Nascar starts saturday night Woot !!

[f.sciarrillo]

O.k folks, Saturday is the shootout. Who do y'all think will win it this year ??

I think it will either be Dale Jr, Jimmy Johnson, or Jeff Gordon. I am hoping for Dale Jr or Michael Waltrip .. I think Michael Waltrip will come in the top five if he don't win. With him switching to dodge this year and starting his own team he might have some issues to contend with. Then it might also be Truex Jr. in the top ten as well.

I tell you though, I can't believe the changes in the past year. Flipping toyota coming next season ??? If it's not american owned keep it out of Nascar. I was reading that they had to cancel their involvement with the IRL to get into nascar. I am also reading that Honda will be in 2010. This is getting out of hand.

I also think that Roush and Hendrick should go to four teams this year and three next. It is an unfair advantage they have .. How about teams changing numbers ?? There is so much , you could right 3 hour analogy speech on last year and this year ..

Anyway, Lets' call the chase runners now and see where we stand ??

I will say it will be, not in order

Dale Jr.
Jimmy Johnson
Jeff Gordon
Greg Biffle
Mark Martin
Carl Edwards
Kasey Kahne
Tony Stewart
Martin Truex jr.
Kevin Harvick

Anyone want to take a stab at it ??

[AugaDiFlow]

NASCAR is boring as hell until the last 10 laps but ill say hmmmm waltrip

[RAM Z]

I'll have to go with Gordon but, Jr.would work too!
As long as it's a Chevy in the winner's circle I'll be happy. l.o.l.

[AtoMikEnRtiA]

a few questions about neckkar..

1) What is the big fucking deal with Dale Earnhardt Jr? Ive seen him race, it's not that impressive..

2) Why dont they EVER make a right hand turn outside of two road courses?

3) If Nascar is supposed to be the "elite" racing series on earth - why arent the "elite" drivers of the earth on the circuit.. examples of the elite drivers on earth, Michael Schumacher (Germany) Dan Wheldon (U.K.) Danica Patrick (U.S.), and legends like Ayerton Senna (Brazil), Bobby Rahal (U.S.) and Emerson Fittapaldi

... for the record, I think Tony Stewart is one of the finest drivers on the planet, he is certainly the greatest North American racer of all time - and he hasnt really been able to show it yet, but I think Kasey Kahne is one of the finest drivers on the earth as well - you get that kid a better car, with a better set up and engine, or a set of open wheels, he'll blow these "left turn specialists" like Kurt Busch, or Dale Earnhardt Jr away. If Kahne doesnt win atleast 3 Nascar championships in his career, i'll be very suprised.

4) Whats with the parody tracks? Every track is the same. Michigan is the same design as California, Daytona is the same as Talledega, Charlotte the same as Texas, Bristol .. well Bristol is like NOTHING else, that race is fun to watch - but whats with every track being built with another track in mind?

5) They actually have been throwing this idea around for a year or so now - and as much as I dont think it'll happen, it would be nice.. Dirt Track race? I think watching these guys on a dirt track for a race or 2 would be entertaining - build a specific 4 cylinder stock car, give them some wider tires, let them go.. I think it would be fun to see 500 laps on dirt .

Just some concerns.. I do watch Nascar sometimes, most of the night races if i got nothing better to do, or if baseball or hockey suck.

[Punkinhead]

It's Dale Jr's year, I am hoping anyways...lol...Can't wait for it to start though.



atomikenrtia - if you watch them race live, as I have many times, you realize who the best drivers in Nascar are. And Dale Jr. is one of them.

Here are the best 5 IMO right now from what I've seen live (TV blurs out alot of what goes on).

Tony Stewart
Jimmie Johnson
Jeff Gordon
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Ryan Newman

As for the best drivers on the planet argument, I don't really give a shit about racing outside of Nascar and local stuff so I can't debate on that. But it is my thinking that if they were the best they would probably want to race where even the shitheads make a million a year.

[AtoMikEnRtiA]

atomikenrtia - if you watch them race live, as I have many times, you realize who the best drivers are. And Dale Jr. is one of them.

Ive seen them live a few times.. twice in Bristol and once in Richmond, why I went, i dunno - I know i went to Richmond because we were on vacation in Virginia Beach that week and didnt know the race was that nite.. and Bristol night races were quite fun

i wasnt too impressed w/ Dale Earnhardt Jr. I know everybody has a bad race, but there are certain symantecs about racing that each driver does each week - I didnt think Dale Earnhardt Jr was that great a driver.. I think it's just a family legacy that since his father was so good, he will be the same.. but i dont think it will be. Just my opinion

[f.sciarrillo]

There are drivers from other circuits coming to nascar. IE; Borris Said, Paul tracy, Christian Fitipaldi. Next season there will be more .. Statictics have already proved that nascar is the second most watched sport on tv. And is the biggest sport live. It is really exciting to watch live, as tv don't really do it justice. I guess it's all in what you like.

The drivers you are talking about are formula one drivers That is ompletely diff. It's hard to say how they would do in stock car. If you look at borris said and Christian Fitipaldy. THey aren't doing nearly as good in a stock as they did in the IRL. Paul Tracy is only racing a couple of bush racs this year, and next year will be full time cup driver. The reason he is doing that is because he wants to get use to the cars. As he has said that they are completely diff than driving a indy car ..

If you look at also, there are a lot of manufacturers who want to get involved with it. Look at toyota, and honda. Rumors are that Bmw wants in also. In order to get in they have close all ties with the other circuits and focus nascar. Personally, I think it should be american made companies. This is not the rally races ..

[AtoMikEnRtiA]

There are drivers from other circuits coming to nascar. IE; Borris Said, Paul tracy, Christian Fitipaldi. Next season there will be more .. Statictics have already proved that nascar is the second most watched sport on tv. And is the biggest sport live. It is really exciting to watch live, as tv don't really do it justice. I guess it's all in what you like.

The drivers you are talking about are formula one drivers That is ompletely diff. It's hard to say how they would do in stock car. If you look at borris said and Christian Fitipaldy. THey aren't doing nearly as good in a stock as they did in the IRL. Paul Tracy is only racing a couple of bush racs this year, and next year will be full time cup driver. The reason he is doing that is because he wants to get use to the cars. As he has said that they are completely diff than driving a indy car ..

If you look at also, there are a lot of manufacturers who want to get involved with it. Look at toyota, and honda. Rumors are that Bmw wants in also. In order to get in they have close all ties with the other circuits and focus nascar. Personally, I think it should be american made companies. This is not the rally races ..

Christian Fittipaldi tried Nascar a few years back and it was a disaster for him. But then again, he was racing for Felix Sebates and team Target.

Toyota, Honda, BMW, Jaguar, and Porche are all showing interest in Nascar - i think it's good - I also think the moment Toyota and Honda enter Nascar, they'll dominate - I dont think it should be all American made models, because that speaks volumes of American's exclusionist theory w/ NASCAR, which already has a bad rap due to lack of diversity amongst its drivers, which i think is bullshit, but i dont speak for the general public.

Formula One drivers are better drivers than Nascar drivers. Period. They have to learn a lot more about the make and models of TRACKS and not CARS. Nascar is designed so that the cars are all the same, even though they arent after a few laps or so - so that better drivers will win, but with looseness and aerodynamics, it often becomes the better car. In F1 the drivers have to learn how tracks work and everything so its always about the drivers, who are much better atheletes that NASCAR.

just my opinion

[f.sciarrillo]

Your opiniion is fully true Atom. I agree with. I don't think Toyota will dominate though. I will say they my favorite driver Michael Waltrip will driving a toyota with his team enxt year. That should be interesting.

So far the ones slated will be Waltrip, Bill Davis Racing, And team Red Bull - There are rumors that Kevin Harvick or Robby Gordon will be driving for them. Although I can't see Robbie Gordon doing it with having his own team ..

The reason the cars in nascar are all the same is so it gives all teams an equal advantage. I agree with that. As far as diversity goes, they are going to have the first black driver in nascar history this year. I can't remember his name right now, but, he will be driving in the truck series ..

[old Skool]

Actually NASCAR has had a black driver in the truck series for a few years now. His name is Bill Lester. At first I wasn't too crazy about Toyota comin' into the cup series but after more thought it will create more competition between the brands and on paper competition should push for improvement and advancement. From watchin' the shows on Speed last night I think most of you guys are on target. Junior, Gordon & Johnson look pretty strong. I'm not a Chevy fan so this isn't too good of news for me. To say that Formula 1 drivers are better than NASCAR drivers doesn't make much sense. Kind of like saying a metal guitarist is better than a blues guitarist, you know-the whole apples & oranges thing. Purely a personal judgement call. Anyways, my pick for the shootout is Kenny Shrader. Yeah I know...come on. Here's how Shrader wins-Kyle Busch is going to tangle with Harvick and take out the rest of the field. Shrader's on the pole and thus the only car left running at full speed. It's a Daytona miracle!

[bassist_25]

Actually NASCAR has had a black driver in the truck series for a few years now. His name is Bill Lester. At first I wasn't too crazy about Toyota comin' into the cup series but after more thought it will create more competition between the brands and on paper competition should push for improvement and advancement. From watchin' the shows on Speed last night I think most of you guys are on target. Junior, Gordon & Johnson look pretty strong. I'm not a Chevy fan so this isn't too good of news for me. To say that Formula 1 drivers are better than NASCAR drivers doesn't make much sense. Kind of like saying a metal guitarist is better than a blues guitarist, you know-the whole apples & oranges thing. Purely a personal judgement call. Anyways, my pick for the shootout is Kenny Shrader. Yeah I know...come on. Here's how Shrader wins-Kyle Busch is going to tangle with Harvick and take out the rest of the field. Shrader's on the pole and thus the only car left running at full speed. It's a Daytona miracle!

I was wondering how long it was going to take old sKool to post on this thread.

[f.sciarrillo]

Actually NA SCAR has had a black driver in the truck series for a few years now. His name is Bill Lester. At first I wasn't too crazy about Toyota comin' into the cup series but after more thought it will create more competition between the brands and on paper competition should push for improvement and advancement. From watchin' the shows on Speed last night I think most of you guys are on target. Junior, Gordon & Johnson look pretty strong. I'm not a Chevy fan so this isn't too good of news for me. To say that Formula 1 drivers are better than NASCAR drivers doesn't make much sense. Kind of like saying a metal guitarist is better than a blues guitarist, you know-the whole apples & oranges thing. Purely a personal judgement call. Anyways, my pick for the shootout is Kenny Shrader. Yeah I know...come on. Here's how Shrader wins-Kyle Busch is going to tangle with Harvick and take out the rest of the field. Shrader's on the pole and thus the only car left running at full speed. It's a Daytona miracle!

Yeah , the more I think about it the more I think Toyota will help more than it will hurt.

As for you shootout predict. I never thought about that. It is possible. With how Kyle Busch seems to lose his train of thought at times and Harvick is a hot head. I'm looking for for Waltrip to right up there also. His times last night were perfect. He was getting ahead till he ran out of gas.

[MOONDOGGY]

I agree w/ AtoMikEnRtiA. There isn't a NASCAR driver alive or dead, or even another human on earth, that could have done what Schumacher has done in his racing career. I think someone of his level could fair pretty well in NASCAR.

I also gotta throw in WRC. It's a cross between drving excellence and sheer insanity. It removes the need for quick and efficient pitcrews, but throws in a navigator. That's teamwork.

Oh, and let's not forget about endurance races like 24 hours of Le Mans (GT and LP series), Baja racing, and the prestigeous Paris-Dakar Rally. I missed the Dakar this year, and I have not been keeping up w/ WRC as much, but if you have never watched those, then I highly recommend it. They always makes for great racing entertainment.

[Craven Sound]

I also gotta throw in WRC. It's a cross between drving excellence and sheer insanity. It removes the need for quick and efficient pitcrews, but throws in a navigator. That's teamwork.

Unfortuantely, Speedtv, aka Nascar TV, quit showing WRC. There is no one that picked it up either, which really sucks for us people that don't like Good Ole' Boy racing.

[Jim Price]

I like auto racing in general, but don't watch it on enough of a regular basis to have a favorite driver or team preference. But I always take in the highest profile races from NASCAR, Indy car and Formula One each year: Daytona, Indy 500 and Monaco respectively. (I haven't missed the Indy 500 since I was 12 years old - lock the door and take the phone off the hook when that race is on!)

I think Toyota and other companies getting in on NASCAR is ultimately a good thing. First, it should make things even more competitive between manufacturers and teams, leading to more innovations on the track.

But also consider that innovations that develop for auto racing also can make their way into the consumer autos we drive. The rear view mirrors on our vehicles today were an innovation first used by Ray Harroun when he won the very first Indy 500 back in 1911.

I remember reading or hearing an interview with Michael Schumacher once where he said he thought that NASCAR was too reckless and dangerous, and he had no intention of ever taking part in it.

[f.sciarrillo]

You see drivers from diff areas having some sort of interest in nascar though JP. That is a good thing .. There is a diff between that and formula one as well as indy. I am thinking that the drivers want to go somewhere where the market is bigger. That will help them out. When it comes to racing at times, it kinda reminds you of football. Some people are only in it for the money.

Anyway, did any of you see where hendrick is starting to cheat already ? Chad Knaus got ejected from all daytona racing events this year because of him cheating. He got caught a couple of times last season also. I would think that nascar would do something to keep him out of the tracks. It's no wonder that Jimmy Johnson is doing so good. Having a combination of both Jeff Gordons old equipment and a cheater for a crew chief. He will deff be in the chase ... Time to kick him out.

[AtoMikEnRtiA]

You see drivers from diff areas having some sort of interest in nascar though JP. That is a good thing .. There is a diff between that and formula one as well as indy. .

Please tell me you're joking.

You go outside of the United States and Quebec, and Nascar is looked at as simply a redneck guilty pleasure. Formula 1 is the most respected form of racing on earth, Formula 1 is popular on EVERY continent.. you'll be lucky to find fans outside of North America..

and as far as drivers go.. i havent heard of one european driver expressing ANY interest in neckkar.. so much for your interest theory..

Anyway, did any of you see where hendrick is starting to cheat already ? Chad Knaus got ejected from all daytona racing events this year because of him cheating. He got caught a couple of times last season also. I would think that nascar would do something to keep him out of the tracks. It's no wonder that Jimmy Johnson is doing so good. Having a combination of both Jeff Gordons old equipment and a cheater for a crew chief. He will deff be in the chase ... Time to kick him out.

and no offense, but this sounds like the typical "dale jr" fan squabbling because jimmy johnson is a better race car driver than their beloved "junior" because for the most part, Dale Earnhardt Jr fans cant grasp that out of the 40 other main guys.. there are a few better than Dale Jr.

[f.sciarrillo]

You see drivers from diff areas having some sort of interest in nascar though JP. That is a good thing .. There is a diff between that and formula one as well as indy. .

Please tell me you're joking.

You go outside of the United States and Quebec, and Nascar is looked at as simply a redneck guilty pleasure. Formula 1 is the most respected form of racing on earth, Formula 1 is popular on EVERY continent.. you'll be lucky to find fans outside of North America..

Anyway, did any of you see where hendrick is starting to cheat already ? Chad Knaus got ejected from all daytona racing events this year because of him cheating. He got caught a couple of times last season also. I would think that nascar would do something to keep him out of the tracks. It's no wonder that Jimmy Johnson is doing so good. Having a combination of both Jeff Gordons old equipment and a cheater for a crew chief. He will deff be in the chase ... Time to kick him out.

and no offense, but this sounds like the typical "dale jr" fan squabbling because jimmy johnson is a better race car driver than their beloved "junior" because for the most part, Dale Earnhardt Jr fans cant grasp that out of the 40 other main guys.. there are a few better than Dale Jr.

LOL! I like that .. Have you heard of cascar ?? also, I am a jr. fan, yes. But he is not my favorite driver. Michael Waltrip is my favorite driver. I follow him more than Jr., I like them all for the most part though. When I watch it don't really root for a particular driver. I do lean towards Waltrip, but, if he don't win I don't throw a hissy fit about it. There are 42 other drivers on the track. They all should have the same advantage. Who ever wins is the best driver that particular day. I am what you call a true Nascar fan. I like them all, and I enjoy watching it. I also don't watch it just for the wrecks. I think anyone who does shouldn't even be watching it. They are not true fans ..

If you look at it also, nascar is mainly an american sport. With them buying cascar look for them to be in canada real soon. I also look for them to expand with mexico .. Have t wait and see what happens ..

[songsmith]

So Formula 1 is better because it's more popular worldwide? So then soccer is better than American football? Cricket is played worldwide and gaining popularity in leaps and bounds. From yee-haw to yee-awwwwn. It's the difference between tuners and muscle cars. Tomato and tomah-to.
Atomik, I'm tellin' ya buddy, you can take the boy out of the country but you can't take the country...
Someday you'll acknowledge your redneck roots. ------->JMS

[AtoMikEnRtiA]

hahaha thats great, i liked that, i tell ya what songsmith - the day that happens, i'll look you up, call you - put on a pair of .. what do you call them? ... uh shit-kickers? and we'll bust out the firearms and "go get us a deer".. maybe we'll take Dick Cheyney.. you know, just for laughs haha

of course, I imagine this to be about the same day that Norm Peterson gives up beer, the Buffalo Bills win a superbowl, and Michael Jackson stops fistbanging little boys haha - but when it does songsmith - i'll tell ya buddy

[Trucula]

Have always loved to watch the races...And slept thru a few!...Sundays are usually ruff after a 3-4 am return from the gig the night before.
I think it be cool to combined WWE and Nascar...lol....some good mouth fights before and then race!...Hell get rid of the restricter plates and let em fly clean off the track!...and if ya want to fill the stands more?...figure 8 the track!!!..(I love Nascar, don't get me wrong....lol)..I really like sprint cars...something about 120mph. thru dirt corners ,turning right to go left and riding the cushion to get ya thru is pretty cool....
Some other cool "red-neck" racing (if you ever caught it yet) is the train racing on figure 8 track(3 cars chained togeather) and the trucks pulling campers in a demolation derby type race is real cool...
also anyone ever see the roto-tiller drags?.....sooped up with motorcycle engines and kill switches stapped to arms so when ya fall it kills the engine and lands in a catch fence at the end..those guys run so fast they prob touch ground like 5 times down the strip!!..What the South don't come up with!!!

[songsmith]

I saw a riding mower race on TV once... that looked like fun I could do, except I don't drink enough. I love the schoolbus derbies, too. It lowers your IQ a few points, but so does, um, beans. ----->JMS

[AtoMikEnRtiA]

I saw a riding mower race on TV once... that looked like fun I could do, except I don't drink enough. I love the schoolbus derbies, too. It lowers your IQ a few points, but so does, um, beans. ----->JMS

riding mower races? hahaha i HAVE to see this..

of course, the ultimate question is.. do they keep the blades on the mower? god i hope so - because that would add some fun to the event.. make it eventful, add some suspense.. could you imagine the marketing?

"Ya'll come on down now to the Bedford County Fair on Tuesday, August 14th and see the R.M.R.A action LIVE. All 5 classes will be there.. Pushmower, Power Wheels, Weed-whacker, Top Fuel, and Cupholder. Come see the spins, the hitting, the inevitable loss of limbs and decapitation that is a 3 mower pile-up. So come on down, admission is just 12 bucks an a-dult, and free for the young pups. To the Bedford County fair.. yeee-haww!!"

oh man it would be worth the cost of admission!

[RobTheDrummer]

I don't care what is popular, the BEST drivers in the world are Rally Car racers.....Those guys know what the hell they are doing!

Aside from all that, I like Jeff Gordon. He's a good driver and he's consistent.

[songsmith]

Nah, no blades. They do put different transmissions in though, likely from go-karts. They go fast and have a high center of gravity and little traction, so there are lots of wrecks. It's hilarious, like donkey-baseball hilarious.------->JMS