693 replies to this topic

[OfficeLinebacker]

HA HA TIME FOR TURN LEFT (AND RIGHT)

That's right folks, it's a road racing double header. I am fapping so hard at the prospect of NASCAR equipment and drivers driving competitively on road courses in no fewer than two separate races this weekend that I needed to give my wrists a break and make a thread.

The Cup guys are at Sonoma, site of Montoya's maiden win and Ambrose's heartbreaking brain fade.

The Nationwide guys are at Road America, one of the greatest tracks in the continent.

Sched: http://www.nascar.com/races/tune_in/
Jayski: http://www.jayski.co...ASCAR-Race-Info

I believe Nationwide qualifying is six cars on track at the same time, so that should be worth catching.

The forecast in Elkhart Lake WI calls for isolated T-Storms on Saturday, with a 30 percent chance of rain.

This is probably the best weekend in the NASCAR season so if you've neglected to make arrangements to watch, especially if you have a Significant Other, I feel really, really sorry for you. I'm starting this thread early so you still have three days to find a pretense to break up with the selfish bitch. You're welcome.

[gm914]

Will this be a weekend dominated by them fohrinners?

We got Jack Villain-Nerve and Little Picket in the NNS,
and John-Paul Montana and Marco (Vegemite) Sam-Bro in Cup.

Outside bets on the Nationwide ringers-
Paludo & Papis.
Say it fast. It's fun.

Edited by gm914, 20 June 2012 - 15:23.

[wacktifosi]

Paludo & Papis.
Say it fast. It's fun.

Sounds like a fancy drink, far too fancy for these events.

Scattered thunderstorms can really sneak up on that track. At the USF2000 (pretty sure that's the one) race last year it started pouring out of nowhere and we were watching cars run on totally wet track between Carousel and Canada and they hadn't gotten to the pits yet to swap tires - it was very entertaining.

But that brings up a question, what does NASCAR do about wet road races? Do they even have tires for that?

Edited by wacktifosi, 20 June 2012 - 15:31.

[senna da silva]

Best Nascar weekend of the year!

Montoya will be lucky to get a top ten, the guy is phoning in his career at this point.

JV at road America, let the fireworks begin!

[Ross Stonefeld]

Scattered thunderstorms can really sneak up on that track. At the USF2000 (pretty sure that's the one) race last year it started pouring out of nowhere and we were watching cars run on totally wet track between Carousel and Canada and they hadn't gotten to the pits yet to swap tires - it was very entertaining.

That's kinda weird. I did a Formula race at Elkhart in 2000 and the rain came Friday afternoon in practice and was pretty much like that. A bit 'spitty' in 7, 8, and the Carousel, but fully wet on the run to the kink and then on to Canada. And properly wet. I slowed way down because it was practice and we were about to get a red flag but I stll had a full on aquaplane through the exit of the kink.

[PNSD]

If JPM runs bad here then I think thats it for him. This is a chance to prove he still has the ability that almost got him an F1 championship, and that makes him an indy 500, Monaco GP and Daytona 24 hour.

Really hope for a strong run!

Also, I was annoyed I was missing Valencia, totally forgot about Road America! JV at Road America is better than 20 Canadian GP's put together!!! Will be the race to watch this weekend. Awesome cars, even more awesome track!

[OfficeLinebacker]

But that brings up a question, what does NASCAR do about wet road races? Do they even have tires for that?

In Nationwide only, they have tyres, wipers, and a special defogger system (or something, I forget---some kind of brake light type thing in the rear window?)

In Cup, they have interminable interviews and jet dryers (don't worry, the drivers wear firesuits now).

Edited by OfficeLinebacker, 20 June 2012 - 16:15.

[jonpollak]

HA HA TIME FOR TURN LEFT (AND RIGHT)

That's right folks, it's a road racing double header. I am fapping so hard at the prospect of NASCAR equipment and drivers driving competitively on road courses in no fewer than two separate races this weekend that I needed to give my wrists a break and make a thread.

The Cup guys are at Sonoma, site of Montoya's maiden win and Ambrose's heartbreaking brain fade.

The Nationwide guys are at Road America, one of the greatest tracks in the continent.

Sched: http://www.nascar.com/races/tune_in/
Jayski: http://www.jayski.co...ASCAR-Race-Info

I believe Nationwide qualifying is six cars on track at the same time, so that should be worth catching.

The forecast in Elkhart Lake WI calls for isolated T-Storms on Saturday, with a 30 percent chance of rain.

This is probably the best weekend in the NASCAR season so if you've neglected to make arrangements to watch, especially if you have a Significant Other, I feel really, really sorry for you. I'm starting this thread early so you still have three days to find a pretense to break up with the selfish bitch. You're welcome.

Boy howdy these recent NASCAR and INDY OP's are better entertainment value than ANYTHING I've read on here in ages.

Hope the wrist swelling comes down before the green..
Jp

Edited by jonpollak, 20 June 2012 - 16:19.

[PNSD]

jet dryers (don't worry, the drivers wear firesuits now).

Funnily enough, wasn't Juan actually on fire that day... as in pretty quick!

[Ross Stonefeld]

Does Nationwide run in the rain still? I know they did a few years ago but I'm not sure if we're in the "within reason" or "never again" camp.

[Red17]

Sparkle Badger fans can also tune to Motors Tv and watch the race live: http://www.motorstv....=2012-06-23&h=4
But beware! You will not have Sparkle on any ads, for MotorsTV is very greedy and only airs adds for their own shows (the nerve!)

Last time I talked to a Nascar fan about road courses he told me that «2 or 3 guys know how to race, the rest just tries to survive the best they can». So im quite curious to see if it's true. I do recall tho Jeff Gordon doing great on 206 in some race of champions a few years ago, so he should be one of the guys doing ok.
Hmm... do full course yellows carry over to road courses? Can Nascar still call for Debris Yellows?

The Cup guys are at Sonoma

The so called WTCC (I will let you figure out what it stands for) will also be at Sonoma in September. Should be interesting to see lap time diferences.

[PNSD]

They're racing drivers, if they can turn left, they can turn right.

The biggest differential between the road racers and oval racers is magnified in nationwide, and that difference is brakes. It's all well and good being able to handle a loose, or tight car and drive it accordingly, but braking is where time is lost, and made.

Cup drivers are pretty good racer's anyway, but due to the nature of the cars and tight running it can look like some don't know what they're doing! wait until the last 30 or so laps when you'll see a lot of dive bombing.

[Watkins74]

JPM best qualifying position at this race has only been 14th. He did win his first race but after that his best finish is only 6th. The race is usually a wreckfest with all the full course yellows and Juan tends to tear up his car getting impatient.

As always my hopes for the 42 are high but my expectations are not. He goes much better at the Glen.

Edited by Watkins74, 20 June 2012 - 17:42.

[Dilla]

If this thread is anything like last years, a lot of lulz and butt hurt will be had. With a couple cups of snobbery to spice it up.

Sadly, I'll miss Road America since I'll be at work, so I'll have to duck spoilers and watch when I get home (using my DVD recorder).

[loki]

That's kinda weird. I did a Formula race at Elkhart in 2000 and the rain came Friday afternoon in practice and was pretty much like that. A bit 'spitty' in 7, 8, and the Carousel, but fully wet on the run to the kink and then on to Canada. And properly wet. I slowed way down because it was practice and we were about to get a red flag but I stll had a full on aquaplane through the exit of the kink.

According to Jayski Goodyear is bringing rains. If they choose to use them or not is another story. Last weekend the SCCA June Sprints were at RA and the forecast was similar. Don't think it was wet for any of the sessions though.

[Watkins74]

I just noticed Boris Said will be at Sonoma in the #32. I was once a fan of his but the last couple of years he has been a one man wrecking crew. I would rather he not be there.

[Dmitriy_Guller]

I just noticed Boris Said will be at Sonoma in the #32. I was once a fan of his but the last couple of years he has been a one man wrecking crew. I would rather he not be there.

Same here. For a long time, he was one of my favorite NASCAR drivers, all the way back to when he was racing full-time in the truck series for Ernie Irvan. However, over the years, instead of hoping that he would finally bring home the victory to the ringers in the Cup race, I started hoping against hope that he would stay clean, and not punt several drivers as he usually does. He's starting to give road racers and road races a bad name. JV risks getting into that territory as well.

[gm914]

Whatever happened to Steven Wallace?
I was just thinking of last years road races and just how utterly and hilariously incapable he was.

[Dmitriy_Guller]

Whatever happened to Steven Wallace?
I was just thinking of last years road races and just how utterly and hilariously incapable he was.

My guess is that Rusty was informed by his accountant that he was not a billionaire.

[Watkins74]

Whatever happened to Steven Wallace?
I was just thinking of last years road races and just how utterly and hilariously incapable he was.

I believe he is Vice-President of Grass Blade Reduction at Wallace Landscaping.

[blackonyx4]

Last time I talked to a Nascar fan about road courses he told me that «2 or 3 guys know how to race, the rest just tries to survive the best they can». So im quite curious to see if it's true. I do recall tho Jeff Gordon doing great on 206 in some race of champions a few years ago, so he should be one of the guys doing ok.

Oh, there are many excellent road course racers in Sprint Cup among full time drivers. Gordon, Martin, Busch bros., JJ, Edwards, Harvick, Stewart and so on (obviously, Montoya/Ambrose head the list of best RC drivers). Many road course ringers tried to win one of those races in the past, but if I remember correctly, the last specialist that won the Sprint Cup race was Mark Donohue almost 40 years ago.

[Dilla]

I wouldn't say excellent, but plenty of them can hold their own well enough on a road course or else Ambrose and Montoya would have a lot more than just 3 victories in about 18 attempts.

Nationwide on the other hand. . .

[racinggeek]

I believe he is Vice-President of Grass Blade Reduction at Wallace Landscaping.

Hah! Seriously, Steven was on the entry list for the ASA Midwest Tour 150-miler for super late model stockers last week Tuesday at the Milwaukee Mile, but he never got onto the track; I think his entry was withdrawn. Rusty did run but was in "one of them deals" early in the feature.

I'll be at Road America, but I wonder if the track got NASCAR to give a temporary waiver on the yellow flag rules. The two years Nationwide has been there, there have been some loooooooong caution periods, because NASCAR rules are that if an emergency/rescue vehicle is on the course, it's a full-course yellow, no local yellows. At RA, that made for a lot of laps taking five-ish minutes to complete. IIRC, both of the previous races went well over three hours from green to checkers.

[pingu666]

robby gordon will be at the cup race , blue car i think.

and jpm isnt so hot around that track, hes been better around watkins glen

[Dmitriy_Guller]

For whatever reason, most road course ringers don't really excel at Sears Point nearly as much as they do at Watkins Glen. It also doesn't help that Sears Point track is almost begging a dive bomb, and the way it works out, the ringers are far more likely to be set back due to it sooner or later.

[paulogman]

If JPM runs bad here then I think thats it for him. This is a chance to prove he still has the ability that almost got him an F1 championship, and that makes him an indy 500, Monaco GP and Daytona 24 hour.

Really hope for a strong run!

Also, I was annoyed I was missing Valencia, totally forgot about Road America! JV at Road America is better than 20 Canadian GP's put together!!! Will be the race to watch this weekend. Awesome cars, even more awesome track!

he's on a multi year multi million dollar contract with ganassi who won't fire him.

[wonk123]

I wish NASCAR ran on road courses in the wet, how much fun would 850+ HP be for us spectators
Cam McConville footcam Mount Panorama
Glenn Seton way back in 87 at Mount Panorama

Sorry If you have seen these before, I posted them a few years ago, but you gotta love the skill

[OfficeLinebacker]

I wish NASCAR ran on road courses in the wet, how much fun would 850+ HP be for us

They do but Nationwide only.

[Dmitriy_Guller]

he's on a multi year multi million dollar contract with ganassi who won't fire him.

Eventually he will, if Montoya doesn't get his **** together. Ganassi may have a lot of loylaty to Montoya, but at the end of the day, he's a businessman, and quite a mean SOB at that.

[Juablo]

They do but Nationwide only.

Yep and it's usually a lot of fun


It'd be interesting to see how the cup guys would get on.

[Ross Stonefeld]

Eventually he will, if Montoya doesn't get his **** together. Ganassi may have a lot of loylaty to Montoya, but at the end of the day, he's a businessman, and quite a mean SOB at that.

Everything I've heard, out of various series, is that Montoya is loved by sponsors. Which is surprising in a way, but there you go.

And crucially because that car is funded by the leveraged-supply-chain-blackmailpalooza, there isn't the "zomg we need someone young skinny and American!" you'd get somewhere else.

[whitewaterMkII]

Eventually he will, if Montoya doesn't get his **** together. Ganassi may have a lot of loylaty to Montoya, but at the end of the day, he's a businessman, and quite a mean SOB at that.

Ordinarily, I'd agree with you, but I still believe it's Ganassi that can't get his **** together.
If Mayfield was kicking JPM's ass week in, week out, you would have a point, but the picture shows JPM doing better than his team mate, but not by much. Both cars are perennially in the teens, which shows me a team problem, not a driver problem. Word is that the new cars, built by the new team management are beginning to come online, and are performing better than the cars they had last year, so we'll see soon if the new group that Ganassi hired in the off season can get these guys further up on the points list.

[pingu666]

is montoya doing that badly this year?

[senna da silva]

Ordinarily, I'd agree with you, but I still believe it's Ganassi that can't get his **** together.
If Mayfield was kicking JPM's ass week in, week out, you would have a point, but the picture shows JPM doing better than his team mate, but not by much. Both cars are perennially in the teens, which shows me a team problem, not a driver problem. Word is that the new cars, built by the new team management are beginning to come online, and are performing better than the cars they had last year, so we'll see soon if the new group that Ganassi hired in the off season can get these guys further up on the points list.

But McMurray kicked JPM's butt all over the series except road courses. I think that was very telling. Juan Pablo is nothing more than a midfield driver. I'm not trolling I genuinely wanted him to do well, but then reality set in.

[Seanspeed]

This is probably the best weekend in the NASCAR season

[whitewaterMkII]

But McMurray kicked JPM's butt all over the series except road courses.

McMurray, 18th in points, JPM 19th, that's hardly kicking butt...
Last year at the end it was JPM 21st and Jamie Mac in 27th.
Do I think JPM is near the top of the heap in NASCAR? Not at all.
Do I think Montoya would have better results in a team like Gibbs or Hendrick? Without a doubt. So would McMurray as far as that goes, like I said, it's the team, not the drivers, and so far it's looking like both will do better this year than last, so the team is making some headway.

Edited by whitewaterMkII, 21 June 2012 - 15:28.

[xAtarigeekx]

The #42 team has regressed since a few years ago. In 2009 JPM made the chase and finished 8th overall, pretty respectable with 18 top 10s including 7 top 5s. In 2010 he had 14 top 10s with 6 top 5's and the win at WG.

He's clearly a very capable NASCAR driver, anyone thinking anything different obviously hasn't watched for long. The car was a dog most for a lot of last year and is only just starting to improve this year.

If he had a decent car and was posting mediocre results then Ganassi would be right to fire him, but come on the car is hardly top of the field at the moment.

[senna da silva]

McMurray, 18th in points, JPM 19th, that's hardly kicking butt...
Last year at the end it was JPM 21st and Jamie Mac in 27th.
Do I think JPM is near the top of the heap in NASCAR? Not at all.
Do I think Montoya would have better results in a team like Gibbs or Hendrick? Without a doubt. So would McMurray as far as that goes, like I said, it's the team, not the drivers, and so far it's looking like both will do better this year than last, so the team is making some headway.

You're right. Upon further review J Mac's and JPM's finishing stats are very similar. My opinion was coloured by McMurray's wins.

[cutchemist42]

I also remember maybe 2 years ago when JPM was leading the Indy race by a huge margin before the pitlane speeding incident. Likely his best chance at an oval win that day.

How come JV doesn't do the Cup race? I'd rather use him as a ringer then Boris Said.

[Jim Thurman]

Everything I've heard, out of various series, is that Montoya is loved by sponsors. Which is surprising in a way, but there you go.

And crucially because that car is funded by the leveraged-supply-chain-blackmailpalooza, there isn't the "zomg we need someone young skinny and American!" you'd get somewhere else.

Ross, does that last sentence come from your time at Yates?;)

Edited by Jim Thurman, 21 June 2012 - 16:30.

[Juablo]

I also remember maybe 2 years ago when JPM was leading the Indy race by a huge margin before the pitlane speeding incident. Likely his best chance at an oval win that day.

Or the four tyre call the following year. I think JPM probably had enough to hold off Jamie and would have made it 2 wins apiece for them in 2010

[OfficeLinebacker]

But McMurray kicked JPM's butt all over the series except road courses.

RANK 	+/- 	DRIVER 	POINTS 	BEHIND 	STARTS 	POLES 	WINS 	TOP 5 	TOP 10 	WINNINGS	
1 	--	Matt Kenseth	565	Leader	15	0	1	8	11	4,067,880
2 	--	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	561	-4	15	0	1	6	12	3,073,190
...
18 	+1	Jamie McMurray	377	-188	15	0	0	0	3	2,091,410
19 	+2	Juan Montoya	377	-188	15	0	0	0	2	2,050,740

Tied on points this year before getting to any RCs; Montoya finished ahead of Jamie Mac last year.

You'll remember that Jamie Mac is the guy that Montoya passed in the closing stages of his maiden win; Jamie is a handy road racer.

[senna da silva]

RANK 	+/- 	DRIVER 	POINTS 	BEHIND 	STARTS 	POLES 	WINS 	TOP 5 	TOP 10 	WINNINGS	
1 	--	Matt Kenseth	565	Leader	15	0	1	8	11	4,067,880
2 	--	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	561	-4	15	0	1	6	12	3,073,190
...
18 	+1	Jamie McMurray	377	-188	15	0	0	0	3	2,091,410
19 	+2	Juan Montoya	377	-188	15	0	0	0	2	2,050,740

Tied on points this year before getting to any RCs; Montoya finished ahead of Jamie Mac last year.

You'll remember that Jamie Mac is the guy that Montoya passed in the closing stages of his maiden win; Jamie is a handy road racer.

I already addressed this in an earlier post. However, in ten years JPM has gone from being directly compared to Michael Schumacher to compared to Jamie McMurray. Nothing against J Mac but c'mon!

[gm914]

Good news. Eric McClure will return to the Nationwide series this weekend after his scary Talladega crash.
NASCAR.com covers it.

[Watkins74]

I already addressed this in an earlier post. However, in ten years JPM has gone from being directly compared to Michael Schumacher to compared to Jamie McMurray. Nothing against J Mac but c'mon!

When he was in open wheel he was lightning in a bottle and when he came to Cup it looked like he could be up front. Now one of the most exciting drivers around in the past is hardly even mentioned during a 400 mile race.

I am a fan but your point is valid one......it also stings a little.

[senna da silva]

When he was in open wheel he was lightning in a bottle and when he came to Cup it looked like he could be up front. Now one of the most exciting drivers around in the past is hardly even mentioned during a 400 mile race.

I am a fan but your point is valid one......it also stings a little.

I'd love to see the fire in him again.

[John B]

Just hope some innocent reporter asks Stewart if there should be more road races in Cup so he can have another nutty....

[paulogman]

Eventually he will, if Montoya doesn't get his **** together. Ganassi may have a lot of loylaty to Montoya, but at the end of the day, he's a businessman, and quite a mean SOB at that.

ganassi has to start building better cars. when both cars are finishing poorly, there is something wrong. the engines are the same as the childress engines and they are doing better than ganassi cars. so they have something wrong with the cars themselves.

[Dmitriy_Guller]

If Mayfield was kicking JPM's ass week in, week out, you would have a point

I don't think there is much of a chance at that, unless JPM swipes some of his stash.

[Slowinfastout]

I just realized Kurt Busch is on the entry list for the Nationwide race..