|| *Comments on the 2010 Brickyard 400:* View the most recent comment <#115> | Post a comment <#post> 1. RLewis9 posted: 07.25.2010 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Chip Ganassi wins the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500, and Brickyard 400 in the same year. Too bad for Montoya, he was the car to beat but took four tires and his car wasn't good in traffic. 2. RaceFanX posted: 07.25.2010 - 5:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jamie McMurray joins the elite club of drivers who won the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 in the same year, joining Dale Jarrett (1996), Jeff Gordon (1999) and Jimmie Johnson (2006) on that elite list. Also the race reverts to the Brickyard 400 name proper after being the "Allstate 400 at the Brickyard" since 2005. Before anyone complains, even the Daytona 500 flirted with that, being "presented by STP" for a few years in the early 90s. 3. Anonymous posted: 07.25.2010 - 5:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) McMurray wins Daytona & Indy and finishes 2nd at Talladega, Darlington and Charlotte all in one year. Amazing for a guy who is usually pretty mediocre. 4. petty43 posted: 07.25.2010 - 5:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) as i said earlier i throughly enjoyed watching JPM find a way to lose this race and i am still laughing at his misfortune, especially since it was HIS fault, not his CC. He had the best car all day and tires were not that important, he just wrecked becasuse he is an impatient dipshit, who has less talent than at least 20 others guys out there every week, which is why he wont likely ever win again. 5. 18fan posted: 07.25.2010 - 5:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordon didn't win the Brickyard in 1999, Dale Jarrett did. 6. RLewis9 posted: 07.25.2010 - 5:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "McMurray wins Daytona & Indy and finishes 2nd at Talladega, Darlington and Charlotte all in one year. Amazing for a guy who is usually pretty mediocre." Despite five top 2 finishes...the dude isn't even likely to make the Chase. 7. Greg Gruver posted: 07.25.2010 - 5:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JPM's Crew chief took the blame for Juan's trouble.. He said a two tire stop should have been the call, but he did not think anybody else would go with just two. Too bad he did not look over to his teammates pit box. JPM Will win one of these days on a oval. Nice comeback for Kyle Busch after the first lap spin. 8. Mike posted: 07.25.2010 - 5:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Montoya is an idiot. Great win for McMurray 9. petty43 posted: 07.25.2010 - 5:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) also the winners club for this race just got a little less prestigous. o well jamie is a great guy but god he just cannot string together any consitency. any one but JPM, man the fans cheered loudly to when he wrecked, o and he took out junior which was equally amusing for me since i am tired of junior getting any attention at all. at this rate mcmurray will end his career with more wins than junior, HA, junior nation i hope kasey is in your boys' ride next year, and not mark martins. 10. New 14&88 posted: 07.25.2010 - 5:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Atta boy to McMurray...as has been stated he joins Dale Jarret and Jimmie Johnson as only the third driver to win the Brickyard and the Daytona 500 in the same year, Chip Ganassi also becomes the first car owner to win the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year. JPM...what else can you say, a bad pit call by his CC put him back in traffic where his car wasn't as good,then he over drove turn four and ended up crashing out and taking Jr. with him 11. JP88 posted: 07.25.2010 - 5:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Really happy for McMurray...no one can say that he can only win on the restrictor plates now...it's simply amazing that in 4 "Crown Jewel" events McMurray has 2 wins and 2 runner-up finishes (I counted the Southern 500) What's even more amazing is that McMurray has 6 top 5's including 5 top 2's and will most likely miss the chase due to huge inconsistency as he has 6 finishes of 30th or worse Tough luck for JPM...2 years in a row but what can you do about it, Hendrick struggled and Jr. was in the wrong place at the wrong time ending all hope of him making the chase and JJ was as slow as Mike uh- I mean Kevin Conway...lol Although there are still 6 more races till the chase I think the field of 12 will be the current top 12 unless something big happens...Mark is too off to make a charge and everyone else behind him is too inconsistent 12. Bronco posted: 07.25.2010 - 5:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) WTG Jamie! This is his first multiple win season since he began Cup racing, and both wins have come in the richest events of the year. He is only the third non-champion to have won at Indy, and it is his first non RP win since he won Charlotte in only his second start 8 years ago. From a nobody last year, to Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 winner, along with most poles in the series, he keeps proving how important good equipment and a supportive team are. Another heartbreak for JPM, second straight year he leads the most laps at Indy and gets nothing, and both times he earned the pole he crashed out of the race. Dale Earnhardt Jr`s crash was the first time he was involved in a wreck the whole year, however his winless streak is now at 77 races, an all time low for him. Jacques Villeneueve joins JPM as the only drivers to start races in NASCAR, F1 and CART/IRL at Indy. 13. Madison posted: 07.25.2010 - 5:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jamie deserves to be in the chase. Anyone who can win the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400, and finish second in the Coke 600 and the Southern 500 deserves to. He just struggles with consistency. 14. #2 fan posted: 07.25.2010 - 6:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I really wish the cup series could race at orp instead 15. joey2448 posted: 07.25.2010 - 6:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) i'm not a big montoya fan, but i'll admit that he is deserving of a brickyard 400 win....the call for four tires late was an idiotic call. it's no wonder they can't win...stupid. this is looking like 2008 all over again for jeff gordon....winless. great to see jamie win. if he could be more consistent, he'd make the chase. for every race he finishes in the top-five, the week after he can't stay on the lead lap. again, the four tires vs. track position was the worst call for the #42 team. 16. RLewis9 posted: 07.25.2010 - 6:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If you struggle with consistency, you don't belong in the Chase. McMurray is suprising a lot of people, including myself...but winning at Daytona or Indianapolis doesn't pay more points than winning at Pocono or Michigan. 17. RaceFanX posted: 07.25.2010 - 6:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 18fan, thanks for the correction. I should have remembered that, it was right in the middle of that stretch from 1998-2001 where every Brickyard 400 winner went on to win the title. 18. Anonymous posted: 07.25.2010 - 6:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Awesome race! Good job Jamie!! 19. CFob posted: 07.25.2010 - 6:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Congrats to Jamie! One of the sports nice guys having a very solid year, and while the Chase may not be in the cards, still nice to see him have the success he is having. And while I never want to wish bad luck on a driver, I gotta laugh when comparing McMurray's season to that of David Ragan. 20. Smokefan05 posted: 07.25.2010 - 7:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jack Roush is a moron for getting rid of Jaime. 21. NazRacePhan posted: 07.25.2010 - 7:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) FUnny post-race quotes from the start-and-parks on the Brickyard 400 website: (Especially Blaney and Bodine) MICHAEL McDOWELL (No. 55 PRISM Motorsports Toyota, 42nd): ??I got caught up in that first-lap accident. We must have stuffed some dirt into the carburetor. We tried to clean the carburetor, but it didn??t work.? JOE NEMECHEK (No. 87 NEMCO Motorsports Toyota, 40th): ??In that first-lap accident, we got into the grass. We broke the splitter and knocked the bottom end out of the radiator. We fixed those, but we picked up a vibration we couldn??t get rid of.? DAVE BLANEY (No. 66 PRISM Motorsports Toyota, 41st): ??We had a transmission problem in practice, and it just kept getting worse. So we pulled it out.? TODD BODINE (No. 64 Fred??s Hometown Discount Store Toyota, 37th): ??We had a vibration in the gearbox, and it got to rattling so bad I had to park it.? 22. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 07.25.2010 - 7:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Congrats to Jamie Mac! The EGR organization seems to have their cars hooked up for this track. Also glad to see that Jamie is having a better year at EGR than he ever had in his 4 years driving for Roush. This is also the most laps he has ever led in a single season (228 as of today). Bill Elliott gets a good top-20 finish. If he were with a competitive team still, he would probably still be scoring top-10's at the pace he was from '01-'03. 23. Canadianfan posted: 07.25.2010 - 7:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Huge shout out to Jacques Villeneuve. His second best finish in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He barely made the race thanks to J.J. Yeley's crash in qualifying. Jacques took a car that has been a start and park effort with no better than 39th place finish this year and ran inside the top 25 for most of the race and finished 29th a very impressive finish considering the equipment he had under him. Based on this I think Jacques should get a full time ride in either Sprint or Nationwide series we need more Canadian's in NASCAR the sport has the same amount of following in Canada as the NHL and CFL. But I know it is difficult you need money and sponsors to make it work. So for now Jacques is back to being a road course ringer until he gets his big break. 24. Eric posted: 07.25.2010 - 7:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I can't say Jamie's win made the winners club less prestigious at Indy. Drivers without a lot of wins won at the time they won at Indy like a young Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett and Kevin Harvick. All three drivers turned out to be anywhere from being a good driver to a legendary driver over time. I think Kevin Harvick already did that to a degree unless if he wins a cup championship this year. Before Jamie won at Indy, Kevin is the weakest cup driver to win at Indy based on his cup resume. Kevin is an above average cup driver that is conservative. The only way to say Jamie dragged down the winners club at Indy is what happens with Jamie in the next 5 years in wins. Jamie made a mistake doing to Roush and I think that is one the factors in terms of his career looks like right now. I do agree that Jamie Career looks even weaker Kevin Harvicks is at this time. Kevin Harvick had the weakest cup resume before getting his Brickyard win in 2003 and his cup resume isn't overly impressive to date in cup unless he a cup title this year. 25. Cooper posted: 07.25.2010 - 8:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Canadianfan I was very impressed as well. He's actually a better stock car driver than I ever thought he would be. I hope he stays around for a long time. 26. Cooper posted: 07.25.2010 - 8:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Lowest Brickyard 400 purse since 2004. 27. Matthew Tesfaye posted: 07.25.2010 - 8:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Worst Brickyard 400 finish for Jeff Gordon since 2000. 28. DaleSrFanForever posted: 07.25.2010 - 9:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Two weeks in a row a nice guy wins. Glad to see it (or in my case hear about it, I was on a call). I like Jamie on a personal level, and it is interesting seeing him break out as a driver after a lengthy career of mediocrity (although he overachieved at Ganassi from '03 to '05). JPM chokes again. What can I say about him that I haven't already? 29. racer x posted: 07.25.2010 - 9:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jr. ran mid pack all day. 30. Anonymous posted: 07.25.2010 - 11:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JPM didn't coke, his CC did. Biffle was just as fast and only made it to 3rd. 31. the_man posted: 07.25.2010 - 11:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Ragan on a 20th place finish: "We didn??t have a winning car, but we could maintain our own right there outside of the top 10. For that last caution, we had fought our way back up after losing a lap, and we stayed out. Maybe looking back on it now, we probably should have pitted because it seems that new tires really helped on that last restart because we just got pushed around on that restart. This was definitely better than where we were when we unloaded, we just needed a little bit more there on the short runs.? 32. Anonymous posted: 07.25.2010 - 11:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ryan Newman had a good recovery to get up to 17th after having two left rear tires go flat due to the tire rubbing the fender which put him two laps down. 33. Neal posted: 07.26.2010 - 12:54 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Another year, another crappy Brickyard 400. If the stands were even half-full I'd be surprised. I understand why NASCAR goes to Indy from a tradition perspective but this race is typically one of the absolute worst of the year. Indy is NOT a stock car track. 34. Neal posted: 07.26.2010 - 1:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oooh just saw a rumor I want to see come to fruition. The Toronto Sun is reporting that NASCAR is considering dropping Indy and shifting its date to Kentucky. As much as I dislike cookie cutter tracks, a race at Kentucky can't be any worse than an over-hyped, completely boring 180mph parade at Indy. 35. RLewis9 posted: 07.26.2010 - 1:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR is not taking Indianapolis off the schedule. It may produce bad NASCAR racing, but it's too prestigous of a track for them to take off the schedule. Especially for a place like Kentucky. 36. Neal posted: 07.26.2010 - 1:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) RLewis9 - I wouldn't be so sure. Attendance is off 50% from 2007. If nobody is in the seats sponsors won't pony up purse money. Good riddance, too. 37. 18fan posted: 07.26.2010 - 3:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Only big time race today that wasn't controversial, with the blocking penalty that shouldn't have been against Helio Castroneves and Ferrari rigging the F1 race for Fernando Alonso to pass Felipe Massa under team orders. I know the Canadian Tire race had no controversy, but it just isn't as big as the Cup Series, the IRL, or F1, although it has great racing. 38. DaleSrFanForever posted: 07.26.2010 - 9:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) For those wanting to put the blame on JPM's crew chief for taking 4 tires, I direct you this year's Martinsville race. On a track that is even tougher to pass on, the fastest car took 4, got stuck way in the back, and still won. 39. Schwab posted: 07.26.2010 - 10:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jamie McMurray's scored a top 5 and led laps at Indy for the first time since his first Brickyard 400 in 2003. Kurt Busch scored a top 10 finish at Indy for the first time since 2004. Kurt has only led three laps in ten starts at Indy. I thought that Mark Martin had one of the best runs he has had in a while. He dropped back at the end but his average running position for this race was 6th, his highest average since Fontana in February. 40. Anonymous posted: 07.26.2010 - 11:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "On a track that is even tougher to pass on" I don't see how. You can actually make contact at Martinsville to pass a car. And you want an example of a choke, Kenseth over drove the hell out of turn 3 and gave Gordon a clear shot at his bumper, or Hamlin would of never won that race. 41. Anonymous posted: 07.26.2010 - 11:39 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Typical 2010 race...four debris cautions. Only one I thought could have been legit was the one where some bare-bond flew off Reutimann's car but they could have kept racing at that point. The bare-bond was almost in the grass by the time they threw the caution. 42. petty43 posted: 07.26.2010 - 12:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) almost went to this race, glad i chose not too. compared to what happened in the open wheel world i can accept a few debris cautions. 43. RoushFan posted: 07.26.2010 - 2:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's great to see a guy like McMurray finally win some races. Other than that though, this race was another very boring Indy race but at least it didn't have the disasters that happened in F1 and IRL yesterday. Did anyone else find it amusing when they called a debris caution and showed the rubber buildup near the wall on the turn? Also what happened with all the overheating issues after that first caution? 44. Cooper posted: 07.26.2010 - 2:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No offense to NASCAR but they really screwed up. They definitely should have threw a caution with 5 to go. This would be one race that I'd be okay with throwing a fake debris cautions. 45. CarlEdwards99 posted: 07.26.2010 - 3:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) don't know why there is a big call for debris cautions. At aero tracks they provide drama the first 2 turns after the restart than it's back to parade laps. Amazed that one issue that has destroyed the sport so much (aero push) and NASCAR completely ignores it. If anything, they continue to make the problem worse, allowing manufactures to go to even more areo dependent cars, than going to the COT which seems to be more areo dependent than any of the old cars, than finally putting a spoiler on the COT which according to some has made the COT even more aero dependent (if thats even possible). as for the "race to the chase", looks like it could be a snoozer this year. The teams at the bottom in right now (Stewart, Biffle, Edwards, Bowyer) look to be a surging, as the teams out right now look to be just holding serve for the most part (Martin, Junior, Newman). The only guy that could make a run is Kahne, but like I said, the guys 9-12 are running pretty strong right now so making up over 150 points isn't going to be easy. 46. Bronco posted: 07.26.2010 - 4:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jamie has led more laps this season than his four ex-teammates have combined (228 vs. 215). He also has more top 5s than any one of them do. I'm gonna throw it out there, I predict Jamie will win a third race in 2010, not at Talladega, but at a 1.5 mile track, perhaps Charlotte or Texas. "On a track that is even tougher to pass on, the fastest car took 4, got stuck way in the back, and still won. " I don't think clean air/dirty air is much of an issue at Martinsville.... 47. Talon64 posted: 07.26.2010 - 4:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jamie could probably hit double digit top 5's and still be outside of the Chase. But his inconsistency would keep him from winning the championship even if he made it so he'll just have to live with winning two of the biggest races of the year. LOL The difference between Biffle almost coming back to win the race, and Montoya falling back in traffic and wrecking himself, was that the #42 was in the top 2 for the entire race and in clean air while the #16 showed early in the race that they could make their way through the field. It's easy to sit pat on a car and not make too many adjustments when you're out front and leading easily but it bit JPM in the ass and put him in a position to make the situation even worse. Harvick came out of nowhere to nearly take the win late in the race, him and Jamie were the two who made the most with their two tires to hold off Biffle. This is the 2nd Indy race in a row that the winner was 2nd on the last restart but blew by the leader on the outside within the first couple turns to take the lead. Unfortunately Jamie only gained about 30 points on 12th with his win since Bowyer and Biffle both finished in the top five and Edwards was 7th. Then again if he can gain 30 points a race from now until Richmond then it's not out of the question until Jamie has one more bad race and loses ground. Landon Cassill and the #71 TRG team actually got some TV time when they there running 2nd before they pitted during the first green flag pit stops. I think Cassill could get them some decent finishes if they actually finished. 48. Rob posted: 07.26.2010 - 5:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Montoya come back to F1 where you're accecpted. Lol he just got to old and fat to drive open-wheel so he figured he'd give Nascar a chance. He's got talent... especially on road courses. And yet people still bash him. If I remember right he finished 8th in points in just his 3rd full season driving stock cars, with 2 poles, 7 top 5's and 18 top 10's.... Not to mention he finished higer in the points in cup his rookie year than Jr. did last year driving Hendrick equipment, which in my opinion was light years ahead of Ganassi's cup stuff. 49. John Royal posted: 07.26.2010 - 5:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) >>21. NazRacePhan posted: 07.25.10 - 7:16 pm Saved my day. Great stuff this here! 50. Talon64 posted: 07.26.2010 - 5:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jamie McMurray gets his 5th career Sprint Cup Series win, and it's the first time he's had multiple wins in a season. This is the first time all year that Jamie's had back-to-back top 10's, and of McMurray's 10 lead lap finishes this year, 6 are in the top five. It's Jamie's 2nd top five and 4th top ten in 8 starts at Indy. Kevin Harvick gets his 70th top five in 342 career starts, and 4th top five in 10 starts at Indy. 20.4 Greg Biffle gets his 60th top five in 278 career starts. If you're wondering, Biffle has the better career top 5 % at 21.6%, compared to 20.4% for Harvick. Biffle ties his best finish of the season in 3rd, just his 3rd top five of 2010. But it's his 2nd straight top five at Indy. Surprisingly this is the first time that Clint Bowyer has ever had back-to-back top five finishes in Cup. It's his 2nd top five in 5 starts at Indy. Tony Stewart gets his 7th top ten in the last 9 races, with 4 of them in the top five. It's his 6th top five in 12 starts at Indy, lowering his best-among-active-drivers average finish to 8.2. Jeff Burton's 10th top ten in 20 races this year matches the total he had in all of 2009. It's his 3rd straight top ten, and 3rd top ten in his last 4 starts at Indy (but only 5th in 17 total Indy starts). Carl Edwards finishes in the top 10 for a 3rd straight race, matching his longest streak of the season. It's only the 3rd race this year that Carl's led a lap and they've all been due to green flag pit stops. It's his 3rd top ten in 6 Indy starts. Kyle Busch gets his first top ten in the last 6 races. It's his 4th top ten in 6 starts at Indy but first in his last 3. Joey Logano gets his 8th top ten of the year, already more than he had in all of his rookie season. It's his 3rd top ten in the last 6 races. In 2 starts at Indy he has finishes of 12th and 9th. Kurt Busch gets his 4th top ten in 10 starts at Indy, and first since 2004. Mark Martin finishes outside of the top 10 for a 7th straight race, his longest drought since he went 11 straight without one in 2003. Matt Kenseth is also on a 7 race top ten drought, his longest since 2005 when he went 9 straight races without one. But he has top 20 finishes in 6 of those 7 races. Paul Menard gets his best finish at Indy in 4 starts, and it's his 3rd straight top 20 finish this season. AJ Allmendinger made his 100th career Cup start, finishing 16th. AJ has 14 top 20 finishes this year. Bill Elliott gets his best finish at Indy since finishing 9th in 2004 (in a part-time Evernham ride). Brad Keselowski has back-to-back top 20 finishes for the first time since he had 4 in a row from Richmond to Dover. Despite 3 wins at Indy, Jimmie's other finishes are 9th, 18th, 36th, 38th, 39th, and now 22nd. It's his worst active track when it comes to average finish. 51. DaleSrFanForever posted: 07.26.2010 - 6:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I don't think clean air/dirty air is much of an issue at Martinsville.... " That is true, but it is still a tiny little track. The point I was trying to make is that Denny didn't let it get to his head that he was way back, and drove with the right mix of aggression and restrain (to not overdrive the car) and retook the lead to win. Biffle, whose car was inferior to JPM's, finished 3rd. I'm just saying.... 52. DaleSrFanForever posted: 07.26.2010 - 6:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Jamie has led more laps this season than his four ex-teammates have combined (228 vs. 215). He also has more top 5s than any one of them do." To take that one step further, since Kenseth won the first 2 races in '09, Jamie has 3 wins to his former teammates' none. In that year and a half, Roush has only won once..... with McMurray driving that car. People wanna talk about how stupid it was for Roush to let Jamie go (and it was), he did Jamie a HUGE favor. Jack's micromanagement is leading his team right into the ground. He has three REALLY talented drivers (Kenseth, Biff, and Edroids) that he is holding back. 53. 18fan posted: 07.26.2010 - 7:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rob, if Montoya is as talented as you say, he should be winning races by now. 54. CarlEdwards99 posted: 07.26.2010 - 7:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "The difference between Biffle almost coming back to win the race, and Montoya falling back in traffic and wrecking himself, was that the #42 was in the top 2 for the entire race and in clean air while the #16 showed early in the race that they could make their way through the field. It's easy to sit pat on a car and not make too many adjustments when you're out front and leading easily but it bit JPM in the ass and put him in a position to make the situation even worse." Ricky Craven made the point on NASCAR Now that Montoya ran a unorthodox line (I believe he said Montoya had a very late entry into the turns) and when Montoya was in traffic he couldn't run that line. 55. Eric posted: 07.26.2010 - 7:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Montoya is a talented driver. I saw him race in Cart and F1 matter of fact. As talented as Montoya is, he always been too reckless or aggressive as a race car driver. It doesn't matter what racing series, Montoya always had the problem as Ernie Irvan did before he came to Robert Yates Racing. The problem is no one could control Montoya's aggressiveness on the track including Montoya himself. That is one of the reasons why Montoya is not racing in F1 currently. Robin Miller on Wind Tunnel in 2006 claimed that Montoya was blackballed from top F1 teams. 56. Anonymous posted: 07.27.2010 - 12:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've only been a Nascar fan for about a year but I'm starting to get the feeling that there is something wrong with the point system. Not with the Chase (although I realize that there are many issues with that too) but with the amount of points given to each position. For a guy like McMurray to have won two of the biggest races (Daytona and Indy) and finsh second in three more big events (Coke 600, Darlington, and Talladega) I feel like he should be in a Chase spot. More specifically I feel like Nascar should reward winning and top three finishes more and penalize guys for finishing in 30 something place less. (Maybe only a two point drop between positions beyond 15th place needs to be in order instead of 3 points between positions all the way down to 43rd place) Does anyone else feel this way? 57. Ryan posted: 07.27.2010 - 12:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Regardless if McMurray doesn't make the Chase, I'd say him and Chip are very happy to be where they are right now instead of where they both were at this time last year. Chip was losing money fast and had to team up with Earnhardt and they both went to two cars. They only had one driver set in stone for 2010 (Montoya). McMurray couldn't seem to get anything going with Roush, whether it was his cars being bad or just him not having any chemistry with the team. Yeah he won a couple of races (both on restrictor plates), but he wasn't a threat at all. Now he is a threat to win poles and races every now and then. He drove a smart race and put himself in position to win at the end. He lost the lead before the last caution, but didn't give up. He beat one of the best re-starters in the sport to go on and win this prestigous race and put himself in elite company. And he put Chip by himself with the trifecta. Just think if it wasn't for the last caution at Charlotte in May. He would have three of the most presitgous races in one year and Chip would have swept the day. 58. Ryan posted: 07.27.2010 - 12:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's obvious that JPM made the wrong choice. One thing that cost him was the high line did real well on the next to last re-start where he started 7th. He didn't get off to a good start and Biffle did is why Biffle was able to work his way up to the front. And then he just over drove the car and wrecked. He was desperate. The sad thing about it is, is that he could have took two tires at the end there and everyone else four and still probably could have held them off much like Harvick did with Biffle at the end. Dale Jarrett won this race taking two tires at the end in 1999 when he had the dominant car. At Indy if you're dominant two tires is fine, especially when you get out in clean air there. It's so important to get out front and give yourself a chance. 59. Sean posted: 07.27.2010 - 1:50 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Anonymous 56, I agree that there should be a much larger gap between the top positions and that those in the lower positions should score few (I would say no points outside the top 25; if nothing else that would leave modifieds off the track at Bristol and the plate tracks). I do not agree if you are implying that marquee races should provide more points; all races should be weighted the same (which in fact is the main problem with the chase...that it weights the last ten races infinitely more than the first twenty-six). I posted about this in comment 95 at http://racing-reference.info/comments?id=2010-18&s=W. I will retract what I said a little bit because I didn't respond to Kit's criticism at the time. While I do think (and always will think) 1985, 1993, and 1996 went to the wrong champions as the second-place driver was way more dominant than the champion all three times (and Gordon was pretty much as consistent as Labonte, with the same number of top fives and top tens even; a points system is bogus if it rewards Labonte the championship because he was finishing 17th when he was out of the top ten when Gordon was finishing 37th), I will acknowledge that Kulwicki had the most impressive performance in 1992 considering his equipment versus the Junior Johnson and Robert Yates teams. However, I do think Elliott and Allison were slightly more dominant (basically due to their superior cars) and that dominance is what should be rewarded. Of course, Kulwicki was a master strategist and thinking man's driver, presumably saw the flaw in the Latford points system and simply exploited it better than Elliott and Allison did. If a points system like the one I had suggested had existed in 1992, it would be very likely that Kulwicki would have known the best ways to exploit that points system also. For that reason, I should have ignored the revisionist history aspects of my post and just focused on the system I proposed itself. Luck is way too important with a classic-style points system so those who simply have a bunch of mediocre runs but few really bad runs (Stewart, Edwards, Martin, Junior) get inflated while those who actually run better generally but also have bad luck (McMurray, Kahne, Montoya...yes, I know he's made some of his luck this year at Loudon and here, but most of the other stuff was him getting caught up in other people's messes) naturally get underrated. I still think the points system I posted is way better than the classic points system, though... WAY. (Although the classic sure as hell is better than the chase). 60. Smiff_99 posted: 07.27.2010 - 11:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) In David Ragan and Jack Roush's defense, who would've thought that after the solid season they had in '08 that David would be running as piss-poor as he his now? I mean, I never thought the kid was gonna set the world afire, but after that season I (and the rest of the NASCAR world) thought he had some solid potential. Unfortunatly, it hasn't come to fruition. And if anything, we should all be THANKING Jack Roush for letting Jamie Mac go, because now we all get to see the true McMurray: A likable, classy, good guy perfectly capable of winning.....and not just on plate tracks. 61. DaleSrFanForever posted: 07.27.2010 - 12:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "And if anything, we should all be THANKING Jack Roush for letting Jamie Mac go" I agree. In Jack's effort to control every little aspect of his many teams (either because he doesn't trust anyone else, wants all the credit for himself, or both) he just cannot maintain success. Nobody over there ever seems to be "happy at Roush Racing". Look at Kurt Busch, he won the Cup in 2004, and 6 months later he signed a contract to drive elsewhere in '07, and begged his way out of the final year of his contract. Granted Kurt isn't a model citizen, but that should say something. 62. DaleSrFanForever posted: 07.27.2010 - 1:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "While I do think (and always will think) 1985, 1993, and 1996 went to the wrong champions as the second-place driver was way more dominant than the champion all three times" I've gotta defend my guy here. Dale did win 6 races in 1993. Yeah Rusty won 10, but it isn't like '96 when Gordon won 5 times as many races as Labonte, or '85 when Elliott nearly quadrupuled Waltrip's win total (who nearly quadrupuled Labonte's win total in '84, that's a season that should be looked at). Also, with the exception of Rusty's last win of the year at Atlanta, all his wins came at tracks one mile or less. Of Dale's 6 wins, two came at plate tracks, one was at the flat 2.5 mile triangle in Pocono, one was at the 1.5 miler in Charlotte, one was at Darlington (1.3 miles, comparable to nothing), and the one mile Dover track. So "way more dominant" is going way out there. "Montoya always had the problem as Ernie Irvan did before he came to Robert Yates Racing." Yeah, Ernie wrecked himself (and others) out of a lot of races, but at least he could also win 2 or 3 races a year back when NASCAR competition was at its toughest and only ran 29 races a year (less chances to win). Montoya flat out can't win in stock cars. "Regardless if McMurray doesn't make the Chase, I'd say him and Chip are very happy to be where they are right now instead of where they both were at this time last year." I agree. Plus, I'm gonna just come out and say it: Making the cha$e is overrated. Unless you can actually contend for the championship, it doesn't matter. The #1 team isn't ready to contend for the big trophy. They can't hang with the #48 and the #11 week in and week out. They need to devote this year solely to becoming fast on every type of track. If they start points racing now, it will kill their momentum and stunt their future growth. The list of people that have just made the cha$e isn't very exclusive. Mayfield made it twice (remember him?), Bowyer has made it twice, and might make it a third time (he has 2 career wins in almost 5 years), Elliott Sadler made it once (3 career wins), Montoya made it once (1 career win in almost 4 years), Vickers made it once (2 wins in 6 season, one of which he wrecked the two leaders to win), and Truex made it once (1 win in almost 5 seasons). 63. petty43 posted: 07.27.2010 - 1:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) just curious and i know someone here has the answer? when was the last time that the driver with the clearly best car wrecked himself within 5 laps after getting 4 new rubbers? an old buddy of mine was trying to figure it out and i am sure there was a recent example of this type of gaffe. anyone know? 64. petty43 posted: 07.27.2010 - 2:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) the worst mistake for this points system was definately matt kenseth winning a cup which still pisses me off. one win in the second frigging race, what a disgrace, and o yeah that championship singlehandedly brought us the chase which we all hate, and that is why i will always boo the 17!!!!!!!!! BOO YOU SUCK KENSETH lol 65. CarlEdwards99 posted: 07.27.2010 - 2:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I agree. Plus, I'm gonna just come out and say it: Making the cha$e is overrated." I would add, when talking about a drivers career how many times does chase appearances/top 10 in points finishes get mentioned? drivers get judged by wins and championships. Those are the 2 numbers that headline the resume. Earnhardt having 7 championships and 76 wins is known by even the most casual NASCAR fans, but how many times did he finish in the top 10 in points? Even most hard core fans would have to look that one up. 66. Rusty posted: 07.27.2010 - 2:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'll say it again...Daytona and Indy shouldn't pay more points than any other race. He wins big races and sucked the rest of the time...he doesn't belong in the Chase. It's about having a good season, not a good couple of races. 67. Talon64 posted: 07.27.2010 - 4:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Earnhardt having 7 championships and 76 wins is known by even the most casual NASCAR fans, but how many times did he finish in the top 10 in points? Even most hard core fans would have to look that one up." I guessed 16 times, but it's 20. Finishing 12th in 1982 and 1992 prevented him from having a lengthy streak of finishing top 10 in points (so he probably would've finished 12th in 2002 if he hadn't died). About Jamie, the last time I can remember a driver having this crazy an inconsistent year is Ward Burton in 2002 when he won the Daytona 500 and Southern 500, but 8 top tens and 9 DNF's, 6 due to crashes, to finish 25th in the standings. If Jamie doesn't finish better than 16th in points then it'll be the lowest a multiple-time winner's finished in the standings since Kyle Busch in 2005 when he won twice and finished 20th. Jeremy Mayfield had 2 wins, 4 poles and led 843 laps in 2000 driving for Penske, but missed two races due to a concussion and ended up 24th in the standings. Before the injury he was 15th, and he struggled for a bit after he came back but had 3 runner-up finishes in the last 6 races. Jimmy Spencer won twice, Daytona and Talledega, in 1994 but ended up 30th in the points. He ran 29 of the 31 races, DNQ'd Bristol and missed the Glen due to an injury. But he had an average finish of 25.1 on the year. Derrike Cope was the lowest driver in points who'd won a race in 1990, winning the Daytona 500 and at Dover and finishing 18th in the standings. Tim Richmond came back from being sidelined with AIDS in 1987 to win his first two races back at Pocono and Riverside. But in his last season in Cup he only ran 8 races and ended up 36th in the standings. Cale Yarborough's last 8 seasons in Cup were part time, running about 16 races a year. Didn't stop him from winning though, he had multiple wins each year from 1981 to 1985, finishing as high as 22nd and low as 28th in the standings in that stretch. Tim Richmond didn't run the first 4 races of 1982, but won twice at Riverside before ending up 26th in the standings. 68. Talon64 posted: 07.27.2010 - 6:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Marcos Ambrose is leaving the #47 JTG team after 2010, and he could replace Kasey Kahne at RPM next season. It would make a lot of sense, Ambrose had a long-time affiliation with Ford from his V8 Supercar days and in the Truck and Nationwide before JTG hooked up with Michael Waltrip Racing. And I think it would be a great opportunity for Ambrose to crack the top 20 again after the team's struggled this year. 69. DaleSrFanForever posted: 07.27.2010 - 8:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, Dale ran 22 full time seasons and finished in the Top 10 in 20 of them. In both of those seasons he finished 12th, he won at least one race. In those 22 seasons he won at least once in 20 of them. In his two winless seasons ('81 and '97) he finished 7th and 5th in points. Through 22 years of NASCAR Winston Cup Racing, he was never irrelevant. Even in his "down" years ('81-'83 and Summer '96 - '99) would be career years for lots of drivers. That, to me, gets lost behind his 7 championships and 76 wins. That and his 10 consecutive Twin 125 victories. Nobody will EVER come CLOSE to that. "Jimmy Spencer won twice, Daytona and Talledega, in 1994 but ended up 30th in the points. He ran 29 of the 31 races, DNQ'd Bristol and missed the Glen due to an injury. But he had an average finish of 25.1 on the year." That's because NASCAR let them cheat in those races to keep McDonalds from leaving the sport (and it worked, they signed with Bill Elliott for the next season and many afterwards). I mean C'Mon, at Morgan McClure, Ernie won 4 plate races, and Robert Yates Racing won 4 plate races with Davey Allison, all from '89 to '93. An they couldn't beat JIMMY FREAKING SPENCER!!!!! That's about as blatent as is gets. 70. Smiff_99 posted: 07.27.2010 - 8:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, I heard that rumor about Spencer's wins.......but I will say this: illegal car or not, Spencer's set-up and pass of Ernie Irvan in the Pepsi 400 was masterful. 71. I Love Japan posted: 07.27.2010 - 8:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great win for McMurray. If he sneaks into the Chase, He could be a big-time dark Horse to win it. 72. 18fan posted: 07.28.2010 - 12:20 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, I agree, but Spencer in the late 90s(especially '98) was a solid driver who contended for a few wins and had many good finishes. 73. DaleSrFanForever posted: 07.28.2010 - 10:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Jack's micromanagement is leading his team right into the ground." Yikes!!! That was my post (#52). Talk about a bad choice of words. I hope Jack and his passenger are OK after their plane crash in Wisconsin. Reports are they both walked away and have no life threatening injuries, but I still hope they're alright. 74. DaleSrFanForever posted: 07.28.2010 - 10:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "but Spencer in the late 90s(especially '98) was a solid driver who contended for a few wins and had many good finishes." That's true. While in the Smokin Joe's and Winston car he had some really good runs. But he suffered a bit from JPM-itis and had trouble closing the deal due to his impatience. But you are right, he can't totally be written off, especially from '96 to '99. I remember, he almost won in the carnage of the infamous 1999 Bristol Night Race with a nifty move to avoid all the wrecking cars, then bumped Dale on the cooldown lap and had bad things to say about him afterwards, because as we all know, Jimmy never used his car as a weapon. 75. Cooper posted: 07.28.2010 - 10:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Juan Montoya is the Colombian version of Geoffrey Bodine. Geoffrey Bodine is known to be a very talented and aggressive race car driver. Geoffrey Bodine had trouble finishing races whether it be mechanical or accidents. Montoya's season reminds me of the 1986 Bodine Season. Through 20 races Montoya--0 Wins, 4 Top 5's, 8 Top 10's, 7 DNF's, 306 Laps Led, 22nd in Points Bodine--2 Wins,7 Top 5's, 10 Top 10's, 9 DNF's, 799 Laps Led, 8th in Points Montoya could be a champion if he just learned to keep the car straight. For example he could have settled for a top 5 at Indy, but drove way to hard and eventually crashed out. The difference between Montoya and everyone else, is Montoya is here to win every race not to run 5th. Just looking back at Bodine's career, no one ever gives him the respect he deserves because of his issues finishing races. And if Juan continues to head to the garage before everyone else, he'll never be considered a contender in NASCAR. 76. Smokefan05 posted: 07.28.2010 - 12:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I guess i'll throw in my 2 cent on Jimmy Spencer. Great Mod driver, good Busch (Nationwide) driver, horrible Cup driver. Lacks patience and had "open mouth insert foot" itis alot. I very rarely find myself agreeing with him on ANYTHING (even about Danica Patrick. oh snap i dropped that name :P) Should he have more than 2 Cup wins? Yes. Bristol 02 he had a great car and got moved. I think he had some other good run that i can't think of right now but you could never totally right him off especially on short tracks. But lack of patience and the lack of a "stop gap" between his brain and mouth made me not like him that much. 77. DaleSrFanForever posted: 07.28.2010 - 12:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That's a good post Cooper. But at least Bodine could bring home a few wins per year. That is what is getting me about JPM: He can't win! He runs well very often, but can neither win nor secure solid finishes, with the exception of his summer stretch last year. I just can't think of any driver to compare him to. Even the Bodines and Irvans got their victories. One last Bodine point: I think what prevents him from getting his respect is that he drove in the most loaded era in NASCAR history. His prime years, '84-'96, had just a ton of great drivers making priceless memories. Bodine was never able to have that signature moment. Even his Daytona 500 win was more about Earnhardt's bad luck than his win. It's not Geoff's fault, he just got lost in the shuffle. Hell, even his dramatic final victory at his home track in Watkins Glen is more known for Dale Earnhardt winning the pole and leading half the laps with a broken collarbone and sternum (OUCH!!!!!). Just between his first win and last win, we had Petty's 200th race win, Awesome Bill's Winston Million and superspeedway dominance, the stunningly quick rise and fall of Tim Richmond in the blink of an eye, Earnhardt becoming a dominator, the Intimidator, and tying the King's championship record, Rusty muscling his way onto the elite list, Davey Allison's meteoric rise and tragic death, Alan Kulwicki's miracle championship and tragic death, Ernie Irvan's rise, near-tragic death, and becoming a winner again, DALE JARRETT'S GONNA WIN THE DAYTONA 500!!!!!!, Mark Martin's rise, Jeff Gordon's rise, Junior Johnson's quit exit, Texas Terry bouncing from champion to irrelevant, back to relevant, back to irrelevant, then back to champion, DW transforming from despicable dominator to loveable loser, Ricky Rudd winning for 27 different team owners, etc, etc. Poor Geoff just got lost in NASCAR's greatest era. 78. petty43 posted: 07.28.2010 - 1:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) i love that era you described dsff, but 67 to 79 will always be my golden era, loved the factory teams and wing cars, and of course that was a good span for my favorite driver so i might be biased. plus you had bobby cale pearson all at their peek. plus buddy benny lee roy great likable owners, woods, junior, etc. and man the greatest race finishes, and o yes always good points battles and no crappy chase or any caution flags. 79. Kit posted: 07.28.2010 - 2:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) My thoughts on JPM is that he's getting way too much credit for a driver who is driving well below his potential right now. I think a lot of it is just people saying he's a great driver due to his open-wheel record, not from NASCAR. He has potential in NASCAR but I'm not sure if his personality will ever let him tap into it. 80. Kit posted: 07.28.2010 - 2:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Juan Montoya is the Colombian version of Geoffrey Bodine. Geoffrey Bodine is known to be a very talented and aggressive race car driver. Geoffrey Bodine had trouble finishing races whether it be mechanical or accidents." Horseshit. Geoffrey Bodine can actually win races on oval tracks. JPM has yet to do this a lot. Geoff would have run away with a championship one year if it wasn't for engine failures. 81. Smiff_99 posted: 07.28.2010 - 2:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, you hit the nail right on the head. There was so much going on in that 12 year span that Bodine was just plain overlooked. 82. DaleSrFanForever posted: 07.28.2010 - 3:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If Bodine were driving in today's era and still in his prime years, he'd be winning 4-5 races per year, finishing in the Top 5 in points over and over, and be remembered much more than he currently is. SmokeFan, your take on Spencer is dead on in my opinion. 83. Talon64 posted: 07.28.2010 - 4:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bobby Labonte's going to drive for the #47 JTG-D team starting next season. This'll be Bobby's last shot to prove that he can still be a competitive driver. With Ambrose they finished 19th in the standings last year, and the team's run better than it shows in the standings this year; they've got 7 DNF's this year, 5 due to crashes, but in the races they finish their average finish is 16.5 which is fairly decent. So hopefully this is a big upgrade over the crap Bobby's been driving the last couple seasons. 84. Eric posted: 07.28.2010 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ambrose at times this year have been involved in a lot of cautions. . Ambrose is a great talent and he regressed this year. I don't think it is the race team for the most part for Ambrose regressing. Bobby is getting getting his best ride in years. Bobby Labonte could pull top 15 in points next year if he still has the talent. Micheal Waltrip racing has some good equipment and that is why I said a top 15 in points is possible for Bobby Labonte. JTG-Daugherty Racing is getting a lot of technical support from Micheal Waltrip racing matter. Micheal Waltrip racing is an upcoming organization getting technical support from them is a huge plus. The only question is if JTG-Daugherty Racing equipment from Micheal Waltrip racing plays into Bobby Labonte's strength as a driver. Bobby can be a great cookie cutter driver at places like Atlanta Motor speedway. Bobby isn't a great cookie cutter or a road course driver. Bobby can great at places like Indy, Pocono, Darlington and is a solid plate driver. Petty Enterprises didn't have the equipment as they do as Richard Petty Motorsports and that can't be blamed on Bobby Labonte. Bobby Labonte went to an organization that was really bad in the 2000's in Petty Enterprise. The other thing with Petty was Dodge wasn't great as car manufacturer year in and year out. Another problem with Bobby Labonte with Petty Enterprises was the fact Petty was a satellite with Ray Evernham Motorsports. Ray Evernham Motorsports really struggled as a race organization after 2006 and it didn't do Petty Enterprises any favors as a result. 85. DaleSrFanForever posted: 07.28.2010 - 10:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) petty43, that was a great era and I wish I could have alive to see it. The cars just looked spectacular. I know when I was walking through the Hall of Fame, seeing the old Petty Plymouth, the Wood Brothers Mercury, the old Chevys, Pontiacs, and Fords, the cars truly looked STOCK. 86. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 07.28.2010 - 10:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "But at least Bodine could bring home a few wins per year. That is what is getting me about JPM: He can't win! He runs well very often, but can neither win nor secure solid finishes, with the exception of his summer stretch last year. I just can't think of any driver to compare him to. Even the Bodines and Irvans got their victories." That's what I thought too when I saw Cooper's post. He can compare to Geoff and Ernie in the fact that he causes his share of wrecks, but surely not because of wins. At this rate, JPM will be lucky to even achieve 1/5 of their win total. I agree with everybody's point about Jimmy Spencer. He was his own enemy as well. "Bobby is getting getting his best ride in years. Bobby Labonte could pull top 15 in points next year if he still has the talent." I would like to think he could finish that high, but there's so many drivers and teams that have been more of a force during the past several seasons. I think a top-20 points year for Labonte would be something to cheer about. The 47 is definitely the best equipment he will have had since leaving JGR. 87. Cooper posted: 07.29.2010 - 10:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kit, it's so hard to compare drivers from different eras, but no one else describes Montoya better than Bodine. Bodine is a much better driver than Montoya because of his ability to win races. But if Juan had 20th place finishes in his dnf races he'd be 13th in the points. In addition Juan is 7th in laps led and is 7th in Avg. Start. The man can wheel a race car, whether or not he has the mental capacity to run 500 miles is another question. Juan will win his races when he decides to glide for 400 miles. Juan will never reach Geoff's 18 Wins Juan will never reach Geoff's Status But he can still be a contender for the rest of his career. Sorry if I upset some of you with my comparison but it was for comparison purposes not a talent purpose. 88. petty43 posted: 07.29.2010 - 10:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) i saw that hall of fame here not to long ago, and it was really nice but they got room for more cars. love to see them get smokey's 66 chevelle and a cotton owens dodge, also maybe a few more car from the fifties, like a black widow chevy or a depaulo/kiekhafer car. good for bobby labonte hope he can do better than marcos who was a big bum in them cars, considering his background. i think you guys are crazy comparing JPM to bodine, you got the wrong bodine, he is much more comparble to brett, or maybe ron bouchard. not comparble to geoff though, i cant stand any of the bodines or jpm for that matter. 89. Sean posted: 07.29.2010 - 11:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I've gotta defend my guy here. Dale did win 6 races in 1993. Yeah Rusty won 10, but it isn't like '96 when Gordon won 5 times as many races as Labonte, or '85 when Elliott nearly quadrupuled Waltrip's win total (who nearly quadrupuled Labonte's win total in '84, that's a season that should be looked at). Also, with the exception of Rusty's last win of the year at Atlanta, all his wins came at tracks one mile or less. Of Dale's 6 wins, two came at plate tracks, one was at the flat 2.5 mile triangle in Pocono, one was at the 1.5 miler in Charlotte, one was at Darlington (1.3 miles, comparable to nothing), and the one mile Dover track. So "way more dominant" is going way out there." I guess I was thinking more in terms of laps led than wins. However, Wallace's statistic is very biased considering he was dominating on the short tracks, which have more laps. I created a statistic called average percent led to measure dominance which is pretty self-explanatory, the average percentage of laps a driver led in a season equalizing all races...45 laps at Watkins Glen = 100 laps at Daytona = 250 laps at Bristol, so all races are equalized. Using that statistic, Wallace was at 21.90% to Earnhardt's 18.67% to Martin's 15.51%, much closer than it looks based on laps led alone. While Wallace was more dominant, it's not overwhelming dominance. At least compared to 1985 where Elliott beat Waltrip using this statistic 23.90%-9.92% (and Gant and Earnhardt beat Waltrip also), or 1996 when Gordon had 20.75% to Labonte's 9.60%. This season, Johnson is leading with 13.20% to Gordon's 11.88%, so you don't really see the kind of dominance you did in the past, primarily because each major team has multiple cars now, when most major teams only had one car in that era (save Hendrick and Junior Johnson). However, there's no doubt in my mind Rusty would have won that title without his Talladega crash, as he probably would not have had four straight DNFs immediately afterward, which effectively gave Earnhardt his insurmountable lead. On the flip side of course, Rusty is largely to blame for his own crash as had he not rammed Mark Martin into the wall coming to the white flag for whatever reason, he wouldn't have been in that position, and PROBABLY would have been in Irvan's position winning the race when Earnhardt was on fumes. 90. Tom posted: 07.29.2010 - 2:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Anyone saying that Jaun Pablo should be compared to Brett Bodine doesnt know what they are talking about. He is one of the greatest overall drivers of this generation. He's proven himself in CART, IRL, and F1. He just doesnt have the whole NASCAR thing figured out yet. 91. Talon64 posted: 07.29.2010 - 4:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Um, comparing Juan to BRETT Bodine would be a completely different conversation. LOL JPM's easily one of the most talented drivers ever but this year's epitomized his biggest weakness: himself. Yet if everything finally clicks for him and he breaks through for his first oval win then I think he could rattle off a bunch of wins in a short time. 92. Nuggets posted: 07.29.2010 - 4:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) but Tom, not in NASCAR. we are talking about nascar, not as a whole. I am sure Montoya could beat the shit out of geoff bodine in an open wheel car, but not a stock car 93. petty43 posted: 07.29.2010 - 5:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) i realy dont give a shit if jpm won a world title and 10 indy 500's, in stock cars he is just like brett was, pretty good driver in pretty good equipment who never wins, at least legitmately, i am prety sure i have seen enough races thru the years to know a driver who "has it" and trust me jpm does not have it, he makes decisions behind the wheel that are ludicriss, he wrecked at his best track on 4 fresh rubbers with the hands down best car in the field, in my eyes, you cannot defend that. 94. Eric posted: 07.29.2010 - 6:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Montoya is better than Brett Bodine. Montoya has better stats in season that Brett had. Brett Bodine never got a top 10 points finish even. Montoya isn't as good Geoff Bodine was though in his prime. Montoya is capable of leading a lot of laps in a race like Geoff was. The difference between Geoff and Montoya is Geoff was capable of closing the deal. Montoya isn't capable of closing the deal and is the worse closer of EGR matter of fact. 95. petty43 posted: 07.29.2010 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) take the time on this site to compare ron bouchard and jpm they are nearly identical, if you want to compare jpm to somebody bouchard is your guy not geoff. geoff was much better on the road courses, and definatley better at 1.5 ovals, they might be equal at plate tracks, and at short tracks i would take geoff, who was way better than jpm, hell geoff could maybe go in the nascar HOF someday, JPM is never getting close. 96. DaleSrFanForever posted: 07.29.2010 - 9:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've said it before and I'll say it again: I don't give a rat's ass about JPM's open wheel accomplishments as it relates to NASCAR. There is very minimal correlation between NASCAR and open wheel. It is like the old Michael Jordan playing baseball thing. Yeah, baseball and basketball both use balls and the goal is to score more points than the other team, but as we saw with MJ, it didn't translate. The greatest basketball player ever didn't even belong in the minors. Same deal with NASCAR and open wheel. Yeah, you have 4 tires and the goal is to complete a predetermined number of laps faster than anyone else, but that's about it. Now was JPM as great at open wheel as MJ was at basketball, and is he as bad at NASCAR as MJ was at baseball? No. But his open wheel accomplishments don't mean a hill of beans in NASCAR. 97. DaleSrFanForever posted: 07.29.2010 - 9:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I get what you are saying Sean. I guess one of the most telling stats is that Dale actually beat Rusty in miles led, even though Rusty nearly doubled Dale's laps led (with an insane 2800+). But Rusty did have a phenomenal year. To me, it is more impressive than his championship year in '89, and not just because of the wins. "At least compared to 1985 where Elliott beat Waltrip using this statistic 23.90%-9.92% (and Gant and Earnhardt beat Waltrip also), or 1996 when Gordon had 20.75% to Labonte's 9.60%." Wow! That is why I think we should reward lap leaders more. Your statistic really tells the story of those years. Should it be the only one? No, but they need to find a good balance between wins, laps led, and average finish. 98. JP88 posted: 07.30.2010 - 1:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 84. Eric posted: 07.28.10 - 5:43 pm "The only question is if JTG-Daugherty Racing equipment from Micheal Waltrip racing plays into Bobby Labonte's strength as a driver. Bobby can be a great cookie cutter driver at places like Atlanta Motor speedway. Bobby isn't a great cookie cutter or a road course driver. Bobby can great at places like Indy, Pocono, Darlington and is a solid plate driver." - Whoa...where did you check Bobby's stats, he's an awesome cookie cutter driver. You mentioned Atlanta and that's where he has 6 of his 21 career wins and 2 more come at Charlotte. He runs pretty good at Texas too if he isn't in any trouble 99. Eric posted: 07.30.2010 - 1:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JP88, I checked out Bobby Labonte's stats out on racing reference before I made the comments I did on the 84th post. I meant to say Bobby isn't a great short or road course driver and that is the truth. My proof is that I made sentences that were conflicting to each other that you quoted. Making a statement like Bobby can be a great cookie cutter driver and typing Bobby isn't a great cookie cutter driver sounds like two sentences that conflicted each other. The I started following Nascar in 1993 and Bobby Labonte never seemed to be a great short track driver on the cup side to me despite winning at Martinsville and Martinsville being his best short track. I just Bobby as a decent short track driver. One of the factors of me thinking Bobby was average at tracks that were less than mile was the fact Bobby was pone to get very bad finishes at tracks that were less than a mile including when he was at Gibbs. Bobby was weaker than Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt Sr., Mark Martin,and Jeff Gordon for an example at tracks that were less than a mile during Bobby Labontes prime as a cup driver from 1995 to 2003. At times in my life, I actually typed or write something different than I actually wanted to. I have screwed on writing checks because of that in the past. What I typed about Bobby Labonte was one of those cases. 100. Cooper posted: 07.30.2010 - 4:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Juan Pablo has made 129 Cup starts. He has 21 DNF's. Therefore he is in the garage every 6 races(6.14 to be exact). On the other hand he has led 734 laps. So he leads about 6 laps per race (5.69 to be exact). Some drivers to compare. Geoff Bodine DNF Rate: 3.44 Laps Lead Rate: 16.79<--Wow Brett Bodine DNF Rate: 5.11 Laps Lead Rate: 2.17 Ron Bouchard DNF Rate: 2.71 Laps Lead Rate: 1.40 None of these three are close to Juan. Bouchard was terrible. Geoff Bodine was pretty damn good, and Brett Bodine is worse than Juan. I've looked around trying to compare with these stats some drivers that are close... Sterling Marlin DNF Rate: 4.79 Laps Lead Rate: 5.73 Steve Park DNF Rate: 6.50 Laps Lead Rate: 5.59 101. Talon64 posted: 07.30.2010 - 4:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Steve Letarte's been given a contract extension by HMS to continue being Jeff Gordon's CC. In 174 races together Jeff and Steve have 10 wins, 21 runner-up finishes, 77 top fives, 108 top tens and 14 poles. The runner-up finishes and top fives are the most for any driver in that span. 102. DaleSrFanForever posted: 07.30.2010 - 7:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cooper, you can't compare DNF stats for drivers from this era to those of the past. The equipment is WAY WAY WAY more reliable nowadays. In the past, you could pretty much count on at least 3 or 4 mechanical failures per year. And in the past it was even more than that. Nowadays, if you blow 2 motors or more in a season, everyone is like "What the Hell?". Plus, people like Geoff, Brett, and especially Sterling raced their first few years in underfunded equipment. In the 80s or earlier, undefunded was code word for "won't last the entire race". So not all DNFs are created equal. Of all of Juan's DNFs, only THREE were mechanically related. The rest were wrecks. Compare that to Dale Earnhardt from 1981 through 1983, the worst stretch of his career. He had 41 DNFs in that span (!!!) but only 8 were crashes. So it is hard to cross compare eras in the DNF category. 103. Cooper posted: 07.30.2010 - 7:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Very True, but Steve Park could be a reliable comparison. 104. JP88 posted: 07.30.2010 - 11:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 99. Eric posted: 07.30.10 - 1:56 pm "At times in my life, I actually typed or write something different than I actually wanted to. I have screwed on writing checks because of that in the past. What I typed about Bobby Labonte was one of those cases." Haha okay dude...I was confused reading it myself and good thing I didn't send in my first reply because I thought you said he wasn't good at Atlanta...lmfao. Anyway I was still confused but that's okay...I had a feeling that's not what you meant because I know your very active and most likely know way more stats than I do. 105. Frank posted: 07.31.2010 - 3:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hats off to you guys for so much interesting facts and stories from NASCAR's Golden Era 106. Neal posted: 06.15.2011 - 8:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just when I thought the NASCAR brass couldn't possibly BE any dumber, they prove once again how contrarian and out of touch they really are. ESPN is reporting that NASCAR is considering moving the Nationwide race from IRP to IMS. So let me get this straight, you'll take a race away from a track that doesn't have enough seats to meet demand and give it to a track where half the seats are empty because the races suck? Smart. 107. RaceFanX posted: 01.08.2012 - 11:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jacques Villeneuve's first Cup start 2007, it was his first attempt to race in Cup since his bid to become a full-time driver in 2008 ended up running out of gas due to lack of sponsorship and a crash in his Gatorade Duel race. 108. Daniel posted: 05.21.2012 - 4:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In using fastest 43: #36 Casey Mears & #38 David Gilliland Out using fastest 43: #34 Kevin Conway & #47 Marcos Ambrose 109. Kidattheend posted: 04.24.2013 - 10:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) KEVIN CONWAY LED A LAP IN THE BRICKYARD 400 NO LESS!!!! 110. RaceFanX posted: 12.24.2014 - 12:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Landon Cassill leads a lap for the first time in his Cup career, this was only his third start in the series. Cassill's single lap up front here was the only lap he led in 2010. 111. RaceFanX posted: 07.23.2017 - 4:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) McMurray said in retrospect he had a big enough lead on the last lap of the race he was really able to savor the final circuit since he knew he was going to win the Brickyard 400. Jimmie Johnson had a chance to become the first driver to three-peat at the Brickyard 400 in this one. While he led a lap early the #48 team surprisingly battled an ill-handling car all day and only managed a 22nd-place finish. 112. dantheracer99 posted: 04.03.2020 - 9:37 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) The ESPN mailbag question for this race was actually submitted by me! All the way from Wollongong, on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. It was so funny, I was 15 at the time and just randomly submitted the question, never thinking it would actually be picked. When I heard Dale Jarrett say "We've searched far and wide for these" (did they really?!) I knew instantly mine had been picked. Very funny and cool :P 113. Foote posted: 04.03.2020 - 10:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was one of the few times in McMurray's career where he wrestled a win away from somebody late by outdriving and passing them, which he did to Harvick in the late going. It was payback for Dega earlier in the year when Harvick schooled him to the trioval and beat him by inches. @112 That's very cool man. 114. BroadcastingBrothers posted: 06.03.2020 - 6:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Laps 21-37 were lead by Juan Pablo Montoya, not Jimmie Johnson. Can somebody fix that please? 115. Rich posted: 12.06.2020 - 4:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Marty Reid, Andy Petree and Dale Jarrett were the commentators. Dave Burns, Dr. Jerry Punch, Jamie Little and Vince Welch were the pit road reporters. Tim Brewer was at the Chevy cut-away car. Allen Bestwick, Brad Daugherty, Rusty Wallace and Ray Evernham were in the ESPN pit studio. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: