2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season

[NEW.ERA]

So I just watched the race and finish of the aptly named Finger Lakes 355.

If only we could get this more. Great race, even better finish from Ambrose, BK and Kyle.

[raysox]

The finish was SO good. All the drivers were complaining about oil on the track, but it provided one of the best finishes of the year, and the first last lap pass at Watkins Glen in the 30 years at the track.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptLBVCU9hGw

[RyanMcD29]

/Annual cry by me to put Watkins Glen in the Chase goes here

I just absolutely love watching races from there, and today was yet another example why

[epper]

It really is a fantastic track, especially for NASCAR since it's not really a tight track (I've heard it referred to as the Superspeedway of Road Courses). I too think there needs to be a roadie in the chase, replacing a 1.5 cookie cutter.

Love seeing the Tassie Devil win another!

[BrySmalls]

I was fortunate enough to find the race on two radio-stations based in Charlottesville, which covered the bulk of the race (well mostly the top 10 cars), while I was driving through the countryside. However, the signal cutout with four laps to go as I approached Locust Grove. I didn't see the finish until watching the highlights on NASCAR.com later that evening.

[sc49erfan15]

I caught the end on Youtube - wow. Looked like two guys playing Playstation the way they were all over the track the last lap. What a finish.

[rvrdgsfn]

I'd have to say that Watkins Glen was the best finish this season, we can always hope for more this season, one could dream.

Penske is hoping to name who will be in the 22 by Chicago & next week, Stewart Haas is suppose to have an announcement, the report is that Newman is staying with Quicken Loans as the sponsor. Ganassi has resigned Jamie Mac & Truex is close to a deal with MWR.

[dfwabel]

Looks like Dodge is on it's way out at the end of the year.

I hate it that we called this way before Dodge even did. Its a shame, it was IMO the best looking new car.

Well, let the speculation of who to replace them begin? I'd say Honda & Nissan would be the frontrunners followed by Hyundai & VW, I'd still would like to see NASCAR expand on manufactures.

Keep in mind that neither Honda nor Nissan have a pushrod V8 in their current racing programs (they use SOHC or DOHC).

However, Nismo (Nissan) has signed on to the Australian V8 Supercar series with a factory team for 2013 and is developing a pushrod.

[rvrdgsfn]

Well, I'd figured I would bring some news but first, the night race in Bristol was back to basics. It was pretty good.

Now, on to the silly season... Yeah, the worst kept secret is expected to end next Tuesday, Kenseth is going to Gibbs in the 20

http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/8312257/sources-matt-kenseth-join-no-20-team-joe-gibbs-racing

Joe Gibbs Racing plans to announce next Tuesday that Matt Kenseth will be its newest driver beginning in 2013, ESPN.com has learned.

The 2003 Sprint Cup champion will take over the No. 20 team driven by Joey Logano with Home Depot as his primary sponsor, sources said.

Which leads to Joey...

Logano also is a candidate for the No. 22 Cup team at Penske Racing. He recently said he was not interesting in a part-time Cup ride and full-time Nationwide Series ride that was one of his options at JGR.

"He was OK with that until another opportunity came up," Gibbs said of Logano.

Penske Racing owner Roger Penske acknowledged on Saturday that Logano was one of several candidates for the 22 and that he likely would make an announcement on the 22 and whether he would start a third team with Sam Hornish Jr. by the Sept. 16 Chase opener.

Although, it was interesting to hear that Shell wants Carl Edwards. Allegedly...

Finally, Martin Truex has resigned with MWR as expected & an announcement will happen on Friday, with possibly the new Toyota with the NAPA paint scheme.

http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/8308618/sources-martin-truex-jr-agrees-extension-michael-waltrip-racing&campaign=link&source=JAYSKI

[raysox]

I hope Hornish gets the 22 ride, and Logano finds a solid ride to race in. I miss the days with all the competitive teams.

[rvrdgsfn]

I hope Hornish gets the 22 ride, and Logano finds a solid ride to race in. I miss the days with all the competitive teams.

Reports are that Penske is going to get a 3rd car for Hornish. I agree, Sam has proved himself in Sprint Cup & Nationwide, the guy can drive, he was a former IndyCar champion like another certain individual...

OK, maybe not as good as Tony but who knows

[rvrdgsfn]

Bumping for 2 reasons...

The Race to make the Chase in my hometown is this Saturday & tomorrow... 1 or possibly 2 big driver announcements are going to take place.

First is obvious, Matt Kenseth is going to Joe Gibbs & take over the 20 & the one that just came in, Joey Logano is going to Penske either in the 22 or in a 3rd car. I would hope for a 3rd car, I believe Hornish Jr. finally earned his ride in Sprint Cup

http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/8334322/source-joey-logano-join-penske-racing-2013

Other than that, Tony lost his primary sponsor & Denny won his 2nd straight race & the whole conversation was about Gordon, should he have race clean or attempted to "have at it" to win.

[sc49erfan15]

Bumping for 2 reasons...

The Race to make the Chase in my hometown is this Saturday & tomorrow... 1 or possibly 2 big driver announcements are going to take place.

First is obvious, Matt Kenseth is going to Joe Gibbs & take over the 20 & the one that just came in, Joey Logano is going to Penske either in the 22 or in a 3rd car. I would hope for a 3rd car, I believe Hornish Jr. finally earned his ride in Sprint Cup

http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/8334322/source-joey-logano-join-penske-racing-2013

Other than that, Tony lost his primary sponsor & Denny won his 2nd straight race & the whole conversation was about Gordon, should he have race clean or attempted to "have at it" to win.

The Kenseth and Logano moves became official today, I'd like to see Hornish Jr. get a shot as well.

It's going to be weird seeing Matt Kenseth in a car that's not #17. It's also hard to believe the guy is 40 and has been racing NASCAR since 1997.

I frequented an event in the mid-90s at the Charlotte Knights' stadium called "RaceFest" where basically drivers showed up to sign autos, vendors gave a ton of free stuff away, and a lot of the lesser known guys really just hung out and tried to generate whatever interest in themselves that they could. Robbie Reiser was one of the lesser known drivers signing, I remember liking the paint scheme on the #17 car he ran in the Busch Series. I went up to him (he didn't have anyone standing in his line), got him to sign a card and said something like "I keep trying to draw your car, but you keep adding different stuff to it" - he got a big kick out of that (presumably because I don't think there were a lot of 10 year olds who knew who Robbie Reiser was, much less trying to draw his car and/or noticing that he had recently added sponsors) and said "well, you'll have to either erase the name or draw it all over again, because he's driving it now" and pointed to Matt Kenseth who was a few feet away. No idea if I got his autograph, he was a nobody then. I had no idea he'd still be driving the #17 15 years later in the big time with a Winston Cup under his belt.

That's the car in question, apparently only one picture of it exists.

[dfwabel]

Other than that, Tony lost his primary sponsor & Denny won his 2nd straight race & the whole conversation was about Gordon, should he have race clean or attempted to "have at it" to win.

The #14 lost half their title sponsorship. ExxonMobil will still keep Mobil1 for their half of the season.

The Kenseth and Logano moves became official today, I'd like to see Hornish Jr. get a shot as well.

It's going to be weird seeing Matt Kenseth in a car other that's not #17. It's also hard to believe the guy is 40 and has been racing NASCAR since 1997.

I frequented an event in the mid-90s at the Charlotte Knights' stadium called "RaceFest" where basically drivers showed up to sign autos, vendors gave a ton of free stuff away, and a lot of the lesser known guys really just hung out and tried to generate whatever interest in themselves that they could. Robbie Reiser was one of the lesser known drivers signing, I remember liking the paint scheme on the #17 car he ran in the Busch Series. I went up to him (he didn't have anyone standing in his line), got him to sign a card and said something like "I keep trying to draw your car, but you keep adding different stuff to it" - he got a big kick out of that (presumably because I don't think there were a lot of 10 year olds who knew who Robbie Reiser was, much less trying to draw his car and/or noticing that he had recently added sponsors) and said "well, you'll have to either erase the name or draw it all over again, because he's driving it now" and pointed to Matt Kenseth who was a few feet away. No idea if I got his autograph, he was a nobody then. I had no idea he'd still be driving the #17 15 years later in the big time with a Winston Cup under his belt.

That's the car in question, apparently only one picture of it exists.

Matt Kenseth has won one Cup title and two Daytonas, but he is not much of a marketing factor since he rarely wins races! The year he won the Cup, he won only one race but was consistent under the old rules.

'Meh' has been popular in the last three years as in NASCAR one could say its use coincides with Kenseth and his "popularity". There is little reason to care about him. He needs more of a spine.

The dollars which Roush, DeWalt and DIAGEO threw at him with the Smirnoff Ice ads (or Crown Royal) resulted in little gains long term. Now, the #17 car is being pushed with dying brands like Best Buy, Zest soap (no longer a P&G brand). He does not move the needle.

[NEW.ERA]

Still weird seeing Matt out of the 17. Too bad Hornish couldn't get a crack at the 22. Maybe Penske brings back the third car again.

[sc49erfan15]

Matt Kenseth has won one Cup title and two Daytonas, but he is not much of a marketing factor since he rarely wins races! The year he won the Cup, he won only one race but was consistent under the old rules.

'Meh' has been popular in the last three years as in NASCAR one could say its use coincides with Kenseth and his "popularity". There is little reason to care about him. He needs more of a spine.

The dollars which Roush, DeWalt and DIAGEO threw at him with the Smirnoff Ice ads (or Crown Royal) resulted in little gains long term. Now, the #17 car is being pushed with dying brands like Best Buy, Zest soap (no longer a P&G brand). He does not move the needle.

I completely agree with you in the fact that he doesn't have the charisma or marketability (or the fan base) but Kenseth in the #17 has been a staple for a long time. I'm having a hard time coming up with an analogy for another driver who ran the same number for more than 10 years and had considerable success, but not to the point where you'd call him "legend" or even one of the most dominant drivers of his time, despite Kenseth's championship. Nobody really fits the same mold. Ricky Rudd or maybe Harry Gant are really the closest I can come.

[NEW.ERA]

If Rudd actually won more than 2 races with that classic #10 I'd say so. Kulwicki and Davey Allison never got to prove how good they actually could have been due to tragedy, and Kenseth has had a longer time to prove himself. Had Junior won a Championship well at DEI, then we could easily compare those two.

Kenseth and Kurt Busch Is a good comparison in my eyes. Minus Matt acting like a douche.

[sc49erfan15]

If Rudd actually won more than 2 races with that classic #10 I'd say so. Kulwicki and Davey Allison never got to prove how good they actually could have been due to tragedy, and Kenseth has had a longer time to prove himself. Had Junior won a Championship well at DEI, then we could easily compare those two.

Kenseth and Kurt Busch Is a good comparison in my eyes. Minus Matt acting like a douche.

Yeah, I'd definitely say both Kulwicki and Davey > Kenseth. Junior and Kurt Busch are pretty similar, too.

I wouldn't even say Rudd's #10 was "classic" (but come on, he won more than 2 races in it )... Rudd only spent 6 years in the #10 ('94-'99) as an owner/driver, but maybe a more legitimate comparison (keeping the "better than mediocre, but not quite great" analogy) would be Kenseth leaving the #17 to Rudd leaving the Tide Ride. I want to say Rudd is "ahead" of Kenseth in that regard because he's my all-time favorite driver, but realistically I have to say they're very similar. Consistent, wins races but never really breaks out. Ricky Rudd damn near had a championship in 1991, if that had happened, the comparison would be pretty much as spot-on as you could get.

[oddball]

You all sit there and say that Matt is not all that good and yet, he has more career victories and championships than Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Ryan Newman, and of course Jr. Matt is that good, and you all don't appreciate how good he is. You do realize on the full-time career victory list he only follows, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and the Busch brothers. I'm not including Mark Martin and Bill Elliott because they are part-time drivers. To compare him to Ricky Rudd is fine with me, heck even Terry Labonte is fine. To say he's not that good, is ridiculous.

You want to say that he's not marketable? That's pure b.s. and you know it. Matt Kenseth is more marketable than Joey Logano will ever be. Matt Kenseth has an awesome personality and it's not his fault that his sponsors didn't know how to use him to market their products. If you've ever seen an interview with him, he's the funniest and one of the most entertaining drivers. Because DeWalt, Crown Royal, etc. couldn't figure out how to use Matt, that's the company's fault and not his. Throw in the fact that sponsors are leaving Roush, because Roush doesn't have the return that companies are looking for. I guarantee you that Roush is out-pricing what his organization needs and sponsors are turning away from him. That's not Matt's fault. Ask yourself why Petty can seemingly attract new sponsors every other week and companies like Hendrick and RCR, MWR, can keep theirs. On the other hand you have Roush and even Stewart-Haas are looking.

[RyanMcD29]

I totally forgot to post this here after last week

(thank you everybody for being so mediocre this year near the Chase bubble)