2009 NASCAR running thread

What's the over/under on Danica's jump to NASCAR getting more press than Johnson winning four straight titles?
FWIW, I can't help but wonder if the IRL only has itself to blame if Danica jumps full-time to NASCAR in another year or two. In her comments last week Danica noted her preference for running mainly oval events. Since Danica came to the IRL, that series has gone from mostly ovals to now having more street/road courses than ovals. Danica might well have eventually tried NASCAR anyway because of the exposure and all that, but I wonder if this is in part a rebellion against the IRL's change in direction.

 

I kind of thought it was all about money.

 

It's all about the money. It certainly has nothing to do with driving ability.

 

I don't care if she's any good, let her race. Even if she's horrible, there's going to be worse on display every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

 

I absolutely agree, but I'm just wondering how much the IRL is hurting itself by adding more road courses and removing ovals from the schedule. Hornish will go down as one of the IRL greats, but by and large he couldn't get out of his own way on the road courses. Same with Danica, minus the going down as one of the greats part. If Danica (or Hornish before her) felt she had a chance at winning any race (i.e. back when the IRL had all ovals or even just a couple of road courses), would she be as willing to go for the NASCAR money?

 

Former Kentucky Speedway owners lose again, this time at federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals which upheld the district court's ruling that the former owners don't have enough evidence to go to trial. Court's opinion notes that former speedway owners failed to define relevant market and that their experts failed to consider non-motorsports and non-sports competition for NASCAR in the marketplace, which it said sabotaged the former owners' case. Court does not address monopoly allegations.

Court also ruled that none of the defendants were colluding against the former owners' attempt to buy other tracks to move a Cup date to Kentucky, saying that the defendants didn't prevent the former owners from bidding on other tracks and that owners of other tracks weren't obligated to sell. (Cases in point: Dover, Bob Bahre when he owned NHIS.)

http://www.scenedaily.com/news/articles/sprintcupseries/Appeals_court_sides_with_NASCAR_in_Kentucky_Speedway_case.html

 

Because TTIUWOP.....



Here's an interesting factoid about Duno - she's a naval engineer with four master's degrees.

 

At the same test? This has a lot of potential.

 

NASCAR puts out a poll for the media to rank the top races of the decade. The 2001 Daytona 500, the one in which Dale Earnhardt died, is not among the choices. Isn't that one of the biggest sports stories of the decade, let alone one of the top NASCAR races of the decades? Just surprised not to see it among the choices. Dale Jr.'s win in July of 2001 at Daytona was among them, as was Dale Sr.'s last win at Talladega.
Thoughts?