NASCAR Survey

Much has been said of the NASCAR racing these days. That the racing is boring. That the new car makes the racing boring. Personally, I am a die hard fan. I started watching in 1996, and I was hooked on it my first race. I continue to watch all the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. Along with the NASCAR Nationwide Series races and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races. Why? I guess because I just love watching racing.

In 2001, at the end of the Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt lost his life after smashing into the wall while blocking. One year before that, Adam Petty lost his life while practicing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Busch Series race. That same year, Kenny Irwin did the same thing while practicing for the Winston Cup race in NHMS. The result that year was to put restrictor plates on the Cup cars to slow them down. Jeff Burton led all the laps. Not exciting racing, if you weren’t a Burton fan.

When Earnhardt died, NASCAR was forced to make changes. Their Research and Development department went into overdrive, trying to figure out what to do. All the tracks in NASCAR now have SAFER barriers, instead of concrete walls. For the best for safety reasons. So, when the car hits the wall, some of the energy is absorbed. They all have to have Head And Neck devices, along with their helmets. When Earnhardt crashed, he had an open-face helmet and his safety straps were not properly installed. Now these things are mandatory.

NASCAR went a step further and built the Car Of Tomorrow (COT). The driver is not right next to the door and there is more protection for him. However, all cars are created equal and teams get fined if they don’t comply to the templates. The COT doesn’t handle as well as the cars used to. So, some say the racing is boring because they can’t pass.

So, what I want to find out, is what makes a good race, as opposed to a boring race? In my opinion, racing is exciting. Just by definition. But I want to know what others think is a great race. Is it the spectacular crashes that draws fans? Is it more exciting to see one car crash out another to get by? Or is side-by-side racing exciting? I realize follow the leader is not exciting. And it seems that with the new car, the leader takes off and no one can catch him. I think, if that is the case, the new double-file restarts will cure that.

Case in point. Taladega. The racing all day long was three-wide. I thought three-wide was exciting. But what made the headlines was the spectacular crash at the end. Would it not have been as exciting if Carl had raced Brad to the finish line line, instead of blocking and crashing himself out? And Daytona. Was the ending better because Kyle blocked and crashed himself out and into everyone else? Couldn’t he have raced Tony to the line to be a great race?

Another thing. Is the quality of racing dependent on how well or poorly Kyle Busch does? Personally, I like the race better the worse he does. Do the fans watch the races to see Kyle win? Or, are they not watching any more because he did so well last year?

So, NASCAR fans, what, in your opinion, makes great racing? The crashes? Your favorite winning? Kyle winning or not? Or do you just not to watch because Earnhardt is no longer racing? Is it the chase that keeps you watching? Is it the excitement of the chase and everyone telling you who is where all through the race? What do you think would improve racing? Please leave me a comment. I really want to know.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

Race Review: Brickyard 400

Welcome race fans to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the twentyth race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season. This year IMS is having it’s 100th anniversary of the race track. Every year on Labor Day weekend IMS is host to the Indy 500. In 1994 NASCAR and it’s stock cars held their first race here. Jeff Gordon won that first race here. The next year Dale Earnhardt won the race. When Dale Jarrett won it in 1996, his crew chief, Todd Parrott decided it was such a special race to win, DJ’s whole crew turned their caps around and they all kissed the yard of bricks. NASCAR has done that ever since. When the Indy 500 driver wins, they get a quart of milk to drink and pour over themselves. When someone wins the Brickyard 400, they kiss the bricks. In this race several records have a chance to be broken. Sam Hornish, Jr. and Juan Pablo Montoya have both won the Indy 500. Can one of them be the only one to win both races here? Jeff Gordon has the most wins here with four. Can he make it five? No one has ever won two in a row. Jimmy Johnson won last year. Can he make it two in a row? Mark Martin has never won the Brickyard 400. Can he do it this time? Traditionally, the winner of this race goes on to win the championship. Tony Stewart is the points leader coming in to this race. Can he win and go on to win the championship? Or will Jimmy win and be the first to win four Titles in a row?

Qualifying on Saturday was delayed because of rain, but they did get in qualifying and Happy Hour. 5 Mark Martin starts on the pole with a speed of 182.054. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya is second with the speed of 180.803. Not even close. 21 is Bill Elliott, who qualified fourth. 08 is Terry Labonte, getting in on his former champion provisional. He starts last. 36 is Mike Skinner from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He finished second in his race at O’Reilly Raceway Park just down the street from here. Going home are 09 Sterling Marlin, 76 Derrike Cope and 13 Max Pappis.

Reporters told Gordon he was going for his fifth Sprint Cup championship, and how does he feel about that. Gordon replied that he has four Winston Cup championships. And he’s going for his first Sprint Cup championship. That they are much different and that he’s still trying for his first. Good for you, Jeff.

14 Tony Stewart is the in-car reporter. They go an extra lap before the Green Flag to remove the debris from the opening ceremonies on the track. Indy is a 2.5 mile track, and they will be racing 160 laps for 400 miles. 20 Joey Logano changed an engine and will start from the rear. 5 jumps in front of 42 to lead. And the first caution comes out on the first lap when 7 Robby Gordon spins. 19 Elliott Sadler is smoking and dropping fluid and Robby gets into the oil.

At the restart, 5 bobbles in turn one and 42 takes the lead. 1 Martin Truex, Jr. gets by 43 Reed Sorenson. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. takes second from 5. 19 goes to the garage with the leak. 14 Tony Stewart gets by 83 Brian Vickers and 21 for fourth. 5, 83 and 14 get by 88. 82 Scott Speed is pitting after he gets into the wall. 24 gets by 1. 1 and 12 David Stremme battle and 17 Matt Kenseth gets into the battle. 1 gets by, but 17 gets loose and can’t get by 12.

14 gets by 83 for third. 29 Kevin Harvick pits and 18 Kyle Busch follows to start Green Flag pitting. 14 leads when 42 pits. 11 Denny Hamlin has transmission issues when his shifter comes off in his hand.71 David Gilliland leads, then pits. After all the pitting, 42 is back in the lead. 2 Kurt Busch had a loose wheel and had to come back in to fix it, putting himself a lap down. 11 goes to the garage with a broken drive shaft. He comes back out sixteen laps down.

The second caution comes out on lap 58 when 18 Kyle Busch gets into the wall and goes to the garage. He was complaining about a vibration. 96 Bobby Labonte is the Lucky Dog and gets his lap back. 42 is leading and chooses the inside for the Restart. He jumps ahead. 14 gets by 48 Jimmy Johnson. 14 and 48 get by 88. 48 gets by 14. 48 looses it, but saves it. 20 gets by 47 Marcos Ambrose. 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. gets loose off the corner and gets into the wall, cuts a tire, and pits. 55 Michael Waltrip is in the pits with the hood up after overheating.

Another round of Green Flag pitting commences. 07 Casey Mears leads. 42 is back in the lead after it all. 48 can’t get by 83, but finally does. 18 is back out, 46 laps down. 19 is back on the track, 119 laps down. 00 David Reutimann and 29 Kevin Harvick get by 71 David Gilliland. 16 Greg Biffle is pittin a little early. 83 leads when 42 pits. 42 is too fast exiting pit road. He claims he wasn’t speeding, but NASCAR says he was too fast in two loops. He just lost the race. 5 is leading.

The third caution comes out when 88 blows up. 96 Bobby Labonte is again the Lucky Dog and gets back on the lead lap, with 33 laps to go. 5 chooses the inside for the restart. 48 takes the lead on lap 137. 00 gets by 29 for seventh. 31 Jeff Burton pits and comes out in front of leader 48. 55 is being pushed behind the wall. 42 and 20 battle back and forth for eleventh. 5 catches leader 48. 42 gets by 20.

And 48 Jimmy Johnson wins the Brickyard 400. This is his third win here, and two in a row. According to tradition, he should win the championship. The top ten are: 48, 5, 14, 16 , 83, 29, 9 Kasey Kahne, 00, 24 and 17 Matt Kenseth. A great race. And no tire issues like last year.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

NASCAR Comment

Hello race fans. There is no NASCAR Sprint Cup race this weekend. So I will not be posting a Race Review. But I’d like to share with you what I like about NASCAR and why I started following the Sport.

I’m not very athletic. I can’t hit a ball to save my life. I can ski, but only do well on the good beginner/easy intermediate trails. When faced with moguls I tend to get down the hill on my behind! It’s only fun when you can get down the hill. I never was someone to watch sports, either. Something better was always on, in my opinion.

But in 1996, my now husband took me to a friend’s house (Gary) to watch a Winston Cup race. I don’t remember which race it was. I was captivated. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I was told I had to pick a driver in order to watch the race. I had heard about the Indy 500, but that was Indy cars, not NASCAR. I had heard about Richard Petty and the famous #43 STP car, but he was no longer racing. So, who to pick?

I saw a beautiful red, white and blue #88 car and picked that. (8 is my favorite number) It turned out to be Dale Jarrett. Everyone said that was a good pick. As I watched, I fell in love with racing. And I also fell in love with my pick. The most popular driver was, of course, Dale Earnhardt. He was aggressive and many times crashed cars out to get by. I didn’t like that. I liked to see racing, not crashing.

As I watched more and more races, I decided to stick with my first pick, Dale Jarrett. He raced. He passed cars to get by. And NASCAR became my Passion. And Dale Jarrett my driver. He won that first race, by the way. He’s now retired and I have to find a new favorite. His style of racing was what drew me to him. And kept me chearing him on.

Through the years, I’ve liked several other drivers. Not because they make daring, aggressive moves, but because they race well. I watched Dale Jr. race with Matt Kenseth in the old Busch Series. That was fun to watch. I never liked Jr.’s father because he let it be known that if you didn’t get out of the way, he was going to make you get out of the way. And that, to me was not racing. I liked Jeff Burton in the #99 Exide. Again, because he raced instead of crashing someone else out. I liked Matt and Jr., but I collected Matt as one of my favorites.

I watched ASA and had favorites there. I watched Hooters Pro Series and had favorites there. I also watched This Week In Dirt on TV and noticed the name Kasey Kahne. He always finished in the top three! And I watched the Busch North Series and had favorites there.

My husband Ray and I compete in every race we watch. His favorites against my favorites. When I first started watching, Gary with Earnhardt, and Ray with Ken Schrader had a bet going with each other. Who’s ever driver finished better won the bet. $5. Ray usually lost. They wouldn’t let me get in because I was new. The next year I also couldn’t get in. They didn’t think I’d stick with Jarrett. But I did and he won seven races in 1997. In 1998, they let me in on the bet. The winner got $5 from the other two. I, with Dale Jarrett won over $300 competing with Dale Earnhardt and Ken Schrader. In 1999, DJ won the Championship. And there was no more betting!

I loved Winston Cup racing. It was the best. Brian France, Jr. took a Southern Sport, and with RJ Reynolds’ Winston brand made NASCAR what it is today. Beautiful racing. Then along comes son Brian. Winston was replaced with Nextel. Nextel signed a ten year contract, but after only a few years Sprint bought Nextel, and it is now Sprint Cup.  And after the 2003 season, Brian decided NASCAR needed a play-off to keep the fans watching while football was going on.

I hated it. Play-offs were for sports with divisions. NASCAR has 43 cars competing every week. How does a play-off fit into NASCAR? But they shortened the season to 26 races, instead of 36 and made the last ten races the Chase for the Championship. The media loved it. They start talking about the Chase contenders with the first race of the year! However, the fans don’t care for it. So it isn’t doing what NASCAR wanted it to do-get more fans to watch during football.

And now the media darling is Kyle Busch. He’s touted as having so much talent and can win in anything he gets into. I personally, don’t see the talent. For him, it’s Checkers or wreckers. And in my opinion, that’s not talent. He also is a sore looser. And blames everyone else when he doesn’t win. Not a very good racer. The fans don’t care for him, or the way the media shoves him down our throats. He doesn’t race. He crashes out the competition. Thankfully, he also crashes himself out.

NASCAR will always be something I will watch. Because it is beautiful. I just wish it could go back to when there was no Chase. And the best driver that year won the Championship. Instead of the driver that was best in the last ten races.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

Race Review: LIFELOCK.COM 400

Welcome, race fans to the nineteenth race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The lifelock.com 400 at the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Il. just outside of Chicago. 83 Brian Vickers is on the pole with a speed of 184.162. His team mate, 82 Scott Speed (who had to qualify on speed) will start next to him on the front row. 21 is former Champion Bill Elliott, who got in on speed. 09 is Mike Bliss. 25 is Brad Keselowski from the NASCAR Nationwide Series. 36 is Mike Skinner from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Failing to qualify are: 64 Mike Wallace, 51 Dexter Bean and 37 Tony Raines. 71 David Gilliland and 34 John Andretti made an engine change and will start from the rear.

So, here we go. 83 makes a nice jump from the pole to lead. 48 Jimmy Johnson gets by 82 for second. 33 Clint Bowyer gets by 82 for third. 00 David Reutimann and 18 Kyle Busch battle side by side and touch. 48 is catching leader 83. 48 takes the lead. 18 can’t get by the 5 of Mark Martin. 21 gets by 18. They battle again, and 18 gets back by. 33 gets by 83 for second.

The first caution comes out during the commercial for debris. A spring rubber is on the track. 5 comes out of the pits first to lead. 07 Casey Mears gets his lap back. The jack falls off of the 48 car. A tire gets away from 21, so he is penalized. 16 Greg Biffle is too fast on pit road. 5 chooses the inside lane and takes off on the double-file restart. 82 has a slow start and stacks the cars up behind him. 33 and 48 battle for third and 48 gets by. 33, 48 and 24 Jeff Gordon battle for third. 11 Denny Hamlin gets by 18 for sixth. 18 and 9 Kasey Kahne battle for seventh and 9 gets by. 9 gets by 11 for sixth. 18 and 00 battle for eighth and 00 takes the spot. 99 Carl Edwards gets by 18 for ninth. 18 is loose and 14 Tony Stewart gets by for tenth.

88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. gets by 18. 18 gets loose when 2 Kurt Busch drives by and gets into the wall. 1 Martin Truex, Jr. battles 18 and gets by. 47 Marcos Ambrose and 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. get by 18. 55 Michael Waltrip fights to stay on the lead lap, but 5 finally puts him a lap down. 26 Jamie McMurray gets by 18 for twenty-sixth. 5 puts 82 a lap down, from starting second. 11 and 99 battle for seventh and 11 can’t get by. 99 drives by 24. 7 Robby Gordon and 6 David Ragan get by 18. 18 goes a lap down and pits.

24 starts Green Flag Pitting and stalls the car before leaving. 9 races into second. 99 gets by 33. The second caution comes out during the commercial, again for debris. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya gets his lap back. 5 is back out in the lead. 43 Reed Sorenson, 31 Jeff Burton and 16 stay out and get waved around. 99 and 24 get together and fall back to sixteenth and seventeenth. They both save it and 88 gets by. 14 and 9 battle for third and 9 takes it. 11 and 33 battle for sixth and 11 takes the spot. 77 gets loose.

Another session of Green Flag pitting starts. 9 leads when 5 pits. 14, leaving the pits, gets into 44 AJ Allmendinger, coming in. 99 leads when 9 pits. 7 is too fast and must come back in for a drive-through. When it’s all over, 5 is back in the lead. 18 drops a cylinder. There are fifteen cars on the lead lap.

The third caution comes out during the commercial, again for debris. 00 gets his lap back. Many cars get waved around. 14 didn’t get a lug nut on and will have to come back in. 44, 88 and 2 battle for eighth. The fourth caution comes out with 49 to go. 20 Joey Logano gets into 77 and sends him spinning and smoking. 1 Martin Truex, Jr. gets his lap back. 5 picks the inside to restart. 48 takes the lead.

The fifth caution comes out when 88 and 98 Paul Menard get together and 98 cuts a tire and spins, collecting 82 and 31. 14 gets by. 48 chooses the outside for the restart. 48 shoots around 5. 83 and 5 battle for second. 25 takes tenth from 39 Ryan Newman. 12 David Stremme slips.

The sixth caution comes out when 00 gets into the wall. 42 clipped him while battling for position, sending 00 into the wall. The top eight or nine cars stay out. They go Green with seventeen to go. 48 again chooses the outside. 11 pushes 48 . 83 takes the lead. 2 and 48 get together and 2 ends up with a tire rub. 83 gets loose into 11 and 5 takes the lead. 24 with fresh tires moves up the field.

The seventh caution comes out with seven to go when 18 blows up and gets into the wall. He finally puts himself out of his misery. 20 Logano gets his lap back. The top five are 5, 24, 11, 9 and 39. 5 chooses the outside this time for the restart. 99 and 2 pit.  They go Green with three laps to go. 5 pulls ahead. 9 and 24 battle for second. 24 keeps the spot.

And 5 Mark Martin wins the lifelock.com 400 with 24 right behind him. The owner of the 5 and 24, Rick Hendrick, celebrates his birthday a night early, with two of his cars finishing first and second. And Kyle Busch finishes a miserable thirty-third. In my opinion it was a great race. Lifelock gave a lucky couple a million dollars. They sponsored the race in Michigan and Mark won that race.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

Race Review: Coke Zero 400

Welcome race fans, to the eighteenth race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Rain washed out qualifying on Friday. So they line up according to the rule book, by owner points. 14 Tony Stewart and 24 Jeff Gordon share the front row. Max Papis and Mike Wallace were sent home as a result. 00 David Reutimann, 16 Greg Biffle and 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. will start the race from the rear with changes to their cars.

So here we go! 2 Kurt Busch leads the first lap, barely ahead with the field double-file. 14 Stewart takes the lead when his line moves ahead. 11 Denny Hamlin takes the lead. The first caution comes out when 5 Mark Martin goes up into 17 Matt Kenseth, who is already there, and spins into the inside wall. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya grazes Mark as he spins by. In the pits, 2 runs over his hose and has to back up to complete the stop. 14 with his pit box just feet away from the line out of the pits, comes out first. He chooses to restart on the inside. 39 Ryan Newman has a long pit, behind 2.

The second caution comes out for 07 Casey Mears spinning. 12 David Stremme came down into 07 and he backs it into the wall. Where 5  hit the wall. After the double-file restart, 11 takes the lead. 42 has a tire issue and gets lapped. 11 is on the bottom by himself. 18 Kyle Busch pushes 14 into the lead. 17  pits from third place. And the third caution comes out for debris from 77 after his tire blows. Matt stays on the lead lap and leads when everyone else pits. In the pits 12 runs into the tire carrier of 99 Carl Edwards, knocking the tire out of his hands. 42 is black flagged for something hanging on the car. He has to pit to take it off as they are set to restart.

18 pushes 11 into the lead, leaving 17 on the inside with no help. 00 pushes 9 Kasey Kahne. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. gets by 00 for thirteenth. The fourth caution is a big one. 9 pushes 12 and 12 spins into everyone else. Amoung those involved are: 09 Brad Keselowski, 24, 29 Kevin Harvick, 33 Clint Bowyer, 39, 43 Reed Sorenson, 71 David Gilliland, 83 Brian Vickers and 88. Thirteen cars were involved. 34 John Andretti stays out to lead a lap and then pits.

14 comes out of the pits first again. 11 takes the lead. 00 gets into the wall and the fifth caution comes out for debris. 48 Jimmy Johnson has a long pit. 7 Robby Gordon stays out to lead a lap and then pits. 14 comes out of the pits first again to lead. 11 is by himself and falls from second to seventh. 2 and 99 get by 20 Joey Logano. 11 gets by 2. 18 is blocking. (He likes to be “three-wide all by himself”.)

The sixth caution comes out when 2 and 6 David Ragan get together and 6 spins. 83, involved in the previous caution gets his lap back. 14 comes out of the pits again in the lead. 99 takes the lead. 14 tucks in front of 18. 31 Jeff Burton takes the lead. 14 takes the lead when 31 has a tire going down, after contact with 42. 11, 18, 11 and 48 run away from the pack.

The seventh caution comes out with fifteen laps to go. 11 pushes 14 into the lead past 18. 48 goes low and 18 puls in front of 48. 82 Scott Speed and 44 AJ Allmendinger get together and bring out the eighth caution when 44 had to check up to avoid 78 Regan Smith. 39 Ryan Newman gets his lap back.

When they get going again, it is Green, White,Checkers. 18 takes the lead. 14 tries to take the lead and 18 blocks. 14 goes high, 18 blocks and 18 spins in front of 14 and into the wall. 9 comes along with nowhere to go, smack into the rear end of 18 and 18 ends up on top of 9. 7, 31, 44 and 20 were also involved. It was the last lap with the Checker flag in sight. And blocking is normally what causes the wrecks in these restrictor-plate races. 14 Tony Stewart wins after starting from the pole. He feels bad that it ended that way, but he did nothing wrong. Carl Edwards blocked almost at the line in Talladega and wrecked. That’s what happens when you block. In my opinion, it was the perfect ending to a great race.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley