2020 NASCAR Season Thread

[hkynik_55]

4 hours ago, raysox said:

I would love to see this as a 4D chess play where the city of Nashville sees how well supported the Superspeedway races are, and gives NASCAR a sweetheart deal to fix up the short track at the fairgrounds.

I obviously have no basis for what I said, but the contract is for 4 years and that should be enough to completely renovate it and open again.

That's the best case scenario in my opinion. I fear that going to the Superspeedway will just kill any hopes of the Fairgrounds. If it is a hit, I don't see why the Tennessee government or tax payers would agree to pay for a renovation of the Fairgrounds, when they already have a successful track. If it is a failure, there is no backing to pay for any renovation or any track, and the market loses the hopes for NASCAR. 

[Dalcowboyfan92]

AJ Allmendinger won at Atlanta yesterday, his first win on an oval. I definitely think he's much better off (and a lot happier) racing in Xfinity than in the Cup, where he has the ability to win races, and be considered one of the "cream of the crop" drivers in the field.

 

If Ross Chastain gets a full-time Cup ride next year (which I think he will; with whom I have no idea), I definitely see Matt Kaulig handing the keys to AJ and saying, "the 10 car is yours; just go out there. Race, have fun and just enjoy yourself."

 

Right now, he's perfect being Kaulig Racing's hired gun.

[DCarp1231]

5 minutes ago, Dalcowboyfan92 said:

AJ Allmendinger won at Atlanta yesterday, his first win on an oval. I definitely think he's much better off (and a lot happier) racing in Xfinity than in the Cup, where he has the ability to win races, and be considered one of the "cream of the crop" drivers in the field.

 

If Ross Chastain gets a full-time Cup ride next year (which I think he will; with whom I have no idea), I definitely see Matt Kaulig handing the keys to AJ and saying, "the 10 car is yours; just go out there. Race, have fun and just enjoy yourself."

 

Right now, he's perfect being Kaulig Racing's hired gun.

I could see Chastain getting a call from Hendrick to replace Johnson when he retires, but two other drivers I wouldn’t count out for that ride are Matt DiBenedetto (Wood Brothers Racing) & Noah Gragson (JR Motorsports).

[PrimalCookie]

On 6/7/2020 at 10:37 AM, DNAsports said:

I could see Chastain getting a call from Hendrick to replace Johnson when he retires, but two other drivers I wouldn’t count out for that ride are Matt DiBenedetto (Wood Brothers Racing) & Noah Gragson (JR Motorsports).

Gragson isn’t even close to being ready for the Cup Series, and DiBenedetto is probably locked up by Penske/WBR for the foreseeable future (in fact, he’s the likely replacement for Keselowski in the 2 if he leaves). Chastain will probably be in the 42 next year, assuming Kenseth doesn’t pull a Mark Martin and fully unretire. I still don’t fully buy the Keselowski rumors, but he’s in the conversation. If they want to pull someone from Xfinity, maybe Chase Briscoe? SHR probably won’t let that happen though, especially since Bowyer is in the tail end of his career.

[raysox]

Magic Dynasty pretty much nailed what I was thinking. I don't see Ford letting Briscoe go. Especially with their shallow prospect pool given one of their two flagship teams having a 44 year old, 41 year old, and a (bad) 36 year old. Driver's average peak is at 39, so that's something to think about. Harvick is elite, so we haven't seen the decline quite yet. But hey, Jimmie Johnson was too.

 

Penske could lose Keselowski to Hendrick and easily fill the gap with Cindric. He'll get the jump over DiBenedetto given who his father is.

Lastly, Chastain was committed to running Xfinity. Obviously he would have taken the Ganassi ride if he was offered, but remember their current lineup is a 48 year old Kenseth and 41 year old Kurt. HIs time should come, and he might have an Xfinity title run in him. He needs to go out there and win a race shortly, but he's shown he can do it.

[hkynik_55]

Since we all like brands, can we admire just how great Nascar's recent social media posts have been? I really loved the modernized logo when it came out, and the push to make that primary colored, five striped crest more prominent and identifiable. It is just really good branding, and I would argue the logos and typefaces of Nascar are among the best in pro sports. 

 

More recently, though, their social medias have been amazing. The hype up videos and graphics for races are so well done, along with the fun and interactive stuff like a Harvick graphic with his car plowing through corn after he won at Atlanta. Like for the Martinsville race, they are just killing it with the "under the lights" aesthetic and getting people to want to watch the race with the brand. I think maybe I have a big appreciation for this because I run my school's sports account, but Nascar is really doing well with trying to reach a younger audience, and I wouldn't doubt that their Instagram has created fans of the sport.

[See Red]

Martinsville might be my favorite track but this race is too freakin' long.

[sc49erfan15]

Noose found in Bubba Wallace's garage at Talladega.

 

JFC.

[sportsfan7]

24 minutes ago, sc49erfan15 said:

Noose found in Bubba Wallace's garage at Talladega.

 

JFC.

This confirms a lot of stereotypes about Nascar and its fans.

[sc49erfan15]

15 minutes ago, sportsfan7 said:

This confirms a lot of stereotypes about Nascar and its fans.

 

...and there are also plenty of us that have supported Bubba Wallace since he wore the "I Can't Breathe" shirt and campaigned to successfully get the Rebel flag banned from NASCAR events.

 

Unfortunately, the single racist that did this more than overshadows whatever positive energy has come from NASCAR drivers and supportive fans over the past 2 weeks.

[Needschat]

And on Twitter, a gas man said "Show me where there has been blatant racism in NASCAR.

@BubbaWallace sorry this happened to ya bro. But this sport has never been criticized for being at all racist"

 

And now, he doesn't want to talk about it, 

[See Red]

How disgusting. No fans have access to the garage so it presumably had to have been a track worker or somebody involved with one of the teams. The former seems more likely to me given that anybody associated with NASCAR itself could've done this in previous weeks.  I'm sure there's no shortage of cameras, so hopefully we will know tomorrow. 

[Needschat]

7 minutes ago, See Red said:

How disgusting. No fans have access to the garage so it presumably had to have been a track worker or somebody involved with one of the teams. The former seems more likely to me given that anybody associated with NASCAR itself could've done this in previous weeks.  I'm sure there's no shortage of cameras, so hopefully we will know tomorrow. 

 

From NASCAR journalist Twitter, NASCAR may know who it is already and are looking to find him before Bubba's crew and others do! 

[CS85]

“It was a joke” seems to be the go-to defense for these actions, so I don’t expect much if anything in terms of accountability.  This is only the beginning, too, sports-wise. 

[dont care]

32 minutes ago, CherryMX said:

“It was a joke” seems to be the go-to defense for these actions, so I don’t expect much if anything in terms of accountability.  This is only the beginning, too, sports-wise. 

I don’t think NASCAR is taking that excuse. NASCAR seems pretty stern in this and will ban who ever did this from all NASCAR events and facilities at a minimum. 

[BBTV]

Between this and the flags, if NASCAR cared, they'd just say "OK, no more events in the south" rather than catering to the "people" that they claim to expect mature behavior from.  The south will never change.  These beliefs are passed down from generation to generation, and for better or worse, NASCAR is synonymous with the south.  Sorry for anyone that doesn't think they fit that mold, but that's what the rest of the country will always feel about "dixie land".  

 

On the one hand, if my "country" lost a war or was annexed by another country against my will (like happened after WW2), I'd probably still have pride in my formerly-independent state and fly that flag... even in secret.  But at the same time, you don't see that with the Nazi flag, for obvious reasons, and I don't see a ton of difference between the confederate battle flag and the Nazi flag.

 

[raysox]

3 hours ago, CherryMX said:

“It was a joke” seems to be the go-to defense for these actions, so I don’t expect much if anything in terms of accountability.  This is only the beginning, too, sports-wise. 

Found out yesterday that in 1999, two white hauler drivers "pranked" a black hauler driver by dressing up as Klansmen.
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1999-08-15-9908150179-story.html

NASCAR as an industry seems to be putting their foot down as of a few weeks ago. They should have acted much sooner. Looking forward for this noose to be "eliminated" from the sport.

 

 

[sc49erfan15]

2 hours ago, BringBackTheVet said:

Between this and the flags, if NASCAR cared, they'd just say "OK, no more events in the south" rather than catering to the "people" that they claim to expect mature behavior from.  The south will never change.  These beliefs are passed down from generation to generation, and for better or worse, NASCAR is synonymous with the south.  Sorry for anyone that doesn't think they fit that mold, but that's what the rest of the country will always feel about "dixie land".  

 

I had a long reply typed out that went into entirely too much detail, but I'll just say you're right but you're wrong.

[Glover]

2 hours ago, BringBackTheVet said:

Between this and the flags, if NASCAR cared, they'd just say "OK, no more events in the south" rather than catering to the "people" that they claim to expect mature behavior from.  The south will never change.  These beliefs are passed down from generation to generation, and for better or worse, NASCAR is synonymous with the south.  Sorry for anyone that doesn't think they fit that mold, but that's what the rest of the country will always feel about "dixie land".  

 

On the one hand, if my "country" lost a war or was annexed by another country against my will (like happened after WW2), I'd probably still have pride in my formerly-independent state and fly that flag... even in secret.  But at the same time, you don't see that with the Nazi flag, for obvious reasons, and I don't see a ton of difference between the confederate battle flag and the Nazi flag.

 

Racism exists all around the United States, it isn't exclusive to the south. You know this, right?

[MJWalker45]

2 hours ago, BringBackTheVet said:

Between this and the flags, if NASCAR cared, they'd just say "OK, no more events in the south" rather than catering to the "people" that they claim to expect mature behavior from.  The south will never change.  These beliefs are passed down from generation to generation, and for better or worse, NASCAR is synonymous with the south.  Sorry for anyone that doesn't think they fit that mold, but that's what the rest of the country will always feel about "dixie land".  

 

I've had more issues like this occur in Ohio than in Texas, though I do live in a majority Hispanic city. This isn't a North or South issue, it's a n a$$hat that has no respect for anyone that doesn't like exactly the same things they do. The airplane and trucks lined up on the way to the track, in addition to this says that some people just aren't capable of handling change and that applies to both sides of the Mason-Dixon line.

 

As far as moving events, are there even enough tracks outside of the Southeast to support the amount of races to be run in a season?