The NASCAR Thread

[JB400]

Cynical as I can be.....think Nascar  inspectors do exactly what they are hired to do.

yea, they are paid to look away at certain cars....I think "The Fix For Six" is underway

Yeah, I think the first 5 or 10 top finishing cars are inspected, and then randomly drawn cars are inspected as well.

[TruckDriver]

Jimmie Johnson's qualifying time disallowed

LOUDON, N.H. -- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader Jimmie Johnson will be starting from the rear of the field Sunday after the No. 48 Chevrolet failed post-qualifying inspection.
According to NASCAR officials, the front of the car measured too low on both sides. Johnson was the second-fastest qualifier for Sunday's Camping World RV Sales 301 (1 p.m. ET, TNT), one of 10 drivers to eclipse the track qualifying record.
Defending series champion Brad Keselowski will start on the pole, setting a fast time with a record run of 135.922 mph on the flat 1.058-mile oval. Johnson will line up 43rd. 

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/jimmie-johnsons-qualifying-time-disallowed-221300842--nascar.html

[A383Wing]

good...hope he wrecks as well...not a fan of BK either....

Bryan

[chargerboy69]

Well this kind of stinks, Newman is done at Stewart Haas after this year. But he lost his Army sponsorship after last year, then Quicken Loans is done after this year.  The only reason they can bring in Harvick is because he is bringing Bud with him. Not a lot of seats open next year, the openings will be few and far between.


Newman will not return to Stewart-Haas UPDATE - Options for 2014: Tony Stewart was asked about the status of #39-Ryan Newman Friday morning after the announcement that Kevin Harvick was joining Stewart-Haas next season:
WITH THIS ANNOUNCEMENT WITH NOW HAVING THREE DRIVERS FOR NEXT YEAR HOW DOES THIS IMPACT RYAN NEWMAN, HIS PROGRAM, ARE YOU GUYS READY TO EXPAND TO A FOURTH TEAM?
"No, we are not ready to expand to a fourth team. Unfortunately, this will be the last year that we have Ryan (Newman) with us. That's probably what has made this a bittersweet day. I'm bringing in another one of my friends to the organization, but also knowing that I'm losing a friend at the end of the year to the organization. The number one thing when Ryan and I spoke is that our friendship will not change. This was a business decision that was Gene's (Haas) as well as mine and it was a hard decision. There is a personal side and there is a business side. For Ryan and I we had to put the personal bit of it aside to work through the business part. I'll do everything I can to help Ryan in any way I can moving forward to try to help him in his effort to find another team next year. I'm behind him 100 percent. I believe in him 100 percent. I truly wish we were able to facilitate four teams at this time. We are just not able to do that. Down the road I'm sure if that becomes a possibility that he will most definitely will be on the list to fill the fourth seat again."(Chevy PR)(7-12-2013)

[A383Wing]

yea...saw that last night..feel sorry for Ryan...he'll bounce back

[A383Wing]

watching the truck race now....on July 24th, Wednesday night, the truck series will race for the first time at Tony Stewart's dirt track at Eldora....should be fun

Bryan

[JB400]

I'm glad Johnson got busted.  It's about time.  It will make for an interesting race to watch tomorrow as  well, just to see if he can work his way back to the front.  I won't be rooting for him, but more like against him   I'm gonna predict another one car parade lap like the Nationwide race.

I say Newman should look for a Nationwide ride.  Maybe, even hook back up with Penske. 

[Aero426]

I have to believe Newman will be scooped up by a Cup team.   He's still too valuable to go backwards to Nationwide.

[A383Wing]

I have to believe Newman will be scooped up by a Cup team.   He's still too valuable to go backwards to Nationwide.

[chargerboy69]

I have to believe Newman will be scooped up by a Cup team.   He's still too valuable to go backwards to Nationwide.

I agree too.  Up until last week Ryan has been leading his boss in points.

I think he will find a cup ride, probably not a top team, but something.

[nvrbdn]

yep, ryan needs a cup ride. hate to see tony drop him and keep the princess guess it doesnt matter if you can drive or not, as long as people will throw money at you.

[A383Wing]

Budweiser is coming with Harvick also...that may have been a big factor. They will probably provide more money than Newman's sponsor

[nvrbdn]

ok, all is ok. yep, everyone can forget and forgive, cause the princess said she didnt mean to do it. she misjudged. there is your pick tony.

[400/6/PAC]

Glad to see Vickers get a win.
Only His 3rd carrer win.

[chargerboy69]

Budweiser is coming with Harvick also...that may have been a big factor. They will probably provide more money than Newman's sponsor

And that is the only factor.  If Harvick did not bring over Bud, there would be no deal.  They have no sponsor for Ryan next year, so he is out.

That is one reason Paul Menard is one lucky guy, his dad will always sponsor him.  And in this era of NASCAR, a great sponsor is a must.

[TruckDriver]

Glad to see Vickers get a win.
Only His 3rd carrer win.

I was happy about that too.

[nvrbdn]

vickers was definately strong at the end.  good finish. felt bad for kurt and ryans finish.

[General_01]

ok, all is ok. yep, everyone can forget and forgive, cause the princess said she didnt mean to do it. she misjudged. there is your pick tony.

Really? You mean no other driver has made a poor decision and wrecked other people? That is an amazing statistic.

[nvrbdn]

uh, hers seems to be pretty consistant.

[A383Wing]

uh, hers seems to be pretty consistant.

yea...little Miss Princess Sparkle Pony reads that excuse almost ever week...like it's on a teleprompter in front of her when she's interviewed

[General_01]

I guess I look at it like she is still in her first full year in Cup. Does she make mistakes? Yep. Is she a great driver? Nope. But I'll give her this year and then see what she does next year. At least she admits it if she was in the wrong. There are drivers out there who always say it's the other guys fault no matter what the tape shows**cough cough Busch brothers cough cough**.

[nvrbdn]

i will definately give you that one. some drivers never take the blame. but my biggest problem with this is that i dont feel she came up the way other drivers have to.  sponsers putting money behind her just to draw the ticket. it wouldnt be so bad if she was ready. but i feel she isnt. did she ever win a nationwide race? (i still call it bush) did she consistantly finish in the top 10? i think tony had to sign her to get the sponsorship money. then again, i could just be angry cuz my guy is ryan and tony kept her

[General_01]

i will definately give you that one. some drivers never take the blame. but my biggest problem with this is that i dont feel she came up the way other drivers have to.  sponsers putting money behind her just to draw the ticket. it wouldnt be so bad if she was ready. but i feel she isnt. did she ever win a nationwide race? (i still call it bush) did she consistantly finish in the top 10? i think tony had to sign her to get the sponsorship money. then again, i could just be angry cuz my guy is ryan and tony kept her

You can go all the way back to the 90's to talk about people who didn't have to work there way into good rides. Chargerboy69 already said it. If you can bring money with you, you can get a ride. Smart car owners do not spend their own money to finance rides. That's just the way it is now. It's not like the 70's and 80's where guys bought a used car and put a roll cage in it and brought it to the track to try and qualify to try and impress a car owner to get in a funded car. Now teams have driver development programs to bring up younger talent and if your not in those programs, you need to bring money with you ala Paul Menard and Danica Patrick.

They can't find the money with Ryan in the car. Harvick is bringing the money with him, so he gets the ride and not Newman. Same with Danica. They say NASCAR drivers are the best. I say they are the best the sponsers will back. I am sure there is a lot of talent out there that just don't fit the spokesperson model for sponsers.

[JB400]

I'm glad Brian won as well.  He did deserve it, but I was really rooting for Kurt.  I was also glad to see Tony run out of fuel at the end as well   I'll give him credit though for going for the lobster instead of just points racing.

As far as the Danica debacle, of course she went down a different path to get where she's at.  All she had to do was flash a smile and some skin every now and then.  Turning a steering wheel and shifting gears was a bonus.  Putting sex appeal behind the wheel of a stockcar in a male dominated sport is going to draw interest (and big bucks).  You're going to have the feminists that are going to follow her as well as the horny males.  That right there is the two biggest markets for her.  Will that get more girls into Nascar, not likely.  Is she a great driver, no, but she is good, like Dale Jr.  Put them both in good equipment, and they both do good.  But, they're both out there more for their market interests than they are for their driving abilities.

[Budnicks]

watching the truck race now....on July 24th, Wednesday night, the truck series will race for the first time at Tony Stewart's dirt track at Eldora....should be fun

Bryan

That should be interesting to say the least...