2018 NASCAR Discussion threadNASCAR

[Dolph Drago]

Definitely one of the better races of the season.

And was it just me, or did Kyle's car look a lot like the Brabham BT52 with the front fender pushed in and the rear flared out for most of the race?

 

[88GTA]

Sadly, I only caught about 15 minutes of this race but it was when Kyle Busch put Truex into the wall. Had to leave the house right after they shoved 7 gallons into the floppy quarter panel of the M&M car. Managed to also see the Tweet they showed of someone's wife/girlfriend calling Kyle a moron.

Gotta love Bristol.

 

[Northstar]

As someone who is bored of the whole "throwback" gimmick I support them abstaining.

 

[MustangRyan]

As someone who is bored of the whole "throwback" gimmick I support them abstaining.

It wouldn't make much sense to throwback to a car that is sponsored out of pocket by the owner's company when you now have outside sponsorship.

 

[Northstar]

It wouldn't make much sense to throwback to a car that is sponsored out of pocket by the owner's company when you now have outside sponsorship.

It's not like they have to use the old sponsors as we've seen with pretty much every other throwback scheme. If they really wanted to they could slap the current sponsors on the below scheme and call it a day, but they thankfully have decided not to.

Or they could have even gone with a scheme which has no connection in the slightest!

 

[bloodyboyblue]

It's not like they have to use the old sponsors as we've seen with pretty much every other throwback scheme. If they really wanted to they could slap the current sponsors on the below scheme and call it a day, but they thankfully have decided not to.

Or they could have even gone with a scheme which has no connection in the slightest!

With all the rumours of the team closing I thought throwing back to the original Kenny Wallace scheme would’ve made sense. Truex’s original Bass Pro Busch or Cup DEI ride would’ve also been good. Same with Jimmie, I hope he runs his original 2002 scheme at some point since Lowes is leaving after this year.

I’m also highly disappointed in Cassill’s car, a Buckshot Jones throwback seemed to be the obvious choice.

 

[MustangRyan]

This is one of those races where I would love to not have cautions for stage breaks. If this race could go green for 367 laps, how many cars would finish on the lead lap? Larson has lapped the 16th place car on lap 83.




On a completely unrelated note, there is this:

 

[yellosnake]

And on throwback weekend, we see the #3 running dirty just like the piece of trash that drove that car 20 years ago.

 

[AnthonyD1993]

A Petty, a Jarrett, and an Earnhardt in the booth. Such easily would have been on the track 15-25 years ago.

 

[MustangRyan]

Smart move by Larson to lap Dillon right at the end of stage 2, as it keeps Truex one lap down. Dillon gets the free pass, not Truex.

 

[LumpiestFish]

A big, and weird crash. Hard hits for Bowyer, and then Newman purposefully backs into him.

 

[MustangRyan]

Kyle Larson really just can't catch a break. He had a clearly dominant car, but lost the lead by mere inches on a late-race pit stop under caution.

 

[Northstar]

I really hope NASCAR puts a stop to doing burnouts when there are people standing in close proximity. Thankfully Brad didn't take anyone out but crap like that is just asking for trouble.

 

[yellosnake]

I wonder how much cash is going to the #96. We no longer have phantom debris cautions, we have field filler cautions. #wweonwheels

 

[Dotini]

An impressive and convincing 1-2 by the Penske Ford Team of Keselowski and Logano at the prestigious Southern 500 at Darlington. This is the right time to peak - just before the playoffs.

 

[AnthonyD1993]

The rumors have been confirmed. Furniture Row Racing will shut down at the end of the season.

https://racer.com/2018/09/04/furniture-row-to-close-down-team-at-seasons-end/

 

[Nico_Ble99]

The rumors have been confirmed. Furniture Row Racing will shut down at the end of the season.

https://racer.com/2018/09/04/furniture-row-to-close-down-team-at-seasons-end/

Kinda sad to see them go. Seeing them go from the lower midfield right to the top to compete with the big teams was awesome. I guess we won't see something like that for quite a while when they are gone.

 

[bloodyboyblue]

Kinda sad to see them go. Seeing them go from the lower midfield right to the top to compete with the big teams was awesome. I guess we won't see something like that for quite a while when they are gone.

Not until next year when the 95 team takes their place as the Gibbs satellite

 

[MustangRyan]

This has to ring the bell for NASCAR executives when the defending Cup series champion can't secure enough sponsorship to remain on track one year after winning it all. The cost of doing business is simply too damn high, and the business as a whole is in serious trouble.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Such a shame. Was a huge fan of them when they were starting to do big things with Regan Smith. As a Colorado native it was nice to have a home state team. Then they started making big changes and lost me, at the same time Gordon retired and NASCAR started their whole "stages" crap. Haven't watched a race since then.

 

[EngieDiesel]

This has to ring the bell for NASCAR executives when the defending Cup series champion can't secure enough sponsorship to remain on track one year after winning it all. The cost of doing business is simply too damn high, and the business as a whole is in serious trouble.

No kidding. They thought it looked bad to have a zero-win champ, having a defending champ go out of business is just plain horrifying. And if I were a potential sponsor, I'd take that as a clear sign to stay away from the series as a whole.

 

[Northstar]

It's not the first time it's happened, I doubt it will be the last.

 

[MustangRyan]

I felt bad for Matt Kenseth last year, winning in Phoenix, and "retiring" (against his will) the following week in Homestead. Hell, Kenseth was well on his way to winning the Brickyard 400 if Kahne hadn't lucked into pit road just as Bowyer wrecked, giving him a miracle gift in on-track position. Had it stayed green, Matt only had to beat Bayne, who was trying to stretch fuel, a la Paul Menard's miracle from several years ago. Had he won the Brickyard, and still got the boot, he would have been Ryan Newman 2.0, other than the higher age, and the championship on his resume.

In Kenseth's case, you could almost defend the decision to move on, based on his age, and the potential of the young driver in waiting.

In this case, Truex is the defending champ, and is still running exceptionally well. He could very well win it all again, and there is no possible explanation for why some company shouldn't want to sponsor this guy and this team. He's an everyman outdoorsman that should resonate very well with the old guard NASCAR fan.

Imagine this, combined with Lowe's walking away from Jimmie at the same time.

Sound the f...ing alarms, NASCAR.

 

[yellosnake]

The team didnt fold. Miller came along and replaced Kodiak. It was also 1990 when NASCAR was irrelevant til a guy by the name of Jeff Gordon came along. And now nearly 30 years later, it is irrelevant again based on gimmicks and other poor ideas

 

[Dotini]

CNBC report on NASCAR's financial health.

 

[Gerarghini]

This has to ring the bell for NASCAR executives when the defending Cup series champion can't secure enough sponsorship to remain on track one year after winning it all. The cost of doing business is simply too damn high, and the business as a whole is in serious trouble.

To be fair, its ultimately due to JGR "jealously" (I use that term loosely because it's all business) raising the price of the alliance to crazy levels that it isn't worth it anymore.

Honestly, I wouldn't put so much blame on NASCAR and more on FRR. They're the ones running this operation miles away from the Hub of NASCAR and the owner probably feels accomplished enough getting that championship that he's content with pulling out. They can "easily" (again, loosely) run without the JGR alliance, run with FR money, or switch to another manufacturer and still run decently because Pearn and MTJ are a fantastic engineering combo. Since Visser wants to run on top, since it ain't reasonable anymore, this was really the only option for them aside from going back from being a threat every other week instead of every week.

 

[MustangRyan]

To be fair, its ultimately due to JGR "jealously" (I use that term loosely because it's all business) raising the price of the alliance to crazy levels that it isn't worth it anymore.

Honestly, I wouldn't put so much blame on NASCAR and more on FRR. They're the ones running this operation miles away from the Hub of NASCAR and the owner probably feels accomplished enough getting that championship that he's content with pulling out. They can "easily" (again, loosely) run without the JGR alliance, run with FR money, or switch to another manufacturer and still run decently because Pearn and MTJ are a fantastic engineering combo. Since Visser wants to run on top, since it ain't reasonable anymore, this was really the only option for them aside from going back from being a threat every other week instead of every week.

JGR should charge more for their engineering knowledge, if they have the best available.

The real solution here is to significantly cut the costs of developing the cars, to give a larger share of the TV money directly to the teams, and to trim the schedule. They travel entirely too much to compete for not enough purse money to operate a team without staggering outside financial backing. That's simply not going to cut it in this economy.

 

[BKGlover]

It sucks, but as @Northstar pointed out it's happened with Rusty, it also happened with Dale when he was driving for Rod Osterlund, who did sell the team successfully to J.D. Stacy. I think someone on site posted a link to an article that went through a weekend's expenses for SHR, and IIRC the prize money barely covered a tenth the running cost, and that was years ago.

Also, I forget how quickly the internet works sometimes...

 

[Northstar]

The real solution here is to significantly cut the costs of developing the cars,

I think motorsport as a whole is at a bit of a crossroad at the moment and I think the days of it being a technological testbed are coming to an end. As much as it will 🤬 of purist fans, I think near-spec (IndyCar, DPi etc.) racing will be the future.

Granted teams will always find something to spend money on, but I think if they limit things like the number of chassis' and engines they can use in a season it will help cut costs.

trim the schedule.

Trim it, diversify it and plan it better. Road courses are seemingly growing in popularity so if they were smart they would try capitalizing on it. I know if they added Cup to the Road America weekend I would make it a sure thing instead of a maybe like the Xfinity race is.

They travel entirely too much

It's crazy how much they bounce around location wise. The best example of this is the early season Fontana>Martinsville>Texas>Bristol combo.

That's simply not going to cut it in this economy.

I think this issue was on the horizon regardless of the economy. I'm actually surprised it's taken this long for it to hit NASCAR considering pretty much every other series has gone through it at some point in the recent past.

 

[BKGlover]

I think motorsport as a whole is at a bit of a crossroad at the moment and I think the days of it being a technological testbed are coming to an end. As much as it will 🤬 of purist fans, I think near-spec (IndyCar, DPi etc.) racing will be the future.

Granted teams will always find something to spend money on, but I think if they limit things like the number of chassis' and engines they can use in a season it will help cut costs.

We've been close to spec for eons though. Short of IROC levels of handing out equipment, I wonder how much tighter they could make the specs.

Trim it, diversify it and plan it better. Road courses are seemingly growing in popularity so if they were smart they would try capitalizing on it. I know if they added Cup to the Road America weekend I would make it a sure thing instead of a maybe like the Xfinity race is.

It's crazy how much they bounce around location wise. The best example of this is the early season Fontana>Martinsville>Texas>Bristol combo.

Someone brought that up the other day on the RA telecast. Instead of Xfinity or Trucks packing the venue and having a marquis event of their own, it becomes an afterthought in a Cup weekend. Kentucky was the example used, but having been through TMS weekends it does happen with severity. That said, better planning at all levels, diversifying the national series and establishing Xfinity and Trucks as more than support races and give them some actual independence, possibly allowing them to reach areas Cup hasn't/won't touch anytime soon...say Portland...well I'd be interested at least.

The Schedule has always confused me. It's better than it used to be, considering I recall years where the start of the season was Daytona, then immediately out to Auto Club and Vegas, then back east to Atlanta or Darlington. How the hell the southeast wasn't sick of NASCAR by May was beyond my comprehension then...and still is now to be honest. I've not watched much this year, what's the schedule look like *looks at it*...I take back everything, Who the 🤬 came up with this? I don't remember it being this sporadic. The Truck series one makes the most sense.

I think this issue was on the horizon regardless of the economy. I'm actually surprised it's taken this long for it to hit NASCAR considering pretty much every other series has gone through it at some point in the recent past.

Cup is like Slowpoke, even when it gets hit hard, it seems to take an eternity for the result of the impact to be seen.