|| *Comments on the 2011 Jeff Byrd 500 Presented by Food City:* View the most recent comment <#192> | Post a comment <#post> 1. DieselDan posted: 03.20.2011 - 4:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Watched the whole race, which was quite boring. Who the hell is Jeff Byrd and why didn't Fox comment on who he is or was? Typical hack journalism by FAUX news. 2. lugnut posted: 03.20.2011 - 4:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Empire grabs a 5th place finish. Well Done Paul!!! 3. Buschtastic posted: 03.20.2011 - 4:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I believe the term for what Busch did this weekend is "clinic". 20th career Cup win, tied for 33rd all time. 5th win at Bristol, tied for lead amongst active drivers. 4. Eric posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:04 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) DieselDan, Jeff Byrd was the long time track president of Bristol. He died last October of lengthy illness. 5. Anonymous posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @DiesselDan Actually the quite boring race told you all you need to know about Jeff Byrd. He's the man responsible for putting in the progressive banking that's taken all the character away from what was once my favorite race track. 6. Smokefan05 posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Was switching the race on and off all day. Figured either Busch, Edwards or Johnson would win. I guess Paul Menard moving to RCR wasn't a bad thing after all. Dudes knocking on the door for a win. Truex Jr. had a good car but when Mother Nature change the weather it screwed him up. 7. Eric posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch is now tied with the late Speedy Thompson with 20 wins. 8. Alex posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Please change Britsol back. This track sucks now. 9. Anonymous posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) the argument for the new track has been that now there is more racing whereas before you had to wreck someone to gain a spot, so where are the asslickers hiding at now?????? 10. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That is the most lifeless race I have ever seen at Bristol. I can't believe they did what they did to that track. What were they thinking? "Hmmmmmm, we have the hottest ticket on the circuit because this track produces racing the fans just love (how else do you explain so amny people wanting to come to the rural mountains of Tennessee?). Let's change it all up!!!" Ugh. Congrats guys, you turned Bristol into Michigan. No wonder the place was half empty. JGR continues their domination of the short tracks. 11. lugnut posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Much better race than the old bristol. Side by side racing was a blast. 12. Eric posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nascar drivers told Bruton Smith and the late Jeff Byrd to changed Bristol to a multi groove racetrack like Michigan. 13. TommyChong posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "That is the most lifeless race I have ever seen at Bristol. I can't believe they did what they did to that track. What were they thinking? "Hmmmmmm, we have the hottest ticket on the circuit because this track produces racing the fans just love (how else do you explain so amny people wanting to come to the rural mountains of Tennessee?). Let's change it all up!!!" Ugh. Congrats guys, you turned Bristol into Michigan. No wonder the place was half empty." That sounds like the limp-dick whining of someone who's driver got beat today. Busch can't help it that he's so good at Bristol. Maybe you're just pulling for the wrong guy. 14. Anonymous posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This guy called the finish today in the Nationwide thread yesterday: "18. ShavedBusch posted: 03.19.11 - 6:35 pm WTG Kyle! 5-in-a-row tomorrow, book it, done. " ......And I love his screen name. 15. Anonymous posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DaleSrFanForever, You are suffering from "long term memory loss" like Smokefan05 calls it. Matter of fact if Smokefan05 sees what you type, he would say you are suffering from long time memory loss. Bristol was a multiple groove race track before Bristol got a concrete surface in 1992. 16. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I won't put so much blame on Jeff Byrd. I think you have to look at SMI. They also have sucked the life out of Atlanta (adding that cookie cutter dogleg) and Sears Point (taking out the interesting carosel). They also made a huge change to Vegas right as it was getting a little bit interesting (if you are gonna spend that much money totally re-doing a place, why not make it into something intesting instead of another aero dependant cookie cutter?). I give ISC credit. When they re-configured Homestead, they knocked it out of the ballpark. From crap to great. And when they had to repave old tracks Martinsville, Darlington, and Daytona, they left the configuration alone. Of course they also built the coma inducing tracks in California, Chicago and Kansas, but they haven't harmed old tracks like Bruton has. 17. Andrew posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was the best race at Bristol since the repaving. I still don't think the repaving was necessary at all, but it looks like the track is finally developing exciting races again. Bristol's main problem right now is that none of the good drivers race hard in the Night Race because of the Chase; Bristol could easily knock them right out of contention. This translates into poor sales for the spring race. It's fantastic to see Paul Menard running so well this year. He was in a tough spot when DEI dissolved and no good rides were available, and then the bottom fell out at Yates/GEM/Petty, his new ride. He's a good driver and finally has the good equipment to prove it. Harvick's looking pretty good too; he could get really hot down the stretch. Conversely, what is going on with Burton and Bowyer this year? Did Childress move their support guys over to Harvick and Menard, or have they just had rotten luck? David Ragan needs to get going. Roush isn't going to be happy with another season of barely top 20 finishes, and Ricky Stenhouse looks better every week in the Nationwide series. Kyle Busch has been interesting this year. He's really calmed down both in and out of the car. I'm not happy with him winning everything in sight, but it's damn impressive. 18. Suomynona posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So how many more times will Kyle Busch win at Bristol in his career? I say as few as 3 more, and as many as 10. It really depends if someone else can figure out Bristol better. He's turning into a Rusty Wallace or Darrel Waltrip at the place. 19. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "That sounds like the limp-dick whining of someone who's driver got beat today." I don't care who won, this race sucked. How many times have I mentioned how much the '95 Brickyard 400 sucked? Go look up who won that race, then look at my screen name. The greatest finish in NASCAR history was the '03 Spring Darlington race. It was fought out between Ricky Craven (somebody I respect, but wouldn't call myself a fan of) and Kurt Busch (barf). 20. Anonymous posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The people who think Bristol sucks only watch the race for the wrecks anyway. Bristol was a boring ass single file caution fest before they redid the track. 21. HereWeGoAgain posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I don't care who won, this race sucked. " Well I've been watching NASCAR since 1994, and what you say sucked, I say was pretty good. Plenty of great racing for the lead. Some good battles to stay on the lead lap or lucky dog spot. Different pit strategies, 3 or 4 dominant cars trading off the lead, the best car showing everyone else how it's done in the end. Most every driver finished where they deserved to. It's a standard, slightly above-average NASCAR race. 22. AwesomeBuschfromDawsonbusch posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Got dang-it Kyle, you can drive a race car. Bristol is one of the toughest tracks on the circuit, and you make that thing your b**ch. He's gonna get a grandstand named after him there someday. 23. Cooper posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Does anybody know what happened to Jeff Burton when he caused the 7 car wreck on lap 29? The booth never said why, they just said he slowed down. It looked like he just slammed on the brakes. It caused a lot of drivers to have a bad day. 24. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What's with all the hate for the new Bristol? In my opinion, the racing there is just as good if not better than the old Bristol. And I thought we had a good race today as well, especially the battles for the lead (we have SIX drivers who led at least over 25 laps, what else could you guys want?). "I believe the term for what Busch did this weekend is "clinic". 20th career Cup win, tied for 33rd all time. 5th win at Bristol, tied for lead amongst active drivers." I wish the media would just use these stats when talking about his career instead of combining his Cup, NW and Truck stats and comparing them to past legends who got the majority of their wins in the Cup Series. That's bullshit; if you're going to compare Kyle to any Cup legend, talk about how they were doing at the same point in their Cup career that Kyle is at now instead of throwing in his NW and Truck wins. But even that would be debatable to no end because things were different in racing when past legends were racing. 25. Anonymous posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I don't care who won, this race sucked. How many times have I mentioned how much the '95 Brickyard 400 sucked? Go look up who won that race, then look at my screen name. The greatest finish in NASCAR history was the '03 Spring Darlington race. It was fought out between Ricky Craven (somebody I respect, but wouldn't call myself a fan of) and Kurt Busch (barf)." I know why DSFF has PMS about the race today. It's because his boy toy, Keselowski, hasn't finished better than 10th since November 2009. And now he doesn't even have the excuse of being on a weak team, he's under-performing with a team that a Busch could regularly run up front with. And in addition to his Cup troubles, DSFF's crush can't even keep his car running straight in the Nationwide series these days. So after watching little Bradley struggle his way to a top 20 today while bouncing off of things like a pinball, it stings extra hard that the bane of his existence, Kyle Busch, wins yet another race in dominating fashion. 26. Jeff posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF is right. This race did suck and I almost never agree with anything he says. The empty seats speak for themselves. That never happened with the old Bristol. 27. JP88 posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I thought it was a very entertaining race, we had comers and goers as guys like Truex and Menard led. Brad K has another wrecked car, still hung in to finish 18 and David Ragan just finished outside of the top 15, both need to get going, Ragan's job is in danger. Great runs for Paul Menard and Bobby Labonte, if Paul runs well or wins at Talladega, I'm gonna say he makes the chase. I just think that will be his determining race. Jamie Mac, Jeff Burton, and Clint Bowyer are having horrendous luck so far this year. I think Jamie has wrecked or damaged his car in every race, most not of his own doing. David Gilliand also was hanging in the top 10 after staying out, alot better than Robby Gordon who had the same strategy, I think the Front Row team has gotten up to the Top 25 plateau, up from Top 30 last year. Also a nice 25th for Blaney and Baldwin Racing, if they get more help and a little better equipment, Blaney will sneak a couple surprise top 10's And Jr. almost got his 3rd top 10 in a row finishing 11th...a great start for Jr. he's not quite there yet but hopefully will continue to improve. 28. Buschtastic posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I wish the media would just use these stats when talking about his career" Yeah, that's the weird thing, he already does enough in Cup to warrant a lot of attention, between his great moments and his infamous temper. He wins enough to watch his climb up the all time Cup leaderboard, I mean it already says a lot that only 32 drivers in all of Cup history have more wins in that series, without even looking at anything else he's accomplished. But that's the media for you. 29. AJ posted: 03.20.2011 - 5:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've been a Paul Menard basher for an extended period of time, but he's made me look like a complete fool this season. In years past, he probably would have taken out himself, Kenseth, and a few others when they were battling for fourth late in the race. Instead, he kept his cool, then focused on holding off Kurt and Harvick for 5th. Maybe it's just taken him longer to mature as a driver; maybe it's the move to RCR; maybe it's a combination of the both, but he's been pretty damn good this season. Hopefully for him, he doesn't fall off like he did last year and maintains his good form throughout the year. 30. 00andJoe posted: 03.20.2011 - 6:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) - Dennis Setzer makes his first Cup Series start since fall Martinsville in 1998. I actually thought it was a pretty good race. Granted, the "old Bristol" was better, but this was better than 80% of the rest of the season. IMHO. YMMV! During qualifying, it was stated that the #66 was intending to run the entire race. Instead they were the first car out with the traditional S&P excuse "brakes". What happened? David Ragan is, his flash of brilliance derailed by stupidity at Daytona aside, having another mediocre year in a fully sponsored car - sponsored by one of the series' marquee sponsors. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., meanwhile, is on fire in Busch - in a only partially-sponsored car... Prediction: if Ragan doesn't win between now and Talladega, Jack gives him the boot and moves Stenhouse up to Cup starting at Richmond. 31. Schroeder51 posted: 03.20.2011 - 6:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) FOX said McDowell's engine failed, but apparently, he S&P'ed again. 32. Watto posted: 03.20.2011 - 6:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The most frustrating thing about the new Bristol is that it's extremely difficult to pass low, even if you're considerably faster than the car in front of you. That seems to be a characteristic of most progressively banked tracks. Races like that frustrate me to watch more than anything. When they had their final caution, you knew that whoever got out of pit road first was going to win the race because of the predictability in the track, and that is exactly what happened. That is not a good thing, in my opinion. To each's own, I guess. I've seen many great races at Bristol over the years, and I personally like the side by side racing promoted by tracks with the same banking across the entire corner rather than tracks that try to artificially produce side by side racing with progressive banking. The difference is huge, and I'd rather see it be in the driver's hands. 33. 18fan posted: 03.20.2011 - 6:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It definitely wasn't a great race, but the battle between Carl, Kyle, and Jimmie at the beginning of the last run was really interesting watching three of the best in the sport battle cleanly until the best car drove away at the end. The majority of the race was rather boring. I have many races from the old concrete Bristol and traffic is actually more of a problem for the leaders now than it was then. 34. Andrew posted: 03.20.2011 - 6:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @Anon24 - I hate to defend Ice Cream Boy in any way, but he's not running with KuBu's old team; they all moved over to the 22. The new #2 crew seems to be a hybrid of last year's 12, 77, and NW 22 crews. 35. Watto posted: 03.20.2011 - 6:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "In years past, he probably would have taken out himself, Kenseth, and a few others when they were battling for fourth late in the race. Instead, he kept his cool, then focused on holding off Kurt and Harvick for 5th. Maybe it's just taken him longer to mature as a driver;" I don't think Menard's ever done anything in years past to warrant the expectation of him taking out himself and other leaders while battling up there, so your comment baffles me. I'm sure he's gotten better as a driver, but driving for more competitive organizations doesn't hurt. He's not exactly known for overdriving and making stupid mistakes, he was always pretty conservative and cool/collected. 36. 00andJoe posted: 03.20.2011 - 6:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh, forgot to mention: apparently the Front Row Motorsports #37 is actually being run these days by Larry Gunselman's #64 team, per practice coverage. 37. 18fan posted: 03.20.2011 - 6:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch's 5 wins have all come from starting outside the top 10, while all races starting with the 2005 fall race that Kyle has not won have all been won from top 10 starting spots. 38. TimmyH posted: 03.20.2011 - 6:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "So after watching little Bradley struggle his way to a top 20 today while bouncing off of things like a pinball, it stings extra hard that the bane of his existence, Kyle Busch, wins yet another race in dominating fashion." I didn't know DaleSrFanForever had such a hard on for Keselowski, but it actually makes a lot of what he says make sense. Not in a logic sort of way, because he sucks at that, but it explains how his view of everything is so warped. Must be tough on someone mentally to root for Keselowski these days. It's been a long time since Dale Sr, eh? Just like it's been a long time since Keselowski's last single-digit finish in Cup (16 months). 39. Smokefan05 posted: 03.20.2011 - 6:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Post #15 Yep. :-P 40. Watto posted: 03.20.2011 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ... what Andrew said. Kurt's team from 2010 is now the 22. Brad's team mostly consists of his team last year, except with Paul Wolfe as the crew chief. I'm pretty convinced that Brad will do better this year than last, but we shall see. You can't go around blaming today's performance solely on Brad though, as it's a miracle he was able to even get a top 20 after getting a lot of damage in the Jeff Burton-caused wreck. 41. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.20.2011 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "The empty seats speak for themselves." Exactly. The Busch races used to draw more people. Seriously! 42. Schroeder51 posted: 03.20.2011 - 6:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, apparently Larry Gunselman isn't parking cars anymore, the #37 has finished the last 3 races. 43. Watto posted: 03.20.2011 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The 37 is Front Row Motorsports, Larry Gunselman basically sold his deal to Germain. Last year's 64 is the 60. 44. 18fan posted: 03.20.2011 - 6:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why does it seem that most Cup boards turn into debates about Brad Keselowski? 45. 00andJoe posted: 03.20.2011 - 6:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #43 - that's not what they said during practice. IIRC, the direct quote was "the Front Row Motorsports #37 is being leased out to Larry Gunselman's team". Also, since the #60 and #64 were both entered at Daytona, well... 46. Boogity Boogity Boogity, LG racin boys! posted: 03.20.2011 - 6:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race was OK but not great...I am impressed by Paul Menard's run and there was good racing in spots however Kyle Busch just had a good racecar has a knack for the place. Also, Denny Hamlin is discovering it is not going to be as easy as last year. The old concrete surface is better than the progressive banking surface. There are more places to race, making it good for the drivers, the old surface was hell on the drivers but more exciting for the fans so you have a double edged sword, (some) fans aren't happy drivers are, in the old Bristol drivers hated it, fans loved it. Bristol still has some of teh best short track racing, I love my hometown RIR the best. 47. Cooper posted: 03.20.2011 - 6:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 18fan I'd rather talk about BK/Jet Ski/Ice Cream Boy/B-Rad then talk about Kyle Busch stinking up another Bristol Race. By the time we head to California it will be three weeks since a non related Kyle vehicle actually won. Carl Edwards won at vegas and since then it's been: Kyle Busch's truck in victory lane last weekend Kyle winning the Nationwide @Bristol Kyle winning the CUP@Bristol What else is their to talk about? Oh an people stomping on Brad today, he had no front end left and still was one of the fastest guys on the track. We wouldn't know this because FOX only has two cameras a Kyle Busch cam, and then a leader cam. 48. Boogity Boogity Boogity, LG racin boys! posted: 03.20.2011 - 6:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Awesomebuschfromdawsonbusch, he'll probably have to have the grandstand shared with his brother Kurt who has 5 wins at Bristol, like the Allisons grandstand for Bobby, Donnie, and Davey. 49. 18fan posted: 03.20.2011 - 7:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't have a problem with all the talk about Brad, but its interesting that no other driver generates this much attention on these boards. 50. AwesomeBuschfromDawsonbusch posted: 03.20.2011 - 7:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Awesomebuschfromdawsonbusch, he'll probably have to have the grandstand shared with his brother Kurt who has 5 wins at Bristol, like the Allisons grandstand for Bobby, Donnie, and Davey." Most likely, as I'm sure Kurt isn't done winning there either. Already 10 wins between them, with many more to come. 51. Matt G posted: 03.20.2011 - 7:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I already posted this in another thread but I'll post it here as well because it seems relevant. "I like the new Bristol. I LOVED the old Bristol. If this "new Bristol" had popped up on the schedule somewhere else, I think people would appreciate the goood racing it provies so much more. Instead they are left to compare this new style of racing with the one that allowed the track to build 160,000 seats and still be considered the toughtest ticket in Nascar. I'm sorry, but when I hear Bristol it immediately conjores up memories of Earnhardt and Labonte in 95 and again in 99. It takes me back to some of the classic Gordon and Rusty fueds; highlighted by the events of 97 and 02. And most of all, it evokes images of Bobbly Labonte firing his helmet back into his car in frustration, Jimmie Johnson giving Hut Stricklin the bird, Gordon shoving Kenseth on pit road, and Harvick leaping over cars and a crowd to give Greg Biffle a piece of his mind. Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks this way either because whenever I see a commercial for Bristol, a preview for Bristol, or anything designed to get fans pumped up for a race at Bristol, I see image after image of wrecks, fueds, and other controversies from the old Bristol----- with the occasional "new Bristol" wreck/fued sprikled in (Careful, they are much harder to find though). Here's what baffles me. Why continue to advertise for "old Bristol" when your product has changed? If Bristol really is confident that this new style is better, why not have commercials that advertise for "SIDE BY SIDE RACING" as well as "FEWER WRCKS AND LESS CONTROVERSY"? I find it insulting as a fan that they expect me to see images from "old Bristol" and then want to buy tickets to new Bristol when they are not the same track. It would be like Pocono using images from races at Dover to try and get people to buy tickets there. It's really quite laughable and almost a tease to those who know better; as if to say "HERE'S WHAT YOU'RE NOT GONNA SEE BUT WISH YOU WERE SEEING IF YOU BUY A TICKET HERE". Why are the stands partially empty at Bristol now? People who go there buy tickets with expectations of old Bristol and don't get what they payed for. You can only be disappointed in a product so many times before you don't purchase the product again. I guarantee you that if Bristol announced it was changing the track back to the way it was before 07, it would once again become the toughest ticket in the sport. Heck, I'd buy a ticket myself and I live hundreds of miles away. What I think Bristol needs to do is make a decision. Either keep the new Bristol and show confidence in it by actually advertising the characterisics it has like side by side racing and more mild mannered races, or change the track back to the way it was and continue to advertise for wrecks and fueds. Bristol has changed the product while acting as if the product hasn't changed at all; and they havn't fooled anyone. It's time for them to cut the crap and decide what they want this track to be; if that's a two groove track, fine. I won't agree with it but I'll stop complaining about it if they stop trying to sell me steaming piles of B.S. which indicate that i'm going to see a race filled with wrecks and fueds like I did before the 07 repave. And I want to make it clear that I like the new Bristol and do enjoy the racing there quite a bit. It's just that I prefer the old Bristol because it was such a unique spectacle. I wish that another track like Bristol would be built so we can have one like the "old Bristol" and one like the "new Bristol" on the schedule because both put on good shows. I just like the show old Bristol put on a little bit better. What can I say? Controversy sells; always has, always will." 52. 00andJoe posted: 03.20.2011 - 7:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) More musings: - Some of the teams that were in danger of falling out of the top 35 in owner points got some breathing room, but the 83, 32, 7 and 13 are on thin ice, being 18, 15, 8 and 1 points ahead of 36th, respectively. Of course, since the 7 will only be running a limited schedule after California, 36th might get locked in to most fields (until the 7 drops below it, of course). Which would be good news for the 36, only one point out of the top 35 after today's race. The 37 is two points behind, the 71, 3 points, and the 38 is six points out of the top 35. - It's been stated the 92 won't be attempting next week's race at Fontana. Which, given recent grids, leaves only 43 potential entries, assuming all of them show up... 53. Anonymous posted: 03.20.2011 - 7:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #45, The 60 and 64 aren't the same team. That's Germain's #60 team. 54. Watto posted: 03.20.2011 - 7:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There's a bunch of deals that went down down, but the 60 that is Germain right now is basically what was ran as the 64 last year. Germain acquired most of those employees and cars in a deal. I didn't know about Gunselman's deal with the 37, but the 64 at Daytona was totally Gunselman from what I was told. 55. dUDE gUY posted: 03.20.2011 - 7:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I loved the side-by-side racing. No matter where you looked, there were three or four cars dicing it up for whatever positions they were fighting for, whether it be for the lead, for 10th place or just to hang onto the lead lap. Awesome race, in my books. 56. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 03.20.2011 - 8:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Oh an people stomping on Brad today, he had no front end left and still was one of the fastest guys on the track. We wouldn't know this because FOX only has two cameras a Kyle Busch cam, and then a leader cam." Exactly. When Brad got involved in that wreck and then spun after that, I thought he was going to finish worse than 25th for sure. Of course luck played a role in this, as he was able to get back on the lead lap due to the late cautions but he did a respectable job on a day that could have ended up a lot worse. 57. Cooper posted: 03.20.2011 - 9:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Seems like Jeffy isn't too happy with Brad after today... YOU??RE NOT VERY HAPPY WITH BRAD (KESELOWSKI). WHAT HAPPENED? "Well, the guy was three laps down. I understand. He??s trying to keep from going a lap down and hey, you??ve got to give him credit. They fought back and got back on the lead lap and got a decent finish out of it. I??ll just tell Brad that the next time I??m three laps down, and he??s on the lead lap, just expect the same out of me, you know? I don??t expect him to just let off. He had a fast race car. But when you??re three laps down and then you door-slam the guy trying to pass; that??s what ticked me off is when he got loose underneath me and got up into me, I got pretty mad then." http://paddocktalk.com/news/html/story-155955.html 58. Jarrett88fan posted: 03.20.2011 - 9:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "The 5 got into us again." Is Happy Harvick looking to rough up Mark Martin? Actually, Kahne and Harvick getting together cost Mark a top-10 finish. #51 Matt G hit the nail on the head! "What can I say? Controversy sells; always has, always will." 59. Greg Gruver posted: 03.20.2011 - 9:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) People talking about the empty seats at Bristol, I for one was a 10 year season ticket holder at Bristol from 1999 to 2008. I saw all kinds of great racing there. The reason I no longer have my tickets is the money spent getting to the track from Houston, Texas and Later from Tampa, Florida. After the 320 dollars for the tickets, it was also 200 dollars for the campground. and another 250 dollars for the gas to get there. Include money for food and t-shirts and I would spend over 1200 dollars for a 5 day trip. When the economy tanked my job cut my pay 10 percent, while gas and everything else was going up. That is the reason a lot of people that used to go, are not going now. It has nothing to do with the racing of the track, Bristol is more then just one cup race a weekend, it is the whole experience. The friends in the campground and the parties as well as seeing practice and qualifying. Believe me when I get the money back I WILL BE COMING BACK TO THUNDER VALLEY!!! 60. JP88 posted: 03.20.2011 - 10:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) After hearing... "I still got one in my pocket for Kyle [Busch]" - Carl Edwards I just want someone to f him up and make him fear for his life, he's a bipolar, roid raged, a-hole 61. Turd Ferguson posted: 03.20.2011 - 10:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "the argument for the new track has been that now there is more racing whereas before you had to wreck someone to gain a spot..." Therein lies the problem. At any other track, side-by-side racing would be a good thing. At Bristol, we want and expect a wreck-fest, dammit! The empty seats in the grandstands tells the tale. 62. irony posted: 03.20.2011 - 11:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't want a wreck fest or single file racing. I also don't want the guy behind the leader to be at a disadvantage. As I said in the other thread, they over did the progressive banking. The low line did look a little better this week than last year, but I doubt it gets any better than that. Change Bristol back to its 40 ft width, with a reasonable amount of progressive banking (1 or 2 degrees) and both sides of this debate would be happy. You'd have bumping, side-by-side racing, and something both Bristols lacked - PASSING. 63. Palpatine posted: 03.20.2011 - 11:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Everything that has transpired has gone exactly as I have foreseen the end of Johnson's pitiful championship reign is near 64. Smokefan05 posted: 03.20.2011 - 11:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Therein lies the problem. At any other track, side-by-side racing would be a good thing. At Bristol, we want and expect a wreck-fest, dammit! The empty seats in the grandstands tells the tale." then your not a real racefan. A real race fan watchs for the racing, not the wrecks. If all those empty seats tell something is that NASCAR hardly has any real racefans in it anymore, unless someone else would like to prove me wrong? (oh i'm sure there other like me out there who enjoying racing and not wrecks. If i wanted wreck, i'd go a local demo derby) "I just want someone to f him up and make him fear for his life, he's a bipolar, roid raged, a-hole" I'm still waiting too. 65. Matt G posted: 03.21.2011 - 1:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @Smokefan05 It's not that we need to see wrecks; or at least I don't need to. What I do want to see however (at least from time to time) is controversy. Something to add depth to the great racing, bring the personalities of the competitors out a little more, and enhance the overall experience. And the short tracks (which we now have so few of) are usually the best place to see that occur. I don't need every single week to feature a field of trashed cars but I would like to see variety in my racing. Bristol for a good 15 years provided a style of racing that forced guys to fight over space instead of just ride along in their own lane. It's not a style that I think needs to be run every single week but it is something I would like to see from time to time. A true mark of a champion is a racer who can master all sorts of different styles of racing, and some of those styles include racing that's going to cause a bunch of wrecks. Just because people enjoy that style of racing doesn't mean they aren't "real race fans". In fact, I fail to understand why liking side by side racing and liking wrecks have to be mutaully exclusive. I like "new Bristol" but I liked the 92-07 Bristol. Does that really mean I'm not a "real race fan"? 66. Palpatine posted: 03.21.2011 - 1:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational battle station as it destroys the California speedway 67. The Ost posted: 03.21.2011 - 6:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Watched the whole race, which was quite boring. Who the hell is Jeff Byrd and why didn't Fox comment on who he is or was? Typical hack journalism by FAUX news. " Actually they had a video feature about him. Also, if you were interested in who he was you would a) probably try and find out who he was and b) have never watched a Bristol race before (which would explain your opinion that the race was 'boring' This race was fine, as was the Saturday race. Not every race features countless lap-after-lap lead changes or multiple wrecks, or a surprise winner. This was perfectly entertaining Bristol racing. Check any decade, it's always been like this. And when commenters complain about "the old Bristol" the track is 50 years old, so perhaps clarify what you mean instead of sounding like a half-wit. As far as I can see there are only two problem with the sport: 1. A lack of southern drivers with engaging personalities 2. Presentation of the races that leads you into thinking that something exciting will happen every single lap, which only serves to attract an audience of young, impatient, disrespectful males who have the attention span of an amoeba. Go back to your video games if you can't handle good honest racing. This sport has spent several attempts over the last few years listening to these ultimately pointless complaints, and what has it brought us? Ugly cars and young drivers who are too afraid to say "boo". Some of us just like auto racing. Let us enjoy it. 68. RacingRocks57 posted: 03.21.2011 - 7:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Listen to this ad about Kyle Busch... Hi. I'm Kyle Busch. You could win a chance to stay with me. My friends say I'm very friendly, honest and cool-tempered. blahblahblahblahblahblah. Kyle Busch is cool-tempered? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? 69. S&P posted: 03.21.2011 - 7:57 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The comment above is the best I have ever heard. 70. Baker posted: 03.21.2011 - 9:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) So why does Carl have "one in his pocket for Kyle" ??? I'm confused here. So he is premeditating wrecking Kyle Busch? Carl is fake. 71. Smokefan05 posted: 03.21.2011 - 9:23 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Just because people enjoy that style of racing doesn't mean they aren't "real race fans". In fact, I fail to understand why liking side by side racing and liking wrecks have to be mutaully exclusive. I like "new Bristol" but I liked the 92-07 Bristol. Does that really mean I'm not a "real race fan"?" Oh i liked the old bristol too, just for the stupidity of it and not the actual racing. When BMS got repaved, i enjoyied the racing more, it had less wrecks. But in reality a 'real racefan' just watchs for the racing and not for the wrecks. Places like Martinsville i'd expect the bumper to be used because of the narrow racing line and the fact that its a flat racetrack. At a place like Bristol, it shouldn't be a single groove racetrack, multi-groove racing is how it should be. I mean seriously, i remember a bristol race having like over 20 cautions? And people complain about debris cautions. Oh and something hit me while i was watching ESPNs Mike and Mike. With the NFL and NBA having a lockouts about/is happening right now the MLB CBA expires Dec. 11th. So um yeah, is alot of gains ahead for NASCAR. :-) 72. Jarrett88fan posted: 03.21.2011 - 9:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good for Jennifer Jo Cobb and Scott Riggs... no more start and parks. "There were rumblings all week about us start and parking this race," Cobb said. "I have a commitment to my sponsors, my fans, NASCAR that I won't start-and-park. I'm very serious about my career and my performance, and I've worked hard to prove it to everyone. The conversation was never had with me until 10 minutes before the race that I was to start-and-park. 73. Frank posted: 03.21.2011 - 9:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Ost, #57 Man, the BIGGEST problem with the sport is FAKE CAUTIONS. Look, after wreck-filled Daytona we've had them in all three races on different types of tracks. I started to watch 1998 Cup season and impressed how less reason nowdays race control needs to wave a yellow. Or even no reason at all! 74. Frank posted: 03.21.2011 - 10:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sorry, I'm about post #67 75. Matt G posted: 03.21.2011 - 10:23 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Look, after wreck-filled Daytona we've had them in all three races on different types of tracks. I started to watch 1998 Cup season and impressed how less reason nowdays race control needs to wave a yellow. Or even no reason at all!" I have a question. Who is the person, or persons who decides when a caution needs to come out? Seriously. Is there one person up there who presses a button every time they feel there needs to be a caution? Are there multiple people who all have to tell this other person to bring the caution out? If there are multiple people who have this power, how many have to agree that a caution needs to come out before a yellow is actually thrown? 76. I Love Japan posted: 03.21.2011 - 11:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Is it bad I'm cheering for Menard all of a sudden? He just keeps on improving. He gets all this criticism about buying his ways into rides yada yada yada. The dude can drive, That's afact. Today proved it. 77. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.21.2011 - 12:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Why does it seem that most Cup boards turn into debates about Brad Keselowski?" Because trolls come here just to argue with me and get under my skin. It never works, so as a last resort, they know I am a fan of Brad so they trash him. That doesn't work either. I guess they think I haven't noticed that his Penske stint has been a huge disappointment. I guess they haven't read my posts bemoaning this, getting on to him for putting way too much emphasis on his NWide program and for not adapting his driving style of driving his car too deep into corners, which with the COT is a death sentence. Obviously I'm a Brad fan, so this will sound biased, but I think if he could have success in Cup, it would help the sport. He is brutally honest, unapologetic, uncompromising, well spoken, while not coming off as a complete jerk. He dishes it out, but takes it without whining when somebody does the same thing to him (more on this in a second). There has been discussion about what is keeping the sport down, and one theory was the lack of interesting drivers (particularly Southerners). I don't know about the Southern part, I am a Southerner but my favorite active drivers seem to be midwestern: Kes, Kenseth, and Jamie Mac come to mind. I think Brad could fill that gap. A lot of us are very disenchanted with the majority of current drivers and their personalities. Brad not only doesn't fall into their stupid little clique, he relishes not being part of the "fraternity". Follow him on Twitter for just one week. It is entertaining as hell. "Well, the guy was three laps down. I understand. He??s trying to keep from going a lap down and hey, you??ve got to give him credit. They fought back and got back on the lead lap and got a decent finish out of it. I??ll just tell Brad that the next time I??m three laps down, and he??s on the lead lap, just expect the same out of me, you know? I don??t expect him to just let off. He had a fast race car. But when you??re three laps down and then you door-slam the guy trying to pass; that??s what ticked me off is when he got loose underneath me and got up into me, I got pretty mad then." Typical Jeff. When he won at Phoenix, and I felt happy about it, it just felt so odd to be happy about Jeff being successful and I didn't understand why. Now I remember. He gets into people all the time, and it's "hey, that's just racing", but when the same happens to him he whines like a little girl. He even mentioned in his own freaking interview. Brad was 3 laps down at one point, and he still finished just 4 sports behind Jeff who never got lapped. And how about Jeff door slamming Kyle to win Phoenix (which of course he brushed off)? I guess that's alright. And it was. It's called racing. He has whined his way through his entire career. If he weren't so hitorically great, I'd start calling him Danica Gordon. And that is why the fans have never taken to him despite his undeniably legendary career, which still has more chapters to come. His numbers and versatility are staggereing, and were well discussed on last race's thread. And you can't pull the "He's not a good ol' boy" card. If that were the case, why do we remember Tim Richmond so fondly? He grew up in a wealthy family in Ohio, lived on a boat in Florida, and had an apartment in Manhatten that he stayed in a lot. Not exactly Kannapolis born Dale Earnhardt struggling his way up the ladder, then spending his free time collecting chicken eggs and bailing hay even after he'd earned well over $10 million. But he had an awesome personality, so we love hearing old stories about him. Jeff? We're just ready for him to head on out. 78. 00andJoe posted: 03.21.2011 - 12:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #75 - I believe the competition director has the authority to call for a caution flag, based on input from observers around the track. The number of cautions for "that French driver, Pierre DeBris" (as Eli Gold so memorably put it) HAS gone down lately compared to a few years ago. Of course, sometimes even 'genuine' debris is rather silly (a piece of PAPER, for Pete's sake, once - true it was metallic-shiny paper, but still...). 79. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.21.2011 - 1:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I have foreseen the end of Johnson's pitiful championship reign is near" Unlikely. Carl and Kyle are peaking too soon. They are both notoriously streaky, and Kyle has never even factored in a Cup championship hunt. Yes, Kyle has been quite calm so far, but he starts off every year relatively calm. It is after 7 or 8 months of racing 3 different Series, endlessly searching for perfection in each, that the emotional toll on him pulls him down. If he is acting this well in late September, then I'll be convinced. RCR has the consistency, but not the speed, just like in years past. Plus Harvick is another ticking timebomb. Stewart drives for a HMS satellite that seems to get slower in the cha$e. Hmmmmm. Kurt Busch and Penske can't put a full season together. Hamlin appears to be experiencing the "Johnson effect", a phenomenon that has occured after every JJ championship where his closest challengers give their all to knock him off, come up short, then suffer the next year. In '06 he was chased by Kenseth, Hamlin, Harvick, and June. In '07 Kenseth finished a distant 4th as JJ and Gordon dominated the sport in way that hasn't been done since the heyday of Petty/Pearson. Denny had 4th biggest cha$e stinkbomb ever (behind Mayfield in '04 and '05, and all time leader Vickers in '09), Harvick won an emotional Daytona 500 then didn't win again for over three years, and June went winless, had a public rift with his father's soulmate, went to HMS, and has royally sucked ever since. In '08, JJ's only challenger in '07, Gordon, went winless and has only won twice since. Carl won 9 races in '08 and gave JJ all he wanted in the cha$e. It would be almost 2 years before he won again. Mark followed a feel good 5 win '09 that included a run at JJ with a winless season and missing the cha$e. And if you want to go even further, the years JJ didn't win, '04 and '05, the people who ran with him and the ones who actually beat him: Kurt, Gordon, June, and Mark in '04 and Smoke, Biff, and Carl in '05, all had seasons that were disappointments the year after. So, to summarize my point, don't count on it. 80. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.21.2011 - 1:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt G, you are totally correct. Bristol is pulling the old bait and switch. You are right, by showing all the firworks of the Old Bristol, that just shows you that they know what fans want. Bristol used to be an event, now it is just another race that may as well be on a cookie cutter track. That is why the stands were half full. 81. Turd Ferguson posted: 03.21.2011 - 1:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "then your not a real racefan. A real race fan watchs for the racing, not the wrecks. If all those empty seats tell something is that NASCAR hardly has any real racefans in it anymore, unless someone else would like to prove me wrong? (oh i'm sure there other like me out there who enjoying racing and not wrecks. If i wanted wreck, i'd go a local demo derby)" I am a real race fan, and at any other race I'd agree with you 100%. But not Bristol. Bristol's selling point was that it's a high speed demolition derby, and that's the way it should be. 82. Schroeder51 posted: 03.21.2011 - 2:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I can't help but laugh seeing Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars has posted on here. 83. Palpatine posted: 03.21.2011 - 2:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If Dale Jr cannot find Victory he will be destroyed He is a useless fool and only now at the end will he understand His feeble skills are no match for the power of the dark side he will pay the price for his lack of vision 84. The Paul Menard Empire posted: 03.21.2011 - 3:19 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The Empire is pleased to see it's driver run so well during the glorious month of Menarch. 85. Anonymous posted: 03.21.2011 - 3:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I have a question. Who is the person, or persons who decides when a caution needs to come out? Seriously. Is there one person up there who presses a button every time they feel there needs to be a caution? Are there multiple people who all have to tell this other person to bring the caution out? If there are multiple people who have this power, how many have to agree that a caution needs to come out before a yellow is actually thrown? Matt - I believe his name is David Hoots, who is charge of race control. When I attend races, I have race control programmed onto my scanner and Hoots is the main guy. He gets help from spotters in the area who may see debris or oil, but ultimately it is Hoots that makes the call. I don't know how long he has been doing it for, but I think he typically makes the safe call. 86. Talon64 posted: 03.21.2011 - 4:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch's 5th Bristol Cup win ties him with his brother Kurt and David Pearson for 5th all time at the track. He has a ways to go to catch the next 4; Yarborough, Wallace and Earnhardt are tied for 2nd with 9 and then Darrell Waltrip holds the all time record with 12. Kyle passed Benny Parsons and Tony Stewart to move into 9th all time in laps led at Bristol with 1371; next is David Pearson at 1596. Only Benny Parsons (8.6) has a better average finish at Bristol than Kyle Busch (8.7) among drivers with at least 10 starts. Kyle's 68th career top five ties him with Ernie Irvan for 50th all time in Cup. Carl Edwards won his 9th career pole, 5th in the last 19 races. He got his 5th top 2 finish in the last 6 Cup races dating back to last season, and 6th top five when he wins the pole. It's his 4th top five in 14 starts at Bristol. Jimmie Johnson led the most laps in the race, the first time he's done so at Bristol (618 of 661 career laps led have come in his last 5 starts). It's his 5th podium finish, 3rd in last 5 starts, in 19 starts at Bristol. Matt Kenseth got just his 3rd top five in his last 28 starts dating back to last season, but his 9th top five in 23 Bristol starts which is tied with Kevin Harvick for 4th among active drivers. Paul Menard got his 3rd career top five finish, and 10th top ten in 151 Cup starts. He led a career-high 35 laps in the race, just the 4th time he's led double-digit laps in a race. Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch both moved past Neil Bonnett for a tie for 37th all time in top 10's; each earned their 157th career top ten (368 starts for Kurt, 362 starts for Kevin). Harvick and Kurt got their 12th and 13th top tens at Bristol respectively in 21 starts; it's Kurt's 4th straight Bristol top ten, his longest streak since his 4 wins in 6 starts, but it's Harvick's first top ten in 5 starts. This is the first time in Kurt's career he's started a season with 4 straight top tens. Greg Biffle gets his first top ten of 2011, 11th in 17 Bristol starts and 4th straight there. Kasey Kahne gets his 3rd top ten in 9 starts with Red Bull Racing, but all in his last 5. It's his 6th top ten in 15 Bristol starts and just the 2nd time he's had back-to-back top tens there. Ryan Newman gets his 5th top ten in his last 6 starts dating back to last season, and his 5th top ten in last 6 starts at Bristol; he has 11 in 19 starts but only one career top five, a 2nd in 2004. Dale Earnhardt Jr. only has 2 top tens in his last 6 Bristol starts but an average finish of 12.0. Bobby Labonte finishes in the top 20 at a non-plate track for just the 2nd time in his last 38 starts. Andy Lally was the only rookie in the race, finishing 32nd, since Brian Keselowski will be out for a couple races after needing to have his gallbladder removed. 87. Talon64 posted: 03.21.2011 - 4:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "After hearing... "I still got one in my pocket for Kyle [Busch]" - Carl Edwards I just want someone to f him up and make him fear for his life, he's a bipolar, roid raged, a-hole" When Carl didn't dump Kyle like I thought he would, I actually thought for a second that maybe he was finally turning a new leaf on the track. So much for that after his comments which means I can continue to exaggerate about how much of homicidal maniac Carl is, who's bloodlust will never be satiated. 88. Smiff_99 posted: 03.21.2011 - 5:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Post #84 is my nominee for 'Post of the Year' I did a spit-take. 89. JP88 posted: 03.21.2011 - 6:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "When Carl didn't dump Kyle like I thought he would, I actually thought for a second that maybe he was finally turning a new leaf on the track. So much for that after his comments which means I can continue to exaggerate about how much of homicidal maniac Carl is, who's bloodlust will never be satiated." Yeah. Same here, I was like Johnson's gonna win cause Edwards is gonna wreck Busch and both would get slowed. Surprisingly he raced him hard but very clean. But anyway Carl is a nutcase, I hope someone puts him in his place. 90. 00andJoe posted: 03.21.2011 - 7:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #80: The stands are half-full because the fans can't afford to get to the track. I've debated buying tickets to a race - heck, some of them are downright cheap these days - but I can't afford the gas to get there, not even to Daytona (four hour drive), yet alone lodging. - California entry list is out. With the previously known absence of the #92, only 43 cars entered. No surprises. Skinner in the 32. Ragan hasn't been replaced by Stenhouse yet. 91. 00andJoe posted: 03.21.2011 - 7:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just noticed an error in the results: #46's sponsor is Red Line Oil. 92. RR posted: 03.21.2011 - 7:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So sick of the bitching about the "new Bristol." If all you want to see is a bunch of wrecks and people yelling at each other, go watch some sophomoric reality television program or watch some figure 8 racing. I don't understand how people can "miss" having races where 20% of the laps were run under caution, with the rest of the race being single file, with the only passes being made after a guy gets punted out of the way. Bristol was ruined when they ripped up the pavement and replaced it with concrete. I do agree that they need to rework the progressive banking, but I really don't want to see the races with 20 cautions again. As for Brad K., I'm really not sure why so much bandwidth on this website is devoted to him. I really don't care one way or the the other about him, but why is it that every thread (and this was especially the case last season) had to be an argument about him. I get that some people like his personality, and on the surface, its quite refreshing. But is it going to do a damn bit of good at the end of the day? You can be a dick to your boss, and get a few laughs in the office. But when it comes time for that promotion, it comes back to bite you in the ass. That doesn't mean Brad has to roll over for everybody every single time. But it's pointless and counter-productive to get into an unnecessary pissing match on the track every week. "With the NFL and NBA having a lockouts about/is happening right now the MLB CBA expires Dec. 11th. So um yeah, is alot of gains ahead for NASCAR. :-)" If there's one thing to be learned from the the last few years, its that the mainstream American sports fan is indifferent towards NASCAR at best, and hates it with a passion at worst. There's no evidence to suggest that NFL and NBA fans will flock to NASCAR during their respective work stoppages. NASCAR is a niche sport, which caters to a more specific audience. Golf didn't see a bump during the MLB strike, so why would NASCAR see a bump in 2011? 93. Anonymous85 posted: 03.21.2011 - 8:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well I guess most People Like The New Bristol In the Same Way they like the Star Wars Prequels which is not at all 94. Eric posted: 03.21.2011 - 8:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The NFL Strike really wouldn't affect Nascar in popularity if the strike happens. Race Fans can be found in the South or the some parts of the Midwest. Northeast, and the Northwest isn't really for Nascar. They view Nascar in a very harsh way because they are very ignorant about it like a majority of Espn is. NFL strike might help NBA and MLB, but that is it. I say MLB because where I live was a baseball state before the 1994 strike and is now a NFL State. NHL is limited in appeal based on what region you are from. 95. Neal posted: 03.21.2011 - 9:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #90 - If the economy were the sole factor explain why attendance was up at Daytona, Phoenix, and Las Vegas, yet down 15% at Bristol? There's more to it than the "it's the economy" cop-out. Bristol's just another glossed-over, ho-hum race now. It's not the short-track slugfest it used to be. The Bristol night race not selling out is akin to a World Series Game at Yankee Stadium with empty seats. 96. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.21.2011 - 9:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You are right Neal. And just for the record, it's not the wrecks we like, it's the fender rubbing, clausterphobic, chrome horn using racing we enjoy. The Old Bristol used to be the mecca for this. The New Bristol is just a half mile Michigan. The economy can't be blamed for a decline this bad. That place was barely half full. They used to get more fans for the Busch races. Old Bristol was an event. New Bristol is just another day. 97. 18fan posted: 03.21.2011 - 10:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, I agree with your point about liking the drivers who aren't corporate and show legitimate emotion. That's why I like when guys take winning as a big deal and not just for the points and why I like great interviews like Tony Stewart's after Las Vegas. 98. Cooper posted: 03.21.2011 - 10:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's the same reason people love Darlington. Darlington is a one groove racetrack that puts on a phenomenal show. Imagine if they widened Darlington...Boycott. If I want to see side by side racing on concrete, I'll watch Dover. I still to this day don't know why they changed the racetrack. It was perfect and for the most part every other fan agreed. Another reason that the single groove Bristol was great was you could always see where your driver was running. All the cars in a clustered conveyor belt created basically a 43 car battle for position. Now the leaders and cars get so spread out that I can't see my favourite driver at all. "I still got one in my pocket for Kyle [Busch]" - Carl Edwards Why is Carl Edwards keeping score? Since when do drivers keep score. I know Brad doesn't keep score, he just races and whatever happens happens. Did Dale Sr. say well "I already spun Terry Labonte before so that means according to my scorecard I should back off" That's the stupidest thing I ever heard. If you ain't gonna wreck someone at a short track, you ain't going to wreck someone at all. Carl Edwards is such a liar and a fake. If I was Kyle I would dare Carl to do something..because personally I think Carl is just straight up talking smack. 99. RaceFanX posted: 03.21.2011 - 10:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Shame fan favorite Ken Schrader gets sent home on the trailer when some S&Ps get to run. That ain't right and we all know it. 100. Smokefan05 posted: 03.22.2011 - 12:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "If there's one thing to be learned from the the last few years, its that the mainstream American sports fan is indifferent towards NASCAR at best, and hates it with a passion at worst. There's no evidence to suggest that NFL and NBA fans will flock to NASCAR during their respective work stoppages. NASCAR is a niche sport, which caters to a more specific audience. Golf didn't see a bump during the MLB strike, so why would NASCAR see a bump in 2011?" Nothing wrong with wishful thinking now is there? "It's the same reason people love Darlington. Darlington is a one groove racetrack that puts on a phenomenal show. Imagine if they widened Darlington...Boycott. If I want to see side by side racing on concrete, I'll watch Dover. I still to this day don't know why they changed the racetrack. It was perfect and for the most part every other fan agreed." How long is Darlington? I'm fine with the lady in black been single groove but not bristol. I've said it before and i'll say it again, a track with has much banking as bristol has SHOULDN"T BE a one freaking groove racetrack. "Why is Carl Edwards keeping score? Since when do drivers keep score. I know Brad doesn't keep score, he just races and whatever happens happens. Did Dale Sr. say well "I already spun Terry Labonte before so that means according to my scorecard I should back off" That's the stupidest thing I ever heard. If you ain't gonna wreck someone at a short track, you ain't going to wreck someone at all. Carl Edwards is such a liar and a fake. If I was Kyle I would dare Carl to do something..because personally I think Carl is just straight up talking smack." I read an article on YAHOO sports (NASCAR section) about Brad 'might' just make a lists of drivers who he owes some payback too. I wouldn't be suprised if some drivers did. 101. Matt G posted: 03.22.2011 - 12:02 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I still got one in my pocket for Kyle [Busch]" - Carl Edwards You would think that some of these drivers might have one in their pocket for Jimmie Johnson just because they are so sick of seeing him win but apparently not. If I were the 48 team I'd be laughing that some of my main competition is more concerned about how many times they have to wreck each other in order to make the scorecard even than they are about trying to dethrown the 5 time champion. Hey morons......how about we try to even the championship scorecard out a little and make it oh say five to one instead of 6 to 0 instead of trying to even out the "ow many times did he touch my car" scorecard. I can't believe that there's not a greater mission across the garage to beat the 48. The mind................it boggles. 102. 00andJoe posted: 03.22.2011 - 12:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #99 - In this case, I agree with you. The fact NASCAR didn't properly clean the track after Blaney's engine got grease all over it is inexcusable. However, in any other situation, if full-time teams want to get in and bump out S&P-ers, all I have to say is: run a faster qualifying lap. 103. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 03.22.2011 - 12:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I think Carl is just straight up talking smack." Same here. If he was really going to pay Kyle back, this race would have been the perfect time to do it. But he didn't. I think he may be just creating drama by saying that. I certainly wouldn't put that past Carl. "It is after 7 or 8 months of racing 3 different Series, endlessly searching for perfection in each, that the emotional toll on him pulls him down." Agreed. He's like a High School Student trying to hold down being on the basketball team, getting straight-A's and keeping his job outside of school. "Well, the guy was three laps down. I understand. He??s trying to keep from going a lap down and hey, you??ve got to give him credit. They fought back and got back on the lead lap and got a decent finish out of it. I??ll just tell Brad that the next time I??m three laps down, and he??s on the lead lap, just expect the same out of me, you know? I don??t expect him to just let off. He had a fast race car. But when you??re three laps down and then you door-slam the guy trying to pass; that??s what ticked me off is when he got loose underneath me and got up into me, I got pretty mad then." I can understand how the frustration must have boiled up with him at the time inside of the car, but to have time to cool off and still say this likely means Jeff was butthurt over it. Well, too bad. That's a part of racing, and every now and then somebody will get loose under you and clip you. Still, if any HMS driver were to win the title, I'd hope it'd be Jeff and the #24 team. I still don't like Jimmie, and I don't see Mark or Jr winning it. "Obviously I'm a Brad fan, so this will sound biased, but I think if he could have success in Cup, it would help the sport. He is brutally honest, unapologetic, uncompromising, well spoken, while not coming off as a complete jerk. He dishes it out, but takes it without whining when somebody does the same thing to him" My sentiments exactly. I know I'd rather see him run up front than guys like Hamlin, Busch, Harvick or Logano simply because he does not come off as a whiner every time things don't go his way. 104. irony posted: 03.22.2011 - 12:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've noticed that fake cautions are down this year, which is nice. I think a big part of the top 35 rule was to protect full-time teams from being bumped out of the show by S&Ps. Some think that by not having to focus on racing that S&Ps have an advantage in qualifying. I think with the top 35 rule it works both ways. A team sitting in 36th is in a no win situation. Focus only on qualifying in Friday practice and get way behind the top 35 teams. Focus on a race setup and you risk getting bumped. "As far as I can see there are only two problem with the sport: 1. A lack of southern drivers with engaging personalities 2. Presentation of the races that leads you into thinking that something exciting will happen every single lap, which only serves to attract an audience of young, impatient, disrespectful males who have the attention span of an amoeba." Bigoted much? 105. Sean posted: 03.22.2011 - 1:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Eh, sorry. I'm on the minority voiced by RR on this one. I prefer side-by-side racing to bumper cars. I didn't enjoy races with 20 cautions and 100+ caution laps, and besides the wrecks, what does one really remember from the concrete races? The races without race-deciding wrecks weren't especially memorable (for instance, most of Rusty's wins were pretty boring or any of Gordon's wins where he didn't bump Rusty). I'd take the wild and crazy 1990 or 1991 spring Bristol races (pre-concrete) over anything in the concrete era generally, and I think the current Bristol is an improvement (one of the few improvements in recent years). Tempers flared then, yet there was side by side competition. I wouldn't compare the new Bristol to Michigan; I'd compare it to Richmond, which I've long felt was the ideal short track. Tempers flare at Richmond for sure, but there's competition that isn't a single-file parade lap-by-lap and there isn't an overabundance of cautions. I only half agree with the rest of RR's post. While I agree that NASCAR is probably not going to benefit from the NFL's boom, I don't agree that it theoretically couldn't. In fact, I think one of the major contributors to NASCAR's initial boom was the baseball strike occurring at almost the exact same time as the inaugural Brickyard. The '94 Brickyard 400 had tremendous hype because it was really the first time IndyCar and NASCAR were treated on an equal footing (ask an average American sports (non-racing) fan prior to 1994 to describe a race car and they'd probably describe an IndyCar, because IndyCar had greater national exposure up until then and more races on broadcast networks). Both IndyCar and NASCAR gained from the baseball strike because there weren't many other sports to watch in the summer before the NFL started (NASCAR probably more due to the hype of the Brickyard 400 and perhaps Earnhardt going for his 7th title). Then IndyCar lost its popularity with the split, and NASCAR remained on an equal footing, while IndyCar (both CART and IRL) did become niche. I think the timing of the baseball strike was very pivotal in NASCAR's growth, because a lot of people probably watched the following races after the Brickyard with no baseball to watch. My father for instance watched a lot more NASCAR and a lot less baseball for most of the rest of the '90s. Now, would NASCAR gain from an NFL strike in 2011? No, not really. NASCAR is already considered generally mainstream and established, there isn't room to grow since fans are becoming disillusioned, not arriving as in the mid-'90s, and most importantly there are a LOT more entertainment alternatives than there were in '94 (there was barely even a World Wide Web then and it was still education-centered until '95 when Yahoo and ebay and amazon arrived, at which point it really went mainstream). There's been so much fragmentation in the media generally (the biggest TV shows are way less popular than in the '90s, ditto the biggest albums, and most sporting events tend to have lower ratings too as a result of the TV fragmentation, not just NASCAR, especially with the younger technophile demographic for which I believe all sports are declining since people prefer going online to watching TV) that it's become infinitely harder to have some singular type of national pastime. When baseball struck, there weren't many sports alternatives out there, so NASCAR capitalized and may have even become a de facto national pastime for that month between the baseball strike and the start of the '94-'95 NFL season. Now there are so many more niche sports. If something takes off in the wake of an NFL lockout, it might be something weird and hip with the young demographic like mixed martial arts (you may laugh but ESPN has hyped some weird stuff - could you have imagined them having this much poker coverage ten years ago? On the flip side, the fragmentation has caused ESPN to have much less power to make or break a sport than it did with racing in the '80s-'90s, so actually it's doubtful that something would fill that niche). It won't be any form of racing (MAYBE something X-Games-related) because racing had a mainstream audience, lost it, and won't likely get it back in a huge way since people know about racing and have been rejecting it as most of the racing sanctioning bodies have been pretty well messed up of late. F1, IndyCar, and NASCAR were all so much better in the mid-'90s than today it's not even funny. 106. Jarrett88fan posted: 03.22.2011 - 1:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF- And if you want to go even further, the years JJ didn't win, '04 and '05, the people who ran with him and the ones who actually beat him: Kurt, Gordon, June, and Mark in '04 and Smoke, Biff, and Carl in '05, all had seasons that were disappointments the year after. Your examples were all correct, except one. Mark Martin did have seemingly equal '04 and '05 seasons with one win each year, avg. finishes of 13.8 and 13.2, two 4th place finishes in points. That notwithstanding, excellent explanation of the "Johnson effect." If Kurt Busch can keep up the consistency and put together a complete season, he will be a contender , but I don't count on top-10s and top-5s alone will win the Cha$e. In additon to Harvick, Edwards is also a time bomb and Kyle Busch will likely have another meltdown. The only way anyone will beat JJ is if they have hiccups in November and someone picks up the torch without choking epically like Dennis the Menace in 2010. 107. Jarrett88fan posted: 03.22.2011 - 1:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) What is with the hating on Michigan? I've been to seven Michigan races between 2000 and 2009 and the track is quite wide and race somewhat entertaining to see in person. On the other hand, watching a Michigan race on TV is blah, blah, blah. Indy, not withstanding the historical spectacle/significance, is a terrible race to see in person because of the infield complexes, sub-complexes and micro-sub-complexes. It seems 80% of one lap at Indy is watching the jumbo-tron and 20% actually seeing cars race past your seat(s). 108. martin-n-rusty posted: 03.22.2011 - 2:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sean, I disagree somewhat. I even bet you that Soccer, Baseball, and Hockey, along with NASCAR, is hoping for a nice long holdout. Think, from September all the way to Super Bowl Sunday (with few exceptions), the NFL is king, no it's, ands, or buts about it. All that attention has to go somewhere if the NFL locks out, and short of something else filling the void to become what NASCAR became in the mid-90's (MMA probably the best one to do just that), the offices in Daytona Beach, I can bet you anything on it, is rooting for the lockout to continue on 109. b4il3y posted: 03.22.2011 - 3:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think all the NASCAR newbs need to leave myself.. 110. Bronco posted: 03.22.2011 - 9:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Obviously I'm a Brad fan, so this will sound biased, but I think if he could have success in Cup, it would help the sport. He is brutally honest, unapologetic, uncompromising, well spoken, while not coming off as a complete jerk. He dishes it out, but takes it without whining when somebody does the same thing to him (more on this in a second)" Lol, calling a guy an "ass" over the PA system at Bristol last year because you're still pissed at him for spinning you out for the win yesterday isn't considering whining, right? Oh and don't kid yourself, whatever NASCAR's problems are, they are bigger than any driver could fix. As if there was any doubt before, Paul Menard basically proved to me on Sunday that he has the talent and ability to be a race winner in Cup, and not just by fluking into a restrictor plate win. He started up front, got a good jump on the side and chased Carl down and then held 5-time at bay for several laps before that first caution. Getting a top 5 when you're down a cylinder is very impressive. All the racing experts on here who said Menard was a no talent hack making laps with his family's sponsorship money can pretty much eat crow now. Carl gets his 5th top two finish in the last 6 races, he has 3 poles during that time. 111. CFob posted: 03.22.2011 - 12:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Lol, calling a guy an "ass" over the PA system at Bristol last year because you're still pissed at him for spinning you out for the win yesterday isn't considering whining, right?" In all fairness, Kyle Busch kind of is an ass, regardless of what he may have done to anyone in particular the day before. And even if you consider it "whining" it is still something 42 other drivers wouldn't have the nerve to say over the PA at one of the most highly attended races of the season. But I'm sure you'll somehow construe this to me just being a biased Brad fan, so some crap like that, so have at it, kiddo. I must agree with you about Paul Menard though. I've been a major detractor of his ever since his cousin (and in my opinion the MUCH better driver of the two) Charlie Menard lost his sponsorship for the sake of Paul getting to run Cup, but this season Paul is proving himself excellently. Finishing top five on seven cylinders at a track where power off of the corner is at a premium says a lot for the driver. Paul is proving me wrong about him for sure. 112. Smokefan05 posted: 03.22.2011 - 1:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "As if there was any doubt before, Paul Menard basically proved to me on Sunday that he has the talent and ability to be a race winner in Cup, and not just by fluking into a restrictor plate win." He already has one plate win, so why can't be get another? ;-) "What is with the hating on Michigan? I've been to seven Michigan races between 2000 and 2009 and the track is quite wide and race somewhat entertaining to see in person. On the other hand, watching a Michigan race on TV is blah, blah, blah. Indy, not withstanding the historical spectacle/significance, is a terrible race to see in person because of the infield complexes, sub-complexes and micro-sub-complexes. It seems 80% of one lap at Indy is watching the jumbo-tron and 20% actually seeing cars race past your seat(s)." Agree with this 100% 113. Jarrett88fan posted: 03.22.2011 - 3:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) For the Kyle Busch hat...er... I mean lovers. An article on thatsracin.com via LakeNormanMagazine.com. The link is http://www.thatsracin.com/2011/03/22/58663/kyle-buschs-dream-wedding.html# Kyle Busch's dream wedding By Leigh Dyer - LakeNormanMagazine.com Tuesday, Mar. 22, 2011 Like most women, Samantha Sarcinella has been dreaming about her wedding since she was a little girl. And her dream came true with her New Year??s Eve wedding to NASCAR driver Kyle Busch, which recently aired as an hour-long special on the Style Network. When not on the road, the couple lives in Mooresville, where Busch??s race team is headquartered. In a recent interview with Lake Norman Magazine following the couple??s honeymoon in Jamaica, Sarcinella detailed how she brought her "vintage glam" vision to life, from a dress that came all the way from Dubai to a six-foot-tall wedding cake to a seven-hour-long reception at the Chicago Cultural Center. "One of the things we really emphasized was the party. The ceremony was really traditional and beautiful and simple," she says. "Since it was a holiday and we had so many people flying in from all different areas, we said, ??Let??s make this an all-day event.?? The ceremony started at 2:30, and the reception was from 5:30 to 1 in the morning. Then everybody went back to the hotel and changed into party clothes. So it was pretty cool." Sarcinella found Filipino designer Michael Cinco, who lives in Dubai, after Googling wedding dress designs. Despite the proximity to last year??s "Sex and the City" sequel, which brought its high-fashion characters to neighboring Abu Dhabi, she says she was not inspired by that movie ?? Audrey Hepburn was more on her mind. "I just have a thing with feathers. I just love them," she says. "I got hooked up with this designer and we went back and forth for probably five months to come up with this design. He came into the states for a couple of the fashion weeks in Miami and L.A. and I met him out there. I wanted an off-the-shoulder style because it was different and it had that vintage feel. So we did that and we did a really long train ? very jeweled and over-the-top. It ended up being perfect. And I ended up changing up into a short dress for dancing." Other touches included feathered candelabras in the table centerpieces, snakeskin accents on the place cards and menus, purple and teal lighting, and food served "practically every hour," including a bar of candy from Mars, one of Busch??s sponsors, and a midnight snack of macaroni and cheese (Busch??s favorite). The cake: carrot with ginger icing and chocolate with peanut butter. Sarcinella is particularly glad she planned a long reception for her 300 guests, many of whom work in NASCAR. "We finished the last song of the night, and the crowd started chanting, ??Hell no, we won??t go.?? It was awesome. That??s the only word I can use to describe the whole day," she says, adding the guests had an after-party at the hotel bar until 6 a.m. The two met when Sarcinella was a Purdue student who modeled as a NASCAR "promo girl." Busch sent an assistant to get her number, and the two texted and talked by phone for months before they officially started dating. Busch popped the question just before the Daytona race last year in the living room of the mobile home the couple lives in while they??re on the road. She??s now three classes away from a master??s degree in industrial organizational psychology, and helps run the Kyle Busch Foundation and the retail side of Busch??s team operation. "I would just say to other brides, it??s your day. Whatever vision, idea, theme, whatever you want ?? just go with it. Don??t worry about what others think. As long as you like it, it??s going to be great." 114. Bronco posted: 03.22.2011 - 3:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "And even if you consider it "whining" it is still something 42 other drivers wouldn't have the nerve to say over the PA at one of the most highly attended races of the season." Lol, so what exactly are you saying? That Brad deserves some sort of a standing ovation for using the PA system during driver introductions for a way in which it was not intended? Also, whatever happened to the crap that Brad needed a new crew chief to run better? Four races in, he's already back to the same points position and average finish as the last two years. 115. mr plinkett posted: 03.22.2011 - 4:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The racing at the new Bristol was the most disappointing thing since the Star Wars Prequels 116. Talon64 posted: 03.22.2011 - 4:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Also, whatever happened to the crap that Brad needed a new crew chief to run better? Four races in, he's already back to the same points position and average finish as the last two years." Last year after 4 races he had finishes of 36th, 21st, 26th and 36th to sit 33rd in the standings. 4 races into 2010: 29th, 15th, 26th, 18th to sit 20th in the points. Fuel mileage win at California and he'd make the Chase if it started right then. lol I'll take any improvement I can get but considering the #2 team's mostly made up of the best parts of two shitty teams, early season expectations were probably too high. But Penske cutting two full time teams, 1 in NNS and 1 in Cup, means the #22 and #2 can get more attention. Which it sounds like Kurt needs, because despite top tens in the first 4 races and leading the standings it's been reported that he was pissed after the race about the car always falling off late in the race; him and Roger Penske had a 5 minute closed door meeting in the hauler to calm Kurt down. 117. ShavedBusch posted: 03.22.2011 - 5:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Kyle Busch's dream wedding By Leigh Dyer - LakeNormanMagazine.com Tuesday, Mar. 22, 2011 Like most women, Samantha Sarcinella has been dreaming...." Good thing Kyle has lots of money, his wife seems like the type that likes to spend a lot on things that aren't always necessary. But I can't blame him, he should spend as much as he needs to keep that s*** locked down. She's way out of his league. 118. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.22.2011 - 6:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Hey morons......how about we try to even the championship scorecard out a little and make it oh say five to one instead of 6 to 0 instead of trying to even out the "ow many times did he touch my car" scorecard. I can't believe that there's not a greater mission across the garage to beat the 48." That's a big reason the 48 has won 5 in a row. Just look at Dover last year with Hamlin and Harvick. Denny goes on a daitribe after Clint's penalty and predictable "we weren't cheating, (insert lame excuse here) happened" speech which I will call the Chad Knaus Memorial Penalty Explanation Speech. When you are leading the points, and something that has no effect on you happens, why go around making enemies, essentially calling out all of RCR? Then Harvick, also in the points hunt, goes out first thing in practice and dents up both of their cars, causing them both to miss valuable practice time. They both finished worse than they did in the Spring Dover race by 5 and 8 positions respectively. Last year was the first time in 5 years JJ didn't have the best cars in the cha$e. He won it anyways. I don't deny his talent or greatness, but he has been helped out a lot by the fact his main competitors are mostly head cases. 119. CFob posted: 03.22.2011 - 6:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Lol, so what exactly are you saying? That Brad deserves some sort of a standing ovation for using the PA system during driver introductions for a way in which it was not intended?" What the hell is your problem dude? Yeah, you don't like Brad. I get it. But still, he made a ballsy, politically incorrect statement. You know, something rarely seen in the neat and tidy, sponsor-friendly, neutered NASCAR of today. And I'm pretty sure Brad DID get a standing ovation for his comments, or at least a whole lot of applause for his comments. There is seriously no pleasing you. Why don't you step away from the computer and find some happiness instead of just using Brad as a scapegoat for whatever issue it is that is causing you to be so completely negative on a near-constant basis. I don't know if it's a psychological issue or just some kind of personality defect, but dude, you seriously need to cheer up, cause I'm not about to deal with a third season of you being nothing more than a Negative Nancy for the sake of getting attention. 120. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.22.2011 - 7:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Lol, calling a guy an "ass" over the PA system at Bristol last year because you're still pissed at him for spinning you out for the win yesterday isn't considering whining, right?" No, getting out of his car after the race and going off would be whining. He didn't do that. He was calm and stoic, as always, when asked about the incident. The deal the next day was Brad's attempt to get the lifeless Bristol crowd fired up for the night's event, which worked for about 1 second. Then everyone in the stands remembered that, with the new Bristol, they were going to see a crappy race, which they did. And half of them didn't come back this year. "Oh and don't kid yourself, whatever NASCAR's problems are, they are bigger than any driver could fix." Of course they are. I didn't say it would be the end all, be all. But some stuff needs to start happening. The ball is somewhat rolling with the better looking car. They need more, and I think that would be one good step. "Also, whatever happened to the crap that Brad needed a new crew chief to run better?" They actually ran well at Bristol, making up three laps. I know that is easier nowadays with NASCAR's welfare system, but they seem to be making progress. Slow progress, but progress. 121. the_man posted: 03.22.2011 - 7:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Ragan on a 16th place finish: "We had a fast car and got a 16th-place finish. It??s not a win, but we??ve got to look at the positive and get better.? 122. Talon64 posted: 03.22.2011 - 7:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Burton's off to his worst start to a season (30th in points) since he was also 30th in points after 4 races in 2004; his engine blew in the 1st two races of the season and had a 28.0 average finish. 123. Talon64 posted: 03.22.2011 - 7:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think r-r.info JUST added "driver point ranks throughout the season" after I finished looking that up. lol 124. 00andJoe posted: 03.22.2011 - 7:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) California update: Cassill in the #09, the Cue-Ball-Headed-Fool in the #60. 125. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 03.22.2011 - 11:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh, here we go... 126. Anonymous85 posted: 03.23.2011 - 12:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hey anyone ever know what happened to Kit he hasn't posted on this site since Last August's Bristol Night Race 127. Watto posted: 03.23.2011 - 5:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Also, whatever happened to the crap that Brad needed a new crew chief to run better? Four races in, he's already back to the same points position and average finish as the last two years." Dude, this is borderline obsessive. To respond, however; Brad DID need a new crew chief to run better, and four races into the year, it's hard to judge what kind of season he'll have. He got wrecked at Daytona, okay run at Phoenix, terrible run at Vegas, and got wrecked at Bristol and still made up 2 or 3 laps to finish 18th. Paul Wolfe is a first year Cup crew chief, but I do expect better things than last year's season. Four races in, there's not a whole lot of generalizations to make. It hasn't started off all that well, but it's probably a good move to step away from Jay Guy and try someone else. It could start to work very well. Brad showed early on that he has the ability to put together good finishes, Darlington was a GREAT indicator of that driving for the 5th Hendrick car which usually struggled. He had other notable runs as well. Who knows where Brad will find himself a few years down the road, but these four races aren't exactly proof of anything. 128. AwesomeBuschfromDawsonbusch posted: 03.23.2011 - 2:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "But still, he made a ballsy, politically incorrect statement. You know, something rarely seen in the neat and tidy, sponsor-friendly, neutered NASCAR of today." Fact: Calling someone an ass behind their back is neither "ballsy", nor "politically incorrect". Actually I find Kyle Busch's comments on Keselowski after that race to be much more hilarious and "ballsy": "Busch, asked for his reaction to Keselowski's comment, said sarcastically, 'Who? I don't know who you're talking about.' When told Keselowski was in the 12 car, Busch replied, "I saw it... but I passed it." OOOO, BURN Maybe he'll keep his trap shut next time, or at least try to manage better than 19th, one lap down, on a track where it's more about the driver than the car. 129. dirtfan9628 posted: 03.23.2011 - 2:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Ragan on a 16th place finish: "We had a fast car and got a 16th-place finish. It??s not a win, but we??ve got to look at the positive and get better.? Maybe I'm alone here, but I couldn't care less what David Ragan has to say about every single crappy race he runs, which is pretty much all of them. There are literally dozens of other drivers I would rather see a quote from every week, and yet David Ragan is the one we get on this board. I know I can't possibly be the only one who thinks this every time I see his quotes posted. 130. 00andJoe posted: 03.23.2011 - 6:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Team standings calculated using the points of each team's highest-finishing car in each race. Standings following Bristol, Race 4 of 36. 1. Roush, 165 2. Gibbs, 164 3. Hendrick, 161 4. Childress, 150 -. Penske, 150 -. Stewart-Hass, 150 7. Petty, 139 8. Earnhardt-Ganassi, 129 9. Red Bull, 126 10. Waltrip, 123 11. JTG-Daughtery, 115 12. Front Row, 92 13. Wood Brothers, 82 --. Phoenix, 82 15. Furniture Row, 75 16. FAS Lane, 66 17. Robby Gordon, 59 18. Germain, 52 19. Baldwin, 51 20. TRG, 49 21. Rusty Wallace, 24 22. Whitney, 16 23. NEMCO, 11 24. K-Automotive, 9 25. HP, 8 26. Gunselman, 0 131. Cooper posted: 03.23.2011 - 6:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) dirtfan9628, when he actually started posting these "quotes" I thought they were fake. Some of them are actually hilarious. I hope the_man continues to post them. ABFDB(post#128)--We get it Kyle Busch is good, I don't know why it's so important for his fans to brag...Well I guess they have to cheer now considering the fall time is always a bitter dissapointment. No seriously, he's a great driver but he's the Dan Marino of NASCAR. Waiting for Kyle Busch fans to flame me in 5.4.3.2.1... 132. Watto posted: 03.23.2011 - 9:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Fact: Calling someone an ass behind their back is neither "ballsy", nor "politically incorrect". Actually I find Kyle Busch's comments on Keselowski after that race to be much more hilarious and "ballsy": "Busch, asked for his reaction to Keselowski's comment, said sarcastically, 'Who? I don't know who you're talking about.'" ----------------------- Um, both comments were "behind their back" in the same manner, as neither were said directly to the other driver's face but both know what was said to begin with. As someone who respects Brad AND respects Kyle, I'd have to say that neither quote was anything to brag about, and trying to say that Kyle's quotes after the race were much more ballsy just shows ridiculous bias. It was stupidity. It's hard to take most Kyle fans seriously though, as most didn't give a damn about the guy until he started winning more with Gibbs than Hendrick. 133. Smokefan05 posted: 03.23.2011 - 10:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Post #131 Agree 100%. 134. AwesomeBuschfromDawsonbusch posted: 03.24.2011 - 1:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I'd have to say that neither quote was anything to brag about, and trying to say that Kyle's quotes after the race were much more ballsy just shows ridiculous bias." I guess it wasn't obvious, but the quotation marks around "ballsy" in regards to Busch was meant to be facetious, as it was referencing the "ballsy" remark someone else made about Keselowski. But I suppose it's difficult to tell the difference between real quotations and sarcastic quotations on the internet, especially when I used real ones in the previous sentence. 135. dirtfan9628 posted: 03.24.2011 - 1:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "dirtfan9628, when he actually started posting these "quotes" I thought they were fake. Some of them are actually hilarious. I hope the_man continues to post them." If by hilarious, you mean sad, then yeah they are a laugh riot. I actually find it hard to believe anyone is such a David Ragan fan that they'd care enough to post these quotes every week, after every sub-par finish, after every disappointing waste of equipment and potential that defines David Ragan's over-stayed welcome in Cup racing. 136. Anonymous posted: 03.24.2011 - 2:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "We get it Kyle Busch is good, I don't know why it's so important for his fans to brag...Well I guess they have to cheer now considering the fall time is always a bitter dissapointment. No seriously, he's a great driver but he's the Dan Marino of NASCAR. Waiting for Kyle Busch fans to flame me in 5.4.3.2.1... " So who is your favorite driver? Because unless you are a diehard Jimmie Johnson fan (and I've been around these boards long enough to know you AREN'T), then I'd shut your mouth about the fall being a disappointment for any driver who ISN'T Jimmie Johnson. I guess the Busch fans are just going to have to live with winning more races than all the other non-Johnson, non-Cup winning drivers for the past 5 years. Nice try though. 137. Android posted: 03.24.2011 - 3:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle's just had miserable luck in the chase. The only year he arguably took himself out of the running was last year. Other than that he's been dealt mechanical failures(2006,2008), or crashes none of his doing(2007). 138. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.24.2011 - 10:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "he's the Dan Marino of NASCAR." Actually Marino at least made a Super Bowl and gave his team a shot at the championship before being blown out by the real "greatest QB ever", Joe Montana. Kyle hasn't even given his team a chance. That is the thing I notice the most. By the time Martinsville rolls around (the halfway point of the cha$e), he is always already out of it. And I wouldn't blame all his cha$e issues on bad luck. He has brought a lot of it on himself. In 2006, he started off by wrecking himself at Loudon, the track he had won at earlier in the year, and had been notorious for sweeps (JJ in '03, Kurt in '04, Smoke coming oh so close in '05). They blew an engine the next week, leading Kyle to say on live TV "We're done" in response to his championship hopes. JJ also had two DNFs in his first 4 cha$e races that year. Did he throw in the towel? Nope. He had 5 straight Top 2 finishes, won his first championship after two consecutive heartbreaks, and hasn't lost since. Kyle just continued to fall down the crapper, never winning, finishing 10th out of 10 drivers. In 2007, his best cha$e showing, he couldn't keep up with the blistering pace his teammates JJ and Gordon were setting, and got caught in two wrecks: At Dega, then getting wrecked on the straightaway by June at Kansas. Still, he hurt himself earlier in the year with his Texas meltdown (the 2007 version, not to be confused with his 2010 version), storming out of the track, the last straw causing Hendrick to dump his ass. Rick knew damn well just how talented Kyle was, yet he still decided he wasn't worth it. What does that say? He didn't win any cha$e races. 2008 has been discussed ad nauseum. Mechanical issues in the first three races derailed his breakout 8 win season, but he still never showed any "we may be out of this, but we're still gonna give 'em hell" attitude. Basically the heart of a champion. He just sulked the rest of the way and inspired no confidence for his team. He finished 10th of 12 drivers, winning no races in the final 10 despite the fact he won 8 of the first 22 races. 2009 needs to be discussed too. His summer meltdown was astonishing. He won 3 of the first 10 races, then won the Bristol Night Race, but ultimately lost a battle for the 12th spot in points....... to Brian Vickers!!! Ouch! Over the final 10 races, with no points pressure, racing only for pride, he won nothing. Again. In fact, he didn't really come close. In 2010 he began his downward spiral by running over Reut at Kansas. This after trashing his driving ability after beating him at Bristol. Not very smart to make enemies that aren't a threat to beat you week in and week out (although I think Reut gets more out of his equipment than Kyle). He made Reut, a non cha$e contender, so mad that, despite being one of the most docile drivers out there, he retaliated. He blew an engine at Cali the next week leading to another "We're done" speech. With 6 races still left. Amazingly, despite all this, he was 4th in points after Martinsville. Then he had a bad Dega finish, and had perhaps his most embarrassing meltdown of all at Texas. He finished 8th in points, and didn't win any cha$e races (notice a theme developing here?) while his teammate won twice in the cha$e (8 overall) and was about to put the Cup championship away for good until him and his crew chief had a stunning meltdown of their own. The fact is Kyle has a noticeable drop in performance when the pressure is at its highest. I would compare him most to another #18, Peyton Manning. Of course Peyton did win a championship once, and made another Super Bowl. But he, like Kyle, is the most talented guy in his league, but doesn't perform nearly as well in the postseason. But again, 2006 throws the whole thing off. Peyton came up huge when they needed him the most, in the AFC title game against the Pats (the defense and running game carried them to the other 3 playoff victories that year). Kyle has never done that. "So who is your favorite driver? Because unless you are a diehard Jimmie Johnson fan (and I've been around these boards long enough to know you AREN'T), then I'd shut your mouth about the fall being a disappointment for any driver who ISN'T Jimmie Johnson. I guess the Busch fans are just going to have to live with winning more races than all the other non-Johnson, non-Cup winning drivers for the past 5 years. Nice try though." 2 points: 1) Non-Kyle and non-JJ fans don't try to make their drivers seem better than they really are. For example, many of us here, including myself, are Brad K fans. And we consistently mention how disappointed we are in his Cup performance. We feel he can do good things in the future, but until he does, we don't compare him to anybody great. Honestly, the best Kyle fan here is 18fan. He is the most objective Kyle fan I've ever seen. 2) Kyle has the most driving talent of anyone on the circuit, and top level equipment. He should be putting up "Gordon numbers". Not even "JJ numbers", numbers like Gordon did in the mid to late 90s. At the same age no less. Also, in his 6 seasons, he has been the top performing driver on his own team just once ('08). So, like us Brad fans, I wouldn't be singing his praises too highly. 139. Anonymous posted: 03.24.2011 - 11:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Maybe I'm alone here, but I couldn't care less what David Ragan has to say about every single crappy race he runs, which is pretty much all of them. There are literally dozens of other drivers I would rather see a quote from every week, and yet David Ragan is the one we get on this board. I know I can't possibly be the only one who thinks this every time I see his quotes posted." Cut the man a break. He is a David Ragan fan who is sharing the info with race fans. I'm no Ragan fan, but I appreciate that he puts the quote up. 140. Android posted: 03.24.2011 - 12:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree with you for the most part DSFF. He would've finished top 3 in points in 2007 if not for those two crashes. And that would've been pretty impressive considering he was the 3rd Hendrick car. He also had the Atlanta Fall race won that year, but a late bad pit stop took him out of the running. 141. Jackdaniels posted: 03.24.2011 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jesus christ, has anyone kept tally of the number of times DaleSrFanForever has posted his way blown out and biased analysis of every chase Kyle Busch has ever been in? It must be up to at least 20 at this point. Maybe even more, since he feels the need to post it every time his massive insecurity about Kyle Busch rears it's ugly head. I don't even check every race thread, but I swear whenever I do I see a huge 2000 word post by DaleSrFanForever about Kyle Busch. Which brings me to the real reason I came here today. Does anyone know a different good forum for discussing auto racing? Preferably one without people like DaleSrFanForever, Bronco, or other trolls like them? Maybe one with people old enough to have some actual perspective on the history of NASCAR? I'm sick of this place and the retarded irrational rants that permeate every single discussion. 142. Baker posted: 03.24.2011 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski thing is a joke. They have the exact same "immature" personalities, yet fans love Kes for some reason and hate Busch. Oh and the feud between the two is even more of a joke... Kyle Busch has won something and done a lot, Brad Keselowski is still a never was. 143. Cooper posted: 03.24.2011 - 7:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) How do Kyle and Brad have the same "immature" personalities. They're not alike at all. Brad doesn't need a gold digger to make him feel good. Brad actually had to go through some hardship to get where he is. Brad doesn't swear at his crew and carry on like a toddler. Brad doesn't take brooms to victory lane and Brad doesn't smash trophy guitars. Brad actually sticks up for America and what is right. Hardworking, down to earth, and truthful. Comparing Brad to Kyle is a disgrace. I wouldn't want to be a Kyle fan if he won 10 championships and had superpowers. 144. Android posted: 03.24.2011 - 7:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Brad doesn't swear at his crew." Kyle hasn't done that since 2009. 145. RR posted: 03.24.2011 - 8:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I really don't understand why this argument either. It's not really an either/or debate: Kyle Busch is an ass, and Brad Keselowski has underperformed since joining Pesnke. They both win a lot in a series that doesn't matter, and they all look at the back of the 48 come season's end. "Brad actually sticks up for America and what is right.' What in the blue hell does this mean? Are you implying that Kyle Busch is a Communist or a terrorist or something? Seriously, does Keselowski wear a cape, put out forest fires, and help old ladies cross the street, while Kyle Busch robs banks and cuts off people on the interstate? 146. DavidSelhorst posted: 03.24.2011 - 8:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "They're not alike at all. Brad doesn't need a gold digger to make him feel good." Wow....that is one of the cheapest, low blows I've ever read on this site. So much so that I'm making my first ever comment to address it, because it pisses me off so much. You're honestly going to pass judgment on the lives of two people that you know nothing about outside of the world of racing? Like some kind of expert on their personal lives, their feelings, their motivations for the things they do? You don't know about their relationship. You don't know about their love for one another. For someone like you, some anonymous nobody on the internet, to sit there and belittle the relationship of a man and his wife that you have never met, makes me sick. You should be ashamed of yourself. Kyle Busch does a lot of things that deserve scorn, but marrying the woman he loves is not one of them. And his wife, the woman that you're so callously referring to as a gold-digger with absolutely no basis on which to make such a claim, she doesn't deserve to have her name dragged through the mud by some misogynistic judgmental a-hole on the internet. And yes, I'm calling you a misogynist (not a word I toss about lightly), because the only reason that I can possibly see for you to label her a gold-digger is she is an attractive woman who married a man who happens to have a lot of money and isn't exactly Brad Pitt when it comes to looks. But guess what, there are a lot of attractive women out there who have the capability to fall in love with a man for something other than money. 147. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.24.2011 - 8:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ""Brad doesn't swear at his crew." Kyle hasn't done that since 2009." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taObICUN8zo&feature=related That was October 2010. 148. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.24.2011 - 8:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nobody is comparing Brad and Kyle's on track results. 149. Cooper posted: 03.24.2011 - 9:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) RR... Brad doesn't rip off contractors who did service and didn't get paid. Last time I checked in America you get paid for doing work. Last time I checked, in America you had to earn your success. Kyle Busch's first NASCAR ride=Jack Roush. Must be nice to be making crazy money at the age of 16. Last time I checked, Americans drive American Cars. Toyota=Japanese Everytime Brad wins, he makes sure to wave the American flag because he is thankful for the freedom of doing this for a living. 150. Watto posted: 03.24.2011 - 9:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Also, in his 6 seasons, he has been the top performing driver on his own team just once ('08)" Something worth noting is that Kyle hasn't beat Denny in year-end points since his switch to Gibbs. Not even in '08, when he won 8 races (which was second to Edwards' 9). "They have the exact same "immature" personalities, yet fans love Kes for some reason and hate Busch." Well, I have to differ with you there. They have some similar qualities, but their personalities are quite different. It's extremely evident if you have a 5 minute conversation with both drivers if their interviews & actions aren't enough. "Kyle hasn't done that since 2009." Not true. 151. Smokefan05 posted: 03.24.2011 - 10:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, this has gotten down hill quickly. -_- 152. Anonymous posted: 03.24.2011 - 10:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Last time I checked, in America you had to earn your success. Kyle Busch's first NASCAR ride=Jack Roush. Must be nice to be making crazy money at the age of 16." Are you kidding me? You're telling me Kyle Busch wasn't talented enough to deserve that ride? Or that it's un-American to take advantage of the opportunities presented to you because you are good at something? You just sound jealous. "Last time I checked, Americans drive American Cars. Toyota=Japanese" This is just ignorant. You clearly have no idea how many Toyota vehicles are assembled in America, by Americans. But screw all those hard-working Americans working at American jobs, because the company originated in Japan, right? It's called the 21st century, welcome to it. "Everytime Brad wins, he makes sure to wave the American flag because he is thankful for the freedom of doing this for a living." Oh my god, how original! He must be the first driver ever to show any amount of patriotism, give him a medal! And noooooooo one in any other country has the freedom to do what they want to do with their lives! Open a textbook for the first time in your life, it will do you some good. Because your views on what happens outside of this country is somewhere between a 2nd and 3rd grade level right now. This is a serious question, were you home-schooled? "Brad doesn't rip off contractors who did service and didn't get paid. Last time I checked in America you get paid for doing work." If you think Kyle Busch himself, was personally withholding money to those subcontractors, then you are even dumber than I thought. Does anyone else here know how to explain a mechanic's lien to someone with the brain development of an 8 year old? 153. rog24 posted: 03.25.2011 - 12:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well I'm not the guy who called her a gold-digger, but it's not exactly misogynistic to think that being a rich NASCAR driver can land you a woman that wouldn't ordinarily go out with you. Would Kyle be married to Sarcinella if he was just a crew member and not some rich NASCAR driver who went after a promotional model at the track? I'll let everyone decide for themselves. Who knows if Sarcinella really is a gold digger, saying so would be a guess, but many women are more attracted to men who they KNOW can take care of them. That really is a fact of life. Of course, not ALL women are attracted to that at first. That's why I used the word "many". 154. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 03.25.2011 - 12:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Even if Brad had been successful in his Cup career thus far, his numbers would still pale to Kyle's, because Kyle has been racing in Cup longer. So nobody's been comparing their Cup stats. And when you really look at it, Kyle and Brad get about the same amount of hate. Brad mostly from the Edwards and JGR fans, and he's had negative media written about him. And Kyle mostly from the Dale Jr and Brad K fans (from what I've seen, anyway), and he's had tons of negative media written about him. One thing I will say that is true about both of them is that they couldn't give two shits what people think about them. 155. 18fan posted: 03.25.2011 - 12:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I am a Kyle fan but I am a race fan first and a Kyle fan within the race. I feel that I should give honest views on how I see the race and I try to not let my views show bias. I know I do a couple of times I have had biased views, mainly both Daytona races in 2009, but I generally try to have my appreciation for the sport of stock car racing come first. In other news, it has come out now that Front Row Motorsports and Larry Gunselman's MaxQ Motorsports are partners and Gunselman is managing the FRM #37 team. My final comment, I will be attending the race this weekend in California, but since the weather here has been bad this week, there is a possibility of 2008 spring again. I will, as I have at the three previous races I have attended, listen to the MRN broadcast and I hopefully will be impressed in how much better the MRN crew is than the FOX crews. At least in the last three I have attended I missed an ESPN broadcast. Lucky me. 156. New 14&88 Fan posted: 03.25.2011 - 12:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) If you wanna bash a driver you don't like that's fine(I could think of tones of things to slam Shrub and Harvick on)but their wives/family should be off limits...there'w no visible proof that's Shrub's wife is a gold digger so it shouldn't even be brought up... "Everytime Brad wins, he makes sure to wave the American flag because he is thankful for the freedom of doing this for a living." Brad's victory laps with the American flag are neat to see, but they're not that remarkable...and this is coming from a Brad fan. 157. HereWeGoAgain posted: 03.25.2011 - 1:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Well I'm not the guy who called her a gold-digger, but it's not exactly misogynistic to think that being a rich NASCAR driver can land you a woman that wouldn't ordinarily go out with you." There's a big difference between that, and insinuating that Kyle Busch is so shallow that he needs a gold digging trophy wife to keep himself happy. And that's exactly what Cooper did. And I agree with David, that's a low blow. 158. irony posted: 03.25.2011 - 1:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "It's hard to take most Kyle fans seriously though, as most didn't give a damn about the guy until he started winning more with Gibbs than Hendrick." Truer words have never been spoken. How many KB fans did you see before 2008? That was the main reason I didn't like Jeff Gordon from the mid 90s-mid 00s. Bandwagon fans who just like to troll others about "my driver is better than your driver." The guy hasn't won a Sprint Cup yet, or really even come close, but OMGZ HE'S ONLY 25 AND HIS TOTAL NASCAR WINZ OMG 159. Red posted: 03.25.2011 - 1:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Last time I checked, Americans drive American Cars. Toyota=Japanese" Are you seriously this narrow-minded? You really think that driving a foreign car brand disqualifies you from being an American? Pearl Harbor was 70 years ago, time to join the 21st century. 160. 18fan posted: 03.25.2011 - 1:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @ #156, I actually became a Kyle fan in the race that turned out to be his first win when watching with my family and I watched him beat the three top drivers in points that year as a rookie to win his first race. I became a serious KB fan toward the end of 2006 and the beginning of 2007, so I was a fan of his while he was at Hendrick. 161. irony posted: 03.25.2011 - 2:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) You're definitely not one of the trolls I was referring to. You're one of the better posters here and I don't mean to stereotype. 162. 18fan posted: 03.25.2011 - 2:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @ #159, Thank you very much. I really try to avoid being a troll because of how annoyed I get by them. 163. Android posted: 03.25.2011 - 2:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Are you seriously this narrow-minded? You really think that driving a foreign car brand disqualifies you from being an American? Pearl Harbor was 70 years ago, time to join the 21st century." Seriously, that's one of the most absurd posts I've read on this site. I'm not even sure if it's serious or not. 164. Anonymous posted: 03.25.2011 - 3:21 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Seriously, that's one of the most absurd posts I've read on this site. I'm not even sure if it's serious or not. " If you've read much of the other stuff Cooper has said on this site, then you'd know he was being completely serious. The guy needs to get out of the trailer park more often and change the channel from Fox News every now and then. But what's really hilarious is the truly staggering number of so-called foreign cars that are built in the USA, that he apparently has absolutely no idea about. But I doubt Cooper would take just anybody's word for it, so here are some links to prove it (take the time to read over these Cooper, it will do you some good) http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/06/19/automobiles/20090619-auto-plants-4.html http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123265601944607285.html http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050917/news_lz1d17foreign.html Starting to get the picture? You can buy a Toyota and simultaneous be putting money back into the pocket of small town American workers. What's wrong Cooper, why do you hate the American worker so much? 165. Watto posted: 03.25.2011 - 3:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 18fan, your posts have all seemed pretty good to me, don't worry. I try to make sure to use words like "most" or "some" when making a generic statement about certain fanbases regarding trends I've noticed. He certainly had some fans when he got going in the 5 car, it just picked up HUGE in 2008. 166. Anonymous85 posted: 03.25.2011 - 3:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Would you all just stop talking about Kyle Busch you are all acting like he is a bunch of spoiled brats 167. dirtfan9628 posted: 03.25.2011 - 3:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Does anyone know a different good forum for discussing auto racing? Preferably one without people like DaleSrFanForever, Bronco, or other trolls like them? Maybe one with people old enough to have some actual perspective on the history of NASCAR? I'm sick of this place and the retarded irrational rants that permeate every single discussion." Good luck finding a place like that anywhere on the internet. I've tried. Most places are better than this because they usually require log-ins. I sometimes go to Thatsracin.com for their forums, and sometimes the goteamsgo.com NASCAR forum is pretty good. But you still get the occasional troll, or stubborn obnoxious posters like DSFF, Cooper, and Bronco. You can't avoid those people in real life, and you can't avoid them online. Unfortunately a lot of the people using all these online forums are too young to remember much beyond the mid-90's to late 90's, so forget discussing earlier racing or drivers objectively with them. Apparently teens and 20-somethings these days think that because they looked up some stats, that they know everything about "classic NASCAR", which is probably my biggest pet peeve with this site because of the easy access to so much history. 168. Cooper posted: 03.25.2011 - 9:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is hilarious. When I seen that their was 167 comments, I knew the uproar was probably because of me. It wasn't supposed to be serious. Just pointing out the differences between Brad and Kyle. 169. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.25.2011 - 9:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "They have the exact same "immature" personalities, yet fans love Kes for some reason and hate Busch." I don't think Brad is immature. He has handled some really explosive situations with remarkable calm. He gives his opinions unfiltered, and has probably said some things he wouldn't say 10 years from now. But he avoids whining, doesn't come off as holier than thou, and doesn't trash other drivers with the exception of his "Kyle Busch is an ass" attempt to wake up the Bristol crowd (it didn't work). Kyle, on the other hand, has a Harvick-esque ability to turn bad sitations much worse, adding gasoline to just about any fire he sees. He insults other drivers at a Jaws Waltrip-esque pace, including unprovoked shots at David Reutimann AFTER BEATING HIM at Bristol which came back to bite him in the ass at Kansas (does anyone really believe Reut would have retaliated for his wreck were it not compounded by Kyle trashing him with no provocation?). "You're telling me Kyle Busch wasn't talented enough to deserve that ride?" His talent has never been in question. But he had a lot of great opportunities presented to him at a very young age that other talented drivers usually never get, or have to slowly chip their way up the ladder to get. Do we ever hear him thanking Roush for believing in him at such a young age, for giving him an ASA ride after NASCAR brought about the age limit, and offering him a huge long term contract before he even turned 18? If he felt uncomfortable with the length of the contract of being associated with Roush, a notorious micromanager and ball buster, that is perfectly understandable. But to completely distance himself from Roush is wrong. 170. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.25.2011 - 10:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Now for my take on "GoldiggerGate": Would a model like her have married Kyle, a guy devoid of good looks and a decent personality, were he not rich? No. BUT......... The same can be said of most top name drivers. His brother Kurt, Gordon, and yes, Jimmie Johnson. Would any of those guys have their wives if they weren't loaded? Nope. Plus all the drivers with stunning girlfriends that would never have given them a second look. So we can't trash Kyle for this unless we trash the others too. 171. Android posted: 03.25.2011 - 11:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, why are you so sure Kyle doesn't have a "decent" personality? Do you know him away from the track? 172. Cooper posted: 03.25.2011 - 12:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'd talk about racing, if others did. Of my posts on this race page... Post 1-Asked a question about the race, that no one even tried to respond to. I had to wait until Wednesday, when Brad finally said it was an ignition box that caused the #31 to stop. --RACING RELATED Post 2-I respond on a post asking why we talk about BK. I then say Kyle Busch has won everything lately. --RACING RELATED Post 3-I mention that Jeff Gordon isn't happy about Brad K, trying to get some opinions of that. I believe only DSSF responded. --RACING RELATED Post 4- I talk about why I thought the old Bristol was good, and mention that it's stupid of Carl to believe he has to keep score. --RACING RELATED Post 5- Kyle Busch fans begin to brag. People on here continue to talk about Brad being a terrible driver. Kyle Busch is the greatest of all-time. I mention that he has yet to challenge for a championship. Witch hunt insues. Burn me to a stake. --RACING RELATED Post 6- "Baker" makes an unproved hypothesis that Brad and Kyle are the same people. My brain goes haywire and starts thinking about the stupid statement, considering I'm a Brad fan and I know what kind of person he is. I then make TRUTHFUL statements about Kyle. Someone gets angry that I mention Brad is American...(Last time I checked he is.) Post 7- I've had it with everyone. Everytime I speak my opinion people just disagree with me except for a few (DSFF,Smokefan). My as well do what everyone else does. Post an irrational comment that has no stature or proof. My execution is complete as I'm now labelled a troll, ignorant and who else knows what. Post 8- I say I wasn't serious and that I was just comparing Brad to Kyle. Place is quiet. Crickets. The only one to post is DSSF. He's only a few of the people on here that makes sense and uses TRUTH to solidify his opinions. Most of my comments are racing related, until others ruin it by going off-topic. If people actually checked my history, they'd know I'm anything but a troll. But people can attack me all they want but the TRUTH is the TRUTH. Kyle will probably win the Nationwide race again this weekend, and he'll probably challenge for a win on Sunday. That doesn't make him any better of a person then he is now. I have the utmost respect for his driving abilities and how he races on the track, but his personality and 99% of his fans are the reason why I'll never ever talk to about Kyle Busch again. Except 18fan maybe. Why? It always ends up in a bloodfest and I end up being the one having to clean it all up. As long as I'm on this site (which is one of the best ever) I'll never ever talk about Kyle again, and I'll only talk about Brad on Brad's page. I'm now going to sit my ass on the couch and watch some racing, (which I suggest some of you do as well). 173. Anonymous posted: 03.25.2011 - 12:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Chea. 174. Smokefan05 posted: 03.25.2011 - 12:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Apparently teens and 20-somethings these days think that because they looked up some stats, that they know everything about "classic NASCAR", which is probably my biggest pet peeve with this site because of the easy access to so much history." Dude, i'm 22 and i've been a NASCAR fan for 18 years. I try to find out as much about NASCAR and i'm still learning. So don't put me in that catagory please. I'm never amazed anymore. People get so bent outta shape about stuff. (i know i have too) but jeez. People need to lighten up. 175. Android posted: 03.25.2011 - 12:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cooper, this is a discussion website. People are going to disagree with you, and people are going to get upset when you say things like "Last time I checked, Americans drive American Cars. Toyota=Japanese". That's just nationalistic garbage. Even if you weren't being serious, you have to understand that many are going to take that comment seriously. Unfortunately, because many delusional and obtuse Americans feel that way. 176. Anonymous posted: 03.25.2011 - 1:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "But he had a lot of great opportunities presented to him at a very young age that other talented drivers usually never get, or have to slowly chip their way up the ladder to get." ....and this makes him deserve those opportunities less, how? Guess what, life's unfair for some people. But I guess you're right, Kyle Busch shouldn't have taken advantage of any of those things, because a real american would prefer to work his way up from the very bottom, pulling themselves up by the bootstraps, racing week to week on a razor-thin budget even though they don't have to. "Do we ever hear him thanking Roush for believing in him at such a young age, for giving him an ASA ride after NASCAR brought about the age limit, and offering him a huge long term contract before he even turned 18? " Do we ever hear any driver thanking their first car owner? Do we ever hear any driver talk about their early rides before NASCAR? Do you know what the term "double standard" means at all? ------- "Most of my comments are racing related, until others ruin it by going off-topic. If people actually checked my history, they'd know I'm anything but a troll. But people can attack me all they want but the TRUTH is the TRUTH." The truth is the truth, except when you throw out bulls*** like, people who drive toyotas are un-american, kyle busch is un-american because he didn't have to work for his first NASCAR ride, kyle busch is un-american because he personally ripped off contractors, or kyle busch is so shallow that he married an attractive shallow woman that's only interested in his money. So basically, you're not a troll, you're just a dick. And one that doesn't seem to know much of anything about the real world. 177. DavidSelhorst posted: 03.25.2011 - 4:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Post 6- "Baker" makes an unproved hypothesis that Brad and Kyle are the same people. My brain goes haywire and starts thinking about the stupid statement, considering I'm a Brad fan and I know what kind of person he is. I then make TRUTHFUL statements about Kyle. Someone gets angry that I mention Brad is American...(Last time I checked he is.)" This is the post where you said, "They're not alike at all. Brad doesn't need a gold digger to make him feel good." And you consider that truthful? You didn't even respond to what I said about it either. I was perfectly rational in my response, defending a woman that you know nothing about personally. You think you're being some kind of vanguard of truth, but you're just another internet asshole who thinks his anonymity grants him the right to say whatever he wants about anyone or anything. People like you make me sick, and this country would be better off without people with your kind of attitude. You want to talk about real Americans, real men? Well you nothing about what it means to be a real American, and even less about what it means to be a man. Attacking a man's wife and belittling their love for one another on a board where we're supposed to discuss auto racing? I'd feel sorry for your wife or girlfriend, but I have my doubts about you even having one. 178. CFob posted: 03.25.2011 - 5:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Fact: Calling someone an ass behind their back is neither "ballsy", nor "politically incorrect". " How is calling someone an ass over the PUBLIC address system at one of the most attended NASCAR events of the year talking "behind someones back"? Kyle would pretty much have to have the worlds largest back for the that be behind it. That comment I am replying to is possibly one of the dumbest things I have ever read... ever. 179. Anonymous posted: 03.25.2011 - 6:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "How is calling someone an ass over the PUBLIC address system at one of the most attended NASCAR events of the year talking "behind someones back"? Kyle would pretty much have to have the worlds largest back for the that be behind it." Was it said straight to his face? No. Then it was behind his back. It's called English, learn it. 180. CFob posted: 03.25.2011 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Was it said straight to his face? No. Then it was behind his back. It's called English, learn it." Was Kyle's back ACTUALLY facing towards Brad as he spoke, Literal Larry? Brad wasn't whispering about Kyle being an ass to a buddy of his in the Camper Lot. He said in front of more than 100,000 people (Kyle Busch being amongst those people). Now unless Kyle is deaf, not present for driver intros, or somehow fell into a rip in the time / space continuum, he was there. He would have almost not choice BUT to have heard Brad. Also, just because you apparently misused the phrase "behind their back" doesn't mean I have a poor grasp on the English language... it just means you're confused. Thank you for trying though, make sure stop by and pick up your commemorative "I Just Made an Ass Out of Myself on the Internet" t-shirt on your way out. 181. 18fan posted: 03.25.2011 - 6:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This argument about these comments that took place 7 months ago is being blown out of proportion. 182. 18fan posted: 03.25.2011 - 6:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What I don't like about the new Bristol is that everyone complained that it was too hard to pass cleanly at Bristol before the reconfiguration. However, it is now harder to pass someone because on the old track once you got under another guy, you had the spot. Now, despite being clearly faster, you can be stuck on the inside of a guy for 20 laps and gain nothing. Bristol, Martinsville, and Richmond used to all be unique, but Bristol just isn't one of a kind any more. 183. Cooper posted: 03.25.2011 - 7:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 18fan, I wonder if that is because of the progressive banking or the new concrete. If they just took out the old concrete and put some new in, I still think it would be the one grooove track that it was. But the progressive banking I'm not a fan of. I actually liked the old Homestead before the progressive banking. Flying into a corner at 175 MPH with no banking put a lot of pressure on the cars, and there was actually decent racing. Of course the racing their now is "better" but the high groove there is also the premium racing groove. I don't really like to classify racing as "good or bad" but I find it important to keep a good variance in the types of racetracks that these guys race every Sunday. For example, I enjoy California once in a while as it really showcases the car abilities more than that of the driver. As long as NASCAR keeps a wide a variety of racetracks, I'll be happy. That's why I prefer the one groove Bristol. For two times in the year it wasn't about forward bite and handling, it was just about racin'. 184. Watto posted: 03.25.2011 - 8:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hey Anonymous from post 176, you do make some good points... but I kind of differ on this: "Do we ever hear any driver thanking their first car owner? Do we ever hear any driver talk about their early rides before NASCAR? Do you know what the term "double standard" means at all?" Yes, Yes, & Yes. You weren't talking to me though lol 185. DerekJeterPumpkinEater posted: 03.26.2011 - 12:54 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Is anyone else besides me absolutely sick of the phrases, "boys, have at it" and "have at it boys"? They sound so stupid and childish. Say it out loud, and really think about the words you're saying. It's just dumb, and I think it makes NASCAR sound really stupid to outsiders. I'd love for the announcers to stop using those god awful phrases so darn much. 186. I Seize the Day posted: 03.26.2011 - 10:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Post 185 - I agree. Plus I don't buy into either. 187. Jarrett88fan posted: 03.26.2011 - 11:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, I don't check these posts for four days and what a mess on this page... Smokefan - "Apparently teens and 20-somethings these days think that because they looked up some stats, that they know everything about "classic NASCAR", which is probably my biggest pet peeve with this site because of the easy access to so much history." Dude, i'm 22 and i've been a NASCAR fan for 18 years. I try to find out as much about NASCAR and i'm still learning. So don't put me in that catagory please. I'm never amazed anymore. People get so bent outta shape about stuff. (i know i have too) but jeez. People need to lighten up." I 100% agree with this. I'm going to be 24 next week and have been a fan since I was 7 years old. This generational Nascar fan tension is bogus. As for trolls, might I suggest using another term like gnome to describe posters who bash DSSF, Smokefan, Cooper, Bronco, 18fan, Watto, etc. 188. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.26.2011 - 1:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Brad wasn't whispering about Kyle being an ass to a buddy of his in the Camper Lot. He said in front of more than 100,000 people (Kyle Busch being amongst those people). Now unless Kyle is deaf, not present for driver intros, or somehow fell into a rip in the time / space continuum, he was there. He would have almost not choice BUT to have heard Brad." HA! Love it. "Thank you for trying though, make sure stop by and pick up your commemorative "I Just Made an Ass Out of Myself on the Internet" t-shirt on your way out." Do we have any left after all the trolls that have come through here? 189. Daniel posted: 05.21.2012 - 3:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In using fastest 43: #32 Ken Schrader Out using fastest 43: #71 Andy Lally 190. Robert Nelson posted: 07.12.2012 - 7:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) F1 points: Carl Edwards 61 Kyle Busch 47 Jimme Johnson 30 191. Rich posted: 12.19.2020 - 9:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip were the commentators. Krista Voda, Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum and Dr. Dick Berggren were the pit road reporters. Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond were in the Hollywood hotel. 192. TeamDCRfan posted: 02.26.2021 - 7:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Super K got screwed in qualifying. Blaney was leaking oil but NASCAR didn't stop qualifying until after Schraders lap when he slid all over. Schrader would end missing the event after not getting a shot at a rerun. A year later at Martinsville, Mike Bliss dumped oil then Kurt Busch went out and slid all over. NASCAR cleaned the track up then gave Kurt a rerun. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: