|| *Comments on the 2011 Sprint Showdown:* View the most recent comment <#27> | Post a comment <#post> 1. 18fan posted: 05.21.2011 - 10:16 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Two Waltrips in the booth = crappy coverage. 2. 18fan posted: 05.21.2011 - 10:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, the 20 laps, then caution, then 20 green laps doesn't really give this race a chance to get a flow. I liked when it was just a 50 lap race where only the winner advanced, no top 2 advance, no fan vote(which, shockingly*, went to Dale Jr.) *Obvious sarcasm. 3. Greg G posted: 05.21.2011 - 11:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) PLEASE SPEED, NO MORE THAN ONE WALTRIP IN THE BOOTH. After two laps I turned the sound down and listened to the radio. Any body who be better in the both than the Waltrips. Bring in Dale Jarret or even Glenn Jarrett. Hell even Rutledge whould be better. 4. 00andJoe posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cautions: Laps: 3-8 (#09, 64, 32 accident turn 1), 21 (segment 1 end), 27 (#30 accident turn 4), 27 (#83 spin turn 2) 5. 00andJoe posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #64 sponsor: Morningstar Marina 6. RaceFanX posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:28 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) David Ragan's first victory in a Cup car 7. 18fan posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) In 5 Showdowns, David Ragan has led 42 laps. In 157 Cup points races, Ragan has only led 66 laps and half of those 66 have come in plate races, which are really the only races he is consistently competitive in. 8. Jarrett88fan posted: 05.22.2011 - 12:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The fan vote is a fraud, but what if the top-2 vote getters in the fan vote had to battle it out on the track? Logano started in the back after blowing an engine and finished one spot ahead of the 2011 Sprint All-Star Race Fan Vote Winner... some change must occur to make the fan vote winner work for it or scrap it altogether. 9. Matthew Sullivan posted: 05.22.2011 - 1:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The fan vote would be a fraud if Dale Jr. DIDN'T win it. He's far and away the most popular driver and anyone driver that would have beat him in that aspect would have only shown the system to be faulty. In all other major sports fans vote who they want to see in their all-star event. Further, nobody made as big a stink about the fan vote until this season. Gee, I wonder why? 10. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 05.22.2011 - 1:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not surprisingly, Dale Jr won the fan vote. For some reason, David Ragan seems to be able to run up front in the Showdown, but when real points are on the line he can't find that same edge. Brad K has a good run and gets himself into the All-Star, but it's pretty embarrassing when David freakin' Ragan beats you out for the win. Brad didn't have the best outing in the All-Star either. 11. Dodge posted: 05.22.2011 - 6:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The fan vote would be a fraud if Dale Jr. DIDN'T win it. He's far and away the most popular driver and anyone driver that would have beat him in that aspect would have only shown the system to be faulty. In all other major sports fans vote who they want to see in their all-star event. Further, nobody made as big a stink about the fan vote until this season. Gee, I wonder why? It is because it is a joke that Jr. even got to be in the all-star race. I understand supporting your driver thru thick and thin but give someone else a chance that will contend for the win. The results in the past few seasons while driving Hendrick stuff is pathetic. Sure he has shown IMPROVEMENT so far this year, but remember, he started good in 2008 and went to crap and he kinda did the same last year. I personally hoped that both RPM cars were going to get in. 12. Bronco posted: 05.22.2011 - 10:26 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "It is because it is a joke that Jr. even got to be in the all-star race." Why is it a joke that the driver ranked 4th in Cup points gets to participate in the all-star race? Fail. "I understand supporting your driver thru thick and thin but give someone else a chance that will contend for the win" And how will you know whether or not a driver will contend for the win unless they get voted in? Another fail. It's funny to hear people bitch about the fan vote simply because the guy they voted for didn't get in. Brad made a daring pass on David Ragan right after a restart, but David ran him down and took away the win. 13. cjs3872 posted: 05.22.2011 - 7:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) RCRandPenskeGuy, the reason that Ragan was able to run down Keselowski was that the Roush cars have a BIG advantage over the rest of the field, and that, if nothing else proved that. That, and the fact that Penske is at just as big a disadvantage being the ONLY Dodge team in NASCAR. Penske is right now at as big a disadvantage as he was in the 1970's when he ran the AMC Matador (and somehow won five races with it, which only proves Bobby Allison's greatness, as he collected four of those victories). No, I just don't thinbk ANYONE should get into the All-Star Race, just because the fans want him in. It should be based on performance (although, if there was a rule that said the top 5 in points entering the All-Star Race would automatically qualify, he wouldn't have had to worry about the fan vote). I also think that anyone that wins any of NASCAR's crown jewel events (Daytona 500, Spring Talladega, Southern 500, Coca-Cola, and the Brickyard 400) should automatically gain entry into the All-Star Race the next FIVE times it's held from the time of the crown jewel that driver won. 14. cjs3872 posted: 05.22.2011 - 7:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sorry about the lack of clarity in the second paragraph in the last post. The "he" obviously refers to Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 15. cjs3872 posted: 05.22.2011 - 7:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 18fan, it certainly is crappy coverage when the commentators don't even know what the rules are. And I have also, in another comments page, made the comment about Ragan only leading 66 laps in about four and a half years in what was once one of the most prestigous rides on the circuit, Roush's #6 car. When, in a car that's supposed to be that potent, you can only on average, lead two laps every five races, and are the most mistake-prone driver on the entire circuit (and in my years of watching NASCAR), it's long-past time for him to go, especially in the wake of Ricky Stenhouse's win in Iowa, passing Carl Edwards for the lead late. Stenhouse should be the next driver, in the #6 Cup car. After all, he can't much worse that Rgan, can he? 16. Talon64 posted: 05.24.2011 - 7:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brad Keselowski probably made the most impressive move of the entire day with that 3 wide pass on the inside for the lead on the restart. I don't know if he finishes top 2 if he doesn't pull that off, so big credit to Brad for that. David Ragan's the 6th driver in the last 7 races to get their 1st Cup win in this race, the only exception being Martin Truex Jr. in 2010 but he was one of those 1st time winners back in 2007. The previous 5 drivers have been hit or miss when it comes to how they've done since those wins; Brian Vickers (2005) and Martin Truex Jr. (2007) went on to each win a points-paying Cup race, with Truex's coming just 2 weeks after his Showdown win, while AJ Allmendinger (2008) is one of the best driver on the circuit right now without a win. Scott Riggs (2006) and Sam Hornish Jr. (2009) are currently without Cup rides and racing part time in Nationwide. 17. cjs3872 posted: 05.25.2011 - 11:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well Talon64, this race does have an impressive list of winners, including Benny Parsons, Buddy Baker, Sterling Marlin (three or four times), Michael Waltrip (three times), Dick Trickle, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Johnny Benson, Jr., and Ryan Newman. (NOTE: Parsons did not transfer to the All-Star Race in 1986, the transfer to the winner started in 1987, when Baker won this race.) Also, Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose, the two Richard Petty Motorsports drivers, are currently the two best without a victory, and no one's even close to them in that regard. In fact, they may be better than some drivers that have won, not including long-time veterans like Jeff Burton and Bobby Labonte, who's winning days appear to be, sadly, behind them. Ambrose will certainly win at least one of, if not both road course events this year, and may even sneak in a win on an oval, while I wouldn't be surprised if allmendinger wins this year as well. In fact, that may be this week, but wouldn't it be something if Allmendinger wins at Kansas, when the legendary #43 car will, according to Eddie Wood, look like it's supposed to, with those classic STP colors. (Incidentally, Ambrose won a NNS race at Watkins Glen for another team a couple of years ago in those famous STP colors.) If both do win this year it would be the first time since 1972 that Petty would send two drivers to victory lane in the same year. (Petty and Buddy Baker, who won the first of two consecutive World 600s that year.) 18. cjs3872 posted: 05.25.2011 - 11:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Those drivers that the Petty duo are better than that have won include the likes of Joey Logano and Regan Smith. I can't include Brad Keselowski in that group since he's in such mediocre equipment, because I think, in good equipment, he can get the job done. I also can't include Trevor Bayne in that company, since he's so unproven, and his team has never been one of the heavily financed, even in their heyday, and he might, if his health ever does return to top form, become a top-echelon driver, especially with his knack for finishing races. I would have included David Reutimann in this conversation last year, but his convincing win at Chicago last year proved he can be a top driver. Reutimann and Smith, like Bayne, have a knack for finishing races. 19. Talon64 posted: 05.25.2011 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Have to disagree about Regan Smith, since he's never had good equipment either; an unsponsored 4th car at DEI and now a single car team in Furniture Row. Stirling own the record for most Showdown wins with 4 (most recently in 2004, technically his last win in Cup), with nobody else having more than 2. 20. myothercarisanM535i posted: 05.25.2011 - 9:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I am unashamedly biased when it comes to Marcos Ambrose, but I think that team is focused on making the chase as a wildcard - and I believe they can do it. I also believe that overall, Marcos will have a better NASCAR career than Juan Pablo Montoya and that the 2011 and 2012 seasons will be massive for him. I reckon that the #9 car will have a real oppourtunity to win at least 3 or 4 races this year: both the road courses as well as a cookie cutter or two. As for how it all actually plays out, we'll see. But I've got every right to be optimistic! 21. cjs3872 posted: 05.25.2011 - 10:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Talon64, I thought Marlin might have won it four times, but I thought Waltrip won it three times. Sorry for my error. Also, I'm not saying Smith is a bad driver, not at all. Smith, like Trevor Bayne, is a driver in the Benny Parsons/Terry Labonte mold, maybe even more so, in that, Smith is extremely proficient at finishing races. In fact, I rate Smith a very good driver for that reason. I just think that Ambrose and Allmendinger are better drivers that Smith. 22. Talon64 posted: 05.26.2011 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Top 5 finishers in the Showdown transferred to the All Star race in 1996, Mikey finished 5th to transfer and win the main event. Mikey and Sterling are the only 2 drivers to win the Showdown in back-to-back years (1991-92 and 1988-89 respectively). 23. cjs3872 posted: 05.27.2011 - 12:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yes, Talon64, the top 5 in the Showdown in '96 qualified for the All-Star Race, and that's not even the most to transfer to the All-Star Race from the Showdown. In 1994, so few drivers had qualified for the All-Star Race, that they took the top SIX finishers of the Showdown into the All-Star Race. 24. Rusty posted: 05.29.2011 - 2:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Being at the track, I thought this was a better race than the actual All Star race. Lots of good action everywhere on the track. 25. Anonymous posted: 06.01.2011 - 2:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cautions: Laps: 3-8 (#09, 64, 32 accident turn 1), 21-21 (segment 1 end), 27-27 (#30 accident turn 4), 28-28 (#83 spin turn 2) 26. RaceFanX posted: 04.23.2012 - 8:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Owners: #6 David Ragan- Jack Roush #2 Brad Keselowski- Roger Penske #9 Marcos Ambrose- Richard Petty Motorsports #43 A.J. Allmendinger- Richard Petty Motorsports #20 Joey Logano- Joe Gibbs #88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr.- Rick Hendrick #34 David Gilliland- Bob Jenkins #47 Bobby Labonte- JTG-Daugherty Racing #31 Jeff Burton- Richard Childress #83 Brian Vickers- Dietrich Mateschitz #27 Paul Menard- Richard Childress #13 Casey Mears- Germain Racing #56 Martin Truex, Jr.- Michael Waltrip #81 J.J. Yeley- Dusty Whitney #60 Mike Skinner- Germain Racing #38 Travis Kvapil- Bob Jenkins #66 Todd Bodine- Phil Parsons #50 T.J. Bell- Joe Falk #87 Joe Nemechek- Joe Nemechek #92 Brian Keselowski- Bob Keselowski #37 Tony Raines- Larry Gunselman #95 David Starr- Leavine Family Racing #71 Andy Lally- Kevin Buckler #30 David Stremme- Timothy McSweeney #32 Boris Said- Frank Stoddard #09 Landon Cassill- James Finch #64 Derrike Cope- Larry Gunselman 27. Premium Doesn't Suck 62 66 94 98 posted: 11.11.2015 - 10:29 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor updates: #09 Thank A Teacher Today/Security Benefit #6 UPS "We Love Logistics" #9 DeWalt/Stanley Tools #38 Long John Silver's "We Speak Fish" #60 Big Red/All Sport #66 TechSouth Inc./Key Systems #71 TRG Motorsports/Interstate Moving Services #81 Whitney Motorsports #88 Save the Music/The Dale Jr. Foundation #95 Jordan Truck Sales/TWD Drywall ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: