|| *Comments on the 2011 Kroger 200 Benefitting Riley Hospital for Children:* View the most recent comment <#107> | Post a comment <#post> 1. 00andJoe posted: 07.30.2011 - 10:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ricky Stenhouse, what in the name of Jackson, Missisippi's Lake Speed were you THINKING taking the inside lane while leading on a restart?! 2. 00andJoe posted: 07.30.2011 - 10:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #87 sponsor: DAB Constructors #70 sponsor: Keenparts.com Corvette Parts #15 sponsor: FastWax.com #52 sponsor: Metro Ministries/Sesame King #13 sponsor: Lilly Trucking of Virginia (Cobb crashed her car in practice, and borrowed a car from Rick Ware's team for the race, hence it was in their sponsor colors.) 3. 00andJoe posted: 07.30.2011 - 10:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The third caution included a red flag period for 12 minutes, 34 seconds. 4. AlmirolaFan88 posted: 07.30.2011 - 10:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The chaos at the end led to some surprised finishers, James Buescher caps off a career best weekend with a career high 3rd. Aric Almirola was headed to yet another 9th or 10th place finish, he finished 4th. Edwards recovers from his late speeding penalty to finish 5. (That actually didn't surprised me one bit) Joe Nemechek gets a Non-Plate track season best finish of 7th. Mike Bliss just misses out on a Top 10, and David Stremme finishes a respectable 13th. 5. 18fan posted: 07.30.2011 - 10:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Trevor Bayne was on pace for a second place finish when his engine blew with 12 laps to go, then Justin Allgaier had a fire on his car while running second, which led to Elliott Sadler being upset because that moved Keselowski from 4th to 2nd while Elliott stayed 3rd. 6. AlmirolaFan88 posted: 07.30.2011 - 10:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wait, nevermind I guess Buescher really did finish 2nd. Damn you ESPN, confusing me 'n stuff. BTW not really a fan of the new ESPN ticker, but they've been using in in Indy Car this year so I guess it was only a matter of time before it moved over to Nationwide....and probably Cup. 7. 18fan posted: 07.30.2011 - 10:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) At first Buescher was credited with 2nd, then Stenhouse was 2nd with James 3rd, and now it looks like Buescher is back to 2nd with Stenhouse 3rd. 8. Anonymous posted: 07.30.2011 - 10:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So much for Jennifer Jo Cobb's stance against start-n-parking. 9. 00andJoe posted: 07.30.2011 - 10:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #8: JJC only S&P'd because she wrecked her car in practice and didn't have a backup car. She borrowed one of Rick Ware's cars for the race - can't blame her for not wanting to bend it. 10. Cooper posted: 07.30.2011 - 10:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is my favourite Nationwide win for Brad. That car was not very good and somehow he manhandled it to a victory. Some good luck and hard driving payed off for BK. He was running 9th with 17 laps to go and somehow he pulled off the W. Brad looked great on restarts and he regained his aggressiveness which he hasn't shown in a while. There is only one problem...It's the Nationwide Series. You gotta do this in the races that matter Brad. Brad should feel like a Million bucks when he wakes up tomorrow. That was one of his best drives of his career. Now kick some ass tomorrow. Also--I loved ESPN's new leaderboard look. They also showed a graphic which labeled the lucky dogs and wave arounds. Overall, I thought ESPN's coverage was much improved (even though they missed the red flag wreck.) 11. New 14&88 Fan posted: 07.30.2011 - 10:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Did Marty Reed, Rusty and Ricky Craven leave their brains at home by chance...I mean really it was clear as day that Steve lost it going into three long after Buescher backed off due to the caution ALREADY being out yet they were going all out to claim that the #30 got him loose.That's excluding that fact that ESPN once again missed the beginning of another serious wreck(Tim Andrews and Annett spinning and hitting the wall). Elliott Sadler is cursed. Was hopping Stenhouse could get back to Brad and bump him but Brad got a great restart and left everyone behind.A great recovery by Carl too after getting busted for speeding off pit road. 12. 00andJoe posted: 07.30.2011 - 10:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cooper - The new leaderboard is nice, but combined with the BottomLine ticker sometimes made me feel as if I was squinting through a mailslot to watch the race. 13. 00andJoe posted: 07.30.2011 - 10:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #31 sponsor: Brandt/Deft Finishes 14. Cooper posted: 07.30.2011 - 10:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "12. 00andJoe posted: 07.30.11 - 10:54 pm" I hear ya! My 42" television turns into a 15" T.V. when ESPN does the races. They have a ticker/pop-up/graphic for everything. 15. dUDE gUY posted: 07.30.2011 - 11:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Another Cupper wins. Meh. 16. Kinetic posted: 07.30.2011 - 11:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Double standards everywhere here. So Cooper, Brad should feel like a million bucks even though many on this site say that Kyle and Carl shouldn't feel happy when they win Nationwide races? Unbelievable. 17. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 07.30.2011 - 11:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) For the third season in a row, Brad Keselowski wins the final Nationwide race to be held at a track. Pretty soon the tracks in Nationwide are gonna match the Cup schedule. For the second night in a row, James Buescher pulls off a surprise finish. I was disappointed that Ricky Stenhouse did not win this race, and that a Cup driver who has a Cup ride did. Hopefully next year there will be more open opportunites for guys like him, with Edwards and Keselowski cutting back next season. 18. DaleSrFanForever posted: 07.30.2011 - 11:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) New14 beat me to it, but I have to say it too. Do you ESPN guys think we are FREAKING. STUPID?!?!? Honestly, Steve clearly pinched Buscher against the wall, so it was his fault in the first place. Second, they were disengaged a LONG time before Steve got sideways barrelling into the corner with two wrecked cars. That was 100% Steve driving with no sense. This bias towards Rusty's cars is ridiculous and old. Enough is enough. Even Ricky Craven, whom I have a ton of respect for, was getting in on it, he was probably pressured to say so because Rusty is the "star" broadcaster even though Ricky is WAY more competent in the booth. Like was said earlier, why did Stenthouse take the inside on the restart? I was actually hoping he would win and Brad, my favorite driver, would finish 2nd because that is what this Series needs. But he screwed that one up. I want NWide drivers to win NWide races and Brad to win Cup races. But I am proud of his team. They had to work hard for this one. Epic fail by Sadler. He messed up qualifying, drove an outstanding race to get in the top 3, then threw it away at the end. Gonna miss this track. Excellent short track racing. Another victim of greed. The losers, as always, are us fans. Typical. 19. V12 Matra posted: 07.30.2011 - 11:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good race, hopefully I can stay awake during the Snoreyard 400 tomorrow. 20. Bronco posted: 07.30.2011 - 11:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I can't even remember the last time a Nationwide regular dominated a race like the way Ricky did tonight. He deserved to win. Brad didn't deserve to win this one. When the #31 car (running 2nd) was on fire stand headed to the garage, Elliott Sadler (running 3rd) should have restarted the race on the front row alongside Ricky. Instead, NASCAR simply advanced the line of cars behind the #31 which put Brad in a position to win. I'm glad Elliott brought that up in his post race interview. This was Joe Nemechek's first top 10 in a non RP Nationwide event since Homestead 2005. 21. Cooper posted: 07.30.2011 - 11:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "16. Kinetic posted: 07.30.11 - 11:04 pm" :) This was a good confidence builder for him. Especially after his accident at Loudon two weeks ago. It was a great drive by him and he should feel good about his chances tomorrow. 10. Cooper posted: 07.30.11 - 10:50 pm "There is only one problem...It's the Nationwide Series. You gotta do this in the races that matter Brad." I've never had to quote myself before, but I guess there's a first time for everything... 22. Kinetic posted: 07.30.2011 - 11:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well if Stenhouse can avoid bad luck, he's basically a lock for the championship. Performance wise, they're a top-3 team every weekend now. The Turner cars can't keep up with the 6's pace. Sadler is the only real possibility to stop the #6 from running away with the title. 23. Cooper posted: 07.30.2011 - 11:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "20. Bronco posted: 07.30.11 - 11:16 pm" I agree. That is a terrible rule and should be changed immediately. But that's been the rule since the double file restarts came into effect, so I don't have any remorse for Sadler. 24. Kinetic posted: 07.30.2011 - 11:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cooper, it was a great drive by him no doubt. I'm not a Keselowski hater. I'm just looking for some more objectivity when it comes to these Cup regular winning these Nationwide races. Kyle and Carl have had great drives numerous times in the past in this series as well. 25. AlmirolaFan88 posted: 07.30.2011 - 11:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Alot of people thought Trevor Bayne would storm back into the Top 10 in points by season's end after returning at Chicago, but poor Bayne still hasn't seperated himself from Mike Bliss and Mike Wallace yet. He was actually ahead of them after Michigan, now he's tied with Bliss and only ahead of Wallace by 1. Here's hoping he can shake off the bad luck. 26. RACE34 posted: 07.31.2011 - 12:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race was not that great for a short track at least! 27. 12345Dude posted: 07.31.2011 - 12:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great race. Can't believe there getting rid of this track. How the commentators are talking, it sounds like there not going to race this track in the trucks next year. Can't Bill France for once, not think about his checkbook. Two amazing races. Probably watch the last 10 laps at Indy. Also I promise this will be the only thing I try to plug here. All I'll onyl do this once. I'm in an offline league. All you do is fill out your drivers name, car number, and sponcer. There created drivers. There is no skill involved. And every race you see where the drivers from your team finishes. You can have 1-3 drivers. Sign up is here. Just fill out the stuff I said. http://latemodeldirtseries.weebly.com/index.html 28. joey2448 posted: 07.31.2011 - 1:39 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'll never understand why NASCAR put Brad on the front row on the restart and left Elliott in third....that's what gave him the win. 29. RACE34 posted: 07.31.2011 - 1:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) joey2448 I don't understand that either stupid rule book NASCAR has huh! 30. 00andJoe posted: 07.31.2011 - 1:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) joey2448/race34: The rule is that once the cars are lined up double-file, they do -not- move up linerarly if one has to fall back. Which is understandable, actually, as otherwise there'd be a nasty scramble of swapping inside and outside positions. Instead, just as when a car goes to the rear of the field at ths start of a race, the lane the dropped-out car was in moves up one position. It's perfectly logical, it makes perfect sense, and, yes, it screwed both Sadler and Stenhouse here. But the alternatives (barring going back to single-file restarts) aren't any better, in fact, they're worse (dangerous swerving). 31. 00andJoe posted: 07.31.2011 - 1:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh, and that reminds me. What happened with Drew Herring? Right at one of the restarts Marty Reid said he was going to be penalised for going too fast on pit road (which given that they'd just gone green would be a pass-through) but he never came to pit road. Did he just drop back right at the start/already had dropped back and Reid messed up, or was the penalty rescinded? 32. RACE34 posted: 07.31.2011 - 2:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think Reid messed up like he always does! ESPN sucks! 33. TheTruthâ?¢ posted: 07.31.2011 - 2:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I mean really it was clear as day that Steve lost it going into three long after Buescher backed off due to the caution ALREADY being out yet they were going all out to claim that the #30 got him loose." Buescher actually did hit Steve entering 3 when Steve started slowing for the wreck, which easily could've upset his car to where he begin that long slide approaching the wreck. To me, it looked like Steve just got real sideways on the brakes. However, anyone who has raced any car at all knows how touchy a situation that is when someone gets into you right after you back off for the corner. In other words, maybe they shouldn't have been so gung-ho about not talking about Steve possibly just losing control coming into the wreck, but it's absolute truth that Buescher could've been a big reason for it. 34. potatosalad48 posted: 07.31.2011 - 2:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great drive by Brad K from 8th to 1st. The Racing Gods must hate Elliott Sadler. James Buescher actually can do something in decent equiptment. 35. myothercarisanM535i posted: 07.31.2011 - 3:29 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) First two cautions of this race were fake. Disgusting. When Rusty Wallace was saying that building up such a big lead can be a bad thing because then you're less likely to want to change the car as the conditions change, I thought to myself, No, building up such a big lead is a bad thing, because NASCAR is just going to take it all away from you anyway. And on Rusty, is it just me or was he worse than ever? How bout when he was talking about Sorenson going a lap down? "Right now you see, these guys running around right now, have just got stick things out right now and think about the finish instead of right now. Right now, Sorenson has just been past by Stenhouse, so he's not the points leader right now. Right now these guys just need to get an adjustment, not worry about whats happening right now and the beauty of this points system is that what happens right now and at the end of the race, is completely different to what's happening right now" Overall, I thought it was a pretty good race. I just wish that we could have seen the actual race, not the manufactured one. 36. HeyMan posted: 07.31.2011 - 4:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) You think it's a manufactured race because of 2 debris cautions? 37. TheTruthâ?¢ posted: 07.31.2011 - 4:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "#8: JJC only S&P'd because she wrecked her car in practice and didn't have a backup car. She borrowed one of Rick Ware's cars for the race - can't blame her for not wanting to bend it." True, but JJC has already S&Ped a couple of times this year, including a week after her Bristol fiasco which made her look hypocritical. I'd hit it, though, if you know what I'm saying. 38. NicoRosbergFan posted: 07.31.2011 - 6:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Would love see the NNS regulars deliberately wreck the Cup guys every week. 39. cjs3872 posted: 07.31.2011 - 7:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, was anyone surprised about the way the race played out for most of it? With Ricky Stenhouse leading and Trevor Bayne running second, there was no way that Bayne was EVER going to challenge Stenhouse. After all, Stenhouse is the one among those two that runs hard all the time, while Bayne continues to show that he's the next Terry Labonte. Bayne, like Labonte, runs good enough to get into the top five, but does not run hard enough to lead, so as long as he was running second, Stenhouse had absolutely nothing to worry about. I'm almost beginning to think that Bayne doesn't even like to lead races. In fact, the similarity between Bayne and Terry Labonte is uncanny. That's why I don't think that Trevor will win a NNS race, at least this year, as next week's race at Iowa is his last chance. Meanwhile, Stenhouse runs the car as hard as anyone does, and it showed. so when Bayne blew up (when does that ever happen on a short track), it put someone in second that would actually have the nerve to challenge Stenhouse, which Brad Keselowski did. (Bayne said in his interview that if there was another restart that he would have tried to take the lead from Stenhouse, but we know he would never have actually tried. If he really wanted to try for the lead, he would have at least attempted to by then.) Here's a stat that may give those more insight between the simiarities between Bayne and Terry Labonte. Labonte, in 874 Cup starts, including today's Brickyard 400, has only led half the race or more in six, and only led 100 laps or more in 22 of them. Other than restrictor plate races, Bayne has only led under green flag conditions once this year, and that's when strategy put him there at Loudon, where he led 58 laps. Once he got shuffled back in the field, he could not race back to the front. So the point is, here, that Bayne, like Terry Labonte, likes to ride back in the field, rather than lead it, and like Labonte, Bayne seems unwilling to take the chances needed to take the lead. Even in his lone national touring win before his Daytona 500 win, Bayne led just 13 laps, ond only one before the final 20 of that race. But, if the car is running, you can always expect Bayne to be among the top five to eight when the race ends, which is how Terry Labonte always raced. Anyone remember how Labonte won his first race? He did so by watching the drivers running first, second, and third crash because they ran into an oil slick on the next-to-last lap of the 1980 Southern 500. Meanwhile, Stenhouse is always willing to take risks to get up front, and it showed, leading 189 laps, which made being beaten the wat he was even harder to take. By the way, those 189 laps that Stenhouse led in this race are almost as many as Bayne has led in his 66 NNS starts combined. 40. myothercarisanM535i posted: 07.31.2011 - 7:57 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "You think it's a manufactured race because of 2 debris cautions?" Yes. NASCAR directly manipulated the outcome of the race. 41. NicoRosbergFan posted: 07.31.2011 - 7:57 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nemechek's 1st non-plate top-10 since Homestead 2005. Drew Herring and Michael McDowell's 2nd top-10s of the year. Almirola ties his season best 4th. Morgan Shepherd S&P's in what may be the end of his career. 42. DaleSrFanForever posted: 07.31.2011 - 8:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't know if it is so much Rusty getting worse as having Ricky Craven just makes him look even worse. Of course he was also in on the "it was Buscher's fault" BS, but he is so much better in the booth than Rusty it is ridiculous. It kills me to say this because I respect Rusty so much, but he needs to give up commentary. He just can't do it, he is a complete failure in the booth. He needs to just focus on being an owner and getting his idiot drivers to use their heads. Steve's inability to ever use his head on the racetrack is well documented, but Annett is in need of guidance too. I love his quote: "I don't like people coming to my window". Yeah, ESPECIALLY POLICE OFFICERS AFTER THEY PULL YOU OVER FOR DRIVING DRUNK!!!!! And his rant about lapping Andrews was ridiculous. He is trying to get his team the best finish possible. 43. Watto posted: 07.31.2011 - 8:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "while Bayne continues to show that he's the next Terry Labonte. Bayne, like Labonte, runs good enough to get into the top five, but does not run hard enough to lead" I think it comes down to driver ability. It's not that Ricky was just driving harder, it's probably that he was driving better. I don't think Trevor Bayne gets to 2nd and stops trying. I legitimately think that he would've raced for the win had he been able to. Either Ricky could drive the track better, or they were more hooked up than the 16 was on the setup. I read so many of your arguments about how Trevor is just out there to finish, and I just don't agree with it. I also struggle to think of Terry Labonte as the driver that you describe him as. Sure, he was clean and smooth, but I guarantee you that he went for wins any time he could. The name of the game is to finish as high as you can. The guy's a Cup champion, led plenty of laps, and had several great years. 44. cjs3872 posted: 07.31.2011 - 9:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Watto, stats don't lie, and neither do my eyes. Bayne has, to me, always seemed to be the kind of driver that prefers to run in the field that to lead it, a lot like Terry Labonte used to be, and like Labonte, Bayne doesn't seem to be one that would take a risk. You are correct about Labonte leading a lot of lap during his career (over 7,000 in Cup), but he never seemed to be a driver that took chances. So much so, that Jim Stacy withdrew sponsorship from him when he was leading the 1982 Cup stadnigs at mid-season for that very reason. It wasn't until Dale Inman became his crew chief in 1983 that Terry became more assertive on the track, and even then Terry wouldn't take that many chances to improve his position. Labonte would try to win races, but he just wouldn't take any risks in doing so. After all, there is a reason that he never won more than three races in any season, and only did that twice. Heck, even Junior Johnson, arguably the most aggressive driver in the history of the sport, couldn't get Labonte to become more aggressive on the track, which according to many, is why Jeff Hammond left Junior Johnson to team back up with Darrell Waltrip at Hendrick Motorsports. As for Trevor running second most of the race, that just shows how superior that car, and the car of Ricky Stenhouse actually was, and that car would definately had challenged for the lead at some point, had there been a more assertive, or aggressive driver in the car. I also wonder, however, if Bayne had been given strict orders by Roush NOT to challenge Stenhouse during the race, but roush has been known to be that kind of car owner. After all, his background includes road racing, where team orders is a way of life. But Trevor comes does off to me as a driver who simply tries to get to the finish, then runs a little harder to improve his position then. Remember when he won the Daytona 500, he refused to take the lead, even though he had the fastest car in the race. And then when he inherited the lead when David Ragan got penalized, he actually intended to push Tony Stewart to the victory, instead of taking it for himself, later admitting to that. How much more conservative can you be than that? Willing to give up winning the Daytona 500 to push someone else to that victory. Fortunately for him, Bobby Labonte, Terry's younger brother, had other ideas, and essentially pushed Trevor to the win. I want to see Trevor be more assertive and/or aggressive on the track, but it seems to me that it's just not within his on-track persona, yet. But maybe, like Terry Labonte did with Dale Inman and Tom Sneva did with George Bignotti, Bayne will one day find a crew chief that will get that out of him. However, doesn't it also seem that, after lucking into the Daytona 500 win, tha Trevor Bayne seems destined to have the bad luck in his career that one of his racing mentors, Donnie Allison had. After all, who runs second all night, then blows an engine 12 laps from the finish. For those that are wondering, Donnie Allison had probably the worst luck of any top-level driver in NASCAR history, even to the point where he couldn't keep top-level rides. Donnie Allison didn't even get to celebrate his final win in victory lane, because Richard Petty was originally scored as the winner of that race, which was the fall race at Atlanta in 1978. He also was last the last driver to officially win a Cup race with a relief driver on board, when Darrell Waltrip drove his car to a win at Talladega in 1977. 45. StevenWallaceCan'tDrive posted: 07.31.2011 - 9:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) If it was Busch that put a bumper to Stenhouse to push him out of the way, everyone would be complaining about him being a bully, ruining the series, and saying he's a head case. When Keselowski does it, people line up to wet their pants congratulating him because they're so impressed with his driving. Keselowski fans have got to be the biggest bunch of hypocrites in NASCAR. They really love it when he wins these races, but they're afraid to show it outright, so they always attach little things like, "well I know he shouldn't be in a Nationwide race, but OMG GO BRAD!!!!!!" to their posts, as if that makes them appear objective. Good thing the guy doesn't win very often, so the rest of us don't have to put up with this crap too much. 46. 00andJoe posted: 07.31.2011 - 10:47 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) NRF - Really? Racers should deliberatly wreck other racers? Good to know, good to know... cjs - I was actually surprised at how uncharacteristically aggressive Bayne seemed to be in this race... DSFF - My "favourite Rusty moment" of the race was actually later, when the 16 blew up, and he said "funny, the engine sounded like it was running fine even with all that smoke" right after the on-board camera replay of a -VERY- sick-sounding engine fogging for skeeters... 47. DaleSrFanForever posted: 07.31.2011 - 11:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) My favorite Rusty moment of the race was the way he kept saying there was going to be a major wreck, and kept saying it, almost being disappointed they were racing so clean. Then the major wreck does happen and both of his cars are destroyed and he has to admit the irony of it. Still doesn't beat Road America when they aired the pit stop for the #66 car and it may have been the worst pit stop in NASCAR history. Listening to Rusty trying to think of what to say publically while he was obviously fuming and wanting to yell was freaking hilarious. You could feel his anger, embarrassment, and flummoxification coming through the TV. 48. dUDE gUY posted: 07.31.2011 - 11:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) StevenWallaceCan'tDrive, not all Keselowski fans are like that. I'm a fan of his, yet look what I said way back in post # 15. I want to see less Cuppers in NNS and Truck. The racing is just better to watch if you know that a Cupper isn't there to almost certainly take the win. 49. murb posted: 07.31.2011 - 11:04 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great race. And yeah, Rusty's commentary is beyond laughable. You could make a drinking game out of how many times he says "right now" and "flat flying". At least Ricky Craven was there to add some pretty good analysis... 50. Kinetic posted: 07.31.2011 - 11:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Once again, cjs has it all figured out. I can compare a young Nationwide driver with a handful of Cup starts to a two-time Cup champion! 51. 00andJoe posted: 07.31.2011 - 11:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) - Timmy Hill continues to quietly impress me. Driving for a team ranked C+ at best he stays quietly out of the way, finishes races, and gains experience. I hope he gets a decent ride next season, he deserves it. - If race drivers were stocks, Drew Herring would be listed as "BUY" right now. After running decent in the floundering Curb car last hear his three starts in Gibbs' equipment this year have 100% laps completed, a pole, and two top tens. 52. murb posted: 07.31.2011 - 11:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) My personal favorite Rusty in the booth moment was at Gateway a couple years ago. It was when Scott Lagasse and Steven got together. Rusty was so awkward afterwards, it was freaking hilarious. And then Brendan Gaughan blatantly retailed at Lagasse for wrecking his teammate, and Rusty called it a racing deal. hahaha!!!! Another that comes to mind is when Brendan was leading late at Memphis the same year, and the caution came out for a piece of paper on the track. 53. cjs3872 posted: 07.31.2011 - 11:27 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, if what you say is true, and the fact that he ran second for most of the race indicates that it is, then that would continue a trend that I began seeing in him in Kentucky, which is when he did start becoming more assertive, in my eyes. Maybe it is the realization in him that he realizes that he has to be more assertive than he was. But if what you say is true, it also brings up the point I made in post #44, that he may have been instructed by Roush NOT to challenge Stenhouse. Remember, Stenhouse is in the championship hunt, while Bayne isn't. If, for example, had Bayne beaten Stenhouse, it would have taken four points from him, more than what he currently leads the points by. And also remember that Stenhouse is sponsored for several races (including this one), while Bayne is almost completely unsponsored, so there might be other reasons why Bayne doesn't do more leading than what we can see. Also, Bayne is capable of being much faster than he generally runs, with Loudon a few weeks ago being a perfect example, as he built as much as a 6-second lead while leading 58 laps, the most he's ever led. Another factor in why Bayne doesn't do as well as his teammates is that he generally doesn't hustle the car as much as his teammates, the reason for which can be as simple as the driver's upbringing. Remember, both Stenhouse and Carl Edwards came from dirt track racing, where you do have to hustle the car more, while Bayne came from go-karts and lower-level stock car racing, where being smooth is of more importance. So how a driver races is often decided by what kind of racing he was brought up in, and that's as old as the sport itself is. However, the fact that he doesn't hustle the car as much, the very thing that works against him in the Nationwide Series, may actually be beneficial to him in the Cup series, because you just CAN NOT hustle the car during an entire Cup race. The odds of that working in the Cup series are almost non-existent. That's why the most successful Cup drivers have a time in the race where they just ride and a time when they race, and part of the discipline of being a successful Cup driver is knowing when to race and knowing when not to. And Bayne may already have a big leg up on his fellow Nationwide and Cup drivers where that's concerned. 54. Anonymous posted: 07.31.2011 - 11:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thankfully no one comes to this site to actually learn about the drivers...the bias towards brad Keselowski and against Steve Wallace are rediculous. I swear Steve could be plowed straight into the back of and it would be his fault. He hasnt been a "wrecking machine" since 2007. Sure he had a rough week a few ago...but name me ONE driver who has never started a wreck. This week he got a little touch in the back as he was slowing down...causing him to pick up speed and he overcorrected the car causing a spin. Not Bueschers fault...not Steves fault. RACING. so chill with every wreck being his fault and try to focus on something else. 55. baker posted: 07.31.2011 - 11:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Keselowski is a d-bag. If Busch or Edwards would have done that to Stenhouse this would have 150 post already ripping them for being immature bullies just out for an ego boost in the lower series. 56. cjs3872 posted: 07.31.2011 - 11:39 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) And DSFF, as you, yourself said, he appeared to be out of character in how aggressive he was, so he seems to be getting the point as to when to race, as well as when not to race. And as I said in my last post (which this section of this post should have been merged with), he may already have a big leg up, because he already seems to know when not to race. If he's now getting a grasp on when to race, he may be a lion to have to deal with in the future, not just a tiger. Usually, a young driver learns that in the opposite order. A young driver usually has to learn when not to race, but he seems to have already learned that. But I do wonder if we are beginning to see team orders in NASCAR, something that I don't recall seeing before. Usually, the only team orders in NASCAR are just not to wreck each other, and let the best driver and team within the organization win on that given day. with the possible Chase scenarios regarding winning races to get in, I wonder how much team orders within the NASCAR teams will be ramped up, so that drivers within teams that have not already won, will win to get them into the Chase. For example, will Carl Edwards or Matt Kenseth be asked to allow Greg Biffle to win a race, or will Jimmie Johnson or Jeff Gordon be asked to move over to let Dale Earnhardt, Jr. win a race to get into the Chase? (I think Mark Martin is currently too far back for that to allow him into the Chase.) After all, that may already have happened regarding David Ragan's win in the Firecracker 400, though I don't think that happened in the Stewart-Haas 1-2 at Loudon, NH, since both needed a win. 57. cjs3872 posted: 07.31.2011 - 11:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kinetic, I'm not saying that Trevor Bayne will have a career similar to that of Terry Labonte. I'm just saying he races in a similar manner to the way Labonte raced when he was at his best. If Bayne does wind up with a similar career, it will be a great accomplishment. But Bayne already has a victory that Labonte was never able to get, and that's a Daytona 500, which Labonte never won, despite finishing second three times. Remember, I also compare Bayne's style to that of Benny Parsons, Ricky Rudd, and Bobby Labonte, and if he can compile numbers similar to those drivers, he will have achieved something to be talked about for generations to come. And of those other drivers, only Parsons ever won the Daytona 500. Parsons also won the World 600 in a great duel with Darrell Waltrip, proving that he could become aggressive when the situation warranted. Bobby Labonte also owns victories in the Coca-Cola 600, as well as the Southern 500, and both Bobby Labonte and Ricky Rudd own victories in the Brickyard 400. I'm just comparing driving styles, not how great a driver has been, or will become. 58. 1995z71 posted: 07.31.2011 - 12:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 10 S&Ps in a 42-car field & cup guys winning every weekend... Nationwide is getting out of hand 7 is not watchable. 59. NicoRosbergFan posted: 07.31.2011 - 1:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 00andJoe: The Cup guys wreck NNS guys and don't get hated for it. I just think the Cup guys need a taste of their own medicine; I think the best races are the ones without cautions because the best car will definitely win. 60. Smokefan05 posted: 07.31.2011 - 3:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Thankfully no one comes to this site to actually learn about the drivers...the bias towards brad Keselowski and against Steve Wallace are rediculous. I swear Steve could be plowed straight into the back of and it would be his fault. He hasnt been a "wrecking machine" since 2007. Sure he had a rough week a few ago...but name me ONE driver who has never started a wreck. This week he got a little touch in the back as he was slowing down...causing him to pick up speed and he overcorrected the car causing a spin. Not Bueschers fault...not Steves fault. RACING. so chill with every wreck being his fault and try to focus on something else." People come to hate, complain and let fandom get in the way of "reasoning". I use the term "reasoning" loosely btw. ever since 2003 this "fan base" has gotten worse and worse. 61. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 07.31.2011 - 5:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Michael Annett is nothing short of an idiot. First of all, the drunken driving incident he was involved in was something that a professional race car driver should NEVER do because they should know better than that considering their career of driving at high speeds. This wasn't AJ Allmendinger having a few drinks at dinner and driving, this was somebody who was too drunk to even be sitting up!!!!! And apparently there was another incident before that where he crashed into a girl's car and put her life in danger. If he can't even get behind his street car without crashing, I think it's a pretty bad idea for him to be driving stock cars for a living. 62. cjs3872 posted: 07.31.2011 - 6:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To me, I'm glad theat Brad Keselowki put some action into this race, because until the end, this race looked like the one from about three years ago, when Kyle Busch led every green flag lap, and Colin Braun, driving the same #16 car that Trevor Bayne was second for nearly the entire race until his engine blew up, was second for every green flag lap. Until Keselowski bullied his way by Stenhouse, I believe that Stenhous had led every green flag lap until that point. Intersetingly, you wonder when Carl Edwards is going to stand up for his young teammates and push Keselowski around. Stenhouse was going to retaliate, but it was too late. Remember, not only did Keselowski bully his way by Stenhouse to win this race, but he was the one that knocked Trevor Bayne out of the Firecracker 400 and pushed Bayne down the backstretch at Loudon on the restart that got Bayne the lead. Bayne may not be likely to retaliate (though he did in a race last year with Justin Allgaier, who may not be so popular among some ofthe other dirvers, either), but Stenhouse might, and we know that Roush's senior drivers, especially Edwards, but also Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle would retaliate if Keselowski did the same to either of them. Keselowski may be picking the battles with the right Roush Racing drivers now, but don't be surprised if one of senior drivers at Roush decides to stand up for their little brothers (Bayne and Stenhouse) and even the score with Keselowski. 63. DaleJrFan20 posted: 07.31.2011 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ESPN probably missed the large crash in turn three cause they were too busy trying to find Kyle Busch making history again. Also, this race was boring, which is sad to see since it's probably the last race we'll ever see here for NASCAR. 64. cjs3872 posted: 07.31.2011 - 7:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As I mentioned, DaleJrFan20, this race was almost an exact duplicate of the race in 2008 when Kyle Busch and Colin Braun ran 1-2 for every green flag lap, until Brad made his move on Stenhouse for the win. And I think Brad can expect some retribution from one of Roush's drivers for the recent incidents with Stenhouse and Trevor Bayne, though it may be from either of those two, because I think one of the three "big brothers" (Edwards, Kenseth, or Biffle) at Roush may stand up for for "little brothers" (Stenhouse and Bayne). Bayne is extremely unlikely to retaliate (it isn't in his character), Stenhouse might, but don't be surprised it Edwards, Kenseth, or Biffle do, maybe even in a Cup race, when Keselowski would least expect it. And let's not forget, Keselowski is battling for a wild card spot in the Chase, and Biffle in one of the drivers that may stand in his way. 65. Anonymous posted: 07.31.2011 - 7:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Keselowski is a d-bag. If Busch or Edwards would have done that to Stenhouse this would have 150 post already ripping them for being immature bullies just out for an ego boost in the lower series." Wait, Keselowski fans being hypocrites? Inconceivable! I bet they are the same ones saying Paul Menard ruined the Brickyard, even though if Keselowski had won on fuel mileage it would just be the greatest upset ever! You just can't get through a Nationwide thread without hypocritical Keselowski fans, Busch fans pissed at everyone else for hating their driver, Steven Wallace bashing, and complaints about Cup drivers. 66. DaleSrFanForever posted: 07.31.2011 - 8:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) murb, you can also drink to Rusty saying "That's For Sure!" 67. New 14&88 Fan posted: 07.31.2011 - 8:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I bet they are the same ones saying Paul Menard ruined the Brickyard, even though if Keselowski had won on fuel mileage it would just be the greatest upset ever! You just can't get through a Nationwide thread without hypocritical Keselowski fans, Busch fans pissed at everyone else for hating their driver, Steven Wallace bashing, and complaints about Cup drivers. " Some people will complain about any and everything, and for the record Paul Menard winning the Brickyard(congrats to him and the #27 team btw)doesn't cheapen the race by any standard. 68. Watto posted: 07.31.2011 - 9:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Watto, stats don't lie, and neither do my eyes. Bayne has, to me, always seemed to be the kind of driver that prefers to run in the field that to lead it" The stats certainly don't lie in regards to finishes, but it doesn't say why. If Trevor isn't running as good as his teammates, it could just mean that he isn't as good. It could also mean he's struggling with feedback to get the car better. It could mean bad luck. It could mean a worse crew chief. There are so many variables. I guarantee you that Trevor would rather be way out front than in the field. Only 1 driver leads the pack out of the 43 car field. The guys racing farther back aren't there by choice unless they're parking. I understand your points about him being too conservative, but I just don't agree that Trevor wants to be running in the field rather than leading it. Personally, I feel that he was kind of overrated from the start. He's a good driver, but people give him a LOT more credit than similar drivers. "pushed Bayne down the backstretch at Loudon on the restart that got Bayne the lead" I wouldn't throw that in the list of "possible reasons for retaliation". 69. cjs3872 posted: 07.31.2011 - 9:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, Bayne really impressed me at IMS. Even though he did so on a fuel gambit, he did run as high as fourth in the last ten laps of the race, and I think he's better suited to Cup cars rather than Nationwide cars, as his racing style is better suited to that kind of racing. I've said that before. Sure, he would like to lead more races, but he seems to be more comfortable than most drivers are racing off the lead. Remember, he doesn't hustle the car like his teammates do, but has done well. I've actually been more impressed with the way he's run in Cup, anyway, considering he runs for a part-time team. And remember, he must qualify for every Cup and Nationwide race on time, so he can't run any qualifying laps as hard as he'd like to. He might, in fact, be challenging for more pole positions if he was locked in to the race, which he's not, due to the fact that the #16 NNS car sat out the first race at Iowa. becuase of that, the #16 NNS car must now qualify for every race on time. And Watto, as for your point about Keselowski pushing Bayne on the backstretch not being a reason for retaliation. I totally agree, but remember that came right on the heels of Keselowski wrecking him early in the Firecracker 400, so that memory was fresh in his mind. Keselowski spun later in that same race trying to pass Bayne, and wasn't happy about that particular incident, though Bayne did absolutely nothing wrong. 70. 18fan posted: 08.01.2011 - 12:23 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Stenhouse lost any chance of winning when he overdrove his car out of turn 4 trying to retaliate against Keselowski and smacked the wall. 71. myothercarisanM535i posted: 08.01.2011 - 1:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yes 18fan, that was the moment that Stenhouse lost the race, but I didn't see it as "trying to retaliate". I saw it as someone who had dominated the event - and probably should have won - scrambiling frantically in a panic bought on by a lack of experience and a desire to achieve big things. I think it showed in Stenhouse's interview. I didn't see anything wrong with the race between the #6 and #22 and I don't think the drivers did either. 72. CBASS posted: 08.01.2011 - 2:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) According to Go Green Racing's Facebook, the #04 has been sponsored by BBI Waste Disposal/ Bestway since New Hampshire. Even though it's a s&p car, it's all painted up, unlike the #39, which is still Menards yellow. 73. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.02.2011 - 4:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I have a new nickname for the son of the 1989 Winston Cup champ: Steve Renshaw. 74. Talon64 posted: 08.02.2011 - 5:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brad Keselowski picks up his 14th career Nationwide win, moving him alone into 21st all time; he's 3rd in NNS wins behind only Carl Edwards (21) and Kyle Busch (38) since 2008. James Buescher caps off the best weekend of his career with a career-best 2nd place finish, his 1st top 5 in 29 NNS starts and 3rd top 10 in 6 starts in 2011. He finished 3rd in the ARCA race, 2nd in the Truck race after leading 97 of 200 laps, and then 2nd in this race. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. led a career-high 189 laps in this race (300 in his first 59 NNS starts) but had to settle for finishing 3rd, the 2nd time this season he's posted 3 consecutive top 5 finishes. It's his series-leading 16th top 10 of the season and 9th top 5 to tie Elliott Sadler for the most among series regulars. Ricky also earned his 3rd pole of 2011, 2nd only to teammate Carl Edwards, and 4th of his career. Ricky's 396 laps in 2011 now ranks him 3rd behind only Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch. Aric Almirola ties his best finish of the season in 4th, his 3rd straight top 5 after just 1 in the first 18 races of 2011. Carl Edwards has now led laps in each of the last 16 NNS races. Drew Herring gets his 2nd top 10 in 3 starts with JGR this season. BTW, his "pole" was actually from starting 1st based on owners points. Reed Sorenson has now gone 4 straight races without a top 5. Michael McDowell also got his 2nd top 10 in 3 starts this season; the #18 is now 27 points ahead of the #32 and 43 points ahead of the #60 for the lead in the owners standings. 75. Watto posted: 08.03.2011 - 8:54 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I have a new nickname for the son of the 1989 Winston Cup champ: Steve Renshaw." Bit over the top, don't you think? The accident that Deborah is notorious for was way beyond anything Steve Wallace has done... 76. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.03.2011 - 9:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) You are right Watto. But then again a ton of great safety measures have been taken before Steve Renshaw's career began. With all the carnage he has caused, I can't help but wonder how many casualties he would have caused had he come along 10 years earlier. 77. gordon and jj fan posted: 08.03.2011 - 1:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Would you just shut the hell up DSFF!!! 78. cjs3872 posted: 08.03.2011 - 1:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) By the way, it was just announced that Nashville is off the schedule for 2012, probably due to low attendance, as their parent owner, Dover Motorsports (or whatever it is actually called) have declined their NASCAR sanctions for next year. While I'm not surprised that Nashville would be off the schedule by 2013, due to absolutely putrid attendance (the attendance for the entire weekend week before last for the Truck and Nationwide races combined was just 29,000), I thought that they would race there at least once in 2012, so that announcement was a mild surprise to me. So that leaves two more empty race dates, along with the possibe exodus from Montreal after the race there in a couple of weeks, so that leaves possibly three more open dates on the schedule, so there may be hope for a NNS race at IRP next year, after all. I never actually thought that there shouldn't be a NNS or Truck race there, I just thought they shouldn't race there on Brickyard 400 weekend, as I thought those races should have been moved to IMS a long time ago, and probably would have been, if not for Tony George wanting to leave the Truck and NNS races there about 10-12 years ago, when there were murmurs about moving those races to IMS then. 79. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.03.2011 - 2:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not surprised about Nashville. I could see they weren't drawing enough fans to keep going there. I hate it because it was a unique track with pretty good racing and a great stand alone place. But I really expected this. Too bad they didn't announce this before the most recent race there, then Brad would have won like he did at Memphis, Gateway, and here. Hopefully cjs is right about coming back here, but I'm not counting on it. They will probably give Kansas a second NWide date. 80. 00andJoe posted: 08.03.2011 - 2:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If you get me started on the unfair bashing Deborah Renshaw gets, and the utter ignorance of how -moronically imbecilic- Eric Martin's move of removing his steering wheel from the steering column while sitting in the middle of the track with cars still approaching was (but of course nobody remembers -that- part of the accident because it takes away from being able to bash Renshaw), then we'll be here all night yelling, so let's just say no, just no. 81. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.03.2011 - 2:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) That is true 00andJoe. I don't mean to just bash Deb. There were a lot of other factors that went into that. The lack of spotters was just stupid. That should have been a rule a long time before that. And yes, it was not wise of Eric to unbuckle to say the very least. I actually like Deb and was pulling for her to do well after the absolute embarrassment of the situation at the Nashville Fairgrounds when insecure drivers like Mark Day tried to set her up. But the fact is he crashed 20 seconds earlier and was sitting there completely still (well, his car was) for 10 seconds. One car was able to avoid him, she should have too. It obviously wasn't intentional, and I in no way blame her. It was a moment of brain fade for her, but for Steve Renshaw, he has had an entire career of these moments. Yes, it is harsh to call him that, and it is unfair to Deb, but it really bangs home the point of how dangerous he is out there and how lucky his competitors are that all these safety advancements have happened by the time he began racing with them. 82. cjs3872 posted: 08.03.2011 - 3:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wonder if, as a result of Brad Keselowski's test crash at Road Atlanta today, that the #22 car will be withdrawn from this asturday evening's Nationwide Series race at Iowa Speedway. If it's not, I would be highly surprised if Keselowski is behind the wheel. Why Roger Penske continues to allow Keselowski to compete in the Nationwide Series in non-companion events is beyond me. After all, I would have thought that Penske would have long-since learned his lesson about that. After all, Gary Bettenhausen and bobby allison suffered serious injuries in crashes in races outside of the series where they were driving for Penske. Bettenhausen was badly hurt in a sprint car race in 1974, while Allison was injured in a modified race late in 1976. That led to their respective firings from Penske, who frowned upon that. (Allison and Bettenhausen were teammates in the 1973 Indianapolis 500, by the way.) Especially since Peter Revson had lost his life early in 1974, after he had signed on to race for Roger in the Indianapolis 500 that year, to replace Mark Donohue, who had retired. Donohue had also lost his life in a crash in Austria in 1975, driving an F1 car for Penske in a comeback attempt. 83. 00andJoe posted: 08.03.2011 - 4:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF - Fair 'nuff. It still really annoys me though that had it been any other driver than Renshaw who hit Martin, everybody would have just shook their heads sadly, muttered darkly about "ARCA Brakes", and moved on... And the whole thing with Day was disgusting. Even now I refuse to root for the 05 car because of that. 84. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.03.2011 - 5:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mark Day and his henchmen set the image of stock racing back 40 years when they did that. They will probably find a substitute driver for the 22 car at Iowa if Brad can't go (he shouldn't) to keep them in owner's points and to have attempted every race. If I'm not mistaken, a car has to attempt every race to keep their Top 30 points qualifying exemption. Brad's left ankle has softball sized swelling. Iowa is a hard braking track, as is Pocono. He will have a hard enough time completing 500 miles at Pocono. To have 250 short track laps already on that ankle would be torture. Hopefully he doesn't try to be a hero. 85. myothercarisanM535i posted: 08.03.2011 - 5:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Does anyone right foot brake on oval tracks? I imagine he would be able to get a whole race in without needing a relief driver that way. 86. cjs3872 posted: 08.03.2011 - 6:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yes, DSFF, a car has to attempt every race in the Truck and Nationwide series to keep it's exemption. In fact, the fact that the #16 NNS car didn't run the previous race at Iowa is the reason that Trevor Bayne now has to qualify for every NNS race on time, and the same is true about the #20 NNS car. That fact may keep Bayne out of a chance to compete for the pole during some of the races later in the season, because if he crashes in qualifying, he misses the race, if there's more than a full field atempting to qualify, and the same is true regarding Joey Logano in his appearances in the #20 car. Seeing that picture of Keselowski's ankle on NASCAR Now makes me wonder if he'll even be able to compete at Pocono, and what happens at Watkins Glen with the effort of the #2 Cup car, because the swelling on Brad's ankle didn't look like it was the size of a softball, it looked like it was the size of a basketball, or even a medicine ball. And there's no way that he'll be able to finish the race at Pocono, if can start the race, so I wonder who Penske would have as a relief driver for Keselowski at Pocono and Watkins Glen, if Brad can even start those races. Would Penske have a full-time lower series driver, like maybe Ron Hornaday or Todd Bodine on hand for relief at Pocono (Parker Kligerman would be ineligible, I believe), or a Nationwide Series driver on hand at Watkins Glen, like say, Kenny Wallace (his brothers both drove for Penske) or Elliott Sadler, or a road course specialist like Jacques Villeneuve, Max Papis, or Ron Fellows on hand to relieve Keselowski, providing of course, that they aren't entered in other cars for thre Watkins Glen Cup race. Only time will tell, of course. 87. cjs3872 posted: 08.03.2011 - 7:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's now being reported that Parker Kligerman may, in fact, be the driver tapped to replace Keselowskiat Iowa, which to me, is just plain dumb, since he would have to go from Pocono, where he will drive Keselowski's truck, to Iowa to drive the #22 car in the Iowa NNS race, with Sam Hornish being tabbed as Keselowski's relief driver at Pocono. While having Hornish as Keselowski's relief driver at Pocono makes sense, because Pocono is Hornish's best NASCAR track, but why have Kligerman shuttle from Pocono to Iowa to race there, instead of just running Hornish there? I know part of the reason would be that Kligerman would not be cleared to drive Keselowski's Cup car in relief, but wouldn't it be a better idea to have Hornish run the NNS race and have a veteran like Todd Bodine (who may be in a start-and-park at Pocono, if he's entered for the Cup race there) or Ron Hornaday, Jr., who has experience there when he drove for A.J. Foyt in the Cup series. Johnny Sauter might also be a viable option if he wasn't in contention for the Truck series championship. 88. Talon64 posted: 08.03.2011 - 7:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "It's now being reported that Parker Kligerman may, in fact, be the driver tapped to replace Keselowskiat Iowa, which to me, is just plain dumb, since he would have to go from Pocono, where he will drive Keselowski's truck, to Iowa to drive the #22 car in the Iowa NNS race, with Sam Hornish being tabbed as Keselowski's relief driver at Pocono. While having Hornish as Keselowski's relief driver at Pocono makes sense, because Pocono is Hornish's best NASCAR track, but why have Kligerman shuttle from Pocono to Iowa to race there, instead of just running Hornish there? I know part of the reason would be that Kligerman would not be cleared to drive Keselowski's Cup car in relief, but wouldn't it be a better idea to have Hornish run the NNS race and have a veteran like Todd Bodine (who may be in a start-and-park at Pocono, if he's entered for the Cup race there) or Ron Hornaday, Jr., who has experience there when he drove for A.J. Foyt in the Cup series. Johnny Sauter might also be a viable option if he wasn't in contention for the Truck series championship." The only way it makes sense is if Kligerman skips the Truck race. It'd suck for his Truck title hopes but I wouldn't put a top 5 finish out of the question for Kligerman in the #22 at Iowa. And sticking Hornish in the #29 BKR Truck would settle everything. 89. Cooper posted: 08.03.2011 - 10:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "81. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.03.11 - 2:49 pm" Deborah wasn't at fault one bit. There was no communication available at the time. She was on a collision course. You could've stuck a 747 on the track, and she still couldn't of seen it. Oh and by the way, NASCAR needs to investigate who screwed up in the big accident. If you stop at the 0:57 mark in the following video, you will realize that the caution lights were still GREEN when Steven went into turn 3. That's why him, nor anyone else were slowing down at the time. Overall sloppy work by the NASCAR officials. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV9wkg6oDEg But since everyone has a personal vendetta against Steven Wallace, this video will probably go unwatched. 90. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 08.04.2011 - 2:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ouch. Not good for Brad. If I were Roger Penske, I'd keep Hornish on stand-by for Brad at Pocono as has already been planned. Hopefully he can get somebody who would be a good option and would get the #22 Nationwide car a good finish to drive it. I'd hate to see Parker have to run the Pocono Truck race and then fly to Iowa and run that race on the same day. 91. cjs3872 posted: 08.04.2011 - 9:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) RCRandPenskeGuy, that's exactly what Penske is planning. He intends to have Kligerman fly to Iowa to run the Nationwide car there. Again, the only reason for that, I believe, is that Kligerman would not be cleared to drive the #2 Cup car in relief of Keselowski, who ironically owns the truck that Kligerman drives in the Truck series. 92. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.04.2011 - 9:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good move by Penske. I think Kligerman has a good future if given a chance. Hopefully next year him and Brad run about 16 races apiece next year in NWide, a split schedule. I have thought about it, and I have decided to drop the Steve Renshaw thing. Because it is unfair to Deb and it is not good to reference the horrible Eric Martin deal which uncovered several major safety issues that needed addressing. A bad situation that doesn't need to be brought up just to mock somebody. But my point about Steve still stands. It took him far too long to curb his seemingly weekly boneheaded moves and their disasterous results. He finally calmed down and began not wrecking last year, but recently he has reverted back to his '06-'09 self recently. And I still say he and his competitors are very lucky for all the safety innovations. 93. cjs3872 posted: 08.04.2011 - 1:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Now I understand that Penske intends to have Kligerman practice the car on Friday before he flies to Pocono for the Truck race, while Hornish will drive the #22 NNS car in the race at Iowa. That's probably because Penske will have Sam Hornish do the same at Pocono in the #2 Cup car fror Keselowski. Then the intention is to have Hornish qualify and race the #22 NNS car at Iowa, then have him fly back to Pocono to drive in relief of Keselowski at Pocono, which I believe was Hornish's best track on the Cup series when he ran it. And I agree that Villenueve is Penske's top option to drive in relief of Keselowski at Watkins Glen, but I think there may be other options, but that Villeneuve's the best one, in my view. After all, when Villeneuve ran IndyCars over 15 years ago, he finished second to Al Unser, Jr. in the Indianapolis 500 in '94, when Unser drove for Penske, and was the only non-Penske driver to lead that race, then beat Unser for the '95 IndyCar championship, so maybe Penske still has that in his memory bank, and he believes that Villeneuve still has some of the old magic in him. 94. Talon64 posted: 08.04.2011 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hopefully Keselowski will at least start the Cup race then have Hornish sub in during the race, hopefully during an early caution. 95. 00andJoe posted: 08.04.2011 - 8:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hornish will be performing all driving duties of the #22 at Iowa now, with Brad being cleared completely for the Pocono Cup race. 96. Talk4Tar posted: 08.05.2011 - 3:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Lucas Oil Raceway becomes the third track the Brad won at that would not be on the schedule the following season, joining Gateway International Raceway and Memphis Motorsports Park. 97. Talk4Tar posted: 08.05.2011 - 3:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) And apparently I'm into redundancy, missed the post that first stated this fact before posting mine. My apologies. Should've gone back and read BEFORE I posted. 98. Frank posted: 08.06.2011 - 10:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs @ 82 - great facts, thank you! 99. chris o posted: 06.23.2012 - 1:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) shame this race was dropped and replaced with race at speedway, NASCAR is trying to kill off all the shorttracks from the busch series and their turning it into a second cup series keep it unique and bring back some short tracks, bring back IRP it was not the same cookie cutter tracks they have now. 100. SoonersFan posted: 09.05.2013 - 3:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I believe Travis Pastrana was supposed to run this race but he broke his leg at the X games earlier that day. 101. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 04.24.2014 - 8:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Withdrew 99 Travis Pastrana Boost Mobile Toyota Robby Benton 102. 88&4Fan posted: 09.03.2015 - 3:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "He's destroyed both my cars!!!" 103. Windows Millennium Edition posted: 03.13.2016 - 3:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Withdrew: WD|?|71|Rick Ware Racing|Rick Ware|Ford 104. GGDC posted: 04.28.2019 - 7:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) SPONSOR UPDATES #31 Justin Allgaier Deft Finishes Chevrolet (No Brandt) #52 Tim Schendel Metro Ministries / Operationholidayhope.org Chevy #60 Carl Edwards Fastenal / WypAll Ford #81 Blake Koch K-Love 101.9 Dodge #89 Morgan Shepard Racing with Jesus / Kigerssigns.com Chevy Source THRacingpics 105. Anonymous posted: 04.01.2020 - 7:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) this was the race where ESPN debuted new graphics and a new ticker as well that would be used for the 2nd Half of their 2nd stint with NASCAR all the way to their last race in 2014 and with them until 2016 in Indycar. 106. TheDewCrew posted: 09.04.2020 - 1:06 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) STEVEN! You literally hit a parked car! TWO OF EM! 107. Jimmie4life posted: 09.04.2020 - 1:23 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) @106 Track was slippery with oil, and it's a much faster track then what most people think. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: