|| *Comments on the 2013 Kobalt Tools 400:* First Page | Previous Page | Next Page | Last Page | View All On One Page View the most recent comment | Post a comment <#post> 1. Kenny posted: 03.08.2013 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (3) (4) well hey again guys hears hoping Jemmie has issues(witch they probably won't)seeing how that hole team seems to be touched by the hand of GOD GO JR!!!!!!! 2. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.08.2013 - 6:52 pm Rate this comment: (4) (1) What a lap by Brad! Nobody drove faster than him today :) 3. joey2448 posted: 03.08.2013 - 6:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I said this already on the Phoenix Cup page, but why did they cancel qualifying two hours before it was even supposed to start? Looking at the radar, there was supposed to be an area of clear skies after the rain came through. 4. Paul posted: 03.08.2013 - 6:56 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) I'll just say this before somebody asks: No, Brad does not qualify for the 2014 Sprint Unlimited just because he'll be starting this race from the pole. 5. joey2448 posted: 03.08.2013 - 6:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) HOLY COW! I just noticed that the webmaster has included the winning odds of every driver! Nice! 6. Paul posted: 03.08.2013 - 7:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Haha. Brad is actually tied among active drivers for the most starts at Las Vegas without a lead lap finish (4). I wonder if he'll break that streak this weekend. 7. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 03.08.2013 - 7:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Another single file aero parade on Sunday should help cure my Insomnia. 8. Kenny posted: 03.08.2013 - 7:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Paul I was wondering that thx for answering my question before I asked it :) 9. Baker posted: 03.08.2013 - 7:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I didn't watch the race Sunday and I don't plan on watching this garbage sport until at least the Southern 500. I read that Denny Hamlin is getting fined for his post race interview because of his comments about bad racing. NASCAR is getting over the top with their cowardly fines. Everyone knows the racing sucks you cannot fine a driver for saying instead how about you try harder to improve it. After this latest display of piss poor leadership I may not even return to watch this garbage when the Southern 500 roles around. Until new leadership is in place at the top I might just be done with NASCAR for good. I really wish the WoO and USAC could strike a big TV deal soon. 10. Mr X posted: 03.08.2013 - 7:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Danica Patrick: 300:1. Haha! At least somebody somewhere outside of this site see's her talant relative to this field. Wake me up when Vegas is over. 11. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 03.08.2013 - 8:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) F1 back next weekend thank god, and Bristol and Martinsville. So we have some things to look forward to until they get these cars sorted out. 12. Paul posted: 03.08.2013 - 8:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Danica Patrick: 300:1." I was watching Race Hub the other day and they were making a few bets as to who would win the race. Long story short, they gave Danica a 2x greater chance of winning than Jamie McMurray, who, while not with the best of teams in the sport, actually knows how to win races, especially when the money is on the line. What a joke. "I really wish the WoO and USAC could strike a big TV deal soon." The more racing on TV the better. It's a shame that SPEED decided to show a lot of infomercials and reality shows, rather than add more racing shows to its schedule the past few years. I'll be glad when they get re-branded as Fox Sports 1 in August so that we'll at least get another college football channel on the airwaves. Plus, FS1 will be broadcasting games from the Pac-12 Conference, so I'll be able to watch the UCLA Bruins more frequently. 13. Kenny posted: 03.08.2013 - 8:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There doing away with speed!?!?!?!? 14. Schroeder51 posted: 03.08.2013 - 8:48 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Bring on Bristol. Vegas is one of the dullest races on the calendar (just another mile-and-a-half track...again, just WHY does NASCAR love that type of track so much?) and seeing the bad rap the new Gen 6 cars already have...I have very low expectations for this race. Danica at 300-1 odds to win this race...honestly, I'm shocked they didn't consider her a favorite to win the race and give her much higher odds, seeing the excessive hype she has...Nice to see that people in Vegas actually seem to realize she isn't all that great. 15. 83andJoe posted: 03.08.2013 - 8:53 pm Rate this comment: (5) (0) Indeed, SPEED becomes Fox Sports 1 on August 17th. What we need is to band together, buy the rights to the old TNN racing footage, graphics, and music (heck, the name too, since the last attempt to resurrect TNN seems to have died with a whimper) and start our own all-racing network. Start by grabbing the full season of ARCA, every race live, and go from there. Get the Snowball Derby while we're at it, too - the All-American 400, that 300 miler they run at Jefco, the Pete Orr Memorial, WoO, Saturday Night Thunder, IndyCar's Iowa heat races...heck, Let's Make A Deal to air V8 Supercars live late at night US time. There's a LOT of racing out there that people want to see. Speedvision realised that. Fox decided reality shows were better... 16. Kenny posted: 03.08.2013 - 9:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If speed well be gone soon how well we watch practice sessions and qualifying then? 17. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.08.2013 - 9:43 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) If they aired too many WoO or USAC races, then we couldn't have such quality programming such as Are You Faster Than A Redneck. I am from the South and consider myself somewhat of a redneck. I also love old American muscle cars and roll my eyes when I see these jacked up foreign cars with the COTesque spoilers. With that said I REFUSE to EVER watch that show. 18. 1995z71 posted: 03.08.2013 - 9:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also included in that 300:1 category is Bobby "Why Am I Still Here" Labonte. 19. Daniel posted: 03.08.2013 - 9:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nationwide qualifying also cancelled. If there are more cars than starting positions, then qualifying should be a priority over practice. 20. Paul posted: 03.08.2013 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "Bobby "Why Am I Still Here" Labonte." If he isn't a chicane, is able to positively contribute in the growth of a smaller team, is capable of having a few good runs every year, and has a likable personality, I say "Why not?". It's not like there are many young drivers that are Cup ready that are being held back by Bobby being in the #47 car. No harm, no foul. I still think he would do better than Jeff Burton in the #31 car at this point anyways. 21. Paul posted: 03.08.2013 - 10:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Haha, an RCR car (Brendan Gaughan) DNQ'd for the Nationwide race, while field fillers like Morgan Shepherd, Mike Harmon, and Jamie Dick make the race. Love it. Serves him right for being a dick in his post-crash interview at Daytona. I also love that Kevin Swindell was interviewed on Race Hub the other day and said that he would be attending a party tonight prior to the race. Since he DNQ'd, I'm not sure if he'll still be partying it up under the circumstances (a la Rob Gronkowski after the Patriots lost the Super Bowl a couple years ago), or instead drink his sorrows away. Eh who am I kidding, of course he's partying it up. Oh, and The Motorsports Group elected to put Josh Wise (not eligible for points) in the #40 car this weekend instead of Chase Miller (who is eligible for points), and Miller winds up DNQ'ing. Ugh, serves them right for not giving Miller a chance to race for the first time since 2008. 22. Paul posted: 03.08.2013 - 10:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Whoops. Morgan Shepherd wasn't even entered for the Nationwide race. Shame, he might have made it had he entered. 23. murb posted: 03.08.2013 - 10:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Start by grabbing the full season of ARCA, every race live, and go from there. Get the Snowball Derby while we're at it, too - the All-American 400, that 300 miler they run at Jefco, the Pete Orr Memorial, WoO, Saturday Night Thunder, IndyCar's Iowa heat races...heck, Let's Make A Deal to air V8 Supercars live late at night US time." Don't forget the full Modified schedule!!!! I was very impressed with last week's Phoenix race, but I am absolutely expecting the worst this weekend. I honestly can't remember seeing a good Vegas race on the new configuration (except for some of the Truck races). So when you couple the blandness of the racetrack with the (probably) blandness that the Gen 6 will bring, we could be in for a lot of naps this weekend. How fitting... 24. Jim Davis posted: 03.08.2013 - 10:11 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "It's not like there are many young drivers that are Cup ready that are being held back by Bobby being in the #47 car." Not many, maybe, but there are some. Justin Allgaier springs to mind as being one of them. 25. Paul posted: 03.08.2013 - 10:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Don't forget the full Modified schedule!!!!" I used to never really care about the Modifieds, but after seeing that race at Daytona last month, I'm looking forward to seeing some more Modified races. Great finish, lots of beatin' & bangin', and tons of emotion from "those damn yankees." Love it! "(except for some of the Truck races)." I'm still amazed that Nelson Piquet, Jr. made that last lap pass over Matt Crafton at Vegas last year. I don't know. I still have optimism about this race, but then again I didn't watch the test session yesterday. I'll wait to pass judgement once the race begins. 26. Paul posted: 03.08.2013 - 10:17 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Justin Allgaier springs to mind as being one of them." Allgaier regressed last season (though not that much), both in terms of performance and the way he drove on track. There's a reason why he hasn't gotten a shot at Cup yet, and I think it has a lot to do with his sometimes erratic driving style. It's one thing to make Kurt Busch mad at you on the track, but to make Trevor Bayne mad at you too? Not good. I still think that he has Cup potential, but he really needs to prove himself this season. So far, so good. 27. 83andJoe posted: 03.08.2013 - 10:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) >Oh, and The Motorsports Group elected to put Josh Wise (not eligible for points) in the #40 car this weekend instead of Chase Miller (who is eligible for points), and Miller winds up DNQ'ing Wrong. Wise is running for Nationwide points this year. 28. 83andJoe posted: 03.08.2013 - 10:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) >Don't forget the full Modified schedule!!!! Which one? North or South? Heck, let's try for both. K&N West and East, too, although some will have to be SDD. Hey, I wonder if Rick Benjamin is still around to do RaceDay on Sunday mornings... 29. Anonymous posted: 03.08.2013 - 10:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (3) Can someone tell me why the comment pages for NASCAR races have turned into like a live discussion of the entire week leading up to the race? I mean there's a R-R forum set up on this site where you guys can discuss everything about current NASCAR and stuff, and there would be benefits to using the forum, such as your own unique user account and being able to track your posts, and separate topics for whatever discussion. Some of these race pages have like 1000+ comments...I've always thought of the race comments section as a place reserved for interesting and relevant things related to the race, such as some statistic, fact or something we may have missed or didn't know. 30. cjs3872 posted: 03.08.2013 - 11:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 83andJoe, speaking of SpeedVision, I'll soon be putting up some of he clssic race films they aired on my YouTube channel, such as the old Indy 500: The Classics series, as well as the races from the late 50s through the mid 60s, and 1971 from the special that Brock Yates hosted celebrating the changes Indy went through during that period. I also hope to upload the classic Southern 500s, as well as some of the World 600s they did. I also plan to incorporate that into some of the old ABC Indy broadcasts form the late 60s and 70s, like I did with the 1973 race, as well as upload the Daytona 500s, some of which being more complete than ever, like the races from 1974, '76 (with my own host segment detailing what happened from laps 20-140), '83, and '89. 31. MarkMartinFan posted: 03.08.2013 - 11:03 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Matt Kenseth could become the 3rd driver to win on his birthday. 32. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.08.2013 - 11:07 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Don't forget the full Modified schedule!!!!" That is an awesome idea Nico murb :) Seriously though, I love the Mods. 33. Benjamin Lowe posted: 03.09.2013 - 12:04 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) I am going to make a NASCAR/Football Comparison by Comparing Bill France Jr to Paul Brown. Brian France to Mike Brown and NASCAR to the Cincinnati Bengals. 34. Paul posted: 03.09.2013 - 12:18 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Nah. Comparing Brian France to Mike Brown is an insult...to Mike Brown! At least he knows can pat himself on the back for that brilliant trade he made with Carson Palmer. (With my foolish Raiders falling for Palmer's fading star.) I'd say Bill France, Jr. is more like Don Shula and Brian France is like Dave Shula (who coached the Bengals). The only difference being that Dave Shula knew he sucked and left football, while Brian France is still a cancer to NASCAR. 35. Talon64 posted: 03.09.2013 - 12:23 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Allgaier regressed last season (though not that much), both in terms of performance and the way he drove on track. There's a reason why he hasn't gotten a shot at Cup yet, and I think it has a lot to do with his sometimes erratic driving style. It's one thing to make Kurt Busch mad at you on the track, but to make Trevor Bayne mad at you too? Not good. I still think that he has Cup potential, but he really needs to prove himself this season. So far, so good." David Smith would completely disagree with that. 36. Paul posted: 03.09.2013 - 12:57 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "David Smith would completely disagree with that." You're gonna have to be more specific because I made three different points about Allgaier in my post; one positive, two negative. Also, believe it or not David Smith fans, his opinions and statistics are not the "be all and end all" of how successful drivers are. All of his formulas are based off of a driver's finishing position, and it's easy to have solid finishes on a weekly basis when you're on the best non-Cup team in the series with fewer Cup drivers in the field compared to the year before. Allgaier fell from 3rd in the points in 2011 to 6th in 2012, getting beat by two drivers who had never run the full Nationwide schedule (Hornish and Dillon) and by a team that didn't exist a month before the season started (Annett). Plus, he made numerous boneheaded moves throughout the season, including his epic missed braking point at Road America, getting into a shoving match with Kurt Busch on lap one of the Dover race, wrecking himself while trying to retaliate against Austin Dillon at Bristol, making Trevor Bayne (this generation's Terry Labonte) mad at him over an on-track incident (I forget which race at which that occurred), and winning at Montreal out of pure dumb luck when he accidentally rammed into Villeneuve's car on the final lap. Here's a statistic for you: After improving his total laps led by almost 5x from the year before (36 in 2011, 168 in 2012), adding two top tens to his total (17 in 2011, 19 in 2012), decreasing his total number of DNFs (3 in 2011, 2 in 2012), and increasing his number of lead lap finishes (24 in 2011, 27 in 2012), all of which in a season with one fewer race than the year before and fewer Cup drivers running the majority of the schedule, Justin Allgaier dropped three positions in the standings, his average finish dropped (albeit only slightly), and he completed over 300 fewer laps from the season before. Despite being faster than he was in 2011, Allgaier made too many mistakes to capitalize on this new speed. I think he has a lot of talent, and he should make it to Cup one day; but he has to tone it down a little on the track and learn to capitalize on his fast cars, as Turner has improved each season in terms of speed in the Nationwide Series. I like what I'm seeing from him so far this season, and I think his 3rd place finish (almost 2nd) at Phoenix was one of the most impressive runs of the season in the entire series so far. I've been critical of Allgaier because I want to see him succeed and make it to Cup, and if he continues to post runs the rest of the season like he did last weekend, he could be a candidate for a Cup ride in 2014. 37. cjs3872 posted: 03.09.2013 - 1:16 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Paul, that was at Nashville a few years ago when Justin Allgaier made Trevor Bayne mad at him, and I still don't believe those two get along, at least on the track. But I will say this about Allgaier. That win at Montreal last year, when he rammed Villeneuve on the last lap, possibly as payback for Villeneuve wrecking Alex Tagliani, who was a teammate of Allgaier in that race, may have been a little payback for what happened to him at Road America the year before, because that was one of the cruelest turns of fate I've seen in a race in years. (He ran out of fuel under caution when he only had to complete that lap to win the race after the third failed GWC in that race.) But perhaps the fact that Allgaier has a tendancy to get other drivers mad at him, even teammates (remember the situation with Reed Sorenson at Atlanta in 2011 that also caught up Bayne?), may be why he didn't stay at Penske, or why Penske didn't go the lengths to keep him, because there may have been something about Allgaier's personality/attitude that Penske didn't like, and if there's something about a driver that Roger Penske doesn't like, that may send a red flag to every other potential team about a driver, because as we've seen, Penske may be the most loyal car owner to his drivers. 38. Paul posted: 03.09.2013 - 1:33 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) To this day, Reed Sorenson still has no idea why he was released by Turner Motorsports while running 3rd in the points in 2011 (which would have been a career best points finish for him in Nationwide). Based on Reed's interview after his Atlanta wreck and then again the following week at Richmond, I think he had a talk with Allgaier after Atlanta, possibly shouting at him as well (although I'm not sure since Reed is a pretty laid back guy). Steve Turner probably saw that these two's relationship was badly damaged and didn't want that type of tension on his team, and decided to dump Sorenson because his sponsor (Dollar General) wasn't returning, while Allgaier's sponsor (Brandt) was returning for 2012. If that was the reason for Sorenson's release, I can understand it because Turner seems more content with having calmer drivers that can all get along and develop together, and wouldn't want two drivers that weren't getting along. But I still think Sorenson go the raw end of that deal because he was running better than Allgaier that season, and wound up without a ride for most of 2012. 39. Paul posted: 03.09.2013 - 1:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Okay that's what I though, cjs, because Allgaier did dump Bayne at Nashville when they were both running in the top five. I was a confused as to which race you were referring to because I thought you were referring to tension between them that started last season, but that makes more sense (if there is indeed tension between the two). 40. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.09.2013 - 1:38 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Yeah Ben, how could you insult Mike Brown like that :) I still think Allgaier should have been put in the 22 car instead of Logano, but Brad had other ideas. Although I agree with the points being made about him, I want to see new blood given a shot, I have never been a fan of recycled drivers being picked up after being discarded by another team (unless that team is run by an idiot like JD Stacy or that driver was fired in a moment of vengeful impulse by somebody like Cotton Owens, hard to believe both Pearson and Earnhardt were once technically "recycled drivers"). But teams are much more sophisticated nowadays. Give somebody new a chance. One other thought on Allgaier: maybe his recklessness last year was done out of necessity. Maybe he could see he was losing his stock as a promising future Cup superstar to other drivers with money and connections. Maybe he watched Brad's ascent to the stratosphere, somebody who likewise was once certainly on the outside looking in, somebody who had some stock, but not a whole lot even after his stunning Dega '09 win. Hendrick wanted him, but not enough to really do anything despite having 4 teams and other opportunities with SHR. He wouldn't give Mark the boot after their one year deal was up (instead giving all his good crew members to June), and when Stewart scoffed at starting a third team for the talented youngster, something he would do a year later for princess sparkle pony and her GoDaddy money, he pretty much just let Brad go. But he kept asserting himself, got his foot in the door with Penske in the moribund #12 car, endured a miserable 2010 season but built up a good team in NWide with Paul Wolfe, landed the coveted Miller money, already has a Cup title and may very well be in the infancy of a dynasty. Maybe Justin said "I am going nowhere, I can either fight or fade quietly away". 41. Benjamin Lowe posted: 03.09.2013 - 1:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Very well then how about I compare Brian France to Barack Obama. 42. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.09.2013 - 2:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why do I get the sinking feeling Brian France has something to do with this "sequestering" bullshit? Is it because, after 10 years, I automatically think "Brian France" when I hear "bullshit". Much like Obama, Brian France doesn't have to pay for his inadequacies. The fans of Brian's sport have to pay the price just like the people they are supposed to be serving are paying the price for the inability of Obama and all the Washington politicians to get diddly squat done. Somehow, the automatic budget cuts (so our country is finally being run by robots?) don't affect any politician's salary, benefits, private plane budget, or security task forces. They only affect the working class. Everytime I see footage of Obama and that Republican guy who is opposing him on this deal, I imagine the Ultimate Warrior's music suddenly blaring, him running in, clotheslining both, gorilla press slamming both, hitting both with the Big Splash, then running out. 43. Benjamin Lowe posted: 03.09.2013 - 2:19 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) I say we should banish Brain France, Lisa France Kennedy, Barack Obama and every useless politican to the frozen wastes of Antarctica. 44. Paul posted: 03.09.2013 - 2:51 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) I see what you're saying DSFF. Allgaier was actually in a contract year last season, and wasn't re-signed by Turner until December or January, so he probably just went "balls to the wall" and tried to be more aggressive on the track in order to get the best finish he could. Unfortunately, in the words of Kurt Busch, he's not very good at being bad, and wound up looking foolish at times last season. But I like what I've seen from him so far, and while his teammate Kyle Larson got all of the attention last weekend while battling Jimmie Johnson for 12th place, I thought Allgaier had the most impressive run of the day as he was in the top five for most of the race and almost got around Brad for 2nd towards the end. I actually like Allgaier and I'm pulling for him to have a great season and spark some interest among some Cup teams for 2014 (possibly Phoenix Racing), and it's almost a shame to see him in his 5th full-time Nationwide season, as he's now being overlooked by the other young guns of the Nationwide Series. If last season was indeed a statement year for Allgaier by his change in driving style, this year has to be his redemption year in terms of getting better results on track, and maybe even contending for the championship. He probably has the second-best chance at winning the Nationwide title among the non-Cup team drivers (after Regan Smith), and it's a good sign for him to be 2nd in points after two races. "(so our country is finally being run by robots?)" In that case, half of the Cup drivers would make good politicians. I'm pretty sure that Jeff Burton will enter politics once his racing career is over, and I think Jimmie Johnson would make a "good" politician as well. Think about it: He went from rags to riches, has lost touch with his roots and could definitely be seen at a country club, is the best in his profession, acts like a robot, is part of an organization that cheats, has a lot of sponsorship/donor money to support his campaign, and is firmly pro-establishment. He's everything that I hate about our current flock of politicians, and therefore he would make a perfect politician. Plus, he's a staunch conservative as seen from some of his tweets, so he's already got the political views necessary to have interest in political office one day. "and may very well be in the infancy of a dynasty." It's too early to tell at this point, although I do think he will be a force for years to come. But at the very least, he has joined the likes of Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, and Matt Kenseth as being the only drivers to finish ahead of Jimmie Johnson in points multiple times. Already he's done something that even Jeff "I go for wins as long as it doesn't interfere with Jimmie Johnson's legacy and affect his championship total" Gordon hasn't done, which is incredible in and of itself. (Yeah, I just took a shot at my favorite driver. But it's completely true and it irritates me to no end.) 45. Paul posted: 03.09.2013 - 2:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I say we should banish Brain France, Lisa France Kennedy, Barack Obama and every useless politician to the frozen wastes of Antarctica." Well they're all cold-blooded reptiles, so they'd just freeze over and go into permanent hibernation. I like your plan, Benjamin (even if it is a tad bit psychotic, which I don't mind). 46. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.09.2013 - 5:02 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The oxycodone is flying on his forum now. Seriously, DSFF, how dare you hate... err love... the modifieds! Honestly, I'm thinking of doing blog on this just for our entertainment and to see what happens. 47. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 03.09.2013 - 6:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) LFK actually looks like she gives a damn about motorsports and especially the promotional aspect of it. She also develops international relationships and is good friends with people like Bernie Ecclestone, Zak Brown, Jean Todt ect. Meanwhile, Brian looks like he doesn't want to even be there and is clueless about the sport he runs. Hopefully Brian leaves NASCAR and finally gets his lifelong dream, owning an NFL team, hopefully it's the Patriots so they crash and burn just like NASCAR did under him. 48. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.09.2013 - 9:39 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Blogs are up. 49. cjs3872 posted: 03.09.2013 - 10:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, you refer to the drivers released by Jim Stacy and you mention Dale, Sr. Let's not forget that also on that list were drivers such as Joe Ruttman, Mark Martin, and Morgan Shepherd. And of course, Benny Parsons, Ron Bouchard, Dave Marcis, Jody Ridley, and most notably Terry Labonte were among drivers who he had sponsored tht he dumped the sponsorship of. The only drivers he really liked that drove for him was Tim Richmond, and Richmond left after the 1982 season to join Blue Max Racing, as Raymond Beadle had bought that team from M.C. Anderson, and Neil Bonnett, who joined the Wood Brothers about six weeks after Stacy's team effectively folded after the 1979 Daytona 500. And also, maybe the reason that Justin Allgaier hasn't found a better situation was that Roger Penske found something wrong with his attitude, and if Penske believes there's something wrong with a driver, that sends a red flag up to the rest of the garage area, because if someone with the character of Penske thinks there's something wrong with a driver and doesn't keep him, even after a successful year like Allgaier had in 2010, that would tell everyone else that something's not right with him from an attitude perspective. There's only one other driver I know of that had this kind of problem with Penske, and that was 30 years ago, and that driver's name was Kevin Cogan. 50. David posted: 03.09.2013 - 10:24 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Also, believe it or not David Smith fans, his opinions and statistics are not the "be all and end all" of how successful drivers are." True, but he's made my view of NASCAR drivers more realistic. Case in point: I used to think Casey Mears was a good driver. I don't agree with all his opinions, but his stats are miles ahead of any other ridiculous driver "ratings". It is pretty amazing how the Production in Equal Equipment Rating can stay consistent from year to year. David Ragan is a testament to this. His career PEERs are: 2006: -1.000 2007: -0.167 2008: 1.764 (UPS was courting Ragan, so he upped his game to serviceable production) 2009: 0.028 2010: 0.083 2011: 1.069 (Same as 2008, except his job was on the line, and his production rating was aided by his Daytona win) 2012: 0.111 See my point? "All of his formulas are based off of a driver's finishing position, and it's easy to have solid finishes on a weekly basis when you're on the best non-Cup team in the series with fewer Cup drivers in the field compared to the year before." This is why it's called the PRODUCTION in Equal Equipment Rating. I present to you the following quote, from David Smith's BK Racing 2012 team recap: "Kvapil's production this season was at replacement level with a 0.286 PEER, but it wasn't anything close to a dumpster fire. For one, the majority of his laps in the top 15 came late in races (+3.7 Top 15 Efficiency). Additionally, he crashed nine times in 35 races, but only one of those incidents warranted a DNF, and he was savvier passer than credited, ending the season with a +84 pass differential. He scored big on 'doing things good drivers do', but he failed to make them translate to respectable results." For emphasis, reread that last sentence: "He scored big on 'doing things good drivers do', but he failed to make them translate to respectable results." Essentially, he's saying that Kvapil could have been serviceable if he had closed out his races more efficiently. 51. 3M-16 posted: 03.09.2013 - 11:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) GO BIFF! 52. David posted: 03.09.2013 - 12:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So, has anyone heard about the USA Today's contest to find the best high school mascot in America? I think it is pretty cool. 53. Talon64 posted: 03.09.2013 - 7:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Yeah, Smith will usually expand on the PEER numbers with loop data. I think Allgaier's PEER took a bump up in 2012 because Turner took a step back last year compared to 2011. Only having one full time driver with the two other cars splitting different drivers didn't help too much, although Buescher did a pretty good job in the #30. For all intensive purposes, Annett was driving a Roush car and was a teammate to Stenhouse. I'm actually surprised Annett's PEER was only 0.667 last year, but if that's how his equipment was looked as then that'd explain it some. 54. David posted: 03.09.2013 - 8:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "For all intensive purposes" Don't you mean "for all intents and purposes"? 55. jabber1990 posted: 03.09.2013 - 9:01 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) jabber1990's Controversial Statement of the week #2 do you think NASCAR fined Hamlin so that those whom are pretty indifferent about NASCAR are going to watch the race to see if the race car really sucks, basically a "i'll be the judge of that" type thing 56. kup posted: 03.10.2013 - 12:04 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Jabber1990 has good eureka. Texas people love to judje, AFAIK, heh. And since Nascar cut number of permanent seats - eureka has sense of. 57. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:50 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "do you think NASCAR fined Hamlin so that those whom are pretty indifferent about NASCAR are going to watch the race to see if the race car really sucks, basically a "i'll be the judge of that" type thing" It's absolutely possible. Who knows what the hell their motives behind their rule making decisions are. "Essentially, he's saying that Kvapil could have been serviceable if he had closed out his races more efficiently." I've always thought of Kvapil as an incredibly serviceable driver. He basically resurrected Yates for a little bit there in 2008 (only to get screwed by them in favor of Paul Menard). He's never been given an opportunity in good equipment (other than Penske's third rate 77 car for one year - they lost Kodak as the full time sponsor so he only got one year in it), so I feel like he could be a top 15 or possibly even top 10 Cup driver if given a good ride at one of the big teams. 58. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't need to look at a stat sheet or an analytical rating formula to know that Travis Kvapil is a serviceable Cup driver, but it's nice to know that the numbers agree with me in this case. I don't know how good he would be in competitive equipment, but I thought he did an admirable job at Yates in 2008 as he was in position for a top 20 points finish before the team started to fade in the second half of the season. And I thought BK Racing made a very smart move by putting him in one of their cars for 2012, and his 27th place points finish despite missing the season opener (beating four drivers who made all 36 starts, including teammate Landon Cassill) and earning the team's first top ten finish only further proved that. But at the very least he is one of the few successful Truck Series drivers who has endured the test of time of being a serviceable Cup driver, which is an accomplishment in and of itself. 59. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 03.10.2013 - 7:54 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks like the first sunny raceday of the year today. 60. kup posted: 03.10.2013 - 11:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) How to read tyre codes? Vegas tyres are: L/S D4524 - R/S D4528 L/S or R/S - left or right side ? D - diameter? ... and 45 plus 24 or 28 ? Maybe width or ? 61. kup posted: 03.10.2013 - 12:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 2013 NASCAR Top-Five Finish Prediction http://www.vegasinsider.com/auto-racing/nascar/predictions/top-five-finish/ My Team for Fantasy Live @ Nascar.Com Five drivers: two favourites #48, #99, and three others #16, #17, #51. Other good: #29_#16 or/and #21_#17 ... but #51 is best of cheap. Manuf.winner - Ford Top 5 pit-stop team - #99 Any suggests or eurekas? 62. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 2:25 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Danica Patrick and Jimmie Johnson lead Nascar to Sin City!!!!" - Fox Promo It's crazy how they're expecting her to contend today just because she got a top five at Vegas in NNS in a fuel mileage race. 63. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 2:32 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) What the heck is going on with the Hollywood Hotel? Waltrips, you are outta here!! 64. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 2:35 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Darrell is defending NASCAR?!?! You are OUTTA HERE!! 65. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 2:37 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Kudos to the Waltrip brothers for defending Nascar in this whole Hamlin debacle. Like Darrell never opened his mouth when he was a driver. 66. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 2:40 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) I sincerely hope Denny Hamlin dominates and wins this race today just to rub it in Nascar's face. It's just stupid. Darrell just said that Helton told him that it was because Denny compared the Gen 6 car to the Gen 5 car. Kyle Petty nailed it this morning. WHAT OTHER CAR ARE YOU GOING TO COMPARE IT TO YOU f**kING IDIOTS?!?!?!?!?!? 67. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 2:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Maybe Eutechnyx pays these drivers to make epic moves for Inside Line challenges in their game. 68. AveryNH posted: 03.10.2013 - 2:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Exactly. And he crossed a line when he compared the two cars? And that's unacceptable? Give me a freaking break. I'm watching basketball till three. I'm done being brainwashed by these fools 69. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:11 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Yes, Darrell. This track has character--Jimmie Johnson's. 70. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:16 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Darrell thinks EVERY race is going to be a great race. 71. Kenny posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've liked the racing so far this session :) 72. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bad Brad! 73. JRacingFast posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Watch NASCAR repave this track soon and take any thrill are fun out of all the bumps that gives this track somethin special 74. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bowyer dropped like a rock, going from challenging for the lead all the way back to 12th. He's reporting a very race car. 75. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) * He's reporting a very loose race car. 76. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow! Now he's back to 21st. That's got to be a sickening feeling. 77. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kahne made a great move to take the lead. 78. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Now he's on pit road. 79. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) He's on pit road now. 80. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Trevor Bayne did a great job of not running into him. 81. Kenny posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Where is jr? 82. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Stewart is in the same boat. 83. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch is the fastest and Mcmurray is also very fast right now. 84. Anonymous posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Alot of loose cars. 85. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) How many times do you think Danica will get lapped today? 86. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) These cars are drifting. 87. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) She couldn't even complete 10% of the laps before losing a lap. 88. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "How many times do you think Danica will get lapped today?" 12 times. 89. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Michael McDowell has taken his car to the garage. 90. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "She couldn't even complete 10% of the laps before losing a lap." In a Hendrick car... 91. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:32 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Anybody else have NASCAR Raceview? NASCAR took control of their website for this year. The result has been an awful revamped format and tons of problems with Raceview that weren't there last year. To quote legendary crew chief and even more legendary personality Suitace Jake Elder, NASCAR could screw up a 5 car funeral procession. 92. JRacingFast posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Lots of cars "bad loose" its making this race kind of fun to watch! 93. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) June is 8th. 94. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Stenhouse looks pretty good. Maybe this will be his first breakout Cup race. 95. cjs3872 posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Murb, if there's not a caution real quick, Tony Stewart, her car owner, may also get lapped. 96. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Lot of drivers dropping back...Bowyer, Stewart, Biffle, Gordon. I think Kyle Busch is probably going to win this race if nothing happens to his car along the way. 97. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Front Row Joe has taken his car to the garage. I wonder if he would have run the distance if his Nationwide cars didn't keep getting torn up. 98. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon's only lost five positions. He's one of the lucky ones. 99. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Biffle's on pit road. 100. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs3872,Thanks for the insight on driver and Sports figure comparisons. The David Pearson/Lou Gehrig comparison was spot on;) 101. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) It sickens me how Fox calls the NNS race the "support race" or the "preliminary race". Probably because they're pissed they don't have the rights to it, so they just downplay it like it's a practice Cup race (which unfortunately, it kind of is). 102. Anonymous posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) McMurray is doing great so far. 103. joey2448 posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "He's reporting a very race car" I would imagine so, lol... Kup, I'm sorry man, I really don't understand any of your posts on here. 104. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Has any driver ever qualified on the Pole and then 40th and 37th in the next two events? 105. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Has any driver ever qualified on the Pole and then 40th and 37th in the next two events?" Yep. Danica Patrick, lol 106. Anonymous posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I know I might get some crap for this, but I actually wish Fox still had the Nationwide series. I have no idea why, but I always felt their NNS coverage was better than their Cup coverage and ESPN's coverage. 107. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch pit penalty. 108. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch gets a pit road speeding penalty. His year is REALLY off to a bad start. 109. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch busted for speeding. 110. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Fox's Cup coverage used to be pretty great too, yet look where they are now. BSPN isn't great, but I'd rather see them cover a Nationwide race than Fox. 111. Benjamin Lowe posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It would be better if we had Beavis and Butthead doing the commentary instead of these clowns. 112. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:46 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Honestly, I would rather see TNT (or NBC) cover the whole year for both Cup and Nationwide. They're the only network I can tolerate (Kyle and Wally actually KNOW what they're talking about). 113. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race is like old Darlington Labour day but at 170-180 mph. 114. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Let's see how Kyle responds to this. The pressure is on for him to have a good finish is huge. 115. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) TNT: We Know Commercials. 116. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I have a feeling Vegas is going to be a real great track in 5-10 years when it wears out (think atlanta and homestead) 117. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:49 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) TNT: Mashed Potatoes and Gravy 118. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR is debating whether to throw a debris caution, and Kyle Busch is about to go a lap down. Coincidence? 119. Benjamin Lowe posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:50 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Another fictional solution is to have Johnny Gomez and Nick Diamond from Celebrity Deathmatch do commentary for the NASCAR races. 120. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Honestly, I would rather see TNT (or NBC) cover the whole year for both Cup and Nationwide. They're the only network I can tolerate (Kyle and Wally actually KNOW what they're talking about)." This. To me, they are the modern day TNN/CBS. No bullshit or gimmicks. Supposedly NBC Sports will pick up a bunch of races in 2015, which I'm pretty happy about considering their great IndyCar coverage. I'm sure Wally will be a part of it since he is on their IndyCar coverage. Hopefully Kyle too. I really hope I'll get to see it though, because it's pretty possible that "Brainless" Brian France and his stooges might turn me completely off of Nascar within the next two years. 121. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch is going to win this race. 122. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Another fictional solution is to have Johnny Gomez and Nick Diamond from Celebrity Deathmatch do commentary for the NASCAR races." HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!! 123. The Final Gear posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Been very impressed by Junior last year. He really has taken to these new cars, and I'm glad that he's actually acting like a race car driver and not moping around depressed like he has been in the past. It's a welcome sight and that's coming from somebody who doesn't necessarily like him. I'm warming up to him now, mostly because he isn't the media's golden boy now. Junior can actually be who he is. 124. The Final Gear posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 33 is heading to the garage. I meant this year in my last post. 125. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution. 126. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Of course! A debris caution! We can't POSSIBLY have Kyle Busch go a lap down! He HAS to win at his hometown track! It'll be a great story! 127. The Final Gear posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First phantom debris caution of the year? 128. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) deBriS 129. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Jacques DeBris (a.k.a. the Phantom) has struck again. 130. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jacques Debris 131. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Of course! A debris caution! We can't POSSIBLY have Kyle Busch go a lap down! He HAS to win at his hometown track! It'll be a great story!" f**k yeah! 132. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Busch and Gordon were about to go a lap down no suprise. 133. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ugh. Nothing getting any better with NASCAR. Still bogus cautions. 134. JRacingFast posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Was it really a debris caution are was it more of a bruton smith we should have scheduled cautions to make races more exciting caution?? 135. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 3:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The #16 crew let a tire roll out of their pit box. 136. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Was it really a debris caution are was it more of a bruton smith we should have scheduled cautions to make races more exciting caution??" Well, it was at a Bruton Smith-owned track. Man, that restart was...electric. 137. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) BOOOOOOO 138. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Landon Cassill to the garage with engine trouble. 139. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) WOW at Stewart's three wide pass on the bottom going into 3, usually that would result in a massive crash. 140. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jamie McMurray should have had his engine changed sooner. That car is good! 141. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great way to cock-up McMurray's race. 142. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:10 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) 38th in a Hendrick car at supposedly one of her best tracks. 143. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm glad we got to follow the 38th place car for two laps. 144. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Danica Patrick is the worst driver in Nascar. 145. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And now for an update on the 38th place car. But it is only bad cause qualifying was washed. 146. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, because if Danica had just had the opportunity to qualify, she would have started WAY up near the front of the field and be a contender for the win. Isn't it obvious? 147. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:13 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Sounds like the #24 team is gonna have to cut some chains or something to get that car handling correctly. 148. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well Trevor Bayne only started one spot ahead of Danica, and yet he's on the brink of the top 20 driving for a single-car part-time team. But I guess according to Fox's logic, that one position makes a BIG difference. 149. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Is this a repeat of the first three event's in 2006? 150. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Danica Patrick is the worst driver in Nascar." She said it herself, "I'm terrible". "Sounds like the #24 team is gonna have to cut some chains or something to get that car handling correctly." Hahahaha!!! And then he will finish second to his "rival", who wins on fuel mileage. 151. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:18 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Any surprise that Hack Johnson is leading at a hack track? No... 152. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's almost time for a BS debris caution... 153. Benjamin Lowe posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (5) The problem with Jeff Gordon can be summed up in three simple words. Over The Hill 154. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Somehow "Over the Hill" just doesn't work when Hendrick converted his team into the 25 team... WHICH ALWAYS GOT LESS FUNDING THEN THE MUSEUM! 155. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:23 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Mr. Over the Hill has passed 3 cars to stay on the lead lap. 156. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:23 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) As much as I praise Gordon for his second half charge at Richmond last year, and as much praise as he deserves for it, especially comparing his attitude and heart of a champion against Kyle "Agree To Lose" Busch, Alan deserves a lot of credit too for such a ballsy move. 157. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Denny Hamlin busted for speeding. Any conspiracy theories?? 158. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "As much as I praise Gordon for his second half charge at Richmond last year, and as much praise as he deserves for it, especially comparing his attitude and heart of a champion against Kyle "Agree To Lose" Busch, Alan deserves a lot of credit too for such a ballsy move." Oh, definitely, definitely. He deserves a great deal of credit. 159. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Denny Hamlin sucks. 160. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:26 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) That was probably the best decision that Alan Gustafson has ever made atop the pit box. And fortunately, he had a driver who knew how to make AG look like a genius. 161. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:26 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) Ricky Stenhouse is running for "Ricky Of The Year"... GROAN...God, I hate puns that dumb! 162. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Denny Hamlin busted for speeding. Any conspiracy theories??" Wouldn't be surprised. This is the "Brainless" Brian era, after all. 163. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:28 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) Danica's been black flagged. 164. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Does anyone remember the Dale-o-meter race? The race where Dale Junior and Dale Jarrett got busted for speeding a combined 5 times on one green flag pit stop? 165. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Ricky Stenhouse is running for 'Ricky Of The Year'..." He'd have to beat Ricky Ricardo to do it. The FOX commercial for Bristol says, "Jimmie Johnson and Dale Jr. lead NASCAR to Bristol". 166. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks like halftime is coming up, Bruton. You better start talking with Hoots about what turn the deBriS caution is gonna be in... 167. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:33 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Zzzzzzzzz... Let us know when this hack's out of the lead... not likely because any hack can drive the hack (aka 1.5-2.66 oval) tracks... Kahne's probably getting death threats from Hendrick on the radio... 168. TS1420 posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) God, this is gonna be just like the last time they switched cars. Nothing but Hendrick cars out front, every single race. 169. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:35 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Honestly, I REALLY hope this race runs green all the way to the checkered flag. The sooner we get out of Vegas, the better. 170. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And just like last time they switched cars, one driver undeservingly pissed on by Hendrick... only difference is this time it's Jeff and not Casey Mears. 171. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:36 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Who the hell does Kasey think he is? Passing JJ for the lead in his sponsor's race? He must want to drive the R&D car next week. 172. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:37 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Let us know when this hack's out of the lead" The hack's out of the lead. 173. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:37 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) "Let's come back from commercial to do the mid race report, and then go straight back to commercial." - Fox "Let's only do the side by side thing for the first commercial of the broadcast." - Fox Fox: We Make BSPN Look Good 174. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:37 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) "Let us know when this hack's out of the lead" The Hack just got passed by Pretty Boy Kasey. 175. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JG24FanForever, David... those are two of the best one-liners all day. Paul... that was a three-liner, so just kudos to you 176. Benjamin Lowe posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Remember that scene in the Dark Knight Rises where Bane Blows up a football field well lets do that to this Race Track cause it absolutely sucks. 177. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) That commercial was the most entertainment iv'e had today. 178. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "He must want to drive the R&D car next week." No, they need to save that excuse for Danica, lol 179. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Arm the photon torpedoes! Fire on Las Vegas, 3/11/13, at 5AM MDT sharp! 180. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:40 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Don't panic members of the Hendrick Haters Association, this is your club president speaking. Yes, much like the other car changes ('95, '07, '13) HMS is way out ahead right now. But there is a blue car lurking, and has been in all the races so far. They have the best crew chief and the hottest up and comer behind the wheel (who already has the confidence that comes with being a champion). Their organization has finally dropped the overengineering plague that has submarined them ever since 1995. It will be ok in time. 181. Anonymous posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Barring fuel mileage, Kahne or Busch will most likely win. 182. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:41 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) -5 for DP now. 183. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Four-wide? That will not work. 184. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:42 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) DSFF, can I be Vice-President? I might be a JG fan, but sometimes I wish Hendrick hadn't beaten that leukemia. 185. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^^ It did though! 186. Benjamin Lowe posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If anyone should be Vice President it's me. 187. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle would need a caution flag to bring him back into contention... ...and I'm pretty sure he'll probably get one before this race is over. 188. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Exactly... IT did... Hendrick's lost his humanity... 189. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:44 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Benjamin Lowe as Vice President? Meh, still better than Dick Cheney. 190. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:44 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) For the update, Jeff has gained time on the leader since that last stop. 191. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) How many derogatory nicknames have we come up with for drivers? Jimmie Johnson: The Emotionless Juggernaut, The Hack 192. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:46 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Joe Nemechek is 45 laps down, comes down pit road for a pit stop, and gets penalized for having TOO MANY men over the wall. I had no idea he had ENOUGH crew members, let alone too many. 193. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution's out for Marcos Ambrose spinning. 194. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution!! 195. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'll be the annoying little mouthpiece for the HHA. Sort of like a wrestling manager. I'll channel my inner Jimmy Hart, lol Caution because Ambrose missed pit road. Wow... 196. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Joe Nemechek got penalized for too MANY men over the wall? Did I hear correctly? Ambrose misses the pits and brings out the caution. 197. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) ...or not. Another BS caution as he didn't even spin. 198. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Caution for Ambrose...making a great save? Um, okay? 199. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Gordon can begin his comeback. 200. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, it's nice to know that great saves are valid grounds for NASCAR to throw a caution flag... 201. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:49 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) I think Aric Almirola has eclipsed Marcos Ambrose as being the #1 driver at RPM. Another solid top 15 run for him today. 202. TS1420 posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution for Ambrose getting sideways. Real reason: The Hack needs to catch up to Kasey. 203. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And Brad has a TERRIBLE pit stop. 204. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I think Aric Almirola has eclipsed Marcos Ambrose as being the #1 driver at RPM. Another solid top 15 run for him today." Someone a while ago perfectly summed up Ambrose. He's Robby Gordon if Robby wasn't so "my way or the highway" and didn't have the attitude. 205. JRacingFast posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The sad part is that FOX played that great save off as a legit reason for a caution.....im gonna be sick 206. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And that Blue car just had a disaster of a pit stop lol. 207. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, but Robby also has an oval win. 208. cjs3872 posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) We all know what the real reason for this caution is, and that's to tighten the field up. Although where Marcos was, had he spun back across the track, others could have been involved, I don't seriously think that's why the caution was thrown. It was thrown because Kasey Kahne was building a big lead, and NASCAR uses the caution flag to even up the field in cases like that, and has for many years because they don't want one driver to run away with any races. 209. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Yeah, but Robby also has an oval win." Which Marcos will most likely luck into at some point if he sticks around long enough... 210. joey2448 posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:55 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Boy NASCAR jumped the gun on that caution. As soon as they saw Ambrose sliding sideways, they were probably like, 'Thank god for a yellow!' and hit the caution lights, but then realized that he saved it and kept going. Really disappointed in this race simply because all my faves are struggling. Jeff Gordon's run is awful. Also, I know we make fun of Jimmie Johnson for being an emotionless robot, but to be honest, I think Kasey Kahne is worse than Johnson in that area. Commercials, interviews, everything he does...is simply BORING. 211. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Told you...Kyle Busch is going to win this race. He's getting ready to sail away from the rest of the field. 212. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) lol, Kyle to the lead with a power move. Let's watch Jimmie ask to black flag him for jumping it or something. 213. We need more Onion posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And Marcos is a much better short tracket. 214. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch is the most electrifying driver in Nascar! 215. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great move by Kyle Busch for the lead. Kasey is also a robot, but he's also a pretty boy, so we often ignore his robotic behavior. 216. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Someone should do a count: how many of NASCAR's Cup drivers are robots? 217. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just want to point out, Jeff Gordon's run in this race last year was awful, too. 218. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm surprised Stenhouse lasted that long before he hit the wall. 219. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) At least Kasey doesn't really complain. Stenhouse finally gets into the wall after being so close all day. 220. OldSchoolNascarDude1 posted: 03.10.2013 - 4:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's hard to take NASCAR seriously when a driver gets penalized by the company because they're dominating a race. It would be equivalent to North Carolina getting 15 extra free throws in the final minute last night, just to make the game look appealing for the final possession. 221. Anonymous posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What was wrong with McDowell? I'm pretty sure he had a sponsor for this race, so I don't think he s&p'd. 222. Benjamin Lowe posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:01 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) No one has taken NASCAR seriously since Brian France took over. 223. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As a Jeff Gordon fan, I want to see at least one more caution. That way, he can get the free pass. 224. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "how many of NASCAR's Cup drivers are robots?" 1. Jimmie Johnson 2. Jeff Gordon (I know, you guys are gonna rip me for this, but he basically "invented" the current sponsor plugging machine driver back in the early 90s) 3. Kasey Kahne 4. Carl Edwards (has no emotion other than happy, comes off as fake sometimes) 5. Paul Menard 6. Ryan Newman 7. Greg Biffle 8. Joey Logano 9. Casey Mears 10. David Ragan 225. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Aric Almirola probably won't get a win this year, but hopefully he can keep up the good runs. Now we get to watch Brad try to come back from his bad pitstop. 226. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:03 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) At least Gordon knows how to make different facial expressions. 227. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:04 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "how many of NASCAR's Cup drivers are robots?" Jimmie Johnson: Master Machina Kasey Kahne: Master Machina lackey-Inferior unit Danica Patrick: La Femme Machina Those are the obvious. 228. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:05 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Oh, look! FOX is telling us that people should shut up about how terrible the new car is because there's a ton of passing and great racing! 229. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:05 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Looks like Kyle blew it. He had about a 10 car length lead, lost control of his car, and is about to lose 2nd place. 230. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) FOX's delusional. Waltrip, you're outta here! 231. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @OldSchoolNASCARDude, UNC sure could have used 15 free throws last night lol! 232. We need more Onion posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 227: I'm sure that Townley is one set to destroy everything near him. 233. Jim Davis posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "Danica Patrick: La Femme Machina" Unfair. Patrick is a lot of things but emotionless is definitely not one of them. 234. OldSchoolNascarDude1 posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm a lifelong Duke fan, DSFF, and was surprised by the outcome of the game. Most notably, the opening ten minutes of the game. 235. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution out for Bobby Labonte spinning. 236. Anonymous posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) No Kenseth? He's got to be the most boring driver in Nascar, at least Jimmie posts some funny things on twitter. (I know you guys don't want to hear this, but Jimmie DOES have a personality, he just never shows it on camera.) 237. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:10 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) You're right. She's b!*(#y about everything that doesn't go her way... 238. loomer posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle is dirt racking the #18 car right now. Kasey has the best car by far 239. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:11 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Kenseth is one of the funniest drivers in the sport. 240. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:11 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) If you're a douche off camera, be it on camera. Trust me. I know something about performing for a crowd as a classical pianist who has had to perform when the pressure is on. 241. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh my god! We actually had a legit caution? 242. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) So how will Hendrick sabotage Kahne's car so that Johnson wins? He did it to Jeff here a few years ago, and he will probably do it again. 243. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "No Kenseth? He's got to be the most boring driver in Nascar, at least Jimmie posts some funny things on twitter." Jimmie funny? I think Kenseth is a HELL of a lot more funny than Jimmie is. He's sarcastic as hell. 244. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:13 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) "No Kenseth? He's got to be the most boring driver in Nascar" Kenesth sat on Jimmie Johnson's lap in front of millions of people. and show's tons of emotion when he wins or is in the heat of battle. Very much a Human. 245. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) *Kenseth 246. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I know something about performing for a crowd as a classical pianist who has had to perform when the pressure is on." It is so cool to know that someone else on this board shares my love for piano playing. 247. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Stewart gets the Lucky Dog, Gordon and Bayne take the wave around to get back on the lead lap. 248. Matt L posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Another annual reminder why Las Vegas doesn't need a second date...zzzzzz.... 249. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sadly...I CAN totally see NASCAR doing something stupid like taking a date away from Martinsville to give to Vegas so it can have two races... 250. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:20 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) Mikey looks like he is wearing a clown suit. Fitting. I have also heard that story about the guy who takes out a tiny piano in front of a crowd then whips out a 12 inch pianist. Oh wait, that was a different story. 251. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I CAN totally see NASCAR doing something stupid like taking a date away from Martinsville to give to Vegas so it can have two races..." That's been the rumor for about three or four years now. If it happens, I think I'm done. Is anyone else getting annoyed with Larry McReynolds constant berating of any team that goes off strategy? He was trashing the 1 team earlier for experimenting, and now he's doing the same to the 11 team. 252. TS1420 posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:21 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Actually I can see CASHCAR doing something even more braindead like removing BOTH races from Martinsville and giving them to Las Vegas & ChicagoBland. 253. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:23 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Hell, I could see NASCAR taking Darlington's last remaining date away so it can go to Kentucky. ...Is it sad that I can genuinely see this happening within 5-10 years? 254. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Hell, I could see NASCAR taking Darlington's last remaining date away so it can go to Kentucky. ...Is it sad that I can genuinely see this happening within 5-10 years?" They wouldn't do something that monumentally,insidiously f**king stupid. 255. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "ChicagoBland" HAHAHAHA!!! 256. TS1420 posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:29 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I could also see Bruton Smith reconfiguring Sonoma into another mediocre Charlotte clone. 257. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kvapil is spewing a little smoke. 258. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Too bad for Kvapil... DAMN!!! She's 5 laps down? Even I thought she could do better than that... 259. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's okay everyone! Danica made it through!! Danica made it through!! 260. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:30 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Taking a race date away from Darlington to give to California in the first place was monumentally stupid...don't underestimate NASCAR. They could EASILY be stupid enough to make the same mistake TWICE. 261. John Royal posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:30 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) Danica got bukkake'd 262. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:31 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Even I thought she could do better than that..." I didn't. 263. Matt L posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:33 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) FOX has been awful today. I think I can see more hundreds of miles away on my tv than all 3 boothmonkeys at the racetrack. Kvapil 'hard into the wall' is just another example. 264. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, I keep saying it, but SHE IS IN A HENDRICK CAR. If you are that far off the pace without incident in a HENDRICK CAR, then you are just the shits. I'm sorry. I thought she could at least stay within 2 or 3 laps, but 5? Cue up the BP "MAN OH MAN!!!" clip. 265. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) #261 Okay, I'm not nor will ever be a Danica fan...but that's just GROSS, man. 266. joey2448 posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What we've obviously seen here today is that Kyle Busch is fast from the get-go on restarts, but Jimmie and Kasey are faster on the long runs and they eventually pass Busch. If this race comes down to a restart with about 15-20 laps to go, it should get really exciting! Of course, NASCAR will probably opt for a GWC, in which case Kyle will take off and the finish will be boring... 267. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "They could EASILY be stupid enough to make the same mistake TWICE." Good point. But I was only going by the fact that they might have learned from their fan attendance dropping by 45% in the past 6 years,among other deformities that Nascar continues to harbor. 268. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) But Jesus, 5 laps down? Love FOX's excuses that "she's just a rookie, she'll get better, in time she'll be one of the top drivers". There is no way in hell a Hendrick car should ever get lapped five times on a track unless it's been in a crash or had a mechanical problem...or if the driver is NOT good. 269. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Oh, look! FOX is telling us that people should shut up about how terrible the new car is because there's a ton of passing and great racing!" I saw that, lol. Larry Mac was saying "I don't want to hear any more about how drivers can't pass with this new car" simply because the two best cars of this race (Kahne and Kyle Busch) were dueling. The highlight of last week's race was Denny Hamlin's last lap pass. 270. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Can FOX not see the clear dent on the right rear of her car? She did a great job of not destroying it with the way she was totally in the smoke. But there is clearly damage. Lol @ John Royal 271. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wish that Hollywood Hotel would just roll into the ocean right now... 272. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yes! Matt K vs Bad Brad! 273. Bronco posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Didn't the #2 just beat the #20 the line? 274. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordon's run right now is making me sick... 275. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman blows up... 276. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman with engine problems. 277. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman blew up. 278. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Oh my God! If enough cars blow up Danica could get a top 30! What a great run for the most promising driver we've ever seen in NASCAR history! 279. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Jeff Gordon's run right now is making me sick..." Comeback time, buddy:) 280. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Um...not when he is a lap down with 30 laps to go. Unless everyone runs out of gas. 281. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:46 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "What a great run for the most promising driver we've ever seen in NASCAR history!" James Hylton finished second in the points to Richard Petty in 1967. I know you were being sarcastic. But imagine if Nascar actually promoted their history and mentioned facts like this one. James Hylton built his car in a shed just up the road from where I live,and was fully independent with just one car. 282. Jim Davis posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Is Kenseth a whiner for complaining about the restart? 283. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) *James Hylton finished second in the points to David Pearson in 1966. I meant to put his Rookie season but instead put his 2nd year. 284. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) and yes,James Hylton finished 2nd in his first two seasons. 285. TS1420 posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Yes Kenseth is a whiner, he spun his tires. 286. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:49 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Yeah, Hylton did quite remarkably in low budget equipment. He almost certainly WOULD have been a champion if he'd had the equipment that drivers like Petty and Allison had... But the sad thing is that a part of me really thinks NASCAR would like those who care about the sport's history and the real fans (like us) who question everything they do to go the hell away so only casual fans who will happily eat up anything they're spoon fed or are only watching for Danica will watch them. 287. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Denny Hamlin wasn't even lined up properly. 288. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What the hell was with that restart? 289. Mr X posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I say they lock the doors to the Hollywood hotel stick it in Death Valley and leave it there. 290. The Final Gear posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That row with K. Busch and Patrick should have moved back. Hamlin has the right to that position because he's on the lead lap. 291. MarkMartinFan posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Is it just me, or does Brad Keselowski seem to beat the leader to the line almost every time he lines up in 2nd place? 292. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ryan Newman took the blame for missing a shift on the restart, but he did say that he wouldn't have missed that shift had Kenseth restarted properly. 293. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:01 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) I love Matt Kenseth! 294. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Danica's the next lapped car lol 295. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:01 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Oh my God, Danica's going to get lapped a sixth time just before the checkered flag. WOW. Sadly, this is probably going to be remembered as a good race because of the close race between Kenseth and Kahne at the finish... 296. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Who will win? 297. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:03 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) YES!!!! 298. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:03 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Hell yeah!! 299. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt Kenseth wins on his birthday. That's...what...only the third time that's happened? 300. NadeauFan91 posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Finally, a really good race! 301. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt Kenseth brought out his inner Jeff Gordon and held off a hard charging Hendrick car on a 1.5-mile track. Great win for he and that team! 302. New14 & 88Fan posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:04 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Talk about an awesome birthday present! Go Matt Kenseth!! 303. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:04 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Matt Kenseth becomes the third driver to win on their birthday. 304. Matt L posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If you were Joey Logano, how would you feel right now? 305. OldSchoolNascarDude1 posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Unless you have a vastly superior car, you're not going to have a good chance to pass the car in front of you. Kasey Kahne probably had the better car, but Matt's was good enough to keep Kasey behind, due to the aero push. 306. Anonymous posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is also the second time Kenseth and Kahne finished 1-2 at Vegas. See: 2004 307. Talon64 posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I am eating so much f**king crow right now, feathers are coming out of my nose. But if that jinxed it so Kenseth would win in just his 3rd start in the #20, Logano's old ride..... Then I'm happy! wtg Kenseth! 308. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:05 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Do it Matt! Already JGR's #1 driver, got them their first Gen 6 win. Hell of a job by the Silent Assassin! 309. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Next week is probably the first (and one of the few) races I'm going to be excited for all season. 310. The Final Gear posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So much for those Toyota engines blowing up... 311. Sector posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Coolio, I knew all along. Tony Stewart & Matt Kenseth, both can run in the top 5 all day, every week & win races. Something Joey Logano was unable to do, & still can't do in the 22 car. Congratulations to Matt Kenseth. Great effort by Kasey Kahne, he was wheeling it like he had something to lose. Onto Bristol! 312. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:07 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Kenseth had to throw a couple blocks on Kasey to keep him behind him. It wasn't all aero push, Matt did his job too. 313. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:07 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "but Matt's was good enough to keep Kasey behind, due to the aero push." And titanium testicles. 314. The Final Gear posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Great rebound days after bad starts to the season for Kyle Busch, Harvick and Truex Jr. 315. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:09 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) That was NOT all "aero push." Plenty of times Kenseth ran a wierd line of turn 2 that killed Kahne's momentum. Had that been Busch ect they probably would have lost it under pressure over the bumps. Matt Kenseth already #1 driver at Gibbs: No suprise 316. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:09 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) LOL at Matt having a little humor about his age. 317. John Royal posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:10 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Nice win for Kenseth, great! Anyone taking a win from Hendrick mob is awesome. On a side note, Jeff Gordon's state is officially parallel to Jarrett's late career. 318. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) See? Kenseth is funny. "I'm kind of bummed out about turning 29." lol 319. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:12 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Denny Hamlin gets attention for standing up to NASCAR, Kyle Busch gets attention for winning his first Nationwide race in over a year, and Matt Kenseth wins a race on his birthday and almost shies away from the attention. That's why he's one of my favorites. He's great, and he doesn't even care or want the attention. 320. joey2448 posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Most of the race: 5 out of 10. Finish: 9 out of 10. That was exciting, I knew Kasey would have the better car after 10 laps or so, but the aero push is probably what cost him a chance of getting around Kenseth. Honestly, I think it's better that Jeff Gordon didn't have a good race, because it seems like the years he does well at Vegas are the years he is off, and the years he struggles at Vegas are his better seasons (except for 2007). 321. The Final Gear posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Podium graphic in NASCAR? LOL!! F1 returns next week!! 322. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:15 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Nice top ten finish for Paul Menard. He, Stenhouse, and Almirola are all in the Chase as of right now. I'd hate to think Jeff Gordon wasn't in R&D equipment as he finished behind both the #51 and the #7. I sure hope today was just a mirage of what his season will look like. 323. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Best Vegas race since the reconfig. 324. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:16 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "I think it's better that Jeff Gordon didn't have a good race, because it seems like the years he does well at Vegas are the years he is off, and the years he struggles at Vegas are his better seasons" He won there in 2001, and went on to lead the circuit in every major category and won the title. 325. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Aric Almirola is 10th in points!!!! You're right Paul, he's ions ahead of Ambrose. 326. Kenny posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good race(but it kinda bugs me that kasey dident win thou) 327. Bronco posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (6) Wish Kasey had won. Completely deserved too. Once again clear air prevails and fresh tires show their lack of importance. 328. Jarrett88fan posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hopefully, Matt isn't sad about turning 29, haha yes!!!!! Just a random observation: It seems Mark Martin has lost the ability to get top-10s on tracks like Vegas, Homestead, and Chicagoland over the past three or four years. 329. joey2448 posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) True, Paul, I forgot about that one. Ok so maybe my statement isn't that true after all, haha... Kenseth yelling to get the lap cars out of the way on the radio reminded me of myself when I play NASCAR 2011 and other such games haha! 330. 83andJoe posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:30 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Congrats Matt. On those who complain about TNT's commercials, and point to Kentucky "back-racename-commercial" thing, I'd like to point out that the /exact same thing/ was done in the old days. Come back and still caution? Commercial again. As for the last two restarts: Kenseth spun his tires on both of them, hence Brad beating him to the line. Both times Brad gave the position back (losing two more in the process, the second time), so no penalties. And really, people? Were you watching the same race I was? That was actually a pretty decent race, the first LVMS race in years I haven't literally napped through the midpart of. Would you like some cheese with that whine? 331. The Great Dave posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsors #9 Dewalt / Stanley #10 GoDaddy.com Domains #11 FedEx Office #16 3M/American Red Cross "Give Blood" #22 Shell / Pennzoil #24 PepsiMax Zero Calories / @PepsiMAX #27 Menards / Schrock #29 Rheem Heating,Cooling & Water Heating #30 MGM Grand / Lean1 #35 MDS / Riviera #33 Moonshine Wildfire / Little Joe's Auto #42 AXE Apollo #47 Kingsford / Bush's / Scott's #78 Furniture Row / Serta 332. I love Japan posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Am I the only one who doesn't think that Kahne is all that good? Idk what it is I just don't see him as a great driver. He can win, he can lead laps, but he seems to fold under pressure. He's not bad obviously but I don't consider him elite by any means. 333. Benjamin Lowe posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:32 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) At post 330: yeah give me some cheese a cheese pizza please LOL. 334. Jr Fan posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (15) Terrible race, no major crashes, Joonyer or none of the Merican cars one, that talentless boring hack Matt KENSETH won with aero push which we never had before the Gen Six at Vegas. 335. Jr Fan posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 334 must be trolling, either that or it's the new account name for Benjamin Lowe. 336. Daniel posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Decided to skip the race. How was it? 337. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) lol 338. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "On those who complain about TNT's commercials, and point to Kentucky "back-racename-commercial" thing," It's widely known that TNT airs a lot of commercials, whether it be for NASCAR races or the movies they air. I wasn't referring to that incident where they returned from commercial for five seconds and immediately went back, though I'm not surprised they did that either. 339. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (6) (0) I also hope this ends the "Matt is a robot" thing. Nobody gets more excited over the radio for a win than Matt, and his past three times in victory lane he has had to fight off tears. Possibly the most human driver out there. Plus me and Matt both turn 29 this month! I thought me and Brad wre the closest in age (1 month and 7 days), but me and Matt are only 10 days apart :) Paul, Jeff won every relavent category in '95 also, but he didn't win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that season :) 340. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Am I the only one who doesn't think that Kahne is all that good?" The comparison I would use would be Bobby Labonte from when he was in his hey day. Really good almost everywhere, takes advantage of good equipment, solid crew chief (like Labonte had with Makar), etc. Bobby had one great year come together in 2000 where it seemed that everything went his way, and he won the championship. And I think if Kasey ever does win a championship, it will be one of those "I guess it's just their year" titles. 341. Jarrett88fan posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) From start to finish: A fair race, which for Las Vegas, is okay to good. On the old configuration, a race like todays would be considered one of the best. Overall, it was a grey area type of race, fair to okay. I wonder where it would rank on the Cale schale? 342. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, I can't believe I had to check Gordon's '95 season stats just to find out that Vegas wasn't on the circuit until '98. You trolled me, DSFF! Haha. 343. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Daniel, it was great for a modern day 1.5 miler not named Atlanta or Homestead. 344. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Paul, Jeff won every relavent category in '95 also, but he didn't win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that season :)" People are already forgetting that Gordon had a pathetic race at Vegas in 1998. And we all know how 1998 went. 345. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Overall, I thought this race was better than the Daytona 500, but definitely not as good as Phoenix last week. This is gonna sound weird, but I sort of wish California was next week just so we could get it over with. Then we would have two short tracks in a row afterward. But hey, Bristol is next week, so it's okay. I thought the August race last year was the Race of the Year, so hopefully it will be just as good. 346. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:44 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Bobby Labonte actually had two great years back-to-back, but was no match for Dale Jarrett in '99. It's almost a shame that while the Fords were the best manufacturer from '97-'00, they only have one championship to show for it. Luckily though, the most consistent Ford driver of that period Dale Jarrett won the title in '99. 347. I love Japan posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @ 340 I agree for the most part. I think you could say the same thing about Dale Jarrett. I think another comparison is Jeff Burton when he was winning big at Roush. You always felt that was more equipment then driver. All of these guys are talented but none are in my mind elite like some perceive them to be. I would be shocked if Kahne won a title. 348. Jarrett88fan posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) *scale, not shale 349. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As if Benjamin Lowe wasn't angry enough, "JRFAN" had to wind him up... 350. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I actually thought this race was pretty good. Probably the best Vegas race since they re-did the thing back around '07 (I think). I'm interested to seeing how these cars will take to Bristol and if the two-wide racing will be more of a factor with these Gen-6 cars. And as crazy as this sounds, I'm looking forward to Fontana just to see if the racing will improve there. So far Phoenix and Vegas were fairly entertaining, so Fontana should only improve as well. 351. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just saw Tiger Wood's tie Dale Earnhardt in career pro sports wins with his 76th, putting him just 6 short of Sam Snead's PGA record of 82. 352. Benjamin Lowe posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm actually pretty calm right now. 353. Jarrett88fan posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If Jarrett, Bobby Labonte, Jeff Burton 97-00 at Roush, etc. was more equipment than driver, then the #48 team definitely fits that category. Hendrick resources + personnel + Chad Knaus = Jimmie Johnson 5 time champion. 354. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Just saw Tiger Wood's tie Dale Earnhardt in career pro sports wins with his 76th" He should carry around a 3 flag like Gordon did when he tied Dale, lol I Love Japan, I think maybe Jeff Burton (circa 1997-2000) would actually be a better comparison for Kasey Kahne. Like Burton did at Roush, Kahne is a top ten driver in the Cup Series that wins a lot, and he's also not the number one guy on his team (Johnson is at Hendrick, and Mark was at Roush). They can contend in the top five in points, but can't quite get over the hump for a championship. 355. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 6:58 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Dale Jarrett won three spring Darlington races, won at Rockingham in '03 in what turned out to be a HORRIBLE season (also winning there in 2000), led 253 of the 325 laps at Atlanta in '97 in the last race on the old configuration, led over 200 laps at Bristol in '97 and won four short track races, and finished top five in points six straight seasons ('96-'01) during Jeff Gordon's dominance of the sport. In fact, two of those six seasons came in years that Gordon finished outside the top five in points ('99-'00). Did equipment play a part in it? Yes, especially since the Ford Tauruses were great from '97-'00. But DJ did his part behind the wheel and was always a threat during that six year period, and I don't think it's fair to just scoff at him as if equipment is what made him great. 356. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 7:00 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Oh, and Jarrett held off Earnhardt not once, but twice in the Daytona 500. His career numbers are astounding enough, but to look at all of that and to know that two of his three Daytona 500 victories came by holding off The Intimidator, I don't know how you can look at Dale Jarrett and not think "elite driver." 357. Jim Davis posted: 03.10.2013 - 7:00 pm Rate this comment: (4) (1) "Kenseth yelling to get the lap cars out of the way on the radio..." I suspect that if Johnson had been doing that over the in-car he would have been raked over the coals for being arrogant and expecting everything to be handed to him on a silver platter. 358. murb posted: 03.10.2013 - 7:07 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "I suspect that if Johnson had been doing that over the in-car he would have been raked over the coals for being arrogant and expecting everything to be handed to him on a silver platter." Well, when it comes from a driver who has clearly lost touch with his roots over the years (Johnson), then yes, I think most of us would be calling for his head. But DSFF said it best. Kenseth has been grateful his whole career, has rarely complained, is always humble, hasn't allowed himself to be brainwashed by his crew chief's obviously questionable mentalities, etc. So in my opinion, he gets way more of a pass for doing that than someone like Jimmie would. 359. Jarrett88fan posted: 03.10.2013 - 7:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) After the infamous bar-room brawl incident with Irvan in '97, all the resources at Yates were invested in the #88 team and they came up 14 points shy (Watkins Glen penalty) of the championship. The consistency that eluded Jarrett's team in 1998 along with the Taurus, were non-existent in 1999. As for 2000, the team's high-water mark was the maligned 2000 Daytona 500. Despite not winning throughout the summer, they were in contention for the title until Richmond in September unleashed a string of bad luck with accidents, poor-handling cars, etc. For the first half of 2001, the #88 team was fighting tooth and nail with the eventual champion Gordon, but an accident at the second Pocono race set in motion several bad races. 360. cjs3872 posted: 03.10.2013 - 7:11 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I think it's pretty obvious why Kasey Kahne couldn't catch Matt Kenseth the way he was able to easily reel in Kyle Busch under the same circumstances. Kyle Busch had to drive over his head to get and stay in front of Kahne, and by doing so, put excessive pressure on his tires, and as a result, they faded within 5-7 laps, while Kenseth is much easier on his tires, and as a result of that, his car never faded. Also, having Kasey Kahne behind him didn't hurt because he's never made a late pass for the win in his Cup series career, and how many times, going all the way back to his rookie year, was he in second place with a superior car late in the race, and yet not been able to make the move for the win. Kasey just isn't good in traffic, which in turn means that he's not very good at passing late for the win. Trust me, you put Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon (when he has a good car, which is becoming rarer these days), Tony Stewart, Brad Keselowski, and other top drivers in that #5 car today, and I don't believe Kenseth is celebrating in victory lane. For Kahne to win, he has to be in the lead late, because he's always proven to be incapable of passing for the win. There's a reason Kahne is never going to win, or seriously challenge for a championship, and that's because he won't take the risks in traffic that others will to take to win, which is also why he may never win at either Daytona or Talladega, or really do well on short tracks. 361. Richie61NYfan posted: 03.10.2013 - 7:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kudos to Matt on a well earned win in his b-day. Who says you can't pass with these new cars? I saw lots of white knuckle passing today and thought it was much better than Daytona. All the Danica Patrick fans should demand Tony Gibson be fired for not tightening up her car to suit her driving style. She has way too much talent to be starting 33rd and finishing 33rd. Fire him I say, fire him! 362. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 7:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) We don't shit on drivers that cause wrecks every once in a while the same way we do drivers who frequently cause wrecks. The same thing goes with drivers who whine over the radio. If this was a regular thing with Matt, I'd point it out. But since he isn't known for being a whiner, he gets a pass. Jimmie on the other hand... 363. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 7:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "all the resources at Yates were invested in the #88 team and they came up 14 points shy (Watkins Glen penalty) of the championship." If Gordon lost the title in '97,I would blame it on his last place finish from a blown engine in Atlanta. A race that Jarrett won. Or I would also blame it on Ernie Irvan in Texas when he helped Gordon crash out while Gordon was dominating and relegated him to 30th. Meanwhile Jarrett finished 2nd. 148 points lost to Jarrett at Atlanta 97 points lost to Jarrett at Texas Won the Title by 14 364. MStall41 posted: 03.10.2013 - 7:43 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) NASCAR Stats '@NASCARStats LOOP DATA RECORD: 31 green flag passes for the lead was the most @LVMotorSpeedway since the inception of Loop Data in 2005. #NASCAR NASCAR Stats '@NASCARStats Loop Data: There were 2,342 green flag passes all through the field today, up from 1,301 last year. #NASCAR For all those saying the Gen 6 is less racy then the Gen 5, explain how passing totals DOUBLED last year's race. 365. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 03.10.2013 - 7:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Probably weren't enough wrecks for the "real" fans. 366. Jarrett88fan posted: 03.10.2013 - 7:48 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) JG24FanForever, Atlanta, Texas, and the night race at Bristol nearly cost Gordon the championship. Ironically, Jarrett finished 1st, 2nd, and 1st in those three races. However, from Jarrett's team's perspective, the black flag penalty at Watkins Glen was a self-inflicted wound. Another irony is Gordon won his first road-course race at the Glen. Both Jarrett and Gordon had separate issues at the first Dover race. Given everything that transpired in 1997 which we have mentioned, the defining moment was the October Talladega race. Ff Jarrett had gone a bit lower in the grass and missed Gordon's spinning car during the big one, Jarrett might have been Champion in 1997. On the other side, the team that "Refused to Lose" repaired the car and ran 14 laps which went a long way in determining the championship. 1997 was a fantastic championship battle all-around. 367. ch posted: 03.10.2013 - 7:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor Changes: 30 - MGM Grand Hotel & Casino 33 - Moon Shine Attitude Attire 34 - Front Row Motorsports / Riviera Hotel & Casino 35 - MDS Transport 51 - Tag Heuer Avant-Garde 87 - Maddie's Place 33 Status: Engine (Not a S&P, stated on broadcast as a blown engine) 368. Evan posted: 03.10.2013 - 7:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) My comments * Move of the race was Kyle Busch's three wide pass on a restart, that was incredible. * Best race so far with the Gen 6 car, everybody was making passes and racing hard, good hard racing and catching people and passing throughout. THIS type of track is the one this car was most likely made for. * My like meter on Matt Kenseth has gone up a notch, winning on your birthday makes me like and respect you even more, 2 Daytona 500s, a Talladega win and a birthday win, can't get much better than that. * To add to that Kenseth's first win not in number 17 in the Cup Series and first Cup win not with Jack Roush. * 3rd win at Vegas and guess what he did in 2003 when he won at Vegas? He won the championship. * Kenseth is drawing more and more comparisons to David Pearson day by day. * Kenseth yelling to get lapped cars out of the way is nothing to get excited about, its customary measure to do in the closing laps of the race, Kenseth has lost many races that way, like at Bristol in 2006 a lapped car got in his way and Kurt Busch put the bumper to him. So IMO, everyone does it. And I am glad Matt Kenseth has stayed genuine about himself, he's also opened up more since becoming a father. * Kasey Kahne had the best car all day, being able to run down anyone who dared chase him. * Also, I will be awaiting with great anticipation to see what NASCAR will respond to Denny Hamlin's fine and issues with the Gen 6 car. Hamilin has already stated he won't pay the fine. 369. Schroeder51 posted: 03.10.2013 - 8:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That's would be extremely ironic if the new car puts on great races at the cookie cutter mile-and-a-halfs and terrible racing everywhere else. I don't think this was a terrible race...but there wasn't a whole lot of excitement until close to the end. Although it probably didn't help that FOX's coverage was pitiful as it has been for the past few years...that can really help sway anyone's opinion of any race. This was one of the better races at Vegas...But honestly, Vegas is just one of the duller tracks for me. I've never been all that excited about the mile-and-a-halfs. I always liked the more unique tracks like Darlington or Dover better. 370. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 8:06 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "1997 was a fantastic championship battle all-around." Very underrated season in my opinion. Jeff Gordon barely held on for the Triple Crown at the Southern 500. And then he won the Title,completing the only real season Grand Slam in Nascar history. And his competition from Jarrett and Martin was far stronger than Jimmie Johnson has ever had in his Championship seasons Jarrett is so underrated is isn't even funny. Me and cjs3872 both rank Jarrett in 22nd on our respective Top 25 Cup driver list. 371. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 03.10.2013 - 8:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Darlington is an example of why sometimes a pencil and paper is a better way to design a racetrack than computers and other technology. Take note ISC, Bruton Smith and the Idiot Hermann Tilke when it comes to track design. 372. Eric posted: 03.10.2013 - 8:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The Poster on 434 is a troll or a hater. The fact is Matt Kenseth isn't a talentless boring hack. Twitter has shown that Matt has a dry sense of humor and that means Matt isn't a robot. Matt now has as many wins as Joe Weatherly and Jim Paschal with 25. Matt is 1 win away from tying Fred Lorenzen and currently 3 wins away from tying Rex White. The fact is Matt Kenseth currently has as many wins as Joe Weatherly and Jim Paschal and being close to Fred Lorenzen and Rex White in wins means you are in good company as a driver. Matt right now already a future NASCAR hall of driver, but the only question is what class. The fact is Matt isn't done accomplishing stuff as a cup driver yet. 373. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 03.10.2013 - 8:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not sure about Dover though, when it comes to aero that has been a terrible track since they re-did it with concrete, nevermind car type. Concrete completely ruined the track in my opinion, at least the Dover races aren't 500 miles anymore, those races made the 2013 Daytona 500 look like Rockingham. 374. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 8:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Every non Ford stunk it up at Vegas '98. If I remember correctly, Dale finished 8th, damn near a lap down, behind 7 Fords. As for Matt getting the lapped cars out of the way, that was nerves in wanting to get that first win for JGR after making the big leap after so many years at Roush. If he were truly a whiner, he would have said something about it in victory lane. The one knock I have against Matt is that he is the ultimate pessimest, he ALWAYS thinks he has a tire going down and thinks he is going to lose. I wonder if he wakes up in the middle of the night, grabs Katie, and yells "I need to pit, I have a tire going flat" :) 375. 12345Dude posted: 03.10.2013 - 8:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I missed the race? I heard Paul thought it was good. What do you other guys think? I'm curious to see how the Gen6 car raced. 376. JG24FanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 8:23 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Fitting that Matt K surpassed both Busch brothers in career wins at their home track:o 377. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 8:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 12345Dude, it all depends on your preferences for a race. If you were expecting a race with a lot of passing and drivers racing 2-wide all across the leaderboard and a lot of wrecks, this wasn't the race for you. But if you went into this race just thinking "I hope this isn't a typical three hour 1.5-mile snoozefest," you probably left satisfied, especially with a great battle at the end as Kenseth held off Kahne for about the final 15 laps. So if you had realistic expectations, you probably enjoyed this race (unless of course you were listening to the Fox broadcast, in which case you were probably miserable). "Every non Ford stunk it up at Vegas '98. If I remember correctly, Dale finished 8th, damn near a lap down, behind 7 Fords." Not only that, but four of the five Roush cars beat Dale in that race (only Chad Little finished lower, having finished 10th). Other than Dale, Terry Labonte was the only non-Ford to finish in the top 16 in that race. It's a shame that DJ's engine expired because he certainly would have been among the highest finishing Fords. The next Vegas race in '99, oddly enough only one Ford finished in the top eight (Jeff Burton), but it still won the race. 378. cjs3872 posted: 03.10.2013 - 9:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jarrett88fan (#366), if I remember right, Jarrett and Gordon crashed together late in that Dover race, the last 500-mile race there, allowing Ricky Rudd to eventually take the win over Mark Martin and Jeremy Mayfield. And TeamPlayersBlue, when they concreted the track at Dover, which they had to do because the asphalt was always tearing up, the racing did suffer for a couple of years, but actually the racing at Dover is back to what it was in the 80s, which is that it became a multi-groove track again. Prior to the repaving job, it was a one-groove track that not only tore up tires, but the tires also tore the track, so much like Bristol in 1992, the only real remedy was to repave it with concrete, which doesn't tear up nearly as easily as asphalt does After all, they didn;t have to repave Bristol for 15 years after they put concrete on it, and they haven't had to repave Dover yet since they concreted the track for 1995, making this the 19th year for that surface, the longest running track surface anywhere. And Paul and DSFF, the reason it looked like every non-Ford stunk it up at the fist race at Vegas in 1998 was that Ford had such an absurd aerodynamic advantage, that it gave the Fords about a 2-4 MPH advantage in cornering speeds. The Chevrolets and Pontiacs might not have been struggling as much as it was the absurd edge that the Fords had that weekend. Remember that a week or two later, Kenny Irwin, Jr. dominated much of the race at Atlanta in the #28 car before a penalty eventually dropped him back and he finished fifth. 379. Randy posted: 03.10.2013 - 9:33 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Looks like it will be a long year for Logano having to watch Kenseth win races with his old ride. Logano 23, Kenseth 41 going on 29!!! Congrats to Matt Kenseth! 380. Anonymous posted: 03.10.2013 - 9:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) This race resulted in a dream top 3 for bigots everywhere. Kenseth, Kahne, Keselowski. 381. 18fan posted: 03.10.2013 - 9:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmie Johnson should be very disappointed with his finish. He had no business finishing lower than 3rd. 382. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 9:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Definitely the best race of the year so far. Possibly the best Vegas race since they repaved, and the second best behind the '06 race here where they could race multiple grooves (even though I hated the finish). Of course they immediately dug it up and reconfigured it. The theme of this race is that the this new car was difficult to drive. The tougher it is to drive the better the race (hence the outstanding race on tracks with cheese grater surfaces that leave the drivers slipping and sliding). I'm thinking on every track less than 1.5 miles long, they should remove one inch of spoiler. Phoenix was a bad race, but the cars were glued to the track. They looked like they were on ice for this one, and it was a decent race. And yes, the FOX team is totally out of hand this year. They have been getting worse and worse and worse, but this is simply unwatchable. They just make shit up. That whole "Danica never hit the wall" garbage, this is one case where they didn't give her nearly enough credit. The replay clearly showed her dead sideways in the oil with the right rear bumping the wall (hence the very visible dent) AND THEY NEVER EVEN MENTIONED IT! It was a hell of a save. I wonder what they are watching up there. 383. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 9:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Wow, I can't believe I had to check Gordon's '95 season stats just to find out that Vegas wasn't on the circuit until '98. You trolled me, DSFF! Haha." Ain't I a stinker! 384. Bronco posted: 03.10.2013 - 10:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Both Hornish and Kahne led exactly 114 laps in their races, except that Kahne's pit stop exit cost him the race. First win for Dollar General in the Cup series. Paul Menard gets a top 10 at Las Vegas for the second year in a row. After only 3 top 5s in all of 2012, Carl Edwards has 2 of them in only 3 races. Dale Jr picks up his 4th straight top 10 going back to Homestead last year. This is his 5th top 10 in 6 Las Vegas races driving the 88. 385. 18fan posted: 03.10.2013 - 10:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Funny how as tracks age the racing gets better, yet these tracks seems to repave every 5 years, which is right when the racing really starts to get good. Races that have a dominant car, like Kasey today, aren't going to have a ton of battles for the lead, but today there were some good battles for the lead and that was a really good duel at the end. 386. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 10:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Funny how as tracks age the racing gets better" I sure hope that's the case with Kansas. I thought the race there last fall following the repave and reconstruction was the best race at that track because of how slippery it was and how easy it was to make a mistake. If age only improves the racing there, then it could one day be the most exciting 1.5-mile track on the circuit, and be deserving of two Cup dates. 387. cjs3872 posted: 03.10.2013 - 10:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well DSFF, perhaps one reason the cars seemed so difficult to drive had something to do with the dramatic change in the weather from Saturday's practice sessions to Sunday's race, combined with the rubber that was laid down from the Nationwide race. Remember that at Phoenix, it was cool and cloudy, while today at Las Vegas, it was cloudless and much warmer. And certainly the rise in the track temperatures, combined with the suddenness of the change from a cool, cloudy day to a hot, sunny day could also have had an adverse effect on the handling of the cars. After all, after just 80 miles, there were only 18 or 19 cars left on the lead lap on a 1.5 mile track, and a caution had to be thrown to keep the count of cars on the lead lap from dropping to 15 or 16 by 100 miles. One positive thing about the heat was that the race pace slowed down, which combined with the ridiculously short fuel runs of only 70 miles, meant that tires were not a problem, as the final 40 laps showed. In fact, very few lead lap cars changed all four tires on that last stop, with the winner and third place finishers not taking on any at all on their last stops, so from that point of view, it looks a lot like last year, with track position meaning more than tires. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if the winner next week at Bristol made their last pit stop between lap 375-400 for that very reason. 388. David posted: 03.10.2013 - 10:20 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "I sure hope that's the case with Kansas." So do I. People are always knocking Kansas as one of the worst tracks on the circuit, and I take that somewhat personally. 389. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 03.10.2013 - 10:24 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) MRN+A mute button makes NASCAR much more enjoyable. 390. Anonymous posted: 03.10.2013 - 10:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt Busch is still either wrecking cars or underperforming. I still think FRR made a mistake. 391. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 10:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) PRN covers the Bruton Smith-owned races. They're a bit more clownish than the MRN crew, but they do a great job compared to the Fox crew. I only muted the TV a couple times, sometimes for when they played in-car audio and then again for Kenseth's interview. Plus, I was watching Supercross on SPEED during the pre-race show, so it was a pretty Waltrip/bullshit free zone at my place. 392. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.10.2013 - 10:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Funny how as tracks age the racing gets better, yet these tracks seems to repave every 5 years" The 2010 Daytona 500 caused that. Every track is so damn afraid of having a pothole develop on their surface. It happens. Vehicles + pavement = potholes. We all have to dodge potholes anywhere we drive. Does anybody really think less of Daytona cause a pothole developed after 30+ years of racing on that surface in the 200 mph range, sometimes way exceeding that ('83-'87 anyone?). After that lap Bill laid down there in 1987 Daytona 500 qualifying, I'm surprised the track didn't come out from under him like in cartoons (210 mph average at Daytona? Holy shit!). And hell, does anyone even remember the pothole in the concrete at Martinsville in '04? Actually this is the wrong board to ask that question on lol! 393. 18fan posted: 03.10.2013 - 10:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I try to turn on races as close to the green flag as possible because so not only can I avoid the awful prerace show, but also Darrell's horrible pace lap interviews. Believe it or not, I actually could still stand Darrell only a couple years ago, but now I cannot stand him at all. 394. AveryNH posted: 03.10.2013 - 10:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Possibly the craziest thing coming out of this race is that headed to Bristol Danica is actually AHEAD of her trouble stricken teammate Newman, sitting 30th and 31st respectively in the points. On a slightly more positive note tho, Former teammates Aric Almirola and Mark Martin have both finished on the lead lap for every race so far. Mark, who's sixth in points, has just one top five finish, while Aric who's 10th has earned just two top fifteens. Of course Martin is off next week and Vickers will step into the 55 Camry. Watch out everybody! he'll either wind up really super competitive, like he's been the last two races at Bristol. Or wipeout the enitire field, a la Martinsville, 2011. Still wish Mark ran every race. He isn't even running New Hampshire this year :( 395. cjs3872 posted: 03.10.2013 - 11:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, the two times the track at Daytona has come up during a race, it happened the week where they had torrential rains on a worn out track. We all know that happened in the 2010 Daytona 500 because of the two stoppages, which caused the race to go about six hours long, but that also happened in the 1978 Daytona 500. There were torrential rains that year that, among other things, postponed the qualifying races to Friday, and the weather was still bad, and the track tore up, this time in turn three. And the track tearing up had a really adverse effect on that race, because Richard Petty, Benny Parsons, and Buddy Baker all cut tires from either debris from the track tearing up, or the holes in the track. Baker was lucky, but the other two cut tires caused not only Petty to crash and Parsons to spin out, but Darrell Waltrip and David Pearson were caught in Petty's mess, and A.J. Foyt and a few others were caught in Parsons' mess, all because the track was tearing up in turn three. And for a few years before it was repaved, although nobody complained about it, turns two at Darlington was tearing up, and they said at Phoenix there were signs that the track there was tearing up, hence the repave after Jeff Gordon's win in 2011. Talladega was also repotedly beginning to tear up in 2005 and '06, which was why it was repaved after the spring race there in 2006. And we all know of the problems at Bristol, Dover, and Martinsville concering the track surface. And they're supossedly going to repave Auto Club Speedway (Fontana, CA)and Atlanta in the next 2-3 years, and of course, they just repaved Pocono and Michigan. Every now and then, there's a run of repaving projects. For instance, in 1994-'95, Rockingham, Dover, Darlington, Charlotte, and Indianapolis (after the 1995 Brickyard 400) were all repaved, and in the last three years, Daytona, Michigan, and Pocono were all repaved, and Bristol, Phoenix, and Kansas were not only repaved, but also reconfigured. Every now and then, there's a run on repaving projects, and we're in a run on them now. 396. I love Japan posted: 03.10.2013 - 11:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I stand by what I said earlier about Kahne. And after thinking about it more, I think the only comparison you can make is to Burton from 97-00. Labonte and Jarrett were And this I was wrong on, elite for a brief time. But I still feel that was more a combo of chemistry, resources, and weak competition. But Burton was never a truly great driver. Theres a reason why he never got back on track at Roush. He is a good guy and a good driver but he was nowhere near as good as he looked from 97-00. And I feel like he is overall on his prime better then Kahne. Kahne can do good, but of it is all on the line, I don't think he can get the job done. Today was ultimate proof of that. Kenseth is a fantastic driver and he is a bonafide living legend in my book. 397. cjs3872 posted: 03.10.2013 - 11:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I Love Japan, the tracks Burton was best at proves that. He won at Darlington (though he never won a full-distance race there), Martinsville, Loudon four consecutive years, and even Daytona. Kahne's specialty has always been the wide-open tracks, like Vegas and Charlotte, but put him in close quarters, and he's just like Bill Elliott, his mentor when he entered the Cup series was. Elliott was never realy comfortable in close quarters, either, which is why he won only two short track races and two plate races, and Daytona raced closer to a mid-sized track then compared to the plate races of today. That's also why Elliott was never really that good in the All-Star Race, and except for his win in the event in 2008, Kahne's never really been that good in that event, either. 398. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 11:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "And hell, does anyone even remember the pothole in the concrete at Martinsville in '04? Actually this is the wrong board to ask that question on lol!" Haha. What would bring you to that conclusion? :) But was unfortunate as that was, it only further defines Jeff Gordon's legacy. How many other drivers could run over a chunk of the track, restart at the back of the field after repairing all of that damage, and work their way back up to 6th on a track as narrow at Martinsville? I can't remember if that was on your list of "Top Ten Greatest Jeff Gordon Moments" DSFF, but I think it should at the very least be an honorable mention given the circumstances and adversity he has to overcome to get that 6th place finish. Then again, maybe that was just the Racing Gods' way of saying "Jeff, we think it's time to repay the favor to Rusty after him wrecking you at Richmond '98 helped you reach deep down and pull off one of the greatest seasons in NASCAR history," because that went on to be Rusty's final win in NASCAR. Given the fact that Rusty went on to win that race and not a hack like Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., or "The Hack," I can look at that race in a more pleasant light. "Believe it or not, I actually could still stand Darrell only a couple years ago, but now I cannot stand him at all." I can believe it. It was only a couple years ago that I could still stand Darrell as well. But it's like the entire Fox crew did a complete 180 for the worse in 2012, most notably the 2012 Danica 500, and Darrell helped contribute to their downfall as he decided that with two Waltrips in the booth, he needed to talk even more than he already was. I used to never stand ESPN's 2007-present NASCAR coverage, but now I look forward to them because at least they're done in a professional manner, and the broadcasters aren't trying to promote themselves over the product. 399. Paul posted: 03.10.2013 - 11:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In fact, cjs, Elliott's only win in the All-Star Race came when the race was held at Atlanta in '86, the only year it wasn't held at Charlotte. And as most of us know, Atlanta was not shaped the same as Charlotte in those days, as it was more of a pure oval like Homestead is back before the '97 reconfiguration, rather than the quad oval track it is now. 400. 18fan posted: 03.10.2013 - 11:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Considering that Bill had much more success at Atlanta than he did at Charlotte, it isn't that surprising that the only All-Star win Bill had was when it was held at Atlanta. 401. Eric posted: 03.11.2013 - 12:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I love Japan, None of us really know for sure if Jeff Burton could have been as good as he looked from 97 to 00 for a longer amount of time. I am saying that because Dale Earnhardt's death affected him. I remembered him being involved safety for NASCAR for a time after Dale's death. I disagree with you about Dale Jarrett being mostly elite due to resources and weak competition. Dale Jarrett won more on driver tracks than Bobby Labonte did in their Careers. Dale won 4 times on tracks that are less than a mile, 3 times at Darlington, 5 times on tracks that are a mile long including 2 times at Rockingham. and 3 times at Pocono. Chemistry with crew chiefs has been very import for years no matter who the driver is. While Yates had great resources, Dale won at places where it is the driver that matters. The fact is Pocono, Rockingham, Darlington,Phoenix, Dover and Loudon is where the driver means more than the equipment. I admit the 2nd half of the 1990's had weak competition based what drivers you could say were at their peak besides there being an issue of the amount of star drivers that were developed from 1988 to 1998 in terms of rookie years. The fact was Ernie Irvan, Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton, and Bobby Labonte were the only star drivers from those rookie seasons. Bobby Hamilton Sr. was a good cup driver, but I don't think no one can call him a star driver despite having 4 cup wins. There was other cup drivers that from that time period including Joe Nemechek that were decent/good cup drivers at least, but you can't call them star drivers. Being a driver/owner hurt Rudd and Elliott. I don't think Elliott would have been that long without a cup win if he wasn't a driver owner. Based on what Rudd in 2000 and 2001, he could have done better in the 2nd half of the 1990's despite having 5 wins from 1995 to 1998. That was a small piece of the weak competition. The deaths of Davey Allison and Alan Kulwicki did have something to do with the weak competition from the 2nd half of the 1990's also and so did Ernie Irvan not being the same driver after his near fatal crash of 1994. The fact was Dale Sr. got hurt in 1996 and wasn't really healthy for rest of the decade did make competition worse also besides RCR being behind. There also was the fact Terry was getting worse every season after his cup championship in 1996 for rest of the 1990's. Dale Sr. wasn't healthy either from summer of 1996 to end of the 1999 season besides RCR being behind the times. 402. Paul posted: 03.11.2013 - 12:22 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Here's a little something for the Gordon fans/detractors. He posted on his Facebook page not that long ago: "Just landed back home. After our performance today that's what I call a long day. Going to work hard so days like this don't happen again." Hmmm...me thinks that Gordon isn't satisfied with his result today and could be going into "Refuse to Lose" mode just in time for Bristol, where he had top five runs in both races last season. For some reason, that post reminded me of Tim Tebow's press conference back in 2008 when the Florida Gators lost to conference rival Ole Miss early in the season, and he promised everybody that you won't see another team be as prepared as his team to win the rest of the season. Long story short, Florida didn't lose another game and went on to beat my OU Sooners in the National Championship Game. Maybe I'm just seeing things, but that's the impression that I got from JG's post. So unless of course Rick Hendrick can convince NASCAR to give Gordon those #25 cars that Ken Schrader used in '95, I don't think what we saw today is a representation of how his season will turn out. 403. jabber1990 posted: 03.11.2013 - 12:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 2 years in a row that the first 3 races were won by 3 diffrent makes 404. murb posted: 03.11.2013 - 12:32 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Lots of stuff for me to respond to... "Believe it or not, I actually could still stand Darrell only a couple years ago, but now I cannot stand him at all." I'm the same way. From 2001 to about 2008, I thought Fox had by far the best coverage. I always liked TNT/NBC too, but Fox just seemed better to me in that period. As for ESPN, they've pretty much always been pathetic since they came back in 2007, although they've been getting a lot more tolerable the last couple years. I think the Fox downward spiral began when all the Digger bullshit started. I guess that was in 2009. From that point forward, it just kept getting worse and worse. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, they let MW join the fray to replace Hammond (who I've always thought did a great job of providing insight in that stupid Hollywood Hotel with Chris "I Don't Care About Nascar and I Wish It Was Football Season Again" Myers). The addition of Michael has just sent it overboard. Now we have to constantly sit through his jester like personality and watch him do what he does best: be Michael Waltrip. I've got tremendous respect for Darrell, and I think he's a great person and philanthropist, but he's just gotten so damn annoying the last couple years. Especially since Danica came in. He just won't shut up about her. Also, I don't know what the hell has happened with Larry McReynolds. He used to be one of the best and most insightful analysts around. But lately, he's just jumped on board with the Waltrips and has started acting like a cartoon character. And like I mentioned earlier, for whatever reason now he always pretty harshly calls out crew chiefs and teams that roll the dice and take different strategy paths. He did it to the 1 and the 11 today. So yeah, I guess I'm basically telling you guys what you already know. Fox sucks now, other than Mike Joy (who is a broadcasting legend) and most of their pit reporters. I can't wait until TNT takes over in June. "Danica is actually AHEAD of her trouble stricken teammate Newman, sitting 30th and 31st respectively in the points." And Tony isn't much further ahead of them either, right? Man, what a rough start for them. And unfortunately for them, the circus is just getting started. They've gotta get Harvick's team ready for next year, they have to figure out if they are bringing Newman back or not, and knowing them, I'm sure they have a bunch of sponsors to resign. I wonder how long it will be before Tony goes Smoke Classic on the media. One question about Danica or something and he might snap. "Kurt Busch is still either wrecking cars or underperforming. I still think FRR made a mistake." He was blazing fast at Phoenix, but something happened to the car. I think it just fell off. It's the same thing that's been going on with Kurt since 2011. He can't close out races anymore for whatever reason. He'll even yell you that (that's not a typo - he'd really yell it at you, lol). Oh yeah, and that 2004 Martinsville race was wild!!!! It was almost as long as the all day Pocono race in 2002 (the Park/Dale Jr flip race). 405. Paul posted: 03.11.2013 - 12:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Eric, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin had great equipment in that time frame as well. I don't think it's fair to say Dale Jarrett wasn't elite just because he had great equipment. Sure he did, but he had to get the job done behind the wheel as well. You don't finish top five in points six years in a row just because you have great equipment. Considering how he won at races at Rockingham, Darlington, Bristol, and held off Dale Earnhardt to win the Daytona 500 in that six year time frame, along with the fact that he had six straight top five points finishes while Jeff Gordon has never had more than four straight top five points finishes (which he did twice), I consider him an elite driver. Maybe towards the bottom of the elite driver category, but I still think he was elite in his prime. Also, I think Mark Martin's '96 season was the greatest winless season of the modern era. He had 14 top fives, 23 top tens, an average finish of 11.3, and a 5th place points finish. To put that in comparison, his Roush teammates that have won championships (Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch) had fewer top fives in their championships seasons, and Kurt had fewer top tens as well, despite competing in five more races than Mark did in '96. Heck, even Jeff Gordon had two championship seasons with 23 top tens, and Dale Earnhardt had four championship seasons with 23 or fewer top tens. If someone can find me a better modern era winless season from a full-time driver, I'd like to see it. 406. Eric posted: 03.11.2013 - 12:43 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) cjs3872, Why are you now comparing Kasey Kahne to Bill Elliott when you claimed I was wrong for comparing Kasey Kahne to Bill Elliot after Kasey's win at Loudon last year based on Kasey's recent wins? You matter of fact claimed that Kasey Kahne was turning into Terry Labonte on post 163 on the 1st loundon race of 2012. 407. murb posted: 03.11.2013 - 12:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I don't think what we saw today is a representation of how his season will turn out." I picked Gordon for the championship during the off season because I thought he would carry over the fire from the Bowyer incident at Phoenix. He already proved that he could bring it over with that win Homestead. And even though he hasn't run that well so far this year, he does seem like he's brought that fire with him. Even before the Daytona 500, every time I saw him on camera during Speedweeks he looked pissed off. And in all the interviews of him I've seen in the following weeks he's seemed pissed off. Part of it is probably because they've run bad (especially today), but I really do think the Bowyer deal was another one of those "awakening" type moments. Once they figure out the new car or whatever it is they need to do to be competitive, things could get interesting. 408. Eric posted: 03.11.2013 - 12:50 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Paul, I wasn't calling Dale Jarrett wasn't elite just because he had great equipment on post 401. I typed "I disagree with you about Dale Jarrett being mostly elite due to resources and weak competition" when my post was responding to the poster I Love Japan. I Love Japan was the poster who claimed Dale Jarrett being elite was caused by chemistry, resources, and weak competition. 409. Paul posted: 03.11.2013 - 12:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Now we have to constantly sit through his jester like personality and watch him do what he does best: be Michael Waltrip." It's not like he knows how to be anything else, like say...Darrell Waltrip and win a non-restrictor plate points paying Cup race while driving in great equipment. At least with Darrell we can say "Well at least he was a great driver." With Mikey, it's almost like his announcing career and years of clowning around for his sponsors have overshadowed his mediocre racing career to the point where his racing career looks pretty good by comparison. I never used to mind Mikey when he drove for DEI and I actually kind of liked him. But now he's running his own team and nobody can reign him in and tell him to cool it, and so he's basically become overexposed by his own doing. "Also, I don't know what the hell has happened with Larry McReynolds. He used to be one of the best and most insightful analysts around. But lately, he's just jumped on board with the Waltrips and has started acting like a cartoon character." Well you know what they say: "When in Rome..." "Fox sucks now, other than Mike Joy (who is a broadcasting legend)" ...who now plays wingman to Darrell by setting him up for one of his long rants throughout the course of the broadcast. Also, I think Mike Joy is at the point where he's bored of NASCAR and is only in it for the paycheck. Seriously, go and watch him when he's covering those Barrett-Jackson auction shows on SPEED. He's still very passionate about that and it makes his NASCAR commentary look second-rate by comparison. "and most of their pit reporters." I can't stand Fox's pit reporters. Matt Yocum is buddies with Harvick and Stewart and is usually acting buddy-buddy with them in his interviews, Steve Byrnes has become a clown on Race Hub and asks way too many softball questions (such as asking Greg Biffle whether he should choose him for Fox's commentator fantasy NASCAR game last week), and Krista Voda's very presence is further proof that Fox is aimed towards casual viewers because she didn't start following the sport until a few years ago when she was hired. "I wonder how long it will be before Tony goes Smoke Classic on the media. One question about Danica or something and he might snap." Just say to him "So Tony, I hear Brad Keselowski's doing pretty well these days..." "It's the same thing that's been going on with Kurt since 2011." Kurt needs to figure out how to overachieve in less-funded equipment without over-driving the car and taking himself out. He struggled with that last year with Phoenix Racing, and I think he's still having those problems this year as he can't seem to get the car to perform better as the race progresses. It's one thing to do that when you have the proper equipment and resources, but it's another to do that when your resources are little. 410. Paul posted: 03.11.2013 - 12:58 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) My apologies Eric. I misread your post. "Even before the Daytona 500, every time I saw him on camera during Speedweeks he looked pissed off." I too have noticed that, and to be honest, I love it! No more of this "smiling and trying to act like a nice guy while consistently running in 7th place" act that we've seen the last five years. I want a driver that has that focused look on their face. Johnson has it. Brad has it. It's been a while since I've seen Gordon with it, and I hope it stays the rest of the season because I think he knows that he has something to prove. By the way, has anyone else noticed his hair is longer than usual? That'll happen when you focus more on your career and less on your appearance. Just look at Jimmie Johnson. He started to let his hair grow out once he started to have success, and now he looks more animal than he does human with that beard. I don't think Gordon can grow facial hair at this point (not that I want to see the "crash stache" back anyways), so I'll settle for longer hair. 411. 18fan posted: 03.11.2013 - 1:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Paul, when he was calling the UNOH Battle at the Beach Mike Joy seemed more into the race than he has with the Cup races. 412. murb posted: 03.11.2013 - 1:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I can't stand Fox's pit reporters." You make some good points, but I still like them way better than ESPN's group. Jerry Punch is a legend, and Dave Burns is decent. But other than those two, it's absolutely dreadful. You've got Vince Welch who is a total hack, Shannon Spake who I'm pretty sure has a speech impediment (not a good condition to go into television reporting with), Jamie Little who flirts with a lot of the drivers, Mike Massaro who is just an idiot and asks the stupidest questions, and sometimes, Marty Smith who acts like he is this blue collar diehard race fan who's followed it his whole life, but then walks around in his little pretty boy getup. Plus he's really good friends with Jimmie and Kasey, so he's always plugging those two. Overall, TNT reigns supreme (other than their many commercials). No gimmicks needed. 413. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.11.2013 - 1:14 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Bill had a really good run in the '87 All Star Race. Shame he had a tire go down :) Murb, I was at that Martinsville race. It was hot as hell, and for some dumbass reason I wore my heavy duty work boots there. I was also battling the remnants of a nasty flu bug. That was the last Spring Martinsville race to be held in late April. I was honestly just about to say "No Mas" and head out of there when they red flagged the race. That gave me the chance to sit under the bleachers for an hour and cool off. Although that was a hell of a comeback by Jeff, I'm not even sure that makes my Top 5 list of Jeff Gordon moments at Martinsville alone. For me, #1 is definitely the '05 Spring race. He lost THREE laps early, made them up by just passing everyone, stormed back to the front (and dumped Kurt) and won. There is also the '97 Spin N Win where Mr Excrement retaliated against Jeff for being there when he cut across the track at Texas, yet Jeff calmly did a 360 and kept going (shades of Dale in '80), holding everyone off on old tires with an interim late season crew chief in the Fall race in '99 AND '05. Even his run in the first race on the new pavement in '04 (sadly the plane crash race), he was junk for 350 laps but crawled his way to a Top 10 to keep his title hopes alive was one of those "What, Jeff is in the Top 10, how the hell did that happen?" moments that seemingly define his career. For anyone who has watched his whole career, his Richmond run last year was amazing, captivating, enthralling, etc. But it was NOT surprising. 414. JG24FanForever posted: 03.11.2013 - 1:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "If someone can find me a better modern era winless season from a full-time driver, I'd like to see it." Found. Terry Labonte had 17 Top 5's and 21 Top 10's in 30 races and finished 3rd in 1982. 415. Paul posted: 03.11.2013 - 1:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ah yes. Terry Labonte's 1982 season where he was leading the points, only to be dumped by J.D. Stacy. I don't care if he had no wins or 10 wins, you don't dump your driver while they're leading the point standings. Did that guy have any clue as to what the hell he was doing? *Waits patiently for DSFF's response* It's almost like with Jeff, we just come to expect these types of comebacks. No matter the situation, the track, or the decade, you can never count that #24 car out until it's over. He is the definition of a legend: A great driver with many wins and championships, and has that "never say die/refuse to lose" attitude that has helped him rebound from bad situations and turn chicken shit into chicken salad with amazing comebacks. It sounds silly for me to say that his 2nd place finish at Richmond was the greatest performance I've ever seen, considering all the wins that he has, but that truly was the best performance I ever had the privilege of seeing in person. I'm not a praying man, but when the race was red flagged and he was sitting around 26th or 28th place, I remember walking into the other room almost in tears because I thought he was going to come up just short of making the Chase after such a snake bit season, and basically asking God if he could just give Gordon a chance to comeback from his early race woes after all he had gone through that season. Low and behold, he got back on the lead lap by taking the wave around after the team made extensive changes to the car (and narrowly avoiding going two laps down before the caution came out), and made perhaps the greatest charge to the front in his post-championship career. Not even team orders by the Toyota camp could prevent Gordon from accomplishing his mission of making the Chase. Plus it didn't hurt that he was going up against one of the sport's most easily rattled drivers for that final Chase spot. It was truly an emotional night for me as a fan, and one I will always cherish because I got to see Gordon make one more epic comeback through the field. "Paul, when he was calling the UNOH Battle at the Beach Mike Joy seemed more into the race than he has with the Cup races." That is true. I'm not sure if it's that he those short track races are more exciting to him, he was working for SPEED that night instead of Fox, or if having Phil Parsons next to him (one of the best active commentators IMO) instead of D.W. and Larry Mac made it more relaxing for him, or what it was, but he was pleasantly on his game that night. 416. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.11.2013 - 1:55 am Rate this comment: (3) (0) What the hell, let's do it, my top Gordon moments by track: Bristol: Spring '97, the bump n Rusty, causing Evernham to have an orgasm on the pit box Martinsville: Spring '05, three laps down on the smallest, tightest track? No problem. Wilkesboro: Fall '96, the ultimate old school track shuts down after a win by the ultimate new school driver :( Richmond: Fall '12, Refuse To Lose Rockingham: Fall '98, wins the race, sweeps the Rock, clinches the Cup Dover: Spring '01, did anyone else show up? Loudon: Fall '98, part of his 7 of 9 streak of winning. Phoenix: Spring '07, classy tribute to a friend, mentor, and competitor (just wish he'd have turned the car around and held the flag to the fans) Darlington: 1997 Southern 500, 3rd ever Triple Crown, 2nd ever Winston Million, 1st Southern 500 3peat, all with a 7th place car Charlotte: Fall '04, probably a surprising choice considering he won his first race there, 3 Coke 600s, and 3 All Star Races, but he had the whole back of his car knocked off, lost two laps, and still finished 2nd to JJ who was in the middle of a 5 of 6 stretch at that track. Texas: Spring '10, didn't end well, but pissed JJ off then taunted him over the radio Chicago: 2006, the guy he would tie with his next win would have been proud of that one Kansas: 2002, rumors of his demise were greatly exaggerated, showed his back to back Bristol and Darlington wins were no flash in the pan, and made everyone who had been watching for a while say "son of a bitch, Jeff's gonna win the championship again" even though it didn't happen Homestead: 2012, throwback, nobody except his most loyal fans wanted him to win that race, but he did Atlanta: LABOR DAY TWENTY ELEVEN NUFF SAID!!! Michigan: Spring '01, out gutted The Rooster of all people for HMS' 100th win California: Spring '04, new wave of young guns Kasey and Jimmie looked poised to win, but the original Young Gun, Wonderboy himself won in the end Pocono: Spring '11, others faded, Kurt and JJ bickered, Jeff simply won Indianapolis: 2001, I know '94 is the sentimental choice, but he qualified bad for this one and was pretty bad at first, as usual it didn't matter Daytona: the '99 500, nobody worked with him until the end, when his business partner hooked up with him, they rocketed to the front, and settled the biggest race between the two best drivers in he field Dega: Spring '04, DEI has the superior cars by far, they didn't win Sears Point: 1999, his answer to Jordan's Flu Game Watkins Glen: 1999, back to back sweeps of the road, he's a man of means by no means 417. OldSchoolNascarDude1 posted: 03.11.2013 - 2:02 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) I was pleasantly surprised with today's race. I felt that it was better than both Daytona and Phoenix. If this trend continues, then I don't even believe the car will be a reason for bad racing. I believe that NASCAR's officiating and Goodyear's tire wear are both going to be bigger obstacles for fans to overcome, if intermediate tracks are able to produce this type of racing on a consistent basis. 418. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.11.2013 - 2:04 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Whoops, forgot Vegas: 2001, a year after his worst post '94 race, he won the race, won a million dollars, and put himself back on championship track. And for the record, I left Kentucky out on purpose. 419. 18fan posted: 03.11.2013 - 2:08 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) DSFF, Kurt and JJ had their dustup in the 2nd Pocono race in 2011. But that win in the spring by Jeff was great. He hung around all day while Kurt, JPM and Denny led most of the race, and then as most of the fast cars faded at the end, Jeff just kicked everyone's ass. 420. Paul posted: 03.11.2013 - 2:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Martinsville: Spring '05, three laps down on the smallest, tightest track? No problem." On a resurfaced track that he had trouble adjusting to in the fall '04 race. "Phoenix: Spring '07, classy tribute to a friend, mentor, and competitor (just wish he'd have turned the car around and held the flag to the fans)" He must have foreseen the fans at Talladega throwing beer cans at him and temporarily lost track of which part of the country he was in. "Texas: Spring '10, didn't end well, but pissed JJ off then taunted him over the radio" He was dead-on with his taunting. "Four-time's a little upset...He expects to be treated different than everyone else." Haha might be my favorite Gordon quote, at least over the radio. "Chicago: 2006, the guy he would tie with his next win would have been proud of that one" Just repaying the favor from Bristol earlier that year. I still don't know if that was intentional since Matt did have the lapped car of Casey Mears to his outside and might have been battling a loose race car and didn't want to risk hitting Casey, but either way, Matt was Terry Labonte to Jeff's Dale Earnhardt. "Homestead: 2012, throwback, nobody except his most loyal fans wanted him to win that race, but he did" I loved that finish. Sadly I wasn't following the sport back in that late '90s period when he was the New York Yankees of NASCAR (you either loved him or hated him), but it was pretty cool to be rooting for the bad guy instead of the "down on his luck" good guy. "Atlanta: LABOR DAY TWENTY ELEVEN NUFF SAID!!!" Perhaps the best duel of his career as he had to hold off his 5-time champion teammate, and the "old guy" didn't disappoint. Matt's victory over Kasey yesterday reminded me a lot of this race. "Daytona: the '99 500, nobody worked with him until the end, when his business partner hooked up with him, they rocketed to the front, and settled the biggest race between the two best drivers in he field" My personal favorite Daytona 500. It's still exciting to go back and watch Dale constantly look outside and inside of Gordon, hoping that he would have enough momentum to make the pass (or hope that Gordon would crossover his nose and spin out; can't quite tell haha) "Dega: Spring '04, DEI has the superior cars by far, they didn't win" And of course, Junior Nation couldn't deal with the fact that their hero lost in a superior car to the 2nd greatest restrictor plate driver of all-time, and NASCAR decided to give them what they wanted by creating the G-W-C rule. 421. cjs3872 posted: 03.11.2013 - 2:21 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Eric (#406), Bill Elliott and Terry Labonte were the very same type of driver. The big difference between the two is that Labonte nver had the equipment advantage that Elliott enjoyed from 1985-'89, when he scored two-thirds of his victories (28 out of 44). However, Labonte was more comfortable on shorter and tougher tracks than Elliott was, and Elliott was more comfortable on the wide-open spaces big tracks alow than Labonte was. But Labonte was proven to be better under pressure than Elliott was, though he was in fewer battles than Elliott. And I think Kasey has a bit of both drivers in him. He takes after Elliott because it was Elliott who was his mentor when he began in the Cup series, but he's also a driver that has won more recently on a wider variety of tracks, including flat miles, Pocono, and even a road course, in addition to Charlotte. And of course he's now pilotng the #5, which Labonte once took to a championship. And murb, a number of thse criticized Larry McReynolds for critcizing the pit strategies of the #1 and #11 teams during the race immediately when they employed them. But you and others who made those comments toward McReynolds forgot one thing. He was right both times. In McMurray's case, he dropped through he field like an anvil, and in Hamlin's case, he had to pit under green and the caution came out within five laps, trapping him one lap behind the lead, so while you and others criticize what he said, he actually proved right both times. And DSFF, Elliott can thank Earnhardt for that flat tire because of the vicious blocking he was doing that put him in the grass that day, and he did almost the exact same thing to Terry Labonte on the next lap, but Labonte backed off and there was no contact. Actually, Elliott ran great at Charlotte that year. He dominated the All-Star Race before his run-ins with Earnhardt and Geoff Bodine, dominated the 600 before engine trouble knocked him out of the race, and did win the 500-mile race that fall, but he did run into more than his share of bad luck at Charlotte over the years, as he never won the 600. But then again, neither did Cale Yarborough. And why is anybody surprised at Jeff Gordon's sour runs, because for most of last year, he was uncompetitive with his teammates at the bigger tracks. Sure his run at Vegas was made worse by an ill-handling car, but even if he didn't have an ill-handling car, his car was no better than 15th-18th, speedwise, which is right where he was most of the year last year. Until Atlanta last Labor Day weekend, he was a non-factor at these kinds of tracks, so why should anyone be surprised that he struggled so badly at Vegas, just like he probably will at California in two races, and just like he'll probably struggle at Texas. I still say that the hiring of Kenny Francis to be Kahne's crew chief effectively sounded the deathknell of Gordon's career, because look at how much he's struggled on the big tracks the last two years. In 2011, it looked like he was having a resurgence similar to the one Bobby Allison had when he joined Bud Moore's team in 1978, but hiring Francis, who has killed every previous team he's been with, may have killed what's left of Gordon's career, because his cars are, by far, the slowest of the Hendrick cars. 422. Paul posted: 03.11.2013 - 2:34 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) It's no coincidence that Kasey Kahne's cars were the only Evernham cars that were any good from '06-'09. 423. murb posted: 03.11.2013 - 2:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "But you and others who made those comments toward McReynolds forgot one thing. He was right both times." I never said he was wrong. I just didn't like the way he harshly called them out for rolling the dice. Why not roll the dice this early in the season? "My personal favorite Daytona 500." Mine too. I remember watching it live and just being overwhelmed by the wildness that happened in the second half of it. First there was the big one where Kenny Irwin turned DJ around. It took out a bunch of key guys. And then of course there was the epic battle for the win which included such highlights as Gordon almost colliding with Ricky Rudd's damaged car on the apron and second tier guys like Irwin, Skinner, and Schrader making a run for it. I couldn't believe that Jeff was able to hold off Dale. Just a great battle to finish a great race. 424. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.11.2013 - 2:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cjs, I love ya dude, but do you not understand what ":)" means? Do you not think I have gone on YouTube and watched those last 10 laps over and over and over again? I know his tire went down cause Dale slammed him. Hence the smiley face. I was also hoping for your take on Jeff's greatest performances by track, while taking the sentimental values out. I know I did that for his greatest Phoenix performance, but that came after a hell of a battle with Smoke that he won. I out that ahead of him beating Kyle in '11. All things being equal, Kyle simply can't step to Jeff. Refuse To Lose beats Agree To Lose any day. And Paul, Jeff's Fall '04 run in the ill fated day at Martinsville was actually a nice recovery. He couldn't do diddly for the first 2/3 of the race, but still somehow salvaged a Top 10. In fact, I specifically remember me and Dad walking down the bleachers towards the exit after the race talking about Jeff pulling yet another one out when they aired the Jim Hunter interview over the big Nextel Vision board behind the backstretch. Dad was saying "I bet when Gordon shits, 4 leaf clovers come out" when Hunter caught our attention. And yes, to pay off an earlier post, JD Stacy was a damn idiot when it came to racing. Earnhardt? Mark? Terry? Those guys won't amount to anything. 425. cjs3872 posted: 03.11.2013 - 3:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) No DSFF, I really don't know what that symbol means, since I don't use symbols or internet slang. And yes, Jim Stacy often didn't know what he was doing in either one of his two brief stints in NASCAR, which was why he wasn't long for the sport. He thought he could make it the first time with Neil Bonnett (he even ran a second car in the 1978 Daytona 500 with Ferrell Harris, and Harris finished in the top ten), so he merged his operation with that of Rod Osterlund late in 1978, running Bonnett under Osterlund's team before folding the first time after the 1979 Daytona 500, and then when he re-emerged in 1981, he and Dale, Sr. didn't see eye-to-eye, so he hired Joe Ruttman, and at the end of the 1982 season, both Tim Richmond, who he replaced Ruttman with during the '82 season, and Dale Inman both decided to leave, and both were more successful, while Stacy floundered for another year before folding again in 1983, thankfully never to return. But Stacy had drivers like Bonnett, Dale, Sr., Mark Martin, Tim Richmond, Tom Sneva, Sterling Marlin, and Morgan Shepherd all drive for him, and legendary crew chiefs Harry Hyde and Dale Inman, the greatest crew chief of them all, work for him in that capacity, and he still couldn't make it. But Terry Labonte never drove for Jim Stacy. Stacy sponsored Labonte, Dave Marcis, Ron Bouchard, Jody Ridley, and Benny Parsons in 1982, and by mid-season, had dropped sponsorship for all of them, but not before Parsons gave him a part of a milestone moment, the first-ever 200 MPH qualifying lap in NASCAR history at Talladega in 1982. And while Parsons deserved to have his name associated with such an achievement (along with Harry Ranier and Waddell Wilson), Stacy certainly did not. 426. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.11.2013 - 5:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Google "Jim Stacy coal"... fascinating article... the reason he disappeared so fast was that he was a scam artist bilking the Dutch government out of millions. 427. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.11.2013 - 7:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) http://www.joescalzowriter.com/PDF%27S/Flim-Flamming.pdf 428. Matthew Tesfaye posted: 03.11.2013 - 7:37 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) What happened to Jeff Gordon? 429. Talon64 posted: 03.11.2013 - 9:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) webmaster, To add some crew chief data, Jimmy Elledge was the crew chief of the #41 Target Chip Ganassi Racing with Casey Mears in 2003. http://www.race-database.com/crewchief/crewchiefyear.php?crewchief_id=Elledge&year=2003&series_id=2 I tried putting it through the contact form but it doesn't appear to be working. 430. cjs3872 posted: 03.11.2013 - 9:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) What happened to him, Michael Tesfaye, is simple. He's reverted back to his form of the first 20-25 races of last season, when he was uncompetitive with his teammates on the big tracks. Remember that his cars on the big tracks for most of the season last year were painfully slow, as it was yesterday, a fact made worse by the car's poor handling. Last year, his cars were slow, but usually handled well, but the fact that his car also handled poorly resulted in his worst run in years. He didn't become a factor on the big tracks last year until Rick Hendrick put his foot down and had all his resources focused on Jeff so that he could make the Chase, but in so doing, Jeff got some setups that also made his car faster. Now that the focus has, again been split up, Gordon's speed troubles have also returned, and they probably won't get better unless Hendrick again is forced to focus on the #24 team. But until that happens, Gordon's going to struggle on these high-speed tracks, so I don't think highly of his chances at Auto Club Speedway, Texas, or Charlotte, and even Darlington may be a question mark. But he should be among the leaders at Bristol and Martinsville. If he isn't, then he's got real problems. 431. JG24FanForever posted: 03.11.2013 - 10:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs3872,I just realized that i'm going to be at Gordon's 700th career start at Darlington. I think Darlington will be fine for him considering it will be a milestone race,and Hendrick will want him to have a memorable race. So the focus will actually be on Gordon for at least that super-speedway event. I hope. 432. David posted: 03.11.2013 - 10:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I just realized that i'm going to be at Gordon's 700th career start at Darlington." You lucky dog, you!! What a fitting track for him to make his 700th start at. I knew it was coming this year. 433. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.11.2013 - 10:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The way Hendrick is... He will endeavor to shit on Jeff the best he can at Darlington... buy an ARCA car and call it a Hendrick car. 434. JG24FanForever posted: 03.11.2013 - 12:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You guy's were talking about Gordon's best moments by track, and I liked DSFF's interpretation. Now i'll list mine,or at least my most memorable personally. Darlington: 2002 Southern 500. My first "Big League" stock car race in person. And the reason i'm as much of a fan as I am. Daytona: 1997 and 1999 Daytona 500's. in '97 he popped a tire and made a ridiculous save from hitting the turn 2 wall,stayed just ahead of the lead lap cars after making a pit stop,got the caution,and afterwards bulldozed through the field. Most notably sending Big E on his lid and making an epic overtake for the lead and ultimately the win. In '99 he spent the entire race getting hosed, until Big E agreed to work with him,even though Dale took off ahead of Jeff on the final restart. When Jeff finally got to the front,he did the only thing he could and made the most dangerous move(that worked)in Daytona 500 history,and then led 10 straight circuits with Big E hounding him worse than any driver today has ever had it. Talladega: 2007 Fall event. last-lap pass on Jimmie Johnson for the all-time plate-race win record. I laughed my ass off! I was so excited. Sonoma: 2004 race. Knew he would win. Didn't think he would run away with it! Led 92 of 110. Watkins Glen: 2007. The greatest "Babe Ruth striking out" moment for JG. Bristol: 2002 Night. This is Gordon's equivalent to Dale's 1998 Daytona 500 win. Loudon: 2011 race 1. This race was proof that Gordon is "driven" if not "bitten" by bad luck. Texas: 2010 race 1. Gordon loves to be unbeatable in races where bad luck reaches out and grabs him. Las Vegas: 2010. Steve Letarte is unbelievably naive. Led 219 of 267 and finished 3rd. North Wilksboro: 1993 Spring race and 1996 Final event. In 1993 I got to see Gordon crash out for the first time with his Crash Stache;) In 1996 he beat Big E for a win that is often overlooked by newby Gordon fans. Martinsville: 2005 Spring race. Three words: Tenacious,Ruthless,Winner. Michigan: 1998 race 2. 4 in a row. Still feel for Martin though. California: 2009 race 1. The battle between him and Kenseth was amazing,even if they never got side by side. They were flat-out for the entire last part of the race,and were light years ahead of Kyle Busch in third who said: "I had nobody in front of me and nobody behind me,I was all alone". Kentucky: 2012 race. Top 5 finishes at all 25 tracks competed at. Pocono: 2012 race 2. Jimmie Johnson loses it! Gordon goes from 6th to the win in one turn! He started 27th too. Homestead: 2002 race. He beat Jimmie Johnson! I still remember the relief I felt when he actually finished ahead of "that damn rookie" that I was annoyed by all year long. 11 years later...... Atlanta: 2011 Labor day. He broke his tie with Cale Yarborough in Labor Day event wins with his 6th on the 70th anniversary of Lioyd Seay's win in the final "pre-war" stock car event,That was also held in Atlanta at Lakewood Speedway, against Jimmie Johnson. And he broke his tie with DW in Modern era victories. Charlotte: 2007 fall event. I really thought he might finally get #5 after his win in this bizarre race. Phoenix: 2011 race 1. started 20th,was caught up in a wreck with Carl Edwards,still got back to the lead,led the most,got mired behind as usual,still made it through and beat Shrub by over a second. And he hadn't won in almost 2 years. Indianapolis: 1994 race. One of the greatest races in stock car history. Almost 400,000 in attendance. Kansas: 2008 race. He just lost 3rd to Biffle at the line. All while suffering from the flu. Chicago: 2006 race. He was just trying to rattle Kenseth's cage;) Richmond: 1998 race 2. The beginning of a 21 race stretch where he had an average finish of 1.95 and 11 wins. All after being very obviously dumped by Rusty Wallace to gigantic applause in this race. Rockingham: 1998 race 2. It doesn't get any better than winning and winning on the same day. Dover: 2012 race 2. For him to finish 2nd after being horrible for what seems like a decade at Dover,was the best Gordon-Dover moment iv'e experienced. 435. Paul posted: 03.11.2013 - 12:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JD Stacy was like the WCW of NASCAR owners. He had a lot of talent, both from drivers who drove for him (Earnhardt, Richmond, Martin, Bonnett, Shepherd, Marlin, Ruttman) and drivers who he sponsored (Labonte, Marcis, Ridley, Parsons), but didn't have a clue as to how to utilize them correctly and efficiently. His firing of Terry Labonte, while similar to Roger Penske's firing of '77-'78 USAC IndyCar champion Tom Sneva, was much worse because at least Penske got two titles out of Sneva's non-aggressive driving style. Stacy just dropped sponsorship of Labonte while he was LEADING the points, and wound up with nothing. He won (I believe) five races in NASCAR, four as an owner with Neil Bonnett (2) and Tim Richmond (2), and one as a sponsor with Dave Marcis, but he should have won a lot more given the talent that he had at one point or another. It's a shame that he had no clue or the desire to build a successful team, because his team could have been Hendrick Motorsports before Hendrick Motorsports in terms of building a dynasty team. Speaking of Martinsville, I remember the fall '02 race when Gordon started outside pole, but got run into the wall by Jeff Burton while they were battling early in the race and wound up finishing three laps down in 36th place. Along the way, he was spun two cars out in back-to-back cautions, first spinning out spring race winner Bobby Labonte, then spinning out eventual winner Kurt Busch. I had always (until yesterday) considered that as being his worst race because not only did he finish very poorly, but he spun two guys out along the way, both of whom finished on the lead lap and one of which one the race. It didn't help that only two cars failed to finish that event. In fact, every car completed at least 80% of the distance, which must be one of, if not, the most cars running on track at Martinsville that late into the race. It's a shame that Gordon got two flat tires in last year's Darlington race because that would be the perfect way for him to celebrate his 700th career Cup start. I highly doubt that lightning will strike twice in back-to-back years, but I suppose it's still possible that Rick Hendrick could put Chad on rear tire changer duty and have him "drop" a lugnut or two on every pit stop. 436. Paul posted: 03.11.2013 - 1:54 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Eh what the heck, I'll join in on the fun too. Here's my top Jeff Gordon moments by track: Atlanta: 2011 race. Epic duel against his fellow legendary teammate over the final 15 laps, proving that he's not "over the hill" just yet. Also tied Bobby Allison for 3rd all-time in wins and broke Darrell's record for modern era wins. Bristol: '97 spring. Chrome Horn Part 1. That finish is the very definition of a robbery, and I love how he immediately went to victory lane before Rusty could retaliate. Charlotte: '04 fall. How the hell do you finish 2nd with no rear end on one of the most aerodynamically sensitive tracks on the circuit? Chicago: 2006. Rattling Kenseth's cage and making it look unintentional en route to his 1st Chicagoland victory. Darlington: 1997 Southern 500. Gordon refuses to lose $1 million. Probably didn't make any new fans by roughing up nice guy Jeff Burton, though. Daytona: (tie) 1999 Daytona 500 and 2004 Firecracker 400. In '99, he held off Dale for the final 10 laps in one of my all-time favorite duels between two legends in the biggest race of the year. In '04, he ended DEI's three year streak of being 3/4 in restrictor plate races, won a lot of money for a fan with the Pepsi "Play for a Billionaire" promotion, and prevented the eight Coca-Cola cars from spoiling the party. Dover: '01 spring. Absolute domination. He led over 100 consecutive laps twice in this race, and nobody else could lead more than 4 laps in a row. Fontana: 1997 race. The California kid dominates and wins the inaugural race in his home state. Homestead: 2012 race. Enters the race as the villain for the first time in over a decade, and basically gives the middle finger to his detractors by winning on fuel mileage. Also his 1st win at Homestead. Indianapolis: 2001 race. Qualified 27th, works his way to the front, passes Sterling Marlin and leads the final 25 laps en route to his 3rd Brickyard win the day after his 30th birthday. Kansas: 2002 race. The 1st Jeff Gordon win I witnessed live after missing his wins at Bristol and Darlington that year, as got off to a slow start in the race before kicking everybody's ass in the second half. Kentucky: 2012 race. Top five finish. Next. Las Vegas: 2001 race. His only win at this bumpy 1.5-mile track. Too many heartbreaking defeats and bad breaks at this track. Loudon: '03 fall. Tried to assassinate the #48 team before their dynasty could begin. :) Martinsville: '03 fall. Joined Fred Lorenzen as the only drivers to sweep Martinsville from the pole. Michigan: '01 spring. Gets the 100th win for HMS by holding off his first teammate, Ricky Rudd. North Wilkesboro: '96 fall. A dominating performance in the track's final race, holding off "local boy" Dale Earnhardt for the win. It's only fitting that this new school rainbow-wearing kid would win the final race at this old school track. Phoenix: '07 spring. Holds off Tony Stewart for his 1st Phoenix win, then displays a nice tribute to his fallen friend after tying him in career victories. Pocono: (tie) '98 fall and '12 fall. He led more laps in '98 (164) than there are total laps today (160). And in 2012, he was Moses and Kenseth and Johnson were the Red Sea parting for him. Richmond: '12 fall. REFUSE TO LOSE! Rockingham: '98 fall. Why take home one trophy when you can take home two? Sonoma: 2004. Just a flat-out dominating performance by the greatest road racer in NASCAR history. Talladega: (tie) '04 spring and '07 spring. Public enemy number one in the state of Alabama, first by beating "the chosen one" under caution, then by passing Dale in career victories at perhaps his best track. Texas: Fall '10. Showed everybody that the fire isn't out just yet and proved that he could indeed shove someone with his helmet off. Watkins Glen: 2012 race. An unfortunate spin in the final corner that cost him 12 positions helped set up perhaps his greatest comeback performance ever just four races later. 437. Paul posted: 03.11.2013 - 2:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There are 44 cars on the Cup entry list for Bristol, including: - #19 Mike Bliss - #32 Terry Labonte - #33 Landon Cassill - #44 Scott Riggs - #51 A.J. Allmendinger - #55 Brian Vickers - #95 Scott Speed - #98 Michael McDowell There are 43 cars on the Nationwide entry list for Bristol, including: - #00 Jason White - #4 Danny Efland - #5 Brad Sweet - #16 Chris Buescher - #22 Brad Keselowski - #23 Robert Richardson - #25 John Wes Townley - #27 Michael McDowell - #33 Kevin Harvick - #42 J.J. Yeley - #46 Chase Miller - #51 TBA - #54 Kyle Busch - #70 Johanna Long - #74 Mike Harmon - #86 Kevin Lepage 438. Ken posted: 03.11.2013 - 3:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Terry Labonte racing at a non-plate track? 439. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.11.2013 - 3:16 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) I was at the Fall Martinsville '02 race. He really should have brought out the crash stache for that one. That was one of those "ok, where is the real Jeff and what have you done to him?" moments. The third most bizarre Gordon race I have been to live. 2nd is the '04 Coke 600. While JJ led 500 of the 600 miles and was never seriously challenged over the 4 hours, that 24 was simply junk, getting lapped over and over and even blowing a pit road entry at one point. The most bizarre? Last year's Darlington race. I didn't know what the hell was going on. I thought he broke something as he came slowly to the pits, went back out and immediately limped back in and went to the garage. Apparently he thought something was broke too. As it turns out he somehow managed to cut 2 tires in 2 consecutive laps. The best non Earnhardt in the Daytona 500 definition of "snakebit". And it looks like I will also be at his 700th race. As you guys may or may not have noticed, I am not exactly a fan of Jeff's, but have a ton of respect for his mental fortitude and being the definition of a true competitor. I will take time there to appreciate this moment. Jeez, was it really that long ago he was "The Kid", "Wonderboy", the guy Dale teased mercilessly for being so young (they'll serve milk at the banquet, which Jeff played perfectly). Jeff makes me feel old, and I won't even turn 30 until next year. Other Gordon thoughts. What I remember about the '04 Pepsi 400 was him winning and immediately TV cut to a commercial of Jeff saying "I just won the Pepsi 400, and now you can win money too" and I'm thinking "damn, they made a commercial about him winning before he even ran the race?". That was also the race where every Coke driver was in a special red Coke paint scheme. In victory lane Jeff said something like "I had a bunch of red cars out there, I don't know what they were, actually they were in my way is what they were". Pwned! I had two thoughts. 1) He's a real boy! and 2) You're former business partner would have been proud of that one liner. I was a kid at the '93 Wilkesboro race where he set the track on fire. That left an impression on my 9 year old mind! Who knew, beginning just two years later, he would finish 2nd in the final two Spring races and win the last ever race. I guess that is why I am so high on the Brad Will Be The Next Dominator bandwagon. Like Jeff, he had a rough rookie year that made you wonder if they were Cup caliber, a very improved but inconsistent 2nd season that made you realize they had a future in the sport, and then that 3rd season where "ZOMG, he is gonna win the whole damn thing". His impressive start with a new car and new manufacturer only makes me feel better. 440. Jim Davis posted: 03.11.2013 - 3:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "There are 43 cars on the Nationwide entry list for Bristol, including: - #70 Johanna Long" I wish this were so but she will not be back in the car until Texas. If they follow the pattern of last year another team will enter a 70 car to maintain owner's points for the 70 team. 441. cjs3872 posted: 03.11.2013 - 3:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Paul, the answer to your question about how Jeff Gordon could finish second at Charlotte from nearly two laps down without a rear bumper was actually answered in the 1982 Daytona 500 by Bobby Allison, who led 148 laps, the third-highest total by a Daytona 500 winner, all without the rear bumper, because it came off as a result of contact with Cale Yarborugh on the fourth lap of the race. Now whether or not it was fastened good enough is a matter of great controversy, but the fact remains that he led three-quarters of the race without a rear bumper, so that kind of thing had happened before. 442. Paul posted: 03.11.2013 - 4:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If you want to know what I think, DSFF, I think you're a fan of the nostalgia that Jeff has with him when you see him today, especially since he's one of the few active drivers from when you started watching NASCAR. I think you have a similar feeling towards Rusty Wallace; once Rusty was no longer Dale's top rival in the late '80s and early '90s, you could appreciate just how great he really was. And I think you have a similar feeling towards Jeff. Once he was no longer dominating the sport and racking up wins like there was no tomorrow and started to fall off the wagon over the past decade, I think you began to appreciate what was back in the day, and I think a part of you looks forward to those moments when Jeff brings out some of his late '90s magic because it's reminiscent of a different time in your life and a different time in the sport. I know I have similar feelings towards Tony Stewart. Now I'm not a Smoke fan by any means, but now that he's in the latter part of his career and great runs by him aren't occurring quite as frequently as they were a decade ago, I've come to appreciate them more and more when they do happen. He is perhaps the second greatest driver to have a ton of success at Daytona in all of the non-500 mile races, and if he does ever finally win the big race, there's going to be a lot of fans, both Smoke fans and non-Smoke fans, that will be cheering for him once he finally puts his name in the history books. And how about his 2011 Chase? Good Lord, poor Carl had no chance against Tony. When Tony wants to be the sport's best driver (which unfortunately isn't usually the case), he doesn't let you down. We usually talk about drivers winning races that they have no business winning or having top ten finishes that they had no business getting because of how lousy their car was at different points of the race. But Smoke won a championship that he had no business winning because of how mediocre he was in the first 26 races. I thought for sure that he was going to go winless for the first time in his career, and that he was (as he put it) just wasting a Chase spot that another driver could be benefiting from. As it turns out, he won the first Chase race at Chicago, and another four wins later he's your winner and champion at Homestead. You just knew he was going to pull it off in the season finale by winning the race and the championship, even after all of the trouble he ran into throughout the race, and yet it was still amazing to witness. And while I was never a big fan of them growing up, now that they're in their twilight years I look forward to seeing Bobby Labonte and Jeff Burton having good runs nowadays because they were among the sport's best when I started watching. I've always kind of been a fan of Bobby's though. I remember when he was catching Gordon at Fontana '04 and I thought for sure that he was going to pass him because Bobby had always had a reputation for being really good at the wide-open tracks and wasn't known for losing races at the end. And low and behold, he ran out of fuel in the closing laps and prevented what looked to surely be a winning pass on Gordon. And to this day, I can't watch the 2005 Coca-Cola 600 because of just how close Bobby came to winning, only to be beaten at the line by Jimmie Johnson. And I'll always remember my conflicting emotions for the final two laps of the 2011 Daytona 500 when Bobby and Trevor Bayne pulled way out in front of the field and I didn't know who to pull for to win that race. As for Jeff Burton, I look forward to the restrictor plate races because I know that those are the only tracks that he seems to have a snowball's chance in hell of winning. He came oh so close in the fall Talladega race in 2011, only to get beat by Bowyer coming to the line. (I did appreciate Bowyer passing Burton in the tri-oval and at least giving Burton one last chance to pass him back at the line.) And his 2nd place finish in the Firecracker 400 last year was pretty amazing. He gets turned sideways in turn 1 of the final lap, miraculously saved the car without hitting anything, and avoids the wreck in turn 3 en route to a surprising 2nd place finish. There aren't that many drivers that I pull for in Cup nowadays because of how unlikable some of the top drivers are. Basically, Gordon, Matt, and Brad are the only top drivers I pull for, although I will pull for Tony if it's down to him and Jimmie, Denny, or Harvick (just to name a few). It's almost a shame that the majority of the drivers I pull for in Cup are drivers that for them, a top 15-20 finish would be really good, but hopefully that will all change in the next five years when some of the sport's new young guns graduate up to Cup. 443. Paul posted: 03.11.2013 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JR Motorsports has announced that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kasey Kahne will swap one of their Nationwide dates this season, with Kasey driving at Talladega and Junior driving at Chicago. Maybe this was done so that Kasey could work on his restrictor plate driving or give Junior an extra 1.5-mile track to work on, but I think this only hurts that team's chances of winning those two races because Kasey isn't all that good on restrictor plate tracks and he's better on fast intermediate tracks at this point in his career than Junior. 444. cjs3872 posted: 03.11.2013 - 5:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Paul, the thing you bring up in post #442 about fans appreciating what an athlete has accomplished mainly when he's in the twilight of his career is actually something seen quite often. For instance, in baseball, people did not really begin to appreciate what Hank Aaron was doing until it set in that he was getting close to the all-time HR and RBI marks, and that was near the end of his career. The same is true regarding Jack Nicklaus in golf and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the NBA. Kareem always seemed to be overshadowed by other, more flashy players (including those on his own team), despite being the only man in NBA history to win six MVP awards. But it wasn't until he was closing in on Wilt Chamberlain's career scoring record that people began to realize how great he had been for so long. But in auto racing, this is noticed more than in any other sport. You bring up Dale, Sr. and Rusty, and now Jeff Gordon, and in five years, we'll be saying the same thing about Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart when the next great champion (Brad Keselowski, perhaps?) is dominating the sport. But that's also true of Darrell Waltrip (when Dale, Sr. and Rusty were dominating), Bobby Allison (when Waltrip was dominating), and even Al Unser, Sr., Johnny Rutherford, and Rodger Ward in IndyCar racing late in their careers. The only racers I can think of that were revered during their prime in such a way were Richard Petty, A.J. Foyt, and Mario Andretti. 445. 83andJoe posted: 03.11.2013 - 8:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) -Joey Logano's 150th Cup start. 446. Watto posted: 03.11.2013 - 8:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "He's reverted back to his form of the first 20-25 races of last season, when he was uncompetitive with his teammates on the big tracks." Well I recall you talking about this last season, but the fact of the matter is that after an average 12th place run at Vegas and a disappointing finish in a rain shortened Fontana, he immediately finished 4th at Texas, lost a good finish due to engine problems a week later at Kansas, 7th at Charlotte, 6th at Michigan, 5th at Kentucky, etc. To say he was uncompetitive with his teammates for the first 20-25 races on big tracks would be an overexaggeration. It was more or less that he was average at Vegas and uncompetitive at Fontana. 447. ch posted: 03.11.2013 - 8:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor Changes: 30 - MGM Grand Hotel & Casino (Lean 1 is just a minor associate, same as phoenix) 33 - Moon Shine Attitude Attire (Same scheme as Phoenix, so it should be the same sponsor listed) 34 - Front Row Motorsports / Riviera Hotel & Casino 35 - MDS Transport (The Riviera logos appeared only on the #34) 33 Status: Engine (Not a S&P, stated on broadcast as a blown engine) 448. cjs3872 posted: 03.11.2013 - 9:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Watto, the reason he looked better last year was that his cars handled better, which made up for a lack of speed. In truth, his cars really weren't much faster last year, but they handled much better. His speed is not much worse than it was last year. His cars last year were about 15th-18th on speed, hence his poor qualifying efforts on those tracks, as well as losing about 3-5 seconds to the leaders in quick order after new tires were put on, but his cars didn't slow down as much as the others did during a run because they were among the best handling cars in the field. But yesterday, his car was both slow and ill-handling, which is always a bad combination. His finish of fourth at Texas in the spring last year is testimony to this. And what I meant by uncompetitive in comparison to his teammates was that he was about 2-3 MPH slower than is teammates, which got him ate up so much early in a run that his superior handling during the middle and latter stages in a run didn't really get him anywhere beyond about sixth or seventh place because he got so far behind. Texas and Kentucky were tracks that this somewhat worked to his benefit, but at Charlotte, he would lose 5-7 seconds within the first 15 laps of a fuel run, then the others would slow down to his pace, but he wouldn't gain on them either. He finished seventh in that race, but was not far from getting lapped at the finish for this reason. In fact, there were only nine cars on the lead lap at the finish of that race, and only three others one lap behind because there was so much green flag racing, and at Texas, the last 350 miles were run under green. But his car handled so poorly last week that his lack of speed really showed up because he got lapped, and if not for that first phantom caution, he would have been lapped twice, he was that bad. 449. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.11.2013 - 9:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'd say it is a mixture of nostalgia and appreciating greatness while I get to witness it. I got to see Richard Petty race in person in my first few races I attended, but I was so young I didn't understand what an honor that was to see and just what it meant. I try not to make that mistake anymore. Getting to watch all these races live that Gordon is in, even though he drove me nuts winning so much at those races, has been an honor and one I am trying to embrace while I can. Same fo JJ. I try not to shit on him too much (and fail oftentimes) cause he is another all time great I have got to watch race. Now if he would stop winning ever damn race I go to! 450. Paul posted: 03.11.2013 - 9:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not gonna lie, I had to re-read that last sentence to see that you wrote "winning," not "whining." Sadly, it seems like Jimmie is usually doing one or the other these days. 451. Cornys posted: 03.11.2013 - 9:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This actually was a pretty good race :). 2 "competition" cautions in the first 1/2 of the race, but pretty fair after that. Clean air plays a big role in the races, but that actually seemed to make the race more exciting this week beleive it or not. We'll see if that continues. I heard on Speed Channel after the race that a few drivers thought the new cars would be areo-sensitive even at Bristol O: 452. Paul posted: 03.11.2013 - 10:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think one thing that will hurt drivers like Jimmie Johnson who are in their primes right now, or some of the sport's young drivers who will take over the sport in the years to come, is the current media, which includes social media. Celebrities are a lot more exposed nowadays, and as we all know, so are NASCAR drivers. The way that the media is today and how it's designed for casual fans I think only hurts the sport's stars because they are celebrated too much for their accomplishments and are mentioned too much in the media, whether it be over TV or the internet. Add-in the often repulsive personalities of some of those drivers, and I think we look back at the current flock of stars, led by Jimmie himself, as a cast of drivers that will be remembered far more for their celebrity than for their actual driving accomplishments. As great as some of these current drivers are, I think it'll be a lot tougher for those of us who aren't fans of theirs to remember them in a very positive light. And I know there are some people who may put Jeff Gordon in the same category because of his personality, but at least he came from an era when the sport was taken seriously back in the '90s. Drivers today like Jimmie, Denny, Junior, Harvick, Carl, and the Busch brothers represent an era of NASCAR with generally bad racing, bad officiating and management from the sanctioning body, poor media coverage, and the rise of social media. I know from my perspective it's going to take me a long time to think of their careers in a more positive light and be able to appreciate what I'm seeing from them just by the way that they are presented to us. Maybe some day I'll be able to appreciate what I'm seeing from some of these guys, but I'm not at that point quite yet. 453. David posted: 03.11.2013 - 10:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "disappointing finish in a rain shortened Fontana" The key words there are "disappointing finish". Gordon was running fifth at lap 100, but then two pit-road penalties ruined his shot at a good finish. 454. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.11.2013 - 10:50 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I also wanna say I didn't mean to start that shitstorm last week. We all have our faults, and I assumed Jeff having a propensity to whine was universally accepted as knowledge that it was his fault, like JJ being arrogant, Brad being a blowhard, Matt being a pessimist (as you are reading this, Matt is at home, running to his garage, cause he thinks his street car has a flat tire) and Dale being a bully. Plus it was more of a shot at JJ how, now that he is not untouchable, he has added whining to his arrogance. 455. Paul posted: 03.11.2013 - 10:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, I wasn't upset that you called Jeff a whiner. I just didn't pick up on your sarcasm and thought you were serious when you said he was a bigger whiner and more arrogant that JJ. I can't deny the fact that he has a propensity to whine, especially when he himself has admitted as much. 456. Paul posted: 03.11.2013 - 10:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Haha, I just picked up on the irony. Usually I'm arguing with you that Jeff is better than Jimmie, but in that case I was arguing that Jimmie was better than Jeff, albeit in a non-racing category. 457. murb posted: 03.11.2013 - 11:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I'd say it is a mixture of nostalgia and appreciating greatness while I get to witness it." I'm the same way. I've never officially been a fan of his. But I started watching right when he was in the middle of the Rainbow Warrior era, so in a way he's been a part of my life on the weekends for the past 15 or so years. I haven't always agreed with everything he's done, but I'm definitely appreciative of all the moments he's given me. And as much as I don't like Jimmie, I'm sure it will be the same in a few years once he's sort of done with his dynasty era. CJS brought up a great point about how that generally happens with guys who are the "villains" or whatever just because they win a lot. So I'm thinking that I will feel the same way about Jimmie (and Tony too) when their time is up. By the way, since you guys were doing the "Top Jeff Gordon Moments By Track Thing", I think I'm gonna do something like that as well. Since 2013 marks roughly 15 years for me as a Nascar follower, I'm gonna do my Top Gordon Moments By Year. 1998: Obviously, the 13 wins and the championship are the focal points, but there are two particular moments that kind of stick out to me. First, there was his win in the Pepsi 400 over Bobby Labonte (the one that was run in October because of wildfires), and then there was his modern era record tying 13th win at Atlanta where he wrapped up the championship. 1999: Daytona 500, by far. 2000: This was a pretty shitty year for him. 9th in points and "only" three wins. I remember him winning at Talladega, and that's about it. 2001: Las Vegas. It was his first win in the flame paint scheme, and he jumped out of the car in victory lane and said "WE'RE BACK!!!!". To this day, that line makes me laugh my ass off, for whatever reason, lol. And obviously, he was right. 2002: The bump and run on Rusty to win at Bristol. "I was trying desperately to knock the shit out of him, but I just couldn't catch him." 2003: Outdueled Bobby Labonte in an underrated battle to win the Martinsville Spring race. 2004: Two of them. The Aaron's 499 where he got the controversial win over Jr (AKA The Beercan Race), and the Pepsi 400 where he held off Jimmie and beat all the Coke cars. I just remember being absolutely shocked when he won that thing. 2005: Daytona 500 and that epic comeback at Martinsville. 2006: I guess by default it would have to be the Chicago win, since he didn't do anything else that year really (other than shoving Matt at Bristol, of course, lol) 2007: Four of them. The battle with Jimmie at Martinsville (yeah, he lost, but it was an awesome race!!!), the Phoenix win where he tied Dale, Darlington where he somehow won even though he was on the verge of blowing his engine all to hell, and the last lap pass on Jimmie at the Talladega Fall race. 2008: I honestly don't remember anything other than him messing up his back in the Vegas wreck. I think that caused him some problems that year. 2009: I could just solely go with his first win at Texas (which up to that point was one of his two or three worst tracks), but I'm also gonna go with his 8 runner up finishes. He easily could have won about 6 or 7 races that year. 2010: Same thing. He was so close to winning so many races. Las Vegas, Martinsville, Phoenix, Texas, Richmond, Darlington, to name a few. 2011: The Labor Day 500 at Atlanta. One of the greatest races of the past 20 years. 2012: The throwback run at Richmond to make the Chase. No brainer. 458. Watto posted: 03.12.2013 - 12:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) " but his cars didn't slow down as much as the others did during a run because they were among the best handling cars in the field." I honestly feel that might've been by design. Had that long run balance :). I just don't think he's sitting there getting the shaft. Jeff usually drives different style setups compared to his teammates because he likes the car to feel differently than Jimmie, Kasey, AND Jr... so sometimes if he can't get his balance right, he'll be on an island. 459. Paul posted: 03.12.2013 - 12:27 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) As much as I like both Jeff and Matt and am still to this day confused how two level-headed guys could have as many run-ins over a four year period as they did, the only one that still bothers me was Matt's failed bump 'n' run at Martinsville 2010. Jeff had the lead on a G-W-C and looked poised for what would have been his first and only win of the season, got off to a really good restart, and here comes Matt sailing into turn 1 and just punts Jeff out of the way. Luckily he didn't benefit from it because Jeff immediately got him in the right rear and sent him up out of the groove and back to 18th place (sort of like when he conveniently spun Clint Bowyer out right after Bowyer's divebomb in the same race two years later). To make matters worse, Denny Hamlin of all people winds up with a fluke victory in his home state. I didn't mind any of their prior incidents (Bristol '06, Chicago '06, Michigan '07, Las Vegas '08 even though that wreck totally killed Jeff's 2008 season) because they were simply racing incidents. And I know that Matt was going for the win at Martinsville (and wound up going winless himself in 2010), but I don't like how he just sailed in there and punted Jeff out of the way. At least is Bowyer's case, he could say he got a much better restart and got to Jeff's inside before the turn. Matt's move on the other hand looked like a mistake I would make in a video game. Plus Denny Hamlin went on to win that race, so it was a complete fail in my book. 460. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.12.2013 - 12:31 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Glad somebody else remembers the Spring Martinsville '03 end of race battle with BLab. He wound up bumping him a bit and was just a classic throwback short track race. 461. Paul posted: 03.12.2013 - 12:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Watto, perhaps Jeff's greatest attribute is his ability to provide solid information about the car to his crew, and by the end of the race have a very good to great car that he can use to pick up valuable positions that he might have lost in the first part of the race when it wasn't handling well. Jeff couldn't do that at all at Las Vegas. In fact, he seemed to get worse by the end of the race because both Austin Dillon and Dave Blaney passed him during the last green flag run in cars with much less funding. If someone as great as Jeff Gordon couldn't get a car that was that poor in handling to handle better by the end of the race, then that's a cause for concern. He already lacks speed, but if he can't get the car to handle correctly on intermediate tracks, it's not going to be a pretty season for him, no matter how motivated he is to perform. 462. Paul posted: 03.12.2013 - 12:53 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Bobby Labonte was so strong back in those days, and I always thought that he and Jeff Gordon had as friendly a rivalry as anybody back when they were both among the sport's best. They actually had a 1-2 finish in the opposite order early that same season at Atlanta. Labonte used to be the best at Atlanta, and Gordon almost stole one from him back in 2003 when he passed him on the outside on the restart with 13 laps to go. It looked like Gordon was going to hold on, but Labonte (shockingly) used his bumper to get Gordon a little loose just two laps later, held Gordon off and went on to win the race. I know that Bobby gets criticized for having a short prime at the top of sport, which is largely attributed to him having great equipment, but if you can recover from a legend like Jeff Gordon passing you late in the race and find a way to get back around them and hold them off for the win without making a mistake and costing yourself a deserving win, you have a lot of talent. He may not be an all-time great, but he was certainly one of the best in the late '90s/early '00s at not beating himself and rarely ever making a mistake. And the final 13 laps of the spring '03 Atlanta race is further proof of that. Also, I don't know whether JGR just happened to step up their game at the right time or if they waited for HMS to start struggling before they brought their best stuff to the track every week, but Bobby Labonte picked the perfect time to peak as a driver in '99-'00, as Gordon was either great but inconsistent ('99), or just off the entire year ('00). Bobby fell short the first time to Dale Jarrett (a driver that could have won maybe three championships had Gordon not been in the picture), but capitalized with arguably the most consistent season in Cup history in 2000, completing all but 8 laps and beating Dale Earnhardt for the championship. Once again, not a legendary driver by any means, but certainly one that deserves recognition for not folding under pressure and rarely ever making a mistake on the race track. The 2003 spring race at Atlanta proved that, and it's unfortunate that that was the last year he won a race because he could have had a long, consistent career much like his brother if he could have stayed competitive for a longer period of time. 463. Watto posted: 03.12.2013 - 12:54 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm just not that worried. It's the 3rd race with a new car in a fresh season and his teammates have been solid. The 24 will get it turned around. He's had random horrendous races for years, including when he had Steve Letarte. I don't think Vegas will be the start of a trend for him. 464. David posted: 03.12.2013 - 1:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Plus Denny Hamlin went on to win that race, so it was a complete fail in my book." Not to mention the guy in second. :) 465. Paul posted: 03.12.2013 - 1:47 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Speaking of Bobby Labonte and 700 career starts, don't forget that Labonte will be competing in his 700th career Cup start the week before Gordon does at Talladega, the site of his last NASCAR win (the '07 Busch race). And the week after Gordon's 700th career start (all consecutive), Labonte will be competing in his 700th consecutive start at Charlotte, the site of his last near win in Cup. So in back-to-back races, both of these guys will become the 15th and 16th different drivers to reach 700 career Cup starts, and the following race will join Ricky Rudd as the only three drivers to make 700 consecutive Cup starts. Here's a look at the 14 drivers who have made 700 career Cup starts, when they made their 700th career start, and where they finished: 1.) Richard Petty: 1976 Firecracker 400. Finished 22nd. 2.) Bobby Allison: 1987 fall Martinsville race. Finished 8th. 3.) Buddy Baker: 1992 Winston 500. Finished 31st. (Final career start.) 4.) Dave Marcis: 1992 June Michigan race. Finished 36th. 5.) Darrell Waltrip: 1997 Coca-Cola 600. Finished 21st. 6.) Ricky Rudd: 2001 spring Darlington race. Finished 6th. 7.) Terry Labonte: 2001 fall Dover race. Finished 17th. 8.) Bill Elliott: 2003 spring Darlington race. Finished 9th. 9.) Kyle Petty: 2004 Watkins Glen race. Finished 18th. 10.) Rusty Wallace: 2005 Kansas race. Finished 7th. (Led the final lap of his career.) 11.) Sterling Marlin: 2006 fall Fontana race. Finished 29th. 12.) Ken Schrader: 2006 fall Martinsville race. Finished 41st. (Memorably picked up his rear bumper bar and threw it towards pit road after crashing out.) 13.) Mark Martin: 2008 spring Fontana race. Finished 16th. 14.) Michael Waltrip: 2008 Southern 500. Finished 24th. Also, Ricky Rudd made his 700th consecutive start in the '03 July Pocono race, where he finished 39th after an engine failure. So by the rundown, of the 14 drivers who have made 700 career Cup starts, only four of them finished in the top ten in their 700th start. And each of those four drivers (Allison, Rudd, Elliott, Rusty) were still among the best in the sport the year that they made their 700th career start, and only Rusty finished in the top ten on a true intermediate, as Allison did so at Martinsville and both Rudd and Elliott did so at Darlington. Jeff Gordon will join Ricky Rudd and Bill Elliott as drivers who made their 700th career Cup starts in the spring Darlington race, and based on past history, I'd say there's a good chance that Gordon finishes in the top ten in that race, as both Rudd and Elliott did as well in 2001 and 2003, respectively. Bobby Labonte on the other hand will join Buddy Baker as the only drivers to make their 700th career start at Talladega. Baker made his 700th start back in 1992, the year before Bobby's rookie season, and that turned out to be his final race. While I don't see Bobby making his final start at Talladega in a couple months, I could see him getting a good finish there if he manages to stay out of trouble and has a few good breaks throughout the race. 466. 18fan posted: 03.12.2013 - 2:23 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bobby Labonte won his 2nd race, the spring race at Michigan in '95, in a similar circumstance to 2003 Atlanta, where Jeff got by him on a restart, but Bobby came back a few laps later to take the lead back. While trying to beat Bobby, Jeff complained about the engines HMS was giving JGR. Also, watching old baseball highlights with Keith Jackson doing the play-by-play reminded me of Keith's call of the '87 Winston, "And Earnhardt loses it, gets on the grass (I'm not sure if that is the exact line), and uh Elliott, goes inside. And Earnhardt's still got the lead incredible!" 467. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.12.2013 - 5:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Don't forget that the week before the Darlington race where Jeff Gordon will be making his 700th start Bobby Labonte will be making his 700th start as well. 468. Benjamin Lowe posted: 03.12.2013 - 7:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (3) I think Gordon will win one race this season which will turn out to be the Final Victory of his career before he fades into irrelevancy. 469. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.12.2013 - 8:18 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) To me, Jeff's greatest attribute is the way he actually gets better once things start to go awry. You just can't ever count the little shit out (I swear I mean that as respectfully as possible lol). Unless his engine hand grenades, he crashes hard enough to warp the suspension, or the checkers have fallen and he isn't first, you have to worry about him. 470. David posted: 03.12.2013 - 9:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "And the week after Gordon's 700th career start (all consecutive), Labonte will be competing in his 700th consecutive start at Charlotte, the site of his last near win in Cup." This is all assuming that Jeff doesn't go wrecking cars or making disparaging remarks about the Gen-6 car before then. :) 471. David posted: 03.12.2013 - 9:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just when you think you've seen it all, there is something new. Pocono Raceway is letting fans vote on the race name for the June event, sponsored by Walmart. The choices are: - Race More. Live Better. 400 - Pocono for the People 400 - Party in the Poconos 400 Not much of a choice, I'm afraid. 472. 83andJoe posted: 03.12.2013 - 11:12 am Rate this comment: (5) (0) Meanwhile, FAS Lane Racing may be close to clinching a three-year full-sponsorship deal. 473. cjs3872 posted: 03.12.2013 - 12:40 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) That would be great to see, 83andJoe. The more teams there are, the better, especially if they're fully funded teams. Now all they would then need would be a solid driver, because this lineup of senior drivers is not helping that team any. Certainly having drivers like ex-Hendrick teammates Terry Labonte and Ken Schrader figure to help that team finish races with cars in tact, though that didn't help them in the first two races, since they crashed in both of them. I just wonder, since they are a Ford team and that Frank Stoddard has a past with Jack Roush (he won 15 races as Jeff Burton's crew chief with Roush), could they become another potential R&D or driver develpoment team for Roush in the future, much like the Wood Brothers currently are, which would certainly be a step or two up from where they currently are. 474. Scott B posted: 03.12.2013 - 2:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) FAS Lane used what limited resources they have wisely up to this point. I would think any pending long-term deal would be built around Timmy Hill. I'd enjoy seeing the team and the young driver progress together. 475. Paul posted: 03.12.2013 - 2:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Here's a funny prank video I found. It involves Jeff Gordon going undercover for Pepsi Max at a Chevrolet dealership, eventually test driving the new Camaro. I think you guys know where I'm going with this, so here's the clip haha: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9YR9UeZKI78 476. Anonymous posted: 03.12.2013 - 5:30 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I have a feeling Terry is the one helping with this sponsorship seeing as he is the driver this week, but he and Frank have a great relationship. Personally, id like to see FAS Lane have two cars, one for Hill, the other split between Labonte and Schrader. Maybe this will be a step that way. 477. Ken posted: 03.12.2013 - 7:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) OxyWater is the new FAS Lane sponsor, and Terry will be driving this weekend. He leads active drivers in top fives and starts at Bristol. 478. JG24FanForever posted: 03.12.2013 - 8:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Jeff Gordon will join Ricky Rudd and Bill Elliott as drivers who made their 700th career Cup starts in the spring Darlington race" This is the Mother's Day Southern 500 that he's making his 700th start in. The spring Darlington race was run in April and was mostly a 400 mile race in it's history. That's why Gordon has 6 Southern 500 wins and not just 5. If you need proof,just go to Darlingtons Joe Weatherly Museum and NMPA Hall of Fame,where they have a collection of model cars for every Southern 500 winner. And every car from 2005 through 2012 is included. Gordon is the only driver with 6 model cars in that case:) 479. Paul posted: 03.12.2013 - 8:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "This is the Mother's Day Southern 500 that he's making his 700th start in. The spring Darlington race was run in April and was mostly a 400 mile race in it's history." Around where I come from, the month of May is in the season of spring, as is April. So the Southern 500 is the new spring Darlington race. 480. cjs3872 posted: 03.12.2013 - 8:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And JG24FF, that should end the argument of whether or not the Southern 500, now run on Mother's Day, is a contnuation of the Southern 500 from when it was run on Labor Day. And by the way, the spring race at Darlington was a 500-mile race for more than 20 years, from 1973 through 1994, except for 1974, when like all other races in the first half of the season, it was cut by 10% due to the energy crisis, and in 1980, when it was rain and darkness shortened. Ironically, David Pearson won both of those shortened races. And yes Anonymous (#476), of the drivers that run Frank Stoddard's #32 car, Terry Labonte would be the one to carry the most clout, since he is a 2-time Cup champion, so it would figure that it would be he that helped bring the sponsorship to the team. And of course, it's virtually guaranteed a spot in the field in the races that Terry runs the car, and it would be only natural that that sponsorship announcement comes this week, since Bristol was probably Terry's best track when he drove, even though he won there only twice, including the 1984 night race that broke Darrell Waltrip's 7-race winning streak there. 481. cjs3872 posted: 03.12.2013 - 8:50 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Well Paul, the month of May has always been the biggest in auto racing, and the moving of the Southern 500 to May just adds to that. After all, you already have the All-Star Race, the Indianapolis 500, and the Coca-Cola 600, all in May, and the Winston 500, or spring race at Talladega, also used to run in May, so the Southern 500 just adds to the tradition of big races in May, though I'd like to see a big race move to the Chase, where the Southern 500 was in 2004. Had they kept the Southern 500 as a late Chase race, it would have returned the race to the prominece it had in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, as well as the five times drivers were going for the Winston Million in the 13 years of that program (1985, '89, '92,'96-'97). If you ask me, there are too many big races in the early part of the racing season, and not enough big races to keep the fans interested late in the season. With the last big race now in July (the Brickyard 400), and with the Chase set in early September, race fans really have nothing to get excited for after early-to-mid September. 482. Paul posted: 03.12.2013 - 8:58 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Terry would have won at Bristol three times, but unfortunately he messed with the bull and got the horns in '99. And I remember he had a really good top five run going in the spring '03 race, but got punted into the wall by the damn lapped car of Brett Bodine. 483. Paul posted: 03.12.2013 - 9:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) They should move the Southern 500 to the Chase, or maybe at a second date and keep the Mother's Day race and gain a Chase date for Darlington. Indy I think would make a great Chase opening race, and Atlanta should also have a Chase date as it had traditionally been the last race on the schedule. I would also bring back Rockingham and maybe have it be in back-to-back weekends with Darlington and/or Atlanta. North Wilkesboro should have a Chase date as well, that is, if it ever gets used again properly. 484. The Final Gear posted: 03.12.2013 - 9:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Extremely excited for FAS Lane with that 3 year sponsorship deal. That's huge for the small team to get regular income from sponsorship. Hopefully this pushes them in the right direction and they are able to become similar to Front Row Motorsports (3 cars, sponsorship, some fairly talented drivers who can sneak into the top 20). 485. JG24FanForever posted: 03.12.2013 - 10:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Here are your active Laps Led leaders for Bristol: Jeff Gordon---2647---5 wins--16 Top 5's---22 Top 10's--5 Poles---40 starts Kyle Busch----1375---5 wins---7 Top 5's---11 Top 10's--0 Poles---16 starts Tony Stewart--1355---1 win----6 Top 5's----8 Top 10's--1 Pole----28 starts Mark Martin---1200---2 wins--16 Top 5's---23 Top 10's--9 Poles---46 starts Matt Kenseth---922---2 wins--10 Top 5's---17 Top 10's--1 Pole----26 starts Kurt Busch-----840---5 wins---6 Top 5's---13 Top 10's--1 Pole----24 starts Terry Labonte--808---2 wins--19 Top 5's---33 Top 10's--1 Pole----57 starts Jimmie Johnson-789---1 win----7 Top 5's---13 Top 10's--1 Pole----22 starts Dale June------758---1 win----7 Top 5's---12 Top 10's--0 Poles---26 starts Greg Biffle----438---0 wins---6 Top 5's---11 Top 10's--1 Pole----20 starts 486. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.12.2013 - 11:00 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) I don't think Terry really messed with the bull in '99, he just got the horns. What was that I was saying about all drivers having flaws? And Terry had the best quote after '03: "Anytime you run near a Bodine there is a chance you will get wrecked". 487. murb posted: 03.12.2013 - 11:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Anytime you run near a Bodine there is a chance you will get wrecked" And there's also a chance that you might get into them, causing them to go off on one of their hypocritical rants... 488. Paul posted: 03.12.2013 - 11:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I don't think Terry really messed with the bull in '99, he just got the horns." I think Terry got into Dale going into turn 3 coming to the white flag, and Dale getting into him in turn 1 was just a retaliation. Of course, it is Dale Earnhardt we're talking about, who was known for wrecking guys for reasons not related to the race track (Geoff Bodine and Ken Schrader for example), so it could have just been a coincidence that Dale paid him back the next turn, and that he was going to get into him anyways. And I mean no disrespect to Dale when I say that. "Anytime you run near a Bodine there is a chance you will get wrecked" HA! I love it when the quiet ones dish out great one-liners like that. You know you have a bad reputation when a true nice guy like Terry Labonte calls you out. Jeff Green had a similar quote at the '02 fall Charlotte race, after being taken out in the early wreck after Todd Bodine hit the wet grass going through the dogleg and took out a bunch of cars, when he said "It had to be a Bodine." He was then asked if he was aware of the wet grass and made sure to avoid it, to which he responded "Don't need to be in the grass when it's dry." I guess if you want to find out if the grass is still wet after a rainstorm, just send a Bodine out there to test it out. And earlier today, I watched the finish to the 1988 fall North Wilkesboro race when Rusty Wallace and Geoff Bodine gave each other the bump 'n' run on the final lap. Bodine got into Rusty in turn 1 and almost wrecked him, and once Rusty got his car straightened out he repaid the favor in turn 3 and just about caused Bodine to spin out. Actually, that tomfoolery by those two did affect an innocent bystander, as championship leader Bill Elliott just about spun himself when he overreacted in the car when he saw what was going on ahead of him, and wound up losing five points as he lost 4th place to Terry Labonte. Just imagine if Rusty went on to win the title in '88 by five or fewer points. We could put Geoff Bodine in the same category as Ricky Rudd: Drivers who made their biggest impact on a championship battle by costing a serious title contender valuable points. 489. Paul posted: 03.12.2013 - 11:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, I was watching a little more of the '03 spring Bristol race and during the 13th caution period, Tony Stewart was running into the back of Ricky Rudd's car as they left pit road. He and Kevin Harvick must have the same brain because they are both disrespectful to their crew members over the radio, have brash personalities, and apparently aren't smart enough to realize that you don't mess with The Rooster. Do you have a death wish?? Don't you realize this is the same guy who wasn't afraid of wrecking himself and Dale Earnhardt in Dale's home state while contending for a championship late in the season? The same guy who turned Jeff Gordon head-on into the wall at Charlotte after Jeff nudged him out of the way? For God's sake, this man taped his eyes open so he could race in the Daytona 500 a week after a horrific accident in '84! If there's one guy you shouldn't mess with on the race track, it's someone with such little regard to human life (including his own) on the race track. And I like Ricky Rudd, as he was one of my favorites when I started watching NASCAR. But he was a borderline psychopath at times and feared no man. Do you really think it's worth it to dent this guy's rear bumper by running into him after he cut you off on pit road? Not me. If there's one driver who could seriously hurt another in a fist fight outside the track, and nobody would be surprised by it, it's Ricky Rudd. Why you would mess with that guy over a meaningless incident under caution is beyond me. 490. Anonymous posted: 03.13.2013 - 12:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great news for FAS Lane. Really happy for them. 491. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.13.2013 - 7:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hey, he had a damn good reason for wrecking Bodine. Yes, there were many times he would wreck or knock the shit out of people just to establish his place as the biggest bully on the block (Rockingham '96 is an underrated example, he didn't need to punt Hamilton like that, he could have just passed him). But Bodine had it coming. He is one of those guys that needed to be put in his place. And Schrader had it coming too! Taking June for a "night on the town". That was the best story ever. Schrader: "I told Junior, tomorrow, don't go near your Dad, don't look at your Dad, DEFINITELY don't breathe on him". Narrowly edges out his recollection of his Dega '95 wreck with Jeff where everyone was more concerned cause Jeff felt so bad for wrecking him. 492. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.13.2013 - 8:23 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) The older guys telling stories and busting each other's balls was such a highlight. Starting off with Bodine talking about the HMS beginnings and his issues with Dale while Darrell saying "oh, thaat is just a classic fabricated Bodine story". Honestly JJ, June, and Kasey were useless and took up valuable Schrader time. Even Gordon told some good stories and took ribbing well. And Rick once again gave Jeff hell for how he handled his divorce. Wish Ricky could have been there and he and Schrader could talk about The Great Martinsville Incident Of Nineteen Ninety. Those would be good stories. Funny cause Epic Johnson Gordon Duel I at the same track almost was a similar disaster. The superior talent of the two drivers saved that one. I must say I really like The Rooster too. Even with The Great Wilkesboro Incident Of Eighty Nine (people like to blame Dale's '89 title loss on the blown engine at Charlotte and the aforementioned last lap spin, but I blame it on mediocre runs at Martinsville and Phoenix down the stretch). I don't agree with everything he did. I actually have the biggest problem with what he did to Jeff at Charlotte '94 (one of the 5 biggest dick moves ever along with Dale at Richmond '86 and Jeff at Phoenix last year). But he was tough as hell, a legitimate badass, not a blowhard, and somebody you just don't f*** with. I still wish they would have let Harvick get to him after Richmond '03. And The Rooster would have given us the greatest NASCAR highlight ever: him destroying young punk Harvick. 493. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.13.2013 - 8:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wish Ricky had never left the Woods. He was gearing up to win them a race in 2006. I liked watching him. He really was the ultimate bad@$$. I still believe he was the only guy who truly didn't fear Big E. Yeah, Rusty, Jeff, and Terry didn't flinch when racing him in a points battle, but Ricky wasn't afraid to battle on pit road after a race either. 494. Daniel posted: 03.13.2013 - 12:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeremy Clements is back in the #51. The #70 is now TBA. 495. David posted: 03.13.2013 - 12:35 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "I still believe he was the only guy who truly didn't fear Big E." What about Tim Richmond? 496. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.13.2013 - 12:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tim Richmond choked when it counted most, so I would say he faltered. Besides, he never actually got into full-out title/race battle with Dale once. 497. Tyu posted: 03.13.2013 - 1:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What happened to Jeff Gordon? Was he great or awful? 498. David posted: 03.13.2013 - 2:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordon wasn't awful, his car was. 499. Paul posted: 03.13.2013 - 2:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Rockingham '96 is an underrated example, he didn't need to punt Hamilton like that, he could have just passed him" That might be my least favorite Earnhardt moment. He wasn't battling for the win, nor was he paying someone back for an earlier incident. He was just being an asshole to a fellow "good ol' boy" that I think was totally uncalled for. "Honestly JJ, June, and Kasey were useless and took up valuable Schrader time." Kasey especially. I think he said about five words the entire episode. Junior was all camera shy as usual, although he did crack a smile when talking about the Schrader incident. And Jimmie shockingly gave us a big hint that his on-camera personality isn't the same as his off-camera personality. If I were to select the cast for that Hendrick special, I would have kept Schrader and Gordon because of their story telling, Darrell just because he didn't annoy me (which is rare nowadays), Terry because he's the sweetest guy to ever drive for Hendrick, and Bodine because a.) we need a Yankee representative and b.) we need someone to be the butt of most of the jokes. Also, I would add Ricky Rudd to the lineup just because I miss The Rooster. "And The Rooster would have given us the greatest NASCAR highlight ever: him destroying young punk Harvick." Rudd would have killed him, perhaps literally, if he had been given half a chance. You don't walk over another man's car while he's being restrained by his crew the way Harvick did. Major dick/cowardly move from someone who acts like the toughest guy in the sport. He tried to be a tough guy by pulling up beside Rudd on pit road, but as soon as he got out of his car he froze like a deer caught in the headlights as he got the death stare from The Rooster. Then of course he acted like a tough guy by walking over Rudd's car like the asshole that he is once his crew guys came over to back him up like they always do. I still laugh when I see footage of a restrained Rudd throwing his HANS device at Harvick as he walks away with his entourage. The only time I've ever seen Harvick confront another driver without his pit crew was at Watkins Glen '07 when he tried to pick a fight with Montoya, even though Montoya did nothing wrong (an Harvick even admitted it in his interview). Harvick had his shot at being a tough guy, and failed miserably as Montoya shoved him not once, but twice and Harvick just stood there because he can't fight someone who will fight back. "I wish Ricky had never left the Woods." Same here. The team wasn't that great from '03-'05, but he always seemed to get quality runs out of the car and added respectability to the team because they finally had a great driver behind the wheel after years of mediocre Cup drivers. I remember he had 3 top three finishes in '03, had a great battle with Joe Nemechek at Kansas the following season, and came just short of the top 20 in points in '05. Plus, nobody (except for blowhards like Smoke and Harvick) messed with him on the track and tore up his equipment because they knew what he was capable of. "Jeremy Clements is back in the #51." Awesome! "The #70 is now TBA." Not awesome. "What happened to Jeff Gordon? Was he great or awful?" Awful. Maybe the worst race of his career. Besides the opening lap when he started 10th, I don't think he was in the top ten all race. 500. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.13.2013 - 2:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tyu, in this race Jeff was junk in the beginning and only got worse. Ricky didn't fear Dale. But Rusty is the one who actually embraced going toe to toe with The Intimidator, using it as motivation to be even better, causing Dale to step his game up too. Petty and Pearson are definitely the greatest example of two drivers who forced each other to be better and reach heights as a driver they otherwise wouldn't have. But Dale and Rusty are second. And oh yeah, The Rooster didn't fear taking on anyone after the race. He would have taken on King Kong had the opportunity presented itself. He got sucker punched by a Yates motor guy at Richmond one year and nailed him in the face with a water bottle opening up a gash that needed several stitches. People that need to count themselves lucky are Dale at Wilkesboro '89, Rusty at Dover '01, and Harvick at Richmond '03 that officials were there to hold people back. Ricky was ready to destroy Rusty at Dover, Harvick would have been ripped to shreds, and Dale was no fighter (that is why Rusty pelted him with a water bottle after Bristol '95, he knew him personally and knew he wouldn't do anything), he would have been the dog that caught the milk truck. 501. Paul posted: 03.13.2013 - 3:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Rusty at Dover '01" Wow I totally forgot about that incident. Rusty has some major cojones to spin Ricky Rudd out. I think Rusty could have held his own against Rudd for awhile, but I think he would have eventually been beaten by Rudd's killer instinct. "Dale was no fighter" I think Dale was one of those guys that would take advantage of other drivers, until they manned up and fought back or talked to him afterwards. I think it was all mind games with Dale, and he would try to beat you mentally more than anything. If you didn't let him beat you with these tactics, then you earned his respect and he left you alone. 502. cjs3872 posted: 03.13.2013 - 3:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And Paul, if you got over those head games that Dale, Sr. would play with you and got over his intimidation tactics, it was much harder for him to beat you. tht's why he had such a hard time beating the likes of Petty, Pearson, Allison, Yarborough, Baker, etc., because nothing intimidated them. But guys like Elliott, Waltrip, Labonte, and even Waltrip to a lesser degree, could be intimidated. Mark Martin even created a strategy to see that Earnhardt could never get to him. The strategy he devised of simply moving over when a faster car came up to him was one he devised so that Earnhardt couldn't wreck him. That's also why he had trouble with guys like Rusty Wallace and later Jeff Gordon and Dale Jarrett, because they wouldn't let anyone, not even Earnhardt intimidate them, and that's why Earnhardt had so much trouble with them, but that's also why he respected them so much. 503. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.13.2013 - 4:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It was definitely mind games in that Dale had to establish himself as the big bad bully. The Bobby Hamilton incident came at a crucial time for Dale. He had just been waxed for the '95 Winston Cup (or should have been, don't let the 34 point final margain fool you) and got beat pretty handily during Speedweeks by DJ, Todd Parrot (crew member for Rusty ever since he joined Blue Max in '86), and the new Yates team. He was entering his mid 40s creating a lot of talk as to whether he could hang with the new early 20's phenom, and RCR was noticeably behind the new engineering curve. He needed to re establish himself. So he knocked the piss out of Bobby and the scrappy but even further behind the curve Petty car. Actually I'm surprised The King didn't confront him afterwards. He would have poked his long index finger in Dale's chest and he would have just took it. But that was definitely a "In case you forgot, I'm Dale Earnhardt and I will still wreck my Mom to win". The thing of it is, has he not been injured at Dega that Summer, it may have won him a championship 10 months later. Although his RCR car didn't have anything for the Hendrick Duo and the 88 car, he was still close in points, and once Jeff and DJ began faltering down the stretch, an already stressful situation (being in a tight points race) would have been magnified 10 fold with that badass black car hounding them. 504. Jim Davis posted: 03.13.2013 - 5:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "The #70 is now TBA." I looks like Brad Teague. Tony Raines must have ticked someone off. 505. NicoRosbergFan posted: 03.13.2013 - 6:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Give Dale credit. He was the first guy to talk things over with somebody. No matter what happened on camera, things got patched up off camera every time. 506. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.13.2013 - 6:48 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Lol. Just watched the Gordon video. I now have a new catch phrase for him: "You're an idiot and I'm gonna kill you". Now, if he gets sideways, bumps somebody, scrapes the wall, or gets a pit penalty I will say Gordon, you're an idiot and I'm gonna kill you. One thing I will say for Dale after his Richmond '86 deal, he apologized to Darrell's wife Stevie before he apologized to Darrell (off camera of course, publically he maintained he didn't mean to turn him for years, he also claimed after the Rockingham '96 incident that he didn't think he hit Bobby, he just took the air off his spoiler, to quote his buddy Schrader, Dale took the air off Bobby's spoiler then he hit him, damn Schrader rules). I thought that was a nice touch in the wake of a dick move. 507. Paul posted: 03.13.2013 - 6:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Now, if he gets sideways, bumps somebody, scrapes the wall, or gets a pit penalty I will say Gordon, you're an idiot and I'm gonna kill you." Unless of course he hits Joey Logano, in which case you will say "Gordon, you're a genius and I love you." ;) "to quote his buddy Schrader, Dale took the air off Bobby's spoiler then he hit him, damn Schrader rules" Haha that's awesome! I think it's a crime that Schrader isn't interviewed before and after every race he competes in. He has the best personality in the sport and we need more clips of him saying awesome things and making jokes before he decides to hang it up for good. 508. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.13.2013 - 7:23 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Instead of garbage shows like R U faster than a redneck, SPEED needs to dedicate an hour a week to a show of nothing but Schrader telling stories from the good ol days in his hilarious unique way. I'd either watch every episode, DVR it if I was to be out when it aired, or watch it then DVR it just so I can watch it over and over again (like I did for the NFL Network's top Montana moments). 509. murb posted: 03.13.2013 - 7:35 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Instead of garbage shows like R U faster than a redneck, SPEED needs to dedicate an hour a week to a show of nothing but Schrader telling stories from the good ol days in his hilarious unique way." Once we buy the rights to TNN and make a Racing-Reference channel like we said we were gonna, "Schrader's Story Time" can be the cornerstone of our week night lineup, lol My favorite Schrader story is about how he lost his thumb at a Truck race in 1995. He accidentally got it caught in the motor as his crew guy was cranking it in the garage during practice or something, and it started shooting blood all over. There's a video of him telling the whole thing on YouTube I think. As you can imagine, it's pretty humorous... 510. Paul posted: 03.13.2013 - 7:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) HAHAHA! Wow that was an awesome story by the one and only Ken Schrader! Only he can tell a story as gruesome as having his thumb whacked off and make it funny. My favorite part was when he went to the medical center asking where they can find the ambulance driver, and while he's talking to a guy inside who's completely stunned by the situation and doesn't know what to do and asks him to sit down, and Schrader says "Listen, I know what the hell's wrong. You find the guy who drives the ambulance, send him over to that #52 truck. I've got the rest of my thumb and we'll all go to the hospital. I don't need to sit down." Oh man I love Kenny Schrader. Here's the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT23owQaEbs 511. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.13.2013 - 9:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You're an idiot and I'm gonna kill you (skip ahead to 5:30) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBE9KbX1jn8 You're an idiot and I'm gonna kill you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3GiRkWcU-w You're a genius and I love you (skip to 7:27) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPJivR7oPV4 512. Paul posted: 03.13.2013 - 9:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) My reactions to those three videos: 1.) Epic choke job by Jeff Gordon. To lead 124 laps only to throw it all away by missing a shift on a restart with seven laps to go is just so uncharacteristic of him. Ah well, he went on to win two of the next three races and go from 123 points back to having a 40-point lead midway through the season. Dare I say it, that error drove he and his team to perform even better the rest of the season. 2.) Did he just spin out after hitting the speedy dry? Hmmm, I guess that was the Racing Gods' way of saying "Welcome to North Wilkesboro, Wonder Boy." 3.) Man, those Bodines always seem to hit the gas pedal either too early or too late, and in this case it was WAY too late haha. Then again, maybe Gordon was just repaying the favor to Jeff Burton, whom he ran all over just two weeks earlier at Darlington, and wanted to bring out a caution so Burton could exit his car, as he was suffering from the flu and needed a relief driver to replace him. Or maybe that was just his way of exciting the Earnhardt fans and giving them something to cheer about in the midst of perhaps the most forgettable 5th place points finish in NASCAR history. 513. 83andJoe posted: 03.13.2013 - 9:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) >Once we buy the rights to TNN and make a Racing-Reference channel like we said we were gonna, "Schrader's Story Time" can be the cornerstone of our week night lineup, lol Oh yeah. "Late Night with Kenny". 514. JG24FanForever posted: 03.13.2013 - 9:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) All we do is win (6:55) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vFpjM7O-Z4 My life f**king sucks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGAttoNUJD0 You're a Genius and I love you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XY3qjwkN-k 515. Paul posted: 03.13.2013 - 10:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 1.) I thought only the #48 car could get that far out in front on an intermediate track. Also, the Southern 500 should always be run during the day. Look at how many drivers were having problems in the closing laps because their cars started to wear down in the hot South Carolina sun . 2.) I remember just watching the final 100 or so laps of that race not saying a word. All I could do was just stare at the TV and watch as Jimmie got win No. 200 for HMS and Gordon's miserable 2012 season bad luck continued. I shut the TV off as soon as Jimmie took the checkered flag because I just couldn't bring myself to seeing his victory lane celebration. (Although I did miss the most entertaining part of the race involving Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman's pit crew.) 3.) Taught Kyle Busch everything he knows ;) 516. Tyu posted: 03.13.2013 - 11:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What cost Jeff Gordon a good finish? A. Black Flag B. Car was bad C Bad pit stops 517. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.14.2013 - 1:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @516 The answer is B. Funny you mentioned Kyle Busch. Comparing him and Jeff shows just how much mental strength means in racing. I think Kyle has more natural driving ability than Jeff. But Kyle comes unglued at the slightest bit of adversity while Jeff actually drives better when something happens (during his Rainbow Warrior days I hated it when he would get an early flat tire and have to pit under green, that pretty much guaranteed a Gordon win). They both started very young in very good equipment. But Kyle turned 27 last year. The year Jeff turned 27 was 1998. By the time that season was over he had 42 wins and 3 championships. Kyle has barely half as many wins and hasn't sniffed a title. With two extra seasons! Again, I always go back to the subplot or the Atlanta '11 race (as opposed to the main plot of that race being the final ten laps were FREAKING EPIC). That race was on Labor Day weekend in the year Kyle turned 26. There was a promotion in place from the Series sponsor that a win would give Kyle $1 million. The year Jeff turned 26 was '97. There was also a promotion that year from the Series sponsor that would give him $1 million if he won. Jeff somehow beat Burton's superior handling car to win. Kyle got lapped and couldn't even make the Top 20. Oh, and who won that race? 40 year old Jeff Gordon. 518. Paul posted: 03.14.2013 - 2:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I can sum up the difference between Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch in one word: Heart. It's one thing to have a lot of talent, which both of them have, and great equipment, which both of them have, but it's another thing to have heart and the will to win at all costs. There are a lot of Gordon wins that came from him having the dominant car (Rockingham '95, Dover '95, Martinsville '97, Dover '01, Martinsville '03, Sonoma '04, Indy '04). But there are just as many, if not more, wins that came when he didn't have the best car, but he and his team dug deep down inside themselves and rose to the occasion when adversity hit. I think of his win at Bristol '97 when he refused to finish 2nd to Rusty at Bristol. Later that year he refused to lose the $1 million bonus and have his Southern 500 streak broken by Jeff Burton. He could have settled for a top ten finish at Rockingham '98 in order to clinch the championship, but he went for it all and left that race with two trophies. At Sonoma '99, he wasn't going to let some illness hold him back and end his road course winning streak. Then of course he won all three of his Daytona 500s by passing a Hall of Famer late in the race (Elliott in '97, Rusty in '99, Tony in '05), and then held off three series champions to win in each of those races (Terry in '97, Dale in '99, Kurt in '05). And he won his 3rd Brickyard 400 in 2001 after starting 27th (the worst starting spot for a Brickyard winner), drove his way up through the field, and held off 2-time Daytona 500 winner Sterling Marlin for the win. Then of course he's had his share of Martinsville comebacks. In the spring '04 race, he ran over a chunk of the race track, restarted outside the top 20 on that narrow short track, and worked his way back to 6th. Then in the fall following the repave, he struggled all race trying to adapt to the new surface, but finally got the car handling right at the end and came out with a top ten finish. Of course, we all remember the '05 spring race when he came back from being THREE laps down, somehow got back on the lead lap, and led the final 36 laps en route to a miraculous victory. And while he didn't win the race, he proved in the spring '07 race that he doesn't roll over and concede the race until the checkered flag waves. How about the '04 fall Charlotte race when he came back from a disappointing outing in the Coca-Cola 600 that same year, suffered significant crash damage that left him without a rear bumper, and came back to finish 2nd? Or the '07 fall Talladega race when he did the unthinkable and passed Jimmie Johnson on the final lap for the victory. Earlier that same year, he won at Phoenix amidst enormous pressures of having to hold off champion driver Tony Stewart at a track he hadn't won at before in order to tie his late friend Dale Earnhardt in career wins, and didn't flinch. In 2004, when DEI was on a 3-year streak of winning three out of four restrictor plate races, Gordon ended that streak by beating Junior with an inferior car at Talladega, then came back to win the Firecracker 400 and made a few fans a lot richer because of his win. At Phoenix '11, in the midst of a near two year winless streak, Gordon overcame getting run into the wall early in the race, passed Kyle Busch late in the race, and finally ended his long winless drought in the only way he knows how (in the face of adversity). And while he didn't make any friends by any means at Sonoma '10, he showed the will to win in spite of an inferior car and did everything he could to get a top five finish out of that race, even if it meant not giving an inch to his competitors. Oh, and did you hear about the 2011 Labor Day weekend race at Atlanta when he held off teammate and future Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson for the final 10 laps in spite of having less speed in his car than JJ? How about his 3rd and 2nd place finishes at Bristol and Atlanta when he was in dire need of good results in order to make the Chase? And when I hear the words "fall '12 Richmond race," the only words that I can think of are REFUSE. TO. LOSE. Jeff Gordon has the heart of a champion, and his ability to get the most out of the least, overcome adversity, brush off pressure and never get rattled mentally, and never get down on himself or his team. It's crazy how similar Gordon and Kyle are (started racing very young, great equipment from the start, insanely talented), and yet just how different they are as well. (One rises in the face of adversity and under pressure, the other one crumbles; one doesn't beat himself and refuses to lose, the other beats himself regularly and agrees to lose.) Kyle Busch truly is the Bizarro Jeff Gordon. Great equipment, a lot of talent, and a proven wheelman, but lacks the heart of a champion that separates the men from the boys in NASCAR. Their nicknames are very telling of where they belong. One of Gordon's nicknames is "Big Daddy," which says it all right there, as he may have the biggest heart of a champion in the sport. Kyle's nickname on the other hand is "Shrub," which needless to say is neither intimidating, nor even suggests he is a man in the sport of NASCAR. Heart is what separates the men from the boys and the champions from the rest of the field. Kyle has all the tools, except "heart" and at times "head." Gordon on the other hand has all the tools, and that's why he's a 4-time champion, has won every big race multiple times, and is still among the best in the sport at 41 years old. 519. Frank posted: 03.14.2013 - 5:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I am really confused that most of you think that this race has been good. Probably, you were watching motocross, basketball or whatever until the final stint. But even then is was absolutely obvious that 20 will win because he left pitlate first. Ok, left couple % on a restart mess, which is really unlikely with guys like Kenseth, Brad, Johnson and Kahne. Other racing? Single-file after 5 laps since the restart. No strategy. No tyre-chewing. 2 appearances of Jacques DeBris though I think that caution because of Ambrose save is even worse reason than debris. Since Phoenix, I feel that Denny Hamlin really gains respect because the very next race prove that he is right. And Phoenix race was significantly better by all means. 520. cjs3872 posted: 03.14.2013 - 11:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Paul, Jeff Gordon did not exactly drive through the field in the 2001 Brickyard 400 to win that race. What happened was that about half distance, Gordon was still running in the teens if I remember right, though he was slowly moving up toward the top ten, but that caution moved him up quite a bit, and then after the last series of scheduled pit stops, a debris caution came out, and Gordon and Sterling Marlin stayed out while the leaders pitted. That put him in second behind Marlin, but it put the other dominant cars (Steve Park had the car to beat that day) so far back that they could never catch up. Then Gordon stole the lead from Marlin on a restart, and was never headed. But if it weren't for the timing of the cautions that day, he would never have been in position to win that day. He had top ten car, but pit strategy put him near the lead, and he fully capitalized on that. That same pit strategy resulted in four of the to five finishers in that race starting 26th or worse. Aside from Gordon winning from the 27th position, Johnny Benson, Jr. finished third after starting 26th, Rusty Wallace finished fourth after starting 37th, and Kurt Busch ended up fifth after starting 34th. Marlin, who started eighth, was the only driver who started inside the top 25 that finished in the top five due to the pit strategy that occurred late in that race, as those that had been leading prior to the debris caution with 30 to go that pitted never could get back near the front. 521. cjs3872 posted: 03.14.2013 - 11:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Frank, you mention that the racing is not good after the restart. A reson for that could be the double-file restarts that put all the leaders up front. Since all the top cars always start up front now (which isn't totally a bad thing), they'll always get separation from the rest of the field since they were the best cars to start with, so there doesn't figure to be that much competitive racing, especially when there's 1-3 cars that much better than the rest of the field, as isusualy the case on the mid-sized tracks. And as for the fact that the tires don't go away. Goodyear has to bring a hard tire because of the speeds that are run and tire wear is virtually a non-issue any more simply because of how short the fuel runs are. Did you realize that they were only going 70 miles on a fuel run, though I think they could have gone a bit farther if they had to. That's ridiculously short, and as long as fuel runs are that short, tire conservation is never going to be a factor because the drivers don't have to make them last. As soon as the tires do begin to show a dropoff in performance, it's time for the cars to refuel, so they don't have to worry about tire performance because the fuel is exhausted by that time, so they take on fuel and tires every 70-80 miles because that's as far as they can go on fuel these days. And that's not going to change until they can get the fuel runs longer. But the single-file racing seen at Vegas does not have anything to do with the cars (I actually think the cars did well on Sunday, and much better than I thought they would), but rather the fact that the leaders always start up front, with no lapped cars to worry about, as well as the fact that the drivers know they can go as hard as they want because they don't have to worry about tire wear because the fuel will be gone before the tires begin to wear and lose performance because the fuel runs are so short. In fact, IndyCars now go further on a tank of fuel than in seen in NASCAR. 522. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 03.14.2013 - 7:09 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Looks like Jeff Gordon and Pepsi are taking over the internet. 523. 83andJoe posted: 03.15.2013 - 11:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) >I am really confused that most of you think that this race has been good. Probably, you were watching motocross, basketball or whatever until the final stint. Nope; it was all racing, all the time, flag to flag, and it was a /good race/. "Good racing" does not mean constant passing, or even constant battling. It's hard to define, but "I know it when I see it", and I saw it at Las Vegas this last Sunday. Also, apparently Graham Rahal wants to race a tin-top when Nationwide goes to Mid-Ohio later this year. 524. Frank posted: 03.15.2013 - 12:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thank you for explanation, cjs. I am also sure that tyres should end up before fuel, that's why Darlington is amazing (and 2006 Coca-Cola 600 flat out sucks) and I can accept not much passing and side by side there (though passing was more often because of tyres). But when you realize that tyres are not an issue here (proven by #20) you have some reasons to concern that it is neither spectacular nor hard. By the way, it's a long and an off-topic discussion but I can define what is good racing for me. #1 is unpredictability - that's why this race is dead because Matt's win after he took the lead on final pitstop was so obvious. 525. DaleSrFanForever posted: 03.15.2013 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR better be happy only 44 cars showed up for this race and that Riggs epically blew his lap, otherwise their top marketing card might have gone home. 526. Richie61NYfan posted: 03.15.2013 - 6:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSSF, That marketing card you mention, could that by any chance be the "Face of NASCAR", or the "Superstar" that currently wheels the Mean Green Machine ??? 527. cjs3872 posted: 03.15.2013 - 9:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Remember 83andJoe, that Graham Rahal's father Bobby once raced for the legendary Wood Brothers, doing so at Riverside in the 1984 season finale, so Bobby Rahal was another of the legendary drivers, three of whom were Indianapolis 500 winners (A.J. Foyt and Parnelli Jones being the other two). By the way, Bobby finished last in his only NASCAR race. And Frank, the one thing that has changed as far as th tracks causing the tires to wear have to do with the newer paving jobs, which have been much easier on tires. In the five years since Darlington was repaved after the 2007 Southern 500 (it didn't carry that name then), it has not proven to be hard on tires, and the Charlotte Motor Speedway was repaved after those disasters in 2005, and the track surface there hasn't seemed to age either, and this will be the eighth year of racing there since that track was last repaved. I think it has to do with the chemical combination of the asphalt that has been laid down at these tracks whe they were last repaved. I'll be interested to see if they do the same thing withthe paving jobs that are coming up at Atlanta and Auto Club Speedway in California. Of course, another reason that tire wear is a non-issue os that they can only run 70-80 miles on a tank of fuel, which means that the strategy of saving tires is not like it was when they had to get 100 miles on a set of tires, because that was the length of a fuel run, and the tire wear situation really shows up during those last 20-30 miles, but since you no longer have to worry about those last 20-30 miles, the drivers can really run as hard as they want, without having to worry about their tires on most speedways, with Atlanta currently being the main exception, and that will change when it's repaved n a couple of years. Is it any coincidence that the veteran drivers, such as Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton, Mark Martin, Bobby Labonte, and other drivers known for being easy on tires have struggled in recent years in comparison to the younger drivers that go all-out from lap 1? I don't think so because those veteran drivers knew how to save their tires because they had to save their tires, or they'd blow one out and crash. 528. The Long Shot posted: 06.26.2013 - 7:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Withdrew: none 529. ch posted: 07.23.2013 - 12:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #33 Sponsor: Moon Shine Attitude Attire (Consistency with others) 530. Rich posted: 08.10.2020 - 3:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip were the commentators. Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum and Krista Voda were the pit road reporters. Jeff Hammond was at the Ford cut-away car. Chris Myers and Michael Waltrip were in the Hollywood hotel. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: