All Purpose NASCAR Thread

I swear to God, the original lede on the story from this guy was: "Jack Roush celebrated his 70th birthday in a unique fashion."
;D ;D ;D That had me laughing pretty hard. WOW. That's hilarious...

And you're right about NBC. I hate everything about their coverage, from the lame-ass music to the stupid graphics to Wally's annoying, condescending tone to Allen Bestwick in general. Even Bill Weber annoys me.

Conversely, I love FOX's coverage. Does that make me an evil person?

 

Did anyone see Jimmie Johnson on Letterman tonight?

He mentioned that "our former champion" had a problem going to the bathroom in the car... and referenced the poop kind. But he stopped himself from saying anything else and Letterman changed the subject.

Anyone know who this is? Did Kurt Busch shit himself or something?

 

No, not evil in the least. Although, I've got to admit that I actually like Wally. Weber's annoying and Benny Parsons is so in love with himself it's painful to listen to. Wally's the only one in the booth capable of adding anything meaningful to the broadcast. It's not his fault that NBC has forced to be a characature of himself half the time.

In a perfect world, you could replace Waltrip with Wally and let Fox handle the whole damn season.

Also, take a look at the NBC setup for the 500 compared to Fox's. Last year, we got Ashton Kutcher waving the flag, Matthew McConaughey (who brought along Penelope Cruz) as the grand marshal and Vanessa Williams singing the Anthem. For entertainment, there was Clint Black, LeAnn Rimes and a couple other well-known singers. This year, we got two snowboarding chicks waving the flag, Sonny Corleone as the grand marshal, Fergie singing the Anthem and Bon Jovi as the pre-race entertainment.

Sucks. Balls.

 

I don't exactly study Daytona 500 Grand Marshal history, but Caan had to be the least prestigious starter in years.

I'm still waiting to find out who shits themselves, by the way...

 

Even funnier since Roush was 60 at the time but what's 10 years

 

Maybe he was referring to the time Busch decorated his drawers when he saw Jimmy Spencer walking toward his car with his fists clenched and a "I'm gonna kill you, you little bastard" look in his eyes.

I mean, they didn't call Jimmy "Mr. Excitement" for nothing.

 

Why did Terry Labonte get docked 25 points and Jimmie Johnson didn't lose any?

Knaus' four-race suspension was fair, but I'm not sure I understand why he kept all his points.

 

I watched In Car today. I was so stoked about it. Ends up being really lame. I was hoping the 8 car would talk a lot of shit, but the reality was forgettable.

I enjoyed listening to M. Waltrip bitch about his seven-cylinder engine. Complained to the radio guy, then went on a rant about "miscommuncation". Asshole.

 

BS yellow flag at the end which had no effect on the outcome.

Will we ever know who tossed the glove in the Busch race Saturday?

And how much of a lock is Charlotte for the Hall of Fame?

 

Never forget the USA Today story around this time last year, when they were talking about NASCAR being the one sport that doesn't have a pension plan for its drivers. Jack Roush was quoted saying "We don't need that kind of socialist thinking in this sport."

Asshole.

 

NBC's pathetic coverage is one among many things that has cooled me to the sport.

Bill Weber is a self-aggrandizing pain in the ass. He does not have the chops to carry a network broadcast, and I call him self-aggrandizing because when he was a pit reporter, he hogged the damn mike everytime they put him on. Plus, his voice is annoying and he has the charisma of a gas cap.

Benny Parsons is the Dick Vitale of motorsports, he's 10 years past his prime. He was charming as a counter-point to by-the-book straight man Bob Jenkins and studious Ned Jarrett on ESPN's great announcing trio from the late 80s and 90s, but without that element, he sucks. And the next quasi-controversial or ballsy statement about anything related to NASCAR he makes will be the first. To me, he embodies the sycophantic nature of much of the electronic media that covers the sport (don't get me started about their radio broadcasts, the blandest PR machine imaginable). Dallenbach is wordwork, but I prefer him to Parsons.

I don't mind Bestwick, but he couldn't carry a network broadcast either, though in retrospect, I think Parsons' and Dallenbach's shortcomings bring him down. Bestwick strikes me as a guy who would do well if he could find the right partner and the right interplay.

I prefer Fox's team, Waltrip and McReynolds actually bring something to the table and offer an opinion, though I dislike their pit reporters. But NASCAR turned me off with constant rule changes, predictable races (Oh wow, its another yellow flag in the final 15 laps, didn't see that coming) and the dumb ass Chase For The Cup or whatever it is (racing championships should be decided by its full season, not some contrived playoff), so I really don't watch either very often. And that's too bad because despite my frequent jabs that would indicate otherwise, I've always liked NASCAR.

The racing announcing gold standard is Varsha, Matchett and Hobbs on Speed's F1 coverage. They're fantastic.