|| *Comments on the 2010 Amp Energy Juice 500:* View the most recent comment <#149> | Post a comment <#post> 1. CFob posted: 10.31.2010 - 5:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great job getting everything up so quick! Crazy race, I thought Harvick may have had it, but Bowyer gets the win. Second straight top 10 for Brad Keselowski. A little momentum towards the end of an otherwise abysmal season. Strong run for Regan Smith as well. Sam Hornish Jr. looked impressive for a good chunk of this race. The Penske cars definitely weren't hurting for power! 2. Schroeder51 posted: 10.31.2010 - 5:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Terrifying crash for AJ Allmendinger. 3. gordi101 posted: 10.31.2010 - 5:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) holy shit what a race and a weird one at that. 4. Smokefan05 posted: 10.31.2010 - 5:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow that was fast, RR guys are on ball again. :) Great race, I'm glad i watched it. I don't envy NASCAR, they have to sort out the big mess after the white flag lap. Oh and to DW, cars can still fly even without the wing, DW you are wrong. Boy it would have been between Truex and Joey had Reutimann not blocked Martin. Those 2 where coming. Wish Robby made his move sooner, he'd have a better finish. :( 5. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 10.31.2010 - 5:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, awesome job by racing reference, so quick. Good to see we still have a good championship battle on our hands after Talladega. 6. Jocke Persson posted: 10.31.2010 - 5:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just watched the Hallowdega short, what a let down after all that hype. Too bad that first win still eludes JPM... 7. blaneyfan66 posted: 10.31.2010 - 5:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, if any of you thought this race was boring, you are nowhere near a true nascar fan. Great 3,4, and a 5-wide racing situation, and it was really exciting. Great to see Joe Nemechek lead the first lap, too. Thanks to Dale Jr., I don't have much of a chance to win any money because he arguably took out Burton. Here were my team's results: A- 48 Johnson 7 B- 31 Burton 41 B- 18 Busch 25 C- 12 Keselowski 10 Also, great to see AJ climb from his car. That was one of the worst wrecks I've seen in a while. 8. Mike posted: 10.31.2010 - 6:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This has the potential to be the best championship battle since '04. Really looking forward to these next few races. Dale Jr leads the most laps in a race since Daytona in July of '08. Too bad it had to end the way it did, but kudos to both guys for showing a lot of class and respect in their interviews. I think it's safe to say the DEI of old is back with ECR. They have dominated the plate tracks this year. 9. Bronco posted: 10.31.2010 - 6:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What an awesome race!!! Why does this incredible track have only two dates?? ECR engines sweep all four RP races in 2010, and the top three positions at Talladega, as well as the pole for this race. They led the most laps in three out of four races, except this one. 9 different leaders in the first 10 laps(!!), and 87 overall in 188 laps, makes it more competitive than the April race. Dale Jr leads the most laps in a race for the first time since Daytona in July 2008, unfortunately he wrecked but kept his no DNF streak alive. He is five laps away from passing Bobby Allison on the laps led list at Talladega. Heartbreak for Jamie Mac to get damage with that cool Big E paint job. This race would probably have been run at a near record pace were it not for the first and fourth cautions which I think were uneeded. If a guy has saved his race car well out of harm's way and if there's some shredded tire on the apron, then I don't a caution is warranted. AJ becomes the fifth driver this season and the second to take a flip. This is the first one for a car with a spoiler. Jimmie is the luckiest SOB on the planet, just like last year he ride around and somehow snags a top ten, and extends his points lead, but at least it's not by much. As far as I'm concerned the #29 won the championship a long time ago. BK's sponsor is spelled wrong. 10. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 10.31.2010 - 6:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I have to compliment the RR people for getting this page up no sooner than an hour after the race is completed. Good job, guys. Now for the race: that was quite the finish!!! I thought Harvick had got it when I saw the original footage, but unfortunately for him, he wasn't yet past the scoring loop and Bowyer nosed ahead of him before they got to it. Congrats to Bowyer on the win, now let's just hope they didn't cheat again. LOL After not scoring a single top-10 finish in his first 35 races with Penske, Brad Keselowski manages to score back-to-back top-10's. Sure, it was Dega but it's still good for that whole team. Morale has to be building in a positive direction over there right now. The point battle is still nose to nose, as Johnson was only able to extend his lead by 2 points this week. Harvick still has a good shot at it too as he's only 38 points back, but I hope he doesn't win it. He was too negative towards RCR last year when they were struggling. 11. 18fan posted: 10.31.2010 - 6:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt Kenseth had arguably his best performance on a plate track in his career most of the race until getting shuffled to 16th. I know it doesn't show it, but Kyle Busch was involved in the last lap wreck as he ran into Scott Speed. Anybody reminded of Bobby Labonte at Bristol in 1996 or at the 600 in 2005 when Burton kicked his car? Regan Smith continues his strong late season run. 12. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 10.31.2010 - 6:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) My bad, Jimmie finished 2 spots ahead of Denny. I thought it was only one. So the difference is 14 points, which is still nose to nose. 13. Schroeder51 posted: 10.31.2010 - 6:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Fun fact: For the first time this entire season, Joe Nemechek AND Michael McDowell finished a race. 14. 00andJoe posted: 10.31.2010 - 6:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) - First race with two NEMCO Motorsports entries in the field. 15. 00andJoe posted: 10.31.2010 - 6:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 'Go Or Go Homers' finish: 24th (Mears), 27th (Nemechek), 28th (Waltrip), 35th (McDowell), 38th (B.Labonte), 40th (Elliott). 'Start and Parks': #36 (Blaney), #97 (Fuller). 16. Eric posted: 10.31.2010 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The think the championship would be close going into homestead between Jimmie and Denny. Good run by Regan Smith. Joey Logano now has 2 times the top 10's as had last year. 17. 18fan posted: 10.31.2010 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bill Elliott took a hard lick to the inside wall in the wreck that started when Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer both ran into the right rear of Ambrose, with Bowyer turning Ambrose in front of Harvick, which could have ended his championship chances. However, Harvick made a great recovery and actually gained points. 18. Willy on Wheels posted: 10.31.2010 - 7:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great race! There was a lead change every lap for like the first 10-15 and that finish was just wild. Great to see Harvick close in, now the top 3 drivers are 38 points apart with three races to go! 19. rw posted: 10.31.2010 - 7:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good race best I've seen in a while. :) Brad once again bags a Top 10, this may be a hint, that he's finally settling in for Penske and is ready for the Blue Deuce. I didn't get to watch qualifying, but Jeff Fuller made it! even though he S&Ped I wanted to see him in a Cup car. Rare Cup appearance by Chad McCumbee finishing 22nd. Was nice to Mikey Waltrip leading 3 lap. As always tough break for Jr, 39th :( the finish though, I wish they could have raced back to the line. But none the less, solid win for Clint! 20. martin-n-rusty posted: 10.31.2010 - 7:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bronco, I can agree about the first caution being unneeded, but the 4th one was. Imagine if a crash happened in that corner, not only would we have had cars crazing into one another, but also we would of had cars cutting their tires trying to avoid the deal. 21. martin-n-rusty posted: 10.31.2010 - 7:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oops. Meant crashing, not crazing -_- 22. potatosalad48 posted: 10.31.2010 - 7:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) After 35 straight races with Penske without a top ten, BK snags 2 straight. Also, great race. 87 lead changes makes it the 2nd most competitive race in NASCAR history. 23. Schwab posted: 10.31.2010 - 7:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First win for Bowyer on a track bigger than 1.058 miles. This will also be the first season that Bowyer has won multiple races in the Cup Series. Bowyer also tied career single season highs in top 5s, top 10s, and now has set a career high in laps led in a season. David Reutimann scored his best restrictor-plate finish of his career. Joey Logano now has three top 10 finishes in four Talladega starts. Kasey Kahne led laps in a Red Bull car for the first time. 24. ii posted: 10.31.2010 - 8:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "9 different leaders in the first 10 laps(!!), and 87 overall in 188 laps, makes it more competitive than the April race." It makes it less by 1. 25. gun fus posted: 10.31.2010 - 8:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) would have loved to hear jimmie and jeff say "shake and bake engaged" when they made their move to the front. 26. potatosalad48 posted: 10.31.2010 - 8:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmie Johnson's 200th career top 10 in his 324th start 27. petty43 posted: 10.31.2010 - 8:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) hey andy we get the point there are a lot of lead changes at dega, newsflash its been that way for 25 years there. 28. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.31.2010 - 8:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ECR engines kicked everyone's ass on the plate tracks this year. The championship will hinge on whether or not the 48 team can keep up their newly refound strength on the intermediates that they lost throughout the summer and Chad's ability to keep a car dialed in. In the 3 intermediates so far in the cha$e, they outdid the 11 and 29. 29. BIMMER TECH posted: 10.31.2010 - 8:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) i usually don't like to bash the networks but, ESPN's coverage of the last few moments of this race was pure trash. they only kept showing only one angle of the crash, mainly just to show that bowyer was ahead of harvick. didn't really mention who all was in the crash. no update/interview with allmendinger. joe nemechek stayed on the lead lap all day and the only reason they mentioned that he had a flat that tore his car up is because of the caution his debris brought out. i know he's not in championship contention and is not in the spotlight but, he was a part of the race today. maybe if jarrett and petree weren't explaining how to bump draft every lap, more time could be devoted to other stories in the race. im really getting tired of ESPN over hyping every race. all they were talking about was that the big one is gonna happen near the end of the race. i just wish they would let it play out and just commentate as it happens. big wrecks have happened here before lap 10 and races have gone caution free. im also tired of marty reid's obsession with "history" and "record braking". every week somebody has some odd record they can set or break. i, personally, don't give two shits about statistics. well, with that being said, it was a pretty exciting race with lots of lead passes and close racing. good to see several drivers that aren't in the spotlight find some success today. 30. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.31.2010 - 8:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I feel Harvick needed to make up more points than he did on the 48 in this race. The fact is plate racing is what JJ is hands down the worst at, and Harv the best at (relative to themselves, Gordon is the best active plate racer and Biffle is the worst). And he is way too worried about the 48. He just needs to focus on his own car. Staying out just so JJ couldn't lead a lap? Did he really think that 48 car would never make it to the front regardless of who's driving it? He got lucky and it didn't bite him, but it wasn't smart. 31. blaneyfan66 posted: 10.31.2010 - 9:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) idk why, but the more I watch, the more sick I get from AJ's flip. 32. awesomegordonfan posted: 10.31.2010 - 9:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, great race! 5 different leaders in the first 5 laps, 10 lead changes in the first 10 laps, until ESPN went to commercial. Tough break for Burton, Earnhardt, and Allmendinger. 33. Ryan posted: 10.31.2010 - 10:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I feel Harvick needed to make up more points than he did on the 48 in this race. The fact is plate racing is what JJ is hands down the worst at, and Harv the best at (relative to themselves, Gordon is the best active plate racer and Biffle is the worst). And he is way too worried about the 48. He just needs to focus on his own car. Staying out just so JJ couldn't lead a lap? Did he really think that 48 car would never make it to the front regardless of who's driving it? He got lucky and it didn't bite him, but it wasn't smart." I agree with you DSFF about him scoring more, Harvick missed this win by about a foot or two and instead of being 23 out he is 38 out. That two feet very well could cost him the title. At the same time it's amazing he was able to finish 2nd considering what happenend to him. However, I disagree that staying in front of the 48 wasn't a bad idea. Was it a good idea that Kulwicki stayed out and led more laps than Elliott in the '92 Hooters 500 and fought like crazy to stay ahead of him when they were racing head to head in that race? It was a good calculated risk. Had Johnson not led Harvick would be 33 down and if he would have pitted he might have got caught in a big wreck. We will find out if Johnson can handle a close points battle race where he has never faced one like this before. You really don't know how well Johnson can run at Homestead because hasn't had to do a whole lot when he has went there except in 2004 when he got 2nd in the finale and had to do well then. We have different cars now though. Harvick is your traditional points champion. He has been the most consistent all year. What he did today is typical of what a champion would do in the old days before the Chase. 34. Dion posted: 10.31.2010 - 10:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Random little facts, this was only Chad McCumbee's 2nd cup start since the 2008 season, he S&P earlier this year at Pocono but came away witha respectable 22nd place finish. Jeff fuller made his 14th cup race of his career and first since 2005. 35. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.31.2010 - 10:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good points Ryan. It's good to see somebody who remembers or knows about the past. Yes, what Alan did was very smart. It's just that happened under the last pit stops in the last race and not at a track like Talladega with the COT where you can go from 20th to 1st like nothing. To me, the risk wasn't worth the reward. He put himself back in the hornet's nest and it is a resonable bet to say the 48 would get the lead eventually with that team's speed. I just don't think it's time for him to worry about the 48 yet, he just needs to worry about the 29 team and running their race. But I respect your stance on that. Had it worked, he'd look like a genius. Just for the record, from 2007 through 2010, can somebody get the 48's average restrictor plate finish in the first 3 plate events and in the Fall Dega race? 36. Ryan posted: 10.31.2010 - 10:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just for the record, from 2007 through 2010, can somebody get the 48's average restrictor plate finish in the first 3 plate events and in the Fall Dega race? Average for the last one over those years is 6th... And if not for the 2006 race that him and Jr wrecked at the end of race it would be higher from the last 5 races there. 37. Anonymous posted: 10.31.2010 - 10:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Really impressive driving by Harvick after being in two wrecks and restarting 13th at the end. 38. BAFF posted: 10.31.2010 - 11:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was really hoping for Harvick to win, out of the three title threats, he was the only one not to just hide in the back all day and wait for the big one to not happen. Hate it when that kind of stuff gets rewarded. 39. kinznk posted: 10.31.2010 - 11:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was hoping that Paul Menard would have finished a little better. Still a good finish for him. 40. 00andJoe posted: 10.31.2010 - 11:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It was a good run for Regan Smith, indeed. Discounting the stolen win at Talladega, 12th ties his career best. @29: I enjoy obscure facts and stats, but yeah, "more 22nd place finishes than anybody else" is a nifty fact, not "HISTORY!". And they do explain things at an elemental level each and every race far too much. It's almost as if they assume nobody who watched any previous races is watching again... @9: I had the same reaction about caution #4 at first, but when they showed the second angle you could see the bits and pieces of fender-inside-bits scattered everywhere, and I changed my mind in a hurry. @35: I have to agree and disagree. Dropping back into the pack is a risk (and nearly bit him hard), but given how his car could charge to the front, I'd have made the same call. 41. petty43 posted: 10.31.2010 - 11:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) just a quick question i want to ask everyone here. who are you pulling for to win this cup, if you have to pick one of these three who would you most like to see win it. even if you dislike one, what is the lesser of three evils for you. i am pulling for jimmie because i find harvick appalling and i just dont really think denny is much better than kyle busch, just really annoys me and i also hate gibbs as a whole. so go jimmie i guess. 42. Neal posted: 11.01.2010 - 12:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Another white knuckle affair at Talladega. Drivers hate it, fans love it. I still am in complete awe of the power of the 2-car draft with the COT platform. Even though it's not the slingshot it sure looks like it. What concerns me, though, is that even a track like Talladega is having serious attendance issues. 110,000 is 50,000 off what it was even 3 years ago. 43. 18fan posted: 11.01.2010 - 12:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The #29's second place finish was the most impressive of all of the chasers. He had a car that was at an aerodynamic disadvantage and came within two feet of winning with it. Is anyone else a little skeptical about Jeff Gordon's "engine issues" when he gave Jimmie the lead because he got quickly back up to speed? 44. Neal posted: 11.01.2010 - 12:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Is anyone else a little skeptical about Jeff Gordon's "engine issues" when he gave Jimmie the lead because he got quickly back up to speed?" Not really. Unless I missed them saying otherwise it could have been an ignition issue that required him to switch over to the other box. 45. 18fan posted: 11.01.2010 - 1:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) That could be Neal, but nothing was ever mentioned about it. I am only suspicious because it was never explained what the problem was. 46. 00andJoe posted: 11.01.2010 - 2:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #42/44 - actually, it *was* explained, or at least speculated as being highly likely - Jeff's engine was overheating from having pushed Jimmie for so long, making it lose power and he thought it was blowing up. Once he backed off and got air flowing through the engine bay again, it recovered. 47. Critic posted: 11.01.2010 - 2:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Something was bothering me while examining the standings after Talladega, and I finally figured out what it was: I quite admire Matt Kenseth's 2003 championship effort and his style in general, but someone finally has to call attention to what must be the most banal season recorded by anyone in recent memory. Kenseth's 8th in points, yet with the exception of Atlanta in March and Dover in May he has toiled in almost total obscurity. Since the 600, he has had only 4 top-ten's, a dearth he's offset by completing every possible lap on the calendar thus far with the exception of 8 (4 of which came in one event). That is a fantastic accomplishment (parallels with Silva's remarkable .43 BB/9 in 2005 or Cliff Lee allowing only 18 BB this year), but doesn't make for a particularly captivating narrative given how rarely he's made an impression. You could remove Matt Kenseth from 2010 entirely and lose almost nothing substantive during each event, so insignificant has his season been. I have been an ardent supporter of the classic 36-race championship and the traditional points system, but if there is a case to be made for further incentivizing winning and high placings over marginally successful mundaneness, Matt Kenseth's 2010 is my first exhibit. He's playing the game to his strengths and probably maximizing his performance, but it's totally insipid -- there's no dynamism to Kenseth or his team, and a plethora of crew chiefs in the last two years have not lifted the malaise. Indeed, I would contend that his 2009 and 2010 are nearly mirror images of one another, the aberrations of Daytona and Fontana notwithstanding, and to be forthright, I don't believe either season is deserving of a top-10 points placing. But that has as much to do with his competition's lack of consistency as his own efforts. 48. Anonymous posted: 11.01.2010 - 3:24 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Critic - anyone who poduces enough points to be within the top 10 deserves it. His average finish is 13th.. it just so happens that he's had several finishes just outside the top 10. I don't see why points should be made any more disproportionate to screw people who are consistently in the top 1/4 of the field. Fact of the matter is that everybody's out there every week, and if other drivers aren't beating Kenseth on the track, they aren't going to get more points than him and don't deserve to finish ahead of him. Frankly, I find it ridiculous to assert that these two years for Kenseth aren't deserving of top 10 placement. If he's racking up the points to stay inside the top 10, the numbers don't lie. Kenseth certainly doesn't have his strength of a few years ago, but NASCAR doesn't determine who finishes where by counting top 5's and top 10's. Doing so would be absolutely absurd. Having a top 10 average finish generally means you were good enough to finish top 10 in points. BTW- why are you trying to cram as many 8th grade level vocabulary words as humanly possible into every sentence? It's to the point of nausea. Trying to convey the appearance of intelligence by doing such doesn't give your opinion more legitimacy. 49. joey2448 posted: 11.01.2010 - 3:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) the reason allmendinger flipped was because he was getting pushed by another car (stewart?) i think the spoiler isn't as bad as the wing as far as keeping cars grounded. also, didn't the last lap crash look just like the truck race crash with hornaday getting upside down? yea, the first 9 laps are each led by a different driver, wow! also, it was really cool/interesting watching kenseth and burton exchange the lead numerous times from lap 15 to lap 28...they pushed each other to a big lead, then once they were out front, they kept trading positions, all while maintaining that lead. ever since the spring race last year ('09) we've seen these two-car breakaways, and that seems to be the new style of racing at talladega now....i kinda like it... overall, great race due to the aero package NASCAR has given the teams, (reminds me of the racing at the restrictor plate tracks in 2001 and such.) 50. Critic posted: 11.01.2010 - 3:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) As for the race itself, it was outstanding as far as Talladega events go. I already made my objections to the track and its style of competition explicitly in April and was excoriated for it, so I will just admit to having my attention captured throughout the event. Allmendinger's accident was frightening, but that is the nature of this track, and anyone who tries to downplay it is just being disingenuous. There's not a lot of new ground for me to cover: Harvick's recovery was the story of the afternoon; Johnson played out his strategy perfectly and managed to survive what has been a tumultuous venue for him in the past; Hamlin's losing the draft and a lap at one point probably made no difference in the final running order. The performance I found most impressive, however, was that of Michael Waltrip Racing and its satellites: Harvick credited the No. 56 and No. 00 with helping him climb to 2nd position, and both Reutimann and Truex both had credible opportunities to win this race, spending the majority of it at the front. Even Waltrip himself made a charge twice with Hornish and, lying 6th on the final restart, had me concerned that my declaration from yesterday (regarding his Gilligan costume and that I would never write another ill word about him if he won) might become relevant. Fortunately, it didn't, but considering that 3 years ago his organization was a complete farce, with Waltrip celebrating winning the pole for this event because he had to qualify on time and rumors swirling that they might be expropriated by a larger concern or fold into bankruptcy, I want to give credit where it is due. Michael Waltrip Racing is genuine. Whatever his role in the management and delegation of his team -- some have speculated that Waltrip is only a ceremonial figure -- he should continue whatever it is he is doing, because his primary teams are improving each season. Midway through their nightmarish 2007, I saw no way how the team could survive. As I doubter, I can admit that I was wrong. It was refreshing to see genuine anger from Jeff Burton upon exiting his car, but that emotion completely dissipated by the time he gave his interview. As for Earnhardt's error, such things happen at Talladega; he just shouldn't criticize others in the future for making the same mistake. Wallace and Dougherty exhorting Michael Waltrip (then at the end of the lead group) or another Toyota to fall back and try to assist Hamlin when he lost the draft was patently laughable. Manufacturer affiliation or not, it wasn't their problem; this is a competition, not a charity, and a race driver isn't contracted to be magnanimous. What a pity for Hamlin (not), but letting him dwindle away with a view toward eliminating a probable contender for the race victory was exactly the right thing to do. If anyone had acceded to his team's pleading, I'd be eviscerating them them right now. The Chase 12 haven't been beatified and the other 31 are not here for their pleasure alone, though you might think that way if you take to heart the adulatory coverage. 51. Critic posted: 11.01.2010 - 4:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 47: I accept your response to my argument and probably would've fashioned something very similar if I felt the way you do. It doesn't change my opinion, however; I'm not contending that his season is mathematically inadequate under our current system (I even recognize this with my final sentence, his performance v. others inconsistency), simply incredibly bland. Points accumulation aside, his performance has been, to me, uninspiring, and not what I would associate with 8th in the standings with only 3 events remaining. Top-10's are a measure of success, and to only have 4 of them in the last five months is disappointing by any metric. It may not be an argument on its own, but I do think it is an example for those who would like to see NASCAR undertake a total points scale recalibration. I am not one of them, as I confessed, but I do understand the merit of the position. If you have read anything else I have written on this site, you will find that my own personal style is very consistent. It's not a matter of trying to impress others with vocabulary; I am simply very precise with word choice and what I want each sentence of my posts to convey. My handle has not changed here since I found the site two years ago, so simply browse over anything submitted by me if it so nauseating for you. I don't mean to be indifferent to your critique, but if "dearth", "plethora" and "insipid" have such an intellectual connotation to you, maybe you need to broaden your own horizons. Do most people on motor racing websites write like I do? Maybe not, but I never interpreted that to be a restriction on my participation. I browse here because I enjoy the flow of ideas and interacting with others regarding a common interest; it has nothing to do with intellect or influencing others opinion of my own at all. If I wanted to play that game, I'd be here every week disseminating my thoughts like Bronco and DSFF (no offense or insinuation intended). 52. Anonymous posted: 11.01.2010 - 6:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I don't mean to be indifferent to your critique, but if "dearth", "plethora" and "insipid" have such an intellectual connotation to you, maybe you need to broaden your own horizons." I was just being more sarcastic than usual. By my use of the phrase "8th grade level vocabulary" among other thoughts, I believe it's clear that I didn't find your language to be a display of intellectual prowess, but rather unique language compared what I normally see written. It literally reminded me of doing vocabulary work in English class back in the 8th grade. I enjoy reading your posts, not just because of your input/opinions, but also because of your word choices being more unusual than most. Philosophically, I believe every single person can broaden their own horizons, so of course there's room for me to, but not for the reason you questioned :). 53. petty43 posted: 11.01.2010 - 8:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) BTW- why are you trying to cram as many 8th grade level vocabulary words as humanly possible into every sentence? It's to the point of nausea. Trying to convey the appearance of intelligence by doing such doesn't give your opinion more legitimacy. i found this to be necessary! seriously dude who are you trying to impress, we are nascar fans not not english. now excuse me while i go pontificate on the social and economic misnomers associated with such trivialities as one would come to associate with the common misconception of nascar fans 54. I Seize the Day posted: 11.01.2010 - 11:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @53 - Chill out brah, why do care what vocab someone uses on here? Big effin deal that he says big boy words. And to answer your earlier post, I am pulling for Hamlin to win. I am sick as anyone of Johnson winning, and Harvick to me is such a jerk. But if it comes down to Harvick and Johnson, Id take Harvick 55. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.01.2010 - 12:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Attendance is down across the board. The NASCAR demographic are the ones that have been hit the hardest by this recession (what I mean by that is we have fallen the furthest financially, we used to have leftover cash for fun stuff like races, now we don't). Kenseth's '03 title was sort of a perfect storm. He got a huge lead, then the Fords fell off the face of the Earth. After Kurt's California win in early May, the only Ford wins were Biff's fuel mileage summer Daytona win (a race chevy's dominated) and Kurt's short track win at Bristol, which he owned at the time. Throw in the #17's "we have a huge lead, let's not do anything stupid" strategy, you have what happened. If somebody could have put pressure on them, they might would have won more. Maybe. I don't know. 56. Schwab posted: 11.01.2010 - 1:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kevin Harvick became the first driver since Jeff Gordon in 2007 to score a top ten finish in all four restrictor plate races. 57. Eric posted: 11.01.2010 - 1:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I have a solution to fix some of the attendance problems for Nascar. There are too many tracks on the schedule that have 2 dates from and I think it would be a nice start. I am not taking away date from Pocono because the track doesn't have issues selling out. Here are the tracks that I would take 1 date away from: Dover - attendance is really decline there Michigan - Michigan has problems selling out dates for the last 2 or 3 years Kansas - there is too many track dates in the midwest Region for 2011 thanks to a Casino here. Here are the tracks I would add for cup: Laguna Seca Raceway Iowa - That track can have date since the Midwest Region would have 1 less date. Montreal - Canadians have great nascar fans for years and they deserve a race. 58. Smokefan05 posted: 11.01.2010 - 2:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Kevin Harvick became the first driver since Jeff Gordon in 2007 to score a top ten finish in all four restrictor plate races." Robby Gordon would have done that if he didn't finish 11th in the spring Tally race. Post #57 I really don't think Laguna would be a good choice. For one it's so damn narrow passing would be just about impossible, put Road America or Lime Rock Park or VIR. Montreal and Iowa i can those tracks getting dates. If NASCAR would give either Sonoma or The Glen a 2nd date and then add Montreal or Road America (or VIR or Lime Rock or just not give Sonoma or The glen a 2nd date) then we'd have 4 RCs. So that means 1 of those races in the Chase. I think you get where i'm going with this. 59. the_man posted: 11.01.2010 - 3:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Ragan on a 21st place finish: ??Early on, we just were in the wrong place at the wrong time and we lost the draft and our track position. We had a fast enough car to be up inside of the top 10 when we got back up on the lead lap, but to get up to the front, you??ve got to be in the right group to get there. When that wreck happened there at the end of the race, I was right outside of Kasey Kahne and had nowhere to go and we knocked off our left-front tire. We??ve had some good luck here in the past, but with the way things went today, I??m pretty excited to go to Texas.? 60. Nick posted: 11.01.2010 - 3:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Post 57: Lol Eric, really? You sure about that? http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=PR&Date=20100815&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=8150330&Ref=AR&MaxW=570&MaxH=370&title=1&border=0 61. Talon64 posted: 11.01.2010 - 4:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is probably the first time in the last 3 seasons that Jimmie was trying to win this race. He should've won it in 2006, but the 2 races after that had him sitting in the back and just trying to get a decent finish. Jimmie sat back this time too, but he had a real shot at winning this race and if he had then it might've been game over for the championship. But the fact that he felt he needed to try and win it shows how much pressure he and the #48 team are feeling, maybe more than they'd felt in any of the last 4 seasons. And when you have Kevin and Denny each pulling a Jimmie, coming back from bad luck to salvage championship-saving finishes, I can see the momentum swinging away from Jimmie. If he can still find a way to come away with the championship this year then it'll easily be his most impressive yet. But I'm really hoping Kevin or Denny can beat him; I'm probably hoping more for Kevin because the #29 team's been the best throughout the season by far, and they could be just the 2nd team in 7 years to "win" the regular season and win the championship in the Chase in the same year. 62. awesomegordonfan posted: 11.01.2010 - 4:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No one cares about quotes...I was pulling for Jeff until he got shuffled back. Allmendinger's wreck was kinda typical for Talladega. And no one cares about 8th grade vocabulary, which that is not. That's called 12th grade vocabulary. 63. awesomegordonfan posted: 11.01.2010 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh, and 62 posts and no one has even thought about the contraversial finish between Bowyer and harvick... 64. Smiff_99 posted: 11.01.2010 - 4:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Where's the controversy? Looked pretty cut-and-dried to me......at the moment of caution, Bowyer had him by a nose. Granted, ESPN sure made the whole thing seem like a clusterf***, but it was pretty simple really. NASCAR just needed a couple minutes to make sure they made the right call. I'm comfortable with the decision. In reference to the Allmendinger crash.....it was just one of them deals. Put all the wicker bills and roof flaps you want on the car, it ain't gonna help if two other cars t-bone you while you're travelling sideways at 170+ mph. In that scenario, the car's gonna fly every time. 65. Eric posted: 11.01.2010 - 5:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There is no controversy with the finish with Harvick and Bowyer. It was cut and dry like Sniff said. 66. I Seize the Day posted: 11.01.2010 - 5:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "This is probably the first time in the last 3 seasons that Jimmie was trying to win this race. He should've won it in 2006, but the 2 races after that had him sitting in the back and just trying to get a decent finish." Talon, Jimmie was winning the 2007 fall Dega race on the white flag until Gordon passed him on the backstretch. Unless you meant the last three seasons of 08, 09, and 2010. 67. Talon64 posted: 11.01.2010 - 5:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Clint Bowyer wins his 4th career Cup race, and 2nd of the season (all technically, given Loudon this year). He's the 19th race winner in 83 Talladega races to come from 2nd, and the 32nd winner to come from the front row. It's RCR's 94th Cup win; their 5 wins this season is the most they've had since 6 wins in 2006. Kevin Harvick ties his career high with his 15th top five of the season, which also ties Jimmie Johnson for the most this season. Kevin only had 16 top fives in the previous 3 seasons combined. JPM won his 5th career Cup pole, 3rd of the season and 2nd at Talladega. He finishes in the top 10 for just the 2nd time from his 5 poles, but they're both 3rd place finishes. EGR has a combined 7 poles this season, the most of any organization this year, and 12 in the last 2 seasons. David Reutimann sets a new career high with his 6th top five of the season. Joey Logano has 3 straight top tens for the first time for the first time in his Cup career; the closest he'd gotten to that before was scoring his first 3 career top tens, all 9th place finishes, in a 4 race stretch. Martin Truex Jr. surpasses his 2009 total with his 7th top ten of the season, and moves into 20th in the standings. Jimmie Johnson becomes the 26th driver to reach the 200-top-ten milestone in Cup. Bobby Labonte needs just one more top ten to reach 200 for his career as well. Jimmie Johnson's 324 starts to reach 200 top tens is 12th best among the 26 drivers to reach the mark, but 4th best among modern era-only drivers; only Jeff Gordon (308), Darrell Waltrip (313) and Dale Earnhardt (316) did it faster. Jeff Gordon gets his first top 10 at Talladega since sweeping the races there in 2007, a span of 5 races without one. Denny Hamlin gets his 4th top ten in 10 Talladega starts. The #12 team has back-to-back top tens for the first time in the last 94 races, dating back to May of 2008. It's only the team's 5th top ten in that span, 3 in 25 starts with Newman, none in 33 starts with Stremme and 2 in 36 starts with Keselowski. Regan Smith ties his best career finish once again, finishing 12th for a 3rd time and 2nd in 2010. 68. Talon64 posted: 11.01.2010 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Talon, Jimmie was winning the 2007 fall Dega race on the white flag until Gordon passed him on the backstretch. Unless you meant the last three seasons of 08, 09, and 2010." Those are the seasons, but I forgot about the 2007 race. It establishes a trend; 2 runaway championships he settles for a top 10, 3 times he has to fight for it he's gunning for the win. 69. Critic posted: 11.01.2010 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think there's something to the argument that we should have an equal number of road course and restrictor plate events on the calendar, or at the very least a road race in the final ten to offset Talladega's unpredictable nature. 70. Red posted: 11.01.2010 - 7:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "I have been an ardent supporter of the classic 36-race championship and the traditional points system, but if there is a case to be made for further incentivizing winning and high placings over marginally successful mundaneness, Matt Kenseth's 2010 is my first exhibit." I couldn't agree more. Kenseth's 2010 may go down as the weakest top 10 points finish in modern Cup Series history. He's scored only five top-5's and led only 104 laps, and hasn't even sniffed victory lane. Worse yet, look at Matt's distribution of finishes through 33 races: 1st - 10th: 12 11th - 20th: 17 (!) 21st - 30th: 4 31st - 43rd: 0 More than half of his finishes have been in the teens, and no finishes worse than 30th. That is the definition of irrelevant mediocrity. Is Kenseth even trying to win races anymore, or is he content to just toil around in complete obscurity and collect points? 71. Talon64 posted: 11.01.2010 - 7:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I couldn't agree more. Kenseth's 2010 may go down as the weakest top 10 points finish in modern Cup Series history." I still give to Jeremy Mayfield in 2005; Jeremy won at Michigan with a 20th place car thanks to fuel mileage but he only had 9 top tens, 19 finishes between 11th and 20th, 3 finishes of 30th or worse, and a 15.9 average finish. It's really unfair that Biffle's only the 3rd best Roush driver in the standings right now when he's easily been the best of the bunch with 2 wins and a good performance in the Chase with absolutely nothing to show for it. 72. awesomegordonfan posted: 11.01.2010 - 7:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "It's really unfair that Biffle's only the 3rd best Roush driver in the standings right now when he's easily been the best of the bunch with 2 wins and a good performance in the Chase with absolutely nothing to show for it. " I'd say that Edwards, overall, is the best. Biffle, yes, he won a couple races, but he isn't the best Roush Fenway driver. He deserves to be the 3rd best. 73. Sean posted: 11.01.2010 - 8:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I personally think Greg Biffle has more talent than either Matt Kenseth or Carl Edwards. He just hasn't had a crew chief as good as Robbie Reiser or Bob Osborne, except for that brief period he had Doug Richert and he was kicking all his teammates' butts... 74. Red posted: 11.01.2010 - 10:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I still give to Jeremy Mayfield in 2005; Jeremy won at Michigan with a 20th place car thanks to fuel mileage but he only had 9 top tens, 19 finishes between 11th and 20th, 3 finishes of 30th or worse, and a 15.9 average finish." Damn, don't know how I forgot about Mayfield's 2005. After he won that Michigan race, I remember thinking "This team is 6th in points? You gotta be kidding me!" Jeremy was invisible that whole season, but still made the top 10 by avoiding bad luck. FWIW, here are the worst drivers to make the Chase, ranked by Driver Rating (which I think is an accurate measure of performance): Newman 2009: 82.1 (15th, 9th in points) Mayfield 2005: 82.2 (14th, 9th in points) Vickers 2009: 82.3 (14th, 12th in points) Bowyer 2008: 82.8 (14th, 5th in points) Kenseth 2010: 84.7 (14th, 8th in points) Biffle 2010: 86.4 (13th, 11th in points) Harvick 2007: 86.5 (14th, 10th in points) People forget just how average Newman's 2009 season was. He had no wins, only five top-5's, and just 214 laps led. He finished 9th in points by virtue of only two finishes outside the top 30. Bowyer's 2008 was definitely the worst top-5 points finish of the modern era; only the idiotic Chase could allow the 14th best driver to finish 5th in points. (Dis)honorable mention: Terry Labonte 2003. Finished 10th in points, but just four top-5's, 118 laps led. Other than his Darlington win, Terry raced ULTRA-conservatively all season. 75. petty43 posted: 11.02.2010 - 8:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) best driver ever to not make chase? for me bobby labonte or jamie mac. 76. Bronco posted: 11.02.2010 - 10:39 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) "I couldn't agree more. Kenseth's 2010 may go down as the weakest top 10 points finish in modern Cup Series history. He's scored only five top-5's and led only 104 laps, and hasn't even sniffed victory lane." Not only that, but I find it hilarious how he keeps firing his crew chiefs only to have less success with his replacement. He had TP replaced after Sonoma thinking it would lead to better results, instead he has had about half the number of top 10s than he did in the first 16 races, and continues to wallow in mediocrity. 77. Frank posted: 11.02.2010 - 3:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Final crash was made by Michael Waltrip who moved to the right at the end of tri-oval and cutted Allmendinger's line. But it's NASCAR chickens who stole finish from us. 3 pairings under white flag - 00&29, 42&33, 20&56 - among which only Harvick wins from time to time for sure should have built one heck of Talladega finish! 78. martin-n-rusty posted: 11.02.2010 - 4:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So Frank, you would rather have what could be a good finish at a potentially major risk, rather than having them race past a wreck scene? Now if this crash happened on the backstraight, or turn 3/4, or the front straight heading to the checkered flag, and the caution was waived, you got a good argument, but there are too many what if's to allow any racing to happen on the last lap, where the wreckage was at. 79. martin-n-rusty posted: 11.02.2010 - 4:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So Frank, you would rather have what could be a good finish at a potentially major risk, rather than making sure everyone is ok, considering where the wreck was at? Thats what I meant to type -_- 80. Cooper posted: 11.02.2010 - 8:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR has done a great job with the ending of the races. The current setup is perfect. If theres a caution with 2 to go, GWC three times. Gives the guarantee of a finish. If theres a crash with 1 to go, let them race back unless the accident is near the start/finish line. This is the best setup they've ever had, as ending races under caution sucks, but safety is important. 81. Red posted: 11.02.2010 - 9:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "best driver ever to not make chase? for me bobby labonte or jamie mac." Overall, that's a tough question, but here's my top 3 best seasons to miss the Chase: 2004: Jamie McMurray. He was fast almost every week, but his Chase chances were derailed by a lot of misfortune, including finishes of 36th, 37th, 38th, 37th, 37th, and 30th during the regular season. He was penalized 25 points at Bristol for a window infraction, and missed the Chase by only 15. Under the old points system, he would have finished 6th in the final standings. 2006: Tony Stewart. He blew an engine and finished 43rd at Fontana, a race he could have won, then crashed hard in the Coke 600 and injured his shoulder, finishing 42nd. He then recorded finishes of 41st, 28th, 32nd, and 37th over the next seven weeks to just miss the Chase. Ashame because Smoke won 3 Chase races and very well could've won the title. 2006: Greg Biffle. Despite very fast cars early in the season, Greg was torpedoed by absolutely hideous luck. At Fontana, he dominated, leading 168 laps, but a late engine failure left him with a 42nd place finish. In Atlanta, he once again led the most laps (128), but a fuel mileage finish relegated him to a 16th place result. In Texas, he led 49 of the first 81 laps, only to be wrecked by Kurt Busch, finishing 42nd (this was the race where Greg and Kurt's girlfriends had a catfight on pit road). In Phoenix, he once again led the most laps (151) only to be bitten by fuel mileage once again, finishing 15th. At the Brickyard, he was running 8th on the last lap, only to be wrecked by Kasey Kahne and finish way down in 33rd. In my opinion, Biffle's 2006 was the unluckiest season since Jeremy Mayfield in 2000. He won twice and led 993 laps, yet finished 31st or worse on 13 occassions. Unluckiest pre-Chase season of all time: Geoff Bodine in 1994. 82. 00andJoe posted: 11.03.2010 - 12:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hmm. Wonder why the #55 isn't on the Texas entry list... 83. Talon64 posted: 11.03.2010 - 4:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'd throw Kasey Kahne in 2004 as the 4th best; 9 top fives (but only one other top ten finish) in the first 25 races of the season had him in 9th heading into Richmond but a 24th place finish denied him from making the Chase as a rookie. Finishes of 31st, 25th and 36th (got dumped by Tony Stewart at Chicagoland while leading) all in a row in the middle of the season really put him in the position of having to fight to make the Chase. 84. Talon64 posted: 11.03.2010 - 6:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Just for the record, from 2007 through 2010, can somebody get the 48's average restrictor plate finish in the first 3 plate events" 12 starts, 22.83 average finish with two 2nd place finishes, a 10th, and 6 finishes of 30th or worse. 85. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.04.2010 - 10:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "2006: Tony Stewart." Tony has nobody to blame but himself for 2006. Yes he had bad luck with the shoulder injury and the engine at California, but he also screwed himself a lot during the first 26 races. He cost himself a Top 5 at Vegas hitting the wall while trying to crash Kyle Busch, absolutely took his head off his shoulders in the Daytona 500 trying to kill Kenseth then wrecking with Jeff Gordon, and wrecked trying to race Ryan Newman at Loudon when Ryan had just pitted and Tony was on worn out tires just to prove a point. And this is very important in retrospect because he would have won the title that year had he made it. I know if you put his finishes in that year's cha$e he doesn't win it, but they were going for broke, not caring about points. They clearly had the best cars over the last 10 races, and Tony is the most naturally talented driver in NASCAR (yes, even more than Kyle Busch). Instead JJ wins it for the first time. Why is this important? After coming very close to winning the title in the last 2 years ('04 and '05) and not being able to get the job done, JJ and Chad were at a breaking point. After 2005 they seriously considered splitting up. It took several meetings for them to get back on the same page for 2006. What if Tony makes the cha$e and denies JJ for a third straight year? Is there any way JJ and Chad are able to move on together this time? Instead they finally got that monkey off their backs and got the taste of being the champs. And they realized just how good it felt to be #1. From that point forward they put any and all differences behind them because they were all focused on one goal: climbing to the top of that mountain yet again. None of the other stuff mattered. Whatever happened in a race, it was immediately forgotten (good or bad) as they went on to the next one. The result? JJ hasn't lost since. So what if that incredible combo of JJ and Chad splits up cause Tony and Zippy beat them again? Is there any way Gordon loses the '07 title in such heart breaking and soul crushing fashion? Wouldn't Jeff re-tasting the Cup fire him up in a way he hasn't been fired up since? How about Edwards in '08? Wouldn't winning a Cup title alter his career? Would he compare the feeling of being Cup champ to the undeniably lesser feeling of being Busch champ in '07 and say "screw this minor league crap, I like being the King of the Big Leagues." And most importantly, wouldn't Mark Martin FINALLY be officially recognized as the champion that he is? How awesome would that have been for NASCAR? Remember when Dale FINALLY won the Daytona 500 in '98? Remember how everyone came out to shake his hand? The same thing would have happened for Mark at Homestead. All of the previous questions I can't prove. I guarantee you the garage wide celebration for Mark would have happened had he won it. But none of this has happened, the same guy has won it for the last 4 years, and is threatening to make it 5, and this possibly could have been prevented by Tony in '06 had he not decided to show his ass for no apparent reason. Asshole. 86. Smiff_99 posted: 11.04.2010 - 12:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, no offense dude, but you're in 'JJ fan denial'. You've crossed the line....you're no longer just a dude appreciating Johnson's success.......you've clearly devolved into his most ardent fan/promoter. We're all (for the most part) sick to death of Jimmie and Chad and the 48. Please save us the additional misery. You constantly feel the need to belittle every driver by comparing their stats to Jimmie and blathering on about how everybody but Jimmie's a choke artist. Go join Jimmie's fan club already, would ya? 87. I Seize the Day posted: 11.04.2010 - 1:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, and anyone else (DSFF because I mostly curious about you in particular) List your top 10 favorite drivers, 10 least favorite. I will do mine Most fav 1. Matt Kenseth 2. Greg Biffle 3. Tony Stewart 4. Carl Edwards 5. Ryan Newman 6. Kyle Busch 7. Mark Martin 8. Martin Truex 9. David Reutimann 10. Juan Montoya Least fav 1. Jimmie Johnson (as in my most despised driver) 2. Kevin Harvick 3. Kevin Conway 4. Danica Patrick 5. Paul Menard 6. Kasey Kahne 7. David Ragan 8. Jeff Gordon 9. Scott Speed 10. Robby Gordon 88. Smiff_99 posted: 11.04.2010 - 2:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Active Faves: 1-Tony Stewart 2-Carl Edwards 3-Kyle Busch 4-Jamie McMurray 5-Mark Martin 6-David Reutimann 7-Denny Hamlin 8-Greg Biffle 9-Jeff Burton 10-Tie-Justin Allgaier/Brad Keselowski Least Faves: 1-Jimmie Johnson 2-Jeff Gordon 3-Kevin Harvick 4-Danica Patrick 5-Kevin Conway 6-Scott Speed 7-Robby Gordon 8-David Gilliland 9-Kasey Kahne 10-Todd Bodine Inactive Top 10 Faves: 1-Dale Jarrett 2-Tim Richmond 3-Bobby Allison 4-Ernie Irvan 5-Dale Earnhardt 6-Neil Bonnett 7-Benny Parsons 8-Davey Allison 9-Cale Yarborough 10-Dick Trickle 89. Smokefan05 posted: 11.04.2010 - 2:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I only have 6 favs: (in no order) 1. Tony Stewert 2. Robby Gordon 3. Jeff Gordon 4. Greg Biffle 5. Elliot Sadler 6. Jaime Mcmurray But i have more than 10 dislikes: (don't mind the other stuff on this one) 1. Kevin Harvick 2. Kyle Busch 3. Denny Hamlin 4. Jimmie Johnson 5. Carl Edwards 6. Ryan Newman 7. Regan Smith (for different reasons than others i.e. Tally 2008, he didn't win the race IMHO. On the list for fan reasons, not because he wrecks others or acts like a jerk) 8. Paul Menard (real 2008 Amp Energy 500 winner IMHO) 9. Casey Mears 10. Dale Jr. (on list for lacking any real cofidence in himself and others, not for lack of talent) 11. Jason Leffler (because he is an moron) All time fav: Well the dude who drove the #3 black car. :P 90. Sheamus posted: 11.04.2010 - 3:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hey fellas, here are mine Favorites - Juan Montoya (Like me, he is an outsider) Marcos Ambrose (Also an outsider, but a little more popluar) Kyle Busch Least Favorites - Jimmie Johnson (too much like Super Cena) Tony Stewart (too much like me enemy, Triple H) 91. I Seize the Day posted: 11.04.2010 - 4:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Smoke, I respect your opinion about Tony not winning the Talladega race. You are a Stewart fan, so there is obviously no bias in your judgement. However, for the life of me, I don't see how you think Menard should have that race. Smith was penalized for going below the yellow, what should Tony be penalized for? Blocking? I can't recall any driver in NASCAR getting penalized for blocking; there have always been warnings thrown out, but it has always been part of the game. 92. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.04.2010 - 4:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Favorites: 1) Brad K, 2) Martin Truex, 3) Jamie McMurray, 4) Matt Kenseth, 5) Kasey Kahne, 6) Mark Martin, 7) Reut, 8) Greg Biffle, 9) Aric Almirola, 10) Justin Allgaier Yeah, not a lot of recent success there. But I like them personally. Least Faves: 1) Kyle Busch, 2) Kevin Harvick, 3) Carl Edwards, 4) Denny Hamlin (can you understand the temporary JJ love now?), 5) Tony Stewart, 6) Jeff Gordon, 7) June, 8) Ryan Newman (I'd love to buy him for what he's worth and sell him for what he thinks he's worth) 9) JPM (#9 on both of my lists are Latinos, I swear I didn't plan it that way) 10) Geoff Bodine (sorry, I can't ever have any dislike list without him) A few people I'd like to mention: Danica: I didn't include her because I don't consider her a real driver, just a marketer. Menard: I'm very irritated by the way he gets to keep a ride just cause his billionaire Daddy writes $15 million checks every year (yes he has shown improvement, but not enough to justify his guaranteed stay in NASCAR). But at least he's quiet and not in your face about it. He just quietly rides mid pack every week. Conway: see Danica. Plus he has a Menard-ian quietness to him. David Ragan: see Danica 93. Talon64 posted: 11.04.2010 - 4:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) My favorite driver will always be Tony Stewart, for being the closest thing to the AJ Foyt of this generation. The other 9 favorites, but in no particular order: 2) Marcos Ambrose 3) AJ Allmendinger 4) Jamie McMurray 5) Kevin Harvick 6) JPM 7) Aric Almirola 8) Brad Keselowski 9) Denny Hamlin 10) Greg Biffle Honorable mention: Kyle Busch, as much as he acts like a jerk off the track I have massive respect for his "have steering wheel, will race" attitude. So he's probably more like Tony Stewart than I'd like to admit. LOL JGR's my favorite team so I hope they all do well. I also root for Canadian drivers; JR Fitzpatrick, DJ Kennington, Ron Fellows, Jacques Villeneuve, Steve Arpin, Mario Gosselin, etc. And I always root for young up-and-coming drivers. Like Landon Cassill, Justin Allgaier, Trevor Bayne, Austin Dillon, Ricky Carmichael, etc. Least Favorites: 1) Carl Edwards 2) Kurt Busch 3) Matt Crafton 4) Jason Leffler Honorable mention: Kyle Busch when he races in Nationwide and ESPECIALLY the Trucks. I'm used to the Nationwide domination because then it would just be someone else winning all the races, but it sucks to see him and Harvick turning the Trucks into another Cup-lite series. And Jimmie Johnson, but only because he wins too much. If he was more like he is away from the track I'd probably like him. Anyone not mentioned I either like but not enough to mention, or I'm just indifferent to. 94. Smokefan05 posted: 11.04.2010 - 5:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "You are a Stewart fan, so there is obviously no bias in your judgement. However, for the life of me, I don't see how you think Menard should have that race. Smith was penalized for going below the yellow, what should Tony be penalized for? Blocking? I can't recall any driver in NASCAR getting penalized for blocking; there have always been warnings thrown out," NASCAR also said that "if you do the pushing the person below the yellow you too can be penalized." So that is what i go by. However i'm not the only one thinks this. But as long as people continue bring it up and never let it go i'll continue to bring it up my opinion and what i think. And i love the fact that i'm the only Robby Gordon fan here, i'm carrying the bandwagon. :P "I also root for Canadian drivers; JR Fitzpatrick, DJ Kennington, Ron Fellows, Jacques Villeneuve, Steve Arpin, Mario Gosselin, etc." Homer. :P 95. Bronco posted: 11.04.2010 - 5:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Menard: I'm very irritated by the way he gets to keep a ride just cause his billionaire Daddy writes $15 million checks every year (yes he has shown improvement, but not enough to justify his guaranteed stay in NASCAR). But at least he's quiet and not in your face about it. He just quietly rides mid pack every week." Lol, who exactly are you to decide who stays and who goes in NASCAR? I know this might come as a shock to you, but nobody who's in NASCAR right now got there without significant support and funding from their families. You of all people should know, since your #1 favorite driver got his NASCAR career started by first driving a truck for his family's team. Menard has never been with a good team, and the fact that he's had three different teams in the last three years isn't helping. Now that's he going to the new #27 team with Slugger, I expect him to be more of a weekly contender. I'm glad that you openly disclosed your favorites and least favorites so now we know why you continually bash some drivers and praise others for doing essentially the same things. 96. Mike posted: 11.04.2010 - 7:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Most favorite: 1. Dale Earnhardt Jr 2. Jeff Gordon 3. Brad Keselowski 4. Kasey Kahne 5. Aric Almirola 6. Mark Martin 7. Tony Stewart 8. Jimmie Johnson 9. Jamie McMurray 10. Jeff Burton Least favorite: 1. Kyle Busch 2. Denny Hamlin 3. Juan Montoya 4. Robby Gordon 5. Joey Logano 6. James Buescher 7. Jason Leffler 8. Kurt Busch 9. Paul Menard 10. Brian Vickers (nothing against him personally, just never really cared for him on the track) 97. Red posted: 11.04.2010 - 8:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Active Favorites: Jamie McMurray (Maybe the most genuine guy in the garage) Mark Martin (He's Mark Freaking Martin, need I say more) David Reutimann (His goofy, semi-awkward demeaner is endearing) AJ Allmendinger (Likeable underdog who just needs a good break) Juan Montoya (I know he's an ass, but I like his aggressive style) Jimmie Johnson (Yes I actually like the guy, and respect him a ton) Marcos Ambrose (Very likeable, plus he's Australian which makes him cooler) Dave Blaney (Root for him when he's not start & parking) Brian Vickers (Not afraid to look at things from a different perspective) Ken Schrader (True racer, plus I met him at my local short track) Retired Favorites: Jerry Nadeau (Not sure why, but he was my favorite when he was in the #25) Ernie Irvan (Admired his hellbent driving style, and pulled for him after his near-death accident) Ricky Rudd (Tough as nails, most notably winning with his eyes taped open at Richmond in `84 and his Martinsville win in `98) Least Favorites: Carl Edwards (Two-faced sociopath, disgustingly phony) Ryan Newman (Way too arrogant and whiny for a one-season wonder) David Ragan (Why does this guy still have a ride?) Casey Mears (No one has blown more great opportunities) Matt Kenseth (The definition of a points racer) Sam Hornish Jr (Shouldn't even be in NASCAR) Dale Earnhardt Jr (Worst popularity to performance ratio in all of sports) Michael Waltrip (Read the comments on his driver page, that about sums it up) 98. 18fan posted: 11.04.2010 - 8:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Favorites: Kyle Busch Matt Kenseth Denny Hamlin Jeff Gordon Jaime McMurray Kevin Harvick Denny Hamlin AJ Allmendinger Tony Stewart Least Favorites: Jimmie Johnson (nothing against him, just annoys me that he wins so much) Carl Edwards (just a douche bag) Clint Bowyer (overrated, whiny) Paul Menard (Nothing against him, just that he has a rich daddy who writes big checks) David Ragan (Untalented ride hogger) 99. 00andJoe posted: 11.04.2010 - 9:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Most favourites: 1. David Reutimann } 2. Joe Nemechek } hence my handle 3. Ron Hornaday Jr 4. Robby Gordon 5. Juan Pablo Montoya 6. Bobby Labonte 7. Mark Martin 8. Kevin Harvick 9. Boris Said 10. Jennifer Jo Cobb Inactive favourites: Bobby Allison, Lake Speed, Dale Earnhardt, Wally Dallenbach Jr, Deborah Renshaw. Least favourite: 1. Jimmie Johnson 2. Jeff Gordon 3. Matt Kenseth 4. Kyle Busch 5. Jack Sprague Neutral on: Danica Patrick. 100. Jackdaniels posted: 11.04.2010 - 10:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Go join Jimmie's fan club already, would ya?" THANK YOU He doesn't seem to understand the point you were making though, so don't bother. I've seen it brought up in like every race thread for the past 3 months. He simply doesn't understand it. That's why I'm pretty sure he's just a front-runner. Some fans just like rooting for winners, some like rooting for underdogs, and others have enough integrity or loyalty to stick with a driver through the good times and bad. 101. Smokefan05 posted: 11.04.2010 - 10:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^ Alteast i'm not the only one here who likes Robby. 102. Foyt14 posted: 11.04.2010 - 11:23 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Atleast i'm not the only one here who likes Robby. " I'm a fan as well. Met him in 1997 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during qualifying for the Brickyard 400. He was grilling up some food outside his small trailer in the infield, right where a lot of fans were walking by, but nobody seemed to know who he was so no one was stopping. I called over to him and asked if I could get a quick autograph, then told him I'd love to see him win the Indy 500 someday, and we actually ended up chatting for a minute about the differences between driving a stock car and Indycar around the track. He even offered me a hotdog before I left, although I declined because we had just ate. And I don't know if this is interesting or not, but I was in attendance at the 1999 Indy 500 where he came up just a lap or so short on fuel from winning the race, while wearing the hat that he had signed that day in 97. I was really disappointed he lost the race, and I tell you what, so was the majority of the crowd. He has respect at Indy. The fans there hate seeing a driver so obviously respectful of the history of the track lose a win that they had done so much to earn. I know he comes off as a bit of dick sometimes these days, but he seemed to me like a real nice guy away from the track. I always like the true racers in auto racing, the guys who will jump into anything on wheels and give it a spin for all it's worth. As you can expect, I'm also a huge Tony Stewart fan, but that probably goes without saying given my screen name, and obvious connection with Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 103. Cooper posted: 11.05.2010 - 10:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Favourite: Brad Keselowski Cheer for when Brad is out of race: Robby Gordon Least Favourite: Other 41 drivers Inactive Favourite: Sterling Marlin 104. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.05.2010 - 1:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "He simply doesn't understand it. That's why I'm pretty sure he's just a front-runner. Some fans just like rooting for winners, some like rooting for underdogs, and others have enough integrity or loyalty to stick with a driver through the good times and bad" Go to post #92 and read my favorites and least favorites and compare their combined win totals in the last 5 years. YOU are the one who apparently doesn't get it. It's right in front of your nose. 105. Red posted: 11.05.2010 - 3:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Comparing Kevin Harvick's plate race results with Tony Stewart's in 2005: 2010 Harvick: 7th*, 1st, 1st**, 2nd 2005 Stewart: 7th*, 2nd, 1st**, 2nd *Both led the most laps in the Daytona 500 *Both led the most laps AND started from the pole in the Firecracker 400 Maybe I'm the only one who finds this interesting, but those results are almost impossibly similar. Of course, Tony went on to win the title in 2005, so maybe Harvick is destined for the same... 106. Mike posted: 11.05.2010 - 4:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Some fans just like rooting for winners, some like rooting for underdogs, and others have enough integrity or loyalty to stick with a driver through the good times and bad." Unfortunately most fans root for drivers based on wins and championships. That's just the way it is in sports these days. There's very few people who truly know what loyalty is. 107. Talon64 posted: 11.05.2010 - 5:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Maybe I'm the only one who finds this interesting, but those results are almost impossibly similar. Of course, Tony went on to win the title in 2005, so maybe Harvick is destined for the same..." In Dale Jr.'s best season in Cup, 2004, he finished 2nd in the Shootout, won his Daytona qualifier, and finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 1st in the points races. BTW, the best plate record in a season I could find? Dale Earnhardt in 1999, he didn't run the Shootout but was 1st, 2nd, 1st, 2nd and 1st in the rest of the plate races (swept Talladega, 2nd in both Daytona races). 108. Talon64 posted: 11.05.2010 - 5:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Lots of announcements this weekend, mostly for Nationwide and Trucks though. Justin Allgaier signed up with Turner Motorsports for 2011 and 2012 to drive the #31. Reed Sorenson's full time in the #32 while Leffler's full time between the #38 and a part-time #30 team that'll have James Buescher and Ricky Carmichael running some races. Buescher and Carmichael will remain status quo in the Trucks for 2011 in the #31 and #4 while Brad Sweet, Jason Leffler and Allgaier will split a 3rd Truck, the #32. Elliott Sadler's signed up with KHI to run full time in Nationwide with multi-year sponsorship from CitiFinancial. If NASCAR prevents Cup guys from racing for the championship then I think Sadler might be the favorite to win it now. He's proving he still got it by winning the pole for the Texas Cup race today. And Brad Keselowski's hoping to have Parker Kligerman racing full time for his Truck team in 2011. 109. dirtfan9262 posted: 11.05.2010 - 6:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Go to post #92 and read my favorites and least favorites and compare their combined win totals in the last 5 years. YOU are the one who apparently doesn't get it. It's right in front of your nose. " Yeah, well when you're favorite all time driver is Dale Earnhardt and your current favorite driver is Jimmie Johnson, it doesn't really matter who else you like, you're a front-runner. You love bragging about Jimmie all the time, and most people on this site are sick of it. We get enough of that from the media. What makes it even worse is that you continue to insist that you're not really a fan of his, when anyone who's gone off the beaten path on this site a bit (older races, random driver pages) has seen your man-crush on the guy first hand. It usually goes something like this: "You know, if only people could see how cool Jimmie is away from the track, then maybe..." You just can't seem to take that last step and admit it, you love everything about him as a driver. And it does get pretty old when you act like no one is giving him credit for his accomplishments, when everyone fully understands that what he's accomplished is amazing. But frankly we're sick of it, and since we're not front-runners like you, we enjoy rooting for other drivers to topple his reign. You, on the other hand, get some sort of pleasure out of deriding every other driver for even attempting to beat him and win the championship. Here's DaleSrFanForever's last 3 months on this site summed up in one sentence: Jimmie's better at this, Jimmie's better at that, other drivers suck compared to him, hey everybody listen to me! 110. Spen posted: 11.05.2010 - 7:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Favorites: 1.) Awesome Bill has been my number one since 1979, and that's still true. 2.) Mark Martin 3.) Jeff Burton 4.) Kasey Kahne 5.) Bobby Labonte 6.) Matt Kenseth 7.) David Reutimann 8.) Jamie McMurray 9.) Joe Nemechek 10.) Dave Blaney Yeah, I know I kind of favor the old guys. Least favorites: 1.) Kyle Busch 2.) Denny Hamlin 3.) Carl Edwards 4.) Jimmie Johnson 5.) Kevin Harvick 6.) Scott Speed 7.) Jeff Gordon 8.) Kurt Busch 9.) Casey Mears 10.) Kevin Conway 111. Spen posted: 11.05.2010 - 7:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF : "So what if that incredible combo of JJ and Chad splits up cause Tony and Zippy beat them again?" Everything would depend on who Jimmie got to replace Chad. As of the end of '06, Darien Grubb would have been the most sensible choice. They worlked pretty well together during Chad's suspension, and we've seen that he can get Tony in championship contention. Would they still be going for four in a row? I don't know, but Jimmie would still have at least one title by now. (Most likely 2009). The next question is, where does Chad go? Atfer five years of being in the top 5 in points, I doubt Hendrick would let him stray far. He'd probably end up taking over the 25. Which leads us to wonder: if Tony had beaten Johnson in '06, would Casey Mears be a cup champion now? Okay, maybe not. 112. Ryan posted: 11.05.2010 - 8:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Active faves: 1. I don't have anybody as an active favorite. My all-time favorite was, is, and will be Dale Earnhardt. No one can replace him or duplicate him. To me, no one deserves this spot and I'm not giving it to no one. 2. Kevin Harvick 3. Pablo Montoya 4. Jamie McMurray 5. Jeff Burton 6. Dale Jr. 7. Kasey Kahne 8. Bobby Labonte 9. Bill Eliott 10. Joey Logano Least current faves: 1. Kyle Busch (like to buy him what he's worth and sell him for what he think he's worth) 2. Denny Hamlin (same) 3. Michael Waltrip (same) 4. Jimmie Johnson 5. Kurt Busch 6. Jeff Gordon 7. Greg Biffle 8. Carl Edwards 9. Tony Stewart (Although he is 9th on my list, I think he is the best racer/driver of this era) 10. Clint Bowyer All time faves 1. Dale Earnhardt 2. Alan Kulwicki 3. Cale Yarborough 4. Kevin Harvick 5. David Pearson 6. Terry Labonte 7. Bobby Labonte 8. Bobby Allison 9. Bill Elliott 10. Ned Jarrett/Benny Parsons (love them as drivers and broadcasters) Least all-time faves 1. Darrell Waltrip 2. Kyle Busch 3. Rusty Wallace (although he isn't a bad an announcer) 4. Jeff Gordon 5. Bodine brothers (mainly Geoff, although I did get a kick out of the '94 Brickyard) 6. Michael Waltrip 7. Ernie Irvin 8. Ricky Rudd 9. Tim Richmond 10. Dale Jarrett guys that doesn't/didn't do anything for me or against one way or the other: 1. Mark Martin 2. Harry Gant 3. Matt Kenseth 4. Davey Allison 5. Ryan Newman favorite crew chief: Kirk Shelmerdine least favorite CC: Larry McReynolds/Jeff Hammond (Ok, I hate Team Fox besides Chris Myers) favorite owner: Joe Gibbs (although I can't stand his drivers most of the time) least favorite: by far it's Jack Roush favorite current announce team: ESPNs Least: Fox Miss the CBS crew of N. Jarrett, Squier, and whoever and ESPN crew of Jarrett, Jenkins, and Parsons 113. Kit posted: 11.05.2010 - 8:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ironic how DSFF and my favorites are practically the same, although me personally I'd move Kahne up to #1. I don't really have a problem with Jeff Gordon except for his PC personality, although I think Jimmie is even worse in that aspect. Jimmie is a "rags to riches" story yet I don't care because his personality is so manufactured. 114. Kit posted: 11.05.2010 - 8:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "And this is very important in retrospect because he would have won the title that year had he made it." Tony Stewart is one of the most talented drivers to ever come to Cup (although I think Tim Richmond has him beat) yet he'll always be overshadowed by Jimmie Johnson due to all the little f**k ups Stewart has made. If Steward had bought $5 bottles of herbal supplements from the grocery store to calm him down and even his mood, he'd have another championship trophy or two on the shelf. 115. Kit posted: 11.05.2010 - 9:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "only the idiotic Chase could allow the 14th best driver to finish 5th in points." What killed me about the Chase is that in 2004 (I believe), Bill Elliott could have finished in the top 10 but because of the Chase format, he was denied. 116. Ryan posted: 11.05.2010 - 10:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Talon64 "BTW, the best plate record in a season I could find? Dale Earnhardt in 1999, he didn't run the Shootout but was 1st, 2nd, 1st, 2nd and 1st in the rest of the plate races (swept Talladega, 2nd in both Daytona races)." Even though Dale had four top 2's at the restictor plate tracks with two wins in 1999, he actually scored more points in 1990 and 1993. He finished 4th in the Daytona 500 leading the most laps and then won the other three races leading the most laps. And in 1993 he finished 2nd in the Daytona 500 scoring 180, he finished 4th in the Winston 500 at Talladega leading the most laps scoring 170 and he won the Pepsi 400 at Daytona and Die Hard 500 at 'dega leading the most laps. 1990 points- 720 (would have had the highest maximum of points of 740 if not for a chicken bone or bell housing from the Daytona 500 on the last lap) 1993 points- 720 1999 points- 710 1980 points- 675 (non-restrictor, but just throwing it out there) 1991 points- 671 1987 points- 650 Boy he was hell at these tracks. He racked up a lot of points. 1990 he was great and '93 as well. Can easily say those tracks is where beat his competition for the titles. He won my margins of 26 and 80. Same thing with 1980. He scored a lot of points and beat Yarborough by 19 points. 117. Ryan posted: 11.05.2010 - 11:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) He also won the Busch Clash, 125 mile qualifier, and Daytona 300 in 1993. He had an awesome speedweeks other than his handling going away at the end of the 500. 118. Eric posted: 11.05.2010 - 11:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kit, Bill Elliott didn't race full time in 2004. 119. Bronco posted: 11.05.2010 - 11:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "What killed me about the Chase is that in 2004 (I believe), Bill Elliott could have finished in the top 10 but because of the Chase format, he was denied" Bill quit racing full time a year before the Chase started in 2004. You must be talking about McMurray, who was condemned to finish in 11th despite 23 top 10s that year. 120. Kit posted: 11.06.2010 - 12:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) You're right, Eric. I think I was thinking about how Bill finished in the top ten in 2003 and under the Chase format, he wouldn't have been. 121. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 11.06.2010 - 12:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Might as well join the party. :P Favorites: 1) Greg Biffle 2) Jeff Burton 3) Brad Keselowski 4) Bobby Labonte 5) Jamie Mac 6) AJ Allmendinger 7) David Reutimann 8) Justin Allgaier 9) Martin Truex 10) Aric Almirola Least Favorites: 1) Kyle Busch 2) Denny Hamlin 3) Carl Edwards 4) Kevin Harvick 5) Juan Pablo Montoya 6) Ryan Newman 7) Michael Waltrip 8) Scott Speed 9) Robby Gordon 10) Kevin Conway (Jeff Gordon summed it up best, this guy can't race worth a damn) Drivers I'm neutral on (don't hate them but can't exactly bring myself to root for them either): 1) Matt Kenseth 2) Kasey Kahne 3) Jimmie Johnson 4) Jeff Gordon 5) Paul Menard 6) Dale Jr 7) Danica Patrick 8) Kurt Busch 9) Clint Bowyer 10) Mark Martin 122. 18fan posted: 11.06.2010 - 1:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) To add to RCRandPenskeGuy, Jeff Gordon's quote on Conway when he was driving the #34: "The 34's down a driver." LOL. 123. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.06.2010 - 11:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The best plate season ever is Dale in 1990. He might not have had the most points due to a last corner fluke in the Daytona 500, but in all 4 races he led the most laps by a LOT, won 3 of them, and was running off with the 500 until he ran over a piece of bell housing going into the final corner. And even then, he had such a dominating race, he had lapped enough cars that he was still able to finish 5th with a shredded tire. "Yeah, well when you're favorite all time driver is Dale Earnhardt and your current favorite driver is Jimmie Johnson, it doesn't really matter who else you like, you're a front-runner." Am I the only one who can read post #92? Is it a ghost post that only I can see like that little nerd in The Sixth Sense? I SEE DEAD POSTS!!!!! I listed my 10 favorite drivers. TEN DRIVERS listed. JJ is not on there. And I bring him up a lot for a number of reasons: First of all, he doesn't get the respect he deserves because of his boring ass public personality. Secondly, he is THE story of NASCAR presently. I appreciate history and greatness, and we are witnessing it right now. That is just a fact. And most importantly, I'm sick of all the fuss being made over Kyle Busch and his "NASCAR win total" which is made up by the announcers to be a big deal, even though the vast majority of it has not come in Cup. Too bad his entire Cup win total is equal to JJ's cha$e win total alone. And I pulled for Dale Earnhardt for the same reason I pulled for Jimmy Connors when he played tennis. Anyone who gives 100% effort 100% of the time, and would rather slit their own throat than lose, has my respect. And the following does NOT apply to Kyle Busch. When things start to go wrong, or the pressure heats up, Kyle folds. 124. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.06.2010 - 12:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Tony Stewart is one of the most talented drivers to ever come to Cup (although I think Tim Richmond has him beat) yet he'll always be overshadowed by Jimmie Johnson due to all the little f**k ups Stewart has made. If Steward had bought $5 bottles of herbal supplements from the grocery store to calm him down and even his mood, he'd have another championship trophy or two on the shelf." Exactly. With the talent he has, and the equipment he has been blessed with, he should have "Gordon in the late 90's" numbers. He should have been able to put together a run like Jeff did from 1995-99. Those 5 years were pure insanity. Even JJ hasn't matched that run. He might have the championships, but not the wins. Jeff had THREE double digit win seasons in a row, sandwiched between two 7 win seasons with 3 titles and painfully close to a 4th ('96). JJ has just one ten win season. His best 5 year stretch was 2004-08. He had 3 titles (I'm giving out the deserved titles, which means he won in '04, '06, and '08 with a distant 2nd in '07*), but not the wins. But yeah, Stewart should have had a run like that by now. He's more talented than JJ and in comparable equipment. * I know under the traditional points Gordon won '04 and The Carl won '08, but under the cha$e format, the 48 team spent those summers experimenting and having troubles that magically disappeared once the cha$e started. Under the old system, I say they still win in those years. 125. dirtfan9262 posted: 11.06.2010 - 1:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Me: "And it does get pretty old when you act like no one is giving him credit for his accomplishments, when everyone fully understands that what he's accomplished is amazing. But frankly we're sick of it, and since we're not front-runners like you, we enjoy rooting for other drivers to topple his reign." "anyone who's gone off the beaten path on this site a bit (older races, random driver pages) has seen your man-crush on the guy first hand. It usually goes something like this: "You know, if only people could see how cool Jimmie is away from the track, then maybe..."" DSFF's reply: "First of all, he doesn't get the respect he deserves because of his boring ass public personality." Told you guys. And shut up about "post 92". One post doesn't invalidate 100 other ones. 126. Anonymous posted: 11.06.2010 - 1:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Exactly. With the talent he has, and the equipment he has been blessed with, he should have "Gordon in the late 90's" numbers. He should have been able to put together a run like Jeff did from 1995-99. " Hey look everybody, it's another one of DaleSrFanForever's lame fantasy arguments about how good a driver SHOULD be, based on something unmeasurable, which of course makes them worse because they didn't live up to his made up scenario. Classic DSFF. Not sure how that's supposed to be anything close to resembling a real argument, but whatever. He's DaleSrFan, listen to him everybody, he KNOWS EVERYTHING, even things that don't exist! 127. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 11.06.2010 - 2:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "To add to RCRandPenskeGuy, Jeff Gordon's quote on Conway when he was driving the #34: "The 34's down a driver." LOL." Not only that, but Jeff recently called out Conway when he was asked which driver you could learn the most from, and which driver you could learn the least from. Here's what he said when he was asked that question: "As far as who not to learn from? Well, there's different categories. When it comes to working with the media and interviews, Kyle Busch is an easy one. When it comes to driving the car, I think there's a lot of talent in this garage that you can look at the positives and the negatives of how those guys have gone about it with career choices. But to me, if you want to learn from somebody who should maybe change careers is Kevin Conway. I mean, I just don't understand what the guy's motives are. I don't know what his real background was to get to this level, but it just seems to me that he's so far off the pace that it doesn't make sense as to what his goal is to continue. To me, the Cup Series is about the elite, best drivers that there absolutely are. You would like there to be a system of qualifications just to even be able to step into this garage. But that's not always the case. I guess my purpose of mentioning him is, if you don't have those qualifications, you should ask yourself, 'Do I really belong there?' And if you think you belong there and you get there and you're just not even close to being on the pace or knowing the cars or knowing the tracks, then I think you've got to make a decision as to how long you're going to stay there and put yourself through that. Because that can't be fun. It's gotta be stressful." http://www.sbnation.com/nascar/2010/10/20/1763406/jeff-gordon-nascar-news-hendrick-motorsports-dupont-racing-interview-chase-2010 And it's true. The guy couldn't even run competitively in a Gibbs NW car several years ago, and that's why he's where he is now. He shouldn't even be in Cup, but thanks to that pill-pushing sponsorship, there's no telling how long he'll stay. 128. Ryan posted: 11.06.2010 - 2:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Exactly. With the talent he has, and the equipment he has been blessed with, he should have "Gordon in the late 90's" numbers. He should have been able to put together a run like Jeff did from 1995-99. Those 5 years were pure insanity. Even JJ hasn't matched that run. He might have the championships, but not the wins. Jeff had THREE double digit win seasons in a row, sandwiched between two 7 win seasons with 3 titles and painfully close to a 4th ('96). JJ has just one ten win season. His best 5 year stretch was 2004-08. He had 3 titles (I'm giving out the deserved titles, which means he won in '04, '06, and '08 with a distant 2nd in '07*), but not the wins." Although Jeff Gordon won a lot of races during that time, and had double digit win seasons. I think the competition amongst the teams and drivers are a lot better today than they were then. Hendrick was dominant. Terry Labonte was great during that span too. Johnson has had to deal with more competition and better teams the last few years than what Gordon did, IMO. I think Gordon would have won 2007 with or without Chase. 129. Kit posted: 11.06.2010 - 4:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I think the competition amongst the teams and drivers are a lot better today than they were then." That's very true. Most of the drivers Gordon drove against in the late 90s were guys who were very successful in the 80s. 130. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.06.2010 - 5:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Hey look everybody, it's another one of DaleSrFanForever's lame fantasy arguments about how good a driver SHOULD be, based on something unmeasurable, which of course makes them worse because they didn't live up to his made up scenario." Alright. I just want you to answer the following questions: 1) Do you think Jimmie Johnson is more talented than Tony Stewart? 2) Do you think Jimmie Johnson has had a big advantage in equipment over Tony? 3) Do you think Tony Stewart was in Jimmie Johnson's head in 2005 (considering JJ blatently wrecking Tony at Phoenix, cutting Tony off at Fall Martinsville, getting bumped, then whining about it, and staying out at Homestead with an obviously softening tire until he wrecked because possibly he felt he couldn't beat Tony if he lost a lap)? 131. Anonymous posted: 11.06.2010 - 6:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "1) Do you think Jimmie Johnson is more talented than Tony Stewart? 2) Do you think Jimmie Johnson has had a big advantage in equipment over Tony? 3) Do you think Tony Stewart was in Jimmie Johnson's head in 2005" 1)Overall, No 2)YES 3)Who F***ing cares? But the key word in every one of those questions is "think". You're talking about hypothetical scenarios for things that can't actually be measured, but then you use this "information" to try and make definitive statements. It's a logical fallacy, but I doubt you have any idea what that is, after reading your BS on this site week in and week out. 132. Ryan posted: 11.06.2010 - 8:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Alright. I just want you to answer the following questions: 1) Do you think Jimmie Johnson is more talented than Tony Stewart? 2) Do you think Jimmie Johnson has had a big advantage in equipment over Tony? 3) Do you think Tony Stewart was in Jimmie Johnson's head in 2005 (considering JJ blatently wrecking Tony at Phoenix, cutting Tony off at Fall Martinsville, getting bumped, then whining about it, and staying out at Homestead with an obviously softening tire until he wrecked because possibly he felt he couldn't beat Tony if he lost a lap)?" 1. No 2. Yes 3. Yes 133. Anonymous posted: 11.07.2010 - 1:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "1)Overall, No" I should clarify, lest DSFF try to build some other ridiculous argument off this one answer. Overall, as a race car driver, Stewart is more talented. In just NASCAR Cup racing though....well about even. 134. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.07.2010 - 10:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I must say I'm a little perplexed at the perception that JJ has had a major equipment advantage. In 2007, he definitely did over Tony. That is indisputable. HMS won half the races. That was the most dominant season by one organization since Petty Enterprises in 1967. In '03 and '04 HMS also clearly had superior cars over JGR. Here is the way I see it: 2002: Even. They each win 3 races (despite JJ being a rookie) and Tony wins the Winston Cup. JJ takes the points lead late, then fades pretty badly down the stretch in the second worst "does anybody here really deserve to be the champion?" points battle in recent memory only behind 1991. 2003-04: JGR is off across the board in these two years. Very spotty. Tony can only get 4 combined wins while HMS springs back to the top of the equipment heap for the first time since the late 90s. JJ wins 11 times, Gordon wins 8, and Nemechek even gets a rare win for the #25 car in these two years. JJ had the '04 title in hand before he pulled a "Kyle Busch" in the first half of the first cha$e, crashing himself out of Kansas, speeding on pit road at Dover, then blowing up at Dega. However, instead of mailing the rest of the year in like Kyle does when he bombs in the cha$e, he wins 4 of 5 races but can't overcome his early mistakes. 2005: For the first 1/3 of the season, JGR continues their mediocre performance. Bobby Labonte has become irrelevant, and the new FedEx team is a disaster. However, for the only time in his career, Tony keeps his head on his shoulders when things go bad, and after he and Zippy finally figure out the coil binding package, they blow the entire Cup field off the track. With fast cars and a focused, positive Tony driving, they are untouchable. HMS is still strong, and producing cars as good as Zippy's, but Tony totally psyches JJ out to the point it nearly breaks up Chad and JJ. This is the crux of my argument: Tony had the emerging 48 team on the ropes. All he needed was one more soul crushing beating of them to alter history foever. BUT....... 2006: They both win 5 races. They each have a teammate win 2 races. The difference? Tony loses his head early, gets injured, loses his head some more, then has a summer slump and misses the cha$e. Meanwhile, with Tony out of the championship picture, JJ no longer has to worry about him as he did in the past. Even after a disaster of a cha$e start, JJ rebounds like in '04, and this is another points battle like the ones in '91 and '02. With nobody stepping up to take command of the points, it allows JJ to finally get the monkey off his back. Funny, to this point, JJ is able to make late cha$e charges in '04 (when Tony didn't have the equipment to be a factor) and '06 (when Tony misses the cha$e). But in '05, with Tony at his best, JJ can't do it. Hmmmmmm. Oh, BTW, Tony's rookie teammate finishes 3rd in points. I don't see where HMS had a significant equipment advantage that year. 2007: Like I said earlier, HMS was completely untouchable that year. 2008: JGR switches to Toyota and launches out of the gate faster than a Kyle Busch cha$e flame out. Kyle Busch wins 8 races in the first 22 events. Meanwhile, JJ only wins 2 of the first 24 races (one of which was a fuel mileage win). Denny, driving for JGR, wins once, and contends often, but usually has some problem at the end (for each of which he would loudly criticize JGR). Gordon goes winless and June has a strong start, but only wins once (a fuel mileage win) before falling off the face of the Earth. Tony on the other hand, doesn't win until the Fall Dega race, a bullshit victory, as he focuses on becoming an owner. I think JGR actually had better equipment than HMS this year. But JJ wins 6 more races than Tony. 2009 - present- They are both driving HMS cars. 135. Anonymous posted: 11.07.2010 - 11:47 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF post 134: "blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah this team won one more race this year so that means their cars were way faster blah blah blah I don't take anything else into account but my gut feeling, which of course is never off blah blah blah blah blah I'm still full of BS blah blah blah blah blah blah" Hendrick has been a better team for the entire decade. More wins, more titles, more poles, more top 5's, more top 10's, more fastest laps run, better driver ratings, better points finishes. Take the 2 best hendrick teams against the two gibbs ones before 2005, and the best 3 hendrick teams against the 3 gibbs teams after. If you're going to try and prove a point about which team has better equipment, at least TRY to do some research, instead of this, "well, I think this team was better this year because of this one stat that proves nothing" bulls***. 136. 00andJoe posted: 11.07.2010 - 12:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Here's an interesting question: which of the following three drivers is WORSE? Kevin Conway Gary Bradberry Randy MacDonald The debate starts here. Gentlemen, blow your engines! 137. Spen posted: 11.07.2010 - 1:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Conway's the worst, no question. At least Bradberry could get it done in ARCA. And both of them were driving worse equipment than Conway. DSFF : "HMS springs back to the top of the equipment heap for the first time since the late 90s." I gotta' disagree a little there. Though the 25 and 5 weren't doing very well, Gordon was clearly the class of the field in '01. And I think HMS was above Gibbs in '02 as well. 138. Schroeder51 posted: 11.07.2010 - 7:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Here is my top 10 favorites and bottom 10 least favorite drivers. Top 10: 1. Jeff Gordon (I don't think he'll ever win again though) 2. Jamie McMurray 3. Greg Biffle 4. AJ Allmendinger 5. David Reutimann 6. Kasey Kahne 7. Mark Martin (oddly enough I am the only person in my entire family who likes him) 8. Jeff Burton 9. Brad Keselowski 10.Matt Kenseth My bottom 10: 1. Kyle Busch 2. Kevin Conway (He has no reason to be out there!) 3. Kevin Harvick 4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 5. Robby Gordon 6. Carl Edwards 7. Juan Pablo Montoya 8. Jimmie Johnson (Used to like him, but have gotten tired of seeing him win so much) 9. David Ragan (clueless as to how he has a ride, too) 10.Denny Hamlin (though I guess I'm pulling for him for the championship) Favorite retired drivers: 1. Ernie Irvan 2. Dale Earnhardt 3. Harry Gant 4. Rusty Wallace 5. Richard Petty 6. Alan Kulwicki 7. Cale Yarborough 8. Dale Jarrett 9. Benny Parsons 10.Neil Bonnett 139. jp posted: 11.24.2010 - 3:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) AJ's flip just proves that with any kind of car, you can get a blowover. 140. 00andJoe posted: 06.05.2011 - 9:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #87 sponsor: HostGator.com 141. Talon64 posted: 06.08.2011 - 6:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) CC Scott Miller's career 6th Cup win, coming as a sub-in for the suspended Shane Wilson. It was his 200th race as a CC but isn't working as a CC as of right now. 142. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 04.30.2012 - 9:54 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 85. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.04.10 - 10:30 am I wont copy back down the post, but...My God. I never thought of it like that. 143. Daniel posted: 05.21.2012 - 4:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In using fastest 43: #38 Travis Kvapil & #64 Landon Cassill Out using fastest 43: #7 Robby Gordon & #26 Bill Elliott 144. dull posted: 09.17.2017 - 9:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why is Kyle Busch's sponsor in this race not M&m's Halloween like all the other years a halloween scheme was run 145. Maverick19 posted: 11.02.2019 - 1:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) In his 2+ seasons in NASCAR this was the highest driver rating Scott Speed ever had...79.1. 146. SweetRich posted: 02.21.2020 - 9:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Commentators For The Race Were Marty Reid, Dale Jarrett And Andy Petree. The Pit Road Reporters Were Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Jerry Punch And Vince Welch. 147. Jimmie4life posted: 07.10.2020 - 12:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I once read that NASCAR in this race(I might be mistaken, so take this with a grain of salt) used restrictor plates with 63/64'' holes on the inside. I am confused as to why the holes are so large compared to 4 years ago with the Talladega race changing from 57/64'' holes to 7/8'' holes, and now, they are nearly an 1/8th of an inch larger, but going slower than they were when they decreased the plate size. Maybe the larger holes in the car were why NASCAR kept decreasing the size of the plates for Daytona in February of '11, because the plate holes were too large, I don't know. 148. possum posted: 07.10.2020 - 6:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @147 - if you want to know the specific reason for 63/64 plate holes for that race, I don't know (I probably did once, but no longer remember). But NASCAR was perpetually adjusting the size of the holes. They had (and have) a specific speed target they're looking for, which in that era was something less than 200 mph (because the smaller roof flaps in use back then couldn't keep a car on the ground at 204mph, in tunnel testing). NASCAR has several ways to control speed - they can add drag by changing the spoiler or the body template, they can change the allowed rear gear, they can change the required rear shocks (to put more or less of the spoiler up in the air), or they can change the size of the holes in the plate. Generally they like the plate holes to be as big as possible, to give the driver good throttle response. But it's easier to change the plate on short notice, so if they decided a couple of weeks before the race (or a couple of hours after first practice, as occasionally happened) they needed to slow the cars down a bit, they'd put out a smaller plate. Then between races, when they had time, they might make one of the other changes and go back to a bigger plate. It was a continuous tradeoff to keep the racing good without going over the max speed. 149. Canadianfan posted: 07.10.2020 - 9:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @147 wasn't this race. From Jayski: Rules package unchanged at Talladega: The rules package that resulted in a record number of lead changes in last April's race at Talladega will again be in place for Sunday's AMP Energy Juice 500. Restrictor-plate openings that are 15/16ths of an inch in diameter will remain while the car's rear spoiler with the 70 degrees, 63 inches wide and 4.5 inches tall.(CBS Sports)(10-28-2010) (They did talk about changing it for the spring race but ultimately didn't.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: