|| *Comments on the 2014 Ford EcoBoost 400:* First Page | Previous Page | Next Page | Last Page | View All On One Page View the most recent comment | Post a comment <#post> 1. We need more Onion posted: 11.14.2014 - 7:34 pm Rate this comment: (35) (8) The Ford Homestead Final Four Super Bowl Madness Sharknado World Series Extravaganza Showdown for the Chase for the Sprint Cup is heeeeeere! 2. epzik8 posted: 11.14.2014 - 7:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Nice to see Gordon on the pole again, makes me feel better about the last couple of weeks. 3. someone posted: 11.14.2014 - 7:35 pm Rate this comment: (2) (3) go hamlin or newman! 4. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.14.2014 - 7:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) I'm expecting a WCW swerve with Gordon because although he is on the pole, whose side is he on? '96 Bash at the Beach Hulk Hogan turned heel and revealed himself as the mysterious fourth man...why did Newman smile if the sanctioning body is up to a swerve WWE style. In all seriousness, the pedestrian qualifying effort from Newman is incredible considering the consistent speed in the #24 car. 5. The Long Shot posted: 11.14.2014 - 7:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "The Ford Homestead Final Four Super Bowl Madness Sharknado World Series Extravaganza Showdown for the Chase for the Sprint Cup is heeeeeere!" Bit of a mouthful, no? Maybe we should just refer to it as the "Fustercl*ck 400". 6. The Long Shot posted: 11.14.2014 - 7:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) And I just realized that I unnecessarily censored that post. Change it to the "Clusterf*ck 400". 7. BON GORDON posted: 11.14.2014 - 7:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Pretty happy with that qualifying result. Gordon's 32nd top ten start of 2014 (most ever in a season for Jeff). Also his 77th pole. Pole winners generally don't do well here but with this new knockout qualifying procedure that might change. 8. Pizzaboy posted: 11.14.2014 - 7:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, these qualifying times are close. Folks, no one is out if this championship battle yet. 9. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.14.2014 - 8:05 pm Rate this comment: (6) (1) Seems like Danica's cars are running well for Kurt... 10. The Long Shot posted: 11.14.2014 - 8:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, since this will be our home for the next 3 months, I may as well be the first to break silly season news. As mentioned earlier, Justin Boston will run the full Truck schedule for Kyle Busch Motorsports next year. Matt Tifft will also run 6 races for them next year. Car numbers and sponsorship have yet to be announced. Orange Cone has also rumored that Ganassi will absorb the assets of TSM's Nationwide/Xfinity teams. No word on the future of their Truck or Cup teams. 11. murb posted: 11.14.2014 - 8:17 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Harvick looks really fast this weekend. I'm seriously considering changing my title pick to him. 12. murb posted: 11.14.2014 - 8:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "No word on the future of their Truck or Cup teams." The #51 Cup team is solely owned by Harry Scott, so it's completely separate from TSM. So it probably wouldn't be affected. Not surprised about Ganassi absorbing their NNS team though. It's pretty much been Ganassi's team this year anyway, so might as well make it official. 13. BluesTravelerFan posted: 11.14.2014 - 8:22 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) On a completely random an unimportant note... Am I the only one that hates that this race starts so late and ends at night? I always hated how the season ends on a depressing Sunday night, it always felt kind of cold to me. By the same token I loved when they moved it back in 2010, but of course only to see it move back to night in 2011. I just like the poetic feeling of ending at dusk. But of course also, by making the start time later it shortens up the window in case of rain(remember the 09 Daytona 500?). I didn't mean to rant on something so insignificant, and it's just a nit pick, no big deal, but it just kind of bothers me. On a more pertinent topic, great to see Jeff win the pole, unfortunately a win here won't stop DSFF's JG Autumn rants, but it would be a nice little shot to this point system and cement his spot as the true driver of the year(and all after 20 years and at age 43). 14. Hinch77 posted: 11.14.2014 - 8:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Reiterating from the Phoenix page: Kurt Busch broke the track record in round two of qualifying, and this is Hendrick's 200th Cup pole and 77th from Jeff Gordon. 15. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.14.2014 - 8:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Driver of the year recipient is close but given the historical significance I'll take Gordon over Logano in a 51-49% squeaker. 16. Adjust posted: 11.14.2014 - 8:42 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) Looks like another Season Gordon would have won WITHOUT the chase... *sigh* Unless he gets a bad finish and joey gets a good 17. Schroeder51 posted: 11.14.2014 - 10:24 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Gordon wins the pole...too bad it's not really going to matter, as he's already been eliminated from the Chase. This would have been REALLY interesting had he made it in at Phoenix last week...Here's hoping he can have a strong run and close out his season on a high note, though, and maybe get into the top 5 in points at the end of the year. As for who will be crowned the champion...I hate to say it, but I honestly think it's going to be Hamlin. He usually runs very well here (in fact, he's the defending winner here), and I can see him getting a strong top 5 finish and walking off with the title (which I personally would find disappointing, considering how mediocre he's been for a large part of this year...hell, he and Kyle Busch have had RATHER similar seasons, the big difference being that Kyle didn't make his way all the way through to the final round.) I think Logano will run well, but I personally think Hamlin will outfinish him (I WILL be pulling for Joey, though...I'm sure racefangurl will be happy to hear that!). Harvick could easily win the title on speed, but I wouldn't be surprised to see his pit crew crumble under pressure yet again and find a way to not only throw away another prospective win, but the championship as well. As for Newman...he's not going to beat the other contenders on raw speed alone; he basically needs to either hope trouble befalls the other three, or perhaps try some really ballsy late-race strategy calls and hope they work out in his favor. Otherwise, I don't think he'll win the title (would be funny if he did, though!) But no matter what happens, I hope this last race of 2014 is a clean and safe race. I hope nobody tries anything really stupid and we don't see any drivers attempting to get payback from incidents in the past few weeks and affecting the championship battle in the process. I hope we see a bullshit-free race (that's probably asking a little too much at this point, though...), and I REALLY hope there's no massive pit brawl after this race. 18. epzik8 posted: 11.14.2014 - 10:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I really like Danica's paint scheme for this race. Say what you want about that, but I really do. As for the championship, I'm standing by Joey Logano. Even if he doesn't win it, I'm still happy that he made it all the way to the final round of the Chase and won five races on the way. 19. epzik8 posted: 11.14.2014 - 10:56 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) And I agree with #13, I wish this race could at least end right around sunset, if not in full sunlight. I didn't like when the Daytona 500 was scheduled to end at night either. 20. Cooper posted: 11.14.2014 - 11:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Can somebody confirm this for me? Driver A leads most laps and finishes 4th Driver B doesn't lead a lap and finishes 3rd Does Driver A technically win the championship? The reason I ask is because all the drivers are listed at 5000 points and therefore this could be a debacle. Just wondering, thanks! 21. Neal posted: 11.14.2014 - 11:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) NASCAR holding the finale at Homestead would be like the NFL having the Superbowl at the Oakland Coliseum every year. The banquet's in Vegas just move the last race there and get it over with. 22. murb posted: 11.14.2014 - 11:06 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I honestly wouldn't be completely shocked if Denny somehow pulled this off. I still expect it to be a mainly two man race between Harvick and Logano (though I'm definitely leaning towards Harvick now - if nothing happens to him, he's got it in the bag I think), but from the way Denny has looked this weekend, I don't think he'll be as far behind as everyone originally thought. I personally wouldn't have that much of a problem with Denny winning it. Now that I've thought about it for almost an entire week, I would actually rather have him win it than Newman. Nothing against Newman, but when you compare the two of them, Denny has for sure had the better season. Denny not only has more top five and top tens than Newman, but he has also contended for multiple wins (Daytona 500, Talladega in the Spring which he actually DID win, Bristol Night Race before Harvick wrecked him, Fall Martinsville), while Newman has only contended for one (Fall Talladega). I'm not saying that Denny has had a championship caliber year (he hasn't by any means), but for all of the people who want to talk about "purity", I think he'd definitely be a better fit as champion for this year than Newman (Newman would probably be better for the media recognition though since it would be a "Rudy" type underdog story). Plus, when looking at their entire careers head to head, I think everything Denny has done easily trumps Newman's mostly underwhelming career, and therefore, Denny would be a way better fit in the history books as "Cup Champion" than Newman would. I think Newman would undoubtedly go down as one of the three or four least talented champions ever, whereas I think Denny would be somewhere in the middle (probably like in the Bobby Labonte/Kurt Busch range - not nearly the best, but not really close to the worst either). But again, I think Harvick has got it barring that team shooting themselves in the foot. I still want Logano to win it because he has been arguably the best driver all season (I think I'd honestly take him over Gordon in that regard - Gordon and his team have made a couple of mistakes, like at Texas, that have cost him some good finishes and potential wins - I don't recall Joey or that #22 team making ANY mistakes at all this year). But overall, I think Harvick will be in the catbird seat if it just comes down to pure speed. 23. murb posted: 11.14.2014 - 11:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Driver B would win in that situation, Cooper. There's no bonus points for this race. Whoever finishes the highest wins the title. I kind of wish there were at least bonus points just to reward whoever actually RUNS the best out of the four, but oh well. 24. RaceFanX posted: 11.15.2014 - 12:20 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Marcos Ambrose makes his final NASCAR start before heading back to Australia and the V8 Supercars. His tenure in NASCAR was a modest success with a couple road course wins. He definitely raised the profile of the V8s in the US in the process and he proved to be a fan favorite who will be missed. It initially looks like 2015 will be the first Sprint Cup season since 2006 to feature an all-American lineup of series' regulars. 25. RaceFanX posted: 11.15.2014 - 12:22 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, and Ryan Newman: Winner Take All! Oddly under the new format there are no bonusnpoints for the title contenders if they lead laps. The point system is deliberately set so the best finisher gets the title. 26. The Long Shot posted: 11.15.2014 - 12:43 am Rate this comment: (2) (2) This will also be the final NASCAR race to be aired on ESPN. *cue massive amounts of cheering and whooping from the RR comments section" 27. murb posted: 11.15.2014 - 1:02 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Marcos Ambrose makes his final NASCAR start before heading back to Australia and the V8 Supercars." You know, since he's running for Penske over there, I honestly wouldn't be shocked to see him come back and make a couple road course cameos in a Cup or NXS car for them. With his talent in equipment like that, you'd pretty much be guaranteed a win. So as long as his V8 Supercar schedule lines up right, I wouldn't be surprised if we see that at some point. 28. joey2448 posted: 11.15.2014 - 4:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Gordon's 32nd top ten start of 2014" You mean 23rd top-10 start of 2014? "Am I the only one that hates that this race starts so late and ends at night?" YES. 100 PERCENT AGREE. "So as long as his V8 Supercar schedule lines up right, I wouldn't be surprised if we see that at some point." Similar to the IndyCar series, the V8 Supercar series doesn't run almost every weekend. Because they run three to four races in one weekend, there are a lot of off-weekends, meaning Ambrose could possibly run one or two NASCAR road course races (although I think he'll be home for good, since the travel would be a bitch). As far as the championship is concerned, I'm gonna be pulling for Harvick the most. I think he needs a championship to become a lock for the NASCAR Hall of Fame. He's won everything (including every crown jewel event) there is to win except the title. But I've been getting the feeling that Hamlin is gonna sneak away with his first title, and a lot of that has to do with gut feelings and funny superstitions. I saw both Michael Waltrip AND Kenny Wallace post on Twitter that they believe Hamlin's gonna win it; plus there is a video floating out there somewhere of "Bonsai the Bearcat" of the Miami Zoo that picked Hamlin to win it. Take that for what it's worth. 29. joey2448 posted: 11.15.2014 - 4:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, if Tony Stewart doesn't win Sunday (he starts 28th), this will become his first winless Cup season ever, going back to his rookie year in 1999! 30. HouseOfPenske posted: 11.15.2014 - 7:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Next year, in order to shake up the Chase even further, NASCAR should grant exemptions to Milka Duno and John Wes to run the final 10 races. 31. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.15.2014 - 8:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Since Gordon is out of the points, he has a good chance to win this one. I never said he couldn't win in October and November, just not when he needs to for points ('95, '96, '97, '01, '02, '04, '07, '14). 32. ii posted: 11.15.2014 - 8:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) I feel like NASCAR is trying a little too hard to make Homestead important. They could at least make the season finale take place at a decent track. 33. dennyfan11 posted: 11.15.2014 - 8:59 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Notable lasts in this race. Last race for Carl Edwards at Roush. Last race for Trevor Bayne at Wood Brothers. Last race for Joe Gibbs as a 3 car team. Last race for Marcos Ambrose. Last race for Stanley as a RPM sponsor. Last race for 3M as Greg Biffle's sponsor. Last race for Steve Letarte as Dale Jr's crew chief. Last race for National Guard sponsorship. Last race on ESPN. and several others. 34. MAR posted: 11.15.2014 - 9:55 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) As far as the championship race goes im a 100% rooting for either Logano or Harvick to win it. But honestly Newman or Hamlin winning would finally convince Brian France he is an idiot. The old chase wasnt great but it wasnt horrible and the classic point system was simply the best hands down. At least the best driver and team won each and every year. Now the chase is basically short sprint races where guys act like teenagers and fight and run people over to to advance to the next round. 35. Daniel posted: 11.15.2014 - 10:20 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Go Gordon! 36. ii posted: 11.15.2014 - 11:03 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Oh, and it's a bit surprising nobody mentioned Allgaier got his best start of the season: 14th. 37. epzik8 posted: 11.15.2014 - 11:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Second practice was just about the same as the first. 38. epzik8 posted: 11.15.2014 - 12:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Never mind, that was yesterday's. 39. The Long Shot posted: 11.15.2014 - 12:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman busted a splitter in practice, so he'll have to change it out. Don't think there'll be any penalty as a result, though. 40. RaceFanX posted: 11.15.2014 - 12:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "ESPN, the worldwide leader in motorsports coverage presents Speed World!" I'll miss ESPN when they leave but someday they may be back. Here's wishing their cast and crew the best. 41. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.15.2014 - 1:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Last race for Joe Gibbs as a 3 car team." *So long as sponsorship exists to fund 4 teams. "This will also be the final NASCAR race to be aired on ESPN. *cue massive amounts of cheering and whooping from the RR comments section"" Regardless of how the race goes and who wins the big trophy, ESPN will spend 4 hours plus tomorrow doing what they do best; patting themselves on the back. 42. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.15.2014 - 1:23 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) I know a lot of people disagree, but I honestly will not have a problem with any one of the Championship 4 winning the championship. I like all 4 of them. And I also disagree with the notion that the champion has to be the best team and driver. Maybe NASCAR and Sprint could create a second, Heisman trophy-like award to give to the season's overall best driver. 43. Aaron posted: 11.15.2014 - 1:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I haven't got much of a rooting interest for the title either. As a Jr fan I had a bad feeling this weekend was gonna end in a terrible finish and there's just been no speed this weekend. 44. racefangurl posted: 11.15.2014 - 1:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Schroeder51 and epzik8, I'm with you guys! And murb and MAR, you have pretty good attitudes as well. Anyone that believes in Joey as a strong possibility has the right attitude IMO, basically. I believe, as long he can do like he did at this track last year, he has a chance to challenge Harvick. Hamlin has a shot if the strong contenders both have issues and Newman probably won't quite make it. He'd have to benefit from the stronger contenders' bad luck to have a real shot, even. Even if Harvick and Logano had issues, I still think Newman would be the underdog if Hamlin was in the fight yet, given how Hamlin's the defending winner of this race. 45. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 11.15.2014 - 2:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I personally wouldn't have that much of a problem with Denny winning it. Now that I've thought about it for almost an entire week, I would actually rather have him win it than Newman. Nothing against Newman, but when you compare the two of them, Denny has for sure had the better season. Denny not only has more top five and top tens than Newman, but he has also contended for multiple wins (Daytona 500, Talladega in the Spring which he actually DID win, Bristol Night Race before Harvick wrecked him, Fall Martinsville), while Newman has only contended for one (Fall Talladega)." I'm with you Murb. I actually have Hamlin winning the whole thing with Joey and Harvick virtually tied for 2nd. The way i see Newman winning it is if Hamlin, Joey and Harvick shot themselves in the foot. Newman just doesn't have the speed of the other 3. 46. Dale JR DWI swept under the rug posted: 11.15.2014 - 4:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (6) A 2007 DWI traffic stop in the east bound exit lane leaving Charlotte-Douglass Airport was performed on Dale Earnhardt JR in a model year Hummer. It was subsequently swept under the rug through a LOT of greasework in the days afterward. Nevertheless, he was essentially forced to drop Budweiser and switch to a much safer beverage, Mountain Diew, and later switched to Diet Dew. His 2001 Trespassing charge still holds, by the way. 47. The Long Shot posted: 11.15.2014 - 4:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So in light of a discussion topic brought up on the Truck page I have decided to create a new stat: WINCUP ("Wins If Not For Cup Drivers"). Sucky name, I know, but it gets the point across. The stat is ridiculously easy to calculate; just find the highest finishing Nationwide or Truck regular in the field, and there you have it. I've gone through the entire Truck season for this year, and I will post more updates as I go along (not year-by-year, just periodically throughout). Here are the full 2014 results: 1. Darrell Wallace Jr.: 6 2. Matt Crafton: 5 3. Erik Jones: 3 4. Ryan Blaney: 2 4. Timothy Peters: 2 4. Johnny Sauter: 2 7. Jeb Burton: 1 7. Cole Custer: 1 48. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.15.2014 - 7:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) WINCUP, I like that. That is cool. 49. racefangurl posted: 11.15.2014 - 8:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Tomorrow, it's over and this will be a football and basketball site with racing tidbits. I'll use it as a b-ball site, at least. WINCUP sounds a little like Winston Cup. I watched that a little in the 2nd half of the 90's, as well as 2000, Winston Cup. A magazine I read called that a cigarette ad in an article about cigarettes and sports. "If Winston Cup can't exist without Winston, isn't it really more cigarette ad than sport?" Very close to that at least. It's right enough you get the idea, if it's off at all 50. Eric posted: 11.15.2014 - 8:55 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) Poster 46 posted False information on Dale Jr. What happened in 2001 was true, but not in 2007 for a 2007 DWI traffic stop in the east bound exit lane leaving Charlotte-Douglass Airport. The other thing is does poster 46 actually have proof that 2007 incident being covered up. The fact is Dale Jr. was going to leave DEI after 2007 season a first place. What happened with Bud was not what poster 46 typed a first place. The fact is Rick Hendrick couldn't have Bud as a sponsor since he already had Pepsi as a sponsor. Pepsi actually has been one of Jeff Gordon's sponsors for a long time dating back to 1997. That means Rick has ties with pepsi way before Mountain dew was a sponsor for Dale Jr. The company that manufactures Mountain Dew actually is Pepsi and that is easy for anyone to understand how easy it was for Hendrick giving Dale Jr. Mountain dew. I do know that that a Security person at Dale's Bar arrested for selling drugs in the bar back in 2008. 51. murb posted: 11.15.2014 - 9:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Denny had by far the best 10 lap averages out of the four in Happy Hour. I'm seriously starting to think he's gonna be a major player in this. 52. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.15.2014 - 10:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "The fact is Rick Hendrick couldn't have Bud as a sponsor since he already had Pepsi as a sponsor. Pepsi actually has been one of Jeff Gordon's sponsors for a long time dating back to 1997." Now wait a minute...Didn't Ricky Craven and Wally Dallenbach Jr. drive a Budweiser car for Hendrick during the some of the same years that Gordon was there with Pepsi as a sponsor? 53. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.15.2014 - 10:35 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Well, Auburn got whooped. Worst game since the 2012 Iron Bowl. Oh well, there's still a chance to travel to Tuscaloosa, beat Bama, and ruin their season. We can be 1-11, but if that one win is against the Crimson Tide, then it was a good season for Auburn. 54. Eric posted: 11.15.2014 - 10:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Zachary Shawn, That is true. The catch is did the writing the contract changed over time. Do you also have information about what poster 46 talks about in terms of A 2007 DWI traffic stop in the east bound exit lane leaving Charlotte-Douglass Airport was performed on Dale Earnhardt JR in a model year Hummer? I am asking that because sounds to me that you are supporting poster 46's claim of Dale Jr. being pulled over in 2007 for a DWI since you are after me statement about sponsorship, not poster 46's claim of the 2007 incident being subsequently swept under the rug through a LOT of greasework in the days afterward. 55. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.15.2014 - 11:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As far as I know, Dale Jr. has never been charged with a DUI. It may be easy to use celebrity status to make a criminal charge go away, but I can't imagine a situation where an entire arrest can just be completely be forgotten outside of using supernatural means to erase people's memory*. Somebody, a cop, a guard, someone else in jail that night would have spilled the beans. That's where most conspiracy theories fall flat...it's damn near impossible to keep at least one person in a group of people from telling the secrets. *No, I don't actually believe in supernatural mind wiping procedures. 56. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 12:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This has already been semi-reported, but Ryan Blaney will run 12 races next season for the Wood Brothers in the Cup Series. In addition, Penske has said he may field a third car for Blaney in a few other races as well. 57. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Now that IndyCar doesn't do it anymore, I honestly think Auto Club Speedway in Fontana would be a good place to host the season finale. Others tracks I think would do a good job: Atlanta, Daytona, and Las Vegas. I like Homestead, but I think it's time to move on. 58. 23andJoe posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) If the events the troll in post #46 described had actually happened, everyone would have known within seconds. Don't feed the troll. (And frankly that post should probably be deleted - that sort of claim can have legal implications. Defamation is a thing, people. So's libel.) 59. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Defamation is a thing, people. So's libel." Yeah it should be deleted, but the legal standard for a public figure like Dale Earnhardt Jr. is an extremely high one to clear and is almost never successful in court. For more info see: "actual malice" and New York Times v. Sullivan. 60. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sad news: Bill Schmitt, the four-time West Series champion, passed away on the 8th at the age of 78. 61. 23andJoe posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Zack - True, but it'd be nuked posthaste if somebody tried to stick that in Wikipedia without heavy citation, for that very reaosn, hence my comment. Hinch - Ouch, that's sad news. :( 62. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:18 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) Yesterday appears to be the closest Matt will come to winning anything this year... 63. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:01 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) Stupid Thug U (that's Miami for those that don't follow college football, which is run as non sensically as NASCAR only it is popular). I actually root for them for once in my life to beat the Criminoles (that's Florida State) since Jameis Winston is literally the worst human being ever, and he has a coach, athletic department, and entire town protecting him while he sexually assaults, steals, yells stuff in student hall meetings that would get anyone else tossed right out of a university, etc. And what does "The U" do? They totally shit the bed after being up 23-10. Man I hate the Hurricanes. 64. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Serious question...if Kurt does end up losing his ride in the 41, then who takes his place? There aren't very many good divers who don't already have deals in place in Trucks, Xfinity, or Cup. Maybe it could become an ensemble ride split between guys like Regan, Chase, Ty, and others until a permanent driver can be found in 2015. Or maybe it would shut down completely, which would be unfortunate. 65. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "They totally shit the bed after being up 23-10." This happens WAY, WAY, WAY too often with teams playing Florida State for it to be a coincidence, including Auburn in the National Championship last year. I hate to be a conspiracy theorist, but I suspect point shaving may play a role. In fact, Jameis "I scrong then" Winston has already been accused of it in their game against Louisville in order to help a friend who goes to the University of Alabama at Birmingham win a bet. Also, I found out recently that Miami is a non-sectarian, private school. I was actually really shocked to find that out. 66. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^I've been aware of that for years because they are one of the few private meteorology schools in the country. 67. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Ima big Canes fan it sucked to see how we blew a lead againt FSU but they got badly exposed last night Fsu sucks they backed into a championship last year that wont happen this year. And also btw why is everyone complaining about homestead bein the season finale its way better track than las vegas and that oversized king mattress at Auto club speedway where the racing is awful. 68. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "And also btw why is everyone complaining about homestead bein the season finale its way better track than las vegas and that oversized king mattress at Auto club speedway where the racing is awful. " We don't watch the same sport obviously. Homestead is amongst the two or three worst tracks the series has to offer. 69. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) I don't know if anyone is aware, but some publications (most notably The Nation) are trying to turn the Kurt Busch deal into a race deal (as in "if he was black he would already be fired, suspended, and charged and it would be all over the media"). Maybe there is an element of truth to that, I don't know, but the story was obviosuly written with the intent of stirring up strong feelings from people of all races and I hope NASCAR fans are smart enough to stay out of that. Also, Representative Jackie Speier (D-California) has written a letter to Mike Helton calling upon NASCAR to suspend Busch and accusing NASCAR of contributing to a culture in which violence against women isn't take seriously. NASCAR certainly isn't obligated to give Kurt Busch due process (only the government has to grant due process, not private entities), but I think NASCAR's policy of waiting until an official charge comes down from the authorities is the best policy. I personally think Patricia Driscoll's story has a lot of credibility, but someone can't lose their job just because someone made an accusation against them. There was a time in France where a mere accusation could lead to severe punishments for the accused without any proof whatsoever. That period was called the Reign of Terror. Also, I have a problem with a Member of Congress using their position as such to try and threaten a private organization into taking an action, but that's another story entirely. 70. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Homestead is amongst the two or three worst tracks the series has to offer." Well, I think Homestead is easily the King of the one-and-a-half milers and one of the top seven tracks in NASCAR, but it's place at the end of the season has gotten stale. It should be changed up (preferably ever year, but we all know that's not going to happen). Especially if we are going to stack with a one race, winner-take-all format. And MAR, the general consensus-and I agree with it-is that Auto Club isn't the same track it used to be. It's a fun track now where tire conservation is at a premium. Also, Las Vegas may not be the best track in the world, but the banquet is held there and the city is very welcoming to NASCAR. Much more so than New York City used to be, which is really unfortunate because Manhattan really is an awesome place. 71. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 9:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Homestead before the banking was awful but since 03 homestead is basically the second or third best 1.5 mile track behind Atlanta and Charlotte. Im my opinion if they wanna change it end the season at Talladega or Atlanta again. 72. David posted: 11.16.2014 - 10:14 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "There was a time in France where a mere accusation could lead to severe punishments for the accused without any proof whatsoever. That period was called the Reign of Terror." Ah yes, good old Robespierre. Ever hear of the Salem Witch Trials? That time was legitimately scary. For that matter how about McCarthyism and the Red Scare in the 1950s? 73. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 10:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^Salem Witch Trials were very over-exaggerated, however... whereas the McCarthy Hearings and the Reign of Terror were VERY real. 74. David posted: 11.16.2014 - 11:03 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "^Salem Witch Trials were very over-exaggerated, however..." That's fair, considering we just read through The Crucible in school and my assessment of the trials was based mostly on that story. Coincidentally enough, Arthur Miller wrote the play as an allegory of McCarthyism...and then Congress proceeded to question him about it. 75. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 11:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^Went through the pornographic movie version of that play in college two years ago. 76. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 11:38 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Serious question...if Kurt does end up losing his ride in the 41, then who takes his place? There aren't very many good divers who don't already have deals in place in Trucks, Xfinity, or Cup. Maybe it could become an ensemble ride split between guys like Regan, Chase, Ty, and others until a permanent driver can be found in 2015. Or maybe it would shut down completely, which would be unfortunate." I think Regan Smith would get the ride without a doubt. He has the experience, his results in the #7 have been absolutely good enough to warrant a Cup ride, and it would give Junior the opportunity to put Alex Bowman in the #7 full-time (since I think Dale is becoming a huge fan of Bowman's). The only question mark would be sponsorship (surprise, surprise), but I think it would end up working out. "I don't know if anyone is aware, but some publications (most notably The Nation) are trying to turn the Kurt Busch deal into a race deal (as in "if he was black he would already be fired, suspended, and charged and it would be all over the media"). Maybe there is an element of truth to that, I don't know, but the story was obviosuly written with the intent of stirring up strong feelings from people of all races and I hope NASCAR fans are smart enough to stay out of that. Also, Representative Jackie Speier (D-California) has written a letter to Mike Helton calling upon NASCAR to suspend Busch and accusing NASCAR of contributing to a culture in which violence against women isn't take seriously. NASCAR certainly isn't obligated to give Kurt Busch due process (only the government has to grant due process, not private entities), but I think NASCAR's policy of waiting until an official charge comes down from the authorities is the best policy. I personally think Patricia Driscoll's story has a lot of credibility, but someone can't lose their job just because someone made an accusation against them. There was a time in France where a mere accusation could lead to severe punishments for the accused without any proof whatsoever. That period was called the Reign of Terror. Also, I have a problem with a Member of Congress using their position as such to try and threaten a private organization into taking an action, but that's another story entirely." Simply more cases of politicians/media figures attempting to insert their opinions on a subject they know zilch about. I personally am more inclined to believe Driscoll's side of the story, mainly because Kurt is the exact type of person that I would have believed capable of going on this type of tirade, but you're absolutely right in that no punishment should be given until the legal process has played out. While I agree with the congresswoman's point on violence against women needing to be taken more seriously, I would also like to know why she chose to bash NASCAR and not the NFL, which has had much more blatant and well-documented incidents of this over the past year or so (Ray Rice, Greg Hardy, etc.). 77. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 12:01 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) As far as i see it Kurt Busch is innocent until proven guilty. 78. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 12:13 pm Rate this comment: (2) (2) Homestead is far from the worst track on schedule, and is the best 1.5 miler on the schedule. Like I've said before, I don't get how people can pine for Old Atlanta, but then turn around and bitch about Homestead which is the spiritual successor to Old Atlanta. But I do think the final needs to be rotated every season, especially now with the "Top Finisher Take All/Final Four" format. About the Kurt Busch/41 situation. I wonder if Hendrick would be inclined to trade Kasey Kahne over to the 41 so he can move Chase Elliott up the 5. And now my thoughts on the final four. Harvick: The one I absolutely want to see win the championship. The 4 team has been "freaky fast" all season long and if it wasn't for horrid luck & an inept pit-crew that couldn't even do a fuel only stop without losing 10 positions, Harvick would probably be boasting 8-10 wins this season instead of 4. Hamlin: I would have absolutely no problem with Hamlin taking the Cup this season. He has been a legitimate contender multiple times in previous seasons and this season JGR/Toyota has been down as a whole, so I wouldn't put his average performance down as all his fault. Plus I don't get why everybody is so uppity about him missing a race. He was sidelined by a freak medical emergency. It's not like he decided "I'm just gonna take a vacation this week". Newman: I legitimately want to see Ryan Newman win the Cup. Not because "LOL take BF" but because I have been a fan of Newman's since he entered Cup and I personally feel he should have won the 2003 Cup and this would make up for it for me. Logano: I don't want to see him win it, but at the same time I would have no problem with it at all. Logano & the 22 team have been the class of the field all season long and would be more than deserving of the Cup. I don't care for Logano, but would like to see The Captain pull off a trifecta (Sprint Cup Championship, IndyCar Championship & The Holy Grail Nationwide Owners Championship) 79. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 12:20 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I think that Harvick or Logano will win, I want Hamlin to win, but in a weird way i would also like Newman to win because of all the irony it would create (As long as he doesn't win), as this system encourages winning. 80. jabber1990 posted: 11.16.2014 - 12:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "And MAR, the general consensus-and I agree with it-is that Auto Club isn't the same track it used to be. It's a fun track now where tire conservation is at a premium. Also, Las Vegas may not be the best track in the world, but the banquet is held there and the city is very welcoming to NASCAR. Much more so than New York City used to be, which is really unfortunate because Manhattan really is an awesome place." what is the weather like second/third weekend of November in NYC as opposed to Vegas? and since many of us are on the side of taking the last race to Vegas, that would mean taking the race to NYC, where in the NYC Area are they going to run the race? they can't even agree on if there is going to be a track in Staten Island, and if they race in Jersey they'll get shot, or have their tires stolen 81. jabber1990 posted: 11.16.2014 - 12:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) nobody said anything about what Michael Vick did as a matter of fact he's still playing right? Ray Rice, the NFL pretended that never happened, so the media did too Kurt Busch, no evidence to prove he did or didn't do something but yet HE has to be suspended from the sport? 82. Seagal posted: 11.16.2014 - 12:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) -Logano just rubs me the wrong way. And his incessant giggling during interviews is Grade A annoying. -Harvick has shown more immaturity than usual this year and it has put me off a little. -Hamlin says some questionable things sometimes but is a likable guy. -Newman I don't care about and he comes off as very rude in interviews. Overall, I'd like to see Denny win, but based on seasons I think Harvick is the most deserving. None of them will win this race though. Kenseth will take care of that. :D 83. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 1:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "nobody said anything about what Michael Vick did as a matter of fact he's still playing right? Ray Rice, the NFL pretended that never happened, so the media did too Kurt Busch, no evidence to prove he did or didn't do something but yet HE has to be suspended from the sport?" Lol...those first two statements are about as false as I've ever seen. The media DESTROYED both Vick and Rice; the only reason Rice was given an indefinite ban was because of how much pressure the NFL was facing from the media. 84. Eric posted: 11.16.2014 - 1:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) TS1420, you have to be careful of rotating the final race of the season. I am saying that because last night it snowed in theMidwest and the possible temperatures. Today the high temperature for Chicago land is 34 degrees it supposed to start to have snow flurries at 1 and 4 in the afternoon. Kansas Motor speedway is supposed to be only 26 degrees as a high temperature today. MIS also is supposed to 32 degrees as a high today. The temperatures I mentioned are colder than the race at New Hampshire in 2001. 85. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 1:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Homestead is amongst the two or three worst tracks the series has to offer." lol, I guess you've never seen races at Texas, Las Vegas, Kentucky, or Kansas. I think Homestead is hands down one of the best 1.5 milers. "Serious question...if Kurt does end up losing his ride in the 41, then who takes his place?" At some point, I think Kasey Kahne would end up in that car (I actually see him ending up at SHR regardless once Chase Elliott gets the #5 - as long as he takes Farmer's with him as a sponsor, I have to believe they'd be smart enough to replace Danica with him if she is pathetic again next year). For the short term though, Regan Smith would probably drive it. 86. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 1:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "what is the weather like second/third weekend of November in NYC as opposed to Vegas?" I was merely alluding to the fact that Las Vegas has been more welcoming to the NASCAR Banquet than Manhattan was and would, thus, make a good city to host the season finale. A race in the New York City area would not be impossible (except for, you know, the fact there isn't a track there), but it would be what I would describe as dodgy. I went to Manhattan last Christmas and it snowed on Tuesday, but was 70 degrees on Sunday. 87. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 1:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As I said, I really like Homestead, but I do agree that it's time to make a change for the finale. I'd like to see Atlanta return to the finale spot. Or maybe even Fontana now that that track has put on some great races in recent years. 88. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 11.16.2014 - 1:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) I myself never really liked the racing at Homestead, before or after the banking was changed. With the exception of Stewart tearing through the feild twice in 2011, I can't think of anytime that Homestead has put on a decent show. Though I would say it is better the Chicago and Vegas. 89. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 2:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Championship race the potential long term and short term effects of each of the 4 title contenders. Kevin Harvick- if he wins this championship makes him a hall of famer with out a doubt. If he doesnt win i dont think he ever gets this close again i know he will win races but this close to a championship would be a long shot to happen again. Cause then the focus would be on Stewart not Harvick. Joey Logano- If he wins the title he could be on a run to possible win 2-3 championship not back to back but within the next decade. If Joey doesnt win he could be the Next carl edwards meaning he would a championship losing hangover and would be as strong as Brad Next year. Denny Hamlin- If he wins he would redeem himself from throwing one away a couple years ago and he would remain relevant on JGR's roster. If he doesn't win he could be kicked to the 4th guy on JGR roster and also his contract is up at the end of next season JGR has a boat load of talent waiting in line. Ryan Newman- If he wins he would bring RCR their first title in almost 20 years it would make chevy realize they should step up support on Childress cars so long term RCR would be in great shape -If he doest win and struggles next year i could easily see TY Dillion talking his ride. 90. Rockstar posted: 11.16.2014 - 2:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt Busch is innocent until proven guilty. Show me some evidence besides a woman who can't take a break up. Until then, I haven't seen any evidence. 91. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 2:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Today marks the final race on ESPN, and the final time we get to see the ESPN crew phoning in their coverage this year. Here's hoping NBC and Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte will do a much better job covering this sport than ESPN did the past 8 years! 92. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 2:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Kurt Busch is innocent until proven guilty." I know this is how the American legal system works, but you would be AMAZED at how many people think the other way; that you are guilty until proven innocent. 93. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 2:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Homestead not putting on a good show?????? Cup Race 2011, 2010, 2003, 2004 Nationwide race 2014,2013, 2003, Truck race 2014, 2012, 2003, 2004, 2005, All classics go YouTube them When the hell has Auto Club Speedway had an exciting race are you kidding me???? The track went from two races to one for a reason it was a borefest like i said an oversize king mattress. 94. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 2:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Homestead is a boring track...? Before they reconfigured it, sure, but since then, Homestead has probably put on some of the best racing of any mile-and-a-half track (look at the Truck and Nationwide races the last two nights!). It's the only mile-and-a-half on the circuit that is a true oval, and as mentioned, is rather similar (not IDENTICAL, just similar) to Atlanta's old configuration. Like someone else said, I find it weird that someone would prefer Atlanta's old configuration yet dislike a track similar in design to it. Having said that, they probably SHOULD rotate the finale if they're going to keep this big "winner-take-all" Chase gimmick around; it doesn't feel quite right that ONE track should always be weighted the most in a season no matter what... 95. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 2:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Kurt Busch is innocent until proven guilty. Show me some evidence besides a woman who can't take a break up. Until then, I haven't seen any evidence." Show me evidence that this woman simply "can't take a breakup". Until then, I will remain neutral on the case as I have been doing. 96. WinstonCup4Ever posted: 11.16.2014 - 2:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I would like to see Newman win the championship as he has quietly moved up through the ladder and pulled off an aggressive side during the final laps at Phoenix; however, my money is on Harvick just because he fairly does well under pressure and hopefully won't be distracted by anything that may strip his hopes, like in previous years. Otherwise, Logano would also be a good choice as he seems to let NOTHING distract him and has put total focus on the championship and nothing else. Nothing against Hamlin, but to me at least, I feel he'll succumb to Mark Martin type pressure and he'll loose it all. Hopefully though, Denny can prove me wrong. 97. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 2:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And for the record, I'm neutral on the Kurt Busch situation...until we learn more about this case. It's best not to jump to conclusions in cases like this...but people will and already have. Like I said, in a court of law, you're innocent until proven guilty, but in the court of public opinion and in the eyes of the media, you're guilty until proven innocent (and sometimes, guilty DESPITE being proven innocent...for instance, there are still plenty of people who firmly believe that Tony Stewart murdered Kevin Ward on-track in cold blood and believe he got away with murder). I also find it kind of funny that the congresswoman is personally calling for NASCAR to suspend Kurt NOW...first of all, as I said above, it's apparent that she has already jumped to conclusions and decided that Kurt is already guilty, and second...she thinks NASCAR not suspending Kurt shows a lack of respect for domestically abused women, yet she had no comments when the whole Ray Rice situation was unfolding in the NFL...? Like TLS said, I agree with her opinion that domestic abuse against women needs to be taken more seriously (I'm firmly against domestic abuse of any kind: man, woman, child-NOBODY deserves to be hurt by someone who supposedly loves them), but I just find that kind of odd... Having said that, I will still say what I said last time, if Kurt really IS guilty of assaulting his ex-girlfriend, I hope he never drives another race car in his lifetime, and we never see nor hear from him again in NASCAR. 98. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 2:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, if Ryan Newman wins the title, he could tie inaugural NASCAR Cup Series champion Red Byron for fewest top 5s in a championship season...and that was in a season with EIGHT races! 99. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.16.2014 - 2:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I have some issues with the accusations Kurt's ex is making. First of all, she felt like Kurt was in distress, so she drives up to see him and TAKES HER YOUNG SON WITH HER! I'm not a parent, but why would you take your young child into an environment with somebody you feel is in distress? That just sounds wrong. Also, she FLAT OUT ADMITTED she waited so long to come out with these allegations because she was in a custody dispute with the young child's father, and didn't want them to know this. So she purposely withheld information to keep custody of her son when she probably doesn't need to have him. Either way, she is using her own son as a pawn. The whole allegations smell fishy to me. I've never been a fan of Kurt personally or professionally, but at this moment, I am inclined to believe Kurt. 100. ii posted: 11.16.2014 - 2:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) They WAYYYYYYYY overdid this whole thing. 101. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 2:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "They WAYYYYYYYY overdid this whole thing." At least they haven't gone ALL out and added a half-time show for this race to be MORE like the Super Bowl... ...and now that I said that, NASCAR probably WILL do this in the next couple of years... 102. David posted: 11.16.2014 - 2:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "They WAYYYYYYYY overdid this whole thing." My curiosity has been piqued. I must catch a replay of this race sometime this week and see what ESPN did. 103. NASCAR's troll posted: 11.16.2014 - 2:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "At least they haven't gone ALL out and added a half-time show for this race to be MORE like the Super Bowl... ...and now that I said that, NASCAR probably WILL do this in the next couple of years... " What an incredible idea! This is the greatest thought to ever come out of any mind ever! You should be made king of the world! We MUST institute this as soon as possible because it will absolutely guarantee that our ratings will be higher than even the Super Bowl!!!! 104. 23andJoe posted: 11.16.2014 - 2:44 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) >I know this is how the American legal system works, but you would be AMAZED at how many people think the other way; that you are guilty until proven innocent. And in this sort of situation, the de facto way things are nowadays is simply guilty - there is no proving innocent, at least in the public eye. I wonder how many people still think the Duke lacrosse case was a slam-dunk conviction? It's true that the story is credible given Kurt's past behavior, but it's also true that the story is fishy as all heck, as DSFF points out. >"I don't know if anyone is aware, but some publications (most notably The Nation) are trying to turn the Kurt Busch deal into a race deal Because there are Certain Factions who will do anything to inflame 'race relations' because it's politically haymaking for them to do so, or at least they think it is, mostly because they're frightened to death that if they don't convince the black voting block that the 'other side' is Out To Get Them then they'll realise they're of no value to their 'current side' as anything other than a bought-and-paid-for captive voting block. But enough of that, it's almost time to go racing. I'll put 10 quatloos on Joey Logano to win it all. 105. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 2:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "But enough of that, it's almost time to go racing. I'll put 10 quatloos on Joey Logano to win it all. " I don't think Vegas accepts quatloos as a valid currency, although I will! 106. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 2:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Of course ESPN would find a way to make Dos Jotas part of this... 107. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 2:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) almost time! 108. epzik8 posted: 11.16.2014 - 2:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's going to be a bittersweet race, that's for sure. 109. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Initially thought I was going to flip back and forth between this and the end of the Vikings-Bears game, but with how bad those two teams are playing, looks like it's going to be NASCAR all the wa, baby! 110. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) *way 111. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Allan Bestwick, Dale Jarrett, and Andy Petree sign on for the final time. 112. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is it. After 9 months and 36 races, the time has come for the champion to be crowned. 4 drivers enter, 1 will win. This race will not be betweemn the 43. It will be between these 4. The other 39 are irrelevant. At the end of the day, whoever fairs best will be crowned the NASCAR Sprint Cup trophy. 113. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The command has been delivered, and the engines have been fired. 114. WinstonCup4Ever posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @109: That's what I'm doing. I'll focus on the NFL next week or I'll watch MNF tomorrow. 115. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I hope this race for the championship ends with major Controversy like the 2003 Truck series finale 116. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't think it will, MAR. i think it will not have much mayhem or chaos. I think there will be no controversy. 117. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I hope this race for the championship ends with major Controversy like the 2003 Truck series finale" You *hope* it does? I have a bad feeling that it will, but I certainly hope we have a clean race. 118. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The cars roll out! 119. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "yet she had no comments when the whole Ray Rice situation was unfolding in the NFL...?" This will be the last thing I say about the issue, but for what it's worth and in the interest of being fair, I do think the congresswoman made comments about the NFL, as well. 120. hyperacti posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race kind of feels like a chore to watch LTNS, racing-reference comment section 121. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I have a bad feeling that it will, but I certainly hope we have a clean race." Same here...unfortunately, I'm personally anticipating an absolute clusterf**k of a race with a BUNCH of debris cautions and utter chaos at the end. Hopefully this doesn't happen, though... 122. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) OK, this is kind of bold, but I think Tony Stewart wins the race and Joey Logano wins the championship. 123. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think it will be clean. 124. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bring it on home Denny! You can do it! 125. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) One lap until green... 126. Ernest T. posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:25 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) I think this will be one of the most boring, anti-climactic races in recent years, will end up crowning an undeserving champion, and will leave whatever NASCAR fans are still left with a bad taste until February (if those fans come back at all). And the idiot bastard child who inherited NASCAR in order to run it into the ground will insist that everything couldn't be better, as he grabs his fiddle and watches NASCAR burn to the ground. A bit hyperbolic there, but I still think this race is going to be a real snoozer and fan interest (today and in the future) is going to continue to plummet as it has been doing for a decade. 127. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) GREEN IS OUT! 128. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Three-wide for second on the first lap. 129. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) COME ON DENNY! 130. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick moves to second. 131. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick's the fastest car on the track right now. 132. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin and Harvick both look really strong early in this race. 133. David posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "After 9 months and 36 races" Your attempt to be dramatic left your comment factually incorrect. We've only completed 35 races. I also wouldn't call the other 39 drivers "irrelevant". Any one of them can affect the outcome of the championship, directly or indirectly. "COME ON DENNY!" Please tell me we're not in for 3 more hours of this. 134. harvickfan4 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:33 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) COME ON KEVIN! 135. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Running order of the big 4. Harvick: 2nd Hamlin: \5th Logano:8th Newman: 17th. 136. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Debris caution already. They better not be doing this shit all day. 137. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution flag out already. 138. epzik8 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good opening run. 139. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:33 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) How do you have a debris caution in less than 10 laps? Clean the damn track before the race starts. 140. Jacques posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thought i'd pop in! 141. newmanfan31 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) COME ON RYAN! 142. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution is out for a cable. 143. David posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "134. harvickfan4 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:33 pm Rate this comment: Like this comment (0) Dislike this comment (0) COME ON KEVIN!" I chortled at this. 144. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Caution flag is out for a cable hanging off the catchfence. Man, they're really looking for excuses for cautions, aren't they? 145. loganofan22 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:34 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) COME ON JOEY! 146. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It was for some type of cable that came unhooked from the flag stand or something. 147. kevinharvickfan#4 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) GOOOOOOOOOO HARVICK!!!!!!!!! 148. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 3 championship contenders restarting within four spots of each other. 149. David posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR.com's leaderboard has Reed Sorenson in fifth. Is this true? 150. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm OK with my trolling. It's in good spirit. 151. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That didn't take long. Harvick powers to the lead on the restart and pulls away from the rest of the field. 152. epzik8 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Blake Koch in the lead?! 153. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If nothing happens to Harvick he is gonna cruise to this. 154. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, Newman isn't going to be a factor in this barring some major issues happening to the other contenders. 155. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon has caught Harvick back and is trying to pass him for the lead. 156. Bradley Thomas posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Lap 11 caution for cable in grandstands 157. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick 1st, Hamlin 3rd, Logano 5th, and Newman 15th. 158. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Yeah, Newman isn't going to be a factor in this barring some major issues happening to the other contenders." It's a shame since Gordon, Harvick, and Hamlin are literally the three fastest cars, it seems like. 159. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Yeah, Newman isn't going to be a factor in this barring some major issues happening to the other contenders." That, or some major BS that happens late and allows his team to use strategy to put themselves up front at just the right time... 160. Bradley Thomas posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman running 15th right now. 161. BluesTravelerFan posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As usual the 4 car is fastest, but will they execute? 162. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Would d*ck bag Bradley Thomas stop with the lies like post #156? 163. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Is this going to be a cluster like 2011 where the title contenders conveniently had to battle for the win to decide the title? 164. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh look, Bradley Thomas, aka "That guy who tries to spread false information just to get some attention" is here again. Still haven't forgotten about him posting that the July Daytona race was going to be delayed weeks due to terroristic bomb threats against the speedway... 165. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon has now re-passed Harvick for the lead. Man, if he wins this race, that's REALLY going to be a bummer because if not for that one point he was behind that kept him out of the Chase, that COULD have been the championship for him... 166. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Would d*ck bag Bradley Thomas stop with the lies like post #156?" He is outrageous (remember when he said the July Daytona race was delayed for a terrorist attack???), but what he said in post #156 was actually true, from a certain point of view (Trademark Obi-Wan Kenobi, Return of the Jedi). 167. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin is catching Harvick for second, and Logano has caught Hamlin for third. 168. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick doesn't look nearly as fast as Hamlin and Logano on the long run. 169. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tony Stewart has fallen all the way back to 29th after restarting 8th on two tires. 170. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If 2nd-4th all wreck right now, and Newman coasts to a top-10 or top-5... 171. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon has a 2.9 second lead. 172. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Possible transmission issue for Kurt Busch. 173. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt Busch's transmission might be failing. How ironic. 174. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And according to NASCAR Jeff Gordon wasn't the best driver in 2014... 175. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) COME ON HAMLIN MAKE THE PASS! 176. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "If 2nd-4th all wreck right now" Okay, Allen Bestwick. 177. BluesTravelerFan posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:48 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) An early "decisive" pass by Joey. 178. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow. 3-way battle for second place and the championship lead with it. Logano dive-bombs the corner and goes from fourth to second. 179. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:48 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) "Hamlin is catching Harvick for second, and Logano has caught Hamlin for third." Somewhere, Brian France is twiddling his fingers saying "Yes. Yessss." (Trademark Emperor Palpatine, Return of the Jedi). 180. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:48 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Logano blows by both Harvick and Hamlin in one move. 181. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NOOOO! HAMLIN'S NOW 4TH!! 182. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bri-Bri right now is either elated or pissed that Harvick, Logano, and Hamlin are racing each other 230 laps before the end. 183. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:49 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Logano takes the point lead. 184. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Junior is now trying to pass Harvick and Hamlin for third and fourth. 185. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:50 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) As they run, Logano is the point leader. 186. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:50 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Okay, Logano looks like he'll be legit today after all. 187. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:50 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) ""If 2nd-4th all wreck right now" Okay, Allen Bestwick." The best term I can use to describe his obsession with wrecks would be "fetish". 188. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Don;t know if anyone is paying attention to the ticker, but Ryan Newman is slowly but surely moving up through the field. 189. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Josh Wise is driving a blank white car today? So used to seeing that car painted black... 190. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Don;t know if anyone is paying attention to the ticker, but Ryan Newman is slowly but surely moving up through the field. Like most races this year, he'll be in 5th with 50 laps to go and no one will know how he got there. 191. epzik8 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Three of the four Chasers are right next to each other. 192. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin is STILL trying to pass Harvick, and not having any success. Newman is now up to 11th. 193. jabber1990 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:55 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Somewhere, Brian France is twiddling his fingers saying "Yes. Yessss." (Trademark Emperor Palpatine, Return of the Jedi)." "Excellent"-Mr. Burns 194. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I can't speak for Allen Bestwick as I mute ESPN broadcasts on the occasions I am dumb enough to watch. 195. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tony Stewart has gone a lap down after restarting 8th. Looks like he'll be going winless for the first time in his career. 196. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jacques should be appearing soon with the rate Gordon is lapping cars. 197. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A disastrous scenario for your consideration (that I'm sure Allen Bestwick would approve of): What if ALL four Chase drivers were caught up in a wreck battling for position and had to go to the garage? I can only imagine the chaos that would unfurl in the comments section here if that happened... 198. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING. 199. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "What if ALL four Chase drivers were caught up in a wreck battling for position and had to go to the garage?" NASCAR would say "f*ck this sh*t" and crown Gordon the champion :D 200. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sure enough, many drivers and teams are reporting debris on the track. Look for a Jacques caution to be coming up soon. 201. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "A disastrous scenario for your consideration (that I'm sure Allen Bestwick would approve of): What if ALL four Chase drivers were caught up in a wreck battling for position and had to go to the garage?" At least they'd still be competing; albeit in the garage. What if 3 guys lose their engines and the new champion just has to drive around at minimum speed? 202. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Sure enough, many drivers and teams are reporting debris on the track. Look for a Jacques caution to be coming up soon." That's mental debris... 203. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon has a 3.4 second lead. 204. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "What if 3 guys lose their engines and the new champion just has to drive around at minimum speed?" That would suck. 205. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 3:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "Somewhere, Brian France is twiddling his fingers saying "Yes. Yessss." (Trademark Emperor Palpatine, Return of the Jedi)." "Goooood...Goooood..."-Giant bug from Family Guy 206. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman's dropping like a rock. He is down to 14th. 207. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brett Moffitt blows his engine. 208. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brett Moffit blows an engine, bringing out Caution number 2. 209. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Moffitt has hit the wall hard. Looks like Keselowski was involved as well. 210. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution flag for smoke from Brett Moffitt's car. Well...at least it wasn't Jacques... Brad Keselowski made a green-flag pit stop just before the caution come out. 211. Jacques posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oui! 212. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:01 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) That flared out side skirt on Logano's car is actually a fine piece of primitive engineering. 213. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Oui!" Sorry, Jacques, NASCAR hasn't called for you just yet. Don't worry, though, pal...your time will come before the end of this race... 214. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Its early but as i expected Newman was goin to be a non factor. 215. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What happened about Xtreme Motorsports. 216. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Need I remind people that Newman was the only guy that could run with Gordon and Johnson at Texas before the BS debris cautions started? 217. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin comes out of the pits in second. 218. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) YES! HAMLIN NOW HAS THE POINT LEAD! 219. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "What happened about Xtreme Motorsports." Yet another team that underestimated the costs of running in Sprint Cup and folded when they couldn't afford it. 220. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Keep in mind that the big players during the day, may not be not be the big players during the night. By the way, the "Yes. Yessss" line is actually from The Empire Strikes Back. My bad. 221. racefangurl posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Denny Hamlin 2nd, Joey Logano 3rd, Kevin Harvick 4th, Ryan Newman 11th. 222. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) HAMLIN TO THE LEAD!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! 223. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So, good luck for The Motorsports Group for 2015... 224. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:07 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Logano goes three wide to try to take the lead on the restart, but Hamlin walks away with the lead, much to the joy of dennyfan11. 225. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Logano overdrives turn one trying to make a power move and loses the lead. He's got one of the fastest cars, but he really needs to calm down and not do something stupid. 226. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) HOLD OFF LOGaNO!! 227. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman is fading backwards, huh...? He's running 9th. Gordon goes back to the lead, and Logano goes back around Hamlin. 228. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Both Logano and Harvick pass Hamlin! 229. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Look who's in 8th...***cue Jaws theme*** 230. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick now goes to second. And Jimmie Johnson is now in the picture... 231. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks like Hamlin may have scraped the wall a bit. 232. epzik8 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman is catching up. 233. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NOOOOO! Hamlin rubbed the wall! Goodbye championship.... 234. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman is starting to close in on the other three title contenders... 235. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Xtreme motorsports didn't shut down they raced a couple weeks ago with timmy hill. And The motorsports Group should be ok depending on who they hire. 236. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That last shred of hope is gone. 237. racefangurl posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) murb is right. 238. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "NOOOOO! Hamlin rubbed the wall! Goodbye championship...." Never have I seen somebody so willing to give up on their favorite driver when something goes wrong... 239. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin fighting with Logano. Look whos in 7th.... 240. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman is battling for fifth and on the verge of cracking the top 5... 241. racefangurl posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kevin Harvick 2nd, Joey Logano 4th, Denny Hamlin 5th, Ryan Newman 7th, 242. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "murb is right." I don't know what about, but okay. Newman to 6th. 243. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) TMG should hire Eric Darnell, or Chase Miller, because I miss you Chase^^.... 244. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Okay, I think it's fair to say I was wrong about Newman earlier. 245. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman on Logano! 246. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman now 6th. He's gonna vulture this one, just watch. 247. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) WOW, Newman is REALLY on a tear. He's blowing past Logano for fifth and is really on the move. He's actually one of the fastest cars on the whole track! 248. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano's car has taken a total nosedive. Newman goes by him for 5th. 249. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Less than 200 laps to go in this season. 250. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman just passed LOGANO! !!!!!! Are u kidding me lol. 251. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've said half a dozen times over the last 9 weeks, but it needs saying again... Ryan Newman is going to win this damn championship. 252. epzik8 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano is the lowest Chaser now :( 253. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I still think Newman is gonna have to do some crazy strategy stuff to win it. And/or have Harvick and maybe Hamlin have problems. 254. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin pressuring Johnson. 255. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) TMG hire chase miller? Erik Darnell? Those guys dont even race anymore 256. racefangurl posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kevin Harvick 2nd, Denny Hamlin 4th, Ryan Newman 5th, Joey Logano 6th. Talk about close! 257. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) All Chasers are in the top 6 along with Gordon and Johnson... Cream rising. 258. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Apparently, Johnson thinks he has a loose wheel. 259. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman is catching Hamlin and Johnson, and will probably soon be running 3rd. 260. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah...Chase Miller is the best driver...for the LASTCAR title. 261. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think Gordon has led more laps today than he has at any previous Homestead race. 262. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution for somebody hitting the wall. 263. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Car in the wall, possibly Brett Moffitt. 264. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Moffit hits the wall and caution is out. 265. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Moffitt hits the wall again, caution. 266. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Woo! Chiefs won and Broncos lost! Carry on. 267. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bad pit stop for Newman. 268. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman loses several spots in the pits. 269. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) YES YES YES YES YYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEESS!!! HAMLIN WAS OUT FRONT AHEAD OF THE OTHER 3 CONTENDERS! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! 270. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin's crew may win him the championship if they all pit on a late caution. 271. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Zackary Shawn which is more likely, a Newman championship or Alabama blowing out your Auburn Tigers in two weeks? 272. Benjamin Lowe posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:23 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) This is the last time that ESPN Televises a NASCAR race and let me just say to the fine folks at the Entertainment and Sports Programing Network Good Bye and Good Riddance as your shitty racing coverage will not be missed 273. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:23 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "YES YES YES YES YYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEESS!!! HAMLIN WAS OUT FRONT AHEAD OF THE OTHER 3 CONTENDERS! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Yup, David was right. Looks like dennyfan11 is acting as Denny Hamlin's official cheerleader today. 274. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If dennyfan11 keeps this up much longer, I may lose my sanity... 275. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) God damn it, dennyfan11. Stop stretching the page, dude. "This is the last time that ESPN Televises a NASCAR race and let me just say to the fine folks at the Entertainment and Sports Programing Network Good Bye and Good Riddance as your shitty racing coverage will not be missed" Well stated. 276. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mlka Duno, JW Townlet or Yeley are good choices for TMG no? 277. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:25 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Logano actually had a faster pit stop than Hamlin that time. 278. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wouldn't be shocked if The Motorsports Group put somebody like Milka in their car for next year...after all, it's easy money... 279. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Woo! Hamlin had a great restart! 280. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Benjamin Lowe, Wait to see how NBC/NBCSN is before you celebrate. 281. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I will miss my all time favorite driver in the broadcast booth. Thanks Dale! 282. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Larson gained about 12 spots through 1 and 2. 283. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman is trying to go three wide. 284. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman's being shuffled back now. 285. luigistarted06 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If Carl Edwards can manage to finish 10th in points, then the driver of the number 99 will have finished 10th in points for all 3 major series 286. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Wait to see how NBC/NBCSN is before you celebrate." Judging from what I've seen from Rick Allen and Jeff Burton on Nascar America, they will be ridiculously better than ESPN. 287. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano has a vibration. 288. racefangurl posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin 2nd, Harvick 3rd, Logano 4th, Newman 8th. 289. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano is reporting a vibration. 290. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) HOLD OF HARVICK DENNY! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!! 291. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 278: or more easily: Matt Dibenedeto 292. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! DENNY GOT PASSED BY HARVICK FOR THE POINT LEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :(:(:(:(:( 293. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Even in graphics alone, NBC is considerably better than ESPN. It wouldn't be difficult at all to be better in the commentating department. Junior pits for a flat tire. 294. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "HOLD OF HARVICK DENNY! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!!" Dude, there's over 150 laps left. Tone it down a little bit for now. Jr with an unscheduled pit stop. 295. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Junior is on pit road with a possible flat tire. 296. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! DENNY GOT PASSED BY HARVICK FOR THE POINT LEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :(:(:(:(:( " Would you cut the shit already?! 297. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman on Busch for 6th. 298. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brian Scott is 36th,like the others CSR's drivers... 299. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'll tone it down, Murb and Hinch77. 300. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dammit, dennyfan11, put the pom poms down! There's over 160 laps left in this race! Newman is starting to move forwards again. 301. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I really like this race though. If it stays clean to the end and the best man actually wins, I will consider this a success. 302. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jarrett88fan, I think DJ will do something with NBC next year. He was on their daily Nascar show Nascar America the other day. He could be in a Hollywood Hotel type studio and maybe in the broadcast booth for un-companion Xfinity Series races. I will also miss Andy Petree. 303. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) TMG should Hire Matt Dibenedeto but honestly i wouldn't be shocked if they hired Milka but mark my words somebody will hire Milka to run the Daytona 500 304. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'll save it to the end. 305. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon is REALLY making quite a statement today; he's definitely the car to beat. 306. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There is a long way to go. I apologize for all who i am annoying. 307. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "but mark my words somebody will hire Milka to run the Daytona 500" I've said that for probably a couple months now and I firmly believe we will see it happen. I can EASILY see some low budget team (FAS Lane, BK Racing, CircleSport Racing, etc.) recognizing the fact that she'll bring in easy money she brings and promptly hiring her to run the 500. 308. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wonder if these reports of title contenders complaining about things like vibrations and stuff are manufactured lies brought to you by ESPN. 309. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordon is dominating. 310. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Wow. dennyfan11 sure is excited :D Let's go Harvick! If Harvick can't do it, go Hamlin or Newman! Fall back Logano! And even though he's out of the hunt, Piss off Johnson! 311. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Milka will never qualify for the 500. 312. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I apologize to everyone who thinks i am annoying. This is just the first time in a while that Hamlin has been in the championship hunt. A championship would make me very happy. I will try to tone down my comments for the remainder of this race. 313. racefangurl posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick 2nd, Hamlin 3rd, Logano 5th, Newman 8th. 314. luigistarted06 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I can't help but feel like this should have been Jeff Gordon's championship 315. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^If he wins the title, then I will have no problem with such coronary-inducing behavior on your part. 316. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No problem dennyfan, I would do the same if Jr. was in it. 317. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #315 is directed to dennyfan11. 318. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No worries, dennyfan, but the excitement earlier was perhaps a bit premature. 319. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin has caught Harvick for second. 320. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Or, Curtis Key can hire a second car (S and P, probably) 321. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin looks to be the best out of the four on the long runs for sure. 322. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think Hamlin will get 2nd. 323. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Circle sport wont hire Milka there plate cars are to good but most definitely i could see Bk racing or fas lane racing doin it or even RAB racing they love Milka. 324. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Alex Bowman brings out the caution. 325. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Alex Bowman and Carl Edwards crash. Caution. 326. We need more Onion posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brian Scott is horrible so far. Bowman does what BK does the best. Caution. 327. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Alex Bowman cut tire, yellow out. 328. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bad Karma Racing craps a tire. 329. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Carl Edwards also has big time damage on the right side of his car. Surely not the way he wanted to end his Roush tenure. 330. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Alex Bowman smacks the wall and the caution is out. Carl Edwards has also hit the wall. 331. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bowman hard in the wall. Edwards is on pit road repairing his car from an apparent earlier incident. 332. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The way Roush has run at 1 1/2's this year, the car might go faster with that damage. 333. The Crimson King posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm not going to worry about which championship (I feel sick typing that) driver is at the front at the moment because it's going to change so much over the course of the day. 334. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Apparently, Rick Ware would run few races (5? 10?) next year in cup? WAT?? 335. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Last race for Fenning as a crew chief too. I forgot about that. 336. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Hopefully this is Alex bowman last race for bkrap racing he deserves so much more. 337. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmy Fenning shout out. 338. jabber1990 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Alex Brokeman? 339. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks like something broke on the 18. 340. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Carl Edwards also has big time damage on the right side of his car. Surely not the way he wanted to end his Roush tenure." Jack Roush is wetting his pants with laughter. 341. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Aww man. Hamlin did not come out 1st. Kyle Busch breaks a rear gear. 342. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Always a good race when the 18 go's behind the wall. 343. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Did JGR have their magic guns quietly taken away? That last stop was in the 13's; I remember in Atlanta the 11 team had sub 11 second stops. 344. epzik8 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR.com is being weird with the scoring again. 345. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch has stalled in the pits and is being pushed back down pit road by his crew. Looks like something may have broken on his car during the pit stop... 346. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rick Ware running cup races??? Thats a joke right. TMG is enough 347. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Apparently it's a broken axle for Kyle. 348. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:45 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "NASCAR.com is being weird with the scoring again." They're taking over TNT's mantle of King of Errors King of Errors. 349. BMan0213 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thats probably gonna cost Kyle a top 10 spot in the points. 350. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick takes the lead on the restart. 351. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin with a Jeff Gordon restart. 352. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch's problems could potentially give AJ Allmendinger a top-10 points finish. 353. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon moves back out front as Hamlin loses a couple spots and slides back to fifth. 354. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good thing Gordon's not in it. He would be running away with it. 355. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick takes the lead back again. 356. racefangurl posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick 2nd, Logano 3rd, Hamlin 5th, Newman 6th. Close, close, close 357. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick 1st, Logano 3rd, Hamlin 4th, Newman 6th. 358. epzik8 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick gets the lead for good. 359. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Go away Johnson. Nobody wants to see you up front. 360. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:50 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Harvick is REALLY pulling away now as Logano is now stalking Gordon for second. 361. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch had an axle problem. 362. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch to the garage. Other than a brief stint of consistency early in the Chase, horrid season for him. 363. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon's not quite as good this run. 364. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman and Johnson fight for 5th. 365. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It was 1986 that RCR won their first championship, not '88. 366. racefangurl posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick 1st, Logano 3rd, Hamlin 4th, Newman 5th. 367. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) All those people who thought this race would be crazy are wrong. It's halfway, and aside from the cable, this race has not been crazy at all. 368. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Who foreseen all four finalist being top five contenders? 369. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I can bet there will be about 3 debris cautions with 50 to go. 370. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If the top five is populated with Chase drivers late, there will likely be a sighting of the famous Frenchman, Jacques Debris. 371. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Past halfway. I get the feeling we're going to be an insane second half of this one. 372. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "All those people who thought this race would be crazy are wrong. It's halfway, and aside from the cable, this race has not been crazy at all." There's still plenty of time for this race to turn completely upside-down, my friend...the Texas race was completely normal by the halfway point as well... 373. The Crimson King posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:55 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The only person I can legitimately root for in this travesty of a championship system is Harvick, since he's been competitive all year long and shown speed everywhere. 374. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Who started calling it Jacques? Prior to this year, I had never heard of anything but "Pierre Debris" 375. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "The only person I can legitimately root for in this travesty of a championship system is Harvick, since he's been competitive all year long and shown speed everywhere." So has Logano. Or are you not a Logano fan? 376. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "I can bet there will be about 3 debris cautions with 50 to go." I'm betting there is that many with 10 to go. "THIRD ATTEMPT AT A GREEN-WHITE-CHECKER-CHAMPIONSHIP!!!! TIE GAME BOTTOM OF THE NINTH GAME SEVEN MOMENT!!!!" 377. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:58 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Who started calling it Jacques? Prior to this year, I had never heard of anything but "Pierre Debris"" Swear I think I heard the commentators refer to a "Jacques Debris" years ago... 378. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Crimson King, Consistency wins championships. Harvick would not come close in the old system. 379. The Crimson King posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:58 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "There's still plenty of time for this race to turn completely upside-down, my friend...the Texas race was completely normal by the halfway point as well... " Texas is a bad example because that race was deliberately screwed with by intentional debris cautions in order to "force it" to be exciting. It wasn't that way legitimately. Texas was by far the worst race of the year. 380. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Go hamlin! 381. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Larson blows by Newman for 6th. I expect him to be a player for the race win later on. 382. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks like Harvick has inherited Gordon's speed from earlier in this race. Newman is starting to slide backwards now the further we get into the run... 383. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 4:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman is probably banking on a rash of yellows at the end. 384. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Alex Bowman scrapes the wall again. 385. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bowman hits the wall again. 386. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks like Stewart's streak of 15 years in a row with a win is most likely over. And idk about Stenhouse this has to be one of the worst 1st to 2nd year decline in the history of Nascar. 387. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Texas was by far the worst race of the year." Agree 100%. I would bet that most of the more casual fans think it was one of the two or three best races of the year, though, merely because of the Gordon/Keselowski/Harvick brawl... 388. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bowman having a bad day. This is his first Homestead race since he was fired from RAB before Homestead last year. 389. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Fab Four is starting to get spread out and Danica is 2nd to last on the lead lap. I smell cheese and wine. 390. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Now that we've gotten a ways into the run, Gordon is starting to catch back up to Harvick. 391. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) MAR, yep looks like he's taking too many pointers from Danica. 392. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is 30th right now, 2 laps down and running behind drivers like Casey Mears and Cole Whitt. A fitting way to cap off an absolutely awful sophomore season. With Chris Buescher's rise to stardom, I would not be surprised at all if he gets ousted after next year. 393. The Crimson King posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:04 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "The Crimson King, Consistency wins championships. Harvick would not come close in the old system." And none of these drivers have shown any consistency at all throughout the year, so that's a useless statement. This system rewards luck, not being consistent. 394. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I read that the #66 would not return fir 2015, or with an other number... 395. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Allmendinger blows a right front and hits the wall hard. 396. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Allmendinger in the wall. 397. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Drinking game: one shot of 200 proof booze of your choice for every time this race is compared to: (a) March Madness, (b) the World Series, (c) the Super Bowl, or (d) any "Game 7" moment. Thompson Speedway should sue NASCAR for $100,000,000 for every time this race is compared to the World Series, since they have the one and only "World Series of Asphalt Racing." 398. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Whoever said Allmendinger was in position to get a top 10 points finish jinxed him. He just slammed the wall and brought out the caution. 399. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution for Walldinger. 400. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So much for AJ finishing in the top 10. Right side damage and his front right fender has about fully peeled off. 401. BMan0213 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And there goes AJ's shot at the top ten. With him Carl and Kyle having trouble, Jimmie now has a real shot of getting back in the top 10 in points before this race is over. 402. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:07 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "And none of these drivers have shown any consistency at all throughout the year, so that's a useless statement." Even though Logano has more top fives and top tens than anyone else. 403. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bad end to a great season for the dinger. 404. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think the 66 team is shutting down at race end some bad partnerships went wrong. They suck anyway 405. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The 11,22,and 4 almost rub leaving their respective pits 406. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman has been consistent! That's the only reason he's in it. 407. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon wins the race out of the pits. Hamlin gets out in front of Harvick and now leads the championship standings. 408. racefangurl posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Biffle's the only Roush driver ahead of T-Bayne. 409. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And do you know what happened the sponsors in the 66? (Landcastle Title..), and Nemechek was fired? 410. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Drinking game: one shot of 200 proof booze of your choice for every time this race is compared to: (a) March Madness, (b) the World Series, (c) the Super Bowl, or (d) any "Game 7" moment." They literally haven't once compared it to one of those things (during the race at least - I didn't watch any of the pre-race show really). 411. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Yay! Hamlin is first out of the contenders! wohooo! 412. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "They literally haven't once compared it to one of those things (during the race at least - I didn't watch any of the pre-race show really). " I have seen it all over the internet for months now. 413. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin and Gordon fighting for the lead! 414. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I have seen it all over the internet for months now." Well, yeah, of course all those idiot bloggers have. I'm talking about ESPN. They've actually done a fine job today. 415. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Greg Biffle hits the wall. Caution again. 416. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin runs side by side with Gordon for a lap, but Jeff prevails. Greg Biffle slams the wall and the caution is out again. HEAVY damage to the #16 car. 417. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Biffle in the wall. 2 out of 3 Roush cars torn up. 418. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Biffle in the wall, hard. 419. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Biffle hard into the wall. Lots of tire failures in this one. 420. RaceFanX posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Biffle blows a tire and hits the wall hard. Surely not how the #16 team wanted to bid farewell to their sponsor 3M. 421. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 100 to go, still not crazy. 422. BluesTravelerFan posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Where is racefangurl? Perhaps too nervous for Logano to post? 423. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Landcastle title was operated by one of the investors on the 66 team they went bankrupt i think. Nemecheck didnt get fired he took his half of the operation and moved them fulltime on his truck team. 424. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Get Gordon out of the top 5 and we'll have Brian France's dream come true: the four championship contenders running 1-2-3-4. 425. epzik8 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The championship four are all together. 426. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) RFR has the same amount of DNQ's as wins this year just a pathetic year overall. 427. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) About to get dark, I wonder how the championship four will handle with the cooler temperatures. 428. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin leads! Woooo! 429. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Apparently Biffle came on the radio after the crash and said, "I'm all done. I ain't driving no more." Doubt it means anything, but I thought it was interesting. These restarts have been just insane. 430. We need more Onion posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle, Dale Jr., Biffle, Allmendinger all had problems... does JJ have people for sabotage? He'll just stroll to a top 10 points finish this way. 431. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wouldn't put it past Harvick to dump both these two here. 432. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Of course Harvick gets a good run on the high side but Gordon finally has one of his mediocre restarts. 433. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) YOU GOT THIS! 434. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale up to 5th after being a lap down earlier. 435. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick tries to go three wide for second. Junior passes Newman for fifth. 436. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Danica's quietly having a decent run in 20th. 437. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin 7/10s out front! 438. jabber1990 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) lets drink every time MRN says "Steve Letarte is going to Broadcasting" 439. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon starts to fade backwards. Harvick blows past him and Junior and Newman are about to pass him as well. 440. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Do you see this kind of racing at Auto Club speedway hell no 441. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hold him off Hamlin! 442. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:24 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "Do you see this kind of racing at Auto Club speedway hell no" Hell yes, you do. 443. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:25 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Do you see this kind of racing at Auto Club speedway hell no Maybe on the backstretch that now resembles a motocross track. 444. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Junior passes Newman back for fifth. 445. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano seems to have the best "night-time" car so far. Hopefully it stays that way. 446. We need more Onion posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 1-2-3-5 Hungarian commentators say that it almost looks like Brian France ordered it to be like this. True or not, in the face of those who said Newman is just wasting a place precious little Gordon/Keselowski should have. 447. racefangurl posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin 1st, Logano 2nd, Harvick 3rd, Newman 6th. 448. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick passes for Logano for second place. 449. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano hits the wall! His championship is over! 450. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Shit, just as I say that, he scraped the wall. 451. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano with The Homesteadington Stripe. 452. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) They give u pillows at Auto Club speedway with the years of borefest racing not even close to homestead 453. epzik8 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've got a FedEx ad on NASCAR.com with Hamlin leading. 454. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Logano hits the wall! His championship is over!" Mmm, no, it's not. There's PLENTY of time left. 455. David posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Logano hits the wall! His championship is over!" Please learn how to assess damage in the future before making such comments in haste. 456. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tony Stewart goes to the garage. 457. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Menard hits the wall, don't explode this time. 458. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "They give u pillows at Auto Club speedway with the years of borefest racing not even close to homestead" Evidently you haven't watched either of the last two races there. Menard hits the wall and pulls on pit road. No caution. 459. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Paul Menard smacks the wall, but makes it to pit road. 460. BluesTravelerFan posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I know he's not the only one doing it, but i love seeing Jr rimriding like that, like drawing a tracer line against the wall all the way through the corner. High risk for sure, but fun to watch! 461. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon moving forward again as he passes Harvick for second. 462. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) 77 laps to go! Hamlin has the championship. 463. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Damn, Stenhouse sucks today 464. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:33 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Here comes Long Run Gordon. 465. We need more Onion posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:33 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Interesting how.Harvick doesn't even have anyone other than Tony to help him, as Kurt would not help anyway and it would freeze Danica to concentrate on both helping the #4 and not wrecking. Hamlin has 2 teammates, but that's it for him. RCR has engines in the #78, the #33 and the #13, but they wont help imo. Maybe the closest thing to an alliance could be between Logano and the Front Row cars. 466. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Auto Club Speedway had two good races out like 26 seriously?????? Homestead out does Auto Club Speedway by miles raise the banking at Auto Club Speedway then come talk to me. 467. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just as Gordon catches Hamlin for the lead, Ambrose slams the wall and brings out the caution flag. 468. We need more Onion posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ambrose blew a tire, yellow is out. 469. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "Damn, Stenhouse sucks today" It seems like Stenhouse sucks period. Ambrose loses a right front. Hate to see his last run end like that. 470. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) HAMLIN IS ONLY 73 LAPS AWAY! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! 471. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Darn! I was hoping Marcos would have a good day in his last Nascar oval race. 472. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon wins the race out of the pits again, but Hamlin manages to stay ahead of Harvick. Logano loses a BUNCH of spots in the pits. 473. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano falls to 10th. HAMLIN STILL HAS THE POINT LEAD!!!! WOOOOO! 474. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) 72 laps to go. Is this race weird? No! 475. racefangurl posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Stinkhouse. 476. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Stewart's 15 year streak of wins in a season is over. Martinsville was his first and only best chance to win in 2014. 477. RaceFanX posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tony Stewart's consecutive years of winning streak dating all the way back to his Cup debut in 1999 will end today with the problems that have put him behind the wall. Smoke's 2014 season was a disaster and here's hoping 2015 will be a return to form. Marcos Ambrose's final race sees him in the wall and bringing out a yellow. 478. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano with a disastrous pit stop. 479. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Thanks for making an unnecessarily long post, dennyfan11. 480. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sorry. 481. David posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, dennyfan11. Was #474 really necessary? 482. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Stewart will be fine he's my pick to win the 2015 Daytona 500 483. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) 72 laps to go. Is this race weird? No! Fixed version. 484. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm now officially pissed off at this guy... 485. David posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Apparently someone doesn't know the meaning of "fixed". 486. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You just did it AGAIN, dennyfan... 487. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt Kenesth nearly loses it in front of Logano. 488. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) dennyfan, harvick fan...And i'm a Ric Ware Racing fan! 489. RaceFanX posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If Hamlin wins the title he'll be the first driver since Richard Petty in 1971 to win the title and not run every race. The King missed two races that year during the 48-race schedule (and one of them was a Daytona 500 Twin 125 as those still counted for points until 1972 making it almost impossible to run every race of the year before that point.) 490. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:42 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Just horrendous posting from DennyFan. Kenseth almost loses right in front of Logano. That was pretty hairy. 491. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 100 miles to go in this race. Harvick has caught Hamlin for second. 492. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) RWR has fans lol 493. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If there were one in this race, Gordon would have clinched the bonus for most laps led already. 494. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I'm becoming more and more convinced that dennyfan11 is a 12 year-old. 495. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I sincerely apologize for making you mad. I just got a little carried away, that's all. I guess the excitement of this race just got to me, that's all. Will you users ever forgive me? I don't want to become the next KFC Bone Eater. I want to be liked. Look deep into your heart and realize that i am not that bad. Thank you. ~Dennyfan11. P.S. You also made a very long comment once, Hinch77. 496. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "RWR has fans lol" It's more likely than you think! 497. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Can't you give me one more chance? 498. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Last race as a sponsor for Home Depot And what the hell are you doin dennyhamlin fan 499. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 492: Yes, old good times with the #75, #15, the Rick Ware himself and his good drivers choices! 500. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Trevor Bayne off the pace. 501. David posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I'm becoming more and more convinced that dennyfan11 is a 12 year-old." Either that or a MASTER troll...I've given that idea some thought recently. 502. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) racefangurl is bawling right about now. 503. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution for debris from Trevor Bayne's car. 504. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Trevor Bayne brings out the caution by shedding some type of metal. 505. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't want to really... just hold off trying to impress people or use this like twitter and actually post on relevant material. 506. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Trevor Bayne craps out parts all over the track. 507. BluesTravelerFan posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution for schutt from the 21 car. 508. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution out, debris. 509. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) dennyfan11 honestly reminds me of myself when I was a teenager... 510. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Will anyone forgive me? 511. epzik8 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bayne leaves the Wood Brothers with a flat tire. 512. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) RWR are you on drugs good driver choices????? He start and park 3 cars every race to fund one car. 513. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) *bitchslaps dennyfan11* *takes deep breath* Now you're forgiven, twat. 514. David posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Will anyone forgive me?" Yes. Just learn some internet etiquette and you'll make it fine. 515. luigistarted06 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Man, it doesn't matter if people like you or not. The thoughts of others has no bearings on who you are. Just be yourself and forget the rest 516. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman loses several spots in the pits. Bad time for that to happen. 517. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thank you! 518. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) i was talking about #515 519. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman pit crew just doesn't have it today. 520. racefangurl posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin 2nd, Harvick 3rd, Logano 8th, Newman 9th. So this is how it ends for T-Bayne in the 21. 521. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Banzai is in the top 5 now. Time to see if he gives Harvick or Hamlin trouble. 522. luigistarted06 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:50 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Just remember man, as soon as you stop trying to impress others and do your own thing I guarantee you people will notice. 523. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:50 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Seriously, it shouldn't matter whether or not people like you. You shouldn't be going out of your way to try to get people to like you, dennyfan11. I do think you are a little immature, but stick with it; I'm sure with the passage of time, your comments will become more mature. 524. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) MAR: I'm serious, but my post is quite ironical, notabiliy about Nur ALi, Michael Guerity or others. However, Stanton Barrett, Timmy Hill and Cody are mor interesting... "He start and park 3 cars every race to fund one car" In 2011 and 2012, yes. But now, he runs with #23 and #87 (okay the #15 is an S&P car) 525. David posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) Thanks, webmaster, for removing the empty space from dennyfan11's comments. 526. BluesTravelerFan posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As someone who has been an outcast(both online and off) before in their life I can tell you @522 and @523 are both very sound advice. Don't worry about dennyfan, just be yourself and don't try to impress people. 527. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Banzai is in the top 5 now. Time to see if he gives Harvick or Hamlin trouble." I bet he will have the entire organizations of SHR/HMS and/or JGR after him with lead pipes if he screwed them over. 528. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yay! Hamlin leads! 529. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks like Biffle is back on track... Hamlin clears Gordon for the lead, and Harvick is about to follow him. 530. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) RWR i think u need to go to a mental institute with that last post 531. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If Hamlin wins the championship he will be a rare champion who did not run all the races. 532. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) FIFTY LAPS MORE AND HAMLIN WINS THE CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!!! 533. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin is looking damn good right now. 534. jabber1990 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JJCR, she refuses to S&P, but makes her #2 car park so she can run her truck, or makes somebody else park it when she's not in it right? 535. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 48 MORE FOR HAMLIN!!!! 536. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "RWR i think u need to go to a mental institute with that last post" Keep the conversations civil, please. 537. luigistarted06 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I have a feeling Hamlin is probably gonna win this thing 538. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon still has the fastest car overall I think, but I think now with the night conditions Hamlin and Harvick are about even. 539. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:57 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Landon cassill still on the lead lap he has had an unbelievable impressive season in tge equipment he drives. 540. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) More legit debris. 541. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) More debris on the track. 542. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The first of the 3 debris cautions i predicted. 543. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Debris from the 1. Caution. 544. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks like it was off McMurray's car. 545. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Real debris. Jacques is just biding his time until 5 to go. 546. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution! debris. 547. We need more Onion posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:58 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) They just put the debris back. 548. BluesTravelerFan posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Now another yellow for jatteet.. 549. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jacques hasn't made his appearance yet tonight. I wonder if NASCAR is going to save him for the final laps of the race... 550. David posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "48 MORE FOR HAMLIN!!!!" Just promise me that you won't type a long "WOOOOO..." if/when he wins, because that stretches the screen, and people don't like that. 551. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Could Newman take two tires? 552. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Don't worry. I wont. 553. luigistarted06 posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:59 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Yeah, gotta give a shout out to Landon Cassill. If he ever had a decent ride he'd be a solid haste contender every season 554. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why did i see a Jennifer jo cobb post during a cup race. 555. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 5:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) MAR, I'm calm, but it's my opinion, you're not agree, ok. Stenhouse behind Sorenson and Whitt 556. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:00 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Richard petty should of hired Cassill for that 9 car instead of Hornish 557. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) HAMLIN MADE IT OFF FIRST!!! 558. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman gains 3 spots in the pits and is back in contention. 559. luigistarted06 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I meant chase contender in regards to Cassill 560. OldSchoolNascarDude1 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:00 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) It would be great to see this race go green for the duration. It would make for an excellent finish. 561. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Surprised nobody went for 2. 562. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman took 4 tires a made up 3 spots on pit road. 563. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 44 LAPS MORE!!!!!!!! 564. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bad pitstop for the 22 565. David posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Why did i see a Jennifer jo cobb post during a cup race." I wouldn't be so quick to throw stones, glass house-dweller; you've commented about Erik Darnell and Matt DiBenedetto on this very page during the race. 566. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "It would be great to see this race go green for the duration. It would make for an excellent finish." 0% chance of that happening. If I'm wrong, I will be prepared to eat my words. 567. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon barely nipped Hamlin at the line to win the race off pit road. 568. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) RWR all im saying is rick ware's team cant even get a top 25 in a nationwide race thats it. However i will say i respect his effort to make it as an owner. 569. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wherever Newman finishes it will be his best ever points finish. Who would predict that after getting fired by SHR. 570. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano has pit problems! 571. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The #22 team seems to be crumbling on pit road. Lost a lug nut. 572. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Guilty about the Darnell and Dibenedeto post but they have talent not Jennifer Jo Cobb 573. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Keselowski trying to take second from Hamlin. 574. epzik8 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's getting tense. 575. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) 39 LAPS TO GO AND HAMLIN WINS!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS MY FRIENDS! AND WE KEEP ON FIGHTING! TILL THE END! 576. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) MAR, it's true that they can't go to the top 25...But i'm sure that they can in 2011 and at the begining of 2012, but not since... 577. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) RWR its 2014 im sorry to tell you that 578. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 34 To GO! 579. racefangurl posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I think Landon should take over Kasey Kahne's car. Landon used to be a Hendrick developmental driver and deserves a decent car. I kinda like him. He's a good driver in equipment not worthy of him. 580. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Am I the only one ready to leave and otherwise good conversation? 581. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Landon Cassill is having another nice top-25 in his low-budget #40. 582. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 33 More laps in the season! 583. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) That idoit Newman ruined Gordon's 5th title celebration 584. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dinger crashes big 585. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Allmendinger crashes savagely. 586. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Big crash for Allmendinger. 587. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) HUGE hit by Aj Allmendinger. 588. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) HARD crash for A. J. Allmendinger. 10th caution flag of the race. 589. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow! Huge crash for Allmendinger. 590. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If Kurt Busch does get fired Landon Cassill should get that ride. 591. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Almendinger wreaks hard. Caution. This going to be interesting! 592. epzik8 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) So boring. 593. luigistarted06 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Poor Allmendinger. He had to be just outside of 10th in points 594. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wonder if there'll be some pit strategy here... 595. BluesTravelerFan posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Quickly, on a less important note, according to Brant James Chad Knaus "Disobeyed a NASCAR directive" and has been called to the NASCAR hauler post race, confirmed by an official. 596. Anonymous posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordon is going to have 6 top-2 finishes in the Chase and DSFF is going to say that Jeff choked in the fall once again 597. jabber1990 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) according to Nascar Memes and @JeffGluck, NASCAR is mad at Chad Knaus 598. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Terrible crash... MAR, I must say that i'm too fanatic^^...But, yes i'm quite dissapointed about him this year... 599. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's a shame ESPN won't cut away from their "Side By Side" commercial break when there is a wreak. 600. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:13 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "Chad Knaus "Disobeyed a NASCAR directive" and has been called to the NASCAR hauler post race, confirmed by an official." lol 601. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If he can hold on for 29 more laps, HAMLIN WINS THE CHAMPIONSHIP! 602. DB1995 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just realized Brad was top 5, he was like 12th last time i noticed him 603. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think jimmie and chad sabotage The Dingers car today so he wouldn't finish outside the top 10 in points. 604. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) HAMLIN WINS THE RACE OFF PIT ROAD! 605. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin once again comes out ahead of Harvick. Looks like it's going to be between those two for the title in these last 30 laps... 606. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well RWR his team isnt gonna get any better next year 607. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman gained one. Restart will be awesome. 608. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Interesting tidbit: Blake Koch is one of the five drivers to lead a lap today. 609. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Quickly, on a less important note, according to Brant James Chad Knaus "Disobeyed a NASCAR directive" and has been called to the NASCAR hauler post race, confirmed by an official. If the "directive" was to let the 31 and 22 by, I don't blame him. 610. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) MAR, I don't know, and if an important sponsor help? Not possible...Pay drivers? no choice... 611. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Denny "Jeff Gordon Restart" Hamlin 612. racefangurl posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin 2nd, Harvick 3rd, Newman 6th, Logano 8th. 613. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin has a bad restart, and now Harvick is ahead of him. Keselowski is up to second? Where did he come from? 614. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) All four contenders running together! 615. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ...And the only good things this year: Kevin O Connell at Road America, Barrett in Watkins Glen, Cody in Mid Ohio, and the #87 owner points (thanks to Joe Nemechek...) 616. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bad Brad stalking Gordon? *Posts dis gun b good gif* 617. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick is well clear of the other three title contenders on the track. Wonder if that means Jacques will show up before the end of the race... 618. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I honestly want Newman to win the title... 619. epzik8 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick is the highest Chaser in third. 620. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ESPN already with the caution pom-poms out. 621. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin's championship is gone. Goodbye championship... 622. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Last 20 laps Yellow flag 623. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) CAUTION FOR DEBRIS!! HAMLIN WILL CATCH HARVICK!!! 624. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hello, Jacques. 625. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JACQUES! You finally made it, buddy! 626. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) GODDAMN YOU JACQUES! 627. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The second of the 3 debris cautions i predicted 628. luigistarted06 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And of course there's debris 629. BluesTravelerFan posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jacque... 630. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) At least it's legit debris. 631. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Or not...apparently, it's real debris again. Wow. Watch Jacques show up with 2 laps to go to force a GWC... 632. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This restart is going to be f*cking insane. 633. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon and Hamlin stay out. Over for Hamlin probably. 634. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin and Gordon stay out! 635. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon, Hamlin, and Vickers are the only three to stay out. Look for 'em to get steamrolled on this restart. 636. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NOOOO! Harvick will have fresher tires! 637. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) RWR they better signed some rich kid or there goin outta business but i hope Cody Ware makes it 638. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano falls off the jack. They're gonna lose a SHIT LOAD of spots. 639. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano slips off the jack. Bye-bye, championship... 640. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon, Hamlin, and Vickers stay out. EVERYONE else pits. Logano's pit crew is walking home. 641. jabber1990 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Watch Jacques show up with 2 laps to go to force a GWC... " i'll take that bet! 642. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano is done. 643. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mr. "I won at Darlington on 50 lap older tires while overheating" stays out... 644. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Fatal eror for the 22 645. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) F*CK!! Logano's chances are over. 646. BluesTravelerFan posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That 22 stop was gut wrenching to watch.. 647. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano is pretty much done here. 648. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The last shred of hope for Hamlin is gone. LOGANO HAS JACK PROBLEMS! The championship is gone! 649. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano is done damnit 650. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Hamlin's championship is gone. Goodbye championship..." Do you say things like this to reverse jinx yourself? 651. Tyroil Smoochie-Wallace posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) This race is scripted. 652. MarkMartinFan posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) MAR, 3 debris cautions might be low. There's about 20 laps. That's more than enough for about 6 cautions so we can see a fight when one driver wrecks another out of the championship. 653. luigistarted06 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Unless all 3 contenders get wrecked it appears Logano just lost any chance of winning it 654. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) My heartbroke watching logano pit stop 655. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Actually, Hamlin might not be in that bad of shape. Harvick has a lot of cars to get through here. All he really has to outrace is Newman on two tires. 656. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I like Newman with two tires. 657. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman is going to win on his two tires... 658. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Scoreboard Hamlin 0 tires Newman 2 tires Harvick 4 tires Logano %&*#@)(&# 659. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) WHY THE f**k DID HARVICK TAKE 4!!! 660. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Waved off restart because of the idiots in the back of the field. 661. RaceFanX posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A jack issue likely dooms Logano. Hamlin 2nd, Newman 4th, and Harvick 12th for the restart. 662. jabber1990 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:27 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) a part of me wants to see Hamiln do it just to watch the "Foreign Toyota crap" people foam at the mouth 663. luigistarted06 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think Newman will end up winning out here 664. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) MAR I hope. The 22 is over, ut it s not finished 665. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think Newman's got this. Hell he could wind up with the race win to boot. 666. DB1995 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Loganos crew pulled off the most epic choke of all time in pit road, 3 bad stops in the final 4 trips down pit road. Pathetic 667. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wonder if that flared out side skirt contributed to that disaster of a pit stop for Logano. 668. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 15 Laps to go! HAMLIN IS GOING TO DO IT! 669. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Restart time! Hamlin clears Gordon! 670. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Apparently Chad wouldn't fall on a sword... but he was going to do that two weeks ago to help his teammate *dodges tomatoes* 671. David posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "a part of me wants to see Hamiln do it just to watch the "Foreign Toyota crap" people foam at the mouth" Ha! I never thought of that. 672. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Big crash. 673. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) BIG CRASH!!!! 674. BluesTravelerFan posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) RED FLAG IT PLEASE NASCAR... 675. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:30 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) HARD crash for J. J. Yeley and Blake Koch. ESPN insists it's Joey Gase driving the #32. 676. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gase and Yeley crash heavily in Turn 4. This ain't over yet. 677. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:30 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Bold prediction: 3-4 more cautions before the end of this one. 678. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick cmon 679. I have never posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The championship will be well earned on this restart. 680. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Excuse me, it was Koch, not Gase. 681. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) WOoOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! HAMLIN HAS IT! 682. RaceFanX posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Shame the #23 and the #83 have had issues today. I love that bright blue and purple Dip Your Car scheme. 683. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:31 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Of course some back markers can't keep their cars straight...Sorry, if you're a fan of these two, but that's damn I wanted that to go green. 684. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Banzai is 4th. I feel he's bound to something crazy/dumb on this next restart. 685. epzik8 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Another crash... 686. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) C'mon Rocket! 687. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Denny needs to get a flawless restart here. 688. racefangurl posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think NASCAR hates me today. Or at least I would if I didn't know better. Am I a jinx, I could think, as well. Well, there's always 2015 689. startandparkfan posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman is there, can he do it? 690. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon throws his race away by pitting. 691. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I hope Newman wrecks the field so logano can win 692. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordon pits...WTF?! Way to give up a top 10 finish... 693. TS1420 as Brian France posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:32 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "RED FLAG IT PLEASE NASCAR..." NO! G-W-C! GAME 7! BOTTOM OF THE NINTH!!!! 694. RaceFanX posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The #32 and the #83 both drove away from the crash. 695. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Seriously, Gordon pitting might be one of the most idiotic strategy things I've ever seen. 696. luigistarted06 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why did Gordon pit? He just lost himself a race 697. Bigjrfan88 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon pitted! Newman is going to win it all. 698. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why the hell did Gordon pit?????? 699. DB1995 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think Brad blows by these 2 on the restart. 700. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Win it! 701. RaceFanX posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Could Ryan get his only win of the year at the best possible moment? 702. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (7) (0) Cue conspiracy theorists saying NASCAR ordered Gordon to pit road so Hamlin and Newman could duke it out for the win. 703. Tyroil Smoochie-Wallace posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (2) (3) Man. This race is scripted. 704. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Seriously, Gordon pitting might be one of the most idiotic strategy things I've ever seen." Must be a Hendrick thing. Remember Chad Knaus made a similar questionable call at Charlotte that cost Johnson 13 spots. 705. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The #32 and the #83 both drove away from the crash. Of course, you need a couple of moving debris droppers in case one of these guys get away. 706. DB1995 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon pitted for what reason lol, restarts 24th 707. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dumb idea to give Newman the inside on the restart, I think. 708. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I would fire Gordon's crew chief effected immediately 709. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (2) (2) Wonder if Gordon was told to butt out of the title race even though he was running strong on the older tires... I have a feeling this is being set up for a final lap title deciding pass. 710. epzik8 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's between Hamlin and Newman now. 711. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 10 TO GO!!! WIN IT DENNY!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU CAN DO IT! 712. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I have a feeling we're going to see a big crash at the front of the field on this restart. 713. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman with a horrible restart. 714. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) CRAZY restart. Harvick all the way up to second. 715. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) HARVICK TO THE LEAD! 716. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick takes the lead. He's gone. 717. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Another caution for the #32's debris. 718. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Debris caution. GWC time. 719. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman is not going down without a fight! 720. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMLIN! 721. DB1995 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick got the luckiest restart of all time to have the seas just part like that. 722. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Stupid Ford grille caution. 723. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (6) (0) And that's why the 32 stayed out. He'll be getting something extra in his Christmas card. 724. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Gordon's already up to 13th. 725. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Debris caution because Harvick was pulling away...er, debris caution for a chunk of metal off the wrecked car of Blake Koch (who they CONTINUE to call Joey Gase). 726. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) HARVICK!!! GODDAMN YOU NASCAR AND YOUR MOTHERf**kING DEBRIS CAUTIONS!!! 727. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The 3rd debris caution as i predicted 728. RaceFanX posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ESPN corrects itself on Blake Koch being in the #32. 729. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Bold prediction: Not the last caution flag of this race. 730. Burton22fan posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) How many caution's has this been? 731. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) Was NASCAR really going to let a car that was "up in flames" fend for himself? 732. I have never posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Battle for the championship between two drivers who literally swapped roles in their companies. 733. RWR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A Ford grid...again 734. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Nascar will be mailing the 32 team a big thank you check 735. Tyroil Smoochie-Wallace posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (4) (1) Oh GWC to determine the championship? Bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded. This race is ridiculously scripted. SMH. 736. DB1995 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The only hope the 11 and 31 has is that Brad Keselowski gets alongside Harvick 737. RaceFanX posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The #83 Toyota is dead on the track at a backstretch access road. He had something g break it sounds like and pulled in to avoid a yellow. 738. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 3 LAPS TO GO IN THE SEASON! 739. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:40 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Can Ford's grill be a damn decal next season? 740. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin has a HORRIBLE restart. 741. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Will Newman dive bomb? 742. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick's got this unless we get another caution...and we won't. 743. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Harvick's the champion! 744. jabber1990 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Who was that last December who said Harvick won't won the 2014 Title? *hands you a plate* 745. David posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick is your champion. 746. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick gets it. Great race. 747. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well that was anticlimactic. 748. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) HARVICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 749. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:43 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Kevin Harvick is your 2014 Sprint Cup champion. I dislike Harvick with a passion, but at least the championship went to someone that deserves it. 750. RaceFanX posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No matter what you do this Bud's for you! 751. TS1420 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:43 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) YES! YES! YES! WTG HARVICK! GOOD JOB NEWMAN! YES! YES! YES! 752. New14 & 88Fan posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kevin Harvick is your 2014 Sprint Cup Series Champion. 753. luigistarted06 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) HARVICK DID IT! 754. BluesTravelerFan posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:43 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I may not really care for him, but congrats to Kevin on a hard earned win and championship, the 4 team was the fastest all year, and that proved to be the difference. 755. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Commence comments on how Harvick doesn't deserve this: 756. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:44 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Can anyone look me in the eye and tell me with a straight face that Harvick didn't deserve this? 757. epzik8 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Alright, Harvick! Oh man! 758. DB1995 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Oh well, thats just dissapointing. Congrats 759. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:44 pm Rate this comment: (5) (0) I'm satisfied with Harvick winning the title; he wasn't the most consistent driver by ANY means this year. But he by and far was the fastest driver this entire season, and if not for bad luck throughout the year (mechanical gremlins early in the season, mistakes by his pit crew later on), I think he'd easily have won 10+ races this year. Hell of a job by him to take home the title! 760. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:45 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I hope someone takes a pic of Childers with the trophy and tweets it to Mikey every day. 761. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Can anyone look me in the eye and tell me with a straight face that Harvick didn't deserve this? " He definitely deserved it more than any of the other drivers left, even if Logano was more consistent. Harvick actually brought his A game today. 762. Anonymous posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:45 pm Rate this comment: (3) (3) This is not the Ford 400, it is the caution 400. I've said it before and i'll say it again, Nascar should not count caution laps. There are 267 laps in this race and they ALL should be green flag laps. Dislike this as much as you like, I am just posting what I think. Also I think it's about time I tell you all that I'm DaleJrFan, I just haven't been using that name anymore. My real name is Justin and I live in Calhoun County WV. If someone has a problem with me and you want to deal with it come see me face to face and we'll talk about it or something. I'm NOT trying to get anyone to fight me or anything. I just wanted to say who I am if anyone was wondering. 763. RaceFanX posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is Bud's first title since 1985 with Darrell Waltrip. Harvick claims the win, earns the title and joins Bobby Labonte and Brad Keselowski as been Busch/Nationwide and Cup champions. 764. racefangurl posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick is happy today. 765. David posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:46 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Also, a really stupid decision by the #24 team to pit on that late caution. I have no idea what they were thinking. 766. New14 & 88Fan posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman did a heck of a job trying to stay with Harvick, but he just didn't have the speed to catch him. Pit stops and restarts screwed Logano and Hamlin respectively. So even thou I'm far from a fan of his, congrats to Kevin Harvick and the whole Rodney Childers led #4 Budweiser Stewart-Haas team. 767. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon comes back for a top 10 finish after pitting late, but DAMN, he could have won this race if not for Alan Gustafson making an incredibly piss-poor strategy call (something he's VERY good at) towards the end of this race. He misses out on a top-5 points finish, but still, he had hell of a year. Hard to believe Newman actually came within one spot of winning the title! 768. We need more Onion posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Deserved. 100% percent. Both because of the year he's had and because the chase has screwed him out of one. Now I hope he has 36 blown engines next year. 769. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:47 pm Rate this comment: (2) (3) But I will say that I firmly believe NASCAR told Gordon to pit solely so that the champion would be whoever won this race, because NO ONE was going to beat him on speed alone. 770. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Wholehearted congrats to Harvick and the #4 team. They were clearly one of the three fastest teams all year, and they peaked at the right time in the Chase (not counting their crash at Martinsville, their worst Chase finish was 13th). I'm in. I like the format. I think there still needs to be some tweaks to prevent underwhelming guys like Hamlin and Newman from making it every year, but overall, the intensity and the racing has been undeniable. 771. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! HAAAASAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMLIN!!! 772. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "This is not the Ford 400, it is the caution 400. I've said it before and i'll say it again, Nascar should not count caution laps. There are 267 laps in this race and they ALL should be green flag laps" The big problem with that is that races would take much, MUCH longer than normal to run, and as a result, there would probably be even MORE cautions. 773. racefangurl posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I guess Hinch77 was referring to people complaining about how this system would cause an undeserving champ. I can't make a comment about an undeserving champ because he was a race winner. 774. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "But I will say that I firmly believe NASCAR told Gordon to pit solely so that the champion would be whoever won this race, because NO ONE was going to beat him on speed alone." I'd agree but without taking tires with Hamlin, I have a feeling that Harvick or someone else on 4 tires would've passed him. 775. I have never posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:49 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Summing up the #4 season: By far the fastest qualifier this season Led the most last laps this season Should have won at least three more races No longer considered the man who replaced a legend in his rookie season. Well done, Kevin. 776. The Crimson King posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:49 pm Rate this comment: (2) (6) Nascar is now officially WWE. Its happened. 777. DB1995 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) SHR amazed me this year, Kevin Harvick was a top 3 team all year, Tony Stewart out to lunch most of the year, Danica completely out to lunch, Kurt out to lunch all year except a few races. 778. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:50 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Gustafson has a history of sticking his head up his ass and making stupid pit calls, so I don't know why anyone is surprised. I'm shocked that they were actually stupid enough to do that, but I'm not shocked at all that they were stupid enough to think of it. 779. We need more Onion posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Underwhelming guys like Hamlin and Newman made this finale look what it was made to look like. Much better for the show than what Kenseth or Jr would have made it. (no offence to them) 780. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Are you kidding me...they're going straight to SportsCenter?! 781. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) HARVICK 100% deserves the title but nascar completely rigged Jeff Gordon by making him pit. 782. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick is the champion. 783. RaceFanX posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:51 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Will Harvick do his SportsCenter interview drunk like Brad K did in 2012? 784. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A great moment for SHR after all the Stewart and Busch issues. A Hall of Fame worthy performance by Harvick. Look at Rodney Childers now one year later, a championship winning crew chief. 785. Sector posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wish Jeff would have won, but Harvick is my second favorite. I am so freaking excited!!!! redemption of 2010!! 786. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh, never mind, they just went to the studio for a moment. ESPN REALLY had me scared there for a moment... 787. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If only Hamlin won... 788. BluesTravelerFan posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Um... That crowd noise as Harvick was coming out of the car was pretty muted to say the least lol... 789. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:52 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Good news, everyone...ESPN's weak coverage of NASCAR is FINALLY over! 790. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "But I will say that I firmly believe NASCAR told Gordon to pit solely so that the champion would be whoever won this race, because NO ONE was going to beat him on speed alone." Come on dude...If that were true The Charlotte Observer would be running an a report about it on the front page come Monday morning because a source WOULD come forth and spill the secret. 791. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks like the Bud is flowing from the pit crew members. 792. SYH posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR wouldn't have told Gordon to pit, they'd have just given him a Too Fast Exiting Pit Lane or something. 793. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:54 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) And I, for one, welcome our new NBC overlords. 794. Anonymous posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:54 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) I posted #762 and I must be a big jackass and idiot because no one likes anything I post. I know it is stupid but I don't know if I deserve to be here. I'm NOT going to go on any suicide rant or anything. People dislike me because of my political and religious views (think of that what you will, I'm not changing what I think). Most of you will possibly say f you or something like that and that is fine. This is for certain my last post on this site, you won't have to deal with me posting anymore and I will go on living my pointless life. 795. DB1995 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Lol you guys think they made Gordon pit. Why would they "make" Gordon pit and not make Brad Keselowski on fresher tires pit? 796. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Love the asshole sponsor representative forcing the Jimmy John's hat on Keelan Harvick. 797. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:55 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Don't quit the site Anonymous. 798. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:55 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I kinda seem how oddly good Harvick was compared to his teammates they could never compete with him he led over 2000 laps i secretly think he was driving a 5th Hendrick motorsports car 799. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:55 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) "Come on dude...If that were true The Charlotte Observer would be running an a report about it on the front page come Monday morning because a source WOULD come forth and spill the secret. " That's the poorest excuse. Look how many years and decades some of this IRS stuff takes to come out. What do you think Chad got called on the carpet for? 800. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This should go down as one of the greatest races in the history of NASCAR. ***Cue up the inevitable replies telling me how wrong I am....*** 801. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So sad for Hamlin. 802. The Crimson King posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Congrats to Harvick, but I'm feeling sick to my stomach with all these gimmicks and forced cautions. What happened to letting people race? At least a week from now I'll be able to watch an actual, *legitimate* champion be crowned in Abu Dhabi instead of WWE on Wheels champion. 803. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "This should go down as one of the greatest races in the history of NASCAR. ***Cue up the inevitable replies telling me how wrong I am....*** " I disagree because it was a fustercluck with the yellows, and the racing was actually piss poor, but I will understand why you feel that way and agree with your reasons for it. 804. epzik8 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A nice victory speech by Harvick. Also it looked like Rick Hendrick (I'm assuming that's who that man with the Hendrick shirt was) is happy for Harvick. 805. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:58 pm Rate this comment: (6) (0) " At least a week from now I'll be able to watch an actual, *legitimate* champion be crowned in Abu Dhabi instead of WWE on Wheels champion. " Double points? Team orders? Team sabotage (Mark Webber, specifically)? F*ck no. 806. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:58 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "This should go down as one of the greatest races in the history of NASCAR. ***Cue up the inevitable replies telling me how wrong I am....***" I will personally disagree with you that this was one of THE greatest races in all of NASCAR (it was definitely a good race, but aside from the championship battle I don't think I would call it a classic to end all classics)... ...BUT I feel pretty confident you're going to be proven right and 2-3 years from now this will top lists of greatest races as the greatest NASCAR Cup Series race of all time. 807. Peter posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Congrats to Kevin Harvick on his fist championship in cup A terrific performance by Newman also, with it all on the line, in maybe the biggest race of his career, he steps up and has arguably the finest race of his season. 808. BluesTravelerFan posted: 11.16.2014 - 6:59 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I was reading and apparently Geoffry Miller tried an interview with Alan Gustafson and he said "H--- no. N-O."(Yes i have a hang up with the h word, laugh away). 809. Anonymous posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wonder how many people will get cancer from Harvick's burn out kicking up all that yellow smoke. 810. Sean posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:00 pm Rate this comment: (4) (1) "At least a week from now I'll be able to watch an actual, *legitimate* champion be crowned in Abu Dhabi instead of WWE on Wheels champion." hahahahahaha No. Doubling the points for the season finale makes it almost as illegitimate as the Chase. 811. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) On the subject of all the cautions in this race, at least the debris cautions were real. It wasn't like Texas where we basically got 10 invisible debris yellows right in a row... 812. DB1995 posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:01 pm Rate this comment: (6) (1) Also a huge LOL at NASCAR with the new joke of a championship, that even with all this crap will never be a scab on 1992's butt lol 813. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I wonder how many people will get cancer from Harvick's burn out kicking up all that yellow smoke." Don't even joke about stuff like that. 814. RaceFanX posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thank you greatly to our webmaster for his dedication in collecting the results of every NASCAR race in North America this season. You are the man! 815. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Did Gordon have a flat? Why did they pit? 816. The Crimson King posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:03 pm Rate this comment: (1) (5) "This should go down as one of the greatest races in the history of NASCAR." Ahahahahaha. You're cute. You'd make a good comedian. This race was every bit as bad as Texas was and was nearly unwatchable. 817. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bri-Bri couldn't even make it to the trophy ceremony? 818. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) COme on Denny! Get E'm Next year! 819. Anonymous posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) dennyfan, I saw you posted and told me not to quit the site. I know I said I won't post anymore but even if I did continue on the site, I don't know what would be a good name for me on here. I like Dale Jr but that one has idiotic thoughts on it. If anyone could think of a good name for me to use on here, I would be thankful for anyone to let me know. 820. I have never posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:06 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Oh please cuss on live TV you drunk dummies 821. JG24FanForever posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Jeff Gordon joins the prestigious club of drivers with at least 6 seasons with the best average finish! Dale Earnhardt had 8, Lee Petty had 6 and now Jeff Gordon has 6. Gordon also broke the Modern record for Top 10 finishes with his 454th, too! 822. The Crimson King posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:08 pm Rate this comment: (3) (2) "Double points? Team orders? Team sabotage (Mark Webber, specifically)?" I'll take double points over "playoffs" any day of the week. My only issue with double points is the track its used at. Team orders more than likely happens in Nascar too. That last yellow with Gordon was really shifty. 823. Anonymous posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (5) Who keeps disliking everything I post, I want to know. 824. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:10 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Larson and Dillon will both be Chase contenders next year, in my opinion. 825. Anonymous posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:14 pm Rate this comment: (2) (10) I demand to know who is disliking what I post, I only see one and I want to know who it is right now. Which one of you is it I want to know 826. BluesTravelerFan posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:14 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Nice classy nod by AB to Bob and BP and the past ESPN guys there. 827. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why didn't they do a fnal goodbye montage? I would really like that. Instead, we just get a goodbye. 828. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:14 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Team orders more than likely happens in Nascar too." Oh Good Lord...Didn't Martinsville put this to rest. If team orders exist, Hendrick would have and should have forced Jr. to move over and get Gordon locked into the last round. 829. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:16 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) That was cool of Bestwick to give a shout out to past ESPN broadcasters like that. 830. racefangurl posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Cancer's not funny. I'm with Schroeder51. 831. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Apparently, Knaus tried to did something to prevent loose, NASCAR told him he couldn't do it, but he did it anyway. Hence, he was reprimanded. 832. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^*prevent loose wheels, that is. 833. Anonymous posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:21 pm Rate this comment: (1) (10) To all of those people disliking what I post, thumbs down to you to. Have a good life. 834. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:23 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "Larson and Dillon will both be Chase contenders next year, in my opinion." Larson yes, Dillon...not unless his performance improves and he starts consistently getting top 10s instead of top 20s. 835. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:34 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) 2003 Brickyard 400 2007 Daytona 500 2007 All-Star Race 2011 World 600 2014 Southern 500 2014 NASCAR Champ A HOF resume if i do say so myself. 836. dennyfan11 posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:34 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) What a season. 837. epzik8 posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) On the topic of ESPN's last race, I will miss them to some extent because the Fox-TNT-ESPN contract was the period that I became a "real" NASCAR fan. The first Cup race I ever watched live from start to finish was on ESPN and it was the 2007 fall race at New Hampshire, where Clint Bowyer won his first Cup race. The very first Busch/Nationwide/Xfinity race I watched was also on ESPN, at Kentucky in 2008 when Joey Logano won in his third series start. That was when I first heard of Logano and it's also why I'm now a fan of him. I have a lot of memories of ESPN's NASCAR broadcasts from the past eight seasons and it's going to take me some time to get used to seeing Xfinity races on channels other than ESPN, but I'm also looking forward to the return of the Fox-NBC partnership next year. I can't wait to see how Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte do as NBC commentators. 838. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Sam Hornish and Carl Edwards start new jobs tomorrow*. Trevor Bayne gets a promotion. Ryan Blaney starts a new part-time gig. *Obviously, I don't literally mean tomorrow. 839. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ok on a scale of 1-10 the cup series gets a 7.9 because of basically the last 10 races of the year it wasn't much to complain about besides i wish the back half of the field was faster. 840. Sebastian Slater posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:46 pm Rate this comment: (1) (3) Just leaving the race right now.. Knaus was in a heated argument with Brian France and there was about to be a fist fight....apparently the situation is being investigated by local feds. Looked like Texas all over again instead it was Knaus, #48 team members and security. It looked pretty brutal. Congrats to Happy! 841. Anonymous posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:49 pm Rate this comment: (6) (2) Lets see if I can get to 100 dislikes for my comment. Come on people dislike it more since I'm that worthless. It must feel good to make fun of someone. 842. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:51 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "Knaus was in a heated argument with Brian France and there was about to be a fist fight" I've never hoped more for something to be true. 843. Walter White posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:51 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Newman is a bulldog. He will get his mark my words. I for one am happy to see Jimmie Johnson not win. Hallelujah. Harvick is a good champion mainly because he has the most bangable wife over 40. 844. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:51 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "local feds" Now there's a paradox if I ever saw one. 845. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I don't like knaus but if its true he should of knocked Brian France head off. 846. Sebastian Slater posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @Anoynmous Aww, sweetie. No need to be butt hurt. 847. Sponsor Updates posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) #42- Target / Cottonelle #47- Hungry Jack / Martha White #23- DipYourCar.com #83- DipYourCar.com #3- Dow / Sullair #16- 3M / Capital Office Products #99- Fastenal / Cheez-It / Frosted Flakes #43- Smithfield 848. Db1995 posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Lets see if I can get to 100 dislikes for my comment. Come on people dislike it more since I'm that worthless. It must feel good to make fun of someone." Calm down man. 849. Sponsor Updates posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #33 owner- Richard Childress 850. Brad Keselowski & Bubba Wallace Fan posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:03 pm Rate this comment: (6) (5) Congratulations to 2014 Sprint Cup Series Champion, Jeff Gordon! I questioned his strategy of pitting on that last caution, especially with Logano having problems, but he was able to net a solid top 10 & finish comfortably ahead of Joey. Was pissed off at Jeff after Texas & am still not a huge fan, but he's a deserving champ & a true legend. Brad finished 3rd in points. Hopefully they're more consistent next year. 851. edwards19 posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) darn I was hoping Carl would at least finish off his rfr tenure and Jimmy Fennig's last race as crew chief with one of those lucky top 10s but at least they're top 10 in points... I'm OK with Harvick winning the championship but I'd rather hamlin have won it but whatever. Can't wait till 2015!!! 852. epzik8 posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm out. See you all in February. 853. Thehair17 posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:09 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I'll start by saying I am a tried and true Newman fan, but congrats to Harvick on getting a well deserved championship. I'm still flabbergasted that Newman made it as far as he did. 854. Schroeder51 posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First time in his entire career that Jeff Gordon completed a season without scoring a single DNF. 855. edwards19 posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) tie for career best finish for allgaier. I'm hoping he can get a few top 10s next season. I personally think he had a fairly impressive rookie season considering the team. 856. New14 & 88Fan posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Just leaving the race right now.. Knaus was in a heated argument with Brian France and there was about to be a fist fight....apparently the situation is being investigated by local feds. Looked like Texas all over again instead it was Knaus, #48 team members and security. It looked pretty brutal." lol 857. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:18 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) With the season over, I'll post my silly season predictions for next year in the 3 major touring series in NASCAR. Sprint Cup: 1-Jamie McMurray 2-Brad Keselowski 3-Austin Dillon 4-Kevin Harvick 5-Kasey Kahne 6-Trevor Bayne 7-Michael Annett (TBR will be fine next year; Annett brings sponsorship, which will keep him in the ride) 9-Sam Hornish Jr. 10-Danica Patrick 11-Denny Hamlin 12-Ryan Blaney (part-time; probably will run 5 races or so, like Brad Keselowski and the #25 team did in '09) 13-Casey Mears 14-Tony Stewart (retires after the year) 15-Clint Bowyer 16-Greg Biffle 17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 18-Kyle Busch 19-Carl Edwards 20-Matt Kenseth 21-Ryan Blaney (part-time; 12 races confirmed) 22-Joey Logano 24-Jeff Gordon 25-Chase Elliott (part-time; 4-6 races reported) 27-Paul Menard 30-Alex Bowman (takes a temporary Cup ride from a start-up team while preparing for a full-time move to JR Motorsports in 2016) 31-Ryan Newman 32-Reed Sorenson/Boris Said/etc. 33-Landon Cassill/Brian Scott/Ty Dillon (Cassill runs all the non-RCR races) 34-David Ragan 36-Michael McDowell (returns to TBR after running a few races there in 2009) 38-David Gilliland 40-Landon Cassill/Blake Koch/Timmy Hill/etc. (Cassill runs all the races where Scott or Dillon run in the #33) 41-Kurt Busch (legal issues pending) 42-Kyle Larson 43-Aric Almirola 47-A.J. Allmendinger 48-Jimmie Johnson 51-Justin Allgaier 55-Brian Vickers 78-Martin Truex Jr. 83-Cole Whitt (BK Racing drops down to just one team next year; Whitt was the most impressive of all their drivers, so with BK he stays) 87-Jeffrey Earnhardt (part-time; will run a few select races throughout the season) 88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. 98-Josh Wise (I think he and DogeCoin like their situation there) Nationwide: 01-Landon Cassill/Cody Ware (Ware runs all the non-companion races) 1-Elliott Sadler 2-Brian Scott 3-Ty Dillon 4-Jeffrey Earnhardt 6-James Buescher (Roush thankfully gets him away from the train-wreck that is RAB Racing) 7-Regan Smith 9-Chase Elliott 10-Jeff Green 11-Darrell Wallace Jr. (I think they finagle enough sponsorship for him to run full-time) 14-Ross Chastain (McClure retires, Hefty sponsorship leaves; Chastain moves full-time to the #14) 16-Ryan Reed 17-Tanner Berryhill 18-Daniel Suarez 19-Mike Bliss 20-Matt Kenseth/Erik Jones/etc. 22-Brad Keselowski/Joey Logano/Ryan Blaney/etc. 23-Robert Richardson/etc. 28-J.J. Yeley/Timmy Hill 31-Dylan Kwasniewski 33-Paul Menard/Brandon Jones (part-time) 37-Kevin Swindell (runs full-time, or at least the plan is to run him full-time) 39-Ryan Sieg 42-Kyle Larson/Dylan Kwasniewski 43-Corey LaJoie (finally gets his chance with RPM) 44-Blake Koch 51-Jeremy Clements 52-Joey Gase 54-Kyle Busch/etc. 55-Jamie Dick 60-Chris Buescher 62-Brendan Gaughan 70-Derrike Cope 74-Mike Harmon/etc. 87-Joe Nemechek/etc. 88-Dale Earnhardt Jr./Kasey Kahne/Kevin Harvick/Alex Bowman 93-Carl Long/J.J. Yeley/Timmy Hill 99-Jeb Burton (gets a Nationwide ride; unfortunately, it's the crappy RAB ride) Truck: 00-Cole Custer (part-time) 02-Tyler Young 05-John Wes Townley 6-Norm Benning 8-John Hunter Nemechek/Joe Nemechek 9-Brennan Newberry (gets a full schedule this year) 10-Jennifer Jo Cobb 13-Max Gresham (replaces Jeb full-time) 15-Mason Mingus 17-Timothy Peters 18-Justin Boston 19-Tyler Reddick 20-Gray Gaulding/etc. 21-Joey Coulter 23-Spencer Gallagher 29-Brad Keselowski/Joey Logano/Ryan Blaney/etc. 31-Ben Kennedy 33-Brandon Jones (part-time) 35-Grant Enfinger (don't think Ogata is going to last with these guys) 49-Scott Saunders 51-Erik Jones 54-Kyle Busch/Darrell Wallace Jr./Matt Tifft/etc. 63-Justin Jennings 74-Mike Harmon/etc. 75-Caleb Holman (expands his efforts to full-time) 77-German Quiroga 88-Matt Crafton 98-Johnny Sauter 99-Bryan Silas And while I'm at it, here are my IndyCar and F1 grid predictions. IndyCar: 1-Will Power 2-Juan Pablo Montoya 3-Helio Castroneves 7-Mikhail Aleshin 8-Sage Karam (I believe Briscoe will be ousted from his ride) 9-Scott Dixon 10-Tony Kanaan 11-Sebastian Bourdais 14-Takuma Sato 15-Graham Rahal 17-Carlos Huertas 18-Ryan Briscoe 19-Justin Wilson 20-Ed Carpenter/Mike Conway 22-Simon Pagenaud 25-Marco Andretti 27-Daniel Abt 28-Ryan Hunter-Reay 34-Carlos Munoz 41-Jack Hawksworth 67-Josef Newgarden 77-James Hinchcliffe 82-Bryan Clauson (Indy 500-only) 83-Charlie Kimball 97-Jay Howard (Indy 500-only) 98-J.R. Hildebrand And F1: 3-Daniel Ricciardo 5-Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 6-Nico Rosberg 7-Kimi Raikkonen 8-Romain Grosjean 9-Marcus Ericsson 11-Sergio Perez 13-Pastor Maldonado 14-Fernando Alonso (McLaren) 19-Felipe Massa 20-Kevin Magnussen 25-Jean-Eric Vergne 26-Daniil Kvyat 27-Nico Hulkenberg 44-Lewis Hamilton 77-Valtteri Bottas TBA-Felipe Nasr TBA-Max Verstappen I'm undoubtedly forgetting some (especially in F1), and will absolutely be getting many of these predictions wrong. Still, figured I'd give it a shot. 858. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "841. Anonymous posted: 11.16.2014 - 7:49 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) Lets see if I can get to 100 dislikes for my comment. Come on people dislike it more since I'm that worthless. It must feel good to make fun of someone." Will you be posting a link to your obituary so we can come to your funeral and do the polka on your grave in front of your friends amd family, who apparently in your mind would probably stand there, watch, and applaud me as I defile you? *Before people say I am insensitive, I go on record as merely pointing out how ridiculous this guy is being* 859. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ok this is my next to last post of 2014 1.First i wanna say congratulations to Happy Harvick 2.Next i wanna say Newman and Hamlin will never get this close to a championship again. 3. Joey Logano heartbreaking pit stop will haunt this team in 2015 he will develop championship loss syndrome meaning he will go winnless next year similar to what Kenseth had happen to him this year. 4. Im predicting Jimmie Johnson to win his 7th title next year i hate to say it but i can feel it. 5. Kyle Larson will win 4 or more races next year. 6.Tony Stewart will make a comeback and win the Daytona 500. 7.Chase Elliott will replace Kasey kahne. In 2016 8.RCR will return to victory lane but with Paul menard 9. Roush will go winless 10. Clint Boywer will lose his ride at MWR 860. Hinch77 posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ericsson terminated his Caterham contract effective immediately. 861. Anonymous posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Whoever said I was joking about the yellow crud causing cancer? I was serious with that question! 862. Eric posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I have no problem with Kevin won the Championship because I hope for him or Ryan Newman to win the cup championship. Kevin Harvick now the same amount of wins as 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee Rex White besides what Kevin accomplished outside of the cup series in NASCAR. Rex White has as many wins and championships as Kevin Harvick. I think that speaks Kevin's odds to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Kevin isn't done winning matter of fact in the cup series since he does have prime years left and Stewart-Haas is a stronger than RCR. 863. GDR4 posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Congrats Harv. Champion and Hall of Famer. 864. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Despite the controversies from the Chase eliminations and points system and tribulations throughout the 2014 Cup season, this was one thoroughly entertaining year. The racing was intense and the best rose to the occasion, I just wish Jacques Debris didn't show up as often in races and the final four were the best four throughout the previous 35 races...metrics matter. A finale with Kevin, Jeff, Brad and Joey would have been more equitable. The underdogs were there late in the Homestead race trying like hell to prove they belonged. I have issues with the manufactured format, however, if your motto is winning is everything prove it in 2015 and tweak the Chase. 865. Evan posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:45 pm Rate this comment: (4) (2) Farewells and Milestones * The final race on ESPN a deal which began in 2007. ESPN stumbled out of the gate but as time went on, they got a little better. If you were expecting the spot-on coverage of yesteryear, you were going to be disappointed. ESPN wasn't perfect and NASCAR had to take a backseat on a network that was all about stick-and-ball sports. Jimmie Johnson opened 2007 and Kevin Harvick closes the book on ESPN's seven year run. There were a lot of changes within that time, too. The old stock cars of 2007 were replaced by the COT, then NASCAR changed its points system and the transition from the blocky brick that was the COT to the fast Generation 6 cars with the driver's name over the door. Jimmie Johnson was the driver of the second ESPN era winning 5 championships. Tony Stewart, Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick are the others. Then they brought Allen Bestwick on and brought a familiar face to the broadcast, and sent Jerry Punch back to the pits where he was effective. Though Bestwick will remain with ESPN, it won't surprise me one bit that he'll move over to NBC when his contract runs out. * The last time Marcos Ambrose drove for Richard Petty Motorsports and last time he drove in a race in the United States, for now. It's been a thrill to watch him race and he's been a thrill to watch. But he returns to Australia, driving for Roger Penske. Bon Voyage, Marcos. Time to go home. * Last race for Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Such a storybook year, the win at the Daytona 500 and the thriller at Martinsville after Junior was left out the Chase are fresh in our memories as his top victories of the year. Junior will have Greg Ives, the championship winning crew chief of Chase Elliott next year. But Junior had some fast cars this year. * Trevor Bayne's last start for the Wood Brothers, whom won the Daytona 500 as a team together in 2011. Bayne will move full-time to Roush-Fenway next year in the 6. * Jimmy Fennig's final race as a crew chief on the pit box. He'll head into the shop to be a senior leader for Roush-Fenway which hopefully will make the entire team stronger. * The last ride for Carl Edwards in the 99, which will also be the last race for the 99 number possibly as that will change into the 6 for Trevor Bayne. The Roush #99 had a rich history coming into the sport with Jeff Burton and then switching to Carl Edwards in 2005. Also through that time, they kept the same bright purple pit sign used from 1996 on. Sad to see Carl go, but he'll be another great add to the Joe Gibbs Racing team. * Final race for Greg Biffle with 3M sponsorship as Ortho comes on next year. * Kevin Harvick wins the 2014 Sprint Cup Championship, he's the first to win under that format. * Second championship win for the Tony Stewart-Gene Haas pairing. * First championship for Budweiser sponsorship since Darrell Waltrip in 1985. Harvick also shares the distinction with Waltrip with the fact that he wins the championship in hs first year with a new organization, Darrell won the 1981 championship with Junior Johnson. Comments of each driver Kevin Harvick-1st What can you say? Kevin Harvick cemented his place as a top driver tonight with a win and the championship. Kevin Harvick had just about every single bad thing happen to him in the early part of the year, blown motors, pit stop blunders, and tires killed his chances to win a lot of races this year. He had the fastest car on a number of occasions but still could not close the deal. Then he hits the Chase and he wins Phoenix and then he goes to Homestead and he was probably the most relaxed of all the contenders, he ribbed Joey Logano a little bit and traded jabs with each of his rivals and looking at him, he looked like he was the man to beat. The decision for Rodney Childers to give him the 4 tires proved to be the right thing as he closed the year out with the decisive pass on Jeff Gordon to win the championship. Harvick won the only thing missing from his sparkling resume, a Cup Series title. Congrats to the entire number 4 team, Stewart-Haas Racing and Kevin Harvick, Rodney Childers and all the boys back at the shop and everyone who made this team possible, the championship was a team effort and the right man won it. Congrats! The title is yours! Ryan Newman-2nd Ryan Newman was very consistent all year considering he did not get in the final four until the end. Newman at least proved he can wheel a car with the best of them and the decision to get 2 tires instead of four was not a race winning move, but one to try and go toe-to-toe with the contenders. It may not been agreeable how Newman got to this point, but he was always around at the end and he put up a good fight but, in the end Newman was still winless but had a consistent record in this stretch. Denny Hamlin 3rd The decision to leave Denny out on the track late by Darian Grubb like he did Tony Stewart in 2011, almost paid off but the late cautions killed him. Hamlin looked to be the most ready of the championship contenders and for a while it seemed he would claim victory. Denny Hamlin's year was a miracle considering he missed a race during the year with a serious sinus infection and Denny roared back into contention with a win at Talladega and strong runs during the Chase made him look like a bonafide contender. Denny Hamlin did not crap this one away like in 2010, he was in the wrong position when he needed to be at his best. At most, Darian Grubb lost this one. Joey Logano Joey Logano had an awesome regular season and he won 5 wins which was Joey Logano's career best and he was a career best 4th in points which is nothing to be ashamed of, he'll be a force in the years to come. What did Logano in was he suffered damage on the right side which they got repaired and then the worst was the pit stop issue in which they lost a lug nut and had to stick it back on and then on the money stop, the car rolled off the jack, costing them precious time. Logano had to race from behind more than once tonight and that became an uphill battle. Sometimes you have to lose a championship before you win one. I hope that everyone looks at this year as a success and that Joey uses this as something to build on. Final Remarks It was a good season, the new Chase format was mostly a success, we have had more hard driving and emotion than we have had in recent years and that is a good thing, It was a good battle for the Chase in the final months of the season. I did not agree with everything that went on, but I am pleased that Kevin Harvick got his first NASCAR Sprint Cup championship. Overall, I am glad this season is over and I am sure all of the drivers and crews are as well. I also want to give a shout out to all those truck drivers, garage workers, and track workers and safety crews who have worked all year to put everything together so these guys can race every week. Thanks a ton to all the people behind the scenes. 866. Tyroil Smoochie-Wallace posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:50 pm Rate this comment: (2) (5) Evan has a lot of free time... 867. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 8:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Something to shine some light on Hamlin will be in a contract year next season with JGR i do see him falling to the fourth guy next year on the roster so quiet possibly next year could be Hamlin's last with JGR considering Bubba and Erik Jones are waiting in line. 868. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.16.2014 - 9:00 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Sparkling comments Evan. In retrospect there were many moments throughout the year that stand out, but the entire season can be summed up with one adjective, passion. Passion from everyone involved to put on NASCAR racing throughout the U.S. A special thanks to the webmaster of Racing-Reference and all the fellow posters for one hell of a ride in 2014. 869. Adjust posted: 11.16.2014 - 9:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Here's a bunch of things I put together. 1. Congrats On Harvick for the Championship. After his wins, Most laps led but 2nd places, and his early season engine fails He did great and out of everyone in the final round he deserved it.' 2. About the race, Being a Gordon fan, WHY would you pit? Somehow he managed a top ten. Somehow. 3. 1st Year for no Win for Smoke. 4. I wouldn't be surprised if Logano fired his Jack man after this, I had to feel for him. What a way to end a season of greatness in shame because of one mess at the time you CAN-NOT mess up. 5. Again, Being a Gordon fan, Seeing the non Chase points And the Chase points makes me angered... 6. We say Goodbye to our final full-time foreigner, Marcos Ambrose. Not the way to end a career anyone would want. 7. Is it just me, or does anyone think Greg Biffle Doesn't try anymore? 8. A win less season for (FULL TIME) Ryan Newman, Paul Menard, Jamie MACMurray, Matt Kenseth, Clint Bowyer (Including no Gen-6 Wins), Kyle Larson, Justin Allgaier, Martin Truex Jr., Danica Patrick, Casey Mears, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Brian Vickers, Austin Dillion, Cole Whitt, Marcos Ambrose, David Ragan, David Gilliland, Josh Wise, Alex Bowman, Michael Annett, Brett Moffitt, Greg Biffle, And Tony Stewart! 9. Hopefully Next year we dont have so many BS Debris Cations, Or Debris Cations at all unless it -Matters- And finally 10. I give this season a 7.6, Why? Because yes it did have some good races, but this chase is garbage. You could win the first 35 races or the year But OH NO YOU WRECKED AND GOT 4TH IN POINTS, SEE YOU NEXT YEAR! Stupidest idea ever. The racing wasn't bad, and about no fuel strategy races. I haven't recalled a single one this year, It seemed the more worrying was about running out of tires. If i was in 2011 and saw this I would question what Universe My future self was in. ( In 2011 there was way to many fuel races.) And that raps it up. Hopefully next year brings us everything we expected. Or most. Adjust is out. 870. BluesTravelerFan posted: 11.16.2014 - 9:10 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Well, all in all, I'd say by today's standards it wasn't too bad a season(certainly a marked improvement over 2013), even though admittedly after the start of the year my interest in racing(for a variety of reasons, personal or otherwise) really waned as I often only watched small bits of races intently. Still, I got to see many good moments: Seeing Jr win the 500 was a real awesome feeling that harkened me back to when i was a kid and he won it the first time, it was so awesome to see him do something not even his dad was able to do,as he drove his heart out(In my biased opinion the best plate race performance I have seen since his dad passed) getting it done, and then seeing the pure joy he had after made the previous years of hardship worth it. It was just as great seeing him have such a fine year to back it up. It was so warming to see him prove everyone wrong that wrote him off. It's too bad he had the three straight bad finishes in the chase to take him out of contention, but it was still gratifying to see what he was able to do. And seeing such a resurgent Jeff Gordon at age 43 was really great as well, it's pretty remarkable how long Jeff has been a relevant factor in the Cup series, and I definitely don't think he's going anywhere soon(though it would help if he could get a better CC). I don't have enough time to go through my other highlights, but it was definitely way better than the previous two seasons. I just want to say thanks to everyone at RR, between the posters, the webmaster and everyone for being so awesome to me in my time here(even though i think i made as many posts in this race as I had the whole year!), from the time I started posting to now, you guys have welcomed me and treated me like one of the family, not something I have often been able to say elsewhere. It's pretty lifting to see all the thumbs up and support I've gotten in my time here:) Thanks to Steve Letarte for his time as Jr's CC and his instrumental role in reviving his career, and good luck to him as he pursues his broadcasting career.Good luck also to Greg Ives and Jr in 2015. See you guys at Daytona time! 871. Adjust posted: 11.16.2014 - 9:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cant believe I forgot this 11. As a look back at the Month of July and seeing Turner leave NASCAR made me feel that it doesn't have a name. You feel it and you dont know how you feel, Call me crazy, I felt that for 2 week In till ESPN came back and Gordon won his 5th Brickyard 400. And now we say goodbye to ESPN. Even if i still feel bad for having them leave, I look to the bright side, Next year with NBC Hope fully be fun. I cant wait for next year] 12. And Nationwide Loses its sponsor for NASCAR 2nd highest Division and becomes to Xfinity Series Next year. Going to take me a while to -Adjust- But I can live with It. As I said before Adjust is Really out 872. Brad24 posted: 11.16.2014 - 9:28 pm Rate this comment: (7) (3) Congrats Jeff Gordon on winning title #7 and tying Petty and Earnhardt. Let's go get #8 in 2015! 873. Sean posted: 11.16.2014 - 9:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "14-Tony Stewart (retires after the year)" It's time. He's getting outrun by Danica as often as not lately. "6-James Buescher (Roush thankfully gets him away from the train-wreck that is RAB Racing)" I'd like to see it but it looks like Roush is going for ride-buyers more and more in Nationwide, and I would more likely guess that Chris moves to the #6 car since it has much more stable sponsorship and Roush picks up some ride-buyer for the #60. "11-Darrell Wallace Jr. (I think they finagle enough sponsorship for him to run full-time)" I also want this to happen, but I'm going to doubt this also. Nationwide has almost all races on Fox Sports 1 and NBC Sports which will cause the series to plummet in ratings relative to what they were getting on ESPN/ESPN2, I believe. That will make it hard for even premier teams to land new sponsorship, I think. "00-Cole Custer (part-time)" He should be full-time, but I agree that won't happen. "8-Sage Karam (I believe Briscoe will be ousted from his ride)' Briscoe is out. That is confirmed. However, there's a rumor that Target may be dropping from 2 cars to 1 to give more money to Kyle Larson or because a new executive at Target is losing interest in racing sponsorships. The question is not Karam v. Briscoe. The question is Karam v. Kanaan (if Target does drop to one car as some people are rumoring, then Kanaan would take over the NTT Data car presumably renumbered #10 and Karam would be lost). "17-Carlos Huertas" Yeah, I'll buy that. I hope nobody will take Sebastian Saavedra's money anymore. There are plenty of better ride-buyers around than him. Not sure Huertas is, but at least he's more likable. "18-Ryan Briscoe 19-Justin Wilson" Coyne never has two veteran drivers. I think Wilson will take over the #27 and Honda will chip in because it needs to have its premier drivers in the top rides, considering it has so few premier drivers left now. Briscoe or Servia will be in one car (I'd still prefer Servia but he is getting long in the tooth) with a ride-buyer in the other. "20-Ed Carpenter/Mike Conway" Pretty sure Conway is out since he's going to take the World Endurance Championship Toyota ride I think (he just won for them this weekend). Most people seem to expect that J.R. Hildebrand will do the road courses and Indy for Carpenter next year. "98-J.R. Hildebrand" Herta can't afford Hildebrand since he doesn't bring money and Herta seems to have less money than any owner in the paddock. I'm going to guess Daniel Abt lands here. 874. aframe43 posted: 11.16.2014 - 9:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Speaking of Nationwide they ran a nice thank you commercial with a brief montage that was more than ESPN could muster. Anonymous proves why this site needs registration. 875. cjs3872 posted: 11.16.2014 - 10:06 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) I'll get to Kevin Harvick's deserved championship, as he really saved NASCAR from total embarrassment with his wins in the last two races, but Jeff Gordon had one of the oddest race strategies I can remember. We all saw how Alan Gustafson screwed him yet again. Last week, I said he would never win a championship, and I listed a few reasons, but how I forgot to mention the constant tactical screw-up his crew chief makes, I can't figure out, because that may be the main reason he never wins a title, or even seriously contends for one again. And the real mistake Gustafson made wasn't pitting him on the caution with about 10 laps to go, but rather NOT pitting on the caution before that, which would have made him dead meat for those on fresher tires on the restart with 10 laps left. But I'm not sure anyone else noticed this, but on every restart, and he led on every restart during the race until the end, Gordon made it a point to line up at the head of whatever line Harvick was going to line up second in. To me, that was a very odd strategy by Gordon. Every time Harvick was going to line up on the outside, Gordon positioned himself there, and every time Harvick was going to line up on the inside, Gordon positioned himself to line up on the inside. A very odd strategy, indeed. It's almost as if Gordon's team and Harvick's team had a pre-planned strategy going in. And also, didn't I say a few weeks ago that the #22 team of Joey Logano couldn't be trusted under pressure? Well, every part of that team crumbled when put under the gun. Logano hit the wall in the middle stages of the race, and then his crew gives him a bad pit stop at the worst possible time, something that had dogged Harvick's team all year long. And we've seen this out of the #22 team before when the pressure was on. Last week, they tried every way they know how to give away a spot in the final four, and let's not forget how they almost threw away an almost guaranteed spot in the Chase last year in the fall race at Richmond. As good as Joey Logano and that team are, they seem to already be having a knack for choking when the spotlight is harshest, and we saw yet another example of that tonight. Now for the deserving champion. Kevin Harvick was probably the fastest all year long, but as the final six races showed, if they had nothing go wrong, such as parts breaking or bad pit stops, they were going to be awful tough to beat, because Harvick didn't make very many mistakes, which is to be expected for a driver that, unlike Logano and his team, has always found a way to come through in the big moment. When he won the Southern 500, that gave him at least one win in every crown jewel race, and the best clutch performer among those battling for the championship came through yet again. And ironically, this win was the 28th of his career, matching the total of the only other driver ever to win the championship driving car #4 (also a Chevrolet), Rex White. White also won 28 times in his career. And I also think it's a bit ironic that the driver that replaced Dale Earnhardt in what was car #3 after Earnhardt's death would win the championship the year car #3 returns with the next number up, the number 4. It's also noteworthy that Jimmie Johnson, who Harvick replaces as champion, gave Harvick a lot of advice through the week, especially after the teams got to Homestead. It's also ironic that three years ago, when Jimmie was last dethroned as champion, a driver from Stewart-Haas Racing had to win the final race to win the championship, and he did. Of course, that driver, Tony Stewart, may have been the happiest last place finisher in the history of the sport, even as his run of 15 consecutive years with a win goes by the boards. With Stewart's streak now at an end, I think it puts in proper perspective just what Richard Petty, David Pearson, Ricky Rudd, and Rusty Wallace accomplished as the only four drivers to win in at least 16 consecutive seasons, while Stewart's streak stopped where two other legendary champions' consecutive seasons with a win streak stopped, at 15. (Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt also won in 15 consecutive seasons, but like Stewart, injuries had a hand in that streak coming to an end.) 876. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 10:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) A few comments on Long Shot's silly season predictions: "14-Tony Stewart (retires after the year)" I don't know if he'll retire or not, but one way or another, I do expect Kasey Kahne to end up in an SHR car in 2016. Whether that's the #14 (due to Tony retiring), the #41 (Kurt's legal situation), or the #10 (if Kahne can bring Farmer's with him, I'd have to think they'd kick her out in favor of him), I don't know. But yeah, I do expect him to go over there though once Chase inevitably takes over the #5. I'm sure Hendrick will make sure he's still "in the family", if you will. "6-James Buescher (Roush thankfully gets him away from the train-wreck that is RAB Racing)" I'd love to see this, but I doubt it unless Rheem goes with him. They'll probably just end up doing a two car NXS deal with Chris Buescher and Ryan Reed (which actually might be good for Chris, since he'd clearly be top priority). Hopefully James will get a good ride eventually though. I think he's about as talented as a lot of these young guys (and definitely more-so than people like say the Dillon Brothers), but it seems like everyone has sort of forgotten about him due to his pedestrian year with RAB. "11-Darrell Wallace Jr. (I think they finagle enough sponsorship for him to run full-time)" If not, then it seems like he'll run a bunch of races in the #20, with Erik Jones doing most of his scheduled races as Kyle's foil in the #54. Hopefully it will be the #11 full time for Bubba though. "22-Brad Keselowski/Joey Logano/Ryan Blaney/etc." If Blaney isn't full time in the #12 (like he should be, ugh), then I expect him to run at least quite a few races in the #12 (in addition to the #22) like he did this year. "43-Corey LaJoie (finally gets his chance with RPM)" I hope so because Armstrong kind of sucks, but unfortunately I doubt it. "99-Jeb Burton (gets a Nationwide ride; unfortunately, it's the crappy RAB ride)" I see him staying another year with ThorSport in the Trucks. If Buescher leaves this ride, then maybe Gresham (who you have taking Jeb's place in the #13 truck) or someone like that gets this car. I'll actually be making my 2015 predictions some time soon (I'm already brainstorming them up right now). I'll most likely once again do it team-by-team for the Cup Series like I did last year, and then just give brief rundowns for the other series (NXS, Truck, IndyCar, F1, etc). I'll also probably throw in a lot of 2015/2016 silly season stuff in there as well, since it sort of seems like it might be a big year for that, at least in the Cup Series. 877. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.16.2014 - 10:12 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) So, my guess is that Carl's #19 gets the owner points from the #20 and then Kenseth can use the PC Provisional if need be for the first three races of the year. I look forward to seeing whether or not the long awaited Carl Edwards-Joe Gibbs pairing will bring the results it is expected to. Honestly would not surprise me to see Edwards have a year like Harvick had this year and former and future teammate Kenseth had in 2013. 878. cjs3872 posted: 11.16.2014 - 10:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) So you noticed the nice touch at the end of the broadcast, BluesTravelerFan (#826). It was nice to hear Alan Bestwick give a nod to guys like Bob Jenkins, Larry Nuber, Benny Parsons, and Ned Jarrett (I'm surprised that Mike Joy and Eli Gold didn't get a mention, since they also worked at ESPN during their early NASCAR days.). Actually, this was a big year for Bestwick as the lead commentator on motorsports, because earlier this year, he stepped into the same booth that legends such as Jenkins, Jim McKay, Keith Jackson, Jim Lampley, and Paul Page stepped into, and that was the role of the lead commentator for the Indianapolis 500, and he did so quite well. (They even had Bobby Unser on the pre-race to share his memories of ABC covering the race, as he was a part of their commentating team for 11 Indianapolis 500s.) And Bestwick did so for the ABC's Golden Anniversary Indianapolis 500, as this year's race was their 50th. Now if they could only get color analysts that don't put you to sleep, their Indy coverage might be better for 2015. 879. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 10:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I think Carl at JGR is gonna be a really scary combination eventually. Even in Roush's garbage bin equipment this year, he still won two races (and miraculously made it all the way to the Final Eight of the Chase), so that tells me that he's still one of the top five most talented drivers currently in Cup. It might take them a little time to get going next year (kind of like Harvick this year - they'll probably have some kinks to work out), but when they do, I think he's gonna be blinding fast (especially if either Darian Grubb or Dave Rogers is his crew chief, and it sounds like one of those two definitely will be). And about Joey Logano, it's gonna be really interesting to see how he recovers from not winning this championship. Will he use it as motivation and come out even better next year, or will he be like Denny in 2011 and have a miserable year? I don't know. Next year is a pretty important year for him though, I feel like. Whether or not he comes back strong from this could end up affecting whether or not he ever lives up to that championship potential he showed this year. 880. ii posted: 11.16.2014 - 10:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I have to say, one very surprising fact of this year is that Martin Truex Jr. led only 1 lap. All season. 881. Aaron posted: 11.16.2014 - 10:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was a great year to be a Dale Jr. fan! He won four races, including the Daytona 500, and I saw him win at Martinsville in person. He wraps up his four-year run with Steve Letarte as his CC with 20 top-10s and an eighth-place finish in points in addition to those four victories this season. Best of luck to Steve once he gets in the booth. 882. cjs3872 posted: 11.16.2014 - 10:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) A two-car NXS team for Roush, murb? You do know that Elliott Sadler is going to be driving car #1 for Roush in the NXS in 2015, so that makes it a 3-car team, unless either Buescher or Reed goes elsewhere, and I don't think Buescher's going anywhere. And also, Ryan Blaney is going to go after the NXS championship next year, as well as a limited schedule with the Wood Brothers. But I also think that if the rumors are true about Darrell Wallace, Jr., that's he's actually out of a ride for next year, since JGR has apparently released him due to sponsorship issues, which also costs him his ride at KBM. And yes, that's my guess on the #19 car next year, since Matt Kenseth does have the champion's provisional, though Kenseth is considerably down the list of drivers that would be in line for it, should multiple drivers need the champion's provisional next year. Kenseth would be sixth on the list, since it goes by most recent champion. The champion's provisional list would be, in order, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Kenseth, and Jeff Gordon. And I know we have all off-season to think about this, but with his newly won championship, combined with having at least one win in every one of the important races in the sport, and his ability to come through when it counts, unlike those he beat for the championship (none of the other three are known as guys who have come through when the money's on the line), where does this place Kevin Harvick among the all-time greats? Not in the first two tiers, but quite possibly, he may be mentioned as a third-tier great now, given what he's accomplished. He was a slam dunk Hall of Famer even before his championship, but now Harvick must be thought of as possibly a top 20 driver all-time when his career is through, and it isn't anywhere near over at this time. He's not there yet, but an argument can be made that he could be in the top 20-25 greatest of all-time right now, though I'm not in agreement with that assessment quite yet. But with 28 wins, including a Daytona 500 win (2007), two Coca-Cola 600 wins (2011, '13), a Firecracker 400 win (2010), a Brickyard 400 win (2003), the win in the 2010 Talladega spring race, which I still consider to be a crown jewel, an All-Star Race win (2007), a Southern 500 win (2014), and now the 2014 championship, Harvick's building quite a resume, not just for Hall of Fame stature, which he had even before this title, but now as legitimately one of the all-time greats. After all, the true greats, no matter the sport, always seem to come through when the pressure is highest, and Kevin Harvick has passed that test over and over again, and with wins in every big race and now a championship, he's building a resume as one of the all-time greats, not just a Hall of Famer. 883. murb posted: 11.16.2014 - 10:44 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I forgot about Sadler, you're right. But Penske said last night that Ryan Blaney will apparently only run a partial NXS schedule, as opposed to the full schedule that we all thought he would run. And as for Bubba Wallace, JGR has said that he will at least be running a partial NXS schedule, and they are in fact still looking for sponsorship to run him full time. So no, they haven't released him. 884. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 10:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "He should be full-time, but I agree that won't happen." He can't be full-time. He doesn't turn 18 until the January after next (scary thought, eh?) "Herta can't afford Hildebrand since he doesn't bring money and Herta seems to have less money than any owner in the paddock. I'm going to guess Daniel Abt lands here." I thought I heard that Abt was testing with Andretti. Are Herta and Andretti affiliated in any way? Either way, I agree completely with you in that Justin Wilson deserves the #27 over anyone else; I'm just not sure if it's going to happen. "Pretty sure Conway is out since he's going to take the World Endurance Championship Toyota ride I think (he just won for them this weekend)." Crap, I forgot he had the WEC deal lined up. My err. "I hope so because Armstrong kind of sucks, but unfortunately I doubt it." I haven't heard RPM say a thing about Armstrong's future one way or the other, so I'm pretty 50-50 on whether or not he stays. And even if he does get released, I'm not sure whether LaJoie's still on their developmental roster after his idiotic anti-Muslim comments on Twitter from last year. So this was a pretty big reach on my part. 885. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 10:54 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Since im bored I'll do my sprint cup silly season chart 1-Jamie Mcmurray 2-Brad K 3- Austin Dillon 4- Kevin Harvick 5-Kasey Kahne 6- Trevor Bayne 7-Michael Annett 9- Sam Hornish 10- Danica Patrick 11- Denny Hamlin 12- Ryan Blaney/ Juan Montoya (Part time) 13- Casey Mears 14- Tony Stewart 15- Clint Boywer 16- Greg Biffle 17- Ricky Stenhouse 18- Kyle Busch 19- Carl Edwards 20- Matt Kenseth 21- Ryan Blaney (part time) 22- Joey Logano 23- Cole Whitt 24- Jeff Gordon 25- Chase Elliott (part time) 27- Paul Menard 29- Milka Duno (part time) RAB Racing 30- Matt Dibendento 31- Ryan Newman 32- Bobby Labonte/ who ever has money 33- Ty Dillon (RCR)/ Rotating drivers (circle sport) 34- David Ragan 36- Reed Sorenson 37- Alex Bowman (part time 3rd TBR car) 38- James Buescher 40- Landon Cassill 41- Kurt Busch 42- Kyle Larson 43- Aric Almirola 44- David Stremme (part time) 47- A.J 48- Jimmie Johnson 51- Justin A 55- Brian Vickers 75- Clay Rogers 77- Corey Lajoie (Part time) 78- Martin Truex Jr 83- David Gilliland 87- Brian Scott (2nd Furniture Row racing team) 88- Dale Jr 98- Josh Wise 01- Jeffrey Earnhardt (part time JD motorsports) 886. Eric posted: 11.16.2014 - 10:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I am going to address some of longshot's predications for NASCAR. 1.) Stewart Retiring after 2015 is hard to say at this point. What I am willing to say is if Stewart is having better season in 2015, I don't see him retiring. The other thing is would Stewart retire if he wins the Daytona 500 next year. 2.) I don't see James Buescher going to Roush. 887. Sean posted: 11.16.2014 - 11:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Are Herta and Andretti affiliated in any way?" Other than the fact that the former used to drive for the latter and that they both own Honda teams, no. "I thought I heard that Abt was testing with Andretti. Either way, I agree completely with you in that Justin Wilson deserves the #27 over anyone else; I'm just not sure if it's going to happen." Yes, Abt tested with Andretti and Wilson didn't, but in my opinion, with Chevy having Will Power, Helio Castroneves, Juan Pablo Montoya, Simon Pagenaud, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Sebastien Bourdais, Ed Carpenter on the ovals, Josef Newgarden, and Sage Karam expected as major drivers (although Karam and Newgarden are borderline major and Carpenter obviously isn't diverse), who does Honda have to compete? Ryan Hunter-Reay and Justin Wilson with James Hinchcliffe borderline and really no one else. With so few premier talents, Honda needs to make sure they're in the best cars and I think they know that. With Honda's one premier team (Andretti) having Marco Andretti (great at Indy and Iowa, mediocre everywhere else) and Carlos Munoz (who actually disappointed me in his rookie season) in two of the cars, the fourth car needs to have somebody much better than Abt in it, and I think Honda will go for Wilson. Besides, doesn't that car still have United Fiber & Data? That should pay for somebody at least Hinchcliffe-caliber, and honestly Wilson and Servia are probably the only drivers who would not be downgrades, of the remaining drivers seeking rides. Add that Wilson I think wants to do anything to leave Coyne, and I really do think this is more than just wishful thinking. 888. The Long Shot posted: 11.16.2014 - 11:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looking at some of my preseason predictions from last year. I nailed Kyle Larson as Cup ROTY and Will Power as IndyCar champion, but failed miserably on all the others. Look for a new line of predictions soon. 889. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 11:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I forgot the #95 team McDowell will be in that car i'lldo the Xfinity series a little later on 890. NadeauFan91 posted: 11.16.2014 - 11:10 pm Rate this comment: (3) (2) I lost a lot of respect for Harvick after his little Texas shenanigans, but I will say straight up he deserved this championship 100%. I was hoping Newman could pull it off, but that's racin' for you. Good championship Harvick! On a side note, has anyone been on NASCAR's Facebook page? I have never seen a bigger case of sour grapes than now. All it is is a bunch of Gordon fans saying he 's a seven time champion now and such. It's pretty sad, I got over Junior not making it past round two pretty quickly, I wish FB's Gordon fans could do the same. In conclusion, this was a surprisingly entertaining season, can't wait for more next year (hopefully with this stupid new chase format gone). 891. Evan posted: 11.16.2014 - 11:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @Tyrell Smoochie Wallace I have a lot to talk about...hope you enjoyed it. I just wanted to hit all of the points of what happened in the race. 892. David posted: 11.16.2014 - 11:20 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "On a side note, has anyone been on NASCAR's Facebook page? I have never seen a bigger case of sour grapes than now. All it is is a bunch of Gordon fans saying he 's a seven time champion now and such. It's pretty sad, I got over Junior not making it past round two pretty quickly, I wish FB's Gordon fans could do the same." Yeah, it's pretty pathetic; they've been doing that on basically every championship-related article leading up to the finale. They're making the other Gordon fans (the mature, non-delusional ones) look bad. Speaking of Gordon, he wasn't added to the Championship Round as DSFF said he would be. I believe he owes us a Marty Reid praise post (though I'm not holding my breath for it). 893. Anonymous posted: 11.16.2014 - 11:25 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) Wow, Jeff Gordon! 7th time earning the most points in a season!!! Just one more to become the BEST EVER with 8!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 894. Ridin' with Rusty posted: 11.16.2014 - 11:29 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Always been a 24 hater but that dude needs some credit. Gordon is the best driver of his era hands down! 895. MAR posted: 11.16.2014 - 11:39 pm Rate this comment: (3) (1) Xfinity silly season chart well expectations at least 01-Jeffrey Earnhardt 1- Elliot Sadler 2- Landon Cassill 3- Ty Dillon 4- Timmy Hill 6- Bayne, Biffle, Stenhouse 7- Regan Smith 9- Chase Elliott 10- Blake Koch 11-Bubba Wallace (not giving up hope on sponsorship. 12-Ryan Blaney (hoping penske doesn't act cheap and invest in a full-time ride 14- Dakoda Armstrong 15-Cody Ware (RWR racing) 16- Ryan Reed 17- Tanner Berryhill 18-Matt Kenseth 19-Mike Bliss 20- Daniel Suarez 22-Brad, Joey, Blaney, Ambrose? 23- Robert Richardson/ Ride buyers 28- J.J 29- Milka Duno (part time) 31- Dylan K 32-Jamie Mcmurray (only because Ganassi now owns the team. 33- Paul Menard, Brandon Jones, (Scott Lagassee Daytona) Austin Dillon (part time) 36- Ryan Preece (part time TBR) 37- Any ride buyer 39- Ryan Sieg 42- Kyle Larson/ 43- Corey Lajoie 44- Will Kimmel 51-Jeremy Clements 52- Joey Gase 54- Kyle Busch/ Erik Jones 55- Jamie Dick/ 60- Chris Buescher 62- Brendon Gaughan 66- Steve Wallace (the return of RWI) 70- Derrike Cope 74- Mike Harmon 80- Ross Chastain 87- Joe Nemecheck/ John Hunter (when he turns 18) RWR when nemco doesnt use it. 88- Harvick, Earnhardt Jr, Kahne, Bowman 89-Morgan Shepard 93- T.J Bell/ Rotating Drivers 99-Max Gresham 896. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 11.17.2014 - 12:03 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Good job Newman for trying. Looks like he did the best he could. Congrats to Harvick, though the term 'champion' has really lost some of it's flare with this randomized points system. Discord couldn't have come up with a more ridiculous system. 897. AntmanB posted: 11.17.2014 - 12:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Can anyone do the Math and figure out if we had used last years chase format who would have won? 898. David posted: 11.17.2014 - 12:15 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) "Can anyone do the Math and figure out if we had used last years chase format who would have won?" Never fear, Jayski is here: Unofficial Chase Standings using 2013 Sprint Cup Chase rules: [after Homestead, race 36 of 36] 1) #22-Joey Logano [5 wins], 2396 2) #4-Kevin Harvick [5 wins], 2389, -7 (2014 Champ) 3) #2-Brad Keselowski [6 wins], 2361, -35 4) #31-Ryan Newman, 2354, -42 5) #24-Jeff Gordon [4 wins], 2348, -48 6) #20-Matt Kenseth, 2334, -62 7) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. [4 wins], 2301, -95 8) #99-Carl Edwards [2 wins], 2288, -108 9) #18-Kyle Busch [1 win], 2282, -114 10) #48-Jimmie Johnson [4 wins], 2274, -122 11) #16-Greg Biffle, 2247, -149 12) #5-Kasey Kahne [1 win], 2231, -165 899. David posted: 11.17.2014 - 12:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Keep in mind that these calculations must be taken with many grains of salt. 900. Schroeder51 posted: 11.17.2014 - 12:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Yeah, it's pretty pathetic; they've been doing that on basically every championship-related article leading up to the finale. They're making the other Gordon fans (the mature, non-delusional ones) look bad." Exactly; I'm a little bummed knowing that without the Chase, had things played out as they did in real life, Gordon WOULD have won the title, but, eh, what can you do? The Chase is here and there's nothing I can do about that. It is what it is. Those other Gordon fans need to learn that, and you are dead-on when you say they make the rational Gordon fans (like myself) and others look bad. Overall, though I'm still not ENTIRELY sold on this new Chase format (it would be better if they fixed several things, which I have already mentioned), but overall, I feel this was a pretty good season. Best season of all time? I wouldn't go QUITE that far, but it was nice seeing the level of competition going up with this new format and there were many really good, entertaining races this year. Just wish there hadn't been so many questionable debris cautions that turned races upside down! (Jacques REALLY got a workout this year, possibly more than any other year previously...) Overall, though, it's been a fun year, and congratulations to Harvick on his championship. I don't know if I'll be around much over the next couple months (I'm one of the very few regular posters who's not also a big football fan, so unfortunately I can't comment much on that), but I'll definitely be around come the 2015 Daytona 500! Here's hoping next year can be just as good if not even better, and here's hoping NBC does a good job covering the sport! 901. WinstonCupStandings posted: 11.17.2014 - 1:15 am Rate this comment: (3) (3) Top 10 1) Jeff Gordon (5109) -Champion 2) Joey Logano (4965) -144 3) Brad Keselowski (4886) -223 4) Kevin Harvick (4857) -252 5) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (4806) -303 6) Matt Kenseth (4709) -400 7) Ryan Newman (4621) -488 8) Jimmie Johnson (4483) -626 9) Kyle Larson (4482) -627 10) Carl Edwards (4384) -725 902. Watto posted: 11.17.2014 - 2:52 am Rate this comment: (2) (1) "On a side note, has anyone been on NASCAR's Facebook page? I have never seen a bigger case of sour grapes than now. All it is is a bunch of Gordon fans saying he 's a seven time champion now and such. It's pretty sad, I got over Junior not making it past round two pretty quickly, I wish FB's Gordon fans could do the same." I noticed people like that on youtube, forums, facebook, everywhere. People talk about Dale Jr fans being ridiculous, but there truly is no louder group of fans than Gordon fans. There are exceptions, of course. I have a few friends who are Gordon fans who don't do that type of stuff. The overwhelming trend on the internet, though? A whole lot of whining. Look at last year's Chase fiasco. The loudest fans in the sport can pat themselves on the back for that nonsense. 903. RWR posted: 11.17.2014 - 3:04 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) MAR: Bowman in the #37 TBR: A Starn n parker for him? I doubt 904. cjs3872 posted: 11.17.2014 - 3:12 am Rate this comment: (3) (0) The thing I'm worried about, where the debris cautions are concerned (at least the legitimate ones), is the fact that things are simply falling off the cars much easier than they used to. For instance, one of the debris cautions in this race was for the grill piece falling off the nose of the #32 car. That's the third time in the last four races that the grill piece simply fell off one of the nose of one of the Ford cars for no apparent reason. We also saw cautions thrown in recent races for spring rubbers falling out of the wheel well. While we do see quite a few debris cautions when they're not necessary, what I'm worried about is the rise in debris cautions for stuff that's falling off the cars. Parts and pieces getting knocked off the cars, either by crash damage, vibrations, tire problems, or other mechanical problems is normal, but seeing debris cautions for stuff simply falling off cars for no apparent reason is a disturbing trend that we saw more of this season. And murb (#879), I'm not sure how Joey Logano is going to fare as a result of this disappointment, but the more disturbing thing there is the fact that neither Logano or his team have proven that they can get the job done in a high pressure situation. In fact, they've proven that they can't get the job done in a high pressure situation. Richmond last fall (when the #22 team almost threw away a sure spot in the Chase) was horrendous, and the last two races of the season were both disasters. They overcame what happened at Phoenix, but not what happened at Homestead. And keep in mind that the end of the race at Texas was almost catastrophic to Logano, a fact lost in the post-race mayhem that erupted there. Logano ran in the top five, but had a disastrous pit stop at the same juncture in that race as the one that that occurred in this race, but so many things happened after his disastrous pit stop in Texas that he recovered from that to a degree. If any team choked under the pressure, it was the #22 team, because they had bad races in the pits each of the final three races of the season. And also, there were apparently some rules situations that came from this weekend's activities involving the 17 and 48 teams. I find it interesting that NASCAR is NOT going to penalize Chad Knaus for putting on a wheel spacer during a pit stop, even they were told not to. And the #17 team had parts confiscated prior to qualifying which could result in a big penalty to that team, including points. However, they were so far down in the standings that it won't matter very much. Stenhouse was the only one of the Roush cars that had a trouble-free race, yet in spite of that, could only finish 22nd, one spot BEHIND the #95 of Michael McDowell and SEVEN spots behind the #51 of Justin Allgaier, and was once two laps behind the leaders, even with a trouble-free race. 905. RWR posted: 11.17.2014 - 3:24 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Glad for Kevin, sad for Joey, the last pitstop was a disaster... SO, my predictions for 2015 cup: #1: Mcmurray 2: Keselowski 3: A Dillon 4 Harvick 5: Kahne 6: Bayne 7: Annett 9: Hornish Jr 10: Patrick 11: D. Hamlin 12: Montoya? Mcdowell? 13: Mears 14: Stewart 15: Bowyer 16: Biffle 17: Stenhouse jr. 18: Ky. Busch 19: Edwards 20: Kenseth 21: R. Blaney 22: Logano 23: ? 24: J. Gordon 26: ? (probably closed) 30: DiBenedeto? Yeley? Duno? Biss? 31: Newman 32: Said, Gase, Duno? 33: Ty Dillon, Scott, ??? 34: Ragan 35: CLOSED 36: ? 38: Gilliland 40: Cassill? Wise? Hill? Koch? 41: Ku Busch 42: Larson 44?: ??? 47: AJ 49?: ??? (Jay Robinson Racing? NEMCO-JRR?) 51: Allgaier 52: ? (second HScott car) 55: Vickers 66?: CLOSED 77: CLOSED 78: M. Truex Jr 83: Yeley? 87?: Nemechek? 88: Dale Jr 95: Mcdowell? 98: Wise 99?: ? (part time 4th Roush car) ??: ?? Chase Elliott (4th Hendrick cars) ??: ?? (Michael Waltrip Racing?) ??: ?? (second TMG car) ??: ?? (Beard Motorsports?) 906. Rusty posted: 11.17.2014 - 4:17 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) I will just say this. Kevin Harvick is a good driver and I have no issue with him being champion, the #4 team had the most raw speed all year long. But I just wish we could just go back to the pre-Chase ways. I'm tired of the fabricated drama and just wish we could go back to the guy who had the best 36 race season from top to bottom winning the title. At least Harvick was actually deserving of the title, though I think Jeff Gordon had the best top to bottom season this year. Newman and Hamlin didn't have championship seasons and I'm glad they didn't luck out. Not that I don't like them, I like them way more than Harvick, but they just didn't have the body of work that deserves a championship trophy. Maybe I'm too old school, but I feel like NASCAR is cheapening the brand in order to make the casual audience think things are exciting. Of course you're going to have an "exciting" finale if you're going to reset the standings and have 4 guys tied going into Homestead. But I just would rather see it happen naturally instead of NASCAR having to create their own drama to make it interesting. It's almost as if NASCAR doesn't have enough confidence in their own product that it could sell on its own and they need to spice things up to get people to watch. But off the Chase talk. Good bye to Marcos Ambrose, who really made a nice little NASCAR career for himself. I don't blame him one bit for wanting to go home, the NASCAR schedule is a grueling grind and its even worse when you have to be all the way across the world in order to endure it. It still wouldn't surprise me to see him pop up at the road courses in the 12 or something though. I feel like he could probably just hop into the car at Watkins Glen without competing all year and still compete for the win. It would be nice to see a driver from a foreign country be able to scratch out a longer Cup career though. Montoya flamed out and Ambrose decided to go home, so were back to an all American field for 2015. It will be interesting to see what teams can bounce back for 2015. JGR had a disappointing year, Kenseth went winless and Kyle Busch was kind of a mess. Hamlin nearly won the title, but let's be real this was from one of his best seasons. RCR also nearly won the title, but went totally winless and again showed a total lack of speed. I don't see that changing though, Menard and Dillon are conservative point racers and Newman has never been a guy that wins much outside of 2003. Roush will be interesting to watch with Carl Edwards gone, Greg Biffle is the lone vet and despite making the Chase, is coming off kind of an unimpressive season in which he lacked speed. Stenhouse found a way to regress in year two despite nearly winning at Bristol early in the year and even DNQ'd. Then you have Bayne who despite having a Daytona 500 win to his credit hasn't exactly set the world on fire. Also, despite the Harvick championship everyone else at SHR really struggled. Especially Tony Stewart, you expect it from Danica but Tony was lost nearly all year. Kurt Busch had a pretty bad year too though they occasionally showed speed and even won a race. 907. WinstonCupStandings posted: 11.17.2014 - 5:35 am Rate this comment: (3) (4) The only good thing to come out of this years BS championship format is Harvick will now be recognized as the champion he has been for four years. 908. Eric posted: 11.17.2014 - 7:20 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) The only predication I have for next year is in terms of the win totals of the organizations at this point. I honestly can't predict anything else do to Kurt Busch's legal status right despite what my thoughts are on the who matter. Here is my race organization predication for wins: Roush is going to have zero wins next year unless it is a plate win. Despite the additional 2 people for Roush, the Organization is in rebuilding mode. Biffle is past his prime. I don't see Stenhouse a threat to win a race. While Bayne has experience on big tracks from being with the Wood bros., he is a rookie on tracks from a cup standpoint and I don't see him a threat to win a race. RCR - I don't see any wins from this organization next year unless it is a plate win. I don't like the drivers they have outside Newman at this point. Paul Menard is a mediocre cup driver that does better early part of each season than the later part of it. Austin isn't a true threat to win a race. Penske - I think the win totals are going to fall because the 22 team is going to be affected how they lost the championship. I think they would have 4 to 8 cup wins next season. Petty - no wins unless it is a plate track. JTG-Daugherty Racing is capable of winning both road course races next due to Ambrose not being at the 2 road course races from a cup talent standpoint. Furniture Row Racing - I don't see a win happening. Stewart-Haas Racing- I'll be shocked if Kevin has 5 wins next season, but expecting him to race a win isn't a shock. The fact is Kevin before 2014 didn't lead laps like he did this season. Rest of the organization is the issue. A win from the 41 team wouldn't shock me, but the other 2 teams is a different matter. Stewart Haas should have 3 to 5 wins next season. Hendrick Motor Sports - I see 6 to 10 cup wins from the organization next year. I am going that low because the 88 team has a new crew chief next year. The other problem with the 88 team is you are dealing with the driver that got his first season with more than 1 cup in a season since 2004. I'll be shocked if the 5 team wins a race next year. The 24 team is a question mark to for wins due to the fact Jeff had his highest amount of wins in a season since the 2007. MWR - I wouldn't be shocked if I see a single win from them due to the fact you can't count out Clint Bowyer at Short tracks. I don't see MWR go back to their 2012 and 2013 ways before itchy arm gate at richmond. JGR - This is an organization that could win 6 to 14 races next year. This is an an organization like Penske and Roush that has plenty of experience with cars and Tapered Spacers. JGR is a step up for Carl Edwards and 4 to 5 wins wouldn't be a shock. I wouldn't be shocked if Kyle gets 3 to 5 wins next year. Matt Kenseth getting multiple wins next year is a question mark since he's going to be 43 year. I see Denny slumping and expecting a win out of him is almost out of the question. Chip Ganassi Racing - winning at least 1 race in 2015 is a possibility since Jamie Mcmurray is a threat on a plate track along with the fact a Kyle Larson win in 2015 isn't far fetched. 909. MAR posted: 11.17.2014 - 7:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) I got Bowman in the #37 a 3rd TBR car not as a start and park but as a small alliance with Jr Motorsports TBR runs chevys so i couldn't put bowman anywhere else. 910. JP88 posted: 11.17.2014 - 10:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow that was a heck of a finish. Glad Harvick won, he deserved it out of the 3 that were left to battle after Logano had his heartbreaking pitstop. I thought the racing was pretty solid this year. Debris cautions are a little wacky for sure but at least most of them were legit in this race. Next year should be really interesting. I doubt Penske is as good as they were, Gibbs will be way better and I can see Edwards and Kenseth winning a ton of races. Hendrick will be interesting. I feel like Gordon and Jr. will struggle to replicate their awesome 2014's, while Johnson should bounce back strong. Roush...wow they are in trouble. Other teams like RCR, MWR, etc... aren't going to do much other than a plate win. I think Harvick has a solid '15, but not as dominate. Maybe 3 wins. I'm not gonna predict who will win the title because it's a crapshoot to get through the chase. I think Tony Stewart win his 1st Daytona 500 next year. I agree with others that say he may retire from full-time after next year. 911. joshua761312006 posted: 11.17.2014 - 10:22 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Congrats to Harvick. I agree with Rusty comment 906 it is time to get rid of this farbicated championship drama. Also I find all of these cautions in a race quite disturbing. It seems that in my opinion several of them are not needed. Auto racing championships are not decided in this format. They have always been decided over who is the best over an entire season not one race. There are a lot of different things NASCAR could try to generate more interest like going to more road courses doing a couple of international races. At the road course races do standing starts. Also one last thing ESPN coverage of the race was pathetic it was like there were 39 invisible drivers in which hardly any of them discussed during the whole broadcast. You know there is actually a race going on. 912. WinstonCup4Ever posted: 11.17.2014 - 10:54 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Here's my feelings about this season. First off congrats to Kevin Harvick on becoming the 2014 Sprint Cup Series Championship. Through these last two races, you've dumped any distraction out the window that may have impeded your championship chances. With this championship, you now join an elite list of drivers to have won the grand slam and the championship as well. Congrats Kevin, here's hoping for more. Second, a shootout to Marcos Ambrose. A two time V8 champion comes to the United States to try his hand at NASCAR driving for the King. Though Marcos never won on the Cup side in his final year, it was for Richard to see both of his two drivers this season pick up wins, Marcos his "final" national touring win at Watkins Glen with the Nationwide Series and Aric Almirola for picking up his first career win in a rain shortened Sunday Coke Zero 400. For Marcos I put "final" in quotes as hopefully he can return for maybe at least the road races for example. Finally I have thoughts on ESPN/ABC. Not my actual thoughts really but more from a critic, RR poster, fan, and sponsor standpoint. Maybe coverage never met the Speedworld/ABC Sports standard for broadcasting NASCAR, but to see them back added some nostalgia growing up. One of the earliest races I can remember watching was on in fact ESPN(1997 Save Mart Supermarkets 300. From the same year, I also remember watching the Mtn Dew Southern 500 (aka the Jeff and Jeff show Part 1)). From a critic standpoint, the latest incarnation of NASCAR on ESPN/ABC, never have I seen so much controversy. The latest one we here at RR talked about the most was ABC's final race. Missing the first 25 laps, made me remind my self how I missed 3 hours of the COTA FIA WEC race on FS2 race due to College Football moving from FS1 as the network had MLB commitments and how the final laps live for Petit Le Mans were missed due to UFC prelims on FS2, FS1 was airing the NLDS, even though most of the main UFC card aired on FX. I actually taped the COTA WEC race since I was at work, talk about being hard on your VCR when Fast Forwarding through College Football. Now I can understand ABC joining at the competition caution instead of the green flag run before then as ABC is a broadcast network and I think in between sporting events, national and regional, a commercial break must be in place so local ads may be recognized. This is also why NASCAR Nonstop was not really "Nonstop" on ABC due to FCC mandated local ad breaks. Another thing I won't really blame ESPN on is when the Chase moved from ABC over to ESPN. "SOME" have suggested ABC was doing better with its female audience than its male audience for the reason a move like this happened. This in turn angered fans, sponsors, ABC affiliates, etc. I'm not going to point out the viewer thing as FACT, but it does raise questions why the Chase would air on ESPN and not ABC and why such controversy would be created. There's much more I could talk about, but I'm going to leave it at that. It was an awesome 2014 and a year to remember. Since I taped a boatload of races this year (yes I kept my promise from all the way back in February on the Daytona 500 page) I plan to relive the memories that we all talked about as being positive. Thanks to the fans, sponsors, RR, webmaster, TV crews, and everybody else for making this a great year. Here's hoping 2015 goes well and also here's hoping NBC/NBCSN deliver a great product as I can hardly wait for the return of NASCAR on NBC SPORTS. God speed Turner Sports/ESPN/ABC. You are gone, but not forgotten. 913. DH101 posted: 11.17.2014 - 10:56 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) I'm gonna voice my opinion on the topic of the chase format: I have been following NASCAR since I was 6 years old (2003) which was the last year on the old format. It was a great year for sure. But Kenseth had locked up the championship since like april. I didn't really think following points was that exciting. Then next year I hear about the "Chase" and I'm like, okay now there's a better chance for someone else to win the title, I mean in a lot of sports consistency don't mean shit if you don't win in the playoffs right? I know that's not traditional NASCAR but how can we stay the same forever? We need to spice things up a little bit, we need to have more people elidgeable each year to make points more exciting. I thought the original chase system sucked however. Because it was more of the same only its just a 2nd 10 race season and someone could easily get such a big point lead that no one else matters. When I heard about this points system I was skeptical if it would work till I heard about points are reset for homestead that means all 4 drivers that made it to the final round have a legitimate shot at the championship. Sure drivers that were consistent, would either have to remain consistent but would have to fight harder to be consistent, or win and you make it automatically. I love this format. I said it, I love it. Its brought out the best and worst in drivers. And that's not only made points racing exciting, its made individual races exciting as well in a car that is so f**king hard to pass in. 914. We need more Onion posted: 11.17.2014 - 11:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Actually, had it not been for Harvick's speed, Lucas Lambert would be billed as a total genius. He got Newman to come in and change two, coming out BEFORE the midpack drivers who did not pit overtook him, getting right behind Hamlin. It still was a great decision imo. 915. racefangurl posted: 11.17.2014 - 11:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think T-Bayne could win a plate race. He seems good at these and Roush is thought to have a good plate program. Sometimes Trevor's had a good run at a plate race and then wrecked/spun, lost his partner in the draft, run out of gas or blown an engine. Results don't reflect performance always due to him caught in someone else's mess or some car trouble not of own doing, basically. He has 3 crash DNF's at Daytona and 3 DNF's at Talladega, 2 from crashes and one from an engine. 916. racefangurl posted: 11.17.2014 - 11:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (3) My state's college b-ball team won a game Sunday. 917. JP88 posted: 11.17.2014 - 11:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) On top of my predictions for 2015, I forgot to mention Kyle Larson. He should definitely get into the winner's circle next year and I wouldn't be shocked if he is around come Homestead next November. 918. RWR posted: 11.17.2014 - 12:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And what do you think about my 2015 Driver/team chart prediction? 919. MAR posted: 11.17.2014 - 12:23 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) RWR why do you have a question mark by Cassill he basically has that ride they would be dumb to replace him. 920. MAR posted: 11.17.2014 - 12:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So what does anybody think of my 2015 Sprint cup and Xfinity series silly season Chart? And I'll do the truck chart some time this week 921. RWR posted: 11.17.2014 - 12:45 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) MAR Maybe Cassil can found an better ride next year, in cup or NXS So, your Cup chart is interesting... But in Xfinity, Turner Scott will reduce to one full time car (!) and probable an other in part-time... The RWR #15 is also a (S&P) part-time... 922. RWR posted: 11.17.2014 - 12:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And it's serious about Steve Wallace? 923. MAR posted: 11.17.2014 - 1:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) RWR i think its way to late for cassill to get a better cup ride but like i put in my Xfinity chart if Brian Scott goes to cup i can see Landon taking over the #2 car for RCR in the Xfinity series. Also turner scott won't exsist since Chip Ganassi is taking over the operation Larson will run a similar schedule and Ganassi would hire someone to fill out the rest of the races which is about 8-9 races. Dylan will be back fulltime and i could see him running a 3rd part time car for McMurray. And about Steve Wallace yes im serious Rusty wont be in the booth anymore so i most definitely think he would give it one more shot with Steve. And Rick ware would use the #15 and wont start and park with his son Driving 924. RWR posted: 11.17.2014 - 1:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) OK But I think Cody can drove the #23, okay, it's a share with R3 Motors but most "easy" for him (owners points advantage). And last question, so you think that the #49 (or #28) (JRR) is a error? Because the #66 is probably closed... 925. MAR posted: 11.17.2014 - 1:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Honestly i think Jay Robinson is finally just goin to leave sport after the whole #66 team disaster. But i could be wrong. 926. RWR posted: 11.17.2014 - 1:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hmmm...Not good for the engineers, Moffitt, and people who working... 927. MAR posted: 11.17.2014 - 2:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Moffitt is MWR test driver he has been for like 3 years as for the engineers o well 928. cjs3872 posted: 11.17.2014 - 2:27 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) JP88 (#910), you might be onto something about Tony Stewart winning the Daytona 500 after his first winless season in the Cup Series. After all, there have been quite a few drivers win the Daytona 500 after not winning the previous season. Men such as Benny Parsons, Bobby Allison, Geoff Bodine, Dale Earnhardt, Sr., Matt Kenseth, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. have all won the Daytona 500 after going winless the previous season. In Allison's case, his 1978 Daytona 500 win was his first since the 1975 Southern 500, so he went winless for more than two years before his first Daytona 500 win. In Bodine's case, his Daytona 500 win followed the only winless season Hendrick Motorsports has ever had. Dale, Sr., like Tony Stewart this year, had a 15-year streak of winning every year snapped before his 1998 Daytona 500 win, and Benny Parsons was winless the year after he won the championship, then won at Daytona in 1975. And more recently, Kenseth (in 2009) and Dale, Jr. (this past season) both followed winless seasons with Daytona 500 wins. So there is quite a bit of precedent for elite-level drivers following up winless seasons with wins in the Daytona 500. And here's something to consider in regards to next year, and how some teams might end up faring. I expect NASCAR to put an end to the practice of allowing teams to flare out the fenders in front of the rear tires, and if they do, that might shuffle the deck next year, because a number of teams, most notably Team Penske, did that noticeably, while others refrained from doing so to such a degree. And if NASCAR does that, we may not see Team Penske as strong next year, because that was one of the things they were doing to gain an advantage during the race. But if NASCAR puts a stop to that, we may see teams like Roush and Gibbs, who weren't doing that very much, become more competitive during the race. I suspect one of the reasons why Roush's teams weren't strong during the race was because they didn't flare out the fenders like some of the other teams did, but they were a little stronger in practice and qualifying when flaring out the fenders wasn't allowed. I also didn't notice that quite as much with the Hendrick cars, though they were still doing it. And Eric (#908), I actually think you might be a bit off on your wins predictions for some of the teams. I do expect Roush to come back some, if for no other reason than the fact that NASCAR's likely not going to allow the teams to flare out the fenders during the race, which put Roush at a disadvantage, since they didn't appear to do that with their cars. And I think having Trevor Bayne, a driver known for giving good feedback to the team, in the fold full-time, is also going to help, because that's something they've been missing since Matt Kenseth left. I also think you're on the low side when it comes to wins by the Chip Ganassi team, because I think they could have a return to 2010 form next year, and they won four times, including the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 that year. But I also think that the HMS win total next year is going to be closer to six, because I do expect significant falloff from both the 24 and 88 teams. The 24 and 88 teams won eight times between them in 2014, but three or four is a generous total, and one or two might be what they get next year. How many wins they get depends on what the #5 team does, because we know that the #48 team is going to get theirs. But with Carl Edwards joining JGR next year, I think JGR wins at least 12 times, because Matt Kenseth's not going to go winless for the second straight year, Kyle Busch can't possibly perform as badly as he did this past season, and I think Carl Edwards wins at least four times, and that total could increase even more if Denny Hamlin returns to past form, and if he does, JGR could win up to half the races next year. 929. Aaron posted: 11.17.2014 - 3:34 pm Rate this comment: (4) (1) "My state's college b-ball team won a game Sunday." I just did some laundry and got groceries. 930. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 11.17.2014 - 3:51 pm Rate this comment: (2) (5) Tony Stewart went winless in 2008 people. Remember? ;-) 931. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 11.17.2014 - 4:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Well, although I'd rather have seen the other three win the title from a personality standpoint (even Hamlin), I'm glad Newman didn't win the title because personally, it would have been a complete farce to have a guy who went winless and only scored FIVE Top 5's all season be champion (people complain about Kenseth in '03, but this would have been a million times worse). On the other hand, it would have totally been a slap to NASCAR's face had that happened, since they created the new championship system to encourage more winning. Harvick did pretty much run all out the whole season, which resulted in him having trouble in a lot of races but also resulted in him leading over 2000 laps and winning 5 times. Not a fan at all of him winning this title, but better than seeing Newman or Hamlin get it by just making fast laps for most of the season. I look forward to seeing what kind of coverage NBC will give the races next season. 932. MAR posted: 11.17.2014 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) I remember Subaru The record books say he won Talladega 2008 but i remember Regan Smith passing him Cleanly and crossing the line first IJS 933. murb posted: 11.17.2014 - 6:01 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Inevitably, Kyle Larson has won Rookie of the Year. 934. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 11.17.2014 - 6:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I remember Subaru The record books say he won Talladega 2008 but i remember Regan Smith passing him Cleanly and crossing the line first IJS" Regan may have passed Tony cleanly but did so under the line. And Tony forced him. So both Tony and Regan get sent too the end of the line and everyone else moves up 2 places. Paul Menard wins. (Just ask anyone who has been on here since 2010, i've been consistent with that opinion.) 935. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.17.2014 - 7:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Interesting tidbit... In the 252 races run since the conclusion of the 2007 season, only one of those races has been won by a driver who finished second in the previous year's points standings (Denny Hamlin, Michigan 2011). 936. TS1420 posted: 11.17.2014 - 8:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) -Congrats to Kevin Harvick, the 4 team & SHR on winning the Cup. Glad to see them come away with it after being freaky fast all season long, only to have freaky incidents, mechanical gremlins & the Benny Hill theme playing in the pits derail their efforts in what should have been an 8 to 10 win season. Harvick was solid as a driver all season long, only making mistakes at Pocono I & Bristol II (a ton at Bristol). Good to see Harvick solidify his already Hall of Fame worthy career with a Cup championship (everybody brings up his crown jewel wins but let's not forget his 2 Nationwide championships, his K&N Pro Series West championship and success as and owner in Trucks & Nationwide) -As shitty a past year a half this has been for Smoke, it's really good to see him get another Cup championship as an owner. Hopefully he can pull off a win in the Daytona 500 to start the 2015 season in the right direction. -Out of the three other contenders, I think Logano will far alright next season. He seems pissed off and ready to prove a point in his post race interview. Newman & RCR probably won't make the final four again, but I expect them to do the same next year, maybe even possibly picking up a win. Hamlin I expect to fall apart next season, just like he did in 2011. He looked and acted like he needed to be kept away from sharp objects after the race. -I like this chase better than any of the other iterations of the chase, but it needs some serious tweaks to insure we get more deserving drivers in the final four rather than getting another season of Hamlin/Newman type seasons getting in over Gordon/Keselowski/Earnhardt Jr/even, ugh, Johnson type seasons. -Speaking of Johnson. Glad to see him finish outside the top ten in points for the first time. -Of course Knaus gets caught breaking the rules/disobeying orders/playing in the deep gray areas for like the billionth time, and gets nothing but a talking to for it. When will NASCAR grow a set and send this clown packing for a permanent vacation? -Good riddance to BSPN/AllBullCrap. This 2nd run was a mere shadow of the classic ESPN Speedworld/ABC Wide World of Sports days. But farewell to TNT. Even though they were commercial obsessed and had technical issues that never seemed to get resolved get resolved. I loved their presentation and coverage of races and they had hands down the best commentary crew during their run. Looking forward to NBC, they seem to have a deep respect for motorsports. Hopefully FOX steps up their game and gets back to what they were from 2001-To introducing crap like Digger, NASCAR Love & More Waltrips. -All in all. Very good season. Year 2 of the Gen 6 was way better than the garbage that was last season. Looking forward to 2015. 937. cjs3872 posted: 11.17.2014 - 8:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So you would have given both Regan Smith and Tony Stewart one-lap penalties for what happened at the end of that race 1995 Subaru, because that's what they would have been, one-lap penalties. I'm not sure Smith should have been penalized a lap for that move, but certainly Tony Stewart should not have been, and was not penalized one lap for forcing Smith onto the apron. But I still maintain, and always have maintained that if it wasn't a star driver that Smith had passed in that fashion, that he would not have been penalized one lap, and that he would have won that race, because in a situation like that, coming to the checkered flag, if one driver forces another onto the apron, they usually let it go, and penalize neither driver. That's one reason why the OB rule at Daytona and Talladega is so stupid, with another being that that OB rule has caused more wrecks than it has prevented since it was put in place in 2001. 938. Daniel posted: 11.17.2014 - 8:46 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Go Gordon! 939. MAR posted: 11.17.2014 - 9:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In my opinion Subaru Regan Smith got forced under the line yes but he did that to prevent wrecking the field in the tri oval nascar should of let it slide but of course they didn't so that robbed Regan Smith's first win and put the nail in the coffin for DEI as an organization as that win would of kept the team creditable. Fastforward to the next Talladega race Carl and Brad same situation Brad puts Edwards in the catchfence. 940. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 11.17.2014 - 9:17 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The only difference is, Brad held his line when Carl came down to block him while Regan moved down to avoid causing a wreck when Tony came down on him. NASCAR basically told Regan that he had to either cause a wreck or lose the race, and it's another reason I hate the yellow line rule. I'd like to see that rule done away with entirely, as it's done a lot more bad than good since it was introduced in 2001. 941. JG24FanForever posted: 11.17.2014 - 9:36 pm Rate this comment: (5) (3) "2003 Brickyard 400 2007 Daytona 500 2007 All-Star Race 2011 World 600 2014 Southern 500 2014 NASCAR Champ A HOF resume if i do say so myself." Jeff Gordon's version: 1994.1998,2001,2004,2014 Brickyard 400 1997,1999,2005 Daytona 500 1995,1997,2001 All-star race 1994,1997-98 World 600 1995-98,2002,2007 Southern 500 1995,1997-98,2001 Cup Champ And to add to that: 1995-99,2001 with the most Wins 1995-96,1998-99,2001-04,2007 Dominating the most races(Races Led Most Laps.) 1995-96,98-99,2001,2007 with the most Poles 1998,2001,2004,2007,2009,2014 with the Best Average Finish 1995-96,1999,2001,2003,2007 Leading the most laps 1997-2001,2004,2006 with a Road-Race win 1996,1999,2003,2005,2014 with a Fall Martinsville win, with 5 different Crew Chiefs. 1995-96,1998-99,2001, 5 times in which he won the most races,dominated the most races and won the most Poles in a single season. 942. Eric posted: 11.17.2014 - 10:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) JG24FanForever, Kevin Harvick actually won the Coca Cola 600 in 2013 besides 2011. I don't know why do you have to bring in Jeff Gordon's resume up because Jeff wasn't brought up unless you think Kevin Harvick doesn't belong in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Personally I don't think anyone in their right would say Kevin doesn't belong in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Kevin already had 3 NASCAR championships as a driver before 2014 with the first one being in the 1998 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. Kevin also had an additional 2 Truck Series championships as an owner. After Homestead, Kevin now has 4 NASCAR Championships as a driver and another 2 Truck series championships as an owner. The fact is Kevin Harvick already locked up a spot in the NASCAR Hall of Fame before the Homestead win and became the 2014 cup champion. Kevin going into Homestead already had more wins than 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee Fred Lorenzen. Fred had 26 wins compare to Kevin's 27 career cup wins. Kevin also had the Truck Series owner resume to get into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Kevin right now has as many wins and championships as 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee Rex White has. 943. Minnowfur posted: 11.17.2014 - 10:31 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The Blue Deuce got the most wins and top 5's in 2014. KB18 failed to lead the most laps in a race for the first time The 22,24 and 20 had lots of top 10s along with the 2car and 4 car and 88car. 944. MAR posted: 11.17.2014 - 10:42 pm Rate this comment: (3) (2) Can the Gordon fans finally stop crying and whining seriously we know he had the best season yes nascar screwed him out of 3 championships yes we all know he's a hall of famer yes we know he had 92 wins yes we know he might be the greatest ever. Please stop whining. Gordon's fans remind me of Kobe Bryant fans SMH 945. Matt G posted: 11.18.2014 - 1:03 am Rate this comment: (2) (1) This delusional idea that Jeff Gordon should be a seven time champion needs to die a painful death! Did Jeff Gordon's team have the best season over 36 races this year? Yes. There were some other guys who were close including Logano, Harvick, and even Brad who led the series in wins, but overall Gordon was the best and got screwed out of a CHANCE at this championship at Homestead due to sucky circumstances. Not THE Championship, but a CHANCE at the championship. I think that's an important distinction. I'll even give these Gordon honks 2007. Actually, I'll especially give the Gordon honks 2007. Gordon was WAY, WAY, WAY ahead of everyone when the Chase reset wiped out his lead that year (over 300 points) and then Gordon put together a ten race Chase where he won twice, posted six top fives, two sevenths, a tenth, and an 11th. The problem? Jimmie Johnson put together his best Chase ever including winning four straight in rounds 6 through 9 to propel him to the title. Gordon's 2007 is one of the best seasons that will never be remembered. He would have beaten Johnson by about 350 points under the pre Chase system and was over 700 points ahead of third. His Chase was also excellent that season. He literally would have won in just about any other Chase (maybe every other Chase, but I have not done the math since Nascar changed the points structure to one point per position) as he averaged 165 points a Chase race that year. He just caught Jimmie Johnson's signature Chase. Really, really, really tough break. This is the one that should burn Gordon fans the most. However, go back before 2007 and the pendulum swings dramatically in the other direction. Gordon should have been the champion in 2004? ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY NOT!!! The only reason the 48 team didn't score the most points over 36 races that season is because they were experimenting with wild setups before the Chase when they were 232 points clear of second in early August. In the six races leading up to that Chase, Johnson had FOUR finishes of 36th or worse which included three engine failures. There's not a snowball's chance in hell that Chad Knaus tries those setups in the pre chase era with a lead like that!!! I know people think it's cute to calculate how many points guys would have without the chase and declare them champion for that season, but that doesn't work when it's not a blowout by a few hundred points, and 2004 is a perfect example of this. The Chase changes the way guys approach these races at the end of the season and 04 was not going to end the way it did pure points wise without what at the time was an unknown format. In addition to the 2004 claims from certain segments of the Gordon bandwagon coming off as preposterous, the championships Gordon won also have to come into question if his fan base is going to pound the 07 and 14 drums, and as far as I'm concerned, no championship from the Winston Cup era was less deserved than Gordon's 1997 title. In the closing laps at Watkins Glen that summer, Dale Jarrett was running 12th when he was blacked flagged for fluid leaking from his car. He was forced to pit with FOUR LAPS TO GO(!!!!!) when Nascar pulled his scoring chip and he ended up falling all the way to 32nd, which back in those days meant he lost 60 points (20 spots - 3 points per spot = 60 points). There was just one problem with this little chain of events .... Jarrett's car wasn't leaking any fluid. When the final standings were tallied in November, Jarrett lost the Championship to Gordon by a mere 14 points. This was highway robbery of the highest order on Nascar's part and yet you almost never hear Jarrett fans claiming he was two time champion instead of a one time champion. Can you imagine the uproar if a Hendrick driver was on the wrong end of something like this? You would never hear the end of it! There's also the 1995 incident which DSFF can tell you more about (although I find myself more on the fence on that one. I think Earnhardt lost that Championship at Michigan with his pair of 35th place finishes [both of which happened AFTER Gordon's May incident], a track Earnhardt would never finish worse than 18th at for the rest of his career [ten races]). I think both guys also benefited from most of the rest of the sport being down which makes things harder to evaluate. The tragic deaths of Kulwicki and Allison as well as Erie's injury took out some serious competition in the mid 90's. Elliot and Waltrip were on the downswing, Jarrett wouldn't start tearing it up until 96, and Rusty didn't have a high note year. All you need to know about the competition level in 1995 is that Ted Musgrave ran in the top five for most of the season's standings. This is a guy who spent over 300 races in Cup and never won anything. By now I've gone off on a tangent .... So, the short version: Gordon is not a seven time champ anyway you slice it! 946. cjs3872 posted: 11.18.2014 - 1:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) But did he (Gordon) have the best season, MAR? You can make a real case that either one, or even both of the Penske drivers had better seasons than Gordon did. To me, it's clear that Gordon and the two Penske drivers had the three best seasons, even over Kevin Harvick, but I don't think I can say that Gordon unequivocally had the best season start to finish. After all, if you had the pre-Chase point system, Gordon would be the champion, instead of finishing sixth behind the four that battled for the title, as well as Brad Keselowski, but if the previous Chase points system was used, counting all the points in all the Chase races, Joey Logano would be the champion quite comfortably, but using the system that was used to determine the champion this year, Kevin Harvick won the championship. Gordon certainly had a comeback year, topped off by his history-making fifth win at Indy, returning to victory lane in one of the crown jewel events for the first time in over seven years, but to say that he had the best season, I think that's a stretch. Personally, I'd like to see Gordon duplicate this newfound success next year, if only to potentially see him get to that magic 100 win plateau, which I think would be an even greater mark than Richard Petty's 200 wins are, if only because of the smaller schedule and greater level of competition, but I simply don't see it happening. If he were to duplicate this season, he'd end next year with 96 wins (halfway between his current victory total and 100), making 100 close to a formality, and if he did duplicate this year's victory total next year, then I think the question becomes where might he get that 100th win, which in my estimation would make him the best ever, and the same goes for Jimmie Johnson if he were to get to that 100-win plateau and Gordon doesn't get there. If a driver ever does get to 100 wins, that would be one of the greatest milestone moments in the sport's history, on a par, if not greater than Richard Petty's 200 wins. And if Gordon gets four wins next year, which I very much doubt will happen, then I think it becomes a question of WHERE he gets win #100, as much as when he'd get it. 947. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 11.18.2014 - 1:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brad Keselowski technically drove the "White Deuce" this year. I'd had the impression at the beginning of the year that he would only run the white Miller scheme in the Daytona 500 and then go back to the blue Miller scheme. Roger must have come up to Brad and the rest of the team and said "I like this Miller scheme better so we're running it all year". Speaking of Penske, he needs to make sure Ryan Blaney gets a full schedule in what will be the Xfinity Series. The kid's got loads of talent and I'm confident that he'll win a lot of races for Roger. 948. cjs3872 posted: 11.18.2014 - 3:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt G, the thing about the 1995 season is that Chevrolet had such an outrageous advantage on Ford and Pontiac that it's almost impossible to judge how good the Ford teams were, because they simply had no chance on the bigger tracks for much of the season. Combine that with the new Dale Jarrett/Robert Yates combination, and it all added up to a long and difficult season for Ford. (For instance, no Fords finished on the lead lap at Atlanta in the spring.) And of course, except for Kyle Petty's win at Dover and a few strong runs for Bobby Hamilton in Richard Petty's car, Pontiac was MIA, so really, Chevrolet had the hammer and used it, and the advantage would have been even more noticeable if it weren't for Darrell Waltrip's crash in the '95 All-Star Race, because I remain convinced that he would have returned to victory lane in '95, probably more than once, if not for that crash. And actually, that crash also took a little something out of Earnhardt for a while, and Sterling Marlin and Jeff Gordon both took full advantage during the summer months. 949. Matt G posted: 11.18.2014 - 4:10 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) I don't disagree with what you're saying about the advantage for the Chevy's in 95 cjs, but that doesn't change the fact that the best Ford driver in the points for most of that season was Ted Musgrave. If he's your flagship guy in the points during the summer months, your teams were probably not going to win anyway. The Chevy advantage compounded the problem, but even on a level playing field I think a Chevy team wins in the setup we had that year. It was also in the middle of a stretch where Chevy teams took six consecutive Championships - Although as I discussed above, that probably shouldn't have been the case in 1997. 950. Hinch77 posted: 11.18.2014 - 4:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (3) From Jayski: " NASCAR Sprint Cup Series News and Stats Sprint Cup Series News, Rumors & Stats RSS Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Budweiser Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 16, 2014 Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images Kevin Harvick Wins 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship: In a storybook finish to conclude a revamped Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, #4-Kevin Harvick won the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway Sunday to claim his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. To win the title, Harvick needed to finish ahead of his fellow Championship 4 - and a win was the only way that would've happened. #31-Ryan Newman finished second, #11-Denny Hamlin finished seventh and #22-Joey Logano ended the night in 16th. After finishing a career-best third in the standings in three of the last four seasons, the 14-year series mainstay finally broke through for the premier series title in his first season with Stewart-Haas Racing. A veteran of all three of NASCAR's national series, Harvick joins Bobby Labonte and Brad Keselowski as the third driver to win both NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series crowns. Harvick, 38, is the 30th champion in the 66-year history of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The #4 Budweiser/Jimmy John's Chevy driver showed off his speed throughout 2014, pacing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led and poles. Following a two-win regular season, Harvick entered the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup as its No. 6 seed. He adeptly navigated his way through the Chase's Challenger and Contender Rounds highlighted by his victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but would still be searching for a championship without his clutch performance in the Eliminator Round cutoff race at Phoenix International Raceway. Entering the penultimate showdown at the one-mile tri-oval last among Chase qualifiers, Harvick needed a win at Phoenix to advance to the Championship 4. He responded to the pressure by leading 264-of-312 laps and beating four-time series champion Jeff Gordon on his way to Victory Lane. The Bakersfield, California, native carried his momentum to Homestead, becoming the first title-winner under NASCAR's new playoff format. Harvick's championship is the second for Stewart-Haas Racing. The racing outfit jointly owned by three-time premier series champion Tony Stewart and Gene Haas won its first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title behind the driving efforts of Stewart in 2011. #4 team crew chief Rodney Childers, also in his first season with SHR, won his first series crown as well.(NASCAR)(11-16-2014) Brian France: 'like a grand slam in the ninth inning': NASCAR Chairman/CEO Brian France didn't think Kevin Harvick just hit a home run Sunday in winning the first Sprint Cup championship under the new elimination format. No, with the dramatic way Harvick took the lead on the closing laps and then held on for his first-ever Sprint Cup championship, it was much more in France's mind. "It might have been a grand slam in the ninth inning," France said Monday morning on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. "I really thought that in past times and late in the season - I go back to Tony Stewart when he not only had to beat Carl Edwards and win (2011 championship), and some other performances - I really thought whoever was going to come away with the championship was going to need a win." "It was amazing," France said. "The amount of excitement and drama, watching that, even for long-time fans like myself, that has you on the edge of your seat, who's going to do this thing. That's the beauty of this format." It's unlikely there will be any further major revisions to the format, although some minor tweak(s) may still occur once NASCAR reviews all elements of how the Chase played out in the next month or so. Certainly, having sold-out venues at the final two tracks - Phoenix and Homestead-Miami - ended the Chase on an especially high note. And then with Harvick's dramatic push to the front, the race win and ultimately the championship, France and NASCAR look forward to more of the same kind of excitement and drama in subsequent editions of the Chase to come. "As we go down the road, that's going to be the Chase," France said. "If you go back through (this year's edition of) the Chase, there were plenty of big moments where teams stepped up to move on - (Brad) Keselowski when he had to do it at Talladega, for example. I think the teams like that environment. I know it's stressful for them, but at the end of the day, they get excited and elevated themselves."(NBC Sports)(11-18-2014)" Hands out 200 proof booze to all of-age persons. 951. Matt G posted: 11.18.2014 - 7:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Here's a link to the Watkins Glen / Dale Jarrett incident from 1997 ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2sTiayXEA0#t=453 Oh, and it also looks like Gordon might have jumped the last restart of this race and was never penalized. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_9dPqGBH-E#t=170 So Nascar's complete incompetence handed Gordon at least 60 points, and possibly over 100. FAR MORE than enough to swing the Championship results in a season like 97. 952. Jim posted: 11.18.2014 - 10:22 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) The last driver to win the Sprint Cup Championship in a # 4 car was Rex White in 1960. 953. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.18.2014 - 10:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Brad Keselowski technically drove the "White Deuce" this year. I'd had the impression at the beginning of the year that he would only run the white Miller scheme in the Daytona 500 and then go back to the blue Miller scheme. Roger must have come up to Brad and the rest of the team and said "I like this Miller scheme better so we're running it all year"." I think it most likely has to do with the fact that Miller Lite has switched exclusively to white packaging on their products, even for bottles, so running the blue cars don't make sense anymore. 954. SYH posted: 11.18.2014 - 11:23 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) 948: On the other hand, it's also worth noting that Ford had an absurd advantage given to them in 1997 and 1998, to the point where ONE race in 1997 was won by a Chevy driver not named Jeff Gordon. The first half of 1998 was ridiculous too, just watch Vegas and Rockingham where the tiny ford teams like the shambling corpse of RahMoc and Travis Carter were beating the top-line Chevy teams. Frankly, that's what makes Gordon's '97 and '98 seasons even more amazing to me. 955. DB1995 posted: 11.18.2014 - 1:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Who do you guys think had the most dissapointing season in nationwide this year? For me its a tie between Kwasneski, and Ryan Reed, Dylan had 3 top 10s while teammate Larson was competing for wins all year, Ryan Reed had 1 top 10 at Datona, although Roush was bad this year he was a lot worse than his teammates. 956. MAR posted: 11.18.2014 - 1:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Kwasneski by far had the most disappointing season in nationwide based on how turner cars ran in the past and how badly he performed next to Larson. Second most disappointing was James Buescher that RAB car was horrible this year. Third most disappointing was Dakoda Armstrong he was flat out pathetic if it was for his stupid sponsor WinField he wouldn't be in nascar period he got out ran By Cassill, Clements, Bliss, and Sieg consistently and they had way less equipment than he did he should be fired. So Corey Lajoie can drive that car. 957. Db1995 posted: 11.18.2014 - 3:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) i completely forgot Armstrong wasnt in an underfunded car. 958. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 11.18.2014 - 4:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "So you would have given both Regan Smith and Tony Stewart one-lap penalties for what happened at the end of that race 1995 Subaru, because that's what they would have been, one-lap penalties." Yep, end of the line 1 lap penalty. "I'm not sure Smith should have been penalized a lap for that move, but certainly Tony Stewart should not have been, and was not penalized one lap for forcing Smith onto the apron." Regan still passed him. 2 wrongs (the other wrong Tony force Regan) do not make a right. Both are at the end of the line, period. "with another being that that OB rule has caused more wrecks than it has prevented since it was put in place in 2001." They have wrecked with the rule and they have wrecked without it. It is nothing new. Wrecks happen at plate races (mostly by drivers racing over their heads, not the damn yellow line rule). 959. murb posted: 11.18.2014 - 5:58 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Former RCR engineer Matt McCall will move to Ganassi and take over as Jamie McMurray's crew chief next year. It's expected that McMurray's 2014 crew chief Keith Rodden will go back to Hendrick and be Kasey Kahne's new crew chief. This sort of pisses me off. Jamie and Rodden seemed to have great chemistry this year (they won the All Star Race and easily could have won the Bristol Night Race, among other races), but now instead of building on that momentum, Jamie is now going to have his third crew chief in three years and will have to learn somebody new yet again. It sounds like Hendrick kind of forced Ganassi into this as well, which is also quite enraging. Hendrick literally let Keith Rodden walk last year to go be McMurray's crew chief, but now when Kahne and Francis start struggling, he decides he wants him back and just raids Ganassi's improving organization for him. I guess this could be a potential move for the future with Chase Elliott pretty much all but guaranteed the #5 car in 2016 (since Greg Ives will be with Jr, maybe they're thinking Rodden will be a good fit with Chase), but overall, it seems kind of busch league to just change your mind and want Rodden back once Francis starts sucking. Oh well. Hopefully this won't have a negative effect on Ganassi, because I really do think that Rodden had at least a little influence on their new-found speed this year. 960. JG24FanForever posted: 11.18.2014 - 6:55 pm Rate this comment: (3) (3) "I don't know why do you have to bring in Jeff Gordon's resume up because Jeff wasn't brought up unless you think Kevin Harvick doesn't belong in the NASCAR Hall of Fame." I was having fun. What's wrong with that? This website is becoming way too uptight about literally everything nowadays. 961. MAR posted: 11.18.2014 - 7:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Who do you guys and girls think was the 3 most impressive nationwide drivers this year not named Chase Elliott. 962. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 11.18.2014 - 8:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Kwasneski by far had the most disappointing season in nationwide based on how turner cars ran in the past and how badly he performed next to Larson." Kwasneski is NOT ready for Tier 2 NASCAR racing. He needs too be in Trucks, while doing part-time Tier 2. Whom ever is his handler, they need get him as MUCH seat time as possible. Ryan Reed i'll give a pass too because Roush Racing has been complete crap this year. 963. MAR posted: 11.18.2014 - 8:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) 3 most impressive Nationwide drivers this year (NOT NAMED CHASE ELLIOTT) 1.Chris Buescher 2.Brian Scott 3.Ryan Sieg Honorable Mentions Brendon Gaughan Landon Cassill 964. Cornys posted: 11.18.2014 - 8:57 pm Rate this comment: (4) (1) I cant complain about the format. Its the cautions / fabrication within races that has turned me away. Didn't watch Sunday. Was happier for it. Format is fair, nontraditional (not always bad), and exciting. The cautions are what I truly find appaling. The format makes those cautions worse by making a small drop in positon at the end of a race VERY important. Bought Indianapolis 500 tickets tonight, and I'm amped! :)) 965. SpeedWorld97 posted: 11.18.2014 - 11:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Bought Indianapolis 500 tickets tonight, and I'm amped! :))" I just got mine ordered about 2 weeks ago when they went on sale. I absolutely cannot wait for it! It'll be my first trip to the Indy 500. Have you ever been to the race before? 966. cjs3872 posted: 11.19.2014 - 12:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) In fact, Jim (#952), as I mentioned in post #875 in this thread, not only was Rex White the most recent champion to drive car #4, he was the only one before Harvick to win the championship in car #4, and with this win, they both now have identical win totals, as this was Harvick's 28th win, matching White's total, which is a point of symmetry regarding Harvick's win and championship on Sunday. And Matt G (#949), why do you denigrate Ted Musgrave being one of the top Ford drivers in 1995? He was, after all, driving for one of the elite Ford teams in Roush Racing (which was undisputedly the top Ford team that year), and was a vast improvement over Wally Dallenbach, Jr., who had been in that #16 car before Musgrave arrived there. And Musgrave was at his best on driver's tracks. His best tracks were Pocono, Dover, and Darlington, which says a lot about Musgrave as a driver. In fact, his three runner-up finishes in the Cup Series came at Darlington and Dover, including consecutive runner-up finishes in the spring race at Darlington in 1997-'98. Along with Rick Mast, Musgrave was the best driver of his era not to win a race in the Cup Series (I rate both of them higher than Mike Skinner and Todd Bodine as cup drivers). So the fact that Musgrave finished seventh in the points that year, third among the Ford drivers behind Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace (and was in the top five much of the year), should not surprise anyone. 967. murb posted: 11.19.2014 - 1:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, I think Musgrave is definitely one of the best to never win a Cup race. 968. BON GORDON posted: 11.19.2014 - 1:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) I would like it to be known that I'm not one of the Gordon fans who complain. Yea, 2007 hurt a bit but I was over it the day after the checkered flag flew at Homestead....I don't even think about 2004 & this year as disappointments. Jeff Gordon is a four time champion and I'm very happy and content with that. I'm sick of hearing that Jeff should be a seven time champion bs too. He's lucky he didn't lose the 1995 and 1997 championships as well. Get over it cause I'm sure that even Gordon doesn't lose a minute of sleep over it. 969. RWR posted: 11.19.2014 - 6:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) ROTY II, aka Rejects of the years: MWR Dylan Kwasneski Roush Fenway Racing Swan Racing Ricky Stenhiouse Jr. Identity Ventures Racing Dakoda Armstrong Kurt Busch James Buescher Greg Biffle 970. racefangurl posted: 11.19.2014 - 9:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (2) One of my Twitter friends and me had conversation about Joey and this format and his pit crew screwed him came up. In any of the other formats, old system or old Chase, his race finishes would've meant a better finish in points. Well, at least it wasn't Hamlin or Newman as champ. Unlike these guys, Harvick at least won in the Chase. 971. Scott B posted: 11.19.2014 - 10:44 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) 3 most impressive Nationwide drivers this year (NOT NAMED CHASE ELLIOTT) Full timers: 1. Jeremy Clements: 15th in points with few resources except a veteran crew chief (Ricky Pearson). 2. Landon Cassill: 12th in points for Johnny Davis. Stuck in mediocre to awful equipment in both this series and Cup. 3. J.J. Yeley: Making Gregg Mixon's recycled Dodges look competitive. A cup retread, but a much better driver now than when he had his shot in good equipment. Part timers: 1. Ryan Blaney: Duh! 2. Sam Hornish, Jr: 1 win in 8 starts. Not the most adventurous pick for the #9 Cup ride, but a safe one. 972. David posted: 11.19.2014 - 11:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Well, at least it wasn't Hamlin or Newman as champ. Unlike these guys, Harvick at least won in the Chase." Have you checked out Tony Stewart's 2005 championship run recently? He didn't win in the Chase. 973. Smiff_2 posted: 11.19.2014 - 11:21 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Awwwww, dammit! McMurray finds a groove with Keith Rodden, has a solid year, and now Hendrick has bought/brought him back to *his* team to CC for Kahne. "Sumbitch!" - Buford T. Justice 974. edwards19 posted: 11.19.2014 - 12:49 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Just wondering but why is it a bad thing Jamie McMurray is getting a new crew chief? We noticed how throughout the chase, McMurray would be running up front and even leading laps, only to be completely invisible by the end of the race. Isn't it the crew chief's job to keep up with the track and imo he couldn't 975. MAR posted: 11.19.2014 - 1:35 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Im i the only one that's pissed that the truck series is no longer what it use to be 10 years ago or 20 years ago when it started i mean the competition is a joke its nice to see young drivers in the series but 90% of them are there because of rich familes. I miss the days that when a guy couldn't get a good cup ride no more he went to the truck series and became relevant again winning races and championships. Guys like Musgrave Pressley Hamilton Skinner Benson Bodine Craven Bliss Etc. The truck series needs more vets then maybe Kyle Busch wouldn't win so much if i could pick 5 drivers in cup and the Xfinity series that would be perfect fits for the truck series they would be. 1.David Gilliland- Very unsuccessful cup career will never get a better ride than Front Row Motorsports which is still a 3rd tier team. I think he could have a very productive Truck career. 2. Travis Kvapil - never did much in cup and never will he is a former winner and champion in the truck series i think if he went back he could do the same. 3.Ryan Truex - Just about Killed his future driving for bkcrap racing he's still just 22 years old so for him goin to the truck series would help revive his career. 4.David Ruetimann- He was once the Franchise for MWR now he was completely almost non existent in 2014 in my opinion he could win races in the truck series he has in the past. 5.Mike Bliss - Former champion of the truck series i think its time he goes back he runs the wheels off of the mostly unsponsored tri star car for about the last 5 years. 976. Aaron posted: 11.19.2014 - 1:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Most guys would rather run 38th-40th every Sunday in a Cup race than run 5th-7th in a Truck race, though. 977. MAR posted: 11.19.2014 - 2:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Which is absolutely stupid to me guys need to suck up their pride and make something of themselves instead of a back marker nobody will remember 15 years from now. Yea the money in the truck series isnt even close to finishing 43rd weekly in a cup race but at least u feel what winning and competing competitively feels like. 978. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.19.2014 - 3:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "2. Sam Hornish, Jr: 1 win in 8 starts. Not the most adventurous pick for the #9 Cup ride, but a safe one." I honestly am having a hard time imagining a scenario in which the pairing of Sam Hornish Jr. and the Richard Petty Motorsports #9 Ford actually produces good results. I hope I'm wrong, though. There's a world of difference between Petty Cup cars and Penske/Gibbs Xfinity cars. 979. Hinch77 posted: 11.19.2014 - 4:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Alessandro Pier Guidi, Jeff Segal, and Emerson Fittipaldi will go driver a Ferrari in GTE-Am in Nov. 30's WEC 6 Hours of Brazil Yes, THAT Emerson Fittipaldi. 980. The Crimson King posted: 11.19.2014 - 6:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So with the season over, what are you guys going to do to pass time on Sundays? 981. Hinch77 posted: 11.19.2014 - 6:43 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) ^What I've been doing. FOOTBALL!!!!!! 982. startandparkfan posted: 11.19.2014 - 7:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Kevin Harvick was my prediction at the beginning of the year. I guess I was correct! Anyway, I think it is worth noting that I checked every Cup race this year, and Daniel posted Go Gordon! on all of them! The most dedicated fan i've ever seen. 983. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.20.2014 - 10:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kasey Kahne has signed a contract extension through 2018. This means 1 of 3 things with regards to the future of Hendrick Motorsports 1. Jeff Gordon is retiring at the end of 2015. 2. Chase Elliott will move up to Cup later than expected. 3. Chase Elliott will move on from Hendrick Motorsports in the same way Brad Keselowski did in 2010. 984. Smiff_2 posted: 11.20.2014 - 10:29 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) With today's announcement regarding Kahne being resigned for an additional 3 years, Chase Elliott's future has gotten a whole lot more intriguing. Here we all were, assuming it was a no-brainer that he'd replace Kahne....and now *this*. I understand that Kasey's a solid, talented driver and or whatnot, but this makes no sense to me. Regardless of how good this year was for Gordon, retirement at the end of 2015 was NEVER on the table. So what now? Here are a few options (and NONE of them are as good an option as letting Kahne go in favor of Elliott) 1) Hendrick farms out Chase to Stewart-Haas for 3 years while Kahne picks up an uninspired win or two each year and finishes around 8th in points. 2) He 'frees him up', similar to Keselowski, and just let's him find another home. 3) Keep him in Xfinity for 3 more years. Yeah, the 5 car would've been the best place, hands down. 985. MAR posted: 11.20.2014 - 10:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) So Kasey Kahne just got resigned to Hendrick Motorsports wow i dont understand it but hey there must be some top secret plan in place. 1.Either Gordon and now i actually believe Stewart will Retire At the end of 2015 Chase could replace one of them. 2. Behind close doors Kurt Busch might be on his Way out or Danica is on the hot seat. Chase could Replace either one. 3.Dale Jr said in an interview bout 10 years ago he would retire before he got into his Mid 40s from fulltime cup racing. So could chase replace him There. 986. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.20.2014 - 10:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't think Hendrick will make the same mistakes and lose Chase the way he did Brad. Hendrick knows something about the driver outlook for 2016 that we don't know. 987. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.20.2014 - 10:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think Stewart may honestly be the wildcard player in this move. We will see. 988. MAR posted: 11.20.2014 - 11:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Or maybe nascar drops the 4 team rule because they've been having trouble filling the fields in all 3 series by 2016 and chase ends up in a 5th car. 989. Scott B posted: 11.20.2014 - 11:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Or, JR Motorsports moves up to Cup as a Hendrick-affiliated team with Chase as the "franchise" driver. 990. Dave #38 Fan-Go Gilliland! posted: 11.20.2014 - 12:31 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Everyone needs to chill out about Chase Elliott. He's only 18. Denny Hamlin didn't make his cup debut until he was 24 years old. Hendrick can run Chase in NNS / NXS until 2020 if he wants to. There's absolutely no reason Chase has to move to cup in 2016. 991. murb posted: 11.20.2014 - 2:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, that's a monkey wrench. I still expect Chase in an HMS Cup car by at least 2017. Now I just don't know whether it will be the #5 (if Kahne struggles over the next two years and Chase continues to tear it up, Hendrick would be idiotic to not give Chase that ride) or the #24. Zack is right though. There's no way Hendrick lets Chase walk like Brad did. You'd have to be downright brain-dead to make that same mistake twice. 992. murb posted: 11.20.2014 - 2:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wait a second, Liftmaster is gonna sponsor Kahne next year? So basically Hendrick stole Jamie McMurray's crew chief and sponsor in a one week span. 993. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.20.2014 - 3:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Hendrick can run Chase in NNS / NXS until 2020 if he wants to. There's absolutely no reason Chase has to move to cup in 2016." The only problem with that is that Chase Elliott also has a say on when Chase Elliott gets to move up to Cup, not just Rick Hendrick. If Chase wants to move up and there's no rooms at the inn, Chase might just choose to move to another team in the same way Brad Keselowski did. Hendrick can plan to do all sorts of things until 2020, but what if that's not what Chase wants to do? I still say there's no way Hendrick lets that happen. 994. dennyfan11 posted: 11.20.2014 - 4:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think this is not that bad, considering that Elliott will most likely relplace Gordon. I predict Gordon retires after 2015 or 2016. 995. racefangurl posted: 11.20.2014 - 5:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Yeah. Hendrick kept Kahne because he's younger than the others. Kahne's teammates will retire soon enough and Chase can replace them. He's only 18, like Dave said. Some drivers have Cup raced as teens, like Trevor Bayne and Joey Logano. Maybe Chase will be another Joey Logano. 996. Eric posted: 11.20.2014 - 5:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) dennyfan11, You are off on when Jeff Gordon is going to retire. Jeff has sponsors signed on through 2017. 997. edwards19 posted: 11.20.2014 - 6:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Guys don't forget Jimmie Johnson is a free agent after 2015 too!!! (Jk lol) 998. Eric posted: 11.20.2014 - 6:50 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Dave #38 Fan-Go Gilliland!, You shouldn't mention Denny Hamlin it terms of Chase Elliott. There is a big difference. Denny was 23 when he had his first truck series start in 2014 compare to Chase being 17 in 2013. Denny didn't spend a lot of time the Trucks and the Busch Series before going to cup also. You should be comparing Chase Eillot to Trevor Bayne instead. 999. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 11.20.2014 - 7:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bernie has opened his mouth again, he sez "young fans are irrlevent, women complain (criticise) too much and Ferrari has lost popularity." I really do wounder where NASCAR would be with Bernie running it. BTW he also said "i'll release F1 from my hands when i enter the ground." F1 will be past the point of no return then Bernie enters the ground. 1000. Hinch77 posted: 11.20.2014 - 8:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) For the third year in a row, this race has generated at least 1000 comments. 1001. Aaron posted: 11.20.2014 - 10:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "You are off on when Jeff Gordon is going to retire. Jeff has sponsors signed on through 2017." Kyle Busch had sponsors signed on beyond 2007. They just went to Casey Mears and then Mark Martin. Having a sponsor is in many cases tied to the team as much, if not more than, one driver. 1002. BMan0213 posted: 11.20.2014 - 11:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah i just can't see Chase spending 3 years in Nationwide. I get what a lot of you are saying, that he's young and he has plenty of time but, what can he gain from a THIRD season down there. I personally dont think much and lets think about it for a second. How many of the current cup drivers in the field spent three plus years down there before moving to cup because the only one that comes to my mind is Stenhouse. As for Kasey's extension Rick must know something we all don't. He already lost a champion driver in Brad in by doing the same exact thing by extending Mark Martin, I can't believe he'd risk doing it again with Chase. I also don't think loaning him to SHR is his first choice I mean there is always the chance (although probably a very small one) that Chase could end up staying there. What happens then? Anyways if you ask me I wouldn't be shocked if 2015 ends up being Jeff last year, It's currently the only reason I can think of for Rick extending Kasey. 1003. Sean posted: 11.20.2014 - 11:31 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I'm going to guess that Hendrick is planning to use Stewart-Haas as his de facto 'farm team' and he's going to eventually use it to develop junior talent, similar to the relationship between Red Bull/Toro Rosso in F1 or the Ganassi Target cars/so-called B team cars in IndyCar. I say 'so-called B team cars' because I really think the only difference between the teams is that Ryan Briscoe, Charlie Kimball, and Graham Rahal are nowhere near as good as Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, and Tony Kanaan, and that's just it. I'm pretty sure Elliott will replace either Stewart (people are talking about Gordon retiring when Stewart seems more overdue for retirement), Busch (Haas may not be willing to put up with his crap, especially if he gets into criminal trouble in this case, and especially if he doesn't win enough, since he was only hired because Haas "wanted his name on a winning car", and if he can win as much/more and get less bad press from Elliott, this is likely), or Patrick (if GoDaddy bails, but I think this is less likely than Elliott replacing Busch and Stewart, even though Busch is better...I'm not even sure Stewart is better than Patrick RIGHT NOW...yes, Stewart's a legend and Danica may never win, but remember that there was a time when Jimmy Spencer was regularly outrunning Darrell Waltrip at the Travis Carter team...) 1004. MAR posted: 11.21.2014 - 12:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tony Stewart is gonna make all the naysayers shut up when he wins the Daytona 500 and makes a major coneback next year. 1005. murb posted: 11.21.2014 - 12:59 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) I don't see Chase ever getting in an SHR car (unless if it's in a substitution role for somebody, a la Austin Dillon last year), and I REALLY don't see SHR just letting Hendrick turn them into a farm team. I could see Chase running a year or something for one of Hendrick's other satellite teams (HScott or something like that would seem way more likely to me), but I don't see any situation at all where the brass at SHR just lets Rick turn their two-time championship winning organization into his development program. I mean, I guess he could threaten them into it or something if he was a truly flaring asshole, but I really doubt that would happen (and even if that did somehow crazily happen, they'd surely have to be smart enough to either just start building their own stuff, or go and start an RCR alliance or something). All in all, I still have a seriously hard time seeing Kahne stay the full three years, ESPECIALLY if Chase continues to tear up NXS (and since Ryan Blaney and probably Bubba Wallace won't be running full schedules next year, I'd have to say that's at least one more easy championship for Chase). Let's face it, Kasey Kahne is one of, if not, THE worst driver in Cup currently on a powerhouse team (Hendrick, JGR, Penske). Even if Keith Rodden lights some type of fire under him, he's not gonna get magically better as a driver at age 35. He's gonna continue to be a slightly better version of Greg Biffle/Ryan Newman. So unless Hendrick is showing signs of complete senility here, there's NO WAY he'll keep Kahne on board for this long if Chase wins another NXS championship (very likely) AND runs really impressive in his part time Hendrick Cup schedule (and I think he will - hell, I imagine he'll probably out-run or at least be on par with Kahne in that car next year - he adapted and learned the NNS cars ridiculously quickly this year, so why shouldn't we expect the same with him in a Cup car?). The Gordon retirement thing is far-fetched too, I think. I would have believed it more earlier in the year when he kind of half-jokingly stated he would if he won the title, but after having such a competitive year and coming really close to a championship, I think he's still gonna drive for at least three, maybe four more years (and yeah, the 3M thing is telling too - they're signed through 2017 - I doubt they would sign on for that long on Jeff Gordon's car without a full commitment from Jeff that he would be driving through the whole deal). But anyway, despite all of this, I still see Hendrick having some type of plan in place to send Kahne (and probably Farmer's Insurance too) over to SHR once Chase is ready for Cup full time (he'll surely be ready in 2016, though he may keep Kahne around for one more year just to at least meet two-thirds of his contract - so maybe it will be 2017). I just don't see any way at all where Hendrick passes up on Chase's incredible potential to just keep Kahne finishing 13th in points every year. 1006. murb posted: 11.21.2014 - 1:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Actually, I guess honoring Kahne's contract through 2016 would technically only be one-third of that deal. Whatever, I still ultimately see Kahne in an SHR car and Chase as his replacement (unless Gordon actually DOES retire early), and I'll be really surprised if that isn't happening in 2017. 1007. Scott B posted: 11.21.2014 - 4:32 am Rate this comment: (3) (0) 1004- No, Jeff Gordon will be your 2015 Daytona 500 winner. That late race pit stop at Homestead will be rewarded with a "special" restrictor plate. Just kidding, of course... maybe. 1008. MAR posted: 11.21.2014 - 2:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmie Johnson may have spilled the beans on who Chase Elliott might replace at he was interviewed at his foundation by usa today "I think there's somebody in line to retire before i do" So i think Gordon's gonna retire soon. 1009. racefangurl posted: 11.21.2014 - 9:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think Chase will either be farmed out to a satellite team for a while or someone will retire. 1010. Aaron posted: 11.22.2014 - 12:43 am Rate this comment: (3) (4) "I think Chase will either be farmed out to a satellite team for a while or someone will retire." Isn't that exactly what everyone has already said? Gordon will retire and hopefully take the random "Go Gordon!" post we get every week with him. 1011. racefangurl posted: 11.22.2014 - 10:02 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Maybe I agree with everyone. It's better than what I used to say about him, right? Exactly 3 months until the 500, btw. 1012. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 11.22.2014 - 2:48 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Everyone needs to chill out about Chase Elliott. He's only 18. Denny Hamlin didn't make his cup debut until he was 24 years old." Chase needs another year in Nationwide before moving up in my opinion. I always say that drivers should at least get two years in Nationwide or Trucks learning the ropes and how most tracks drive before moving into Cup. But Denny is proof that drivers don't always need that. He only had one full year in Nationwide (then Busch) before moving into Cup. An underwhelming first season at that, only one Top 5 all year. But once Denny had Cup experience under his belt, he seemed to all of a sudden get better. 1013. racefangurl posted: 11.22.2014 - 6:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wasn't watching when Hamlin was a rookie, but I've seen he made the Chase as a rookie and finished 3rd. 1014. KennyWallaceFan(Truck Series Guy!) posted: 11.22.2014 - 7:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) MAR, Jimmie was referring to Chad Kanaus. He has stated that he will retire whenever Chad does. 1015. MAR posted: 11.23.2014 - 10:04 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Jimmie was not referring to his crew chief it was a chase Elliott question he answered. Either Stewart, Gordon, or Earnhardt Jr could pull a suprise retirement at the end of 2016 or 2017 1016. TS1420 posted: 11.23.2014 - 10:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) As a big fan of SHR, I would love to see Elliott have a stint there, but I doubt that is what is going to happen. I think 2015 is gonna be announced to be Gordon's "Farewell Tour Season" Something seems off about Hendrick resigning the under-preforming Kahne to 3 more seasons when he has a hot young driver that has already proven that in one more season will be ready for full-time Cup duty and I don't see Hendrick making the same mistake twice (ie letting Keselowski slip away due to resigning a one season career resurgence Mark Martin) That to me says another seat will be open here in the future and the 24 is the most likely spot. -Dale Jr has had a spiritual reawakening as driver and is ready to go after his first Cup. -Jimmie isn't going anytime soon, unfortunately for me. -Jeff has had now three strong seasons get plundered by the Chase. I can see him being fed up/coming to terms with never being able to win a Chase championship and calling it a career. 1017. Hinch77 posted: 11.23.2014 - 11:24 am Rate this comment: (1) (2) Here's a neat factoid: Jeff Gordon has 76 poles in his career; that's more than his three teammates COMBINED. 1018. racefangurl posted: 11.23.2014 - 3:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I don't care how Chase comes to the Cup. He needs to get out of that dumbed down Nationwide/Xfinity series as soon as he's ready, though. I promise to be ok with it if he wins a race or a few as a Cup rookie and makes the Chase. Other rookies have been race winners and occasionally a rookie has been a Chaser. I won't even say he can't win the Chase, if he was to make it as a rookie, because that's bashing and I don't do that anymore. It made me feel stupid, once Watto fixed me. I realize he's special, so I won't say he can only finish 3rd as a rookie. Maybe he'll be in a 94 car next year. Bill Elliott drove that number once and it's available for next year. 1019. JG24FanForever posted: 11.23.2014 - 6:17 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Jeff Gordon and Austin Dillon were the only drivers to be running at the finish of all 36 events. 1020. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.23.2014 - 6:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Swan Racing suing XTreme Racing? WTF? 1021. racefangurl posted: 11.23.2014 - 7:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) 1019, some people think Austin's a beneficiary of nepotism. They say he has a ride of that caliber because it's his grampa's team. I kind of like him and I say if he was running at the finish in all races as a rookie, he can't be bad. He was Truck Rookie of Year, then the next year champ. And then, he repeated this feat in the Nationwide. All these things combined make me think he must be at least half-decent. It's not like he's Dylan "Kwasnwreckski" Kwasniewski or Danica "Crashica" Patrick. Even Ryan Reed seems to be a lesser driver. Chris Buescher DNQ'd at Daytona and still beat Ryan in points. Ryan's slow, even compared to Chris and both were rookies this year. Dylan and Danica should be in a lower level than they are. Dylan should be in Trucks and Danica, all I can say is she should still be minor league. Maybe Ryan should be in Trucks, like Dylan. 1022. cjs3872 posted: 11.23.2014 - 8:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Make that 77 poles, Hinch77. Frankly, I'm surprised that someone that uses the number 77 in his user name would forget something like that, if it involves that number. Gordon's pole for this race was his 77th. And I think whether or not next year is Gordon's last full-time depends on how he does next year. If he runs next year like he did this year, then he's going anywhere. First of all, that 100 win mark is looming, and he's at 92 now. If he wins three or four times next year, then the 100 wins is clearly within reach. So if he runs well next year, I don't see him going away, but if he does what he's done the last two times he's come close to getting the title, then it's a better possibility that he might get out of the car, at least on a full-time basis. However, a bigger question might be Dale Earnhardt, Jr. If he regresses to what he was before Rick Hendrick threw him a lifeline in the form of Steve Letarte, then it might be Dale, Jr. that ends up leaving, making room for Chase Elliott. Remember that before Hendrick paired Dale, Jr. with Letarte, Dale, Jr. was pretty much a lost cause at HMS, and now that he's lost the crew chief that gave him the confidence he had a decade ago to the booth, it will be quite interesting to see how Dale, Jr. reacts to having someone else as his crew chief, because the last time he parted ways with a crew chief with whom he was highly successful, it did not go well. So the #88 team may bear watching in 2015 for that reason alone. and at 40, Dale, Jr. is only one year younger than Jimmie Johnson is. And MAR, one reason I'm inclined to agree with you on who might win next year's Daytona 500 happens to be the list of top-echelon drivers that have won that race after going winless the previous year, a list that includes Benny Parsons, Bobby Allison (who actually had TWO winless years before his '78 Daytona 500 win), Richard Petty (in 1979), both Earnhardts (Dale, Sr. in 1998 and Dale, Jr. in 2014), and Matt Kenseth (in 2009). Tony Stewart may be the next top-echelon driver that goes winless one year and wins the Daytona 500 the next year, especially given how close he's come, and how many times he's come close. 1023. The Crimson King posted: 11.23.2014 - 9:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'd be okay with Stewart winning the 500. He's won practically everything else that can be won in the series but the Daytona 500. 1024. Aaron posted: 11.23.2014 - 11:06 pm Rate this comment: (3) (3) cjs, Dale Jr. is signed through 2017. I don't think Chase would run Xfinity for five seasons before going to Cup. Time to accept the fact that it's going to be Gordon, and to borrow a line from DSFF, if you think thumbs-downing this post is going to change that fact ... I've got some bad news. 1025. MAR posted: 11.23.2014 - 11:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To Be honest when it comes to Danica anybody with common knowledge and realistic expectations would know that she's actually overachieved as a driver she wasnt reafy for cup in 2013 but showed massive improvement this year she will most likely never win Never make the chase but sseriously she is not a horrible driver she just has been rushed up the ranks in nascar by her sponsors. 1026. MAR posted: 11.24.2014 - 12:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) As for ryan reed he's an Arca driver with a sponsor he was a complete joke for RFR i seen jack roush fire Danny o quinn who won ROTY, Erik Darnell who won truck races and was legit it nationwide cars. Collin Braun who won in trucks Screwed over Jon wood, Nathan Haseleu, Bobby east, and numerous others who are way better drivers than Ryan Reed. Dakoda Armstrong, John wes Townley, are also a couple other walking checkbooks. 1027. murb posted: 11.24.2014 - 1:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, as long as Jr is driving full time in Cup, he's not leaving Hendrick. I do expect him to move JRM to Cup one day, but I don't think that will be until he's at least semi-retired as a driver. He really doesn't seem like the type to do a full time owner/driver gig (especially considering his age). And besides, even if he were to leave Hendrick, there's literally only two other options: SHR and RCR. He's stated in the past that he will only race for Chevrolet, so that's it. Unless Hendrick fires him (never gonna happen), why would he leave HMS to go to one of those two clearly-behind-HMS teams? 1028. Hinch77 posted: 11.24.2014 - 4:51 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) I actually had calculated the pole statistics based on Gordon's pole numbers before Homestead. I failed to include his Homestead pole. 1029. racefangurl posted: 11.24.2014 - 9:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (2) So, according to MAR Danica's a little like, say Joey. He was pushed to the Cup before he was ready and so was Danica. I seem to remember someone saying David Ragan was rushed up, too. Speaking of David Ragan, is he better than Ryan? 1030. BR549 posted: 11.24.2014 - 10:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yes David Ragan is, he was rushed up and Roush pulled him out, went to Front Row and is doing everything he can, I wish he would get away from Front Row and take a dip at Nationwide again, but with these simple win and get in Chase format, we will never see another driver lower himself down to the ranks of Nationwide as long as he can get a full time Cup ride. 1031. BR549 posted: 11.24.2014 - 10:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, I can't remember which post it was, but it was said that the driver that scored the most points should be honored in some way, with an award such as driver of the year, here is my idea to the solution and it would be really simple. Although it's not as relevant in the Sprint Cup Series like it is in Nationwide or Trucks, how about making the Owners Points the fight for the Championship for best driver (or car really). That would mean the Owners Points would not be reset once the chase started and would give NBC another title fight to occasionally bring up. 1032. TS1420 posted: 11.24.2014 - 11:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Also, I can't remember which post it was, but it was said that the driver that scored the most points should be honored in some way, with an award such as driver of the year, here is my idea to the solution and it would be really simple. Although it's not as relevant in the Sprint Cup Series like it is in Nationwide or Trucks, how about making the Owners Points the fight for the Championship for best driver (or car really). That would mean the Owners Points would not be reset once the chase started and would give NBC another title fight to occasionally bring up." I actually like that idea. 1033. Scott B posted: 11.24.2014 - 1:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Joey Logano and David Ragan both ran their first full season of Cup without the benefit of a full season in Nationwide, so I think it's fair to classify them as "rushed" to Cup. Joey was fortunate and got a second chance with a strong team. Ragan hasn't been as lucky, Front Row seemed to backslide a little in 2014 and it feels like they throw everything they have at the plate races and have to phone it in elsewhere because of their small budget. Danica did get one full season of Nationwide and two partials before going full time in Cup. That's not a lot of prep time, but really I think the issue is her talent "ceiling" is at the Nationwide level, not at the Cup level, regardless of how much time she's given. On the other hand, I thought Kyle Larson was being rushed up with only one season in Nationwide, and he proved me wrong and did just fine. There was improvement as he got into the last third of the rookie season, but holding him back another year may have made a small difference but not a huge one. Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney will be interesting case studies. They both seem to adapt quickly to running different series. I agree with RCRandPenskeGuy, two full seasons in the Nationwide (Xfinity) series is a good rule of thumb, but beyond that there won't be much benefit if the prospect is going the be the real thing at the top level. 1034. MAR posted: 11.24.2014 - 3:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Joey Logano was rushed way to quickly as well and it almost costed him his career but thank god he got a second chance to prove himself. David Ragan was also rushed at roush and he failed badly but that decision was a sponsor driven decision as triple aaa wanted a young driver and mark martin was to old to represent them originally that ride was for todd kleuver he also failed in Roush poor development program. As for Danica she was an open wheel driver her whole Life she had one full nationwide season to learn how to stock car race thats not an easy transition at all look at patrick carpantier, Dario Franchitti, and even Sam Hornish made the same transition and looked horrible sam has recovered but all those guys would say they weren't ready for cup right after open wheel racing Allmendinger and scott speed and yes Montoya all were mediocre at first give Danica more time before anybody judges her. 1035. racefangurl posted: 11.24.2014 - 4:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Ragan would be one of the others better than Ryan that Roush fired referred to 1026. 1025 talks about a driver rushed up and that combined with 1026's content made me remember how someone said somewhere David Ragan was rushed up to the Cup. I think David Ragan would've stayed with Roush if he had a sponsor. That's the only reason Ryan's still with Roush, his sponsor. 1036. Eric posted: 11.24.2014 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) CJS3872, Dale Jr. isn't a year younger than Jimmie Johnson. Dale Jr. is a year older than Jimmie Johnson. Jimmie Johnson was born on September 17th, 1975 and Dale Jr was born on October 10th, 1974. 1037. murb posted: 11.24.2014 - 5:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Austin Dillon will run the majority of the NXS season in RCR's #33 with sponsorship from Rheem. Looking forward to seeing him win 0 races again. Also, since Rheem will be sponsoring him, James Buescher is officially out at RAB Racing. Hopefully he'll be able to pick up a good ride in one of the series. It'd be a shame if someone as young and as talented as him is just forgotten about by everyone. 1038. Anonymous posted: 11.24.2014 - 7:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) A lot of bitter, angry people here... 1039. Eric posted: 11.24.2014 - 8:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 1038, What are you talk about? 1040. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 11.24.2014 - 8:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Also, since Rheem will be sponsoring him, James Buescher is officially out at RAB Racing. Hopefully he'll be able to pick up a good ride in one of the series. It'd be a shame if someone as young and as talented as him is just forgotten about by everyone." This goes too show how much pull sponsers have in NASCAR. And NASCAR can not do anything about it. 1041. MAR posted: 11.24.2014 - 8:35 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) First RCR signs Brandon Jones who is another CEO baby racing in nascar he is the son of the CEO of Rheem so that also allows Austin Dillon to get Rheem to sponsor his NXS ride next year. Also that put James Buescher Rideless at the moment which is sad cause now he might be at the end of road and maybe might make a difficult career choice suck as Alex Bowman and Ryan Truex before him. This ride buying thing is getting way outta hand. 1042. David posted: 11.24.2014 - 10:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "A lot of bitter, angry people here..." Speaking of which... At least we aren't destructive unlike some people who remain unidentified. 1043. David posted: 11.24.2014 - 10:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) *who WILL remain unidentified, and are in the news... 1044. Scott B posted: 11.25.2014 - 11:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 1034- "As for Danica she was an open wheel driver her whole life she had one full nationwide season to learn how to stock car race thats not an easy transition" Except her car owner, Tony Stewart, made that transition to Cup with a total of 36 starts and zero full seasons in Nationwide. Three wins in his rookie season, six wins in the sophomore year. The difference? Talent. 1045. MAR posted: 11.25.2014 - 1:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Scott B you cant be serious to compare Tony Stewart to Danica Patrick. So basically Hornish, Franchitti, carpantier, Scott Speed, Allmendinger, who all had horrible rookie seasons had no talent to right. 1046. cjs3872 posted: 11.25.2014 - 2:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thanks for correcting me, Eric. But the fact that three of the four HMS drivers (and the main three) are between the ages of 39 and 43 tells me that there is going to have to be a significant rebuilding process at HMS, in it's driver lineup, if nowhere else in the not-too-distant future. And even Kasey Kahne is in his mid-30s now. So if something isn't done, and fast, HMS could go into a downward spiral, at least for a short time. And let's not forget that the car owner is in his mid-60s, so even the ownership situation there could become unstable within five years time. And murb (#1037), could the announcement that Austin Dillon will be driving in the NXS quite a bit next year be tied to the changes in the Cup cars (namely the reduction in horsepower), because the changes in the Cup cars will make them more similar to the NXS cars more than ever before, and that extra track time during companion weekends will become even more valuable in 2015 than it ever has been before, so this might be a case of Richard Childress getting Austin Dillon all the track time he can get, and that extra 200-300 miles that the Cup drivers racing in the NXS companion events gets in track time over those that don't run those races is something I think will be a large advantage for those that run the companion events, probably more than ever before, so I think that's smart strategy on the part of Childress to get Austin all the seat time he can get at the Cup tracks. We saw how much better the #3 car was in the second half of the season than it was in the first half, and that's due to nothing more than racing at the same track the second time around. And Aaron (#1024), it seems all the more reasonable that Jeff Gordon would be the first of the three main HMS drivers to go, if for no other reason than his age (43), as he's the oldest of the drivers at HMS, but I think when he prepares to leave, and eventually leaves depends on how he runs next year. And also, keep this in mind, especially if Gordon does close in on that 100 win mark. Richard Petty got is last two wins as a driver, not for Petty Enterprises, though he had the same number, paint job, and even car make he had the last time he won for his family team, but instead, he got his last two wins as a driver for Mike Curb, the only Cup races Curb ever won as an owner. We could see something similar happen with Gordon. He may race another year or two with HMS, and then drive for another team, possibly even as a stopgap replacement for Tony Stewart if he decides to hang it up, to make room at HMS for Chase Elliott. But I do se the possibility of Gordon, Johnson, and Dale, Jr. all departing HMS within a 3-5 year period, because their ages are similar, though Gordon is the oldest by three years. 1047. racefangurl posted: 11.25.2014 - 4:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Crazy how Penske and Hendrick are the best teams. Hendrick's an old team and Penkse's a young team, in terms of driver age. 1048. Aaron posted: 11.25.2014 - 10:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "So basically Hornish, Franchitti, carpantier, Scott Speed, Allmendinger, who all had horrible rookie seasons had no talent to right." To be fair, they have as many wins as Danica: zero. 1049. Smiff_2 posted: 11.26.2014 - 8:23 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) HEY.....Allmendinger *does* have ONE win, man....lol 1050. racefangurl posted: 11.26.2014 - 12:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Hornish has won Nationwide, if that means anything. Allmendinger's the Cup race winner of the group. Danica could win the Daytona 500 or something. In fact, someone at bleacherreport.com called her a favorite to win the 500. 1051. David posted: 11.26.2014 - 2:37 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) "Danica could win the Daytona 500 or something. In fact, someone at bleacherreport.com called her a favorite to win the 500." Go figure. Tip: NEVER go to Bleacher Report to read about NASCAR, unless you want a good laugh. 1052. dennyfan11 posted: 11.26.2014 - 2:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Here is a preliminary team chart for next year. This could change any time. #1 Jamie McMurray set to return. Keith Rodden will be leaving to crew chief Kasey Kahne, and will be replaced by Matt McCall. Liftmaster will also leave, so Mcdonalds and Cessna will increase the races they sponsor. No word on Bass Pro Shops. #2 Brad Keselowski to return next year. Miller Lite and Wurth also will return, no word on Alliance Truck Parts or Detroit Genuine Parts. Paul Wolfe will also return. #3 TBA. #4 Kevin Harvick to return. Budweiser, Jimmy Johns, Outback Steakhouse, and Mobil1 will also return, no word on Hunt Brothers Pizza. No word on Rodney Childers either. #5 Kasey Kahne to return. Farmers Insurance will sponsor 12 races, Great Clips 10, Time Warner Cable 5, Pepsi 1. Liftmaster will join to sponsor 3. Keith Rodden will become the crew chief. #6(formerly #99) Carl Edwards leaves Roush. In his place is rookie Trevor Bayne. Advocare to become the sponsor, Jimmy Fennig to retire as crew chief. #7 TBA #9 Marcos Ambrose to go to V8 Supercars. He will be replaced by Sam Hornish Jr. Stanley and Dewalt to leave. Twisted Tea will return. Drew Blickensderfer TBA. #10 Danica Patrick to return. No word on wether Godaddy.com or Aspen Dental return. Daniel Knost to return as well. #11 Denny Hamlin to return. Sponsor and Crew chief TBA. #13 Casey Mears to return, as will GEICO. Crew chief TBA. #14 Tony Stewart to return, sponsor and crew chief TBA. #15 Clint Bowyer to return as will 5-Hour Energy. No word on wether Peak, AAA Mid-Atlantic, or Charter return. Brian Pattie to return as well. #16 Greg Biffle to return. 3M to be replaced by Ortho and Cheez-It. Crew Chief TBA. #17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr to return. Fastenal will join as a sponsor. Zest, Ecopower, and Cargill to return as well. No word on Fifth Third Bank or NOS. No word on Mike Kelley. #18 Kyle Busch to stay. M&Ms to also return. No word on Interstate Batteries or crew chief Dave Rogers. #19 Carl Edwards to join this 4th Joe Gibbs Racing car. Sponsorship from Arris (17 races) and Stanley(12 races). Crew Chief TBA. #20 Matt Kenseth to return. Dollar General to sponsor 30 races, Dewalt to join to sponsor 6. No word on Jason Ratcliff. #22 Joey Logano to return. Shell Pennzoil to sponsor 32 races, AAA to sponsor 3 and Autotrader.com to sponsor 1. No word on Todd Gordon. #23 TBA #24 Jeff Gordon to remain. Drive To End Hunger to sponsor 13 races. 3M joins the team and will sponsor 11 races, Axalta Coating System 10, Pepsi 2, Panasonic 2. No word on Alan Gustafson. #26 TBA #27 Paul Menard to return, as will Menards and Justin Alexander. #30 The Motorsports Group to enter NASCAR Cup full time. No word on any plans. #31 Ryan Newman back, as is Caterpillar, Quicken Loans, and WIX Filters. No word on Kwikset or Luke Lambert. #32 Terry Labonte to retire, otherwise TBA. #33 Ty Dillon to make a start with Yuengling Beer, otherwise TBA. #34 TBA #36 TBA #38 TBA #40 TBA #41 Kurt Busch and Tony Gibson return, no word on Hass Automation or State Water Hearters. #42 Kyle Larson to return, as will Target. No word on Chris Heroy. #43 Aric Almirola to return. Smithfield Foods to return for 29 races, Fresh From Florida for 2. No word on STP, U.S Air Force, or Gobowling.com. No Word on Trent Owens. #47 A.J Allmendinger to return. Clorox and Scott Products to return. No word on Bush's Baked Beans, Kingsford Charcoal, or House-Autry Mills. Brian Burns to return. #48 Jimmie Johnson to return, as will Lowe's Home Improvement. No word on Kobalt Tools. Chad Knaus to return. #51 TBA #55 Brian Vickers to return, as will Aaron's Dream Machine. No word on Billy Scott. #66 TBA. #78 Martin Truex Jr. to return. No word on Furniture Row or Todd Berrier. #83 TBA #87 Dale Earnhardt Jr. to return. Army National Guard leaving the team. AMP Energy and Mountain Dew return, no word on Kelley Blue Book. Nationwide Insurance sponsors 21 races. Steve Letarte replaced by Greg Ives. #98 TBA. Part Time #12 TBA #21 Trevor Bayne to be replaced by Ryan Blaney. No word on Motorcraft, Quick Lane, or Donnie Wingo. ? Chase Elliott to run part time in a 5th car for Hendrick Motorsports. #29 TBA. #35 TBA #37 TBA. #44 TBA #49 TBA. #52 TBA #77 TBA. #87 TBA. #92 TBA #93 TBA #95 Michael Mcdowell to return. No word on sponsor or crew chief. 1053. The Long Shot posted: 11.26.2014 - 3:14 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Cole Whitt will not return to BK Racing next year. Word is he may drive the #34 for Front Row Motorsports, either meaning David Ragan is out of a ride or that FRM is expanding to three cars in 2015 (the latter seems more likely, as FRM has consistently said that they want to keep Ragan for next year). 1054. Scott B posted: 11.26.2014 - 5:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Scott B you cant be serious to compare Tony Stewart to Danica Patrick." How is that unfair? They both came from open wheel racing, had similar prep time in Nationwide, and similar team resources when the came to Cup. That's as level as a playing field as you can have when comparing two drivers. So basically Hornish, Franchitti, carpantier, Scott Speed, Allmendinger, who all had horrible rookie seasons had no talent to right. Well, no future Hall of Famers in that group, though none of those mentioned had the resources of Stewart or Patrick at their disposal as a rookie. Dinger at least stuck around long enough to fit into the "journeyman" category, and Hornish should too. The others... meh. Franchitti's Cup career ended without a lead lap finish. 1055. dennyfan11 posted: 11.26.2014 - 7:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Time for something i've always wondered. Other than the 2014 Coke Zero 400, what other NASCAR races have had lots of red flags (counting delays before the race)? This includes all divisions. 1056. Sean posted: 11.27.2014 - 1:32 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Crazy how Penske and Hendrick are the best teams." Not really. They're the two richest owners, aren't they? "So basically Hornish, Franchitti, carpantier, Scott Speed, Allmendinger, who all had horrible rookie seasons had no talent to right." Scott Speed hasn't been especially impressive at anything in my view with the possible exception of Global RallyCross. Carpentier was an average CART driver at best. Allmendinger's open wheel record is I think very overrated. Yes, I'd still rate them over Patrick as open wheel drivers, but I don't see any of those three as any sort of world-beaters in their specialty. "Danica could win the Daytona 500 or something" I liken her to Casey Mears almost completely. They both started in the CART/Champ Car feeder series and contended for championships due to great consistency even though they rarely ever fought for race wins at all (Mears got one win, Patrick didn't). They then had occasional good runs in IndyCar but ultimately nothing special (although Patrick had many more starts and maybe Mears would have improved if he had had a comparable number of starts, but I don't think so). Then they both had similarly awful Nationwide seasons followed by similarly awful Cup rookie seasons. So far their careers parallel quite nicely. Mears showed signs of life in his second season, and to a lesser degree Patrick has as well. Maybe she's even a little behind Mears, but I think that's the appropriate comparison. So I do think she'll probably steal a fuel mileage win in 3 or 4 years like he did if she sticks around, but it won't mean much of anything. "Well, no future Hall of Famers in that group" NASCAR HoF, no, but Hornish and Franchitti will get into both the IMS (de facto IndyCar) Hall of Fame and the IMHoF. Carpentier and Speed will never get inducted to any national/international racing hall of fame. Allmendinger is anybody's guess. Winning a Champ Car race (and even being a title contender), a Cup race, and a 24 Hours of Daytona is a pretty rare combination, but I just don't think he was overall dominant enough in any discipline to deserve it, so I would say no unless maybe he wins a bunch more Cup road course wins... 1057. Scott B posted: 11.27.2014 - 8:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sean, I did mean strictly NASCAR Hall of Fame by that comment. Hadn't thought about Casey Mears as a crossover driver till you brought him up. He really didn't have many CART & IndyCar starts, but did come up through the open wheel feeder series. Interesting comparison. And of course there was also Robby Gordon, who had talent and versatility as a driver, but managed to alienate everyone who could have helped him with his career. Had he been able to latch on to another good or even mid-level ride post-Childress, he could have padded his career stats in Cup. 1058. The Long Shot posted: 11.27.2014 - 10:25 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) A very happy Thanksgiving to all the RR commenters and their families! 1059. The Crimson King posted: 11.28.2014 - 1:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Tip: NEVER go to Bleacher Report to read about NASCAR, unless you want a good laugh." Bleacherreport is awful, no matter what sport you're reading on about. I'm pretty sure just about anyone can submit an article to that site, severely compromising any kind of quality it could have otherwise. 1060. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 11.28.2014 - 1:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "And of course there was also Robby Gordon, who had talent and versatility as a driver, but managed to alienate everyone who could have helped him with his career. Had he been able to latch on to another good or even mid-level ride post-Childress, he could have padded his career stats in Cup." Richard actually asked Robby too stay but Robby declined. If it weren't for typical Robby Gordon "bad luck or no luck at all" he could have won a race in his own equipment. I'm honestly suprised he never won a plate in NASCAR. Weither it was in his own stuff or Richards. 1061. racefangurl posted: 11.28.2014 - 2:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) All I remember about Robby Gordon is he was a driver/owner, he wasn't that good in his own cars and some people complained about the way he drove 1062. We need more Onion posted: 11.28.2014 - 4:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I'm honestly suprised he never won a plate in NASCAR. Weither it was in his own stuff or Richards. " Technically, this is not true. He won his duel in 2003. "All I remember about Robby Gordon is he was a driver/owner, he wasn't that good in his own cars and some people complained about the way he drove " Then you have a lot to catch up on. Robby is a rather good off-roader now. He is/was a very good open wheel driver, winning races in CART against REALLY strong opposition. He also got within two laps of an Indy 500 win. The two IROC 2nds overall are also neat. 1063. racefangurl posted: 11.28.2014 - 4:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was talking about him in his NASCAR days. He has a race series of his own or some such thing now. I seem to remember that was where we were told he was going after his NASCAR days were over. 1064. We need more Onion posted: 11.28.2014 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Then his two infamous wins are sure things to be remembered from his RCR days. Him racing his teammate back to the line in Sonoma and spinning Gordon for his maiden win. (Couldn't feel the least bit sorry for either driver there.) 1065. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 11.28.2014 - 7:04 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Technically, this is not true. He won his duel in 2003." I was speaking "points" wins. A couple of Dega races and 2 Daytona 500s he had a shot at winning (2008 and 2011). Might as well throw in the 2008 Daytona 2 race because he forced a hole that wasn't there and was 5th when the caution came out. The only people who were in front of him were the leaders. "He also got within two laps of an Indy 500 win." Because his team ran him out of gas.... morons. "The two IROC 2nds overall are also neat." Dale Earnhardt praised Robby at the end of one of those races. I think Big E very rarely praised anyone. On live TV no less. 1066. MAR posted: 11.28.2014 - 8:02 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Robby Gordon is a classic example of talent he can race anything anytime and be good at it it his nascar career wasnt flashy but he did win and when he got to RCR he was already in my opinion past his prime in racing intelligence if he was smarter at decision making he would still be in a legit cup ride with more than two wins. But my favorite Robby Gordon moment was the first Xfinity series race at montreal he got spun out under caution by Ambrose nascar said he had to line up in 6th instead Robby lined up behind Ambrose and spun him out after the restart nascar blacked flaged him he didn't answer the black flag and after the race he celebrated doin burnouts i thought it was one of the most funniest things i ever saw in nascar. Still to this day Robby if u ask him won that race and nascar took it from him. 1067. Eric posted: 11.28.2014 - 11:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I said it before about Robby Gordon and I will say again now. I don't think I seen a driver waste so much talent as he did. His problem to me was lack of focus and maturity besides making poor career choices. I am saying this as a person who remembered Robby Gordon dating back to racing in CART back in 1993. As far as RCR goes, Robby went there at the wrong time. RCR was affected by the death of Dale Sr. and the organization was struggling before 2006 season in terms of consistency. I say that because I felt RCR did held back Kevin Harvick and it is possible with the other drivers RCR had. The fact is RCR had weaker equipment compare to Hendrick Motorsports. While Harvick had 2 seasons in the top in points before 2006, he didn't have back to back top 10 in points seasons. The fact was RCR was even more behind than they normally were when Kevin was there. 1068. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 11.28.2014 - 11:23 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Still to this day Robby if u ask him won that race and nascar took it from him." He hung a banner in his NASCAR shop saying he won the race. And i believe him. I also remember NASCAR parked him and NASCAR fans (for once doing something right) demanded they bring Robby back. Saw signs at Pocono. "As far as RCR goes, Robby went there at the wrong time. RCR was affected by the death of Dale Sr. and the organization was struggling before 2006 season in terms of consistency." For 2 of the 3 years Robby at RCR, RCR was awful. They won 1 race in 2002, 3 in 2003 (both Harvick and Robby were good that year) and 0 in 2004. Robby would have finished top 10 in points in 2003 if the wheels didn't fall off after Michigan 2. 1069. Eric posted: 11.29.2014 - 12:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 1995 Subaru WRX STi, You were right about Robby being at RCR for 3 full seasons, but Robby was at RCR before 2002. Robby was at RCR for the 1st race at Loudon in 2001 after Mike Skinner got hurt at Chicagoland. Robby was in that ride for rest of the season. 1070. murb posted: 11.29.2014 - 12:50 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kind of random how Robby Gordon is being discussed all of a sudden, but I guess I'll chime in (pretty sure I've rambled about him on here before, but whatever, I'm bored so I guess I'll do it again). I think he could have at least had a really good 7-8 win Cup career just based on his talent alone (along with the amount of tracks he ran well at - he was always really good at places like Richmond, Phoenix, Loudon, Bristol, and Dover, in addition to his obvious road course prowess). But ultimately, his piss poor "my way or the highway" attitude is what ended up completely killing his potential in Nascar. He showed flashes of being legit during his RCR run (mainly in 2003, but he also had some notable runs in 2004, when RCR was super shitty), and he even ended up getting 12 top tens with his INSANELY badly equipped #7 car that he owned himself (I think that's impressive - even though he usually had that thing fully sponsored, it was never much of a step up from start-and-park quality, if at all). So there's obviously no disputing his talent behind the wheel. Talent-wise, he absolutely had it. But mentally, he was always a disaster. At RCR, he was constantly feuding with his teammates (he and Harvick always had a ton of tension) and owner (ditto with Childress), and in addition to that, he'd always be feuding with others out on the race track more often than not (Dale Jr at Bristol 2002, Biffle at Loudon 2004, Stewart quite a few times throughout their careers, Michael Waltrip at Loudon 2005, etc). It was just constant feuds and retaliation with him, it seemed like, and that caused nothing but distractions. And then of course there was the train-wreck that was RGM. As I said, he got 12 top tens in that hunk of garbage #7 car, which is very impressive. But one of the biggest reasons why that car was a hunk of garbage was because Robby totally mismanaged that team. It seemed like every year he was switching manufacturers (I believe at one point he literally went through all four manufacturers in four consecutive seasons), and he was always firing and hiring crew chiefs, seemingly every two months or so. That lack of chemistry and continuity just completely derailed any hopes that team had. Had he just stuck with a particular group and let it grow, then I think that team (and thus, his career) would have been at least a little better than they actually were. But yes, overall it's really a shame that he never lived up to all of that potential in Nascar, because I truly think he could have had a pretty good career if he had done a lot of things differently. He always seemed like a real fun and interesting personality (despite his frequent whining), and I think it would have been great for the sport to have him as one of its most notable drivers. It's too bad it never panned out. 1071. David posted: 11.29.2014 - 8:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I believe at one point he literally went through all four manufacturers in four consecutive seasons" He did; Chevrolet, Ford, Dodge, and Toyota in that order from 2006-09. 1072. racefangurl posted: 11.29.2014 - 11:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Murb, it started back at 1057 because Scott B mentioned Robby Gordon in that post. We got talking about open wheel-turned-NASCAR drivers, like Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick and after awhile other names crept in. There's some talk on the Internet Danica may leave NASCAR. 1073. Aaron posted: 11.29.2014 - 1:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To add to that teams chart, Kelley Blue Book will be back with Jr., considering they've already announced they're sponsoring him at Atlanta and the paint scheme is already out there. 1074. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 11.29.2014 - 7:59 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "But yes, overall it's really a shame that he never lived up to all of that potential in Nascar," I personally do not think NASCAR was Robbys favorite thing too do. I'm sure he enjoyed the challenge of NASCAR but off-road has always been his thing. As much as drivers now a days get demolished for "forgetting where they came from" Robby has NEVER forgotten where he came from. "But ultimately, his piss poor "my way or the highway" attitude is what ended up completely killing his potential in Nascar." Want too do know who he got that from? AJ Foyt. I do not think i need too get into detail on AJ Foyts "my way or the highway" attitude. I seem too remember him beating the shit out of Arie Leyendike (sorry if i completely crapped over your name Arie) at Texas. AJ Foyt got Robby his Open Wheel start, so it started early. "Michael Waltrip at Loudon 2005" He called Mikey "a piece of shit." I personally think we will all agree with Robby on that one. "(ditto with Childress)" I'll disagree with you here Murb. Richard did ask Robby too stay. So Robby and Richard must have gotten along well enough. If there is one thing i wish happened for Robby, is that him and Kevin Hamlin stuck together for 2002. If Richard had kept them together then and not seperated them in 2002, 2003 would have been scary too think what more they could have done including sweeping the road courses. 1075. Eric posted: 11.29.2014 - 11:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 1995 Subaru WRX STi, Robby Gordon didn't have Kevin Hamlin as a crew chief at the start of the 2002 season for a reason. Childress thought Kevin Harvick and Kevin Hamlin did good together in Kevin's rookie year in cup in 2001 although the 29 team was struggling down the stretch in 2001 starting at Kansas. Kevin Hamlin was Kevin's first ever Crew chief on the cup level for RCR in 2001. Kevin Hamlin was Dale Sr.'s last crew chief. Robby ended 2001 with Gil Martin as his Crew Chief Chief at RCR. Gil Martin proved to a capable crew chief under Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick. Robby Gordon got Kevin Hamlin as a Crew Chew in 2002 after the Coca Cola 600 and with him through the end of 2003 season. Robby got Chris Andrews in 2004. 1076. racefangurl posted: 11.30.2014 - 8:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Didn't Chris Andrews have a stint at Roush? 1077. Eric posted: 11.30.2014 - 10:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) racefangurl, Chris Andrews did have a stint at Roush. He was with Roush in 2007 or 2008 through 2011 or 2012 before going to Germain Racing. 1078. Eric posted: 11.30.2014 - 10:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) on post 2075, I thought I post Crew Chief, not Crew Chief Chief and Crew Chew. 1079. MAR posted: 12.01.2014 - 9:29 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Buy or sell Ricky Stenhouse will never make it in cup if he continues to Date Danica 1080. KennyWallaceFan(Truck Series Guy!) posted: 12.01.2014 - 9:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) My tv in my dorm at college doesn't get fox spots 1, so I can't get the truck races. I was wondering if there is any system or website anyone knows on here that streams NASCAR races. 1081. racefangurl posted: 12.01.2014 - 10:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I remember Chris Andrews being at Roush because he was Trevor's crew chief before Chad Norris was in 2011. 1082. murb posted: 12.01.2014 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Well, a couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I would be doing in-depth team-by-team predictions, but instead of that, I decided I'm actually gonna do a full on prediction of the entire season. Race-by-race, the Chase, etc. I know I have WAY less of a chance of being right on these predictions as opposed to if I would have done it the other way, but I decided I want to do this because I think it will be fun once next year is over to come back and see what I got right (or more likely, what I got horribly wrong). So anyway, here it goes. Apologies for the length of this post... 1. Daytona 500: Brad Keselowski [Was a factor last year, not to mention won Fall Talladega.] 2. Atlanta: Kyle Busch 3. Las Vegas: Kyle Busch (2 wins) [Starts off hot after a dismal 2014.] 4. Phoenix: Kurt Busch [Gibson should improve him mightily.] 5. Fontana: Carl Edwards 6. Martinsville: Tony Stewart [Might be his final career win.] 7. Texas: Carl Edwards (2 wins) [Gonna have a "Kenseth in 2013" type vibe going on.] 8. Bristol: Kyle Larson 9. Richmond: Matt Kenseth 10. Talladega: Austin Dillon 11. Kansas: Jimmie Johnson All Star Race: Dale Earnhardt Jr 12. Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte: Jamie McMurray [FINALLY makes the Chase.] 13. Dover: Joey Logano 14. Pocono: Carl Edwards (3 wins) 15. Michigan: Brad Keselowski (2 wins) 16. Sonoma: Kevin Harvick [Hangover year other than this and another Fall Phoenix win.] 17. Firecracker 400 at Daytona: Matt Kenseth (2 wins) 18. Kentucky: Joey Logano (2 wins) 19. New Hampshire: Martin Truex Jr [I think they'll be surprisingly good.] 20. Indianapolis: Matt Kenseth (3 wins) [Matt checks off all of the Crown Jewels.] 21. Pocono: Carl Edwards (4 wins) 22. Watkins Glen: Kurt Busch (2 wins) 23. Michigan: Jimmie Johnson (2 wins) 24. Bristol: Kyle Larson (2 wins) 25. Southern 500 at Darlington: Dale Earnhardt Jr 26. Richmond: Jeff Gordon [Has a mediocre year, but Refuse To Loses his way into the Chase.] CHASE Round 1 27. Chicagoland: Brad Keselowski (3 wins) 28. New Hampshire: Clint Bowyer 29. Dover: Jimmie Johnson (3 wins) CHASE Round 2 30. Charlotte: Kyle Larson (3 wins) 31. Kansas: Carl Edwards (5 wins) 32. Talladega: Trevor Bayne CHASE Round 3 33. Martinsville: Ryan Newman 34. Texas: Brad Keselowski (4 wins) 35. Phoenix: Kevin Harvick (2 wins) CHASE Finale 36. Homestead: Kyle Larson (4 wins) Final Standings 1. Brad Keselowski (I mentioned back at Talladega that 2014 has been his "Tony in 2004" type tumultuous year - I think this will be his "Tony in 2005" type year where he just kicks ass without causing trouble.) 2. Jimmie Johnson (Honestly may end up being his last shot at ever winning a title - I think he's slipping a little bit.) 3. Carl Edwards (Wins the most races, but ultimately cools off later in the Chase like Kenseth did in 2013.) 4. Matt Kenseth (Doesn't win in the Chase, but solidly makes it to the Final Four.) --- 5. Clint Bowyer (Only one to make the Chase on points, eliminated at Phoenix) 6. Kyle Larson (Eliminated at Phoenix - Breakout Driver Of The Year without a doubt though.) 7. Dale Earnhardt Jr (Eliminated at Phoenix) 8. Joey Logano (Eliminated at Phoenix) --- 9. Kurt Busch (Eliminated at Talladega) 10. Jeff Gordon (Eliminated at Talladega) 11. Kyle Busch (Eliminated at Talladega) 12. Martin Truex Jr (Eliminated at Talladega) --- 13. Kevin Harvick (Eliminated at Dover - I just think they'll mostly be off all year like Brad was in 2013) 14. Austin Dillon (Eliminated at Dover) 15. Tony Stewart (Eliminated at Dover) 16. Jamie McMurray (Eliminated at Dover) So there it is. I think it will be very reminiscent of 2011 competition-wise. I'm not sure how good the racing will be with the new rules packages, but because of those new rules packages, I do see everybody at least starting the year out basically on an even playing field. So I think that will lead to quite a bit of parity overall (I have 18 different winners, total). I think it will be really interesting and fun all year, though. I really do think there's a lot to be excited about (NBC's presence, new stars like Larson breaking out, the new Chase proving itself to bring out lots of passion and aggression - even if there are still some tweaks that need to be made to the system -, etc). I'm very (cautiously) optimistic that it will be an above average year. 1083. murb posted: 12.01.2014 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Honestly may end up being his last shot at ever winning a title" LOL, I guess this should say "may end up being his last shot at title #7". I made it sound like he's never won one before. 1084. murb posted: 12.01.2014 - 6:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh yeah, and while I'm at it (sorry for triple posting): NXS Champion: Chase Elliott (I would definitely pick Ryan Blaney if he was running full time, but he's not. So Chase easily goes back-to-back.) Truck Champion: Erik Jones (Should be a royal ass whipping.) IndyCar Champion: Will Power (I hope Pagenaud can beat him, but I think he might take a little while to gel with Penske. So Will will probably win it again now that he finally has one under his belt.) F1 Champion: Lewis Hamilton if Mercedes flat dominates once again, Fernando Alonso if there is parity and the McLaren Honda is actually worth a damn. 1085. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 12.01.2014 - 6:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I'm not sure how good the racing will be with the new rules packages, but because of those new rules packages, I do see everybody at least starting the year out basically on an even playing field." Like this years package, someone will hit the "125HP less, 10% reduced downforce, softer tires" package and will run roughshot over the field until someone catches up. In terms of racing, i do not think short tracks will be much effected (at least Martinsville). Richmond will be most effected i think. Road Courses will be half effected. Sonoma is slow by The Glen standards but it is tire eater. Even with reduced HP, 725 too the rear wheels is still alot. Add softer tires and and we might have a show. The Glen might be effected because how fast you can go. But like Sonoma, tires matter and reduced downforce will effect the cars more. Plate Tracks will be the same because the packages for Daytona and Talladega have not changed for next year. Ovals is a vastly different story. I'm not even going too guess how it will turn out. But i'll give this new package a chance. 1086. Eric posted: 12.01.2014 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) MAR, Ricky Stenhouse's struggles racing in cup cars has nothing to do with dating Danica Patrick. There has been Busch Series/Nationwide drivers that were better in that series than cup. There hasn't been a lot of Busch Series/Nationwide series champions that became cup champions for a reason or get plan flopped in a cup car. The only Busch Series/Nationwide Champions that became cup champions are Bobby Labonte, Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick. I have some great examples of Busch Series/Nationwide drivers that were better in that series than cup such as Martin Truex Jr. and Brian Vickers. The two drivers I mentioned didn't date Danica, but yet they were expected to be great cup driver after being Busch Series/Nationwide champions before going to cup. 1087. MAR posted: 12.01.2014 - 7:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Murb pretty interesting predictions but i disagree with you on a couple things. 1.Harvick wont have that big of a hangover like Brad had penske switched manufacturers after brad won his titles so No hangover fot Harvick. 2. Logano will have an emotional hangover i see him have a carl Edwards like slump next season. 3.Carl Edwards will either win 5-6 races or go completely winless. Because i feel there will be a power struggle at JGR cause some body will have to be the Fourth Guy. 4.Hamlin, Newman, Almirola, Kahne, Biffle wont be back in the chase replacing them will be Larson, Dillion, Menard, Bowyer by points and Landon Cassil will pull a upset at Talladega and Make the chase as a super underdog 1088. Eric posted: 12.01.2014 - 8:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) My chase predictions depends on the hearing Kurt Busch that will happen on December 16th. If Kurt can't race next year, that will leave a spot open. 1089. murb posted: 12.01.2014 - 8:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "1.Harvick wont have that big of a hangover like Brad had penske switched manufacturers after brad won his titles so No hangover fot Harvick." I might have over-exaggerated it by having him eliminated in the first round of the Chase, but I do think he is in for a hangover type year. Maybe more "Bobby Labonte in 2001" or "Tony Stewart in 2003" than "Brad Keselowski in 2013", though. As surprising as it might sound, I seriously think Kurt Busch (as long as his legal issues don't force him out of the car) will for the most part be the flag-bearer for SHR though. He and Tony Gibson showed some serious speed and great chemistry at the end of the season (their worst finish in three races together was 11th at Homestead), so I think Kurt is really in for a nice year. I agree with you about JGR though. I do think someone will be the odd man out, and I think it will be Denny. His contract is coming up, and he clearly seems to have lost a bit of touch since his Fontana 2013 injury. So I think he will have another fairly underwhelming season (I don't think he'll be godawful, as I think JGR as a whole will step-up a bunch, but he'll without a doubt be fourth in line - like Kahne has become at Hendrick), and I honestly wouldn't be shocked to see him leave at the end of the season and get a fresh start elsewhere (if I had to guess, probably in the MWR #55 - he and Michael are apparently good friends, and even an idiot like Michael would be smart enough to dump Vickers in favor of someone like Denny - so I can see that scenario happening). 1090. racefangurl posted: 12.01.2014 - 10:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I like that murb had a Roush driver, Trevor Bayne winning a plate race. Roush has a good plate program yet and that combined with his good runs on plate tracks, even if results don't reflect performance, a possibility. Joey has Nationwide/Xfinity wins at Kentucky and Dover, so I won't rule him winning Cup races at these tracks. Austin Dillon could win at 'Dega, as he has qualified strong at plate tracks and anything can happen at 'Dega. I have no objections to anything murb predicted. And about Ricky, maybe he's just better in Nationwide/Xfinity than Cup, say his style's better suited to shorter races, he's good but not great or he's suffering from Roush's issues. If Roush is a 2nd tier team now, that could be holding Ricky back. Roush has brought in some new people, so they may be improving some, but time will tell what happened/is up with Ricky. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was a back-to-back champ in the then-Busch series, which compares to Ricky's performance. 1091. DB1995 posted: 12.02.2014 - 11:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Predictions for next season Daytona 500: Stenhouse Atlanta: Hamlin (has a disappointing year after coming close this year) Vegas: Larson (as much as i don't like him it will happen) Phoenix: Harvick (4 wins in a row here cements him as the greatest ever) Fontana: Logano Martinsville: Johnson Texas: Biffle gets a fuel mileage win Bristol: Jamie Mcmurray (he has been really good at Bristol in the gen 6) Richmond: Keselowski Talladega: Landon Cassil (would love to see this) Kansas: Matt Kenseth Charlotte: Jeff Gordon Dover: Jimmie Johnson Pocono: Earnhardt Jr. Michigan: Keselowski Sonoma: Ambrose (if he comes back to road courses for Penske) 2nd half of season later tonight 1092. Scott B posted: 12.02.2014 - 12:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Like this years package, someone will hit the "125HP less, 10% reduced downforce, softer tires" package and will run roughshot over the field until someone catches up." Agreed. One of the big teams with R&D resources will figure out the aero and engine package and have an early season advantage over the rest of the field. The softer tires will depend a little more on which drivers can adapt, but we could all make some educated guesses. On a related note, NASCAR has also said they'll address the issue of teams taking liberties with side skirts, though they haven't announced how. I think that's a good move, it makes no sense to me to force teams to carefully comply to a body template in pre-race inspections, then let the crews yank the fenders out on the first round of pit stops. 1093. DB1995 posted: 12.02.2014 - 12:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I just realized Jamie Mcmurray has won everything cup has to offer at Charlotte except the 600, he won the Bank of America 500 in 2002 and 2010, the Sprint showdown in 2013 and the All Star race this year. 1094. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 12.02.2014 - 1:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "On a related note, NASCAR has also said they'll address the issue of teams taking liberties with side skirts, though they haven't announced how. I think that's a good move, it makes no sense to me to force teams to carefully comply to a body template in pre-race inspections, then let the crews yank the fenders out on the first round of pit stops." Good. When teams started doing that it was ok, now it is just out of hand. "Talladega: Landon Cassil (would love to see this)" He'll be in my fanasty pick'em game on plate tracks. If he doesn't win a plate race next year, color me suprised. 1095. Eric posted: 12.02.2014 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) recegurl, The comparisons to Dale Jr to Stenhouse is a bit off in terms of performance despite booth of them being 2 time champions in the same series. There is big difference in terms of mentioning the two back-back champion drivers in terms of how the Busch Series was and the drivers themselves. Ricky almost lost his ride in his first season with Roush in the Nationwide Series and Dale Jr. didn't struggle in his first full season in the then Busch Series unlike Stenhouse. Dale Jr. only needed 2 full season in the Busch series compare to Stenhouse needed 3 full seasons. Dale Jr. was the more polished driver of the two and Dale Jr. didn't had the "wrecker" label as Stenhouse did either when Stenhouse was a rookie. The other thing is the cup drivers raced less the Busch Series/Nationwide series back in Dale Jr.'s day as a full time Busch series driver. The cup driver that were in the Busch series spent maybe 14 races a season at best compare to what Stenhouse had to deal with in terms of drivers like Brad, Kyle Busch, and Joey as examples. 1096. Eric posted: 12.02.2014 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think Biffle getting a fuel mileage win would be a shock. Greg is not known as fuel mileage driver despite his fuel mileage Daytona win as a rookie driver. I don't think Ambrose will be doing the 2 road course races. While Kurt Busch is a good pick, his legal status is a question mark right now. If Kurt can't race, the road course talent level goes down as a whole. A.J. Allmendinger is the favorite since I don't think Ambrose will be doing the road course races in cup. 1097. racefangurl posted: 12.02.2014 - 6:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Plate tracks and perhaps driver more than car tracks are Landon's only chance, because of his bad equipment. If he had a car worthy of a driver like him, he'd be another Joey Logano or something. 1098. racefangurl posted: 12.02.2014 - 7:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Eric, I was just saying they were both back-to-back champs in the series. I was no more than a NASCAR viewer and limited to Cup when Junior was a Busch champ. Martin Truex, Jr. would compare more to which one, out of Junior and Ricky? Ricky's 1st championship year was the 1st time I followed the series to any degree. 1099. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 12.02.2014 - 9:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I think Biffle getting a fuel mileage win would be a shock. Greg is not known as fuel mileage driver despite his fuel mileage Daytona win as a rookie driver." Won Kansas in 2007 via fuel mileage. 1100. Eric posted: 12.02.2014 - 10:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) racefangurl, Martin Truex Jr. as a Busch series driver was more like Dale Jr. in terms of winning championships in his only 2 seasons in the Busch Series. Martin Truex Jr. as a cup driver isn't like either driver. Truex usually chokes when he has the lead in the later part of the race. His cup career was hurt by outside of the race track in terms of turmoil by race organizations and in a lot of seasons in terms of equipment. The fact Kyle Busch straight and said MWR and JGR don't share information speaks volumes how good MWR equipment really is. 1101. racefangurl posted: 12.03.2014 - 9:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was comparing him to the other two in the lower series. And back to what I said about Ricky earlier. It seems some people blame his Cup struggles on how Roush got behind in simulation, as Biffle said. He thought they were turning around in the aerodynamic issues in late summer. People have said Roush was slower adjusting to the aerodynamic package and has had engineering/car geometry problems. Their engines are tuned for reliability more than speed people say. Actually, Biffle said the geometry was off on one occasion. They're trying to fix the engineering. Someone said something about the new people they brought in cleaning house in that department. So if all aerodynamic and engineering/handling issues can be fixed, what the true issues have been will show. Some say Ricky overdrives and crashes too much, but maybe that's because Roush has been so bad. If he had a better car, maybe he wouldn't have to overdrive it. If the new people can turn it around, time will tell. Ricky also hasn't had real mentor very long, as he had no one before Mark Martin. And he was hired as a driving coach not to long ago. 1102. MAR posted: 12.03.2014 - 10:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Over or under 6 combined wins for Mcmurray and Larson 1103. Scott B posted: 12.03.2014 - 10:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'd have to take under on the 6 wins. Realistic that both make the Chase field, though. 1104. racefangurl posted: 12.03.2014 - 1:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'd say 3+2. Jamie McMurray was a 3-time winner once with Ganassi car. Kyle Larson almost won this year, so I could him winning a couple next year. Both have been close to the Chase cutoff, so they could win and be in. 1105. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 12.03.2014 - 2:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I'd have to take under on the 6 wins. Realistic that both make the Chase field, though." Under but both make the Chase. 1106. racefangurl posted: 12.03.2014 - 2:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Larson's been compared to historic great ones like Dale Earnhardt. Someone said he drives like Earnhardt and thought he had as much talent as Earnhardt. I could see him making the Chase and going far. Maybe like Joey Logano this year. 1107. We need more Onion posted: 12.03.2014 - 6:16 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Stenhouse as a 500 winner? Would laugh really hard. Especially after his whole season would have that win and two top5s at Bristol. 1108. dennyfan11 posted: 12.04.2014 - 5:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Silly season news. Josh Wise has announced he will return to PPR. Some time ago, Austin Dillon announced a return to RCR. Todd Berrier will be replaced by race engineer Cole Pearn at FRR. Also the 2015 JGR crew chief lineups have been announced. #11: Darian Grubb replaced by Dave Rogers #18: Dave Rogers replaced by Adam Stevens #19: Darian Grubb #20: Jason Ratcliff 1109. The Long Shot posted: 12.04.2014 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Some time ago, Austin Dillon announced a return to RCR." Lol, no shit. Stenhouse winning the 500 wouldn't be that much of a shock. He's really good on restrictor plates; he finished in the top 10 in both Daytona races last year. Complete non-sequiter, but happy birthday to murb! One of my favorite posters on this forum and has been for a long time. 1110. Eric posted: 12.04.2014 - 7:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Jr won Myers Brothers award this year. He won the award over ESPN, Nationwide, and Sprint. I wonder if any trolls are going to come out of the wood work and claim this is a made up award or claim the award is now tarnished. 1111. Eric posted: 12.04.2014 - 7:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Jr. got the award for what he did on and off the track this year. Dale Jr. this year won two driver championships in NASCAR as an owner. Jr. Motorsports actually races more organizations than the Nationwide series. The other series Jr. Motorsports won a championship is Whelen All American Series at historic Hickory Motor Speedway. Dale Jr. also won the award for making 235 appearances this season for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a total that ranks among the top five for all professional athletes and for the Dale Jr. Foundation. The Dale Jr. Foundation also raised a record $913,000 for distribution to 70 charities in 2014. The Foundation's focus is to give underprivileged individuals, particularly youngsters, the resources to improve their confidence and education. 1112. MAR posted: 12.05.2014 - 10:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Buy or sell Dale Jr's last chance at a championship was 2014. 1113. Aaron posted: 12.05.2014 - 11:05 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Sell. If Ryan Newman can nearly win the title with 0 wins and 41 laps led, I wouldn't count Dale Jr. out of any title run if he makes the Chase. The championship comes down to who has the freshest tires on which GWC NASCAR wants to designate as the final one at Homestead. 1114. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 12.05.2014 - 2:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Dale Jr won Myers Brothers award this year. He won the award over ESPN, Nationwide, and Sprint." I find poetic justice that a NASCAR driver beats out BSPN. 1115. murb posted: 12.05.2014 - 2:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Complete non-sequiter, but happy birthday to murb! One of my favorite posters on this forum and has been for a long time." Thanks man. Ben Rhodes will drive some races for JRM in the #88 NXS car this year. Didn't see that coming at all, but that's really cool to see. If he does well, I can easily see Hendrick making him the next top development priority after Chase goes to Cup. 1116. MAR posted: 12.05.2014 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Im not judging Ben Rhodes cause he's only raced in the east series so congrats to him on his new ride at Jr Motorsports. Even Dale Jr couldnt resist hiring a CEO baby what happened to Bowman getting that ride in some races??? 1117. racefangurl posted: 12.05.2014 - 8:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ben Rhodes and Alex Bowman have each been said to get some races in that car. I smell a ride share. 1118. Eric posted: 12.05.2014 - 9:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There is a reason for a ride share. I think the 7 and the 9 Nationwide cars may need new drivers for 2016. I am bringing this up because I think Regan Smith could get a cup ride in 2016. I know Brian Vickers, Denny Hamlin, Casey Mears and Danica Patrick's contracts are up after 2015 season. I know Tony Stewart had a 4th surgery on his leg. I don't think Stewart is going to race after 2015. I think the ride is going to be Denny Hamlin or Chase Elliott. I am saying that because Denny's contract is up after this year. The future of Kurt Busch isn't known before December 16th. There also is the fact Danica's contract is up after 2015. I don't know if Danica is staying or not at this point after 2015. 1119. MAR posted: 12.05.2014 - 10:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick, Kahne, and Earnhardt Jr are goin to run about 20 races combined along with Rhodes 10 races so that leaves bowman with 3 races im guessing which isnt fair. Also i think Hamlin will leave JGR at season end and Bubba will take his seat in #11 1120. Anonymous posted: 12.05.2014 - 10:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Incredibly lame how they did the awards banquet: the guys who made the Eliminator and Championship rounds gave speeches, so the whole top 10 didn't get to. Who didn't? Dale Jr. and Kyle Busch, two of the most popular drivers. Pathetic way of doing things that probably cost them more viewers. The 8th-place driver didn't get a speech but the 9th-place driver did. 1121. murb posted: 12.06.2014 - 12:21 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ben Rhodes may have his own sponsorship, but he's far from being a John Wes Townley sequel. The dude evidently (5 wins, East Championship as a rookie) has some major talent, so he's rightfully getting a great opportunity in some great equipment. The sponsorship thing with him was just an added bonus. I'm psyched for him. He should do really well. And as for Bowman, I too hope he can somehow get some more races with them, but even if he doesn't and it only winds up being three or four races for him (one way or another, I think he'll be back with JRM in some form - they really liked him last year I think), I think a very limited schedule like that is still WAY better than just taking a ride in a rolling garbage bin just because it's full time. Lately it seems like that type of move has been a death sentence for younger drivers. That's what James Buescher did, and look what's happened with him. 1122. Db1995 posted: 12.06.2014 - 12:58 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Ben Rhodes brought a full built Turner late model to Kingsport Speedway once, got schooled by guys who hand built there cars in the garage, and they let the crowd know they don't like rich kids in the victory lane interview. 1123. racefangurl posted: 12.06.2014 - 6:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won NASCAR's Most Popular driver, aka the popularity contest again. 1124. racefangurl posted: 12.06.2014 - 6:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Driver ugh, typos. Can anyone beat him for that award, I'm beginning to think. His daddy was popular. I wonder if Chase will win the Most Popular Driver Award. His dad did and they say Jr. broke a record of Bill Elliott's. 1125. Aaron posted: 12.07.2014 - 4:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won NASCAR's Most Popular driver, aka the popularity contest again." Is there a reason you don't like Dale Jr.? I'm just curious. 1126. racefangurl posted: 12.07.2014 - 5:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just not a real fan of his because he says s***. I don't particularly like or dislike him. I was just poking fun at Most Popular Driver. 1127. MAR posted: 12.07.2014 - 8:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bubba Wallace asked for his contract at JGR to be terminated so he can join Roush Fenway next season its a rumor but it sounds like its true if it is that's a major shocker. 1128. Aaron posted: 12.07.2014 - 9:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Just not a real fan of his because he says s***. " Well, I hate to break it to you but they pretty much all swear frequently. I wouldn't make that a reason to not pull for someone, but that's just me. 1129. David posted: 12.07.2014 - 9:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Bubba Wallace asked for his contract at JGR to be terminated so he can join Roush Fenway next season" Why in the name of Buddy Arrington would he do that? 1130. murb posted: 12.07.2014 - 9:30 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Bubba Wallace has apparently asked out of his contract at JGR, and it looks as though he's headed to Roush to (assumingly) run a part-time NXS schedule. As a big time fan of Bubba's, I'd rather see him stay at JGR just because they are one of the powerhouses right now, but you know, the more I think about it, Roush could actually end up being a great situation for him. For starters, with Stenhouse continuing to suck balls, and with Biffle rapidly approaching his late 40s, it really seems like there are going to be some openings in Roush's Cup lineup before too much longer. This may end up actually giving Bubba a better chance at landing a Cup ride sooner rather than later, as opposed to if he would have stayed at JGR. And also, perhaps most interestingly, this would now give Roush an awesome trio to rebuild around, with Trevor Bayne, Chris Buescher, and Bubba. I REALLY like the idea of having those three guys as your cornerstones over the next 5-10 years. Each one of them brings something different to the table. You have Trevor as the conservative but consistent points racer (I know there's some doubters on him, but I think he'll be a good Cup driver), you have Buescher who seems to be an extremely versatile driver (he won Mid Ohio this year, but also had four other top fives at Loudon, Dover, Homestead, and Talladega - that shows me that he's good just about everywhere), and then you have Bubba, who I personally think is the most talented out of all of them, and (in my opinion) is on par with Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney as being one of the three most talented young drivers currently not in Cup. Assuming all of those guys reach their potential, that is a KICKASS and potentially potent (assuming Roush gets their equipment back on track) lineup. So I don't know. I'm disappointed to see that it didn't work out with JGR for Bubba, but the more I think about it, the more intrigued and excited I am about this potential opportunity with Roush. Yeah, Roush had a sickening season, and it will be a while before they are full on year-in-year-out Cup title contenders again, but before judging this, I think it's important to think back to Penske's 2009 season (at the end of which, Brad started driving for them). Did anyone see them coming back and being championship caliber after that disaster of a season? I know I didn't. So ultimately, IF this does end up happening, and Roush all of a sudden finds themselves with maybe the potentially best overall young trio of drivers in Nascar (other than maybe Keselowski/Logano/Blaney, but one of those guys has already won a Cup title, so I don't really count them), I might have to think twice about leaving them for dead just yet. This could end up being a HUGE acquisition for Roush. So if the JGR door is truly closed, then I really hope this happens for Bubba. 1131. racefangurl posted: 12.07.2014 - 9:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I can tolerate d*** and h***, as well as euphemistic cuss words, like crap for s***, but that's my limit. I don't like cuss words any more than Trevor does. I read an interview of his and he said he didn't like cuss words then. He does say d-a-n-g or h-e-c-k, at times but that's all, to my knowledge and besides he's under grace anyway. 1132. murb posted: 12.07.2014 - 9:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, speaking of Roush and their NXS program, I saw some pictures of a photo shoot they did with Cheez-It (Biffle's new Cup sponsor), and apparently Stenhouse is going to be running some NXS races next year (with Cheez-It as the sponsor, I guess - he was wearing a Cheez-It firesuit with the Xfinity Series logo on it). So I guess that means that they are gonna have four NXS cars, with Elliott Sadler, Chris Buescher, and Ryan Reed full time, and then Stenhouse (and Bubba, if all that actually happens) running a fourth car. 1133. BMan0213 posted: 12.07.2014 - 10:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well according to this Bubba is out at JGR. http://thatsracinluckydog.blogspot.com/2014/12/darrell-wallace-jr-asks-for-release.html?m=1 If it is true I wonder where he'll end up. I know the article names RFR as a place he might go, but with them already having 3 full time drivers next year and with Stenhouse possibly doing some races next year (saw a picture of him at a photo shoot with a Xfinity patch on his uniform) I can't help but feel it would only be a part time ride. If his options were part time at JGR or part time at RFR I really don't get why he would choose to leave. 1134. Db1995 posted: 12.07.2014 - 10:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I see a #6 xfinity car being run next year shared by Bubba, Ricky, Trevor, and Biffle if Bubba goes to Roush 1135. MAR posted: 12.07.2014 - 11:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What puzzles me about the whole JGR sponsorship issue with bubba was why the hell would Gamestop not step up to the plate and sponsor Bubba he seemed like he would of been a perfect fit for a sponsor like Gamestop. Matt Kenseth just doesn't fit with gamestop at all and Bubba had a small deal with coca cola to. But where ever Bubba ends up he will still be great. 1136. Hinch77 posted: 12.08.2014 - 6:14 am Rate this comment: (5) (0) Congrats to John Hunter Nemechek for winning the Snowball Derby. 1137. TS1420 posted: 12.08.2014 - 6:18 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) So many hot prospects getting f'ed over in NXS. -James Buescher killing his career with ReallyAwfulBad Racing. -Ryan Blaney only doing select starts next season instead being full-time. -Now JGR basically forcing Bubba to go seek shelter on the sinking ship known as the RFR Titanic. BUT TO HELL WITH THAT, WE MUST HAVE OUR CUP RINGERS AND RETREADS INSTEAD! 1138. Sean posted: 12.08.2014 - 12:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Do we really know for a fact that Gibbs is better for Roush? I don't know that I think Gibbs was better than Roush and Childress last year at all. Gibbs and Roush won the same number of races (2 each). Gibbs did on average lead 11% of each race last year to Roush's 3%, but...Gibbs had greatly superior drivers and particularly drivers who dominate races much more than Edwards or Biffle ever did to begin with. Kyle Busch's career average percent led is 9.25 (this year: 3.83). The last year Kyle did this badly in terms of average percent led? His rookie season of 2005. Denny Hamlin? 6.97 career, 3.36 this year. Matt Kenseth? 5.61 career, 3.88 this year. Roush? Carl Edwards - 4.24 career, 1.50 this year. Greg Biffle - 4.51 career, 1.53 this year. Ricky Stenhouse - 0.19 career, 0.00 this year. Childress? Ryan Newman - 3.23 career, 0.52 this year (and he finished 2nd in points...this is the least dominant 2nd place points finish EVER, including James Hylton's three seasons he went winless as an underfunded privateer/owner-driver). Paul Menard - 0.38 career, 0.61 this year (Menard was more dominant than Newman! lol). Since it was Austin Dillon's rookie season I can't really compare him. It's a real debate who underachieved more I'd say (I could even throw Stewart-Haas in here with the exception of Harvick). Yes, Gibbs was more successful but so are its drivers (especially considering they now have Edwards). It did look like Gibbs was getting stronger results on the superspeedways so they were *probably* better but I wouldn't say given the difference in their drivers' abilities that they were clearly better or I could really tell them apart at all. This year was all about Hendrick, the #4, and Penske. Yes, given Gibbs's driving talent I can most easily see them bouncing back, but after a season like this, I have some doubts. Since Gibbs has its veteran drivers on lockdown, I can definitely see why a young driver would bolt for Roush, which really isn't much worse, and could have some upside especially if Roush is replaced by somebody else. 1139. murb posted: 12.08.2014 - 4:03 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) According to multiple sources, it will indeed be a fourth Roush NXS car for Bubba. Chad Norris will supposedly be the crew chief, and the number of races will range anywhere from 22 to the entire season. I'm pretty psyched on this. This is a great opportunity for both Bubba and Roush. Bubba finally finds a home (and a team where he should undoubtedly be at the top of the driver development chain - or at least to start he'll be 1A/1B with Buescher), and Roush comes away with a potentially HUGE acquisition and another FANTASTIC young talent to pair with an already extremely impressive Chris Buescher (seriously, I think those guys could end up being a great duo down the line in Cup - not to mention they have Trevor too, who, while probably the least talented of the three, I think can still be a pretty good Cup driver). I know some people are gonna start spewing the "career suicide" crap with Bubba, but again, think back to when Brad Keselowski left the Hendrick camp and joined Penske. Penske was literally in the same exact situation Roush is in now. It's actually pretty eerily similar when you think about it. Both had periods where key drivers (Rusty and Newman for Penske, Matt and Carl for Roush) left the team, both had follow up regression periods that saw only slight success (2006-2009 for Penske, 2013-2014 for Roush), and both found themselves looking for a hot, young, blue-chip driver with nowhere else to go (Brad and Bubba, obviously) to potentially come in and give some much needed energy to the organization. Obviously we know how Brad's situation turned out. I'm not gonna predict anything for Bubba and Roush, but what I do know is that Bubba seems to be tremendously talented (two Martinsville Truck wins, an Eldora win, a dominating win at oddball Gateway, and an intermediate win at Homestead - that's no joke). IF Roush can get their equipment back on track (and I don't see any reason why they can't - remember that Fennig still works there even though he's not a crew chief anymore - I suspect him being in the shop more should have a pretty big impact on them, kind of like when Reiser went into that role in 2008), then I seriously think they'll be in good shape with this driver lineup, and I think it's POSSIBLE that Bubba can have a Keselowski-type impact on them as they rebuild. 1140. racefangurl posted: 12.08.2014 - 4:55 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Some Ford/Roush fans think with Edwards gone, Roush can channel their resources into getting better. Edwards was a financial strain on the team. That and the young talent will help Roush redeem themselves. And the new people hired can't hurt either. 1141. MAR posted: 12.09.2014 - 9:50 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) For some reason on this website i keep reading people bashing real Xfinity teams and team owners Saying there equipment its junk and trash and crap like seriously if teams like RAB Racing, JD Motorsports, Nemco, RSS Racing, Tri star Motorsports and so on arent awful bad teams they have out spent and out resourced by cup teams owners give real Xfinity teams credit for showing up and still competing against all odds 15 years ago theses teams would be sponsored and more competitive and winning races but cup owners came in stole money sponsors and growth opportunities for these small Xfinity teams the series was made for teams and owners that arent affiliated with multi millon dollar cup operations so please lets stop bashing the small teams and underdogs of the Xfinity series there just trying to survive. 1142. Evan posted: 12.09.2014 - 10:23 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I said myself that what Roush needs is a new driver, a new Ford car, or something to make his teams contend again, maybe Darrell Wallace Jr. is that driver. It almost was prophetic that the day after I said it, Wallace left JGR and is headed to Roush, we'll see what happens. 1143. racefangurl posted: 12.09.2014 - 11:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) I don't bash anyone unless I'm mad at them and I'm not mad at those teams. Take heart in that MAR. All I mean is we don't all bash those teams. This is basically unrelated to Nationwide/Xfinity teams, but Ty Dillon just announced he'll race in the Daytona 500. 1144. MAR posted: 12.09.2014 - 11:41 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) I wasnt referring to u racefangurl your one of my favorite poster's on this site its others i was referring to. 1145. racefangurl posted: 12.09.2014 - 11:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was using myself as an example of one of the ones that don't bash those teams. And to refer to what you said about me, others have said they appreciate my insight or respect me. Not everyone says that stuff though. Someone called me a troll on the Joey page, but I don't post things to deliberately annoy people. It's just some people didn't like some of my opinions on things in NASCAR. Like some of my thoughts on the Nationwide/Xfinity series were problematic. I guess I was mad some of my favorites looked bad compared to Chase. But I opened my heart up just a little bit to the idea he was really that good, like Joey was. I wonder if he could win his 2nd Cup start, like Jamie McMurray and Trevor Bayne. 1146. The Long Shot posted: 12.09.2014 - 12:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "For some reason on this website i keep reading people bashing real Xfinity teams and team owners Saying there equipment its junk and trash and crap like seriously if teams like RAB Racing, JD Motorsports, Nemco, RSS Racing, Tri star Motorsports and so on arent awful bad teams they have out spent and out resourced by cup teams owners give real Xfinity teams credit for showing up and still competing against all odds 15 years ago theses teams would be sponsored and more competitive and winning races but cup owners came in stole money sponsors and growth opportunities for these small Xfinity teams the series was made for teams and owners that arent affiliated with multi millon dollar cup operations so please lets stop bashing the small teams and underdogs of the Xfinity series there just trying to survive." Not bashing anyone: just pointing out the facts. All the teams you mentioned run crap equipment. It's unfortunate, and I'm sure they'd rather not use bad equipment, but it's the unfortunate truth. Because of how NASCAR is structured these days, going through Cup organizations or Cup-affiliated organizations (e.g. JRM, KBM, Turner-Scott) is virtually the only chance a driver has at having a successful Cup career; hence why we wish James Buescher didn't end up with RAB, where his chances at advancing to the next level are slim at best. Most of us support small teams, but let's face it: the system's flawed, and the upcoming young crop of drivers need the best opportunities they can get to realize their career aspirations. 1147. MAR posted: 12.09.2014 - 12:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Long shot i do agree and slightly disagree with you here's why RAB Racing for example is the last true Xfinity series team with virtually no cup ties that has won a race initially when James Buescher signed with RAB it didn't look like a awful deal Alex Bowman looked pretty good in their cars before that Kenny Wallace had a late career revival with them the most competitive he looked in years. James had a bad year but in fact he was the only driver top 10 in points that drove for a non Sprint cup affiliated team and RAB should get a lil respect for competing against the big boys the only thing i didn't like about RAB was they gave Milka Duno a shot and that told me they were financially thin. 1148. The Long Shot posted: 12.09.2014 - 5:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mike Affarano has said that he is attempting to gain sponsorship to run the full 2015 Truck and Xfinity Series seasons. The belief is that Affarano would run the trucks while Johanna Long would drive in Xfinity; however, Affarano has stated that if need be, he will step aside to let Long run his races. As a big Johanna Long fan, I love this news. Obviously I don't expect her to run great in these cars, but any ride is better than none at all. Best of luck to her in future. 1149. Anonymous posted: 12.09.2014 - 7:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Nepotism Jr. will run his first Daytona 500 with Cheerios money in February. 1150. racefangurl posted: 12.10.2014 - 8:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Anonymous, you mean Ty Dillon? I mentioned that already. 1151. MAR posted: 12.10.2014 - 1:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bobby Labonte running the plate races for Go fas racing. 1152. joey2448 posted: 12.10.2014 - 9:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "F1 Champion: Lewis Hamilton if Mercedes flat dominates once again, Fernando Alonso if there is parity and the McLaren Honda is actually worth a damn." I know this is a late response to murb's post, but I think Mercedes has nearly been caught on speed. Look at how close Williams and Red Bull (especially the former) were to Mercedes in the last couple races of 2014. Bottas and Massa were regular challengers and Ricciardo was holding his own as well. I think 2015 will be a much more closely matched year (aka no more "Mercedeswinslol"). 1153. Hinch77 posted: 12.11.2014 - 7:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Don't forget "Schumi Winslol" and "Coopie Winslol." If you get this, shame on you ;) 1154. The Long Shot posted: 12.11.2014 - 9:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cale Conley will run full-time for Tri-Star Motorsports in the Xfinity Series next year. 1155. MAR posted: 12.11.2014 - 1:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kwasneski will take a backseat to Larson next year in the Xfinity series as he will split time in the #42 honestly to me its a good move by Ganassi and Harry Scott. 1156. MAR posted: 12.11.2014 - 1:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kwasneski will take a backseat to Larson next year in the Xfinity series as he will split time in the #42 honestly to me its a good move by Ganassi and Harry Scott. 1157. racefangurl posted: 12.11.2014 - 2:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I get Schumi, but not Coopie. Shame on me? 1158. Zackary Shawn posted: 12.11.2014 - 2:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I have to admit...I actually think Johnson's 2015 paint scheme looks pretty cool. It's like a mixture between his original one with the silver on it and the blue and white one that he has run since 2012. 1159. murb posted: 12.11.2014 - 2:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I like the idea of just running Kwasniewski part time in a shared car with Larson. Hopefully he'll be able to learn more by taking more of a "student" type role and will improve as a result (plus, with Turner out of the equation, that team should be quite a bit better than they were last year, so there's that too). Also, KBM released their Truck numbers and crew chiefs: #4 Erik Jones (crew chief Rudy Fogle), #51 Daniel Suarez/Kyle Busch (in only three races apparently)/Matt Tifft (crew chief Jerry Baxter), #54 Justin Boston (crew chief Shannon Rursch, who comes over from Turner's NNS team). 1160. murb posted: 12.11.2014 - 3:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I have to admit...I actually think Johnson's 2015 paint scheme looks pretty cool." I like it too, honestly. It's very reminiscent of his 2002-2005 paint scheme, which I've always thought was his best looking car. There's actually a lot of really cool schemes scheduled for next year. Kyle Busch's M&M's car will be all green, so it will be really cool to see that #18 with an all green scheme again (even if it is a jerkoff like Kyle driving instead of classy champion Bobby Labonte). And then of course there's Kenseth getting back with DeWalt (my favorite scheme to come out so far, no doubt), and then there's also Biffle's badass Ortho Ant Killer scheme that looks really cool. I also like that Keselowski and Miller are keeping the all white scheme, which I think is easily the best Miller scheme since Rusty's 1997-2000 white/blue scheme. Of course it eliminates the "Blue Deuce" nickname (not that it really matters), but overall it's one of the cleanest and best looking schemes (it looks excellent on that Ford body) currently in Nascar, I think. Glad they're keeping it. 1161. racefangurl posted: 12.11.2014 - 3:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wanted Kwasniewski or Kwaswreckski to race Trucks next year. Well maybe he won't wreck so many cars, racing less, like he is. 1162. Scott B posted: 12.11.2014 - 5:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 1159- "I like the idea of just running Kwasniewski part time in a shared car with Larson. Hopefully he'll be able to learn more by taking more of a "student" type role and will improve as a result (plus, with Turner out of the equation, that team should be quite a bit better than they were last year, so there's that too)." Murb, Assuming the team dedicates equal resources regardless of which driver is in the seat, it will also give a fair yardstick of how much progress Dylan K is making. 1163. joey2448 posted: 12.11.2014 - 6:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I also like that Keselowski and Miller are keeping the all white scheme, which I think is easily the best Miller scheme since Rusty's 1997-2000 white/blue scheme." Loved that Miller Lite scheme that Rusty had back then, but I think Rusty's best looking car was his MGD ride from 1990-1996. 1164. murb posted: 12.11.2014 - 8:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Assuming the team dedicates equal resources regardless of which driver is in the seat, it will also give a fair yardstick of how much progress Dylan K is making." I think they will. It seems like it's only going to be a one car team, so they'd really have no reason to not put 100% effort into that car for the full season. Not only that, but I also saw an interview with Larson where he said that he actually doesn't want to run that many NXS races (or at least not as many as he did in 2014), so maybe Dylan will actually wind up running most of the season in it. So if all that is the case, then I don't think equipment politics and that type of thing should be an issue. "Loved that Miller Lite scheme that Rusty had back then, but I think Rusty's best looking car was his MGD ride from 1990-1996." Oh yeah, the MGD car is totally Rusty's quintessential paint scheme. I'm just saying that I think Brad's "White Deuce" is the best Miller scheme since Rusty's blue and white one. I never liked Rusty's all blue one from 2001-2004, I never liked any of Kurt's schemes in that car, and I only kind of liked Brad's first Blue Deuce scheme (I thought the beer pouring on the side was incredibly stupid looking though), so it's nice to finally have that iconic car looking slick again for the first time in a long time. Hopefully Brad will quit running his mouth next year so I can actually start pulling for it/tolerating him winning in it again. 1165. Hinch77 posted: 12.12.2014 - 7:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I get Schumi, but not Coopie. Shame on me? " It's the PCC Cup Series. There's Mercee Dees Winslol, Schoomi Winslol, Vetall Winslol, and Coopie Winslol (Coopie = Cup-ie = NASCAR Sprint Cup, I believe) 1166. Hinch77 posted: 12.12.2014 - 7:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Y'all don't forget your Formula E Predictions now! 1167. An Aussie Commentator posted: 12.12.2014 - 10:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Webmaster, could you please remove my post on Dale Wood's comment section? Its just that Scott Pye is now the 2014 Australian V8 LASTCAR Champion after being excluded from both races at Symmonds Plains and All Three races at Philip Island, putting Pye' last-place count to 9, compared to Wood' 5. 1168. MAR posted: 12.14.2014 - 9:49 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Let me be the first to say Daniel Suarez will have a Dakoda Armstrong like rookie season next year in the Xfinity series. #GOBubbaWallace 1169. cjs3872 posted: 12.14.2014 - 10:26 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) I don't think Carl Edwards was as much a financial strain on Roush's operation as much as the fact that he was a bad teammate, racefangurl, and there are almost too many instances to list, but Carl gave it to almost everyone he was a teammate with at Roush the last 5-7 years. With Edwards gone, one thing that likely is going to happen is that the drivers, as a group, are going to be a cohesive unit, something they've lacked at Roush for years, and something I think was part of their downfall. Edwards was never a good team player, and team moral at Roush suffered across the board for that reason. Matt Kenseth held things together marvelously as long as he was there, but when he left, the divisiveness Edwards represented really showed, and I think that was one reason they struggled the last two seasons. I think that, with Edwards gone, the drivers and teams at Roush figure to get along better with each other, and pull together, which I think will eventually help their performance. The one unanswered question is, who is Jimmy Fennig's replacement going to be as the crew chief of the #6 car, which was the #99 car last year. But for Roush, I think Edwards leaving may very well be a case of addition by subtraction, and I've always felt that way, and I think Roush does, as well. I think the real interesting thing to watch is what's going to happen at JGR, because I think that team of drivers is a huge train wreck waiting to happen for that entire organization. Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, and Matt Kenseth all on the same team? That has absolute disaster written all over it. In Edwards and Busch, you have two guys that are both capable of destroying team chemistry, if for no other reason, because of their dislike of each other, and throw the unstable relationship Edwards has with Kenseth, and there's a real good chance of next year being a bad one within JGR, no matter how much success they end up having. The one question here is Denny Hamlin, who's never had much of an issue with any of those other drivers, apart from a celebrated incident with Kyle Busch at the All-Star Race several years ago, which has long since been smoothed out. Hamlin might very well be able to rise above the stirring among the other drivers and become JGR's top driver in 2015. 1170. racefangurl posted: 12.14.2014 - 10:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Edwards was said to cost 13.3 million dollars. I want to see how Roush's performance is affected. Wish Trevor the best in the years ahead. 1171. murb posted: 12.15.2014 - 1:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I just read that apparently Larry McReynolds is starting a Truck Series team with his son Brandon as the driver. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out. Brandon seems to be pretty talented (certainly more talented than some of these other young guys who have rides), so it's cool to see that at least he's getting an opportunity somewhere. 1172. MAR posted: 12.15.2014 - 1:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) EGO, Team Chemistry, Hot Seat, The Chase, And Winning. Will become the most annoying words in 2015. Also i hope Carl Edwards fails at JGR i haven't liked him since he cost Jr the 2004 Championship when he wrecked him at Atlanta i will always hold that grudge. #GOBubbaWallace 1173. Hinch77 posted: 12.15.2014 - 3:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brian Vickers will sadly miss the start of the 2015 season as the health issues that set back his Cup career in 2010 have resurfaced. Brian had surgery this past Saturday to replace an artificial patch in his heart, and the timetable is uncertain at this time. Due to the suddenness of the news, a replacement will be named in the future. 1174. MAR posted: 12.15.2014 - 4:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sucks hearing what happened To Vickers but very interested to see who temporarily replaces him. 1175. murb posted: 12.15.2014 - 4:55 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Man, that really sucks for Vickers. I've admittedly never been a fan of him, but I hate to see these health issues still lingering with him. I wish him a full and speedy recovery, and I just hope he's able to live a nice, healthy life after all of this stuff. Who should get the #55? Alex Bowman or Landon Cassill. Who probably will get the #55? Michael Waltrip for the Daytona 500 (mega ugh), and then probably just some random assortment of drivers for the rest of the races. Really hope the latter doesn't happen, especially because Mikey would probably choose a bunch of veterans like Bobby Labonte and Jeff Burton (two of my all time favorites, mind you) to fill out the races. I love Burton and Labonte, but I'd absolutely MUCH, MUCH, MUCH rather see a young guy like Bowman or Cassill (or hell, maybe even Whitt or Kligerman) get it. We really need some new blood in competitive rides right now (not that the #55 is ultra competitive, but it's certainly WAY better than some of these entry level Cup rides). So hopefully they'll be smart with the choice. Knowing MWR though, I'm not getting my hopes up. 1176. murb posted: 12.15.2014 - 5:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I also would rather not have them choose Brett Moffitt (their sort of unofficial development driver), even though he is a young guy. I'd certainly take him over the random carousel of veterans that I'm expecting them to choose, but I'd much rather have Bowman or Cassill (or any of the other young Cup guys who have been stuck in garbage equipment for a while - I think those two are definitely at the top of the list in that regard though anyway) get the ride, just because I really want to see them in good equipment for a considerable amount of time. 1177. The Long Shot posted: 12.15.2014 - 5:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ugh, that's horrible news. My dad had to have two surgeries a few years ago for similar issues involving clogged arteries, but even then they didn't have to operate on the heart itself. With luck he'll be able to race again, but I have to wonder whether he isn't at least considering stepping away at this point. As for replacements, my personal vote is for one of Bowman, Cassill, or James Buescher. My actual guess is that Mikey will run the 500, before giving way to a younger driver for the remainder of Vickers' absence (Moffitt seems the most likely candidate). 1178. cjs3872 posted: 12.15.2014 - 7:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) How do we know that Michael won't pilot a third MWR car for the Daytona 500 (the one that Brett Moffitt and Jeff Burton drove some last year), and put a temporary sub in the #55? Granted, if Michael drives the #55 car in the Daytona 500, that will give that team the best chance for a solid day, and possibly even contend for the win, because Michael has always been one of the best at the plate tracks. But the news regarding Brian Vickers make me wonder if the old curse of Tim Richmond (remember he drove Richmond's #25 for several years at HMS) has followed him again. Everyone that drove the #25 car for HMS after Richmond always had some sort of outrageous misfortune, whether it was Ken Schrader, Ricky Craven, Randy LaJoie, Jerry Nadeau, Joe Nemechek, and Vickers (only Wally Dallenbach, Jr. seemed to escape the curse associated with the #25 car), but the litany of things that have happened to Vickers is ridiculous. He's twice been sidelined by a heart condition, and now while not as serious, this back ailment has already eliminated one potential driver and team from the Chase in 2015, and I think Vickers was a solid candidate to make the Chase in 2015, based on how well he did most of 2014. 1179. murb posted: 12.15.2014 - 7:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "But the news regarding Brian Vickers make me wonder if the old curse of Tim Richmond (remember he drove Richmond's #25 for several years at HMS) has followed him again. Everyone that drove the #25 car for HMS after Richmond always had some sort of outrageous misfortune" Nadeau is the only one of those guys who I would really consider to have "outrageous misfortune". Maybe Craven too to a lesser extent because of his injuries (but then again, he came back and won for Cal Wells' piece of junk team - I'll always remember him for that rather than his early career bad luck), but the rest of them? I don't see how Lajoie, Nemechek, and Schrader fall under that category whatsoever. Lajoie barely even got a chance in that car, yet still finished top five in it once at Martinsville (not to mention he also won several more Busch races after his short stint there), Nemechek won with it once at Richmond and won once more at Kansas for MB2, and Schrader pretty much drove second/third-tier equipment after leaving Hendrick (Andy Petree's #33 which pretty much sucked from about 1996-onward, MB2's #36 that Ernie Irvan couldn't do anything with either, etc), so to me it's really no wonder that Schrader never won again after leaving Hendrick. I guess you could say he had bad luck in a few select races that he probably could have won while he was still in the #25 (I know he blew up while dominating the Coke 600 one year - was it 1995?), but I wouldn't exactly chalk that up as "outrageous bad luck", since that type of thing happens in racing all the time. And I definitely wouldn't put Vickers in that "bad luck" category either. Other than his unfortunate medical situation, his entire career has actually been nothing but GOOD luck if you really think about it. Two of his three career Cup wins can be contributed to being lucky. He won Talladega 2006 because his bumper just hooked Jimmie's at the right angle, and he won Michigan 2009 because Jimmie ran out of gas. Not only that, but you could also argue that he even lucked into the MWR ride when Richard Childress axed MWR's plans to have Elliott Sadler run that car part time in 2012 (AKA the year that MWR had fantastic equipment). Brian fully capitalized on that opportunity (I give him full credit for that and his 2013 New Hampshire win, which he earned), and ultimately got himself the full time ride for 2014. But he did need quite a bit of luck for all that to happen. So I've never really bought into this "#25 car curse". I think the reason that car always ran bad was just because Rick never really put much into it once Gordon got there (not to mention it had zero stability after Schrader left - they were constantly changing drivers in that car), and I think the so called "bad luck" that many of that car's drivers had (and like I said, really it's only Nadeau and Craven who will always be remembered as hard luck drivers) is just sort of a weird and overrated coincidence. 1180. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 12.15.2014 - 10:27 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Also i hope Carl Edwards fails at JGR i haven't liked him since he cost Jr the 2004 Championship when he wrecked him at Atlanta i will always hold that grudge." That was a 50-50 thing with Carl and Junior. Junior half-wrecked himself. And Carl should have known Jr. was a championship contender. But like he sometimes does, drives with his head up his @$$ and doesn't give an inch on the racetrack. Junior came up, Carl didn't give room he should have but didn't. 1181. racefangurl posted: 12.15.2014 - 11:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I don't hate Brian Vickers, but I'm not quite exactly a fan. I respect him, I guess he doesn't have "it" for me. Just more or less neutral. It's still rotten news, though. I'd cry if I was in a place like his fans are now. 1182. Scott B posted: 12.16.2014 - 1:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Burton would be the simplest solution as a primary fill-in for Vickers. He's already under contract to MWR as a test driver/part timer, and would be available till his NBC duties kick in mid-summer. Mikey and Moffitt are also in-house options to either sub in the #55 or run a third MWR entry when there's funding for it, and MWR has also worked closely with Joe Nemechek for quite a while. Even though I'd love to see someone like Landon Cassill get a shot at the job, I just don't see MWR going outside to hire at this point. Now, if it becomes a situation where Vickers is expected to miss the whole season, that would change the outlook. 1183. Hinch77 posted: 12.16.2014 - 1:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sprint is going to be leaving as the sponsor of the Cup series after 2016. 1184. MAR posted: 12.16.2014 - 2:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thank God Sprint is leaving after 2016 bring back a hardcore title sponsor that will turn back the clock and make the cup series about racing and not money and marketing. Also there is a long list of candidates to replace Vickers temporarily but of everybody i seen named im kinda surprised nobody mentioned Matt Crafton as a temporary replacement i feel he is the best option yea never raced a cup car but he's been around almost 15 years in nascar a proven two time truck champion and winner with miles of experience he's also Toyota backed i feel MWR should give him a real look and a opportunity. He's amazingly consistant and will very likely bring the car back in one piece. 1185. murb posted: 12.16.2014 - 4:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I was pretty shocked when I first saw the Sprint thing, but then again, I remember reading a few months ago that they are in pretty bad shape financially (apparently they are getting slaughtered by Verizon and AT&T), so maybe it's not as surprising as one would think. If I had to guess who the next sponsor will be, at this point I'd have to say Subway. Seriously, it seems like they are one of the frontrunners every time one of these series sponsorship deals opens up. I remember hearing that they were one of the finalists for the now Xfinity Series, but they backed out at the last moment. Perhaps they heard about Sprint going away and decided to wait for the premier series to open up? I don't know. The first thing I thought of when I heard about this though was the championship format. As I've said numerous times since the end of the season, I like this format and I think it has massive potential, BUT it needs to be tweaked. Well, if it isn't done already by 2017, then I think having a new sponsor come in would be the PERFECT time for them to make some tweaks to the format (specifically, to the way points are actually earned - make RUNNING UP FRONT worth a HELL of a lot more, and make running 17th worth a hell of a lot less). So that's definitely something I'd like to see happen, preferably before the new sponsor (probably won't happen though, according to Brainless Brian), but if not, then actually in 2017 when the new sponsor arrives. I'm pretty optimistic and excited though. I've never liked Sprint. It seems like they've only marginally cared about the sport over their tenure (remember the 2011 trophy presentation when the CEO dude didn't even know the name of the series and called it the "Nascar Sprint Motor Cup Speed Series"? - pathetic), so it'll be nice to have them gone and (HOPEFULLY) have someone new come in and bring some enthusiasm and long term commitment. 1186. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 12.16.2014 - 5:04 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) So numerous tracks are tearing down excess seats, Sprint is leaving in less then a handful of years, and only a small handful of tracks are being filled even remotely close to capacity (even reduced capacity) now? As much as I hate to say it, this year is easily the 'beginning of the end' of NASCAR. Granted, it won't ever go away permanently, but it will probably reach a low like what Indycar was after the split. Me? I can't really say I'm a fan of this sport anymore. I didn't watch any races after the 600, and I only have plans to watch about 8 events this upcoming year at most. (Daytona 500, Atlanta, 'Dega Spring, the 600, Always-getting-dates-messed-with-southern 500, the Shootout, and the two road course events). The point system was simple and great in 2011-2013, but because of bullshit, it's all a bloody random lottery now. A lottery made even worse by these late-race bullshit GWC's that would make the 2009 Auto Club 500 blush. Then the reduction in horsepower...to make it easier to pass. Because after all 'passing is what makes racing!'. No, it's not. Well played strategy and decisiveness with varying degrees of luck is what makes racing! Look at the last two years worth of racing at California! Rarely is there passing, but seeing everyone plan so far ahead and plan against weather or tire wear is what makes the game enjoyable now (I'll admit though, the track was terrible pre-2011). Darlington doesn't have any 'modern era' record on lead changes, but it's enjoyable because the drivers are strategizing and racing against the track, pushing their own limits with competition thrown in. I could go on and on with this list. Restricting the two-car tandem in the lower tiers was another dumb move. Sure, the 2013 Nationwide finale was scary as all hell. But it wasn't because of tandems. It was because of the car's design and the angle which Larson was hit at. Now the only noteworthy 2nd and 3rd tier series races are gimped beyond belief. Not to mention the NASCAR fanbase is broken and decaying. I hear more NASCAR fans advising people NOT to go to races now then ever before. Of the fans still within NASCAR, they're all busy picking everything apart for all the wrong reasons. "Johnsons winning to much, Danica is overrated, Stewart is a murder, Dillon was an undeserving champion because he didn't win any races!" No bloody wonder no one wants to watch this series. It doesn't make sense anymore, it's shooting itself in the foot every month that goes by, and the 'fans' are borderline insane! So, Where's your growth now Mr. France? The only two good things NASCAR has going for it right now is the car and the crop of young drivers coming in. I wasn't a fan of the car, but it convinced me as the year went on that yes, it was a great direction to move for NASCAR. Likewise, the up-and-coming talent looks bright, brighter then it has in 10 years. Ok, rant over. I needed to get this off of my chest. This sport that I came to love 10 years ago has driven me away in this last year, more then i ever imagined it could have done. I'll be watching alot of Indycar racing this upcoming year, that's for sure. At least they're trying to do some things right. 1187. Eric posted: 12.16.2014 - 5:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I am bit shocked that Sprint is honoring rest of their contract because of the financial state of the company. I want to see who will sponsor the cup series next and what say they have. I am saying that because the Chase was created when Nextel became a sponsor. The fact is the next Sponsor of NASCAR has their work cut out for them. The tv ratings and Attendance have been dropping. I like the great upcoming Talent, but the next sponsor for the cup series has their work cut out for them. 1188. Eric posted: 12.16.2014 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) When the Sprint contract is done after 2016, Nascar is going to be in a mini transition period from a driver standpoint like it was it in the mid 1990's. Back in the mid to late 1990's Dale Jarrett, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte, Jeff Burton and Stewart's first 2 seasons in cup. The fact is Tony Stewart is likely to retire before 2017 since he needs a 5th surgery. Matt Kenseth is going to be 45 in 2017. There also would be the question of where Jeff Gordon is as a driver. The fact is in 2017, Kenseth, Gordon, Mcmurray, Dale Jr., Johnson, Harvick, Biffle (if he still races),and Stewart (if he still races) would be over 40 years old as full time cup drivers. 1189. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 12.16.2014 - 8:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I have a some shocking news (well not that shocking but your POV will differ). For those who have AMC might have heard of The Walking Dead on the channel. The Walking Dead has done something no other cable show has done in nearly 30 years. BEAT THE NFL ON SUNDAY NIGHTS. So what does anyone make of this? In terms of Sprint leaving: Good. Some people say Sony, Subway or someone else. Brian France might pull a rabbit out of his hat (or @$$) and suprise us all. Brian will get someone too be title sponser for the Cup series. 1190. Db1995 posted: 12.16.2014 - 8:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Walking Dead is my least favorite tv show of all time, it just sucks. 1191. Eric posted: 12.16.2014 - 8:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 1995 Subaru WRX STi, Sony is a bad idea as a sponsor for the cup series of NASCAR. Sony has been hurting for money and suffered a money loss in their last fiscal year. 1192. Sean posted: 12.17.2014 - 12:38 am Rate this comment: (3) (0) My opinion: the popularity of a sport follows a ten year lag from its peak in quality. Inertia from the seasons when a sport was at its peak will continue to lead to a steady increase in its popularity (even when it is actually declining in quality). Likewise, when a sport finally emerges, it takes about ten years of quality plus media attention to reach its peak. Too many people consider the current popularity of something to be a measure of its current quality rather than a reflection of its PAST quality, which it truly is. The NBA essentially entered its golden years when Larry Bird and Magic Johnson started playing and when did NBA arguably peak in popularity? About ten years later in 1992 with the Dream Team. The 1990s were the NBA's glory years based on the inertia from the fame of what the '80s stars did (and it helped like some of them like Jordan, Olajuwon, Malone stayed around throughout the entire decade). About ten years after the Dream Teamers all retired in the early 2000s, that's when most people really stopped caring about the NBA, right? The NHL built its reputation on Wayne Gretzky, who dominated in the 1980s. Same thing, the NHL peaked in popularity in the 1990s (even though Gretzky himself didn't do much in that decade)... Both the NBA and NHL reaped the benefits of their '80s classic years (and obviously sports on cable television as well) allowing them to swell in popularity in the late '90s even though I think most people would say the classic period was in the late '80s/early '90s for both sports. Moving on to NASCAR. In my opinion the 'glory days' of NASCAR were from 1985-1997. I pick those specific years for a reason. 1985 is when I would say NASCAR probably became something the general sports public was at least aware of thanks to Winston's big promotions (the all-star race, the Winston Million, turning it into a major league without yet having national respect). 1998 is when a BUNCH of bad trends simultaneously emerged that precipitated the start of NASCAR's decline. That's not to say any of these trends hadn't already emerged prior to 1998, but they really took hold in that year to me: Now that NASCAR clearly dominated the US racing market after the IndyCar split, they began going after the big four stick and ball sports (and hockey didn't even really have staying power) and did so by putting promotion first, quality of the product second for the first time. I pinpoint this year because this was the year of "NASCAR's 50th Anniversary" and (especially) "NASCAR's Night in Hollywood", two ridiculous galas that made it hard to take seriously. Let's dress them rednecks up in suits and ties to appeal to yuppies in middle America who won't stick around! The 5-and-5 rule that year killed the quality of the racing dead and was essentially the first time aero push was everywhere. While 'the dreaded aero push' existed periodically before then, it was not something everybody expected in every single race until this year. Single-car teams and owner-drivers were able to compete up to and including 1997, but this year was the end of that. Geoff Bodine was forced to sell his team in mid-'97, Rudd and Elliott tanked hard in '98-99, and most of the long-running multi-car teams (Stavola Brothers, RahMoc, Bud Moore, Junie Donlavey, etc...) started dropping like flies in this period. Jeff Gordon's dominance while not necessarily bad in itself led most teams to crave a particular sort of media-friendly driver (i.e. non-redneck) and started focusing on image more and more and talent less and less. Simultaneously, Ernie Irvan provided a bad example by getting fired by Robert Yates for getting into a bad example. Teams no longer wanted talented drivers, they wanted corporate spokesmen, and the replacement of Irvan with Irwin (whom I couldn't stand but he still died way too young) is a symbolic changing of the guard in this way. And you definitely COULD NOT rock the boat. The veterans who survived in this climate were those who never did rock the boat (Jarrett, Martin, Labonte brothers) or those who knew where their bread was buttered and stopped being as outspoken when it became a bad business decision (Earnhardt, Wallace, Rudd). This was around the same period of all the dual-use cookie cutter race tracks emerging which was the ultimate example of the NASCAR bubble which has now since clearly popped. Racetracks with character were out as the 1.5-2 mile cookie cutters were the ideal model since they could continuously expand to fit the proper number of fans. NASCAR's officiating started getting gimmicky around this time with the fake red flag at the end of the spring Richmond race to ensure a green flag finish (which didn't happen anyway), not to mention none of the drivers seeming to know whether the race was under green or under yellow after Johnny Benson's crash. That race (while one of the few memorable ones that season) was a harbinger of things to come as things like that started happening more and more from that point to the point where the officiating was generally considered to be a joke. I INSIST ESPN's coverage really started getting gimmicky in this period because during the NASCAR bubble and IndyCar split ESPN (despite covering F1 and CART and IRL and NHRA and sports car racing and dirt track racing for years) stopped caring about any racing except for NASCAR. RPM2Night essentially could have been called NASCAR2Night where Kenny Wallace gets interviewed more than the F1/CART/IRL championship contenders. I mean, it became abundantly clear NASCAR was the only major league racing series ESPN cared about by the late '90s and it was still clear in 2007. At that point ESPN thought NASCAR had a future and wouldn't continue to decline. Once it realized that it was on a path of decline, it stopped caring and gave even worse coverage. But I think the ESPN coverage from 1998-2000 (even of NASCAR) was nowhere near as good as it was before that and in retrospect maybe it's not so sad they lost coverage when they did. The Winston Million (which provided excitement and made the marquee races matter) is replaced with the much dumber No Bull 5 where all you have to do is win a race after finishing in the top 5 in the previous one to make $1,000,000 which was a TAD TOO EASY in my view. And then it got way stupider when they started adding non-marquee races like Las Vegas to it. I could go on with various other things (Rick Hendrick being continued to allow to own teams after being convicted with mail fraud, etc...) but I believe I've made my point. Anyway, my real point is that NASCAR peaked from 1985-1997 in quality. But when did it peak in popularity? My argument would be 1995-2007. Sounds about right, doesn't it? Ask a fan what the best season in NASCAR history was and I think 1992 would be a pretty popular choice. When did NASCAR peak in popularity? Does 2002 sound about right? It does to me. I think the ten year lag is a thing. So now considering that, look at where NASCAR was ten years ago. The introduction of the lucky dog, the green-white-checkered, the chase, a bunch of really badly officiated races, the retirement of most of the baby boomer drivers who captured the fans attention who were replaced by a generation of drivers who were generally disliked, a massive increase in debris cautions, etc..., etc..., etc... In 1998-2003 NASCAR was declining in quality but still increasing in popularity (because it was still banking on the power run from ten years earlier), but starting in the late 2000s, NASCAR's decline in popularity started big time. I don't think this says a lot for NASCAR in the next decade, and the 2015 schedule (with 17 races on basic cable and 19 races on deep network cable - FS1 and NBC Sports are still considered generally obscure relative to ESPN or whatever, it doesn't look ALL that different from IndyCar with 5 races on basic cable and 12 on NBC Sports) basically reflects the general public struggling to take NASCAR seriously ten years earlier. I really think this is a thing, and not just in sports. 1193. Sean posted: 12.17.2014 - 12:51 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Music fans tend to argue that the best talents are usually the alternative/indie groups that are being sought by the mainstream labels, but the peak of a genre's popularity is usually ten years after the best stuff was produced. Kraftwerk invented synthpop in the mid-'70s, it peaked in the mid-'80s. Heavy metal peaked in the early '70s in quality, peaked in the early '80s in popularity (when it was declining and becoming a joke with groups like Men Without Hats). The grunge sound peaked in the early '90s in quality but arguably the most popular era for that sound was the 3 Doors Down/Creed/Nickelback/Staind era from 10 years later. Hell, rock 'n' roll purists would say the best stuff was Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry, and rock 'n' roll became massive with the Beatles and Stones 10 years later. Bob Dylan was regarded as the best singer-songwriter, but the most popular ones (Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Seger, etc...) came 10 years later. MTV was probably considered best in its very early years (early '80s) but peaked as a cultural force ten years later (early '90s). I don't want to make too much of this argument, but I think there's really something to it. The pioneers who were held in the best regard tend to create a groundswell that peaks ten years later then fades if the genre and/or sport fades. One can even make political arguments in here (most people would say there's a lag in political cycles - i.e. the current President should not be held responsible for the economy inherited from the previous President - and I'm not taking sides here - I've seen this argument used for both Bush and Obama and quite frankly, I don't think the President has much to do with the economy at all...not sure if the Presidents really are responsible that it's a ten year lag though). Maybe this "ten years lag" thing is overall silly, as silly as say Malcolm Gladwell's "10,000 Hours Theory" which I mercilessly mock myself, but I definitely DO think there is a lag between when something is at its peak and when it is mainstream popular. Okay, there are some things that don't fit this narrative obviously (the NFL has remained consistently popular, the Internet continues to grow increasingly popular - but maybe that DOES fit the narrative - if something continues to get better and better as one could say technology has, it's not going to decline after a ten-year lag). Now I'd like to talk about IndyCar. People are whining about IndyCar's ratings have remained low after the split. Well duh they have. 2003-2007 were the worst years of the split when half of the good drivers and teams were on each side and the pools were shallow. If you buy my ten year thing and you're welcome not to, this is when IndyCar SHOULD BE at its nadir of popularity. If it is improving now (and I think it is), it still won't be felt for several more years (this was the first year in a long time to post a ratings increase and I think it will next year as well as I think NASCAR's presence on NBC Sports will lower NASCAR's prestige and increase Formula One and IndyCar's exposure now that NBC Sports will essentially be 'the racing channel', so in this case it would be a shorter than ten year lag but anyway...) NASCAR was better in quality than CART in the mid-'90s. I think I can say that. I think I believe that. 1994 was a horrible CART season. However, CART was still on ABC almost entirely while NASCAR was mostly on cable. Hence NASCAR was much huger than IndyCar in the early 2000s. Do I think that just because I think IndyCar is better now (and I don't think it's MUCH better now) that IndyCar will be ahead of NASCAR in ten years? Probably not. But it'll be much closer. NASCAR going to NBC Sports for almost half its schedule is just reflecting what happened ten years ago. Sprint regardless of financial issues would not be leaving if NASCAR was not in decline. NASCAR's days in the mainstream are pretty much over after this season but that could be a not bad thing if they start caring more about the fans they have left, and I think they ARE doing this right now. Having current races available on YouTube, providing deeper stats publicly (I had never seen lap charts on Jayski until late last season), most of the rule changes lately being more acceptable to me (the new penalty structure for instance), the return of the Southern 500 to Labor Day Weekend. The problem with the ten-year (or however many year) lag is that corporate leaders don't realize something is declining until long after it's declined (almost every economic recession had actually started before economists actually predicted it!) NASCAR continued to increase in popularity in the early 2000s, but it was really a result of '90s NASCAR, NOT the changes in the late '90s/early 2000s. But because it continued to gain popularity in those years, NASCAR seemed to think it was gaining popularity because of the changes it was making rather than in spite of them (or it wanted to capitalize on its popularity too much too fast). 1194. Sean posted: 12.17.2014 - 12:57 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Irvan provided a bad example by getting fired by Robert Yates for getting into a bad example." Getting into a barroom brawl. That is what I meant to say. Talk about redundant redundancy there. Getting into a barroom brawl is what got Irvan fired from Yates (and not being a media darling generally, he apparently blew off some Texaco sponsor meetings as well). Also, one big, big thing I forgot to mention on my list of things wrong with 1998. The 4-door Ford Taurus started that year. NASCAR was finally explicitly allowing a car that even an everyday consumer would realize did not actually exist on the market. Yeah, the '95 Chevy Monte Carlo was also a step in this direction, but the '98 Ford Taurus was like the end of anybody even being remotely able to argue that NASCAR cars were 'stock', and I think the general public probably cares about that. At least through 1997, they could still loosely pretend the cars were stock. 1195. Sean posted: 12.17.2014 - 1:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "(when it was declining and becoming a joke with groups like Men Without Hats)." Obviously I meant this parenthetical comment in the synthpop sentence, not the heavy metal sentence. No, I don't think Men Without Hats were metal. I could have put Ratt in there or something instead and it would work. And yes, I'm aware that was the peak of thrash so metal was still technically booming then. 1196. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 12.17.2014 - 8:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "The Walking Dead is my least favorite tv show of all time, it just sucks." How does it "suck?" Have you seen it? 1197. Hinch77 posted: 12.17.2014 - 11:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The old-timers are already chortling about the latest "Danica Patrick rule" 1198. Aaron posted: 12.17.2014 - 12:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "The old-timers are already chortling about the latest 'Danica Patrick rule.'" What is the appropriate response, then? "Thank God NASCAR watered down what was once a classic race of pole-winners by letting in people who didn't win a pole or have never won the race but are very popular." That line of thinking goes along with the people who said Danica won a pole at "a driver's track." 1199. Scott B posted: 12.17.2014 - 1:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also benefiting from the latest "Danica Patrick Rule" are these three former D-500 pole winners: Carl Edwards: no career plate wins Martin Truex Jr: no career plate wins Greg Biffle: One restrictor plate win (also his first career win) in a fuel mileage fluke. In by making the 2014 Chase: Ryan Newman: 1 career plate win A.J. Allmendinger: no plate wins, only career Cup win was at The Glen. Kasey Kahne: no plate wins Aric Almirola: one career plate win (his first career Cup win), and it was in the 2014 season. The first group is really hard to justify. The second group is marginally more successful at plate tracks, but still... this is just NASCAR looking for another reason to talk about the Chase and play up its importance. And in one of the more ironic coincidences, it looks like Brian Vickers' health issues will allow MWR teammate Clint Bowyer to start in the event. 1200. The Long Shot posted: 12.17.2014 - 1:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ben Kennedy will run the #11 truck full-time for Red Horse Racing next year. Word is that German Quiroga is out unless sponsorship can be found for a third team (Timothy Peters will return, as expected). I'm not a Quiroga fan at all, but it would be rather unfortunate if he didn't get a ride considering how well he ran last year. 1201. Aaron posted: 12.17.2014 - 6:13 pm Rate this comment: (3) (3) NASCAR announced today that all drivers who have won the 2008 Indy Japan 300 are now locked into the Sprint All-Star Race. 1202. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 12.17.2014 - 8:43 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) It is a non-points. It does not matter. 1203. MAR posted: 12.17.2014 - 8:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) Nascar has recently announced all ride buyers,CEO babies and scam artist owners and Milka Duno as well as all snow ball derby winners from 2004-2014, former iroc champions, Frank Kimmel, former toyota all star showdown winners, and all participants from the x1 pro cup series are now eligible to compete in the sprint unlimited. 1204. Aaron posted: 12.17.2014 - 9:15 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) God, how I wish Loy Allen Jr. would just put up a bunch of his savings, buy a ride and run the Sprint Unlimited. And win the damn thing. 1205. murb posted: 12.18.2014 - 12:20 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) I'm not the biggest fan of the Sprint Unlimited (by the way, there's one more good thing about Sprint leaving - that stupid name goes away) eligibility rules either, but I think there's a lot of overreacting going on. This ISN'T EVEN CLOSE to being the worst eligibility that race has ever had. Back in 2009/2010, we had people like Logano (who at that point had only run like three Cup races) and Conman Conway getting in it because of screwball eligibility rules that were MUCH worse than this. Yeah, I would rather not see Danica in it either, but at least she's done something semi-meaningful in a Cup car at Daytona (win a pole, which also fits in with the whole theme of the race), unlike some of those other punchline additions to the race earlier this decade (in addition to Rookie Logano and Conway, I remember Scott Speed and David Stremme were both in it at one point too). So all in all, I really have no problems with adding in former 500 pole winners (I don't mind the Chase guys either, but it'll be really stupid if they don't also do this for the All Star Race too - it's always dumb to see previous season Chase guys fighting with low level drivers in the Showdown race). I'm just glad they didn't completely devalue and make winning poles meaningless again, like they did for a couple of years there in the early 2010s. As long as previous season pole winners are always locked in, I'm pretty much fine with whatever else they do with that race (but I do wish there would be less cars - the Shootout/Unlimited is always way more fun when there's only about 19 cars at the most). "Word is that German Quiroga is out unless sponsorship can be found for a third team" That's really surprising since it's always seemed like he had his own sponsorship. Hopefully he'll be able to find a ride. I don't think he's uber-talented or that he's got Cup potential or anything, but he has improved a ton since he first came in, and he's been extremely fun to watch in those trucks. So I hope he can get another ride somewhere and become at least a Truck Series mainstay for a while. 1206. The Long Shot posted: 12.18.2014 - 11:10 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Nascar has recently announced all ride buyers,CEO babies and scam artist owners and Milka Duno as well as all snow ball derby winners from 2004-2014, former iroc champions, Frank Kimmel, former toyota all star showdown winners, and all participants from the x1 pro cup series are now eligible to compete in the sprint unlimited." There's a thing called "taking a joke too far"... "So all in all, I really have no problems with adding in former 500 pole winners" Me neither. The only reason ANYONE does is because it means Danica gets to race in the Unlimited. We wouldn't be hearing a peep otherwise. As I've said before, I am not a Danica fan whatsoever. If her racing at a top level allows other women to succeed in this sport, that's phenomenal, but I've never been a fan of her as a person. But the lengths that people go to bring her down are absolutely ridiculous. We all know she's not a good driver, now move on with your f*cking lives. The schtick got old a long time ago. 1207. Scott B posted: 12.18.2014 - 12:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "It is a non-points. It does not matter." It does matter, because it's like a bonus test session under actual race conditions. With a new aero package, that's going to be an especially big advantage for those who get to participate. 1208. racefangurl posted: 12.18.2014 - 2:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Some the one time Pro Cup drivers are my favorites, but even without that rule, the race will have representation from my favorites list. 1209. murb posted: 12.18.2014 - 3:24 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) It's official: Bubba Wallace will drive the #6 NXS car for Roush. Really excited about that. 1210. dennyfan11 posted: 12.18.2014 - 3:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Here is what i have to say about these news pieces. Dissapointed in Brian Vickers. Poor guy can't catch a break. Sad that Sprint is leaving, but lets hope the new sponsor is good. People have been talking about NASCAR's decline, so I will make a bold prediction. NASCAR will be surpassed by IndyCar by the end of the decade. The seat reductions to me seem like another nail in the coffin, another brick in the wall. The move to FS1 and NBCSN does not help either. Where do i stand on NASCAR? I say if they make 3 more rule changes i hate, I will jump ship to Indycar. 1211. dennyfan11 posted: 12.18.2014 - 3:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) With NASCAR's drastic decline recently, what do you think the future of NASCAR will be like? 1212. We need more Onion posted: 12.18.2014 - 4:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Greg Biffle: One restrictor plate win (also his first career win) in a fuel mileage fluke." Hardly a fluke... he beat out Jeff Burton and Terry Labonte both of whom were on the same strategy. Call it a gamble. And he is a good, clean plate driver. 1213. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 12.18.2014 - 5:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "It does matter, because it's like a bonus test session under actual race conditions. With a new aero package, that's going to be an especially big advantage for those who get to participate." Plate packages are still the same from last year. The only thing that changed it other tracks minus Daytona and Talladega. 1214. The Long Shot posted: 12.18.2014 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "It's official: Bubba Wallace will drive the #6 NXS car for Roush. Really excited about that." I would be, but everything that I've read seems to indicate that he still may not have enough funding to run the full schedule. Even so, I suppose Roush is less clogged in the development department than Gibbs (still pissed they gave Suarez an Xfinity ride but not Bubba; Bubba's been near elite in Trucks for two straight years, while Suarez won the first two East races and then proceeded to be mediocre after that until his ride ran out of funding). 1215. Db1995 posted: 12.18.2014 - 8:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "How does it "suck?" Have you seen it?" Obviously i have or i wouldn't say that, I just think the show is really boring, i've watched 6 or 7 episodes and never could get into it. 1216. murb posted: 12.18.2014 - 8:27 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "I would be, but everything that I've read seems to indicate that he still may not have enough funding to run the full schedule." Well, it's important to remember that we're talking about Jack Roush here. I've had issues with some of his driver development decisions over the years (Erik Darnell and Danny O'Quinn, for two), but he really has shown time and time again (or at least lately) that he's willing to pay out of pocket for young guys if he thinks they are talented enough (Stenhouse, Bayne, and Buescher are all prime examples). So when you throw that in along with the fact that roughly 2 and a half out of their four cars are fully funded for next year (Sadler and Reed are, and apparently Buescher will have more sponsorship than he did this year), they should be able to have quite a bit of wiggle room as far as all that is concerned. So I really don't think there's much for Bubba to worry about, ESPECIALLY if he runs as good as I think he will (I think he'll least be on par with what Buescher did this year). I was pissed off about the Gibbs thing too in the beginning (I HATE their driver development program - hopefully they won't wind up screwing Erik Jones down the line too), but the more I've thought about it, Roush is honestly the best place Bubba could have winded up. He gets to run a majority/full schedule on a good team despite not having a sponsor, he instantly becomes Roush's #1 prospect for the future (or at least 1B to Buescher - I do think Buescher will be Roush's next Cup driver once a seat opens up), AND he gets to grow and sort of start fresh with an organization that is trying to rebuild and start fresh themselves. All in all, I think that's a WAY better scenario than just getting Drew Herring'd over at JGR. So I'm glad it happened. 1217. Eric posted: 12.18.2014 - 10:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't think JGR will screw Erik Jones down the road. I am saying that because Matt Kenseth is going to be 43 years old next year and we don't know how much longer Matt Kenseth is going race. Great Cup drivers in the past usually slip in performance after the season they turned 45 years old. 1218. murb posted: 12.19.2014 - 3:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Alex Bowman said on Twitter that he had a "good meeting with the MWR team", so take that for what it's worth. Hopefully it means what it sounds like it means. It'd be great to see him get a shot in that #55. 1219. racefangurl posted: 12.19.2014 - 6:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Maybe not having to overpay Carl Edwards gives Roush money to put to the younger drivers, as well other team expenses. 1220. We need more Onion posted: 12.19.2014 - 6:28 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Bowman a possibility in the #55? YES, PLEASE! 1221. Eric posted: 12.19.2014 - 7:04 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I think it would be a big break in Alex Bowman's career if he gets the 55 ride while Brian Vickers is recovering. I call it a big break because if he does well, he will get better rides in the future compare to Burger King Racing. 1222. Eric posted: 12.20.2014 - 3:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I am only willing to predict the 4 races that I consider to be Majors at this point since Kurt Busch's fate is still unknown. Daytona 500 - Kevin Harvick. I don't say Dale Jr. because of how tough it is win to back to back Daytona 500 races. I didn't say Stewart because it is a question mark how healthy he is after his 4th surgery on a leg that goes need a 5th surgery. My back up choice is Jammie Mcmurray. Coca Cola 600 - Jimmie Johnson Brickyard 400 - Jimmie Johnson Southern 500 - Carl Edwards. I don't see the 48 team taking this event seriously this late before the chase. I mentioned Carl Edwards because Carl almost won at Darlington 2 times with Roush and JGR has a great track record at Darlington dating back to Bobby Labonte. Since 2000, JGR won here 4 times. My back up choice is Jeff Gordon. 1223. racefangurl posted: 12.21.2014 - 8:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (3) Just have to get through Christmas , New Years and January, then the best month is here! Love February! The Stupid Bowl, which marks the end of football, which I don't like. Then later on in the month, the NASCAR season comes around again. Let's go racing! Just what my name says I am, in regard to all this. 1224. The Long Shot posted: 12.24.2014 - 7:06 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Man, it's been surprisingly quiet around here this offseason. Not a whole lot of news, I guess. At any rate, Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone! 1225. cjs3872 posted: 12.24.2014 - 7:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Who's to say that the outrageous fortune suffered by the drivers of the HMS #25 car I mentioned had to do with just the portion of their careers after they left that car, murb (#1179)? Almost all of Ken Schrader's horrendous luck happened while he was still driving that car, such as all the bad luck he had during races that kept him from winning more than the four times that he won,as well as the incident in which he severed part of one of his fingers working on a car. All that happened while he was still driving the #25 car at HMS. So much of Schrader's bad luck happened when he was still at HMS. The only bit of outrageous fortune Schrader was a part of after he left HMS was being involved in Dale, Sr.'s fatal crash at the end of the 2001 Daytona 500. In the case of Joe Nemechek, his case of outrageous fortune was how he was shown the door at HMS when he was very capable of performing at a high level. While not the caliber of Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson on a consistent basis, Nemechek was still capable of very good performances, like his dominating victory at Richmond in 2003. And although Nemechek did win at Kansas a year later, the truth was that his ride in the #25 car was his only elite-level ride in NASCAR's top series. Nemechek was ousted for a driver that was not as good as he was, which would be Brian Vickers. The driver Nemechek replaced, Jerry Nadeau, had horrendous luck, both when he drove the #25 car, and after he left. A classic case in point was the 2002 race at Sonoma, which he had in the bag in Richard Petty's #44 car until the gearbox broke with just a couple of laps left. Had he held on to what was an almost-certain victory, his career might have been revived. And then of course, then there was the moment at Richmond that ended his career the same weekend of Nemechek's dominating victory. I've always felt that the bad luck that followed the #25 car (and it's drivers) around for two decades was a major reason the car number was changed when Dale, Jr. got there in 2008. Only Brad Keselowski, who drove that car part-time in 2009, seems to have broken this curse for drivers that drove the HMS #25 car since the days of Tim Richmond. At least for now. 1226. MAR posted: 12.24.2014 - 9:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So i saw a Twitter pic of the TMG #30 cup car im really curious who'll be dumb enough to take that ride. 1227. An Aussie Commentator posted: 12.25.2014 - 8:02 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "So i saw a Twitter pic of the TMG #30 cup car im really curious who'll be dumb enough to take that ride." Or desperate enough. I think 3-lap Matt will run it. 1228. dennyfan11 posted: 12.25.2014 - 1:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There has been few comments recently. Lets fill the void with predictions! 1229. Hinch77 posted: 12.25.2014 - 2:26 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) Here's wishing everyone a very merry CHRISTmas! 1230. racefangurl posted: 12.25.2014 - 4:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Hich77 knows what CHRISTmas's all about! I believe that myself. 1231. racefangurl posted: 12.25.2014 - 4:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hinch, ugh typo. I predict T-Bayne will be Rookie of Year, perhaps with a plate race win. I could also see a driver that has had a chance to be champion, but never sealed the deal being the 2015 champ. Ryan Blaney will perhaps surprise everyone, since people think the Wood Brothers will run better when aligned with Penske. 1232. Db1995 posted: 12.25.2014 - 8:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Trevor is the only candidate for ROTY so far, ROTY isn't really a cherished award anymore anyway. 1233. dennyfan11 posted: 12.26.2014 - 9:22 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Predictions for next year. -Kyle Larson wins at least one race. -Trevor Bayne wins ROTY. - Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle never win again. 1234. Db1995 posted: 12.26.2014 - 3:23 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Dennyfan11, Those are pretty safe predictions. I've heard a lot of people concerned whether or not Roush will get a win next year, am I the only one concerned they may not even get a top 5? last Biffle didn't finish top 5 unless it was strategy or a plate race, Stenhouse just had Bristol, and Trevor hasn't had one since his 500 win, I do think some of that was equipment though, Trevor is my favorite driver but i can't help but think its a possibility they get no top 5's, and I don't even think either of the drivers will have 10+ top 10's. 1235. racefangurl posted: 12.26.2014 - 3:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Db, The Roush plate program's good. You might be right outside plate tracks, but they could be top-5 or even get a win at one of the plate tracks. 1236. murb posted: 12.26.2014 - 4:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Despite being in rebuild mode, I honestly don't think Roush will be as bad as everyone thinks (I actually think they'll improve their cars a lot now that Jimmy Fennig is in a managerial role - the same thing happened in 2008 when Robbie Reiser, their other championship crew chief, moved into that type of role over there). To get 0 top fives, they'd have to be WAY worse equipment wise than they were this year, and like I said, I really don't see that happening. As long as they at least improve their cars a little bit, they should be able to have at least 7 or 8 combined top fives between the three of them (I actually think most of those will come from Trevor, since Stenhouse hasn't shown any signs at all of improving and Biffle has seemed to be on the verge of a Bobby Labonte style fade into irrelevance for a couple of years now - I'm also sticking by my prediction that Trevor will win one of the plate races - now that he's in full blown Roush equipment, and considering that the Fords have probably been the most consistent manufacturer at plate races in recent years, I think he'll be really good at Daytona and Talladega next year). That said, yeah, they are still in a massive rebuild mode, so I think it is foolish for anyone to expect much out of them on the Cup side in 2015 (in NXS on the other hand, I personally think Bubba and Buescher are gonna light it up). I think their 2015 Cup program is largely gonna just be about getting their cars back up to speed, along with making a final judgement on Stenhouse (if he's pathetic again, I think Buescher ends up in the #17 in 2016). That's all they should (and probably will) focus on. If they do have success, then hey, that's an added bonus. 1237. racefangurl posted: 12.26.2014 - 4:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I guess murb and me agree on Trevor, in a way. Db seems to feel how I do about Trevor. Because of this, I hope Roush can have a better year in 2015. And for some more predictions, I predict Hendrick and Penske will be the best Chevy and Ford teams and JGR will be Toyota's best. SHR will be strong as well, for example Harvick will remain at the level he was at during the season we just saw. 1238. Eric posted: 12.26.2014 - 7:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't know strong SHR will be. Harvick or the equipment is the problem, but rest of the drivers are at this time. Tony Stewart straight and said he needs a 5th surgery on his leg. That speaks about the condition of the leg he broken. Danica Patrick is in a contract year, and she hasn't performed where she should be based on how the equipment is. I would say that about any driver who had the stats as Danica did last year compare to what Kevin Harvick did in the same equipment. The 41 team is a question mark since we don't know the fate of Kurt Busch and who will replace Kurt if Kurt did what he was accused of. 1239. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 12.27.2014 - 11:04 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "That said, yeah, they are still in a massive rebuild mode, so I think it is foolish for anyone to expect much out of them on the Cup side in 2015 (in NXS on the other hand, I personally think Bubba and Buescher are gonna light it up). I think their 2015 Cup program is largely gonna just be about getting their cars back up to speed, along with making a final judgement on Stenhouse (if he's pathetic again, I think Buescher ends up in the #17 in 2016). That's all they should (and probably will) focus on. If they do have success, then hey, that's an added bonus." I'm with Murb. Roush on the Cup side does not have big expectations. But for NXS, they have expectations. However what i think that will help the team out is (people will hate me for saying this) is that Greg Biffle will run some races in NXS next year. That should help out greatly as well. In terms of Ricky Stenhouse, he needs too win a race next year. I personally do not care HOW he wins it (even if it was rained out and he sucked all day). But then again he could get the "David Ragen treatment." Win a race and still get released. 1240. Scott B posted: 12.28.2014 - 4:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'd be satisfied with Stenhouse just putting together a reasonable number of top-5 and top-10 finishes in 2015. I'll also be interested in seeing how the Wood Brothers do with their affiliation moving to Penske. The overall state of the Roush organization is shaping up to be one of the hot storylines for the new season. 1241. DaleSrFanForever posted: 12.28.2014 - 7:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Very very happy that my Panthers won the NFC South, their first back to back playoff seasons in franchise history. Very sad for the NFL that a 7-8-1 team will not only make the playoffs, but host a playoff game. But I'll be cheering like hell for them. 1242. We need more Onion posted: 12.28.2014 - 7:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I really can't see Biffle without a top 5, he is not very good anymore and never was a courageous driver, but he has strong tracks like Michigan, Daytona, Kansas or Texas. He'll get like 2 or 3 again. Stenhouse is, for some strange reason, really good at Bristol, I think he'll get one there and another at a plate race. I have yet to see anything out of Bayne in a cup car, but I certainly hope he gets some nice finishes. 1243. We need more Onion posted: 12.28.2014 - 7:44 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Oh, and I am sure that all 3 Roush drivers will beat Hornish in the final standings AND in the number of top 10s. 1244. Db1995 posted: 12.28.2014 - 8:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I know i can't be the only person who thinks Hornish won't even do as good as Marcos did. 1245. racefangurl posted: 12.28.2014 - 8:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I never was a real Hornish or Ambrose fan, so I say Hornish will be worse on ovals than Ambrose. I think he could match Ambrose's road race performance. I agree the Roushskateers will beat Hornish. 1246. Sean posted: 12.29.2014 - 12:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Hornish will be worse on ovals than Ambrose. I think he could match Ambrose's road race performance." ??? But Hornish is an oval specialist and Ambrose is a road course specialist. Ambrose was a champion in the all road course V8 Supercar series while Hornish went winless on them in the IRL when there were rather slim pickings in terms of road course talent in that period besides Dixon, Franchitti, and Castroneves. Hornish will run about the same as Ambrose except he won't contend for any wins (as opposed to Ambrose who contended for two wins a year). 1247. racefangurl posted: 12.29.2014 - 9:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not a Hornish fan, so I didn't know that much about him. Just he was an Indy-turned-NASCAR driver that got called Slam Hornish, Jr., Sideways Sam or Dances With Walls in the Cup, so he dropped down to the Nationwide/Xfinity series, ran part or full-time there, has won 3 races in the series and was almost the 2013 champion. 1248. We need more Onion posted: 12.29.2014 - 9:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If you have to mention Dario as a specialist, then indeed, Hornish's competition was slim in ICS. My opinion is a bit biased, I am still rather bitter with the decision to have him in the car instead of CASSILL, Bowman or even Annett. Imo, he is not as good of a stock car driver as most think. He could barely win in the Kyle Busch NNS ride... bet Neuenberger could get a top 10 with those. 1249. Sean posted: 12.30.2014 - 1:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "If you have to mention Dario as a specialist, then indeed, Hornish's competition was slim in ICS." Heh. I think he's wildly overrated too (I'd say the second most overrated driver in IndyCar history and I'd go split-heavy with most of that list since most drivers in that period had periods where they weren't competing against the best guys), but I would say the MOST overrated driver in IndyCar history is without question Castroneves. However, you've helped make my point for me. The IRL was not exactly a bastion with road course talent, and one of the main reasons I find Dario and Helio both so overrated is that they weren't all that competitive on ovals in CART (neither of them winning until the IRL) and were typecast as just road course experts, and when they went to the IRL and we were supposed to buy them as the oval guys, it was just pretty strange. The real oval guys in that period were Zanardi, Vasser, Montoya, Andretti, Tracy, Kanaan, Moore, Brack, Fernandez, and I guess I'll put Stewart (even though he had no competition in the IRL except for Brack, whom he then lost the championship to). Especially when in my opinion Dixon, Kanaan, and Wheldon were all better on ovals than either of them (and I don't care that Castroneves and Franchitti all ended up with more Indy wins than any of them; I still think those three were better oval drivers). But I still think you spotlighting me mentioning Dario over Helio is wrong. Dario was certainly a better road racer than Helio, even if Dario did get blown out of the water by Jan Magnussen when they competed in junior F1 formulae (and Magnussen's Cup race at Sonoma went better than Franchitti's too!) 1250. Db1995 posted: 12.30.2014 - 6:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Lol, your saying Castronoves is the most overrated Indy driver ever. Have you EVER heard of Danica Patrick before NASCAR? 1251. Eric posted: 12.30.2014 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Db1995, Sean has followed Indycar before Danica Patrick went to NASCAR based on the posts he made in the past the included CART. 1252. murb posted: 12.30.2014 - 6:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I actually agree with Sean. Helio is definitely the most overrated IndyCar driver ever. I think the fact that he's driven for Penske for 15 years and STILL hasn't managed to squeak out ONE title (especially considering how many times he's had a good chance at it late in the season) says a lot. I think he's a good driver and should rightfully be remembered as one of the more notable guys from this generation of IndyCar drivers, but it's extremely silly when people put him in (or only slightly below) that group of all time greatest IndyCar drivers (Foyt, Mears, Unser, etc) just because he has three Indy 500 wins. I think Dario is slightly overrated too, but only very slightly. I never liked him when he was driving (or at least when he was with Ganassi - I actually sort of semi-liked him when I was a little kid when he was on Team Green in CART - those paint schemes were badass!!), but I can definitely buy him being on a "Greatest IndyCar Drivers Ever" list a hell of a lot more than Helio. At least Dario was able to not fall apart late in the season and actually close on some titles (even if a couple of them were handed to him by Will Power), unlike Helio. And as for Danica, I think she would fall more in the "Most Overhyped IndyCar Driver Ever" category. I think "overrated" should be for the guys who are actually rated highly (like Helio). 1253. racefangurl posted: 12.30.2014 - 7:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There was some speculation about Danica. They mentioned something about her leaving Stewart-Haas after 2015, but think she'll stay. Her team will probably resign her because of her sponsor and she may improve. A return to IndyCar was mentioned there, but the possibility discounted. Elsewhere, her teammate, Kurt Busch was in the news. They don't think he'll get a happy ending to his domestic violence saga. They said he supposedly sent Driscoll some crazy texts. If you want my sources go to jayski.com article links. One part's from sbnation.com and the other from Sports Illustrated. 1254. Eric posted: 12.30.2014 - 7:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Db1995, there is a difference between Overrated and overhyped. Danica was under Overhyped. I don't think anyone outside of the media in the racing world rated her as high as the media did. I am saying this as a person who has followed Indycar and CART since the 1980's. The other thing is Danica had problems winning races even before going to CART. The fact is Danica only 1 race in her racing career after 2001 and that was in Japan. She was not considered an "Elite" going into Indycar if you look at wins. Danica got her in Indycar by Marketing and posing. Danica has posed before and she was in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue even. Danica Patrick actually is under the same category that Michael Waltrip was as a cup driver. Michael was great at Marketing himself for Sponsors and Danica is the same way. Big name sponsors also wanted her because of sex appeal The media loved covering Danica in Indycar because she is women racing in a series that isn't known for women racing. That makes her a news story to the media and they wanted to cover her as much they could during even if she has an average or bad race. 1255. Sean posted: 12.31.2014 - 12:21 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "I actually agree with Sean. Helio is definitely the most overrated IndyCar driver ever. I think the fact that he's driven for Penske for 15 years and STILL hasn't managed to squeak out ONE title (especially considering how many times he's had a good chance at it late in the season) says a lot. I think he's a good driver and should rightfully be remembered as one of the more notable guys from this generation of IndyCar drivers, but it's extremely silly when people put him in (or only slightly below) that group of all time greatest IndyCar drivers (Foyt, Mears, Unser, etc) just because he has three Indy 500 wins." I am not very title-centric at all. I would not posit a driver as super legendary just because they won a title (Bobby Labonte, Jimmy Vasser, Buzz Calkins, Jenson Button) nor would I argue a driver wasn't legendary solely because they didn't (Junior Johnson, Fireball Roberts, Fred Lorenzen, Stirling Moss, Carlos Reutemann, Jacky Ickx). Luck and strategy both play way too big a role in determining championships for me to solely judge drivers on that basis. With me it's more about how many seasons a driver could be argued as the best driver (when negating equipment advantages, etc...) Bobby Labonte, Jimmy Vasser, and Jenson Button were never in my opinion the best driver in a season or even really close. They won titles when they had the best cars. The same goes for Helio Castroneves, except for the winning titles part. People threw Castroneves and Power together because of the numerous championship chokes but in all three of Power's 2nd place seasons you could make some reasonable case for him still being the best driver (at least on road courses...and I also rate being the "man" on a certain discipline much more than I do being 6th or 7th best everywhere...for a reason like that I'd even consider rating Sterling Marlin over Bobby Labonte, for instance). Power at least stats-wise was a dominant force, possibly the dominant force even though he didn't win titles. Castroneves was NEVER, ever, ever the best driver on any discipline over any extended period of time, much less the best over an entire season. I find both Castroneves and Mark Martin quite overrated not because they never won titles despite numerous chances but because they quite honestly never deserved to (while many other drivers in both Cup and IndyCar had unfortunate circumstances that kept them from having the longevity in elite equipment that Martin and Castroneves had). The best case I could make for Castroneves is he was *maybe* the best road course driver in CART in 2000-2001, but I'd still put Gil de Ferran, Dario Franchitti, and Cristiano da Matta ahead. If you are never the dominant force overall or on a particular track type, you probably aren't an all-time legend regardless. He's collected a quite nice win total due to his stability in top-tier equipment, but what people forget is that most of the elite talents in the split did not stay long. Alex Zanardi - went to F1, went back to CART for part of a year and had a near-fatal injury Juan Pablo Montoya - went to F1 Gil de Ferran - spent only 4 years at Penske before retiring a tad early Cristiano da Matta - went to F1 Sebastien Bourdais - went to F1 Greg Moore - died after 4 seasons; probably would have won the IRL championship that eluded Helio since he was maybe the best oval driver while he was alive Tony Stewart - went to NASCAR after 3 seasons Kenny Brack - kept hopping back and forth between CART and IRL which hurt his momentum, career ended early due to injury Sam Hornish - went to NASCAR after 8 seasons (some longevity, but compared to Franchitti/Castroneves/Kanaan, not much) Dan Wheldon - died after approximately 8 full seasons Many of these drivers outshone both Franchitti and Castroneves at various times but didn't have the opportunity to have 15-20 year careers. If they all DID have 15-20 year careers in IndyCar, how many wins would Franchitti and Castroneves have? A lot fewer, that's for sure. The drivers who ended up having longevity in the split were the drivers who DIDN'T run off to F1 or NASCAR, usually because they didn't have enough talent for either. Dixon and Franchitti and Tracy may be the exceptions here... Castroneves is the equivalent of a steady baseball player who is always consistent (or consistently inconsistent), never spectacular, and manages to accrue 3000 hits solely due to longevity. It's harder for me to be impressed by that than most of the above drivers who hit higher peaks (okay, Moore didn't, but he ABSOLUTELY WOULD HAVE in that car). Yes, I weight dominance highly and you could argue Castroneves was more dominant than his teammate de Ferran in 2000-2001, but de Ferran was *way* more consistent not to mention he at least won on an oval and a road course both years, while Castroneves only won on road courses in CART. de Ferran's much greater consistency trumps Castroneves's slightly higher dominance, especially since CART actually had a points system that reflected an appropriate balance between consistency and dominance (NASCAR, take a lesson). So yeah, I don't care that Castroneves won a title. I care that he never had a season deserving of one. (And some champions like Terry Labonte never had a season deserving of one, so I find him overrated too). More notable guys from his era of IndyCars? Hmm, better than Castroneves from 1998-present. I'll go with all of the following: Alex Zanardi, Juan Pablo Montoya, Gil de Ferran, Cristiano da Matta, Paul Tracy, Sebastien Bourdais, Sam Hornish (admittedly not on road courses, but overall yes), Kenny Brack (ditto), Greg Moore (ditto), Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Bruno Junqueira (before his Indy 2005 crash), Justin Wilson, Will Power, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Simon Pagenaud About even with Kanaan and Wheldon. How good is that? Really? Sure, you can quibble over a few of these guys (especially Junqueira), but I don't think you can argue many of them. I know based on his win total, he'd easily make a top ten but his win total was based on always being 2nd best for a long time. There's some value in that, but I see more value in being a near-miss driver who hits a higher peak (Tim Richmond, Ernie Irvan, Harry Gant, Carl Edwards) than a near-miss driver who doesn't (Mark Martin, Helio Castroneves...). Yeah, you'll all go on about Mark Martin's 7-win season but I honestly think the Roush equipment in the late '90s was better than ANY of their drivers. Ted Musgrave, Chad Little, and Johnny Benson were fighting for race wins more often than you'd think, slightly above average drivers like Jeff Burton became perennial championship contenders, and Mark Martin became supposedly the "real talent" when Jeff Gordon was more dominant in cars that were actually worse (go watch a lot of races in '97 and '98 and the Fords had way more speed than he did, you'll be surprised). 1256. Sean posted: 12.31.2014 - 12:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I think Dario is slightly overrated too, but only very slightly. I never liked him when he was driving (or at least when he was with Ganassi - I actually sort of semi-liked him when I was a little kid when he was on Team Green in CART - those paint schemes were badass!!), but I can definitely buy him being on a "Greatest IndyCar Drivers Ever" list a hell of a lot more than Helio. At least Dario was able to not fall apart late in the season and actually close on some titles (even if a couple of them were handed to him by Will Power), unlike Helio." Also massively overrated, mainly because his overall win total/title total/Indy 500 total is WAY above what his talent is. As with Castroneves, he had longevity primarily because he did not have any career-ending or altering misfortune (Brack, da Matta, Zanardi, Wheldon, Moore, Rice, Junqueira), run off to F1 (Montoya, Zanardi, da Matta, Bourdais), or run off to NASCAR for an extended period (Montoya, Allmendinger, Hornish). He, Castroneves, and Kanaan became the survivors. It helped that they switched from CART (where you could argue they were all out of their depth at times) to the IRL when the IRL had slim pickings besides Hornish and Lazier before anyone else did. I'm less hard on Scott Dixon in this regard because most of the drivers I listed were gone or no longer relevant by the time he became a force in 2003, and because he's still doing it today. Also, even though he has 3 titles and Dario has 4, I rate Dixon way higher. He won in 2003 when it was all ovals, 2008 when it was 50/50, and 2013 when it was mostly road course, with two different chassis, and except for 2002 was never blown out by his teammates (Franchitti was blown out by Tracy in 2000 and Kanaan and Wheldon both in 2004-05...Franchitti usually had the edge on Dixon, but only with the 2003-11 chassis...Dixon remained consistent with both chassis, while Dario didn't). Much more impressive than Dario winning all of his in a row (and *lucking into most of them* while Dixon generally dominated). Based on his stats (wins/titles/Indy 500 wins), Franchitti is a top ten driver, maybe top five, but he isn't close to that in reality. 2007 - Dario Franchitti builds up a single-race lead over Dixon mid-season and then piddles it away in the second half starting with flipping in back-to-back races at Kentucky and Michigan (in Kentucky after the race was over, which might be the stupidest thing from a major driver I've seen anywhere in racing since Mark Martin going to victory lane one lap early in the Busch race at Bristol). At Sonoma, he dominates before running into Marco who is leaving the pits. Tony Kanaan chose to give up his own title chances and play defense for Dario allowing Dario to finish 3rd rather than 12th or 15th or whatever it would have been had he been forced to pit to change his wing. Dixon retaliates at Detroit by intentionally collecting Franchitti in his crash, but Franchitti ends up being restarted first so he beats Dixon in the race and takes the points lead anyway. Then Franchitti and Dixon race side by side for the championship at Chicagoland and Dixon runs out of fuel in the final turn. Can you say lucky? The 2007 Indy 500 win is equally comical as Kanaan ran away with the race but pitted handing Franchitti the lead with only like two green flag laps after that before rain ended the race. 2009 - Ryan Briscoe was running away with the title chase and is gifted an essentially guaranteed win at Motegi when the caution comes out while he is leading in the pits. As long as he left the pits properly without crashing he'd inherit the lead and probably the win since there was almost no passing that day, which would allow him to only have to start at Homestead to win the title. Instead, Briscoe has the worst choke of all time, manages to crash and get passed by Franchitti and Dixon in points (and has done nothing impressive since). Then Franchitti wins the title AGAIN by winning the season finale on fuel mileage (this time at Homestead). 2010 - I'll give him this one straight up. Power may have led the points for most of the season. However Dario skillfully played the role of the hunter to come from behind and despite entering the race 2nd in points, he had the title won via head games before the finale even started (similar to Petty in '79 and Earnhardt in '90). Dario won the pole and led all the way until Power's crash (and led in points as they run all the way until Power's crash). Power's crash this year was sort of a choke but he wasn't going to win the title anyway. Dario truly deserved this one and this was the only one of his Indy 500 wins that truly impressed me (2007 he lucked into and 2012 he sort of lucked into because Sato followed him past Dixon...had Dixon remained in 2nd he would have clearly won the race I think). 2011 - The season I stopped liking him. He got away with a *lot* of stuff en route to this championship. He ran over pit equipment at Milwaukee and didn't get penalized for it. He punted Power at Toronto en route to winning the race and didn't get penalized for it (when others got penalized for similar things in the same race, causing me to be sympathetic towards Power until he had a VERY similar season this year), Power managed to come from a 75-point deficit after that race to take the points lead (in spite of Dario getting even MORE good calls such as causing a wreck at the Motegi road course and not getting penalized, etc...) until Power was running away with the race at Kentucky (which ended up being the finale after Vegas was canceled) before being wrecked in the pits by Ana Beatriz. Power deserved this title. Dario lucked into it. Just like he lucked into '07 and '09. And that's why I say he's unquestionably the second most overrated IndyCar driver ever. Yes, he got the titles and Indy 500 wins, but how many did he REALLY deserve if he had average luck? One of each in my view. Which is more than the zero titles and one Indy 500 that Castroneves would deserve...Helio did a great job in 2009 but only took the lead in 2001 and 2002 AT ALL because he beat everyone out of the pits in '01 and stayed out of the pits in '02, and I'm even ignoring the 2002 controversy here. Castroneves is not merely the worst of the 3-time winners, he's also worse than all the 2-time winners except Luyendyk (worse than Castroneves but I would say a better oval driver), and Wheldon (worse/equal than Castroneves but definitely a better oval driver). As for where they fit all-time, I would say Franchitti in around 25th and Castroneves in around 50th. That may seem obscenely low to you based on their win totals which are in the top 10/top 15. However, the split and their longevity in top equipment (which very few of their peers have) greatly overrate their win totals, for one. For another, CART seasons in the '90s and IndyCar seasons in the '00s regularly had around 16 races a year, but in previous decades (especially before the formation of USAC in 1956) there were very few races in a season. In the '30s and '40s, there were often as little as 3 races a season: the Indy 500, the Milwaukee Mile, and the Syracuse Mile (yeah, Syracuse represent! My hometown!) Tons of the legends from the really early days (Mauri Rose, Wilbur Shaw, Rex Mays, Bill Vukovich) did not exactly race very many races in their peak seasons (Vukovich won the Indy 500 in 1953-54 and entered ONE other race in those two seasons). Not to mention all the big time one-offs (Dan Gurney, Parnelli Jones, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart) and short careers for versatile drivers (got to throw in Nigel Mansell and Jacques Villeneuve here too if I'm gonna mention Montoya and Zanardi) that also have to be considered. Now that I am considering them, I'm starting to think 25th for Dario and 50th for Helio may be GENEROUS. I do think Scott Dixon has won enough where he may be creeping up on my top ten though. And as for overrated vs. overhyped, murb is right. To be overrated, you have to be good in the first place. Drivers who are hyped who nobody rates highly are not overrated. That's why I don't get it when I see people put Derrike Cope or Michael Waltrip on an overrated list. Nobody rates them highly in the first place. Better examples of overrated? Dario. Helio. Davey Allison. 1257. murb posted: 12.31.2014 - 2:04 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "So yeah, I don't care that Castroneves won a title. I care that he never had a season deserving of one." I guess maybe that's how I should have phrased it. Still though, I find it really hard to believe that he hasn't won one, and I think the fact that he hasn't despite 15 years in a Penske car at least somewhat merits criticism. "More notable guys from his era of IndyCars? Hmm, better than Castroneves from 1998-present. I'll go with all of the following:" Agreed on all of them except Junqueira (I admittedly never really watched him that much - once CART became Champ Car I kind of tuned out - but from what I did see, he never really struck me as anyone special), and maybe Wilson (though I absolutely think he has overachieved in horrible equipment for many years now). But the rest are pretty obvious I think, even the somewhat questionable ones. Da Matta and Brack were both damn good drivers before their injuries, and both definitely could have accomplished a lot more (something I just thought of - seeing how well Rice and Meira did for Rahal in 2004, I wonder if Brack would have just whipped ass that year in those cars had he not been injured in the 2003 finale). And you're right about Greg Moore too. Not only would he have most likely won one or two all-oval IRL titles in Penske car, but he probably would have been one of the key contenders along with De Ferran in 2000 and 2001 in CART. "go watch a lot of races in '97 and '98 and the Fords had way more speed than he did, you'll be surprised" Agreed on that for sure (Gordon's 1998 season is seriously mind boggling when you look at all the other Chevys that year), but overall I don't think Mark is that overrated (or at least not to an Helio extent). If we're talking about best Cup non-champions of the MODERN ERA (certainly not including guys like Lorenzen and Junior Johnson), I think he's at least in the top three. No, he's never really put himself in position to win one (except for 1990 - I would also maybe throw 2002 in there - had he not blown up at Kansas, and had they been less conservative at Rockingham/Phoenix, I think he probably would have beat Tony), but overall, I think Mark's longevity, insane consistency (at one point he had 12 straight seasons with at least 10 top fives), and versatility (he could win pretty much everywhere - his bread and butter was the intermediates, but I think his nice number of short track wins and his three-in-a-row stretch at Watkins Glen says a lot - also like 6 or 7 runner ups at Pocono or whatever it was) is enough to disqualify him from any "massively overrated" list. I agree that some of his contemporaries like Irvan, Bonnett, and Gant deserve more credit than they get and deserve to be talked about more, but for the most part I think Mark's praise is rightful. "Also, even though he has 3 titles and Dario has 4, I rate Dixon way higher." Definitely agreed. I honestly think Dixon is the best IndyCar driver of the past 10 (maybe even 15 or 20) years, and I think he's still the best driver in IndyCar today (though I'd have to say Power will probably pass him up in the next couple of years if he wins a couple more titles and consistently becomes one of the men to beat on ovals). As far as being a driver who can win anywhere on any given weekend under any circumstances, AND rarely makes boneheaded mistakes, I don't think anyone in IndyCar has done it better than Dixon in this era. "Davey Allison." In terms of those people who say that he would have been like a 100 time winner and 7 time champion, yeah, he's overrated. But I do think he would have won at least one, maybe two titles, and probably close to 50 races had he lived though. I just look at how Jarrett did with Yates in the late 90s. If DJ was able to win one in 1999 and STRONGLY contend for one in 1997, I'd have to imagine Davey (who I think pretty much anyone would agree was more versatile than DJ) probably would have won one or two. Same goes for Irvan too had he not been injured (though I honestly don't know if he would have won it in 1994 like a lot of people think - I think it would have been tough for him to top how Earnhardt closed that year - I think he would have been real tough in 1996 though, just by looking at how good he was that year despite having been injured). 1258. Sean posted: 12.31.2014 - 2:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Agreed on all of them except Junqueira (I admittedly never really watched him that much - once CART became Champ Car I kind of tuned out - but from what I did see, he never really struck me as anyone special), and maybe Wilson" Bruno Junqueira's rookie season in 2001 was weak, but in 2002 he totally blew out Kenny Brack (who dominated the previous year's CART season, at least on the ovals) AND Scott Dixon (who had a rather dismal season, yet won the next year's IRL title) while they were Ganassi teammates. Ganassi chose to keep Dixon over Junqueira, which was the right choice (actually keeping Junqueira instead of hiring Tomas Scheckter was the right choice), but Junqueira finishing 2nd in points to Brack's 6th and Dixon's 13th (LAST of the full-time serious drivers drivers in that season) means a lot to me. In 2003, he beat Bourdais in points at Newman-Haas before his four straight titles, in 2004 he didn't lose the title by much (but Bourdais winning 7 races to Junqueira's 1 is bad), and in 2005 he was leading the Champ Car points over Bourdais when he got injured. It's very much a discussion worth having. His Indy record was also very good, with him scoring a top five as a rookie in 2001 (before he was even a good CART driver), winning the pole in 2002, having a chance to win in 2004, and running in the top five (and ahead of Bourdais) at Indy in 2005 when he crashed. I've got to admit I'm starting to lose my faith in Justin Wilson. His 2014 was truly awful. But I don't think Castroneves would have done what Wilson did with RuSport or Coyne. "overall I don't think Mark is that overrated (or at least not to an Helio extent)." Not to a Helio extent, no. "No, he's never really put himself in position to win one (except for 1990 - I would also maybe throw 2002 in there - had he not blown up at Kansas, and had they been less conservative at Rockingham/Phoenix, I think he probably would have beat Tony), but overall, I think Mark's longevity, insane consistency (at one point he had 12 straight seasons with at least 10 top fives), and versatility (he could win pretty much everywhere - his bread and butter was the intermediates, but I think his nice number of short track wins and his three-in-a-row stretch at Watkins Glen says a lot - also like 6 or 7 runner ups at Pocono or whatever it was) is enough to disqualify him from any "massively overrated" list." Yes, he had the best average finish three times ('90, '97, '02). I don't really care. Earnhardt had 9 wins to his 3 and like 5 times the laps led. Gordon and Jarrett certainly outran him in '97. Martin wasn't even in the top ten in laps led I believe in 2002 and only won one race where Matt Kenseth didn't seem to try very hard to beat him (it was one of the worst second place seasons ever in my view, until this year that is). Yeah, I wouldn't say massively for him. It is more about Bodine, Rudd, Gant, Irvan, Richmond, and Bonnett being neglected when people only talk about Martin and Davey these days. I still think he's only really better than any of the other non-champions I mentioned because of his longevity in top equipment. "Definitely agreed. I honestly think Dixon is the best IndyCar driver of the past 10 (maybe even 15 or 20) years, and I think he's still the best driver in IndyCar today (though I'd have to say Power will probably pass him up in the next couple of years if he wins a couple more titles and consistently becomes one of the men to beat on ovals). As far as being a driver who can win anywhere on any given weekend under any circumstances, AND rarely makes boneheaded mistakes, I don't think anyone in IndyCar has done it better than Dixon in this era." I agree 100% and I think Pagenaud is going to take control of the series from both Dixon and Power. 1259. Sean posted: 12.31.2014 - 2:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "In terms of those people who say that he would have been like a 100 time winner and 7 time champion, yeah, he's overrated. But I do think he would have won at least one, maybe two titles, and probably close to 50 races had he lived though. I just look at how Jarrett did with Yates in the late 90s. If DJ was able to win one in 1999 and STRONGLY contend for one in 1997, I'd have to imagine Davey (who I think pretty much anyone would agree was more versatile than DJ) probably would have won one or two. Same goes for Irvan too had he not been injured (though I honestly don't know if he would have won it in 1994 like a lot of people think - I think it would have been tough for him to top how Earnhardt closed that year - I think he would have been real tough in 1996 though, just by looking at how good he was that year despite having been injured)." My opinion of him was already low relative to everyone else's (largely because he started in competitive equipment from day one as a rookie when basically NONE of the other major '80s/'90s rookies except him, Gordon, and Stewart did, which gave Davey inflated wins compared to the Bodines, Rudds, Gants who had several years in garbage rides). However, it got even lower when I started looking up how he actually won his races. One of the things I've been researching over the past few months is how drivers took over the control of a race: whether the ultimate lead change that caused the driver to obtain control of the race was via an on-track (or as I call it natural) pass, an off-track pass (a lead change on a pit stop), or an 'incidental' pass (inheriting the lead when the leader has trouble). Davey's record is way weaker than everyone will think it is. I was kind of shocked when I reviewed his wins compared to those of most of his contemporaries. Natural wins: Talladega 1987 (passed Dale Earnhardt) Talladega 1989 (passed Morgan Shepherd) Charlotte 1991 (passed Dale Earnhardt) And that's it. 3/19 that I know for sure he straight out took control of the race on the track. Half-natural wins: This is where I'd put any race where a driver takes the lead on-track from a driver who isn't actually competitive in the race, when the real move that put the driver ahead of the other competitive cars was either strategic or beating the other drivers out of the pits. Example: Danica Patrick passed Helio Castroneves to win at Motegi but it was the strategy move that put her in position to do that. Several of Ryan Newman's 2003 wins would fit here, etc... Phoenix 1991 (passed Spencer who stayed out of the pits, but was behind other drivers before beating them out of the pits putting him in position to take the lead) Off-track wins: Bristol 1990 (stays out of the pits and isn't passed, even if he is VERY NEARLY passed) Rockingham 1991 (beat Gant out of the pits) North Wilkesboro 1992 (beat Wallace out of the pits) Talladega 1992 (beat Marlin out of the pits) Phoenix 1992 (was leading on a green-flag pit sequence when a perfectly-timed caution came out for him allowing him to lead the rest of the race) Richmond 1993 (beat Petty out of the pits) Incidental wins: Richmond 1988 (inherited lead when Rudd blew an engine) Daytona 1989 (inherited lead when Martin ran out of gas) Charlotte 1990 (inherited lead when Elliott had broken brake caliper) Sonoma 1991 (inherited lead when Rudd penalized) Daytona 1992 (inherited lead when leaders crashed) There were four races I could not determine (Dover 1987, Michigan 1988, Michigan 1991, Michigan 1992) due to lack of good video footage. That is not a very good record and it pales compared to the Bodines, Irvans, and Gants. I attempted to determine whether the race win was natural, incidental, or off-track for all races from 1990-2003 (although my invention of half-natural, for which I need a much better term is new and I considered all half-natural races as fully natural when I did this a few months ago), and the results were stark and Davey did not look good despite winning 13 races in the period. Here are the natural win leaders for the 1990s (I didn't add 2000-2003 yet even though I did them): Jeff Gordon - 34 Dale Earnhardt - 25 Mark Martin - 21 Dale Jarrett - 20 Rusty Wallace - 18 Ernie Irvan - 12 Geoff Bodine - 8 Bobby Labonte - 8 Bill Elliott - 6 Sterling Marlin - 6 Jeff Burton - 5 Kyle Petty - 5 Harry Gant - 4 Terry Labonte - 4 Bobby Hamilton - 3 Alan Kulwicki - 3 Tony Stewart - 3 Darrell Waltrip - 3 Davey Allison - 2 (and that COUNTS Phoenix '91 which is very arguable) John Andretti - 2 Ricky Rudd - 2 Jimmy Spencer - 2 (note that I would myself count these as incidental since the car he won with was illegal, and I may change my official view on this as a result of that) Derrike Cope - 1 Jeremy Mayfield - 1 Joe Nemechek - 1 Ken Schrader - 1 There were a number of races for which I was not able to figure out due to lack of video footage, but some drivers look very, very bad by this metric and others better than I expected. Davey Allison overwhelmingly looks the worst in terms of races won naturally (yeah, he was great at maintaining the lead once he got it pretty much anywhere, but actually TAKING it? Not as much as you might think, at least late in the race). Ricky Rudd, Terry Labonte, and Jeff Burton also come out pretty badly relative to their actual win totals. Jarrett came out quite well (in fact almost ALL his '90s wins - 20/22 - were natural wins based on on-track lead changes - NONE of the other mega-winners in that decade were close to him percentage-wise...this was a shock to me). Even I was buying too much into Davey's hype. I wouldn't have dreamed of rating him lower than Dale Jarrett in the past, but now I'm forced to. Jarrett generally took the lead on the track in his prime. Davey did in the pits. As for Davey's versatility, is it really better than Jarrett's? 2 wins at Richmond, 1 at Bristol, 1 at North Wilkesboro - 3 of which he took the lead in the pits and 1 of which he inherited the lead when the leader blew up. Jarrett won 2 races at Richmond, 1 at Bristol, and 1 at Martinsville and usually did it on track. Davey got a road course win and DJ didn't but Davey's road course win is highly controversial to say the least. Jarrett is better, and I didn't expect to come to this conclusion. Think about Michigan 1991 really quickly. Jarrett passed Davey on the track in a much weaker car on worn tires on the last lap (after Davey passed him the lap before). Doesn't that really say a lot? Now I think Ernie Irvan was better than any other Yates driver, but looking at Jarrett's record via this metric and how weak Davey's and Rudd's are, I definitely have to take Jarrett over Davey and might have to take Jarrett over Rudd too (all Rudd has over Jarrett really is the road course dominance and it really depends on how much I choose to weight that). 1260. racefangurl posted: 12.31.2014 - 2:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Syracuse NY? I don't live too far from there. I kind of like Regan Smith, whose hometown's near there. 1261. murb posted: 12.31.2014 - 4:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "And that's it. 3/19 that I know for sure he straight out took control of the race on the track." Wow, that's definitely eye opening. I don't know. I still think he probably would have won a title with Yates in the mid to late 90s just because of how strong that equipment was, but I guess maybe it's a lot harder to determine than you would think. Those are some seriously interesting numbers you calculated though. I do think dominance is worth a lot in ranking drivers, so this is a good way to find out who really did the dominating in these races. Other than Jarrett looking really good, the other guys that seriously jumped out at me were Kyle Petty (5 of his 6 in the 90s were "natural" wins - that's more than half his total too - in Felix Sabates equipment no less, and mostly at tough places like Rockingham and Pocono - and yet I still have seen idiots on other forums say that Danica is a better driver than him) and Sterling Marlin (6 out of 6 - damn, I REALLY wonder what he could have done in a Yates car then). I think Mark also comes out looking damn good (21 out of 30 for the 90s were "natural" - that's a little more than half his total wins as well), and Irvan obviously looks great too with 12 out of 15. Pretty disappointed to see Rudd only with two. I've always had him ranked WAY better than guys like Kyle and Sterling, but I think that is kind of telling. I would have thought he'd have way more than TWO. 1262. TS1420 posted: 12.31.2014 - 5:13 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I agree that Dario Franchitti & Helio Castroneves (even though I like him) are two of the most overrated drivers in IndyCar history, especially Dario. Dario flat out lucked out most of his IRL/ICS career. First with the fact Andretti-Green kept on resigning him to big money contracts to the detriment of their own team (ie alienating Dan Wheldon into to leaving the team for getting paid less despite being a 500 & Series Champion) rather than kicking him to the curb or at least calling his "I'll go back to CCWS if I don't get paid" bluff and putting him in his place. Then with the fact Tony Kanaan has a man-crush on him and has routinely helped him at the expense of his own success (ie blatantly giving up the win at Fontana to him in '05, blocking for him at Sonoma in '07). Most of his Indy 500 wins and championships where probably the biggest flukes in Auto Racing. -The 2007 Indy 500 was won because he lucked out by not having to pit the same time as the leaders and the monsoon hitting sooner than the leaders who pitted were expecting it to. -In 2012 500 he displayed another of his patented asshat tactics and pinched Sato on the apron causing him to spin, getting lucky Sato didn't collect him when he came back up the track. -The 2007 Championship was literally a fuel mileage championship aided by lucky breaks in the races leading up to Chicagoland. -In 2009 he got lucky that Ryan Briscoe pulled a "Denny Hamlin Choke-Job" at Motegi and lucked into another fuel mileage championship -And in 2011 he was the dirtiest POS on the circuit and got away with it every single time and lucked out that Will Power got plowed into by a backmarker on pit-road at Kentucky while having both the race and ultimately the championship in the bag. Dario also lucked out he became "successful" during the Homogenized Engine/Chassis Era. Once that criteria changed (new chassis, engine competition back in effect), Dario fell off a cliff and never recovered while other top drivers, even Helio, adapted. Helio has been with Team Penske for 15 season and not a single championship to show for it. Meanwhile his lower tenured teammates Sam Hornish, Gil de Ferran & Will Power have all have won it and even Ryan Friggin' Briscoe was a serious threat in 2009. Plus two of his three 500 wins weren't really that impressive, especially 2002 (Paul Tracy was robbed). A little correction for Sean on Scott Dixon. "He won in 2003 when it was all ovals, 2008 when it was 50/50, and 2013 when it was mostly road course, with two different chassis" He actually won all three championships with THREE different chassis (Panoz G-Force in 2003, Old Dallara in 2008 & DW12 in 2013). I don't agree with Sean that Davey Allison is basically a scrub and overrated, but at the same time he is overrated. Lot's of people do claim "Gordon would have never won a championship/been as big had Davey been around". Davey was never gonna be the next Petty/Earnhardt/Gordon level talent or even His Dad/Waltrip/Yarbrough level. But he would have been a solid Wallace/Elliott/Stewart level of driver. I think Davey would have claimed the 1994 & either the 1997, 1998 or 1999 championship. 1263. MAR posted: 12.31.2014 - 7:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree with Castoneves being overrated he only got his ride at penske after Greg Moore who was suppose to be in that ride got Killed hell two of his Indy 500 wins were fluke especially the one where they took it from paul Tracy. Dario Bein overated i think is a joke he delivered for every team he raced for in indy cars look at the wins and championships. 1264. Hinch77 posted: 01.01.2015 - 11:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) It appears to be curtains for Franck Montagny as the Frenchman has tested positive for a cocaine derivative between the Formula E races in Putrajaya and Punta del Este. He has admitted to it. 1265. Sean posted: 01.01.2015 - 2:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I do think dominance is worth a lot in ranking drivers, so this is a good way to find out who really did the dominating in these races." This isn't about dominance. This is about how a driver takes control of the race. Davey Allison was a dominant driver as he led Winston Cup in average percent led in both 1991 and 1992 even though he did not win the championships. HOW you win and HOW you dominate matters more than that you win and that you dominate. I have certainly not gone through every race Davey led to see how often he took the lead on track before the ultimate lead change, but I think what matters most is HOW a driver won the race, more than even that they dominated (which Davey certainly did, which is one of the reasons he is overrated). "The other guys that seriously jumped out at me were Kyle Petty (5 of his 6 in the 90s were "natural" wins - that's more than half his total too - in Felix Sabates equipment no less, and mostly at tough places like Rockingham and Pocono - and yet I still have seen idiots on other forums say that Danica is a better driver than him) and Sterling Marlin (6 out of 6 - damn, I REALLY wonder what he could have done in a Yates car then)." As for Petty, wasn't there some race he won at Rockingham with Gary Nelson as his crew chief when Nelson admitted years later that he had Petty release buckshot from the car to make it lighter, and NASCAR apparently never noticed? I probably counted that win as natural when it should be incidental, as I would now regard any race where the car is now generally acknowledged to have been illegal, even if it wasn't at the time (that race, the two Jimmy Spencer restrictor plate wins, etc...) Since he had Nelson and Robin Pemberton, two of the all time worst cheating crew chiefs, for most of his prime years, it does diminish his reputation to me (even though I'm a fan of him). Having said that, the diversity of where he won his races was impressive and Nelson and Pemberton weren't the only crew chiefs cheating (although some of their contemporaries like Waddell Wilson and Leonard Wood really did seem to be straight arrows). Also, Gary Nelson is now working with Action Express Racing, which just won the 24 Hours of Daytona and United SportsCar Championship with Joao Barbosa and Christian Fittipaldi, who had both won the Rolex before 2014 but never showed this kind of dominance EVER before he arrived there. Hmm... As for Marlin, you have to bear in mind that 5 of his 6 wins in that decade when he had absurdly dominant Runt Pittman engines in the #4 car. Irvan and Marlin contended to win pretty much every plate race in this period (even Rick Wilson almost did). Having said that, Irvan and Marlin both contended to win several plate races post-Morgan-McClure (sometimes when they didn't have great cars either). However, plate racing is much more likely by its very nature to be won via an on-track pass for position than for instance short track racing will (where track position is pivotal as it can be very hard to pass, hence in my view a race won on a short track, road course, or Darlington/Rockingham/Loudon/etc... via an on-track pass will therefore be more impressive to me...) Marlin passed people with a grossly superior car, which pretty much happens by default in a plate race (particularly in that era when plate racing was a lot more single-file). It certainly wouldn't be enough for me to rank Petty or Marlin over Davey Allison, mind you. You can't judge anything properly using only one statistic. Sabermetrics people in baseball may hype on-base percentage as more important than batting average in baseball (and runs created as better than RBI, etc...), but I don't think most of them would also say that batting average and RBI should be IGNORED either. Wins matter and dominance matter, but I think *how* you win does matter more, but that doesn't mean that winning incidentally or in the pits is worthless. In the period Davey raced, there was much less reliability than there is now so one could say that he preserved his equipment better than someone like Geoff Bodine did (even if Bodine was more dominant), or Benny Parsons preserved his equipment more than Buddy Baker, or Al Unser preserved his equipment more than Mario Andretti, or Dale Earnhardt preserved his equipment better than Rusty Wallace. In those days, "to finish first one must first finish" mattered much more than it does now. Right now in the present era, F1, IndyCar, and NASCAR all have much more reliable equipment than they do in the '90s so conserving equipment matters much less (Clint Bowyer) and dominating with blistering speed matters much more (Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick). I wouldn't throw out the statistics that do exist and I certainly don't think Davey is a "scrub", TS1420. I wouldn't take somebody like Petty or Marlin over Davey just because of this. Irvan or Jarrett on the other hand, hell yeah. Having said that, I do think Davey was and is wildly overrated and might barely make the list of top ten champions of the modern era... I pretty much view him as the Junior of his time (Davey's 1987-93 and Junior's 2000-06 are kind of eerily similar, actually), and I don't mean that as an insult either. Junior's good. He just wasn't the best non-champion of his era, and neither was Davey. I DO think Marlin and Petty were underrated though and I could easily make the argument that they were pretty much of the same caliber as Bobby Labonte and Jeff Burton at least... Bear in mind that as I said I was unable to find good enough video footage to figure out four of Davey's wins. If he won both of his other '90s wins naturally, he goes up to 4 wins, but that's still pretty bad. As for Rudd's record, it is as follows: Natural Loudon 1994 (passed Earnhardt) Phoenix 1995 (passed Cope) Incidental Dover 1997 (inherited lead when Irvan crashed) Martinsville 1998 (passed J. Burton after Burton's half-spin) Off-track Watkins Glen 1990 (inherited lead after Martin/Kulwicki pitted, then maintained it) Darlington 1991 (took lead when Allison pitted) Dover 1992 (beat Elliott out of pits) Michigan 1993 (won on fuel mileage) Rockingham 1996 (stayed out of pits) Indianapolis 1997 (won on fuel mileage) His '80s record may be better and I don't know, but unlike with Davey, I *was* able to figure out Rudd's wins so he may look even worse. But position retention DOES mean something (Kyle Busch struggles at retaining his position in Cup races). Sure, Scott Dixon and Carlos Huertas lucked into their wins at Mid-Ohio and Houston due to pit strategy but they still had to maintain the lead and not run out of fuel, which wasn't guaranteed. Dixon is a talented fuel-saver and that shouldn't be ignored (and I'd say Rudd was also), but I definitely am more impressed by people who make passes on the track. 1266. The Incredible Mister the Man posted: 01.01.2015 - 2:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Sean, the butthurt is very, very visible. 1267. racefangurl posted: 01.01.2015 - 3:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) First, that Kevin Ward, Jr. dirt track kid sprint car driver that died had pot, now a Formula E driver with coke (not the soda kind). 1268. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 01.01.2015 - 9:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Marlin passed people with a grossly superior car, which pretty much happens by default in a plate race (particularly in that era when plate racing was a lot more single-file)." Marlins plate wins were when only way you passed people is if you had 10 cars in line with you. 1269. We need more Onion posted: 01.02.2015 - 9:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) To be honest, I was/am ready to defend my opinion on Dario being an extremely overrated, lucky driver, but I don't need to. I can only say that just like Hornish, he didn't have a real competition. When you need extreme luck to win against BRISCOE, then you know it's mediocre. Dario was the darling of all the teams he drove for AND he didn't have a lot of competition when he won. 2007: Dixon - Got unlucky with fuel and officiating. Kanaan - Decided to help Dario, instead of going for it, most of his wins came too late, anyway. Wheldon - Wrecked too often to be a serious contender. Penske - Hornish was simply too slow, Castroneves ran out of talent too often. 2009: In 2009 only Penske and Ganassi were competitive teams. Briscoe - Messed up in the pits. Sean already wrote a detailed version. Is generally a mediocre driver. Castroneves - Tax issues, wrecks. Dixon - Again lost out on fuel mileage, I bet team orders were in place earlier in the season. 2010: Power - He choked, but would have lost anyway, he was very bad on ovals. Dixon & Castroneves - Mediocrity all season long. They managed 5 podiums each, Dario had 10... Hunter-Reay & Wheldon - Drove inferior equipment. So yeah, I guess Dario won fair and square, but he really had no-one to beat, as his only serious rival was inconsistent. Still, he just barely won. 2011: Serious rule bending, wrecking, being an even bigger asshole than what he was before. Didn't matter who he raced, officials wanted him to win or what. Again, he needed to wreck his rivals and needed a ton of luck. To sum it up, even when he was racing fair, his main competition were his teammates, usually in a second-fiddle role, Power, who couldn't race on ovals, Castroneves, who is a huge choker himself and Briscoe. So he needed a whole lot of luck and favoritism to win against little opposition. Wilson > Franchitti 1270. Hinch77 posted: 01.02.2015 - 10:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^To sum up the above, Ganassi's success in IndyCar is proportional to how much he pays the series to look the other way on penalties or to let him break the rules. 1271. racefangurl posted: 01.02.2015 - 1:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Some people say IndyCar > NASCAR. The IndyCar races are more exciting, they say. I can't make that call, because they're different. To me, IndyCar targets a different set of race fans, though some people like both. I can like any motorsport I have access to. It's like how sometimes people talk about whether NASCAR or F1 is a better series. It's all what you want from a race series. 1272. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 01.02.2015 - 2:21 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Some people say IndyCar > NASCAR. The IndyCar races are more exciting, they say. I can't make that call, because they're different. To me, IndyCar targets a different set of race fans, though some people like both. I can like any motorsport I have access to. It's like how sometimes people talk about whether NASCAR or F1 is a better series. It's all what you want from a race series." For once, i actually agree with you have too say. People will like what they will like. I don't like Indycar or F1 anymore. Why? It just isn't for me anymore. Starting arugments over what is better is pointless. I guess some people have the need too feel better about themselves some how. 1273. An Aussie Commentator posted: 01.02.2015 - 5:31 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I like both Indycar and NASCAR. But I like watching a lot of motorsports anyway (I don't find the two-wheelers engaging for some reason) 1274. MAR posted: 01.02.2015 - 9:47 pm Rate this comment: (3) (1) If Dario is overrated and lucky Then Jimmie Johnson is the same. 1275. racefangurl posted: 01.03.2015 - 1:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I like both Indycar and NASCAR. But I like watching a lot of motorsports anyway (I don't find the two-wheelers engaging for some reason) I too like multiple motorsports, which why my name's not series specific. I've only been able to watch NASCAR and a little Indy and F1, as well as one dirt track truck race. I think it was off-road. 1276. Db1995 posted: 01.03.2015 - 2:02 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Anyone seen the movie BASEketball? I had never heard of it til last night and i think its hilarious and Dale Earnhardt has a role as a cab driver lol, its stupid comedy like Scary Movie but i still like it. 1277. Hinch77 posted: 01.03.2015 - 11:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "If Dario is overrated and lucky Then Jimmie Johnson is the same. " Well, when you consider that Ganassi is to IndyCar as Hendrick is to NASCAR, then yes that is correct. Think about that for a while because it will take a while to sink in. 1278. We need more Onion posted: 01.03.2015 - 12:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hendrick is/was insanely strong just as Ganassi was, but there were more than one seasons when Jimmie was totally unbeatable, let it be regular season or the chase. Dario was just around 1st place in points when others choked or he got "outside help". Two TOTALLY different resumes. Johnson, despite my utter dislike towards him, is one of NASCAR's top 10 drivers ever, a future HoF member. Dario is nothing compared to people like Tom Sneva, hell I'd even put Bourdais in front of him. Yet, 9 from 10 listings of "da bezzt AOW drivers" will have him in the top 5... 1279. Sean posted: 01.03.2015 - 1:46 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) "Davey was never gonna be the next Petty/Earnhardt/Gordon level talent or even His Dad/Waltrip/Yarbrough level. But he would have been a solid Wallace/Elliott/Stewart level of driver. I think Davey would have claimed the 1994 & either the 1997, 1998 or 1999 championship." Not even close. Davey was in the tier with Geoff Bodine, Ricky Rudd, Jeff Burton, and Bobby Labonte. I'd put him above Burton and Labonte and behind Bodine and Rudd. Wallace, Elliott, and Stewart were much better. Considering Ernie Irvan INSTANTLY improved on Davey in the #28 car (led more laps in many fewer starts in 1993, led more laps than Davey EVER did in many fewer starts in 1994, and had more consistency from track-to-track than Davey did too) no way I see Davey winning in '94 since I think Irvan probably still would have lost to Earnhardt. Davey likely would have contended in the years Jarrett contended, but now I think Jarrett was better. He definitely did take the lead more HIMSELF than Davey did, but I do think he's better than Bobby Labonte and BL won a championship. Davey could have won the '97 and '99 titles if he was lucky enough, yeah, but I think he would have been more likely to finish his title without a championship, which is no insult. Many very good drivers have done that. His best season of '92 came in a season when Ford had absurd dominance compared to any other season, and when that advantage went away in '93, he became the kinda second tier driver he always was again before his death, and then Irvan instantly improved the team (although yes, I'll admit Ford was quite a bit better in late '93-'94 than it was in early '93). But like I said, I certainly wouldn't call Davey a "scrub". "Dario Bein overated i think is a joke he delivered for every team he raced for in indy cars look at the wins and championships." Dario is overrated *precisely* because of his wins and championships, when compared to other drivers who didn't have near the longevity in top equipment that he did. "Sean, the butthurt is very, very visible." Nope. I'm not nearly as emotionally vested in my arguments as you think I am. Most of my posts like that I write pretty emotionlessly. I differentiate between whether I like a driver or not and whether I think that driver is overrated/underrated. I really like Davey Allison (more than most champions in fact) but find him overrated; same goes for James Hinchcliffe in IndyCar now whom I think is generally overrated given his likability. I think Morgan Shepherd was probably an underrated Cup driver because he did better than Geoff Bodine who followed him in the #15 and did better than Dale Jarrett who preceded him in the #21, but he always kinda left me cold. "Marlins plate wins were when only way you passed people is if you had 10 cars in line with you." I agree, but still in that era the fastest cars worked their way to the front and were seemingly much more likely to win. The races were more strategic and less random. I tended to like the '90s era of plate racing more than the '00s era of plate racing because I think in the '90s the passes meant something, and starting with the 2000 Talladega race where Dale Earnhardt got his final win (after NASCAR changed the restrictor plate size the night before the race) the passes were so frequent and frequently so random (due to drivers just catching a lucky draft and not even necessarily doing anything) that they meant less to me. I respect the opposing argument for 2000s plate racing (by equalizing the cars more than in the '90s, it caused the races to be decided more by the nerve of the drivers rather than the speed of the cars) but I mostly don't agree, with a few exceptions. I think you now need killer instinct to win a plate race (a driver who is too conservative just won't...I knew when Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton separated themselves at the end of the '11 fall Talladega race that Burton had no chance of winning, other drivers besides Burton like Gordon and Kahne (even if they're still winning) seem to have largely lost their killer instinct based on how tentative they are on restarts lately, etc... and I don't see them ever winning a plate race again, or ever in Kahne's case...but besides that I don't think they have much to do with talent now). "^To sum up the above, Ganassi's success in IndyCar is proportional to how much he pays the series to look the other way on penalties or to let him break the rules." I dislike powerhouse car owners in general, but it really seems weird you perpetually bash Ganassi and let Penske and Andretti off the hook. I think Penske has had FASTER cars than Ganassi but usually Briscoe, Castroneves, and/or Power threw away their title chances (none of them were as consistent on road courses and ovals as Dixon/Franchitti were, and I don't think it was an equipment issue, although I would put Power very close to Franchitti on an all-time ranking. Still behind him though.) Penske was caught explicitly cheating more recently than Ganassi (the 2013 Texas win that Castroneves was allowed to keep despite the car being ruled illegal, his only oval win since 2010). As for Andretti, the only reason they aren't still with Penske/Ganassi now is driver selection. Since their "dream team" of Kanaan/Wheldon/Franchitti/Herta (yeah, Herta was only average or slightly above, like the IndyCar equivalent of Truex or Benson, but for a four-car team to have him as their WORST is pretty good), they have made the following driver changes: 2006 - Marco Andretti replaced Dan Wheldon 2007 - Danica Patrick replaced Bryan Herta 2008 - Hideki Mutoh replaced Dario Franchitti 2010 - Ryan Hunter-Reay replaced Hideki Mutoh 2011 - Mike Conway replaced Tony Kanaan 2012 - James Hinchcliffe replaced Danica Patrick 2013 - E.J. Viso added to the team to add a 4th car 2014 - Carlos Munoz replaced E.J. Viso 2015 - (Zach Veach/Jean-Eric Vergne/no one?) replaced James Hinchcliffe That's a lot of weak drivers. Marco is as good as anyone at Indy, Iowa, and Barber, but that's about it. Besides those three tracks, he sucks. Danica was very consistent but drove around and didn't seem to have any killer instinct (like somebody like Casey Mears or Paul Menard in Cup, and both of them lucked into a strategy win too and will probably never win again), Mutoh was even worse than them, as after he left Andretti, he went to Newman-Haas and gave such a legendary team the worst year in its history with not a single top ten finish, Conway I don't understand because he is generally mediocre but is great at notching random street course wins (last year, his two wins were his only top ten finishes which is bizarre), and Viso was the butt of jokes but had improved from godawful to mediocre at that point. Hunter-Reay was a major hire and diamond in the rough that I give Andretti credit for, since he had been underregarded for YEARS. Munoz impressed me in 2013 but didn't in 2014, but the jury's still out. Hinchcliffe is better than Danica, but I think not by as much as others think. He leads a bit more, but a lot of times he tends to qualify well and slowly fade not unlike her. His only killer season was 2013 when he had Craig Hampson as his engineer (same guy who engineered all four of Sebastien Bourdais's titles, and we've seen how inconsistent Bourdais is in unreliable equipment, unlike say Simon Pagenaud) and even then he still finished behind Marco in points, not merely RHR. If Andretti chooses Zach Veach, that's another downgrade (as much as I love Veach on a personal level for his anti-bullying campaigns, being the first driver I've ever seen admit to being bullied, etc...) If he chooses Jean-Eric Vergne, he might do about the same. Bottom of the line: If Andretti had better driver hires (Sebastien Bourdais, Justin Wilson, Simon Pagenaud, Oriol Servia, Bruno Junqueira, Buddy Rice - okay, those last two may have been washed up after their 2005 Indy wrecks) they would still be with Penske and Ganassi. RHR still seems to be with them despite having more mechanical problems than the Penske/Ganassi drivers do. Describing Ganassi as illegitimate cheaters and acting like Penske/Andretti are straight arrows in comparison when honestly I don't think there's been a large equipment difference between any of them would probably be a better definition of butthurt (a term I find disgusting to begin with). 1280. Sean posted: 01.03.2015 - 1:46 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Some people say IndyCar > NASCAR. The IndyCar races are more exciting, they say." NASCAR has had more contrivances than IndyCar in the last decade, but even IndyCar has many more contrivances than I'd like (push-to-pass buttons, red flags to ensure green flag finishes, doubleheaders, double points races, a ridiculous number of bonus qualifying points at Indy, similarly bad officiating under either Brian Barnhart or Beaux Barfield...) It's hard to find purity in F1, NASCAR, or IndyCar today I think. Touring car racing and European sports car racing may be about the only series that still have integrity, and neither of those are even televised in the US. That doesn't mean I can find nothing to enjoy. I'm enjoying IndyCar racing more than NASCAR and F1 lately, but I don't kid myself into thinking it's a bastion of integrity. I just think most of the most likable new drivers in recent years lately have come up through the IndyCar (James Hinchcliffe, Josef Newgarden, Carlos Munoz, Sage Karam, Zach Veach) or U.S. sports car (Jordan Taylor, Ricky Taylor, Ryan Eversley, Dane Cameron) ranks lately because all those drivers seem to have a sense of fun and humanity that most of today's F1 and NASCAR stars lack. When you're in a series that is considered big-time (especially when you're in a series that acts like no other racing exists, which both F1 and NASCAR do) it's far too easy to become an egotistical blowhard, while all the drivers I've mentioned here have shown talent while being there for the joy of racing rather than to market their brand (I realize I'm praising Hinchcliffe, Newgarden, and Jordan Taylor especially for their quirkiness which I would definitely criticize in a driver who never wins like Kenny Wallace, but Newgarden and Taylor both get the most out of their equipment and Hinchcliffe does well enough). Do you think Montoya, Allmendinger, even Tony Stewart would have left open wheel if the pay was the same? Robby Gordon, Hornish, and Franchitti maybe, since I think both of their wives thought IndyCar racing was too dangerous (which made it sort of ironic that Dario suffered a worse on-track injury in NASCAR than he ever had in CART or IRL to that point). As I said in the early '90s it seemed like the NASCAR drivers had the joy and the CART drivers were egotistical blowhards, but lately, that's definitely reversed and that's the main reason I find it more appealing (Helio, Marco, Graham Rahal, Ed Carpenter, and Sebastian Saavedra (please don't take any more of his money, team owners!) are the only IndyCar drivers I dislike). "Starting arugments over what is better is pointless. I guess some people have the need too feel better about themselves some how." 100% agree. I understand why people call NASCAR NA$CAR or NASCRAP or CRAPCAR or "taxicabs" but it's petty, especially if they're F1 or IndyCar or U.S. sports car racing fans when all three of those forms of racing certainly do have much to criticize as well. Le Mans-style sports car racing still seems to have purity, and that is what most of those sort of fans would favor, but their fans are also the most obnoxious and snootiest about it, which kind of turns me off to that form of racing (I actually think most F1 fans are more accepting of IndyCar, NASCAR, and oval racing in general, especially if they're LONG TIME F1 fans who are aware of F1 drivers' participation in the Indy 500, etc... than the sports car purists). In the latter years of the IndyCar split, you would always hear the Champ Car fans boasting how their cars were much "cooler" than IndyCar had (and Paul Tracy became a hero to them for calling the IRL cars 'crapwagons' even though very few on either side liked Tracy until 2002 or 2003) and in the latter years of the sports car split, ALMS fans boasted how much 'sexier' their cars were than what Grand-Am had. I don't understand why sexiness is important. It's how the car performs. Yes, the Grand-Am Daytona Prototypes and IRL cars were slower relative to international standards than the ALMS/Champ Car cars were, but ALMS/Champ Car tended to have lower car counts and more ride-buyers than Grand-Am/IRL did (although both of them had some awful ride-buyers to be fair). I just don't think there are very many series that can *afford* advanced technology now (in an era when the economy is much worse than it was in the '90s and racing series could afford to split and still retain full-size grids, and tobacco sponsorship is no longer allowed, and newer generations are much less likely to be 'gearheads'...I'm a newer generation and definitely not a gearhead, I pathetically don't even know how to drive a car yet). I personally think the driver shines in spec racing more than in open racing, and since the best and most efficient designs are already known, it's unlikely in an open-spec series that the cars would even look different enough to begin with to get the general public to care. Having said that, I guess at this point I prefer spec racing until there's enough sponsorship to ensure different cars WITHOUT having to see talented drivers frozen out because teams have to hire ride-buyers to justify the expense of building their own equipment, and that may never happen again. I know how 'cool' cars are is a dealbreaker to a lot of sports car fans and they claim they'd start watching again (probably even NASCAR and IndyCar) if the cars were less spec. But how many are there? 0.2% of the population? Does IndyCar's rating thus go up from 0.4 on NBC Sports network to 0.6? Is that enough to attract any sponsors? The only way to get non-spec cars is probably for greatly increased investment from the automakers (yet it seems Ford for one is in general pulling out of racing, not entering it, because it doesn't think it's cost-effective), yet the snooty racing purists who continue to make fun of how ugly the IndyCar and NASCAR cars and Daytona Prototypes are don't seem to have any answers of how to make 'sexy' cars cheap enough to have a grid of more than 3 or 4 of them on the track (except in Europe where there does seem to be a market for it). Jordan Taylor is my favorite driver in racing, and in addition to finding him more hilarious than any other race car driver period at the moment, I enjoy him trolling the ALMS fans who seem to hate everything but still watch without having any answers on how to have high-tech with there not being enough money to justify it. I'm not proud of it, but he races both Daytona Prototypes AND at Le Mans in cooler cars and he seems to think RACING is cool in general rather than just whatever car he happens to be driving. That to me is the more likable position, and I like that he is willing to listen to/argue with the fans (AND somehow not let it affect his driving success at all). With the loss of tobacco money and every racing series being lower-rated, there might not be the money for high-tech (outside of Europe at least) at all, so I can see why racing purists are frustrated but on the flip side, there are certain things I see as dealbreakers too. I don't see why having every race score the same number of points is now considered 'antiquated', so in that regard I guess I'm just as much of a stick-in-the-mud purist but I do think the best drivers ultimately shine whether the series is spec or not, so I guess that doesn't bother me, while having races score different numbers of points makes it less likely the best drivers will be reflected by the points system. "Hendrick is/was insanely strong just as Ganassi was, but there were more than one seasons when Jimmie was totally unbeatable, let it be regular season or the chase. Dario was just around 1st place in points when others choked or he got "outside help". Two TOTALLY different resumes. Johnson, despite my utter dislike towards him, is one of NASCAR's top 10 drivers ever, a future HoF member." Absolutely agree. Jimmie perpetually looked invincible. Dario looked like he was beatable every year and then got perpetually lucky (2 of his 4 titles won on fuel mileage?! And people think Jimmie is a valid comparison?) Jimmie certainly got lucky that his team figured out the proper strategy in the Chase (focus on the tracks in the Chase and ignore all the others) before everyone else. Yes, I think Jimmie would only have about 3 titles without the Chase, but he'd still have some, and he has a much better record than Dario. "Dario is nothing compared to people like Tom Sneva, hell I'd even put Bourdais in front of him. Yet, 9 from 10 listings of "da bezzt AOW drivers" will have him in the top 5..." While Franchitti is worse than Johnson, I still think I'd probably take him over Sneva (who had minimal road racing ability and got fired from Penske after having a winless championship season) or Bourdais (who had even less competition and didn't do much against a united field). 1281. racefangurl posted: 01.03.2015 - 7:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) NASCAR has some smiley guys, but only a few. Some of my favorite drivers are among the smiley contingent. So I think the joy can still be found in NASCAR, even if it's more the exception. Maybe I'm biased, because of what I said about my favorites and the smiley NASCAR drivers. Or is the joy as you called it about more than just some driver that walks around Daytona with a grin on face? 1282. MAR posted: 01.04.2015 - 10:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (2) Only two out six of Jimmie Johnson's championships where legit 2006 and 2013 the other four were flukes where they cought fire during the stupid chase. As for Dario how is it his fault that his competitors choke when championships and races are on the line so again im having a hard time believing he is overrated. 1283. Hinch77 posted: 01.04.2015 - 10:52 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "NASCAR has some smiley guys, but only a few. Some of my favorite drivers are among the smiley contingent. So I think the joy can still be found in NASCAR, even if it's more the exception. Maybe I'm biased, because of what I said about my favorites and the smiley NASCAR drivers. Or is the joy as you called it about more than just some driver that walks around Daytona with a grin on face? " ¡¿Qué?! 1284. We need more Onion posted: 01.04.2015 - 11:21 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "As for Dario how is it his fault that his competitors choke when championships and races are on the line so again im having a hard time believing he is overrated. " If you win against no/weak opposition and are rated amongst the very best, then you are overrated. And in 2011 he lost all his remaining credibility with being a total douchebag. He never was a racer as good as any of the 3 Unsers, Johncock, the 2 Andrettis... He lacked consistency throughout a season, only maintained once, his luck was that his opponents were the same or worse. And even when they were better (2007; 2011), then favoritism helped Franchitti. 1285. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 01.04.2015 - 12:26 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Only two out six of Jimmie Johnson's championships where legit 2006 and 2013 the other four were flukes where they cought fire during the stupid chase." In 2008 and 2009 they were unstoppable. No one beats them those years. In 2009 they would have clinched one week early then they should have. All of his 6 are legit, unless you wish too walk a slippery slop with no possible point of return. If you want too debate any of them, you can debate 2010 and 2013. 2010 when the spoiler came back they lost something. The 11 bunch were better then they were. Only thing that prevented them from winning it where Mike Fords fuel blunder at PIR and Hamlin wrecking himself at Homestead early in the race. When all Hamlin had too at Homestead was keep the 48 in sight the whole race and he wins it. 2013 the 20 team was better then they were too. But like the 11 crew 3 years earlier, screwed themselves over by COMPLETELY missing the set-up instead of screwing up fuel mileage. 1286. racefangurl posted: 01.04.2015 - 2:48 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Ok, you guys, 1281 was a reference to what Sean said about NASCAR and the joy, in post 1280. 1287. Scott B posted: 01.05.2015 - 2:10 am Rate this comment: (2) (1) "Only two out six of Jimmie Johnson's championships where legit 2006 and 2013 the other four were flukes where they cought fire during the stupid chase." Or, was the #48 team just quick to adapt to using the first 26 races as preparation for the final 10 when the chase format was introduced? I don't hear a lot of talk about Tony Stewart's 2011 championship being a fluke, how would that be different? 1288. Hinch77 posted: 01.05.2015 - 5:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) "I don't hear a lot of talk about Tony Stewart's 2011 championship being a fluke, how would that be different?" Welcome to earth. How long were you under that rock again? Apparently you missed the very rampant discussion of how that was the weakest title since Bill Rexford. 1289. The Incredible Mister the Man posted: 01.05.2015 - 7:21 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Read Betty Boles Ellison's "The History of Stock Car Racing," and you will never view NASCAR the same again. 1290. Scott B posted: 01.05.2015 - 11:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Welcome to earth. How long were you under that rock again? Apparently you missed the very rampant discussion of how that was the weakest title since Bill Rexford." Well, you've got me there, I wasn't really paying attention to any racing forums till I found this one. I should have guessed that a large part of the fan base would be angry when someone other than their guy is winning, no matter who it is that's on a hot streak. 1291. The Long Shot posted: 01.05.2015 - 12:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Eric McClure will run full-time for JGL Racing in the Xfinity Series next year, with Hefty returning as his sponsor. 1292. Kubica Fan Ireland posted: 01.05.2015 - 1:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The thing about Jimmie Johnson and his 6 titles is that while he may not have scored the most points over the 36 races, he has been 5 to 6 titles better than everyone he has competed with over the 13 seasons he has been in Nascar. He scored the most points in 2006,2009 and 2013. Most people would agree he was head and shoulders above the competition in the latter 2, while 2006 was a pretty weak year. But Johnson and Knaus are alleged to sandbag in the first 26 races of the year, and while it is true that they step it up substantially in the chase, the 48 HAS NEVER BEEN LOWER THAN 5TH after the 26 race cut off point. That statistic includes this year where the 48 was fifth behind the 24, 2, 22 and 88 after Richmond. This while the 48 does "not care" about the first 26 races. The 48 only finished lower than fourth in points once prior to this year if you add points based on the season long method. Traditionally 36 race method 2002= 5th 2003=2nd 2004=2nd 2005=3rd 2006=1st 2007=2nd 2008=2nd 2009=1st 2010=2nd 2011=4th 2012=3rd 2013=1st 2014=9th average points finish 2.84 chase systems 2004=2nd 2005=5th 2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2013 =1st 2011=6th 2012=3rd 2014=11th plus 5th and second from WC era= average points finish 3.07 Richard Petty achieved 13 top2 points finishes (7 titles and 6 Runner ups). Additionally he scored 2 third place finishes. Johnson at the half way point of his career (10 seasons) had 8 top3 points finishes and 7 top2 points finishes useing the season long method. Meaning that he has an opportunity to come close to equaling Petty in these categories when more teams run each week. Since then Johnson has scored the 3rd most points in 2012 and the most in 2013. I know this sort of comparison is flawed since the season long points debate has been made redundant since the chase, but I am trying to illustrate that the 48 has still been historically as consistent as any team in Nascar in the past 30 years if not longer in terms of year by year consistency. 1293. Hinch77 posted: 01.05.2015 - 2:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sad news: Jean-Pierre Beltoise passed away this morning at his vacation home in Dakar. 1294. An Aussie Commentator posted: 01.05.2015 - 5:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Sad news: Jean-Pierre Beltoise passed away this morning at his vacation home in Dakar" Jean-Pierre Beltoise, that name rings a bell. I can't remember where though. 1295. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 01.05.2015 - 5:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I should have guessed that a large part of the fan base would be angry when someone other than their guy is winning, no matter who it is that's on a hot streak." Happens quite freqently with this fan base. "Traditionally 36 race method 2002= 5th 2003=2nd 2004=2nd 2005=3rd 2006=1st 2007=2nd 2008=2nd 2009=1st 2010=2nd 2011=4th 2012=3rd 2013=1st 2014=9th average points finish 2.84" Heavens above that is mind blowing. 5 runner up finishes in the points? His Chase average points is only slightly worse WITH the Chase. Getting rid of the Chase isn't going too fix a damn thing, the 48 will still be there. Think this further proves Jimmies greatness. (IMHO) 1296. The Long Shot posted: 01.05.2015 - 6:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Some kind of bad silly season news: apparently one of the BK Racing co-owners said in an interview that Alex Bowman will return to the team in 2015. I guess he didn't get the MWR ride after all. The owner did say that he doesn't know about Cole Whitt's future plans, so maybe he'll end up getting the opportunity instead. Also, David Gilliland will return to FRM next year. 1297. Hinch77 posted: 01.05.2015 - 6:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jean-Pierre Beltoise won the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix, the last win in F1 for BRM and the only F1 win for himself as a driver. 1298. murb posted: 01.05.2015 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Some kind of bad silly season news: apparently one of the BK Racing co-owners said in an interview that Alex Bowman will return to the team in 2015. I guess he didn't get the MWR ride after all." It turns out that whole MWR thing was a hoax. Some idiot made a fake Alex Bowman Twitter account and posted that he had conversations with MWR. Oh well. Hopefully he can get a few more NXS races for JRM or something to sort of balance out having to waste time in one of BK's pieces of trash. 1299. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 01.05.2015 - 8:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A good piece of off-season news: "After spending millions of dollars on upgrades and hosting several successful racing events, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) is ready for the next level. It is thought that 2015 will see NASCAR's newly re-branded Xfinity Series (formerly Nationwide) announce plans to take another try at an event north of the border, this time at the legendary 10-turn, 3.957-kilometre road course in Bowmanville, Ont., CTMP hosts its third NASCAR Camping World Truck series race this summer and promises to serve up the fantastic racing that the first two have delivered. In addition, this year's instalment goes on an off weekend for Sprint Cup, so some of the top NASCAR stars like Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch may show up for the race. And, who knows, maybe even CTMP co-owner Ron Fellows will venture out of retirement to try for one more NASCAR win at a circuit he also owns figuratively." Posted form a forum i frequent more so then here. 1300. KennyWallaceFan posted: 01.05.2015 - 11:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What site is that 1995 subaru? It's hard for me to find too many good racing forums. Also did anyone find that the no call in the Cowboys, Lions game kind of fishy. I've never seen someone throw the flag and then pick it up. Anyone with a brain could tell that that it was pass interference. If that play was called, the Lions most likely would of won the game. Also Dez Bryant ran onto the field right after the play. And the NFL get's their panties in a bunch whenever someone does that, and that was also never called. Maybe it's just me, but after what happen with the Patriots I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that Jerry Jones or someone else paid off the refs before the game. I mean how can the NFL stop that? There really isn't a way. And Jerry Jones is what, a billionaire? I don't know the whole thing just seemed extremely fishy to me. 1301. The Long Shot posted: 01.06.2015 - 1:07 am Rate this comment: (1) (3) "What site is that 1995 subaru? It's hard for me to find too many good racing forums." Don't know if the webmaster allows people to link to other forums; I think he has before, but I may be wrong. (You're right on that last point, though: I'm on one other racing forum myself, but don't post often because their discussions tend to be considerably less intelligent than those here. Not to mention that the users there are so conservative that they would make our resident Republicans in Hinch77 and Zackary Shawn blush.) "Also did anyone find that the no call in the Cowboys, Lions game kind of fishy. I've never seen someone throw the flag and then pick it up. Anyone with a brain could tell that that it was pass interference. If that play was called, the Lions most likely would of won the game. Also Dez Bryant ran onto the field right after the play. And the NFL get's their panties in a bunch whenever someone does that, and that was also never called. Maybe it's just me, but after what happen with the Patriots I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that Jerry Jones or someone else paid off the refs before the game. I mean how can the NFL stop that? There really isn't a way. And Jerry Jones is what, a billionaire? I don't know the whole thing just seemed extremely fishy to me." Discussed that a lot on another forum I'm on; while I disagree with the call on that play, Detroit had a LOT of calls go their way for most of the afternoon. Add that to the fact that they scored 6 points through the final three quarters, and it's hard for me to say that this penalty "cost them the game". 1302. racefangurl posted: 01.06.2015 - 9:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I go to Beyond The Track. It has fan fiction in it, though. Even though there's more to it than just that, I don't know if it would appeal to people here. If you see this 1995 Subaru, just post the name of your other forum, but not the web address. People have mentioned Racers Reunion in the same way, so I bet you will see this. 1303. jabber1990 posted: 01.06.2015 - 11:39 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Bob Osborne is going to be Trevor Bayne's crew cheif 1304. An Aussie Commentator posted: 01.06.2015 - 6:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks like Baldwin is dropping to 1 full-time car, and with Jay Robinson Racing taking the second car over for most events I think that means most likely the #66 will not return for this season. 1305. murb posted: 01.06.2015 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I think that's actually a really good idea to pair Trevor with Bob Osbourne. That seems like it could be a really good combination down the line. I like it. The one that they announced that is really puzzling to me is what they're doing with Stenhouse. He's gonna have his third different crew chief in three seasons, and it's gonna be Nick Sandler (former #99 engineer, I guess), a guy who has never been a crew chief before (which I think is a really bad idea for young drivers - rookie crew chiefs can work for veteran drivers, as we saw last year with Jamie McMurray, but almost never for young/inexperienced drivers - Stewart and Zipadelli were the exception, not the normality). I think it's pretty clear to almost everyone that Stenhouse just isn't as good as we all originally thought (he pretty much went from "he kind of reminds me of Ernie Irvan" in his NNS days to "he REALLY reminds me of Brian Vickers" almost as soon as he got to Cup), but at the same time, changing his crew chief every year definitely isn't helping him. So basically, even though I was never too optimistic about how Stenhouse would do in 2015 to begin with, now I REALLY think he's gonna have a bad year. I think this move only furthers my belief that Stenhouse is done at Roush at the end of the year. If he couldn't establish chemistry in Cup with his former NNS title winning crew chief Mike Kelley, then I don't think there's any chance in hell he's gonna do it with this new guy who has never been a crew chief before. Roush now has two total studs in his driver development program in Chris Buescher and Bubba Wallace, so it's pretty clear that Stenhouse is the odd man out. So if he has another horrendous season (and again, with yet another crew chief change I don't see how he won't), I think he's out at Roush at the end of the year, probably with Chris Buescher taking over the #17 in 2016 (I think Buescher will definitely be in Cup before Bubba - Bubba will probably run a couple of years in NXS and then take over the #16 once Biffle leaves/retires - or maybe a revamped #99). 1306. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 01.06.2015 - 8:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "What site is that 1995 subaru? It's hard for me to find too many good racing forums." "If you see this 1995 Subaru, just post the name of your other forum, but not the web address. People have mentioned Racers Reunion in the same way, so I bet you will see this." Too be frank with both of you. What happens on here and what happens on the other forum. Are two different things. I've been with most of those folks since 2007 since SPEED channel had a forum (which quickly went too s**t). We do not mind new people, however they do not post very much. And moderators are VERY active on the forum. One moderator has nearly 9,000 posts since the forum started in October of 2012 (when the SPEED forum finally shut down.) Either you follow the rules or you do not. There is no middle ground. 1307. The Long Shot posted: 01.07.2015 - 2:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) On a more serious note, RIP to those killed in the Paris shootings. Religion is never an excuse for killing, and hopefully they catch those sons of bitches and bring the full weight of justice down upon them. In lighter news. Blake Koch will drive the #8 for Tri-Star Motorsports full-time next season. 1308. racefangurl posted: 01.07.2015 - 4:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bob Osborne is a very good crew chief, I've been told. So murb might be right. He's experienced, so that could be good for Trevor in his first year full-time in the Cup. 1309. Eric posted: 01.07.2015 - 8:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The concern with Bob Osborne to me is how his health or was that really a pr spin at the time. I am bringing this up because Bob left the 99 crew chief position with him claiming it was health reasons at the time in 2012. 1310. jabber1990 posted: 01.08.2015 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I have been away from this site for a while (obviously) so I want to say a few things I don't know if this has been said before but I wonder if Sadler is the veteran presence that RFR needs. have they had a veteran in his Xfinity cars in a few years? also I think its been established on here once before that RFR runs better when he has more cars. Remember he had 5 cup cars make the chase and he also had 3.5 Xfinity cars and 2 trucks right? or am I getting my years confused? Bubba Wallace had spoke to Roush in the late fall, so I think he knew in advance that he may not have had a ride for next year. I would love to see JRM build a truck team, nothing against KBM but I think another team with an infinite supply of money would be good for the truck series, it would give KBM a run for its money. and would put eyeballs on the Truck series and hopefully put more money into the series. also since KBM, JRM, MWR are all future superteams I think this is a great introduction 1311. racefangurl posted: 01.09.2015 - 9:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 2011 was the last time Roush regularly had a non-developmental driver in a Nationwide/Xfinity* car. Carl Edwards was in the series just once in 2012, at a sponsor's request. 2013 and 2014, it was all about the young and/or inexperienced. I take what you're saying is Sadler's a bit like Carl Edwards was in 2011, except a series regular. Of Chris Buescher, Elliott Sadler and Bubba Wallace, which one will be the best Roush Xfinity driver? I thin Ryan Reed may go to a lesser team after his contract's up, unless he picks up the pace. I call him Slowpoke. Someone said on social media, Trevor may not be done with the Xfinity series. Maybe he'd drop down at Bristol or somewhere. Bristol's a prime place for him to do that as it's like a hometown track, almost, to him. At least, that's my thought path. The only way it would happen this year would be if Bubba just ran a partial schedule, with a Cup driver in the car the rest of the time. Say Bubba had 20 races and Ricky and Trevor had the rest. How many races Bubba will run in this year seems undecided yet. *represents an attempt to reflect the series name then and now. 1312. Hinch77 posted: 01.09.2015 - 10:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why must the US bid for every single Olympics and World Cup? I love those events, but the USOC's arrogance is evident... most countries wait 10-20 years between bids, and then there's the US and Russia, who both expect to host all Olympics and World Cups for eternity... That said, if the US had an Olympic games, and I had the money, I'd go. I am a HUGE HUGE hypocrite :B 1313. jabber1990 posted: 01.09.2015 - 2:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) arrogance. and possible nationalism its an honor to host the Olympics. the US has the money to host the Olympics, World Cup, etc. I have a few pictures of the Maverick Center where the 2002 Olympics took place. a lot of those ski slopes and stuff outside of Salt Lake City still exist and have been turned into resorts where many of the Hollywood actors/actresses (many we've mentioned on this site) go I used to work for a company that was based in Salt Lake City so there is still a lot of Salt Lake 2002 stuff all over the place even though I was there August 2012 1314. racefangurl posted: 01.09.2015 - 3:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I live not real far from Lake Placid, which has had Olympics. Well, Winter Olympics, anyway. 1315. MAR posted: 01.09.2015 - 10:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So far the upcoming truck series season seems like its goin to be the weakest its ever been competition wise. Only Nemco Motorsports is making a leap to be more competitive no one else has even tried. 1316. racefangurl posted: 01.10.2015 - 6:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truck races are on cable most of the time, so I can't watch. If one happens to be on FOX. Some of the drivers I like used to race Trucks, but have moved on. I watch Trucks as a race fan, those rare occasions I can. 1317. David posted: 01.10.2015 - 7:27 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "I am a HUGE HUGE hypocrite :B" I wouldn't worry. We all are at times. 1318. racefangurl posted: 01.11.2015 - 8:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Five weeks to the Sprint Unlimited. Six weeks to the Daytona 500. 1319. We need more Onion posted: 01.12.2015 - 11:47 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I like the new look of the Dream Machine a lot. Not too big of a difference to the 2014 one, but that light blue touch just looks great in the new Camry. 1320. murb posted: 01.12.2015 - 2:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) JRM will field a Truck team for 10 races with Cole Custer driving. It sounds like it's basically the same team/situation Custer had last year, except it will be fielded by JRM. 1321. Sector posted: 01.12.2015 - 10:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) At the beginning of the 2014 season, I once mentioned I would like to see Tony Stewart win the championship. Why? He drove the 20 car to two championships (2002 & 2005) as well as winning the 2011 championship in the 14 car. What year was it? 20 + 14 = 2014. Looks like I wasn't that far off, Kevin Harvick managed to win it, giving Tony his 2nd owner's championship in the #4 (since the number is also in the year, I think its all fate to be honest, or as I would like to call it, destiny). 1322. Zackary Shawn posted: 01.13.2015 - 1:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, the Kurt Busch ordeal has taken a very strange turn all of a sudden. Busch basically says Patricia Driscoll is a trained assassin who went on at least one mission to kill someone while they were on vacation overseas. 1323. Hinch77 posted: 01.13.2015 - 3:19 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) ^I don't care what Kurt did or didn't do at Dover, this much is certain: He is NUTS!!! 1324. racefangurl posted: 01.13.2015 - 3:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kooky Kurt. He should be banned from NASCAR if he said that. 1325. dennyfan11 posted: 01.13.2015 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 3 words. WHAT. THE HELL. He obviously is not in very good mental health... 1326. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 01.13.2015 - 5:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You think Kurt is crazy? Here is what his exxey said about what she was going too do too him ""I will destroy him," Richard Andrew Sniffen quoted Driscoll as telling him, adding that she repeatedly said she would take Busch down." They are both crazy. 1327. Walter White posted: 01.13.2015 - 8:36 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Anyone else got that Bang Bang song from Kill Bill stuck on their mind? This is all very very funny. Kurt Busch is awesome. I wish I had a crazy assassin girlfriend. 1328. Kurt Busch's Assassin posted: 01.14.2015 - 12:03 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Trust me I am not crazy. 1329. Cooper posted: 01.14.2015 - 12:04 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) So this took a huge plot twist... 1330. BMan0213 posted: 01.14.2015 - 5:11 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Yeah so BKR anounced it's truck line up yesterday lol The 19 will be Tyler Reddick for the whole season and 29 will consist of Brad, Joey, Ryan Blaney, and Austin Theriault. Theriault will be driving 13 of the 23 races. Really like how Brad runs his program. Yeah he has Cup guys drive sometimes but he gives the majority of the races to the young kids. 1331. The Long Shot posted: 01.14.2015 - 8:20 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow. Both Busch and Driscoll need to get serious help, and for his sake I hope Kurt never drives again. Mental health issues are nothing to joke about and should never be taken lightly. 1332. DaleSrFanForever posted: 01.14.2015 - 9:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I just came back to say the following after hearing the latest on the Kurt situation: YIKES! 1333. The Long Shot posted: 01.14.2015 - 11:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I know The Orange Cone isn't considered a notable "insider" in the NASCAR world, but his recent tweets seem to indicate that there's some big news coming out of Delaware (according to him, apparently involving trained assassins and "substitute drivers"). Just speculating, but it appears as though Kurt Busch's NASCAR career may be finished. 1334. DaleSrFanForever posted: 01.14.2015 - 12:48 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Ok, I have some major questions about this Kurt Busch insanity (some of which I have touched on before the recent mind boggling allegations): -if she was so concerned about Kurt being mentally unstable and in a bad state, why did she bring her 8 year old son with her and put him in the danger she perceived? -if she is a trained assassin taking down dangerous enemies of America, how did she get beaten up by Kurt Freaking Busch? -if she has been working on this screen play for 8 years, and are serious enough about it that it has been proofread so it isn't just a part time hobby, at what point do you just say "this obviously isn't working"? I mean, it didn't take Mark Twain that long to write Hucklebery Finn. -how quickly do the Zero Dark Thirty folks get a release out saying we have never had anything to do with these wackos? Did they crash their servers trying to rush this out? -has any organization that just won the championship other than Blue Max in 1990 had more questions than SHR for 2015? They have Tony's pending civil suit and state of mind, this now with Kurt, and Danica being Danica. (AKR in '93 doesn't count, they had no idea what was gonna happen on April 1) -does Jeff Gordon ever dust his Winston Cup championship trophies? Cause if he doesn't, they are completely covered by now. -if your date leaves in the middle of the night and comes back in a blood soaked evening gown, at what point do you say "alright, this ain't for me"? Was she that good in bed that you can over look that? -if you are Kurt, why would you call out a government assassin publicly? He is gonna wind up going Jimmy Hoffa on us. 1335. The Long Shot posted: 01.14.2015 - 12:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Orange Cone is now saying that he expects Kurt Busch to be suspended by NASCAR. 1336. startandparkfan posted: 01.14.2015 - 3:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't even know what to say besides what the hell. 1337. startandparkfan posted: 01.14.2015 - 3:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Coming Soon- What happens when a NASCAR driver finds out his girlfriend is a trained assassin for the government? Find out in NASassin, starring some movie stars that nobody cares about! 1338. murb posted: 01.14.2015 - 4:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm pretty much with Subaru. They both seem to be total psychos. If this is the end for Kurt in Nascar, then honestly, I can't help but feel at least a little bit bad for him. RIGHT when he climbs his way back to the top with a legit team (I was seriously expecting some good things out of him with Tony Gibson after seeing how they finished up 2014) after the whole Penske debacle and the Ricky Bobby style fall from grace, all of this happens. I've never been a fan of him and he has done and said a lot of rage-inducing things over the years (and IF all of this is true about him physically assaulting Driscoll, as psychotic as she seems to be, obviously that doesn't improve my respect level for him), but I can't help but feel at least slightly bad for him as far as the timing for all of this goes. I really think he was getting ready to have his best year in a while this year. As Long Shot said though, he does seem to still have some type of major lingering issues, so it probably is best to not have him in a race car. I really hope he is able to get help and turn his life/mental state/whatever around, and I REALLY hope this doesn't turn into Leeroy Yarbrough 2.0 or something similar at some point down the line. That would be absolutely heartbreaking. "They have Tony's pending civil suit and state of mind" Ugh, really don't want to get into this, but don't you think this would have happened already if it was going to happen? It's been five months since the accident, so you'd think in the last month or two they would have done it if they were going to. It makes zero sense to wait this long or longer to file a civil suit (and even if they did, all of the pull they had went out the window when it was discovered that Ward was under the influence). So I have no idea why you're still getting your hopes up on this. That said, I agree with you about SHR having a ridiculous amount of uncertainty. Tony is just about totally washed up at this point and clearly still hasn't recovered from his gnarly leg injury (and yeah, obviously the mental effects of the Ward thing have not helped), so I think his time as a top-tier driver are already getting smaller in the rear view mirror. I think he'll probably still drive full time for a couple more years and probably run sporadically/part time for a while after that, but yeah, he's done. I'd be shocked if he won more than one more race (and I wouldn't be shocked at all if he doesn't even win once more). And yeah, you're right about the rest of the team too. Danica is probably going to be even worse this year since they're keeping her with Daniel Knost (a crew chief that has less experience than she does), the uncertainty around the #41 is now pretty glaring (if Kurt is out, PLEASE pick Cassill or Bowman), and I even expect Harvick to have a "Keselowski 2013" style hangover (though maybe not AS bad as Brad in 2013 - I guess maybe more like Bobby Labonte 2001). But yes, things aren't looking good for SHR for the foreseeable future. I think they really blew it by not going out and getting one of these must-have young guys (Larson, Blaney, Bubba, Chase, etc). They have Cole Custer in the pipelines, who I think is really talented, but he's only like 16/17 years old. So unless they somehow poach one of these other guys (highly unlikely since they're all in pretty damn good situations), they're pretty much stuck with what they have in Cup for at least another two or three years. 1339. Anonymous posted: 01.14.2015 - 9:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I don't know who is more crazier. Based on what I know about the case, Driscoll shouldn't have any rights to her kid at this point until she gets help even if the kid's father is just as wacko. If the dad is wacko also, the 8 year old kid should go to a family member that is sane and can financially support the 8 year. Driscoll really showed who she really is. She is nuts and also conniving. According to TMZ, The "Pocket Commando" youtube video actually is a pitch for a tv reality show. I admit Kurt is nuts also. 1340. racefangurl posted: 01.14.2015 - 10:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Someone said on Yahoo! once Kyle Busch might be bipolar and Kurt Busch has an anger issue. Is there any condition that's manifested through anger issues? Or more than one? 1341. BMan0213 posted: 01.15.2015 - 1:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah I really don't think Kurt is finished like some of you do.There was one witness who already said Driscoll showed up t his motor home after the alleged assault took place and said he did not see any marks on her. Yes if this does end up going to court Kurt will probably end up missing races, but once he gets off (which I'm pretty sure he will) he'll be back in the car. As for the driver to fill in for him while he's out, my guess is it would be Regan Smith. 1342. racefangurl posted: 01.15.2015 - 8:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Chase is with JR Motorsports and so is Regan Smith. As a Hendrick satellite, SHR would use one of them to replace Kurt probably. JR Motorsports, being a Hendrick developmental team or at this the closest thing to this, could farm Chase out to SHR. Apart from this scenario, SHR as no shot at a must-have young driver. 1343. Smiff_2 posted: 01.15.2015 - 11:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Alright, not to change the subject away from Kurt's drama, is anybody else a little perplexed by NASCAR's new officiating deal on pit road? I the blurb about it on Jayski yesterday. This is what is says: "A new, technologically driven system that incorporates the use of 45 cameras will feed video of every stop made by every team to a central location, where eight officials will log pertinent information and report any violations. How will it work? Each of the cameras will display two specific pit stalls. Once a car is on pit road, the individual cameras will record its progress as it moves through each area. The use of tracking software and pit road scoring loops identifies and verifies each car. That same system software tracking its movement will indicate any infractions, such as too many men over the wall or driving through too many pit boxes when entering or exiting the pits based on information ingested prior to the event. If there are no infractions logged by the system, one of the eight officials will still monitor the stop, noting the number of tires taken, whether fuel was added and whether any changes (chassis adjustments or repair to a damaged area, for example) to the car were made." How are 8 people going to monitor 25-30+ pit stops at once? Maybe I'm missing something here, but it seems like they should have at least double that amount of people watching. 1344. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 01.16.2015 - 10:56 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Appearently Keith Olbermann pissed off the NASCAR faithful. He was making comments about the whole Kurt Busch/ Ex thing and pissing people off (because that is what he does) and Jimmie responded with : "Ok Keith, we get it. Your not a fan. That is your choice. But for the benefit of us all. Go away. Thank you." Then Keith went after Jimmie. BSPN shows their true colors by keeping that prat around. 1345. An Aussie Commentator posted: 01.16.2015 - 4:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cole Whitt off to Front Row Motorsports. 1346. We need more Onion posted: 01.16.2015 - 7:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not a good ride by any means, but a stable team and certainly a HUGE improvement from BK. Look out for Cole in Richmond, Martinsville and Bristol. 1347. racefangurl posted: 01.16.2015 - 10:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Someone called Keith Olberman "Nobody" on social media. 1348. Anonymous posted: 01.17.2015 - 12:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Xfinity -Blake Koch to run the full schedule in the #8 for TriStar Motorsports -Derek White to run Carl Long's #13 at Daytona -Mike Bliss returns in the TriStar Motorsports #19 -Eric McClure in the #24 full time for JGL Racing -Kyle Larson and Dylan Kwasniewski to split the Chip Ganassi Racing #42 -Dakoda Armstrong returns in the Richard Petty Motorsports #43 -Joey Gase in another full schedule in the #52 for Jimmy Means Racing -Harrison Rhodes to run a full schedule for JD Motorsports Trucks: -Cole Custer to drive 10 races in the Jr. Motorsports #00 -Tyler Young in another full season in the #02 -Ray Black Jr. in the SS/Green Light Racing #07 full-time -Ben Kennedy to the #11 for Red Horse Racing -Mason Mingus back in the #15 for Billy Boat Motorsports -Tyler Reddick in Brad Keselowski Racing's #19 full-time with Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and Austin Theriault splitting the #29 -Brandon Jones in 16 races in the GMS Racing #33 -Jake Griffin to drive the #63 for MB Motorsports at Martinsville 1349. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 01.17.2015 - 11:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Someone called Keith Olberman "Nobody" on social media." He is an un-educated nobody. I wish it was Jimmie but that isn't who Jimmie is. Although i will admit, if this stuff keeps up, he'll say something that will get peoples attention. 1350. Sean posted: 01.17.2015 - 3:27 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Appearently Keith Olbermann pissed off the NASCAR faithful. He was making comments about the whole Kurt Busch/ Ex thing and pissing people off (because that is what he does) and Jimmie responded with : 'Ok Keith, we get it. Your not a fan. That is your choice. But for the benefit of us all. Go away. Thank you.'" He WAS a fan. He and Dan Patrick helped popularize NASCAR on SportsCenter via Dick Trickle. I think he just thinks (as I do) that today's top NASCAR drivers are cartoon characters who don't seem like real people when compared to the '90s working class NASCAR drivers which seemed much more in the NASCAR tradition. "He is an un-educated nobody." Oh come on now, really? He has an Ivy League degree (Cornell) and started there when he was 16 years old. I'm pretty sure he wrote a book on MLB managers when he was a teenager. Now I agree that I don't like him as a political pundit because we have too many people like him, Michael Moore, Ann Coulter, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, etc... running around spouting off garbage, manipulating facts, pandering to their base, and convincing people that "the other side" holds more extreme views than they actually do. I do miss the breed of more analytical pundits who while still manipulative at least attempt to make arguments that don't condescend and don't pander, arguments that truly could challenge or engage the other side rather than argue point blank that everyone on the wrong side is evil or something. We need more Paul Krugmans on the left and fewer Keith Olbermanns and Michael Moores, and more George Wills on the right instead of Ann Coulters and Rush Limbaughs. At least Krugman and Will don't automatically assume their opponents are idiots, although even both of them do it more than I'd like. But I think to insinuate that any of these people are stupid is wrong. They all know exactly what they are doing. I would say they are all obnoxious. It just comes with the territory. As a sports reporter, I think Olbermann is really good and he's back where he belongs and I think several of his clips on his new show have been great such as when he just called out the NCAA for giving Joe Paterno his wins back, in which I completely agree with him. Sure, he's obnoxious even as a sports reporter, but at least he's talented at THAT. I'm not sure if I'd say he was talented as a newsman, but these days reporters of all stripes are egotistical blowhards and at least he admits it as opposed to some of them who pretend they're not. I'm not a big fan of him, but to call him an uneducated nobody (just because you disagree with his politics or his delivery?) is wrong. I hate that he uses his brains for evil (to manipulate people) but doesn't almost EVERYONE in the media do that at this point? 1351. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 01.17.2015 - 4:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I'm not a big fan of him, but to call him an uneducated nobody (just because you disagree with his politics or his delivery?) is wrong. I hate that he uses his brains for evil (to manipulate people) but doesn't almost EVERYONE in the media do that at this point?" I avoid politics like the plague Sean, it was his delivery. There is always a different way too do things. "Oh come on now, really? He has an Ivy League degree (Cornell) and started there when he was 16 years old. I'm pretty sure he wrote a book on MLB managers when he was a teenager." Just because he went too Cornell does mean he has too act like a smart ass. He should stick baseball, i could listen Keith talking about baseball all damn day. "I think he just thinks (as I do) that today's top NASCAR drivers are cartoon characters who don't seem like real people" Oh come on now Sean, give me a break. They ARE real people, they have problems like the rest of us do. They even do much GOOD that never gets covered by the media. And the media protraits them as cartoon characters. 1352. Hinch77 posted: 01.17.2015 - 6:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ""I think he just thinks (as I do) that today's top NASCAR drivers are cartoon characters who don't seem like real people" Oh come on now Sean, give me a break. They ARE real people, they have problems like the rest of us do. They even do much GOOD that never gets covered by the media. And the media protraits them as cartoon characters. " Having the intimate ties I have to the drivers and figures of the 50s, 60s, and 70s, modern NASCAR drivers are pretty pathetic, but not for the reasons you're thinking. 1353. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 01.17.2015 - 7:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Obviously I have not posted anywhere on this site for almost 2 months, but the Kurt deal brings me back to comment on it. WOW!!! That's about all I can say. This guy finds himself in the most bizzare situations, and I am not just calling out Kurt. This whole deal is fishy. It makes no sense and there doesn't seem to be any credible side. Why would Kurt's ex-girlfriend wait and press charges 2 months after the supposed abuse in the motorhome at Dover? Why would Kurt wait until NOW to say something if his ex-girlfriend really is an assassin? It seems like he would pick up on something that serious way before now. Regarding Keith Olbermann, I just gained respect for Jimmie Johnson (because of what he said to Keith)! That's something I thought I'd never say. 1354. racefangurl posted: 01.17.2015 - 8:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I considered motorsports to be sports when I was in elementary school. 1355. The Long Shot posted: 01.18.2015 - 2:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "Oh come on now, really? He has an Ivy League degree (Cornell) and started there when he was 16 years old. I'm pretty sure he wrote a book on MLB managers when he was a teenager. Now I agree that I don't like him as a political pundit because we have too many people like him, Michael Moore, Ann Coulter, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, etc... running around spouting off garbage, manipulating facts, pandering to their base, and convincing people that "the other side" holds more extreme views than they actually do. I do miss the breed of more analytical pundits who while still manipulative at least attempt to make arguments that don't condescend and don't pander, arguments that truly could challenge or engage the other side rather than argue point blank that everyone on the wrong side is evil or something. We need more Paul Krugmans on the left and fewer Keith Olbermanns and Michael Moores, and more George Wills on the right instead of Ann Coulters and Rush Limbaughs. At least Krugman and Will don't automatically assume their opponents are idiots, although even both of them do it more than I'd like. But I think to insinuate that any of these people are stupid is wrong. They all know exactly what they are doing. I would say they are all obnoxious. It just comes with the territory." That's the era of news media we live in, unfortunately. Intellectual discourse is completely thrown out the window in favor of "shock" statements intended to increase ratings and exposure. This is why people like Sean Hannity and Al Sharpton still have jobs. When the majority of young people are getting their news from late night comedy shows (such as Jon Stewart's, which I personally love, by the way), there's a major fundamental problem with the actual news providers themselves. The best thing you can do to these "shock" anchors is ignore them. As I suggest NASCAR fans do to Mr. Olbermann here. 1356. Hinch77 posted: 01.18.2015 - 4:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I completely agree with Jimmie's statement myself. He only made one mistake... Jimmie gave Olbermann what he wanted: an angry response from NASCAR-dom. With Olbermann, the best response is silence. 1357. racefangurl posted: 01.18.2015 - 4:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Two weeks of football. 5 weeks until the 500. 1358. murb posted: 01.18.2015 - 6:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As much as I've always hated Olbermann and thought he's overrated (people act like he's this great sports pundit/anchor, when in actuality I think Stuart Scott, Rich Eisen, Kenny Mayne, Dan Patrick, and Scott Van Pelt all totally kicked his ass on SportsCenter in my opinion), I do agree that all the Nascar fans and drivers trying to pick a fight with him are doing exactly what he wants (though I have to say I literally laughed out loud when I heard Rusty told him to "kiss my ass"). Just ignoring him would have been the best course of action here. "late night comedy shows (such as Jon Stewart's, which I personally love, by the way)" I used to like Stewart a lot, but in recent years it seems like he's stopped being funny and now just buys into his own hype. Like he truly thinks he's Walter Cronkite or something. I've noticed the same thing with Bill Maher too (though I'd still take Stewart over Maher - I've never liked Maher). To me Colbert is hands down the best "political satirist" or whatever you want to call it ever. In my mind nobody even touches him. Even though he was playing a character, I think he truly captured the essence of just what a joke ALL American politics is while simultaneously still being hilarious. Nobody else has even come close to that in my opinion (though I really do like what I've seen out of John Oliver - now that Colbert will be replacing Letterman with a non-political show, I'd say Oliver is now probably the best guy going in that political category now). 1359. racefangurl posted: 01.19.2015 - 10:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Last year, the start of the 24 Hours of Daytona was on FOX. I hope it is again this year. I haven't watched a race since that off-road truck race tape on CBS earlier this month. Saw a basketball game, though. 1360. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 01.19.2015 - 11:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor Update #1 Cessna / Beechcraft #55 Aaron's Own It http://nascarnumbersite.weebly.com/uploads/1/9/4/7/19471779/4228821.jpg?359 http://nascarnumbersite.weebly.com/uploads/1/9/4/7/19471779/6516189.jpg?363 1361. We need more Onion posted: 01.19.2015 - 2:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I know it's still almost a week, but I'm already pumped for the Daytona 24 Hours. Going to pull for the Taylors, Fisichella, Lally and the Turner team. I have no preference in the LMPC class. Just out of curiosity; How much live coverage will it get? 1362. jabber1990 posted: 01.19.2015 - 6:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) hey, this is the first time I've mentioned any sport other than NASCAR, so I have no idea if this comment is appropriate to share here I am reading about "deflategate" which makes me ask I thought the NFL was responsible for the balls? trusting the ball in the hands of the teams seems like an idea that won't go wrong in anyway I think Pat Mcaffee mentioned once that the home team used to put the ball in the microwave and mess with the ball so that they screw with the opposing team. obviously I don't know anything about sports so that's why I asked 1363. joey2448 posted: 01.20.2015 - 1:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Holy cow, what a game yesterday, eh?? Seahawks coming back in the final four minutes of regulation then winning it over the Packers in OT! That was one of the most phenomenal finishes to a game I've seen! So who you got in the Super Bowl? I'm thinking Seattle over the Pats 27-21. 1364. murb posted: 01.20.2015 - 4:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks like Michael Annett is gonna move over to a second HScott car and be teammates with Justin Allgaier. Kind of unexpected, but I actually like that move. That team showed a lot of promise with Allgaier last year, and Annett had quite a few impressive runs with Baldwin's team, so I think pairing those two up together at HScott should result in more good runs for them and that team. 1365. murb posted: 01.20.2015 - 4:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, this year's Chili Bowl winner Rico Abreu has signed a Nascar development deal with Ganassi. Good move by Ganassi to go out and get another young guy, since it's pretty unclear whether or not Kwasniewski is gonna be any good. 1366. Eric posted: 01.20.2015 - 6:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I question HScott having 2 teams. While on paper expanding a race Organization for 1 to 2 teams means more better results, it isn't always the case. There is a history of cup teams spreading themselves too thin when they expand the amount of teams they have, and that means performance drops or the organization just folds like Swann Racing did last year. The question here is how money does the sponsor Arnett brought with him from Baldwin to HScott. I am bringing this up in terms cost of having 2 racing teams since HScott is not a big racing organization. If Hscott doesn't spread themselves too thin, Arnett is going to have top 20 - top 25 runs with an occasional top10 - 15 run. 1367. MAR posted: 01.20.2015 - 7:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think HScott Motorsports will be fine with two cup teams they do sorta kinda have an alliance with Hendrick Motorsports and im pretty sure since he has a partnership with Ganassi in the Xfinity series he'll have help from them to. But the Major Question is what's goin to happen with TBR they came a long Way now it looks like they might be goin out of business. 1368. Eric posted: 01.20.2015 - 9:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) MAR, I wasn't talking about Xfinity series since Arnett is for the cup side as cup driver. I also was only the cup series for HSCott. I am aware of Ganassi in the Xfinity series. While HScott Motorsports does get Hendrick Equipment, it is possible for a drop in performance on the cup series when a cup organization increases the amount of teams it has. Big teams Have Expanded before on the cup side and the performance suffered. A drop is possible or stay the same in performance because HScott Motorports is not big organization even with Hendrick Motorsports help. Stewart-Haas in 2014 had a drop in performance despite Kevin won the Championship. At times in 2014, it looked like Stewart-Haas spread itself too thin at times in 2014 when Gene Haas increased the amount teams to 4 with Kurt Busch. When Gene Haas increased the amount of race team he had, the performance really didn't improve despite having an Alliance with Hendrick before Tony Stewart became a co-owner of the organization. While RCR isn't with Hendrick, that organization went down in performance when they increased from 3 to 4 teams. The same thing happened them when they increased to 3 teams before 2006. 1369. joey2448 posted: 01.21.2015 - 6:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Eric. The name is Annett. Michael Annett. Not "Arnett". This isn't SNL. 1370. racefangurl posted: 01.21.2015 - 9:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wonder if the alliance between the Wood Brothers and Penske will affect Penske's performance. Or will it just change the Wood Brothers? 1371. Anonymous posted: 01.21.2015 - 2:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brian Vickers will return behind the wheel in March. Michael Waltrip will drive the #55 in the Daytona 500 1372. Anonymous posted: 01.21.2015 - 4:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jayski is reporting Ron Hornaday Jr. has been named driver of the new TMG #30 Sprint Cup ride. 1373. Daniel posted: 01.21.2015 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, did not see that one coming at all. 1374. Hinch77 posted: 01.21.2015 - 5:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ron Hornaday never had much of a Cup chance anyway, so it's nice to see him have a chance to help a new team out and at least show off his ability to go fast. 1375. The Long Shot posted: 01.21.2015 - 6:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not a Hornaday fan, but good to see him getting one final Cup ride. Likely gonna be a crap team, but it's still nice to see him getting an opportunity. To expand on the Brian Vickers news: Michael Waltrip will drive the #55 in the Daytona 500, the car will be run by a driver to be determined at Atlanta, and Vickers will get back in at Las Vegas. Also, don't think anyone's mentioned this, but Rico Abreu suffers from dwarfism, so doubly cool to see him getting opportunities, especially with how he apparently dominated in the Chili Bowl. 1376. Hinch77 posted: 01.21.2015 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As people were saying, the midget is good in midgets ;) Before the butthurt comes, isn't the irony great :), and the kid got himself a KNPE ride for a few races for that win. Nice to see an unfamiliar name (to everyone except the diehard USAC fans) getting a big chance in a true developmental series. Maybe someday he will work his way up from the lower tiers to either Cup or IndyCar. Unfortunately, he's 22(?), which is older than dead in IndyCar's books. 1377. Eric posted: 01.21.2015 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) joey2448, I don't watch SNL. I haven't seen that program since I saw it once some time in the 1990's. 1378. murb posted: 01.21.2015 - 7:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not expecting much out of that team, but either way it'll be really cool to see Hornaday back in Cup. Glad to see him getting another opportunity somewhere. He proved last year in the #30 truck that he's still fast. 1379. murb posted: 01.21.2015 - 7:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Nice to see an unfamiliar name (to everyone except the diehard USAC fans) getting a big chance in a true developmental series. Maybe someday he will work his way up from the lower tiers to either Cup or IndyCar." Agreed. I honestly can't remember the last time someone just kind of came out of nowhere like this and scored a Cup development deal. It's refreshing to see. And I do think we'll see him in a Ganassi Cup car at some point. Apparently he and Larson have been best friends for years, so they'll probably take really good care of him over at Ganassi. 1380. MAR posted: 01.21.2015 - 10:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Im shocked Hornaday took the TMG ride however its good to see him get a ride one more time. I would of liked him in a top truck ride he deserves that. But bold prediction he'll be this year's Daytona Cinderella story. 1381. Eric posted: 01.21.2015 - 10:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) MAR, I don't think Ron had a choice. There isn't a lot competitive ride in the truck series for Ron. His thinking of going to cup makes sense as a result from a money standpoint than. 1382. joey2448 posted: 01.21.2015 - 11:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "but Rico Abreu suffers from dwarfism" Ehh, I don't know if "suffers" is the best term to describe his condition, but I think we all get your point. And what's cool about his winning the Chili Bowl, is that there was hardly a mention of his dwarfism in the media! I mean, when Danica finished 4th (for example) at Vegas in 2011, everyone was crowing about how it's the best finish by a woman in a NASCAR race since 1949! And when Bill Lester made his Cup debut at Atlanta in 2006, the whole story was about how a black driver is running in NASCAR! But here, a "little person" wins the biggest midget car race of them all, and hardly anyone even mentioned him being a dwarf. Reading the online story on it (without any pictures) you wouldn't have even known that he is 4 feet tall (or whatever he stands at)! Pretty cool, man. 1383. Daniel posted: 01.22.2015 - 12:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Spencer Gallagher to run the full-truck schedule in the #23 for his dad. Jeremy Clements to run another full Xfinity schedule in his own #51 1384. TS1420 posted: 01.22.2015 - 10:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well it's official. Jeff Gordon to retire from full-time racing after 2015. I never thought I would say this. But I hope Jeff goes out on top next season. 1385. The Long Shot posted: 01.22.2015 - 10:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Wow. Bombshell announcement if ever I've seen one. I agree with TS1420: it would be "awesome", to borrow a phrase, if Jeff were to get title #5 this year. I really hope he does. 1386. MAR posted: 01.22.2015 - 11:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon's retiring at season's end honestly i use to hate Jeff Gordon just like millions of other people in the late 90's early 00's but as of about the last five years or so i have grown to respect and root for Gordon because of his greatness as a driver and a senior leader in cup. I think he's retiring a lil early but with everything he's accomplished its only right he takes a victory lap. 1387. We need more Onion posted: 01.22.2015 - 11:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Abreu is 4ft 4in tall, in my world, it is 132cms. Neat to see him in a KNPS car, I remember how he once pulled a fellow competitor from an overturned wreck starting to burn. Also, he has a family winery with money behind him, which is always nice. Hornaday is an idiotic decision from TMG. He, at the age of 56, will not attract sponsors, will get in arguments because he is Ron, will tear up a few cars and that is the last thing that team needs. JG retiring... Well, I still really dislike him, but I truly wish him to win Kentucky this year. I think he won't fully quit until he reaches the hundred. 1388. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 01.22.2015 - 11:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon's retiring? Shoot. All my favorite drivers that I followed when I came into the sport are just about out, or out, of driving in NASCAR now. Martin, Burton, Robby Gordon, Terry Labonte, Wallace, now Jeff Gordon. I didn't expect him to race past 2017, but I really thought he would do at least 2016 also. 1389. David posted: 01.22.2015 - 12:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was honestly speechless when I saw the news on Jayski just now. In fact, I'm still shocked. I thought he would run at least through 2016 before calling it quits. Just wow. 1390. Eric posted: 01.22.2015 - 1:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I am not shocked that Jeff decided this is his final full time season in cup since Rick Hendrick resigned Kasey Kahne. I do think this the right move for him. I am saying that because Jeff is getting closer to the age that there is a big drop off in performance that usually happens to cup drivers in terms of winning although Jeff Gordon hasn't been at his peak in a long time despite his great 2014 season. Good or Great Cup driver Usually get their final career in the 43 to 48 year old time frame unless you are Bobby Allison, Harry Gant, Morgan Shepherd, Dale Earnhardt, and Mark Martin. Jeff in 2014 had his highest amount of wins since 2007. Jeff since 2008 is usually a 0-3 wins a season driver with 2014 being outside of the usual for him. Jeff's 2014 could have been Darrell Waltrip's 1989 season. 1391. New14 & 88Fan posted: 01.22.2015 - 1:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was kinda expecting Jeff Gordon to hang it up some time in the near future, still this is some unexpected news. 1392. Eric posted: 01.22.2015 - 1:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I didn't mention this before, but I think Stewart is going to the be the next cup to stop racing full time after Jeff Gordon. Jeff Gordon is going to be the strongest NASCAR Hall of Fame driver candidate Since Darrell Waltrip and Cale Yarborough get inducted into the 2012 class. 1393. racefangurl posted: 01.22.2015 - 3:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I live with a Jeff Gordon fan. And as far as the next to retire, I'd say Biffle's another candidate. Biffle's an old guy, like Gordon and Stewart. 1394. racefangurl posted: 01.22.2015 - 3:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt Kenseth is another old guy, so he could retire soon. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Jimmie Johnson may follow in the next few years. 1395. Db1995 posted: 01.22.2015 - 3:29 pm Rate this comment: (1) (6) Good, never liked Jeff never will. Have a happy retirement. 1396. dennyfan11 posted: 01.22.2015 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) OMG. JG retiring from full time after this year? Wow. I couldn't have seen THAT bombshell coming from 10,000 miles away, escpecially after past announcements that he would keep driving for a few more years. This is probably the biggest bombshell announcement this WHOLE silly season. Let's hope he does well in his final season. At the same time, i think this is very smart for Gordon to quit while he still is sucsessful. Most drivers retire as nothing more than hollow shells of their former selves. Richard and Kyle Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Sterling Marlin, Ken Schrader, Bill Elliott, Terry Labonte... the list goes on and on. The sad thing is, this will probably happen to Gordon. I predict that he will spend his part time years struggling in the back for the rest of his career. I think it is dumb that Ron Hornaday is moving to TMG, given he will certainly suck egg after egg after egg. I'm glad that Brian Vickers is coming back in March. 1397. murb posted: 01.22.2015 - 3:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Definitely surprised. I thought he'd run at least until 2017 because of the 3M deal. Something that should be noted though is that he says it will be his FINAL FULL TIME season and that he'd be willing to run select events afterward (even though there are none planned right now). So I think it's still very possible that we'll still see him some in 2016 and 2017, maybe with a schedule quite similar to Terry Labonte's in 2005 and 2006 for Hendrick (though because of the 4 car rule his car would probably be listed under a different owner, even though it would surely be 110% Hendrick prepared). So overall, I think this is just him saying "2015 is my last shot at championship #5". I'm glad he's doing it now though to be completely honest. He just had his best season in 7 years, and he's proving that he is still fast and is still one of the best drivers out there. There's no sense in hanging around for another 5 or 6 years and fading into complete mediocrity like we've seen other greats do over the years (REALLY hope Tony doesn't do this, but unfortunately I get the feeling he will). So while I've never been a Gordon fan, I'm really glad to see he's going out on his own terms and still at the top of his game. I hope he has another great season. As for who replaces him, it's obviously going to be Chase Elliott. He'll be ready after this year. And regardless of what RPM says, there's pretty much no doubt in my mind that the #24 will become the #9. 1398. SpeedWorld97 posted: 01.22.2015 - 3:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well I haven't commented here for a few months, but just wow! I really hope Jeff Gordon gets the proper farewell he deserves this year. He is the last respresentative of the '90s NASCAR still running full time, so I think it's safe to say that that era is officially behind us beginning next year. When I began watching motorsports, you could say that Jeff was still at the top of his game (2004). There was always something about him that I think made him a likeable driver, especially seeing him tie Dale Earnhardt with 76 wins and showing proper respect to the Intimidator. In my 10+ years of watching motorsports, I think seeing Jeff have seasons like 2007 and 2014 remind me why he is one of the greatest NASCAR ever had. If there's one thing I regret, it's not being able to have seen him race live from '94 to '01. The series certainly won't be the same without him. Hopefully Jeff will still have a lot of involvement with Hendrick Motorsports and NASCAR. I hope Jeff can go out this season in the best possible way. 1399. murb posted: 01.22.2015 - 3:36 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Also, it'll be total bullshit if they don't run the rainbow scheme at Homestead. 1400. dennyfan11 posted: 01.22.2015 - 3:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I would HATE it if he ran a limited schedule afterwards, as will probably just suck in the back with mediocre teams like FAR too many drivers do. 1401. joey2448 posted: 01.22.2015 - 3:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I just heard the news that 2015 will be Jeff Gordon's final full-time season. What a shock. Just a blow to the gut. I mean, I knew this day would be coming, but I didn't think it would be this soon. As a diehard fanatic of his, Sunday's just won't be the same without him. After he missed out on winning the 2014 title, I had the feeling that was his last best chance to get that elusive fifth championship, and now it appears he felt that too. He said he still may race a few select events past this year, but I can't help get the feeling that Rick Hendrick may have pushed Gordon to get out of the 24 car so young Chase Elliott can take his place. I hope that's not the case (and Gordon himself said his back issues played a part in his decision), but he said that he still wants to race at places such as the short tracks, road courses, etc... The greatest two things about Gordon's career was his versatility and longevity. The fact that he won EVERYWHERE (except Kentucky, of course) is damn impressive. No matter the type of track, he was a contender to win. And the fact that he was always one of the names you could put in the hat as a contender for the championship every year for over 20 seasons puts him among the greats. One more thing. Does this not feel like Richard Petty's retirement tour in 1992? It has that same feeling, like one of the legends is stepping away for good. Jeff Gordon, I tip my hat to you, and I wish you the best in 2015! Refuse to lose! 1402. SpeedWorld97 posted: 01.22.2015 - 3:58 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Apparently Jeff wants to run at Le Mans sometime in the next few years. Can you imagine the kind of attention he would draw if he raced in the 24 Hours with an American team like Corvette Racing? That would be awesome to see. 1403. joey2448 posted: 01.22.2015 - 4:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Apparently Jeff wants to run at Le Mans sometime in the next few years." YES!!! That would be amazing! I totally hope he gets into a ride at Le Mans! In fact, that was something that Dale Earnhardt was eyeing before his untimely death in 2001. If Gordon could race a Corvette or something, I would totally make the trip over the pond to watch it. 1404. SpeedWorld97 posted: 01.22.2015 - 6:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I would imagine that if he raced at Le Mans, it would be in the Corvette C7.R since it is a Chevrolet product like he races in Sprint Cup. Also, the team would need extra drivers than their normal IMSA lineup for the whole race with both of their cars, and Jeff is definitely the best choice for the ride, especially since he's an accomplished road racer in his own right and has even raced in the Rolex 24 a few times before. 1405. Sector posted: 01.22.2015 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was born a couple years before Jeff Gordon moved up to the Cup series, & it only took me a couple of years on Earth to realize I was a true Jeff Gordon fan. My parents told me a story about how my dad, a Dale Earnhardt Sr fan, was watching the races, & every race they showed the Rainbow Warrior #24 car on screen, I would always smile. I've have supported Jeff throughout his entire Cup season. Also, my second favorite driver is Kevin Harvick, & as for the next stars of our sport, Kyle Larson & Chase Elliott are my future favorites definitely. I am glad that Chase Elliott will be able to say "I have been teammate with Jeff Gordon in the Cup Series" this year. Now, I'm glad to be called a Jeff Gordon fan. I will be expecting these few things during his final season: 1) Finish top 10 @ Kenctucky (He's finished top 10 in each of his 4 starts so far, so I would like for him to be 5 for 5 here. A win would be amazing to have the career of winning at every single tracks, but let's be real). 2) Win a pole (He's never went a full season without winning a pole, let's not make our final full season any different). 3) Finish top 10 in points (Yes, besides his rookie year & his worst season in 2005, Jeff has never failed to finish outside the top 10 in points. I would like for him to either finish 5th, the ONLY position he's never finish in the top 11 before, or finally his 5th championship, but anywhere in the top 10 is fine with me). 4) Lastly, I would like Jeff to win one last time! (I would like him to end with 95 career wins instead of 92 or 93. Meaning, he'll have to be in victory lane 3 more times. Who knows if Jeff will win if he planned to be part time in the future. Also, I would like him to pull a win at a road course, to get that 10th win. Sonoma better be his saving grace this year!) 1406. Hinch77 posted: 01.22.2015 - 6:45 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Well, the last vestige of my NASCAR-centric childhood will be gone after this season... Here's hoping he stays true to his word. 1407. Jarrett88fan posted: 01.22.2015 - 8:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In the words of the late Road Warrior Hawk, "What a rushhhhh!!!!!" A long and well deserved semi farewell tour is what Gordon will receive in 2015. Also, negotiations with DuPont to reprise some of the classic paint schemes need to happen. A retro Rainbow Warriors pit wagon with the Refuse to Lose slogan along with classic paint schemes from flames to rainbow. 1408. Jarrett88fan posted: 01.22.2015 - 8:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A #24 Star Wars paint scheme make marketing sense with Episode VII launching in December. Pepsi will undoubtedly have a special paint scheme as well. 1409. David posted: 01.22.2015 - 11:18 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) I won't get to make this bold prediction ever again, so... Jeff Gordon will win the 2015 Sprint Cup title. I'm calling it now. 1410. WinstonCupStandings posted: 01.23.2015 - 2:51 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) I was going to quit watching NASCAR altogether when Gordon retired because honestly it hasn't been worth a damn since the advent of the Chase but with the arrival of Kyle Larson i have someone else to pull for on Sundays, so here's to the 2015 Winston Cup Season and the final chapter of The Rainbow Warrior's Story. #GoingFor8Mate 1411. joey2448 posted: 01.23.2015 - 5:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) So lemme pose this question for those of you who are Jeff Gordon fans: Who will now become your favorite driver after 2015? I ask because I honestly have no idea who I will pull for after Gordon leaves. Kyle Larson is the first in my mind, but he still only holds a fraction of the fandom that I hold for Gordon. 1412. Hinch77 posted: 01.23.2015 - 5:59 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) "So lemme pose this question for those of you who are Jeff Gordon fans: Who will now become your favorite driver after 2015?" Is "Not going to give a crap anymore" an option? 1413. racefangurl posted: 01.23.2015 - 9:23 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I bet Harvick will be done in the next few years as well. The drivers I watched as a kid are going away. 2000 was the last time I watched as a kid. The NASCAR-centric version of my life: Pre-NASCAR 6-7 years, Little NASCAR viewer girl age 6 or 7-10, maybe just 11 if I could watch in November 2000, Post-NASCAR, so I thought 11-21, NASCAR girl again 21-now (ongoing). It was confusing to come back after that interlude, but I picked favorites and that's how I got back into it. 1414. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 01.23.2015 - 10:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff said in his media conference that he'll want do some Xfinity, Trucks (never driven one before), Le Mans/TUDOR and maybe the Baja. 1415. racefangurl posted: 01.23.2015 - 11:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tomorrow, it'll be race day. If you like the 24 Hours of Daytona, you can have the race day feelings. 1416. RWR posted: 01.23.2015 - 1:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hornaday in the 30, and Matt Di B. ? 1417. We need more Onion posted: 01.23.2015 - 4:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt DiBenedetto is without a ride. Not like Hornaday ever got a chance, but he won't progress anyway. 1418. BMan0213 posted: 01.23.2015 - 5:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I highly doubt Harvick is gonna be done anytime soon racefangurl. The guys not even 40 yet and he's coming off of a championship. I expect him and SHR to announce an extension pretty soon. Probably a 3 year deal that go through 2019. As for the next driver to retire i'd have to go with Biffle. He's a couple years older that Jeff and his stats are beginning to fall off. Yes some of that has to do with RFR as a team, but I think Biffle's age is also a major factor. As for when this could happen i'm leaning towards 2016. Biffle doesn't seem to me like a guy who will run for an under funded team and with Roush having Chris and Bubba in the Xfinity Series I can see Biffle hanging it up sooner rather than later. 1419. Kubica Fan Ireland posted: 01.23.2015 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It would have been nice to see Gordon do 24 seasons in the 24 car but it was not to be. This was pretty much a done deal when Kahne signed on. People who say Rick forced Jeff out the door are wrong. Rick only gave Kahne the extension after Gordon confirmed to him that 2015 would be his last. I thought with the 3M deal saying they would sponsor the 24 team for 3 seasons that he would go after 2017, but like I said when Kahne signed it was likely Gordon was leaving. If Gordon wins a race in 2015 he will tie Bobby Allison and Dale Earnhardt with 20 seasons with a win, only the king with 23 has more. If he wins multiple races he will go second outright with 18 seasons with multiple wins, again the King has the most with 23. If Gordon never races in cup after 2015 it looks like Bobby Allison will remain second all time with top5s. Allison has 336, while Gordon has 320. In saying that if Gordon performs like 2014 he could equal or surpass Allison. Gordon should also go some way to securing second all time in top10s. He has 454 add 18 to 24 and you get 472-480 which like so many of Gordon's numbers may not be reached for the next 25 plus years. It looks almost certain that Gordon will not reach the century of wins now, which I thought would make him stay to 2017. There would be a nice symmetry if Gordon ended his career with 94 wins since it is speculated that Chase will use that number when he replaces Gordon. The one race I want Gordon to win above all others is a record sixth Southern 500 on Labor day weekend. I know who I want to win the championship but I know it is a long shot so I will be content to see Gordon go out running competitive in the top 6 with 2 or 3 wins. I reckon he wins the most popular driver as a lot of non Gordon fans will vote for him. The Winston cup era has lost its final great. 1420. joey2448 posted: 01.23.2015 - 5:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) But remember that even though Biffle is older, he didn't get his start in the Cup series until later in life. He was 33 years old as a Cup rookie in 2003. I agree that his performance seems to be falling off (mostly due to Roush struggles) and he'll likely never win a Cup championship, but don't count him retired just yet. 1421. An Aussie Commentator posted: 01.23.2015 - 6:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I still reckon 2015 will be the final season for Tony Stewart. 1422. Eric posted: 01.23.2015 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I actually think Tony Stewart is going to be the next one to retire, not Biffle. My thinking is due to the fact I feel Tony Stewart is going to struggle mightily this year. I know Stewart is going to need another Surgery on foot after this year, but I don't it is going to change his performance a lot. 1423. Eric posted: 01.23.2015 - 6:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Joey2448, Starting later on in cup doesn't mean a thing because of Geoff Bodine. Geoff Bodine when he was almost 33 years old for the 1982 Daytona 500. Geoff Bodine actually is the closest driver you compare to Greg Biffle as a cup driver. Bodine Start cup late as a star driver, but was not the type of a cup driver that can win the cup championship. The only difference is Geoff Bodine got in start in the modifieds and Greg Biffle didn't. Geoff Bodine won the 1982 Rookie of the year at the age of 33 years old, but his peak ended after 1994. Geoff Bodine had a good career in the Cup series with 18 career points wins. Geoff Bodine's Peak was 1984 to 1994. The other thing is Geoff Bodine final time in the top 10 in points was when he was 41 years old. 1424. murb posted: 01.23.2015 - 6:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To me, Stewart just seems like one of those guys that will never have a "proper" retirement. He'll probably stop running full time within the next four or five years, but after that I think he'll probably still keep running sporadic races for quite a while (kind of like what Bill Elliott and Terry Labonte did). At the very least, he'd almost surely run the Brickyard (and maybe the road courses) every year, and probably the Daytona 500 too if he still hasn't won it yet. I think Biffle will probably stick around longer than expected too. I don't expect him to spend many more years at Roush because of Chris Buescher and Bubba Wallace being in the pipelines over there, but I do think he'll probably race beyond that. Down the line I could see him going to a team like Furniture Row or something and spending a couple years there to wind down his career. I seriously have no idea who will be the next in line to retire after Gordon. I could MAYBE see Jr scaling back a bit after his HMS deal ends in 2017 (maybe he'll bring JRM up to Cup and do like a half schedule or something). Or maybe Kenseth will surprise everyone and decide to go out in the next couple years while he's still competitive. Or hell, maybe even Jimmie if he gets #7 (I don't think he will ever win another title, and he does seem like the type to drive well into his late 40s, but you never know). But it's pretty hard to gauge. There's a few guys that I'm pretty confident will be around for the better part of the next decade (agreed on Harvick, I think he still has quite a few years left - for some reason I see him at least getting 700 starts - I also think Newman will probably hang around for a while, and obviously so will all of the Edwards/Kyle/Kahne/Hamlin/Bowyer/Truex crowd since they are all still pretty young), but other than that it's really hard to predict. I have no idea who's next after Gordon (now that I think about it, maybe it'll be Kurt Busch if all of this psychotic legal stuff he's in right now forces him out). 1425. Kubica Fan Ireland posted: 01.23.2015 - 8:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think if Johnson is still running really competitive, top5 and winning races he will race for a number of years. Johnson may come across as a cool, relaxed Californian but I think he is extremely driven and motivated to achieve a hell of a lot more in his career. You can't spend fourteen years with Knaus and not have some of his non-stop never ending drive for constant success and world domination not rub off on you in some way. Johnson has repeatedly spoken of the need to reach certain "numbers" in his career totals to put forward a case for being the best Nascar driver of all time. I think the criticism of his chase championships, lack of fan appreciation etc, do really annoy Jimmie even though he likes to laugh it off. He says they are working on a new contract and mentioned that there were a couple of other drivers in line to retire before him about 10 days ago. If Kahne gets until 2018, then I see Johnson getting at least the same. Obviously Gordon leaving HMS will be the big story for 2016, but while Johnson will sign on Knaus also needs to agree a new deal and the Lowe's contract is up. I am not sure Lowe's will resign for all 36 races. I feel they might do a majority and allow 10 races to be sold. It would be pretty unique if Johnson had only Lowes on the hood of his car for his entire career. On the question of Elliot, the interesting thing for me will be what way the HMS shop will be realigned. Who will be housed with Elliot-JR or Jimmie. It is currently 5 + 24 in one building and 48 + 88 in another. Here is a thought, maybe Elliot drives the new car with Knaus as his crew chief and Ron Malec or one of the xfinity jr Motorsports CCs, (I think Elenz was a major part of the 48 team of recent seasons) being on Johnson's pit box in the one building. 1426. murb posted: 01.23.2015 - 9:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Here is a thought, maybe Elliot drives the new car with Knaus as his crew chief and Ron Malec or one of the xfinity jr Motorsports CCs, (I think Elenz was a major part of the 48 team of recent seasons) being on Johnson's pit box in the one building." Definitely not Knaus. If he does end up leaving Jimmie in the next couple years (I do think it's very possible if they have another couple years similar to 2014), it will be for the HMS President/Director job, not for another driver. If I had to guess at this point, they'll probably just keep the entire #24 team in tact for Chase, meaning Gustafson will probably be his crew chief. It's either that, or they'll just bring the #9 NXS team up. 1427. Daniel posted: 01.23.2015 - 9:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Entry list out for the ARCA race: 1. #0 James Swanson (Peterson Motorsports) 2. #00 Barry Fitzgerald (Peterson Motorsports) 3. #02 Tommy Barrett Jr. (Our Motorsports) 4. #06 Ed Pompa (Peterson Motorsports) 5. #2 Sarah Cornett-Ching (Hixson Motorsports) 6. #3 Karl Weber (Hixson Motorsports) 7. #5 Bobby Gerhart (Gerhart Racing) 8. #6 Russ Dugger (Gosselin-Williams Racing) 9. #8 Austin Hill (Empire Racing) 10. #9 Thomas Praytor (Max Force Racing) 11. #10 Garrett Smithley (Rick Ware Racing) 12. #20 Scott Sheldon (GMS Racing) 13. #22 Blake Jones (Cunningham Motorsports) 14. #23 Grant Enfinger (GMS Racing) 15. #25 Frank Kimmel (Venturini Motorsports) 16. #30 Terry Jones (Rette-Jones Racing) 17. #40 Donnie Neuenberger (Carter 2 Motorsports) 18. #42 Bo LeMastus (LeMastus Racing) 19. #45 Brennan Poole (Team BCR) 20. #52 Clay Campbell (Ken Schrader Racing) 21. #54 Matt Kurzejewski (Kurzejewski Racing) 22. #55 Cody Coughlin (Venturini Motorsports) 23. #57 Bryan Dauzat (Dauzat Racing) 24. #66 Leilani Munter (Venturini Motorsports) 25. #68 David Levine (Kimmel Racing) 26. #69 Will Kimmel (Kimmel Racing) 27. #73 Dale Shearer (Shearer Racing) 28. #77 Tom Hessert III (Cunningham Motorsports) 29. #78 Mason Mitchell (Mason Mitchell Motorsports) 30. #82 Patrick Starapoli (Empire Racing) 31. #83 Derrick Lancaster (Lancaster Racing) 32. #94 Dalton Hopkins (Roo Motorsports) 33. #97 Roger Carter (Carter 2 Motorsports) 34. #98 Austin Wayne Self (Mason Mitchell Motorsports) Entered, but with driver TBA: 35. #7 (Gerhart Racing) 36. #15 (Venturini Motorsports) 37. #17 (Roulo Brothers Racing) 38. #58 (Lira Motorsports) 39. #59 (Lira Motorsports) 40. #75 (Bob Schacht Motorsports) 41. #99 (Roulo Brothers Racing) 1428. WinstonCupStandings posted: 01.24.2015 - 2:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @1411 Gordon will always be my favorite driver, no one will ever replace him on that list but to answer your question my favorite active driver will be Larson. 1429. SpeedWorld97 posted: 01.24.2015 - 10:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just a reminder to anyone interested: Rolex 24 predictions are due by 2:00 pm est today! 1430. SpeedWorld97 posted: 01.24.2015 - 2:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And the Rolex 24 begins! There was just a near-3-wide battle for the lead in GTLM between the 51 Ferrari l, 4 Corvette, and 98 Aston Martin. 1431. SpeedWorld97 posted: 01.24.2015 - 3:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The #911 Porsche and two GTLM Corvettes nearly had a huge crash in the tri-oval. First caution is out for the stalled Flying Lizard #45 Audi. 1432. SpeedWorld97 posted: 01.24.2015 - 3:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sadly the Delta Wing has gearbox issues. That's a shame too because that car was fast. I just wish it was more reliable. 1433. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 01.24.2015 - 6:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It will definitely be different on race day not seeing Jeff Gordon in the #24. Given how competitive Jeff was in 2014, it does surprise me a little to see him announce retirement from full-time racing. But I can understand him wanting to retire leaving fans remembering him as a front runner. I think Chase Elliott will be ready to take over that ride for the 2016 season, provided he does as well in the JRM #9 as he did in 2014. If you want my personal opinion on the number, it doesn't even matter which number he has. I won't care either way if they keep #24, or change it to #9 or #94. Nothing Chase will do in that ride will replace the legacy Jeff left. 1434. racefangurl posted: 01.24.2015 - 7:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I could watch only 2 hours of the 24 Hours of Daytona, since we get FOX but not FS1 or 2. I got talking with my dad about it. We talked about how NASCAR engines can't always last 3 hours, so how can an engine last 24 hours? 1435. Hinch77 posted: 01.24.2015 - 7:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^Why do some people still have the original engine from a car from the 1940s or 50s? 1436. Db1995 posted: 01.25.2015 - 3:09 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well cars aren't driven on the street like in a race 1437. Sean posted: 01.25.2015 - 3:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sage Karam once again is a revelation at the Rolex. He passed two lines of two cars three-wide on the outside on the restart passing Jordan Taylor and Jamie McMurray to go from 3rd to the lead? WOW. Then he marched off to an 18 second lead and set what was then the fastest lap of the race (yeah, Ricky Taylor had bigger leads later, but he didn't take the lead via such a muscular pass). Factor in beating all the Ganassi cars in a one-off Ganassi satellite at Indy last year, his Indy Lights title, him leading more laps than Dixon/Kanaan at Sebring and Pruett on the Indy road course last year, his Indy Lights title when two drivers he beat are already IndyCar full-timers, and even his 2nd place in the IMS pit stop competition (trivial, but at least says something for his reaction time), how does this guy not have any kind of full-time ride anywhere? I know he's considered as good as signed for Ganassi's IndyCar team, but I'm starting to doubt they'll have the money for a fourth car... I will say this: Karam seems to be the most exciting new driver on the IndyCar ladder since Champ Car and IRL merged... But maybe just being better than Hinchcliffe and Newgarden isn't that great... The #01, #02, and #10 remain on the lead lap. I want the Taylor brothers to win (Jordan is my favorite driver and seems due for a win and Max seems due for a second) but I'd be okay with the #02 mainly because it seems like Jamie McMurray's had bad luck to not be on one of the many Ganassi winning teams yet (and it would be cool to see him join A.J. Foyt as the only Daytona 24/Daytona 500 winner...I don't think Mario Andretti counts as the race he won was shortened to 6 hours). Although Scott Pruett is kind of boring and he hardly needs a sixth win, it is cool to see drivers chase real history whether you like them or not, but the main reason I wouldn't mind seeing the #01 win is Karam's pass. That deserves SOME sort of reward if you saw it. Unfortunately, too often this series is managed too much like NASCAR, especially letting ALL the lapped cars still running have a lap back on each caution, which means it's less likely somebody will be able to retain a lead from something they did many hours earlier... The NASCAR contingent did a lot better this time. McMurray only got passed by Karam on that restart and himself passed Christian Fittipaldi on-track later. Larson briefly had the fastest lap of the race, as did Allmendinger. But rooting hard for Jordan Taylor. Honestly I'd like to see him get his Rolex win this year and a Le Mans GT class win as well and have Wayne Taylor Racing switch to Indy Lights. I want this guy in IndyCar but I understand if he's more interested in remaining a sports car driver since his father was a legendary sports car driver and he did grow up in that scene... And some NASCAR Chevy teams have GOT to hire the Taylor brothers as road course ringers instead of the washed-up stars from decades ago who were overrated even then (ahem, Said, Papis). 1438. Hinch77 posted: 01.25.2015 - 7:39 am Rate this comment: (0) (4) Pretty c*ntish of the #10 to stay out under caution for the sole purpose of keeping the #5 two laps down. 1439. We need more Onion posted: 01.25.2015 - 10:06 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) It's called a race, not a charity event. Pretty pathetic to whine about things like that. 1440. Hinch77 posted: 01.25.2015 - 10:29 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^Not that you read my post, obviously. There is a difference between just happening to not pit under a yellow, and not pitting under a yellow with spiteful intentions. Then again this doesn't surprise me considering everyone but me has a disturbing fascination with those Taylors. 1441. Hinch77 posted: 01.25.2015 - 10:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Has anyone else found it kind of ironic that the GTLM's are higher overall than the supposed-to-be-faster PC cars? 1442. Sean posted: 01.25.2015 - 10:34 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) If IMSA is making it so easy for teams to get laps back, I don't blame the teams for trying to make it harder. And besides, the #5 was only two laps down and they'd almost certainly get two more cautions to get back on the lead lap, as they eventually did. It's sort of weird you'd criticize this NRF because I sort of thought you'd be the kind of person who would criticize NASCAR for it being too easy to get a lap back. Would you have criticized the people who attempted to race drivers back to the line instead of following the "gentleman's agreement" and slammed on the brakes to allow 15-20 cars back so a leader's teammate would get a lap back (which was not infrequent in the last years of the gentleman's agreement?) 1443. Sean posted: 01.25.2015 - 10:39 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Okay, I was asleep. Can you tell me what lap this happened so I can check this out when the broadcast is put up on YouTube? 1444. Hinch77 posted: 01.25.2015 - 10:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hey, webmaster, how are the SouthEast and MidWest Series results coming? 1445. SpeedWorld97 posted: 01.25.2015 - 11:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Has anyone else found it kind of ironic that the GTLM's are higher overall than the supposed-to-be-faster PC cars?" I noticed that too. Either the PC cars are lagging in speed and performance or the GTLM cars are just too fast. I would imagine that kind of pace if they were GT1 spec, but they're GT2. This has been a real entertaining Rolex 24. It's just a shame that the P2 cars aren't as reliable to keep up with the DPs. Then again, the Michael Shank Racing team is in their debut race with the Ligier Honda, ESM is debuting the new HPD ARX, and Mazda isn't reliable enough yet, so I guess we weren't expecting them to last the whole 24 hours. GTLM is shaping up to be a great battle between the #3 Corvette and #25 BMW. 1446. SpeedWorld97 posted: 01.25.2015 - 11:27 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'll be honest, I was not expecting this kind of pace from the Rahal BMW Team. They did not have the straight line speed in this race a year ago, and I was expecting the Porsche team to be ahead of them. 1447. The Long Shot posted: 01.25.2015 - 11:43 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, Sage Karam is going to be a stud. I still can't believe Ganassi hasn't announced that they're running him in the #8 car full-time. They released Briscoe about 2 months ago, yet haven't named any replacements when they have the obvious replacement right in front of them in Karam. Also, R.I.P. to Ballast the possum, whose life came to an untimely end after the #44 of Andy Lally slammed into it on the banking around turns 3 and 4. 1448. Sean posted: 01.25.2015 - 11:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Yeah, Sage Karam is going to be a stud. I still can't believe Ganassi hasn't announced that they're running him in the #8 car full-time. They released Briscoe about 2 months ago, yet haven't named any replacements when they have the obvious replacement right in front of them in Karam." Karam is the replacement if they can find sponsorship (I think that's acknowledged by everyone), however the question is if they're going to find sponsorship. Target dropped from sponsoring 2 cars to sponsoring only the #9, with the #8 sponsor NTT Data moving to Kanaan. I'm actually starting to wonder if Karam is being groomed to replace Scott Pruett rather than going to IndyCar. Pruett is turning 55 this year, but that still seems like a bit of a waste if that's what Ganassi is doing. 1449. Hinch77 posted: 01.25.2015 - 12:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Fact of the matter is this: Karam is definitely going to stay in Ganassi, whether in Grand-Am or IndyCar, but the rumors are leaning toward IndyCar. As for Scott Pruett, I hate his dirty driving, but God bless him he's the fastest driver on the team at his age and showing no signs of slowing down. 1450. SpeedWorld97 posted: 01.25.2015 - 1:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is going to be a great battle for the overall win between the 02 and the 10! 1451. SpeedWorld97 posted: 01.25.2015 - 1:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh my gosh. The #54 CORE Autosport PC leader has just crashed and is out of the race with 20 minutes to go! 1452. The Long Shot posted: 01.25.2015 - 2:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And it's official: Ganassi goes back-to-back at Daytona. 1453. SpeedWorld97 posted: 01.25.2015 - 2:17 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Now THAT was a great Rolex 24 from start to finish! 1454. Anonymous posted: 01.25.2015 - 2:27 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Congrats to Jamie Mac, your names on a very prestigious list. 1455. Sean posted: 01.25.2015 - 2:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Happy for Kanaan and McMurray. I know I've bashed Larson a lot on here but I do have to give him props. He did apparently go from 4th to the lead against some good guys in the middle of the night and did set the fastest lap briefly. He came into his own in this race and I'll definitely lay off him now. Larson and McMurray are the first active Cup drivers without particular road course training (Allmendinger, Montoya, Franchitti, and Mears won the race while active Cup drivers, but all grew up as formula road racers) to win the race, and while they weren't as fast as Scott Dixon (how could they be?) they certainly weren't anchors while they have been in previous years, and both of them held their own at least. McMurray now joins A.J. Foyt as the only drivers to win the 24 Hours of Daytona and Daytona 500. Mario Andretti is always cited, but I don't think it counts since the race he won with Jacky Ickx in 1972 was shortened to 6 hours due to the fuel crisis or something. Sage Karam's move of the race was even more impressive than I realized. He passed FIFTEEN cars? I was just emphasizing the four he passed at the end. However, I believe in order to pass that many cars, that is called jumping the start. Still, for him to pass that many cars in one corner and not crash may be the move of the year. Wayne Taylor Racing deserves a Darwin award for its driver change strategy. That is the worst strategic screwup I have *ever* seen in a race, any series. Jordan Taylor was not going to catch Scott Dixon anyway (he disappointed me today, but is still my favorite driver). If they had just let Max Angelelli finish the race with no driver changes, I think he probably would have held off Dixon (maybe he'd have been up against HIS time limit too, but I don't think so). If I were Jordan, I'd have at that point stayed out, sacrificed points, and tried to win the race. The Rolex means more than the overall championship does (obviously, because one-off interlopers can and sometimes do win, as we saw with the all IndyCar/NASCAR winning Prototype entry). If Jordan had stayed out and sacrificed the shot at points in exchange for giving himself a chance to still win the race (again I don't think he had anything for Dixon, but still). This is one of the few times I'll agree with cjs3872 with regard to "cracking under the pressure". However, I'm still not ready to blame Jordan for this yet. I had a feeling the team had already lost when they decided to pit Angelelli for Jordan with a few hours to go, because I didn't think Angelelli had a big enough lead for Jordan to hold it after the pit stop. It honestly shocked me when Jordan still beat Dixon out then, so he actually held it LONGER than I expected him to, and still had a chance to win at the end. Jordan kinda choked, but I would say he didn't really... His team strategists were the ones who choked this one. I mean this strategic blunder is right up there with Mark Martin pitting a lap early at Bristol. What the frig? I was rooting hard for the Taylor brothers, but I'm at the point of starting to doubt that team will win the Rolex or title any time soon if their strategy is that bad, considering how many road course races are decided by strategy. Now that McMurray has won 2 of the 3 biggest US races, I'd love to see Ganassi give him a shot at Indy, but I know that will never happen. 1456. SpeedWorld97 posted: 01.25.2015 - 2:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Also, I believe this is Corvette Racing's first win at the Rolex 24 since 2001 when the sister car to Dale Earnhardt's number 3, the number 2, won overall. Of course, last year was their first attempt since 2001, but nonetheless it's a big win for the still fairly new C7.R. 1457. Hinch77 posted: 01.25.2015 - 3:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Now that McMurray has won 2 of the 3 biggest US races, I'd love to see Ganassi give him a shot at Indy, but I know that will never happen. " To do the races justice, one may have to also include Sebring, although in my mind this statement is correct. Also, TLS, AXR won this race last year, so it's not "back-to-back." 1458. murb posted: 01.25.2015 - 3:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cool to see the Ganassi "moonlighters" pull it off. I really like all of those guys. Really cool to see Jamie join that elite list of 500/24 Hour winners at Daytona. 1459. murb posted: 01.25.2015 - 3:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And yeah, even though I didn't see his apparently incredible pass, Sage Karam is gonna be a beast. Really hope he does end up in the #8 IndyCar. 1460. SpeedWorld97 posted: 01.25.2015 - 4:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) By the way, I plan to have the TUDOR Championship standings up sometime in the next few days. 1461. racefangurl posted: 01.25.2015 - 8:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sean, I try not to bash drivers. No need to remind me how I used to bash Chase. I was mad at that kid at the time. And to get back to the 24 Hours of Daytona, When was the last time a NASCAR driver won it? I wasn't aware of this race until between the 2011 and 2012 runs of it. 1462. The Long Shot posted: 01.25.2015 - 8:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "And to get back to the 24 Hours of Daytona, When was the last time a NASCAR driver won it?" 2013, the driver being Juan Pablo Montoya. 1463. racefangurl posted: 01.25.2015 - 9:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I've never been able to watch the whole race, so it's harder for me to remember things like winners. Maybe I should look it up next time. 1464. murb posted: 01.25.2015 - 9:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Fox Sports has announced their Nascar broadcast lineups, with perhaps the biggest highlight being that Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski, and Kevin Harvick will all rotate as booth analysts for the FS1 Xfinity Series races (joining Adam Alexander and Michael Waltrip, apparently). It's kind of weird and random how those guys will do booth work, but I actually like the idea. Brad in particular seems like he would be a good analyst. For as much as I've complained about his attitude the last couple of years, he really should bring a certain type of no-nonsense vibe to the booth that will be nice (not to mention it will be MUCH needed, considering that Michael Waltrip will be the other color commentator). I'd say the same thing for Harvick as well. Not as sure about Gordon, but I imagine he'll at least be pretty decent, given the amount of media stuff he's done over the past 20+ years. But yeah, I was kind of pleasantly surprised by that. Good on them for thinking outside the box and trying to get some interesting analysts in there with their increased coverage, instead of just upping the Waltrip Brothers annoyance, which is what I totally expected them to do. 1465. DB1995 posted: 01.26.2015 - 1:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brad rotating in as an analyst could mean less NXS races for him, even though he didn't run all that many last year. 1466. Sean posted: 01.26.2015 - 1:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "As for Scott Pruett, I hate his dirty driving, but God bless him he's the fastest driver on the team at his age and showing no signs of slowing down." Actually he wasn't. I calculated the average lap times at the Rolex (based on fully green-flag laps with lap speeds within 10% of the fastest lap of the race only, so no pit stops, mechanical failures, etc...) and Karam was the fastest driver in that car. I was even more shocked that Larson was the second fastest overall in the race (so he clearly deserves some share of the credit for the win, and more than I would have guessed). The top 20 fastest in Prototype were: 1. 02 - Scott Dixon - 101.3425 2. 02 - Kyle Larson - 101.3697 3. 10 - Max Angelelli - 101.3825 4. 10 - Jordan Taylor - 101.3917 5. 01 - Sage Karam - 101.5660 6. 5 - Sebastien Bourdais - 101.5741 7. 60 - A.J. Allmendinger - 101.6277 8. 02 - Tony Kanaan - 101.6325 9. 5 - Joao Barbosa - 101.8045 10. 10 - Ricky Taylor - 101.8374 11. 01 - Joey Hand - 101.8429 12. 5 - Christian Fittipaldi - 101.8902 13. 01 - Scott Pruett - 101.8970 14. 02 - Jamie McMurray - 102.0216 15. 31 - Dane Cameron - 102.0597 16. 60 - Oswaldo Negri, Jr. - 102.1746 17. 90 - Mike Rockenfeller - 102.2153 18. 31 - Phil Keen - 102.2363 19. 57 - Alex Brundle - 102.3029 20. 01 - Charlie Kimball - 102.3271 1467. racefangurl posted: 01.26.2015 - 9:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) What NASCAR driver(s) would you guys like to see in the 24 Hours of Daytona next year? 1468. Daniel posted: 01.26.2015 - 11:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Daniel Suarez announced as the driver of the #15 for Venturini Motorsports. 1469. Daniel posted: 01.26.2015 - 1:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cole Powell entered in the #88 for Team BCR 1470. Jarrett88fan posted: 01.26.2015 - 10:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2015/01/26/nbc-sports-group-adds-hall-of-fame-driver-dale-jarrett-to-nascar-broadcast-team/ DJ and Kyle Petty in the same booth for pre and post race analysis... NBC has a legit crew assembled. 1471. Daniel posted: 01.27.2015 - 3:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ross Chastain to drive the full Xfinity schedule in the JD Motorsports #4 1472. Hinch77 posted: 01.27.2015 - 1:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brett Moffitt will drive the #55 at Atlanta before Vickers returns. 1473. The Long Shot posted: 01.27.2015 - 2:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) J.J. Yeley will drive the 83 for BK Racing next year. 1474. murb posted: 01.28.2015 - 2:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, looks like Alex Bowman will be Michael Annett's replacement over at TBR. I really like that. I also read earlier that they have a new sponsor coming on for the first five races of the season (along with Golden Corral almost certainly coming back), so it looks like they have a pretty decent amount of sponsorship too, which was something a lot of people were worried about when Annett was announced as leaving. Good for them. I'm assuming they are just going back to being a one car team with this, and I think that's a good thing. They're way better off putting all of their efforts and resources into only one car instead of trying to stretch everything they have into two. So this should be good for them, especially considering the caliber of driver they've added in Bowman. If Annett was able to have some strong runs for them last year, I think Bowman can easily do that and maybe even more this year. 1475. Daniel posted: 01.28.2015 - 12:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Driver change as Roger Carter is now out of the #97 and Bobby Hamilton Jr. is it. Hamilton will run the full ARCA season in that car. 1476. racefangurl posted: 01.28.2015 - 12:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There's a new NASCAR news site this year. NASCARfemale.com and it's about to be live. 1477. MAR posted: 01.28.2015 - 1:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) " If Annett was able to have some strong runs for them last year, I think Bowman can easily do that and maybe even more this year." Also Bowman and TBR will have cars and engines from RCR so i expect him to out perform what Annett did in that car last year. Also Did RPM find any ssponsorship for Hornish 1478. Anonymous posted: 01.28.2015 - 3:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) RPM said Hornish is currently unsponsored for 26 races but plan to run the full season. 1479. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 01.28.2015 - 3:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tony Stewart bought a sprint car series. I do not know much about what he bought all i know is that it would have folded if Tony didn't buy it. For pennies on the dollar most likely. People should look at Eldora Speedway for how will turn out. 1480. posted: 01.28.2015 - 3:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks like Chase Elliott will run #25 in his Cup races this season. Jayski has a blurry photo of the car on his website. 1481. MAR posted: 01.28.2015 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Unsponsored 26 races? Sounds like a kiss of death for Hornish. 1482. murb posted: 01.28.2015 - 5:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Unsponsored 26 races? Sounds like a kiss of death for Hornish." I was watching him get interviewed on Nascar America a while ago, and he had a couple of other sponsors on his firesuit (Charter was one, can't remember the other), so I'm sure we'll probably see those on the car at some point. They certainly aren't the most well-funded team in the garage, but I don't think they'll be in that bad of shape. Also, I just saw that Brian "Who Cares If It's Pouring Rain on a Flat Oval, Let's Go Green" Barnhart will be returning as race director for IndyCar this year. How incredibly idiotic. 1483. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 01.28.2015 - 6:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Also, I just saw that Brian "Who Cares If It's Pouring Rain on a Flat Oval, Let's Go Green" Barnhart will be returning as race director for IndyCar this year. How incredibly idiotic." 1 step forward, 3 steps back. 1484. Daniel posted: 01.28.2015 - 7:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wood Brothers Racing has added 6 more races to their schedule this year: Darlington, Bristol, Chicago, the fall Charlotte race, Kentucky, and New Hampshire. Also has added PPG, Snap-On, and SKF as sponsors. Leavine Family Racing has expanded its sponsorship with Thrivent Financial. U.S. Air Force has returned to Richard Petty Motorsports. Looks like Sherwin Williams is now sponsoring Jamie McMurray for a few races. Erik Jones will drive 10 races in the #20 for Joe Gibbs in the Xfinity series. Right now, Darrell Wallace Jr. does not have the sponsorship to run a full season in the #6 for Roush-Fenway Racing and will only run a partial schedule. Johanna Long will run a partial Xfinity and Truck schedule for Mike Affarano Motorsports in the #03. Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff returns as a sponsor for Johnny Sauter. Jeb Burton will not return to ThorSport Racing due to a lack of sponsorship. 1485. Daniel posted: 01.28.2015 - 7:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brett Hudson now entered at Daytona in the Team BCR #09 Tyler Audie entered in the Audie Racing #12 1486. TS1420 posted: 01.29.2015 - 10:07 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Also, I just saw that Brian "Who Cares If It's Pouring Rain on a Flat Oval, Let's Go Green" Barnhart will be returning as race director for IndyCar this year. How incredibly idiotic." Good god! They put Brian Brainfart back in control? *Shakes head in disappointment at IndyCar* I wonder what Will Power thinks about this. *Will Power breaks out the double bird* 1487. Scott B posted: 01.29.2015 - 10:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) With the last round of driver moves, interesting to look at what happened to the rookie class of 2015: Only three of the eight (ROTY winner Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon, and Justin Allgaier) will start the 2015 season with the same organization they started the 2014 season with. Really, was anyone expecting Austin Dillon to split from Childress anytime soon? Three will be driving for different teams than 2014 (Cole Whitt, Michael Annett, and Alex Bowman). None of those three are with true powerhouse teams yet, but they've each taken a step in the right direction. These guys have some talent and are trying to do it the old school way, working their way up to better rides. Two 2104 rookies (Ryan Truex, Parker Kligerman) didn't make it through their first full season and are currently rideless (in all three top series, AFAIK). 1488. Scott B posted: 01.29.2015 - 10:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^^^ Rookie class of 2014, obviously ^^^ 1489. Sean posted: 01.29.2015 - 12:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Also, I just saw that Brian 'Who Cares If It's Pouring Rain on a Flat Oval, Let's Go Green' Barnhart will be returning as race director for IndyCar this year. How incredibly idiotic." He was terrible at the end for sure (that Loudon incident, the Baltimore incident where a safety truck crossed the track seconds before Graham Rahal would have clobbered it on a restart, the Edmonton blocking penalty assessed to Castroneves, and his favoring of endless side-by-side pack racing which helped lead to Dan Wheldon's death, not to mention his micromanaging of the race (saying "give me four good ones" before every driver's qualifying run, which is annoying but basically harmless, wanting to prevent drivers from making creatin move seen as too aggressive, etc...) HOWEVER...I was never exactly a big fan of Beaux Barfield either and don't think he was much better. He was a little better, but usually honestly worse than Barfield in his earlier years I think. Besides the 2002 Indy 500, I really don't remember many officiating controversies in the IRL until Champ Car and IRL merged and Tony George got fired. Barnhart wasn't that terrible pre-2009. While George had an overall terrible impact on racing, the races had fewer controversies than usual while he was there (not that I think he should be back...I think Dan Andersen should be running the series thanks to how he's basically singlehandedly revived Indy Lights). But let's review Barfield's record for a second here. First off, he liked to hear himself talk just as much as Barnhart, which is NOT something you want of the chief steward position. In 2012, he kept extending a caution flag at Indy to ensure an exciting green-flag finish (which it was), then started experimenting with fake red flags at the end of races like what NASCAR was doing in the early 2000s...Fontana 2012 and Indy 2014, which both had a lot of critics). He gave Scott Dixon a completely bogus penalty at Milwaukee in 2012, many argued he did at Sonoma in 2013 (but I actually think he was right about that one) and he defended these decisions for pages and pages in Marshall Pruett articles in social media. I guess people liked him because he supposedly "engaged the fans", just like they liked Randy Bernard, but I think they both ran the races/racing series nearly as gimmicky as NASCAR does. I did not hate Barfield, but while he was better than Barnhart in 2010-2011, he wasn't much better than earlier Barnhart, if he was at all. (I will give him credit for this year's Rolex, which Barfield DID officiate well). You want to not know the chief steward's name, not have them be so actively involved in the public. They both seemed biased too. Barnhart seemed biased for Helio and Dario for the most part, while Barfield seemed biased for Power and against Dixon. Both of them seemed to have 'favorites' and that's really freaking bad. With the recent spate of IndyCar officiating controversies in recent seasons, the smartest PR move would be not to even announce who the race director is, yet they made this into a big PR deal. Their marketing remains terrible, and no, I don't think Barnhart deserves to be back, but I don't think anybody else wants it and I don't think for most of his tenure he was THAT bad. Every official in recent years has seemed to be terrible since Wally Dallenbach, Sr. retired from CART after 1999 or 2000. I don't even know who would be good... At least now he has checks and balances. 1490. The Long Shot posted: 01.29.2015 - 12:37 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Confirmed: Chase Elliott to the #24 car in 2016, with Alan Gustafson remaining as crew chief (so much for Rookie of the Year, then). No sponsor has been announced yet. Elliott will also run 5 Cup races this year in the NAPA-sponsored #25: Martinsville, Richmond, Charlotte, Indianapolis, and Darlington. 1491. WinstonCup4Ever posted: 01.29.2015 - 1:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Congrats to Chase Elliott for earning a full time spot in the 24 in 2016. Chase's career path of choice looks to be excellent in the coming years. At the rate he's driving, he'll pick up a Cup championship like Jeff Gordon before he reaches his Senior year in this series. Good luck this season and in the following seasons to come. 1492. murb posted: 01.29.2015 - 4:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Definitely not surprised about Chase, and definitely not surprised that they will keep Gustafson and that entire team together for him. I'm a little surprised he'll keep the #24 (I actually sort of wish now he'd use the #25 after seeing his car for this year - it'd be cool to see that number be full time again with a potentially really good driver behind the wheel), but overall I don't think it's that much of a big deal. I have a feeling he'll do the #24 justice in the long run. 1493. murb posted: 01.29.2015 - 4:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) On second thought, I just read a quote by Richard Petty that said "the #9 is Chase's if he wants it next year". So maybe he'll actually end up using #9 after all if Petty is giving it up that easily. 1494. Zackary Shawn posted: 01.29.2015 - 5:49 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Hendrick doesn't have all of Jr.'s races for 2015 sold, but he does have them all sold for 2016 already. My outstanding detective skills lead me to deduce that some of Gordon's sponsors will move over to Jr. and Chase will bring NAPA with him to Cup in 2016. 1495. MAR posted: 01.29.2015 - 6:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Petty is giving up the #9 easy cause nobody wants to sponsor it and after running a possible 26 unsponsored races that team might not even be around in 2016 1496. joey2448 posted: 01.29.2015 - 8:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It appears the season-opening race in Brazil for the IndyCar series has been cancelled. Not really surprised, but that's a shame. 1497. murb posted: 01.29.2015 - 10:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "My outstanding detective skills lead me to deduce that some of Gordon's sponsors will move over to Jr. and Chase will bring NAPA with him to Cup in 2016." I see that happening too. NAPA really seems to be pushing for a Gordon/DuPont type of relationship with Chase (definitely can't blame them for being super psyched on having a potentially great young driver on their hands), so I think we'll probably see him almost exclusively run NAPA colors in Cup. So I do think that will free up at least 3M (their HMS deal is through 2017) to move over to Jr's car. "that team might not even be around in 2016" I highly doubt that will be the case. If the sponsorship woes do continue, the worst case scenario is that they'll just have to replace Hornish with somebody who brings in a sponsor. There's a decent amount of guys out there who would fit that criteria (Dakoda Armstrong, their current NXS driver, would probably be most likely if it happens), so unless they have trouble finding a buy-a-ride driver to come in and drive that car (I have a real hard time seeing somebody pass that car up - RPM is a good little team), then I seriously doubt they will just fold that car. Besides, in the RPM press release it also says that the Medallion Financial guy who owns part of the team is willing to put up funding for Hornish for quite a few races, so it's definitely not gonna actually wind up being 26 unsponsored races. In reality it's probably more like 18-20 unsponsored races at this point, which honestly (and sadly) isn't all that uncommon to have this day in age at this point in the off-season for some of the second-tier and under teams. 1498. Daniel posted: 01.30.2015 - 4:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) A couple of more entries added for the ARCA race: -Mark Thompson in the #11 for Ken Schrader Racing -Brad Smith in the #49 for Hylton Motorsports Current entrant count is 46. 1499. racefangurl posted: 01.30.2015 - 8:42 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) I don't like football, so this weekend's a doorway to good times in my eyes. The end of football season. February is almost here. This means the cars will be back on track soon! 1500. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 01.30.2015 - 10:36 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "It appears the season-opening race in Brazil for the IndyCar series has been cancelled. Not really surprised, but that's a shame." Reguardless if the race was going too happen or not. Indycar manages too fine new ways of shooting themselves in the foot. 1501. The Long Shot posted: 01.30.2015 - 10:44 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Apparently NASCAR has said that Trevor Bayne will not be eligible for Rookie of the Year because he has "too much experience" in Cup. 1502. pimmy posted: 01.30.2015 - 11:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, he does have 58 races under his belt. He's definitely not a rookie. 1503. Smiff_2 posted: 01.30.2015 - 11:34 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) ^^^Which is total and utter bullshit. I thought they made the 'series declaration' rule to prevent that from happening? Originally, if you'd run more than 7 races, you lost the chance at ROTY for your first full season. Then, they came along with the 'pick-a-series-for-points' thing, and supposedly that was going to make it so that a driver with more than 7 starts could still be eligible for ROTY as long as they'd only earned points in Nationwide/Xfinity. Sounds like NASCAR had another about-face. Shocking. 1504. Daniel posted: 01.30.2015 - 12:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) -Sean Corr now entered in the #48 for Empire Racing. 1505. racefangurl posted: 01.30.2015 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) T-Bayne has run more than 36 (which is a season's equivalent) Cup races. Maybe since 58>36, he had too many starts, even with the points thing. 1506. Hinch77 posted: 01.30.2015 - 6:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Behold, the Southeast Series results are now up!!! 1507. Kubica Fan Ireland posted: 01.30.2015 - 7:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Quiz question related to Jimmie Johnson and another major motorsports driver (active) in terms of statistics. The 3 numbers that ties Johnson to another currently active driver in another series are 33, 70 and 148. The 3 NUMBERS is the key to the equation. The 70 for JJ is the number of cup wins he has. The numbers do not all relate to the same stat E.G. wins. This person has achieved 70 of these also, but not 70 wins. It could be poles,starts or podiums etc. I will give the answer on Saturday or Sunday, I hope I have explained adequately. I will also change my user to Colm which is easier than Kubica Fan Ireland. 1508. murb posted: 01.30.2015 - 7:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree that Nascar's ROTY system is pretty significantly flawed, but I have no problems with Trevor not being eligible. He's run almost two full seasons worth of Cup races, so even if he was eligible it wouldn't make sense. If anybody should be eligible for it this year, it should be Ryan Blaney. He's guaranteed to be running 18 races (half the schedule), and since he's not running full time in any particular series, he'll most likely choose to run for Cup points. So I really hope at some point he'll be eligible for it this year, whether it's by getting more races added to his schedule (Penske said he's willing to run a third car for him in his non Wood Brothers races if Ryan wins a race and becomes Chase eligible, so maybe that will happen), or by Nascar just saying "the hell with it, he's running at least half the schedule and there are literally no other candidates, so he should be eligible". Overall though, I'm not too upset with the ROTY stuff this year. We just had a great battle last year with Larson and Dillon, and we will most likely have another great battle next year with Chase and somebody else (early guesses at this point: Blaney if he is eligible, or Chris Buescher in the #17 if Stenhouse gets canned after this year). 1509. Colm posted: 01.30.2015 - 8:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Watching the Daytona 24 hours last weekend really showed how much has been done with the Daytona redevelopment and gave a much better idea of what it will be like when finished. The new stands are crazy steep and the seats in the turn1 upper level give an incredible view of practically the entire speedway. It looks really good already, but it will truly be the best motorsports venue for fans world wide when finished. You can view a 3d virtual map of the Daytona speedway on its website. Go to the tickets and open up the 3d map and you can view a model of it currently, and one when it is complete in 2016. It will look extremely weird for the 4th of July race with just seats in turns 1 and 4 with the frontstretch seating and race tower being removed and redeveloped. 1510. AutoRockinRacing94 posted: 01.31.2015 - 12:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Pretty much the last race in the near future that will see foreign drivers in Cup with Ambrose leaving. 2015 Daytona 500 will indeed break the drought from 2006 at Phoenix (November) that will see an all-American field. 1511. hi posted: 01.31.2015 - 6:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) yeah sniff, it is a judgement call, but I'd find it more ridiculous if they actually had a Cup driver with FIFTY EIGHT starts competing for ROOKIE OF THE YEAR. That'd be completely asinine. 1512. Smiff_2 posted: 01.31.2015 - 9:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh, don't get me wrong, I don't think he should be eligible either. I just think it's funny (in a bad way) that NASCAR is still re-writing it's own rules as it goes along. If nothing else, when they changed the rule a few years back, they should've included a caveat that stated a driver with more than 'x' amount of starts would still be ineligible for ROTY. Seems to me they left it ambiguous to begin with, JUST so they could make a decision like this if they felt like it. 1513. Evan posted: 01.31.2015 - 2:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Trevor Bayne has a Daytona 500 win and everything else that was already mentioned, so the call not include him as a rookie candidate is a fair enough call, but what I'm still scratching my head about is why John Andretti in the 2007 Busch season was named a "rookie" when he ran the 10 car for Brewco Motorsports, Andretti had run enough years and seasons in Cup even though I guess he never ran Busch. A few drivers in Trevor's situation were Mark Martin, who didn't run his first full season until he drove the new Roush Ford in 1988, but before that he drove races in Jim Magill car, as well as the #02 Apache Stove car among other pickup rides, but with little success. The most current is Carl Edwards who ran the remainder of the 2004 season when Jeff Burton was released from the 99 car and Edwards was moved up, Carl Edwards was not eligible in 2005 and promptly set the NASCAR world on fire in the span of two years and set the groundwork for an awesome Cup career. The rules for ROY eligibility are fair enough, you just have to make sure you run a certain amount to get the candidacy. 1514. racefangurl posted: 01.31.2015 - 8:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Trevor would've won ROTY in 2011. of they hadn't had the one driver, one championship rule. In my thinking, they could tweak it a bit. A driver with a full-time Cup ride this year must declare Cup their points series. If a driver without a full-time Cup ride declares a lower series their points series, but runs in some Cup races, that driver gets points in that lower series they declared points in and any higher one(s) they race in. That rule was created so Cup drivers wouldn't steal minor league championships. Cup drivers had been winning too many minor league races. They never imagined the shoe would be on the other foot. 1515. racefangurl posted: 01.31.2015 - 8:59 pm Rate this comment: (2) (4) if, not of. I still can't proofread. Tomorrow's the last day of football. That's good, in my eyes. Football, I don't like it at all. 1516. Db1995 posted: 01.31.2015 - 9:44 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) tomorrow is hardly the last day of football, Arena football starts in March, and I think Canadian football starts in May 1517. racefangurl posted: 01.31.2015 - 11:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Last day of NFL football, then. Not a fan, so I didn't know the Arena and Canadian seasons. 1518. joey2448 posted: 02.01.2015 - 5:15 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) By the way, Seahawks over Pats 20-16 1519. Seagal posted: 02.01.2015 - 11:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Won't be the same without Jeff Gordon on the track. Honestly, after Kenseth and Johnson retire, I think I'll find it hard to be as passionate about the sport as I am now. It'll be the end of an era for me. I just can't get invested in the young drivers coming in, no matter how talented some might be. On another note, Go Hawks! They didn't look great against GB, but GB is a much better team than the Colts. I hope this game is as close as everyone is predicting it will be. I just want to see a great game! 1520. racefangurl posted: 02.01.2015 - 4:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The drivers I'm passionate about are still young. As long as, say Joey's around, I can find the passion. I'm sticking to the Cup boards and driver pages, unless the minor leagues are on FOX. I'll spare everyone my bat guano on the minor league boards. 1521. Hinch77 posted: 02.01.2015 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As was mentioned months ago, Jeff Gordon and Austin Dillon were the only people to run at the finish of all 36 races. That is the first time Jeff Gordon has ever finished every race in a season. 1522. Bigolracer posted: 02.01.2015 - 7:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) God. Still Hate This Race To This Day I Really. I Mean REALLY Wanted Ryan To Win. 1523. TS1420 posted: 02.01.2015 - 10:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Goddamn Seahawks could have BEAST MODE'd their way to a 2nd Super Bowl and they literally let Russell Wilson throw it away. And of course The 48 Team of The NFL wins again. 1524. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 02.01.2015 - 10:09 pm Rate this comment: (3) (2) "And of course The 48 Team of The NFL wins again." Salty. 1525. Db1995 posted: 02.01.2015 - 10:10 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Worst play call of all time, Your 1/2 yard away from victory and you throw it?, to make it worse you have Marshawn Lynch to hand it to. 1526. racefangurl posted: 02.02.2015 - 9:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) The NFL's over, which is a good thing, to me. I need NASCAR NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!Cars on the track, that's where it's at. 1527. Seagal posted: 02.02.2015 - 10:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I haven't been so upset about a sports play in years. One of the worst calls in football history. Marshawn likely had a 90% chance of running it in so close to the goal line. Such bull****. 1528. Scott B posted: 02.02.2015 - 12:14 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Mixed feelings here about the Trevor Bayne ROTY ruling. I agree that he does have a lot of experience to be considered a rookie, but he has followed all the written rules to remain eligible. NASCAR needs to stop with the unwritten, make it up as we go along rules. 12 Cup races in one season or 36 cumulative would probably be a reasonable cutoff. But, make it effective starting with the 2016 season, not this year, and then stick to it. 1529. Daniel posted: 02.02.2015 - 1:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeffrey Earnhardt will run the full Xfinity schedule in the #55 for Viva Motorsports. 1530. We need more Onion posted: 02.02.2015 - 2:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good. This way the #55 will remain full-time and the #4 got a much more capable driver in Chastain. 1531. racefangurl posted: 02.02.2015 - 2:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Scott B, 36 races cumulative would be a reasonable limit. Maybe that limit they decided, whatever it is will be official next year. 1532. murb posted: 02.02.2015 - 4:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Elton Sawyer will be the new Truck Series director this year as Chad Little gets promoted. Interesting. 1533. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 02.02.2015 - 5:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Elton Sawyer will be the new Truck Series director this year as Chad Little gets promoted. Interesting." Elton Sawyer has been around the track a time or two. Wasn't great but wasn't terrible. His best year was his last stats wise. Trucks do not lose much in my opinion. 1534. Hinch77 posted: 02.02.2015 - 6:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Real SES driver name: Rick Roller Go ahead... look it up on this sight ;) 1535. Bigolracer posted: 02.02.2015 - 7:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @1523 My Thoughts EXACTLY 1536. Zackary Shawn posted: 02.03.2015 - 3:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) In my opinion, Ryan Blaney should go ahead and declare himself eligible for Cup points. Here's why: 1. He isn't running full time in any of the series, so why the hell not? 2. With Bayne out, the rookie field is essentially nonexistent as far as I can tell. We know Blaney will run at least 50% of the schedule and I think that limited schedule would be good enough to go ahead and get Rookie of the Year on his résumé. 3. If he wins Daytona, which isn't unrealistic by any means, then he would be Chase eligible. 4. Roger Penske has already said that he would have to strongly consider fielding a car for Blaney in the other races he isn't currently scheduled for if he won Daytona. 5. Even if 3 and 4 didn't happen, WHO CARES? 1 and 2 are still true and Blaney is still an exceptional talent who probably has a better chance to win the races he is entered in than 25-30% of the field. 1537. racefangurl posted: 02.03.2015 - 10:47 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) Bayne got the Wood Brothers a Daytona 500 win, so if Blaney's at least equal to his predecessor in talent or plate racing abilities, at least, he could do the same. Zackary Shawn's 3 can't be ruled out as long as Blaney's not a bad driver, basically. 1538. Scott B posted: 02.03.2015 - 10:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree, Zackary. Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott and Ty Dillon (& maybe others) were shaping up to make a good ROTY class for 2016. Now that Trevor Bayne is out of the picture for 2015, though, Blaney just has to meet the eligibility requirements. I don't know of anyone else really prepared to jump in and make a run for the award this season, with Daytona just a few weeks out. If Blaney can do it by adding a race here and there (it wouldn't even need to be a full-time schedule), go for it! 1539. racefangurl posted: 02.03.2015 - 2:50 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Blaney has 18 races already. If he declares Cup points, that's enough races to have him be ROTY. 1540. The Long Shot posted: 02.03.2015 - 2:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Starr will drive the #44 in the Xfinity Series full-time for TriStar Motorsports this year. 1541. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 02.03.2015 - 9:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "3. If he wins Daytona, which isn't unrealistic by any means, then he would be Chase eligible." If he is doing the other 2 plates before the Chase then that will be another chance for him. Should he win any one of those 3, then Roger should pull out all stops too get Ryan into the Chase for those 10 races. Even if he wins and is Chase eligible. I do not think he'll get past the 1st round. But you know what? Who cares. Big feather in his cap. 1542. murb posted: 02.03.2015 - 11:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The more I've been thinking about it lately, the more I really think Blaney is gonna be a major surprise this year. I saw some pictures that were taken at the Penske shop this week, and from the looks of it, the Wood Brothers #21 will actually be ran out of the Penske shop this year (of course I obviously knew about the technical alliance, but I guess I wasn't aware that they'd actually be running the #21 out of Penske's shop with the #2 and #22). So he really is pretty much literally driving a third Penske car. So assuming Penske doesn't fall off equipment-wise from last year (I don't think they will), and assuming he adapts well and quickly to the Cup cars (I'll be surprised if he doesn't - he jumped straight from Trucks into the NNS cars and was extremely fast right away, and he also ran good in both of his Cup starts last year, so he seems to have good adaptability), I don't think it's a stretch at all to say he will at least contend for some wins at some point. I can easily see him having just as good of a year as Larson had last year. 1543. Daniel posted: 02.04.2015 - 9:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wendell Chavous to run the full truck schedule, except Daytona, and compete for ROTY in the #94 for Premium Motorsports. More entries added for the ARCA race: -J.J. Pack in the #1 for Willie Mullins -Brent Cross in the #18 for Bill Catania -Andy Seuss in the #76 for Bryan Dauzat 1544. racefangurl posted: 02.04.2015 - 11:59 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) In regard to Ryan Blaney, I'm a race fan. I wonder if he'll declare Cup points. Even if he did that, made the Chase and was eliminated early, he'd be able to say he made the Chase as a rookie. Denny Hamlin made the Chase as a rookie, so it's not impossible. I promise no more pie talk, when unwarranted. 1545. Daniel posted: 02.04.2015 - 3:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Eldora truck race will now only have 5 drivers locked in instead of 20 in an attempt to have more entrants. 1546. David posted: 02.04.2015 - 4:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brad Keselowski and girlfriend Paige White are expecting a daughter. 1547. Scott B posted: 02.04.2015 - 7:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Has NASCAR said anything about Brian Vickers being Chase eligible this season? Since it looks like he's only going to miss two races, it would seem like a fair ruling. I suppose there may not be an announcement until he officially returns, but the surprise Trevor Bayne/ROTY decision got me wondering... 1548. murb posted: 02.04.2015 - 7:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Has NASCAR said anything about Brian Vickers being Chase eligible this season?" Yeah, they made a medical exemption for him. He'll be eligible if he wins. 1549. racefangurl posted: 02.05.2015 - 10:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) So many NASCAR drivers have become parents lately or announced they have a baby on the way. I guess that mean a lot of track kids. I've seen them on TV. I wonder if they're their daddy's biggest little fans. 1550. Daniel posted: 02.05.2015 - 11:38 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) A couple of more entries added to the arca race: -Daniel Hemric in the #92 for NTS Motorsports -Cassie Gannis in the #95 for Carter 2 Motorsports 1551. MAR posted: 02.05.2015 - 1:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Has anybody heard anything about ryan seig's plans for this season. 1552. racefangurl posted: 02.06.2015 - 10:20 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Our last NASCAR-less weekend has begun. 1553. Daniel posted: 02.06.2015 - 11:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) -Johnny Sauter to attempt the Daytona 500 in the #83 for BK Racing -Premium Motorsports has bought the #36 assets from Tommy Baldwin Racing, will change the number to #62, and run the full season. They will also enter the #66 in the Daytona 500 with Mike Wallace. -Joe Nemechek will run a partial Cup schedule in his own #87. Unknown so far if he will attempt the 500. -David Ragan will be sponsored by KFC in the 500. -Blake Koch has picked up sponsorship from LeafFilter. -Kyle Larson to be sponsored by ENEOS in 8 Xfinity races. -Justin Boston to be sponsored by BitPay at Daytona. -David Gilliland to drive the #92 for Ricky Benton in the Daytona truck race. -MAKE Motorsports has picked up sponsorship from BUBBA Burger -Russ Dugger now driving the #80 in the ARCA race. -Josh Williams to drive his own #6 -John Lowinski-Loh to drive the Lira Motorsports #58 -The #75 of Bob Schacht Motorsports has withdrawn. 1554. racefangurl posted: 02.07.2015 - 2:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) One week until race time. 1555. racefangurl posted: 02.07.2015 - 3:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Mark Martin no longer wants to work with Roush. He wants to go to dirt tracks and no other tracks. 1556. Dave #38 Fan-Go Gilliland! posted: 02.07.2015 - 10:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Has anybody heard anything about ryan seig's plans for this season." Running NXS full-time and running the truck race at Daytona. 1557. murb posted: 02.08.2015 - 3:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeb Burton will drive the #26 full time for BK Racing in the Cup Series. Obviously it's a totally crappy ride, but I'm really glad Jeb was able to at least find something to do to keep his name out there. Hopefully he'll be like Bowman was last year and eventually find himself in a better ride somewhere after this. 1558. racefangurl posted: 02.08.2015 - 6:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) The end is near. End of NASCAR offseason, that is. Who plans to watch the Sprint Unlimited? We could, since it's on FOX. 1559. The Long Shot posted: 02.08.2015 - 8:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The field is shaping up for NASCAR's opening weekend. Right now here is what the preliminary entry lists look like at this point (completely unofficial, just my speculation): Sprint Unlimited: 1-McMurray 2-Keselowski 3-A. Dillon 4-Harvick 5-Kahne 10-Patrick 11-Hamlin 13-Mears 14-Stewart 15-Bowyer 16-Biffle 18-Ky. Busch 19-Edwads 20-Kenseth 22-Logano 24-Gordon 27-Menard 31-Newman 38-Gilliland 41-Ku. Busch 42-Larson 43-Almirola 48-Johnson 78-Truex Jr. 88-Earnhardt Jr. Daytona 500: 1-McMurray 2-Keselowski 3-A. Dillon 4-Harvick 5-Kahne 6-Bayne 7-Bowman 9-Hornish Jr. 10-Patrick 11-Hamlin 13-Mears 14-Stewart 15-Bowyer 16-Biffle 17-Stenhouse Jr. 18-Ky. Busch 19-Edwards 20-Kenseth 21-R. Blaney 22-Logano 23-Yeley 24-Gordon 26-Jeb Burton 27-Menard 30-Hornaday Jr. 31-Newman 32-B. Labonte 33-T. Dillon 34-Ragan 35-Whitt 38-Gilliland 40-Cassill 41-Ku. Busch 42-Larson 43-Almirola 44-TBA (driver to be announced tomorrow; rumors suggest Sorenson) 46-Annett 47-Allmendinger 48-Johnson 51-Allgaier 55-Waltrip 62-Scott 66-M. Wallace 78-Truex Jr. 83-Sauter 87-J. Nemechek? (team trying to run the 500; unconfirmed if they'll be able to) 88-Earnhardt Jr. 95-McDowell 98-Wise Xfinity Series: 0-Rhodes 01-Cassill 03-J. Long 1-Sadler 2-Scott 3-T. Dillon 4-Chastain 6-Wallace Jr. 7-Smith 8-Koch 9-Elliott 10-Bliss 13-D. White 14-Conley 15-Contreras 16-Reed 17-Berryhill 18-Suarez 19-Lagasse Jr. 20-Jones 22-Keselowski 23-Richardson 24-McClure 25-Townley 26-M. Wallace 28-Yeley 33-A. Dillon 39-Sieg 42-Larson 43-Armstrong 44-Starr 51-Clements 52-Gase 54-Ky. Busch 55-J. Earnhardt 60-C. Buescher 62-Gaughan 70-Cope 74-Harmon 87-J. Nemechek 88-Earnhardt Jr. 89-Shepherd Truck Series: 02-Young 03-J. Long 05-Townley 07-Black Jr. 4-Jones 6-Benning 8-J. Nemechek 11-Kennedy 15-Mingus 17-Peters 19-Reddick 20-Lagasse Jr. 23-Gallagher 29-Theriault 33-T. Dillon 49-Saunders 50-Anderson 51-Suarez 54-Boston 81-Smithley 88-Crafton 92-Gilliland 94-Kvapil 98-Sauter 99-Silas 1560. racefangurl posted: 02.08.2015 - 9:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Maybe I shouldn't comment on this site. I got called ridiculous on the Chase Elliott page. 1561. Eric posted: 02.08.2015 - 10:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I question Jeb Burton going to BK Racing is a good move for his career. BK Racing has a history of not paying their drivers. 1562. Scott B posted: 02.09.2015 - 12:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wasn't expecting the Jeb Burton deal. I guess BK is better than nothing, but I hope people understand what a sketchy ride that is when they judge his results. He's essentially skipping NNW-Xfinity (2 starts) to jump straight from trucks to cup, which is a high degree of difficulty for a young driver even with a good organization behind him. 1563. Hinch77 posted: 02.09.2015 - 5:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Make sure you check out the Autozone Elite Division Midwest Series results ;) See how Paul Menard and Travis Kvapil were before they ran Cup. 1564. The Long Shot posted: 02.09.2015 - 11:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt DiBenedetto will run select events for BK Racing in the #83 this year. 1565. We need more Onion posted: 02.09.2015 - 12:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) That is good for him. I hope he won't have to park, a talented driver who much deserved to be in the #30. Talking about the #30... it looks like Ron will have another dark green car, like he had one in 2001. So yeah, at least it looks neat. 1566. racefangurl posted: 02.09.2015 - 2:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Joey Logano skipped Nationwide/Xfinity, basically. He still had 12 starts, which is more than Jeb has, though. Joey never had a Truck ride, so it's hard to compare. I could see Jeb running in a lot of Nationwide/Xfinity races this year. I wouldn't be surprised if Jeb struggled, at least at first, because Joey had to be 23-4 before he showed what he can do. 1567. NestieTheKid posted: 02.09.2015 - 3:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Say Ryan Blaney skips Atlanta and wins at Las Vegas, do you see Nascar giving him a waiver as long as Penske gets him in the rest of the season? 1568. murb posted: 02.09.2015 - 5:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "44-TBA (driver to be announced tomorrow; rumors suggest Sorenson)" Yep, it's Sorenson. He's also taking Golden Corral with him it sounds like. It's cool to see the #44 get a good sponsor like that, but it's also a bit bittersweet to see them leave TBR after all they've done together. Hopefully TBR will be able to pick up another sponsor to replace them. Also, James Buescher will drive part time (a full schedule depends on sponsorship, I assume) in the Truck Series for NTS Motorsports. NTS will also have short-tracker Daniel Hemric run the #14 truck full time (he'll be going for ROTY), and they'll also have Gray Gaulding run part time in the #20 truck once again. I'm assuming these guys bought a bunch of Turner's equipment, so it looks like they are ramping up their operation quite a bit this year. 1569. ch posted: 02.09.2015 - 10:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Another part of the BK Racing announcement today was that Ward Burton will be driving in select events (probably in the #83). Can't wait to see the paint scheme the #44 team does for Golden Corral. 1570. murb posted: 02.09.2015 - 11:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Another part of the BK Racing announcement today was that Ward Burton will be driving in select events (probably in the #83)." I don't think that's what they meant. It just said that he would be a "team ambassador", so that probably means he'll just be hanging out around the team and mentoring Jeb (and maybe DiBenedetto too since he'll be quite inexperienced). I doubt he'll race. 1571. racefangurl posted: 02.10.2015 - 9:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wonder if Ward Burton's involvement with BK Racing has to do with Jeb. Say, if Jeb wasn't a BK driver, his father wouldn't be the team ambassador. Father hanging around to mentor his son, like murb mentioned. 1572. ch posted: 02.10.2015 - 10:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Additionally, Ward Burton will be a team ambassador for BK Racing and join Jeb in select appearances throughout the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season." To me the whole "join Jeb in select appearances throughout the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season" means racing with Jeb, but I guess we'll see. RAB Racing has finally made an announcement as well. Justin Marks will drive the #29 for them in both the Cup and Xfinity races at Daytona. Marks will also be in the #35 truck for Win-Tron Racing. 1573. Scott B posted: 02.10.2015 - 10:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The #44 paint scheme for Golden Corral will be Orange & White from the preview photos, looks pretty sharp. Golden Corral with be back with TBR for the other 3 plate races this year, on the #7 with Alex Bowman. Toy State is primary sponsor for Bowman's first 5 races, including Daytona, so that explains the one-time switch to the #44. 1574. The Long Shot posted: 02.10.2015 - 1:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cameron Hayley will drive the #13 truck for ThorSport Racing full-time in the Trucks next year, running for Rookie of the Year. 1575. BMan0213 posted: 02.10.2015 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brennan Poole is gonna run 15 races in the 42 for HScott with Ganassi Racing this year. While this is a great chance for Poole, Kwasniewski seems to be in a bit of trouble. With Poole having 15 races and Larson having a minimum of 9 (ENEOS for 8 and ParkerStore for at least one, but more than likely more) that would at most leave 9 for Kwasniewski. I have a feeling it's gonna be even less than that, probably somewhere between 5-7 races, 1576. murb posted: 02.10.2015 - 7:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Brennan Poole is gonna run 15 races in the 42 for HScott with Ganassi Racing this year." Wow, didn't expect that, but that's pretty cool. I've been waiting to see for a couple years now if anyone would take a chance on Poole. I've always thought he was pretty talented, judging from his Arca success. As far as Kwasniewski goes, yeah, he obviously needs to step it up majorly this year. Let's also not forget that they have Rico Abreu (in addition to Poole now, evidently) in their development program now as well. So it looks like that's really gonna be a dogfight over there between those three guys (I know Abreu is just running the East Series, but apparently he and Larson are like inseparable friends, so if he lights it up in the East Series I have a feeling we'll see him in NXS relatively quickly). So it will be interesting to see how Dylan handles that. Obviously the number one thing he needs to do is run better on the race track, but as far as personality and behind the scenes stuff goes, I think that will be a pretty big test for him as well. I'm not saying he's a bad personality or anything (last year he was actually way less dickish and more mature than I expected him to be), but as a 19/20 year old that has basically had a guaranteed ride through his whole career so far, it will be a test for him to essentially fight for his job against others. 1577. joey2448 posted: 02.11.2015 - 5:50 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "NTS will also have short-tracker Daniel Hemric run the #14 truck full time (he'll be going for ROTY), and they'll also have Gray Gaulding run part time in the #20 truck once again." This is something I could really see working out well. Hemric seems to have a lot of natural talent and speed (especially on the short tracks), and Gaulding (as hated as he is around here for his stupid antics) has shown to be quite fast, although he lacks consistency. 1578. The Long Shot posted: 02.11.2015 - 10:36 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Andy Petree has been hired by Fox to serve as a rules analyst (similar to how Mike Pereira serves on the NFL broadcasts). 1579. MAR posted: 02.11.2015 - 1:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Uncle Bob's storage sponsoring Ryan Seig 16 races this season finally a company recognizes talent his team should be way better with more funds this season 1580. WinstonCup4Ever posted: 02.11.2015 - 3:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) BREAKING: Race Buddy now available for every Sprint Cup race beginning this season. I'm going to take a guess and say both FOX and NBC gave the green light on this for the addition of OTA Sprint Cup telecasts due to ABC's incident at last year's Bank of America 500. Here's hoping this new contract avoids problems like this. 1581. Eric posted: 02.11.2015 - 7:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) While this isn't NASCAR news or true racing news, A race track is going away. Disney has announced in late June 2015 that all driving experiences at Walt Disney World Speedway including Richard Petty racing Experience will be closing. The race track in question hasn't been used in NASCAR since 1998 and Indy Car since 2000. Disney has said that it expects to use the land for future transportation improvements, but has not elaborated on what those are. I do know that Disney think Magic Kingdom has a Parking issue since the FantasyLand Expansion they had. 1582. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 02.11.2015 - 8:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "BREAKING: Race Buddy now available for every Sprint Cup race beginning this season. I'm going to take a guess and say both FOX and NBC gave the green light on this for the addition of OTA Sprint Cup telecasts due to ABC's incident at last year's Bank of America 500. Here's hoping this new contract avoids problems like this." Good. Know i can enjoy onboard uploaded on Youtube. 1583. racefangurl posted: 02.11.2015 - 9:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dylan Kwasniewski can't be judged too harshly. He was a rookie last year and some would call him a kid. Since he's no longer a rookie, he needs to step it up, I agree. See how this year goes and then we can judge him. Not a huge fan of his, but I try to be respectful. I try to respect drivers, even if I'm not a real fan, unless I'm mad at them. Dylan K. has done nothing recently that made me mad, so I have no reason to bash him. 1584. racefangurl posted: 02.11.2015 - 9:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not that I felt anyone was bashing him, just saying how I feel about him right now. 1585. JRacingFast posted: 02.12.2015 - 12:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I see Nascar is going to a qualiflying format similar to what they did in Talledega last year....That sucks because it takes away how special winning the 500 was because it truely was a test for the teams and engine builders to get to say they had the fastest car leading up to the 500....Now it will be more like a wild card 1586. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 02.12.2015 - 2:25 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Jayski has the 500 entry list http://www.jayski.com/news/stats/2015/story/_/page/01-Daytona-2015-Entry-List 50 cars are entered. I'm surprised that Gibbs didn't swap the 19 and 20 points; taking advantage of Kenseth's champ provisional. Edwards has to qualify well and /or keep it clean in the 150's. 1587. Scott B posted: 02.12.2015 - 4:50 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) 50 entries is the most for the D-500 since 2010. 1588. racefangurl posted: 02.13.2015 - 10:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) They put previous Sprint Unlimited results up. I bet they'll do it again, post this year's Sprint Unlimited results up tomorrow night. Then we can go chat there. I'm ready to leave this page behind! NASCAR 2015 is HEEEEEEEEEERE! 1589. Daniel posted: 02.13.2015 - 1:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Pulling for Burton, Nemechek, Wallace, Hornaday Jr., and Marks to race their way in. 1590. Schroeder51 posted: 02.13.2015 - 4:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Haven't commented on here in a while, but I do want to comment on a few things... -I'm sad that 2015 is going to be Gordon's last full Cup season...I grew up as a Gordon fan, and it will definitely feel weird not seeing him in the field every Satuarday or Sunday. Still, I wish him the best of luck in 2015, and maybe this will be the year he finally wins his fifth championship (I can wish...). Also looking forward to hearing him announce some Xfinity races! I do believe he'll end the year as NASCAR's Ironman, right? -Nice to see Jeb Burton get a shot at Cup, although I'm not expecting very much out of him considering he's driving for BK Racing. Still, it should be a good learning experience for him, and he should be RotY by default (as Matt DiBenedetto is only running a partial schedule). Also, it's nice to see Hornaday get another shot at running Cup, although, like many others, I'm expecting him to DNQ a LOT in the #30... -With 50 drivers entered in the 500, there could definitely be a few surprise DNQs. Carl Edwards could actually DNQ if he qualifies poorly and finishes poorly in his Duel race! -The Truck Series looks like it'll be pretty interesting this year, what with a ton of new rookies (Gallagher, Brandon Jones, Anderson, Hemric, Chavous, Saunders, Black, Boston, and Hayley). 1591. The Long Shot posted: 02.13.2015 - 4:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sprint Unlimited page is up! 1592. Daniel posted: 02.13.2015 - 5:07 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Add Cody Ware to that truck rookie list as he'll drive the full season in the #50 1593. Windows Millennium Edition posted: 02.26.2016 - 8:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A few non-Chase points standings errors: Kevin Harvick should have 1171 points Ryan Newman should have 1136 points Denny Hamlin should have 987 points 1594. Maverick11 posted: 07.19.2016 - 1:54 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) As of 7/19/16, this is Harvick's only win for SHR where he led less than 130 laps. 1595. chevyfan98 posted: 08.08.2016 - 11:36 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) The more time that goes by, the more I feel like the 2014 cup season was one of the more underrated seasons in recent memory. The introduction of the elimination style chase format has in my opinion overshadowed what was a fantastic season both as far as the racing and the competitive depth are concerned, which are the two things that are most important in how I grade a season. 2014 provided some great races (the Daytona 500, spring Bristol, spring Martinsville, spring Richmond, Pocono2, Watkins Glen, and Atlanta all stand out) and an aero package that provided all kinds of passing throughout the field with drivers able to easily come from the back to the front. And as far as the competitive depth goes, no one or two or even three drivers dominated the season, in fact I have a hard time deciding who I think was the overall best driver of 2014. Most days I want to go with Gordon, but I think a case can be made for Harvick, Earnhardt, Jr., Logano, or Keselowski as well. And the field was stacked from top to bottom. Nearly all the drivers in the backmarker cars were outperforming their equipment and could get a solid top 25 on any given week. As time goes on its a shame that this season will sadly be forgotten other than for the introduction of the elimination style chase and the two fights at Charlotte and Texas, because 2014 was really a great year for the most part. 1596. JG24ChasElliottFan posted: 08.09.2016 - 12:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree about 2014. A lot of people overlook this season for the madness that happened in the Chase (mainly the stuff in Round three but anyways...) but it shouldn't be at all. This was the last before the Penske/Gibbs takeover and you could start to see it happening, in hindsight, with the strong performance of Penske Racing, compared to 2013, and the downward trend for Hendrick Motorsports, as shown by some of their struggles and hardship in the Chase (three of four cars eliminated before round three; Gordon narrowly misses the final round.). The competition was also strong and many different drivers were in contention for wins, depending on the race weekend (Ex: Watkins Glen, Chicago, Sonoma), and it wasn't just the same guys like you see more of now. To note with that, I think the tapered spacer being added on really hurt the competition since some of the Xfinity teams, like Gibbs and Penske, had notes to go off of to make the transition smoother, which put them ahead of the competition as the season progressed. It's gotten a little better, as opposed to the second half of last season, but the racing is still dominated quite a bit by Gibbs, Penske, and SHR (who is going to Ford next season). With that latter move said, I'd be interested in knowing if Chevrolet is lobbying to NASCAR for some changes with the dominance of Toyota and Ford. 1597. MJM posted: 09.03.2016 - 9:26 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) If it wasn't for the decision not to pit under caution while everyone else on the lead lap did, Hamlin might have won the race and Championship instead of Harvick. Even though he claimed that Mears (who was also on the lead lap) would have blocked him in if he had pitted, I don't think that would have affected his chance at the win and title. Reason I think that was that in the later stage of the race, Hamlin spent plenty of time ahead of the other 3 drivers who were also fighting for the Cup title that race. 1598. Maverick19 posted: 11.23.2016 - 8:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 2014 Sprint Cup Series Standings with 1983-2003 CART Points System (Got to admit, the winner of this one definetly surprised me) 1. Brad Keselowski- 303 2. Jeff Gordon- 294 (-9) 3. Kevin Harvick- 286 (-17) 4. Joey Logano- 279 (-24) 5. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.- 235 (-68) 6. Jimmie Johnson- 226 (-77) 7. Matt Kenseth- 223 (-80) 8. Kyle Busch- 171 (-132) 9. Denny Hamlin- 168 (-135) 10. Kyle Larson- 167 (-136) 11. Ryan Newman- 134 (-169) 12. Carl Edwards- 129 (-174) 13. Kurt Busch- 121 (-182) 14. Clint Bowyer- 119 (-184) 15. Jamie McMurray- 114 (-189) 16. Kasey Kahne- 96 (-207) 17. Paul Menard- 95 (-208) 18. Greg Biffle- 73 (-230) 19. Brian Vickers- 69 (-234) 20. Aric Almirola- 63 (-240) 21. Tony Stewart- 58 (-245) 22. A.J. Allmendinger- 53 (-250) 23. Marcos Ambrose- 53 (-250) 24. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.- 37 (-266) 25. Martin Truex, Jr.- 36 (-267) 26. Austin Dillon- 32 (-271) 27. Casey Mears- 19 (-284) 28. Danica Patrick- 19 (-284) 29. Landon Cassill- 15 (-288) 30. Travis Kvapil- 8 (-295) 31. Michael McDowell- 6 (-297) 32. David Ragan- 3 (-300) 33. Terry Labonte- 2 (-301) 34. David Gilliland- 1 (-302) 35. Brian Scott- 1 (-302) Everyone else failed to score points. 1599. Mannoroth posted: 11.25.2016 - 8:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Who would win the championship, if the old Chase for the Cup was still in place? 1. Joey Logano 2396 - 2. Kevin Harvick 2385 11 3. Brad Keselowski 2361 35 4. Ryan Newman 2353 43 5. Jeff Gordon 2348 48 6. Kyle Larson 2343 53 7. Matt Kenseth 2334 62 8. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2301 95 9. Carl Edwards 2282 114 10. Jimmie Johnson 2274 122 11. Greg Biffle 2247 149 12. Clint Bowyer 2233 163 1600. Windows Millennium Edition posted: 06.09.2017 - 10:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor update: #51 Brandt International 1601. kup posted: 11.02.2017 - 10:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) UPS: universal points system. Driver's UPoints = Miles / Aver.Finish 2014 UPS: # Driver UPts = Miles / AF 1 Jeff Gordon 1330 = 13831 / 10,4 2 Joey Logano 1214 = 13722 / 11,3 3 Ryan Newman 1086 = 13795 / 12,7 4 Brad Keselowski 1085 = 13675 / 12,6 5 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 1079 = 13161 / 12,2 6 Matt Kenseth 1029 = 13586 / 13,2 7 Kevin Harvick 1023 = 13192 / 12,9 8 Kyle Larson 930 = 13208 / 14,2 - Kyle was non-Chaser 9 Carl Edwards 909 = 13730 / 15,1 10 Denny Hamlin 904 = 12924 / 14,3 11 Jimmie Johnson 852 = 13028 / 15,3 12 Jamie McMurray 838 = 13582 / 16,2 13 Greg Biffle 834 = 13676 / 16,4 14 Kasey Kahne 773 = 13600 / 17,6 15 Clint Bowyer 762 = 13026 / 17,1 16 Kyle Busch 732 = 12877 / 17,6 - Kyle was yep-Chaser 1602. kup posted: 11.02.2017 - 10:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) UPS: universal points system. Driver's UPoints = Miles / Aver.Finish TOTAL: UPS! 14 seasons 2001-2014: J.Gordon 5 in: 01, 04, 07, 09, 14. C.Edwards 2 in: 08, 11. J.Johnson 2 in: 06, 13. M.Martin 1 in: 02. M.Kenseth 1 in: 03. T.Stewart 1 in: 05. K.Harvick 1 in: 10. B.Keselowski 1 in: 12. 1603. kup posted: 11.16.2017 - 3:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) TOTAL: UPS! 66 years 1949-2014: Dale Earnhardt 8 in: '80, '86, '87, '89, '91, '93, '94, '95. Richard Petty 7 in: '63, '64, '67, '71, '72, '75, '79. Jeff Gordon 6 in: '98, '01, '04, '07, '09, '14. Lee Petty 5 in: '50, '52, '54, '58, '59. David Pearson 4 in: '66, '68, '69, '76. Cale Yarborough 3 in: '74, '77, '78. Bobby Allison 3 in: '81, '82, '83. Mark Martin 3 in: '90, '97, '02. Buck Baker 2 in: '56, '57. Rex White 2 in: '60, '61. Terry Labonte 2 in: '84, '96. Carl Edwards 2 in: '08, '11. Jimmie Johnson 2 in: '06, '13. Bill Blair 1 in: '49. Fonty Flock 1 in: '51. Herb Thomas 1 in: '53. Tim Flock 1 in: '55. Joe Weatherly 1 in: '62. Ned Jarrett 1 in: '65. Bobby Isaac 1 in: '70. Benny Parsons 1 in: '73. Darrell Waltrip 1 in: '85. Bill Elliott 1 in: '88. Alan Kulwicki 1 in: '92. Dale Jarrett 1 in: '99. Bobby Labonte 1 in: '00. Matt Kenseth 1 in: '03. Tony Stewart 1 in: '05. Kevin Harvick 1 in: '10. Brad Keselowski 1 in: '12. 1604. Wil posted: 04.30.2018 - 11:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Everyone loves ragging on Newman's p2 in points in 2014 and yeah he played the system, but finishing runner up in this race (season best finish) with everything at stake was really impressive. 1605. Maverick19 posted: 11.19.2018 - 2:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Since playoff drivers did not get any bonus points from leading laps or winning, the following totals should be correct for the non-playoff standings: Kevin Harvick 1171 Denny Hamlin 987 1606. Ryan posted: 09.11.2019 - 10:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @928 "After all, there have been quite a few drivers win the Daytona 500 after not winning the previous season. Men such as Benny Parsons, Bobby Allison, Geoff Bodine, Dale Earnhardt, Sr., Matt Kenseth, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. have all won the Daytona 500 after going winless the previous season." Don't forget Richard Petty in 1979 after going winless in 1978. 1607. Anthony2 posted: 10.22.2019 - 4:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If McMurray made the playoffs, he could've finished 8th in points with 2,308 points. McMurray had fast cars in 2014, just didn't get the finishes he needed. 2014 was still a pretty solid season for Jamie given his top-fives, top10s, & laps led. 1608. Mile501 posted: 12.14.2019 - 6:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ryan Newman never finished among the top 5 in full-season points. However, he did finish 6th in full-season points 3 times--2002 and 2003 (his first 2 full-time seasons), as well as 2014. So even though we were all shocked that he came so close to winning the championship under the new playoff format without a win, 2014 actually wasn't a bad season for Newman at all. In full-season points, he was 6th, 36 points behind Kevin Harvick in 5th. 1609. Tarheel posted: 12.14.2019 - 2:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) The way that the 31 suddenly got stronger in the last few races of 2014, nearly winning Homestead, and then coming out of the gate strong the next year until getting caught cheating, has caused me to believe ever since that they cheated their way into contention for the 2014 title anyway. A look at stats correlates my theory. It's all circumstantial regarding 2014, but the circumstances are pretty suspicious. 2014: two top fives in 31 races, then 3 top fives in the last 5 races. 2015: 3 top fives in the first 5 races, they get busted, then only two more top fives in the last 31 races. Taken as a whole, the #31 in 2014-2015 scored 6 top fives in a ten race stretch, and only 4 in the other 62 races. Pretty convincing to me. 1610. Mile501 posted: 12.14.2019 - 3:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @1609 - Eh...I see what you're saying, but I'm not convinced. Of those 3 top 5s he had at the end of 2014, 1 was at Talladega (where anyone can get a top 5), 1 was at Martinsville (where cheating with tires might help some but probably not as much as at an intermediate track), and the other was at Homestead, where he ran 6th-7th for most of the race (consistent with where he ran throughout the season) before finishing 2nd due to pit strategy. Overall, Newman's results were actually fairly consistent throughout all of 2014. He had a lot of finishes between 7th and 11th throughout the season. He had 3 unusually good finishes early in 2015, possibly due to cheating with the tires, but that really doesn't resemble his results from 2014. After the penalty in early 2015, Newman went on to record quite a few more finishes in the 7th-11th range, consistent with what he did throughout 2014. 1611. Tarheel posted: 12.14.2019 - 4:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ok, we'll look at top 11's. The ten race stretch consisting of the last five of 2014 thru the first five of 2015, eight top 11's or 80%. The other 62 races in those two years, 33 top 11's or 53%. Homestead 2014 is the real red flag for me, got away with it, carried it into 2015, got caught, and the performance falls right back to where it had been for most of the previous year. 1612. Mile501 posted: 12.14.2019 - 9:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You have to look beyond the mere numbers. Newman's early 2015 success may well have been due to the supposed tire bleeding, but there's no evidence that his late 2014 results were due to cheating. Consider it in more detail: 5th at Talladega. It's Talladega--no further explanation is needed there. 3rd at Martinsville. He ran around 8th-15th for most of the race and was 7th when a late caution flew. He restarted 8th after pitting. It was a rather chaotic restart, and he managed to get up to 3rd at the end, but to me, that's just Newman being Newman at the end of a race. 15th at Texas. If they were cheating, wouldn't this result have been better? This tied his 2nd-worst finish in the last 14 races of the season. 11th at Phoenix. That was pretty typical for them. 2nd at Homestead. He spent most of the race running about 6th or 7th--a bit better than average, but considering they were in the championship four, it makes sense that they would put everything they could into that race. Even so, it was only slightly better than where he typically ran in 2014. Using pit strategy on a late caution, he finished 2nd, but he didn't run up front at all throughout the race and failed to lead any laps. 1613. Sector posted: 02.04.2020 - 3:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kevin Harvick came into the scene as the driver who took over the #3 car after the tragic death of Dale Earnhardt back at the Daytona 500 in 2001. Of course, the car was renumbered to 29 as an honor to the legendary Earnhardt. For years Harvick has committed to Richard Childress Racing, having ups and downs seasons. Finally, Harvick exits Childress on a high note (4 wins and 3rd in championship standings in 2013) to join a brand new team. This team was freshly created, as Stewart-Haas Racing was previously a two car team (Ryan Newman & Tony Stewart in from its birth in 2009 till 2012), then expanded to three in 2013 with Danica Patrick and expanded to a four car team (adding Kevin Harvick to the roster with Kurt Busch replacing Ryan Newman). The unique story line is the only driver in this race that has raced since the start of Stewart-Haas Racing finishes dead last while Kevin Harvick performed a miracle and wins the championship in his first season with a brand new team combined with himself, crew chief Rodney Childers and the entire #4 camp. The move for Kevin Harvick to leave a long time career at Childress Racing to Stewart-Haas was definitely a very positive move as it changed Harvick's career to a much higher standard, and continues to be so entering the 2020 season. 1614. Mile501 posted: 02.04.2020 - 5:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @1613 - I could be remembering incorrectly, but I thought Newman's team became Harvick's team and Kurt Busch drove for the new team that was added at the last minute. 1615. ShinyMew151 posted: 04.03.2020 - 11:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor for the 32 should be "Leaf Filter Gutter Protection" like the other times Leaf Filter has been on a car ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: