2010 NASCAR running thread

In 2004, Kurt Busch blew an engine in Atlanta and finished 42nd. This was Race 7 of the first Chase.
In 2004, Kurt Busch won the Nextel Cup.

 

In 2006, Jimmie Johnson finished 39th in the first Chase race.
In 2006, Jimmie Johnson won the Sprint? Cup.

 

In 2009, Jimmie Johnson finished 38th in Texas, the eighth Chase race.
In 2009, Jimmie Johnson won the Sprint Cup.

So, in six years, the eventual champion has finished a Chase race in the bottom 5 and still gone on to win the championship.

 

Ok... so how many times has an NFL team lost its starting QB to a season-ending injury in the first game of the playoffs and still won the Super Bowl?




It is NOT a good comparision.

 

I didn't say it was impossible to win the championship. I said it was awfully difficult.

Yes, Busch won the Cup after blowing up in Race 7. He finished first, fifth, fifth, sixth, fourth, fifth, 10th, sixth and fifth in the other nine races and won the title by only eight points.

A traditionalist such as myself would argue Busch shouldn't have even been in the mix for the championship to begin with, since he was 293 points out of first place in the standings after the end of the so-called regular season. The Chase format put him only 30 points out of top spot, and then he won the first playoff race.

Even with his dynamite Chase results, he would only have picked up 46 points on previous leader Jeff Gordon. As it was, because he got a fake 263-point boost in the standings going into the Chase, he ended up beating Gordon by 16.

 

I'm still trying to figure out which person is making which argument. Because it looks like I'm getting hit from both sides.

 

Morrall QB'd the entire regular season.

 

My argument is that the Chase sucks.

 

My man Gordo has been screwed out of more championships than anyone else I know thanks solely to NASCAR tweaking things.

 

My only argument is that your comparision is poor.

 

This is true. He should have had at least six by now, but he's been stuck at four for a decade.

Hopefully the financial windfalls that come with being the co-owner of the 48 have helped to ease the disappointment somewhat.