Matt's Thread of Racing...

Is Nascar REALLY going to be this stubborn about their rule decision and unwillingness to look at alternative solutions? At this point, their making a Rube Goldberg machine of rules for these races when there are simple solutions staring them in the face.
 
I undertand NASCAR is under pressure from fans and drivers. It's kind of hard to please both of them. I think they need to listen to the fans first. They are losing viewers to this sport every single week.

And I'm highly upset at some fans who are bashing Jimmie Johnson about winning a 4th consecutive championship. I don't know why they can get mad at someone for going out and doing what he's suppposed to do, and that's win races and finish good.

And here's an interesting fact. If they were under the old points system, Jimmie Johnson would be leading Stewart by 7 points. Gordon would be 14 points behind.
 
I undertand NASCAR is under pressure from fans and drivers. It's kind of hard to please both of them. I think they need to listen to the fans first. They are losing viewers to this sport every single week.

They've started to "open up" to the drivers with these "Town Hall" meetings, which I think is just as crucial as getting fan input about what they want from this sport.

And I'm highly upset at some fans who are bashing Jimmie Johnson about winning a 4th consecutive championship. I don't know why they can get mad at someone for going out and doing what he's suppposed to do, and that's win races and finish good.

He's the new and improved Jeff Gordon when he was at his peak in the late 90's. Young, clean shaven without an accent, and INSANELY talented and successful. Anyone who has a lot of consisten success is going to have unnecessary backlash from "haters". The Yankees, Cowboys/Patriots/Steelers, etc all have their haters out there because of how much success they have or had at one point. It's a bit unfair, but people do get tired of hearing Johnson fans bragging every single year.

And here's an interesting fact. If they were under the old points system, Jimmie Johnson would be leading Stewart by 7 points. Gordon would be 14 points behind.

I read that Gordon would be 72 behind but yeah, it's one year where the Chase is less compelling than the old system. There will be years like this, but overall, the Chase has been a great addition to Nascar, in my opinion. It's by no means perfect, but there really wasn't much point to watch some of the races like New Hampshire, Kansas, etc until the Chase.
 
Wow, three laps in at Texas and I suddenly have a reason to watch the last two races. Even though I don't hate Johnson, I laughed when he wrecked, mainly because I'm rooting for Martin and it meant that Texas, Phoenix, and Miami actually have meaning again.

Great win for Kurt Busch, and a great 4th place finish for Mark Martin, AND they head to Phoenix next week, where Martin won in the spring. Johnson's wreck may have come one week too late, but at least there's hope now for Martin.
 
When the announcers said wreck in turn 2, I immediately thought of Johnson. I still don't expect Johnson to lose the championship, but I'm hoping Martin gives him a run. Sucks that Montoya had a bad finish. It would be really interesting if Johnson suffers another bad race(doubt it happens) at Phoenix. Martin, Gordon, Stewart and Busch would have a shot at Homestead.

It was nice to see Kurt Busch back in victory lane. It's nice to see a team other than a Hendrick/Roush based car in victory lane.
 
That's the only downside to Phoenix is that Johnson runs very well there. I too don't think Martin will win at this point, since I'm expecting Johnson and Knaus will play it safe until the end and probably wind up with a top 10 finish, but there's hope now at least.
 
If Johnson leaves with a 195 point lead today, he'll clinch the championship. That means that Martin and Gordon would have to have horrific days and Johnson would have to win the race. I think Johnson will play it safe today though. I want to see him struggle and see Martin win this race, but even though I think Martin will win this race, I unfortunately can't see Johnson finishing too far outside of the top 10 today.
 
I'd like Hamlin too if he didn't have a black cloud of bad luck over his head every week.
 
Congrats to Denny Hamlin for his win at Homestead, but all the attention goes to Johnson tonight. Four championships in a row. That just sounds baffling to type. I think winning this fourth puts him at an all time level with Jef Gordon, who still has more wins and a longer period of dominance. I don't see how in the world he could win another next year, but it just wouldn't surprise me if he did.

Speaking of next year, it looks like there are going to be a LOT of contenders. RCR is getting their program back together. Martin should be much stronger in his second year with his new team. Roush and Gibbs ought to be back to form, and Stweard-Haas should continue to grow more and more.

Is there really any other sports team that can compare to what the 48 team has done these past four years? People always say that Nascar isn't a sport, but there are a ton of people involved in making a championship team, and Johnson and his crew have done it time and time and time and time again.
 
Congrats to Jimmie Johnson on a 4th consecutive title. Just an unbelievable accomplishment.
 
Gordon had been in a slump the past couple years before turning it around this year in the Chase. Johnson's still riding high at the peak of his career.
 
I'm glad they reduced the California distance, but why make Phoenix 600 miles (or kilometers. WTF is up with that anyway?)? It's not exactly the most exciting track on the schedule worthy of extra miles, and I like Charlotte having the only 600 mile race.

As for the changes to the COT, January 21st is supposed to be the day that the changes are announced. Hopefully, a larger tire and the removal of that splitter are the least of the changes to the car. I think that if the spoiler allows the cars to handle better/pass easier, I'm all for it being put back on the cars. I also know that the superspeedway cars are getting a "shark fin" down the back of the car to help keep them from spinning/getting airborne.
 
Changing the Phoenix race is still a head scratcher. The Califronia race made sense. That always gets boring.

The changes will come in March when some drivers will do testing at Lowes. I'm interested to see how this affects the racing.
 
I agree that many of the races need to be scaled back in mileage to reach new fans and keep the old ones from taking naps. A 500 mile and 600 mile race should be something rare and special. I know that even during short tracks I'll tune out during the middle of the race (Or sometimes the beginning with how it freaking takes to get the race started).
 
The Pocono races should be reduced to 300 or 400 miles. I usually get bored during those races.

Daytona 500 qualifying is next Saturday along with the Budweiser Shootout. :up:
 
I'd like to see almost every race reduced by about 100 miles at least.

Finally, the racing season is back. The one thing that holds me over til football season again besides the Stanley Cup playoffs.
 
The cars will be on the track Thursday for Budweiser Shootout practice at 5PM. My friend also told me he heard on Sirius Satellite Radio that NASCAR is going to go easy on them for Daytona this year so they don't repeat last fall's Talladega race. I'm sure they're still gonna watch for aggressive bump drafting.
 
The cars will be on the track Thursday for Budweiser Shootout practice at 5PM. My friend also told me he heard on Sirius Satellite Radio that NASCAR is going to go easy on them for Daytona this year so they don't repeat last fall's Talladega race. I'm sure they're still gonna watch for aggressive bump drafting.

According to Jayski, all bump drafting rules will be eliminated from Daytona and Talladega, but I figure that if someone causes a massive wreck, they'll penalize them. They're also getting a larger restrictor plate, meaning larger holes which means more horsepower. Hopefully the Bud Shootout will be a good indicator of the kind of racing we'll see.

Nascar Now debuts tonight at 6 on ESPN2.
 
Well that's good they're eliminating all bump drafting rules. The only thing that concerns me is the huge break aways. We've seen in the last couple years 2 cars drafting past a line of 8-10 cars, then jump out to a 2-4 second lead. Hopefully the new spolier won't allow them to do that and will keep them bunched together.
 

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