RogerDuke Posted August 13, 2017 Report Share Posted August 13, 2017 It's always nice to log in and see there's a lot going on. We have so many great folks here and I am so appreciative to everybody who contributes. Hobie Hartkins 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Duke Posted August 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 Well my favorite race of all races was last night...the Bristol night race! Bristol is my favorite track...and I love night races (except come Sunday when there is no race to watch ). I have to admit, it wasn't the normal Bristol race that I am use to. There was no major accidents. No heated tempers. The only cautions came for when tires blew and a couple of cars ran into the wall. Not that I am a fan of heated tempers and big accidents. I am not. But Bristol is known for that...so it was just different. The announcers I felt were set upon talking about the top three drivers most of the night. On how Matt Kenseth needed a win and how he was going to be out of the 20 car after this season and how Erik Jones was going to take over the 20 car next season and how Kenseth and other drivers wouldn't be happy if Jones won his first race last night and how Kyle Busch won the truck, Xfinity and if he won last night he would have the sweep...the only driver who has done it at Bristol was him in 2010. Kyle Busch ended up winning to sweep at Bristol. I have nothing against Kyle Busch. Now. A few years when he was having anger issues I wasn't a fan, but now he is OK. (My opinions) I just got tired of hearing the same thing over and over again. I mean Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s last Bristol race and he finished in the 20s...no word on that. I just feel like the announcers at NBC need to spread their view some and not talk about the same stories over and over again. Yes the fight for the win is the main focus and should be talked about...but there is also more going on behind them and it'd be nice to know what is going on. With that being said, we have two more races until the playoff's start and there is several drivers who need to a win to get in. Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano to name a couple of them. Joey Logano has a win, but it was taken away for the playoffs for some rule he broke (Can't remember what). Personally I hope Matt Kenseth will get a win to get in...his deal has me a bit upset. I mean he is 45 years old (oldest driver on the track) and it is known that sooner rather than later he will be ready to retire. But instead of letting him do it on his own time, Gibbs (team owner) is kicking him out of his car and giving it to Erik Jones who is 21. The same is going on at Hendrick by pushing Kasey Kahne out of the 5 car one year short of his contract to put a younger driver in his seat. It's all about youth coming up. I get it...they are the future. But its drivers like Matt Kenseth who made NASCAR what it is. Seeing on how Kenseth is being treated, I see why Gordon and Stewart decided to step out. That and the changes NASCAR has put into play the past few years. NASCAR has taken away the racing aspect of racing by putting in the stages and going for playoff points. I say take that all away and let them race. All that is my opinion...of which no one asked for. LOL So congrats to Kyle Busch on his Bristol sweep...second of his career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HossC Posted August 20, 2017 Report Share Posted August 20, 2017 Believe it or not, I just checked the NASCAR site to see when today's race started, and found I'd missed it last night! The night races don't work for me with the time difference, so I'd have missed it anyway. Thanks for the brief review, Garrett. I was just starting to read up on the Playoffs. Is it just the Chase by another name? Regarding the driver changes, it's always sad when one of your favorite drivers moves on. In Formula 1 there are only half the number of race seats, so you're unlikely to get many drivers past 35 let alone 45 years of age. Max Verstappen is already halfway through his third season, and he doesn't turn 20 until the end of next month. There are also some very talented youngsters waiting in the wings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Duke Posted August 21, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2017 Yeah the Playoffs is just another name for the Chase. The Chase is relevant to the playoffs in baseball or football. Or what Todd Helton and NASCAR is trying to accomplish with the Chase. Though in baseball and football, the teams that didn't make the playoffs, go home. In NASCAR, they stay on the track...just not going for the championship. It's just hard on me to see all the drivers that I got to know over the years, retire. It was hard enough on me to see Jeff Gordon to retire, but then Tony Stewart? Then out of the blue Carl Edwards just up and quits. Then Biffle (who no one really said one thing about), now Jr after this season...Kenseth hasn't said the r word yet, but he doesn't have a ride for next season. As I said, I get that the youth is the future, but it doesn't make it any easier on me. After this year, my favorite list of drivers to follow will dwindle down to Jimmie Johnson (who is my second favorite driver...after Jeff Gordon) who I believe will be the next oldest driver (though both Johnson and Kenseth are probably the most athletic ones out there). If JJ (Jimmie Johnson) retires, I will be completely lost! Perhaps it'd be time to accept that Gordon gave the 24 to Chase Elliot and go for him...I just have a hard time going for someone else in the 24 car. If it was any other number... Talking of the future...that Kyle Larson may just be the future of NASCAR. He has won like 3 races so far, just behind Martin Truex Jr this year. I do believe we are off next weekend...the horror of it. I know. I couldn't believe when they said that during the race last night...a week of no NASCAR. On another note, the Bears made a great pre season play in their late pre season game last night...the other team missed a field goal that they made in the last second of the second quarter. Deonte Thompson of the Bears caught it and ran it down the field for a 109 yard touch down. I am partial being a Bears fan, but thought that was pretty exciting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HossC Posted August 21, 2017 Report Share Posted August 21, 2017 6 hours ago, Garrett Duke said: I do believe we are off next weekend...the horror of it. I know. I couldn't believe when they said that during the race last night...a week of no NASCAR. I'll go get my violin. I've just had my third weekend in a row without Formula 1, because they take a Summer break each year. There was also no BTCC racing this weekend, the NASCAR race was on too late and Formula E finished a couple of weeks ago. At least you can watch the Belgian Grand Prix next Sunday - I saw NBC trailing it during the Watkins Glen race. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Posted August 22, 2017 Report Share Posted August 22, 2017 On 8/20/2017 at 1:44 PM, Garrett Duke said: With that being said, we have two more races until the playoff's start and there is several drivers who need to a win to get in. Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano to name a couple of them. Joey Logano has a win, but it was taken away for the playoffs for some rule he broke (Can't remember what). Personally I hope Matt Kenseth will get a win to get in...his deal has me a bit upset. I mean he is 45 years old (oldest driver on the track) and it is known that sooner rather than later he will be ready to retire. But instead of letting him do it on his own time, Gibbs (team owner) is kicking him out of his car and giving it to Erik Jones who is 21. The same is going on at Hendrick by pushing Kasey Kahne out of the 5 car one year short of his contract to put a younger driver in his seat. It's all about youth coming up. I get it...they are the future. But its drivers like Matt Kenseth who made NASCAR what it is. Seeing on how Kenseth is being treated, I see why Gordon and Stewart decided to step out. That and the changes NASCAR has put into play the past few years. NASCAR has taken away the racing aspect of racing by putting in the stages and going for playoff points. I say take that all away and let them race. All that is my opinion...of which no one asked for. LOL I think it was for a metal washer/shim in the rear suspension that moved something by 1/64 of an inch out of Nascar specs. I seriously doubt it gave him much of an advantage if at all. And the "Youth Movement" I think has more to do with money than anything else, Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne etc... can command a big chunk of change for their contracts. Now Eric Jones & William Byron will probably take 1/2 or less of what the guys they are replacing for salary. Also Nascar tv ratings have tanked from 10 years ago. The 2006 Daytona 500 had 37 million viewers, the 2016 Daytona 500 less than a 1/3rd of the 2006 Dayona 500 viewers tuned in, just 11.4 million. The lowest rated 2016 races just had 1.5 million viewers while 2006's lowest viewed race had 5.6 million viewers. Sponsors aren't throwing the cash at teams that they used to or completely backing out of Nascar period. Look at the title sponsor, Monster only paid 20 million to be the title sponsor and they haven't renewed their contract for Nascar or SHR #41 so Kurt could be out of a ride at the end of the season as well. If Brian France and his cohorts would stop screwing around with the racing maybe the ratings would plateau or slightly increase instead of continuously dropping year to year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Duke Posted August 26, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2017 On 8/22/2017 at 1:35 PM, Spike said: I think it was for a metal washer/shim in the rear suspension that moved something by 1/64 of an inch out of Nascar specs. I seriously doubt it gave him much of an advantage if at all. And the "Youth Movement" I think has more to do with money than anything else, Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne etc... can command a big chunk of change for their contracts. Now Eric Jones & William Byron will probably take 1/2 or less of what the guys they are replacing for salary. Also Nascar tv ratings have tanked from 10 years ago. The 2006 Daytona 500 had 37 million viewers, the 2016 Daytona 500 less than a 1/3rd of the 2006 Dayona 500 viewers tuned in, just 11.4 million. The lowest rated 2016 races just had 1.5 million viewers while 2006's lowest viewed race had 5.6 million viewers. Sponsors aren't throwing the cash at teams that they used to or completely backing out of Nascar period. Look at the title sponsor, Monster only paid 20 million to be the title sponsor and they haven't renewed their contract for Nascar or SHR #41 so Kurt could be out of a ride at the end of the season as well. If Brian France and his cohorts would stop screwing around with the racing maybe the ratings would plateau or slightly increase instead of continuously dropping year to year. I totally get the money deal of the younger drivers...but still don't like it to see good drivers, good guys to be pushed around just because of their age. And I couldn't agree more about the Brian France deal...I think they'd have a lot more fans if they just throw out the Chase and let the driver race... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerDuke Posted August 26, 2017 Report Share Posted August 26, 2017 I was at the dirt track tonight and talking to a friend of mine. I asked him if he's still following NASCAR and he said not since Brian France banned the Confederate flag. He also said attendance at NASCAR has dropped since that happened. If he's right that's proof that if you offend your customers they won't want your product anymore. Hobie Hartkins 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Posted August 27, 2017 Report Share Posted August 27, 2017 He hasn't outright banned the flag, tracks just discourage it being flown too high above RV's saying it "gets in the way" of the TV cameras views of the track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobie Hartkins Posted August 28, 2017 Report Share Posted August 28, 2017 He has no male gonads!! LEAVE THE FLAG ALONE!! Skipper Duke 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew D Charger Chaser Posted August 29, 2017 Report Share Posted August 29, 2017 On 8/27/2017 at 1:55 PM, Spike said: He hasn't outright banned the flag, tracks just discourage it being flown too high above RV's saying it "gets in the way" of the TV cameras views of the track. Funny how that doesn't happen with other types of flags flown as high. Funny, that.... Hobie Hartkins 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerDuke Posted August 29, 2017 Report Share Posted August 29, 2017 It's ironic that the folks who can't figure out that we've progressed past the flag representing slavery call themselves "progressives". Maybe they've never seen a shirt that explains it's heritage not hate. Progressives have become bigger haters than the people they falsly claim are hateful. I'm not saying there aren't some who use the flag in a bad way. If I'll admit that then they should be honest enough to admit that the folks who use it in a bad way are a very tiny fraction. But progressivism never has been about truthfulness. Hobie Hartkins 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobie Hartkins Posted August 29, 2017 Report Share Posted August 29, 2017 14 hours ago, RogerDuke said: It's ironic that the folks who can't figure out that we've progressed past the flag representing slavery call themselves "progressives". Maybe they've never seen a shirt that explains it's heritage not hate. Progressives have become bigger haters than the people they falsly claim are hateful. I'm not saying there aren't some who use the flag in a bad way. If I'll admit that then they should be honest enough to admit that the folks who use it in a bad way are a very tiny fraction. But progressivism never has been about truthfulness. " Progressive" is simply a buzz word for left or liberal! The mind molders are always changing their terms! e.g. handicapped is now physically challenged, retarded is now mentally challenged. and it goes on and on, ad infinitum, ad nauseum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Posted September 1, 2017 Report Share Posted September 1, 2017 Neither Darlington Race is on NBC this weekend, I can understand Saturday because they have College football scheduled but Sunday The Southern 500 been pre empted for a New England Patriots special and a repeat of America's Got Talent . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Posted September 4, 2017 Report Share Posted September 4, 2017 Just checked the remainder of the Schedule and NBC has decided to move 3 Cup races to NBCSN so the next time you can watch a race for free, if you have an Antenna, on NBC is October 8th. Unless they make more changes to the schedule you will be able to watch the final 2 on NBC. This don't bode well for next season, wouldn't be surprised if NBC does what ABC the last year they had the Nascar tv contract did and just throw all the races on NBCSN next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Posted September 14, 2017 Report Share Posted September 14, 2017 Well the silly season is on fire this year, this week alone Danica Patrick and Aric Almirola lost their rides and Smithfield as a main sponsor is moving from RPM to SHR. http://nascar.nbcsports.com/2017/09/12/silly-season-heats-up-with-more-driver-moves/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HossC Posted September 17, 2017 Report Share Posted September 17, 2017 Just finished watching the Singapore F1 Grand Prix. It's a street race, and the only night race of the season, and this year's event was spiced up by some rain and a crash at the first corner. They interviewed some guy named Jeff Gordon in the pitlane afterwards - he seemed to have enjoyed it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Posted November 7, 2017 Report Share Posted November 7, 2017 Here's the Schedule for next year http://nascar.nbcsports.com/2017/11/06/cup-series-start-times-tvradio-info-for-2018-announced/ Same amount of races on Broadcast stations; 17, the rest are on either FS1 or NBCSN. Only major change is the Clash is set for 3pm instead of 8pm and no race will start before 2pm eastern and some of the night races are pushed back half an hour to 8pm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Posted November 10, 2017 Report Share Posted November 10, 2017 Matt Kenseth to semi-retire http://www.espn.com/racing/nascar/story/_/id/21289690/matt-kenseth-no-plans-drive-2018-nascar-cup Here's the latest on the silly season http://nascar.nbcsports.com/2017/11/08/keep-up-with-all-the-silly-season-changes-for-2018-with-this-scorecard/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerDuke Posted November 11, 2017 Report Share Posted November 11, 2017 Thanks for the information Spike! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Duke Posted November 26, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2017 Well just like that the season is over. Martin Truex Jr is the championship winner and the winner at Homestead. He is probably the most deserving on the field of the championship this year. Him and Larson. Though thanks to engine failure, Larson was taken out early. Those two really found something that worked for them this year. Matt Kenseth, , Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Danica Patrick are all stepping away from NASCAR. Patrick will run in the Daytona 500 and at Indy, but so far, that is it for next year for her. Sad to see them walk away....NASCAR is gonna miss them all I bet. All three bring a lot of fans to the sport. Kinda ironic that Kenseth and Dale Jr started and ended their career at the same time. On some exciting news...Tony Stewart got engaged on Thanksgiving Day! So super happy for him. Now the countdown begins for Daytona...;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerDuke Posted November 27, 2017 Report Share Posted November 27, 2017 Thanks for the information Garrett. It's always good to hear from my old friend......and thanks for not teasing me for my sub-par performance in your NASCAR fantasy league. Daytona will be here before you know it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Posted November 27, 2017 Report Share Posted November 27, 2017 Will be interesting to see how long the Pit crew changes last. I have a feeling it won't last more than a few races if it proves to be too unsafe having 1 tire carrier doing the job of 2 tire carriers. I just don't see why they don't do what the open wheel and sports car racing series do and just have 4 tire changers and an air jack in the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HossC Posted November 27, 2017 Report Share Posted November 27, 2017 I've mentioned F1 pit crews before, but they do things very differently. An F1 pit crew consists of about 20 people, including three to work the manual jacks (one is a backup at the front) and two to hold the car steady. There's also three on each wheel: one to take the old tire off, one to operate the wheel gun, an one to put the new tire on. F1 doesn't currently have in-race refuelling, and the same pit crew have to service both cars in a team, but that's generally only between one and three times in a race. Also, the cars mainly come in at staggered intervals rather than in a big group. With that many people, you can change four wheels in 1.92 seconds: I'm not sure how reducing NASCAR pit crews from six to five will make things fairer. We'll have to wait and see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Posted December 8, 2017 Report Share Posted December 8, 2017 Richard Petty Motorsports Switches to Chevy and aligns with Richard Childress Racing http://nascar.nbcsports.com/2017/12/08/richard-petty-motorsports-richard-childress-racing-announce-alliance/ Here's the updated Silly Season http://nascar.nbcsports.com/2017/12/08/silly-season-scorecard-holiday-edition/ and in the something you don't see everyday category... http://nascar.nbcsports.com/2017/12/08/talladega-superspeedway-morphs-to-talladega-supersnowway-with-rare-snowstorm/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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