Sunday, which was my 23rd birthday, was supposed to be a day in which we all saw the world's best racing. Unfortunately the Daytona 500 did not meet most expectations, and it showed us how disconnected NASCAR is with their fans. NASCAR can't control the weather, but if you have the slightest opportunity to finish the last 50 laps, you better do it. Mike Joy said on T.V. that "we wouldn't be able to resume racing until 11". My guess is that the fans at the track and at home probably wouldn't care how late the race went. Afterall it's the biggest race of the year and The Simpsons in HD could have made the track drying process seem quicker. If NASCAR is going to start races later, then they better be willing to finish races later. If the races started around 1 or 2 like they used to then we would have seen a full race on Sunday, but instead NASCAR shot themselves in the foot and erased any chance of rebounding from bad weather. Calling the race only 15 minutes after the cars were parked was a disgrace to fans everywhere. On top of that, they sent a message to potential race goers that if it starts raining then you might as well get up and leave if it's past the half way point.
NASCAR is the only major sport that I know of that rips off fans by finishing an event short of its advertisted distance. Major League Baseball can have rain delays just like NASCAR, but they don't call the game over if it starts raining. Even NHRA promises to finish all of the rounds regardless of how long it takes, they don't say "oh so and so is faster then everyone else soooo lets give them the trophy". I love NASCAR more than any other sport but as of late I haven't found much about NASCAR to be proud of. After Sunday's disgraceful end it's not surprising to me why many tracks have a hard time selling tickets. If you go to a race, there is no guarentee that you will have closure from the race's outcome, which is why I refuse to go to Talladega or other events until things get change.
Lastly, someone in the media better put Brian Vickers in his place. He can say all he wants about Jr "intentioanally" wrecking him but if my memory serves me right didn't Vickers do the exact same thing at Talladega in the fall of 06? Of course back then everyone in the media was like "oooooo it was just an accident, do you know how fast they are going and how it just takes a little bump to turn a guy around?". It's pretty sickening that the racing media is so quick to crucify Dale Jr for a mistake, especially when Dale Jr usually gives other drivers the benefit of the doubt when they turn him around. If you don't believe me just listen to what Dale Jr said after he got wrecked by Busch at Richmond. There's nothing like attracting fans by trying to insult Dale Jr by saying he intentionally wrecks people that make him mad.
Ok, first off let me say I used to blog on here a ton but it took me way too long to find this stupid "add post" button. You guys here at racingone need to make it easier to post stuff on here, period.
That being said, I am deeply concerned with what happened today with Scott Kalitta. This is the second driver in as many years to lose his life in a funny car and it is unacceptable, PERIOD. If anyone saw the tape today on ESPN 2 I gotta say that what I saw was not only horrific but also downright disgusting. Scott's car blew up as it crossed the finish line, tore the body off, and I think the parachutes got damaged as well. At first it didn't look that bad but then he hit the sand trap and all you could see was a huge explosion of fire and smoke as if the car was a missle hitting a wall. NHRA seriously needs to 1) make the cars safer, 2) extend all drag strips to give the cars a better chance of slowing down, and 3) figure out a better way to slow down these cars. I don't care what has to be done, how they do it, but if NASCAR can make their sport as safe as it is then NHRA should step up to the plate. After losing two funny car drivers and almost losing John Force you would think they would do something about it.
I hope to god that Scott Kalitta didn't die in vein today. Rest in Peace Scott!
The Las Vegas race was awesome. The racing was exciting, and even though the finish wasn't what I had hoped at least Jr had a great finish. However, now that it appears that Carl Edwards had an aerodynamic advantage I really feel cheated that his win wasn't taken away. I mean, don't get me wrong I really want to see Jr get his first win this year by dominating a race or just being the best car. The problem is that if Carl was cheating then on Sunday Jr's car was the best there at the end ya know?
Not only did Carl lose 100 points, be he also lost the 10 point bonus if he makes a chase race which he would of got from winning. So, not only did he score far less points than second place, but NASCAR will also take away the bonus points he would have gotten from his victory. Why not just take the win away? I mean, if you want to be credible in the eyes of NASCAR fans you can't say that a driver that cheated deserves to keep the trophy and the win. If people cheat in the olympics or baseball they don't get to keep their medals or trophies right?
If I found out that Jr cheated after he had won a race, I would feel the same way. Cheaters don't deserve to keep a win they didn't earn fairly.
This week's Vegas race was many times better than the soup sandwich we had last weekend. The racing was very exciting and I am actually impressed with the speedway itself. We saw a lot of 2-3 wide action, and because of the car of tomorrow and the car set up drivers really had to be careful on the track or risk hitting the wall or worse. However, the race and the prerace show had some flaws.
First off, Vegas needs to fix the backstretch wall asap. Jeff Gordon is lucky he didn't hit the wall head on. I think if it weren't for the hans device and the safer Car of Tomorrow and the slower speeds, Jeff might be pretty messed up right about now. I don't see why tracks could leave areas like these and put drivers in danger. Does NASCAR want another one of their big stars hurt or dead? It could of happened at California with the water situation and it could of happened again with Jeff Gordon's wreck.
My other complaint is actually with Fox and the media. This week we heard all about Toyota and how Kyle Busch is the new NASCAR god. Of course we've only had TWO races so it's real stupid to say what they have been saying. For example, on the pre race show a little kid asked Kyle Busch, "Do you think Rick Hendrick has seller's remorse right now?". Umm, ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Jr had a great speedweeks, and would have had a better Daytona 500 if he had some teammates to help him out (just look at Penske to see how important teammates are at Daytona). Plus, it wasn't Jr's fault that Casey Mears wrecked him. I'm glad that Kyle Busch AND Tony Stewart had a crappy day because it just comes to show you that the news media just needs some big headline to talk about.
I mean, if Jr had won the first three races of course I would be bragging and what not but if you are a professional journalist or network you shouldn't be acting foolish like the first two races determine how the whole year is going to be. There were only two Toyotas to finish in the top 20, which was the least of all the manufacturers.
Hopefully the awesome racing will carry over to Atlanta this coming weekend! I really wish I could camp there a second year in a row.
I don't think I have ever seen a race this messed up, EVER.
First off, I can't believe that they went to green with a track that was wet. You could even see the freaking water on the track during the pace laps, what was NASCAR thinking? The thing that makes me mad is that you would think with the thousands and thousands these tracks spend on seating, fan garages, and other things that someone would have figured out a way to protect the track from rainfall. I mean, I realize you would need an insane number of tarps but who cares after what happened today? Plus, if it is obvious you are going to have issues with heavy rain, why not fix the problem? I guess cutting gouges into the track surface to let water seep out is NASCAR's idea of a good show. This just adds to the reason as to why California should NOT have a second date.
Secondly, I am uber pissed that after waiting for hours they ended up post poning the race until later today! I just stayed up until 2am to have them tell me they aren't going to race until 1? Are you freaking joking? Seriously?! Does nobody know what the hell they are doing? Once they lost the surface I figured they wouldn't race til Monday, and of course I was right, but obviously I wasn't told that until I stayed up til 2am!
Third, how in the world was all of that trash on the track? I don't think I have seen that much trash affect so many cars in my life. It looked worse that it did before paper napkins and paper towels were banned at the race tracks. And I also love how NASCAR dumped a huge amount of speedy dry on the track because of Michael Waltrip's mess up but apparently left enough out there to make everyone's windsheild dirty.
Last but not least, the stands looked fairly empty again for the state with the biggest population. California actually had the 4th highest number of passes last year for one of it's races so it is a competitive track, but apparently the love for the sport just isn't there like it needs to be, especially since Vegas is next weekend and not that far away from California. Of course I could be overreacting with the rain and all but I do recall Talladega being almost full when it was pushed to Monday 2 years ago.
This had to have been one of the worst races NASCAR has had in a long time. It was run very poorly and I'm incredibly mad that they acted like they would be racing tonight.
NASCAR is lucky Casey Mears didn't get hurt because they decided to let the track stay wet.
Now that CART and the IRL have finally come back together, I think NASCAR may have some decent competition in terms of exciting racing. First off, IRL cars are much faster than NASCAR so the speeds and lap times are more impressive. Also, I don't know if many of you watch IRL races but at many tracks the races are similar to what you see at Talladega. The whole field bunched together, the draft playing a huge role, and multiple drivers having a chance to win. I've seen some insane races at Texas for the IRL and in many cases an IRL race can be much better than the typical NASCAR race.
However, the IRL needs to have a longer season, go to some more tracks, especially in the areas where NASCAR thrives, and they also need to have a decent number of cars in the field, I would say at least 30-35 cars per race. Plus, don't forget that with the IRL you can actually watch the race during the commercials! Talk about keeping the fans in the action. What do you think?
The 50th Daytona 500 wasn't too bad. The first 100 laps were pretty boring, unfortunately, but the end was definitely a blast to watch. As a Jr fan, I was quite surprised that he didn't pit near the end for tires. That was fairly disappointing since Daytona is such a handling track, especially since his teammates had big problems and would not be there in the end to help.
Speaking of teammates, how about Penske's Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman? They came literally from out of no where and stole that race from Tony and Kyle Busch. I bet Kurt was incredibly happy that he beat the 20 car and completely ruined Tony's chance to win. I was quite impressed with the Dodge drivers and I think this race was kind of similar to the Super Bowl. Nobody really even thought of or mentioned Dodge/Penske when it came time to pick a race winner, yet at the end of the day I think Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch really surprised everyone.
Just think of the odds! Penske had never won a restrictor plate race, let alone the Daytona 500 and his cars finish 1 and 2! Plus, Ryan Newman who was once very dominant hadn't won since 2005, a dry spell even longer than Jr's. So, all in all I was very pleased with the finish and I think it says a lot about our sport and the Car of Tomorrow when it is obvious that just about anybody has a shot to win the race.
I am really looking forward to Talladega now. Since it is not a handling track expect the field to be bunched of the entire race, but passes for the lead will take place more often since it appears the slingshot is back so drivers can go for the lead if their run is big enough.
Last but not least, I have to say I have mixed feelings about the Fox broadcast. The pre race wasn't too bad, and with the new Gopher cam as well as Mike Joy, Larry Mac, and DW doing fairly well to try and interest us things could be pretty neat this year. However, I was not happy at all with the number of commercial interruptions and what in the heck was the deal with Krista Voda? How come all of these pit reporters like to ask drivers how disappointed they are? I mean, Tony Stewart just lost the race so why in the heck are you trying to make it worse? These pit reporters/tv networks need to exercise some more respect when interviewing drivers. If I was Tony Stewart I prolly would of given her a piece of my mind on live television since that's what she deserved.
Well, next week is California! Should be interesting to see how the new cars handle and if Jr can keep his momentum from this past week going. The next race will show us just how strong Gibbs, Hendrick, and everyone else will be on most of the regular tracks.
I TOLD YOU GUYS JR CAN WIN WITH GOOD EQUIPMENT! Thanks to his Hendrick teammates for the help!! 2008 is going to be an AWESOME YEAR!
If you read a lot of NASCAR news, you have probably heard that the sanctioning body wants to go back to basics. Part of this is letting drivers actually have emotions! Dale Jr believes they are full of it, and others feel the same way. However, I don't know if letting drivers punch each other in the face or drive aggresively is what NASCAR needs to do.
First and most importantly, NASCAR MUST MAKE VICTORIES LEGIT AGAIN. With three laps to go, you MUST let drivers race back to the line. Races should never, ever, ever, ever be determined on a spot on the racetrack other than the finish line. Freezing the field and the lucky dog was created to protect drivers from guys trying hard to get their lap back. However, with ten to go no drivers get their lap back, so why not let them race to the line? It's a true no brainer, especially at tracks like Talladega and Daytona. If you want to put more butts in the seats and eyes on t.v., make winning more competitive by making the last few laps matter when there's a caution.
Secondly, the prices for a ticket must either stabilize or come down. Why does the turn three Atlanta granstand look full when the end of the frontstretch grandstand doesn't? Because for $100 you get a three day ticket at Atlanta but you don't get the best seat in the house. It's obvious NASCAR fans want to go for the right price, but with the good tickets being well over $100 many people can't afford it, especially when you consider the fortune people will spend in gas when the track is 200 miles or more away.
Last but not least, the television coverage needs to improve dramatically. The announcers are becoming stale (especially at ABC/Espn) and the camera angles are very boring. It's rare for them to stay on an in car view for more than 10-20 seconds, instead of a couple laps like they used to.
Obviously being with Hendrick is going to help Jr have a chance at winning races and hopefully a championship, yet there's a little bit more to it. Hopefully if the stars align correctly, the #'s 3 and 8 will give us some possible insight into how 2008 will be for Dale Jr, or maybe it won't. Feel free to add!
The Daytona 500 takes place on February 17th, 1+7=8.
The winner of the last race at Daytona, Jamie Mcmurray, is number 26. 2+6=8
Dale Jr's first season was in the year 2000, 8 years ago.
Jr's winless streak is at 62, 6+2=8
Dale Jr's new team member Jeff Gordon is #24, 2x4=8
Dale Jr has replaced the #25 car, 5-2=3
The last time Hendrick won the Daytona 500 was in 2006, 2+0+0+6=8
The last Daytona 500 saw a photo finish between Harvick (29) and Martin (01), 9-2+1=8
DEI's roster for 2008 is the 1, 8, and 15 car. 15-8+1=8
This will be Dale Jr's 8th Daytona 500.
Dale Jr won the Daytona 500 on February 15th 2004, 1+5-2+4=8
2004 was Dale Jr's best season for wins, 2x4=8
Dale Sr. won the Daytona 500 on February 15th, 1998. 9-9+8-1+1-5=3
It has been 10 years since Dale Sr. won his only Daytona 500, and 4 years since Dale Jr's victory, 4-1-0=3
Hendrick has 167 wins, 1+6+7=14, 4-1=3