|| *Comments on the 2012 Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500:* View the most recent comment <#387> | Post a comment <#post> 1. David posted: 10.06.2012 - 3:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kasey Kahne wins pole #3 of 2012 and #10 of his career, tying him with Joe Nemechek, Cotton Owens, and LeeRoy Yarbrough. 2. joey2448 posted: 10.06.2012 - 3:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) With a lot of the drivers saying that they want to race up front all day instead of hanging back to avoid the Big One, it should be a great battle all race long! I'm looking forward to it! 3. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.06.2012 - 3:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) They should unrestrict the motors for qualifying. 4. David posted: 10.06.2012 - 3:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hmm...check that. 5. David posted: 10.06.2012 - 3:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kahne wins his 25th pole of his career. 6. Mr X posted: 10.06.2012 - 3:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) They really need to send out more then one car at a time for qualifying here, with 2 warm up laps before the flying lap, it takes as long to get 43 cars qualified as it does to race 500 miles here, plus the track is big enough. 3 hours of qualifying coverage, really? 7. 10andJoe posted: 10.06.2012 - 3:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) >They really need to send out more then one car at a time for qualifying here, They basically do, as much as they can anyway. With Trucks, at least, they were releasing the next car in line to head out onto the track to warm up as the truck on the clock was taking the white flag. You really can't do anything more than that, because then you risk the draft affecting somebody's qualifying speed. === Also, reposting this that David posted in the last thread. >Jeff Gordon just tweeted: >"Crew chief/driver meeting w/@NASCAR 2day talking about changes for 2013. Opening up testing, no more top 35 points & random draw qualifying." >YES!!!!!!!!!! 8. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.06.2012 - 4:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yet another post 2003 rule that is being rescinded due to it having the opposite effect of its intention, or at least what the Daytona suits thought it would accomplish (was supposed to draw more teams to the sport but it scared them away). I know this sounds like yet another "them fat cats don't know what they are doing" rants, but the facts are the facts. The sport is ruled by NASCAR and Bruton's SMI. What good decisions have they made since 2003? They either flat out don't work (the top 35 rule, SMI's laundry list of track blunders), produce a quick spike of interest only to fizzle out and leave the core base bitter (the cha$e, dumping 3 dates at Rockingham and Darlington for bigger markets), or only work in spite of themselves (the Bristol grinding). And no, the COT doesn't count. It debuted six years and 2 months after NASCAR had its FOURTH on track fatality in a ten month span from May 2000 - February 2001. SAFER barriers and HANS devices? Those were innovations from the open wheel world. They are in serious need of a real leader with real foresight and true understanding of our unique, quirky, and yes, downright stubborn fanbase. 9. Eric posted: 10.06.2012 - 5:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There shouldn't be any unrestricted motors for Qualifying. My concern is Qualifying speeds being over 220 M.P.H based on the fact Rusty went around 230 mile per hour without drafting help in a test years ago in the old car. I remembered it happening around 2004 to 2006 time period. What could be done is have two different plate sizes. One plate size is for qualifying and the other plate size is for when the cup cars races. The qualifying speeds need to be around 200 to 205 M.P.H to cut down 3 hours of qualifying. After Qualifying is over, there should a different plate on the cup cars to make them go around 200 M.P.H tops with drafting help. 10. Eric posted: 10.06.2012 - 5:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree that NASCAR was behind the times. That was on Dale Sr. and Nascar. Dale was the leader of the drivers in the cup garage and NASCAR listened to him. Dale did not support Hans Device. NASCAR in 2000 to 2001 was lucky that Bobby Labonte didn't die or get hurt at Darlington after having a stuck throttle and crashed as a result. 11. Schroeder51 posted: 10.06.2012 - 5:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Watching the Truck race...Of course since Ross Chastain is sponsored by the National Watermelon Board and it happens to be breast cancer awareness month, he'd have a "Save The Melons" logo on the back bumper of his truck. Had to figure they'd do something like that! 12. Benjamin Lowe posted: 10.06.2012 - 5:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think that we desperately need someone like Dale Sr to take control of NASCAR and lead it out of the dark cloud that it is in right now. 13. Paul posted: 10.06.2012 - 5:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You can add manufactured plate racing to the list of things NASCAR can't get right. It can go in the "things they changed too quickly because of fan reaction" category. John Wes Townley did his thing and turned Ross Chastain into Johnny Chapman, who's truck turned was saved thanks to Todd Bodine being in the wrong place at the right time. Btw, they said Johnny Chapman ran the fastest lap in this race. Good for him and I'm glad he's been given the opportunity to run the full race. 14. Paul posted: 10.06.2012 - 5:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^ Well he WAS running the full race. Thanks a lot JWT. 15. Schroeder51 posted: 10.06.2012 - 5:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why is Jon Wes Townley still in NASCAR? (I already know the answer to that question, so don't answer it.) 16. Schroeder51 posted: 10.06.2012 - 5:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Vicious crash for Donnie Neuenberger. 17. Dave #38 Fan posted: 10.06.2012 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) one rule change i would like to see nascar do-if at any point you go more than 4 laps down, you're parked, end of story. especially at superspeedways where the pack going around lapped trucks almost always causes a wreck, or martinsville this year with the david reutimann incident. 18. Dave #38 Fan posted: 10.06.2012 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) oh, and thanks a lot john wes townley. with two wrecked trucks ss green light racing (chastain and chapman's team) they will likely have to have both trucks start and park for the rest of the year. get townley's alcoholic ass out of nascar forever. 19. David posted: 10.06.2012 - 5:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "They are in serious need of a real leader with real foresight and true understanding of our unique, quirky, and yes, downright stubborn fanbase." Add "extremely hard to please" to that list as well. 20. Paul posted: 10.06.2012 - 5:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Or at least tell drivers to either go up towards the wall or go below the yellow line when they're being lapped. It didn't look like Aric did anything wrong from our view, but I'm sure from the drivers' perspectives he was a chicane as he was being lapped. Vicious crash for Neuenberger, glad he got out of his truck. It's a shame Piquet and Chris Fontaine got caught up in it, Fontaine especially considering how small that team is. 21. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 10.06.2012 - 6:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thankfully, with 9 to go, I don't think we are going to have a big wreck in the Truck race! Yes, I've been gone for some time. 22. 1995 Subaru WRX Sti posted: 10.06.2012 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm pretty sure people complain about the race not finishing under green (like usual) but congrats to Parker on winning. 23. New14 & 88Fan posted: 10.06.2012 - 6:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) PK finally gets one, congrats to him and Red Horse Racing. 24. Dave #38 Fan posted: 10.06.2012 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) hope justin lofton is okay after that hard hit. and how about norm benning getting another top 15 finish, tieing his best career finish and finshing 15th for the second time in the last 2 races. through the first 15 races of the season, norm had 5 DNQ's and a best finish of 20th, now he's locked into the final races of the year on owners points is has 3 top 20's in a row! not to shabby for an unsponsored 60 year old owner / driver. 25. Dave #38 Fan posted: 10.06.2012 - 6:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^^second time in the last 3 races. 26. Paul posted: 10.06.2012 - 6:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If you look at the replay, you can see Norm running about 17th-20th and back off once he saw how close the trucks in front of him got. About five seconds later, they wrecked and he weaved his way through the wreck. I'd love to see how Norm would do if he had some funding because he's proven to be a hell of a race car driver. And I've never seen him wreck, so there's another positive. First top ten finishes for German Quiroga and Tim George, Jr. Great 11th and 12th place finishes for Ryan Sieg and Bryan Silas. Silas was 2 laps down at one point, so a great comeback for him. Damn, I was pulling for Jason White to get his 1st win, but Kligerman and Sauter did a great job passing him and Kurt Busch with about 4 laps to go. Did anyone else notice Ty Dillon pulling out and hanging James Buescher out to dry with a couple laps left? Ty didn't gain anything because he didn't pass James, but doing that slowed down their momentum and gave the win to Kligerman. I wouldn't be surprised if Ty was told to do that since James is a championship contender and would have taken the points lead had he won. Instead, he only gains 1 point on Ty. Had he won, James would have gained 3 points and taken a 2-point lead in the standings. I hope Justin is alright too. Great job SPEED for having the shortest post-race show of the year. You're at the biggest track on the schedule, you have a wild finish that included a big wreck up front and a first-time winner, and you interview two people and give no updates on the drivers who crashed. 27. Dave #38 Fan posted: 10.06.2012 - 6:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) anyone else notice that for all of today's speed nascar coverage, there was a "fox sports" logo right above it? uh oh.... 28. 10andJoe posted: 10.06.2012 - 7:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And so the Townley bashing resumes in force. Bravo, "fans", bravo. 29. 18fan posted: 10.06.2012 - 7:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) SPEED is being converted to Fox Sports One sometime soon. They will keep all of their current NASCAR and F1 coverage, but add other sports and hopefully lose all of the crappy programming. 30. 10andJoe posted: 10.06.2012 - 7:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If the provisionals rule was in force now... Top 36 on time: Last qualifier, #93 Kvapil Provisionals: #47 B.Labonte, #33 Whitt, #83 Cassill, #10 Reutimann, #36 Blaney, #87 Nemechek, #23 Richardson DNQ: None Top 38 on time: Last qualifier, #83 Cassill Provisionals: #47 B. Labonte, #33 Whitt, #10 Reutimann, #36 Blaney, #23 Richardson DNQ: None 31. 12345Dude posted: 10.06.2012 - 7:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was biding my nails at the end of the race. I love plate racing. Interesting to see Armirola who looked like he had one of the best cars out there in the beginning. He's been amazing in that 5 truck compared to Harraka. I believe Richard Petty brought him to cup WAY to early. There is a reason Petty hasn't had much success as an owner for a while now. Aric didn't have one top 3 finish last year in nationwide. Yeah cup guys were dominate but not one top 3 finish! Yet they brought him up to cup. I think they should of put him full time in nationwide and bight the bullet in putting Stephen Leicht in the car (would have to pay some for no sponsorship) put Reuitmann in for 28 races and put Ron Fellows in for the road courses. Imagine Ron Fellows running in Nascar 17 years finally getting a shot in the cup series with good equipment and winning and bringing the famed 43 back in victory lane. I believe the only reason Michael Annett is doing so good in nationwide this year is because no-one and i mean no-one can find sponsorship. Put Ryan Truex, Trevor Bayne, James Buescher, Brian Vickers , & Travis Pastrana in full time next year along with Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, & Matt Kenseth running 10-18 events each next year and I don't see the success. Oh course I'm just smarter than the 7 time champ and 200 time race winner. Duh! Just throwing a few topics out there, curious what you guys think. 32. 10andJoe posted: 10.06.2012 - 7:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Aaaand, ding! Qualifying rule changes. -Top 35 rule GONE. -Top 36 on time, then provisionals. -Previous year's points used for first THREE races of the new season. -Random qualifying draw. 33. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.06.2012 - 7:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) SPEED is gonna be rebranded as the Fox Sports Network sometime soon (not sure the exact time or title of the network). Congrats to Parker. Glad that he won. Looks like him going to RHR and BKR picking up Ryan Blaney was a rare win-win for both sides. Hopefully the talnet pipeline becomes unclogged and evenually they both, after necessary years of seasoning in Trucks and NWide, will help bring badly needed fresh blood to Cup. 34. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.06.2012 - 7:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Eric, you are right that Big E was bad about holding safety back, not even giving a second look to "that damn noose" that would have likely saved his life (you know, had he actually also not already loosened his seat belts and chinstrap WHILE STILL RUNNING TWO HUNDRED MPHl. The only safety innovation he actually liked was the idea of softer walls after backing into a styrofoam barrier during one of his usual unforced errors at Watkins Glen. Didn't see it, but good to see John Wrecks Weekly continues trashing his own cars while screwing over others whose Daddy's aren't rich. 35. David posted: 10.06.2012 - 7:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "during one of his usual unforced errors at Watkins Glen" Impostor? 36. 10andJoe posted: 10.06.2012 - 7:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) >SPEED is gonna be rebranded as the Fox Sports Network Fox Sports One, actually. FSN already exists as the various regional channels. >Didn't see it, but good to see John Wrecks Weekly continues trashing his own cars while screwing over others whose Daddy's aren't rich. 1. He didn't trash his own cars. 2. Saying "LOL JWT" is disingenous when it was precisely the same kind of accident everyone else has at Talladega. 37. 10andJoe posted: 10.06.2012 - 7:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) (1. Er, truck.) 38. Paul posted: 10.06.2012 - 7:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 12345Dude, it wouldn't be Ron Fellows' first opportunity in good Cup equipment. If you remember, he drove the #1 DEI car at Watkins Glen in '04, starting 43rd after qualifying was rained out (sending several other ringers home) and finishing 2nd. It was a very impressive effort for a guy driving a part-time car for a team that had little success on road courses, outside of Steve Park's '00 Watkins Glen win. I think that effort caught Dale Jr.'s eye and Ron has driven for him on the Nationwide road courses since 2008. I agree that Aric Almirola was rushed up to Cup. I think "The King" remembered how Aric drove for him towards the end of 2010, including a 4th place finish at Homestead. Petty likes drivers that take care of his equipment, and I think that was the main reason why he wanted Aric over Allmendinger. It hasn't worked out well for several different factors, including the constant crew chief changes and because RPM is now transitioning into being the #3 Ford team next season. While the team itself isn't in great shape internally, I think we have to wait just a while longer before deciding whether Aric is Cup material or not. He's shown flashes of brilliance on the short tracks and superspeedways this year, so he's shown that he has the ability to run near the front. I believe he will be re-signed for 2013, but with Michael Annett running full-time in Nationwide and a partial Cup schedule next year, he needs to get results (and fast) if he wants to stick around in the future. Speaking of Annett, I think he's done a great job this year driving for RPM in its first Nationwide season. Remember, this team wasn't put together until less than a month before the season started, so the fact that he's sitting 6th in the points, earned his first 6 career top fives, and has more top tens this season (14) than his previous three years combined (13) says a lot about him and the team this season. So far he's met the expectations I had for this team this season, and there's a good chance they'll break into victory lane next season, especially since Stenhouse (and maybe Hornish) won't be coming back in 2013. 39. Red posted: 10.06.2012 - 7:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR really got this one right, going back to the 1998-2003 qualifying rules. There will be no limit on provisionals, and rules to prevent the abuse of the past champion's provisional. Using last year's points for only three races is the right move, as what happened in the previous season should have as little impact on the current season as possible. I'm actually a bit surprised NASCAR didn't come up with a "Danica Rule" of some type, as these changes will most certainly hurt her chances to qualify for all the races next year. She isn't always fast enough to qualify in the top 36, and her team will obviously be pretty far down in owner's points. Expect some GoDaddy Girl DNQ's in 2013. It's just ashame they couldn't have made these changes back in 2007. IMO, that's when the top 35 rule really killed new teams, because there were a bunch of slow cars grandfathered into the field from previous seasons (Kyle Petty, ahem), while the faster new teams had to scratch and claw just to make the race. But better late than never. Who knows, maybe NASCAR will come to their senses and change the points system and get rid of the chase. It's not likely, but at least now it seems possible. 40. Paul posted: 10.06.2012 - 7:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 10andJoe, when you have a history of wrecking cars/trucks like JWT has, you don't get the benefit of the doubt. I'll admit he hasn't caused as many wrecks as some of us predicted, but even as great as he was, Swervin' Irvan never erased his early career moniker. I'm not saying those two are in the same class, but Townley, like Irvan, will never get over being "John Wrecks Weekly". And it doesn't help that his family has a lot of money. ""during one of his usual unforced errors at Watkins Glen" Impostor?" Nope. It's well-known that Dale was never a fan or road courses, nor did he have much success on them, despite his win over Mark Martin (one of the sport's best road course drivers) at Sonoma '95. And DSFF, while being our resident Earnhardt fan, will be the first to tell you that about Dale. 41. cjs3872 posted: 10.06.2012 - 7:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It may be interesting who Jeff Gordon partners up with, if he intends to run up front. Will he team up with teammate Kasey Kahne, or will he team up with the Wood Brothers car, driven by the man who idolized him (and knocked out of the Daytona 500 record books), Trevor Bayne. After all, Bayne starts directy behind Gordon in eighth position. Bayne might also hook up with Matt Kenseth if Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards team up, which would be natural since they start one right behind the other. Frankly, I think we're going to see a lot of the Chevrolets have to go to the back just to cool their engine as best as possible, or we're going to see a lot of blown and overheated Chevrolet engines. Remember that four Chevrolets, including Jimmie Johnson, blew in the first 200 miles in the spring. I think we could very well see the same thing in tomorrow's race if the Cherolvet drivers aren't careful, because if the drivers want to get up front, I think we could see a race similar to the 1980s because of overheated engines. Back then, it was not uncommon for there to be double digit engine problems in a 500-mile race. 42. Paul posted: 10.06.2012 - 8:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I'm actually a bit surprised NASCAR didn't come up with a "Danica Rule" of some type, as these changes will most certainly hurt her chances to qualify for all the races next year. She isn't always fast enough to qualify in the top 36, and her team will obviously be pretty far down in owner's points. Expect some GoDaddy Girl DNQ's in 2013." I wouldn't be surprised if she pulled a Michael Waltrip or a Scott Speed and just bought her way into the field and take someone else's place. Heck, I'd even encourage her team to do that since it's be helping out on of the smaller start-and-park teams by giving them more money without using up their cars during the race. "It's just a shame they couldn't have made these changes back in 2007" 2007 was the last year when competitive cars with full sponsorship were missing the races. Teams like Morgan-McClure, Bill Davis, Red Bull, and MWR were missing races every week because they were always competing with each other for the final eight starting positions. Then of course, MMM basically folded after '07 as did the 2nd BDR team, and it pretty much ended Ward Burton and Jeremy Mayfield's careers, and now there's just a bunch of S&P teams battling for those final eight positions. So goodbye and good riddance to the "top 35 rule". It's damage will take some time to repair, but hopefully some of those teams outside the top 35 will get some funding and won't have to worry about qualifying anymore. 43. David posted: 10.06.2012 - 8:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @40 I knew that about Dale at road courses, I just misunderstood the original post. 44. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.06.2012 - 9:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No, that was me. Dale was actually really good at both Riverside and Sears Point. Despite only getting the one win, at those two courses he had a ton of Top 5s. But Watkins Glen he just never really took to. In the early days he could get decent finishes there cause the rest of the field was simply sorry at that track (outside of Richmond, Rusty, and Ricky). This was very apparent in 1990 when he spun out about 4 times and still finished Top 10 (the same race where Mark Martin had 3 flat tires in the last 20 laps and still finished Top 5). But as the years went by and other road aces showed up (Ernie, Mark, Gordon) and the rest of the field improved, it wasn't enough. He had to press to try to keep up and usually wound up spinning into something. 45. David posted: 10.06.2012 - 9:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I guess I thought that "unforced errors at Watkins Glen" meant an unforced error that just happened to occur at the Glen. My bad. 46. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 10.06.2012 - 9:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "It's damage will take some time to repair, but hopefully some of those teams outside the top 35 will get some funding and won't have to worry about qualifying anymore." Until the economy gets better, then hardly of the small teams are going to get funding from sponsers, unless they shock the racing world and win a race. 47. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 10.06.2012 - 11:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm glad NASCAR is going back to the previous qualifying rules, because those rules let in the fastest 36, then the rest of the field is set by provisionals based on where the driver is in the point standings. Letting in the fastest 8 GoGH cars under the top 35 rule tended to very often send home teams that qualified more than well enough to make the race. 48. Bronco posted: 10.07.2012 - 3:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 4th straight pole for HMS at Talladega, giving them 6 of the last 8 superspeedway poles. Also, the #24 team won both poles for the spring Talladega race in 2011-2012, while the #5 does the same but with for the fall race with Martin and Kahne. 49. ch posted: 10.07.2012 - 11:02 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Does anybody know if the new qualifying rules will go into effect across all 3 series? The press release I read only mentioned the cup series. 50. Cornys posted: 10.07.2012 - 12:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looking forward to todays race more than what I have most of the races this year! Seems like this is shaping up to be a great race. Oh, and the more I learn about the 2013 season.. the more I like it! :D 51. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 10.07.2012 - 1:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Appalling turnout at Talladega today, have never seen so many empty campsites. 52. BON GORDON posted: 10.07.2012 - 1:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Man i have this feeling in the pit of my stomach that there will be a Big Wreck at the start of the race which will take out Gordon and other chasers. I hope not. This is a must get a Top 12 finish day for Jeff Gordon. Another interesting stat is that the chase champion from 2004-2011 finished 9th or better at Talladega in every year but one in 2006. Jimmie crashed out because of a bump draft from his teammate Brian Vickers at the end of the race. He finished 24th. So the eventual champion this year will get a Top Ten today....I believe. 53. numbah24fan posted: 10.07.2012 - 1:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) only 43 cars qualified because JJ Yeley's #37 team withdrew earlier in the week. 54. Paul posted: 10.07.2012 - 1:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Big surprise, Brad Daugherty is not a fan of the "top 35 rule", saying it won't guarantee teams of his size that they'll make the race every week and be able to represent their sponsors. What the hell does he care? He doesn't want to race anyways. Plus he has a past champion in Bobby Labonte, so he's practically locked into every race regardless of the qualifying procedure. I'd rather have a start-and-park team that wants to build a successful race team make the race over his and JTG's marketing scheme. 55. David posted: 10.07.2012 - 1:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @54 Amen. At least start-and-parks want to race, but can't. 56. David posted: 10.07.2012 - 2:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Regan Smith will drive the #51 Chevrolet at Charlotte. 57. Bronco posted: 10.07.2012 - 2:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kevin James should do the command for all races. 58. Paul posted: 10.07.2012 - 2:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Casey Mears got into the back of Cole Whitt in the middle of turns 3 & 4, causing Whitt to hit Carl Edwards and both of them smacked the wall. Logano got a piece of it too. Brad and Harvick both did great jobs slowing down and avoiding that, as did every one else behind them. 59. New14 & 88Fan posted: 10.07.2012 - 2:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tough break for Carl Edwards and Cole Whitt, close call for Brad. 60. New14 & 88Fan posted: 10.07.2012 - 2:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was a good break for Denny Hamlin and David Gilliand though, as both had dropped pretty far back and might of gotten lapped had the race stayed green. 61. 18fan posted: 10.07.2012 - 3:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Hell of a save by Matt. 62. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 10.07.2012 - 3:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Save of the year? 63. Paul posted: 10.07.2012 - 3:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch and Trevor Bayne were too fast entering pit road, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. too fast exiting pit road. 64. New14 & 88Fan posted: 10.07.2012 - 3:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Shrub and Trevor Bayne both got busted for too fast entering pit road, Junior for exiting. Bummer 65. Bronco posted: 10.07.2012 - 3:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A very costly, and embarassing mistake for Jr. No excuses for that. 66. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.07.2012 - 3:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) McDowell again. I'm telling ya, he is dangerous. I know we complain about start and parks, but do we really want McDowell running the entire race every week? 67. 18fan posted: 10.07.2012 - 3:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What went through McDowell's head that told him to go to the top when the cars he was with all stayed low? 68. Paul posted: 10.07.2012 - 3:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kahne and Kurt Busch ran out of fuel in the middle of the pack. Kurt got hit from behind by McMurray and hit the inside wall. 69. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.07.2012 - 3:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Is there a bigger piece of shit than Kurt Busch? I smell another suspension for him. He deserves it. 70. Schroeder51 posted: 10.07.2012 - 3:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why the hell did Kurt drive off like that with the safety workers surrounding his car? He's just been parked for the day because of that. Sheesh, what the hell is wrong with him? 71. John Royal posted: 10.07.2012 - 3:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think it is Kurt Busch's career that is done. 72. Anonymous posted: 10.07.2012 - 3:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt Busch is HILARIOUS. 73. startandparkfan posted: 10.07.2012 - 3:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Will Kurt Busch go in as Crash or Parked? He was parked for the day by nascar, so thats what it should go in as. he may have been able to fix the car too. 74. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 10.07.2012 - 3:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt Busch what an idiot. Furniture Row is going to get what they deserve for hiring this clown. 75. Paul posted: 10.07.2012 - 3:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt Busch has been parked for the day. And so ends Kurt's tenure in the #51. Have fun with him FRR. 76. Mr X posted: 10.07.2012 - 3:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It would be interesting if Kurt were suspended for his debut with the #78 team. I agree DSFF, I don't see NASCAR taking this lightly given Busch's history, plus he is likely to get in more trouble as he has now been parked for the day. 77. BON GORDON posted: 10.07.2012 - 3:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt Busch always lets his anger get the best of him. Good driver, bad attitude. Now he's parked, not that it matters much at this point. He needs to take a page of Jeff Gordon's, Mark Martin's, and Jimmie Johnson's book on how to keep your cool. 78. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 10.07.2012 - 3:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I hope te #78 enjoyies their new hire. 79. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 10.07.2012 - 3:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hopefully that's the end of Kurt Busch's cup career. 80. OldSchoolNascarDude1 posted: 10.07.2012 - 3:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) With that last little debacle, I think Regan Smith may have his choice between which team he drives for next week. 81. Bronco posted: 10.07.2012 - 4:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt Busch makes it 4 for 4 in crashing during the superspeedway races in 2012. His time with the #51 ends the same way it started, with a DNF. 82. Dave #38 Fan posted: 10.07.2012 - 4:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) good choice furntiture row, i hope you go bankrupt and ikea buys yout out. 83. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.07.2012 - 4:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well Childress, you've goot another winner in your stable, that is if NASCAR even lets him return. At what point do they finally just say "enough is enough"? 84. Schroeder51 posted: 10.07.2012 - 4:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "That's the competitor in me, that's the desire in me, and that's what gets misconstrued. This is my life." Mmm-hmm, sure Kurt. 85. New14 & 88Fan posted: 10.07.2012 - 4:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If this was a year to taste Kurt, he flunked with flying barrels of vomit. I hope Barney Vasser and Childress have a rough go of it these last few races and next year, because they've earned it. 86. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.07.2012 - 4:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Spin it any way you want Kurt, that was another dangerous move that only an asshole would make. And your persecution complex will give you zero sympathy. Have fun Furniture Row. 87. New14 & 88Fan posted: 10.07.2012 - 4:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) test* 88. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.07.2012 - 4:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Flunked the test with flying barrells of vomit? Yep, that sums up Kurt's year perfectly. 89. OldSchoolNascarDude1 posted: 10.07.2012 - 4:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) My signal just went out. 90. JG24FanForever posted: 10.07.2012 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Give June his lap back. 91. Dave #38 Fan posted: 10.07.2012 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) debris caution-bullshit. and look junior's back on the lead lap, imagine that *rolls eyes* 92. Schroeder51 posted: 10.07.2012 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) They just had a BS debris caution to get Jr. back on the lead lap. I KNEW they'd end up doing that. 93. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 10.07.2012 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ///WWE strikes again 94. BON GORDON posted: 10.07.2012 - 4:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ha! Another bogus debris caution. 95. New14 & 88Fan posted: 10.07.2012 - 4:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Phony debris caution to get Dale Jr. back on the lead lap, my what a shocker *rolls eyes* 96. 12345Dude posted: 10.07.2012 - 4:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I disagree about Kurt. I can't stand him but I don't think he did anything really wrong there. He was just going to drive it back to the garage. And NASCAR wonders why the ratings are down. One of the huge reasons is these fake debry cautions. Do any of you know if that was a real caution or a fake caution (know for sure) 97. The Final Gear posted: 10.07.2012 - 4:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ESPN's coverage has been terrible. They've just focused on Jr all day long. Yeah tell me that debris caution was for actual debris... 98. Paul posted: 10.07.2012 - 4:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I'm getting really sick of lapped cars staying on the track as they're getting lapped. We almost had a repeat of yesterday's crash with Logano causing the leaders to stack up. Stay below the yellow line where you're out of the way! 99. joey2448 posted: 10.07.2012 - 4:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Things are heatin' up! Getting dicey out there! 100. Paul posted: 10.07.2012 - 4:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks like fuel mileage is going to play a role in the finish. I don't like this because someone could run out in front of a pack of cars. 101. New14 & 88Fan posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Things are getting crazy, the Bif almost got wrecked by Harvick coming off four but saved it. 102. OldSchoolNascarDude1 posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Is Chip Ganassi alive? He hasn't moved in five minutes. 103. New14 & 88Fan posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Damn that sucked for Jamie Mac, he was having what was without doubt his best run of the year. 104. Paul posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) McMurray gets spun by Harvick through the tri-oval, tearing his splitter in the process. What a shame. 105. Schroeder51 posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This could get UGLY... 106. joey2448 posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was really hoping to see this race play out with a long green stretch, but nonetheless, it will get crazy now! 107. Schroeder51 posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) AWFUL crash on the last lap. Somehow Jeff Gordon makes it through! 108. Paul posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Michael Waltrip just set the all-time record for most dollars worth of damage in one wreck. 109. New14 & 88Fan posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good Lord Thank goodness Smoke climbed out unhurt, Kenseth wins the first and last plate races of the season. 110. Rusty posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) LMAO at Michael Waltrip. He wrecked the entire field. 111. 18fan posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:24 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Wow. And through all of that probably the best car won. 112. Schroeder51 posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The only 3 cars I could see that got through that crash were Kenseth, Gordon, and Kyle Busch. 113. Anonymous posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Classic Michael Waltrip Clusterf**k. 114. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Scenes like this will NEVER stop making me sick until everyone walks away. 115. Schroeder51 posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That would have been an incredible move if Waltrip had made it work. Of course he didn't, so... 116. MarkMartinFan posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:28 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) How in the world is this Waltrip's fault? Stewart tried to block him. 117. Paul posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Tony Stewart just proved himself to be the biggest hypocrite in the sport today. At Sonoma last year, he said that he doesn't block people and he dumps people who block him (in response to Brian Vickers), then here he is blocking a freight train led by Waltrip and causes the biggest wreck in probably 10 years. 118. New14 & 88Fan posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Can't wait to hear the interviews after this one. Possiblly the biggest big one in Talladega history. 119. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Don't blame Mikey, Tony blocked. Geez, i see irony in that. Everyone got 3 strikes worth of luck but in end EVERYONE got out. 120. JG24FanForever posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Regan Smith Top 6!! Goodbye Furniture Row! Jeff Gordon is now the Modern King of Podiums with his 206th 121. Paul posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Unoffically, the top ten finishers were Kenseth, Gordon, Kyle, Ragan, Biffle, Regan, Brad, Kvapil, Newman, Burton. 122. murb posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow. Tony definitely blocked there, but Michael completely piledrove right in there. It was both of their faults. Total "F You" win for Kenseth, as he can rub this right in the face of the Jackass in the Hat. Good race. Keselowski will win the championship, if nothing happens to him. 123. Schroeder51 posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Ragan 4th and Travis Kvapil 8th. If that holds up, that would be BK Racing's first top 10 finish. 124. John Royal posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Damn, Walwreck would have won without Tony. 125. Mr X posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I hate Michael Waltrip as much as anyone but from what I saw I don't see how all the blame falls on him, Casey Mears was pushing him, he had a huge run, he was right on the bottom, and Stewart clearly came down in an attemt to block that was never going to work given the run Waltrip had. It's the last lap at Talladega, Stewart was desperate to block and it failed, it resulted in the biggest crash, and the most spectacular wreck I have seen in a long time, possibly ever. 126. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Amazing how safe these cars are. 127. BON GORDON posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh my god!!!!! What a finish! Gordon somehow made it through and finished 2nd or 3rd. Im glad to see Tony Stewart is ok. 128. Paul posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And Regan Smith finishes 6th in his final start for FRR. An even bigger f*** you considering how damaged the car got in that wreck. I think Kenseth, Gordon, and Kyle were the only ones who got through clean. Ragan finished 4th and his car had a lot of damage. 129. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:38 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Ii was gonna say, I can't stand Mikey at all but that one was all on Tony, who admitted as much because he is mature enough not to blame everyone else for his errors unlike some people. See how emotional Matt was to get another win in the #17, a win he probably thought might never some? That is a class act. He was about to break down the entire interview. To hell with Jack you ungracious son of a bitch. Matt deserves better than you, and he will get it next year. Also, the strongest season on the 4 plate tracks since Earnhardt in 1990. 130. startandparkfan posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) OMGZ BAD CRASH! Yay for Kvapil and Ragan, Kenseth, GORDON!!!, and Tony is ok, so good for him! 131. Paul posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Jimmie Johnson DNF'd in all four plate races this year. 132. Paul posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Denny Hamlin spun himself out to avoid the wreck and finished 11th. I don't like that he hung out at the back all day, but you gotta do what you gotta do. 133. MStall41 posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The finish was a mess, but that was arguably the best race of the season up until the last 5 laps. 134. Paul posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) My bad, JJ crossed the line after that wreck so he technically finished the race. Shame for Casey Mears. He was running top 5-top 10 all day and wrecks and finishes 26th. 135. Bronco posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Also, the strongest season on the 4 plate tracks since Earnhardt in 1990." Not quite. Earnhardt in 1999 swept the Talladega races, and finished 2nd in both Daytona races. In 2004, Dale Earnhardt Jr won the Daytona 500, finished 2nd in the spring Talladega race, third in the Pepsi 400 and won the fall Talladega race. Matt's finishes were 1,3,3,1. Possibly the first win by a pink car in the Cup series. The standings are almost sickening now, it looks like everyone from 4th place down is pretty much out of it. Third time in the last 4 years that this race has been won by a driver leaving his team at the end of the season. 136. 10andJoe posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If not for Stewart coming down, Mikey would have won the race, with Casey Mears second. THOSE would have been some apples... As it is, if the finishes by Ragan and Kvapil hold up, that'll be awesome for those teams. And speaking of BK Racing, what the heck has happened to Cassill over the last month? 137. Sean posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (7) "See how emotional Matt was to get another win in the #17, a win he probably thought might never some? That is a class act." Eh, I can't support Kenseth winning this after he drove Bowyer off the track causing the whole field to be bunched up. He contributed to the wreck. Not as much as Harvick did by wrecking McMurray to cause the shootout at the end, but that was a rather dirty win for Kenseth in my book. At least he acknowledged it... 138. Schroeder51 posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Actually, I think only 5 cars may have been undamaged. Aside from Kenseth, Gordon, and Busch, it looks like Biffle's car was undamaged, and the same for Kvapil. 139. Sean posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Also, the strongest season on the 4 plate tracks since Earnhardt in 1990." Ernie Irvan in 1994 is worth mentioning. 2-2-2-3, led the most laps in all 4 races, and that should have been 2-2-1-2 since Jimmy Spencer was allowed to cheat. 140. ch posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kvapil got some heavy right side damage in the wreck. At least the damage won't hurt anybody as this is the last time the current body will be used on a restrictor plate race. 141. Thomas posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Michael Waltrip probably wins if Stewart didn't block him. Anybody else thinking of Stewart's comments last season about wrecking anybody who blocked him? About all we really know at this point is Kenseth won and Keselowski retains the points lead. 142. Bronco posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (6) So why wasn't Matt penalized for CLEARLY forcing the #15 below the line? Another screwed up call by NASCAR, just like they allowed the #3 truck to dip below the line on the final lap of last year's truck race. I don't blame Matt for the wreck, that was all Tony but it's a cheap win for him regardless. 143. Mr X posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kevin Harvick in 2010 is worth mentioning for best RP seasons, 7th, 1st, 1st, and 2nd in a photo finish with Bowyer. He led the most laps in both Daytona races, was involved in a crash at the fall Talladega race, and if you throw in the Bud Shootout which he won, and his duel where he finished 2nd in a photo finish you have a respectable RP season. 144. Sean posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I said he contributed by bunching the field up when he drove Bowyer off the track. Yeah, Stewart actually caused it but Kenseth did contribute to it by bunching up the field... 145. Schroeder51 posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think all of us would have shit collective bricks if Mikey had won. 146. Greg in Florida posted: 10.07.2012 - 5:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) WOW 147. I love Japan posted: 10.07.2012 - 6:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Exciting finish :). Haven't been this thrilled since fall 2001 with a Dega race. 148. Schroeder51 posted: 10.07.2012 - 6:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was wondering when someone was going to compare this race to the 2001 EA Sports 500... 149. Paul posted: 10.07.2012 - 6:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Michael Waltrip probably wins if Stewart didn't block him. Anybody else thinking of Stewart's comments last season about wrecking anybody who blocked him?" I mentioned that in post #117. Stewart may have apologized for causing that wreck, but there's an old saying: ""Sorry" doesn't fix my race car." 150. I love Japan posted: 10.07.2012 - 6:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Even the first half if the races were similar. They are eerily carbon copies of each other. 151. Jarrett88fan posted: 10.07.2012 - 6:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordon continues to make a mockery of the current "points system" with another 2nd place finish. It seems Hamlin intentionally spun out because he was in the upper grove and wanted to drive through the carnage unscathed. 152. JG24FanForever posted: 10.07.2012 - 6:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First runner-up finish for Gordon in a Plate event since this event back in 1998. 297th Top 5 finish-151st Top 2 finish-330th Top 6 finish 153. Brad24 posted: 10.07.2012 - 6:12 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) And boom goes the dynamite. Talladega strikes again! But seriously, I'm glad Tony and everyone is ok after that nasty wreck. I don't want to put the cart before the horse, but I think it's pretty clear now that this will be a 3-man race between BK2, Jimmie, and Denny for the title. It looked to me as if every Chaser except for Kenseth and Gordon was involved in some way in that wreck. Overall, I thought it was a pretty good race "I think all of us would have shit collective bricks if Mikey had won." You and me both! But Mikey always runs good at the plate tracks anyway. Great win for Kenseth. Good way for him to go out at RFR. 154. Brad24 posted: 10.07.2012 - 6:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, I hope Furniture Row realizes what they're getting into by getting Kurt Busch. Personally, I think it was a big mistake to let Regan Smith go and hiring Kurt. Especially since Kurt did what he does best today. After Todd Berrier was hired at FRR, Regan was having some good runs. A top 10 here and there. I was hoping he would maybe steal a win before the year was over (Like today). 155. Daniel posted: 10.07.2012 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Can't believe there are some people actually blaming Waltrip for that wreck. I'm not a fan of his at all but that was clearly on Stewart for blocking. 156. BON GORDON posted: 10.07.2012 - 6:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Like I said early today the eventual chase champion every year from 2004-2011 finished in the Top Ten at Talladega. The chasers who finished in the Top Ten today were Kenseth (winner), Gordon (2nd), Biffle (5th), AND Keselowski (7th). Based on this I'd say Keselowski will be your 2012 champion considering he's the darn points leader. Kenseth and Biffle have been struggling everywhere else lately besides here cause well it's restrictor plate racing and anyone can win. As of now I believe Gordon will finish 4th-6th in points but has nothing for Keselowski, Johnson, and Hamlin in the long run. So that leaves Keselowski who I really believe is your 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion. 157. BON GORDON posted: 10.07.2012 - 6:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) *Every year but 2006 where Johnson finished 24th. 158. Paul posted: 10.07.2012 - 6:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Daniel, I think most of us who blamed MW (myself included) did so before we saw the replay. The replay clearly shows that Waltrip got a huge push from Casey Mears and Stewart came down into him trying to block (the thing he himself claims isn't the thing to do to a car much faster than you). It reminded me of what JJ did to Gordon at the 2010 spring race when he changed lanes and blocked his teammate who had a huge run, causing the field to get stacked up and a wreck ensued. 159. Paul posted: 10.07.2012 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Regan Smith will be in the #51 for at least one week at Charlotte. James Finch says he's not committing to one driver, but I have a feeling that he'll enjoy having a driver who won't tear up equipment or have spats over the radio and retain Smith for the remainder of the season. 160. joey2448 posted: 10.07.2012 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well....I've finally calmed down after that finish. I can think straight now. Just an absolutely crazy-go-nuts finish! Similar to this year's July Daytona race; the whole field wrecks in the final turn. I saw Michael Waltrip's huge run going into turn three and I thought that was the winning move and Waltrip would pull off the upset! But then it happened. When the field took the white flag, I knew there was no way the field would make it back around cleanly. I knew people would be blaming Waltrip for causing that wreck, but when it's the last lap, no one is lifting. You really can't place blame on anyone there. I mean, sure Tony could've held his line and slipped back through the middle line, but then he's not racing to win, he's just racing. This isn't the first time Tony Stewart has been upside down with cars beneath him (2001 Daytona 500). 161. BON GORDON posted: 10.07.2012 - 6:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Honestly, it's not even a debate whether it was Tony's fault or Michael's. It's just hard racing at a track that produces close racing and Big Wrecks. Stewart clearly came down and Waltrip didn't lift. It's the last lap at Talladega, case closed. 162. webmaster posted: 10.07.2012 - 6:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR must be quintuple-checking the results with a microscope -- their media site hasn't had any updates for over 2 hours now. 163. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 10.07.2012 - 6:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Jeff Gordon continues to make a mockery of the current "points system" with another 2nd place finish." Blame the people in the peanut gallery, they can't count so it had to be dumbed down for them. 164. BON GORDON posted: 10.07.2012 - 6:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'd say the results are 99.9% final as of now. If the results aren't changed by now, then it probably won't change. 165. BON GORDON posted: 10.07.2012 - 6:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree Subaru. Look I'm one of Gordon's biggest fans but Gordon finished 35th at Chicago. It's hard to make that up. Even if you do finish 3rd, 2nd, 2nd. He needs to win more as well. He's at least moving up in points and I don't expect Jeff to win the title this year. What I do expect are good finishes and a good points finish. It's been a long year being a Gordon fan and all but I'm so happy that so far he's finishing off the season very strong. It's the points season and we all just need to deal with it. 166. cjs3872 posted: 10.07.2012 - 6:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Does anyone think it's ironic that the three drivers who have had the worst luck most of the year finish 1-2-3 at Talladega. Matt Kenseth wins, Jeff Gordon finishes second, and Kyle Busch ends up third. Those three have had the worst luck with bizarre things happening (Gordon), engine failures under caution (Busch), and parts falling off the car (Kenseth), yet today, they end up finishing 1-2-3, while everyone else ends up wrecked. And look out for JGR on the plate tracks next year, with Kenseth and Busch teaming up. And I wonder what might have happened on that final restart had Trevor Bayne not run out of gas. He was fourth and would have started immediately behind Kenseth and might have pushed Kenseth until they got on the final straightaway and tried to pass him. And by the way, there was no mention at all that Bayne was right up there in the top five in the closing laps, and was probably planning a way to make a move before that final caution came out, not that it would have mattered with him running out of fuel anyway. 167. BON GORDON posted: 10.07.2012 - 6:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) *Points system 168. ken posted: 10.07.2012 - 7:03 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Terry Labonte gets another top twenty, three this season in four races. Regan Smith leaves FRR with his best finish of the season. 169. Paul posted: 10.07.2012 - 7:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I saw this on Gordon's twitter that he said over the radio in response to Logano bunching the field up: "#JeffGordon - "****** Logano is an idiot. He about wrecked us all right there." #NASCAR #Team24" Ain't that the truth. I mentioned earlier that I can't stand it when lapped cars stay on the track when they get lapped because it bunches the field up and they have to all move over to dodge him. It wasn't just Logano; Carl was doing that every time even though he was about 5 laps down, and of course McDowell moving up and forcing the leaders to go in between slower cars. After what happened yesterday with Almirola staying on the track while 3 laps down and the ensuing wreck involving Neuenberger and Piquet, I can't believe how many cars kept doing that. Kudos to David Stremme and Robert Richardson for actually going below the yellow line and staying out of the way. 170. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 10.07.2012 - 7:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I think all of us would have shit collective bricks if Mikey had won." I agree. Mikey and Casey had a full head of steam. If Tony doesn't block Mikey, him and Casey yard the field and it is between the both of them. 171. JG24FanForever posted: 10.07.2012 - 7:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hey everybody, notice the Top 5 that Smith scored with a team that would rather not have him in the car in his last race with said team? 172. David posted: 10.07.2012 - 7:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Definitely Stewart's fault. Michael Waltrip moved up after Stewart's car was already out of control. Why do I get the feeling that people like to blame Waltrip because they don't like him? 173. Paul posted: 10.07.2012 - 7:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Roush-Fenway plane took off with the cargo door still open, causing all their luggage and gear to fall out and litter the runway. Bad luck continues for RFR/the #17 team at Talladega. 174. 12345Dude posted: 10.07.2012 - 7:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What do you guys think of the points standings. Jimmie is 14 points back Denny is 23 points back That's a very big point lead. 175. 10andJoe posted: 10.07.2012 - 7:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^ Brad has gotten past the biggest challenge. 176. Anonymous posted: 10.07.2012 - 7:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Look at the top eight in points right now. Look at how the top eight would look without the Chase being invoked. 177. David posted: 10.07.2012 - 8:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Concerning the championship picture, I can't foresee anyone outside of Jimmie Johnson closing the points gap. Johnson can for two reasons; one, because the deficit is only 14 points, and two, because he's JIMMIE JOHNSON. Until Jeff Gordon claws his way back into contention (if he does), I am putting my championship marbles in Brad Keselowski's basket. I hope he wins this one for Dodge. 178. cjs3872 posted: 10.07.2012 - 8:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh Paul, that's cruel about the #17's luck. And Logano's not the only one that Gordon had hard words for during the race. He also had some not-so-kind things to say about Jamie McMurray's driving in radio communications to his team, about McMurray going all over the track. In fact, that's what nearly got him wrecked when Dale, Jr. was trying to push him into the lead late. McMurray moved up, causing Gordon to do likewise with Dale, Jr. still pushing him, and he almost got spun in the tri-oval as a result. And the problem you mention about lapped cars not running where they should has more to do with the fact that the drivers mentioned don't have good track sense. Aric Almirola and Michael McDowell, who shouldn't even be in the Cup series, were mentioned. Guys who are noticeably slower should get out of the way and run where the mass of the field isn't running. Now if there are guys several laps behind running the same speed as the leaders and are in the pack racing with them, as Logano was a good part of the day, I don't have as much of a problem with that. But what some of these drivers should do is to follow Carl Edwards' lead (imagine me saying that). He was in the same crash with Logano and Cole Whitt, but ran the lower lane to give the pack plenty of room to get by. And some of this has to do with a simple lack of experience, as well. Mst of the mentioned drivers mentioned have that in common, as well. 179. cjs3872 posted: 10.07.2012 - 8:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 12345Dude, you're forgetting about Martinsville. That's a place where Johnson and Hamlin could make up quite a bit of ground on Keselowski. Brad's a litle shaky there, while Johnson and Hamlin are perennial dominators there. And with two more 500-mile races coming up at high-speed tracks at Charlote and Texas, there's always a chance for engine problems to crop up. Brad looks good right now, but he still has to dodge (no pun intended) potential mechanical problems as Charlote and Texas, and the fact that he'll be looking to do at Martinsville what Johnson and Hamlin tried to do today, and that is just to survive and finish in the top 10-15. If Brad has engine problems in one of the 500-mile races, or gets caught up in something at Martinsville, everything changes, especially if either Johnson or Hamlin win at Martinsville, which will probably happen. And with this thing about Kurt Busch, the more of this that he does leaves me to believe that he's not chemically balanced, and that he could be racing while under the influence of narcotics, or medication of some kind. What he's doing seems to be more and more dangerous, and the more this goes on, the more I'm tempted to believe what Ryan Newman said at Darlington earlier this year about a chemical imbalance, which to me is a code for being under the influence of drugs. I'm starting to wonder if Kurt is racing while under the influence of narcotics, based on his increasing unpredictable and dangerous behavior. 180. Anonymous posted: 10.07.2012 - 8:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First top 10 finish for BK Racing, 8th from Kvapil. 181. Anonymous posted: 10.07.2012 - 8:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I believe Mears would have won if Stewart didn't block 182. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 10.07.2012 - 8:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^ he'd have to get around Mikey first. 183. Ed posted: 10.07.2012 - 8:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The list doesn't include the principle driver involved! 184. Daniel posted: 10.07.2012 - 8:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Chase: Keselowski up by 14, top 4 seperated by 36 No chase: Keselowski and Biffle tied, top 5 seperated by 27 Brilliant Brian, brilliant. 185. webmaster posted: 10.07.2012 - 8:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #183: I noticed that too, but that's how NASCAR shows it (for now). 186. Eric posted: 10.07.2012 - 8:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs3872, You may or not be off with Kurt Busch being under the influence of narcotics, or medication of some kind while racing. I mentioned you may be right or wrong because you forgot to look at the fact Kurt may have a thyroid that is not functioning correctly. Males are capable of having a thyroid that isn't working properly. I am an example of that because of my genetics. My thyroid issues weren't mental healthrelated, but stuff like body pain before I got a blood test. The thing is there has been studies that show people with mental health problems have been linked to having thyroid problems. 187. Jim Davis posted: 10.07.2012 - 9:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Jeff Gordon continues to make a mockery of the current "points system" with another 2nd place finish." How is making up 6 points by finishing 5 positions ahead of the man you're chasing making a mockery of the system? Two things have to happen in order for Gordon to make up a lot of ground on Keselowski - Gordon has to have a good finish and Keselowski has to have a bad one. If either of these doesn't happen Gordon doesn't make up much ground. I fail to see any injustice here. This isn't rocket science. 188. Eric posted: 10.07.2012 - 9:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs3872, I think narcotics need to be ruled out or close to being ruled out for Kurt Busch. I am saying that because Kurt had to have a random drug test at least once or twice this year and every year their drug policy is in place. If Kurt is taking narcotics, they would have been found in his system during a drug test. 189. JG24FanForever posted: 10.07.2012 - 9:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon now Holds the Modern record for: Wins: 86 Poles: 72 Races Led Most: 90 Back-Back wins: 22 Top 2 finishes: 151 Top 3 finishes: 206 Top 4 finishes: 251 Top 5 finishes: 297 Top 6 finishes: 330 190. cjs3872 posted: 10.07.2012 - 9:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordon's amazing string of top three finishes continued, as did the bizarre nature of the fact that none of them have been victories. His second place finish today was his sixth top three in seven races, yet none of them have resulted in victories. A big reason for that is that he can't seem to find a way to lead. For instance, he only led once today, for seven laps. In fact, despite finishing in the top three in six of the last seven races, he's led a grand total of 22 laps in those seven races, and not more than seven in any one of those races. Just imagine what might happen if he could actually go out and lead races. Some of these top 3s might turn into victories. Even in the one race he won, he never had car capable of leading, but was in position when the to top tangled on a reatart, and inherited that win. Because of that, he's in the Chase, and moved up to sixth in points with his fourth second place finish in the last six races today. 191. Evan posted: 10.07.2012 - 9:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) * Crazy Crazy finish, Tony Stewart's crash looked almost similar to his wild ride at Daytona in 2001, except he did not go up in the air. I really don't think it was Michael Waltrip's fault that he caused the crash, it was Tony Stewart who came down in front of him, I was just hoping Tony was OK after that accident, if it was a few years ago, he might be seriously injured or dead. * Probably the first time and only time a pink car wins in the Cup Series. * Also largest victory margin this year, at least of what I have ever seen. * Can anyone answer why Kurt Busch was parked? I don't know what he did wrong, did he take of his safety equipment? Did he leave the safety equipment outside the car? * Junior gives Jimmie a ride back to the pits, with a damaged left rear tire. 192. Tyson posted: 10.07.2012 - 9:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Richardson never wrecked.. 193. 12345Dude posted: 10.07.2012 - 10:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Interesting points CJS. Your right about Martinsville. But this shows one of the chase's biggest flaws. That the same tracks are in the chase every year. The tracks will be in the chase 5-8 years for now. Every track that is in the chase, has been on the cup schedule's last 10 races for 99.9% of their time in NASCAR. There needs to be new tracks every year. Also Brad's best two finishes in that awful 2010 season where at Martinsville. I think he will get a Top 5. I don't think personally Ryan Newman thought he was doing drugs. But just thought he was out of control with his personality/actions. Kurt's been like this since he was a rookie. So he would of had to be doing drugs for a while. Is it worse now? Yes. But that's because he was doing so much better earlier on. I don't think what Kurt did was as bad as people are saying it was. After the race he was very humble and admitted he basically causes all this stuff himself. Thanking his team to such a degree also was nice. 194. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.07.2012 - 10:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Although Kurt definitely acts like a drug user, I also think he would be unable to skirt the drug policy. I just think the explanation is the simple one: he is a sack of shit. He just has a personality that rubs every single person around the wrong way. He has no regard for the people around him. It is simply a bred in to who he is. 195. Rusty posted: 10.07.2012 - 10:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Although Kurt definitely acts like a drug user, I also think he would be unable to skirt the drug policy. I just think the explanation is the simple one: he is a sack of shit. He just has a personality that rubs every single person around the wrong way. He has no regard for the people around him. It is simply a bred in to who he is. " Not true. The people at Phoenix loved him and he's been pleasent the times I've met him. His problem is simply anger issues. He needs to chill out and stop throwing fits when things don't go his way. 196. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.07.2012 - 10:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As for Brad, I am very happy with where he is at, but I am not counting anything at all yet. Way too much racing to go. But I am so proud that he is in this position. Yesterday I went back through his driver page here and read the comments from 2010. Simply amazing to be here from there. I want him to win it. I want it so bad I can hardly stand it. I will be attending Martinsville and I fully expect to have the world's biggest headache when it is over just paying attention to Brad's car, analyzing his every move like I used to do with Dale at Wilkesboro (like I can do anything about it lol). But I am taking a few moments to enjoy this cause two years ago it was looking BLEAK. But as I mentioned on his page, he has always had such a positive attitude about Penske, and I think that has been the key along with the genius that is Paul Wolfe. Brad: GO GET IT! GO GET THE CUP! 197. Bronco posted: 10.07.2012 - 10:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) With the Chase, Brad leads JJ by 14 points. Without the Chase, it's a tie for the points lead and 11 points separate the top four. Why the f*** do we have the Chase again?? If Jeff had even finished 20th at Chicago, imagine how different the standings would look. 198. RaceFanX posted: 10.07.2012 - 10:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tony Stewart has a blowover flip on the final lap, what a ride. The only thing that lessened it was the pack all crashing in behind him leaving no where for his car to flip. 199. jp posted: 10.07.2012 - 10:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Even if Michael got by and took the lead, he would have dusted Mears....... 200. Ricky posted: 10.07.2012 - 10:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I thought it was funny the radio announcers though Harvick went over. 201. Ricky posted: 10.07.2012 - 10:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And they though it was Martin there at the end, and not Mikey. At least that was understandable since Mark does normally drive that car. 202. jp posted: 10.07.2012 - 10:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^Yep. -10,000 points to Jeff Striegle........ I feel sorry for all Harvick fans listening on the radio. 203. ch posted: 10.07.2012 - 10:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #33 Sponsor: Circle Sport 204. Paul posted: 10.07.2012 - 11:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've heard this discussed on several NASCAR shows before, but what do you guys thinking of NASCAR providing each of the 12 Chase teams a mulligan during the Chase, so they have their worst finish from the first [insert # of races] dropped from the points total? I think this is a good idea because it would allow each team to have one bad finish that wouldn't damage their overall championship hunt. All 12 teams were given an infinite amount of mulligans throughout the first 26 races that didn't count towards their championship point total, so long as they were in the top ten in points or were one of two wildcards after 26 races. I think it's somewhat unreasonable to have teams to go through the final 10 races on "wildcard" tracks like Dover, Talladega, Martinsville, the re-configured Kansas, and the 5-turn "dog leg" track Phoenix, and expect them to finish up front in each race. Having a mulligan would allow teams to take more chances than they normally would and give them a reason to go for a win rather than settle for a good finish, while also keeping teams that have an "off week" in the championship hunt. Think of it as a qualifying provisional. Under the 2013 qualifying procedure, any team that isn't among the fastest 36 qualifiers still has an opportunity to make the race based on their owner's points. This provisional acts as a mulligan for drivers that have an "off day" and allow them to still make the race based on their overall strength and performance during the season. I think a Chase mulligan would do the same thing by keeping drivers in the title hunt based on their overall Chase performance, while allowing them to have an "off week" or have a bad finish as a result of a crash or part failure. That's my take, what do you guys think? 205. David posted: 10.07.2012 - 11:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I believe that son of a... Jack Roush brought that up recently. I like that idea, but I could go either way. 206. Baker posted: 10.07.2012 - 11:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What did Kurt Busch do today that is such a big issue? I missed the race. Nice to see Keselowski got out ahead of his closest compition. My points have Dale Junior going home this week. Ryan Newmand and Kyle Busch who didn't even make the real deal are still in it. 1. Brad Keselowski 2206 2. Jimmie Johnson 2164 -42 3. Denny Hamlin 2136 -70 4. Kasey Kahne 2110 -96 5. Kyle Busch 2107 -99 6. Clint Bowyer 2096 -110 7. Tony Stewart 2091 -115 8. Ryan Newman 2069 -137 Top 3 are safe from elimination going into next week and everyone is on the bubble. Bowyer, Stewart and Newman are the 3 in real danger of getting eliminated next week. 207. Schroeder51 posted: 10.07.2012 - 11:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Busch drove off while the safety crews were tending to his car. He didn't have his helmet on and when he drove off, a safety equipment bag was still on top of his car and fell off. NASCAR told Busch to park the car afterwards. 208. 10andJoe posted: 10.07.2012 - 11:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #192: Pretty sure Richardson got caught up in the ending kerfuffle. >Can anyone answer why Kurt Busch was parked? I don't know what he did wrong, did he take of his safety equipment? Did he leave the safety equipment outside the car? >What did Kurt Busch do today that is such a big issue? I missed the race. Kurt ran out of gas, got nailed from behind by McMurray when he suddenly slowed, and backed it into the inside wall off of turn 2. So far so good, but then, as the rescue crew was around the car, with a bag of rescue equipment on the decklid /and a crewmember leaning against/into the right side of the car/, he suddenly starts it up and pulls away! The crewmembers do the 'don't run over my feet jig' as the bag falls off the decklid, and NASCAR starts hollering at Kurt to stop, relayed to him by his crew, but Kurt gives them the silent treatement and just keeps going. He finally stopped in turn 3, presumably when he was informed NASCAR was parking him. I'm not one to use any form of profanity, but even I had to think, watching that, that the only term that could be applied was 'what a complete asshat'. 209. Paul posted: 10.08.2012 - 12:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "NASCAR starts hollering at Kurt to stop, relayed to him by his crew, but Kurt gives them the silent treatment and just keeps going." I think Kurt also took off his helmet and unplugged his radio wires, which contributed to him not hearing his crew chief/spotter telling him to stop. I'm not sure what led him to stop in turn 3, whether it was that he saw the safety crew waving at him, if he suddenly heard what his crew was saying, or if he heard NASCAR came over the radio and that got his attention. I think what upset NASCAR most is that he got out of his car to survey the damage to his car, then as the safety crew began their standard procedure of loading up his car and taking him to the infield care center, he got back into his car (probably because he thought he could drive the car back to the garage himself; remember, you don't have to go to the infield care center if you can drive your car back to the pits/garage) and drove off with safety crew members around his car and equipment on his deck lid. I think the fact that safety crew members were in danger of getting hit by a speeding car is what upset NASCAR the most, which only escalated when he didn't stop right away when his crew told him too. What's really bad for Kurt is that not only does he have a history of losing his temper, but he has a history of doing things that endanger crew members. At Dover '07 he was mad at Tony Stewart for an on-track incident during practice that damaged both of their cars (plus they got together in the Daytona 500 that year when they were running 1-2), and in the heat of the moment drove up alongside Stewart's parked car on pit road, almost hitting a crew member in the process, before speeding away (which could have resulted in the back of his car coming around and hitting either Tony's car or crew member). Then he had that infamous moment at Darlington this past spring when he and Ryan Newman got together on track when he was driving his ass off running in the top ten all race in that #51 car, before hitting the wall and then hitting Newman. The two of them came to pit road, and Kurt, who's pit stop ended after Newman's, stepped on the accelerator way too quickly and aggressively and smoked the tires right through Newman's pit box, almost hitting several crew members. In Kurt's defense, their pit stalls were right next to each other and it was just a coincidence that he went through the pit box of the guy he wrecked with (or so he claims), but it's still no excuse for almost taking out several crew members and NASCAR officials with that aggressive driving on pit road. We all know what happened afterwards with Newman's and Kurt's crews going at it. So consider this strike 3 for Kurt when it comes to endangering crew members, whether they be on the safety crew, pit crew, or NASCAR officials. I think it was silly that he was parked for the Pocono race after threatening a media member considering how many better reasons there were for suspending him, but I wouldn't be surprised or upset if NASCAR suspended Kurt for the Charlotte race due to his actions today. I don't think they will because he said in an interview that the meeting with them today went well and they understand the situation now, but with his history of almost hurting people with his cars, I think it's completely necessary for NASCAR to take action. This incident wasn't as bad as the other two examples I gave, but it was his 3rd strike and NASCAR should make an example out of people who are repeat offenders of the sport's integrity. 210. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 10.08.2012 - 12:19 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Why the f*** do we have the Chase again??" 1. Sponers 2. Networks (NBC) 3. The Peanut Gallery unable to deal with someone sealing the deal with more then 1 race left. Oh btw i'd figure i'd just throw this in with this post, EVEN before Brian toke over, NASCAR was concidering doing someting like the Chase in 1997 (or 98) and in 2001 with resetting the points toward the end of the season. Again the were thinking about it. An idea like the Chase was in the works for years before it even came about. So there, fest on that. 211. 12345Dude posted: 10.08.2012 - 12:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Interesting idea Paul. So each team would get one race during the chase they could just throw out the window? I think it would be too confusing though. Figuring out who used it and who still had one left. 212. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 10.08.2012 - 12:27 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Glad to see Regan Smith get a top 5 in his last race with Furniture Row. All I can say is, best of luck to that team in the future with Kurt because they're gonna need it. Yet again Kurt showed no concern for the people around his car and just took off when people were touching his car! I'm afraid he will get somebody hurt one of these days with those types of tantrums. He's lucky that he already hasn't. I was worried about this race for Brad and his standing in points, but he survived and was able to finish 10 spots ahead of JJ. I now have my hopes up because I was mostly worried about Dega for him. I have a better feeling about Martinsville than some of his other fans, it's not like he sucks at flat tracks, he just hasn't had much luck on them. He was top 5 in last Fall's race before he got spun out in the closing laps. But even if he doesn't win the title, I'm still glad to see him up front every week and winning races, something I thought was a far cry for him two years ago. The Big One that Tony caused was the biggest I've seen in a while. 213. Paul posted: 10.08.2012 - 12:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 12345Dude, to make it less confusing as to what finish would designate a mulligan, I would just take out the worst finish for each of the 12 Chase drivers in the Chase, no matter if their worst finish was 7th place (Brad) or 35th place (Gordon). The one thing I'm not sure about is at what point in the Chase do the mulligans stop. It wouldn't be very logical to have it in place for all 10 Chase races because that would make it very confusing as to who the champion was and we wouldn't be able to crown a champion until well after the race is over doing all the calculations. I thought about making it for the first 9 Chase races, but that runs the risk of affecting how the drivers prepare for the season finale since they may have to change their driving style from how it was for the first 9 races. But I think it should be in place for at least the first half of the Chase, so the first 5-9 Chase races would have mulligans in place. 214. Red posted: 10.08.2012 - 12:47 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Paul, I've always thought the Chase drivers should get a mulligan, especially when we're using a points system that punishes bad finishes so heavily. However, I wouldn't just allow each driver to throw out their worst Chase finish. Instead, drivers would have to declare their use of the mulligan before the next race, which would add strategy and intrigue to the championship battle. For example, lets say Jimmie Johnson finishes 20th in the first Chase race. Does he use the mulligan right away, gambling that he avoids trouble the rest of the way, or does he swallow the 20th place finish and keep the mulligan in his back pocket in case something bad happens later? Now, the better solution would be to create a more sensible points system that justly rewards top finishes and doesn't overpenalize bad finishes, but until that happens, the mulligan idea is the best alternative. 215. Mr X posted: 10.08.2012 - 1:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Happy Thanksgiving to all Canadian posters!! 216. Paul posted: 10.08.2012 - 1:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Red, I do agree that the points system needs to reward to finishes more than poorer finishes. I like the idea of a simplified points system that starts at one point and works its way up, but there should be divisions in the points between top finishes and lower finishes. I've previously suggested that there be a 3-point difference between finishers 1st through 6th, a 2-point difference between finishers 6th through 11th, and a 1-point difference between finishers 11th through 43rd. I might even give the winner a 1-point bonus ('04-'06 points system equivalent) or a 2-point bonus ('07-'10 points system equivalent) to make 1st place that much more rewarding than 2nd place. Then with bonus points, I'd keep the 1-point bonus for leading, but I would also give an additional point to any driver who leads at least 15% of the race, and an additional 2 points (in addition to the 15% lap led bonus, if applicable) to the driver who leads the most laps. This way, drivers will be rewarded not just for leading, but also for leading a lot in the race and have more incentive to try and lead the most laps. As for your gambling mulligan system, I must say that is pretty interesting and would make the teams have to strategize when and/or if they should use a mulligan to erase have a bad finish. But I see two problems with that system. One problem is that I'm not sure how you would score a driver who chooses to use a mulligan in a race if some drivers could theoretically go through the whole Chase without using a mulligan. Would you give them a set amount of points in place of their "would be" points for the race at which they used their mulligan, or would you force each team to use a mulligan if they have not yet used it at a certain point in the Chase? If it's the second reason, then I would rather use a "drop your worst finish" mulligan system since you'd be required to use a mulligan anyways. The other problem is that it turns the Chase into a game of chance, where you now have to think whether or not to use a mulligan to erase a bad finish and hope for no more bad finishes, or to keep the bad finish in case an even worse finish comes about. I don't like the idea where a championship could be decided because one driver decided to use a mulligan, while another driver who would have won the title loses it because he chose not to use his mulligan. That's my main issue with your gambling mulligan system as I think every driver should get a fair opportunity to drop their worst finish in hopes of winning the championship, rather than take a chance on gambling whether to use a mulligan on a 20th place finish or save it for a potential 30th place finish. 217. cjs3872 posted: 10.08.2012 - 1:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Paul, you say this incident was strike three for Kurt Busch when it comes to endangering crew members? It's more like strike four, five, or six. I remember a race at Martinsville around 2003, '04, or '05 when he was upset over something that happened, and he gunned his car while on pit road, spinning out while on pit road. I know it was either 2003, '04, or '05 because he was still driving the #97 car for Roush when it happened. You never brought up that incident, but I remember that one, though exactly what year it took place escapes me now. And there have likely been other incidents, as well that I don't remember. Then there was that incident at the All-Star Race in 2002 or '03 where he said he deliberately spun out Robby Gordon just to bring out a caution to catch the leader. Granted, that didn't endanger any safety workers or pit crew members, but it's another red flag for Kurt Busch, who is now undoubtedly the worst champion the sport has ever had, even though the numbers say otherwise. 218. Schroeder51 posted: 10.08.2012 - 1:50 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs, that Martinsville race where Kurt spun on pit road was the fall race of '03. I remember that Kurt was caught up in an accident with Rusty Wallace in that race, and then spun his car out on pit road. Been watching replays of the big crash and I can count only 5 cars in the big pack that evidently were not involved in the crash: Kenseth, Gordon, Kyle Busch (why is he listed as being involved), Greg Biffle (it looked to me like he was able to snake his way through the crash without hitting anything, I'm not sure he should be listed as being involved), and Ryan Newman. 219. Paul posted: 10.08.2012 - 1:57 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs, I honestly have no recollection of the Martinsville incident you speak of, so I'll have to take your word for it. And I didn't count the Robby Gordon incident from the '02 All-Star Race because it didn't endanger any crew members, but you are right that it was a dangerous move at a very fast track; the same track where Jimmie Johnson hit the wall head-on last year that caused his car to lift off the ground and come almost to a halt (not all that unlike Earnhardt's fatal crash at Daytona). I do agree that Kurt is the worst champion the sport has ever had when it comes to behaving like a champion (statistically he isn't the worst, but behavior-wise he is). That's one of the reasons why I'm upset Mark Martin has never won a championship in NASCAR because he just comes off as a champion, both on the track and off the track. I know he won four ASA National titles and five IROC titles and is viewed as a champion by much of the NASCAR audience, but he never got that moment where everyone in the NASCAR world got to see him raise that trophy and be celebrated in front of the whole world for being the champion that he is. Mark winning a championship would only strengthen his legacy as a driver, while Kurt's championship at this point is distant memory and is often forgotten about because of his childish and erratic behavior. 220. Anonymous posted: 10.08.2012 - 2:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) I can't believe there are not more people here discussing the fact that Kenseth did not win this race according to Nascar rules. Unless I missed some memo stating that forcing other drivers below the yellow line was legal again, then Kenseth absolutely should have gotten a black flag for the move he put on Bowyer with a lap and a half to go. As Bronco pointed (and everyone else ignored), Kenseth CLEARLY forced Bowyer below the yellow line and improved his position. Congratulations Jeff Gordon for winning this race accoring to Nascar rules!!! It's just a shame they don't follow them. 221. Anonymous posted: 10.08.2012 - 3:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "What he's doing seems to be more and more dangerous, and the more this goes on, the more I'm tempted to believe what Ryan Newman said at Darlington earlier this year about a chemical imbalance, which to me is a code for being under the influence of drugs" I don't mean to be too nitpicky, but a chemical imbalance is not code for being under the influence of drugs... a chemical imbalance is something that many people believe is a cause of mental illness, which could be treated with drugs. 222. Robert Nelson posted: 10.08.2012 - 7:50 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Formula One Points with Chase. 1. Jimmie Johnson 274.5 2. Denny Hamlin 248 3. Brad Keselowski 242 4. Matt Kenseth 199 5. Greg Biffle 186 6. Tony Stewart 180.5 7. Dale Earnhardt Jnr. 175.5 8. Clint Bowyer 163 9. Jeff Gordon 162.5 10. Kasey Kahne 158 Formula One points with Chase. 1 Brad Keselowski 73 2 Jimmie Johnson 57 3 Jeff Gordon 52.5 4 Kyle Busch 43 5 Denny Hamlin 41 6 Matt Kenseth 28 7 Tony Stewart 21.5 8 Clint Bowyer 21 9 Greg Biffle 16 10 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 7 11 Kasey Kahne 6 12 Ryan Newman 3 223. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 10.08.2012 - 8:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) 200. Ricky posted: 10.07.12 - 10:54 pm I thought it was funny the radio announcers though Harvick went over. ^Ditto. The Racebudy was about a lap and a half ahead of MRN, so when I watched the crash, I would of sworn Tony went over. Then when they said Harvick, I was thrown for a loop. --------- I did expect a rollover and a big crash in this race, I have a paper with some predictions on it from thursday in my room. But usually all the predictions I have for a race are forgotten in the heat of the actual event, so when the crash happened, I was like 'Whoa, Cluster****, OH HOLY GOD STEWART JUST WENT OVER!' Anyways, I hate to say it, but I have to put up with Keselowski winning the championship...arghh. I don't think Jimmie or Hamlin can catch him now. And everyone below that, not happening. This point system, which I love to death, is going to smack me in the face and hand my least-favorite driver a championship. Kes can easily survive Martinsville and Texas and Phoneix and Homestead and Kansa- Kansas is still up and coming. And it's been repaved. It's like a shinning beacon for me. All it takes is a bad tire at a repaved track. Who else remembers Stewart wrecking at Charlotte in 2005, shrinking the points gap to 'Null'? If something like that happens to Kes at Kansas, it's open game again. Still, I do think that everyone below third has no chance whatsoever. Honestly, I'd like Hamlin to win the championship. Johnson may be my favorite, but after the 11 came close in 2006 and oh-so-close in 2010, I want those struggles to be over. Remember folks. The point system penalizes bad finishes hard. Wins are not so nicely awarded. All it takes is a bad issue at Kansas for Kes, and ta-da, the championship battle is wide open again, well, at least amongst the top three! 224. NicoRosbergFan posted: 10.08.2012 - 8:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Does anyone else think Jeff Gordon has a better chance than Kahne or Bowyer despite being behind them in the points? 225. startandparkfan posted: 10.08.2012 - 8:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Poor Whitt, running near the top, then having problems. Same with Edwards and Stremme. Waltip did not make it around, but had a shot at winning if not for the contact. But how about Kvapil, getting his 1st top 10 since '08! 226. Robert Nelson posted: 10.08.2012 - 10:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @223. NicoRosbergfan. Uh, nope. He's nearly a full race behind in points with 6 races to go. The Champion will come from the top 3 in points. 227. NicoRosbergFan posted: 10.08.2012 - 11:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Alan Kulwicki was 4th in points almost two full races back with 6 races to go and he won the title. You didn't even answer the question. I didn't ask if JG will win the title. I asked if anyone else though he had a better shot than Bowyer or Kahne did. I've never seen you before on RR, so I will give you the benefit of a doubt, but every freaking time someone on here says "Jeff can't do [fill in the blank] this year, he does it." I don't think he will win the title either, but his chances are better than Kahne's or Bowyer's based on performance. 228. cjs3872 posted: 10.08.2012 - 11:53 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Anonymous (#220), it's never been a NASCAR rule that if a driver forced another below the OB line that he would get penalized. That's always been a judgement call by the officials, but they usually let that go. It's also interesting that Kenseth moved down on Bowyer in almost the exact same spot where he did the same thing to Dale, Jr. in the 2003 spring race, but Dale, Jr. was further alongside Kenseth when he passed him, which was another no-call NASCAR got right. But to answer yours and Bronco's question, that's never been a rule, but rather a judgement call that NASCAR almost never makes. And NicoRosbergFan, to answer your question, I do think Gordon may finish ahead of Kahne and Bowyer in points, if bad luck doesn't strike him. Now he likely won't have the speed to beat Kahne next week, as speed has been his issue call year, but where he may trounce Kahne is Martinsville. Kahne has never really been good there, while Gordon is one of the all-time masters there. The issue with the speed of Gordon's car this year was nevber more apparent than at Charlotte, where all of his teammates were up front in the All-Star Race, yet he was never in contention. And let's also not forget that statistic I mentioned in an earlier post. With his second place finish at Talladega, that means he's finished in the top three in six of the last seven races, with four of those being second place finishes. Yet in those seven races, he's led a grand total of 22 laps, three per race during this stretch, and has not led more than seven laps in any one race, but yet has still finishes second four times and third twice in the last seven races. That's exactly what Al Unser, Sr. used to do in the 80s, when he won two championships for Roger Penske. He always finished up front, but did not lead all that many races, but he always found a way to finish races up front. 229. Anonymous posted: 10.08.2012 - 12:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Normally I like the plate races and the mad finishes that ensue, but I just felt violated at the end of this one. Left a bad taste in my mouth. 230. Paul posted: 10.08.2012 - 12:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NicoRosbergFan, I too think Gordon will pass Kasey and Bowyer in these final six races as long as he stays out of trouble. Bowyer will be easiest considering how he's only 2 points ahead of Gordon and has a combined 9 top fives at the next six tracks, and only two since '08. Kasey will be a little harder since he has six wins at the next four tracks, four of which were at Charlotte, including earlier this year. Plus he has the speed advantage that Gordon has lacked all year. I still think Jeff will beat Kasey (provided he stays out of trouble) because Kasey has only one Martinsville top five in 17 starts, and that was back in '05. And while Kasey did win at the re-configured Phoenix last fall, remember he started 2nd there earlier this year, only to hit the wall on the straightaway and finished 35th. So because we're going to Charlotte this week and then the re-configured Kansas the week after, it's hard to say that Jeff will pass Kasey within the next two races, but I expect him to pass Kasey after Martinsville, especially after how strong Jeff was there in the spring. He'll need some help to catch the top 3 in points though. I know he's not leading the points right now, but I think Jimmie will be the hardest for Jeff to catch simply because he's never folded under pressure and runs great at each of the next six tracks. Denny is strong at those tracks as well, but his relatively slow Chase start (1 top five, 2 top tens) could be what keeps him from winning this title, even though some of his best tracks are coming up. Brad is the unknown. He isn't one to fold from the pressure of being at the top of the points, but his lack of experience at some of these tracks could come back to bite him. He has 0 top tens at Texas and Homestead, at which are tracks that Jimmie and Denny are very good. 231. Ty (fourturns.blogspot.com) posted: 10.08.2012 - 1:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First off, I was at this race. UNBELIEVABLE. It was a great race, to say the least. Secondly, Jeff Gordon lucks out once again at Talladega by dodging the big one. He should have been collected in the melee, but came through unscathed. Speaking of Gordon, while listening to MRN, he was bitching about Jamie McMurray weaving in and out through traffic and how he was reckless, etc. Apparently, he doesn't realize that he used to be one of the most reckless drivers at superspeedway tracks. He pulled so many kamikaze moves over the years, i.e. that move at Talladega (or Daytona, can't remember) where Ricky Rudd (correct me if I'm wrong) was on the bottom of the track, attempting to come up to speed. Gordon dived below the yellow line and almost hit the back of Rudd's car before moving back up the track. That was one reason why NASCAR implemented the rule about going below the yellow line on superspeedway tracks. So, shut up Gordon. Thirdly, McMurray had the fastest and best car yesterday. He was completely dominant out front and appeared poised for a win, if not a top-five finish. But Harvick rear-ended the shit out of him on the frontstretch (right in front of me), causing him to spin. Somehow, by the grace of God, he didn't hit anybody or anything, as McDowell narrowly got by. But, Jamie then put his car in the garage. That was such a disappointment, as he deserved his first top-five of the season but Harvick screwed him again at 'Dega (there was also Harvick's narrow win over him a couple of years ago -- another race I was at). Jamie is undoubtedly be favorite driver and has been for years and I have come so close on three separate occassions of seeing him win -- i.e. a few years ago, Jamie had a great car once again and was headed towards a win, but with a few laps remaining, Gordon barely got his nose in front of him.... and.... DEBRIS CAUTION. Gordon would end up winning. And of course, there was the 2010 Aaron's 499 where Jamie got edged out by Harvick. And then there was yesterday. Oh well, Jamie will eventually get another win at some point, bnut his bad luck continues. And also, the massive pileup on Turn 4 at the end of the race. Listening to MRN, they were yelling about how it was Harvick went upside down and that's what everyone thought -- I continued to think it was Harvick until we got to our car. Watching the replays, there's NO DOUBT about it that it was Stewart's fault. It wasn't Waltrip's. But agreeing to an earlier a post, I would have shit a brick if Waltrip won the race -- and the same applies to Casey Mears, who was pushing him. That would have been nuts. It was a miracle that Keselowski came through unscathed, as he holds on the lead in points. And I know, it was only because of the wreck, but kudos to the two Re/agans. David Ragan finishes fourth for his first top-five of the season, while Regan Smith finishes fifth. I was happy to see Smith get a top-five in his final race with Furniture Row Racing, which I believe is a huge mistake on their part. Regardless, he still went out with a bang in the No. 78. Since Berrier became the crew chief, Smith has nabbed all three of his top-tens and has also been on the outskirts of the top-ten in a few more. Hopefully, he latches on somewhere next year with a decent team. Travis Kvapil also manages to sneak his way through the wreck and come home eighth. And lastly, Dale Jr. needs to shut the hell up. Big time. I think we can all agree, that if he won the race, he would be jumping up and down, high-fiving everyone and saying how much he loves Talladega and how much it means to him. But, since he got caught up in the Big One, he hates Talladega and if he wasn't forced to race there, he wouldn't participate. Shut up, Dale. At least he managed to finish in the first-half of the field, it's not like he got taken out within the first ten laps and finished 38th. Yes, he's 11th in points and this significantly hurts his chances of winning the title, but c'mon son. He just needs to chill out. If he was in Kenseth's shoes, he'd be loving it right now. 232. Ricky posted: 10.08.2012 - 1:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 223. Destroyahirismix666 Yea, watching the race, my mom's favorite driver is Tony,a nd she's like TONY'S UPSIDE DOWN!!!!!! when it happened. I'm not sure where the MRN broadcasters are located at, but it seemed obvious to me that Tony is the one that 'bout went over (about as close to going upsdie down, without actually going over). I can understand if the cars were similar looking and all, but they weren't. But whatever. Guess we all make mistakes... 233. cjs3872 posted: 10.08.2012 - 2:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ty, what Gordon was complaining about was McMurray's vicious blocking, which almost got Gordon wrecked when he tried to take the lead late (because Gordon had to move up while being pushed by Dale, Jr. and got sideways in the tri-oval), and was what finally got McMurray wrecked late. And let's not forget that blocking (by Tony Stewart) was what caused that ginormous wreck in turns three and four at the end. What NASCAR has to do is to tell these drivers not to let their spotters drive the cars, which is effectively what's happening at the plate tracks. Now I do agree that Gordon's Daytona 500 winning moves on Bill Elliott and Rusty Wallace were dangerous, but those were also situations where Gordon was forced onto the apron because of blocking, and he had a choice to make. Either continue through with the moves or cause a huge wreck, and the right decision was made both times. 1999 was much riskier than '97 was because of the extra hazard of a slower car on the apron, but in that case, Rusty was just as much at fault as was Gordon in that case for running Gordon practically into Rudd's wrecked car. In that case, Rusty's car was also partiall on the apron of the track. And as for those incidents causing the creation of the OB line rule, you're mistaken. That was put into place because of the 2001 Daytona 500, when guys used the apron all day because they were forced down there, and of course, Earnhardt's fatal crash, which began when he ran Sterling Marlin onto the apron entering turn three on the final lap. Marlin couldn't get out of it in time and tapped Earnhardt, and we sadly know what happened from there. And by the way, Brad Keselowski did not come out of that final lap incident completely unscathed. His car did get hit and spun out as a result. But he was ahead of all the carnage by the time he did spin, so he gassed it up and finished seventh. 234. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.08.2012 - 2:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Funny, June wasn't complaining while in that 8 car that was blatently dominant. I've never totally cared for him, but he is really starting to rub me the wrong way personality wise. He talks about looking for a new job if they had plate races every week. He just needs to feel fortunate he has fhis job in the first place due to his name and his irrational fanbase. Give Big E credit, he trashed plate racing win, lose, or draw. And that is just Jeff being Jeff. He has always whined when people do things that don't help him cause that should be everyone else's job, even if it is something that he does frequently (Martinsville this year, whining about Clint's divebomb, did he forget that exact race in '05?). But he has 86 wins and 4 championships so, unlike June, you can't say much. 235. Anonymous posted: 10.08.2012 - 3:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It absolutely is a rule cjs, take a look at this article from February.... http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/NASCAR-guide-to-understand-Daytona-yellow-line-rule-022612 236. Greg in Florida posted: 10.08.2012 - 4:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) How does the 88 finish behind the 48? Jr came across the line and JJ went to the garage on a flatbed. JJ did not finish the last lap. 237. NicoRosbergFan posted: 10.08.2012 - 4:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Greg, Jimmie still drove over the line, although he couldn't drive it back around. 238. Daniel posted: 10.08.2012 - 4:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Charlotte entry list: -Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the #6 -Mike Bliss in the #19 -Trevor Bayne in the #21 -Scott Riggs in the #23 -T.J. Bell in the #32 -J.J. Yeley in the #37 -Regan Smith in the #51 -Mark Martin in the #55 -Kurt Busch in the #78 -Reed Sorenson in the #91 -Scott Speed in the #95 239. Anonymous posted: 10.08.2012 - 4:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hey cjs, Brad actually did not spin out, but he did get really sideways a lost a lot of momentum. I thought he did spin when his car did one of its jolts to the left and went out of view but he actually did save it. I don't believe I can post links but his onboard is on youtube (as well as a number of other drivers'). Search on youtube for "GWC Talladega fall 2012 Brad Keselowski". Pretty cool stuff. 240. cjs3872 posted: 10.08.2012 - 5:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Okay Anonymous (#239). I thought he spun out. If he doesn't lose his momentum, he probably finishes fourth or fifth. But because he fishtailed it so much that it looked like he spun out, because ESPN cameras didn't catch him continue on to the finsih line. And Anonymous (#235), when did that become an actual rule, because as far as I know, there's never been an actual rule about drivers not being allowed to force others below the OB line. What NASCAR has always said in the driver's meetings is that if you force someone below the OB line, that you MAY get black flagged, or penalized 1 lap. That tells me that it's always been a subjective call, but it's never been an actual rule. In fact, the only time I've ever seen a driver get penalized for forcing, or running someone below the OB line was in the 2006 Daytona 500, which capped off a SpeedWeeks filled with rough driving by many competitors. NASCAR will warn the competitors about that, but the 2006 Daytona 500 is the only time in the 11 years there's been an OB line at the plate tracks that a driver has ever been penalized for running someone below the OB line. 241. Brad24 posted: 10.08.2012 - 6:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "Funny, June wasn't complaining while in that 8 car that was blatently dominant. I've never totally cared for him, but he is really starting to rub me the wrong way personality wise. He talks about looking for a new job if they had plate races every week. He just needs to feel fortunate he has fhis job in the first place due to his name and his irrational fanbase." Exactly. Dale Jr. was fussing about the plate races last year when we saw the two-car tandems. He hated that style of plate racing. Yet here is one year later, with the old-style pack racing, yet he's still complains. I understand his frustrations b/c of the wreck, but this is what the drivers and fans wanted. 242. Paul posted: 10.08.2012 - 6:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Jr. wasn't complaining about the big wrecks at plate races when he was at DEI because he was always in front when they happened. Now that he's not on a team with unstoppable plate track power, e often finds himself in the middle of a pack where all the wrecks happen. If he hadn't sped on pit road and found himself a lap down for half the race, he probably wouldn't have been in that situation in the first place. I hate seeing huge wrecks, especially wrecks like that one that could have been easily avoided if one guy hadn't been so careless, but it's probably better that they're racing in a pack because nobody can get a run at someone and t-bone them. Instead, everyone is all together and nobody can get a run on a wrecked car. 243. Ryan posted: 10.08.2012 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "'LMAO at Michael Waltrip. He wrecked the entire field' No, Tony Stewart did, but I'm glad in a way he didn't win or we would have never heard the end of it. "Also, the strongest season on the 4 plate tracks since Earnhardt in 1990. Not quite. Earnhardt in 1999 swept the Talladega races, and finished 2nd in both Daytona races. In 2004, Dale Earnhardt Jr won the Daytona 500, finished 2nd in the spring Talladega race, third in the Pepsi 400 and won the fall Talladega race. Matt's finishes were 1,3,3,1. Possibly the first win by a pink car in the Cup series. Ernie Irvan in 1994 is worth mentioning. 2-2-2-3, led the most laps in all 4 races, and that should have been 2-2-1-2 since Jimmy Spencer was allowed to cheat. Kevin Harvick in 2010 is worth mentioning for best RP seasons, 7th, 1st, 1st, and 2nd in a photo finish with Bowyer. He led the most laps in both Daytona races, was involved in a crash at the fall Talladega race, and if you throw in the Bud Shootout which he won, and his duel where he finished 2nd in a photo finish you have a respectable RP season." Yes, if not for Carl Edwards pulling out of line behind Harvick waayy too early, then he would have probably won that race as well at Daytona. Lets not forget Dale's 1993 season. He won the Busch Clash and his Twin 125 mile Qualifier race.. Daytona 500: Led most laps and finished 2nd, Winston 500: won pole and got robbed when he was out front and Nascar called a weak caution for sprinkles that bunched up the field and Ernie Irvan came out of no where to win, he also led the most laps and finished 4th... Pepsi 400 at Daytona: Earnhardt led the most laps and won race, and Die-Hard 500 at Talladega: Won and led the most laps in photo with Irvan... So he led the most laps in all four races that year and finished 2-4-1-1 with wins in Clash, 125 mile qualifier and even won the Daytona 300 Busch race... I'll admit '90 he should have won all four if not for freak bad luck and '99 was impressive, too, with his 2-1-2-1 finishes even though he wasn't as dominate in a couple of them. Lets not forget Dale Jr's 2001 RP races as well... Finishes of 2-8-1-1. He could have won 'dega the first time that year if he wouldn't have elected to stay in line... Same goes for Daytona 500 "Rusty was just as much at fault as was Gordon in that case for running Gordon practically into Rudd's wrecked car. In that case, Rusty's car was also partiall on the apron of the track." That was all Gordon... He pulled a chicken shit move on Rusty when there was a car there. If Rusty had to do it all over again he said he would have moved ALL the way down the track and put Gordon into Rudd. "Earnhardt's fatal crash, which began when he ran Sterling Marlin onto the apron entering turn three on the final lap. Marlin couldn't get out of it in time and tapped Earnhardt, and we sadly know what happened from there." Marlin never did try to block or put Earnhardt in the backstretch grass during that race did he? Do you not remember Marlin running him down the backstretch grass that very same race earlier in the race when Eli Gold said on the loud speaker "And the grass is like green asphalt for Earnhardt as him and Gordon go by Marlin!" Marlin wrecked him, he was pissed he couldn't get by him. He loved beating Dale at Daytona and couldn't stand it that he couldn't get by him that day. 244. Bronco posted: 10.08.2012 - 6:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "If he hadn't sped on pit road and found himself a lap down for half the race, he probably wouldn't have been in that situation in the first place." He shouldn't have sped on pit road for sure, but that wasn't the reason why he was deep in the pack. He was running 7th or 8th at the time of McMurray's spin, but had to pit for fuel like many others and restarted in the middle of the pack. He didn't make it through the crash while Gordon, who pitted with him but was further back and towards the bottom of the track made it. I agree with those that say Dale Jr should keep quiet about criticizing the racing. He complained more yesterday than even Ryan Newman did a few years ago. However, the current rules package isn't the root cause of wrecks like yesterday. It's the over aggressive pushing and blocking that leads to the massive pile ups. The 2000 Winston 500 also featured 4 wide racing throughout the day but never had a big one simply because the drivers didn't completely lose it during the last 10 laps of a race. Stewart realized that he didn't have a car pushing him and was about to get passed by both Kenseth and Waltrip, so he blocked Waltrip and started the mess. Can't blame NASCAR for that. Similarily, the Busch brothers tried blocking the other tandems in the February Daytona Nationwide race and triggered a massive pileup, and Biffle blocked Harvick and took out several cars on the last lap of the Coke Zero 400 this year. Call it a lack of spatial awareness, over aggressiveness or depending on the spotters too much but the drivers are the ones to blame. 245. 18fan posted: 10.08.2012 - 6:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt was in front of Clint when he forced Clint down below the yellow line, so he had already improved his position. And I don't think I've ever seen someone penalized for forcing a car below the yellow line. 246. Greg in Florida posted: 10.08.2012 - 7:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thanks Nico. I guess I missed that. 247. Jim Davis posted: 10.08.2012 - 7:27 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "However, the current rules package isn't the root cause of wrecks like yesterday." Yes, it is. Thirty plus cars in one big pack at 200 mph is just asking for disaster. And we usually get it. 248. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 10.08.2012 - 7:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Fans wanted manufactered pack racing, so we have it. And now the very same people who complained about 2x2 racing are complaing about manufactered pack racing. For crying out loud can we make up are minds? Oh wait, the peanut gallery has a hard time doing that. The very same people who complain about NASCAR "rigging", "manufactered" stuff and yet manufactered pack racing. I'll give credit to the drivers tho, it toke them almost 2.5 hours to wreck and then went 4-wide for about 2 whole laps before giving the fans what they wanted: a 25 car pile up. Credit to Tony Stewert for giving the biggest present of all: dumbass driving. 249. 18fan posted: 10.08.2012 - 8:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Whether it's "manufactured" or not, this style of racing is way more fun to watch than the 2x2. It took the drivers a while to figure out how to drive with this package, but this race looked a lot more like the 2010 plate races which were all incredibly exciting. The mixture of brief 2x2 and the pack makes for great racing. 250. Paul posted: 10.08.2012 - 8:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt may have forced Clint below the yellow line, but the fact that he immediately moved over and allowed Clint back onto the track probably contributed to NASCAR looking the other way. "Marlin wrecked him, he was pissed he couldn't get by him. He loved beating Dale at Daytona and couldn't stand it that he couldn't get by him that day." I hope you're not implying that Marlin wrecked Dale on purpose. Marlin was trying to get around Dale because he was faster than him and Dale was blocking him on the bottom lane. Marlin had a car that might have been faster than the top three cars, but couldn't get there because he was 3-wide with Rusty and Schrader and couldn't get around the #3. He got a little too aggressive trying to pass Dale just as Dale was a little too aggressive blocking Marlin, and unfortunately the worst case scenario occurred. That's one of the reasons why I can't stand to see drivers blocking each other at such high speeds. If a car's faster than you, let him/her go and live to fight another day/another lap (and I mean no disrespect to Dale with that pun). Also Rusty, Dale was so dominant in his time that I'm sure anybody who entered the sport at the peak of his dominance would be happy to beat him, no matter if they beat him in '87 or '98. So I would hope that Marlin would be happy to beat Dale, as would everybody else. 251. Paul posted: 10.08.2012 - 8:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, Jeff walked up to Clint after the race and they had a man-to-man talk about what happened (something that doesn't happen enough these days). Jeff was obviously frustrated about losing a race in which he led 329 laps (the most laps he led in a race since Dover '01) and went up to and pulled Clint aside to discuss what happened, and it ended with a couple laughs and a handshake. Plus, Jeff and Jimmie, the drivers most affected by Reutimann's car stalling on the track that brought out the caution that set up the first G-W-C finish, put not blame on Reuti for causing the caution, while other drivers like Junior, Clint, and Brad (who wouldn't shut up about it for a whole week), three drivers who, if anything, were helped by Reuti's car stalling, were throwing Reuti and TBR under the bus for not getting off the track. Clint doing so disgusted me because he was the real reason Gordon lost that race, but he just threw Reuti under the bus and used him as the scapegoat to cover up his own mistake. I don't know what you're talking about as far as Jeff whining about Clint dive-bombing him. Maybe he said something over the radio, but he was very pleasant in his post-race interview after clearing things up with Clint. At least he was in a rational state of mind in his interview, unlike a certain 7-time champion was at North Wilkesboro '89. Saying Ricky Rudd should be suspended for the rest of the year for dive-bombing him? Come on. 252. Paul posted: 10.08.2012 - 8:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) After seeing Regan Smith's 190+ MPH head-on crash at Talladega last year, I'm glad they're back to pack racing, even if it is "manufactured". Regan's crash wasn't all that unlike Dale's crash at Daytona, going from the bottom of the track all the way up to the wall and coming almost to a sudden stop once he hit the damn thing. At least with pack racing you're hitting other cars that can absorb the impact and not have to worry about getting t-boned while stationary, like Richard Petty was in his '88 Daytona crash. 253. Thomas posted: 10.08.2012 - 9:15 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) 243. Ryan ""Also, the strongest season on the 4 plate tracks since Earnhardt in 1990." Not quite. Earnhardt in 1999 swept the Talladega races, and finished 2nd in both Daytona races. In 2004, Dale Earnhardt Jr won the Daytona 500, finished 2nd in the spring Talladega race, third in the Pepsi 400 and won the fall Talladega race." Actually, that may not have been quite the way the original post was meant. Yes, it wasn't Sr.'s best year on the plate tracks in terms of average finish (2.0 average finish after 3 wins and a 5th is still pretty impressive). In 1990, Sr. led 523 of the 736 laps (71%) of the laps in the 4 plate races--leading the most laps going away in all 4. Even in DEI's prime (2001-2004) neither Jr. nor Little Mikey were singularly as dominant as Sr. in 1990 or Kenseth this year. 254. cjs3872 posted: 10.08.2012 - 9:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ryan, remember that Gordon made that exact same move on Bill Elliott two years earlier. The only difference, other than the positioning of Rudd's car, was that Elliott had won the race twice, while Rusty never won it. And as for your assertion of Marlin running Earnhardt down toward the grass that day, virtually every driver in the field that was actually racing was guilty of that on that day. And the crash on the final lap shows why there should NEVER be a GWC oon a restrictor plate track, because that's almost always going to be the result, at least once. And as for the entire field being bunched for the entire race, especially for the end, I have a potential remedy for that, which would also make all the drivers in the field race hard, or at least stay in the draft and not fall several seconds behind deliberately, behind but it's something NASCAR will never do. I think if NASCAR wants to lessen the impact of major crashes at plate races, like the one that occurred on the last lap, I would suggest going to something like the P.A.C.E.R. light system used at the Indianapolis 500 during most of the 1970s. Now this would only be for plate races. What would happen is that, when a caution comes out, the field would slow down in their position, but not be able to close up, leaving the packs of cars where they are in relative position on the track, but align them in the order in which they're running for the restart. This would almost eliminate the practice of intentionally laying back several seconds, and make pit stops more important, as well, because pit stops are unimportant at the plate races, because any time lost is almost immediately made up. Now certainly, the stragglers could make up the time because of the draft, but they would have to make it up instead of bunching up behind the pace car. Now this would work only in the plate races and would not be a good idea anywhere else. 255. Wikus van de Merwe posted: 10.08.2012 - 9:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) We could have had a real surprise winner in Mikey or Casey Mears if not for that dumbass Fat Tony.. but in stead we have f*****g Kenseth... 256. Paul posted: 10.08.2012 - 9:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Here's a list of drivers who have won multiple restrictor plate races in a season, dating back to 1988 when restrictor plates were introduced: 1989: Davey Allison [Talladega #1, Daytona #2] 1990: Dale Earnhardt [Talladega #1, Daytona #2, Talladega #2] 1992: Davey Allison (2) [Daytona #1, Talladega #1] Ernie Irvan [Daytona #2, Talladega #2] 1993: Dale Earnhardt (2) [Daytona #2, Talladega #2] 1994: Jimmy Spencer [Daytona #2, Talladega #2] 1995: Sterling Marlin [Daytona #1, Talladega #2] 1996: Sterling Marlin (2) [Talladega #1, Daytona #2] 1999: Dale Earnhardt (3) [Talladega #1 and #2] 2001: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. [Daytona #2, Talladega #2] 2002: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (2) [Talladega #1 and #2] 2003: Michael Waltrip [Daytona #1, Talladega #2] 2004: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (3) [Daytona #1, Talladega #2] Jeff Gordon [Talladega #1, Daytona #2] 2005: Jeff Gordon (2) [Daytona #1, Talladega #1] 2006: Jimmie Johnson [Daytona #1, Talladega #1] 2007: Jeff Gordon (3) [Talladega #1 and #2] 2008: Kyle Busch [Talladega #1, Daytona #2] 2010: Kevin Harvick [Talladega #1, Daytona #2] 2012: Matt Kenseth [Daytona #1, Talladega #2] Dale Earnhardt, Dale Jr., and Jeff Gordon are the only drivers to win multiple plate races in a season three different times. Davey Allison and Sterling Marlin have done so twice. Earnhardt is the only driver to win 3 plate races in a year (and was one turn away from sweeping the plate races in 1990). For Davey Allison in '89, Jimmy Spencer in '94, Sterling Marlin in '96, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in '02, Michael Waltrip in '03, and Matt Kenseth in '12 (so far), they were their only wins of the season. For Spencer, they were his only career wins. 257. 10andJoe posted: 10.08.2012 - 9:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Long-delayed reply... >Big surprise, Brad Daugherty is not a fan of the [removal of the] "top 35 rule", saying it won't guarantee teams of his size that they'll make the race every week and be able to represent their sponsors. Solution: GO FASTER. 258. Paul posted: 10.08.2012 - 9:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Big surprise, Brad Daugherty is not a fan of the [removal of the] "top 35 rule"" Thanks for the correction 10andJoe. And yes, "going faster", "trying harder", and "giving a shit" are all things that team could do. Bobby Labonte is just wasting his twilight years with that team. 259. Paul posted: 10.08.2012 - 11:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) For once, Roush-Fenway Racing was the dominant team on restrictor plate tracks. Here's a list of the team's statistics on those tracks: [One full-time car] 1988: 4 starts, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 1 top ten, 0 laps led 1989: 4 starts, 0 wins, 2 top fives, 2 top tens, 36 laps led 1990: 4 starts, 0 wins, 1 top five, 2 top tens, 7 laps led 1991: 4 starts, 0 wins, 1 top five, 1 top ten, 3 laps led [Two full-time cars] 1992: 8 starts, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 2 top tens, 2 laps led 1993: 8 starts, 0 wins, 1 top five, 5 top tens, 19 laps led 1994: 8 starts, 0 wins, 1 top five, 2 top tens, 8 laps led 1995: 8 starts, 1 win, 5 top fives, 6 top tens, 97 laps led [Three full-time cars] 1996: 12 starts, 0 wins, 3 top fives, 6 top tens, 11 laps led [Four full-time cars] 1997: 15 starts, 1 win, 1 top five, 4 top tens, 144 laps led [Five full-time cars] 1998: 19 starts, 0 wins, 0 top fives, 3 top tens, 0 laps led 1999: 20 starts, 0 wins, 2 top fives, 4 top tens, 1 lap led 2000: 19 starts, 1 win, 4 top fives, 8 top tens, 233 laps led [Four full-time cars] 2001: 16 starts, 0 wins, 4 top fives, 7 top tens, 33 laps led 2002: 16 starts, 0 wins, 4 top five, 6 top tens, 128 laps led [Five full-time cars] 2003: 20 starts, 1 win, 4 top fives, 7 top tens, 56 laps led 2004: 20 starts, 0 wins, 2 top fives, 6 top tens, 14 laps led 2005: 20 starts, 0 wins, 3 top fives, 7 top tens, 38 laps led 2006: 20 starts, 0 wins, 3 top fives, 8 top tens, 161 laps led 2007: 20 starts, 1 win, 4 top fives, 6 top tens, 17 laps led 2008: 20 starts, 0 wins, 5 top fives, 6 top tens, 32 laps led 2009: 20 starts, 2 wins, 4 top fives, 7 top tens, 58 laps led [Four full-time cars] 2010: 16 starts, 0 wins, 1 top five, 5 top tens, 56 laps led 2011: 16 starts, 1 win, 3 top fives, 5 top tens, 83 laps led [Three full-time, one part-time cars] 2012: 13 starts, 2 wins, 6 top fives, 9 top tens, 355 laps led 260. Paul posted: 10.08.2012 - 11:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Here are some other things I noticed from my research: - The team only has five career plate track poles. Three of them were by Mark Martin in '89 alone. - 2000 was an outlier for them as the new Ford Tauruses were dominant on the plate tracks, especially during Speedweeks. - 32 of McMurray's 33 laps led in '09 came in the fall Talladega race that he won. - Kurt Busch was the team's best plate driver during his tenure at Roush. - David Ragan was the team's best plate driver in '08, with 3 top fives and 1 DNF. - Greg Biffle may have had one of the worst average finishes on plate tracks of all-time in '06. He had finishes of 31st, 38th, 31st, and 41st, with an average finish of 35th. What makes this even worse is that he finished on the lead lap twice. - Their only top five in 2010 was Biffle's 3rd place finish in the Daytona 500. - All 355 laps led in 2012 came from Kenseth and Biffle. Kenseth led 245 laps, Biffle led 110 laps. - They led over 100 laps only four times, two of which came in winless plate seasons ('02 and '06). - They only led 17 laps in '07, despite winning a plate race. - They went three seasons without a plate race top five: '88, '92, and '98. '98 was by far the worst since they only managed 3 top tens despite having five cars. 261. Paul posted: 10.08.2012 - 11:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "- They led over 100 laps only four times, two of which came in winless plate seasons ('02 and '06)." That should say "They led over 100 laps only FIVE times..." 262. Rob posted: 10.09.2012 - 1:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race made national news for the wreck. The only time auto racing makes the national news is if its the Daytona 500, Indy 500, if theres a huge crash that takes out most of the field or if someone dies..... 263. Schroeder51 posted: 10.09.2012 - 1:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^Or if Danica runs well or something unusual happens to her. Don't forget that. 264. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.09.2012 - 6:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) That is what I meant, not since 1990 has there been one car as blatently dominant as Matt was this year. Maybe a little too dominant since he lost the Spring Dega race and Summer Daytona race by getting too far out front (something Dale was a master of avoiding), and darn near lost this one by doing that, but was saved by Tony being a split second too late in blocking. In 1990, the only race Dale had any competition was the Winston 500 when Greg Sacks in the #18 HMS "R&D" car (how much cheating do you think went into that car?). Greg probably had a better car, but Dale kept him back. Also, for his insane laps led total, in the Summer Dega race, worried about fuel, he let Bill Elliott pass so he could draft and save gas for 20 laps. So it could have been higher. 265. Robert Nelson posted: 10.09.2012 - 8:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The ROTY award should go to BK Racing instead of Josh Wise. I, and many others BK will end up start and parking but to get a top 10 in their rookie year, 2 top 15s, and 12 top 20s, as well as best qualifying effort of 9th, is an awesome effort by a rookie team. 266. NicoRosbergFan posted: 10.09.2012 - 9:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, I doubt Greg Sacks's car was illegal in that race. He was only good at the plate tracks, so it was most likely a fluke. 267. cjs3872 posted: 10.09.2012 - 9:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, one of the advantages that Dale had in 1990 at the plate races was that he ran a much lower spoiler angle than everyone else did. What that ended up doing was to give the other competitors much less to draft off of than the other cars. But that advantage was taken away in 1991 because Hendrick Motorsports did the same thing with Greg Sacks' car. It gave them arguably fastest car in the 1990 spring race, but Earnhardt was able to use his experience to hold Sacks at bay, then Sacks' car was too much for anyone to handle, which caused that insane crash at the beginning of the secod lap of the Firecracker 400. It was later learned that the angle of the rear spoiler on on Sacks' car was something like 17 or 18 degrees. That, along with Earnhardt's domination due tothe low spoiler angle he ran, caused NASCAR to implement a rule dictating a minimum rear spoiler angle for the 1991 Daytona 500 of 25 degrees. But as mentioned in the 1992 Daytona 500 broadcast, it was raised to 35 degrees because that was the lowest angle at which downforce of an kind was created. Neil Bonnett mentioned that a 25 degree spoiler angle actually created lift, ing the rear wheels were 1ff the ground, even when the cars were going straight, and 30 degrees meant that the back of thecars had zero pounds of downforce, which also made them virtually undriveable (thouse werebasically his words), so the minimum angle was raised to 35 degrees to put a few pounds of downforce on the back of the cars. It was rasied again to 40 degrees for 1993 to make the racing better, which it unquestionably did. Some of the worst races in the early 90s were the races at Daytona and Talladega. 268. Anonymous posted: 10.09.2012 - 12:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) If the drivers hate the tight pack racing and wrecky finishes so much, guess what, don't drive that way. No one's forcing you to go five-wide on the final lap. 269. Paul posted: 10.09.2012 - 12:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In non-racing news, Jerry Sandusky has been sentenced today to between 30 and 60 years in prison. Good, one less child predator off the streets. Two drivers will reach milestones this weekend: Mike Wallace will make his 750th career NASCAR start, spread out over the top three series. It will be his 445th career Nationwide start, to go along with his 190 Cup starts and 115 Truck starts. And Mark Martin will be making his 850th career Sprint Cup start. Mark is currently ranked 5th on the all-time Cup starts list, and will be 31 starts behind Terry Labonte once he races this weekend. Robert Nelson, Landon Cassill and Aric Almirola are more deserving of the ROTY award since this is their first full-time Cup season and are actually running the distance every week, but unfortunately both of them are ineligible for the award as they've already made 8 or more starts in a season before. Next year's ROTY battle should be more interesting. Not because it will be competitive as I think it's a foregone conclusion that Stenhouse will win the award, but we'll have our first competitive rookie since Logano in '09. 270. Paul posted: 10.09.2012 - 12:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "off the streets." *walking the streets. 271. cjs3872 posted: 10.09.2012 - 1:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Anonymous (#268), what NASCAR should try to do, and they actually did this a decade ago, is to increase the frequency of pit stops in the plate races to spread the field out. While I think the increased frequency of pit stops is a big reason for the blander than usual racing throughout the circuit this season, I think it was actully a good idea to have more pit stops in the plate races. That way, the best teams would actually get to show themselves and separate themselves from the also rans that run up front in the plate races. And here's something else on that front. when the teams had to make higher numbers of pit stops, that actually gave the drivers more time to relax metaly, because even though the pack would eventually close up again, it gave smaller groups of cars that did better on the pit stops an advantage, and because it spread the field out, it also gave the drivers a breather because the whole field wasn't together. Again, I don't like shorter fuel runs during the open races when the field spreads out, but I think that's a great idea in the plate races to spread the field out and give the drivers some relaxation time, even if it's just for about 5-7 laps maximum. In fact, I can't figure out why NASCAR went away from that. Again with the current rules, it's not going to matter in the case of a late caution, which is why I also think NASCAR should scrap the GWC rule for the plate races. All it guarantees is 50% of the field, or more getting torn up for little or no reason. That why I like the idea of something like the P.A.C.E.R. light system used at Indy through most of the 70s, because that would spread the field out, even during cautions, while making the drivers run as hard as they could to at least stay in the draft and not fall several seconds behind it, such as what several drivers did late in the race Sunday. And since the vast majority of the field would be together because of the draft, that would make it extemely difficult to close up without it being noticed by the offiials. 272. Spen posted: 10.09.2012 - 2:36 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Paul: Who's Robert Nelson? 273. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.09.2012 - 3:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was gonna mention the spoiler angle (or lack thereof) Dale ran before the rules and how he had more balls than anyone else, but the fact was RCR had some REALLY good plate cars and I wanted to praise them for once instead of giving 99.9% of the credit to Dale, Kirk/Andy, and The Flying Aces. For the plate races, I will give the car 75% of the credit. The lesson of the plate races and the 1987 season is that when Dale was given superior cars he was completely untouchable. And sorry, that #18 was absolutely cheating. Darrell even admitted they were doing illegal stuff with the carbeurator in 1990 that was discovered after his Firecracker 400 practice wreck that broke his leg which is what caused the huge 2nd lap crash cause the HMS cars which qualified so well were suddenly with 25 less horsepower. Throw in HMS' long and inglorious history (two years later in '93 NASCAR almost threw the #25 car and Schrader completely out of 4 races after blatent rules violation were discovered in inspection for the Firecracker 400) and it is hard to take that Ultra Slim Fast car seriously. 274. Paul posted: 10.09.2012 - 3:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Spen, Robert Nelson is the person who commented on post 265. 275. cjs3872 posted: 10.09.2012 - 4:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, the thing you mention about the #18 car in 1990 wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that Sacks, like Earnhardt, ran with a very low angled rear spoiler. That's why he could not keep control of his car at the start of the 1990 Firecracker 400, which touched off that enormous crash st the start of the second lap. That's another reason Sacks was so fast on the plate tracks that year. As I mentioned, they discovered that his rear spoiler was angled at only about 17 or 18 degrees, which made the car impossible to control where it was when the crash began. And with that shady history, it's a wonder that Waddell Wilson stayed there as long as he did (at least through the '93 Daytona 500, as he was Al Unser, Jr.'s Daytona 500 crew chief), because cheating is something that he would never tolerate. And what you say about what Darrell Waltrip admitted as the same thing that Junior Johnson did with the cars of Jimmy Spencer and Bill Elliott a few years later. I hear everyone sayng how Jimmy Spencer's cars were cheated up in the July races at Daytona and Talladega in 1994, but Elliott's car was cheated up in the same way, which nobody cares to mention. Remember that Elliott finished second to Spencer in the July race at Talladega that year. Why everyone that mentions that Spencer was cheating doesn't include Bill Elliott in that is beyond me, especially given Elliott's history the from prior decade about the pressurization system that Dan Elliott admitted on Wind tunnel about three or four years ago to using, which gave Elliott an enormous horsepower edge. That's why Ryan's comment in post #243 on Ernie Irvan's plate finishes had Junior Johnson's team not been cheating of 2-2-1-2 would not have been accurate. They actually would have been 2-2-1-1, because Irvan would have won both July plate races, as only Junior Johnson's cars beat him in both plate races. Spencer beat him in that photo finish in the Firecracker 400 with a cheated-up car, and Spencer and Elliott, both in cheated-up cars, beat Irvan in the July race at Talladega. I say that because you know that Elliott was running the same thing that Spencer was running in at least the July Talladega race, if not the Firecracker 400. 276. 10andJoe posted: 10.09.2012 - 4:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cassill ran full races last year, as well. Granted, he ran for N'wide points so if he had run fewer races in 2010 he would have been eligible, but given that he ran 32 of 36 races, and only three of those as S&P, if I had been in charge I would have ruled him ineligible anyway. You could make a better case for Almirola being a rookie, but alas, 12 races run in 2008 (then 8 and 9 in the following two years)... 277. ch posted: 10.09.2012 - 4:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) BK will not start and park, they are fully sponsored by Burger King. Yes, the actual company! 278. Jim Davis posted: 10.09.2012 - 4:54 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "No one's forcing you to go five-wide on the final lap." Unless, of course, you're interested in improving your finish. Then you're pretty much forced to on a plate track. 279. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.09.2012 - 5:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) NASCAR will not penalize Kurt any further as they drop the ball yet again. Kurt tore off out of there with 4 safety workers hangingg on to it initially putting people in danger and NASCAR once again does nothing, but he got suspended for cussing a reporter. Seriously, does any organization in the world care less about the safety of everybody involved than NASCAR? Kurt also got slaps on the wrist for his incredibly dangerous pit road antics at Martinsville '03, Dover '07, and Darlington this year, he clearly has no care for anybody's safety. Yet NASCAR sits on their hands yet again. NASCAR proves once again they have the weakest, most incompetent leader in all of sports. Man I hope Furniture Row regrets this decision every single day. The worst of on track luck to Kurt, FRR, and Richard Childress who, it looks like, masterminded this whole shitstorm. Just a bunch of douchebags whose very presence in the sport makes you feel worse about yourself for caring about NASCAR in the first place. 280. David posted: 10.09.2012 - 5:58 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Seriously, does any organization in the world care less about the safety of everybody involved than NASCAR?" You're really questioning the safety of a sport that has made significant advances in that area in the past (HANS device, SAFER barriers, the Car of Tomorrow), albeit late? That being said, I agree with you on this decision. I cannot believe this decision by NASCAR. This latest action by Busch deserves at least a one-race suspension. 281. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.09.2012 - 6:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Sorry, when you have 3 on track fatalities in 6 months (May - October 2000) from basilar skull fractures and you do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about it until the start of the new season when a fourth fatality from a basilar skull fracture occurs to the sports biggest star ever you get no credit for anything that happened in the wake of that. Besides all that happened was embracing innovations from the open wheel world (HANS and SAFER barriers) and bringing out the safer car 6 years and 2 months after that 4th fatality and only on a part time basis, it didn't go full time until SEVEN years after that death. 282. Paul posted: 10.09.2012 - 6:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) From a performance standpoint, I still don't know why RCR (or Childress, to be more specific) wanted Kurt in the first place based on the current state of RCR. They're already having enough problems as it is trying to run nine teams throughout each of the top 3 series, and now they're just adding headaches to the mix. RCR can't win on the Cup side this year despite reducing their teams from 4 to 3, and Childress seems to be more concerned with his Truck and Nationwide teams (especially those driven by his grandsons) than he is with his Cup program, and the results have shown. Harvick is finally getting some consistency back now that he and Gil Martin, the very guy who Harvick requested be replaced after back-to-back 3rd place points finishes, but it seems to be too little too late. And with the owner more concerned with his non-Cup teams, I don't expect a win on the Cup side this year. Maybe adding Kurt, who is essentially in a 4th RCR car now, to the lineup will remind Childress that "Hey, it turns out my Cup program really does suck", because Kurt will tell him over the radio. Of course, according to Kurt, the team that's now leading the points sucks too, so take that with a grain of salt. What upsets me most about this is the lack of action taken by NASCAR over this act of endangerment to people's safety, especially when it's done by a repeat offender who is currently on probation until the end of the year, so that pretty much takes away what little credibility their probation system had. But if you make an illegal adjustment to your car, they'll be on your ass. Just today, Norm Benning's crew chief was fined $5,000 for improperly attaching weight to the #57 truck bed. This act of negligence by NASCAR just shows what a weak governing body they are. Say what you want about Roger Goodel and the extreme measures he's taken to improve player safety, but at least he's consistent on his rules. If a player makes helmet-to-helmet contact with another player, they'll be penalized and receive a fine from the league office. As a result, the league, while different than how it was ten years ago, has credibility. NASCAR is very selective about their penalties and about enforcing safety. It's like they embraced SAFER barriers (though it took them about ten years before they started putting on every wall instead of just in the turns), the HANS device (though it took four driver deaths in a 9-month span from head injuries before they began the process of mandating them), rubber fuel cells, window nets, strong roll cages, pit road speed limits, and "no racing back to the yellow" (among other things), and called it a day. What NASCAR should stand for after this is "Never About Safety, Careless Acts Rewarded", because that's exactly what has happened with this ordeal. Kurt Busch has committed at least his 4th act of endangering crew members, whether they be pit crews or safety crews, AND violated his probation that lasts until December 31, yet rather than being penalized and made an example of, not only does he go unpenalized, but he's rewarded with a contract with a better team (FRR) that will now be better funded by one of the top teams (RCR) and the lead mastermind is one of NASCAR's most prominent figures (Richard Childress). I feel like I'm watching a criminal get away with attempted murder, and not only is he getting left off the hook, but a rich witness wants him to work for him and give him his total support. And worse yet, the criminal is being championed by the media (the very people he threatened earlier this year) and is predicted to bounce back next year without any sort of punishment. This is just an ugly situation and what's sad is that nobody is going to do anything about it. NASCAR controls their media (why do you think Brian France knows every question given to him firsthand in his embarrassing press conferences?), they're not going to do anything about it, the media sure as hell isn't going to do anything, and Kurt's new team is already committed to him and wouldn't do anything even if they wanted to. Have fun with all of your headaches and wrecked race cars Childress. Enjoy looking at your six Sprint Cup trophies, because those are the only Cup titles you're going to have when it's all said and done. Like always, NASCAR has proven to have the weakest leadership in all of sports. I guess like always, we're going to have to wait for someone to die before they do something about it. 283. David posted: 10.09.2012 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) OK, nevermind. 284. cjs3872 posted: 10.09.2012 - 7:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Paul, the reason that Childres wanted Kurt Busch is obvious. He wants to rejuvenate his Cup team, but has nobody there to aid Kevin Harvick. Harvick is one of the sport's better driers, but look who his teammates are. his teammates are an over the hill Jeff Burton, who can no longer help Harvick's team, and Paul Menard, who never had that capability to begin with. At least Kurt Busch has the ability to help RCR from a competitive side, something Harvick's current teammates either can no longer do, or never could do. 285. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.09.2012 - 7:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Never About Safety, Careless Acts Rewarded. That is absolutely perfect. 286. Talon64 posted: 10.09.2012 - 7:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt Kenseth picks up his 23rd career Sprint Cup Series victory, moving him into a tie with Ricky Rudd for 28th all time. It's his 2nd win of the season, both coming on plate tracks, but his first win in 29 races. Kenseth has back-to-back multi-win seasons for the first time since 2006 (4) and 2007 (2), and his 7th multi-win season in 13 full years in Cup. This is just the 3rd top 5 in 14 races for Kenseth since the announcement that he's leaving Roush (6 top 10's, and a 15.2 avg fin versus a 7.7 avg fin in the first 16 races). But it gives Kenseth 7 seasons with 11+ top 5's. It's Kenseth's 3rd career plate track win but first in 26 career starts at Talladega despite leading 21+ laps in 6 races (including each of the last 3 races) and ranking 7th among active drivers in laps led (294; Denny Hamlin now has the most laps led at Talladega without a win among active drivers with 204). Kenseth has back-to-back top 10's at Talladega for the first time since 3 in a row back in 2005-06. Roush Racing gets just their 4th career win at Talladega (Mark Martin in 1995 & 1997, Jamie McMurray in 2009). Two of them have come with drivers leaving Roush Racing after the season, McMurray 2009 and Kenseth 2012. Jeff Gordon reaches 10 top 5's for the 17th time in his 20-season career, all coming within the last 18. It's his 6th top 3 finish in the last 7 races and 4th runner-up finish in the last 6 (now ranks 2nd to Jimmie Johnson in 2nd place finishes this season with 4). It's his 65th career runner-up finish, 5 back of Dale Earnhardt for 4th all time. It's Gordon's 2nd top 3 finish in the last 4 races at Talledega and 3rd top 10 in the last 5. With his 15th top 5 at Talladega, he moves past Terry Labonte for the active lead and ties Buddy Baker for 2nd most all time at Talladega (Dale Earnhardt leads all drivers with 23). Kyle Busch finishes in the top 5 for the 2nd time in 4 races, but they're his only top 5's in the last 10 (6 top 10's, 12.3 avg fin). Kyle now leads all non-Chase drivers in points scored in the Chase, ranking 5th overall (8.8 avg fin). It's just Kyle's 3rd top 5 in 16 career Talladega starts (22.1 avg fin), but joins Kenseth as the only 2 drivers to finish in the top 5 in both Talladega races this season. David Ragan finishes a season-best 4th, his first top 5 of 2012 and first in 40 races (4th in the September Richmond race). It's just the 2nd top 5 and 4th top 10 for Front Row Motorsports in 360 career starts, all coming at plate tracks over the last two seasons (3rd and 9th by Gilliland in 2011, 7th and 4th by Ragan in 2012). Ragan's 3 top 5's at Talladega are tied with Richmond and Daytona for his most at any track (9 in 36 starts combined, versus 4 in 176 starts between the other 20 tracks), while his 5 top 10's are his best. It's the 2nd time he's finished top 10 in both Talladega races in a season (4th & 3rd in 2008). In his last start with Furniture Row Racing, Regan Smith picks up his 3rd top 5 in 161 career Cup starts. It brings his totals with Todd Berrier as his crew chief to 1 top 5, 3 top 10's and a 17.4 average finish in 11 races. Single car teams have accounted for 17 top 10's since 2011. 8 of them belong to Regan Smith and Furniture Row Racing. The record books will state that this is Regan Smith's first top 5 and top 10 in 11 starts at Talladega (23.4 avg fin). His best prior recorded finish was 12th in 2010. Greg Biffle picks up just his 2nd top 10 in 7 races since his Michigan win (13.7 avg fin), with no top 5's in that span. It's just his 5th top 10 in 20 career Talladega starts (19.0 avg fin) but all have come within the last 8 races (9.9 avg fin). Brad Keselowski finishes in the top 10 for the 13th time in the last 14 races, and has top 7 finishes in each of the first 4 Chase races (2 wins, 3.75 avg fin). He now ranks 2nd in top 10's this season with 19 and 3rd in average finish at 10.5. It's his 3rd straight top 10 at Talladega and 6th top 10 in 8 starts (12.2 avg fin). Travis Kvapil picks up just his 7th top 10 in 204 career Cup starts and first since finishing 7th at Homestead for Yates Racing in 2008. More importantly, it's the first top 10 for BK Racing in their inaugural season (since forming from Red Bull Racing; 27.3 avg fin, 12 top 20 finishes in 61 starts this year). Ryan Newman gets his 4th top 10 in the last 5 races, but his first in the last 7 races at Talladega (8 career top 10's in 22 starts, 21.8 avg fin). Jeff Burton's 6th top 10 of 2012 surpasses his total from 2011 (5), and is his 2nd top 10 in the last 5 races. It's his 3rd straight top 10 at Talladega and 16th in 38 career starts (18.0 avg fin); his 16 top 10's are 5th most among active drivers. 287. Paul posted: 10.09.2012 - 8:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You're absolutely right, cjs. I don't blame Childress for wanting Kurt, then making a deal with FRR to put Kurt in their car when he couldn't get sponsorship to put Kurt in one of his cars. He has a tremendous amount of talent behind the wheel. I shouldn't have talked so much about Kurt and his attitude and RCR's failures this season because that's not the point. The point I was trying to make is that we have a guy here who has just violated his probation and endangered crew members for the 4th time in nine years, yet has gone unpunished and instead will be driving for a better team next week. He didn't even get off with a slap on the wrist because that would require NASCAR to make an effort to punish him. If anything, he gets off with a pat on the back and a handshake because now he's driving for a better team with strong backing for RCR, one of the top teams in the sport. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Childress is one of the reasons why he's getting off scot-free. If he was just at Phoenix Racing, NASCAR would deem him as expendable. But since now he basically drivers for RCR, he's an asset. 288. Paul posted: 10.09.2012 - 8:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Speaking of safety and carelessness, I was just watching some clips of past Talladega races, and two incidents stuck out to me from the late '90s. One was from the '98 DieHard 500 following the big wreck that started when Ward Burton turned Earnhardt into Bill Elliott, causing Elliott's car to hit the outside wall very hard. Dale got out of his car and walked with Bill, who was clearly shaken up from his hard hit, to the ambulance that transported Bill to a nearby hospital. In his post-race interview, Dale clearly wasn't in the mood to talk, having mixed emotions as a result of seeing a fellow driver get banged up like that (saying it reminded him of his '96 Talladega crash) and with the pack racing. He didn't have much to say, but did say "It's not good racing. Y'all can talk about it all y'all want, it's not good racing," before walking off. So this style of racing has been disliked by drivers long before Junebug opened up his mouth this week. You can only run 3/4-wide for so long before someone makes a mistake and takes out a bunch of cars, with the possibility of someone getting hurt like Bill did. So while the example had to do with safety, the next clip I saw from the '99 DieHard 500 was all careless. Going down the backstretch, Mike Skinner swerves to the left to block Tony Stewart (surprised Smoke didn't take this into consideration when he made a similar move on Waltrip the other day), but went so far that he went below the apron and ultimately hit the grass (similar to the Allmendinger/Kahne incident at Pocono '10), causing his car to slide across the track and led to a huge crash on the backstretch. Of course, he pretty much got away scot-free chassis-wise, only getting stuck in the wet grass for his troubles. But with Gordon getting sideways and Rusty hitting him square in the right-side door, this one careless act by Skinner (so Kurt won't be the first careless driver RCR has hired) could have gone disastrous for Jeff, Rusty, or any one of those cars taken out. I hate having to beat the same old drum, but blocking has no place on these restrictor plate tracks. Not in 1999, and not in 2012. 289. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.09.2012 - 9:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You forgot the best part of Dale's 1998 Dega interview. He was burned by Bill's car on his face (who needs full face helmets? Oh right, Dale). When asked how he was, he just said "hot". Classic Dale. Tony's bit about being a finely tuned athlete was funny, but can't quite touch Dale in the "dark humor" department. Although Ken Schrader may be the king of that category. That is how I knew Dale was in trouble in '01. Seeing Kenny that shaken and straight faced, I knew right then. And Dale always said he didn't like plate racing, even when he won. 290. joey2448 posted: 10.09.2012 - 9:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) On the issue of Kurt Busch being parked in Sunday's race..."He finally stopped in turn 3, presumably when he was informed NASCAR was parking him." I'm guessing the reason Kurt stopped in turn three after speeding away from the safety crew is because HE WAS OUT OF GAS. He didn't have his helmet on and therefore couldn't hear his crew relaying NASCAR's message to stop, so... Also, the "every Chase driver gets one mulligan" rule would be kind of ridiculous. You guys complain about the Chase not doing justice (admittedly so do I) to the rightful champion (Gordon in '07, Harvick in '10), but with that rule, it just makes it worse. Now it's true that it could make the racing more exciting, as a driver would be more aggressive and daring while battling for the win, knowing that he could wreck and still have a chance to win the title, but also think of this: How would we know which race is a driver's mulligan race until the very end? If Tony Stewart is the points leader heading into Homestead, with a worst Chase finish of 14th up to that point, then theoretically he could finish lower than 14th and win the title? 291. Paul posted: 10.09.2012 - 9:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) joey2448, that's precisely why I mentioned in post #213 that the mulligan system wouldn't be in place for the entire Chase. I said that it would be best if it were in place for between 5 and 9 races. I think seven races would be perfect because it would end after Martinsville, the 7th Chase race and last wildcard track in the Chase. Plus, it would give the drivers still in contention after dropping their worst finish a 3-race shootout to decide who truly is the best with no mulligans in place. We would still crown a deserving champion as you have the first seven Chase races to get your bad luck out of the way, while still rewarding the most consistent Chase driver and not making it confusing going into Homestead as to who the title contenders are. For example, Jeff Gordon has the worst finish in the Chase out of the 12 Chase drivers with his 35th place finish at Chicago. If the mulligans were to end right now, he would drop his 35th place finish and have an average finish of 2.333. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. however would drop his 20th place finish from Talladega, but his average finish would only be 10.667. As it stands, Jeff is 6th in points and Jr. is 11th, and even with the mulligan, Jeff is still higher in points than Jr. All it would do is make the points race closer, but I don't think it would run the risk of crowning an undeserving champion. If I have time later tonight or tomorrow, I'll come on here and post who would have been champion had the mulligan system been in place for the first seven Chase races. DSFF, haha that was classic. I didn't post that quote because I was focusing on safety (although now that I think about it, the fire wouldn't have been so bad had he worn a full-faced helmet), but that was classic Dale at his finest. That's another thing Tony and Dale have in common, their dark tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. That along with their tenacity, fearless driving, and ability to just outright win a championship makes them very much alike, not to mention their ability to win every race at Daytona except for the crown jewel for most of their career. The biggest difference is that Dale didn't get distracted with things that didn't involve the championship (what 1988 season?) the way Tony has. 292. Thomas posted: 10.09.2012 - 9:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yet another example of how probation means nothing in NASCAR. It wouldn't have happened anyway, but I would have thoroughly enjoyed it if the 78 as an attempt to issue a wake-up call to Kurt (like that'd work, I know) would have put Brian Keselowski in the car while Kurt was suspended. After all, both Busch brothers have been mad at Brad this season, so why not put Brad's big brother in the car when Kurt gets suspended for the 2nd time this season? 293. joey2448 posted: 10.09.2012 - 11:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "joey2448, that's precisely why I mentioned in post #213 that the mulligan system wouldn't be in place for the entire Chase." Ah, so you did. Didn't see that. So Paul, would you say that this mulligan system is the next best thing after the full-season championship points format, using the Latford points system? In other words, if there must be a Chase, then at least use the mulligan system? 294. Paul posted: 10.10.2012 - 1:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) joey2448, that's correct. I figured that if NASCAR is going to use a Chase anyways in an attempt to create a close championship battle, they should adapt this mulligan system along with it in order to make it even closer. Guys like Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth have almost no shot at winning the title because they each have a finish outside the top 30. Kenseth probably would be out of it anyways because he only has one top 10 finish so far, that being his win this past week, but with a mulligan in play, Gordon would be right in the middle of this thing with a 2.333 average finish. So if we're going to gimmick up the championship battle, why not add an incentive for drivers to go all out knowing that they have a mulligan just in case. I've always found it to be unreasonable to expect these drivers to go all 10 Chase races without having any problems, or if they do, having to rely on others having problems as well. They have unlimited mulligans in the regular season and even have a points reset so long as they are either in the top 10 in points or are one of two wildcards after 26 races. Heck, we just saw it this year as Hamlin and Stewart entered the Chase 8th and 10, respectively, but were 1st and 2nd following the Chase reset. As a result, none of their bad finishes mattered, and I feel the Chase should have a similar benefit. I do prefer the pre-2004 points system that lasted all 36 races without a points reset, but since this is the system that's been in play for the last eight years, we're just going to have to live with it. However, one thing I would do, and cjs and I are in agreeance on this, is I would modify the points system so that we would use the current points numbers, but differentiate the numbers between positions so that they're similar to the Latford system. You can read post #216 for my whole idea on how to modify the points system, but in short, I would make it so that there would be a 3-point difference between finishers 1st through 6th, a 2-point difference between finishers 6th through 11th, and a 1-point difference between finishers 11th through 43rd. It would be similar to how the Latford points system was set up (except that system had a 5-4-3 point differential while mine would have a 3-2-1 point differential), while maintaining many elements from the current simplified points system. I would also modify the bonus points, which you can read in post #216 as well. And to top it off, rather than reset the points in the Chase to 2,000, then award 3 points to each driver in the top 10 for each win, I would have a 3-point differential between every position from 1st through 11th (11th and 12th would have the same points), then award 3 points for each win. This way it would keep the points close and award drivers for their regular season wins, while giving drivers the incentive to race for a higher points position going into the Chase. Greg Biffle entered the Chase in 1st place, but was 6th after the points reset because he didn't have as many wins as some other guys. While I'm at it, I might award a 5-point bonus (not including their wins bonus(es) and the 3-point differential) to the driver who enters the Chase in 1st place, and award an extra 2-points to anyone who enters the Chase within a full race of the points leader. This would add even more incentive to drivers to finish high in the regular season points. And if they're not in contention to enter the Chase in 1st, they can still finish within a full race of the points leader and be rewarded for their effort. 295. cjs3872 posted: 10.10.2012 - 10:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) That's interesting Paul, because your formula for setting the Chase after the 26th race is the way I do it. Give the 11th and 12th place a point total of 2000, then add three for every position up front there, and after that, add three points for every win, which is exactly how I did the seeding in my formula, though I stop the bonuses there. B I do not like the idea of having a separate points system for chasers and non-Chasers. If they were to do that, they may as well not even be running in the same race. And I think the idea of throwing out a driver's worst finish is a terrible idea. Remember that they used to do something like that in F1. They used to count only a driver's top 11 or 12 finishes, and all that did was make it extremely confusing to follow the championship. But they need to make it so that a driver can recover from a bad finish. Now Jeff Gordon, the driver that's this season's labrat for this, has moved up to sixth, and I predict that if he doesn't have any bad luck, that he could move up to fourth, or even third, thouh the championship is out of reach. He could move past Clint Bowyer, and should pass Kasey Kahne at Martinsville. That is, if he does not have any bad luck and continues to run in the top ten, which is about what his ceiling will be at Charlotte, as he will almost certainly lack the speed to run in the top five. And if Denny Hamlin runs intotrouble, Gordon could even finish in third if he has no trouble, but that would be his absolute ceiling, in terms of the championship this year. After all, even though he's finished in the top three in six of the last seven races, Martinsville is the only race left that I think he could actually win, because that's the only place where he'll have a car strong enough to lead. After all, you can't win if you can't lead, and despite finishing in the top three in six of the last seven races, with four second place finishes, he's still only led 22 laps in the last seven races, which proves that his car still seems incapable of leading races. 296. Scott B posted: 10.10.2012 - 11:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I guess I'm one of the few who is OK with Kurt not being suspended for the Charlotte race. Being parked early at 'Dega (when he had a repairable car) was sort of a de facto suspension in my mind, even though he didn't miss a full race weekend. Also, it punishes the correct team points-wise, instead of forcing FRR to look for a replacement driver for the the next week (when they had nothing to do with the incident in question). The only problem with that is that the lost points for the Finch team are pretty meaningless in the whole scheme of things. But NASCAR did in fact take immediate action on the safety violation, which is how it should be done... no appeal, no delaying the punishment until the next event. 297. David posted: 10.10.2012 - 12:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I must apologize for my comment in post #280. It was an impulsive overreaction to what I thought was a greatly exaggerated remark, and it was clear that I didn't think rationally before posting it. Scott B, you make a good point. Furniture Row Racing had nothing to do with this incident, therefore it would be punishing them as well to have them look for a replacement driver. That said, it was their risk to hire a driver with a history of outbursts, and therefore they should be prepared for a situation like that. 298. Dan posted: 10.10.2012 - 1:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Record low attendance for this race.Only 88,000. 299. Paul posted: 10.10.2012 - 1:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Timmy Hill will drive the #32 car for Frank Stoddard, not T.J. Bell as previously listed. Jeff Gordon will be sporting the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles paint scheme this weekend. Michael McDowell will be sponsored by K-LOVE and Curb Records this weekend, so he could be running the full race. All three TBR cars are unsponsored, so there could be two start-and-parks from that team. If J.J. Yeley makes the race, Blaney may run the distance. 300. Paul posted: 10.10.2012 - 1:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Michael McDowell will be sponsored by K-LOVE and Curb Records this weekend, so he could be running the full race." McDowell has confirmed that he will be running the full race if he qualifies. 301. Bronco posted: 10.10.2012 - 3:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First time all season long that Dale Jr has finished outside the top 10 in 3 consecutive races, and its the first time he's been listed outside the top 10 in points since after Fontana in March 2011. It's head scratching that the three most consistent teams from the regular season (#16, #17, #88) would lose it all just when the chase started. Biffle, Kenseth, Junior, Harvick, Edwards all seem like guys that are better suited at winning a championship consisting of 36 races rather than the last 10. 302. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 10.10.2012 - 3:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "Never About Safety, Careless Acts Rewarded." Ha! So true too. It's laughable that Kurt got suspended by NASCAR for mouthing off to a reporter, yet the times he has done something dangerous on pit road they give him a slap on the wrist. Like I said earlier, I hope Furniture Row and Richard Childress enjoy putting up with the tantrums and antics he will be very likely to give them. 303. Talon64 posted: 10.10.2012 - 4:52 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Biffle, Kenseth, Junior, Harvick, Edwards all seem like guys that are better suited at winning a championship consisting of 36 races rather than the last 10." All 5 have contended for titles in the Chase though. 3 times for Carl, Kenseth in 2006, Harvick in 2010, Junior in 2004 and Biffle in 2005 and sort-of 2008. It's just that when there's two guys who've won 7 of 8 Chase championships, it looks like everyone else really blows. Even though plenty have had top 5 points finishes and those 5 have contended for championships. Jeff Gordon's in the same boat too. But the drivers and teams who thrive in the Chase would probably be in the hunt as well over a 36-race championship, although you can't take anything from the "old" points as to how it would turn out. The only person I could say that flat-out would be better over 36 races than 10 is Kyle Busch, since it's obvious that the Chase does him zero favors. Whether actually in the Chase, or just making the Chase alone. Clint Bowyer's probably benefitted the most from the Chase, even though his consistency would make you think he'd be better off over 36 races. 304. Scott B posted: 10.10.2012 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Intesting to see Timmy Hill in the #32, that will be his third different ride this season. He made one start and had some DNQ's in the #37, then did a start & park in the #97 this past weekend at 'Dega. These aren't A-list teams, but at least he gets a little Cup seat time. 305. Talon64 posted: 10.10.2012 - 5:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Him and Cole Whitt get a surprising, but good, number of Cup starts. Speaking of young guys getting experience, the return of testing at tracks that're on the Cup schedule will be a big benefit for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Danica Patrick, along with drivers switching teams like Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch and whoever drives the #43 next year (if it's not Almirola). 306. Titus Washington posted: 10.10.2012 - 6:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Clint Bowyer drove a Ford in this race? 307. Jocke Persson posted: 10.10.2012 - 6:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 281. DaleSrFanForever Well said. 308. Paul posted: 10.10.2012 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Titus, that's an error. Clint drove a Toyota in this race. Anyone else find it interesting how Cole Whitt and Timmy Hill are getting Cup opportunities, but Justin Allgaier, a Nationwide winner, hasn't? I think that says a lot as far as how valuable he is to Cup teams, especially start-and-park teams that can't afford to have torn up cars, and I think that has made Timmy and Cole valuable to those teams because of their clean driving. 309. cjs3872 posted: 10.10.2012 - 6:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bronco, I mostly diagree with your assessment about Biffle, Kenseth, and Dale, Jr. all struggling when the Chase began. In fact, anyone could have predicted that Dale, Jr. and Kenseth would struggle, though the struggles that Greg Biffle have had are a mystery. It was almost a certainty that Kenseth would struggle because he's leaving Roush at season's end, although having things fall off his car three times in six weeks including twice in the Chase was a surprise. It's interesting that Roush says that he's been having problems with quality of his equipment for quite some time with all his teams. And everyone with any sense knew that Dale, Jr. would struggle when the Chase began, just because he's in the same building with Chad Knaus. That was even more obvious than Kenseth's sudden problems. Knaus has always, in the words of one of the #24's team members in 2007, "stepped on the garden hose" when it came to sharing information when Gordon was battling the #48 team for the championship, so everyone knew that Dale, Jr. was going to struggle in the Chase. On the other hand, Greg Biffle's lack of performance is surprising to no end, because I thought he'd do better. Certainly, no Roush car was going to seriously contend for the championship (nor is likely to in the near future) because Roush treats Loudon and Martinsville as "throw-away races", and always has. Roush's last Martinsville win was with Kurt Busch in 2002, and he started in the back in that race (from 36th, to be precise). In fact, it wouldn't surprise me at all if Kenseth won at Martinsville in the next year or two, especially with Denny Hamlin as a teammate, as of next year. He'll certainly be takled about at Martinsville more in the next two years than he has in the last 13. 310. Mike posted: 10.10.2012 - 8:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It can be argued that under the chase setup all in the top 12 still have a mathematical chance at being crowned the champion at years end. However with the current points system in place the chase creates a sort of double-edged sword, in that with the chase the championship race is dull, but without it drivers have a hard time holding that elusive first position in points. It's certainly not out of the equation that the top 3 drivers in points could have a bad day though, and that certainly would put everyone currently inside the top 12 in points within about 25-30 points of the points lead, those in the top would be within 5-15 easily. 311. cjs3872 posted: 10.10.2012 - 9:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mike, if the leader (Brad Keselowski) has trouble at Charlotte or Martinsville, that opens up everything. That's because he has a lead in the points of more than a third of a race over second (represented by Jimmie Johnson) and more than half a race over third (represented by Denny Hamlin). I say his 14 points are more than a third of a race and 23 points is more than half a race, because with the start-and-parks, the number of cars in a race may as well be just 34-37. That means the most points a driver can gain or lose, unless something really strange happens, is not 47 points, but more like 38-40. That really changes things in regards to catching up, because every driver, depending on the race, is guaranteed between 5-8 points if his team tries to run the distance. So we can't think of 47 points being a full race worth of points ahead or behind, but rather 38-40 points being a full race worth poionts ahead or behind. But back to the point at hand. With Saturday night's race being a 500-mile race on a fast track, followed by the race at Martinsville two weeks later, followed by another 500-mile race on a high speed track at Texas, anything can still happen. After Texas, don't expect very much to change, because you have a 312-mile race at Phoenix and a 400-mile race at Homestead. But if Keselowski has a bad night at Charlotte, those drivers fourth through about eighth or ninth could get put back in the hunt. But if Keselowski has a good night and Johnson and Hamlin have bad nights, which could happen since the race at Charlotte is 500 miles, it may be time to call the engraver to engrave Keselowski's name on the championship trophy. My prediction is this. It will not be a three-way race for the title after Saturday night. It will either be more than three drivers seriously contending, or less than three, but I'm predicting it will not be exactly three, as it is now. And Brad Keselowski holds the key to this. A good night, especially if Hamlin does not have a great night, will eliminate Hamlin, for all intents and purposes, even if he stays third in points. But a bad night for Keselowski will put guys like Clint Bowyer, Jeff Gordon, and Kasey Kahne back in the hunt, unless they also have bad nights. Of course, if Kahne does get back in the hunt, Martinsville will end up being his undoing. The one driver below third that might get back in the hunt is Bowyer, because he's goos at the speedways, and he's good at Martinsville. But Saturday night well tell the tale of how many drivers are seriously in contention from here on out. 312. Ryan posted: 10.10.2012 - 10:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Can't count out Denny Hamlin, he has some good tracks coming up... 313. Paul posted: 10.10.2012 - 10:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs, I think Brad needs to maintain as much of his 14-point lead as possible over these next three races going into Texas. Statistically, Texas is one of Brad's worst tracks on the circuit, something he has openly admitted. In 8 races, he has a best finish of 14th, which was back in the spring of 2010, has led 34 laps (32 of those came in one race), and 0 lead lap finishes. In his three Texas starts in the #2 car, his finishes are 18th, 24th, and 36th. So while the Hendrick cars will most likely dominate the next two tracks (Jimmie and Kasey at Charlotte, Jimmie and Jeff at Martinsville), and with the reconfigured Kansas being a real wildcard this year the same way Phoenix was last year (which Kasey won), the best thing for Brad is to keep what he's been doing in this Chase and lead laps and finish in the top 7. If he can do that, he should be able to maintain a good lead (provided Jimmie and Denny don't run into any bad luck) going into Texas. If his luck at Texas continues however, he could walk in there with a 14-point lead and leave in 2nd or even 3rd place. Jimmie and Denny are past winners at Texas and have the speed to do so again, and if Brad's past success at Texas doesn't improve, he could easily lose the point lead in that one race. 314. cjs3872 posted: 10.10.2012 - 10:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Of course you can't count out Denny Hamlin right now. But if he has another bad race and falls a full race behind, I think you can stick a fork in him. And remember that with the start-and-parks, a full race is 40 points behind, instead of 47, so the math is altered by the numeorus start-and-parks, up to potentially eight or nine in a single race. So if he loses another 17 points to the leader, he's through, unless Keselowski has a bad race. But if Keselowski were to get 40 points ahead, he'd probably play it conservatively and try to coast home, and let everyone else make mistakes trying to catch up. That's why I think it's a three-man race now for the championship, but I have a sneaking suspicion it won't be a three-way race for the title after Charlotte, considering the 500-mile distance. I think it will either be more or less than three, but I don't think it will be exactly three. That's because I think something's going to happen to at least one of the top three. I just don't know which one(s) it will be. 315. cjs3872 posted: 10.10.2012 - 10:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) But then again Paul, everyone thought Dover was a weak track for Keselowski, and look what happened there. Keselowski won the race. I still think Keselowski will either open the door for others, or Johnson and/or Hamlin might hand him the title with a bad race. And remember that Jimmie crashed out of the fall race at Charlotte last year. If that happens again, and he has made mistakes in this race before (remember this race in 2007, when he spun out with the best car?), he may not be able to use his advantage at Martinsville, because he could lose 15 or more points if he has a repeat of last year. And he's also had his share of engine problems at Charlotte in recent years, as well. And with this being a 500-mile race on a high-speed track, that's also a possibility. And let's not forget his engine failure late in the race at Michigan while leading. And of course, Hamlin has to worry about that, as well, given JGR's problems with engines the last two years. These are reasons why I think the championship could take a big turn this week. Of course, it could also turn the other way, and a bad race for Keselowski could throw the title race wide open, beyond just the three current challengers, and let guys like Bowyer, Kahne, and Gordon back in. If that happens, watch for Bowyer, because he's the one guy from outside the current top three that I think could steal the chamionship. 316. Paul posted: 10.10.2012 - 11:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And I also think that Jeff will pass Clint for 5th after this week, but will probably have to wait another few weeks before he can pass Kasey, even though he's only six points behind. Charlotte is a speed track, which as you've mentioned many times, is something that Jeff has lacked all year while Kasey has thrived on the speed tracks this year, not to mention the fact that he won the Coca-Cola 600 this year. I don't know how they will fare at Kansas, but I'm almost positive that Jeff, should he stay finish in the top 10 (maybe top 5 if he's lucky) in the next two weeks, will pass Kasey at Martinsville. Kasey has only 2 top tens at Martinsville, with his most recent one coming in 2006, while Martinsville is one of Jeff's best tracks and a track that he "shoulda, coulda, woulda" won at earlier this year. As for Clint Bowyer, I just don't think he's going to be a factor from here on out. Clint is always a top 10-15 driver, who can pull out a top five or even a win on tracks that require a great amount of skill like short tracks and road courses, but with only two more "driver tracks" left on the schedule (Martinsville and Phoenix), I think the overall strength of his team is going to be exposed with four 1.5-mile tracks left on the schedule. Don't get me wrong, he's done a great job in his first year at MWR with a lot of former RCR employees and new TRD engines, and I think they'll only continue to grow in the years to come, but I think he will wind up finishing outside the top five in points. Maybe he and his team will turn a corner in the next two 1.5-mile tracks, but outside of Martinsville and maybe Phoenix and Kansas (he really wants to win at his home track), I just don't see another win/great run coming. As for everyone else, I think they're pretty much done. I know that there's only a 9-point gap between 6th and 11th, but I don't see anyone behind Gordon getting in this championship mix. Stewart has cooled down since his win at Daytona. In his last 10 races, he has 3 top tens, but 7 finishes of 19th or worse, including bad runs at "driver tracks" where he's usually good (Watkins Glen, Bristol, Atlanta, and Dover). Yes I know he got caught a couple laps down at Dover, but so did Mark, Carl, and Truex and they all recovered. Kenseth is the victim of being the dreaded lame duck at Roush (I wonder if Roush will use him as an R&D car like he did with Ragan last year) and June is the victim of being the #48's shop mate. Greg Biffle is the biggest mystery as he had a great regular season, but maybe these four 1.5-mile tracks will change his luck (too little too late). As for Harvick and Truex, they were D.O.A. when the Chase began. This is really a 5-car race with Clint disguised as the 6th guy, but could easily become a 2-3 car race if things go Brad's way in the next 3 races before Texas. 317. Anonymous posted: 10.10.2012 - 11:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Charlotte is a speed track, which as you've mentioned many times, is something that Jeff has lacked all year" Many many many many times he has mentioned it. No offense, cjs. 318. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.10.2012 - 11:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Here is something that has got lost in the wake of this race, especially since Brad won the Spring race here at Dega: the 2 car hasn't been all that fast on the plate tracks. He was invisible during all 4 events he participated in at Daytona this year, he won Dega cause of a monster push by KyBu and a savvy as hell last lap move after spending 186 laps staring at Kenseth and Biffle's asses, and he was smart in taking the low line in this race to escape the big wreck. He vowed to actually race in this one, and he tried, but he never led a lap and was about 20th when the wreck started. This may have been his biggest test to be truthful. His last two races at Martinsville were actually pretty good until late race spins. And he was good at Phoenix in the Spring. Of course anything can happen so I am not counting anything. I think his two biggest remaining tests, other than having to go toe to toe with that 48 juggernaut, will be this weekend (he was bad in last year's Fall Charlotte after a strong Memorial Day showing, he was good again this Memorial Day but it was hot and it will be cold this weekend) and the unknown of the new pavement at Kansas. As a Brad fan, here is my list of concerns in order for his title run: 1) Anything can happen anytime. Always one small parts failure, one slip by himself or a nearby competitor, one speeding penalty, one anything away from a 38th place finish. 2) That 48 team and their infamous "Go" button or magic wand or whatever you wanna call it. He doesn't have to have trouble to be beaten by that dynasty. 3) The cold Charlotte track. He ran bad in this race last year, and in 2010 had a crappy race even by the crappy standards of that crappy season. 4) The new Kansas pavement. New pavement is always unpredictable. Of course it will be a track position race, so the advantage goes to Paul Wolfe, but you never know. 5) The last 10 laps of Martinsville. His last two trips to Southern Virginia have seen Top 5 runs wiped out in those laps. 6) Kyle Busch. His annual late season meltdown is already well underway, you never know who he will lash out at, and the Texas Truck race last year showed he doesn't give a damn about other's title runs if they don't roll over for him. 319. cjs3872 posted: 10.11.2012 - 12:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Paul, it's a three-car battle now, and Brad holds the key as to how many will be in contention after the race at Charlotte. Remember that Kasey Kahne, at 36 points behind in fourth, is just about a full race behind Brad, and with Martinsville coming up, he needs a miracle to stay up there. Remember that 40 is the most any driver can gain, once the start-and-parks drop out, which would leave about 36 or 37 cars in the race. And there will be races where the maximum number of points a driver can gain will be as little as 38 points due to the number of start-and-parks in a given race, which may be as many as nine. Of those behind the top three, the only one I see with a real chance to sneak up is Bowyer, because he has the speed on the big tracks, and runs well at Martinsville. Kahne has the speed on the big tracks, but he's more likely to struggle at Martinsville, and Jeff Gordon has the opposite problem. His cars are getting fast enough to run in the top five consistently, but not fast enough to lead. 22 laps led in the last seven races, all but one ending up in a top three finish is proof. Where Bowyer is lacking is the experience of his team in this situation. But again, if something happens to Brad at Charlotte, that opens the door for anyone through 11th to sneak back into contention, if the right things happen. But on the other hand, if Brad has a good race and something happens to Jimmie and/or Denny, they'll fall so far behind that won't be able to make it up without help from the #2 team. And with a maximum swing of only 36-40 points possible in a given race, depending on the number of S&P's, the margin you see is important. Anyone 40 points or more behind are just about out of it without help from the leader. In other words, even Denny Hamlin, at 23 points behind in third, is geting close to desperation time. After all, Hamlin is more than half a race behind Keselowski, and if he gets any further behind after Charlotte, his championship dreams may also be dashed. and if Jimmie Johnson falls too much further behind, his hopes will even start to dim, because the most he'll be able to gain would be about 36 points in one race. For instance, anyone trying to run the full race at Martinsville will get nine or ten points, because I expect 8-10 S&P's in that race, and there will probably be at least 6-8 S&P's in every race the rest of the season. That impacts the math, in terms of how many points a driver can gain on the leader for the championship, so there are actually fewer points that can be gained than everyone's saying, because there are about 40-50 points that a trailing driver can't gain, because of the S&P's taking up those spots that might otherwise be taken by a contender that might have early problems, or between 6-10 points per race that are taken by the start-and-parks. So to have a chance to close up on the leader, a driver will have to be closer than what everyone says they have to be. 320. Paul posted: 10.11.2012 - 1:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think the reason why Brad has performed better at Talladega this year has to do with the the fact that even with the changes NASCAR has made to reduce tandem drafting and make pack racing the focal point of these races, it's still much easier to pass at Talladega than Daytona. I'm not sure if it's because the track is wider, smoother, or guys were more willing to take risks at Talladega than Daytona (perhaps all three), but the racing at Daytona this year has been quite reminiscent of 2000 when it was mostly single-file racing and the Fords were always at the front. I think because Talladega is much wider and smoother than Daytona, teams were able to overcome the changes to the 2012 plate track changes (which include smaller radiators and grill openings, slightly bigger restrictor plates, and shorter spoilers) and pass on the outside when hooked up with another car. As a result, the outside line was actually effective and made it so you couldn't just hug the yellow line and dominate the race, which is what Kenseth and Biffle did at both Daytona races this year. As for Brad's record at Charlotte, he recorded his first Charlotte top ten earlier this year with a 5th place finish in the Coca-Cola 600. Charlotte and Texas are very similar to each other (Texas' "dog leg" is shaped at a more obtuse angle than Charlotte's), and since Brad finished in the top five at Charlotte earlier this year, and because Brad got the Dover monkey off his back with his win the other week, maybe his Texas luck will turn around. But with back-to-back finishes outside the top 20 and was largely running outside the top 10 during those two races, I just don't see it happening. But the again, he's got two more 1.5-mile tracks coming up before Texas, so some good runs at the next two tracks (one shaped similarly to Charlotte, the other a newly reconfigured track) could be an indicator as to how well he'll do at Texas. And as for Brad staying out of Kyle's way, I think Kyle should stay out of Brad's way. First off, I think Kyle will be in front of Brad most of the time at these horsepower tracks (the Toyotas have better horsepower, but the Dodges have better fuel mileage. Just ask Kyle, he'll tell you), but by the end one driver's crew chief will make a great adjustment that gets his driver to go from 7th to 4th on the last green flag run, while the other crew chief will somehow irritate his driver and cause him to fall from 3rd to 6th. I'll let you figure out which one I'm talking about. The other reason has to do with Brad's personality. Brad isn't going to roll over for Kyle like Jimmie did at Martinsville two years ago (though he did flip Kyle off while turning, which I think is pretty cool and talented), unless it's very early in the race and his car isn't handling right (which is very likely). If I were Paul Wolfe and I saw Kyle was trying really hard 50 laps into the race to pass Brad, I'd tell Brad to the little prick go and to keep his eyes on the big picture. I'd also tell him that Martinsville is coming up in a few weeks and to not think twice if Kyle tries pulling his weight there. 321. cja posted: 10.11.2012 - 8:46 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Announced today that Dale Eanrhardt Jr will not race at Charlotte and Kansas after suffering a concussion at Talladega, Regan Smith will drive instead. 322. New14 & 88Fan posted: 10.11.2012 - 9:22 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) That caught me by surprise, granted Dale Jr.'s championship hopes were already over but missing two races will certainly put him finishing last in the chase. 323. MarkMartinFan posted: 10.11.2012 - 9:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) A few fans on nascar.com are questioning why Regan Smith, but who really is out there available to Hendrick that is better than Smith? 324. cja posted: 10.11.2012 - 9:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also confirmed that AJ Allmendinger will drive the 51 at Charlotte 325. Smiff_2 posted: 10.11.2012 - 9:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) WOOOOW.....that came out of nowhere! I will say this,though.....I can't wait to see what Regan can do in that car! 326. cjs3872 posted: 10.11.2012 - 10:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) With Dale, Jr. now confirmed out of the next two races (I wonder who the fans will now be pulling for), that will make this Saturday night's race the first without at least one driver named Dale Earnhardt in the field since the 1979 Southern 500 at Darlington. So the naming of Regan Smith to drive the #88 car is a bit ironic, since he won that race last year. But putting Smith in the #88 car may be more than just putting the best driver available in that car. Remember that Smith once drove for Dale Earnhardt, Inc., so he also had previous ties to the Earnhardt family through his past association with DEI. It will be interesting to see what Smith does. Smith also has past ties with Kasey Kahne, as both drove the #38 NNS car several years ago prior to Smith's arrival in the Cup series. It would not surprise me at all, given how good a qualifier Smith has shown to be in a much lesser funded team, to see Smith put that car on the front row. And let's also not forget what happened the last time a driver filled in for a prominent driver that got hurt prior to the fall race at Charlotte. It was a decade ago, and the driver in question won the race n just his second start. That driver was Jamie McMurray, who replaced Sterling Marlin, who led the points for most of the year. And of course, Dale, Jr. led the points for several races prior to the Chase. There are some simliarities between this scenario and the one that took place a decade ago. And if Smith does well this weekend and at Kansas (where Marlin ran his last race in 2002), it might set him up for next year, assuming there's another top-flight car available. But if he flops in the next two races, it might give a good indication of why Furniture Row Racing let him go. Either way, the next two weeks will give us a much better indication of whether Smith can cut it in a top-quality ride, because there's can be no bigger pressure situation than replacing the sport's most popular driver in a car capable of running up front. Kevin Harvick got that test under the most trying of circumstances nearly 11 and a half years ago, and passed it with flying colors. McMurray got his opportunity to replace the popular Marlin, and pssed, again with flying colors. Let's see what Smith can do with this chance of a lifetime. After all, he'll never have a better chance to prove himself capable of racing for a top-notch team in the Cup series, since he'll be driving for the best team in the sport (Hendrick Motorsports) for the next two races. Let's see if he's up to the challenge. 327. Baker posted: 10.11.2012 - 10:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) How awesome would it be if Reagan Smith rips off 2 straight Top 5s or even a win? That would be the ultimate middle finger to FRR 328. BON GORDON posted: 10.11.2012 - 10:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) WOW....Jr. is out of the #88 car the next two races. That sucks. I hope he's okay and look foward to his return. 329. cjs3872 posted: 10.11.2012 - 11:29 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Well, I'm watching Dale, Jr.'s press conference and Dale, Jr. has been racing with this issue for nearly two months. Apparently, he suffered this concussion as a result of his crash at the test at Kansas, which was apparently prior to the race at Atlanta. Remember that he did not run very well at all in that race, and has not run well during the Chase. But what's disturbing to me is that he had already locked up his spot in the Chase, and since he could have missed the races at Atlanta and Richmond and still made the Chase, it made no sense for him to drive those two races while concussed. He could have missed those races, and he would have started the Chase exactly where did anyway, because of the way the points are reset. They could have put another driver in that car for those two races. What NASCAR needs to do is that every time a driver crashes hard, they need to examine a driver for possible concussions, and if he has one, he has to sit out until he's cleared by a NASCAR-appointed doctor. Now if a driver's cleared withing a few days, he might not sit out a race, but any driver that could have a concussion needs to be thoroughly checked before he's allowed to race. After all, a concussed driver is potentially just as much a hazard a driver intoxicated, and for the same reasons. Let's hope this is a wake-up call for more thorough examinations. I also wonder if there's going to be something done about the racing at Daytona and Talladega as a result, because the last lap crash there apparently gave Dale, Jr. another concussion. Concussions this close together could lead to far more serious problems in the future, such as post-concussion syndrome, which in turn could lead to something far, far worse, such as Parkinson's Disease, which Muhammad Ali has suffered from for many years due to all the head trauma he endured from his many years as a boxer, and of course, all the post-retiremnt problems that retired NFL players have, which have resulted in that massive lawsuit the NFL currently faces. One of the players named, former Lions lineman Alex Karras, just died, though it's unclear whether brain injuries had something to do with his death, tohugh othe deaths, such as the deaths of Hall of Fame center Mike Webster, and the suicide of Junior Seau, which I suspect also had something to do with head trauma, though that has not been proven. And there are many others, such as Jim McMahon, who currently suffer from injuries derived from the numerous concussions he suffered in his career, and McMahon is the age that Webster was when he died, so this is an issue that has to be faced in all sports, and NASCAR, because of it's nature, could be one of the sports in the firing line. And NASCAR can no longer allow its drivers to hide concussions, as Dale, Jr. apparenty did after his Kansas crash, just as he did after his crash at Fontana in 2002. Some people just never learn. 330. Scott B posted: 10.11.2012 - 11:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #323... Who else would be avaiable for a temp job that only lasts two weeks? Allmendinger? He gets an audition with Finch out of the deal, his fans should be satisfied with that, considering his situation. Vickers? We've already have seen him in Hendrick equipment, and the results were underwhelming. Beyond those names, it would be a really big stretch for any driver's fans to try to make a case that there guy is more deserving that Reagan Smith. The only other possibility I could even imagine would be David Reutimann, which would require some schedule juggling to free him up (as was done when he subbed for Kurt Busch). 331. Dave #38 Fan posted: 10.11.2012 - 12:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) yeah, smith really is the best driver available. there's some guys in the nationwide race with more talent (like james buescher) but i can see why they'd want a guy with cup experience. and cjs, you mentioned that kasey kahne and regan smith both used to drive the #38 nns car, but you're wrong, none of smith's 102 nationwide starts have been with the #38 car. 332. Anonymous posted: 10.11.2012 - 12:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) *Reads news about Earnhardt on Jayski*... HOLY...SMOKE!! This completely hit me totally out of left field. Anyway, behind all clouds, there is a silver lining, and Regan Smith struck silver. This benefits both Smith and A.J. Allmendinger. 333. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.11.2012 - 12:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Um.......yikes! Definiitely unexpected. I will be pulling for Regan. Since that #88 has more money in its engineering per car budget than FRR has for its entire team, it would be awesome, as many have already mentioned, to show them that he was getting great results for what he had, and that it was them holding him back, not vice versa. But is anyone else wondering if there is a deeper issue here? I have no doubt he is concussed and probably has been for a while, and for all the shit I give him, I don't wanna see anyone hurt and I hope he can recover from this. But the timing is a bit odd. Has me curious. 334. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.11.2012 - 12:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, make sure the track promotors at Charlotte and Kansas have their belts and shoelaces taken away :) (dark humor from a paramedic) 335. NicoRosbergFan posted: 10.11.2012 - 12:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF's a paramedic. No wonder so many guys have died at CMS ;) 336. Bronco posted: 10.11.2012 - 12:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, where to begin with this one? Probably the 2nd most shocking off track news of the year (Allmendinger's drug test was probably #1). Either way its a massive heartbreak for Jr and any fan of his. He began the season with a 2nd in the Daytona 500, finally broke that winless streak at Michigan in June, was consistent as hell each week, even led the points for a bit until that team faltered during the late summer months culminating in the crashes that led him to being unable to race the next two events. To my memory, this is the 5th racing injury that Jr has had, making me wonder how many more he will be able to take. The others were a Busch race at Milwaukee in the 90s where he injured his shoulder, Fontana 2002 when he had a concussion, Dover 2003 when he slapped the wall with the driver's side and was airlifted from the track, the Corvette crash at Sonoma 2004 and now this. Additionally, this is the 4th time in the past three years that a driver has had to miss races for medical reasons. The other 3 incidents were: 1) Brian Vickers having his blood clots issue in May 2010 and sitting out the rest of the year, 2) Trevor Bayne winning the Daytona 500, then getting Lyme disease and winning the Texas Nationwide race in his return 3) Eric McClure having a concussion and internal bleeding after a vicious head on crash at Talladega in the Nationwide race early this year. 337. Anonymous posted: 10.11.2012 - 12:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh, and for all the conspiracy theorists (not necessarily on this site) that say that the concussion story is a front, and that NASCAR is suspending Earnhardt for blasting restrictor-plate racing, I have but two words: TOTAL GARBAGE. If NASCAR was half as crooked as some people (not naming names) say, NASCAR would not suspend its MOST POPULAR DRIVER NINE TIMES RUNNING for speaking out. 338. MarkMartinFan posted: 10.11.2012 - 12:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #330... Vickers wouldn't be available due to his ties with Toyota at MWR. The only drivers that would really be available are Smith and maybe the Turner Motorsports drivers? Doesn't Turner have ties with Hendrick? If they do it'd be one of three talented drivers available: Regan Smith, Justin Allgaier, James Buescher. 339. David posted: 10.11.2012 - 12:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hmm... posts #332 and #337 were me. 340. Eric posted: 10.11.2012 - 1:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs3872, Eric Mcclure had to miss 5 races due to his crash at Talladega earlier this year in the Nationwide series. I don't think what happened to Dale Jr. will change Talladega or Daytona in terms of NASCAR doing something or the ISC do a reconfiguration to the two tracks. NASCAR and ISC has opposed doing a reconfiguration to the track for years and ignored what a few of the cup drivers said several years ago about getting a rid of banking. Cup drivers back in the 1990's had to miss races because of their crashes at Talledga during a race such as Bill Elliott, and Kyle Petty. NASCAR did nothing to the track When Bill got hurt in 1996 there or Kyle Petty in 1991. How NASCAR and ISC responded to Bill Elliott's crash show it they wouldn't change Talladega even if the series most popular driver got hurt like in the case of Bill Elliott in 1996. The only way the racing at Talladega and Daytona is going to change if the fans stop going to the races at those two tracks. 341. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.11.2012 - 1:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hey, I'm not a paramedic in Charlotte. But I gotta say, that was a funny burn Nico :) Now let's discuss the true victims of this Dale Jr announcement. People like me that picked him at Kansas in my race pool. Now I have to use my alternate driver, Ryan Newman. F**k. 342. NicoRosbergFan posted: 10.11.2012 - 1:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) (update) Charlotte entry list: -Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the #6 -Mike Bliss in the #19 -Trevor Bayne in the #21 -Scott Riggs in the #23 -T.J. Bell in the #32 -J.J. Yeley in the #37 -A.J. Allmendinger in the #51 -Epic Swag in the #55 -Kurt Busch in the #78 -Regan Smith in the #88 -Reed Sorenson in the #91 -Scott Speed in the #95 343. Jim Davis posted: 10.11.2012 - 2:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I don't think what happened to Dale Jr. will change Talladega or Daytona in terms of NASCAR doing something or the ISC do a reconfiguration to the two tracks." If they didn't reconfigure the tracks for the death of Dale, Sr. they sure won't do so for a concussion to Dale, Jr. 344. cjs3872 posted: 10.11.2012 - 2:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Eric (#340), I didn't mention Eric McClure because he's not a prominent driver, but I knew that he sat out some races. But his situation was severe enough that he ended up in the hospital for some time, if I remember right. I was talking about every time a driver has a serious crash, and/or if they shows any possible signs that they should be checked out for the possibility of a concussion. Afterall, Dale, Jr. hid his concussion at Kansas from NASCAR officials for nearly six weeks, and that's totally unacceptable, not just from his standpoint, but he also posed a potential safety risk for his competitors. That's a fact that was born from his father's infamous fainting spell at the start of the 1997 Southern 500, when he hit the wall after blacking out. Fortunaely, he was at the back of the field, but had he been around other cars, he would have posed a safety risk. And Dave #38 Fan, I'm thought I remembered Kahne and Smith sharing a Nationwide car years ago. But I just checked, and you're correct. Sorry for the error. But I also think that Smith's past with Earnhardt was a major reason he got the nod for the #88 car. And if Smith performs well, it could be the lauching pad to a very good career, much like Dale Jarrett, whose career was going nowhere until Neil Bonnett's crash at Darlington in 1990 (he'd been released by Cale Yarborough). With Bonnett unable to drive the Wood Brothers' #21 car, Jarrett was called into service, thus effectively beginning a career likely to end up with him joining his father in the Hall of Fame. 345. cjs3872 posted: 10.11.2012 - 2:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No Jim, but it might force a change in the way racing itself is done at Daytona and Talladega, including a possible end to the GWC finishes there, something I've been calling on for years. After all, that crash occurred on a GWC finish. However, I think NASCAR needs to find a way to separate the cars at those tracks, and going back to the 13.5 gallon fuel cells, which I thought was a great idea at thse two tracks, is one of the things that could be considered. Going to something like the old P.A.C.E.R light system that they used to have at Indy in the 1970s, which would separate the cars even under caution, wouldn't be a bad idea for those tracks either, though it would be a terrible idea that would never work anywhere else. Another thing they should do is to eliminate the double file restarts at the end of the race. That would, under most circumstances, keep the track from getting clogged with cars at the plate tracks. But that's an idea that should be adopted circuit-wide, to give those running up front the advantage they've earned. After all, at Martinsville later this month, no driver wants to be second on a restart. They would rather be third, or even fifth, because the huge advantage the inside line offers. But at Bristol, a driver would rather be sixth or third on a reatart because of the advantage the outside line offers. Using single file restarts late in the race would give the drivers that are up front the advantage they've earned through running up there all day. 346. Paul posted: 10.11.2012 - 3:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs, I think you're thinking of Tyler Walker. Walker and Kasey Kahne shared the #38 Nationwide car back in 2005. As for not mentioning Eric McClure's injury earlier this year because he's not a prominent driver, that's a dangerous mindset to be in. Remember, NASCAR lost three young drivers in 2000 and did nothing other than put restrictor plates on the cars at Loudon because they weren't prominent drivers (Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin, Jr., and Tony Roper; Petty had a prominent name, but wasn't a prominent driver when he died) I agree that NASCAR shouldn't have double-file G-W-C restarts at Talladega or Daytona as that's just a recipe for disaster, but don't you think that the G-W-C finishes wouldn't be so bad if they were just single-file restarts, or do you think that they're a recipe for disaster either way? Suddenly Kurt Busch taking Regan Smith's ride at FRR doesn't seem so bad after all. This is Regan's opportunity to prove that it was FRR that was holding him back and not the other way around. A pair of good runs could go a long way and I hope he makes the most of this opportunity. Glad to hear A.J. Allmendinger will be back at least for the time being. Like Regan, this is his chance to show that he can get it done behind the wheel of a Cup car. His situation is a lot different that Regan's, but keeping the car clean these next two weeks and finishing in the top 20-25 is what he should be focused on doing. I'm sorry to hear that Dale Jr. suffered his second concussion in the last two months and that his crash at the Kansas test may be one of the biggest reasons for his bad Chase start. This will snap Junior's 461 consecutive starts streak that began at the '99 season finale at Atlanta. As of right now, that is the 5th longest active consecutive streak in Sprint Cup, behind only Gordon, Labonte, Burton, and Stewart. That said, this is inexcusable on both Junior's part and NASCAR's part for allowing him to race the past six races under his current condition. First of all, Junior, you knew that something was wrong over a month ago after your test crash at Kansas, why did you stay in the car knowing something wasn't right with your physical condition? The timing of his crash couldn't have come at a better time since he would have missed two utterly meaningless races since he was already locked into the Chase, but now he's going to miss two Chase races and will ultimately finish 12th in the standings at season's end. Junior's lucky he didn't black out or start having blurry vision behind the wheel, because then things would have gotten really ugly. So while I'm putting some blame on Junior, I think NASCAR shares just as much responsibility for allowing him to compete under this condition as he is. I don't know if they checked him out after his Kansas crash or how much time they took to be sure about his condition, but they really dropped the ball by letting him race the past six weeks with a concussion (something he also suffered at Fontana in 2002, which they never identified until after the season was over), and now he suffered a second concussion this past week because he never recovered from the first one. Had they checked him out more thoroughly after his Kansas crash and had him sit out the next two meaningless races, I don't think getting caught up in the "Big One" at Talladega affects his psyche or gives him a second concussion. I hope this isn't the case, but I wonder if NASCAR knew about the concussion, but did nothing because Junior sells a lot of tickets, and keeping him out of races might cost them money in ticket and merchandise sales. One example of this happened back in the late '60s/early '70s when the great Chicago Bears linebacker Dick Butkus needed knee surgery on both knees, but team owner George Halas refused to allow his players to get a second opinion on their injuries, and had the team doctor give Butkus painkillers instead. This was done because the Bears were horrible during these years and Butkus was a gate attraction. If Butkus couldn't play, then there were less fans going to Bears games. I sure as heck hope that this isn't the case with Junior's latest concussion, but I can't help but wonder if NASCAR would do something this shady to keep the "cash cow" in the race car. For his sake, I hope Junior sits out the remainder of the season. He has nothing to lose at this point because he'll ultimately finish 12th in the points regardless of whether he returns in two weeks or not, but also for his long-term health, sitting out for four months may be the best thing for him mentally and physically. He's just suffered two concussions in a six week span, so taking some extended time off might just be what he needs to get his body and mind refreshed for next season. And on the business side of things, ticket and merchandise sale may go down briefly as the season winds down, but by the time Daytona rolls around, they'll be back to where they were and maybe a little higher because the fans will want to see Junior in his first race back next season. 347. cjs3872 posted: 10.11.2012 - 4:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No Paul, I say get rid of the GWC finishes on the plate tracks, because it ends in disaster every single time, and on road courses because it takes too long. Back when they had the single file restarts, they had problems getting the two laps in because they would wreck almost every time. (The 2005 Daytona 500 was a rare exception.) And I say get rid of the GWC's on road courses simply because it takes too long (nearly 3-4 minutes, depending on the road course). For instance, a GWC finish at Sonoma would take as almost as long as it would to run about 8-10 laps at Martinsville, Dover, or Richmond, or 10-12 laps at Bristol. That's far too long for a GWC finish. 348. 10andJoe posted: 10.11.2012 - 4:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) How about we get rid of the GWC alltogether? It's a manufactured gimmick. Also, I despise the double-file restarts everywhere, at all times, too. It makes it so that, even above and beyond losing any gap you'd built up when the caution comes out, you can lose the lead to the second- or even third-place car easy-peasey on a restart... 349. Paul posted: 10.11.2012 - 4:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) From what I understand, NASCAR started doing these double-file restarts in late 2009. That was around the time when I began losing interest in NASCAR, so my first memory of seeing these was the 2011 Daytona 500 when David Ragan pulled over in front of Trevor Bayne and was penalized for illegally changing lanes. But I remember watching a video on YouTube of the 2010 Sonoma crash that took out, among others, Martin Truex, Jr.. Truex spoke out against the double-file restarts, but NASCAR did what they do best, which is absolutely nothing productive. I don't like the double-file restarts as I see them as a recipe for disaster, more so than the G-W-C finishes. If there's one type of track that should never have double-file restarts, it's the road courses. Remember, prior to double-file restarts, the road courses were the only tracks that didn't even have lapped cars line up on the inside of the leaders on restarts, and for good reasons too. And as we've seen over the past couple years, they shouldn't be used at restrictor plate races either. All it does is bunch the field up and encourage drivers to take unnecessary risks in an attempt to gain positions on restarts. In the spring Talladega race, Denny Hamlin made a move to the inside of A.J. Allmendinger on a late restart that resulted in a big wreck before the cars even got to turn 1 (in fact, they were still in 3rd gear). Granted, A.J. shouldn't have moved over and blocked Denny in the first place (there's another reason why I can't stand blocking), but the double-file restart is what made Denny have to thread the needle between A.J. and Paul Menard. If it was just a single-file restart, he would have made the pass (provided he got some help along the way) and went on his way. Instead, he tries going between two cars through a hole (not a big hole, but an opening nonetheless) and wound up wrecking all three of them as well as a few others in the process. And let's not forget that the ending to the Martinsville race would have never happened had there not been a double-file restart. Ryan Newman, who restarted 5th and was lined up in 3rd on the inside line (the preferred line at Martinsville), saw an opportunity to go from 5th to 1st by pushing Clint Bowyer into the leaders Gordon and Johnson. Had they just had a single-file restart that day, not only would Newman not had the opportunity to bulldoze his way to the lead (not to mention ruin what was a great race up to that point), but he wouldn't have been motivated to make such a move in the first place. He may have restarted 5th, but with the double-file restarts, he really restarted 3rd because there's really only one line a Martinsville. If the single-file restarts still been in place, he would have legitimately restarted 5th, where he should be. So basically I disagree cjs. I think that while G-W-C finishes are recipes for disaster, it's the double-file restarts that really show how disastrous they can be. 350. Paul posted: 10.11.2012 - 5:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, I agree that they should get rid of them at road courses. Not just because they take forever to run caution laps and then take the restart (the last two laps of Montreal this year must have taken 30-45 minutes), but also the weavy turns just encourage drivers to take risks. Bunching up the field for a 2-lap shootout on a track that already has drivers taking risks going into the corners and trying to out-brake each other is just asking for trouble. We saw at Road America last year and Montreal this year that G-W-C finishes at road courses can be disastrous, especially for the drivers near the front of the field. 351. Eric posted: 10.11.2012 - 5:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs3872, You not mentioning Eric Mcclure because is not a prominent driver is a dangerous mindset to be in. I am mentioning that because that mindset you showed in your statement is why NASCAR lost Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin, Jr., Tony Roper, and Dale Earnhardt Sr. from 2000 to 2001. That mindset of ignoring driver because they are not a big name caused drivers that died when still would be alive today if they didn't ignore the near near death of Jeff Krogh. Adam Petty actually could have he life saved if NASCAR actually did something after Jeff Krogh was in a coma for a month after he suffered a skull fracture from a Busch series practice crash at the Milwaukee Mile in 1999. In 1999 Hans Device was already being use in other racing series, and development for safer barriers was already started even without NASCAR being involved. After Jeff Krough crash, that was the time for NASCAR to force drivers including Dale Sr. to use a head and neck restraint device. I heard about Jeff Krogh's crash while I was at the Milwaukee Mile in 1999 matter of fact. It happened the same weekend Dale Jr. suffered a shoulder injury in practice at the track on the same weekend, but Jeff's wreck was more serious. I was at the track for the Truck and Busch series races that weekend matter of fact. While Jeff Krogh was a nobody and didn't die from a skull fracture he suffered, his crash should have been awake up call in NASCAR, but was ignored for the same reason why you didn't mention Eric Mcclure. 352. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.11.2012 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Amen Eric. The truth is NASCAR doesn't care about anything except the bottom line. And only Dale's death affected the bottom line, which made NASCAR say "uh oh, what if we also lose somebody like Rusty, Mark, Bill, or Jeff?". And I am not gonna take June to task for trying to cover up his initial concussion. All athletes have that mindset of "gotta play". It is just how they are wired. Is it unsafe to themselves and everyone around them? Yes. But that is just how they are, how they always have been, and always will be. If we are gonna admonish June (one of my favorite things to do) for this, we must admoonish everyone. 353. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.11.2012 - 5:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) *admonish. Admoonishing is when you admonish somebody while showing them your bare ass. 354. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 10.11.2012 - 5:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "How about we get rid of the GWC alltogether? It's a manufactured gimmick." Fans wanted GWC because having a race ending under yellow is "stupid, pathetic and dumb." Plus NASCAR had a near riot on there hands at Dega in 2004 when Jeff Gordon won when fans thought Jr. SHOULD have won (which he didn't clearly but the peanut gallery thought otherwise and made NASCAR look bad for the next 20 years) And fans wanted double file restarts too, "it is satuday night short track style, it HAS to be good." Right...................... 355. cjs3872 posted: 10.11.2012 - 5:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No Eric. My not mentioning Eric McClure was because his situation was not a part of my original post on the subject of concussions, although his was severe enough to put him in the hospital for quite some time, and his hit was one of the most vicious I've ever seen at Talladega. McClure's hit once again showed why SAFER barriers must be put on the inside wall EVERYWHERE, because he hit where there was no SAFER barrier, if I remember right. McClure's hit, as well as Jeff Gordon's crash at Chicago also brings up the red herring of sutuck throttles. Paul mentioned the deaths of Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin, Jr., and Tony Roper in 2000. What he forgot to mention about those fatalities was that two of them were caused by stuck throttles, as was Bobby Labonte's scary practice crash at Darlington for the Southern 500, which he won with a back-up car. But you and Paul are right, Eric, not bringing up a driver because of his status sets a dangerous precedent, but it also brings up what Darrell Waltrip said about four or five years ago about drivers being too comfortable with the safety of the cars, and racing thusly. I think this situation may finaly open up the drivers' eyes to the dangers of the sport, because Dale, Jr. is the first Cup driver to be sidelined by a racing-related incident that I know of since Jerry Nadeau in 2003. And it doesn't matter who it is, but because it's Dale, Jr. that is missing at least two races, though some experts including Ricky Craven say it could be the rest of the year, the fact that ANY driver is mising time due to a racing-related incident may finally open up the eye of the drivers who have come into the sport in the last seven or eight years to the dangers involved, and have NEVER had a driver miss a race due to a racing-related incident in their careers. And Paul, I agree that they should get rid of the double-file restarts late in the race (I say the last 10%, depending on the track), which gives some drivers an unfair advantage they haven't earned. However, I have no problem with the GWC finish, except for the plate races and road courses for the reasons mentioned earlier. The only other thing I'd change there is to go back to the old rule of one, and only one attempt, though GWC's have rarely been a problem outside the plate tracks and road courses, because they usually go off without incident, though the Martinsville spring race in two of the last three years have been an acute exception to that rule. 356. NicoRosbergFan posted: 10.11.2012 - 5:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Don't forget what happened to Jeff Purvis AFTER the HANS device became mandatory... Regan Smith 7th in practice; good start for him. 357. DaleSrFanForever posted: 10.11.2012 - 6:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Actually I think McClure hit SAFER barriers. But Gordon didn't at Vegas in '08 and it made that season as well as the next two write offs, just him out there trying to heal up driving at 75%, much like Dale from the Summer of '96 thru '99. 358. Paul posted: 10.11.2012 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I know the story of Regan filling in for Dale Jr. for the next two races (hopefully the next six races) is big news, but I'll admit I'm surprised how much ESPN was covering him and the #88 team in practice today, and it's a pleasant surprise. I know it's arguably the biggest story of the year in NASCAR, but it still caught me off guard. I don't mind though. Regan is just one of those guys who isn't hated by anybody and it's good to see him get some attention. There's too many drivers today who get a lot of coverage that I can't stand, so this is a breath of fresh air. DSFF, I understand that athletes have the mindset of playing through the pain. I myself did that on a number of occasions in my football days, even playing with a broken thumb once (not very smart when you're an offensive lineman). But I think the circumstances of Junior's playing with a concussion is much different than when a "stick & ball" sport athlete plays with a concussion. In other sports, you're only hurting yourself when you play hurt. In Junior's case, not only is he not doing himself any favors by playing hurt, but he's endangering other drivers at the same time. As a race car driver, he's driving a 3,500 pound car at around 175 MPH, sometimes 2 or 3 cars wide; one false move, and that 3,500 pound car becomes a 3,500 pound weapon that can take out anyone within a certain radius. Add in the fact that the driver behind the wheel has a concussion and is at risk of possibly blacking out or having his vision go blurry and you have a hazard on the race track that the other drivers and crew members have to be wary about. Because of that, I think Junior staying on the track and playing hurt is far and away more dangerous than a football or basketball player playing hurt. Imagine if last week Junior blacks out behind the wheel the same way his father did at the '97 Southern 500, and he takes out a dozen cars. Then when they go to check on him, they find out that he blacked out (with a possibility of injuring other parts of his anatomy), and later discover that he was driving while concussed. Junior is sure lucky that that didn't happen, because if it did, he may not be welcomed back by his fellow drivers because they may not want to race around someone who knowingly drove injured and could have injured one of them in the process. I remember back in July '09 when Mayfield was briefly reinstated from his suspension, and Jeff Burton and others mentioned that they were uncomfortable with the idea of driving around somebody who may or may not be in good condition behind the wheel. Had Junior blacked out and crashed at Talladega last week (or any track for that matter), I feel he would be looked at the same way. That said, I hope he takes the rest of the year off because with potentially dangerous tracks like Martinsville (remember Truex's stuck throttle last year?), Texas (high-speed track with fast quad oval and tricky turn 2), and Homestead (very fast banked oval) left on the schedule, not to mention the fact that he's out of contention for anything higher than 12th place, I wouldn't risk putting him back onto the track. cjs mentioned that Ricky Craven (who also has a history with concussions, and as we all know, he needed FAR more than 2 weeks off) mentioned that Junior could be out the rest of the year. I hope so because with his long-term health on the line, finishing out a season that's already over for him championship-wise seems utterly meaningless. I think the "he'll miss two weeks" thing is just false hope anyways, and I hope that's the case. 359. Bronco posted: 10.11.2012 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I think this situation may finaly open up the drivers' eyes to the dangers of the sport, because Dale, Jr. is the first Cup driver to be sidelined by a racing-related incident that I know of since Jerry Nadeau in 2003." Ricky Rudd crashed hard at the Sept 2007 Fontana race, forcing him to miss the next 5 races with Kenny and Mike Wallace (at Talladega) subbing for him. I really hope he gets back at Martinsville, rather than sitting out the rest of the season and returning for the 2013 Daytona 500 like Craven says. AJ Allmendinger has now replaced Kurt Busch at his last two rides. Pulling for Regan Smith for the next two races. History says that sub drivers rarely do well, (McMurray nonwithstanding) but we'll see. 360. Paul posted: 10.11.2012 - 6:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, Eric McClure did in fact hit the SAFER barriers on the inside wall, but what's scary is that about 20 feet further down the track there were NO SAFER barriers. I don't understand why NASCAR and these tracks are adding SAFER barriers year-by-year, rather than just installing them all at once to prevent a "Gordon at Vegas '08" crash again. And just to add-on to what you were saying, what Gordon and Earnhardt were able to do over the next few years despite not being at 100% is pretty remarkable. While Gordon only won one race the next three years, he was still a contender on a regular basis and even finished 3rd in the points in '09. I think what hurt Earnhardt most is that the year after his Talladega crash, RCR expanded to two teams and were falling behind Hendrick and Roush in terms of performance. That said, I don't think any other driver could have finished top five in points that year, win the Daytona 500 the year after, and then win five races in his final two years after having to deal with such adversity. You can't coach that. 361. cjs3872 posted: 10.11.2012 - 6:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bronco, I completely forgot about Rudd, but maybe that's because he was at the end of the road, and had no business in that car, though not for health reasons. And there's an irony here. Rudd, just like Dale, Jr., drove the #88 car (for Robert Yates Racing). But just two drivers having to sit out races in a 9-year span is certainly much better than it used to be. Andthere's a difference betwen Smith now and McMurray then, and that is Smith has six years of Cup experience, where as in 2002, McMurray had never driven a Cup car before being inserted into the #40 Ganassi Racing car. The question about Smith in the #88 car is will he be aggressive enough to run up front, because Smith's always been kown as one of the more conservative drivers on the circuit. And by the way, speaking of Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Gordon, not Jimmie Johnson or Kasey Kahne, was the fastest among the Chevrolet drivers in practice in a mild surprise, though I expect the #5 and #48 cars to be the best among the Hendrick Chevrolets Saturday night, if not best Chevrolets, period. The fact that Gordon was the fastest among the Chevrolet drivers again begs the question about the rear axle alignment rules change at the start of the Chase playing into the #24 team's hands, because Gordon's team was not running the radical setups his teammates were. Could that be playing right into the #24 team's hands in the Chase, because it certainly appears to be. 362. Dave #38 Fan posted: 10.11.2012 - 6:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) if, at any point in the last six races, had dale jr., hypothetically, blacked out from his head injury (which he knew, or at least suspected, that he had), and caused injury to that driver, we might have seen the first case of a driver suing another driver because of an on track incident, or maybe even a driver vs. nascar lawsuit. now that would have interesting. a driver vs. driver lawsuit, if it ever happens, opens up a whole can or worms about where the line should be drawn. could michael waltrip sue tony stewart for intentionally blocking him last week at talladega? could any of the dozen or so owners who had cars destroyed in that wreck sue tony stewart for causing the wreck that cost their property hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage? 363. David posted: 10.11.2012 - 6:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I just did the numbers, and the streak of having at least one Earnhardt in the Cup race ran from the 1979 Capital City 400 to the 2012 Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500, which was 1073 consecutive races. 364. cjs3872 posted: 10.11.2012 - 6:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Right David. As I mentioned in post #326, this will be the first race in the Cup series without at least one driver named Dale Earnhardt since the 1979 Southern 500 at Darlington. Ironically, Earnhardt's replacement in that race, David Pearson, won that race. 365. David posted: 10.11.2012 - 7:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, I just wanted to put a number on it. 366. Eric posted: 10.11.2012 - 7:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bronco, I don't know if it a good idea at this point to have Dale Jr. race at Martinsville. It depends on where Dale Jr. is at and the second thing is Ricky Craven knows a lot about rushing back from concussions. Ricky Craven's career was hurt by concussions and he did race with post concussion syndrome for a couple races in 1998. When it comes to concussions, Ricky Craven probably knows the most about that subject out the drivers. He raced with concussions in 1996 and 1997 even. People to this day think Ricky Suffered a concussion at Talladega in 1996 because he wasn't the same driver rest of that season. Before his Talledega crash, his worse finish was 17th out of 8 races, but only finished in the top 15 2 times after that crash in 1996. 367. Benjamin Lowe posted: 10.11.2012 - 7:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hey while we are on the subject lets bring up the fact that a bunch of pro wrestlers have suffered from concussions the most infamous case being Chris Benoit. 368. Jim Davis posted: 10.11.2012 - 7:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "a driver vs. driver lawsuit, if it ever happens, opens up a whole can or worms about where the line should be drawn." I strongly suspect that a driver waives any right to sue for on track mishaps as a prerequisite for competing. 369. 10andJoe posted: 10.11.2012 - 8:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) >I agree that they should get rid of the double-file restarts late in the race (I say the last 10%, depending on the track) Or simply the last 10 laps, which was the rule before they went to the double-file restarts with regards to lining up the lap-down cars on the inside. 370. eric posted: 10.11.2012 - 8:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Benjamin Lowe, One of the message boards I belong to does have a former professional wrestler that is a message board member also. No, I don't belong to a wrestling board. That person never made it to the big time, but wrestled the minor levels of professional wrestler and had to quit because of concussions. By what that person said, he still suffers from affects caused by concussions like not able to remember well. That person is in his mid or late 30's only. That person even made the comment if he even back in time, he would tell his younger self to go into a different profession. The injuries the professional wrestlers get are real despite pro wrestling itself is fake. Chris Beniot is a different case than most professional wrestlers besides being murder. From what I gathered he wanted his matches to be realistic to an extreme. When a lot of the wrestlers that do chairshots to the head are fake,but Chris wanted those to be more realistic and make his head butts look real also. 371. JMAX posted: 10.11.2012 - 11:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) How ironic is that AJ Allmendinger replaced Kurt Busch after Busch left Penske, then AJ replaces Kurt again after Busch leaves James Finch? 372. JAMIE88FAN posted: 10.12.2012 - 6:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great race till the big one in the end sorry to here JR will miss the next two races ... But I have to say old front row joe puts a extra car in the show but dosnt atleast race one of them ... Joe give up you are a joke of the sport I hope your team goes belly up... 373. 13 posted: 10.12.2012 - 6:11 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) between the last two plate races Brad Keselowski has gained 104 points on the leader pretty good i would say so this is using there non chase points list 374. RaceFanX posted: 10.15.2012 - 12:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor: #15 Clint Bowyer- Pink Lemonade 5-hour Energy / Avon Foundation (same for Charlotte in the next race, both are on the hood although Avon is much smaller) For the October 2012 races the red trim on Bowyer's black #15 Toyota turned pink as part of a tie-in promotion where 5-hour Energy was making a donation to the Avon Foundation based on how bottles of a special pink lemonade-flavored version of their energy shots they sold. 375. RaceFanX posted: 10.15.2012 - 12:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I can't believe Jamie Mac didn't finish, his car lost a piece of its front bumper guard from its spin late but otherwise looked undamaged. Something else must have been wrong internally. 376. JDD posted: 10.15.2012 - 12:36 am Rate this comment: (3) (0) Michael Waltrip was going to win if Tony Stewart did not block. He did it to Regan Smith and had NASCAR give him the win he did not deserve. I am surprised they did not penalize everyone and give him this win. No wonder the fans are leaving this sport. Why is it when Michael has a good run or wins a plate race (been awhile), it's "oh, it's just a plate race, no big accomplishment' But if an Earnhardt wins or runs well, it's "What an amazing talent?" Remember when Dale Jr switched crews at DEI to prove it was Waltrip and not the car that did not perform as well as himself? Waltrip had one of his best seasons ever and Jr had one of his worse. I like Jr, just hate the bias fans have. 377. Anonymous posted: 02.16.2013 - 12:10 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) David Ragan pulls a Houdini act and somehow emerges from the wreckage mid-pack to finish 4th 378. ch posted: 07.16.2013 - 8:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor for the #30 should be Swan Energy for consistency. 379. Mannoroth posted: 04.28.2014 - 8:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch wasn't involved in last crash. He sneaked through and finished 3rd. 380. TTF24 posted: 06.16.2014 - 12:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Uh-Oh There's contact Stewart in the middle of the pack neeeeeeee slide bam and a huge wreck to end this race Matt Kenseth is the winner. 381. Big Mac Fan posted: 10.04.2015 - 10:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The entire field got owned. 382. Ed posted: 12.01.2015 - 12:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't think the 18 got any part of that last-lap chaos 383. Jack Johnson posted: 01.09.2016 - 10:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) Can You Please List The Drivers Involved In That Big Pile Up On The Final Lap Of This Race In Order By Number? Please Remember Not To Include Jeff Gordon On The List & I Don't Believe That Kyle Busch Got A Piece Of It So I Believe That A Total Of 24 Cars & Not 25 Cars Were Involved In That Big Pile Up On The Final Lap Of This Race. 384. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 05.12.2016 - 7:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor Update #33 Little Joe's Autos/Ingersoll Rand 385. Braindead Zombie posted: 05.12.2016 - 1:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) If that last lap wreck didn't happen, either Michael Waltrip or Casey Mears probably would've won. That would've been pretty cool. 386. Mannoroth posted: 03.31.2017 - 1:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 382. and 383. That's exactly what I said nearly 3 years ago, but they still haven't fixed it... Dale Earnhardt Jr. nearly hit Kyle Busch, but Kyle didn't have a scratch on his car. 387. Anonymous posted: 09.10.2018 - 2:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) In light of Dale Jr.'s interview that came out this week, I think we can all cut him some slack for being injured and angry ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: