2008 NASCAR Thread

[Packer487 3]

Very interesting article in light of the little discussion Jeremy88 and I had about the tires.

Stewart is standing by what he said, but several drivers have said that he probably overreacted.

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/story?s...&id=3286668

Newman pointed out that there were no tire failures or safety issues at Atlanta.

"Was the tire harder than we needed or anticipated what we needed it to be?" he asked. "Maybe so. Tony said a lot of things. I only read a couple of them, but either way, as long as the tire is safe, that's a good thing.

"Is it the best tire we've driven? No, I don't think so. I really enjoyed the way the old cars drove with the old tires, but that's gone. It is what it is," he said.

Gordon agreed, saying with the new car and a high bank such as Atlanta "it's the toughest race car in the world to build tires for."

"Goodyear does an excellent job at providing us the best tires that they can," he added. "I don't think it's an easy job that they have, and this particular car is even harder on tires."

Apparently Stewart and Mike Helton had a nice little discussion about it on Stewart's radio show this past week. I would've liked to have heard that....

[Guest Jeremy88]

Ugh...the tire debate is already annoying me. Tony went overboard...goodyear does need to try a little harder, but i'm sure they're trying really hard as it is...etc etc...i'm sure the atlanta race this fall will be much better

So...wtf Chevy? Where'd that dominance go? I know it's only 4 race in...but Chevy is the only manufacturer that hasn't won...and i know it's only 4 races into the season, but that's unusual for Chevy.

GO DALE JR!

[betterREDthandead 58]

There are teams in Nascar. Hendrick Motorsports owns the 24, 48, 88, and 5 car...(yeah guys, Casey Mears is part of Hendrick too)...and since Rick Hendrick has DEEP pockets, he can spend so much money on his racing program. Therefore Jimmie Johnson (48) can go out and win 10 races a year and win the championship. Yeah, Jimmie a really good driver, but last year he had the best equipment.

Now Roush Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing seem to be the two top teams. Roush has a ton of money, and Toyota gave Gibbs a ton of money, so they're to two best teams...although Dale Jr (88) has been the best Hendrick driver so far this year (we're only in 4 races tho).

So the short answer to your question is: Money = Fast.

Plus the best teams attract the best drivers, because the best drivers want to drive the best cars. There's no such difference in sports like hockey or baseball - it's not as if the Yankees have better bats and gloves than the Royals.

[Guest Jeremy88]

Anyone who thinks Bettman is doing a crap-tacular job running the NHL...try being a NASCAR fan for a week. So far this year, the guys who run NASCAR have made a ton of stupid decisions, and we're only on race #5. I can't count (nor do I want to) all the stupid decisions NASCAR has made.............BUT

Bud Shootout - Kurt Busch goes crazy on track slamming into Tony Stewart's car several times on the frontstretch. Busch gets no penalty and is allowed to race in the Bud Shootout event.

Daytona 500 - Robby Gordon gets penalized for something Dodge was at fault for...Robby Gordon goes into an appeal process that costs him a lot of time and money (Idk about money, but I'm assuming).

California - NASCAR starts the race when the track is clearly still damp in some areas, resulting in a several car crash that endangers two drivers in a fire...AND...Nascar tells fans the race will restart after the rain delay at 12 am Eastern time, postpones it to 1, then postpones it to 2 am....then postpones the race to the day after after promising east coast fans a race and making us stay up until 2 am only to tell us it got rescheduled...

Las Vegas - Carl Edwards and the 99 team get penalized 100 points, $100,000, and crew chief Bob Osborne gets a 6 race suspension for the oil lid being off....which most likely occured DURING the race.

Atlanta - NASCAR lets Goodyear give the teams a new tire that hasn't been tested properly a week before the race...and not to mention the tire that WAS tested was fine.

Nascar is always making stupid ass decisions. If qualifying is rained out, the starting grid is set by owner points...the go or go home cars (which is a stupid rule itself) don't even have a chance to make the show...Nascar could easily run qualifying the next day, or even just let the go or go home cars qualify...but do they? No.

Also...Nascar letting the cup drivers race in the Busch (Yeah, it's still the Busch series to me...Nationwide can suck my balls) races...which takes away opportunity for young up and coming drivers.

The way Mike Helton and Brian (Is it Brian or Bill?) France run Nascar makes Gary Bettman look like the smartest man alive...

[betterREDthandead 58]

Anyone who thinks Bettman is doing a crap-tacular job running the NHL...try being a NASCAR fan for a week. So far this year, the guys who run NASCAR have made a ton of stupid decisions, and we're only on race #5. I can't count (nor do I want to) all the stupid decisions NASCAR has made.............BUT

Bud Shootout - Kurt Busch goes crazy on track slamming into Tony Stewart's car several times on the frontstretch. Busch gets no penalty and is allowed to race in the Bud Shootout event.

Daytona 500 - Robby Gordon gets penalized for something Dodge was at fault for...Robby Gordon goes into an appeal process that costs him a lot of time and money (Idk about money, but I'm assuming).

California - NASCAR starts the race when the track is clearly still damp in some areas, resulting in a several car crash that endangers two drivers in a fire...AND...Nascar tells fans the race will restart after the rain delay at 12 am Eastern time, postpones it to 1, then postpones it to 2 am....then postpones the race to the day after after promising east coast fans a race and making us stay up until 2 am only to tell us it got rescheduled...

Las Vegas - Carl Edwards and the 99 team get penalized 100 points, $100,000, and crew chief Bob Osborne gets a 6 race suspension for the oil lid being off....which most likely occured DURING the race.

Atlanta - NASCAR lets Goodyear give the teams a new tire that hasn't been tested properly a week before the race...and not to mention the tire that WAS tested was fine.

Nascar is always making stupid ass decisions. If qualifying is rained out, the starting grid is set by owner points...the go or go home cars (which is a stupid rule itself) don't even have a chance to make the show...Nascar could easily run qualifying the next day, or even just let the go or go home cars qualify...but do they? No.

Also...Nascar letting the cup drivers race in the Busch (Yeah, it's still the Busch series to me...Nationwide can suck my balls) races...which takes away opportunity for young up and coming drivers.

The way Mike Helton and Brian (Is it Brian or Bill?) France run Nascar makes Gary Bettman look like the smartest man alive...

Couple of these, I think I got some responses....

Robby Gordon - you're absolutely right. Stupid penalty, and yes, it no doubt cost Gordon some money to appeal, and it actually ended up costing even more, because the result of the appeal was the points were restored but the crew chief's fine was increased. Kind of a head-scratcher.....guess they wanted to feel like they were generously allowing a trade-off while still punishing for the offense.

California - again, absolutely right, I turned off that race and didn't look back. Lame as hell. NASCAR's got a few off weekends in the schedule. Reschedule the race for later in the year, how hard is that? If baseball can handle that, as they do all the time while competing for stadium space with football teams and concerts, surely NASCAR can figure it out for a racetrack that's only got one purpose.

Atlanta - Tony Stewart needs to STFU. It's like a football team complaining the ground was too muddy. Guess what, bucko, everyone had to race on the same tires. Oh, I'm so ******* sorry you felt uncomfortable. Your comfort zone got thrown off and you couldn't race like you wanted to. Everyone else had the same tire. And you know what I didn't see very much of (if any) during that race? Tires flying apart.

the Busch/Nationwide/whatever series (you still calling it the Winston Cup? ) - NASCAR really kind of has a very fine line to walk here. Nobody's gonna watch the minor league race if it's nothing but minor league drivers. My solution would be to allow the Sprint drivers to race, earn the money, and walk victory lane if they win, but rack up no points. Any racer in the Nationwide race who then races the Sprint race forfeits all their Nationwide points for that week. Simple. You'll still get all kinds of Sprint racers in the Nationwide races, thus keeping people interested. But the Nationwide racers will be able to stack up against one another in the points column instead of having a guy like Carl Edwards clinching him a Nationwide championship with like two races left. It's in a way beneficial for the Nationwide drivers because they get the chance to race the big boys, but if the big boys aren't scoring points it'll let the minor leaguers stand out on paper.

[Guest Jeremy88]

Atlanta - Tony Stewart needs to STFU. It's like a football team complaining the ground was too muddy. Guess what, bucko, everyone had to race on the same tires. Oh, I'm so ******* sorry you felt uncomfortable. Your comfort zone got thrown off and you couldn't race like you wanted to. Everyone else had the same tire. And you know what I didn't see very much of (if any) during that race? Tires flying apart.

the Busch/Nationwide/whatever series (you still calling it the Winston Cup? ) - NASCAR really kind of has a very fine line to walk here. Nobody's gonna watch the minor league race if it's nothing but minor league drivers. My solution would be to allow the Sprint drivers to race, earn the money, and walk victory lane if they win, but rack up no points. Any racer in the Nationwide race who then races the Sprint race forfeits all their Nationwide points for that week. Simple. You'll still get all kinds of Sprint racers in the Nationwide races, thus keeping people interested. But the Nationwide racers will be able to stack up against one another in the points column instead of having a guy like Carl Edwards clinching him a Nationwide championship with like two races left. It's in a way beneficial for the Nationwide drivers because they get the chance to race the big boys, but if the big boys aren't scoring points it'll let the minor leaguers stand out on paper.

Lol...Tony did go overboard...but there were quite a few other drivers who were too uncomfortable on the track

Idk about the n'wide series. The reason I don't watch Nationwide races is because it's the cup guys winning all the time. I might watch the Daytona/Talladega/Bristol races for the Busch series, but that's about it. Idk...when I see a cup driver win a Busch race, part of me says "It's not worth much, because they should be racing in the higher league", but then I think that "Oh, half the field is cup drivers"...Idk...personally, I think cup guys should get to race a maximum of 5 Nationwide series races a year. It's not like you see guys like Pavel Datsyuk and Alexander Ovechkin tearing it up in AHL games...that's what it's like when Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch run the Nationwide races.

[Guest Jeremy88]

I hate Denny Hamlin.

Idk why, cuz my favorite dude is Stewart (I don't really like Jr anymore due to some bad stuff I've heard).

Man...that ending was dumb...but atleast Hamlin lost.

[Packer487 3]

I'm surprised this story hasn't received more pub, because it's really funny and it resulted in a ton of money going to a great cause.

I think Stewart is a real ****** for the way he acts around the media, but at the same time, he really doesn't get enough credit for the time and money he gives to charity.

He and Harvick made a bet last year that if Harvick could raise $100,000 for the Victory Junction Gang camp, Stewart would agree to get his body waxed. Apparently he looks very much like Andy in 40 Year Old Virgin. Well the fans on Kevin Harvick's message board (myself included) donated almost $40,000 and Harvick picked up the rest.

Stewart, true to his word, agreed to have his body waxed and tonight was the night. They broadcast it on Stewart's radio show on Sirius. Unfortunately, I couldn't hear it (I have XM) but someone on Harvick's message board had a running thread about it, basically giving play by play. It was hysterical. I guess Harvick spent most of the broadcast just laughing his ass off. It didn't sound like a pleasant night for Mr. Stewart, but it sure was an entertaining read. I'm hopeful that the audio will eventually surface.

The son of Bowyer's crew chief (he's 12) was walking around the garage asking various drivers what they thought about the situation--if Stewart would cry, how much weight will he lose, etc. A lot of them had really funny answers--it's linked in the thread on Harvick's board. The coolest thing was that Ford Martin asked Jimmy Johnson how much he'd pay to rip off one of the strips and he said "Well, I'm going to be unavailable that day but I'll donate $10,000 if you get to rip off a strip." So Ford got to tear off a strip and another ten grand went to charity. JD Gibbs kicked in $15,000 to have them wax the strip right on the back of his neck.

Originally, Stewart had said that if Harvick came up with the $100,000, he would donate $100,000 of his own money for Harvick to shave his head. I don't think that happened tonight, but after the pain it sounds like Tony went through and the on-track incident, it wouldn't shock me if that's not too far down the line.

So even though I'm never going to like the guy--I think he's a drama queen who complains too much and throws a lot of stones for someone who lives in a glass house--I respect the hell out of him for enduring that much pain so a bunch of less fortunate kids can go to camp...and for living up to his end of the bargain. And I'm happy I was able to contribute to the Wax Smoke Fund and help to inflict a little pain on him :-)

[Guest Jeremy88]

I'm surprised this story hasn't received more pub, because it's really funny and it resulted in a ton of money going to a great cause.

I think Stewart is a real ****** for the way he acts around the media, but at the same time, he really doesn't get enough credit for the time and money he gives to charity.

He and Harvick made a bet last year that if Harvick could raise $100,000 for the Victory Junction Gang camp, Stewart would agree to get his body waxed. Apparently he looks very much like Andy in 40 Year Old Virgin. Well the fans on Kevin Harvick's message board (myself included) donated almost $40,000 and Harvick picked up the rest.

Stewart, true to his word, agreed to have his body waxed and tonight was the night. They broadcast it on Stewart's radio show on Sirius. Unfortunately, I couldn't hear it (I have XM) but someone on Harvick's message board had a running thread about it, basically giving play by play. It was hysterical. I guess Harvick spent most of the broadcast just laughing his ass off. It didn't sound like a pleasant night for Mr. Stewart, but it sure was an entertaining read. I'm hopeful that the audio will eventually surface.

The son of Bowyer's crew chief (he's 12) was walking around the garage asking various drivers what they thought about the situation--if Stewart would cry, how much weight will he lose, etc. A lot of them had really funny answers--it's linked in the thread on Harvick's board. The coolest thing was that Ford Martin asked Jimmy Johnson how much he'd pay to rip off one of the strips and he said "Well, I'm going to be unavailable that day but I'll donate $10,000 if you get to rip off a strip." So Ford got to tear off a strip and another ten grand went to charity. JD Gibbs kicked in $15,000 to have them wax the strip right on the back of his neck.

Originally, Stewart had said that if Harvick came up with the $100,000, he would donate $100,000 of his own money for Harvick to shave his head. I don't think that happened tonight, but after the pain it sounds like Tony went through and the on-track incident, it wouldn't shock me if that's not too far down the line.

So even though I'm never going to like the guy--I think he's a drama queen who complains too much and throws a lot of stones for someone who lives in a glass house--I respect the hell out of him for enduring that much pain so a bunch of less fortunate kids can go to camp...and for living up to his end of the bargain. And I'm happy I was able to contribute to the Wax Smoke Fund and help to inflict a little pain on him :-)

Yeah that is a heart-warming story. It's funny, but it's nice. And Tony def. needed to get that nasty hair off his back and neck...i saw an interview where we was wearing a loose t-shirt, and i couldn't stop staring at his disgusting shoulder hair.

But that's one of the reason's I like Tony. He's really awesome with charity and stuff. That and his incredible amount of racing skill, level of determination, and how he's not afraid to speak his mind (even if he is going overboard) is why he's my #1 guy. (Again, I used to like Jr #1, and Tony #2, but I heard some stuff about Jr being an ******* in real life, so I don't really like him too much anymore)

[betterREDthandead 58]

I just gotta say....short-track racing? It sucks. Martinsville would be a better go-kart track than a NASCAR track. I watched one of the Martinsville races last year and really didn't like it. Decided to give it another try today - nope. There's no room to pass and no room to speed up. The announcers are always talking about how cool it is that there's so much bumping and contact and whatnot. Yippee, bumping at 45 MPH. Someone loses control, they slide slowly into the wall and continue on their merry way. The point of watching auto racing is to watch really cool fast cars zoom around at absurdly high speeds. Don't think I'll be watching much short-track racing any more.

[Guest Jeremy88]

I just gotta say....short-track racing? It sucks. Martinsville would be a better go-kart track than a NASCAR track. I watched one of the Martinsville races last year and really didn't like it. Decided to give it another try today - nope. There's no room to pass and no room to speed up. The announcers are always talking about how cool it is that there's so much bumping and contact and whatnot. Yippee, bumping at 45 MPH. Someone loses control, they slide slowly into the wall and continue on their merry way. The point of watching auto racing is to watch really cool fast cars zoom around at absurdly high speeds. Don't think I'll be watching much short-track racing any more.

It's been proven the faster the racing, the worse it is. Look at Indy Racing. They're flying around at 230 mph, and the racing is boring as hell.

Idk why Martinsville is so criticized. I love watching Martinsville. I think it's some of the best racing Nascar has. They're always so close to each other, always bumping and rubbing. This is classic nascar. Who needs them to speed up? It'd probably ruin the good racing Martinsville has.

[Packer487 3]

It's been proven the faster the racing, the worse it is. Look at Indy Racing. They're flying around at 230 mph, and the racing is boring as hell.

Idk why Martinsville is so criticized. I love watching Martinsville. I think it's some of the best racing Nascar has. They're always so close to each other, always bumping and rubbing. This is classic nascar. Who needs them to speed up? It'd probably ruin the good racing Martinsville has.

I'm with you about Martinsville. I love the short tracks. But I'm completely disagree about the IndyCar races. The IRL traditionally has some of the most consistently close finishes in the racing world. Those guys go wheel to wheel at 230 and if they touch wheels, they're flipping. Those guys have cajones. Hell, even the championship came down to turn 3 of the last lap of the season. To each their own, I guess, but I don't see any way to classify it as boring. I guess it just depends if you've got someone to root for...

[betterREDthandead 58]

I'm with you about Martinsville. I love the short tracks. But I'm completely disagree about the IndyCar races. The IRL traditionally has some of the most consistently close finishes in the racing world. Those guys go wheel to wheel at 230 and if they touch wheels, they're flipping. Those guys have cajones. Hell, even the championship came down to turn 3 of the last lap of the season. To each their own, I guess, but I don't see any way to classify it as boring. I guess it just depends if you've got someone to root for...

Yeah, I agree about IRL. Those guys are going fast and there really is much less margin for error than in a NASCAR race. Tony Kanaan got taken out yesterday in an incident that wouldn't have meant anything in NASCAR, but Indy cars are too fragile to allow that kind of contact.

Short-track racing is all a matter of taste....if you like the style, you like it. I wouldn't dream of advocating that NASCAR stop racing at the short tracks, it's a big part of the history. But I'm not gonna watch any more, I'll stick with the speedways and the occasional road course.

[Guest Jeremy88]

I hate Denny Hamlin.

Just quoting myself after the disappointing finish from Martinsville

[Guest Jeremy88]

Well....I guess nascar never left the dominance era. I guarantee you that between Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson, they will win 50% of the races this year. And I'm sick of it.

If the 99 or 48 wins another race before Stewart, Harvick, or any true underdog, I'm done watching nascar. I'm not gonna watch the same god damn race every week. That's what it is. It's the same drivers racing for the win, it's just a different track.

[mannysBETTER3434 1]

Well....I guess nascar never left the dominance era. I guarantee you that between Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson, they will win 50% of the races this year. And I'm sick of it.

If the 99 or 48 wins another race before Stewart, Harvick, or any true underdog, I'm done watching nascar. I'm not gonna watch the same god damn race every week. That's what it is. It's the same drivers racing for the win, it's just a different track.

I agree with your frustration. I would like to see guys like Labonte, Martin, or someone else get a W once in a while, and Kyle Petty getting a top 20 every now and then

[jerm8352 3]

It wouldn't be so bad if the races were close. However, every race is being won by like 6 or more seconds. That's just boring. That new car really sucks at 1.5 mile tracks.

[mannysBETTER3434 1]

Bring back the car of yesterday!!

[jerm8352 3]

I couldn't agree more. I'm all for safety but you would think they could come up with a safer car that didn't suck so bad at actually racing. All the drivers hate the new car to. I really think that Nascar is alienating its hardcore fanbase and this will come back to bite them sooner or later.

[betterREDthandead 58]

Didn't think I'd do this, but yesterday I found myself actually pulling for Junior to win the race. (I think it's because it was Michigan and I liked the idea of Michigan being the track that Junior broke his streak at.)

Unfortunately, other than a little bit of fuel-mileage drama, it was kind of a lame race otherwise.

Definitely looking forward to next week's road course race (even though it has Toyota's name on it, grrrrrrrr)......chance for my man Robby Gordon to shine. The dude likes road courses. Does better at the Glen but his roots are in open-wheel racing. Hopefully that will also bring out the best in Penske's Sam Hornish. Always pulling for the Penske cars. (Plus the 77 is one of the best lookin' cars on the track, and one of my favorite numbers besides.)

[Packer487 3]

Didn't think I'd do this, but yesterday I found myself actually pulling for Junior to win the race. (I think it's because it was Michigan and I liked the idea of Michigan being the track that Junior broke his streak at.)

Unfortunately, other than a little bit of fuel-mileage drama, it was kind of a lame race otherwise.

Definitely looking forward to next week's road course race (even though it has Toyota's name on it, grrrrrrrr)......chance for my man Robby Gordon to shine. The dude likes road courses. Does better at the Glen but his roots are in open-wheel racing. Hopefully that will also bring out the best in Penske's Sam Hornish. Always pulling for the Penske cars. (Plus the 77 is one of the best lookin' cars on the track, and one of my favorite numbers besides.)

I love the road courses. I'm hoping for a breakout week for the 29. They had a top 5 in the bag until that last caution came out at MIS...they needed a good run. It should be a good race. Stewart, both Gordons, Harvick, Montoya, and the road course ringers should all be pretty good.

BTW, the day is drawing ever-closer when someone re-arraigns Shrub's face, and it's going to be awesome.

Also, Stewart deserves some more credit for donating his winnings from MIS to help the Red Cross deal with the situation in Indiana and Iowa (and for raising $1 million for the Victory Junction Gang with that Eldora race). If he wasn't such a jackass at the track, he'd be downright likable!

[betterREDthandead 58]

Woooooooo top 10 for Robby Fun to actually watch him race and have the announcers actually acknowledge he exists.

P.S. where's Montoya when you need him? Last week he straight punted Shrub and it was sweet. Too bad Carl Edwards couldn't quiiiiiiiite pull off the win this week. G.D. Toyotas.

[josh 0]

kile bush is really pissing me off im glad he got booed at daytona it was funney seeing him get beer cans thrown at him its like every time jr doesnt win at daytona or talladega except dj in05 that was the first race i seen in 2 months and the first time i saw emptey seats for the night race at daytona i wonder y with the excption of gas prices

[betterREDthandead 58]

OK, who watched the Brickyard race today? Curious to hear people's thoughts on that.

Mine:

People are saying it was a terrible race, and it was. The tires made things hard. But I thought NASCAR made it a LOT worse with all the competition cautions. I could understand the first couple - make people get an idea of what the tires look like, since practice showed the track was going to eat up tires pretty quick. And obviously, safety is paramount. But these are friggin' safe cars, as evidenced by Kenseth's blowout. That car looked like it got hit with a rocket launcher after his tire asploded, and yet he pulled into the garage and 20 minutes later came out with a new quarter panel made of fairy dust, the wishes of sick children, and copious amounts of duct tape. And finished the race! If that blowout didn't kill the driver, no blowout will. NASCAR should have let them race and let some damn strategy come into play instead of calling it a "fastest pit crew wins" race.

[Packer487 3]

OK, who watched the Brickyard race today? Curious to hear people's thoughts on that.

Mine:

People are saying it was a terrible race, and it was. The tires made things hard. But I thought NASCAR made it a LOT worse with all the competition cautions. I could understand the first couple - make people get an idea of what the tires look like, since practice showed the track was going to eat up tires pretty quick. And obviously, safety is paramount. But these are friggin' safe cars, as evidenced by Kenseth's blowout. That car looked like it got hit with a rocket launcher after his tire asploded, and yet he pulled into the garage and 20 minutes later came out with a new quarter panel made of fairy dust, the wishes of sick children, and copious amounts of duct tape. And finished the race! If that blowout didn't kill the driver, no blowout will. NASCAR should have let them race and let some damn strategy come into play instead of calling it a "fastest pit crew wins" race.

I'm pretty much with you. It was quite possibly the worst race I've ever seen. Nascar was trying to make the best out of a bad situation and keep things as safe as possible, but it took pretty much all the strategy out of the race. With so many cars on the lead lap, the teams had to know that any tire problem would knock them to 35th or worse, so I doubt anyone would have tried to press their luck late in the going.

I'd be pissed if I shelled out the money to go to that race. Tony George must have been having deja vu, thinking back to the F1 race where only six cars took the green due to tire concerns. Maybe this is just the Racing Gods' way of saying "Only IndyCars should be running on that track"