Official 2011 Nascar thread

• WebFire

  GoChiefs;677003 wrote:Just curious, you keep coming back and commenting why then? We get it, you're not a NASCAR fan. I don't like soccer either, so you know what? I don't open any soccer threads.

  Because I have an opinion. Just because it isn't all giddy in favor of your sport doesn't mean I can't post. And actually, I used to be a diehard Nascar fan. Still am a big race fan, but do it at the local dirt tracks instead. Hell my dad used to race sprints.
  
  So it still interests me, just not always in a positive way.
  

  GoChiefs;677003 wrote: Most of the changes they make are changes the fans want. NASCAR didn't go to shit because of making changes in the middle of the season, NASCAR went to shit because they became too 'safe' and in the process, made it just like the IROC series.

  Sometimes it's what the fans want, and sometimes it isn't. But bottom line is, they change the rules waaaaaaaaay too much. And it's usually for the sake of lining their pockets with money. The want to keep sponsors and car makers happy. So they tweak things to make sure no one gets too far of an advantage.
  
  I do agree with you about trying to be too safe. Much like the NFL is doing.
• GoChiefs

  

  WebFire;677087 wrote:The want to keep sponsors and car makers happy. So they tweak things to make sure no one gets too far of an advantage.

  
  But they have to make the car makers and sponsors happy. It's unlike any other sport as far as that goes. Without sponsors, there absolutely isn't any NASCAR.
• Green Giggy

  Well, I do hope they tweak it to lose the "pair/tandem racing" that we saw last night. That was lame and just plain weird to see at a speedway like Daytona.
• WebFire

  GoChiefs;677111 wrote:But they have to make the car makers and sponsors happy. It's unlike any other sport as far as that goes. Without sponsors, there absolutely isn't any NASCAR.

  
  I understand that. But they have to make sure the poster boys are winning. And one manufacturer cannot dominate another. That's what I don't like.
• Speedofsand

  

  I agree with both sides. I saw the pairing up in the first 25 laps as bad, but the 50 lap run had non-stop action. The Gatorade Duals will be a good test for the new tweaks. They will practice Wed., race setup. With cars needing to step out more, there should be a lot more passing.
• coyotes22

  

  GoChiefs;676834 wrote:I doubt it will be like that for the 500 the whole race, but, how could you not like that?? A lot of racing, passing, lead changes. That's what racing is all about! A lot better than the 2 10 car single file lines that go back and forth the whole race, IMO. It's definitely a new Daytona.

  
  100% right. Thats what I was telling the wife, I think it will be a much better 500 and season. The race had gotten boring with two lines of 10-15 cars and only passing being done, was on pit road. Cant wait for the duels and the 500!!!!
• GoChiefs

  

  ts1227;677011 wrote:I'm not a fan of tinkering with the shit once the week has started. They've run a race and qualified, and there was nothing really wrong, yet here they go. Unless shit is going down like at the 2008 Brickyard, let it be.

  
  I agree 100%. I'm not a fan of them tinkering anything once the SEASON starts, let alone in the middle of a week.
• WebFire

  GoChiefs;677747 wrote:I agree 100%. I'm not a fan of them tinkering anything once the SEASON starts, let alone in the middle of a week.

  
  Agree. Unless it's a safety issue, leave it alone.
• GoJPM!

  

  Engine builders say three laps tops in the two car draft with the current cooling specs. Then I heard that NASCAR is going to a smaller plate after the duels on Thursday....smh
• GoChiefs

  

  GoJPM!;679745 wrote:Then I heard that NASCAR is going to a smaller plate after the duels on Thursday....smh

  
  Only if it's necessary. I think the changes they are making will do enough to where they won't have to go to a smaller plate.
• GoChiefs

  

  The 48 team is now going to have 'starters' and 'back-ups' on their pit crew.
  
  "DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Chad Knaus sounds more like an NFL coach than a NASCAR crew chief when he talks about his plans to improve Jimmie Johnson's pit stops.
  
  He'll have his starters. And if they don't perform up to par, he'll send them to the bench.
  
  As if there weren't enough pressure on the pit crew for the Sprint Cup series' five-time defending champion, Knaus is raising the stakes going into the Daytona 500 on Feb. 20.
  
  "It depends on how you look at it," Knaus said Friday at Daytona International Speedway. "The way I see it, competition is healthy. If you're sitting in an NFL team, an NBA team, a baseball team -- whatever it is -- there's somebody that wants your job. And that's the way that we want it here."
  
  Johnson won his fifth straight championship last season, but it wasn't easy. With the No. 48 team facing problems with its pit stops, Johnson and teammate Jeff Gordon switched crews late in the season.
  
  Then came an offseason shake-up, which included Hendrick Motorsports' version of a scouting combine: open tryouts for crew guys.
  
  Now Knaus has his starters and a small pool of backups from which to choose; it's a partnership with Hendrick's No. 88 team, which also can draw from the same backup pool for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s pit crew.
  
  Some of the backups hold other jobs at Hendrick.
  
  "From that what I saw [it's] a very, very strong first and second string of guys," Johnson said. "That's our plan, to make sure we have depth and if someone is hurt or having a bad day we can make changes and not lose anything on pit road."
  
  Knaus said other teams are taking similar steps to increase the depth of their pit crews.
  
  "Every team in the garage has some type of developmental system set up, scouting system, there's a lot of that that goes on," Knaus said. "It's just, this is the first time that it's kind of gone to this level."
  
  Knaus said he could change his lineup from week to week -- and even make changes during a race.
  
  "I hope that it doesn't come to that," Knaus said. "But in another sense, I kind of hope that it does, because that means that we've got guys that are pushing other guys to a level that they're better than they are on a weekly basis."
  
  Still, Knaus knows it will take time for the new crew to establish chemistry, and he's prepared to be patient.
  
  "If you guys think that we're going to go out there and have the fastest pit crew on pit road starting at Daytona for the Daytona 500, you're probably mistaken," Knaus said.
  
  He said his crew has responded well to the team's new philosophy.
  
  "It's quite simple: If you don't buy into it, you don't like it, you don't have to be a part of our team," Knaus said. "That's the way that it is. And the guys we've got, they like it, they embrace it and they're enjoying it. I've seen more effort coming out of our weight room and our training facility than I've seen in years."
• Speedofsand

  

  The Living Legends of Auto Racing's annual Beach Parade was yesterday. This Smokey Yunick car had Ohio license plates.
  
  
  
  
  Lee Petty
  
  
  
  
  1930 Model A
  
• Speedofsand

  

  
  
  
  
  
  Bobby Allison
  
  
  
• WebFire

  Now those are stock cars.
• GoChiefs

  

  GoChiefs;679753 wrote:Only if it's necessary.

  
  Smh. Seen where they are going to the smaller plate now.
• Tiger2003

  

  Restrictor-plate hole to be reduced
  
  http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/news/story?id=6127656
• Tiger2003

  

  Anyone have a link where you can watch practice today?
• Tiger2003

  

  Practice is delayed. It's raining in Daytona.
• Tiger2003

  

  Practice is under way.
• Tiger2003

  

  JR just wrecked!! JR was pushing JJ coming up on slower traffic and lost it a little bit and JR hit the wall.
• GoChiefs

  

  Yep, so much for Junior and the pole position. He's starting from the rear of the field in his backup car now.
• WebFire

  LOL
• voewoody

  

  Probably sounds like I have my Jr glasses on but that was not his fault... Johnson checked up because Robby Gordon and another car were sliding up so JR backed off and was hit from behind by Truex which made him lose it. Doesn't matter he will be there at the end on Sunday with a chance! Hopefully!
• gerb131

  

  Damn Joonyer...Robby Gordon is still my pick.
• Speedofsand

  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  just one of them deals