NASCAR running thread

Do you remember who the sponsors were? Because that is clearly the most important thing.

 

Maybe so - I'm no fan of it, either - but Ryan Newman is a pretty sharp guy. Ever thought that he was having a little self-deprecating fun?

 

That's certainly possible. NASCAR drivers have been known to have fun at their own expense.

 

That's certainly possible. NASCAR drivers have been known to have fun at their own expense.

 

Never understood the criticism of Jimmie Johnson. If a driver is brash, wrecking people, acting cocky or being a hammer on the track, the driver is bashed.

Johnson does none of the above, and he gets bashed. He's not a larger-than-life character, sure, but he comes across as, at worst, a class act. What's wrong with that?

 

Plates have been used since 1988. A number of times since then cars have come close to completely breaking through the fence. It's time for something new. One option would be knocking down the banking at Daytona and 'Dega. But the France family won't spend the $$ for that. Another option is taking out the front several rows of seats and opening up the motors or knocking down the engine size (say to 305 cubic inches from the current 358), which is was Earnhardt advocated for many years ago. But taking out seats means less revenue potential, so the France family won't do it. For some reason the idea got started that fans love seeing cars clumped in one big group, leading to the inevitable Big One, so NASCAR is sticking with it.
Racing will always be dangerous, especially at 200-mph tracks like Daytona and 'Dega. But clumping cars close together with plates means the chances for a big wreck are much higher. With the big wrecks, sooner or later, cars/engines/tires/other debris will overpower the fencing and spectators will be killed. Then it'll be LeMans 1955 all over again. To be clear, I hope and pray that never happens. But IMO NASCAR is -- and has been -- tempting fate for a long time with plates.

 

Basically, you're saying everyone gets bashed. I can agree with that.

 

He went beyond that. He practically did a 20-second commercial, then when the reporter asked him about the race, made his silly comment.

I get that they always get their sponsors' name or names in, even when it looks silly. But it just struck me as crass that after he did, he whined that he didn't get more time to plug his people.

 

Dude, you're preaching to the choir. My goal is to never have to hear that shit again.

But I'm also pointing out that "buy an ad" is kind of disingenuous.

 

I wasn't able to weigh in when you posted it, but I have no idea where you got this post from. Last year he ran 694 of 745 laps in his four races, with a crash at the first Talladega race being his one lapse.

 

Wetzel's not having a good month or so. He wrote that golf knocked wrestling out of the Olympics, when the decision to add golf came almost three years ago.

 

And oddly enough, Mark Martin is a huge 50 Cent fan, and a fan of rap in general. Quite possibly the only white guy over 50 in Daytona on Sunday who enjoys rap. Said in the post-race presser that if he had won, he was going to ask his pal to name himself 55 Cent.