NASCAR Thread.

[TS]

On a lighter note, congrats to Joey Legend on beating the 18 car again.

Busch was supposed sponsored bu NOS, a nitrous oxide speed boost company i believe, think Busch needed some or ran out

 

[TS]

Another F1 Driver looking to move to NASCAR: Nelson Piquet Jr., who became the source of a recent scandal known as ‘crash-gate’, will be testing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with an eye towards a future in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series with in two years. Piquet Jr., will get behind the wheel of a Toyota Tundra for Red Horse Racing on October 12th [at Rockingham, NC]. He is expected in the team’s Mooresville, NC shop Monday for a seat fitting. The Renault F1 team fired the 23-year-old Brazilian earlier this season for underperformance. Shortly after details emerged that Piquet had been ordered to cause a crash in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix that allowed his teammate Fernando Alonso to win. After an investigation and hearing, Formula One’s governing body, the FIA, held a hearing and banned Renault F1’s team boss Flavio Briatore for life and the team’s technical engineer Pat Symonds for five years. They also placed the team on a ‘suspended ban’ for two years. Piquet Jr., was given immunity from sanctions in exchange for his testimony and many in Formula One now consider the son of two time Formula One world champion Nelson Piquet to be ‘damaged goods’.

I wonder if he's been practicing NASCAR on his simulator rig.

 

[RACECAR]

Heard about it yesterday. He was no good in F1, he won't be good here.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Go Montoya!

 

[Earth]

I wonder if he's been practicing NASCAR on his simulator rig.

Unless your a rare proven versatile talent like Montoya or Stewart (Ambrose is making strides) I dont see how you can make the switch successfully.

But if he really wants to race NASCAR I hope the best for him.

Outside of F1 (where he was asked to crash his car on purpose), what else were his choices?

Sportscars are down right now.

The IRL is very dangerous and is down right now.

I'm pretty sure NASCAR offers the most money and the pressure is not there to perform immediately like it is in F1 and some other motorsports.

We'll see

 

[Ian Poole]

Congrats to Smoke on taking victory in Kansas, great result from Montoya and Biffle as well.

Roadshow moves to Fontana, Californ-I-A.

Going to be disgusted at the english coverage again because the race is 2:30 Sunday afternoon in the States, California is eight hours behind us and yet, Sky Sports are only showing highlights on Sunday night at 10pm

Anyone else confused????

 

[ASH32]

Going to be disgusted at the english coverage again because the race is 2:30 Sunday afternoon in the States, California is eight hours behind us and yet, Sky Sports are only showing highlights on Sunday night at 10pm

Anyone else confused????

I am confused, how can they show highlights before the race has even started? I just looked at their schedule and it seems the race is on from 10pm till 1am on SkySports Extra and I doubt highlights would take three hours, so I think they are showing it live. Although it doesn't say this, mind you it doesn't say it's highlights either.

 

[TS]

Unless your a rare proven versatile talent like Montoya or Stewart (Ambrose is making strides) I dont see how you can make the switch successfully.

Hornish has done pretty well in his 2nd year, and he'll only get better as time goes on.

Outside of F1 (where he was asked to crash his car on purpose), what else were his choices?

He could back to GP2, and if he does well, he might end up back in F1.

 

[JohnBM01]

Jeff Gordon tried to close in, but couldn't close in hard enough as Smoke... smoked the #24. I'm proud of Juan Pablo Montoya. If he somehow wins the championship, I wonder what his answer would be to this question: "which is a bigger accomplishment for you- winning an F1 race, or winning the Sprint Cup?"

Also at this point... is it okay to consider some drivers out of the championship hunt? If so, who?

 

[Ian Poole]

Also at this point... is it okay to consider some drivers out of the championship hunt? If so, who?

Are you talking about in future races or next year's championship?

nascar.com
The cars of Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin are going back to the NASCAR Research and Development Center for another look.

Following Sunday's event at Kansas Speedway, NASCAR officials confirmed that four cars would be inspected at the circuit's research facility in Concord, N.C. The No. 14 of Tony Stewart will go as the race winner, and the No. 2 of Kurt Busch will go as the random. But NASCAR also will take the No. 48 of Johnson and the No. 5 of Martin, which were found to be perilously close to tolerance limits last week.

It's somewhat of a break from the routine for NASCAR, which typically takes only the race winner and a random car to the R&D Center for further inspection. NASCAR warned the teams of Johnson and Martin about being too close to the limit last week, although series officials insisted both vehicles were legal.

Should we be worried or is this normal?

Also just seen on there that the amount of non chase contenders finishing in the top ten in the last three chase races is just SIX! Busch, Sadler and Bowyer in Loudon, Kenseth and Allmandinger in Dover and just David Reutimann last night in Kansas. That shows the quality of the Chase field doesn't it?

 

[TS]

Also at this point... is it okay to consider some drivers out of the championship hunt? If so, who?

If Edwards, Newman, Vickers and Kahne don't start picking up within the next race or two, they will most certainly be out. They haven't been running up with Johnson, Martin, Montoya, etc. (except for Kahne, he just had bad luck at Loudon with the engine failure), they need to be up in the top-5 with them to gain ground.

Should we be worried or is this normal?

Also just seen on there that the amount of non chase contenders finishing in the top ten in the last three chase races is just SIX! Busch, Sadler and Bowyer in Loudon, Kenseth and Allmandinger in Dover and just David Reutimann last night in Kansas. That shows the quality of the Chase field doesn't it?

Well after how close they were of not clearing tolerances at Dover, NASCAR will probably want to keep a close eye on the 5 and 48 and to keep them from doing anything sneaky. The last thing either of those two teams need would be a big points penalty for being a couple millimeters too low in tech. inspection.

 

[JohnBM01]

When I was watching some of the college football game between Louisiana Tech at Nevada (find out who won by reading my college football report!), and when the ESPN guys did a promo for NASCAR at California, here's something that was mentioned:

(indirect quote) "The style of California (Auto Club) Speedway suits Juan Pablo Montoya most, as it's where he is most aggressive.

If that's true, a win by JPM and poor performances by Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson could mean that Montoya could go right to the top of the Chase standings. Either by the end of this race or at the conclusion of the next race, we may find out who all the title contenders are and who all are pretty much done for the championship.

 

[Ian Poole]

All quotes thanks to nascar.com

Denny Hamlin streaked around 2-mile Auto Club Speedway in 39.158 seconds (183.870 mph) to win the pole for Sunday's Pepsi 500 in decisive fashion.

The third driver to make a qualifying attempt, Hamlin posted his lap and waited as the top three drivers in Friday's practice session (speeds) -- Juan Montoya, Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin -- took their best shots and fell short.

Temporarily, David Reutimann (183.108 mph) claimed the second starting spot in Friday's time trials, but Reutimann's time was subsequently disallowed after NASCAR found during post-qualifying inspection that the rear shock absorbers on his No. 00 Toyota exceeded NASCAR's gas-level limit.

NASCAR confiscated both rear shocks, but NASCAR spokesperson Ramsey Poston said the sanctioning body would not impose additional penalties beyond disallowing the time.

Greg Biffle (182.704 mph) earned the third position and moved up to the outside of the front row after Reutimann's disqualification. Johnson (182.635 mph) and Montoya (182. 315 mph) qualified fourth and fifth, respectively. With Reutimann starting 42nd on an owner points provisional because of the disallowed time, Johnson moved up to the third position and Montoya to the fourth.

Martin, who leads Johnson by 18 points with seven races left in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, will start ninth, after a lap at 181.979 mph. Martin Truex Jr., rookie Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer claimed positions five through eight, respectively.

Between practice and qualifying, Hamlin, who is sixth in the Chase standings, picked up substantial speed after his crew made massive changes to a car that was 27th-quickest in the practice session.

"It was definitely a good run -- a big pickup for us," said Hamlin, who won the seventh pole of his Cup career and his first since May 2008 at Richmond. "We definitely didn't expect that after how poorly we practiced. The good part about that is -- when you run so horribly in practice -- you're at liberty to just kind of throw everything you want at it.

"That's what we did, and came up with a great setup."

In addition to Hamlin, Biffle, Johnson, Montoya and Martin, the other seven Chase drivers will start as follows: Jeff Gordon, 10th; Carl Edwards, 11th; Tony Stewart 20th; Kurt Busch, 24th; Kasey Kahne, 25th; Brian Vickers 32nd; and Ryan Newman 36th.

Notes: Kyle Busch, who is suffering from a sinus infection, qualified 19th, but he'll start from the rear of the field Sunday after blowing the engine in his No. 18 Toyota during Friday's practice. ... Tony Raines and Mike Wallace failed to qualify for the 43-car field.

A post-qualifying shock measurement Friday sent David Reutimann from the front row to the tail end of the field for Sunday's Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway.

Reutimann's speed of 183.108 mph, second-fastest of the session (watch video), was disallowed and his No. 00 Toyota will start 42nd. According to NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston, no further penalties will be issued.

"This is a result of [Reutimann's car] exceeding gas-level limits in the rear shocks," Poston said.

After his run, Reutimann was genuinely surprised by his improvement in speed from practice earlier in the day.

"We weren't that good in practice," Reutimann said. "The guys made some really big changes to the car."

Unfortunately, one of those changes might have resulted in the car failing inspection.

"It happened to Juan Montoya [in 2008] at Chicago," Poston said. "It doesn't happen very often."

Though he's not directly involved in the discussions, Dale Earnhardt Jr. acknowledged Friday at Auto Club Speedway that his JR Motorsports organization has been talking to IndyCar Series star Danica Patrick about her foray into NASCAR racing.

The talks have been the province of his sister, Kelley Earnhardt, JRM's general manager (learn more). Earnhardt Jr., however, expressed respect for Patrick's ability and determination.

Recent reports have Patrick negotiating to drive selected races in the Nationwide and Camping World Truck series next season. Given the relationship with GoDaddy.com, which sponsors Patrick's IndyCar as well as JRM's No. 88 Chevrolet in the Nationwide Series, JRM is a logical place for Patrick to try her hand in a stock car.

On the eve of his 35th birthday, however, Earnhardt seemed more concerned with his lack of speed in time trials for Sunday's Pepsi 500. He'll start 37th.

"Kelley's been managing the conversations between Danica and our team solely and entirely on her own," Earnhardt said. "That's in the early stages, I would suppose. I haven't really got in the middle of it. We've been on the road, and we're working like hell all this month and next month, so I'm not involved in it as much as I'd like to be.

"I have to call and get updates on what the heck is going on with our sponsor searches [for JRM] and all these other things. So it's pretty frustrating, but I've got good people in the right places to handle all that stuff. Kelley's going to do a good job -- always has -- so I can focus on what I've got going on with this car here."

Earnhardt expressed positive feelings toward having Patrick in one of the cars he co-owns with Rick Hendrick. Kelly Bires will drive full time for JRM next year, replacing Brad Keselowski, who is departing to drive a Sprint Cup car for Penske Racing in 2010.

"I like Danica a lot," Earnhardt said. "I consider myself friends with her, and it's interesting to see her interest in NASCAR. It's interesting for all of us -- everybody. If we're a piece of that, and if we play a part in that, we'll see, going down the road. Right now, it's just Kelley and her having a few phone conversations about it, and it really hasn't gotten any further than that, as far as I know."

Earnhardt believes Patrick possesses formidable intangible qualities as well as the talent to drive a race car.

"She's made it to the top level of motorsports in open wheel in North America, and any driver in that position has talent. She's very competitive -- has an extremely competitive side to her around the race track and in and around her program. She's really dedicated to it. She's dedicated to keeping herself in shape and having every personal advantage she can have, and she has high expectations of herself.

"She has a lot of those intangible values in a race car driver that are really important, that you don't learn. You learn how to drive cars, and you learn how to go around race tracks, but there's a lot of things inside when it comes to initiative and willpower and passion that -- either you have it or you don't have that."

NASCAR is reducing the size of the restrictor plates used by Sprint Cup cars at Talladega in hopes of making it safer for drivers.

Sprint Cup Series director John Darby said the move will reduce horsepower and take a little bit of top-end speed off the cars.

The track announced earlier this week it is raising the fence at the massive 2.66-mile oval from 14 to 22 feet following a safety analysis after Carl Edwards' last-lap crash during the spring race sent him flying into the fence.

Debris from the accident injured seven fans in the stands, the most serious a broken jaw suffered by a teenage girl.

The frontstretch fence at Talladega will be raised before the Nov. 1 race, and the backstretch will be completed during the offseason. Daytona will have its fences raised before its first big event in January.

think the biggest thing for me is the restictor plate news for Talle. I understand NASCAR trying to make it safer for the fans after what happened to the duck at Talle but to reduce the horsepower in the cars?

 

[RACECAR]

I really don't think thats a good idea. Thats again gonna close the pack together even more and if anything, it won't be much different. As for Danica talking with Jr Motorsports, thats a rather interesting scenario. INDYCAR's most popular driver driving for NASCAR's most popular driver may be huge.

 

[TS]

I really don't think thats a good idea. Thats again gonna close the pack together even more and if anything, it won't be much different.

This.

Along with mandating the wing angle and rear suspension, all the cars on plate tracks run the same speed, reducing plate size will just bunch them up closer.

 

[LSX]

WOW, exciting race from California today. (I don't think I've ever seen that before.) Congrats to Logano for the comeback win. I predict fist fights on the pit lane haha.

 

[RACECAR]

What a idiot Biffle was, putting Joey in the wall like that. Ironically enough, he gets caught up in a accident while Joey wins for the second week in a row. Thank the maker for Karma 👍

 

[Ian Poole]

What a idiot Biffle was, putting Joey in the wall like that. Ironically enough, he gets caught up in a accident while Joey wins for the second week in a row. Thank the maker for Karma 👍

I take it i missed something interesting in the Nationwide race?

 

[TS]

I take it i missed something interesting in the Nationwide race?

Biffle was being unnecessarily aggressive and forced Logano in the wall and then wrecked out the 18 (with Hamlin filling in for Busch).

 

[LSX]

Keselowski was really close to being in that too, he pulled out to the right though quickly enough. That last restart was intense.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Anyone catch the point in the Cup race at the end when NASCAR threw the caution for debris? Did they show the debris on tv? I didn't exactly catch it if they did, but trying to decide if Kasey Kahne is blowing hot air, or if NASCAR had something up their sleeve...

 

[RACECAR]

Anyone catch the point in the Cup race at the end when NASCAR threw the caution for debris? Did they show the debris on tv? I didn't exactly catch it if they did, but trying to decide if Kasey Kahne is blowing hot air, or if NASCAR had something up their sleeve...

Nope,they never did. Kasey pretty much told it like it is, boring race so they throw a caution for a show. Not surprised since they did the same thing for the Nationwide race.

 

[Ian Poole]

If you guys are talking about the caution where Tony Stewart got back on the lead lap, they did show the debris, it looked like a piece of black tape on the back straight close to the wall.

Anyhoo, congrats to Double J, how does that team do it?

Well done to Montoya as well, is it possible to win the Sprint Cup without winning a race?

 

[L_Hamilton]

Yup, pretty much. Shows a lot about IRL when they just ran their last race without a caution.


Nascar have done this many times. Sometimes it's like a tiny particle that's way off the track but if it's there, caution time.


Poor, Kasey. You never really see him flustered up like that.

Well done to Montoya as well, is it possible to win the Sprint Cup without winning a race?

err, no.

Unless you're Bobby Labonte. But there was no Chase format. So no.

 

[MatskiMonk]

As far as I recall, they showed a small black solid shaped piece of something about a foot from in from the wall on the back stretch.. I could be wrong about the details, but the camera definatley showed something on the track.

Well done to Montoya, but man, when will the 42 catch a break and win a race!!

The 42 vs. The Hendrick Motorsport Organisation!

 

[CodeRedR51]

err, no.

Unless you're Bobby Labonte. But there was no Chase format. So no.

I wouldn't see why not. It is possible, but chances are very slim that it would actually happen.

 

[Ian Poole]

I wouldn't see why not. It is possible, but chances are very slim that it would actually happen.

Exactly, only needs a bad result for Martin and Johnson and he gets a good result and they take the points lead, barring Jeff Gordon and Smoke though.

And there is a big banana skin coming up soon with Talledega, remember what happened in the same race last year?

 

[L_Hamilton]

I never said it was impossible, but it's dang near it. Chase is all about wins.

 

[Pescara for GT5]

Unless you're Bobby Labonte. But there was no Chase format. So no.

Bobby Labonte won 4 races that season, the closest anyone has ever come to not winning a race but winning the championship is 1973 when Buddy Baker won it back before the current points system when Superspeedways earned 200 points, Shorttrack races earned 100, and Races under 100 Miles earned 50, and he won only two races and both were under 100 Miles.

 

[LancerEvo7]

Kenseth only won one race in '03, very early in the season. then we got the Chase in '04.