|| *Comments on the 2012 Auto Club 400:* View the most recent comment <#190> | Post a comment <#post> 1. joey2448 posted: 03.23.2012 - 9:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Boy did Denny run a fast lap. Just killed everyone out there. From 2nd on back, it's pretty close. I hate to say it, but Sunday's forecast is looking kinda like Daytona. Chance of rain, so hopefully they will get a full race in. Looking forward to it, nonetheless! Even if the cup race ends up wet, there's always the IndyCar season opener to watch. Can't wait! 2. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.23.2012 - 11:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Robby, just give it up so Danica can have the #7 next year and future generations, when being told the story of the 1992 Winston Cup championship battle, can watch Alan doing his Polish Victory Lap and say "Hey! He had Danica's number!". 3. 10andJoe posted: 03.23.2012 - 11:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Never thought I'd see the TriStar #19 in Cup again. 4. cjs3872 posted: 03.23.2012 - 11:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If that's so joey2448, it could be somewhat like the 2008 race, which was marred by rain and even postponed, but not until several cars had problems on the slick track, culminating with a spectacular crash involving Casey Mears and Sam Hornish, which saw Hornish's car actually being flipped over by Mears' car. Let's hope it's not a replay of that disastrous frace, and the way the rain and weeper situation was handled. 5. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 03.24.2012 - 3:02 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Toyota scores their second pole of the season and sweep the top three starting spots for this race. I'm interested to see how Mark will fare this week. MWR seems to be running better than before, but I'm going to be watching their performance and see if it can continue. Their biggest problem has been keeping up good finishes. 6. joey2448 posted: 03.24.2012 - 3:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yea, cjs3872, I remember that, although it was Mears who ended up on his side. What a crazy wreck.. It makes me wonder, though, it seems recent races at Fontana have had weather problems. The cup races always used to be bright and sunny, but not so much anymore...could it be the time of year that the race is scheduled? Just curious. 7. Spen posted: 03.24.2012 - 3:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Joe Nemechek's streak of 41 consecutive starts comes to an end, ironically at the track he scored his first career pole on. Has anyone else made the field that consistently while driving a non top-35 car in the 2005-present era? 8. cjs3872 posted: 03.24.2012 - 4:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, Spen, there's a reason that he got the name "Front Row Joe", even though he hasn't actually been on the front row that many times in his career, and it's because of how good a qualifier he's always been. But even with Nemechek not making the field, taking one start-and-park car out, several such cars qualified for the race, including Mike Bliss (#19), Scott Riggs (#23), Josh Wise (#26), Red Sorenson (#74), and possibly David Stremme (#30), and Michael McDowell (#98), meaning that there are still four, and possibly as many as six start-and-parks in the Cup race, even without Nemechek and Robby Gordon in the lineup. Also, it's announced that Richard Childress is running the #33 next week at Martinsville with Hermie Sadler in the car. Childress is trying to do with the #33 car what the Wood Brothers attempted to do following their Daytona 500 win last year, and that's to run as many races as possible to start the season in hope of finding sponsorship to run the full season. However, the selection of Hermie Sadler seems odd since the Nationwide Series has that weekend off. You would have thought that Childress would have selected Eliott Sadler or even Austin Dillon to run that race if he was going to run the #33 car with that series not racing next week. 9. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 03.24.2012 - 4:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nemechek has always been a very good qualifier. There's a reason why he managed to score pole positions with four different teams at Talladega (Sabco, APR, MB2 and Furniture Row). Plus, he was always good at grinding out a decent finish in his cars when he was at his best so he was never what I'd call a bad driver. But to answer your question Spen, I'm not sure on that. But it is very impressive for him to start that many races in a row without missing one. 10. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.24.2012 - 7:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeez Brad, when did you turn into Dale Jr on pit road? The same mistake twice in a row? 11. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.24.2012 - 7:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Alright Brad, are you gonna go 3 for 3 on making yourself look like a jackass in the pits? 12. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.24.2012 - 7:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Fontana is officially the 2nd best intermediate on the circuit behind only Atlanta. 13. Spen posted: 03.24.2012 - 8:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I doubt Stremme will park it, since there's still a mathematical chance of him being in the top-35 after this race. He'll probably start parking once it becomes obvious they won't make the cut, but until then he's gonna go the distance. McDowell's iffy, though. Childress keeping the #33 another week is the last thing David Reutimann wanted to hear. He'd better pray for a good day, and for bad luck to hit Cassill. DSFF: Who'd have ever thought the day would come when we'd call Fontana a good track? It's a shame the track wasn't around in the 70's. Much like Michigan and Pocono, it could have put on some good shows with those cars, and we wouldn't have the automatic mental association of Fontana with lousy racing that we've had for years. 14. 10andJoe posted: 03.24.2012 - 8:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) >However, the selection of Hermie Sadler seems odd since the Nationwide Series has that weekend off. You would have thought that Childress would have selected Eliott Sadler or even Austin Dillon to run that race if he was going to run the #33 car with that series not racing next week. Hermie traditionally runs the Martinsville races, it seems. So it makes sense. 15. cjs3872 posted: 03.24.2012 - 9:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 10andJoe, you might be right about Hermie Sadler running the Martinsvlle races. I'm just surprised that Childress is putting him in one of his cars, since that's a car capable of running up front. That's why I'm surprised that he's not putting a driver like Elliott Sadler or Austin Dillon in it, though I'm not sure Austin's capable of running up front in a Cup race, either. And it seems like in Trevor Bayne, that Brad Keselowski has found someone he can push around, as he pushed Bayne around late in the Nationwide race yet again. This marks at least the third altercation between the two, all of which were started by Kesekowski. Bayne seems to be Keselowski's whipping boy, much like Terry Labonte and Bill Elliott were Dale Earnhardt's whipping boys back when Earnhardt was at his peak. After all, Keselowski has tried to do that with Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and Carl Edwards, but they all pushed back. But Bayne seems unwilling to at this point, and unless he pushes back at Keselowski, Bayne's going to continue to be roughed up by Keselowski. Even worse for Bayne is the fact that he may start to get pushed around by other aggressive drivers, since they're also noticing that you can push Bayne around without impunity, which is exactly what has happened to Joey Logano. When the bully drivers see someone they can push around, they'll continue to until the driver they push around has decided they've had enough. Logano was in that situation two years ago, and now Bayne's in that situation, at least in regards to Bead Keselowski now. Drivers seem to think that Bayne, like Labonte and Elliott were, is too nice on the track to push back, and will continue to push him around until Bayne pushes back. 16. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 03.24.2012 - 11:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs, I don't think Austin is even ready to run Cup yet. In my opinion he needs at the very least, another couple of years in the Nationwide Series. I think RC may be trying to keep the #33 team open (although right now that is looking EXTREMELY iffy) so that he will have a ride for Austin. But I don't exactly see him as someone who could light it up in Cup either regardless. Elliott Sadler isn't a very good Cup driver, but he is at least prepared to drive a Cup car, unlike Dillon. 17. OldSchoolNascarDude1 posted: 03.25.2012 - 12:00 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) My pick to win tomorrow's race is Mother Nature. She's already won the season opener at Daytona. 18. cjs3872 posted: 03.25.2012 - 12:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) RCRandPenskeGuy, I agree that Austin's not ready to run Cup yet, especially at a place like Martinsville, where you're beating and banging all the time. I can understand Childress doing what he did last year, aligning himself with Mike Curb to give Austin his Cup debut at a track were you run in wide open spaces and can learn, which Austin did a good job of. But I think Childress is going to run Austin in some Cup races later this year to get his feet wet in the Cup series (though that might not be a good term to use, considering the forecast for tomorrow at Auto Club Speedway). I think that's why he ran Sadler in the Daytona 500, because Elliott actually could have put that car up front if things had worked out right. As for Elliott Sadler not being a good Cup driver, I'm not sure I totally agree. He made the Chase in 2004, winning two 500-mile races in the process, and even performed the impossible by winning a race for the Wood Brothers in 2001, but he was a major victim of Jack Roush's decision that he wanted to be the only competitve Ford team when he deep-sixed Robert Yates' operation beginning in 2005. What happened there stripped Sadler of all his confidence when he got to Evernham's team in 2006, and was never competitve there, because he lost all his confidence, which he only recently got back. I actually think that if Sadler go back in the Cup series with a good team in the frame he's in now, that he could be competitve. He wouldn't be one of the top runners, but running in the top 10-15 would not be out of the question for him. As for Childress keeping the #33 team open, he's trying to do exactly what the Wood Brothers attempted to do following their shocking win in the Daytona 500 last year, and that is to run as many races from the start of the season as they can, hoping to find sponsorship to run the full season. After all, the #33 car has one of those coveted top 35 points positions, and Childress would like to do all he can to keep it there al year, so that if he runs it full-time next year, he'll have a guaranteed spot in the field for at least the first five races of the 2013 season. And I have a feeling there will be some top-tier and second-tier talent available from not only the Nationwide Series, but the Cup series as well for Childress to put in the #33 car if he has sponsorship to run it next year, or even later this year, especially if teams with young talent in all three major NASCAR series can't find sponsorship, because there are some pretty good young drivers out there that need only a chance to show what they can do. Plus there's the factor of Childress' #31 car underperforming, qhich means that Childress might end up hiring two eager drivers for 2013. 19. Kyle posted: 03.25.2012 - 12:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) austin dillon has american ethanol signed to sponsor him for six nationwide races this year and one cup race, date TBA. so he will be running at least cup race, and probably as many as 4-5 pending sponsorship. 20. Mr X posted: 03.25.2012 - 1:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The forecast has appeared to improve dramatically and it looks like we may get this race in today, under sunny conditions, and yesterday's race was fantastic, it has been a long time since I saw a race where Joey Logano won and I was still smiling at the end. Hopefully the rain can hold off until the end because I think we're in for a great race today, either that or Denny Hamlin will dominate. 21. Kyle posted: 03.25.2012 - 1:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @post #20 for me, a great race and denny hamlin dominating is not an either / or situation. the only great races are ones when denny dominates :) "it's denny time!" 22. OldSchoolNascarDude1 posted: 03.25.2012 - 3:10 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I doubt we'll see many cautions. The drivers know that this race can end at any moment, so they will play it cautious until after halfway. 23. cjs3872 posted: 03.25.2012 - 3:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Anybody else floored by the fact that Richard Childress S&P'd the #33 car? The others out at 30 laps, 74-Sorenson, 23-Riggs, and 19-Bliss were totally predictable, but Childress S&P'ing the #33 of Brendan Gaughan is shocking to me. 24. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.25.2012 - 3:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tony is entering Earnhardt territory where he alone can make a race worth watching just by hid driving. Those slidejobs were incredible. Like Dale, he seems to be willing to put more on the line than anyone else earlier in the race. 25. John Royal posted: 03.25.2012 - 4:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hope it starts to rain at lap 100 so this borefest is over and we can move to Martinsville. 26. Schroeder51 posted: 03.25.2012 - 4:21 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) If it doesn't rain I have a feeling this might be the first caution-free race in 10 years. Now watch me get proven wrong and look like a moron. 27. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.25.2012 - 4:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeez, Mikey talking about KyBu moving back to the front as his teammate is blowing his doors off. 28. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 03.25.2012 - 4:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good points about Sadler. That Bristol win in '01 was actually very impressive considering he stayed out on worn tires for many laps (Kurt Busch would accomplish that same feat a year later to get his first Cup win). To me that's pretty much the highlight of his career though. His other wins came with Yates horsepower at big tracks. If he came back in Cup now with good equipment and his current frame, he'd probably perform about the same as he did from 2003-2005 which isn't bad considering he made the chase in 2004. As for this race, we are currently past the halfway point so if Mother Nature decides to show up we will have the race in at least. 29. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 03.25.2012 - 4:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "If it doesn't rain I have a feeling this might be the first caution-free race in 10 years." Actually, that looks like a good possibility. 30. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.25.2012 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Strong work on pit road this weekend Brad. Jeff continues having strong cars and dumb shit happen to him. 31. Schroeder51 posted: 03.25.2012 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordon has to have something go wrong, again of course. I'm not even predicting him to get even 10 top 10s this year. 32. cjs3872 posted: 03.25.2012 - 4:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) RCRandPenskeGuy, this won't go caution-free. With the race now past halfway and the field spread out like it is, NASCAR's going to throw a phantom caution to tighten up the fild soon. Bet on it. 33. LordLowe posted: 03.25.2012 - 4:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What is the 24 team's problem this year 34. OldSchoolNascarDude1 posted: 03.25.2012 - 4:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just as I suspected, this race went caution free for the first time. However, as cjs3872 has posted above me, Nascar will probably spot a beverage can on the race track at any moment. 35. OldSchoolNascarDude1 posted: 03.25.2012 - 4:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Correction: I should have said, "Just as I suspected, this race went caution free for the first HALF." 36. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 03.25.2012 - 4:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution out for rain. 37. Schroeder51 posted: 03.25.2012 - 4:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I look like a moron now. 38. Andy posted: 03.25.2012 - 4:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ...yep, there it is. 39. cjs3872 posted: 03.25.2012 - 4:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, I was right about there being a caution flag, but it's for a very legitimate reason, for rain. 40. H8R posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I hate that they let the guys decide whether they want to pit or not before they red flag the race. It's a nice way for them to just throw out everything that happened up to that point and choose the finishing order based on who guesses whether it's going to keep raining correctly. I think it was insane for Hamlin and Johnson to pit in this situation, but it's hardly fair for guys to get screwed for not being successful weathermen. 41. Rusty posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm not sure this can get back going. Rain is supposed to get worse. 42. jabber1990 posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I hope it can continue, although I did have a party with a friend planned and we were going to watch Animation Domination tonight 43. Cooper posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) California does have lights and there 3 hours behind obviously. If NASCAR really wanted to they could get this race in. But they won't. 44. jabber1990 posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Congratulations to Tony for winning his second race of the season 7 wins in the past 14 races! 45. Alex posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's official, Tony wins and another solid run for Harvick!! 46. jabber1990 posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) not trying to be conspiratorial, but I think the race ended cause Fox told them to, and plus Jimmie would have lost points Karma is a bitch Jimmie I hope some day he learns that 47. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Now it's on to Martinsville... 48. LordLowe posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The race is over Now. I think Tony would have won it Regardless of the rain 49. Rusty posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt Busch gets his 1st top 10 with Phoenix Racing. 50. Spen posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Offically called. 51. Benny posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) if there's one track I'd like to see a rain shortened race at, it's this one. kind of a crappy race with kyle busch dominating. 52. Spen posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:31 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Cjs: Are we sure that the #33 S&P'd? It's possible that they had legitimate issues at the start, and Fox just never reported on it, because let's face it, Brendan Gaughan is not a notable enough driver to warrent any coverage when he goes out of the race. 53. Cooper posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What a terrible start to the season in my opinion. Even with a win by my favourite driver, this season can't seem to gain any momentum. Last year was so entertaining, so awesome and there doesn't seem to be that same energy this year. On to Martinsville, then of course a week off. 54. martin-n-rusty posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:36 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I'll cover what most of the internet NASCAR "fans" will say... OH!!! IT RAINED!!! THEY SHOULD OF WAITED IT OUT!!! THEY SHOULD OF RACED IN IT ANYWAY!!! THERE WERE NO CAUTIONS!!! IT WAS BORING!!! NASCAR IS FIXING THINGS FOR TONY STEWART!!! Lemme know if there is anything else I missed. 55. 10andJoe posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:37 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) >not trying to be conspiratorial, but I think the race ended cause Fox told them to, and plus Jimmie would have lost points Never let reality get in the way of conspiracy, bro! ...seriously, you DID look at the radar, right? >but it's hardly fair for guys to get screwed for not being successful weathermen. Nobody forces them to pit. If they pit, and guessed wrong, That's Racin'. 56. LordLowe posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah Cooper I know this season SUCKS The racing has been pretty abysmal I don't know what the problem is the Cars or The Drivers. But something must be done to fix this because the racing thus far this year has been Pathetic. 57. Jarrett88fan posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was a slam dunk as far as the weather outlook. There was absolutely no way this event would reach 200 laps today. Memo to D. Grubb, C. Kanus, and R. Childers, Why pit for tires? Your drivers would have finished 2nd, 4th and 9th if you had stayed out instead of 10th-12th. C'mon Man!!! At least most teams learned their lesson from the 2009 Coke 600. 58. Mr X posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Before Fontana gets attacked I highly doubt many other tracks could've done any better, if Las Vegas had run the first 244 miles under green only to have the first caution come for rain, and shorten the race after just 258 miles, nothing would've happened on track after lap 5. At least today we saw plenty of on track action given that the only cars who could really keep up with Kyle Busch were starting far back in the field. Fontana got a decent race given the shitty cards it was dealt. Back in June of 1999 Michigan ran caution free, Dale Jarrett took the lead with 148 laps left to run and never looked back. Everyone thought that race was extremely dull, however they came back in August and put on one of the best races of 1999. Every track can put on good or bad races. Fontana is quite a temperature sensative track, most of the cars in the first Saturday practice were running as fast or faster then they ran in qualifying, because saturday morning was cloudy, and cool, as opposed to qualifying which was run under hot, and sunny conditions on Friday. This is the second year in a row that this race has been run under threatening skies. I really think that this race should be run later in the year, like it was before 2005, when it was run in April or May. 59. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think Tony would have won either way. He just had the best car from Lap 80 on. As weird as this sounds, I think Tony is just now hitting his prime. Imagine if he had this mental clarity his whole career! 60. joey2448 posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Denny's team made a TURRIBLE call by pitting when the rain came....Jeff Gordon's team has something stupid happen to them again....I'm not blaming anyone, it's just frustrating to have this happen. The F1 Grand Prix of Malaysia was the best race this weekend. On to M'ville! 61. John Royal posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I love the fact that Stewart beats the hell out of the Hendrick teams - with their own equipment. It would eat me if I were Rick. 62. martin-n-rusty posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DaleSeFan, I'll one up you. Imagine if Tony was dedicated to aiming to run stock cars his entire life, instead of open wheels first before stock cars 63. cjs3872 posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The fact that they didn't mention it further proves to me that he S&P'd. After all, it's hard for me to believe that a Richard Childress car would have a problem on the first lap severe enough to knock it out of the race. After all, a key to Earnhardt's championships with Childress that doesn't get enough publicity that it probably deserves has to do the reliability of Childress' cars, something Childress had to have when he was an independent driver from the mid 70s to 1981. So for Childress to have a problem on the very first lap severe enough to knock it out legitimately seem very far fetched to me. And Cooper, a major reason why this season seems to be spinning it's wheels (so to speak) is the fact that many of the big stars are struggling. Jeff Gordon's been a non-factor, as has Carl Edwards. Jimmie Johnson has been a dominant force only once (at Phoenix), and Kyle Busch hasn't performed that well either, until today. Then there was the way last year started, with an upstart sending one of, if not the most storied team in the sport to victory lane in it's biggest race, run completely in daylight for the first time since 2004, and then was followed up by Gordon's return to victory lane after nearly two years. But this year, you've had Matt Kenseth, considered by many to be one of the most melancholy champions in the sport's history, winning a Daytona 500 that was delayed, first by rain that caused the first postponement in the race's history, then by fire, not to mention a Daytona SpeedWeeks marred by crashes that involved nearly three races worth of machinery. Then you had a race at Phoenix, in part, decided by fuel mileage, followed by a race at Vegas littered with late cautions. Then there were blisterlingly fast race at Bristol, where there were only five cautions, the fewest in a fully completed race since 1984, and now today's bland race at California, where rain brought the race to what may have been a merciful end, with only three cars within 20 seconds of the leader when the rains hit in a race that had gone caution-free when the rains came. As great a start to last season got, the start to this season has been just as bland with many of the normal headline makers nothing more than support players. Like I've said, there are two things that need to be done to spice up the competition, First, NASCAR somehow needs to dirty the cars up on these mid-sized tracks to where drafting effective, because it currently isn't with the power the cars are making. Second, they need to find a way to lengthen the time between pit stops, because with the cars only going 70 miles on a tank of fuel, tire management is a non-factor, since the last part of a fuel run, where tires would go away no longer even exists, because the cars need fuel faster than they need tires. But I look for one of the big names (Jimmie Johnson) to return to victory lane next week, as I predict that Hendrick will get his 200th win where he got his first. Maybe that's what the sport needs, for it's big names to move back to the front, because nothing else seems to be working. 64. Anonymous posted: 03.25.2012 - 5:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "DaleSeFan, I'll one up you. Imagine if Tony was dedicated to aiming to run stock cars his entire life, instead of open wheels first before stock cars" Stewart's success in open wheel prior to his NASCAR career just adds to his legend. Imagine if he had stayed in open wheel his entire career, I think he'd have as many wins and championships there as he does in NASCAR, and would be considered a legend on par with an Andretti, Mears, or a Foyt. And he'd have won the Indy 500 more than once, there is no doubt in my mind. 65. Rusty posted: 03.25.2012 - 6:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The #33 did NOT start and park. His car was smoking in turn one of the first lap. I caught it on TV, but FOX never brought it up. 66. martin-n-rusty posted: 03.25.2012 - 6:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 61, considering how far Indy was falling, I don't know about that. He probably would of been a Sam Hornish or such where he is a known winner in Indy car, but no one knows or cares for him not in the racing world outside of it 67. Mr X posted: 03.25.2012 - 6:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) CJS, while I still think Fontana is one of the better tracks left on the circuit, (I would like to see a different track provide a better race given the circumstances), I absolutely agree with making the fuel runs longer, in the first 85 laps, Kyle Busch's car seemed best on shorter runs, and every time that other cars began to close in, such as Stewart and Hamlin, it was time for another pitstop. 68. cjs3872 posted: 03.25.2012 - 6:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rusty, if that's true, that would be even more out of character for a Richard Childress team, because that means that someone over there wasn't doing what he was supposed to do. The one thing that can never be said about a Richard Childress team is that they were unprepared, and that would appear to be what happened if the #33 was smoking on the first lap. If that is so, then Gaughan probably parked it to avoid causing a problem for anyone else. 69. Anonymous posted: 03.25.2012 - 6:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race was mercifully rain-shortened 70. Draco (Candraco) posted: 03.25.2012 - 6:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A few stats to update: This is Stewarts 46th win in the Cup series which ties Buck Baker for 14th on the all time wins list. This also marks the first time Stewart has won 2 of the first 5 races. SHRs 15th win since the start of 2009 This is his 7th win in the past 15 races and his 5th win in the last 9 races on 1.5 mile tracks. Is it still too early to be picking champ favorites? Im ready to put chips on red 14! 71. MStall41 posted: 03.25.2012 - 6:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) After yet another miserable race at Auto Club Speedway, one can not help but wonder if the folks at ACS are going to have to take a hard look at their previous circa-2008 plan to reconfigure the track to add more banking which would foster restrictor plate racing at ACS. This track has taken a beating by the NASCAR community for a multitude of reasons and it just seems like something needs to be done to shake things up. While were on the topic of potential plate tracks, anyone think that NASCAR might look at using plates for the Michigan races this year? The track is now butter smooth after the repave and they could potentially be hitting 215-220 going into the corners. 72. Anonymous posted: 03.25.2012 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Glad to see Nascar think's Fox's pre race show with the Waltrips is more important thant the race itself. If you know it's going to rain, why not start the event right after 2:30 ET (11:30 local time) so you can get as much in as possible? I also liked how now that Nascar needed to get to halfway there was suddenly no "debris" on the track today. Comebine all this with Rick Hendrick's former business partner getting to decide whether or not Rick hendrick's car was illeagal earlier this week and you can really see how Nascar has it's priorities in order. 73. 18fan posted: 03.25.2012 - 6:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gaughan mentioned in an interview with MRN that he over-revved the engine on the start and broke the motor. 74. ch posted: 03.25.2012 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The owner of the 19 should be TriStar Motorsports owner Mark Smith. The cars are run out of his shop, have his main nationwide number, and it has his 2011 number 19 styling that Mike Bliss also drove. My view of the race, eh... 75. LordLowe posted: 03.25.2012 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) sorry had a double post there could you delete post 69. 76. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.25.2012 - 6:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The #33 car could have had experimental parts in it. Back in 1994, Dale clinched the Winston Cup with two races still to go. After Ernie Irvan (whom Dale was leading by about 25 points at the time) and a near life ending injury at Michigan, Dale crashed out of that race, but followed with a ton of Top 3 finishes, culminating with his win and clinch at Rockingham. The next race was Phoenix and Dale blew up early with nothing to gain or lose. 77. Peter posted: 03.25.2012 - 6:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truex keeps his career year going, and congrats to Kurt Busch on his first T10 for James Finch 78. ericthenau posted: 03.25.2012 - 6:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is the first time that a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race had less than three cautions in it since the 2003 Pepsi 400, which had two. In this race, we had only one caution, but it was the caution that brought an end to this race. Also, this is the first rain-shortened race in the last 96 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, the last rain-shortened race before this race was the 2009 Lenox Industrial Tools 301. 79. 10andJoe posted: 03.25.2012 - 6:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) >After yet another miserable race at Auto Club Speedway ...were we watching the same race? I thought it was quite enjoyable for what it was (i.e. a Race To Halfway). >If you know it's going to rain, why not start the event right after 2:30 ET (11:30 local time) so you can get as much in as possible? Errrr...because the race WAS NOT SCHEDULED to start at 2:30? The "Race starts at 2:30!" the networks say is to get you to tune in to watch the pre-race. The OFFICIAL start time was always 3pm, and they cranked the engines right at 3:02 sharp. 80. 10andJoe posted: 03.25.2012 - 6:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #47 sponsor: Charter Communications 81. myothercarisanM535i posted: 03.25.2012 - 7:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "At least most teams learned their lesson from the 2009 Coke 600. " I've said it countless times before - when a race is red flagged, the results should be wound back to the last completed green-flag lap. Why can't NASCAR do this? "The F1 Grand Prix of Malaysia was the best race this weekend." Not wrong - what a race! 82. 10andJoe posted: 03.25.2012 - 7:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've said it before, but it was still a blast of nostialga for me to see the TriStar #19 out there in a Cup race again. Now let's bring back the Pilot #78!! (j/k) And now we go to Martinsville, where the Sadlers and the baloney burgers roam...and we go to 2012 owners' points. OUT is the #83 (oops!) IN is the #36. And the #10 and #33 squeaked in. 83. 10andJoe posted: 03.25.2012 - 7:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) >I've said it countless times before - when a race is red flagged, the results should be wound back to the last completed green-flag lap. Why can't NASCAR do this? Because then it would "undo" things that actually happened under the caution? Just because everybody else does it doesn't mean not doing it is wrong. 84. cjs3872 posted: 03.25.2012 - 7:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Anonymous (#72), NASCAR actually did move the start time up a few minutes, but there is no way they should have moved the start time up to 2:30 EDT, since that's when the broadcast started. Maybe up to 2:45 or 2:50 perhaps, so the nation would get to see the command and the starting grid, but if the start had been moved up to 2:30 EDT, which by the way would have been before noon local (Pacific) time, the country would have missed the command and would not have known what the starting grid would have looked like. Plus, as far as I know, NASCAR may have a rule against starting races prior to noon in the time zone where the race is located, which may be why the start was moved up only six minutes from 12:16 PDT to 12:10 PDT. But nothing would have changed. The race would still have ben shortened and Tony Stewart would most likely have still won. The only true victim of the rain (due to a very poor decision) might have been Denny Hamlin, who pitted from second place and wound up 11th. Jimmie Johnson's team also pitted from fourth place, but caught the on-track break of the year when they stopped the race with his car smoking and losing oil. If not for the rain, he would have ended up about 33rd, but wound up 10th instead. The series goes to Martinsville next week, where Johnson will probably tie Jeff Gordon for the most wins among active drivers with seven and score Hendrick Motorsports' 200th win at a most fitting place, since Martinsville's where they scored their very first win in 1984. And on what happened to the #33 car, if what 18fan said is true in post #73, how do you overrev the engine on the START of the race? How dumb a move was that?! And on DSFF's point about running experimental parts, if RCR was going to do that, the #33 car wold be the car to do it with, but that still wouldn't answer the apparent driver error of overrevving the engine on the very start of the race. I was wondering how an RCR car could run only one lap, since startng and parking wouldn't fit his profile. Now we know what happened, straight from the driver's mouth. 85. 10andJoe posted: 03.25.2012 - 7:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) >I was wondering how an RCR car could run only one lap, since startng and parking wouldn't fit his profile. He has done it before though - in 1994 in the season-ending race at Atlanta with Neil Bonnett, and way back in 1981 at Texas World Speedway with Kirk Shelmerdine, at least. 86. Anonymous posted: 03.25.2012 - 7:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Fewest cautions in a race since the 2002 Talladega fall race and the fastest race since 2003 Pepsi 400 at Daytona. 87. martin-n-rusty posted: 03.25.2012 - 7:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 10andJoe, but in the one case (1993, not 1994, not unless RCR found a way to have Neil rise from the dead), it was done so Dale Sr. could win a title 88. 10andJoe posted: 03.25.2012 - 7:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Heh, you're right, 1993 it was. Brain blip it is. Caffination after being up since 4am for F1, I need... 89. cjs3872 posted: 03.25.2012 - 7:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, 10andJoe, he only did it in 1993 at the season-ending race with Neil Bonnett to protect Dale Earnhardt. In that race, Earnhardt needed 10 cars to drop out to guaranteee him the championship, so having Bonnett qualify and run just one lap was a way of giving Earnhardt some insurance. But on an overall basis, that just isn't Childress' style, even when he was an owner-driver. Back when Childress was an owner-driver, an owner-driver would run as hard as his pocket book would allow them to, but they usually tried to run the full race. But there were also no minimum speed requirements back then, either, nor were the tire bills so high. now, to run a full race, the tire bill itself runs about $20,000-$30,000, depending on the track, and the teams that are doing S&P's now just can't afford such a tire bill. 90. cjs3872 posted: 03.25.2012 - 7:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) By the way, all six cars that I tagged as start-and-parks in post #8, did exactly that, as none went past 51 laps. Other than Gaughan, those six start-and-parks were the only ones not running when the race was stopped. And myothercarisanM535i, you can't make it so that pit stops that are made during a caution flag prir to a race being stopped never happened, not to mention the possibility of running under caution before a race is stopped and and called the fact that cars on the track pass a car out of the race or behind the wall in the standings. Laps under caution prior to the race being stopped count just like every other lap in the race, and everything that happens under those caution laps should count just like every other lap in the race. Just look at how the 1975 Indianapolis 500 ended as proof of this. A monsoon hit, causing seven cars to spin. One of them, driven by Billy Vukovich II, was the only one to cross the finish line under power, and Vukovich II actually gained two positions as a result, moving from eighth to sixth (moving ahead of Bill Puterbaugh and George Snider who were among those that had spun in the rain) just by completing that final lap. 91. 10andJoe posted: 03.25.2012 - 7:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) On the subject of start times... The start time the TV network advertises is -always- a Blatant Lie. They list the "start of the race" as the start of their prerace show, no doubt to suck viewers into half an hour of Waltrip/Rusty-and-Brad Hell. NASCAR.com, Jayski's etc. list the -actual- start time, which is always a half-hour later than the TV would have you believe. Which sends my thoughts to how different things are, simply with regard to intros and such, than they were in the 1990s. Watching races then - and now on YouTube - you'd see that the race start time saw the actual start of the program - either there was no prerace show, the prerace aired earlier, on an affliliated but different channel (ESPN and ESPN2 did this), or it was strictly aired and advertised as a seperate program. They didn't televise the national anthem and flyover at most races (I presume this was added to the broadcast as a post-9/11 thing), while the command to start engines wasn't aired either - in many cases, you can hear The Command being given in the background while the annoucers are talking about the upcoming race! And don't even get me started on the starting grids...at least the ones shown now are better than the ones in the early 1990s, but the late '90s ones, that actually included a picture of the car and discussed every row...they hand the current ones' head to them on a platter. 92. Matthew Tesfaye posted: 03.25.2012 - 7:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow! Jeff Gordon dragged his fuelman! And he sucks Jeff Gordon has to retire by the end of 2014 93. hurkadurka posted: 03.25.2012 - 8:03 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Yeah Jeff Gordon is so horrible! Let's completely forget that he started like 20th and drove right up to the top 5 and ran there forever until his race went to crap. Reminds me of last week when Gordon ran top 5 all freakin race before a flat left rear and people are talking about how he's gonna look like Jr from 2009 when Jr was running 25th everywhere. No, folks, Jeff actually is running decent and pretty soon he'll actually get some results. 94. Peter posted: 03.25.2012 - 8:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^ Yeah Jeff's really going downhill fast after one last year of glory! 95. irony posted: 03.25.2012 - 8:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Is anyone still going to argue that most debris cautions are fake? I tune it 45 minutes after the race comes on air to miss all the crud. Around the time most casual fans are tuning out I'd imagine. 96. cjs3872 posted: 03.25.2012 - 9:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Actually, before his pit stop problem, Jeff Gordon for most of the race was the only car other than Stewart that actually made any progress coming through the field, starting 21st and moving up to as high as fourth before dropping back to fifth after the second series of pit stops. But really, Johnson and Gordon were running as far up in the field as they were going to get, because they were 10-12 seconds behind even the third place car after the second pit stop, though Johnson did make up significant ground after that, moving from 15 to nine seconds behind the leader. Gordon just simply started too far back to make a run at the leaders, then his pit stop problem ruined his day, as he lost a lap as a result. But as long as Gordon's team gives him slow cars to start with (including practice and qualifying), he's always going to be in this fix. Whuile it's important to have good cars over the long haul, what good does it do when you drop 5 seconds back on the first few laps of each fuel run, because you can never gain that much ground back before you have to pit, which today was every 35 laps/70 miles. If the mileage was this bad at Auto Club Speedway, just imagine how bad it's going to be at Pocono, Indy, and the road courses. Indy cars are now going further on a tank of fuel than the NASCAR cars are, and that's a pity, because one of the major factors in a race used to be tire management, but now that's gone out the window because of the increased pitting. 97. MartinFan55 posted: 03.25.2012 - 9:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If Tony Stewart keeps on winning some people will start thinking Stewart to win all the time like Johnson and Busch 98. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.25.2012 - 10:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon has had one of the fastest cars all year, he has just had stupid shit happen to him. A blown engine at a plate race (rare), exaust pipe heat flattening a tire, a gas can failing to disengage. He'll be fine. Somebody just needs to remind him he turns 41 this year. The year Earnhardt turned 41 he had already won his 5th title. He is falling behind. That will motivate him. As for the "race time" discussion, when I first started watching NASCAR, they were rolling off pit road as the telecasts began. 99. Mr X posted: 03.25.2012 - 10:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cjs although your point is valid you definately have to take into account that a race starting with a 124 lap or 248 mile green flag run is an anomaly. Thats 62% of the race distance. The field will get rediculously spread out on any non-RP track in that span. Frankly I think if the race would've been able to run to its complete distance it would've been much more interesting. Generally most teams and drivers improve their cars as the race goes, with zero cautions until the one that ended the race, there was little oppertunity for anyone to make any significant adjustments, and even less oppertunity to make up the time you lost, however Gordon and Stewart were the only ones to charge up through the field simply because they were the only cars good cars starting back there. This was not a clean air track position race, you could pass and be passed, Logono plummited through the field, as did Martin and Kahne. If the race had restarted I also think that Jeff Gordon would not have been done either. Despite their top 5 run at BMS last week, I think that this was by far their strongest showing so far this year, 21st to 4th in under 70 laps all under green. If the race had restarted then Jeff would've been in a similar boat Denny Hamlin, because I don't believe that all the cars that were one lap down pitted under the caution, and frankly Jeff easily had the fastest car of anyone a lap down, any future caution would've likely gotten him his lap back, and with so few cars on the lead lap, just 16, he could've made it back to the top 5 or 10 I feel. 100. AlmirolaFan51/88/43 posted: 03.25.2012 - 11:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Must be tough for Brendan Gaughan to run in the Top 10 in an RCR Nationwide car with ease, but jump in a RCR Cup car and have the engine let go on lap 1. I was kind of pumped to see him get a 4 race opportunity, not run 4 R&D test sessions. The #33 has finished off the lead lap in all 5 races it's run this season, and will probably make it 6 for 6 next week. 101. cjs3872 posted: 03.25.2012 - 11:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mr X, I realize that any race with such a long green flag run to start the race will get the fied incredibly spread out, which is why I felt there would be a phantom caution not long after the halfway point (which NASCAR wanted desperately to get to so they wouldn't have to return tomorrow), but the rain hit not long before the fourth (yes, the fourth) round of green flag pit stops were to begin. Remember that in the 1999 June race at Michigan, where Dale Jarrett beat Jeff Gordon by half a second in a race that went green all the way, there were only three other cars on the same lap. As for the fact that there were so few cars on the lead lap. Had the race restarted, I believe that all of them would have eventually gotten their lap back by taking advantage of the "wave around" on a future caution period, there would have been about 25 cars on the lead lap atthe finish, had it gone the distance. And as for your point about cars plummeting through the field, Kahne couldn't run as hard as he wanted to, because of his position in the points, Martin just can't run up front any more because of his age, and Logano dropping back was a foregone conclusion that everyone knew would happen, and indeed it did. And DSFF, Gordon has not had that fast a car this year, which is why he keeps qualifying in the middle or back of the field, except for Bristol. And his car wasn't that fast today on a short run, but was one of few that could match the top three on a long run. The problem with that is that you fall five seconds behind on each green flag run waiting for your car to get going, and you just can't make up that kind of time on the track. It might be early in the season to make such a prediction, but Gordon will not win a race this year as long as his cars are slow on the get go, and slow in practice and qualifying, which is why he gets so far behind to begin with. If this trend continues, I'll predict a month from now that he'll go winless this year, continuing his trend in recent years, and that of his crew chief Alan Gustafson. 102. 18fan posted: 03.25.2012 - 11:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kahne reported his car as being wicked loose on the first run when he lost most of the positions he did, so I don't think it had to do with his points position. And we have to remember that the track conditions during the race were nothing like they were Friday and Saturday, so some cars that qualified well were way too tight(like Mark Martin) and some cars which didn't qualify as well ran better with the cool temperatures(Glenn Jarrett on MRN reported at one point a track temperature of 77 degrees, which is pretty cold for an afternoon race. 103. Eric posted: 03.25.2012 - 11:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs3872, Where you qualify doesn't exactly meant you have a fast or a slow car. Dale Earnhardt Sr. wasn't known as a great qualifier despite having 22 poles, but yet he has 76 wins. 27 out Dale's 76 cup wins came from 10th or worst starting spot. 15 of them came from a starting position of 15th. 7 of the 15 starting positions from 15th place or worse came from 20th or worse. 104. Cooper posted: 03.25.2012 - 11:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In my opinion, and from what I could remember back to '01...this is how the telecasts should go... 12:30---NASCAR Pre-Race airs -During this time, they talk about the race, what they think will happen. Interview a few of the key drivers, plus a surprise driver. 12:45---Commercial Break 12:48---Invocation/Anthem/Command (I always remember the command happening immediately after the anthem. Now they take a commercial break. (Could be wrong). 12:55---Cars roll off pit lane. 1:00---Green Flag. This doesn't seem bad right? But in reality, this doesn't mean anything because we have a thing called DVR. You can pause and play the race as you want, plus skip commercial breaks if you are running on a delay. Overall, this year has been a big letdown. The only interesting story lines have been a car that crashed into a jet dryer and a penalty that got revoked. For god sakes, were talking about how we would do the pre-race and talking about start and parks. Something/Somebody needs to save this season and fast! I really think teams are not trying this year, knowing next year these cars will basically be trash. We need a new young driver to raise hell. Simple as that. For this sport to continue to grow, this sport needs to groom new stars. In ten years, I think NASCAR is going to be in a sad state, I really do. As we look in the field today, how many drivers will be racing in ten years? I count 9!. 9. Everyone else in today's field will be close to 50 years or out of the sport IMHO. I really only see 9 damn drivers 10 years from now that will still be racing. (That are sure shots). -Kyle Busch -Carl Edwards -Denny Hamlin -Clint Bowyer -Kasey Kahne -Brad Keselowski -Joey Logano -Martin Truex Jr. -Ryan Newman Who the hell are going to be the other 34 drivers in the field? We can't continue to market drivers like Jeff Gordon/Tony Stewart/Earnhardt Jr. when they will be 50 years old. NASCAR needs an influx of young drivers, like they got in 01/02/03. Just look at the demographic of our top ten today: 25 and under: 0 26-30: 1 31-35: 4 36-40: 3 Over 40: 2 That's right, the only driver under 30 that recorded a top ten today was Kyle Busch. I never realized how much we were hurting for your young stars until today, when I looked at the finish order thinking this race was from 10 years ago. All of the top ten drivers today have been racing in the Cup series since 2004. Just my rant of the night. Hopefully someone will add comments regarding this issue, because I really believe this is an issue that needs to be addressed. 105. Eric posted: 03.25.2012 - 11:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt Kenseth isn't exactly known for his qualifying powers either, but 13 of his 22 wins from a starting spot of 20th or worse. 106. Schroeder51 posted: 03.26.2012 - 12:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, NASCAR is hurting so much for young stars probably because for the past few years the lower ranks were so filled with Cup drivers. Nobody really wanted to put a young, not very well proven driver in their car over someone who had name recognition. With the Cup drivers no longer receiving points and teams focusing more on developing drivers, I *think* that trend might change...but only if more rides in Cup actually open up. I can at least be hopeful. As for the older drivers of today...Okay, maybe I *am* an idiot for predicting a Dale Jr. '09 season out of him (feel free to continue bashing me and mocking me for saying that; I feel dumb myself for predicting something THAT bad), but I don't think he'll be making the Chase this year if these kinds of finishes keep happening. As for how long he would be racing, I can't realistically see Gordon racing past 2015. My guess is 2014 or 2015 will likely be his last year. Tony Stewart I'm a bit more unsure as to how much longer he would be in the sport. Maybe until 2018-2020? Dale Jr., I could see him still driving around ten years from now. That's what a lot of his diehards would want; they wouldn't watch racing if there wasn't an Earnhardt in the field. Of course by then Danica will probably still be in the Cup series, having a mediocre career. 107. 10andJoe posted: 03.26.2012 - 12:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^ Exactly. The Buschwhackers KILLED new driver production from Nationwide, and less so from the Trucks (not that they have turned out to be fertile fields for fresh talent as it's turned out - they're more a dead end for career progression). 108. AlmirolaFan51/88/43 posted: 03.26.2012 - 12:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) It won't be much, but I do see Steve Turner moving his team up to Cup within 3-5 years. Nelson Piquet Jr, James Buescher & Justin Allgaier could make for a decent young team. And I hate to say it, but the competition level will see a big drop once the big names from today fade away from the sport. It probably won't be as bad as the Nationwide Series, where Tayler Malsam is 8th in points with Tri-Star Motorsports despite having failed stints driving for Braun Racing & KBM, and Benny Gordon is 12th. But look at a Cup series race page from 2008 and look at one from this season. Not only are there more independent teams, they are also qualifying for races more consistantly and finishing higher up in the running order. I see that trend continuing in the future. 109. Mr X posted: 03.26.2012 - 12:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think that Goodyear hardened the tire significantly before the start of the 2011 season. Until 2010 it didn't matter where you qualified, because you could pass in 2010, in 2011 you couldn't. In 2010 I thought the racing was generally pretty good across the board, in 2011, the only good races were the ones which were on racetracks abbrasive enough to abuse the tire. Loudon in 2010 vs Loudon in 2011 was a prime example. Kevin Harvick managed a 21.0avg start and 8.7avg finish in 2010, however I think that was at least part of the 29 teams dropoff in performance in 2011, because they weren't qualifying well, and why they have been forced to focus on qualifying well this year. Given that the are so few tracks left on the circuit that abuse the tires, and are easy to pass on and put an extreme emphasis on handling qualifying these days is extremely important, however most of what Dale Earnhardt did wasn't on indestructable tires, and it's a big reason why I think he would hate to see what NASCAR racing has become about. Fontana, Atlanta, Rockingham, Martinsville, old Phoenix, and a few others were tracks I really enjoyed watching races at, because passing was so easy, even cars just a few hundredths of the pace could be passed, and the faster cars could show it. In 2012 Jeff Gordon's poor qualifying runs will bite him at certain tracks, and it won't at certain tracks. I'll be able to tell before the race even starts as to what kind of a race he'll have. In 2012 there will be far more races where clean air is key, and the only way to track position early in the race will be to qualify well. However I also feel that even some of the drivers, and media members are starting to bring this issue to the surface, and hopefully Goodyear will respond, Larry Mac mentioned in practice on saturday that more tire give up leads to better racing, Dale Jr complained the tire was too durable after the race in Bristol, so hopefully 2004 will happen again. What Dale Jr says is often taken as gospel. I mentioned in an earlier post that Fontana should be later in the year, Fontana and Darlington would be an easy switch, as Darlington spent years holding this 5th race weekend on the schedule. 110. cjs3872 posted: 03.26.2012 - 12:50 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Eric, you're right about Earnhardt, Sr. and Kenseth not being known for their qualifying prowess, but they didn't (or haven't) run many races like today, where there were no cautions for at least the first 60% of the race and with one or two dominant cars, either. Usually if you do qualify back there, you get caution flags to catch you up if you do fall well behind, but that didn't happen today. But also, if you have a car, like Gordon did today, that takes about 10 laps to get going, you could fall five seconds behind early in each run, which is virtually impossible to make up on the track without caution flags, especially if those five seconds become 10, which in turn may become 15. Gordon may have had, along with Tony Stewart, the fastest car on old tires, but he was so far behind that he couldn't show it, plus the fact that he had to come from so far back in the field in a race without caution flags got him too far behind to even think about making a run to the front. When Gordon first got into the top ten, he was probably already 10-12 seconds behind the leaders. And for those wanting to see more Cup rides open up, there's one major problem, and that's the top 35 rule. That rule makes it virtually impossible for new teams to get into the sport, which also kills development. The reason being that it justs doesn't make any sense for a new team to get into the sport, unless they buy points from an existing team, so what would really happen is that the same number of cars would be available, if that number doesn't decrease. Remember that when the #33 car starts taking races off, that will mean that only 35 cars will try to run the full races, and it might even be fewer than 35 in some races later in the year. When the #83 car passes the #33 when the #33 team stops going to the track, all of those outside of the top 35 in points, except for the Wood Brothers' #21 and Childress' #33 would be the start-and-park teams, and since the #21 and #33 aren't running the full season, and the likelyhood of teams currently in the top 35 (like the #13 car and possibly even the #34 and #38 cars, the latter two of which are unsponsored, possibly doing start-and-parks, along with the #36 car, unless it finds more sponsorship, which it didn't have this weekend), and we could see races with only 32-34 cars trying to go the distance, which would make my off-season prediction of double-digit start-and-parks sadly come true. 111. Spen posted: 03.26.2012 - 3:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cooper: Having a lack of younger drivers isn't exactly a new phenomenon. Heck, in 1996 Jeff Gordon was the only driver under 37 in the top ten in points. (An often overlooked reason for his highly inflated numbers in the mid-90's.) This tends to ebb and flow a lot. Back in the '70's, the factory pullout resulted in most of the competitive teams going out of business, which resulted in virtually every race being won by the same small handfull of drivers for a good seven years. Eventually, new blood and new money moved in, and the old guard fell away one by one. Then the cycle repeated itself with most of the '80's stars staying unchanged at the top for a good long while, (partially caused by a lack of talent among drivers born between 1960 and 1969) until Jeff Gordon, and more impactfully Tony Stewart came along. Then we ushered in a wave of 'young guns' who took over the sport, and partially thanks to corporate indifference towards non-establishment drivers (and partially do to the general incompetence of most young drivers), the 1999-2006 'young guns' now own all the good rides. A new wave will inevitably come at some point, though. The next few years may get rather interesting, though. No driver born after Mark Martin has yet won a race after turning 42 (though Biffle seems to be trying to change that), and if that becomes an across the board trend, we may start seeing an increase in wins from drivers in thier early thirties, such as Hamlin, Kahne, Newman, and possibly even Truex and Menard. As for your question about who the other 34 drivers will be, don't forget that a lot of our current backmarker drivers will likely continue to be recycled for a number of years. I expect we'll still be seeing the likes of Reed Sorenson, Michael McDowell, Landon Cassill, David Ragan, Brian Vickers, Regan Smith, Aric Almirola (once he gets fired by Petty), A.J. Allmendinger (once he gets fired by Penske), and maybe even Casey Mears and David Gilliland still floating around in rides of Front Row calliber or worse. Josh Wise and Timmy Hill (if Hill's career isn't over by Charlotte) could still be doing Start & Parks ten years from now as well. Now for the more serious rides, I'm sure Danica will still be riding around in 25th or so while winning MPD every year, the Dillon boys are sure to get rides at Childress, Stenhouse is certain to be at Roush, Bayne may have a future if he can ever get a sponsor (and with Fox doing everything in their power to try and make him a household name, it's gotta happen sooner or later), Kligerman will likely replace A.J. at Penske, James Buscher has the necessery family connections to get a ride, same with Chase Elliott. Darrell Wallace is sure to get a Cup ride one day, albeit more for his color than his driving ability (though he seems competent enough in Busch North), Ryan Truex has family connections, Ryan Blaney seems to making the right kind of friends, Justin Allgaier could have a future should Turner expand (though I'm somewhat doubtful on that score), Nelson Piquet, Jr. will likely take over JPM's posistion of token South American, and if he doesn't get on Danica's nerve too much, Cole Whitt may move up one day. So counting your nine, that's 35 drivers right there, and I'm sure another eight can come along at some point in the next ten years. Now, will these drivers be of similar caliber to the ones we have now? Time will tell. 112. Spen posted: 03.26.2012 - 4:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Add-on: Don't be too surprised if Jon Wes Townley has a Cup ride at some point in the future. 113. myothercarisanM535i posted: 03.26.2012 - 4:23 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Because then it would "undo" things that actually happened under the caution? Just because everybody else does it doesn't mean not doing it is wrong." It just seems like such a pointless system to me. I mean, a race is red-flagged when the track is no longer safe for racing, so why should events that happened after the track becomes unsafe count towards the results? It also leaves the results open to controversy, such as Reutimann and Logano's first wins. HOWEVER, having said that, I must make it clear that in respect to the current rules, I have absolutely no issues with the wins of the previously mentioned drivers. Rules are rules and those who say "Oh that doesn't really count" need to give it a rest. But yeah, I would still rather see NASCAR adopt a similar system to the rest of the world as it would certainly help to avoid controversy and confusion. "Is anyone still going to argue that most debris cautions are fake?" Most definitely. I have no doubt at all that they throw fake cautions - and beyond fake cautions, unnecessary cautions too. 114. 10andJoe posted: 03.26.2012 - 4:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) >I mean, a race is red-flagged when the track is no longer safe for racing, so why should events that happened after the track becomes unsafe count towards the results? The catch in that logic is that, therefore, if they run out of green-white-checkereds, a race finishes under caution, and somebody wrecked, they would be scored as still running despite not actually finishing. >Don't be too surprised if Jon Wes Townley has a Cup ride at some point in the future. ... I believe this thought must be purged from my brain. I will follow the wisdom of Vexxarr in doing so. ...red velvet...very fresh...chocolate icing... 115. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.26.2012 - 4:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Some of NASCAR's cautions are pathetic when you consider the fact that F1 has multi-car wrecks at Monaco and doesn't throw the caution unless the track marshals are at risk. NASCAR: the gods of panic. Countdown til Doomsday: insert your preferred time here. I have said it before, and I'll say it again: NASCAR needs some weird guys like Travis Kvapil of David Stremme to go out there and lead 160 of 200 laps at Pocono or something similar because, even though they aren't household names, it will make NASCAR racers more interesting because people will not be able to guess who will dominate just by looking at what track it is. I find that to be a big attention grabber. 116. martin-n-rusty posted: 03.26.2012 - 7:22 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nico, the thing is, many of the NASCAR fans would complain if a race has few cautions because It MUST of been boring, the field being bunched up too few times, etc., but if NASCAR bunches the field a bunch, many of these same fans then complain that NASCAR is artificially messing with the race, and to let it run its course. Not only that, problems on an oval are much different than problems on a road course or street course, and have race cars whizzing by at 200mph plus while taking care of an incident, or even different style of cars. You can't simply pluck a stock car up with a crane like they do with open wheelers. Not to mention some of the debris cautions, again. Don't fly the yellow, and that "hot dog wrapper" is actually a piece of metal from a car and punctures a tire, what is the complaint?!? "Why wasn't the yellow thrown!?!" That "piece of metal" is really just a piece of rubber, and what happens?!? "THERE WAS NO NEED FOR THE CAUTION!!!" I think sometimes, NASCAR fans can't be pleased, regardless of what happens. Want more proof?!? Just watch if they renovate Bristol back to its old configuration. You'll have people complaining it's a single file snoozefest. Just after complaining that "Bristol ain't what it used to be" 117. Neal posted: 03.26.2012 - 10:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Stands 1/3 to 1/2 empty at Bristol, yet Fontana is almost a sellout. Tell me again how Bristol's woes are the economy, if you please. 118. Ryan posted: 03.26.2012 - 10:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was disappointed that the rain didn't hold out another half hour or so. That was shaping up to possibly be the first caution-free race in 10 years, which would have been awesome. 119. NadeauFan91 posted: 03.26.2012 - 11:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Normally, I would complain that this was perhaps the most forgettable race ever... ...but that horrible Fall Richmond still takes the cake for one reason, Jimmie blew up under caution and trolled his way to a 10th place. That is something I will not forget for quite some time. 120. cjs3872 posted: 03.26.2012 - 11:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) NadeauFan91, do you mean the same fall race at Richmond that Richard Childress low-balled Kevin Harvick into a win in by having Paul Menard intentionally spin and bring out a late caution in which he knew, based on the way Harvick's car was set up would benefit Harvick? 121. NadeauFan91 posted: 03.26.2012 - 11:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) No, that was a good race last year, I'm talking about the 2010 one. You can see my complaints in the comments under my old name. 122. NadeauFan91 posted: 03.26.2012 - 11:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Correction, good for recent Richmond standards. 123. Talk4Tar posted: 03.26.2012 - 12:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I am gobsmacked to find the very same people who crapped all over Bristol last week complimenting the race this weekend. Tony Stewart was the only part of this race relatively entertaining. 124. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.26.2012 - 3:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cjs, I agree Jeff and his team will need to step up in qualifying. But they have had Top 5 cars in 3 of the 5 races. With a driver like Gordon, that is all you need and the wins will come. Once they have a few problem free races, they will easily get in the Top 20 in points, and then get a win or two. Truth be told, they have shown the most raw speed from HMS this year (with Kasey being a close second). I am surprised that HMS has been down on speed this year. I know June is 3rd in points, but he has avoided any wrecks or mechanical issues. And the 48 has been just a tick off. Obviously the motors and chassis are good cause Smoke is kicking ass. The 5/24 shop has had the most speed, but can't put a race together. This race would have been a lot better were it not for the knowledge that rain was coming. Drivers were determined just to get to lap 100 so they could leave the West Coast. Anytime the Series goes out west (which they have for 3 of the 5 race so far) they usually have to show up early in the week for their sponsors. The result is by the time Sunday rolls around, they just want to get the hell home. As a result, nobody really tried to race (except Tony). Hardly anybody risked side by side racing or slidejobs (again outside of Tony) for the fear it would cause a caution to slow the race and they wouldn't get to halfway before it rained. Compare this race to the NWide race. The hunger factor plus the knowledge that that race was gonna end that day no matter what led to some great racing. The result was hands down the best race in NASCAR's top divisions this year. Although Martinsville will probably fix that (I won't get to go to this one cause of work). 125. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.26.2012 - 3:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cooper, I think we will be alright for the future. With the talent pipeline starting to slowly unclog in the NWide Series, I see some people that can step up. Stenhouse I really think can succeed in Cup, and Bayne has already shown he can. Justin Allgaier is somebody else I feel really good about, and I think with a few more years in Trucks and NWide, Beuscher (sp?) may be somebody to watch. How about Brad Sweet's run on Saturday? Wasn't good to start with, but he kept it out of the wall, let his team fix it, and he finished 6th. And then there are the underfunded guys in NWide doing pretty well. People like Taylor Malsam and Jason Bowles and Jeremy Clements. Their time struggling and clawing their way in races with very limited budgets can sometimes be the greatest thing to happen to a driver (see Johnson, Jimmie). Also Johanna Long is somebody to look at. She won the Snowball Derby and has posted respectable results in Trucks and NWide despite no budget. She is also outrageously young. As for Danica, it will be interesting to see how Team Danica (her advisors, mostly from GoDaddy, the ones who are truly running her career) handles this NASCAR deal. Right now they are absolutely set on her running Cup full time next year. But her progress in NWide has slowed to an absolute halt. She just looks lost out there, only on the plate tracks does she look remotely like she belongs. With the tougher cars and much more stacked fields in Cup, she will be a moving roadblock. She needs to make some serious strides fast. 126. LordLowe posted: 03.26.2012 - 4:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't know who to blame for this race being so horrendous the drivers, the cars or maybe a combination of both. 127. 10andJoe posted: 03.26.2012 - 5:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Martinsville entry list is out. 45 cars are listed: - Bliss in the #19 - Schrader in the #32 - Gaughan in the #33, although we know Hermie Sadler will actually drive the car - Sorenson in the #74 128. murb posted: 03.26.2012 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I see you guys are talking about which drivers have the opportunity to be stars of the future. The main guys that I see becoming Cup "superstars" in the next few years are Bayne, Stenhouse, and Austin Dillon. However, there is one problem with Trevor Bayne. He needs to leave Roush. There is no way that he is gonna survive over there. It is way too unstable sponsorship wise, and to me, he's never really fit in over there. I think a great place for Trevor would be somewhere like Earnhardt-Ganassi. It's a small, pretty competitive organization, and I think if he went to place like that he could become a focal point. Or, maybe if Dodge decides to form a factory backed super-team next year (I can wish, can't I?), he could end up being their main driver. As for Stenhouse, I see him staying at under the Roush umbrella. But with Jack's seemingly terrible business and sponsorship skills, they would obviously need a sponsor. So I don't know. But I think he has the driving ability and the smarts to one day be a Cup champion, if given the right opportunity. And I think Austin Dillon is in the best situation out of these three. Obviously, having your grandfather as your team owner is a huge advantage. So I see him finishing out the next two or three years in NNS, and then moving up to Cup in 2014. Or, if Jeff Burton retires before that, he would probably just wind up in the 31 car. So I think these are the three guys to watch in the coming years. Brad Keselowski has been a major refreshment, and he is definitely going to be one of the faces of the sport for years to come. And I wouldn't give up on AJ Allmendinger just yet either. He's had a slow start over at Penske so far, but remember how Brad started out there in 2010? If Roger had faith in Brad, I guarantee you he won't give up on AJ that soon. 129. Talon64 posted: 03.26.2012 - 5:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tony Stewart now has multiple wins in 13 of the 14 seasons he's competed in Cup. His 164th career top 5 moves him past Dale Jarrett into 18th on the all time list. Interestingly, they're also both 18th and 19th in career top 10's (268 and 260 respectively). It's his 2nd career win at Fontana, both coming in the last 3 races; it makes him just the 4th driver to win multiple races there (Jimmie Johnson 5, Jeff Gordon & Matt Kenseth 3). It's his 6th top 5 and 12th top 10 there overall in 21 starts (13.5 avg fin) but his 5th top 10 in the last 6 races (6.2 avg fin). Stewart now has multiple wins on 15 of the 23 tracks he's competed at in Cup (not including Kentucky). Kyle Busch picks up his first top 5 finish of 2012, and his 18th career runner-up finish which ties him with 4 other drivers, including brother Kurt, for 40th all time. It's also his first top 5 in 9 races, his last being a runner-up finish in the fall Charlotte race. Kyle finishes in the top 3 and leads the most laps for a 2nd straight race at Fontana, leading 231 of 329 laps. It's now the 3rd track that Kyle Busch has at least 10 top 10's at, and his first that's not a short track (12 at Richmond, 10 at Bristol). After finishing no higher than 8th with 2 top 10's in the first 5 races of 2011 (12th in points), Dale Earnhardt Jr. already has 2 top 5's in the first 5 of 2012 (3rd). It's his best start to a season since he joined HMS, and his best since he was 2nd in points after 5 races in 2004 (2 wins). It's just Dale Jr.'s 5th top 10 in 20 Fontana starts (20.8 avg fin), but his 3rd top 3 and 4th top 5. Kevin Harvick has yet to finish worse than 11th in 2012, picking up his 2nd top 5 in 5 races. He had just 1 top 5 in the last 9 races of 2011. Harvick had just 2 top 10's in his first 11 Fontana starts (20.1 avg fin) but has 7 in his last 8 including 4 top 5's (9.25 avg fin, includes a 38th place finish). Carl Edwards finishes 5th for a 2nd time in 5 races, his best finish of the season so far. By comparison, he already had 3 top 2 finishes at this point in 2011 and led the standings versus being 12th so far in 2011. It's Carl's 12th top 10 at Fontana, tied for his most at any track with Michigan, and 7th top 5 in 15 starts there (8.7 avg fin). But 5th is his best finish in the 7 starts since his only Fontana win (Feb. 2008). Greg Biffle stays on top of the points standings for a 3rd straight race with his T-series-leading 4th top 10 in the first 5 races of 2012. Surprisingly, it's just his 6th top 10 in 18 Fontana starts (17.2 avg fin). After back-to-back 21st place finishes to start 2012 (18th in points), 1 top 5 and 2 top 10's over the last 3 races (7.7 avg fin) has him up to 9th in points. It's his 3rd straight top 10 at Fontana; of his 7 career top 10's there in 18 starts (17.6 avg fin), 6 have come between two 3-race streaks. Martin Truex Jr. is off to the best start to a season of his Cup career, with 3 top 10's in 5 races to sit 5th in points; it's his 7th top 10 in 10 races dating back to last season. It's just his 3rd top 10 in 12 Fontana starts (20.1 avg fin). Kurt Busch picks up his first top 10 with Phoenix Racing, just the team's 12th top 10 in 196 career Cup starts and their first since Mike Bliss finished 10th in the 2010 spring Talladega race. It's also their first non-plate top 10 since Brad Keselowski finished 6th at Loudon. It's Kurt's 9th top 10 in 19 Fontana starts (12.7 avg fin). Since finishing 42nd at Daytona, Jimmie Johnson's gone from 37th to 9th in the standings on the strength of 4 straight top 10 finishes (now that his point penalty's been rescinded). It's his 10th consecutive top 10 at Fontana (3.3 avg fin) but bumps his career average there up to 5.4 in 18 starts. Denny Hamlin earned his 10th career Cup Series pole and first since the Martinsville Chase race in 2010. Kasey Kahne and AJ Allmendinger finish a season-best 14th and 15th respectively, their first top 15 finishes of 2012. 130. Scott B posted: 03.26.2012 - 5:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Robby Gordon is not entered at Martinsville, he's skipping the event after failing to make the field the last few races. Based on past performance, I don't think it's on his list of his favorite tracks, either. 131. cjs3872 posted: 03.26.2012 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, why should you be surprised that Hendrick seem to be down on speed, since that's been the case since late in 2010, but you're wrong about who's had the most speed at Hendrick. Kasey's had the fastest cars consistently, while Jimmie Johnson and Dale, Jr. have alternated between second and third. Jeff Gordon has been, on speed alone, by far the slowest of the Hendrick cars. It's just on driving ability and the car's handling that he's been able to overcome that, to a degree. But he's low man on the totem pole at Hendrick this year. Now, how he fares this weekend will tell the tale of how his season's likely to go. If he can't contend for the lead at Martinsville this week, he's in major trouble. And DSFF, it seems like you and murb are echoing many of my thoughts last year when it comes to drivers to watch in the future, including Trevor Bayne and his shaky future. I said this then, and I stand by this, that Stenhouse, Austin Dillon, Justin Allgaier, Bayne, and Cole Whitt are the best hopes for the future. I also brought it up then that it wouldn't surprise if Bayne winds up at Earnhardt-Ganassi if Roush has to release him due to sponsorship woes, which might also cost him his ride in the #21 later this year, since that may be tied to the Roush deal he has. Roush is doubtlessly grooming Stenhouse to run the #6 car next year, and the same goes for Austin Dillon and Childress by 2014. The curious tale here is Allgaier, who may have been on the fast track to Cup when he was at Penske a couple of years ago, but that trail has cooled since he's now with Steve Turner. And Cole Whitt is now, theoretically, a Hendrick development driver since he drivers for Dale, Jr. Might Hendrick eventually be grooming him to replace Jeff Gordon (or possibly Dale, Jr.) in the future? 132. Spen posted: 03.26.2012 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NadeauFan91: Hi DaleJrfan. Nice to see you back here. Not sure I'd call Richmond 2010 the 'worst ever'. Not a great race, not a dreadful one, just forgettable. Loudon 2000 would be a better candidate. Murb: I don't really see EGR as a viable career option for Bayne. For one thing, despite cjs's low opinion of him, Montoya will not be moving from that team until he decides he's tired of stock cars (probably in 2016). Ganassi and JPM have too much history together for him to be in any danger of being fired, and Juan knows (or should know) that no other car owner will touch him with a thirty-nine and-a-half foot pole, so he won't try to leave, either. That leaves the #1. Jamie Mac, Daytona and Brickyard wins aside, is more expendable. But I don't think Trevor Bayne would be on the short list for his replacement, for one big reason: EGR is quite dependent on RCR, and therefore has their hands tied to a certain degree. As I can see it, there are only two drivers who could concievably get that car next year: Regan Smith could get a chance to move up on the RCR sattellite ladder, or, if he wins the Nationwide championship, Elliott Sadler could make his 'glorious return' to Cup. Of course, Jamie could get things turned around this year, and end up keeping his ride, but I wouldn't count on it. I also don't think it would be a good career option because I have my doubts about EGR's long-term viability as a team. Not only do they lack a driver development program, it seems to me that since winning the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400, the team has been more or less nowhere. Is it possible that, having won the two most important races on the schedule, Ganassi feels like he's accomplished all he set out to accomplish in Cup, and is now using his Cup team solely as a means of financing his IndyCar operation? If I'm right, then there's a chance that sometime in the not-too distant future (say 2018 or so) he may pull out of NASCAR entirely, and focus completely on his IRL teams (which should pretty much own IndyCar for the foreseeable future.). If he pulls out, Teresa will likely not be able to keep the doors open herself (she'd still be viewed as a pariah to potential sponsors) and the team would go the way of Red Bull. 133. ii posted: 03.26.2012 - 7:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wasn't Tim Andrews supposed to be in the #19 this weekend? 134. cjs3872 posted: 03.26.2012 - 7:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Spen, the reason I have such a "low" opinion on Montoya as a NASCAR driver is that he really hasn't done anything in his years of running in NASCAR but win a couple of road course races (one of those being on fuel mileage), run over everyone in sight, and constantly get everyone he races with mad at him, which actually goes back to his IndyCar days. One of the first things he did in IndyCar racing was to get Michael Andretti mad at him for just about wrecking him in practice (I believe at Motegi, Japan). And while Montoya had trouble closing the deal in 2010, mainly because of his temper, Jamie McMurray won the sport's two biggest races and finished second in the other three, basically proving that Montoya can't get it done in the high-pressure world of NASCAR. I have a low opinion of Montoya as a NASCAR driver because he hasn't showed me proof to have a higher opinion of him. And NASCAR is low enough on teams with quality equipment right now, it can't afford to lose any more. Right now, there are only 35 or 36 cars intending to run the full race every weekend (37 when the Wood Brothers show up). If any more drop off the circuit, there will be more guaranteed spots than there will be teams intending to run the full race. One reason why there have been a total of six cautions the last two races, and why the number of cautions were down last year, has to do with all the start-and-parks, as there were six in last weekend's race, and there could be as many as eight to ten in select races later in the year. Those S&P's are decreasing the on-track traffic. For instace, there were only 36 cars on the track after the 50th lap in the Cup race at California and there were only 34 cars on the track at Bristol after the S&P's pulled off, and the big wreck happened on the 24th lap. The S&P's pulling off gives the drivers on the track more room to operate. Now this should not be the case at Martinsville, though again, there will likely be only 36 cars trying to run the distance, but the secrease in caution flags is, in my mind, directly related to the incresing number of start-and-parks, as well as the increase in the number of non-competitve teams trying to run the full distance. Aside from the six start-and-parks, the #49 car of Jay Robinson, which surprisingly has tried to run the full races so far this year, along with the BK Racing #83 and #93 cars just aren't competitve. Then there's the #13 car, which has done S&P's in a number of races in the last couple of years, ans well as the possibility of at least one of the two Front Row Motorsports cars that have tried to run the full races habing to do S&P's due to lack of sponsorship. In other words, there are really only about 25-28 competitve cars on the track this year that are trying to run the full schedule. To lose any of those (i.e. the Ganassi team) would be a serious detriment to the on-track product, which is struggling as it is, as the crowd of 70,000 at Auto Club Speedway, not the announced crowd of 90,000 would attest to. 135. murb posted: 03.26.2012 - 7:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Those are all great points, Spen. I probably should have been more clear with what I was saying. I basically meant that I think Trevor needs to go to a smaller, 2-3 car team where he can be a leader. EGR is basically the only current two car team out there that's worth a damn. Yeah, there's Stewart Haas, but there's no way that he could get one of those rides, especially since Danica's planning on running the third car full time next year. And yeah, there's the 20 car over at JGR. Logano has been on the hot seat over there for basically his whole tenure there, and has pretty much nothing to show for it. My somewhat far-fetched prediction for the 20 car is that Logano will be out at the end of this year. And since Kurt Busch is driving the KBM NNS car this year, he'll have some new ties to Toyota. So I wouldn't be surprised to see him over at the 20 Cup car next year, causing Joe and J.D. massive headaches by having both Busch brothers on the same team, lol. (Again, this is just something that I could see happening.) Another guy that I forgot to throw into my "guys to watch for the future" list is Parker Kligerman. He's got tremendous talent, but obviously he's probably gonna have to run a couple of full NNS campaigns before we can really see what he has. 136. cjs3872 posted: 03.26.2012 - 8:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Murb, Earnhardt-Ganassi is the only two car team that's worth a darn? Ever heard of the Penske team, because they, like EGR, are a two-car team. 137. LordLowe posted: 03.26.2012 - 8:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF why don't you skip work and attend the Martinsville race Instead 138. Anonymous posted: 03.26.2012 - 8:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Here's a weird stat: Jeff Gordon is the only driver to have led every race this year. 139. murb posted: 03.26.2012 - 8:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Murb, Earnhardt-Ganassi is the only two car team that's worth a darn? Ever heard of the Penske team, because they, like EGR, are a two-car team." Forgot them, lol. But I still don't see that as a place for Trevor to go anyway. Unless Allmendinger completely flops the rest of this year, then Trevor could end up there in '13. But like I said about Penske earlier, he gave Brad another chance after a disastrous 2010 season, and look what happened. So if AJ doesn't light it up at all the rest of this year, I'd really be surprised to see them give up on him that quickly. 140. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.26.2012 - 10:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I would skip work to go to Martinsville, but I requested that weekend off twice and was denied both times because appapently that is Spring Break weekend and they already had the maximum number of people off. If I just happen to get sick that night it will raise red flags. So to make up for it, I got tickets to the Darlington race. Still hate I'm missing Martinsville. And I agree Bayne needs to leave Roush. Hopefully JGR will put him in the #20 car next year. It will be a great fit. His nice calm demeanor to counteract Kyle and Denny's acerbic attitude towwards their teams. Plus Trevor and The Coach will have an instant bond due to their faith. I do't see Joey doing enough to hang around. Despite his best start yet, he is outside the Top 12. Time to pull the plug, or should I say "slice" the plug on the Logano experiment. 141. cjs3872 posted: 03.26.2012 - 11:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Anonymous (#138). Jeff Gordon may be the only one to have led every race this season, but I believe he's yet to lead a single lap under actual racing conditions. How he's led the first five races is that during a sequence of green flag pit stops, which there's been at least one of in each race, that he's just stayed out an extra lap or two to lead, then pitted. As I said before, if that doesn't change this weekend (about him not leading a single lap under racing conditions), he's in worse shape that even I thought. 142. Anonymous posted: 03.27.2012 - 1:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordon has had cars that could have won three of the first five races this year and all three times he's been eliminated from contention by things out of his control. Great run going at Daytona and blew an engine, top five car at Bristol and even battled for the lead before Jr. exhaust pipe cut his tire, and then last week drives from 21st to the top five without the help of a cuation and his pit crew takes equipment out of the box leading to an ugly chain of events there. If he just keeps running the way he's been running,they are going to start seeing some success soon. 143. Jason B. posted: 03.27.2012 - 1:39 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) If this week didn't prove to you that God exists, then you will be an atheist forever. Yes Nascar fans, God does exist, and he's a huge Jimmie Johnson fan. 144. LordLowe posted: 03.27.2012 - 1:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordon season has been a rough ride thus far and I don't see it getting any better. I think his career is about to take that roller coaster drop straight Down. 145. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.27.2012 - 6:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Lol Jason B, ain't that the truth! 146. Kelly posted: 03.27.2012 - 8:54 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Jeff Gordon season has been a rough ride thus far and I don't see it getting any better. I think his career is about to take that roller coaster drop straight Down." This logic doesn't make any sense to me. It's not like Gordon's running poorly. As post #142 points out, he's had cars that could have won three of the first five races before circumstances beyond his control eliminated him from the mix. This is exactly the type of season I would expect to get better. 147. cjs3872 posted: 03.27.2012 - 10:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Anonymous (#142) and Kelly (#146), Gordon's not had a car capable of winning this year. Now he's had cars capable of finishing in the top five three times, but he's not had a car capable of winning. The reason I say that is because he's not had a car fast enough to win, and to win, you have to show speed, and that's the one thing Gordon's cars have lacked this year, unlike his teammates. They seem to have everything else but luck going for them. And I also think that the #24 team may still be feeling the effects of what happened at Richmond last September. When you have something like that happen to you, the effects often take months, sometimes even a year or two to completely get over, and I still don't think they've completely gotten over what happened at Richmond last September. 148. Kelly posted: 03.27.2012 - 1:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm not so sure cjs. I've seen Gordon win numerous races where he only showed he had a top five car early in the race. He's notorious for just getting in contention, not showing his full hand (when he actually has a winning one), and then taking the prize. When Jeff Gordon is sitting around 5th at the halfway point of a race, I've learned to pay attention. It's helps explain why he's only lead the most laps in 4 of his last 11 wins. And I seriously doubt that an incident that happened on track last September is impacting this team's performance - especially since for the most part it's been good. There's been few on track incidents that have had more potential devistating consequences for a team than what happened to Jimmie Johnson on the last lap at Talledega in 2006 - Getting wrecked by your teammate, from the lead, just over a mile from the checkers is a nasty pill to swallow. From there, Jimmie finished no lower than 2nd in any of the next five races and finished no lower than 1st in any of the next five championsip battles. 149. cjs3872 posted: 03.27.2012 - 2:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kelly, I wasn't saying Gordon wasn't still feeling the effects of what happened at Richmond last September. I think Gordon himself has long since gotten over that race. I was saying his TEAM was still feeling the effects of what happened at Richmond. And could it be that his crash near the end of the Shootout, when he turned over for the first time in his Cup career, is having somewhat of an effect on him as well in the early part of this season? 150. LordLowe posted: 03.27.2012 - 2:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If there had been one more race in the 1995 season Earnhardt would have PWNED Gordon and won his 8th Championship 151. cjs3872 posted: 03.27.2012 - 3:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) LordLowe, I don't think there's any question about that, as Earnhardt had cut Gordon's lead from 309 to 34 in just the last four races. However, that may also have been a case of Gordon's team being ultra-conservative after their engine failure at Charlotte resulted in the first major cut in that points cushion. After that, they ran just to finish races, and still had a points lead big enough at Atlanta to where they had to beat just one car or lead just one lap. Even so, Hendrick entered two extra cars to virtually guarantee Gordon the championship, and even held one of those cars a couple of extra laps the pits for added insurance. As it turned out, Gordon did lead a lap during the first sequence of green flag pit stops to lock up the championship. In a bizarre twist, Ken Schrader, in another Hendrick car, blew an engine and was the first car out of the race. Then, running horrendously and with nothing to race for, several members of the #24 team traded places on a late race pit stop to add levity to the situation. But they earned the right to have a little fun on that day with their performance throughout the season. 152. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.27.2012 - 6:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 1995 was all Gordon's. The combination of HMS being on the cutting edge of the new Monte Carlo and Jeff finally putting it together as to how to put all that talent to maximum use in stock cars, and it was a rout. They were FAST. Dale actually had a better average finish, but got murdered in bonus points for laps led and most laps led. 153. Draco (Candraco) posted: 03.27.2012 - 7:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is somewhat of an advertisement but im looking for players to fill out a field in the racing-reference forums in our little fantasy game that has been running since 2009. I would love to see more players enter the game and with spots still open for the chase, someone could swoop in a take one and win the championship. if anyone is interested all you have to do is go to racing-reference.info/forums and sign up to the forums (if you havent already.) and go to the Sprint Cup section. It would be cool if legendary posters on this site made pre race predictions in this game to see how they stack up to players who have been playing for nearly 3 years now. 154. ch posted: 03.27.2012 - 7:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @134, BK and FRM will not S&P this year at all. Neither will the 37 of RWR if they EVER make a race... 155. 10andJoe posted: 03.27.2012 - 7:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^ Yeah, BK Racing has stated they -will-not- S&P. FRM...well, the 26 car has been starting and parking, but I assume the 34 and 38 are determined to run full races all the time. The 37 has run afoul of what I expected would happen. Everybody looked at the projected entry lists, went "hmm, short fields, we can get in easy!" and, thus, would up oversubscribing the fields after all. 156. NadeauFan91 posted: 03.27.2012 - 9:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @Spen, Yeah hi :D! I switched names cause someone else was using the same username near the end of last season and I thought I'd end any confusion. And I never saw the 2000 Loudon race (thankfully), I was just referring to the races I have seen. 157. BON GORDON posted: 03.27.2012 - 10:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon could've won Bristol and Daytona. Bristol he needed adjustments to loosten his car and Daytona he blew an engine. Daytona is a crap shoot anyway. Yes, Kenseth and Biffle had the fastest cars but lets say they have bad pitstops, gets mired in the bck and get in the BIG ONE. Than it's anyones race. Jeff Gordon can't have winning cars every week. Im sorry but I just see Bad Luck in Gordon's team. Blown Motor at Daytona where he could've easily got a Top Ten. He had a Top Ten car at Phoenix. Top five cars at Bristol and California only to have a cut tire and an unlucky break on a pit stop this past weekend and struggled only at Las Vegas. If he can get his luck turned around he will be a Top Ten team for sure. I believe he will win or at least finish podium this weekend at Martinsville. I see nothing similar in performance from Jeff Gordon this year and Dale Jr. in 2009. Sorry this comparison is wrong and Gordon will get things turned around, hopefully starting this weekened. 158. cjs3872 posted: 03.27.2012 - 11:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, BON GORDON, this week will tell us what Gordon's team has this year. If he's up front, where he normally is at Martinsville, then I believe there's hope for him this year, but if he struggles to run in the top five and isn't a factor for the lead, then making the Chase might be a stretch for them this year. But he hasn't had a car capable of winning on sheer speed yet this year. You're right that Kenseth and Biffle, along with Denny Hamlin, had the best cars in the Daytona 500, and that Gordon had top five cars at Bristol and California. What happened at Bristol was awful luck, but what happened at California had nothing to do with luck, but rather was a result of poor execution. He really wasn't that good at Phoenix, though scraped out a top ten there, and was terrible at Vegas. But worst of all for Gordon's fans is that his car has had no speed at all this year, as evidenced by his poor qualifying results so far. You can run in the top five without speed, but you can't contend for wins without speed. That was his problem in the second half of the 2008 season. His cars handled well, but had no speed, and he seems to be running into the same problem this year. That year, he began to remind me of Al Unser, Sr. when he drove for Penske in the mid 80s. His cars had no speed, but he always finished in the top five with them. Remember that Unser won two championships from 1983-'86, but only won twice in those four years, once each in his championship years of 1983 and '85, but he second and third placed everyone to death, and when the points were counted up at season's end, he had accumulated more of them than anyone else. That's basically what Gordon's been doing the last five years. His cars, except for the middle of last year, haven't had much speed, but he's been able to finish near the front with them. 159. BON GORDON posted: 03.27.2012 - 11:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Are you kidding me CJS???!!!! Gordon's team has speed. Maybe not for qualifying which is a problem but you cant run in the top five at California without speed. He struggled one time this year at Vegas and youre basing his struggles on that....come on oh and I guess qualifying. I dont give a damn how he freaking qualifies as long as he does what he did at California. And phoenix was not as much of a struggle as you think. He had an 8th place car and thats what he got. Ill take it. Youre way way way too negative over Gordon. He wont struggle this weekend. If he gets solid pit stops, avoids wrecks, avoids mechanical issues, and avoids flat tires then he will post a podium finish, PERIOD! 160. cjs3872 posted: 03.28.2012 - 9:27 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) BON GORDON, the reason I say Gordon lacks speed is that he has not really contended for the lead like his teammates have, and to contend for the lead, you must have speed. And why I base some of that on the fact that he's qualified in mid-pack is that he's always been a fast qualifier. If he was like Matt Kenseth or Jeff Burton, in other words, a notoriously slow qualifier, I wouldn't harp as much on his qualifying, but in qualifying, he's far off his teammates' pace, as well as being far off his usual pace, though he's almost certainly to going to make an appearance at the front this weekend at Martinsville. And as I've said, you can run fifth without any speed, if your car handles well, but without speed, you just can't contend for the lead. Actually, Gordon's was one of three most impressive cars to me in the race at Fontana before his pit road miscue. I do agree that he should be more of a factor this weekend at Martinsville, which I've believed all along. If he's not a serious factor at Martinsville, he's in more trouble than I thought. 161. murb posted: 03.28.2012 - 1:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As far as Gordon goes, I absolutely believe he has speed. At Bristol, he was a top five car, and probably would have challenged Brad and Kenseth for the win had he not gotten the contact with Jr. And he was fast at Vegas too for a little while before having problems. And of course he had the engine failure at Daytona. I'm fully expecting them to win one or two races before the checkered flag at Richmond in September. And I'm fully expecting them to make the Chase too, whether it's by getting in through the top ten or by getting a wild card spot. And speaking of Hendrick, I also believe Kasey Kahne is going to get back on track, and when he does, it might be scary. They've been one of, if not THE fastest car numerous times this year. I think once we get through Martinsville (not one of his best tracks) and move on to some of his best tracks like Texas, Kansas, etc, they'll pick up at least one win. 162. cjs3872 posted: 03.28.2012 - 2:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Murb, Bristol was the only place that Gordon actually made a run at the lead(other than Daytona where anyone can make a run at the lead if they wanted to), but Keselowski just wanted it a little bit more, and probably would have won, anyway. And isn't it interesting that, of the five races so far this year, the best car has won four of them, and Denny Hamlin was no worse than second or third-best when he won at Phoenix. And yes, Kasey Kahne will win a few races, including the Coca-Cola 600 for a third time, as I predicted before the season began. 163. LordLowe posted: 03.28.2012 - 3:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Okay CJS we get the point about gordon's year you don't have to sound like a broken record 164. 10andJoe posted: 03.28.2012 - 3:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Martinsville entry list update: -Hermie Sadler now listed in the #33 -Scott Speed added in the Means-Hamilton #52 165. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.28.2012 - 4:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) For the record, I still stand behind my Gordon 2012 champ prediction. 166. Eric posted: 03.28.2012 - 5:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs3872, I don't know about Kasey Kahne winning the Coca-Cola 600. You should wait after the Texas Motor Speedway and Kansas races to see if the 14 team still is still red hot on mile on a half tracks. If the 14 team wins at either the next two mile and half tracks tracks coming up, they have to be the favorite going into the 600. It goes goes to the fact Tony Stewart has won more than half the mile and half and 2 mile track races since the 2011 chase started and hasn't cooled off on that type of track. The 2nd the thing is Steve Addington led teams have won majors in may before. Kyle won the Southern 500 with Steve Addington as a crew chief and Kurt has won the 600 with Steve Addington. The other thing to look at is if Steve gets a good driver stock car driver in his prime starting with Jason Keller, his teams are known to be at the best before the last 10 races of a season. 167. cjs3872 posted: 03.28.2012 - 6:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Eric (#165), Kahne was my pick to win the 600 before the season started, because he's finally got a stable team who's talent is equal to his (though he hasn't shown it, yet), and because Charlotte's not only his favorite kind of track, but also because it's his best track. Let's not forget that Kahne has won the 600 twice, and might have won it a third time in 2009 if not for the rain. He also won the fall race there in 2006, as well as the 2008 All-Star Race (he shouldn't have even been in that race, but took full advantage of the idiotic fan vote). Tony Stewart may wind up being one of those guys, like Cale Yarborough and Bill Elliott, who were legendary drivers that won the fall 500-mile race (Cale won it three times and Elliott won it twice), but never won the 600, largely because of that extra 100 miles. (In truth, Stewart had the 2008 Coca-Cola 600 in the bag if not for a flat tire with three laps to go.) As for Stewart's crew chief Steve Addington, he's already won three of the crown jewels of the sport, the Coca-Cola 600 with Kurt Busch in 2010 (along with the All-Star Race that year) and both the Southern 500 and the spring race at Talladega (which I still consider one of the sport's crown jewels) with Kyle Busch in 2008. The only two he lack are the two biggest, the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400. Of note, no crew chief has ever won all five current crown jewel races, as far as I know. 168. Eric posted: 03.28.2012 - 7:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs3872, I don't forget about Kasey Kahne already won the 600 2 times. You shouldn't assume that I forgot Kasey about already won 2 the 600 2 times in his career a first place. At this point Stewart is the favorite despite the fact he never won the 600 before if he stays on his hot streak on 2 mile tracks and 1 and a half mile tracks. I didn't forgot about Kyle winning the spring race at Talladega with Steve. I didn't mention it because I don't consider that race a major. The thing thing with Stewart is if he is on a hot streak he is hard to beat. Stewart is on a hot streak with one and half mile and 2 mile tracks currently. Stewart Won 4 out the last 6 mile and half races on the cup circuit matter of fact starting at Chicagoland. The only mile and a half races he didn't win in that stretch is at Kansas and at Charlotte. The catch with Kansas and Charlotte is the fact Stewart has a different Crew Chief and the team right now appears stronger than it was last year with Stewart now with him having crew chief that he completely trusts. The truth is while the 14 only has 2 top 5's, they actually could have gotten a 3rd top 5 at Phoenix. 169. LordLowe posted: 03.28.2012 - 8:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This season thus far has been a real downer. Mediocre racing, Two races that have been delayer or shortened due to rain and worst of all no more of those fantastic starting lineups by Brock Beard. I know why he no longer does it anymore and wish him well on his future goals but it will be something that will be sorely missed. 170. cjs3872 posted: 03.28.2012 - 9:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No, I didn't asume that you had forgotten that Kasey had won the 600 twice. Quite the opposite, actually. But there are those that might have forgotten that he had won it twice and could have won it a third time in 2009 before the rains hit, as he was about to take the lead from Kyle Busch. The way he's going, Stewart would have to be considered, if not THE favorite, one of the heavy favorites almost anywhere he goes, with the possible exception of Darlington, a track he doesn't really like. But Stewart's driving style might not be a good fit for the longest race on the circuit, even tohugh he had the 2008 race locked up until a late flat tire. But let's also not forget (and a lot of people don't Know this) tht the Coca-Cola 600 is such a difficult race to win, because of the extra 100 miles, that legends like Cale Yarborough and Bill Elliott, who combined for five wins in the fall 500-mile race, never won the 600, though they both finished second more than once. Stewart is not one that likes to conserve either his equipment, or himself, and that works against him in those extra 100 miles. On the other hand, drivers like Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton, Jimmie Johnson, and Kahne, all of whom are known for comserving their equipment, have each won the event more than once, with Gordon and Johnson both three-time winners. Another reason I like Kahne is the team he runs for. Hendrick Motorsports has won the Coca-Cola 600 a record nine times, a mark nobody else even comes close to, and nearly won a tenth last year. Aside from Gordon's and Johnson's three wins each for Hendrick, Darrell Waltrip also won the event twice for Hendrick and Casey Mears won the event in 2007 for Hendrick on the 28th anniversary of his Uncle Rick's first Indianapolis 500 win in 1979. No other car owner or team has more than four wins in the 600. (Petty Enterprises/Richard Petty Motorsports, the Wood Brothers, Richard Childress Racing, Roush Racing, and Holman-Moody all won it four times.) 171. LordLowe posted: 03.28.2012 - 9:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hendrick almost came close to winning the 600 for a tenth time last year when Dale Jr ran out of fuel leading the race within sight of the checkered flag 172. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.28.2012 - 10:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Dega race was a big deal when Winston sponsored it. They used to run the Winston 500 the first week of May, then a second race at Dega on the last week of July called the Talladega 500 then the Die Hard 500. The May race was a big deal because it was the fastest race of the year. That was the weekend the top qualifying mark of the year would be set (culminating with Awesome Bill's famous 212 mph lap in '87 a few days before Bobby Allison came sickeningly close to flipping into the crowd). It really became a big deal once The Winston Million program came about. That kept its momentum up even as restrictor plates limited the speed the cars would run. Even though it was still the fastest race, once you have seen 212, 199 just is anticlimatic. But the money kept it big, plus the fact the Series sponsor was sponsoring the race. Then, in either '97 or '98, they finally decided holding a race in Alabama in late July when the temperature was always in the high 90s (which kept the qualifying speeds in that race down) was a bad idea. They also got rid of the old Winston Million program and did the No Bull 5 thing where in 5 designated races, 5 drivers could win $1 million for themselves and a fan. They made the May race the Die Hard 500 and the Fall race (now in October) the Winston 500 and made it a No Bull Million race. Then that race became a bigger deal. Then Winston quit sponsoring any races starting with 2001 (fitting that the face of the Winston era, Dale Earnhardt, won the last ever Winston 500 and a $1 million bonus) and although it remained a bonus race until 2002, it quit being such a big deal. So I guess it depends on how you look at it. Of Earnhardt's 10 Dega wins, only 3 were the May race ('90, '94, and '99), but the '99 one was the Die Hard 500. He won the Winston 5000 four times ('90, '94, '99, '00). Half of his wins there were in the suffocating heat of the old July race '83, '84, '90, '91, '93). I just have a hard time looking at anything called the "Aaron's 499" (the race is actually 501 miles!!) As a crown jewel. And this is a Brad K fan! Although that will be put to the test this May for the Bojangles Southern 500. I love eating at Bojangles, but that is a cheesy name for such a great race. Of course Dale won 3 times in the Heinz Southern 500 (ketchup? Really?). And then there is the question of does it count like a true Labor Day Southern 500? I think so. It is still Darlington and it is still 500 long grueling miles. But some disagree. And of course there is the fact that Smoke is a two time winner of the Allstate 400 at The Brickyard (what the hell?). Jeez, now the Aaron's 499 doesn't sound so bad. Well, it still does, but it is in good company. 173. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.28.2012 - 10:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Winston 5000? I hit the 0 key too many times on my phone. Robby Gordon, eat your heart out, you may have won the Baja 1000 about 27 times, but NASCAR guys survived 5000 miles of restrictor plate racing! 174. murb posted: 03.28.2012 - 11:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hey DSFF, just wait until Indy this year when it will be the Crown Royal "Your Name Here" 400 at the Brickyard, lol If we are talking about major races, I think one of the "newer" races that is a big deal is the Labor Day 500 miler at Atlanta. Atlanta has always been a favorite amongst the drivers and the fans. So now, since that race is the only Atlanta stop on the tour now, I would think that it would be a big one for the teams to win. Especially after last year's epic race there between Jeff and Jimmie. 175. 18fan posted: 03.28.2012 - 11:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think if the Labor Day race wasn't a night race it would resemble the Southern 500 quite a bit being in the grueling heat on a Sunday afternoon. But, except for the 5 year span that the Labor Day race was in California(my home track that I've now been to 4 times), the Labor Day race has always been a big deal and I like the fact that it is in Atlanta because of the similarities to when the race was in Darlington(with the obvious exception being that the Atlanta race is at night). 176. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.29.2012 - 12:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Excellent points. You are right, last year's epic battle to the finish between the two greatest active drivers on tires that were WORN THE F**K OUT may have pushed the Labor Day Atlanta race into really big deal category. Plus they now have Sprint's new million dollar promotion. And yeah, I am really not looking forward to the Crown Royal Presents The Urinating On A Century Of Tradition And Glory 400 at the Once Hallowed Brickyard. Bad racing, six digits worth of empty seats, a Nationwide race the day before that everyone knows should have been at IRP, and having to hear "defending race champion Paul Menard" (no offense to him, but he killed any NASCAR mystique by winning there) over and over. It will be a bad weekend. Unless Brad wins. 177. LordLowe posted: 03.29.2012 - 2:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) IMO the Atlanta Event last September was the best race of the year by far. 178. 10andJoe posted: 03.29.2012 - 4:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Speaking of stomping all over tradition...let's throw in switching the Firecracker 400 (Pepsi 400 was OK, but then it became Coke...!) from 11am on Saturday to under the lights to that mix. 179. cjs3872 posted: 03.29.2012 - 10:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) But 10andJoe, the reason that event was switched to a prime time affair was so that it could be televised live on network television. Remember that the Firecracker 400 was the last of the old events ever to be shown live, due to it's start time. After all, 11 AM Eastern time is 8 AM Pacific time, and the networks were never going to show that race live at that hour of the day. That's a major reason why, even when it was held on a Saturday, that ABC never showed the event live, but rather showed a condensed version of the event on Wide World of Sports. It wasn't until ESPN got the rights to show it in 1989 that the Firecracker 400 was ever shon live. I believe it's also for that reason that it wasn't until 1986 that the Indianapolis 500 was shown live, because a live showing would also have had to start at 11 AM Eastern time, 8 AM Pacific time, and that's something that ABC just wouldn't do, which is why they showed it on tape delay in prime time through 1985. 180. 10andJoe posted: 03.29.2012 - 1:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, then, if I may invoke the wreched hive of scum and villiany that is TVTropes, the Firecracker 400 was Screwed By The Network. 181. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.29.2012 - 1:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I miss the old daytime Pepsi Firecracker 400s. The drivers at the end were so worn out from heat exaustion it really showed what they went through. Every now and then I watch the post race of the 1993 Pepsi 400 on YouTube. Earnhardt damn near passes out in the middle of his interview. Also I'll watch the 1991 post race of that race. Awesome Bill, although obviously elated to get a win in what had been a miserable year to that point (only Handsome Harry had a "career year" that year, and that was with a second tier team), he could barely talk, his face, normally whiter than a vampire's ass, was redder than his hair, and he was frantically dumping ice down his uniform which probably vaporized on impact. It was a hell of a race! 182. 10andJoe posted: 03.30.2012 - 6:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And this just in: the #33 team and points are being purchased by Joe Falk. 183. Daniel posted: 04.14.2012 - 9:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Out using the fastest 43: #32 Ken Schrader In using the fastest 43: #7 Robby Gordon 184. the_man posted: 05.06.2012 - 8:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Ragan on a 31st place finish: "We made some improvements. I think our car had a little bit of speed to it, so it was definitely better today at the start of the race than it was yesterday. I think everybody was thinking about half-way. We don't want to be here on a Monday, but this racetrack is a product of green-flag racing. You've got five lanes wide and it's two miles long, so you've got plenty of room where you don't really have to race one another hard. You can really just kind of race yourself, so it was fun to go on that long of a green-flag run. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad we got to halfway." 185. ch posted: 07.18.2013 - 3:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #26 Sponsor: MDS Transport (consistent with all 2012/2013 starts) 186. Newt posted: 11.08.2013 - 10:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JJ Yeley's #49 should be listed as a Toyota, not a Chevrolet. 187. Anthony posted: 03.07.2015 - 6:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is the shortest Sprint Cup race in terms of minutes elapsed in a long long time. 188. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 07.23.2015 - 5:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor Updates #27 CertainTeed/Menards #29 Jimmy John's #30 Inception Motorsports #32 U.S. Chrome/Southern Pride Trucking/ 1 Less Than 2 Ltd. #39 U.S Army ROTC #42 Target/Cottonelle #51 Phoenix Racing #87 NEMCO Motorsports #88 Diet Mountain Dew/7-Eleven #98 Phil Parsons Racing 189. NASCARLover22 posted: 12.24.2015 - 3:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor updates: #55 Aaron's Dream Machine #78 Furniture Row/Farm American #19 Ironclad 190. Rich posted: 12.19.2020 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip were the commentators. Dr. Dick Berggren, Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum and Krista Voda 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: