NASCAR Thread.

[WallRunner]

I hope this is okay, the other NASCAR threads were about the COT and Favorite driver.

This is a general discussion about NASCAR, just talk about the sport here.

My Favorite Driver is Jeff Gordon, my favorite track is Atlanta/Talladega, and I hate the COT. You?

Please no bashing of the sport.

From,
Chris.

 

[Jonerz]

Chris,

First of all, excellent first name. Second, thank you for taking the initiative in creating this thread. Good on you! I am a Matt Kenseth supporter, I love NASCAR road racing (despite its ever so NASCAR caution filled races) my favorite NASCAR tracks are Watkins and Sonoma (duh) and the COT intrigues me.

Regards,

 

[mwoodski]

Hi, I'm Matt, and I love the CoT, I throughly despise Jeff Gordon, hes a little whiner, don't believe me? Go to a race, and listen to him on the scanner.

My favourite tracks are Bristol, 'Dega, The Glen, Sonoma, and Atlanta.

 

[kart racer]

My driver's are:Mark Martin,Michale Walltrip,& Dale JR.My favorite tracks are The Glen and Daytona.Who do you think will win the championship?

 

[WallRunner]

I'm hoping Jimmie Johnson wins, He's been a top contender since he started, and it would be nice for him to win instead of having bad luck like he always seems to do.

From,
Chris.

 

[Earth]

Favorite drivers: Mark Martin since '91, and to take his place Juan Montoya

Favorite Tracks: Lowes (before repaving) Sonoma, Watkins Glen, Talladega, Bristol, Daytona, and Michigan

The COT looks like it started out as a bare car that had things thrown on it at the last second to make it work right so therefore the whole car looks kind of trashy

I like the chase format but I think the gap between drivers should be 10-15 points to start the chase not 5

 

[Jim Prower]

Favorite driver: Bill Elliot, Kasey Kahne (Factory Dodge Guys)

Favorite tracks: Infineon, Watkins Glen, Pheonix, and Martinsville

CoT...Is that that thing that looks like a Malformed V8 Supercar?

Hopefully, It turns out more like The Aussie V8s...

 

[mwoodski]

Favorite drivers: Mark Martin since '91, and to take his place Juan Montoya

Favorite Tracks: Lowes (before repaving) Sonoma, Watkins Glen, Talladega, Bristol, Daytona, and Michigan

The COT looks like it started out as a bare car that had things thrown on it at the last second to make it work right so therefore the whole car looks kind of trashy

I like the chase format but I think the gap between drivers should be 10-15 points to start the chase not 5

Actually, I think the chasers should have a Formula One style points system, start the chase, the leader as 10, second place 9, and so on and so forth, but dont have them scored, pointswise, against the rest of the feild, so the highest driver up, at the end of the race, gets 10 points, second highest gets 9, etc, etc, etc, down to the lowest placing one, getting a single point.

 

[WallRunner]

Bill Elliot,

Me too, atleast one of my favorites.

CoT...Is that that thing that looks like a Malformed V8 Supercar?

Yep.

 

[ND4SPD]

Hello all, I'm a Jeff Gordon Fan and my favourite tracks are Sonoma, Watkins Glen and Talladega. The COT interests me aswell, different looking but I wouldn't call it exactly ugly. They're starting to look more like their real life counterparts. Which is a good thing, hell, the current Charger body in Nascar looks more like a Viper up front. Also, since its a safer vehicle, I'm all for it. They also look a lot better with full sponsorship decals on them, take for example the picture of Jimmie Johnson's COT in full race decals. I find it interesting that next season during the races which will use the COT Chevy would label it as an Impala SS, then during the races using the current car, they'd use the Monte Carlo SS. Definately a smart idea, as what wins on Sunday Sells on Monday, but this time around chevrolet will be promoting two different models!

Can't wait to see the COT in Jeff Gordon's Blue and orange flame paintjob!

 

[usedHONDA]

I'm also a Hendrick fan. The cars that they will be using looks like one of those highly tuned cars in Need for Speed.

 

[HACKr]

Hendrick Motorsports for life! I know I'm going to get some flak for this, but yes, I admit it, Jeff Gordon is my favourite driver!

 

[WallRunner]

Cool, three Jeff Gordon fans in a row!

Now, I didn't know that they were going to start using the impala.

From,
Chris.

 

[mwoodski]

Yeah, and there is a rumour that Dodge is going to be using the forth-coming Avenger model as their base for the NASCAR stocker.

 

[ND4SPD]

Cool, three Jeff Gordon fans in a row!

Now, I didn't know that they were going to start using the impala.

From,
Chris.

Yep, Impala for the COT races and the usual Monte Carlo for the non COT races!

 

[xXSilencerXx]

My favorite drivers are Dale Jr., Martin Truex Jr., and this coming year you can add Paul Menard. Basically if they are DEI or DEI related I root for them. I don't like the Hendrick guys, all of them are little whiners most of the time. You can add all the Roush guys to that except Mark Martin. He's the only cool guy in that bunch.

Cool, three Jeff Gordon fans in a row!

Now, I didn't know that they were going to start using the impala.

From,
Chris.

I did no tknow that either. I like that idea, I've been wanting the Impala raced for a while now.

 

[WallRunner]

It might be 2-3 weeks late, but:

Congratulations to Jimme Johnson on wining the Nextel Cup!



From,
Chris.

 

[Earth]

What do you guys think about adding 2 drivers to the chase and giving more points for winning?

 

[mwoodski]

Tony Stewart has won the Budweiser Shootout. Along with that, I heard possibly the WORST rendition of the USA National Anthem EVER. Leave that stuff to Military people, they don't screw it up.

 

[ND4SPD]

Man that budweiser shootout was a disappointment for Jeff Gordon, I wonder what went wrong with his car.

 

[Earth]

Anybody know the reason for that caution? It seems like it was a competition caution to me. Typical NASCAR, throwing cautions for reasons other then safety is common place for them now

Anyway, I like the new tires NASCAR is using for Daytona this year. The racing looks MUCH safer because handling is more of an issue now

Hopefully the tires won't wear out too fast resulting in blowouts. There is a fine balance that needs to be kept

 

[TS]

Anybody know the reason for that caution? It seems like it was a competition caution to me. Typical NASCAR, throwing cautions for reasons other then safety is common place for them now

It was one of those 'debris' cautions.

Man that budweiser shootout was a disappointment for Jeff Gordon, I wonder what went wrong with his car.

It was some electrical issue that caused a misfire in the engine, at first he thought he had pushed the kill button, but apparently not.

 

[YSSMAN]

As a long-time advocate for NASCAR on these forums, I'm happy to see a thread show up. As someone who has grown up around the sport for all of my life, it is pretty easy to say it plays a pretty big role in my life for the majority of the year. Be it the "Big Show" or even a "Saturday Night Special" locally, I love it, every single minute of it.

Favorite drivers? Growing up in n Dale Earnhardt household (my Dad looks like Dale Sr), is it any surprise that I'm a Dale Jr. fan? He is just a good all-around racer who seems to be there to enjoy racing, and win races when it seems like he can, not because he should. By contrast strangely, I'm a pretty big Tony Stewart fan... I like the fact that hes an ass and doesn't apologize for it. I don't like sissy-boys like Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth who get all upset about things and constantly complain. Tony gets mad, and he does something about it. LOVE IT! My wildcard driver has to be Tony's teammate, Denny Hamlin... Another upstart who seems to have a pretty level head, lots of talent, and quite a bit of promise in the league.

...Kevin Harvick, Kasey Khane, Mark Martin, and Ricky Rudd are some favorites as well...

How about a hate list? Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Bush, Greg Biffle (not as much as before), and anyone in a Toyota. Too cocky, too whiny, not anything like how a NASCAR driver should be.

Favorite tracks? Talledega is probably my favorite stop of the season, but really any of the Super-Speedways are. I like the chess matches they have to play with fuel and tires, and it is always interesting to see how the different makes will end up. Beyond that, I've always liked Richmond and Charlotte, and Homestead is always interesting as well. I should say that I like Michigan, but I don't find it all that exciting, and if you've ever been there, you know what a horrible location it is in...

Car of Tomorrow? I'm a bit passive on the whole thing. On the one hand, I'd like to remain a traditionalist and keep things where they are, and on the other it is becoming obvious that we need to move some things forward as well. I've seen them in person, and they actually are pretty cool looking, and I'm looking forward to seeing how they perform...

...But if I had it my way, we'd revert back to the way things should be; Production-based cars on the track, ones that you can buy on the street. I suppose it wouldn't be too hard for Dodge and Chevrolet in the near-future, but Toyota and Ford may encounter some problems...

---

And in the "HA HA" segment this week, I'm still laughing at the pitiful showings by Toyota thus far. They've managed to get Waltrip in plenty of trouble, qualified terribly, and didn't do squat in the Bud Shootout.

...The Duels should be interesting...

 

[RVDNuT374]

I've been watching Nascar since I was really young. Anyway, it's good to see a thread dedicated to this motorsport.

Favorite Drivers: My favorite driver was, and will always be none other than Dale Earnhardt. However, I currently pull for the veterans such as Ricky Rudd *good to see him back*, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon (prepares for flame war) , etc.

Non-Favorite Drivers: Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Dale Jr. (who's still riding his dad's popularity wave)

Favorite Tracks: the 2 road courses, Talladega, Darlington, the short tracks

Least Favorite Tracks: all the cookie cutter tracks (Kansas, Chicagoland, etc.)

Changes I'd like to see to Nascar: shorter schedule (some tracks don't deserve 2 dates) ,the return of the Southern 500 to Darlington on Labor Day Weekend, eliminate pit road speed under green, no more "Lucky Dog" rule, more road courses on the schedule, the return of Rockingham

 

[TS]

Waltrip announcement soon? UPDATE: hearing that NASCAR will make an announcement soon fining the team $100,000, docking Waltrip 100 owner and driver points and suspending the crew chief, David Hyder, indefinitely. Waltrip will be able to run in the Gatorade Duel 150's but will start from the rear of the field.
UPDATE: the penalties to the #55 team:
Bobby Kennedy [MWR VP of Competition] and David Hyder [crew chief] ejected from track [Daytona] and suspended indefinitely
David Hyer fined $100,000
Michael Waltrip docked 100 driver points
Owner Buffy Waltrip docked 100 owenrs points
Michael Waltrip's qualifying time disallowed from Sunday's Daytona 500 qualfiying.
The substance was NOT jet fuel. Waltrip will be allowed to run the Gatorade Duel's in a back up car.(SPEED coverage of the NASCAR press conference). Scott Eggleston will be the interim crew chief for Waltrip. Eggleston won the Daytona 500 with Waltrip in 2001.(2-14-2007)
NASCAR Release: NASCAR announced Wednesday that it has confiscated the primary car of the #55 Toyota team that competes in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series with driver Michael Waltrip, as a result of rule violations found during pre- and post-qualifying inspection for the Daytona 500. Crew chief Larry (David) Hyder and the team’s vice president of competition Bobby Kennedy have been ejected from this week’s events at Daytona International Speedway and suspended indefinitely. Hyder also has been fined $100,000.
NASCAR also penalized Waltrip with the loss of 100 driver championship points. His qualifying time from pole day on Feb. 11 was disallowed. Team owner Elizabeth (Buffy) Waltrip has been penalized 100 car owner championship points.
The actions taken by NASCAR resulted from violations of 12- 4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing), 12-4-Q (car, car parts components and/or equipment not conforming to NASCAR rules) and 20-15.2C (gasoline must not be blended with alcohols, ethers or other oxygenates).
The confiscated car and the parts related to the violations will be transported to the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C. for further inspection. NASCAR said the investigation of the confiscated car is ongoing.(NASCAR PR)(2-14-2007)

Wow, NASCAR sure has stiffined the penalties for violations of these types.

 

[YSSMAN]

What a shame for Toyota at the start of the season, eh? Did anyone else not see the Camry going down in flames long before all this happened?

NASCAR likely stiffened the rules for things such as this as they had anticipated someone trying to bend the rules for an advantage, be they domestic or foreign branded. I'm getting the feeling that Toyota will be beat-up on for quite some time in the sport, and this is only the beginning of the problems for the teams this season.

...As for the rest of the penalties comming down, I just didn't expect to see people like Khane and Kenseth with cheater cars. Evernham and Roush tend to run rather tight ships when it comes to racing, and given how much I like the two teams, it is kinda sad seeing that happen.

 

[dougiemeats]

I have a question for those that follow NASCAR.

Admittedly, I'm a Le Mans/Formula 1 guy, but Montoya's move to stock car racing coupled with Toyota's participation in the Nextel Cup Series has sparked my interest in the sport. I've been watching the various events shown on SPEED leading up to the Daytona 500 and the big news this week seems to be all the infractions and penalties. Now, on to my question(s):

*Has this always been a problem?

*Did NASCAR pick this particular event to finally crackdown?

*Were there new rules implemented that caused some confusion of what was legal or not?

Just something I was curious about. Regardless, I'm looking forward to the race this weekend and hopefully to a good season.

 

[Jim Prower]

*Has this always been a problem?

Since 1949, when the winner of the first ever Strictly Stock race was found to have illegal rear springs, because it was a Moonshine runner.

*Did NASCAR pick this particular event to finally crackdown?

They've always cracked down. That's why many mechanics (Smokey Yunick is one of the most famous) worked within the gray area, and ended up getting away with it for one race before a new rule was implimented.

*Were there new rules implemented that caused some confusion of what was legal or not?

Naw, just good 'ol boys pushing the limits of the rules. It's been going on as long as NASCAR. I am a little suspicious of the fuel in Michael Waltrip's Camry, this being Toyota's first start, and I'm sure there's been some pressure for Toyota teams to perform from the world's #2 automaker.

My question....Will we see a Team TOM'S in the future?

 

[dougiemeats]

I realize that rules-infractions are not uncommon to NASCAR - which also holds true for almost every form of motorsport. However, I was wondering if the NASCAR officials have always cracked-down at this magnitude. I can't recall hearing about this many infractions at last year's event.

 

[TS]

I realize that rules-infractions are not uncommon to NASCAR - which also holds true for almost every form of motorsport. However, I was wondering if the NASCAR officials have always cracked-down at this magnitude. I can't recall hearing about this many infractions at last year's event.

As years go on, the officials get stricter on penalties if you do decide to work in the 'gray area'.

Post Inspection Problem with #24? UPDATE #24 fails inspection: SPEED's Victory Lane show is reporting NASCAR is looking hard at the #24-Jeff Gordon car that won the 2nd Gatorade Duel 150 race, supposedly something with the templates.
MORE: SPEED updated their report, it seems the #24 may be too low, could be something with a shock mount, NASCAR's John Darby has been under the rear of the car a few times, still no announcement about it.
UPDATE: News came late in the day that Jeff Gordon's #24 Chevy failed a post-race inspection. The quarter panels were too low. Instead of starting the Daytona 500 on the second row, Gordon will start 42nd. That's his punishment. His victory will stand. NASCAR officials said the problem probably was unintentional. It was the fourth qualifying race win of Gordon's career and his second in a row.(ESPN.com)
AND: #24-Jeff Gordon will start 42nd in Sunday's Daytona 500 after failing post-race inspection following the second of Thursday's two 150-mile qualifying races. Because the infraction -- the rear panel was almost an inch low -- was not considered intentional to create a competitive advantage Gordon will be allowed to keep his victory in the race. Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president for competition, said no further penalties would be levied against Gordon's team. It was the third straight day NASCAR's governing body passed out penalties at Daytona International Speedway. Gordon was unaware of the issue until informed during his post-race interview. "That would really suck," he said. Pemberton said the shock fastener and spacers used to hold the rear shocks that are installed during pre-race preparation for restrictor plate races were misaligned. He said it likely was a mistake made by the mechanic. "We felt it was unintentional," Pemberton said. "Actually, it was unsafe. We felt it was a part failure and unintentionally done."(ESPN.com)(2-15-2006)

Either more drivers are cheating or NASCAR has really cracked down on rules violations.