2015 NASCAR Thread - And then there was 1

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jahgee
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It may have been a Gibbs show of late but I do feel their success is coming too early. That and the last few tracks on the schedule up through now isn't indicative of the places they'll be going to for the Chase.
 
They've been consistently strong all the way through the summer. The chase features tracks that they've mostly already raced on and been strong at.
 
They'll drop the ball like they do every time they're close to winning a chase. Kyle will take his place in the lower half, Denny or Matt will be in the upper half and then finally they'll be beat out.
 
With the way the championship format is now, how strong a team is at the start of the Chase doesn't mean as much as it used to. One blown engine, one mistake on pit road or getting caught up in someone else's mess and a whole season's of work goes down the drain.
 
It'll take the full force of Penske and the 48 for that to happen.

If that were the case they'd have a championship with one of their current line ups right now (bar Edwards for obvious reasons). It's quite simple to drop the ball no matter how good you look at Richmond, and as said by @outlaw4rc it becomes even easier to do so with the new chase evolution.
 
Until this year, the Toyota engine wasn't dominant like it is now. That's the difference.

How so 2012 was one of those years toward the end of the regular season Toyota looked like a force to watch out for and in the chase they were fast especially JGR and Denny...they dropped the ball and in some cases were probably stronger than the Dodge package, just were up against a more focused team. 2013 JGR was also quite strong and Hendrick didn't have the overall performance, just another year of the domination that Knaus and crew have been known for. There were moments HMS was the powerhouse and moments JGR but no one out right.

Same could be said this year, early in the season HMS packages looked to be what to watch out for and in some respect (plate tracks) they are. JGR as of late now seem to be the threat. Problem is no one person should take what they see tonight as the full attempt of all teams. If I'm HMS with two drivers and potentially 3 in the chase, I have nothing to prove until the chase starts, same with SHR. But only time will really tell what the true case is.
 
How so 2012 was one of those years toward the end of the regular season Toyota looked like a force to watch out for and in the chase they were fast especially JGR and Denny...they dropped the ball and in some cases were probably stronger than the Dodge package, just were up against a more focused team. 2013 JGR was also quite strong and Hendrick didn't have the overall performance, just another year of the domination that Knaus and crew have been known for. There were moments HMS was the powerhouse and moments JGR but no one out right.

To be fair, everyone was stronger then the Dodge Package :lol:
 
Lol at how Through the Field just skipped right over Kasey Kahne.

Ya know, if Larson hadn't missed Martinsville, he probably would have been in the top 16.

EDIT: @GTPorsche, that and Johnson deciding that he wanted to hit the wall at both Phoenix and Homestead.
 
Lol at how Through the Field just skipped right over Kasey Kahne.

Ya know, if Larson hadn't missed Martinsville, he probably would have been in the top 16.
He's 60+ back, unless he won (In which case the top 16 doesn't matter), he'd be out of the top 16
 
Brad won 2012 due to Clint Bowyer helping him by wrecking Jeff Gordon.

He had a stronger regular season than Gordon from what I recall (I'll check jayski) and it carried through in the chase so not sure how this disproves that Toyota were for a period the class of the field that year.
 
Well, you had Bowyer being a particular kind of class in that field that year. JGR is stronger now than they've ever been. If they don't have any mental lapses, they'll be tough to beat this year.

And the 95 just drove right into a track truck. Finally everyone can move on from joking about Montoya's crash.
 
Well, you had Bowyer being a particular kind of class in that field that year. JGR is stronger now than they've ever been. If they don't have any mental lapses, they'll be tough to beat this year.

And the 95 just drove right into a track truck. Finally everyone can move on from joking about Montoya's crash.

I'm not denying the strength, more so the focus of the teams. I feel if any team can do it, it's Matt's team. Time will tell, ten weeks will go by fast.
 
Driver, crew chief, and someone else from the 95 team are being summoned to the hauler at the end of the race as a result of that incident.
 
Driver, crew chief, and someone else from the 95 team are being summoned to the hauler at the end of the race as a result of that incident.
The biggest fault in that goes on the spotter. He should be telling the driver where that safety truck is located long before he gets that close.
 
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