Race Season '10

[grgbulldog]

With the NASCAR festivities finally underway with Bud shootout practices, I thought maybe it would finally be time to start a new race season thread.

Lessen, did you get that #26 decal off your roof yet?

 

[Lessen]

I was smart enough not to have it replaced when the tree limb came down on it last year

I can't say that I care much for the car. I'm soooo not a Bass Pro Shops kinda guy. Never stepped foot in one, probably never will. Hopefully EGR finds a different sponsor when the contract is up after this season. That is if Jamie stays at EGR which I think he will. It's a horrible match-up from a marketing perspective IMO.

 

[grgbulldog]

He really doesn't seem like the hunter/fisher kinda guy. On top of NASCAR I'm waiting for F1 to start up again.

 

[NCNitro]

Woohoo, Nascar is getting rid of that rediculous wing this season and going back to the spoiler! Now if they would just do away with the chase the sport would be so much better once again.

 

[grgbulldog]

I'm curious to see how loose they really get on bump drafting rules.

 

[Lessen]

yay for the spoiler. Sorry Joe, but yay for the chase as well. Just not 12 drivers and not 10 races.

 

[Lessen]

ARCA race

Anybody else watch?

I thought Danica was VERY impressive. She was pretty sketchy at the beginning with what seemed like a tight entry or lack of anticipation to the turn entry, but she looked really good at the end of the race, running a much tighter line and moving the car around as necessary. She had one really nice move and beautiful save and comeback. I have to admit, I was cheering her on bigtime. I hope she runs the Nationwide race. I'll be rooting for her there too if she does.

 

[NCNitro]

I watched both the ARCA race and the budweiser shootout, of course while enjoying a few cold buds . I too was quite impressed with Danica. I think for her first real race in a full bodied stock car she did damn good! I was pretty skeptical myself when I first heard she was going to run NASCAR, but I must say she did much better than I had thought she would.

Your boy Jamie looked pretty good tonight too, I am curious to see how he does next week in a full race with his new team.

 

[Lessen]

Yeah buddy! I was worried about him restarting on the inside there at the end. He had been more succesful on the outside line throughout the race. At any rate, I'm pretty stoked that he ran soo strong. I've had a good feeling about him reuniting with Chip and I still think he's the dark horse to make the Chase this year. I feel like he's back where he's most comfortable and this might truly be the breakout season his fans have been waiting for. Jeez, the anticipation is killing me. One more week.. Ahhh!

On a side note.. of course everybody wants their favorite driver to win the Daytona 500 but being with the new team and new sponsor it would be a sure-fire way to get the merchandise on the shelves quicker. I CAN'T FIND NOTHIN' DAMNIT!

 

[Candyman]

First looks seemed pretty good. All the usual suspects running strong. Jamie looked real racey which was a good thing. I hope he has a better season. I'm still ambivalent about NASCAR this year. Unless there's a compelling story I'll probably just peek in at my favorite races. Will watch most of Daytona, Talladaga and Bristol. Not sure if I'll really bother with much else. It's becoming a bit predictable. I guess we'll see how it goes.

As far as Danica, I give her credit. She ran generally smart and basically clean. A little bumpy at the end, but most races are like that. It'll be interesting to see how she does when she steps up to the Nationwide race. A bit more competition and more talent. I've been a big Danica hater for a while. Yeah, she managed to stay in the IRL series without fading. But only managed 1 win. I believe all the hype surrounding her was due to her sex, not talent. And I still believe the majority of the hype now is for the same reason. Hell, she's got 5 headlines on the ARCA site right now. So I guess we'll see if it really works out.

 

[Lessen]

Nice to see ya pokin' yer head in Jeff. I'm extremely optomistic for the #1 team this year. Of course I always am but I really believe it's a Chase year for Jamie. He's back where he belongs and it seems like things are a good fit already. He's hungry big time. A couple years ago I think he would have been asking to be tighter but he drove that car loose all night and just wheeled it. That's really inspiring IMO.

 

[Candyman]

I give him props for wheeling that car. I thought he was going to lose it many times. Loose is fast. And he was fast. Gotta give Harvick credit for winning even though he didn't drive the car until the pace laps.
Just getting tired of the same old stories. I'm sick of seeing Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson all the time. I haven't been watching any media. Just the race. Hope a few other drivers bubble up to the surface this year.
Anxiously awaiting F1, but haven't read anything on them yet. Gotta get up to speed on the new teams and rules.

 

[Lessen]

I think the racing will be a lot better this year vs. last with them going back to the spoiler. Hopefuly races like Atlanta and California will be a little more racey throughout. I'm sorta considering going to Bristol. Tickets are available and Jamie had a good run of top 10 finishes there back when he was driving for Chip the first time. I was surprised to see Nelson Piquet in the ARCA race. I didn't even know he was running that. However, I wasn't surprised that he turned down on DP. Not the most aware driver I've ever seen considering where he's been. Reputation isnt' exactly glamorous either.

F1 is weird. Only in the world of Formula 1 do you see two drivers of a team bounce after a championship season. I just don't get that. At any rate, It'll be interesting to see Schumacher perform although I don't expect anything ultra spectacular out of him. I hope Massa has a strong season and although I want to root for USF1 I dont' see myself getting too attached to that team until they put two american born drivers in their cars. To me it doesn't much matter where they are based. Foreign born driver = foreign team. I'll just stick to rooting for Jenson for now.

 

[Candyman]

If there's one truth in F1, it's all about the money. Hence the reason you see drivers bounce like that. Not sure if Mercedes had a hand in that. (Yeah, I'm finally reading the site). So, my big questions are....will Jenson wheel a McLaren as well? Will USGP do anything? Could be a Red Bull year. And it's nice to see the Lotus badge back in F1.

 

[Lessen]

I think this will be another strong year for Red Bull. Looks like Jenson is wheeling a Mercedes just fine.

Fontana was a bit of a dissapointment. Jaime has a pretty rough day and just when it looked like he'd have a shot at a strong points day the caution came out and absolutely killed the #1 car's shot at a top 10. The car simply was not top 10 competitive on fresh tires. It's absolutely amazing the difference the setups make. Jaime was running 'em down left and right the next to the last run when everybody was on old tires. Put on a new set of slicks with everybody else and it turned just plain slow. Oh well. On to Vegas, hopefully no drifting this time

 

[godale03]

I know the feeling... disapointing day for the 88 bunch too. They were so loose, and then the axle problem. You know... I just don't understand it. Martin and Johnson and Gordon were running strong all day.. but not Jr. It just doesn't make any sense. Aren't they supposed to be sharing info? I would like to see if Johnson could jump into Jr's car when it is running like dog crap and see if he can drive it. Maybe he can give the 88 crew the info it needs to make the car better? I just don't get it. Sorry guys... just a little frustrated.

 

[Candyman]

Tom, I hate to say this, but I have to put a lot on Jr's shoulders. You're right. Mark, Jimmie and Jeff all run hot. But Jr just can't seem to get it. I have to lay it squarely on him and Lance. And it's been that way for a while. He has full Hendrick backing. It's not the equipment. I worry that either Lance doesn't know how to make the adjustments that Jr needs. Or that Jr isn't sure what he wants in setup. But there's something seriously lacking there because he should be one of the fastest every week. But his performance at Hendrick Racing has been nothing short of really disappointing. Honestly, if he wasn't an Earnhardt, I would expect Rick to cut him. But he won't. So I don't know what to think. I want him to win. But he seems to have no clue how to go fast.

And in other news, I still wait for some compelling story. Johnson wins California. Yawn. But then again, California is always an incredibly dull race. And he's always a shoe-in to win. I expect this year to be the same cast of characters. The same drama. And the same result as the past 4 years. Anyone notice the fact that the stands were only half full Sunday? Between the economy and the complete lack of anything interesting people just seem to be staying home. I'm beginning to think NASCAR has finally become a victim of it's success. Time to get F1 back here. And WRC. Those guys are psychotic!

 

[ThunderTiger]

Ok boys, heres the uk F1 website. Dates, races, news et al.

Love to watch the NASCAR, but no go on the terrestrial tv that i know of...............

 

[Lessen]

I had a conversation with more than a couple Nascar buddies at work today concerning Mr. Dale Jr. Everybody is noticing how down in the dumps he is ALL THE TIME. No matter how well he runs he shows absolutely no excitement or passion for what he does. I mean my gawd was that pre-race interview horrible (I don't care what DW says). The guy is hands down the worst thing for marketing right now. I couldn't even believe that half hearted sales pitch he threw. Pitiful. I guess it's even worse when you put hip right beside Jamie Mac whos has been in the spotlight the last week due to his unabashed display of raw emotion after his Daytona 500 victory.

 

[godale03]

You guys are right.... All of this is on Jr's and Lance's shoulders right now. There is a communication problem somewhere that needs to be addressed. I mean, Jr knows how to win races, he knows how to drive a race car. We as fans will never know how much stress Jr feels and we only know the Jr that is in front of the cameras each week. I can only imagine that he bears a heavy load.....with the famous name he carries and the immense expectations that we have as fans have for him. Hopefully they get it figured out.... I am not so sure though.