NASCAR news

[HossC]

Thanks, Spike. I haven't watched any NASCAR races for ages, but had to tune in for a few laps last night. A dirt race is certainly different. I just got to see the end of stage 1 before bed. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. obviously made a good comeback - he was slipping into the mid-teens when I was watching.

[HossC]

To wander briefly off-topic, while I was watching a bit of last night's race there was a commercial for Dr. Pepper Cream Soda. This is the first time I've heard of it, and unless any of the expensive specialist shops here stock it, I doubt that I'll get to try it. I just wanted to know if it was any good as I like Dr. Pepper and cream soda separately. Maybe I'll just mix my own!

[RogerDuke]

I'm not a big soda pop drinker but I did try it and liked it. They are constantly trying to mix things and sometimes have success but never great success. The only exception would be cherry cola. 

[Spike]

21 hours ago, HossC said:

Thanks, Spike. I haven't watched any NASCAR races for ages, but had to tune in for a few laps last night. A dirt race is certainly different. I just got to see the end of stage 1 before bed. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. obviously made a good comeback - he was slipping into the mid-teens when I was watching.

If they had another restart Ricky probably would have won it. He did good in the last stage working his way into the top 10 before the final caution.

Daniel Suarez was the real surprise of the race, though from what Jeff and Clint were saying it sounds like Daniel's crew chief has dirt experience and set the car up right for the track.

[Spike]

Might soon see the Cup cars racing in the rain on small ovals. In addition to testing the next gen car at Martinsville today they will also be testing rain tires on the cars to see if it's feasible. 

[HossC]

1 hour ago, Spike said:

Might soon see the Cup cars racing in the rain on small ovals. In addition to testing the next gen car at Martinsville today they will also be testing rain tires on the cars to see if it's feasible. 

I'd like to see that. I know the parameters are completely different, but F1 cars run in the rain, and they're often among the best races!

[Skipper Duke]

On 3/20/2020 at 8:48 PM, RogerDuke said:

I watched Days of Thunder last night. I haven't seen it in years. I'd forgotten how good it is. There were a couple unrealistic scenes but overall pretty entertaining.

Cousin Roger Duke... Cole Trickle

[Skipper Duke]

22 minutes ago, Skipper Duke said:

Cousin Roger Duke... Cole Trickle

Cousin Roger Duke... I have the lil 1/64 of the movie car.

[RogerDuke]

10 minutes ago, Skipper Duke said:

Cousin Roger Duke... I have the lil 1/64 of the movie car.

Cool!

[Spike]

Carl Edwards looking to do a few one off races if the right opportunity arises. https://www.jayski.com/2021/04/03/carl-edwards-says-theres-potential-for-a-one-off-road-course-return/

And the current gen Nascar Cup car could get one last hurrah next season running the Bristol dirt race. According to some crew chiefs the next gen car would have to be modified for dirt racing.

The short track rain tire test went well. Both drivers had positive things to say about the test and Nascar's John Probst said it was "positive and promising first test" and Nascar will evaluate it further.

Some sad news the matriarch of Wood Bros. Racing Bernece Wood passed away March 30th. She was 90 years old. Fans will remember her from the Wood Bros. Museum as she was the resident historian.

This week's Martinsville races will be on FS1 Friday and Saturday nights.

[HossC]

Another hijack of the thread for a belated tribute. On March 16th we lost German racing driver Sabine Schmitz after a four year battle with cancer. She was just 51.

Despite having a successful racing career, it was her first appearance on 'Top Gear' that brought the "Queen of the Nürburgring" to a worldwide audience. The Nürburgring is a 12.9 mile track with 147 corners that's located in the middle of a German forest. Sabine was born there and knew the track better than anyone.

Here's the Top Gear Special tribute which aired last night. It includes contributions from TG presenters old and new as well as a variety of people from the world of motorsport.
 

 

[Spike]

Looks like mother nature's going to postpone this week's race too. Weather radar shows rain showers just outside of Martinsville. If it does get postponed it will most likely be run tomorrow afternoon. Maybe they should have did more rain tire testing lol.

[Spike]

Tempers flared and by the end of the Martinsville race some of the cars looked like they survived a demolition derby. Martin Truex jr won the race after passing his teammate Denny Hamlin and became the first repeat winner of the season. Ryan Blaney had the dominant car of the day but a bad pit stop where the front tire changer forgot to pull the air hose from in front of his car caused him to take the hose and wrench with him when he drove out of his pitbox which resulted in a penalty. He did manage to make it back to 11th place.

Top 10

1. Martin Truex jr

2. Chase Elliott

3. Denny Hamlin

4. William Byron

5. Kyle Larson

6. Joey Logano

7. Christopher Bell

8. Tyler Reddick

9. Kevin Harvick

10. Kyle Busch

[Spike]

Some real gems in this one I love the crayon comment  I bet Cody Ware got a nice talking too from daddy after the race since he caused about half the cautions.

 

[Spike]

Looks like 23XI racing might expand to a second car next year. Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan are looking to build a new shop that can hold a 2 or 3 car team.

Dale Earnhardt jr might start a cup team if the finances look right with the next gen car. 

Jeff Burton's son Harrison will make his cup debut at Talladega with Gaunt bros. Racing in the #96 Toyota.

[HossC]

On 4/1/2021 at 1:51 PM, HossC said:

... but F1 cars run in the rain, and they're often among the best races!

Well, we had a wet start to the race in Italy today, and it produced some great driving and a few crashes (admittedly not many by NASCAR standards!). Hamilton made a rare mistake, but made an impressive recovery to finish second and with the fastest lap.

While I've got the thread diverted to F1, it was announced earlier today that the Austin Grand Prix will be joined by a new race in Miami in 2022 to give the US two grands prix next year. The 3.36 mile circuit will be around the stadium of the Miami Dolphins - more info here.

[Spike]

14 hours ago, HossC said:

Well, we had a wet start to the race in Italy today, and it produced some great driving and a few crashes (admittedly not many by NASCAR standards!). Hamilton made a rare mistake, but made an impressive recovery to finish second and with the fastest lap.

While I've got the thread diverted to F1, it was announced earlier today that the Austin Grand Prix will be joined by a new race in Miami in 2022 to give the US two grands prix next year. The 3.36 mile circuit will be around the stadium of the Miami Dolphins - more info here.

It looked like an exciting race from the short highlight video I seen on youtube. Unfortunately F1 has lousy tv coverage here in the states with ESPN. Local ABC channel had infomercials on yesterday so they could have easily re-aired the race on a channel everyone can get.

On a related note Romain Grosjean finished 10th in his Indycar debut at Barber. He was in the top 5 for quite a while. Jimmy Johnson didn't fare as well he finished 19th. 

Alex Bowman stole a win at Richmond yesterday taking the lead after a late race restart and holding off Denny Hamlin. Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex jr dominated the race. Martin Truex jr had a pit road penalty but was able to finish in 5th place. 

Top 10

1 Alex Bowman

2 Denny Hamlin

3 Joey Logano

4 Christopher Bell

5 Martin Truex jr

6 Aric Almirola

7 William Byron

8 Kyle Busch

9 Matt Dibenedetto

10 Austin Dillon

[Spike]

Joey Logano took a scary ride Sunday at the end of Stage 1 when Denny Hamlin turned him launching Logano into the air nearly landing on Bubba Wallace's car. Thankfully Joey Logano was fine. 

Matt Dibenedetto came close to getting the Wood Brothers racing their 100th win but blocked the wrong line and Brad Keselowski went on to win. This win ties him with Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt jr on Talladega wins and is also his 35th career win. Matt Dibenedetto arguably had the fastest car as he was able to make power move passes without pushes from other drivers. Part timer Kaz Grala managed to finish 6th place for Kaulig Racing. Surprisingly there was no 'big one' that took out half the field as there usually is at Talladega with this pack racing package. 

Top 10 

1 Brad Keselowski

2 William Byron

3 Michael McDowell

4 Kevin Harvick

5 Matt Dibenedetto

6 Kaz Grala

7 Tyler Reddick

8 Austin Dillon

9 Ryan Blaney

10 Cole Custer

[Spike]

Here's the first look at the Next Gen Cup car 

We'll have to wait till May 5th for a better look. 

[Spike]

Here's the ultra confusing format for the all star race https://nascar.nbcsports.com/2021/04/28/chase-elliott-denny-hamlin-martin-truex-joey-logano-kyle-larson-nascar-all-star-race-format-revealed/

Good luck following this during the race.

• The starting lineup will be set by a random draw.
• The first round is 15 laps.
• An inversion will take place (minimum of eight cars and maximum of 12) before the second round, which is 15 laps.
• The entire field will be inverted before the third round, which is 15 laps.
• Another inversion will take place (minimum of eight cars and maximum of 12) before the fourth round, which 15 laps.
• Starting positions for the fifth round will consist of the cumulative finish from the first four rounds. The lowest cumulative finisher starts on the pole, second-lowest starts second, etc. All cars must enter pit road for a mandatory four-tire pit stop during the fifth round, which is 30 laps. The fastest team on pit road during the mandatory stop will earn $100,000.
• The starting positions in the final round, which is 10 laps, are set by finishing positions in the fifth round.

[RogerDuke]

It's as clear as mud. 

[HossC]

On 4/30/2021 at 2:23 AM, Spike said:

• The starting lineup will be set by a random draw.
• The first round is 15 laps.
• An inversion will take place (minimum of eight cars and maximum of 12) before the second round, which is 15 laps.
• The entire field will be inverted before the third round, which is 15 laps.
• Another inversion will take place (minimum of eight cars and maximum of 12) before the fourth round, which 15 laps.
• Starting positions for the fifth round will consist of the cumulative finish from the first four rounds. The lowest cumulative finisher starts on the pole, second-lowest starts second, etc. All cars must enter pit road for a mandatory four-tire pit stop during the fifth round, which is 30 laps. The fastest team on pit road during the mandatory stop will earn $100,000.
• The starting positions in the final round, which is 10 laps, are set by finishing positions in the fifth round.

• Take away the number you first thought of, and the winner is...

[Spike]

Nascar Officials once again created controversy with cautions in both the Truck and Cup series races. In the truck race they seemed to randomly call a caution for spinning trucks one time but not other times. In the Cup series with 30 laps to go  it was for a tire that was neither on the pit lane or anywhere near the track. Even Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer and Mike Joy said there was no need for the caution just before the yellow flag was thrown.

Surprise surprise Kyle Busch won the Buschy McBusch 400 race after Nascar's BS tire caution caused multiple wrecks and cautions. Kyle Larson dominated the race and had a big cushion to the 2nd place car before the infamous tire caution. On the restart Denny Hamlin got the lead but couldn't hold off a hard charging Larson and eventually brushed the wall which brought out another caution. On the next restart they never even got a lap in before another wreck and caution. Kyle Larson ended up finishing 19th.

Top 10

1 Kyle Busch

2 Kevin Harvick

3 Brad Keselowski

4 Matt Dibenedetto

5 Chase Elliot

6 Martin Truex jr

7 Tyler Reddick

8 Chris Buescher

9 William Byron

10 Austin Dillon

Onto throwback weekend at Darlington next weekend. Both races will be on FS1 so more than likely there will be a ratings drop from last year's race.

On a sad note Bobby Unser passed away Sunday. He won the Indy 500 3 times in 3 decades, one of only 2 drivers to do that. He also made 3 starts in the Cup series in car numbers 13, 99 and 41. His best finish was 4th at Riverside in 1973. You also might remember him from the Nascar broadcast booth where he worked alongside Benny Parsons from 1986-1992. 

[HossC]

41 minutes ago, Spike said:

Nascar Officials once again created controversy with cautions in both the Truck and Cup series races. In the truck race they seemed to randomly call a caution for spinning trucks one time but not other times. In the Cup series with 30 laps to go  it was for a tire that was neither on the pit lane or anywhere near the track. Even Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer and Mike Joy said there was no need for the caution just before the yellow flag was thrown.

I can see why they'd want an exciting finish, but the way you describe it, it sounds more like manipulating the result.

The main controversy at this week's F1 was varying enforcement of the track limit rules. Due to travel restrictions, some races are taking place at circuits which aren't usually on the F1 calendar. Especially on circuits where they host motorcycle racing, the outside of corners are paved for safety rather than being gravel or grass. To prevent the drivers from gaining an unfair advantage by taking a wide line on corners, at least one wheel must remain within the white line which marks the edge of the track. During qualifying, drivers had their times deleted if they exceeded the track limits, and Max Verstappen had his fastest lap deleted for the same reason. The commentators were suggesting that it would be better if they could remove the advantage of going wide. I'm not sure that there's an easy solution.

[Spike]

13 hours ago, HossC said:

I can see why they'd want an exciting finish, but the way you describe it, it sounds more like manipulating the result.
 

Basically it was. I thought Nascar was done "manipulating" races after Brian France was ousted but apparently not. Phantom Cautions became a running gag for years, it was so bad at one point Fox commentators were even joking about them.

They should have called the caution for the tire when it rolled away from pitlane instead of waiting for the last car that had not pitted yet to pit, then they waited another few laps after that car pitted to throw the caution. It just reeks of race fixing. And Nascar Officials wonder why Nascar is not taken seriously as a Motorsport in the rest of the world.