2016 NASCAR thread

[clenz]

Another quarter second, if even that, and he's clear of it.

Fuck.

[BDKJMU]

Top 7:
1. Kurt Bush (Stewart Haas Chevy (Hendrick Engine))
2. Earnhardt (Hendrick Chevy)
3. Keselowski (Penske Ford)
4. Elliott (Hendrick Chevy)
5. Logano (Penske Ford)
6. Kahne (Hendrick Chevy)
7. Kenseth (JGR Toyota)

The dominance balloon of the Toyota's is finally popped. Toyota's worst race of the year..


Damn, Juniors's 4th 2nd place of the season....At least he was Top 10, which he hasn't been the last 5 races since April..

[clenz]

Meet NASCAR's best dressed driver

http://www.gq.com/story/nascar-driver-s ... on-cassill

Nascar and A+ menswear don't always go hand in hand. Meanwhile, Formula 1 has clotheshorse celebrities like Lewis Hamilton, while the races happen in places like Monaco where billionaire spectators watch on with a mouthful of caviar. Nascar, on the other hand, was born and bred in the good ole US of A. That means drivers and fans who reflect this country's appreciation of the more laid-back approach to menswear (think trucker hats, tees that compete with the cars for over-logo-ification, and a roomier cut of jean). If you've seen one Dale Earnhart, Jr. comfort-centric Wrangler commercial, you get the idea.

But 26-year-old Landon Cassill isn't like his wraparound shade-wearing colleagues. For a guy who spends his Sundays at speeds of up to 200 MPH, his style is not exactly pedal to the metal. Instead, he's rocking well-tailored Suitsupply jackets, flex-level Raf Simons sneakers, and one pair of damn good John Elliott jeans that happen to be the one thing he's wearing more than anything else in his well-stocked wardrobe.

[BDKJMU]

Meet NASCAR's best dressed driver

http://www.gq.com/story/nascar-driver-s ... on-cassill

Nascar and A+ menswear don't always go hand in hand. Meanwhile, Formula 1 has clotheshorse celebrities like Lewis Hamilton, while the races happen in places like Monaco where billionaire spectators watch on with a mouthful of caviar. Nascar, on the other hand, was born and bred in the good ole US of A. That means drivers and fans who reflect this country's appreciation of the more laid-back approach to menswear (think trucker hats, tees that compete with the cars for over-logo-ification, and a roomier cut of jean). If you've seen one Dale Earnhart, Jr. comfort-centric Wrangler commercial, you get the idea.

But 26-year-old Landon Cassill isn't like his wraparound shade-wearing colleagues. For a guy who spends his Sundays at speeds of up to 200 MPH, his style is not exactly pedal to the metal. Instead, he's rocking well-tailored Suitsupply jackets, flex-level Raf Simons sneakers, and one pair of damn good John Elliott jeans that happen to be the one thing he's wearing more than anything else in his well-stocked wardrobe.

[93henfan]

I never took Iowa for metrosexual.

[clenz]

I never took Iowa for metrosexual.

Meh...I still see 99% of shorts as cargo.

Hell, today I'm wearing UPS brown cargo shorts, a red polo and black sneakers.

[93henfan]

Chris Buescher loses it and takes out Jr and Allmendinger. F'ing rookie. Jr running out of races to get a desperately needed win.


Also, on the very first green flag run, Brad Keselowski stays out for about five laps longer than everyone else and runs out of fuel, only to be saved as he was coasting around the track by Martin Truex spinning and causing a caution. What an absolute bonehead move by Keselowski's crew chief. Without the caution he goes at least two laps down and out of contention for no good reason.

[93henfan]

The 22 wins at Michigan. SHELL YEAH!

Can you feel it?

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ1kUm3n2ow[/youtube]

[BDKJMU]

Top 7:
The dominance balloon of the Toyota's is finally popped. Toyota's worst race of the year..

Wow after near utter JGR (+ Truex) domination in the 1st 13 races through Charlotte, with 8 wins and at least 1 top 5 every race, usually multiple, Michigan was the 2nd race in a row with no top 5. Heck, Kyle Busch after 3 wins in 1st 11 races, after yesterday's blown engine, 40th place finish, last 4 straight races has finished outside the top 30...

[93henfan]

I think the latest aero package is a nut check for the drivers. Lot of rookies swerving all over the track yesterday; even a few vets (cough Truex and Hamlin and Kyle Busch). Stewart was near front all day, and I consider him probably the best loose-condition driver out there. Dirt track background helps.

[clenz]

Smoke gives it up and takes it back in the final half lap by running Hamlin into the wall coming out the hairpin.

It's almost like Hamlin wanted smoke to have a shit though with how wide he took that turn. #conspiracy

[BDKJMU]

Before the race the 2 drivers I had most hoped to see win were Earnhardt & Stewart. I wasn't able to watch the race till yesterday. Was awesome to see Smoke win and make the Chase. One of the last of the Old School drivers. Basically my 3rd favorite driver after Junior & Truex. Heck, after the last restart when it was Stewart-Truex 1-2, and was looking like Truex had a shot to pass Stewart I was rooting for Stewart (Truex ended up finished 5th). Truex has his win & is a lock for the Chase. Glad it wasn't Stewart-Junior 1-2 at that point, (Junior spent a good chunk of the race in the top 5) because that would have been tough for me. Junior has never won on a road course and needs a win to lock himself into the Chase, but would highly likely point his way in without a win. Stewart absolutely had to have a win to make the Chase. Thought he would easily make Top 30 despite missing the 1st 8 races, but didn't think he'd get that win. After the shitty luck of the last 3 years:
Aug 2013 while leading a sprint car race at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa broke his foot in a wreck and missed the last 13 races. No wins that season.
Aug 2014' accident that killed Kevin War Jr. Stewart missed 3 races and missed the Chase. No wins that season
2015- his worst season ever- misses the Chase.
Feb 2016- Sand rail accident- injures back, misses the 1st 8 races.

8th career road course win- 3rd at Sonoma. Was good to see him bounce back in his swan song season to make the Chase. Good for NASCAR, too...

[BDKJMU]

Smoke gives it up and takes it back in the final half lap by running Hamlin into the wall coming out the hairpin.

It's almost like Hamlin wanted smoke to have a **** though with how wide he took that turn. #conspiracy

How come no one is saying Denny Hamlin gave the win to Tony Stewart? It looks like he intentionally missed the corner so Tony could get inside of him and go on to win.

--William

If Hamlin wanted Stewart to win like you say, then why would he have passed him in Turn 7 on the make sense that Hamlin would initiate and complete a move only to give the spot back a few corners later.

Sorry, but this is no great conspiracy. Hamlin simply made a mistake, which allowed a super aggressive Stewart to shove his way by. Fox Sports analyst Jeff Gordon believed Hamlin wheel hopped entering Turn 11, which means Hamlin braked late and had too much speed to hug the bottom. And if you watch Stewart's in-car video it's pretty clear this is what transpired, not Hamlin wanting to hand the victory to his soon-to-be retiring buddy.
http://www.sbnation.com/nascar/2016/6/2 ... win-sonoma

[BDKJMU]

Last week's pillow fight after truck race
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IufBzpef7kI[/youtube]

[BDKJMU]

Keselowski wins Sat night Daytona Coke Zero 400 for his 3rd win of the season. The BIG ONE collects over half the field (22 of 40 cars) at lap 90 of 160. #44 ends up on the roof of the #4
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVLi9YZFJSQ[/youtube]
Couple of other smaller wrecks and you had only about 1/3 of the field make it through the race unscathed. Not unusual for a restricter plate race..

[BDKJMU]

Chase standings after 17 of 26 races before 10 race Chase

[89Hen]

Chase standings after 17 of 26 races before 10 race Chase

So Chase Elliott is doing his best Jeff Gordon imitation and earning his way in without a win.

[BDKJMU]

I Went to the Kentucky race. Keselowski gets his 2nd straight win, winning at the newly repaved, redone KY Speedway (where Turns 1 & 2 were also narrowed with steeper banking) running the same low low downforce package that was ran at Michigan. Fuel window was 60-63 laps, yet Keselowski manages to stretch it to 70, running out of gas as he crossed the checkered flag. Penske has won 3 of the last 4. JGR after winning 7 of the 1st 12 races has gone, including the All Star Race, 7 straight races without a win.


"...The biggest difference this go-round wasn't so much the rules package itself, but that Kentucky had undergone a significant makeover -- including greater banking in Turns 1 and 2 and a complete repave of its surface. These changes necessitated that Goodyear bring a harder tire compound to prevent excessive blistering, which occurred in a test a month before at the 1.5-mile oval.

And as evidenced by how the proceedings played out Saturday, few elements can affect the quality of racing like a tire that has little to no wear.

With the exception of Martin Truex Jr.'s late inspired charge from 22nd to third, drivers ran single-file for much of the evening, unable to pull alongside and complete passes. The track conditions, combined with a tire compound Tony Stewart compared to giant hockey pucks, proved to be so challenging that the first half of the Quaker State 400 resembled more of a demo than a typical race on an intermediate speedway.

"I don't know if [hard tires, repaved track] is a great combination," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. "... You can't even run side-by-side. Guys who run side-by-side were a second slower. What the hell? That is awful. We have a problem, man. That is no good."

There were encouraging signs, too.

Earnhardt believes if NASCAR used this lower downforce package on a track with an aged, worn surface, and Goodyear brought a tire that showed wear over the course of a green-flag run, the results would be overwhelmingly positive. And had the package not been used Saturday night, almost universally drivers say the racing would have in fact been worse.

"Until the track widens out and gets multiple grooves, I honestly think this is the best race you're going to see on a repave," Keselowski said...."
http://www.sbnation.com/nascar/2016/7/1 ... es-package

[BDKJMU]

Truex has the most dominant car on a 1.5 mile track for the 4th or 5th time this season, yet still has only 1 win. Is leading after the last pit stop yet gets a pass through penalty for not speeding on pit road but "passing". I have never even seen that called...
http://www.sbnation.com/nascar/2016/7/1 ... ad-penalty

Without the penalty don't think Truex would have won, because he still has to make that final stop, as no one else was going to make it 70 laps on fuel besides Keselowski..

[93henfan]

That Kentucky race was one of the most boring I've seen in years. Just dreadful.

We're going to Loudon, mostly to hang with Joey Logano at a volunteer event (my son loves the guy), and I fear it'll be another snooze of a race. Jr needs a win badly. That would make it a great weekend.

[BDKJMU]

That Kentucky race was one of the most boring I've seen in years. Just dreadful.

We're going to Loudon, mostly to hang with Joey Logano at a volunteer event (my son loves the guy), and I fear it'll be another snooze of a race. Jr needs a win badly. That would make it a great weekend.

I've certainly seen worse. At least there were a # of wrecks, 10 cautions outside of the competition caution. And at least the later part of the race had some excitement & suspense. Truex's late charge from 22nd to 3rd was pretty cool to watch, and everyone was waiting for Keselowski to run out of gas at the end (it appeared he did temporarily with 2 to go).

Would have been better if Goodyear had brought a better tire. Once the track is broken in from the repave and Goodyear brings a better tire it will be better racing.

[93henfan]

Hey BDK, you been to NHMS? Any tips?

I read that parking is free. I got tickets in the top row under the media center in turn 1 so we'd be in the shade all day.

Also got a four person intercom so both sons, dad, and I can all talk to each other. Bought RE's latest and greatest scanner as well last week. My old, trusty Radio Shack scanner is getting a bit long in the tooth at probably 25 years old. It's faded to gray and the display has a few cracks in it. The new scanner is so tiny but with way better features (trackside over the air programming for four series, alphanumeric driver names and car numbers, 30 seconds of rewind). It's like new cell phones vs the first ones.

[BDKJMU]

Hey BDK, you been to NHMS? Any tips?

I read that parking is free. I got tickets in the top row under the media center in turn 1 so we'd be in the shade all day.

Also got a four person intercom so both sons, dad, and I can all talk to each other. Bought RE's latest and greatest scanner as well last week. My old, trusty Radio Shack scanner is getting a bit long in the tooth at probably 25 years old. It's faded to gray and the display has a few cracks in it. The new scanner is so tiny but with way better features (trackside over the air programming for four series, alphanumeric driver names and car numbers, 30 seconds of rewind). It's like new cell phones vs the first ones.

Only been to 2 races at NHMS, its been a couple of years. You ever check out Laidbackracing? They've got good info.
http://www.laidbackracing.com/Tracks/PreviewNHIS.html
I don't remember any major delays getting into the free car parking lots around 9-10 AM for the July 13' and Sept 14' races (Think I parked both times in the S11-S12 lots way off of turns 1-2 (coming from the south)). Imagine will be the same this time. Course if you're coming in or heading out towards the north I guess you'd park in the N lots off of Turns 3-4 & the backstretch. Don't remember riding their trams.
http://www.nhms.com/visitors/parking_map/

Both times after the race as per usual killed a couple hours (watched post race, checked out souvenirs, tailgated) for traffic to die before leaving, and by then it wasn't too bad. I remember hearing traffic before attendance went down use to take 4-5 hours after the to clear out, but those days are no longer. I know they recently downsized from 96k to 88k capacity. I see they raised prices (can't be too many tracks that have done that) so that's not going to help their attendance..I guess we'll see 60-70k there.

Both times before sat in Turn 4, Laconia. Turn 1 has to be a better location (forums & recommendations I've read say either front stretch or Turn 1). Good thing you got the shade. I remember July 13' race was a New England heat wave, mid 90s, sweated my balls off. Brother's 1st race there, figured I'd get frontstetch. I was looking at the top handful of rows in the shade under the Race Control Center on the center of the frontstetch but they were all booked up when I booked 2 weeks ago. We have main grandstand, (13 rows up, SG section) between start/finish & entrance to 1. Calling for mid 80s, so hopefully not too bad.

I bought my stuff piecemeal, no intercom system. Have 2 RE 3000 scanners, 1 RE RE-58 Platinum Headphones, 1 RE-24 Phantom Headphones. If had to do it over again would have spent another couple hundred & gotten the Platinum Package with the Intercom Headphones similar to what you got but for 2 people instead of 4.
http://www.racingelectronics.com/category-s/1993.htm

[93henfan]

Thanks for info. We are ingressing from the south (Keene) and egressing to the north (Lincoln) on race day so I'm a little torn on where to park. The north parking looks like it's way out. I may just stay near turn 1 to the south and just let them direct me where they will after the race. We're in no hurry getting up to Lincoln that night.

I already had an RE Gemini 2-man intercom for me and my dad. I am not a fan of the RE headsets because I think the sound is weak and the MF'ing battery cover pops off every time you adjust the damn headsets. It's maddening. I tape them before races.

I got a discontinued 4 person intercom box made by Radio Shack (model 20-285) and four headsets on EBay for $75 from a pawn shop in Texas and they are better than the RE in just about every regard. Same setup from RE would go for around $600 new.

[clenz]

This NASCAR n00b thought the end of the race was fantastic, FWIW.

Someday Cassill will get his chance...someday. I think he's too skilled behind the wheel to be "stuck" at First Row forever.