|| *Comments on the 2010 Lenox Industrial Tools 301:* View the most recent comment <#119> | Post a comment <#post> 1. dUDE gUY posted: 06.27.2010 - 5:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmie wins again. Yay. The 48 team is great at dominating the Cup series, and also great at sucking the fun and life out of it as well. Can I go kill myself now? 2. RLewis9 posted: 06.27.2010 - 5:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Awesome battle between Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch at the end racing hard for the win. Too bad for Jeff Burton. 3. 18fan posted: 06.27.2010 - 5:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yet another win Jimmie lucks into. He caught Jeff Burton and was not going to pass the 31 until the caution and he still only won because his car was so fast that he ran down Kurt like he was on seven cylinders. I would like to ask everyone a question. How many of Jimmie's wins have been won by his outdriving another competitor on equal tires with an inferior car? 4. 18fan posted: 06.27.2010 - 5:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Felt really bad for Kahne. Had a top 3 car and gets nothing to show for it. The top 3 cars in the race finished 11th, 12th, and 36th, and Tony had the fourth best car. 5. I Seize the Day posted: 06.27.2010 - 5:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I can't say anymore Johnson lucks into wins. I can't say he can't win at Bristol or road courses. He has proved me wrong in everything. On the plus side, it gives me something to look forward to as a get older - his RETIREMENT! 6. Horace posted: 06.27.2010 - 5:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Danica just needs time. Itll take 50 years or so at this rate, but when that day comes, look out! She will be unbeatable. Danica is cool for disrespecting her elders. If the 29 cars ahead of her didn't beat her, Danica would have won the nationwide race yesterday. 7. DaleSrFanForever posted: 06.27.2010 - 5:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Was I actually pulling for KURT BUSCH at the end? I think I was. But it was an awesome battle at the end. And what a dumb move by Todd Berrier AGAIN! How many times has he made dumb pit calls? I don't buy into this whole "the leader is a sitting duck" crap. With those laps on your tires, you pit. Period. Even if 5 or 7 cars stay out, you'll pass them easily. Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin have swapped places this year. In the past it was Denny you had to beat (other than JJ of course) on the flat tracks while he never was really a contender for wins on the banked intermediates, and Kyle was the one to beat on the banked intermediates (other than JJ of course) and never contended on the flat tracks (in his JGR years, he was really good on those at HMS). Now it has become the opposite. Denny won Martinsville and Pocono, but was a complete non factor at this race, Richmond, and Phoenix while Kyle is always in contention for the win at the flats. Meanwhile Denny has won at Homestead, Texas, Darlington, and Michigan. Wierd. Oh, and it was nice of Denny to knock the piss out of Reut. Is that hard racing? Yes, but last year Denny was the loudest complainer of Brad, yet he has taken a page from his book this year. Hypocrite. As far as JJ, the numbers speak for themselves. I know I come off as a JJ fan, but believe me, I'm not. I was actually pulling for Kurt (reluctantly) at the end. But 52 wins in less than 9 years, 4 championships along with 2 other near misses ('04 and '05), the fact is we are witnessing greatness. I'm just calling it like it is. 8. DaleSrFanForever posted: 06.27.2010 - 5:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @ post 6: That was freaking hilarious. I tip my hat to you! 9. DaleSrFanForever posted: 06.27.2010 - 5:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) One last thing: I LOVE TNT. Well, Kyle and Wally crack me up. Their irreverence is a much needed break. And I like the way TNT covers what is happening. Hell, Dale Jr gets a Top 10 and we barely hear about him because he wasn't a contender for the lead. That's how it should be. 10. 18fan posted: 06.27.2010 - 5:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The battle at the end was awesome, just would've been a little better if JJ didn't get by Kurt. I think Tony would've won or finished second to Kahne if he didn't have to short pit and Kahne didn't blow up. Man that 9 car was fast today. He held off Jimmie when he had two fresh tires and JJ had four for about 20 laps. No doubt in my mind Kahne would've ended up in victory lane. 11. 18fan posted: 06.27.2010 - 5:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Post 9, I agree 100%. I used to like FOX more than TNT and ESPN, but Larry and Darrell get worse every year, and ESPN/ABC just sucks. 12. 18fan posted: 06.27.2010 - 5:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Watching the 1993 NHMS race and the track looks completely different and it is actually sunny, unlike the way it is now when it is always overcast. 13. Fun Gus posted: 06.27.2010 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) i hate it when people say a race is boring. its cars going around in circles numbnuts, what do you want from it? you either love it or hate it. if you find it boring, watch something else 14. 18fan posted: 06.27.2010 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, those late cautions screwed AJ Allmendinger out of a top 5. He had one of the fastest cars in the field. 15. petty43 posted: 06.27.2010 - 5:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow did jimmie just use the metal horn to pass the blue deuce for a win. man he just keeps finding new ways to silence his critics. cant win at bristol, road course, etc. man he goes 10 races without a win and every one panics. meanwhille the 99 has gone 53 races without a win, one and a half seasons. and no one is even talking about it. well jimmie has the second best car two weeks in a row and wins em both, so typical, god everyone else in cup sucks right now, you can find at least one major fault in every other driver right now, but none in jimmie. imagine if we had like, 5 other drivers who were his equal right now, god that would be good, or it would be like 1985 to 1995 again. 16. petty43 posted: 06.27.2010 - 5:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 18 fan kurts car was as good as the 48 today or close enough for him to get the job done, (he was top 5 or 6 all day). quit trying to find ways to demean the 48 that is a waste of time, imagine someone trying to argue that federer was not the best tennis player because he could not win the french open, or people saying tiger was not the best golfer on the planet. you could find dumber things to waste your time on, but not many. i went thru this with gordon from 95 thru 01 and it is just a waste, jimmie's the king right now and that is high praise coming from an old petty fan. o and if he wanted to whip kyle's ass every other week in nationwide he could, but like DSFF has said, he does not need to prove a damn thing. anxiously awaiting talon64's 74 paragraph race synopsis. 17. Mike posted: 06.27.2010 - 5:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Man, Jimmie Johnson is in a slump! Lol Jr has ran a lot better the past few weeks. Hopefully they can keep it up and get in the chase. Juan Pablo Montoya is an idiot, bottom line. Tough luck for Kasey today. He would have won or at least finished 2nd or 3rd if his engine didn't let go. 18. petty43 posted: 06.27.2010 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) wrong race horace 19. petty43 posted: 06.27.2010 - 5:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) o does anyone else in the garage get along with or even like JPM. i think every other driver must find him totally annoying. 20. Madison posted: 06.27.2010 - 6:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Johnson DOES have a golden horseshoe glued in his ass. If Kahne's motor didn't blow, he'd have to pass him. If Burton would have pitted, he would've had to get by him. 21. 18fan posted: 06.27.2010 - 6:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If Kahne's motor didn't blow, he would've run down the 18 and 31, like he was when he blew up, passed Kyle and Jeff, and driven away. 22. Neal posted: 06.27.2010 - 6:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thank god for the Lenox Industrial Tools 10. It made up for the boring event that was the Lenox Industrial Tools 291. Why does this shithole track have 2 races again? 23. dUDE gUY posted: 06.27.2010 - 6:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I used to pull for Montoya, but the way he raced today, I just can't anymore. He seemed like he wanted to be more of a moving obstacle rather than a competitor this race, and as such tore up his car and other cars a good deal. He must have pissed off a lot of guys today, because he apparently got payback from Reed Sorenson, who was a lap down at the time. 24. I Seize the Day posted: 06.27.2010 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hey Neal, out of curiousity. How would you rank each track? Faves and least faves? 25. RLewis9 posted: 06.27.2010 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, screw Kevin Conway. That team always switching cars to get that talentless hack into the race screwed over Travis Kvapil who DNQed for this race while running faster than Conway. 26. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 06.27.2010 - 6:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bottom line, Jimmie and his team doesn't screw up or make mental errors the way everyone else does. I'd like for it not to be the case that he is winning all of these races, but unfortunately it is the case. I'm far from a Jimmie Johnson fan; in fact, I think he's a really boring driver. But the fact is, he's likely going to win his 5th consecutive title this year (especially if guys like Hamlin, Kyle and Kurt can't maintain their current momentum in the Chase). As much complaining as Denny did about Brad last year, I think Reutimann should be just as mad at Denny. Apparently he's not. Anyone know why Zaxby's appeared on the #33 this week? Are they trying to step up their sponsorship to the Cup level for a few races or something? 27. Anonymous posted: 06.27.2010 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) How can anyone think this was a boring race??? There was no dominant car. There were long run cars, short run cars, and no bogus cautions. 28. Neal posted: 06.27.2010 - 7:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There were also about 3 lead changes that didn't happen during pit stop sequences or immediately after restarts. Yes, it was a boring race. 29. Bronco posted: 06.27.2010 - 7:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Jr matches his entire top 10 output from 2009 in 17 races instead of 24. This is the first time he has 3 straight top 11's since California-Richmond-New Hampshire in the fall of 2008, so maybe the #88 team has finally turned a corner. They cut an 87 point deficit after Pocono to a 3 point deficit in 3 races, and with some restrictor plate magic next week they'll be back in the cha$e. Cannot believe that Gordon wasn't paid back for Sonoma, but it makes sense to wait a few weeks until he expects it least. Heartbreak for Kahne to blow an engine with a car that dominant. He has led more laps than in '08 or '09 but has nothing to show for it. First time that the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 has gone the extra mile, since it was rain shortened the last two years which produced two fluke wins. 30. racerX posted: 06.27.2010 - 7:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bronco, when did we start the whole "top 11" thing? Hahaha I love when people make up stats for the 88. 31. rw posted: 06.27.2010 - 8:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm sorry but they should call this JimmieCar Racing, since Jimmie once again wins again. Just give him his 5th Championship, since Harvick is going to blow it (hope Harvick wins even though I really dont like him that much) And seriously, how in the world does Kevin Conway have a ride in Cup? the guy runs slower than a S&P. Once again Nemechek takes my advice by trying to finish above all the S&Pers. and I'm going to say this only once, I hope Brad wins the N-Wide title, then reduces his N-Wide schedule to like 10 races, since this back and forth thing from a N-Wide to a Cup car is really hurting him in terms of talent and cars. 32. dUDE gUY posted: 06.27.2010 - 9:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why is it that pretty much every win JJ has this year, it is because someone else screwed up or had problems? Gordon at Vegas, Kurt Busch at Bristol, Ambrose at Infineon, and not both Burton and Kyle Busch at Loudon. If they didn't mess up or have their situation turn on them, they'd have their wins and JJ would only have his Fonana win so far. 33. Eddie posted: 06.27.2010 - 9:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I hope Brad wins the N-Wide title, then reduces his N-Wide schedule to like 10 races, since this back and forth thing from a N-Wide to a Cup car is really hurting him in terms of talent and cars." @rw I think it is more the equipment that is hurting Keselowski in the Cup series. Brad is averaging a 22.4 finish for the season so far. Just look at Ryan Newman, in 2006 and 2008 his average finish in that car was 20.6 and 20.3. He moved to what is basically a Hendrick car and his average finish went to 14.7 in 2009. I think moving to the #2 next year could create that kind of jump in average finish for Brad also, not to mention having the experience of a full Cup season should also help him. 34. Schwab posted: 06.27.2010 - 9:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A.J. Allmendinger has quietly been one of the more consistent drivers over the last 6 races with no finish worse than 14th in that time. 35. CarlEdwards99 posted: 06.27.2010 - 9:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "There were long run cars, short run cars, and no bogus cautions." well there was the yellow for a water bottle on the apron when Dale Jr. wasn't that far from going down a lap. 36. the_man posted: 06.27.2010 - 9:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Ragan on a 20th place finish: "I felt like at times during the race, we were a little better, but even at our best, we were a top-15 car. When that last caution came out, we made that call to stay out and there were a couple of others also that stayed out on our lap. We beat a couple of them, but we also let a couple of them get around us. If we had to do it all over again, I still think that was the right call, but we had a 15th to a 20th-place car today and thatā??s where we ran. Itā??s a little better than what weā??ve run here in the past, so hopefully that means something when we come back here later in the season." 37. petty43 posted: 06.27.2010 - 10:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) dude guy every great driver wins races like that, what do you senior dominated all 76 of his wins, i mean really the best car only win fifty percent of the time in cup. derrike cope won only two races his whole career and one was luck, it happens, get over it. how many times this year did the car that led the most laps win? thats why its called RACING. God i have to find a site with smarter race fans. 38. petty43 posted: 06.27.2010 - 10:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) actually i just did it and 7 times this year the car that led the most laps won the race out of 17 races, and 2 were JJ. the point here is every driver who wins more that 10 races in his career will win some races that he may not of had the best car at. that is what great drivers DO. they make things happen. JJ has his fair share of LUCKY wins but he has HIS fare share of ass whippings to and that share is quite bigger i reckon, you dont win 52 races by just getting lucky all the time, that is just plain ridiculous. Jimmie is not the problem in nascar. the problem is that there is no one in his league right now to challenge him, imagine if carl could keep up what he did in 08 and if gordon could maintain what he did in 07 and if kyle could maintain his 09 pace and denny could always race like he has this year. no one matches his consistent greatness because no one else right now if consistenly great. When Dale earnhardt dominated, he had to beat elliot, wallace, martin, and davey allison all in their primes. Gordon had to deal with most of those as well plus stewart and jarret and others. cale had it pretty easy, but DW had Bobby and petty and earnhardt. Petty had to deal with the challenge of bobby and cale some plus pearson when he raced. pearson had to beat the same guys. every driver who has tried to maintain JJ pace eventually peters out because onlt JJ is great. THE CREAM ALWAYS RISES PEOPLE. 39. Kit posted: 06.27.2010 - 10:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "But 52 wins in less than 9 years, 4 championships along with 2 other near misses ('04 and '05), the fact is we are witnessing greatness." I have to disagree. Ever since '02 (although this year may be a possible exception), competition in the Cup series has been so watered down that I don't think it's THAT hard to do well in a Hendrick car. Am I saying Johnson is just an average driver? No. But I think being with just about the only dominant team in the sport inflates his wins a bit. Hell, you even had Tony Stewart "own" a team just so he can get Hendrick equipment. It's that bad. 40. Kit posted: 06.27.2010 - 10:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I used to pull for Montoya, but the way he raced today, I just can't anymore. He seemed like he wanted to be more of a moving obstacle rather than a competitor this race, and as such tore up his car and other cars a good deal." JPM will never be an elite driver and this race is an excellent example of why. He certainly has the talent to do great things, but not the intelligence. He gets WAY too caught up in Mickey Mouse altercations on the track... he can never seem to focus on just winning and ignoring those who may have brushed into him. You don't win trophies by only rubbing fenders with the #24, #29, #14, etc. 41. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 06.27.2010 - 11:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Speaking of Jimmie, I think he has also been helped by the fact that other teams rarely get up there to challenge Hendrick for the title for more than one season. Roush and Gibbs will look like they're about to break through, then they either run into disaster (Gibbs in '08 when the Chase started) or just disappear after having a dominant season (Roush after '08). 42. rw posted: 06.27.2010 - 11:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "@rw I think it is more the equipment that is hurting Keselowski in the Cup series. Brad is averaging a 22.4 finish for the season so far. Just look at Ryan Newman, in 2006 and 2008 his average finish in that car was 20.6 and 20.3. He moved to what is basically a Hendrick car and his average finish went to 14.7 in 2009. I think moving to the #2 next year could create that kind of jump in average finish for Brad also, not to mention having the experience of a full Cup season should also help him." Thanks for correcting me on that :) 43. Eric posted: 06.27.2010 - 11:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kit, I have to disagree that being in Hendrick car means it isn't hard to do well in a Hendrick car. I am saying that because look what happened to Mark Martin. Mark has been mostly cold since Richmond. Outside of the 4th place finish at the 600, Mark's finishes have been anywhere from 29th place to 14th place. Dale Mears has been finishing high than Mark for the last 4 races. I know Dale has 2 top 10 finishes in the last 3 races but, there is no excuse for Mark not beating the 88 car for 4 straight races. Dale is a bad road course racer and Mark is one of the better cup drivers on road courses in the history of Nascar . Logic says Mark should finishing higher than the 88 car could on a road course. That means either means Mark's age is catching up with him or the team around him is weaker this year besides having the change from the wring to the spoiler. I know that the 5 and the 88 team had a switch in engineers during the off season. 44. petty43 posted: 06.28.2010 - 12:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) ask wally dallenbach about suceeding in a hendrick car, or greg sacks, or casey mears, or brian vickers, or ken schrader, or jerry nadeau,or benny parsons, or ricky craven, or joe nemechek hell even kyle busch was not that great in a hendrick car, so yea you made a good point but dont expect kit to mention it. 45. JP88 posted: 06.28.2010 - 1:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Okay I am not a fan of Jimmie Johnson...in fact I screamed in joy when Kurt passed him and almost chucked my remote when Jimmie got back around him...but the fact of the matter is that JJ is one of the best drivers ever. Having an awesome team obviously helps but Jimmie is just that good. Yes he does get lucky every once in a while but he's always running up in the front to benefit from it. Now he has proven he can win on anything whether its Dirt, a Road Course or Bristol. It pisses the majority of like me that he keeps winning but I don't see hopw it will ever end. And Jr. got another top-10...I can't believe it 46. GTHO_PhaseIII posted: 06.28.2010 - 2:47 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "There were also about 3 lead changes that didn't happen during pit stop sequences or immediately after restarts. Yes, it was a boring race." The 1990 Bristol race in April was such a boring race. Only 2 lead changes in the last 150 laps, what a snooze-fest. Right? At least it was going by the way you seem to be thinking. I thought this race was pretty good. 47. Neal posted: 06.28.2010 - 3:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow had to go back to 1990 for that? How about that one-lead-change barn burner Burton won in 2000, or the 4-lead-change extravaganza Kurt Busch won in 2004? New Crapshire is a boring track. 48. Josh C posted: 06.28.2010 - 4:43 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Petty43, look at Johnsons numbers in the nationwide series. In non hendrick equipment he is junk, just the way he needs to be. I don't think he could touch Kyle in the Nationwide series or any other top racer for that matter. Jimmie is just plain and simple lucky in cup, another race that he lucked himself into. Just like the championship, it is 10 races of luck. He is no champion in my eyes or anybody elses eyes who truly knows how the system works. You want a real champion try rooting for Jeff Gordon. He won 4 championships without having to have the points reset for him. 49. petty43 posted: 06.28.2010 - 4:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) wow post 47 you need to find a clue on what your talking about. yea jimmie just lucked his way into 52 wins and 4 cups and over 10000 laps led and 40% top 5 finish rate and a 60% top ten rate. sure and i suppose you think richard was lucky 100 or so odd times. why the hell even bring jimmies busch stats into the argument, thats like pulling albert pujols AA stats or peyton mannings stats at tennesee, who gives a shit about cup. but just for shits and grins, when gordon was winning all his cups, he was sucking in iroc so what do you think of that. 50. potatosalad48 posted: 06.28.2010 - 5:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Granted luck was involved, as it is with every race, Jimmie was once again in position to capitalize on another driver's mistakes. He's been able to do that all year and that's why he's winning. 51. John Royal posted: 06.28.2010 - 8:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Those other drivers need to piss Johnson off. What do they think, that he is some sort of god? What is Kurt Busch, a sheep? He should have shoved Johnson's ass when he had an opportunity! And Montoya hit everything else but Johnson. When you piss driver off, it is more likely he will do more mistakes and that way his dominance might weaken. Johnson is not Intimidator. Oh god it sucks to see how these creamy ass drivers HAND those wins to Johnson. I think I am starting to dislike those other baby drivers more than Johnson... 52. martin-n-rusty posted: 06.28.2010 - 9:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Josh c, just because one wasn't good in the busch/nationwide series doesn't mean they will suck in cup, or the other way around. Guys like Jeff Burton (pre cup Carter) should of stunk, while guys like Randy LaJoie, David Green, Kenny Wallace, and such should of had good cup careers. 53. martin-n-rusty posted: 06.28.2010 - 9:47 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oop, should of been pre cup career, but my iPhone was being stupid 54. NASCARNut posted: 06.28.2010 - 10:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 2 in a row for Johnson 55. 18fan posted: 06.28.2010 - 1:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmie has talent, but in the last three years, the points reset has allowed him to make up over 200 points each time. 56. petty43 posted: 06.28.2010 - 2:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) john royal i like your thinking on that point, its not that jimmie is bad for the sport. he just needs some better competition. 57. petty43 posted: 06.28.2010 - 2:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) post 46 does your user name have anything to do with baldwin motion performance cars. just curious, those are my favorite cars of all time. 58. petty43 posted: 06.28.2010 - 2:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) post 55 jimmie troll, jimmie still would have won last years championship under the old points system, which would have stood as one of the greatest late season comebacks ever, and therefore would have been more exciting, but hey every driver faces the same reset so it does not givve jimmie any advantage that every other driver does not atready share. maybe this year your boy can actually make the chase and challenge jimmie? I like his odds of at least challenging but he better grow up fast. 59. DaleSrFanForever posted: 06.28.2010 - 2:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I thought this was a pretty good race. I hope NASCAR realizes that they don't have to throw phantom cautions every 50 laps to bunch the field up for it to be exciting. I like green flag pit sequences and how that naturally shuffles the order a bit, and watching good teams get lapped. Who would have dreamed that the recent dominator would get lapped? That is the way it always used to be. Do you realize how many times Dale Sr either got lapped or almost got lapped during his championship seasons? More than you'd think. As far as JJ, Kit, I see your point. Jimmie's dominance has come during a stretch that has the lowest number of good, mentally stable drivers in their primes in equipment capable of winning that I can remember. But I just think he still gets undersold a bit. I know his Busch career was mediocre at best, but he was with a start-up team and he had little experience on asphalt in stock cars at the time. If I'm not mistaken, he ran a year or two of ASA before going to Busch. Plus, JJ and HMS are just a perfect fit. Kyle didn't do THAT well at HMS but has lit it up at JGR. That's because HMS never fit him, but JGR's style of letting renegades be renegades played right into his wheelhouse. Just like JJ, Chad, and HMS. Now I agree, put him as a rookie in 1987 instead of 2002, and his numbers would deflate. I think he'd basically have numbers like Rusty Wallace. A championship or two, a little over 50 wins over 20 seasons. But he has caught a lucky break and made the most of it. 60. racer posted: 06.28.2010 - 3:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) canĀ“t wait for the Coke 400 at Daytona.these past races ive not been watching the same thing has happened and little excitment has happened 61. Jeff Gordon Fan posted: 06.28.2010 - 3:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I can't until the Coke 400 either. Hopefully we will see a different winner. 62. Timmy Quivy posted: 06.28.2010 - 3:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @DaleSrForever, you are correct. Jimmie ran two races in ASA in 1997 then the full-season in 1998 and 1999. He actually had a pretty impressive 1999 season (http://www.thethirdturn.com/wiki/Jimmie_Johnson/Results/ASA_ACDelco_Challenge_Series/1999) in a series that (back then) pretty much had equal competitor to the Busch Series, just without the Buschwhacking. 63. Timmy Quivy posted: 06.28.2010 - 3:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I also thought this race was pretty good. The leader never really got that far away and the top-ten was always pretty tight together. And those last ten laps were pretty great...did you see Hamlin just nerf the living hell out of Reutty? 64. I Seize the Day posted: 06.28.2010 - 3:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Timmy, I agree about the race being good. When people say this was boring, Im not sure what they expect. 3 wide racing? Leadchanges every lap? Spectacular crashes? This race featured 5 cars that looked capable of winning, more than any other non-restrictor plate race this year. 65. Anonymous posted: 06.28.2010 - 3:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) petty 43(post 37), I know racing is racing. I know nobody dominated their way to all of their wins, except for a couple of guys who won only a couple times and dominated each time. Will that stop me from voicing my complaints? No, no it will not, though I will admit that I sometimes say stupid things while frustrated. Not having a clear head when frustrated is a part of being human, so... sorry that I am human? Anyhoo, I guess my gripe is that when most teams out there seem to make mistakes, they seem to make their situation worse, or at least not any better most of the time, as opposed to the 48 team who are able to pull themselves out of damn near any bad situation most of the time. I can't fault the 48 team for being the best they can be and being great at digging themselves out of most holes they are put in, but I can sure as heck find fault with the rest of the field for seemingly giving up so easily when things don't go their way. 66. dUDE gUY posted: 06.28.2010 - 3:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Post 64 was my post, but I forgot to put my name there. Whoops. 67. Talon64 posted: 06.28.2010 - 5:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I thought this was a pretty good race. I hope NASCAR realizes that they don't have to throw phantom cautions every 50 laps to bunch the field up for it to be exciting. I like green flag pit sequences and how that naturally shuffles the order a bit, and watching good teams get lapped. Who would have dreamed that the recent dominator would get lapped? That is the way it always used to be. Do you realize how many times Dale Sr either got lapped or almost got lapped during his championship seasons? More than you'd think." I'm with you there. A lot of green flag running that still had Kahne, Burton and Kyle within a couple seconds of each other for long stretches, and a legitimate caution to bunch up the field near the end made for a great race overall. It was the same old story for Kahne and Montoya: Kahne's team/car and Montoya's impatience let each other down. I was hoping Kurt and Jimmie would wreck each other so Tony would win, but 4 top tens in a row has him back on track. Just in time too for the Coke Zero 400 too, which he's won in 3 of the last 5 years. Harvick managed to snag a top five at the end, although he never really ran there for most of the race. He still needs to step up his game before the Chase starts. 13th, 14th, 15th and 17th in the standings before Loudon finished 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th while 9th, 11th and 12th in points finished 16th, 21st and 25th. Biffle still has a bit of a cushion left, but Mark and Carl are in a lot of trouble right now with Dale Jr., Clint Bowyer and Ryan Newman right on their tails. I can't see how Bowyer won't make the Chase, he's been really solid this year but misfortune's hurt him in the standings. RFR was terrible, David Ragan was the highest running Roush car for a large portion of the race before Biffle and Kenseth salvaged decent finishes. But at one point late in the long green flag run Carl had sunk to 29th, it was easily his worst race of the season and it couldn't have come at a worse race when everyone behind him outside the Chase had good runs. Kyle had a shot at doing the weekend double of winning both the Nationwide and Cup races after beating Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards and Joey Logano on Saturday. Kyle was good enough to win but got screwed on the restart with Burton while Brad and Carl sucked big time. Logano had a top 15 car and finished 9th. 68. Talon64 posted: 06.28.2010 - 5:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmie Johnson got his 52nd career Cup victory, putting him 2 wins behind Lee Petty for 9th on the all time list. It's the 8th time he's won back-to-back races in his career (including 3 in a row in 2004 and 4 in a row in 2007). It was also his 125th top five in 308 career starts. It was HMS's 193rd career Cup win. Tony Stewart tied his best finish of the season with a 2nd, his 4th straight top ten which included 3 top 5's. It's his longest top 10 streak since 10 in a row last season. He's needs 2 more top 5's to become the 19th driver to reach 150 in a career. Kurt Busch started in the top 4 for a 5th straight race and finished in the top 10 for the 4th time in the last 5 races, including 3 top fives and a win. It was his 5th straight top ten at Loudon. Jeff Gordon got his 3rd straight top 5, his longest streak since 4 in a row from Kansas to Martinsville in the Chase last season. Jeff needs two more starts to reach 600 for his career. Kevin Harvick's 7th top five of the year matches his highest season total since 2007 (7 in 2008). Ryan Newman gets just his 3rd finish of 6th or better this season (but his 6th top ten). This is the 4th time this year that Bowyer's finished 7th. It's his 70th top ten in his 162nd career start. One more top ten will give him 5 straight seasons with at least 10. After needing 32 races to get 7 top tens in his rookie season, Joey Logano already has 7 top tens in 17 races this season. AJ Allmendinger finishes in the top 10 for the 2nd time in the last 4 races. It's his 6th straight finish of 14th or better and 12th top 20 finish in the last 14 races. After a career-high 8 race top ten streak, Kyle Busch has finished outside the top ten in the last 3 races. But Kyle led at least 22 laps in a race for the 9th time this season. After leading 89 laps at Loudon, Jeff Burton's season total is now 368. Jeff led only 315 in the last 3 seasons COMBINED. Marcos Ambrose gets his best career finish at Loudon in 13th. Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson have combined to win 10 of the 17 races this year, and 19 of the last 34 dating back to 2009. David Reutimann finishes in the top 20 for a 9th straight race. This is only the 5th time that Greg Biffle, #16, has finished 16th in a Cup race. Matt Kenseth finishes outside the top 10 at Loudon for a 5th straight race, after 11 top tens in his first 16 races there. Jamie McMurray has back-to-back top 20's for the first time since April-May... Same with Elliott Sadler except it's the first time since the 4th and 5th races of 2010. Mark Martin finishes outside of the top 10 for a 4th straight race this year, and for the 3rd time in his last 4 starts at Loudon (the exception being a win last September). Martin Truex Jr. has gone 7 straight races without a top 10, and only has 3 top 20 finishes during the drought. Reed Sorenson gets his best Cup finish since 16th at Talladega last November while still driving for RPM. Carl Edwards has back-to-back finishes outside of the top 20 for the first time this season. This was also easily his worst performance of 2010. The front row for this race, JPM and Kasey Kahne, finished 34th and 36th. JPM won his 3rd career Cup pole, 2nd straight at Loudon. Kasey Kahne led the most laps in a race for the 2nd time this season. It's the 9th time in his career he's led over 100 laps in a race, twice this year. This is the most laps Kahne's led in a season since 2007. 69. DaleSrFanForever posted: 06.28.2010 - 5:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I can't fault the 48 team for being the best they can be and being great at digging themselves out of most holes they are put in, but I can sure as heck find fault with the rest of the field for seemingly giving up so easily when things don't go their way." That's a good way to put it. Again, I cannot stress this enough, I am SICK of watching the #48 win, but I just can't deny his ability to a) always seem to be in position either out front, or close enough to the front to pounce if the leaders mess up and b) hang in there when things go astray. Yes, he is definitely taking advantage of talented but emotionally weak competition that has allowed him to inflate his numbers, but we can't blame him because 3/4 of the field doesn't know the meaning of the word "perserverence". Thanks for the info Timmy. 70. Cooper posted: 06.28.2010 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmie Johnson is already a Top 5 driver in NASCAR history. 71. 18fan posted: 06.28.2010 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The races are not fun to watch when Jimmie dominates and when he doesn't I always have to think, when will Jimmie take the lead and run away and bore me to death. At least this wasn't like most of his wins when he just dominates and there is no doubt in the outcome. This race there was doubt in the outcome once Kahne went out. 72. petty43 posted: 06.28.2010 - 7:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) jimmie has never had a 20 race winless streak, his longest is 19. he won in his 15th career start. amazing stat. death taxes and the 48. 73. Critic posted: 06.28.2010 - 10:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) When discussing Johnson's place in the sport, I think looking to the past can offer some valuable insight on why the popular perception of him is so conflicted and pessimistic. Most of us here subscribe to the theory of eras -- there are identifiable periods in the sport where one or more competitors had a run of near insurmountable dominance. I'd point to Petty and Pearson; to a lesser extent Yarborough and Waltrip; Earnhardt; and then Gordon in chronological order. The commonality between the six is that, during their reigns, they were clearly the most talented and successful competitors in the championship. With his record, Johnson should be the seventh name on my list, yet there's a definite hesitance on the part of many fans to put him in that company, even though he has already done more than Yarborough or Waltrip (win totals are irrelevant) and may soon eclipse Gordon's important achievements. What's striking to me about Johnson's imperiousness is that it is so sublime. His statistics describe a much different driver than the Johnson we harangue for taking advantage of others' misfortune and having a clairvoyant like ability to stay out of harm's way. And when I put down all of the traits that I associate with and admire about Johnson, I think there's an explanation as to why people are so frequently derisive of him. He is a superior manager of his own abilities, staying within himself and never allowing emotion to rule his judgment. He is the beneficiary of a technical advantage, but with the exception of Kulwicki, no modern championship has been won by someone at an above average or mediocre team. Johnson is intelligent, a clever strategist, and is unmatched in crafting and controlling a season. Finally, he is at his best when it counts and has enough experience to be immune from pressure -- the consummate professional. In my assessment above, I intentionally made no mention of his natural talent. Unlike Pearson, Earnhardt and Gordon during his prime, Johnson's innate ability isn't overwhelming the field; Gordon and Stewart, among others, may be better in a vacuum. But Johnson is the more complete driver; his ability compliments those areas he truly excels in, the competitive elements that probably go unnoticed by your average spectator. The most accurate comparison I can draw for Johnson is Nelson Piquet, who won three World Drivers' Championships but only nine events total during those seasons (three in each); he was not the equal of Prost or Senna, yet was masterful at recognizing the larger picture, accumulating points, and winning where possible (though Johnson does it more frequently). The antithesis of Johnson would be Bobby Allison, who won over eighty events, yet has only one championship to his name and was frequently a victim of his own decision making and individualistic temperament. In an alternate universe, Allison is mentioned in the same breath as Petty, Pearson and Yarborough; here, he never quite made it. Johnson is the archetype of a driver rarely seen in this sport. While I respect him because of it, I think that is why others have difficulty appreciating his success. Ironically, I believe a modern-day David Pearson would encounter similar resistance. I also suspect Johnson will be treated with the same reverence that we accord Pearson in due time. This decade's trend has been to find younger and more raw talents to develop. You frequently hear about how you can't teach someone to go quickly, so all they need is maturity and experience -- yet how many of them have turned out to be all flash and no substance? It may be apostasy to suggest, but perhaps we need to re-evaluate whether or not racing intelligence can be taught or if it's partly inherent, just like how a driver's limit is seen as finite. If I were a car owner, I'd start scouring the lower tiers for individuals with composure and restraint, not just those regularly outclassing their competition. In short, let's begin separating the adults from the children before they ever reach this stage. 74. Kit posted: 06.28.2010 - 10:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "As far as JJ, Kit, I see your point. Jimmie's dominance has come during a stretch that has the lowest number of good, mentally stable drivers in their primes in equipment capable of winning that I can remember. But I just think he still gets undersold a bit. I know his Busch career was mediocre at best, but he was with a start-up team and he had little experience on asphalt in stock cars at the time. If I'm not mistaken, he ran a year or two of ASA before going to Busch." I don't think he's undersold at all. His personality is just very vanilla so nobody cares that much about him. "Plus, JJ and HMS are just a perfect fit. Kyle didn't do THAT well at HMS but has lit it up at JGR. That's because HMS never fit him, but JGR's style of letting renegades be renegades played right into his wheelhouse. Just like JJ, Chad, and HMS." You're talking about Kryle Busch, an immature driver who was still a little kid while at HMS (and still is.) Johnson was an adult when he started. I don't think it's about being a perfect fit... rather Johnson knows how to be calm and drive a great car. Look at everyone else in the HMS stable: Jeff Gordon's mind is on his family, he doesn't have as much fire anymore. Ten years ago he wouldn't have caused so many problems on the track as he did in Sonoma. Mark Martin has always been way too conservative of a driver... he'll never reach his full potential (which is saying at lot because with only some of his potential he's been competitive for years.) Dale Jr. is Dale Mears, nothing else said. Johnson is the only complete package at HMS right now. "Now I agree, put him as a rookie in 1987 instead of 2002, and his numbers would deflate. I think he'd basically have numbers like Rusty Wallace. A championship or two, a little over 50 wins over 20 seasons. But he has caught a lucky break and made the most of it." I don't think he has the driving talent of Rusty Wallace. For one thing, Wallace banged and grinded doors for wins here and there. Wallace raced in a more physical era of NASCAR (physical as in cars bumping off of each other.) In this era of NASCAR, you just don't see that happening. You haven't seen that happen since the days of the Chevy Lumina, with a few "Black Swan" races here and there (like Ricky Craven's win in 2003.) Johnson wins a lot because he's a clutch driver in an era of NASCAR where the shitty COT has made this sport a mental game more so than in eras past. Johnson has certainly capitalized on the era of NASCAR he's in. Though I fully expect him to get some serious competition once Kahne is at HMS. 75. Kit posted: 06.28.2010 - 10:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "In my assessment above, I intentionally made no mention of his natural talent. Unlike Pearson, Earnhardt and Gordon during his prime, Johnson's innate ability isn't overwhelming the field; Gordon and Stewart, among others, may be better in a vacuum. But Johnson is the more complete driver; his ability compliments those areas he truly excels in, the competitive elements that probably go unnoticed by your average spectator." I agree, I don't think Johnson is overwhelming, but as far as being a "more complete" driver compared to Gordon, Pearson, etc.? Not really, Johnson is a "more complete" driver compared to contemporary drivers racing NOW, whom are the only driver Johnson needs to race against to win. If that makes sense. 76. Kit posted: 06.28.2010 - 10:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Those other drivers need to piss Johnson off. What do they think, that he is some sort of god? What is Kurt Busch, a sheep? He should have shoved Johnson's ass when he had an opportunity! And Montoya hit everything else but Johnson. When you piss driver off, it is more likely he will do more mistakes and that way his dominance might weaken. Johnson is not Intimidator. Oh god it sucks to see how these creamy ass drivers HAND those wins to Johnson." Kurt Busch's driving style as of late reminds me a little of Bill Elliott from the 80s; he'll take a good car to the finish line. But he won't fight and claw against other drivers like Earnhardt. Which is perfectly fine for me. I didn't like Kurt at all in his immature period before he got arrested; now, I still don't care for him that much but at least he stays out of the limelight, which his brother inherited. Montoya probably has the lowest IQ of all the active drivers. 77. Kit posted: 06.28.2010 - 10:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Speaking of Jimmie, I think he has also been helped by the fact that other teams rarely get up there to challenge Hendrick for the title for more than one season. Roush and Gibbs will look like they're about to break through, then they either run into disaster (Gibbs in '08 when the Chase started) or just disappear after having a dominant season (Roush after '08)." Exactly! RCR is non-existent. Jeff Burton is too much of a family man now to race hard. Harvick has issues on the track. Bowyer could probably be good if RCR fielded better cars. As far as Roush, I think Jack's years-long iron grip on the team is starting to make the team brittle. Gibbs just doesn't really have the drivers; Busch and Hamlin are too immature to be complete threats week in and out (Hamlin has had a good year, though) and Logano is still a project. The sport is so technical and expensive now that you won't see a wide field like you did in 2002. 78. Critic posted: 06.28.2010 - 10:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kit: I completely agree -- when I say "more complete driver", I mean compared to the rest of the field today. If Johnson is the 2010 and 2011 champion, then we can start considering whether he belongs in the Pearson, Petty and Earnhardt plateau. Until then, I feel the eras insight is enough. 79. Kit posted: 06.28.2010 - 10:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, I have to point out how some people were treating JPM like the next messiah of NASCAR last season... this year, he's back to running where he usually does, this time under the team's potential because of the skirmishes he gets into on the track. 80. dUDE gUY posted: 06.29.2010 - 5:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Arrgh, in post 66, I meant to say that post 65 is mine, not post 64. petty 43 (post 72 this time), that is an incredible stat. And to top it off, that winless streak was in the beginning if his career, after the fall Dover race in '02 to before the spring Charlotte race of '03. Jimmie started his career off really well (possibly one of the best rookie years ever, despite having 'only' six top fives), and somehow he just keeps getting better and better. I wouldn't be surprised to see him have 10+ wins at the end of this year. 81. DaleSrFanForever posted: 06.29.2010 - 5:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Montoya probably has the lowest IQ of all the active drivers." Ain't that the truth!!! For all the times in the last year and a half he's been running up front and contending for the lead in the early parts of the race, I never felt like "Hey, he might win", it was more like "How's he gonna screw this up?" Even at Indy last year, with a clearly superior setup, I was just waiting for him to blow it. And sure enough he did. 82. DaleSrFanForever posted: 06.29.2010 - 6:07 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) As I've said, I agree about JJ's contemporaries. Between NASCAR's short sighted decision making that has reduced the number of competitive teams drastically, and the mental instability of most of the drivers in those few competitive cars, he's had a pretty clear path to the top. But at the same time, he's taken advantage of it. In a sports world where so many people are given the golden ticket only to get sidetracked and piss it away, it's somewhat refreshing to see someone take advantage of it and mercilessly stomp on his competitor's throats. Now if he'd just let his personality out. We saw a TINY bit of it in his postrace interview when he said he didn't care if he won or not, he was gonna hit Kurt back. It was a rare glimpse into who he truly is. But get SO little of that, we are mostly "Eh?" about him. But as far as his competition, let's break it down: Kenseth/Biffle/Edwards: Three extremely talented drivers that could win the championship in any given year (Kenseth actually has one) that are held back by Roush. His micromanangement has cost this team so much. Plus Edwards has emotional issues that don't help matters much. Kenseth could have JJ's career if Jack would just let the people do their jobs. The Gibbs' Duo: Extemely talented, extremely tempermental. And that will cost them. Plus they both have stepped on so many toes needlessly, they won't get any breaks. Hard racing for the win or a Top 5? Sure. Knocking the piss out of Reut (whom he also dumped at Pocono last year) to finish 14th? That only accomplishes pissing people off. And Denny owes Brad K a royalty check for copying his style. At Martinsville last year, JJ slams the hell out of him to win the Spring race, Denny just hangs his head. After his feud with Brad, he has found the aggressiveness needed to make the next step (althought he can't harness it). The RCR guys: Jeff Burton is too damn nice. Even when he gets mad, he shows it outside the car rather than behind the wheel. He doesn't have the killer instinct, and this is actually nothing new. Remember the 1997 Southern 500? What would happen if Jeff Gordon did all that blocking on Earnhardt? On Rusty? On Stewart? They wouldn't have let off like Burton did. Harvick, I've made my view of him clear numerous times. Only Kyle Busch is more prone to more severe peaks and valleys. Plus he's totally bought into RCR's conservative strategy, which will doom them if they keep this up in the cha$e. And I really don't know to make of Bowyer. Is he too conservative or just not that good? I know he's not a championship threat by any means. Kurt Busch: Although he doesn't show his ass publically as much anymore, he's still a big emotional hazard. And nobody except his teammate, Sam, spins out unassisted more often than Kurt. When his car isn't right, he tries too hard and busts his ass. Kasey Kahne: His equipment sucks. It will be interesting to see if he can challenge JJ in HMS stuff. He is talented, emotionally stable, and quietly one of the sport's most well rounded drivers. His intermediate ability is undeniable, he runs good on the road courses now, even getting a win, and has won and runs well on the short tracks. Tony Stewart: Has twice as much talent as JJ, but about 1/8 of JJ's mental capacity. He can definitely get the job done when his head is on straight, and even when it isn't (see 2002), but he gets sidetracked and for some reason thinks he's the garage's sherrif. Plus, how long until being a team owner (even if it is just running a puppet organization) gets to him? Also, if he keeps being uncooperative with Rick, with his refusal to start a third team to help Rick out with incoming drivers like Kasey, will that affect the equipment he receives? Jeff Gordon: His mind is elsewhere. Although he's been in NASCAR forever, let's not forget he isn't an old man by any means. He hasn't even turned 40 yet. He is still in a driver's traditional prime years. Mark Martin: Never aggressive enough in his entire career. Especially now with double file restarts. Never has been enough of an on track killer. Dale Mears: When your fans are excited because you got 3 Top 11 finishes in a row for the first time in 2 years, you can forget it. JPM: See my previous post. Kevin Conway: For some reason, I don't see him challenging JJ. 83. Talon64 posted: 06.29.2010 - 6:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Kevin Conway: For some reason, I don't see him challenging JJ." LOL 2010 Cup ROTY D: BTW, apparently Robbie Reiser might be back on Kenseth's pit box next year. Good news for 2011, but since Robbie's still the GM they can't just do it now so Fennig's staying on the box for the rest of 2010. The year's a wash for the #17 as far as I'm concerned. Also, Elliott Sadler hasn't finished better than 17th this year in Cup. I saw that today and was disgusted at how poorly he's been running this year. His Cup career's already dead as far as anyone should be concerned, back-marker/start -up teams and even S&P's might be in his future. 84. dUDE gUY posted: 06.29.2010 - 6:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Talon, I agree that Sadler is pretty much a dud now. He's a nice guy, but he's let his flame burn out, and you can see it in his face that he just doesn't have the will anymore. Even so, I still for some reason see one more win left in him (probably at 'Dega, because he is a decent plate track racer). I think he'll S&P in Cup for a year or two after this year is over, then find a decent ride in Busch, or possibly Trucks, and have some good runs and a couple of wins in Busch/Trucks before finally retiring from racing completely. 85. Bronco posted: 06.29.2010 - 7:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Also, Elliott Sadler hasn't finished better than 17th this year in Cup. I saw that today and was disgusted at how poorly he's been running this year. His Cup career's already dead as far as anyone should be concerned, back-marker/start -up teams and even S&P's might be in his future." The sad part is he got spun out at Sonoma and still had his best finish of the year, that's how bad it's been. I would never have imagined that both Menard and Allmendinger would be doing so much better than him. The surprising thing is he managed to land competitive rides in both the Truck and Nationwide series, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him there next year. I don't think he will join the S&P brigade, he'll probably just do some more work for SpeedTV. "His equipment sucks. It will be interesting to see if he can challenge JJ in HMS stuff." Don't count on it. I think he'll soon realize that being the #1 guy on an average team is sometimes better than being the #4 guy on a better team. Just my opinion. 86. Talon64 posted: 06.29.2010 - 7:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordon's led 712 laps this year, 2nd most and most of anyone without a win. Right now it's the 3rd most laps anyone's led in a year without winning a race. Buddy Baker led 767 in 1969 without a win so Jeff could easily get 2nd... But Harry Gant's 1981 season was the ultimate example of close but no cigar; 1169 laps led and 7 runner up finishes! Mark Martin's 4th, 702 laps led with 4 poles and 4 runner ups in 1996 left him with his first win-less season since 1988. And Kasey Kahne's 5th for his remarkable rookie season with 13 top fives, 4 poles, 5 runner up finishes and 692 laps led. The top 8: Harry Gant 1169 in 1981, Buddy Baker 767 in 1969, Jeff Gordon 712 in 2010 Mark Martin 702 in 1996, Kasey Kahne 692 in 2004, Geoff Bodine 692 in 1985, Harry Gant 646 in 1986, Neil Bonnett 641 in 1984, 87. DaleSrFanForever posted: 06.29.2010 - 9:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Don't count on it. I think he'll soon realize that being the #1 guy on an average team is sometimes better than being the #4 guy on a better team. Just my opinion." My opinion differs (imagine that). Firzt of all, he'd be the #3 driver at HMS, ahead of Driver 88. Ans secondly, I think he'll do a lot like Mark last year whenever he gets to HMS. RPM is a friggin mess, and has been since 2007. 88. 18fan posted: 06.30.2010 - 1:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kasey Kahne has shown his talent by winning 11 races in the crappy equipment he's driven his whole career. I hope he does well at HMS. 89. Bronco posted: 06.30.2010 - 2:20 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "My opinion differs (imagine that). Firzt of all, he'd be the #3 driver at HMS, ahead of Driver 88" Uh, no. Kasey has less wins, no top 5 point finishes, and less than half the laps led as compared to Dale Jr, so to say that he is anything but the #4 driver is laughable. Remember, you were the same dude who thought BK would do better than Stremme and make the cha$e - so how did that turn out? If its any consolation to you, at least he's beating Sideways Sam haha. 90. martin-n-rusty posted: 06.30.2010 - 8:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bronco, If you would of said Dinger would be doing better than Elliott Sadler, I would of believed it, but never Menard. I agree, Sadler's career is dead in terms of decent cup rides. 91. petty43 posted: 06.30.2010 - 12:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) talon64 great stat good stuff. nono of those names really surprise me excepy gordon man how many mmore ways can he find to lose. Also it is crazt that sadler is 17th in career winnings and he has never been worth a spit in a pisspot just my opinion of course. but 400 starts for a guy who never appeared to even look like a great busch driver. 92. Critic posted: 06.30.2010 - 3:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It was evident to me that Sadler was done after his pathetic non-attempt to hold the lead in the 2009 Daytona 500, and the lack of confidence and depressive demeanor he showed post-race. The man has done nothing of real note since 2005. It's over. Some would say, excepting 2004 and his Bristol win, it never was. 93. Talon64 posted: 06.30.2010 - 5:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Uh, no. Kasey has less wins, no top 5 point finishes, and less than half the laps led as compared to Dale Jr, so to say that he is anything but the #4 driver is laughable. Remember, you were the same dude who thought BK would do better than Stremme and make the cha$e - so how did that turn out? If its any consolation to you, at least he's beating Sideways Sam haha." What have you done for me lately? Kahne and Dale Jr.'s numbers since they've both been competing in Cup at the same time (2004): Kahne (his total career numbers): 11 wins 4 winning seasons 46 top fives 82 top tens 17 poles 2968 laps led 13.6 avg start 18.4 avg finish Points Finishes: 13th in 2004 23rd in 2005 8th in 2006 19th in 2007 14th in 2008 10th in 2009 currently 20th in 2010 Dale Jr.: 9 wins 3 winning seasons 53 top fives 89 top tens 3 poles 3287 laps led 16.3 avg start 16.9 avg finish Points Finishes: 5th in 2004 19th in 2005 5th in 2006 16th in 2007 12th in 2009 25th in 2009 currently 13th in 2010 The numbers are comparable, except for poles where Kahne's really shown his speed, but Dale Jr.'s driven for better teams for the most part. But if you compare their numbers from 2005, from 2006, from 2007, from 2008, even just from last year, they slide far into favor with Kasey Kahne. Especially wins, from 2005 on Kasey Kahne smokes Dale Jr. in wins 11 to 3. So looking at total career numbers between the two is BS, in head to head stats their even at absolute best and with the most fluff. But realistically Kahne's been accomplishing much more on the track in recent seasons. 94. martin-n-rusty posted: 06.30.2010 - 7:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Agreed Critic. I see Elliott Sadler, and I think of someone who just does not have any fire, and a quitter. Not some young buck who gave us one last Petty Enterprises vs. Wood Brothers battle at Bristol years back, or someone who had a bright future. 95. Kit posted: 06.30.2010 - 7:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Elliott Sadler is just racing for a paycheck at this point. Has been since '04 about. Re: Post 94 Talon64, I agree totally. We should heavily emphasize that Kahne has been racing for a second-rate team the entire time. Jr. Has been with Hendrick since '08. "I completely agree -- when I say "more complete driver", I mean compared to the rest of the field today. If Johnson is the 2010 and 2011 champion, then we can start considering whether he belongs in the Pearson, Petty and Earnhardt plateau. Until then, I feel the eras insight is enough." I think NASCAR is so much different now that nobody will probably ever compare to those three. Hell, compared to today, they raced with little to no safety equipment. 96. DaleSrFanForever posted: 06.30.2010 - 9:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kahne has a better winning percentage despite always being is worse equipment than Dale Mears. 97. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 07.01.2010 - 12:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I see Elliott Sadler, and I think of someone who just does not have any fire, and a quitter." I just see a never-was. He's never been all that good, and yes he did carry the Yates banner in 2004 by making a Chase, but I still feel he underachieved during his tenure there. Plus, Jeremy Mayfield made two Chases (2004, 2005) and now look at him. I'm willing to give him credit for his Bristol win in 2001 however, he did a nice job driving on old tires and didn't lose the lead once he got it due to Kevin Harvick cutting a tire. That's the only time I've ever been impressed with Sadler. "Kasey has less wins, no top 5 point finishes, and less than half the laps led as compared to Dale Jr" That may be the case, but Kasey has never had equipment as good as what Dale Jr is driving. Even when Jr was with DEI, he had some pretty stout equipment from 2000-2006. In my opinion, Kasey only had a stable team from 2004-2006. "gordon man how many mmore ways can he find to lose." I dunno. He's pretty much been inventing ways to lose ever since he won at Texas last year. 98. Mike posted: 07.01.2010 - 12:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) What I will find hilarious is if Kasey struggles at HMS, these same people who constantly bash Jr fans for 'making excuses' for him will be the same ones who make up a bunch of excuses to defend Kasey. Kasey has the talent to win a championship in the Cup series, but it all depends on what kind of team they put around him. 99. Anonymous posted: 07.01.2010 - 1:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "What I will find hilarious is if Kasey struggles at HMS, these same people who constantly bash Jr fans for 'making excuses' for him will be the same ones who make up a bunch of excuses to defend Kasey." You mean like when people criticized Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick week after week for running the Nationwide Series concurrently with the Cup Series, yet are silent when their darling Brad Keselowski is doing the same thing (and is actually doing much worse in the Cup Series than either Harvick or Busch)? 100. Bronco posted: 07.01.2010 - 2:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "You mean like when people criticized Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick week after week for running the Nationwide Series concurrently with the Cup Series, yet are silent when their darling Brad Keselowski is doing the same thing (and is actually doing much worse in the Cup Series than either Harvick or Busch)?" Hahaha, that is so true, the hypocrisy never ends around here. 101. petty43 posted: 07.01.2010 - 1:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) well at least brad needs the experience in busch while kyle harvick edwards and hamlin are proven winners in cup who just pilfer the shit out of that series. if those four were banned from nationwide it would make it way better. just imagine how many more races guys like allgair would win. 102. Cooper posted: 07.01.2010 - 2:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's not Brad's fault he's trying to win a championship, that he got ripped away from him two years in a row by Cup guys. Brad is just doing, what was done to him. That's not hypocrisy that's the truth. 103. martin-n-rusty posted: 07.01.2010 - 10:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree. Brad is just doing it to gain experience. After this season though, I would prefer if he wouldn't do that. 104. petty43 posted: 07.01.2010 - 10:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) where the hell is rusty wallace on the hall of fame ballot, jerry cook? kiss my ass, nobody outside of new hamphire and maine gives a shit about modified drivers. I dont care if richie evans won 500 modified races or not he should NOT be on that ballot again. I mean whats next steve carlson, or the kosiski brothers from nebraska. Dick trickle won more races than evans and cook combined so why not have him on the ballot. Cook and evans had the least to do with bringing nascar where it is today, of anybody on that ballot, the selection commitee is way over valuing those two. Also i would put humpy or bruton smith ahead of t wayne robertson, although i used to love getting the old preview magazines he put his name on, great for autographs. davey allison should be ahead of jack ingram, bobby issac ahead of fred lorenzon, and rex white ahead of curtis turner. also ricky rudd should have been there over maybe bud moore, i dont know thats a tough one, but ricky was the original ironman. 105. petty43 posted: 07.01.2010 - 10:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) my hall of fame ballot this is only using the 25 names on the ballot, if i had a write in vote it would be for smokey yunick who got screwed again, he would bump dw out of my top 5, also several of these people would not be on my ballot at all, see my above post for more there, so this is more of a ranking using only these 25 names. 1 david pearson 2 cale yarbrough 3 bobby allison 4 rick hendrick 5 DW 6 lee petty 7 Buck Baker 8 Herb thomas 9 tim flock 10 ned jarrett 11 richard childress 12 Glen wood 13 dale inman 14 joe weatherly 15 bub moore 16 fireball roberts 17 benny parsons 18 fred lorenzen 19 Red byron 20 curtis turner 21 ray parks 22 jack ingram 23 richie evans 24 jerry cook 25 t wayne those last 4 at least would not even be on my ballot, instead i would have rusty wallace, bobby issac, rex white, davey allison, maybe ricky rudd or tim richmond. 106. Anonymous posted: 07.01.2010 - 11:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wait, so BK should avenge getting robbing out of a minor league title by... robbing someone else out of a minor league title? And that's not hypocritical? A driver that has run in the Nationwide Series for over two full seasons (in addition to having several Cup starts under his belt) doesn't need anymore experience. He needs to concentrate on the series that actually matters. Winning the Nationwide Series crown is worthless, especially when you're between David Ragan and Scott Speed in Cup. He's nothing more than a paper champion. So spare me the sob stories about how he "deserves" it. No one's forcing BK to run in the Nationwide Series; it's his own decision. 107. Frank posted: 07.02.2010 - 3:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, @82 Mostly you write very smart and quality comments what I respect a lot, but "Kurt Busch: Although he doesn't show his ass publically as much anymore, he's still a big emotional hazard. And nobody except his teammate, Sam, spins out unassisted more often than Kurt. When his car isn't right, he tries too hard and busts his ass." I know that you hates Busch brothers. Let's look at the Penske team since Rusty's retirement. Straight from 2006 Kurt outscored Newman who was among the most talented young drivers in the Cup and fought for the championship half of 2005 Chase. Kurt back then had terrible crew-chiefs like McCauley and Raker (does anyone remember this guy now?) and still had no winless seasons. Since Ryan with his engineering degree moved to RHP Kurt stayed with 2 low-quality teammates by all means but his own results are better and better from 2009 up to today. Keselowski is still a project too. Allgaier even more, although he seems very smart and patient. Comparing Kurt Busch to Sideways Sam is just ridiculous - Sam is close to 100 starts and still spins usually not once in 2 of 3 races. Kurt had that kind of runs but not more that 5 in all his Penske career. So if anyone could offer something against JJ now it will be either Kyle or Kurt. As you may know, I strongly believe that "new Kyle Busch" isn't fake thing. 108. Josh C posted: 07.02.2010 - 3:43 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) cup drivers should stay out of nationwide series. it makes those guys look bad, especially when they get beat by guys who cannot win crap in cup like edwards or bowyer, hell even harvick cant hardly win, despite his consistency at coming from nowhere this year. justin alligator should be dominating over there because penske nationwide series stuff is good. just don't show and its a shame! 109. Mike posted: 07.02.2010 - 2:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Brad is just doing it to gain experience." Brad's raced in the Nationwide series since 2006. He should have gained plenty of experience by now. 110. Mike posted: 07.02.2010 - 2:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Wait, so BK should avenge getting robbing out of a minor league title by... robbing someone else out of a minor league title? And that's not hypocritical?" At this website, no. 111. Bronco posted: 07.02.2010 - 4:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Completely agree with comment 106. He raced competitive cars in Nationwide for two years and has success, in addition to running a half schedule last year. That's about as much experience as anyone needs. Besides, I thought people here said his Talladega win was proof that he had enough experience to be in Cup? 112. DaleSrFanForever posted: 07.02.2010 - 4:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If Kasey struggles, we'll call him out on it and say he wasn't who we thought he was. And I don't see many people on the NWide boards exactly excusing Brad for double dipping, especially since his Cup program has REALLY struggled lately. I wish he'd put all his attention towards building that into a future contender. Our biggest point is "We don't like this, but at least this year somebody we don't hate is doing it, so it is a little less painful." 113. DaleSrFanForever posted: 07.02.2010 - 5:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @Frank: I think you misunderstood me a little, or I wasn't clear enough. Either way here is my point about Kurt: First of all, I don't deny his talent. I think he is just as talented as his brother (who most people seem to hail as having the most "natural talent"). And since he's made a conscience effort to act better publically, I don't "hate" him anymore. Hell, the last few laps of this race, you'd have thought I was his #1 fan, although that had less to do with Kurt, and more to do with JJ Fatigue (but I still give him the credit most people don't want to give him). I just think he isn't emotionally ready to handle the #48 juggernaut. I know he beat them head to head in the '04 cha$e, but that was before they were the finely tuned machine they are today. And I wasn't trying to compare him to Sideways Sam. That's like comparing a Ferrari to a 3 legged mule. I just said he's the only one that spins out unassisted more than Kurt. I should have mentioned that Kurt does it while competing for Top 10 and Top 5 positions, while Sam does it 3 laps down in 30th place. And I agree about Penske Racing. This is the first year a Penske car has had back to back quality seasons since Newman did so in '03 and '04, and even that year was a big drop off from the previous one. And yes, at least Kurt was able to salvage wins during his "slump" years unlike some of his contemporaries like Dale Mears, Harvick, Burton, and post-Fatherhood Jeff Gordon. 114. Bronco posted: 07.02.2010 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "And I don't see many people on the NWide boards exactly excusing Brad for double dipping, especially since his Cup program has REALLY struggled lately. I wish he'd put all his attention towards building that into a future contender." Speaking of which, is now a bad time to mention that BK has the same number of top 10s this season as does Kevin Conway? 115. Daniel posted: 05.21.2012 - 4:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In using fastest 43: #09 Mike Bliss & #38 Travis Kvapil Out using fastest 43: #7 Bobby Labonte & #34 Kevin Conway 116. 88&4Fan posted: 09.07.2015 - 4:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Even thought this was the third year that the first of the two NH races added the extra lap, it was the first time that the race actually went the whole 301 laps. 117. Ed posted: 12.14.2015 - 2:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The 200 lap green flag run in this race was the longest since 2004 118. Canadianfan posted: 05.06.2020 - 2:55 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) From Landon Cassill: Chad K called me at 6am on a Wednesday (the 23rd of June) and asked if I could scramble to North Wilkesboro to help validate a front suspension configuration they were considering for New Hampshire that weekend for @JimmieJohnson. 119. Rich posted: 12.06.2020 - 4:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Adam Alexander, Wally Dallenbach and Kyle Petty were the commentators. Ralph Sheheen, Matt Yocum, Phil Parsons and Marty Snider were the pit road reporters. Larry McReynolds was the in-race analyst. Lindsay Czarniak was the studio host. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: