NASCAR 2012 Thread

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With how many commercials that were shown, I'd say 20 laps was about all that was shown during the broadcast.
 
I watched the race flag to flag, and thought it was pretty good. Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin had one of many good battles for the lead and drivers were coming and going through the field instead of being stuck in a single file train. Jimmie Johnson had the fastest car but one bad pit stop under green late in the race cost him track position and the win.

The groove at Kentucky is about 1 1/2 lanes wide. That's just enough to allow the cars to take different lines around eachother for clean air, but not too much where they can pass eachother without ever getting near eachother.

The problem with 1.5s like Texas, Atlanta etc is that the drivers can race grooves 30 feet apart, next to the wall and right next to the line in the turns which makes passing too easy. Kentucky isn't a traditional 1.5 mile oval. Greg Biffle struggled for the first time on a 1.5 mile track this year, that should speak volumes about how different Kentucky is.

Stormtrooper217
Wow, Gordon is not looking good. His chances of reaching the chase are done.
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I think he's still very much still in it.

If he can win 2 times in the next 8 races he will likely get in. Alot of the tracks coming up in the schedule are places where he has run good at in the past. Indianapolis and Daytona to name a couple. Or he could retain his road course form and win Watkins Glen

Or he could win once and pass Kyle Busch in the points. Busch is 42 points ahead. Thats only about 5 positions higher per race Gordon has to finish ahead of Busch
 
Can someone explain to me why most people hate these apparent "cookie cutter" tracks?

EDIT: And wtf? was kasey's car setup for nighttime racing? I mean he just blasted by everyone except for BK.
 
ICEYOU
Can someone explain to me why most people hate these apparent "cookie cutter" tracks?

EDIT: And wtf? was kasey's car setup for nighttime racing? I mean he just blasted by everyone except for BK.
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The cookie cutter tracks look alike, race alike, and have similar speeds. Its all too familiar. The problem was NASCAR saw how popular the speeds and racing of the 1.5s were so they duplicated it...one two many times.

I could tolerate the cookie cutters if NASCAR somehow found a way to get rid of the top groove, or make it not as effective. I think the COT has something to do with making the top groove so effective. A less effective top groove means its harder to pass which means closer racing and more contact

And yeah I can't believe how Kahne did that. From a lap down for most of the race to 2nd. He's definitely going for a chase spot.
 
If it wasn't for that flat tire he had earlier in the race, he might have been the one that easily won.

Edit: Bruton Smith wants NASCAR to throw mandatory cautions because "nothing is happening out there".

http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cu...on-smith-says-nascar-needs-mandatory-cautions

Also hints at the tires being a "problem".

All this is going to do is create a situation where things that aren't broken, become broken. The tires are better, the drivers have become better, so of course there's going to be less "action".

Maybe they should take each Cup race and split it into two. That way the racing means more and no one gets bored by not having any "action".
 
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NASCAR already has many 'mandatory' cautions. They just call them debris cautions.

Seriously though, ofcourse he is going to defend 1.5'ers. He owns five of them! That's just too much change to the sport. If that went into effect I would stop watching all together as my faith in NASCAR would be completely shot.
 
Earth
I think he's still very much still in it.

If he can win 2 times in the next 8 races he will likely get in. Alot of the tracks coming up in the schedule are places where he has run good at in the past. Indianapolis and Daytona to name a couple. Or he could retain his road course form and win Watkins Glen

Or he could win once and pass Kyle Busch in the points. Busch is 42 points ahead. Thats only about 5 positions higher per race Gordon has to finish ahead of Busch
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1. Daytona is a crapshoot. The only strategy involved on there is pit strategy and bump drafting. Jeff may not do really good on Daytona as he has struggled on that track recently. Indy and New Hampshire are two of his good tracks, but Watkins Glen, even as it's a road course, is not Jeff's strength.

So yeah, Jeff will have to push it hard if he wants to get to the chase and go for his 5th.

2. Rowdy is one of the most aggressive drivers on the circuit, so I doubt that Jeff can pass him in points.
 
GTPorsche
Wait wait wait.... How is the best road course driver in NASCAR not strong on a road course?
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He has only finished in the top ten twice in the last ten years.
 
Jeff was always a little better at Sonoma than Watkins Glen. Of course, this was also before a lot of better road course drivers came along (Stewart, Ambrose, Montoya, and yes, even Robby Gordon), and before a lot of other NASCAR regulars really stepped up their road course training (Kurt and Kyle Bush, Johnson, Harvick, and Kahne). His edge over the field at road courses isn't nearly as strong as it was back in the late 90s and early 2000's.
 
I still remember the beef Tony Stewart had with Jeff Gordon back in 2000 or so at Watkins Glen. How can someone struggle at something they are good at? Simple- some athletes get into funks. You know- Steve Nash misses free throws, Mariano Rivera blows saves, Peyton Manning makes incomplete passes... athletes go into funks. Sadly for my man Jeff Gordon, he just can't buy a break. He'll basically have to get it together quickly if he is to have any hopes of making the Chase. Checking on ESPNEWS, Jeff Gordon is pretty far down the Wild Card order.


Bring on Daytona this coming weekend!
 
Go Brad unce unce unce unce Go Brad unce unce unce WOOOOOOOOOOO
 
Austin Dillon penalty finally came down and its a slap on wrist

6 driver points and crew chief fined $10,000
 
GTPorsche
You expected more of a penalty?
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I don't follow NASCAR enough to know their rules in detail or what historic precedences might have been set in previous incidences, but if a car was found noncompliant with the rules then the car should be disqualified from that race and any points earned there taken away. I don't know how many points Nationwide races are worth, but if he only earned six points then losing those six seems pretty standard for a motorsports ruling.
 
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Similar thing happened in IndyCar a few weeks back at Texas IIRC, Justin Wilson wasn't stripped of his win for his car not being completely compliant with the rules.

I'm sure they weigh this up, clearly the extent to which Dillon's car failed inspection wouldn't have affected the outcome of the race in NASCAR's opinion. And if it's a minor thing as it appears, they're probably right.
 
It wasn't an intentional rules violation. Due to the bumpiness of Kentucky Speedway, a bolt had backed itself out and eventually fell out completely, causing the right rear to drop and the left front to raise up because of it. It wasn't even a performance gain.

Disqualification would be an excessive penalty.
 
The one thing you cannot do is change penalty allotments in the middle of the year. Sadler had a similar issue and he got a 6 point penalty as well I believe.
 
Just don't tell Jimmy Johnson.

25 points docked for a car he didn't even race with. Heck, even the repaired car raced two laps then got wrecked out. (Daytona 500)

Things must work differently down in Nationwide.
 
Earth
The cookie cutter tracks look alike, race alike, and have similar speeds. Its all too familiar. The problem was NASCAR saw how popular the speeds and racing of the 1.5s were so they duplicated it...one two many times.

And yeah I can't believe how Kahne did that. From a lap down for most of the race to 2nd. He's definitely going for a chase spot.
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Actually most of the 1.5 aren't even close in same design at all, I will have to find the article that talks about it. Granted I am not huge fan either, Charlotte has been boring since repave and I don't go to 600 because of it.

Kasey was passing cars who were also saving fuel too which made him look alot better, but he did have a strong car at the end.
 
Snaeper
Just don't tell Jimmy Johnson.

25 points docked for a car he didn't even race with. Heck, even the repaired car raced two laps then got wrecked out. (Daytona 500)

Things must work differently down in Nationwide.
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I thought that stupid penalty for JJ was just retarded period. They didn't like what they saw, not it didn't fit any tolerance they even measured.

You got to remember what car # and driver it was who had issues after the win! I think they used that to keep penalty lower.
 
Wilbur
I thought that stupid penalty for JJ was just retarded period. They didn't like what they saw, not it didn't fit any tolerance they even measured.

You got to remember what car # and driver it was who had issues after the win! I think they used that to keep penalty lower.
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What Jimmie, Chad, and their team was doing was innovating, not breaking rules. Why NASCAR thought about giving them a penalty in the first place is anyone's guess.
 
Stormtrooper217
What Jimmie, Chad, and their team was doing was innovating, not breaking rules. Why NASCAR thought about giving them a penalty in the first place is anyone's guess.
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Because it underminded their rules, and then they had used same car few times pissed them off more.
 
Altering the body of the car and having a suspension component fail are two completely different things.

The Johnson penalty has been discussed previously and shouldn't even be brought into this discussion.

Elliot Sadler's car earlier in the season had a similar problem, and his team was penalized 6 points and $10,000 as well.
 
Off to Daytona. Here's to everyone having good luck with their fantasy picks.
 
Wilbur
Because it underminded their rules, and then they had used same car few times pissed them off more.
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Funny how that same car they used a few times before was destroyed on the second lap of the 500 :lol:
 
Doth1s
Have fun and stay cool! It get's quite warm down there this time of year.
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:lol: I didn't mean that I was going, I simply mean that NASCAR was going to Daytona. I wish I was going, though. :indiff:
 
The Coke Zero 400 is going to be simul-cast on TNT and TruTV. No idea why this such thing is happening as it will be the same coverage on both channels.
 
GTPorsche
The Coke Zero 400 is going to be simul-cast on TNT and TruTV. No idea why this such thing is happening as it will be the same coverage on both channels.
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Was totally surprised when I saw that commercial. Little lost on that as well, kinda came out of nowhere.
 
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