Garrett Duke Posted January 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 I personally am excited to see the changes come into play to see for myself how they will work and how they will effect the drivers. From what I read, the new system is suppose to reward more winning and consistancy at the same time. Which to me, this new system doesn't give the drivers much reward bonuses as the old one had...but I guess if you look at all that they will lose if they have a poor finish, maybe that is what they are talking about. The wild card slots, I think, is a good idea. For example. last season, there was four drivers within the chase that did not have a win, yet you had Jamie McMurray who finished 13th or 14th with two major wins. So it would give him a chance into the chase due to his performance in those two wins over the poor finishes he had due to accidents and what not. So I see that as a way of rewarding wins as well as consistancy within the first 26 races of the season. Gordon was one of the four within the chase that sadly didn't have a win, but he was consistant.I am sure there is some negative aspects with the change, but for now, I am excited with the change and as I said, to see how they will effect the racing, the chase, and the drivers. It will make it much easier to follow.The 2011 season seems to be a season full of change...first the whole garage and driver swap at Hendrick that happened right after the season ended. I still have mixed emotions about that, though am excited to see what Alan Gustufson can do with Gordon's talent.And now all of this...now if only the repaved Daytona will actually get here, we can get on with the much waited for season...(Oh I guess the cars will have a different look to them to distinguish the manufacturer...something like that.) Which reminds me, Gordon will also have a different sponsor and color scheme after racing his entire NASCAR Sprint Cup career, til now, with Dupont as his major sponsor. Dupont will sponsor hiim with some races, but not as much...now AARP will be sponsoring him with their Anti-Hunger campaign.All this change must make for a great season!!!!!!!!!!! (I'm looking forward to the season to start, if y'all can't tell. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerDuke Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 Racing was big news in the media today. USA Today's front page cover story was about NASCAR. Specifically they addressed the contoversy that NASCAR has become too safe (if that's possible). They begun the story talking about today being the tenth anniversary of the death of Dale Earnhardt.Also, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams did an interview with Jeff Gordon talking about his involvement with children's health and how he got interested in it. I imagine the USA Today story is available on their website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Duke Posted February 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 NASCAR too safe? Well Dale Sr's death brought a lot of attention to the safety within the car and brought in more safety devices. Too bad it took that to bring NASCAR's attention to it. But I don't think NASCAR can be too safe...look at all the horrible accidents that happen from time to time and men walk away from them. You take some of them safety devices out, they may not be walking away from them like that. No such thing as too safe when you are driving two hundred miles per hours against other men going the same speed.Thank you Roger for bringing that to our attention and letting us know. Am always glad to hear and read more NASCAR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HossC Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 The article Roger refers to is here:Did NASCAR go too far in promoting driver safety?NASCAR should be even safer than open-wheeled racing such as F1 and Indycar due to extra bodywork protecting the driver, and F1 is now much safer than it used to be. According to Wikipedia the last 2 deaths in F1 were Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix (one in practice, one in the race), and the last before that was 1986. Take a look back to the '50s and there were 2 or three deaths a year.Modern F1 cars have a very strong 'monocoque' driver cell made from carbon fiber and a similar HANS device to that used in NASCAR. This means we still get wheel to wheel racing and some spectacular crashes, but with far less injuries than before. I may have posted this before, but take a look at Mark Webber's crash from last year's Valencia Grand Prix:Mark Webber Crash ValenciaHe got away with comparatively minor injuries considering the crash.Compare this to F1 driver Robert Kubica who crashed while doing some pre-season rallying. The safety barrier pierced his footwell causing various injuries including a partially severed hand. The latest news is that 13 days after the accident he is out of intensive care and his hand has been saved, but he will likely miss the whole 2011 season. I don't think we want to go back to a time when this was the norm.I find the increased reliability of cars can make the races less exciting. Back in the '80s the cars were just delicate mechanical beasts, engineered to the limit. It wasn't unusual to have a leading car develop a fault which slowed them in to the field, only for the fault to fix itself later and create a great ending. Nowadays (at least in F1) everything is so monitored and computer controlled they can use the cars to play tunes: (skip in about 15 seconds) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Duke Posted March 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Well, I don't know how newsworthy this is, but thought I would write it somewhere and this seemed the best place to put - plus it gives me another excuse to talk NASCAR! This Sunday they will be racing in Las Vegas (Kyle and Kurt Busch's home town) and will mark the third point race of the season. With two races done and in the books we have already began to see the effects that all the change that went on during the off season has on the races and points. The first is that just two races in with Jeff Gordon's new crew cheif (Alan Gustafson) and pit crew (all that was with Mark Martin last year) Gordon has broke his 66 winless streak with a win at Phoenix. Being the big Gordon fan that I am, hope to continue to see the change with the cc and crew continue to be positive and to bring more wins...and perhaps to achieve his drive for five. (Afterall, he won his last championship ten years ago...)But the biggest effects that the entire driving field is now seeing is from the change in the points system. I guess they had said before that a bad day will make it hard to bounce back...Gordon and Johnson had bad Daytona races, but with Gordon's win, he is now fifth or sixth. Johnson finished third and is 13th in points. As I read in a Yahoo article...one race won't kill a championship run or something like that. But you have drivers like Jeff Burton, David Reutimann, and Brian Vickers that got involved in accidents or had bad races in both Daytona and Phoenix. It was said in the article I read, that Kyle Busch (who is now leading the points) could skip out on the Vegas race on Sunday and still be leading points over those three drivers. (First of all, there is little to no way that Kyle would skip out on a race, especially his home track...at least I can't see him doing that. Second of all, he wouldn't be leading his brother or Gordon or probably not be over Johnson either...he'd just be ahead of drivers like Burton or Vickers...)To me, it is alarming to have someone like Jeff Burton in this big of a hole this early on in the season. Sure he has 23 more races until the chase starts...plenty of time to work on points, hopefully. Like I said, so far it isn't anything to get too excited about, but I felt like writing something NASCAR and this is what I was thinking about. It will be interesting to see how much more the changes will effect the racing and points the farther we make it into the season...such as chase time.Well thanks for listening to my NASCAR rambling... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerDuke Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 Did you say he won his last championship 10 years ago?! Are you serious? Did anybody else have a streak going before Jimmie started his? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Duke Posted March 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 Did you say he won his last championship 10 years ago?! Are you serious? Did anybody else have a streak going before Jimmie started his?Sadly I am very serious. Jeff Gordon won his fourth and last championship in 2001...ten years ago. Though I am looking for that drought to come to an end this year when he achieves his drive for five. At least I highly hopes he does so...last week shows he is still capable of doing so.The only streak I know of, of championship runs was Cale Yarborough when he won three in a row. Gordon won two in a row himself...think it was 96 and 97 or something like that. But JJ is sitting high and dry with five straight championships...he's the only one that's done that and probably the only one that will do that. At least for a while... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Duke Posted March 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 NASCAR has placed ROBBY Gordon (not JEFF Gordon...) on probation through the rest of the year, today. I've read a little about this on Saturday or so and more so today...Kevin Conway (rookie of the year award winner of last year) drove seven races for Robby Gordon in the Sprint Cup Series last year and supposedly they are both suing each other. Robby is suing Conway's sponsors for money they supposedly owe him and Kevin is sueing Robby for his money from the rookie of the year program. Anyway, on Friday when they were at Las Vegas for qualifying there was an altercation between the two. Robby claims he didn't throw any punches, but according to Conway Robby punched him twice. He then called in and placed a misdemeanor battery complaint against Robby...as well as told NASCAR of the altercation. According to Conway, Robby had ambushed him in the garage at Las Vegas...most of what I have read seems to be coming from Kevin and little to no comments from Robby.NASCAR has now placed Robby Gordon on probation for the rest of the year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerDuke Posted March 9, 2011 Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 But JJ is sitting high and dry with five straight championships...he's the only one that's done that and probably the only one that will do that. At least for a while...I know what you mean Garrett. It's going to take Kurt Busch six years to break that record. After that, maybe Jeff Gordon can start his own streak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Duke Posted March 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 I know what you mean Garrett. It's going to take Kurt Busch six years to break that record. After that, maybe Jeff Gordon can start his own streak.Nice try there Roger...but Kurt is younger than Gordon. Gordon will turn 40 this upcoming August, so it should be Gordon that goes to break and beat JJ's streak of championships than Kurt. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of Gordon racing until he's a hundred years old, but doubt that would happen. The thought of him retiring only gets me upset, but sooner or later I have to face reality and reality is, is that Kurt may have a few more years of racing than Gordon has left. Though hopefully I am wrong...Either way, I think Gordon should break JJ's record. After all, it is Gordon that brought JJ into the Sprint Cup and owns half of JJ's car... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Duke Posted March 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2011 NASCAR has placed ROBBY Gordon (not JEFF Gordon...) on probation through the rest of the year, today. I've read a little about this on Saturday or so and more so today...Kevin Conway (rookie of the year award winner of last year) drove seven races for Robby Gordon in the Sprint Cup Series last year and supposedly they are both suing each other. Robby is suing Conway's sponsors for money they supposedly owe him and Kevin is sueing Robby for his money from the rookie of the year program. Anyway, on Friday when they were at Las Vegas for qualifying there was an altercation between the two. Robby claims he didn't throw any punches, but according to Conway Robby punched him twice. He then called in and placed a misdemeanor battery complaint against Robby...as well as told NASCAR of the altercation. According to Conway, Robby had ambushed him in the garage at Las Vegas...most of what I have read seems to be coming from Kevin and little to no comments from Robby.NASCAR has now placed Robby Gordon on probation for the rest of the year...Just an update. I read an update that Robby had made a comment and he says that they had a heated exchange and that he didn't punch Conway. That all of this was a publicity deal for Conway. That it was over all the money Conway and his sponsor still owes Robby...in fact owes his current car owner as well. Also stated was that this was a manner that would now be served in court... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Duke Posted May 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 Wow...it's been awhile since I posted on the news page for NASCAR. . .Well NASCAR has stepped forward with the punishments...or what NASCAR considers to be punishments...for Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick for their actions on last Saturday night's race. Both Kyle and Kevin were fined twenty-five thousand dollars (pocket change to them...) and put on probation (in all three series...truck, Nationwide, and Sprint) until June 15th (just over a month!). The rest of this post is of my OPINION and perhaps I am alone with how I feel, but I will vent anyway. . .Never have been a fan of Kyle Busch due to his way of driving and never thought I would be defending him...but I am now. (then again he has changed since last year. More mature. As a driver and as a person. Perhaps he has matured with age or marriage has changed him. Anyway it is, he has changed for the better in my opinion...)First off, twenty - five thousand dollars is only pocket change to them compared to how much they earn in a race and so forth. And probation over a month? Robby Gordon is on probation for the rest of the year for supposedly punching Kevn Conway before the season had started. Yet Harvick who punched Kyle through the window is only on probation just over a month? Or when Jeff Gordon shoved Matt Kenseth in '06 he was on probation for a half of year for his FIRST offense. This is not Kevin's nor Kyle's first offense as a driver. Yet...Second of all (where I defend Kyle)...Kyle may have changed, but everyone knows he will not take getting shoved around or hit on the track. Especially with five laps to go. Also Kevin Harvick had spun Kyle out at Homestead at the end of last year, so it's not the first time Harvick had hit Kyle like that. So what else was Kyle to do? After getting hit TWICE by Harvick, he hit back. Then Harvick parked his car in front of Kyle, walked out, and punched Kyle through the open window. Sure it was unsafe of Kyle to hit Harvick's car out of the way with people walking around, so he shouldn't have done it. But with Kevin punching him, what else was he to do other than get out and fight Harvick?I know NASCAR has the Boys have at it slogan and I can't complain too much since Gordon got away with shoving Burton last year after Burton wrecked Gordon during a caution. And it does draw attention and viewers to the sport, of which NASCAR needs, but there should be some line that NASCAR consistantly follows no matter who the driver is. Whether it is Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch who are top names or Robby Gordon who isn't a top name and gets probation all year. Well I apologize for venting and as I said all of that was my OPINION...which I know, I know, this is for news. Not opinions. But I love talking NASCAR and with it comes emotions I guess. Would love to hear what y'all feel about what happened and of the consequences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Duke Posted May 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2011 Well this isn't big NASCAR news, but thought I would mention it.Kyle Busch was pulled over for speeding in N.C. on Monday...going 125 mph in a 45 mph speed zone. Read that with that high of a speed, he'll have to have a court date and could be fined up to a thousand dollars...which is pocket change to him. Guess he couldn't leave his racin' on the track...just a little interesting info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HossC Posted May 26, 2011 Report Share Posted May 26, 2011 It happens to F1 drivers too. Last year Lewis Hamilton was fined $500 (Aus)for spinning his wheels and smoking his tires as he left the Australian GP.Back in 2000 Jenson Button was caught doing 230kph (144mph) through France in his BMW. At the time he was only 20 years old and restricted to diesel powered cars. I heard a rumor at the time that BMW paid his fine because of the great publicity for their diesel cars - don't know if there's any truth to the rumor.In 2003 Juan Pablo Montoya (then an F1 driver) was also caught in France, this time doing 200kph (125mph). He was less repentant, saying: “Who doesn’t go at 200 clicks on those motorways? I tell you, that car does 240kph no problem. I was taking it easy.â€. He then paid the fine in cash and got his wife to drive the rest of the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Duke Posted June 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2011 Just read a couple of small articles that read that there was an altercation after today's truck race between truck/car owner Richard Childress and driver Kyle Busch. Supposedly, Childress' driver Joey Coulter and Busch was racing each other for fifth place late in the race. No contact had happened, but afterwards, I guess Busch slammed Coulter into the wall and later truck owner Richard Childress supposedly had a fight with Busch. It said there was a physical altercation between the two...don't know who started it, but the article made it sound like Busch was the loser in the fight. Could be wrong about that, but that's what it made it sound to be.Kyle Busch is on probation in all three tiers of NASCAR until June 15th and NASCAR is now looking ino the altercation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meadowmufn Posted June 5, 2011 Report Share Posted June 5, 2011 Well this isn't big NASCAR news, but thought I would mention it.Kyle Busch was pulled over for speeding in N.C. on Monday...going 125 mph in a 45 mph speed zone. Read that with that high of a speed, he'll have to have a court date and could be fined up to a thousand dollars...which is pocket change to him. Guess he couldn't leave his racin' on the track...just a little interesting info.In some parts of the country, an infraction like that would include jail time and suspension of your license. All things considered, he probably got off pretty easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Duke Posted June 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2011 In some parts of the country, an infraction like that would include jail time and suspension of your license. All things considered, he probably got off pretty easy.All things considered, Kyle probably did get off pretty easy. He still may lose his driver's liscense, but wouldn't affect his racing any since they don't need a driver's liscense to race on track. On another Kyle Busch matter, NASCAR finds that Kyle Busch did not violate his probation during the altercation between him and truck/car owner Richard Childress. Childress punched Kyle in the altercation and will most likely face penalties for his actions on Monday. Childress is able to be at the track for today's Sprint Cup race, but with limited access at the track. (Richard Childress owns Kevin Harvick's car in the Sprint Series who had punched Kyle Busch at Darlington which is w hen Kyle and Harvick both got placed on probation...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Duke Posted June 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2011 Richard Childress reportedly punched Kyle Busch three times last Saturday after the truck race. NASCAR penalized him $150,000 for his actions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HossC Posted June 12, 2011 Report Share Posted June 12, 2011 This coming Tuesday (June 14th) sees a special event at Watkins Glen. 2008 F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton is swapping cars with two-time NASCAR Champion Tony Stewart. They are both sponsored by Mobil 1, who are organizing the event. You can read more about it on their website. There's some performance difference between the two cars, a can be heard in .A similar swap was done at Indianapolis in 2003. Jeff Gordon swapped cars with Juan Pablo Montoya (who drove F1 at the time). You can see a video about that event . This time around both drivers will be using current, race-prepared cars and using the full 3.4 mile circuit.I can't find any broadcast details for the event, but I'm sure something will appear in YouTube if it isn't on TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HossC Posted June 15, 2011 Report Share Posted June 15, 2011 The car swap between Tony Stewart and Lewis Hamilton took place today. There's a few really short video clips on YouTube that look like they were taken on camera phones. The event is being screened in the US tonight at 8pm ET on Speed. Hopefully I'll get to see it on YouTube, because I've no idea when it'll be shown this side of the Atlantic.There's a trailer for the Speed showing here:[HD] Tony Stewart & Lewis Hamilton - Car Swap At Watkins Glen 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RogerDuke Posted June 15, 2011 Report Share Posted June 15, 2011 Congratulations to the Duke boys' hero Cale Yarborough for being selected for induction into NASCAR's Hall of Fame! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Duke Posted June 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 As did Darrell Waltrip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HossC Posted June 16, 2011 Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 The Speed Channel feature on the Lewis Hamilton/Tony Stewart car swap at Watkins Glen are now up on YouTube. It's split over 6 parts, the first is here:[HD] Lewis Hamilton & Tony Stewart - Seat Swap Special (Part 1)It's a shame they had damp weather, but both seemed to really enjoy the experience. Lewis Hamilton finished his NASCAR run with a few donuts before going back to the pits, and Tony Stewart didn't look like he wanted to come in with the F1 McLaren. With the conditions drying they even suggested putting slick tires on and going out again. Tony Stewart said afterwards "I told the guys on pit road out there that it's probably going to make my crew chief a little more stressed during the weekends because I'm going to want it to handle like that all the time. I don't think we're ever going to get it there." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkarint Posted June 19, 2011 Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 Heard Hamilton has a very bad temper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HossC Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 According to this article Red Bull are rumored to be pulling out of NASCAR at the end of the season. They currently own/run the cars driven by Kasey Kahne (#4) and Brian Vickers (#83). Lack of success and reduced viewing figures in their target demographic have been suggested as possible reason for the exit.Red Bull also has two F1 teams: Red Bull Racing (RBR) and Scuderia Toro Rosso (STR). By contrast to their results in NASCAR, RBR has the reigning World Champion, Sebastian Vettel, driving for them and are currently leading both the drivers' and constructors' championships. STR is less well funded, and is used to find young drivers to move up to the RBR team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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