|| *Comments on the 2009 Tums Fast Relief 500:* View the most recent comment <#93> | Post a comment <#post> 1. Anonymous posted: 10.25.2009 - 8:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nascar screwed up with John Andretti's spin with Andretti stopping middle of the track. There should have been a yellow flag sooner. Nascar was lucky that a driver didn't get int Andretti. Martinsiville is a track that you couldn't to see if a car can get going due to the fact it is faster for cup cars to make a lap at Martinsville than a Cookie Cutter. Scott speed showed he can't drive. What was he thinking by trying to go full throttle at Martinsville? 2. Anonymous posted: 10.25.2009 - 8:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin gets his career high 3rd win of the year. Bobby Labonte gets a great finish for the 96 car. The 18 team did a hack of a job today from starting 41st despite the fact I am not a fan of the driver. 3. Willy on Wheels posted: 10.25.2009 - 9:03 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I never cheered louder for a Japcar in my life. Glad to see Johnson finally lose a Martinsville race 4. Bronco posted: 10.25.2009 - 9:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nice to see Hamlin get a well deserved home state win. Always good to see someone other than Johnson win at Martinsville. As if I needed further proof that Dale Jr has no luck, he blows a tire while being in the top 10 for the first bit of the race. Hell, even Harvick's luck has improved lately. Thankfully Talladega is next week and Dale Jr almost always kicks ass there. Bobby Labonte does a great job in his final ride in the 96. Jamie Mac has a great run as well. Derrike Cope makes his first start since October 2006 at Talladega and not suprisingly does a start and park. Travis Kvapil returns for the first time since Bristol in March and also parks the car in 30 laps. 5. Alex M posted: 10.25.2009 - 9:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Congrats to Derrike Cope #64 and Travis Kvapil #37 for returning to the series knocking out owner Barry Haefele #73, the only Post Entry. 6. CFob posted: 10.25.2009 - 10:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It was nice to see my favorite driver win today. That driver being Anyone But Jimmie. Seriously though, it's getting bad when I pull for that primadonna crybaby Denny Hamlin to win a race... 7. Mike posted: 10.25.2009 - 11:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What in the hell was up with Juan today? It seemed like the EGR cars were trying to wreck Hendrick cars, specifically the 24. They failed since 5 Hendrick cars were in the top 10 (and don't even get me started on Dale Jr). Good run for Bobby Labonte and a tough break for Casey Mears who had yet another top 10-15 car. 8. Kevin posted: 10.25.2009 - 11:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Another great run for Montoya! He could steal a win this season if he keep running well! 9. gordonchick posted: 10.26.2009 - 12:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, can Juan pass anybody without hitting them??? Jeff should have put him in the wall. 10. Kit posted: 10.26.2009 - 12:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) That's the mentality Juan has that will keep him from being a great driver. Hell, the #42 should have two wins this season, the team is that good. The driver hasn't done enough. Kinda pointless to get into a Chase he has little hope of winning when he should be winning races. JPM is like a deer hunter who gets deer fever and misses the 12-point buck. It's obvious at this point that Johnson's success lies more with the car he's in than him as a driver. The championship today, isn't. Jeff Gordon won a shitload of races in the 90s but at least Gordon actually had talent on par with Dale Sr. and Petty. With Johnson, he's a good driver but I just don't see him on the same level. Hendrick just managed to make themselves the dominant team over the past 10 years. I'm still laughing about that list petty43 made last week in which he actually ranked Dale Jr. but left out champions and stellar drivers like Kulwicki. 11. New 14&88 Fan posted: 10.26.2009 - 2:20 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Finally some one other than Johnson wins at Martinsville,even is it was Diva Hamlin. If JPM tried to pass people without hitting 'em,he'd get lapped. 12. Dodge posted: 10.26.2009 - 7:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Anyone notice the traditional points next to the Chase points? If we were currently using the old format, Tony would have a 85 point lead over Johnson instead of Johnson having 118 point lead over Martin. Old Format, Mark would be in 4, 456 behind Tony. 13. DaleJrFan18 posted: 10.26.2009 - 7:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) And another episode of the Trials and Tribulations of Dale Jr continues... 1. Blows tire in top ten (or was it 15?) Either way, he hits nothing and goes on. 2. Works way back up to top 15 but messes up pit stop under yellow (thankfully) 3. Blows another tire after wprkiong his way back up to the top twenty. 4. After getting two laps back, blows ANOTHER TIRE under green, falls three laps down. Yet he still got two of the laps back again... How much longer until this drought ends? Oh and on a side note, horray! Not-Jimmie Johnson won! 14. petty43 posted: 10.26.2009 - 9:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) actually i would rather see jimmie win the chase then see tony get a matt kenseth style championship. tont has led like 350 laps all year, while jimmie has at least led about 2000(by far the most) and won 6 races which is tops. this was a decent race, but jimmie got this thing iced if he goes top ten at eastaboga. Also kit i will revise that list after the season to include my top 60, kulwicki probably will be about 39 and dale jr will definatley drop after this season. the only other champs i failed to rate were bill rexford, who dont belong and kurt busch, honestly he might not be top 40 either, since leaving roush he has been a lot less competitive, and i would not expect you of all people to fillibuster on his behalf. please read my other comments in the last race as to why i dont see kulwicki the same way others here do, or don't whichever, it really dont matter, but its fun to make these lists and have good arguements, glad i could make you laugh, but you wont laugh about this, after a fourth straight cup jj gonna be bout 8th. 15. Anonymous posted: 10.26.2009 - 9:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) It could be a while before Dale Jr's drought ends unless he wins at plate track next week or the 2010 Daytona 500 for some strange reason. It is possible for Dale Jr. to win since anything can happen at Daytona and Talladega. 16. RR posted: 10.26.2009 - 11:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good run for Jamie Mac, whose season was pretty much in freefall. Hopefully this race can give him a boost of confidence when he joins his new team for next year. I still believe he's got the talent to win races. We'll see. It's a tough break for Scott Speed. He was running 15th, and had gotten close to 35th position in Owner Points. "Wow, can Juan pass anybody without hitting them??? Jeff should have put him in the wall." You must have missed the part late in the race where Montoya got around Martin and Gordon without touching them. You must have also missed many times where Gordon has bumped a guy out of the way. But don't let silly things like facts get in the way. "That's the mentality Juan has that will keep him from being a great driver. Hell, the #42 should have two wins this season, the team is that good. The driver hasn't done enough. Kinda pointless to get into a Chase he has little hope of winning when he should be winning races. JPM is like a deer hunter who gets deer fever and misses the 12-point buck." At the risk of starting JPM argument version # 123,853,283: Good God, do you even know what the hell you??re saying? So being aggressive on a track where it's nearly impossible to pass is a bad mentality? It's the aggressiveness that got him to a third place finish. At Martinsville, it??s nearly impossible to pass without contact. He's already a great driver overall, and is learning what it takes to do well in stock cars. I??m sure if he had a mustache, came from North Carolina, and raced on short tracks, you??d be raving over him. Also, that team is not "good". It's a team that has never made the Chase before, has hasn??t really been in contention for wins in five years. They don't really have anybody to share information with (unlike Johnson, who has 5 teammates). It??s been Montoya??s driving that??s helped get them to the stupid Chase. ??If JPM tried to pass people without hitting 'em,he'd get lapped.? I guess his doing something right, isn??t he? That statement goes for all drivers really. ??Anyone notice the traditional points next to the Chase points? If we were currently using the old format, Tony would have a 85 point lead over Johnson instead of Johnson having 118 point lead over Martin. Old Format, Mark would be in 4, 456 behind Tony.? It??s a good thing we have this exciting Chase to keep from having a good points battle! 17. DaleJrFan18 posted: 10.26.2009 - 11:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "It??s a good thing we have this exciting Chase to keep from having a good points battle!" I KNOW RIGHT? *sarcasm* 18. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.26.2009 - 2:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I thought the John Andretti situation was gonna be one hell of an accident. It was almost directly in front of me and he started to try and go. I like John, and he had a great run going for such an underfunded car, but that was a dumb move. Although I respect Jimmie Johnson 1,000,000 times more than Diva Hamiln, it was nice to see somebody else win. This race is proof that Jeff Gordon has lost his edge. If JPM had done that to Jeff at any other point in his career, he would have been wrecked. Not bumped, not rattled, not spun, WRECKED! Plus he's way too happy with all the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place finishes. He needs to retire after next year. David Stremme, Sam Hornish, and Scott Slow all show why they are such jokes. Who does Stremme think he is? This is a guy that has done NOTHING ANYWHERE. Guess he figures he needs to hit everyone while he can because he'll never get hired for anything again. And when is the Captain gonna give up on this Sam Hornish experiment? How many times has he spun this year? Imagine what Penske Racing could be if they didn't have two drivers that totally suck and one really talented driver with half a brain. 19. Sean posted: 10.26.2009 - 3:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Penske cares more about IndyCar than NASCAR, always has. Hornish won the Indy 500 and an IndyCar title for Penske, so he'll be more loyal to Hornish than he would another driver of similar stock car talent. Having said that, I thought Hornish was kind of overrated in IndyCar anyhow...his Indy win was the first time in seven starts that he even finished on the lead lap, for instance, and most of Hornish's IndyCar success came on cookie-cutter ovals rather than tougher ovals (although he did win on some of them). Hornish only won Indy and the 2006 IRL title because Dan Wheldon's crew botched a pit stop at the end of the Indy 500...Wheldon dominated Indy then finished fourth, while Hornish and Wheldon were tied in points. There are a few IRL drivers I thought would have deserved consideration for a Cup ride before Hornish and Franchitti: Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon primarily. Having said that, Penske does fire people when you might not expect...firing Al Unser while he was the defending CART champion, firing Emerson Fittipaldi two years after his second Indy 500 win, etc... Unser and Fittipaldi were WAY better than Hornish, so I could see Penske firing Hornish pretty soon. Obviously, Stremme first though. 20. Talon64 posted: 10.26.2009 - 4:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hornish has shown enough in his good finishes, including top tens at Richmond, Louden and Phoenix that I'd consider driver tracks, that he can stay in NASCAR. Stremme has loads more stock car experience but doesn't even have a single top ten. i made this post in another forum: Denny's 3 wins this year are a career high for him and this is his 3rd straight season with at least 12 top fives. JGR took 5 of the 6 short track races this year; Kyle swept Bristol and took the first Richmond race while Denny won the 2nd Richmond and Martinsville races. Johnson took the only other short track win at the first Martinsville race. This makes 3 career short track wins for Denny, 4 for Kyle and 9 for Jimmie. Ryan Newman was the only driver to finish in the top 10 in all 6 short track races this year, but only had one top five. Hamlin and Kyle Busch had 5 top fives each and Denny had the best short track average finish this year at 4.2. Johnson and Gordon's Martinsville streaks continued; Johnson got his 9th straight top five and 15th straight top while Gordon had his 10th straight top five and 14th straight top ten. This was JPM's first top five at a short track, but Martinsville was his best oval track in average finish heading into the race. Jamie McMurray had his first top ten in 22 races. After not running at Martinsville in 2007 and 2008, Mark Martin finished in the top 10 in both races this season. Kevin Harvick had his 4th top ten in the last 8 races after having only 3 in the first 24. Joey Logano was the ROTR with a 12th place finish, his best career finish on a short track. If there weren't a Chase, and assuming that everyone would have raced the exact same way without one, Jimmie Johnson would only be 85 points behind Tony Stewart for the points lead, Jeff Gordon 122 while everyone else would be at least 456. 21. Cam posted: 10.26.2009 - 4:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow! Someone other than JJ won. I just noticed that only one Dodge finished in the top 20. They are holding back Kahne, Busch and Sadler. Is Speed retarded. There was no way anyone could go through that corner any faster. Red Bull have to realise that if a driver is doing worse than John Andretti than they have to be let go. When the caution came out did anyone hear Hamlin "Oh great any caution, their gonna give him (Jimmie) another chance" I just started to realise that Himlin is a crybaby, I didn't notice beacuse after he won in Pocono and sobbed cause his gran died made me feel sorry for him. Mcmurray finished 6th. Next year when he drives a Chevy he will be awesome. Stremme crashed again. Let me show you all the drivers who should get fired 1.Ragan 2.Speed 3.Hornish 4.Andretti 5.Meanard Five drivers who deserve a ride 1.Nemechek 2.Cassil 3.Gilliland 4.Kvapil 5.Leffler Maybe someone will see sense. If anyone is pissed off over what I said. than please replie 22. Pork Rind posted: 10.26.2009 - 5:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I have been a Jeff Gordon fan since June of 1997, think it was the 8th of June. My first Nascar race was at Pocono Raceway, and Gordon won after almost going down a lap. I know he can still win his 5th title this year, but realistically, it doesn't look good. That being said, if he retires with 4 championships, there is nothing wrong with that at all. Plus, his wife is a babe and he's a very weatlthy guy. 23. Talon64 posted: 10.26.2009 - 5:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Menard's the only driver of the first 5 who deserves to be fired but with the money he brings he should drive for a crappy Cup team and try to bring them up. Ragan deserves a chance to improve next year but otherwise Colin Braun should replace him. Speed needs more experience and I already made my point about Hornish. And Andretti deserves credit for keeping a crappy team like the 34 in the top 35 in owners points all season. Nemechek is past his prime, if he wants to stay involved in NASCAR he should put other drivers in his Cup and Nationwide cars. Cassill definitely deserves a full time Nationwide ride to show his stuff and Gilliland and Kvapil should get another shot at Cup since they both got screwed by Yates and Gilliland has done pretty good in crap equipment. Leffler's had 3 chances in Cup and blew them all. 3 strikes and you're out so he should stay in Nationwide where he can do a good job. I'll throw out Michael McDowell as a guy who should get another shot in Cup, MWR screwed him over big time by moving him to Cup too soon from ARCA but he's done a great job in crappy equipment in Nationwide. 24. Brad posted: 10.26.2009 - 5:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "It??s a good thing we have this exciting Chase to keep from having a good points battle!"-RR I know I'm not the first person to say this, but the Chase is a complete joke. The only good year of the Chase was 2004 where the margin between 1st and 2nd was only 8 points, the top 3 separated by 16 points, and the top 5 separated by 138. Yes, the championship has not been decided until the last race, but look at the margin between first and second. 2004: 8 (Kurt Busch over Jimmie Johnson.) 2005: 35(Tony Stewart over Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards.) 2006: 56(Jimmie Johnson over Matt Kenseth.) 2007: 77(Jimmie Johnson over Jeff Gordon.) 2008: 69(Jimmie Johnson over Carl Edwards.) 2009: 118(Jimmie Johnson over Mark Martin with 4 races to go.) Not exactly exciting huh? Isn't the chase supposed to be exciting? If NASCAR wants to have an exciting "playoff system", here's what you do: -The final FIVE races of the season (10 races is to broad). -The final 5 races being on different types of race tracks. Consisting of the following: 1. Martinsville(Short track) 2. Infineon(Road Course) 3. Atlanta(Cookie Cutter) 4. Talladega(Restrictor Plate) 5. Homestead(Intermediate) -Take only the top 10 drivers. Then reset their point totals to where drivers from 11th on back are out of reach. -All 10 drivers are tied at the beginning of the chase with NO bonus points. I think the championship race should be like the Superbowl. It should end at a different track or a different type of track every year. But who am I kidding? NASCAR isn't gonna change anything. Jeff Gordon has been my favorite driver for a very long time. I like Jimmie Johnson as well. But it was and still is very irritating to see Jimmie just run away with everything. The chase robbed Gordon of 2 more titles (2004 & 2007). It got Carl Edwards last year. I won't deny the fact that Jimmie is a great driver. NASCAR has got to do something to fix this points system. 25. Don DeWeese posted: 10.26.2009 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hey Pork Rind you failed to mention that Jeff Gordon "WAS" a wealhty guy? I recall Brooke got about 50 Million when they divorced. Shows on this site that he won 106 million in his career, Brooke got half of that? yes he's still kinda wealthy.Oh and NASCAR got a half Million or so in fines and penalties for "Cheating" oops you Hendricks fans like to call in (Working in the Grey Areas) but it is still Cheating. He and Ray Evernham spent as much time in the BIG WHITE HAULER for Illegal this and Illegal that,as they did in victory circle. Wow I just looked it up and Three of the Four Hendricks drivers each hold the record for the Highest Fines in NASCAR for Cheating.... What better place to have all those Championships than in the same Shop that holds the Cheating Record? 26. Silence Dogood posted: 10.26.2009 - 6:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great run for Bobby Labonte in his last ride of the season for HOF Racing. Consistently in the top 10 for most of the day, Bobby had a stout car and drove hard to prove he deserves a ride next year. Bobby definately deserves way better equipment than has been offered to him these past few years. Nevertheless, great run for BLab and congrats to Denny on a home track win at Mville. 27. petty43 posted: 10.26.2009 - 6:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) mcmurray could drive in jimmie's car and he would suck cam gilliland does NOT deserve a ride he is a bad driver and a jag, he has milked that busch win for all it is worth and his cup days are over, outside of s and p duties anyway 28. petty43 posted: 10.26.2009 - 6:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) don, every team in cup cheats and tries to work in gray areas, if you don't believe me read the book "cheating", it will entertain any fan of nascar, also the cheating in nascar today is way down from where it was in the 70's and 80's. thats when junior johnson's cars were the most cheated up things in cup history, well them and digard. but junior is a nascar icon and now hall of famer so why worry bout a little cheating. even if hendrick did not cheat and everyone else did, they would still win races because they have every resource available to them, thats the big problem with nascar today they need a salary cap or something cuz it is insane what it takes just to compete. 29. Spen posted: 10.26.2009 - 6:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What the heck is a jag? 30. RR posted: 10.26.2009 - 7:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "mcmurray could drive in jimmie's car and he would suck cam" Well, he did win in Marlin's car... 31. Anonymous posted: 10.26.2009 - 7:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cheating in Nascar has exists since the days of Smokey Yunick. Smokey was well known as a cheater back in the 1950's and 1960's. Smokey was the original Chad Knaus. Smokey Yunick cheated before Junior Johnson did Nascar. Smokey was responsible Nascar's rule book by the fact Nascar had to created rules for stuff the Smokey Yunick did. Smokey Yunick to this day is know as one of the biggest cheaters in Nascar history. 32. Smokefan05 posted: 10.26.2009 - 7:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Gilliland does NOT deserve a ride he is a bad driver." Good luck with explaining your point of view to Kit. "He has milked that busch win for all it is worth and his cup days are over, outside of s and p duties anyway" Agree 100% "Mcmurray could drive in jimmie's car and he would suck." Like RR said he won in Marlins car. When you have had the luck that Jaime has had, putting him in JJ's ride would be the best thing for him. 33. petty43 posted: 10.26.2009 - 7:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) and smokey is my favorite personality in nascar history. if anyone wants the real honest history on nascar and the frances (in proper southern english of course) read smokeys book which he wrote in the years before he died, these books are priceless, literally if you can even find one, they dont sell cheap, but man they are great books espeacillay the one on the nascar years. he wrote one on his background and one on his indy cars and stuff. i have read a lot of nascar books and these are in the top three or so, probably number one. smokey should have been a first ballot hall of famee. he was as popular to the old school fans like myself as dale senior was to his fans. france would beg smokey to race at daytona from time to time for attendance reasons, and gm and ford jockeyed for his talents in building and engineering race cars. also smokey was a big influence on pushing nascar and france for more safety for the drivers. there is your free history lesson for the day to anyone who cares. 34. Don DeWeese posted: 10.26.2009 - 10:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thanks for the suggesting that I read the Cheating "The bad things good Winston Cup Drivers do in the pursuit of speed" book. I own it and have read it and yes Cheating has gone on for a long time in this sport. Heck the very first race saw the winner disqualified and the second place driver who didn't even finish the race be given the trophy and the money.But let's not stand back and condone it. If the Hendrick's guys Johnson, Gordon, and Earnhardt,Jr. are the holders of the highest penalties in NASCAR for Cheating then albeit let them be acknowledged for it? If the shoe fits,wear it. Least we not forget that Chad Knaus has missed a many a race as well as Tony Eury, and Gordon's crew chiefs has done the same. So when you bring a car to the track that is Illegal then winning championships are easy to accomplish. Heck let's go ahead and mention another cheater in the organization, Rick Hendrick a convicted, then Pardoned, Felon. He was sentenced to Federal Prison for tax invasion in the Millions of Dollars, only to claim an illness and be pardoned by another Crook, Bill Clinton. So let's be sure to recognize all their accomplishments? History is a Wonderful thing to not forget? 35. petty43 posted: 10.26.2009 - 10:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) i think rick has paid for his sins and suffered enough. far be it from me to say he is a cheater, he is a philantrophist and a hell of a an inspiration in my opinion. that is a fun book i should read it again. 36. Anonymous posted: 10.26.2009 - 11:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jamie McMurray is in a roush car and has only led 1 lap this season so far which just is pathetic. 37. Anonymous posted: 10.26.2009 - 11:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmie Johnson is the best driver ever. 38. Smokefan05 posted: 10.26.2009 - 11:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #36 the WHOLE roush team has been pathetic. I'm far from a Rick Hendrick fan but i'm with petty43. Rick has suffered enough. 39. DaleJrFan18 posted: 10.27.2009 - 12:22 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Jimmie Johnson is the best driver ever. " Bah! Even as a joke, that's not funny. 40. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 10.27.2009 - 8:27 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Gilliland is talented IMO, he just drives like he has no brain most of the time. If he'd pull his head out of his ass, you'd see better results from him. As much as I don't like seeing the same guy win lots of races and the title, this was probably the first time I ever rooted for Jimmie Johnson to win a race. I have ZERO tolerance and respect for Hamlin, as well as his idiotic teammate, Busch. Speaking of Kyle, he proved why he's not in the Chase. He roughed up Carl Edwards and made him angry, so Carl punted him out of the way. Good job, Carl. Show that brat his place. I'll also add another driver to the list that deserves a good ride, his name is BOBBY LABONTE, 2000 CUP CHAMPION! 41. petty43 posted: 10.27.2009 - 9:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) bobby has good rides several times since 03, i cannot figure why he has not won in so long, but i think it has to do with so many better drivers coming along in the last 6 years or so. also just my opinion but i would rather have a driver who already has his head out from his ass!!!!!!!lol 42. Kit posted: 10.27.2009 - 1:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Also kit i will revise that list after the season to include my top 60, kulwicki probably will be about 39 and dale jr will definatley drop after this season" Dale Jr. never should have been on the list on the first place. He has potential for making a list eventually, but he's been on a decline since 2004. "kurt busch, honestly he might not be top 40 either, since leaving roush he has been a lot less competitive" You could make a much stronger case for Kurt Busch being on the list than Dale Jr. He has been somewhat competitive every season and has won a race each season since 2002, although you're right, he hasn't been as good after leaving Roush. The #2 isn't a great ride but then again, it's Busch's own fault for getting into so much drama with the #97. Unfortunately for him he won a chase championship, which to me doesn't hold as much weight as a traditional points championship. "Gilliland does NOT deserve a ride he is a bad driver" Gilliland has been driving for a Cup team that has FIVE EMPLOYEES. He's been doing as well as he could with the equipment he has. Stick him in the #48 and he'd be on top of the point standings. I can see Labonte going to RCR after Harvick departs. "I recall Brooke got about 50 Million" No, she got around 15 million. "This race is proof that Jeff Gordon has lost his edge. If JPM had done that to Jeff at any other point in his career, he would have been wrecked. Not bumped, not rattled, not spun, WRECKED! Plus he's way too happy with all the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place finishes. He needs to retire after next year." I agree. His season has been great if you don't consider that he has a car as good if not better than the #48. I think losing the championship in 2007 burnt him out a lot. He doesn't grind out his finishes anymore. Jeff probably realizes that he hit the peak of his career already. What else is left for him to do? Win at Homestead? He's not going to get seven traditional points championships and he probably won't get 105 wins the way he's been driving lately. 43. Anonymous posted: 10.27.2009 - 1:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #38 they really have, but Jamie McMurray and David Ragan just extra pathetic. 44. Anonymous posted: 10.27.2009 - 1:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hopefully Jeff Gordon will get 300 career top 5s and 400 career top tens, that is if he races partials like 2007 2008 for Mark Martin and maybe a few more few full time years. 45. Anonymous posted: 10.27.2009 - 1:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmie Johnson is the best driver ever, to me. 46. skysthelimit posted: 10.27.2009 - 1:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmie Johnson is the best driver ever peroid. Go to jayski and look at his new 2010 paint scheme, it is good looking. 47. Anonymous posted: 10.27.2009 - 1:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bobby Labonte didn't have several good rides since 2003 as far as going to good teams. Bobby's best ride since 2003 was Joe Gibbs in 2004 & 2005. Petty Enterprises was not a good team and it was a poorly ran team besides picking drivers. Petty was a mid pack team before doing to dodge. Petty became worse under dodge. Petty got a ride of their engine department and basically outsourced their engines. Petty was like a satellite team to Evernham, but with a manufacturer that has been inconsistent in giving good race cars to dodge teams. Evernham gave petty help with engines and equipment. When Evernham had bad years, Petty did also since Evernham helped with petty in terms of equipment. Bobby going to Hall of Fame racing was not exactly a good team to race for despite being with Yates. Hall of Fame racing is known as a poorly operated team before Bobby went there and Yates haven't a been a good team since 2005. Yates became a Satellite team for Roush and Roush is know for not giving their Satellite teams equipment as good as the 5 race teams Roush owns. The 71 car Bobby has diven for is a start up team. Start up teams aren't usually good teams starting out. 48. Anonymous posted: 10.27.2009 - 4:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch gets a new crew chief, this could be a good thing for Kyle. 49. Cam posted: 10.27.2009 - 4:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No he will always be the same bitch! Kyle thinks he's a good driver but imagine him racing in Dave Blaney's car. He'd suck. Imagine Jimmie driving for Furniture Row. Drivers should sign for a good team so when you win people think your good. Jeff Gordon did it, Tony Stewart did it, Matt Kenseth did it and now Logano did it. Just wait until he wins, so he can get a huge ego so he can complain whenever someone piss him off like he teamates 50. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.27.2009 - 4:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Jeff probably realizes that he hit the peak of his career already. What else is left for him to do? Win at Homestead? He's not going to get seven traditional points championships and he probably won't get 105 wins the way he's been driving lately." I think that is a big part of it. His place in NASCAR history is pretty much set. Sure he'll pass Cale, Darrell, and Bobby in wins, but he's already in their stratosphere anyways. Like you said, it's pretty much impossible for him to reach the magic numbers of 100 wins and 7 championships. Plus his back is giving him trouble (the same thing that ended Pearson's career) and he has a child now. All his life has been totally devoted to racing since he was 4. I think he's stopping to smell the roses now. While that is great for him, it has dulled his edge on the track. There is no way JPM gets away with what he did in this race at any point before 2008. 51. Anonymous posted: 10.27.2009 - 5:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There shouldn't be a crew chief change with Kyle Busch a first place. Kyle Busch is the reason why the 18 team isn't in the Chase. Kyle attempted to blow up his engine at Chicagoland, and he blocked Stewart at Daytona. When things go wrong, Kyle doesn't keep his composure and he wrecks his cars. The other problem is Kyle is the wreck or checkers type of a driver. 52. Talon64 posted: 10.27.2009 - 5:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle's new CC is Dave Rogers who's been with the 20 Nationwide car. I don't know what behind-the-scenes stuff happened to lead to this but their first race together will be November 8th at Texas. It's interesting that they took the 20 Nationwide CC instead of the 18 CC who's worked with Kyle a lot more (I forget his name). Anyone watch RAW last night? Kyle and Joey already look dorky enough as it is so it was a smart move to put them in their race suits for the show. And despite Kyle flubbing his lines with Kofi Johnso... i mean Kofi Kingston, they did about as well as they could've. Kyle was a lot more comfortable with it as Joey but I wish they would've done more with playing them against each other with Kyle as the bad guy and Joey as the good guy. BTW, isn't it ironic that I'm a wrestling and NASCAR fan? LOL Jimmie isn't the greatest of all time, it's hard enough to put guys like Pearson, Earnhardt, Petty and Gordon over the other as it is, but by the time his career is over he'll be one of the greatest. 53. Cam posted: 10.27.2009 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmie is the best, but in the 2009 season only. His season has been the best but not his career. Here are all the drivers who are better than him Petty Earnhardt B Allison D Allison Waltrip (Darrell of course) Wallace Yarborough Flock Junior Johnson Martin Gordon N Jarrett D Jarrett Elliott Pearson T Labonte Will he be greater than all of them? ask me in 20 years 54. Talon64 posted: 10.27.2009 - 5:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Kyle Busch is the reason why the 18 team isn't in the Chase. Kyle attempted to blow up his engine at Chicagoland, and he blocked Stewart at Daytona. When things go wrong, Kyle doesn't keep his composure and he wrecks his cars. The other problem is Kyle is the wreck or checkers type of a driver." Even if Kyle had made the Chase he wouldn't have been a factor in the championship. He only has 12 top tens in 32 races this year, they haven't been consistent at all and not all of that is on Kyle. Three of his wins this year have been on short tracks which have always been his best and while he won at Vegas they've been absolute crap at times at the intermediate tracks and flat tracks. It's surprising they've made the move but you can understand why based on that, plus whatever might be going on behind the scenes that we don't know about. 55. 18fan posted: 10.27.2009 - 6:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) RCRandPenske, How did what Kyle and Carl did show why Kyle is not in the chase. He finished fourth at one of his worst tracks. It was inconsistency that cost him a spot in the chase and is still having the same troubles. 5th at New Hampshire, crashed at Dover, mid pack at Kansas, got out of the car and Gilliland finished 24th, 8th at Charlotte and 4th at Martinsville. BTW, as a Kyle fan, I said after the second Michigan race that Addington should be replaced by Jason Ratcliff, who is Kyle's Nationwide crew chief. 56. Smokefan05 posted: 10.27.2009 - 7:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Anyone watch RAW last night? Kyle and Joey already look dorky enough as it is so it was a smart move to put them in their race suits for the show. And despite Kyle flubbing his lines with Kofi Johnso... i mean Kofi Kingston, they did about as well as they could've. Kyle was a lot more comfortable with it as Joey but I wish they would've done more with playing them against each other with Kyle as the bad guy and Joey as the good guy. BTW, isn't it ironic that I'm a wrestling and NASCAR fan? LOL" Yep i did. And yeah i'm the same as Talon64. lol 57. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 10.28.2009 - 12:43 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle should not be changing crew chiefs considering he's had FOUR wins this year. Any other driver would love to have that kind of year, especially this year when Hendrick is dominating the sport. My guess to the change is that Steve got tired of Kyle's constant griping over the radio. 58. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 10.28.2009 - 12:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "How did what Kyle and Carl did show why Kyle is not in the chase." Kyle is out of the Chase because he was too win-happy to settle for second place, which cost him dearly in the Coke Zero 400. This race showed just a small portion of that. He was more focused on Carl at that moment when he should have just been racing. 59. Anonymous posted: 10.28.2009 - 2:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Talladega got blessed to rid it of evil spirits. 60. Anonymous posted: 10.28.2009 - 2:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just look at NASCAR.COM to see for yourself about the Talladega blessing to rid it of evil spirits. 61. Talon64 posted: 10.28.2009 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm sure the evil spirits will return when the SPEED Trucks broadcast crew don whatever costumes they'll be wearing this year. 62. Kit posted: 10.28.2009 - 8:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "There is no way JPM gets away with what he did in this race at any point before 2008." There is no way JPM would have done a lot of what he did this season of his competition was so off. Shit, he's doing better than the entire Roush organization. 63. RR posted: 10.28.2009 - 9:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Roush has never benn consistenly good this decade. They have a great year, then follow it up with a lousy one. Hendrick has five of its cars in, and Kurt Busch has improved. RCR is down, but JPM's using their engines, so you can't use that example. In six Chase races, when theoretically all of the best teams are going all out, JPM has five top fives, and one race where he got screwed by a slow restart. Good try though... 64. petty43 posted: 10.29.2009 - 7:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) one fuel strategy road course win in 3 years,,,,,,good try though. 65. RR posted: 10.29.2009 - 9:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) He hasn't had a winning car for the vast majority of his races. 66. Dodge posted: 10.29.2009 - 11:23 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I just read that Allmendinger got arrested on Thursday, October 29, for a DWI. He blew a .08 which I guess is the limit. Not good considering it sounds like Best Buy is supposedly sponsoring him in the 43 next year. Maybe not now. 67. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.29.2009 - 1:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "RCR is down, but JPM's using their engines" You need more than horsepower to go fast. A lot has to do with chassis and set up. But I will say this: The ECR restrictor plate engine has been awesome lately. I wouldn't be surprised to see one of their cars win this race at Talladega. But yeah, Roush, RCR, and even Gibbs to some extent has been down. 68. Kit posted: 10.29.2009 - 5:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "RCR is down, but JPM's using their engines, so you can't use that example. In six Chase races, when theoretically all of the best teams are going all out, JPM has five top fives, and one race where he got screwed by a slow restart." It would be much appreciated if you could learn more about stock car racing before the next time you post. Anyone will tell you that NASCAR, and stock car racing in general, is not entirely dependent on the engines. Dale Earnhardt generally did not have the strongest engine on the track and he won 76 races. Chassis setups, weight distribution, and suspension is far more critical. It doesn't matter if you have the strongest motor on the track if it takes you a half-second longer to get back into the throttle because your car isn't handling properly for that particular corner. 69. RR posted: 10.29.2009 - 6:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It would be much appreciated if you could stop being so patronizing. Of course engines aren't everything, and I did not say that. But they do play a role in peroformance. EGR engines are some of the best in the field, and they do play a key role in some of the bigger tracks. Who do you think has a lot of input in deciding the thing you just mentioned. It's the driver. If he can't tell Brain Pattie what's going on, the performance won't be there. Look at his teammate at EGR. Same equipment, but his team is not nearly as competitive as Montoya. Give all the pathetic excuses that you wan't, but you're just in denial of the fact that Montoya has put together an impressive season. RCR isn't having a "down" year, because they've never really been that good this decade. Reliabilty is the only reason they were in the Chase, and that's gone away. 70. petty43 posted: 10.29.2009 - 6:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) i guarentee that jpm will do a good clint bowyer impersonation next year. 71. 18fan posted: 10.29.2009 - 8:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This will probably turn out to be a fluke year for Montoya. 72. Kit posted: 10.29.2009 - 11:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "It would be much appreciated if you could stop being so patronizing. Of course engines aren't everything, and I did not say that." If you are going to make statements that show a lack of knowledge when you are trying to display knowledge, you will be called out on it. If you actually believed "of course engines aren't everything" you wouldn't write off RCR as an example just because JPM happens to be using their engines. It's not what you said, but it's what you implied, same difference, end of story. "Look at his teammate at EGR. Same equipment, but his team is not nearly as competitive as Montoya." When you consider how much of a decline Ganassi and DEI has been in the past five years, I kind of doubt EGR has the resources to make the #1 as competitive as the #42. More than likely they are throwing everything they have at the #42. EGR sorta reminds me of Morgan-McClure in the mid to late 90s. Besides, if Truex were really getting the same equipment as JPM, I don't think he would be in such a hurry to get out of the ride. It's not like EGR is really gaining anything by replacing Truex with Jamie McMurray. "Give all the pathetic excuses that you wan't, but you're just in denial of the fact that Montoya has put together an impressive season." An impressive season? He hasn't even won a race. The past 10 years we've had drivers win six to 10 races a year. Compared to the successful seasons of several drivers in the past 10 years, you'd have to lower your standards to say that JPM has had an impressive season. At this point, there's little chance he's going to win a championships so unless he wins multiple races this season, he's kinda came up short. I know it's great for you that JPM has done good this season for a driver out of one of your favorite open-wheel series. But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. Furthermore, this year alone, Edwards has been way off, Kenseth has been way off, Burton has been way off, Biffle's been way off, Dale Jr's been way off, Kahne's been somewhat off. Once these guys are back in action, JPM is REALLY going to have a run for the money. "RCR isn't having a "down" year, because they've never really been that good this decade." Overall they've done better than Ganassi and DEI. At least they didn't suck so bad they had to find an equally shitty team to merge with. "Reliabilty is the only reason they were in the Chase, and that's gone away." I think a driver with 20+ wins named Jeff Burton also has a little something to do with it. 73. Kit posted: 10.29.2009 - 11:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "This will probably turn out to be a fluke year for Montoya." I'm inclined to agree if Montoya stays in the #42 and the drivers I mentioned above get back in their game. For one thing, Theresa Earnhardt and Ganassi are a couple of the dumbest owners in the sport ever. I doubt they'll be able to field JPM competitive cars for much longer. 74. Mike posted: 10.30.2009 - 12:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Furthermore, this year alone, Edwards has been way off, Kenseth has been way off, Burton has been way off, Biffle's been way off, Dale Jr's been way off, Kahne's been somewhat off. Once these guys are back in action, JPM is REALLY going to have a run for the money." I don't see Montoya or Vickers making the chase next season. A lot of top tier drivers struggled this season and those 2 benefited from it the most. Juan and Brian should face a much more competitive field than they did this year, thus I don't see them making it. Out of the non chasers this season I think Kyle, Kenseth, Bowyer, Burton, and Dale Jr will get in next season. Plus with the usual suspects (other 5 Hendrick cars, Gibbs cars) it will be tough for Juan and Brian. I wouldn't count out Harvick by any means either. 75. Mike posted: 10.30.2009 - 12:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) And obviously the Roush cars will be a threat as well. 76. RR posted: 10.30.2009 - 11:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) You "called me out" on the fact that I said engines have an impact on performance. That doesn't make sense, but whatever. The chassis for all the cars have been as even as they have ever been, so engines do play a part. I wou;ld reckon that EGR and RCR cars are pretty similar, though I would say that RCR actually would have the advantage in technical support. "When you consider how much of a decline Ganassi and DEI has been in the past five years, I kind of doubt EGR has the resources to make the #1 as competitive as the #42. More than likely they are throwing everything they have at the #42." A team that ran six cars last year wouldn't have enough resources to run two this year? Not to mention the fact that Truex was supposed to be the future of the company? He's got a fully sponsored car, and a crew chief that he's worked with for several seasons. Really, you're actually kind of praising Montoya with this argument. Johnson, Gordon, etc. have 5 other drivers that they can bounce data off of to perfect their setups. Edwards, Biffle, etc. have four. Burton, Harvick, etc. have three. Montoya has one, who's leaving at the end of the year. That team's doing it pretty much on their own. "Furthermore, this year alone, Edwards has been way off, Kenseth has been way off, Burton has been way off, Biffle's been way off, Dale Jr's been way off, Kahne's been somewhat off. Once these guys are back in action, JPM is REALLY going to have a run for the money." Edwards: Has been off in comparison to what he did last year, but he was running in the top six of the standings for most of the year. Not really what I would call "way off." Biffle: Biffle's had like one great year (2005) and one good year (2008). Assuming he finishes in the top ten in points, it will be only the third year (out of seven) in which he's accomplished that feat. Almost one-half (6 of 14) of his victories came in 2005. He's never really been a serious threat for the title. Kenseth: Somewhat agree, but I think his downward phase has been longer than this year. In his last 100 races, his performance has cooled down; exacerbated by his crew chief swaps (I think Reiser's leaving was a huge mistake). This year has been especially dreadful, no doubt. Burton: Never really been a factor this decade. Has about a tenth place car every week, with a win sprinkled here and there. Dale Jr.: One Hendrick car out, replaced by another Hendrick car and two Hendrick affiliates. There's five to deal with instead of three, so one would think that would be tougher. Kahne: In terms of average finish, this is his best season ever in Cup. This is only the second time he has made the Chase, and the third season in which he has multiple wins (including one on a road course). This has actually been an above average season for him, Really, his season has mirrored JPM's in so many ways, so I'm curious as to why you have different reactions to the two drivers. "This will probably turn out to be a fluke year for Montoya." First, it was ??Montoya will never make it as a stock car driver?. Then, as Montoya??s 2009 season improved, and he was in position to make that Chase, I was told that it wouldn??t last, and he wouldn??t be competitive once the Chase began. When his performance actually improved during the Chase (which doesn??t happen with many of the drivers I just mentioned), I??m told that this season is a fluke. So, I guess this means that Montoya will have a successful season next year. Even if EGR??s performance falters in the upcoming years, Montoya will be a hot commodity for some of the bigger teams (I still think he could be in line for a 4th JGR car). 77. Mike posted: 10.30.2009 - 3:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Montoya is a solid driver but he is not a great driver. Great drivers are able to close the deal and win races, something Montoya has yet to prove he can do in NASCAR. 78. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.30.2009 - 3:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I don't see Montoya or Vickers making the chase next season. A lot of top tier drivers struggled this season and those 2 benefited from it the most." I agree. As has been said, this has been a really watered down year competition wise. I think Kenseth and Kyle Busch will definitely be back in the cha$e next year. Plus it is very possible at least one RCR car and one MWR car might make it. And the Roush cars should be good again next year, winning many more races. JPM's success recently is a result of the watered down competition from 4th on back and that team hitting on a combination that really works. I doubt they will duplicate that next year. 79. Cornys posted: 11.01.2009 - 12:54 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, at least Johnson didn't win. Hope Martin wins the Championship still... Comes down to 'dega really. 80. Kit posted: 11.01.2009 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Montoya is a solid driver but he is not a great driver. Great drivers are able to close the deal and win races, something Montoya has yet to prove he can do in NASCAR." That's what I've been saying all along! Thank you. "You "called me out" on the fact that I said engines have an impact on performance. That doesn't make sense, but whatever." Yes it does. You indicated that engines have the sole impact on performance and that's not true. You said, and I paraphrase, "We can't use RCR because JPM is using RCR engines and he's doing well." There's more to it than that. "The chassis for all the cars have been as even as they have ever been" I seriously doubt the teams are using the exact same chassis setup, which is my point. "A team that ran six cars last year wouldn't have enough resources to run two this year?" Why do you think they merged? Because they no longer have the resources to run six competitive cars! Duh... Both teams weren't really accomplishing shit anyway before the economy collapsed, so yeah, it's not a stretch to suggest they can't be a regular contender with two teams. You can argue as much as you want, but the thing is, JPM should have already won a race this season and he hasn't. "He's got a fully sponsored car, and a crew chief that he's worked with for several seasons." Yet Truex (who knows more about the situation than you or me) still wants to jump ship. Apparently something is not happening to Truex's benefit, which he believes he can find at MWR. I just hope Truex doesn't ride around the MWR shop on a motorcycle while Waltrip's on the road. "Really, you're actually kind of praising Montoya with this argument. Johnson, Gordon, etc. have 5 other drivers that they can bounce data off of to perfect their setups. Edwards, Biffle, etc. have four. Burton, Harvick, etc. have three. Montoya has one, who's leaving at the end of the year. That team's doing it pretty much on their own." That's incorrect. For one thing, the Roush cars pretty much compete against one another and do not share notes as often as you'd think. Furthermore, different drivers have different driving styles so a setup that is perfect for one can be totally wrong for another. I remember a Busch race in which Sterling Marlin drove the #1 car and complained about how the car was too loose for him. It was loose because it was fast... when Mike Bliss was driving. Besides, even if what you said was entirely correct, that would make Kasey Kahne look good, not JPM. Granted, Kahne has two other teammates instead of just one but Kahne's teammates are doing worse than JPM's. Yet Kahne has two wins this season. All of the drivers you listed (except for Dale Jr.) would have probably won at least once, if not multiple times, if they were in the #42 this season. Several of those drivers will probably win several times next season if their teams get back into the game. "First, it was ??Montoya will never make it as a stock car driver?." Who says he has? Yeah, he has one win and got into the chase this season, but so has Brian Vickers and I don't know if I'd say that Vickers has made it as a stock car driver. To me, making it as a driver is being a driver who can win multiple races and is still a threat to win anywhere. Dozens of drivers in the past 20 years were like that. JPM isn't like that, at least not yet. "Then, as Montoya??s 2009 season improved, and he was in position to make that Chase, I was told that it wouldn??t last, and he wouldn??t be competitive once the Chase began." Nobody is competitive with Jimmie Johnson's strong lead and JPM has yet to win a race this season. "Even if EGR??s performance falters in the upcoming years, Montoya will be a hot commodity for some of the bigger teams (I still think he could be in line for a 4th JGR car)." There's drivers with 10+ wins looking for rides in the next year or two. Right now, he's as big of a commodity as Brian Vickers. 81. jp posted: 11.27.2009 - 4:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Montoya drove with his eyes shut, and it's great to see Cope back on track...:D 82. jp posted: 11.27.2009 - 4:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yo Cam, I think these drivers need to have a ride, or stay where they are: 87- Nemechek- Stay where he is Cassill: Stay in the Nationwide drivin the 4 car for KHI.(the car that Fitzpatrick ran at watkins glen) 90-Gilliland: The Key Motorsports team (40 car,Nationwide Series) , for them to make their Sprint cup debut next year, they need either him or Wimmer 37-Kvapil:Talkin 2 FRM Leffelr: IDK. When u respond 2 this, name a team in which Leffeler should go. 83. SK posted: 03.18.2010 - 4:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sterling Marlin's last race. 84. Kit posted: 03.18.2010 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yup, looks like the last career start for Sterling Marlin. 85. Doc posted: 06.24.2010 - 5:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sterling Marlin's probable final race. Of all that could be said about his long career, the one that would stick out to me was "He deserved better". Not just a better finish in this race, but better cars to work with and win with. Better owners and crew. He spent a lot of his career with bad teams that he made so much better. 10 wins that could've easily been 40 or so given the proper equipment. 86. Brad24 posted: 06.16.2012 - 12:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Final Cup race to date for Derrike Cope. Most likely his last Cup race altogether. 87. CBASS posted: 02.04.2013 - 8:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor updates #1 Vaseline Men Lotion #47 Little Debbie #42 Target/ Polaroid #18 M&M's Happy Halloween! http://archives.ciastockphoto.com/cgi/images.php?group=w0936 88. LASTCAR posted: 04.24.2013 - 12:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Travis Kvapil picked up the 2nd last-place finish of his career in Sunday's Tums Fast Relief 500 at the Martinsville Speedway when his #37 Long John Silver's Dodge fell out with brake problems after completing 30 of the race's 501 laps. Sunday's race was Kvapil's first NASCAR Sprint Cup start in seven months. He'd been out of the series since he lost his #28 Yates Racing ride when, following March's Food City 500 at Bristol, sponsorship woes forced the team to shut down. Coming into the Martinsville race, the #37 had also missed three straight races with three different drivers: Kevin Hamlin at Kansas, Tony Raines at Fontana, and Kvapil himself at Charlotte just last week. Kvapil qualified a solid 25th at Martinsville, however, at a speed of 95.381 mph. Despite hanging tough in the middle of the pack, he pulled behind the wall after 30 laps with brake problems. It was Kvapil's first last-place finish since his rookie season when his Penske-backed #77 Kodak Dodge lost an engine in the 2005 USG Sheetrock 400 at Chicagoland. It is the first time the #37 has finished last at Martinsville since John Andretti's Little Caesar's Ford fell out with rear end problems in the 1996 Goody's Headache Powder 500. Kvapil finished last by completing just one fewer lap than 26-time last-place finisher Derrike Cope, who was making his first NASCAR Sprint Cup start in over three years. In that time, Cope amassed 15 DNQs, including two of the last three runnings of the Daytona 500, where Cope's stunning first victory came in 1990. Four of these 15 DNQs came when rain washed out qualifying, including both of his last two attempts to qualify at Martinsville. On Friday, with rain again threatening to wash out qualifying and his self-owned #75 team positioned to be the one team 'washed out' of the 44-car entry list for the 43-car field, Cope worked out a deal to replace Mike Wallace in Larry Gunselman's #64 Toyota. Gunselman's #64 was in position to pull the season sweep at Martinsville, having finished last with Todd Bodine in the spring race. Though the rain did not come, Cope still got the #64 into the show - 43rd at a speed of 93.539 mph. Interestingly, Cope's most recent Sprint Cup start was the 2006 UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega, where he finished last for the sixth time in 2006, setting the very single-season last-place record that Dave Blaney beat this year. Cope still has several records of his own: he leads all active drivers in last-place finishes, has the most finishes ever collected in the Modern Era (tracing back to 1972), and is just six last-place finishes away from the all-time lead held by the late J.D. McDuffie. However, in 2009, Dave Blaney, Todd Bodine, and Joe Nemechek have all tied Cope's record of 13 last-place finishes since 1998. Speaking of Dave Blaney, the Ohio driver has now successfully clinched the 2009 last-place driver's championship. Blaney came into the race with a four-finish lead on Tony Raines and a five-finish lead on Mike Bliss and Joe Nemechek. Since neither Raines nor Bliss entered the Martinsville race and only five races remained, only Nemechek was mathematically in a position to tie Blaney's eight last-place finishes in 2009. But to do this, Nemechek would have to follow up his last-place finish at Charlotte with five more in all five of the final races, starting with Martinsville. Unlike Charlotte, both Blaney and Nemechek qualified for Martinsville: Blaney snagged 39th at 94.689 mph and Nemechek was 28th at 95.304 mph, but both ended up 40th and 38th, respectively. As I was informed by a reader, three teams also came into Sunday's race in a three-way tie for the most different drivers finishing last in their cars: Bob Jenkins' #37 (with drivers Tony Ave and Tony Raines), Kevin Buckler's #71 (David Gilliland and Bobby Labonte), and Larry Gunselman's #64 (Todd Bodine and Mike Wallace). While Gilliland still qualified the #71 at Martinsville, both the #37 and the #64 were driven by different drivers (Travis Kvapil and Derrike Cope, respectively), and thus both were in a position to break the tie. Kvapil's finish has not only broken this tie, but has given the #37 team its fifth last-place finish of 2009. This means that if the #37 finishes last in each of the last four races, Bob Jenkins' team will have earned more last-place finishes than Phil Parsons' #66 team (for which Dave Blaney drives). 2009 RANKINGS 1st) Dave Blaney (8) 2nd) Tony Raines (4) 3rd) Mike Bliss, Joe Nemechek (3) 4th) Patrick Carpentier, David Gilliland, Bobby Labonte (2) 5th) Tony Ave, Todd Bodine, P.J. Jones, Matt Kenseth, Travis Kvapil, Joey Logano, Mark Martin, Mike Wallace (1) Visit http://brockbeard.blogspot.com/ for more. 89. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 07.31.2013 - 4:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Last Cup Start for Derrike Cope 90. DH101 posted: 01.08.2014 - 1:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sterling Marlin's Last start also 91. Gabriel Nunes posted: 03.15.2014 - 9:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't know why everyone except ^ didn't mention it was Sterling Marlins last start. 92. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 04.24.2014 - 11:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Withdrew 75 Derrike Cope Dodge FlipNbags / EZPC Backup Derrike Cope 93. RaceFanX posted: 03.03.2017 - 8:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) For years this was Cope's last start until he got to return to the series at Atlanta in 2017. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: