2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Season

[NEW.ERA]

With Speedweeks getting underway this Saturday night with the Budweiser Shootout, the good ole boys are getting ready for another season.

Some changes to the schedule and points have maybe heightened interest this year, Oh and Jimmie Johnson is in maybe the best stretch that any athlete or team in any sport right now going for a sixth straight title. Kansas gets a second race and Kentucky is finally added to the schedule, the good thing about that is California loses a race, Also no more Buschwhackers! Meaning no driver competing full time in the Sprint Cup cannot compete in the Nationwide Series, this should help out with the younger drivers development which should lead to good racing and a crazy points race.

So can Dale Jr. finally figure out his at Hendricks because with Kasey Kahne waiting in the wings and Mark Martin not wanting to retire, Junior could be the odd man out when 2012 rolls around. Somebody also needs to stop Chevy, Took the once proud Ford Motor Co. until the Summer to finally get a win, C'mon Roush! Anyways should be a good season, hopefully better then the last few.

[RAIDERNATION]

Woo Kentucky! Fun to race it in the NASCAR games! and hope its fun to glance every now and then.

[DelayedPenalty]

I told myself at the start of last season that if Jimmie Johnson won the Sprint Cup again I would be done with NASCAR...then the points configuration change and it intrigued me, to the point that I cannot stop myself from watching. I have a very love/hate relationship with NASCAR but I keep coming back for some reason.

Can't wait for the 500. I think the newly resurfaced track will make for faster racing, closer racing, 3 or 4 wide, and a whole lot more excitement.

A bunch driver number/sponsor changes this off season:

-Kasey Kahne moved to Red Bull for the last handful of races last season. He will run the #4 navy blue Red Bull machine this year.

-Kurt Busch moves to the #22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge while Brad Keselowski moves into the #2 Miller Light dodge

-Kevin Harvick will run Budweiser sponsorship this season with a black car as the primary color (tribute to Dale Sr.?)

-Stephen Wallace will drive the #77 5-Hour Energy Dodge for Rusty Wallace Motorsports in partnership with Roger Penske, taking over the seat vacated by Sam Hornish

-Paul Menard moves to RCR to drive the #27 Chevrolet sponsored by...Menards.

You can see some of the new 2011 paint schemes on the Jayski site.

[illwauk]

Granted, I'm far from a race fan, but it really annoys me that the top prize in NASCAR is called the Sprint Cup when "Sprint" is the name of another, entirely unrelated series. It'd be like if the Big Ten were to call their championship trophy the Big 12 Cup. Can't they at least change the name to the Grand National Cup (as to avoid the Stalinist revision of history everytime the cup changes sponsors) and make it so that the cup plugs a Sprint product rather than the company itself?

[infrared41]

I told myself at the start of last season that if Jimmie Johnson won the Sprint Cup again I would be done with NASCAR...

I've heard a lot of people say that and frankly, I just don't understand the logic. It's not like the 48 wins every race throughout the season. Also, would people say that about any of the other sports if one team went on a championship run like Johnson's? I don't recall anyone saying they'd be "done with the NFL" if the Patriots win another Super Bowl. Better yet, I don't recall anyone saying that when Dale Sr. was reeling off a bunch of titles. I get that people grow tired of the same guy winning the overall points race every season but to me, the overall championship isn't nearly as interesting as the individual races are. It just seems to me that there's a whole lot more to NASCAR than the season championship.

[NEW.ERA]

Speaking for Dale Sr. Speed will be showing a documentary about the Day that Dale left us. I was only 10 but I remember that day very fondly, I have only cried twice for a sporting event that day and then when the Flames lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup.

Can't believe it was 10 years ago.

[Lights Out]

I know you're a Jimmie Johnson fan and all, infrared, but don't you think that the same person/team winning six consecutive titles in any sport is more a sign of deep problems within the league as opposed to something to celebrate?

[illwauk]

I know you're a Jimmie Johnson fan and all, infrared, but don't you think that the same person/team winning six consecutive titles in any sport is more a sign of deep problems within the league as opposed to something to celebrate?

Do you think there was something wrong with college hoops in the 60s when UCLA was winning all those titles? Or the NBA in the 80s & 90s when it was Lakers vs Celtics, then later Bulls vs <insert Western Conference patsy here> every year in the finals? I'm not saying you're right or wrong, but those eras are looked back upon very fondly by fans of those sports.

[Lights Out]

Yeah, I do think there was. The same team winning it all 6+ times in a row shows that there's a crapton of competitive imbalance in a league.

[infrared41]

I know you're a Jimmie Johnson fan and all, infrared, but don't you think that the same person/team winning six consecutive titles in any sport is more a sign of deep problems within the league as opposed to something to celebrate?

I'm not "celebrating" it. All I'm saying is that there is more to NASCAR than the overall points championship. To me, saying "I'm walking away from NASCAR because of Jimmie Johnson" is just silly. If you enjoy NASCAR why let one guy ruin the entire experience?

Yes I am a Jimmie Johnson fan and to be honest, I'd get a bigger kick out of seeing him win Daytona, The 600, The Brickyard, Bristol, Darlington, etc. than I would seeing him win a season championship. Maybe it's just me, but the season championship is way down on the list of reasons why I love NASCAR.

[RyanMcD29]

If Harvick can keep the consistency he had last season, this should be a very fun year to watch that 29 team. You want my prediction of who's got the best shot of knocking off Johnson, though? Carl Edwards. Had a ton of momentum at the end of last season and usually that translates to a very big following season.

Either way, I just hope Harvick takes the lessons learned from last year and gets the championship this time around as well as putting that new Bud car into victory lane

[DelayedPenalty]

I know you're a Jimmie Johnson fan and all, infrared, but don't you think that the same person/team winning six consecutive titles in any sport is more a sign of deep problems within the league as opposed to something to celebrate?

I'm not "celebrating" it. All I'm saying is that there is more to NASCAR than the overall points championship. To me, saying "I'm walking away from NASCAR because of Jimmie Johnson" is just silly. If you enjoy NASCAR why let one guy ruin the entire experience?

Yes I am a Jimmie Johnson fan and to be honest, I'd get a bigger kick out of seeing him win Daytona, The 600, The Brickyard, Bristol, Darlington, etc. than I would seeing him win a season championship. Maybe it's just me, but the season championship is way down on the list of reasons why I love NASCAR.

Parity is what makes sports entertaining, for me least. But, like illwauk said, dynasties of the past are looked back on fondly by some, but I'm sure back in those days there were people who were just as anxious to see UCLA go down, or someone other than the Lakers/Celtics/Bulls win the NBA title.

Not trying to knock the guy because he certainly deserves the accolades, but I'm tired of seeing the same scene every season.

[rams80]

Have they armed the cars yet? Or replaced the cars with transforming mecha that may or may not be armed?

[oddball]

I can't wait for the first person to say, "The racing at Kansas is boring." Because it is. The racing at Kansas, Michigan, Las Vegas, Kentucky, and Chicago is the same. First of all if you want to really make a change, Kansas does not deserve a second date, nor does Las Vegas. They need to take second dates away from Texas, Phoenix, Charlotte (yes, I said that), Michigan, New Hampshire, Dover, and Pocono. The schedule is way too long and about July, I get bored with the season as they head to New Hampshire, Chicago, and Pocono again and Michigan for the second time in a couple months.

As far as if Jimmie is bad for the sport? What are you talking about? What's funny about that statetment/question is that the people asking it are watching the sport! All the people who are threatening to stop watching the sport, are watching it hoping for Jimmie to lose. As far as who has a shot at knocking off Jimmie... no one, except for the #48. IF the #48 falters, that will be the only way someone else wins the title. Denny Hamlin is a headcase and so is his crew chief and they will never win the title. Jimmie winning six titles is not proof that there is something wrong with Nascar, as it's the best competition it's ever been. It's proof that it's actually the best, as the best team has one 5 straight titles and you've never had a fluke winner such as baseball and football with wild cards. You have ten weeks to prove you're a champion and the flukes eliminate themselves leaving only the champions. Nothing wrong with finding out who's a champion.

[sc49erfan15]

Granted, I'm far from a race fan, but it really annoys me that the top prize in NASCAR is called the Sprint Cup when "Sprint" is the name of another, entirely unrelated series. It'd be like if the Big Ten were to call their championship trophy the Big 12 Cup. Can't they at least change the name to the Grand National Cup (as to avoid the Stalinist revision of history everytime the cup changes sponsors) and make it so that the cup plugs a Sprint product rather than the company itself?

I get your point, but I don't see many people confusing the World of Outlaws with NASCAR, mainly because nobody knows what World of Outlaws is. If somebody knows what a "sprint car" is, they know the difference between that and the "Sprint Cup." What was more confusing was when the Winston Cup pole award was called the "Busch Pole" when they had the Busch Grand National Series. Which wasn't the original "Grand National" series.

World of Outlaws is/was entertaining, though. My second cousin raced WoO in the late 90s-early 00s, when TNN actually gave it some TV coverage. I always thought it was cool to semi-regularly "see" someone I was related to on TV.

[epper]

Totally disagree with Jimmie's streak ruining the sport. There's a big difference between his dominance, and say, Michael Schumachers own run of 5 straight from 2000-04.

Those were the most boring years in F1 history and really turned me off from the sport. There were only 3-4 cars on the grid capable of winning, and Michael won 13 of 18 races. You didn't even need to watch the races to know what would happen. Jimmie's excellence is that he just sort of "hangs around" until the last 1/4 of the race, when his Crew Chief always makes brilliant calls and he charges toward the front. His team dominates the Chase tracks because they spend more development time on those 10 tracks than any others.

Now, I really don't like Jimmie. He's as uninteresting a "star" driver as you could possibly imagine. Doesn't ruffle any feathers, perfect corporate spokesperson, horribly boring interview. The more I think about it, he's basically Sidney Crosby in a firesuit.

But damn, do I respect what he and the 48 team have accomplished, and it doesn't deter my enjoyment of the sport one iota.

[NJTank]

Is anyone gonna make a league on ESPN.con stock car challenge or sould I start one tonight.

[epper]

NOW for my predictions and thoughts on 2011:

- The cars themselves are the best they've looked since the mid-90's, with the front splitter-braces removed and the rear spoiler back intact.

- Best new paint schemes of this year: #6 Ragan - UPS and #11 Hamilin - FedEx

- Joey Logano makes "the leap" as a consistent threat to win week in, week out and Chase Contender.

- Trevor Bayne wins Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year, prompting Roush to replace the underachiever David Ragan.

- Kasey Kahne and Jamie McMurray make the Chase as the new Wildcards (most wins not in the Top 10)

- Juan Montoya continues to piss off more drivers; also continues being my favourite driver

- Denny Hamlin dethrones JJ as the Sprint Cup Champ

- Aric Almirola wins the Nationwide Title, giving the series it's first true champion since Martin Truex in 2005.

[infrared41]

Is anyone gonna make a league on ESPN.con stock car challenge or sould I start one tonight.

You start it and I'll join it.

[Lights Out]

- Joey Logano David Reutimann makes "the leap" as a consistent threat to win week in, week out and Chase Contender.

Fixed your post. Reutimann's been quietly improving over the past two or so seasons, picking up only two wins but coming close numerous other times, as well as hovering near the cut-off for the Chase, and I think it's his time to start truly competing.