2015 NASCAR Thread - And then there was 1

  • Thread starter Jahgee
  • 10,978 comments
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redbullrider20
  • Cars will go around an oval shaped track.
  • They will only turn right in two races all year.
  • The champion will most likely be an American.
  • There will be a fight.
  • The pace car will lead the most laps of any car.
  • There will be a lot of crashes.
Expert predictions from yours truly. :sly: Bear in mind, it's banter. I have just as much respect for NASCAR as I do any other motorsport.
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Abit obvious, don't you think? :lol:

As for the Pace car, I think we're gonna see a seesaw with that. We'll have races with little to no cautions and then races littered with Cautions. Should be close.

GTPorsche
Has anyone seen the Camry for next year that isn't on a 2D plane? It doesn't look disproportionately awful, although it does look quite annoyed.

18mms2-2015-toyota-tw.jpg
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You'd be annoyed too if you were right there within striking distance of a championship only to lose it so many times.
 
Obviously having an elimination in race 9 and putting everyone even for the final race changes everything. It's artificial excitement being pumped in.

The only glaring issue with the current chase system is there's no benefit for winning in a chase round since everyone is reset to even stevens after an elimination happens.
 
TenEightyOne
But doesn't "naught and your out" mean a lot of drivers have nothing to run for?
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The drivers that have a zero chance to win each week are not affected in either system. However, for a guy like McMurray, Ambrose, or Allmendinger, that one win could mean the difference in racing for a championship. For the 26 guys (and 1 lady) that don't make the Chase each year, they are left to race for pride, money, and contractual obligations in those final ten races.
 
Some of the best racing comes from those who are not in the chase since they will do anything to win. I always love it when someone spoils the chase party. I really loved it more this year because it put even more pressure on the Chasers to perform since they took away sure fire chances for Chase contenders to advance.
 
Predictions.

There will be sportsing.
One driver will sports better than the rest.
They will be grand sportsing champion of sportsing
 
GTPorsche
The only glaring issue with the current chase system is there's no benefit for winning in a chase round since everyone is reset to even stevens after an elimination happens.
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Win and you advance to the next round no matter what.
 
Earth
Win and you advance to the next round no matter what.
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That's obvious, but if they do win they get no advantage over those that get in without winning since everyone gets put back to the same point amount for the next round. The winners get top of the points standings, but you can't tell me that it's an advantage when they have the same point amount as last place in the same round.
 
OK, time for me to make a final standings prediction as well. Needless to say, I'm far from an expert, so probably none of this will happen in reality. Sorry, Jr. fans. :sly:

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Denny Hamlin

---

5. Brad Keselowski
6. Carl Edwards
7. Jimmie Johnson
8. Kyle Busch
9. Kurt Busch
10. Kyle Larson
11. Joey Logano
12. Kasey Kahne
13. Matt Kenseth
14. Jamie McMurray
15. Tony Stewart
16. Paul Menard

- Whopper Jr. continues his strong form, now more evenly spread throughout the season, and takes his first title.
- Kevin Harvick's form also continues as he tries to defend his title, but just barely fails to do so.
- Carl Edwards follows in the footsteps of Kenseth in 2013 and Harvick in 2014 and considerably improves his performance in a new team, but isn't as much of a hot name in the championship contention, and misses the final 4.
- Penske Racing has a bit of an 'off-year' in the sense that despite strong runs by both drivers, the team fails to contend for the championship in the final round.
- McMurray and Menard finally catch a break and win a race to make the Cha$e for the first time in their careers.
- Kyle Larson finally gets his first win, basically following in the same footsteps as Kasey Kahne's career. With the obvious exception that now he's in the Cha$e.
- Ryan Newman suffers from the championship runner-up curse, and falls out of the Cha$e. Same happens to Clint Bowyer for the second year in a row, in a deteriorating MWR.
- Roush Racing doesn't win a single race. Trevor Bayne wins Rookie of the Year honors relatively easily, though.
- Josh Wise probably puts the DogeCar in the top 10 at a plate race. :drool:
- Last but not least, Martin Durex, cough, I mean Truex Jr. doesn't make the Cha$e, but has an impressive enough year to finally secure a proper top ride in 2016. (Hendrick maybe, in place of the sluggish Kahne?)
 
Carbonox
- Whopper Jr. continues his strong form, now more evenly spread throughout the season, and takes his first title.
- Kevin Harvick's form also continues as he tries to defend his title, but just barely fails to do so.
- Carl Edwards follows in the footsteps of Kenseth in 2013 and Harvick in 2014 and considerably improves his performance in a new team, but isn't as much of a hot name in the championship contention, and misses the final 4.
- Penske Racing has a bit of an 'off-year' in the sense that despite strong runs by both drivers, the team fails to contend for the championship in the final round.
- McMurray and Menard finally catch a break and win a race to make the Cha$e for the first time in their careers.
- Kyle Larson finally gets his first win, basically following in the same footsteps as Kasey Kahne's career. With the obvious exception that now he's in the Cha$e.
- Ryan Newman suffers from the championship runner-up curse, and falls out of the Cha$e. Same happens to Clint Bowyer for the second year in a row, in a deteriorating MWR.
- Roush Racing doesn't win a single race. Trevor Bayne wins Rookie of the Year honors relatively easily, though.
- Josh Wise probably puts the DogeCar in the top 10 at a plate race. :drool:
- Last but not least, Martin Durex, cough, I mean Truex Jr. doesn't make the Cha$e, but has an impressive enough year to finally secure a proper top ride in 2016. (Hendrick maybe, in place of the sluggish Kahne?)
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Good list. I especially like Jr winning the championship, Larson winning a race, and Dogecar/wise contending for a win. also of note, I think you are the first to really assess the competitive state of MWR.

However, while Truex might have a shot at a higher tier ride, He has a higher chance of reuniting with MWR, moving to Roush/RPM or Ganassi (this last part will be explained shortly). There is no way short of a team rules change that he ends up at Hendrick. Chase Elliot WILL (mark my words) get a full time Hendrick ride in 2016. Be it Gordon (assuming he can follow through on retirement) or Kahne's (I'd assume Kasey would get kicked out first due to his worsening performance). After that, I'd expect Kyle Larson to join Hendrick as soon as he is available. The only way I'd see Truex in a Hendrick car is either when Tony Stewart retires (so we're talking 5-10 seasons here) or if JR selects him to take over after he leaves sprint cup (I'd say 10-20 years at least). Lastly, I'd argue that both Newman AND Harvick suffer a curse next season
 
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AMPMROCKETFANN
or if JR selects him to take over after he leaves sprint cup (I'd say 10-20 years at least).
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You do know that Dale Jr is 40 years old, right? Jeff Gordon is "on the verge of retirement" at the ripe old age of 43. Tony Stewart is 3 months older than Jeff Gordon.
 
Just for 🤬 and giggles, I guess Fox decided they would like to see who would have won the championship if NASCAR used the F1 points system. And the results:

1. Brad Keselowski (332)
2. Jeff Gordon (315)
3. Kevin Harvick (298)
4. Joey Logano (291)
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (245)
6. Jimmie Johnson (233)
7. Matt Kenseth (219)
8. Kyle Busch (169)
9. Kyle Larson (159)
10. Denny Hamlin (156)
11. Carl Edwards (129)
12. Ryan Newman (121)
13. Kurt Busch (113.5)
14. Clint Bowyer (106)
15. Jamie McMurray (103)
16. Kasey Kahne (84)
17. Paul Menard (83)
18. Greg Biffle (61)
19. Brian Vickers (52)
20. A.J. Allmendinger (49)
21. Tony Stewart (49)
22. Marcos Ambrose (47.5)
23. Aric Almirola (46.5)
24. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (35)
25. Martin Truex Jr. (29)
26. Danica Patrick (16)
27. Austin Dillon (12)
28. Casey Mears (8)
29. Travis Kvapil (8)
30. Michael McDowell (3)
31. David Ragan (1)

http://www.foxsports.com/motor/stor...used-f1-points-111914?cmpid=tsmfb:fscom:speed
 
R1600Turbo
Just for 🤬 and giggles, I guess Fox decided they would like to see who would have won the championship if NASCAR used the F1 points system. And the results:

1. Brad Keselowski (332)
2. Jeff Gordon (315)
3. Kevin Harvick (298)
4. Joey Logano (291)
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (245)
6. Jimmie Johnson (233)
7. Matt Kenseth (219)
8. Kyle Busch (169)
9. Kyle Larson (159)
10. Denny Hamlin (156)
11. Carl Edwards (129)
12. Ryan Newman (121)
13. Kurt Busch (113.5)
14. Clint Bowyer (106)
15. Jamie McMurray (103)
16. Kasey Kahne (84)
17. Paul Menard (83)
18. Greg Biffle (61)
19. Brian Vickers (52)
20. A.J. Allmendinger (49)
21. Tony Stewart (49)
22. Marcos Ambrose (47.5)
23. Aric Almirola (46.5)
24. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (35)
25. Martin Truex Jr. (29)
26. Danica Patrick (16)
27. Austin Dillon (12)
28. Casey Mears (8)
29. Travis Kvapil (8)
30. Michael McDowell (3)
31. David Ragan (1)

http://www.foxsports.com/motor/stor...used-f1-points-111914?cmpid=tsmfb:fscom:speed
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With all the "what ifs" floating around, I was genuinely curious how the F1 points system would have worked with this.
 
R1600Turbo
But did they use the F1 system before going to the chase system? No.

Your attempt at humor was lost.
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But NASCAR didn't use the old Cup system or the F1 system THIS year, so either system is equally as hypothetical for imagining who "could be" champion.

Your sense of humor must be lost, if it ever actually existed.
 
R1600Turbo
I think the fact that people are looking at different scenarios shows how f'd the current system is.
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I think it shows how desperate some people are to legitimize their favorite driver in their own imagination, rather than facing the facts of what actually happened in reality.

Most individual perceptions of how well the system works are almost exclusively based on how well a person's favorite driver fared in said system. Maybe we should give it a few years, and more chances to see how it plays out, before completely condemning the new system.

Until people can remove their own biases, and judge the system based solely on the product that it delivers on the track, we're all wasting our time discussing the relative merits of the new points system.

I thought this year's racing was very exciting, all the way up until the final corner of the final lap of the final race.

I'm by no means a fan of any of the final four drivers (Kenseth fan here). But, Harvick was a deserving champion, Newman proved he belonged there with his strong run in the final race, and Hamlin almost stole the title on a huge late-race gamble.

That was exciting as hell to watch as three different guys had a chance to be champion in the final ten laps.

I hope every season delivers such a great finish. I think the first season set a high standard to meet for next year.
 
It works for drag racing because each event is a playoff, in a way, since they bracket race.

When you're running 36 races, and only one of them counts towards who wins the championship in the grand scheme of things, it's heavily flawed.
 
GTPorsche
It works for drag racing because each event is a playoff, in a way, since they bracket race.

When you're running 36 races, and only one of them counts towards who wins the championship in the grand scheme of things, it's heavily flawed.
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Well, you know this is the reason that Kurt was doing drag racing. He was practicing for the chase. Sadly for him, it didn't pay off.
 
GTPorsche
It works for drag racing because each event is a playoff, in a way, since they bracket race.

When you're running 36 races, and only one of them counts towards who wins the championship in the grand scheme of things, it's heavily flawed.
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Every race counted towards who won the championship. Just ask Jeff Gordon.
 

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