|| *Comments on the 2019 First Data 500:* View the most recent comment <#318> | Post a comment <#post> 1. 34McDowellFan posted: 10.22.2019 - 3:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wonder if there's any chance of Hermie Sadler getting a ride with Rick Ware or somebody, he's been in this race the last 2 years 2. Nascarfan3 posted: 10.22.2019 - 8:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @2 I doubt it because the 51 isn't Virginia Lottery (Jacob Companies) and I think the 52 was announced as Theriault (might be wrong) What I do know is that the 51 and 53 are both going full on pink this week. Both look amazing. The 52 I haven't seen but I hop we can have the pink fleet out this week 3. Sector posted: 10.23.2019 - 7:34 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) We head into the first race of the final round of the Playoffs before we determine the Final Four. Brad Keselowski, who was eliminated last week at Kansas by Chase Elliott, completely dominated this race leading 446 of the 500 laps earlier this year. Chase Elliott led 49 en route to a second place finish while Joey Logano, who started on the pole, led 5 laps. These three drivers were the final spots (7th through 9th) last week to determine the 8 drivers to continue hunting for the championship. It'll be interesting to see how Brad Keselowski does this weekend to see if he can continue that momentum from the spring. Chase Elliott could very well be the spoiler in this week's race by clinching a spot into the Final Four if he pulls off a victory this weekend. Kyle Larson & Ryan Blaney are roughly 19 and 21 points behind 4th place Joey Logano in the standings. They will need to pull off strong runs during Stages 1 & 2 in order to even up the playing field the two races after this to have any shot at becoming the Final Four, barring a win. They both won races in the last round of the Playoff as well, can they do it again this round? Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano has previously won here in dominant fashion and are very well favorites heading into this race. Joey Logano won here in the fall of 2018 leading 309 laps, clinching a spot for the Final Four. Logano ended up winning the race and the championship at the season finale at Homestead in 2018. Kyle Busch has had ups and downs throughout the entire playoff, taking turn finishing well outside the Top 10 and inside the Top 10 every other races. If history repeats itself, Kyle finishing outside the Top 10 could occur in this race as he finished 3rd last at Kansas. The last 6 race finishes during the Playoffs for Kyle are as followed; 3rd, 19th, 6th, 37th, 2nd & 19th. Will this be an issue for Kyle making it to the Final Four? After a poor first round of Playoffs, Denny Hamlin has stepped it up in the last round of the Playoffs finishing all odd numbers in the Top 5 (1st, 3rd & 5th). He is a heavy favorite at Martinsville this week coming off his win last week at Kansas, being a huge championship favorite and his strongest threat for the championship dating all the way back to 2010! Look for him to pull off a "Joey Logano 2018 victory" this time around, and he finished second to Logano last year as well. The last time we raced here in the spring, Martin Truex, Jr was still seeking his first short track win. Entering this race, he has now won at Richmond, a season sweep at that. Now that the struggle has been lifted, will he pull off another short track win this weekend? Richmond and Martinsville are both within the state of Virginia, and Martin Truex winning the first two races of the Playoff (Vegas & Richmond) are still the most races won by a driver, can he extend that stats? Interestingly, since the Playoffs name and stage racing began in 2017, the fall Martinsville race weren't without drama. 2017 had Denny Hamlin wrecking Chase Elliott from the lead and 2018 Joey Logano's bump and run win on Martin Truex, Jr when Truex felt wronged. Logano wasn't in the Playoff picture all year in 2017 and Hamlin didn't make the Round of 8 in 2018. However, for 2019 all four of these drivers are within the Round of 8; Should we see more drama this weekend from these drivers? Stay tuned to find out (and I hope so)! P.S.: Kevin Harvick is practically the quiet one of the 8 drivers left to determine the Final Four. 4. Yeet posted: 10.23.2019 - 9:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) After this race are Texas and Phoenix, who Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch have already won at this year. If one of them don't win at Martinsville, I don't believe either of them are in too much trouble. 5. Scott25 posted: 10.23.2019 - 10:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (3) I will be absolutely shocked if Chase Elliott doesn't win this race. Him not winning might be the biggest surprise of the season. 6. Tarheel posted: 10.23.2019 - 11:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #5, no pressure right? I wouldn't go nearly as far as being shocked if he doesn't win. I'll just be surprised if he isn't competitive. 7. Anthony posted: 10.23.2019 - 1:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) #5 Denny Hamlin is winning this race 8. peanuts posted: 10.23.2019 - 2:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Theriault was suppose to be in one of the RWR cars this week but he is still out due to injury. Maybe they will put ole Hermie in his place. 9. 34McDowellFan posted: 10.23.2019 - 3:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah Theriault is currently out due to injury at Talladega, at least that's why he missed Kansas. He could possibly be back this weekend but I don't think it's been confirmed either way 10. Anonymous posted: 10.23.2019 - 5:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Honestly watch out for the 3 Gibbs cars in the playoffs this weekend. Kyle Busch is very good at this track. The last 8 races, he has 8 top 5's and with 2 wins in the last 8 races. Denny Hamlin is bringing momentum into Martinsville. He has won a few times here at Martinsville and in front of his home crowd. Martin Truex Jr has improved a lot on the short tracks this year. He has done very well on the short tracks (Mainly Gibbs in general) this year. Also I think he wants redemption after last year's race. 11. Altracing posted: 10.23.2019 - 7:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Based on the last time we were at the next three tracks earlier in the Spring the four drivers I have for moving on to the final four are Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Truex and Elliott 12. Chase9Fan posted: 10.24.2019 - 7:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Would be freaking awesome if Chase could get the win. I still think he'll need to win to advance to the final 4. 13. Tarheel posted: 10.24.2019 - 8:29 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) As a non Toyota fan, I really hope that the next three races are won by three different top eight drivers other than the Toyotas, meaning that only one of the Toyotas can be in the final four, and even the fourth one could be outpointed and miss the cut. But hey, that's just me. 14. JR-TV posted: 10.24.2019 - 9:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Would love to see Jeb Burton in one of the RWR cars. He's ran the last two Martinsville races for RWR. 15. 34McDowellFan posted: 10.24.2019 - 10:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Who's everybody's Championship 4? I have the 11, 18, 19 and then really I could see any of the 3 between the 4, 9, or 22 making it 12 and 42 are longshots, and Larson will probably have to win at Texas or Phoenix since he's already in a hole and Martinsville is a terrible track for him 16. Nascarfan3 posted: 10.24.2019 - 7:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Check out RwR Intsgram page. They have the Pink fleet our tonight 17. Nascarfan3 posted: 10.24.2019 - 8:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @16 Out for the weekend 18. Tarheel posted: 10.25.2019 - 11:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The forecast calls for heavy rain Sunday morning, possibly into the afternoon, then gradually clearing. We might get to see them race in full darkness, under the lights. 19. Canadianfan posted: 10.25.2019 - 12:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Money Team Racing to make MENCS Debut at Homestead. Co-owned by Floyd Mayweather. https://themoneyteamracing.com/ 20. Timothy_Eklund posted: 10.25.2019 - 12:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wonder if this will go the same way as that truck team that was supposedly going to be racing with Trevor Bayne. 21. ThatGuy posted: 10.25.2019 - 1:37 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) @15 I could see this being the year Chase gets to the final 4, and this race getting his first Martinsville win. I honestly think one of JGR's guys will have a winless round and have 1 bad finish that will keep them from Homestead. I think Hamlin will make it because of the hype around him trying to get his 1st championship (again). He might fall short of getting it, but won't fall short of making it to Homestead. I'm not sure about Harvick, he seems it be really strong at times like last year, and just good enough other times. I do believe (unfortunately) that Logano will be in the championship 4 regardless. Martinsville has always been great for him and if he doens't win one of these races, I believe he'll point his way in 22. JSPorts posted: 10.25.2019 - 4:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) @19 and...the website's already down. So much for that. 23. Bodyblower posted: 10.25.2019 - 4:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) @22 it says more info coming soon. 24. JSPorts posted: 10.25.2019 - 4:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I hope that team actually materializes. It's always a good thing IMO to have new owners entering the sport, especially those with money. I just hope that he would do it right and try to hire people who are industry insiders rather than trying to do it all on his own (we've seen several well-funded teams fail for that reason alone.) 25. Altracing posted: 10.26.2019 - 9:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Elliott just had a major engine fire which means he will start in the rear for the race 26. A.J. posted: 10.26.2019 - 9:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not to worry. It's ever so easy to pass at Martinsville. What's the opposite of "golden horseshoe"? 27. 34McDowellFan posted: 10.26.2019 - 10:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #36 should be listed as Ford under practice results I hope Tifft is okay, not sure what's going on but it sounds pretty serious 28. Tarheel posted: 10.26.2019 - 11:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks like Elliott will start this round in a hole, just like the last round. According to this website, the deepest any in the field any Martinsville race winner has started was 36th, Kurt Busch in the fall of 2002. 29. 34McDowellFan posted: 10.26.2019 - 1:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt Crafton will drive the #36 this weekend I hope Tifft gets better, I'm worried about him since he had his brain tumor issues back in 2016 30. Altracing posted: 10.26.2019 - 1:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt Tifft is expected to be released from the hospital but won't race this weekend so Matt Crafton will race the 36 car 31. Sector posted: 10.26.2019 - 2:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What is the official report for Matt Tifft? This is the second time in three races Matt Crafton will race in Cup. He raced at Talladega two weeks ago substituting Paul Menard but since Paul started the race, the stats goes to Paul. This race, Matt will officially have his second Cup start ever. His first was at the 2015 Daytona 500 substituting yet again for injured Kyle Busch. 32. David posted: 10.26.2019 - 2:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt Crafton was a seriously unhappy camper in the truck race, possibly setting a record for the most "f words" on the radio when describing his team's engine issues. 33. Sector posted: 10.26.2019 - 4:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It looks like the pit crew of Brad Keselowski all season will be pitting for Ryan Blaney for this round of Playoff, while Ryan Blaney's crews will be pitting for Keselowski. 34. A.J. posted: 10.26.2019 - 4:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So Roger is telling the #12 crew that not only don't they get to participate any longer on the car they've worked so hard on all season, but also that the reason they don't is because they are inferior. I like Roger, but that's some real great motivation there (not). 35. TTaylor944 posted: 10.26.2019 - 4:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @34 You're new to this sport, huh? 36. Corey posted: 10.26.2019 - 4:26 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) @34 That happens like every year. Heck once Chad Knaus though he his pit crew was doing such a bad job that he switched the #48 and #24 crew mid race. Gordon had crashed out by then and nothing would feel worse then to see your car running on the track, while you break down the #24 pit box. 37. Sector posted: 10.26.2019 - 5:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Denny Hamlin scores his 3rd pole of the 2019, and remains he only driver driving for Toyota to score a pole in 2019. Toyota coming off their 16th win this week after a momentum win last week at Kansas with Hamlin, is looking to break that record (currently tied with wins in 2016 & 2017) by scoring their 17th win this weekend. 38. Sector posted: 10.26.2019 - 5:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) After a very strong qualifying year Kevin Harvick will start outside the Top 20 for the second race in a row, 22nd in this race. He started 40th last week, and 15th the week before at Talladega. 39. Canadianfan posted: 10.26.2019 - 6:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kelly Crandall on twitter. Brad does not have the car that he dominated Martinsville in the spring with. ?We weren't allowed to bring it back. ? They've changed some rules on it, and the car was outlawed.? He says it thinks it was something with the chassis. 40. Sector posted: 10.26.2019 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #39 so... They've changed the rules to make sure the #2 team didn't bring the car back? 41. Mile501 posted: 10.26.2019 - 7:21 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Michael McDowell follows his 6th place starting spot last week at Kansas with a 5th place qualifying effort at Martinsville. Chase Elliott qualified 2nd, and even though he'll have to go to the back, his strong qualifying lap will help him on pit road throughout the race because he'll get to pick one of the best pit stalls on this tight pit road. 42. Wil posted: 10.26.2019 - 7:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Despite the immense success, the Gibbs cars have been poor in qualifying all year. The fact that 3 qualified in the top 8 and all in the top-13 should make the field very, very nervous. It's very hard not to pick Hamlin to win at a track he's dominated over the years. 43. Mile501 posted: 10.26.2019 - 8:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The battle for 25th in points (and also ROTY) continues to be very close: 25. Preece 26. Hemric -2 27. McDowell -8 28. Wallace -14 I remember when finishing in the top 25 in points was a big deal because end-of-season bonus money was paid out to those in the top 25. I'm guessing this isn't done anymore, either due to changes in series sponsorship or the charter system. In any case, we used to be able to watch the top-25 battle and it really meant something. So did the battle to be 10th in points to be on the stage at season's end. Sadly, under the current format, we miss out on those kinds of things. 44. rm posted: 10.26.2019 - 10:10 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Actually there are more end-of-season bonuses being paid out now, though that's because a lot of the individual race purse money has been reallocated to the season end points fund. Hence why Justin Haley and the 77 pulled in under $200k for the July Daytona win...they'll still get more money on top of that, just after Homestead. Every spot in the point standings does still matter, maybe just not in your mind. The season-end payout is based on the current year's standing, weighted with the charter's previous point finishes so that the current year's standing has the most pull. Pretty sure Xfinity does still have a system like you're thinking of, Tommy Joe Martins has talked about it on an NBC Sports podcast before. There's a lot of things that are fun to reminisce about the "old days" of NASCAR, but the battle for the top 25 in driver points might be one of the silliest. You're really grasping at straws here, come on. 45. AJ73 posted: 10.26.2019 - 10:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I understand what Mile501 is saying. It may still be a thing, but in terms of year-end bonuses, the top-25 in points was something that was sought after for the lower performing teams in the garage way back when. Or even someone who was having a bad season still had "something" to aim for... 46. Sector posted: 10.26.2019 - 11:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ross Chastain (2nd) and Timmy Hill (5th) are starting in the last two of three positions (36th & 37th, respectably) after scoring Top 5 in the Truck race just an hour before Cup qualifying. 47. Corey posted: 10.27.2019 - 1:07 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) I'm not sure it was a thing on the driver side, but I do know it was important for the teams to reach the Top 25 in owners points. I believe it was the 1998 finale where the actually put some emphasis on Brett Bodine. His self-owned team was trying to get into the Top 25 as it paid money, where 26th didn't. 48. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 9:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin has passed pre race inspection so he will start from pole today 49. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 11:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) All playoff drivers passed pre race inspection only big name to fail was Newman 50. KyleCampbell posted: 10.27.2019 - 12:07 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Shocked if Chase Elliot doesn't win? The more accurate statement would be shocked if a JGR car doesn't win! 19 11 18 will finish 1 2 3 51. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 12:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Based off of yesterday I'm gonna go with Hamlin for the win today 52. possum posted: 10.27.2019 - 12:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Webmaster - need to rethink how you display qualifying results. Right now six cars are shown with an asterisk ("need to qualify on time") because you're apparently also using the asterisk to mean "failed inspection, time disallowed". You probably want to use a dagger or octothorpe for the failed inspection cars. 53. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 3:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) We're green at Martinsville 54. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 3:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution for debris from Chastain's car 55. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 3:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truex wins the race off pit road and will be the new leader 56. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 3:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Stenhouse caught for speeding on pit road he will go to the rear 57. Tarheel posted: 10.27.2019 - 3:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Elliott from the back up to 18th in 28 laps. Keep it rolling and stay out of trouble. 58. Mile501 posted: 10.27.2019 - 3:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As of lap 50, Chase Elliott is closing in on the top 10 (currently 14th). Meanwhile, his teammate Jimmie Johnson, who was once the master of Martinsville, seems to be stuck back in 18th. In his career, Johnson has 9 wins at Martinsville and has led nearly 3000 laps. But over the last 5 years, he has finished better than 9th only once and has only led laps in 2 out of those 10 races. 59. RaceFanX posted: 10.27.2019 - 3:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) With 67 laps down Truex leads Hamlin by about a second and half. Blaney is third. 60. Mile501 posted: 10.27.2019 - 3:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) It took Elliott just over 75 laps to make his way into the top 10. It looks like he didn't need to be so worried over losing points in the first stage after all. 61. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 3:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Elliott has moved inside the top 10 after starting in the rear 62. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Larson has gone a lap down 63. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truex wins stage 1 64. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Larson will get the free pass 65. Mile501 posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:05 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Elliott gained a couple of spots right at the end of stage 1 to finish 8th and earn 3 points. Not bad for starting in the rear at Martinsville. 66. Wil posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I can hear the sound of the cars really loud, but can't hear the announcers. Same stuff every week NBC. 67. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bowman made an unscheduled pit stop for a loose wheel and is now 2 laps down 68. GiveMajeskiAChance posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What a JGR/Toyota shitshow this has turned out to be so far. Factory support has got to go, and quickly, for the sake of race quality. 69. Mile501 posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @68 - Toyota may have led all the laps so far--with 2 of the best drivers in the series right now--but Hendrick looks very strong (Byron is 2nd and Elliott has worked his way from last up to 5th), and Ford occupies half of the spots in the top 10. 70. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ty Dillon spins caution is out 71. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman will get the free pass 72. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #69 The chat on the stream I'm on, people are toxic about Truex himself, clinching the Playoff today means he's going to win the championship with ease and they will skip the rest of the year, especially Homestead, because they don't want to see Martin Truex, Jr winning the championship. Talk about real race fans (/sarcasm). 73. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Elliott reporting he may have broken an axle on pit road 74. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Elliott is still on pit road as the restart happens 75. RaceFanX posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Looks like the right side axle on the Mountain Dew #9 broke as he trying to leave the pits. 76. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) This has been an entertaining Martinsville per usual. Ty Dillon spins coming off turn 4 bringing out the caution on lap 179 77. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Keselowski looks like he has a left rear tire rub 78. RaceFanX posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truex leads on the restart with Bowyer and Blaney in pursuit. Keselowski is giving off a lot of smoke, likely a tire rub. 79. Wil posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) After his primary car went up in flames in practice, his race car breaks an axle. Embarrassing stuff from Hendrick Motorsports. For this weekend to happen after the Dover blown engine on lap 8 is inexcusable. 80. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Elliott is going to the garage 81. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:37 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) Well, expect Chase Elliott and Hendrick Motorsports fans to show up stating they are not going to watch the remaining races until Chase Elliott wins again to make it to the Final Four, and for TV ratings to be extremely low at Homestead after this DNF. As of now Chase Elliott is 46 points behind 4th in standings. Max points per race is 60, so Chase certainly needs a win and with Phoenix on the schedule, I still wouldn't call him out for a clutch win just yet. But his fans will still complain regardless. 82. Anthony2 posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Tbh, I really don't care if Chase doesn't make it in to Homestead. He needs to learn how to get off to a better start like winning races in a hurry & being higher in points to start the playoffs. 83. Anthony2 posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:46 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) @81 No offense, but they're idiots pretty much ????? 84. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Elliott is back on track 52 laps down 85. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Chase Elliott is back on the race track, so he isn't out. He's many laps down though. 53 laps down. He ran one lap and went straight back to the pit. 86. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bowyer has a left rear tire down and is on pit road 87. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Now his right rear tire is flat and the caution is out 88. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Almost all the leaders pit except for Larson who stayed out and will be the new leader 89. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) His crew only changed two tires, but only changed the left side and never bothered changing the right side... That was a BS call for his pit crew to not change the right side tires knowing full well right rear tire going down to bring up this unnecessary caution. Now we're going to go green for a couple of laps before ANOTHER caution (ending of stage 2) comes out... Leaders pit, Kyle Larson stays out on the race track to try to steal the stage points (and stage win) away. 90. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Stenhouse got the free pass under this caution 91. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 4:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truex edges Larson to win stage 2 92. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bowman will get the free pass 93. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Larson pulled quite a fight but would come up short by about half a car length to the line. Truex sweeps both stages today, making it 7 total stage wins in 2019. Third behind Kyle Busch (11) and Joey Logano (10) for most of 2019. 94. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Larson along with a few others at the back pit under caution 95. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jones on pit road with a left rear tire down 96. Wil posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Was literally typing how Erik "Blew A Tire" Jones miraculously hadn't had any issues yet. Then it cuts back from commercial break and he's in the pits with a flat tire. Another top 10 ruined. He's the most consistently unlucky driver I've ever seen. 97. RaceFanX posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) We're 310 laps in with 190 to go. 98. Mile501 posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:22 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Blown tires aren't necessarily random. They are sometimes caused by driving too aggressively. 99. Mile501 posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:23 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Bubba Wallace was a lap down earlier but has moved up to 12th. Nice run for him. 100. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If Truex leads the rest of the way with 180 to go, he can best Brad Keselowski's 446 lap led victory in the spring here at Martinsville. And that's only if he leads the rest of the way. 101. RaceFanX posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truex leads Byron by more than three seconds. 102. RaceFanX posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ryan Newman is up in the top-10 with his bright yellow #6. His Ford this week is sponsored by Blue Bird, the famous school bus manufacturer. 103. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Caution for Austin Dillon 104. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bowman will get the free pass again 105. Tarheel posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) So, the driver who has singlehandedly won six of Chevrolet's eight wins in the last two years needs to learn to win more? Makes sense. All in all, this Chase Elliott fan believes that those who think Chase Elliott fans are themselves idiots are the true idiots. Lastly, I'd like to point out the obvious: Elliotts blown motor and broken axle this weekend prove once and for all that Nascar is engaged in a tremendous conspiracy to ensure that he wins the championship.??? 106. Christian posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ 107. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Austin Dillon ran up the track into the corner into Ricky Stenhouse Jr and cut a right front tire bringing out the 6th caution of the day with about 155 laps to go. 108. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Crash with Johnon, Kyle Busch, Almirola and Preece 109. RaceFanX posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Big wreck on the front stretch 110. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mayham on the front stretch, Johnson, Preece, and Amirola get the worst of it. 111. RaceFanX posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Larson somehow sneaks through the chaos. 112. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DiBenedetto with damage as well 113. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Amirola and Johnson are probably done for the day 114. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Johnson is done for the day 115. Scott25 posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch just stood on the gas there 116. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, that was straight off the corner. How no one rammed into Kyle Busch was surprising Kyle didn't really hit anything outside of contact with Almirola. 117. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I doubt Kyle Busch can pull off another top 5 here today after this. 118. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Few takers on pit road 119. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle certainly has some left front fender damage. 120. Wil posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Man, there have been a lot misfortunate drivers this year. Not only Jones, but Jimmie Johnson and Daniel Hemric fans must be miserable every week. All three get taken out by something out of their control every week. Jim was snakebit all year despite having fast cars. 121. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This will be Johnson's first DNF at Martinsville which he was the king of a few short years ago. 122. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That damage was only received by the contact racing side by side with Almirola. Kyle didn't hit the wall, in fact it was close but his skill kept it off the wall, and everyone else managed to turn left to avoid hitting him, hence the others involved in the accident were wrecking each other to avoid Kyle Busch. It's like two accidents happening at once in domino effect. 123. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Byron falling back stuck on the outside. 124. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wallace with a big rear tire rub 125. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #121 First crash DNF for Johnson. He had a vibration DNF in his first start here back in the spring of 2002, so it's his second DNF overall at Martinsville. 126. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution for Suarez and Bowman 127. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wallace damaged along with Bowman and Suarez, another caution 128. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @125 My bad, forgot about that one. 129. Scott25 posted: 10.27.2019 - 5:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bubba has to be fuming for having a great run potentially ruined by his favourite driver 130. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:01 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Chase Elliott currently 54 laps down with 110 laps to go, currently running last. He will pick up to positions eventually to pass the two drivers out in Jimmie Johnson and Aric Almirola to gain two points in the standings. 131. Anon posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Early comments in this thread are hysterical. People guaranteeing a Chase win and he's running last. People saying Truex has no chance, and he's going to lead 97% of the race. 132. RaceFanX posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truex is in control with 100 to go. 133. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truex is whooping the field today 134. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This will be Jimmie Johnson's first last place finish that is in the 30's (38th). This will be his third career last place finish, as he finished last in 2016 (Watkins Glen) and 2017 (Kentucky) which were both 40th. All three came in the last four seasons. 135. RaceFanX posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The lights are on as the skies begun to darken. Martinsville's signature cherry red rotors are starting to be visible from the stands. 136. Anon posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Chase has to gain at least 3 spots to gain any points. 35th is worth 2, 36th or lower is worth 1. And Bubba's day is ruined? He's running a strong 10th. 137. RaceFanX posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:10 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Scooby-Doo, Where are You? Up in the top-20! Corey LaJoie has his #32 Ford painted like the Mystery Machine and is turning in a solid lead lap run. But his hopes of victory are likely being foiled by that middling Truex. 138. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I love the mystery machine paint job on LaJoie's car. 139. Mbenoit posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 32 having a great run, no doubt utilizing some Scooby snacks to get there. 140. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #136 oh right, I forgot positions 36th through 40th are only 1 point themselves. 141. RaceFanX posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:15 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) I like how rather than show Truex blowing everyone away they are taking some time to talk about the other drivers and showing guys like LaJoie and Crafton. We're got a race going on, let's see some of these other cars. 142. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Martin Truex, Jr now has reached a career high in laps led. Prior to this race it was the 2016 World/Coke 600 at Charlotte which was 392 of 400 laps led. He has just led 400 laps today. On pace to lead 460 laps at least if he leads the rest of the way, well over Brad's 446 laps back in the spring. Truex is looking to making history as he did at Charlotte. 143. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bowyer has a left rear tire rub 144. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution is out for Bowyer 145. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:20 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Dont really think a caution was really needed there. 146. Jacob posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Clint Bowyer has a tire go down but is still going to give it a go 147. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I swear Clint Bowyer has a habit of bringing out the caution for his entertainment or something. He could have easily came to pit road before tire blew. 148. Timothy_Eklund posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Maybe Clint bowyer wants an exciting finish lol. 149. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bowyer has retired from the race 150. RaceFanX posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truex takes off again on the restart. The Auto Owners Insurance #19 Toyota is set on kill tonight. 151. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Logano in trouble after contact from Hamlin. 152. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Logano has a flat tire after contact with Hamlin and now spins caution 153. Ralphie posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Speaking of bringing out a caution on purpose... 154. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:27 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Hamlin shoved Logano into the wall, dirty move. 155. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Hamlin literally drove Logano into the wall. 156. Scott25 posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) When is NASCAR going to draw a line for drivers spinning to bring out cautions, they penalize people for stopping on track, so why not for spinning. Many drivers have admitted to it 157. A.J. posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Now let's see some well deserved payback. 158. Zach posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) If I were Logano I'd be going after Hamlin for that. It's obvious he put him in the wall on purpose. Probably because of what happened at Dover. 159. Mile501 posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin will restart 4th and, ironically, will have both of Logano's teammates to his inside (Blaney 3rd, Keselowski 5th). 160. Timothy_Eklund posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's officially sunset in martinsville 161. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:31 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) #156 Are you really wanting Logano to be penalized? That was not of his own doing, he was forced into the wall. 162. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Byron is hungry 163. Mbenoit posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Yeah, I think Logano spun out on purpose to get the caution. He swerved, it looked like. Occasionally a driver will do this if he can get away with it. 164. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brad showing class letting Blaney back by after accidently making contact with him. 165. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yet another caution. 166. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) McDowell spun caution is out 167. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I hate when the announcers are stupid in questioning that. "William Byron is in second! Will he move a Playoff driver (Truex) out of the way to get his first career win???" - Rick Allen. No need to be more dramatic than that, the answer is an obvious yes. 168. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Starting to look like the truck race yesterday as everyone starts driving roughly the last few laps. 169. A.J. posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) An amazing job by Byron to hang with Truex on that brief run. 170. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Back half of the field pits under caution 171. A.J. posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Big brake check there by the 19. 172. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman has a left rear fender rub 173. RaceFanX posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's a two-car race with Truex and Byron up front with 19 to go. 174. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Here comes Byron 175. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Martin Truex, Jr has officially led more laps in this race than Brad Keselowski did earlier at this race track in the spring of 2019. 176. A.J. posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I hope Byron gets close enough to rattle his cage. 177. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truex starting to pull away slightly now 178. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I didn't see the chart fully as I wasn't paying attention. Kyle Petty at Rockingham back in 1992 leading 482 laps was the most since the 1990's, the only race a driver led more laps than Truex today? 179. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truex dominates and takes his first Grandfather clock. 180. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truex holds on at wins at Martinsville 181. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) From my post #3; "The last time we raced here in the spring, Martin Truex, Jr was still seeking his first short track win. Entering this race, he has now won at Richmond, a season sweep at that. Now that the struggle has been lifted, will he pull off another short track win this weekend? Richmond and Martinsville are both within the state of Virginia, and Martin Truex winning the first two races of the Playoff (Vegas & Richmond) are still the most races won by a driver, can he extend that stats?" Truex wins. 182. Mbenoit posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JGR with their 17th win of the season. One more to tie Hendrick's 2007 record. 183. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Martin wins at Martinsville. 184. Jacob posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @179 And assures himself he will be one of the drivers contending for the championship in Homestead despite William Byron Jr. giving him a pretty good scare toward the end. 185. A.J. posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Major props to Byron. 500 laps later he's less than 1 second behind a JGR Toyota that was on cruise control all day. 186. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #182 The 17th win is also Toyota's new record for most wins in a single season, breaking the tie of 16 wins in 2016 & 2017. 187. TeamDCRfan posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sorry if this has been mentioned, but did anyone else notice that when they were showing the playoff standings during the race, they showed Chase as B. Elliott 188. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Byron with an excellent run, hopefully a win will come for him soon. 189. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Big fight in the pits, Hamlin getting attacked 190. Altracing posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Big fight with Hamlin and Logano! 191. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) 464 laps. Switching the 446 number around from Brad Keselowski's dominate win back in the spring, they literally shared the number of laps led. FIGHT ON PIT ROAD! Hamlin and Logano! 192. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:51 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) In my opinion Hamlin was in the wrong on the track, I dont blame Logano for being angry. 193. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Martinsville for the third year in a row has a dramatic ending! 194. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:54 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) This is typical Martinsville where drivers leave super angry with each other. 195. Larry posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This marks the first time since 1963 that Martinsville saw two straight races where there were only three lead changes in a race. My guess it is the package as much as it is (or even more) Truex's dominate car. If someone else were able to get to first I am not entirely convinced they could have been passed either. 196. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) From my comment #3; "Kyle Busch has had ups and downs throughout the entire playoff, taking turn finishing well outside the Top 10 and inside the Top 10 every other races. If history repeats itself, Kyle finishing outside the Top 10 could occur in this race as he finished 3rd last at Kansas. The last 6 race finishes during the Playoffs for Kyle are as followed; 3rd, 19th, 6th, 37th, 2nd & 19th. Will this be an issue for Kyle making it to the Final Four?" He finished 14th to continue his inconsistency/struggles. 197. Edwards2020 posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin was wrong yes, but hitting a guy and then running away is a chicken move 198. William24ByronFan posted: 10.27.2019 - 6:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That was tough to swallow, Byron had a shot to bump Truex and he decided to race him clean. But it is what it is. Congrats Truex. And great job for Byron! I'm proud of him! 199. Kevin posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:00 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Very disappointed with Kyle Busch, Hamlin, and Logano today. But that's nothing new. All three drivers have a lot to learn about respect on the race track. Bad examples of NASCAR racing. One of these days, all three guys are going to have prove something with their hands with the way that they drive. Awful interview by Hamlin. Mimicking Logano like that, to me, is childish. 200. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Joey Logano slapped Denny on the shoulder as he walked away from Denny. Denny tried to charge him (but was blocked by one of the #22 crew members or was it an official to tell him enough is enough?) and another one of Logano's crew member (was it his crew chief? He was a fat dude) came behind Hamlin and literally dragged Hamlin back. 201. joey2448 posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:03 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Hamlin's impression of Logano was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time! Lol god that was hilarious! 202. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is Martin Truex, Jr's 7th win of the season, extending a season high. It is also his 3rd win in the 2019 Playoffs. #200 Saw the video again; it was an official telling Denny to "stop" before one of Joey's crew member grabbed Denny back to the ground. 203. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:07 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) #201 Lol it was pretty funny! I hope Denny wins the championship, but if Joey Logano ends up making the Final Four and beats Denny the same way Joey beat Martin Truex, Jr after their situation last season... What does that say about Joey? From my comment #3; "Interestingly, since the Playoffs name and stage racing began in 2017, the fall Martinsville race weren't without drama. 2017 had Denny Hamlin wrecking Chase Elliott from the lead and 2018 Joey Logano's bump and run win on Martin Truex, Jr when Truex felt wronged. Logano wasn't in the Playoff picture all year in 2017 and Hamlin didn't make the Round of 8 in 2018." Among the four drivers, Hamlin and Logano had a turn at each other. Foreshadowing for fall Martinsville of 2020, Chase Elliott vs Martin Truex, Jr? 204. RyanM posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Joey Logano has to be the wimpiest fake tough guy in NASCAR history. Every "fight" he gets in results in him throwing a baby punch or two and then running away and hiding behind his crew or his daddy. 205. Mile501 posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In my recent blog about drivers who have finished in every position (1-43), David Ragan was listed as having finished in every position except 9th. After being a lap or two down for most of the day, he got back on the lead lap towards the end and rallied to almost change that stat--but he ended up two spots short in 11th. 206. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Did Logano's crew member lose Hamlin and went straight to one of Hamlin's crew member thinking it was Hamlin after he dragged Hamlin down? Lol 207. Larry posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:20 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Just saw the video of Logano's "hit" to Denny Hamlin. That was hardly what a man would call a "hit"; yet social media is all abuzz about Logano "hitting" Hamlin and running off. I think this shows the trajectory America is going nowadays lol 208. GGDC posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:21 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) @199 NASCAR doesn't want that. That doesn't get ratings and water cooler talk on monday. Also WTF was up with Joey saying he didn't get answers he wanted? Like dude NASCAR and their playoff system wants this. Heck you did something similar to MTJ last year. You already know the answer. 209. Maverick19 posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Surprisingly, Truex does NOT get a perfect rating 210. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:23 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Wow, Martin Truex, Jr only had a 149.7 driver's rating and didn't get a 150.0 for this race. Brad Keselowski in the spring however, did get a 150.0 rating. 2019 is the first season since 1993 that a driver led over 400 laps in both Martinsville races in the same season. The 1993 spring race Rusty Wallace led 409 laps and won. The 1993 fall race Ernie Irvan led 402 laps and won. The 2019 spring race Brad Keselowski led 446 laps and won. The 2019 fall race Martin Truex, Jr led 464 laps and won. Clearly in 2019 both drivers were more dominant at the front than 1993. 211. Anthony2 posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That surprises me too. When Brad won in the spring he led 446 laps & ended up with a 150 rating. But yeah it's interesting that Truex doesn't get one. 212. Zach posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:25 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Would've been cool to see Byron win on the 15th anniversary of the Hendrick plane crash, but congrats to Truex. 213. Maverick19 posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) By leading 30 laps, Hamlin has led exactly 10,000 laps in Cup. I'm pretty sure the thing Truex missed was fastest lap of the race. Chase Elliott also had the same rating at Watkins Glen so I think that's what each one missed. 214. Nucl3arWa4le posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor updates #32 - CorvetteParts.net / Scooby Doo #37 - Clorox / Velveeta / Bush's Beans #47 - Kroger / Nature Valley / No Yolks #53 - Kay Yow / Gotta Kill It to Heal It 215. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race certainly put Martin Truex, Jr on the map in laps led. Truex went from barely over 800 laps led in 2019 to 1,268, passing Brad Keselowski who has 1,082 laps led at this point to second highest of 2019. He is roughly 107 laps behind Kyle Busch (1,375) for most laps led this season. Despite the drama, Denny Hamlin breaks the tiebreaker with Kyle Busch for highest average finish and is now settled with a 9.2 average finish. Kyle dropped to 9.5. They were both at 9.3 entering this race. Apparently I miscalculated earlier and didn't add 2 to his total but only added 1. Martin Truex, Jr has now 8 stage wins for the 2019 season after this race. 216. Corey posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @210 How do they calculate the rating? Of every stat listed on the loops page, Truex either matches or surpasses Keselowski. 217. Mile501 posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Larson ended up 9th, his best finish at Martinsville in over 3 years. For a track he isn't very good at, he did about as well as he could have hoped for today. Solid finishes also for Bubba Wallace (13th) and Corey LaJoie (18th). 218. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) With Joey Logano keeping his points lead in Non-Playoff standings... There are only 17 points separating the Top 5 with Kyle Busch falling back to 5th in the standings, the worst position he's been in all season long. Truex jumped from 5th, he was 30 points back, to second only 12 points back, after this dominant win. Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick are tied for 3rd, 15 points back. 219. Anthony2 posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @216 https://fantasyracingcheatsheet.com/nascar-loop-data/driver-rating-calculation 220. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #216 I'll never get into how they calculate driver's rating because it's too much effort but I can share a website where they have the formula. https://fantasyracingcheatsheet.com/nascar-loop-data/driver-rating-calculation 221. GoPM21 posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:52 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) I talked to a crewman in the garage today. He said Logano is signing Tampax as an associate sponsor for 2020. 222. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not sure if it was mentioned but Hamlin now has exactly 10000 career cup laps led. 223. RandomFacts posted: 10.27.2019 - 7:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ah I see it was mentioned, Im a bit late, my bad. 224. Anonymous posted: 10.27.2019 - 8:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think Harvick will win at Texas. Truex got his redemption from last year, coming to Texas, it's Harvick's turn. Harvick won Texas last year, but he cheated. Now I think he will get his redemption from last year and win at Texas next week. P.S I think that Joey Logano, and Denny Hamlin will take each other out at either at Texas, or ISM or both. I see one of those drivers out in the round of 8. 225. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 8:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Denny Hamlin clinches a season high Top 5 with 18 Top 5's after this race. With 3 races remaining, Kyle Busch has 15 and can only tie Denny if Kyle finishes Top 5 the final 3 races. 18 Top 5 is Denny's career best in a single season too. 226. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 8:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Lastly, 3 is the magic number for Martinsville in 2019. Brad/Martin's dominant 446/464 laps led victory both came from starting in the 3rd position. 227. William24ByronFan posted: 10.27.2019 - 8:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Is tech over? 228. GiveMajeskiAChance posted: 10.27.2019 - 8:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) I don't see how you lead 464 of 500 laps with a legal car. That's TOO dominant. 229. Sector posted: 10.27.2019 - 8:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) #227 Yes, everything is official. #228 Seeing is believing, or in your case, hatred delusions back to your room you go. 230. Rider77 posted: 10.27.2019 - 8:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Second Martinsville race in a row where one of the Hendrick drivers finishes second while the other 3 come home deep in the field. Although much deeper this time then in the spring race. 231. Rider77 posted: 10.27.2019 - 8:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Inspection is over. MTJ has the win. 232. Anthony posted: 10.27.2019 - 9:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Ragan's best finish of 2019 with an 11th place finish. Of drivers that have run all the races only Ragan, and Landon Cassill are the only two to not score a top 10 this season. 233. William24ByronFan posted: 10.27.2019 - 9:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) My comment @227 has a thumbs down for idk why. I wasn't hoping Truex to fail inspection, just a simple question... 234. Spen posted: 10.27.2019 - 10:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sector: Most laps led since Kyle's Rockingham '92, yes. There have been a few more dominant performances in laps led, though. Richard led 491 at Dover in '74, d 488 at Richmond in '70 I think. Cale led all 500 at Bristol in 73, and 495 another year. There have probably been others, I just can't think of them off the top of my head. 235. Maverick19 posted: 10.27.2019 - 10:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Other ones I know of are Bobby Allison leading 486 at Dover in 1982 and David Pearson leading 491/492 at Rockingham in 1973. And the 495 race was 1977. 236. 34McDowellFan posted: 10.27.2019 - 10:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Out of curiosity, does Tifft count as a driver change? Yes he was scheduled to be in it, but he never actually ran any laps in the car. 237. Ryan posted: 10.27.2019 - 10:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Hamlin's impersonation of Logano about short track racing > 238. Canadianfan posted: 10.27.2019 - 11:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truex's 464 laps led today are a new modern era record for most in a Martinsville Cup race, beating the mark set earlier this year by Brad Keselowski (446). The all time record is 493, by Fred Lorenzon in 1964. 239. Tyson posted: 10.28.2019 - 12:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @236 - he was on the entry list, so yes, that is technically a driver change. 240. Sector posted: 10.28.2019 - 1:51 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) #236 Out of curiosity, why are people so confused as to how a driver change works? If you are on the entry list all the way through till a second before the green flag drop, and doesn't race the moment the green flag first drop, it is consider a driver's change if someone else drives instead, or simply a withdrawal if the car itself isn't racing (hence the number of withdrawals in Australian Supercars this weekend). 241. Sector posted: 10.28.2019 - 2:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) In addition to the driver's change facts; Once the green flag drops, it is started by the driver and the stats cannot change barring any disqualification. John Utsman for Benny Parsons at Bristol in 1993, Ricky Rudd for Tony Stewart at Dover in 2006 & Matt Crafton for Paul Menard at Talladega in 2019 are perfect examples. They started, they get the points, performances and results. The driver substituting the driver merely doesn't get anything other than the opportunity to race and finishing the race for another out of the goodness of their heart. 242. Mannoroth posted: 10.28.2019 - 7:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) 238. And before this season, I thought that Matt Kenseth's and Kyle Busch's record of leading 415 laps in this century will last longer... Nevermind, Kyle is still the only driver in this century to lead 415 laps in a row and I wonder, if anyone can ever break this record, when we have those stages that can easily change the strategy. 243. Chase9Fan posted: 10.28.2019 - 7:40 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) 81. I wouldn't say that about all Chase fans. I'll continue to watch because it's racing. Still 2 more shots to win, not out of it. 244. Chase9Fan posted: 10.28.2019 - 7:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I actually watched this race on mute with the radio announcers on mostly. I can't stand these announcers. They literally hurt my hears with their girl like screams. 245. M23LOUF posted: 10.28.2019 - 9:23 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Non-playoff standings show top 5 within 17 points of each other while playoff standings show a 20 point gap between 1st and 2nd..... 246. Mile501 posted: 10.28.2019 - 10:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Over the last 4 seasons, only 12-13 drivers have led 100+ laps each season. This year, 18 drivers have led 100+ laps, demonstrating how the field has become at least somewhat more competitive at the front. 247. Clint posted: 10.28.2019 - 10:21 am Rate this comment: (3) (0) #245 yeah its a shame nascars manufactured drama and intrigue gets in the way of actual drama and intrigue. With season long points wed be looking at another 1992 in the making instead of a forgettable forced game 7. 248. Chase9Fan posted: 10.28.2019 - 10:22 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 245. Things that make you go hmmmmmmmm 249. AJ73 posted: 10.28.2019 - 10:27 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) @245 & 247 My thoughts exactly! I can't say it enough; I'm not a fan of the playoffs at all. This isn't like other sports. NASCAR doesn't need them. 250. Chase9Fan posted: 10.28.2019 - 10:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 249. I can agree. It's like playoffs with the rest of the teams participating on the side. 251. Mile501 posted: 10.28.2019 - 11:12 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Honestly, this is shaping up to be even better than 1992 (ignoring the playoffs). Even though 6 drivers entered the 1992 finale with a shot at the championship, only the top 3 were really close with a realistic chance. 252. Maverick19 posted: 10.28.2019 - 2:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Joey Logano's 2019 season... Wins: 2 (7th) Top 5's: 10 (T-7th) Top 10's: 18 (T-5th) Poles: 2 (6th) Laps Led: 801 (4th) Average finish: 11.2 (5th) Yet despite not being in the top 3 for any major statistical category, Logano still has the points lead solely due to stage points, even after he's had just 4 top 10's in the last 13 races. I love full season points, but I think shows how flawed stage points is as a system. 253. Sector posted: 10.28.2019 - 2:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That's because at this point Joey Logano has 331 stage points earned, Kevin Harvick is next in line at 289, Martin Truex, Jr 271, Kyle Busch 254 and Denny Hamlin 240. Joey has 10 stage wins, only one behind Kyle Busch who has the most wit 11. Truex is the only other driver with the opportunity to go beyond 11 stage wins currently with 8 if he keeps winning more with 3 races remaining. Regardless I have brought up before (I don't remember where but it was a while ago) that I think they should also add "Stage Points" to the standings page to showcase who runs well or have the better strategy in the first half of the races. I personally don't mind if Joey scores the most points though. It'll make up for Matt Kenseth 2015 that should've been his opportunity to score the most points and equals his 2018 championship total. 254. Chase9Fan posted: 10.28.2019 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) I am still NOT liking stage points. THey forced the playoffs on me, fine, but the stage points is too gimmicky. 255. Wil posted: 10.28.2019 - 11:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In the spring 1 driver led 446/500 (89%) laps of the race and today 1 driver led 460/500 (92%) laps. Those numbers feel too extreme to be flukes. 256. Mile501 posted: 10.29.2019 - 5:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @255 - I think it's a reflection of this year's package, which has made passing extremely difficult at flat tracks like Martinsville. 257. Sector posted: 10.29.2019 - 5:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) As for the reason for Matt Tifft missing the race, his black out seems to be caused by seizure. He will be sidelined for the rest of the season starting in this race and the following 3 races. 258. possum posted: 10.29.2019 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) @244 - I was flipping back and forth between the F1 race from Mexico and the Cup race. Back-to-back like that it becomes painfully obvious just how awful the NASCAR broadcasts are. It's really no surprise that TV ratings for NASCAR have tanked, between the indifferent on-track product and the abysmal broadcasting. 259. Corey posted: 10.29.2019 - 6:59 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) @258 That's because F1 focuses on the race at hand and not the championship. NBC uses the playoffs as the central theme to the broadcast. 260. Wil posted: 10.29.2019 - 8:02 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) @258 I agree about the broadcasts. NBC's coverage is very disappointing. Dale Jr is pretty solid and excitable, but it's been painfully obvious since 3015 that Burton and Letarte aren't natural broadcasters, and Rick Allen doesn't have the smooth style of Joy or Bestwick to pull it all together. I disagree about the on track product though. Say what you want about stage racing but the drivers race hard for the entire event. When I look at some older races the (smart) guys like Mark Martin and terry Labonte would just let guys go, and the racing didn't get intense until the final 50 or so laps. There's been buffoonery with NASCAR for sure, but I think the main reason for the decline was that the sport was a fad. I think it has the potential to grow in popular again though with Chase Elliott leading the way, and especially if Hailie Deegan becomes a good Cup driver. 261. Sector posted: 10.29.2019 - 8:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) #260 I know you meant 2015, but I wonder how dead or popular Motorsports (NASCAR specifically) will be in 3015, if it is even in existence. 262. Wil posted: 10.29.2019 - 8:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) @261 It's a fair question. Part of the appeal of old NASCAR was that people loved good old American muscle and could relate to the sounds and smells of the stock cars. That changed with the awful COT in 2008, and with the world trending towards electric and away from gas it's fair to wonder if Nascars around in a millennium. 263. Mile501 posted: 10.29.2019 - 8:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @261, 262 - I think things like increased reliability and technology have really hurt racing overall (not just NASCAR but other series as well), and I also wonder how sustainable racing is in the long run. 264. Anonymous posted: 10.29.2019 - 8:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) To say that NASCAR was a fad is to ignore the fact that the sport that exists today is completely, 100% unrecognizable from what it was in 2003. The 2003 version of NASCAR was not *that* different overall from what it had been in 1987. The 2019 version of NASCAR might as well be a different sport entirely. You can't change something so much and expect the people who fell in love with the way it used to be to just accept the new without question. 265. Anonymous posted: 10.29.2019 - 9:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Here's something else to ponder. Be sure to downvote this one, too. I was a diehard fan for most of my life - over 20 years - as were most of the people I know who were also NASCAR fans. Most of us haven't watched a race in years. The fanbase today is made up of mostly young people, teenagers who don't even remember what the sport used to be like. If anything modern NASCAR is the fad. You cannot shove your fingers in your ears and close your eyes and ignore the TV ratings, the empty grandstands, and the fact that all three series are seriously lacking competitive teams. The sport is dying and most of the fans today don't even seem to care. 266. Anonymous posted: 10.29.2019 - 9:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I doubt anyone will be on Earth in 3015. 267. Maverick19 posted: 10.29.2019 - 9:50 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Not gonna downvote but the NASCAR fan base is not mostly young people. I'm 19, yet I only have two friends in real life that even care about motorsports. It's not something the majority of us care about, football, basketball and even soccer are the rage for us these days. Viewership numbers show that majority of people that watch are still older than 50, that's why you constantly see erectile dysfunction commercials. NASCAR tries to show young kids on their broadcasts, but that's only to try and hide the actual demographics of their fans. NASCAR these days mostly consists of long term fans that haven't left and any of their kids that they managed to get into the sport. And I doubt that fans these days don't care, why else has Brian France become such a hated figure. It's just that none of us know how to stop the bleeding. 268. Corey posted: 10.29.2019 - 10:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) All the major motorsports series aren't as big as they once were and all for various reasons. American open wheel racing was once king in America until the split came and the series has never recovered. NASCAR had its rise in popularity and then the downfall, to what appears to be some sort of stability. F1 is certainly not immune, with much of their tv audience dropped off when the majority of the races were put behind the paywall. Then again, the on track product isn't helping. 269. Wil posted: 10.30.2019 - 1:39 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Why did my comment 262 get downvoted lol. Thought it was a pretty reasonable statement. In my opinion, Nascar has hit (or is very close to) the canyon of a decline, and then it's going to rocket back up. Nascar fans are more pissy about change than any other fanbase, which is fine, but the fact is, The racing product today is much better than it was in the early 2000s. It's more chaotic and dramatic in every stage of the race. Before you accuse me of being a biased young (23) person, I actually wish it was pure racing without the gimmicks. But the fact is, the "gimmicks" (like: win and your in Chase system, the playoffs, fights in the playoffs, championship unpredictability) all seem to make more headlines and attract more fans than if a single driver locked up the title with 2 races to go and there was no suspense, like there used to be. The fact is, Nascar needs to attract new fans. That's just the reality. The "core" fanbase of people in their 50s and 60s still matter, but not as much as the younger group of fans whom will determine how much money this sport makes over the next 60 years. Businesses need to be forward thinking, and Nascar is that with this point system. Think about it: baseball: "boring" sport is declining sharply, football: "kind of exciting" has plateaued, NBA has SKYROCKED because it's minute to minute excitement. Nascar needs to make their product as action packed and divisive as possible, because if not, there won't be a young group of fans to carry the sport into the next couple decades. I respect the older fans (they know the most about racing and I defer to them) but the younger generation will make more of an impact of Nascar's bottom line. 270. Mile501 posted: 10.30.2019 - 5:34 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) @267 "Viewership numbers show that majority of people that watch are still older than 50, that's why you constantly see erectile dysfunction commercials." Did anyone else have flashbacks to Kevin Conway when reading that comment? 271. Mile501 posted: 10.30.2019 - 8:39 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @269 - As much as I personally miss the old days, I agree with you that the old model is not sustainable in our current culture. We all know that few people nowadays have the attention span to sit and watch a 3+ hour...wait, what was I talking about? I do feel like there could be a happy medium that is more exciting but with fewer gimmicks, though I don't know exactly what that might look like. Just for fun, I've attempted to create such models a few times over the years (as have other people around here), but the ideas I've come up with have generally been underwhelming. 272. Corey posted: 10.30.2019 - 8:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) And there is the problem of the current car culture in America. A lot of young people would rather UBER and see a car as nothing more then a giant money pit, they don't want to deal with. Gone, are the days where you could buy a car and tinker with it through the years. Nobody buys them for performance, its all about safety. A lot of young people, (and a few older ones as well) also see racing as just a waste of gas and it's only going to get worse with the climate change activists. Nearly all of motorsports is going to be on the losing side of that one. 273. George_Costanza posted: 10.30.2019 - 10:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm using my own experience with attending as an example of NASCAR's decline. I attended my first race in 2009, the June race at Michigan. I was 13 years old, and I was by far the youngest person in the area I camped. The campground was packed with people. The fan plaza was packed with vendors giving away free stuff, ranging from chewing tobacco to tshirts. If anyone remember how Michigan's grandstand layout was, it stretched from Turn 3 all the way around to Turn 2. It was packed that year. The racing back then sucked at Michigan, but it still filled the place up every year that I went, until 2012 when they started taking down some of the grandstands. Now, the campgrounds are barely half full, the fan plaza is almost completely empty, and even though MIS reduced their seating from 137,000 to 52,000, empty seats are pretty common to find. We're talking about 10 years. And if you want to be specific, I remember it getting really bad around 2014. 274. NotSure posted: 10.30.2019 - 7:02 pm Rate this comment: (6) (0) "But the fact is, the "gimmicks" (like: win and your in Chase system, the playoffs, fights in the playoffs, championship unpredictability) all seem to make more headlines and attract more fans" You're inverting the truth: it's proven not to attract more fans and it has driven existing ones away. NASCAR doesn't get the national attention it did 15 years ago. "if a single driver locked up the title with 2 races to go and there was no suspense, like there used to be." Tired of this canard. The few times this actually happened it was always the most deserving driver who likely had a historic season, if not historic certainly much better than the average champion. And guess what? The fans still showed up to watch and enjoy whatever races remained, free of any paper drama. The paper drama is now NBC's centerpiece: forget about the winner, who made the 12th place cutoff line? Keep on "enhancing" it until it no longer exists. "NBA has SKYROCKED because it's minute to minute excitement" It's skyrocketed because average IQs are dropping across the West. Baseball, football, hockey, etc. are too intellectually demanding for the NBA fan who is endlessly impressed by oversized freaks dunking a basketball. When presented with clear evidence from a former referee the league was fixing the outcomes of their games, NBA fans shrugged and continued watching. Calling it the Kardashian sport is fitting - it's just as fake as so-called reality TV shows. If the low-IQ NBA fan is what NASCAR wants, then the Chase/playoff system is way too complicated for them. 275. Ultimate_Warrior_#18 posted: 10.30.2019 - 8:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) @274 wow as a basketball fan I'm highly offended. There's actually excitement in every NBA game. Baseball is a snooze fest and the steroid scandals ran people off including me.Football has become half political and is being exposed by former players and current ones from everything from concussions to kneeling but i love watching football. The NHL doesn't even get great promotions since it's contract ended with espn years ago the only game that gets hyped up is the outdoor classic. Sorry if people wanna be entertained the NBA post 2010 found a way to become more entertaining the 2000's weren't great for the NBA some of the lowest scoring and rated games happened during that time. As for NASCAR i started watching in 98 i thought it was the coolest thing ever imo 98-2004 were the best years after the COT the sport fell off entertainment wise. Too many gimmicks from the chase to stage racing, playoff points, elimination races, spin gate. Not to mention the economic down spiral to the start n park epidemic and now the rich vs talent struggle. How is the average fan supposed to fall in love with this sport when it's overly complicated. I've been a fan 20 years and i can't understand why nascar thinks the 11th place finisher can score more points than the winner and expect the fan base to be happy or attract more youthful fans. 276. Mile501 posted: 10.30.2019 - 8:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "And guess what? The fans still showed up to watch and enjoy whatever races remained, free of any paper drama." That's because, in general, the focus was more on the races than the championship. Now, it's the other way around. Individual races have suffered in order to amplify the big prize. 277. George_Costanza posted: 10.30.2019 - 8:51 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) @276 and the big prize is completely neutered by having 4 drivers guaranteed to make the championship round. Here's another side affect to this gimmick. I bet all of us can accurately predict 12-14 of the drivers in the Playoffs next year, because it's usually the same drivers every year, aside from 2-3 that sneak in. Where's the excitement in that? 278. George_Costanza posted: 10.30.2019 - 8:54 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) And again, I would like everyone to look at the non-playoff standings. The top 5 separated by 17 points. 279. possum posted: 10.30.2019 - 9:04 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) @259 - no, altho NBC's championship focus is a bit annoying that's not the difference. The difference is commercials every 4 or 5 laps, the difference is directors who seem totally ignorant of racing and don't focus on the action (and given how little action an F1 race has, you know NBC's crew is really bad if they look bad by comparison), the difference is a bunch of people in the booth and the "pit central" or whatever NBC calls it only one of which is worth listening to, the difference is an announcer who thinks obviously artificial excitement (!!green flag back in the air !!1!1!) is somehow a sign of a good announcer. Sky's not perfect, but they're light-years ahead of NBC (and FOX, who are nearly as bad). 280. Ryan posted: 10.30.2019 - 9:04 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) The NBA is an absolute joke. If anyone has gotten political it has been them. Lebron James makes a comment and so many people take it to the bank or treat it like the Gospel. The guy isn't even college educated and many fans treat him like he is a Rhodes Scholar. I'm so glad that the Rockets GM stood up for freedom and the NBA HAD to stand by him even when they didn't want to because he cost them money. That was sweet for them to have to eat some crow and have to bite their tongue. I'm also glad that Lebron spoke on about the issue and made himself sound stupid. Lebron isn't the only one either. Steve Kerr, Greg Popovich, and Stephen Curry also need to stand down as well and quit trying to force their views down people's throats. And there's a difference when it comes to freedom and forcing down throats. The NBA brand is horrible right now. The sport hasn't been the same since Kobe was around and more so when MJ played. The big reason why scoring is up is because you can't hand check anymore like you used to. They made a rule against it. Jordan would have averaged 35-40 points a game if that rule is like it is now. Oh wait he did twice and even more so during the playoffs. Laura Ingraham was right when she said Lebron needs to shut up and dribble. The rest of the NBA needs to to the same. 281. Mile501 posted: 10.30.2019 - 9:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @277 - Indeed. I mean, we had some drama for those last two spots this year, but none of those drivers had a realistic shot at the title anyway. It's just manufactured drama in an attempt to keep things interesting. To further prove your point, these 12 drivers have made the 16-driver playoffs every year, or almost every year, that they've been in Cup: 6/6 Kyle Busch 6/6 Denny Hamlin 6/6 Kevin Harvick 6/6 Brad Keselowski 6/6 Kurt Busch 5/6 Martin Truex Jr. 5/6 Joey Logano 5/6 Jimmie Johnson 4/4 Chase Elliott 4/4 Matt Kenseth 4/6 Kyle Larson 4/6 Ryan Newman 282. possum posted: 10.30.2019 - 9:13 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) @263 - I agree with you 100%. One of the things older races had was suspense, would something break & the leader drop out or slow down? You could always hope something would happen and your favorite driver could take advantage. Related to that, back in the old days teams could push the edge, which sometimes worked (big power!) and sometimes didn't (big cloud of smoke). Today NASCAR so tightly controls everything that parts aren't stressed and don't break (all in the name of "reducing costs", altho no-one has actually seen costs go down), but we've lost the opportunity for teams to try and improve their performance. @265 - I remember watching Pearson beat Petty at Daytona, so I've got a couple of years on you. But your point is valid, the sport is in trouble and the last 10 years of NASCAR trying to fix it haven't helped. 283. Corey posted: 10.30.2019 - 9:31 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) @279 You say all that and I find that Sky could do with some improvement. I would like for them to replace Crofty and Brundle. I find Croft provides a good bit of artificial excitement. It's especially annoying when I guy who has been leading all race finally crosses the finish line by a good ten seconds. Then again, when you can accurately guess the winner by Lap 1, Turn 1. And here's the thing with commercials. Thats the difference between a British broadcast and an American one. Are your thoughts the same when you compare FOX and Sky? 284. Maverick19 posted: 10.30.2019 - 9:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) NASCAR in 2011 thought they needed to simply their points system and racing, but then took a complete 180 and decided to make a points system and playoff system so confusing that even a rocket scientist would have trouble deciphering it. The reality is that even NASCAR doesn't know what the hell they're doing. That's why they've tried everything from stages, the chase, the playoffs, VHT, packages that require no braking, etc. They're using every asinine idea hoping that it will stick and draw new fans. As a stated in my earlier comment, NASCAR is no longer mainstream among Gen Z, and they just need to cater to the fans they have and stop further damage. They need to start thinking like a niche sport because that's pretty much what they are now. There's two types of fans: The ones NASCAR (used) to have and the ones they're trying to acquire. They could go back to full season points, make the cars more stock, give more power to the teams and at least have hopes of winning those fans back (or stop more from leaving). Because with their current product, they're aren't attracting either group. 285. GoPM21 posted: 10.30.2019 - 10:13 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) @280 I'm in complete agreement. Kerr and Popovich are especially insufferable. They both need to go away. 286. Anthony posted: 10.30.2019 - 10:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 1 green flag pass for the lead in this race. 287. Ralphie posted: 10.30.2019 - 10:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Martinsville used to be such a fun track, didn't it? I almost always preferred short track racing to the 1.5-mile cookie cutter variety tracks, but these days you're much more likely to see a good race at one of those. I don't want to see anyone, even if it's a driver I like (which it wasn't), lead 92% of 500 laps or have a race where there's a lousy 2 passes per lap and 1 change for the lead on the track, but that's Martinsville in 2019. It wasn't so long ago that 20-30 lead changes in a race were common here, so what happened? 288. Wil posted: 10.30.2019 - 10:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I could write a long piece about how ignorant @274 is, and how people that know nothing about the sport of basketball should stay away from talking about it. There's literally no difference between @274's comment and the comments from basketball fans who say Nascar is just a bunch of dumb rednecks going in circles. But the comment would be too long. Ignorant people can be ignorant if they choose to be. 289. GoPM21 posted: 10.30.2019 - 11:16 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) @288 Just you wait until people like Popovich take away something you like because they know what's best for you. Kinda like how the Clinton administration started the chain of events that led to Winston leaving NASCAR. 290. Wil posted: 10.30.2019 - 11:59 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) @289 I've met Popovich in a grocery store in Bar Harbor, Maine where he spends his summers. One of the nicest people I've met. I'm not going to comment on his political stances, but he's a good and genuine person. That hardly makes him evil, but for a mostly Republican Nascar fanbase with conservative roots, it does. That's fine. All I can state is my personal experience with the man, and the fact that his public quotes are him speaking honestly about his beliefs. Which believe it or not, is legal in America. Until the Constitution changes, you can't have an issue with people sharing their minds. If there were more people like Popovich the world would be a better place. Sorry if that upsets you. 291. Ryan posted: 10.31.2019 - 12:05 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @289 Yeah I remember Clinton attending the '92 Southern 500 and it was disastrous. Many fans called him a draft dodger and so on. They didn't want him So. Carolina. In '95 while Clinton was president he supported legislation that would ban Winston/R.J. Reynolds and other tobacco companies from sponsoring sports. Legislation was passed that the tobacco companies would have to pay billions of dollars in penalties and Clinton's administration put out an all out assault on trying to curb young people from smoking. Had Ross Perot not run Bush probably would have won in '92. Perot, probably the best third party candidate in U.S. Presidential Election history took a lot of votes from Bush running on a similar platform. Darrell Waltrip wore a Bush/Quayle pin in victory lane that day winning his first and only Southern 500 (with some luck from the weather). 292. Ryan posted: 10.31.2019 - 12:23 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "that hardly makes him evil, but for a mostly Republican Nascar fanbase with conservative roots, it does" Sharing is one thing, forcing it on you is another. It's not a conservative or liberal thing, it's Popovich using his platform to force his views down people's throats. Supposedly Kawhi Leonard who grew up in a Christian based family had issue with Poppvich forcing his views on Leonard and there were rumors that Popovich said Leonard lacked leadership skills because of him not seeing eye to eye with him on Pop's views. Leonard led the Toronto Raptors to their first NBA championship last season and his LA Clippers are favorites to win the NBA title this year. https://www.texastribune.org/2018/04/17/pro-trump-san-antonio-spurs-fans-feel-forced-choose-between-team-presi/ 293. Corey posted: 10.31.2019 - 12:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @289 In fairness to the Clintons, many other countries in the world were doing the same thing. F1 used to be a traveling circus of the various tobacco companies, but legislations around the world put an end to that. Marlboro has stayed with Ferrari after all these years, despite not actually appearing on the car and is the reason why the "Mission Winnow" has been heavily debated at certain events. 294. Wil posted: 10.31.2019 - 1:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @292 I've never understood the argument that somebody "forces his views down people's throats". You can choose to not let him. Personally, I'm not too interested when athletes or coaches talk politics, so I ignore them. I'm there to watch sports, not listen to politics; rather than let it bother me I'll just ignore it and continue to like the sport. And thank you for opening that story about Pop and Kawhi with the word "supposedly". There were all sorts of crazy rumors about the reasons why an LA-born superstar would want to leave obscure San Antonio, Texas and go home to LA, and the stories got out of hand. Something tells me if the greatest coach in the NBA tried to force his ideological views on players, old players would have spoken up about it, considering he's been the Spurs coach for 23 years. It wouldn't be a "supposedly" kind of secret if he was forcing NBA superstars to think like him. That's absurd. 295. Mile501 posted: 10.31.2019 - 5:47 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) @284 - I realized yesterday on a whole new level how confusing the playoff format is when I had to spend a good 10 or 15 minutes doing research in order to figure out how playoff points are awarded to drivers when they drop out of the playoffs. (See comment 23 on the Texas race page if you want to know more about what I'm talking about.) @287 - This year's aero package happened, which is the fault of the teams and the RTA, as NASCAR wanted a different package for short tracks and road courses but the teams only wanted one package for all tracks. 296. Anon posted: 10.31.2019 - 7:43 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) To add to everyone's points (before we got political) about the points system (pun intended), I use my own points system in my self managed fantasy league. I won't get into the system because I'm sure no one cares, but I decided to go back and calculate the whole season to see how the points would look using my method. In my method the max you can score per race is 117, with the minimum 1. For the full season, Hamlin leads Truex by just 2 points (and I award 3 points for a pole, so taking those out puts Truex up by 7). I haven't calculated the rest of the drivers beyond those two, but will do so tomorrow time permitting. It's crazy how intense the season could have been without the manufactured drama. I also agree with some previous posters in the discussion about races meaning more pre-playoffs. Today, at least to me, it seems like the non-playoff teams are pointless, and this just kills sponsor appeal. I strongly believe the playoff system kills the sponsorship of mid-tier teams as a result. Pre-playoffs, focus remained the same the full season. I don't mind stage racing (if they eliminate the unnecessary stage break caution), but I definitely think the playoff system has run its course and needs to be eliminated. 297. Anon posted: 10.31.2019 - 7:43 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) To add on about the elimination of playoffs, interest in the sport is drastically hurt when one of the top guys is eliminated. If Chase Elliott or Kyle Busch were eliminated round 1, a pretty significant percentage of fans would no longer care about the rest of the season. In the old model, if one of those drivers was too far out to win the championship, their fans still would have watched and hoped for wins, etc. To me it is crazy that NASCAR doesn't understand that. 298. Jason24 posted: 10.31.2019 - 7:43 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sports were far better before athletes and coaches and drivers and fans voiced their political opinions. Everything was better off. Politics and people voicing their opinions about it has really gotten out of hand in the last few years. Especially when people use sports as a platform to talk about politics. I remember when you watched a game or a race without having to worry about any of that. Those were far better times.... 299. zuel660 posted: 10.31.2019 - 10:52 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) @284 It seems like, starting even back in the mid to late 90s, that Nascar got overeager trying to 'grow the sport'. Even in the late 90s/early 2000s when things were booming, I often thought, "How much bigger can this possibly get?" There wasn't, and isn't, an unlimited number of people wanting to become fans/sponsors/drivers, etc. At the same time, Nascar seemed to get obsessed in their attempt to attract new fans, while totally disregarding their long time and very loyal fanbase. Yes, you need to keep attracting interest in your product, but it shouldn't have been at the expense of what got you there in the first place. 300. Ryan posted: 10.31.2019 - 11:22 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @294 "Something tells me if the greatest coach in the NBA tried to force his ideological views on players, old players would have spoken up about it, considering he's been the Spurs coach for 23 years. It wouldn't be a "supposedly" kind of secret if he was forcing NBA superstars to think like him. That's absurd." Yes, you can choose not to let him, however, not everyone under him may realize that. Absurd huh? I just provided with you a credible site in 292 that says differently. Not only has he pressed his views on his players but on fans, too. And if you don't like that one, I know where others are at too. I liked Popovich as a coach until he got too political. It's also possible that Kawhi stood up to his views while other "old" players just drank his Kool-Aid. Popovich in my book is just behind Phil Jackson as the greatest coach ever. I know Phil had the players, however, MJ, Pip, Kobe, or Shaq never won anything until he got there. I feel like Popovich's only blemishes is at the end of Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals and now that he acts like he is running for a political office instead of just coaching basketball. I'm different with you on that it DOES bother me that coaches and athletes use their platform to press their views on people. It's a major turn off and one of the main reasons I hardly watch the NBA anymore. I probably watched two games last year. I followed it and NASCAR the most during the 80's and 90's and watched about four to five NBA games a week during that time period. ESPN has also got too political. ESPN seems to get worse every year. Tell me about sports, not politics. I can watch Fox News or CNN if I want that. It was a thrill for me last year that Leonard "led" the Raptors to the championship and making Popovich eat crow about his leadership skills. @298 Yes. 301. Anon posted: 10.31.2019 - 4:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I calculated out Logano, Busch, and Harvick to see where they'd fall in a full season under my points model. The top 5 in points would be: Hamlin 1851 Truex 1849 Busch 1813 Harvick 1749 Logano 1672 With a max points to gain of 116 per race, there are still 4 drivers within a single race of the championship. Kyle's 38 points back in 3rd may sound like a lot, but in this model if he had a max points day this coming week and Hamlin finished 2nd in all stages plus the race, Kyle would gain 40. This means that at this point of the season, 3 drivers would literally control their own destiny and take the point lead with a max points win. Harvick wouldn't be out of it, and while unlikely, if Logano won out he could still very reasonably win the championship as well in this format, even without DNFs from Hamlin/Truex. Note that while this model is fun for speculation, if it were actually used drivers would surely have raced differently at certain points of the year, so take that for what it's worth when considering stuff like this on the current or past seasons. 302. possum posted: 10.31.2019 - 6:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @283 - yes, I do think the same comparing FOX and Sky, and yes, Sky could do with some improvement. Your point on British TV is misguided, tho. I don't watch the F1 race on British TV, I watch on (in this case) ABC. If ABC can figure out how to show a race without a soul-killing commercial break every 5 minutes, then NBC and FOX can too. If they don't want to try, then calling them lousy broadcasters is entirely merited. 303. possum posted: 10.31.2019 - 7:07 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) @291 - best third party candidate in US history was Theodore Roosevelt. None of the others are remotely close. @299 - very true. For some unknown reason NASCAR thought it had to spread itself to the entire country, and change to attract people in those other parts of the country. All the while ignoring the fact that thousands of people from all over the country were already coming to them, without them needing to change a thing. Back in the 80's, early 90's the message boards were full of people planning trips to NASCAR tracks, sharing tips on where to stay and what route to drive to the track and such like things. All of which is long gone now. 304. ThatGuy posted: 10.31.2019 - 7:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) So when does everyone think Nascar is getting rid of this point system/format for something else? 10 years of the chase, but I could see it ending after 2020, I could also see it lasting another 3 or more. To me, one of the biggest mistakes since 2014 is leaving the finale (and if I recall correctly, the round of 8) at the same track(s). A driver could win 35 races and finish 4th in the standings because of a 4th place finish at Homestead. Plus, the point systems have changed quite often in the last 16 years, be it point values ('04, '07, '11, '17) or format ('04, '11, '14) 305. Sector posted: 10.31.2019 - 8:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #304 Granted we've seen new champions and haven't had a repeat since 2014, I don't have an issue with that. Unless Denny Hamlin wins it, it'll take until 2019 till we get a repeat since the elimination format arrives. 306. Corey posted: 10.31.2019 - 8:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @302 But you are essentially watching the F1 race on British TV as ABC/ESPN was forced to show it the way the British Broadcast it. They tried to air the 2018 Australian GP with commercials and it proved to be a disaster. So many American F1 fans were complaining about missing information key moments and radio chatter that EPSN was forced to go out and get a sponsor in order to show the coverage commercial free. 307. Corey posted: 10.31.2019 - 8:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @304 I don't think it'll change for the foreseeable future. Keep in mind, the person who was in charge of all those changes, Brian France, has not been in charge for well over a year. The current head, Jim France, doesn't seem like a man whose going to mess too much with the championship structure. 308. Canadianfan posted: 10.31.2019 - 9:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @306 Also it's important to note ESPN/ABC got those right for basically nothing. NBC wanted to renew their contract however FOM was aware that they would start putting various sessions on their NBC Gold streaming service which would be a direct competitor to F1TV. They instead broke the contract and gave it to ESPN/ABC for almost nothing. It was very easy for ESPN/ABC to go out and get Mothers to keep the races commercial free. 309. Corey posted: 10.31.2019 - 10:30 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) FOM didn't break the contract, NBC did. I believe they already the streaming portions going before FOM and Liberty started doing their thing. 310. Canadianfan posted: 11.01.2019 - 9:56 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) @309 One thing I do know is Adam Stern reported in July that NBC was looking to get back the coverage whenever it expires for ESPN/ABC. 311. possum posted: 11.01.2019 - 7:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @306 - the point is, which you seem to be continuing to miss, that racing can be shown that way, and ABC/ESPN are doing so. It's irrelevant why they are or why NBC isn't. NBC's telecasts are demonstrably much worst because they have excessive commercials. If NBC wants to have a quality broadcast (and/or if NASCAR wants their telecasts to be percieved as quality entertainment), then they need to figure out how to have fewer commercial interruptions. Incidently, I note that elsewhere Canadianfan mentioned F1 viewership is up 20%. The contrast with NASCAR viewership doesn't need to be elaborated. 312. Ryan posted: 11.01.2019 - 10:18 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) @303 "@291 - best third party candidate in US history was Theodore Roosevelt. None of the others are remotely close." possum, you may want to read up on the 1992 Presidential Election then. I know you had to have been alive during that time period by reading some of your comments, so I know you lived it. Perhaps you can't remember. Donald Trump won in 2016 being against a lot of what Perot was against in 1992 (cutting the federal budget, being hardcore against NAFTA, and draining the swamp- being against professional politicians). I realize that TR won 27% of the popular vote in 1912 stepping away from Taft after supporting his administration. However, during a time absolutely dominated by Republicans and Democrats, Perot ran as an Independent/Reform Party winning 19% of the popular vote and got the most votes in U.S. Presidential Election history with 19 million for a third party candidate clearing TR by 15 million votes. Had the election been in June of 1992 instead of November of 1992, Perot more than likely would have won. Perot dropped out of the presidential race in July of 1992 claiming that Republican cronies were trying to disrupt his daughter's wedding that summer. He re-entered the presidential race in early October of that year, but unfortunately his credibility had already been damaged by dropping out of the race. It made Americans think that he might quit or give up if elected President. He was invited to participate in a series of debates with Clinton and 41 and did quite well making good points about the Constitution and discussed how he was against NAFTA (which Trump called the worst trade deal in the history of the country). Had Perot played his cards a little differently he very well may have won and it's even possible that Winston might still be around in NASCAR. To say "none of the others are remotely close" is way off and isn't remotely close. 313. possum posted: 11.02.2019 - 9:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @312 - by your own words Perot's "credibility had been damaged" and people thought "he might quit or give up". Those are not things you say about a "best" candidate. It's also worth noting that Roosevelt finished second as a third party candidate, which no other third party candidate has done (which is why none of the others are remotely close). 314. racefangurl posted: 11.10.2019 - 7:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The trouble with NASCAR trying to draw the younger crowd is I'm the unicorn-type. I'm under 40 and not as liberal as all get out. I mean, I'm an '89 baby. As such, I'm a millennial and most of my generation, at least majority, are Berniecrats. NASCAR's everything they hate. 315. BadBooking posted: 11.12.2019 - 8:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Here's a random history nugget brought to you by a curiosity: 2019 is the first year since 1964 where both races at Martinsville featured drivers leading more than 400 laps in both races. Fred Lorenzen did that feat in that year by himself. 316. Sector posted: 11.12.2019 - 9:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #315 False. Scroll up to #210 for the proper answer to your curiosity, 1993. 317. Ryan posted: 11.15.2019 - 9:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @313 "@312 - by your own words Perot's "credibility had been damaged" and people thought "he might quit or give up". Those are not things you say about a "best" candidate. It's also worth noting that Roosevelt finished second as a third party candidate, which no other third party candidate has done (which is why none of the others are remotely close)." Right, I didn't support him because of it. And I said best third party candidate. However, up until that point that he dropped out he was in the driver's seat and even when he re-entered he still gained 19% of the vote AND gained the most votes in U.S. Presidential Election history for a third party candidate clearing your boy TR by a big amount is why your statement of "why he isn't remotely close" is way off. People that voted for him didn't trust Clinton (good insight). 318. Rich posted: 11.28.2020 - 9:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were the commentators. Marty Snider, Kelli Stavast and Parker Kligerman were the pit road reporters. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: