|| *Comments on the 2012 Kobalt Tools 400:* View the most recent comment <#194> | Post a comment <#post> 1. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.09.2012 - 9:00 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Seriously Mikey, putting Vickers in your car for 6 short track races? Yeesh. I'm looking forward to seeing that as much as I'm looking forward to seeing the Hulk Hogan sex tape. Seriously, some company is gonna release a Hulk Hogan sex tape. What is the record for least amount of copies sold or viral views for a video? That is about to be broken. Is there anybody else in the world you would want to watch getting it on less than Hulk? And yes, I searched the internet to see if the Ultimate Warrior had a rambling video somewhere talking about how immoral Hulk is for being in this video. After Randy Savage died, he had a crazy rambling rant on how Hulk was such a bad friend to Randy and blamed his breakup with Elizabeth on him. Oh yeah, congrats to Kasey for the pole. 2. Eric posted: 03.09.2012 - 9:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) While is it new track record for Las Vegas Motor Speedway, it is not going to be the fastest Qualifying lap this year. I see Texas Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Michigan International Speedway having fast Qualifying speeds then Vegas. I didn't bring up Atlanta because the Qualifying speeds for labor Day weekend doesn't seem to be there at the track to pull off qualifying speeds over 190.456 Mile per hour with not being paved since 1997. The fastest qualifying speed Atlanta did on Labor day weekend is 187.380 per hour set in 2010. I mentioned Michigan because that because Michigan got repaved and that it could be one of the top 3 fastest places for qualifying as a result. 3. 10andJoe posted: 03.09.2012 - 9:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Congrats to Timmy Hill on qualifying for his first Cup Series race. 4. 10andJoe posted: 03.09.2012 - 9:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Note: the fastest 43 cars made the field, in order of their times. Which is somewhat nifty. 5. Kyle posted: 03.09.2012 - 9:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @10andJoe i noticed that too. no cars in the top 35 had to bump their way into the field. the starting lineup is the same as the qualifying results. that doesn't happen very often. 6. cjs3872 posted: 03.09.2012 - 10:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Eric, have you forgotten the 194.752 MPH lap that Carl Edwards won the Daytona 500 pole with? And the pole for Talladega might very well be even faster, maybe up to 196. And DSFF, why the hatchet job on Brian Vickers? Sure, what he did to Matt Kenseth at Phoenix last year was totally uncalled for, but I'll give him a pass on the incident with Kenseth at Martinsville. Now I know that Vickers also intentionally wrecked both Dale, Jr. and Jimmie Johnson on the last lap of his first Cup win at Talladega, and he deliberately spun out Mike Bliss to win the Sprint Showdown one year, although he did redeem himself to some extent by finishing in the top five in the All-Star Race later that evening. But we must also remember that Vickers is a past Nationwide Series champion (2003), has two Cup wins, and with more experience might very well have won the 2006 Daytona 500, and if not for a mechanical problem that sent a rear wheel flying into a tent in the infield, might very well have won the Coca-Cola 600 that night. But like almost every other driver of that #25 HMS car (which is now the #88 HMS car), Vickers has been cursed (the only exception I can think of would be Wally Dallenbach, Jr.). But if you're going to penalize Vickers for his on-track shenanigans late last year, then why does Juan Montoya even have a ride, because he's basically a weapon every time he gets on the track. In fact, he crashed in practice today (albeit from a mechanical failure), and damaged three or four other cars when he did when a brake rotor broke off, including Kyle Busch. 7. 18fan posted: 03.09.2012 - 10:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brian Vickers has been to victory lane 3 times in a Cup car(2005 All Star Open, 2006 Talladega, 2009 Michigan). Two of those wins came as a result of him spinning the leader. He wrecked at least 5 times at Martinsville in one race and for being spun once by Matt Kenseth in that race he tried to intentionally wreck Kenseth twice. He tried to wreck him at the end of the Martinsville race and failed and only wrecked himself, which in turn cost Jimmie Johnson the race, and then he wrecked Kenseth intentionally again at Phoenix. 8. Eric posted: 03.09.2012 - 10:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs3872, I forgot about Daytona. I didn't mention Talladega for the fact I am not completely sure if NASCAR could be doing more rule changes for that track even for plates. I am bring that up due to the fact Talladega doesn't have lights and that means the cars are more likely that cars will have engine problems there. 9. cjs3872 posted: 03.09.2012 - 10:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't disagree with those things, 18fan. In fact, I said what Vickers did at Phoenix was completely uncalled for, but you can't tell me that some of those that have Cup rides this year are better than Vickers. For instance, the two Davids at Front Row Motorsports, Aric Almirola at Richard Petty's team, and a couple of others are, in no way better drivers than Vickers is. And again, if you're going to penalize Vickers, then what about guys like Juan Montoya, who is an absolute weapon on the track every time he goes out on it. Personally, I think Vickers' problem the last couple of years may have something to do with his asociation with Red Bull. Perhaps he may have had a few too many Red Bulls before driving in some of the races, especially, Sonoma, Martinsville, and Phoenix. I don't know, but I think he was trying too hard to live to his nickname, "The Sheriff", which I think goes back to his association with Red Bull. 10. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.09.2012 - 11:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To me, Vickers' time is up and has been up. He has shown that he simply can't cut it in Cup. Also, despite his title, he isn't even NWide caliber. Yeah he is young, but to have been in Cup for so long, he should have shown more by now if he truly was capable. And it isn't just that one race at Martinsville, it is all of his runs on non cookie cutter tracks. That race was simply the capper of a really crappy career on the shorts. I have seen nothing from him showing any ability to be productive in the upper ranks of NASCAR. He just was able to make friends with the right guy (Rick Hendrick's son) due to his family connections he was born into. And I agree about JPM. His time is up too. But just because one weapon is still around doesn't mean another should be allowed too. With Vickers you have no chance of accomplishing anything on the short tracks. Give those races to an up and comer and see what he has. If he runs bad and tears the car up, that is what Brian would have done anyways. 11. LordLowe posted: 03.09.2012 - 11:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) you are right about gordon CJS his chances of winning this season are about as good as you doing a backflip (don't take that to personally) 12. cjs3872 posted: 03.09.2012 - 11:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) But, DSFF, you say give the short track races to some up-and-comer. The problem is that, due to the Cup guys and money dominating the Nationwide and Truck series over pretty much the last decade, they're aren't really any up-and-coming drivers ready for a Cup race for at least a couple of years. Why do you think Danica Patrick is getting a shot, and why do you think that Frank Stoddard is putting old-timers like Terry Labonte and Ken Schrader in his car? And why do you think Mark Martin, another old-timer who's time has clearly passed, is getting a shot with Michael Waltrip, and sharing that ride with other retreads? It's because there isn't anyone else that's qualified at this time. Sad but true. Why do you think drivers such as the two Davids at Front Row Motorsports continue to have rides, or Montoya, J.J. Yeley, and other drivers who have proven they can't get the job done either keep their rides or get other rides. It's because there's a lack of quality drivers these days, a fact first pointed out by Greg Biffle about five years ago. Vickers definately isn't any worse than any of the drivers I've mentioned. And unlike the two Davids and J.J. Yeley, Vickers actually has some credentials to his credit. And other younger drivers with potential, such as Trevor Bayne, are getting frozen out due to the politics of racing. In fact, everyone points to Roush as the reason that drivers such as Bayne, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., and even Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards (until late last year) can't get quality sponsorship. Perhaps it's not Roush, but rather Red Sox owner John Henry who's to blame. Remember that Henry, a co-owner of Roush's NASCAR team, got into NASCAR at about the same time that George Gillett did, and we know what happened there with Gillett, Ray Evernham, and Richard Petty. Frankly, I believe that Henry and the Red Sox may be big a reason as any why Roush can't find sponsorship. After all, Roush never really had that much trouble finding sponsors before Henry came on the scene, and now he can't find one to save his life, and Trevor Bayne may become the latest victim, most likely losing his Nationwide Series ride with Roush, and quite possibly the Wood Brothers' ride with it. If Bayne does lose his ride next week for sponsorship issues, which I sincerely hope does not happen, I look for a possible announcement from Roush and the Wood Brothers that Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. may take over the ride in the #21 car as soon as the Woods' next scheduled race, though that's just speculation. After all, I believe that Roush wants to get Stenhouse as much Cup experience as possible, and where better to do that than with one of the most experienced teams in the sport. 13. 18fan posted: 03.09.2012 - 11:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I have said the following statement to my friends and myself several times recently: Mark Martin came back to the #6 car in 2006 because Jack Roush didn't believe David Ragan was ready for Cup. In 2012, David Ragan isn't ready for Cup despite 5 full time seasons. Gilliland is a decent plate racer but nothing else, and there are other drivers as bad as Vickers, but Vickers made himself look incredibly bad late in the season last year. 14. 18fan posted: 03.09.2012 - 11:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs, I think Stenhouse needs to run at least half the season in Nationwide this year before he starts running Cup races because in his Cup debut he couldn't stay out of the wall and he didn't look that good in the draft at Daytona before he touched off the wreck in the last 5 laps. He has tremendous ability, but I think a little more time in the Nationwide series before he runs a partial Cup schedule would be beneficial. But he needs to run full-time next year so he can beat Danica for Rookie of the Year. 15. Eric posted: 03.10.2012 - 12:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs3872, I don't think drinking bull caused Vickers being terrible on short tracks on the cup level because wasn't that good at Hendrick either for Short Tracks. Tracks that are less than a mile showcase a driver more than equipment like Ken Schrader did with Bam racing. Ken was competitive at short tracks with Bam racing despite not always having the finish to show it. Brian never had a top 10 finish at Bristol on the cup level despite having 13 or 14 starts with an average finish over 24th place. Martinsville is Brain's best short track with an average finish of 20.4 with 2 top 10's. Brian Vickers at Richmond has almost a 25th place finish despite having 3 top 10's on that track in 14 starts. Brian Vickers at one mile tracks is average at best with Dover being the track with his best average finish with a 19.6 in 14 starts. He has a top 5 there with 2 top 10's. Brian has an average finish of 22.9 at Phoenix with 1 top 5. Brain at New Hampshire Motor Speedway has an average finish of 21.6 with 2 top 5 finishes in 13 starts there. My point is Vickers best tracks are at least 1.5 mile tracks based on average finish in his cup career. As best as his short track average finish is, Darlington is his worst track with a 27.1 average finish in 9 cup starts. If Vickers was drinking too many red bulls before races, then it would bring up a question if NASCAR should have a rule against having drivers drinking energy drinks before races. What should be a concern besides on the track is if Vickers was drinking way too many Red Bull energy drinks before a race is what medical problems he could get. I brought up health with Energy drinks because the fact is the reason I don't drink Energy drinks at all because of health concerns. 16. cjs3872 posted: 03.10.2012 - 12:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 18fan, but if Bayne loses his Nationwide ride (again) for sponsorship issues, Roush and the Wood Brothers may not have a choice but to put Stenhouse in the car, especially if Roush wants to continue to use that car as a developmental car for his drivers. It's either that or go with an older driver to finish out the year in the #21 car if Bayne is forced out by racing politics. Remember that based on reports from late last year, I believe both Ford and Roush wanted Stenhouse in the #21 car THIS year, but the Wood Brothers talked both Ford and Roush out of it. And how do we know that Stenhouse wasn't just being conservative and riding in the back, as much against his nature as that is, just so he could put himself in position to finish the race. Remember that experience, not where he was running, was Stenhouse's goal in the 500, and the fact that he finished the race was just what he was after. As for your comment about wanting to run full-time next year so he can beat Danica for Rookie of the Year, I think there's a good chance, especially if he wins the Nationwide Series title this year, which I certainly wouldn't put past him, that Austin Dillon may blow the doors off both Stenhouse and Patrick for that honor next year. 17. cjs3872 posted: 03.10.2012 - 12:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) And Eric, let's not forget what knocked Vickers out of the Red Bull car after the race at Darlington in 2010, when he finished in the top ten. It was a heart problem, I believe caused by drinking Red Bull energy drinks. I do agree with you when you say that Vickers was not very good on short tracks, which actually doesn't make him that much different than Kasey Kahne, because he's pretty much out to lunch on those tracks as well. The difference between those two is the fact that Kahne has done better on different styles of tracks, though Vickers was very good at Pocono, as he contended there more than once, even finishing second to Kahne there in 2008. 18. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.10.2012 - 1:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) You're preaching to the choir about the lack of up and comers due to Cup guys feeding their egos by winning all the time in NWide then pretending like it means something (including m driver). But even with the bone dry talent pipeline, there are plenty of better candidates than Vickers. Especially on the short tracks. The only worse candidate for that ride in those races is Mikey himself. And don't compare Vickers to KK on short tracks. Kasey may not have many wins on the shorts, but he has had plenty of respectable showings. That is like saying Dale Earnhardt and Matt Kenseth are comparable on road courses. 19. 18fan posted: 03.10.2012 - 1:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, good point. Earnhardt was always up there on road courses, just for whatever reason Dale only picked up 1 win. Matt Kenseth is a great driver but he is god-awful on road-courses. 20. Rusty posted: 03.10.2012 - 1:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Come into a discussion about a NASCAR race and the first comment I see is on a Hulk Hogan sex tape...lol. I think Justin Allgaier is a good up and comer that doesn't get discussed too much. It is unfortunate that he lost his ride at Penske because of sponsorship. It is hard to see where he can get a quality Cup ride now unless Turner decides to move into Cup. I also really hate that Trevor Bayne is in trouble. It pisses me off that crap drivers can find sponsorship but guys with success like Bayne can't. Part of it is likely because Roush's pricetag for sponsorship is too high. I wish Bayne would've gotten the #22 ride instead of Allmendinger. Or at least the #43 instead of Almirola. 21. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.10.2012 - 1:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sorry Rusty lol. I had just finished reading a list of the jokes that could be made about that tape and about broke a rib laughing. I thought LordLowe would be here by now and have something funny to say about it. Where are you LordLowe? You are disappointing me. I even dropped an Ultimate Warrior reference. 22. 10andJoe posted: 03.10.2012 - 2:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF - Don't forget that one reason the Cup guys are running so much in Nationwide is because the sponsors are simply refusing to sponsor the up-and-comers, but will sign up for the Cup guys no problem. Yeah, it's kinda a self-perpuating cycle, but still. 23. LordLowe posted: 03.10.2012 - 2:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF I came on here under the alias of the Ultimate Warrior and Bashed Hulk Hogan Kurt Busch Kyle busch and Danica Busch. But I dont think that comment has been posted. 24. LordLowe posted: 03.10.2012 - 2:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF Well Maybe the Mystery women Hogan was Making out with was Danica. 25. martin-n-rusty posted: 03.10.2012 - 2:57 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) First post, and someone talks about the Hulk Hogan sex tape on a racing forum?!? Ok, Now I have seen, read, and heard it all!!! -_- 26. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 03.10.2012 - 3:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kasey Kahne scores his 23rd career pole, and first in a Chevrolet. He has now scored poles with all four of the current manufacturers in NASCAR. After the way Brian Vickers ended last year, I too am surprised MWR picked him up for 6 races. It definitely doesn't make him look good that his points wins in the Cup Series all came due to some kind of circumstance happening, whether it be him making the contact that spun out Earnhardt Jr and Johnson at Talladega or getting lucky on the fuel mileage at Michigan. 27. cjs3872 posted: 03.10.2012 - 7:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, the thing with Kasey on short tracks is why I say he was the perfect protege for Bill Elliott, because Elliott was never that good on short tracks, either. I look for Kasey to be strong in this race, because the wide-open style of racing at places like Las Vegas fits him perfectly, but I look for him to strugle at Bristol, because he just doesn't like racing in tight quarters. Kahne has the same strengths Elliott had as a driver, but also the same weaknesses, which is why I don't see him being a championship contender like eveyone thinks he'll be. He'll win some races, but likely won't contend for a championship. And your point on Dale, Sr. vs. Kenseth on road courses is accurate, but Roush has been terrible on road courses for a decade, or perhaps even longer, which is shocking considering his background in road racing before he came to NASCAR. 28. Eric posted: 03.10.2012 - 12:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs3872, You shouldn't be too sure about Kasey struggling at Bristol because he is better at the track since the track became a multi groove short track. I am not saying he is going to win, but a 5 or a top 10 finish isn't out of the question. Kasey's career average finish at Bristol is not a good indicator due to the fact his 18.7 career finish there is higher than his average finish At Bristol after the track became became a mini Michigan. Since the change in Bristol, He has 3 top 5's, 5 top 10's in 9 starts with a 15.6 finishing average. Before Bristol was turned into a mini Michigan, Kasey had 1 top 10 finish and a 22.6 finishing average. That tells you the new Bristol fits his style of racing better. It didn't matter with Vickers at that track because his average stayed the same despite the change with the track because his career average finish is 24.6. If you said Martinsville with Kasey, then I agree with you with him struggling there. 29. cjs3872 posted: 03.10.2012 - 1:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And Eric, Bristol is basically the same style of track that it was when Bill Elliott won there in 1988. Back then, Bristol was a multi-groove track where the best way to get around was up top, though a car with the right setup could get it done on the bottom. That's the same way it is now. But Elliott and Kahne never have been very comfortable racing in tight quarters. That's why I make the comparison between the two. The proof that Elliott wasn't comfortable in tight quarters has to do with his performance at Daytona and Talladega since 1993, more than it does with his performace on short tracks, because Daytona and Talladega basically became 190 MPH short tracks in about 1993 when NASCAR increased the size and angle of the rear spoiler to tighten up the field. But put Elliott in his day (mid 80s to mid 90s) or Kahne today on an open track with a fast car, and there are few, if any better in their respective eras. That's why Elliott's lack of success at Charlotte when he was in his prime is one of the sport's biggest mysteries. For some reason, Elliott was never comfortable at Charlotte, despite the fact that the style of track Charlotte was fit him to a tee. Kahne's the same way, which is why he was my pick before this season started to join the three-time winners club in the Coca-Cola 600, which is becoming crowded. 30. Eric posted: 03.10.2012 - 1:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs3872, I wasn't even talking about Bill Elliott in my post about Kasey. Matter of fact I knew that Bristol was multi-grove asphalt track when Bill Elliott his races there, but remember that track changed to a single track when it was turned into a concrete surface starting for 2nd 1992 Bristol race to the last race race in that single groove surface in Spring 2007. Bristol turned back into a multi-groove track for the 2007 night race except with it being concrete unlike before the 2nd Bristol race in 1992 . My post on 28 was you making a mistake of assuming Kasey was going to struggle at Bristol. Some drivers are able to handle multi-groove tracks better than single groove tracks. I bring that up because some drivers do not like contact and Kasey is one of them when it comes to short tracks. You now basically mentioned Bristol always been a multi-groove track when that isn't the case. The single groove Bristol existed from 2nd race of 1992 to the last race of the single groove surface was known for stuff like Dale Earnhardt Sr. getting to Terry Labonte 2 times from 1995 to 1999. Rusty and Jeff Gordon also had their run-ins for the lead also back when it was a single groove track as another example. 31. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.10.2012 - 1:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Lol, Danica as the mystery woman. THAT would get people talking. 32. Rusty posted: 03.10.2012 - 2:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think the only reason MWR signed Vickers because he has experience and has been with Toyota before. Even though he was a trainwreck last year, I think he deserves a ride more than some drivers and should at least get a gig in Nationwide. 33. cjs3872 posted: 03.10.2012 - 3:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No Eric, I never said that Bristol was always a multi-groove track. I just said that when Bill Elliott won there in 1988, it was a multi-groove track then, just as it is now. But when they concreted the track after the spring race in 1992, they also took away the track's raceability, something that wasn't returned until the reconfiguration following the 2007 spring race. Now the Bristol track races the way it did in the 1980s, with the top groove being the preferred grovve, but with the possibility that if you got the car set up right, you could move on the bottom and make passes. It's just as difficult to complete a pass there as it's always been, but instead of wrecking the guy in front of you, you can elect to race him side-by-side, giving the guy in front a chance to keep his position. But you are correct about Kasey not liking contact on short tracks, which puts him at a significant disadvantage at such places, which was my point about him not being comfortable racing in tight quarters. And you're also dead-on about Kasey being able to drive multi-banked tracks. In fact, since he prefers the high side, he actually prefers those kinds of tracks. Remember that Kahne dominated at Pocono in 2008. Why? Because of that new layer of asphalt they laid there in the third turn that required a higher line, which played right into Kasey's hands. That's also why he lights it up on the 1.5-2 mile intermediates, as well as Darlington, because he's more comfortable next to the wal than most of the other drivers. In fact, I predict that he will win the Southern 500 one day for that very reason, though he's not my pick to win it this year (Denny Hamlin is). 34. 18fan posted: 03.10.2012 - 3:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Two of the pre-race favorites, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson, who qualified 2nd and 6th respectively, crashed in practice today and both will start from the rear in the race. 35. LordLowe posted: 03.10.2012 - 4:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Another possibility is that the Mystery women in the sex Tape Might be Brooke Gordon. Jeff's Ex Wife she always seemed like such a camera hog to me. 36. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.10.2012 - 7:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That is an interesting theory LordLowe. She was a camera hog. 37. LordLowe posted: 03.10.2012 - 7:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I really don't think Brooke ever loved Jeff. I think she loved the money and being in the limelight that is why I believe she married him 38. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.10.2012 - 7:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cup guys are 0-3 in the NWide Series. I love that. 39. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 03.10.2012 - 8:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Cup guys are 0-3 in the NWide Series. I love that." Same here. Year's looking good so far! 40. Rusty posted: 03.11.2012 - 12:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) It looks like Michael McDowell and Joe Nemechek should be the only start and parkers in this race. 41. Spen posted: 03.11.2012 - 5:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hill, Wise, Yeley and Stremme are all questionable in that regard. I wouldn't be surprised if at least two of them parked. Cjs: A possible reason why Vickers doesn't have a Cup ride while Montoya does is that last season, despite not really being very competitive, Montoya completed the most laps of any driver, and far outperformed teammate Jamie McMurray. While Vickers, in addition to being a bit of a wrecking ball all year, was far behind teammate Kasey Kahne in most races. When you combine underperfomence with wrecks, you lose value in most teams' eyes. Particularly when it's your *eighth* full season in Cup. David Gilliland's resume may not look very impressive, but he did score the only top ten finishes in FRM's existence, and has consitently been their top performer for the last two years, so he's earned his teams' loyalty. Ragan's less deserving of a second chance, but he did win a race last year, which counts for something. Vickers on the other hand, hasn't seriously contended for a win since August of '09. I will agree that he's more deserving of a Cup ride than J.J. Yeley (as far as I can tell, Yeley's main qualification these days is that he can qualify on time, and park before wrecking. Vickers could probably do that just as well. But I don't think his ego allows him to consider a Start-and-Park ride.) As for who MWR could hire for the short tracks instead of Vickers, how about Kevin Conway? He comes with a sponsor, he doesn't wreck much, and he's a perfect fit for Mikey's team. Sure, they won't finish better than 35th, but that's where they'll end up when Vickers wrecks it anyway. 42. John Royal posted: 03.11.2012 - 10:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Before this race Dodge will unveil it's 2013 NASCAR machine. I have great expectations about the looks of the car and the same time I am very saddened about the fact that in best case scenario, only driver next year with Dodge is Robby Gordon. 43. Kyle posted: 03.11.2012 - 11:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) only 2 cars will start and park in this race! timmy hill has a full season sponsor in the #37, josh wise found a 5 race sponsor starting this weekend, mcdowell is running the full race, yeley has a sponsor, and robby gordon and scott riggs failed to qualify. the only two S&P's should be nemechek and stremme. 44. cjs3872 posted: 03.11.2012 - 11:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Spen, could the fact that Vickers was far behind Kasey Kahne last year in terms of performance have more to do with Kasey than it does with Vickers, because it was the same when he drove the #9 car, Kasey was outperforming his other teammates by a significant margin, no matter who his teammates were. And Montoya has been a hot-headed wrecking ball ever since he got to Cup. And even though Montoya completed more laps than anyone last year, I wouldn't say he badly outperformed McMurray. He just didn't have the failures that McMurray did. It seemed that every time McMurray got into contention (except for Indianapolis), he would have a major failure. And besides, even completing every lap last year, Montoya only finished 21st in the points, meaning that he didn't run very well himself, he just finished more races that McMurray did. Still, if I were to chose one of the Ganassi drivers I would rather have, I would pick McMurray in an instant, because he's calmer in big situations, as evidenced by what he did, and what Montoya didn't do in 2010. They had top-notch equipment that year, and McMurray was the one winning big, not Montoya, because Montoya couldn't keep his head screwed on straight, while McMurray could. Give me a driver with a cool head, and and I'll guarantee that he'll triumph over the more uneven driver almost every time if given the same equipment. After all, that was the greatest strength of many of the greats, Richard Petty, David Pearson, Jeff Gordon, Al Unser, Rick Mears, and Jimmie Johnson. 45. OldSchoolNascarDude1 posted: 03.11.2012 - 3:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It looks like Letarte brought a pretty good piece to the track this week. It also looks like this Shane Wilson/Kevin Harvick pairing may work great. Of course, we can't really judge until it's Chase time. 46. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.11.2012 - 4:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Anyone wanna take bets on what lap Dale Jr goes too high and hits the wall? 47. 18fan posted: 03.11.2012 - 4:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What a great battle for the lead between two of the best drivers in the sport. 48. Bronco posted: 03.11.2012 - 4:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Some crew chiefs still don't get the whole "2 tires and clean air/track position vs. 4 tires and being mired back in the pack" thing. 49. LordLowe posted: 03.11.2012 - 4:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't know which is worse Watching this race or Watching the Twilight Series 50. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.11.2012 - 4:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wonder if JGR's struggles have anything to do with the new engines. This is the first race where horsepower is paramount. All 3 are out to lunch. 51. 18fan posted: 03.11.2012 - 5:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle's car wasn't that bad until he got into the wall in the oil from the #93 car's blown engine. 52. JG24FanForever posted: 03.11.2012 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon really really sucks. 53. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.11.2012 - 5:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR can't just let a race play out naturally. 54. Mr X posted: 03.11.2012 - 5:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The real test for JGR's new engines will be Fontana, actually Fontana will be the first test for everything, as its the first race of the year where the cars handling has more to do with the car itself as opposed to track position. The track is worn out, tire wear will keep the best adjusted cars and drivers up front, poor handling cars will go backwards, clean air won't be such a factor as Fontana is actually a multi-groove track, unlike Bristol, or Las the worst track on the schedule. Remember the finish at Fontana last year, that kind of racing is getting more and more rare these days. I just hope that Fontana is run on a hot sunny day, as opposed to a cloudy day like last year. Fontana appears to me as a temperature sensitive track, the fall race in 2010 was on a hot sunny day and that race was very good. 55. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 03.11.2012 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tony and Brad had quite a brief battle for the lead there. 56. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.11.2012 - 5:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Jr needs to learn that when he bumps somebody, intentional or not, he needs to keep going instead of slowing down and breaking his own momentum too. That is twice he did that in this race. 57. JG24FanForever posted: 03.11.2012 - 6:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Please throw the caution after Kyle has already made it to pit road 58. 18fan posted: 03.11.2012 - 6:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Both Penske cars had similar mechanical issues. Same with both of the BK Racing cars. 59. 18fan posted: 03.11.2012 - 6:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Congratulations to Tony and that whole race team. They brought it today and spanked the field, even though Jimmie gave him a fight at the end. I think the 48 team is going to be a force this year. 60. Rusty posted: 03.11.2012 - 6:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt had a top 15 car but constant pit road mistakes left him multiple laps down and then he cut a tire and crashed with 12 to go. Trevor Bayne gets his first Cup top 10 outside of his Cinderella Daytona 500 victory. 61. Jarrett88fan posted: 03.11.2012 - 6:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No DSFF, Nascar doesn't know how to let a race play out and as a result, Kenseth, Kahne, Martin, and a few others had decent runs go south because of the bunching up and restarts. On the other end of the spectrum, Newman, Bowyer, Menard and Trevor Bayne ended up finishing better than they ran. It seems this happens every time a debris caution comes out in the final 30 or 40 laps at an intermediate track. 62. 18fan posted: 03.11.2012 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Menard was a top 10 car most of the race, he got shuffled back on pit strategy, but he had a strong car. 63. 10andJoe posted: 03.11.2012 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) S&P report: Yeley appears to have had a legitimate engine problem, given that he was described as smoking when he came to pit road. Hill wrecked, and McDowell ran the full race (as promised) 'till he done blown up. I'm not sure what happened with Wise; Nemechek parked, came back out to pass Yeley and Hill, then parked it. Given that, when Joe's able to actually -run- the race, he performs exceptionally well considering his finances, his lack of sponsorship is almost as inexplicable as Bayne's. 64. 10andJoe posted: 03.11.2012 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, with the exception of Kvapil's run at Phoenix, it's looking very much like if it weren't for bad luck the 83 and 93 would have no luck at all... 65. Kyle posted: 03.11.2012 - 6:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nemechek parks in the cup series (which has higher purse money) to fund his partially sponsored nationwide effort. any sponsors that appear on his cup car (AM FM, DAB Constructors) are just a "thank you" to them because they only pay to be on his nationwide car. 66. Eric posted: 03.11.2012 - 6:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This the Wood Brother's first top 10 that wasn't on a road course or at a plate track since since Richmond in 2006. This also is the Wood Brother first top 10 on a mile and half track since they had Ricky Rudd driving for them at Lowe's Motor Speedway in 2005. 67. Spen posted: 03.11.2012 - 6:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "his lack of sponsorship is almost as inexplicable as Bayne's" Easily explained by these facts: he's 48, and he hasn't won a Cup race (or Nationwide, for that matter) since 2004. 68. Cooper posted: 03.11.2012 - 6:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Feast or Famine for Brad this year. Inconsistency doesn't make a good champion. Damn't. 69. Baker posted: 03.11.2012 - 6:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) YES!!! Stewart only has 2 more tracks to concur and 3 other races(Daytona 500, Coke 600 and Southern 500). 70. Eric posted: 03.11.2012 - 7:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I forgot to mention that this is the earliest race in a season that Stewart won a race and is only third time in Stewart's career that he had a cup win before race 10. The other two times was at Atlanta in race 4 of the 2002 season and Martinsville in race 6 of the 2006 season. I know Lowe's Motor Motor Speedway is now called Charlotte Motor Speedway now. Charlotte Motor Speedway was called Lowe's Motor Speedway at the time Ricky Rudd had a top 10 with the Wood Brothers and that is why I called it Lowe's Motorspeedway. That track was called Charlotte Motor Speedway before being getting Lowe's to sponsor the track before they stopped sponsoring the track. 71. 18fan posted: 03.11.2012 - 7:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tough break for Kenseth and for Kahne on that last restart, both losing surefire top 10 finishes. 72. NadeauFan91 posted: 03.11.2012 - 7:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A surprisingly good race for Vegas standards. Jr didn't get the finish I had hoped he'd get, but I'm confident he can break his losing streak this year after his showing today. 73. cjs3872 posted: 03.11.2012 - 7:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, there were some strange things about this race. First, two two-car teams suffered the old "whatever happens to one car happens to the other" syndrome. First, BK Racing suffered blown engines, first to Travis Kvapil's #93 car, which also adversely affected Kyle Busch's day, then Landon Cassill suffered the same fate near the end of the race. Then the Penske team seem to suffer from fuel pressure problems, possibly even faulty fuel pumps, as first A.J. Allmendinger, then Brad Keselowski suffered fuel pressure-related trouble. Then there were the runs by Paul Menard, who was the only RCR driver to be going forward in the second half of the race, running as high as fifth, then gambled on tires and finished seventh. Then there was, to me, the story of the race, and that was Trevor Bayne's ninth place finish, the first top ten for the Wood Brothers on an intermediate track since the 2005 race at Kansas (I don't count the fall race at Charlotte, which was the next race, because of the tire debacle). To me, Bayne's performance was noteworthy because of who he was outrunning during the race (Burton, Gordon, and the entire Joe Gibbs Racing team), and may have been more impressive than his Daytona 500 win. The fact that Bayne doesn't have a sponsor and a ride after this weekend is flat-out criminal. Also, Jamie McMurray finally had a trouble-free race, which saw him run as high as second before having to settle for eighth. I still wouldn't be surprised to see Bayne and McMurray as teammates next year, as they actually have quite a bit in common. Also, what we saw out of Jeff Gordon today is probably what we'll see out of him for most of the year, as he'll struggle mightily during the race, but squeeze out enough good finishes to make the Chase, but finish 10th-12th if he gets in. This is something I predicted would happen before the season even started, and seems to be coming true. The main reasons are that his xcrew chief has never had consecutive good seasons, and resources are being taken away from his team to help the #5 team. Hendrick realized that the #5 team needed help, and the only way to help that team is to take resoruces away from another of his teams, and the #24 team was the only choice there. He's certainly not going to take away from the #88's effort, and the #88 team is the #1 team over there, so the #24 would be the only logical team to take time and resources away from to help the #5 team. That's why Gordon's cars are slow and will continue to be slow for most of the season. Also, Stewart's win, his 45th, moves him ahead of 1988 NASCAR champion Bill Elliott and into sole possession of 15th on the all-time list. His next win will tie him with two-time champion Buck Baker for 14th with 46, and he could become just the 13th driver to acheive the milestone of 50 wins before this season's over, but needs six for the year to do that, and he's only won six races in a season once, and that was his second season, in 2000, and he's never won more than six times in any season. 74. 10andJoe posted: 03.11.2012 - 7:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsors: #9 - Stanley / DeWalt Tools (same for Phoenix) #78 - Furniture Row / Denver Mattress #98 - K-LOVE 75. Anonymous posted: 03.11.2012 - 7:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeley seems to have a knack for blowing out engines 76. Bronco posted: 03.11.2012 - 7:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Probably the strongest showing I have ever seen out of Dale Jr and Steve Letarte, but they botched it by opting for four tires on the second caution when everyone else got two, and their race was never the same again. They went from battling for a top 5 spot to being stuck back in traffic and having to claw back up to the top 10. Still, the 70 laps he led today were more than he led in all of 2011 which gives me hope that he's going to win soon. The reason behind all this qualifying - last year they were horrible in qualifying but made good adjustments to get to the top 10, but nothing more. If they can start closer to the front then they'll be in contention for wins. Greg Biffle opens the season with 3 straight 3rd place finishes, which equals all the top 5s he had in 2011. Paul Menard opens 2012 strong out of the gate, just like he did the past two years. Based on the three races so far, I think Kahne and Allmendinger are both going to do much worse than people expected. 77. 18fan posted: 03.11.2012 - 7:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Greg Biffle's 3rd place finish gives him 3rd place finishes in each of the first three races. I wonder when the last time a driver started a season with three straight top 5 or top 10 finishes that were each the same finish. Biffle also leads the points for the first time since June 2005 and only the second time in his career. 78. The Great Dave posted: 03.11.2012 - 7:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsors #10 Accell Construction / Riviera Hotel #17 Zest / Best Buy #18 M&M's / American Ethonal #30 Berry's Manufacturing #34 Rick Santorum #47 Kingsford / Bubba Burger / Bush's 79. 10andJoe posted: 03.11.2012 - 7:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #49 owner: Jay Robinson 80. irony posted: 03.11.2012 - 7:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 10 year anniversary of Harvick's first Cup win. He ran 2nd to Jr and then Kenseth the first half-ish of the race. None of those guys finished better than 10th. Truex also ran top 3 then just disappeared. 81. Darrell posted: 03.11.2012 - 8:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor updates: David Ragan: Rick Santorum for President Michael McDowell: Phil Parsons Racing 82. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 03.11.2012 - 8:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I wonder when the last time a driver started a season with three straight top 5 or top 10 finishes that were each the same finish." I know Kurt Busch started out 2003 with two second place finishes, and Kasey Kahne finished second at Rockingham and Vegas in '04 after finishing 41st in the Daytona 500, but I'm not sure if a driver has had the same finishing position in the top 5 in all three of the first races of a season. I'd have a lot of research to do to find that out. 83. RaceFanX posted: 03.11.2012 - 8:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great Dave the sponsors for Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Bobby Labonte and David Reutimann were correct at Zest, M&M's Brown, Kingsford / Bush's Beans and Accell Construction respectively. This website only lists the primary sponsor of the car and not all the smaller associates. While they weren't major sponsors Great Dave is correct in that all of the sponsors he listed for those four drivers were on the cars in associate roles. The other two sponsors he listed were correct although the Berry Mfg. sticker on the #30 was very small. 84. JP88 posted: 03.11.2012 - 8:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well I'm glad that I can be disappointed with only a 10th from Jr...they gotta make some better calls/adjustments on both ends and then Jr. will get himself a win. I'm proud of the fact that he led for that long, especially staying in front after the restart. Man after he took 2 at the end and started 2nd, I really thought he was gonna win, I wish he got a top-5 but still a positive run. And Allmendinger...wow, horrendous start to the year. It compares to how bad Mark Martin and Ryan Newman started their '09 seasons...he had to get going but at least there is the wild card. Same deal for Kahne, pretty disappointing so far. 85. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.11.2012 - 8:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Both Penske cars had broken fuel pumps. It wasn't a problem with the new fuel injection, the pumps simply weren't taking fuel to their engines. Bummer for Brad. After running 15th all race, Paul Wolfe strikes again and Brad might have got a Top 5. 86. Tom S. posted: 03.11.2012 - 8:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Also, what we saw out of Jeff Gordon today is probably what we'll see out of him for most of the year, as he'll struggle mightily during the race, but squeeze out enough good finishes to make the Chase, but finish 10th-12th if he gets in. This is something I predicted would happen before the season even started, and seems to be coming true. The main reasons are that his xcrew chief has never had consecutive good seasons, and resources are being taken away from his team to help the #5 team. Hendrick realized that the #5 team needed help, and the only way to help that team is to take resoruces away from another of his teams, and the #24 team was the only choice there. He's certainly not going to take away from the #88's effort, and the #88 team is the #1 team over there, so the #24 would be the only logical team to take time and resources away from to help the #5 team. That's why Gordon's cars are slow and will continue to be slow for most of the season." HAHAHAHA - DAMN this is presumptuous. I'd love to see a link where that states resources are being taken away from Gordon's team to help the #5 team. 87. JG24FanForever posted: 03.11.2012 - 9:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon's grabage day ended with an undeserving 12th place. 88. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 03.11.2012 - 9:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not only was Brad running well, but AJ also had a top 10 run going before his troubles. I think he'll prove himself yet. I have one of those great feelings about the entire Penske team for this year. 89. 1995z71 posted: 03.11.2012 - 9:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Correction?: WAIT! Why is Bob Jenkins listed as the owner of BK Racing. I couldnt find anywhere that his name is attached to them. Wikipedia listed the owners as Ron Devine, Buddy Morrissette, Wayne Press, & Thomas Uberall. Plus Bob Jenkins shouldnt be the listed owner anyways since his other team, Front Row would have the owners points from last season not BK Racing which was listed under Dietrich Mateschitz. 90. 10andJoe posted: 03.11.2012 - 9:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^ Er....he's not? The 83 and 93 are listed as "BK Racing". 91. Rusty posted: 03.11.2012 - 9:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Jr.'s 70 laps led in this race are the most he has led in a race since Martinsville in fall 2010 where he led 90 laps. 92. Ed posted: 03.11.2012 - 10:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #6: Vickers didn't intentionally wreck Jimmie and Jr. Jimmie went to pass Jr. for the win and Brian pulled out a half-second too late and hooked Jimmie. Nothing intentional about it, just restrictor-plate racing. 93. ch posted: 03.11.2012 - 10:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor Changes: 30 - Inception Motorsports / Berry's Manufacturing 51 - Phoenix Racing / Tag Heuer Eyewear Thanks for changing the owner of the 49 to the team since Blakeney is a big part of why the team is in the cup series right now! 94. Evan posted: 03.11.2012 - 10:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) * Tony Stewart pulls the very same gutsy move on Keselowski and Bowyer that he pulled to win the Sprint Cup championship and eventually to win the race that Stewart came oh, so close to winning last year which basically had all things went as planned last year he would have shut Carl Edwards out of victory lane and no ties for the title. * Dale Earnhardt Jr. actually looked good early and leading 70 laps in a race where he contended but they blew it in the end when they failed to keep up with track conditions, Steve Latarte proves he can't get it done over the long haul. * The Roush drivers raced three-wide at the end of the race, unfortunately Matt Kenseth got the short end as Carl Edwards nearly cut him off as he had position on him and Kenseth was sent banging into the wall as Edwards shut the door on him. Kenseth dropped like a stone, he did not seem too happy after the race, Edwards and Kenseth have had their issues before(see Martinsville) It will be interesting to see where this develops. * Young Timmy Hill, son of field-filler Jerry Hill attempts his first Cup race and he is a mere footnote, some say he has some talent, but we will have to see if he gets a top ride in the series someday. * Kurt Busch crashes at the end, its going to be a long year for Kurt Busch and I think by the time the year is over, its easy to say that he and Finch may have enough of each other. * While normally competitive, Kyle Busch just seemed off this weekend. He did not look like the Kyle Busch who is usually up front and contending, he was really picking up spots after starting in the back and really looked strong coming through the pack there, but could not make it to the top 5. * Burger King Racing suffers a Double Whopper engine failure as both of their cars, Landon Cassill and Travis Kvapil blow up within 100 laps of one another. * Dodge's new Charger is unveiled for the 2013 season and I am very impressed yet who is gonna drive it, I am hoping that they take Robby Gordon and pour resources in it and make it competitive, like Tony Stewart did for Gene Haas. He basically put Gene Haas on the map after his tax fraud scandal left him in jail and Stewart saved the day. But can Robby Gordon be Dodge's savior? Or will someone else go to Dodge? Its laughable to think Dodge is gonna be with JGR or Hendrick, but hopefully they can get a number of teams involved. Its dissapointing to see Dodge without many big time teams. 95. cjs3872 posted: 03.11.2012 - 11:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tom S., Gordon's big season last year was inevitable in hindsight, because emphasis (resources probably wasn't the right term) was taken away from the #5 team due to Mark Martin's lame duck situation, and were put on the #24 team, which had their best season in four years. This season, the reverse is true. The emphasis that was put into the #24 team from the #5 team has been put back on to the #5 team, and since nothing is going to be taken away from either the #48 team (because they're the top dog at Hendrick) or the #88 tean (because Dale, Jr. is the driver), the increased emphasis on the #5 team has to come from somewhere, and that somewhere is the #24 team, which is why they're running so poorly, and I think will continue to this season. And the switching of the epmhasis at Hendrick has been an annual thing ever since Dale, Jr. got there in 2008. For instance, in 2008, emphasis was taken from both the #5 and #24 teams so that Dale, Jr. could do well, and he did. When Mark Martin got there in 2009, that combined with Gordon's winless 2008 season resulted in renewed effort into both the 5 and 24 teams, with the 88 team being the victim of a loss of emphasis. But in 2010, the 88 got more attention, taking away from both the 5 and 24 team's efforts (especially the 5 car). And last year, with the team swapping, the 5 car, with it's driver, Mark Martin leaving at the end of the season, got next-to-no attention in 2011, with Gordon's team getting the focus. But now with renewed emphasis on the #5 team, we see the plunge in performance in the #24 team, which isn't even competitve with the other three Hendrick teams. This kind of thing has been going on at Hendrick for years and may be why Roush is doing better this year with just three cars, because Roush doesn't have to split what cars he emphasizes over others, as he can focus on all three cars evenly. The difference is that the emphasis on what particular teams are competitive with the #48 seem to be changing annually. And Ed, there's no way what Vickers did at Talladega in 2006 wasn't intentional. He knew that if he helped Jimmie Johnson get beside Earnhardt that if he positioned his bumper against Johnson in a certain way that he would spin Johnson into Dale, Jr., allowing him to win the race, which is exactly what happened. Ironically, if NASCAR had waited another couple of seconds to throw the caution flag, Vickers wouldn't have won anyway, because Kasey Kahne had just passed him, but Vickers was ruled to be in front at the moment of caution, so he won the race. And DSFF, as I mentioned in post #73, it was a case with both the BK Racing cars (engine) and Penske cars (fuel pump) that it was a case of if something goes wrong on one car, it also goes wrong on the other car, which is a classic case of the downfall of multi-car teams, which is usually a case of faulty equipment. 96. 10andJoe posted: 03.11.2012 - 11:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The #51 carried Phoenix Racing 'primary sponsorship' and a small TAG-Heuer logo. It should be listed as either 'Phoenix Racing' or 'Phoenix Racing / Tag Heuer') 97. 10andJoe posted: 03.11.2012 - 11:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #30 sponsor: Berry's Manufacturing #38 sponsor: ModSpace 98. Spen posted: 03.11.2012 - 11:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cjs: "He knew that if he helped Jimmie Johnson get beside Earnhardt that if he positioned his bumper against Johnson in a certain way that he would spin Johnson into Dale, Jr., allowing him to win the race, which is exactly what happened." I think you are severely overestimating Brian Vickers' intelligence. I always considered Vickers' Talladega wreck to be an honest mistake caused by stupidity, not a deliberate attempt at wrecking Johnson & Junior. Not being a mind reader though, I can't say for sure. I wouldn't put too much stock in Gordon's performance in this race. Vegas has always been a lousy track for him. Now if he's out to lunch at Martinsville, then it's time to start worrying. 99. cjs3872 posted: 03.11.2012 - 11:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Spen, having seen the replays of that incident, it's obvious to me that Vickers intentionally spun Johnson into Dale, Jr., because that was the only way he was going to win that race, and as Johnson was moving to pass Dale, Jr. on the outside, Vickers was on his left rear corner, and even moved forward of Johnson's rear bumper on the left side. If that's not intentional, I don't know what is. And that's not the only time a third place driver has intentionally caused a reverse-chain rection accident to win a race. Remember what Darrell Waltrip did at Martinsville in 1987 to score his only win that season? And while Las Vegas hasn't been Gordon's best track, he's usually far from terrible on it. In 2009, he passed Johnson on a restart and led long enough to pass the 20,000 laps led mark. In 2008, he was racing for second place when he had his infamous wreck. But today, he was so far off the pace that he actually got lapped in less than 60 laps/90 miles into a green flag run. And what you're saying about Gordon at Martinsville wouldn't be accurate either, since he can have a bad car and still run fifth to seventh with it. So if he can't run in the top ten at Martinsville or Darlington, he's in worse shape this year that even I thought. 100. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.11.2012 - 11:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cjs, remember the Fall race at Dega in 2002 when all of Hendrick's motors (including the old MB2 teams that were leasing HMS motors) blew up within like 20 laps of each other? Now that was crazy. 101. Red posted: 03.11.2012 - 11:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs, I don't know how you can be so certain of what goes on behind closed doors at Hendrick Motorsports. Frankly, I find it silly that Mr. Hendrick would actively decide to undermine Jeff in favor of Kasey, given that Jeff is the man that put Hendrick on the map in the first place. Furthermore, we've only run three races this year; that's a tiny sample size, and certainly not enough evidence to say the #24 is having a "down year". Honestly, I think most of your intra-team conspiracy theories are a bit ridiculous. Like insisting that Jack Roush hates the Wood Brothers and Trevor Bayne simply because they beat Carl Edwards at the Daytona 500 last year. Do you have any inside knowledge of these teams, or are you just spouting hyberbole? 102. Spen posted: 03.12.2012 - 12:02 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bronco: "Based on the three races so far, I think Kahne and Allmendinger are both going to do much worse than people expected." Considering that Kasey was running in the top ten for most of the day, and would have gotten a top five if Kenseth hadn't run him into the wall, things are looking pretty decent for Kasey. If that's how they're going to run in mile-and-a-half races, they'll make the chase quite easily. Allmendinger you may be right about, but it's only race three, and I had no expectation of him making the chase anyway. (Though I did expect him to finish about 14th. Which he's still got plenty of time to get up to.) Cjs: Those races were with Letarte, who as he showed again today, can set up a car really well on a mile-and-a-half track. (Though he can't make a good pit call.) Gordon was out to lunch on most of these sort of tracks early last year, and he still ended up having a good season. Remember last May how we all thought Gordon was going to have his worst points finish ever last season? Once the weather starts warming up, so will he. 103. OldSchoolNascarDude1 posted: 03.12.2012 - 12:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's too bad that either of those final two "debris" cautions had to occur. It was even more ridiculous for throwing the late caution after Kyle Busch was safely out of the way and onto pit road. 104. Mr X posted: 03.12.2012 - 12:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I would say its a little early in the year to be saying how good or bad Jeff Gordon will be, we've had 3 races, a restrictor plate race, and two clean air track position races. In 2011 Las Vegas was one of the races that really stood out in my mind as a major clean air track position race, with Kentucky, both races at Loudon, and the fall race at Charlotte. Due to the lack of tire wear, narrow groove, new pavement, and high aero dependance of these race cars today, these particular races put very little emphasis on car handling. So little that track position does more to change the car than anything the crew chief or driver can do. As a result passing and making up time on the drivers in front of you is almost impossible, also meaning unless you make a mistake it is very unlikely that you will be passed as the turbulent air off your car effects the cars behind you in a negative way. As a result there is one simple strategy to win, spend a minimal amount of time on pitroad, and be the first to make your final stop. Thats why we saw so many fuel mileage races last year, and I think we are in for even more this year. The only hope you have of making any ground is in the first 5-10 laps after a restart. The race results are totally skewed by this, you really don't have a good guage of who the good cars and bad cars are. Being at or near the front is worth 1-3 tenths a lap. Being in the back will cost you that much to the leaders. Whoever comes off pitroad first is likely to stay out front for the entire run, regardless of how old their tires are, how their car was handling before, and what adjustments were made, clean air seems to fix all problems. All the shuffling of the field seems to be done on pitroad, very little of it happens out on the track, and borderline none happens after 10 laps under green. If a driver wins the race of pitroad 3 times, he is likely to lead for 3 entire fuel runs, if each run is 50 laps, thats 150 laps led, however losing the lead is like falling in quicksand. A fast car gets stuck indefinitely. Thats why the results are skewed. This years race at Las Vegas was better than last years, In 2011 I would bet that 90% of the day's shuffling/passing happened under caution, during green flag stops or in the first 5-10 laps after a restart. This year was better, but not much, 75% is a fair number IMO. Phoenix was the same way, this spring was better then last fall. We saw 16 lead changes today, but in comparing the the lap leader breakdown to the caution breakdown I found only 1 happened at any appreciable distance from a caution. The 48 passing the 17 on lap 99, 21 laps from a restart, and their wasn't that much back in traffic either. If this race would've gone caution free or had fewer cautions we would've seen even less. Which I believe is the main reason why NASCAR can't ever let a race play out naturally. Naturally with these cars at tracks like this will just result in the field stretching out on eachother constantly, which can get a little dry. The one thing that NASCAR likes about throwing unnecessary yellows is the unpredictability. They know that with every caution a group of cars will try some strategy, and you'll have a new group at the front of the pack. Frankly I think this is the only reason why there were 18 different winners last year, or why there were 15 different leaders last week, and why nobody led more then 88 laps. This appeals to newer fans and I think makes the sport come off as being more competitive then it really is, and the media thrives off this. Personally I won't be convinced that the sport is that competitive until there are that many teams who can win races on outright speed as opposed to strategy. Personally I think someone needs to show Brian "needs a brain" France a race at Rockingham, (over the last few weeks I went on a binge of watching races at my favourite track on youtube, I watched the races between 1997 and 2004 that are on youtube.) Atlanta is the same way, personally I'll take good on track competition over the duration of an entire run over unpredictability because of strategy 100% of the time. NASCAR is slowly turning into Formula 1. All this EFI laptop crap isn't helping. We have yet to see a race this year that really puts a premium on handling, or a race at a true multi-groove track, and its now one of two times a year to start arguing about what the new Bristol is or more importantly isn't. Fontana which I think has aged into a much better track then people give it credit for will be the first true test of who can be fast. It's bumpy, worn out, large difference in speed between the center of the corner and the end of the straights, it eats tires, and you can make time 6 inches from the wall or 2 feet from the grass. Its a true multi-groove drivers track. Bristol regardless of what people say and think is still a one, maybe two groove track. Only the fastest cars can make the occasional pass on the bottom, and you can't actually make time over a number of laps down there either. The bottom is where lapped cars run to get out of the way. However Jeff Gordon did lead 206 laps last time we were there, and Jeff has always come up a loser in clean air track position races, but we'll get a true guage of how Jeff Gordon runs over the next three weeks. 105. cjs3872 posted: 03.12.2012 - 12:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yes DSFF, and the same thing happened at Auto Club Speedway in 2005. That was another case of a bad batch of parts. Only Jimmie Johnson didn't have an engine failure in that race among those that were running Hendrick engines, and his team said that his wouldn't have lasted another five laps either. And Red, I suspect, knowing what's going on at Roush now concerning sponsorship, that Red Sox owner John Henry may be playing a bigger role in Roush not being able to find sponsorship that I could have imagined. As for my thoughts on the switch in team emphasis at Hendrick Motorsports, there's a track record of that going back at least to 2008, with at least one of his teams struggling, but never the same one two consecutive years, unlike what happened there from 1994-2002, when the same teams over there were winning, and the same ones were struggling. Why do you think that Roush, as had been the case with Richard Childress back in 2010, is having ALL of his teams be competitve running three cars instead of four? The effort Roush put into David Ragan's effort in recent years was draining at least one of his other cars, but now that Ragan and the #6 team is gone, all of Roush's teams are running equally well for the first time since Roush last ran just three cars, way back in the mid-to-late 90s, with Greg Biffle currently leading the standings. And as 18fan mentioned in post #77, Biffle becaomes the first driver in modern memory to post the same top five finish in the season's first three races, a streak somewhat like the one that Lake Speed had in the Daytona 500 from 1993-'96. Believe it or not, Speed finished in 14th in the Daytona 500 four consecutive times. Same thing with Darrell Waltrip in the Daytona 500 in the mid-80s, when he had three consecutive third place finishes from 1984-'86. 106. Mr X posted: 03.12.2012 - 12:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Regarding how well Kasey Kahne will run this year remember the way Mark Martin started the 2009 season in the 5 car. 107. Eric posted: 03.12.2012 - 12:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Red, I wouldn't called Jeff Gordon the person who put Hendrick on the map. While it is true that Jeff gave Rick his first tile, Hendrick Motorsports was winning races since 1984. The only year Hendrick didn't win a single race was in 1985. Geoff Bodine was the driver that put Hendrick on the map with his 3 wins in 1984. If Geoff Bodine didn't win in 1984, there wouldn't be any Hendrick Motorsports today. The credit also went to Harry Hyde. Hendrick drivers finished 4th or better in points before Gordon first race for Hendrick full time in 1993, 4 times including 2 times with Darrell Waltrip. The other two were with Tim Richmond and Ricky Rudd. Hendrick drivers finish 5th in points 2 times from 1984 to 1992. Hendrick Motorsports before Jeff came along was a team to watch on race day for wins and that meant 108. Eric posted: 03.12.2012 - 12:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I forget to add to add that "Hendrick Motorsports before Jeff came along was an organization to watch on race day for and that meant the fans knew the drivers of Hendrick Motorsports and the organization itself". The only problem Hendrick Motorsports had at the time is they had problems keeping it together for a whole season for consistency. Tim Richmond getting aids put the time back from winning a title. I said this because Tim Richmond was putting it together when he got aids. That meant was going to be a threat to win titles that Geoff Bodine wasn't. Geoff Bodine won races, but he was too aggressive for his own good. Rick had Darrell Waltrip when he was still a very good driver and Ricky Rudd was a very study driver also that wins at least once a season at the time. 109. TheTruthâ?¢ posted: 03.12.2012 - 12:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "The main reasons are that his crew chief has never had consecutive good seasons" 2006: 36 races, 1 win, 10 top 5s, 18 top 10s, avg finish 15th 2007: 36 races, 1 win, 11 top 5s, 20 top 10s, avg finish 14th Just stop man. Stop rehashing theories that are clearly false. Casey Mears is worse than Kyle Busch. The ONLY EXAMPLE of the Gustafson as a crew chief having a noticeable fall-off was 2009 to 2010, and who knows if part of that was Mark Martin starting a downhill swing. I guess it comes down to your recipe for what makes a "good season" to best fit your argument. 110. TheTruthâ?¢ posted: 03.12.2012 - 12:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Eric, you're right about the whole "put them on the map" thought, but he's probably meaning to say that Jeff was the first driver to have an insane amount of success for Rick. He was the best they had seen when he started winning. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Jeff Gordon Hendrick's first champion? And not only his first champion, but he won 4 in a very tight timeframe. That's what he means... that Jeff was the start of basically a Hendrick dynasty. 111. Bronco posted: 03.12.2012 - 1:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Regarding Gordon's struggles, remember that when a new driver joins HMS, one of the existing drivers that was successful the previous year struggles and finishes further back in points. 2004 - Vickers joined and finished 25th without getting ROTY, Terry Labonte went from 10th in 2003 to 16th without any wins 2005 - Busch joined and won ROTY and two races, Jeff Gordon missed the chase for the first time despite winning 4 races overall 2007 - Mears joined and won the 600 on fuel mileage and no one really struggled, likely due to the fact that HMS was so far ahead with the new car 2008 - Dale Jr joined and was the best HMS performer the 1st half of the season, Mears struggled and was released 2009 - Mark Martin joined and battled for the championship while Dale Jr had his worst season ever 2012 - Kasey Kahne joins, and so far Jeff Gordon looks like the weak link 112. cjs3872 posted: 03.12.2012 - 1:29 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The fact of the matter is that since 1994 or '95, Rick Hendrick has almost never had all of his cars really good at the same time like Roush has had in the past (like 2005 when all five of Roush's cars won races and made the Chase). I'd say the closest he came was back in 2003 and again in 2006-'07 when each of his cars won at least once. As for those that say that Casey Mears is not in Kyle Busch's class, I'd say that's a huge understatement, but Casey's not a total hack, either, as his time with Chip Ganassi before he got to Hendrick Motorsports, and even the one year he spent with Richard Childress proved. There were times in the one year he was at Childress that his was the best car at RCR. The biggest problem that Alan Gustafson had with Mears was that he wasn't assertive or aggressive enough on the track, but that's never been his style. And The Truth, while it's true that Jeff Gordon supplied Hendrick with his first championship in 1995, Gordon's not the one that put Hendrick on the map. Geoff Bodine and Tim Richmond put Hendrick on the map in 1986 by winning nine races combined, including both Daytona races (Bodine won the Daytona 500 and Richmond won the Firecracker 400) and the Southern 500 (Richmond) that year. And let's not forget that Darrell Waltrip won six times in 1989 driving for Hendrick in what was his last big year. My assertion, and history proves this, is that Hendrick has always had at least one car that is lagging every year, and based on circumstances and the way the season has started, that appears to be Gordon this year. However, as the other posters have mentioned, the season's still very young and I may be proven to be wrong. If I am, I'll certainly admit it. But he's not running nearly as well as he did, even at this point last year. And a big reason for their first-half struugles last year was the fact that team chemistry was lacking, but I'll also say that Gordon's team has not been the same since Richard Childress low-balled Gordon out of a win at the fall race at Richmond last year when they were seemingly on their way to doing exactly what Tony Stewart wound up doing in the Chase. That incident took the wind out of the #24 team's sails, and they still haven't gotten it back. 113. BON GORDON posted: 03.12.2012 - 2:57 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ive seen Gordon struggle just as much in other races in good seasons. I think this race proved that yeah his team seems to be off but he never gave up and ended up with an ok finish. Everyone is still over anaylzing things. The first 3 races of 2003 started bad for Gordon and then he finished 4th in points and look at 2005 for instance also, he looked pretty darn good with 3 wins and a second place points position after the first ten races. But by seasons end he had 12 finishes of 30th or worse and he missed the chase. Im just trying to say that its only 3 races in and we are already counting Gordon out for the year. However I do agree his results should be better then they are so far its far too early to count him out. And by the way Jeff Gordon and Ray Evernham made Hendrick Motorsports a championship caliber team. Sorry its the truth. 114. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.12.2012 - 5:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I would not put beyond Hendrick to siphon resources from one driver for another. Across dozens of message boards we have all established that Hendrick is a conniving jerk. Look at it this way, with Dodo the Stuperhero on the pitbox Jeff commited bloody murder in even finishing in the top-15. Grit can prove stronger than a weak car. Sincerely yours, Dufus PS: Be glad none of you live with a Jimmie Johnson fan-- screaming and crying that the cautions were being thrown to rig the race for Tony and taking every opportunity to rub Jeff's struggles in my face. Is there any reason I hate Jimmie? Let me tell you, my family member is paranoid; the person even thinks that NASCAR faked Chad's Daytona cheating. 115. TheTruthâ?¢ posted: 03.12.2012 - 5:20 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "And The Truth, while it's true that Jeff Gordon supplied Hendrick with his first championship in 1995, Gordon's not the one that put Hendrick on the map. Geoff Bodine and Tim Richmond put Hendrick on the map in 1986 by winning nine races combined" I totally agree. My point was that the guy who used the words "put Hendrick on the map" was likely referring to Hendrick becoming the dominating force around 1995 with Jeff. It just wasn't the best phrase to use. Hendrick was already on the map, Jeff and team just brought them to the next level. Because of that, many of us are led to believe that Rick would be loyal to him. 116. Gordon24 posted: 03.12.2012 - 6:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yes! Vickers has a ride! #51 sponsor should be changed to Phoenix Racing, not tag heuer. 117. Smiff_99 posted: 03.12.2012 - 8:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think the jury is still out on Allmendinger....the pit road thing at Daytona wasn't really his fault, he got loose and got run over at Phoenix (still managed an 18th even with the whole decklid TAPED back onto the car, and he ran as high as 5th yesterday before the fuel issues. It's easy for some people to call him a bust or question his potential after 3 tough races, but TRUST ME....he WILL, at the very least, snag that elusive first win this year and end up MUCH higher in the point than where he sits now. And Kahne's obviously going to hit his stride eventually....I mean, he started on pole and was heading for a top 10, possibly top 5. He'll be just fiiiine. 118. cjs3872 posted: 03.12.2012 - 9:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) BON GORDON, the problem with Gordon this year isn't his finishes, but rather the way he's running. I don't ever recall him running this poorly to start a season. The only year I can recall him doing this bad was in 2000, when HMS, as a whole, was way behind, Gordon had a new crew chief, and Chevrolet came out with a new car. In actuality, he's finished a whole lot better than he's run. he finished 12th at Las Vegas with a 20th place car, and he finished eighth at Phoenix, where he won in the winter/spring last year, with about a 12th-15th place car. It would actually look better for his season if it were the other way around, meaning that if he ran better than he finished, I would have better prospects for him, because he can't keep pulling finishes like this all season. I'd rather be in Dale, Jr.'s situation, where he has better cars than where he's finishing, as was the case at Las Vegas, than have terrible cars and have better finishes, because sooner or later, that luck's going to run out, and he's going to start finishing 15th-20th, where he's been running. 119. Edward_20 posted: 03.12.2012 - 9:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't know about the rest of you, but I hate clean air races like this. Too much emphasis on track position and with Nascar's rules designed to keep everyone on the lead lap, anybody with track position late can stumble onto a really solid finish. It's just disappointing. Speaking of disappointing, Bristol is next on the schedule. Look for FOX and Nascar to hype it up as if it were stil the same pre 2007 track by showing bumping, banging, wrecks, and tempers flaring in pre race but once the green flag drops, prepare for (by short track standards) a tame race with limited excitment. Thanks again Nascar/Bristol owners for ruining this track and pretending you didn't. 120. Curran posted: 03.12.2012 - 9:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree with some your points cjs3872 but I'm not 100% we can say Gordon had a 20th place car. We know it wasn't one of the better cars out there but that race was so track position dependant that it was really hard to tell how good anyone outside of the Stewart/Johnson/Roush crowd was. The #24 team never had the right pit strategy and never sniffed the front. If Gordon had gotten clean air, I bet we come away thinking his car was much better than a 20th place piece. I look at Sunday as one of those races where you either had to nail the setup, or be 100% at the mercy of clean air (which kinda sucks). And with the race only being 400 miles coupled with very few cautions early (only three in the first 300 miles), there was very little time to work on your car and make it better. You may be right about the direction Gordon's season is heading (as you do bring up some solid points big picture wise), but I'm not sure we should use yesterday's race as a barometer. In short, I think we learded MUCH more yesterday about the teams who looked good (Stewart, Johnson, and the Roush cars), than we did about the 25 guys who looked mediocre once they got stuck in traffic. 121. Curran posted: 03.12.2012 - 9:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Predictions on the results of the #48 team's appeal? 122. cjs3872 posted: 03.12.2012 - 11:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Curran, even when Gordon was running in the top 12 early in the race, he was heading in the wrong direction, so yes, I'd say he had a 20th-place car, and even ran worse than that occasionally. And remember when he went on that tear in the middle third of the season last year? Just how much of that was how good his team was and how much of that was the experimenting that was being done by other teams that knew they were in the Chase, such as Edwards, Johnson, Kurt Busch, and some of the others that knew they were in the Chase, because when the Chase started, their performance plummeted. So I would call their "dominance" in that part of the season a case of "fool's gold". Prior to that, they were in jeopardy of falling out of the top 20 in points. Could it be that they're just not as good as everyone else thinks they are, and are basically a 9th-14th place team that will contend only on certain types of tracks, such as possibly this week at Bristol and next month at Martinsville? 123. 10andJoe posted: 03.12.2012 - 12:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet: kudos to Clint Bowyer and his crew for rolling the dice in Vegas and coming up...well, not 6's, but we'll call it 5's, stretching their gas -and- not getting run over by those with fresher tires to hang on for a much better finish than they would have gotten had they gone with the flow. Crew chiefs! This is the kind of thing we want to see! Stop playing monkey see-monkey do down there! Ook! 124. Spen posted: 03.12.2012 - 12:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Reutimann had better hope for a good finish at Bristol and/or Fontana. As they run, the #10 is 39th in owner points, and if they're not in the top-35 after race five, Reuty can kiss his Cup career goodbye. 125. Anonymous posted: 03.12.2012 - 12:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I know this has nothing to do with Las Vegas but i was wondering if nascar will still shift at pocono this year? 126. BON GORDON posted: 03.12.2012 - 1:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) CJS3872, I can't tell you how many times I've seen Jeff Gordon take a terrible car and finish better with it. Yeah the cautions fell his way and guys like Kenseth and Keselowski had trouble but he hung in there. His average running postion in Las Vegas was 17th and he finished 12th. There have also been times when Jeff has had cars he couldn't improve on and not even get a top 20. The Coca-Cola 600 of 2004 was one of the 24 team's poorest showings I have ever seen. He was terrible and finished 7 laps down. The second race of the season in California in 2006 he finished 13th but ran terrible (even running as low as like 26th). Even last year the 4th race of the season at Bristol he finished 14th and ran as poor as 24th. He struggled a ton at Texas last year where he's usually terrible at anyway and finished 23rd. He hd an average running position of 22nd which is 5 postions worse than Las Vegas yesterday. Gordon's team does need to improve and I think one of the most important areas to improve first is qualifying. Clean air seems to be king right now and usually is anyway. I think if Gordon was running fifth at the end he probably would've held on to it. It is car though as well. I don't think we should count him 100% just yet. Like i said it's way way way too early. 127. Scott B posted: 03.12.2012 - 1:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Spen, I'm afraid if the #10 isn't top-35 by the end of race #5, they'll take Blaney's points away again with another swap... which would be a shame. 128. Scott B posted: 03.12.2012 - 1:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, keep in mind that there are two teams now in the top-35 that are not running a full schedule. The Wood Brothers #21 will fall out eventually from running a partial schedule, and the Childress #33 isn't scheduled to run at all beyond the 5th race (though we may see a few more attempts added later in the season with Austin Dillon). Still, teams like the #10 and the #32 reallydo need to step it up the next couple of races. 129. cjs3872 posted: 03.12.2012 - 2:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) BON GORDON, what you said about Gordon in post #126 was my exact point about him being able to squeeze good finishes out of races that should have been second half of the field runs. As for your point about qualifying, there's nothing you can do about that if your car is flat slow, as Gordon's cars have been in qualifying for a couple of years now. It's true that his car never handled the entire weekend, but couple that with a car that was 3 MPH slower to begin with, and you see what you get, and that's a driver a team that should be contending for the lead running around 20th anyway, but at least Gordon had plenty of company back there in the form of Jeff Burton and the entire Joe Gibbs Racing team. But unlike Burton and the Gibbs cars, Gordon at least salvaged a respectiable finish (12th) out of it. 130. BON GORDON posted: 03.12.2012 - 3:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) CJS3872, what I mean to say is that even in decent seasons he has had bad cars and that its too early to say he's junk. At Daytona he could've won and so could anyone else. At Phoenix he got what he should've got, an 8th. He's struggled at Phoenix much more than that in the past. And at Vegas yes he struggled but he finished 12th. He's struggled more at Las Vegas in the past as well. Even in championship seasons Gordon has struggled in races early in the season. Look at 1998, he struugled a ton at Atlanta and Vegas early in the year but came back to dominate that season. While I dont think he's gonna have a 1998 season, I think this team is gonna have great things come their way this year. Every team has bad races every year and Gordon's team is gonna improve. 131. BON GORDON posted: 03.12.2012 - 3:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The thing that helps Gordon is himself. He's got much more talent and determination than almost anyone out there. So even in bad seasons he's not all that bad compared to others like Dale Jr., Jeff Burton, and Mark Martin. 132. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.12.2012 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I second the "nobody can turn an absolute shit day into a decent finish better than Gordon" sentiment. JJ is second best (most notably that time at Dover when he spun in qualifying, got lapped twice, and somehow still finished 6th), but Gordon just doesn't know the meaning of "give up". I was at the Fall Charlotte race in 2004 when Rusty Wallace T Boned the hell outta Jeff's rear end right in front of me causing him to lose at least two laps (may have been 3), yet in the end, he finished 2nd to JJ during his "Lose at Charlotte? That's Possible? Nah!" phase. I was also there when he went 3 laps down at Martinsville in 2005 with a messed up wheel, made up all 3 laps the hard way, driving around everyone on that tight little paperclip, then took the lead by sending the defending champ into the wall in the end to send a message (a move straight out of Earnhardt's book, Im telling ya, those two were VERY similar on track). One thought I'd like to share: I think RCR will really regret letting Bowyer go. I don't think he will haunt them at MWR, but I think his presence there meant more than they realized. He was somebody Harvick could really bounce ideas off of and generally brought a lot to the table. Now they have a potential champ in Harvick, but compliment him with a fading Burton whom the sport seems to have passed by and Menard who, while being better than the majority of us including me thought, is still limited in his ability to run up front. I just think both Bowyer and RCR are gonna miss each other a lot. I know they were pretty far apart on the terms of a contract extension, but they both should have swallowed their pride and met in the middle. 133. BON GORDON posted: 03.12.2012 - 3:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree 100% with DSFF and I remember both of those races he mentioned very well. The 2004 chase race at Charlotte sticks out to me the most as far as comebacks for Jeff Gordon. I thought after being T-boned by Wallace his night was over for sure but no way. Even Benny Parsons said during the broadcast it was unbelievable what Gordon had done to come back like he did. 134. 10andJoe posted: 03.12.2012 - 3:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bristol entry list is out. 46 cars listed. -Scott Riggs in the #23. -Ken Schrader in the #32. -Brendan Gaughan in the #33 -Tony Raines in the #40 -Stacy Comption in the #74 135. 10andJoe posted: 03.12.2012 - 4:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ...and where the "i" came from in Stacy Compton's name, I have no idea. 136. Tonystewart#14Champ posted: 03.12.2012 - 4:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree Edward. Bristol just isn't what it used to be. I used to love this race and spend the entire week looking forward to it. Now I don't even care that it's next on the schedule. It's such a shame! 137. Ch posted: 03.12.2012 - 4:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The sponsor for the 38 should not be modspace as they only had a small associate sponsorship on the bottom of the quarter panels. 38 - Front Row Motorsports 138. 10andJoe posted: 03.12.2012 - 4:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) However, Modspace was the most prominent sponsor on the #38, and promiment enough to be listed - it's just as if not more so than the #30's sponsor. 139. ch posted: 03.12.2012 - 5:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hmmm, but the 30's sponsor was on the hood and on the top of the 'trunk' area. The 38 had Long John Silvers / Taco Bell / MDS Trucking all on top of the 'trunk.' All three of those logos were about the size if not larger than ModSpaces, so I wouldn't say it was the most prominent. And ModSpace will have the same logo in the same spot all year since it is just a small associate sponsor, except for the hand full of primary races. 140. ch posted: 03.12.2012 - 5:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If they were on the entire quarter panels then I'd agree, but not for the small logo that was on the car. 141. 10andJoe posted: 03.12.2012 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was going by the picture on Jayski's, where ModSpace was the -only- sponsor logo on the car. 142. ch posted: 03.12.2012 - 8:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jayski has an updated photo now showing the car from the rear too now. The new one shows all of the other logos as well. I actually like that Mr. Jenkins is doing that instead of covering the whole car in his business since it shows that the car needs sponsorship. 143. ch posted: 03.12.2012 - 8:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Either way, in my opinion when you run a plain white hood and quarter panels then it is unsponsored. So I'll stand by... 38 - Front Row Motorsports 144. MartinFan55 posted: 03.12.2012 - 10:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Finally Brian Vickers has a ride. I think he can run up front if he is in a good car. Also Johnson has went up to 23rd in Points in 2 races. Here he comes and the Season is over. I wish Kyle Busch Jimmie Johnson,and Danica Patrick can leave Nascar because they ruin the races (Announcers always talks about them instead of anyone else. AND P.S. Danica Patrick is the worst Nascar Driver Ever Also All the winners in 2012 as of March 11 2012 I Like them Trucks at Daytona John King Nationwide at Daytona James Buescher Cup at Daytona Matt Kenseth Nationwide at Phoenix Elliott Sadler Cup at Phoenix Denny Hamlin Nationwide at Vegas Ricky Stenhouse Jr Cup at Vegas Tony Stewart LETS ALL PRAY THAT TREVOR BAYNE AND THE 60 TEAM IN THE NATIONWIDE SERIES CAN FIND SPONSORSHIP TO RUN AT BRISTOL 145. 10andJoe posted: 03.12.2012 - 10:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^ I'm pretty sure Danica > Kevin Conway, at least... 146. Red posted: 03.12.2012 - 11:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was the guy who said Jeff Gordon put Hendrick on the map, and The Truth was right about what I meant. Yes they had previous success with Bodine and Richmond, but Jeff and the Rainbow Warriors vaulted Hendrick from "good team" to "dynasty". Without Gordon they might have the profile of a team like Penske does now - competitive, but not dominant. Mr. X, I agree 100% that Fontana is an underrated track. I think fans mostly hate the place because it coincided with the end of the traditional Southern 500, but it's not a bad track, especially now that its surface is well worn. Honestly, as far as cookie cutters go, I would probably rank Fontana third behind only Atlanta and Homestead. Las Vegas and Charlotte are undoubtedly the most aero-sensitive tracks on the circuit. There really has never been a good flag-to-flag race at Vegas, and every Charlotte event since 2005 has been either a wreckfest or a strategy-fest. As far as Kentucky goes, I wonder if the lack of passing had more to do with the extremely bumpy surface, causing the cars to become upset in the corners and prohibiting side-by-side racing. Luckily, four of the next five races will emphasize handling, and we'll get to see which teams really have good stuff this year. The repaved Kansas race will likely be a train wreck. 147. Spen posted: 03.13.2012 - 4:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Scott B.: "still, teams like the #10 and the #32 reallydo need to step it up the next couple of races." The #32 is actually in the top-35. They switched owner points with the #6 after Daytona, so they're currently a solid 25th in owner points. The car listed as belonging to Stottard is just their points from Daytona. The #10 is way behind the eight-ball right now, though. "I'm afraid if the #10 isn't top-35 by the end of race #5, they'll take Blaney's points away again with another swap... which would be a shame." Quite likely. But a driver change is likely to happen in that scenario as well. Anyone have any predictions as to who would take over for Reutimann? My personal leaning is towards Elliott Sadler, but Reed Sorenson would be an available option as well. 148. Spen posted: 03.13.2012 - 5:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Incidentally, this will be the first time Compton's attempted a Cup race since 2003. In other words, Winston was still the sponsor the last time he was in a Cup car. So I don't think his odds of making the field look too good. Wasn't Jimmy Means' team supposed to make their return this week? I was looking forward to seeing the old #52 riding around again. 149. Curran posted: 03.13.2012 - 9:43 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @comment #122 cjs, yes Gordon did run in the top 12 early but he never had clean air. I'm talking about getting a top five spot track position wise through some sort of pit strategy. There were several cars in this race who looked great out front and painfully mediocre once they got back in traffic (which Gordon was in all day long). Other than Stewart, Johnson, and the Roush cars, nobody could march their way from 15th place or so into the top 5 unless they played some sort of pit games. I'm not trying to say Gordon's car was good Sunday, I just think it's likely that his car was in a similar boat to about 15 or 20 other teams who sucked in traffic thanks to Vegas's "Clean Air is King" racing style. After you get past the five or so best cars, there's probably almost no difference between the 10th place car and the 20th place car in a race like this. It's just a matter of some guys have track position and other don't. Also, I'll echo the comments above about Bristol. I really, really miss the old style there. A part of me is actually hoping that the stands have even more empty seats than last year's Spring race because I want the track owners to get hit in the wallet - And maybe, if they get hit hard enough for a few years in a row, they will own up to their mistake and change the track back to the way it was, and should be. 150. cjs3872 posted: 03.13.2012 - 11:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Curran, the thing about these "clean air" races is that they've been going on since the mid-90s, so there realy isn't anything new going on here. Just watch the 1995 Brickyard 400, and you'll see the race that was effectively the beginning of the "aero-push" era in NASCAR, because that's when we really saw the first sign of it. As for Bristol, the track races the same way now as it did it the mid 1980s, when it first became one of the hottest tickets in the sport, because you can actually race there, which is why I've loved it since it was redone in 2007. When they first concreted Bristol in 1992, they turned from a race track into a demo derby track, because the ONLY way you could pass someone was to run over him. Otherwise, a slower car could literally hold up a faster car for an entire fuel run if it wanted to, because there was no second groove. Now, Bristol's not only two grooves, but occasionally three, meaning you can actually pass someone without having to run over him, which is why caution flags and caution laps are significantly down since the reconfiguring in 2007. Prior to the reconfiguring, it wasn't uncommon for up to a quarter of the race (125 laps) or more to be run under caution due to all the wrecks. Now, about 70 or 80 laps are run under caution, if not less during a race at Bristol, meaning there are 420-440 laps of racing at Bristol during a 500-lap race, instead of about 370, which is a BIG difference. Also, all the cautions meant that there was no real flow to the racing there. Also, with the start-and-parks, there won't be as many cars racing at Bristol, as only about 36-38 will actually be racing there, instead of 43, which opens up more space for the drivers to be able to race. For the reasons I mentioned, the racing at Bristol is far superior to the way it was from 1993-2007. And also, let's not forget that the night race there in August has further been neutered by the fact that it's the third-to-last race prior to the Chase, so the drivers are not going to take the chances in that race that they used to. 151. Lugnut posted: 03.13.2012 - 11:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #149, Menard marched his way up to 5th from 26th and didn't use pit strategy to do so. He drove his way up through there. Just like he did at the end of the race going from 18th to 7th in the final 20 laps. 152. Scott B posted: 03.13.2012 - 1:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Spen, Thanks for the clarification! I now see the #32 and the #132 both listed. I remember the points deal, but didn't notice they'd split that ride into two different listings as a result. Maybe Brian Vickers will be calling to inquire about the #10 seat if it opens up. I'm thinking Tony Stewart might personally veto that. ;) 153. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.13.2012 - 3:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As I said on the Nwide page, this isn't the place to be talking about how Bristol took two of the most anticipated races of the year and turned them both into just another race. 154. Anonymous posted: 03.13.2012 - 3:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Where is the place to talk about it then? On the Bristol page next week? 155. Curran posted: 03.13.2012 - 3:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @cjs I've seen the 1995 Brickyard 400, and I don't need to watch that snoozefest again. I'm not saying that these races are new, I'm just saying that I don't put much stock into a 10th place car vs. a 20th place car because there usually no difference other than track position. What I do take notice of are the guys who can break through some. That's very impressive and may be a sign of things to come. And you're right LugNut, Menard did come through the field on his own. I whiffed on him. And cjs, you can't compare how hot the Bristol ticket was in the 1980's to what it was in the late 1990's/early 2000's. When the concrete was put down in 1993, the seating capacity was only 71,000, less than half of what it is now. Fans approved of the 1993-2007's version of the track so much that it was still one of, if not THE hottest ticket on the circut even with the enormous seating capacity. Sure there's multiple grooves now but if I wanted to watch that I could just tune in any other weekend. Bristol was its own unique flavor and it just doesn't stand out the way it used to. I prefer a wider range of racing styles week to week and old Bristol was one of my favorite styles. 156. cjs3872 posted: 03.13.2012 - 4:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) All that needs to be said about the type of racing you have at Bristol now is this. Only twice in the last 14 races before the track was reconfigured were there fewer than 76 laps of caution, and they were two of the first three August night races after the Chase was instituted, and as I mentioned, the implementation of the Chase made the night race a much more conservative race than it ever was previously. Since the track was reconfigured, there has only been one race with more than 76 laps of caution, the spring race in 2010, when there were 103 laps of caution, but 40 of those 103 caution laps were for rain, so there were only 63 caution laps due to incidents, debris, and stalled cars. The only other race with as many as 76 caution laps was the 2009 August night race, and there were 10 laps of caution in that race due to rain. And each of the last three races there had fewer than 60 laps of caution with a low of 39 in the 2010 August night race. For comaprison's sake, if you compared those numbers to a Daytona 500, a race with 60 laps of caution at Bristol would have just 24 caution laps at Daytona, and the 39 laps of caution would equal just 16 at Daytona. And the 76 laps of caution I used as a benchmark would equal 30 at Daytona. And I think most anyone wouldn't mind seeing a race at Daytona run with so few caution laps. And like I said, more cautions and more caution laps takes the flow of a race right out of it. But a race with 100 caution laps, which was about the average in the seven-year period I opened this comment with, would be equal to 40 laps of caution at Daytona, and 125 laps of caution would be equal to 50 at Daytona, and that many caution laps, a quarter of the race being run under caution, is far too many. The reason for this is simple. The track at Bristol, much like it did in the 1980s, actually allows drivers to race each other instead of having to run over each other, making it a better race to watch, in my opinion, because the drivers actualy have to use finesse and skill, instead of brute force. ESPN Classic has aired races from Bristol in the mid-to-late 1980s, and if you watch one of those races, and compare it to one run today, the only things you'll see that are different in the racing are the cars, drivers, and color of the track surface, because the racing then was the same as it is now. It's just that fans of the sport today prefer the wrecking that took place at Bristol, because it's all they can remember, but the track races the same way now as it did in 1987. And drivers had to use finesse back then, as well as force, which is why Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt had equal success. 157. cjs3872 posted: 03.13.2012 - 4:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Curran, I said that the Bristol became one of the hottest tickets in the sport in the 1980s, because the big tickets prior to that were the legendary speedways, but Bristol changed that in the 80s. But you're right about it becoming one of the hot tickets through the 90s, because fans liked to see the wrecking and controversy that took place, more than the actual racing itself. Let's also remember that whwn they concreted the track after the 1992 spring race, one of the unintended consequences was that the actual racing surface narrowed, which prohibited the use of the second groove even more. That plus the speeds of the cars, which actualy pinned the cars to the bottom of the track, made it impossible to create an upper groove, which was why the only way to pas there was to run over the guy in front of you. The drivers actually prefer the track, as it is now, because they can use their skills there. Remember how the Wood Brothers won this race in 2001, or how Kurt Busch once won this race in 2003? They chose to run more than 150 laps on one set of tires, because they knew that they couldn't be passed without getting run into from behind. (The Woods ran about 170 laps on their last set of tires in the 2001 win with Elliott Sadler, I believe.) 158. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.13.2012 - 4:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And Hendrick is still appealing. What a joke. 159. 10andJoe posted: 03.13.2012 - 4:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm not so sure the 10 would get a driver change. It is, after all, hardly Reutimann's fault that Danica was lap-two chewed up at Daytona, or that his car caught the ECR Engine Bug that was going around at Phoenix. The odds of the 26 (!!) staying ahead of the 10 in points are fairly slim, I'd think, and with the 21 part time and the 33 soon to say sayonara, he shouldn't be in too much of a problem as long as he can avoid wrecking at Bristol. 160. Scott B posted: 03.13.2012 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree Reuti is not really at fault, but he wouldn't be the first driver to be released for something that was not his fault. The most likely scenario, if there was a change, might just be to swap him & Blaney to the opposite rides. Tommy Baldwin and Tony Stewart at least both understand the sport well enough that they might cut a driver some slack for circumstances beyond control. The guys who would be likely be available as a replacement would just be a lateral move instead of a step up, IMHO. 161. Talon64 posted: 03.13.2012 - 6:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tony Stewart picks up his 45th career Sprint Cup Series victory, moving him past Bill Elliott into 15th on the all time wins list and 1 back of Buck Baker for 14th. It's Stewart's 14th consecutive season with a win, the longest among active drivers and tying Jeff Gordon for the 7th longest streak in Cup Series history (Richard Petty with 18 in a row holds the record). Stewart's won in each of his first 14 seasons competing in Cup, a new record that beats Lee Petty's wins in his first 13 seasons (not limited to full seasons, since drivers like Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson have won in their first 7 and 10 FULL seasons respectively but didn't win in their few starts prior). It's Stewart's 1st win in 14 starts at Las Vegas (6 top 5's, 9 top 10's and a 12.9 avg fin). He's now won at 21 of the 24 tracks he's competed at in the Cup Series; the only exceptions are Rockingham (no longer on the schedule, best finish of 4th three times in 11 starts), Darlington (best finish of 3rd, 2009, in 19 starts) and Kentucky (finished 12th in the track's first Cup race last season). Stewart and Jimmie Johnson finish 1-2 for the 13th time in their careers. Jimmie holds a slim 7-6 margin over Stewart. For Johnson, it's his 36th career runner-up finish which moves him ahead of Harry Gant into 17th all time. He also becomes the 20th driver all time to reach 150 career top 5's (366 starts). Dating back to last season he only has 5 top 10's in 12 races, but 4 of them are top 2 finishes. It's Jimmie's first top 5 at Las Vegas that isn't a victory; he now has 4 wins a runner-up finish in 11 Vegas starts, but only one top 10 other than those (9.8 avg fin). After having only 3 top 5's, including just 1 top 3, in all of 2011 Greg Biffle's started 2012 with 3 straight 3rd place finishes. And did so in his 333rd career Cup start. It's just Biffle's 2nd top 5 in 9 Las Vegas starts, tying his best finish there in 3rd. But it's his 6th top 10 (13.4 avg fin). Ryan Newman gets his first top 5 and top 10 of 2012 in 4th; Newman had just 1 top 5 in the last 13 races of 2011. It's his 2nd straight top 5 at Las Vegas, after just 1 in his first 10 starts there (6 top 10's, 16.4 avg fin). Carl Edwards finishes in the top 10 for the 14th time in 16 races dating back to last season (5.94 avg fin). It's Carl's first top 5 at Las Vegas that isn't a win, his 3rd and his 4th top 10 in 8 starts (10.2 avg fin). Clint Bowyer gets his first top 10 with MWR in 6th; at least one MWR car has finished in the top 10 in each of the first 3 races of the season. It's Bowyer's 4th top 10 in the last 6 races dating back to last season, and his 3rd top 10 in his last 4 Las Vegas starts (none in his first 3, 15.7 avg fin in 7 starts overall). After a career-high 8 top 10's in 2011 (but just 1 in the last 15 races of the season), Paul Menard has 2 in the first 3 races of 2012. It's his first top 10 in 6 Las Vegas starts (20.8 avg fin). Jamie McMurray picks up his first top 10 in 15 races dating back to last season, where he only had 4 top 10's all year. It's his 4th top 10 in 10 Las Vegas starts (18.7 avg fin). Along with Biffle, McMurray also made his 333rd career Cup start. Trevor Bayne gets his first top 10 since winning the 2011 Daytona 500, a span of 17 starts without one (27.8 avg fin). His top 10 at Las Vegas puts his career average finish at 1.5 mile tracks to 19.9 in 8 starts. Dale Earnhardt Jr. led 70 laps in this race, more than he led in all of 2011 (52). It's the most laps he's led in a single race since he led 90 at Martinsville in the fall of 2010, and the most he's led in an intermediate track race since he led 76 laps in the 2008 Coca Cola 600. It's Dale Jr.'s 6th top 10 in 13 Las Vegas starts (16.3 avg fin), including 4 in the last 5 (9.2 avg fin). Kasey Kahne earned his 23rd career Sprint Cup Series pole, tying him with Ken Schrader and Jack Smith for 28th all time. He's the 16th different driver to earn a pole for Hendrick Motorsports, getting them their 179th career pole. 19-year-old Timmy Hill made his Sprint Cup Series debut. 162. 10andJoe posted: 03.13.2012 - 6:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) On the Trevor Bayne watch: he's now entered in the NNS race at Bristol. 163. LordLowe posted: 03.14.2012 - 2:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Had a weird dream a few days ago that Jeff Gordon Died 164. Scott B posted: 03.14.2012 - 10:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "19-year-old Timmy Hill made his Sprint Cup Series debut." Yes, making this the first race where the two declared 2012 Rookie of the Year candidates both were in the field. Josh Wise is credited with 40th, Hill with 42nd. So, at least we have a ROTY contest this season, even though it won't be between two guys getting much on-camera time. Another bit of trivia, Brad Kes was the top finishing Dodge at 32nd, 8 laps down. Dinger was 37th and Robby Gordon was a DNQ. 165. BON GORDON posted: 03.14.2012 - 4:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) LORDLOWE thats really really creepy because last week I had a dream that Jeff Gordon died in an accident during a race I attended. I hope dreams don't predict the future because I would be devestated if that really did happen and so would millions and millions of other fans. 166. LordLowe posted: 03.14.2012 - 4:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You Know CJS said that Gordon was going to have a bad year well in my dream his season went from bad to worse to Fatal 167. cjs3872 posted: 03.14.2012 - 5:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) LordLowe, let's not even think about something like that, especially coming to the very race that Alan Kulwicki was killed flying to in 1993. 168. LordLowe posted: 03.14.2012 - 6:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It was just a dream I don't think anything like that will really happen. 169. Schroeder51 posted: 03.14.2012 - 8:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I live in the Deep South and I know some depraved Junior fans who wouldn't mind seeing something awful like that happening. I remember some twisted kid I went to school with saying "That damn Gordon shoulda been the one to have the crash at Daytona, not Dale Earnhardt." That guy also believed Sterling Marlin and Ken Schrader were part of a conspiracy to kill Dale, so...Some people have some serious problems, is all I can really say. Myself, I would never want to see that happen, not even to Kyle Busch, who I can hardly stand. Anybody who wishes that upon someone else is a very poor excuse for a human being. 170. LordLowe posted: 03.14.2012 - 9:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't wish death upon Gordon Schroder51 171. Schroeder51 posted: 03.14.2012 - 9:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I know you didn't, I just thought I would mention that I have known people who did or wouldn't have cared to see something like that happen. Junior Nation REALLY scares me. They seem to be Nascar's looniest fans. 172. cjs3872 posted: 03.14.2012 - 11:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) LordLowe, I predicted that Gordon would have a down year for the reasons mentioned in earlier posts. I know you wouldn't want to wish death on anyone. No one in their right mind would. The fact that you even brought it up about Gordon (or anyone else) getting killed was what set me off, especially in light of what happened 400 miles into the Daytona 500 with Juan Montoya's car smashing tnto the jet dryer and causing the biggest fire that I know of in major American racing since the catastrohpic pit fire in the very first Michigan 500 in 1981, and the 1964 Indianapolis 500 (which did kill two drivers and badly burn a third). 173. LordLowe posted: 03.15.2012 - 12:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I am sorry I just have a bad habit of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. 174. 10andJoe posted: 03.15.2012 - 2:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Junior Nation REALLY scares me. They seem to be Nascar's looniest fans." They're the American equivilant of soccer (or football, as they call it) fans in the rest of the world. They're not fans of the sport for the sport, or even the competitor for the competitor. They're "fans" because if "their" team/guy wins, they have an excuse to party, and if "their" team/guy doesn't win, they have an excuse to riot. 175. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.15.2012 - 12:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've had dreams about drivers dying. In each one, I was really sad it happened (for me personally, it is Rusty most of the time). I guess the fact is death will always be lurking in the shadows of racing no matter how much safety improves. I think these dreams of ours just illustrate that we are all too aware of that whether we want to admit it or not. It is lurking in our psyche. Dreams are a manifestation of what is going on is our mind. And it seems like the further and further we go without losing a driver, the more we are waiting for the hammer to drop again. Plus for those of us that have lived through it, the thought of having to experience it again it haunting. Cjs mentioned Alan Kulwicki's passing, and I remember that all too well. Same with JD, Davey, Neil, Adam, Kenny, Tony, Dale, the Hendrick family, Bobby Hamilton, and BP. It just hurts to lose them. Losing Dan Wheldon hurt a lot too. Even though I personally never watch Indy Car except for the Indianapolis 500, when I read online Dan was in critical condition, then turned to ABC just in time to realize he had passed, I felt that same familiar ache and sadness. Sad for a life gone way too soon. Sad for his family and friends who lost somebody they truly loved. Sad for his fans. Not only was I sad for him, it brought back a lot of bad memories. This is gonna sound bad, but hear me out: as racing fans, dreaming about drivers dying is perfectly natural. Let's face it, most dreams aren't pleasant. They are often us living out situations we fear the most. The ones where we are falling from high places. The ones where we are in a speeding vehicle we have no control over heading towards certain disaster. And to a lesser extent, the ones where we are covered in bugs or snakes, or failing at work, or being rejected. It is a harsh reality and a harsh indictment on the human mind, but we should have dreams of drivers being harmed. If we didn't, that could mean we really don't care. 176. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.15.2012 - 12:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Junior Nation REALLY scares me. They seem to be Nascar's looniest fans." As I have said before, I don't want to lump every Junior fan in that category, there are some really rational JR fans out there, but overall I echo your sentiment. The thing that gets me the most about them is that they are not grounded in reality. At all. And that is what scares me. When you lose your grip on reality, what is left? Everything is somebody else's fault. And unfortunately, they are feeding off JR's own complaints. The fact is Dale Jr has become one of the sport's biggest whiners. Every week it is something. Usually the tires. Sometimes the style of racing. This week he was whining about Mark Martin not showing "good racing etiquette". Are you f**king sh**ting me? Mark Martin? Racing etiquette? The same Mark Martin that has prevented himself from having his own dynasty because he'd rather lose and ruffle no feathers than win while stepping on toes? The same Mark Martin whose passiveness on the track has been feasted upon by drivers like JJ, Jeff Gordon, and oh yeah, Dale Earnhardt? And what was Mark's crime at Vegas? He was running low, June was running high with momentum, yet Mark entered the4 strightaway clear by three car lenghts, and instead of just moving over which would force June to *gasp* pull low to pass and actually RACE for position. Dale Jr fans hate Kyle Busch with a passion, but that sequence and June's subsequent whining of basically saying "don't race me, move over for me, just be happy to be on the same race track as me" is straight out of Kyle's playbook. But the problem is Junior Nation will buy into June's bullshit, and it is a crock. And there are so damn many of them, nobody in the media will dare call him out. They can't risk pissing off the majority of their audience. Junior Nation is what is wrong with NASCAR. Instead of shunning their hero's blatent character faults like his complete lack of passion, desire, and heart, they single out those that do have it and routinely beat him and blame them. It's time for them to put their beers down and wake up. Dale Jr is everything that should be shunned in American athletes. Tons of potential, opportunity of a lifetime, no heart, no effort. And then the media wants to talk about "won't it be good for NASCAR if Junior wins and starts winning regularly"? HELL NO 177. cjs3872 posted: 03.15.2012 - 1:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, I only mentioned Kulwicki's passing because of the particular race that's next on the circuit. But it's tragic to see someone killed, no matter what the cause or what he/she was doing. Now in the case of Bobby Hamilton, Sr. and Benny Parsons, it's slightly different, because of the fact that they were battling cancer, and in Parsons' case, he was 65, the same age Walt Disney was when lung cancer, which claimed Parsons, took him. While it's equally sad to see or hear about someone die under those circumstances, it's much easier to take, because you know it's coming. (My own father died of cancer in 2008 at the age of 70.) But a sudden death will always be much harder to stomach, especially if it's to someone that's young, as was the case with many of the racing heroes, crewmen, or bystanders that have been killed at a racetrack. 178. 10andJoe posted: 03.15.2012 - 6:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #83 and #93 sponsor: Burger King/Dr. Pepper 179. Red posted: 03.15.2012 - 8:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Dale Jr is everything that should be shunned in American athletes. Tons of potential, opportunity of a lifetime, no heart, no effort." You know who Junior reminds me of? Carmelo Anthony. Melo is a supremely talented athlete, but he's selfish, whiny, and cares more about his "brand" than winning a championship. He won't make the necessary sacrifices to help his team win; he constantly jacks up bad shots and refuses to play defense, because he just wants to be famous and make money. His antics recently forced his coach to resign, and he still doesn't care. Sounds just like Junior! You know what else Junior and Melo both have in common? They have NEVER, and will NEVER, win a championship at their sport's highest level. 180. Bronco posted: 03.15.2012 - 11:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "The fact is Dale Jr has become one of the sport's biggest whiners. Every week it is something. Usually the tires. Sometimes the style of racing." If you're referring to his complaints about tandem racing, he was hardly the only doing so. And if he was really a whiner, he would have openly denounced HMS in '09-'10 (same way Kurt did to his former team) when they were clearly giving him shit cars every week. Most interviews I have seen with him have him owning up to his mistake on the track or pits rather than blaming the crew chief, other drivers, pit crew etc. "And what was Mark's crime at Vegas? He was running low, June was running high with momentum, yet Mark entered the4 strightaway clear by three car lenghts, and instead of just moving over which would force June to *gasp* pull low to pass and actually RACE for position." When has Jr ever complained about someone racing him too hard? Jr didn't like Mark pulling up in front of him when he (#88) was going much faster, thereby slowing his lap down. He was simply asking Mark to stay in his "lane". The same thing happened at the June Michigan race last year when Mark just kept drifting up the track which ran Jr into wall, so I think he does have a right to be upset. "Tons of potential, opportunity of a lifetime, no heart, no effort." This one really had me laughing. 7th in points last year (2nd best out of HMS), 4th in points this year so far (1st of HMS, far higher than the next best car) and no heart or effort?? Seriously, get out of here. 181. Tom S. posted: 03.16.2012 - 12:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Jr. hasn't won in his last 132 tries IN HENDRICK EQUIPMENT Bronco!!! That's freaking pathetic! This is while drivers like Joey Logano, Brian Vickers, Juan Pablo Montoya, David Reutimann, Trevor Bayne, Regan Smith, Paul Menard, and Marcos Ambrose all have visited victory lane. 182. Tom S. posted: 03.16.2012 - 12:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Add David Ragan to the list above. 183. Tom S. posted: 03.16.2012 - 12:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, last season was the first time in the last five years that Jr. finished higher than 12th in the standings so it's not like he's been a factor all recently. 184. cjs3872 posted: 03.16.2012 - 9:39 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bronco, what you're saying about Dale, Jr.'s season last year among the Hendrick drivers is reminiscent of Ken Schrader in 1994. Schrader finished fourth in points that year despite only finishing as high was second once, and that was in the attrition-marred spring Bristol race (Lake Speed finished third and Dave Marcis was tenth in that same race, 14 laps behind the winner), while his two teammates both finished lower in points, but also combined for five wins. The plain truth is that Dale, Jr. is simply not that good, especially at Hendrick Motorsports, a team with great technical expertise, which is Dale's greatest weakness as a driver, and always has been. His lack of the ability of being able to diagnose a problem with the car was always going to be an issue there. It also doesn't help Dale, Jr. that he's in the one car on the circuit that seems to genuinely be cursed, and has been for nearly a quarter of a century, the old HMS #25 car. But Dale, Jr. will never be successful at Hendrick because he just can't diagnose the problems with the car, and that's a major liability today. There are other issues to be sure, but Dale, Jr. has never been able to diagnose a problem with his car, which has been a problem with him more nearly a decade now. Give him a good car and he's as fast as almost anybody, as the first 100+ miles at Las Vegas last week showed, but if he has a problem, he's proven for many years that he can't diagnose it to where it can be properly fixed. 185. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.16.2012 - 3:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Dale Jr - Melo analogy is a good one. They are both really talented, but inflexible. Everyone has to adjust to their style which is ineffective if you want to win. Melo left Denver and they have been much better since. He went to the Knicks where they have been middling in the weaker Eastern Conference since he got there. Then he got hurt and had to sit out a few games. The Knicks freaking exploded without him, with Jeremy Lin, Baron Davis, and Amare'e sharing the ball wonderfully and winning 7 of 8 games. Then he comes back and they have gone on a major losing streak. Dale Jr also doesn't fit the system, and has shown no willingness (or ability?) to adjust to it. Wheras JJ famously molded himself into the exact mold of a "Hendrick driver" as set by Jeff Gordon (give detailed analysis of the car's behavior, NEVER give up on a race, say nothing controversial, and take care of your sponsors), June keeps acting like he is racing for his Daddy. Only his Daddy would give him an ass chewing in a heartbeat for not doing what needs to be done. Ever since Tony Sr left his pit box (the only other guy who could scare June into putting forth the necessary effort) JR has simply gone out there and done business as he pleased whether or not it produced results. And it hasn't. 15 wins in 5 seasons with Big E and/or Tony Sr riding his ass. 3 wins in 7 seasons (including one in the last 5) since. And maybe that is why he has so many passionate followers. Most people don't really enjoy their jobs (like June) and put in just enough effort to skate by (like June). Because they have no emotional attachment to their job (like June) they could really care less how well they do it (like June) just as long as they don't get fired (like June). As a result, they continue to support him knowing he is living out their dream on a huge stage: Do just enough to get by, don't wrap yourself up emotionally in this job you don't really care for, then just go home and drink beer and get massively PRAISED for it. As a male between the ages of 18 and 34, I would like to apologize to the world for my generation. 186. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.16.2012 - 4:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "If you're referring to his complaints about tandem racing, he was hardly the only doing so." True, but every week it seems like it is something. Usually the tires. The fact is the conditions are the same for everyone. He needs to suck it up and go race. "7th in points last year (2nd best out of HMS), 4th in points this year so far (1st of HMS, far higher than the next best car) and no heart or effort?? Seriously, get out of here." His run with Letarte has been smoke and mirrors. Those results are because of superior equipment, natural driving ability, and not messing up (and not having a douche for a crew chief that screws you out of 25 points). He has not been a factor for wins. Even his "close calls" from last year were overrated. The only one that was truly a close call the Spring Martinsville race where he was undone by Harvick's out of nowhere charge. The other two second place finishes were fuel mileage gambles that either failed (Charlotte) or he was running behind somebody else who made a similar gamble (Kansas). In his Letarte era he has led 122 laps. Total. Kyle Busch has led more than that alone in 6 different races over that span. 187. Anonymous posted: 03.16.2012 - 9:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @ Post 185 That should be framed and hung on a wall. Beautiful!!! 188. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 03.17.2012 - 3:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) At this point, Dale Jr needs to just win some races. Even Montoya has more wins than him in the last 5 years. 189. cjs3872 posted: 03.17.2012 - 10:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So does anyone else with as few as TWO wins in that span, RCRandPenskeGuy. And drivers such as Regan Smith, Trevor Bayne, Paul Menard, and even David Ragan (yikes!) have as many wins during the period beginning in 2007 as does Dale, Jr. 190. the_man posted: 05.06.2012 - 8:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Ragan on a 21st place finish: "We would've had a better finish if we didn't have to check up behind (Matt) Kenseth (who hit the wall in the final laps). But overall, it was a pretty good day. Jay Guy did a great job making calls in the pits, the pit crew had a good day and we just made the most of every opportunity we had out there today. I think we can improve on this car, so we'll take it back and work on it. But a lead-lap, 21st-place finish at the first mile-and-a-half track of the season for this team is a good start." 191. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 07.23.2015 - 4:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor Updates #23 North Texas Pipe #27 Schrock Cabinets/Menards #32 Federated Auto Parts/TMone.com #38 Front Row Motorsports #47 Kingsford/Bubba Burger/Bush's Beans #87 NEMCO Motorsports #98 Phil Parsons Racing 192. NASCARLover22 posted: 08.26.2015 - 5:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #23 North Texas Pipe #27 Schrock Cabinetry/Menards #38 Front Row Motorsports #32 Federated Auto Parts/TMone #87 NEMCO Motorsports #98 Phil Parsons Racing #47 Kingsford/Bubba Burger/Bush's Beans #10 Accell Construction/TBR.com 193. Minnowfur posted: 10.31.2017 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) The 18 car spun out but wheres that caution? 194. Rich posted: 12.17.2020 - 7:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip were the commentators. Krista Voda, Matt Yocum, Steve Byrnes and Dr. Dick Berggren were the pit road reporters. Jeff Hammond was the roving reporter. Chris Myers and Michael Waltrip were in the Hollywood hotel. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: