalty from NASCAR this week to be serious.

"I was definitely not trying to get away with nothing, so you can take it for what it is," he said Saturday. "There's nothing I can do about it. Whatever they hand down, it certainly wasn't on purpose."

NASCAR confiscated the rear wing mounts from Earnhardt's car on Saturday before the Nextel Cup race at Darlington Raceway was postponed until Sunday due to rain.

Eury called it an "interpretation."

"It was a bad deal," he said. "It was a part that got put on there that shouldn't have. We've done a lot of offseason testing for NASCAR. There's been three different styles of brackets on there and it just happened to be one of those old-style brackets."

Eury said the brackets were the same ones that weren't discovered during pre- or post-qualifying inspections.

"It fit all of their templates," he said. "It just had a problem when you put [the angle] to where you should have."

Eury said he tried to explain how to fix the problem to series director John Darby.


The cynical sports fan in me says this is another dig at DEI by Jr. Am I wrong?

[DanGarion]

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/story?seriesId=2&id=2871375



The cynical sports fan in me says this is another dig at DEI by Jr. Am I wrong?

How so, he had no control in this.

[JonInMiddleGA]

http://sports.myway.com/news/09082007/v9989.html

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) -Dario Franchitti will become the latest open-wheel star to make the jump to NASCAR.

A source close to the negotiations said Franchitti will sign with Chip Ganassi Racing to drive the No. 40 Dodge beginning in 2008. David Stremme, the current driver of the No. 40, has already been told he will not have the ride next year.

The source, who asked to not be identified because details of the agreement have not yet been finalized, said Ganassi and Franchitti decided to make the announcement after the end of the IndyCar Series schedule, which ends with Sunday's PEAK Antifreeze 300 at Chicagoland Speedway.

He will join Juan Pablo Montoya, another former open-wheel star, a heralded rookie with Ganassi's NASCAR Nextel Cup team this season. Franchitti and Montoya tied for the CART - now champ Car - series points lead in 1999, with the Colombian driver winning the title on a tiebreaker - four more wins.

Franchitti, who currently drives for Andretti Green Racing, goes into Sunday's race with a three-point lead over Ganassi driver Scott Dixon in the battle for the series title.

"Right now, all I want to concentrate on is winning this championship and then winning the (American Le Mans Series) championship next week in Utah," Ganassi said Saturday. "All this other stuff can wait until after that."

Franchitti also declined to talk about the future, saying, "I'm trying to win a championship here, and that's all I want to talk about."

Speculation on the 34-year-old Franchitti's racing future began in May after he won the Indianapolis 500 for the first time. The Scotsman works on one-year contracts, so he would become a free agent on Dec. 1.

Although he has gotten along well with his teammates, there has been some recent friction with team co-owner Michael Andretti after Franchitti and Andretti's son, Marco, crashed late in the race last month in Sonoma, costing Franchitti a shot at a win and, at the point, the series lead.

Franchitti said he and the elder Andretti "talked things out" at a dinner last week in Detroit.

It is expected that Franchitti, who has yet to drive a stock car of any kind, will get a quick course in the sport from Ganassi, who plans, according to the source, to enter him in a series of ARCA and NASCAR Busch Series races to get him up to speed.