NASCAR Thread.

[TS]

Next week might be a crash fest if Villenuve qualifies in the middle of the field. In other words he will probably not have a draft partner through the whole race for that sole reason.

I don't know why everyone's bitching about Villenueve being in the cup race, he has to qualify for the race on time, and judging by what he ran in the test last month, it'll be a challenge for him.

I think the COT and Talledega are going to be bad combination. That wing plus the weight and the shape= not good.

I think the opposite, the unknowns of the CoT & plates + the draft = win. The cars will have more power with the 31/32nd inch plate rather than the 7/8th inch plates they ran in the spring race with the old car. The drivers that tested said that it'll probably be easier to pass with the extra horsepower, they also said it's easier to bump draft as the nose & tail of the CoT's line up perfectly. But the 1 thing that has them worried is the wing obstructing visibility.

Nascar with its left hand turns all day...

I love just about every other form of auto racing.. Formula 1, WRC, drifting, drag racing. Just not Nascar.

Waste of a perfectly good post. 👎

A. greg biffle did not win that race imo. just like bowyer and others said, he wasn't maintaining pace car speed. NASCAR said that he was going a "reasonable" speed. thats bull****. also, after biffle crossed the finish line. he turned immediatly into the grass. don't you have to complete another lap after the finish?

If you did think that Biffle didn't maintain pace when he started slowing (he supposedly ran out of fuel), and if so, then Bowyer & Johnson did not maintain pace either, then all 3 would be penalized. Guess who would've been the winner.


Casey Mears.

I think the reason why biffle went straight into the grass was because that there was another car on the apron and he didn't want to get run in to.

B. i cant stand the fact that they called the race because of darkness. maybe this is a message that NASCAR needs to install lights at ALL racetracks.
there are 10 tracks that do not have lights...Kansas, Talladega, Indy, Martinsville, Pocono, Michigan, Infineon and Walkins Glen (road courses), Dover, and New Hampshere.
Chicagoland is getting lights.

Lights cost money, which many of those tracks can't get as some of them aren't affiliated with ISC and/or NASCAR.

* Do you think there's any chance of Clint Bowyer finishing higher than Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson in the points when it's all said and done?

Quite surprising if he does beat Gordon & Johnson, it'll be the upset of the century if he does win it all.

 

[Earth]

Dario Franchitti will race for Chip Ganassi next season as Juan Pablo Montoya's teammate.

Andretti Green has released him from his contract in the IRL

The announcement will be tomorrow, (Wednesday)

http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/indycar/40705/

NASCAR Nextel Cup is going to be so awesome next year

Jacques Villenueve
Dario Franchitti
Juan Montoya
Scott Speed
Ricky Carmichael

vs

The NASCAR regulars

I can't wait!

 

[RACECAR]

Dario Franchitti will race for Chip Ganassi next season as Juan Pablo Montoya's teammate.

Andretti Green has released him from his contract in the IRL

The announcement will be tomorrow, (Wednesday)

http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/indycar/40705/

NASCAR Nextel Cup is going to be so awesome next year

Jacques Villenueve
Dario Franchitti
Juan Montoya
Scott Speed
Ricky Carmichael

vs

The NASCAR regulars

I can't wait!

You have got to be kidding me. I guess it will be worth watching those crappy COTs Next year. Speaking of Dario, isn't he racing in this weekend's Petit Le Mans?

 

[Earth]

You have got to be kidding me. I guess it will be worth watching those crappy COTs Next year. Speaking of Dario, isn't he racing in this weekend's Petit Le Mans?

Well if you're talking about the looks of the COT, personally I think it looks OK.

As for the actual racing, there is things NASCAR can do to increase the driveability of the car, like give freedom to change the, I think it is the rear springs? I think they are mandated to a specific value? Anyways I heard Jr and Mark Martin both say there is alot of things NASCAR can do to make the COT race better

I don't know if he'll be in this weekend's Petit Le Mans, I haven't had SPeed TV since Le Mans, and I just check out speedtv.com every once in a while and ran across the Franchitti story

I am very excited about the 2008 NASCAR season

 

[JohnBM01]

I will admit. NASCAR is going to be incredibly deep in talent next season. Some NASCAR loyalists will be seeing these international stars for the first time. As far as the Car of Tomorrow (might as well be the Car of Today), I may revive my own thread because I've had some interesting visions as to make this car look more presentable than it already does.

Here's a bit of news for you. Reports indicate that Busch may no longer be the sponsor of the Grand National series. Instead, Nationwide Insurance may be the sponsor. This will break up over 20+ years of NASCAR's Grand National series sponsoring this feeder series to Nextel Cup. Life comes at you fast. So will Nationwide sponsoring the Grand National series.

 

[TS]

Dario Franchitti will race for Chip Ganassi next season as Juan Pablo Montoya's teammate.

Andretti Green has released him from his contract in the IRL

The announcement will be tomorrow, (Wednesday)

http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/indycar/40705/

NASCAR Nextel Cup is going to be so awesome next year

Jacques Villenueve
Dario Franchitti
Juan Montoya
Scott Speed
Ricky Carmichael

vs

The NASCAR regulars

I can't wait!

Speed & Carmicheal won't be running cup next year. Speed will run the full Arca Remax schedule in '08 and Carmicheal I believe will be running late model races for DEI.

You have got to be kidding me. I guess it will be worth watching those crappy COTs Next year. Speaking of Dario, isn't he racing in this weekend's Petit Le Mans?

Nope. BTW, why is everyone hatin' on the CoT? I quite like it, something to differentiate the Busch (will become the nationwide series in '08) and cup series.

 

[CAMikaze]

Here's a bit of news for you. Reports indicate that Busch may no longer be the sponsor of the Grand National series.

I think I've heard something about this sometime ago. Possibly in the leadup to the Daytona 500 about 2007 being the last year Busch would be the title sponsor of the Grand National series.

Instead, Nationwide Insurance may be the sponsor. This will break up over 20+ years of NASCAR's Grand National series sponsoring this feeder series to Nextel Cup. Life comes at you fast. So will Nationwide sponsoring the Grand National series.

Oh wow. John, maybe you should pitch this idea to Nationwide and/or the ad company that is under contract to them and see what they think of it.

 

[RACECAR]

Say TS, did you watch the ARCA race? It was awesome.

why is everyone hatin' on the CoT? I quite like it, something to differentiate the Busch (will become the nationwide series in '08) and cup series.

Mostly because its different. For me, I know it'll differentiate the two series, but did it have to come out like this? To me, The COT is the car equivilent of the New Hockenheim and Fuji: Something fun that was killed all for safety. I honestly think the safety features on the COT could have easily been implemented on the current car without turning it into a V8 supercar ripoff. I just am not gonna like it no matter how long it races. And according to the drivers from the test, visibility is a huge problem and they have been talking to NASCAR about it.

 

[TS]

Say TS, did you watch the ARCA race? It was awesome.

Rather uneventful for a race at 'dega. Good job to Franchiitti and Speed finishing 17th & 7th respectivley

Mostly because its different. For me, I know it'll differentiate the two series, but did it have to come out like this? To me, The COT is the car equivilent of the New Hockenheim and Fuji: Something fun that was killed all for safety. I honestly think the safety features on the COT could have easily been implemented on the current car without turning it into a V8 supercar ripoff. I just am not gonna like it no matter how long it races. And according to the drivers from the test, visibility is a huge problem and they have been talking to NASCAR about it.

Comparing tracks to cars is like comparing cherries to watermelons. Anyway, I liked the concept of the CoT, bringing a spec car to save teams money and possibly bring success back to smaller teams (which has obviously not happened yet). It was also designed to create more passing & side by side by taking away 1/2 the downforce that the old car had, although it's had its growing pains (as any new racing car does) it's done a good job with everything so far. It's biggest task is coming though, plate racing.

 

[RACECAR]

Micheal Waltrip takes pole for UAW-Ford 500

Toyota’s first season in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series has been marked by profound struggles, missed races and generally disappointing results, but this much can be said with certainty after qualifying for Sunday’s UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Superspeedway: Toyota has got its restrictor-plate program down stone cold.

Led by pole-sitter Michael Waltrip, Toyota drivers snared the top three and five of the top six positions for Sunday’s race, a remarkable performance given that all eight Toyota Camrys entered were outside the top 35 in owner points and therefore had to race their way into the field on speed. Waltrip, the team owner/driver, led the way. He lapped the 2.66-mile superspeedway at 189.070 miles per hour, best not only of the three Michael Waltrip Racing Toyotas but of the entire field.

“I think they’re going to have to change the name of this place to Toyotadega,” noted Boris Said, who qualified 10th but was a DNQ nonetheless. All of the top eight qualifiers made the race on speed, as they were out of the top 35 in Nextel Cup owner points.

“I’m ready to go. We tested down here a couple of weeks ago and we got our car as good as we wanted it speed-wise,” insisted Waltrip. “After that, I got in the draft and was able to drive to the front and ride around in the middle of it and I was happy. I told my guys last night that if we made the race, I think we can win. Now that we did, I have to show them we at least have
a chance to win.”

Qualifying alongside of Waltrip on the outside of Row 1 was the Bill Davis Racing Toyota of Dave Blaney, who turned a lap of 188.839 mph. Row 2 was the Red Bull Racing entry of Brian Vickers, 188.779 mph, and the and the first non-Toyota, Joe Nemechek’s Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet, which ran 188.471 mph.

“The engine guys definitely did a great job,” said Blaney, who won a pole earlier this year in New Hampshire. “We’re happy with it. We thought we could come here and qualify pretty good and we did. Hopefully it will race good. The times were so close between the ‘go-or-go home’ guys, that we didn’t get a chance to work in the draft in practice. I’m sure we’ll have to work on the car all day Sunday.”

Row 3 was Waltrip’s MWR teammate, David Reutimann, who qualified at 188.459 mph, alongside former Formula 1 and CART champion Jacques Villeneuve in another BDR Toyota. The French-Canadian successfully made the field in the first NASCAR Nextel Cup race he ever entered with a lap of 188.215 mph.

“We knew yesterday that we had a pretty quick car,” said Villeneuve. “We were a little bit faster yesterday in practice, and we were hoping that we could’ve had a faster time today. We missed some practice time early, but when we got out there, we showed some good speed.”

Why were all the Toyotas suddenly up front? Pretty much because they had to be. Because they were all outside the top 35 in owner points, the Toyotas ran qualifying setups in order to make the field. So intense was the competition that AJ Allmendinger qualified ninth fastest, but missed the race.

Conversely, of the cars already locked in the field, few cared about where they will start, since people will slide forward or backward easily on the track once the race begins on Sunday.

Complicating matters further was the fact this is an impound race, so the go-or-go-homers won’t be able to change setups prior to the race. That suggests a strong possibility that the start of Sunday’s race will see a lot of top qualifiers head backwards in the field and many fast cars come forward through the pack.

Failing to qualify were Ward Burton in the Morgan-McClure Chevrolet; Kevin Lepage’s Taco Bell Dodge; Jeremy Mayfield in a third BDR Toyota; AJ Allmendinger in a second Red Bull Racing Toyota; Sterling Marlin, in James Finch’s Chevy; Scott Riggs’s Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge; Boris Said’s Ford and Sam Hornish, Jr., who is now 0-3 for qualifying attempts in his Penske Racing Dodge.

The cars of Kurt Busch and David Ragan were too low in post-race inspection and will start Sunday's race 41st and 42nd.
UAW-FORD 500 QUALIFYING RESULTS

Edit: I just thought about the wing on the COT and if someone gets turned around at those speeds, I'm gonna be really worried.

 

[TwinTurbos94]

Well, today's race was great!


I knew Jeff Gordon was going to win today! WOOOOHOOOO!!!!!!!!!

Also good job to Jacques Villenuve,he stayed out of trouble today.

 

[toyota_gt1]

i agree, that was a great race. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson stayed at the back of the back until the the last 30 laps or so. i thought johnson was a sitting duck when they came out of turn 2 on the last lap. stewart had a big run on the high side but gordon jumped up in front of him and took the lead....great race again.

 

[ND4SPD]

Man Gordon had an awesome race, sarted 35th and stayed there for almost the whole race while staying out of trouble. Then went a lap down, got that back and came back to lead the most important lap of all!

 

[TS]

Today's race was awesome like all you guys said, the CoT provided some good 2 and 3 wide racing as well as a hell of a finish for Gordon. 👍

 

[RACECAR]

The race was awesome. What a day for Jeff Gordon, he starts at the back, get further behide and then comes back at the most crucial time. I don't why people are still booing him, but he won fair and square. I hate to admit, but the COT actually did a good job. I guess I'lll just have to get used to it.

 

[toyota_gt1]

The race was awesome. What a day for Jeff Gordon, he starts at the back, get further behide and then comes back at the most crucial time. I don't why people are still booing him, but he won fair and square. I hate to admit, but the COT actually did a good job. I guess I'lll just have to get used to it.

The COT did a great job at 'Dega. One thing I didn't like was the fact the drivers were complaining about not being able to see in the mirror and in front of the other car due to the rear wing. I think NASCAR should take a look at this and work on it somehow.

I also think that from 5th place in the stadings (Carl Edwards) who is 200 points back, to 12th place (Jeff Burton) who is 331 points back, is out of it because the front guys in the chase (mainly Gordon and Johnson) are just to consistent to make up any ground to come back and win the championship.

 

[JohnBM01]

I noticed something a bit strange with the Cars of Tomorrow racing at Talladega. I noticed they didn't have those mufflers usually used at the restrictor plate races. You know how the cars have a different sound at Daytona and Talladega compared to other tracks? Well, they didn't have those mufflers at this race. I also heard about how seven of the 43 cars had this new engine package at Talladega.

There was a little controversy involving Jacques Villeneue making the start for the Nextel Cup race at Talladega. I even even my beloved Jeff Gordon had a few choice words for him. I am not sure about what was really said or mentioned about Villenue's start in Cup. Someone care to key me in on this? Good news for me is that the fans kept their garbage to themselves and avoided soiling Jeff Gordon in crap. For them, what happened to your boy Dale Jr.? Case solved.



I had a debate lined up, but decided not to release it as of yet. Congratulations to Jeff Gordon nonetheless.

 

[TwinTurbos94]

Everyone thought This was a bad place to debut. Jacques said he just wanted to get a feel for restrictor plate tracks due to he will make his full-time debut in Daytona.

 

[Earth]

This wasn't a great place to debut. How many times did Villeneuve hit the wall? At least twice

But good job for him staying in the back and out of trouble and finishing on the lead lap by doing so

Can't wait to see Villeneuve vs Montoya vs Franchitti at the Mexico City Busch race next year

EDIT: Just remembered Ganassi will most likely run Franchitti at the Daytona 24 hours.

Franchitti/Montoya/Pruett + Ganassi

Unbeatable

 

[RACECAR]

This wasn't a great place to debut. How many times did Villeneuve hit the wall? At least twice

But good job for him staying in the back and out of trouble and finishing on the lead lap by doing so

That was the best thing for him to do at that point. Good to see he wasn't in the big one.

Can't wait to see Villeneuve vs Montoya vs Franchitti at the Mexico City Busch race next year

Hmmm, Montoya might not be in the mix, but Let hope so. And The thought of Franchitti and Villeneuve joing sounds awesome. Scotts gonna have an even harder time should this come true.

EDIT: Just remembered Ganassi will most likely run Franchitti at the Daytona 24 hours.

Franchitti/Montoya/Pruett + Ganassi



Unbeatable

Man, thats gonna be a hard combination to beat should it happen. Franchitti may possibly have a good chance to add another crown jewel to his already impressive resume, which includes a win at the 12 hours of Sebring, Indy 500, and the Indy car title.

 

[JohnBM01]

Jeff Gordon... starting 34th, going a lap down, still winning. Talladega is not an easy oval to make a comeback on, but he did it. He keeps up this performance, he'll get title #5. And by the glory of God, I hope he'll get seven championships. If he's REALLY good for a long time, he may get eight titles. I've heard of legends with seven titles (like Dale Earnhardt Sr.), but I don't know if there's ever been one with more than seven. So I'm behind Jeff Gordon. Do keep in mind that I'm also supportive of Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards as well. Jeff Gordon is my favorite, Jimmie Johnson will win many more titles someday, and I'd love to see Carl Edwards win a Cup title. I like the #24, the #48, and the #99.

Next up is stock car home- Charlotte (don't get me started with Lowe's). It's one of my personal favorite ovals for its high speed as well as the great action there. You win at Charlotte, you make a statement. You're welcome for talk on either Talladega or the upcoming Charlotte race.

 

[toyota_gt1]

I'm really looking foward to the saturday night race at LMS. Jeff Gordon has really struggled at Lowes lately. In the last 6 races, he hasn't finished better than 24th. Bad news consireding his teammate as well as the guy he is in a tight points battle with...Jimmie Johnson has been DOMINANT at LMS. From past to presnt, his last 11 point race finishes there...7th, 6th, 1st, 3rd, 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 2nd and 10th. He also has 2 wins in the Nextel All-Star Challenge non points race to add to his rediculous stats.

I also can't wait 2 weeks until the race at Atlanta Motor Speeway, one of my favorite tracks. Another track that JJ runs good at. He won there in the spring this year and finished 2nd last year in the fall race.

 

[Earth]

Well I don't remember the spring race at Charlotte at all, is the racing good there anymore? Or is the pavement still wrecking the cars? Do they still need the small feul cells because of the overheating exploding tires?

 

[JohnBM01]

Jeff Gordon has had his struggles at Charlotte... until Saturday night. He got 'er done at Charlotte/Lowe's Motor Speedway. The next Chase round is at a place where it's Hell for all the drivers, but Heaven to win- Martinsville. Anyone want to talk about the race this past Saturday night?

 

[TS]

I seriously thought with that restart after the red flag that Newman would win that race, he got a hell of a jump, the 24 looked like it hesitated on the restart and he flew by everyone.

 

[RACECAR]

I seriously thought with that restart after the red flag that Newman would win that race, he got a hell of a jump, the 24 looked like it hesitated on the restart and he flew by everyone.

I thought so too. I thought "man, he's gone. no one is gonna catch him" and then I was completely surprised when he wrecked. That was some wild racing.

 

[toyota_gt1]

Wow, Ryan Newman came so close to winning that race. Like you guys said, he just blew by everyone like nobody's buiseness on that restart but then BOOM...next thing I knew he was in the wall and Gordon ends up winning it. That makes the 2nd time Jeff Gordon has taken a win away from Ryan Newman this year. Congrats to Gordon though. He is starting to run away with the championship.

 

[CAMikaze]

Wow, Ryan Newman came so close to winning that race. Like you guys said, he just blew by everyone like nobody's buiseness on that restart but then BOOM...next thing I knew he was in the wall and Gordon ends up winning it. That makes the 2nd time Jeff Gordon has taken a win away from Ryan Newman this year. Congrats to Gordon though. He is starting to run away with the championship.

Well then, count me in as the next person who thought that Ryan Newman was in run-away-and-hide mode until he lost control and smacked the wall.

Speaking of run-away-and-hide, it might really be the case with Jeff Gordon in the points standings. At the rate things are going, he could wrap up the title by time the series gets to Homestead.

 

[JohnBM01]

Well, it isn't over yet. You can't just hand over the championship to Jeff Gordon just yet. He's doing everything he can to win title #5. But it's not over yet. Seems like the two-headed monster this season has been no one more than Hendrick Motorsports. These guys at Hendrick may probably be even stronger with Dale Jr. While not seriously a Dale Jr. guy like I greatly respect his late father, there will be plenty of talent for Hendrick. So unless Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson don't retire next season (extremely unlikely), they will be the team to watch. * On the Busch side (soon to be called the Nationwide Insurance Grand National Series), Carl Edwards took a big hit in the points. I want this guy to win in the Grand National series. Then when he starts challenging in Cup, I want to see this guy win the Championship, perhaps even more. Carl Edwards WILL be a champion in Nextel Cup. Mark my words.

Martinsville is a track you don't want to struggle at any time. We can probably put this track down for 15 cautions or more (more crashes than racing), but the battle for who wants it more will be intense. This should be a heated race as Martinsville usually is.

 

[TS]

Martinsville is a track you don't want to struggle at any time. We can probably put this track down for 15 cautions or more (more crashes than racing), but the battle for who wants it more will be intense. This should be a heated race as Martinsville usually is.

Somebody on another forum I go to compared Martinsville racing to 5 hours worth of rushhour.