Nascar at Homestead

2:02 PM 11/16/2008
Here we are at the last week of the season.

While the ABC/ESPN team blathers on and on, I'm going to look through some of the things I've written and see that I should do a Best Of... thread or a postseason awards thread or something like that. I'm going to if only to give you all something to laugh at, or at least, I'll pretend that you're laughing at it while you shake your head sadly at my deranged writings.

ABC shows Davey Allison losing the 1992 championship and I'm considering doing a recap of some old races over the winter, such as the last race of the 1992 season, which may be, out of over 2,000 Cup races in the history of Nascar, the best race ever. So, look for that over the winter.


2:14 PM 11/16/2008
There's a picture of the Sprint Cup trophy. Can somebody tell me why the Sprint Cup isn't an actual cup?


2:27 PM 11/16/2008
If the 48 teams wins, are they a dynasty? Of course. Silly question.


2:39 PM 11/16/2008
It's Tony's *sniff* last *sniff* race with *sniff* Joe Gibbs Racing *sobbing uncontrollably*. Actually, who really cares? Maybe it's a big deal if you're a Tony Stewart fan, but to a non-fan, my thought is "ehh". Tony's had too many "AJ Foyt moments" over his career and I think less of AJ than I do Smoke.


2:54 PM 11/16/2008
Junior may be happy with some things this season, and maybe he should be, but, as a fan, the season has been largely disappointing.



2:56 PM 11/16/2008
I found this article last week and thought I'd spend a few minutes on it right now while there's nothing going on. Of course, I could do this when the race starts and miss nothing.

Ed Hinton says:

I'm not sure what to make of this. Before 2008, I might have agreed, then DW went on his Kyle Busch Man Love Tour and said things like comparing Kyle to Tiger Woods and I suddenly had reservations about his judgment. But, on the other hand, he can't do a worse job as commissioner of Nascar than Bud Selig has done as commissioner of baseball or Gary Bettman has done as commissioner of the NHL.

[quoteFirst, the season needs to end earlier than November. Let's say the finale is run by Halloween week at the latest.[/quote]

I'm good with that, because it makes for fewer weeks where Nascar has to compete with the NFL and I don't have to switch between racing and football.

So, to make matters worse, Nascar's going to start in January and compete with the NFL playoffs. This doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

I do agree with this, but somebody's math is off. If you end the season at the end of October and start back up in January, that's only 2 months off, not 3. Regardless, it wasn't in this article, but Earnhardt said something last week about how Nascar should think about the idea of cutting the schedule and, while I don't think he said it in so many words, it was the idea of "leave 'em wanting more", which is something that Nascar doesn't do currently.

I like the suggestion, but I think the comparison to F1 doesn't help.

Done. Sort of. Let's not be naive and think the teams won't find a way to test at non-cup tracks. But, it might help cut costs if they only go to Rockingham and North Wilkesboro to test.

I've already heard Jimmie Johnson complaining about the lack of testing. If you've ever wondered why Jimmie's been getting better over the course of the season, look no further than the fact that he not only doesn't mind testing, but actually likes it. Contrary to his belief though, I think the smart teams will still be the smart teams, with or without tons of testing.

I agree with much of Hinton's article, but it's not like any of it's going to happen.


3:17 PM 11/16/2008
About Scott Speed, it's said that driving an F1 car is the hardest car to drive and there are only a handful of guys who can even do it, much less do it well. Scott Speed was in F1 and he didn't do much there, but he wasn't with one of the top teams, and having the right equipment is every bit as important in F1 as having ability. The Red Bull teams have a long way to go to knock off Ferrari and McLaren in F1.

3:44 PM 11/16/2008
You know Nascar couldn't wait to throw the caution on Almirola's spin. There was a time when no caution would be thrown on a spin where he didn't hit anybody or anything, but those days are long past.


3:54 PM 11/16/2008
Name a great driver and every one of them has had at least one season where they didn't win a single race. Usually, it happens near the beginning or end of their Cup careers. I'm not saying whether that's the case with Gordon, because it's not unprecedented that a guy can start winning after going years without (re: Terry Labonte), but it does give pause about where Jeff is in his career.


3:59 PM 11/16/2008
Daugherty: All these guys in the Top 5 want to win.

Thanks, Brad! :thumbs:


4:01 PM 11/16/2008
Dr. Punch just said that McMurray proposed to his long-time fiancee. How can she be his long-time fiancee if he just proposed to her last week?



4:02 PM 11/16/2008
Rusty Wallace on Jamie McMurray's crew chief:

He can read his eyes? He can read the drivers eyes while the driver is in the car and the crew chief is on pit road? That is one incredible crew chief.


4:05 PM 11/16/2008
The suits at ABC have told Dr. Punch to pump up the race as if it were going "down to the wire", so he does, but, come on, Jerry, this race isn't going "down to the wire". It's only going down to the wire in the sense that a champion isn't really crowned until the checkered flag falls. But, assuming Jimmie doesn't blow up, he'll be assured of the championship within 50 laps of the checkered flag falling.


4:07 PM 11/16/2008
Allstate, please retire the Kasey's Middle-Aged Groupies commercials.


4:10 PM 11/16/2008
From here on out, I'm setting an over/under line on "he's doing what he's gotta do" at 6 and taking the over.


4:55 PM 11/16/2008
Is it just me, or is this race bad?


5:02 PM 11/16/2008
So, I set the over/under line on "he's doing what he's gotta do" and then I didn't hear it for such a long time. Good thing Rusty's here for the cliches. BTW, I've thought about it and I'm definitely going to do an "end of year" awards thread. In my awards post, I'm going to tell you about the newest racing cliche that deserves to die a grisly death.


5:03 PM 11/16/2008
Ray Evernham had a good idea about what Hendrick should do in parking Casey Mears and leaving Jimmie out so he can lead a lap under caution. Not sure it will work out, but I do think they should park Mears.


5:12 PM 11/16/2008
Good job, Brad, bringing the "he's doing what he's gotta do" cliche.


5:13 PM 11/16/2008
Punch: How special would it be if Gordon held on to win.

*insert eyeroll here*

Yeah, it would be another win for him. Give me a break, Jerry.


5:16 PM 11/16/2008
Another "he's doing what he needs to do sighting".

That's 3 since I set the line.


5:52 PM 11/16/2008
Time to get ready for church.

Jimmie's clearly winning the championship.

Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson on winning 3 in a row.

Not coincidentally in any way, we joined our new church here in Tennessee tonight. My wife and I are the kind that when we join a church, we jump right in and start serving. It will be nice to get back to doing things in the church again, something I haven't done since moving south.

With that, the 2008 season is at a close, but I'll try to post some interesting things for your reading pleasure over the winter.