|| *Comments on the 2011 FedEx 400 Benefitting Autism Speaks:* View the most recent comment <#126> | Post a comment <#post> 1. Schroeder51 posted: 05.15.2011 - 5:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt Kenseth steals a win by taking 2 tires after Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards dominated. And Mark Martin stole 2nd. 2. Anonymous85 posted: 05.15.2011 - 5:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) your typical boring basic race with nothing really special happening 3. 00andJoe posted: 05.15.2011 - 5:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That was a fun race to watch. Somehow, Jimmie Johnson managed to lead 207 laps without stinking up the show, and at the end things got scrambled when crew chiefs actually decided to use their brains for pit strategy instead of the traditonal "monkey see, monkey do" four-tires-and-fule-for-everybody parade. Which has always annoyed me, why not take a chance if you're at the back already? Good to see them breaking the norm, and that's the last two races in a row won by "deviant" pit strategy. Wonder if anybody else was wishing they'd just stayed out after seeing Mark Martin's run? - Brian Vickers gets his first top 5 after returning from his medical issues, and his first since winning at Michigan in August 2009. - David Gilliland ties his best finish not on a restrictor-plate track this year (Phoenix). - Dave Blaney has another nice, quiet, trouble-free run to finish 26th. - Scott Wimmer makes his first Cup start since Bristol in August 2009. 4. Anonymous85 posted: 05.15.2011 - 5:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) kind of fitting that a dull race would be won by a dull driver 5. potatosalad48 posted: 05.15.2011 - 5:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) very calm race with no big accidents like the other 2 over the weekend. Kenseth stole a win with pit strategy. 6. RaceFanX posted: 05.15.2011 - 5:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kenseth's first win with Wiley X Sunglasses as his sponsor. The deal was so new, two weeks, he didn't have a driver's suit for them and wore his Crown Royal one. Also his second victory at Dover and first since 2006 7. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.15.2011 - 5:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm telling ya. Kenseth and Fenning are gonna be a potent great duo. 8. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.15.2011 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) potentially great 9. New 14&88 Fan posted: 05.15.2011 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Attaboy Matt Kenseth, just taking two on the last caution really payed off for him and the #17 team.Also nice runs by Mark Martin, Marcos Ambrose, Brian Vickers, Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. The Dinger just can't buy a break. Boy the Monster really took it to Stale Bread this weekend, first getting crashed yesterday and now spinning at the very beginning of the race(while running in the Top-5)pretty sure the 20 team is glad to get out of Dover. 10. 00andJoe posted: 05.15.2011 - 5:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #46 sponsor: Red Line Oil 11. MikeLowe posted: 05.15.2011 - 6:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bowyer runs off in frustration so he doesn't have to give an interview, but I doubt anyone here will call him immature for it, since so many people here have double standards when it comes to driver behavior. 12. beau posted: 05.15.2011 - 6:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Didn't watch as the "charity" it benefits is a scam, but congrats to Matt, Mark and Marcos! 13. cjs3872 posted: 05.15.2011 - 6:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yes, I think Kenseth and Fennig, the old sage among current Cup crew chiefs, has the potential to be as great as the Martin-Fennig combo was. After all both Kenseth and Fennig have championships and Daytona 500 wins on their resume, though not together, and Kenseth is another one of those drivers that manages to get to the finish. And it's amazing how many races this year have been won by the consistent drivers that don't tear up equipment. Drivers such as Benny Parsons, who made a living racing that way, would be proud, as that should seem to be a lesson for the more aggressive drivers such as Juan Montoya, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, and in the Nationwide Series, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., who was driving so hard early in that race on Saturday that even Clint Bowyer was calling him out on it. It says something when a competing driver says that you're driving too hard. And speaking of Roush-Fenway, when is Jack Roush going to say that enough's enough when it comes to David Ragan, who continues to make mistake after mistake after mistake, seemingly to no end. This time, he threw away a potential top 10 by spinning out and hitting the inner guard rail entering the pits. And if that wasn't bad enough, he nearly hit Jamie McMurray and even Tony Stewart, who was trailing McMurray even had to take evasive action, effectively ruining his day, which didn't get ant better. I know Dover is the most treacherous pit road to get onto under green flag conditions, but hitting the guard rail and then nearly taking out TWO cars? Come on, Jack. You should have fired him two years ago, as he continues to embarrass the very car and team the Mark Martin made famous in 18 years of driving for it. (If Trevor Bayne does make a successful comeback, which I doubt will happen, given the history of drivers coming back from head injuries, Bonnett, Baker, the Allison brothers, etc., dont be surprised if Bayne replaces Ragan BEFORE season's end, since he's no longer racing for the Nationwide Series championship.) As for the race, even though just two cars did the vast majority of the leading, I found it entertaining, because neither of them got exceptionally far away from the other. And then the pit strategy took over and it was a case of the leaders on the final caution (Bowyer, Edwards, and Johnson) probably making the right decision, only to see it not pay off for them, which happens. (Which was unlike the decision that Edwards, Kahne, and several others made last week at Darlington, which made no sense.) Also, for the first time in FOX's nearly 11 full seasons of covering NASCAR, with 25 laps remaining, they did a commercial by going to a split-screen, showing the commercial on the left side of the screen, while continuing to show race action on the right, similar to what has been going on during Indy Car telecasts for several years. Also, it appears that the next first-time winner may very well be one of Richard Petty's two drivers. (And it it doesn't happen until after the road course races, I'll be shocked, if for no other reason, because of Marcos Ambrose's road racing prowess.) In fact, dont be surprised if both of Richard Petty's drivers win before the year is out. 14. Schroeder51 posted: 05.15.2011 - 6:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #11 What do you mean, the charity it benefits is a scam? 15. 18fan posted: 05.15.2011 - 6:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brian Vickers has a top 5 and 4 top 10s this year, yet he and Joe Nemechek are the only drivers who haven't led a lap this year. 16. Anonymous posted: 05.15.2011 - 6:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Ugh, Matt Kenseth, the only driver who manages to combine being a whiny prima donna while simultaneously being totally boring and uninteresting. His winning ruins what was an otherwise exciting race. And how dumb was it that Bowyer was so mad that he didn't want to give an interview? Hey Clint, when you only have 4 wins in 200 races, you aren't allowed to think you let a win slip away, especially when you were going to have to battle Johnson or Edwards (drivers who know how to win) to earn it, if things had worked out for those drivers on their last pit stops. He only led 29 laps! Kenseth led more. But I guess that's what you get with Childress drivers, a sense of entitlement. Except for Jeff Burton. 17. cjs3872 posted: 05.15.2011 - 6:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Actually, Bobby Allison never did come back from his head injury, but brother Donnie did attempt a comeback. The only driver I know of that did make anything close to a successful comeback from a serious head injury was Ernie Irvan, who won three times and close numerous other times, but his career ended with another head injury at the very track that nearly claimed his life. And it's only speculation that Bayne's problem is, in fact, caused by a head injury. (And isn't it ironic that Bayne feels such a close connection to Donnie Allison that he still reportedly sometimes calls him "Uncle Donnie". The irony being that people seemed to compare Bayne with Donnie nephew Davey after his Daytona 500 win. Davey won that race in 1992.) Sorry about the oversights in the last post. 18. 00andJoe posted: 05.15.2011 - 6:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Owners's standings by best finishing team car in each race: 1. Roush, 460 2. Hendrick, 441 3. Gibbs, 440 4. Childress, 437 5. Petty, 381 6. Stewart-Haas, 373 7. Penske, 361 8. Earnhardt-Ganassi, 345 9. Red Bull, 343 10. Waltrip, 314 11. JTG-Daughtery, 251 12. Furniture Row, 226 13. Front Row, 212 14. Phoenix, 185 15. Baldwin, 174 16. Stoddard, 169 17. Germain, 168 18. Robby Gordon, 150 19. TRG, 143 20. Wood Brothers, 136 21. Gunselman, 101 22. Whitney, 54 23. HP, 32 24. NEMCO, 31 25. Wallace, 24 26. Inception, 15 27. K-Automotive, 9 28. Leavine-Fenton, 6 29. Falk, 6 19. RR posted: 05.15.2011 - 6:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I'm telling ya. Kenseth and Fenning are gonna be a potent great duo." You know, while I was watching the race, I really started thinking about how good Jimmy Fennig really is. I mean, Kenseth has been somewhat lost since he and Reiser split, and he really couldn't do much with two decent crew chiefs. But man, Fennig has a knack for reviving driver's careers. Mark Martin went winless in 1996, and Fennig joined the team at season's end. Two years later, Martin won seven races and would have been a championship contender had Jeff Gordon not had an inhuman season (interesting fact: Martin actually led 1730, more than Gordon). He got Kurt Busch -- who's notorious for losing his mind when things go wrong -- to focus and win one of the most pressure packed championships in history (beating Jeff Gordon and Jimmy Johnson, no less). The fact that he won the very first Chase is significant, considering that no one really knew what to expect. He helped put 50 year old Bobby Allison and the Stravola Brothers in victory lane (never happened again), made Derrike Cope and Allison's car sponsors by a freakin' horse shampoo competitive (never happened again), and helped make David Ragan a Chase contender (hasn't happened since). Pretty underrated in my book. 20. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.15.2011 - 6:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Ugh, Matt Kenseth, the only driver who manages to combine being a whiny prima donna while simultaneously being totally boring and uninteresting. His winning ruins what was an otherwise exciting race." You've gotta be kidding me. He never whines. He just goes about his business and does his own thing. If think he is boring, that is a fair opinion (totally inaccurate in my eyes, but it is a valid opinion), but him being a whiner is not. "And how dumb was it that Bowyer was so mad that he didn't want to give an interview? Hey Clint, when you only have 4 wins in 200 races, you aren't allowed to think you let a win slip away, especially when you were going to have to battle Johnson or Edwards (drivers who know how to win) to earn it, if things had worked out for those drivers on their last pit stops. He only led 29 laps! Kenseth led more. But I guess that's what you get with Childress drivers, a sense of entitlement. Except for Jeff Burton." Now this part I agree with for the most part. It's ok to be mad, but Clint is a guy who quite simply doesn't win races. He shouldn't be surprised. Like you said, that is RCR. They will win the talking battle every time. On track? Not so much. Harvick comes on strong in fits and starts, then usually disappears for a while. They have had a good start to this year as a company, but they are notoriously streaky. 21. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.15.2011 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) RR, I agree 100%. Matt has been lost since Robbie left, but Jimmy has got him comfortable in his cars again. And you are right, he works magic with the situations he has been in. The championship with Kurt is his crowning achievement in my mind. Not just because it is the Cup championship, the Holy Grail of stock car racing, but the fact he was able to keep Kurt under control under such intense pressure, like you mentioned. Look at Kurt since he went to Penske. Some wins mixed with a whole lot of counter productive bashing of the team (although his most recent blow up at Richmond seems to have had a good effect on his teammate Brad K). 22. Anonymous posted: 05.15.2011 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "(beating Jeff Gordon and Jimmy Johnson, no less)." 5 titles and 54 wins later, plus every week of seeing him up front, and his name plastered everywhere, it's amazing how many people still make the mistake of calling him "Jimmy Johnson". I see it all the time, and every time I'm baffled. I don't know how anyone can type "Jimmy" and not immediately have a red flag go up that screams, "that doesn't look right!" It makes about as much sense as typing Jeffe Gordon. It's not even the same number of letters, for christsakes. 23. cjs3872 posted: 05.15.2011 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, Matt Kenseth became the 10th active driver (if you count Bill Elliott, who only races occasionally these days, ninth if you don't) to score 20 victories, and with his next win, Carl Edwards will join them, with Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, and Kevin Harvick each four away. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is only two away, but the way things are going for him, he may never win again. In fact, since his last win, four drivers (Kenseth, Edwards, and both Busch brothers) have passed him on the all-time wins list, and the other three I mentioned may also do it if Earnhardt doesn't win soon. By the way, at the end of the 1996 season, there were only four active drivers with 20 or more wins (Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Sr., Rusty Wallace, and Elliott. Jeff Gordon had 19 wins, Mark Martin and Terry Labonte both had 18, and Ricky Rudd had 17). 24. Benny posted: 05.15.2011 - 6:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) relatively clean race. was hoping that harvick would wreck busch. oh well, guess he might do that next weekend in the all star race 25. cjs3872 posted: 05.15.2011 - 6:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, a couple of lap leader notes from this race. First Matt Kenseth, in leading the last 33 laps, became the 31st driver to lead 6,000 laps in Cup competition. Also, Jimmie Johnson led enough laps in this race to move past both Bill Elliott and Tony Stewart and into 12th on the all-time list, and moving into the top ten this season isn't entirely out of the realm of possibility. Johnson, accoriding to figures based mostly on this site, racing-reference.info, has led a total of 11,468 laps, which as I mentioned, is 12th all-time. Next is Mark Martin with 12,516 laps led, but he is still fully active. In tenth place is Junior Johnson, who in just 313 starts, led 12,651 laps. With Martin fully active, it is possible that he may pass Junior Johnson before Jimmie Johnson passes either on the all-time lap leader list. And in 2010, he may also pass Bobby Isaac (13,229 laps led) for ninth all-time. 26. Bronco posted: 05.15.2011 - 6:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Can't believe that both Edwards and Johnson let that win slip away from them like that. For Edwards, this is the second straight week that he was on the wrong side of pit strategy. For Johnson, he would still be winless a third of the way through the season were it not for Dale Jr helping him at Talladega. Dale Jr and Jeff Burton are by far the best two drivers not already in the All-Star race, so now they will have to race their way in or rely on the fan vote. Dale Jr probably has the fan vote locked up already, and Burton should be able to race his way in barring a wreck or a bad starting spot. Marcos Ambrose equals his best oval finish, set back in August 2009 at Bristol, another concrete track. If I were Jeff Gordon, I would be very worried about my season. "(although his most recent blow up at Richmond seems to have had a good effect on his teammate Brad K)." It's two races, don't get your hopes up. Charlotte will be the true indicator of his performance. 27. RR posted: 05.15.2011 - 6:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #22 On the 2011 Auto Club 400 thread post 115, you'll see that I correctly spelled his name. 28. Anonymous85 posted: 05.15.2011 - 7:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF I want to talk to you about a Ricky Rudd incident not the one you are thinking of this one involves him taking out Jeff Gordon at the 1994 Fall race at Charlotte I wonder what your opinion is on that whole situation 29. Anonymous posted: 05.15.2011 - 7:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Denny Hamlin is the guy that might need to be worried. His team struggled today running in the 15-20th range most of the race. Granted, Dover is not a good track for Denny so Charlotte may be an indicator for where he and his team are right now. Both Stewart-Haas cars had lousy runs today too. 30. Bronco posted: 05.15.2011 - 8:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Should mention that this is the first race where qualifying was washed out and the starting lineup was set by fastest practice speeds, rather than owner points as before. Last week's winner Regan Smith broke a track bar and finished well off the pace. Kahne and Allmendinger were running in the top 10 when their engines quit. 31. Anonymous posted: 05.15.2011 - 8:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "On the 2011 Auto Club 400 thread post 115, you'll see that I correctly spelled his name." Good for you. You only made a fool of yourself once, instead of all the time like the thousands of others on the internet that don't understand the difference between Jimmy and Jimmie, no matter how many times they see it. 32. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.15.2011 - 8:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rudd was 100% wrong in that race. 33. 00andJoe posted: 05.15.2011 - 8:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Dale Jr probably has the fan vote locked up already" I voted for Joe Nemechek. ;) 34. Schroeder51 posted: 05.15.2011 - 8:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I voted for A. J. Allmendinger. Not that it'll probably do any good anyways, since as Bronco said, Dale Jr. probably won in a HUGE landslide. 35. cjs3872 posted: 05.15.2011 - 8:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The nightmare scenario for the All-Star Race, since Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will be in the All-Star Race via the idiotic fan vote would be a Paul Menard-David Ragan 1-2 in the showdown. (See my comments about Ragan in post #13 about how mistake-prone he has been, not to mention that in Roush's #6 car, which Mark Martin made famous in his 19-year stint (I apologize for that factual error, I had said 18 in that post), Ragan has, believe it or not, only led 66 laps in nearly 4 1/2 years in that car, with the vast majority of those coming in restrictor plate races, where his deficiances don't come into play. But my biggest problem with Roush keeping Ragan around as long as he has is the fact that he's the most mistake-prone driver I've seen in the over 20 years I've been watching the sport. Meanwhile, Menard, while not a consistent front-runner either, at least is not as mistake-prone, as he is generally good at getting to the finish and getting what the race gives him. And Menard has led almost twice as many laps as Ragan in just one more start. Menard has, of this writing, 158 starts in not so good equipment and Ragan has 157 in what should be contending equipment.) And yes, the fan vote is idiotic, even though when Kasey Kahne won the event, that's how he got in. But that still doesn't make it right to see that he got in the race that way. 36. RR posted: 05.15.2011 - 9:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #31 Internet should be capitalized. 37. dirtfan9628 posted: 05.15.2011 - 9:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "You've gotta be kidding me. He never whines. He just goes about his business and does his own thing." Yeah, right, he never whines. That's why he went through 3 crew chiefs in the last year and a half. That's why he was complaining over his radio about pit stops, even while he was running and finishing in the top 10. The broadcast just doesn't talk about these things very much because Kenseth is so uninteresting. But make no mistake, he'll throw his team under the bus at the first sign of adversity, and Roush will do whatever he wants because he was the one who finally won him a championship. And that championship was a lucky sham that brought on a change to the sport that has bankrupt the title of any credibility, and is almost directly responsible for the overall decline in viewership, attendance, and interest in NASCAR over the last 7 years. So I understand when people don't like Kenseth. That no-personality, whiny goon-faced idiot hurt NASCAR more than any driver I've ever seen. And his Daytona 500 win was a crock of s*** too. 38. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 05.15.2011 - 9:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good win for Kenseth. Now, I'm not a fan of his but I'd rather see him win than the other guys who were in contention to possibly win this one (Jimmie, Carl). Having Jimmy Fennig come on board has been the best thing that could happen to him. 39. cjs3872 posted: 05.15.2011 - 10:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In response to post 37, how can you say that Kenseth's Daytona 500 win was a crock? (I prefer not to use bad language.) Even though he started 39th, he drove to the front, avoided the big crash, and passed Elliott Sadler just moments before the Aric Almirola spin that brought out the caution, during which the rain hit, ending the race at 152 laps, bringin roush to victory in the Daytona 500 for the very first time in 22 attempts. Yes, it was a rain-shortened race, but so were premiere victories by Michael Waltrip (2003 Daytona 500), Dale Earnhardt, Sr. (1987 Southern 500), Jeff Gordon (1997 Coca-Cola 600), Jimmie Johnson (2003 Coca-Cola 600), Fred Lorenzen (1965 Daytona 500), LeeRoy Yarbrough (1969 Southern 500), Gordon Johncock (1973 Indianapolis 500), Bobby Unser (1975 Indianapolis 500), Johnny Rutherford (1976 Indianapolis 500, which went just one lap past the minimum distance for an official race), and Jeff Burton (1999 Southern 500 win among two rain-shortened races in which he won $1,000,000 bonuses). That argument does not, and never will fly. Those and other rain-shortened races were won just as fairly as all fairly earned full-race victories in the history of auto racing. Yes, the fact that they were rain-shortened may cheapen them, but it does not mean that they didn't earn them. Now Joey Logano's (first Loudon) and David Reutimann's (2009 Coca-Cola 600) maiden victories scored in 2009 were a completely different manner, as they flat-out lucked into those rain-shortened wins, although Reutimann's win at Chicago last year was about as well-earned as any win could possibly be. 40. dirtfan9628 posted: 05.15.2011 - 11:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "In response to post 37, how can you say that Kenseth's Daytona 500 win was a crock? (I prefer not to use bad language.) Even though he started 39th, he drove to the front, avoided the big crash, and passed Elliott Sadler just moments before the Aric Almirola spin that brought out the caution, during which the rain hit, ending the race at 152 laps, bringin roush to victory in the Daytona 500 for the very first time in 22 attempts. Yes, it was a rain-shortened race, but so were premiere victories by Michael Waltrip (2003 Daytona 500), Dale Earnhardt, Sr. (1987 Southern 500), Jeff Gordon (1997 Coca-Cola 600), Jimmie Johnson (2003 Coca-Cola 600), Fred Lorenzen (1965 Daytona 500), LeeRoy Yarbrough (1969 Southern 500), Gordon Johncock (1973 Indianapolis 500), Bobby Unser (1975 Indianapolis 500), Johnny Rutherford (1976 Indianapolis 500, which went just one lap past the minimum distance for an official race), and Jeff Burton (1999 Southern 500 win among two rain-shortened races in which he won $1,000,000 bonuses). That argument does not, and never will fly. Those and other rain-shortened races were won just as fairly as all fairly earned full-race victories in the history of auto racing. Yes, the fact that they were rain-shortened may cheapen them, but it does not mean that they didn't earn them. Now Joey Logano's (first Loudon) and David Reutimann's (2009 Coca-Cola 600) maiden victories scored in 2009 were a completely different manner, as they flat-out lucked into those rain-shortened wins," You can't just say one rain shortened win was earned, and another one wasn't. Because you have no idea what would have happened in those races had they gone all the way. Either they are all earned, or none of them. To separate them out and categorize them otherwise is hypocrisy. Just because some drivers were running well and might have had a chance to win anyway, means nothing. 41. Eric posted: 05.15.2011 - 11:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt Kenseth's Daytona 500 win isn't crock. Besides the names cjs3872 mentioned, Darrell Waltrip won the 1992 Southern 500 due to rain. There had been major events throughout the history even racing that were shorten by rain and all those wins are considered valid based on the fact the results are recorded and were made official. 42. Anonymous posted: 05.15.2011 - 11:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Internet should be capitalized." ---- "Critics of the usage as a proper noun argue that other things that are unique yet distributed, such as "the power grid," "the telephone network," and even "the sky," are not considered proper nouns, and are thus not capitalized. Since at least 2002 it has been theorized that Internet has been changing from a proper noun to a generic term.[4] Words for new technologies, such as Phonograph in the 19th century, are sometimes capitalized at first, later becoming uncapitalized.[4] It was suggested as early as 1999 that Internet might, like some other commonly used proper nouns, lose its capital letter.[5] Capitalization of the word as an adjective also varies. Some guides specify that the word should be capitalized as a noun but not capitalized as an adjective, e.g., "internet resources."[6][7] Examples of media publications and news outlets that capitalize the term include The New York Times, the Associated Press, Time, and The Times of India. In addition, many peer-reviewed journals and professional publications such as Communications of the ACM capitalize "Internet," and this style guideline is also specified by the American Psychological Association in its electronic media spelling guide. More recently, a significant number of publications have switched to not capitalizing the noun "internet." Among them are The Economist, the Financial Times, The Times, the Guardian, the Observer[8] and the Sydney Morning Herald. As of 2011, most publications using "internet" appear to be located outside of North America, but the gap is closing. Wired News, an American news source, adopted the lower-case spelling in 2004.[9] Around April 2010, CNN shifted its house style to adopt the lowercase spelling." So where is your article showing why Jimmie and Jimmy are slowly becoming the same thing? 43. mk17ce99 posted: 05.15.2011 - 11:21 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) sounds like dirtfan is a bitter kenseth hater. Id love to see you justify your comments about Kenseths championship being a lucky sham. Your theory about his championship win being a direct relation to the decline in viewership is bunk. There's more to it than just Kenseth dominating. After all, Kenseth only won the championship by 90 points. A lot of championships have been runaways but tightened up towards the end due to many variables. Not every year is going to be really entertaining and you can't tell me that the chase overall has been a huge success considering johnson has won majority of the championships. Maybe thats why people are sick of watching this sport is because Johnsons won the last 5 titles. Or maybe they are sick of the competition with the new design of the car.... There are many variables and to put it all on Kenseth's one season and saying thats the sole reason they changed the points is ridiculous. 44. New 14&88 Fan posted: 05.15.2011 - 11:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) People hating on Matt Kenseth need to chill out and get over themselves.He's the farthest thing from a prima donna and doesn't whine one bit when the going gets though, he and his team just buckle down get dig deeper.His Daytona 500 win was anything but a "crock of s***" since has one poster pointed out he came all the way from 39th, avoided the big one and passed Elliot Sadler before the last caution/red flag.And his 2003 championship wasn't a shame in the slightest, he held the points lead most of the year and was the most consistent of all the drivers. 45. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 05.15.2011 - 11:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree that Matt's 2003 season wasn't a shame in the slightest, and if others deserved the title more that year, they would have put up more consistency. Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman won 12 races between them that year, but each also had a high number of DNF's/races where they had trouble. Jimmie Johnson probably could have beat Matt if he had a little more luck on his side that year. He had five finishes outside the top 25 which doesn't seem so bad, only with the season that Matt had, that caused him to lose the title by 90 points. 46. cjs3872 posted: 05.16.2011 - 12:21 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thanks, Eric. I had forgotten about Darrell Waltrip's win the 1992 Southern 500, which was also his final victory. That race was also rain-shortened, as was Mark Martin's win in the same race the following year, which was shortened by rain and darkness. I always try to be accurate when I make comments, and I also believe that to look to the future, one must always look back, hence my almost constant historical refernces in my posts. 47. irony posted: 05.16.2011 - 12:27 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The 2000 Southern 500 won by Bobby Labonte was also rain shortened. The only time I've been to Darlington and it was more a flood out than a rain out. 48. cjs3872 posted: 05.16.2011 - 12:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, Kenseth's 2003 championship was not the first won by a driver that won only one race. There were two pretty good drivers named Ned Jarrett (1961) and Benny Parsons (1973) that also won championships with only one win. And Alan Kulwicki (1992) won the championship winning only twice, as was the case in both of Terry Labonte's championship seasons (1984 and '96). So winning the championship doesn't just rely on wins, but until 2004, how you fared in EVERY race on all kinds of tracks. That's why I don't consider Jimmie Johnson, great as he's been, on anywhere near the same level of all the other drivers that have won at least three titles, or Bobby Allison, who even though he won just one title, won 85 races, third-most in history. Johnson's titles were based on how he did in JUST the LAST 10 races, not the ENTIRE season, though his string of wins should get the respect of every fan, as only he and Jeff Gordon have won EVERY major race on the circuit at least once among active drivers. (Heck, even Cale Yarborough, Bill Elliott, Mark Martin, and Rusty Wallace have all missed out on at least one of the major events, and each of them raced at least 20 full-time seasons and won at least 40 races.) 49. cjs3872 posted: 05.16.2011 - 12:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, Irony, the finish of Bobby Labonte's Southern 500 victory was an almost exact replay of the crazy finish to Bobby Unser's 1975 Indianapolis 500 victory, which finished with a monsoon that sent cars spinning and saw Unser and A.J. Foyt (who finished third) barely able to even make it to the S/F line because of near-zero visibility and and car sitting backwards on the main straightaway. 50. 18fan posted: 05.16.2011 - 12:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) What Bowyer really can't complain about is that Kyle Busch ran behind him all day, came out of the pits behind Clint, with both taking four tires, and Kyle drove right by him. 51. Schroeder51 posted: 05.16.2011 - 12:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #47-Not to mention that Billy Vukovich spun out in the rain storm and backed it into a fence, nearly hitting a photographer. He managed to still drive to the checkered in the massive downpour. 52. Frank posted: 05.16.2011 - 7:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) By 1/3 of the season we, racing fans with principles, are loosing to NASCAR with 2-10 record. 53. Rusty posted: 05.16.2011 - 7:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not a boring race, but it was a race you likely won't remember years from now. Jimmie Johnson had the best car in the first half of the race and Carl Edwards in the 2nd, neithr got a chance to win because of tire strategy during the final caution. After the last two races, I think you will see a lot more leaders taking 2 tires during late cautions. Track position was everything at the end. 54. cjs3872 posted: 05.16.2011 - 9:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Schroeder51, I mentioned that several cars did spin out, and Vuky's probably was the most known of them, since the ABC cameras actually caught it. But four others spun out in turn 4 as well. Now, other than Kenseth's drive to a surprise victory, pit strategy aided all the other top 5 finishers except Kyle Busch, as Martin did not even pit during the final caution, and Ambrose's and Vickers' teams employed the same strategy as did Kenesth's. Bowyer's run to the front was no less remarkable, considering the way he had finished the race the day before, and the fact that, before the caution for rain, that he very nearly got lapped. Meanwhile, the Penske cars continue to struggle, will continue to until Penske either leaves Dodge, or another another fully funded and backed team joins the Dodge ranks. Penske is right where he was when he ran the AMC Matador from 1972-'75. Jeff Burton continues to struggle to finish where he runs, as he was a top 5 car, running with, and at times, in front of Kenseth, but it seems that his team just can't finish the job, while the mystery that is both Denny Hamlin and Jeff Gordon continues. While it isn't surprising that Hamlin was never in contention, since he never is at Dover, Gordon is another situation all together. He was running with Martin most of the day, and even used the same tactics that produced the winner and several of the other top finishers, but on the final restart, his car dropped anchor immediately, as it has on all the high speed tracks so far this year. It seems that if they're running on a short track, he seems to run strong, but when they get to the higher speed intermediates, he struggles, which seems to indicate, for some reason, a possible problem with aerodynamics with his and Mark Martin's cars. I know that the 5/24 teams are in one shop and the 48/88 teams are in another, but I just can't believe that the difference is that great between the shops, unless Chad Knaus is hiding something yet again, because the Stewart-Haas team, which also uses Hendrick equipment, seems to also be out to lunch far more often than not. (Neither S-H Racing car ran in the top 20 practically at any time during the race, although Stewart's day was not helped when he had to take evasive action from David Ragan's seemingly weekly miscue, this time at the pit entrance.) 55. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.16.2011 - 10:54 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) One thing I forgot to mention: How about that last commercial break on FOX that had the side by side screen we've all been pining for! Unexpected and certainly a pleasure. 56. Smiff_99 posted: 05.16.2011 - 11:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, SxS commercials have been LOOOONG overdue. I 'bout shit my pants when it happened....lol. They never mentioned it before OR after.....it just came out of nowhere! 57. Rudy posted: 05.16.2011 - 11:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs3872, you post some good comments but they are hard to read. Paragraphs are your friends. 58. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.16.2011 - 11:23 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Glad to see the support for Kenseth. To me, he is one of the last old school style of racer. He might get on his team on the radio, but he never throws them under the bus in public. He just wants to race instead of the endless talk that comes along with it. This has earned him the "boring" tag, but at the racetrack he is all business. This is ironic because away from the racetrack he is more interesting than almost every other driver. As far as "he goes through crew chiefs like (insert cheesy cliche here" this is far from unprecedented. Drivers are very particular with crew chiefs. Every single one of them. They need a crew chief that 1) can do all the things well that good crew chiefs do like manage people, make good pit calls, delegate responsibilites to the right people, etc 2) understand them when they are behind the wheel and can tell by the tone of their voice how the car is doing and 3) know when to calm them down, when to get them up on the wheel, and how to do this without pissing them off. This is not an easy science and every driver that has been around for a while has, at some point, gone through a lot of crew chiefs in a short amount of time. The great ones have had the one long time crew chief that they had the majority of their success with. But a crew chiefs shelf life is much shorter that a drivers. So after their glory run with their long time head wrench (Petty-Inman, Pearson-Wood, Waltrip-Hammond, Earnhardt-Shelmerdine, Gordon-Evernham, Jarrett-Parrott, Kenseth-Reiser, etc) they usually have a tough time finding a permanent replacement. Once there was a driver that, from the last race of 1995 through the 1/3 point of the 1998 season had FOUR different crew chiefs. After a successful 3 year run with Andy Petree (2 championships and a runner up), Andy left to become an owner. For the 1996 season, they moved longtime team employees David Smith and Bobby Hutchens up as co-crew chiefs (two guys, but I count that as 1 crew chief). It was a stupid idea, but their driver was good enough he was still able to have them leading the points at times, and was very much in Winston Cup contention until the summer when he had an awful crash at Talladega. He was banged up to the point he could no longer carry the car like he used to. So going in to 1997, he realized he needed a good, strong willed crew chief on his box. He went after one of the best crew chiefs in the garage, Larry McReynolds. He was coming to the end of a long, successful run at Yates despite countless tragedies. It seemed like a dream team, but they never clicked. They went winless in '97 and finished 5th in points only because they finished every race. 1998 was a disaster. They finally broke through for a win, an emotional Daytona 500 win, but were totally out to lunch in all the races afterwards. Finally that driver asked for a new crew chief. He got a relative unknown in Kevin Hamlin. But they clicked and won 5 races in '99 and '00 and finished 2nd in points in 2000. That driver's name was Dale Earnhardt. This is not unprecedented. 59. RR posted: 05.16.2011 - 12:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #42 The Internet is a proper noun, and thus should be capitalized. The Chicago Manual of Style, the APA, and the Associated Press all clearly state that the 'I' in Internet should be capitalized. I just typed in "internet" in Google News, and in each article, the noun "Internet" was capitalized. Just as there are several media outlets that do not properly capitalize Internet, I'm sure there are been several media outlets that have referred to NASCAR driver "Jimmy Johnson." The fact remains that, while trying to chastise me for using a very common homophone one time (which, by the way, is not at all similar to calling Jeff "Jeffe"), you committed a error of your own. 60. Smokefan05 posted: 05.16.2011 - 12:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree with post #53. A decent race that really shouldn't be complained about. A race started and a race ended. nice to see Matt win again. Missed the end because i was out with a friend (never will make that mistake again) but what i did watch was good enough to keep me interested. Dover isn't the most exicting track in the world but different than the cookie-cutters. "By 1/3 of the season we, racing fans with principles, are loosing to NASCAR with 2-10 record." NASCAR: 10 Race fans wtih principles:2 About time NASCAR started to get ahead in the win column. Wow FOX did SxS? Geez, what toke them so long, now just do it for the whole race then you'll be on a roll. 61. CFob posted: 05.16.2011 - 12:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I want to be a trendy NASCAR fan too and complain about a boring race for no good reason! 62. cjs3872 posted: 05.16.2011 - 12:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thanks Rudy, for complimenting my info, which I try to be as accurate on as possible. And I also try to be as even-handed as possible, which may seem odd if you look at my criticism of David Ragan on some of my posts for this race, but they are accurate. If a driver/team does a good job, I'll compliment them on it, but if they screw up, I'll call them out on it. Same thing on posts here. If I make a mistake that's accurately corrected, I'll thank the poster for doing that (assuming that I hadn't done it already). But if you incorrectly attempt to dispute something I know is fact, I'll call you out on it. Now as for my not using paragraphs on my posts, I only started posting here last week, so I'm still new at this. By the way, I see that I wans't the only one that noticed the side-by-side commercial with 25 laps remaining, though I believe the only reason it was done was because the network needed a commercial break, but it was so close to the end of the race that the action nnede to be shown, in case something actually happened. Had it been in the middle of the race, they surely would not have gone split-screen on that particular break. 63. cjs3872 posted: 05.16.2011 - 12:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And sorry about any misspellings that may occur on my posts. 64. Anonymous posted: 05.16.2011 - 12:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "The Internet is a proper noun, and thus should be capitalized. The Chicago Manual of Style, the APA, and the Associated Press all clearly state that the 'I' in Internet should be capitalized. I just typed in "internet" in Google News, and in each article, the noun "Internet" was capitalized. Just as there are several media outlets that do not properly capitalize Internet, I'm sure there are been several media outlets that have referred to NASCAR driver "Jimmy Johnson." The fact remains that, while trying to chastise me for using a very common homophone one time (which, by the way, is not at all similar to calling Jeff "Jeffe"), you committed a error of your own." It's called, "common usage," get used it. Language is always evolving, but as far as I know, someone's name doesn't just randomly change. Also it's, "an error," smart ass. 65. beau posted: 05.16.2011 - 1:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #11 stole my name. 66. beau posted: 05.16.2011 - 1:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) woops #12 67. RR posted: 05.16.2011 - 2:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "get used it" Who is "get" and how did he use common usage? I don't know how you can call me a smart ass when it was you who made a big deal about me typing "Jimmy" (you do realize that there is a pretty famous "Jimmy Johnson?) instead of "Jimmie." The fact that I spelled Fennig correctly, and the fact that the rest of my post was coherent and grammatically sound should suggest that "Jimmy" was simply an oversight, rather than a recurring issue. I've said enough about this. I'm not going to post anymore about it. 68. Frank posted: 05.16.2011 - 2:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Some time ago I was also wondering why Roush keeping Ragan but after his contract was advanced once again it became clear that the only reason is money. So let's suppose #6 as a sponsor for #17 team which struggles to find primary sponsorship after DeWalt quit. In my opinion the beginning of financial downfall even for big teams was in 2007 when NASCAR forced COT project. Of course cost reducing became total bullshit because now it's much harder to find advantage here or there and big organizations putting more money in R&D. I think COT is the biggest fail of Helton's NASCAR, even bigger than Chase. Because new cars elevated dirty air problem and now tracks like Charlotte became boring - COT ruined races, Chase ruined Championship. But I like to watch races rather than standings so I blame COT 69. Schroeder51 posted: 05.16.2011 - 2:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #54-Yeah, I know. The video on Youtube showed about five or six cars stopped on the frontstretch and a bunch of wreckers around them. Bobby Unser had to go around them to reach the checkered flag. Wow, I just now remembered they did do a side by side. Could this be practice for next year? We'll see. 70. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 05.16.2011 - 3:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "How about that last commercial break on FOX that had the side by side screen we've all been pining for! Unexpected and certainly a pleasure." Yeah, I was surprised yet pleased that they did that. If they're going to go to commercial with just 24 laps to go, might as well make it split screen so we can see what's going on so we don't miss anything. :P As for Roush Racing, I still think David Ragan is going to be released. He made a mistake in this race that mostly only rookies make. With Bayne and Stenhouse in the Nationwide Series competing for the chance to take over the #6, I'd be really surprised if he stayed. Carl Edwards seems to be taking a Terry Labonte-type approach when it comes to the points lead this year. He's only got a 24 point cushion despite his consistency, and has a teammate that has more wins. 71. Cooper posted: 05.16.2011 - 3:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me RCRandPenskeGuy. During the first round of green flag pit stops, David Ragan spun out and hit the inside guard rail before the entrance to pit road. He stayed there for a good 10 seconds, and tried to straighten his car back out. Even with cars trying to enter the pit lane, NASCAR decided to not wave the yellow flag. Jamie McMurray and Tony Stewart had their pit stops effected by this and were very close to having contact with the #6. Since when does a car sitting in the middle of pit road before the entrance not merit a caution? I know NASCAR didn't want to trap half the field a lap down but rules are rules. When their is a dangerous situation on the track, the yellow flag needs to be waved. That's what the yellow flag is for. 72. Anonymous posted: 05.16.2011 - 5:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I don't know how you can call me a smart ass when it was you who made a big deal about me typing "Jimmy" (you do realize that there is a pretty famous "Jimmy Johnson?) instead of "Jimmie." The fact that I spelled Fennig correctly, and the fact that the rest of my post was coherent and grammatically sound should suggest that "Jimmy" was simply an oversight, rather than a recurring issue." You're the one who made a big deal about it. If you knew how to read better, you'd know that post wasn't just about you, it's about how often you see the mistake of Jimmy instead of Jimmie everywhere, you were merely the catalyst for posting it. I never singled you out for making the mistake all the time, but you got super defensive about it, and wanted to get into some lame grammar pissing match. Seeing as how he's the most famous person in the sport right now, it's dumb that so many others constantly type Jimmy, when it should be immediately obvious to any racing fan that it is wrong. 73. cjs3872 posted: 05.16.2011 - 5:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yes Stewart's and McMurray's pit stops were affected by Ragan seemingly weekly miscue, Cooper, not to mention the rest of their days. Andy Lally later spun trying to make it to the pits, but did a complete 360, hit nothing and proceeded to his pit as if nothing happened. And Lally is a rookie, so that mistake is understandable on his part. Edwards is having one of those consistent-style years, but he is, by no means, the same kind of driver that Terry Labonte or Benny Parsons were, even though he IS having that kind of year. Edwards is much more flamboyant than either of those two could have ever thought of being. And Schroeder51, the four cars that were tangled in turn four happened BEHIND Unser and Foyt, and there were no wreckers at the scene, as the drivers actually stepped out of their cars, I believe in an attempt to at least get them out of harm's way, but you're right about Unser (and Foyt) having to weave their way though the spun out car that was stopped backwards near the S/F line (I think it was Pancho Carter) just to make it to the finish of that race. As the for the future of NSC car #6 of Roush-Fenway Racing, the obvious choice to replace Ragan to me would be Trevor Bayne, if he can recover from his problem (which I believe is a possible head injury or maybe even carbon momoxide poisoning. And doesn't anyone find it strange that just in the last day or two, the Roush said that no official diagnosis of Bayne's condition coule be determined, even after nine days in the Mayo Clinic?). If he can't I wouldn't be surprised if Mark Martin returns to that car for one swan-song year. But I don't think Stenhouse is anywhere near ready for that car. After all, when fellow drivers, like clint Bowyer, say you're running too hard early in the race, saying that if he conitnued to run that hard, that he wouldn't see the finish, and if I'm not mistaken, even the commentators mentioned that Stenhoouse may have been running the car too hard, which he has been doing a lot this year. 74. Talon64 posted: 05.16.2011 - 5:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Dale Jr and Jeff Burton are by far the best two drivers not already in the All-Star race, so now they will have to race their way in or rely on the fan vote. Dale Jr probably has the fan vote locked up already, and Burton should be able to race his way in barring a wreck or a bad starting spot." Except Jeff Burton is hardly the best PERFORMING driver right now out of everyone not in the All Star race. There's Martin Truex Jr. who's won the Showdown twice, AJ Allmendinger who's also won it in the past, Paul Menard, Marcos Ambrose who's had some good runs on the intermediates, even David Ragan probably has an equal chance as Burton. But I'm hoping Burton races his way in since it'd be a good momentum boost for them. Matt Kenseth becomes the 35th driver in Cup history to reach the 20 win milestone, getting his 2nd career Dover win. His 11 top 5's there (in 25 starts) is his most at any track, and 741 laps led is just ONE off of Bristol for his most. It's Jack Roush's 9th win at Dover, their 3rd most at any track (3723 laps led is the most), the 123rd of his career and series-leading 3rd win of 2011 (4th win for Ford). Kenseth ties Joe Weatherly for 30th on the all time list in top 5's with 105, and moved alone into 28th all time with 194 top 10's. Matt will likely become the 28th driver, 2nd this season (Bobby Labonte), to reach 200 top 10's. Mark Martin finishes runner-up for the 60th time in his career, moving past Jeff Gordon into 5th all time. It's also his 100th career top 2 finish (40 wins). It's Mark's first top 5 of the season, and his 23rd at Dover (a track record, 4 better than the rest, and his most at any track) in 50 starts; also his 8th runner-up there. Marcos Ambrose tied his best finish on an oval in 3rd, his 9th career top 5 in 94 starts. His 2nd top five ties his total from all of 2010, and it's his first top 10 in 6 Dover starts (20.8 avg fin). Kyle Busch gets just his 2nd top 10 in the last 5 races, but both are top 5's (won Richmond). His 6th top 5 of the season ties Carl Edwards for the series lead. It's his 3rd straight top 10 at Dover, his 7th top 5 in 13 starts there. Brian Vickers gets his first top 5 in 35 races, just his 19th career top 5 in 230 starts. It's his first top 5 and just his 2nd top 10 in 13 Dover starts (20.0 avg fin). Clint Bowyer gets his 6th top 10 in the last 7 races (T-3rd most points scored in that stretch). It's his best finish in 11 starts at Dover, his 4th top 10 in 11 starts (previous 3 were all 8th place finishes). 29 laps led is also his most led there. "And how dumb was it that Bowyer was so mad that he didn't want to give an interview? Hey Clint, when you only have 4 wins in 200 races, you aren't allowed to think you let a win slip away, especially when you were going to have to battle Johnson or Edwards (drivers who know how to win) to earn it, if things had worked out for those drivers on their last pit stops. He only led 29 laps! Kenseth led more. But I guess that's what you get with Childress drivers, a sense of entitlement. Except for Jeff Burton." um, isn't that the opposite logic in this case? When you only have 4 wins in 200 starts, you're going to be pretty pissed that you let an opportunity slip away like that. And Clint's a pretty good driver who's been in contention for wins quite a few times anyways. Carl Edwards gets his series-leading 9th top 10 of the season in only 11 races, his 10th top 10 in 14 Dover starts (7.6 avg fin). He led a Dover career-high 117 laps (416 is his 3rd most at any track). Martin Truex Jr. made his 200th Cup start and picked up his 47th career top 10. It's the first time he's had back-to-back top 10's since November 2009 at Phoenix and Homestead to end the season. It's his 4th top 10 in 11 Dover starts but his first in 6 races. Jimmie Johnson led the most laps at Dover for a 5th consecutive race, leading at least 191 in every race and totalling 1192 laps led in 2000 laps run in that span (59.6%). His 1829 laps led there is his most at any track and ranks him 8th all time. It's his 13th top 10 in 19 starts there (9.6 avg fin). Kevin Harvick gets just his 2nd top 10 in the last 5 races, and just his 3rd in the last 10 Dover races (8 top 10's in 21 Dover starts, 17.0 avg fin). Jeff Burton ties his best finish of the season in 11th. 11 races to start a season without a top 10 is the 2nd worst start of his career, only beat by 1995 which was his 2nd season in Cup driving for the Stavola Brothers(DNQ'd 2 times, 32nd in points with 1 top 5, 2 top 10's and a 25.2 avg fin). Dale Earnhardt Jr. gets his 9th top 15 finish and 10th straight top 20 finish (but 3rd straight race out of the top 10). Brad Keselowski posts back-to-back lead-lap finishes for the first time this season, and started in the top 10 for a 3rd straight race (16.6 avg start in 11 races to start 2011). Kurt Busch only has 1 top 10 in his last 7 races, posting a 17.7 avg fin and falling from 1st to 9th in the standings in that stretch. David Reutimann gets just his 4th top 15 finish of the season. Bobby Labonte has back-to-back top 20's for the first time since Martinsville and Texas back in October 2009. 75. Smokefan05 posted: 05.16.2011 - 8:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "In my opinion the beginning of financial downfall even for big teams was in 2007 when NASCAR forced COT project. Of course cost reducing became total bullshit because now it's much harder to find advantage here or there and big organizations putting more money in R&D." The COT was coming to be even before Dale Sr. died. The COT was coming weither you, me or others liked it or not. The COT came faster because Dale died. If Dale hadn't been killed, the COT would have been developed more but we would have been here. But NASCAR asked the teams for input on it and they got it. "I think COT is the biggest fail of Helton's NASCAR, even bigger than Chase. Because new cars elevated dirty air problem and now tracks like Charlotte became boring - COT ruined races, Chase ruined Championship. But I like to watch races rather than standings so I blame COT." Oh so i guess all the of COY races where perfect? ANd for the love of everything that is blue and green on this earth, DIRTY AIR IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE A PROBLEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Every racecar produces dirty air. IRL, F1, NASCAR, GP2, ALMS, what else have you. 76. Eric posted: 05.16.2011 - 11:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I disagree with COT ruining races because of when aero push got its start. Aero Push ruined races before the COT came out. I remembered Dale Earnhardt Sr. complaining about aero push for the 1997 Michigan race. In that time period aerodynamics was getting more advanced for stock cars. 77. Eric posted: 05.17.2011 - 12:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I didn't see the whole race thanks to power being out for the final 120 laps, but I really think Clint Bowyer shouldn't be angry because his lack of wins was caused by himself. The problem with Clint with his win totals is the fact he had a label of a poorman's Terry Labonte. Clint as a driver going into this year was a Terry Labonte type driver. Terry Labonte was points racer. That type of a driver isn't that aggressive at all and cost them plenty of wins because of the style of racing. That meant Clint isn't usually aggressive as a drivers as a result I know Bowyer made the unwise choice of going 3 wide at Darlington for Nationwide and cup, but Clint for the most part is a true points racer like Terry Labonte was. 78. me posted: 05.17.2011 - 8:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) it was better than both of last years dover races i thought 79. cjs3872 posted: 05.17.2011 - 9:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yes, the first time that I can recall an aero-push problem occurring was at the Brickyard 400 in 1995, when Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was able to hold off Rusty Wallace (who had a faster car) and Dale Jarrett. The things the teams learned from the first years of running at the ultra-smooth and flat (by NASCAR standards) Indianapolis Motor Speedway allowed the teams to try more aerodynamic-related stuff, that resulted in aero-push problems, though I think they would have figured it out anyway. The first NASCAR races at Indy just sped up the process. 80. cjs3872 posted: 05.17.2011 - 9:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) And also, unlike Carl Edwards, who is a flamboyant driver who is having a Labonte-Parsons kind of season, Clint bowyer does race more like Terry Labonte or Benny Parsons. Always consistenly smong the front runners, but rarely a winner, but seemingly always a high points finisher. And remember that Parsons won one championship with his conservative style, while Labonte won two. Labonte never won more than three races in any season (and only won that many in a season twice), while Parsons only won more than three once (1977 when he won four). Another driver with this trait was Ricky Rudd, who never won more than twice in any year, and was even winless when he won the IROC Chapnionship in 1992. (In fact, he never won an IROC race. By the way Labonte's only IROC win came in 1989, when he won the chamnpionship.) 81. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.17.2011 - 11:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @79, you are right. The '95 Brickyard 400 was the first time I remember seeing a true aero push. Dale had nothing for Rusty in that race, until he got ahead of him on a pit sequence. With Dale "dirtying up the air" (I love that phrase, it would be a good expression to use when somebody farts and poisons everyone near him), Rusty could pull within 3 car lenghts easily, then just stall. 82. Eric posted: 05.17.2011 - 1:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs3872, Terry Labonte won 3 races in a season 2 times, not once. They happened in 1994 and 1995. 83. cjs3872 posted: 05.17.2011 - 1:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Eric, I did mention that Labonte won three races in a season twice. Next, time, please read the ENTIRE post before you correct me, unless I'm incorrect. In that case, then you can correct me. What I said was: "Labonte never won MORE that three races in any season (and only won that many in a season twice)". 84. cjs3872 posted: 05.17.2011 - 1:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That should have said "Labonte never won MORE than three races in any season". Sorry for the spelling error. 85. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 05.17.2011 - 2:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "By the way Labonte's only IROC win came in 1989, when he won the chamnpionship." Very good point. That fact alone is very telling of how conservative Terry was. In IROC, the cars were all equal to one another in equipment and Terry cruising along like he did in Cup would mean that he'd likely not win many IROC races. And I wasn't saying Carl's personality is the same as Terry's at all (NO WAY!), just that he's having a year that Labonte would have had in his prime. 86. cjs3872 posted: 05.17.2011 - 4:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Agreed, #85 on all counts. 87. cjs3872 posted: 05.17.2011 - 4:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And by the way, Matt Kenseth is not the only successful driver to seems to have a dull and uninteresting personality. As I seem to remember, there was a driver from Albuquerque, NM that made his Indy debut in 1965 that had, pretty much, the same kind of personality that Kenseth has, and he became, in the opinion of myself and a lot of ther people, the greatest Indianapolis 500 driver of all-time with 4 wins, 3 seconds, and 4 thirds (all of which tie event records) for a total of 11 top three finishes (far and away the record). That driver's name was Al Unser. Interstingly, Unser won three IndyCar championships, the last two (1983 and '85) came in years that he only won once, as Kenseth did in his NASCAR chapinoship season of 2003, the year before which, he was the season's winningest driver, so Kenseth, if he has the car under him, as he had at Dover and Texas, is capable of winning and winning big. 88. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.17.2011 - 4:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ESPN to do side by side commercials for the cha$e? Wow! That is one of those things I always hoped for but never thought I would see in a million years. For the first time since they re entered nascar I give them a thumbs up. 89. cjs3872 posted: 05.17.2011 - 5:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, there have been posts suggesting that Clint Bowyer has made 200 starts. Not true, but he's getting close. He's made 192. It was Martin Truex, Jr. that made his 200th start in this race. Denny Hamlin will cross the 200 career starts milestone first, having made 198, then Bowyer would be next. 90. Cooper posted: 05.17.2011 - 5:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cooper's interesting fact of the race: --With the speed of 125.578mph, this was the fastest Cup race ever held on May 15th. It breaks the previous record of 123.327mph which was in 1977 also run at Dover. You don't have to look this up because I already did. 91. cjs3872 posted: 05.17.2011 - 7:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cooper, that tops any facts/stats that I could come up with. And that says something. 92. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.17.2011 - 9:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I also tip my cap to Cooper for that. 93. Smokefan05 posted: 05.17.2011 - 9:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "ESPN to do side by side commercials for the cha$e? Wow! That is one of those things I always hoped for but never thought I would see in a million years. For the first time since they re entered nascar I give them a thumbs up." Yeah but they still suck. 94. myothercarisanM535i posted: 05.18.2011 - 1:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I know NASCAR didn't want to trap half the field a lap down but rules are rules. When their is a dangerous situation on the track, the yellow flag needs to be waved. That's what the yellow flag is for." Now this here is quite a curious situation. First, let me start by saying I believe NASCAR made the right call in letting the race stay green. Second, I can completely understand where you're coming from with that concern. In motorsport all around the world, the yellow flag is displayed whenever there is a hazard on the track. However, where NASCAR differs, is that the display of a yellow flag and the deployment of a safety car, are both the same thing. Yes, I'm talking about local yellows. A safety car should only be deployed in the event of rescue/cleanup crews needing to enter the track. On a road course, there are multiple flag points situated throughout the course. If an incident occurs, a yellow flag will be displayed at the first flag point prior to the hazard, with a green flag being waved at the first flag point clear of the hazard. Passing is not allowed between the yellow flag and the green flag. The purpose of the yellow is to warn other compeditors of the danger ahead and to also give the cars involved a chance to recover and continue. Should a car be unable to proceed under it's own power, either by damage or being trapped in a run off area, then the entire course will be put under yellow and the safety car deployed to allow retriveal crews to safely remove the stranded car. Ultimately, I would like to see NASCAR review it's caution policy to find a system similar to the one in play on other parts of the globe. Implementing such a system on a oval would do wonders for the flow of a race. When a car running at the back of the pack spins harmless through the infield of a superspeedway on a restart, stopping the whole race for three or four laps in quite unnessary. A potential solution could be a "semi-yellow". In the event of something small, such as a spin, one of these "semi-yellows" could be thrown, which would see no passing on the racetrack for a lap, or until the green is thrown again. Cars would be able to continue at speed, but without putting themselves and others in a dangerous situation. There would also be heavy penalties for those who fail to adhere to the safety regulations. However, I don't believe NASCAR will ever go for such a radical idea. But going back to the David Ragan spin, there's no reason why they can't add a flag marshall prior to the entrance of pit road, who would wave a yellow warning only of trouble on pit road. By doing this, NASCAR have increased the safety of the most dangerous part of the racetrack, without ever needing to interrupt action on the track. 95. cjs3872 posted: 05.18.2011 - 9:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #94, your idea of "semi-yellows" is somewhat similar to what was done at the Indianapolis 500 prior to 1979. When the caution was displayed, a series of number displays (from 1972-'78) would count in seconds to keep the cars at simliar intervals to what they were when the caution came out. Then the green flag was displayed the instant that the track was declared fit for racing, not when the leader would take the green flag at the beginning of the next lap. But the officials, competitors, and safety workers realized that, with the cars spread all over the track, that the safety workers could not perform their duties in a punctual fashion. That, plus the fact that those caution rules did not exactly produce competitve racing, the rule at Indy was changed in 1979 to conform to the rest of major oval racing, with the pace car getting in front of the field, bunching it up until the track was cleaned before the race restarted. (NASCAR had been dong that for more than a decade prior to that and USAC first bunched the field up on speedways in the first Pocono race in 1971.) 96. Frank posted: 05.18.2011 - 12:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Smokefan05, of course every car has aero push but we're spearing about COT and classic chassis. Have a look at all cookie cutters, especially low banked. Kansas, Chicago are ultimate boring tracks now - compare it with 2004-2007, much more side by side racing. Texas produced awesome racing in 2007 and year after with COT the best we could hope was fuel gambling. Track position is everything now and you may have (or may think that you have) car to beat and will not be able to do a thing even with fresh tyres somewhere about 10th place. Particulary this race - what a final I expected with 35 to go and different strategies but couple laps after restart all calmed down like it was closing to halfway, not to finish. As for cautions, guys, let me tell you some rules NASCAR keeps - I got it patiently watching races and noted why fake caution did come now and why there is no yellow while it is a danger. 1. Try to avoid a yellow during green flag pitstops 2. Try to avoid a yellow right after restart, especially after short green period 3. If there was 2 consecutive GFP series - throw a caution 4. If number of lead lap cars closing to 10 AND/OR some important guys are in danger (48, 88) - throw a caution 5. If leader's gap growing steadily after GFP - throw a caution And yes, I made a mistake in the record - it was 11th race but I'm absolutely sure that 600 will be with fake caution too. So the next race I would be looking seriously should be Sonoma. 97. myothercarisanM535i posted: 05.18.2011 - 6:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "1. Try to avoid a yellow during green flag pitstops" This here is the big one. If you're going to throw a yellow, then it needs to be thrown straight away, or not at all. There is one particular incident that really shocked and appalled me, that being the first Atlanta race of 2010 (maybe 2009). In the middle of green flag pitstops, one of the crew members from Marcos Ambrose's car lost the tire he was carrying and as it rolled into the infield, he chased after it to gather it up. NASCAR threw the caution, trapping many cars a lap down. As I recall, at this point there may have only been 6 cars on the lead lap. I'm completely ok with all of this. It's racing. Wierd stuff happens, stupid stuff happens. It happens. But after the race, NASCAR made a statement about the incident and said that if the crew member hadn't have chased the tire and left it where it was, they would have let the race go green until pit stops had cycled through, and THEN throw the caution. Excuse me? That's pure and utter nonsense. If NASCAR believes that there is a serious hazard on the track that needs removal, then throw the caution, immediately. If it can wait? Well then it's obviously not that big a deal and take care of it next time there's a caution for something else. With cautions, NASCAR blurs the line between safety and competition. Nonsense like this, policies about on track behaviour, rain tire debacles, all these little things are the only things stopping me from proclaiming NASCAR to be the best form of motorsport on the globe. 98. Smokefan05 posted: 05.18.2011 - 6:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "all these little things are the only things stopping me from proclaiming NASCAR to be the best form of motorsport on the globe." Some would claim F1 to be the best on earth but when you really look it, it really isn't (atleast for me). The guys who run it are nut jobs and racing is lack luster (lately i've heard its been good but lets see it they can keep it up) and that their is too much technology to let driver talent show. If i had to put it this way: NASCAR and F1 are at the top of their choosen forms of racing, WRC is a close 2nd to either of them. 99. myothercarisanM535i posted: 05.18.2011 - 7:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Some would claim F1 to be the best on earth" Not I. And WRC is in ruins, it's going to take a lot of work to fix that series. No, I beleive the best series today is the V8 Supercars, with NASCAR a close second. However, I wish they would learn from each other, because both could be even greater than they are now. 100. 00andJoe posted: 05.18.2011 - 7:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Comments on Winston Open and The Winston - *cough* Sprint Showdown/All-Star Race *cough* - entry lists: ~Showdown~ -Boris Said is in the #32 -T.J. Bell in the #50 -Skinner in the #60 -Derrike Cope in the #64 (not the #75 which I had been expecting) -Todd Bodine is running the #66 (McDowell will be in Iowa racing the JGR #18) -Riggs in the #81 -Brian K. in the #92 -David Starr in the #95 -The #36 is skipping the race to concentrate on the poins races. ~All-Star~ -Jimmie Johnson in the #5 and Mark Martin in the #25 as previously announced. 101. myothercarisanM535i posted: 05.18.2011 - 8:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good to see the #36 putting their efforts towards the 600. I hope that have a decent result to show for it. 102. cjs3872 posted: 05.18.2011 - 8:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR's always going to try to avoid throwing a caution in the middle of green flag pit stops, if at all possible. In fact, during the green flag pit stop sequence in the 1998 Brickyard 400 during which, Dale Jarrett ran out of gas, NASCAR let the race progress with a car (I think it was Ward Burton's) in the turn three safety lane, just so that the entire round of pit stops would be cycled through. Once that happened, NASCAR thre the caution to get the stalled car out of harm's way. And let's not forget the 1992 Spring Race at Atlanta, when Davey Allison, Dick Trickle, and Harry Gant were all racing for the win, but pitted, as did every other driver on the lead lap, except Bill Elliott. When Mike Wallace crashed on the backstretch, NASCAR was obliged to throw the caution flag, and Elliott, who hadn't been competitve all day, suddenly found himself a full lap ahead of the field, and basically, as his crew chief Tim Brewer commented after the race, backed into victory lane. Of note, the first use of the competition caution occurred in that same Atlanta race in 1992. After Ken Schrader crashed due to a blown tire, NASCAR realized that they had a tire-blistering problem, as they were running the radial tire at Atlanta for the first time. The caution was thrown three times just to let teams change tires without risking a crash due to a blowout. (The broadcast team of Paul Page, Benny Parsons, and Bobby Unser all appauded that move, especially Unser.) So the use of the competition caution to allow tire changes in the name of safety (especially in the case lack of track time due to rain) is not a new concept at all. 103. cjs3872 posted: 05.18.2011 - 8:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, when Kimi Raikonnen does make his NASCAR debut, he would not be the first F1 Champion to run in NASCAR after his championship. The legendary Jim Clark, won won the F1 championship twice (1963 and '65), as well as the Indianapolis 500 (also in 1965), ran in the 1967 NASCAR season finale at Rockingham, NC in car fielded by Holman-Moody (which won the Daytona 500 that year with Mario Andretti, a future Indy 500 and F1 champion). Clark started 24th and finished 30th in field of 44, completing just 144 laps before falling out with ehgine failure. (Though Raikonnen would be running in one of the lower series, unlike Clark in 1967.) Info courtesy of racing-reference.info. 104. cjs3872 posted: 05.18.2011 - 8:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And if Kimi's last name is spelled incorrectly (which it probably is), then I apologize for the misspelling. 105. myothercarisanM535i posted: 05.18.2011 - 9:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "NASCAR's always going to try to avoid throwing a caution in the middle of green flag pit stops, if at all possible." But that is the wrong thing for a governing body to do, because by doing it they are manipulating the results of a race, something race control should never, EVER do. 106. cjs3872 posted: 05.18.2011 - 9:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) myothercarisanM535I, there are those that say thay NASCAR has been manipulating, at least, the finsihes of races for many years as it is, so that may not be news. And what I meant was, that by avoiding throwing caution flags during green-flag pit stops, unless it's absolutely needed (for a crash or blown engine, for example), NASCAR is letting the action take it's natural course by not throwing a caution for debris, or a car that is temporarily out of harm's way. As for that incident where the crewman ran into the quad-oval grass at Atlanta to chase that tire, what would have happened if the crewman had left it there, and the tire was hit by a spinning car (and cars do spin and crash at that location)? That crewman would never have lived it down, and many crewman and officials may have been hurt or even killed. (Similar to what might have happened at the end of the NNS event at Dover on 5/14 if Clint Bowyer's car had, in fact, cleared the pit wall. One of Bowyer's crewen was hurt as it was.) 107. myothercarisanM535i posted: 05.18.2011 - 10:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR did the right thing by throwing the caution in that Atlanta incident. I've never had a problem with that. My problem is with NASCAR saying they would have let the race run green until pit stops had cycled through. My problem with that concept is for the exact same thing that you've said: What if a car was to spin and hit the tire? It was a serious risk, but NASCAR saying they would have let the race continue, just so that all the cars would remain on the lead lap is to spit in the face of safety. We both believe the same thing here, just having a bit of trouble communicating it! 108. myothercarisanM535i posted: 05.18.2011 - 10:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, about letting the race run when a car is out of the way, that's something I wish NASCAR would do more of. Which brings us back to local yellows. If on the last lap of a race, a car spins down to the apron on the back straight and ends up parked well infield just before turn 3, I believe the race should stay green. Of course, that might not be possible at places such as Martinsville or Dover, but how many times have we seen a Talladega or Daytona race finish under caution because a lone car was parked well out of harms way? Same with road courses. Officially, the 2008 Watkins Glen NNS race finished under caution. What was the cause of this caution? A car ran out of fuel on the last lap and was parked on the inside of a straightaway, about half the length down. Now on a road course, that is safe and out of the way. I don't see why the same thing can't be put into play on the ovals. And whilst we're on this topic, I might as well mention something else somewhat related: The "Spin and Win". Whenever a driver spins out early and then wins the race, a big deal is made of it. But I'm sorry, if the caution came out for you harmlessly spinning without damage and you never lost a lap? That's not very impressive at all. 109. cjs3872 posted: 05.18.2011 - 10:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) However, they can't run for very long with a car disabled anywhere on the track. That precedent was set late in the 1971 Indianapolis 500 when Mike Mosley lost a wheel and crashed. then Bobby Unser crashed trying to avoid Mosley's car, then both cars spun down and slammed into three parked cars, those of Mark Donohue, Steve Krisiloff, and Bentley Warren, with Donohue's car briefly going on its side and virtually exploding. Unser was uninjured, while Mosley had to be helped from his car Gary Bettenhausen. (Mosley suffered serious burns in that crash, due to hitting the parked cars.) In those days, they didn't hardly slow down very much at Indy during caution flag periods (The first IndyCar speedway race in which they field was bunched up during caution flags occurred later that year in the Pocono 500, won by Donohue. As I mentioned in a previous post, the field didn't bunch up during cautions at Indy until 1979, though a system would be used beginning in 1972 to slow cars during caution periods. That race was also won by Donohue.) It because of that late-race incident at Indy in 1971 that caution flags have to be thrown to get stalled cars off the track, even if they're seemingly out of harm's way, because, as Jeff Gordon can attest, cars can crash at the darndest places. Also, the amazing thing about Danny Sullivan's spin at Indy in 1985 wasn't just that he saved the car, but that Mario Andretti, who Sullivan had just passed for the lead, didn't hit him. (And both drivers just barely miised another incident in that same turn just minutes later.) But a spin out, especially if that car never leaves the racing groove, does create a potential hazard, and that a caution flag is needed, if only to warn the other drivers. Now, on road courses, it just doesn't make any sense to FINISH a race under caution for a disabled car out of harm's way. If they need to tow it in, then just wait for the race to end, but any other time in a race where a round of grren-flag pit stops are not involved, disabled cars MUST be towed in, so they're not hit by spinning cars, to avoid the 1971 Indy nightmare from repeating itself. 110. myothercarisanM535i posted: 05.18.2011 - 10:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yes, the situation is very different depending on what stage of the race it happens. If there are enough laps left in the race to safely remove the staled car, then the yellow should be thrown to allow that to happen. But the last lap/laps are a bit different in my book. 111. Carmann posted: 05.19.2011 - 11:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I watched the early part of the race YAY GO JIMMIE!!! It's dissapointing because Jimmie just can't take the points lead for himself. YOU JUST WAIT. IN LESS THAN THREE YEARS JIMMIE WILL HAVE HIS 8 IN A ROW. YOU JUST WAIT. My third comment :D My others are Rolex 24 2011 and 2010 Polar Bear 150. 112. Talon64 posted: 05.19.2011 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Also, when Kimi Raikonnen does make his NASCAR debut, he would not be the first F1 Champion to run in NASCAR after his championship. The legendary Jim Clark, won won the F1 championship twice (1963 and '65), as well as the Indianapolis 500 (also in 1965), ran in the 1967 NASCAR season finale at Rockingham, NC in car fielded by Holman-Moody (which won the Daytona 500 that year with Mario Andretti, a future Indy 500 and F1 champion). Clark started 24th and finished 30th in field of 44, completing just 144 laps before falling out with ehgine failure. (Though Raikonnen would be running in one of the lower series, unlike Clark in 1967.) Info courtesy of racing-reference.info." 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve also made some NASCAR starts in recent years; first start was Las Vegas in 2007 in the Trucks (qualified 7th, finished a lap down in 21st), first Cup start was 2nd Talladega race that same year (qualified 6th, finished 21st) which was all for Bill Davis Racing. Ran in the Brickyard 400 last season with Braun Racing. Villeneuve has 3 Cup starts, 5 Nationwide starts (3 starts at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with 2 top 5's and a best of 3rd), and 7 Truck starts. 113. myothercarisanM535i posted: 05.19.2011 - 6:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I can't wait to see Kimi in NASCAR. I really hope he figures it out quick, because if he can run up front, it'll be awesome to watch. 114. Talon64 posted: 05.19.2011 - 7:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kimi should have no issues qualifying for the Truck race since he was pretty quick right out of the gate in the tests and he'll have KBM equipment. But just in case, the number of Trucks entered is down from the 43 originally entered to just 38. 115. cjs3872 posted: 05.19.2011 - 7:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Talon, I forgot about Villeneuve, but you are correct. Also, I believe Kimi would not have much of problem, unless it rains out the entire day, because the #15 truck would probably be one of the ones to go home in that case. Of course, if two more trucks WD, even that wouldn't be a factor. Also, Kasey Kahne and the rest of the Red Bull team must be bugged right about now. If Kahne had won the Southern 500, teammate Brian Vickers would be back in the All-Star Race, I believe, because with the Wood Brothers' withdrawal from the race due to Trevor Bayne's illness (which I believe is far worse than anyone's letting on, and is starting to remind me of the Tim Richmond situation), had Kahne (or any other already eligible driver) won the Southern 500, the field would have been one below the minimum, in which case, the most previous eligible winner not in the All-Star Race would have been eligible, which would have been Vickers. I believe due to the format, a 21-car field is the minimum, and a win for an already eligible driver would have knocked the field down to 20 cars with Bayne and the Wood Brothers' withdrawal from the event. Again that's just speculation. 116. Anonymous85 posted: 05.19.2011 - 9:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JJ will Taste no Championship this Season His reign of terror will end in 2011 117. DaleSrFanForever posted: 05.20.2011 - 11:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Obviously with the 10 race cha$e, there is always a chance JJ will experience 2 or 3 races of bad luck, enough to let somebody else win the Cup. But unless that happens, I don't see an end to his Cup winning streak anytime soon. And even if his consecutive streak is broken, they're not gonna just go away. It will be a while before the Cup Series has a new Dominator. 118. Jarrett88fan posted: 05.21.2011 - 12:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Something interesting to ponder that hasn't been mentioned... Mark Martin scored his 8th (amazing) 2nd place finish at Dover (along with his 4 wins) and has now finished 2nd at Dover over the course of 4 decades (1989,1990,1997,2002,2004,2009,2011)! What the heck was Chad Knaus in his infinite wisdom thinking taking 4 tires, when Jimmie had the first pit stall and Carl/Clint took 4 tires before the 48 came to a stop? Had this been the Sept. Dover race, I don't think the 48 team would walk into that trap again. 119. the_man posted: 05.27.2011 - 11:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Ragan on a 28th place finish: ā??I just locked up the rear brakes a little bit coming into the pits during that green flag stop. Thatā??s the first time Iā??ve ever wrecked like that getting on pit road. Iā??m usually the conservative one, but I guess I pushed it a little too hard today and itā??s very unfortunate for our UPS team. They prepared a great race car and I felt like we had a real good chance for a top 10 finish and just one mistake can change all that. Iā??m proud that we were able to finish and we didnā??t lose a lot of points today. Weā??ll just go to the All-Star race next weekend and try to get in and win that one.ā? 120. Frank posted: 06.13.2011 - 2:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) myothercarisanM535i @ Comment #99 I have never doubted that RR is the most smart and intelligent motorsport community in the world 121. Robert Nelson posted: 07.12.2012 - 8:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) F1 points Carl Edwards 126 Kyle Busch 114 Jimmie Johnson 83 122. Anthony posted: 05.03.2015 - 4:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think this race shows the problems with aero that NASCAR has. Johnson and Edwards made absolutely no ground whatsoever in that last run. 123. RaceFanX posted: 10.01.2015 - 1:49 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Marcos Ambrose's third-place finish here matched his career best in Cup on an oval track. 124. RaceFanX posted: 12.31.2015 - 11:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mark Martin's second-place finish here was his best of the 2011 season. 125. Rich posted: 12.15.2020 - 10:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip were the commentators. Matt Yocum, Krista Voda, Dr. Dick Berggren and Steve Byrnes were the pit road reporters. Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond were in the Hollywood hotel. 126. Gopher88 posted: 02.05.2021 - 6:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm watching the 2011 season (because it was my first year watching and I had no context for what was happening) and one thing that I never really knew was how good Kasey Kahne was during the early portion of this season. He arguably should have won a few of these earlier. Impressive run. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: