[NASCAR]More laziness for the Daytona cash machine

This week at Dover, Jeff Gordon's minion Jimmie Johnson was penalized for speeding on pit road. When asked about in the post-race press conference on Speed Channel, Jeff Gordon went on a mini-rant about how he didn't understand why NASCAR is still using an archaic method to police pit road speed limits.

I'm no Jeff Gordon fan, but I have to agree with him on this point. It is my understanding NASCAR still uses visual marks and a stopwatch to check pit road speed. Maybe NASCAR ought to be using an hourglass and an abacus. NASCAR is all about tradition.

NASCAR has only been using electronic scoring for the last 25 years. This year, they finally got wise and put more timing loops in the track to settle the issue of setting the field under caution conditions. How hard would it be to put a half-dozen loops in pit lane to finally put the issue of speeding on pit road to bed? It would probably be cheaper than shutting down Rockingham and Darlington.

[NASCAR] Miscellaneous Rants - 2

Good grief, it's been weeks since I last blogged, and the news is so damned exciting, I can't help but to rant on two other subjects.

Jayksi is reporting that a Cup/Busch team owner would like to sign James "Bubba" Stewart to a TEN YEAR CONTRACT. Bubba Stewart currently races 125cc AMA Motocross and is expected to move up to 250cc soon. I've been to a few Supercross races, and they are very exciting. I had the opportunity to call Jeremy McGrath a "f-n traitor" for switching motorcycles from Honda to one of his other brands. I'm sure that comment really "stung" given that he'd just won the race. Regardless, this was probably the highlight of my career as a "sports heckler". Anyway, back to my original point, I don't know who is crazier -- 1.) why would a team owner sign an unproven talent to a 10 year contract and 2.) why would a potentially talented kid sign his life away for 10 year, especially if it's working for Chip Gannassi Racing. Obviously all of this conversation is mere speculation, but it does shed some light on the thinking of some of the movers and shakers in the sport. Team owners are really looking for the next Tony Stewart/Jeff Gordon et al. And, they are looking wherever they can find them. But Steve Kinser, Robbie Gordon and countless others have proven to me that being a dominate racer in one form does not mean anything in another form. Kinser is back to winning 25 races a year at "super-dirt-tracks" in such places like Elma, Washington. And Gordon will shortly be honing up his skills for the next Baja 1000. It must be the doubly attractive nature of Bubba Stewart's name, 'nuff said.

The second exciting thing in today's news is that ISC will apparently be announcing Monday that they are going to build a 3/4-mile track in Snohomish County, Washington. This my friends is thrilling. I will be within a few hours of a major speedway, it's been years since I've had this luxury. I should note that the tree huggers and anti-business commies will probably screw up this deal. Yelm, Washington, even closer to my home, was in the running until a few weeks ago. Apparently ISC pulled this proposed site off the table because there were too many stinky hippie/sandal wearing freaks who opposed the track. Nothing like bringing $87M a year to your community. Now Yelm's biggest enterprise is JZ Knight's school of enlightenment.

[NASCAR] Miscellaneous Rants

1.) Thanks to Clint Newlin for stopping by our Blog. After further review of the articles in question, I've concluded that you are not a plagiarizer, but you are a sniveling twit. I'll save my longer more venom filled diatribe for another day.

2.) This blog thing is difficult. I now have more respect for weekly columnist. It's difficult to have a unique perspective on any event. That being said, this brings me to point 3.)

3.) I'll abbreviate my rant since Maroongearhead covered it so well. It took exactly 64 laps from Brian France's "brain child" to collapse under the weight of another sniveling twit. For what Richard Childress has done for this sport, he deserves better. As indicated several months ago, the entire concept of Chase for the Championship has injected some end of season excitement into the sport. I'm thrilled to see Mark Martin "make the show". Based on last years points system, he'd only be slugging it out for a top ten finish in points. Now, he's got a legitimate, albeit long shot at winning the ahem "cup". But, due to one of many hot heads, Stewart and Mayfield are toast. As far as Stewart -- what comes around goes around - sucks to be you, but it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. As far as Mayfield -- count your blessings for making the show, you were in over your head anyway. One of the most obvious complaints about the chase for the championship is there are 10 drivers slugging it out for the lameo silver-swirl intertwined with the likes of Robbie Gordon throwing a temper tantrum. Alternatively, you park the other 33 cars, and you turn this great sport of NASCAR into IROC. What an interesting dilemma for the folks in Daytona.

Reason #31 why this NASCAR Chase thing may not work out

Reason #31 - Robbie Gordon


Thanks to one zealous hothead looking for retribution on another struggling scrub, Tony Stewart and Jeremy Mayfield may have lost their respective bids for the Nextel Cup last weekend at Loudon.

On top of that Robbie reportedly flipped off some of the media after the race. That's real smart, Robbie. If only Dan Rather had been amongst them, then it would have meant something.

And did I also mention that the TV ratings at Loudon were bad again this week? I don't doubt they would have been any better without the "Chase", but this week did not help to make Brian France's case.

Brian France continues to gay this sport up

How does NASCAR go from this behemoth trophy...




...to this gay thing?


Note: I ripped off these pictures from racingone.com. They have the copyright or whatever.


Sure, the new trophy is made of sterling silver, but nothing says NASCAR like an oak trophy with a faux gold-plated cups and a cigarette logo.


[NASCAR] A not very in-depth analysis of the Chase

The first 26 races of the season are done, and now we're down to nut cutting time. From the outset I have never been too crazy about this new points format because I felt it was more institutionalized socialism (See also: The Lucky Dog rule), but I'll try to be fair and see how it works this first season before I solidify my position.

Basically, this points race comes down to which driver gets on a hot streak.

1. Jeff Gordon - Always a hot commodity and up for a challenge. I've never been a fan, but he's hard to dismiss.
2. Jimmie Johnson (-5) - Has had some dominating performances, but also some bonehead blunders by him and his crew. I wouldn't bet the farm on him.
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (-10) - Still a little inconsistent, but the tracks they'll be racing on are ones where he enjoys success. I wouldn't count him out. He might just find the acorn.
4. Tony Stewart (-15) - See Jeff Gordon thoughts. If I were Tony, I would be wanting to win just to piss my detractors off.
5. Matt Kenseth (-20) - Has kept a low profile this season, but he could very well win this thing. He also has the benefit of still having a lot of test dates left to use.
6. Elliot Sadler (-25) - I am glad to see this guy having some success. He's also been on a hot streak. However, I think the competition may be too tough for him to overcome.
7. Kurt Busch (-30) - Good race car driver but, like Johnson, too inconsistent.
8. Mark Martin (-35) - My sentimental favorite. That means he'll probably blow it. I'm still pulling for him though. The guy is a class act.
9. Jeremy Mayfield (-40) - Where the hell did he come from? I can still remember when he drove the #98 for Cal Yarborough.
10. Ryan Newman (-45) - It's been a tough season for Newman, but he still mananged to make it here. I expect a strong performance but a fall short of number 1.
    

It's all about control

Brock Yates has a column in this month's Car and Driver proposing some rules changes for racing in America. The technical merits of the rules could be argued to the ends of the earth, but Yates understands one thing very clearly. Racing is about controlling a fast car and testing the nerve of your fellow competitors.

I have never really understood why NASCAR is still stuck on the idea of restrictor plates at Daytona and Talladega. I understand the rationale of keeping the cars under 200 MPH, but the equation was never finished. The result of the restrictor plate was that all the cars are bunched up like a peloton of Tour de France cyclists. Not surprisingly, when one guy crashes, it takes a bunch of guys out. Tough shit if you're the innocent guy, I guess.

Not to mention, when the cars are all that close with the body templates and motor specs, these races become glorified spec races. Woo.

The reason cars bunch up at restrictor plate races is because there is no fear in keeping the accelerator to the floor. The banking, the physics of the car, and aerodynamics let the driver flatfoot it all 2.5 miles around. The best way to get some separation is to see who is willing to keep his foot to the floor long longest without losing control in the turns...just like every other track. It's obvious ISC will not spend the money to shave any banking off the track. The best solution is the easiest in my opinion.

Shorten the spolier and narrow the tires. We'll see who has the nerve to floorboard it all the way around these tracks.