Here Today... Gone To Hell!

It's that time of the year again, if your a Nascar fan join my Nascar fantasy group. Last season I tried to keep things updated in this thread, but I simply got too lazy. I figured everyone who played every week would see the scoring anyways.

Here's the signup link: http://racing.fantasysports.yahoo.com/auto/register/joinprivategroup


Group ID: 413
Password: axlrose

Happy racing :)

It turned into the Drew and (whatever his username was) show.

I'll sign up, what the hay. 

I choked at the end in both motorsports games on HTGTH.  Fucking ill.

Heath, are you going to the Las Vegas race again?

Oh yeah, I'll be there. I also want to try to go to either the second Califonia or Phoenix race this year, depending on funds.

Go to Phoenix.

You can come to California if you're into falling asleep during a race.

Yeah, I would much rather go to Phoenix, the only reason I wold go to Fontana instead is because it's so much closer. But we'll see. I think this seasons going to be a repeat of last year. With the no testing rule now, new teams just aren't going to be able to compete at all. I put my money on Johnson again this year.

Before 2008, I could honestly say that I had never fallen asleep during a race.

I found myself napping quite a lot last year.

So fucking boring man.  If they aren't racing on plate tracks or short tracks, it's just a waste of time.

Same here, haha, I usually watch the start of the race, then at some point in the middle I'll doze off, then wake up for the last 50 or so laps.

I didn't participate in the NASCAR fantasy team. I only participated in the F1 fantasy game.  :hihi:

I meant the NASCAR Discussion thread!  :hihi:

If I know you, and I think I do, I think you can give us all a run for our money.  Hell, you've been owning HTGTH motorsports the past few years.

Give all the glory to luck. That's what it boils down to.  ;)

I'd rather be lucky than talented.  : ok:

There's 6 people so far, there has to be more than 6 people who are Nascar fans here...  :hihi:

When is the deadline to sign up? I might sign up. The only reason I didn't last year is because the season is long and there are a lot of tracks I will not watch because the races are a complete bore to me. I always get excited about Daytona but as soon as that race is over with, my interest takes a dramatic fall until April/Talladega.  ;D

I know Sukie is a big NASCAR fan. We'll have to see if we can get her in here. She hasn't been around in quite awhile though. I'll send her a message.

There is no deadline to sign up, you can sign up in the middle of the season if you want too. BUt to get credit for the first race you have to sign up and pick your drivers before qualifying I think.

Seems like we have a few new faces around.

Hopefully we can get all the old school guys back on board this year.  The more people we have, the better!

I posted this info on here, newgnr.com and there should be a couple people from my work signing up. BTW Jim Beam Black is the best fuckin drink ever.

I'm joining once again -- going to try this year...last year I kept forgetting to do this damn thing.

I'm kinda sad that we don't have Daytona Testing this year.  :(

But overall, I'm glad that they banned testing.

Me too. Testing at Daytona always added to the excitement buildup for the Daytona 500.

Top 20 countdown: No. 11 Dale Earnhardt Jr.

By Jay Busbee, Yahoo! Sports Jan 28, 10:44 am EST

(http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/tools/med/2009/01/ipt/1233132991.jpg)

2008 statistics:
Finish - 12th   Poles - 1    Wins - 1   Top 5's - 10 Top 10's - 16


2008 finish: 12th

2009 outlook: Dale Earnhardt Jr. comes into 2009 riding as high as ever thanks to his immense popularity. His fame spreads far and wide; your non-NASCAR-following grandmother knows who he is, if only because she?s seen him fight a gorilla or carry a camel in commercials.

Problem is, there are no Chase points available for filming commercials, and there are no gorillas to fight on the track.

Back in the early ?00s, when Earnhardt Jr. finished in the top 10 in three out of four years, it appeared he had ascended to his rightful place atop NASCAR. Since then, though, he?s been caught and passed ? very much literally ? by the likes of Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch.

Obviously Junior isn?t going anywhere anytime soon; he?s far too popular and he still has plenty of skill behind the wheel. But nobody?s doing him any favors on the track because of his name.

He got something of a mulligan year in 2008 thanks to his switch to a new team, but that honeymoon is over.

This season, Rick Hendrick is going to expect more than just a fuel-mileage win out of Earnhardt Jr., which is how he claimed his only victory in 2008. And fans aren?t going to put up with much more of Junior turning the other cheek, as he did after Busch spun him with three laps to go at Richmond.

In short, there are no more excuses for Earnhardt Jr. It?s time to fight. It?s time to win.

What you need to know: In the past four seasons, Junior has finished 19th, fifth, 16th, and 12th. Over that same period, he has exactly three wins. At some point, somebody?s going to have to start asking some hard questions of Junior.

Source:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news;_ylt=AoOM6_rxbu1Cv8.Hbk8nbUnov7YF?slug=ys-earnhardtjr012809&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

I gave Junior a hard time last year, but I really do believe he will win many races this season and be a legitimate contender for the Cup.

Well just as the article said, 'It's time to win!' and the honeymoon is over with.  :)

I think Junior could have won many races last year....he's on the right team, he's got the skill, but, as much as I love the guy, he and his crew cheif seem dumber than a box of rocks. I had his scanner last year through nascar.com....here's what a typical race sounded like in the closing laps...


Tony: "You slowing down, what's wrong?"

Junior: "I don't know man, next stop make the car like it was before"

Tony: "How was it before?"

Junior: "I don't know, your the crew cheif"

Tony: "Well I don't know either, your the driver"


Junior has a hard time explaining whats wrong with the car. How many races last year did he have the car to beat at the start and then fell off about half way? 

Then you got Tony Jr., making calls like he did at Watkins Glenn.....

Tony can't keep up with the track.

But it's not like Junior is giving him good feedback.

I also listened in during the races.

They would make things exciting by adding a " clear"  or a "10-4" to the conversation every now and then

Hahahaha...... :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: That's pretty funny Garry!

About Tony Jr., I'm really stuck on what I think should be done. Part of me wants Dale Jr. to get someone else as crew chief but part of me also knows how close these two are to each other. But the facts don't lie, something obviously isn't working and if it takes Dale Jr. getting someone better as crew chief so he can start winning races and competing for Championships, than by all means a change needs to happen now.

They tried to change things up before, but it didn't work out and Junior campaigned to get Tony back.

Junior sucks.  He wouldn't win with Chad Knaus.

Yeah, I remember when he traded crew chiefs with his at the time DEI teammate Michael Waltrip. It was funny how much Michael Waltrip was improving and how much further down Dale Jr. was falling. If Dale Jr. continues to have another dismal year in 2009, than something has to be done for the future.

Anyone else seen the ESPN NASCAR promo commercial for the 2009 season? Their using Welcome To The Jungle in the commercial.

The Bud Shootout is tomorrow night at 7p.m. central time! Are any of you getting excited yet? I know Sukie and I are. ;D

Dale Jr. will start ninth for the race.

I will drive like a madman to get to my cousin's place after work to watch the race and catch some fights afterwards.

Boogity boogity boogity!

Congrats to Kevin Harvick winning the Bud Shootout last night!  : ok:

Wild finish.

Junior did his usual thing at a plate track where he fades back and gets wrecked.

I ve seen t it. It gets me pumped up every time. I ll be at Daytona for the third straight year. Cant wait to see JPM in a Chevy.

You might be the only person there!

Anyone notice how empty the stands were?

Go tune into qualifying going on right now, there isn't a soul there.

Martin Truex Jr. has won the pole for the 2009 Daytona 500.

Did anyone watch the Gatorade Duels today? I was only able to listen to the second race on MRN radio. Both races will be replayed tonight at 8p.m. central time on SPEED.

Pretty boring stuff.

Pretty exciting finish today with the Grand National race.  :)

Tony Stewart said he was very happy to be back in a Chevy.

Stupid Kyle Busch.

That was cool to hear Tony say!  : ok:

I really thought Kyle was going to either push Tony completely out of the way or wreck him on the last lap. Especially after Kyle couldn't get it done in the truck race Friday night and finished second. He was so frustrated with himself after the truck race saying he just can't get it done.

I sure wish Junior could learn how to hit his pit stall

Dale Jr. just caused the big one of the day.  :-X

Yes he did, haha, but at least Busch has no chance now :)

As much as I'm glad Kyle has no chance now, Dale Jr. took out a lot of drivers because of his own frustration. He missed his pit box earlier in the race and in the previous caution he had his front right tire on his pit box line which caused his penalty. Just not good driving all around on Dale Jr.'s part today.

You're right, if it was any other driver, I'd be pissed, Junior was in the wrong there of course, but he's also my favorite driver, so I really don't give a shit :)

Damn rain :(

Fuck NASCAR.

Fuck FOX.

And fuck Tom Cruise.

If they had started the race at an earlier time, we would have gotten the full race in.  Instead, we had to watch Nicole Kidman's current husband perform some weak songs, watch a moronic cartoon featuring Digger, and just sit through the nonsense that is the Hollywood Hotel.

I remember the 500 used to have a green flag time of 1ET/10P.  The race didn't start until 12:30 here on the west coast if I remember correctly.

As I have been saying for a year, Dale Earnhardt Jr, the son of the late, great, Dale Earnhardt, is an idiot.

How do you miss your pit box when there is no one around you?  I did not see one pink pit sign on pit road.  And his second mistake, why the hell would he turn to the right when he was perfectly in his pit box?  I would have preferred if he had his whole right rear sticking out, it sure beats being penalized a lap.

Congrats to Kenseth, he'll take it anyway he can, but I hate it when races end under the red flag.  I think the Daytona 500 should be completed no matter what.

I think every race should be completed no matter what, if for no other reason just to give the ticketholders their money worth. Races ain't cheap, and since only Oprah controls the weather, then Nascar should damn well finish a race.

NASCAR is a poorly run organization.  Fans are starting to realize that.  Expect to see a LOT of empty seats this year.  The racing will still be terrible.

Tomorrow's forecast calls for partly cloudy skies.  I wouldn't mind spending some of my President's Day watching the end of the 500.  This is the biggest race of the year and it should not end this way.

I want to start a site criticizing NASCAR and their poor decision making.  But Brian France would probably have his secret officials take me away in the middle of the night.

Dale's my favorite driver, too.  I know he's not the best driver in the world, probably not even top 5, but he's MY driver.  Everything that happened today was Dale's fault.  If he hadn't missed his pit, he wouldn't have restarted in 35th and had to drive so hard to get back to the front.  He was making a lot of risky moves even at that point and was probably really frustrated.  Then 2nd pit miscue, lap down, and fighting for the lucky dog.  Yes, he had a run...but when he went to blend back in after going below the yellow line, he shouldn't have swiped Vickers.  I don't think he did it intentionally, but he's going to lose even more respect in the garage for crap like this.  I could care less what fans think, but he has to race every week with these guys.  I really dislike Kyle Busch and don't really care that he was taken out, but there were others that deserve better.  And I know...it's just part of racing.  I just hate it when my guy messes up.  I remember (think it was 'dega) last year I thought Dale caused a couple of big wrecks because he was trying to make something happen.  He just needs to start THINKING more.  This is the freaking first race of the season.  Doesn't bode well for us Dale fans if he's already started out this way.  He's got to get his head in the race. 

I'm not a kool aid fan of his that thinks he can do no wrong.  Can you tell?  I just call 'em like I see them.  I'd really like to see him have a fantastic season so he can hold his head up high and be proud of what he's accomplished. 

I like Kenseth so I'm glad he won.  Plus, it's nice that Rousch finally got a Daytona 500 win after all these years.  At least you know that Kenseth is going to be contending later in the season unlike Ryan Newman last year. 

Ohhh...I decided not to join the fantasy league.  I just simply don't think I'd be any good at it so why make the effort?  lol

Yeah a lot of Junior's fans think he's the best thing since sliced bread.

He is my driver, always will be.  But sometimes I think that five year old child who went on a joyride can drive better than old June Bug can.

I loved seeing him making those crazy moves after his first penalty, that's the Junior I remember watching earlier this decade.  It's almost as if he doesn't care.

Since his 6 win campaign in 2004, he has only won 3 races.

Dale Jr. is my favorite driver but that won't stop me from criticizing him when he makes mistakes like he did at Daytona. Vickers is another one of those drivers like Kyle Busch I do not like. But in saying that, Dale Jr. was completely in the wrong and NASCAR should have parked him for the rest of the race.

Congrats to Matt Kenseth on his win. He's always seemed to be a good guy. Only problem is, he drives an "F" car!

Well, I think most of us agree that the race at Fontana isn't ever all that exciting.  It seems that this race is even MORE boring than usual.  Maybe it's just because Dale hasn't been a factor at all.  I do admit that when he's not doing well, the race seems to lack something for me. 

Wow...Dale just gave Tony a compliment on the radio!  I wonder if the press will report that since the fighting on the radio was such a big story last year.  ha!

If Dale isn't able to improve his position, he's going to go a lap down soon.  :(

I don't know if I'll be able to watch this whole race.  Where's the rain when you really want it?  :)

Well, 2 in a row for Kenseth. 

Drew, I don't have a problem with those "F" drivers.  lol  It's strange that I even pull for Chevy drivers since I've never owned a Chevy.  Like I said, it's not about manufacturer for me.  It's more about the driver personality, I guess.

After last year's no win for either of them, it's nice to see Kenseth and Gordon start off the season so strong.  I actually enjoyed the last of the race.  Kept wondering if Gordon had enough left to catch Kenseth. 

Wonder what was different for Mark Martin and Dale?  Even before both had engine trouble they weren't running nearly as well as Gordon and Johnson.   Gordon and Johnson ran strong all night.  I know set-ups are vastly different just because of the way the guys like a different feel in the car.  Still, last year Dale was the one that did well at the start of the season while Jimmie and Jeff struggled.  (except for Cali where Dale wrecked)  I hope that the season turns around for my favorite driver.  Did y'all see the interview Dale did with Waltrip? 

Well, I'm off.  Y'all have a good night. 

I'll tell you why Jr. and Martin had problems while Gordon and Johnson didn't.

The 5 and 88 are in a separate shop from the 24 and 48.

And I thought the racing was halfway decent for a place like Fontana.  I was hoping Gordon would win.

Besides the Roush cars and one Wood Bro car, there aren't any other "F" drivers.  Haha.

I was extremlely bored with Fontana. Oh well, Hopefully Vegas will be different, but I can't wait to be there, one hell of a party. After Fonatans race though, if I do go to another race this fall, it will be Phoenix for sure.

Not a good day at all for Dale Jr. He was showing improvement charging up thru the field but it was over for him once his engine gave out.

Did anyone see Angie Harmon pumping her fist in the air several laps into the race after she waived the green flag?  :drool:

Hey Sukie, I missed the Dale Jr./Darryl Waltrip interview. I saw the promo for it and heard Waltrip talk about it but during qualifying I think it was, but I missed it though.

Dale Jr. will be racing the #5 car today in the Grand National race in Las Vegas.

He'll start 31st in the Cup race Sunday.

I don't have high hopes for him.

Well hopefully he'll surprise up today or tomorrow.  :yes:

If he wins, I'll delete my account.

*everyone on HTGTH suddenly becomes a Dale Jr. fan  :hihi:*

One day down...good race, i have great seats, can't wait for tomorrow.

He finished in fifth place Saturday which was nice to see. All the wrecks were wreaking  havoc on the Cup guys though. I was so mad when Jeff Burton lost control of his car right in front of Kevin Harvick and wrecked both of them. Kevin definitely had one of the best cars all day long too. And look what happens, another "F" car wins.  :rant:

Smith calls on NASCAR to move season-ending race (http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news;_ylt=AoPwhYfQ.ZRA7rtUyiqs86Xov7YF?slug=ap-nascarnotebook&prov=ap&type=lgns)

I have to agree with this idea. Homestead just doesn't have any glamour to be the host of the last race of the NASCAR season. This race has never been any good in my opinion. I think they should definitely pick another track to end the season at. Maybe have a different finishing track every year. I also think the last race should be a night race as well.

Any comments or opinions?

This week we're in Atlanta. Dale Jr. qualified 20th for Sunday's race. Mark Martin won the pole.

They should move it to Fontana!

 :rofl:

Hmmmm...it would have to be an ISC track.  Gosh, other than Daytona and Talladega, ISC tracks stink!

Give it back to Atlanta!

Tracks that would seem fitting to host the final race of the year would be Atlanta, Charlotte, Texas, and Las Vegas. The race would just have to be a night race on a Saturday night. I like where the Daytona and Talledega races are scheduled now, so I wouldn't want to change their dates.

I say Las Vegas for two reasons...

1. I live here

2. Las Vegas is a destination for the fans...they come here for a week, they got tons of other things to do besides going to the race. As much as I would love to go to other races, WTF would I do in Talledega besides the race? Daytona'a a great place to visit also.

And speaking of Fontana, it boggles my mind why theres two races there, year after year its all empty seats. Although since they have a chase race this year that may help things in the fall, but I doubt it.

I don't think the drivers would be too fond to end the season on a restrictor plate race. That's why I chose tracks like Atlanta or Charlotte. It doesn't have anything to do that there's nothing else to do in Talladega. If that were the case, Talladega wouldn't have a race, much less two races every year. Fans come to Talladega twice a year every year also you know, even with nothing else to do.

I completely agree with you regarding Fontana. And I don't think having a race in 'The Chase' is going to make a bit of difference in selling tickets.

I don't give a fuck about "destinations" and fans having things to do.  They are probably there for the race for the most part.  Give me a fucking exciting track in the middle of nowhere over gambling, entertainment, and fine dining.

Wait, that was the NASCAR schedule until Bri-Bri went on his retarded power trip.

There is not a better destination than the infield at Talladega, I tell you what.

They should repave Atlanta and let them have the finale again.  I haven't been able to think of another track that can handle it better.

Unless they want to do something wild and expand Darlington and allow them to have the finale.  That would be off the charts!

The problem I see if Talladega was the final race of the season lies among the drivers. I think there would be a lot of discontent among them to end a Championship chase on such a wild, on the edge of your seat, anything can happen type race track. One false move and that could mean the end of a drivers chase for the Championship. Don't get me wrong, I think the fans would absolutely love it! And another thing, as I said previously I would love to see the final race on a Saturday night. Talladega would have to install lights at the track which I think would be a fantastic move. Can you imagine, a Talledega night race! WOW!

 :love:

Darlington would be another cool idea to host the final race of the season. Just think if Bristol had the final race of The Chase.  ;D

I wasn't saying that Talladega should have the last race.  You explained it perfectly.

I was just saying that if you're a real race fan and not some "party-animal", you wouldn't really care where the race was.

Another stupid Busch victory.

I was hoping Jeff would have been able to chase him down, though he's looking mighty good with two second-place finishes already.

We're four races into the season now and still no win for a Chevrolet! Now with an off weekend ahead and than on to Bristol. I was happy to see my drivers Dale Jr. with a decent 11th place finish, Kevin Harvick finishing 4th, and Jeff Burton finishing 14th. It's also nice to see Jeff Gordon with the points lead. He's started off this season really good so far.

Finally a win for Chevrolet in Martinsville yesterday! Congrats to Jimmie Johnson! Great to see Dale Jr., Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, and Mark Martin with good finishes.

Congrats to Kevin Harvick winning the truck race today.  : ok:

We finally got a somewhat entertaining race too. Last week Bristol was boring as shit. Hopefully it keeps up.

They need to tear that place up and turn it into an asphalt track, or go back to a uniform banking in the corners.

Martinsville > Bristol

I have to agree and say there was a lot more action and racing at Martinsville than at the Bristol race.

NASCAR Awards to be moved to Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS -- Las Vegas has booked another major sports event, bumping New York off the track and seizing control of the annual NASCAR Sprint Cup awards banquet.

New York has hosted the year-ending event for the past 27 years, but the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority confirmed a deal was in place Friday.

The move further solidifies the city?s reputation as a race town, this weekend the Las Vegas Motor Speedway hosts the annual NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals event. Driver Kyle Busch, a Durango High School graduate, has a fervent fan following in southern Nevada.

 
Sweet.

Better Las Vegas rather than New York Shitty!  : ok:

Fuck NASCAR.

Dale Jr. will be racing in both the Grand National and Cup races this weekend at Texas.  :)

He won't win on Saturday or Sunday.

He should have just stayed at his daddy's auto shop mopping up the floors. 

He did indeed have a rough day in the Grand National race this afternoon.

What pisses me off is that he doesn't even care about losing all the time.

Motherfucker hit the wall when he was running all by himself.

 :confused:

Plus, he had yet again another pit stop mishap.  :-X

Talladega this weekend baby and the weather will be fantastic!

Dale Jr. will be be in both races this weekend.  : ok:

Are you going?

I want to go!

No, I don't have tickets and I'm not really in the mood to be around that many people right now. The weather is spectacular here this weekend but I'll be watching the race from the comfort of my home.

If you were going than I'd definitely go.  8)

My travels will take me there one day, as Talladega is my favorite track.

You'll definitely have to let me know when you go. Are you working today? I read your bulletin today at myspace and was wondering if you were having to work.

Will you be watching tomorrow or playing baseball?  :)

They ASKED me to work, but I told them to go fuck themselves.  It's my grandma's 87th birthday and I'm not gonna miss that for them.

Baseball AFTER the race.  I never miss Talladega.  Actually, I don't miss any races, I just might fall asleep during some, but I'll never miss them!  :hihi:




And Junior wussed out again today.  He doesn't have that killer instinct.  And again, Newman messed him up, just like he did during the 2002 Winston.

Good for you! Hope your grandmother has a happy birthday.

Dale Jr. tried to pull out and pass Newman right at the end of the final lap but when Newman blocked him, he touched Dale Jr. and caused him to lose all of his momentum. And what do you know, a Rousch car gets up there for a lucky win.  :rant:

I was happy to see Dale Jr. run good all day though.  : ok:

He also touched Ragan, but the driver of the Roush F car still won.

I'm a firm believer of checkers or wreckers.  June Bug could have had himself at least 25 wins and 1 championship if he was more aggressive.

And a better crew chief.

Yeah, I believe your exactly right.

I will tell you this, before they threw the Green/White/Checkered flag, I had a pretty good feeling it would be either Dale Jr. or Ryan Newman winnning. I am also a big Kevin Harvick fan so it would have been cool to see Newman get Harvick a win as owner of the #33 Chevrolet.  :)

But than again, look what happened.  :-X

It was awesome to see Matt Kenseth going end over end.  I never liked him.  Sure, he likes Brett Favre and Metallica, but that's it for him.

How did I forget about that?!!! That was wild to watch. You know it had to be a scary moment for his wife Katie when he crashed. Especially with her being pregnant right now. I've never had a problem with Matt except that he drives an F car for Rousch.

He beat out Junior for ROY and the last ever Winston Cup, that's my problem with him!  :hihi:

Hi, guys!  I know I've been MIA...just haven't been online much at all lately.  I HAD to get on after that wild finish today, though.  I'm just glad that the drivers are o.k.  How many fans were hurt?  How badly? 

I would have liked the outcome of the race a whole lot better if Dale had won.  I just don't know why he and Newman didn't move up to get that momentum that the 99 and 09 had.  They saw them coming for quite a while and seemed to have time to make that decision.  Oh well.  Newman did say that when you've got someone glued to your bumper like that, you don't have complete control because the car behind you is guiding you just as much as yourself as the driver.  Still...Dale had said earlier that he wanted the high line because he felt like that was where he was faster. 

Did y'all watch the post race show on nascar.com?  Dale made some good points about how the media and sanctioning body has celebrated the big one (or something like that) to draw attention to the race and get fans more interested.  He said something to the effect that no one likes racing like that...but you race when the green flag drops...do what you have to do.  Anyway, Dale seems to be calling the media out quite a bit this year. 

So...thoughts?  Do you think they'll get rid of the yellow line rule?  Change the cars some to make sure they don't fly?  Stop going to 'dega?  (ha!)  Two scary wrecks in both series this weekend.  Something will have to be done.  Newman suggested more engineering to see if the roof flap could do a better job.  (make them larger, have more of them, place them differently, etc.)

Anyway...hope y'all have had a good weekend.  I'm out!

Crazy end to the race today...as soon as I saw Carl go up in the air I said please don't go into the crowd.

In other news, moved up 4 spots in fantasy ;D

Definitely a wild finish and a finish the fans really want and love to see from Talladega! Yes, it's on the edge and scary every single lap but that's why Talladega was packed out for the most part Sunday afternoon! Other tracks have been hurt tremendously with poor attendance this year but Talladega reigns supreme once again! I wish Dale Jr. could have got up there for the win but just like Saturday, Dale Jr. had no chance running with and behind Ryan Newman. Glad to see Carl walk away from the wreck.

The next five races I believe will all be night races!  : ok:

That was a cool finish.  Brad Keselowski doesn't take shit from anyone.  He has more balls than his boss, and I don't mean Mr. Hendrick.

Stupid didn't learn from Saturday that tucking up behind Newman will not help you win the race.  He should have tried to drop that fool right from the get-go and done his best to hold everyone off.

That wreck was b-b-b-b-bad to the bone.

It was a single file restart at a restrictor plate track, they had to seperate from the pack before any moves could be made... If they tried to race side by side without putting some ground between them and the rest of the field they would have been passed like they were standing still be a train of lined up cars.

If Edwards and Keselowski didn't run them down, Jr. would have made a move durring the last lap. Newman kept giving Jr. a small window at the bottom of the track that I'm sure he would have looked to squeeze thru, which I'm sure would have led to Newman sliding up the track and causing the last 'big one' of the day.

A lot of talk this week so far about what some of the drivers like Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards in particular who were caught up in the wrecks and what was said afterward. I really hope NASCAR doesn't come in and start changing Talladega. I do agree that the fence could be heightened and reinforced more, but I don't want the track to be modified or have the restrictor plates taken off the cars.

I think what's being over looked by a lot of people is the fact that Edwards caused this wreck. He went down and tried to block Keselowski from taking the position and in turn got wrecked. He wants to blame NASCAR for putting the drivers in 'a box' but no one made him make the dumb move he did. And Jimmie Johnson saying that it sucks to race at Talladega but funny that we never heard those comments after he won a few years back.

From what I've read so far, NASCAR doesn't intend to change the restrictor plate tracks.  I just read this at foxsports.com/nascar.  I'm only copying part of the article. 
------------------------
NASCAR vowed this week to toughen its policing on aggressive driving and blocking, which often leads to the multi-car accidents. Officials issue consistent pre-race warnings to drivers but have been rare to levy in-race penalties.

Both Earnhardt and Johnson are firmly against NASCAR making "judgment calls" during the race. Johnson said he doubts the drivers can be deterred, anyway.

"All of them can talk until they are blue in their face ... but when we get in those cars, we are going to race and try to get the positions," he said. "That's what we do."

Earnhardt argued that the way NASCAR's new car handles in the draft had as much to do with Edwards' accident as did any moves made on the race track.

"Part of me gets sort of a little bit angry because it's like it's almost as if they're putting the responsibility, shoving the responsibility for what happened Sunday, totally on the drivers' shoulders - as if all our crazy blocking and weaving has just ruined the day," he said. "As a driver, I share responsibility, but I don't feel like it's entirely ours for anything that happens. There's a lot of different things that put us in those situations."
------------------------------------------

I know that Dale isn't doing so hot at the track.  What, he's still in 15th place even after finishing 2nd?  I like the fact that he speaks up, though. 

Well, I'm off.  I can't wait until this weekend.  Richmond is one of my favorite races.  :)

Drew, are you doing o.k.?  I promise at some point I'll get back to myspace.  lol  I've just been bogged down with lots of different stuff.  Maybe I'll get back into the online thing when my summer break comes around!  Not long now. 

I really hope NASCAR doesn't change Talladega! Like I said previously, the place was packed out with fans as it always is. Unlike other tracks like California. And when I heard Jimmie Johnson saying NASCAR needs to bring in the bulldozers I could have strangled him right there. Doesn't he understand that's exactly what California is. You wanna kill NASCAR's roots, than go ahead and bulldoze Talladega like a fool. You'll get poor ass attendance just like you do out in California and these other boring tracks that are like interstates.

Hey Sukie, I'm doing okay. Just trying to make some changes right now to make things better for me. Really happy to see you back in the NASCAR thread here. Would love to hear from you when you get a chance but I know you stay pretty busy. Summer's not too much further off for you now. That is so not fair either!!! 

The wreck was bad just like Allison's 22 years ago.  Jrs. intention was to hook up but did so too soon and perhaps didn't pick the best line.  He also relayed that to Newman before the final laps and didn't bail which gains respect in the racing world.  As far as balls?  Who do you think Keselowski got the ride, the equipment and the knowledge of super speedway racing from.  The higher line was quicker period and if either the Jr. or Newman on either day jumped in front they would have been run over.  From what Brad said he knew the 88 was gonna pull out and pass Newman because he was faster but in the end, he saw how fast he and Edwards were coming and just stayed in line.  Jr. has 5 or 6 wins at Talladega?  2 days in the top 2 or 5 is OK for points and money too.  Also remember Newman, Jr and Keselowski all had the same setups being it was an impound race.  I was a Baker/Parsons then a Rudd/Earnhardt Sr fan.  I do think it takes balls to put all your money into other race teams and tracks to build for life after racing for himself and his family.  You may see a 2 car cup team under JRM or a expansion of Stewart Hass in the next couple of years.  It's a shame that 1 guy leaving a team ended DEI because his vision was the same as his fathers.  Where is that 8 car?  It's a shame for the whole DEI camp, especially Almirola.  I hope that EGR gets some sponsorship to continue.  Why did Truex Jr. only sign for 1 year?  After winning 2 Busch/Nationwide cups under Chance 2 (Jr's Team out of his shop) and btw Jr won 2 for his father in Busch/Nationwide as well.  It's a shame really that all the band wagon fans tend to jump ship.  Any driver who falls from winning to running consistent or having a bad go, is just a loser I guess.  Gordon and Stewart said the same over the last 2 years.

Dude, this "window" you are talking about is totally bogus.  Newman is one of the slimiest racers on the track.  He was running a bit off the yellow line to have more room to block on the outside.  And Junior knows he can't go below the yellow line.  I say he should have dropped Newman like a hot potato, it's better to be in charge of your own destiny than to rely on several other factors.


Jimmie Johnson is an idiot.  Has he forgotten all the wrecks he caused at Talladega?  And Edwards has now been the root cause of a wreck for 2 out of the past 2 races at 'Dega.



JMack, respect doesn't mean anything in racing if you're not winning.  If Kyle Busch is in my mirror, I'm shitting in my pants.  If Junior is behind me on the last lap, I just laugh all the way to victory lane.  He doesn't have that killer instinct.  And yes, he has no balls.  Keselowski didn't really show anything to impress me as far as his superspeedway skills are concerned, he was a moving chicane for most of the race.  His boss almost wrecked him on the back straightaway.  As did many others, including Jeff Burton, who happens to be one of the cleanest racers.

Yeah, he has 5 wins at Talladega.  ZERO since 2004.  How's THIS for perspective?  Even Michael Waltrip won races when he was at DEI.  DEI had the best plate package from 2001-2004.  His record at plate tracks, which WERE considered to be he his strongest suit, now stands at 0 for 18 after winning the 2004 fall race at Talladega.

Junior is getting the equipment from Hendrick, it's not like he's building his own stuff.

He's still my favorite driver of course, but I'm gonna call him out for his bad moves.  I haven't "jumped ship", if I had, I wouldn't be so passionate about him and his career. 

Junior has won 17 races. That averages to roughly 1.7 wins per year.  That really is a mark of a good driver, yep.

Well I really wasn't pointing to you as jumping ship as much as I was using the term in a more general way.  I see it here and read it everywhere.  These days 17 wins is still a good driver.  Especially with all the car changes and career and life decisions that has occurred over the last few years.  I do think he is struggling with getting the changes to the COT that he wants, via the communications to the pits. Compared to the old car he hasn't seemed to be able to really feel comfortable with changes in part because of the car being fickle.  He does not like a loose race car!  Even though he says he OK with the DEI and Ganassi merger, I think it does bother him because it was not his fathers vision and he sees his father dream kind of being slowly erased.  If Teresa did give Jr. the 51% DEI would still be a huge force in Nascar and not sitting because of lack of sponsorship and top equipment.  He was putting his own money and shop tools from JRM into DEI because he saw the company going the wrong way and He was right.  Sad really.

   As far as Kyle Busch is concerned, he is a great talent but he's reckless.  During the race, they commented that Busch was blocking 3 different lines at one time and driving like a madman.  His brother was the same when he started maybe less of a punk.  He did grow up I guess because he was getting no help on track because he was not respected earlier in his career.  Tony Stewart still dislikes him.  Harvick does not like Kyle.  Harvick has balls and will not take shit from anyone.

   I can see where you may say Jr. lacks the aggressive type of driving style.  I think it may be because of all the ties to many race teams.  He tries to play it too safe?? Tries to play the nice guy too much.  Burton races clean but hard and as the sport becomes more competitive that may hurt him.  JR. does have a part in EGR still, JRM, Hendrick among other teams.  Jr going to Hendrick opened doors for Hendrick to expand his Nationwide deal and it also doesn't hurt when your friends are leasing your Boss/Partner engines, and other parts.  They could have went to the Earnhardt/Childress power plant.  It's a good package too.  IDK I still think he'll turn it around a get some wins and remain more competitive.

   Waltrip has been around a long time.  He has won on other tracks in the Nationwide series but his Cup wins have come at Daytona x 2 and Dega under the DEI banner.  He has driven for many bad teams in the past and may have done better with better equipment earlier in his career.  Steve Park also won under DEI and not at a plate track.  Waltrip, has his own deal now with parts of the old DEI crew and seems to be doing better this year overall.  There are so many guys who had never won but had full careers driving cup cars.

   I hope they change the new car as far as bump stops, shock packages and gears.  If the cars are going to be like the IROC series then the sport will suffer.  If they continue to use plates or deflectors to slow cars down, we will continue to see horrible wrecks.  Nothing has changed in 22 years if cars are flying into the fences.  Allison's was way worse but cars are still going airborne and it does have something to do with poor decisions by drivers and "The Perfect Storm" scenarios.

I just think that driving the race car should be his #1 priority.  Before he was a car owner, he was at least winning consistently.  Now he has too much to think about, and that distracts him from his job.

Just look at his stats from before he was a car owner, to after he was a car owner.

Other drivers can handle a loose race car just fine.  But he can't even communicate his adjustments properly to his crew, he never could do that just right.  It doesn't help that his cousin is a complete idiot.  7 out of his 17 wins came at plate tracks.  Back in the DEI days of plate dominance, of course.

I don't like Kyle, but he is the best driver in the series today.  He could drive a shopping cart with a wobbly wheel to victory.

They should just do away with the COT altogether.  The original intention was to have a car that relied less on engineering and aero....that worked out just fine, didn't it, NASCAR?

I don't think that the majority of Dale's fans are jumping ship.  We just get frustrated when he doesn't do well.  Especially when it's stuff like mistakes on pit road (missing his box!) that makes you wonder where his mind is at.  I'm actually happy to read about other Dale fans calling him out for stuff.  I'm a Dale fan, but don't enjoy being grouped into that rabid "Junior can do no wrong" fanbase.  That's not me and never will be.  I don't think that you have to be blindly devoted to be a fan.

About Dale not focusing 100% on racing.  Who knows?  I know he has his fingers in lots of pies.  BUT...he has people managing that stuff for him.  It's not like he tends bar or sells real estate himself.  Again, though...the mistakes on pit road make it seem like something is going on to impair his focus.  This is the first year I've ever read about him working out/running, etc.  So that's a good thing.  Still, 15th in points and we still have his dreaded summer slump to worry about. 

EVERYONE has caused wrecks on the plate tracks!   :P 

Ohh.....Dale has won 18 races.  Not 17.  A lot more than many will ever win, but still...it's the "what has he done lately" thing that causes the problem. 

I'm sure that there was a lot more that I wanted to respond to in the previous posts...but oh well.  I can't remember any of it now.  ha

Have a great night, everyone!

Hey your right, I forgot about the Michigan win last year so it is 18.  He also has 3 @ Richmond which is good time for him to make a nice jump in points with a good finish this week.  As far as outside interests and endeavors, he does a lot of stuff himself or through his sister.  His business stuff, is kept close in a tight circle of people like his father did.  He has an apartment in NYC because of business besides he likes NYC.  Jeff Gordon does as well.  Anyway I think he would improve or feel more comfortable with Tony Sr. sitting on the cart or pulling Steve Hmiel away.  He had a real feel for what Jr. needed or wanted as a spotter or when he jumped in as interim crew/car chief.  Hmiel is a great guy to have in your group because he can do it all. 

   As far as pit mistakes, everyone has seemed to have made mistakes this year on pit road.  It depends on when it happened and how you recover.  The 88 team, has made a few crew changes in the last couple of weeks.  I just don't like when I hear so many people complain or live or die by how Jr. runs.  I've heard people have turned the TV off if Jr. gets in a wreck or loses a lap.  They are not race fans period.  I was listening to some radio last night and they brought up the fact that Jr. has seemed to be trying to run more consistently then going for the win.  You must run consistent to make the chase and if the wins come then that's a bonus and a confidence booster.  There seems to be a lot more points racing by many drivers this year, maybe because of sponsorship and wanting to keep there cars in one piece so they can race the next week.  Big Teams too! RCR was singled out for this beside many smaller and independents.

   In one of my posts, I had said that Jr. with Hendrick as a boss and a partner is a reason for Jr. to try to be Mr. nice guy to everyone for business reasons.  (He should separate it and run a bit more aggressive or practice more)  I said that more teams run Hendrick motors among other things and they are friends of Jr.  It's is a fact.  They could go to the RCR/Earnhardt motor and do well too, but do not.  So Jr.s Driver Keselowski wins Dega with the same setup as JR. (That actual car was a backup Dega #5 Car that was repainted and leased to Finch), Jr. placed 2nd. and Newman 3rd. with a Hendrick power plants.  They are all the same especially because it was an impound race.  Now look at the Nationwide side, how many JRM/Hendrick motors were in the top 15.  Including Regan Smith who has run well with the part time Furniture Row car who uses JRM motors and other parts.  I equipment.  I think it was 5 0r 6 cars. 

   Whatever hopefully the racing will continue to be safe and good for the rest of the year.  I hope Jr. continues to improve and gets back to victory lane, but either way just good racing is what we need.  Good luck to everyone's favorite team and driver.

No one leases engines from RCR.  Their stuff has been subpar since the mid-90's.  They've had a few good years sprinkled in, but they haven't been consistently dominant.

The Haas team has been getting engines from Hendrick for as long as I can remember.

Junior has made the most amount of pit mistakes this year.  He never missed his pit box in previous years.  I know it's hard to navigate down pit road with all the different signs, but come on. 

Jeff Gordon races for Hendrick, but he's not Mr. Nice Guy.  He moves people out of the way for wins.  Remember the Bristol race in 2002 and Chicago in 2006?  Or the time he got physical with Kenseth at Bristol with led to Gordon wrecking him for the win at Chicago later that year?

I believe no one here that's a Dale Jr. fan could be considered as a Junior fan who thinks he can do no wrong. Yes, he's my favorite driver but I have no problem whatsoever in criticizing him. I'm beginning to feel more and more that most of the Dale Jr. talk we've heard over the years has been more hype than substance. He's got the best equipment in the business now and there's absolutely no excuses why is shouldn't be winning races on a consistent basis. Garry always brings up Dale's crew chief Tony Eury, Jr. and that could very well be a big part of the problem but Dale makes a lot of inexcusable mistakes like the pit-road mishaps he's been having all year long. You have to begin to wonder, where is this guys mind at during the races.

As far as Dale Jr. being too nice of a racer as to why he's not winning just doesn't bond to well for me. If he's in a position to win I think he'll do what he has to do and knows what he can do and get away with. I definitely don't want to see him out there wrecking guys or pushing them out of his way just to gain a position or win a race. That's what people like Kyle Busch does and yes, he's a consistent winner but that's not the type of driver I wish Dale Jr. to be. I also don't think Dale has lost any races and finished second because he wouldn't put the nose of his car in the quarter-panel of another car and move him out of the way.

I'm excited about both Friday and Saturday nights races this weekend at Richmond. I'm don't believe Dale Jr. is racing in the grand National race but hopefully he will. I also hope that Kevin Harvick will race Friday night as well.




Sukie!!! OMG.......Hahahahahaha.  :rofl:  :rofl:  :rofl: I took that in about the most perverted way a guy could.  ;D

I had no problem with his old man wrecking people to win.

Your Nice Guy % doesn't show up in the win column.

Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth have both had a lot of success being a nice guy on the track.

Carl Edwards took out Junior at Atlanta in 2004, ending his championship run.

He attempted the Kamikaze at Kansas last year.  Hell, he even tried to get violent with nice guy Kenseth at Martinsville a few years back!

Okay then, you can take all of the crashes Junior has caused and group them together as well. He's not always been the nice guy on the track.  ;)

Brian Vickers at Daytona.
Kyle Busch vs Junior at Richmond: THE SEQUEL
Casey Mears at Phoenix
Carl Edwards Busch Race at Michigan

I know there are plenty more!  ;D

I know he isn't a saint, and I wish he was even badder than that.

Drew, get your mind out of the gutter.   :hihi:

I'm going to be watching the rest of the season to see if Dale and his crew are able to maintain/improve the car during the race.  That's been the biggest problem over the last few years.  They just don't seem to be able to keep up with the track as it changes.  I know that Dale doesn't want to change crew chiefs...but to me it's interesting that most of Dale's wins were with Pops.  Commentators always make it sound like he's had lots of wins with Tony, Jr. but that was only with him as car chief or whatever.  I can't remember now...but until last year's win, hadn't Dale only won 1 race with Tony, Jr. as his crew chief?  So...unless I'm remembering wrong, they've actually only won 2 races together.  At least Dale has said that he'll do whatever Hendrick tells him to do in regards to the crew chief situation. 

I just looked at the entry list for the Nationwide race.  Dale's not driving the 5 this week; Mark Martin is.  I'm glad because I already have plans for Friday night and wasn't going to be home to watch the race.  But...my Saturday night is free for NASCAR.  Who can miss watching Richmond?

Rusty Wallace Inc. Leases ECR Engines and were real fast but had overheating problems....A few teams do.

Yeah, but they're not a Cup team.

What irritates me is that at least last year, they would be LEADING until they would fall off the pace.  This year, they can't even stay on the lead lap.

Wait a minute! You're the one who said it, not me!  ;D


Bummer that Dale Jr. isn't racing in the Grand National race tonight. Kevin Harvick qualified 8th so a good starting position for him but Jeff Burton qualified a measly 34th unfortunately. Hopefully these two guys will have a great night and drive up front.

Will be a good night of racing tonight and Saturday night.

Half way and so far so good....

Getting close to race time. I hope it will be a good race tonight and all my drivers have great finishes!

Go Dale Jr.!!!!  : ok:

Oops.  Dale just wrecked Burton.  I'm listening to his radio chatter and Dale feels really bad about it.  He just said that he really didn't mean to do it and he was sorry, but he knew that he (Burton) probably wouldn't believe him.  UGH...Dale had almost cracked the top 10 and now he's back around 20th again.

I usually enjoy Richmond so much.  Tonight I'm struggling to watch it, though.  I think it's more of the coverage, though.  There's been a lot going on farther back in the field, and they just don't show it.  I know that the leaders are important, but there are other people racing.  Finally, they are showing some of the others. 

lol...I don't like Kyle, but he is fun to watch. 

Dale seemed promising until he and Burton got together. I think these mishaps just have a huge effect on Dale. Something happens and he's screwed mentally for the rest of the race. While Jeff Burton overcomes what happened and finishes third in the race.

I was hoping for a caution with about ten laps to go so Stewart and Burton could catch Kyle on their fresher tires. But unfortunately the caution never waived and we went green flag the rest of the way. Still happy to see Tony Stewart and Jeff Burton with top 5 finishes.

Sukie, you can't say Kyle is fun to watch. That's blasphemy!  :hihi:

The Lady in Black will have her way with Junior, BOOK IT.

Qualifying for the Grand National race this evening has been canceled and Cup qualifying has been pushed back about an hour or so. Hopefully, the rain will move on thru and the Cup guys will get to qualify and there will be no delays in tonight's racing.  :)

Good win for Mark Martin last night as the Chevrolet's took the first 7 finishing spots in the race.  Hendrick Motorsports was on top of their game for Darlington except for one of the drivers. Dale Jr. had another disappointing 27th place finish as his pit stop problems continue.

I wasn't home so I recorded the race.  But, when I checked the  finishing order online...well, let's just say that the race got deleted unwatched by me.  This is the 2nd race I've missed watching so far this season.  Last year, I didn't miss ANY.  Even if I didn't give my whole attention to the race, I at least made the effort.  I'm just having a hard time sustaining my NASCAR interest. 

Was it a good race with lots of action?  Or was it another so-so race?  How many people ended up with the Darlington stripe or worse?

Yawn.

Is that a "yawn" because my post was boring or because the race was boring?   :-\

The race of course! 

Bring back the bullet cars!

I'm sure it was a "yawn" at the race, not your post Sukie.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if Dale Jr. decided tomorrow to retire and never race again. He might still run his racing team but it wouldn't come as a shock if he just stopped racing all together. I get the feeling that he doesn't even enjoy racing and I think it has a lot to do with him not having his father around anymore. Racing was everything in life to he and Dale Sr. and since his father's passing, it just seems like Dale Jr.'s passion and interest in the sport has just fallen by the wayside.

Any opinions?

hmmm... I'd say that Dale is probably like everyone else.  If you are successful, you have more fun.  If he's not enjoying his "job" right now, it's because he's sucking so badly.  If he could actually win a couple, his love of racing would come back. (if in fact he isn't enjoying the job)  Just my opinion. 

You know, when I first started watching NASCAR, I hadn't picked a favorite driver and I enjoyed watching the races without having a favorite.  Now...it just sucks to be a Dale fan.  I don't think that Dale's poor showing this season is the only reason I'm having trouble getting into the racing this year, though.  CoT changed the racing so much.  Not that there weren't some boring races before, too.  But, still.  Short track races aren't even all that exciting anymore.  All of this parity...everyone (NASCAR head honchos) thought it would be such a good thing.  But, is it really?

No.

I just wish Dale would retire so I could get out of this thing.

I too, enjoyed the racing.  I figured I would still watch after Dale retired after a *successful* career.  But NASCAR has turned into everything people who didn't like NASCAR said it was. 

Cars parading around single file until the guy waves the checkered flag.

Congratulations, we have Formula 1 with fenders.

Thing is, there's no more excuses why he shouldn't be wining races anymore. It's more and more looking like a driver problem more rather than equipment problem. Although, it could very well be a shared driver/crew chief problem.


I think the new car has even many things out compared to the old car setup and I don't see NASCAR changing this anytime soon in the future. Still, my biggest complaint over the last several years is this nonsense that NASCAR has to spread it's reach to new fans. Tracks such as California, Kansas City, Chicago, Pocono, New Hampshire, Dover, Michigan, and Homestead all produce very boring races in my opinion. NASCAR needs to dump these tracks. California has proven to be a waste of time. It's simply outrageous that tracks such as California, Pocono, Michigan, and New Hampshire get two races every year. They need to stick to their roots and no we don't need another race in New York and we don't need another oval in the Northwest. This may not be a very popular idea but I would love to dump a few of these tracks if not all of them and pick up a third road course somewhere.

Big day of racing today starting off with the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco this morning, followed by the Indy 500 at noon, and than the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 tonight.

Where on earth is Sukie?  ;D

The racing gods are not pleased with NASCAR.

It's supposed to rain there tomorrow too. It'll be interesting to see if they get the full 600 in. I'm glad I have tomorrow off.

As much as I enjoy racing under the lights, I'm glad they have an early start for today's race and hopefully they will get to run the full 600 and beat the rain.

Red Flag for rain. Lap 74

Somehow I have a feeling that they're gonna be racing as if it's a 200 lap race. :(

Or a 228 lap race? It's not looking good...

DW on TV is so FOR having this race cancelled right now, it's so obvious, haha.

I wouldn't mind it -- my fantasy team would end up doing pretty well this week. ;D

Unfortunately, my friends and I had tickets to the race. I'm not really a big Nascar fan, but I was still looking forward to seeing a race in person. But I didn't even get to see one goddamn lap. We drove an hour and a half to then sit in traffic for another couple hours, only to sit and be rained on for a three more hours and watch yellow trucks try to dry the track. Fun stuff. And because the weather forecast was calling for more of the same Monday, we all just decided to stay home instead of going through that hell again. I'm glad we did.

Gilee7,

Sorry that you NASCAR experience was rained out. I know I would have been very bummed and upset with the weather. I do hope you get another chance to go if this past weekend didn't burn you too bad. I would've been extremely disappointed as well.

You could tell the t.v. commentators were frustrated with the weather after Sunday and have it happen all over again on Monday. They did their best to work thru it but what can you really do? What could have been a really good race ended up very disappointing. And David Reutimann winning the race was the cherry on top! LOL. I guess it was better than Kyle Busch winning though.  :hihi:

Oh yeah, more and more talk coming from Hendrick about what to do with Tony Eury, Jr. I think a change is definitely coming. You can't keep running in the back of the pack and finishing that bad every week if your at Hendrick. The sooner they make a change the better I think/hope things will be. We know one thing, how they have things now, is not working.

Gilee, we should both join Drew at Talladega in the fall.  That's the only race worth watching in person and on TV nowadays, IMO.

I'm telling you all, the racing gods are not happy with NASCAR.

Congrats to David Reutimann, Michael Waltrip, and Big Bad Butt for winning.

I would have canned Tony Eury Jr. last year, when they kept $%#&ing up on their adjustments.  They let Darian Grubb get away, who is one of the top crew chiefs in the sport.

Tony Eury Jr. out as crew chief for slumping Earnhardt

By JENNA FRYER, AP Auto Racing Writer 32 minutes ago


CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)?Dale Earnhardt Jr. stayed loyal to his cousin and crew chief through last year?s frustrating finish and this year?s slumping start.

Amid wrong setups, misguided race strategies and pit-road problems, nothing seemed to tear the longtime duo apart.

Until team owner Rick Hendrick had seen enough.

Hendrick removed Tony Eury Jr. from his position as Earnhardt?s crew chief Thursday, ending months of speculation concerning the struggles of NASCAR?s most popular driver.

?It seemed the harder we pushed, the more it unraveled,? Hendrick told The Associated Press. ?We need a new reason to get up and go to the track each morning, and the chemistry had broken down between them to the point where we just needed a fresh start.?

The pair left Dale Earnhardt Inc. last season to drive for Hendrick Motorsports. But despite driving for NASCAR?s top team they have one win in 48 races with Hendrick and are 19th in points, well behind teammates Jeff Gordon (first), Jimmie Johnson (fourth) and Mark Martin (12th). Earnhardt hit rock bottom with Monday?s 40th-place finish at Lowe?s Motor Speedway.

?Tony Jr. is a good crew chief,? Earnhardt said during an appearance at Motor City Casino in Detroit. ?We?ve had success, but this year, we aren?t even mediocre. And the last couple weeks, we?ve arguably been one of the worst teams on the track. He?s really, really talented, and I feel a lot of disappointment and failure for not being able to take advantage of that. Maybe the truth is that we just aren?t meant to do it together. That?s tough to admit, and even tougher to believe.?

Team manager Brian Whitesell will be the crew chief this weekend. Lance McGrew will take over in two weeks on an interim basis as Hendrick decides on a long-term plan for NASCAR?s most popular driver.

?I like Lance. He?s going to tell me like it is, and that?s what I want,? Earnhardt said. ?I?ve worked with him in the past, and I also have a whole lot of trust in Brian. He?s going to make sure I?ve got what I need every week. I?m not worried at all about that. And who knows? This combination could be amazing.?

Hendrick said the team was committed to doing everything possible to get the team where it needs to be.

?It?s hard to put your fingers on what the problem is or was,? he said. ?We just feel like with all the frustration we need a fresh start.

?We?ve all given it the best shot we could and I think the guys that are going to be lined up now on this team. ? We?re just rolling up our sleeves and we?re going to refuse to lose, refuse to quit until we get it fixed.?

Earnhardt and Eury spent Tuesday and Wednesday testing on the road course at Virginia International Raceway. Hendrick told them he was splitting them up when they returned Wednesday evening. He said they needed time to adjust to the split.

?I don?t know that they were 100 percent, but by this morning, both of them said they were good,? Hendrick said. ?I don?t think they felt good when I told them, but I think they?ll feel better as the days go on.?

Earnhardt said he just doesn?t know what went wrong.

?I take at least half the responsibility on this, and when we?ve met, I told (Hendrick) I wanted to hear what I was doing wrong,? Earnhardt said. ?We addressed my weaknesses and Tony Jr.?s weaknesses, and tried to figure out how to fix them.?

Eury will stay with Hendrick Motorsports in a research and development role. Whatever route Hendrick takes with Earnhardt, he?s giving Earnhardt the full-time use of Whitesell and Rex Stump, the lead chassis engineer.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. composes himself while talking with reporters about changes to his NASCAR team, in Detroit on Thursday, May 28, 2009. Tony Eury Jr. was removed as crew chief of Earnhardt's No. 88 team Thursday. The two are cousins and have worked together during Earnhardt's entire career.

Earnhardt and Eury are grandsons of Robert Gee, one of Hendrick?s first employees. The two went through a rough patch that led to bickering at the end of the 2004 season when they raced for the championship at Dale Earnhardt Inc.

Earnhardt?s stepmother, Teresa, separated them at the start of 2005, a move that led Earnhardt to finish a career-worst 19th in the standings. They were back together before the end of the season, but won just one race together in 2006 as Earnhardt?s relationship with his stepmother rapidly deteriorated.

The next year, Earnhardt embarked on one of the most high-profile free agencies in NASCAR history. He settled on Hendrick Motorsports, and Eury went with him.

Although they opened their first season at Hendrick by winning the exhibition Budweiser Shootout and a Daytona 500 qualifying race, Earnhardt didn?t win a points race until the 15th event of the year. That was at Michigan, his only victory all season.

Still, consistency put him at the top of the title contenders when the Chase for the championship began. But Eury and Earnhardt moved away from what got them into the Chase and finished last in the 12-driver field.

This year, Earnhardt opened with two pit-road mistakes in the Daytona 500 that put him in position to later trigger a nine-car accident. The pit-road errors have plagued him most of the season, but the poor showings have spilled onto the track as well.

Earnhardt has just three top-10 finishes this season and six finishes of 27th or worse. He?s close to falling too far behind to rally for a spot in the Chase. That?s unacceptable for a driver who went to Hendrick to win the Cup title that has eluded him his entire career. His father, the late Dale Earnhardt, was a seven-time Cup champion before his death in an accident on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

Despite their shortcomings?two wins in the past 120 races?Earnhardt remained fiercely loyal to Eury and was pained when his fans blamed the crew chief for their failures.

?Every time I read in the paper that people are on his case I feel like I?m sending my brother to jail for a crime I committed,? Earnhardt said in one of his early season defenses of Eury.

Hendrick never considering a split until Monday?s disappointment. Now he wants to ?spark some magic.?

?Right now, we?ve got one boat that?s got a hole in it and we?ve got to fix it,? he said.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news;_ylt=AsH35WE13KBP6pzVPxF8ZoLov7YF?slug=ap-nascar-earnhardt-euryfired&prov=ap&type=lgns

About time.

Junior still sucks.

It is about time.

Did anyone hear Kyle Busch's comments today? As much has Kyle gets on my nerves, he does have a very good point.

?If Junior doesn?t run well, [McGrew is] going to be the problem,? said Kyle Busch, who was taking a jab at Earnhardt Jr., while at the same time speaking the truth. ?You know, it?s never Junior; it?s always the crew chief.?

Junior?s legacy hinges on what he does next
http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news;_ylt=As3MqdhkB.w.ko_mzaISz2zov7YF?slug=jh-junior052909&prov=yhoo&type=lgns (http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news;_ylt=As3MqdhkB.w.ko_mzaISz2zov7YF?slug=jh-junior052909&prov=yhoo&type=lgns)

Jr. never blamed Tony Jr. at all. Ever. 


"Most of the people have always been on Tony Jr.'s case and never really pointed the finger at me throughout the season. Eventually, the only person that will have to answer to my success is me," Earnhardt said.

"Whether that's today and from here on forward, I don't know. But eventually, I'm going to have to be the one that's going to have to answer to the fact of, how much did I live up to my father's name and how much did I live up to his wins and everything he accomplished, how much did I live up to everyone else's expectations and all my fans' and the media's expectations. Obviously, when you put yourself at Hendrick Motorsports, you're in the best equipment and you should win races. If you don't, it sort of makes for a hard argument that you had any business being there in the first place. We've got to work hard over the next six months to try and give ourselves that argument and move forward. And I think we can do that."

I don't think Kyle was saying Dale Jr. always put the blame on Tony Eury Jr. or someone else. I took Kyle's comment as saying, this is more of a Dale Jr. problem than anything else. The equipment has always been but good but Dale Jr. just doesn't have the talent as much as everyone is lead to believe.


When I heard this clip last night, that feeling of the possibility that Dale Jr. could just walk away from the sport was again in full stride. Just listen to his voice and watch his emotions. He seems so distant and unhappy being in this sport. I know he just lost his cousin as crew chief but I think there's a lot more to his unhappiness.

Calling Sukie!  :yes:

Your right, every interview he gives he seems so unhappy.


Decent race today, it was good to see some actual racing at the end there.

I was really hoping Tony Stewart would get his first win as a team owner today but Jimmie's car was just better and faster.

Dale Jr. finished 12th and not a bad way to start off with a new crew chief. It was also good to see Dale Jr. get a win as car owner in the Grand National race Saturday.  :)

The encouraging thing was listening to him and Mac give each other feedback and compliments.

I hope they build on this.  I think I even saw Junior smile after the race.

I did hear some of the radio talk between them during the race and it was very encouraging to hear the feedback and compliments. If you've ever listened to Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus communicate about the car, you'd understand why they win so much and why the #48 Chevrolet is always running up front. Jimmie and Chad have great communication and Jimmie gives him direct answers about the car and how it's driving so when he does come to pit road, the right adjustments can be made.

Good win for Jimmie Johnson yesterday!  : ok:

Forgot to change my picks this week   :rant:

That's a bummer man, I've been there many times.

These things just sneak up on you!

That last lap was pretty intense yesterday at Michigan.  :o

I was so bummed when Jimmie Johnson ran out of fuel and Greg Biffle took the lead. But when Biffle ran out of fuel on the backstretch and Mark Martin took the win, I was happy.  ;D

The old man is showing these kids how it's done!

If he had been in a Chevy during the 90's, he could have become a champion.  He's just tearing up the series in a Chevy this year.  Tied with Cryle for the most wins this year, right?

You right about if Mark would have been in a Chevrolet back in the early 90's, he would have been a champrion.

Yes, both Mark and Kyle have three wins this year so far.

What are the best and worst tracks on the Sprint Cup circuit?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/blog/from_the_marbles/post/What-are-the-best-and-worst-tracks-on-the-Sprint;_ylt=At5.II_nGuLeuQI9I3HvyGnov7YF?urn=nascar,172464

No surprise here!  ;D

It took me awhile, but I finally got the points lead.  Watch me choke it away.  :rofl:

I hate these soggy finishes.  We have had too many this year.  And I think the racing was pretty good at Loudon this time around.

On to Daytona, as TNT goes full throttle.  :)

I'm looking forward to this weekend's racing at Daytona. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that the weather will pretty thru the weekend.  :)

Fuck yeah.

 8)

Yes sir! You got that right Garry! A great finish with Tony Stewart winning the race!  : ok:

Unlike the Nationwide race where Busch couldn't get to Stewart, Stewart got him!  Tony Stewart didn't do anything wrong.

When I saw Cryle turn his wheel to the right, I knew he was going to be in big trouble!  :hihi:  Was I wrong to yell out, "YES!" many times after that?

That boy took some nasty hits.  If he wasn't so stupid, all those cars wouldn't have been torn up.

Dale sucks.

Cryle has such poor sportsmanship as well. When he wins, he's on top of the world and all is right and when he loses, he has a 'everyone can go to hell' attitude. I know he's a competitor but the guy is a total prick. He screwed up and made a big mistake that crashed a lot of cars. Tony Stewart did everything right and I'm happy that he stuck his ground and didn't let Cryle push him around.

I was happy to see the officials have their way with Cryle!  Not only did they silence him, but it's a good precaution.  I don't want him to die like Liam Neeson's wife.  And his first hit was not against the SAFER barrier. 

Jimmie Johnson might be the most successful driver, but Tony is the bossman.  He has really filled Dale Sr's shoes nicely.

We need a Tour de France thread.

Yes, Tony Stewart has stepped in a filled Dale Earnhardt's shoes pretty well. Cryle just acts like a baby when he doesn't finish where he thinks he should finish and wants to storm off and go pout about it. I just despise his two different attitudes to win he wins and doesn't win.

The first two days of Le Tour de France has been fantastic! I think it's going to be another great race this year indeed!  : ok:

My fantasy picks have just sucked ass lately.

Three of my four drivers were involved in accidents.

On to Chicago.  It will be boring, but so was Daytona until the last 4 laps.

Martin Truex Jr. will make move to Michael Waltrip Racing for 2010 season

Waltrip to drive part-time schedule, including Daytona 500

http://www.nascar.com/2009/news/headlines/cup/07/07/mwaltrip.mtruexjr.move.to.mwr/index.html

It's a shame what has become of DEI Inc.  :(

Not even a shell of its former self.

No it isn't.  :no:

I would not be surprised if DEI/CGR shut it's doors the way this economy is struggling. The only name they have with any recognition now is Montoya and with him, they're pretty much like the average IRL team and that's not something positive. Unless they can land a driver who can attract some really good sponsors, it's going to be even harder now to carry on as a team and company.

Yeah, Truex wasn't pulling in big time many either.  They had a different paint job each week.

This is what happens when non-racing people run racing businesses.  Mrs. Earnhardt, Max Seigel, I'm looking at you guys.

Well said. The sponsorship troubles has been with the team most of the season. Truex Jr. did what was best for him. I think he knows what is going to eventually happen at EGR. Teresa Earnhardt was the marketing genius behind the late Dale Earnhardt but I just don't think she has what it takes to run a successful Cup team.

I betcha Junior wouldn't even buy the operation now.  Even at a bargain basement price.  Damaged goods are no good.

Dale Jr. has bigger problems right now like winning races or at least finishing races. These races where he finishes 15th or worse every race just isn't going to cut it. The last thing he would even need to think about would be running his own team.

Which means his focus hasn't been there for a few years, as he wrangled behind the scenes at DEI to buy the team.

I wonder if he will ever win another race again.  That Michigan win was cheap in my book.

If Dale Jr. would have gain majority control of DEI, I don't think it would have made any difference to how many races he'd be winning right now. I still think he'd be having lousy performances day in and day out and still have all the stress of what it takes to run a Cup team organization.

Then it is settled.

He doesn't know how to drive.

No, I think he can drive he's just distracted by something else. Not sure what is is though. And his capabilities and talent were way over hyped.

Did anyone see this article on Yahoo yesterday?

Earnhardt: I'd like to race in Indy 500
http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news;_ylt=Aqi1eVj0aAEdMhK4y.6giDXov7YF?slug=ap-nascar-brickyard-earnhardt&prov=ap&type=lgns

When I first read this headline yesterday, I instantly flash backed to the early 1990's when there was a lot of talk about Dale Earnhardt, Sr. racing in Indy car.

Now why does he even want to do that?  He would kill himself driving one of those bullets.

I'd like to see him WIN a Nationwide race before he tries anything else.  Yes, a Nationwide race.

Fuck that guy man, it's so hard to be a fan of someone who just doesn't care.

I think it would be cool to see him race the Indy 500 one day. But like he said, it would have to be where the Indy 500 and Cup race are not on the same day.

You bring up a good point Garry in regards to him winning a Grand National race. As much as my idea would start off a fire storm, I think it would be a great idea for him to start running more Grand National races every year. I know the cars are different so he couldn't transfer a lot of what he learns over to the Cup car but I think he could do him a lot of good. I also think he shouldn't race the road courses either. He never runs good at Sonoma or Watkins Glen and it would be just a smart move on Hendrick's part to find a substitute driver for those races. And if he's running more Grand National races, he can run the Canada road course and try to get better.

Whatcha think about that?  ;D

I like everything you said except the one about him being taken out of road course races.  Remember, he was running 6th at Sonoma at the end when he got knocked out.  And he is always a threat to win at Watkins Glen, believe it or not.

He could have really honed his craft if he ran more Grand National races in the earlier part of this decade.  But Budweiser wouldn't allow him to run in that series.

I wasn't aware that Budweiser wouldn't allow Dale Jr. to run as many Grand National races he wanted to race. Were they afraid he could be injured in a wreck or was it about something else? He always races both Cup and Grand National races at Talladega and Daytona. I would think if Budweiser was afraid of any tracks, Talladega and Daytona would be at the top of their list not race in lol. They are a few other tracks like Charlotte, Atlanta, and maybe Bristol that he races double duty often as well.

Actually, their reason was that Junior racing in the Grand National series would hurt the Budweiser brand and image.

Also another reason why he had so little special paint schemes from 1999-2007

Hurt the brand? Give me a break. I can understand their reason to limit paint schemes in the Cup car though, but to not let him race in the Grand National races because it would hurt their brand is very petty.

All the different sponsorships and the like.  Du Pont doesn't allow Jeff to race in the Grand National series either.  For the exact same reason.  They only wanted people to associate Junior with Budweiser, not Oreo's or Warner Bros.  (Some of the sponsors for the limited races he ran.)

Dale Sr. was lucky to have Goodwrench backing him in the Grand National Series.  He raced in that series until 1994, if I have my facts correct.

Rain!

We only need one Pocono race, and it needs to be shortened to 400 miles.

LOL..........one race? Are you kidding me Garry?  :rofl: They should leave Pocono off the schedule all together. Another thing I've never understood is that only 5-6 weeks separate the two races. NASCAR obviously wants to makes fans suffer through both races in a relatively short period of time.  ;D

I knew from the time NASCAR Today came on this morning that there would be no race. And what I was surprised to hear is ESPN didn't even try to downplay the rain and try to say there would be a high possibility of the race happening today. I guess they knew the fans would not buy it.

A triangle is better than another cookie cutter...not by much though.  :-\

Yeah, we never buy the network's crap!  I saw rain and I bolted from the television set.

I'd rather go for another road course.

Do you think it could possibly ever work to run a road circuit in a city?

If there was a way to make it so there were no crashes, a city might give it a try. Couldn't imagine the costs of damage for a 10 car pile up in Times Square where one car went skidding into the MTV Studios or Hard Rock Cafe.

I think that would be pretty cool though -- something different for sure!

Yes, I also think it would be a tremendous cost for the hosting city and NASCAR to pull it off. NYC would be too hard to pull it off with how busy that place is. Plus, I'd rather not see another race in that state anyways. One race is enough for NY state.

Maybe they could try San Diego, Seattle, or L.A. They could easily get rid of the California race in Fontana. I think a city like San Diego would be pretty cool. They always have so much beautiful weather.

It would be something different and something cool.

On NASCAR Now this afternoon, Marty Smith was wearing a Guns N' Roses t-shirt in the special Kasey Kahne interview.  ;D

Which one?

(http://www.undermuza.com/files/images/big/590-Guns_2_Roses_logo.jpg)

I see!

(http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n17/GarryCarlson/590-Guns_2_Roses_logo.jpg)

You understand what logo though, right?

Yes indeed. 

I'm excited for Watkins Glen along with Bristol and Richmond coming up.  The only races the new car is good for.

I like how Watkins Glen is a road course, but it races like a superspeedway.

I'll be watching the both series races at Watkins Glen this weekend too. I do enjoy the road races cause it's a break from the same old cookie cutter circle tracks. Bristol night racing will also be exciting later on this month.

The progressive banking took away a lot of crashes.

Good or bad in your opinion?

Bad, because we still get 8 debris cautions a night from NASCAR to bunch the field back together.  Might as well have a legitimate caution and tempers flare up.  Now it's like watching a race at Dover.

I also miss all the wrecks which always manufactured the hot tempered drivers. Nothing like a little payback between drivers.  ;D

Of course!  And the spillover to future races.  Most famous of all, the Jeff Gordon/Matt Kenseth feud.

Remember the March 2002 race when Kevin Harvick leaped over the hood of the car to go after Greg Biffle and got all up in his face? That was classic Bristol baby!  : ok:

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atHh2MSwU8I&feature=related

Kevin Harvick used to be such a badass.

Tony Stewart vs Jeff Gordon was a good one.
Robby Gordon tried to copy the Stewart approach with Junior the year after.
Jeff Gordon's bump and run on Rusty was classic.

Who can forget Dale Sr. vs. Terry Labonte?  :drool:

All good mentions. Kevin is probably my second favorite driver behind Dale Jr. I'd love for Kevin to join Stewart Haas racing in the next couple of years. I believe there was a real good chance of it happening after this season but RCR squashed that idea quick.

It was great to see Marcos Ambrose win yesterdays Grand National race at The Glen.  : ok:

Me too.  Anyone who can step in Dale's big shoes and be successful is fine by me.

I DO love those Australians.  I'm just gonna wait out the shower for now.

Don't get me wrong, I like the RCR/Chevy team but I have a feeling that RCR won't be able to keep up with Hendrick Motorsports and the other top tear teams. And I don't want to see Harvick just slowly fade away into oblivion within this sport. Now if RCR could get back to the top and run good every week and win races than I'd have no problem if Kevin stayed.

Yeah, more rain lol. It's time that NASCAR does something to get the rain tires ready for these cars. Especially for road courses. This has just become ridiculous in my opinion.

Yeah, I want what is best for Kevin.  RCR has had only 3 good years this past decade.

Everything NASCAR does is soooooo slow.  I wish Brian France would eat a bullet.  But if you remember the Busch Grand National race at Montreal last year, it was pretty boring running in the rain.

Have you been enjoying the double-wide restarts?

What other pressing issues do we have to discuss regarding NASCAR?

Yes, I've been enjoying the double-file restarts.

I remember the race in Montreal and I enjoyed it for the most part. Yes, it rained but they raced and everything turned out in the end. It may be too soon to try and start racing rain tires on all the tracks but they should at least get to work on making it work for the road courses.

My mind has gone kind of blank with any other issues I have with NASCAR right now. Except for the tracks they need to scratch from the schedule.  :hihi:

Another start time on Monday at 11:00a.m.

All these rainouts and Monday starts are wonderful for the fans.

Before you refer me to a psychiatrist, allow me to explain:

Lower attendance = lower revenue
Monday races on television= lower ratings
Lower ratings= fewer advertisers willing to spend money for a NASCAR broadcast
Lower advertising revenue= fewer profits for the tracks

Tracks will slash ticket prices even more than they were slashed during this season.

First, I agree with what your saying Garry. Second, if NASCAR won't move faster implementing rain tires for days like these, what else can they do but move the race to the following day? Yes, they take a big hit but imagine if they just canceled the race altogether. NASCAR could reschedule the race to a later date but I tend to believe a lot of complaints from the drivers, owners, and fans would overflow from that move.

Oh yeah, these competition yellows drive me crazy.   :no:

I hate competition cautions!  Leave some danger in the sport! 

Great win for Tony Stewart today. I'm hoping ESPN will re-air the race tonight like they did with last weeks race.  :yes:


Update: Garry, ESPN Classic is re-airing the race tonight at 8:00p.m. C.T.  : ok:

Good win for Smoke yesterday. 

As I was watching the race yesterday, the program scheduled for ESPN Classic at the same time was the race that was supposed to have taken place on Sunday! 

Junior.....he should retire already.

Dale Jr. has some serious issues. Hendrick should go ahead and find a good road course driver to replace Dale Jr. for both races next year. And if he starts to show improvement in some non-NASCAR road races, than he can get back in the car and race Sonoma and Watkins Glen. The only problem is the sponsors would go ballistic!

Kevin Harvick wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway!

Harvick dominates at AMS for Nationwide victory

HAMPTON, Ga. -- Kevin Harvick passed polesitter Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the next-to-last lap and pulled away to win Saturday night's Degree V12 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, his second Nationwide win this season and the 34th of his career.

Kyle Busch, who also passed Earnhardt on Lap 194 of 195, ran second and padded his Nationwide Series points lead from 192 to 221 on second-place Carl Edwards, who completed the race despite fracturing two bones in his right foot playing Frisbee on Wednesday. Edwards finished seventh, one lap down.

After pitting for the last time on Lap 125, Earnhardt saved enough fuel to make it to the end of the race but couldn't stay ahead of Busch and Harvick, who came to the pits for four tires and gas on Lap 181 and 182, respectively.

Brad Keselowski came home fourth, followed by Jeff Burton and Joey Logano.

"Kyle was a little better on the short runs there, but after about eight or 10 laps, this thing was just flat-out awesome," Harvick said of his No. 33 Chevrolet, which led 131 laps. "We cut it a little bit closer than I would have liked to there at the end. ...

"It was nice to race the No. 18 [Busch] head-to-head like that and have fun with him. I really thought everybody had to pit. Just a great night for the fans who came out to watch the race -- Dale Jr. on strategy, Kyle good on short runs and us good after about 10 laps -- so you had all kinds of that good Atlanta racing [Saturday]."

Earnhardt credited his crew, which included former crew chief Tony Eury Jr. in a consulting role, with a good call in the pits.

"We saved enough gas, and we finished closer to them two guys than we were on the race track," Earnhardt said. "So I guess it was the right call. We just didn't have enough at the end to hold them off. I tried to get going when they were coming. ... Hopefully we put on a good show for the fans out there."

Harvick held a lead of more than six seconds when NASCAR called the third caution of the race on Lap 124 because of debris in Turn 2, ending a green-flag run of 79 laps. At that point, there were five cars on the lead lap.

Busch, however, won the race off pit road after the lead-lap cars pitted for tires and fuel under yellow. After a restart on Lap 129, he and Harvick battled side-by-side for five laps, before Busch edged ahead and stayed out front until Lap 147.

Harvick's car, however, was stronger on long runs, and the driver of the No. 33 Chevrolet passed Busch for the lead with 48 laps left and began to pull away. His lead had reached more than seven seconds when he pulled into the pits on Lap 182.

Degree V12 300 results:      
1.    Kevin Harvick    Chevrolet  : ok:
2.    Kyle Busch    Toyota
3.    Dale Earnhardt Jr.    Chevrolet
4.    Brad Keselowski    Chevrolet  : ok:
5.    Jeff Burton    Chevrolet  : ok:
6.    Joey Logano    Toyota
7.    Carl Edwards    Ford
8.    Greg Biffle    Ford
9.    David Ragan    Ford
10.    Reed Sorenson    Chevrolet

Source: http://www.nascar.com/2009/news/headlines/bg/09/05/post.race.kharvick.wins.atlanta2/index.html
***************************

It was also good to see Dale Jr. win the pole for the Atlanta grand national race!  : ok:

I hope that translates into results in Winston Cup.

Garry, have you heard the news regarding Danica? What's your opinion?

ESPN: Danica coming to NASCAR, partnering with Tony Stewart

By Jay Busbee

Here's some bombshell news tucked in the midst of a college football-heavy Saturday night: ESPN is reporting that Danica Patrick is coming to NASCAR after all.

According to the report, Danica will run multiple events in NASCAR's Nationwide Series, the final step before the premier Sprint Cup level. ESPN's Ed Hinton cited an unnamed source who indicated Danica "all but certainly" will run in NASCAR in 2010, in both the Nationwide and trucks series, but will continue to run in Indy cars as well.

Further adding fuel to the fire, the source indicated that Tony Stewart is the "star candidate" to help in Danica's transition to NASCAR, which would seem to indicate that those visitsback in the summer weren't just a polite how-do-you-do.

Stewart offered the following quote: "I can pretty much guarantee at some point she's going to be over here." In and of itself, that quote doesn't mean anything; everyone reading this can "pretty much guarantee" that Danica will be racing in the higher profile of NASCAR. But Hinton is making the connection between this and his anonymous source's comments. Since he's got substantial history as a motorsports reporter, you've got to give him a bit more credit than you would a quick-hit reporter off the street. And there's more to the story:

"She doesn't have some misguided idea that it's going to be easy," Stewart added. "She wants to do it the right way. She has the intention of doing everything right." Danica, according to Hinton's source, would run a number of Nationwide races while not leaving Indy until she was certain success was probable in NASCAR. Interestingly, as Hinton notes, that's the exact same path to NASCAR Stewart himself took in 1998, running a full IRL schedule and 22 Nationwide races.

And, just to pin the "speculation" meter in the red, it's worth noting that Stewart-Haas Racing, Smoke's team, does not have a presence in Nationwide. Coincidentally enough, one Nationwide team just lost its driver -- the one owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Junior, Smoke and Danica -- now there's a NASCAR Dream Team. (Remember: speculation.)

Again, let's remember this whole story deserves to have a big SPECULATION label on it until we hear anything from the principals -- remember, Danica was supposed to be re-signed to Andretti Green Racing in the Indy League by now. And for a story of this magnitude, it seems odd that ESPN isn't splashing this everywhere, even in the midst of the inaugural college football weekend. But if this story does hold merit, and there's enough smoke here -- no pun intended -- to indicate a fire somewhere, this is absolutely the ideal way for both Danica and NASCAR to get exactly what they want -- exposure and experience.

UPDATE: Danica had this to say on her Twitter feed about 10:30 a.m. Eastern: "The rumors are flying about nascar!....I did talk to Tony and he is a great guy. We are looking at nascar as I have always said." So there you go.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/blog/from_the_marbles/post/ESPN-Danica-coming-to-NASCAR-partnering-with-T;_ylt=An6lpauzCR90GQ16B8dIGnXov7YF?urn=nascar,187496

My opinion is that she will generate tons of excitement and press for NASCAR via some SPECTACULAR WRECKS!  :beer:

I think she will struggle big time and it will be a short run for her!

She stinks running the go-carts, what makes her think she can handle real cars?

Your exactly right. She's not even at the top of the Indy level. She's won one race which was entirely a fluke and she doesn't even finish at the top of the point standings at the end of the year. What's really killed her supposed "talent" is when IRL and CART merged a couple of years ago. Now she has twice the competition to have to deal with every week. Does she not see how much Sam Hornish Jr. has struggled, and see how fast Dario Franchitti went back to Indy? The only thing that is promising for her is the backing of people and organizations like Tony Stewart and Chevrolet.

Sam Hornish has improved more and more every year but it has been a very difficult struggle. Like you said, Danica is arrogant and I just don't see her having the patience to learn the NASCAR technique of racing. She does use her "being a female" to her advantage and yes she knows that one can ever push back or punch back cause she's a girl and the media would crucify any driver who did.

Good win for Mark Martin on Sunday.

In a way, I'm pulling for Tony Stewart to win the Championship but with Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Mark Martin all with a shot, there's an excellent chance a driver of a Chevrolet will win the Championship.

Junior got wrecked by a Toyota driver.  He easily had another top 5 run going.

It's so cool to see Mark Martin win.  If he hadn't been racing those crappy Fords all his career, he may have had Jeff Gordon-like numbers.

Cryle didn't make the chase, I'm happy.

Yeah, Dale Jr. had a good run but as usual...not a good finish.

Your right about Mark Martin and if he had been in a Chevrolet and organization such as Hendrick all those years.

Funny about Kyle not making the chase. He starts off hot and cools towards the end.  :hihi:

Good win for Tony Stewart this past Sunday in Kansas.  : ok:

Haha, and here I come in, sounding like a broken record...

Damn that pit crew of Junior's!

Damn those faulty parts!

#(#@&(&(@&)!)!@#@$_%*$)_!!!!  I hate this year!

NASCAR reveals names of first Hall of Fame class

France Sr. and Jr., Petty, Earnhardt, Johnson honored

By Official Release
October 14, 2009
06:53 PM EDT

NASCAR on Wednesday announced the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame that includes: Dale Earnhardt, Bill France Sr., Bill France Jr., Junior Johnson and Richard Petty.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel, consisting of members of the Nominating Committee along with 29 others representing NASCAR, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, major race track ownership groups, retired drivers, owners and crew chiefs along with motorsports media representatives, met in a closed session in Charlotte, N.C. to vote on the Induction Class of 2010.

The Hall of Fame will bring NASCAR's history to life and preserves that history in the appropriate environments. The facility will allow fans to have the opportunity to relive the sport's greatest moments.

The class was determined by the 51 votes cast by the panel and the nationwide fan vote conducted through NASCAR.COM. The accounting firm of Ernst & Young presided over the tabulation of the votes.

The Class of 2010 will be officially inducted in a ceremony on May 23, 2010 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte.

The results of the voting for the final five chosen in this inaugural class proved competitive. Also receiving votes were David Pearson, Cale Yarborough and Bobby Allison.

As part of the inclusive voting process, more than 670,000 NASCAR fans submitted votes online at NASCAR.COM as part of the fan voting process. This remarkable fan feedback once again demonstrates fans' passion and knowledge of the sport and its heritage. The fans voted Petty, Earnhardt, France Sr., Yarborough and Allison as their top five.

The nominees included many of the sport's legendary names:

Bobby Allison, Buck Baker, Red Byron, Richard Childress, Dale Earnhardt, Richie Evans, Tim Flock, Bill France Jr., Bill France Sr., Rick Hendrick, Ned Jarrett, Junior Johnson, Bud Moore, Raymond Parks, Benny Parsons, David Pearson, Lee Petty, Richard Petty, Fireball Roberts, Herb Thomas, Curtis Turner, Darrell Waltrip, Joe Weatherly, Glen Wood and Cale Yarborough.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame broke ground in Charlotte on Jan. 25, 2007 and will open May 11, 2010. The facility honors the history and heritage of NASCAR and the many who have contributed to the success of NASCAR.

Source: http://www.nascar.com/2009/news/features/10/14/hall.of.fame.first.class/index.html

More bad luck for Junior!

Is this what your referring too?

McGrew to stay with Earnhardt in 2010
http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news;_ylt=AlcJVd8R45N_oq4DGITA3ZHov7YF?slug=ap-nascar-earnhardt-mcgrew&prov=ap&type=lgns

I wasn't, but it all makes sense!

My favorite track is up next.

Talladega baby!

Qualifying was rained out today but Sunday's weather forecast is looking very nice right now!  :)

When will "The Big One" happen?  :o

Oh yeah, once again it happened with Ryan Newman involved!

I don't think I had ever seen two separate flips in a race before.

Sounds like Junior is going to land Danica.

It's kind of strange that there hasn't been anything else said about her joining JR Motorsports. I wonder if contract negotiations stopped or if their just working out the final details. For Danica to have any chance of just a little bit of success, her best chance is with Hendrick Motorsports or a team partially backed by them such as JR Motorsports.

Jimmie Johnson goes for a record fourth straight Cup title Sunday!

How 'bout them Chevy's!!!!  : ok:  ;D

Mercifully enough, the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season is coming to a close.

At times during a race, I'll ask myself why I'm torturing myself by watching these boring races.

4-peat for Johnson.  He has my respect.

Also, I would like to pass along my congratulations to Cotis for clinching the Yahoo! Fantasy NASCAR game for this board.  You had a fantastic season with your picks.  For the second straight year, I finish in second.  Just like the Formula 1 games!

Just call me Mark Martin.

Thank you sir! After my embarassment last year I decided to bear down and get it right.

Johnson made history.

For the love of all things sacred, please let 2010 be an exciting season.

This game is lots of fun, I hope we have it again next year.

Final standings:

1    Deadbeat Garage    9,777    0    36    23    6
2    GCR (Not Merging With Anyone)    9,413    0    34    25    6
3    Ramey1    9,369    0    35    21    4
4    Gunners    9,251    0    34    18    2
5    1974Maverick    9,127    (+1)    31    19    4
6    we b hillbillies    9,102    (-1)    34    21    2
7    hoody220    8,447    0    32    19    5
8    jjohnson    8,178    0    32    11    2
9    Angry Dragons    5,154    0    20    8    2
10    Goin' Left    4,563    0    25    6    1
11    jeff gordon fans    2,608    0    13    5    2
12    New blood    2,491    0    17    3    0
13    Tulbox    2,303    0    15    2    0
14    nascarfr3ak24    0    0    0    0    0
14    Need for Speed Racing    0    0    0    0    0