2016 NASCAR Season Thread

[rvrdgsfn]

1 hour ago, mr.nascar13 said:

Finally, what was up with Harvick and Kurt getting into it on pit road? 

 

According to Harvick, Kurt cleaned out of his car after the checkered flag. Kurt thinks it was a misunderstanding.

[Dalcowboyfan92]

Hamlin was a coward. He could've seriously helped Brian Scott to get past Logano. Instead; he just focused on himself.

[DCarp1231]

A strange strategy few are accepting of:

 

Three of the four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers (Busch, Edwards, and Kenseth) were told to drop to the back of the pack  and not do anything once the race started to ensure Hamlin would get enough points to advance into the next round of the chase. None of the three were fond of it. Kenseth said "It goes against everything you're told as a race car driver." It is definitely a weird loophole in the system.

 

Do you agree with this strategy? Fair or foul?

[LAWeaver]

BREAKING NEWS:

 

NASCAR has implemented a restriction on the number of races Cup drivers can race in the Xfinity and Truck Series, beginning 2017.

 

Cup drivers with more than 5 years of full-time experience can only run in 10 Xfinity and 7 Truck races per year.

 

Drivers such as Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Busch will be impacted.

 

However, drivers like Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and Austin Dillon, are not, meaning they are not limited in the amount of Xfinity or Truck races they can compete in.

 

EDIT: Cup Drivers with more than five years of experience cannot participate in either series's Chase races nor the Dash 4 Cash races in the Xfinity Series.

 

EDIT 2: Drivers with five years of Cup experience can still compete for either an Xfinity or Truck Series title as long as they declare they are earning points for either series. An example of this would be Elliott Sadler still running full-time in the Xfinity Series.

[stumpygremlin]

2 hours ago, mr.nascar13 said:

BREAKING NEWS:

 

NASCAR has implemented a restriction on the number of races Cup drivers can race in the Xfinity and Truck Series, beginning 2017.

 

Cup drivers with more than 5 years of full-time experience can only run in 10 Xfinity and 7 Truck races per year.

 

Drivers such as Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Busch will be impacted.

 

However, drivers like Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and Austin Dillon, are not, meaning they are not limited in the amount of Xfinity or Truck races they can compete in.

 

EDIT: Cup Drivers with more than five years of experience cannot participate in either series's Chase races nor the Dash 4 Cash races in the Xfinity Series.

 

EDIT 2: Drivers with five years of Cup experience can still compete for either an Xfinity or Truck Series title as long as they declare they are earning points for either series. An example of this would be Elliott Sadler still running full-time in the Xfinity Series.

I don't think that goes far enough. I would have set it so that once you run two full-time Cup seasons, you can't run more than 5 Xfinity OR Truck races in total, unless you declare your championship run in the lower-level series, a la Elliott Sadler, Derrike Cope, or Morgan Shepherd. I like the idea of not allowing them in the lower series' Chase or Dash 4 Cash races.

 

I think that the Xfinity series could add more road courses, and then you'd have a different set of drivers competing. The "ringers" could get full-time rides in that series, and it would do more to distinguish itself from the top series. By doing so, you could sort of shed the notion of Xfinity being a "minor league" and instead just be a different series.

[rvrdgsfn]

Results from Martinsville:

1. Johnson

2. Keselowski

3. Hamlin

4. Kenseth

5. Kyle Busch

6.  Gordon

7. Truex Jr.

8. McMurray

9. Logano

10. Allmendinger

 

Despite having pit problems, running out of fuel & tangling with Denny, Jimmie punched his ticket to Homestead. I have a feeling he's going to be up there with Petty & Earnhardt. I think this year, he'll get his 7th. The next 2 should be interesting.

 

Next up, Texas.

[LAWeaver]

I called it after his win in the previous round that the Round of 8 would be Jimmie's to lose. He's great at Martinsville, Texas, and Phoenix. I'm just happy he got it done right off the bat instead of making us wait. 

 

What this also means is at least one of the Gibbs guys won't make it to Homestead *cough*CARL*cough*

[Unocal]

Logano AND Jimmie back-to-back weeks?

 

Man, this NASCAR season has not been quite as fun as it was last year.

[Dalcowboyfan92]

22 hours ago, rvrdgsfn said:

Results from Martinsville:

1. Johnson

2. Keselowski

3. Hamlin

4. Kenseth

5. Kyle Busch

6.  Gordon

7. Truex Jr.

8. McMurray

9. Logano

10. Allmendinger

 

Despite having pit problems, running out of fuel & tangling with Denny, Jimmie punched his ticket to Homestead. I have a feeling he's going to be up there with Petty & Earnhardt. I think this year, he'll get his 7th. The next 2 should be interesting.

 

Next up, Texas.

 

And the Top 10 were the only ones to finish on the lead lap.

[oddball]

On 10/30/2016 at 4:11 PM, mr.nascar13 said:

I called it after his win in the previous round that the Round of 8 would be Jimmie's to lose. He's great at Martinsville, Texas, and Phoenix. I'm just happy he got it done right off the bat instead of making us wait. 

 

What this also means is at least one of the Gibbs guys won't make it to Homestead *cough*CARL*cough*

 

Did anyone think Carl Edwards was really a contender... he's really not impressed in top equipment at all since he moved to Gibbs. He just seems to be there. I hate to say it, but we all know Denny Hamlin is going to implode somehow... it's just a matter of when. I think Jimmie sent the biggest message to Denny when he drove underneath him and drove away for the win. That message, "You're done Denny." Denny's had a self-defeated attitude for a while this year and it's like he realized when Jimmie passed him cleanly that he'll never win a Championship. I'm wondering if this is where Denny's career starts the decline. Gibbs has tried how many crew chiefs with him and it's always the same results, a few wins, no championships and a constantly mentally defeated driver at the end of the year. Denny's an interesting case to watch. I would love to see Denny win, I just don't know if we will ever see it. He comes across to me as a driver who doesn't believe in himself.

[DCarp1231]

JR Motorsports announces the addition of Michael Annett and Pilot Flying J for 2017 full time Xfinity Series entry. JR Motorsports is now comprised of Allgaier, Byron, Sadler, and Annett for 2017.

 

This further cements the demise of HScott Motorsports.

[stumpygremlin]

So call me naive, but I enjoy NASCAR on a casual basis. I have one question that you die-hard fans can answer:

 

I get that your Hendrick teams and Gibbs teams and Penske teams have better equipment than, say, BK Racing or Go FAS, and that funding has a lot to do with it. My question is, what, specifically, allows the large teams to dominate?

 

I don't know, for example, how much better a guy like Ryan Newman would do versus a guy like Matt DiBenedetto in the same equipment.

[jc...]

Mostly due to technology used to set up the race cars. Suspension parts, such as shocks and springs can be tested on a shaker rig before they even get to the track. They have programs that they use that have the tracks bumps mapped out. Your baseline set up is already ahead of a team that can only use track time to get their set up correct.

 

There is also wind tunnel time spent on fine tuning bodies. There isn't much to gain there anymore because template tolerances are so tight.

 

And the gap may not be much. You take a car that is a tenth of a second slower than a fast car. It's not much. But over 50 laps, that's a 5 second gap. 

 

The technology has killed asphalt short track racing even at the local level. It's become really expensive to compete. Whereas on dirt, setup isn't as important as actually driving the car.

[stumpygremlin]

8 minutes ago, jc... said:

Mostly due to technology used to set up the race cars. Suspension parts, such as shocks and springs can be tested on a shaker rig before they even get to the track. They have programs that they use that have the tracks bumps mapped out. Your baseline set up is already ahead of a team that can only use track time to get their set up correct.

 

There is also wind tunnel time spent on fine tuning bodies. There isn't much to gain there anymore because template tolerances are so tight.

 

And the gap may not be much. You take a car that is a tenth of a second slower than a fast car. It's not much. But over 50 laps, that's a 5 second gap. 

 

The technology has killed asphalt short track racing even at the local level. It's become really expensive to compete. Whereas on dirt, setup isn't as important as actually driving the car.

 

Thank you for that explanation. I'm wondering if there's something that can be done to level the playing field for the smaller teams, be it limiting the off track testing technology or some type of revenue sharing or what not. There's nothing really analogous to Butler and VCU going to the Final Four or the Rays winning the AL East in NASCAR. 

[jc...]

The problem with making it a completely level playing field.....no passing. 

[rvrdgsfn]

Results from Texas:

 

1. Edwards

2. Logano

3. Truex Jr.

4. Elliott

5. Kyle Busch

6. Harvick

7. Kenseth

8. Kahne

9. Hamlin

10. Newman

 

After a very long wait to race, Cousin Carl got the win he needed to advance to the Championship due to a shortened race due to rain. Plus Harvick & Dillon got tangled up, it was a bummer for Austin, he had a good car tonight. Oh well, what can be done. Meanwhile it doesn't look good for Kenseth, Harvick, Kurt Busch or Denny.... Need a win to get in.

Next up, we find out who makes its to Homestead in Phoenix.

[LAWeaver]

Brian Scott and Richard Petty Motorsports will part ways at the end of the season. Scott said he will retire from driving as well after a decade in the sport. 

[DCarp1231]

49 minutes ago, mr.nascar13 said:

Brian Scott and Richard Petty Motorsports will part ways at the end of the season. Scott said he will retire from driving as well after a decade in the sport. 

Just came here to post this, but you beat me to it.

 

Now the question is will Richard Petty Motorsports find someone for the 44 or just run the 43?

[Burkell007]

Scott is only 28, that seems a tad to young to retire right??? I'd bet there is more to this...

[LAWeaver]

He said he wants to spend more time with his family. Not sure what else you can get out of it. 

 

The man's spent ten years in the sport and what does he have to show for it other than a pole, a second-place run at Talladega a couple weeks ago (his only top-ten at the level), and two  truck wins. 

 

Basically, this is Scott's career: