2014 NASCAR Thread

[MustangRyan]

-The drivers being rushed into the Cup series (Larson, Dillon) will fail miserably.

To RCR's credit, Austin Dillon has definitely worked his way up little by little, earning his way every time he moved up.

Before starting full-time in the Truck Series in 2010, he ran in the K&N Pro Series East. There, he won Rookie of the Year, and earned 1 win, 1 pole, and 10 top-10 finishes in 13 starts. He started two truck races in 2009, finishing 12th and 15th.

He then ran two full seasons in the Truck series, earning Rookie of the Year in 2010, and winning the championship in 2011. From 2008 to 2011, he entered 11 Nationwide Series races, earning 2 top-5 and 4 top-10 finishes. He finished 4th in his second career NW Series start back in 2008, and still didn't move up full-time to NW until 2012. He could have been rushed up to NW way too soon based on that one early top 5 finish, but he wasn't.

After winning the truck series championship in 2011, he moved up for two full seasons in Nationwide in 2012 and 2013. He again won Rookie of the Year his first year (with 2 race wins), and followed that up with a driver's championship in his second year. He didn't win a race in 2013, but very few Nationwide drivers managed to win a race this past season. Dillon did record 13 top-5 and 22 top-10 finishes, with 6 more finishes of 11th or 12th place.

So now, after spending 2008-2013 in developmental series, and winning every step of the way, he's now set to start running full-time in the Sprint Cup Series in 2014. He has already made 13 Sprint Cup starts, with 3 top-20 finishes (all in 2013), including a high of 11th place at Michigan.

It would have been nice to see Danica develop her stock car experience even half as much as Dillon at the lower levels. Even if she didn't win at all, she needed to learn more at the lower levels first.

 

[Carbonox]

It would have been nice to see Danica develop her stock car experience even half as much as Dillon at the lower levels. Even if she didn't win at all, she needed to learn more at the lower levels first.

Not turning into a swimsuit model may also have been a good idea.

 

[GTPorsche]

Can't argue that Childress hasn't handled his grandson's career development properly. They'll just get crapped on because they're his grandsons and they're just "talentless rich kids" who didn't do anything to deserve the race seats that they have.

I wonder if the view on those two would be different if they were with another race team.

 

[Northstar]

I just wonder how many of the people ripping on the Dillon's are Earnhardt Jr. fans.

Also...

 

[GTPorsche]

I'd say most of the ones ripping the Dillons are Earnhardt fans, because the number is the key focal point of their hate.

I don't think it was mentioned, but NNS Most Popular Driver is Regan Smith, and CWTS is Ty Dillon (this one surprised me).

 

[RACECAR]

2014 predictions:
-Someone will troll the thread for the entire year with senseless posts.
-Some people will complain when Kyle Busch wins most of the truck and Nationwide races.
-Some others will complain about Austin Dillon using the #3.
-But both groups will complain about Danica.
-Someone will mention how boring modern NASCAR is and how they aren't going to watch anymore, than proceed to watch every race.

Did I miss anything?

You better bet some money on it, you'll be a very rich man if you do

 

[BKGlover]

So apparently, there are Russian and Chinese interest in bring NASCAR to said countries. Apparently also, they have a plan to go international.

http://www.jayski.com/cupnews.htm#20131124b

 

[GTPorsche]

They got a series working in Mexico. They shouldn't have a problem starting other international series as long as it's done right.

 

[BKGlover]

They got a series working in Mexico. They shouldn't have a problem starting other international series as long as it's done right.

This is modern day NASCAR management we are talking about. The fact that they aren't jumping at it is promising, but I'm not sold.

 

[opelgt1969]

A few of my predictions;

- Jimmie Johnson wins the Daytona 500 for a second year in a row and goes on to win the 2014 championship.
- The runner-up curse will strike Matt Kenseth. He will win a race, but struggle throughout the year.
- Stewart-Haas Racing runs inconsistently with only Tony Stewart making the Chase.
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. goes winless (again) but finishes inside of the top 5 in points.
- Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne both miss the Chase.
- Denny Hamlin returns strong, winning multiple races and making the Chase.
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wins his first career Cup race.
- Kyle Larson will win Rookie of the Year .

NASCAR will not let Kyle Larson win rookie of the year They will somehow give it to Dillon, the same way they make sure he won the NW Championship (If Hornish would have been leading nascar would have "Red Flagged" the race instead of running 6-7 caution laps).

 

[Northstar]

NASCAR will not let Kyle Larson win rookie of the year They will somehow give it to Dillon, the same way they make sure he won the NW Championship (If Hornish would have been leading nascar would have "Red Flagged" the race instead of running 6-7 caution laps).

I just can't buy into these conspiracy theories, mostly because if they were going to fix anything, Jr. would be the 5 time champion, not Johnson. Plus, NASCAR always has run more caution flags instead of red flagging the race, it's nothing new.

 

[GTPorsche]

Seriously. If NASCAR were fixing things, Dale Jr would have won all the races and titles since 2001.

 

[Carbonox]

Meh, even if things were fixed in Jr's favor, he's still not good enough to take a title.

 

[GTPorsche]

Meh, even if things were fixed in Jr's favor, he's still not good enough to take a title.

If NASCAR were actually fixing races, he would be.

 

[Northstar]

JTG Daugherty switching to Chevrolet's. Not really shocked, it never seemed like they were getting a lot of support from Toyota. It's also the second team to form an alliance with RCR as Germain is switching to Chevrolet as well.

JTG Daugherty forms technical alliance with RCR: JTG Daugherty Racing team officials announced a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing that will include receiving ECR Engines and engineering services during the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season with driver AJ Allmendinger behind the wheel of the #47 entry. "We certainly appreciate all the support that TRD (Toyota Racing Development) has provided to JTG Daugherty Racing for five years and we are great fans of their business model," JTG Daugherty Racing co-owner Tad Geschickter said. "As a single-car team, we feel that aligning directly with a successful multi-car organization like Richard Childress Racing is what will work best for us in 2014." After nearly 15 years of success in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, JTG Daugherty Racing ventured into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with driver Marcos Ambrose at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July of 2008. Ambrose went on to score the team's career-best finish with second-place at Watkins Glen International on August 10, 2009. 2000 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte took the reins in 2011 and delivered his best finish with the team at Daytona International Speedway on February, 20, 2011 when he crossed the finish line in fourth-place. This season AJ Allmendinger has earned the team's best finish of the season (10th-place) at Watkins Glen International in August and will be behind the wheel of the #47 full-time starting in 2014.(JTG Daughterty Racing)(11-25-2013)

 

[BKGlover]

After starting out as (for all intensive purposes) the second or third MWR car, once it became it's own team it started moving another direction. This may have been in the works, but who else thinks maybe Richmond had a small hand in getting it done.

 

[Wilbur]

Can't argue that Childress hasn't handled his grandson's career development properly. They'll just get crapped on because they're his grandsons and they're just "talentless rich kids" who didn't do anything to deserve the race seats that they have.

I wonder if the view on those two would be different if they were with another race team.

Honestly I get tired of all the bashing of them or any driver who has family money behind them to help. Sure alot of those don't set any of the series on fire BUT it's not like that money doesn't help those teams in general usually or those drivers aren't atleast decent drivers (Menard seems to be one of the biggest who get bashed).

He just finally got a real chance while at RCR and won in his first year there but has been a top 20 driver every year for most part. Some will cry about that but my theory on the series itself is there are about 12ish drivers who can win weekly no matter the track, then majority of the field might win once in awhile but runs decent and then we have the back of the pack from about 30ths-43rd give or take a few. Even with elite teams/drivers there will still be differences that in skill sets that show up weekly since mother nature has taught us this lesson.

Now to your point as I might not be the biggest fan of the Dillons but they have proven their worth in general with stats.

After starting out as (for all intensive purposes) the second or third MWR car, once it became it's own team it started moving another direction. This may have been in the works, but who else thinks maybe Richmond had a small hand in getting it done.

Well there are 2 sides to that since they were already thinking about switching before that BUT the fact that MWR went from a really strong team to now basically 1 strong car with 1 who we aren't sure of is a big blow to what they would be able to help with. JTG made a smart move in general to go to RCR as they have proven they can help get teams a little better and with AJ coming on board, hopefully that will help even more.

 

[Blitz24]

So JTG is essentially a successor to RGM as they have switched to all manufacturers within 6 years (2007-2008 Ford, 2008-2013 Toyota, 2014-???? Chevy, ????-???? New manufacturer). Then again, RGM only changed manufacturers more than JTG, who I think has like 30 paint schemes since 2008, perhaps even more.

 

[Northstar]

So JTG is essentially a successor to RGM as they have switched to all manufacturers within 6 years (2007-2008 Ford, 2008-2013 Toyota, 2014-???? Chevy, ????-???? New manufacturer). Then again, RGM only changed manufacturers more than JTG, who I think has like 30 paint schemes since 2008, perhaps even more.

Robby went through all 4 in 4 years.
2006 - Chevrolet
2007 - Ford
2008 - Dodge
2009 - Toyota

Germain will also have the distinction of being with all the current makes within a short time frame as they ran Toyota's from 2009-2011 and Ford's in 2012-2013.

 

[BKGlover]

Bit of news, Iowa Speedway has been bought...by NASCAR itself. Jayski reporting that a new corporate entity will take ownership, and NASCAR is running the show, not ISC. I find this interesting, maybe the France family is losing influence? Maybe I'm reading into it too much too.

 

[Jahgee]

The Orange Cone thinks it's a guarantee that Sprint Cup will be at Iowa, which leads to the discussion of which race is off for it.

 

[Northstar]

which leads to the discussion of which race is off for it.

Surely it will be one people actually like.

 

[IforceV8]

Bit of news, Iowa Speedway has been bought...by NASCAR itself. Jayski reporting that a new corporate entity will take ownership, and NASCAR is running the show, not ISC. I find this interesting, maybe the France family is losing influence? Maybe I'm reading into it too much too.

Iowa Speedway is rumored to be in the red and ISC is a publicly traded company so that wouldnt go over well with the shareholders.

 

[Nico_Ble99]

Hey guys, I recently made a NASCAR 2013 best moments video. I made it only with Windows Movie Maker. But it looks really great. And remeber, I'm only 14 years old.

 

[Ganon83]

Somewhat unrelated, but I wonder what this means for IndyCar at Iowa post 2014.

 

[laserviper3]

hmm predictions for 2014

75 mystery cautions seemed low BKglover so I say 87 at least
Possibly 3rd car at MWR Part Time ran between J Burton and Waltrip
we will hear boogety boogety at least a dozen times
Dillon will finish ahead of Danica in points
SHR will be mediocre to many cars not enough people/chemistry sort of deal
Dale Jr will pick up a win somewhere most likely Michigan or the restrictor plate tracks
No first time winners this year
Someone will mention this miss montoya or will try to make a jet dryer joke
4th manufacturer looks at Nascar possibly Nissan or VW/Audi
someone will take jr out of a race and be booed wherever they go

Championship will be three way between JJ, Kenseth and Stewart depending how he comes back from the injury

 

[RVDNuT374]

New predictions:

-At least 100 "phantom cautions"
-The "redneck triplets" on FOX decline further into stupidity.
-Dale Earnhardt Jr. will win on a track not named Daytona, Talladega, or Michigan.
-Kasey Kahne comes out of the closet.
-An epic cheating scandal *bigger than SpinGate 2013* is uncovered involving multiple teams.
-Danica Patrick will wreck Earnhardt Jr. at Talladega for one of her 2 top 10 finishes, causing a massive riot which makes international headlines.

 

[BKGlover]

Uhh...guys?

from Jayski:
Gen-6 car offered more competition in 2013: Looking at the numbers from the debut season of the Gen-6 car
1.267 In seconds, the average margin of victory in 2013. It's the lowest average MOV since 2005.
5 The number of drivers who won in 2013 after going winless in 2012: Brian Vickers, Carl Edwards, David Ragan, Jamie McMurray and Martin Truex Jr.
17 The number of different winners this season, up from 15 different winners last season. The modern era record for different winners in a season is 19.
19 The number of track qualifying records broken this season.
20 The number of races that ended with a margin of victory less than one second, up from 17 races last season.
51.2 The percentage of cars that finished on the lead lap, the highest mark since 2009.
83.1 The percentage of cars that were running at the finish of races, up from 74.7 percent in 2012.
127,306 The number of Green Flag Passes, the second highest total since the inception of Loop Data in 2005 -- and 17,398 more passes than 2012.

 

[Northstar]

Gen-6 car offered more competition in 2013: Looking at the numbers from the debut season of the Gen-6 car
1.267 In seconds, the average margin of victory in 2013. It's the lowest average MOV since 2005.
5 The number of drivers who won in 2013 after going winless in 2012: Brian Vickers, Carl Edwards, David Ragan, Jamie McMurray and Martin Truex Jr.
17 The number of different winners this season, up from 15 different winners last season. The modern era record for different winners in a season is 19.
19 The number of track qualifying records broken this season.
20 The number of races that ended with a margin of victory less than one second, up from 17 races last season.
51.2 The percentage of cars that finished on the lead lap, the highest mark since 2009.
83.1 The percentage of cars that were running at the finish of races, up from 74.7 percent in 2012.
127,306 The number of Green Flag Passes, the second highest total since the inception of Loop Data in 2005 -- and 17,398 more passes than 2012.
See more info at NASCAR.com and see more stats on Jayski's Stats pages.(12-1-2013)

It makes no sense considering how it seemed like the complete opposite of more competition. The only theory that could explain this is that the coverage of Fox/TNT/ESPN just needs to focus on the rest of the field more. Of course, most of the stats seem to be compared to the COT era, which wasn't exactly the most exciting either.

Edit: tree'd... somehow

 

[BKGlover]

That's true. In the races I've gone to, I find I'm not watching the leaders a lot. I'll scan the field and seek out what looks interesting. Problem is that you're right, the TV coverage is all about the leaders because most people don't care about the five-car battle for 17th, they only want to know who's winning. Everyone loves the winner, up to the arbitrary moment they win too much.