|| *Comments on the 2011 U.S. Cellular 250:* View the most recent comment <#96> | Post a comment <#post> 1. Jon posted: 08.06.2011 - 10:46 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) WOW! hard to believe i'm first! what a sick finish that was entertaining as hell! i slept through the first 200 laps or so, woke up just in time for the best part. never have i ever seen that kind of finish. 2. Captain77 posted: 08.06.2011 - 10:50 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) 10 start and parks?? Come on NASCAR.. do something One HELL of a race. Upset about Hornish though. Atta boy to stenhouse 3. Bloop posted: 08.06.2011 - 10:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hell yea Ricky! 4. 00andJoe posted: 08.06.2011 - 10:53 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) Captain77 - And what exactly should NASCAR do? Shorten the field? I've explained elswhere why start-and-parks are actually a good thing (see Landon Cassill and Tommy Baldwin Racing for examples). As for the race itself, all I can say is "wow". 5. potatosalad48 posted: 08.06.2011 - 10:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Heck of a finish when Stenhouse blew up and then got plowed in the back of by Carl Edwards. Also, a career best finish for Josh Wise in the #7 in 4th. 6. Anonymous posted: 08.06.2011 - 10:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Epic fail for Jamie Dick... 7. Dog posted: 08.06.2011 - 10:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Awesome run by David Mayhew. 8. V12 Matra posted: 08.06.2011 - 10:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Iowa is starting to become one of my favourite racetracks in NASCAR, what a race and what a finish! 9. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.06.2011 - 11:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Well, that was unexpected. One of the most bizarre finishes I have ever seen. Congrats to Ricky for this win, for sweeping Iowa, and for hanging on to that car after it hand grenaded. Great race and great crowd at Iowa. Hats off to them. I wish ISC would buy it and give the June Kansas and September Chicago race to them for our Mid Western fans. SCHRADER!!!!!!!! Him and Craven were excellent together I thought. Also, they got it right this week. Carl gets in to the side of Ricky and it was correctly called good hard racing (although the reason behind it was dumb, more on that in a second). Last week Brad does the same thing, while racing for the win at the end, and ESPN blasts him. Its called short track racing. It was ok last week and it is ok this week. Carl is even further down my list of potential Cup champs (even though I think he will win tomorrow). When he is that worried about getting even with a NWide driver, his priorities are screwed. I call it the Kyle Busch Memorial Corralary. Besides, as the only Cup guy there, he looked totally ridiculous anyways. I love him trying to be the one to say how people should race. He tried to kill Brad twice last year. What a joke. 10. dUDE gUY posted: 08.06.2011 - 11:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I missed the first 200 or so laps as well, though it was just because I forgot the race was on. I tuned in just in time though to see a haphazard restart, where Mayhew almost took the lead from Sadler, only to have Stenhouse make it three wide, resulting in Mayhew getting loose and losing a bunch of spots. But that wasn't the best part, not even close. The best part happened after the last corner on the last lap. Stenhouse, while in the lead, either lost a tire or an engine coming out of four and slowed dramatically, leaving a huge plume of smoke in his wake. Because of the smoke, second-place Edwards couldn't tell where Stenhouse was going, and plowed right into Stenhouse, pushing the 6 car over the finish line first. I've seen a few dramatic finishes before, but nothing even comes close to this one. Glad to see both drivers came out of it unharmed too, as it was a pretty severe crash. So severe that Stenhouse couldn't drive the car into victory lane! This is definitely a finish I will never forget. 11. Captain77 posted: 08.06.2011 - 11:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 00andJoe - im not saying there shouldnt be S&P's. I just dont think that a team should start and park one car.. so they can fund a second car. (ex: Germain Racing in the Cup series.) The 60 car is a start and park to fund the 13. 12. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.06.2011 - 11:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Awesome debut by Mayhew. He may be the new one to watch. Also a great run by Sam. I was hoping he would win. But right front problems hit the 22 again. 13. AlmirolaFan88 posted: 08.06.2011 - 11:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First oval race in the Nationwide Series without Brad Keselowski since July 7th, 2007. If anyone didn't watch this race, don't let the 10th place fool you, David Mayhew drove a brilliant race in his debut. 14. AlmirolaFan88 posted: 08.06.2011 - 11:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also that's 3 blown engines in the past 4 races for Roush Fenway Racing if anyone is keeping track. Each of the 3 teams have blown one. Reed Sorenson wins his 2nd straight Dash 4 Cash race. Josh Wise is eligble for the next Dash 4 Cash race at Richmond, but Danica Patrick is scheduled to run that race. Not sure if Patrick assumes his postion or Aric Almirola (finished 5th) becomes the last eligble Dash 4 Cash driver. 15. dUDE gUY posted: 08.06.2011 - 11:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wise is running for two teams this year (the 7 and the 39), so unless he is taking Richmond off, he might still be eligible for the Dash 4 Cash. 16. jabber1990 posted: 08.06.2011 - 11:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) they said "dash for cash" all night what does that mean? David Mayhew ran 3rd basicly the whole race right? 17. Anonymous posted: 08.06.2011 - 11:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sadler had a great comeback to finish 3rd after the way he ran in the 13th-20th range the first half of the race. He dropped like a rock at the start of the race. 18. 00andJoe posted: 08.06.2011 - 11:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Captain 77 - Fair enough, but in Nationwide at least, they're also filling out the field (hence, the four Ware and four Key cars). I've wondered in the past why teams weren't rolling off their backup cars to fill the field (like they used to do at pre-Cup Vegas and Pikes Peak), well, they are, they're just entering them to start with now... DSFF - I agree, Mayhew's stock is going Up right now. Same for Drew Herring - four races in Gibbs' equipment this year, and his -worst- finish is twelvth! jabber - the Dash for Cash is a promotion Nationwide is running where the four highest finishing N'wide regulars in one race can win $100,000 at the next... 19. Captain77 posted: 08.06.2011 - 11:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also need to give a shout out where its deserved Great run to Josh Wise. I only wonder what he'll be doing in 2012 if Danica runs full time. GOOD JOB KENNY WALLACE. Wont be surprised to see the Herminator finish in the top 5 by the end of the year. Id love to see him in VL as well 20. Dearth Vader posted: 08.06.2011 - 11:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I am very disappointed in Trevor Bayne. He wasn't aggressive enough. Trevor needs let go of his conservative racing style because he needs need to be aggressive and join the dark side of the force with Trevor being called Dearth Bane so I can be his future car owner. 21. BIMMERTECH posted: 08.06.2011 - 11:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've got so much negative shit to say about carl edwards right now. Not gonna bother with it, it's all been said before. 22. Cooper posted: 08.06.2011 - 11:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "2. Captain77 posted: 08.06.11 - 10:50 pm" It's the first full season for the new car. A lot of these teams have a limited resource of racecars and they also don't have the money to be competitive. Why risk wrecking one of your cars for an extra couple bucks? The difference between 15th and 35th isn't that large. "9. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.06.11 - 11:00 pm" It's not surprising that Ken was good tonight. He has always been phenomenal when he did his work with Speed. Good guy, with a good knack for commentary. "10. dUDE gUY posted: 08.06.11 - 11:01 pm" Stenhouse most definitely blew up. He left so much oil down, Carl couldn't steer his car to avoid him. A classic video game finish. "12. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.06.11 - 11:04 pm" Always been a fan of Mayhew. Every time Speed shows the regional series, this guy is always up front. "13. AlmirolaFan88 posted: 08.06.11 - 11:07 pm" Bummer deal for Brad. But he shouldn't have been planning to do this race anyway. Having to worry about two series takes a toll on both race teams. I'm just glad Brad is okay. Injuries can hurt a drivers confidence big time. "19. Captain77 posted: 08.06.11 - 11:28 pm" I agree with you. Kenny Wallace is awesome. 23. Choo posted: 08.06.2011 - 11:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wacky stat of the night: Car #23 started 23rd and finished 23rd. 24. Schroeder51 posted: 08.06.2011 - 11:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hah, Darth Bayne. Hah. This has to be one of the most bizarre finishes to a race I've ever seen. 25. murb posted: 08.06.2011 - 11:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) This race was proof that Iowa deserves a pair of Cup races. Screw Kansas and Kentucky. 26. irony posted: 08.06.2011 - 11:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Mayhew and Drew Henning may have a good future ahead of them, but it seems the 18, 20, 22, and 33 will be up front no matter what. I mean ... Michael McDowell?!? All four of those cars ran much better than they finished. Hornish has had rotten luck all year but he has ran well. Maybe he can salvage his NASCAR career by going down to NW and getting the experience that he should of gotten to begin with. 27. New 14&88 Fan posted: 08.07.2011 - 12:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) A wild finish to what was for the last 90 or so laps a pretty good race, Attaboy Ricky Stenhouse and great runs for Josh Wise, the Wallaces and David Mayhew(he did way better then his 10th place finish would suggest).Elliott Sadler was also off the map at one point but recovered late for a third place finish. Trevor Bayne and Sam Hornish both had good runs spoiled by bad luck. 28. Eric posted: 08.07.2011 - 12:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) It was a bizarre finish to the race. At least a cup regular didn't win this win race. I didn't know Darth Vader is a Nascar fan despite the fact Darth Vader misspelled Darth wrong. 29. Schroeder51 posted: 08.07.2011 - 12:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) How would Darth Vader even be able to become a car owner in NASCAR? 30. . posted: 08.07.2011 - 1:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Carl Edwards has now finished 2nd in two video game like finishes (see Kansas 2008) 31. RoushFan posted: 08.07.2011 - 1:12 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Of all the Nationwide races I could have missed, I had to miss this one... 32. StewartSmokesEm posted: 08.07.2011 - 2:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "SCHRADER!!!!!!!! Him and Craven were excellent together I thought." I'm not sure what race you were listening to. All I heard was Schrader stumble over his words all night. The guy could barely put together a coherent sentence without pauses or nearly mixing up multiple words. Maybe it was just because he's new to it. Craven is well spoken however, he deserves more broadcasts. But Schrader only seemed to be there because apparently you can't broadcast a NASCAR race without at least one southern accent in the booth. "Besides, as the only Cup guy there, he looked totally ridiculous anyways. I love him trying to be the one to say how people should race. He tried to kill Brad twice last year. What a joke." Lol, you're right, they should charge him with attempted murder for wrecking another driver in a auto race. Oh wait, when you said 'what a joke,' you weren't referring to your own statement? 33. 12345Dude posted: 08.07.2011 - 2:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Best race of the year. That ending was crazy. I really hope they put Iowa in the sprint cup series. Sam Hornish doesn't get near enough credit. I mean this guy was one of the biggest Indy car drivers in history. Comes to cup, and struggles. But he doesn't quit after a half a year like Dario. He needs more credit. He could of left a long time ago. And he loves nascar so much, that he is willing to run fulltime in the NATIONWIDE series. Wow this race was 20 times better with out Rusty. Is he gone? Or was this a one time thing? Another good run by Michael McDowell. 7th @ Iowa led 19 laps Leads more than half of the laps at Road America. 10th at IRP. Then he was in the top 5 at Iowa. Comes back, and get's the lucky dog. And ends up with a top 10, somehow. You can say "oh it's the equipment" but tell that to Brian Scott & Brad Coleman. McDowell has 3 top 10's in 4 races. That's the same as Brian Scott has all year. Michael McDowell has 66 led laps. He has 16 times more led laps then Brian scott has all year. Plus Road America where he led half the laps only had like 70 laps. I mean who would of ever expected that Michael McDowell had talent? I mean you never know who has talent. There are so many drivers in nascar, that never get a shot at good equipment. I wish Gibbs would use the #11, to give 8 drivers who have never had a shot at good equipment in nascar, to race in it. 34. Schroeder51 posted: 08.07.2011 - 2:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Blake Koch had a hard crash in this race when he blew a tire in between turns 1 and 2, and with no steering, drove head on into the inside wall coming off of turn 2. 35. b4il3y posted: 08.07.2011 - 2:54 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Time to troll :) Time"d" bomb? DW all la The First Winston? They can't be that smart...or...can they? 36. b4il3y posted: 08.07.2011 - 2:56 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) BTW - Kenny Wallace. Your my hero this year. If you were in a tier 1 ride the way your driving, you'd have won have the races. Herman still has it folks, I'd love to see him in a tier 1 ride in this or the trucks. 37. Mike posted: 08.07.2011 - 4:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @12345Dude (#31): Rusty's probably in Pocono for the Cup race. 38. Mike posted: 08.07.2011 - 4:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, interesting conversation at the end there between Carl and Mike Kelley ... wonder what that was all about? 39. NicoRosbergFan posted: 08.07.2011 - 7:02 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Stenhouse becomes the second driver to win his first 2 NNS races at the same track. The other was Ronnie Silver. 40. NicoRosbergFan posted: 08.07.2011 - 7:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Anyone else think Ken Schrader sounds like Gomer Pyle? Anyone think Hornish doesn't get as much money invested in his car as Penske invests in Busch and Keselowski. 41. Benny posted: 08.07.2011 - 8:35 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) seriously this track needs a cup race. I think it would be a big hit and way better than kentucky. 42. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.07.2011 - 8:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) What Mayhew did was classic getting an opportunity and showing people what you've got. I'm pulling for him to get a good shot now on a more permanent basis. His race reminded me of Kes in the Memphis Truck race. Since NWide is more competitive than the Trucks, what he did by running 2nd or 3rd all night before getting shuffled on that restart is the equivalent of dominating a Truck race. Great to see people like that get a shot then do really well. And like has been said, somebody needs to give Josh Wise a full time chance in good equipment. If Almirola doesn't pick it up, I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the 88 car next year. 43. TheTruthâ?¢ posted: 08.07.2011 - 8:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Anyone else think Ken Schrader sounds like Gomer Pyle? Anyone think Hornish doesn't get as much money invested in his car as Penske invests in Busch and Keselowski." No & No. Hornish was pretty competitive tonight, but flat tires have been somewhat of an issue for the 22 team this year. Busch and Keselowski are likely better suited for the NASCAR stuff right now which is why they'll tend to perform better. Hornish hasn't been too shabby in the Nationwide Series this season in his sporadic starts, but he's had some rough luck. Penske puts a full effort behind Hornish when he races, they don't short him on equipment or personnel. 44. cjs3872 posted: 08.07.2011 - 9:43 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Intersting that Carl Edwards mentioned that there's never been a 1-2 finish with the first two cars wrecked. I hope he was referring to a 1-2 finish by the same team, because if he meant a 1-2 finish by any two drivers, he obviously has not heard of the 1976 Daytona 500 finish between David Pearson and Richard Petty, when they both crashed off turn four going for the win. Aside from that, Roush's Nationwide program is in BIG trouble. With Stenhouse's blown engine, that makes one engine failure for EACH of his three team in the kast four weeks. (Remember that Edwards had one go at Loudon and Trevor Bayne had one go at IRP.) Then there was the conflict between Edwards and Stenhouse, the two hard drivers Roush has in the Nationwide Series, during the race, and I believe that's only the beginning of it between those two. Remember, Edwards tried to sqeeze Bayne into the wall at Loudon when they were racing for the lead shortly before Edwards had his engine problem in that race, and Bayne was having none of it. Then it appeared that Bayne's crew sent him a succinct message by effectively quitting on him. Why else would he have three consecutive botched pit stops, with a loose right side tire after each one. I think they believe that, as long as Bayne is in that car, that it will NEVER win, because they feel that Bayne doesn't drive the car as hard as they think it needs to be driven. And they may have a point. The next time that Bayne takes the lead in a non-RP race will also be the first. The only time he's led a non-RP race has either been from a front row starting position, or through pit strategy. 45. Evan posted: 08.07.2011 - 10:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Edwards raced like a dog all night, trying to run over his two "teammates" and nearly, I'm surprised those two young guys did not put him in the fence...crazy crazy finish...never seen anything like that...ever. The engine broke on Stenhouse's car and it broke bad. I'm sure Jack Roush was going through a range of emotions. 46. IglooRacer posted: 08.07.2011 - 10:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Every time i miss watching a nationwide race, something awesome happens. 47. Brad24 posted: 08.07.2011 - 10:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "This race was proof that Iowa deserves a pair of Cup races. Screw Kansas and Kentucky." Totally agree. Although I would wait a few years before I give Iowa a 2nd date. IMO, they should drop the Kansas June race, drop Kentucky altogether, give Atlanta and Darlingotn it's 2nd date back, then Iowa the Cup date it deserves. 48. cjs3872 posted: 08.07.2011 - 11:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Evan, Bayne isn't generally the type to seek retribution. He seems too nice for that, though even he did so against Justin Allgaier in a race last year, at Nashville, I believe. Now Stenhouse is a different story. He will go after you if he thinks you did him wrong. The difference in the driving personalities of the three Roush Racing NNS drivers could not be better stated in their respective battles for the lead. Stenhouse and Edwards flat went after each other, while Bayne, when he was dueling for the lead early in the race with Sam Hornish, Jr. in a battle of Indy 500 winner vs. Daytona 500 winner, didn't even try to use traffic to hold Hornish back, allowing him plenty of room, even when they were side-by-side going through lapped cars. Now Stenhouse and Edwards would both have been much more aggressive about that. As for Edwards having problems with his teammates, since when is that news? You had last night affairs between him and Stenhouse (and apparently Bayne, as well), then you had Edwards trying to muscle Bayne into the wall at Loudon racing for the lead on a restart, and Bayne having none of it. then you go back to the 2008 fall race at Talladega when Edwards bumped Cup teammate Greg Biffle going into turn three and would up wrecking both of them, as well as Matt Kenseth, another teammate (as numerous others as well), and then there was the celebrated incident at Martinsville where Kesneth ahd a get-together with Edwards, who proceeded, as a live interview with Kenseth was wrapping up, to fake a ounch at Kenseth. So Edwards has had numerous confrontations with his Roush Racing teammates over the years, and one of these days, probably with Stenhouse, he's going to go too far. And, by the way, it's official. Trevor Bayne will NOT win a race in the Nationwide Series this year, and probably will not top his third-place finish at Chicago in the first race after his illness. 49. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.07.2011 - 11:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) It was pretty funny how ESPN tried to play up the whole "Carl is a mentor to these guys" thing like he's really a good guy that people look up to. How stupid do they really think we are? It is obvious who the Roush driver is that is the leader there and the most respected. He is also the only current Roush driver with a Cup championship. When Carl had one of his typical fits of. Roid rage against Matt after that Martinsville race, the Roush guys practically lined up to defend Matt and tell what a phony Carl is. So did a lot of other drivers. Carl is very talented at driving, but he may also be the most talented con-man in NASCAR history. He has the media eating out of his hands. Too bad the fans aren't blinded to him. His merchandise sales show this. But he will win Pocono today. 50. cjs3872 posted: 08.07.2011 - 11:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, Carl is a mentor to Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., because they both drive the same way. but for those that say he's somewhat of a mentor to Trevor Bayne, I'd say hogwash to that, Because those two seem to me to have very little in common, other that the same car owner, and I wonder how long that will last. Matt Kenseth is the driver over at Roush most likely to win the championship, because he's not prone to make the mistakes that Carl Edwards is prone to make. As for my comment in the previous post about Bayne not winning a Nationwide race this year, his pit crew seems to agree with me, because some members of his pit crew seemed to quit on him, botching at least three pit stops, resulting in him being seven laps down at the finish. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if Bayne NEVER won any races for Roush. I mean, even Colin Braun won once for Roush (in a Truck Series race at Michigan), but Bayne definately won't win for him this year, and may NEVER win for Roush. In fact, I believe that Roush may even want to put a Cup driver in NNS car #16 sooner or later (Matt Kenseth or Greg Biffle, perhaps?). If Roush wants that car to even have a chance win again this year, it had better be sooner. And if I had to suspect, Bayne's stay at Roush and/or the Wood Brothers may not last past this year. Remember, Bayne does not have a contract past this year, as far as I know. ESPN's Marty Smith said last week that Bayne, in his mind, has a bright future at Roush, but in my mind, he really doesn't. A bright future in the sport? Yes, but not at Roush. As I've stated previously, I wouldn't be surprised if he's racing a Chevrolet in 2013, and maybe, even as soon as late next year. If not, Bayne may be out of the sport as fast as he arrived. 51. Karn Evil 9 posted: 08.07.2011 - 11:57 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Joey Gase's first start (finished 20th). 52. IglooRacer posted: 08.07.2011 - 12:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF- they say that cuz Edwards races in the nationwide series week after week, won a title, won numerous races and has the experience and knowledge that bayne and stenhouse don't have. Even I question what Edwards is thinking from time to time ( faking a punch at kenseth as an example) But he's also not their to set up bayne's and stenhouse's cars, and heck he's not their to even play nice with them. he's just their to say "if I was in this situation I would do this" or " if you want to run a certain line maybe you could try this" But hey it must be working cuz stenhouse is leading the nationwide series points and Trevor bayne, by my calculations, would be on pace to sit in 4th place in points had he not missed races due to his illness. 53. cjs3872 posted: 08.07.2011 - 12:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) But Bayne's car cannot be set up like Stenhouse's because their driving styles are so different. Stenhouse, like Edwards is very aggressive, while Bayne drives more like a Matt Kenseth or a Bill Elliott would, as both have always been known as conservative drivers. And as a result, so you can't set the cars the same way, because their driving styles can't be much more different than they are, but since Bayne may be out of there at season's end, I don't think they need to worry about setting up a car so different than the driver of that particular car likes to have it. Why do you think Jeff Gordon had so much trouble in recent years? One big reason is that his team tried to run the same set-up that Jimmie Johnson uses, and that never worked. That's one big reason why getting away from Chad Knaus has been such a plus for Gordon this year. His new crew chief can set up his car the way HE wants it, not the way Johnson wants it. The same is true with Bayne. I thought he actually ran better, Loudon aside, BEFORE they changed the set-ups in his cars to match that of Edwards and Stenhouse, than it has since they changed the set-up style. 54. Anonymous posted: 08.07.2011 - 12:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Anyone think Hornish doesn't get as much money invested in his car as Penske invests in Busch and Keselowski." Hornish is fortunate Penske thinks so highly of him, otherwise most car owners would have sent him packing a long time ago. The Penske fab shop had to breathe a huge sigh of relief when they found out he was only running a handful of races this season. As far as Carl Edwards goes, I've always said he's two faced; one looks like a horse and the other looks human. I guess since he has his fresh new contract signed, he thinks he has power and can dictate how his teammates race him in the Nationwide Series. But hey, guess what everybody? Word is that Carl won't be racing the series next year! But he'll be in the booth covering them! To paraphrase a tag line for Jeff Jarrett, "Ain't that great?" Regarding the #7 car, I would prefer to see Wise in it full-time over Danica, but Junior himself stated one big factor in bringing Danica to his team was sponsorship money. He didn't want to have to fire a bunch of his employees and having the GoDaddy money would help fund the entire operation. It's a bummer that Wise doesn't get the full year to shine, but he knew that going into the year. Clearly the Eury's have figured out these new cars because other than Daytona, they were junk at the start of the season. 55. cjs3872 posted: 08.07.2011 - 12:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Carl Edwards going into the booth, which is a good fit for him, may give the viewers some insight on the different racing styles of the drivers there, as well as a fresh insight on the other drivers that race in the Nationwide Series that also race in the Cup series, as well as insight on what the track is doing from a competitor that is still very much active. Edwards going into the booth may also be the only thing that may save Trevor Bayne's job at Roush, as he would probably move to the #60 car when the #16 is shut down at season's end. Remember that Roush is probably going to have to downsize his operation from three to two NNS cars, and quite possibly, from four to three Cup cars, all due to lack of sponsorship. 56. Anonymous posted: 08.07.2011 - 12:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Carl Edwards going into the booth, which is a good fit for him, may give the viewers some insight on the different racing styles of the drivers there, as well as a fresh insight on the other drivers that race in the Nationwide Series that also race in the Cup series, as well as insight on what the track is doing from a competitor that is still very much active." It will also force a lot of viewers (myself included) to mute the race, or just turn it off in general. He's already on TV too much these days anyway. Yesterday during Cup qualifying was unbearable. 57. cjs3872 posted: 08.07.2011 - 1:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I have no problem with Edwards' commentating thus far, but only time will tell. I thought he did a good job at Pocono in the Cup race. Again, the insight he will have will be better because, being an active driver, he would know what is going on more than any one else would. however, my only question would be, being a commentator while still being an active driver, will that give him a big advantage over his competitors? Remember, he would not be the first active competitor in his sport to have commentated. The first known instance in my mind, as far as active competitors being expert commentators for a major sporting event, was Joe Theismann, when he was an expert commentator for ABC in Super Bowl XIX in 1985 with Frank Gifford and Don Meredith. Theismann was still the starting QB for the Washington Redskins at the time, having started the previous two Super Bowls for them, winning Super Bowl XVII. He wouldn't suffer his infamous broken leg until November of that year against the New York Giants. 58. IglooRacer posted: 08.07.2011 - 2:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cjs- you're probably right about baynes driving style but I never stated Edwards sets up the car for him. he just needs to provide "veteran insight" to him cuz he's been there and done that in the nationwide series. To me that's what a mentor should be. If I was Trevor bayne I would soak up all the knowledge carl Edwards has to offer like a sponge regardless how different their driving styles are. 59. cjs3872 posted: 08.07.2011 - 2:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) IglooRacer, it's true that Edwards doesn't set up the car for Bayne, but what I stated was that Bayne has not run as well since they began to set his car up like Edwards and Stenhouse as he was running before they started using Stenhouse's and Edwards' set-ups on Bayne's car. As for your statement about Bayne wanting to soak up all the knowledge like a sponge, that to me seems to be one of his strengths, as he has seemed to be able to do just that. After all, he took David Pearson's advice on how to run the Daytona 500, as well as Pearson's telling him to "do the #21 proud", and what did he do? He won the Daytona 500, the biggest race on the circuit, and did on his first shot. 60. IglooRacer posted: 08.07.2011 - 2:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cjs- does the roush team use Edwards set ups as a baseline for bayne and stenhouse? I honestly didn't think they would do that. It almost seems detrimental to Trevor bayne. If they do then it shouldn't be Edwards fault , it should put on the engineers and the crew chiefs. I think next year if bayne still is running full time nationwide it will be alot better for him since Edwards won't be around as much, maybe Matt kenseth can be a more active mentor if he gets nationwide races. 61. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 08.07.2011 - 2:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's pretty sad for Carl to fly down to a minor league race in Iowa and then worry about getting "even" with his Nationwide regular teammate. 62. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.07.2011 - 3:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Glad I'm not the only one that can't stand Carl's commentating. I didn't want to say anything because I never have much good to say about him, but I'm glad others feel the same way. 63. cjs3872 posted: 08.07.2011 - 3:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) IglooRacer, they admitted a few races ago they they are, in fact, using Edwwards' setups as a baseline for the cars of Ricky Stenhouse and Trevor Bayne. They started doing so at about Loudon, or maybe the week or two prior to that. It works for Stenhouse, becasue he's the same kind of driver, but it doesn't work for Bayne, because he drivers totally differently from the other two, which is why he hasn't run as well as the others since that change was made. I also agree that Kenseth would make for a better mentor for Bayne, since their driving styles also seem to be similar, which may be why Kenseth was chosen to driver the #16 NNS car at Chrlotte, which he won. But they do have very different personalities. Kenseth is more than a bit gloomy, where Bayne's personality seems to be as bright as the sun itself. But on the track, Kenseth would be the best mentor for Bayne among the Roush drivers. But as I also mentioned, I wouldn't be surprised in Bayne winds up with a top Chevrolet team in 2013 if he doesn't have a fully sponsored, full-time car next year. 64. cjs3872 posted: 08.07.2011 - 3:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So, DSFF, your opinion about Edwards isn't exactly non-biased. I enjoyed hearing Edwards during the Cup race at Pocono, but again, having an active competitor as a commentator may give him a big advantage on the rest of the field. That's the only problem I might have with it. But for ESPN, having an active competitor's insight may give the fans watching a better insight of what's going on with the cars and track than any of their retired drivers could give. Legendary NASCAR driver Buddy Baker once said that test driving the #2 Miller car for Penske gave him a better idea of what the cars were doing, and he said it definately helped him in his analyst duties for TNN and CBS. 65. DieselDan posted: 08.07.2011 - 4:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Status is wrong for 1st and 2nd, Stenhouse should be listed as blown engine and Edwards as accident. 66. 00andJoe posted: 08.07.2011 - 5:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DieselDan - No, it is correct. Regardless of what happens to your car if you complete the final lap you are 'Running'. 67. cjs3872 posted: 08.07.2011 - 6:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 00andJoe, that is, if you complete the last lap unassisted, except for rare cases, and I would definately call this a rare case. Remember, J.R. Hildebrand crashed in the final turn of the Indianapolis 500, but because he actually did manage to finish the last lap in second place, he is officially classified as "running". On the other hand, Richard Petty, who finished second in the 1976 Daytona 500, Neil Bonnett, who finished third in the 1980 Daytona 500, and Al Unser, Jr., who was second in the 1989 Indianapolis 500, did not actually finish their respective races. Unser actually crashed on the next-to-last lap in the '89 Indy 500, and Petty (crash) and Bonnett (blown engine), in their respective cases, got assisted on the final lap, which was disallowed, but none of their finishing positions were affected. NASCAR rules structly prohibit a disabled car getting assistance on the final lap. If it does, that lap is not scored for that particular disabled car. but in the NNS race on Saturday, both Edwards and, of course, Stenhouse crossded the start-finish line, so they are considered "running" at the finish. 68. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.07.2011 - 7:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "even though I think he will win tomorrow" "But he will win Pocono today." I was wrong. Darn. (Try to picture that being said with Ben Stein's voice) 69. beau posted: 08.07.2011 - 9:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) pinch me i'm dreaming, that's now 4 races not won by cup drivers. 70. Alex posted: 08.07.2011 - 10:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If the next Dash for Cash race is at Richmond, I hope Jr Motorsports will run the #5 for Josh Wise, because Danica is in the 7. Don't put him in the #39 i think he has a chance to win it in good equipment. 71. 12345Dude posted: 08.07.2011 - 10:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Carl is very talented at driving, but he may also be the most talented con-man in NASCAR history. He has the media eating out of his hands." He probably is. The media does eat out of his hands great point. Even someone as awesome as Kyle Petty likes him. "As for my comment in the previous post about Bayne not winning a Nationwide race this year, his pit crew seems to agree with me, because some members of his pit crew seemed to quit on him, botching at least three pit stops, resulting in him being seven laps down at the finish. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if Bayne NEVER won any races for Roush. I mean, even Colin Braun won once for Roush (in a Truck Series race at Michigan), but Bayne definately won't win for him this year, and may NEVER win for Roush. In fact, I believe that Roush may even want to put a Cup driver in NNS car #16 sooner or later (Matt Kenseth or Greg Biffle, perhaps?). If Roush wants that car to even have a chance win again this year, it had better be sooner." I like a lot of your points. But taking him out of the car, that's not the right decision. There, I think your being a little too hard on him. Give him a few years. I remember at the end of last year, he looked like the driver with the most promise. More promise than Justin Allgaier. As for Carl commentating. That sounds great 2 me. That means less races, he will win. 72. cjs3872 posted: 08.07.2011 - 11:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 12345Dude, all I was saying was that if Roush wanted the #16 to have a chance at WINNING, they would almost certainly have to put either Biffle or Kenseth (who won at Charlotte in that car) in the car. Bayne has proven he can run well, but has not proven he can lead, other than when he starts on the front row, or through pit strategy. After all, like I mentioned before, the next time Bayne actually takes the lead on the track in a non-RP race will also be the first time. Now I think Edwards' decision to commentate on races may open the #60 car up for Bayne, as I think the #16 NNS team will be shut down at the end of the year due to lack of sponsorship. I agree that taking him out of the car would be a bad idea, but I think there's a strong possibility that Roush may have to let Bayne go outright due to lack of sponsorship, if he doesn't put him in the #60 car. And I disagree that Bayne shows more promise than Justin Allgaier. Actually, Allgaier shows more promise to me. Bayne may have been headed in that direction, but Michael Waltrip was forced to let him go last year due to lack of sponsorship, the same reason that Penske was forced to let Allgaier go. And unlike Roush, Waltrip's team seemed to know what Bayne liked in his car, because he actually ran better last year for Waltrip than he has this year with Roush. Meanwhile, Allgaier landed in a less fortunate situation, but has one win this year and with a little luck, could have two, while Bayne, except at Talladega, hasn't even threatened to win a race this year in the Nationwide Series, due to his conservative nature, especially when compared to his teammates. And I don't think that would have changed if he not gotten sick. Yes, he has that Daytona 500 win, which he lucked into. And the only way he wins a Nationwide race this year is if he lucks into one, like he almost did at Gateway last year, and like he did do in the Daytona 500 this year. 73. TLarson83 posted: 08.08.2011 - 3:05 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) The post race conversation between Carl Edwards and the #6 crew was hilarious "Thanks for the push". 74. cjs3872 posted: 08.08.2011 - 10:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Evan (#45), I also wonder if Edwards runs into Bayne on purpose just to get him to drive harder. Maybe that's why he tries to rough him up sometimes. If that's true, then don't be surprised if Roush tries to get Stenhouse to rough him up a little in the rare instances that he's behind Bayne on the track. Again, not to put Bayne out of the race, but just to try to get him riled up a little to try to get him to drive harder. Some people need that kick in the pants to get them to try a little more than they seem to be. I think that roush is a little upset that the #16 car is always lagging behind it's team cars, and maybe roush has discovered that Bayne may need a little kick in the rear end, and getting one of his other drivers to rough him up to rile him up may be the key. By the way, a great night for Elliott Sadler, as well as another conservative driver, Josh Wise, who was fourth. That made him eligible for the next $100,000 challenge race, which he may not even be in, since that race will be at Richmond, and Danica Patrick is scheduled to be in the car for that race. Actually, it was a good night for JR Motorsports, as Aric Almirola followed his teammate home in fifth place, while Reed Sorenson also remained in championship contention with a sixth. But Turner Motorsports jerking him in and out of the #32 car will probably keep him from a shot a the title, which gives you an indication of how little Steve Turner actually cares about winning the Nationwide Series title this year. The championship race is down to a three-driver affair between Stenhouse, the hevy favorite, Sorenson, who keeps getting jerked in and out of his car, and Elliott Sadler, who seems intent on trying to win the title without winning a race this year. The margin between third and fourth, now represented by Almirola, is 60 points, or 1.5 races worth of points with the system being used this year. 75. 12345Dude posted: 08.08.2011 - 3:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And I disagree that Bayne shows more promise than Justin Allgaier. Actually, Allgaier shows more promise to me. Bayne may have been headed in that direction, but Michael Waltrip was forced to let him go last year due to lack of sponsorship, the same reason that Penske was forced to let Allgaier go. And unlike Roush, Waltrip's team seemed to know what Bayne liked in his car, because he actually ran better last year for Waltrip than he has this year with Roush. @CJW I meant he showed more potential last year. This year, Allgaier has more. Also I'm pretty sure Stenhouse has the title. He is contending for wins almost every week. Sadler and Sorenson aren't doing that. And I think Sorenson only has one more race in the #30. Which I think is a good idea, because Mark Martin is testing their equipment. And he's telling them what they're doing right and wrong. Turner admited to that. 76. cjs3872 posted: 08.08.2011 - 3:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 12345Dude, Stenhouse should have the title, but as aggressive as he races, he is also prone to mistakes, mistakes that could haunt him in his pursuit of the title. As for your point about Bayne showing more promise last year than Allgaier, Bayne did seem to show more promise last year than he's shown this year because he had a team that actually set up his car to his liking. But another tihng that works against Bayne is the sixth sense he seems to have when comes to anticipating possible trouble. Bayne seems to have this knack of seeing possible trouble and getting out of the way, if trouble happens. However, some of the other drivers have figured out ways to use that against him, racing more aggressively around him, knowing that he would back out of it long before they would. That's a big reason why I think he can be more aggressive than he is, because of his knack of anticipating trouble, and being able to avoid trouble that way. Naturally, it won't work all the time, but hos knack for avoiding trouble will keep him out of trouble more often than others drivers would stay out of trouble. 77. Talon64 posted: 08.08.2011 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. gets his 2nd career Nationwide Series win and 2nd of 2011. He joins Brad Keselowski (2008 & 2009) as the only 2 NNS regulars to win multiple races in a season since 2006, and him and Elliott Sadler join BraKes as the only 3 with 10+ top 5's in a year over that same span. Ricky also picked up his series-leading 17th top 10 in 22 races. His average finish this year is 8.7, only just off teammate and full time Cup driver Carl Edwards' 9.2 in 21 starts. Carl Edwards makes it a 5th 1-2 finish for Roush in NNS this season, with Carl winning twice (Stenhouse 2nd both times) and finishing 2nd three times (Ricky winning twice, Matt Kenseth once). It's his series-leading 11th top 2 finish and 12th top 5 of the season. Elliott Sadler earned his 3rd pole of the season and 9th of his career. He tied his best finish of the season in 3rd, his first top 10 in the last 4 races. Josh Wise picked up his best career finish in 4th, his 2nd top 5 in 66 career starts. It's just his 3rd top 10 this season, but all coming in 12 starts in the #7 JRM car (15.1 avg fin). Based on his average points per race in the #7, he'd be 8th in the standings if he'd run every race with JRM. Aric Almirola extends his top 5 streak to 4 races, after only having 1 top 5 in the first 18 races of the season. It's the 2nd time in 4 races that 2 JRM cars have finished in the top 5. Reed Sorenson gets his 3rd straight top 10 but hasn't had a top 5 in the last 5 races. Steve Wallace gets just his 4th top 10 of the season but 2nd in the last 4 races. Michael McDowell finishes in the top 10 for the 3rd time in 4 starts in the #18 JGR car. Their lead in the owners points is at 25 points over the #32 Turner team with the #60 Roush team in 3rd, 35 points back. David Mayhew finishes 10th in his 1st career Nationwide start, but had the 3rd best driver rating in the race at 112.0 with 4 laps led, 100% of his laps in the top 15 and an average running position of 5th. Timmy Hill is the highest finishing rookie in the race in 21st. 78. Talon64 posted: 08.08.2011 - 7:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "The championship race is down to a three-driver affair between Stenhouse, the hevy favorite, Sorenson, who keeps getting jerked in and out of his car, and Elliott Sadler, who seems intent on trying to win the title without winning a race this year. The margin between third and fourth, now represented by Almirola, is 60 points, or 1.5 races worth of points with the system being used this year." I thought Allgaier had gotten back into title contention after his 4th at Nashville put him only 30 points out, but his luck the last two races has been awful and I don't think he'll make up the 83 point gap he's at now. And Almirola's strong run of races is too little too late. I think Stenhouse is in a great position to begin running away with the championship; he's been the only NNS regular who's shown he can run right up there with the Cup guys to lead laps and contend for wins. Watkins Glen isn't the best place for him to do that, except he's running the Rolex Grand-Am race in the GT class so the extra experience could be a big help to him for the NNS race. also, Ryan Truex will be back in a NNS car. He's going to be the #20 JGR car for 6 races, which could give him an outside shot at winning ROTY... http://www.twitlonger.com/show/c8v7ch (my twitlonger explaining it to the best of my ability. I don't think some of the numbers are exactly right but they're pretty close). 79. cjs3872 posted: 08.08.2011 - 11:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And by the way, Talon64 and other posters, the margin between thrid and fourth in the Nationwide points is 48 points, not 60 as I had mentioned. I'm surprised that nobody caught that error. You guys are slipping. You are right about Stenhouse putting himself in position to run away with the title this year, but I just can't shake the feeling that, with aggressive that Stenhouse is on the track, trhat he'll make the mistakes that may cost him the championship. Remember that boneheaded move he attempted at Loudon? That could have taken out himself, as well as teammate Trevor Bayne, as well as Justin Allgaier. Not to mention some of the other crazy moves he has tried in the past. Something like that while racing the wrong person could cost him big-time and open the door for Sadler and Sorenson. Remember that Sadler and Sorenson have a combined 610 starts in the Cup series. (449 for Sadler and 161 for Sorenson) Sadler has even qualified for the Chase on one occasion (the inaugural Chase in 2004), and his experience, combined with the experience that car owner Kevin Harvick carries with him may prove invaluable in the end. Stenhouse undoubtedly has the better cars, but Sadler and Harvick may prove a very formidable combination, even though Sadler has not finished better than third this year. Could Sadler possibly win the championship without a single finish of first OR second this year? 80. cjs3872 posted: 08.09.2011 - 12:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Talon64, your statement about Ricky Stenhouse's average finish being off Carl Edwards' in post #77 is inaccurate. Stenhouse's average finish of 8.7 would be BETTER than Edwards' 9.2, not worse, or off as you put it. 81. Talon64 posted: 08.09.2011 - 3:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Actually I was wrong in who had what average finish; Carl's is 8.7 while Ricky's is 9.2. also, apparently Carl flipped off Stenhouse at some point during the race. Glad to see Carl showing off his superior mentoring skills. 82. cjs3872 posted: 08.09.2011 - 11:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Okay Talon64, so it seems that you got the average finish numbers for Stenhouse and Edwards backwards. Everyone makes mistakes, but at least you admitted yours. By the way, I just saw the article on ESPN.com about the Edwards-Stenhouse tiff at Iowa, and apparently, this situation has been brewing for a couple of weeks, at least, because Edwards was apparently unhappy with Stenhouse's aggraessive driving at IRP, as well. As I said, Stenhouse's aggressiveness will get him into trouble if he crosses the wrong driver, though I didn't suspect it would be his teammate. At least Trevor Bayne hasn't done anything like that this year, but he may have bigger problems ahead of him. That same article mentioned that Bayne may not even have a full-time Nationwide ride at Roush next year, much less having his ride in the #21 car move to a larger part of the season, if not the full season. That means what I suspect hay be true, and Bayne may wind up being forced to be released by Roush at season's end, due to lack of sponsorship, as Roush has seemingly refused to even attenpt to find him solid sponsorship, just as he once did with Jeff Burton, after Burton won 18 times for Roush. I also think that news may increase the the possibility that the #21 car will, in all likelyhood, be driven by either Stenhouse, David Ragan, if he's either released, or the #6 Cup team is forced to shut down, or possibly even Mark Martin, who may be looking for a part-time ride, which would suit the Wood Brothers just fine. Martin is the best fit for the #21 car among those three, because the Woods have always liked veteran drivers, though their two most recent wins have come with very young drivers. In other words, Bayne may wind up being the latest driver that has been treated shabbily and unfairly by Roush, joining drivers like Burton and McMurray, among others, in that regard. Anyhow, the possibility that Bayne may become the first Daytona 500 winner to not even have a chance to defend his title, because he doesn't have a car to drive in the race seems to be increasing. Like I've stated, Bayne may wind up driving for a top Chevrolet team, possibly as early as mid-to-late 2012, and certainly by 2013, and my bet is still with Ganassi, since Bayne and several members of the Wood Brothers team, most notably crew chief Donnie Wingo, have ties to Ganassi. McMurray returned there after a stint with Roush, so why not Wingo, and possibly with Bayne. And if Bayne doesn't wind up eith a full-time ride somewhere by mid-to-late 2012, Bayne may well wind up out of NASCAR as fast as he arrived, simply due to lack of sponsorship. And if this can happen this quickly to the reigning Daytona 500 champion, is anyone safe from the perils of lack of sponsorship? Or are concerns about his health more serious than anyone is letting on at this moment? 83. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.10.2011 - 4:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Kenseth is more than a bit gloomy" I like Matt, but have you noticed how EVERY SINGLE TIME he is leading late in a race, he radios to his crew that he thinks he has a tire going down? Every time. That might just be Matt messing with his guys, but he worries a lot. 84. cjs3872 posted: 08.10.2011 - 5:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, that may just be a case of, when a driver is leading a race late, he can he can hear every little noise as if it was a fire alarm going off in his head. 85. Talon64 posted: 08.10.2011 - 5:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I still think that Richard Petty Motorsports could play a part in Bayne and Stenhouse's 2012 plans. RPM is pretty solid with their sponsorship right now so maybe they'd have an easier time getting something together for a part time team. Roush's NNS situation could be very interesting since there's a chance that Carl's schedule could be cut down dramatically thanks to his ESPN booth gig. Without Carl and the sponsorship he'd attract Roush will be lucky to have 2 full time teams. 86. Spen posted: 08.10.2011 - 7:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "the possibility that Bayne may become the first Daytona 500 winner to not even have a chance to defend his title, because he doesn't have a car to drive in the race seems to be increasing." I'm afraid you might be right. A few weeks ago, I wasn't worried about it, since I was running with the theory of Edwards going to Gibbs, and Ragan getting the sack. But since neither of those things are going to happen, Bayne probably won't have anything vaguely resembling a top ride for the rest of his career. I just don't see Ganassi making room, unless he can bring a sponsor. He could get a ride for the 500, though. I'm sure some start-and-park team would take a chance to see if he can race them in. Whitney Motorsports, perhaps? That's probably what his NASCAR future will be. 87. cjs3872 posted: 08.10.2011 - 11:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Talon64, I've mentioned it before, but I wouldn't wish Richard Petty Motorsports or the Wood Brothers on any aspiring driver, becuase I think both paths are dead end roads. That has been proven. The Woods haven't been consistently competitve since Morgan Shepherd was their driver more than 15 years ago, when they were among the front runners, though Morgan only won for them once. And remember, the relationship between Roush and the Woods Brothers, while seemingly solid right now, has been rocky for about a decade. While it's true that Roush helped them back when Elliott Sadler and Ricky Rudd drove their car, and both were competitve on occasion, with Sadler even winning once for them, but Roush also stole Citgo, their long-time sponsor before the 2001 season, and then released Jon Wood after a successful 2003 season in the Truck Series, in which he won twice in an unsponsored truck (that sound familiar?). Actually, the Woods have helped Roush a lot more than Roush has helped the Woods. After all, the Woods were the team that ran the FR-9 engine long before Roush put it in any of his cars, first using it in 2009. Roush didn't start using it until the middle of last season. As for Richard Petty Motorsports, that team is so poorly run, that Kasey Kahne risked not having a ride for the 2011 season, and signing a contract that hasn't started yet, just so that he could leave that team. They responded by giving him faulty equipment, especially faulty brakes, and Kahne wasn't the only driver that got faulty brakes at RPM last year. Remember Jimmie Johnson's dramatic crash with A.J. Allmendinger at last year's Southern 500? That started because Allmendinger's brakes went out entering turn one. And as long as Richard Petty runs things there, and he will continue to do so until, either the team folds, or until he's unable to any more, that organization can do nothing but fail. Petty is like his comtempopary A.J. Foyt in that regard. Foyt has never been able to run his team that good either, and for that matter, neither could Cale Yarborough or Bobby Allison, but at least both of them got out (or were forced out) with some dignity in tact. Yarborough even won the Firecracker 400 in 1997, his next-to-last season as a full-time team owner. Allison also had some competitve runs, and only got out when sponosrship dried up after the 1996 season. It may be a good thing for him when that happened. So the moral of this story is that I wouldn't wish the Wood Brothers or Richard Petty Motorsports on any aspiring driver. In fact, I wouldn't wish either of those two teams on ANY driver. Bayne, as it turns out, may become the first true victim of NASCAR's four-team rule, which limits the number of teams that a car owner can have. That rule was instituted to let other teams get into the sport, but the backing just isn't there, and won't be for a long time. As a result, there just aren't any new quality teams coming into the sport. In fact, one that entered four years ago, Red Bull Racing, is leaving after this year, leaving two more potential open spots on the grid that may not be filled by fully funded teams. The reason I brought up Ganassi as a possible spot for Bayne is his connections to that organization through Donnie Wingo and even Jamie McMurray. Besides, I don't think Ganassi is that pleased with Juan Montoya for all the cars he's crashed, not to mention his lack of performance overall. The only reason he keeps Montoya is because of the loyalty factor, which is what brought McMurray back to Chip last year. The reason I think Banye may be out of a ride in the Cup series next year, despite what you're hearing is that I believe that either Mark Martin, who may be seeking a part-time ride, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., or David Ragan, if the #6 Cup team is shut down due to lack of sponsorship, will be in the #21 car next year. And if the #6 team is shut down, that will be still another spot on the grid open that won't be filled by a fully funded team. 88. NicoRosbergFan posted: 08.11.2011 - 7:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Run Bayne in the 21 for 18 races (including Daytona) and the All-star/Open. Field Stenhouse in the 21 for the other 18 races; field a fifth Roush car for Stenhouse at Daytona and the All-star/Open. All of this, though, would have to be funded by Roush, and we know the Red Sox aren't hurting for cash. A lot of teams seem to be forgetting that they can field extra cars as long as they don't amount to 36 races. Also, I don't think Bayne doesn't try hard enough. Leading the first 12 laps still requires the guts to drive the car on the outside, I think Bayne is afraid to push the car to the max and get in a wreck because Roush is always lightning quick to fire people. 89. cjs3872 posted: 08.11.2011 - 9:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yes, NicoRosbergFan, NASCAR's four-team rule DOES allow the adding of a fifth car for a maximum if seven races for a rookie or developmental driver. In fact, Rick Hendrick took advantage of this loophole to put Brad Keselowski in the #25 car for a few races in 2009. But that, to me, is the only instance I know of in which a car owner took avdantage of the provision of an extra car. As for your idea of putting Bayne in th #21 car for 18 races, and Stenhouse in it for the other 18. Well, that would never work. First of all, that would require running the full season, which if the Woods were going to do that, they would run Bayne for all 36 races. But the Woods are actually going to REDUCE their schedule next year back to what it was two or three years ago. Word is that they are only going to run 13-15 races next year, down from the 18 that they are going to run this year. As for Bayne not being aggressive enough, which I don't tihnk he is, that only in traffic situations. In an open track, he's as fast as just about anyone, but he's just not willing to risk it in traffic. Why do you think he's not a part of the in-team controversy that Edwards and Stenhouse find themselves in. Plus, as I mentioned before, Bayne seems to have this sixth sense about being able to feel trouble, but the other drivers may also be aware of it, and are actually using Bayne's ability to sense potential problems against him by racing aggressively around him. And also, Bayne seems to be one of these drivers that the more aggressive drivers (Harvick, Kyle Busch, Edwards, Stenhouse, etc.) think they can push around, without fearing retribution of any kind, where as Stenhouse will push back, even against his own teammates. It may simply be a case of Bayne being too nice for his own good. Remember, Kasey Kahne had this same problem in his first few years, even getting to the point where Darrell Waltrip, on national television, said that he needed to become more aggressive. I think Bayne needs someone to call him out and tell him he needs to be more aggressive, but not to the point of being overaggressive, as Stenhouse most definetely is. Both Bayne and Stenhouse are guilty of not finding that line between being aggressive and being too aggressive. Bayne has not gone far enough, while stenhouse has overstepped that boundary numerous times. As for your point about Bayne running on the outside to lead the first 12 laps on Saturday night, he seems to prefer the high groove, but that can be a double-edged sword, as that got himi into trouble at Auto Club Speedway, and was about to at Michigan in the Cup race when Jimmie Johnson spun out. But, as I've also said, the next time Bayne actually takes the lead on a non-RP track will also be the first time, as all the times he has led have eiter come from a front row starting position, or through pit strategy. But I also think the Cup cars and the longer Cup races would suit him better than the Nationwide cars and shorter races do, especially where the car is concerned, because he just doesn't drive the car as deep in the turns, which you have to do to be successful in the lesser horsepowered cars in the Nationwide Series, which is why Stenhouse does so well in the Nationwide Series. But I think the greater horsepower of the Cup cars will suit Bayne better. Remember, before he had to pit late in the Brickyard 400, Bayne had moved up to fourth place, and nearly had third, proving he can be aggressive when he needs to be. 90. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.11.2011 - 9:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Bayne to RPM possibilty is interesting. On first glance, RPM really appears to be struggling. Dinger and Ambrose can run in the Top 10 for a little bit with them, but ultimately seem to always fall badly towards the end. It seems like a good destination for Trevor's career to die. But then again, AJ and Marcos are two of the hardest drivers on equipment. They both charge the corners way too hard, leading to brake problems, tire problems, bad fuel mileage in an era where fuel mileage is as important as ever, and overall slower lap times. With these COTs, finesse is at a premium. As cjs has mentioned before, Trevor is a finesse driver that takes care of his equipment. He is correct in pointing out this is helpful in Cup but not so much for NWide. Would his driving style give RPM better results? It is Roush chassis and motors after all. Plus, as has also been mentioned, Jack seems to take more pride in drivers he has signed to developmental deals winning in underfunded equipment than wins by his drivers in his own equipment. Compare his joyous reaction to Trevor's Daytona 500 win with the Woods, his absolute elation after the 1998 Goodwrench 200 at Rockingham when his recently signed developmental driver named Matt Kenseth won in an unsponsored CHEVROLET (that is by far the most emotion I have ever seen from him, check it out on YouTube sometime), then his subdued reaction 11 years later when Matt won the '09 Daytona 500 in Jack's own car. 91. NicoRosbergFan posted: 08.11.2011 - 9:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs: Didn't know that about Wood. Thanks. 92. cjs3872 posted: 08.11.2011 - 12:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yes, Wood was either let go by Roush or chose to leave after 2004, not 2003 as I mentioned, and wound up with JTG Racing's #47 car, and didn't perform very well, and later got sick, and his career was never on track after that. He eventually wound up as a semi-start-and-park for his family's team, Wood Brothers Racing. The last Cup race he ran for them was at Talladega, where he qualified, but they had to take the car to the garage area almost immediately after the race started, and would up spending a number of laps there while his team adjusted the car for racing conditions. Meanwhile, as DSFF and I mentioned, Trevor Bayne is a finesse driver that takes care of his equipment, which is the kind of driver that the Wood brothers have always liked. Other than Neil Bonnett (on two occasions) and Buddy Baker, just about all of the Wood Brothers' drivers since the early 1970s have been this type of driver. Drivers such as Kyle Petty, Dale Jarrett, Morgan Shepherd, Elliott Sadler, Ricky Rudd, Ken Schrader, Bill Elliott, Bayne, and David Pearson, the ultimate finesse driver, have all wheeled the #21 car since the team parted ways with A.J. Foyt early in 1972, who, despite his reputation, also drove with finesse when he needed to. That was even the case with Marvin Panch, who drove the car from 1962-'65. 93. NicoRosbergFan posted: 08.11.2011 - 12:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs3872: I meant the Wood Brothers, not Jon Wood. I didn't know that the Wood Brothers were scaling back their race count. That still shouldn't stop Roush from paying RPM too field an extra car. I really feel that Bayne is not about finesse. The first few hours of driving a car, the panic is about not knowing what to do, and I wonder if Bayne is "taking care of the equipment" out of fear, because he sure drove the heck out of it at Daytona in February. 94. cjs3872 posted: 08.11.2011 - 2:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sorry about the confusion, NicoRosbergFan. As for Bayne and the Daytona 500, it helps when you have the fastest car in the field, as he unquestionably did, though even with the fastest car, he never once attempted to take the lead. He only got the lead because he inherited it when David Ragan was penalized. But as for Roush paying Richard Petty Motorsports to field an extra car is concerned, that's a terrible idea, because I still think that Richard Petty Motorsports is the wrong way to go, as that is a dead end road, as far as a career goes, just like the Wood Brothers are. And as I've stated before, as long as Richard Petty is in charge there, that team is going nowhere fast. And as for the Wood Brothers, the fact that they're reducing their schedule next year should also say volumes. In two years, that team may not even exist any more, which would be a shame. And Bayne seems to know exactly what kind of race he plans to run before it even starts. For instance, every time he was trying to move up in the Brickyard 400, things got too wild for him, and he dropped back for that reason, admitting so himself. 95. cjs3872 posted: 08.11.2011 - 2:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And DSFF, I disagree that, with the new car, finesse is at a premium. In fact, I think with the current car, drivers that hustle a car around the track is what's at a premium. After all, since the current car first arrived, the drivers that hustle a car around the track have benefitted, while those that use finesse have struggled. The reason for that is, with the current car, especially with the styrofoam protection in both sides of car, driving errors are not penalized nearly as heavily, so the drivers drive it as hard as they can, realizing that if they hit the wall, the car won't be damaged seriously, and they can still remain competitve. Before the current car was introduced in 2007, a driver error was more costly, which is why you saw drivers like Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch struggle with the older car, but benefit with the current one, and the opposite is true with drivers like Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, and Matt Kenseth, who really do drive with finesse. They've struggled since the current car was introduced, and the statistics back this up. 96. 00andJoe posted: 08.30.2011 - 1:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #41 sponsor: Lilly Trucking of Virginia/Carport Empire ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: