|| *Comments on the 2012 Irwin Tools Night Race:* View the most recent comment <#423> | Post a comment <#post> 1. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.24.2012 - 7:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As a Brad fan, I sure am glad it rained. His qualifying has been putrid lately. Don't think he would have got 2nd had it not rained. And it is cool seeing the 2000 throwback Rusty scheme. Yeah I would have rather seen the black and gold MGD scheme, but that one is cool. 2. Jarrett88fan posted: 08.24.2012 - 8:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) In practice, She who shall not be named was 47th out of the 47 cars, but gets the 43rd and final starting spot thanks to TBR and Reutimann. Casey Mears gets his first pole since Chicagoland 2007. Congrats to Germain Racing! 3. Schroeder51 posted: 08.24.2012 - 8:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It is going to be...very interesting, to say the least, to see Mears on the pole. 4. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.24.2012 - 8:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good job Justin. You made a fixable situation into a disaster. 5. JG24FanForever posted: 08.24.2012 - 8:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Black #3 involved in an incident at Bristol? 6. Paul posted: 08.24.2012 - 8:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Man, Justin Allgaier sure looked like a geek in that crash. Austin Dillon slipped up and hit him, and Allgaier wrecked himself trying to catch up to and show Austin his displeasure. Rain washing away the rubber contributed to his geekiness. 7. murb posted: 08.24.2012 - 8:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Cool to see Casey get the pole. That team has done a nice job running all of the races for the most part and not being a start and park. Austin Dillon has really been getting on my nerves lately, and this incident just adds to it. But Justin certainly didn't help himself with that attempted retaliation. 8. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.24.2012 - 8:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Don't know about the racing, but the Bristol mayhem seems to be back. 9. JG24FanForever posted: 08.24.2012 - 8:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I like the "New" Bristol more than the previous iteration. But i'd give anything for the Concrete track to return. 10. JG24FanForever posted: 08.24.2012 - 8:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^^ Original Concrete. 11. New14 & 88Fan posted: 08.24.2012 - 8:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wonder how long Mears will stay front before dropping back, granted he was fast in practice but conditions are gonna be much different for the race especially after the rain and tonight's Nationwide race. 12. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.24.2012 - 8:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I know everyone has bad nights, but Justin is just looking like a dumbass. 13. JG24FanForever posted: 08.24.2012 - 8:40 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Bristol has a way of making people look stupid. 14. murb posted: 08.24.2012 - 8:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, another caution. This might be a double digit night. 15. Dave #38 Fan posted: 08.24.2012 - 8:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) i've heard that since this was a rainout pole, casey mears will NOT be in the shootout next year. does anyone know if that's true? 16. jracingfast posted: 08.24.2012 - 8:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) How many wrecks is this for the 11 tonight.:....and so far I'm liking the new old bristol 17. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.24.2012 - 9:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think most of the mayhem tonight can be attributed to a slick track. A car can still hog the higher line and hold back a faster car. I don't like that. 18. Dodge posted: 08.24.2012 - 9:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To post 15: Yes, I heard that too and I believe it is right. 19. cjs3872 posted: 08.24.2012 - 9:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What's wrong with that, DSFF? That gives a car on the outside a chance to hold his position if he so chooses. After all, it is called racing, not wrecking, and the guys on the outside have the same right to his space as the guy on the inside has to his space. The real problem with that at a track like Bristol, as we saw Wednesday night, is because they have to run so tight at such a high speed, the aerodynamic effect that trying to run low has causes the air off the side of the car/truck will still tend to want to cause the inside car to spin out. 20. New14 & 88Fan posted: 08.24.2012 - 9:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Another spin, another yellow Slick track or not, this is definitely shaping up to be a classic Bristol race. 21. JG24FanForever posted: 08.24.2012 - 9:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "because they have to run so tight at such a high speed, the aerodynamic effect that trying to run low has causes the air off the side of the car/truck will still tend to want to cause the inside car to spin out." Hell yeah! The racing needs to be trickier.I'm tired of racing that doesn't involve any punishment for mistakes. 22. Jordan posted: 08.24.2012 - 9:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Run 10 laps green Run 10 laps under caution Repeat 12.5 times If it wasn't for that last little green flag run, this race could have passed for a parade. 23. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 08.24.2012 - 9:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "After all, it is called racing, not wrecking," Don't tell the folks in the peanut gallary that. 24. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.24.2012 - 9:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ESPN finally gives a shout out for Nelson Piquet's outstanding run in the Top 10 all night after t least 5 "ZOMG! Danica hasn't been lapped yet in any of these 10-20 lap runs, what a job!" reports. Next year is gonna suck. 25. cjs3872 posted: 08.24.2012 - 9:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Now JG24FanForever, I can't agree with you any more on that sentiment that mistakes should be penalized. However, I wouldn't necessarily call spinning out due to the aerodynamic effect of being on the inside of another car a mistake by the driver. And as for being on the outside, remember that with the lower horsepower of the trucks and Nationwide cars, it's a significant advantage to be on the outside, because it gives you a better run off the corners, plus it keeps the motor wound up. It may or may not be such an advantage tomorrow night with the high-HP Cup cars. Only time will tell on that. I know this. Drivers such as Darrell Waltrip would relish racing on the track as it is now, because the way you have to race is exactly how it was when he dominated there, and among drivers in the last 30 years, Darrell Waltrip was the greatest "thinking man's driver" of the whole group, which includes current drivers. 26. Schroeder51 posted: 08.24.2012 - 9:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Next year watching the Cup series is going to be a REAL chore. They're going to be hugely praising Danica anytime she runs better than 25th place... 27. JG24FanForever posted: 08.24.2012 - 9:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well cjs3872 Some drivers can drive through difficult conditions better than others, and the kind of racing we've had in recent memory has been geared more towards engineering and less about driving. My point about the penalty for mistakes was aimed at the fact that average drivers can look better than great drivers with the way racing has become, and in the situation they have at Bristol right now it can separate the wheat from the chaff. Some what... 28. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.24.2012 - 9:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The praise laid on her for running 15th to 17th all night and not getting lapped in an NWide race is ridiculous. Have they even said Cole Whitt's name except when Bayne roughed him up? 29. Cooper posted: 08.24.2012 - 9:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You know when you were a kid and you would get a participation trophy for sucking? That's Danica Patrick. Danice Patrick wins the participation ribbon! 30. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.24.2012 - 9:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) John Wrecks Weekly 31. New14 & 88Fan posted: 08.24.2012 - 9:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick just ran out of gas under yellow, hopefully this doesn't come down to fuel mileage. 32. The Final Gear posted: 08.24.2012 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race has been boring. Good racing but boring IMO, maybe it's because I'm watching preseason football at the same time. I had to lol at the speeds of first practice. Danica was so far off the rest of the field. She's going to be 15 laps down at the end of the race if she doesn't have an accident. 33. murb posted: 08.24.2012 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) John Wes was running okay earlier. He was like 13th at one point I saw. Looks like a loose wheel caused that one. You can definitely tell how much narrower the track is. It's crazy how hairy it gets when they get in lapped traffic. Harvick just ran out of gas. I can't believe how many times this has happened this year. 34. cjs3872 posted: 08.24.2012 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well DSFF, Townley had a broken right front wheel, but he had hit the wall previously. Now the question is, what caused what? 35. murb posted: 08.24.2012 - 9:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Now I'm just pulling for anyone but Logano. Hopefully Kyle or somebody will give him a good run. 36. David posted: 08.24.2012 - 9:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No offense to anyone, but is it impossible to call John WES TOWNLEY by his real name? I understand the rationale behind his nickname, and that it is fun to say, but it seems like just about nobody calls him by his given name. 37. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.24.2012 - 9:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Seriously, this is getting ridiculous by ESPN. Cjs, when you have the track record of John Wrecks Weekly, you don't get the benefit of the doubt. 38. New14 & 88Fan posted: 08.24.2012 - 9:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To her credit, she's kept the car in piece and moving up from 34th to the top twenty isn't as easy as it sounds. Especially at a short track like Bristol where the leader can run you down and lap you pretty quickly if you start out back and don't move up fast enough. 39. The Final Gear posted: 08.24.2012 - 10:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #38 When half of them have half the funding of you and that includes start and parkers, that's not impressive at all. 40. murb posted: 08.24.2012 - 10:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Another reason why I've been annoyed by Austin Dillon lately. Just took out the 60 and the 38. 41. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.24.2012 - 10:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Finally a Ryan Blaney mention. 42. JG24FanForever posted: 08.24.2012 - 10:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Black #3 involved in an incident at Bristol again? This kid sucks. 43. Jordan posted: 08.24.2012 - 10:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've lost most of the respect I had for Austin Dillon after the way he's raced here. That's AT LEAST the second time he's bumped someone out of his way out of frustration for not being fast enough to pass. 44. MarkMartinFan posted: 08.24.2012 - 10:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Austin needs to take a step back and realize that just because he drives a black #3 car, that doesn't make him Dale Earnhardt. You can't rattle cages anymore. 45. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.24.2012 - 10:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Finally a Cole Whitt mention. Only took 246 Top 10 laps. 46. The Final Gear posted: 08.24.2012 - 10:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Nationwide Series: If you aren't a cup regular or Danica Patrick, you don't matter. 47. murb posted: 08.24.2012 - 10:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Same here Jordan. Good race, lame winner. 48. New14 & 88Fan posted: 08.24.2012 - 10:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Another N'wide win for Slice Bread whoopie -_- 49. murb posted: 08.24.2012 - 10:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So when she finishes 20th or worse she gets an interview, but when she actually gets a top ten she doesn't? 50. Jordan posted: 08.24.2012 - 10:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Remember the days when if a Nationwide series winner was in the Sprint Cup race, you would consider him a threat to win? I don't know what it is about Logano, but it's almost like he's two different drivers. Maybe he can't handle the pressure of the big stage, or maybe it's that he's just not as good of a driver as he appears to be in the far superior Gibbs Nationwide cars. I don't think it's fair to say he's topped out, but he's had enough opportunities at Gibbs to show the ability to be a contender in Sprint Cup. He deserves a chance still, I just don't think at Gibbs. I'm not sure what other options he could have at this point though, as Hornish has been impressive and even if he doesn't get the #22 ride, he deserves it. 51. cjs3872 posted: 08.24.2012 - 10:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well DSFF, we don't know what caused what in the case of Townley's crash. It could have been wall contact that knocked the right front loose, or it could have been the whell coming off that caused that whole situation, we just don't know. I also don't know why Austin Dillon had such a problem with orange cars tonight, because in both incidents he triggered, he spun out orange cars, and that's so out of character from him. But not out of character of Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., who just about wrecked Elliott Sadler to get second place, an incident that dropped Sadler to fifth, and trust me, we haven't heard the last about this. That incident could have real serious implications in terms of the championship, especially when a guy like Kevin Harvick could be looming in Stenhouse's future, and we know that, with Harvick, if you mess with another RCR driver, that he WILL even the score at some point. Shame for Trevor Bayne, who was driving his usual methodical race before he got flat taken out by Dillon. Like I said, with Bayne being Roush's driver in the Nationwide Series next year, we most likely won't see it win more than a race or two, but he won't generally make mistakes on the track that might cost him. If he wins the championship next year, it will most likely be a Labonte-style championship, as Trevor likes to run off the lead, conserve his equipment and make his move late, rather than run up front during the race, even admitting so last year. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if Roush's team didn't win any races next year, but finish in the top 5-8 more than anyone else with Trevor driving. 52. JG24FanForever posted: 08.24.2012 - 10:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is Kyle Busch's 218th Top 3 finish in Nascars three Major series. I'm not sure why the media haven't made a big deal out of the fact that when Kyle Busch gets his next win he'll have as many as David Pearson for 2nd in Nascars total National Touring series(Convertible included) Top 7 All-time winners: Richard Petty 201--His first ever Nascar win was in a Convertible in Canada. David Pearson 106--He had a single Busch series win. Kyle Busch 105--I know every one on here hates this stat. Darrell Waltrip 97--His nickname shoulda been "Mouth" Dale Earnhardt 97--4 IROC Championships to go with everything else. Mark Martin 96--5 IROC Championships to go with everything else. Jeff Gordon 90--Really sucked in IROC. one more note: Curtis Turner won 38 out of 79 total Convertible race starts. 53. JG24FanForever posted: 08.24.2012 - 10:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^^^ Gordon has 91 I totally forgot that Gordon had a win this year... 54. Benjamin Lowe posted: 08.24.2012 - 10:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Okay Stenhouse prove your usefulness and knock Logano out of the lead. 55. Benjamin Lowe posted: 08.24.2012 - 10:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR should dump ESPN and find a different Network provider 56. Spen posted: 08.24.2012 - 10:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Pearson, Waltrip and Allison would have a lot more if we counted the old Sportsman series. 57. cjs3872 posted: 08.24.2012 - 10:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JG24FanForever, as slow as Gordon has been, leading only three races under full racing conditions (the race he won not being among them), that can certainly be forgiven. You know that the main focus of Hendrick Motorsports the next three weeks should be on the #24 car, to get it another win and get it in the Chase. And speaking of Kyle Busch, I mentioned what Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. did to Elliott Sadler coming to the white flag, but I forgot to mention that on the prior restart, he about ran Kyle into the wall in turn one. That's one sleeping giant you DO NOT want to wake up. And one reason that Jeff Gordon did not do well in IROC was because the IROC series did not play to Gordon's strengths, which was adjusting a car through the race. And actually, neither Richard Petty or Darrell Waltrip did particularly well in the IROC series either, as like Gordon, neither King Richard or DW won an IROC title. Like Gordon, the IROC series did not play into Petty's or Waltrip's strengths, either. That plus the fact that every one of the first six IROC series was won by an IndyCar driver (Mark Donohue, Bobby Unser, A.J. Foyt twice, Al Unser, and Mario Andretti) was why they didn't win an IROC title. The first NASCAR driver to win the IROC title was Bobby Allison in 1980, then it didn't return until 1984, when Cale Yarborough won it. Waltrip's closest brush came in 1985, when he finished tied with Harry Gant, but lost a tie-breaker to Gant. The only driver ever to win the IROC title and the NASCAR Cup championship in the same year was Dale Earnhardt, Sr., who did it in 1990. 58. Paul posted: 08.24.2012 - 10:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Trevor likes to run off the lead, conserve his equipment and make his move late, rather than run up front during the race" That's exactly how he won the Daytona 500 and the Nationwide race at Texas last year. Up until the last part of that sentence, Bayne sounds a lot like his hero Jeff Gordon. The one thing that could cost him a championship next season are how the other drivers race him, as evidenced by Austin Dillon wrecking him tonight and Kevin Harvick wrecking him at Richmond last fall. Compared to Stenhouse, Bayne is more mature, races conservatively, and doesn't make any brash moves that could damage his car. But one thing he lacks is the tenacity to run up front and pay back other drivers who do him wrong, while Stenhouse has both of those traits. We saw that just last week when he went all or nothing to take the lead away from JV; he failed, but at least he tried. And also, Stenhouse has earned the respect from his fellow drivers, who are more hesitant to mess with him, knowing that he will pay them back later. Bayne obviously hasn't done that. Despite winning the Daytona 500, punks like Harvick and Dillon don't hesitate to take him out, whether it was deserving or not. If Bayne wants that respect, he's going to have to show the other drivers that he's not someone they want to mess with. I've heard stories about Dale Earnhardt taking advantage of younger drivers, but then backing off once they stood up to him. We saw some evidence of that when Bayne bumped Dillon under caution, but he may need to do more than just that. cjs, you mentioned how Harvick defends his fellow RCR drivers when they've been wronged (except of course when he's the one at fault). Could it be possible that Stenhouse heard over the radio that Bayne had been wrecked by Austin Dillon, and thus Stenhouse took out Elliott Sadler, Dillon's teammate? If that's the case, then Stenhouse really shouldn't be messed with because now you're not only endangering your own car, but your teammate's as well (or worse yet, their championship hopes). 59. cjs3872 posted: 08.24.2012 - 11:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Benjamin Lowe, funny you mention the broadcast because I've watched a lot of the 1987 spring race at Atlanta on YouTube. That was one of the 500-mile NASCAR races (if not the first) ABC televised live from start to finish. Jim Lampley and Sam Posey called that race with Jerry Punch and Jerry Gappens (who's now in charge of the New Hampshire Motor Speedway) working the pits. That broadcast puts all those today, regardless of network, to shame. Though there was not much action for the lead for most of that race (Dale Earnhardt dominated, as was the case for the first two-thirds of that season, until electrical problems knocked him six laps off the pace), there was more insight on racing on that broadcast than you get in three months of broadcasts, as well as stories about some of the competitors. For instance, during the middle stages of that race, Posey actually timed Dale Earnhardt from the entrance of turn three to the exit of turn four (it took him three attempts to get it right), then did the same with Richard Petty, and it was figured that Petty was losing a tenth of a second in that part of the track, and Posey figured that if lost the same amount through turns one and two, as well as some time on the straightaway, that he would lose a quarter of a second each lap to Earnhardt, and they mentioned that meant that for every four laps, he would lose a second. Jim Lampley even quipped that he ould be about the distance from his hometown to Earnhardt's hometown over a full 500 miles. Posey also told a story about how Benny Parsons once let him drive his car around Daytona just to see what it felt like to drive a stock car on the high banks there, and of course with Parsons doing so well that day (he almost won), Tim Richmond's name was brought up, and Posey mentioned how Richmond, without provocation, once took a swing at him after a broadcast of a race he had done. You just don't see and hear things like that in today's broadcasts of racing, because it's all about entertainment and self-promotion, and much less about the on-track product. One thing the people doing the races back then did was that they focused more on the human beings driving and crewing the cars than they ever do now. That's why the broadcasts back then run circles around (no pun intended) the broadcasts of today. And also, they seemed to have a lot more fun broadcasting the races back then, the commentators often quipped about things during the course of the race. And Jim Lampley and Sam Posey really seemed to enjoy that part of it in the races I've seen that they called. 60. JG24FanForever posted: 08.24.2012 - 11:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "You know that the main focus of Hendrick Motorsports the next three weeks should be on the #24 car, to get it another win and get it in the Chase." Good God I hope so! Apparently Hendick had a team meating at the beginning of the season and told all present that his goal was to get all 4 teams into the Chase for the first time, but with the way things have gone for Gordon it doesn't seem Hendrick is helping him out very much. 61. Paul posted: 08.24.2012 - 11:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "But with the way things have gone for Gordon it doesn't seem Hendrick is helping him out very much." I get that same feeling too. I think all thr excitement surrounding Jimmie Johnson getting HMS their 200th win and "the son Hendrick never had" winning again has taken up most of Hendrick's attention.The best thing Gordon has going for him is that these next 3 tracks aren't speed dependent; two of which are some of his favorite tracks. He's been pretty fast this weekend, so there's still some hope for the #24 team. 62. JG24FanForever posted: 08.24.2012 - 11:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Maybe Gordon's season is Smoke and Mirrors for maybe his career resurrection. I thought Gordon's 5th title was going to Happen at Homestead in 2004, it didn't. I thought Gordon's 5th title was going to happen after Charlotte in 2007, same. Last year I thought he would at least finally beat Johnson in the points after getting his ass stomped into the dirt by the 48 Team for 8 straight years, make that 9. The way Gordon's season has gone it may be that he wins a couple of the next 3 events and makes the Chase, then maybe..... 63. cjs3872 posted: 08.24.2012 - 11:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well JG24FanForever, he would be in the top ten in points, and thus in chase contention, despite his lack of speed, if not for some horrendously bad luck and four blown engines. And although it isn't surprising at a short track, Gordon was the fastest of the Hendrick cars, and Jimmie Johnson took Gordon's role as being horrendously slow. Johnson probably looked like Tony Stewart did at this same race last year, when Stewart was the slowest qualifier of all while teammate Ryan Newman won the pole. And Paul, I disagree slighlty with your assessment of Bayne. Sure he's a conservative driver, but he probably has more respect among the younger drivers from the older drivers than does anyone else for his conservative nature and the fact that he doesn't make any rash moves, a trait that wins respect faster than anything else does, because that tells the more experienced drivers that they can race around Bayne and can trust him not to do anything foolish. And he wants to succeed and has the fire to do so, but he's not going to do anything risky. As I said, Bayne's a low-to-medium risk, medium-to-high reward driver. And although you somewhat compared Bayne to his childhood hero Jeff Gordon, I compare him to some others that have driven for Hendrick Motorsports, namely Ricky Rudd, Benny Parsons, Terry Labonte, and even Darrell Waltrip, who's from the same general area Bayne's from. If I had to compare Bayne to anyone, it would be guys like Parsons, Rudd, and the Labonte brothers, because they were known for not doing anything risky and not tearing up equipment, but rather bringing the car home, and Bayne has that exact reputation. Each of those drivers was like that, a low-to-medium risk, medium-to-high reward driver. What Austin Dillon did tonight was totally out of character for him, and guys are going to have nights like that. Now Kevin Harvick, on the other hand, may be, along with Carl Edwards, the ultimate "Jekyll and Hyde" driver on the circuit, but he's a driver that likes to bully others, and always has been. Remember the incidents with Joey Logano two years ago? After the one at Pocono, Logano came back at Harvick, and he's not had a problem with Harvick since then. 64. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.24.2012 - 11:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The folks at BMS need to follow the sage advice of the fabled wiseman: Marvin Martian "Back to the old drawing board" 65. Daniel posted: 08.25.2012 - 12:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) In using fastest 43 from practice: #37 J.J. Yeley, #79 Kelly Bires, #91 Reed Sorenson, #95 Scott Speed Out using fastest 43 from practice: #10 Danica Patrick, #32 Ken Schrader, #87 Joe Nemechek, #93 Travis Kvapil 66. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 12:43 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) If Dale's alternator doesn't fail in that Atlanta race, then he shatters the modern era record with 7 straight victories. Of course if Geoff Bodine doesn't get spun by a lapped car at the Spring Martinsville race that year then he doesn't join the prestigious 4 in a row modern era club. Luck giveth and luck taketh away. Except in the Daytona 500. He got his dominating win in The Great American Race in '98, but after those first 19 years he deserved at least one lucky Daytona 500 win. Ditto for Rusty at The Brickyard where he never won. 67. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 08.25.2012 - 12:54 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 52. JG24FanForever posted: 08.24.12 - 10:24 pm ~~~~~~~ Top 7 All-time winners: Richard Petty 201--His first ever Nascar win was in a Convertible in Canada. David Pearson 106--He had a single Busch series win. Kyle Busch 105--I know every one on here hates this stat. ^ Funny, I don't mind the stat. It's cool to see new names get placed in the stat field as time goes on. Allthough I wont consider Kyle that great until he gets 106 wins in only combined Nationwide and Cup. The Nascar Truck series obviously wasn't around in the 50-80's, so Kyle gets an unfair advantage...I guess. ------------------------- Well, we've had two weeks of great and good/mediocre racing these last two weeks, won by guys I can't stand. Still, I should be happy, and in all reality, I am about that. But ugh...watching Bristol is going to be a chore now. Why the flying flashlight did we have to send Bristol to it's old crashing-everyone-to-advance-one-spot crap we had to deal with? Geez, I thought Bristol became a racing track! Side by side for ten laps! You didn't have to worry about two cars spinning unfolding into 5 other cars taking heavy damage, while the rest of the entire field is forced to stay 'red flagged' behind the mess. I know, we still have had those kinds of incidents with 'Racing' Bristol, but it was a lot more common at 'crashing' Bristol. And the nationwide race confirmed it for me. This is going to be...horrible. To an extent, yes, I enjoy crashes. But since the 2010 season or so, I've preferred racing over crashes. Not to mention that this is going to run the bills for the owners up to the freaking waterloo! I blame the fanbase that were this stereotype that you could find in bunches during the 90's. 'Dale Sr can not do a Fricking thing wrong even if he has wrecked 5 people in a race and wrecked the leader coming out of the last turn very unsportsmanlike *You know what race I'm talking about*! It doesn't matter, he's Dale Fricking Earndhart, and we want every race to be like the 2000 Winston 500, the 1998 Daytona 500, and the 1995 Goody's 500!' (If it's any consolation, there were alot of Jeff Gordon fans of that same caliber during the late 90's to the mid-2000's). Still, they wanted to see 'insane' racing action, which for them, is really just crashing constantly. Let's face it, the racing is going to be crap, there will be no real battles for the lead. So yes, I'll be watching Bristol. I'll watch, but probably only for the crash-entertainment of it, because the amount of racing will be almost 'null' I predict. Oh yeah, and we'll still have morons doing that speed up-slow down-speed up-slow down crap on Pit Lane. I'll make another stab at that, Darn Arvit, enforce a Pit Road Speed Limit for every square inch of the bloody Pit Lane with the exception of crash avoidance! And you'll probably hear me complaining about this later also. God, Talladega, Daytona, Bristol, all pretty much 'destroyed' within a year. And not to mention that I fear we can add Kansas to that list in a bit. Good Lord, and this had looked to be such a great season after the excitement of last year. It's a shame I don't get the channels to watch all the IZOD races with. Then again, who knows? We could all the sudden have good side-by-side racing tomorrow night, and fewer then 15 cautions? I'd be happy with that! My prediction on how Gordon's day will go south: Pit Road Speeding Penalty, and he might also get caught up in someone else's mess late. 68. Paul posted: 08.25.2012 - 12:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cjs, while Bayne's driving style has no doubt earned him respect from the veteran drivers, I think his "nice guy" attitude is what's made him a target for some guys. Not a target in the sense that they attack him, but that they feel they can get away with more because they know he's not going to do anything. I'll give Austin the benefit of the doubt only because he's not known for wrecking people, although he's shown periodically to have an attitude. You're right about Harvick leaving Logano alone after Logano got in his face after the 2010 Pocono race, but remember that Harvick also banged fenders with Jeff Burton at Martinsville under caution that same year because he felt Burton was robbing him of valuable points by not letting him pass. The fact that Harvick felt he could get away with roughing up a veteran like Jeff Burton, who may be the most conservative driver in NASCAR, I'm not surprised he's done the same to Bayne. I just think Bayne needs to show some edge, whether it be getting in another driver's face like Logano or talking with them behind closed doors like Burton. So while I give him a lot of credit for being a very mature young driver (being with the Wood Brothers certainly helps), when it comes to dealing with "pests," sometimes that's not enough. DSFF, they claimed to be going back to the drawing board after the spring race, but all they did was take a very dull eraser in hopes of fixing the mess they created. Rather than fixing the problem, they just covered it up. 69. joey2448 posted: 08.25.2012 - 1:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, I'm surprised cjs3872 hasn't even made a prediction about how Casey Mears starting on the pole will spell disaster for the rest of the field in the opening laps of the Cup race, and how Mears will be a roadblock and that there will be a huge wreck in the first 10 laps. He sure called it in this year's Coke 600 :) 70. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 08.25.2012 - 1:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) joey2448, I was asking myself the same thing on 'why is cjs not predicting a big wreck'? And Speaking of big wrecks, just saw that Wheelen Modified Big wreck on Wednesday...oh my gosh... 71. Bronco posted: 08.25.2012 - 6:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Wow, I'm surprised cjs3872 hasn't even made a prediction about how Casey Mears starting on the pole will spell disaster for the rest of the field in the opening laps of the Cup race, and how Mears will be a roadblock and that there will be a huge wreck in the first 10 laps. He sure called it in this year's Coke 600 :)" I too am surprised at that. There's still time to go before the Cup race, so he might still come back and say that, you just never know. 72. cjs3872 posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Fellow posters, one reason I don't have that particular opinion with Mears on the pole is that he's actually started Cup races from the pole before and has actually won a Cup race, so I don't think he would have the same problem. Remember that Casey once won the pole for the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis. The reason I was worried about Aric Almirola at Charlotte was the fact that the first time he started up front in a Cup race was on such a big stage, and I thought he would be overwhelmed by the fact that his first time starting up front was at such a big race. Of course, I was dead wrong about that. And DSFF, I brought up that spring Atlanta race in 1987 to show the differences in racing broadcasts then and now, because the broadcast of that race was far superior to anything you see now, because it was informative about the sport, entertaining without the commentators being self-serving, and interesting in terms of the stories that were told in that broadcast, as well as the commentators having fun calling the race, even quipping with each other. And ABC did the starting grid for that race the way it's supposed to be done. You don't see or hear any of that now, because they focused a lot on the people driving the cars, as well as trying to inform those watching about the sport back then, while they just focus on the big names and trying to promote themselves today. Sure there were gaps in that broadcast, such as the coverage of the huge crash involving several racing legends at about the one-quarter mark catching the commentators somewhat by surprise, but that broadcast was far superior to anything you see now, regardless of who's carrying the race, and that's what I was trying to point out. 73. 18fan posted: 08.25.2012 - 2:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Trevor Bayne will return to the Wood Brothers car next year part time in Cup while running a full Nationwide season. 74. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 3:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You know, this "New Bristol" isn't the "Old Bristol", but it is still way better than the "2007-2012 Bristol". The Truck and NNS races were actually pretty good as far as on track action went. So hopefully this Cup race can be similar. I think Casey Mears can do okay from the pole. You have to admit, that team has done a great job as far as running all the races and not being a start-and-park goes. Their switch to Ford this year has tremendously helped them. Casey isn't a great short track driver, but he usually doesn't make any dumb mistakes either. So if he just keeps the nose clean and the car runs solid, they can probably have a top 15 or even a top 10. Of course, the main focus of ESPN tonight will be Danica coming from 43rd starting spot. She did a nice job of not messing up in last night's NNS race. But these Cup cars are a whole different story, and I don't see her getting a top 20. Brad and Kyle are the two guys to beat without a doubt. My two darkhorses for the night are Kasey Kahne and Martin Truex, and I also think Jeff Gordon will run well just as long as the bad luck stays out of the way of that hideous Farmville paint scheme, lol. 75. David posted: 08.25.2012 - 3:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Pre-Concrete - Bristol I 1992-2007 - Bristol II 2007-2012 - Bristol III Current configuration - Bristol IV 76. joey2448 posted: 08.25.2012 - 3:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm not a fan of Farmville at all, but I do love the colors of Jeff Gordon's car nonetheless. Keselowski's retro Rusty Wallace paint scheme is also sweeeet to see! In reference to Brad's car, I wonder how many times Rusty Wallace will say, "That Miller Lite hot-rod is flat flyin' tonight!" Anyone wanna guess? I remember Casey Mears used to be terrible at Bristol. It seems he would be involved in a wreck every time the series raced there. Of course, he's improved over the years, so I think he'll do fine tonight, although I'm not predicting a top-10 finish by any means. But you never know. 77. cjs3872 posted: 08.25.2012 - 3:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well murb, I don't think Mears will do that well if they run the full race, but I think if they do run the full race, that they could salvage a top 20, if the attrition rate is above what it's been in recent Bristol races. However in recent races, they've been usually doing baely more than doing S&P's, running up to the time of their first pit stop, then parking the car becuse it's not an officially sponsored race for the team. It will be interesting to see what they'll do tonight, whetherthey'll try to run the full race, or whether they'll run up to the about the time when they would make their first pit stop, then park the car. But I don't think Mears will be a problem as far as starting up front goes, because if there's one thing he's not, it's erratic. 78. Benjamin Lowe posted: 08.25.2012 - 4:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hey DSFF I have a question for you. How did Big E avoid becoming an embarrassment like DW was in his final years and manage to make a comeback in his last year and look like he was going to be a contender for the championship until the fateful Final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 79. Spen posted: 08.25.2012 - 5:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Having a competitive team helps. 80. 10andJoe posted: 08.25.2012 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) >You have to admit, [Germain] has done a great job as far as running all the races and not being a start-and-park goes. They've S&P'd in four races this year, including three of the last five. 81. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 5:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There are a number of reason's Dale never became a weekly embarrassment. Even at his injured and slightly past his prime years of '97 thru '99 he was a 7th place driver over those years. Not horrible. Then he had surgery before the 2000 season and returned to the elite. So my first reason would be the fact he was simply the best stock car driver ever. Even with a struggling RCR organization and nagging injuries he was afraid to get fixed due to potential neurological damage, he finished 5th, 8th, and 7th in points. Wheras similar circumstances (organization down, old, injured) have sunk fellow legends such as Rusty, Darrell, Bill, Richard, and Mark to the bottom teens in points, he could still manage respectability. My second reason is that he never lost his edge, that competitive desire to win. In August of 1999 he was 48 years old, a 7 time champ with 70+ wins and at least every major race won once. Yet there he was at Bristol spinning Terry Labonte out to win another race. Dirty? Yes. But it also showed how bad he still wanted it. I have the feeling that drivers like Richard and Darrell were content in the end and just wanted to show up. Sure they still wanted to win, but they didn't have that maniacal drive they once had. A third reason is what ultimately took him from us. He never had any fear. He still put himself in whatever situation it took to get the job done. Right before his fatal wreck, he was in the middle of a three wide situation at Daytona. A past their prime Darrell or Richard never would have let themselves be in that position. And that hurt their results. And tons of other legends also avoided dicey situations in the end, and we even see that some today (Gordon alert! Gordon alert!). Add it all up, and you have somebody who had 22 full time seasons in Winston Cup, and in EVERY SINGLE ONE he either won a race or finished Top 10 in points. And his ability and attitude is what allowed his career resurgance to the elite in 2000 despite his advanced age, legendary status, and a career with a ton of injuries that usually scar others (Darrell was never the same after his Daytona '90 practice wreck, Richard was never the same after his 1988 Daytona 500 wreck). I expected Gordon to experience the same this year. Even though he has had cartoonishly bad luck, he still peddles it on restarts and gets pissed off when placed in dicey situations (like the Junior incident last week, hypocritical considering how he won the '99 Daytona 500). He has made one remotely aggressive move all year, that was on what turned out to be the final restart at Pocono, and it won him the race. Hello? You still out there Jeff? I guess my point is this: can you imagine Jeff at age 49, or legends at the end like Darrell, Richard, Pearson, Bill, or Rusty slicing and dicing 3 wide at 195+ mph at Talladega like Dale did in the 2000 Winston 500? 82. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 24-16? Is this little league baseball or football? 83. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) lol!!! I was thinking the same DSFF. I was like, "Wow, that seems a little high." I didn't realize that the 13 car had S/P'd that much 10andJoe. Thanks for correcting me. I still hope they can have a good run tonight. 84. 10andJoe posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF - It's a lead by a touchdown and a two-point conversion! ;) Murb - No prob. I hope they run well too. I'm also befuddled by Germain's doing their "summer start-and-park" every year, you'd think Geico would be willing to pony up... 85. Schroeder51 posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I would hope after starting on the pole Mears doesn't start and park. That would look pretty bad to do after starting on the pole. I'm actually surprised a scenario like that didn't happen in the Nationwide series (dammit, Nationwide will NEVER sound right to me. It will never roll off the tongue like Busch Series did) a few years back when some of the start and parks were qualifying extremely well, sometimes in the top 10. Imagine if one of those cars had won the pole for a race and then pulled it into the garage after just 10 laps or so. How bad would that look? 86. Spen posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bill was doing his share of slicing and dicing at Daytona this summer... 87. Dave #38 Fan posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @ #84 germain racing and casey mears do some start and parks in the late summer months is because geico only pays for 24 of the 36 races with them (that's what their deal was this year anyway) and by the early summer months they are far enough up in the top 35 that they can safely start and park without worrying about falling out. last year, they didn't start and park as much because they had mike skinner driving a second car (the #60) and they used that money to fund some extra races for them. 88. Jordan posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ha! Captain Jesus himself gave the invocation in his driver's uniform. 89. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Michael McDowell, I have seen Trevor Bayne deliver about 20 pre race invocations. And you sir are no Trevor Bayne. Too many "uh"s. 90. Jordan posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think it was in 2009 that Terry Cook drove one of Phil Parson's Nationwide cars at IRP, and after qualifying 5th and moving up to 3rd and nearly 2nd before the first caution, still pulled it off the track anyway. 91. David posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It wasn't bad. It's the actual prayer that counts. 92. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) They should just let Joe Gibbs' grandson do it every week. 93. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Apparently Jeff Gordon and Rusty Wallace invented the bump-and-run way back in 1990. 94. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Agreed murb. And yeah, the "1990" thing was laughable. 95. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So what was it called when Dale did it to Tim Richmond in this race in 1985? 96. Dave #38 Fan posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) great to see a class act like mcdowell do the prayer. that's why i'm a fan. 97. New14 & 88Fan posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mears is holding his own so far, Logano will get by him though. 98. JG24FanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is Bristol V Bristol I from 1961-1968 Paved 24 degree banking Bristol II from 1968-1992 Paved-36 degree banking Bristol III from 1992-2007 Concrete Bristol IV from 2007-2012 Bristol V now How come no one ever remembers the change in 1968? 99. Schroeder51 posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That didn't take too long for the first caution. 100. Jordan posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jason Leffler! You've still got it buddy! 101. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Leffler. Not surprised. 102. Dave #38 Fan posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) why is schrader mad at leffler? the #32 was the one who moved down. 103. Paul posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ESPN cuts to commercial just as Ken Schrader was expressing his displeasure towards Jason Leffler. I guess this race isn't brought to you by Federated Auto Parts. 104. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yep, that's Jason Leffler proves yet again he shouldn't be in a Cup car. 105. Spen posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Alan Bestwick - "Casey Mears has led all of rhe laps thus far." Has that sentence ever been uttered in a Cup race before? 106. David posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @105 Hahahaha!!! 107. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) *Should be "proving" in my 104 post.* I also want to say, GREAT saves by Hamlin and Biffle earlier. 108. JG24FanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 7:59 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) #105 Replace Casey with Rick and Cup with Indy and the answer is yes. 109. Paul posted: 08.25.2012 - 8:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) With 26 laps led to his credit in this race, Casey Mears has just led more laps tonight than in seven of his ten seasons in Cup TOTAL! 110. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 8:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ugh. Bulldoze this surface and rebuild it exactly like it was from '92-'07. A lot of hype for nothing. 111. Paul posted: 08.25.2012 - 8:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Anyone else see Gordon slide up in front of Mears as he passed him in the same corner? Love you Jeff, but you're only adding fuel towards DSFF's earlier statement about you being a hypocrite. 112. Jordan posted: 08.25.2012 - 8:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why does ABC/ESPN show Kyle Busch as a wild card? As of now, Logano has the second spot. 113. Dave #38 Fan posted: 08.25.2012 - 8:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) actually, newman has the second wild card spot (heading into tonight). plus, kyle busch is 14th and points and logano is 18th, so unless joey gets another win he's not passing busch for the wild card anytime soon. 114. The Final Gear posted: 08.25.2012 - 8:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Danica's already one lap down. Thankfully they haven't uttered her name. At least Jr's on the lead lap. Stewart has sucked in the past at Bristol and this race is no different. 115. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 8:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bor- 116. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 8:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ing 117. The Final Gear posted: 08.25.2012 - 8:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) BS Caution... Jimmie's got trouble with that damage. 48 team needs to repair that and quickly before the temperature skyrockets up. 118. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 8:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, Newman was the Wild Card entering the race. It looks like Stewart might fall out of the top ten if he keeps running like he is and Kasey keeps running top five. 119. Mr X posted: 08.25.2012 - 8:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) When was the last time that there was a caution flag set of pit stops, and Joey Logano, Jeff Burton, and Eric Almirola were in those boxes? 120. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 8:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race is still tons better than a race at Chicago, Kansas, or Las Vegas. 121. JG24FanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 8:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I love this track! I love how tricky using the inside lane is and how strong the outside lane is for a driver with more grip. 122. Jordan posted: 08.25.2012 - 8:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, that's the point... they were listing Busch as the wild card. If they're going by current order, Logano wins and takes the 2nd wild card spot for now with 2 wins. If they're going by the situation entering the race, they should have listed Newman. 123. Bronco posted: 08.25.2012 - 8:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Third time in the past four Bristol races that Dale Jr speeds on pit road. 124. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 8:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That's the second time tonight that Kurt has had contact with the 22. Irony? 125. Jordan posted: 08.25.2012 - 8:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmie Johnson's showing the aggression NASCAR needed from him 10 years ago tonight. He gave Biffle a few warnings, then he finally forced his way past. 126. joey2448 posted: 08.25.2012 - 8:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Boy it looks like the majority of the field is running even higher than they were before the track grounding. They are right up against the wall. And because of that, I think that's why guys are running into each other tonight. It's like the old Bristol (92-07), except the best line is not the bottom groove, but that top groove. Good action so far :) 127. JG24FanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 8:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If you have a win at the Bristol configuration from 1992-2007, the victory is worth twice as much as any other Bristol configuration. Tonight's configuration is my second favorite followed by the original Bristol. 128. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 8:51 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "The Flaming Spinning David Ragan". A nice career summation. 129. JG24FanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 8:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^^^ HaHaHa! I laughed about that too. 130. JG24FanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 8:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The racing line at this track is just like Darlignton since you have to ride right next to the wall. 131. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 8:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I know I should know better than to question Paul Wolfe's pit strategy, but is there strategy to just not make any pit stops tonight? Although considering all the speeding penalties tonight, and how Brad has been this year, that is good strategy. 132. Jordan posted: 08.25.2012 - 8:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Amazingly, McDowell and Leffler are still in the race. They're slow, but I'm honestly shocked they didn't pull it in before the first stop. 133. Schroeder51 posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just like that, Gordon may suddenly be back in the wild card hunt because Ryan Newman just demolished his race car. 134. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Montoya, go screw yourself. Newman wrecks, Burton gets collected. Of course... 135. JG24FanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nobody's getting a free Blooming Onion this weekend. 136. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Montoya a disgrace to auto racing. 137. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Damn, Burton finally has a decent run going. 138. Mr X posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Coming spring 2013, Bristol VI, as they will have to grind another 2 degrees of the top lane to get them away from the wall, and just as I type this Jeff Burton unfortunately hits Newman. 139. Schroeder51 posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Shame for Burton...I have to say, Montoya REALLY doesn't belong in NASCAR. 140. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rainbow Nation, are you starting to believe me yet? 141. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Montoya doesn't belong in any form of motorsport. 142. Mr X posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "off the top lane" 143. JG24FanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #140 Yes 144. joey2448 posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ..And this ain't the first time Newman and Montoya have gotten into each other...YEEHAA!!! 145. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Remember in 2009 when everyone thought he was gonna win the championship? Well, this right here shows exactly why he will never be a Nascar champion. He's not mentally tough enough. 146. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And I'm talking about Montoya in post 145 by the way... On the plus side, this makes the Wild Card race even crazier, and much more entertaining. 147. Jordan posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm not saying Montoya didn't cause it, but ESPN's camera angles were absolutely HORRIBLE. Newman was definitely coming down the track to an extent, I can't say for sure how much because of their camera angles. 148. JG24FanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #145 Not to mention too inconsistant. 149. Sean posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Remember in 2009 when everyone thought he was gonna win the championship?" I thought he'd be an enduring second-tier star like Clint Bowyer or something in Cup, but I never saw him being a champion... I really don't know what happened to him because he DID seem to be on a roll and excelled in everything before (and made fewer stupid moves - his 2000 CART Michigan battle with Michael Andretti was still the best oval finish ever...) I guess he's washed up like Jacques Villeneuve and most late-30s open wheel guys... But now he's wrecking people in Grand-Am cars too? Maybe he's just overdriving in bad equipment like Irvan did for Morgan-McClure and Kurt is doing now? He's still succeeded in enough different kinds of cars that I think it's nuts to say he doesn't belong ANYWHERE in racing, but Cup doesn't seem to be the best place for him... Having said that, I don't feel sorry for Newman because that still wasn't as bad as what Newman did to Montoya at Homestead in his debut, AND because I loathe the idea of Newman making the chase having only led ONE RACE ONE TIME all season (really, he's tied with Bobby Labonte and Regan Smith for fewest times led among all full-time drivers...he just got lucky that THE ONLY TIME HE LED ALL SEASON happened to be a win, which he CAUSED by tapping Bowyer into Gordon and Johnson anyway...) 150. David posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Danica Patrick is a (lucky) dog. 151. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I totally agree with you about Newman, Sean. I don't want to see him make the Chase either. But I'm just really tired of the way Montoya races. He basically takes Denny Hamlin's famous quote "You throw a rock, I'll throw a concrete block" to a whole new level. Danica gets the lucky dog. They actually haven't talked about her at all tonight. 152. David posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm not buying Jeff's Chase chances unless he wins or passes both Newman and Busch with AUTHORITY. 153. Jordan posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman's crew chief Tony Gibson didn't even say anything about Montoya, he said Newman had a tire going down. 154. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, it sounds like Newman had a left rear going down. But Montoya still wrecked him. The 48 looks like he is running out of patience with Kenseth too. He seems really frustrated tonight. 155. Schroeder51 posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman is officially out of the race now. Ouch, that's a huge hit he's going to get in the points. He's going to finish possibly 36th while Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon are (unless they have trouble too) going to finish at least 20+ positions ahead of him. This will definitely be interesting when we get to Richmond... 156. Schroeder51 posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Keselowski crashed. 157. Jordan posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt Busch has now taken out BOTH Penske cars... think he'll come after Roush next? 158. David posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ouch. 159. Mr X posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt Busch is doing a number on those Penske cars tonight. 160. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Too bad for Brad. That was a great job by his spotter though, the way he explained to the crew how it was just like the NNS crash they had. 161. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Kurt Busch has now taken out BOTH Penske cars... think he'll come after Roush next?" LOL!!!!! 162. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dang. Now I can't talk about how I hate this version of Bristol even worse than before they groud the top groove without it coming off as sour grapes. 163. David posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Listening on the radio is awesome. 164. 18fan posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The focus has almost exclusively been on the front pack. It has been very hard to get a read on what's happening from about 7th-15th because there has been little coverage of them. 165. Baker posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Labonte and Montoya both need to quit they have no more talent. 166. joey2448 posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Even though the racing tonight is the total opposite of what Bruton Smith had in mind, I think it's still very entertaining. Like I mentioned before, it's similar to the old Bristol (92-07), with the exception that the preferred groove is right up against the wall, kinda like Darlington. The beating and banging seems to be back for the most part, and it's almost a one groove track. The battle for the lead around the halfway point was amazing, although it was mostly due to Kenseth and Biffle holding everyone else up. 167. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree with you, Joey. There is a lot of action going on. Kurt's latest victim: Regan Smith. 168. loomer posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt has been a pinball tonight. 169. 18fan posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why has Kyle been the very last car off of pit road almost every time he's pitted? It's ridiculous. 170. Schroeder51 posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, this configuration appears to be a hybrid of the past two Bristol configurations. 171. loomer posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle can't be happy with the way he's running, things are looking grim for that team. 172. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) For once a Kurt Busch wreck wasn't his fault. The difference between here and Darlington is you have to enter the corners and Darlington low then slide up. That doesn't work here. It is pretty much flip flopped. Used to be all low. Now it is all high. 173. loomer posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why has Kyle been the very last car off of pit road almost every time he's pitted? It's ridiculous. ------------------ Yeah I found that odd too. Maybe they're making wholesale changes every stop? 174. Schroeder51 posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tony Stewart vs. Matt Kenseth ends up in the wall. 175. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And Kenseth continues to be Stewart's punching bag. 176. Jordan posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Kenseth runs Stewart out of racetrack while they were racing for the lead, what was that all about? Both of them are severely damaged now, Stewart is getting out of the car. 177. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow. 178. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Is this 2006? 179. loomer posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This should be an entertaining interview with Stewart. 180. Schroeder51 posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Helmet throw! 181. loomer posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) lol 182. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And he goes with the helmet throw. Last time he did that, he got arrested in Australia. 183. loomer posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Fastball right down the pipe. 184. Jordan posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I don't support Stewart and I personally think he's overrated, but he has EVERY RIGHT to be mad at Kenseth, that was completely uncalled for with more than 150 laps left and definitely not something you would expect a championship driver to do. 185. joey2448 posted: 08.25.2012 - 9:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) BRISTOL, BABY!!! Hahahaha it's back!!! 186. David posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sounds like Stewart's back up to his old tricks. 187. New14 & 88Fan posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Given how Smoke's night had been going up to this point, I can't blame him for being mad. 188. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That was an impressive throw. Right in the center of Matt's grille. That might be the best helmet toss ever as far as accuracy. And Smoke is a lefty. If Indiana ever gets a baseball team, they oughta recruit him. 189. Bronco posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Likely the only time this year when Danica will finish ahead of both Tony and Ryan. 190. David posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JEFF GORDON HITS THE WALL! 191. cjs3872 posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Actualy, the racing at Bristol tonight is somewhat like it was prior to when they resurfaced it with concrete prior to the 1992 August race, because they ran next to the wall when it was a black top surface. Back then, if you tried to pass low and didn't make it, it was almost like getting out of the draft at Daytona or Talladega, you went straight to the back of the line. 192. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) lol, "The hell with the helmet." Jr just pitted while pit road was closed. 193. loomer posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I'm going to wreck him every chance I get." The sleeping giant is awake. 194. Mr X posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't think that Jeff Gordon hit the wall. He just got in the oil and lost some spots, luckily. 195. Benjamin Lowe posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Which describes the New, New Bristol: New Coke Speedway or Crystal Pepsi Speedway 196. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yes, they showed DJ's helmet toss. I'm not kidding, Smoke's was the best helemt throw ever. 197. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I actually really liked Crystal Clear Pepsi. Btw, I have NO FREAKING IDEA who's gonna win this race. 198. Baker posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Matt has always had a big up his rear with Stewart and always raced like a prick with him. He's done it numerous times and cost him his only chase. I hope Stewart waits until the chase and then when he's out of the hunt turn Matt into the wall and ruin his title hopes. Also, Tony is the only old school racer left in the sport so it's more than fitting he throws the first helmet at Bristol in a long time. 199. Sean posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I can't decide whether the racing is good or bad. I did like both previous iterations of the track over this, and actually liked the 2007-2012 version over the 1992-2007 version... The one thing this has going for it is that it's probably the least predictable non-plate race in half a decade... 200. Bronco posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Two different pit road penalties for Dale Jr in the same race. 201. FoxTrax posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm not a fan of short tracks in general. It's just a personal thing; the short laps make the race feel more repetitive to me. Especially at Martinsville. And I always wanted NASCAR to put another four restrictor-plate races on the schedule. But damn, this race is pretty damn good so far! Since my #1 favorite got a helmet chucked at him, I'm rooting for my #2 favorite now. GO TRUEX!!! 202. Bronco posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin's going to win. I think we just saw the pass for the win around the #10. 203. FoxTrax posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Since we're talking about it, the best helmet throw ever to me was Elliott Sadler at whats-his-face during the 2002 All-Star Race. 204. New14 & 88Fan posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bad break for Mears, he was doing a pretty good job tonight. 205. FoxTrax posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) By whats-his-face I mean Ryan Newman. I remember now. 206. David posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And our #1 starter has problems. 207. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That's a shame for the 13 car. I was hoping they could finish off a good run. But at least they led a bunch of laps early. It's starting to get down to crunch time now, so I'm expecting these restarts to get a little more hairy. 208. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sadler does get bonus points for tossing his helmet up the banking, that is tough. But Tony's was a strike right down the middle. I gotta give him the slight nod here. But Sadler's was impressive. 209. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Robby's throw at MW was a pretty straight on shot. But Tony's tonight was way better. 210. JG24FanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Stewart did it with TWO hands though. That's a granny throw. 211. Karn Evil 9 posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ms. Important has crashed... 212. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Danica's destroyed. 213. Schroeder51 posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Danica finally wipes it out. Took her 400 more laps than we thought it would! 214. JG24FanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Finally! Danica Patrick shows what she's made of. 215. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, she made it 400 more laps than I thought she would. 216. Jordan posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Danica get dumped by Regan Smith. It really does seem that she gets dumped a lot more than the drivers who aren't female. 217. Jordan posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) gets* 218. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Damn, Schroeder beat me to it. 219. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Another helmet throw perhaps? 220. Schroeder51 posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh boy, is she going to throw her helmet too? 221. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No, nevermind. Just a lame old finger wag. 222. Karn Evil 9 posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sadly no helmet throw... 223. JG24FanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) She didn't get dumped as much as she turned down like Edwards at Talladega 2009. 224. Mr X posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I really wanted her to throw her helmet so I could make the stupid obvious joke regarding whether or not she threw like a girl. 225. Jordan posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) She didn't turn down, Regan Smith pulled up the track right into her left rear. Regan was probably trying to gain more straightaway speed and just crept a bit too high. Probably wasn't intentional but Danica deserved a lot more room than that. 226. Schroeder51 posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think Carl's got it. 227. New14 & 88Fan posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Vickers almost spun trying to pass Edwards, unless there's another caution he's chance to win is history. 228. I love Japan posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Vickers choking again lol 229. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Knew Vickers couldn't handle racing for the lead. 230. Mr X posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've got a good idea for a good rule change that will have no effect on anyone but the fans, all drivers must wear white gloves at all times. 231. Schroeder51 posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Or not. Wow, this has actually been a pretty fun race! 232. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE THIS? 233. JG24FanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Danica deserves more room? nah,she's a rookie and hasn't paid her dues in the least. 234. I love Japan posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Best racing here in a decade. 235. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rainbow Nation, your guy isn't done yet! 236. I love Japan posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Vickers will find a way to choke this top five. Yup I'm back :) 237. Paul posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^^^What this guy said! 238. Paul posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Whoops, sorry I Love Japan, I was referring to DSFF's comment. But your's is quite possible. 239. I love Japan posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why is Edwards falling back so much? Hasn't been his year 240. New14 & 88Fan posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Burton Smith actually did something right for once, this has been a fun race to watch. 241. Paul posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think he used up his tires holding off Vickers and Hamlin. He's also gone the longest without pitting. 242. I love Japan posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ha ha its cool. 243. I love Japan posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That explains it. Real back and forth race. this is what Bristol should be. 244. Karn Evil 9 posted: 08.25.2012 - 10:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Carl's done. 245. Jordan posted: 08.25.2012 - 11:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just like last night... good race, boring winner. 246. Paul posted: 08.25.2012 - 11:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A driver in the Chase wins and Gordon finishes 3rd. I'm cool with this. 247. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 11:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Too bad the finish sucked. But it was still a fantastic race. I kind of wish Gordon or somebody could have got up there and challenged. 248. I love Japan posted: 08.25.2012 - 11:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin wins. Ugh Vickers got 4th. Best race of the year. 249. Schroeder51 posted: 08.25.2012 - 11:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think Carl's Chase chances are over unless he can sneak a win in the next two weeks. 250. JG24FanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 11:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Super Race!! Gordon has at least 5 Top 5's and 10 Top 10's 20 straight years. 251. Schroeder51 posted: 08.25.2012 - 11:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ...am I crazy or am I seeing fans throwing their trash on the track during Biffle's interview? 252. cjs3872 posted: 08.25.2012 - 11:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Congratulatiuons on Denny Hamlin scoring the 200th win for car #11 in NASCAR's top series. It's fitting that this would happen at Bristol, considering all the wins that it got when Junior Johnson had it starting in 1973. Cale Yarborough scored all nine of his Bristol wins in car #11 (including the first Bristol night race in 1978) and Darrell Waltrip won seven straight in car #11 from 1981-'84.) 253. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 11:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think it was confetti Schroeder. 254. Schroeder51 posted: 08.25.2012 - 11:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also Danica gets her best career Cup finish even though she didn't take the checkered flag-29th. 255. Mr X posted: 08.25.2012 - 11:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Comment #138 aside, this is the best Bristol race I have seen in years, I don't think the grinding did enough to get the cars off the top lane, but I think it was a big step in the right direction, there were plenty of passes on the bottom, everyone could make them periodically, and thats more then what could be said about Bristol IV. Best race so far this year, however I am probably going to die waiting for Atlanta this week, which IMO will be even better then BMS tonight. 256. JG24FanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 11:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) How about the Mega Faded Bobby Labonte Getting a Top 14 after two straight weeks of interupting and ruining the race leader's run. Montoya did spin him at Michigan though. 257. The Final Gear posted: 08.25.2012 - 11:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hate the surface, redo it and make the bottom the driving line to bring back the line we all love. Congrats to Denny. Glad Kyle's got the wildcard spot. The track just seems to vanilla to me, has no character compared to that in the pass. This race basically is the equivalent of "everybody stays on the lead lap" the whole time like Pocono. Too many slow cars were on the lead lap. 258. 10andJoe posted: 08.25.2012 - 11:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Was it just me or was the 78 a bit of a wrecking ball tonight? 259. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.25.2012 - 11:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, the mayhem returned tonight (including the greatest helmet toss ever). Don't know if it is permanent or not. It is pretty much a one groove track again, only now it is the very top instead of the very bottom. Stylistically, I personally prefer bottom racing (except I do love Darlington but that would be VERY hard to replicate). I love watching guys try to set the other guy up to get their nose under the guy in front of them to clinch their spot in the corner. There was a "sudden death" feel to it for lack of a better term. You lose the inside line, you lose the spot. Should be interesting to see where the track goes from here. 260. Jarrett88fan posted: 08.25.2012 - 11:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This wild card race is getting very interesting after Newman's accident to say the least... given Stewart's struggles at the Coke 600 and Texas, Atlanta might continue this trend. Kyle Busch has to be nervous given the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde nature of his team at Atlanta. Edwards is all in (win and in) after Bristol. So, the real beneficiary could be Jeff Gordon at Atlanta. Does anyone else see Kasey Kahne emerging as a legitimate threat to the #48 team down the stretch? They have on more than one occasion, overcome adversity and are consistent enough to finish top-5 in points. 261. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 11:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It is so amusing to watch SportsCenter highlights of the race afterwards. They don't care about the racing at all. Like right now, they are asking Denny what he thought about Tony's helmet throw. I'm sure Denny cares a lot more about that then his huge win. 262. joey2448 posted: 08.25.2012 - 11:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Man I sure like the way this season has turned around in recent races. There's been some really great races in recent weeks, most notably tonight at Bristol and Watkins Glen "Oil-gate". It seems to have gotten back to what it was last year. The kind of action that keeps you on the edge of your seat! 263. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 11:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh yeah JarrettFan, I think Kasey is one of the darkhorses for the championship. Obviously, the favorites at this point are Jimmie, Jr, Biffle, and Brad. But I would throw Kasey in not far behind them. And then you have another group that is probably gonna include Kenseth, Truex, Bowyer, Stewart, and Harvick. (By the way, just to clarify, I put Kenseth in this group just because of his lame duck status. I just don't see him being a true contender with all of that going on behind the scenes.) Then there is the whole Wild Card picture. Like I said, I fully expect Kasey to get in without any problems, whether it is through the Wild Card or through the top ten. But the second WC is completely up for grabs. I think it will come down to three guys: Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, and Kyle Busch. I don't think Newman or Logano will have the consistency in the next two weeks. So if I had to make a prediction on who will get it based solely on my gut feeling, I honestly think I would go with Gordon. Carl should certainly be a contender at Atlanta. And don't forget, he might have won Richmond in the Spring had it not been for that restart debacle (and he finished 2nd to Harvick in the Fall race last year). But I would still go with the 24 over him just because they have been running better. I also think that the 99 team is still a little shaky, given the young driver-crew chief relationship between Carl and Norris. So I think I would go with Gordon over them. But I don't know. It is going to be very close. As for Kyle, I don't see it happening unless he wins one of these races. It's certainly a great possibility at Richmond. But as previously said, they are really streaky at Atlanta. But they still have a shot. It's just a very marginal one. 264. Ty (fourturns.blogspot.com) posted: 08.25.2012 - 11:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thank god Jimmie or Gordon didn't win. 265. 18fan posted: 08.25.2012 - 11:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle has a 16 point cushion over Gordon. As long as Kyle stays in contact with Gordon and neither Gordon or Carl win Atlanta, Kyle should be fine to make the chase because he only has two finishes worse than 6th at Richmond. 266. cjs3872 posted: 08.25.2012 - 11:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, it looks like that what happened to the Bristol track was the exact opposite of what was originally intended. Instead of keeping cars out of the exteme outside groove, the grinding of the track up there caused everyone to run up there because of the grippier surface, though that may not have been entirely unexpected. The same thing hapened when they laid down a new layer of asphalt in the upper part of the third turn at Pocono a few years ago. That caused all the cars to have to run higher there because of the grippier track surface. That, when combined with the speed advantage the upper groove already had, made it nearly impossible to pass at Bristol. As mentioned in an earlier post, it made trying to go on the inside and not making it almost as penal as getting out of the draft at Daytona and Talladega, because it ended in the same result. And with his problems tonight, Tony Stewart opened up the tenth position in points, which actually adversely affects Kasey Kahne's Chase chances. If he has a bad day at Atlanta next week, he could actually be in jeopardy of not making the Chase, especially since Richmond is another of his worst tracks. If Carl Edwards knocks Stewart ot of the top ten in points and Kyle Busch (or even Jeff Gordon) win either one of the next two races, there's a very good possibility that Kahne could still be on the outside looking in when the Chase begins. But Denny Hamlin, and very possibly Kevin Harvick, may have puched their ticket to the Chase tonight with their good runs. By the way, I'll post what the Chase standings would look like under my weighted system in the next couple of days, as well as the possibilities surrounding tenth place. And the top three in points clinched tonight. 267. murb posted: 08.25.2012 - 11:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I forgot to put Denny in my last post. I would rate him just about equal with Kasey Kahne as a darkhorse. 268. cjs3872 posted: 08.25.2012 - 11:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) But murb, Kasey Kahne is on shakier ground with Tony Stewart falling closer to being out of the top ten, considering that Richmond is one of his poorest tracks, even though he does have a win there. If Carl Edwards moves ahead of Kahne and Stewart, and into tenth in points, I make Kyle Busch the favorite over Kahne to get he last Chase spot, assuming Jeff Gordon doesn't repeat what he did at Atlanta last year. Even then, I still make Kyle the favorite to get the last Chase spot, possibly over Kahne if Edwards gets into the top ten in points. 269. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.26.2012 - 12:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) JarrettFan, I have also noticed how that 5 team has put it together. They had by far the best car in the beginning, hit some oil and tore the hell out of the car, and still got a Top 10. And also, kudos to Rusty for calling out the progressive banking. He is the comeback person of the year at his job in NASCAR. That is the Rusty I grew up watching. 270. murb posted: 08.26.2012 - 12:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah cjs, but like JarrettFan was saying, Kasey and his team have been very consistent as of late. I don't think he will have any problems making the Chase, whether it is with the WC or by getting in the top ten with someone falling out. Plus, he's got two wins. Gordon and Kyle only have one, and Carl has none. So if they just run these last two races like they have been running the past month or so, they'll be in good shape. For Kyle, I think it all depends on Atlanta. If they have a bad run there and finish outside the top 20, then I think he will lose ground to Carl and Gordon, because I'm expecting them to have good runs there, given their history. I think we can all agree on one thing: It will be intriguing!!!! 271. 10andJoe posted: 08.26.2012 - 12:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #10 sponsor: GoDaddy.com #49 sponsor: America Israel Racing (misspelling) 272. Mr X posted: 08.26.2012 - 12:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's only taken 135 starts, but Joey Logano has now led over 200 laps in his career, with the 139 he led tonight, he has led 337. Just an interesting stat. 273. Red posted: 08.26.2012 - 12:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow...NINE different drivers led at least 25 laps in this race. I can't remember the last time anything like that happened on a short track. Really until the last 20 laps or so, I had no idea who was going to win. Best race of the season. "Obviously, the favorites at this point are Jimmie, Jr, Biffle, and Brad. But I would throw Kasey in not far behind them." I don't think Junior and Biffle are obviously favorites. Biffle will contend on the cookie cutters, but I don't see him running well enough on the shorter tracks to have much chance. Junior's only chance is to fininsh 4th-7th every week and hope all the other guys stumble. Also very happy that Ryan Newman is all but eliminated from chase contention. It would have been an absolute joke if the fluke-master had made it in over guys like Gordon and Kyle. Hell, even Ambrose (3 straight top 5's) and Logano (led the most laps twice) are more deserving. Has Brian Vickers driven his way back into a Cup ride next year? Amazing what desperation will do for a guy. "Tony Stewart opened up the tenth position in points, which actually adversely affects Kasey Kahne's Chase chances." Umm, Kasey still has about a 99% chance of making it. Let's not get overly dramatic about this. 274. Jarrett88fan posted: 08.26.2012 - 12:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rusty has had a renaissance in 2012 and it is possible the decision to close RWI at the end of last year has contributed to his sharpness of commentary. We will know more after the Atlanta race and see what the 5,18,99 and 24 have to do heading into Richmond. Personally, I want Gordon (never thought 13 or 14 years ago when the Rainbow Warriors were beating DJ, Mark, Big E, etc.) to make it over Carl and Kyle. Too bad Keselowski couldn't put the retro blue duce in victory circle at Bristol. During the race I thought about how many drivers were active in 2000 when Rusty drove that paint schemed car and counted 10... Gordon, Junior, Bobby Labonte, Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Dave Blaney, Joe Nemecheck, Ken Schrader and Mike Bliss. 275. Jarrett88fan posted: 08.26.2012 - 12:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) * blue deuce 276. Brad24 posted: 08.26.2012 - 12:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Tony Stewart opened up the tenth position in points, which actually adversely affects Kasey Kahne's Chase chances." "Umm, Kasey still has about a 99% chance of making it. Let's not get overly dramatic about this." I think what cjs3872 meant was That Kasey could get in the Chase by being in the top 10 in points. Not the Wild Card. Although I thought it was a good race, I still say some changes need to be made. My suggestion to Bruton is to give Bristol a whole brand new surface. Doesn't matter if it's asphalt or concrete and just have one groove with 36-degree banking. To me, that's the only way the "Old Bristol" will ever be back. BK2 had a sweet looking Rusty Wallace HOF tribute car. I won't lie. I had actually mistaken BK2 for Rusty at times. Apparently JPM thought Newman's car was a jet-dryer. Great win for Denny. The Commonwealth of Virginia (My home state) takes 2 out of 3 races (The other was Timothy Peters on Wednesday) for the weekend! The Wild Card took a big shake-up tonight. These next 2 races will be wild for sure. I give the edge to Gordon. 277. Anonymous posted: 08.26.2012 - 12:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I thought the racing sucked. Maybe it was enjoyable if you like crashes and cautions, but I like passing, and you didn't see much of that tonight. I'd wager 95% of the passes in this race came during different drivers on different pit strategies shaking up the running order. You couldn't pass for the lead even if you had a much faster car, you couldn't hardly pass anywhere else in the field unless you used a lapped car as a pick. What's even worse is if you stepped out of line to try to pass, you were more likely to lose your spot to the guy behind you than pass the guy in front of you. Just all around stupid. If this is what the "fans" wanted, then congratulations you got your crappy, stupid Bristol back. Now man up and buy the tickets. I'm sure not spending of my money to see that kind of race in person, but if this is what you people wanted, you better go back to the race, or all of these changes were for nothing. 278. irony posted: 08.26.2012 - 12:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Did Vickers start and park at the glen? Cause his stats this season are exceptional other than that race. Great race, should satisfy fans of both versions of Bristol. Danica did well. Wish she would mature a bit. Not gonna happen while driving for Stewart though. 279. cjs3872 posted: 08.26.2012 - 12:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) No Brad24, I meant that Kasey could get knocked out all together because if Edwards knocks Stewart out of the top ten, regardless of whether or not he wins one of the last two prior to the Chase, because if Kyle or Jeff Gordon win either of the last two before the Chase (or if each win one of the last two), given Kahne's track record at Richmond, if Kahne has a bad race at Atlanta, which is certainly possible, given it's a 500-mile race, I don't like his chances at Richmond, and Stewart would get the first Wild Card if he's knocked out of the top ten by Edwards, since he has three wins. Believe it or not, Kahne needs both Gordon and Kyle Busch to have a bad race at Atlanta to be sure of making the Chase, because he usually runs about 20th at Richmond, and if he has to run up front at Richmond to get in the Chase, I don't like his chances at all. One thing's for sure. 11 of the 12 Chase drivers will be identified after the 500-miler at Atlanta. But which driver will be hanging on to the last spot will be unknown. It will probably be either Kahne or Busch. 280. Jordan posted: 08.26.2012 - 12:54 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 11 spots have already been identified. The 12th spot will go to either Edwards, Busch, or Ambrose. Edwards may be good at Atlanta, but I don't see him getting a win and ultimately he's out if he doesn't win there. Busch will get the spot most likely if he doesn't crash or have mechanical problems. If Busch breaks, Ambrose is in, in my opinion. He's got the most momentum in the series and he can easily get the 12 points on Gordon and 9 on Newman with two races. I don't think Gordon can be counted on to be in the races at the end, and Newman's been below mediocre lately.... almost makes me think there's a contract dispute there. 281. 18fan posted: 08.26.2012 - 12:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Edwards is 34 points behind Stewart. Kahne is only 16 points behind Stewart. I think there's a better chance for Kahne to catch Stewart than there is for Edwards. 282. Schroeder51 posted: 08.26.2012 - 12:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Edwards getting past Stewart? No offense, cjs, but Edwards, thanks to his running out of gas here, was unable to capitalize much on Tony's misfortune tonight and is still nearly one full race behind Tony. For him to get in, Tony would need to finish in the 30s the next two races while Edwards would have to finish 10th or better at both of the next two races. That would be an incredible scenario, and, quite frankly, I can't really see Tony having 4 awful races in a row. 283. murb posted: 08.26.2012 - 1:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Irony, Vickers blew up on the first lap of the Watkins Glen race I believe. cjs, I don't understand why you think Kasey will be that terrible at Richmond. Sure, it isn't his best race track. But don't forget, he won up in New Hampshire, which is a similar flat 1 mile or less track. They've been without a doubt one of the five or six most consistent race teams over the past month. So once again, I believe they will be in no problem. 284. murb posted: 08.26.2012 - 1:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I hadn't thought about Ambrose, but overall, I don't see him getting in there. They are certainly running well enough to. But he has to have pretty much all of the guys in front of him (Kyle, Carl, Gordon, Newman) have problems. But if he could get an upset win at Atlanta or Richmond (Atlanta is more likely), then he could steal it. I'd definitely much rather have him in instead of Newman or Logano. 285. Red posted: 08.26.2012 - 1:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I meant that Kasey could get knocked out all together because if Edwards knocks Stewart out of the top ten, regardless of whether or not he wins one of the last two prior to the Chase, because if Kyle or Jeff Gordon win either of the last two before the Chase (or if each win one of the last two), given Kahne's track record at Richmond, if Kahne has a bad race at Atlanta, which is certainly possible, given it's a 500-mile race, I don't like his chances at Richmond, and Stewart would get the first Wild Card if he's knocked out of the top ten by Edwards, since he has three wins." Classic cjs3872 right there. Let's estimate the odds of your crazy dramatic scenario: Edwards jumps Stewart for 10th - 5% Busch or Gordon wins a race - 10% Kahne runs bad at Atlanta - 5% Kahne runs bad at Richmond - 25% Since ALL of these things would need to happen, the odds of Kasey Kahne falling out of the chase are 1 in 16,000. You really love to make mountains out of molehills, don't you? 286. 18fan posted: 08.26.2012 - 1:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Anybody would be better than Newman. Now if Newman goes out and dominates Atlanta or Richmond (extremely unlikely), I wouldn't have a problem with it. Ambrose hadn't had a top 5 in 26 races before Watkins Glen, now he has 3 in a row. I don't see him being a factor at Richmond, but he could contend at Atlanta. Seeing Ambrose run well tonight was not totally surprising because he has always run well at Bristol. I think it will come down to Kyle and Jeff. Jeff has the advantage at Atlanta and Kyle has the advantage at Richmond. Kyle has a 16 point advantage over Jeff, so I think Kyle can stay ahead of Jeff if neither of them win. 287. 10andJoe posted: 08.26.2012 - 1:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #36 status: Handling 288. Jordan posted: 08.26.2012 - 1:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ambrose really only needs Busch to have problems and Edwards not to win. His team has really had it going the past few weeks and as long as they can get top 10s, they'll be right there. If Busch has one bad race, his advantage is gone instantly, and Ambrose only needs to average finishing 6 spots ahead of Gordon, which seems likely given Gordon's season. I don't even consider Newman a factor anymore. It's definitely a lot likelier for Ambrose to make it than Kahne to fall out. Ambrose also has a key advantage, and that is the fact that he has no pressure. He's come from nowhere over the past few races and no one expects him to make it, while everyone knows the story behind Gordon and Busch. 289. 18fan posted: 08.26.2012 - 1:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't think Ambrose will be a factor at all at Richmond, and I don't know if he can keep it going at Atlanta. If he does get in, although it is a bit of a long shot, it would be an incredible story. 290. Brad24 posted: 08.26.2012 - 1:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Correct me if I'm wrong. But isn't this the first Cup race of 2012 where qualifying was washed out and the field had to be set by practice speeds? Speaking of Mears, I was glad to see him run in the top 15 for most of the night until he wrecked. Also, I give Tony an A+ on the helmet throw! He must have studied film this week by watching DJ, E.Sadler, and R. Gordon. 291. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 08.26.2012 - 1:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tony's helmet throw was one of the best I've seen since I started watching NASCAR. He got Matt right in the grill, not often we see that. It was nice seeing the old white and blue Miller Lite scheme back on the #2 for the first time since 2000. I wish they'd also run the Harley Davidson scheme that Rusty won this very race with that year, that's one of my favorite paint schemes. I agree about Newman not being chase material this year. Aside from his Martinsville win where he got lucky, I haven't seen him near the front even as often as Ambrose (who has seemed to have gotten himself on a top 5 roll) or Logano, who haven't exactly been the models of consistency themselves. This feud between Newman and Montoya has pretty much been going on since Juan's first Cup start in 2006. Once again I am surprised Brian Vickers got a top 5!! Then again, if your name isn't Michael Waltrip you can pretty much run good in a MWR car this year due to how strong they have been. I never thought MWR as an organization would have a year like this. I still say Truex needs to get a win though, he's run near the front far too often over the past couple of years to not have a win. I'm gonna safely assume that Kevin Harvick probably won't be winning this year (seeing as I don't like the guy it doesn't sadden me though). So much for 3 great seasons in a row that I predicted could possibly happen on the Phoenix Cup page earlier this year (mainly out of curiosity if he could do that since he never managed 2 great seasons in a row where he won multiple races before 2010). 292. Mike posted: 08.26.2012 - 1:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not gonna lie, I was pretty happy to see the 98 go the distance. It's about time. 293. cjs3872 posted: 08.26.2012 - 1:54 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Red, remember what happened to Jimmie Johnson at Michigan, when he was leading with six laps remaining and blew. That resulted in a negative swing of 30 points, and it dropped him from a six point lead over Greg Biffle to a 28-point deficit. If that happens to Kahne at Atlanta, it could have similar ramifications, especially if it puts someone like Kyle Busch or Jeff Gordon in victory lane. I'm not saying Kahne will run poorly at Atlanta. In fact, should run among the leaders during the race. But what I am saying is that if he has a bad race, in terms of points, even if he runs really well, it could mean trouble for his Chase chances, if certain things happen. But you're right, the odds are that these things won't happen, but the fact that a multiple race winner has dropped so close to dropping out of the top ten in the standings is the only thing that even makes this an even remote possibility in my view. 294. Richie61NYfan posted: 08.26.2012 - 1:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, That's crash #13 for "The Face Of NASCAR" so far YTD. She gave back all those positions that she fought so hard to gain. Watch the in car and listen. She has no reflexes and even let the steering wheel get away.Others got tapped also during the race but didn't wreck. Regan is now a marked man and must be shaking in his boots.He got in a few jingles but still finished 16th on lead lap. That's Bristol for you.All in all I thought it was a good race with a lot of passing and getting loose.There was passing inside and outside. I also think Jimmie is loaded for bear and that all 4 Hendrick cars will make the chase with Kyle just missing it.Yes,Kyle has had some bad luck like Gordon and Kasey but how many times has he hit the wall coming off the turns at different tracks and ruined his race? We shall see if Smoke takes Matt out in the future.Bad attendence is because of the economy, not the track and will probably get worse. Still love Bristol !!! 295. JRacingFast posted: 08.26.2012 - 2:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I DVR'd the race and am watching it now.....I have to say ABC and ESPNS coverage this far is pretty great 296. NicoRosbergFan posted: 08.26.2012 - 4:57 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hey, Captain Jesus didn't start and park. 297. joey2448 posted: 08.26.2012 - 5:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Someone mentioned this already, but looking at the stats, it's incredible to see how competitive this race was...Nine drivers led 25 laps or more, and ten guys had a double-digit number of laps led. And the battle for the lead at times was amazing!...Even though sometimes it was because the leader was slower and holding the rest of the field up. I literally had no idea who was gonna win until the final laps, and that makes a great race! And to be honest, I think more cautions add to the excitement, because it allows for different pit strategies and different drivers up front leading...When it's all green-flag racing, everyone always just pits around the same time, and it's just the same guy leading. As for the wild card, I think Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch get in, and Carl Edwards and Jeff Gordon will miss it (Unfortunately. I'm a 24 fan). You can forget about the rest (Newman, Ambrose, Logano). ON TO HOTLANTA!!! 298. Elijah Koufax posted: 08.26.2012 - 5:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I enjoyed the racing tonight. Different than the spring in that there were more wrecks, but side by side racing was still possible. 299. Bronco posted: 08.26.2012 - 5:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) As I said earlier, as soon as Martin Truex got impatient trying to lap the #10 and went to the bottom, it seemed like Hamlin would just take control of the race after that. He then pushed Carl as fast as he could go, which then ran Carl out of fuel. If Carl had even finished in the top 5, there was the off-chance that he could sneak into the top 10 in points by Richmond. Carl would be a good pick for Atlanta based on his 3 wins there, were it not for the fact that his team just doesn't have the ability to lead this year. He's a good pick for Richmond too based on the past two races there but I have a feeling Richmond will go to someone already in the top 10. Hamlin's 20th win moves him past Dale Jr and Carl Edwards on the all time wins list. His 3 wins this year have come at tracks where he hadn't previously won at. Biffle, Johnson and Earnhardt Jr all wrapped up their chase spots with their finishes. Kenseth could have done so too were it not for his wreck with Stewart. 300. NicoRosbergFan posted: 08.26.2012 - 8:02 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Despite having only run 6 races all year, Vickers led all drivers with an average finish of 4.5 @ Bristol this season. 301. Peter posted: 08.26.2012 - 9:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) ESPN covering NASCAR again is horrible; they are so biased and spent basically the whole night covering Danica, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, and Joey Logono. How about you cover the defending champion for more then crashing out of the race? Or Brian Vickers night or Casey Mears surprising pole? Instead what did we get? An earth-shaking report about Danica staying on the led lap every 50 laps. ESPN really dropped the ball! 302. Dave#38Fan posted: 08.26.2012 - 9:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) the second time this year that mcdowell and the #98 team have ran the full race, hopefully there's more to come. 303. Anonymous posted: 08.26.2012 - 10:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) For the first time ever, Dale Jr qualifies for the chase in consecutive seasons. 304. Jordan posted: 08.26.2012 - 11:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @301: They barely mentioned Danica, maybe once every 100 laps or so aside from mentioning that she received the lucky dog... at least until Smith wrecked her. 305. 18fan posted: 08.26.2012 - 11:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) And they mainly focused on the battle for the lead, so if you weren't up front you didn't get much air time. And since Tony Stewart wasn't up front at all basically until he was racing with Kenseth before they wrecked, he didn't get covered much. 306. ch posted: 08.26.2012 - 11:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor corrections: 19 - Humphrey Smith Racing 33 - Circle Sport One point regarding Humphrey Smith Racing... Did anybody else notice the 91 was a CHEVY this week?!? They have now used everything but Dodge! 307. cjs3872 posted: 08.26.2012 - 11:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Richie61NYfan, what you say about Danica not having any reflxes is way offbase. First, she got flat turned by Regan Smith coming off turn four. Anybody that happens to is going to crash. Remember hat even ther straightaways are banked siginficantly at Bristol. And about her "losing control" of the steering wheel? She actually lets go of the steering wheel when she knos she's not going to be able to save it, because as smallas she is, if she holds on to the steering wheel, she realizes she could break her wrists. In fact, other drivers have caught on to that after watching her let go of the steering wheel at Daytona, and some of the other drivers are doing that themselves. 308. Nick posted: 08.26.2012 - 11:57 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) That was a fantastic race! The finish wasn't that good but the final pass for lead was. I am a big critic of Danica but she did do a great job tonight. She was on the lead lap & was going to get a top 20. And how about Labonte finishing 14th! Nice job there. 309. Anonymous posted: 08.26.2012 - 12:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Surprised that Casey Mears lasted out front as long as he did, I assumed he'd get shuffled back in the first few laps, good for him 310. Red posted: 08.26.2012 - 12:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, even though it's popular to hate on Danica, I think she did a pretty good job in this race. If Regan wouldn't have put her in the wall, she would've finished 20th-23rd. Considering how far off she was in practice, that's not bad at all. And ESPN didn't mention her very much except when she got the lucky dogs and when she was about to get lapped by Truex and Hamlin. I don't think Danica will be quite as much of a train wreck in 2013 as people seem to believe. Sure, she'll probably be the slowest driver among the competitive teams, but I don't think she'll totally embarass herself. However, the #14 and #39 will likely suffer a bit as SHR pours extra resources into helping the #10. It really is startling how well MWR is running this year. I never thought they'd ever be more than a mid-pack team. I guess Mikey finally found something he doesn't suck at. However, I find it rather odd that they're willing to sacrifice the championship hopes of one of their teams (the #55) to have a part-timer like Mark in the seat. ESPN did mention that Mark was helping a lot behind the scenes, but it still doesn't seem like a good strategy to me. 311. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.26.2012 - 12:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The problem with running mid pack is that is where the majority of the wrecks happen. And that is what has bit Danica a lot this year. That is why they need to worry about getting her up to speed instead of this "just getting seat time" garbage. The stuff she finds herself involved with usually doesn't happen up front. Unless it is Stewart and Kenseth. There is some real hatred between those two. 312. Anonymous posted: 08.26.2012 - 12:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) i was at this race and the regan smith Danica wreck looked like just racing to me after the wall contact the 78 was a pile of crap wandering everywhere on the track 313. Mr X posted: 08.26.2012 - 1:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Okay, as promised here are the current standings under the points system I created, which I last showed to you guys on last weeks Michigan cup series comments page, comment #270. Top 15 as of BMS-Race #24 Driver-Points Total-Bonus Points-(Difference) 1. Jimmie Johnson-27071-595-(Leader) 2. Greg Biffle-26666-362-(-405) 3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.-26162-230-(-909) 4. Matt Kenseth-25635-287-(-1436) 5. Brad Keselowski-24889-261-(-2182) 6. Clint Bowyer-24760-128-(-2311) 7. Martin Truex Jr.-24577-229-(-2494) 8. Denny Hamlin-24564-356-(-2507) 9. Tony Stewart-23718-246-(-3353) 10. Kevin Harvick-23368-64-(-3703) 11. Kasey Kahne-23195-119-(-3876) WC1 12. Kyle Busch-22263-399-(-4808) WC2 13. Carl Edwards-21818-106-(-5253) 14. Jeff Gordon-21369-185-(-5702) 15. Ryan Newman-21228-4-(-5843) 314. Mr X posted: 08.26.2012 - 1:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ugh, is it Atlanta & Spa yet! 315. Scott B posted: 08.26.2012 - 1:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Marcos Ambrose was the top finishing Ford for the second time in three weeks. 316. NadeauFan91 posted: 08.26.2012 - 1:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I thought the race was pretty good, though the inside was almost impossible to consistently make passes on. I'd much rather have the "one-lane" be the low-lane than the high lane. Otherwise, it's definitely an improvement. 317. Bronco posted: 08.26.2012 - 1:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Sure, she'll probably be the slowest driver among the competitive teams, but I don't think she'll totally embarass herself." How is being the slowest driver among competitive teams not an embarrassment to herself? Finishing ahead of the start and parks and in the same vicinity as cars from TBR, BKR and FRM is bad for a fully funded, competitive car. Bottom line - when you're finishing 20th on average in a watered down series like Nationwide, whether its due to bad luck or wrecks, you shouldn't be thinking of being anywhere near a Cup car. Also Vickers deserves the #22 ride more than anyone else. In only 6 starts, he has three top 5s, which is especially impressive considering he had never finished in the top 10 at Bristol or Sonoma before. Hornish will continue to make mistakes and will never put that car in the chase. 318. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.26.2012 - 2:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wanna see a Busch Series up and comer get the #22 car. To me, Logano and Vickers have had their chances and didn't get the job done. The list of people who were pretty much shown the door by their owners (excluding JD Stacy of course, that guy was a dumbass) for lack of performance and found success elsewhere is pretty short. Give somebody new a chance and bring in some fresh blood like they did with Brad in 2010. Yes there is a chance there will be growing pains like Brad had in 2010 when he stunk up the Cup Series, but we need to quit recycing drivers. Allgaier (his recent Bristol embarrassment notwithstanding)? Beuscher? Piquet? Hell, what about Timothy Peters? The Truck to Cup jump is a big one, but has been done (Kurt, Carl). I just wanna see somebody new. This stagnation is killing me. 319. MStall41 posted: 08.26.2012 - 2:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Best race of 2012. This new configuration is every bit as good as the old Bristol, just different in that the preferred groove is up top instead of on the bottom. Hopefully the racing stays good here, this was one of the best Bristol races I've ever seen. 320. Tyler (fourturns.blogspot.com) posted: 08.26.2012 - 2:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's definitely gonna be an interesting silly season. Vickers has performed admirably well with MWR, Sadler as performed well in NNS, Hornish has done a fairly decent job since taking over the No. 22 and there isn't that many spots open. With his performances this season, Vickers has shown he deserves to be in Cup. He's had 3 top fives in six starts and his stats would look amazing if it weren't for that blown engine at Watkins Glen. I just don't think he'll get the ride with Penske. If Penske gets just one driver, it's probably gonna be Hornish -- but if he opens up a third team and finds sponsorship, it'll be Logano. So Vickers will be left out in the cold again. However, what if Logano does go to Penske and with an NNS team open in the JGR stable, Vickers goes to Gibbs full time in Nationwide? Its definitely not a Cup ride by any means but Vickers would have the legitimate possibility of winning his second NNS title. The problem with NASCAR right now is that they're are too many talented drivers and not enough competitive teams and full time sponsors. As of right now, Vickers, Hornish and Sadler all deserve to be in Cup but all three wont be there in 2013 -- one, maybe two, will be racing full time in Nationwide next season. 321. murb posted: 08.26.2012 - 2:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I read this thing on Jayski last night about how Penske is open to running three cars next year. They would get someone for the 22 (probably Logano), and then run a third car with Hornish and his NNS team. I think Vickers absolutely deserves a full time ride. He has come a long way this year after his Martinsville run last year that would have made Steve Wallace blush. If I was Michael, I would just let him run the 55 car full time. And then run Mark (and a young guy like Brett Moffitt) part time in a fourth car. MW is unbelievable at attracting sponsorship, so I'm sure they could get it done. But at the same time, Michael isn't the sharpest knife in the kitchen, so this probably won't happen. 322. Anonymous posted: 08.26.2012 - 3:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As much as I don't like vickers, he does deserve a full time ride. Three top fives is big for him with that short a schedule. And kvapil and gilliland continue to lead their teams, solid top twenties on the lead lap 323. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.26.2012 - 3:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yikes, switching manufacturers AND possibly adding a third team, sound like a major transitional year next year for Penske. Translation: get it done while you can Brad, it may be a while before you are in this position again. And I disagree respectfully about Vickers. Yes, he has done way better this year than I ever imagined he would. I give him a big tip of the cap for that. But we can't forget his utterly forgettable career prior to this year. He caused way more harm than good. Of course I may still be scarred from having to sit through last year's Martinsville race, a great race marred by all the caution laps I had to sit through thanks too him. 324. Richie61NYfan posted: 08.26.2012 - 4:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) CJS POST #307. I have to respectfully disagree with you that Danica was turned into the wall.Any other driver would have saved the car with the little tap she received from Smith.Same thing last year in NNS with Truex.She hit Truex with the RF on his LR and she was the only one who wrecked.This time it was Smith's RF on her LR and she was the only one that wrecked.When she can come off a turn sideways and let er all hang out then I will change my tune.She was running 22nd at the time and gained those positions by start and parks and attrition due to wrecks.In the end,she gave those spots back the same way she "earned" them.She is doing double duty at Atlanta too and has never raced there so look for more of the same. Good lord, wait til she goes to Martinsville next year.JR and Tony sure are using a lot of Godaddy bucks to replace her cars as she doesn't hit the walls a little,she pounds them. And to think she will be in 5 of the 10 Chase races??? Will be interesting if somehow she takes Tony and JR out of contention. 325. cjs3872 posted: 08.26.2012 - 5:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Richie61NYfan, Danica was hit in the left rear corner, so there was no way she wasn't going to spin out, and he fact that the straightaways at Bristol are banked more than the turns at some tracks are, gravity was going to cause her to crash. And as for her gaining spots through attrition, isn't that a part of racing. She had moved up to 19th at the time of the incident, bascially because she was able to stay out of trouble. Now she won't be able to do as well at Atlanta with that tactic, because there isn't likely to be many crashes there, but the fact that she was in the top 20 with less than 100 laps to go was, in itself, an accomplishment for someone making their first start at that track. And Anonymous (#309), it should not have been a surprise that Mears and Almirola were able to stay up there as long as they did, because it was virtually impossible to pass. The only way a pass was made down low was either if the driver on the high side let the driver in the low groove pass, or if the driver in the low groove forced the move. In fact, had he been aggressive about trying to pass Carl Edwards for the lead, Brian Vickers would probably have won the race. And actually, that would have ben better for Edwards' teammates for him to let Vickers go, since neither Vickers or the #55 team could possibly have harmed Roush had Vickers won the race last night, instead of Denny Hamlin. And DSFF, you're right about Jim Stacy's record of releasing drivers in his two stints as a Cup team owner, though money was always a big problem for him. In his first stint, he had Neil Bonnett, who he was hppy with, but Stacy was a victim of what happened with the Magnum in 1978, then he loaned his team to Rod Osterlund late in the season in '78, but took back control for 1979, but when the Wood Brothers ride opened up, Stacy let Bonnett go to that car. Then when Stacy got back involved in 1981, he did not care for Dale Earnhardt, a feeling that was mutual, so Earnhardt left, even though he had Dale Inman as his crew chief. Then Stacy went through a bevy of drivers, including Joe Ruttman, Tim Richmond, Mark Martin, and Morgan Shepherd. Of those drivers, the only one Stacy seemed to like was Richmond, but when the #27 car opened up after 1982, Richmond, who won twice at Riverside fr Stacy in '82, went for it. At that same time, Dale Inman left for Billy hagan's team and driver Terry Labonte, who Stacy had sponsored for a good chunk of '82, only to pul sponsorship while Labonte was leading the points, because Labonte wasn't aggressive enough, in the eyes of Stacy. But Jim Stacy had probably the worst record in the sport's history, in terms of firing elite-level drivers, one of which was a champion (Earnhardt), another of which became a champion (Labonte), and two others could have been champions with some luck (Richmond and Martin), and all four drivers who I'm talking about, Earnhardt, Labonte, Martin, and Richmond, were Hall of fame caliber drivers, and at least three of them will be in the Hall of Fame some day (Richmond's the only question mark among the four). 326. richiesbx137 posted: 08.26.2012 - 5:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think it was a great race and the old Bristol seems to be back, it will be an interesting race, I think the last spot will be between Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon, I think 11 of the 12 will be probably be identified by Atlanta. Also I think Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne will probably be safe. Tony, especially with his three wins, we will see what happens, cannot wait for the next two races. 327. David posted: 08.26.2012 - 5:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Unofficial Chase clinch scenarios for Atlanta: The magic number is 49. Any driver 49 points ahead of 11th place leaving AMS has clinched an automatic Chase spot. Four drivers--Matt Kenseth, Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer, and Brad Keselowski--are in control of their fates Sunday. Kenseth clinches a spot by finishing 40th or better, 41st or better if he leads a lap, or 42nd or better if he leads the most laps. Truex clinches a spot by finishing 14th or better, 15th or better if he leads a lap, or 16th or better if he leads the most laps. Bowyer clinches a spot by finishing 11th or better, 12th or better if he leads a lap, or 13th or better if he leads the most laps. Keselowski clinches a spot by finishing seventh or better, eighth or better if he leads a lap, or ninth or better of he leads the most laps. Should Keselowski, Tony Stewart, or Denny Hamlin take the checkered flag on Sunday, they will clinch at least a wild-card berth. 328. murb posted: 08.26.2012 - 5:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In other silly season news: During the IndyCar race, they reported that AJ Foyt is talking to AJ Allmendinger about a ride in Foyt's famous 14 car. Not sure how close it is to happening, but I think it would be a good thing for AJ to go back to open wheel at this point. He blew his chances in Nascar, so why not go back to where you started to redeem yourself? 329. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 08.26.2012 - 5:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To me, Trevor Bayne is the one who deserves the #22 car. He drove a great race in last year's Daytona 500 and handled himself like a pro who'd been doing this for years. And he continued on his progress in Nationwide as well, getting his first win in that series. I do doubt that he will even be considered now though, seeing as Penske could possibly be under Roush's hand once they switch to Ford. Hope like hell that I am wrong about this. 330. cjs3872 posted: 08.26.2012 - 5:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Richiesbx137, I don't think it was a good race at all because you couldn't pass. What you had to do was to just stay in line, because as I've mentioned several times, if you tried to make a pass down low, it was like getting out of the draft at Daytona or Talladega, you went straight to the back on the line, unless someone wanted to let you in. The outside groove had an insane edge because of the extra grip that there was next to the wall, which was they very thing that the most recent redo of the track was done to avoid. Now I do agree that after the Atlanta race that 11 of the 12 drivers in the Chase will be identified. But Tony Stewart holds the key as to who may get in via the Wild Card. If he duplicates what he did at Atlanta last year, he's almost certain to clich a spot for Kasey Kahne, unless Jeff Gordon duplicates what he did there last year, and win the race. 331. Bronco posted: 08.26.2012 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "But we can't forget his utterly forgettable career prior to this year. He caused way more harm than good." If by harm you mean taking a startup team with a new manufacturer and winning a race and putting them in the chase (beating out Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth) then yes, he has done a lot of harm. I don't like him any more than you, but he is seriously one of the most underrated drivers out there. 2004-2006: A decent job with the #25 team, actually did better with Lance McGrew than both Dale Jr and Mark Martin. Led lots of laps but scored an unlikely win at the end of his time with the #25. 2007: Missed a bunch of races with the new #83 team just like all the other Toyota teams that year, still scored a bunch of top 10s that year. 2008: Locked himself into the top 35, showed lots of speed and improvement. 2009: Scored many top 10s in the summer plus a Michigan win on his way to the chase but predictably collapsed once he got there. 2010: Season cut short by health issues, leading to TRB taking a big step backward. 2011: Became the No. 2 driver with the addition of the #4 team, got blacklisted after the fall Martinsville and Phoenix races. 2012: Impresses in a very limited schedule. That's why he deserves the #22 over Hornish, Logano or any other N'wide driver. Probably the only pick better than Vickers would be Sadler, but he'll never leave RCR. 332. cjs3872 posted: 08.26.2012 - 5:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree, RCRandPenskeGuy, but it was apparently announced that Bayne will drive the #6 Nationwide car nxt year in an attempt for the championship while continuing in the #21 Wood Brothers car for 12-16 races. But Bayne's attempt for the championship, as we saw last year until he got sick, will probably be a Terry Labonte-style run at the title, with a lot of 5th-8th place runs, with some occasional thirds, but very few, if any wins. In fact, the way Hornish is trying to win the title this year would be the way Bayne would probably go after it next year. As I mentioned, Bayne does not seem to want to go out and lead races, something he actually admitted last year, but he's a guy that can be counted on to finish races, and I'm not sure his style is going to play well with Roush, who wants his drivers to win lots of races. 333. murb posted: 08.26.2012 - 5:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Trevor would be an awesome fit in the 22 car. But it won't happen because of Jack Roush. I've said this before on here, but I really wish Trevor would get out from under that Roush umbrella. At the end of last year, you could already tell that Trevor was going to be stuck there in Stenhouse's shadow. And it's a shame because there were other rides open elsewhere that he could have taken and ran with. Like, what if Dale Jr had gotten him for the 88 car instead of Cole Whitt? I think that would have been a great fit. Or what if Penske had chosen him in the first place for the 22 instead of Allmendinger? I think it would have been great. But unfortunately, it just seems like Jack Roush is holding him hostage. And to me, it kind of seems like Trevor is scared of him. I read something this week about Trevor where he said he wouldn't consider the 22 car unless Jack told him it was an option. It's just a really bizarre and frustrating situation. 334. Jordan posted: 08.26.2012 - 7:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Drivers who have been given up on recently and succeeded elsewhere: Kurt Busch - Roush to Penske Johnny Benson - Roush to MB2 Kyle Busch - Hendrick to Gibbs Jeremy Mayfield - Penske to Evernham Ricky Craven - Hendrick to a few upstarts to PPI Jeff Burton - Roush to RCR Robby Gordon - Sabco to own team to RCR Jamie McMurray - Roush to EGR AJ Allmendinger - Red Bull to RPM (I don't consider his Penske time successful) Dale Jarrett - Yates to MWR (HAHA, never mind...) Regan Smith - DEI to Furniture Row Joe Nemechek - Hendrick to MB2 Bill Elliott - gave up on himself, then succeeded at Evernham Ricky Rudd - gave up on himself, then succeeded at Yates Mark Martin - Roush gave up on him because of his games, succeeded at Hendrick and MWR Travis Kvapil - Penske to late Yates (he made them look A LOT better) I probably forgot a lot, but I think this is conclusive enough for now. 335. The Final Gear posted: 08.26.2012 - 9:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #307 "In fact, other drivers have caught on to that after watching her let go of the steering wheel at Daytona, and some of the other drivers are doing that themselves." Don't pull a DW and say that she invented that. Drivers have been doing that for a long time. 336. Spen posted: 08.26.2012 - 9:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jordan: I'll grant you the Busch brothers, though both of them were fired for personality reasons, not performance issues. I don't think DSFF was talking about someone going from a lousy ride to a good one, so Robby, Allmendinger, Bill and Rudd don't really count. As for the others, I think you have a very low definition of 'success'. Kvapil in particular shouldn't be on that list. And getting one or two wins, like Mayfield, Nemechek, Smith or Craven isn't exactly setting the world on fire. Mark wasn't fired by Roush, he retired and then was convinced to unretire. That leaves Burton and McMurray. Both of whom have had some success since leaving their old teams, but not "holy mama llama, this guy's serious championship material" success. (Yes, Burton was in the title hunt in '06 and '08, but with single digit top five totals each year. Unless your name is Tony Stewart, that won't get the job done.) I suppose under your standards Newman's tenure at the #39 would be called successful as well. Bronco: It wasn't just the Martinsville and Phoenix races. According to this site's caution lists, Vickers was involved in 22 cautions over the course of the 2011 season, a total second only to David Stremme's appalling 2009 season. In other words, he wrecked more than Buckshot Jones! And when you consider that Penske cars always seem to wreck more often than most teams (in '09, their cars were first, second and fifth in terms of most accidents), having Vickers in that car sounds like a recipe for disaster. And aside from that, Vickers is a driver with a clear ceiling. He's never had mroe than five top fives in a year. *Casey Mears* got the exact same results out of the #25 team. Kasey Kahne, driving for a team about to go out of business, and with a contract already in place for the following season, giving him absolutely zero incentive to push the car at all, had a better season in 2011 than Vickers has ever had in his career. I'd be willing to bet that David Smith's site would classify him as a 'replaceable' driver for his entire career. Now, does he deserve the ride more than Logano? Maybe, but Logano at least has time on his side. DSFF: "Allgaier (his recent Bristol embarrassment notwithstanding)? Beuscher? Piquet? Hell, what about Timothy Peters? The Truck to Cup jump is a big one, but has been done (Kurt, Carl). I just wanna see somebody new. This stagnation is killing me." Allgaier isn't a Cup callibar driver. And Penske already ditched him once (granted, that was for sponsorship issues). It would be chronically idiotic for Buescher to leave Turner. He's got the ultimate job security (so long as he keeps Kris happy, anyway), and if he plays his cards right, I could seriously see him driving the #24 by 2016. Piquet might be an interesting option, but having seen what Allmendinger did with the car, and knowing how Hornish will do with it, I'd just as soon not go for another open-wheeler. I'd *love* to see Peters get a shot at it though. He's been the ultimate dark horse his whole career, and I think he could really surprise some people in Cup. Unfortunately, he's too old to be seriously considered as an option. 337. I love Japan posted: 08.26.2012 - 9:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bronco your list about Vickers pales in comparison to mine from last October on his page. Fact is he is barely mediocre. MWR is good this year. Plus he had mptivation. If he was full time he would be performing terribly. 338. David posted: 08.26.2012 - 9:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I'd be willing to bet that David Smith's site would classify him as a 'replaceable' driver for his entire career." Funny you should mention that, because his career PEERs were posted in an article breaking down the candidates to replace A.J. Allmendinger. 2003 - 0.100 - Replacement Level 2004 - 0.236 - Replacement Level 2005 - 1.139 - Serviceable 2006 - 1.111 - Serviceable 2007 - 1.902 - Serviceable 2008 - 1.000 - Serviceable 2009 - 0.764 - Replacement Level 2010 - 1.841 - Serviceable 2011 - 0.903 - Replacement Level Any questions? 339. 1995z71 posted: 08.26.2012 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Probably already said but... In the past 3 weeks Marcos Ambrose has a win & 2 top 5s. Brian Vickers had 3 Top 5s in 2011. (36 starts) Brian Vickers had 3 Top 5s in 2012. (6 starts, so far) 340. murb posted: 08.26.2012 - 10:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think Timothy could turn out to be a good Cup driver. But he's obviously having a great career in the Truck series. He's looking very good for the championship this year. And he seems happy there. So he's probably just better off staying in the Truck series and being one of the top guys over there for the years to come. "Allgaier isn't a Cup callibar driver." Justin is very hard to comprehend. He seems like he is on the brink of getting a Cup ride and going places with it. But at the same time, he really has no connections to Cup at all. His only option would be to stick around with Turner for a few more years and hope that down the line they expand into Cup. Another thing with him too is that he kind of joined Penske at the wrong time. Just as an experiment, let's say that Justin joins Penske in 2010 instead of 2009. He wins the 2010 NNS ROTY, and then runs another full time year in 2011 and breaks out. If all this had happened, he probably would have replaced Kurt in the 22, and he'd be in Cup right now. But of course, they had sponsorship issues (thanks to Sprint and Nascar's lame thing where they can't have any other mobile companies as sponsors), and he had to settle for the ride at Turner. He has done good there, but like I said, his only real opportunity at Cup will probably be only if Turner decides to move up. 341. Anonymous posted: 08.26.2012 - 10:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Three straight top twenties for David Gilliland, thats a great accomplishment for that team. 342. cjs3872 posted: 08.26.2012 - 11:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Final Gear, I'm not saying Danica invented that move of letting go of the steering wheel beofre the inevitable crash. What I am saying is that other drivers noticed that and started doing it, but I did not notice drivers doing that in mubers prior to that, but I don't tihnk there' any way that Danica is the first to do that. And Jordan, I'm not sure you or anyone else noticed, but on that list of drivers that seemed to prosper after leaving a team, there were FIVE instances you mentioned of a driver's fortunes improving once he left Jack Roush's team. What might that mean for Matt Kenseth next year, wherever he winds up? One of those was Jamie McMurray, who left after winning for roush at Talladega in 2009. All he did in 2010 for Chip Ganassi was to win or finish second in each of the five most prestigous races in the sport, winning the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400, and finishing second in the Southern 500, Coca-Cola 600, and the spring race at Talladega. But not one driver seemed to prosper when they got to Roush's team. 343. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 08.26.2012 - 11:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ... ... ... Um...wow. The race was...nothing like any of us expected. Do I like Bristol V? Well, It's only one race, and it's hard to tell after only one race, but I think it's just okay. 2007-2012 was much better, but at least this Bristol is better then the 90's incarnation of the track by a longshot. However, the idea of the High Line being the fastest all around is just EPIC to me! The only other place like that is Darlington, and I love that place almost to death! But why is it that everyone whined and complained about the racing, then Stewart throws a helmet, and everyone screams that the race is great, Bristol III of insanity is back, and the like. Geez people, a sissy *Yes, I will flat out call Stewart a sissy* throwing a helmet with two hands does not make a race great, or a track great. Geez. Oh, and congrats, oddly enough, to Danica for successfully finishing ahead of her Sprint Cup team owner and team contemporary. Really...it's weird. ATLANTA! YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES! I will put my all out to watch this race! It will be FUN like it always has been! 344. JRacingFast posted: 08.27.2012 - 7:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @343 YES! im glad i wasnt the only one who thought the race at Bristol was like Darlington with that highline! i hope it stays like that 345. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.27.2012 - 8:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) All I can say is I have a totally different view of Vickers' career than you Bronco with the exception of his impressive part time performances this year. His first three years under the HMS umbrella were a huge disappointment. Many wrecks, one controversial win. Even a race like the '05 Coke 600 where he ran good, he screwed up the moment the going got tough. And although the Red Bull experiment never had much of a chance, I still felt he underperformed. Worst of all, he showed he is a classic "contract performer". The best he has ever looked was the summer of '09 when Red Bull was really hemming and hawing about signing him to an extension. He won Michigan and made the playoffs. They signed the contract and he tanked like nobody before him. Even before health issues sidelined him, 2010 wasn't looking good, then Kasey took him to school last year as Brian REALLY self destructed, low lighted by his horrendous Martinsville performance and wrecking of championship contender Matt Kenseth. I just feel that 1) he has already had his chance and 2) if given a long term committment, he has shown no reason to think he will do anything but get fat and lazy again. It just seems like the only time he is respectable is when the term "hot seat" is involved. The summer of '95 when he had some nice runs with the HMS brass putting pressure on him, late '06 when he needed to boost his stock for a new ride for '07, the aforementioned summer '09 run, and now. 346. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.27.2012 - 8:50 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) *Summer of '05. 347. Bronco posted: 08.27.2012 - 10:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "His first three years under the HMS umbrella were a huge disappointment." In his defense, he was driving the "fourth" car at HMS, which as I mentioned has never amounted to anything. Not only that, but you can only do so well when you have Lance NoClue as your crew chief. I think I've explained the Lance NoClue effect several times before. "And although the Red Bull experiment never had much of a chance, I still felt he underperformed" He literally built that organization from the ground up - not sure how that's underperforming. As for Kasey outperforming him in 2011, that was because of a switch during the 2010 season (after the Coke 600) between the 82 and 83 teams. When Brian returned he essentially took over the 82 ride formerly driven by Scott Slow while Kasey got the former 83 team renumbered with the 4 on it and brought his own crew chief with him. " It just seems like the only time he is respectable is when the term "hot seat" is involved." That isn't just him, you could say that about a lot of drivers, Truex, Harvick, Logano etc. Bottom line - he would do better in the #22 than Hornish/Logano or anyone in Nationwide not named Sadler or Bayne. 348. The Final Gear posted: 08.27.2012 - 10:04 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "He's got the ultimate job security (so long as he keeps Kris happy, anyway), and if he plays his cards right, I could seriously see him driving the #24 by 2016." Nope. The guy with the inside track for the #24 ride in the future is Chase Elliott. Hendrick really likes the kid and he will be in the Nationwide series soon. 349. cjs3872 posted: 08.27.2012 - 10:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bronco, you forgot another factor in Vickers' underperformance last year, and that is the albatross that is Kenny Francis. No driver that's been on another team that's been under the same roof as a car crew chiefed by Kenny Francis has done hardly anything. It was that way at Evernham/GEM/Richard Petty Motorsports, and Jeff Gordon has suffered those same effects this year. And the problems Gordon has had this year, particlarly lack of speed, has more than anything else, showed the problems being teamed up with Kenny Francis has brought on to any driver the Kahne/Francis combo has been teamed up with. 350. 10andJoe posted: 08.27.2012 - 11:39 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) >Nope. The guy with the inside track for the #24 ride in the future is Chase Elliott. Hendrick really likes the kid and he will be in the Nationwide series soon. Assuming he stays a hot hand - we have, after all, seen the overwhelming success development driver programs have had in the sport [/SarcasmMode] - that'd be the 2014 season, thanks to the Kyle Busch Rule. And if Elliott has the #24 "on reserve", that just might help keep him from being Kenny Irwin'd, if we assume Jeff races until 2016 or 2017. 351. cjs3872 posted: 08.27.2012 - 12:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Things are getting very interesting, as far as the Chase positions andtioning goes, especially since the recent misfortunes that Tony Stewart has had has definately put the tenth position in points back in play, though it appears that Denny Hamlin and maybe even Kevin Harvick may have safely assured their positions in the top ten. Here's how the standings would look if the Chase started now, using my weighted system, and note that there's been a change in the last position, remembering that all tie-breakers are decided by current points standings: 1. Greg Biffle 2036 (current points leader, 2 wins) 2. Jimmie Johnson 2036 (second, 3 wins) 3. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 2027 (third, 1 win) 4. Matt Kenseth 2024 (fourth, 1 win) 5. Brad Keselowski 2021 (seventh, 3 wins) 6. Martin Truex, Jr. 2018 (fifth, no wins) 7. Clint Bowyer 2018 (sixth, 1 win) 8. Denny Hamlin 2018 (eighth, 3 wins) 9. Tony Stewart 2012 (tenth, 3 wins) 10. Kevin Harvick 2006 (ninth, no wins) 11. Kasey Kahne 2000 (2 wins banked in) 12. Kyle Busch 2000 (1 win banked in) With the second Wild Card changing hands at Bristol, here's how that battle looks, using Kyle Busch as the marker now. -Kyle Busch (WC2 leader with the highest point ranking with 1 win at 13th) -Jeff Gordon (14th, 1 win, 16 points behind Busch) -Ryan Newman (15th, 1 win, 19 points behind Busch) -Marcos Ambrose (16th, 1 win, 28 points behind Busch) -Joey Logano (18th, 1 win, 69 points behind Busch) Winless drivers still seeking: -Carl Edwards (12th in points, no wins, five points AHEAD of Busch and 34 out of 10th) -Paul Menard (17th in points, no wins, 33 points behind Busch) NOTES: Jamie McMurray (19th) and Jeff Burton (20th) are bascially out of contention, and Joey Logano is virtually eliminated from contention, and all three will be officially eliminated with a win by Busch, Gordon, Newman, or Ambrose at Atlanta, as he's currently 41 points behind Ambrose, or if any of them end up more than 48 points and 1 win behind the second Wild Card driver after Atlanta. Also, any driver 49 or more points ahead of 1th place after Atlanta clinch, and Kasey Kahne clinches a Chase berth with a win, or the top ten in points all clinch at Atlanta, unless one of the five other drivers outside of the top ten that have won, win at Atlanta. 352. Daniel posted: 08.27.2012 - 4:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Atlanta entry list: -Danica Patrick in the #10 -Trevor Bayne in the #21 -Ken Schrader in the #32 -Jason Leffler in the #49 -Mark Martin in the #55 -Scott Speed in the #95 353. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.27.2012 - 4:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "That isn't just him, you could say that about a lot of drivers, Truex, Harvick, Logano etc." Oh I agree with this, and it is one of the things that really bugs me about sports in general, people get "motivated" to prove they deserve the big contract or just a contract. How about being "motivated" to prove you can be the best out there. This applies across the board. "Um...wow. The race was...nothing like any of us expected." Ain't that the truth! By perhaps the biggest stroke of luck I have ever seen they brought back the Bristol mayhem by the track doing THE EXACT OPPOSITE of what Bruton and his minions expected. They ground away the top groove to effectively take it away and condense the rest of the grooves. But then it rubbered it and it became THE preferred groove. And having just one groove on a fast little track brought out the frustration and tempers. SMI sure didn't mean to, but it wound up working. 354. murb posted: 08.27.2012 - 4:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "-Danica Patrick in the #10" I guess we're gonna have to start getting used to this. More and more coverage of her. Anyhow, I'm curious as to how she'll fare at Atlanta, since it is so worn out and has really become one of the toughest tracks in Nascar. 355. cjs3872 posted: 08.27.2012 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, perhaps it worked too well, because it was virtually impossible to pass, because the the cars running the upper groove seemed to have 50 more horsepower than those in the bottom groove, and even some of the most conservative drivers in the sport were roughing up other competitors. Over the weekend, guys like Matt Kenseth, Trevor Bayne, Austin Dillon, and Regan Smith were roughing up competitors, and you hardly ever see that from any of those drivers, particularly Bayne and Kenseth (where in the race Kenseth did it). All the beating and banging allowed even Danica Patrick to stay in the lead lap practically the entire and run in the top 20 late until Smith wrecked her. But the thing that makes racing great is two equal, or close to equal grooves, and that was Smith's intention, and it backfired on him. And murb, I don't think Patrick will see the top 20-25 at Atlanta, because there doesn't figure to be that much crashing, and engine attrition doesn't figure to be that high because of how much the pace slows down (up to, if not more than 15 MPH during the course of a fuel run). The one thing that might change that is a big early crash that takes out a significant number of potential challengers. Ialo think that if Patrick finishes the race and it goes the full distance, she'll be at least 7-10 laps behind, but if she runs the full race without incident, even at a slower pace, she'll take it, because she neds all the track time she can get (as is the case with any driver with her experience level), and Atlanta is an easy place to get out of the way because of how wide the racing groove is (about 60 feet). 356. Jordan posted: 08.27.2012 - 6:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well the point is, Robby Gordon was ultimately dropped from SABCO for poor performance (well below his replacement Marlin for sure), and he came back with another team and performed well. Same with Allmendinger, who was definitely showing improvement at Red Bull, but they felt it wasn't enough and Scott Speed could do better (obviously, that was a genius move). I'm pretty sure most people thought Elliott's competitive days were over by 2000 as he accomplished nothing for several years with his own team. Rudd was a little more successful with his but no one expected him to nearly win a championship with Yates. Mayfield was booted from Penske, and went to Evernham and made two chases and had race wins, even though he was definitely not treated as well as his teammates Elliott and later Kahne. Every time Mayfield found success, Evernham took away key components and gave them to the other drivers. Nemechek actually won races with many teams but they kept booting him because they expected more and most faltered after he was gone. The Petree 33 pretty much dissolved after Nemechek left, and Hendrick's 25 didn't really improve even after adding the hyped Brian Vickers. Regan Smith may have won a race at Talladega with DEI, but his results were terrible outside of that race. He went to Furniture Row and actually improved his points position in his second year with the team. He also kept that team alive as it previously had showed no promise whatsoever other than a shock pole. Craven was all but given up on after his bad crash but he came back and had some of his best years with an underfunded one car team that had no success at all with other drivers before him or after him. He won two races for a single car team that wasn't closely aligned with a major team, which is rare in itself. Furniture Row has some alliance with Hendrick (engine deal at the very minimum) and so does Phoenix. I'll give you Mark Martin, but I've read that he wanted to run part-time and that couldn't really happen at Roush since they already had 5 cars. Roush didn't keep Mark in the 6 because he wanted a full time driver. Of course this one wasn't performance based, but I doubt many people expected him to nearly win a title in his 50s. Jeff Burton was in the top 3 halfway through the chase a few years ago. He had a legitimate chance to win a championship. To me that's more than successful and he looked nothing like even a top 10 driver his last few seasons at Roush. Jamie McMurray pretty much came out of nowhere with EGR and won in his first race with the team, at Daytona no less. He may not have been a championship contender, but any driver who can win the Daytona 500 and Brickyard in the same season probably feels more accomplished at the end of the season than someone who slips into the chase and bombs it. In the end, it's all about how you define success. To me, it's being able to meet or exceed expectations, or to make the team better upon your arrival. You almost have to look at it in relativity, as you certainly can't call Regan Smith "not" a success because he's not having the same results as Jimmie Johnson. But he is in fact doing far better than anyone else even showed was possible in the 78. There was a very real possibility they would have closed shop if they didn't find a driver who gave them tangible results. He's taken a small, mostly independent team and been able to consistently compete with and sometimes beat the big money teams. 357. Jordan posted: 08.27.2012 - 6:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @cjs3872 (342): Roush definitely has a history of stockpiling talent and then randomly cutting them, kind of like the Yankees and Patriots. A lot of good drivers have joined the team and left without being given a reasonable shot. It seems he can only get 2 or 3 of his teams working well at once and he's quick to blame the driver even if that's not the cause at all. This also happens with his Nationwide and Truck teams and you can see many of his former drivers joining other teams and succeeding, or getting jobs as start and parks. Either way, he's let a lot of good drivers go. The most puzzling decision to me was disbanding the 26 team in order to keep the 6 team. Ragan never showed the promise in the lower levels that a lot of his other development drivers showed. I thought Bayne would be the next Roush victim but it seems he'll give him a shot next year in Nationwide. 358. Talon64 posted: 08.27.2012 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Denny Hamlin becomes the 36th driver to reach 20 career Sprint Cup Series wins, tying Speedy Thompson for 35th all time. His 20 wins since 2006 rank 4th only to Jimmie Johnson (40), Tony Stewart (23) and Kyle Busch (22). But his 16 wins since 2009 rank 2nd only to Johnson (18). Hamlin ties Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and Brad Keselowski for the most wins in 2012 with 3. He now has 10+ top 5's for the 5th time in 7 full seasons in Cup, and already has twice as many top 5's as he had in all of 2011 (but this is his first top 5 in 5 races). Hamlin's first Bristol win makes him just the 8th active driver with wins at all 3 short tracks (Bristol, Richmond & Martinsville) currently on the Cup schedule, joining Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick. It's his 4th top 5 in 14 Bristol starts (14.8 avg fin) and his first in 6 races. It's the 200th career win for the #11 in the Sprint Cup Series. 19 of them have come at Bristol (9 by Cale Yarborough, 8 by Darrell Waltrip, 1 by Ned Jarrett, 1 by Denny Hamlin). Jimmie Johnson started 37th in a race for the 8th time in his career. He improves his record starting from there to 1 win, 3 top 5's, 6 top 10's and an 8.0 average finish. It's Johnson's 38th career runner-up finish, and his 3rd of 2012 which is tied with Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin for the most. Johnson has alternated top 3 finishes and finishes outside of the top 10 in the last 5 races (3 top 5's). It's also Johnson's 7th top 10 in the last 8 races at Bristol (8.1 avg fin), during which he has 4 top 3 finishes and is 2nd only to Kyle Busch (886) in laps led with 746. Jeff Gordon now has at least 10 top 10's in all 20 seasons he's competed full time in Cup (averages 20.55 per season). His 3rd place finish is just his 2nd top 3 finish of 2012, but both have come within the last 4 races (finishes of 1st, 3rd, 21st and 28th). Jeff Gordon's 16 top 5's at Bristol are tied with Charlotte for his 5th most at any track, and it also ranks him T-8th all time at Bristol. It's his 2nd straight 3rd place finish in the Bristol night race, but they're his only top 10's in the last 7 races there. Brian Vickers picks up his 3rd top 5 in just 6 starts in 2012. There are 20 full time drivers and Mark Martin (2 top 5's in 15 starts in #55) and AJ Allmendinger (1 top 5 17 starts prior to his suspension) with as many or fewer top 5's than Brian Vickers has this season, including Kevin Harvick (3), Ryan Newman (3), Marcos Ambrose (3), Joey Logano (2), Jeff Burton (2) and Carl Edwards (2). His 3 top 5's are also as many as he had in all of 2011. Vickers was the only driver to finish in the top 5 in both Bristol races this season and scored the most points of anyone there (81). They're his first two top 5's in 44 career short track starts (22.4 avg fin). Prior to WGI, Marcos Ambrose had no top 5's in 2012, had never had back-to-back top 5 finishes and never had 3 straight top 10's. Now Ambrose has 3 straight top 5's and a 4 race top 10 streak going, during which he's scored the most points of anyone and gone from -58 of the 2nd wild card spot to just 28 back. Bristol is Marcos Ambrose's 1st oval track which he has multiple top 5's at (2), and his 4 top 10's in 8 starts (16.5 avg fin) are his most at any oval track. Kyle Busch has 3 straight top 20 finishes for the first time since he had 4 straight top 10's from late April to late May, and has 3 top 10's in his last 5 races (1 in the previous 7). Kyle goes back-to-back Bristol races without leading a lap for the first time since his first 2 Bristol starts back in 2005, but gets his 11th top 10 in 16 starts there (10.3 avg fin). Clint Bowyer matches his season-high with his 4th consecutive top 10 finish and 2nd straight finish of 7th. 17 of his 109 career top 10's are 7th place finishes, his most common finish when it comes to top 10's. In fact, Bristol becomes the 7th different track that Clint Bowyer has 7 top 10's at, his most at any track (17.0 avg fin in 14 starts). Joey Logano leads a career-high 139 laps; he had led just 198 laps in his first 134 Cup starts prior to this race. In fact, his 190 laps led this season are more than his first 3 seasons combined (147). It's Logano's first top 10 in 6 races, which included 3 finishes of 31st or worse. It's his first top 10 in 8 Bristol starts (22.1 avg fin, but a 9.4 avg start). Kasey Kahne has 6 top 10's in the last 9 races, versus just 7 (all in a row) in the first 15 races of the season. It's just his 7th top 10 in 18 Bristol starts (19.2 avg fin) but his 3rd in the last 5 races. Paul Menard has back-to-back top 10's for the first time in 20 races (Las Vegas & Bristol back in March). Menard hasn't finished worse than 17th and has 7 top 15 finishes over the last 8 races (12.375 avg fin); without the 25 point penalty from Michigan he'd be 14th in the standings. Martin Truex Jr.'s top 10 streak comes to an end at 4 races, but he's finished 11th or better in 6 straight. Bobby Labonte picks up just his 3rd top 15 finish of 2012. Travis Kvapil finishes in the top 20 for the 6th time this season, 4 of them coming in the last 8 races (22.75 avg fin, versus 28.2 in his first 15 starts of the season). David Gilliland has 3 straight top 20 finishes for the first time since he had 3 straight 15th place finishes back in April of 2008, back when he drove for Yates Racing. Jason Leffler finishes his first Cup race since the 2008 Brickyard 400 (driving the #70 Haas car). 359. Talon64 posted: 08.27.2012 - 6:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Some milestones: Kenny Schrader moved past Sterling Marlin into sole possession of 10th all time with his 749th career Cup start. Jeff Gordon moved past Dale Earnhardt into sole possession of 16th all time with his 677th career Cup start. Jimmie Johnson ties Ned Jarrett for 12th all time with his 126th career podium finish. Rusty Wallace is 11th at 132. Denny Hamlin moved past Fred Lorenzon and into sole possession of 49th on the all time list with his 76th career top 5 finish. He also moved past Fireball Roberts into sole possession of 57th all time with his 123rd career top 10. Brian Vickers tied Ward Burton for 91st all time with his 24th career top 5, and tied Ron Bouchard, Henley Gray and Joe Ruttman for 98th all time with his 60th career top 10. Kasey Kahne tied Donnie Allison for 60th all time with his 115th career top 10. 360. 18fan posted: 08.27.2012 - 6:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Furniture Row Racing has an alliance with RCR and runs ECR engines, not Hendrick engines. 361. Spen posted: 08.27.2012 - 6:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jordan: You're right, we have very different definitions of success. But actually, everyone was expecting Rudd and Elliott to do great at their new teams. If anything, we were disappointed that they didn't do better. One example you overlooked that I think truly does belong in that category is Terry Labonte. After Junior Johnson let him go for not being aggressive enough, he bounced around with lousy cars for a few years, until Hendrick gave him another chance. That worked out pretty well. The Final Gear: Yes, Chase has an inside track at HMS. That means he'll be driving *one* of their cars by decade's end. Judging from the recent timetable of development drivers, he won't be ready for Cup until about 2018 at the earliest. A lot can happen between now and then. Kahne could end up getting the Mark Martin treatment and be forced out the door. Jimmie could decide that he can't win a title anymore and call it quits (less likely, but I do think he won't be hanging around in the '20's). Junior could be 'gently persuaded' to either retire early, or move JR Motorsports to Cup and be an owner/driver for the last few years of his career. That was looking more likely before this year's resurgence, but I expect that he'll revert to 2010 form after losing the title this year. Or Hendrick could convince NASCAR to do away with the four-car limit. If Ganassi, RPM and FRR go out of business in the next few years, that might be considered a good alternative to having more than half the field start-and-parking. I believe that there will be two open seats at Hendrick in this decade. Unless Gordon hangs around for a longer time than expected, Chase will be in one of the other cars. 362. Dave #38 Fan posted: 08.27.2012 - 7:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) both kyle and kurt busch will be running the truck race friday night at atlanta, kurt in billy ballew's #51 and kyle in his #18. that's great news, my friday night just got freed up! i thought i was going to be spending it watching a good race, but now i have an excuse to go fold my laundry, watch paint dry, or something else that's more exciting then watch one of the two dominate and listen to the announcers drool all over them all night like they have whenever keselowski's been in one of his trucks. 363. Peter posted: 08.27.2012 - 7:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @305 Yeah covering the lead is important but Tony is the defending champion he's earned the right to be the main focus of every race 364. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.27.2012 - 8:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I didn't say it NEVER happened, just that is the exception rather than the rule that recycled drivers do well. Plus, as mentioned, the Busch Brothers were let go cause of attitude issues, their ability was never in question, and they have proven to be liabilities. Regan Smith was let go cause DEI had to majorly contract. 365. Anonymous posted: 08.27.2012 - 8:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @305 Keselowski wasn't so bad being in trucks as those dodges arent to good so where he finished he earned it 366. Spen posted: 08.27.2012 - 8:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I thought M&M's said Kyle couldn't run any more Truck races. What happened? 367. ch posted: 08.27.2012 - 9:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think it was Gibbs that said that, but I guess something changed? 368. 18fan posted: 08.27.2012 - 10:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, it was JGR that didn't want Kyle in any more truck races, so I assume he needed special permission from JGR to run the race this weekend. 369. Benjamin Lowe posted: 08.27.2012 - 10:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I hate to say this but I think we should engrave Johnson's name onto the 2012 championship. I don't think there is anyone out there that can beat him this season. 370. Rusty posted: 08.28.2012 - 11:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle has supposedly been very unhappy with the performance of the #18 truck, he fired Leffler and let Kurt race at Michigan so I'm guessing he wants to get a look at the problems himself. 371. Jarrett88fan posted: 08.28.2012 - 3:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I hate to say this but I think we should engrave Johnson's name onto the 2012 championship. I don't think there is anyone out there that can beat him this season." Well Benjamin Lowe, we can hold the phone for a couple weeks, but you are right there is only one team that could beat them this season... his own. Unless Brad and Denny find some consistency and don't choke... okay that is unlikely to happen. It is a practical done deal for 2012. 372. Rusty posted: 08.28.2012 - 4:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "both kyle and kurt busch will be running the truck race friday night at atlanta, kurt in billy ballew's #51 and kyle in his #18. that's great news, my friday night just got freed up! i thought i was going to be spending it watching a good race, but now i have an excuse to go fold my laundry, watch paint dry, or something else that's more exciting then watch one of the two dominate and listen to the announcers drool all over them all night like they have whenever keselowski's been in one of his trucks. " I don't think it is a sure thing either Busch brother dominates the truck race. The #18 has struggled this year. I know Jason Leffler is mediocre and Brian Scott sucks, but Denny Hamlin was just alright in the truck at his best track. Kurt did lead the most laps at Michigan though. It is no sure thing Kyle steps in and kicks everyone's ass, but I'm sure he will be a factor. As for Kurt, he is pretty much driving for a team doing their first ever truck race. Billy Balew is the technical owner, but everything is being run by Phoenix Racing really. The entire #51 cup team will be in charge of this truck and it isn't a sure deal they hit on the setups their first time out even with a driver as talented as Kurt. 373. Scott B posted: 08.28.2012 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks like the #32 will be T.J. Bell with Green Smoke as the primary sponsor at Atlanta, in place of Ken S. who was on the initial entry list. 374. Scott B posted: 08.28.2012 - 6:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "347: Bottom line - he (Vickers)would do better in the #22 than Hornish/Logano or anyone in Nationwide not named Sadler or Bayne." Bronco, You raise an interesting question I haven't heard discussed much. If Saddler wins the NNW title, or at worst comes within a whisker of it, does he take a second or third tier Cup ride or stay put where he is? 375. Jordan posted: 08.28.2012 - 6:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think as a driver who has been there, done that, Sadler would stay in Nationwide. He's had experience in average Sprint Cup cars, and even above average cars. He couldn't get the job done there. I think a driver in his position must enjoy being able to win and compete for a change and the only way I could see him moving up is if Childress dumped Burton (as he absolutely should), if Childress brings the whole Nationwide #2 team up to Cup, or if a driver in a top ride fails a drug test or gets injured midseason and they need someone to step in. 376. Spen posted: 08.28.2012 - 7:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't see how getting rid of Burton in favor of a seat-warmer will help matters. Having three drivers in as many years isn't good for a team. Better to just keep Burton another year until Dillon's ready. For a short-term improvement though, get rid of Blickensderfer. Plate tracks aside, he's borderline worthless. He couldn't even make the chase with Matt freakin' Kenseth! Plus, his race strategy is identical to Gustafson's: take four tires every time and give up track posistion. Burton's best days may be behind him, but I think he showed with Lambart at the end of last year that he can still do all right with a competent crew chief. 377. murb posted: 08.28.2012 - 10:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "For a short-term improvement though, get rid of Blickensderfer." I agree with this whole heartedly. Since Shane Wilson isn't with Harvick any more, I'd love to see him get on the 31 car in favor of Blickensderfer. That's what was supposed to happen this year, but Kevin bitched about Gil's team leadership (which I think is great) and they put Shane with the 29. Hopefully Kevin has learned his lesson now. 378. Jordan posted: 08.29.2012 - 12:22 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think we all know Dillon will be in the 31 either in 2014 or 2015. But is Sadler a better option than Burton for 2013? I would seriously hope so, he couldn't be any worse. When you're a third wheel on a team with Paul Menard, it's time to hang the old helmet up. 379. RaceFanX posted: 08.29.2012 - 2:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsors: #2 Brad Keselowski- Miller Lite / Inductee Rusty Wallace #31 Jeff Burton- Caterpillar Wherever There's Mining The Rusty Wallace tribute paint job Brad K ran in this race was the Penske team's original Miller Lite dark blue/white front end colors Rusty ran from 1997-2000 before switiching to a solid blue look. The paint was advertised as being from 2000 when Rusty won both Bristol races including his only night race with the Lite colors, ironically for that race the team didn't use these colors as he won with a solid blue paint job tying in with assoicate sponsor Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Ryan Newman won with his Outback colors earlier in the year at Martinsville but there were no free Bloomin' Onions this time after he crashed out with Jeff Burton. Burton's car was painted to advertise CAT's extensive line of mining equipment. 380. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.29.2012 - 7:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oddly enough, only 3 of Rusty's 9 Bristol wins were in the night race. Kinda like only 3 of Dale's 9 Darlington wins were the Southern 500 (yet he holds the record for most 500 mile wins there with 7). Also, only 3 of Pearson's 10 Darlington wins were the Southern 500 including in 1979 when he was rideless substituting for and injured (wait for it.... wait for it.....) Dale Earnhardt. On the other hand, Cale Yarborough won 5 times at Darlington, all in the Southern 500. Of Bobby Allison's 5 Darlington wins, 4 were the Southern 500. 381. Talon64 posted: 08.29.2012 - 9:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) With Jimmie Johnson's laps led in this race, he now has 1000+ laps led for a 6th consecutive season. That's the 5th longest streak in Cup Series history, ranking only behind Dale Earnhardt (7, 1985-1991), Darrell Waltrip (7, 1978-1984), Cale Yarborough (8, 1973-1980) and Richard Petty (12, 1966-77). It should be pointed out that Petty (1966-72) and Waltrip (1978-1984) boast having 7 straight seasons with 2000+ laps led. Johnson's led 2000+ laps just once in his streak (2009), although it's just the 2nd time since 1997 that anyone's topped 2000+ in a season (Jeff Gordon in 2001). Speaking of whom, Jeff Gordon had 5 straight 1000+ lap led seasons (1995-99), two of them 2000+. 382. Talon64 posted: 08.29.2012 - 9:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh and Kyle Busch currently has 4 straight seasons with 1000+, but that doesn't include this season. He's only led 506 laps this year, so he's in jeopardy of having that streak snapped unless he can lead every lap at Richmond or something. 383. Talon64 posted: 08.29.2012 - 9:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Triple post, but Jimmie Johnson's led more laps over these last 6 seasons (8,948) than all of his HMS teammates combined (8,441)! That's more than Jeff Gordon (4,850 in 6 seasons), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1,552 in 5 seasons), Mark Martin (1,028 in 3 seasons), Kyle Busch (637 in 1 season), Kasey Kahne (249 in 2012), Casey Mears (124 in 2 seasons) and Brad Keselowski (1 lap led in 9 starts from 2008-09) combined. 384. JG24FanForever posted: 08.29.2012 - 9:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordon has 4 Day Bristol races but only 1 night. Gordon also has 6 Southern 500's but only 1 original Spring Darlington win. 385. cjs3872 posted: 08.29.2012 - 9:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not to get off-topic here, but remember SPED's lists of the greatest drivers in the history of the Daytona 500, All-Star Race, and Indianapolis 500 they did earlier this year. Now they're doing their list of what they believe to be the 24 greatest F1 drivers of all-time, and they're just as inept there. For instance, they have Nelson Piquet, a three-time F1 champion ranked 20th, behind, among others, Nigel Mansell, who he beat head-to-head for one of his championships in equal cars. My problem there is they had Mansell 10 places ahead of Piquet, Sr. on that list. They even rank him behind Ronnie Peterson and Giles Villeneuve (Jacques' father), and neither even came close to winning a championship and didn't combine for as many wins as Piquet had. Jack Brabham is the next-lowest rated driver with three championships, at 14th. Also, at 11th, they rated Mario andretti too high, as I probably wouldn't have him in my top 15 F1 drivers. Also, Alain Prost, at seventh, is rated WAY too low. How any sensible person could rank him out of the top five, especially with Ayrton Senna in the top four (and probably the top two or three) is mind-boggling. Prost had more wins (51-44) and more championships (4-3) than Senna did. In fact, Prost nearly doubled the previous wins record at 51. (Jackie Stewart held the previous record at 27.) At 13th, Graham Hill is also rated too low. Like Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, and Jim Clark, Hill also won the Indianapolis 500 and the world championship (which he did twice, equaling Clark's and Fittipaldi's marks). Fittipaldi, at 19th (???), is also rated too low. Fittipaldi and Stewart took turns as champion in the first half of the 70s. And Fernando Alonso, at sixth, is rated far too high, at this moment. And Sebastan Vettel rated 12th after just four years? Come on, give me a break! He should be put about where Lewis Hamilton is, in the low 20s (they got that one right). Longevity is a big thing to me. Alonso has it, but is ranked too high. I'm not sure Vettel's been around long enough to be ranked in the top 20 at all, much less nearly crack the top ten. You know, when any major network, sanctioning body, or publication puts a list like this together, it would be a good idea to have people who actually know about the sport involved, because it sure doesn't look like SPEED has done that with any of their lists this year. 386. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.30.2012 - 1:43 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Interesting you bring up F1. My knowledge of of F1 is EXTREMELY limited. I pretty much know the basics and I mean the very bare basics. So I have a few questions that I am legitimately curious about. 1) Prost vs Senna: I saw this question on Prost's driver page but it never got answered. Was he really as much of a bad guy as he is made out to be in any Senna documentary? Was his 1989 Japan incident really as bad as it is portrayed? And what about their encounter in the same race one year later? Should that get more attention? This actually leads me to my next question. 2) Senna: How much of the Dale Earnhardt Memorial Sainthood Treatment does he get? Obviously he is one of the greatest ever but with any motorist, if they suffer a fatal crash in competition, their historical stock boosts. Like Dale for example. Most people think he is the the best ever, which I agree with, but for different reasons. His death, along with his 7 championships pretty much locked him into the "best ever" position in the eyes of many, while the truth behind his greatest ever status is much more complicated. Does Senna get any of this? 3) Schumacker: Underrated, overrated, or properly rated? Obviously he has the best numbers of anyone in all the important categories, but does he get any of the Jeff Gordon Memorial Discount? In other words, do his numbers need to be taken with a grain of salt? And is his current ill fated comeback hurting him historically? 4) That US GP where only 6 cars started, what the hell was that all about? I mean seriously, didn't the F1 brass realize what a Mickey Mouse move that was and what a slap in the face that is to everybody involved? Why didn't SOMEBODY say "time out, let's think of a solution here?" Even the Brian France regime couldn't screw things up that bad, and we had the 2008 Brickyard 400. 5) Oliver Panis: Did they get the proper comedic mileage out of his name? Like poor Dick Trickle who had to smoke cigarettes under caution just for his legacy to be something besides his hilarious name. Did Panis have to endure the same thing? 387. cjs3872 posted: 08.30.2012 - 1:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, I only brought that up to show how much SPEED butchered another "all-time greatest driver" list. There are those who comment on this forum who have greater knowledge of F1 than you and me put together, but when there's an blatant oversight mentioned, as was the case with listing Nelson Piquet 20th and Emerson Fittipaldi 19th, behind two drivers that never won a championship (Fittipaldi and Piquet combined for five), as well as some of the other oversights, the people at SPEED, who are supposed to be experts at this, need to have their collective heads examined. 388. 10andJoe posted: 08.30.2012 - 2:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) As for point 4, DSFF, basically Bernie said "frog" and Indy said "ribbit"... ...and back on NASCAR track, there may be a rumour that Brian Scott might be considering/being considered by Phoenix Racing... 389. T-27 posted: 08.30.2012 - 2:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well,(I don't post much anyway) this is a NASCAR topic, so people might find this discussion belongs on the F1 pages, but perhaps we can move it there after this weekend's race at Spa (which I recommend to anyone who wishes to see just one F1-race). In short: 1) Prost was no bad guy, he just was Senna's rival, perhaps in the way Rusty was Dale's. In '89 he took a chance by eliminating Senna and himself from a race, because it would ensure him the title. Not a great move, but he did so in a slow chicane where Senna was willing to take the risk. In '90, Senna flat-out took Prost out of the race at a speed of over 150MPH. It was just a tense rivalry between two of the best ever. 2) His death certainly ensured that he would be remembered the way he is. No-one knows whether he would have beaten Schumacher in 94. If he hadn't, that would have been a sore spot for his career. However, he was probably the fastest driver ever (for this, use his poles and average start for his career). 3) Schumacher: I don't know where on the list he's rated, but he won 91 races, set every thinkable record in F1, basically built the Benetton-team into a powerhouse, which collapsed the year after he left, while he won 3 races in Ferrari's horrible 96 car. He then won them the 2000 championship, their first in 21 years. From then on they came easy, but for sure, much of it is to his credit. Had a dark side, though, which tarnisheshis reputation (then again, Senna, too, had a dark side). 4) 10andJoe basically said it. It's always a money-thing with Bernie. And we're talking tens of millions here. 5) F1-fans aren't nearly as funny as many NASCAR-fans. 390. cjs3872 posted: 08.30.2012 - 10:43 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Again T-27, I almost never mention F1, as I have very little knowledge about it, but what knowledge I do have tells me that SPEED's list was, as usual, terrible. The reason I brought that up was to mention that SPEED is still inept when it comes to putting together those kinds of lists. They were inept when it came to listing the greatest of all-time in the Daytona 500, the All-Star Race, and the Indianapolis 500, and they were just as inept here. And if you're a JGR fan, you can hope that Brian Scott (speaking of ineptness) either gets released or looks elsewhere, but he has clearly shown himself unworthy of such a good ride over the three years he's been there. In that time, he's only finished in the top five five times and led only 23 laps, while often crashing. Let's put it this way. Michael McDowell has accomplished more with JGR than has Scott, and McDowell only runs a JGR Nationwide car sparingly. Scott's record at JGR makes what David Ragan did at Roush look like that of an elite driver, which we all know he's not. 391. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.30.2012 - 12:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "There are those who comment on this forum who have greater knowledge of F1 than you and me put together" Our combined F1 knowledge is pretty much your knowledge lol. But you do bring up a good point: when did championships stop meaning so much to so many so called "experts". As for my curiosity, I began to be really fascinated by the Senna/Prost rivalry. I love rivalries where two drivers push each other to be the best they can possibly be and, as a result, each reach heights they probably wouldn't have because they could never coast knowing the other one was out there (Petty/Pearson, Rusty/Dale). T-27 thank you for your answers. A few comments: "In '89 he took a chance by eliminating Senna and himself from a race, because it would ensure him the title. Not a great move, but he did so in a slow chicane where Senna was willing to take the risk. In '90, Senna flat-out took Prost out of the race at a speed of over 150MPH." This is probably where my curiosity really took off. So much is made of the '89 incident, but little of the '90 incident which, after studying recounts of both from all sides, seem to be nearly identical. "4) 10andJoe basically said it. It's always a money-thing with Bernie. And we're talking tens of millions here." Gotcha. "5) F1-fans aren't nearly as funny as many NASCAR-fans." That's a shame. 392. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.30.2012 - 12:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ok, now I have a few follow up questions: 1a) and 2a) How much has Senna's tragic passing changed the way his rivalry with Prost is remembered historically, incuding the '89 and '90 Japan incidents? Of course this also includes the difference between the F1 audience and NASCAR audience. Compared to the legendary on track rivaly between Dale (who tragically died in competition) and Rusty. Seems like if this were F1, Rusty would be looked back upon as a Super Villain. His water bottle throwing incident after the Bristol '95 Night Race would pretty much turn him into Darth Vader. But for us fans of racing taxi cabs, even those of us who are Earnhardt die hards have to admit that was a bad ass move by Rusty which just added to the allure and charm of their rivalry. 6) How much of their rivalry is affected by Prost being from France (an easy target the rest of the world loves to poke at) and Senna being from Brazil (we love Brazilians, except for Blanka from Street Fighter, that damn electric thing he did every time you jumped towards him drove me crazy)? 7) Had Schumaker embraced his dark side publically the way Earnhardt did (The Intimidator and Man In Black marketing machine that had already made him a "fabled" driver almost a decade before his death), would he be more embraced by the F1 fans. Or, considering the vast difference between the average NASCAR fan and average F1 fan, would that make things worse? 8) Team orders: Unfortunately we are starting to see this in NASCAR (Richmond 2011). But F1 has seen a few examples of a guy about to take the checkered flag suddenly stop and let his teammate pass and win for points. Exactly how much of this happens? I have seen a few highlights of it and had to resist the urge to vomit. It is the same reason I try to lob as many insults Paul Menard's way as I can as well as his father, his father's company, and their empire known by us as the "Menarche" (look up the definition of that word and you'll see why it is so funny). Well, I would lob more insults Paul's way if he wasn't so freaking boring. I mean seriously, has there ever been a driver less worth giving a shit about one way or another than Paul? Sorry for the digression. Of course this is also the reason I will always call Herb Thomas a 3 time champion ('51, '53, '56) and consider the 1956 championship the worst thing that has ever happened in NASCAR. And I will always penalize Buck Baker historically for not burning his '56 trophy, and have wiped Speedy Thompson completely from NASCAR's history. 393. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 08.30.2012 - 1:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Former F1 fan here, so might as well intercept some questions. 1. Prost and Senna were on the same team, and their IS a "Totem Pole" effect in F1. Both were the best of their time but both had egos. They got along great at first but when Senna starting winning, Prost got whiney. Prost wanted what Senna got and Senna wasn't willing to give anything to him. So Prost left for "the red team." But Prost proved how dum he was because he got fired from the "red team" because complained about the cars. 2. People like Schumacher and people don't like him. He HAS been caught cheating. (don't let the fanboys fool you, HE DID!!!!!!) Schumacher has pulled some stupid stunts in his carrer and he is known for his blocking and that he drove for a team that GETS special treatment from the FIA (Bob Varsha admitted as such WindTunnel once). When he retired, i quit watching. 3. Bernie Ecclstone is an idiot, he just is. Brian Frace is better then him and that is the truth. Brian France doesn't have the rap sheet that Bernie does. I could spill the beans but it would take the whole character limit to say it. But it is way worse then anything BF has done, way worse. WAY WORSE. 4. F1 fans are very serious people, they take F1 seriously. So they don't need to call driver nicknames to address them. NASCAR fans on the other hand, have a history of calling drivers by some other name then their real one. Especially on other forum i'm apart of. 5. Team Orders, happening since F1 has been around. I don't like it, i never have liked it. It needs to go away. If my team told me to let my teammate by and let him win, i'd say "you can fire me after i win the race." And the FIA is worse then NASCAR is. How so? How did Bernie Ecclstone and Max Mosley got jobs? i'll let you people paradigm that for a while. 394. NicoRosbergFan posted: 08.30.2012 - 3:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, the difference between Prost and Wallace is that Prost still hates Senna and still goes on vitriolic rants about him. 395. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.30.2012 - 6:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Are you serious? Now my morbid curiosity has the best of me and I am gonna try to find a video or article of Prost dumping on Senna. SmokeFan, thanks for the response. I always suspected Bernie would make Brian France look like Pete Rozelle. So here is a bonus question: is he as much fun to pick on as Brian? 396. Paul posted: 08.30.2012 - 7:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The only thing I could find on Prost ranting about Senna is a 2008 article in which he stated that "On the race he never impressed me," which I think is a shot at Senna's speed during a race compared to qualifying. Comparing the two, Senna had an average start of 3.1, but an average finish of 8.2, while Prost had an average start of 4.3, but an average finish of 7.2. So while Senna was out-qualifying Prost, Prost was on average finishing as much in front of Senna as Senna was beating him in qualifying. But like others on this board, I don't know a lot about the history of Formula 1, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. What I do know is that Senna began calling the now-retired Prost regularly in the weeks leading up to Senna's fatal crash, saying he wasn't comfortable with what Williams was doing with the car setup and finding it hard to drive and unsafe. Also, Prost served as a pallbearer at Senna's funeral, so while there was probably some animosity between them, I think Prost still liked Senna off the track. 397. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 08.30.2012 - 8:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "is he as much fun to pick on as Brian?" Bernie is funnier, reasons: 1. He is old 2. He has alot of money 3. He enjoyies using that money is suspectable ways 4. He enjoyies opening his mouth 5. He is like Bruton Smith and they are sending smoke signals to eachother on how to ruin their respective racing series. 6. They are just dumba$$s in general. Atleast Brian has more sense then to say Anti-American, Anti-British, Pro-Hitler, Anti-democracy, anti-women statement and using his money to bribe people. And plus Bernie left one of the best F1 tracks in ruins, read here: http://racing-reference.info/showblog?id=64 398. murb posted: 08.30.2012 - 9:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "...and back on NASCAR track, there may be a rumour that Brian Scott might be considering/being considered by Phoenix Racing..." Wow, this can't end well. I really want to like Brian. He's from Idaho, which is where I live. I thought he had a huge future ahead of him back in 2009 when he was doing so well in Trucks. Then, I don't know what happened. Oh well... I guess I'll always have Davey Hamilton and Randy Tolsma as my Gem State favorites. 399. Paul posted: 08.30.2012 - 9:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Man, Brian France sounds like a saint compared to Bernie Ecclestone. And not only does he say outlandish things, but he doesn't know when to quit. Back in 2005, he was asked about Danica Patrick and said "women should be dressed in white like all the other domestic appliances." And after he apologized to Danica, he said the same thing shortly thereafter, only to apologize again. In a way, that shows you how different things are in Europe than they are in the United States. If Brian France had made such outlandish comments, he probably would have lost corporate sponsorships, been sued, and/or been removed from his position as NASCAR CEO, while Bernie is still in position of power and is the 4th richest person in the U.K. I'm not defending what Bernie said, but it's interesting just how politically correct and money dependent American motorsports has become compared to our neighbors "across the pond". 400. 18fan posted: 08.30.2012 - 9:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, while politics are rampant in all F1 teams, Prost figured out how to play the political game better than most. Prost also had a veto clause in his contract with Williams for 1993 that allowed him to veto anybody he wanted, and even though Senna offered to race for Williams for no pay, he could not. 401. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.30.2012 - 11:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow. I guess Bernie is more fun to make of than Brian. Though nothing beats that "huh?" look Brian gets on his face when the media asks him a question like "How do you respond to the majority of fans who still haven't warmed up to the Chase" or "How are you going to address the awful on track action we have been seeing lately". That clueless look that says "that's not what my yes-men in Daytona Beach have been telling me at all". I guess the fun in making fun of Brian lies in the way he carries himself, even his body attitude says "I'm a complete dimwit who has this really important job because my father is Bill France Jr and my grandfather is Big Bill France, NASCAR founder". 402. 18fan posted: 08.30.2012 - 11:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) How about when Brian called the Truck series the Craftsman Truck Series when it was at least 3 years after Camping World took over title sponsorship? He just looks like a guy who isn't very smart. 403. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.30.2012 - 11:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "In a way, that shows you how different things are in Europe than they are in the United States." That is the truth. I'm not saying one way is better than another, but it amazing just how much Americans are so different than the rest of the world, for better or worse. I guess I've always looked at F1 as the soccer of motorsports. The rest of the world is absolutely obsessed with it, but in America its biggest stars could walk down any street and not be given a second glance (like the humongous bomb that has been the "David Beckham is in America" experiment, he is the most famous athlete in the world). Also, it is funny to me to see how certain things take on such bigger importance here as opposed to there, how certain things that are huge deals there would never fly here (and vice versa). For example, I don't watch soccer except for the major women's games (women soccer players are tough as nails, they make male soccer players, who are sissies to begin with, look like Super Duper Sissies with the pounding they take and never flinch while the men flop around and act like they have been shot). But I saw the SportsCenter highlights of the big Spanish Series between Barcelona and Madrid. It was a two game series and each team won its home game by one goal. Madrid won the series because the tiebreaker was most goals as the away team. Since Madrid lost 3-2 in the first game, and Barcelona lost 2-1 in the second one, Madrid won cause they had more goals as the visitors. You're not gonna believe this, but I have a few thoughts on this: 1) Why was it a TWO game series? Why not make it a 3 game series? Or a sudden death one game series? How hard is this to figure out? You are just inviting ties. America HATES ties. The NFL has about one tie game every 10 years and it sends Alcohol Nation (my term for NFL die hards) into an uproar. Even the NHL had to make changes after about 80 years of doing things one way just to keep America interested. We want a clear cut winner and loser. But soccer truly seems to invite ties. 2) How did they come to "most away goals" as a tiebreaker? That is random and pretty dumb. What if one game is played in excellent weather and the other isn't. The away team for the good weather game has an unfair advantage. And also that is REALLY FREAKING RANDOM! At least NASCAR has a clear cut system for breaking ties, and one that nobody disagrees with. Okay Tony and Carl, you have tied for the most points. So who has the most wins this season? Alright, it's Tony, he's our champ, Carl you get NOTHING. The way it should be. 3) Seriously, they need to toughen the guys up if they are ever to mean anything to Americans. In the highlights I saw, one guy got thrown out for basically tripping over the feet of a guy from the other team then falling into him causing both a harmless fall to the pitch (soccer term, yay me!). And he was ejected for that while the other bench was screaming their lungs out for an ejection like he'd just been intentionally crippled or something. Wusses. Somebody please show these guys some tapes of Abby Wambach getting absolutely MUGGED during every corner kick as she ties to set up for a header. If they did that to a male soccer player, he would fall to the turf and writhe in agony like he'd been hit by a truck. America will never be intrigued by any pansy (see Carter, Vince). So yeah, us Americans are a different breed for sure. Not better, not worse, just different. Something like that Spanish Series will never make sense to us. 404. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.31.2012 - 12:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "5. He is like Bruton Smith and they are sending smoke signals to eachother on how to ruin their respective racing series." Bruton Smith doesn't get the credit he deserves for being truly inept despite his billions of dollars. This race is an excellent example. Prior to this race, they spent a few million dollars grinding away the top groove. And the folks at SMI pretty much made these following things EXTREMELY clear to the fans, drivers, and teams: -the top groove will be COMPLETELY undriveable -drivers will have to condense into the bottom two grooves -we might have already mentioned this, but the top groove cannot be used anymore -the condesed lower two grooves will bring back the Old Bristol Mayhem -THE TOP GROOVE WILL BE COMPLETELY USELESS Well, the "Old Bistol Mayhem" part came true, but for everything else THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF THEIR INTENTIONS HAPPENED!! That top ground away groove became far and away the preferred groove, much like the very bottom was on the '92-'07 version. Of course they got lucky and the one groove racing brought back the bent sheet metal and frayed tempers. First of all, the one groove racing is what we were looking for from the beginning. If your intention is to bring that back, why not grind away all but the bottom? And secondly, with all the money that was spent on engineering to figure out what would make their idea of better racing work, HOW COULD THEY MISS IT SO BADLY? Here are some other "glorious" moments in SMI's history: 1996: Buys North Wilkesboro, an incredibly charming and historical short track which provides top notch racing and just shuts the place completely down. A true treasure for stock car racing and they let it just sit and rot for 16 years and counting with the exception of a few weekends in 2010. Brilliant. 1997: Take the unique perfect oval at Atlanta and give it a dogleg so it looks just like Charlotte and the new Texas track. Just what the fans want to see: less diversity. 1997: Open up the worst designed race track ever, the original Texas Motor Speedway. The first two races are disasters as the track is undriveable and not in the good way. Worst of all, they have a traffic nightmare as they seriously underestimate what it takes to handle a Cup race weekend (things like parking lots that don't flood). They spend millions fixing it after '98, but it only improves the races from "unwatchable" to "severely boring". Despite a few good finishes, they still haven't had a good race there. 1998: Las Vegas Motor Speedway. A completely flat D shaped 1.5 miler. Just screams "excitement" doesn't it? 1998: Buys Sears Point, a road course that has an awesome section called "The Carosel" which is an elevation changing set of exciting corners featuring the downhill left hander Turn 6 which leads to hauling ass up the drag strip into an off cambered right hand hairpin turn which leads to the esses. Of course they cut this entire part out with a stupid loop, which is changed in 2001 to a slightly less stupid set of two right handers. Meanwhile, that awesome Carosel is just sitting there wasting away like North Wilkesboro. 2002: Repaves Texas Motor Speedway because apparently the racing just isn't quite boring enough. 2004: Buys the one mile high banked tire chewing awesome racing producing Rockingham and shuts it down. 2006: They catch a break as Texas develops a major bump in Turn 2 over their new tunnel which starts to give the track some character. But Dale Jr whines about it (I wonder how many times Big E secretly wondered if June was actually his biological son or not) SO THEY GET RID OF IT! 2007: With the pavement on LVMS just starting to age enough that the races don't totally place you in a coma (leading to the awesome Johnson/Kenseth finish in '06) they decide to not only repave it but reconfigure it. But do they reconfigure it into a track style that fans love (like they did when building Iowa)? Of course not. They narrowed it up and added banking. No interesting racing has happened there since. 2008: SAFER barriers on the inside of the race track? We don't need those at LVMS! This winds up costing Jeff Gordon 3 quality years of his career. 2007: They take the track with the toughest ticket to get on the circuit (amazing considering it has 160,000 seats and is in an extremely rural setting in the Tennessee Mountains) and reconfigure the track. Dumb. As. Hell. 2011: The Kentucky weekend. Nice to see they learned their lesson from Texas as far as parking. Oh wait they didn't. Also, they spent millions of dollars renovating the infield, but not the track itself which is a flat D shaped 1.5 miler like Vegas. Nice to see they learned their lesson from that. There was no redeemable quality from this weekend. 2012: The aforementioned Bringing Bristol Back. The fans loved it, but only because their well laid plans blew up in their face. 405. Spen posted: 08.31.2012 - 2:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF: I've been a casual F1 fan most of my life. Not an expert by any means, but I know a fair amount about it. So to give a couple of answers to your questions: 2.) Senna definitly gets some of the "Dale Earnhardt memorial treatment" as you put it. He's top four beyond a shadow of a doubt, but his death helped increase his legacy. (For my money, Fangio is number one all-time. But that's just me.) 3./7.) For the most part, I think Schumi gets rated about where he belongs. One of the best, but helped by being dominant in a weak era. Very comparable to Gordon's 90's dominance, except that he does have the Benetton titles to back it up with. As for his comeback, it might hurt his all-time numbers a bit, but I think it also has made him more popular. With the exception of Bill Elliott, no one can own everyone and be universally-liked at the same time. So his recent years of being a competitive, yet hard luck driver are making him seem more human, and more likable. Much like Gordon's popularity boost in recent years. As for question seven, knowing F1 fans, who scream "cheater!" even if you make totally unavoidable contact with someone, I doubt embracing his darker side would have endeared him to anyone. 8.) Team orders are usually limited to the same sort of things you see in NASCAR. There's an obvious "A" driver on most teams, and teammates will usually give the faster car a break. (Heck, we saw that in the Truck race the other night, when Todd Bodine let Kligerman by without a fight on a restart.) But blatently letting another car win the way Barrichello did in 2002 happens very rarely, and is technically against the rules. Off the top of my head, I can think of three occasions where that happened in the last decade, and one of them was Schumacher paying back Barrichello for the aforementioned "win". Not sure if there's ever been a driver less worth caring about than Menard. Chad Little, maybe? 1956: The way it was won is a black mark for sure. But I can't really begrudge Baker the title. Whether you value dominance or consistency, there's really no arguing that he had a better year than Herb. Herb was still leading because his Langhorne top five was worth a ton of points, and because he'd run a couple of west coast races. He didn't have so much as a top three finish in the entire second half of the year. Under the Latford system, Baker was averaging 154.8 points per race, while Herb was averaging 143. So really, you can almost blame NASCAR a bit for creating a situation where the rightful champion was having his title stolen from him. Not that Kiekaefer's solution was in any way the appropriate reaction, but I can understand how Baker could sleep at night. Bernie is way more fun to pick on than Brian. He's a freakin' neo-nazi after all. He pretty much invites constant criticism. Don't quote me on this, but I think Indycar still uses the Carosel. So it's not totally wasting away. And I can't believe you overlooked the 2005 Charlotte repave. 406. Mr X posted: 08.31.2012 - 7:20 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) As a huge fan of Ayrton Senna I will chime in on why I think Ayrton is the best driver ever, and Speed's list of greatest F1 drivers ever. Regarding the list and the placement of drivers on it, some are correct, and some aren't, Alain Prost is certainly lower then he should be, the Professor should be well higher then 7th, he was certainly the biggest thinker amongst the drivers of his time, and his driving style was smooth as silk, and still very fast, however not as fast as Senna. Personally I prefer like Cale Yarborough or Dale Earnhardt, to a driver like DW. Sorry CJS, but I do believe that you are making Piquet look bigger then he really was, he was always a consistant force but he was never going to take the sport by storm, his 1981 success and title certainly had to do with the fact that Brabham's had active suspension, while other teams didn't, it's the same reason why Williams dominated so much from 1991-1993. Nelson Piquet was a Terry Labonte sort of driver. I generally don't know that much about Ronnie Peterson other then the facts that he had that fearless driving style we watch for, his nickname was Superswede, and he was tragically killed at Monza in 1978, but as a Canadian I certainly educate you on Gilles Villeneuve, first of all his low win count and lack of a world championship have to do with the fact that he only had four full seasons, as he was killed early in 1982 at Zolder, leading to only 67 GP starts, less then a third of Piquet, having seen footage of them both, it's safe to say that Villeneuve could do more with a car then Piquet could, in 1979 at the French GP at Dijon, Villenueuve was involved in what is one of the most heated on track battles in F1 history, find it on youtube. His win in Spain in 1981 pushed his status even higher, as he came out on top in a heated 5 car battle for the win. With a full career, driving for some better performing teams then Ferrari was at the time, Gilles would've easily won at least one title, and certainly would've won more races then Piquet. Enzo Ferrari thought the world of Gilles. Frankly I have always felt Nigel Mansell was ever so slightly overrated, he didn't rise above his car often enough. Nearly half his win total, 14 of 31 came in 1991 and 1992 driving for Williams, who had developed a car with anti-lock brakes, traction control, active suspension, and a semi-automatic gearbox. The Williams FW14 in 1991, & FW14B in 1992 are widely accepted as the most advanced race cars of all time, as they took full advantage of the lack of rules at the time, however I felt they left the driver with little to do behind the wheel, as that car was well capable of winning races by minutes or more. For me that hurts Nigel's legacy, he was well overdue for a title by 1992, and he certainly took advantage of his car, but I do think he is ever so slightly overrated. On to Ayrton Senna and why I think he was best. Qualifying: As was said earier by T-27, Senna was probably the fastest driver ever, and his speed over a single lap was particularly blistering, he started from pole 65 times in 161 races, a staggering 40% of the time. He started from the front row of the grid 87 times. When McLaren-Honda was particularly dominant in 1988 and 1989 Senna won 26 poles in 32 races, 13 each year, and never missed the front row in 1989, throw in 1990, 36 poles in 48 races, 1991, 44 poles in 64 races. What these numbers don't tell you is by how much Ayrton won the pole, in 1988 at Monaco, the site of his most famous pole lap, he out qualified Prost by nearly 1.5 seconds on the tight Monaco street circuit. Keep in mind they were in nearly identical McLaren MP4/4's. In 1989 at Suzuka, the sight of he and Prost's coming together, Senna again beat Prost in qualifying by 1.7 seconds. This lap is actually on youtube, here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M05UAbByrnw Luckily there are many onboard pole laps on youtube from Senna, many of which are truely breath taking. Devotion to the sport: No other driver worked harder on self improvement, Senna was very fit, and he self-proclaimed that he devoted his life to racing and he could not quit. He worked very hard on improving the car and getting better behind the wheel. Wet weather ability: I'll be brief, Senna made all the other drivers look like they were tied to a stump every single time it rained. Results: First off to correct you CJS, Senna actually only had 41 GP wins, however when you take into account that Senna died in his prime, at just 34 years of age, you'll see that he still plenty left in him. Prost had 199 starts, and 51 wins. Both had roughly a 1 in 4 win rate, and I feel very safe saying that Senna would've eclipsed Prost's win total had he lived, and he would've a huge gigantic thorn in Michael Schumacher's side. As far as average finish, that to me doesn't mean a lot, it is just an average afterall, Senna spent his Lotus years in some fast but very unreliable cars, 1989 was plagued by bad luck, and Senna's driving style wasn't geared to putting up that kind of average. Not to mention several instances such as the 1988 season opening Brazilian GP where Senna's car wouldn't start, in his first race for McLaren, they brought out the back-up, Senna started the race from the rear, and began tearing through the field, only for the officials to bring up the fact on lap 31 of 60 that what the McLaren team did was illegal, and Senna was disqualified. It was well documented at the time that FIA president Jean-Marie Balestre, a Frenchman wasn't above being biased towards Prost the best French driver of the time, and it showed. At Suzuka in 1989 when Senna won his amazing pole, however the standard at the time was to put the pole in the inside of the grid, out of the groove, and in the marbles, Senna argued and lost, allowing Prost to take the lead at the green flag. On lap 46 of 53 Senna finally caught Prost, attemted an aggressive pass on Prost who was clearly taking an unusual line into the Suzuka chicane, when they collided, they exchanged insurance info at the side of the road, Prost climbed from his car, Senna's was restarted by the officials, which was legal at the time, Senna drove down the access road he was already parked on after his accident with Prost, drove a full lap with no front wing, made a pitstop to replace the wing, and only to fell to fourth, during this, which shows how good McLaren was in 1989, and drove like a man posessed in the final laps and won the race, however the real injustice came after the race as Senna was disqualified for cutting the chicane, there was no rule regarding this at the time, and team manager Ron Dennis brought video evidence at the appeal, which failed. Senna was docked of his win, the vital points he needed to have a shot at the championship and fined $100,000 for the incident. In 1990 Senna again won the pole at Suzuka, the penultimate race and this year the pole had been moved to the correct side of the track, where Senna wanted it, until race day that is where it was moved to dirty side again to aid Prost on the outside pole. Just like in 1989 Prost got the jump, Senna then took him out in the first corner, denying Prost any points needed for the title. I will continue tomorrow. 407. Benjamin Lowe posted: 08.31.2012 - 7:21 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think Brian France has a very, very low IQ 408. cjs3872 posted: 08.31.2012 - 8:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I thought Senna had 44 F1 wins, Mr X. Sorry about the mistake. But I also think that 1994 or '95 was going to be his last year in F1, and that he was planning to make the same career move that Emerson Fittipaldi and Nigel Mansell made and the Nelson Piquet tried to make before his bad crash at Indy in 1992, and that's to go from F1 to IndyCar racing, where he would have had another 10 years of racing left in him, if not more, since drivers race well into their 40s and even 50s here. And I would agree with you about Piquet, as far as his place in the sport is concerned if he had won two championships, but that third championship elevates a driver from an elite driver to a legendary one. The same is true in NASCAR. Winning two championships puts you in an elite class, but the third one makes you an instant legend. And yes, Piquet was a Terry Labonte-type, as he was always one you could count on to finish races, and not beat himself in a points battle. In fact, both he and Labonte entered their respective series full-time at about the same time. Labonte (NASCAR) in 1979 and Piquet (F1) in 1980. And I still think it's remarkable that Piquet spun or crashed out of just 27 races in 12 years, a fact that's astonishing to me, yet was able to win 23 races and three championships. Usually a driver with that kind of record of not crashing has to run slow, but he didn't. 409. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 08.31.2012 - 8:21 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) ...all this F1 talk has got me interested. I want to see these 89 and 90 races. F1 has always been interesting for me, being so radically different then NASCAR, but I never seem to be able to watch it, even when it is on... 410. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.31.2012 - 1:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm like you Destroya, I respect all forms of motorsports and have tried a few times to follow F1 but just never have been able to. But I still have been curious about it, hence my questions. And once again, I appreciate everyone for their responses. Spen, you are right, I can't believe I forgot about the Levigating disaster, especially considering I was at that '05 race and the next season's '06 unwatchable version on the repaved track. I haven't been back to that track since despite the fact Concord is only an hour from where I live. 411. 10andJoe posted: 08.31.2012 - 1:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) With regard to Sears Point Raceway aka Infineon Raceway aka Sonoma Raceway aka Stay Tuned For What We're Calling It Next Year, yes, the IndyCars do use the Carousel and look marvellous doing so. Of course, the IndyCars /also/ don't use Turn 11, instead taking a more modest turn through where "Gilligan's Island" used to be... Also, to be fair to Bruton, North Wilkesboro was only 50% his fault - recall that Bob Bahre bought the other 50% and moved that date to New Hampshire Yawner Speedway. 412. Paul posted: 08.31.2012 - 3:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Speaking of "Gilligan's Island," why doesn't NASCAR use that pit road anymore? I started following the sport regularly in 2002 and I think that was the first year they stopped using that 2nd pit road. I liked the idea that cars had to wait 18 seconds before leaving pit road because it made qualifying that much more important at Sonoma. I started following Formula One on a semi-regular basis last year. Unfortunately, the starting times often don't fit into my schedule and I often forget to watch the race replay. My favorite part about F1 is the professionalism that goes into the coverage of the sport. If NASCAR coverage could be more like Formula One, where they focus more on the drivers and their abilities on the track instead of trying to portray them as cartoon characters and 185 MPH advertisements, then the sport would at least have some credibility. Right now it has none. When ESPN puts on a better pre-race show than any other NASCAR network, I think that's a cause to be concerned, considering how little ESPN thinks of NASCAR (and keep in mind, this is the same network that employs Brad Daugherty as a "NASCAR expert"). Also since it's been brought up, I somewhat hope that Brian Scott does get a ride at Phoenix Racing next year if that means that a more talented JGR driver gets his Nationwide ride full-time next season. Personally, I hope Darrell Wallace, Jr. gets that ride next year not just for his talent, but also because he handles himself very maturely and is a pretty humble guy. I would've given it to Ryan Truex, but after that Dover incident where he bitched and moaned about those two lapped cars getting in his way even weeks after the fact, I've lost a lot of respect for him. You can tell a lot about a person by seeing how they present themselves after a loss, and I thought his attitude was very poor after that race. He may be a 2-time K&N East champion, but in my mind, he's no champion. 413. DaleSrFanForever posted: 08.31.2012 - 4:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Lol, saw a commercial advertising tickets for the Fall Charlotte race where they called it "the most exciting race in the cha$e". If by "most" they really mean "least", then I agree. Here is the pre playoff power rankings of how exciting the races will most likely be: 1) Martinsville 2) Talladega 3) Dover 4) Homestead 5) Phoenix 6) Chicago 7) Loudon 8) Texas 9) Kansas 10) Charlotte 414. Spen posted: 08.31.2012 - 4:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Six through ten on that list are pretty interchangable. Personally, I usually enjoy Charlotte more than Texas or Chicagoland. Not that that's saying a lot. 415. cjs3872 posted: 08.31.2012 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Actually Spen, 3-10 on DSFF's list are interchangeable. The only two tracks in the Chase that routinely put on exciting races are Martinsville and Talladega. Now that's not to say the others don't put on exciting races. It's just that they don't do so on a routine basis. For instance, the last really good Cup race at Dover I can remember was the battle of the Roush drivers in 2008, won by Greg Biffle. Kansas has put on good races, most notably the 2004 race, which Joe Nemechek won over Ricky Rudd, who was driving for the Wood Brothers (yes, they were once competitve enough to run up front and compete for wins on those kinds of tracks earlier in this century). Loudon has also put on exciting races, just not very many of them (the 2005 Chase race and the 2007 July race being among them), and the same is true regarding the other 1.5 mile tracks in the Chase. They don't, or can't do so as often as Martinsville and Talladega. 416. murb posted: 08.31.2012 - 6:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "1) Martinsville 2) Talladega 3) Dover 4) Homestead 5) Phoenix 6) Chicago 7) Loudon 8) Texas 9) Kansas 10) Charlotte" I would put Homestead at 3rd, Phoenix at 4th, and Dover at 5th. And maybe move Texas up into 6th instead of Chicagoland. But other than that, it's perfect. Charlotte has been really terrible lately. One of my hobbies is watching old races that people have put up on Youtube. In doing that, I've seen some great old races at the track (the 1993 600 and the 2000 Winston All Star Race, to name a couple). In recent years though, it has to have been one of the most anti-climatic and least exciting race tracks. It doesn't even matter which one of the races it is. The 600? The last great 600 in my opinion was in 2002 when Mark Martin won (actually, 2011 was okay. But this year's 600 reverted back to crap.) The All Star Race? 2009 was probably the last really good one. And I can't even remember the last time the Fall race was any good (2007?). My main point is, like some of you other guys, for such a "historic" track on the schedule, it really does suck. 417. Paul posted: 08.31.2012 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'll always remember the 2007 Coca-Cola 600 for having one of the most random top 5 finishers in NASCAR history (Mears, Yeley, Petty, Sorenson, Vickers). 418. Paul posted: 08.31.2012 - 6:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Junior's been out-qualified by three unsponsored cars (Blaney, Stremme, and Leffler) 419. JG24FanForever posted: 08.31.2012 - 8:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I like the commentary on here about F1. I'm a huge fan and I think I know quite a bit about the History. When you rank the greatest drivers you have to take into consideration: Cirtcuits,Teams and cars,Era,Competition for the greatest and most importantly in F1 is Natural Ability. Schumacher: Had more wins in the wet without Traction Control than Senna, and has 5 seasons with a least 9 wins including 5 consecutive championships from 2000-2004 and 7 total. His villainy was established at Adelaide in 1994 in the last round of the Championship when after dominating the race he shunted and hit the barriers, ruining his car, His rival for the Championship Damon Hill was running 2nd at the time and didn't see the accident, when Hill went to overtake, Schumacher veered his car into Hill's, Destroying his suspension and taking him out of the championship, giving Schumey his first title by a single point. In 1997 Schumacher pulled the same stunt in the finale at Jerez on Jacques Villneuve.Villeneuve made a daring overtake for the lead on Schumacher And Michael Steered his car into Jacques, except this time he simply bounced of the car without hurting Villeneuve's and spun off into retirement. afterwords the FIA stripped Schumey of all his points for the season. As far as Senna being Better than Prost, I believe they were true equals. Prost vs. Senna Wins: Prost 51-Senna 41 Poles: Prost 33-Senna 65 Fastest Laps: Prost 41 Senna 19 Total: Prost 125-Senna 125 # of Circuits with at least one win: Schumacher 23 Prost 22 Alonso 19 Senna 17 Vettel 17 My personal Top 12 Greatest List: 1. Jim Clark 1. Michael Schumcher 3. Alain Prost 3. Ayrton Senna 5. Jackie Stewart 6. Fernando Alonso 7. Juan Manuel Fangio 8. Stirling Moss 9. Lewis Hamilton 10. Sebastian Vettel 11. Alberto Ascari 12. Gilles Villeneuve 420. 10andJoe posted: 08.31.2012 - 10:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) >Speaking of "Gilligan's Island," why doesn't NASCAR use that pit road anymore? They reconfigured the track and extended the 'normal' pit road, "Gilligan's Island" doesn't exist anymore. 421. JG24FanForever posted: 08.31.2012 - 10:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jim Clark: Has an unbreakable record of 8 Grand Slams and in 1965, won six straight races and led every lap of 4 straight races. Clark's most impressive feat was winning Both Spa and The British Grand Prix from 1962-1965. He failed to take the title's of 1962 and 1964 due to the Lotus he was driving's massive fragility, which is the same reason he never won Monaco despite winning 4 straight poles there. He perished on April 7th 1968, which is the same day Richard Petty won his 77th career Cup race at Hickory. Clark managed to win the last 3 Grand Prix of his career at Mexico,Watkins Glen and Kyalami South Africa, thus breaking Fangio's record of 24 Grand Prix wins in his final race. Clark won races by such giant margins so often and led over 50% of all laps ever completed that I have to equal him to the controversial Schumacher in all-time ranking. 422. ch posted: 07.18.2013 - 3:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #26 Sponsor: MDS Transport (consistent with all 2012/2013 starts) 423. Rich posted: 04.20.2021 - 2:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Allen Bestwick along with Andy Petree and Dale Jarrett were the commentators. Vince Welch along with Mike Massaro, Dave Burns and Dr. Jerry Punch were the pit road reporters. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: