Racing

[Luckygirl#13]

The media talks about how Jimmie Johnson may be one of the best drivers of all time. I'm still not convinced he is that good. He's in the best equipment out there and his crew chief is sketchy...and that's putting it mildly.. You wanna prove to me that he really that good of a driver.....then put him a Dodge. Perhaps Elliot Sadler's car? Then maybe we'll see how good he really is.

[gopher wes]

I still watch every race, but not like I used to. First of all Nascar stink because I am a Jr fan and he is awful. Second, Nascar is just boring. The new car is killing Nascar and they seem to be unwilling to revert back to what made Nascar exciting.....the cars actually being competitive. They are making all these changes with the double file restarts, lucky dog, and the overtime deal if the get the caution with less than however many laps left in the race. BUT, those things don't make a difference in the excitement level if the cars can't race each other for extended periods of time. They have implemented these new rules and the cars still get spread out in a matter of just a couple laps. That is isn't racing. Racing is passing and drafting. All the drivers complain about how the car just doesn't work that well unless they are out front in "clean air". What kind of racing is that? That's not racing at all if you aren't able to pass cars.

Dega should be a big deal but it won't be. Even on the superspeedways they still get strung out single file. That NEVER happened with the old car. They were always nose to tail at least three wide from the front of the pack and all the way back. I was at the July race at Daytona and the racing is just not the same even at the plate tracks. That race turned out to be exciting on the last lap when Tony spun out kyky on the last lap, but other than the last lap, that race was boring as hell. I would assume we are in for much of the same at Dega this weekend. I think I will be DVRing it and breezing through it while I do some homework or something after I watch the queens and the hockey game on Sunday.

[gopher wes]

The media talks about how Jimmie Johnson may be one of the best drivers of all time. I'm still not convinced he is that good. He's in the best equipment out there and his crew chief is sketchy...and that's putting it mildly.. You wanna prove to me that he really that good of a driver.....then put him a Dodge. Perhaps Elliot Sadler's car? Then maybe we'll see how good he really is.

You can't fault Jimmie here. The guy just goes out there and does his thing during the Chase. It's boring, but thats how it is. You need to take this one up with Nascar and this Chase format. It seems to be built for a guy like Jimmie. Jimmie is damn good all year long, but he seems to that little extra at the end of the season when the Chase comes around. It's not fair to other drivers because you have guys going into the Chase down a certain number of points and suddenly it all gets evened up and the points get closer. Same thing goes for a guy like, Tony who was leading the point standings for most of the year and suddenly the Chase comes around and he is behind Martin just because Mark had more wins. The points championship is supposed to award consistency. While Mark has been consistent for most of the year, he has still had bad races. That's why he was not leading the points even with all those wins under his belt. There is nothing that makes sense about the Chase format. They reward guys who are getting hot at the right time instead of the guys who have been consistent the whole year. Who's to say that without the Chase a guy like Jimmie couldn't get hot and make a run at the championship from third or fourth in the standing? Let them race it out and decide it without having to even the playing field for these guys. The worst part of all is that there are twelve guys racing for a championship once the Chase starts. What about those other 31 drivers on the track that are just racing for wins? The fate of the Chase drivers could be in the hands of these drivers that are just out there trying to win races. That's not right. This will be especially evident this weekend at Talledega when a Chase driver inevitably gets caught up in a wreck caused by someone not involved in the Chase. Bottom line is that I think the Chase is a joke in case you couldn't tell from my rant .

[momo]

The media talks about how Jimmie Johnson may be one of the best drivers of all time. I'm still not convinced he is that good. He's in the best equipment out there and his crew chief is sketchy...and that's putting it mildly.. You wanna prove to me that he really that good of a driver.....then put him a Dodge. Perhaps Elliot Sadler's car? Then maybe we'll see how good he really is.

not that good? he is in the best equipment, along with the #5,24 and 88, his crew chief is sketchy? you must be a casual fan at best, all crew chiefs are sketchy, go ahead and put him in a dodge, if you talk to anyone who knows racing they will tell you that the most important piece to being good is the relationship between driver and crew chief and jimmy and chad are the best at that. why do you think jr. isn't any good?he doesn't know how to relay information to his crew so they can set his car up. I am not a johnson fan but to say that he isn't good is absolutely ludicrous.

[Luckygirl#13]

I didn't say Johnson isn't any good. I do have respect for him as a driver, my problem is the media making him out to be the greatest driver ever. If not for the chase format, he wouldn't have won 3 championships in a row. I agree with Gopher Wes....the Chase and COT are ruining Nascar. I think most race fans would agree. I've been to several races....2 this year and the stands are no where near the capacity they were years ago. Yes, a big part of that is due to the economy. But it is also due the lack of excitement and racing going on. Fans are staying away and shutting it off.

And poor Junior. I am afraid the guy is gonna blow a gasket and end up in the loony bin.

[dxmnkd316]

I used to be a huge NASCAR fan but Brian France has sucked the fun out of it. I don't think that Nascar is just giving the championship to Johnson, the rest of the teams aren't spending as much money as Hendick is on winning. I was curious with this season up until Johnson started his surge of late. As a former fan I would have loved to seen Mark Martin win the cup! Talladega was one of my favorite races, I have been there twice and saw Dale Sr and Dale Jr win there...those are the days I long for...but they are gone and so is my interest. R.I.P. Dale Sr., Always the man...Forever a fan!!

Same here. Used to but now it's just "meh". All this has done is free up time to do/watch other things on sundays.

[g_manpucker]

The media talks about how Jimmie Johnson may be one of the best drivers of all time. I'm still not convinced he is that good. He's in the best equipment out there and his crew chief is sketchy...and that's putting it mildly.. You wanna prove to me that he really that good of a driver.....then put him a Dodge. Perhaps Elliot Sadler's car? Then maybe we'll see how good he really is.

not that good? he is in the best equipment, along with the #5,24 and 88, his crew chief is sketchy? you must be a casual fan at best, all crew chiefs are sketchy, go ahead and put him in a dodge, if you talk to anyone who knows racing they will tell you that the most important piece to being good is the relationship between driver and crew chief and jimmy and chad are the best at that. why do you think jr. isn't any good?he doesn't know how to relay information to his crew so they can set his car up. I am not a johnson fan but to say that he isn't good is absolutely ludicrous.

i agree with your evaluation of Jr, he doesn't talk much about his car on the radio unless he is winning. When the car is bad all he does is bitch, I was a big fan of his but he is just a middle of the pack guy now...if Sr was here he would be kicking his arse!!!

[Doughboy]

Jr is the new Kyle Petty

[g_manpucker]

Jr is the new Kyle Petty

I never thought of him that way but that is the perfect example of what he has become, cause Kyle at one time held some promise only to gain mediocrity. Kyle became a great businessman, but unfortunately for Jr his sister Kelley is the businessperson in the Earnhardt family.

[Luckygirl#13]

What has happend to Nascar?? Now they are telling drivers how to race? Talladega is supposed to be exciting...running 3-4-even 5 wide at times. Yesterday they were running single file! Quite possibly the most boring Talladega race I have ever seen.

Is there really a need to run the last 3 races?

[g_manpucker]

If it weren't for the fact that Talladega has over 150,000 fans show up twice a year they would probably throw it away. Seems to me that the most exciting races were the ones in the late 90's and early 00's there and there was always the "big one" but no one was flipping around in those days. I think this COT has some sort of design flaw that is making it go airborne when it gets spun around at 190 mph. Nascar is just plain awful anymore, its only going to get worse...have you seen the Nationwide cars coming out in the next year or so?

http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/pgStory ... o=10301178

[Larch]

The media talks about how Jimmie Johnson may be one of the best drivers of all time. I'm still not convinced he is that good. He's in the best equipment out there and his crew chief is sketchy...and that's putting it mildly.. You wanna prove to me that he really that good of a driver.....then put him a Dodge. Perhaps Elliot Sadler's car? Then maybe we'll see how good he really is.

You can't fault Jimmie here. The guy just goes out there and does his thing during the Chase. It's boring, but thats how it is. You need to take this one up with Nascar and this Chase format. It seems to be built for a guy like Jimmie. Jimmie is damn good all year long, but he seems to that little extra at the end of the season when the Chase comes around. It's not fair to other drivers because you have guys going into the Chase down a certain number of points and suddenly it all gets evened up and the points get closer. Same thing goes for a guy like, Tony who was leading the point standings for most of the year and suddenly the Chase comes around and he is behind Martin just because Mark had more wins. The points championship is supposed to award consistency. While Mark has been consistent for most of the year, he has still had bad races. That's why he was not leading the points even with all those wins under his belt. There is nothing that makes sense about the Chase format. They reward guys who are getting hot at the right time instead of the guys who have been consistent the whole year. Who's to say that without the Chase a guy like Jimmie couldn't get hot and make a run at the championship from third or fourth in the standing? Let them race it out and decide it without having to even the playing field for these guys. The worst part of all is that there are twelve guys racing for a championship once the Chase starts. What about those other 31 drivers on the track that are just racing for wins? The fate of the Chase drivers could be in the hands of these drivers that are just out there trying to win races. That's not right. This will be especially evident this weekend at Talledega when a Chase driver inevitably gets caught up in a wreck caused by someone not involved in the Chase. Bottom line is that I think the Chase is a joke in case you couldn't tell from my rant .

The chase does what they wanted it to do though, every other sport starts them back at zero and NASCAR was looking to be like every other sport. I know I wouldn't watch the end of the race yesterday over the start of the Vikes-Pack if Tony still had a 300 point lead...what would be the point? He was only 10 point behind Martin, if you can't make that back up, then you probably shouldn't have won anyway. The point is, it adds more interest, maybe you don't like, but many do. This season would be over and barely register if it wasn't for the chase. As it is, the last three probably won't matter, but that's better than the last 10+ races of the year.

FWIW, I'm a Hendrick fan and I like Jimmie, but even I want somebody to put him in the wall at this point.

[frozen4champs]

The major problem with Nascar is the season is TOO Long. It should end around Labor day or so. When the NFL season starts, I lose interest. IMHO, the COT makes the races boring. I really like the short tracks with bumping and banging, and usually love the super speedway races. I also believe it does not help the sport when 1 team dominates like the 48.

[dxmnkd316]

apparently danica is close to signing with JR motorsports.

A woman? In nascar? Oh the humanity.... A lot of rednecks are going to be up in arms about this one.

Personally I've always been a huge fan of danica's.

[Luckygirl#13]

I hope she stays in open wheel. I'm a woman....not a redneck....but I don't want her in Nascar. Most of the open wheel drivers that have ventured into Nascar have failed. And those drivers had more wins than Danica. Juan Pablo is the only one who has had any success so far and it's taken him 3 years to achieve it. I'd rather see a woman come up from the dirt tracks, one who has paid her dues. If Danica wants to race stock cars she should start in the Nationwide series.

[MATT]

If Danica wants to race stock cars she should start in the Nationwide series.

Isn't that what she's doing?

[JC65]

Most of the open wheel drivers that have ventured into Nascar have failed. And those drivers had more wins than Danica. Juan Pablo is the only one who has had any success so far and it's taken him 3 years to achieve it.

I won't argue that most open wheel drivers have not had great success in NASCAR. Most drivers in NASCAR have not had great success. But Tony Stewart switched from IRL to NASCAR and proceeded to win three races and finished 4th overall in his rookie season. So Juan Pablo isn't the only open wheeler who's had some success.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Stewart#Other_Racing_Series

[gopher wes]

If Danica wants to race stock cars she should start in the Nationwide series.

Isn't that what she's doing?

Yeah, If she signs its going to be a partial Nationwide schedule from what I understood. I think it's great because Danica is hot errrr a really good race car driver I mean . I think this is Jr's way of getting Danica to marry him someday. Jr never has a girl with him so I think this is his shot. What's that you tell me? Danica is already married? Get a girl Jr! Maybe then you won't be so uptight and feel so pressured on raceday!!

[Luckygirl#13]

If Danica wants to race stock cars she should start in the Nationwide series.

Isn't that what she's doing?

Yeah, If she signs its going to be a partial Nationwide schedule from what I understood. I think it's great because Danica is hot errrr a really good race car driver I mean . I think this is Jr's way of getting Danica to marry him someday. Jr never has a girl with him so I think this is his shot. What's that you tell me? Danica is already married? Get a girl Jr! Maybe then you won't be so uptight and feel so pressured on raceday!!

Hmmm....I wonder if Danica wasn't a hottie if anyone would be talking about her at all?? HA!
And I really don't think Junior has a problem getting girls. I'd bet he's got a few at every track! That's definitely not his problem!

[g_manpucker]

Hopefully Danica doesn't take a page out the Erin Crocker's book on how to sleep to the top, she screwed around with Ray Evernham...got a ride...lost the ride...married Evernham...now is a correspodent for Speed at dirt track races...sleeping with the boss pays off!

[dxmnkd316]

If Danica wants to race stock cars she should start in the Nationwide series.

Isn't that what she's doing?

I thought she was going to the nationwide series too.

[gopher wes]

If Danica wants to race stock cars she should start in the Nationwide series.

Isn't that what she's doing?

I thought she was going to the nationwide series too.

I think she is only doing Nationwide if I am not mistaken.

If Danica wants to race stock cars she should start in the Nationwide series.

Isn't that what she's doing?

Yeah, If she signs its going to be a partial Nationwide schedule from what I understood. I think it's great because Danica is hot errrr a really good race car driver I mean . I think this is Jr's way of getting Danica to marry him someday. Jr never has a girl with him so I think this is his shot. What's that you tell me? Danica is already married? Get a girl Jr! Maybe then you won't be so uptight and feel so pressured on raceday!!

Hmmm....I wonder if Danica wasn't a hottie if anyone would be talking about her at all?? HA!
And I really don't think Junior has a problem getting girls. I'd bet he's got a few at every track! That's definitely not his problem!

I know, but it would be nice to see him with a girl once in awhile.

[Larch]

I think she is only doing Nationwide if I am not mistaken.

I believe she is running the ARCA race for Daytona next year.