2011 NASCAR Thread

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Adrenaline
I don't know, it seemed kind of logical. With Kahne leaving next year what would they do? Vickers is decent, but not a big enough contender to carry the name. Bowyer? He'd be crazy to leave RCR and RCR would be stupid not to try and keep him. He's a chase contender, unless Hendricks, Gibbs or Roush offered him a ride, he shouldn't even consider leaving RCR. Furthermore, with JR carrying the 'Amp' logo, it's hard for any other energy drink, to try and steal some spotlight. Even if Red Bull is the bigger/more popular company, Jr still rules the industry as far as popularity goes. I could see Redbull sponsoring a car, but not an entire team anymore.
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Well at the moment (Supposedly), Carl Edwards is a free agent for 2012 as he has not yet been signed for Roush next year.
 
RACECAR
Well at the moment (Supposedly), Carl Edwards is a free agent for 2012 as he has not yet been signed for Roush next year.
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That is correct but they are working on a deal because.. where the hell is Carl going to go?* There are no great rides open right now.

*see Spoiler for what may happen

He will probably stay at Roush for a while. However, I wonder... All those sponsors (Alfac, Subway, Vitamin Water,etc.) follow him to maybe a third Chevy at Stewart-Haas or Mark Martin Motorsports (read: Old Rebull team) with any manufacturer? Another good Ford driver.. could be good as Gone.
 
Thats a good question. Another really interesting bit is that JGR is actually interested in Carl. If that were a deal that happened, where would he go and what would happen to the other drivers? Would he end up replacing say, troublesome Kyle Busch or would Carl's Sponsors present enough of a check for Joe to pursue a fourth car?
 
RACECAR
Thats a good question. Another really interesting bit is that JGR is actually interested in Carl. If that were a deal that happened, where would he go and what would happen to the other drivers? Would he end up replacing say, troublesome Kyle Busch or would Carl's Sponsors present enough of a check for Joe to pursue a fourth car?
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That too... JGR has been talking about a fourth car for a while now.
 
It was speculated that JGR would put Edwards in the 20 and Logano would either go to a fourth JGR car or out of the team completely.

That's if JGR signs Edwards.
 
GTPorsche
It was speculated that JGR would put Edwards in the 20 and Logano would either go to a fourth JGR car or out of the team completely.
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According to their statement, they've actually said Joey will stay in the 20 car.
 
Carl is in the same boat as Clint Bowyer, but he's better in every way. Both driving, personality and sponsor desire-ability. Whether some people think it's corny or not, Carl Edwards is a sponsors dream. Dale Jr is the polar opposite when it comes to TV personality and product placement. Lucky for him, his name and popularity carry him anyways. (Don't get me wrong, I like JR, but let's face facts)

But, my point was, like Clint Bowyer, Carl won't leave Roush unless something better is available. Now, Gibbs is a possibility, I could see that working.
But Gibbs, RCR, Hendricks and Roush, are clearly the big 4. Anyone currently inside the big 4, would have to be out of their mind to leave them voluntarily. Stewart-Haas... I don't know. I feel like most drivers would be weary of joining a driver/owner. I think Jr would be a good fit at Stewart-Haas, opening up a Hendrick spot. I'm not a fan of Kahne, but with the right team, I suspect he'll be competitive on a regular basis.

While I somewhat enjoy Kyle Busch, I also realize he isn't making any friends, and his options outside of Gibbs aren't looking very bright. RCR won't have him, Hendricks already did, all that's left is Roush. If I were him, I'd have a special bank account set to the side for the day when he can't get a ride, regardless of how good he is.
 
R1600Turbo
Interesting article posted on NASCAR.com about the road course races. Just some back and forth arguments, but what really got me was the poll that was posted along with it. Nearly 70% of the people that answered the poll, would like MORE road course races on the calendar. Hint Hint NASCAR...

http://www.nascar.com/news/110620/head2head-more-road-course-races/index.html
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Nascar won't do it. They won't even use the full course at The Glen even though there is strong support for it.
 
If Carl leaves Roush, he will likely go to another Ford team.

I think he will stay where he is.
 
GTPorsche
Nascar won't do it. They won't even use the full course at The Glen even though there is strong support for it.
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I guess the track owners are trying to convince them to do it. Read that somewhere this week but can't seem to find it.
 
R1600Turbo
I guess the track owners are trying to convince them to do it. Read that somewhere this week but can't seem to find it.
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The track president is already lobbying NASCAR for the boot section to be used.
 
It would be surprising to see a company like Red Bull leave ship considering all the motorsports they are involved in. Can't comment any further at this time.

Well, if you're tired of ovals, this is your weekend! NASCAR Cup rocks Sears Point... I mean, Infineon Raceway. Nationwide gets their Midwest on by racing the 4+ mile-long Road America. Anyone who is new to NASCAR should know that NASCAR stock cars DO go left and right. I think it's great hearing these cars go through the gears while trying to weave these cars through a set of lefts and rights. If you've never seen NASCAR road race before, you have two chances to catch NASCAR do some road racing.

The one thing I always wonder is how come certain stock car racers don't enhance their road racing skills rather than always have to hire road racing specialists. That's why I think NASCAR's Chase for the Cup should have a road course. You race two of them, why not one last challenge? Road Atlanta or Sebring are completely doable. If you're going to rule Cup, you'll have to show your craft on a road course. Not that I have anything against road racing specialists taking over, but I just wish more not really comfortable with road racing enhance their skills more for when the road racing events come.
 
JohnBM01
It would be surprising to see a company like Red Bull leave ship considering all the motorsports they are involved in. Can't comment any further at this time.
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I think it has more to do with their lack of success. 1 win and a chase berth in 4 years isn't really that much of a success story. I also don't think that Red Bull puts as much effort into the NASCAR team as they do with the F1 team. I think the Red Bull just sponsoring a driver is the more probable outcome.

The one thing I always wonder is how come certain stock car racers don't enhance their road racing skills rather than always have to hire road racing specialists.
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Really the only teams that seem to be doing that still are teams near or already out of the top 35. They also sometimes use different drivers for restrictor plate races.
 
I just thought of something regarding the possible 4th seat at JGR: Seeing as Vickers is a Toyota driver, is there a possibilty that he could get the seat instead of Carl? Obviously Edwards has been the better driver as of late, but they both carry major sponsorship that can fund that 4th car.
 
That move by Villeneuve has to be just about the dumbest overtaking attempt I've ever seen in motorsports. What on earth could he have been thinking?

I was caught completely off-guard by McDowell's performance. Premium ride or not (he was in JGR's 18 car), I had no idea that he was a good road racer. I was very disappointed when he took himself out of contention by overdriving those two corners, but he was extremely upbeat after the race, which was a big surprise to me.

Congratulations to Reed Sorenson on the surprise victory, too. I love watching these road-course races, and not just for the mayhem that more and more often seems to accompany them. I just enjoy seeing the driving talent required to haul these cars around more intricate courses. I wish there were more of them, which, as R1600 Turbo noted, is actually a very common viewpoint among NASCAR fans.
 
Just watched Tony punt Brian Vickers, but what I found much more interesting, and more so disappointing, that the announcers are failing to realize, (And then over dramatize) is the fact that Juan Pablo just took Newman out in that same corner. Remember their scuffle(s) earlier this year? I have a feeling that's not going to go over well with Newman, not to mention Rowdy isn't much for being pushed around and his probation is up.
 
Adrenaline
Just watched Tony punt Brian Vickers, but what I found much more interesting, and more so disappointing, that the announcers are failing to realize, (And then over dramatize) is the fact that Juan Pablo just took Newman out in that same corner. Remember their scuffle(s) earlier this year? I have a feeling that's not going to go over well with Newman, not to mention Rowdy isn't much for being pushed around and his probation is up.
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I wouldn't say Tony punted him, more like used him to help himself brake as he originally went in there a bit too hot.

I don't believe anything will come of the Newman and Montoya incident.

Edit: Now Vickers just took Stewart out. There goes one of my fantasy picks. 🤬
 
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Now we just need Robby to take out Logano...if Robby is still running, of course. :lol:

Oh, and maybe Kyle will take out Montoya for forcing him onto the dirt earlier.

Either way, this is going to get interesting.
 
Kurt has just won. Great job for him, he really drove well.
 
Props to Jeff Gordon for his 2nd place finish. Was outside the top 20 for most of the day and was a second per lap faster than Kurt at the end, just ran out of time.
 
R1600Turbo
I wouldn't say Tony punted him, more like used him to help himself brake as he originally went in there a bit too hot.

I don't believe anything will come of the Newman and Montoya incident.

Edit: Now Vickers just took Stewart out. There goes one of my fantasy picks. 🤬
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Tony admitted to taking him out earlier. When asked if Vickers spinning him was payback, he responded with 'Yeah, but I took him out earlier for blocking'.

Looks like someone wasn't too happy with Montoya's antics, either.
 
DVNTST8
Tony admitted to taking him out earlier. When asked if Vickers spinning him was payback, he responded with 'Yeah, but I took him out earlier for blocking'.

Looks like someone wasn't too happy with Montoya's antics, either.
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That was just my observation from earlier, which was proved wrong after the race. No big deal.
 
I didn't look at the time stamp, either

Not too fond of it, as how Tony's my favorite, but I understand.
 
Kurt Busch was pretty impressive today. I thought their two-stop strategy had no upside and all sorts of downside (being blown away by people with fresher tires at the end, or having to pit in the fairly likely event of a green-white-checkered), but it worked out well for them. There were a lot of other self-professed non-road-racers that I enjoyed seeing near the front at the end, too - Edwards, Bowyer, Logano, Keselowski, Gilliland, and Smith. Montoya was a loose cannon out there today, and I was glad to see him finish well back in the running order after taking out so many good cars.
 
Yeah, I usually tried to avoid Montoya, but his stats at this track were too good to ignore. Technically, he was a top 5 car/driver, but the way he was trying to get there, put him back in the back, which... sucks, but was deserved.

I'm not really a fan of road racing in Nascar. The race was interesting and good to watch, but there's really only 2-3 places to legitimately pass. The reason it's interesting, is because passing has to be forced and the race is really rough. The track layout rewards, not skill, but just the willingness to overdrive corners, plow into the guy on the outside, use his car to turn yours and keep going. If passes weren't done like this, then it was too courteous and hard to even consider racing. People just moving out of your way, because you got a nose underneath them and letting them drive by, isn't really what I like to see either. Then other than those 2 scenario's it's 99% follow the leader.

There's not enough pit stops to keep you interested in strategy, and it leaves fewer chances to shake up the field. There's never 2 tire changes or any ability to gamble. Track position is too important, because of the lack of ability to pass, and I know this statement kind of sounds like BS because today's race had a few people coming through the field, but it isn't the norm. But, it seems that this issue is even impacting the ovals. Clean air and track position are huge factors in the race, and I agree with whoever said it after last weeks race, that I hope Nascar makes some Aero changes to the cars to change that. Unfortunately with road courses, it'll always be like that.

So while I'm glad there is some road courses in the schedule, and I wouldn't remove them from the schedule, I'm among the group, who doesn't feel we need more.

As for Tony and Vickers, that's exactly what 'boys have at it', should be.
You hit me, I'll hit you back. Then it's over. No grudges, no crying. They both manned up, stood up for themselves, justified their actions and appear to have no negative feelings towards each other. They both understand what happened, agree they are even, and it's over. That's how this policy should be, in my opinion.
 
Man I don't think Kurt could of had a more perfect race, everything fell right into place for him to cruise to victory lane.
 

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