|| *Comments on the 2013 AdvoCare 500:* First Page | Previous Page | Next Page | Last Page | View All On One Page View the most recent comment | Post a comment <#post> 1. Schroeder51 posted: 08.30.2013 - 8:18 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) First career Cup Series pole for Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. I wonder if he'll actually get his first top 10 of the season on Sunday? Great qualifying effort for Gordon. He really needs to step it up in these last two races if he's going to make the Chase. 2. JG24FanForever posted: 08.30.2013 - 8:20 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) Look who's fifth! 3. Loose Lugnuts posted: 08.30.2013 - 8:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I didn't get a chance to watch qualifying, but I assume from looking at some of the speeds and who posted them that the track must have cooled off quickly. A good run for Ragan. BoB must have also benefited from going out late, as much as Mark Martin was hurt by going out early. 4. Loose Lugnuts posted: 08.30.2013 - 8:26 pm Rate this comment: (3) (1) Jeffy has the fifth best odds of winning at 9-1. The guys that installed Johnson as the favorite are probably the same guys that install Tiger as the favorite to win every major. I guess they figure that if they stick with that long enough, they'll eventually get it right. 5. Kenny posted: 08.30.2013 - 8:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm amazed its aways good to see a first be it a pole or a win so congrats to Ricky :) @Racefanx can we talk this evening? 6. Loose Lugnuts posted: 08.30.2013 - 8:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Completely off topic, but an indicator of how sports are going these days (a headline from ESPN.com): "Weightlifter, 80, busted for doping". Yep, an 80 year old was busted for steroids at the Pan American Masters Weightlifting Championships. You're never too old, I guess... 7. Anonymous posted: 08.30.2013 - 8:40 pm Rate this comment: (3) (4) Stenicka will be taken out lol. 8. JG24FanForever posted: 08.30.2013 - 8:49 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Third straight 5th place qualifying effort at Atlanta for JG. This is only the 12th Top 5 qualifying effort in 40 Atlanta races for JG. 9. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 08.30.2013 - 8:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Hendrick Motorsports Gordon - 5th Earnhardt - 8th Johnson - 10th Kahne - 18th Looks like Hendrick is giving the #5 team bad equipment again, maybe it's time for Kahne to go have a talk with Mr. Hendrick!. /sarcasm 10. cjs3872 posted: 08.30.2013 - 9:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JGFF, I see I'm not the only one that saw that this was the third year in a row that Gordon qualified fifth for this race. And judging by the lineup, it's obvious that Roush has two different agendas. He wants to get Carl Edwards another win prior to the Chase and get Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. back in the top 20, at least, so he's giving them his more aggressive engines, realizing that neither Edwards or Stenhouse have anything to lose. He's apparently also done that with his Nationwide effort for once, as Trevor Bayne was #1 in the Nationwide practice. But he's also mindful that this is a 500-mile race, so he's giving Greg Biffle, who can't afford to have any kind of engine problems, his more conservative engine package, which is why he qualified 24th. It's also notable that, for once, Danica climbed from the bottom rungs in qualifying to the middle of the pack, while the Childress cars seem slow, and qualifying 25th or worse at Atlanta can be bad news if the race starts with an extended green flag run, which has been known to happen, because those guys starting at the back could get lapped, even if they're running well. and Atlanta's not the kind of track where you can risk not stopping to get a wave-around because that has a better-than-average chance of working against a team that tries that option, not just because of extended green flag running, but because of the advantage of new tires. I don't think strategy will be a significant factor in this race, unless it becomes a fuel mileage derby at the end. I do think that restarts could be key, and if it is, the outside is the place to be. 11. murb posted: 08.30.2013 - 9:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, Stenhouse finally did something noteworthy this season. I'm interested to see if he can finish it off with a good run. 12. Anthony posted: 08.30.2013 - 9:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (3) Lucky No. 5 for #24 yes we still have a chance! :) awesome. 5x Atlanta Winner 4 wins on the 16 year old reshape & 1 on the old surface. Gordon going for 2 out of 3 @ Atlanta! Jeff Gordon has the better chance of winning Atlanta why? Because Most wins have been won from 5th! 15x more than any starting spot. 60 of the 105 races have been won from Top5 (57%) Jeff Gordon has had more Top5 Top10 Lap Led ETC he'll do it Sunday Night! 13. The Long Shot posted: 08.30.2013 - 9:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) webmaster, all the qualifying results pages on all the races seem to be down. 14. webmaster posted: 08.30.2013 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @13: They should be back up now -- thanks for letting me know about the problem. 15. The Long Shot posted: 08.30.2013 - 10:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Alan must be the Road-Runner in disguise. There's no other explanation for how fast he works. Thanks a bunch! Not to get all sappy on you, but you are well and truly the best webmaster this website could ask for. 16. Sector posted: 08.30.2013 - 11:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well with Danica Patrick's Daytona 500 pole, both rookies have won a pole in 2013. With only one top 10 between the two (Danica's 8th place finish @ the 500), maybe Ricky can follow up with their relationship & finish in the top 10 for the first time in his career from the pole? 17. Zackary Shawn posted: 08.30.2013 - 11:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm excited to see this race in person. First night race for me and first non-restrictor plate race. I'm actually skipping Auburn's game tomorrow to get a head start. 18. joey2448 posted: 08.31.2013 - 12:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Anthony, I love Jeff Gordon as much as you do, but you can't keep making these prognostications every week stating that he'll win. I think he's got a couple more wins in him before he retires, but he's just not a week-in-week-out winner like he used to be. Like cjs said, he seems to be a contender only on a specific set of tracks, ones that are not 100% speed/horsepower tracks, such as Atlanta. Glad to see Stenhouse on pole! Really looking forward to the early laps on Sunday! ...and look who Q'd third! The guy that has nothing to lose. One more thing, Jimmie's looking rather average right now, which will change in two weeks at Chicago (unless his baby is born, fingers crossed). 19. The Long Shot posted: 08.31.2013 - 12:46 am Rate this comment: (3) (0) Here are some random stats for you from all the series currently in this database. All stats are from the 2013 season. Average Starting Position of Winner: 1. Indy Lights: 1.8 2. Formula One: 2.5 3. X-1R Pro Cup: 3.8 4. Canadian Tire: 4.1 5. West Series: 4.2 6. Southern Modified: 4.3 7. Grand-Am: 4.4 8. Modified: 4.8 9. IndyCar: 5.1 10. East Series: 6.0 11. ARCA: 6.8 12. Nationwide: 6.9 13. Truck: 9.2 14. Sprint Cup: 9.7 Average Finishing Position of Pole-Sitter: 1. Indy Lights: 2.7 2. Formula One: 3.4 3. X-1R Pro Cup: 4.9 4. West Series: 5.2 5. ARCA: 6.4 6. Southern Modified: 7.0 7. Grand-Am: 7.1 8. Nationwide: 7.3 9. IndyCar: 8.5 10. East Series: 8.6 11. Truck: 9.9 12. Sprint Cup: 10.8 13. Modified: 10.9 14. Canadian Tire: 11.8 Average Finishing Position of Front-Row Starters: 1. Indy Lights: 3.1 2. Formula One: 3.5 3. X-1R Pro Cup: 5.3 4. West Series: 5.4 5. ARCA: 6.4 6. Southern Modified: 7.6 7. IndyCar: 7.7 8. Nationwide: 8.2 9. Canadian Tire: 8.7 10. Modified: 9.6 11. Truck: 9.9 12. Grand-Am: 10.1 13. East Series: 11.0 14. Sprint Cup: 14.1 20. DB1995 posted: 08.31.2013 - 1:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hey guys, i hate to say this because the site is so great as it is and this would only make more work for the webmaster, but do you think theres a way to include practice charts for races? 21. b4il3y posted: 08.31.2013 - 4:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Edwards jon must have been threatened... he's run well the past few weeks. 22. We need more Onion posted: 08.31.2013 - 5:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not sure if a four (or 5 actually) time champion should be praised for a top 5 qualifying effort... even if it happens at one of his worse tracks. Rather shout out to Stenhouse, Dinger, Ragan and Mears for their great efforts. Oh, and when Bliss got named in the Phoenix car, the #19 withdrawn, right? 23. We need more Onion posted: 08.31.2013 - 5:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) D'oh, erase the "if it happens at one of his worse tracks" part, confused it with Texas. 24. NicoRosbergFan posted: 08.31.2013 - 7:22 am Rate this comment: (2) (2) Where's cjs to tell us that Ricky Stenhouse doesn't have any experience being on the pole (in spite of numerous NNS poles) and how Stenhouse will wipe out at least half of the field in the first turn of the race because of how he will unquestionably choke? 25. Rexrobe posted: 08.31.2013 - 9:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #22 That's what happened. 26. SpeedWorld97 posted: 08.31.2013 - 9:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Happy birthday, cjs3872! Also on this date, 16 years ago, Jeff Gordon became the last driver to win the Winston Million in its last year of its existence after beating Jeff Burton in an epic last lap duel in the 1997 Southern 500. In my opinion, that is still one of the greatest finishes I've ever seen. 27. The Long Shot posted: 08.31.2013 - 9:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Happy birthday, cjs! 28. David posted: 08.31.2013 - 10:25 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) A very happy birthday to cjs3872, who will never cease to amaze me with his knowledge of racing history. 29. NicoRosbergFan posted: 08.31.2013 - 11:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Wow! Happy Birthday, cjs! 30. Post # 12 posted: 08.31.2013 - 11:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sounds like the line from dumb and dumber. One in a million... 31. Rocky Lore posted: 08.31.2013 - 12:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks like Scott Speed is going to be a start-and-park. He's on standby for Truex. 32. DB1995 posted: 08.31.2013 - 12:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Along with Jimmie looking average right now Kyle Busch is looking downright average in nationwide practices 33. cjs3872 posted: 08.31.2013 - 12:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thank you all for wishing me a happy birthday. And b4il3y, how in the world can you say that Edwards was threatened in any way, since he's been in the top three in points most of the year? The Fords, particularly the Jack Roush Fords, just have not had speed until the last two weeks. Saying that, it's only the 17 and 99 cars that have shown the seed since Roush can't do anything risky with the #16 car, since it's no lead pipe cinch that Greg Biffle will be in the Chase, even with his one victory. Being where the #16 is in points, they have to play it conservatively to be sure of finishing. If they finish without too many problems and finishes n the top dozen, they should make it, but they have to be conservative. The 17 and 99 teams for different reasons, have nothing to lose. Edwards is locked in the Chase, and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. is, at 23rd in points, as low in the points as he can get without missing any races. He's 79 points ahead of Casey Mears, who's 24th in points, meaning he can go nowhere but up, though he will move past Tony Stewart in the standings, likely this week. And his team is 24th in owner points behind the 55, which has run numerous drivers this season. And speaking of the #55 car, it looks like Toyota is having engine problems again, and Brian Vickers has lost an engine, and will have to have an engine change. This is problematical for Martin Truex, Jr., since he's currently the first Wild Card (second in the owner's Chase standings behind the #14), and possibly even Matt Kenseth, though he has clinched a spot in the Chase. If Kenseth loses an engine this week, he could still drop out of the top ten in points at Richmond, though his win at Bristol made that a more remote possibility than it was at this time last week, and if he drops out of the top ten, he also loses those 15 bonus points he has for the five wins he possesses this season. 34. Benjamin Lowe posted: 08.31.2013 - 1:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Happy 41st Baltimore Backflipper 35. Cornys posted: 08.31.2013 - 1:30 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Bring and keep the Sprint Cup Series on Network Television! I've started a petition here: https://www.change.org/petitions/fox-broadcasting-company-national-broadcasting-company-broadcast-all-points-paying-nascar-sprint-cup-races-on-network-television I've found contact e-mails for both NBC and FOX who will be covering NASCAR in 2015 and forward. Hopefully we can spur some kind of change! Tell your friends. Every signature sends an e-mail! 36. Anthony posted: 08.31.2013 - 1:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (9) Fox Sports 1 killed NASCAR Racing entirely this is why SPEED was a better channel. I thought Fox Sports 1 was great. I guess they made NASCAR to be a Lame Duck sport not being on network television as if this was the 70s & 80s all over again. They made NASCAR look boring now. And plus they didn't even show Jeff Gordon qualifying! You know how much this upsets me. 190% mad to not see Jeff Gordon qualify why in the history of Mary Jane would they even do that to #24 Nation this is all wrong this is so not right. I thought I trust Fox Sports but nowadays NASCAR needs to fix something I'm frustrated that their making the sport boring. If only the great Benny Parsons Buddy Baker Dick Berggren Ken Squier or anybody would step it up even Eli Gold they fix shit by 120% because NASCAR is the 2nd Best TV Rating in overall sports. 37. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 08.31.2013 - 2:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Great qualifying effort for Gordon. He really needs to step it up in these last two races if he's going to make the Chase." A win would certainly go a long way towards that, and I believe it will come in this race. Of course I also predicted Brad would win Bristol and ended up being wrong, but you can't be right ALL the time, I suppose. 38. We need more Onion posted: 08.31.2013 - 2:54 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) What's this with poor Anthony not getting coverage of Gordon's practice laps, huh Fox? Oh lord, so this is where race coverage is heading... better dig my own grave now. *sarcasm ends* Aand happy birthday cjs! 39. Jim Davis posted: 08.31.2013 - 3:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Onion, did you ever tell us how the broadcast gig went? 40. We need more Onion posted: 08.31.2013 - 3:10 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I might have mentioned it, actually I think I faired better than my expectations. Since then I've also done the Bristol race, but night races are aired on Tuesday here, so it was not live. Will not do Atlanta, next in my schedule is going to be NHIS. Anyway, thanks for asking. 41. joey2448 posted: 08.31.2013 - 3:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Anyone know why Gordon is running the paint scheme he used at Charlotte in the 600? I thought that was a one-time Memorial Day look? Not complaining, mind you, because I love the look. 42. Sky Warrior posted: 08.31.2013 - 4:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) BS1 just interviewed Blake Koch 2 minutes into Nationwide qualifying. I....what? 43. Sky Warrior posted: 08.31.2013 - 4:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Whoops, that should say BS2 44. 18fan posted: 08.31.2013 - 4:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Denny Hamlin will go to the back of the field tomorrow after changing engines. That's two TRD engine failures. 45. Sky Warrior posted: 08.31.2013 - 4:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And then they spent the entirity of Mike Harmon's and half of Morgan Shepherd's qualifying runs talking about Austin Dillon. Everything is back to normal 46. startandparkfan posted: 08.31.2013 - 4:39 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Just got back from Lime Rock, Mike Joy was racing in a Historic Trans-Am race. 47. Sector posted: 08.31.2013 - 4:43 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The way the chase is playing out, I sure hope the engine failures doesn't cause Matt Kenseth to fall out of the top 10. The way the 48 is playing things out, they don't need to be #1 to start the chase. 48. murb posted: 08.31.2013 - 4:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Denny Hamlin will go to the back of the field tomorrow after changing engines. That's two TRD engine failures." Looks like they've earned the TuRD nickname once again. 49. DB1995 posted: 08.31.2013 - 5:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch on pole for the nationwide race...... setting up to sound like a skip worthy race... 50. Sky Warrior posted: 08.31.2013 - 5:45 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Steve Byrnes to Kurt Busch: "...with your history, how do you balance patience with urgency?" Nice to see the media is still trying to bait and harass Kurt 51. Loose Lugnuts posted: 08.31.2013 - 7:20 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) I brought this up in one of my articles, and I'll bring it up here: The BoB is always complaining that her car isn't set up right for a race, and is always bemoaning the fact she doesn't have a lot of experience at the tracks the Cup Series runs at. You would think that she would and should be taking advantage of every second of track time available during practice sessions to gain that track knowledge and to help her crew chief get the car set up right. But she's not. She's constantly 20th to 30th (or worse) in the number of practice laps run. This weekend is a perfect example. First practice: 34th on the speed chart, 13 laps run (tied for 24th most). Second practice: 33rd on the speed chart (out of only 39 cars that practiced), 22 laps run (35th most out of the 39). Happy Hour: 37th on the speed chart, 18 laps run (36th most). Obviously she's too damned lazy to do the work necessary to run well and to contend for a good finish (or nobody at SHR trusts her to keep the car in one piece). She continues to log laps instead of actually racing, and hopes attrition among the real racers will allow her to gain a few spots over the course of the race. It's really pathetic. 52. David posted: 08.31.2013 - 8:00 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "I brought this up in one of my articles" Really? Did you even use the BoB nickname? 53. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 08.31.2013 - 9:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Steve Byrnes to Kurt Busch: "...with your history, how do you balance patience with urgency?" Nice to see the media is still trying to bait and harass Kurt" You kidding me? The media probably has a pool running to see who makes Kurt snap. 54. JG24FanForever posted: 08.31.2013 - 9:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) Here's a birthday present for cjs3872. Driver's with season's where they won the most races,dominated the most races and won the most poles in the same year: Fonty Flock in 1951 Herb Thomas in 1953 Herb Thomas in 1954 Tim Flock in 1955 Richard Petty in 1967 Bobby Isaac in 1969 Richard Petty in 1971 Bobby Allison in 1972 David Pearson in 1973 Cale Yarborough in 1978 Cale Yarborough in 1980 Darrell Waltrip in 1981 Bill Elliott in 1985 Dale Earnhardt in 1990 Jeff Gordon in 1995 Jeff Gordon in 1996 Jeff Gordon in 1998 Jeff Gordon in 1999 Jeff Gordon in 2001 Jimmie Johnson in 2012 Only Legends achieve this feat. With Gordon doing it 5 times, to Richard Petty,Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson's combined total of 4. Happy Birthday cjs3872!! 55. Dense Drip posted: 08.31.2013 - 11:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Allmendigers getting a top 10. 56. Loose Lugnuts posted: 09.01.2013 - 2:04 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, since the moderator apparently won't allow me to link to a column on another site, I'll try this: #52: No, when I'm not commenting on this board, I use the nickname Princess Provisional for her, due to her normally pathetic qualifying results. If you want to take a look at the article in question, go to laidbackracing.com and about halfway down the page you'll see a list of articles. Look for the top "Mike's Loose Lugnuts" and that's where you'll find it. 57. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:51 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Happy belated birthday to cjs. Labor Day Weekend baby, no wonder you are a Gordon fan! 58. Zackary Shawn posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm about to embark on my journey to this race. I'll let y'all know how it goes from an in-person perspective later. 59. WinstonCup4Ever posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:54 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Honestly, I'm glad the championship is on ESPN this year and not ABC. I mean, who would want to compete for high over the air TV ratings against FOX and CBS's coverage of the more popular NFL that day and the world's most popular motorsport league F1 that day as well (The United States GP will be on NBC that day live)? I'm not saying ABC doesn't deserve to take a risk, but rather they stay out of it. NASCAR is already losing fan support anyway because of stuff like Danica media hype. 60. Bro Jackson posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:02 am Rate this comment: (1) (2) Going on record with saying the 88 wrecks or gets a bad finish tonight that helps knock him out of the chase. If it doesn't happen, I'll probably be eating crow. 61. TS1420 posted: 09.01.2013 - 12:25 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Ah, I see TuRD is gearing up into fine chase form yet again..... 62. cjs3872 posted: 09.01.2013 - 12:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @55, I doubt that Allmendinger can get a top ten this race. Not at Atlanta. He might be capable but his team isn't. They'll probably be running about 25th most of the race, especially after pit stops, and the same goes for David Ragan, who qualified 14th in the Front Row Motorsports #34 car. I wonder if that's the best non-RP speedway qualifying effort Front Row's ever had? With Ragan nearly getting a top ten last week and actually having the gumption to take a win from Roush at Talladega earlier this year, you wonder what Richard Petty's thinking by keeping Marcos Ambrose in the #9 car next year. I know he's had great runs the last two weeks, but I think that's a mirage. I know Petty believes that Ambrose gets him a great shot at victory twice a year, but overall, when you're 21st out of 22 drivers in points (not counting Tony Stewart), that means you're next-to-last, a fact that tells me changes should be coming. I'm giving Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. a break on this one, since he's a rookie, but he's last among those 22 drivers in points. In other words, David Ragan would be a serious upgrade over what Petty currently has in the #9 car over the long haul. But I think Stenhouse MUST improve over the next 12 months, or he'll probably be out of the #17 car in 2015. You can't be in a Roush car and be LAST in points among the fully funded and competitive drivers that have run all the races, much less not have a single top ten finish in 24 races this season. (That doesn't count Mears and the Front Row cars since they're not heavily backed, or Danica since she's generally uncompetitive.) Performances like his pole run Friday night and the race at Bristol last weekend are a start, but he has to prove that he can cut it for a full race at the Sprint Cup level in a car of that quality. The reason I say that Stenhouse is having such a poor season aren't his stats and performance, but rather his stats and performance in the car he's in. 63. SpeedWorld97 posted: 09.01.2013 - 1:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree with your points on Stenhouse, cjs3872. To be honest, the only races this year he's been deserving of a top ten are Kansas and Talladega, races in which he ran in the top ten pretty much the whole race only to have something happen late. Remember at Kansas when he was a top 5 car all race until an untimely final caution came after they pitted and forced them to take the wave around? Then they fell victim to "clean air," finishing 11th. Then if the rain delay at Talladega ends the race, then he finishes second. But after it restarts, he causes the big wreck late in the race and ruins his chances of a top ten. Despite his struggles this year, he has had a few good runs, but still not one completely good race. 64. The Long Shot posted: 09.01.2013 - 1:29 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Thought I'd post this uplifting message before I leave for vacation: REFUSE TO LOSE!! REFUSE TO LOSE!! Okay, I'm done. Take care, everybody. 65. cjs3872 posted: 09.01.2013 - 1:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kansas was, by far, Stenhouse's best race this season, SpeedWorld97. He was leading that race, but because of the strategy that got him up front, had to make an extra pit stop late, so that caution you refer to was actually a break for him, because he would have finished worse than he did if he had to make that late stop for gas under green. But he might also have finished in the top ten last week, but like Carl Edwards earlier in the race, suffered an engine problem in the waning laps, and dropped back, eventually even getting lapped. If not for that, he very well could have finished in the top ten last week. But when you're last among the serious points drivers in a car that's supposed to be an elite car, and with what's supposed to be an elite-level team, there's something very wrong. Again, he gets a pass to some degree since he's a rookie, but if he repeats this season's lack of performance next year, there may be calls for him to be replaced for 2015. 66. David posted: 09.01.2013 - 1:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Take care, everybody." Back at you. Have fun. 67. Dense Drip posted: 09.01.2013 - 4:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @62: Ragan has had some good runs this year, but we've all seen how Ragan's done in top notch equipment (Jack Roush's # 6) and he didn't have much success, so I think it would be a bad move if he replaced Ambrose. Ambrose has done well in non- road course races this year (Martinsville, Texas, Charlotte, 2nd Michigan race) and I think he still has plenty of potential to be a chase contender in upcoming years with RPM. 68. SpeedWorld97 posted: 09.01.2013 - 5:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Today's Canada Truck race: Crazy finish Today's Baltimore IndyCar race: Crazy race Tonight's Atlanta Cup race: (insert here) 69. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 5:21 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) "Tonight's Atlanta Cup race: (insert here)" Probably boring because it's the Cup Series. 70. SoonersFan posted: 09.01.2013 - 6:10 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) I was jut watching NASCAR Raceday, and one fan had a sign that read Bring Back Speed. 71. SoonersFan posted: 09.01.2013 - 6:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^ I meant Just. Sorry! 72. Kubica fan Ireland posted: 09.01.2013 - 6:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks like Almirola and Ambrose are back at rpm next year, I think both are lucky to still be in a job and I like cjs would have liked to see Ragan given another shot as I think Ambrose has stopped progressing on ovals. I will be doing a weekly analysis of the chase drivers for each chase race in the blog section. See my blog the safety car to see what you think of my posts on nascar's silly season. 73. Sky Warrior posted: 09.01.2013 - 6:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "and the same goes for David Ragan, who qualified 14th in the Front Row Motorsports #34 car. I wonder if that's the best non-RP speedway qualifying effort Front Row's ever had?" Michael McDowell qualified their #35 12th at the Glen a few weeks ago, David Gilliland was 14th this spring at Bristol in the #38, Ragan started 14th at Atlanta last year in the #34, and John Andretti actually qualified the #34 10th at Michigan back in 09. And they've never actually equaled or bested that on a restrictor plate track 74. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 6:31 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Wow, they just said that Newman might end up in the 31 next year with Burton moving to the Swan Racing 30 car (which would be an RCR satellite team). 75. cjs3872 posted: 09.01.2013 - 6:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Okay, Sky Warrior, I wasn't sure about that, though throw out Watkins Glen in that, since it's a road course. I was just asking about non-RP speedways, and thanks for answering my question about that. And @67, I think one of Ragan's problems was the pressure of replacing Mark Martin in Roush's #6 car, because of the pressure that anyone would face following such a legendary stint. That's why whoever eventually replaces Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson in their rides will almost certainly fail. The pressure of living up to that ride usually crushes whoever's the next in the car. In fact, that's why Richard Petty used the #44 in 1993, instead of #43. But it was the same car, despite the number change. Ragan certainly wasn't ready, but I suspect if he's given another shot in a good car, that he won't fare nearly as badly. He's no constant threat to win in a good car, but he would be an upgrade over Ambrose over the long haul. But I suspect a reason Petty keeps him in the #9 car is because he's always got a great chance to win twice a year, which is better odds of winning a race than Petty would have with any other driver he could chose to replace Ambrose. 76. kup posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Fantasy Live @ Nascar.com Uh... my 5 teams are divided as 3+2. 3 (standart) teams: 51+99+5 +42 +48 - just like your "My Picks", but I have #5 for -0,5$ less, so #2=#5=25$. 2 (option) teams: 51+99+5 +78 +20 - as I have #78 for -4$ less, and 5+20 seems better than 48+24 or 48+22. Also #29 and #18 can be as good as they were last eve racing for the win @ Wide. 77. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:21 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) That was a hell of a National Anthem 78. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Drivers, spark-I mean start your engines! 79. JRacingFast posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:32 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Anyone else see on Raceday that Jeff Burton could be working out a deal with a RCR sateallite team...possably the 30 team to drive for them with CAT sponcering....Stay tuned 80. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:36 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) A pyrotechnics delayed race start. Brian France's NASCAR ladies and gentlemen, Brian France's NASCAR. 81. JG24FanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Green Green Green!! 82. Rusty posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Ricky Stenhouse is bad, jeez. 83. Mr X posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Stenhouse doesn't look to comfortable 84. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Stenhouse is already almost outside the top 10, wow. 85. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ricky needs the track to lose 20 degrees and fast. 86. Jarrett88fan posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:40 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Tonight's Atlanta Cup race: (insert here)" Crazy Pyrotechnics 87. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Stenhouse all the way back to 16th place in less than 20 laps? Damn. 88. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) EPIC SLIDEJOB!!! 89. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Joey Logano looks to have the best car this early in the race. Already in the hunt for second. 90. JG24FanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:49 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Jeff Gordon may look like he's a 15 year old wimp, but he races like Big E! 91. New14 & 88Fan posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano's hunting the lead. 92. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Damn, he's already about to get the lead from Montoya. Looks like Joey might smoke 'em tonight. 93. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ricky "JJ Yeley Michigan 2007" Stenhouse. 94. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh yeah, and what was that about Gordon being scared of the big tracks again? That was a slidejob of epic proportions. 95. JG24FanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Looks like Joey might smoke 'em tonight." Nah, nobody was really doing anything because of the competition yellow. 96. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:52 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Horrible pit stop for Logano. 97. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ugly restart for Gordon, and Kasey Kahne's car is badly damaged. 98. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Man, Kasey got clobbered in the radiator. 99. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:58 pm Rate this comment: (7) (0) Kasey finally used his bumper. 100. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kahne to the garage. 101. jabber1990 posted: 09.01.2013 - 7:59 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Jimmie has Damage, that means he'll go faster 102. JG24FanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Kahne to the garage." When I first saw this I thought it said: "Kahne to the garbage". Ha! 103. Jarrett88fan posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Burton and Mark Martin also got caught behind Kahne with damage. The frontstretch has no grip if you spin the tires on the outside lane. 104. jabber1990 posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) i'm not trying to complain but the TV I am watching, I can read the leaderboard but I have no clue who is leading, how many laps to go or if they are under caution. which is weird, I was able to see the "red flag" ordeal during the Mid-ohio race 105. OldSchoolNascarDude1 posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I figured that once Gordon restarted on the outside, he was in trouble of causing an accident. Not because he's an awful restarter, but because everyone knows they can take advantage of him because he's not great at restarts. 106. joey2448 posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Once again, the 48 team is getting all their bad luck out of the way before the Chase starts... 107. Kenny posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What happioned to jemmie? 108. joey2448 posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution for speedy dry, lol... 109. JG24FanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "What happioned to jemmie?" He ran into the back of Dale Jr. on a restart. 110. joey2448 posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Jr. thinks he has a loose wheel. 111. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Old Jeff Gordon flies around the New And Improved Jeff Gordon 112. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There was so much speedy dry down on the race track it almost looked like a dust storm was going for the first couple laps after the restart. 113. Cash posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Quick question: Have we heard any News on Jr's sponsor. I think he's almost out of races on the National Guard sponsor for the year 114. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Paul Menard hits the wall hard and is coming to the pits. Hamlin has damage as well. 115. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Now the caution is out for debris, I imagine it came from Menard's car. 116. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So far this has been a throwback race for Jeff. He has been racing from Lap 1 with something to prove. If he can make it to the end, it oughta be interesting. 117. jabber1990 posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) not sure if the debris is faux, I mean menard did it the wall a few laps ago 118. JG24FanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution for rubber on the track. 119. joey2448 posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) JEFF GORDOOOOONNNNN!!! I love what I'm seeing so far! 120. David posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Dude, Jeff leads off pit road?! Is this actually happening?!?! 121. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:23 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) And that was a throwback pit stop for the 24. Was that Evernham's old hired guns Rainbow Warriors? 122. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:24 pm Rate this comment: (11) (0) "And that was a throwback pit stop for the 24. Was that Evernham's old hired guns Rainbow Warriors?" If so, expect them to be wearing Lowe's firesuits at Chicago. 123. Loose Lugnuts posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:25 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) A buddy of mine is at the race and texting me about anything interesting going on. He said that the 48 was about to get lapped just before that last debris caution came out. What a surprise... 124. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin's woeful season continues as he pitted outside the box and has to come to the pits to be docked a lap. 125. Loose Lugnuts posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) One thing I have to give ESPN credit for: their booth guys don't breathlessly chronicle the BoB's every move. 126. Mr X posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nice hero shot as we went to commercial. 127. joey2448 posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Marty Smith just reported on twitter that Max Papis has a dislocated jaw from that slap he received from that woman at the Truck race! Also says his left ear is still ringing. Holy cow! This could get ugly. 128. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Another caution for Paul Menard's tire. 129. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Paul Menard loses another tire and the caution flag is out again. 130. Loose Lugnuts posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) More bad luck for the 48? I am emotionally crushed...or not. 131. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Marty Smith just reported on twitter that Max Papis has a dislocated jaw from that slap he received from that woman at the Truck race!" Damn, I smell a lawsuit. 132. Mr X posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:36 pm Rate this comment: (2) (2) I must admit I like this Jimmie Johnson bad luck combination 133. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Johnson is having all this recent bad luck (it just seems to be piling up for him), but don't worry. Once the Chase comes around he'll blow them away and win half the Chase races. 134. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh crap. Gordon back to second out of the pits? This restart could get ugly... 135. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:40 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Man, why I am even looking at NASCAR.com's leaderboard? The comments there are moronic as usual. Most of the people there are hoping Gordon crashes hard and almost every one there is blaming him for that incident on the restart by saying he backed up on purpose. 136. David posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Marty Smith just reported on twitter that Max Papis has a dislocated jaw from that slap he received from that woman at the Truck race! Also says his left ear is still ringing." That puts his own slap at Road America in the minor leagues. 137. DB1995 posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:41 pm Rate this comment: (4) (4) These last 3 races for johnson needed to be at Chicago, Loudon, and Dover.... 138. Cash posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That 24 car is strong early on 139. Mr X posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was three hours out of town for the weekend, until I got home a little over an hour ago, is it possible to get a very brief rundown of what happened in the truck race, especially the Max Papis debacle. 140. David posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano reports a vibration. 141. David posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kenseth may have a tire down. Blaney could be dropping fluid. 142. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "is it possible to get a very brief rundown of what happened in the truck race, especially the Max Papis debacle." Max drove like a prick all day, and Mike Skeen (the driver who Max was roughing up for about ten straight laps) and Max got together on the last lap, causing a huge ass debacle in the pits, which led to Max getting slapped by some woman who is believed to be related to Skeen. While I don't necessarily condone the slap or any violence like that (especially from someone who has nothing to do with anything that happened on the track), Max has been driving dirty all year. He's had previous run ins with Billy Johnson and Kyle Larson this year, and today he was running all over Mike Skeen. So I do think he needs to be taught a bit of a lesson. I'm sorry that he got hurt by this woman, but none of this would have happened if he wouldn't have been running Skeen all over the place for most of the race. Oh yeah, and then Chase Elliott and Ty Dillon got together in the final corner and Chase went on to win. It was a pretty eventful race. Back to this race, Logano apparently has a problem. 143. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:55 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Kenseth has a right front problem now. 144. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kenseth to the pits. 145. DB1995 posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Papis had a run-in with Ambrose to 146. Mr X posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thanks murb, I thought the woman remark was an insult, interesting to see that a woman actually slapped him. Hopefully nothing too big comes of this. 147. New14 & 88Fan posted: 09.01.2013 - 8:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The 48 just got lapped. 148. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:00 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Papis had a run-in with Ambrose to" I forgot about that one. Awesome run for McMurray. Hopefully he can finish it off. 149. Sky Warrior posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Does the #47 say "Win My Car" on the hood? 150. joey2448 posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Boy you can really see the difference that fresh tires make with some of those lapped cars going by Edwards on the track (Edwards hadn't pitted yet). Some guys are just flying by him. 151. DB995 posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:04 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) @149, yes it does 152. NicoRosbergFan posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:05 pm Rate this comment: (1) (6) JIC, piss off Johnson! 153. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And now, Joey Logano is leading the race after the cycle of green flag pit stops. 154. David posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And Blaney has a loose lugnut. 155. NicoRosbergFan posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:09 pm Rate this comment: (1) (6) This is fun... posting from an Android to put the evil eye on "The Android." 156. Sky Warrior posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:11 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) So if I win the car, does that mean I get to drive the #47 car next? lol 157. NicoRosbergFan posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:12 pm Rate this comment: (1) (4) Slappis got his own act thrown at him. 158. NicoRosbergFan posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:16 pm Rate this comment: (1) (6) Good night, I can see some troll is already spitefully assaulting me as all my posts, regardless of content , are getting attacked. 159. Mr X posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:17 pm Rate this comment: (2) (2) It's discusting to see that if the race ended now that Bowyer would be the points leader, he's led all of 165 laps in four races, 163 of which were in two races, with no wins and not particularly amazing numbers in terms of consistency, and while he did just take the lead he should still be nowhere near the points lead. If only Tony hadn't passed Jeff Burton in the late laps of the 2011 fall Phoenix race, more people would see this points system for what it is. SHIT. 160. JG24FanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) "Good night, I can see some troll is already spitefully assaulting me as all my posts, regardless of content , are getting attacked." I'm thumbs upping all your post if it makes you feel any better. 161. NicoRosbergFan posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (5) It's OK. It just tells me I can post as I like all week long, but that somebody here, either a poster or a troll, just sits to attack during the races. If I don't lash out, pretty soon somebody will start making disparaging posts directed at me. 162. Sky Warrior posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:22 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) My last post reminded me of something I've been wondering. Does anyone on here ever think they'll get a page for themselves on this site? In other words, does anyone have an ambition to try and run a race some day? 163. DB1995 posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I have thought about building a carand racing it but it wouldnt be on here unless they started putting chumpcar races on here Also damnit Brad is falling back 164. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brad fading at a bad time as we reach halfway. I've been very surprised by their speed so far. But it is fading fast. They don't need this. 165. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Clint Bowyer has a MASSIVE lead. He's 8 1/2 seconds out in front of Edwards and the lead is growing. 166. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:26 pm Rate this comment: (6) (0) "If only Tony hadn't passed Jeff Burton in the late laps of the 2011 fall Phoenix race, more people would see this points system for what it is. SHIT." "But the fans need a point system that is easy to understand without needing a calculator. Something as simple as...(looks at fingers)1,2,.............3." - Brian France 167. Kyle posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:27 pm Rate this comment: (16) (9) Good to see NRF has his panties in a bunch again because someone thumbed down one of his posts. Get some thicker skin. 168. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:28 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I know I've said it before, but I am FAR from being particularly proficient in math, and even *I* understood the basics of the old points standings. That's pretty sad if people can't add things up more than very small amounts. 169. JG24FanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:29 pm Rate this comment: (2) (10) "Good to see NRF has his panties in a bunch again because someone thumbed down one of his posts. Get some thicker skin." Nobody's like's to be purposely picked at, boy. 170. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:32 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Stepped away for a few, only to come back and see that absolutely nothing has changed up front. Logano and Bowyer are the two best cars out there by far. 171. Loose Lugnuts posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:33 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) I wonder how much Goodyear and Sunoco pay to have the pit reporters parrot the "Goodyear tires and Sunoco race fuel" line ad nauseam every race. 172. Sky Warrior posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Ever raced before DB1995? I've gone as far as to contact more than one team about their team rental costs. I'd love to do it some day, even if it's just ARCA or something, so I could one day tell my grandkids I was a professional athlete once. Also looked into running the 24 Hours of Lemons (not a spelling error, it's a junk car race), though that's not posted to RR 173. joey2448 posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:39 pm Rate this comment: (3) (1) Jeff Gordon only two points out of Chase as they run right now! (144 laps to go) Also, that Rush movie trailer got me excited. I so can't wait to see it! Who else is gonna watch it? 174. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Bowyer says his motor is laying down. He's got TuRD power, so that's not surprising. 175. DB1995 posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I havent actually raced anything besides a go kart and chumpcar is essentially the same as the Lemons races just your car doesnt have to have a theme 176. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bowyer blows it up! 177. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bowyer blows up while leading. Heartbreaker. 178. jabber1990 posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:43 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) Caution for TuRD engine 179. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bowyer just went up in smoke. 180. New14 & 88Fan posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) TRuD strikes again. 181. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:43 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Bowyer grenaded. The TuRD experiment failed. 182. New14 & 88Fan posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) *TuRD 183. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bowyer blows up while leading, caution is thrown out for sure. 184. DB1995 posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The best car by FAR just blew up 185. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As much as I want Kenseth to win it all this year, there's no way in hell a Toyota will win the championship with their motors like this. 186. JG24FanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) We just had a retro moment, where the commentary curses the leader by talking about him too much. 187. Loose Lugnuts posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Clint goes kablooey...damn it. 188. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon's in 2nd again. Look out. 189. Taylor posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:48 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) 2 races in a row Bowyer as issues while leading. Last week gets spun by a lapped car and an engine failure tonight 190. David posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow. Big development here. I step out for just a few minutes... 191. Loose Lugnuts posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You gotta love Clint...best interviewee in the sport, no matter what the circumstance. 192. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin spins. 193. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Denny Hamlin loops it around. 194. jabber1990 posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) whew...that could have ended badly 195. New14 & 88Fan posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What was that all about? Menard completely dumped Hamlin. 196. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:56 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Wow. Paul Menard just drove through the 11 like he wasn't even there. 197. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Menard spins him deliberately. I didn't really get a great view of the earlier incident, so I'm not gonna call who's wrong in that deal. 198. Sky Warrior posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Payback for Denny putting Menard in the wall earlier 199. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Everyone is pitting under the caution except for Logano and Edwards. 200. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) The low point of an already crappy ass year for Denny, taken out by The Menarche. 201. Loose Lugnuts posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Hamlin again. Denny, give it up for the year, go get the surgery you need to make sure your back is completely healthy, and take some extra time to heal before 2014. You have absolutely nothing to gain by staying in the 11 the rest of this year. Turn it over to someone else for the rest of 2013. 202. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) At least Denny didn't hit a solid wall or get t-boned. 203. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Paul thinks Denny put him in the wall earlier I guess. But it's hard to tell since BSPN went Pocono 2011 on us and gave us a horrid camera angle. Gordon has a bad pit stop. 204. Baker posted: 09.01.2013 - 9:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (10) Menard has always been scum. I wouldn't expect anything less from him. 205. joey2448 posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So we've got Menard and Hamlin, and now Gordon and Edwards....dem good ol' boys are havin' at it! 206. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:05 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) Typical Gordon. He does it, it is ok. Somebody else does it, time to whine. 207. Menard posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:05 pm Rate this comment: (5) (4) Baker has always been scum. I wouldn't expect anything less from him. 208. Kevin posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truex had to come back to pit road to remove a lug that had gotten stuck in the brake rotor, big development in the battle for the second wild card. And so far ESPN has not mentioned it at all.... 209. Loose Lugnuts posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Earlier in the race, Bestwick said the BoB started the race "toward the back of the field" in an effort to make it look like she was doing better than she actually was. Wrong, Alan. For only the third time in her 35 race Cup career (and the first time at a track not named Daytona) she actually started in the top half of the field (barely) in 21st. A couple of moments later he did admit that she was just basically treading water. A bit too late, but whatever... 210. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:07 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) "Typical Gordon. He does it, it is ok. Somebody else does it, time to whine." They say the memory is the first thing to go, haha. 211. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 2 car to the lead by just driving there. A rarity this year. Sad thing is his teammate on older tires will pass him in this run eventually. 212. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "A couple of moments later he did admit that she was just basically treading water." I didn't catch the early part of the race so I don't know if anything happened, but she is a lap ahead of Martin in the team's flagship car for what it's worth. 213. New14 & 88Fan posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:09 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Thansk webmaster for removing that satire post. 214. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:09 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) They say the memory is the first thing to go, haha Lol. Like I said, this has been a throwback Gordon night. Let's see if he finishes it off. 215. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:10 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) "I didn't catch the early part of the race so I don't know if anything happened, but she is a lap ahead of Martin in the team's flagship car for what it's worth." Mark got some pretty significant damage on a restart stack up. Danica's done decent tonight though, I'll admit. 216. Loose Lugnuts posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:11 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) #212: Martin was involved in that big wreck during the restart early in the race. Got a lot of damage to the 14. BoB has been laying back, logging laps and moving up through attrition. 217. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:13 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Ahh that explains it. Even in his advanced age, Martin is still a bit better than Danica. At least she's ahead of most of the smaller teams this time. 218. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:14 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Logano's current run on older tires is pretty impressive. He's in 2nd and Edwards has fallen back to 18th; the last car on the lead lap. 219. Kyle posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:14 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Allmendinger is having an impressive run tonight in the 47. 220. Loose Lugnuts posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:15 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Ambrose is having a good run tonight, too. 221. TS1420 posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:16 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Edwards pretty much threw this race away. 222. OldSchoolNascarDude1 posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:17 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) How is Logano hanging in with those older tires? 223. David posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:18 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Thansk webmaster for removing that satire post." Which one would that be? "Typical Gordon. He does it, it is ok. Somebody else does it, time to whine." Everyone has their faults. Which incident are you talking about? Hamlin finally parks it. Good. 224. DB1995 posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:19 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Im surprised how bad Carl is on the old tires compared to Joey 225. joey2448 posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:19 pm Rate this comment: (2) (2) So the 99 and 22 both stay out on caution pit stops, and the 99 falls way back but the 22 stays up front?...Hmmmm. Also isn't it interesting that when the 48 has problems during a Chase race (like at Kansas last year), ESPN focuses a ton of attention on them and they miraculously recover to get a good finish. Yet, tonight they encounter problems and ESPN hardly has mentioned them, and they aren't making a comeback? Pssh, ridiculous. 226. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:19 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) I think Hamlin's really starting to regret not taking more time off... this year has been really rough on him. I never really liked the guy before but you hate to see anyone have this kind of luck. 227. TS1420 posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "How is Logano hanging in with those older tires?" Logano seems to have inherited Keselowski's 2011 Late Summer Magic and can do no wrong here lately. 228. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:20 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) They finally mention Dinger and Gilliland. Nice to see the 2 up front this late. I don't know how it will end, their execution hasn't been too good this year. But it is a nice moral boost. We'll have to see I guess. 100 laps to go. In other words this race has just started. 229. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:22 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "Logano seems to have inherited Keselowski's 2011 Late Summer Magic and can do no wrong here lately." When I read this I just had a vision of "Joey Logano: 2014 Sprint Cup Champion". I'm not sure how I feel about this. BRAD IS BLOWING UP NOW. 230. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Keselowski is blowing up. There goes his Chase chances... 231. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) BK's engine is going down. 232. Loose Lugnuts posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Keselowski blowing up. 233. Mr X posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Damn, sorry DSFF. 234. Anonymous posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rats. This kills Brad's hopes. Car sounds like crap on the in car. 235. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:22 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Holy shit. There goes Brad's Chase chances just like that. 236. DB1995 posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What the f**k!! God damnit! 237. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DAMN IT!!!!! 238. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:23 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) And there it goes. Worst championship defense of the modern era. At least in '81 Earnhardt had an excuse. 239. TS1420 posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dammit! Why couldn't Moldy Bread have gotten the Jack Roush Bargain Special Engine? 240. Loose Lugnuts posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:23 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) #221: Carl didn't throw the race away. His crew chief did. It wasn't Carl's decision to stay out. 241. OldSchoolNascarDude1 posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:23 pm Rate this comment: (4) (1) This is why I love these 500 mile, grind it out racss. It really shows who is the best "team." Two great cars have now blown engines. That's part of the reason as to why I miss the 500 mile Pocono races. It takes a good driver to stay focused, a good crew chief to keep up with the track and a strong motor to go the distance. 242. Sky Warrior posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:23 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Wow. If it weren't for bad luck... 243. New14 & 88Fan posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It just wasn't meant to be for the #2 team. The best they can do now is focue on winning and getting ready for 2014. 244. Loose Lugnuts posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick just lost a lot of time on pit road with that near-miss of the 16. Can't afford that during green flag stops. 245. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I really thought the 2 team would run better this year. I knew they would have at least some type of hangover, but not THIS bad. Of course, they have had some bad luck too (engine at Richmond, getting wrecked by Kurt at Kentucky, and now this). It'll be interesting to see how they rebound from this, because barring a miracle at Richmond, they're not making the Chase. 246. David posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:28 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Tough, tough break for Keselowski. Sorry, DSFF. 247. AveryNH posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:29 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Gordon up to fourth now... just lurking... 248. New14 & 88Fan posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Jack Roush Bargain Special Engine" If Penske had stuck with their engine program instead of putting all their eggs in the Roush bargain basket they'd have more speed(and likely more wins). 249. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ugh, why did Roger switch to Ford's company engine department of Roush/Yates? He just does not make good decisions in NASCAR. Never has. That's why it took so long for him to win that title. Hell, were it not for an impassioned speech by Rusty, he'd have quit NASCAR just in time for Rusty's 18 wins over two seasons. And their bright spot, Joey Logano, was Brad's idea. 250. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Pretty stupid how they're talking about Newman having problems with a bent fender even though he's running top five right now. 251. joey2448 posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:33 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Yep, this is definitely a 500-mile NASCAR race on Labor Day weekend. Watching those early-race highlights, it feels like yesterday. These races are looooong, and I love it. JEFF GORDON UP TO 10TH IN POINTS!!!! Also, everyone's acting like Keselowski is gonna miss the Chase this year. I still think he's got a chance at Richmond. Don't lose hope (looking at you, DSFF!) 252. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:34 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I didn't think they'd have a championship season, but I thought the 2 would at least be respectable. I was wrong. Time to focus on 2014. 253. JG24FanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:35 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "And there it goes. Worst championship defense of the modern era." What about Big E in 1992? 254. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:36 pm Rate this comment: (6) (0) Hey, a Roush team picture...in mid pack. 255. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Edwards 15th? That is the definition of "fallen off the face of the Earth". 256. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon is starting to really drop back as well. 257. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "What about Big E in 1992?" He won a race and finished 12th that year. If Brad misses the Chase (which seems like a pretty much done deal at this point barring a miracle), he'll finish 13th or worse. 258. DB1995 posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brads chase chances are a long shot now, but i would like to see a Jeff Gordon style never say die moment next week 259. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:40 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) WHY do they keep saying that Newman has had problems tonight? He's running 2nd with one of the fastest cars on the track, morons. 260. JG24FanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "If Brad misses the Chase (which seems like a pretty much done deal at this point barring a miracle), he'll finish 13th or worse." The season isn't over yet. Brad could win multiple Chase races and salvage the season. 261. JG24FanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And another reason that Big E's 1992 is the worst Modern era title defense is that he had a whopping 6 Top 5 finishes, while Brad K already has 7. 262. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'll post a list I made a few weeks ago of the Top 10 best title defenses and the Top 10 worst title defenses of the modern era. Just a fore warning Rainbow Nation, I have The King's 1975 season ranked just ahead of Jeff's 1998. No offense meant, but that run of 11 straight Top 2's is too much. 263. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution is out for Jimmie Johnson spinning out. 264. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "The season isn't over yet. Brad could win multiple Chase races and salvage the season." True, but it's still been a pretty horrible title defense for them. And I'm not sure I would count on them really salvaging anything. Brad seems to be the ultimate team player, so they'll probably just be playing wingman for Logano (can't believe I'm saying that - I thought it would be the other way around when they announced Logano was going there). 265. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What a bad night for Jimmie. He'll probably win the first two or three Chase races though, so if your a fan of his I wouldn't worry. 266. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:48 pm Rate this comment: (3) (3) The Winston Cup field in 1992 >>>>>>> 2013 267. TS1420 posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:48 pm Rate this comment: (2) (2) Why couldn't these last three races be chase races? 268. David posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Just a fore warning Rainbow Nation, I have The King's 1975 season ranked just ahead of Jeff's 1998. No offense meant, but that run of 11 straight Top 2's is too much." I'm not offended at all. That's the way it should be. 269. AveryNH posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:51 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Jimmie is NOT winning Loudon! I simply won't allow it. 270. epzik8 posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Maybe by the checkered flag Jimmie Johnson will finally let go of the points lead he's held all season, as far as I know? 271. Loose Lugnuts posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The outside line on restarts still sucks. 272. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) There goes Pinball Vickers. 273. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Vickers spins and another caution comes out. 274. David posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:53 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "Jimmie is NOT winning Loudon! I simply won't allow it." What do you intend to do, shoot his tires out with a blowgun? Good luck. 275. Loose Lugnuts posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:56 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Man, it sure would be nice of ESPN to interrupt their commercials to show just a little bit of racing, wouldn't it? 276. OldSchoolNascarDude1 posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) How ironic would it be if Kurt Busch won this race from seemingly nowhere after having one of the best cars on numerous occasions this year, but has fallen victim to bad luck? 277. AveryNH posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I was thinking I'd get super drunk and jump on the track like a guy did at Pocono years ago... kidding folks, kidding. Loser of that restart was Jamie Mac. He was sixth I think when they went green, got pinned behind jr. Who got stuck behind Newman and fell to fifteenth 278. JG24FanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (4) "Just a fore warning Rainbow Nation, I have The King's 1975 season ranked just ahead of Jeff's 1998. No offense meant, but that run of 11 straight Top 2's is too much." I'm not offended at all. That's the way it should be." No. compare the Top 5 points finishers in 1975 to 1998. 1998>>>>>>>1975 279. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:58 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) lol, Kurt must have nitrous or something. 280. David posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So, what exactly is going on? Who's leading, and what lap is it? I've temporarily lost the PRN stream here (probably due to having too many people on the Internet at once). 281. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Burton into the wall with Dillon. It's a wreck fest all of a sudden. 282. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Burton and Austin Dillon in the wall. Gordon all the way back to TWELFTH. Another mid-pack finish for the #24? 283. New14 & 88Fan posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) RCR wad up with Austin Dillon and Jeff Burton. 284. Sky Warrior posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:59 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) AJ Dinger is in the top 10. And the Legacci: The Next Generation just crashed 285. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 09.01.2013 - 10:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Burton and the heir apparent make contact. The rest of this race is making to be a caution fest. 286. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch is leading with about 25 to go, David. 287. joey2448 posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt Busch on that last restart must've gotten some help from Chad Knaus. He looked like Jimmie Johnson on any given Sunday (save for the last few). 288. The Long Shot posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:01 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I'm a determined guy right now. I missed the Truck race (DAAAAAAAH!!!) as well as the IndyCar race (DAAAAAAAH!!!), but darn it, I'm not missing this one. 289. David posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:02 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) "Loser of that restart was Jamie Mac." He's a terrible restarter. This is only typical of him. 290. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I like these guys getting tires. 291. Quasar posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Poor Jeff Burton, he was still pretty fast despite the damage. Just can't catch a break. 292. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:03 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Truex melted his cast, apparently. 293. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sounds like BSPN thinks Truex will win this race. 294. OldSchoolNascarDude1 posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There are so many story lines in the top 10 right now. Other than Ky. Busch, Harvick and Kenseth, any of the other seven would be a feel good win. 295. TS1420 posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Man that outside line is a death sentence! 296. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:09 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) Ambrose 3rd? 297. David posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The stream is back. Thanks, murb. 298. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) OK, I just learned a valuable lesson. Don't ever open a NASCAR.com leaderboard, leave it there for an hour or so, and then scroll down far enough for the comments section to appear on screen. It WILL freeze your browser as 700 comments all try to load at once. 299. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Was hoping Brad would be able to ride it out, but it was a great effort. Now they can focus on getting a win before the year's out. 300. TS1420 posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Are we shaping up for another one of those famous Atlanta finishes? 301. DB1995 posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well damn, lets just see how many if any races we can win this year 302. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:13 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Re. Keselowski's Chase chances: he's only 11 points in front of McMURRAY as they run. 303. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Logano has 10 laps to catch Kyle. He's got the fastest car on the track by far. 304. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Unless Jacques shows up, Kyle's won the race. 305. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yep. Kyle's got it won. 306. David posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) PRN just mistakenly said to "move Logano to the top spot". 307. New14 & 88Fan posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) White Flag for Kyle, Logano didn't have enough time. 308. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle wins. 309. JG24FanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle wins. 310. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Great, this just encourages those two to run even more Nationwide races. 311. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Pretty crazy that Kyle won if you think about it. He was barely noticeable all night up until about 40 to go. Great drive by Truex to finish 3rd with that broken wrist. 312. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Despite all the "cheating Hendrick Motor$port$ is ruining NASCAR" talk, JGR has been really dominant all season, and it appears they are playing very smart in having Kenseth and Busch going for broke for wins. Wins are ALL that matters in the regular season so long as you stay in the top 10. 313. JRacingFast posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ......*HISTORY*........... 314. JG24FanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch ties Rex White in career wins with his 28th. 315. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I know Kyle's among the sport's more popular drivers, but seriously, I swear before this year I've never heard so many people cheer for him winning a race. 316. DB1995 posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:24 pm Rate this comment: (4) (1) Damn a bad day made even worse...... At least we dont have to worry about him being a legit championship contender... 317. Schroeder51 posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon is only 6 points behind Kurt Busch. Kahne is 10 back, Truex is 15, Newman 20, and Keselowski 28. Will Kurt Busch be able to hang onto the 10th spot in a lower-funded team? Will Gordon have another "Never Say Die" moment and sneak his way in again? Will Kahne get back into the top and get the extra points for his two wins? And will a miracle fall Brad Keselowski's way? All I can say is, next week at Richmond is going to be quite interesting! 318. joey2448 posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:25 pm Rate this comment: (3) (3) God DAMN, Samantha Busch is hot! 319. jabber1990 posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) the first 2 wins for Kyle this season we forgot he won the races. did we remember the last 2 wins? 320. The Long Shot posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:27 pm Rate this comment: (4) (1) Bold Prediction Time: Joey Logano will be your 2013 Sprint Cup Champion. No one else has been as consistent as he has this season. The only one who's even come close has been Jimmie Johnson, and even he's been inconsistent as of late. I know many won't like to hear this, but I think that after this season, the "bust" label needs to be removed from Logano. Sure, he was slow to develop, but remember that he was also 3rd priority on that JGR team. When he left, he wisely moved to Penske Racing, which had more equipment to spare, and partially because of that, he's been much more improved this year. 321. 18fan posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:27 pm Rate this comment: (5) (0) David Gilliland finished 17th and stayed on the lead lap all day. Great drive by him. 322. DB1995 posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) One good note for me, Logano is looking like a sleeper pick for the chase 323. joey2448 posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) Logano reminds me of Vickers 2009....Am I right? I bet money that Logano will fall flat on his face in the Chase. 324. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Gordon is only 6 points behind Kurt Busch. Kahne is 10 back, Truex is 15, Newman 20, and Keselowski 28." Going to be interesting to see how the two shopmates approach this one. What will happen if in the closing laps Kahne is leading and Gordon is 2nd? Would Kahne and team surrender the 9 bonus points to get Jeff into the Chase? Of course, after seeing Kahne at Bristol, I think the answer's pretty obvious. 325. 18fan posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano has been extremely impressive this year. He actually has more top 5s and top 10s than Matt Kenseth and he has more wins, top 5s, top 10s, and laps led than his teammate Brad. And he's higher in points. 326. David posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:30 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Bold Prediction Time: Joey Logano will be your 2013 Sprint Cup Champion. No one else has been as consistent as he has this season. The only one who's even come close has been Jimmie Johnson, and even he's been inconsistent as of late." Too bold, if you ask me. I'm going with Matt Kenseth, in spite of his engine problems. 327. murb posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:33 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Bold Prediction Time: Joey Logano will be your 2013 Sprint Cup Champion." I don't know about this year. Remember, this will only be his first time in the Chase. For all we know he could be like Kyle Busch has been in the past and be a bad Chase racer. But yes. He is not a bust. He's proven many people wrong this year (including me). I can see him getting another win and possibly contending for a top five points spot, and for your first year in the Chase AND with a brand new team, that would be outstanding. I don't think he's championship caliber quite yet though. 328. David posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "in spite of his engine problems" TRD's, actually. 329. Loose Lugnuts posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:37 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Something to ponder: Bowyer still owes Jeffy from Phoenix last fall. I figured he'd wait to collect his payback until it was a time that would hurt Jeffy's Chase chances, like Phoenix hurt Clint's Chase chances last year. If Bowyer is near Jeffy in the late stages of next week's race and Jeffy still has a chance to make it into the Chase, look for Clint to dump him. 330. Anthony posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) I'm praying as hard as I can. Please Please make it Jeff Please <:,'( I'm begging mercy. Win Win Win Win WWWWWIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!! 331. The Long Shot posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:40 pm Rate this comment: (3) (3) I will comment on one other issue, and unfortunately, it's neither the Truck nor the IndyCar races (once again, DAAAAAAAH!!!). Webmaster, either format the comment rating system to "thumbs-up only", like Facebook, or just get rid of it entirely. It's clear to me that we have too many people abusing the system by troll-thumbing-up or thumbing-down comments, and we also have a number of people on here who take the ratings system WAY too seriously. People seem to be making it a game to thumbs-down one particular commenter whose name shall not be revealed (okay, it's NicoRosbergFan, but you all knew that), and while I will say that this particular commenter has posted some, well, disagreeable comments in the past, I honestly have seen no comments from him over the last few weeks that I would count as being "tasteless". Unfortunately, this commenter seems to think that the entire board is out to get him and attack him, which is simply not true. I, for one, enjoy reading his posts for the most part. He adds a lot of flavor to the discussions, and when he takes breaks from the site, we seem to lose some of our energy. We don't want to lose that energy. So, in order to keep the peace around here, I ask that changes be made to the comments rating system as soon as possible. Thank you for listening, and have a wonderful night. 332. JG24FanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) "Bowyer still owes Jeffy from Phoenix last fall." No he doesn't. Bowyer was being paid back for the spring Martinsville race and driving into him at Phoenix too. It's over. 333. cjs3872 posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NLA, first if Gordon and Kahne are running 1-2, then there's a better than average likelihood that Kahne and Gordon are both going to be in the top 10, so throw that theory out the window. As for what would happen, I think they would stay in position, not willing to risk anything happening. That means if the 5 was in front of the 24, the 5 would stay in front, but if it was the 24 in front of the 5, Kahne won't make a move. We know that, because he's basically proved that he's incapable of doing so. However, if one of them moves over and lets the other go by for the win especially if one's told to move over for the other), it would be NASCAR's version of the Black Sox Scandal, which nearly destroyed baseball almost 100 years ago. And by the way guys, you're saying Logano's a shoe-in for the Chase. He's not. What if Kahne doesn't have that good a night, either Martin Truex, Jr. or Ryan Newman win with Kahne not getting back into the top ten, and Logano also falls out of the top ten? Logano would still miss the Chase because he'd have one win and two other drivers below tenth would have two wins. That same scenario could knock Greg Biffle out of the Chase if something similar happens to him and either Truex or Newman get a second win with that driver and Kahne being below tenth in points. Neither Biffle or Logano are totally safe for that reason. And Newman has excelled at flat tracks throughout his career, so that's a definite possibility. I would rate the chances of either Biffle or Logano missing the Chase at less than 5%, but it could mathematically happen. Greg Biffle and Joey Logano should be shoe-ins for the Chase, but neither of them are for the reasons I mentioned. And if Jeff Gordon misses the Chase, it's his fault for not driving the car hard enough on that final restart at Pocono, when he had cleared Kahne entering turn 1. If he drives it harder, then he has position on Kahne entering turn 2 and Kahne likely doesn't get by, or Kahne doesn't even get beside him. So if Gordon winds up 11th and misses the Chase, he has nobody to blame but himself for throwing that win at Pocono away. 334. Sky Warrior posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:56 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) "And if Jeff Gordon misses the Chase, it's his fault for not driving the car hard enough on that final restart at Pocono, when he had cleared Kahne entering turn 1. If he drives it harder, then he has position on Kahne entering turn 2 and Kahne likely doesn't get by, or Kahne doesn't even get beside him. So if Gordon winds up 11th and misses the Chase, he has nobody to blame but himself for throwing that win at Pocono away." No one was going to beat Kahne on that last restart. His car was just too good that day, it had nothing to do with Gordon not driving hard enough 335. David posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) On Joey Logano, he is most definitely not a bust. Remember, he's only 23 years old! I just think that he had way too much pressure placed on him at Gibbs (stating the obvious), but there's also another thing. The #20 team he stepped into hadn't been changed at all from the previous year. JGR figured that a proven championship race team combined with the "Next Big Thing" would produce wins and top fives left and right. But that's just what they shouldn't have done. Nobody contends for a title right off the bat; and the team was made for Tony Stewart, not Joey Logano. Only when Jason Ratcliff was brought on board did they see improvement, including a win at Pocono. It wasn't enough, though, as Logano was shafted in favor of Kenseth (THE best move of the silly season, as Kenseth is getting even better with age). Fortunately, he was able to find a ride, as he picked up the reins of the Penske Racing #22 Ford, with little pressure after an underwhelming first four years, and he's driven the wheels off the car. They had a few hiccups, with the Texas penalty and the back-to-back 40th-place finishes at Daytona and Loudon, but Logano and Co. have bounced back with a vengeance these last few weeks, coming back from 36 points out of the top ten to solidly in the Chase and with a win to his credit. This is easily the best season of his career. 336. JG24FanForever posted: 09.01.2013 - 11:57 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "However, if one of them moves over and lets the other go by for the win especially if one's told to move over for the other), it would be NASCAR's version of the Black Sox Scandal, which nearly destroyed baseball almost 100 years ago." Have you ever watched an F1 race? Team orders are a way of life in that series. If Gordon was given the win by Kahne, it wouldn't be the scandal that the Black Sox situation was by any means. Paul Menard very obviously spun on purpose 2 years ago at Richmond for his teammate Kevin Harvick. Was it a scandal? 337. cjs3872 posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @329, how do you figure that hurt incident at Phoenix Clint Bowyer's chances at the championship? He wasn't going to win it anyway. That incident seemed to cost him a shot at second, which he got anyway. But with what's happened, if Jimmie Johnson doesn't get his problems ironed out, I like Joey Logano's chances at the championship, if he makes the Chase, because he's got the speed, his luck seems to have turned around, and other than Johnson, I don't trust anyone else, and tonight was a prime example. No Toyota driver will likely contend, because they're likely to each have one engine failure in the last ten races, which will knock them out of contention, and Logano also has Brad Keselowski in his corner, and we know Brad likes to stir up things. Another driver who's chances I like is Dale Earnhardt, Jr. He just pounds out top ten finishes if he has no problem, with occasional top 5s, and I suspect that we may see the driver that wins the championship do so without winning a race in the Chase if Johnson doesn't win it. If Dale, Jr., Kevin Harvick, and/or Logano challenge for the title (assuming Joey makes it), it would not surprise me at all. This year's Chase has the look of one where consistency, not dominance, will be key. If Johnson doesn't win it, someone like Dale, Jr., Harvick, or Logano could very well walk off with the title this year. 338. Jarrett88fan posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:00 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) I have a feeling there will be more pressure on Logano, Biffle, and Kurt Busch to maintain their positions for 400 laps next Saturday night in Henrico, County Virgina. 339. Schroeder51 posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:05 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) To be honest, I think Biffle's the most likely driver to drop out of the top 10 in points next week at Richmond seeing as he hasn't run well there at all lately (in his last 13 starts there, he only has 1 top 10 and 5 finishes better than 15th place there). 340. Bro Jackson posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Swing and a miss. -Me, about tonight's race. P.S. Congrats to Chase for winning at Mosport! 341. The Long Shot posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "They had a few hiccups, with the Texas penalty and the back-to-back 40th-place finishes at Daytona and Loudon" True, but none of these incidents were his fault, so I wouldn't refer to them as "hiccups". 342. cjs3872 posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:12 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Sky Warrior, I disagree. Gordon had Kahne beat. He just didn't drive it hard enough into turn one after clearing Kahne. He admitted so himself after the race. I think that's why we're seeing Gordon drive as hard as he is the last few races. He's still mad at himself for what happened at Pocono (and to a lesser extent, Watkins Glen), and is trying to make amends to his team for it. And JG24FF, the reason that whole thing at Richmond a couple of years ago didn't become a scandal is because NASCAR swept it under the rug. If they had investigated that whole incident, they could have blown the roof off of team tactics in NASCAR, but they chose not to. And let's not forget the chicanery that occurred late in that same race between Toyota teams last year, as Toyota was having drivers from multiple teams pit to move Kyle Busch up in the standings over the last few laps to get him into the Chase, but failed. e of NASCAR's problems is that they don't have a Kenesaw Landis, or Pete Rozelle, or David Stern as a true commissioner over the whole sport, because if they had someone like that running things, that whole thing a couple of years ago would have been thoroughly investigated, and there would have been severe penalties levied against Richard Childress Racing. In fact, had I been there, a lifetime ban for some of the conspirators, such as Mike Dillon and "Slugger" Labbe, would not have been off the table, because the evidence of race fixing was there. NASACR chose not to pursue it. I would have thoroughly, and levied the most severe punishments in the history of the sport for a competition-related incident, because the guilty parties were caught on radio conspiring to fix, or at least alter the course of the race in a dishonest way. 343. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:12 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) I must say, I have no choice but to eat crow when it comes to Joey Logano. The fact is he was thrown to the wolves WAY too soon by Gibbs. The combo of his inexperience, the organization that wasn't thrilled to have him in the 20 car so soon (Larson before Larson), amd the poisonous environmemt of having KyBu and Denny as teammates and he never found a groove. Luckily for him Brad was watching and saw something. Now he has experience, confidence, and an organization that believes in him. We may now remove the "bust" label from him. I was wrong. As for Brad, I can't help but think of the highs and lows of sports. The extreme elation last year at his championship. That chase was the ultimate roller coaster with a kick ass ending for me. The guy whose bandwagon I jumped on after his first big break in NASCAR (the Memphis Truck race) made it all the way to the top, beating The Juggernaut. Now, the deflation. No wins 25 race in, chase hopes moribund, just a bad year. That's sports for ya! 344. David posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "True, but none of these incidents were his fault, so I wouldn't refer to them as "hiccups"." That's why I said "they". Besides, you very rarely give yourself hiccups. 345. Baker posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano is nothing like Vickers and I bet the farm he doesn't bomb the chase. In fact in 2010 he may have had his best stretch of races in his career during the chase. He scored 6 top 7 finishes and out scored everyone but Johnson and Hamlin I believe. He'll be fine he is much more talented than Vickers. 346. Jarrett88fan posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yep, Biffle is the one most likely to fall out of the top-10 based on past history, Roush's reputation for overlooking flat tracks, etc. Logano has speed, momentum, and BK's 2011 summer magic. Kurt Busch was solid at Richmond and flat tracks in general. Gordon has the experience of being in this situation last year and can rise above the occasion and make the Chase. Ultimately, it comes down to luck and putting together a full race. Should be fun. 347. murb posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "And by the way guys, you're saying Logano's a shoe-in for the Chase. He's not." I highly doubt he'll fall out of the top ten AND past both of the Wild Cards in one race. He's in unless something insane happens. Of course, we can't rule that out, but I'm still saying he's in. Great points on Logano, David. This is the best season of his career. I've been pretty hard on him in the past, but like I said before, he's proven me wrong this year. He isn't a Cup bust. And you're also right about how JGR expected way too much of him too early. I think we all forget that he was only 18 when he took over that car full time. I'm 18 years old right now, and I cannot imagine having to deal with pressure like that at this age. He's shown himself to be an arrogant little jerk in the past, but this year (other than the stupid feud with Denny) it seems like he's finally found his place in the Cup Series. He's learned to just shut up and drive the race car. If he stays on the right path and doesn't let distractions get to him (a la Denny, Kyle, Harvick), I think he can do big things in Cup. Okay. That crow wasn't so bad. 348. Cooper posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) So disappointing for the #2 team. Alot of bad luck. However, last year was all about good luck for Brad. Overall the #2 team wasn't bad they just couldn't finish races. The worst title defense of alltime but at least they can say they won a championship. I just didn't feel it this year right from the get go. While they started off with alot of good consistent runs, Brad and that team looked uninterested and more worried about proving people wrong then beating people on the track. Brad looked defeated tonight, tired almost. I think this year was a humbling experience for both Brad and Paul. Brad needs to find that hunger and Paul needs to find the creativity that made these guys the second most lethal driver/crew chief in the garage area. 349. cjs3872 posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:21 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Baker, three's one thing about Vickers "bombing" the Chase that people forget, and that is that it was no only Vickers' first time in the Chase, but also his team's only time in the Chase, and nobody there knew how to handle the pressure. With Logano, you have Penske Racing, they very organization that won last year's championship, and an organization that has a ton of experience battling for championships in NASCAR that goes back 20 years, and the ultimate in knowing how to race for championships, and that's Roger Penske himself. That's just a few of those Logano has in his corner, and you know Penske's going to put everything he has into that #22 car, now that Brad's effectively out of it now. And might try to stir things up to help Logano, as well, especially if Joey's challenging for the title, as I think he might. 350. JG24FanForever posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:22 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) "In fact, had I been there, a lifetime ban for some of the conspirators, such as Mike Dillon and "Slugger" Labbe, would not have been off the table, because the evidence of race fixing was there. NASACR chose not to pursue it. I would have thoroughly, and levied the most severe punishments in the history of the sport for a competition-related incident, because the guilty parties were caught on radio conspiring to fix, or at least alter the course of the race in a dishonest way." Fantastic post, cjs3872! Thanks for the input. 351. cjs3872 posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Murb, he doesn't have to be passed by the 1-win Wild Card drivers to fall out of the Chase if he falls out of the top 10 at Richmond. All that would have to happen is that Kahne stays out of the top ten and either Ryan Newman or Martin Truex, Jr. win. They wouldn't have to pass Logano in points to knock him out if Logano falls out of the top ten, since they'd pass him in wins with a second one. 352. DB1995 posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:29 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think i have Brads chase scenarios figured out Brad gets max points at Richmond he needs Truex to finish 9th or worse and Newman to finish 3rd or worse. Truex 704, Newman 699, Keselowski 691.This is assuming neither lead a lap. 353. Loose Lugnuts posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:30 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) @342: "alter the course of the race in a dishonest way". You just described about 75% of debris cautions. Yep, they are absolutely dishonest and they alter the course of a race. That's why NASCAR didn't investigate the Richmond incident when it was painfully obvious what happened there. They can't go and punish teams for the same thing they're doing themselves (and on a much larger scale, at that). 354. JG24FanForever posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:31 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) This was Jeff Gordon's 34th career 6th place finish. It was his 20th Top 6 finish in 40 Atlanta races. That gives Gordon an impressive .500% in the Top 6 at Atlanta over 21 years. 355. cjs3872 posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) By the way, the drivers below 16th in points were officially eliminated from Chase contention as a result of tonight's race. And driver at least 48+ points behind the second Wild Card driver can not make the Chase, since none of them have wins. I release my Chase reset, which will have this information, later this coming week. I'll also make my predictions for the 10 Chase races after the race at Richmond and before the race at Chicagoland. 356. DB1995 posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) but Brad has to win at Richmond to makeit, or Kurt busch, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne,Martin Truex Jr., and Ryan Newman finish at least 28 spots lower than him so there is a chance, slim chance, but there is one 357. cjs3872 posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) But DB1995, you're forgetting scenarios that would have Kasey Kahne out of the top ten with hi two wins, and either Joey Logano and/or Greg Biffle falling out of the top ten, but staying ahead of Keselowski, in which case, Keselowski would still be out, even if all you mention does happen, since the tie-breakers go back to points standings. 358. Loose Lugnuts posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @337: cjs, that's not the way I looked at it; that's the way Bowyer looked at it. I knew the 15 had practically no chance to win the title, but Clint sure thought he did. 359. DB1995 posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah my bad guys i didnt think that through, I've never done scenarios before 360. JG24FanForever posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:37 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) As a lifelong Babe Ruth fan, I have to note that this was Jeff Gordon's 714th career and consecutive start. 361. cjs3872 posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) And they can't all finish that far behind Keselowski, if only because of the start-and-parks, which will take up a few of the spots at the bottom of the finishing order. If you subtract that from the number of cars that actually start the race, then you get the real size of the field, which I assume will be 38-40 cars. So they can't all have terrible nights and finish among the bottom 6-8 cars in the finishing order among those actually trying to run the race. This is a situation where start-and-parks actually figure into a Chase clinching scenario. 362. SpeedWorld97 posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:40 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) In my opinion, that was an awesome race! So many plot-twisting events throughout 500 miles, like two leaders having engine problems while leading, tire wear actually relevant (Gordon gained about ten spots on the final restart with fresher tires), and great battles for position over 50 laps into a green flag run. As much as I hate the chase, I must say that next weekend will be interesting, to say the least. I really think Gordon can make it, and Jr. has about a 90 percent chance of making the chase. As for Brad Keselowski, this will most likely be the first time the defending champ finishes outside the top ten in points the following year since Dale Earnhardt in 1992 (I don't count Kulwicki in 1993 for obvious reasons). 363. Loose Lugnuts posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:40 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) @360: JG24FF, here's a bit of trivia that you probably already know, but I'll mention it anyway: on the old TV series Dragnet, Sgt. Joe Friday's badge number was 714, because Jack Webb was a Babe Ruth fan. 364. cjs3872 posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:40 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Well @358, if Bowyer actually thought he had a shot at the championship, then he's more delusional than many think, because he had no shot. 365. cjs3872 posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) SpeedWorld97, Tony Stewart missed the Chase in 2006 after his 2005 championship, so the best he could do was 11th in points that year. 366. SpeedWorld97 posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:43 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I can't believe I forgot 2006, cjs3872. 367. JG24FanForever posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "here's a bit of trivia that you probably already know, but I'll mention it anyway: on the old TV series Dragnet, Sgt. Joe Friday's badge number was 714, because Jack Webb was a Babe Ruth fan." Ha! I didn't know that. Thanks. 368. David posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:48 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Instant Chase clinch scenarios: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - must finish 32rd, 33th and lead a lap, or 34th and lead the most laps. Joey Logano - must finish eleventh, twelfth and lead a lap, or thirteenth and lead the most laps. Greg Biffle - must finish ninth, tenth and lead a lap, or eleventh and lead the most laps. Kurt Busch - must win, finish second and lead a lap, or finish third and lead the most laps. Kasey Kahne can clinch a wild-card berth with a win. 369. cjs3872 posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Actually David, Kasey Kahne has already clinched a spot in the Chase. There's no possible way for him to be knocked out, since no other driver with more than one win can be knocked out of the top ten, so Kasey's clinched at least a Wild Card spot in the Chase. But to use those six points from the two wins, he has to get back into the top ten. But Kasey's in the Chase. 370. Anonymous posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:55 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) Brad lost 31 points because of penalties those points would be useful right now. 371. David posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I see. I didn't look at the standings closely enough. Another thing: No matter how the other bubble drivers finish, Jeff Gordon will clinch a Chase spot with a win Saturday night. 372. Xrated posted: 09.02.2013 - 1:05 am Rate this comment: (17) (7) "I, for one, enjoy reading his posts for the most part. He adds a lot of flavor to the discussions, and when he takes breaks from the site, we seem to lose some of our energy." NicoRosbergFan is the biggest idiot on this site, and his comments add NOTHING to the discussion. Maybe the reason he gets so many thumbs down is because people are tired of reading his irrational, holier-than-thou, blindly biased conspiracy theory bullshit. If that's not bad enough, he has to brag about his supposed academic status and his religion and belittle anyone who disagrees with him. NRF is a sniveling, insecure, thin-skinned, hypocritical piece of shit. That clear enough for you? 373. murb posted: 09.02.2013 - 1:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Murb, he doesn't have to be passed by the 1-win Wild Card drivers to fall out of the Chase if he falls out of the top 10 at Richmond. All that would have to happen is that Kahne stays out of the top ten and either Ryan Newman or Martin Truex, Jr. win. They wouldn't have to pass Logano in points to knock him out if Logano falls out of the top ten, since they'd pass him in wins with a second one." Well, he's in a hell of a lot better shape than some of the other guys that he's got near him (namely Biffle, as has been mentioned by some of the others). He'll make it. I'll be shocked if he doesn't. 374. David posted: 09.02.2013 - 1:20 am Rate this comment: (2) (3) "NRF is a sniveling, insecure, thin-skinned, hypocritical piece of shit. That clear enough for you?" Yes. It's clear you dislike him. It's also clear that The Long Shot isn't the only one who holds that positive opinion of NRF. I like NRF, and so do quite a few others on this site. You can express your opinion freely here as you wish, but I just don't agree with you. Maybe I'm an idiot, too, but I enjoy his posts for the most part. 375. 18fan posted: 09.02.2013 - 1:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I could easily see Biffle falling out of the top 10. It would be harder for him to fall out of the Chase completely, given that he is 23 points ahead of Truex and 28 points ahead of Newman. 376. David posted: 09.02.2013 - 1:33 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "on the old TV series Dragnet, Sgt. Joe Friday's badge number was 714, because Jack Webb was a Babe Ruth fan" Dragnet was an excellent TV show. Especially when Harry Morgan played Bill Gannon. 377. joey2448 posted: 09.02.2013 - 2:20 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Okay, this is what I think is happening at Richmond: Biffle falls out of top-10, Jeff Gordon races in for a Chase spot, Biffle and Kahne get the two wild cards, leaving Truex Jr. out... 378. BON GORDON posted: 09.02.2013 - 2:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks like Gordon and Edwards had a discussion right after the race and Gordon walked away in frustration. Then they talked again later, agreed to disagree, and shook hands. They were apparently disappointed with the way they raced each other. The first incident where Gordon dove into the corner and slid in front of Edwards looked like an accident. I thought Gordon was gonna slide up to the wall. But then again I dont know for sure. Then later when Gordon and Edwards were racing and Edwards slide in front of Gordon was definitely intentional. Gordon was pissed but I do understand why Edwards did it. I'd be mad too but both incidents could've crashed both of them. I dont care, as long as it doesn't boil over to another race. Anyway I'm fairly happy with his 6th place run. I really wanted a podium finish but his car got away from him the last 120 laps or so. I think he has about a 45% chance of making the chase. A lot higher than the percentage I gave him going into Richmond last year. It's been a rough season and either way I hope Jeff finishes 2013 strong. 379. 18fan posted: 09.02.2013 - 2:30 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Obviously I'm excited that Kyle won, but I'm more excited about the way he won. The car wasn't great for a while and, while Kyle was upset on the radio, he didn't fold and he let Dave Rogers keep adjusting on the car and finally get it good, coupled with some great pit stops. 380. joey2448 posted: 09.02.2013 - 2:50 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Logano is nothing like Vickers and I bet the farm he doesn't bomb the chase. In fact in 2010 he may have had his best stretch of races in his career during the chase. He scored 6 top 7 finishes and out scored everyone but Johnson and Hamlin I believe. He'll be fine he is much more talented than Vickers." Except he wasn't in the Chase in 2010. The lack of pressure allowed Logano to shine those 10 races. 381. DB1995 posted: 09.02.2013 - 2:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Joey2448, your obviously not a Logano fan, and all this time i thought the Joey in your name was because you were lol 382. b4il3y posted: 09.02.2013 - 3:03 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Nice win by Busch. And by the way...the reason I don't state my opinion...is because I think ill get exiled like you have this Nico guy.. Community... I think you guys fail to concept the whole thing. Sorry..my opinion on the matter. I'd rather talk racing than others opinions. 383. Scott. B posted: 09.02.2013 - 3:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've never done this before, but I'm going to post standings according to my own system (one that will never happen). The system is 500 points for a win, one point for each lap led. That's right, second place gets zero. The results as of this race: 1 Kenseth 3644, 2 Johnson 3139, 3 Kyle Busch 3102, 4 Kahne 1466, 5 Harvick 1051, 6 Edwards 901, 7 Truex Jr 755, 8 Logano 716, 9 Biffle 615, 10 Stewart 614, 11 Newman 580, 12 Vickers 519, 13 Ragan 516, 14 Kurt Busch 368, 15 Hamlin 259, 16 Bowyer 213, 17 Brad Keselowski 201, 18 Gordon 168, 19 Earnhardt Jr 146 , 20 Montoya 138. 384. Scott. B posted: 09.02.2013 - 3:47 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This system wasn't meant to favor any particular driver, just ran the numbers for fun. It was designed with the idea that except under extraordinary circumstances, the guy with the most wins in a season is the champion. Obviously, if this system was really in place, strategy would be very different. 385. Scott. B posted: 09.02.2013 - 4:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I do find it interesting that Matt Kenseth, who's been tagged as a points racer since his championship season, is the current leader under this system... ironic. 386. joey2448 posted: 09.02.2013 - 4:27 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) DB1995, I'm actually rather indifferent to Logano. I wouldn't mind seeing him in the Chase, more so because it would simply add a new face. I was just making a point on why I thought Logano put up some good numbers to end the 2010 season (because he wasn't in the Chase). And I still think Logano's gonna falter in the Chase. His recent run of success reminds me of Vickers in 2009 (They even both won the August Michigan race!) although his numbers probably won't be as horrendous as Vickers' that year. And my real name is Joey, hence the joey2448... 387. Kubica fan Ireland posted: 09.02.2013 - 4:57 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I will post a blog today on each teams chances in the chase. 388. Ched Little posted: 09.02.2013 - 5:14 am Rate this comment: (4) (3) X-rated got 8 ups, and 2 downs as of this post. Tells you how violent the hatred of NRF here is... Let's see... X-rated, 83andJoe, NoLongerAnonymous, DSFF, Ryan W, Biscuits in a Red Bull... yup, they all like to find excuses to bash the kid. I'm surprised that the webmaster let that puppy stay considering he all but told NRF to commit suicide. "NicoRosbergFan is the biggest idiot on this site, and his comments add NOTHING to the discussion. Maybe the reason he gets so many thumbs down is because people are tired of reading his irrational, holier-than-thou, blindly biased conspiracy theory bullshit. If that's not bad enough, he has to brag about his supposed academic status and his religion and belittle anyone who disagrees with him. NRF is a sniveling, insecure, thin-skinned, hypocritical piece of shit. That clear enough for you? " When the hell has he ever bragged about his religion this year? He only has mentioned religion when it was relevant to the discussion, and then he wasn't an ass about it. The biggest idiot here is you with not one shred of evidence. You speak of conspiracy theories, but his conspiracy theories are the same type d!ckheads like you praise cjs and DSFF for. The fact that you made this post for me to dissect is a sign that YOU have serious mental health issues as you are showing the signs of someone who needs a psychiatrist to prevent him from going postal and massacring 25 people. You are obviously sniveling and insecure because you made a fake account. You are thin-skinned in that you made this response because someone defended the kid. You are hypocritical in that you just went on a tirade that make his sound like a Beatles song. I can name at least 3 posters who are dumber than him. His comments are almost always the ones that make us forget how crappy a race was due to their humorous content. As far as belittling, I have seen him belittle plenty of people for disagreeing (we all have), but he far from belittles everybody as you claim. He likes to tease The Long Shot and David because they're the kids of the board, but he doesn't belittle. And his discussions with cjs on some topic about NASCAR history are often the most information-packed, educating, and professional on this site. "I, for one, enjoy reading his posts for the most part. He adds a lot of flavor to the discussions, and when he takes breaks from the site, we seem to lose some of our energy." Because he isn't afraid to ask that damning question that no one else will ask even though it's a good question. Thank you for your time 389. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.02.2013 - 5:47 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) I like NRF. We don't always agree on things, but it is always respectful and I feel are productive discussions. As for Jeff and Carl, as I said earlier, that is typical Gordon. He did a major slidejob from the bottom of the track to the very top where Carl was. It was awesome to watch, but Carl obviously had to hit the brakes, you could see his car rock forward, to keep from crashing them both. Carl did a slidejob of his own later and Jeff is crying foul. 390. Kubica fan Ireland posted: 09.02.2013 - 6:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) webmaster do you have my new blog 391. webmaster posted: 09.02.2013 - 7:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @390: No. I see no blogs waiting to be approved. 392. NicoRosbergFan posted: 09.02.2013 - 7:20 am Rate this comment: (4) (2) Since Sky Warrior asked, I do have a personal goal. I hope to (unless a pretty lady interferes ;P ) someday pool my money, go to driving school, get my license, and run the 24 Hours of Daytona or the CTSCC race that same weekend so that I could make my pro debut at my home track. 393. Anthony posted: 09.02.2013 - 9:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (2) This is gonna be war when we go to Richmond. Jeff Gordon will be the dominate car you'll see you may put as many thumbs down all you want but nothing will stop the #24 team besides Jeff Gordon is better than Kurt Busch at Richmond so this will be a fight to the finish NASCAR War Z (Jeff Gordon vs Kurt Busch) 394. Kyle posted: 09.02.2013 - 9:42 am Rate this comment: (1) (2) @372: exactly my thoughts. Who brags on a racing forum that they go to "one of the most prestigious schools in The world" when they just go to Florida State? If anything it's just sad. 395. Ched Little posted: 09.02.2013 - 10:20 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) Well, we can add Kyle to the list of those after the kid. Besides, he said he goes to Florida TECH (whatever the hell that is; looks like a small school if you ask me), not Florida State. Read shit before you piss in your own mouth. 396. Ched Little posted: 09.02.2013 - 10:22 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "This is gonna be war when we go to Richmond. Jeff Gordon will be the dominate car you'll see you may put as many thumbs down all you want but nothing will stop the #24 team besides Jeff Gordon is better than Kurt Busch at Richmond so this will be a fight to the finish NASCAR War Z (Jeff Gordon vs Kurt Busch) " After what happened last year, there is something damned logical in his insanity. 397. ch posted: 09.02.2013 - 10:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor Changes: 9 - DeWalt / Stanley Tools 10 - GoDaddy.com (No space) 13 - GEICO (Should be CAPS like it always has been) 15 - RK Motors Charlotte 20 - Husky Tools 34 - Peanut Patch Hot Boiled Peanuts / RaceTrac 36 - United Mining Equipment / Pitt Lite (Same for Bristol) 40 - Circle Sport 398. Kyle posted: 09.02.2013 - 10:31 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) I fail to see how Florida Tech vs Florida State changes my point. Either way it makes him look foolish for acting like anyone cares. 399. Ched Little posted: 09.02.2013 - 10:39 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Florida State is a moron party school. Florida Tech (apparently according to wiki) is on par with MIT. No, it doesn't change his foolishness, but it still damns somebody's (your?) post as "X-rated" going on a random crucifixion of the kid when people don't need to be eating faces off when the gentle nudging in the style of cjs goes a hell of a lot farther. 400. ch posted: 09.02.2013 - 10:41 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Newest rumor in the garage has Swan Racing forming an alliance with RCR to have Jeff Burton, and the CAT sponsorship, run the #30 next year with Ryan Newman replacing Jeff in the #31. With David Stremme being part owner, they might expand to two cars if this happens. 401. BON GORDON posted: 09.02.2013 - 10:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dispute his broken hand dont count out Truex either. I think Greg Biffle will struggle a ton at Richmond. So will Gordon but unlike Biffle Gordon can turn a twentieth place car into a third place car. He has mental toughness...more than Biffle, Truex, or Busch. He just has to avoid trouble and keep up with the race car. I'm fairly certain Gordon is gonna struggle at Richmond. 402. Anonymous posted: 09.02.2013 - 11:02 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Time for Denny to step aside, this is getting embarrassing 403. NicoRosbergFan posted: 09.02.2013 - 11:05 am Rate this comment: (1) (2) "NicoRosbergFan is the biggest idiot on this site, and his comments add NOTHING to the discussion. Maybe the reason he gets so many thumbs down is because people are tired of reading his irrational, holier-than-thou, blindly biased conspiracy theory bullshit. If that's not bad enough, he has to brag about his supposed academic status and his religion and belittle anyone who disagrees with him. NRF is a sniveling, insecure, thin-skinned, hypocritical piece of shit. That clear enough for you? " Somebody sounds like supermarioglitchy3 (look it up). 404. cjs3872 posted: 09.02.2013 - 11:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well BON GORDON, while both Carl Edwards and Jeff Gordon had every right to be displeased with each other on how they raced each other, Edwards has to be more unhappy with his crew chief, who made an uncharacteristically boneheaded call, which ruined Edwards' night. Jimmy Fennig, usually one of the better strategists among the crew chiefs, had Edwards stay out on one caution, and he dropped like an anvil as a result, and he eventually got trapped in the pits when a later caution came out, dropping 2 laps off the pace, and wound up 18th. As long as Fennig has been around, he should have known better. And also, Gordon's been around long enough not to confront Edwards, because of Carl's bi-polar nature. Just ask guys like Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski what can happen if you cross him. But both Gordon and Edwards have every reason to be displeased with how the other raced him. Gordon did a risky slide job far too early in the race and Edwards raced with ill-intent, as if he learned nothing from what happened with Keselowski in 2010. But apparently, nothing significant came from that, but you'd think Gordon would be more intelligent than that. However, the guys that made pit stops on that final caution made the right decisions, because they moved up on newer tires. Dale, Jr. and Jeff Gordon were among those that stopped, because they fell back on every restart in that sequence, so they stopped and eventually got back what they lost. Also, those rapid fire cautions and restarts cost Joey Logano the race, because he wound up dropping from third to sixth, and he could only make it back up to second because of the number of laps of racing he lost. And murb (#373), while I agree that Biffle stands a better chance of dropping out of the top ten, if Logano has what happened to Keselowski last night happen to him at Richmond, or has a tire failure there like he had five laps into the race at Loudon, he could easily drop out of the top ten, and then he would have to hope that he's one of the first two outside the top ten with a win, something that would be helped drastically if Kasey Kahne re-entered the top ten. Performance-wise, there should be no reason that Logano would not be able to keep his top ten position, but Lady Luck may have other plans in store that have nothing at all to do with performance. 405. Matt posted: 09.02.2013 - 11:32 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Jeff Burton with a continuing season of bad luck as he has been running stronger of late but always seems to find a wreck to get into. Even after the 1st one had a top 10 car 406. The Long Shot posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:36 pm Rate this comment: (3) (1) "NicoRosbergFan is the biggest idiot on this site, and his comments add NOTHING to the discussion. Maybe the reason he gets so many thumbs down is because people are tired of reading his irrational, holier-than-thou, blindly biased conspiracy theory bullshit. If that's not bad enough, he has to brag about his supposed academic status and his religion and belittle anyone who disagrees with him. NRF is a sniveling, insecure, thin-skinned, hypocritical piece of shit. That clear enough for you?" And this poster, ladies and gents, is the exact definition of a complete ass-hole. For your information, the majority of posters on here happen to at least respect Nico. We may not agree with some of the things he posts, but we can at least respect him. I'm not an elite Bible/Christianity mind, but I know that the Bible teaches about respect and forgiving sins if the person repents and asks for forgiveness. Well, NRF has done that by apologizing for past actions. We all can forgive him. Why in the hell can't you? 407. Sector posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So with Brad missing this chase (unless he magically wins next weekend @ a track where he never finished atop 5 nor led a lap at the Cup level), will this mean he'll be running the Nationwide races more to chase after the owner's title for Penske? 408. Rumor Miller posted: 09.02.2013 - 12:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Swan/RCR rumor is highly doubtful. Stranger things have happened but this is probably just talk/politicking in the garage. Your satellite team lineups for 2014 as of now: Childress/Chevy > Furniture Row (Caterpillar moves with Burton) - Joe Falk though is fighting hard for more assistance from RCR Penske/Ford > JTG (switching to Ford) Waltrip/Toyota > Swan Racing(Michael has driven for them this season and was impressed) Also in the news, Chevy has made a very big offer to Chip Ganassi to move all his teams to Chevy in 2014. This won't change anything in NASCAR, but it will be a big move for his Indycar and USCR teams. 409. DB1995 posted: 09.02.2013 - 1:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I love how we all assume Kurt isnt a grade a Asshole anymore, but we still assume Edwards is bipolar and can get roid rage at any time even though he hasnt since 2010, i dont understand this? 410. We need more Onion posted: 09.02.2013 - 1:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So it seems like that Swan is going to form some alliance with a big team, right? I would really love to see that, the owner seems like a nice guy devoted to his team and not making first-time owner-like mistakes (*khm...Bobby Ginn...khm*), believing in slow progress and having long term plans. However, I'm not so sure that if the alliance happens to be with RCR, then Burton should go there. It would not be too good if he, undeniably getting slower overall year by year, would get into a development team. For other choices there is Stremme who is... well Stremme, at least he brings the car home and produces the odd good run 3-4 times a year. Maybe giving a shot to Brian Scott? (Huge risk even though he has considerable experience, I know.) What do you guys think? 411. Quasar posted: 09.02.2013 - 2:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No idea what they should do with Swan Racing but I certainly know that it would be a bad move for Burton (but does he have any other alternatives except FRR?). I don't agree with the fact then he's been getting slower every year though, he's been running way better this season compared to last year even though his avg finish is bad. But he just can't stay out of trouble, he just isn't able to anymore(and this race was another good example, he was running in the top10 during those green flag runs despite the fact that he was heavily involved in te restart pile-up but just couldn't close the deal and was involved in yet another accident because of a flat tire). 412. cjs3872 posted: 09.02.2013 - 3:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DB1995, we all know that Kurt and Kyle can be real jerks, even though they're not showing it as much this year, though that's perhaps because they're doing as well as they are. And Carl has a history of bi-polar-like behavior, in and out of the car that goes back as far as that incident where he accosted Dale, Jr. in victory lane in a Nationwide Series race at Michigan, if not further back. Frankly, I think that my be one reason why Matt Kenseth was happy to leave Roush. Say what you want about Kenseth, but at least he's genuine, and there are reasons why he left that he won't be public about, and I think his rocky relationship with Carl Edwards is at the top of the list. There was no love lost between Kenseth and Edwards, and the factions they represented at Roush are still evident today. Kenseth represented the faction at Roush that's still represented there by Trevor Bayne, and was originally present there in Mark Martin and Jeff Burton, who both mentored Kenseth. And among the things they represented ben genuine, while the faction represented by Edwards is also evident in his protégé, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., because there's something about Stenhouse that never has seemed to add up. Edwards and Stenhouse seem as interested in stuff outside the track as thy are racing, while Kenseth is a racer, through and through, and I think Bayne looked to Kenseth more than he did the others at Roush while both Bayne and Kenseth were there for that reason. Greg Biffle has been more representative of the older guard at Roush, as well. 413. Jim Davis posted: 09.02.2013 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "...with his crew chief, who made an uncharacteristically boneheaded call, which ruined Edwards' night. Jimmy Fennig, usually one of the better strategists among the crew chiefs..." No, cjs, no, it was *not* a boneheaded call. It was a calculated risk that did not pan out. Edwards was (and is) safely in the chase. The only outcome that could have materially helped him at Atlanta was a win to get more bonus points when the chase starts. Any other outcome is essentially a wash as far as Edwards is concerned. Fennig's strategy, to stay out and preserve track position to maximize Edwards' chances of winning, was sound. In the end, not enough drivers stayed out to make the strategy work. But Fennig, whom you correctly call one of the better strategists, calculated the relative risks and rewards correctly. Playing the percentages and losing is not boneheaded, merely unlucky. 414. cjs3872 posted: 09.02.2013 - 6:03 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Jim, I would agree with your statement if it were any track other than Atlanta. But at Atlanta, because of how the track surface chews up tires, the decision to keep Edwards out with about 12 laps on his tires was a bad one. And had he pitted, he probably would have ended up close to, if not exactly where he was, with better tires and more fuel. That decision cost him any chance he had of winning. Even the commentators questioned that decision, and that's usually a sure sign that it was a bad call. Starting on the inferior outside on restarts, Edwards was out of the top ten within five laps, and within 15 laps, his was the last car on the lead lap (18th place), a hole that he could never have climbed out of, even if the cautions had fallen his way because of all the track position he lost. In fact, the decision by Joey Logano's crew chief to keep him out on that same caution was also questionable, at best, but his car was better on longer runs, plus he had the preferred lane, so it didn't hurt him he way it figured to. Those decisions could have cost both drivers good finishes had they pitted and the caution came out at the wrong time, as it did with Edwards, but Logano's car was so good, that his pit stop brought the others in earlier than expected. At almost every other track, the decision to keep Edwards out would have been a good one, despite the fuel disadvantage he would have been at, but not at Atlanta because of the speed disadvantage he was at due to the older tires. 415. Jim Davis posted: 09.02.2013 - 6:27 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "And had he pitted, he probably would have ended up close to, if not exactly where he was, with better tires and more fuel." No, sorry, cjs, the track has nothing to do with it. Fennig understands that at that point in the season a 2nd place finish might as well be a 42nd place finish for all the good it does Edwards. I'm surprised you (and the announcers) don't understand that. 416. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.02.2013 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I'm telling ya, I haven't been this deflated after a championship hope dashing moment since Rockingham Fall 2000 when BLab FINALLY caught a bad break, getting caught a lap down by a caution, only on the final run Earnhardt, whose title hopes were on life support appeared to have a sudden chance to gain new life, dropped like a friggin rock to finish 17th which finished off his hopes for record breakinf Winston Cup #8 at age 49. I didn't even watch the Homestead race. Kinda glad I didn't as that was the final "in case you didn't already know, Dale was an asshole once he strapped on that helmet" race. He ran horrible and let frustration get the best of him as he wrecked Ward Burton and Ricky Rudd (although it is a bit of a consolation knowing Dale got the final shot in between those two). I'll watch Richmond, mainly to see if The Pint Sized Whiner (Jeff) can make it in (hey, I'm in a foul mood, expect plenty of Gordon potshots throughout the week even though I WANT Jeff to make it). But make no mistake, Brad is my guy. In good times and in bad times. 417. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 09.02.2013 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Let's see... X-rated, 83andJoe, NoLongerAnonymous, DSFF, Ryan W, Biscuits in a Red Bull... yup, they all like to find excuses to bash the kid. I'm surprised that the webmaster let that puppy stay considering he all but told NRF to commit suicide." Excuse me, when have I ever "bashed" the guy? In fact, I've said at least twice that I agree with a lot of what he says that doesn't concern Hendrick Motorsports or the #48 team, and I'd think any unbiased NASCAR fan would have to admit he promotes a lot of conspiracy theories and misinformation about them. If making an observation and commenting on it is "bashing" to you then so be it. 418. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 09.02.2013 - 6:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "No, sorry, cjs, the track has nothing to do with it. Fennig understands that at that point in the season a 2nd place finish might as well be a 42nd place finish for all the good it does Edwards. I'm surprised you (and the announcers) don't understand that." I also find that really surprising. Joe Gibbs Racing has been employing the go for broke strategy all season and it has paid off as they, not Hendrick, lead the series in wins, and no matter what will have 2 of the top 3 seeds in the Chase despite the fact that they each are more than a race's worth of points out of the lead. Clint Bowyer very well could go into the Chase with the points lead given Johnson has recently taken the title of unluckiest driver in NASCAR, but he also very well could enter the Chase with the same amount of points as a Ryan Newman. And the reason he is where he is in points is largely because he HASN'T taken those chances to go for race wins as others have. 419. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 09.02.2013 - 6:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Clint Bowyer very well could go into the Chase with the points lead given Johnson has recently taken the title of unluckiest driver in NASCAR, but he also very well could enter the Chase with the same amount of points as a Ryan Newman." I should make this clearer: Bowyer could be the points leader after Richmond, but he could at the same time begin the Chase with the same amount of points as a Ryan Newman. 420. murb posted: 09.02.2013 - 6:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I like NRF. We don't always agree on things, but it is always respectful and I feel are productive discussions." Same here. He and I have butted heads in the past, but I still respect him for being a knowledgeable poster. Like him or not, he is pretty smart when it comes to racing knowledge, which is obviously the foundation of this site. "What do you guys think?" As a Burton fan, I really hope this Swan deal doesn't happen. Even though he's had some bad luck, he's proven this year that he can still run pretty competitive for the most part. Of course Newman would probably be an upgrade over him for RCR, but still. If Burton could get some good luck on his side and start finishing races I think he could be a fringe Chase contender. But if he gets sent to Swan, there's no way in hell he could be competitive. He'd probably run crappy like Bobby Labonte has with JTG the past couple years. Furniture Row on the other hand would be a GREAT place for Burton I think. He'd get to be the number one guy on the team, he'd get to work with Todd Berrier again (who he made the Chase with in 2010), and he'd also probably be able to help them out with sponsorship since Caterpillar will supposedly go with Burton. And I'm assuming that they would keep the RCR alliance, so he'd be able to run the same cars the Kurt has been so fast with this year. So I'd much rather see Jeff end up with Furniture Row instead of Swan if he does get forced out for Newman. 421. ch posted: 09.02.2013 - 7:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) From what I'm getting out of the Swan deal is that they would become the new FRR, and that FRR would be knocked down a peg. 422. 18fan posted: 09.02.2013 - 7:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Staying out was not going to win the race for Edwards and I think he would have had a much better chance to win the race by pitting because then he could've stayed in top 5 and potentially gotten the lead on a pit stop and made adjustments to make the car better, but once he fell so far back he had no chance to win. 423. cjs3872 posted: 09.02.2013 - 8:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Exactly, 18fan. If he had pitted, at least he would have had a chance. But by not pitting and having the terrible disadvantage that starting second was all night long, he had no chance to even remain competitive, and within 15 laps, was the last of 18 cars on the lead lap. I agree with taking gambles if you're in a situation like the one Edwards was in entering the race, but there are gambles, and then there are stupid decisions, and the one that Fennig made to keep Edwards out was a stupid decision that Edwards was never really going to be able to recover from. Frankly, the fact that Logano wasn't hurt by the same decision made by his crew chief was a testament to how good his car really was, because by all rights, he should have fell back through the field the same way Edwards did, but he didn't. 424. Jim Davis posted: 09.02.2013 - 8:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "But by not pitting and having the terrible disadvantage that starting second was all night long, he had no chance to even remain competitive, and within 15 laps, was the last of 18 cars on the lead lap" True, but irrelevant. Edwards did not have the best car, especially after his run-in with Gordon. In that situation his only hope for a win was to get off sequence with the better cars, which was why he stayed out. It didn't work because nobody besides Logano (one of those better cars) stayed out with him. But it didn't hurt him because he was locked into the chase in any case. Fennig swung for the fences when that was the only course of action that could have helped Edwards. He struck out but that doesn't make him a bonehead; only unlucky. 425. 83andJoe posted: 09.02.2013 - 8:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) For the record, I don't "bash" anybody - I call out tomfoolery and asshattery when I see it, but if somebody isn't being an asshat they don't get called an asshat. Q.E.D. Anyway, it occurs to me that Swan Racing is another team that needs to be mentioned when "graduating from S&P" is the topic. 426. JG24FanForever posted: 09.02.2013 - 9:50 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Obscure Gordon stat of the week: He became only the second driver in the Modern era to rack up 21 consecutive seasons with at least 11 Top 10 finishes. Big E holds the record with 22 consecutive from 1979-2000. Gordon also got his 337th Top 6 finish. Top 3 drivers with the most Top 6 finishes in the Modern era: Jeff Gordon 337 Mark Martin 316 Dale Earnhardt 307 427. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.02.2013 - 9:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) One thing that can't be forgotten, last year Jeff very quietly passed Dale in career starts. Do you realize that if Jeff drives another 3 seasons, even if he gets 5 more wins, he will have a lower career winning % than Dale. 428. cjs3872 posted: 09.02.2013 - 10:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) By the way, changing subjects, but I wonder if Jimmie Johnson's slide the last three weeks has anything to do with outside distractions, namely the birth of his second child? I say that because usually it's August when he usually begins to make his move to get momentum for the Chase, and then carries it through the Chase. But this year, the reverse has happened, because he seems way of his game, and has for some time. I wonder if the off the track distraction of the birth of his second child has diverted his attention to any degree? If my suspicion turns out to be right, then we'll see Jimmie back on his game during the Chase, but he seems to be awfully distracted to me at this time. 429. OldSchoolNascarDude1 posted: 09.02.2013 - 10:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Everything about the Burton rumor seems possible up until the part about the Cat sponsorship following him over. Why would Richard just let a fulltime sponsor leave his organization? Granted, it would make Swan Racing a satellite team, but it doesn't seem like good business to release a guy who is bringing money. Obviously Menard brings cash, along with Newman, but I figured that Richard would rather let Burton be the fourth team, instead of making an alliance with another satellite team. I may be in the minority, but all of this "teaming up" is getting a bit silly. When it all comes down to it, you have about six owners controlling 90 percent of the teams. The other 10 percent are guys that stand no chance of fielding competitive equipment. 430. cjs3872 posted: 09.02.2013 - 10:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, when Dale, Sr. was killed in the 2001 Daytona 500, his 676 starts ranked him seventh on the all-time list for starts, and I'm not sure it's even in the top 15 now. And for drivers with long careers, especially in today's NASCAR with so many cars capable of winning, a driver's winning percentage is going to decline as his career moves into the twilight stage. That happened with Petty, Waltrip, Earnhardt, and Gordon, so I wouldn't put that much stock into that. I have always considered the 10% mark about midway through a driver's career a mark for greatness. If a driver at that stage of his career has won 1 in every 10 starts, that tells me how good a driver that particular driver is. The fact that Waltrip, Earnhardt, and Bobby Allison struggled late in their careers and STILL ended up with a double digit winning percentage shows just how great they were, and I suspect the same will be true of Gordon and even Jimmie Johnson when their careers wind down, which is already happening to Gordon now. I think you can count on your hands the number of active drivers that have a double digit winning percentage, and to me, that's a mark of greatness. In fact, Tony Stewart, undeniably one of the best ever, can't even claim a double digit winning percentage. That's how rare that is for a driver today. In fact, I believe that Johnson and Gordon are the only two drivers today with a winning percentage of greater than 10%, though Kyle Busch is somewhere in the 9% bracket, and with big years in the next two or three years, could get up to a double digit winning percentage. 431. joey2448 posted: 09.03.2013 - 12:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "By the way, changing subjects, but I wonder if Jimmie Johnson's slide the last three weeks has anything to do with outside distractions, namely the birth of his second child? I say that because usually it's August when he usually begins to make his move to get momentum for the Chase, and then carries it through the Chase. But this year, the reverse has happened, because he seems way of his game, and has for some time. I wonder if the off the track distraction of the birth of his second child has diverted his attention to any degree? If my suspicion turns out to be right, then we'll see Jimmie back on his game during the Chase, but he seems to be awfully distracted to me at this time." Exactly. I had this same thought several months ago. When I heard that Jimmie's wife Chandra would be due to give birth right around when the Chase starts, I was thinking that maybe that second child would be a distraction to the 5-time champ (Hey, it happened to Jeff Gordon, when his second child was born). 432. 18IsAHallofFamer posted: 09.03.2013 - 1:03 am Rate this comment: (2) (1) Haha, I love it. Joey Logano is heading to the Chase with a win, and Keselowski can't find victory lane, let alone the top 10 anymore. Guess last year was just a fluke after all. 433. 18IsAHallofFamer posted: 09.03.2013 - 1:06 am Rate this comment: (1) (2) Not to mention, two of the best drivers in the sport aren't even contention because they've missed a bunch of races. All you have to do is basically be the 14th best driver in NASCAR to make the Chase this year, and Keselowski can't do it. One hit wonder with a ridiculously smart crew chief that makes his driver look better than he really is. 434. TBaynefan21 posted: 09.03.2013 - 2:40 am Rate this comment: (1) (3) I wouldnt call ANY championship season a fluke, Brad has had some horrendous luck as of late, if your calling 2012 a fluke cause of 2013 bad luck then i can call Kyle Buschs 8 win 2008 season a fluke cause he missed the chase in 09 and won only half the races as the previous year right? Or 2011 4 win season a fluke because he won 1 race in 2012 and missed the chase right? Please explain this for me. Also if the 18 in your isername isnt for Kyle Busch just ignore this whole post 435. NicoRosbergFan posted: 09.03.2013 - 6:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (2) My concern with the 48 team heading into the Chase isn't that they seem to be experimenting, but rather that they seem clueless, as if these issues were NOT expected like they would be if they were experimenting. I'm with The Long Shot: Logano is the best guy right now. He seems right now to be where he belongs because his poor results in the first half are normal; Penske has always struggled during the first half of the season. I think the 48 team might be a bit shaken right now because their car isn't invincible anymore and the 78, 22, 18, 56, and 20 are all faster than them right now. 436. Rumor Miller posted: 09.03.2013 - 10:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #429, it's still very doubtful that Swan Racing will be RCR's satellite team. I would be surprised if their relationship with Furniture Row did not continue. Everything I have heard thus far points to Swan deepening a relationship with Michael Waltrip. Re: Burton, Caterpillar is signed to sponsor him and they are willing to follow him where he goes, the same way as Menards follows Paul Menard (albeit Jeff's father doesn't own Cat!). Childress would lose the whole sponsor payment, but they look to make a large percentage of that back because FRR will have to pay RCR more for their technical assistance because Burton is coming over. If Childress has sponsorship lined up for Newman (and he isn't one to run things out of his own pocket), he stands to make *more* by loaning Jeff out due to increased assistance fees from FRR, without having to add the equipment expenses of running a fourth car. Oh, and look what JTG announced today. You heard it here first! 437. cjs3872 posted: 09.03.2013 - 1:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) @436, remember that Caterpillar has a long history with the Burton family, going back to when they were the sponsor for Jeff's brother Ward when he drove for Bill Davis Racing. Four of Ward's five Cup Series wins, including the wins in both the 2001 Southern 500 and the 2002 Daytona 500 came with Caterpillar sponsorship, so they're very comfortable with sponsoring the Burtons. In fact, if there was a deal where Caterpillar could sponsor Jeb after Jeff retired, they might take it. 438. Rumor Miller posted: 09.03.2013 - 4:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) My point exactly. 439. Scott B posted: 09.03.2013 - 4:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Richmond entry list out, 44 cars. Ryan Truex in the 51, Mike Bliss back in the 19, Reed Sorenson in the 95. Also, Tommy Baldwin is the newest rumor in the Jeff Burton/RCR satellite team sweepstakes. TBR makes more sense to me than Swan Racing, although with Furniture Row the only real hurdle is the geographic issue of their Colorado HQ. But TBR and Cat... yeah, that could happen. 440. cjs3872 posted: 09.03.2013 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Again Scott B, there's that Burton family connection to Caterpillar if Jeff goes to Tommy Baldwin Racing. After all, when Ward won those races for Bill Davis in the Caterpillar car, Baldwin was his crew chief, so that again would make some sense. Of course, the biggest difference between Ward and Jeff Burton is that Jeff can be understood a lot better. 441. NicoRosbergFan posted: 09.03.2013 - 7:29 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) Sadly, we have lost old-timer Elton Hildreth on Labor Day at age 95 :( 442. cjs3872 posted: 09.03.2013 - 10:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, here we go. This is the next-to-last look at how this year's Chase reset would look using my weighted system of awarding seeding points to the top ten drivers, and then awarding the bonus points for wins for those top ten drivers. Note that a number of things changes, as third place in points changed hands, which in turn, shook up the standings of how they would look. Also, four drivers in the top 20 in points as well as the two others that could sneak into the top 20 this week, have been eliminated from Chase contention, while seven drivers, including one not in the top ten in points, have clinched Chase berths, while another, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., has virtually locked up a Chase bid as well. If Dale, Jr. finishes the race without incident, he'll be in the Chase, as well. Here's how the current Chase standings would look using my system with all ties being broken by the points standings: 1. Jimmie Johnson (points leader, 4 wins) 2042 (2030+12) 2. Kevin Harvick (third in points, 2 wins 2030 (2024+6) 3. Kyle Busch (fifth in points, 4 wins) 2030 (2018+12) 4. Matt Kenseth (sixth in points, 5 wins) 2030 (2015+15) 5. Clint Bowyer (second in points, 0 wins) 2027 6. Carl Edwards (fourth in points, 1 win) 2024 (2021+3) 7. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (seventh in points, 0 wins) 2012 8. Joey Logano (eighth in points, 1 win) 2012 (2009+3) 9. Greg Biffle (ninth in points, 1 win) 2009 (2006+3) 10. Kurt Busch (tenth in points, 0 wins) 2003 11. Kasey Kahne (12th in points, 2 wins banked) 12. Martin Truex, Jr. (13th in points, 1 win banked) NOTE: Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards are currently tied for third in points, but Harvick gets the tie-breaker because he has two wins to Edwards' one. Also, note how the jumbling among those battling for second and third in points affects how these Chase reset standings looked from last week, when Harvick was fourth, but now is second by virtue of having two wins and moving up to third in points, while recent wins by both Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch have relegated both Clint Bowyer and Edwards down to fifth and sixth, with Edwards being relegated due to a loss of points position from third to fourth. The events of last week's race at Atlanta also eliminated six drivers from Chase contention. The drivers from 17th-22nd in points were all eliminated from Chase contention, even if they win Saturday night's race at Richmond because they're too far behind the second Wild Card driver and would not pass that second Wild Card in wins with a win of their own. Not currently in the Chase, but still in Chase contention: Ryan Newman (14th in points, 1 win), Jeff Gordon (11th in points), Brad Keselowski (15th in points), and Jamie McMurray (16th in points). To get in the Chase, Keselowski and McMurray MUST win and have help, while Gordon gets in if he wins or gets into the top ten in points. In the top 20 or could get into the top 20, but eliminated from Chase contention (points behind 2nd Wild Card in parenthesis): Paul Menard (17th in points, -46), Aric Almirola (18th in points, -65), Juan Montoya (19th in points, -77), Marcos Ambrose (20th in points, -84), Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (21st in points, -95), and Jeff Burton (22nd in points, -103). I've included Paul Menard on this list, even though he's technically within a full race because the start-and-parks at Richmond will, by themselves, put him more points behind the 2nd Wild Card than he can gain, so he's eliminated, too. Here's the final "bubble" board of the pre-Chase season. With his performance at Atlanta, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., currently seventh in points, needs only to beat 10 cars (and only six or seven in reality) Saturday night to clinch a Chase spot, no matter what anyone else does, so he's now off the bubble now. The bubble board this week will begin with eighth in points. By the way, the bubble board will return near the end of the Chase. 8. Joey Logano (1 win) +10 points 9. Greg Biffle (1 win) +8 points 10. Kurt Busch +/-0 points 11. Jeff Gordon -6 points 12. x-Kasey Kahne (2 wins) -10 points 13. Martin Truex, Jr. (1 win) -15 points 14. Ryan Newman (1 win) -20 points 15. Brad Keselowski -28 points 16. Jamie McMurray -39 points x-clinched at last a Wild Cad berth in the Chase. 443. murb posted: 09.03.2013 - 10:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) On the Jayski podcast, Mark Garrow reported that the Ryan Newman/RCR deal is done. Newman will supposedly get the 31 with Burton going somewhere else. But then they asked Childress about it, and he said that he will honor Burton's contract for next year. So either Childress is lying (probable), or the report is false (also probable). But regardless, it sounds like Newman is probably gonna end up with RCR in some shape or form. 444. David posted: 09.03.2013 - 10:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "But then they asked Childress about it, and he said that he will honor Burton's contract for next year." He's one to speak of honor... 445. Ryan W posted: 09.03.2013 - 11:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I'd love to be a "one-hit wonder" in BK. He's had a rough year for sure. The total opposite of last year. He's had a lot of bad luck here and there. I can see him doing well during the Chase even if he's not in it. To be honest if Logano makes it I can see him testing things out for him quite a bit. Oh and by the way... Stay classy, Jeff. You did a slide job on the 99 way too early in the race that possibly could have taken out both if Edwards doesn't let off and he wonders why the 99 is racing him hard. Smh. What a clown. Still don't feel sorry for him like some of you guys on this website do. He won a lot early and now that little thing called karma is coming back to him. Law of averages will catch up eventually. 446. David posted: 09.03.2013 - 11:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Two things: - Time Warner Cable, which has sponsored Kasey Kahne for several races this year, is listed as the sponsor for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. this weekend. - Max Papis's jaw wasn't actually dislocated, it was just sprained and moved around. 447. OldSchoolNascarDude1 posted: 09.03.2013 - 11:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, happy birthday, Ben Lowe. 448. BON GORDON posted: 09.04.2013 - 12:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Man Jeff Gordon is such a clown....Please. SMH at that whole post. It's been like two days since that happened. Old news on to Richmond. What Jeff Gordon did wasn't smart but Edwards is a hypocrite too. Just because someone does it to you doesn't make it ok to do it to them. It could wreck both of your cars and end your day. Luckily this issue should be over after they spoke. Honestly they are racers and can do whatever they want. If I was Carl or Jeff I would've taken the other out. That's why I don't belong in a race car ever. 449. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.04.2013 - 12:26 am Rate this comment: (7) (0) Alright, time for debates and arguments. Here are my Top 10 best and Top 10 worst title defenses ever (not just limited to the modern era as I stated earlier). As always, these are my opinions, and should you disagree with any of my rankings, debate and discussion are discouraged because I am right and you are wrong :) Top 10 best title defenses ever: 1) Richard Petty 1975. I know the competition was very top heavy in the 70s, but Pearson was still at most events (two years removed from his 11 wins in 18 races, and would win 10 races the next season), Cale and Junior were a year away from beginning a 3peat, Bobby Allison was at most events in his cheated up Matador, Buddy and Bud Moore were bad fast on the big tracks, and Darrell won his first two races and became a force. Despite this, The King won 13 races in just 30 events with 8 additional Top 5s. Most importantly, he went 11 consecutive races with a worst finish of SECOND. Wow. In the first year of the Latford points system, he set a record points win that never fell. 2) Jeff Gordon 1998. Let the controversy begin. Like The King in '75 he won 13 times. But he had 33 races and needed all of them to get his wins as he had the one dominating closeout of his career. Had "more" competition than Richard, but not necessarily "stiffer" competition. His main competition were the Fords of Mark, Burton, and DJ, 3 very conservative drivers. But he had a stunning run of 17 straight Top 5s and a streak of 7 wins in 9 races. 3) David Pearson 1969. Won 11 times and had FORTY TWO Top 5s in FIFTY ONE starts. I know back then those days you could be 20 laps down at some races and get a Top 5, but holy cow, 42 of 51? And that was the year Leroy won a bunch of races including the first triple crown ( wouldn't be done again until 1976 by a guy named David Pearson), Cale and the Woods were still together, and Petty had a brand new Torino of his own. Throw in the late season arrival of the winged Dodges, and Pearson did the damn job. 4) Dale Earnhardt 1987. Won 11 of the first 22 races including a run of 6 out of 7 after Daytona, won the first 6 short track races, and has the only modern era season with seperate winning streaks of 4, 3, 2, and 1 races. Loses points for going winless in the final 7 while Bill won 4 times in that span, but Dale still had four runner ups and 4 races with triple digit laps led, and runner ups in the final two short track races. For the season, he broke the 3000 laps led mark for the final time to date (in just 29 races!!). 5) Cale Yarborough 1977. Won 9 times and had 25 Top 5s in just 30 races, finishing every race. He smashed the competition, no matter how thin it was. 6) Jimmie Johnson 2007. I know, I know, if it wasn't for the chase yada yada yada. 10 wins is still 10 wins which is tough in the Welfare Era. And when it counted the most, he won 4 in a row to just overpower Jeff down the stretch. Granted lots of people have overpowered Jeff down the stretch of seasons, he crushed them, even if he was close only by artificial means. 7) Richard Petty 1972. 8 wins and 25 Top 5s in 31 starts while engaged in a mega fued with the power duo of Bobby Allison and Junior Johnson. Nowadays drivers get mad at another driver and wind up with a broken back. Richard did it and won the Winston Cup. 8) Cale Yarborough 1978. 10 wins, 23 Top 5s in 30 starts. Loses points for a real lack of competition as Richard was stuck in those Dodge Magnum tanks, and the Pearson/Woods combo was fading fast. 9) Darrell Waltrip 1982. 12 wins and he is only 9th? Remember, this was the low water mark of championship caliber competition in NASCAR history, only had 5 additional Top 5s and needed Bobby Allison to have his second consecutive points collapse to win. 10) Dale Earnhardt 1994. He only won 4 times, and his main title competitor was taken out violently, but this was during NASCAR's most stacked era. He had 20 Top 5s and had an incredible Top 5 streak after crashing out the same weekend Ernie was nearly taken from us culminating with his walk off win at The Rock, tying Richard's record of 7 titles. BONUS: Best non title championship defense. Herb Thomas 1954. Won 12 of 34 races and finished 2nd to 7 time winner Lee Petty. Top 10 Worst Championship defenses: 1) Brad Keselowski 2013. Talk about a thud. A blistering but winless start gave way to slow cars, penalties, more slow cars, crashes, more slow cars, and mechanical failures. Meanwhile his teammate has shed the "bust" label (not easy), won a race, and has outrun him pretty much all year. Bitterly disappointing. 2) Benny Parsons 1974. BP would later say this season had him looking to retire and start his announcing career right then (Ken Squire talked him out of it). No wins, 11 Tops 5s in 30 races. 5th in points, but Lord knows what that meant under the '74 points system. 3) Dale Earnhardt 1981. Yeah, he had ride issues as Osterlund bailed on him mid season, then Jim Stacy made it clear he didn't see Dale as an asset (moron). But no wins, only 9 Top 5s, and less than 400 laps led and a 7th place points finish during the low water mark for competition in NASCAR ('81-'83) is really bad. To put that in perspective, he finished 7th in points in his rookie year of '79 despite missing 4 races and led 300 more laps that year. 4) Dale Earnhardt 1992. An inconsistent but not horrible start (won the 600 and was 2nd in points after the Ernie Irvan race at Sears Point) gave way to a miserable summer and a Fall that even Jeff Gordon thinks was bad. 6 total Top 5s and 12th in points. This may have been NASCAR's most stacked era, but the defending champ must do better. 5) Terry Labonte 1997. 6th in points, and only 8 Top 5s in 32 races. Only got one win at Talladega when his crew chief was suspended (and HMS team breaking the rules, imagine that!) and head motor guy Randy Dorton was named crew chief. Coincidence? Meanwhile his teammate won the Triple Crown, The Winston Million, 10 total races, and the Winston Cup despite another Fall collapse. 6) Matt Kenseth 2004. Two dominating wins in the first 3 races gave way to only 6 more Top 5s and no wins over the last 33 races. He then had a very uninspiring run in the first chase lowlighted by his pit road wreck at Dover that we have to rewatch over and over everytime the Series returns there. 7) Terry Labonte 1985. In 28 races had 1 win and 8 Top 5s. This may have been the year of Awesome Bill and his Thunderbird, but that is still uninspiring. 8) Bobby Labonte 2001. I swear I'm not picking on the Labonte brothers. One year after doing no wrong, had two non dominating wins and only 7 additional Top 5s and was pretty much invisible. 9) Kurt Busch 2005. Even before his suspension, he was following up his magical '04 chase with a horrible '05 chase. Had 3 dominating regular season wins, but crashed out a lot, threw a water bottle at a NASCAR official, and had just 6 additional Top 5s. Don't you know who I am? 10) Tony Stewart 2006. His 5 wins aren't getting him off the hook for this one. From his indefensible antics during Speedweeks and the 500, to the Top 5 he threw away at Vegas trying to wreck Kyle Busch for not rolling over for him, to his shoulder that broke after being weakened in a Busch race, Tony screwed Tony. BONUS: Worst championship defense that resulted in another title: Dale Earnhardt 1991. This season, along with 1986, were the two most competitive seasons ever, but Dale had 4 wins and 14 total Top 5s. Worst of all was his Gordon-esque Fall performance when he somehow gained 160 points over 2nd. Rudd may have cost him the '89 title, but he won the '91 title for him. 450. 18fan posted: 09.04.2013 - 1:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) In terms of raw Average Points per Race for seasons since 1975, which is obviously not a perfect stat because eras with deeper competition lead to lower numbers, not to mention the Chase and how teams basically throw away races while experimenting, Cale's 1977 season tops the list at 166.67 APPR. Second is Dale's 1987 at 161.93, barely eclipsing Jeff's 1998 at 161.45 and Cale's 1978 at 161.37. Petty in 1975 is 5th at 159.43. All five of those were title defense seasons. Using that formula, the worst title defenses are: 1. Matt Kenseth 2004 2. Dale Earnhardt 1992 3. Kurt Busch 2005 4. Tony Stewart 2003 5. Bobby Labonte 2001 I have yet to convert this season to the Latford system to compare, but I will be working on that. If you have any questions about where a particular season ranks, let me know. The parameters are that it has to be since 1975 and the driver had to fulfill one of the following conditions: Finish in the top 10 in points/qualify for the chase, be the defending champion, or win at least 3 races in that season. 451. BON GORDON posted: 09.04.2013 - 1:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Very interesting list DSFF. Jeff Gordon 1999 could be considered one as well. However he still had 7 wins and 18 Top Ten finishes but nowhere near as consistent or as strong as 1998. 452. BON GORDON posted: 09.04.2013 - 1:20 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) *Top fives 453. David posted: 09.04.2013 - 1:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I have yet to convert this season to the Latford system to compare, but I will be working on that." Don't bother. Riverside, who posts in the blog section, saved you the trouble. "Using that formula, the worst title defenses are: 1. Matt Kenseth 2004 2. Dale Earnhardt 1992 3. Kurt Busch 2005 4. Tony Stewart 2003 5. Bobby Labonte 2001" Did you make sure to account for the extra points awarded for wins in 2004 and 2007? 454. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.04.2013 - 1:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Those numbers are interesting 18Fan, thanks for letting me see them. It would be morbidly interesting to see Brad's numbers this season, but don't rush unless you want to. My eyes tell me this has been a really sorry season. Bon, although Jeff may have been off his '98 pace in '99, but truthfully he had nowhere to go but down.I would never put a 7 win season on that list, especially with the road course sweep (one with the flu). Honestly I never even considered any of Jeff's follow up seasons. Even 2002 had everyone, after his back to back wins at Bristol and Darlington, saying "son of a bitch, he's gonna mess around and win it all again". Still finished Top 5. 455. BON GORDON posted: 09.04.2013 - 2:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah I figured that DSFF. Rusty Wallace's 1990 season could be considered a bad title defense. Only 2 wins and 9 Top 5 finishes in 29 races with an average finish of 15th. 456. BON GORDON posted: 09.04.2013 - 2:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tony Stewart's 2003 season was pretty bad as well. 457. 18fan posted: 09.04.2013 - 2:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rusty's was the 6th worst title defense by APPR. DSFF, right now Brad is on pace for the worst season by a defending champion of all the seasons I tracked. 458. b4il3y posted: 09.04.2013 - 2:55 am Rate this comment: (3) (0) Why are we caring about up and down votes? 459. Scott. B posted: 09.04.2013 - 6:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Re #440/CJS... Not only is there history with Cat, the Burtons, and Tommy Baldwin, there are ties between Jeff Burton and current TBR driver Dave Blaney, including some time as teammates at Childress. I believe they have a lot of mutual respect off track. It would be cool to see what TBR could do with some added sponsorship, they might be the next example of a team graduating from a lot of start and park to one that's capable of running mid pack regularly and, on a good day, running with the leaders. 460. Anonomys posted: 09.04.2013 - 8:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Does anyone know what Juan Paublo Montoya's race fastest lap speed was? 461. cjs3872 posted: 09.04.2013 - 10:00 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Actually DSFF, what happened with Terry Labonte's winning that race at Talladega with Randy Dorton as his interim crew chief in 1997 had nothing to do with any suspension that may have been handed down. What actually happened was that Gary DeHart quit as Labonte's crew chief because of behind the scenes squabbling with Ray Evernham, which actually started the previous year when the two teams were battling for he championship. By the fall of 1997, it got so bad that DeHart actually quit, and Dorton was inserted as the interim crew chief, and Labonte won the first time out with Dorton. And some have mentioned Rusty Wallace's bad title defense in 1990. But let's not forget what was going on there. That team was in complete and utter chaos, because Raymond Beadle was in debt (they barely were able to finish their 1989 championship season), and that continued through the 1990 season. In fact, to do as well as they did, winning twice including the only big one for Rusty (the 1990 Coca-Cola 600), was actually surprising considering what was going on there. Rusty may not have had that great a title defense in 1990, but just getting to every race was itself an accomplishment because of the debt that team was in. There was also turmoil in Billy Hagan's team in 1985, because Dale Inman had decided late in the year to rejoin Richard Petty's team for 1986, and the team had already decided to change manufacturers for '86, changing from Chevrolet to Oldsmobile, so there was a lot of turmoil within Hagan's team in '85. And also DSFF, you mention Bobby Labonte's 2001 season as reigning champion. But let's not forget what happened in the first race of Labonte's title defense. The man he beat for the title lost his life, and I don't think Earnhardt's death had an impact on any driver more than it did on Bobby Labonte, because I don't think Bobby was ever the same after that. Sure, he finished second the following week, but he never seemed the same, and the air was sucked right out of his title defense right from the very beginning as a result of Earnhardt's death. 462. Hank 1469 posted: 09.04.2013 - 10:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow! Post 449... I bet you are hell tto argue with. 463. JimmyFennigFanForever posted: 09.04.2013 - 12:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) great list DSFF. one disagreement I would have though is Labonte 97. If the list is "worst seasons following a championship" I would agree where you put Labonte, but giving that the wording is "worst championship defenses", I don't think Terry should be that high. Terry actually did put up a great fight until the second half of the season defending his title. He actually led the points going into the second Pocono race. At that point it did look like we were going to have a great 3 way battle for the title, but it was not expected to be Jeff, Mark and Dale (as it turned out to be), but Jeff, Mark and Terry. In terms of a "title defense", Terry did put up a strong fight for over half the season, which is more than can be said about some of the guys below Terry on your list. 464. Baker posted: 09.04.2013 - 12:19 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Donny Schatz finished 4 spots ahead of Pittman and gains a single point. It's a joke how this championship 'battle' is playing out. 465. Dave #38 Fan-Go Gilliland! posted: 09.04.2013 - 12:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) RCR's official statement about the firing of Jeff Burton said that "A new driver for the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet SS will be named in the future." which means that those on here who thought that Burton would take the Caterpillar sponsorship with him were wrong, that will really hurt Burton's chances of finding a ride next season if he's not bringing the CAT money with him. Interestingly, the article also said "Knowing what Jeff's plans were in 2015, he and I worked out an agreement for him to step out of the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet after this season" So does that mean that Burton was planning on retiring after the conclusion of the 2014 season anyway? 466. cjs3872 posted: 09.04.2013 - 1:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, even though it's sad to see a great veteran like Jeff Burton being released from RCR, I must say that this particular decision, is at least one, if not two years too late, because as far back as 2011 and early '12, the writing was on the wall. I said last year that not having a second competitive driver was holding back Kevin Harvick, and by extension, Richard Childress Racing. To be a truly successful organization, they have to have at least two competitive cars, and after Clint Bowyer left after the 2011 season, RCR had only one competitive car, the one Harvick drives, and not having another driver that could help Harvick, Harvick was actually being held back. And now with Harvick leaving and Austin Dillon, a rookie, moving up next year, RCR is going to be hard-pressed to win any races in 2014. Newman might scratch out one victory, if indeed it's him who ends up being Burton's replacement, but that would be about it. However, one thing we might see is that the #31 car might become the #3 next year, much as was the case when Melling Racing changed their #9 to #92 in 2001 to let Bill Elliott have the #9 again for 2001. One thing that might happen is that Burton's 31 might become the #3 for Austin Dillon and Childress might change the "2" in 29 to a "3" to make it 39 for Newman, if Newman is the next driver for RCR. Remember that what's now the 39 car will become the #4 for SHR for Kevin Harvick. However, Childress has some major sponsorship concerns, as now two of his current Cup drivers are leaving at season's end and taking their primary sponsor with them. Harvick's taking Budweiser to the #4 car (currently the #39) and Newman's taking Caterpillar to whatever car he ends up driving in 2014. So Childress might have his driver line-up for next year, but he's got major sponsorship issues, unless I'm missing something. 467. Zackary Shawn posted: 09.04.2013 - 2:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @466, from what I read on Jayski, Catepillar IS staying with RCR and IS NOT going with Burton. 468. murb posted: 09.04.2013 - 2:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Interestingly, the article also said "Knowing what Jeff's plans were in 2015, he and I worked out an agreement for him to step out of the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet after this season" So does that mean that Burton was planning on retiring after the conclusion of the 2014 season anyway?" That's what I was thinking when I read that. It's pretty sad for me to see Jeff leaving what will probably be his last competitive ride. It would be amazing if he could somehow land the 78 car and run for a couple more years, but I don't know if I see that happening. "However, one thing we might see is that the #31 car might become the #3 next year, much as was the case when Melling Racing changed their #9 to #92 in 2001 to let Bill Elliott have the #9 again for 2001. One thing that might happen is that Burton's 31 might become the #3 for Austin Dillon and Childress might change the "2" in 29 to a "3" to make it 39 for Newman, if Newman is the next driver for RCR." It sounds like they'll just turn the 29 into the 3 for Austin (ugh), and have Newman in the CAT 31. 469. murb posted: 09.04.2013 - 2:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To further add to this Burton story, he was quoted as saying he is interested in a broadcasting career. So perhaps the 2015 plan Childress was referring to was Burton becoming a commentator for the brand new NBC Sports or something. 470. 18fan posted: 09.04.2013 - 2:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) From what Burton said, 2014 was going to be his last full-time season with RCR, so this is moving his exit up one year. 471. 18fan posted: 09.04.2013 - 2:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Richard Childress said that he wanted to expand to 4 cars for next year but realized that they were not going to be able to have sufficient sponsorship to run all 4 teams, so he and Burton worked out the deal for Jeff to step out after this year for the better of RCR and it sounds like Burton had a good amount of say in whether he stayed or not. Time Warner Cable will sponsor Dale Jr at Richmond, Chicago, New Hampshire, Kansas, and Charlotte and added some races to their sponsorship of Kasey Kahne in 2014 and 2015. 472. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.04.2013 - 2:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I didn't include Rusty in 1990 because he was actually pretty fast most of the time but had a ton of mechanical failures. I did consider Tony's '03 season, but he had a decent ending to salvage it. As for TLab in '97, first off thanks for the correction on his crew chief. But mainly I went by feel. Going from top of the mountain to "what the hell happened". That is why I have Brad's current season #1 because he has inspired zero confidence this year. And although I wasn't around for it, to hear Benny Parsons say that 1974 was so frustrating to him he considered retirement because he never wanted to experience that again, that always stuck with me, especially considering he races through 1988 despite having his last win in March 1984 one day before i was born. So I used numbers to an extent, but mostly went by feel of either invincibility (for the best) or futility (for the worst). I have come around on advanced stats a lot. At first I thought driver rating was dumb as hell, but now I embrace it. But I still use my gut. And my gut says this has been one miserable season for Brad. 473. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.04.2013 - 2:54 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) If they do bring back the #3, I hope they at least have the foresight to not have it in the style lime it currently is on Austin's NWide car and Ty's truck. Style it like it was on the old CRC Chemicals car. Youknow, the whole "Pop Pop, the #3 was YOUR number". Richard never drove that styled #3 in Cup, only Dale did. And I hope they also change its style in NWide for Ty next year. If there is one thing Austin and Ty have shown is that they WILL be pushed around. I'm sick and tired of watching that black #3 shoved around like it is being driven by Bill Elliott. The legacy continues...... to get pissed on. 474. cjs3872 posted: 09.04.2013 - 3:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 18fan, Childress may not have sufficient sponsorship to run three teams, much less four. It all depends what happens with the sponsorship of what's now the #31 car. But I still suspect that the number of that and the #29 will both change for 2014. I still say that they may drop the "1" in 31 to make it 3, and change the "2" in the 29 to a "3" so Newman could continue running the #39, if he so desires. Remember that what's now the #39 car will become the #4 next year for Kevin Harvick, so the #39 will be available for RCR, if they choose to run it with Newman. The 31 team may be the one Newman runs with next year and the 29 team may be the one Dillon runs with next year, but I suspect there will be car number changes there. 475. cjs3872 posted: 09.04.2013 - 3:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The old CRC Chemicals car or the italic style the #3 was when Ricky Rudd drove it in 1982-'83 and when Dale Earnhardt first drove it in 1981 and full-time in 1984, DSFF. They didn't use the "stylized" #3 until 1985, and it got off to a very inauspicious beginning, finishing 32nd in the Daytona 500 as Earnhardt, like so many others that day, had engine trouble by halfway. 476. murb posted: 09.04.2013 - 3:18 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Like I've said before, I don't really mind Austin running the number, but it is pretty ridiculous to have him in a BLACK number 3 that looks EXACTLY like one of Dale's old cars. It's not so much the styling that matters. To me it's the overall aesthetic. I don't get why Austin can't just run a white number 3 or something (that would actually be my choice - it would be pretty poetic since he and Dale's driving styles are like complete opposites, like black and white). And of course the other thing that's annoying about this is the putrid media coverage of it. It wouldn't nearly be so bad if we didn't have to sit through commercials with Austin talking about "outlaws turned heroes" and crap like that. But yeah. I don't mind if he runs the number, but it is very dumb to have him running a mirror image of one of Dale's old black schemes, especially since it's pretty clear that all this outlaw stuff is a hoax and that Austin is ultra conservative on the track. 477. kup posted: 09.04.2013 - 3:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Now after 25 races and just 1 before the Chase. Best average finish is 11,8 for #48 and #15. 12th in a race = 32 points. Anyone with 32+ pts more than 10th is likely locked by pts: #48 has 837 pts - OK #15 _ -28 - OK #99 _ -42 - OK #29 _ -42 - OK #88 _ -87 - n0 wins = likely locked = -87 pts Now 5 drivers are likely locked by pts. They are: 3 Chevy (2 HMS + 1 RCR) and 1 Toyota MWR and 1 Ford RFR #18 _ -51 - 4 wins #20 _ -69 - 5 wins #5 _ -128 - 2 wins And +3 drivers have 2+ wins and are locked by wins. They are: 2 Toyota JGR and 1 Chevy HMS All in all 5+3 = 8 drivers are now likely locked. They are: 4 Chevy + 3 Toyota + 1 Ford 3 HMS + 2 JGR + 1 MWR + 1 RFR + 1 RCR #22 _ -108 - 1 win #16 _ -110 - 1 win #78 _ -118 - n0 wins - 10th: 118-32 = 86 pts #24 _ -124 - n0 wins - 11th #56 _ -133 - 1 win #39 _ -138 - 1 win # 2 _ -146 - n0 wins Theese 7 drivers are racing for last 12-8 = 4 Chase spots. They are: 3 Ford + 3 Chevy + 1 Toyota 2 PR, 1 RFR, 1 FRR, 1 HMS, 1 MWR, 1 SHR. Anyone with -32- pts less than 10th is likely out by pts: OUT: -118-32 = -150. OUT of Chase now are 5 drivers 15th-20th: #1, #27, #43, #42, #9. Next are #17, #31. They are 2 Ganassis, 2 Pettys, 2 Childress, 1 Roush. 478. JimmyFennigFanForever posted: 09.04.2013 - 3:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Going from top of the mountain to "what the hell happened"." thats where I respectfully differ on viewing Terry's 97 season. It's not like they were champions in 96, then in 97 they were a 15th place race car every week. As already mentioned, they were leading the points after 17 races and in the second half of the year they were still bringing top 5 and top 10 cars to the race track, but they had two problems: 1.they had awful luck, they spent time behind the wall a lot of races in the 2nd half of 97. 2.they struggled keeping up with track changes in a lot of races. They faded in the later stages of a lot of races in the 2nd half of 97. (cjs3872 info about the issues between the 5 and 24 at the time may explain that, as I'm sure there was not much note sharing between the teams at the time). 479. ch posted: 09.04.2013 - 4:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So looks like the #31 will be Newman with CAT / Quicken Loans / Cheerios sponsorship. 480. SpeedWorld97 posted: 09.04.2013 - 4:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I know I'm kind of late with this, but great work DSFF on post 449. 481. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.04.2013 - 4:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "They didn't use the "stylized" #3 until 1985, and it got off to a very inauspicious beginning, finishing 32nd in the Daytona 500 as Earnhardt, like so many others that day, had engine trouble by halfway." Oh, I know. I've watched the '84 Talladega 500 a million times (that was a hell of a race from start to finish). And his engine failure in the '85 Daytona 500 was the first of 9 blown motors for the team that year. In just 28 races. In fact, in the 11 races from the first Darlington race through the second Pocono race, they blew up 7 times. At the two Pocono races, he completed a grand total of FOURTEEN combined laps before his engines blew. And in the Southern 500, a blown motor possibly caused the loss of yet another classic Earnhardt Moment. Dale was dominant in that race until he just lost it off Turn 2 (Turn 4 now) smashing his front sheet metal. But those old Monte Carlos were battle tanks. His crew kept working on it and working on it until he was back in contention. Can you imagine him winning the Southern 500 after that? If could have got back to Bill and Cale, I'm guessing Dale wins. Considering Bill was his punching bag and Dale got his 1980 Nashville win as a second year driver when the seasoned respected veteran Cale was making an outside pass and Dale ran him into the wall. But Dale blew up that day. That is why he won 4 races that year. Considering Bill won 11 of the 28 races, that isn't too shabby, and Dale also led over 1200 laps. But he only finished 8th in points. In fact, he was out of the Top 10 most of the year, but a really good finish got him up to 8th and set the stage for a dynasty that would begin the next season. 482. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.04.2013 - 4:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thanks SpeedWorld. And for the record, I DO encourage debate over this. I was just joking with the "I am right and you are wrong" crack. FenningFan has made some excellent points about TLab's '97 season that have really got me thinking. I don't think I'd change anything, in the end I guess we agree to disagree, but he has provided excellent discussion points. 483. 18fan posted: 09.04.2013 - 4:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs, CAT is still going to sponsor the 31 car, plus Newman might bring some sort of sponsorship if indeed Newman is the new driver of that car. It was stated in that the 31 car will remain sponsored by CAT. 484. cjs3872 posted: 09.04.2013 - 4:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well 18fan, that is very good news for Childress on the sponsorship front, because it looked like he would have problems finding enough sponsorship to fully field three cars next year, which is about the maximum that organization can handle. Remember that there are teams that can't even handle that, such as Joe Gibbs Racing, because ever since they've gone to three cars, they've never had all three of their teams competitive in the same year, and Denny Hamlin's struggles this year is another indication of that. Certainly Hamlin's injuries didn't help that situation, but his team was already getting the short end of things from the higher-ups at JGR, so I'm not sure they would have been that competitive anyway, even if Hamlin doesn't get hurt at Auto Club Speedway. 485. murb posted: 09.04.2013 - 4:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "plus Newman might bring some sort of sponsorship if indeed Newman is the new driver of that car." Yeah, I've heard that Quicken Loans is gonna go with Newman wherever he goes. Also, Fox Sports is reporting that JPM has visited with Furniture Row, and that he is one of the front runners for the 78 car. 486. 83andJoe posted: 09.04.2013 - 4:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) >I'm sick and tired of watching that black #3 shoved around like it is being driven by Bill Elliott. The greatest irony would be if Chase is the one making a habit of doing the shoving... > One thing that might happen is that Burton's 31 might become the #3 for Austin Dillon and Childress might change the "2" in 29 to a "3" to make it 39 for Newman, I'd doubt this; while "3" is indeed the traditional Childress team number his second car has always been "31". Smart money says at least one of the cars will be a "31" - maybe Menard's will get renumbered (since the 27-29-31-33 sequence will no longer apply). 487. 83andJoe posted: 09.04.2013 - 4:59 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Also, I found my 1996 NASCAR Preview and Press Guide the other night...wow, the nostialgia. 488. cjs3872 posted: 09.04.2013 - 5:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Let's not forget 83andJoe, that when Childress first went to three cars, his car number sequence was 29-30-31. Of course, 30 is now used by another team. And also, Menard's #27 is a number that the his family has used as far back as 1992, when Al Unser carried it to a third-place finish at that year's Indianapolis 500, so I don't think that number's going anywhere. Remember that Childress and Junior Johnson have always been good friends, and Junior carried that number proudly on more than one occasion, including to his 1960 Daytona 500 victory. Ironically, his chief mechanic Ray Fox, also used the #3 for many years with many drivers, including Johnson. Childress didn't actually get it himself until 1976, as he had run the #96 previously. 489. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.04.2013 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I didn't know Big Al finished 3rd in the '92 Indy 500. A great run, but he was only the second best driverthat day named "Al Unser". I'm sure he felt prouder that day than in his 4 Indy 500 wins combined. 490. SpeedWorld97 posted: 09.04.2013 - 5:46 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Also, I found my 1996 NASCAR Preview and Press Guide the other night...wow, the nostialgia." Those are so neat to have. I have the 2001 edition. It's so cool to see stats from over a decade ago and compare them to now, like when Jeff Gordon had 58 wins! 491. SpeedWorld97 posted: 09.04.2013 - 5:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I didn't know Big Al finished 3rd in the '92 Indy 500. A great run, but he was only the second best driverthat day named "Al Unser". I'm sure he felt prouder that day than in his 4 Indy 500 wins combined." Certainly that would have been a cool thing to see, but I still get mixed feelings about who finished where in that race. If anybody doesn't know, that race was a complete wreckfest caused by 50 degree temps and cold tires (I think at one point 30 consecutive laps were run under caution due to wrecks on restarts). Michael Andretti absolutely dominated the race, pulling away from everybod else, before the "Andretti Curse" came into play with 10 laps to go, when mechanical problems cost him the win. The high rate of attrition played to Unser's favor, and he was able to finish third because of it. Otherwise, he may have been lucky just to reach the top ten. The finish is why so many people consider it one of the greatest 500s ever, because really only the last 15 laps were memorable. 492. NicoRosbergFan posted: 09.04.2013 - 6:09 pm Rate this comment: (1) (4) Speedworld, 1970 and 1971 are considered to be two of the greatest ever even though they were two of the least competitive 500s in history. The reason? Bias. ESPN and racing historians just have this insane bias toward the name Unser, which is not to say that 75, 81, and 87 weren't amongst the greatest, because they were, especially the insane way the 75 race ended in FULL WET conditions for the last 5-10 laps. 493. David posted: 09.04.2013 - 6:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Also, I found my 1996 NASCAR Preview and Press Guide the other night...wow, the nostialgia." Heck, I get nostalgic when I read the 2008 edition; those were instrumental in my early interest in and knowledge of NASCAR. 494. David posted: 09.04.2013 - 6:31 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "1970 and 1971 are considered to be two of the greatest ever even though they were two of the least competitive 500s in history. The reason? Bias." You mean like the 1998 Daytona 500 always being called the greatest 500 of all time due to Earnhardt winning, when the racing itself really wasn't much to shout about? 495. cjs3872 posted: 09.04.2013 - 7:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NicoRosbergFan, the 1970 race was not a good race at all, precisely because of the way Al dominated. However, the 1971 race had the makings of a showdown between Al and Joe Leonard until Joe dropped out around the 300-mile mark. Of course, that race was also marred by four big crashes, including the one involving the pace car. However, you're dead wrong about the 1975 race. They only ran about a lap and a half after the rain hit because it came so hard and so sudden. In fact, Bobby Unser has said that even he had no idea it was going to rain, it came that suddenly. That race was already under caution for debris from Gary Bettenhausen's car (the entire right rear assembly, to be precise)when the rains hit. However, many feel that if not for Tom Sneva's dramatic crash, that race would have gone the distance, and probably with the same ultimate outcome. 1978 had the makings of a great race between Al Unser and Danny Ongais until Ongais' turbocharger failed on him, and then Al nearly threw that race away when he hit a tire on pit road on his final stop, and the 1981 race was competitive, mostly because of all the crashes that happened that day (69 of the 200 laps were run under caution). 496. AveryNH posted: 09.04.2013 - 8:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Also, I found my 1996 NASCAR Preview and Press Guide the other night...wow, the nostialgia." "Those are so neat to have. I have the 2001 edition. It's so cool to see stats from over a decade ago and compare them to now, like when Jeff Gordon had 58 wins!" I have every press and preview guide from 99 till 09 which is when they stopped producing it. Although they made a new one for this season. In other silly season news, Scott Speed is out at Levine family racing and Reed Sorenson is set to take over. 497. murb posted: 09.04.2013 - 8:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I still have the 2004 press guide. It is insanely beat up but it's still fun to go back and look at. 498. The Long Shot posted: 09.04.2013 - 8:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "You mean like the 1998 Daytona 500 always being called the greatest 500 of all time due to Earnhardt winning, when the racing itself really wasn't much to shout about?" This discussion goes back to something that I brought up a few weeks ago: what was the greatest overall race of all time, from start to finish? I know cjs mentioned the 1984 Daytona 500, but does anyone else have any other suggestions? I know that the 2013 Drive4COPD 300 would be high on my list. 499. Bronco posted: 09.04.2013 - 9:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "This discussion goes back to something that I brought up a few weeks ago: what was the greatest overall race of all time, from start to finish?" 2010 Aaron's 499. 500. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 09.04.2013 - 9:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "This discussion goes back to something that I brought up a few weeks ago: what was the greatest overall race of all time, from start to finish?" 1984 Talladega 500, the "once in a generation Grade-A classic." 501. Baker posted: 09.04.2013 - 10:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 498 1998 NAPA Autocare 500 502. JRacingFast posted: 09.04.2013 - 10:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) 497. murb posted: "I still have the 2004 press guide. It is insanely beat up but it's still fun to go back and look at. " I still ave mine from 2001-the last year they made them....Its a shame they quit printing those. I loved flipped through them when i was bored 503. murb posted: 09.04.2013 - 11:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I still ave mine from 2001-the last year they made them" Oh. Well, in any case, I have some type of pre-season book thing that they made for 2004, and it's kickass. 504. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 09.04.2013 - 11:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I still ave mine from 2001-the last year they made them....Its a shame they quit printing those. I loved flipped through them when i was bored" I'm pretty sure they still print them as of preseason 2013. I didn't buy it but I've seen it advertised online. 505. Rexrobe posted: 09.04.2013 - 11:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) # 498, 1992 Hooters 500 Not NASCAR but the 1997 IRL Phoenix 200 is my pick for greatest race ever ran. 506. Mr X posted: 09.05.2013 - 12:27 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Just to make a quick point, if they end up doing so, Caterpillar and Ryan Newman would probably make a pretty good driver sponsor combination. 507. David posted: 09.05.2013 - 12:44 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Let's make this clear: the Official NASCAR Preview and Press Guide was first published in 1986 and was published every year by UMI Books through 2009. After a three-year hiatus, it came out again this year, but with a different publisher. Apparently, NASCAR didn't order the book to be published in 2010, due to various reasons (the economy being the main reason). 508. murb posted: 09.05.2013 - 12:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, I just dug out my 2004 one, and it is in fact the Preview and Press Guide. So you are incorrect, JRacingFast. 509. 83andJoe posted: 09.05.2013 - 2:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I have several others including 2005 and 2008. The Preview and Press Guide wasn't published for the 2011 or 2012 seasons, but apparently it came back this year. 510. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.05.2013 - 2:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) For best race ever, I know this will sound like complete bias on my part, but the 2000 Winston 500 was the first time we had seen that kind of insane shuffling. Hell, at one point Dave Marcis just plain took the lead. That was also the first 3 wide for 500 solid miles race. Looking back on it, with the way NASCAR has made the rules ever since to see to it that every restrictor plate raceooks like that, it seems commonplace. But at the time it was insanity. We were also waiting for the biggest wreck in the sport's history, so at the time we were breathless. Throw in the epic comeback finish, and I was exausted just watching it (and delerious with joy). 511. NicoRosbergFan posted: 09.05.2013 - 5:06 am Rate this comment: (1) (7) Greatest I watched: 2009 Darlington Greatest ever? Let's go strange: 1987 Indy 500 512. Ralph posted: 09.05.2013 - 10:02 am Rate this comment: (2) (5) Must be nice having time to to comment as much as some of you do. Quite a few of you have commented on Every current driver, every current race track, about every race, every current owner. Who has that kind of time? 513. The Long Shot posted: 09.05.2013 - 10:20 am Rate this comment: (4) (0) Yeah, posting comments that take a few minutes to write 3-4 times a day sure does take up a lot of our time. Oh my God, I just wasted 2 minutes of my ever-so-precious time responding to this guy! 514. jabber1990 posted: 09.05.2013 - 1:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I have my 2003 and 2004 Preview and Press Guide and also I have my 2003-2006 Athlon Sports Racing preview magazine and 2009-2013. there is a 3 year hiatus because I kinda lost interest for a few years due to drama at home and I was gone doing other things 2007-2008, school, military, school, family drama 515. David posted: 09.05.2013 - 1:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "and also I have my 2003-2006 Athlon Sports Racing preview magazine" Those are the best. Athlon Sports does a great job of covering NASCAR (visit their website once in a while). I have the 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2013 annual previews. 516. DaleSrFanForever posted: 09.05.2013 - 2:14 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Athlon is by far the best. Love their Tough Questions section. They pull no punches. 517. NicoRosbergFan posted: 09.05.2013 - 2:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (8) Wow! You guys are right that it's not worth my time to worry about thumbing. Some troll thumbs-downed 492 and 511 just because I wrote them. Sheesh does someone have a mental illness worse than my ex-girlfriend! 518. jabber1990 posted: 09.05.2013 - 2:39 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) I loved how the 2004 edition showed the individual race breakdown of every race for every driver in the 2003 season I wish they would still do that 519. SpeedWorld97 posted: 09.05.2013 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Let's make this clear: the Official NASCAR Preview and Press Guide was first published in 1986 and was published every year by UMI Books through 2009. After a three-year hiatus, it came out again this year, but with a different publisher. Apparently, NASCAR didn't order the book to be published in 2010, due to various reasons (the economy being the main reason)." In addition, they also stopped their yearbook production, which, in my opinion, has made the yearbooks bad in comparison to to when UMI did them. The company that does them now doesn't even include the Bud Shootout results every year. And to clarify what I said earlier about the 2001 NASCAR Preview and Press Guide, it is not the UMI edition. Instead it's an Official Winston Cup edition. I also have the official 1991 IROC Media Guide that I found at a Half-Price Bookstore. 520. cjs3872 posted: 09.05.2013 - 3:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NicoRosbergFan, you mentioned about the 1987 Indianapolis 500 being the strangest race. I very well might have been, but I'll take that to the next step. Tue 1987 Indianapolis 500 was one of those rare sporting events that makes you wonder if the Gods are crazy. The 2002 Daytona 500 may have been another such event, but even that wasn't on the scale of what happened at Indy in '87. Ned Jarrett might have said it best during the 1985 Daytona 500 when so many top names were falling out. He told David Hobbs that they might want to get a rental car and see if they could finish the race in it. That entire Indy race in 1987 was strange from start to finish with one car (George Snider) not even taking the green flag and two team cars (Josele Garza and Pancho Carter)tangling in the first turn, and it just continued from there. 521. The Sound posted: 09.05.2013 - 3:51 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Nico, just ignore the ratings system. It does not matter whatsoever. Sadly, I think I've lost my 2013 Athlon preview. I might have to research whether I can order old magazines off their website, as I do not own anything between '08 and '12. 522. SpeedWorld97 posted: 09.05.2013 - 4:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Sadly, I think I've lost my 2013 Athlon preview. I might have to research whether I can order old magazines off their website, as I do not own anything between '08 and '12." Try Ebay. They have so many NASCAR magazines on there. 523. David posted: 09.05.2013 - 4:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Sadly, I think I've lost my 2013 Athlon preview." Oddly enough, I just found mine the other day, though I wasn't looking for it. "Athlon is by far the best. Love their Tough Questions section. They pull no punches." Exactly. I don't agree with everything they write (but who does?), but they do not beat around the bush. They say it like it is. I like their "Crew Chief's Corner" (it's called something different now, I think it's "What the Competition is Saying"), and their Fantasy Stalls for the drivers and tracks (especially since the track fantasy info is provided by David Smith). 524. SpeedWorld97 posted: 09.05.2013 - 4:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I just saw that Mario Andretti will be a guest analyst on the F1 NBC Monza telecast this Sunday. 525. joey2448 posted: 09.05.2013 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) As far as the strangest race, I think the 1982 Monaco Grand Prix belongs in that discussion. With a few laps to go in that race, leader Alain Prost crashed out while battling with track conditions, as rain began to fall. Then, Riccardo Patrese, after inheriting the lead, spun at the hairpin, without hitting anything, but lost the lead to Didier Pironi. Pironi then looked to be headed to the victory, but he ran out of fuel on the final lap! Andrea de Cesaris was the next car in line to inherit the lead, but he too ran out of gas! As this was happening, Derek Daly dropped out with a broken gearbox, keeping him from the lead! Ultimately, Patrese was able to take advantage of all this and roll to the win... Btw, love your list in post 449, DSFF! 526. David posted: 09.05.2013 - 5:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You want a bizarre race? Try the 1963 Rebel 300. It was run in two 150-mile halves, with an intermission, and with its own points system. Drivers scored points based on their finishes in both halves, and the total number of points scored by each driver determined the outcome. That's right, the results you see on the race page are not the results of the finishing order. As for the race itself, Joe Weatherly won the first half and collected enough points to win overall. 527. jabber1990 posted: 09.05.2013 - 6:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I always thought the 2012 Daytona 500 was rather bizzare EVERYTHING went wrong, and if it could have gone wrong it did rain resulted in a 36 hour delay then 2 laps into the race a good amount of the field gets taken out in a crash then Juan Pablo Montoya's little stunt (which was a first) then 2 big crashes in the last 100 miles but also, dont' forget about the 2002 Aarons 312. 12 laps into the race 90% of the field was taken out in a crash 528. David posted: 09.05.2013 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I always thought the 2012 Daytona 500 was rather bizzare" Here we are, bringing up all these archaic examples of strange races, and then jabber mentions a race that was practically yesterday compared to the others. "then Juan Pablo Montoya's little stunt (which was a first)" And likely a last, too. That was literally a one in a million shot. So many factors had to be just right for that event to occur. 529. jabber1990 posted: 09.05.2013 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Here we are, bringing up all these archaic examples of strange races, and then jabber mentions a race that was practically yesterday compared to the others." sorry 530. NicoRosbergFan posted: 09.05.2013 - 7:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (5) How about the 1966 Indy 500 or the 1965 Southern 500, races no one wanted to win? 531. David posted: 09.05.2013 - 7:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "sorry" Don't apologize, I was actually complimenting you for bringing up a race we all overlooked. 532. cjs3872 posted: 09.05.2013 - 7:44 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) In fact NicoRosbergFan, the question of who won the 1966 Indianapolis 500 is still debated, because many felt that the wrong driver won that race due to a scoring controversy. Many felt that Jim Clark actually won that race, and that Graham Hill was credited with one lap too many. What happened was that Clark was dominating the race, but spun twice in 25 laps. On the first of those spins, Hill, who was one lap behind, unlapped himself. This went unnoticed by the scorers for much of the race, as Clark, Lloyd Ruby, and Jackie Stewart took turns battling up front with the patient Hill waiting his turn. Late in the race with Stewart leading, scorers discovered that Hill had not been credited with one lap, and when they discovered that mistake and corrected it, Hill was moved to second ahead of Clark, and inherited the lead when Stewart dropped out. But both Colin Chapman and Andy Granatelli believed that Clark was the leader, and actually instructed Clark to go to victory lane when the race ended, because they felt (and Granatelli probably still does feel) that Clark had won the race, because they knew that Clark had lapped Hill during the race, but Hill unlapped himself on Clark's first spin, and then when Clark spun again, he ran into handling problems that resulted in Hill eventually passing him in the race, which ended up being for the win. 533. The Long Shot posted: 09.05.2013 - 7:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To add something else to the discussion, how about the best and worst overall seasons in terms of good races? I've been considering downloading NASCAR races from YouTube and burning them to DVD for some time now, and I'd like to know which seasons are worth downloading. 534. Sean posted: 09.05.2013 - 8:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I would look towards CART for both the greatest race and most bizarre race of all time. Greatest race ever - 2000 Michigan 500. I know NRF and others are going to sharply criticize this selection and argue the Handford device racing (basically identical to the 2012-2013 Indy 500 style of racing) was too contrived, and considering my feelings about modern plate racing (which run directly opposite from DSFF's - I believe the 2000 Winston 500 was the beginning of the complete and total IRRELEVANCY of plate racing - especially starting with NASCAR changing the size of the restrictor plate during Happy Hour, which was and remains one of the tackiest things I have ever seen NASCAR do in my life) I should hate those Michigan and Fontana races just as much and I'm probably being hypocritical. But I truthfully believe those Michigan/Fontana CART races (and the recent Indy 500s) were more reminiscent of OLD SCHOOL drafting at Daytona and Talladega in the '70s/'80s with the endless slingshot passes, which I strongly prefer to nonstop pack racing (it's why I actually preferred tandem racing to most of the other recent iterations of Cup plate racing). I think the more appropriate IndyCar corollary to the nonstop three-wide plate racing we have seen since 2000 is Las Vegas 2011, and we saw what happened there. As for selecting this race rather than any of the others, the Michigan races of this era were better than the Fontana races and while most would pick 1998 instead, I don't because that was marred by the tire that went into the stands killing three fans, and because 2000 had the best overall duel between two drivers, which I find cooler than a pack of 5 or 6 drivers that keep trading the lead badk and forth, which most of those other races (including this year's Indy) have had. JPM and Michael Andretti had clearly separated themselves from anyone else and were dueling solely by themselves which made it that much more awesome and awe-inspiring, watching the king of the old guard and the king of the new guard/that year's Indy winner passing each other like 20 times in the final 10 laps. In some of those other races (like the ones Patrick Carpentier and Christian Fittipaldi won) they seemed to have more to do with luck than skill, but in this one, it was the two guys generally regarded as the best oval drivers of the time letting it all hang out, and they couldn't stand each other. (And now Michael Andretti is talking about hiring JPM for his IndyCar team?! Whatever...) I admit it was contrived and artificial (and Alex Zanardi said as much when he competed in the first one), but would that all contrived races play out like that one... And if several of us are picking plate races as the best races ever (barf), at least drivers had throttle response here. And his mastery of this kind of racing is why so many of us IndyCar fans were excited when Montoya was coming to Cup, and then disappointed when he proved himself ultimately to be a slightly above average mediocrity. Most bizarre and possibly worst race ever - 2002 Honda Indy 300, Surfer's Paradise This Australian street course race had 33 out of 40 laps run under caution due to torrential downpours. Although CART raced in the rain, the rain was too heavy to justify racing under green-flag conditions, and the race could not be rescheduled because apparently the Surfer's Paradise officials had only closed the streets on that particular day, and the teams had to ship their equipment back to the US very quickly afterward (while FedEx was sponsoring CART from 1998-2002, they paid to ship cars overseas), so all the "lead changes" took place when people pitted under caution, and Mario Dominguez, a little known and lowly regarded rookie (who had previously led 1 lap with a best finish of 8th) ended up winning due to pit strategy (which has to be the cheapest win ever, even cheaper than Reutimann and Logano's first wins, but at least Dominguez got a straight up win the following year) when the race was stopped after 2 hours, despite the fact that Dominguez had had pretty severe damage from the opening lap crash. This was one of the final death blows for anyone taking CART seriously (if anyone still did after they cancelled their 2001 race at Texas...) I'll make my NASCAR selections too, which would be more self-explanatory around here. Greatest race ever held - I haven't seen it in full yet, but I'll throw a vote for the 1984 Talladega 500. If plate racing was like that now, I wouldn't complain. Slingshots > packs. Most bizarre race ever held - As much as I want to pick the 2002 Daytona 500, I think David got it (I noticed that race myself in my Greg Fielden book), and I think Joey got it for F1 (unless the 2005 USGP counts as more bizarre). Worst race ever held - 2000 Dura Lube 300 (I LIKE Loudon, which most fans don't, but I HATE the idea of plates there, especially as a "fix" to cure the issue of stuck throttles...) 535. Sean posted: 09.05.2013 - 8:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Best NASCAR season ever = 1992 (although anything from 1985-1997 works. Yes, I know the racing between the top competitors was compelling prior to this period, but I feel there was no depth until most of the field was fully sponsored and NASCAR became "big time" which I date to Winston stepping up its involvement with the all-star race and the Winston Million). I'll give this one the edge due to the championship battle. Worst NASCAR season ever = 1965 by default due to the Chrysler Boycott. That was a pretty cheap pick though. From recent seasons, I remember 2000 less fondly than any of the chase years (even though I hate the gimmickiness of the chase years). Even the classics from 2000 were overrated. Mike Skinner was running away with a very dull Atlanta race until he blew an engine. Jeremy Mayfield knocking Earnhardt out of the way was just kind of dull. The championship battle was horrible and Bobby Labonte's season was one of the weakest ever (dominance-wise) yet nobody else was even close to him... Just dull dull dull. Worst Daytona 500 ever, some of the worst ideas ever (plates at Loudon, changing the plate size the night before the race at Talladega, ruining plate racing by creating the package that made Michael Waltrip a Daytona 500 winner and killed Dale Earnhardt, and the only memorable races all being maddeningly overrated...I think the 2000 Winston 500 is the most overrated Cup race in history.) 536. Sean posted: 09.05.2013 - 8:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm probably wrong about 2000 since it did start with 10 different winners and the field was deep. Maybe it's just that I EXPECTED more out of 2000 after 1999, whereas in the chase years, I expected a LOT less... 537. Eric posted: 09.05.2013 - 9:26 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Sean, The plate package didn't kill Dale Earnhardt. Dale's Blocking and his attitude towards safety killed him. Dale Sr. was blocking on the final laps of the 2001 Daytona 500. There is a history of nasty looking wrecks at plate races were caused by blocking. The 2009 spring Talladega race is a prime example of a nasty looking wreck caused by blocking. I mentioned Dale's attitude towards safety for a reason. RCR actually was working on a head and neck restraint device before Dale's death and Dale didn't want to wear it for the 2001 Daytona 500. I read about that years ago. People mentioned in the past how Dale handled seat belts in the race car even before the race. 538. Sean posted: 09.05.2013 - 9:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "The plate package didn't kill Dale Earnhardt. Dale's Blocking and his attitude towards safety killed him." Ultimately, I agree. I was being melodramatic and I admit it. But I still think that plate package and the plate packages that have emerged since were less safe than the earlier plate packages... 539. cjs3872 posted: 09.05.2013 - 9:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sean, I'm not sure the 2000 Daytona 500 was the worst ever but it certainly was one of the worst ever. The worst Daytona 500 ever run was probably the 1972 race (also run on February 20), where A.J. Foyt ran away from a depleted field of mostly bad cars. At least the 2000 race had good teams and cars. The '72 race didn't even have that, nor did the races in 1965 and 1973. The 1975 race wasn't that good, either, but it did have a David vs. Goliath finish. The only thing about the 1973 race that kept it from being a total disaster was the efforts of Cale Yarborough, who at least made things interesting with Buddy Baker until dropping out (ironically, Baker also dropped out later on). Actually, if you want to talk about bad Daytona 500s, you can pick any of them from 1995-2003, except for the 1996 and 2001 races, because they were all bad. And the 1990-'92 races were pretty dreadful, as well as the 1985 race. But the worst Daytona 500s were the the ones in 1965, 1972-'73, 1985, 1992, and 2000. But there have been plenty of other bad ones through the years. And I would say that the 1972 race was the worst one of them all. 540. NicoRosbergFan posted: 09.05.2013 - 9:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (5) 2002 Surfer's Paradise: don't forget that at the start there was a big wreck, three cars flipped, and all drivers involved were allowed to get their backup. And don't forget the hail that fell DURING THE RACE! 541. The Long Shot posted: 09.05.2013 - 10:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs, I'm surprised you didn't mention the 2013 500. That was hands down the most boring race that I have ever seen. 542. cjs3872 posted: 09.05.2013 - 10:28 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The Long Shot, the 2013 Daytona 500 may not have been exciting for most of the event because the drivers couldn't dare to try to pass, but the races I mentioned were easily worse. Besides, while most of the 2013 Daytona 500 was dull and monotonous because of the aero package (as have been the other plate races this year), the finish of the race was pretty entertaining. A reason nobody around here likes that race was who won it. But had predicted that the plate races wouldn't be very good, because to be able to use the draft, the car has to punch a bigger hole in the air, and it punches a much smaller hole in the air due to the much shorter spoiler. But a bigger spoiler on the back of the cars, and I can almost guarantee batter racing. Also, remember the atmosphere under which the Daytona 500 was run this year. Most of all, what was needed was a safe race after the Kyle Larson crash which resulted in 28 injured spectators, and they got that safe race. But plate racing this year has been the worst since 1992, and it's all because of the small spoiler, as it was then. (Remember the July race at Talladega that year when just three cars finished on the lead lap?) Increasing the size (and angle) of the spoiler was what livened up the racing at Daytona in 1993, and it's needed again in 2014. If not, plate racing is going to be as dull next year as it's been this year. 543. cjs3872 posted: 09.05.2013 - 10:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) And Eric, while the plate racing package used in the 2001 Daytona 500 itself didn't lead to Earnhardt's death, the fact that the action was wild all weekend long gave Earnhardt great reason for concern. In fact, I think it was during that race that Earnhardt cryptically said on his radio that they were going to kill someone. He just didn't know that he would be the one killed. Let's not forget the wild crash that happened on lap 174 in which Tony Stewart got slightly into the catch fencing and a couple of drivers, including John Andretti, literally drove underneath Stewart's car, so Dale had very good reason to be concerned. Also, there was that chance encounter he had with Terry Labonte a few days prior to that year's Daytona 500 when they were talking about Earnhardt breaking Labonte's consecutive starts record, which I believe would have occurred at Texas, and how it was going to be celebrated. And Earnhardt told Labonte "if I make it that far", so Earnhardt seemed to have a premonition that something bad was going to happen to him. He didn't know when, but he knew something was going to happen to him, and I suspect it was tied to the kind of racing that was going on at Daytona, which he knew was dangerous. 544. JimmyFennigFanForever posted: 09.05.2013 - 11:04 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "The 1975 race wasn't that good, either, but it did have a David vs. Goliath finish." that was the one thing the 2000 Daytona 500 had going for it as well. Johnny Benson in that plain white, no sponsor #10 pontiac, with all those well funded, major team Fords behind him. 545. JimmyFennigFanForever posted: 09.05.2013 - 11:12 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) speaking of the topic of bad seasons, 98 has to be near the top. 2 guys won 20 of the 33 races. Typically the one upside of 2 guys dominating is they will at least have a good points battle, but we didn't even get that, after Mark's engine blew up in the Southern 500, it was realistically over with the way Jeff was running that season. It was also the season Ford went to the Taurus, ending the hold out of the last manufacture to switch to a overly aero dependent car. 546. cjs3872 posted: 09.06.2013 - 12:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Actually, @545, the fact that two drivers combined to win such so many races in one season is more common than you might think. It happened in 1972 (Bobby Allison and Richard Petty combined to win 18 times), 1974 (3 drivers won 27 races between them), 1976 (Yarborough and Pearson combined to win 19 times), 1981-'82 (Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison combined to win 37 times in those two years, 17 in '81 and 20 in '82), 1987 (Earnhardt and Elliott won 17 times), 1993 (Earnhardt and Rusty combined for 16 wins), 1997 (Gordon and Dale Jarrett combined for 17 wins), the '98 season you mention with Gordon and Martin combining for 20 wins, 2007 (Gordon and Jimmie Johnson combined for 16 wins), and 2008 (Johnson, Kyle Busch, and Carl Edwards combined to win 24 times). So this kind of thing has happened since the schedule was cut down more often than you might think. 547. murb posted: 09.06.2013 - 12:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "To add something else to the discussion, how about the best and worst overall seasons in terms of good races? I've been considering downloading NASCAR races from YouTube and burning them to DVD for some time now, and I'd like to know which seasons are worth downloading." 2001 really was a great year. I know that a lot of people look at that season and immediately think "terrible" because of what happened in the Daytona 500, but the entire year was filled with some awesome races. There were a lot of competitive teams that year (19 different winners total I think). And if I had to pick a year from the 90s, I would say 1992 or 1994. I've thoroughly enjoyed going back and watching classic races on YouTube, and these are two of the best seasons from what I've seen. 548. SpeedWorld97 posted: 09.06.2013 - 12:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've been wanting to post my opinion of the ten best Cup seasons for quite some time. I will try to make one within the next week. 549. Ched Little posted: 09.06.2013 - 4:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (2) Just out of curiosity, does anyone here have any clue who is the person with the dangerously psychotic hatred of NRF? 550. joey2448 posted: 09.06.2013 - 8:07 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Welp, seems as though 5-time won't be missing any races this year. His wife, Chandra, gave birth to their second child tonight. Congrats to them! 551. Hoodpins posted: 09.06.2013 - 8:54 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) He will be starting at the back tomorrow night though as Regan Smith will practice and qualify for him. 552. cjs3872 posted: 09.06.2013 - 9:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, now we'll see if the theory about what's happened with Jimmie recently that I brought up in post #428 is true. If Jimmie goes back to his old form of dominating races and not making silly errors late in races, then we'll know that he was distracted. If not, then it could expose a deeper problem within the #48 team and possibly Hendrick Motorsports itself. 553. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 09.06.2013 - 10:20 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Well, now we'll see if the theory about what's happened with Jimmie recently that I brought up in post #428 is true. If Jimmie goes back to his old form of dominating races and not making silly errors late in races, then we'll know that he was distracted. If not, then it could expose a deeper problem within the #48 team and possibly Hendrick Motorsports itself." Or it could be the same thing. He does, after all, have a new baby to be distracted with now. Anyway, I think the "Jimmie Johnson is struggling" angle is being well overplayed as a lot of the examples of his "struggles" are just plain awful luck. He's been caught up with race-ruining crashes with nowhere to go each of the past two weeks, he had a blown motor at Michigan, and he had a flat tire at Pocono (probably caused by an experimental setup) with a road course top 10 in between. I'm 100% sure if these things were happening to Jeff Gordon or Brad Keselowski, no one here would be saying they were struggling, they'd rightfully point to their recent bad luck streak. I know Johnson and team aren't very popular around here (understatement of the century), but if people really think the team is struggling and/or having problems they might just be setting themselves up for major disappointment. 554. The Long Shot posted: 09.06.2013 - 10:25 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) @Ched Little: Whoever posted comments #372 and #391, probably. I am still sticking with my suggestion that Webmaster get rid of the thumbs-down feature (thumbs-up can be left in, considering that's not abused nearly as much). 555. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 09.06.2013 - 10:28 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) I speculated earlier in the season when we were making 2014 predictions that Swan Racing would replace David Stremme because they are serious about contending, and I was told by multiple people that it would not happen because Stremme is a part-owner of the team (which I have read in multiple places since and I have no reason to believe isn't true). Well, it appears Cole Whitt will replace Stremme after Richmond now. I guess this could be one of four options: 1) "gauging performance" ala JTG-Daugherty, 2) preparing for 2014, 3) ownership dispute, or 4) Stremme nobly accepting that having Whitt in the car is probably better for the team. 556. Scott B posted: 09.06.2013 - 10:30 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) I would put the first Talladega race, with the PDA boycott, up there with the more bizzare races. That would be more for the events leading up to it than the actual racing, though. 557. David posted: 09.06.2013 - 10:45 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Anyway, I think the "Jimmie Johnson is struggling" angle is being well overplayed as a lot of the examples of his "struggles" are just plain awful luck." Absolutely. I won't deny that. In fact, it's almost as if the bad luck transferred over from Gordon to Johnson, because aside from a poor run at Michigan, Jeff's been doing pretty well the past few weeks. 558. JimmyFennigFanForever posted: 09.06.2013 - 11:22 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) responding to 546 good info cjs3872. two driver dominance of victory lane has happened more than I thought. I would still maintain though 98 was one of the all time snoozers of a season. At least a lot of the other seasons you mentioned gave us good points battles, heck 97 even gave us a points battle with a driver who was not even among those dominating victory lane (Mark). 559. jabber1990 posted: 09.06.2013 - 11:47 am Rate this comment: (5) (0) am I the only one who liked 2011? it has very interesting races (2011 Daytona 500 anyone? 3 of the 4 plate races anyone?) it had 5 first-time winners, 18 total race winners, a (rather) surprising champion in one of the best and most dramatic final races. 560. 83andJoe posted: 09.06.2013 - 1:11 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) >4) Stremme nobly accepting that having Whitt in the car is probably better for the team. Given that Stremme apparently knew nothing and declined to comment on whether or not he had an ownership stake in the team, well... Also, THIS came from wildly out of left field: Tony Kanaan might be in one of Gibbs' Nationwide cars next year, as all his potential IndyCar rides are saying "bring cash". 561. The Sound posted: 09.06.2013 - 1:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff might actually have an easier time passing Biffle in the points than Busch. 562. murb posted: 09.06.2013 - 2:36 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Kanaan in NNS would be interesting. It would be the first time that one of these open wheelers went to a really elite Nascar team like that (I know Hornish went to Penske, but I wouldn't consider them an elite team in 2007-2008). So I'm sure he would get a lot of coaching from the guys over at JGR. I'd be interested to see how he would do. As for the Johnsons, a whole hearted congratulations on the birth of their daughter. And as for Stremme being out of the 30, I'm a bit surprised. And according to the article I read, so was he. I just hope this isn't a sign that Burton will indeed end up in that car. I'd rather see Burton retire than run for a low level team like that. Even if they get the RCR alliance, they still aren't as established of a team as Furniture Row was when they got their alliance, so I don't think they would run very good. 563. Rexrobe posted: 09.06.2013 - 3:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kanaan has raced in the Brazilian stock car series as recently as last year. It's not stock cars as we know it in Nascar, but it's not like he doesn't have "tin top" experience. 564. David posted: 09.06.2013 - 3:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Who is it that I see at the top of the Happy Hour leaderboard? He'll make the Chase, folks. 565. David posted: 09.06.2013 - 3:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh, how silly of me. I forgot to congratulate the Johnsons on the birth of their second child. Another daughter for them. 566. JG24FanForever posted: 09.06.2013 - 3:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Who is it that I see at the top of the Happy Hour leaderboard? He'll make the Chase, folks." Gordon and short-tracks go together like pancakes and syrup. 567. jabber1990 posted: 09.06.2013 - 4:35 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) what happened the last time Gibbs brought over an Indycar star? 568. cjs3872 posted: 09.06.2013 - 4:45 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) @558, the reason that the 1998 season was a snoozer of a season had nothing to do with the domination of the two top drivers that year, but rather the infamous "5x5" rule, which was what created the dull racing that season. For everyone who thinks downforce needs to be taken away from the cars, just look back to what happened that season, because they did exactly that by raising the nose and trimming the rear spoiler, and it proved to be a disaster of a season, competition-wise. That's why they can't take downforce away from the cars, no matter how much the drivers want to see it. Every time they're tried, the racing has suffered. If they want to make the competition better, add downforce or keep it the same and take horsepower away to slow the cars down. The reason they're going so fast is the amount of horsepower they make, which also affects cornering speed. Slow the cars down on the big tracks between 15-20 MPH, and you'll see the quality of racing improve, and the only way to do that is to take away horsepower. How to do that is another question entirely. What happened, jabber1990, was that Joe Gibbs finally got to where it wanted to be, because Tony Stewart won 30+ races and two championships, and with all apologies to Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, two drivers that have combined for over 50 wins in the Cup Series themselves (29 for Kyle and 22 for Denny), they haven't gotten a driver of that quality until Matt Kenseth got there this year. 569. cjs3872 posted: 09.06.2013 - 4:55 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) And you want to know what's wrong with IndyCar racing, 83andJoe? Buddy Rice couldn't find a ride after winning Indy because of finances, Dan Wheldon couldn't fid a ride for much of the 2011 season, despite having a win and two seconds at Indy, as well as a championship, which demonstrates his ability on ALL kinds of tracks for that reason, and he ends up winning Indy again, albeit the flukiest Indy win of modern times, and now Kanaan can't find a ride in IndyCar racing despite a championship, as well as many close call and finally a win at Indy this year. If you can't secure a ride in a series in which you're a champion still capable of winning (Wheldon and Kanaan have both proved that), as well as having wins in the biggest race of them all, the Indianapolis 500, then something's terribly wrong with the structure of the series. After all, one of the things that made both NASCAR and IndyCar racing what it was in the 80s was the fact that you had rising stars competing against bonified legends that were still capable of getting it done. DSFF has said that the mid 80s through the mid 90s was the most stacked period in NASCAR history, in terms of competition. I can say almost the same thing about the late 70s through the mid 80s in IndyCar racing, because those fields had rising stars competing against legends that were still capable of getting it done in the big moments. 570. Eric posted: 09.06.2013 - 5:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs3872, I agree that there is something wrong with with the structure of Indy Car, but there is something you forgot about Tony Kanaan on why he doesn't have the finances. The structure of Indy Car/CART has a problem for a very long time. Jeff Gordon wasn't able to get a CART ride because he didn't have the finances and that showed what was wrong with CART's structure. Tony Kanaan is not what I call a spring chicken in Open Wheel terms. Tony Kanaan is going to be 39 in December. He is not at an age that Sponsors want for open wheel drivers. While Indy Car racing has a history of drivers winning over the age of 40, it hasn't happen since Jeff Ward won in 2002 when he was almost 41 years old. 571. Eric posted: 09.06.2013 - 6:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Congratulations the Johnsons on the birth of their second child. What is happening to Tony Kanaan is screwed up and it shows what is wrong with Indy and CART for the last 23 to 25 years at least based on what happen to Jeff Gordon. What happened to Jeff Gordon changed the future of CART,NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports. Tony Kanaan still has what it takes to win based on the fact he won the Indy 500 this year at the age of 38 years old. While Indy Cars drivers haven't won over the age of 40 in a long time, they did win a good a amount of races in their 40's in the 1970's, 1980's and 1990's. I think some driver still can win their 40's in open wheel, but it is case by case situation. 572. Eric posted: 09.06.2013 - 6:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I made a mistake the last time an Indy Car driver won over the age of 40. That was Al Unser Jr. at the age of 41 in 2003. 573. New14 & 88Fan posted: 09.06.2013 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Look who's currently on top of the board in qualifying, and with a new track record even. 574. The Long Shot posted: 09.06.2013 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) A typical NASCAR.com idiot: "Last time I went to Richmond, Jeff was on the pole and got wrecked by Rusty Wallace...Ricky Rudd won. Two days later, the twin towers fell down. THANKS, OBAMA." WTF?? Anyways, this was a pretty funny quip by another poster: "Danica Patrick is the only "driver" (and I use that term loosely) that can finish qualifying a lap down." 575. David posted: 09.06.2013 - 6:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Look who's currently on top of the board in qualifying, and with a new track record even." Literally JUST before I read this and found out what you were talking about, I remarked to myself that Jeff Gordon needs to summon some of his 1992 Busch Series pole-winning magic (I had just seen a picture of him, mustache and all, on the R-R homepage) so he can win a pole this year and break the record for most consecutive seasons with a pole (now formerly held by David Pearson, who won a pole every year from 1963 to 1982). 576. Anonymous posted: 09.06.2013 - 6:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordon gets 21 straight seasons with at least 1 pole 577. cjs3872 posted: 09.06.2013 - 6:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And that, @576, is a brand new record, breaking the mark held by the Silver Fox for over 30 years. However, Gordon being on the pole at Richmond is not that great an omen for him, since his record there when winning the pole has never been good. However, this 72nd pole proves that he can still get it done in the big moments, as if last year's running of this race didn't rove that, because it sure did. There may not have been a greater second place finish in the history of the sport quite like the one Gordon put together in this race last year. However, if this s a repeat of Indy, and the front row starters finish where they start, Kurt Busch would still make the Chase, since all he needs to clinch a spot in the Chase is to finish second, assuming he leads at least one lap. If Kurt finishes second and leads the race for even on lap, he can't possibly be knocked out of the Chase. But if Gordon wins and leads the most laps and Kurt Busch finishes second and doesn't lead the race, Kurt would be left out due to a tie-breaker, sine both would have the same amount of points. Jeff would get the tenth spot, and Kurt would miss the Chase since he's winless this season, I do believe. 578. 18fan posted: 09.06.2013 - 6:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs, in your last scenario, Kurt making the Chase would be dependent on where Greg Biffle finishes and Biffle is 8 points ahead of Kurt. 579. cjs3872 posted: 09.06.2013 - 7:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You're probably right, 18fan. I was referring to the situation if the current top nine all stayed in the top ten in points. Of course, other things could happen in a Gordon-Ku. Busch 1-2 that could affect things, but I was just referring to the top 9 all being in the top ten after the Richmond race. 580. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 09.06.2013 - 11:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Guess who's on the pole and guess who is gonna make the Chase? 581. Anonymous posted: 12.01.2013 - 8:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Im glad JoLo didnt win this race. Cant stand him. 582. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 04.24.2014 - 12:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Withdrew 19 TBA Toyota Plinker Tactical Randy Humphrey 583. 18fan posted: 03.13.2016 - 3:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was the last Cup race Juan Pablo Montoya led. 584. Jared DiCarlo posted: 07.26.2017 - 10:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Last race for Scott Speed 585. Maverick19 posted: 10.02.2017 - 10:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is Kyle Busch's most recent win in a generic M&M's scheme. 586. MasonShell24 posted: 03.09.2020 - 9:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Last Race for Phoenix Racing 587. SweetRich posted: 03.09.2020 - 11:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The commentators for the race were Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree with Dave Burns, Mike Massaro, Jamie Little and Vince Welch on pit road. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: