Chase for NASCAR Sprint Cup S2 Champs: RFLX_Niop, Hendrick, Chevy

[MustangRyan]

I'm going to predict that the championship comes down to ACDCROCKS123 (attendance pending), RFLX_Niop (luck pending), Homeslice47, M-Stall41, and JoeOfTheFire (connection pending).

Acdc has finished no worse than second all season, but skipped two races. Rflx has won all but two poles, so he is very fast everywhere, but needs better luck. M-Stall41 is very solid all around, with no glaring weaknesses. Joe might be the best driver in the group, but has intermittent connection issues that could prove very costly in the Chase. Homeslice's biggest advantage is that the Chase has some long races in it. We all know he is very easy on his equipment, and conserves tires as well as anyone. All of them should be favored to win the championship.

I think at least three of these guys go into the season finale with a chance to win the championship. I think everyone else is racing for a race victory and a surprise top five points placement. I think either Knelly, Crazy, or myself will win a race or two in the Chase, but will lack the consistent podiums needed to topple the five drivers listed above.

I think Hendrick will win the team championship. Until someone brings a #20 gamestop camry to gibbs racing, Hendrick is the only team with the potential to readily field four cars every week (though it's only happened once or twice all season). Because the Hendrick team presents the most chances to score team owner points week-to-week, I think the series champion will immediately select ownership of the Hendrick team next year for this very reason.

Chevy should win the manufacturer's championship, if only because half the cars in the field are chevys from week-to-week, and they currently have the lead.

 

[SUfan21]

Alot of people have thrown Homeslice's name in championship talks, and I'd have to agree. I really love how he drives and carries himself, real easy on his tires, fast but steady. He should be a role model for the younger guys. I definitely see RFLX as a championship threat, as he easily could have won 3 more races if not for poor luck. Ive raced with Joe for awhile and I could definitely see him sneaking in there connection pending. Id love to put myself in that group, but we'll have to see how my luck plays out, it should be fun!

 

[Furinkazen]

I feel unlucky, it's been one of those seasons for me...

 

[Mudd]

I feel unlucky, it's been one of those seasons for me...

If this series had a trophy for 'bad luck', you could compete for runner-up, Furi...but I got that one in the bag!

 

[Furinkazen]

If this series had a trophy for 'bad luck', you could compete for runner-up, Furi...but I got that one in the bag!

5th before losing a tyre and then DC? ugH!

 

[kenkwilinski]

My problem here is I know I'm fast and can win but winning against you guys is hard. So I have been struggling to find a balance in my tunes for tire wear (pit strategy) and speed (running hard). I pretty much have been my own deciding factor in our races so I cant b!tch too much about my end results. But on a better note, Chqr and mustardaddict have helped Red Bull in points when it counted. Thank you to Chqr and mustard for sitting in Red Bull's as a Reserve status. They have pulled through for us when needed. Also DoWhat has vastly improved over the weeks under my arm, placing himself in the Chase. Overall Red Bull is getting stronger but so is all the other teams. This series is very complex, we are all good and all want to win. Thats what keeps bringing us back here every weekend. And what will keep me racing with you guys until the end (season 10...lol)

 

[MustangRyan]

Is anyone else really interested to see how the new teams will be picked and formed going into next season? The five new team owners will really have a lot to manage to try to form the most competitive team. Will the championship runner-up claim ownership of team number two, or apply to drive for team number one to form the beginning of an all-star team? Would driver three also apply to join, or start a new team to try to take them down? Would anyone grab a two or three car team while a potential four car team is still available to own? I'm picturing Crazy's love of red bull here.

 

[Mudd]

5th before losing a tyre and then DC? ugH!

True, I have not had any DC's...somehow the #14 is a magnet for carnage, I have been involved with every single multi-car incident this season without being the cause of any of them. While I'm sure the Chase will be intense, I'm expecting less accidents to occur with the field a little thinner and all. I really hope (and expect) with less chance of a wreck in front of me that my finish positions will greatly improve.

 

[Knelly]

I'll put my predictions down later when got my little girl in bed, and have ideas.

However, I enjoy running hard with this group but we only seem to do it on Saturdays.

When I have sorted home life out and answered a couple of emails, who fancies an impromptu evening of 10 / 20 lappers with our restrictions, at the courses we have left to run ..... Just for funs sake?

Let me know and I'll open a room before 9:00 GMT 👍

 

[kenkwilinski]

Is anyone else really interested to see how the new teams will be picked and formed going into next season? The five new team owners will really have a lot to manage to try to form the most competitive team. Will the championship runner-up claim ownership of team number two, or apply to drive for team number one to form the beginning of an all-star team? Would driver three also apply to join, or start a new team to try to take them down? Would anyone grab a two or three car team while a potential four car team is still available to own? I'm picturing Crazy's love of red bull here.

How do I secure ownership of Red Bull for next series? Do I just need to win a race? Because I'm pretty sure me and dowhat wil be back next season and would probably want to stick together.

 

[Furinkazen]

I'll put my predictions down later when got my little girl in bed, and have ideas.

However, I enjoy running hard with this group but we only seem to do it on Saturdays.

When I have sorted home life out and answered a couple of emails, who fancies an impromptu evening of 10 / 20 lappers with our restrictions, at the courses we have left to run ..... Just for funs sake?

Let me know and I'll open a room before 9:00 GMT 👍

Up for that 👍... you got my PM's Knelly?

 

[Mudd]

Crazy, I think the only way to be absolutely certain of Team RedBull's ownership would be to win the cup! Guess you got your work cut out for you.

 

[Knelly]

They're some of the things I have to answer

Right now, just enjoying Phineas and Ferb!

 

[Mudd]

We got quite a bit of time yet, but since it was mentioned: We are still referring to the Red Bull and Stewart teams as 'two car', even though we managed to run three cars most races with the same drivers. Will we be keeping them as 'two car teams' next season or could the new team owners go ahead and secure a driver in the third car?

 

[kenkwilinski]

See I would love to keep the teams kinda how they are. Like Mudd with Ganassi, me with Red Bull, Knelly with Gibbs, homeslice with Ford.....have owners fill the rest of the seats for their team with their picks. And do like drop said, let the winner of the chase choose which team they want to captain, with that being probably Hendrick since they have 4 cars to fill. I would like to see how we can develope our teams into the next season as well by doing this way. Questions at hand would be:
Can Knelly take over the rule and steal ownership of Hendricks or will he stay Gibbs and challenge drop's hendricks gang for next season. And same as homeslice.....list goes on. Also would like to see if Homeslice can get a 2nd driver to stay steady with the team, same goes for Mudd. I like the team rivalries we already have in place. I guess we will see how it plays out. But what was drop's guide to picking teams next series?

 

[MustangRyan]

How do I secure ownership of Red Bull for next series? Do I just need to win a race? Because I'm pretty sure me and dowhat wil be back next season and would probably want to stick together.

Team ownership will be completely up for grabs following the end of every single season. The overall points champion will have the ability to select ownership from any of the five teams.

Under last year's scenario, RFLX as the champion would have selected to own any of the five teams, in his case, the Hendrick team. RFLX chose to drive the 24.

Knelly, as the runner-up, could ask RFLX if he can drive for him, or he could select ownership of any of the other four teams. Knelly selects to own Gibbs, driving the 18.

As the third place driver, I can apply to drive for RFLX, drive for Knelly, or choose to own one of the three remaining teams. I ask RFLX if I can drive for him. He agrees, and I'm driving the 88 for Team Hendrick.

The fourth place driver, homeslice47, can apply to drive for RFLX or Knelly, or can claim ownership of one of the three remaining teams.

This continues until all five teams are owned by a driver.

So, basically, if you want to own Red Bull, you need to finish pretty high in points. Or, you can apply to drive for whomever claims ownership of the team ahead of you.

Can Knelly take over the rule and steal ownership of Hendricks or will he stay Gibbs and challenge drop's hendricks gang for next season.

Whoever wins the championship can absolutely take ownership of any team, and Hendrick would be the logical choice, since it's the largest team.

And who says I wouldn't drive for Coach Knelly Gibbs next season?

We got quite a bit of time yet, but since it was mentioned: We are still referring to the Red Bull and Stewart teams as 'two car', even though we managed to run three cars most races with the same drivers. Will we be keeping them as 'two car teams' next season or could the new team owners go ahead and secure a driver in the third car?

Ideally, there would be two 4-car teams, two 3-car teams, and a single 2-car team.

Hendrick Motorsports (#24 DuPont, #24 Drive to End Hunger, #48, #88)
Joe Gibbs Racing (#11, #18, #20 Home Depot, #20 Gamestop)
Ford Racing (#43 Insignia, #43 Best Buy, #99)
Red Bull Racing (#83 2010 blue, #83 2011 silver)
Stewart-Ganassi Racing (#14, #42)

That would make 15 cars from the five teams, assuming a #20 gamestop car is driving. A 16th car could be a third car for Red Bull or Stewart-Ganassi. Maybe whichever team is picked first between RB and SG would be given the third car for the year? If no gamestop car for gibbs, both would get a third car, just like now.

 

[kenkwilinski]

Ok cool, good explaination, I like it 👍

A lot of good scenarios get played out.

 

[Mudd]

That makes it clear, thanks.

 

[MustangRyan]

Personally, I would love to see a brave points champion claim the two-car team, grab an excellent team mate for the second seat, and dare everyone else to beat them for the owner's title.

 

[kenkwilinski]

Personally, I would love to see a brave points champion claim the two-car team, grab an excellent team mate for the second seat, and dare everyone else to beat them for the owner's title.

That's kinda what I was going for starting out this series, but I really didn't take into consideration that Hendricks had 4 cars. An obvious advantage. Early on this season, I boosting about how good hendricks was because of its skilled drivers. But I tried to get a Team going and it has only begun to work. We'll see how Red Bull fares once points are reset. Owners points get reset too?

 

[Knelly]

OK, so, not sure if it went unoticed or not but Homeslice did secure a very strong fourth place in the Chase in Season 1, so it's no suprise that he is up there with his ever consistent finishes, and long stints on tyres. That alone could have a major factor on his placing due to the (very cleverly worked out) length of the remaining races.

Niop, Season 1 Champ, we all know that he is more than capable of starting his own streak (as Drop is doing in the Trucks). We all know that he can put in the finishes if he is in the lead packs.

ACDC, if he hooks up with Niop, and also looking at his current finishes, cannot be ignored. Using his very aggressive stlye of driving.

Joe, as Drop said, potentially the most gifted driver here, and if his connection holds up then he will claim his first title, which arguably he should have had last Season.

Drop, ever consistent and will always be up in the lead pack. It just depends whether he can get podiums (or better) out of that. Let's hope he doesn't lock his wife out again

Crazy, I think, falls into the same category as myself. We have both kind of taken it easy just to secure Chase Status, but have felt the pressure of trying to compete with the likes of Hendrick and testing setups.

MStall, new guy to the series (although I believe he had one race last season and finished second). However, his consistent approach has proved he is a title contender and without his disconnection and non appearance, he would be top.

Mudd and Furi, both had bad luck so far, and should both be considered as wild card contenders. The Chase is the ideal time to break their bad luck and finish with some strong runs.

Bear in mind that when the Chase starts, MStall will start on 306 points with potentially one other (if he doesn't win Suzuka). There will be a good few on 303 points, and the remainder on 300. If MStall wins Suzuka then he will go in with a 6 point lead on the closest rivals.

I have no illusions of finishing second again this year, but some good early Chase results could change my mind on that. I for one will be becoming more aggressive when that starts.

So, this is my top 5 prediction:

1st MStall due to his points lead going in
2nd Homeslice due to his ever consistent performances
3rd Niop, he won't give his Title up without a fight
4th Knelly due to an improvement when the Chase begins
5th Mudd as his bad luck is due to break
All others will be within striking distance and can go any way.

I am willing to put a car up to £1m, up for any Driver who gets the top five right, in the correct order but your final list has to be in before the Chase starts.

 

[Furinkazen]

OK, so, not sure if it went unoticed or not but Homeslice did secure a very strong fourth place in the Chase in Season 1, so it's no suprise that he is up there with his ever consistent finishes, and long stints on tyres. That alone could have a major factor on his placing due to the (very cleverly worked out) length of the remaining races.

Niop, Season 1 Champ, we all know that he is more than capable of starting his own streak (as Drop is doing in the Trucks). We all know that he can put in the finishes if he is in the lead packs.

ACDC, if he hooks up with Niop, and also looking at his current finishes, cannot be ignored. Using his very aggressive stlye of driving.

Joe, as Drop said, potentially the most gifted driver here, and if his connection holds up then he will claim his first title, which arguably he should have had last Season.

Drop, ever consistent and will always be up in the lead pack. It just depends whether he can get podiums (or better) out of that. Let's hope he doesn't lock his wife out again

Crazy, I think, falls into the same category as myself. We have both kind of taken it easy just to secure Chase Status, but have felt the pressure of trying to compete with the likes of Hendrick and testing setups.

MStall, new guy to the series (although I believe he had one race last season and finished second). However, his consistent approach has proved he is a title contender and without his disconnection and non appearance, he would be top.

Mudd and Furi, both had bad luck so far, and should both be considered as wild card contenders. The Chase is the ideal time to break their bad luck and finish with some strong runs.

Bear in mind that when the Chase starts, MStall will start on 306 points with potentially one other (if he doesn't win Suzuka). There will be a good few on 303 points, and the remainder on 300. If MStall wins Suzuka then he will go in with a 6 point lead on the closest rivals.

I have no illusions of finishing second again this year, but some good early Chase results could change my mind on that. I for one will be becoming more aggressive when that starts.

So, this is my top 5 prediction:

1st MStall due to his points lead going in
2nd Homeslice due to his ever consistent performances
3rd Niop, he won't give his Title up without a fight
4th Knelly due to an improvement when the Chase begins
5th Mudd as his bad luck is due to break
All others will be within striking distance and can go any way.

I am willing to put a car up to £1m, up for any Driver who gets the top five right, in the correct order but your final list has to be in before the Chase starts.

I'm going to do what I did in Fantasy NASCAR - sneak in the chase and end up title contender

 

[Knelly]

Won't be able to open a room up till about 11 GMT I reckon, but will be looking for a few hours of running with some if not most of you tonight, will be fun.

 

[MustangRyan]

Anyone up for an eight lap race at indy?

 

[Knelly]

Don't push it my friend.

In all seriousness as soon as tv is free out comes wheel and seat and will be looking for y'all to race.

 

[Furinkazen]

A reminder Nationwide Series launches in January!

 

[MustangRyan]

Don't push it my friend.

In all seriousness as soon as tv is free out comes wheel and seat and will be looking for y'all to race.

I should probably mention that today is my wife's birthday, no BS. So, don't expect to see me there tonight

 

[Knelly]

Well happy birthday to her from the GTP NASCAR Crew, and to yourself for last week.

 

[Mudd]

I hope you got her a new keychain.

 

[Knelly]

I hope you got her a new keychain.

Or just befriend a neighbour that would be willing to take her in for half an hour here and there