NASCAR 2012 Thread
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I hate to say it, but I have to agree with Dale. I know he missed a few, but last year there were 9 first time winners in the Sprint Cup series and if my calculations are correct, 18 different drivers. There was no one dominant driver until we reached the Chase and we all know who that was...the one driver who had not one a race all during the regular season, Tony Stewart.
You may, or may not, have noticed that I did mention the excitement of the chase last year. My point is that the races taken by them selves have been boring. Maybe it is just me, but watching a whole race to see the gap closed by a caution or two in the last fourty laps just doesn't cut it. I liked the old days when there were sling shot pass attempts on the last turn of the last lap to decide the race. Sorry, just my opinion.
Now I like last years Daytona 500 where Trevor won it. They had more than 130 lead changes and the two car tandem. This year they changed the car so much and that resulted in something like 70 some odd lead changes which made it kind of boring. Thirteen races in and nine different winners so far this season.
Kennseth moving on
For Matt Kenseth, it can be a strange experience to think about the first of next year, and leaving the only race team he's ever known.
It will indeed be odd to picture Kenseth anywhere but Roush Fenway Racing, the organization for which he's made all but one of his 452 career starts on NASCAR's top division. But he already knows his destination for 2013 and beyond.
Stenhouse Jr. to replace Kennseth at the end of season
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got the nod this week when the organization picked the defending Nationwide Series champion to replace Matt Kenseth in the Sprint Cup Series when Kenseth leaves at the end of the season.
Roush Fenway president Steve Newmark said Wednesday the decision to move Stenhouse up over Bayne was a matter of timing.
Penalty doesn't detract from Dillon's Kentucky win
In the Nationwide Series garage at Kentucky Speedway Stockman met with a somber message from team operations director Gil Martin. In post-event inspection, the rear of the No. 3 car had been found to be too low.
The violation ultimately cost Stockman $10,000 and Dillon six points in the standings, forcing him to give back the four-point series lead he had taken after the race.
Sore back sidelines Hamlin from Nationwide
Joe Gibbs Racing announced Wednesday that it has altered its driver lineup for Friday's Nationwide Series Subway Jalapeno 250 at Daytona International Speedway.
"My hope was to run the Nationwide Series race Friday night, but I woke up with a sore back earlier this week and feel it's in the best interest of the team to sit it out," Hamlin said. "Luckily it's nothing serious and the extra rest will help me on Saturday night."
Allmendinger suspended after failing drug test
AJ Allmendinger has been suspended temporarily by NASCAR for failing a random drug test.
O'Donnell said that Allmendinger had 72 hours to request a test of his 'B' sample, per the NASCAR rule book. If he declines that test, or if that test also comes up positive, his suspension will become indefinite.
Hornish had returned to the Charlotte, N.C., area after Friday night's Nationwide race, and was flying back to the speedway late Saturday afternoon...
Great racing Friday and Saturday night at Daytona, in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Divisions. Lots of drama. Danica, running up front all night on Friday was involved in a hard crash that drove her steering wheel up above her head, in height. Saturday Tony Stewart came from the back of the pack twice to get his third win of the season. In the last lap, Jeff Burton got out of shape in turn 2, saved it, lost several positions, and then avoided the crash in turn 4 to finish second. Keselowski's car was nailed in the pits while being serviced, causing significant damage, yet he climbed back to third and finished eighth. Kurt Bush made a bonehead move during the last third of the race and caused a multi-car accident. All in all, a great weekend of exciting racing from Daytona.
Keelan Harvick
Kevin and DeLana Harvick welcomed son Keelan Paul Harvick (pronounced Keylan) Sunday, July 8th, 2012. Keelan weighed in at 6.8 lbs. and 19.5 inches. Throughout the pregnancy, the Harvicks had jokingly referred to their son as "Baby Otis" on Twitter and in public. "Waiting on Keelan was the longest nine months of my entire life," Kevin Harvick said. "But time literally stood still when I held our baby for the first time. I've accomplished a lot in my life that I'm proud of, but those moments don't hold a candle to becoming a father and seeing that little face looking up at you. DeLana and I are just amazed by how special and rewarding this is." Mother and baby are doing well.(Harvick PR)(7-8-2012)
The name is supposedly a combination of both Kevin's name and Delana's name.
May God bless them all. I saw a show on the tube a year or two ago in which the Harvick home was featured. They live in what I would describe as a small mansion in a rural part of North Carolina. When they came to the kitchen, which was apparently equipped with every possible kitchen tool and appliance known to man, Delana said, in effect, "But I don't know how to use any of them." I'm thinking she'll now become a quick learner. Babies are a great equalizer.
Army to end Stewart-Haas Racing sponsorship
The U.S. Army has decided not to renew its sponsorship with Stewart-Haas Racing for 2013, ending a decade of involvement in NASCAR's premier series.
According to a release issued Tuesday by the team, the decision was made because of "a reallocation of [the Army's] marketing budget that will not include a presence in NASCAR."
Earlier this year, the House Appropriations Committee adopted an amendment that would prohibit the military from sponsorship of sports events...
Hornish back in 22 as Allmendinger awaits results
Sam Hornish Jr. will be back in the No. 22 Sprint Cup car at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend, as Penske Racing continues to await the fate of suspended regular driver AJ Allmendinger.
Monday night, NASCAR confirmed that it had received a request from Allmendinger to have his "B" sample from the same test also be examined. If that test also proves positive, he faces indefinite suspension and possible further medical examination or treatment.
Regarding ending the military sponsorship of NASCAR teams or events...another stupid decision by our elected representatives. I've heard/read in other forums that the Army, in particular, considers the money spent with NASCAR related sponsorships to be their best bang for their recruitment dollars, effective-advertising-wise. It's pretty much a year round operation with NASCAR advertising/sponsorship/support from the racing team to the sponsors.
One was brought forward by a Democrat and the other brought forward by a Republican so it is not like we can blame a certain party for this.
The rundown of penalties in Daytona
In the Nationwide Race at Daytona over the weekend, Dillon was docked another 6 points for the second week in a row and fined the crew chief another $10,000. Both the car chief and crew chief have been suspended until July 25th and have been put on probation until December 31st.
Joey Logano’s car also did not pass inspection for that race, but because he does not compete for a championship in this division, they fined the crew chief $10,000 and docked JGR six points in owner points. The crew chief is on probation until August 22nd.
Now for Tony Stewart in the Sprint Cup division, his crew chief was fined $25,000 and they lost 6 championship points and also put them on probation until August 22nd. This all started over a cracked window that was not replaced properly.
While I did not cast aspersions toward democrats or republicans, above, it is clear to me that most dumb ideas/legislation orginate from "progressive" thinkers (using the term "thinkers" very liberally here), most, but not all, of whom are democrats.
And I learned today the Army is not dropping all motor sports advertising, only NASCAR. Keeping NHRA. NHRA advertising costs less...but has a much smaller audience. Perhaps this is simply a budgetary decision, regardless of effectiveness or ad dollar efficiency.
http://aol.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2012-07-10/president-barack-oba...
How do you get discounted tickets to this weekend's NASCAR race at New Hampshire? Make them Barack Obama's tickets.
When President Barack Obama turned down free tickets to this weekend’s Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the track hoped to auction off the “presidential” tickets to raise big money for charity.
The...tickets, which are emblazoned with Obama’s name and the White House address, were sold for $300. Bidding began at $100 and the tickets, which are for some of the best seats at the track, are valued at $110 each.
The best seats in the house cost $110 at NHIS
At Fenway they cost $165
At Yankee Stadium they cost $300
At Gillette Stadium they cost $211
Now, can you imagine the cost for a family of 4 or 5. HOLY COW !!!! Something wrong when a NASCAR Sprint Cup event which lasts all day and into the evening and you can get right up close to the drivers and their pit crews...and it offends nobody. They are open to their fans. Try doing that in a baseball or football event and you will get tossed out or arrested. You really get your monies worth at a NASCAR event.
Trevor Bayne to race in TD Bank 250
Bayne gets all of this, and it's why he will make his first trip to Maine next weekend for the 39th annual TD Bank 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway.
The youngest driver to ever win the Daytona 500, Bayne, 21, said he will travel north to travel back in time.
"This race will bring me back to my roots," he said. "I'm so pumped. I don't get to do too much short-track stuff anymore.
Using these two links I have gathered some information about yesterdays race and I know we saw a lot of commercials, but HOLY COW !!! this is a little much. We watched a race that was 2 hours and 44 minutes long and saw 56 minutes of commercials so we actually watched 1 hour and 48 minutes of racing on the television. Thank goodness for Race Buddy.
It seemed like we interupt these commercials to bring you 180 seconds of racing. After all that is pretty close to what it works out to mathmatically.
I often go to Race Buddy, but as the race lengthens in time, the Race Buddy stream view seems to be about five to 10 mnutes behind the live televised broadcast, perhaps more. This discrepancy stood out in Sunday's race, when, fifteen to twenty laps after the last caution, Race Buddy was showing the greenflag start after the caution. I also noticed this discrepancy about a month or six weeks ago, at the end of the race. The race was long over, yet Race Buddy was just getting into the final laps.
Anyone hear attendance it looked spotty in stands on turn 3??
Nationwide attendance was real spotty IMHO.
NASCAR, leagues ask Speaker to intervene on bill
NASCAR has joined with other major sports leagues in sending an open letter to the Speaker of the House... would restrict branches of the military from using sports sponsorships...
In a letter sent Monday to Rep. John Boehner,... NASCAR, the NFL, NBA, MLB, and IndyCar urged the Speaker show "continued opposition" to the Kingston-McCollum amendment to the $608 billion 2013 Dept. of Defense appropriations bill
A vote on the appropriations bill is scheduled for Wednesday...
Here I thought it was just NASCAR and it was only $138 billion and here we find out it is a lot more than that...not that the whole thing is all for recruitment.
Osborne out as crew chief for Edwards, No. 99
Bob Osborne is transitioning away from his role as crew chief of the No. 99 Sprint Cup team at Roush Fenway Racing. Osborne will remain with the organization's management team and steering committee.
"At this time in my life, concerns with my health have necessitated that I change my role within the organization. This transition is not an easy one, but I'm thankful to have the full support of Jack, Carl and the entire organization.
Camaro to race in Nationwide in 2013
If you've been wondering why it took Chevrolet so long to decide to race the Camaro nameplate in the Nationwide Series, don't worry. You're not alone, according to Pat Suhy, manager of Chevy Racing's oval track group.
"There's been pressure from a lot of places," Suhy said. "Clearly, it shows how enthusiastic people are about the Camaro to begin with, which is a good thing.
It got the attention of people inside the NASCAR garage...
This will be a great addition with the Ford Mustang in this series...so, when will these models make the jump to the Cup Series.
Of course they will look like both cars but they aren't really!
At least it will be good for series and NASCAR. The move is based in the fact that NNW series is actually getting better racing on track and brinigng a NW lookalike COT to that serious would not be good.
Remember the COT today still reeks compared to old Cup cars.
Anyone else notice that easily 1/2 the seats at the Indy 500 were empty.
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Bruce, I have no idea of the answers to your two questions. My simple point is that if you are looking for excitement in NASCAR racing...or racing at your local small track, you'll find it. Sometimes in the bump and grind of competition. Sometimes in two or three drivers exchanging positions lap after lap after lap. Sometimes in a rookie surprising everyone or an underfunded team doing the same. Sometimes in a pit crew ballet under intense performance conditions. Sometimes in a green/white/checker finish that takes two or three times to get it done. Sometimes in the amazing performance of a driver/team that runs away with the show, from strart to finish. Excitement, like beauty and humor, is in the eye of the beholder.