Race Season '09

[Lessen]

First off jeff in the # 24 just sux....Jr on the other hand now there is a driver even though he hasnt won a championship yet

That's like comparing Lebron James to Michael Jordan. Let's not even go there. I'm over last week's wreck, let's move on.

How many people here hate Fontana? Personally, I like it. I think flat tracks showcase the drivers that can get the absolute most out of their cars and can also make their cars better. Guys that can ride that fine line do well there.

 

[dr15144]

just had to stir up some contraversy between jeff and jr, I'm a jr fan all the way but do have to give jeff credit for his wins, but i think his time has come and went, time for jr to step up to the plate, and as far as fontana love that track alot of action goes on there!

 

[cbrrmike]

First off jeff in the # 24 just sux....Jr on the other hand now there is a driver even though he hasnt won a championship yet, i feel that this is his year now tha he has more control over his team and his car, last year was a learning experiance for him getting used to the new team. and he should have and could have won Dayton had the rain not started and they put him a lap down cause they said he was involved in the accident. and yes that is what it was an ACCIDENT!

he was a lap down because he missed his pit box, not because of the wreck, he was involved in the wreck because he was put a lap down prior to it. and had it not rained, his car had enough body damage that it probably wouldn't have been competitive in the draft

 

[Candyman]

First off, Junior was driving on tilt after they screwed up the pit stop. More than likely the reason he bumped Vickers. He was pissed. Vickers cut him off. He bumped him. And the rest is history.

Secondly, Gordon isn't over. I think he's still fully capable of winning a lot more races. I'm of the mindset that he's been saddled with a crew chief that still isn't sure what to do. I have seen countless races where they wrench on the car and systematically make it worse throughout the race. That's not going to win anything. So I have to question Steve Letart's abilities to make a fast car, not Jeff's ability to drive.

 

[Lessen]

I thought Joey Logano was pretty impressive. Much more than I expected. I recall seeing him pedalling to keep off of somebody who got loose.. he did a really good job. Backed off just enough to keep the nose clean but not too much to get slammed from behind. Plus! Plus! He doesn't freeze up in front of the camera! Thank goodness. I wanted to strangle Kasey Kahne during his first season. Watching him do a post race interview was like listening to my 3 year old tell me a story.

 

[godale03]

California is great if your a Jimmy Johnson or Roush racing fan. For everyone else it's a bore. The racing there has never been good.. In my opinion of course. I agree with Lessen.. flat tracks do make the drivers actually have to drive the race car, but it just isn't exciting racing. After 20 laps the leader usually has a 10 second lead over second, who has a 30 second lead on third. To strung out for me. Now don't get me wrong, I will watch it, afterall it is a race!

Now as far as Jr winning a championship... I think he is fully capable, and I hope and pray at the start of every season he has what it takes. I just don't know sometimes about Jr... the 500 was just so unlike him. Until he demonstrates the ability to calm down, let Tony Jr know what the race car is doing without cussing the whole crew out and learns to drive the car he is given... I just don't know if he will win a championship. You have to be able to effectively tell the crew chief what is going on in the race car in order for the crew chief to make the car better. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon do not always have perfect race cars at the begining of the race, but they are able to tell their crew chiefs what the car is dong so they can make the right adjustments. And 9 times out of 10 they are able to salvage a good finish out of it. You don't always get the best car in the field every week, that is where the driver comes in... can he drive a bad race car and make it better based on his ability... they can.... Jr has not showed me that yet... I hope he can. That is what made his father so great.... he could make an ill handling race car drive better because of his ability to drive... and communicate what exactly the car is doing. I am not bashing Jr here... I am definitly a diehard fan... but it is just how I see things with him right now. Hopefully he can change things around. His temper got him in trouble again at Daytona.

And just for the record... Jr's car was still competitive after the wreck. He finished 27 after restarting 35. He made that distance up in a matter of 5 or 10 laps.... he would have been just fine. Had the race gone it's full distance... I bet you he would have been in contention.

Tom

 

[Lessen]

Tom, you are truly one of the the best Jr. fan out there. I admire your passion and especially your fairness.

I agree about Jr. needing to calm down. That is a major turnoff for me as a fan. It's the reason I don't like Tony Stewart. Even though he' got a reputation for being a great guy, he's an A-Hole 10 minutes after anything big happens. He does a lot of finger pointing and whining untill he's had some time to cool down and come back to the real world. This is precisely the reason I am such a big Jamie Mcmurray fan. He is ALWAYS calm, cool and collected. Did you see his interview after the accident? He had a car capable of challenging Kyle (again... wouldnt' that have been great!?) and his superspeedway talent is certainly worthy of a top 5 at worst. No finger pointed, no crying, no bitching.. just racing. Along with a boatload of underated talent, that's what I respect most in a driver.

 

[godale03]

Thanks for the compliments my friend. I appreciate that. Your not a bad fan yourself.

You know, I have never been one of those guys with the attitude that "my driver can do no wrong" , or "My driver is the best in the world" kind of fan. I am realistic. Jr is pleanty talented... he just has not taken that "next step" that he needs to take in order to seriously contend for a championship. Gotta face the facts. Jr will be 34 or 35 this year. Time is not on his side....with guys like Lagano, Busch and Denny Hamlin busting on the scene and winning in there late teens early twenties. Jr has no excuses this year. I think the pressure is getting to him personally. I hope he has a fantastic year... I truly hope that Mark Martin might have a positive influence on him. He needs to take that next step before he is going to have any chance of being a Champion of Nascar's top series.

 

[dr15144]

Bottom line is they are all great drivers or they wouldnt be out there! but there is just a few that do have thoer cocky moments and they all can and have acted like assholes on and off the track. but i do dispiese kyle busch, just think that he has to cocky of an attitude and the last half of last year knocked him down a bit and brought him back to reality.....just my 2 cents like it means anything....

 

[Lessen]

Alright fellas, the Nascar season REALLY starts today. The 26 is essentially starting from pole and always runs well at Fontana. I'm lookin' for a big W today.

Does anybody know what the heck is going on with the team formally known as factory Honda? Melbourne is like a month away and thay have not announced drivers. I understand the team is for sale but are they not going to compete in the meantime? That really stinks for us Honda guys. I guess I'm rooting for Trulli this year...

 

[godale03]

Jr qualified 35th and did not look good in final practice. Transmission was jumping out of gear on Friday and Jr just told his crew about that in final practice yesterday. I am not expecting good things out of him today. The way this season is starting... he will probably hit a weaper and wipe his car out on the second lap. I just don't get it.... Johnson and Gordon are in the top 6 and Jr barely qualifies? I thought they were supposed to share setups? Hopefully they can salvage something good this weekend. The media needs to move on from Daytona and just leave the man alone. How soon we forget Vickers took out then teamate Johnson and Earnhardt in Tallagega in 04, Carl Edwards caused the big one in Talladega last year taking out Earnhardt and all of Roush racing... and don't forget that ol Kyle Busch took out Earnhardt in Richmond last May. Point is everybody makes mistakes... I just wish the media could all move on and let this whole Daytona thing die.

 

[Lessen]

He's gotta take the bad press with the good press. When a media superstar like him is in the middle of controversy the media will certainly beat the dead horse. Look at our 8 gold medal swimmer... Anyways.. personally, I've been over it since Tuesday. I have a REALLY good feeling about this season for Jaime and his qualifying this week confirms my suspicions. Of course there is the race still to go and anything can happen but this is just the way to bounce back from a 37th place finish which was due to nothing short of bad luck.

 

[godale03]

He's gotta take the bad press with the good press. When a media superstar like him is in the middle of controversy the media will certainly beat the dead horse. Look at our 8 gold medal swimmer... Anyways.. personally, I've been over it since Tuesday. I have a REALLY good feeling about this season for Jaime and his qualifying this week confirms my suspicions. Of course there is the race still to go and anything can happen but this is just the way to bounce back from a 37th place finish which was due to nothing short of bad luck.

I think JM will do quite well. He is back with Donnie Wingo and that is a winning combination. He is quite underestimated as a talented driver and I believe this might be his breakout season. I know it wouldn't hurt my feelings to see him cross the checkers in first today.

 

[Candyman]

Josh, I thought I heard that Honda was totally out of F1 at this point. Not to worried as they haven't really made much of a show in recent seasons. I guess that's one of my reservations about F1. Not much parity. Typically it's a season-long fight between Ferrari and McLaren. I'd like to see some more close races and more victories by other teams. I'm not sure who I want to pull for. I like Kimi. But I'd really like to see Robert Kubica make some more waves. And for Heaven's sake, can we get a decent American in F1????

Anyway, on to Cali. We'll have to see what happens. It's a race that really strings out so it can get a bit dull. Not sure who has the upper hand. Vickers looks like he's about to break through. But if you play the odds, you're better off taking either someone from Roush, or Jimmie Johnson. That's about it.

 

[SMaxxin]

Who's ready to watch Jimmie Johnson kick the crap out of the rest of the field? Hopefully Jeff can run with him in the end.

I just wish the media could all move on and let this whole Daytona thing die.

If he wouldn't have been a lap down they probably wouldn't have made such a big deal out of it, but he was and he took out several of the top cars.

Gordon isn't over. I think he's still fully capable of winning a lot more races. I'm of the mindset that he's been saddled with a crew chief that still isn't sure what to do. I have seen countless races where they wrench on the car and systematically make it worse throughout the race. That's not going to win anything. So I have to question Steve Letart's abilities to make a fast car, not Jeff's ability to drive.

Agreed! Loomis was a joke, Letart is not much better. If he still had Evernham on the box he would still be on top!

 

[Lessen]

Yeah, I agree on the F1 point. There isn't really a whole lot of drama outside of about 4 -6 drivers it seems. I think the racing will be a little different this year though, especially at place with looong straights with long braking zones like Malaysia, China and Hungary. I watched an short documentary type thing last year that followed Yarno around. He seems like a real down to earth type of fellow.

Yes, Vickers has looked strong in all events thus far. This may be his year to make a statement as well.

 

[SMaxxin]

Another race day with rain!

 

[Lessen]

Another race day with rain!

Hopefully we see the whole race... otherwise you boys might turn into F1 fans just in time for Melbourne

 

[SMaxxin]

Hopefully we see the whole race... otherwise you boys might turn into F1 fans just in time for Melbourne

I can hardly watch nascar anymore I sure wouldn't punish myself by watching F1

 

[Lessen]

I can hardly watch nascar anymore I sure wouldn't punish myself by watching F1

So... are you watching ANY auto racing then?

Looks like jaime's got some work to do with the car if he's gonna contend. C'mon Donnie, show 'em what you got!