Race Season '09

[NCNitro]

I too am soooo happy KB did not make the chase! I have been pulling for Mark all year, I would really like to see him finally get a championship, I think he is a class act, and he is way overdue. The chase is a joke though, no matter how you loook at it, and I agree, without it there is no way JJ has three in a row. Lets go MarK!

 

[Lessen]

I'm know we've all gone back and forth about the Chase but I happend to like the idea of it. However, I do not particularly like care for the specifics.

1. Too many drivers
2. Too many races

I dont' care for the bonus system in the fact that they reset evenly. I'd prefer they did it the way they originally did with the 5 or 10 point spread THEN add in the bonus. I'd rather see the top 5 drivers reset for the last 5 races. The Chase is like 30% of the entire season. That's not necessary IMO. 5 races. Martinsville (short track but not as treacherous as Bristol, Las Vegas (best 1.5 racing), Phoenix (challenging small intermediate), Talladega (like Martinsville.. not as treacherous as Daytona) and a road course (because it just SHOULD be there).

 

[SMaxxin]

The "chase" has just about killed Nascar for me, I don't think I watched a full race this season. I'm am glad to see Jeff still running well and yea he should have 6 and JJ only 1

 

[grgbulldog]

I hope Mark gets this championship, but if he doesn't, drive for 5 baby.

 

[grgbulldog]

Wow. This thread kind of died. I just got back home from Charlotte. The track is awsome! its not the 1st time I've seen it, but it is the 1st race there I've been to. I have to say Jimmie is on a roll.

 

[Lessen]

Yes, this thread died quite a while ago. I was gonna comment that Jenson Button clinched the Formula 1 Championship today at Sao Paulo but I don't think anybody really cares. I'm pretty excited about it though. It ain't Honda power but hey... as often as things change in F1 it's hard to be a strict fan of anything. I want to root for USF1 next year but if they don't land at least 1 american driver that I don't dislike then I really don't know... I still pull for BGP anyways or anybody I tend to like. I really hope Massa will have a strong return next season, that would be really cool.

As far as NASCAR is concerned I'm pulling for Mark or JPM. Mark for the sentimental reason and that he's just a damn good guy and JPM to prove all those FN haters of anybody who's not born here wrong.

 

[grgbulldog]

I watched the f1 race last night after I posted here. Those were a very good few 1st laps. Congrats to Button. I've watched about the past 5-6 races. I'm starting to get into it now finally. I don't really know who I'm pulling for.

 

[Lessen]

When I started watching F1 a few years ago I was pulling for factory Honda simply cuz I'm a Honda guy and Button seemed like a cool cat. I didn't care much that team wasn't doing well, I've never been a front-runner. Then Honda pulled out but I kept rootin' for the team especially since Ross Brawn came over and I was very hopeful that his experience would lead to more success for the team. Well, I can't say I ever expected this. wow. However, I find that I still root for other guys as well under certain situations as I've got to know the drivers a little more. I like Massa, Trulli, and Alonso. I'm pretty impartial to most of the field since a lot of those guys have doorknob personalities, especially Kimi. My god, show some enthusiasm when you win at least. :shrug: I REALLY look forward to a 26 car field next year. Holy crap will those turn one lap ones be interesting. Qualifying will be even more important than it already is. If you start 24th at Nurburgring the leader will be in turn 4 before you get out of turn 1.

 

[neobart]

I have been following Button ever since he came to Honda. They had a few good seasons, and then fell of pace badly. Last year was really bad.

With how smooth a driver Button is, I would love to see him do a Le Mans. I think he has all the right skill-sets for such a race.

 

[grgbulldog]

I think I'm pulling for Barichello.(Not positive on the spelling) a little. I guess its mostly because I enjoying him trying to beat his team mate that was on such a roll.

 

[Lessen]

He did out-qualify Button a number of times. Jenson was just sooo dominant at the beginning of the season. It was really annoying to me all the talk of the switch up that the British press had made about him after his dominant streak ended. But that's the press I guess. All in all he had a VERY VERY strong season. All those wins and he really only had a few races that were's very good. The crash at Spa was very dissapointing, however that may have been the most exciting race of the year. I'm glad to see that Interlagos will be the season finale next year again. I think it's the perfect type of track to end a season, especially if the title comes down to the last race. It's really a drivers track IMO, all the downhil turns really test a driver's abilty to be racy I think. Jenson showed some serious ambition at the beginning of the race this week. He certainly wasn't messing around. That was hands down the most aggressive racing I'd seen from him all year. He knew he had to make someting happen and together with a little bit of attrition he did.

 

[neobart]

What gave Button the edge in the early races is that he is very easy on the tires. On very hot tracks, he can go faster and longer on the same tires as Barichello. That is also the reason for his mid season slump. He simply couldn't get enough heat in the tires for them to grip properly.

 

[Lessen]

Has anybody else heard that Jarno Trulli is going to test a stock car in the F1 off season? I'm very excited about that. I heard him mention it in an interview they played right before qualifying today. I'll certainly root for Jarno in Nascar. How cool!

 

[Lessen]

I know it's early in the Dega race but I think everybody can already see what's happening. Nascar is ruining the entertainment value in this race by over policing it. We got 40 cars running nose to tail because they're all afraid to get racy for fear of penalties. Boo NASCAR! Let's 'em race damnit!

 

[Lessen]

Well at least the last 40 laps were good

:jittery::clap::26-Jamie_McMurray::26-Jamie_McMurray::26-Jamie_McMurray::26-Jamie_McMurray::clap: :jittery:​

 

[godale03]

Congrats Jamie and Lessen! I know you both have been waiting a long time for this. Just wish we could have seen the green to the end to see if Jr could have had anything for em. Congrats again guys.

Tom

 

[Candyman]

Good job Jamie. Good race.

On a side note, NASCAR is well on it's way to losing a long time fan. It is already shaping up to be yet another Jimmy Johnson show. 4 years in a row. Hm. Thought the Chase was supposed to be thrilling. Yeah. Maybe not so much. Looks like I'll have to find something more interesting to watch. 26 generally inconsequential races followed by 10 races dominated by Johnson. Not worth the 4 hours on a Sunday. I'm almost 100% certain I won't watch the last races this season. There's really no reason. So, it's been fun bantering. But I'm pretty much out.

 

[Lessen]

As I've said many times before. I like the concept of the chase, but I don't care for the execution. Too many races, too many drivers. All year long we listen and talk about the focus on Top 10's and Top 5's. A champion should be the one who has been able to maintain that average the longest. I still say take the top 5 after 31 races and give 'em 5 rounds to settle it. Three intermediates, one short track and one road course. No "lottery races". I say Vegas, Dover, Homestead, Martinsville and Watkins Glen with the Glen being the first and obviously Homestead being the last.

 

[godale03]

I am not a big fan of the current layout of the chase. I agree... it should be shorter, and contain one of every style of track they race on. At least there will be one track in the chase Johnson sucks at in the road course race. I am tired of the Jimmy show too. The last three races mean nothing at this point. All Johnson has to to do pretty much is run around and stay out of trouble and he wins again. He should have finished way back in the pack. Instead he gets a caution and finishes 8th and actually gained points instead of lost them. It is just the same story year after year it seems. That whole 48 team just seems to be a cut or two above the rest in these chase races. I wish some of the other teams could figure it out... but at least at this point the 48 bunch knows the secret.