So today I looked at the Sprint Cup Standings and decided I needed to rant. Greg Biffle continues to show that he is the contender we all thought he was a few years ago. It makes that 16th place finish last year look like a fluke. Truex Jr. is running super well for a strong MWR team and curse I say his name Dale Jr. is running well despite being win less for almost 4 full years. I recently posted this to my facebook "Things that have happened since Dale Jr. won a race on June 15, 2008... I turned 17, Michael Phelps won 8 gold at the 08 Olympics, Obama was elected president, Sarah Palin emerged into the national spotlight, Rod Blagojevich was indicted, I graduated high school, Michael Jackson, Billy Mays, Ted Kennedy and others passed away, Gulf oil spill, 26 drivers have won a sprint cup race, and Jimmie Johnson has won 21 races and 3 championships."
But despite Dale Jr. looking more like Buckshot Jones than his late great Father, his record doesn't show the whole tale. He had a few close misses ran out of gas with a few hundred feet to go, but has been racing hard. This argument has been mounted before but i'll bring it back up, the Car of the Future isn't his style. He has failed to adjust as other drivers have. But I don't think its a lack of dedication.
The other driver worth commenting on is my Boy Mark Martin! Despite missing a race he holds on to 17th a win or two with a few top fives in the next month could give me hop that Waltrip puts him in the car for all races and lets him make the chase and bring home a cup! But back from my daydreaming to reality its just good to see the ol' man still got it and can show guys younger than his own son. I find his and MW ads funny beside the fact that they seem so stiff in lines and acting the height difference is extreme!
Jeff Gordon is 25th and Kurt is 23rd. It will be interesting if Gordon can rebound quick teammate Jimmie Johnson was able to recover from a DNF at Daytona and an appeal of sanctions from NASCAR to slip into the top 10
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Dirt Tracks
So it's been a while since my last post and there is too much racing to catch up on all of it but i want to start by saying I love the nationwide competition right now.Also supper impressed with MWR they field three good cars every week.
Originally this though crossed me while watching Bristol but really firmed itself during my watching of Fontana (which i hated the racing of). Nascar should ad a dirt track. The super speedways that took over in the 70's are okay but there are so many of them, few tracks lack the individual character. Yes, there is Darlington, Indy, Bristol, The Glen, and Pocano but then races at Fontana, Iowa, Phoenix, Vega, Texas, and Atlanta dont get me excited about the track. Not saying that those tracks aren't good but the reason we all love Bristol is because it's different thats why they are redoing the track to the old style. So my idea is add a dirt track! The racing would be something I haven't seen in my life time, the last Nascar race on a dirt track was in the 70's. At the time the King said he hoped they would keep one on the schedule so that nascar wont forget its roots.
Most race fans have watched a dirt track race at some point. The racing is great and takes great skill. So cars don't go racing around the track at 180mph but watching the turns is great. A joke about nascar is its nothing but left turns, but if its on dirt that is the most exciting thing! One reason dirt tracks were taken out was besides the lack of speed, was attendance. You can cram more people into a super speedway but Nascar attendance and ratings are dropping not saying this should be a gimmick, but i know many race fans that don''t watch alot of races. This should at least for one Sunday boost ratings!
As for some logistical issues some but not all drivers have raced on dirt, the current car might need to be adjusted for dirt, goodyear would need a new tire, NASCAR would have to find or build a track, and conduct a lot of testing.
Originally this though crossed me while watching Bristol but really firmed itself during my watching of Fontana (which i hated the racing of). Nascar should ad a dirt track. The super speedways that took over in the 70's are okay but there are so many of them, few tracks lack the individual character. Yes, there is Darlington, Indy, Bristol, The Glen, and Pocano but then races at Fontana, Iowa, Phoenix, Vega, Texas, and Atlanta dont get me excited about the track. Not saying that those tracks aren't good but the reason we all love Bristol is because it's different thats why they are redoing the track to the old style. So my idea is add a dirt track! The racing would be something I haven't seen in my life time, the last Nascar race on a dirt track was in the 70's. At the time the King said he hoped they would keep one on the schedule so that nascar wont forget its roots.
Most race fans have watched a dirt track race at some point. The racing is great and takes great skill. So cars don't go racing around the track at 180mph but watching the turns is great. A joke about nascar is its nothing but left turns, but if its on dirt that is the most exciting thing! One reason dirt tracks were taken out was besides the lack of speed, was attendance. You can cram more people into a super speedway but Nascar attendance and ratings are dropping not saying this should be a gimmick, but i know many race fans that don''t watch alot of races. This should at least for one Sunday boost ratings!
As for some logistical issues some but not all drivers have raced on dirt, the current car might need to be adjusted for dirt, goodyear would need a new tire, NASCAR would have to find or build a track, and conduct a lot of testing.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Nationwide!
Aw yes the relaxing weekend of racing without all the hype of Daytona. Was glad I could work a busy traveling weekend around both races and even had qualifying on while I naped!
Being a fan of Stenhouse Jr. and Martin it started off looking great with Stenhouse qualifying second for the Nationwide Race and Martin winning the pole and both got top 10's out of the deal.
I can honestly say this year I look more forward to Saturdays then Sundays. The Nationwide series looks great this year, I think the cup boys got the message from nascar as less seem to be competing, but that has some negatives. The positives include Nationwide regulars winning races last year there were a small minority of races won by the guys competing for the nationwide title. This year we already have one who is competing for the title and a Truck driver? It makes it more competitive for those guys as well as gives them the respect they deserve rather then Kyle winning 8 and Edwards winning a few others. Hopefully a win or two will help the most promising young drivers secure sponsors for this year and give them a chance at the Sprint Cup next year. And Saturdays race was great it had some good story lines!
There are some downsides though there seem to be major sponsor issues. Nationwide racing has always had this issue its hard enough for the sprint cars to find people to fork up the cash for a hood ad but its worse in the lower levels. Bayne and Stenhouse both drivers with Roush-Fenway have sponsor issues that could threaten their ability to race fulltime this year! These aren't scrubs this is a Daytona 500 winner and defending series champ racing for a major team. It makes it all that much harder for other guys. There are a verity of reasons mainly sponsorship all around is hard to get but also fewer Cup drivers means less viewers and worse rating therefore less profitable to sponsor a car.
On to Sundays race, I love Phoenix well atleast the track, The new Dogleg section is fun to watch seeing guys try to dart across it is fun, although there was less risk in the longer Sprint race then the Nationwide race. And we had a good finish despite there not being a Green White Checker. Kenseth making the moves only to run out of gas but still coast to second. Hamlin looked the the crazy MoFo who went nuts in '10. To make it that much greater Martin got his 2nd top 10 in as many races. Its nice seeing who I would consider tear 1-B drivers at the top and the big names down the list a little. Johnson started the long drive out of a deep whole but I have faith he will be back in the top 10 by June and by the time the chase comes around we will forget the whole deal.
Interesting thought on the year-old WC format. Could a driver that is slated for a partial win a few races and keep himself in the top 20 despite missing a few. Through June 17th's Michigan Race Mark Martin would only have missed two starts. If he can put together 2-3 wins by then maybe Waltrip takes himself out of the car to give Martin a shot. He then sits out the next 4 until Indy and a total of 6 of 8 races through Bristol. He already gets 7 of the 10 chase races. As recently as 09 he won 5 races so although he hasn't been to Victory lane since don't rule him out. Its just a thought let me know what you think.
I want to end on a bold prediction for next weekend's race. Kurt will take his new team to victory lane at his home track. I know he hasn't done great at Vegas before but I have faith in him, look for some other shockers Truex Jr. has been running well as has Biffle, look for someone like Gordon to make a jump to the front as well.
Being a fan of Stenhouse Jr. and Martin it started off looking great with Stenhouse qualifying second for the Nationwide Race and Martin winning the pole and both got top 10's out of the deal.
I can honestly say this year I look more forward to Saturdays then Sundays. The Nationwide series looks great this year, I think the cup boys got the message from nascar as less seem to be competing, but that has some negatives. The positives include Nationwide regulars winning races last year there were a small minority of races won by the guys competing for the nationwide title. This year we already have one who is competing for the title and a Truck driver? It makes it more competitive for those guys as well as gives them the respect they deserve rather then Kyle winning 8 and Edwards winning a few others. Hopefully a win or two will help the most promising young drivers secure sponsors for this year and give them a chance at the Sprint Cup next year. And Saturdays race was great it had some good story lines!
There are some downsides though there seem to be major sponsor issues. Nationwide racing has always had this issue its hard enough for the sprint cars to find people to fork up the cash for a hood ad but its worse in the lower levels. Bayne and Stenhouse both drivers with Roush-Fenway have sponsor issues that could threaten their ability to race fulltime this year! These aren't scrubs this is a Daytona 500 winner and defending series champ racing for a major team. It makes it all that much harder for other guys. There are a verity of reasons mainly sponsorship all around is hard to get but also fewer Cup drivers means less viewers and worse rating therefore less profitable to sponsor a car.
On to Sundays race, I love Phoenix well atleast the track, The new Dogleg section is fun to watch seeing guys try to dart across it is fun, although there was less risk in the longer Sprint race then the Nationwide race. And we had a good finish despite there not being a Green White Checker. Kenseth making the moves only to run out of gas but still coast to second. Hamlin looked the the crazy MoFo who went nuts in '10. To make it that much greater Martin got his 2nd top 10 in as many races. Its nice seeing who I would consider tear 1-B drivers at the top and the big names down the list a little. Johnson started the long drive out of a deep whole but I have faith he will be back in the top 10 by June and by the time the chase comes around we will forget the whole deal.
Interesting thought on the year-old WC format. Could a driver that is slated for a partial win a few races and keep himself in the top 20 despite missing a few. Through June 17th's Michigan Race Mark Martin would only have missed two starts. If he can put together 2-3 wins by then maybe Waltrip takes himself out of the car to give Martin a shot. He then sits out the next 4 until Indy and a total of 6 of 8 races through Bristol. He already gets 7 of the 10 chase races. As recently as 09 he won 5 races so although he hasn't been to Victory lane since don't rule him out. Its just a thought let me know what you think.
I want to end on a bold prediction for next weekend's race. Kurt will take his new team to victory lane at his home track. I know he hasn't done great at Vegas before but I have faith in him, look for some other shockers Truex Jr. has been running well as has Biffle, look for someone like Gordon to make a jump to the front as well.
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