|| *Comments on the 2013 AAA Texas 500:* First Page | Previous Page | Next Page | Last Page | View All On One Page View the most recent comment | Post a comment <#post> 1. We need more Onion posted: 11.01.2013 - 7:20 pm Rate this comment: (9) (1) Great run by Kligerman, now let's see how he handles a cup race. 2. Kubica fan Ireland posted: 11.01.2013 - 7:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Johnson looks like a cert for a top3 finish Sunday, Kenseth may need podiums to win the championship 3. murb posted: 11.01.2013 - 7:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) I still think Matt has the advantage over Jimmie in this race. Jimmie will most certainly run well, but I think (and hope) Matt and the 20 team's raw speed will be an advantage. 4. BON GORDON posted: 11.01.2013 - 8:36 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Johnson will finish where he's starting, 3rd. Kenseth will finish 5th. Biased maybe but I think Gordon wins this race. 5. The Sound posted: 11.01.2013 - 8:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Big night for Pennfield, my alma mater. High school football playoffs in Michigan. I just wish I could still play. 6. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 11.01.2013 - 8:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Best qualifying run of the season for Swan Racing, 2nd best ever for a Brandon Davis car, one spot behind Stremme's 22nd at Homestead last year. Stremme did have two better runs while the team was still Inception Motorsports, but it looks like Parker Kligerman's debut is off to a great start. 7. Daniel posted: 11.01.2013 - 8:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Matt sure will not, I think, get any advantage from that Gatorade that was handed to him from Johnson. Nor will Johnson get any advantage from giving a Gatorade away. Ooooo. Little mind games could turn into something bigger, could be good or bad or just nothing, yea nothing. 8. Daniel posted: 11.01.2013 - 8:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) This comment would belong in the 1993 season. Who and do you all think or hopefully know that Jeff Gordon would have been going to race for in the 1993 Winston Cup Season had he had not got the call from or what not from Rick Hendrick because I know this much Gordon was being groomed by ford to make his jump to NASCAR's top series and of course I know that he did the '92 Busch Grand National Series for the Bill Davis' #1 Baby Ruth Ford Thunderbird? So I ask because I do not have a exact answer myself to this question but it is no big deal but it is interesting to me as to what might would have been had what happened did not happen. 9. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.01.2013 - 9:05 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Will Kyle make it through all 3 races this weekend without having Epic Texas Meltdown IV? Will he add a new chapter to Epic Texas Meltdown I: Dude, Where's My Driver? (April 2007), Epic Texas Meltdown II: Free (Double)Bird (November 2010), and Epic Texas Meltdown III: Career (Near)Suicide (November 2011). With Brad in all 3 races as well, this could happen. Speaking of Double Birds, anyone else love the Will Power Double Bird Photoshop memes? They are hilarious. 10. Daniel posted: 11.01.2013 - 9:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) A good reason to not give a answer would be to just think about how much I pay attention to Kyle Books which is dependent on how close he is to my driver. 11. Sector posted: 11.01.2013 - 9:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) One more race, if Kyle doesn't win the final 2, which I highly doubt that, before Denny Hamlin clinches the Pole Award and make history for the furthest back of all Pole Award winners in history. Congrats Denny 12. BON GORDON posted: 11.01.2013 - 10:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Great racing in the truck race! I would like the #3 truck to blow up please. Never cared for the Dillon boys. Go Ron Hornaday! 13. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.01.2013 - 10:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So by my calculations and barring any "Tuesday surprises", all Matt Crafton has to do is finish within six points of James Buescher next week to clinch the championship. 14. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.01.2013 - 10:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^^^Whoops, posted #13 on the wrong page. My apologies. 15. JG24FanForever posted: 11.01.2013 - 11:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Obscure,but awesome, Gordon stat of the week: When Gordon won at Martinsvile, it was his 33rd win from a starting spot of 8th or worse. Top 3 winningest drivers from an 8th or worse starting spot 1. Jeff Gordon------33 (with 19 wins from the Pole.) 2. Dale Earnhardt---29 (with 5 wins from the Pole.) 3. Tony Stewart-----24 (with 4 wins from the Pole.) 16. JG24FanForever posted: 11.02.2013 - 12:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Anyone else notice Mark Martin being out-qualified by Danica Patrick in equal equipment? 17. Mowman posted: 11.02.2013 - 12:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Do you think that Mark isn't getting the same quality cars that Tony would be if he was driving the 14 car? 18. David posted: 11.02.2013 - 12:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (2) "Do you think that Mark isn't getting the same quality cars that Tony would be if he was driving the 14 car?" Nah, Mark's just losing it. It happens to all drivers sooner or later. He's had a great career, though. 19. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 11.02.2013 - 1:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sad to say, but like what we saw happen to Dale Jarret, Mark Martin is losing his ability. It had to happen sooner or later. Anyone know when the 2014 Cup Schedule will be released? 20. JG24FanForever posted: 11.02.2013 - 1:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Here's one more Gordon subject concerning short-tracks and i'll end it. FoxSports blog called "Shake and Bake" did a Top 5 greatest Short-Track milestones for Gordon: 5. 4 straight Spring Bristol wins (1995-98) 4. 4 win short-track wins in 1996, but at all 4 short-tracks 3. 2 Martinsville season sweeps (2003,2005) 2. Making up 3 laps to win the 2005 Spring Martinsville race 1. The famous bump and run on Rusty Wallace in the final turn of the Sring race in 1997 Cool list. My list: 1. Winning at all four Short-Tracks in 1996 (3 2nd's and a 3rd in the other 4 Short-Track races.) 2. 18 consecutive Short-track Top 7 finishes between 1995-96, with 10 Podiums in that span. 3. 11 consecutive Martinsville Top 5 finishes between 2005-2010. 4. 8084 Short-Track laps led (The next highest active total is Jimmie Johnson's 3656.) 5. Winning 16 Short-track races over a 19 season span between 1995-2013. 21. Eric posted: 11.02.2013 - 1:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mowman, Mark Martin is really in the decline if you look at what he did in the 55 car this year. While Mark almost win at Michigan, it was caused by strategy. I admit the 14 team wasn't what I call impressive before Stewart go hurt, but Mark showed signs of a major decline this year even before taking the 14 car. The best way to put it is take a look at Morgan Shepherd's cup career. Morgan's age was starting to catch up to him in 1995 after finishing in the top 10 in points in 1993 and 1994. Morgan Shepherd in 1995 was 11th in points with him having his lowest amount of top 10's since 1988. Morgan was 53 going into 1995. Morgan declined even more in 1996 although you can argue the 75 car was bad ride in 1996. 22. Eric posted: 11.02.2013 - 1:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Destroyahirismix666, The cup schedule was released on October 15th. 23. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 11.02.2013 - 2:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I hate to say it, but I have to agree about Mark Martin. This is his 3rd year in a row where he has been mid-pack for the most part (save for MWR's REALLY fast cars putting him in position to win last year at Pocono and this year's fuel strategy race at Michigan). He can still finish well now and then, but he's not the consistent threat he used to be. 24. 83andJoe posted: 11.02.2013 - 7:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Eric McClure has decided not to race in today's Nationwide event for "medical reasons". 25. Mark N. posted: 11.02.2013 - 10:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'll keep saying this until it happens: Menard for the upset win on Sunday. 26. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.02.2013 - 11:48 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Congrats to RCR on their 33rd Non Earnhardt win in NASCAR's top 3 Series in a #3 machine. 27. Loose Lugnuts posted: 11.02.2013 - 11:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 16 of the 25 Cup Series races at Texas Motor Speedway have been won from a top 5 starting position. 5 of the 25 have been won from starting positions 6-28, including none from 9th-15th or 20th-28th. The final 4 races have been won from a starting position of 29th-31st. 28. Dense Drip posted: 11.02.2013 - 12:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Is anyone else shocked about Kyle Larson starting in 36th? 29. cjs3872 posted: 11.02.2013 - 12:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not with the team he's with, Dense Drip. And of course, a number of posters have brought up the fact that Mark Martin qualified slower than Danica Patrick. But also, Trevor Bayne qualified a lowly 32nd for this one, Kurt Busch was 31st, and Elliott Sadler outqualified Clint Bowyer. And of course, quite a bit of that probably had to do with the qualifying draw (it was a late afternoon qualifying session, after all), which sent some faster cars out in poor conditions, while some other cars that may not have been as fast had better conditions, which partially explains some of that. And by the way, even though Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth are tied atop the points standings and start close to each other, why do I get the feeling that at least one of those two are going to have a bad race, possibly even a DNF this week. After all, this is a 500-mile race, the last one this year, and we know about the reliability problems of the Toyota engines, and we also know that Jimmie Johnson runs into trouble occasionally, due to the way is cars are always set up. I don't really think both will run into trouble, though that could also happen, but I have this sneaky feeling that one of them will run into trouble, which would either set up a championship walkover for the other, or allow third, fourth, and fifth to really close up. Either way, this is the last true test of the season, as far as the cars are concerned. That's why I think the final race of the season needs to be 500 miles, especially if it's at a high-speed track, because I feel that the final race, the one that decides the championship, needs to be a true test, and it currently is not. The final two races are a test of nerves, and really nothing more. 30. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.02.2013 - 12:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Is anyone else shocked about Kyle Larson starting in 36th? I'm not. He tried to run a lane up from the bottom through 1-2 and 3-4 to keep the car wound up on his 1st lap and it didn't work out, then he tried the bottom like everyone else did on lap 2 and his tires by then gave up on him. I just hope he finally gets a decent enough engine to run the full race; even if he loses a couple of laps and finishes 25th-30th, I believe he needs to get a full race under his belt. 31. NicoRosbergFan posted: 11.02.2013 - 12:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "The final two races are a test of nerves, and really nothing more. " Not really... Homestead isn't much of anything. The driver has a little more control than he does say at Michigan or Charlotte, but it's all too common to watch one car go out front there and lead the rest of an aero-push derby (see 2007, 2009, 2010). 32. cjs3872 posted: 11.02.2013 - 1:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That NicoRosbergFan, is why I don't think that either of the last two races are much of a test, except a test of nerves in a championship battle. But in terms of testing equipment, Homestead isn't much of a test at all, not because of the aero-push problem, which has become an issue even at road courses, but because of the fact that it's a shorter race at 400 miles. If it was a 500-mile race, it would be a sterner test. And Phoenix isn't much of a race either, because the aero-push problem is even worse there than it is at Homestead because the racing groove is narrower. At least you have room to maneuver at Homestead, but you don't even have that at Phoenix. If you're going to finish the season at a track of at least 1.5 miles in length, it's my belief that the race needs to be 500 miles, because 500 miles has traditionally been auto racing's "test of champions", going all the way back to 1911. 33. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.02.2013 - 2:18 pm Rate this comment: (6) (1) RUSTY! Came across an interview with first ballo HOFer Rusty Wallace and they asked him to compare the new generation of cars to the ones he drove in his heyday when him and Dale and Bill and Mark and then Jeff were giving fans priceless memories. Here was his answer. "This car is more technologically advanced, but man, those cars we drove, I looked up and saw 158,000 people in the grandstands, us passing everybody, beatin' and bangin', intense racing. What I saw on the track back then was awful damn good, and the stands were packed. Now we're having a little bit of an issue getting the crowd up to where we want it, but that's the same with all sports ' stick-and-ball, and everybody. But I look at those days as the template. Sometimes I think the car now is a little too aerodynamically sensitive and maybe we've gotten too techy with these cars. I try to be careful not to sound too old-school or sour grapes, but all I know is what we used to do, and the show we put on, and the amount of people who were in the grandstands. I know it's a different time, but you're not gonna tell my mind to forget that stuff." Bingo. My mind won't forget that either Rusty. In his prime (mid to late 80's thru mid to late 90's) the cars were crude, the technology was crude, the drivers (except Gordon) were crude, but, as I have been saying here forever, we packed those tracks and they could not build enough grandstands. No matter how many they built, we crammed in there like clowns in a Volkswagen Bug, like college students in a phone booth just to be part of the FUN. And if it rained out, we all got a case of Racing Fever and couldn't make it to work or school the next day. I remember the 1992 Fall North Wilkesboro race that got rained to Monday. My Dad let me skip school that Monday to see the race. You have to understand, Dad has missed something like 5 total days of work in 45 years of working (he was on vacation at the time) and had perfect attendance in school from the 4th grade until he graduated. Bit he let me play hookey that day so I could watch the last ever caution free NASCAR short track race (you will never ever ever ever ever ever see that again). Now? The cars are technologically advanced oit of the Dark Ages. Every driver strives to be as polished as Gordon. And the tracks can't find enough sponsor tarps to cover the empty grandstand seats, or knock down enough grandstands for "deluxe RV parking". 34. DaleJrFan posted: 11.02.2013 - 3:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (5) Hendrick's favoritism of Johnson continues. He'll even let Kahne and Jeff Gordon win but he will not let Jr win. I would like to know what he has against him. I know all of you will say it is because Jr doesn't care if he wins or he can't drive but it is weird that Jr has only won in almost 6 full seasons at HMS and Johnson has won 35 to 40 times. That's even more than Gordon, Kahne and Mark Martin when he was with HMS. Say I'm wrong, I don't care, I'm saying what I think. One more thing how come it is all right for others to post what they think and no one gets on them for posting what they think? I'm not trying to be mean, just wondering. 35. DB1995 posted: 11.02.2013 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) onw simple thing is that Johnson is way more talented than Jr. as is Gordon 36. murb posted: 11.02.2013 - 3:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "One more thing how come it is all right for others to post what they think and no one gets on them for posting what they think? I'm not trying to be mean, just wondering." You're just as free to voice your opinion as anyone else. It's just that you come up with some of the most ricockulous theories that anyone has ever seen. 37. Ched Little posted: 11.02.2013 - 3:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Hendrick's favoritism of Johnson continues. He'll even let Kahne and Jeff Gordon win but he will not let Jr win. I would like to know what he has against him. I know all of you will say it is because Jr doesn't care if he wins or he can't drive but it is weird that Jr has only won in almost 6 full seasons at HMS and Johnson has won 35 to 40 times. That's even more than Gordon, Kahne and Mark Martin when he was with HMS. Say I'm wrong, I don't care, I'm saying what I think. One more thing how come it is all right for others to post what they think and no one gets on them for posting what they think? I'm not trying to be mean, just wondering. " Da f*ck is this s#it? Are you coherent? Come on, man... I can understand questioning the mysterious collapse that happens like to Mark in 2009, but that's stretching it because June Bug has shown he has the ability to win it all on consistency if he could keep it going for a full season. 38. SpeedWorld97 posted: 11.02.2013 - 4:10 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Hendrick's favoritism of Johnson continues. He'll even let Kahne and Jeff Gordon win but he will not let Jr win. I would like to know what he has against him. I know all of you will say it is because Jr doesn't care if he wins or he can't drive but it is weird that Jr has only won in almost 6 full seasons at HMS and Johnson has won 35 to 40 times. That's even more than Gordon, Kahne and Mark Martin when he was with HMS. Say I'm wrong, I don't care, I'm saying what I think. One more thing how come it is all right for others to post what they think and no one gets on them for posting what they think? I'm not trying to be mean, just wondering. " I'm a Jr. fan, and even I think this is just silly. 39. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.02.2013 - 5:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Hendrick's favoritism of Johnson continues. He'll even let Kahne and Jeff Gordon win but he will not let Jr win." It makes absolutely NO SENSE that Hendrick wouldn't want Jr. to win. Please come up with another theory. 40. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 11.02.2013 - 5:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The problem with Dale Jr is that he too often leads a lot of laps in races but can't close the deal when it comes to winning. 2012 Las Vegas and 2013 Dover are great examples of this. 41. DaleJrFan posted: 11.02.2013 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) I know what I say is way out there but it is weird that Johnson has won 5 times as many wins as any driver at HMS in the time Jr has been there. I'll admit he probably is a better driver but if the equipment at HMS were equal for all drivers the Gordon, Kahne, and Jr would win more often. 42. Kubica fan Ireland posted: 11.02.2013 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cjs I hope that neither driver has a mechanical "issue" as that would almost certainly hand the championship to the other with 2 races to go, when this championship battle has the potential to be a classic like 2011 and 2004. Also I will be doing a blog giving an analysis of Jimmie Johnson's career and his future prospects with regard to championships, wins and life after Knaus etc. NicoRosberg fan you probably should not read it. Anyway that is for another day Come on Matt. 43. DaleJrFan posted: 11.02.2013 - 6:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I'm wrong as usual. What else is new. Bully me all you want to. 44. David posted: 11.02.2013 - 7:10 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) So I was watching Dragnet 1969 yesterday, and on one of the episodes, one of the characters was played by Bill Elliott. I kid you not, his name was on the credits screen. What's more, his character was African-American. Wow! I knew he was a great driver, but a versatile actor as well? Amazing. And if that wasn't odd enough, another episode had Jeff Burton in it. No wonder NASCAR drivers can live so elegantly. They augment their salaries and winnings by moonlighting as actors. :) 45. NicoRosbergFan posted: 11.02.2013 - 7:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Until that post, I would have been certain no one else here had ever heard of Dragnet 1969... Did you know Kent McCord was an amateur race car driver? He played officer JIM REED on both Dragnet and Adam-12. 46. NicoRosbergFan posted: 11.02.2013 - 7:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) "I'm wrong as usual. What else is new. Bully me all you want to." You hear me? I'm bullying you. Feeling bullied yet? Seriously, as someone who has had to get the cops involved due to being bullied to such a severe extent, I don't take that word lightly. 47. cjs3872 posted: 11.02.2013 - 7:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) KFI (#42), I hope you're right because Kenseth and Johnson have been the two best all year long, and their battle for the championship should come down to the last race. I just have this feeling hat something's going to happen to one of them at Texas. For Kenseth, I fear that Toyota's engine reliability problems could hit him, and there's always a chance that Johnson's going to have an unforced driving error due to the way his cars are set up. How many times have we seen Jimmie lose control all by himself. That's often caused by how loose his car is set up, and while that gives him extra speed, as well as the ability to handle in traffic better than anyone else, it also causes him to have unexpected problems spinning out and crashing more than drivers of his caliber should. 48. David posted: 11.02.2013 - 8:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Did you know Kent McCord was an amateur race car driver? He played officer JIM REED on both Dragnet and Adam-12." You actually had me looking up Kent McCord on Wikipedia before I got your reference. ;) "Until that post, I would have been certain no one else here had ever heard of Dragnet 1969..." Oh yeah. I've only seen like, four episodes of the 1950s version of the show, but I'm convinced I would like the revival that ran from 1967-70 better. Mainly because the '60s was a more interesting era. And because it's got Harry Morgan. 49. DaleJrFan posted: 11.02.2013 - 9:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) NicoRosbergFan, I apologize for saying I'm being bullied. The only thing I want is for Earnhardt Jr to win another race but his car owner don't want him to. At least Mercedes wants Rosberg to win, as he has done twice this year. 50. DaleJrFan posted: 11.02.2013 - 9:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I know this will sound really dumb and I know what I say about Hendrick not wanting Jr to win is way out there. I just want to be respected like everyone else is. No offense to anyone. Also I am NOT a bigot and hater. 51. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.02.2013 - 9:40 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "I'm wrong as usual. What else is new. Bully me all you want to." Ha. Don't ever go to basic training, if you think people pointing out how preposterous your theories are amounts to people bullying you. Really dude? People disagreeing with your perposterous posts about a sport amounts to bullying? How dare you even make that comparison when there are millions of kids who suffer at the hands of bullying everyday. 52. DaleJrFan posted: 11.02.2013 - 10:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I'm not going to post on here anymore, I've offended to many people. I apologize to anyone I might've offended. Good luck to all of you and your respective favorite drivers. 53. Jim Davis posted: 11.02.2013 - 10:02 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "I just want to be respected like everyone else is." Fine. Please explain why you think Hendrick does not want a driver he pays an 8 figure salary to every year to win? 54. Dave #38 Fan-Go Gilliland! posted: 11.03.2013 - 12:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Chase Elliott just the All-American 400! He has now won the All-American 400, the Winchester 400, the World Crown 300, and the Snowball Derby. The only other driver to accomplish that feat? No one. Ever. Until now. While I still believe Chase Elliott has gotten a lot of breaks because of his last name (having full Hendrick support as a 15 year old, for instance) it's starting to look like he's inherited his father's talent. His name may have bought him opportunities but the talent he's shown proves he belongs. 55. cjs3872 posted: 11.03.2013 - 1:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm not sure if anyone on this board has seen the ESPN report that Denver Broncos' head coach John Fox is scheduled to have heart valve surgery and could be out for up to 2 months, or possibly the rest of the regular season. He was hospitalized after feeling light-headed while golfing during the Broncos' bye week. I know there are those that have criticized him, but I think he's a very good coach, and his presence will be missed on the Bronco sidelines during his absence, however long it ends up being. I know there are NFL fans on this board, especially Carolina Panthers fans who remember Fox's time there, and I just wanted to mention this. 56. Benjamin Lowe posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:11 am Rate this comment: (0) (2) I think the Broncos might have a slight chance to get to the Superbowl if they Bench Peyton Manning during the playoffs. 57. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 10:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Although I don't like him professionally at all, I do wish John Fox a speedy recovery. Peyton Manning playoff one and dones are a lot of fun to watch, but last year, watching him share the ignominy and disappointment with Fox was really enjoyable. Get well Foxy, more playoff failures await you. 58. cjs3872 posted: 11.03.2013 - 11:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) And by the way DSFF, it's been announced that Jack Del Rio (speaking of failures) will be the team's interim head coach while Fox is out. It's a good thing they have Peyton Manning, because if they didn't, they might drop to third place in the AFC West. Remember this. The to three teams in that division, Kansas City, Denver, and San Diego, have yet to face each other this season and San Diego has their OC from last year calling the shots. That might not mean anything, but they handily beat a Colts team that handed the Broncos their only loss of the season the very next week. Of those three teams, the Broncos were already the weakest in terms of coaching, and now with the loss of John Fox, they've fallen even further behind in that department. And their defense is also horrible, so Peyton Manning has to keep performing at the level he's been playing at, or they might fall to third place in the AFC West, and in danger of missing the playoffs. 59. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 1:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "And by the way DSFF, it's been announced that Jack Del Rio (speaking of failures) will be the team's interim head coach while Fox is out." Jack Del Rio may seem like a failure on the surface, but when you consider just how bad that Jaguars team has been with Mularkey and Bradley and remember that the Jaguars twice made the playoffs under Del Rio and he almost has a career .500 record there, you have to wonder if maybe he wasn't actually a success. 60. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 1:28 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Jeff Burton is hinting that 2013 might be his last season in Cup. 61. cjs3872 posted: 11.03.2013 - 1:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NLA, a part of that is that they got progressively worse under Del Rio each year. When he got there, they were a very good team, capable of competing with anyone, but they got worse with each passing season, and the result is what you see now, which is a team that might go 0-16 and not threaten to win any game. And I believe what's happened down there has strengthened Tom Coughlin's Hall of Fame prospects, because he twice got them to the AFC Championship Game, once going 14-2, losing only to the Tennessee Titans (twice during the season and again in the AFC Championship Game). That's why I consider Del Rio a failure. 62. Dense Drip posted: 11.03.2013 - 1:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Bobby Labonte qualified pretty well. Let's hope this won't be his last race at Texas. 63. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 1:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In ovals qualifying result has zero importance, unless you win pole and get hold of the first pit position. 64. numbah10hatah posted: 11.03.2013 - 2:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) How dare you put a fork in Jeff Gordon, Brad Daugherty. 65. Ci posted: 11.03.2013 - 2:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I still dont see why they put Mark in that car...he hasn't done shit in it. 66. David posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I still dont see why they put Mark in that car...he hasn't done shit in it." You don't know what the result will be until you see it. They had no idea of what Mark's results would be until they put him in the car. 67. Jim Davis posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I still dont see why they put Mark in that car." Who else was available that was better? 68. David posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That is to say, SHR couldn't have known what Mark would do in the car until he started driving it. 69. numbah10hatah posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:02 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Wow. It's Nicole's last race. Maternity leave. 70. cjs3872 posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @64, I think it has to do with something both he and Rusty said earlier in the pre-race show. They don't trust Alan Gustafson's judgment, and nether should any fans of Gordon because his track record is that of a guy that can set cars up, but can't call a race, and at a track like Texas, you have to restart up near the front, or you have no chance of winning because of how far back you would get, even running as high of fifth or sixth. I think Daugherty even said that the calls that are made put Gordon in 15th or 16th, and he can drive up to fifth or sixth from there, but no further up. However, another point might be that he's almost a full race worth of points behind TWO drivers that are tied. But what Daugherty said is more an indictment of Gustafson than of Gordon. And note that when the subject of Gustafson's pit calls came up, Ray Evernham did not say one word. 71. Peter posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:04 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Brad was freaken epic!! "YOU'RE PREGNANT!!" Good luck Nicole, and congrats to you and Ryan 72. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow. It's Nicole's last race. Maternity leave. Please bring in Lindsay Szarniak!(sp?) 73. cjs3872 posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's more than that, Jim. You have to look at the circumstances involved when Tony got hurt. There were three good options, but two of them, Regan Smith and Austin Dillon, were in the hunt for the Nationwide Series title, and Tony Stewart an Greg Zipadelli didn't want to interfere with that. The other option that became available was Mark Martin. And although Martin was no longer able to run up front, the brain trusts at SHR also knew that Martin wouldn't tear up equipment, and with the team expanding next year, that's of the utmost importance. Stewart and Zipadelli knew that Martin was not going to wreck their cars, and with the team expanding from three to four cars next year, having more cars in the stable was just as important as having a driver in the #14 car that could run up front, but was also liable to crash due to inexperience. That's the same reason Dale Earnhardt put Darrell Waltrip in the #1 car in 1998 when Steve Park got hurt, even though there were probably better options when it came to drivers that could run up front in that car. Earnhardt needed a driver that wasn't going to tear up his equipment, and as it turned out, Earnhardt got more out of Waltrip than even he expected. Stewart hasn't gotten that out of Martin, but Martin hasn't wrecked any of Stewart's cars, either, and I think given what SHR is doing next year, that's equally as important, if not more important to that organization. Stewart may have been thinking long term when he put Martin in that car, even though he probably figured that it was going to hurt him short term. 74. Jocke Persson posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The guy who got to say "Gentlemen". His name was David Strickland. Wasn't that also the principals name in Back to the Future? lol :D 75. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gotta hit that talk button, Brad. 76. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It was pretty cool to see Kenny Mayne in that pre-race show segment earlier. He was always one of the SportsCenter guys who actually gave Nascar the time of day way back when. That was a cool blast from the past. 77. dennyfan11 posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) rain may be a threat. 78. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why do I have a sinking feeling Matt is gonna have phantom flat tires all day? He already feels them all the time anyways, but with his team worrying about it too, this could sidetrack his focus. 79. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmie Johnson is already challenging for the lead. 80. numbah10hatah posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmie takes the lead. Ugh. 81. DB1995 posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Pass for the win, better watch some Volleyball.... 82. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well damn. 83. TS1420 posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:26 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Jimmie to the lead. TS1420 back to not caring. 84. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution for "debris". 85. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Debris caution. 86. DB1995 posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) boredom caution lap 15. 87. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:29 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Debris in 15 laps? Did they just forget to sweep the track off after yesterdays race? 88. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This could be the earliest we've seen a "boredom" caution in quite a while. 89. TS1420 posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmie is so boring they had to have a debris caution already. 90. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow that tire wear is pretty severe. 91. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:30 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Haven't shown it yet, so it's officially deBriS in my eyes. 92. 18fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) What the hell was McDowell doing? Stays out, chooses the outside line, then pulls to the back. 93. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The tires look like they just ran 15 laps at Rockingham. 94. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Gordon sinks like a stone on the restart. 95. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:33 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Dale Jr throws a screen on Kenseth that would make Bill Laimbeer proud. 96. TS1420 posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:33 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Tire wear now a factor at Texas? This may get interesting. 97. DB1995 posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:37 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) it would had been hilarious had Mcdowell restarted in 1st and thanks to clean air he pulled away and led a bunch of laps, wouldnt had happened but still.. 98. BON GORDON posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well it looks like it's gonna be another Texas sized struggle for team #24 at Texas. Gonna be a long race. 99. dennyfan11 posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @DB1995 97 they would think of it as normal. Now if Danica did that... 100. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Dale Jr throws a screen on Kenseth that would make Bill Laimbeer proud." As a lifelong Lakers fan I'm supposed to hate Laimbeer, but you're right. He was a damn good defender, like him or not. 101. numbah10hatah posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmie Johnson back to the lead. UGHHHHHH 102. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Six for the Panthers D! I did not see this return to relevance coming for them. Glad I'm not the only one who caught June holding Kenseth up on that restart. He gets a belly rub from Rick. 103. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:40 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Oh joy, it looks like we're in for another Jimmie Johnson-fest today. 104. numbah10hatah posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #95: Who's Bill Laimbeer? I'm not the biggest basketball fan. 105. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Ol' Laimbeer. If he was on your team, you loved him. If not, you hated his guts. Need more players like that in all sports. 106. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kligerman is having a solid run in 26th place. That's as good as that car's best runs this year, so I think he's once again proving that he's for real. 107. BON GORDON posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hmmm maybe I was wrong about Gordon. He seems to have a long run car. Loses 3-5 spots on restarts...NOT GOOD. Gordon currently has reentered the Top ten after dropping to 17th. 108. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt is still hanging in there in the top five (he just got by Carl for 3rd). So while it's disheartening that Mr Roboto is pulling away, it isn't quite the end of the world yet. 109. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Obligatory shot of Danica as she gets lapped. 110. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:51 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) BoB is getting lapped, to the shock of absolutely no one. Still waiting for that big improvement she's supposed to show next year... 111. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch hits the wall and brings out the caution. 112. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:52 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Kyle Busch Texas Shenanigans: Part 17 113. joey2448 posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:52 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Lol at the dashboard sticker in Danica's car -- "It's go time"...... Kyle Busch has a problem and hits the wall in turn three. Perhaps a tire problem, much like what he experienced yesterday? 114. numbah10hatah posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch in the wall. Man, he has had no luck this weekend. 115. Mr X posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well at least for Kyle the impact looked relatively light. 116. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great pit stop for Edwards. 117. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @104 Laimbeer was the center for the Pistons in the 80s and early 90s. He's a main reason why players get fined/suspended in the NBA now for looking at someone the wrong way. 118. numbah10hatah posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #113: It's go time for Danica to be in 30th place. 119. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Where is Kurt Busch? 120. BON GORDON posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Need to save your tires Kyle. The #18 car don't look too bad. Just a big Darlington looking stripe on the side. 121. numbah10hatah posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Chad's Hair Plugs: Are NBA penalties worse than NFL penalties? Because in the NFL you can get fined $10,000 for wearing green shoes. 122. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:56 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "It's go time..." Seems Danica hasn't paid much attention to that sticker... 123. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If Matt and the 20 team want to win this championship, they can't have pit stops that are nearly 3 seconds slower than Jimmie and the 48 team when they're already running behind. Up to second on that run, now back to fifth. 124. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle's bad weekend continues. His quest for a 2nd career Top 5 points finish is looking bad. Also, a horrendous pit stop by the 20. 125. 18fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle just needs to not wreck himself or get wrecked coming through the field. Long way to go. 126. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, Kyle doesn't have much damage. If he doesn't implode and throw in the towel trying to come back from it, he can probably still get a good finish with this much race left to go. 127. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.03.2013 - 3:59 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) If Matt and the 20 team want to win this championship, they can't have pit stops that are nearly 3 seconds slower than Jimmie and the 48 team when they're already running behind. Up to second on that run, now back to fifth. Ratcliff can always pull a Knaus and swap in the 11 team. 128. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordon restart by Jimmie. 129. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:03 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) Brett Bodine still causing caution laps. Nothing changed there. 130. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:03 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) And Jeff had a Jimmie restart. What irony. 131. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon's car looks awful on the first few laps after a restart. Takes a while for his car to come in. 132. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Make that two belly rubs for June after the race. 133. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:05 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) LoL at Dave Burns calling Jimmie passing Dale a battle for position. 134. BON GORDON posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ugh I hate restarts!!!! 135. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) On the initial restart Gordon went flying on the outside and picked up a spot or two, but then he just inevitably fell back again. Jimmie to the lead again. 136. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Roll over Jr. This is sad. 137. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution is out, again. 138. 18fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Caution for Gordon in the fence. 139. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Gordon in the wall. 140. joey2448 posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) The 48 car goes to the lead. I refuse to call it as "Jimmie Johnson takes the lead," because my first statement is closer to the truth. JJ doesn't need to use much effort to take the lead in that car.... 141. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ...for Jeff Gordon. Brad Daugherty looks like an absolute genius right now. 142. numbah10hatah posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 143. 18fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:08 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) 24 now in the garage. 144. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Gordon hit the wall, looks worse than Kyle's hit. Just turned into the garage. 145. joey2448 posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) UUGGGHHHHH....and there goes Gordon's chances at the title. They were slim anyway. 146. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well then.... 147. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "Roll over Jr." Once he's done with the other 75 song parodies, David should make a "Roll Over Beethoven" parody of this, lol. 148. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:09 pm Rate this comment: (2) (2) Yeah, Gordon retires after the season. 149. 18fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brad takes the lead with a 2 tire change. Mark Martin takes 2 as well. 150. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:10 pm Rate this comment: (3) (1) Hope the 48 has a similar setup. 151. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:11 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Matt's pit stop only .1 seconds behind this time. Better, but still not good enough when you're trailing your rival. 152. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Keselowski and Martin took a gamble with 2 tires at this wear situation. Might not end well. 153. Mr X posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #148, I doubt it, but damn. 154. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It looks like we may have a lot of accidents due to blown tires. Looks like Gordon will end up finishing in the back half of the top 10 in points... 155. New14 & 88Fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dang that's a big bummer for Jeff Gordon, was looking for him to run well today 156. 18fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not sure I like this call by Brad. Yesterday he had the car to recover from a bad pit call. Not sure he has that good of a car today. 157. BON GORDON posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) KO I dont wanna hear about retirement. Shut ur mouth. This season is done though. A Top five points finish is in jeopardy too. It sucks when two of the last three races are Texas and a repaved Phoenix. 158. Benjamin Lowe posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:15 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Turn Out The Lights the party's over for Jeff Gordon & Kyle Busch. 159. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not surprisingly, Mark holds up the entire outside line on the restart. Ugh, it's depressing to see that. 160. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:16 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) David Ragan blows up it looks like. 161. numbah10hatah posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Ragan blows up. 162. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) David Ragan blows up. Two straight early engine failures for him...looks like BoB will finish ahead of him in points after all. 163. David posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:17 pm Rate this comment: (1) (6) "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" That's my line! I'll still say it, though: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 164. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:18 pm Rate this comment: (5) (0) Dammit, David, don't stretch the page like that! 165. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:19 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Well, now the comments are screwed up. Anyway, Jimmie made that pass for second look like a bodybuilder beating a little girl in an arm wrestling contest. 166. numbah10hatah posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sorry, David. ;) 167. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:20 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Kligerman is still running top 25 in that 30 car. Really impressed by that. He's got what it takes to be really good. 168. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Clean air is everything in NASCAR nowadays. Keselowski taking two looks like a brilliant move so far. 169. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:22 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) The first day after Daylight Savings ends stinks. It's only 4:20 and the sun is already under the horizon. 170. David posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Once he's done with the other 75 song parodies, David should make a "Roll Over Beethoven" parody of this, lol." Considering that this comment was thumbed-down, I'm guessing people secretly hate my parodies. :) I still do have that request for "Hendrick Depression". If Johnson wins this race, I'll probably finish that one up and post it. It is easily the hardest one I've attempted. 171. DB1995 posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Jimmies car is so much faster than everyone elses car its depressing. 172. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:23 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) ...I envy the people of Arizona. They don't have Daylight Savings Time. 173. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Edwards has fallen back to 6th all of a sudden. 174. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:25 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Kyle will be okay after his crash it looks like. If he could get some track position he'll be right back up there. 175. DB1995 posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Trevor Bayne also had a tire go down to the cords and beyond per twitter 176. 18fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The 99 car is good for a couple laps and then is just awful. 177. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) BoB goes back a lap down. I wonder if there will be a quick "debris" caution.. 178. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just got Danica in time as she was getting lapped. 179. David posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sorry people. I hope the webmaster deletes that comment before it gets me exiled from R-R. 180. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:29 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) No progression whatsoever by Danica as she gets more and more races under her belt. 181. numbah10hatah posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) murb: You actually expect Danica to progress? 182. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, judging by his progression through the field and his lap times, it looks like Kyle still has one of the best cars out there despite his contact with the wall. Not as good as Johnson's, of course-seemingly nobody has a car comparable to Johnson's tonight. 183. joey2448 posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:32 pm Rate this comment: (2) (2) I'm gonna get send a little message, gonna send it over my radio Jimmie Johnson is a-comin', you better get out of his way Roll over, Dale Junior! Gonna hear it again today! That blue 48 is runnin' the same line like he's on a cruise The field is rolling over, and every race fan is blowing a fuse Roll over, Dale Junior! And tell Kandy Kahne the news! *Not great, but I'm sure David can come up with a better version* 184. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:34 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "murb: You actually expect Danica to progress?" Since she has the best equipment in Nascar, a bunch of great racing minds on her side (Tony Stewart, Greg Zipadelli, Tony Gibson, etc), and nothing to worry about sponsorship wise, yeah, I do expect her to progress as she gets more seat time. There's no excuse for not progressing when you are in a situation like that. 185. 18fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:36 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Logano has a great long run car, just like Fontana and Atlanta, two other places where tire wear was significant. Would not be surprised to see Logano in Victory Lane at the end of the night. 186. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:37 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Matt? Worried about his tires? Nah! 187. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Good stop by the 20 crew. 1.1 seconds faster than the 48. 188. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, Logano is running a good race. Better pit stop that time for Kenseth. 189. 18fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Kyle back into the top 10. Just needs track position now. Good recovery so far. 190. David posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) How creative. The webmaster merely shortened the length of comment #163. "I'm gonna get send a little message, gonna send it over my radio Jimmie Johnson is a-comin', you better get out of his way Roll over, Dale Junior! Gonna hear it again today! That blue 48 is runnin' the same line like he's on a cruise The field is rolling over, and every race fan is blowing a fuse Roll over, Dale Junior! And tell Kandy Kahne the news! *Not great, but I'm sure David can come up with a better version*" That's actually pretty good!! "a bunch of great racing minds on her side (...Greg Zipadelli...)" *cough cough*...overrated...*cough cough* 191. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It is like Dale Sr. rolling over for Mike Skinner. 192. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt Kenseth is closing in on Jimmie Johnson. I REALLY hope he doesn't blow up before the race is over like I feel he might. I'd rather see Jimmie Johnson have to fight to earn the title than just win it going away. 193. numbah10hatah posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bobby Labonte to the garage. 194. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ambrose and Montoya saying there is oil on the track. Probably just a coincidence they happen to be the first car one lap down and the last car on the lead lap. 195. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "*cough cough*...overrated...*cough cough*" As a crew chief, I do agree he is a bit overrated. But he's still a good guy to have on your side as an up and comer. Kind of like Chad. I think he's a bit overrated too, but I still wouldn't mind him on my side if I was a young driver looking for guidance. Mark is actually holding his own in 14th right now. It sucks that we've come to the point where 14th is a surprisingly good run for one of the greatest drivers ever. 196. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:56 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Hopefully Matt can repeat his result from the Spring of 2002 in this race. 197. JG24shouldbe5time posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Man, I'm glad I found and started contributing to RR's comments section. Now I know that there is no point in watching this race since the 48 is on cruise control and Gordon has faded deep in the points due to a wreck (still hoping something happens to JJ...); nevermind the fact the race feels SOOO long due to its late start. If Johnson wins this one, I'll probably skip Phoenix unless I see/hear that something crazy happened. I'll watch Homestead regardless, since it's the season finale. What a bummer of a Sunday this has been NFL and NASCAR wise for me. 198. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Hopefully Matt can repeat his result from the Spring of 2002 in this race." Personally, I'd rather him repeat his spring 2011 result. Max points! 199. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.03.2013 - 4:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "48 is on cruise control" The 20 has actually been gaining for the last 10-15 laps. 200. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Now that you mention it Zackary, that's even better. I don't think we can count on Jimmie repeating his Fall 2009 result so Matt needs to score as many points as he can on him. 201. joey2448 posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) LOL did anyone just see Biffle give Jimmie that shot going down the backstretch??? Hilarious! Oh wait, they just showed a replay of it. 202. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Biffle runs into the back of Jimmie because of the incident last week. 203. 18fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Speeding penalty for Matt. 204. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Matt Kenseth gets a pit road speeding penalty. Give the championship to Johnson now. 205. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I try not to complain about ESPN, but why won't they put up the freaking intervals in the running order? The 20 was running faster than the 48, but since they haven't reported on it or shown the intervals lately the people at home have no way of knowing if it's still going or stalled out. 206. BluesTravelerFan posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great. 207. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kenseth speeds on pit road. Damn it all to hell. 208. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kenseth got a pit road speeding penalty. FML! 209. numbah10hatah posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt Kenseth speeds on pit road. CAN THIS RACE GET ANY WORSE??? 210. joey2448 posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) CRAP. Kenseth speeding on pit road lap 176. 211. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DAMN IT!!!!! *slams head onto bed mattress in frustration* 212. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmie is the champion this year now. Unbelievable. Must be nice to be JJ and race against an entire field of drivers that can't handle pressure. 213. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I know people like to be negative for some reason, but this doesn't even guarantee Jimmie will win the RACE, much less the CHAMPIONSHIP. Why don't y'all like to be optimistic? 214. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There is still one way of this race getting worse, that is there is big one where every other championship "contender" wrecks themselves out, and Johnson escapes to victory lane. :) 215. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) WOW. A huge unforced error like that may very well be the separation between champion and runner up. But lucky for Matt, this happened at a big enough track that he didn't even lose a lap. 216. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hendrick Depression is touching my soul. 217. BluesTravelerFan posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:07 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) ESPN tells us about Matt's penalty, then goes straight to commercial without even showing him take the pass-through... 218. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) ESPN tells us about Matt's penalty, then goes straight to commercial without even showing him take the pass-through... When else are they gonna get to pour the victory champagne? 219. David posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:09 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Man, I'm glad I found and started contributing to RR's comments section." We are, too. Yet another fan saved from the dark abysses that are comment sections on other sites. "Why don't y'all like to be optimistic?" It's hard, let me tell you. 220. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt Kenseth still faster than Jimmie Johnson. 221. numbah10hatah posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) John Royal: :P 222. Dave #38 Fan-Go Gilliland! posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:10 pm Rate this comment: (5) (1) I can't believe how one sided this board is sometimes. If Johnson was the one caught speeding on pit road, pretty much everyone on here would be acting like it was Christmas morning. It happens to Kenseth and you all act like you lives are over. 223. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Carl Edwards comes to pit road, reporting engine problems. 224. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution for what is reported to be oil. It looks like it's actually for debris, though. 225. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Kenseth benefit caution. 226. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yellow out, Carl Edwards on pit road, his engine is going south. 227. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) Nothing stops Hnedrick/Johnson to win 8 titles and break all the historical records except for Petty's 200 which will be always impossible. And Hendrick goes to history as most successful car owner and nothing will ever beat his records. We are witnessing history. 228. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The reason why we are unsure of this is because Matt is a very confidence sensitive driver. He's obviously talented enough behind the wheel to make it back up there, but I'm not sure if he has a good enough killer instinct and determination to charge back up there. I'd like to think that he can make a charge like Kyle did, but I don't know. Carl Edwards blows up now. Caution for oil. Huge break for the 20. 229. Mr X posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt Kenseth is extremely lucky to still be on the lead lap, this likely won't be nearly as beneficial to Johnson as we feared. In addition those guys who short pitted really benefitted it, most of them gained 2-4 spots and now we have the caution that Matt needed, for oil, very likely from Carl Edwards reported hurt motor. 230. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:13 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "'Why don't y'all like to be optimistic?' "It's hard, let me tell you." I've gone back and looked at the comments from this race last year. After Jimmie won that race, was your typical comment "Give Jimmie the championship. It's over. Woe is me. Boo hoo hoo." Guess what didn't happen? Jimmie DID NOT win the championship. That's why I say be optimistic. Besides being optimistic feels so much more better than being negative all the time. 231. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I actually think Matt can come back from this since he didn't go a lap down and just caught a caution to allow him to catch up to the other lead lap cars. As far as I'm concerned, it's not over yet so my initial reaction was simply frustration that it was Matt, the only guy who is being a threat to Jimmie this year for the title, who got caught speeding. 232. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:13 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) "Kenseth benefit caution." Even though they showed legit debris and Carl Edwards just blew up, which justifies the "oil on track" report. 233. JG24shouldbe5time posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, now that I see the Biff has given Jimbo a nice bumper tap and that Kenseth wass in the lead (and hopefully can get back there), I might need to tune in. I agree Chad's Hair Plugs, the first day after Daylight Savings ends does suck. Now that we've hit 4 in the Central Time Zone, the light's fading, as you *might* be able to tell watching the race. What's worse for us in the northern reaches of the Continental U.S. is that by the end of this month, it will be completely dark by 5 PM! 234. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sorry, Zachary Shawn. I am-and always have been-a pessimist. It would actually be unlike me to be optimistic. 235. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This championship is about mind games. Kenseth just lost it there in the pitlane. Johnson will be careering to success as mind games do not affect robots. 236. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Even though they showed legit debris and Carl Edwards just blew up, which justifies the "oil on track" report." Play along. You know if that was Johnson in the same situation, there would be 20 comments along those lines. 237. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) By the end of the month? It's 5:15 and I'm 10 minutes from complete darkness on Nov 3rd.(I'm on Long Island) 238. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:17 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Play along. You know if that was Johnson in the same situation, there would be 20 comments along those lines." I know what you did. 239. Anonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:18 pm Rate this comment: (1) (6) I feel like we are watching a replay of the staged finish from Homestead in 2011. 240. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:20 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Btw, pitiful attendance. It will be even worse next year after Jimmie wins this title. 241. Anonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:21 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) "Nothing stops Hnedrick/Johnson to win 8 titles and break all the historical records except for Petty's 200 which will be always impossible. And Hendrick goes to history as most successful car owner and nothing will ever beat his records. We are witnessing history. " Which is sad considering Jimmy John is probably the worst driver of all-time to win three or more titles (Terry Labonte is a weaker two-time, otherwise Jimmy John would have that title too). 242. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) He's in a lot better shape than he would have been without that caution, but I just hope this clean air crap doesn't kill Kenseth right here. 243. numbah10hatah posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:23 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) #239: How exactly was the Homestead 2011 finish "staged"? 244. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch might be the TuRD of the day. 245. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:24 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) #239 Kindly explain to me how exactly the 2011 Homestead race finish was "staged". Kyle Busch is having overheating issues. 246. Anonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:25 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) 239. Anonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:18 pm Rate this comment "I feel like we are watching a replay of the staged finish from Homestead in 2011. " Yeah because NASCAR totally can control the outcome of races right??? *Rolls eyes* 247. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle's just gonna stay out and blow it up. 248. Anonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (10) It was too convenient that the title came down to a tie-breaker on top of the fact that Stewart and Edwards finished one-two in that race and just conveniently no one could pass them. Here come Zachary Shawn, destroyahirimix-what-the-hell-it-is, NoLongerAnonymous, and company... our Johnson bed-wetters. Enjoy your talentless douchebag who probably violently hates your guts since your just inferior "fans" in his arrogant eyes. 249. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:27 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "I feel like we are watching a replay of the staged finish from Homestead in 2011." Hall of Fame level tin-foilage. 250. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:28 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) #248 Where do you get your tin foil hats from? 251. 18fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brad helping Kyle get the trash off the grille. Very interesting. 252. numbah10hatah posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:30 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) #248: It is so hard to stage a finish in NASCAR. 253. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Here come Zachary Shawn, destroyahirimix-what-the-hell-it-is, NoLongerAnonymous, and company... our Johnson bed-wetters." I hate Jimmie Johnson (the driver not the person), dude. I hate the Alabama Crimson Tide, too, but denying Nick Saban is a great coach would be foolish. Same thing applies to Jimmie. 254. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:31 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Here come Zachary Shawn, destroyahirimix-what-the-hell-it-is, NoLongerAnonymous, and company... our Johnson bed-wetters." LOL. I'd rather see Johnson win the title than Kenseth but ultimately no driver winning or losing would affect my life in any way. "Enjoy your talentless douchebag who probably violently hates your guts since your just inferior "fans" in his arrogant eyes." Only someone completely ignorant to the sport would say he's talentless... I'm not going to respond to the rest of your comment because it's utter nonsense. 255. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:31 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) 251, Yeah, Lehman Brothers leading the race and Salvation Army having a nice day. 256. numbah10hatah posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:31 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) #248: Is your tin-foil hat shaped like Jack Roush's? 257. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:33 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Although this track isn't all bad in my opinion, I could not help but notice the grandstands being noticeably empty as well. I don't think taking a date away from this track would hurt at all. And how was Homestead 2011 staged? That was a case of a driver determined as hell to win the championship and it was gonna take a DNF cause for Tony to say "die". 258. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Even by TMS' incredibly low standards, this has been a boring race. 259. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I don't think taking a date away from this track would hurt at all." I would LOVE that, but Boss Hog wouldn't so it won't happen. 260. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) I love the complete lack of explanation for why NASCAR could have rigged the finish of that race beyond "It's too coincidental." I'm disappointed, I was hoping for some REALLY hokey conspiracy theory. 261. JRacingFast posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Post 206 was from me by the way 262. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Anyone who actually watched 2011 Homestead saw just how hard Tony drove for that championship, No one was giving him anything, he went out there and earned the title the old-fashioned way. Like the guy or not, that's probably the best individual performance in the sport this century. 263. JRacingFast posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I mean 246 264. JG24shouldbe5time posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "By the end of the month? It's 5:15 and I'm 10 minutes from complete darkness on Nov 3rd." You guys get dark before us in Minnesota in November (by a few minutes, not counting the 1 hour time difference)? I Didn't realize that. Either way, it's hard. You go from 6:30 to 5:30 and don't have time to adjust; at least from the middle of summer to the beginning of fall, you get to slowly adjust. So...Jimbo's back out front with a 4 second advantage and 100 or so to go. 265. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The Kenseth story line has been compelling to watch. I think he may win this race. 266. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon is still in the garage listed as "off". Personally, I'd rather just call it a day after a heavy crash rather than spend 200 laps in the garage trying to fix a car to gain 2-3 points, but that's just me. That's one of the many reasons why I could never be a NASCAR driver. 267. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:40 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Dale Jr. having a good run. He may actually get a top-5 points finish for the first time since 2006. Just think...if he hadn't had that blown engine at Chicago, he may actually be right up there with Matt and Jimmie. 268. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "The Kenseth story line has been compelling to watch. I think he may win this race." I'm so happy this race is 500 miles. 269. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks like Kenseth short pits here. 270. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Right front problems for the 48. Get ready 24 crew. 271. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Johnson has a lengthy stop. 272. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Terrible pit stop for Johnson. 273. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And now Jimmie has a bad pit stop. 274. BluesTravelerFan posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Uh oh, that 48 crew should be worried. 275. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Personally, I'd rather just call it a day after a heavy crash rather than spend 200 laps in the garage trying to fix a car to gain 2-3 points, but that's just me. That's one of the many reasons why I could never be a NASCAR driver." Well, Kyle Busch did that once... it pretty much lost him his ride. Terrible stop by the #48 team. 276. Mr X posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I smell another Texas pit crew swap for the 48. 277. SpeedWorld97 posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "Dale Jr. having a good run. He may actually get a top-5 points finish for the first time since 2006. Just think...if he hadn't had that blown engine at Chicago, he may actually be right up there with Matt and Jimmie." This really has been Jr.'s best chase since '06, so he would definitely deserve a top 5 points finish this year. 278. Anonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:46 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "#248: It is so hard to stage a finish in NASCAR. " Throw a phantom caution, and you have staging. 279. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Convenient opportunity #3 to show Danica. 280. joey2448 posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Time to roll over Junior! 281. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) At least they're not covering BoB to death, I'll say. If this were FOX we'd be getting updates on how she's doing every 10-15 minutes. 282. TS1420 posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Hopefully the 48/24 crew swap includes Alan Gustafson. AG: Let's do a no tire, no fuel stop! 283. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wish they would give us some freaking lap times. I'd like to know whether Matt is still just as fast. 284. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) That's 3 belly rubs for June after the race. He's been a good boy. 285. NicoRosbergFan posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:49 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "I smell another Texas pit crew swap for the 48." And, with the call, the late Benny Parsons! "And as they barrel through... man oh man! Look out! Chad Knaus is KIDNAPPING Letarte's pit crew!" 286. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You can see the lap times on NASCAR.com's live leaderboard. Kenseth is pretty much running the same times as the leader, while Johnson is quite a bit faster. 287. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 282, I understand AG, Gordon just cant race in crowd. It is better to fall back from front row than from 5th row. 288. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:49 pm Rate this comment: (2) (2) That's 3 belly rubs for June after the race. He's been a good boy. One more and he gets a bone from the butcher shop. 289. 18fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Doesn't matter where he runs on the track, he's way faster than everybody else. Didn't help Kyle that Ambrose held him up and moved out of the way when Jimmie got ehre. 290. NicoRosbergFan posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "Doesn't matter where he runs on the track, he's way faster than everybody else. Didn't help Kyle that Ambrose held him up and moved out of the way when Jimmie got ehre. " Wha? 291. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And now Jimmie is right up on Keselowski's bumper. Looks like the bad pit stop didn't phase him, unfortunately. 292. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) 288, And Hendrick gets boner. 293. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Montoya blows a tire for the caution. Just as 48 takes the lead. 294. 18fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Montoya's tire disintegrated. 295. TS1420 posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Wish they would give us some freaking lap times. I'd like to know whether Matt is still just as fast." I hate how none of the networks will give out a speed chart of the top ten any more. 296. NicoRosbergFan posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) When a car is THAT much faster than the rest, you have to wonder especially given their shitty performance on these tracks the last few times around... 297. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) WTH was Montoya trying to do? 298. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Talking about Montoya, I possibly can't understand his decision to go to Indycars. That is dangerous motorsports, and Montoya is not the fittest and youngest of the bunch. 299. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "WTH was Montoya trying to do?" Typical Montoya stuff. 300. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, Mark Martin is in the top 10 this late in the race after a 4-tire stop. It's good to see him running well again for once. 301. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Speaking of IndyCar, are any of Penske's Indy crews at the track? BK's last stop was horrendous. 302. Sean posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Talking about Montoya, I possibly can't understand his decision to go to Indycars. That is dangerous motorsports, and Montoya is not the fittest and youngest of the bunch." Because he was better at it and because the racing is more fun. At the time he went to NASCAR, Champ Car and IRL were both more boring than NASCAR, but that has since switched. I think sports cars would be the best fit for Montoya at this point though. 303. NicoRosbergFan posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Wow, Mark Martin is in the top 10 this late in the race after a 4-tire stop. It's good to see him running well again for once. " 'Tis a rather car-dependent track and a track where the #14 is normally strong. 304. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I think sports cars would be the best fit for Montoya at this point though." I agree with this, but I'm excited to see him back in IndyCar. He hasn't run American open-wheel racing in something like 13 years, so it will be interesting to see if he can be competitive right off the bat or not. 305. TS1420 posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle needs to unleash his annual Texas meltdown on Johnson. 306. 18fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:59 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Gordon is back on track. The best he can do is 38th, which would be a gain of 4 points over where he is now. 307. BON GORDON posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeez it's about time! 308. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Gordon could still win if everybody else crash and DNF. Oh wait, no he cant. 309. joey2448 posted: 11.03.2013 - 5:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The state of Texas momentarily went turquoise! 310. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree that Montoya's best bet would have been sports cars. He would have brought a lot of eyes to that new unified series next year. It's still gonna be fun to watch him in IndyCar though. 311. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:01 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) This is just soul crushing, waiting on the inevitable JJ win and points stranglehold. 312. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:03 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Kligerman 20th in that Swan Racing car. Hell of a job all day long. 313. TS1420 posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:06 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) "This is just soul crushing, waiting on the inevitable JJ win and points stranglehold." It's sad that none of these driver will dare to even race him hard. Just roll over and let the 48 cruise on by with ease. PUT A FRIGGIN' FENDER OR CHOP BLOCK TO HIM AND MAKE HIM EARN A POSITION FOR ONCE YOU DAMN WUSSES! 314. joey2448 posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) While the JJ show continues its slow depressing march...Philly QB Nick Foles has thrown SIX TOUCHDOWNS!!! In one game! Holy cow! 315. Anonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:11 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) My great-great-aunt could probably win in that 48 car, and she's 90 years old! 316. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The BSPN pit studio... with disappointment in their voices as Team Roboto is pulling away? That's when you know it's bad. 317. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:17 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Daugherty wished for caution, let's see if we get one for DĂ?BRII. 318. The Sound posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #314 Picked him up off the waiver wire to replace Stafford for this week. Pretty satisfied with his performance, to say the least. Trade bait next week? 319. 18fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle sped. 320. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch speeding on pit road. 321. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch speeds on pit road. Meltdown, commence. 322. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:21 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "Here come Zachary Shawn, destroyahirimix-what-the-hell-it-is, NoLongerAnonymous, and company... our Johnson bed-wetters." Hey, Johnson may be my favorite driver, but I take offense to that. i have NO problem calling him out on sh*t that the team and driver pulls. Look at my comments of the season's spring dover race for example! What lap is it? 323. numbah10hatah posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #322: There are 32 laps left. 324. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch and Tony Romo are really so much alike within their respective sports that it's ridiculous. 325. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wonder if Bruton Smith tears this track down. 326. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And now we've got a Hendrick 1-2 with Dale Jr in 2nd. That is a REALLY deflating feeling. 327. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Where is Kasey? Could he somehow get into 3rd spot and smile? 328. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt Kenseth feels a vibration... never heard that one before. 329. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kasey is Ksixth. 330. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thanks, not that I actually cared where that android keeps beeping :) 331. BluesTravelerFan posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) I try not to crap on the racing as much as I can, but this has been SUCH a dull race. 332. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Conventional wisdom says there is no way this goes green to the end. 333. JRacingFast posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.............ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ................ZZZ ......Texas Sucks!! 334. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:28 pm Rate this comment: (6) (0) Look at the grandstands from the aerial shot. Place is half empty. Who would want to show up and watch this shit? Domination yet again from the Most Boring Person Ever and horrible racing. 335. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:28 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Thumbs up to the blimp operator for staying awake. 336. numbah10hatah posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz *wakes up, realizes Johnson is still leading* zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz 337. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thats why it is a blimp, so you can take a nap. 338. jabber1990 posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) i'm not convinced that Jimmies car is legal of course none of us are convinced either 339. JRacingFast posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:31 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Listen to ESPN trying to hype this shit storm of a race to make it seem like something epic is going to happen..... 340. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Oh god, THe comments are the best yet! Is this worse then the Fall Charlotte event this year? And when I ask that, put your Bias for or against other drivers aside. As racing goes, is this worse then the Charlotte event? 341. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "As racing goes, is this worse then the Charlotte event?" Equal to. This has been nothing but a "clean air is all that matters" race. 342. JRacingFast posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Destroyahirismix666 IT depends i dont see ANY actual racing going on.....The cars are so f**king strung out its just dull...... 343. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Maybe 10 cars will blow their engines all over the track and we'll see battle for win between Keselowski and Ambrose on a slick track. Not? 344. Sean posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) "Domination yet again from the Most Boring Person Ever and horrible racing." Are you talking about Jimmie Johnson or Sebastian Vettel? 345. TS1420 posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Our only hope is that Jimmie blows another tire at Phoenix. Of course he will probably lead 295 laps and all but clinch the Cup next week. 346. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Are you talking about Jimmie Johnson or Sebastian Vettel? At least Vettel threw out a couple curses in a podium ceremony once. 347. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Just a sorry race. DJ says this makes him proud to be part of this sport ruled by Androids. Makes me wanna quit watching. 348. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #343 Lawl. i don't like either of those guys but they are wheelmen! Just imagine them grinding around this track pulling off drifts in the corners and the like! 349. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The only positive thing I can say about this race is that Parker Kligerman pulled out a hell of a run in the Swan Racing car to finish 18th. Other than that, this was god awful. Another clean air derby for 500 miles, and to top it all off Jimmie gets "max points". 350. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Did Jimmie win his 8th title already? Can I now please follow other drivers? 351. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) YOu know, you have had two years off form Johnson getting chamionships. 2011 he wasn't even a factor, and 2012 the 'Racing gods' conspired against him in the last two races. ...Where was I going with that comment? 352. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Terrible weekend of racing. 353. Sean posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, most people expected Johnson to gain on Kenseth at Martinsville and Kenseth to gain on Johnson here, so I'd say it was basically a wash. I hardly think Johnson's inevitable yet. He isn't fantastic at Homestead. cjs's prediction that this would be pivotal due to an engine failure seemed a little odd to me. There's very little lack of reliability in NASCAR races these days - that's one of the things that makes current races so boring (and another thing that makes IndyCar so compelling...that Fontana race was completely unpredictable for instance). 354. TeamPlayersBlue posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:40 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Another boring Texas race what a surprise well Eddie Windbag Gossage and Boss Hog Bruton love it and say it's the best track on the schedule. 355. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I was away from a computer for the last 80 laps or so, hence why I had nothing to say. Very, very disappointing race overall. A Jimmie Johnson blowout and yet another clean-air fest that we've seen so much at the mile-and-a-half cookie cutter tracks over the past few years. The only positive thing I can say about this race is that Kenseth is still close in points... 356. TS1420 posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Such a horrible season. Boring races dominated by boring drivers. 357. jabber1990 posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) congratulations to Jimmie for winning his 6th title 358. joey2448 posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JIMMIE JOHNSON FAILS POST-RACE INSPECTION!!! Nah, not really. But I would not be surprised in the least... 359. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) This race goes up there with the 2004 Coca-Cola 600 and the 2008 Pepsi 500 at Fontana as one of my least favorite races. 360. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So which Phoenix short track are they racing at next week? 361. joey2448 posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Guys, this is EXACTLY what happened last year. Jimmie Johnson won at Texas, leaving with a 7-point lead and all of us with crushed hopes, but look what happpened... 362. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:43 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Jimmie fails inspection and is docked 100k dollars, manufactures and team owner points and Knaus goes into probation. Drivers championship points stay intact :) 363. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Jr has been working hard to change lines when rolling over. 364. Benjamin Lowe posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:44 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) No mas, No Mas, 365. BluesTravelerFan posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:44 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Does anyone ever notice how Chad Knaus almost never seems happy even after Jimmie wins? I could probably count on the fingers of my hands the amount of times I have even seen him crack a smile. 366. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm more mad at the racing than the 48 winning. They just did a good job and took advantage of the clean air, just like they always do. Nascar has to figure something out on these 1.5 milers. If they are dead set on having these tracks be the back bone of the schedule, then they better figure out some changes fast. This and Charlotte were probably the two worst overall races this season in my opinion. And I don't think there's any way in hell that anybody could legitimately say that this was a good on track competition. It was a damn parade. If Brainless Brian and the stooges enjoyed that race, then we're in bad shape. 367. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I still think Kesneth will win this sucker, though. 368. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "If they are dead set on having these tracks be the back bone of the schedule, then they better figure out some changes fast." How, though? That's the million dollar question. 369. 18fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Based on the spring race Phoenix won't be much better than this race. That race was extremely track-position and aero dependent. 370. TS1420 posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Guys, this is EXACTLY what happened last year. Jimmie Johnson won at Texas, leaving with a 7-point lead and all of us with crushed hopes, but look what happpened..." Difference is that Keselowski left Johnson rattled after Texas after racing him hard for the win and then rattled him even more with pure confidence & swagger on and off the track. Johnson won this race uncontested and Kenseth is too much of a fanboy of Johnson to exude confidence and swagger over him. 371. cjs3872 posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:54 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) It wasn't much of a race, and these intermediate track races are not going to be competitive until they slow the cars down by taking horsepower away. They're simply going too fast to put on a good race. What they need to do is to find some way to take horsepower away, possibly even use restrictor plates to do that, because 180-185 MPH on a 1.5 mile track is entirely too fast to generate close, competitive racing. They only need to be going 170-175 tops, because the racing was much better when that was the top lap speed. Of course when one car is so much faster than everyone else, the racing's going to look pitiful, but I have to say, the racing wasn't very good, and by the way, the crowd was as bad as the racing was. It looked like the stands weren't even half-full, and Texas is another showplace track. Unless they slow the cars down about 15 MPH, the racing on these tracks is never going to be good, except for a race or two every other year. And unfortunately, the poor quality of the racing is something I saw coming before the season started, and apparently, Rusty Wallace, as brought up in post #33 by DSFF, has also figured that out. 372. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:54 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Only in NASCAR do we have excellent events like Martinsville followed by the parade at Texas... a pitiful race competition wise. The 1.5 milers and RP races have been duds for the most part while the short tracks and road courses have been the bright spots for the 2013 Cup season. 373. Schroeder51 posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:54 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) I want to know which genius decided that 1.5 mile cookie cutter tracks needed to make up more than 50% of the NASCAR schedule. These are the tracks, as I said, that consistently produce some of the most dull, ho-hum races of the year. 374. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 6:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "How, though? That's the million dollar question." I don't know, I'm not on their R&D team. But if it was up to me, I would consult the drivers on it. They are the ones in the cars, they know what good competition is (or what it should be, anyway), and I'm pretty sure they all have an idea of what these races should look like. Let the drivers be a part of the decision making. Whether it's making changes to the car (which I think is a big part of it), to the track, whatever. That's what I would do. 375. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was a very forgettable race, especially when you have one car that is head and shoulders above the field, that is pretty much a guarantee for the win at a wide D-oval like Texas. The interval Johnson has over Kenseth right now is the same interval Keselowski was behind going into last year's Phoenix race, so the championship battle isn't over until it's over. I'm not sure Kenseth has the same strategy when it comes to racing for championships as Brad, though. 376. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:02 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) At least Mark Martin did have a competitive run in 11th and Kligerman had a respectable finish in 18th. 377. 18fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:03 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) It's amazing how many race are dominated like this in the "most competitive era in NASCAR history", as NASCAR keeps trying to tell us this is. 378. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:03 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) "It wasn't much of a race, and these intermediate track races are not going to be competitive until they slow the cars down by taking horsepower away. They're simply going too fast to put on a good race. What they need to do is to find some way to take horsepower away, possibly even use restrictor plates to do that, because 180-185 MPH on a 1.5 mile track is entirely too fast to generate close, competitive racing. They only need to be going 170-175 tops, because the racing was much better when that was the top lap speed." How do you know that, though, cjs? There is no empirical evidence to suggest that. We may just end up with a slower parade. There are a lot of other things that have changed since then besides the speed. How can you just pinpoint speed as the cause? It's not very scientific to do so without pinpointing and eliminating all other possible factors as well until only speed remains. Just because faster speeds have CORRELATED with worse racing, doesn't mean higher speeds have CAUSED worse racing. The idea of causation vs. correlation is an idea you will study in pretty much any science, social science, methods, or statistics class and it applies very much hear. Honestly, with races like today, I'd rather them go faster so they will end sooner. 379. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't think the tracks are the problem at all. No one complained about all the new intermediates when they first came on the scene in the late 90s - early 00s and they often put on some great and memorable races. The problems really only came about when the COT chassis was created. While there are a lot of fans who will complain no matter how good or bad the racing is if Jimmie Johnson wins, I think the situation would be a lot better if they were still using the old car. The trucks have put on the best shows this year, and I have a feeling NASCAR could really screw that up as they implement the Truck of Tomorrow. 380. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:06 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) "At least Mark Martin did have a competitive run in 11th and Kligerman had a respectable finish in 18th. " An 18th place finish for a driver debuting for Swan Racing at an intermediate is much more than respectable. He bettered the team's previous best intermediate finished by 7 positions. Kligerman could be the most overlooked young driver, he seems to have what it takes to be a great driver. 381. MStall41 posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:07 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Give the fans the tire falloff that they "want", they complain. Give them a hard tire that never falls off, they don't like that either. I think its so funny when some people of NASCAR boards clamor for more tire wear and racing that "puts things back in the drivers hands" (whatever the hell that means...). Well, here you go, Texas is nice and worn out, chews up tires, and "puts the race back in the drivers hands" (at least according to the misguided definition most have for "putting things in the drivers hands)...and this is the race we end up with. The real problem is that the cars are way too freaking fast. Even on a track where aero push is outweighed by tire falloff, they still can't race all that close. This is why I think NASCAR is taking a HUGE step in the right direction by cutting horsepower and working on aero stuff for next year. I think those are the correct moves. As for today, it wasn't the worst race ever. Tire falloff at least allowed the best cars to pass people. Not every race is going to be a classic. Some don't seem to understand that which is rather unfortunate, but it is what it is. You will all continue watching next week and the world is not going to end. There you go, take a deep breath and relax. 382. John Royal posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kligerman is the new Jimmie Johnson. 383. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "The real problem is that the cars are way too freaking fast." Again, how do you know this? This is a popular theory, but unless you have eliminated ALL other possibilities then you cannot make that claim. That's not how science works and I'm guessing that none of us on this board have the resources necessary to conduct that type of research. Just because something correlates (in this case, high speeds with bad racing) doesn't mean one causes the other. Maybe it does, but you'd have to eliminate every other change that has occurred in that time to make the claim and even then it would only be a solid theory that could be disproven at any time. 384. MStall41 posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, just to clear up some confusion here, clean air was not a large factor in this race at all, very similar to how it was at Atlanta. So you can not blame clean air for today's "disappointing race." It was simply due to a lack of yellows and a few cars who were much better than everyone else. It happens. Until you slow the cars down, you're going to have races where people just walk away from the field. 385. 83andJoe posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:13 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz...snort cough oh it's an hour after the race and Jimmie Johnson is still leading...zzzzzzzzzzz. 386. MStall41 posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @ZackaryShawn To put it as simply as I can, the clean air effect intensifies as the cars get faster, leading to increasing amounts of aero disturbance (aka the clean air effect). On top of this, when the cars are faster the drivers lose the grip they need to race hard. When grip goes down and aero disturbance goes up, you see less and less passing. Thus, slowing the cars down would help alleviate both issues and make the racing better. Its certainly not the only thing that needs to be done, but I can promise you it would go a long way in making things better. 387. joey2448 posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:16 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "The trucks have put on the best shows this year, and I have a feeling NASCAR could really screw that up as they implement the Truck of Tomorrow." The trucks also utilize much more mechanical grip rather than aero grip. Those machines are much more bulky and thus have much more drag than the Gen-6 Cup cars. Plus they are less powerful. That combination contributes to better racing and the drivers having more input, rather than the vehicles determining their success. Driver talent is more prevalent than simply a fast car or truck. 388. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "To put it as simply as I can, the clean air effect intensifies as the cars get faster, leading to increasing amounts of aero disturbance (aka the clean air effect). On top of this, when the cars are faster the drivers lose the grip they need to race hard. When grip goes down and aero disturbance goes up, you see less and less passing. Thus, slowing the cars down would help alleviate both issues and make the racing better. Its certainly not the only thing that needs to be done, but I can promise you it would go a long way in making things better." I could buy this. The quality of the racing this year does seem to be inversely proportional to the speed of the cars, with the exception of the California race. 389. Anonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I know what Dalejrfan posted about Hendrick favoring Johnson is far fetched but I think he might be SOMEWHAT right. I know Johnson is a better driver than Jr but I'll just say this, Johnson can run away from the field yet Jr and even Kahne and Gordon don't get as fast as cars as Johnson. I'm not saying that Hendrick favors Johnson, things just point to him possibly doing that. I'm not asking anyone to agree with me, just consider the fact that favoritism is going on even if it isn't. 390. Eric posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Schroeder51, Blame greed on the track owners in terms of the mile and half tracks. These tracks were being announced/constructed when NASCAR was at its prime in popularity back in the 1990's. Track Owners created these tracks because they thought Mile and half stands can bring more people in then short tracks and mile tracks can. The other reason so many tracks are mile and half is caused by having the ability of different racing series race on them such as Indycar. 391. MStall41 posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:27 pm Rate this comment: (1) (3) @Anonymous wrote "I know what Dalejrfan posted about Hendrick favoring Johnson is far fetched but I think he might be SOMEWHAT right. I know Johnson is a better driver than Jr but I'll just say this, Johnson can run away from the field yet Jr and even Kahne and Gordon don't get as fast as cars as Johnson. I'm not saying that Hendrick favors Johnson, things just point to him possibly doing that. I'm not asking anyone to agree with me, just consider the fact that favoritism is going on even if it isn't." I wonder if this has something to do with the fact that Johnson is a better driver right now than the other 3, or that he and his team have better chemistry than the other 3? Nah, that can't be the reason why. Must be favoritism. 392. David posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:30 pm Rate this comment: (2) (2) Here we go. As promised, here is the parody requested last week. Hendrick Depression (a lyrical adaptation of "Manic Depression") Hendrick depression is ruining my fun A Kenseth win is what I want but Johnson spoils the run How I'd like to see him blow up Hope, sweet hope, Drops from my heart, my heart Hendrick depression is catchin' my soul Race fans so weary, the sweet cause in vain They cheer on, they jeer on It's all the same When it's, when it's over, all over NASCAR, sweet NASCAR I really must confess, confess, confess Hendrick depression is a frustrating mess Well, I think I'll go turn the TV off, And go on down All the way down Really ain't no use in me hanging around In a forty-eight's paradise NASCAR, sweet NASCAR I really must confess, confess, confess Hendrick depression is a frustrating mess 393. NicoRosbergFan posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:35 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) 30 years of buying success... just ask DW... 394. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:35 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) "I know what Dalejrfan posted about Hendrick favoring Johnson is far fetched but I think he might be SOMEWHAT right. I know Johnson is a better driver than Jr but I'll just say this, Johnson can run away from the field yet Jr and even Kahne and Gordon don't get as fast as cars as Johnson. I'm not saying that Hendrick favors Johnson, things just point to him possibly doing that. I'm not asking anyone to agree with me, just consider the fact that favoritism is going on even if it isn't." Honestly, at this point, if I was Rick Hendrick I would absolutely put everything I could into Jimmie Johnson. If that's favoritism, then so be it. Where this theory falls apart, is when some start talking this bull crap less than 2 or 3 races into the season when there is absolutely no reason for Hendrick to favor one driver over the other. 395. Anonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) #391: I'm not saying it is favoritism, but I have never seen a car that is that much faster that the team cars. If the cars come from the shop equal, how come none of the other Hendrick cars can EVER catch Johnson. It may not be favoritism, maybe Johnson and his team is just that good. I'm just saying that it something MIGHT be going on when one car from a team can out run the others like a Ferrari racing against a go kart. 396. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:38 pm Rate this comment: (2) (2) "Difference is that Keselowski left Johnson rattled after Texas after racing him hard for the win and then rattled him even more with pure confidence & swagger on and off the track.Johnson won this race uncontested and Kenseth is too much of a fanboy of Johnson to exude confidence and swagger over him." Exactly. This championship is over. I was crushed at the time, but I realize now, despite JJ pulling it out, that race was the turning point in Brad's favor. He took Jimmie out of his comfort zone by racing him so hard (in the 80s and 90s that ending would be considered kinda tame but whatever) and then the swagger he showed all week leading to Phoenix really rattled Jimmie. The reverence for the 5 titles shown by other drivers really gives JJ confidence. Brad was strutting and talking like HE was the five time champ. Then, after Phoenix, he gave a profanity laced tongue lashing to the actions of a 4 time champ and the comments of a 3 time champ. You know Matt is gonna pull his "golly gee, I'm just happy to be on the same track as the driver I consider the best ever" routine. Say what you want about Brad, and you guys know I'm pissed at him right now after AutographGate, but he has the right attitide to be a champ. An asshole. Reverence for accomplished veterans? Not "speaking out of turn" against the established drivers? Worrying about "showing class" in every interview (or ANY interview for that matter)? None of that means shit to him. And it gets under his stuck up competitors' skin. None of this meant anything to Darrell in the 70s, Dale in the 80s, Rusty in the 80s, despite his squeaky clean public image it meant nothing to Jeff in the 90s, and like Jeff, deapite his public "Hendrickization", Jimmie never cared. Championship over, give it to Jimmie. 397. cjs3872 posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Zack, the problem with the speed of the cars as it relates to the on-track competition is nothing new in racing. Guys like Tom Sneva were complaining about that in IndyCar racing as far back as the late 1970s when the speed of the IndyCars climbed up over 200 MPH, so this is not a new problem at all. It's just relatively new to NASCAR, though it actually reared its ugly head at Daytona in the mid 80s. Just compare the racing in 1986 and '87 to the racing in 1983 and '84 when the cars were going about 8-10 MPH slower. Certainly aerodynamics had something to do with that, but the cars took a substantial leap in horsepower during that period. The racing in '83 and '84 was far superior to the racing that took place in '86 and '87, and the speed of the cars was a big reason why. In fact, Bill France, Jr. was so disenchanted with the racing that took place in the 1987 Winston 500 that he considered doing something to slow the cars down, even if Bobby Allison's crash had not happened, because the cars were stringing out at Talladega, where just the year before, they could run closer together. A main reason was the speed increase seen in 1987, which is not unlike the speed increase seen this year. The cars were not capable of racing close together then, even at Daytona and Talladega because of the dramatic increase in race speeds. In the 1986 Winston 500, they were racing at about 202-203 MPH, and in the 1987 race, they were racing at 210, hence the decrease in the level of competition there. We're seeing that same thing happen this year, circuit-wide, except for the short tracks. 398. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Give the fans the tire falloff that they "want", they complain." I'm not complaining about the tires. In fact, the tire falloff in this race was really the only saving grace when it came to 90% of the legitimate passes today. I don't want to imagine how much worse this race would have been if it was a more durable tire. The big thing for me about this race was the clean air. I'm gonna have to disagree with you MStall on where you said clean air wasn't a factor in this race, because in the race I was watching it most definitely was. Every restart the leader would just pull away for about five or ten laps (and a lot of times, even longer). And again, to me it seemed like whenever there was a legit pass (not often), it was because of the tire wear. The tire wear saved this race from being a complete F-. The finishing order doesn't really reflect it that much because of the different strategies and whatnot, but let's look at all of the guys who basically ran up front for the entire day. Jimmie (started 3rd), Dale Jr (started 7th), Kenseth (started 6th), Brad (started 2nd), Carl (started on pole and ran up there all day until blowing up), Kyle (started 5th) and Gordon until he wrecked (started 8th). Those were the guys who ran up front all day, and they all started up there as well. So if you started about 10th or worse, you really had no chance unless you either did some different strategy stuff or if you just had a really good car (Logano comes to mind). So to me, that shows that clean air was actually a really big part of the race today. My final thought on this race is basically what I said before. I can understand if you think this race wasn't "that bad" or whatever, but there's no way that anybody can tell me with a straight face that this race was "good". And as for the "the cars are going too fast" argument, I would actually have to agree that the speeds probably are a big part of the mediocrity. I've heard interviews with racing greats like AJ Foyt and Mario Andretti where they've said that too much speed can lead to the cars basically just being stuck and that type of thing. So I would assume that those guys know what they're talking about. I don't know about restrictor plates for the 1.5 milers like CJS was saying for a possibility, but I definitely think cutting horsepower wouldn't hurt at all. 399. Loose Lugnuts posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:51 pm Rate this comment: (2) (5) Of course Rick Hendrick favors JJ. His only purpose in life these days is to do whatever is necessary to get the 48 team eight titles, and that includes giving orders to his other drivers to lay down at key moments in favor of the 48, cannibalizing the rest of his teams for support personnel and equipment, etc. And of course, with the deepest pockets in the sport and a documented history of bribery, there may some instances where NASCAR officials look the other way when the 48 goes through post-race inspection after a race like today's. And who's to say that the pit road speeding penalty on the 20 today was legit? I've said it before and I'll say it again: you have to question the legitimacy of every win by the 48 just like you had to question the legitimacy of every Barry Bonds HR after he joined S.F. Once you start cheating it's very hard to stop, especially when the stakes are as high as they are. 400. NadeauFan91 posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Dale Jr's season is reminding me of Kasey Khane's rookie year, a ton of great runs and runner up finishes but no win to show for it. 401. berserker20 posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:54 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) So because two drivers race each other clean and enjoy each other's company makes one a fan boy of the other? Come on!! If you want to look at it in a logical point of view, one could argue that if Johnson does win this chase, that he won it at Talladega. That track has done more harm then good when it comes to competition for this sport. There was no real racing all day and both Johnson and Kenseth were too concerned with wrecking and ruining any shot that either of them had at a title and laid back. Johnson finished slightly better than Kenseth and at this point, that is the major difference.... 402. murb posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't know about this championship. A lot of people are comparing it to last year's championship, but we have to remember that the 48 had trouble at Phoenix and Homestead. If the 48 has two more top fives with no trouble, unfortunately, I think it's over unless Kenseth wins these last two. But when you factor in just how damn mistake free the 48 seems to be right now with Matt's lack of mind games that DSFF was talking about, to me it just seems like it's Jimmie's to lose now after this win. I hope I'm wrong. 403. Baker posted: 11.03.2013 - 7:59 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) My blood pressure has gone down from 144/98 to 126/89 just in the last 2 months of giving up NASCAR. No Heath changes or eating habits have changed. I got on here to see who won and to my surprise I was not upset when I saw it was Johnson. He didn't waste my time. He is no longer ruining a sport for me. I hope Stewart calls it a career so I'm not dragged back in. 404. 18fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 8:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Outlook for top 5 Chase drivers going into the last two races Jimmie Johnson: Obviously the favorite with a 7 point lead and clearly the most speed of any team in the field. Hasn't had nearly as much success on the new Phoenix surface as he did on the old surface. Finished 2nd in the spring at Phoenix. Matt Kenseth: Phoenix hasn't been one of Matt's stronger tracks, but his previous history at tracks has been thrown out the window this year. Finished 7th in the spring. Kevin Harvick: Phoenix is one of his best tracks and Harvick has been his typical consistent self this year while not contending for many wins. Has a win and a 2nd in the last three races at Phoenix, finished 13th in the spring. Kyle Busch: Speed hasn't been the problem, both at Phoenix and lately this year. Kyle has looked more like Kurt with inability to finish well. I think today's speeding penalty was him trying to make up too much ground on pit road. Finished 23rd at Phoenix in spring after spinning and hitting the wall with arguably the fastest car. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Team is performing as well as they have in a long time and a 3rd place points finish is conceivable. Phoenix has been a good track for Junior, finished 5th in the spring. 405. 18fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 8:04 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "you had to question the legitimacy of every Barry Bonds HR after he joined S.F." Starting in 1999. Barry Bonds was jealous of the attention that Sosa and McGwire got from their homerun race in 1998 and wanted attention for himself, so he started using PEDs. 406. NoLongerAnonymous posted: 11.03.2013 - 8:18 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) "Of course Rick Hendrick favors JJ. His only purpose in life these days is to do whatever is necessary to get the 48 team eight titles, and that includes giving orders to his other drivers to lay down at key moments in favor of the 48, cannibalizing the rest of his teams for support personnel and equipment, etc. And of course, with the deepest pockets in the sport and a documented history of bribery, there may some instances where NASCAR officials look the other way when the 48 goes through post-race inspection after a race like today's. And who's to say that the pit road speeding penalty on the 20 today was legit? I've said it before and I'll say it again: you have to question the legitimacy of every win by the 48 just like you had to question the legitimacy of every Barry Bonds HR after he joined S.F. Once you start cheating it's very hard to stop, especially when the stakes are as high as they are." This post is so insane I almost thought it had to be sarcasm. You say "of course" Hendrick favors Johnson like it's supposed to be common sense or something, when in reality it makes no sense whatsoever. Johnson is the 3rd most marketable driver on the team, the businessman in Hendrick, if he was giving anyone an advantage, would give it to Dale Earnhardt Jr. as the most marketable driver on the team, which would greatly increase his ability to make money out of the sport. As far as the "Hendrick conspiracy" nonsense, I'm not even sure that merits a response, but here goes. Why would NASCAR, a multi-billion dollar organization, even need to accept bribes? That would just be like a drop in the bucket. As far as Kenseth speeding, I'm sure it won't mean a thing to you, but Kenseth admitted after the race he was pushing the limits too far. I guess he's just in on the fix too. 407. 18fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 8:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Chad Knaus said after the race that he thinks Matt is a more formidable opponent than Brad because Matt is "a little more mature/controlled". Interesting comments for sure, given the fact that Brad beat the 48 last year. 408. Dense Drip posted: 11.03.2013 - 8:31 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) At least the grandstand at Phoenix is supposed to be a sellout. 409. Loose Lugnuts posted: 11.03.2013 - 8:45 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) The members of Junior Nation are the most "taken for granted" fan base in all of sports. This "when Junior wins, NASCAR wins" crap is just that: it's crap. Whether or not Junior wins a race, his fans will still buy the merchandise, will still watch the races on TV, or will still go to the races. His marketability has peaked, whether he wins another race or not. As for why NASCAR, a multi-billion dollar organization, would need to accept bribes, well let's just say that as much money as Brian France has, he can never have enough. And one more thing about The Felon's favoritism towards JJ: remember the crew chief merry-go-round at HMS prior to the 2011 season? What was the only team to remain intact and not be involved in it? That's right, the 48. There was upheaval in the other three teams in the organization, but status quo in the 48 camp. And don't give me that "well, he didn't want to break up a winning combination" BS. If Johnson is one of the best ever, he should be able to win with any crew chief. 410. Paul posted: 11.03.2013 - 8:47 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) If I were Brandon Davis, I would offer Parker Kligerman a contract right now to drive the #30 Swan Racing car full-time in 2014. There's a good chance that he won't be returning to KBM's #77 Nationwide car next year (That team is really struggling financially.), and after the great run he had today, capped off with an 18th place finish on a 1.5-mile track in his Sprint Cup debut, I'd say all signs point towards PK being the driver of the future for Swan Racing. I've felt for quite some time that Kligerman's driving style was better suited for the Cup cars that the Nationwide cars or trucks (Conserves his equipment, doesn't overdrive the car entering the turns, seems to get better as the race goes on, etc.), and I'm happy to see that his Cup debut went by as well as it did. I figured he would do well, but I didn't think he could pull off a top-20 finish for that team. Well done. 411. TS1420 posted: 11.03.2013 - 8:48 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) "Chad Knaus said after the race that he thinks Matt is a more formidable opponent than Brad because Matt is "a little more mature/controlled". Interesting comments for sure, given the fact that Brad beat the 48 last year." That is just some more of the sour grapes potshots towards Brad from the 48 team that they've been giving him the second he beat them for the Cup last year. 412. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 11.03.2013 - 9:28 pm Rate this comment: (2) (4) Time for a bit of logic. I'm no businessman or NASCAR owner of anything except a game and some 1:24 models, but think here. At this point in the season OF COURSE Hendrick will be pouring 115 percent of his resources to Johnson! That guy is his shot at another championship! Championship means more $$$! Also considering this will be his 11th Championship in about 20 years, he's got the victory bug and he knows it! I won't say if he is cheating or not. Who knows. None of us here are looking under that 48 car. While the evidence isn't saying he's not cheating, it's not saying that he is playing squeaky clean either. In 2011, yes, Johnson's team wasn't shaken up. DUUUUUUUUUHHHH! Why the hell would you break up a winning combination!?!?!?!?!?!?!? It's just not smart business practice! Since the 1940's when NASCAR came around, MONEY was the driving force of the sport! Not 'good racing' or things like that. That would be like Lee Petty running in the top 3 all day at Daytona Beach, only to have an axle failure late, finish 35th, and smile and say 'that was a good race for me'. He would have been PISSED, because he was knocked out of another win AND a check. It would be like Dale Earndhart finishing 2nd at Riverside after leading all race. Sr. would have been irrate, not content (unless him and Richard were gunning for a title)! MONEY has always been the driving force in NASCAR. Hendrick investing all he has, overall, into the 48 team is a smart move. Dale Jr is a guarnteed Buck from fan merchandise alone. Jeff Gordon is a less-amount-but-still-guarnteed Buck, and it's no doubt that his abilities have faded over the last ten years. KC Khane is just the extra guy who provides Extra data and drives in a average way with somewhere-above-average talent. Johnson is his Lucky Horse-Shoe, because the guy won 5 of the last 10 championships he's been involved in, he is still 'in his prime', and even if he needs a certain guy to win it for him *Knaus*, considering Hendrick has them together, it would be STUPID BUSINESS PRACTICE to f*ck that up at any time! Even in 2011, Johnson finished ahead of points then his teammates, proving that from a buisness standpoint, it was a good idea to keep those guys familiar with each other. Despite what all of your whiners will say from now on, and what you have said, Hendrick is thinking in 'buisness' terms! Of COURSE he will favorite Johnson because it is scribbling his name in record books and earning him more money then Jr/Gordon's fan stuff alone! And EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU would do the SAME thing Hendrick is doing with Johnson in the SAME situation! If not, then plainly you do not understand the true power of Money! Unless it becomes terribly counter-productive for Hendrick to have his name in the record books money-wise, he won't stop doing it, rather or not it drags the sport down behind him. Stop b*tching the man out because YOU WOULD DO THE SAME DANM THING FOR THAT MUCH MONEY! I don't know if he's bribing officials. Maybe he is, maybe he's not. I don't know if he's bribing NASCAR. Maybe, maybe not. I have my suspicions, but I doubt that any of you would do any better unless, like mentioned above, you don't understand the real power of money. I have released to you my two pennies. Chew on them for a while. 413. Spen posted: 11.03.2013 - 9:32 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Stat of the week: Dale Junior's top 5 is the 3600th scored by a driver from North Carolina. 414. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 9:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Complete horseshit replay overturn on SNF. I don't even have a horse in the Indy-Houston game, bit that was total horseshit. Even with replay they can't get it right. 415. 18fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The really bad part was that they said they had enough evidence to overturn the call. Terrible call. 416. 18fan posted: 11.03.2013 - 9:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I guess the Colts have decided they don't want to cover Andre Johnson. 417. Daniel posted: 11.03.2013 - 9:59 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Parker Kligerman's debut race. Finished 18th with a chassis from Ganassi 2008. Incredible job. 418. cjs3872 posted: 11.03.2013 - 10:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Meanwhile, Texans head coach Gary Kubiak apparently collapsed on his way back to the locker room at halftime. Let's hope he's okay. 419. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 10:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was gonna say, that is scary what happpened to the Texans coach. Seeing the ambulance take off lights and sirens has me worried. They probably have different protocols in Houston, but we only transport people to the hospital with the lights and sirens on if it is real serious. 420. Daniel posted: 11.03.2013 - 10:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Goodyear is all and goodyear next year too. Damn tire. 421. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 10:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) They've ruled out a heart attack in Houston. That's what I was worried about. Hopefully things are ok. 422. Mark N. posted: 11.03.2013 - 10:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #30 car might have found a full timer for 2014 like they wanted. Kligerman gave it its 3rd best run ever, behind a 12th and 17th by Stremme. 423. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.03.2013 - 10:51 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Jimmie Johnson's win didn't even get a single tweet from the Sports Center Twitter page. 424. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.03.2013 - 11:04 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) As much as we can't stand BSPN, they aren't stupid. They saw all those empty seats and know one of the biggest reason why they are empty. No sense in sending a tweet nobody will pay attention to. 425. MStall41 posted: 11.03.2013 - 11:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JJ's win has been one of the leading stories on ESPN.com since the race ended soooooo..... 426. kup posted: 11.03.2013 - 11:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Non + Chase standings are the same! 1 Jimmie Johnson 2 Matt Kenseth 3 Kevin Harvick 4 Kyle Busch Top-4 are the same in both standings, so #48 is anyway best. 7 Clint Bowyer 8 Greg Biffle 10 Kurt Busch So seven! drivers in Top-10 have the same place in both versions. 11 Joey Logano - Non-Chase place 12 Brad Keselowski - Non-Chase place 13 Jamie McMurray - Non-Chase place 14 Ryan Newman - Wild-card ? 15 Kasey Kahne - Wild-card ? 16 Martin Truex - Wild-card ? And Wild-card eureka is total mess of dumbness. If Nascar wanna save the Chase - make it back "10 race + 10 cars" or else "15 race + 15 cars" but take out this "wild-card" shit. 427. Jim Davis posted: 11.03.2013 - 11:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Patrick had a good enough day to jump three positions to 25th. It'll be interesting to see if she can hang onto it over the next two weeks. 428. Anonymous posted: 11.04.2013 - 4:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) And then Jimmie posts pictures of himself dressed as Willie for Halloween... 429. Kubica fan Ireland posted: 11.04.2013 - 5:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) A crushing performance by Johnson who had the best car in the field by a mile. He ran the fast lap on 99 occasions out of only 334. The next best was Kenseth at 38. This was one of Johnson's most dominant performances of his career. Kenseth did well to limit the damage. People will be handing Johnson the title but Kenseth is right there if the 48 drops the ball like last year. Kenseth probably needs two podiums to stand a chance assuming the 48 is solid. The 48 is not a cert for next week as Johnson is worried about the new layout at Phoenix, hence he ran the nationwide race in the Spring. Last year he had the best car in the spring race and was slow in the fall, so his second place in February is a bit deceiving. I make Kenseth a slight favourite over Johnson for next week as he has beaten Johnson on the 2 flat-track races in the chase. If Kenseth can beat the 48 next week he will have a great chance at Homestead as Johnson has never had great speed at Homestead. Hendrick would have been a fool to break-up the Johnson Knaus partnership after 2011. Evwen with a poor season by their standards they were performing at a near championship level- 20 top10s and 1000 laps led. Remember he was 4 points of the lead after Kansas before fading 430. Kubica Fan Ireland posted: 11.04.2013 - 8:47 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Phoenix and Homestead will both sellout as neither tracks holds more than 75,000. There were 100-120,000 at the Texas race but they get lost in a facility that can hold 150,000 plus when full. 431. Kubica fan Ireland posted: 11.04.2013 - 9:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Can I ask if any of you are into sports stadium designs, such as the new Vikings or Falcons stadium and go on websites such as skyscraper city. Would any of you list a nascar track in your top 10 sports venues in America, I am asking this as most of you don't seem to realise how far nascar has fallen from its peak. It is now a niche sport I believe and it will be overtaken by UFC and MMA in the next 10 years. I know nascar gets a lot of negative publicity over crowds, but attendance wise it is still holding its own. Many of the NFL teams struggle to fill 60,000 seat stadiums, and that is for only 8 games a year. As you may know I am Irish and I have a quite a keen interest in the NFL which grows every year. What do you think of a London franchise I know logistically it would be tough but they could their games in 4 week stretches of home home home home then away away etc. I think you may have to run the regular season 16 games over a 21 or 22 week period to fit it in but it is doable.And with numerous teams (Rams Chargers Jaguars Raiders) angling for new stadiums I think it is a possibility.I think a crowd of 40,000 per game is achievable which is not much less than what some of those teams pull Also for those of you with more than a passing interest in F1 I recommend F1 fanatic 432. MStall41 posted: 11.04.2013 - 10:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR is not a niche sport, no matter what any doom and gloomer will have you believe. 433. cjs3872 posted: 11.04.2013 - 10:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) KFI, it looked to me by looking at the grandstands that there weren't more than 75,000 there, because it looked to me that the stands weren't any more than half full. Now keep this in mind. One reason for the lower attendance was that they were competing against a Dallas Cowboys home game (both the Texas Motor Speedway and Cowboy Stadium are essentially in the same market), and we all know how big football is in Texas. That certainly cut into the crowd for the race, but it was a little embarrassing for those that run the Texas Motor Speedway how small the crowd looked yesterday. 434. New14 & 88Fan posted: 11.04.2013 - 1:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sounds like JPM is in trouble with the IRS, that makes him the second Penske driver in recent memory to have tax problems. 435. Anonymous posted: 11.04.2013 - 1:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Believe it or not, there's a great battle for 25th in points shaping up now that David Ragan's had two horrible races in a row 436. Dylan Bernier posted: 11.04.2013 - 3:10 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Strong run from Kligerman for a team that start and parked most of last season and has only cracked the top 20 once this year. Seems promising if you ask me 437. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.04.2013 - 3:23 pm Rate this comment: (4) (2) Lol, last night at 11, ESPN2 aired the 30 for 30 Connors doc. From having to spend 3 and 1/2 miserable hours watching "Nap Time", "The Cardboard Man", "The Least Interesting Man In The World" dominate a race at a horrible race track, to a fun hour of Jimmy Connors engaging the crowd, yelling at chair impires, and just being human, and the great interviews with him and McEnroe going back and forth was just great. It was so cool seeing the old footage of tennis in its stuffiest, most stuck up days, its boring days, to Connors busting through, opening the door for guys like McEnroe and Natase and their hilarious antics and breaking down the country club atmosphere there (which has totally returned, but that's another story). Keep waiting for somebody to do this in NASCAR in its current Android Era. I thought it would be Brad. But he has been hung out to dry and instead of fighting the system to the bitter end like Connors did, it looks like he is trying to conform. Which sucks. The fact is NASCAR is in bad trouble. KFI, you make some good points, but I wouldn't call it a "niche sport". It has had a hardcore fan base for a long time. It began an upward national trajectory starting with the famous flag to flag telecast of the '79 Daytona 500, and really picked up steam in the mid 80s when every race was televised on cable and a few on major networks. That upward trajectory lasted over twenty years, until 2005. This has not been a quick burn and fizzle for NASCAR. But by 2006, we had lost Dale, Rusty retired, both Rockinghams were gone, and we had only one Darlington. And that was the year The Cardboard Man took over and put fan after fan to sleep. And the empty seats and giant sponsor tarps started appearing and getting more and more prevalent. I agree we have fallen badly from our peak. But that peak lasted a long time. From the late 80s onward, every track just kept adding and adding seats, and we kept filling them to the brim. Then the combination of the cookie cutter tracks, the ridiculously aero sensitive cars, and boring ass drivers have sent most of us away. And Jimmie being the champion again this year will make things even worse. Even if, by some miracle, Matt wins it, that will only slightly lessen the damage. He is another one who is descrived with code words like "a genuinely nice guy", "non controversial", "somebody your kids canlook up to". Translation: BORING! That may sound harsh and crude, but look at the drivers that caused the sport to grow the most. Curtis Turner, Fireball Roberts, Junior Johnson, Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, and Jeff Gordon. With the exception of Gordon, tjose are some pretty crude folks, but authentic and real and HUMAN. We could project our own non perfect lives onto them. 438. 83andJoe posted: 11.04.2013 - 3:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) >it will be overtaken by UFC and MMA in the next 10 years. Hahahahahahahano. Within ten years the UFC and MMA will have befallen the fate that happened to the NHL and Major League Lacrosse will have a bigger presence than they do. Now if you'd said MLS I might have thought you were being serious... Anyway, Phoenix entry list is out. 43 cars. -Whitt in the 30 -Hill in the 32 -Raines in the 33, Cassill in the 40 -Allgaier in the 51 -Sorenson in the 95 439. cjs3872 posted: 11.04.2013 - 3:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Actually DSFF, NASCAR's upward trend predated the 1979 Daytona 500. In fact, to many modern fans of the sport, it's as if NASCAR never even existed prior to that race, but there were other races that caused the upward trend for various reasons. One was the 1974 Daytona 500, which was the first time that event aired live. Another was the 1970 Firecracker 400 at Daytona, when ABC put an on-board camera and a microphone in the car of Don Tarr, so he could communicate with those in the booth during caution periods. That gave the fans insight on track conditions from a driver competing in the race. And of course, ABC started showing races live that year. For instance, the crash at Richard Petty had during the Rebel 400 at Darlington that year was covered live, with Jim McKay and Ned Jarrett in the booth. (I'd be willing to bet that many don't know that Ned once worked for ABC.) Another was the first live flag-to-flag coverage of a NASCAR race, which took place in 1971 at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina. But the race many credit for the upward trend that allowed CBS to even gamble on a live telecast of the 1979 Daytona 500 was the 1976 Daytona 500. That race featured the first live telecast of the start in race history, and of course, the epic finish between Richard Petty and David Pearson. If not for how all that unfolded, I'm not sure CBS would have even risked televising the '79 Daytona 500 live start-to-finish. And let's not forget that there was a chance that the 1978 Daytona 500 would have ended exactly like the '79 race did if Buddy Baker hadn't blown his engine with six laps left, because that contest between Bobby Allison and Buddy Baker was shaping up to be the contest that the Cale Yarborough/Donnie Allison contest ended up being a year later. Of course, there was another thing that led to the live telecast of the '79 Daytona 500 by CBS that I think was important, and that was CBS doing an all-day sports lineup leading up to Super Bowl XII January 15, 1978, because that was the first Super Bowl ever played in prime time, and the birth of "Super Sunday". That proved to be such a success, despite the terrible game that ensued between the Broncos and Cowboys in the Superdome, that it had been proven that showing sports all day could work. Another sports event that showed people would watch a big event for four or five hours was the final round of the 1976 U.S. Open in Atlanta. Because of a rain delay, viewers got to see the final group (Jerry Pate and John Mahaffey) play all 18 holes as it happened, and because of that, ABC decided to show 18-hole coverage of the U.S. Open starting in 1977. But other than baseball, no network would dare show any sporting event for more than three hours at a time prior to these events, because they didn't think people would watch for that long. But the final round of the 1976 U.S. Open, the first "Super Sunday" in 1978, and the 1979 Daytona 500 showed otherwise. Of course, now we take for granted that networks are willing to cover these events for hours at a time, but it wasn't always that way. 440. joey2448 posted: 11.04.2013 - 3:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kubica fan Ireland, I regularly check out F1 Fanatic. It always has a lot of good, updated news. You can tell that the guys running that site are diehard fans of the sport. 441. kup posted: 11.04.2013 - 4:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #30 Parker is no way start-n-parker! 442. SpeedWorld97 posted: 11.04.2013 - 4:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "For instance, the crash at Richard Petty had during the Rebel 400 at Darlington that year was covered live, with Jim McKay and Ned Jarrett in the booth. (I'd be willing to bet that many don't know that Ned once worked for ABC.) " Funny you mention this, because recently I was on YouTube and watched the 1970 Rebel 400. I was definitely surprised to see Ned do races for ABC. During the 1990s I understand that he never did races for ABC, even though the rest of the ESPN crew did, because he was under contract with CBS. I could be wrong about that, but I believe that may be true. 443. cjs3872 posted: 11.04.2013 - 5:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well SpeedWorld97, I mentioned the 1971 race at Greenville-Pickens Speedway, which was the first televised live from start-to-finish in that post, as well. What I didn't bring up, because it was unimportant in reference to the particular topic, was that Ken Squier, the man that brought the Daytona 500 to CBS in 1979, worked the pits for ABC that day in 1971 while Jim McKay and Chris Economaki were in the booth that afternoon. I'd also be willing to bet that a lot of people didn't think that Squier ever worked for ABC, either, but he worked one of their landmark races. 444. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.04.2013 - 5:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "NASCAR is not a niche sport, no matter what any doom and gloomer will have you believe." NASCAR is pretty niche-y, you don't have to be a "doom and gloomer" to acknowledge that. Really any sport besides football is has a fair amount of niche-iness to it. 445. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.04.2013 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well cjs, you could argue the upward trajectory began when they ran their first race in 1948. There were some dips like in the 60s when manufacturers began pulling out and some really popular drivers got tragically killed. But, aside from that, it did nothing bit grow from that first race until thw mid 2000s. I just used that first big network flag to flag telecast in '79 and all the now immortal circumstances surrounding it (snowstorm across the Eastern Seaboard gave a captive audience, the last lap crash and fight, the older guard of Petty, Cale, and the Allison brothers having to fight off newer guys like Darrwll and a rookie named Earnhardt, etc) as its major launching point to national prominence. 446. Scott B posted: 11.04.2013 - 5:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Would any of you list a nascar track in your top 10 sports venues in America" I would absolutely list Daytona as one of the most iconic venues in the USA. It has as much mojo as any of the stick and ball sports arenas, restrictor plate & aero debates not withstanding. I suppose I should ask for clarification on how you're definining "top-10," though. Most modern/glitzy, most historic, most profitable? 447. cjs3872 posted: 11.04.2013 - 6:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And Indy, Scott B. Of all the NASCAR tracks, the only two I would rank in the top 10-15 iconic sports venues in America would be Daytona and Indy, which became a NASCAR track in 1994. And you could argue until the cows come home which is the most iconic facility, though I would give Indy an edge here. After all, it was built exactly 50 years before Daytona was built. But there are so many iconic sports venues that it would be almost impossible to rank them. From Augusta National and Pebble Beach (golf) to Churchill Downs and Belmont Park (horse racing) to Fenway Park and Wrigley Field (baseball) to the L.A. Coliseum and the Rose Bowl (football), there are almost too many to mention. Putting even Indy in there is somewhat touchy. And I only mentioned eight iconic venues in other sports. There are at least 15-20 others you could put in there for historic American sports venues, though I only include active venues. 448. 83andJoe posted: 11.04.2013 - 8:12 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The Truck race looks like (as often) it might be the best race of the weekend. No Busch or Keselowski, and with Southern Super Series champion Daniel Hemric, John Hunter Nemechek, Cale Gale, Mason Mingus, Erik Jones, and Chase Elliott all entered. (Also, Steve Wallace...) Ryan Blaney is in the #48 Nationwide car this weekend, too. 449. MStall41 posted: 11.04.2013 - 9:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Sorry, but niche sports don't average 5-6 million viewers per telecast and fit 80-100,000 spectators into the stands on average. If you think that's niche, you need to take a wider look at what is actually going on in the greater sports world. NASCAR is and will remain mainstream for quite awhile, it's far too ingrained at this point to just "become un-mainstream" over the course of a few years. I'm not being a homer when I say this: NASCAR will be fine. They have s*** that needs to be straightened out quickly, but it will ultimately be perfectly OK. 450. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.04.2013 - 10:31 pm Rate this comment: (4) (1) "Sorry, but niche sports don't average 5-6 million viewers per telecast" The WWE does about that good and the actual rating per share is usually a little higher. Would you argue that's not a niche as well? If you would, that's ludicrous. Being a niche is not a negative thing. In fact, I'd rather NASCAR be a bit of a niche sport because that's the way you can tell when people genuinely love something. Also, MStall, why are you always the most condescending person on here? I've gotten in arguments with almost everyone on this site at some point or another and you're only who I felt like was treating me like a second grader. Honestly, I could get on board with the majority of what you say if you weren't such a jerk and condescending about it. I still haven't forgotten that you called me "lame" just because I didn't like the spring Martinsville race. Having a completely personal opinion about a race makes me "lame" in your eyes. You'll fit right in with the NASCAR media if you make it one day though. You know best and everyone else, the common fans, need you to tell us how dumb and wrong we are. You and Jim Utter would probably be pretty good buds. 451. DB1995 posted: 11.04.2013 - 10:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So they are having a NASCAR drive for the cover for NASCAR 14, and its down to: Kasey Kahne vs Kurt Busch, obvious who will win this Tony Stewart vs Matt Kenseth, Tony will win this one Jeff Gordon vs Martin Truex Jr, obvious who will win this one to Trevor bayne vs Kevin Harvick, this is probably the biggest competition there will be Trevor Bayne took out both Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski, and Stewart took out Patrick, it is obvious who will be on the cover so why they have this contest is a wonder to me they should just have a random draw of Hendrick drivers and tony Stewart and danica, because that would be easier than wasting all this time 452. JG24FanForever posted: 11.04.2013 - 10:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And yet another epic season at Texas for Jeff Gordon! Average finish at Texas for 2013: 38.0 wheel hub failure and a cut tire. 453. murb posted: 11.04.2013 - 10:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That would be funny if part time driver Trevor Bayne beat out all of the Hendrick drivers to win the cover spot for that game. I doubt it will happen, but it would be awesome. 454. David posted: 11.04.2013 - 11:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I'm not being a homer when I say this: NASCAR will be fine. They have s*** that needs to be straightened out quickly, but it will ultimately be perfectly OK." I really hope you are right. "That would be funny if part time driver Trevor Bayne beat out all of the Hendrick drivers to win the cover spot for that game. I doubt it will happen, but it would be awesome." That would be beyond awesome, it would be epic. "I've gotten in arguments with almost everyone on this site at some point or another" Have you and I ever argued/debated? I don't think so. Hence the "almost", I suppose. In fact, I don't really think I've really ever argued about anything on this site (I better work on that, haha). I remember getting into a little tiff with Paul and a few others back on the Darlington race page, but that was mostly because I was being a fact-checking Nazi. ;) "You'll fit right in with the NASCAR media if you make it one day though." Not even MStall deserves that. :) 455. MStall41 posted: 11.04.2013 - 11:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Zackary, I don't see where anything I said was condescending. I disagreed with you, that is all. I don't pull punches when I argue. I have strong opinions and I am cognizant that it may come off as sounding condescending but that's not my intention. If I've offended you I apologize but I disagree that anything I said was condescending. I just don't see how you can call NASCAR niche unless you and I have very different definitions of what "niche" constitutes. I'd NASCAR is niche, golf and the NHL would have to be niche too and that's not the case. To me, "niche" is sports like INDYCAR, MLS, Bass Fishing, Major League Lacrosse, etc. 456. 83andJoe posted: 11.05.2013 - 2:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) >If NASCAR is niche, golf and the NHL would have to be niche too and that's not the case. Golf yes, but have you seen the NHL on TV lately...? (Probably not. Because when I say Major League Lacrosse has a wider base, I'm not entirely exaggerating. Guess which one gets on ESPN occasionally? Hint, it's not hockey.) 457. Matt G posted: 11.05.2013 - 2:56 am Rate this comment: (7) (0) I don't think I've ever been more embarrassed to call myself a Nascar fan than I am right now, and that status might be in danger soon. I used to record races on VHS and watch them over and over, study the games crews played, and just enjoy the action. The only reason I watch now is because I have such a personal history with this sport that's included many family get togethers with people I care about all screaming passionately for their driver. That, and the memories of how good this sport once was - And damn was it good. But to tell you the truth, if I had never been a Nascar fan and turned on a race for the first time now, I honestly would have no idea how anyone could find this stuff compelling. With a few exceptions (Martinsville being the most recent example), these races suck hippo balls!!! That race in Texas went on for over three hours and I don't think there was one true BATTLE for a position. Sure one guy may have not waned to let the other by, but as a viewer it just felt like the car, handling, and clean air dictated the who show and it didn't matter who was driving what vehicle. Maybe this was just the straw that broke the camel's back with me as there's sadly been many other races like Sunday's, but I just can't ever remember watching a race wanting it to be over so fast (and luckily I DVR'd it and blew through the most boring stretches). The list of problems with this sport has gotten so long you need a novel to scratch the surface, but above all else, what pisses me off the most is that I just get the feeling that I'm watching corporate malaise more than an actual competition on the track. It's like the product doesn't even matter. Just as long as everybody shows up, watches the track pimp up the most boring set of drivers ever and whatever other stupid celebrity they have there that week, then everything is fine and dandy with the men upstairs. There's just so many things I hate about the Nascar experience now. The multicar team empires suck, the TV coverage sucks, the bogus debris cautions suck, clean air is king sucks, the point system sucks, the lack of beating and banging sucks, the personality of most of these drivers sucks, the Cup guys still using the Nationwide series as a playground sucks, the amount of 1.5 mile tracks on the schedule sucks, and the list goes on and on and on. I used to count down the number of DAYS until the Daytona 500 from Thanksgiving starving for more Nascar action, now I find myself counting down the number of weeks until the end of the season just hoping for a break. I just can't believe how terrible this product has become. If you would have told me 15 years ago that I could ever care this little about Nascar,I would have told you that you were insane. Watching a race now is like visiting an old friend with Alzheimer's disease. It's still physically right there in front of you, but the mind, the personality, and the soul that make up what you love so much is long gone. You still visit them every week because you want to remember the good times and hope you get a glimpse of what once was, but those glorious moments get fewer and fewer with time. 458. An Aussie Commentor posted: 11.05.2013 - 2:57 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Something I just noticed. Jimmie Johnson, in the chase, is 7 points ahead of Matt Kenseth, yet if there is no chase, JJ is 44 in front. Do the math, if Jimmie Johnson loses the championship by less than 37 points, The chase would have robbed JJ of a championship. And, with the stat of Johnson only being a 2-time champion without the chase, well he would become a three-time champ without the chase. 459. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.05.2013 - 3:06 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Matt G, I echo your sentiments 100%. 460. Kubica fan Ireland posted: 11.05.2013 - 6:04 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I read an article that mentioned how important the next few races could be in determining the next 10 years of nascar. If Johnson fails to close the deal for the second year in a row it will seriously damage the aura he has built up over the last 7 years. Lose this championship and the garage will think the pressure is getting to the 48 as they chase the 7 championships. Win and Johnson has 10 years to win the 2 championships he needs, which I think is the only thing keeping Knaus and Johnson together before Knaus moves upstairs. 461. Scott B posted: 11.05.2013 - 11:50 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) My attempt at a top-10 list of active American sports venues... not ranked in any order. 1. Daytona (NASCAR)... not only a lot of history, but visually impressive for the sheer size and the high banked turns. 2. Indy... for the long open wheel history, not for the Brickyard 400. 3. Churchill Downs... Thoroughbred racing may be a sport many people only pay attention to one time a year, but Derby Day is magical. (PS: If I could list a second horse track, I'd go with Saratoga in upstate NY over Belmont). 4. The Rose Bowl... the college football history alone would put it on the list, but it also has been an Olympic site. 5. Wrigley Field... day games in Chicago are special... Bueller? 6. Fenway Park... another great piece of Americana. 7. Madison Square Garden... The Knicks, the Rangers, boxing. 8. Lambeau Field... small market, cold weather NFL action. Football as it should be. 9. Augusta National... if we include an American golf course as a sports venue. Pebble Beach a close second. 10. Forest Hills... West Side Tennis Club. Honorable mention: Louisiana Superdome... home of the Saints and a frequent Super Bowl host. Out of town fans can travel here knowing they'll have a good time even if their team doesn't win. Booted off the list in recent years: The old Yankee Stadium (MLB) and the old Boston Garden (NBA/NHL). I know I'm leaving out a lot of great venues, but want to include a good cross section of different sports. 462. cjs3872 posted: 11.05.2013 - 1:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) By the way, there's a slim chance that Jimmie Johnson could actually clinch the championship at Phoenix. to do so, he must win the race and lead the most laps, thus gaining the maximum number of points (48) and Matt Kenseth would need to finish 37th or worse (38th if he leads at least one lap), and Johnson would also have to gain at least seven points on Kevin Harvick. The chances of this happening are very remote, but also mathematically possible. And Scott B, the old Yankee Stadium (both pre and post-renovation) and Boston Garden would have been thrown off my list when they were replaced. I believe in order to qualify to be listed, such a sports venue needs to be an active sports venue, which is why someplace like the Orange Bowl wouldn't qualify for my listing. In fact, as iconic as it is, the L.A. Coliseum barely qualifies since the only thing that takes place there is USC football. And yes, iconic golf courses certainly qualify if they're active, which Augusta National and Pebble Beach most certainly are, as each hosts a PGA tournament annually. And also, how could you list Saratoga over Belmont Park when Belmont Park is the host of the final jewel of horse racing's Triple Crown, not that it's ever going to be won again, because I think it will never be won again. And certainly, the home fields of both NFL teams that played last night would definitely qualify on the list of iconic sports venues, Lambeau Field and Soldier Field. But I'm not sure I would list the Superdome, even though it's had a ton of history since it opened in 1975, with the Sugar Bowl, Super Bowl, and NCAA basketball championships being played there, including the one where Michael Jordan burst onto the scene in 1982. I just wouldn't list the Superdome ahead of the other facilities mentioned. The blackout in the most previous Super Bowl certainly doesn't help t's cause, though I don't hold it against the Superdome, either in that regard. 463. Eric posted: 11.05.2013 - 1:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kubica fan Ireland, I don't think who wins the Championship will determine the next 10 years of NASCAR. It would be more like the next 7 or 8 years The age of Jimmie Johnson is the reason. Jimmie is 38 years old. I can't answer if Jimmie is going to age like Mark Martin or Harry Gant. Bobby Allison is the oldest driver ever to win a cup championship. Bobby was almost 46 years old. Mark Martin, Dale Sr., Harry Gant, Morgan Shepherd, and Richard Petty are the only cup drivers ever to finish in the top 5 in points 46 years old or older. Outside of Morgan Shepherd, rest the drivers I mentioned are legends in the cup series. Mark Martin and Dale Sr. are the only 2 cup drivers ever finishing 2nd in points over the age 46. Now Harry Gant would have won the 1991 championship if there was a chase at the age of 51, but that is very rare. Jimmie's best shots winning 2 or 3 cup championships after this year comes 2014 to 2020/2021. 464. MStall41 posted: 11.05.2013 - 1:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The 2013 AAA Texas 500 scored a 2.6 Nielsen rating and scored 4.1 million viewers. That's up from the 2012 race which posted a 2.5 rating with 3.9 million viewers. That is the *6th out of the 7 regularly scheduled Chase race to post year-to-year increases* over the 2012 Chase races. Feel free to discuss 465. murb posted: 11.05.2013 - 2:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "The 2013 AAA Texas 500 scored a 2.6 Nielsen rating and scored 4.1 million viewers. That's up from the 2012 race which posted a 2.5 rating with 3.9 million viewers. ... That is the *6th out of the 7 regularly scheduled Chase race to post year-to-year increases* over the 2012 Chase races." Again, just because ratings are good doesn't mean the actual on track product is good. I feel like that's a common misconception. I've used the analogy before of reality TV. I bet those ratings for all that garbage are sky high. But is the product really that good? 466. cjs3872 posted: 11.05.2013 - 2:41 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) You guys aren't going to believe this, but on today's (Tuesday's) edition of Race Hub, on the "Old School/New School" segment, they really went off the deep end, because they all compared Joey Logano to Davey Allison. And that included Larry McReynolds, who worked with Davey for two years. McReynolds, of all people should know better. Aside from the fact that each ruffled the feathers of veteran drivers, Logano and Davey Allison have/had nothing in common. Davey was a winner right off the bat, winning twice in 1987, despite running just a partial schedule, while it took Logano four years to win a race going the distance (Pocono in 2012). Of course, what makes this worse is that Logano drives for an organization that Davey's father once drove for (Penske Racing) and won for (in AMC Matadors, no less). Bobby even drove at Indy for Penske twice (1973, '75). They did some rather dumb comparisons, but they really went off the deep end on this one. 467. Sector posted: 11.05.2013 - 2:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Might as well write down Parker Kligerman as the next driver to finish ahead of Jeff Gordon in his Sprint Cup series debut. Hendrick Motorsports' trio of top 5 finishes in this race makes HMS two top 5's shy of the record 900. Jimmie Johnson's dominance in this race made HMS become the all time laps lead leader among the Sprint Cup series owners in history. All that's left are victories to chase down, which are 50 wins shy of tying Petty Enterprises. 468. MStall41 posted: 11.05.2013 - 3:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wasn't trying to make any correlation between ratings and racing quality. The two things are actually highly uncorrelated. I do think the ratings demonstrated that interest in the sport is at least somewhat healthy. 469. SpeedWorld97 posted: 11.05.2013 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This list of top ten sports venues has inspired me to create something a bit different: Top ten greatest racetracks in the world (1 is the greatest...10 is less great) 1.) Indianapolis Motor Speedway (NOT for NASCAR, but for the 100+ years of IndyCar. The F1 races weren't too bad other than Tiregate in 2005 either) 2.) Daytona International Speedway (Both for stock cars and sports cars) 3.) Circuit de la Sarthe (LeMans) 4.) Streets of Monaco (A course where it's hard to pass, but they are usually pretty good races) 5.) Monza 6.) Circuit of the Americas (I know this is fairly new, but it's a great track) 7.) Martinsville (A classic short track) 8.) Road America (Such a cool North American road course) 9.) Streets of Long Beach (A historic street course with lots of cool moments in F1 and IndyCar) 10.) Silverstone 470. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.05.2013 - 3:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No Darlington or Spa?!? Any top ten should ave those two on there for history's sake and the good races both tracks still put on. 471. SpeedWorld97 posted: 11.05.2013 - 4:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "No Darlington or Spa?!?" Those are definitely two tracks I considered. I guess there are just too many good tracks to fit into a top 10 list. Of course, this list is just my opinion, so all of our lists would probably look different. 472. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.05.2013 - 4:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) To be fair, I'll make my list based on history/good racing. Not in order though. 1) IMS 2) Daytona 3) Darlington 4) Spa 5) Monza 6) Watkins Glen 7) Silverstone 8) Suzuka 9) Martinsville 10)Milwaukee Mile - I wish NASCAR would bring the Nationwide/Trucks back there, perhaps have Road America in April and have Milwaukee in late August or vice versa. 473. cjs3872 posted: 11.05.2013 - 4:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, I'll make my lists based on my qualifications, history and competition, and in no particular order. All listed facilities must be active. Therefore, places such as the Boston Garden, the original Yankee Stadium (both pre and post-renovation), and the Orange Bowl will not be listed in the general sports facilities list, since none of these facilities even exist any more. Race tracks: 1. Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2. Daytona International Speedway 3. Darlington Raceway 4. Charlotte Motor Speedway 5. Watkins Glen 6. LeMans 7. Monza 8. Martinsville Speedway 9. The Milwaukee Mile 10. Monaco General American Sporting Venues: 1. Indianapolis Motor Speedway (auto racing) 2. Daytona International Speedway (auto racing) 3. Wrigley Field (baseball/football) 4. Fenway Park (baseball) 5. The Rose Bowl (football) 6. L.A. Memorial Coliseum (football/the Olympics) 7. Lambeau Field (football) 8. Soldier Field (football) 9. The Louisiana Superdome (football/basketball) 10. Madison Square Garden (basketball/hockey/boxing) 11. Churchill Downs (horse racing) 12. Belmont Park (horse racing) 13. Augusta National (golf) 14. Pebble Beach Golf Links (golf) 474. jabber1990 posted: 11.05.2013 - 5:05 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) NASCAR memes posted on facebook the other day about your "Dream team" who would be in it? Car make(s)? Sponsors? Numbers? Drivers? no clue who would be my drivers, but I would love to see Starbucks, Greyhound and Uhaul. also they all drive Fords, BUT that's because I like Fords, Disclaimer: I also don't like Starbucks, I don't think anyone does, but it would be a good sponsor for NASCAR, it would draw in fans! 475. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.05.2013 - 5:08 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Are we talking about iconic venues that are still standing and mostly unaltered? That would eliminate 3 iconic stadiums in New York City alone: The Original Yankee Stadium (it had already lost its distinction in 1976 when they renovated it completely), Ebbets Field (the stadium every new stadium is trying to look like), and the Polo Grounds (that place was a garbage heap and ugly, but had an undeniable charm). They have completely knocked all 3 of those over. Didn't leave a single column standing in any of them. Also, Soldier Field in Chicago would be on the list but they renovated all the charm out of it. I am honestly offended they kept the name "Soldier Field". Also, Detroit knocked over Tiger Stadium, built in 1900. It was still standing over a decade after they moved to the new park, but they went ahead and knocked it down so the city of Detroit could use that area for bankrupt formerly wealthy car execs to live in their cardboard boxes. All football has left is Lambeau. Sadly, I would rate the second most iconic active NFL stadium Candlestick Park which is in its last year. It is a former minor league BASEBALL park that was built up for the Giants, then they let the Niners in. And truthfully, its glory years for San Fran were only from '81-'89. In the 90s it just became a place for Steve Young to lose home playoff games, starting in 1990 when Joe Montana got knocked into 2014 (the healthy 1990 era Joe Montana will magically appear latw in the season, reclaim his starting job as Niners QB, and lead San Fran to another Super Bowl title as Joe Cool gets one for the thumb) and Young did nothing as they blew their 13-9 lead to Jeff Freaking Hostetler, then in '92, '95, '96, and '97. Plus Montana himself still talks about how bad of a stadium it was to play football in, calling it The Quagmire. Seriously, they are about to knock over the place where he once made up a 28 point deficit and a year later threw The Catch and saw the birth of Joe Cool and he's not one bit sad about it. And third might be the Astrodome. Futuristic ar the time, it sadly was the forebearer of giant circular stadiums without an ounce of character and worst of all Astroturf. Its only claim is being the site of Montana's last playoff miracle and the place where Earl Campbell RAN PEOPLE THE F*** OVER!!!! Baseball only has Fenway and Wrigley. And you have to wonder how much longer Wrigley will be up, complaints about The Friendly Confines increase by the year. Basketball has MSG. Hershey Park is still up for basketball but it never hosts anything important and its only true claim to fame is it is where Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points, an achievement that is kinda overrated (in the year when scoring across the NBA was the highest it had ever been, Philly kept fouling the Knicks late despite being way ahead so they could get the ball back to Wilt so he could get 100, imo Kobe's 81 a few years back was way more impressive and MJ's 68 points against the 1986 Boston Celtics in the playoffs as a #8 seed at Boston Garden is the gold standard). IMS is pretty much it in racing, and it is losing its luster. I don't think Daytona is a big deal outside of racing fans. And I would include Churchill Downs. I gotta be honest, I hate horse racing. It is a rich man's sport full of stuck up schmucks. And Mint Julips, the drink of choice there, taste like ass. And if one of the horses breaks their leg in a race, they kill the damn thing right there on the track in front of everyone. Sure, some people stand with a tarp in front of it, but we all know what's going on. Hell, maybe NASCAR needs to adopt this practice to breathe some excitement into the sport. If a driver crashes, instead of climbing out and walking to the ambulance, they have to stay in their car while somebody comes out and shoots them. And what about the jockeys? They are so tiny they are creepy. Anyways, despite all this, Churchill Downs makes the list. Plus, they filmed parts of the greatest James Bond movie ever there (btw, anyone who disagrees that Goldfinger is the greatest 007 movie ever is WRONG. But if you say it is Thunderball cause of the great shots of that redhead's incredible rack, I won't argue). 476. jabber1990 posted: 11.05.2013 - 5:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) are there any sports venues older than IMS? 477. MStall41 posted: 11.05.2013 - 5:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is how I think the top venues rank right now 1. Daytona 2. Indy 3. Monaco 4. Le Mans 5. Spa 6. Monza 7. Bristol 8. Charlotte 9. Talladega 10. Watkins Glen 11. Road America 12. Suzuka 13. Darlington 14. Laguna Seca 15. Silverstone 478. SpeedWorld97 posted: 11.05.2013 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "are there any sports venues older than IMS?" Milwaukee Mile is older than Indianapolis, as it was build as a horse racing track that opened in 1903. 479. Eric posted: 11.05.2013 - 5:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) jabber1990, Milwaukee Mile is older than IMS. It was opened in 1903. 480. cjs3872 posted: 11.05.2013 - 5:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jabber1990, Churchill Downs, where the Kentucky Derby is and always has been held, opened in 1875, so I doubt there are any active sporting facilities anywhere in the world, except for golf courses in Great Britain, any older. Next year's Kentucky Derby will be the 140th. Churchill Downs makes even the Milwaukee Mile seem like a young facility, as it opened almost 30 years before the Milwaukee Mile. In fact, Churchill Downs predates even Major League Baseball by a year. Major League Baseball, as we know it, began in 1876, one year after Churchill Downs opened. 481. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.05.2013 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Saratoga(NY) Race Track claims to have been open since 1863. 482. 18fan posted: 11.05.2013 - 6:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The LA Coliseum also hosted baseball and was the first stadium west of St. Louis to host a World Series. There is actually nothing on the grounds of Tiger Stadium. They took out the stands but the playing field itself is just like it was while the Tigers played there and people in Detroit take care of the grass there. What is now on the site of the Orange Bowl is the ugly looking and even uglier colored Marlins Park (not that anybody goes to it). Fenway Park has been in its current configuration since 1934. When the stadium opened in 1912 there was a hill called Duffy's Cliff (named after Red Sox left fielder Duffy Lewis) in left field where the Green Monster is now. The configuration was quite a bit different up until '34. In contrast to NASCAR and F1, where most of the new tracks suck, the new baseball stadiums are pretty cool, they just don't have the history the older parks did, but they are modeled after the old ballparks that preceded the boring "cookie-cutter" multipurpose stadiums. (Sound familiar, boring cookie-cutters?) Just some of my random thoughts about stadiums. 483. cjs3872 posted: 11.05.2013 - 6:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And the new ballpark trend began with Camden Yards in Baltimore, 18fan. Even the "New Comiskey Park", which opened in 1990, was more like the stadiums of the previous generation. But Camden Yards was likely modeled after Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, and since then, quite a number of the ballparks that have opened since have incorporated some of the same features. However, more than 50 years after it opened, Dodger Stadium is still considered by many to be the gold standard for ballparks, and it was the first of what would become the "cookie cutter" ballpark cause of it's outfield dimensions (330/370-375/400 to the outfield walls with perfect symmetry). Yet, it's still considered the best park in the sport by many. But also, like many of the newer parks, you can actually see the skyline of the city because of how close to the downtown area it is. 484. 18fan posted: 11.05.2013 - 7:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The major boring, cookie cutter ballparks were exemplified by Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, and Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia because of how similar they looked. Plus Busch Stadium in St. Louis and Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium looked similar from the outside. 485. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.05.2013 - 7:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You make a great point 18Fan, baseball and football went through their "cookie cutter" dark phase as tons of "concrete doughnuts" went up as multi purpose stadiums to hold baseball, football, concerts, Monster Truck rallies and everything else. All giant and circular with many seats miles from the action, but with plenty of concessions and restrooms, they were one step forward and ten steps back. Too many to count. Three Rivers in Pittsburgh, Riverfront in Cincy, Fulton County in ATL, the Astrodome, the Kingdome in Seattle and the worst abomination ever, The Vet in Philly. Of course, the spiritual grandfather of this was the infamous Mistake By The Lake in, where else, Cleveland which was built around the time of the LA Coliseum. But they built Camden Yards in Baltimore and had all the new amenities, plenty of concessions and restrooms and press boxes and luxury boxes while having a beautiful brick facade that matched the warehouses it was surrounded by, and seats much closer to the field. Then we got Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Coors Field in Colorado, and it was on. The Mets now have a stadium with a facade that looks just like Ebbets Fields. Good times for the most part. 486. cjs3872 posted: 11.05.2013 - 7:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And 18fan, add in Royals (now Kauffman) Stadium in Kansas City (which is still active), Olympic Stadium in Montreal (which was originally a outdoor stadium), San Diego (now Qualcomm) Stadium, Anaheim Stadium, the Oakland/Alameda County Coliseum, Shea Stadium in New York, and Arlington Stadium. And the same is true regarding Turner Field in Atlanta, which opened in about 1997, so these stadiums were still being built well into the 1990s. And of course, most of the domed stadiums also had this in common, whether it was the Kingdome in Seattle or the Astrodome (which is now being torn down), and even the Skydome in Toronto, which opened in 1989. Of the domed stadiums, only the Metrodome had quirks, such as the Plexiglas wall in left and the bag fence from left center over to the RF line, including the high right field wall, which made it almost play like Fenway in reverse. Most of the stadiums that were used when I was growing up (the 70s and 80s) were of this variety, and it all started with Dodger Stadium, which opened n 1962. And I'm referring to the fact that all those stadiums I mentioned played pretty much the same way, and had symmetrical outfield dimensions, which were generally the same, about 330 down each line, 370-375 into the alleys, and about 400-410 to dead center. That's why fans were enamored with Wrigley Field, Yankee Stadium, Tiger Stadium, and Fenway Park, and might have felt the same way about Memorial Stadium in Baltimore and Municipal Stadium in Cleveland, if they had competitive teams through the 80s and into the 90s, but the Indians were never truly competitive after the late 50s and early 60s, and the Orioles fell off the map after 1983. And of those parks, only Fenway and Wrigley remain. 487. 18fan posted: 11.05.2013 - 7:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The fact that so many stadiums had similar dimensions is what is so cool about the "retro parks" that have been built in the last 20 years, starting with Camden Yards. All of the stadiums have unique quirks to them, which to me makes stadiums in baseball more a part of the game than football and basketball because all football fields and basketball courts are the exact same. Yes all mounds are 60 feet 6 inches from home plate and each base is 90 feet apart, but other than that, no two stadiums are alike. 488. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.05.2013 - 7:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Lol, the "Giant Hefty Bag" at the Metrodome. That was a classic. 489. NicoRosbergFan posted: 11.05.2013 - 8:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Guys, no Brooklands or Montlhery?! 490. cjs3872 posted: 11.05.2013 - 8:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) But what people forget about that, DSFF, is that the wall going all the way to left center at the Metrodome was a bag, albeit about six feet high until it met the part of the wall that had the Plexiglas to make it a taller barrier, as well as to avoid potential interference by the fans. And I do want to make a correction. The Kingdome did play differently from the other domed stadiums for two big reasons. First, the Kingdome was not a symmetrical park, nor were the walls the same height, as the right field wall was much taller that was the left or center field wall, though not as tall as the Hefty Bag at the Metrodome. Also, the ball carried much better at the Kingdome that it carried at the Metrodome, and of course the ball never carried at the Astrodome, which made even PetCo Park in San Diego look like a HR hitter's paradise. Nearly two-thirds of the home runs that Ken Griffey, Jr. hit in his career were when the Kingdome was his home field, including the years when he challenged the single-season HR record. But as you said, the trend began toward fan-friendly parks began with Camden Yards in Baltimore, which was modeled after Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, and there are many similarities between the two. But also, beginning with Camden Yards, most of the ballparks have since been built with showcasing the city itself in mind. The biggest exception to this being Turner Field in Atlanta, which was modeled after the stadiums of the previous generation in about every way, shape, or form. 491. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.05.2013 - 9:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The thing about Turner Field is that it was the big stadium for the '96 Olympics, then had the back half was removed and remade for baseball. Plus this was the height of the Maddux, Smoltz, Glavine era so it was made to be a pitcher's park so it has no nooks or wall changes in the outfield. But it has a decent amount of charm. It is no Camden Yards, Coors Field, or Busch Stadium III (the old Sportsman Park in STL was renamed Busch Stadium towards the end) all of which are simply gorgeous imo. But it os way better than Fulton County Stadium, even though that is where Hammering Hank hit #715 (that part of the wall has been preserved, sad that featureless stadium has more of it preserved that the NYC trio combined) and in '95 Atlanta won its only professional championship. 492. JG24shouldbe5time posted: 11.05.2013 - 9:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Lol, the Metrodome. It's already been 4 years since they played the last baseball game there and with the way the Vikings are playing, the stadium itself has about two months left. Other Metrodome quirks you guys are forgetting: The white teflon roof made it easy to lose a pop/fly ball. The stupid PA/speakers were "in play" and balls ricocheted in and out of play off of them . During the Tom Kelly era, he asked the stadium officials to put in goofy orange (like street light orange) lamps on the edges of the dome to add an orange hue to the roof. The dome itself was supported by air pressure and I've heard conflicting reports on how that effected ball physics. Oh and since it's snowing in Minneapolis right now, the darned thing liked to cave in when it snowed enough, such as the famous incident in 2010 when FOX recorded it. It happened 3 other times dating back from 1981, BEFORE the stadium was officially open! Straight line winds ripped the roof once in 1986, besides that. 493. 18fan posted: 11.05.2013 - 9:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Busch Stadium looks amazing from the top of the Gateway Arch. 494. 18fan posted: 11.05.2013 - 9:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tropicana Field (widely believed as the worst park in MLB right now) has so many stupid catwalks that have their own unique rules that it is hard to keep track of and the roof has caused many players to lose fly balls. 495. David posted: 11.05.2013 - 9:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Busch Stadium looks amazing from the top of the Gateway Arch." I've been there!! And I agree with you. Practically anything looks good from the top of the Gateway Arch. "it's snowing in Minneapolis right now" Get this: it was snowing here in Kansas on OCTOBER 18TH. 496. JG24shouldbe5time posted: 11.05.2013 - 9:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh yeah...Tropicana Field, The Metrodome's successor. At least it's home to a good team, for the most part. It's easy to forget that place was slapped together in the late 1980s with the idea of "If you build it, (they) will come" (before that line was made famous too, to boot). Weren't they trying to lure the White Sox to St Pete? 497. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.05.2013 - 10:04 pm Rate this comment: (6) (1) Actually the Cleveland Indians were trying to move to Miami. After their owner died, his widow intentionally built the worst team imaginable, pulling guys from Mexican baseball leagues, voodoo practitioners from Cuba, and even a guy who was in prison at the start of Spring Training. But the plucky group banded together, and with the rejuvenated play of grizzled vets like Roger Dorn, Jake Taylor, and Eddie Harris as well as outstanding play from young guns Willie "Mays" Hayes and Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn, and Pedro Cerrano's power hitting, they wound up winning the AL East, beating the Yankees in a one game playoff. Oh wait, that was a movie. Nevermind. 498. DB1995 posted: 11.05.2013 - 10:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) my dream team would be #26 AMT Ertl Ford Fusion driven by Trevor Bayne #53 Walt Disney World Ford Fusion driven by Gray Gaulding #68 L'oreal Ford Fusion driven by Kenzie Ruston #96 Lays potato chips ford fusion driven by Cameron Hayley obviously my team would be a few years down the road, but i think with the amount of talent in the younger prospects they could be a force in just a few years 499. 18fan posted: 11.05.2013 - 11:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tropicana Field was already built by this stage, but in 1995 the Seattle Mariners were not going to get a new stadium and were on the verge of moving to Tampa Bay before they made an incredible run, won the AL West in a one game playoff over the Angels thanks to a dominant pitching performance by Randy Johnson, then came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Yankees in the ALDS in probably the greatest 5 game series in baseball history before losing to the Cleveland Indians, who went 100-44 that year, in the ALCS. The fan support and emotion behind the run that team went on resulted in SAFECO Field being built for the 2000 season. 500. cjs3872 posted: 11.06.2013 - 1:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) For those that think that ESPN does a shabby job of covering NASCAR, I can tell you that NASCAR's not alone. The World Series of Poker's main event just ended about 30 minutes ago (as of this writing), and ESPN cut to SportsCenter without doing a the interview with the winner. That didn't come on until about 15 minutes into SportsCenter. You would think that when they do a live, or in this case, a quasi-live broadcast of a sporting event (which was nearly nine hours last night and nearly another four tonight for 13 hours over two nights), especially if it's a world championship event like this one was, they would have the decency to stay with it until the ceremony and the interview are done before saying good-bye. and the ceremony included last year's champion handing the bracelet to this year's champion, not unlike the green jacket ceremony at the Masters each April, as well as the live interview, yet ESPN cut away from that to do the beginning of SportsCenter, and then showed the interview well into the SportsCenter broadcast. 501. JP88 posted: 11.06.2013 - 10:39 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs, I'm a big fan of poker but what ESPN will do is create a cut-down broadcast version with all the hole cards as the hands are being played. (only shown after in the 15 minute delay version last night) That's where you will likely see the stuff missed at the end, but yeah you would think for once they would just show everything until it completion. 502. jabber1990 posted: 11.06.2013 - 11:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Busch Stadium looks amazing from the top of the Gateway Arch." I often wonder if they'll let one stay up in the Arch and catch a baseball game "#68 L'oreal Ford Fusion driven by Kenzie Ruston #96 Lays potato chips ford fusion driven by Cameron Hayley" who's Kenzie Ruston and Cameron Hayley? 503. cjs3872 posted: 11.06.2013 - 12:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) But JP88, it was lame of them not doing the interview and instead showing it on SportsCenter. I can understand them missing the ceremony, but not doing an interview with the winner (which rubbed some in the industry the wrong way) before ending their live coverage? That's pretty lame. Sure, they'll show the interviews in the highlighted coverage. But last year, after that marathon 12-hour session, they did have the interviews, if I remember right. An I think they did interview the final twosome after the Monday Night/Tuesday Morning session, which was nearly nine hours. And since they were already airing SportsCenter on ESPN2, why couldn't they wait a few more minutes for the interviews before signing off and doing the SportsCenter on ESPN? That's what I'm saying. 504. JP88 posted: 11.06.2013 - 2:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Actually they did a really quick interview with a emotional Merson before cutting to Sportcenter and then going back around the same time. I wish they would give more coverage too...I would be pissed if I won the biggest poker tournament in the world and not even get a chance to celebrate on TV. 505. Dave #38 Fan-Go Gilliland! posted: 11.06.2013 - 2:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "who's Kenzie Ruston and Cameron Hayley?" *Who are They are up and coming drivers in the K&N Pro series ranks. Hayley won his first race in the west series this season and is 3rd in points, 18 back heading into the season finale this weekend in Phoenix. Ruston was a rookie in the east series this year and finished top ten in points. 506. cjs3872 posted: 11.06.2013 - 4:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And that's my point, JP88. Major networks, either broadcast or cable, that carry such an event need to do the interviews, even if they run over, which they certainly did last night/this morning. Remember when CBS did not do a live victory lane interview with Geoff Bodine after he won the Daytona 500 in 1986 just because they ran over and had to go to the Celtics-Lakers game, and aired the interview at halftime of that game? So ESPN is not the only network that has made this particular mistake. And the Merson interview was after that 12-hour epic last year. They had the time to interview the champ live last year after a 12-hour broadcast, and yet didn't do it this year after just a third of that time. Is it something about the Detroit Lions they don't like? (The winner wore a Calvin Johnson jersey both nights.) It's also interesting that this is the second consecutive year that the WSOP main event champion wore a jersey representing a team that has, or had been down in the dumps for many years. This year's champion (Ryan Riess) wore a Detroit Lions jersey and last year's winner (Greg Merson) wore a Baltimore Orioles jersey (Adam Jones, to be precise). But to pass over the live (or quasi-live) ceremony and winner's interview to go to SportsCenter, which was already airing on ESPN2, is ridiculous, and plain wrong. CBS now shows the official green jacket ceremony at Augusta in addition to the one inside Butler Cabin, and they showed the Harley Earl Award presentation, which was not shown for many years after FOX and NBC got the rights to broadcast the Daytona 500 (I believe it is shown now, but it wasn't for many years FOX and NBC when they had the race in 2002, '04, and '06), and now the WSOP seems to have adopted such a ritual, having the previous year's champion hand of the symbol of the championship to his successor. That kind of thing needs to be shown BEFORE the televising network goes off the air to air their next program, especially if it's a live, or semi-live broadcast. 507. cjs3872 posted: 11.06.2013 - 4:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jabber1990, Cameron Hayley won the K&N Pro Series Battle of the Beach race at Daytona earlier this year during SpeedWeeks. Also, Hayley and Kenzie Ruston were mentioned on Race Hub's three-part series regarding potential NASCAR stars of the future earlier this year. And how might the news that Chip Ganassi's switching his GrandAm program to Ford affect his Cup plans down the road? Could he be thinking about switching to Ford in the not too distant future? Ganassi does have a past with Ford, as his IndyCar team ran Ford Cosworth engines for a few years beginning in 1992. 508. Dave #38 Fan-Go Gilliland! posted: 11.06.2013 - 4:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs3872, I don't think that Ganassi switching to Ford in sports cars will have any effect on his Nascar plans in the future. With Hendrick power they've finally been able to look competitive again in Nascar for the first time in a couple seasons, and in testing the ford USCR (United Sports Car Racing) engines look to have an advantage over chevy, which probably influenced their decision. 509. joey2448 posted: 11.06.2013 - 5:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Earlier, you guys were posting your lists of top racing circuits, based on history, prestige and quality of racing.....WHAT ABOUT THE ORIGINAL NURBURGRING??? I didn't see that on any of your lists! That 14-mile ribbon of asphalt nicknamed the "Green Hell" by none other than Jackie Stewart? 510. joey2448 posted: 11.06.2013 - 7:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's rumored that the backstretch grandstands at Talladega will be taken down in favor of more RV parking....? Anyone else know if this is true? 511. cjs3872 posted: 11.06.2013 - 8:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @508, still that can't make the people at Chevrolet happy that Ganassi's going to Fords in the USCR. If he was going to an engine manufacturer that is not involved in NASCAR, that's one thing, but switching to Ford from Chevrolet is something the higher-ups in GM and Ford can't be happy with at all, no matter the reason. For one thing, Ganassi's going to know what each engine manufacturer has, especially if Roush-Yates is going to be supplying the Ford engines for the USCR. This is a potentially sticky situation and will be something to watch for in the future. And if Ganassi winds up going to Ford in NASCAR, that will give Ford another team. Let's also not forget that Ganassi's long-time IndyCar racing rival Roger Penske returned to Ford this year, and they've been destroying Roush at every turn. I mentioned some time ago that there may be factions developing within Ford's NASCAR teams, and this might be the next step in that direction, and possibly Penske might be trying to woo Ganassi to Ford to bolster his faction, while Roush seems to be getting weaker by the minute. Last Sunday at Texas was still another case of Penske being competitive, while Roush was grossly uncompetitive, both in the Cup Series and the Nationwide Series, and maybe Penske may be trying to strengthen his faction within Ford, as well as Ford's NASCAR roster as a whole, and trying to get his rival and friend to join him with Ford may be another indication that things are not well with the Blue Oval Brigade. 512. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.06.2013 - 9:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) fwiw, Ganassi is switching to Chevrolet in IndyCar next year. 513. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.06.2013 - 9:54 pm Rate this comment: (8) (6) "Remember when CBS did not do a live victory lane interview with Geoff Bodine after he won the Daytona 500 in 1986 just because they ran over and had to go to the Celtics-Lakers game" Devil's advocate view on this one: It was Geoff Bodine. It would be better to have a public perception of being a bunch of backwoods Southern yahoos than a bunch of annoying know it all stuck up snotty smart mouth Yankee bastards. 514. cjs3872 posted: 11.07.2013 - 11:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Who won doesn't matter, DSFF. What matters is that on a live telecast, that you at least do the interview with the winner before you go off the air to the next event. Who you would be interviewing shouldn't matter. Do you honestly think that if one of the big name stars like Darrell Waltrip, Bill Elliott, or even Earnhardt had won the race that CBS would have gone off so quickly? In a word, no. They would have stayed on the extra couple of minutes and done the interview live. But because a driver without any previous name recognition, driving for a team that had never won anything significant prior to that won the race, they decided to go off the air with the winner coming off turn two on his cool down lap, about 15 seconds after taking the checkered flag. That may have been one of the worst things any network that has covered NASCAR live has ever done that they had control over. 515. The Long Shot posted: 11.07.2013 - 12:03 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Devil's advocate view on this one: It was Geoff Bodine. It would be better to have a public perception of being a bunch of backwoods Southern yahoos than a bunch of annoying know it all stuck up snotty smart mouth Yankee bastards." Speaking as an apparent "annoying know it all stuck up snotty smart mouth Yankee bastard" (which, I think most people will agree, is an accurate portrayal of me), I'll say that at least half of the board, if not more, could take offense to that comment, so perhaps you should keep your Geoff Bodine rants in check from now on, DSFF. 516. HH posted: 11.07.2013 - 1:52 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) "Devil's advocate view on this one: It was Geoff Bodine. It would be better to have a public perception of being a bunch of backwoods Southern yahoos than a bunch of annoying know it all stuck up snotty smart mouth Yankee bastards." Yeah that totally makes sense. Another stroke of brilliant insight from the immortal DSFF... Do you even read some of the ridiculous things you post before you click the send button? 517. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.07.2013 - 2:09 pm Rate this comment: (3) (1) Dude, I was joking. Jeez. Do you really think I was gonna pass up a chance to take a pot shot at Bodine? 518. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.07.2013 - 2:35 pm Rate this comment: (4) (1) "so perhaps you should keep your Geoff Bodine rants in check from now on, DSFF." I wouldn't count on it lol. Seriously guys, it was just my weekly potshot at Bodine. I'm not surprised at cjs' post, he always takes my jokes literally. But I am surprised by the rest. I didn't say everyone from the North was like that. Of the 3 people I hang out with regularly, one is from upstate New York and the other is from the Pittsburgh area in PA. My supervisor at work is somebody I like a lot and have a ton of respect for, and she is from Syracuse. And here is the kicker, my mother was born and raised in Connecticut. And make no mistake, I am a Mama's boy. And why would I feel any need to disrespect a Northerner just because they are a Northerner when my favorite driver is a Southern 9th grade dropout who fits about every redneck stereotype? Once, during an interview that aired on ABC in the middle of The Winston in 1990, he said, of the infamous Daytona 500 that happened earlier that year, " it would be hard to have a badder day than that". So C'Mon, I'm not about to play the superiority card with anyone. I like most Northerners. It's just that, like any group, you're gonna have that one annoying as hell stuck up obnoxious know it all SMART MOUTH YANKEE BASTARD. 519. murb posted: 11.07.2013 - 3:15 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Can't wait for the season to be over so I can take a little break from RR. I love all of you guys dearly, but the bickering for no reason is getting SO annoying. Anyone who's been here for a while knows that DSFF trashes Geoff Bodine any time that name is brought up, so I don't understand the overreactions at all. 520. NicoRosbergFan posted: 11.07.2013 - 3:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) ^Amen. Besides, Bodine IS an annoying know it all stuck up snotty smart mouth Yankee bastard. 521. joey2448 posted: 11.07.2013 - 4:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I loved it DSFF. I think everyone's just in a bitchy mood after another episode of Johnson-gate at the fall Texas race. 522. cjs3872 posted: 11.07.2013 - 4:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Again DSFF, I'm not criticizing you because Geoff Bodine was one of those guys that would say what they thought, and it did get him into trouble on numerous occasions. I was just saying that a television network, regardless of whether it's a broadcast or cable network, in my mind, has an obligation to do a live interview with the winner of an event, no matter who it is. And I don't think they would have cut away from the broadcast when they did if one of the more glamorous names had won that event, instead of someone that had pretty much been a "no-name" prior to that. But I must also say that I think Geoff Bodine would have been one of the very few drivers from that era that could have been good at diagnosing the cars of today's era because he was an innovator (you know, back when that actually meant something). Just look at what he did for the USA bobsled team and the racing technology he helped incorporate into that and you get some idea of how brilliant he really was. And it's for that reason that he, more than any of the other second tier drivers of that era, raced 1-2 generations too early. If he had been the same age he was then today, it's quite possible that he, and not Jimmie Johnson might be the top driver in the sport, because Bodine could win anywhere and on any kind of track, and Johnson has not shown that ability on certain types of tracks (road courses, for one), and his ability to innovate would have given him a substantial edge on whatever team he would have been driving for. And I don't think Bodine would have accepted Johnson's philosophy of not wanting to be raced hard, because nobody intimidated him, not even Earnhardt in his prime, nor did anyone race harder, more than a few times, to his detriment. 523. An Aussie Commentor posted: 11.07.2013 - 7:24 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) "I think everyone's just in a bitchy mood after another episode of Johnson-gate at the fall Texas race" Johnson-gate? That's a new one on me. From what I have gathered on my time here, I cans ay a few things about people here, and remember this general, there will be exceptions. Generally, people here don't like/hate Jimmie Johnson Generally, people here don't like Danica Patrick (I personally think she needs to go back to the Nationwide series for a couple of years) Generally, people here don't like/hate Todd Bodine Generally, people here don't like/hate Michael Waltrip 524. An Aussie Commentor posted: 11.07.2013 - 7:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I meant to say Can Say 525. An Aussie Commentor posted: 11.07.2013 - 7:27 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) And I have made one more observation. Is it just me, or do people here automatically think a race is bad purely because someone they don't like won? eg, this race just gone? 526. Ched Little posted: 11.07.2013 - 7:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Face it, DSFF; you have NRF disease. That disease where because of the inflammatory posts you've made in the past people automatically berate and hate your posts just because they're yours. 527. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.07.2013 - 8:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Actually I am in a bitchy mood too after Texas. It will be different than last year. Even though he also won Texas last year to take a 7 point lead, Brad rattled him by racing him so hard and having the swagger afterwards. But Matt is right in Jimmie's wheelhouse. He know Matt won't bend a fender and will show nothing but reverence for "Five Time" which puts JJ in his comfort zone. And cjs, I agree with you. I was just using that as a chance to take a crack at Bodine. 528. David posted: 11.07.2013 - 8:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "Can't wait for the season to be over so I can take a little break from RR. I love all of you guys dearly, but the bickering for no reason is getting SO annoying. Anyone who's been here for a while knows that DSFF trashes Geoff Bodine any time that name is brought up, so I don't understand the overreactions at all." Absolutely. If the Northerners here haven't gotten used to DSFF's Bodine potshots by now, I can't help them. I have no idea where the (gasp!) political correctness came from all of a sudden. "I think everyone's just in a bitchy mood after another episode of Johnson-gate at the fall Texas race." Agreed. If Kenseth wins the title this year (fingers crossed), we'll probably be in a less disagreeable mood then. :) 529. The Long Shot posted: 11.07.2013 - 9:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I see now why I haven't been as active as usual on this website. Every time I've opened my mouth (ahem, typed into the comment box), I've said something idiotic, and people have given me crap about it. Not to mention the fact that the NASCAR season is all but down the drain, and I've had way too much stuff going on in my actual life. Perhaps I should retire from the board for a time, and then maybe come back when my name isn't considered like mud. (And I hold nothing against any of you for being unhappy. I'd be mad, too.) 530. murb posted: 11.07.2013 - 9:41 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) It's not you Long Shot, it's everybody. Everybody is just starting stupid arguments for no reason lately. Every one of us is guilty of it. I just think we're all ready for this miserable season to end. We've had a lot of bad racing, a lot of black eyes like the MWR scandal, and worst of all, we've seen several of our popular drivers in all forms of racing get injured and killed. It's just been an absolutely dreadful year for auto racing. That's why there's been so much conflict. I'm just ready for it to be over this year. I'm positive that once the season ends we'll be back to some nice discussion in the off season just like we always do, but for now I think everyone is just waiting for this year to get over with. I would imagine it's kind of like how pregnant women feel in like their last three weeks of pregnancy. They can see the end finally coming, but it just drags on and on. It's sad that I'm talking about our beloved motorsports like that, but like I said, it's just been a horrible year. Once it's over, regardless of who wins the Cup championship, I'll be happy and looking forward to next season. And I'm pretty sure that's how the majority of everyone on here feels. 531. David posted: 11.07.2013 - 9:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In the this-year-is-only-getting-more-bizarre news: Bubba Wallace and Chad Frewaldt (I know, who is that?) got into a scuffle in Truck PRACTICE. Bubba allegedly punched Frewaldt at least once. They've both been to the NASCAR hauler. 532. joey2448 posted: 11.07.2013 - 10:59 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Yep, just watched the video. Bubba passed Frewaldt on the outside on the backstretch, then it looks like he got turned when he came down on Frewaldt going into turn three. After their trucks came to a stop, Bubba immediately jumped out and ran over to Frewaldt's truck and it looks like he took a shot at him, and then another. Obviously he was pretty pissed. 533. murb posted: 11.07.2013 - 11:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I saw the video too. What a dumb move by Frewaldt, especially in practice. 534. TheTruthâ?¢ posted: 11.07.2013 - 11:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Frewaldt is a newcomer, he has 3 ARCA starts and probably is somewhat new to NASCAR practice etiquette. Like it or not, the 54 does come down into him; it's just that most on the bottom would've backed out once the 54 was high. Is this incident all the 38's fault and did he deserve to get punches thrown at him while he's strapped in and unable to defend himself? Absolutely not. That's classless. Bubba cleared himself on a truck that didn't back out. It's not totally one-sided. Frankly, I'm surprised that Wallace hasn't been involved in more confrontations this year. He built quite the reputation for himself on short tracks & in the K&N East Series. I think when he ran Hornaday dirty at Rockingham and then got wrecked for it, it had an effect. Hopefully this is a rare confrontation. 535. 18fan posted: 11.08.2013 - 12:43 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bubba's punch has nothing on Greg Biffle's on Jay Sauter. 536. TheTruthâ?¢ posted: 11.08.2013 - 12:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Let me back off of what I said a bit, I took a quick look at the replay before when I was pretty busy and threw down that paragraph in a minute or less, and clearly it wasn't too observational. 38 doesn't shoot right down to the bottom. It's very similar to where Jeff Burton's car was when he turned Danica last year when Danica started turning into 3. Could be lack of experience/lack of awareness on Frewaldt's part, or could be beyond that. I honestly would be surprised if there was any intent to mess with the 54, but maybe there's more than we know. Either way, I wish Bubba didn't resort to throwing punches at a guy who was strapped in a truck, because it doesn't look good on anybody who does that. I'm rooting for Wallace to succeed - he doesn't need this to be a headline shortly after his first win. 537. TheTruthâ?¢ posted: 11.08.2013 - 1:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) To add onto that, the 38 does drive in seemingly too deep, as well. Wallace had just cleared him right before getting on the brakes. Bad deal. Anyway, sorry for the first post because I didn't take a good look at it when I first saw it earlier. 538. David posted: 11.08.2013 - 1:06 am Rate this comment: (4) (0) According to the Charlotte Observer (and originally from an article on RollCall.com), Kyle Petty and/or Terry Labonte could be candidates for U.S. Congress in North Carolina in 2014. I wonder if this means that DSFF will do the one thing he has never done: vote. *rimshot* I know I vowed never to bring up politics, but this is a vastly different situation. 539. An Aussie Commentor posted: 11.08.2013 - 2:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) OK. I think in some area's The Baroness did improve, even if only slightly. Texas spring race Danica finished 28th Texas fall race she finished 25th So she improved 3 positions. I still reckon she needs to spend at least 2014 in the second-tier series until she gets more experience. 540. Scott B posted: 11.08.2013 - 10:47 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) When the season ends I'm planning on taking a look at Patrick's and Stenhouse's first vs. second halves of the season to compare progress. Timmy Hill, too. 541. Smiff_2 posted: 11.08.2013 - 12:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Does anybody have a link to footage of the Bubba Wallace practice incident/"fight"? 542. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.08.2013 - 1:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nope, I won't be voting lol. Terry is too nice (Medicaid for everyone!) and Kyle is too off the cuff (nobody gets Medicaid, even those who are legitimately disabled and need it!). If NC won't even elect Richard Petty to office, no way Terry or Kyle gets it. As for Bubba, good for him. In practice, if a car passes you, that is not the time to try to repass him. Was throwing a few punches out of line? Yes, BUT, he has sent a message that he is not to be messed with. Again, in sports, sometimes you have to be an asshole to succeed. And for the bickering here, I too blame it on this miserable season. We've had seasons full of bad racing before, but this season has simply been soul crushing. No redeemable qualities in Cup or NWide. 543. David posted: 11.08.2013 - 1:49 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "No redeemable qualities in Cup or NWide." Except maybe David Ragan's win at Talladega. Maybe. 544. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.08.2013 - 2:29 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Watching practice, JJ running to his hauler, couldn't stop for 2 seconds to scribble his name for that lady that wanted his autograph. The following is a written in stone rule in NASCAR for the rest of time: THE DRIVERS ARE TOO GOOD TO TAKE A FEW SECONDS TO SCRIBBLE THEIR NAMES ON SOME PEASANTS MERCHANDISE. 545. New14 & 88Fan posted: 11.08.2013 - 2:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Watching practice, JJ running to his hauler, couldn't stop for 2 seconds to scribble his name for that lady that wanted his autograph." According to the Fox guys Kyle Busch(who was walking behind JJ)did stop to give her his autograph, however she was holding a #48 shirt. 546. SpeedWorld97 posted: 11.08.2013 - 2:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "And for the bickering here, I too blame it on this miserable season. We've had seasons full of bad racing before, but this season has simply been soul crushing. No redeemable qualities in Cup or NWide." In my opinion, it's been a bad year for racing in general, with the exception being the unbelievable season of IndyCar. 547. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.08.2013 - 3:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good for Kyle Busch. I'm proud of him. The Big Unit is there! And they interviewed him! That'll be the highlight of the weekend. I always thought The Unit was the coolest. The way he pitched, his look, his personality, he is yet another one of those athletes of yesteryear that just made things fun to watch that we are sorely missing today. I remember watching him pitch his perfect game against my Braves and rooting for him to do it. 548. murb posted: 11.08.2013 - 3:15 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Phoenix Qualifying Order (Remember, going out late is way, way better): Matt Kenseth: 4th Jimmie Johnson: 41st What a great way to start the weekend. 549. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.08.2013 - 3:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Ha! The name above the door says "Chad Hacken-Something". A driver with a sense of humor. Who knew? 550. The Long Shot posted: 11.08.2013 - 4:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Ha! The name above the door says "Chad Hacken-Something". A driver with a sense of humor. Who knew?" "Schroeder51 posted: 06.07.2013 - 9:03 pm LOL, Chad Hackenbracht's truck has "Chad Hacken-something" written above the driver's side window." You're a little late on the notice, DSFF, but no matter. Someone said on the Texas Truck comments page (from June) that he normally runs with that name on his window. 551. The Long Shot posted: 11.08.2013 - 4:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "It's not you Long Shot, it's everybody. Everybody is just starting stupid arguments for no reason lately. Every one of us is guilty of it. I just think we're all ready for this miserable season to end. We've had a lot of bad racing, a lot of black eyes like the MWR scandal, and worst of all, we've seen several of our popular drivers in all forms of racing get injured and killed." Yeah, but like I said, I get the feeling that I've been a bigger dick than most of you over the past couple of weeks, probably ever since Talladega, when I blew up following that extremely anticlimactic finish. Maybe I've been hit harder by this terrible season than anyone else (which I highly doubt), maybe I'm additionally depressed because of the Minnesota Vikings' lost season, or maybe it's the fact that I've had a lot on my mind over the past month or so. Whatever the case may be, I know that I've been probably the biggest asshole of you all over the past few weeks, and I'm sorry about that. I think once the season's over, we'll all be needing to take a long break from auto racing of any kind. This season has just been the downer of all downers, and on top of that, most of the "silly season" has already occurred, so I don't think there will be much to talk about anyways. As long as we steer clear of political discussions, I'll be excited to see what interesting things this board will have to offer during the offseason, and then maybe we'll be ready for a fresh start in 2014. 552. SpeedWorld97 posted: 11.08.2013 - 4:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I think once the season's over, we'll all be needing to take a long break from auto racing of any kind. This season has just been the downer of all downers, and on top of that, most of the "silly season" has already occurred, so I don't think there will be much to talk about anyways. As long as we steer clear of political discussions, I'll be excited to see what interesting things this board will have to offer during the offseason, and then maybe we'll be ready for a fresh start in 2014." We always talk about NASCAR history, but I wouldn't mind having F1 and IndyCar discussions. 553. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.08.2013 - 4:28 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) We're good Long Shot. I hate I've missed the Hacken-something cracks. It just seems like everytime the Trucks run a night race (including tonight) I have to work and none of our stations have TVs with SPEED (or whatever the hell it is now). But I will be off next weekend, after Crafton clinches the title lol. 554. cjs3872 posted: 11.08.2013 - 5:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And murb, with Johnson fastest and Kenseth third quick in practice, that could make a difference. Not that it matters much because it was so long ago, but Johnson was one of the best at Phoenix in January, while Kenseth struggled. If that repeats itself, it could be all over. And if, for some reason, Kenseth drops out of the race Sunday, if Johnson wins and leads the most laps, he wins the title Sunday if Kenseth finishes 37th or worse (38th if he leads a lap) AND Kevin Harvick finishes worse than second. Of course, a repeat of last year's debacle for Johnson not only likely gives Kenseth the lead (unless he also drops out), but could also bring Harvick into the mix if he finishes up front. 555. Baker posted: 11.08.2013 - 5:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DSFF, I really try to like you, I really do but I see another one of your typical bias comments. What makes it "good for him" " he is showing he is not to be messed with" for Bubba Wallace? Yet I know there are drivers out there you would blow up if they did anything similar. For the record I like Bubba Wallace and could careless about a punch or two, but I also don't have a shit fit when Stewart, Busch, Busch, Harvick or Logano try anything similar. 556. cjs3872 posted: 11.08.2013 - 5:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kenseth was sixth in practice, not third as I mentioned. I got that from an earlier report on Jayski.com, when he was third. Sorry for the error. Still, the polar difference in the draw could make a BIG difference. 557. Baker posted: 11.08.2013 - 6:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ohio High School playoffs start tonight! Greatest sporting event at any level in my opinion. Anyone else live in a state were football is the biggest thing on Friday nights? My alma mater is back in the playoffs, but I don't have much hope for them this year. I see 1 and done which is sad bc we are unbeaten at home in the post season. I think it ends tomorrow night. 558. Mr X posted: 11.08.2013 - 7:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hate to bring down the mood, but barring a disallowed qualifying lap due to failing his next appointment with the NASCAR officials, Jimmie is starting from the pole, Kevin Harvick is stating ninth, and Matt Kenseth qualified 14th. 559. The Sound posted: 11.13.2013 - 8:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #557 Michigan football playoffs are in the third round. My school just won our district championship, and now we get to face the defending state champions in the quarterfinals. To be honest, I believe this year's team has overachieved, and I would not be shocked if we get demolished, but I am hoping for a good fight at the least. My senior year, two years ago, we lost in the quarterfinals to a team we never should have lost to. A few of my teammates have mentioned that they think our coaching staff was looking forward to the team next week, believing we would win handily against an inferior team. We would have faced #1 Marine City the next week. I wish this game would have happened. 560. Nu3clear Wa4le posted: 06.01.2015 - 3:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor updates #33 - Boot Barn / Wayne Workwear #47 - Clorox "The Power of Bleach!" 561. Greg1&9Fan posted: 07.16.2018 - 1:27 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I remember McMurray just being so slow in this race. 2 weeks after winning. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: