2013 NASCAR Thread

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MustangRyan

MustangRyan

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Now that the 2012 NASCAR seasons are all officially over, we need a new place to talk about next season.

For me, I'm most looking forward to the new Sprint Cup cars. NASCAR has promised that the new cars would be less aero-dependent and that they will deliver much more side-by-side racing and passing. Let's hope so. The more actual racing on track, the better. 👍
 
Call me crazy, but I think the 43 is going to be the surprise of the year based off how they've been running the past few weeks :)
 
I think that they need to get rid of the restrictor plate - that's why we're having all these giant pileups at Daytona and Talladega. They're all bunched together, you can't make a mistake - and too often, people do.

If NASCAR has promised that the cars will be less "aero-dependent", though... that sort of defeats what I'm saying, since the rest of that quote says "more side-by-side racing and passing."

In my opinion, you're setting up a recipe for disaster at Daytona/Talladega - you already have too much of that, and I seriously think that the drivers are going to complain about that and how horrible my home track, Pocono, is.
 
PREDICTIONS FOR 2013
Gordon doesn't win, but does have another incident with Clint Bowyer
The new SC car changes nothing, disappointing people.
Jimmie Johnson wins the Daytona 500
Brad Keselowski pulls a Vettel and dominates the year a la 2011 F1
A new track that everybody is in love with in one of the top three series disappoints all, while those people that praised it call for its immediate removal.
 
FireEmblem10
I think that they need to get rid of the restrictor plate - that's why we're having all these giant pileups at Daytona and Talladega. They're all bunched together, you can't make a mistake - and too often, people do.

If NASCAR has promised that the cars will be less "aero-dependent", though... that sort of defeats what I'm saying, since the rest of that quote says "more side-by-side racing and passing."

In my opinion, you're setting up a recipe for disaster at Daytona/Talladega - you already have too much of that, and I seriously think that the drivers are going to complain about that and how horrible my home track, Pocono, is.
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No matter if you didn't have it at those tracks, same thing will happen at faster speeds.
 
Pardon my ignorance here - we don't get much coverage of NASCAR in Australia - but why doesn't the champion carry the number 1 in the Sprint Cup? In just about every other category of motorsport, the number 1 is the champion's right (though some series, like Indycar and V8 Supercars, allow the driver to use another number if he or she wishes to). But in NASCAR, Jamie McMurray and Earnhardt-Ganassi use the number 1, and considering that neither of them are the reigning champions, it just seems massively presumptuous (to my mind at least) for them to use it.
 
prisonermonkeys
Pardon my ignorance here - we don't get much coverage of NASCAR in Australia - but why doesn't the champion carry the number 1 in the Sprint Cup? In just about every other category of motorsport, the number 1 is the champion's right (though some series, like Indycar and V8 Supercars, allow the driver to use another number if he or she wishes to). But in NASCAR, Jamie McMurray and Earnhardt-Ganassi use the number 1, and considering that neither of them are the reigning champions, it just seems massively presumptuous (to my mind at least) for them to use it.
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Tradition really.
If you wanted to go really far back, in a nutshell, the AAA (American Automoblie Association) bascially had a monopoly on open wheel racing in the 40's and 50's in America, and they used the number system you talk about. Bill France, the guy who created NASCAR, hated the AAA because they denied his idea of a stock car series under them, so he decided to make the racing more of a "show" and did many things AAA didn't do. The "custom" numbers so to say were a part of it.
 
prisonermonkeys
Pardon my ignorance here - we don't get much coverage of NASCAR in Australia - but why doesn't the champion carry the number 1 in the Sprint Cup? In just about every other category of motorsport, the number 1 is the champion's right (though some series, like Indycar and V8 Supercars, allow the driver to use another number if he or she wishes to). But in NASCAR, Jamie McMurray and Earnhardt-Ganassi use the number 1, and considering that neither of them are the reigning champions, it just seems massively presumptuous (to my mind at least) for them to use it.
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Marketing and recognition mostly.
 
2013 Championship Chase prediction:

1. Denny Hamlin (5 wins)
2. Brad Keselowski (6 wins)
3. Tony Stewart (4 wins)
4. Kyle Busch (5 wins)
5. Clint Bowyer (3 wins)
6. Jimmie Johnson (1 win)
7. Matt Kenseth (2 wins)
8. Jeff Gordon (2 wins)
9. Kasey Kahne (0 wins)
10. Carl Edwards (3 wins)
11. Joey Logano (1 win)
12. Ryan Newman (0 wins)

Other notes:

- Logano and Gordon will claim the Wild Card spots for the Chase.
- Almirola will be a big surprise, winning a race and finishing in the top 15 in points.
- Denny Hamlin will win the championship, as well as winning the final race at Homestead.
- Jeff Gordon will check off his list of tracks that he hasn't won at by winning at Kentucky. He will also win at Las Vegas.
- Tony Stewart finally wins the Daytona 500.
- Jimmie Johnson will be demotivated by him missing out on the 2012 title, and will barely make the chase on points.
- Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski will be seeded at the top at the beginning of the Chase, each having 4 wins.
- There will be multiple incidents involving Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer, costing both drivers more than one win.
- Danica Patrick will have multiple top 10 finishes in the Cup series.
- Marcos Ambrose will win a race on an oval track, but will not win at Watkins Glen.
- Other non-chase winners will be Kurt Busch and Greg Biffle.
- The best finisher outside of the Chase will be Greg Biffle.

What predictions do you guys have?

EDIT: Added some additional notes, and changed the number of wins each driver has.
 
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Remember guys. Bowyer passed Jimmie for 2nd in points. The curse is now on him.

Also,

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when you see it...
 
MÜLE_9242;7821886
Remember guys. Bowyer passed Jimmie for 2nd in points. The curse is now on him.
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I don't think the curse applies specifically to the driver who finishes 2nd in points as much as it belongs to the driver that had the chance to win the title in the final race and came up short.

Also, it's not a curse, it's a team-wide loss of morale, caused by a heart-wrenching championship loss when your season-long goal that seemed attainable is taken away at the last possible minute.

Going into Homestead in 2010, Denny Hamlin lost the title to Jimmie Johnson, and that loss sent his team into a tailspin the following season, and even resulted in a change of crew chiefs at the end of 2011 for a team that had won 8 races in 2010.

In 2011, it was Carl Edwards losing the title on a tie-breaker to Tony Stewart. The giant loss in morale sent the 99 team in to the tank for the entire 2012 season, even when his Roush Ford teammates Kenseth and Biffle were soaring.

Yesterday, the battle for the championship was between only two teams, the 2 and the 48 team. The 2 won the Cup, and the 48 lost in an ugly fashion, completely collapsing over the final two races to give it away. To me, "the curse" would appear to belong to the 48, despite the fact that the 15 team passed them by a point at the end of the day for second place. If any team is going to be in the dumps because of giving away a chance to win the title, it's not the 15 team.
 
MustangRyan
If any team is going to be in the dumps because of giving away a chance to win the title, it's not the 15 team.
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Unless, of course, Jeff Gordon and Bowyer have more scraps. Possibly it can get bad enough as to have one of them suspended - even if they're in the title hunt.
 
FireEmblem10
Unless, of course, Jeff Gordon and Bowyer have more scraps. Possibly it can get bad enough as to have one of them suspended - even if they're in the title hunt.
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That's not a decline in performance due to a loss of team morale; that's being wrecked by another driver. What happened to the 11 and 99 was definitely a case of the former, not the latter.
 
Unofficial prediction of next season by me (could still change before the season):

1. Kyle Busch
2. Clint Bowyer
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Matt Kenseth
5. Brad Keselowski
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
7. Kasey Kahne
8. Tony Stewart
9. Jimmie Johnson
10. Ryan Newman
11. Greg Biffle (WC)
12. Carl Edwards (WC)

And outside the Chase:

13. Kevin Harvick
14. Martin Truex Jr.
15. Jeff Gordon
16. Aric Almirola
17. Joey Logano
18. Jamie McMurray
19. Marcos Ambrose
20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
21. Kurt Busch
22. Paul Menard
23. Juan Pablo Montoya
24. Jeff Burton
25. Casey Mears
...

And then the final Chase standings:

1. Matt Kenseth
2. Tony Stewart
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Jimmie Johnson
5. Brad Keselowski
6. Kasey Kahne
7. Greg Biffle
8. Kyle Busch
9. Ryan Newman
10. Clint Bowyer
11. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
12. Carl Edwards

Notes:

- Based on last season, this might as well be a crumbling season to RCR, much like 2009.
- Gordon has a bad year, gaining a win in the regular season but not quite making the Chase.
- JGR will be strong, with their pack of three drivers with great driving ability.
- Kurt Busch might get a win, but I just don't think he'll get very far with FRR equipment.
- Almirola and Logano get a couple of good finishes as well, but it won't quite be enough for the Chase.
- Once again, Kyle Busch chokes in the Chase after a great regular season.
- Keselowski fails to defend his title from the hungry Kenseth, who returns to win it all after a 10 season pause.
- Truex (one of my personal favorites) has a steady year, but yet again is unable to deliver a win, and is left outside the Chase.
- Martin likely gets strong finishes again, but due to only being part-time, he falls down to 26th in the order.
- Stenhouse Jr. has a steady rookie year, one of the best for any driver in the past couple of years, and probably gets a win later in the season after getting accustomed to Sprint Cup racing.
- As for Danica... you know what I'm thinking. No top 10's or even top 15's, but just being the everyday wrecker on the grid and giving a reason for Stewart to be annoyed a lot despite his own personal success.
 
Carbonox
- Kurt Busch might get a win, but I just don't think he'll get very far with FRR equipment.
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Just a quick note about Kurt Busch in the 78 car...

Closed out the year with three straight top-10s. The last time Busch did that was September 2011 with Penske. The last time Furniture Row did that was never.
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Source
 
MustangRyan
Just a quick note about Kurt Busch in the 78 car...


Source
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Ah well, I was going to put him in the top 15 before thinking "no way a Furniture Row car can beat a Hendrick or MWR driver on a full season". :dopey: Just feels like whenever Kurt has a good week, he's "only" in the top 10, while as the drivers of more advanced teams have a good week, they breach the top 5.

But as I said, my chart is subject to change. :D
 
My predictions
Final Standings
1st The GROAT (Greatest Rookie of all time) Kevin Conway
2nd Joe Nemechek
3rd Landon Cassil
4th Travis Kvapil
5th Dave Blaney
6th Michael McDonald
7th Josh Wise
8th David Stremme
9th David Ragan
10th Casey Mears
11th David Gilliland
12th Danica Patrick

-NASCAR announces at Richmond that the Chase would be set by the 12 worst drivers in the standing rather than the 12 best.
-Kevin Conway makes his greatly antcipated return with the 22 car as Joey Logano is found to have a meth lab in his home in a bust by the feds, continuing the bad luck of Penske's 2nd car.
-The championship is decided in the first 20 laps at Homestead when Travis Kvapil runs into Danica when she trys to wreck Landon Cassil again (With the same results), and Joe Nemechek parks a lap later, giving Kevin Conway the surprise championship.
 
Stormtrooper217
- Danica Patrick will have multiple wrecks in the Cup Series that get featured on SportsCenter. :sly:
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For more semi-serious 2013 predictions:

-Despite the "new and improved" cars, the racing won't be much better. :yuck:
-Brian France and Mike Helton grow brains and eliminate several "kiddie" rules, including the Chase. :crazy:
-Jeff Gordon avoids the bad luck that plagued him this year on his way to become a 5-time Cup series champion over Brad Keselowski and Earnhardt Jr.
-Jimmie Johnson finally has a whole season of bad luck. 👍
- I hate to say this, but a driver will get badly hurt at one of the plate races. :nervous:
-Danica Patrick realizes she is a mediocre driver and decides to quit NASCAR in order to pursue modeling. :yuck:
 
R1600Turbo
"...The last time Furniture Row did that was never."

They had 2 straight earlier in the year with Regan. Can't remember which races though. I think Talladega was one of them.
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Not to take away from Regan but I think Furniture Row is better fit for Kurt. One thing I'm really curious to find out is are they same cars or is RCR stepping up a huge amount compared to before?

They are a team I have grown to really like thanks to Kurt. I can't have too many drivers I like so I try to keep 2 per series with maybe wild card.
 
I don't think RCR is helping them any more than before, but RCR did seem to have better equipment for Phoenix and Homestead, based on Harvick's stronger-than-average performance compared to the first 34 races this year.
 
I hope Brad K wins again just to see another Sportscenter interview like he had last night man that was funny.
But in all seriousness
My Predictions
-Stewart wins the 500 and the Coke 400 making a Daytona Sweep
-Gordon announces his retirement after 2014
-Danica gets a pole and a top 10 but not a win, not yet
-Finally Denny gets the title
 
I'm curious about few things.

Parker is headed to want Nationwide team? KBM seems be only top ride who has opening at all
Todd Bodine might not have ride next year which isn't huge deal to me
Pastrana at Roush will be interesting to see how he does compared to Trevor and other drivers too but hope he can keep 99.
 
Gordon has said before he wants to drive until at least 2013, so who knows when.
I'd honestly be okay with him retiring in about 3-4 years, I think they are grooming Chase Elliott to replace him.
 

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