|| *Comments on the 2014 Quicken Loans Race For Heroes 500:* First Page | Previous Page | Next Page | Last Page | View All On One Page View the most recent comment | Post a comment <#post> 1. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.07.2014 - 8:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First pole at Phoenix for Hamlin since his maiden pole in '05. 2. Kenny posted: 11.07.2014 - 8:37 pm Rate this comment: (1) (16) ool Brad 2nd Harvic 3ed im pulling for Harvic(sadily im ginna miss this dew to me working)son of a bitch @Racefangurl look me on FB again Kenny Carpenter 3. cba2442 posted: 11.07.2014 - 8:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kind of a bummer for Clay Rogers. Kinda wish Baldwin wouldn't of entered the 37....Amazing that Hamlin with this pole and his points gap has a possibility of making the four at homestead without a top 5 in the chase so far 4. Schroeder51 posted: 11.07.2014 - 8:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) After the chaos of last weekend, I REALLY hope this will be a controversy-free race. Unfortunately, that's probably asking too much...it wouldn't shock me one bit to see yet another big brawl break out at the end of this race involving drivers who made and/or missed the Final Four... 5. murb posted: 11.07.2014 - 8:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Damn, Denny seriously has a good shot of getting one of those Final Four spots. I doubt he'll win the championship if he makes it (he's always been great at Homestead, but I just don't think JGR has the speed on the 1.5 milers to contend with Penske and HMS), but nevertheless, that would be a pretty crazy accomplishment considering he missed a race. I think I'd still rather have Newman make it over Denny though since Newman has sort of been the ultimate underdog of this Chase. Hopefully Ryan can make a run from the back. 6. Anonymous posted: 11.07.2014 - 9:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In using fastest 43: #75 Clay Rogers Out using fastest 43: #66 Mike Wallace 7. We need more Onion posted: 11.07.2014 - 9:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mears at 12th! He might even get Germain's 1st non-plate oval top 10. 8. MarkMartinFan posted: 11.07.2014 - 9:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) With the points as tight as they are, there's a realistic shot of a guaranteed first time champ at Homestead. The four I think will make it in are crazy as compared to everyone else. But it's been a crazy chase. Harvick - I expect him to win Sunday. He's the man at Phoenix. Newman - he's been Mr. Consistency for most of the chase. He makes it in on points. Logano - he's been the strongest driver all year. Top 10 gets him in on points. Hamlin - I wanted to go with Gordon, but after the disaster finish last week, I don't think Gordon can make up the 12 point deficit to Hamlin. Hamlin sneaks in on points. 9. epzik8 posted: 11.07.2014 - 10:49 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) I'm just hoping for Logano to make it into the final four, don't care about the other three drivers. 10. epzik8 posted: 11.07.2014 - 11:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also there are some cool paint jobs for this race. 11. joey2448 posted: 11.08.2014 - 3:20 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Hamlin - I wanted to go with Gordon, but after the disaster finish last week, I don't think Gordon can make up the 12 point deficit to Hamlin. Hamlin sneaks in on points." Gordon doesn't have to make up 12 points on Hamlin, he enters this race one point ahead of the Chase cutoff. All he has to do is beat the other four drivers behind him (Kenseth, Edward, Harvick and Keselowski) and he's in, and he already has two things going his way. First, if his recent trend of finishes continues, he will finish top-two in this race. Second, he had a really good test here recently, so it looks like he'll be fast come Sunday. My god, that post sounded a lot like cjs. I hope I'm not turning into him. But as far as this weekend's race, I gotta be honest and say I am very very intrigued with this whole championship, what with the fighting between Keselowski vs. everyone, and the whole points situation the way it's stacked up. I hate it when BSPN tries to create false drama (such as the "Chase Nation" commercials etc.) but this is truly exciting stuff. Also, I would love to see an internet fight between Kenny and Walter White for the hand of racefangurl. C'mon you two, let's see some verbal sparring! 12. joey2448 posted: 11.08.2014 - 3:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh, surprised no one's mentioned it on this page yet, but the news broke Friday that Kurt Busch is a part of a domestic assault investigation, after his (now ex) girlfriend Patricia Driscoll accused Kurt of verbally and physically abusing her at Dover in late September. Busch has not been charged with anything yet. All I can say is I just hope that it's all a lie, because I'd hate to hear that Kurt would do something like that. Also (just as a side note), IndyCar driver Marco Andretti responded on Twitter to AP reporter Jenna Fryer with this surprising tweet -- "She's getting way too much attention. Exactly what she wants. Horrible." Marco later added, "I don't support domestic violence. I just know her." Later on Friday, Kurt went out and made the final dozen in qualifying and will start 10th on Sunday. 13. dennyfan11 posted: 11.08.2014 - 7:21 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) YAY Hamlin won the pole! 14. dennyfan11 posted: 11.08.2014 - 8:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) BREAKING NEWS: Dave Blaney has annouced his retirement from the NASCAR Sprint Cup series. He says he will go back to dirt. 15. Hinch77 posted: 11.08.2014 - 9:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^He said nothing of the sort. He said it's just not likely... Quote: "I don't plan on running any NASCAR at the moment. I'm not in any position to get any kind of ride that is going to be competitive, but I will go to a lot of races to watch [my son] Ryan. So by no means will [sprint cars] be full time, but it could be a lot more than this year. I could even see a 60-race schedule if things line up perfect. I could also see 15 as well, but we will see." 16. Cornys posted: 11.08.2014 - 10:01 am Rate this comment: (2) (2) If the race isn't going to have a brawl at the end, NASCAR will throw caution flags until it happens. Just like last week. 17. MarkMartinFan posted: 11.08.2014 - 10:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Gordon doesn't have to make up 12 points on Hamlin, he enters this race one point ahead of the Chase cutoff. All he has to do is beat the other four drivers behind him (Kenseth, Edward, Harvick and Keselowski) and he's in, and he already has two things going his way. First, if his recent trend of finishes continues, he will finish top-two in this race. Second, he had a really good test here recently, so it looks like he'll be fast come Sunday." Yes, but I'm predicting Harvick to win the race with Logano, Newman, and Hamlin getting in on points. 18. racefangurl posted: 11.08.2014 - 10:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) I'm getting popular here. Two guys fighting over me. Wow! It's a new record. The qualifying speeds at this track will slow down after this year, so this may be a long time record. Richard Petty's race win record and Trevor's youngest 500 winner record are likely untouchable and so is, at least for a while, this Phoenix speed record too. 19. Eric posted: 11.08.2014 - 11:24 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) joey2448, There is a couple things that doesn't add up in terms Kurt Busch doing the Assault based on the information out there right now from the Ex Girlfriend's side of the story. I think it is possible Kurt did the crime, but things at this point don't 2 thing add up from Kurt's Girlfriend side of the story also. 1.) Kurt and his Girlfriend broke up a week before the incident happened, but yet they were in Kurt's Motorhome at Dover when the incident happened. It doesn't make any sense at this time because why would those two be in the motorhome at the race track the week after they broke up. 2.) Waiting After September 28th to know in terms of reporting the crime is fishy in this case unless she was talking to lawyer. 20. BluesTravelerFan posted: 11.08.2014 - 11:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) I just got up and read the newspaper(I haven't seen any stuff from Phoenix so far, been busy), and saw the news about Kurt. I do not mean this in any way as a joke, I mean this seriously, I think this pretty much confirms Kurt has some sort of serious mental problem(which if this story is true is certainly NO excuse for his actions). It was disturbing to read about him (allegedly) saying to his ex that "I want a gun so I can kill myself" and other sordid details. I don't believe in people not being able to be forgiven for doing heinous acts, but if this is true Kurt will deservingly have to pay the price for this one. I think this just goes to show once again that just because you can be at the top, and have all the fame and fortune, doesn't buy you happiness. 21. Hinch77 posted: 11.08.2014 - 12:16 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) "I just got up and read the newspaper(I haven't seen any stuff from Phoenix so far, been busy), and saw the news about Kurt. I do not mean this in any way as a joke, I mean this seriously, I think this pretty much confirms Kurt has some sort of serious mental problem(which if this story is true is certainly NO excuse for his actions). It was disturbing to read about him (allegedly) saying to his ex that "I want a gun so I can kill myself" and other sordid details. I don't believe in people not being able to be forgiven for doing heinous acts, but if this is true Kurt will deservingly have to pay the price for this one. I think this just goes to show once again that just because you can be at the top, and have all the fame and fortune, doesn't buy you happiness. " I am siding with Marco Andretti on this one... She's a slut gold digger! 22. BluesTravelerFan posted: 11.08.2014 - 12:27 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) @21 There definitely is every possibility that Patricia Driscoll could have fabricated this story in a jilted move to hurt Kurt in the PR department. However, considering Kurt's behavioral history, I'm not very inclined to think that is the case. I could be wrong, though(and honestly hope I am). 23. The Long Shot posted: 11.08.2014 - 12:58 pm Rate this comment: (2) (2) "@21 There definitely is every possibility that Patricia Driscoll could have fabricated this story in a jilted move to hurt Kurt in the PR department. However, considering Kurt's behavioral history, I'm not very inclined to think that is the case. I could be wrong, though(and honestly hope I am)." Very much agree with this statement. Driscoll, from her reputation alone, seems like one of the last people who would make something up like this. Maybe Andretti's tweets do actually reflect her intentions (although we have no idea how well he really knows her), but I'm much more inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt than I am Kurt. Not necessarily because of their sexualities (even though I do generally lean towards the female's side in case like these), but because I know that Kurt is very capable of snapping like this and has done it in the past. 24. Sarf52 posted: 11.08.2014 - 1:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) My boy Casey Mears and the Germain crew has found some speed this weekend! Wow! Wait till yall see the Dumb & Dumber schemes on Bowman and Yeley's cars this weekend. BK Racing finds some weird sponsors, man... 25. cjs3872 posted: 11.08.2014 - 1:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Actually @17, the four I see getting in are Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselwoski, and the two JGR drivers, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin. I think Kenseth and Hamlin will point their way into the final four (Hamlin's off to a great start, being on the pole because he should get the extra point for leading, at least on the first lap), and I see Harvick or Keselowski winning the race, with the other getting in on points, as well (especially with Keselowski having the best crew chief left among the title contenders). Ryan Newman can't continue to get it done with smoke and mirrors, Jeff Gordon hasn't run well at Phoenix since they reconfigurated the track, and even if he does run well, if it comes down to tactics, which it often does at Phoenix, he'll get torpedoed by his crew chief, as one of Alan Gustafson's race mismanagement calls is overdue to happen, and I can't shake this feeling that Joey Logano is overdue for bad luck to strike him, and with the possibility for tire problems and close-quarter racing on a flat 1-mile track, that it could strike this weekend. So for those reasons, I have the 2, 4, 11, and 20 cars getting in. 26. racefangurl posted: 11.08.2014 - 2:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick, Logano, Keselowski and Gordo or a Gibbs driver or two. I predict this based on Harvick's Phoenix track record, Joey's career year and 4th place finish at the 1st Phoenix race, Penske and Hendrick's dominance this year. Gibbs is my dark horse pick and displaces either Gordo, Keselowski or both. With Hamlin on the pole and sharing the points lead coming into this race, he could points in. And Kenseth was a championship winner with only 1 win back in the day. Keselowski has many enemies now and Gordo has had Phoenix and crew chief issues. Newman's just been lucky, in a way and Edwards' team hasn't been that good this year, so they'll likely be gone. 27. Hinch77 posted: 11.08.2014 - 2:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Actually @17, the four I see getting in are Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselwoski, and the two JGR drivers, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin. I think Kenseth and Hamlin will point their way into the final four (Hamlin's off to a great start, being on the pole because he should get the extra point for leading, at least on the first lap), and I see Harvick or Keselowski winning the race, with the other getting in on points, as well (especially with Keselowski having the best crew chief left among the title contenders). Ryan Newman can't continue to get it done with smoke and mirrors, Jeff Gordon hasn't run well at Phoenix since they reconfigurated the track, and even if he does run well, if it comes down to tactics, which it often does at Phoenix, he'll get torpedoed by his crew chief, as one of Alan Gustafson's race mismanagement calls is overdue to happen, and I can't shake this feeling that Joey Logano is overdue for bad luck to strike him, and with the possibility for tire problems and close-quarter racing on a flat 1-mile track, that it could strike this weekend. So for those reasons, I have the 2, 4, 11, and 20 cars getting in. I call BS on this. Newman, I guarantee you, will be in the final four barring travesty tomorrow. It has hardly been smoke and mirrors for him. Just because he waits until the end of the race and jumps from 10th to 4th by keeping a cool head does NOT mean it's smoke and mirrors. In fact, he was the only driver keeping up with Gordon and Johnson this past Sunday until NASCAR turned it into a fustercluck. 28. murb posted: 11.08.2014 - 3:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm not denying the "Driscoll made it up" story (though I'm still leaning towards it being true and Kurt snapping, given his past), but I think Marco Andretti should be focusing on not being a complete mockery to the Andretti name in IndyCar instead of trying to weigh in with his opinion on it. Ultimately, he's only known both of them for like less than two years, so I don't think there's any need for him chiming in. And as for the Final Four, as of this moment I have the #22, #4, #24, and #11 making it, but I guarantee you that will change at least two or three more times before this race is over. I honestly have NO IDEA what's going to happen here. 29. epzik8 posted: 11.08.2014 - 3:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Kurt Busch thing upsets me because it's been a couple of years since he was in a controversial spotlight like this, and he seemed to be turning into one of the "good guys". 30. dennyfan11 posted: 11.08.2014 - 4:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't know what to say about this whole thing. Kurt, if he is guilty, will plummet down my fav driver standings. 31. Pizzaboy posted: 11.08.2014 - 4:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If this thing about Kurt Busch is true, then his career just might come to an end, as I don't think anyone will want him at that point. At least he's got a Sprint Cup Title under him. As for his race, I'm not sold on Harvick winning just yet. I know that he is at his best track, but the amount of times his team has choked away wins has certainly held him back. What could be the possibility of that happening again this week? 32. The Long Shot posted: 11.08.2014 - 5:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I don't know what to say about this whole thing. Kurt, if he is guilty, will plummet down my fav driver standings." Again, for the sake of political correctness, we don't know anything, but if Kurt indeed did commit this act, he should never be allowed to race again and should immediately get medical and psychiatric help. It's beyond the point of "well, he's just a jackass"; Kurt legitimately has serious mental and rage issues that are potentially harming to him and other people. (Again, IF he did this; there has been nothing to this case so far other than "he said, she said".) 33. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.08.2014 - 6:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So why exactly did she wait 6 months to press charges? 34. The Long Shot posted: 11.08.2014 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "So why exactly did she wait 6 months to press charges?" Where did you hear that from? The incident supposedly happened in September. And at any rate, you have to remember that a lot of times victims of rape are fearful about pressing charges because they're afraid their names will get dragged through the mud and that the man in question may attempt to violate her in another way in an act of revenge. Not everything has lined up with this story so far, granted, but that doesn't mean at all that these allegations are false. 35. murb posted: 11.08.2014 - 6:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, I don't understand why people are shocked that she waited that long to take it to the cops (and even then, it happened less than two months ago - it's not like she waited two years or something). From what I've seen in other domestic/assault cases before, it happens quite often. The only thing to me that is kind of fishy is that she was in his motorhome at Dover a week after they apparently broke up. But even then, I don't think it's THAT fishy. I know she lives in Maryland (very close to Dover), so maybe she was there trying to reconcile with him or something and then all of this happened. But I don't know. The only thing I feel pretty good about saying is that it seems like both of them could have done things a lot better in this situation. 36. Eric posted: 11.08.2014 - 7:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) murb, My reaction towards filing a report that way is for a reason. I used know a person who was a victim of domestic abuse multiple times by the same boyfriend back in the 1990's. That person called the cops on the same day as the assault happened. The people involved are not my parents. 37. Eric posted: 11.08.2014 - 7:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I wasn't involved in that mess I refereed to on post 36 either in terms of who abused that person either. 38. cjs3872 posted: 11.08.2014 - 7:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The whole #31 team has been getting it done with smoke and mirrors since before the Chase even started, Hinch77. The only race in which he even sniffed victory lane was at Talladega, when he and Brad Keselowski battled on the last lap. and I just think that it's about time it caught up to them. When I look at those trying to make the final four, the 2, 4, 11, and 20 teams are, at this moment, given where they're running, the favorites to make it. I think Joey Logano's going to get hit by bad luck, which would knock him out, and I think Ryan Newman is finally going to see his chariot turn into a pumpkin. And Carl Edwards has shown that he's not going to be a factor, either. That leaves five drivers going for four spots, and Jeff Gordon is the odd man out here. Gordon has not run that well at Phoenix since they did the reconfiguration after his win in the spring in 2011, and even if he does run well, Alan Gustafson will find some way to blow it with bad calls from the top of the pit box, and tomorrow's race figures to be a strategy derby, and given the crew chiefs left, Gordon's is, by far, the worst of the bunch wen it comes to that. It is for those reasons, as well as the fact that JGR's program has gotten righted at the right time (really, starting at Indy when JGR finished 2-3-4 behind Gordon), and the fact that the 2 and 4 cars seem to be the best this weekend, that I have the 2, 4, 11, and 20 being the ones to make it to Homestead with a shot at the title. Trust me, I'd love to see the title go down to a battle between the 11, 20, and 31 cars, if only to make NASCAR look like the fools they seem to be when it comes to decision-making, but I see only the JGR duo among those three making it to the finale with a shot at the title, but I'm not sure anyone's beating the #2 bunch for the title. 39. racefangurl posted: 11.08.2014 - 8:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm ready to see who makes the Final Four. The points are so tight, strictly by that, it's anyone's chance, but I don't think Edwards and Newman can do it. Any 4 of the others can, depending on how circumstances fall. 40. Eric posted: 11.08.2014 - 8:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Murb, I read the reason why Kurt's ex Girlfriend almost 6 weeks and is something I didn't before I typed. Driscoll waited this long because she is in a custody battle with her ex husband over her son and it isn't the reason you claimed. Driscall lawyer claimed that "Her custody battle has claims that Kurt Busch referred to her son as his 'adopted son' and as his 'surrogate stepson' and this was a critical issue in the custody battle". The reason Marco Andretti called think of her highly is due to TMZ information. TMZ claimed that an attorney for Driscoll contacted Busch in an attempt to negotiate a financial settlement before she filed her claim. 41. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.08.2014 - 8:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Kinda wish Baldwin wouldn't of entered the 37" I think this indicates that Baldwin may be in more trouble financially than we first thought (Remember Reed Sorenson ran unsponsored for almost the entire first half of the seaon0 42. murb posted: 11.08.2014 - 8:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Not all situations are the same, Eric. I'm just saying that it's not nearly the first time I've heard about someone filing a report a good while after the incident happened. 43. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 11.08.2014 - 9:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'd like to believe the whole deal with Kurt isn't true. But NASCAR is in danger of becoming too much like other sports where controversy and drama are a part of the popular athletes' personal lives. 44. Pizzaboy posted: 11.08.2014 - 9:41 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) After pondering for a while, my final 4 predictions are: 2, 4, 11, and 22. Harvick has the best shot at winning, Logano and Hamlin should get top 10's fairly easy, and Keselowski should have enough of a run to pass Newman in points. 45. Schroeder51 posted: 11.08.2014 - 10:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I honestly have no good guess on who the final four will actually be. If I had to guess, I'd say the #4, the #22, the #24, and the #31 would be my picks to make it (yes, I actually think Hamlin might fall out-I seem to be the only one who thinks so!), but I could just as easily be wrong. For all I know, it could very easily be the #2, the #11, the #20, and the #99 who make it to the final four...especially if this race gets turned absolutely upside down near the finish by a bunch of questionable cautions like last week... So I really have no clue. I guess I'll just have to see what happens tomorrow. And hope that a bunch of major-league BS doesn't unfold in the final laps...which is probably going to happen anyways... 46. Schroeder51 posted: 11.08.2014 - 10:09 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) As for Kurt Busch, I'm not going to jump to any conclusions (like I said with Tony Stewart, we SHOULDN'T jump to conclusions until we know more of the whole picture...but unfortunately, many people will jump to them anyways), but I will say this: if these allegations are actually true and Kurt really did beat up his ex-girlfriend, I hope we never see him behind the wheel of a Cup car again. There's no room for that kind of behavior in this sport. And that's all I'm going to say on that... 47. cjs3872 posted: 11.08.2014 - 10:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think I've said in previous comment threads that I felt Tommy Baldwin's team was one of those in trouble, @41, because running two cars full-time is simply more than that organization is capable of handling. So for them to be in financial trouble, if that's the case, is no surprise. If running two cars maxes out a team like Richard Petty Motorsports, which has a significant amount of backing, then what does running two full-time cars figure to do to an organization like Tommy Baldwin Racing? In fact, I think there are several cars currently on the grid in the Cup Series that are in serious jeopardy of not being there in 2015, and at least one of those is from Tommy Baldwin Racing. I think the 32 car (FasLane Racing), one of the TBR cars (7 or 36, but not likely both of them), at least one of the BK Racing cars, if not two of them (they run three cars), and possibly another team that we may not know about (possibly the #51 from HScott Racing, #66 from Identity Ventures, or the #98 from Phil Parsons Racing) may disappear from the starting grid next year. Remember that the #87 of NemCo Motorsports dropped from the grid earlier this year, so filling out a field may be more difficult next year if any of those cars leave the grid, and they've had to scramble to fill the fields during the Chase this year, and one race has run with a short field this year, so car count figures to be a bigger problem next year. Certainly the addition of a fourth JGR car with Carl Edwards will help in that regard, as would the addition of a fifth car for HMS to develop newly crowned Nationwide Series (or XFinity Series, as it will be called next year) champion Chase Elliott for the Cup Series, either with HMS or with Stewart-Haas with the problems they've suddenly been beset with. And I wouldn't be surprised to see Penske add a third car for Ryan Blaney to run races he's not going to run for the Wood Brothers next year (he's only scheduled to run 12 races in the #21 car). But car count is going to be one of the big stories for 2015, especially with the changes that are going to be made to the engines, changes that could drive a number of teams right out of the sport, as was the case in the 1970s when changes were made to the engines, and in the early 1980s, when the cars were downsized. 48. Conspiracy Theorist posted: 11.08.2014 - 11:04 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Something that I have not seen anyone talking about - I don't know how many people I work with telling me "If Junior gets put out, I probably won't even watch any of the rest of the races". Well Junior got eliminated and lo and behold what happens the very next week? .... I'm just saying. 49. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.08.2014 - 11:35 pm Rate this comment: (1) (3) #48 Get lost. 50. The Crimson King posted: 11.09.2014 - 12:39 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Is it just me or has Phoenix sort of taken up old position that Rockingham used to have? 51. IsNascarReallyRacing? posted: 11.09.2014 - 1:14 am Rate this comment: (2) (4) Whenever I hear something about NASCAR, it's always the drivers fighting, or speeding, or DUI's, or killing other drivers, or beating their spouses, or how much the racing sucks, the tracks suck, the points system sucks, the cars themselves suck. I watch a ton of sports and sports news/talk shows, and I literally never hear anything popular about this sport anywhere. With all of the other fantastic racing out there, why do you people follow this "WWF Entertainment Racing" bullcrap? 52. cjs3872 posted: 11.09.2014 - 1:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) In a way, it has, @50, but the this race at Phoenix has always been this close to the end of the season, ever since it was added to the schedule in 1988. This race actually took the place of the fall event at Riverside on the schedule. The fall race at Riverside had been the season-ender from 1981-'87, but since that track was going away after the summer of 1988, the fall event had to be replaced, and that date went to Phoenix, beginning in 1988. The summer race at Riverside moved to Sonoma for 1989. Where Phoenix has become like Rockingham used to be is that it's now become the second race of the season, the next race after the Daytona 500, which had been Rockingham's old late-winter/early-spring date for 13 years after flipping with Richmond in 1992. Now Phoenix has that particular date, and has since 2011, to start the western swing in the early portion of the season, as four of the six races after the Daytona 500 are in the southwest, since that's where the weather is the best that time of year. Frankly, I think the four races immediately after the Daytona 500 should be at Phoenix, Las Vegas, Fontana, and Texas, in any order, because the chances of them getting those races in at that time of year is the highest. 53. MAR posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Post #48 Do a little more research on those teams. 54. Conspiracy Theorist posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Don't be hating on me, I was just asking a question to see what others thought. And MAR, what teams is it you speak of? I was only referring to 1 driver with 1 team. 55. MAR posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) My bad i meant post #47 56. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Something that I have not seen anyone talking about - I don't know how many people I work with telling me "If Junior gets put out, I probably won't even watch any of the rest of the races". Well Junior got eliminated and lo and behold what happens the very next week? .... I'm just saying. " The ratings spiked? If there was a conspiracy afoot, I guarantee you Johnson would not have missed out, and neither would Junior. 57. MAR posted: 11.09.2014 - 10:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The way i see it i dont think its goin to be that big of an issue to see full fields in cup next year yes teams have financial issues but realisticly TBR will be ok as long as Michael Annett Comes back which most likely will happen so if that does happen the #36 will be back sponsorship or not. Go Fast Racing #32 will be back regardless with rotating driver lineups with guys bringing sponsorship. HScott Motorsports #51 is a question mark right now it all depends on what Brandt wants to do. Phil Parsons racing will be there next year sponsored or not besides this year has been there most successful year in terms of sponsorship. But however Bk Racing i think is in serious financial trouble considering two years ago Landon Cassil left cause he wasn't getting paid on time and Ryan Truex said he wasn't getting paid either and Burger King really is Supporting that team as much as you think. And #66 team most likely wont come back next year. 58. We need more Onion posted: 11.09.2014 - 1:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) TBR? In trouble? They are better than ever and occasionally even field a 3rd car. Annett is fully sponsored and putting down good results. Also, they don't wreck too much like BK. 59. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 1:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) Annett has NOT been doing well. he has no top tens, he doesn't even have a top 15, and only FOUR top 20s (and none since kentucky.) 60. MAR posted: 11.09.2014 - 2:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Annett fell apart in the second half of the season. And besides i read that he uses Engines From RCR so TBR isn't really doin that bad.And that 3rd car does run full races sometimes. 61. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 2:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Annett wasn't doing THAT badly the first half of this season, but in the second half, he's really gone downhill quite a bit. To be fair, that's largely due to him having almost no luck at all in the past few months. He's still doing better than I thought he would; I thought he would be consistently battling for 35th place virtually every week outside of the plate tracks. 62. David posted: 11.09.2014 - 2:35 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) I won't miss Brad and Rusty. 63. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 2:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Can you believe there are only going to be two more ESPN NASCAR broadcasts after today? The Nationwide finale and the Cup finale at Homestead. And after that...no more! I can't wait for next week so we never have to see them again... 64. Dense Drip posted: 11.09.2014 - 2:40 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Well, Annett has had 7 finishes from 21-25. So he's had 11 top 25 finishes so far this year. We all have to remember that TBR doesn't have the greatest equipment. In my opinion, 11 top 25s in a TBR car is not too bad. Dave Blaney had 12 top 25s last year in the #7, so Annett is doing just about well as Blaney did in the #7. 65. Seagal posted: 11.09.2014 - 2:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Agreed David. I had to mute them. The amount of Keselowski fanboying was unbearable. 66. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 2:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) While we wait for the race, here is a really funny article about 20 ways to boost NASCAR's ratings. "1. Fans may throw anything on the track at any time, as long as it is: a) an item made of glass, b) a car battery, or c) a riding mower. 2. One grandstand at every track must be reserved exclusively for: a) alcoholics (blood-alcohol levels will be tested), b) persons wearing electronic ankle tethers, and c) rodeo clowns with snakes. 3. All cars must be capable of 300 mph. To achieve this, no scrutineer will ever glance under the hood of a competitor's car. (Note: Solid rocket fuel, while discouraged, will not be expressly banned as long as it is 'The Official Solid Rocket Fuel of NASCAR.') 4. The speed limit on pit lane will be 175 mph: strictly enforced, no exceptions. 5. Three (3) celebrity drivers and/or politician drivers will compete in every race. At least one (1) must be severely maimed or paralyzed in a crash so violent that it shuts down the track for thirty (30) minutes, a period henceforth to be known as 'Free-Beer Time.' 6. A lottery will be undertaken in which three (3) RV and/or bus owners in the infield will be permitted to compete in the actual race for any ten (10) laps of their choosing. 7. During Free-Beer Time,' fans will electronically vote to sacrifice between six (6) and nine (9) spectator vehicles to a peat bog maintained at every track, starting with the automobile the promoter drove to that day's race. 8. During the event, the spectator who starts the largest fire will be invited to participate in the victory celebration. 9. At one race each year, the National Rifle Association will hold its annual convention and, during green-flag racing, will oversee a competition that determines the organization's 'Marksman of the Year.' 10. During 'Free-Beer Time,' drivers will demonstrate their helmet-throwing abilities. Any driver who inflicts a closed head injury will be crowned that day's 'Helmet-Hurling Hero' and will restart the race in first place. 11. Every pit crew must employ one (1) actual simian, with DNA to be tested by the San Diego Zoo. This simian may have any name as long as it's 'Walker, Texas Ranger' and must perform a vital pit function: changing tires, adding fuel, or challenging the driver to a game of rock/paper/scissors. 12. At any time, members of the France family can demand the installation of snow chains on the driven wheels of five (5) competing vehicles. 13. On lap 100, one (1) driver will be selected at random to undergo a personal IRS audit that is televised live on the infield JumboTron. 14. The TV broadcasting team will, at every race, include two (2) of the following persons as color commentators: John Madden, O.J. Simpson, Ellen DeGeneres, Michael Jackson's physician, Sly and the Family Stone, Sharon Stone, Oliver Stone, Stone Phillips, or the Rolling Stones. 15. One (1) car per event must explode. 16. Twenty (20) minutes of each TV broadcast will be allotted to a segment videotaped in the grandstands. This segment will officially be known as 'Is She Wearing a Bra?' 17. Any competitor with the surname 'Busch' will be ejected from the premises of all tracks, including those tracks that have never hosted a NASCAR event. 18. At the night event at Bristol Motor Speedway, the back straightaway will include a ramp-to-ramp leap of no less than sixty (60) feet. Competitors who misjudge their entry speeds and land amidst throngs of spectators will be subject to a drive-through penalty but will not lose a lap. 19. Any driver whose car is disabled can reenter the race but only in a rental car acquired through 'The Official Rental-Car Agency of NASCAR.' 20. On an undisclosed lap of every race, NASCAR will prominently display a handsome skull-and-crossbones flag, informing drivers that the event, effective immediately, will proceed in a clockwise direction." 67. epzik8 posted: 11.09.2014 - 2:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I can't wait for next week so I can have a much-needed break from NASCAR. 68. BSPN posted: 11.09.2014 - 2:59 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I like how during Joey Logano's pre-race interview the Budweiser Clydesdales passed by behind him leading me to wonder "how do they make sure those horses don't dump on the track"...and a golf cart full of pooper scoopers passes by right behind them explaining the whole thing. 69. CoryisNascar posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hi I'm Cory, I am extremely pummed for today's race I think part 2 to the fight will take place with contact on the track and controversy in pit lane. What do you guys think will happen 70. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:07 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "I like how during Joey Logano's pre-race interview the Budweiser Clydesdales passed by behind him leading me to wonder "how do they make sure those horses don't dump on the track"...and a golf cart full of pooper scoopers passes by right behind them explaining the whole thing." So NASCAR plants the debris cautions before the race even starts. 71. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ESPN seems to be anticipating the most exciting race to date this year, with non-stop beating and banging every lap. Oh, how ironic would it be if this ended up being one of the most dull races this year... 72. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Denny Hamlin is the only driver still in the Chase to have NOT scored a top 5 in the entire Chase. And just think...he might be our champion this year... 73. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick moves to second on the first lap. Meanwhile, Gordon is starting to back up through the field as Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson have gone by him, and Brian Vickers is about to pass him as well. 74. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick has already caught Hamlin for the lead. 75. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Anyone that got stuck on the outside after lap 2 fell back some. It's gonna be a while till a 2nd groove comes in; if at all. 76. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Come on Denny! 77. epzik8 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Suddenly Kenseth is in the championship discussion. 78. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Casey Mears running 10th. 79. Sarf52 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Casey Mears hanging tough in the T-10. The 13 looks sharp today. 80. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano working on Harvick for 2nd. 81. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:29 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Mears is actually catching Gordon for position. Meanwhile, Logano goes by Harvick. That's admittedly a surprise...I thought Harvick would have no trouble blowing by Hamlin for the lead in the early laps. 82. DB1995 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ESPN says this will be the race of the millenium, money says it will be no better than any other race this year 83. We need more Onion posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Annett has fallen back, indeed, but he still IS doing well. Beating his experienced teammate very comfortably and he is also in front of Ragan. Much better than what anyone expected. @dennyfan, I have no idea how you expect a top 10 from a rookie TBR driver, or from a TBR driver at all. 84. We need more Onion posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Anyway, Mears in the T10! 85. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano is catching Hamlin. 86. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano trying to pass Hamlin. 87. racefangurl posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) After this race we'll know the Final Four. And it's amazing how we get the personality spectrum with drivers. I mean, Kurt Busch supposedly wanted to kill himself, yet some drivers, like my favorites smile all the time, practically. Well, I guess it's what Kurt Busch doesn't have that at least one, maybe both of my favorites have. Hint: both my favorites have mentioned church. 88. racefangurl posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I hope Joey makes the pass. 89. RaceFanX posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The BK Racing cars have paint schemes promoting the new movie "Dumb and Dumber To" this week and are running 39th and 40th on the tail end of the lead lap right now. 90. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano trying to make the pass, but Hamlin won't give up on the outside. And now Harvick is in the picture. 91. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano finally clears Hamlin. 92. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano goes to first (racefangurl must be mentally squealing for joy) and Harvick goes to second. 93. Sarf52 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:35 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) How can BK Racing, a team with 3 years of experience, nearly full sponsorship all year, corporate backing and seeming mid-level resources be so bad? 94. JG24FanForever posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think, after the controversy of throwing so many "debri" cautions last week, Nascar will be hesitant to throw too many tonight. 95. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamin's dropping like a rock. 96. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Legit debris caution. 97. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Spring rubber caution flag. 98. JG24FanForever posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And then I eat crow. 99. DB1995 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I like how the media thinks someone will wreck Brad, when everyone that is mad at him is trying to get championship eligible like he is, it wouldnt be worth it. 100. epzik8 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Stupid debris caution. 101. Sarf52 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ambrose and Stewart tangle *lightly* on pit road 102. MAR posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) BK Racing doesn't have full backing BURGER KING hardly supports the team. The owners are burger king franchise owners 103. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Denny Hamlin has to pit again...for a flat tire. 104. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! HAMLIN HAS A FLAT!!! NOOOOO! 105. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There goes Hamlin's championship... 106. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Busch brothers try to go three-wide with Keselowski. 107. epzik8 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Poor Hamlin. 108. DB1995 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Alex Bowman said this over radio @RacingUnderdogs: .@AlexBRacing says "can we take the restrictor plate off or this is some kind of cruel and unusual punishment" p40 109. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Larson is trying to pass Gordon on the outside, but ultimately, Gordon clears him. 110. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Allgaier has lost six laps due to damage. 111. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Still a lot of race left for Denny to make it back in, but I kind of doubt it. 112. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmie Johnson apparently made contact with Allgaier in the pits. Surprisingly, Johnson seems to have nearly no damage at all. Harvick is coming for the lead. 113. racefangurl posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The top-4 are all Chasers. Looks good at the front, well to me anyway. 114. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin is already up to 28th! 115. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick is definitely the favorite to win, but anything could happen...for all we know, his pit crew could let him down AGAIN. 116. Sarf52 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman making some progress, currently sitting 20th and knocking on the door for 19th 117. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon moves past Kyle Busch. 118. Sarf52 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:46 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Aaaaand looks like Mike Bliss has parked it. Let Clay Rogers race, damnit! 119. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Come on Hamlin! get into the final 4! 120. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:49 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) That Chase commercial with Rusty saying "The end is near" might be one of the most cringeworthy things BSPN has done yet. 121. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon has caught Brad Keselowski. Wonder if ESPN is going to start debating whether or not Gordon will try to get payback on him here... 122. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Why is Hamlin falling back? 123. joey2448 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "After this race we'll know the Final Four" Oh man, you're right! We will know the Final Four at the conclusion of today's race. I totally forgot about that. Can't wait to see who makes it. Ooh boy, Brad and Jeff are running near each other. ESPN is expecting a crash. 124. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "That Chase commercial with Rusty saying "The end is near" might be one of the most cringeworthy things BSPN has done yet." It's not as bad to me as the constant referring to each driver's fanbase as a "nation". Apparently, NASCAR wants the fanbases to refer to themselves as that...no way in HELL will I ever refer to myself as "a member of Jeff Gordon nation". 125. The Crimson King posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If this stays green, Denny Hamlin is in danger of getting lapped. 126. JG24FanForever posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good stuff from the #24 and #2! 127. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:52 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Wow, this Gordon/Keselowski coverage is gonna be sickening for the rest of this year. 128. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Why is Hamlin falling back?" His car must not be very good in traffic at all. 129. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman is really moving forward on his four tires. 130. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick has a 4.5 second lead. 131. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:56 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) And that folks is why true racing fans and the other drivers RESPECT Jeff Gordon, even if they aren't his fan. 132. epzik8 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick has a nice lead now. 133. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin has just been lapped. 134. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin is getting lapped. Huge blow to his Chase chances early. 135. We need more Onion posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:58 pm Rate this comment: (2) (3) Nope. People respect his speed. He is an asshat, glorified. 136. The Crimson King posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truex has been incredibly solid the past month or so. I don't know what Front Row is doing differently, but its working for them. 137. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) NOOOOOO! HAMLINS A LAP DOWN!!! There goes all hope of him making it in... 138. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick's on fire. he has a 7 second lead. 139. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt Busch has moved to second place. 140. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 3:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick is going to absolutely stomp this field if absolutely nothing happens to him today. 141. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, Kurt's fast. That would be quite interesting if he won this. 142. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Casey Mears crashes. He was running 12th, that really sucks. 143. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mears spins and brings out the caution. 144. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt is actually closing in on Harvick... ...and Casey Mears spins on the backstretch and crashes. I'm not sure, but I THINK Hamlin gets the free pass. 145. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mears spins going into the dogleg. Ended up hitting the inside wall. 146. We need more Onion posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:00 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Yeah, f**k. Every time Mears runs well, this happens. 147. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks like Mears blew out a tire. 148. Cumulonimbus posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Aww, Mears crashes while running 12th because of a flat right rear. Not an enormous amount of damage apparently. 149. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman's a lucky man 150. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Nope. People respect his speed. He is an asshat, glorified. " I'm just going to sit here and let other people humiliate you. 151. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No, Biffle gets the free pass. 152. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Or not. Looks like Biffle got lapped just before the caution flag. 153. Sarf52 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mears car doesn't have too much damage, hope he can stay on the lead lap an battle back for a T-20. It's a shame though, this was a really good effort so far, bad luck on the right rear going down. 154. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The irony if Kurt Busch wins while in the midst of a controversial situation... 155. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Nope. People respect his speed. He is an asshat, glorified. " If Jeff is an asshat, then I hate to see what you think of the following drivers: Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Martin Truex, Kasey Kahne, Austin Dillon, Brian Vickers, Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Michael Waltrip, Danica Patrick... 156. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Jr and Gordon take two tires. 157. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Jr. takes two tires and wins the race out of the pits. 158. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon's two tire stop took longer than some people's four tire stops. 159. Mr X posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon was going to take 4 I believe, but they bailed after the rear tire changer's struggles. That stop was over 13 seconds. 160. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman has slunk up to 12th... not that he has passed 12 cars or anything like some people *cough*cjs*cough* want you to believe 161. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon is going to get steamrolled on his two tires over the long run. 162. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Gordon is going to get steamrolled on his two tires over the long run. " Sounds painful... I'd hate to get run over by one of those things! *drumroll* 163. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kenseth and Keselowski blow past Gordon with ease. 164. epzik8 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sucks for Casey Mears, but another great pit move by Dale Jr. 165. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin continues to lose ground. 166. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jacques caution. Denny Hamlin gets back on the lead lap. 167. Jacques posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin a lap down? I'm on my way! 168. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) YAY! Hamlin is back on the lead lap! 169. Kevin posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:13 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The very rarely seen in the wild "Denny caution." It is believed to be a distant relative of the "Danica caution" and the "Junior caution." 170. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon and Junior pit, but the majority of the lead lap cars stay out. 171. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt Weaver of SB Nation says that it was legitimate debris and that it was hit by Jimmie Johnson and shattered. 172. Dense Drip posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Really good call by Josh Wise and PPR to take the wave around. 173. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It was pretty clearly legitimate debris. 174. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) UNDER PRESSURE! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! 175. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Two legit debris cautions in one race?! 176. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Look for Jeff Gordon to make up lots of spots during this run. 177. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Loads of 3-wide racing. 178. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "UNDER PRESSURE! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Don't get me wrong, I LIKE the song, but I'm going to get REALLY sick of hearing ESPN play it at every single opportunity... 179. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That out of contention driver in 9th... 180. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bowyer tries wrecking Menard for a half a lap. What a dick. 181. MAR posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) O look Its Clint Boywer bein an idiot as usual 182. racefangurl posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So much drama. I'm on the edge of my chair. 183. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Clint Bowyer being Clint Bowyer, ladies and gentlemen. 184. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cole Whitt is off the pace. 185. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:21 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "UNDER PRESSURE! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Don't get me wrong, I LIKE the song, but I'm going to get REALLY sick of hearing ESPN play it at every single opportunity... Just be fortunate its the original version and not some bad country singer cover. 186. Clint Bowyer's troll posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) My... arm... itches! Damn it! Must scratch this freaking arm! Pain... too much. Can't last... much longer! Oh... my... WORD! *scratches* YES!!!!!! *hits something* NO!!!!!!! 187. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Just be fortunate its the original version and not some bad country singer cover." I can't even BEGIN to imagine a country version of "Under Pressure"... 188. epzik8 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) lol at 19th-21st a few laps ago: Dale Jr., Danica and Stenhouse. 189. racefangurl posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Who do you predict will be in or out of title contention after this race at this point? Who's under pressure? 190. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Who do you predict will be in or out of title contention after this race at this point? Who's under pressure?" Hamlin for sure is under pressure right now; Carl Edwards also isn't performing well enough at the moment to put himself in position to make the Final Four. 191. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #186 Really, Really? Is that necessary? And I have only just tuned in, but it seems OK so far, sucks for Mears, and MAN Allgaier's car is torn up, I just saw how bad the car is. 192. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Another debris caution? Seriously, please don't tell me this race is going to be like last week where 90% of the cautions are for "debris"... 193. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Another debris caution. This one was a tad unnecessary. 194. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:29 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Logano takes off with his fuel can, he gets a penalty. 195. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:29 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Logano just took equipment out of his pit box. 196. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Who do you predict will be in or out of title contention after this race at this point? Who's under pressure?" Harvick, Logano, Gordon, and then one of the following: Hamlin, Newman, or Kenseth. The only one I'm fairly certain won't make it is Edwards. 197. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Technically the fuel can rested about 6 inches outside his pit box. 198. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano has a major issue on the pit-lane and will be penalised. tough break for Logano. And it messed with Hamlin's stop, what a way to f**k up at such a tight moment Joey 199. racefangurl posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Yuck! Double Yuck! Yucky Ucky! Now Joey's under pressure. 200. We need more Onion posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) "Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Martin Truex, Kasey Kahne, Austin Dillon, Clint Bowyer, Michael Waltrip, Danica Patrick" Hahaha!! You ran out of drivers NRF? These people are either boring, idiots, cheaters, poster boys, the most delusional marketing tool and the most annoying personality in NASCAR. (and Truex, seriously WTF?) But they don't pick fights with others racing them fair, don't wreck peole LAPPING HIM because of trading paint with him. Some of them don't even bitch about others race hard. You can start your little conquest against me, I don't care, but others will see that I agree with Jeff being one of the finest NASCAR drivers ever, but nowhere near the saint people want to make him appear. 201. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This will be a good test for Joey. We'll see how he reacts to overcoming adversity in a pressure filled situation. 202. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Clint Bowyer and Jamie McMurray apparently also got penalties. 203. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I just now realized that Ty Dillon is in this race. 204. The Crimson King posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Let's be honest, who in this current field is considered classy? Not a single driver. 205. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) LOL At Ty Dillon being outrun by Josh Wise 206. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Geez, Harvick got a second lead within the first lap back to green. 207. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin is only 2 points ahead. Come on! step it up! 208. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin's car still doesn't look that good. Brian Vickers is passing him on the outside to put him back to 20th. 209. racefangurl posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) C'mom Joey! Show everyone you can handle the pressure! 210. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:37 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "Let's be honest, who in this current field is considered classy? Not a single driver." McMurray, Ragan, maybe Mike Wallace, maybe Mike Bliss. I might even throw Dale Jr in there. But yeah, not many. That's how it's always been though. If we had 43 Mark Martins every week, it'd be incredibly dull. 211. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) NOOO HAMLIN IS OUT OF THE FINAL 4!!!!! 212. We need more Onion posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Let's be honest, who in this current field is considered classy?" McMurray, Wise, Ambrose, Ragan, Almirola, McMurray, Menard (like it, or not, he is), Cassill. 213. Anonymous posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Let's be honest, who in this current field is considered classy? Not a single driver." Jamie McMurry? 214. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "NOOO HAMLIN IS OUT OF THE FINAL 4!!!!!" Man, and I thought *I* was pessimistic when it came to my favorite driver. 215. MAR posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kenseth, Hamlin, Edwards really dont deserve to still have a shot at the final 4 216. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I seriously doubt Denny is gonna make it. He's one of the most talented drivers out here, but he really does usually have a hard time coming back from adversity. So I'd say he's out of it at this point. 217. racefangurl posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I guess Joey can handle pressure, maybe. He's back to the top-20 218. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Kenseth, Hamlin, Edwards really dont deserve to still have a shot at the final 4" Why? Is it because they haven't been running top 10 nearly every week? And Johnson's well back due to apparently electrical issues, and the damage from the contact with Allgaier doesn't help. 219. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt moves past Kyle for second place. 220. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Both of the Buschs seem to be the best cars behind Harvick. 221. epzik8 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano is slowly making up positions. 222. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) JoLo's having a temper tantrum 223. We need more Onion posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:45 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Lol @ Newman points leader :D 224. The Crimson King posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Joey sounds pissed on the radio. 225. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Why? Is it because they haven't been running top 10 nearly every week?" While I would be okay with Kenseth making it to the final four, Edwards and Hamlin have run mediocre a LOT this year, and I think they are probably the two luckiest drivers still in the Chase at this point. 226. racefangurl posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Joey needs to pass Brian Vickers. He also needs to not let his being mad get in the way of handling the situation properly. 227. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truex is REALLY on a roll as of late. That #78 team might have some real momentum going into next year... Hamlin goes a lap down again. I gotta agree with murb, Hamlin's car just does not look that good right now, and if things stay the way they are, I really doubt he'll make the cut. 228. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great run once again for Martin Truex. If they can carry over this momentum to next year, they should be Chase contenders. Denny goes a lap down again. Really disappointed in him today. I know he had the flat, but he's running like complete garbage while both Kyle and Kenseth are top five cars. 229. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:50 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Sad that ESPN considers 40 laps on a 1-mile track a long green flag run. 230. MAR posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) For one idk how the hell Carl Edwards even made it this far. Matt Kenseth hasnt won and Denny Hamlin just way to inconsistent 231. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) LOL, murb and I posted more or less the same thing! Logano is also not far from being lapped as well; he's only about 3 or 4 cars ahead of Harvick. 232. The Crimson King posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Joey's going to lose a lap to the leader soon if he's not careful. 233. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin's final 4 hopes have gone from 1% to -1000%. He is a lap down. 234. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon moves to fourth around Keselowski, while Truex is now up to third place. 235. The Crimson King posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think Newman winning the title would be hilarious given his 2003 season. Win 8 races and can't even finish top 5 in points, but go winless and win the title in 2014? Hilarious. 236. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Larson is having a good run in 6th. Between here and Homestead, he should be able to regain some of that momentum that he's lost in recent weeks. That will be important for him going into next year. 237. racefangurl posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well then, I guess Joey better be careful. I can't get ESPN at home, so who's the final four now? 238. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "You ran out of drivers NRF? These people are either boring, idiots, cheaters, poster boys, the most delusional marketing tool and the most annoying personality in NASCAR. (and Truex, seriously WTF?) But they don't pick fights with others racing them fair, don't wreck peole LAPPING HIM because of trading paint with him. Some of them don't even bitch about others race hard . You can start your little conquest against me, I don't care, but others will see that I agree with Jeff being one of the finest NASCAR drivers ever, but nowhere near the saint people want to make him appear. " Your arrogance is showing because (a) you can't even address me properly, and (b) you pretty much responded with a non-argument. I didn't say Jeff's a saint, but I can guarantee you that most any one of those drivers I named would not have been able to pass Kes cleanly like that. And I actually named all drivers I have seen bitch because others raced them hard... hell, some of the drivers I named have gone on bitch fests just because they got passed fair and square without being raced hard! 239. MAR posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick is doin exactly what i predicted watch his pit crew F up a pit stop late 240. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Joey about to be lapped. Wow. 241. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That #78 has always run well here even when Regan Smith was the driver. No surprise considering this is one of Martin's better tracks. 242. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I can't get ESPN at home, so who's the final four now?" Newman, Harvick, Gordon, and Kenseth, I believe. 243. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think I hear cjs coughing somewhere. 244. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So right now both Penske cars would be eliminated. Wow. 245. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And Logano is now a lap down 246. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano goes a lap down to the leaders. 247. epzik8 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Truex is doing great. 248. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Austin Dillon cuts a right front, caution. 249. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Caution for Austin Dillon, Logano just got massively screwed over. 250. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Austin Dillon loses a tire and the caution comes out. Too late for Logano, as McMurray got lapped as well and gets the free pass. 251. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I could see Truex or Busch taking the lead if this goes green for another 50 laps or so. 252. racefangurl posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I kinda like Truex. If I didn't know better, I'd swear NASCAR hated me this weekend, apart from how Truex is running. 253. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano was REALLY upset when that caution came out. He was shaking his fist in frustration! 254. epzik8 posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh, man... 255. The Crimson King posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Jimmie Johnson wasn't too far off from getting lapped himself, shame the caution had to come out. I would have killed to see Johnson getting lapped! 256. MAR posted: 11.09.2014 - 4:59 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I like the fire in Joey that's what im talking bout. He's gonna rally back 257. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:00 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Wow, Joey sounds like he's coming apart on the radio. Looks like he still needs to learn to keep his composure a little bit. 258. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Larson leaves the pits in second place. 259. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Larson 2nd off pit road. Hell of a pit stop for those guys. 260. racefangurl posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah MAR. I guess there's still some hope left. Fire is good, if channeled properly, so maybe he can be the free pass another time. 261. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Joey and Todd Gordon have handled that team and this season like pros up to this point. Hopefully they can get some composure going, because it would be a shame to throw in the towel now. Joey needs to look at it this way: Harvick has to go all the way around the track to lap another car and if a caution comes out before then, he'll get the Lucky Dog. 262. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Caution for Austin Dillon, Logano just got massively screwed over." Oh c'mon. I'm sure there'll be another caution soon that gets him back on the lead lap. 263. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Over under on laps before a debris caution: 25 Takers? 264. The Crimson King posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:06 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) >implying Nascar won't throw a debris caution 5 laps from now for the sake of "drama" 265. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Takers?" I predict 15 myself. Denny Hamlin goes 3 wide to try to get the free pass position. 266. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) An insane restart! How nobody wrecked is beyond me. 267. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Lots of aggressive racing right now. Love it. 268. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Over under on laps before a debris caution: 25" Over. 45 laps. Wrecks, blown motors, etc. don't count. 269. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano gets by Hamlin, but Hamlin gives him a bump going into turn 1. 270. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, is Denny seriously trying to wreck Logano for the Lucky Dog? 271. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Austin Dillon I think is in the garage 272. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin tried to DUMP Joey for that Lucky Dog spot. It's starting to get intense. 273. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:10 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Under wins. 274. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hinch77, you won. 275. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Who predicted that Logano would get on the lead lap soon? 276. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:11 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Stupid ass debris caution. 277. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Over. 45 laps. Wrecks, blown motors, etc. don't count." Nope. Jacques appears again in under 15 laps. 278. RaceFanX posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What's the debris? 279. The Crimson King posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Debris caution. How many shekels do you think Joey's team paid Nascar for that yellow? 280. racefangurl posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think the one that caused the caution can't be the lucky dog. 281. RaceFanX posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And they just showed it. It's a rather large chunk of a brake rotor. 282. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Going to be bold and predict there will be another debris caution in 10-20 laps that puts Hamlin back on the lead lap. 283. aframe43 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) How did he get "screwed" aussie? He wasn't in position. 284. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Nevermind, legit debris. Brake rotor right in the middle of the track. 285. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon seems to be implying that his team warned NASCAR about this debris during the last caution, but they failed to pick it up. 286. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So basically there's only been one debris caution today that was somewhat questionable. All the rest have been legit. Good to see. 287. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A brake rotor caution, actually... 288. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Gordon seems to be implying that his team warned NASCAR about this debris during the last caution, but they failed to pick it up." If that's the case, great job missing it, NASCAR! 289. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A brake rotter is legitimate although suspicious. It was only a matter of time before the #22 car got back on the lead lap. 290. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There's been eight lead changes today? Most of those MUST have come during pit stops because Harvick's never been passed since he took the lead... 291. Aaron posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Merry Christmas, Joey. 292. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NO! Josh Wise was doing so well for the team! 293. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Classic Jeff Gordon restart. Josh Wise gets wrecked by somebody. 294. Aaron posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:16 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Merry Christmas, Denny. 295. JRacingFast posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cautions breed Cautions.....Merry Christmas Denny....This is about to get good 296. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon loses a bunch of spots and Josh Wise crashes back in the pack. Sure enough, Hamlin gets back on the lead lap, just as I predicted. "This is the start of many to come," says ESPN. Sounds like they hope this race takes the same kind of direction as the Texas race last week did...I REALLY hope not... 297. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Looks like Ty Dillon spun Josh Wise. 298. The Crimson King posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:17 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Can we get rid of the free pass please? The wave around allows cars lapped an opportunity to un-lap themselves, so its not like they have no way to do so. Giving teams something useful for free is just dumb. 299. joey2448 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Caution comes out, Andy Petree -- "I got a feeling this'll be the first of many..." Agreed, Andy. Agreed. 300. Aaron posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Still at least 6 debris cautions to go. 301. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:19 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) And when I was saying "massively screwed" I meant he had been massively screwed out of a free pass, and I didn't think that there would be a caution so soon after the last one. 302. Aaron posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It was stupid to stay out a few minutes ago. 303. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I kind of agree. I'm getting a little sick of the free pass too. 304. Dense Drip posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great. Once again an RCR silver spooners takes out a low budget team. 305. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) So this is definitely looking like Texas after a natural flow prior to the #3 car's tire issues. With both Logano and Hamlin back on the lead lap, the pressure is on Keselowski to take the win and last Chase spot from Harvick like he did Saturday to Busch in the Nationwide Series race. 306. WinstonCup4Ever posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm going to make it an all or nothing prediction and say that Newman will quietly make it to Homestead and win the championship. 307. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Merry Christmas, Joey." "Marry Christmas, Denny." Even racing-refernece is jumping on the start-preparing-for-Christmas-after-Halloween-but-before-Thanksgiving bandwagon. SMH. (Joking, obviously...) 308. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ouch 309. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch spins and collects Clint Bowyer on the restart. Logano was literally inches away from getting taken out. 310. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch spins on the restart and takes out Clint Bowyer. Bold prediction: 16 caution flags today, the overwhelming majority in the last 100 laps. 311. JRacingFast posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ....And yet anther Yellow 312. RaceFanX posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kyle Busch crashes and collects Clint Bowyer and Cole Whitt on the backstretch. Rowdy was running sixth, Bowyer was 17th. 313. The Crimson King posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:23 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Shrub wrecks out. 314. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Too bad for Cole Whitt. Not as much bad for Bowyer. 315. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) For the second time in three years, Bowyer crashed at Phoenix. 316. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano and Danica collide in the aftermath and both Mears and Whitt damaged in the aftermath 317. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano did make contact with Danica though and now has a tire rub. 318. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin is tied! 319. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:26 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Hopefully Logano can come back from this as well. Not giving up hopes of a Penske car winning the title yet, not even close to giving up hope. 320. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Logano has a MAJOR tire rub. 321. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Red flag. 322. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Red Flag is out 323. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Red flag. This race is going to take just as long as last week's, isn't it? 324. RaceFanX posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Interesting note: The dogs on Kyle Busch's Banfield Pet Hospital Toyota are his personal pets. His blue Toyota is adorned with the faces of his West-Highland Terriers Suzie and Kelly and his Pomeranian Yorkie Lucy. Both Clint and Kyle drove back to the pits with their hoods up because of damage. I like that Jimmie Johnson's got his patriotic paint job this week for Veteran's Day. It's a sharp looking car. 325. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:27 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) And Merry Christmas Jimmie Johnson 326. JRacingFast posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Red Flag 327. epzik8 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Now we have all the cautions. 328. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I didn't expect to win the over-under... 329. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Red flag, which means plenty of time for Joey and Todd to plan their comeback strategy. 330. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Red flag lifted. 331. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Back to caution 332. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Truex and Logano look to be the only cars who pit here. 333. racefangurl posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Under pressure aimed at Team Penske. 334. racefangurl posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, they were under pressure. 335. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Restart. How before we get yet ANOTHER caution...? 336. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt Busch in the wall, flat right front. 337. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Menard gets put in the wall too. 338. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt Busch bumps the wall, and Menard nearly wrecks. 339. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That incident with Logano appears to have messed with Danica's car, she's running with other damaged cars. 340. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I guess Kurt didn't have a flat right front, but I think he made contact with both the wall and Keselowski. 341. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin and Logano are really moving forward on their new tires. 342. Benjamin Lowe posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) If Gordon doesn't make the final 4 it'll be because of his inability to make a clutch restart like at Texas which was probably the catalyst for that whole post race brouhaha 343. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmie Johnson in the wall, caution. 344. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In the wall...48 345. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmie Johnson hits the wall and ANOTHER caution. 346. racefangurl posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Joey cracked the top-10! Looks better for him now! 347. RaceFanX posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jimmie's wrecked while ESPN's running college football talk show ads! 348. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) OK NASCAR.COM's live leaderboard is going stupid, According to it, Casey Mears is 43rd, tied with Mike Bliss, but having done only 1 lap. And Jimmie Johnson crashes out. 349. startandparkfan posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Good for Newman, he will probably make it in the championship. I want him to win because it will show how stupid this whole system is. While he has done well this year, he hasn't nearly been as good as Gordon, Keselowski, Johnson, or Harvick. 350. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Will this be the first year Jimmie finishes outside the top-10 in points? 351. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I also noticed that Kyle Busch's car has been fixed and he is only 2 laps down. 352. Allen Bestwick posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Don't forget, the probability of getting a late caution is pretty high. If we get a late yellow, that would really shake things up! Hopefully that happens, because we all like to see late race restarts! 353. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Most everyone takes two tires, but the Penske cars go for 4. 354. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I don't know why you would take two tires here. I think that's a great call by the Penske cars to take four. 355. MAR posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) If Gordon Doesn't make the finale he has Jr to blame. 356. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:50 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "If Gordon Doesn't make the finale he has Jr to blame. " You and Ben Lowe are both molesting the term "NASCAR fan." 357. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "If Gordon Doesn't make the finale he has Jr to blame." I'm sure the conspiracy theorist types will say that Chad Knaus is to blame... 358. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:50 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) "If Gordon Doesn't make the finale he has Jr to blame." He has himself to blame for taking the outside on the restart at Texas. If he takes the bottom, he probably wins that race. 359. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) McMurray crashes. 360. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) McMurray spins out. We're DEFINITELY going to break the record for most cautions at Phoenix today. That record is about to be absolutely shattered. 361. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "He has himself to blame for taking the outside on the restart at Texas. If he takes the bottom, he probably wins that race. " That's about it. But can people just get their heads out of the past for the time being. We can discuss such things after the race when people have missed out, and instead enjoy the present action. 362. Mr X posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:55 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I'm tired of cautions. 363. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.09.2014 - 5:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If Gordon doesn't make it, I blame the itch arm of Clint Bowyer. If the caution doesn't fly with 4 laps to go AND Gordon doesn't take the outside, he would be in the position Newman is in. 364. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, Newman is actually in real danger of being eliminated right now. 365. MAR posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Has Harvick Led every lap?? 366. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman has fallen back to 17th. He needs to step it up. 367. epzik8 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It's not over yet. 368. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Has Harvick Led every lap??" No, Hamlin and Logano led early in this race, and I guess a few other drivers may have during pit stops. 369. The Crimson King posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I'm tired of cautions." I'm pretty sure nascar thinks cars parading behind the pace car is more entertaining than actually watching them race. 370. MAR posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The kind of season Harvick has had im still waiting for something to go wrong. 371. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Keselowski is marching forward on his four tires. I think he's going to have to win if he's going to advance, however... 372. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The scoring tickers says Casey Mears is 265 laps down...what the hell? 373. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hamlin in second in the standings as of now, Keeep it up DENNY! 374. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Denny is in right now, but he's starting to slip backwards a bit again. 375. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Is Mears not being scored or something? 376. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mears is 35th 6 laps down. 377. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman is starting to move forward again. And ESPN is already hoping for that late race caution... 378. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:12 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) I've always liked Allen Bestwick, but I'm definitely not gonna miss his boner for late race cautions next year. 379. joey2448 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, unless other Chase drivers have problems here in the final laps, Keselowski looks like he's screwed. He's seven points behind the cutoff and he's running fourth, which means he can't gain those points without others having issues. And now Brad passes Kenseth for third. Goddammit. There goes Bestwick lusting after late race cautions...Let it go, man! 380. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jarrett should change his middle name to "If the caution comes out" 381. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "When," not "if" 382. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow Nascar. 383. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jaques has arrived 384. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I KNEW Jacques was going to show up again... Alan Bestwick's dream comes true. 385. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:16 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) One day, one race, the crowd has to start a bullshit chant when a "debris caution" comes out. 386. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Okay, it's legit once again. Good. I was gonna go on a massive rant if that was fake. 387. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) OK no Jaques, the commentator noticed the spring rubber 388. RaceFanX posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The debris was shown, it's a spring rubber on the frontstretch. 389. MAR posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Debris caution what a surprise ok lets see how Harvick looses this one. 390. Aaron posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) THIS. CHANGES. EEEEEVVVVERRRRRYYYYTTTHHIIINNNGGGG. -Alan Bestwick 391. RaceFanX posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman rolls the dice to stay out! 392. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "One day, one race, the crowd has to start a bullshit chant when a "debris caution" comes out." Why would they when most fans either don't care or actually like them? 393. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman stayed out while a bunch of his competitors pit. He's gonna get destroyed. 394. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick, Gordon, Keselowski, Kenseth, and Newman stay out. This could turn out BADLY for some of them... 395. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Spring rubber that may or may not cut down a tire...state of your sport. 396. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:18 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Spring rubber? ROTFLMFAO-Copter 397. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well the five who stayed out have clearly been faster than most everyone else all day, so it's not as much of a disadvantage as it sounds on paper. 398. Mr X posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I would like to spoon feed that piece of debris to Brian France, let's see if it's brain food. 399. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'd rather have them throw the caution for a spring rubber than have them throw the caution just for the hell of it. 400. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Watch the bulldozer in the #2 take out Gordon and or Harvick on this restart...three wide in the dogleg will not turn out well. 401. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mediocre restart for Brad. 402. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Watch the bulldozer in the #2 take out Gordon and or Harvick on this restart...three wide in the dogleg will not turn out well. " Negative Nelly! 403. The Crimson King posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:21 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Spring rubber that may or may not cut down a tire...state of your sport." In F1, that would never have brought out a safety car, not even in a million years. 404. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Top 4 get away and Newman is starting to get swallowed up. 405. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think that's the end of Gordon's championship bid... 406. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I predict at least one more caution before the race ends... Hell, I predict two with a GWC. 407. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Record-breaking caution flag as Landon Cassill is hard in the wall. Mike Wallace is involved as well. 408. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Casill crashes out, caution, and now we have the most cautions of the race. 409. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:23 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In F1, that would never have brought out a safety car, not even in a million years. Today, Grosjean stopped his car about 2 feet off the racing line, 3 guys came to push the car away and there was a local yellow for 1/2 a lap. 410. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:24 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Frankly, I don't give a damn whether or not F1 would have thrown a caution for a spring rubber or not. This isn't F1... 411. jabber1990 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR told ESPN where they were going to launch the truck so ESPN "airbrushed" the debris in I actually read that on Yahoo! Answers once (2009 I believe) 412. The Crimson King posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Today, Grosjean stopped his car about 2 feet off the racing line, 3 guys came to push the car away and there was a local yellow for 1/2 a lap." Local yellows and safety cars aren't really the same thing though. 413. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "Frankly, I don't give a damn whether or not F1 would have thrown a caution for a spring rubber or not. This isn't F1..." Thank you. 414. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Time for our weekly Brad dive-bomb. 415. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Here we go! 416. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Definitely not going to be the last caution today... 417. epzik8 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This is killing me. 418. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Brad keeps getting terrible restarts. That might very well do him in. 419. RaceFanX posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Marcos Ambrose is just outside a top-10 in his penultimate NASCAR start. 420. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman fades back now on old tires. That just might do him in... 421. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) New Jeff Gordon may be the guy who ends up helping Old Jeff Gordon make it to the final round. 422. joey2448 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That pass that Larson made on Newman literally could've just changed Newman's season! 423. The Crimson King posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:30 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Frankly, I don't give a damn whether or not F1 would have thrown a caution for a spring rubber or not. This isn't F1..." F1 is the pinnacle of motorsports (though WEC is likely to overtake it) Its relevant because other racing series see the caution fests that occur and laugh at the drivers for not being able to keep their cars under control, or laugh at nascar's officiating for generating fake excitement. The fact that F1 can get away with it while Nascar throws yellows for the stupidest things says a lot about how Nascar feels about generating fake excitement. 424. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, all of a sudden Denny is in the best shape out of everybody. 425. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Four laps to go. 426. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:31 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Does Newman try something drastic? 427. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) White flag! Harvick's got it made. Looks like Newman is done... 428. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman dumped the 42 to make it! 429. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Newman wrecks Larson to get into the field 430. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick wins. Newman wrecks Larson to get into the Chase. 431. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick wins and races in! Newman puts Larson in the wall...and puts Gordon out. Bummer...oh well. 432. RaceFanX posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:32 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) What happened to Kyle Larson? Larson crashes in Turn 4, Newman sneaks by and bumps Gordon out of the Chase! 433. joey2448 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Oh my god. 434. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:32 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Gordon's out! Newman's in! Larson blew it! 435. Anonymous posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (2) (2) Really really dirty move on Newmans part. I really feel for Gordon right now 436. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I can't believe that. 437. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Newman apparently did what NASCAR has been hoping for all year long... a deliberate wreck to advance. 438. We need more Onion posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Here goes Newman's fan support. Doubt he cares though. Exciting finish, too bad it was for 10th-11th. 439. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:33 pm Rate this comment: (2) (2) How long before our friendly neighborhood arrogant c*nts DSFF and Ben Lowe show up? 440. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) I'm not a Gordon fan, but that seriously sucks. He was in until Newman wrecked the 42. 441. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Bold prediction: Harvick or Logano wins the championship. 442. luigistarted06 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Man that's disgusting 443. MAR posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) R u f##king kidding me Newman really damnit i hate it for Gordon and keslowski didnt make it Go LOGANO OR HARVICK FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP 444. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Can't wait to hear DSFF and his "I've got some bad news!!!!!" comments... 445. Aaron posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (8) (0) Here we go! "I have made the executive decision to add Jeff Gordon to the Championship round of the Chase. I have the power to do it and I'm doing it. There will be 5 drivers eligible for the championship at Homestead-Miami." - Brian France on Tuesday 446. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And since it was just a dirty bump and not a full-out wreck, NASCAR can't penalize Newman = holy cow Newman could win the title. 447. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (1) (5) I'm afraid I've got some bad news 448. RaceFanX posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Newman dove under the #42 and they touched but I'd hardly call that a dump. 449. joey2448 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I am numb right now. I just saw my favorite driver lose a shot to win the championship by a divebomb move by Newman. wow...that is wild. 450. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, at least Gordon's going to finish ahead of Johnson in points this year... 451. We need more Onion posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:36 pm Rate this comment: (8) (1) That was VERY far from wrecking Larson. Maybe a bit unsportmanlike, but from 100 drivers, 99 would have gone for it. (The other is Biffle) 452. dennyfan11 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) YAY! Hamlin made it! The crazy thing is with Gordon's elimination, ALL 4 Hendrick cars are out! And Hendrick has won the most races this season! 453. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:36 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Let's just say he 8-wheeled the last turn and call it a day. 454. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "I'm afraid I've got some bad news " Two minutes? What took so freaking long? 455. Anonymous posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) It's official, this Chase is the biggest joke in NASCAR!!!! 456. joey2448 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (5) (4) DSFF....screw you, dude. Gordon didn't lose out because of his supposed "late season slump". He finished second today, and would've finished second last week. I call those pretty solid results. And up until the final 500 yards today, Gordo was in. Piss off. 457. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Like I said, I'm disappointed that Gordon didn't make it, but I'm not going to dwell on it. Life goes on; it's not the end of the world. I'm not going to throw a pouty fit like some people here would (not going to name any names, but I'm sure you can guess who I'm referring to...) 458. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) No, it wasn't a dump by Newman. I wish he would have been a little more clean, but whatever. Hopefully Logano dominates Homestead and wins the championship. 459. Brian France's troll posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "It's official, this Chase is the biggest joke in NASCAR!!!! " I take offense to this! 460. Mr X posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I hope Gordon ruins Newman's hopes next week. Wouldn't hurt my feelings. As Dale Jarrett says that all four were deserving champions. Sure Dale. 461. epzik8 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I hate that Gordon got eliminated like that but I'm so happy he came this far this year. It was nice to see him consistently contending for wins again. Also I can relax a little more at Homestead because I'd rather see Gordon get eliminated now instead of coming up short at Homestead. 462. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (4) I love how DSFF thinks it makes him seem so big and bad to thumb down posts that disagree with him... Since he never has any facts or substance to back him up. The guy's a fair weather fan only. 463. MAR posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (4) NEWMAN IS AN ASS HOLE i can't believe he did that to go to homestead and finish 10th with no chance of beating Harvick or logano 464. Mamorese posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) 3rd time since the Chase began that Jeff Gordon will have won the championship under the old system. 465. Benjamin Lowe posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) I call for an overthrow of Brian France and his cronies right now 466. joey2448 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) And to be clear, I don't blame Newman on kicking Gordon out of the Chase. That was a brilliant move, IMO. And a fair move. I would've done the same thing. I'm just majorly bummed that Gordon missed out because of it. 467. We need more Onion posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I hope Newman dominates Homestead, just for the lolz. 468. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) I'm just glad Edwards is finally eliminated. He was the biggest jokes of those who had advanced past the first round. 469. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:40 pm Rate this comment: (2) (5) Gordon fans, keep your panties on. You know after that move by Newman, they are gonna put Jeff in as a fifth finalist. That is not a prediction, its a spoiler. 470. MAR posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff will never win that 5th championship 471. luigistarted06 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) I really hope Harvick wins it 472. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "I call for an overthrow of Brian France and his cronies right now " I will join you on one condition only: make me a Lieutenant Colonel in charge of sniping. 473. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:41 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) I hope Newman dominates Homestead, just for the lolz. It'd be funnier if he won the title by finishing 15th. 474. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "NEWMAN IS AN ASS HOLE i can't believe he did that to go to homestead and finish 10th with no chance of beating Harvick or logano" You forget who ran third to Gordon and Johnson most of the way at Texas? 475. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:41 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) What a joke ESPN is. They don't even interview the four title contenders. Garbage network. 476. 23andJoe posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:42 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Favorite: Logano Most likely to cause a national egg shortage by having all the egg wind up on NASCAR's face: Newman. 477. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Well, the die is cast in Homestead to wreck your competition to win the title. No top five in the Chase Hamlin and three top five Newman advance over 4 and 6 race winners...BULL! 478. We need more Onion posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "i can't believe he did that to go to homestead and finish 10th with no chance of beating Harvick or logano " Obviously he has no chance... I think he beat both of them there 2 years ago. He HAS a chance and that is why he did that move. If he didn't try it, THEN he'd have no chance 479. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Gordon fans, keep your panties on. You know after that move by Newman, they are gonna put Jeff in as a fifth finalist. That is not a prediction, its a spoiler. " OK... I laughed at this. 480. Kevin posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:43 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Can't wait for a BS debris caution to set up a late restart next week where Newman passes five cars to finish 4th behind Brad, Gordon, and Jimmie and wins the title :) 481. We need more Onion posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I hope Newman dominates Homestead, just for the lolz. It'd be funnier if he won the title by finishing 15th." That would be like his season goes. If he just dominated out of the blue, that would be funnier in my eyes :) 482. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:44 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "Well, the die is cast in Homestead to wreck your competition to win the title." Isn't obvious that this is what NASCAR has wanted since the inception of the Chase? Well, they got it. 483. MarkMartinFan posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I don't agree with how Newman did it. But you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes. Kinda like Keselowski did what he thought he had to do last week. I think Newman is a little more forgivable however. 484. Burton22fan posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Although I'm a little upset Jeff didn't make it, Newman did what he had to do. 485. JG24FanForever posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Jeff Gordon has all but locked-up scoring the most points in an entire season for the record tying 7th time. Great year and another great result. 4 wins and 8 2nd place finishes is pretty damn great, and not to mention his 5 Top 2 finishes in 9 Chase events so far. Feel free to call this a "fall collapse" for Gordon, but in reality, it was a practical joke. 486. Jared DiCarlo posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Wonder if Brian France is going to put Gordon in The Cha$e due to fan protests again? That was a dirty move by Newman at the end. He should be left out of the Cha$e, for realz this time. 487. The Crimson King posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:47 pm Rate this comment: (3) (1) Its a sad, sad day when the WWE has more credibility than you do. 488. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:47 pm Rate this comment: (5) (0) I will add this: really, what does it mean. If you look at the non-Chase standings, Gordon has clinched his 7th full-season title. Regardless of "only" having four titles, consider this: (a) Gordon had to put together more to win any two of his titles than anyone would have to put together to win six Chase titles, and (b) Gordon just continues to establish himself as the most consistent (that is, weekly top-10 contention) driver since Cale Yarborough. I'm proud of his season even if he didn't win it all. He overcame the odds and outshone everyone else on the team this year despite being 43 years of age. 489. New14 & 88Fan posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Didn't watch much of this one but I feel bad for Gordon getting eliminated(goes to show how much of a farce this chase is). Most of all it's refreshing to see this race end without a big pit road brawl. Homestead will be interesting. 490. MAR posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) For anybody who thinks Newman has any chance at homestead is an idiot i had no problem with Newman until the last lap. He is basically Austin Dillion a winless chump. Go Logano Go Harvick 491. Burton22fan posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think it would be hillarious if Newman won the title. 492. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:50 pm Rate this comment: (2) (2) "Its a sad, sad day when the WWE has more credibility than you do." How??? The WWE is staged. Newman getting in was a desperate driver doing what he had to do. Nothing staged about that. 493. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:50 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) If Gordon finishes in the top ten that pretty much seals the 3rd championship in the past 11 years. 494. RaceFanX posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Denny Hamlin gets a shot at redemption after his title loss despite leading the points going into the last race in 2010. 495. MAR posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:51 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Larson should wreck Newman on the first lap at Homestead 496. Benjamin Lowe posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) NASCAR is past the point of no return 497. JG24FanForever posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Has Rainbow Legend Enterprises locked up the Cup title in the RRFRDL standings? 498. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:54 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) You know what I'll do if Newman wins the championship? Send him a tweet congratulating him and acknowledge him as the legitimate 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion. 499. The Crimson King posted: 11.09.2014 - 6:57 pm Rate this comment: (2) (3) "You know what I'll do if Newman wins the championship? Send him a tweet congratulating him and acknowledge him as the legitimate 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion." But that's wrong. 500. Schroeder51 posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:00 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) What am I happiest about after this race is that there was no huge pit brawl with drivers and pit crew members trying to beat the shit out of each other. After what happened at Texas last week, I thought for SURE we'd see a repeat of that this week. Unfortunately, there's Homestead coming up, and well... As for the Final Four, like I said, Harvick and Logano SHOULD be the favorites to win the title; I'd be disappointed if NEITHER of them won since they are clearly the two best drivers remaining. Hamlin winning would be a disappointment because he's basically been Mr. Lucky throughout the Chase (he was rather mediocre for most of this season). Newman too would be disppointing; he's been consistent throughout this season but has not only never won, but never even really contended to win a race at ALL this year (well, outside of Talladega). I do think it would be HILARIOUS if Newman won the title, though, because this new Chase system was supposed to be all about winning. It would be funny to see someone get into the Chase on consistency without any wins, make it all the way to the Final Four on consistency (and again, without winning), and then take home the title at Homestead. We may just see that happen now... 501. Benjamin Lowe posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:08 pm Rate this comment: (2) (7) This point system didn't screw Jeff Gordon, Jeff Gordon Screwed Jeff Gordon 502. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:11 pm Rate this comment: (5) (0) Gordon has more wins and second place finishes than Hamlin and Newman have top fives...combined. The Chase is a sham any way you cut it. 503. Anonymous posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:11 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) jeff gordon was robbed AGAIN and i dont particularily like him either Brian France has ruined NASCAR 504. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Vince Russo, "I swear to God or on my mother's grave that sob Jeff Gordon will never win another championship here again." 505. Benjamin Lowe posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:14 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah The Chase is like one of TNA's reverse battle royal's or king of the Mountain matches. 506. BMan0213 posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:15 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) The fact Hamlin is still in it is enough for me to say this system is a joke. The guy was 19th in points after Richmond and would not have made the chase under any of the older chase formats. IMO he's the least deserving of the drivers that are left. As for the other three, Kevin and Joey have shown that they have been the fastest guys on track throughout most of the season. Newman while he hasn't shown the speed, has been very consistent. I'm not 100% sure but I believe if you look at the season long points he's in the top 5. He's actually had a pretty good year. 507. RaceFanX posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) AMBROSE PULLS IT OFF! The Tasmanian Devil scores a top-10 in what is likely the next to last race of his NASCAR career. 508. Sarf52 posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #32 Sponsor Update: Zimmer/Donate Life #1 Sponsor Update: Liftmaster/National Fallen Firefighter Foundation #26 Sponsor Update: fuelxx/Tapout Muscle Recovery/Amazon.com 509. Sarf52 posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:28 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #66 Sponsor Update: Jay Robinson Racing 510. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:28 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Can we just take a moment to realize that, barring a somewhat miraculous comeback, Jimmie Johnson will likely finish outside the top-10 in points. He could even fall to 15th as 14th. Unless the points haven't been updated, which is possible since the four who got eliminated are still on the 4000 level and haven't been converted back to the 2000 level. 511. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:29 pm Rate this comment: (2) (2) Guys, I'm not kidding. If they don't put Gordon in the Final during the week, I will write a Marty Reid praise post. That is how confident I am in that. 512. Chase is a joke posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:30 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Crown a true champ, get rid of the chase. https://www.change.org/p/nascar-abolish-the-chase-for-the-nascar-sprint-cup-points-system# 513. Benjamin Lowe posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No DSFF if Gordon is put back in the title picture you have to reveal your true identity 514. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "No DSFF if Gordon is put back in the title picture you have to reveal your true identity " No fun! I already know his true name! 515. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Anyone here involved in the TM Master Cup? 516. cjs3872 posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:41 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Well, in his post-race interview, Jeff Gordon did take an indirect shot at both Keselowski and Newman by say that at least he raced as hard as he could, and as clean as he could, and that he could hold his head high, which he certainly can. And this is the third time the Chase has absolutely robbed him of the championship (2004 and 2007 being the other two years that's happened to him), and if not for the Chase, he would stand with Richard Petty and Dale, Sr. as a seven-time champion, as he wouldn't have to do much to win the title under the pre-Chase format. And here's something else to consider about Gordon. Each of the other two times he's been robbed of the title by the Chase, he's gone into big slumps. He slumped badly from the middle of 2005 through 2006, and his only two winless seasons other than his rookie year happened after 2007, when he would have won the title with two races left. And this new format REALLY robbed him because he finished second twice in the three races in this round, and STILL got knocked out by some pretty dirty driving on the part of two drivers, one of whom didn't even make it to the final round. With Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, and Ryan Newman being the ones going for the title, there are some juicy subplots. First, although he hasn't had any notable run-ins, except for the one with Danica at Charlotte, Logano has had issues with each of the other three remaining contenders, though his past issues with Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman seem to have subsided. That's certainly not the case with Denny Hamlin, as that nearly boiled over today when they were racing to become the first car one lap down. Then there is the fact that both Harvick and Hamlin are getting a second chance to gain what they had a shot at getting in 2010. Both were racing Jimmie Johnson for the title, and they cracked, allowing Johnson to sneak in there to get title #5. Three other subplots involve Newman. The first is that both he and Kevin Harvick participated in a team swap this past off-season, with Harvick moving from RCR to Stewart-Haas Racing, and Newman making that same move in reverse. In fact, the very car Harvick is driving had been Newman's car from 2009-'13. Another subplot that involved Newman is the fact that he could be racing against the organization that brought him into NASCAR, Team Penske, or Penske Racing, as they were known then, for the title, as Logano drives for Penske. And of course, Newman becomes the first driver since Cecil Gordon and James Hylton in 1973 to have a chance to win the championship in the finale without winning a race. Newman is in that final four without a victory, and remember that it was noted much earlier this season that had this format been used last year, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. would have won the title, even though he failed to win a race. And Denny Hamlin has a chance to become the first driver in the modern era to win a championship without running in all the races, as he missed the Fontana race due to illness. Lastly, both Newman and Harvick each have a chance to become the first driver to ever win a championship in his first year with an organization. Given the history against the other three drivers winning the title at Homestead, one would like the chances of Joey Logano, but much like they did at Richmond last fall, they tried to choke away what should have been a sure spot in this final race with a shot at the title. I do not like that #22 team under pressure. I think Roger Penske should try to get as many of his ex-champions as he can to try to calm that team down, not only guys like Rusty and Brad Keselowski, but possibly bring in guys like Rick Mears and Danny Sullivan to calm them down. But there is a great history of championship success with Penske and Logano's sponsor Pennzoil, going all the way back to the days of Al Unser and Rick Mears. In fact, in 1985, Al Unser won the IndyCar championship for Penske over his son driving the in very same yellow Pennzoil colors Logano has for Penske now, and he did it in South Florida, at Tamiami Park near Miami. And if Logano takes the title, Penske will become the first owner to win championships in IndyCar and NASCAR's top series in the same year. So history of some kind is going to be made by whoever wins the title. 517. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) Well heck, hit me up on Facebook and we can talk shit to each other there. Send memea back and forth and such. Also, Harvick broke Dale Earnhardt's 24 year old record for most laps led in a Phoenix race. I believe you guys have some bad news for this Dale fan. 518. racefangurl posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I thought Newman and Hamlin couldn't pull it off. I'm fine with the final four, though. They all deserve it, well under this system, they do. The favorite next week is the one with the best record at tracks like Homestead, well to me anyway that's the decider. 519. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I remember last year I though there was a chance Ryan Newman wouldn't have a quality ride. Now he has a chance to win the championship. Incredible! 520. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) Cjs, Jeff has used dirty tactics on track as much as anyone. So I don't wanna hear it. Face it, Jeff just can't close seasons. 521. cjs3872 posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yes, Zack, those that get eliminated at various stages after the Chase field was originally set get their cumulative points counted from the start of the Chase, so those guys that got eliminated today will be racing with the others who had already been eliminated for the 5th-16th positions, which are still important since the top ten make to the stage at the banquet in Las Vegas, though all 16 Chasers are a part of the pre-banquet festivities. Their points will be counted as if the previous rules for the Chase applied, which they do in their case. 522. Conspiracy Theorist posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:50 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) I find it quite interesting that the drivers who finished the worst at Martinsville did the best at Texas, while Jeff Gordon who went to Texas after finishing 2nd ended up finishing the worst of all the chase drivers. Then, the two guys leading coming into this race fall a lap down - BUT WAIT! A miracle - within 20 laps they both get the free pass and are back on the lead lap. After the drama of last week, both Gordon and Keselowski are done, but Gordon doesn't get booted out until the last 400 feet of the race. And the sad thing is, no matter what driver anybody is pulling for, everyone agrees that the whole Chase thing has completely ruined the Championship. My driver did not advance, but then again I didn't expect him to. I would love to see Harvick, Logano, and Hamlin all fall out of the race in the first 50 laps and Ryan Newman to finish 31st, 15 laps down, and win the championship. 523. BradKeselowski2Fan posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) And you can't really call Gordon a 7-time champ right now. His lead over Logano now is 29 points. If Gordon runs fine at Homestead, then that will be his seventh. 524. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Would a Newman complicate Ty Dillon's rise to Cup? I always figured Newman was hired as a bit of a stopgap. 525. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.09.2014 - 7:59 pm Rate this comment: (5) (8) I'm also sick of this "Gordon should be a 7 time champ" garbage. Woulda, shoulda, coulda, didn't-a. He has had the same chances as everyone else. It is just a proven fact that Jeff doesn't race as well in October and November when he is in the title hunt (except '98). This has been proven in '95, '96, '97, '01, '02, '04, '07, and '14. If Ricky didn't try to make Turn 1 at Wilkesboro from the inside pit wall, if NASCAR had caught the illegal hubs on the 24 before Memorial Day (and penalized them points like they did to Mark in '90 and Richard in '83), and if Bobby Labonte would have had his 2001 luck in 2000, then Dale would be a 10 time champ. But that didn't happen. There is only what happens and what doesn't. 526. cjs3872 posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:01 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) In previous years, yes DSFF, you have a point. Not only has he had a hard time closing seasons, but he has raced other guys in a not-so-friendly matter. That's history, and proven history. But this year, you have no leg to stand on, because when you finish second twice in three races and flat get taken out while running in the top two on a late restart in the other one, how can it be taken anything other than finishing out a season strongly. In fact, Gordon was stronger in this round than he was in the previous round. The problem is NASCAR's points system, which penalizes bad results unfairly, especially if things are going to be decided in a three-race span. That's why Gordon failed to advance, despite two second place finishes in the same three-race segment. If there was a point system that weighed the top finishing positions heavier, Gordon advances quite handily because of those two runner-up finishes, but because racing for second means no more than racing for 32nd, he got nailed because of that one bad finish at Texas, which was not his fault at all. And unless there's more spread among the top finishers, this is not going to be the last injustice done by this points system. 527. SYH posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:07 pm Rate this comment: (5) (0) Jeff Gordon has finished second or first in five out of the nine Chase races so far. "Can't close seasons" is ridiculous. 528. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:22 pm Rate this comment: (4) (4) Cjs, all Jeff had to do is what he did until September ended, win. Just like EVERY SINGLE YEAR HE IS IN THE TITLE HUNT. Once again, 1998 is the only championship caliber year he has had where he held up in October and November like the rest of the season. Let me go over it one more time for you: 1995, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, and 2014. He had the best car at Martinsville and Texas but got beat on restarts both times leading to either a sexond place finish or a spin after cutting his tire trying to block. He didn't deserve this championship, and he won't get it barring and 2013 "13th competitor" type deal which i expect to happen. Period. 529. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:23 pm Rate this comment: (2) (3) Can't close seasons is ridiculous. He had one of the strongest, if not THE strongest Chase of all the drivers. Want to talk shit? 1992 Coke 600. Dale E. comes in the pits several backs. He has a pit stop several seconds slower than all other contenders. He comes out several seconds ahead. How? By not breaking in the pits a la pre-Mike Ritch. Probably the most underrated cheating scandal in NASCAR history because itbwas 100% the driver cheating and breaking a very black-and-white rule. Best part is that he got caught by every other driver in the field, but NASCAR let it go anyway because of who was doing the cheating. 530. RCRandPenskeGuy posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:24 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) It'd be funny if Newman won it all. Then we could talk all off-season about how he just ran fast laps most of the season while guys like Dale Jr, Keselowski, Logano and Gordon raced their hearts out and got many wins to show for it while still finishing consistently. The new system's a joke. At least Logano made it in. Joey, Todd and the #22 team showed that determination I was alluding to earlier. Although the car was not that good, Joey hung in there and finished 6th, rebounding from an earlier penalty that resulted in him losing a lap. 531. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) With this last-place finish, Mike Bliss has taken out the 2014 LASTCAR championship in the Sprint Cup series 532. SYH posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:30 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) I find it really really funny that NASCAR conceivably could have had a Gordon/Earnhardt Jr title fight but decided to do this playoff stuff instead. Hey, who wouldn't want to see two of the biggest draws in the sport's history go head-to-head? 533. Sponsor Updates posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #42- Target / Cottonelle / Pat Tillman Foundation #24- Axalta Coatings Radiant Red #66- Identity Ventures Racing #98- PPR98.com #47- Glad / Hungry Jack / Scott Products #38- Long John Silver's #95- K-Love Radio #13- GEICO Military #99- WIDIA / Fastenal 534. David posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I'm also sick of this "Gordon should be a 7 time champ" garbage." Out of everything you've said today or even recently, this is something I actually agree with wholeheartedly, and even argued as much on his driver page. It's in every NASCAR history book (at least those that have been published since 2001) that Jeff Gordon has four championships. That's it. There's nothing more to it. He hasn't won in the Chase format simply because he or his team wasn't up to the task--or misfortune intervened, sometimes at the hands of other drivers. That's just how it is. I'm not going to complain, and neither is Jeff, because everybody knows what the format is and what should be done to win the championship. Personally, I've stopped valuing titles highly as far as historical status is concerned, but that's a different discussion. "Woulda, shoulda, coulda, didn't-a. He has had the same chances as everyone else. It is just a proven fact that Jeff doesn't race as well in October and November when he is in the title hunt (except '98). This has been proven in '95, '96, '97, '01, '02, '04, '07, and '14." Here is where I differ slightly. I'll freely admit that the performance of the #24 team--car, team and yes, even the driver--has usually suffered in the latter stages of the season. But sometimes, when it came down to the stretch run, he didn't fade as much as he was simply outperformed. In 2007, Jimmie Johnson stepped it up in a big way. Jeff Gordon didn't lose the title, Jimmie Johnson won it. As for this year, he didn't lose the title last week, and certainly not at Talladega, Kansas, or Loudon. His failed bid came down to one race: Texas, and the poor finish was not of his own doing, but merely a racing incident. That's all there is to it. Other than that, he had a fantastic season, and certainly not one to regret. 535. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) Guys, chill out. Look at the Final 4. Logano, Harvick, Hamlin, and Newman. How un-marketable can you get? Will any sports outlet give this race more than a little mention after it is done? They will put Gordon in and use Newman's last lap move as the excuse. It WILL happen. 536. cjs3872 posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And that's half the races in the Chase if he doesn't finish either first or second at Homestead (and six of the last ten overall, going back to Richmond), SYH. However, it must also be noted that he did not string any two of those first or second place finishes together once the Chase started. And except for Texas, it can't be said that Lady Luck didn't conspire against him, either. he had a poor race at Loudon, ran mediocre at Kansas (though fared much better than his teammates did), and ran an ultra-conservative race at Talladega, trying to stay out of the wrecks that never happened. But there's no doubt that Lady Luck conspired against him at Texas, because of the events that led to his poor finish, starting with Clint Bowyer hitting the wall just moments from Gordon possibly getting the white flag. However, I've also said this a number of times. Maybe Gordon's not supposed to ever win a championship in the Chase era, mainly because he represents the way things used to be, rather than the way they are now, as far as racing for championships go. Gordon's more from the Earnhardt-era than many think he is, because when he raced for, and won championships, he did so the same way that all the greats that came before him did, including Earnhardt and Richard Petty. So maybe it's just one of those situations where Gordon's not supposed to win a championship in the Chase-era, because that's not the way he raced for championships when he won them, just as the guys that are winning them now were never supposed to win them before the adaptation of the Chase, because except for Tony Stewart, nobody else is ever going to win a title under both the Chase and pre-Chase formats. It might just be that Gordon was destined to be the last great champion of the old championship era, and Jimmie Johnson was destined to be the first great champion of the new championship era, with Tony Stewart straddling the line in between the two eras, winning championships in both eras, and being the only driver that will ever do so. 537. racefangurl posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:35 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I don't want to Facebook with Kenny, I decided. 538. SYH posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kevin Harvick is reasonably popular. Usually gets one of the better cheers once you discount Junior at the driver intros. 539. David posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In light of recent posts, let me amend my statement about Texas: The fact that Jeff finished 29th was not his fault. The poor restart probably was, but had he finished in the top ten (and followed up with another solid finish this week), he would have made the Final Four. The contact with Keselowski and ensuing spin was not anyone's fault, just racing. 540. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:37 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) So because of one bad finish he is less deserving than the guys who made it, who were not even able to pass him on the track? Eh, never mind. Yiu are just here to troll and hate on Jeff because you arena head case. Amy reason you can give to hate him, Earnhardt was a bigger piece of shit in the same regard. You are not a true fan of racing. You never were. You only root for whoever is winning, and you only root as long as he is winning. When the driver starts losing, you jump on the driver who is beating him. When you can't win a debate fairly, you throw out non sequitors or, in this case, irrelevant conspiracy theories or personal opinions as "evidence." And then when those are shot, you run and hide. ayou and your friend Ben Lowe are one and the same types. Cowards. You're afraid to face life, and you could never talk that kind of shit in pyblic because you are scared to lose. You only arrive to insult people, and you have proven yourself to be a liar. You claim to quit watching because it's rigged, yet you return to insult people because you can't handle that a driver came along and squashed your delusions of Earnhardt grandeur on the same playing field. You cla Jeff has all these great failures, yet if it is all supposedly rigged as you claim, then guess what? All of these supposed failures were just as rigged. You can't accept that cornering? Then you will turn around and claim it's not rigged. You say teams play favorites, but once it is Jeff losing, you claim it's Keff's failures. Well if all team's play favorites then they would play favorites all the time. Every accusation you make about someone on here or on a driver on the track is always somehow reflective of your own personal insecurities and fears, because they always fly back in your face. I got news for you. Dale Eanrharst bred every aspect you see in Jeff Gordon, and you know what else? What you see today is what happena when 43 drivers try to imitate the great St. Dale, and it's pretty ugly. What do we have? A bunch of candy ass crybabies who are only tough when behind a microphone or behind a wall of crew members. Who did thay? St. Dale. Who started the non-sense like we saw with Newman and Larson? St. Dale. Who started the era of "It's all about me screw the world"? St. Dale. 541. SYH posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:39 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Jeff Gordon wasn't screwed because of Keselowski, he was screwed because of about as blatant an example of a phantom yellow flag that you could possibly get. 542. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor Updates #4 Anheuser-Busch Limited Edition Budweiser Bottled by the Brewery Saint Louis, Missouri USA #24 Axalta Color of the Year #31 CAT/@CAT Mining #99 Widia/Fastenal #47 Glad/Hungry Jack/Scott Products #17 Cargill / Fry's Food Stores #13 GEICO Military #42 Target Camo/Cottonelle #32 Foreverhip.com/Zimmer #23/83 Dumb & Dumber Two #98 PPR98.com 543. David posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Let me guess, Hinch's last post was typed on a smartphone? 544. 23andJoe posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:42 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) "Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty, and the pig likes it." 545. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:44 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Other than Newman's divebomb on Larson, there are two reasons Jeff Gordon didn't advance. Like I said earlier, the major one from last week at Texas was his decision to take the outside on that restart late in the race. If he had just taken the bottom, it would have been him and Jimmie battling for the win, and he more than likely would have either won or finished 2nd. But also, after the deal with Keselowski, Gustafson did a TOTALLY idiotic job when they came in to the pits to repair damage (I forget exactly what happened, but somehow they ended up having a much slower stop than necessary and subsequently went a lap down). So for the #24, I think that's ultimately where things went wrong. Even though Newman's divebomb sealed the deal for them, in reality their own stupidity from last week ended up costing them. As for the finale, I'm actually feeling considerably better about it than I did when the race ended. Honestly, even though I have no problems with what Newman did (I wish he would have done a cleaner job with it, but ultimately he did what he had to do, just like Brad last week), I was pretty upset when he originally made it through. But after thinking about it and looking at some of his stats this year, I guess I'm okay with him making it. The biggest thing that jumped out at me is that he would be 6th in points without the Chase. So I think that says a lot. It's not like he's been an 18th place driver or something all year. I guess he has just been so damn quiet all year that it seems like he's been terrible. And I really don't have THAT much of an issue with Denny making it either, even though I totally would have preferred Brad, Gordon, and Kenseth all making it over him. But thinking back to Martinsville, he pretty easily could have won that race had a few things gone a bit differently. And today he made a pretty amazing comeback with a piece of shit car to finish 5th (yeah, he got a Lucky Dog, but he held on with old tires at the end and somehow ended up 5th). So I don't think him making it is akin to if Carl Edwards would have made it, which is how a lot of people are making it out to be with him. Yeah, I would have preferred others who have been better all year, but I don't exactly think Denny wasn't deserving of it either. He might be the least deserving of a CHAMPIONSHIP out of the four, but I don't think he was totally undeserving of making the Final Four. So all in all, despite my disappointment immediately after the race, I feel okay about it. It's not nearly the worst outcome we could have had (that would have been having all four winless drivers battle it out), and I honestly don't think there's a whole lot that can go wrong. Unless Logano and Harvick BOTH have catastrophic problems (meaning terminal engine failures or totaling their race cars), I seriously do not see Hamlin or Newman winning it (there's no chance in hell they'll beat those two on raw speed). And when looking at Logano and Harvick, I don't think there's any reason to think that either of them would be illegit champions (Logano has definitely been on par with Gordon for title of "Best All Season", and Harvick and his team have really hit their stride in this Chase - his worst finish of the Chase is only 13th when you factor out the Martinsville crash). So, assuming it comes down to Logano and Harvick (very, very, very likely), I don't think there's much to worry about at all. The only thing that I think is absolutely imperative is that we need Nascar to just let this thing play out. That's all I want to see. I just want, as Mills Layne would say, "A good, clean fight". If they do that and just let everything play itself out, then I will consider the race, and this season to be a success. As for predictions, I'm still sticking with Joey Logano. I know he's never been in a championship battle before, but I just think the combination of his equipment and his owner in his corner is gonna be enough. I think he and Harvick will have a pretty damn good fight with each other for it, but in the end, I see Joey still coming out on top. 546. Evan posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor Correction WINNER #4 Kevin Harvick Vintage Budweiser Chevrolet The Story:Budweiser painted Kevin Harvick's car up to look like the old Budweiser logo from when the beer first hit store shelves way back when. The Source:Jayski.com and this car had been shown in pictures well up to Harvick's run in the Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500. Today's Remarks * Disappointment is the only word for today, Jeff Gordon gets knocked out of the Chase by Newman running Kyle Larson up the track and into the wall. I don't agree with the move, but Newman did what he had to do to win, but it was not the most pretty way of doing things, still he's been in the hunt all year, BUT....HE HAS NO WINS!!(pardon my shouting). Jeff Gordon had a hell of a year and Brad Keselowski's risky pass on him at Charlotte may have been just what killed his chances, which is a shame. * Congratulations to the people that made the Final Four, Kevin Harvick in the 4 Budweiser Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing, Denny Hamlin in the FedEx Toyota Camry, Joey Logano in the Shell/Pennzoil/AAA Ford, and last Mr. No Win himself...Ryan Newman in the CATERPILLAR Chevrolet for Richard Childress. But I give credit to the teams, and all the garage area guys who keep the wheels turning for the drivers. Good job to the four teams I mentioned above you made it to the Homestead Finale. * The only saving grace of this Chase is the last race of the season is for it all, the Elimination Races really don't mean much except for thinning out the field which makes it important. The only issue is that you can have a great season and still not make the cut, all it takes is one bad race and your season * In Football, The Arizona Cardinals are 8-1 but Carson Palmer once again suffers an injury when it looks like he's about ready to turn the corner and become a franchise QB(which he had the potential to do) he injures himself. This time it's his ankle, I hope Carson comes back soon, he's an important part of the team and their record this year. 547. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) This is whatbbvhappens when one oosts on a Kundle... 548. David posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) No one's actually come out and said it, but there will be a first-time champion this year no matter what happens next week. Also, post #62 was not me. 549. The Long Shot posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:47 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Great. So a driver with 4 victories and a driver with 5 victories won't finish inside the top 5 in points, but a driver with ZERO WINS (who wrecked his way into the Final Four, I might add) and a driver who MISSED A RACE and only has 1 win this year could end up winning the championship? Absolute joke. And the sad part is that I'll almost certainly be tuning in to the finale next week just to see the shitstorm play itself out. Because that is what NA$CAR wanted all along. Pathetic. 550. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:48 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty, and the pig likes it." Truer words were never spoken. Though comparing either I or DSFF to pigs is an insult to pigs. 551. David posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "This is whatbbvhappens when one oosts on a Kundle..." I know that feeling...I struggled with one for quite a while; now I barely use it at all. 552. The Long Shot posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "So because of one bad finish he is less deserving than the guys who made it, who were not even able to pass him on the track? Eh, never mind. Yiu are just here to troll and hate on Jeff because you arena head case. Amy reason you can give to hate him, Earnhardt was a bigger piece of shit in the same regard. You are not a true fan of racing. You never were. You only root for whoever is winning, and you only root as long as he is winning. When the driver starts losing, you jump on the driver who is beating him. When you can't win a debate fairly, you throw out non sequitors or, in this case, irrelevant conspiracy theories or personal opinions as "evidence." And then when those are shot, you run and hide. ayou and your friend Ben Lowe are one and the same types. Cowards. You're afraid to face life, and you could never talk that kind of shit in pyblic because you are scared to lose. You only arrive to insult people, and you have proven yourself to be a liar. You claim to quit watching because it's rigged, yet you return to insult people because you can't handle that a driver came along and squashed your delusions of Earnhardt grandeur on the same playing field. You cla Jeff has all these great failures, yet if it is all supposedly rigged as you claim, then guess what? All of these supposed failures were just as rigged. You can't accept that cornering? Then you will turn around and claim it's not rigged. You say teams play favorites, but once it is Jeff losing, you claim it's Keff's failures. Well if all team's play favorites then they would play favorites all the time. Every accusation you make about someone on here or on a driver on the track is always somehow reflective of your own personal insecurities and fears, because they always fly back in your face. I got news for you. Dale Eanrharst bred every aspect you see in Jeff Gordon, and you know what else? What you see today is what happena when 43 drivers try to imitate the great St. Dale, and it's pretty ugly. What do we have? A bunch of candy ass crybabies who are only tough when behind a microphone or behind a wall of crew members. Who did thay? St. Dale. Who started the non-sense like we saw with Newman and Larson? St. Dale. Who started the era of "It's all about me screw the world"? St. Dale." While I may not necessarily agree with 100% of this post, I have to give you props for the rant. 553. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:51 pm Rate this comment: (5) (4) Go home Hinch, your drunk! 554. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "There is only what happens and what doesn't." I agree whole heartedly with this statement. Sometimes it's fun to go back and see what could have been, but that's all it is...fun. I think this year has proved more than any other that different championship formats DO, in fact, change the way that drivers race. There is no real way to truly know how 2014 would have turned out under no Chase or old Chase formats. "Will any sports outlet give this race more than a little mention after it is done?" There will probably be at least an hour of Sports Center devoted to it and I guarantee you Fox and NBC will cover it since they are NASCAR media partners next year. "Gustafson did a TOTALLY idiotic job when they came in to the pits to repair damage" A really good point. Had Gordon's team kept him the lead lap, then he could have snagged a point during the GWC and that point would have made the difference today. However...see point one that I made in this comment. 555. Hinch77 posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:56 pm Rate this comment: (3) (3) " 553. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Go home Hinch, your drunk!" You prove my point. I just beat the shit out of you in a fair fight, so you accuse me of being drunk. News flash: You're the only alcoholic on this board. 556. BMan0213 posted: 11.09.2014 - 8:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Man the more I think about Denny still being in it the more i just shake my head lol. If you're gonna have a playoff system at least make sure the people who belong there are the ones in. For example the Jets are not making the playoffs based on their win over the Steelers today. Denny's win at Dega is basically equivalent to that, yet he's still right there with a real shot at winning it. 557. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.09.2014 - 9:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Something that's gone unnoticed...Tony Stewart could actually still win a championship this year and still get a spot at the head table, despite this being the most tumultuous year of his career (or life, for that matter). 558. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.09.2014 - 9:04 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "You're the only alcoholic on this board." Well, actually... Haha. Just kidding. I'm not an alcoholic. I just like to drink... Way more than I should. 559. racefangurl posted: 11.09.2014 - 9:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I hope murb's right. 560. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 9:07 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "If you're gonna have a playoff system at least make sure the people who belong there are the ones in." I actually agree with that. Maybe making a "if you have the most wins you're automatically locked into the title round" rule would help with that. It would make winning even more valuable (their original goal with this crazy system in the first place), but it would also help a lot with, as you said, making sure that people who deserve to be there aren't left out. I do think this championship format can work (I think it definitely improved the racing in the regular season, and the intensity we've seen here in the Chase has obviously been off the charts), but I would like to see them tweak it a little bit just to make it a bit harder for 0 win guys to advance through. 561. Dense Drip posted: 11.09.2014 - 9:10 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I got a feeling that the Chase system will go through some kind of change for next season. Throughout this year, we've all seen how much of a failure this new format has been. First of all, Aric Almirola and AJ Allmendinger made the Chase, despite the fact both were outside of the top 20 after Richmond. I like Allmendinger, but he just didn't deserve to be in the Chase this year. 2nd of all, Junior and Jimmie got eliminated from the Chase after Talladega. Then, in the next two races, both of them won. Their wins just had sentimental value. If they weren't eliminated, they could've been major factors for the championship. Then of course we have our debacle from today. Because of the Chase, Jeff (who should be the champion without the Chase) gets eliminated. I even feel bad for Keselowki. He has won more races than anyone else this year and he has no chance to win the championship. Now we're in a situation where a driver who hasn't won a race and hasn't started every race this year could be crowned champion. Ridiculous. 562. Walter White posted: 11.09.2014 - 9:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If I see Kenny, it won't be pretty I can promise you that. Ryan Newman today proved why he is a great driver. What a clutch performance. He was picking off cars with an ill handling beast before the caution, and then when he stayed out he fell back but still fought his way past Larson. What an epic finish. And it took Hendrick out of the Final 4 while a Satellite driver of Hendrick, and a guy who was unfairly fired from that same satellite team are duking it out for the Championship. I hope Newman wins. He really would be a great champion just for the underdog story. And for being the guy who wins the system designed for "wins" with no wins. Go 31! 563. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.09.2014 - 9:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Go home your drunk was in response to those posts with every word misspelled. 564. BMan0213 posted: 11.09.2014 - 9:32 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "I actually agree with that. Maybe making a "if you have the most wins you're automatically locked into the title round" rule would help with that. It would make winning even more valuable (their original goal with this crazy system in the first place), but it would also help a lot with, as you said, making sure that people who deserve to be there aren't left out. I do think this championship format can work (I think it definitely improved the racing in the regular season, and the intensity we've seen here in the Chase has obviously been off the charts), but I would like to see them tweak it a little bit just to make it a bit harder for 0 win guys to advance through." See I thing i'm thinking about is a little bit different. It has more to do with how you get into the chase rather than the chase itself. I've had a problem with it since Daytona when Almirola won. I'll use the NFL as an example. You have the two conferences the (AFC & NFC) and the 6 best teams from each conference get in. You're not gonna have the 13th best team take away a spot from the 6th best team because the 13th team won a game in week 8 of the regular season. Thats not how it works. Honestly I think If NASCAR is gonna do this, just take the top 16 in points after richmond and thats your playoff field. As far as i'm concerned Bowyer, Larson, McMurray, Menard, and Dillon (Driver in the top 16 after richmond who missed) Should have made the chase over Kyle, Hamlin, Kurt, Almirola, and AJ because well as the points show they had a better "Regular Season". 565. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.09.2014 - 9:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Zackary Shawn - I don't know how you couldn't like occasional drinking especially after that Auburn double debacle within the final three minutes. 566. Rusty posted: 11.09.2014 - 9:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) How funny would it be if Ryan Newman, a guy with zero wins on the year, manages to win the title under NASCAR's new system to encourage winning. With that said, Ryan Newman does not deserve the title of Cup champion whatsoever so I hope he doesn't win. 567. David posted: 11.09.2014 - 9:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "The Go home your drunk was in response to those posts with every word misspelled." So ironic... 568. cjs3872 posted: 11.09.2014 - 9:44 pm Rate this comment: (3) (2) Murb, who's to say that Jeff Gordon wouldn't have spun out at Texas because of aerodynamics if he had started on the inside on that fated restart? After all, that's exactly what caused the biggest crash of this race (when Kyle Busch spun and collected the 15 and 26 cars), which was also on a restart, and at much slower speeds. The more I think about it, the more I think starting on the outside there was the right thing to do, because there was a much greater chance of him getting spun or crashed if he had started on the inside, due to aerodynamic effects, and the third place driver going to his inside. And given that he was on older tires, there stood a good chance of him getting out of control entering turn one on that restart, so I actually think he made the right choice there. And as for Alan Gustafson possibly working on the wrong side of the car. He was going to get lapped in the pits, anyway, so it didn't really matter what side of the car they changed tires on, because they were going to get lapped and have to make two stops anyway, so that really didn't figure into the equation. And even though Jeff Gordon's been up and down more than the biggest roller coaster ride in this Chase (Brad Keselowski's in front of him in Chase points), the real culprit in him not making the final cut is the points system itself. The points system makes it so that a race for second is no more important than a race for 32nd is, because the difference in the number of points gained for that position is the same, one. If they used a system that made racing at the front worth more points per position than further back in the field, Jeff Gordon would have advanced in this round fairly easily, considering he finished second twice in the three races in this round. Now whether or not he would have advanced to round three under such a points system is debatable, since that was his weakest round, but the mere fact that he finished second twice in three races, and still failed to advance, shows just how bad a points system the one currently used is. If they used a point system where the gain was two points per position in the second half of the top ten, and three points per position from second to fifth, which is what I've advocated for over two years, things would have ended up a lot different. Instead, what has happened is something Darrell Waltrip predicted would happen when the Chase first came into being. He was asked on Wind Tunnel back in 2004 what it would take to win the championship in the first Chase that year, and his answer was "finish seventh every week". Well, that's basically how both Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman got to this point, while others who raced harder up front, such as Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski, and Matt Kenseth got the shaft. Hamlin's fifth place finish was his first top five since Atlanta on Labor Day weekend, and Newman's only been slightly better. And keep in mind that Newman's not won a race and Hamlin sat out a race due to illness, and yet they're two of the four contenders for the title. While NASCAR wanted to increase the focus on winning races to win the championship, it's quite possible that what they've done has had the reverse effect, because three of the four that advanced were pedestrian in this round (even Joey Logano's performance dropped off), but they were all consistent. Only Kevin Harvick showed up front in this round among the final four. And here's something else I think ESPN's commentators got dead wrong. They seem to think that, to win the championship, that the driver that wins the title is also going to have to win the race. I can't disagree more. First, the four title contenders are only racing each other, not anyone else. Secondly, none of them can afford to go all out for the win, because one mistake can, and would figure to cost them any shot at the title. Now I do think team tactics will, at some point, play a role at Homestead, but the four title contenders should not worry about trying to win the race, because they're only racing each other, not any of the other 39 competitors at Homestead. They need cars capable of winning at Homestead, but they can't afford to take the chances necessary to win that race, because much more is on the line, and they can't afford to risk it racing guys they don't need to be racing. 569. OldSchoolNascarDude1 posted: 11.09.2014 - 9:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm not exactly sure how to interpret the "100 Percent Rule", but I'm fairly certain the 78 team didn't abide by it. 570. Matt G posted: 11.09.2014 - 9:55 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) Two thoughts: one quick, one big picture ... 1) Just an absolutely dreadful job by ESPN with the coverage during the closing laps. The camera never should have left Newman!!! If you want to show Harvick leading the race, that's fine as he needed to win to get in, but as dominant as he was today, there should have been a split screen with Newman's battle occupying no less than half the screen as that's the spot that really mattered. One moment he's two car lengths back, then they cut away and the next thing you know he's along side Larsen and sending him into the wall - Not like people wanted to see what was going on there or anything! 2) Nascar is its own worst enemy when it comes to inferior teams making it to Homestead. This system actually has a decent foundation and believe it or not could be exceptional if some important tweaks are made (SPOILER ALERT, they won't be!!!), but the general way Nascar runs a race really highlights the big "SCREW YOU!!!" Nascar gives to the teams that run well all day. Go a lap down early? Doesn't matter! Run like crap for 90% of the race? Doesn't matter! Do pretty much anything that doesn't involve a heavy wreck or a major mechanical failure before 50 to go? Doesn't matter!!! Nascar throws so many bogus debris cautions and has so many ways to get back on the lead lap that you have to absolutely SUCK(!!!) to not be a part of the action late in most of these races if you don't otherwise have major issues. Not only does this garbage allow people who run like junk most of the weekend to collect decent finishes they don't deserve, but it also (and more importantly) ensures that any problem someone who runs in the top five late in the race does have, costs them a ridiculous number of spots that takes multiple races to make up - Multiple races they don't have late in the season under this system. Mix all of this crap together and combine it with this Chase format, and you have the perfect storm for what happened over the last three weeks. The smaller the sample size, the better the chances are that you're going to have a group of drivers advancing that doesn't involve the people who probably ran the best - Either in those races or during the season as a whole. When that sample size is a measly three races and you have debris cautions / free passes / and wave arounds galore ruling the day within the races, you have the perfect recipe for meritocracy to triumph. This is obviously nothing new, but the way Nascar runs a race (debris caution after debris caution and free pass after free pass) really ruins this championship format because it provides no way for the team who actually perform the best and show up fast from the green flag to get the slower teams in true trouble early. They're all going to be back together again when all hell breaks loose at the end the there's a dozen more cars on the lead lap than there should be at that stage of the race. This is the system guys like Hamlin, Newman, and up until today Edwards have been milking, and because of the way the overall points structure works, living on free passes and wave arounds to 12th place finishes is going to beat one major problem (a mechanical failure for Brad at Martinsville and the green / white / checker problems for Gordon at Texas) other teams have over a brief three race run - Even if those teams bring machines capable of running in the top five every week, and that's a crying shame! Nascar has found a really entertaining system here, but the irony of it is that for it to truly work, they must cut the B.S. out of these races. 571. Destroyahirismix666 posted: 11.09.2014 - 10:15 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) I myself will pull hard for Newman to get the championship. Why? Outside of the fact that I've always liked the guy; This sport has pissed me off so much in the last several months that I just kind of want to watch it burn...Yes. Newman, or Hamlin secondly, will be the most undeserving champions NASCAR has ever had, and they are part of major issues I stated with this system once we started finding out how they worked, albeit only one extreme of two possible extremes (The other extreme being someone having a mediocre first-26 races but winning just enough in the chase, and the finale, to become champion). Neither of them are really 'championship' material. Granted, Logano will likely win it, or Harvick. But I'll hope and pray that they both run into major issues, so either Hamlin or Newman get it. 572. ddb posted: 11.09.2014 - 10:22 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I'm pretty sure Newman winning the title would be the statistically worst championship season ever. Too bad Edwards, Allmendinger and Almirola didn't make it too. Make it a real heavyweight battle... 573. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.09.2014 - 10:29 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I think Newman winning the title next week might finally wake up the folks in Daytona Beach. Sometimes you have to truly hit rock bottom, and that would do it. And NASCAR is going to have a dreadful week of trying to promote those 4 drivers to non die hard NASCAR fans. A Newman championship this year might be good in the long term. Cause the suits running the sport need a major jolt. 574. BMan0213 posted: 11.09.2014 - 10:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm telling guys despite having a win Hamlin winning would be wayyyyyyy worse than Newman. With that being said, if you're into watching everything burn Hamlin is your guy lol. 575. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 10:47 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "I'm telling guys despite having a win Hamlin winning would be wayyyyyyy worse than Newman." On paper it looks that way, but I was actually just looking at both of their stats this season, and Denny has slightly better numbers than Newman (Denny: 1 win, 7 top fives, 17 top tens - Newman: 0 wins, 4 top fives, 15 top tens). So if you go by that, then Denny has clearly had a better year than Newman. I don't think it'll matter either way though. Like I said, I fully expect it to be a two man race between Logano and Harvick. 576. BMan0213 posted: 11.09.2014 - 10:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "On paper it looks that way, but I was actually just looking at both of their stats this season, and Denny has slightly better numbers than Newman (Denny: 1 win, 7 top fives, 17 top tens - Newman: 0 wins, 4 top fives, 15 top tens). So if you go by that, then Denny has clearly had a better year than Newman." Interesting. I know Denny had that penalty at Indy and he missed a race but if you look at the season long points hes 144 behind Newman which is about three races worth. even tho he has more top fives and top tens i still think Newman has had a better year, at least from a consistency standpoint. 577. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 10:58 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Nevermind, I missed the part where you said "despite having a win". But still, the more I think about it, I don't think Denny being champion would be as much of a joke as it seems like it would be. He's been inconsistent and at times has run mediocre (though JGR as a whole has been a step behind all year it seems), but looking back, he actually has been in contention to win multiple races (the Daytona 500, the Bristol Night Race where he had one of the two best cars before getting wrecked by Harvick, and Fall Martinsville). If it did somehow come down to him and Newman, I'd probably still rather have Newman win just for the underdog story, but I don't think I'd be completely fuming if Denny won, like how some people apparently will be if it happens. But like I said, I seriously doubt any of this. I think all this talk about these two guys is just us over-thinking things. Logano and Harvick will by far be the ones to beat. 578. cjs3872 posted: 11.09.2014 - 11:17 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The same goes if Denny Hamlin wins the title, DSFF. As I noted before, someone's going to make history at the end of the race at Homestead, but if either Ryan or Denny win the title, it's going to be negative history, because unless he wins the race, if Ryan were to win the title, he would be the first to do so without a win, duplicating what Austin Dillon pulled off in the Nationwide series last year, and if Denny Hamlin wins the title, he'll be the first in the modern era to take the title without running every race. In fact, Newman's the first winless driver to even have a shot at the title since both Cecil Gordon (a long-time RCR employee) and James Hylton each had a shot at the title in 1973, despite not winning a race that season (Cecil Gordon never won a Cup race in his career). If either Newman or Kevin Harvick take the title, they'll be the first to do it in their first season with a team, and if Joey Logano takes the title, it will make Roger Penske the first owner to take the titles in both NASCAR's top series and IndyCar in the same year. Of the four, I think Logano is the one that would probably do NASCAR the most good, in terms of the publicity he can bring the sport off the track, given that, at 24 years of age, he is, by far the youngest of the four contenders and would figure to draw the younger crowd in easier than any of the others could. If any of the other three take the title, it would almost be considered a career-topping achievement, since Harvick, Hamlin, and Newman have all had very good careers filled with major victories and achievements. Harvick's won every major race on the circuit at least once, completing that cycle with his Southern 500 win, Hamlin's also won the Southern 500 in his career, doing so when he won eight times in 2010, and Newman has won both the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 (the latter of which is his most recent win), as well as the All-Star Race. So a championship by either Harvick, Hamlin, or Newman would be an exclamation point to their careers, and could actually clinch a future spot in the Hall of Fame for either Harvick or Hamlin (Newman's candidacy is iffy, even with a title). But I think NASCAR would stand to gain the most if Logano took the title. And here's something. If he were to win the title at Homestead next week, Logano would be the youngest driver to win the title in NASCAR's top series since Jeff Gordon in 1995. Both drivers would be 24 years old at the time of their championships, but Gordon would have been about 10 weeks younger than Logano at the time of his first title. The only driver younger to take the title in NASCAR's top division was Bill Rexford, who was 23 when he took the title under very odd circumstances in 1950. 579. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.09.2014 - 11:29 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Obviously competition wise, Logano and Harvick would both have to have issues for Hamlin and Newman to be in position to capitalize...after all the controversial comments from Newman over the years and one about inconsistent cautions at Texas, he would make for an unlikely champion. Also as DSFF pointed out, a Ryan Newman championship is the best stick it to the mN scenario. 580. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.09.2014 - 11:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Stick it to the man, c'mon keyboard. 581. murb posted: 11.09.2014 - 11:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "If either Newman or Kevin Harvick take the title, they'll be the first to do it in their first season with a team" Just checked on this, and Darrell Waltrip actually won the 1981 title in his first year with Junior Johnson. So they would be the first to do so since then. 582. urr posted: 11.10.2014 - 12:01 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) "He overcame the odds and outshone everyone else on the team this year despite being 43 years of age." Wow, he outshined his teammates who are 39 and 40 despite being 43? Talk about a disadvantage in age! 583. WinstonCupStandings posted: 11.10.2014 - 12:08 am Rate this comment: (2) (1) Top 10 1) Jeff Gordon (4965) -Leader 2) Joey Logano (4850) -115 3) Brad Keselowski (4721) -244 -Out 4) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (4685) -280 -Out 5) Kevin Harvick (4677) -288 -Out 6) Matt Kenseth (4559) -406 -Out 7) Ryan Newman (4451) -514 -Out 8) Kyle Larson (4358) -607 -Out 9) Jimmie Johnson (4345) -620 -Out 10) Carl Edwards (4323) -642 -Out 584. cjs3872 posted: 11.10.2014 - 12:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Thanks for pointing out my error on multiple posts, murb, because I made it on more than one. But still, for it to be that long for a driver to win a championship in his first year with a team shows how rare it would be for it to happen, and there's a 50% chance of it happening at Homestead, since both Ryan Newman and Kevin Harvick have that opportunity. By the way, if Harvick does win the title, he'd be the first driver with Budweiser sponsorship to win the title since Waltrip in 1985. And the two drivers in question here switched teams for this year, because last year, Harvick drove for RCR and Newman for Stewart-Haas Racing. And even though the four drivers are, as a group, not what anyone expected going into even this race, much less this round of the Chase, there surely is no shortage of subplots among these four drivers and teams to go around. And three of the four are racing for the championship against an organization for whom they drove previously. Harvick drove for RCR, who Newman now drives for, Newman drove for Stewart-Haas, who Harvick now drives for, and of course, Joey Logano drove for JGR as a teammate to Denny Hamlin, who is the only driver not racing against an organization he once drove for to win the title. And each of the four has gotten into an altercation recently, although not all of them started such incidents. However, one situation that I think bears watching involves Joey Logano, because if it came down to it, how much would Danica Patrick, with whom Logano got into an altercation with at Charlotte, try to prevent Logano from winning the title, and how far would she go to prevent Logano from taking the title? As far as Danica is concerned, things may not be over yet with Logano, even though Joey has tried everything he could to smooth that situation over, knowing what is on the line. 585. Sector posted: 11.10.2014 - 12:21 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cjs, you are also forgetting that Matt Kenseth is another driver who can win in both formats, he was so close last year if the Phoenix race didn't kill his chances. While Jeff Gordon and Matt has a chance to do so, Tony Stewart may have company if ey ever get their years together. Hate it for Gordon. Really do. Now let's get it done Harvick! Also I wanted to point this out, even thou the Chase is retarded as heck, all 9 races were won by the best drivers of 2014. Brad Keselowki(2), Joey Logano(2) Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick(2), Dale Earnhardt Jr & Jimmie Johnson(one can argue he wasn't that strong, but with Harvick's win today, each of these drivers has won at least 4 races. Hell, you can even say excluding Carl Edwards two random wins, the drivers who won multiple times were on top of their game. Yeah 586. cjs3872 posted: 11.10.2014 - 6:23 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Well Sector, Kenseth is the only other driver with a chance to win in both formats, because I believe this was Gordon's final shot at a championship, which must make it that much more bitter for him. At the age of 44, which he'll be when the Chase arrives next year, he will be older than Dale, Sr. was when he claimed his last championship in 1994. (Had he won the title this year, he would have been about three and a half months younger than Earnhardt was when he claimed his final championship, as he is 43 years of age, the same age Dale, Sr. was when he last claimed the title.) So this was Gordon's final realistic title shot. As it is, Kenseth is not that much younger than Gordon is, so how many realistic chances he has left is open for debate. It's also worth noting that six drivers have at least four or more wins, and I can't remember the last time that happened. You have Brad Keselwoski with a series-high six, Joey Logano with five (meaning that at least one Penske driver will have the distinction of having the most wins this year, if the two Penske drivers don't share that honor), and four other drivers, Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale, Jr. with four each. And they've all done it in either Penske or Hendrick cars (Harvick has a Hendrick car, even though it's with a different organization). And I wouldn't say that Carl Edwards is off his game, because the mere fact that he even had a chance to race his way into the final four is nothing short of amazing, given how far off he pace the Roush cars have been for two years now. And by the way, what I said in an earlier post about Jeff Gordon having it easy if there had not been a Chase his year can be said about Joey Logano if they were using last year's rules, which counted points for all the Chase races. Using last year's Chase rules, Logano would have a 29-point lead on Kevin Harvick, who would be the only other driver eligible to win the title, meaning that all Logano would have to do is to finish 24th or better to lock up the title, no matter what Harvick does. Dale, Jr. would be third, but a full race worth of points (48) behind, and mathematically eliminated. And that fact backs up those that say that Logano and Harvick are the heavy favorites going into the final race, as they've been the best throughout the Chase, but I'd still watch out for Denny Hamlin, the only one among the final four to have actually won at Homestead, having done so twice, including last year. And Logano's is the worst record among the final four at Homestead with an average finish of about 21st, and a best finish of eighth. 587. John posted: 11.10.2014 - 7:54 am Rate this comment: (3) (1) Fans wanted WWE, fans got WWE. Congrats 588. Kubica Fan Ireland posted: 11.10.2014 - 9:03 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Jeff Gordon ties Mark Martin for second in top tens with 453. If he races until 2017 he should become the second driver to reach 500 top10s. He scores his 8th runner up finish of the season, tying his 2009 season. I will look up when someone last scored 9 runner up finishes in a season, but it could be a long time ago. I know Bobby Allison scored 12 in 1972 for the modern era record. It is utterly pointless to say Gordon would be a 7 time champion without the chase. He failed to win the title in 4 of the last 5 years with the traditional system and was only close with 10 to go in 2002, which was an extremely mediocore year. In 2004 Johnson had a monster lead and started experimenting with engines before the chase, leading to two 40 place finishes in a row. It is harder to argue with 2007 as he was so much more consistent than any other driver in the last 15 years. But still Johnson who was the only one that could have challenged him would probably not have had as many really poor finishes from rounds 20-24. He was pretty much Gordon's equal for the first 10 and final 12, but I am willing to concede that in all likelihood Gordon would have won the title in the traditional manner. Johnson is said to have only won 3 titles in the traditional manner, but if you adopt that mindset he had a substantial lead in the traditional method in 2008 and would not have been so cautious in the fuel equation at Homestead with Edwards winning. He did an identical thing at Texas playing it safe with fuel to finish 15th while Edwards won. He was racing to protect his 100+ point lead in the chase standings not the latford method which would have substantially altered his approach. With the Latford method Kyle would also have still been in contention after his 2 poor finishes to start the chase and would have not lost hope for a few more rounds. Does Johnson suddenly win the title legitimately if he finishes 11th at Homestead in 2008 instead of 15 and beat Edwards by the latford method, of course not he won it in the chase configuration at that is all that matters. In 2012 Johnson would have had a near race worth advantage over Keselowski heading to Phoenix and would have played with a conservative set up to finish 10-15th instead of trying to push tyres and car to score a podium finish to keep with Keselowski. You can't simply say Gordon would have done this as the system was changed 10 years ago and race teams would have adopted a different approach and strategy and raced differently under a different point system. You can use the traditional points over the course of a season to gain a semi accurate view or good yardstick of a team's performance over the year but you can't just line them up 1,2,3 and so on. Nascar invented a beyond stupid system and will hopefully get the most undeserving champion in the past 40 plus years with winless Newman or Hamlin 589. 23andJoe posted: 11.10.2014 - 9:12 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) >Nascar invented a beyond stupid system and will hopefully get the most undeserving champion in the past 40 plus years with winless Newman or Hamlin Hamlin has won this year. 590. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.10.2014 - 9:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) "(Un)Deserving champion" is a completely subjective phrase. I hope and pray that one day people get that. 591. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.10.2014 - 9:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) When NASCAR announced this format they said it place an emphasis on winning, which it UNDISPUTEDLY did (just ask Allmendinger, Almirola, Harvick, and Keselowski). Somehow that got lost in translation and turned into "wins mean everything" or "all about winning", which means something totally different. This format DID deliver in the way it was supposed to, though. 592. joshua761312006 posted: 11.10.2014 - 10:21 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) 23andJoe hit the nail on the head. NASCAR this weekend could award the most undeserving champion of all time. This is not the way to award a champion in auto racing. This year was Dale Earnhardt JR best year ever but you would not have known it becuase of this format. I think the promoters are going to have a hard time promoting this event. Also congrats NASCAR in making this sport into a realty TV show with BS debris cautions I is just sad in how far NASCAR has fallen. 593. racefangurl posted: 11.10.2014 - 10:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Joey's having a career year and is good on tracks like Homestead. I looked at his stats this year and he has run good, basically in the 1.5 mile track races. I think Joey's showing his stuff with Penske. Amazing what a supportive teammate can do. I see Harvick and Logano are the ones with the best odds of championship. Hamlin's my secondary pick, the likely champion if Harick and Logano have problems. Hamlin won this race last year, I seem to remember. Not a real Hamlin fan, just don't care about him either way. Newman's a dark horse, I think. 594. JP88 posted: 11.10.2014 - 10:45 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) What a joke. At the very least Gordon being in would at least made it 3 out of 4 that were deserving. Seriously Newman just barreled Larson away for that spot, pretty piss poor if you ask me. Hopefully Harvick or Logano win the title next week. If not then it's a joke. If Newman wins then it's a travesty. 595. Scott B posted: 11.10.2014 - 10:46 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) So, the final four include two drivers in their first season with a new team, and one in his second season with a team. Carl Edwards must be looking forward to 2015 right now. 596. Cornys posted: 11.10.2014 - 12:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR won't put Gordon in. Their credibility is already bad enough. My questionnaire from the fan council asked me (and everybody else I'm sure) what we thought about the Chase format in a lot of various different ways. I guess my opinion was heard, but I'm only one person out of thousands. (You know I don't like it). I'll be interested to see the TV ratings for this week and next week's race. Texas was the first race to actually see an increase in ratings. 597. racefangurl posted: 11.10.2014 - 12:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If they were to put Gordon in, it would be because Newman got penalized for wrecking Larson. 598. David posted: 11.10.2014 - 12:24 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "It is utterly pointless to say Gordon would be a 7 time champion without the chase. He failed to win the title in 4 of the last 5 years with the traditional system and was only close with 10 to go in 2002, which was an extremely mediocore year. In 2004 Johnson had a monster lead and started experimenting with engines before the chase, leading to two 40 place finishes in a row. It is harder to argue with 2007 as he was so much more consistent than any other driver in the last 15 years. But still Johnson who was the only one that could have challenged him would probably not have had as many really poor finishes from rounds 20-24. He was pretty much Gordon's equal for the first 10 and final 12, but I am willing to concede that in all likelihood Gordon would have won the title in the traditional manner. Johnson is said to have only won 3 titles in the traditional manner, but if you adopt that mindset he had a substantial lead in the traditional method in 2008 and would not have been so cautious in the fuel equation at Homestead with Edwards winning. He did an identical thing at Texas playing it safe with fuel to finish 15th while Edwards won. He was racing to protect his 100+ point lead in the chase standings not the latford method which would have substantially altered his approach. With the Latford method Kyle would also have still been in contention after his 2 poor finishes to start the chase and would have not lost hope for a few more rounds. Does Johnson suddenly win the title legitimately if he finishes 11th at Homestead in 2008 instead of 15 and beat Edwards by the latford method, of course not he won it in the chase configuration at that is all that matters. In 2012 Johnson would have had a near race worth advantage over Keselowski heading to Phoenix and would have played with a conservative set up to finish 10-15th instead of trying to push tyres and car to score a podium finish to keep with Keselowski. You can't simply say Gordon would have done this as the system was changed 10 years ago and race teams would have adopted a different approach and strategy and raced differently under a different point system. You can use the traditional points over the course of a season to gain a semi accurate view or good yardstick of a team's performance over the year but you can't just line them up 1,2,3 and so on." Thank you for being one of the few who understands this, sadly. ">Nascar invented a beyond stupid system and will hopefully get the most undeserving champion in the past 40 plus years with winless Newman or Hamlin Hamlin has won this year." I think the "winless" part of his comment applied to Newman only. ""(Un)Deserving champion" is a completely subjective phrase. I hope and pray that one day people get that." Conversely, I'd argue that the driver who wins the championship in any given year (that is, one with a points system everyone understands) is the "deserving champion". 599. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.10.2014 - 12:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (5) Thank you Kubica Fan. JJ would have won the title under the old system in 2004 and 2008 (as well as 2006, 2009, and 2013). They would have raced differently. But they didn't because WE DON'T HAVE THE OLD SYSTEM! I hate the chase, but it is what is being used. Everyone knows it. We can't fault or credit people for the woulda, coulda, shoulda, didn't-a scenarios. Just because it plays to Gordon's most glaring weakness (keeping up championship level performance in October and November) doesn't make it any less relevant. Regardless of what cjs says. 600. Anonymous posted: 11.10.2014 - 1:27 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Go Gordon! 601. Cornys posted: 11.10.2014 - 2:04 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) Reading over comments both on here and on ESPN.com and what NASCAR asked me today, I'm going to make the boldest prediction of the year on these boards. The Chase won't look the way it did this year next year. I'm putting a 15% chance that the chase doesn't even return. (and prying that it becomes 100%) The chase is getting HAMMERED right now. Even by ESPN readers and commenters! That's unheard of. ESPN usually draws in the idiots or general sports fans who have a tiny interest in NASCAR (and thus don't enter NASCAR.com or racing-reference.info.) It seems that even this demographic of fans are in a tizzy over the unacceptable Championship format. 602. Sector posted: 11.10.2014 - 2:13 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) To point out, Jeff Gordon has a shot to do something he's never done before. Finish all 36 races, with NO DNF's! Hopefully he survives next week. Another thing, Jeff is only 8 points out of 5th, which is held by Brad Keselowski. Jeff Gordon has finished in every positions in the eleven except for one, which is 5th. There are two more career milestones Gordon could accomplish, three counting scoring the most points in a season for the record 7th time (notice how I didn't say winning the old championship system). Another thing to point out. Ryan Newman has NEVER finished out the season in the top 5 in points. This is the season he finally does so. Kevin Harvick actually led more than 2,000 laps this season. It isn't easy to do at in a single year, but it is definitely quite an accomplishment. 603. MarkMartinFan posted: 11.10.2014 - 2:20 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I love the fact that Newman has a chance. I just hope that if he should win it, he doesn't win Homestead. Then hopefully we could get rid of this stupid gimmick we can The Chase. 604. cjs3872 posted: 11.10.2014 - 2:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) But 23andJoe, Hamlin would be an equally undeserving champion because he missed a race. Sure, he's only won once, but that can be said about Benny Parsons and Matt Kenseth when they won their respective titles. But they did not sit out a race like Hamlin did. And DSFF, I'm not sure if Jimmie would have won the title under the pre- Chase system in 2008, because he would likely have been so far behind Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards after the 26th race that he would have been out of contention, and Edwards would likely have had his title. And had there not been a Chase in 2006, it would have been a nail-biter between Johnson and Matt Kenseth, but I believe the results would have been the same, since Johnson clearly had the faster cars. 2009 would likely have had the same result, as well, given how dominant the Hendrick cars were that year. 2004 was an odd case regarding Johnson, because of the three successive engine failures, although one of those failures may have been caused by him spinning the engine backwards at Indy (remember that he spun in that race before losing his engine, and that frequently causes the engine to spin backwards). However, for those that may not remember, Hendrick was running insanely low gear ratios that year, and all their teams were having trouble with reliability because of how many RPMs they were turning, compared to the competition, so it's quite possible that, although I think Gordon would have won the title, both of the contending HMS teams could have fallen out of title contention due to the mechanical problems that were happening across the board at HMS that year, and Dale, Jr. might have had the championship handed to him. And the current gear ratio rules can be traced back to what HMS was doing with their engines that year. And @592, this was not Dale, Jr.'s best year. Remember that Dale, Jr. led the points much of the 2004 season and won six times. So that was Dale, Jr.'s finest season, with 2014 coming in a close second. He had a great season this year, but his season in 2004 was better. 605. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.10.2014 - 2:48 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) "I'm putting a 15% chance that the chase doesn't even return." LOL. That ship sailed 11 years ago and it's not coming back. There comes a time when people must move on. 606. racefangurl posted: 11.10.2014 - 2:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) If NASCAR knows, they may try something else, at least in a perfect world. 607. David posted: 11.10.2014 - 2:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) ^What is this supposed to mean? "The chase is getting HAMMERED right now. Even by ESPN readers and commenters!" Amusing. 608. TS1420 posted: 11.10.2014 - 2:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) A day late, but congrats to Kevin Harvick on dominating Phoenix and punching his ticket in to The NCAA Final Four, err, Homestead. Surprised by Newman's last gasp move, but nothing really dirty about it. Just about any other driver would have done the same thing or worse if they were in Newman's position, including Jeff Gordon (lol at him pretending he is such a classy racer in his post-race interview when his name is synonymous with the "Bump & Run" and let's not the whole Phoenix 2012 head-hunting fiasco). Of course NASCAR's new and improved chase did what we all expected and put two underwhelming drivers in position to win a championship while leaving out a slew of drivers that have been front runners all season long (Gordon, Keselowski, Earnhardt Jr & even Johnson). But at least its quality drivers and not the likes of Almirola or Allmendinger. Hamlin has been a championship level driver for most of his career & Newman has been a "Ricky Rudd" level journeyman driver with a legacy of an 8 win season, a Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 & All-Star Race win. Hamlin's not really that bad when you consider Toyota has been down as a whole this season due to them detuning their engines for reliability rather than lobbying NASCAR for an engine revision to help curb their genading issues, plus him missing a race is forgivable since it was a freak medical issue out of his control. I do have to admit I like this chase format better than the old one. I would just like to see them reseed each round by current points & overall wins rather than resetting everyone at zero and allowing mediocre/fluke drivers to have a better shot at advancing over better drivers. 609. David posted: 11.10.2014 - 3:26 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) As a Gordon fan, Newman's move is really frustrating, especially since it came at the last possible moment. But as a racing fan, those are the moments that I want to see. Newman did exactly what he had to, and I commend him for it. And as a result, he'll be competing for the championship instead of Gordon. 610. Schroeder51 posted: 11.10.2014 - 3:27 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) Sorry, but I gotta agree with Zachary Shawn on this one, Cornys. As long as Brian France sticks around (hell, I'd venture even after someone succeeds him as the head of the sport), the Chase will ALWAYS be a part of NASCAR. It ain't going anywhere anytime soon, I'm sorry to say. I really don't like that at all, but I guess we have to live with it. However, I do fully anticipate NASCAR tweaking the Chase system again...if not for next year, definitely soon afterwards. If a lot of people complain about the system, NASCAR will no doubt change it up again. I don't entirely LOATHE this current Chase system, but there are definitely some things I would change about it (for one, the cutoff for winners to be able to get into the Chase is WAY too generous-I think it should be 20th in points rather than 30th. There's not even that many decent full-time teams, so if you win a race, you're basically all but guaranteed to get in as long as you drive for a decent team. Also, I wish they would let wins throughout the season count in each round of this system rather than just automatically giving everybody the same amount of points at the start of each round...) 611. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.10.2014 - 3:29 pm Rate this comment: (3) (3) Serious question that I want someone to answer for me...why don't fans of other sports have this existential crisis about championship legitimacy that NASCAR fans have? And if they do, why don't they let that ruin the sport for them the way NASCAR fans do? NASCAR isn't the only sport in which questionable means are used to crown a champion. Just look at college football. IMO, the most illegitimate championship in the entire history of sports would be Alabama's 2011 National Championship over LSU, but I don't know anyone, LSU fans included, who let that ruin the fun for them. And this year's NCAA format is no better because inevitably a team somebody thinks should have been included in the College Football Playoff will be left out and vice versa. And yes, there will be ESPN commenters "hammering" the format on articles written about it, much like it's BCS predecessor. But college football fans won't let this ruin it for them because, at their core, they know it's about having fun (for them at least) and that it IS fun. Why can't NASCAR fans be more like this? And FYI Cornys, anecdotal evidence, such as ESPN comments, is by and large the worst way to gage how people feel about a particular subject. You would need a scientific poll to done by a professional polling agency to do that. I don't put much faith n the fan council surveys either, for what it's worth, because they are voluntary response surveys, which have also been proven to be unreliable. 612. racefangurl posted: 11.10.2014 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was thinking in a perfect world, if NASCAR knew what people say on ESPN, they'd dump the Chase. 613. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.10.2014 - 3:31 pm Rate this comment: (1) (4) Also, for what it's worth, if I was in charge of NASCAR I would keep the format because, frankly, I think it is one of, if not THE, greatest thing to happen to NASCAR in the history of the sport, but I do think it could use some tweaks. 614. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.10.2014 - 3:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) "Conversely, I'd argue that the driver who wins the championship in any given year (that is, one with a points system everyone understands) is the "deserving champion"." I would tend to agree with this, but I understand where people are coming from when they get upset about Newman being in over Gordon. I just don't let that ruin it for me. "I was thinking in a perfect world, if NASCAR knew what people say on ESPN, they'd dump the Chase." Hopefully, we never reach the day where anyone uses comment boards on ESPN to make a decision about where to go in the future because, as I said in post #612, voluntary response surveys/anecdotal evidence like the ESPN comments are by and large the worst way to gage how people really feel. This is mainly because it's mostly only people who have strong opinions one way or the other who will take the time to comment. 615. murb posted: 11.10.2014 - 3:54 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Like I said before, I think the format can work and be great for Nascar. I just want to see them tweak it somehow to make sure we don't end up with people like Newman and Hamlin in it EVERY year (I don't mind seeing an underdog get in every once in a while, but having this happen every year will totally defeat the meaningfulness of the word "underdog"). I definitely like my idea of guaranteeing the person with the most wins a spot in the championship round (if they are not already locked in at that point). Despite my thoughts on Brad, I think it's really lame that he has 6 wins, has been one of the three best all season, but still has no shot at the title. So I think some type of rule that at least locks in the "most wins" winner would be great. It would also make winning races even more important, which was their whole goal to begin with. I also think that something should be done to the actual points structure itself. Racing for 3rd should mean a hell of a lot more than racing for 17th. So maybe some type of Formula 1 style number system where spots at the front are worth way more than spots at the back is in order there. But overall, I've been mostly happy with this system. I felt like the regular season was improved drastically with more emphasis on winning, and in the Chase, the intensity has obviously been incredible. If they just tweak a few things and make it a lot harder for some of these 0 win and underwhelming guys to get in, I think it will end up being great. Oh yeah, and while I'm talking about changes, I'm also with whoever it was that said to get rid of the Lucky Dog. I agree with that. Just use the wave-around for people to get back on the lead lap. Just giving someone a lap back has become a ridiculous novelty (as if it hasn't been already for the past 11 years), and makes falling a lap down essentially mean nothing anymore. I want to see these guys be challenged out there. 616. SpeedWorld97 posted: 11.10.2014 - 4:04 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Great. So a driver with 4 victories and a driver with 5 victories won't finish inside the top 5 in points, but a driver with ZERO WINS (who wrecked his way into the Final Four, I might add) and a driver who MISSED A RACE and only has 1 win this year could end up winning the championship? Absolute joke. And the sad part is that I'll almost certainly be tuning in to the finale next week just to see the shitstorm play itself out. Because that is what NA$CAR wanted all along. Pathetic." ^^^This sums up my thoughts on things perfectly. I clearly remember my first thoughts when this format was first announced back in January. I didn't like it, but it never crossed my mind that it would unjustly shuffle the point standings as much as it has. As great as the first 26 races of this season was is as embarrassing as this chase has been. Looking back at how angry we were a year ago when Jimmie Johnson won his 6th championship, I guess I never realized that Jimmie Johnson was by far the most deserving champion of 2013. Unless Joey Logano wins the title Sunday, the same cannot be said for 2014. This is a huge black eye for the sport, and it's no wonder NASCAR is the laughing stock of the motorsports community. I ask you all to scroll down to the bottom of the screen for this race's results and look under "Non-Chase Standings." Now isn't that how the top 5 in points should look? 617. cjs3872 posted: 11.10.2014 - 4:05 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) And I'm not sure anyone's considered this, but could NASCAR have had some ulterior motive in creating the Chase in 2004, other than Matt Kenseth's almost robotic run to title in 2003, and then redoing it to this new three-race round knockout format? Could they have created the Chase and then reformatted the Chase solely to protect the legacies of Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, Sr., and to protect what most consider to be the most sacred record in the sport, the seven championships collected by Richard and Dale, Sr.? After all, Jeff Gordon had won four titles and was considered to be in the prime of his career at the age of 32 when the Chase was first announced, and was 33 when the first season with the Chase came to an end, and he hasn't won one since. Prior to that, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that he would at least get to that seven championship mark, but the Chase put a stop to that. And this new Chase format came into being just when it seemed that Jimmie Johnson would be the third driver to win seven titles, as he has six championships, one away from that magic #7. Doesn't anyone else think the reason NASCAR came up with this new format may be to prevent Johnson from ever getting title #7, and thus equaling the mark of Richard Petty and Dale, Sr., because I'm beginning to think that way. We know Gordon's won his last title, and considering that he'll be 40 next year, one has to wonder if the sand in the hourglass isn't starting to run out on Johnson. Now I think Johnson has more shots left, but consider this. Championship eras have never overlapped each other, and if Joey Logano takes the title at Homestead, one can't escape the irony of the fact that Earnhardt's first title came the year after Petty's last, and Gordon's first title came the year after Earnhardt's last. Now there was some separation between Gordon's final title and Johnson's first (five years, to be exact), but now we may have a similar scenario about to play out, with Joey Logano, at the age of 24, possibly winning a title immediately after Johnson's sixth championship. Could Logano be on the verge of beginning a championship era of his own if he takes the title at Homestead, with Johnson possibly never getting another one? 618. SYH posted: 11.10.2014 - 4:07 pm Rate this comment: (4) (0) NASCAR didn't retool the points because of any conspiracy theories, to protect Dale, or whatever. They did it because it was the peak of their bubble, and they were arrogant enough to think they could take on the NFL in the fall and win. How's that working out for them? 619. Anonymous posted: 11.10.2014 - 4:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I'm getting liver cancer from reading some of these posts... 620. TS1420 posted: 11.10.2014 - 4:23 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "NASCAR didn't retool the points because of any conspiracy theories, to protect Dale, or whatever. They did it because it was the peak of their bubble, and they were arrogant enough to think they could take on the NFL in the fall and win. How's that working out for them?" Exactly. The Chase wasn't created to keep Gordon from 7. The Chase was created because: -Baby Brian was just coming in and wanted to put his stink all over the sport and also had delusions of taking his favorite sport, the NFL, head-on. -NBC wanted something spice up the races they were covering since they had the final half of the season and the championship, save for 2002, had been a forgone conclusion for most of the races they covered (and 2002 was looking that way until Marlin's injuries at Richmond & Kansas). 621. cjs3872 posted: 11.10.2014 - 4:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You just contradicted yourself, murb. You say that NASCAR should get rid of the free pass because it means that a driver getting lapped doesn't matter any more, yet at the same time, you say that they should keep the wave-around. Yet, far more drivers, sometimes more than half the field, get a lap back at the same time via the wave-around, where only one driver per caution can get the free pass. If anything, it's the wave-around that makes getting lapped not matter any more, because drivers can use that two or three times before having to pit, depending on what time of the race they use it, and what track they're racing at. That's why I say the wave-around is one of the dumbest things they've come up with. At least with the free pass, the drivers often have to earn it. Just look at how hard Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin raced each other to be the highest running car not on the lead lap when they were both a lap down. They both knew how important that was, and Logano got that spot, and his lap back because he earned it. Hamlin got it on the following caution, but that whole situation with Hamlin and Logano racing to be the first car not on the lead lap is what makes the free pass rule so good. But with the wave-around, nobody's earning anything, because they're being given a lap back simply by not pitting under caution, which at a place like Phoenix, usually has no consequences at all, since cautions usually come in bunches at a track like that, and because tires are not as important, so that's really no gamble at all if they're not risking being low on fuel. 622. David posted: 11.10.2014 - 4:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) NASCAR won't change their precious new system (which has been thrilling to watch), so maybe they WILL change the points system. That would be great. Nearly anything would be an improvement over this grossly oversimplified, dumbed-down system. It's not like the Chase format is terribly straightforward, so why should the points structure be? "We know Gordon's won his last title" Unless you caught wind of a surprise early retirement for him, neither you or anybody else knows for sure. 623. murb posted: 11.10.2014 - 4:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Yet, far more drivers, sometimes more than half the field, get a lap back at the same time via the wave-around, where only one driver per caution can get the free pass." I can't really argue with that I guess. Maybe get rid of the wave around and keep the Lucky Dog then? I don't know. My point is that I think it's way too easy for these guys to get back on the lead lap if they fall a lap down early (Hamlin and Logano yesterday are good examples). I really want to see the drivers more challenged in that department and actually have it be a more serious situation when they go a lap down. 624. The Crimson King posted: 11.10.2014 - 4:39 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) I'm sure the kind of people that think whoever wins this abomination is a legitimate champion is the same kind of person that thinks the 2007 and 2011 New York Giants are also legitimate champions. (protip: they weren't) 625. The Crimson King posted: 11.10.2014 - 4:42 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "NASCAR won't change their precious new system (which has been thrilling to watch), so maybe they WILL change the points system. That would be great. Nearly anything would be an improvement over this grossly oversimplified, dumbed-down system. It's not like the Chase format is terribly straightforward, so why should the points structure be?" Simple solution: jack up the amount of points winners get and dump the chase. There, winning matters a lot more now! 626. cjs3872 posted: 11.10.2014 - 4:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) While NASCAR wanted to spice things up in the later races of the season by adapting the Chase, @618 & @620, I'm beginning to think they also did so to protect perhaps the most sacred record in the sport at the same time. For years, I didn't think that was the case, either, but the timing of NASCAR's most recent change to the Chase, along with the fact that Jimmie Johnson had just won his sixth title, one away from the record, combined with how the season has played out, can't be just coincidental. And I'm beginning to wonder if part of the reason NASCAR created the Chase wasn't to prevent Jeff Gordon from getting to seven titles, because by adding more potential title contenders, you also reduce the chances of the same driver and team winning the championship over and over again, which makes what Jimmie Johnson did from 2004-'13 that much more remarkable. I won't deny that NASCAR wanted to add spice to the end of the season, especially in the light of not having a truly competitive championship battle from 1998-2001, but I also wonder if they had an ulterior motive behind it, namely protecting their most sacred record and the two legends who share that record. And @620, you seem to forget that in 2002, Sterling Marlin was beginning to fade badly, even before he got hurt at Richmond, and the chances were that he was never going to be able to hold on to the points lead all the way to the finish of the season. So I think Tony Stewart and Mark Martin were going to be the ones battling at the end, even if Marlin had not gotten hurt. In fact, even if Marlin doesn't get hurt, I'm not sure he even finishes in the top five in points in 2002, despite leading for practically the entire season, that's how badly he and his team were fading. 627. racefangurl posted: 11.10.2014 - 4:48 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Joey's only a little older than Gordo was the first time he was champion. Gordo was 24 when he won his first championship and Joey is, too. I think it's a 10 week difference. And Anonymous, cancer's serious, so it's nothing to joke about. 628. SYH posted: 11.10.2014 - 4:52 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) For anyone bringing up league sports/football/etc, read this article, and replace all mentions of golf with NASCAR. Playoffs make (some) sense in head-to-head sports. Not in racing, (or, as this article argues, golf). http://grantland.com/the-triangle/putting-for-dough-analyzing-the-10-million-fedex-cup-finale/ 629. 24 fan posted: 11.10.2014 - 4:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Let me ask a question: If your car has two side skirts, do you get penalize? 630. GDR4 posted: 11.10.2014 - 5:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If you think the Chase is going anywhere - Jim Utter @jim_utter: KA BOOM: ESPN gets 2.8 overnight rating for Phoenix #nascar Sprint Cup race, up 21% from same race in 2013. Jim Utter @jim_utter Oh and in NASCAR ratings, the final ratings is ALWAYS higher than overnight, which means it will be even larger And real proud of the way Kevin and the team bounced back from the wreck at Martinsville with a strong run at Texas and total domination yesterday. 631. cjs3872 posted: 11.10.2014 - 5:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) David, the reason I think Gordon has won his last title is that, like DSFF has said over and over again, Gordon's style has never fit with the Chase format, a fact that's magnified even more with this new, 3-race per round, elimination format (remember that he never did very well in the IROC series). Not to mention that he'll be 44 and entering his 23rd season next year, and we all know that Jimmie Johnson's the #1 driver at Hendrick Motorsports. And every time he's come close to a championship over the last 11 years, he's gone into a slump afterwards. It happened in 2005-'06 after 2004, and from 2008-'10 after 2007. Even after his 2011 season, he slumped badly in 2012-'13. And as I mentioned, he'll be 44 next year, and only two drivers, Lee Petty and Bobby Allison, ever won a championship after their 44th birthday (Lee Petty won two of them past his 44th birthday), and Allison's title came in 1983, and no driver's ever won a title that deep into their career (their 23rd season). He may contend for wins, but this was his final title shot, and he came up short through no fault of his own. The real question surrounding Gordon is, can he win eight more races to get to 100 wins before he hangs it up? That, I think he CAN do, but I think that depends on what he does next year. And they should increase the number of points ALL the leading finishers get over what they get now, The Crimson King. By doing that, they would obviously increase what the winner gets over what the winner gets now, by at least one point per position throughout the top ten. The current system has the winner guaranteed 47 points. The one I've mentioned has the winner guaranteed at least 61, 60 for the win plus the guaranteed bonus point the winner would get for leading the race. And the winner would get about double the amount the 11th place finisher gets, 61 for the win and 33 for 11th place before the increments increase going further up the top ten. 632. Benjamin Lowe posted: 11.10.2014 - 5:19 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Ladies and Gentlemen of The Racing Reference Community I herby guarantee to each and every person on this comment board that NASCAR will face it's day of reckoning this Sunday and that's the bottom line cause Benjamin Lowe said so. 633. Chad's Hair Plugs posted: 11.10.2014 - 5:30 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Also, I wish they would let wins throughout the season count in each round of this system rather than just automatically giving everybody the same amount of points at the start of each round...)" I did a quick computation of that and the final 4 would be Logano, Gordon, Hamlin, and Harvick with his win booting out Brad. Logano would have a 3pt lead over Gordon and Harvick with Hamlin 12 back. I would prefer that wins count throughout rather than just for the easiest round. I think the reason Hamlin would be a farcical champion is not as much the race he missed as much as the giant points penalty he and the 11 team received at Indy that absolutely had no repercussions towards making the Chase or his standing during the rounds. 634. cjs3872 posted: 11.10.2014 - 5:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Exactly, racefangurl. In fact, in post #578, I mention that if Joey Logano did take the title at Homestead, that he would be the youngest champion since Jeff Gordon in 1995, when Gordon won it at an age about 10 weeks younger than Logano is now. Logano's rise since he joined Penske also shows that great drivers seem to have an innate ability to know who the next great ones are. At Atlanta in the fall of 1992, Richard Petty and his crew chief Robbie Loomis were watching cars go around the track prior to that season's final race, and Petty told Loomis to watch a certain rainbow-colored car, the one Jeff Gordon was driving, and told Loomis that Gordon was the next great one. Well, fast forward about 14 years to a time when another great driver in Mark Martin scouted out, and seemed to discover another great talent in a young kid named Joey Logano. Many people doubted Martin's judgment when Logano struggled at JGR, but when Logano got to Penske last year, his talent began to come through, and as it did, Mark Martin's predictions of Logano's future greatness seems now to be as prophetic as Petty's predictions about Gordon's greatness was on that day in 1992. The truly great ones can sometimes spot future greatness before anyone else can. Petty and Dale Earnhardt both knew how great Jeff Gordon would be seemingly before anyone else did, and Mark Martin spotted how good Joey Logano seems to be capable of being before anyone else did. 635. David posted: 11.10.2014 - 6:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "You just contradicted yourself, murb. You say that NASCAR should get rid of the free pass because it means that a driver getting lapped doesn't matter any more, yet at the same time, you say that they should keep the wave-around. Yet, far more drivers, sometimes more than half the field, get a lap back at the same time via the wave-around, where only one driver per caution can get the free pass." But drivers who use the wave-around don't pit, so that's a disadvantage right there. "Gordon's style has never fit with the Chase format, a fact that's magnified even more with this new, 3-race per round, elimination format" Magnified?? Gordon was IN the championship round until Turn 4 yesterday. If anything, this championship format has only reduced the effect of his late-season decline (or rather, a lack of consistency), benefiting him greatly. "For anyone bringing up league sports/football/etc, read this article, and replace all mentions of golf with NASCAR. Playoffs make (some) sense in head-to-head sports. Not in racing, (or, as this article argues, golf)." Funny you should mention golf, as the PGA's FedEx Cup was patterned after NASCAR's Chase. 636. 23andJoe posted: 11.10.2014 - 6:44 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) >Simple solution: jack up the amount of points winners get and dump the chase. There, winning matters a lot more now! Best solution: go back to the Latford points system, except give the winner 200 points. Bam. We're done here. >I can't really argue with that I guess. Maybe get rid of the wave around and keep the Lucky Dog then? Ironically, IMHO, the wave-around rule is actually the better of the two, because it does actually address a (moderately) actual problem; the fact that on some cautions, when a pack of lapped cars would stay out, the leader would find himself trapped in traffic midway through the field. This was unfair to the leader, created dangerous situations where faster cars HAD to cut through entire packs of slower ones, and was potentially confusing to fans ("The first car isn't the leader? What?") There's also a genuine DISadvantage to go along with the wave-around rule: you can't pit, therefore odds are your tires will be shot compared to everyone elses'. It's a gamble, and that's racin'. The Lucky Dog rule, on the other hand, was a good idea in concept (Removing racing back to the caution improves safety, but removes the chance for a lapped car to race the leader back to the line to get their lap back. Solution: first lapped car always gets its lap back) but has, in reality, proven to be prone to Shenanigans, both on the grounds of giving breaks to uncompetitive cars and from being "gamed" by competitive cars that had trouble early - coming back from one, two, even three laps down for a good finish isn't an achievement anymore. The solution, I believe, is to modify the rule, to make it actually closer to what used to happen with cars racing back to the line: when the caution comes out, ALL cars that are running on the track /between the leader and the second-place car/ get one lap back. This 'simulates' the leader slowing to give the lapped cars a break, AND requires a minimum standard of performance on the part of beneficiaries: if you're behind the second place car, no soup for you; if there are no lapped cars between first and second, nobody gets a lap back. The one exception would be if the leader has lapped the field; in that case, ONLY the second-place car would get a lap back, allowing for the 'normal process' to resume on subsequent cautions. 637. someone posted: 11.10.2014 - 7:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) About the wave around rule, if a driver is a lap down and the leaders pit but they stay out, wouldn't they have technically gotten a lap back in the process considering they passed the leader (wave around rule or not)? I don't really understand the hate, I think it makes sense... 638. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.10.2014 - 7:24 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) The following Tweet may be one of the best I've seen with regards to the The Chase. "@JayJayDean: @TheOrangeCone The "best driver" is a subjective thing. The "champion" is an objective thing. They don't have to be the same driver. Ever." 639. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.10.2014 - 7:30 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "About the wave around rule, if a driver is a lap down and the leaders pit but they stay out, wouldn't they have technically gotten a lap back in the process considering they passed the leader (wave around rule or not)? I don't really understand the hate, I think it makes sense..." I think the problem is massive amounts of drivers taking the wave around and then a getting a (often questionable debris) caution. The wave around was designed to be a risk. If you take the wave around and get a quick caution, then you're back on the lead lap and on roughly the same pit cycle as the leaders. But if the caution doesn't come out and you have to pit under green, then you're screwed. It was a good idea in theory, but te frequency of cautions have taken the risk factor almost completely out of it. 640. Eric posted: 11.10.2014 - 7:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) cjs3872, Harvick already clinched a future spot in the NASCAR Hall of Fame before getting a cup championship unlike Denny Hamlin. I am saying this because Harvick has cup more wins than Fred Lorenzen. Fred Lorenzen is part of the 2015 NASCAR Hall of Fame Class with 26 cup wins with no Championships. Kevin right now has 27 career wins in the cup series. Fred Lorenzen is the current low standard of the amount of cup wins you need for a NASCAR Hall of Fame spot without a cup championship. There is a couple things you didn't look in terms of Kevin. NASCAR Hall of Fame voters do look at a drivers career outside of the cup series and is capable of looking at what you as a team owner. Kevin has a NASCAR south West Series Championship and Busch Series Championships as a driver in NASCAR. Kevin as a Truck Series owner has 43 wins and 2 championships. KHI was an organization that you can't tell the history of the Truck Series without as a result. What Kevin did outside of the cup series in NASCAR makes his future NASCAR Hall of Fame spot cliched if you combine Kevin's 27 career career wins. 641. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.10.2014 - 8:00 pm Rate this comment: (1) (3) If you thought the discussion topics here couldn't possibly sink any lower, I'm afraid I've got some bad news. So the chase was a conspiracy to keep Gordon from getting 7 titles? Jeff Gordon? The prototype for the ideal commercially viable driver? The driver with more name recognition than anyone else in the field other than Dale Jr and Danican't, and their name recognition is the Kardashian Memorial Name Recognition? They don't want him breaking records then putting him on every show to talk about it in his ultra polished manner? Cjs, are you shi**ing me? Are you opening up my mouth and shi**ing directly into it? You think Brian France gives a rat's ass about Dale and Richard other than the money their nostalgia can bring in, which is way less than could be made with Jeff Gordon 8 time champ merchandise? That has got to be one of the dumbest things I have ever read. They let that 24 team get away with murder. The big money penalty in '95 after Charlotte but no points penalty? The TRex car? BEING ADDED AS A THIRTEENTH MEMBER OF THE GODDAMN 2013 CHASE!!!! Yeesh. 642. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.10.2014 - 8:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And I never said the chase "didn't fit Jeff's style". I said he can't close championship seasons. 643. Anonymous posted: 11.10.2014 - 8:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^Reading this made me lose my MENSA status. 644. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.10.2014 - 8:35 pm Rate this comment: (7) (1) As for the "why is there a chase?". Because after the epic 1992 points race and Hooter's 500, here are how the championships were won: 1993: In the final race, Dale only needs to finish 34th to clinch the title. Enough cars fall out prior to halfway. Although Dale did give us excitement on the 2nd lap by going 3 wide. Why? Because he was Dale Earnhardt, and you aren't. 1994: Dale clinches his record tying seventh championship by winning a race at a track that wasn't his best in dramatic fashion. There is just one problem. THERE WERE STILL TWO RACES LEFT. 1995: Gordon only needs to lead a lap or avoid finishing last in the final race. Seeing as how he had a 304 point lead 4 races earlier, they were lucky it was that close. 1996 & 1997: What should have been undramatic walk offs, but Gordon bailed them out by shitting the bed in the end. 1998: Gordon leads a lap before halfway in the second to last race to clinch it. 1999: Dale Jarrett clinches it in the second to last race. 2000: Bobby Labonte completes all but NINE FREAKING LAPS all year leading to him clinching one week early and ending Dale's storybook run, spending the Summer in the title chase for the first time since the Summer of 1996. 2001: Gordon gets a big lead, September ends, he doesn't finish in the Top 5 again, but his competition gags even worse. He clinches a week early. 2002: A topsy turvy points race, but not in the fun way (a lot like 1991). Tony finishes 18th and wins the championship. 2003: Kenseth wins just once in the 3rd race, but builds a HUGE lead by early Summer and mostly holds it. Clinches a week early. For the record, I have no problem with this, but this is why they want to bunch everything up late. 645. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.10.2014 - 9:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Damn, I knew my Panthers were bad, but I didn't know it was THIS bad. Yikes. 646. cjs3872 posted: 11.10.2014 - 9:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I thought you had said that in the past, DSFF. If you didn't, then I'm sorry for the error, and apologize for the oversight. And yes, I'm starting to wonder if NASCAR had some kind of ulterior motive behind not only coming up with the Chase, but altering it this year, and I do wonder if one thing they're trying to protect is that seven championships record. What happened this year regarding Jimmie Johnson's chase for that seventh title actually is what's giving more reason to believe that than Jeff chasing down that mark a decade ago, since he was, still is, and now always will be three away. I think we can all agree that NASCAR wanted to spice up their championship battles. Even the epic 1992 championship showdown at Atlanta was more a result of two collapses than a close race throughout the season, and since then, only the 1996 championship race was competitive throughout the season. Frankly, I wish they would go back to the way it was before the Chase, since it really would identify who the best driver and team are throughout the course of the season. But we know that will likely not happen any time soon, if ever. 647. cjs3872 posted: 11.10.2014 - 10:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) At least you're not a Bears, Raiders, or Jaguars fan, DSFF. At least with the Panthers, you have a chance to see a team succeed, but the Bears, Raiders, and Jaguars seem hopeless. In fact, the Raiders seem headed for an 0-16 season. 648. Eric posted: 11.10.2014 - 10:30 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) At least the Raiders and the Jaguars do have a quarterback to build around. The catch is the Jaguars and the Raiders have problems in terms of surrounding talent. The Bears problem is they have a good running back, 2 big targets in Wide Receivers, but Jay Cutler isn't the right quarterback for that team with the salary he is making. The Bears also signed one of the biggest busts in the free agent market in Jarred Allen. I am saying this as a long time Greenbay Packer Fan. Chicago actually did the Packers a favor by allowing Peppers to sign with us. 649. The Crimson King posted: 11.10.2014 - 11:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) At least you're not a Falcons fan. That shit is painful. 650. 23andJoe posted: 11.10.2014 - 11:53 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) >About the wave around rule, if a driver is a lap down and the leaders pit but they stay out, wouldn't they have technically gotten a lap back in the process considering they passed the leader (wave around rule or not)? I don't really understand the hate, I think it makes sense... Exactly - that's the point of the wavearound rule. Prior to it, cars that stayed out would restart behind the pace car but in front of the leader, on the tail end of the lead lap and with the leader trapped behind them. Now, they're "waved around" and allowed to make up the rest of their lap. 651. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.11.2014 - 2:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) OK, So here are some of my thoughts NASCAR should adopt an Australian V8 Supercar-style points system, they do reward wins a lot more than here in NASCAR. And it isn't just NASCAR that have had champions before the final round DSFF, V8 Supercars have had it before (And if Whincup leaves Philip Island with >300 point lead, then he wins with 1 round remaining) 652. Scott B posted: 11.11.2014 - 2:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The difference being that under the old system, cars staying out under caution to get a lap back would have to be as fast on old tires as the leaders on new tires behind them in order to hold that lap. Under the wave around, they just have to hope another caution falls before the leaders stretch the field out and come all the way around to catch the back of the pack again. That's a huge difference. 653. cjs3872 posted: 11.11.2014 - 8:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Are you sure about that, Eric? That's because I'm not sure that any of those teams I mentioned has much at QB, though for the Raiders, Jaguars, Bears, Falcons, and Panthers, the QB is the least of their problems. The Bears, Panthers, and Falcons all have dreadful defenses, nobody cares about the Jaguars, and the Raiders are looking to move again, this time to San Antonio. But I'm not convinced that the Raiders and Jaguars have much of anything at QB, and the Bears are so bad where they have traditionally been so good (defense and running back) that they have the Papa Bear, George Halas, rolling in his grave. After all, their defense is the worst in the storied history of the franchise, their running game isn't much better, and their QB has always been a head case. At least the Panthers and Falcons have a shot to win their division this year (because it's so bad), and both teams are solid at QB. And also, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin were both probably headed to the Hall of Fame anyway, particularly Harvick, but a championship by either one certifies it. Actually, both Harvick and Hamlin have pretty similar career totals, even though Hamlin's done it in less time. The one advantage Harvick has over Hamlin is obviously in big race wins, as he joined the very exclusive list of drivers to have won every big race on the circuit at least once with his win in the Southern 500 this year. Remember, that's a list that not even Hall of Famers Cale Yarborough (83 wins), Rusty Wallace (55 wins), Lee Petty (54 wins), Ned Jarrett (50 wins), Junior Johnson (50 wins), and Bill Elliott (44 wins) are on, as each failed to win at least one of the crown jewels. And Ryan Newman's candidacy is still iffy, even if he wins the championship, despite wins in the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400, and the All-Star Race. 654. Spen posted: 11.11.2014 - 9:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I posted this last night, but it appears to have been eaten. Cjs: I agree that the new redesign was intended to make it harder for Johnson to win another title, but I disagree about France's motivation. As DSFF said, he doesn't give two craps about Petty and Earnhardt's legacies. Was he does care about are some raw rumbers. After the peak in 2005, ratings went steadily down during Johnson's title runs. Therefore, Jimmie Johnson winning a championship = lower ratings. For those who are interested, using F1 points, Brad currently leads with 317 points, and holds a slim three point lead over Gordon, who is looking for his first F1 point title since 2001. Among the final four, Logano has the most points with 291. Harvick's not far behind with 273. Hamlin however only has 154, putting him in tenth place (behind Larson even!) While Newman is sitting way back in fourteenth with only 103. To put that into perspective, that's fewer points than Mike Skinner had in 1999. 655. racefangurl posted: 11.11.2014 - 10:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (3) What someone said about wanting to watch it burn in regard to NASCAR, that's kind of how I feel about Nationwide/Xfinity next year. That series is nothing but a joke now. 656. The Long Shot posted: 11.11.2014 - 10:43 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) "What someone said about wanting to watch it burn in regard to NASCAR, that's kind of how I feel about Nationwide/Xfinity next year. That series is nothing but a joke now." Yep, totally. All because an 18 year-old had the AUDACITY to beat the crap out of a bunch of veterans (including Regan Smith and Elliott Sadler, both of whom spent a number of years in Cup) and a few fellow young guns. I know pretty much everyone on this board has said this, but seriously, your logic regarding Elliott is maybe the worst I've ever heard. 657. racefangurl posted: 11.11.2014 - 10:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) They say great drivers can spot other great drivers. Joey's been called "the real deal" and maybe what Mark Martin predicted about Joey when he called him that can be realized Sunday. When I became a Trevor Bayne and Joey Logano fan in spring 2011, I got excited about the future of NASCAR, since they were said to be that. Jeff Gordon and the Wood Brothers, and apparently Roush, have believed in Trevor. I believe Trevor can still be that if circumstances fall right, as long as his health holds. Joey, as a Penske driver seems to be showing himself to be the future of NASCAR. Let the future roll!, as I said about these drives. I said of Trevor, right before his first Bristol Cup race started, "He ain't bad, he's learnin'." 658. Hinch77 posted: 11.11.2014 - 10:58 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "As for the "why is there a chase?". Because after the epic 1992 points raceand Hooter's 500, here are how the championships were won: 1993: In the final race, Dale only needs to finish 34th to clinch the title. Enough cars fall out prior to halfway. Although Dale did give us excitement on the 2nd lap by going 3 wide. Why? Because he was Dale Earnhardt, and you aren't. 1994: Dale clinches his record tying seventh championship by winning a race at a track that wasn't his best in dramatic fashion. There is just one problem. THERE WERE STILL TWO RACES LEFT. 1995: Gordon only needs to lead a lap or avoid finishing last in the final race. Seeing as how he had a 304 point lead 4 races earlier, they were lucky it was that close. 1996 & 1997: What should have been undramatic walk offs, but Gordon bailed them out by shitting the bed in the end. 1998: Gordon leads a lap before halfway in the second to last race to clinch it. 1999: Dale Jarrett clinches it in the second to last race. 2000: Bobby Labonte completes all but NINE FREAKING LAPS all year leading to him clinching one week early and ending Dale's storybook run, spending the Summer in the title chase for the first time since the Summer of 1996. 2001: Gordon gets a big lead, September ends, he doesn't finish in the Top 5 again, but his competition gags even worse. He clinches a week early. 2002: A topsy turvy points race, but not in the fun way (a lot like 1991). Tony finishes 18th and wins the championship. 2003: Kenseth wins just once in the 3rd race, but builds a HUGE lead by early Summer and mostly holds it. Clinches a week early. For the record, I have no problem with this, but this is why they want to bunch everything up late. " I agree with this post fully. Just think about an earlier discussion: without the Chase, the 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2013 would all have been clinched a week or two early, sometimes by a driver who didn't win the title, and this year the title race would be effectively over. This is EXACTLY what NASCAR doesn't want. In a sense... They don't want greatness. 659. racefangurl posted: 11.11.2014 - 11:21 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) They want drama and a Game 7 moment at the end and poo on you if you don't like that. Is that NASCAR's attitude or what? 660. Cornys posted: 11.11.2014 - 12:01 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) How can you say that ratings saw a double digit gain at Phoenix when the overnight is a 2.8 and the previous year they saw a 2.7 (4% gain) The overnight last week for Texas was 2.5 (12% gain). Those numbers are hardly the gains they are advertised to be by the posts above. 661. We need more Onion posted: 11.11.2014 - 12:06 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) You know guys, I'd like to see a scenario like this: Newman leads the most laps (unlikely, I know) and falls back to let's say 17th. Now, Hamlin and Harvick find a Dillon and finish well-back. Logano finishes 16th, but leads no lap. That way, Newman WINS WITHOUT WINNING A RACE AND WITHOUT PLACING THE BEST IN THE SUPER BOWL! That would be a true spit in ASSCAR's eye. 662. Hinch77 posted: 11.11.2014 - 12:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^Except there is no laps led bonus for this race to prevent that sort of thing from happening. Not even the non-Chasers can get the laps led bonuses. 663. Cornys posted: 11.11.2014 - 12:21 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) NASCAR never believed in the K.I.S.S. principal. (Keep It Simple Stupid) I miss simple things. 664. Cornys posted: 11.11.2014 - 12:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) You guys do understand that the idea of marketing is exciting your fan base and encouraging them to buy more of your product. NASCAR's chase is a marketing element and its doing the exact opposite by angering the most loyal of its fans who drew in their friends. The way marketing works is that you poll your fans/customers and see if they like changes or like the idea of changes you propose. If anybody in NASCAR knows much of anything about marketing they will make some drastic changes this off season. I've only taken one college class on marketing and I know this marketing principal. Large numbers of angry customers as a result of a marketing move is the hallmark of a bad marketing decision. The new chase might draw in more attention for a little while, but in the end its going to stagnate just as the old chase did after having drawn away a lot of loyal and profitable customers. The success of this strategy relies on an influx of happy and excited fans that will become as loyal as the ones that were chased away by the change. Racing is a niche sport that attracts few, and the period of excitement this produces coincides with the elephant in the room (NFL). It's hard to pull people away from that which their friends watch (and always have) in order to watch something else which nobody else watches. I just don't think that the numbers will add up for this format, and I think that NASCAR will realize it. Escalation of Commitment has been their response to their poor choices in the past (that they've realized) but I don't think it's possible to escalate this commitment to entertainment (and away from sport) any further. 665. Hinch77 posted: 11.11.2014 - 12:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I like DSFF more than racefangurl... That's all. 666. MStall41 posted: 11.11.2014 - 1:28 pm Rate this comment: (1) (3) Final ratings for Phoenix came out today. Phoenix pulled a 3.1 rating and 5.0 million viewers, a huge gain over last year's 2.7 and 4.2 million viewers. Google search interest is at an all time high for NASCAR in the month of November, and the sport genuinely appears to be surging. You can all make your claim that everyone hates the new Chase, but I've seen equally as many hardcore fans bill it as the best thing NASCAR has done in awhile. Whether you all like it or not, this format actually appears to be working, and for the first time in forever, the MSM actually seems to give a rats ass about the sport. For the unusual minority of the fanbase that is willing to shirk mainstream growth for old school purity, I guess this all sucks for you. But for those of us who enjoy seeing the sport grow, I don't think you can argue that this new Chase format hasn't helped. 667. Hinch77 posted: 11.11.2014 - 2:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Final ratings for Phoenix came out today. Phoenix pulled a 3.1 rating and 5.0 million viewers, a huge gain over last year's 2.7 and 4.2 million viewers. Google search interest is at an all time high for NASCAR in the month of November, and the sport genuinely appears to be surging. You can all make your claim that everyone hates the new Chase, but I've seen equally as many hardcore fans bill it as the best thing NASCAR has done in awhile. Whether you all like it or not, this format actually appears to be working, and for the first time in forever, the MSM actually seems to give a rats ass about the sport. For the unusual minority of the fanbase that is willing to shirk mainstream growth for old school purity, I guess this all sucks for you. But for those of us who enjoy seeing the sport grow, I don't think you can argue that this new Chase format hasn't helped. " And searches for the NHC and NWS peak during active hurricane season. 668. Hinch77 posted: 11.11.2014 - 2:10 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Seems appropriate that MStall41 would have post 666... 669. racefangurl posted: 11.11.2014 - 2:19 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) I'm kind of ok in a way right? I don't swear or insult you guys. Harvick and Logano are the strong championship contenders and Newman and Hamlin are dark horse potential champions, right? 670. Cornys posted: 11.11.2014 - 2:37 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) The final ratings are much better. Disregard my previous statements about TV ratings. Earlier numbers were just saying 2.7 but the finals are now showing 3.1 (now earlier reports are making sense) I feel like I'm in an anti-utopian novel right now with regard to NASCAR. If interest is up, it is up. For years I've wanted nothing more than for NASCAR and auto racing to become more popular. I've pushed for it. I've fought for it. Now that the decline has been reversed (if only temporarily) I cannot stand the reasons that it is occurring. I just hope with everything that I have that IndyCar and Formula 1 avoid following this path or I will be out of safe haven for pure racing enjoyment on a national level. For me, popularity is relevant, but it shouldn't come at the expense of the true competition of events. This is inexcusable for people like me who desire some form of entertainment greater than fabrication and manipulation. These last couple of years have produced a completely helpless feeling with regard to NASCAR. 671. Cornys posted: 11.11.2014 - 2:43 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) The only hope I have is that the interest is bad interest, and the novelty of the new format wears off quickly. I think the thing purists are really fighting is the fan base. We're not fighting France or NASCAR. They do know what they are doing, because the fan base is WWE's (for the most part). What is a purist to do? (nothing) The only positive in the deal is that the purists will likely flee to IndyCar and help them as well. 672. Anonymous posted: 11.11.2014 - 3:13 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) the crew chiefs on the #24 and #5 are wrong, both crew chiefs were suspended for 6 weeks do to the fight after the Texas race 673. David posted: 11.11.2014 - 4:10 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) ^No, they weren't. They were placed on probation. 674. cjs3872 posted: 11.11.2014 - 4:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That extends beyond just auto racing, racefangurl (#657). In just about any sport, the greats can spot future greatness in others before anyone else can because they can see not just the talent, but also the intangibles that can't be easily seen by those on the outside. We know that Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt saw greatness in Jeff Gordon before virtually anyone else within NASCAR did, with the possible exception of Rick Hendrick. And we all know the story of how Mark Martin is credited with being the one that discovered Joey Logano. And it was Jeff Gordon that spotted future greatness in Jimmie Johnson long before anyone else did. But that's also the case in other sports, because the true greats know what it takes to become great, and not everyone has that, but the greats can spot it before anyone else can because they have those same hidden intangibles, and can spot them easier than anyone else can. A.J. Foyt once saw those qualities in a young driver from Albuquerque by the name of Al Unser, and Foyt put him in one of his cars at Indy in 1965, and the rest is history. 675. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.11.2014 - 4:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sunday's race at Homestead is a sellout. 676. 23andJoe posted: 11.11.2014 - 4:58 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) >Now that the decline has been reversed (if only temporarily) I cannot stand the reasons that it is occurring. I just hope with everything that I have that IndyCar and Formula 1 avoid following this path Formula One: Double points finale. Cave Johnson, we're done here. 677. Anonymous posted: 11.11.2014 - 4:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "And searches for the NHC and NWS peak during active hurricane season." I don't think you understand what I'm talking about. Obviously NASCAR has annual search trend peaks every year. This years typical "Chase peak" is disproportionately higher than in recent years, ergo, raw interest in the sport is up. Hence, not really sure where you're going with the hurricane analogy (well....I do know what you're getting at, it's just off base). 678. MStall41 posted: 11.11.2014 - 5:01 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, the two above posts are me, forgot to type my name in the box 679. The Long Shot posted: 11.11.2014 - 5:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I'm kind of ok in a way right? I don't swear or insult you guys. Harvick and Logano are the strong championship contenders and Newman and Hamlin are dark horse potential champions, right?" No, you don't, which is why I can respect you as a poster. Again, I don't think anyone hates you (although some of us, myself included, can be a bit too harsh towards you at times). If you want the criticism to ease off, I would just advise you to maybe rethink your opinions on Chase a little bit, to maybe expand your topics of posting a little (perhaps less Logano and Bayne updates), and overall to think your posts out a little more. Trust me: as someone who made a bad name of himself on this board VERY early on, I can tell you that a change of attitude goes a long way. ;) 680. Eric posted: 11.11.2014 - 5:27 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) CJS3872, I disagree with you on Raiders and Jaguars don't have much of anything at Quarterback. The Raiders and Jaguars have rookies at quarterbacks and I normally give the 2 or 3 years. I actually think Derek Carr is having a good year as a rookie quarterback. Derek Carr's 61 percent completion percentage, and 13 touchdowns isn't bad compare to 9 interceptions for the Raiders. Derek Carr actually is much more accurate as rookie than Andrew luck was. Andrew Luck in 2012 as rookie only completed 54 percent of passes along with 23 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. The record isn't on the quarterback as much as the supporting cast because teams would like a rookie quarterback that has 9 interceptions, but 13 touchdown passes and a good completion percentage. When James Jones is your reception leader, there is a problem. I am saying this as a Packer fan. James Jones had problems catching the football with the Packers at times. The Raiders also have a running game problem due to the fact they only average 3.4 yards a carry with Darren Mcfadden and Maurice Jones-Drew as your top 2 running backs. Mcfadden and Jones-Drew also are know to be injury prone also. The Raiders also did bad free agent signings in a lot of cases included Maurice Jones-Drew, Justin Tuck and Lamarr Woodley as examples. They signed big name players that are past their prime including on defense at time that they didn't resign their best young defensive players. Blake Bortles has worse numbers than Derek Carr does for touchdowns and interceptions although he has a high completion percentage, but the Jaguars have a poor offensive line. 681. Hinch77 posted: 11.11.2014 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) "Sunday's race at Homestead is a sellout. " All 75,000 seats... the lowest non-road course capacity in the sport... 682. Eric posted: 11.11.2014 - 5:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) CJS3872, You got a fact wrong about the Chicago Bears. You are partly wrong on were the Bear traditionally good are bad at now. The Bears are bad on defense, but not at running back. I don't know you are acting like the bears are bad at two things, but it really is one. You don't have tell me the traditional of the bears, since I been a Packer fan since the days of Mike Ditka has a head coach back in the 1980's. When I also thought the Bears, I thought of great linebackers, good or great running backs dating back to Walter Payton and Neal Anderson. Neal Anderson was underrated as running back. Chicago overall at their best was great on defense, good offensive line, and a good running back. Chicago to me really hasn't had great quarterback since Sid Luckman. While Matt Forte is going to be 29 in December, he's having a great all around season as a running back. The problem at Running back for the bears is the fact they need a younger running back since Forte is going to be 29 in December and that is old in running back terms. Any team would like a running back that already has over 1,000 yards rushing and receiving combined like Matt Forte has. Matt Forte is no Walter Payton or Gale Sayers, but he always been a very good running back. Matt Forte actually is on pace having his 2nd straight season of over 1,800 yards of rushing and receiving combined. Matt Forte is having a great season as a running back despite being a Chicago bear despite you claim of the Bears having a bad . Forte is on pace to have to have over a 1,000 rushing while averaging 4.2 yards per carry. Matt Forte also has another 517 yards receiving as a running back in just 10 games. Matt Forte already has 1,133 yards rushing and receiving combined. That means Matt Forte actually is having a Marshall Faulk/ Roger Craig type season. Marshall Faulk and Roger Craig were you duel threat running backs like Matt Forte is right now. Matt Forte matter of fact since he came in the league always been the same type of a back Marshall Faulk and Roger Craig was. Forte is you duel threat as a rusher and receiver out of the backfield like Faulk and Craig was in their primes. 683. David posted: 11.11.2014 - 6:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Trust me: as someone who made a bad name of himself on this board VERY early on, I can tell you that a change of attitude goes a long way. ;)" Bad name? You? Surely you jest. 684. The Long Shot posted: 11.11.2014 - 6:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Bad name? You? Surely you jest." Nope. From random immature posts to satire to HTML coding madness, I'd say I covered a pretty broad spectrum during my first few months. 685. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.11.2014 - 6:31 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Race gurl, don't worry about what these people think. Just keep being you. And remember this one fact: if cjs says you are wrong about something, you are definitely right. He says the greats can see greatness in others. Yet 99 times out of 100, when a great retires and becomes a GM or owner, they totally suck at it cause they pick crappy talent. You can count the number of legendary athletes that became legendary decision makers for teams on one hand. Larry Bird (only player ever in any sport to win MVP as a player, Coach of the Year, and GM of the Year), Jerry West, Michael Andretti, Mike Ditka..... that is pretty much it. Bill Russell's final two years as player/coach doesn't count. He had the team Auerbach built and he had the best player in the league, the best player ever besides MJ, a guy by the name of Bill Russell. Plus his years with Seattle and Sacremento were garbage. 686. racefangurl posted: 11.11.2014 - 6:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Watto fixed me on Chase because he compared him to Joey Logano and I like to talk about my favorite drivers, but I'll try to talk about other stuff more. I'll try to think my posts out better. 687. Anonymous posted: 11.11.2014 - 7:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Seems appropriate that MStall41 would have post 666..." Looooove you <3 :) 688. cjs3872 posted: 11.11.2014 - 7:54 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) It's much harder to judge talent in the "stick and ball" sports than it is in racing, DSFF, if for no other reason than you're picking players by the dozen, rather than one at a time. But you are dead on about great players not making great coaches or GMs. In fact, the only great player to win a World Series title as a manager in modern times is Bob Lemon, who was the ace of the Cleveland Indians pitching staff in the late 40s and the 50s (along with Bob Feller in the late 40s), getting to two World Series, and helping the Indians win the 1948 World Series, and his contributions were even more important considering that Feller pitched the two games the Indians lost in the '48 World Series. He helped get them there again in 1954, and in 1978, he turned a sinking Yankee ship to an eventual World Series title. But Feller and Larry Bird are the acute exceptions to the rule. Others, such as Jerry West, while not a highly successful head coach, more than made up for it as a GM, with the Lakers, and now helping to build the Golden State Warriors into contenders. And by the way, you mentioned Michael Andretti as a racing great that's able to be as great an owner as he was a driver. But even he has a long way to go to catch up with the best in that regard, a fellow by the name of Junior Johnson, who may have been even better as an owner than he was as a driver, which is saying a great deal. However, I disagree with you about Mike Ditka, because I don't think of him as highly as a head coach as you and a few others seem to. In fact, he inherited much of the team that won in the 80s, which by the way, included defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, who had been there for a few years before Ditka got there as a head coach. But when his teams won, everyone else in the division was mediocre to terrible, so he didn't have much competition. When the other teams began to become more competitive, Ditka and his Bears struggled to keep up with the competition. But I think the problems the great players have as coaches and GMs have more to do with building, and keeping a team together than it does with evaluating and assessing talent. But when you look at other sports, such as racing, golf, and tennis, to name three, the greats seem to be able to realize the potential greatness of their successors, as well as others that end up being contemporaries (the example I mentioned regarding A.J. Foyt and Al Unser is a case in point here). And speaking of other sports, has this been one of the crazier years in the NFL, or what? In the NFC South, which has been as bad a division as I've seen, something that includes the NFC West in 2010 when the Seahawks won it with a losing record, you don't have anyone even at .500, while in the AFC North, you have the compete opposite happening, as every team, including the one-time weak stepchild of that division, the current division-leading Cleveland Browns, are at least two games above .500. Is it me, or is there more really good teams than there have been, and really bad teams than there have been, including the Raiders, who may go 0-16 this year. If you look at the standings, which I'll pay a bit more attention to after this weekend, there seem to be more really good teams battling for the playoffs, especially in the AFC, where there are quite a few surprise teams making playoff pushes, such as Cleveland, Miami, and even Buffalo, and teams like Arizona and Detroit seem like near-locks to make the NFC playoffs at this point, with Dallas, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Green Bay also up there, with the 49ers also lurking. In other words, we may see the NFL playoffs visit a few unusual locations this year, and with the Cardinals doing so well, could it be possible that both the NFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl will be played in the same stadium in the same season for the very first time, as the Cardinals host the Super Bowl this season. 689. racefangurl posted: 11.12.2014 - 9:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) How dramatic will Homestead be? There's only two true contenders, Harvick and Logano. If they get side by side, I might have a heart attack lol. Maybe I shouldn't joke about heart attacks, since one of my dad's friends had one. He's still here, though. They're serious, but I have a Facebook friend that said she practically had a heart attack over her favorite basketball team last season. Well, I'd be pretty excited in that moment, with this Chase. I don't know if you think drama could happen, but I could imagine it. 690. racefangurl posted: 11.12.2014 - 10:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (2) Did you know a skunk got into the Phoenix garage? That stinks. Someone called the skunk Jeremy Sprayfield on Twitter, in the name the skunk game. 691. Scott B posted: 11.12.2014 - 11:03 am Rate this comment: (3) (0) "This years typical "Chase peak" is disproportionately higher than in recent years, ergo, raw interest in the sport is up." All it took was a brawl in the garage, a winless mid-packer wrecking someone in order to put himself in the championship, and a driver being accused of domestic violence. Yeah, things have never been better for the sport. Good job, everyone! 692. DaleSrFanForever posted: 11.12.2014 - 12:08 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Lol, speaking of the NFC South, Panthers coach Ron Rivera insists Cam Newton isn't injured. Are you serious? He can't even walk! Watch him walking to the huddle. Fred Samford looked better walking. I love Riverboat Ron and Cam is my boy, but it is obvious he is injured. Not that it really matters though. With our swiss cheese defense, and promising but currently inconsistent young WRs, we aren't going anywhere. 693. SYH posted: 11.12.2014 - 12:30 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The last race to actually see interest spike over last year was Watkins Glen. Guess what happened the week prior to that race? So as long as we keep having brawls, and drivers keep getting involved in fatal accidents at dirt tracks, NASCAR will be booming again. 694. JP88 posted: 11.12.2014 - 1:57 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) If they just tweak some things in the New Chase, I honestly won't have a problem with it. 1. For one, make the cut-off the Top 20 in points. I think to be a championship contender you have to at least be Top 20 in points. They did it previously with the wild card rules in past chases. 2. Since it's improbable of 16 different race winners in 26 races, make it 12 winners, 4 highest in points without a win. 3. Bonus points in the chase based on wins/standing after each round. Instead of everyone starting at the same total. Winners should get bonus points in every round but the last. They did it for round 1, but it should be done for 2 and 3. Also if you are leading the points after the 1st 3 races, I think you should get a couple points thrown your way. 4. Another idea is to cut down on the # of rounds. How about have the Top 16 run 5 races before knocking people out since that at least gives more of a sample size than 3 races. This would at least give teams a mulligan. Then the Top 10 is narrowed down to 4 for Homestead with the same rules. I'm pretty sure Ryan Newman wouldn't of lasted if this was the case. 695. racefangurl posted: 11.12.2014 - 2:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm excited about the future of NASCAR! 696. Sean posted: 11.12.2014 - 2:22 pm Rate this comment: (5) (0) "Newman has been a "Ricky Rudd" level journeyman driver with a legacy of an 8 win season, a Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 & All-Star Race win." Whoa. No way. First off, Rudd is not a journeyman. When I think of journeyman I'd think of some mid-packer like Hut Stricklin, Rick Mast, Derrike Cope, whatever. Maybe you could argue a little higher than that (Morgan Shepherd, Bobby Hamilton, Ward Burton), but still, Rudd is way out of that class. Second, Newman is not even close to Rudd. Newman's record looks much better than it actually is, he has numerous completely invisible seasons (including this one, to be honest), and he has lucked into more wins than not, which most 10+ winners can't say. He might be the *worst* driver with 10+ wins in NASCAR history. Not having a top five points finish is pretty bad. Penske was not great, but definitely not terrible, when he was there. Rudd may have never had a knockout season but he rarely if ever (except in his latter years as an owner-driver when all owner-drivers and single car teams were failing) had a bad one in his prime. Rudd basically is like Terry Labonte without lucking into weak championships and with a bunch more road course races. I'd put Labonte and Rudd about even. Would you call Labonte a journeyman? Rudd was also a lot more diverse than Newman, who lucks into most wins except for the 1-mile ovals where he can dominate. "I do have to admit I like this chase format better than the old one." I unfortunately agree with that too, but the problem is still the problem. NASCAR refuses to produce a points system that weighs good finishes correctly. Even with the so-called classic Latford points system and this chase format, Gordon probably would have made it over Newman as his 2nd place finishes would have been at least weighted a little (unless he would have missed with the previous round). The Latford system at least had improving from 3rd to 2nd be worth more than improving from 33rd to 32nd, but this system doesn't even have that. Really, I don't think Gordon has himself, Keselowski, or Newman to blame for this as much as a bogus base for the points system. This format for the Chase is more compelling than the last one, but the problem remains the inability to reward top finishes properly with the middle positions being awarded way too much. "Serious question that I want someone to answer for me...why don't fans of other sports have this existential crisis about championship legitimacy that NASCAR fans have? And if they do, why don't they let that ruin the sport for them the way NASCAR fans do?" Tradition. In my view, the only justification for playoffs in other sports is tradition. I prefer to see the best team over an entire year to be rewarded even if it is less exciting. The fewer games that are used to decide a champion, the more likely it will have to do with random luck or other factors that reduce the probability that the best team will win. While there are certain athletes who may be clutch and others who are not in general I don't believe that's enough justification for playoffs anywhere. Playoffs only exist to create artificial excitement and big ratings and big money. I'm okay with that in the traditional sports that have had them for decades, only in the sense that it is a tradition. I don't favor playoff formats being added to sports that didn't originally have them. This isn't just NASCAR. "Prior to that, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that he would at least get to that seven championship mark, but the Chase put a stop to that." Honestly, I thought when it was introduced that Gordon would have trouble with it given his weak late-season finishes. If the ten races selected for the championship had been during the summer (between the 600 and Southern 500), when he usually had his best stretch, he may have won several more. If the chase tracks rotated, I might have less of a problem with it, but it also randomly biases the season towards a certain set of tracks that ended up just being there because of having desirable weather in the fall. Gordon's best tracks were the tracks that held races in the summer, so this definitely played against his strengths. "That's why I say the wave-around is one of the dumbest things they've come up with." No way. It's far superior to cars on the tail end of the lead lap blocking the track for the leaders. That's one recent change that I think is an improvement. At least it's better than IndyCar's wave around where they actually let cars PIT after taking the wave around so they have fresher tires as well, which I find far more ridiculous. I didn't mind the lucky dog either as it was better than leaders letting off the gas and letting as many as 10 or 15 cars back on the lead lap in the latter years of the gentleman's agreement. I agree that lucky dog is now redundant since the wave-around exists, but lucky dog is what I would get rid of. "I just hope with everything that I have that IndyCar and Formula 1 avoid following this path or I will be out of safe haven for pure racing enjoyment on a national level." They're not pure. Lots of people go on here about IndyCar's purity. I enjoy it more, but they often have bogus officiating, double-points races (hate, although at least the 500-mile races used to have more weight at some time), doubleheaders on street courses, usually the ones that hold the worst racing (hate), Indy 500 qualifying points (hate BIG TIME), a push-to-pass button (gimmicky, but I'm okay with it), can't afford to race on many of the best tracks, attendance continuing to decline on ovals, etc... IndyCar is more pure than NASCAR, but I wouldn't say purity. F1 isn't pure either. The double points at Abu Dhabi are very chase-like (and what an unimportant track...) Every one of those series chases money over historic venues, etc... I like IndyCar most of the three, but I wouldn't call them pure either. 697. 1995 Subaru WRX STi posted: 11.12.2014 - 4:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Having sat back watch the crazyness insue, i'll comment. "4. Another idea is to cut down on the # of rounds. How about have the Top 16 run 5 races before knocking people out since that at least gives more of a sample size than 3 races. This would at least give teams a mulligan. Then the Top 10 is narrowed down to 4 for Homestead with the same rules. I'm pretty sure Ryan Newman wouldn't of lasted if this was the case." I agree with this. While i agree with the rounds idea, after 5 races you have a sample size big enough too start getting rid of people. If you plan on keeping the "win and advance" rule then i say you have something here. "2. Since it's improbable of 16 different race winners in 26 races, make it 12 winners, 4 highest in points without a win." 16 is still too many. Since 26 races is alot of races, just have those who win (reguardless if a race ends by rain) go into the Chase. If 10 drivers win then 10 drivers are in the Chase. You get the idea. 698. David posted: 11.12.2014 - 4:28 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) "I unfortunately agree with that too, but the problem is still the problem. NASCAR refuses to produce a points system that weighs good finishes correctly. Even with the so-called classic Latford points system and this chase format, Gordon probably would have made it over Newman as his 2nd place finishes would have been at least weighted a little (unless he would have missed with the previous round). The Latford system at least had improving from 3rd to 2nd be worth more than improving from 33rd to 32nd, but this system doesn't even have that. Really, I don't think Gordon has himself, Keselowski, or Newman to blame for this as much as a bogus base for the points system. This format for the Chase is more compelling than the last one, but the problem remains the inability to reward top finishes properly with the middle positions being awarded way too much." Agreed. If NASCAR changed the base points awarded to award winning more and mediocrity less (and maybe tweaked the Chase format a little), then I would have no complaints about the championship. 699. The Long Shot posted: 11.12.2014 - 5:12 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) A. J. Foyt has undergone successful triple bypass surgery after being admitted into hospital with severe chest pains. He will remain in hospital through Monday. 700. The Crimson King posted: 11.12.2014 - 5:40 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) This is why I like F1's points system so much. Nobody past 10th gets any points, and even then guys at the back end of the top 10 barely get any points. In F1, a good points day is not getting an 8th place finish. Its getting a podium or a win. THAT is a good points day. But if I had to make some changes to the current format, limit it to 10 only, with one qualifier left out to a winless driver in the top 10 in points (IE, like Kenseth or Newman) but ONLY one driver. Winners have to finish within the top 15 in points to "lock" their position. No benefiting a driver who gets a fuel mileage win and then finishes 26th in points. None of the shit. You have to be competitive for it to matter. Winners pre-chase and post-chase get bonus points for their victories, eliminating the idea they don't get any bonus at all. I don't know any way to fix the cluster-f**k with the "finale" that is essentially manufactured excitement though. 701. racefangurl posted: 11.12.2014 - 10:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) I wonder if Kyle Larson will play spoiler at Homestead. 702. Hinch77 posted: 11.13.2014 - 6:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) 43 cars entered for Homestead... bare minimum 703. racefangurl posted: 11.13.2014 - 10:27 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) A part of me died Tuesday afternoon a little after 5:00. The hypocritical, biased, irrational about Chase part. If you check the Chase Elliott and/or DAV 200 comments, you'll see the change in me. On the DAV 200 comments, you can see the comment from Watto that worked this miracle. I said ""The reason I refuse to acknowledge Chase Elliott is nobody's really that good as an 18 year old rookie." that morning and Watto replied at 4:39 in the afternoon. "You know who was that good as an 18 year old Nationwide rookie? Joey Logano. He didn't even do a full schedule. The thing is that age really doesn't matter if they're someone who has been racing for a few years already. Chase Elliott did a lot of late model racing as a teenager. He adjusted to Nationwide quicker than people expected, but it wasn't a surprise that he would adjust. Rookies aren't always that good, and it doesn't matter their age. Some rookies, however, stand out from the rest. Age is completely irrelevant. Chase Elliott didn't start racing late models at 17. He's been racing for most of his life." Watto compared Chase to Joey and as a Joey fan, I got it. 704. racefangurl posted: 11.13.2014 - 11:22 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) If I ever said Chasey on these boards, it came from a review of a NASCAR fan fic. I'm a NASCAR fan fiction reader and writer. I'm working on my 50th, if we don't include the ones I made up, but never wrote down. I'm reading Sweet Southern Comfort, which is a Joey story. He's 17 and "little itty bitty Chasey" as another reader called him in the review I mentioned's a character in the story. 705. Bugler posted: 11.13.2014 - 6:11 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) *cricket chirping, then taps is played solemnly* 706. Hinch77 posted: 11.13.2014 - 7:44 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) What fustercluck this comment thread has turned into... 707. racefangurl posted: 11.13.2014 - 11:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I guess no one cares Watto's comment on the other thread turned me around completely in regard to Chase. You should see all my repentance, if you haven't already It's really me saying all that. What Watto said worked a miracle in this Joey fan's inside. 708. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.13.2014 - 11:33 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Hey, DSFF it's almost Friday and the race weekend is about to begin. When is NASCAR going to make this big announcement adding Jeff Gordon back into The Chase? Asking for a friend... 709. Anonymous posted: 11.14.2014 - 1:27 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Nascar knows that the people raging about Gordon not getting in are going to tune in sunday anyway BECAUSE they are so fumed. Adding Gordon in adds nothing of value to them. 710. An Aussie Commentator posted: 11.14.2014 - 1:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Quick question, If the Ward's do decide to sue Tony Stewart, and succeed in doing so, could Gene Haas keep Stewart-Haas racing from collapsing? 711. James W. McLaughlin posted: 11.14.2014 - 10:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) All right, everybody. Let's get the Ford EcoBoost 400 under way. DOOT-DOO-DOO-DOOT-DOOT-DOOT-DOOOOOOOOOT! 712. racefangurl posted: 11.14.2014 - 10:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) If I come to these boards in the offseason, I'll talk about basketball and racing tidbits. College basketball's my second favorite sport, behind motorsports. 713. The Long Shot posted: 11.14.2014 - 11:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Quick question, If the Ward's do decide to sue Tony Stewart, and succeed in doing so, could Gene Haas keep Stewart-Haas racing from collapsing?" Just because they sue Stewart doesn't mean he technically has to leave the company until the suit ends. And at any rate, the Wards have zero case against Tony. Zero. There is no evidence to suggest he did anything even slightly intentional to hurt Ward in the incident. Like I've said before, Kevin Ward Jr. did not deserve to die that night. But he made an incredibly stupid judgement and paid severe consequences as a result. It's terribly unfortunate, but that's what happens when you don't use your head. And frankly, with the way his family has been handling this, I think he's better off dead than staying around those shitheads any longer. 714. Zackary Shawn posted: 11.14.2014 - 12:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Quick question, If the Ward's do decide to sue Tony Stewart, and succeed in doing so, could Gene Haas keep Stewart-Haas racing from collapsing?" As The Long Shot said, you don't have to quit your day job just because you're involved in a law suit. Besides, in the U.S. the chance that any lawsuit will actually be tried in a court of law is very low. It will probably be settled out of court for an amount that will be a lot to the Ward family, but a relatively small amount to Stewart. Also, just because he never was never charged in criminal court doesn't mean that he won't be held liable in a civil trial in the unlikely event that it does get that far (see the OJ Simpson murder trial and wrong death suit for a real life example of this). Personally, I think if Tony should go ahead and voluntarily settle if he's as torn up about it as he claims. Fighting the Wards in court does him no good. 715. racefangurl posted: 11.14.2014 - 1:05 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Talking about Stewart's inviting DSFF to jump in, at least the way you guys are. When I was pie girl, I was compared to DSFF. The way I was in regard to Chase was compared to the way he was on the Tony Stewart saga. If he comes into the conversation, he'll talk about bad news and insult you. I just insult myself, if anyone. I'm not a real Tony Stewart fan, but I don't wish him ill. 716. Aaron posted: 11.14.2014 - 1:59 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) I remember back when there were about 75 regular posters on here, not just the same two or three telling us everything about themselves as if this is Facebook. That said, damn, the 88 bunch are struggling like hell right now. I'd be happy with a top-20 Sunday at this rate. Looks like that top 10 spot in points is gonna fly out the window. Been a great season, I was just kinda hoping he'd finally win a race at Hendrick and finish better than 12th in the process. 717. Azapro911 posted: 11.14.2014 - 2:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Just look at that REAL championship lead Jeff Gordon possesses. 718. murb posted: 11.14.2014 - 2:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) In kind of unexpected news, Justin Boston will compete full time in the Truck Series for KBM. Also apparently Bubba Wallace will be returning to KBM in the Truck Series (instead of moving up to NXS like we previously thought), so KBM might end up being a four truck team next year (with Jones, Bubba, Boston, and Kyle/Suarez). It'll be interesting to see if they can handle that. 719. murb posted: 11.14.2014 - 3:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Actually, nevermind about Bubba. He tweeted yesterday that this would be his last race with KBM. So it looks like their lineup will be Boston, Jones, and then the third truck for Kyle. There's a bunch of people saying that Bubba will be full time Trucks and part time NXS next year though, so if that's true then I have no idea which team. Maybe replacing Blaney at BKR and running the #22 NXS car part time? 720. Hinch77 posted: 11.14.2014 - 3:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) racefangurl... This isn't Twitter or Facebook. 721. racefangurl posted: 11.14.2014 - 3:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There's talk out there about Homestead and if the four will create a Game 7 moment. I don't know if Game 7 moments can be made, not born. It may prove too manufactured. We'll have to see. Who's a better champ as far as deserving it goes? Harvick or Logano? And of Hamlin and Newman, which is more humiliating to Brian "Brainless" France? 722. The Long Shot posted: 11.14.2014 - 3:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Damn. Congrats to Boston on getting the ride (even if it does seem to be mostly because of his family sponsorship). He was pretty decent in ARCA, so I could see him being very respectable in Trucks next year. As for Bubba, everything that I've read (which isn't much, admittedly; not much has been written on this story yet) seems to indicate that Wallace is parting ways with JGR, mainly due to lack of sponsorship. The difference between this and Seagal's report from last week is that it seems Bubba is leaving on his own terms. "There's a bunch of people saying that Bubba will be full time Trucks and part time NXS next year though, so if that's true then I have no idea which team. Maybe replacing Blaney at BKR and running the #22 NXS car part time?" Well, @TheOrangeCone recently tweeted this interesting bit out: "Wow hearing some serious silly season rumors right now. Two fronts. Two series. Interesting..." I believe you may be right, murb. If so...my only words for Penske's driver lineup moving forward would be HOLYSONOFAHOTDAMNMOTHERF*CKING*&@^$%!!!! Seriously, could you imagine Keselowski, Logano, Blaney, and Bubba all on the same team? Holy hell. 723. The Long Shot posted: 11.14.2014 - 3:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Then again, Jim Utter just tweeted that he believes Bubba will run in Xfinity for JGR. So in truth, we have no idea about what Bubba's future plans will be. 724. racefangurl posted: 11.14.2014 - 3:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Keselowski, Logano, Blaney, and Bubba are quite the combo why? I don't watch Trucks much and have only been able to watch a few Nationwide races , so I don't know much about Blaney and Bubba. 725. The Long Shot posted: 11.14.2014 - 3:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Keselowski, Logano, Blaney, and Bubba are quite the combo why?" Keselowski and Logano have each won 5 races this year and look poised to be championship threats for years to come. Blaney and Wallace are two of the top non-Cup prospects out there, maybe even THE top two (though Elliott and Jones would be right up there with them). I would kill for that driver lineup. Speaking of Blaney, he'll be starting on the outside of the front row for the Truck race (fellow top Cup prospect Kyle Larson won the pole). Points leader Matt Crafton will start sixth. 726. Minnowfur posted: 11.14.2014 - 4:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The 2 car has 6 wins 727. murb posted: 11.14.2014 - 5:00 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think another great situation for Bubba if he leaves JGR would actually be Ganassi. Dylan Kwasniewski clearly isn't panning out, and I think at some point or another, Ganassi really needs to find the "Logano" to Larson's "Keselowski", if you know what I mean. Bubba would be perfect for that if he parts with JGR. Overall though I would still prefer to see Bubba stay at JGR (and the more I read about it now, it seems like he will indeed be moving up to NXS to take Sadler's place - seems like the guy who wrote the Boston article made an error). I think JGR is ultimately the best situation for him moving forward when it comes to getting in a legit Cup car. I don't see Denny staying there beyond next year if he has another underwhelming year (certainly possible if he loses Grubb as a crew chief, which seems likely), and Kyle Busch's contract comes up at the end of 2017 as well (but knowing his rocky relationship with M&M's, who knows if he'll even last that long). So if he stays there, that's at least two quality Cup rides that Bubba has potential to wind up in within the next four years. So I HOPE that the JGR NXS thing is true for Bubba, but if not, then I really don't care as long as he is in a good situation somewhere. It would be a god damn travesty to see him wasting away in a crappy ride like James Buescher is right now. 728. Hinch77 posted: 11.14.2014 - 6:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kurt Busch just broke the track record in round two of qualifying. 729. Hinch77 posted: 11.14.2014 - 7:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordon takes Hendrick Motorsports 200th pole. He'll lead the field to the green flag this Sunday. 730. Jarrett88fan posted: 11.14.2014 - 7:21 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Jeff Gordon gets the 200th pole for Hendrick Motorsports... Mmmm if this is truly WWE on wheels, we would be treated to a 1996 WCW Bash at the Beach, "Who is the fourth man?" Except in this case, who is the real fourth man? I hope Jeff wins the race as a big middle finger to the Chase. 731. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 01.20.2016 - 9:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor Update #37 Accell Construction 732. SpaceMetalFerrari248 posted: 11.24.2017 - 1:38 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) This was the most heartbreaking and most bullshit race in the history of f**king NASCAR. RYAN NEWMAN never should have been in the god damn picture! His Top 5's Top 10's and average finishes were GARBAGE compared to Jeff Gordon. Jeff Gordon was the REAL champion in 2014. Seriously Newman? You had to put Larson in the wall in order to get in? YOU suck that bad? You can't even lead a lap to save your life. So you NEVER shouldve been in the final four! NASCAR didn't think this garbage chase through. 733. Anonymous posted: 04.03.2019 - 4:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As of the writing of this comment, this was the last time there was a start & park entry in a Cup race. 734. Mile501 posted: 11.12.2019 - 8:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) After realizing that it is difficult to find the point standings before each playoff reset (this website, along with NASCAR's official reports, only shows points after the reset), I am posting them for each playoff elimination race. Here are the points at the conclusion of this race, before the reset (with drivers who won a race during this round listed first): 2014 Eliminator Round 1. Kevin Harvick -10 (1 win) 2. Denny Hamlin 3. Joey Logano -1 4. Ryan Newman -9 -- Eliminated -- 5. Jeff Gordon -10 6. Matt Kenseth -12 7. Brad Keselowski -17 8. Carl Edwards -24 735. rm posted: 05.16.2020 - 12:53 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) The lap 186 yellow for a flat tire was surprisingly the only caution Austin Dillon was officially involved in outside of the plate races during his rookie season. Rookies generally wind up near the top of the leaderboard for cautions caused, no matter the driver nor equipment, though Dillon initially looked like he'd fit the trend after being collected 3 times in the Daytona 500. 736. Indycar1 posted: 07.31.2020 - 10:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The lap 213-220 caution had a red flag of 4 minutes 737. SweetRich21/43 posted: 08.01.2020 - 7:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The commentators were Allen Bestwick, Andy Petree and Dale Jarrett. The pit road reporters were Dr. Jerry Punch, Rick DeBruhl, Vince Welch and Jamie Little. And in the ESPN pit studio were Nicole Briscoe, Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: