SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAAAYY

[Sei'taer]

Infineon this weekend, looks like it'll be a good one. Robby and Juan are already bitching at each other and Kyle got a little crumpled in practice. I really like the road courses because its neat to see these guys throwing that huge car through the tight corners...expecially turn 11...the hated hairpin. Terry Labonte will be starting his 20th Infineon race, and is the only driver to compete in every race at this track.

[caladanbrood]

What, who, who, who and what?

[irerancincpkc]

I'd put my money on Juan to win... either him or Gordon. It is neat when they go to road courses, they are my second favorite kind of track, behind short tracks. I've always had a lot of respect for Terry Labonte, remember when he was in the 96 a few years ago and almost won? I'd like to see him have a good finish.

[Brita]

What, who, who, who and what?

LMAO! Only when he mentioned Labonte did I have any clue what he was talking about.

[irerancincpkc]

~Shakes head at clueless people~ :D

[Sei'taer]

wasn't that last year in the 96? Seems like it was...

[irerancincpkc]

It might have been... did Gordon win last year, cause I believe he was the one who passed Terry.

[Sei'taer]

Montoya won last year...I think Labonte was second...or maybe third.

[Frenzy]

We were considering going to this race, since it's only about a 2-hour drive away, give or take an hour for traffic. But watching a road race from the stands means you don't see squat, and tickets cost over $100 for the crap seats. Besides, it'll be like 105 F (40.5 C) out there.

a buddy of mine went up today for the practice runs, and said Jimmie Johnson was looking good.

[Sarevok]

*agrees with Caladan*

*reads thread*

*still hasn't got a clue*

[GonzoTheGreat]

Something like the Tour de France, but the lazy (American) way. Probably NASCAR.

[irerancincpkc]

I think Terry was third... Remember Watkins Glen, when Montoya and Harvick got into it? :D

[Sei'taer]

We were considering going to this race, since it's only about a 2-hour drive away, give or take an hour for traffic. But watching a road race from the stands means you don't see squat, and tickets cost over $100 for the crap seats. Besides, it'll be like 105 F (40.5 C) out there.

a buddy of mine went up today for the practice runs, and said Jimmie Johnson was looking good.

Thats why I like watching them on TV. You can see it all and don't have to deal with the weather issues.

Sorry about the US ruining years 1999 to 2005 of the tour for you Gonzo, you are free to go away and watch Spain win for the 3rd year straight. Lemme know when y'all get close to that record set in 2002.

[irerancincpkc]

Something like the Tour de France, but the lazy (American) way. Probably NASCAR.
Lazy? So all the time the drivers work out is lazy, huh?

[Frenzy]

no no no, Sei'taer. i bet he's one of those who thinks it isn't racing unless it's Formula 1/Indy car/whatever. Us lazy Americans have ruined the sport by putting roofs on the cars.

[GonzoTheGreat]

Sorry about the US ruining years 1999 to 2005 of the tour for you Gonzo, you are free to go away and watch Spain win for the 3rd year straight. Lemme know when y'all get close to that record set in 2002.
Don't worry, this year all the Spanish teams will be thrown out of the Tour.

Oh, I'm sorry, that's not public knowledge, yet. So temporarily forget about it.

[Sei'taer]

Don't worry, this year all the Spanish teams will be thrown out of the Tour.

Oh, I'm sorry, that's not public knowledge, yet. So temporarily forget about it.


That's ok...it's porbably the only way Italy or France will be able to get a win...have to do something about those pesky Germans too though.

[Sei'taer]

Hey Ire,

Watch out for Marcos Ambrose. I've watched him race V8 supercars in Australia and this seems like a track he'll do well on. I was glad to see him qualify because I like the guy. He might give a few of these guys a run. We'll see though. I'm ready for things to get going! It's 3:22...lets go!

[irerancincpkc]

I've heard talk about him from some 'experts', but you validated it, so we'll see. It would be a nice suprise. This late afternoon races are annoying... I'd take a nice night race anyday.

[Zaela Sedai]

WOOT another Stewart crash....and a red flag green white BAH!!!!!!!!!!!

[Zaela Sedai]

fook busch....


Gordon worked a miracle yay!

and Gilliland 2nd...who knew?

[irerancincpkc]

I hate Kyle Busch. Not because of his attitude or anything, just cause he wins so darn much. They need to knock the Toyotas down a notch or two...

[Zaela Sedai]

yeah you the hell thought it was a good idea to bring that foreign crap into our redneckin NASCAR!!!!!!!!

LOL

[irerancincpkc]

I could care less if it is foreign or not, it's just they have an advantage. Last year they didn't. They need to equalize everything again.

[Sei'taer]

The others will catch up. Toyota ruled the truck series for a little while, but that went away and the others are back up with them again.

I like letting others in. I say we should let in any who want in and make the correct kind of car and engine, race. It'd definitely open the sport up some more. Couldn't you see a Jag or a BMW making rounds? I think it'd be awesome.

[irerancincpkc]

A BMW? :D It would be an improvement over a Ford... :D

[Sei'taer]

A BMW? :D It would be an improvement over a Ford... :D


You are a REDNECK!!!

[irerancincpkc]

You are a REDNECK!!!
Because I dislike Fords? :D

[Zaela Sedai]

I WAS kidding....kinda

[Sei'taer]

Because I dislike Fords? :D


No, because you brought it up in the correct redneck context.

[irerancincpkc]

So, there are rumors abound that Mears is out of the 5 and Martin and Keselowski will replace him next year. What do yens think?

[Sei'taer]

It could be true. there are a couple of references to it on NASCAR.com.

Montoya (http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/cup/06/23/jmontoya.sonoma.post/index.html) interview


Rumor mill at NASCAR (http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/opinion/06/23/rumor.mill/index.html)

[irerancincpkc]

The Montoya interview is where I first heard about it. I wouldn't think Hendrick would rotate drivers within a season, but we'll see.

[Zaela Sedai]

I'd love to have Martin at Hendrick, the rotating drivers is only to please him, and I don't blame him considering how old he is, lol. Not to mention that he;s a great teacher for the youngins that split the drive time.

He'll do far better than Mears in half the amount of races anyhow. This is wonderful news to my ears.

[irerancincpkc]

Just to float a thought out there, it would be entertaining if Stewart left Gibbs (which is looking more and more likely) and started driving the 5... :D Not likely, I admit, but funny to think about. He does want to drive a Chevy, I think...

[Zaela Sedai]

they rumored that scenario... Iwould always hate him

[irerancincpkc]

I read something else this morning that says Stewart could go to Haas/CNC and take Newman with him, and have a two car team that way. I like Newman; not sure if he would do it, but it would be interesting to see...

[Sei'taer]

I bet Newman would do it, just because he is fixing to lose his sponsorship. Alltell was bought out by another company and they won't be able to change the name on his car. Remember all the crap Burton went thru to get cingular switched to AT&T. It would defintely save him the headaches of that and having to find another sponsor.

[irerancincpkc]

And it looks like if Stewart does split off he would have a co-sponsership of Carl Edward's old sponser Office Depot and Old Spice... and Newman said the only way he was staying was if the car's performance improved... I wonder if they would be able to compete year one, if they did do this thing.

[Sei'taer]

A great video of Ambrose (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAaRm4lJMGg&feature=related) losing a tire.

[irerancincpkc]

Mears is out. (http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/news/story?id=3463385)

The article says Martin could come back full time; that would be cool; I've always liked him...

[irerancincpkc]

Stewart In? (http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/news/story?id=3464378)

He says he is interested; I'd rather have Martin! Please!

[Zaela Sedai]

that would be Horrid. Stewarts being an ass to the reporters too.

[irerancincpkc]

Nothing new there...

Another Busch won... we can't seem to get away from them!

[Zaela Sedai]

All i have to say is

~sigh~

[irerancincpkc]

Daytona tonight! I can't wait; I think Jr. has a good shot at it! :D

[Sei'taer]

Daytona tonight! I can't wait; I think Jr. has a good shot at it! :D

I couldn't have asked for a more fun race to watch (I just wish someone else had won) My 82 yr old Grandmother was in town and she really got into the race and enjoyed it. She was asking all kinds of questions and wanted to know when they raced again (she had never watched a race of any kind in her life). She was really impressed by them being able to go that fast and touch each other without wrecking. My Step-dad and I were having a lot of fun explaining it all to her. He was rooting for Jr. all the way. At one point when he was in 14th place and all of a sudden, there he was in 2nd and Grandma said, "wow, he drove right around all those other cars just like he knew where they were going and he went the other way" It was great!

[irerancincpkc]

I was annoyed by all the cautions near the end but besides that it was a great race to watch. The COT changed the way you run restrictor plates, a bit. And not in a bad way. I'm glad your grandmother had fun. I remember when Jr. did that, and I'm an emotional loser, so I was standing and screaming. :D

[Zaela Sedai]

bah BAH I SAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


MArtins joining Hendrick next year...thats cool

[irerancincpkc]

Stewart is supposed to annouce he is leaving Gibbs and joining Haas today. I would guess he is going to buy the majority of Haas.

I'm not sure how this will play out. If he can get Newman to go with him, it could be interesting...

[Zaela Sedai]

i bet ya Newman will be there. Hopefully they crash and burn....

[Sei'taer]

I think Newman goes too. He'll be losing his sponsor anyway*, and Haas already has them. I think it'd be a tough team, tbh.



*I think we'll see a similar situation to what happened with Burton and AT&T, but I doubt NASCAR lets this one slide.

[irerancincpkc]

I don't want Busch to win tonight.

I predict, with my awesome powers, that it will be Harvick. You heard it here first. :D

[Sei'taer]

I don't want Busch to win tonight.

I predict, with my awesome powers, that it will be Harvick. You heard it here first. :D


I wish you had been right. All I can say is that KB's team has figured out something that no one else knows yet. You can't just do what he does without something being different or better. I'm not saying he's cheating, because it very well could be on the up and up. I'm saying that they have figured out a way to make him faster...we'll see if the other teams are able to catch up anytime soon.

[Sei'taer]

Just to stir the pot a little.


After Stewart, now the rest of the dominos able to fall
Newman the latest in series of driver swapping for 2009By Joe Menzer, NASCAR.COM
July 14, 2008
04:49 PM EDT

Once the biggest domino of all fell -- and no, Tony Stewart fans, that is not a shot at the girth of your favorite driver -- you just knew the others would begin to fall in place more quickly right behind it.

So it began when Stewart made it official last week that he was leaving Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of this 2008 season to drive for, well, himself at the newly formed Stewart-Haas Racing. For no money up front at all, the good folks at Haas CNC Racing simply handed Stewart half of their company along with half of the name.

It was, as has been said often since it went down, simply an offer Stewart could not refuse.

It also set in motion a wave of events that now is beginning to pick up speed, particularly with Monday's announcement -- only mildly surprising -- that driver Ryan Newman will part ways with Penske Racing at the end of this season. Newman has been mentioned most often as the leading candidate to fill the second driver's seat at Stewart-Haas Racing, and most likely will be headed either there very shortly (even though Newman said Saturday at Chicagoland Speedway that it isn't his only option).

Assuming Newman ends up paired with Stewart in that new operation, what's next on the musical drivers' front?

Other possibilities
Well, a driver still needs to be officially named for the fourth car that Richard Childress Racing will run next year -- and sources have insisted that Casey Mears, recently ousted (at season's end) from the No. 5 Chevrolet at Hendrick Motorsports in favor of veteran Mark Martin, will be tabbed for that position.

But now there officially is an opening at Penske, once considered one of the top rides in the garage. Who takes Newman's place?

The Penske job is an intriguing one. No doubt Roger Penske already has someone in mind -- maybe Dario Franchitti, if he wants to take another former open-wheeler into the fold and Franchitti truly is finished with Chip Ganassi; maybe Mears, who has kept all his options open and whose uncle, Rick, enjoyed great success on the open-wheel side while driving for Penske; and maybe long shot David Stremme, who truthfully never should have lost his ride with Ganassi last season (Franchitti replaced him) and has done some test driving for Penske.

But just how attractive a job, really, is it? Like the Chip Ganassi Racing operation that pushed Franchitti out of his Sprint Cup Series ride less than half a season after luring him away from IndyCars, one has to wonder what in the heck is happening on the NASCAR side of Penske's organization.

This season started with a huge bang when Newman won the Daytona 500 out of the gate, but the driver's No. 12 Dodge team has been unable to build on that. Following his 10th-place finish in the LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Saturday, Newman remains mired in 16th in the standings.

The top 12 after 26 races make the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, so it's likely Newman will be left on the outside looking in again when the Chase commences. After finishing in the top 10 in points 2002 through 2005, he finished 18th and 13th, respectively, the last two seasons while failing to win a single race in either season.

The other Penske driver, Kurt Busch, recently won a rain-shortened race to give his sagging season a boost -- but he's 18th in points and headed nowhere fast this season, with only seven races left before the Chase cutoff. He won three races and made the Chase a year ago, so it's obvious he's still a top driver, but he clearly has been frustrated with the way his No. 2 Dodge has run this season.

Sam Hornish Jr., another former open-wheel standout in his rookie Cup season, currently sits 33rd in the points standings in the third Penske car, the No. 77 Dodge.

Connect the dots
So is Newman to Stewart-Haas a done deal? Well, nothing is official until it's official, of course, but it seems so.

Did we mention that Matt Borland, who was Newman's crew chief at Penske when Newman captured 12 of his 13 career victories and 37 of his 43 career poles at the Cup level, now works at the present Haas CNC operation as director of competition? Since they split ways, Newman's productivity has nose-dived.

So the next dominos to fall into place likely will be Newman making it official that he's joining forces with Stewart; and Joe Gibbs Racing abandoning all remaining, and thinly veiled, attempts to disguise its plans to promote 18-year-old phenom Joey Logano into the No. 20 Toyota that Stewart is vacating at season's end.

Speaking of Logano, it makes too much sense not to happen. Sure, he needs more experience driving Sprint Cup cars (since he has absolutely zero at the moment, as far as driving them in actual races). Yes, he's very young.

But the guy has excelled in everything JGR has ever put him into, and JGR has a history of throwing youngsters to the wolves in Cup racing -- having done so with Denny Hamlin even as Hamlin protested that he wasn't ready. Logano will be in the No. 20 car, you can count on that.

Newman appears headed for Stewart-Haas, too. After that, the game of driver dominos will continue to fall into place in order of relevancy -- meaning it likely will get less interesting along the way.

It will be up to Penske Racing or Richard Childress Racing, those left with openings, to spice it up again if they can come up with a surprise or two.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.

[irerancincpkc]

I wish you had been right. All I can say is that KB's team has figured out something that no one else knows yet. You can't just do what he does without something being different or better. I'm not saying he's cheating, because it very well could be on the up and up. I'm saying that they have figured out a way to make him faster...we'll see if the other teams are able to catch up anytime soon.
That's all it can be, and it looks like he hasn't shared it with his teammates; which is a bit rude, I think... :D

[tanaww]

Can I just say that the highlight of my Western Swing Adventure so far was meeting all the NHRA teams headed north on I-25 from Denver en route to Seattle - Including 9 JFR haulers (specifically the Technology Center!). OMG it was so awesome. I have a whole list of the teams I saw. It's impressive. Including the Army Propaganda Zone trucks and the A/V guys. No Safety Safari but...

Because NHRA is racing. NASCAR is a Sunday drive.

[Sei'taer]

Because NHRA is racing. NASCAR is a Sunday drive.


~pointedly ignores the previous comment~

I found this, Ire. I figure if its happening in the nationwide series, then it's probably about the same in the sprint cup. Just wonder why Kyle is the only one able to take advantage of it.

Nationwide engine rule changes could be in offing
Toyotas show greater dynamometer numbers than others
By Sporting News Wire Service
July 12, 2008
08:31 PM EDT

type size: + -JOLIET, Ill. -- NASCAR's decision to take 10 Nationwide Series engines to its research and development center in Concord, N.C., for evaluation isn't an unprecedented move, but it may be an indication of upcoming changes to rules governing engine packages in the series.

In its second year of competition, Toyota has dominated the Nationwide Series this season, winning 14 of 20 races. Of those victories, 13 have come from Joe Gibbs Racing -- five from Tony Stewart, four from Kyle Busch, three from Denny Hamlin and one from rookie Joey Logano.

Busch also has the other Toyota win, in the No. 32 Camry fielded by owner Todd Braun.

Toyota's dominance, particularly that of the nine-time winner No. 20 JGR Camry, has irritated drivers of other makes of cars, prompting series points leader Clint Bowyer, a Chevrolet driver, to assert that "a monkey could drive that 20 car and win."

Does Toyota have a horsepower advantage, as non-Toyota teams have claimed? The last set of dynamometer numbers, taken after Carl Edwards won in a Ford at Milwaukee, would support that assertion. A garage source told Sporting News that Edwards' peak horsepower was measured at 611, compared with 632 for the No. 20 Toyota, 628 for the No. 40 Dodge and 612 for the No. 88 Chevrolet.

After Friday night's Dollar General 300 at Chicagoland Speedway, which Busch won in the No. 18 JGR Camry, Bowyer's crew chief, Dan Deeringhoff, told Scenedaily.com's Bob Pockrass, "The peak number is maybe 20 [horsepower difference], but I think the average is quite a bit more than what we've got."

NASCAR took engines from the No. 18 and No. 20 Gibbs cars, in addition to the power plant from Braun's No. 10 Toyota, which Brian Vickers drove to a fourth-place finish Friday night. Chevrolet engines that will be measured are from the No. 88 of JR Motorsports, driven by third-place finisher Brad Keselowski; the No. 11 of CJM Motorsports, driven by Jason Keller; and the No. 2 of Richard Childress Racing, driven by Bowyer.

In addition, NASCAR took engines from the Nos. 16 and 17 Roush Fenway Racing Fords driven by Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth, respectively, and from Dodges driven by Elliott Sadler (No. 9 of Gillett Evernham Motorsports) and Dario Franchitti (No. 40 of Chip Ganassi Racing).

NASCAR will decide whether or not to make rules changes after reviewing the numbers from the upcoming dynamometer tests.

[irerancincpkc]

Nice article, but you would think if it was something you could find in an article, other people would be taking advantage of it... :D They took a lot of engines there; I'd like to see them do that in Sprint Cup...

I just hope someone else figures it out before the Chase begins. Not that it will matter... Kyle will start out with a huge lead because of his number of victories; what is it, 5 points a victory, or 10?

[Zaela Sedai]

...A monkey DOES drive that 20 car.....

[irerancincpkc]

No race this weekend... :(

[Sei'taer]

No race this weekend... :(

Nope, but indy is next week...maybe KB wrecks on lap one.

[irerancincpkc]

Nope, but indy is next week...maybe KB wrecks on lap one.
You know, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I'd rather have Stewart win than have KB win again...

I'm not sure, I'll have to think about that... :D

[Zaela Sedai]

~smacks Spammer with a trout~

NO! you hope they wreck each other, get in a huge fight resulting in massive point loss and susupension.

Come on now kid!

[irerancincpkc]

Stewart actually did punch/shove an official at one of the dirt track (I think) races this week. I laughed. :D

[Sei'taer]

I'm so ready. Gonna paint tomorrow so I can watch the race sunday...even though its supposed to be 99 tomorrow with a heat index of 115. Gonna be sucky but worth it for sunday.

[irerancincpkc]

You know, I've never really thought Indy races were that special. Not a lot of passing.

The way I look at it, 3 drivers have really good shots at winning. Kyle Busch has a lot of HP, and at Indy that is a very good thing; it's hard to bet against him. Stewart hasn't won in a long time, and this is a good track for him. And Mark Martin has said he is going to win here for the past month.

All in all, it looks like it will be interesting. My dark horse pick is Juan, he's been quiet for a while now and I think he could break through here.

[Zaela Sedai]

I want the chase to get hear. Hendrick needs clean slate

[irerancincpkc]

What a horrible race. What were there, six competiton yellows? Ugh. :mad:

[Sei'taer]

What a horrible race. What were there, six competiton yellows? Ugh. :mad:

160 laps, caution every 9 or 10...it was awful. I got sick of watching it after about 80 laps. At leat KB didn't win.

[irerancincpkc]

At leat KB didn't win.
True; one bright spot.

Let's put that mess behind us. Isn't it Pocono next week? Fun track to race at.

[Zaela Sedai]

Gouge my eyes out with a spoon. Man those tires were NASTY

[tanaww]

What race are you people talking about???

No mention of Tony Schumacher's sweep of the Western Swing or Hight's win and return to second in the points in Funny Car? Isn't it awesome to have a JFR car in the winner's circle once again? What about Dave Connolly's awesome display in Pro Stock after starting the season 5 races in due to lack of a sponsor? Yay! for spending Charter's money wisely dammit. And Matt Guidera? What the hell? Doesn't he know Andrew Hines or Matt Smith is supposed to win on Sunday.

Even go to Saturday when we had two (TWO!) female #1 qualifiers in Ashley Force and Karen Stoffer (FC and PSM). That's awesome!

NASCAR can't be racing. The cars go too slow. It's like I-5 in LA at Rush Hour's what NASCAR is.

[irerancincpkc]

I pick Denny Hamlin to win today, at Pocono.

Should be a good race; I like Pocono. Has to be better than last week.