from an older article

Quote :

"Gone are the days when teams were forced to out-think each other on transmission and rear end gear ratios so they could achieve maximum horsepower by having their engines turn maximum rpms. The single rear end gear available for Sunday's Pocono 500 is a 3.89-inch gear, a far cry from the 4.22-inch gear teams used to employ. That means a loss of about 200 rpms, with team's engines most likely reaching a maximum rpm of 9,600 this weekend. The end result is a different Pocono 500, but just how different is unknown. Drivers will have to adjust their typical line throughout the 2.5-mile triangle, while crew chiefs will have to manipulate their car's chassis to overcome the lack of horsepower. Those who strike the proper balance will be rewarded quickly, while those who struggle will endure a long 500 miles. Since you no longer have to shift at Pocono, what affect will that have on your driving style, especially going into turn one? "We'll actually have a chance to enjoy the race a little bit because we won't have to do all that shifting. I really didn't enjoy shifting at high-speed places like Pocono anyway. If you shifted too early, that's what caused some guys to get loose. I've had cases where I almost wrecked because of it. I think it'll be a lot nicer now. It'll make you really concentrate more on keeping your momentum through the corners instead of having to worry about who's got the best transmission ratio." "

there are driver advantages and crew advantages. some drives are naturally smoother shifters and understand that harmony with their car. for crews the testing, history, and overall knowledge of a transmission allows for more advantage.

We've kinda gotten off the chase topic, but I think pocono suffers from this. I think if a driver wants to be competitive and successful then they should be required to skilled in all areas especially shifting. but alas, this is not your daddy's nascar.

[Edited on October 11, 2007 at 7:41 AM. Reason : add]

10/11/2007 7:38:23 AM

I just got home from qualifying, and let me say DAMMIT RYAN NEWMAN!!

WE MISSED ALMOST THE WHOLE FREAKING QUALIFYING! We were walking in just as Ricky Rudd was finishing, then I realized I had missed Jeff Gordon qualify for second!

Then... I got to see Jimmie Johnson run, and it was all ok! And wouldn't you know it... I didn't even get set down good before I was standing up cheering because he took the top spot!!

(And then Ryan Newman came and took it away. But that's ok... because he's not even in the chase, and he won't hold first for long. )

I just posted a video of Jimmie Johnson's qualifying lap, its only like 11 seconds, so check it out when it finally posts. He qualified at like 188.8 mph. (Newman beat him with like 189.3)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXrcYXaKf-4
I just realized that there's a little twerp in a red shirt screwing off right in the middle of my video!



lol, can you guess which of us is the bigger race fan? (This is from tonight.)

[Edited on October 12, 2007 at 1:06 AM. Reason : ]

10/12/2007 1:01:35 AM

I like you, bethaleigh. But next time let's have less incoherent babbling and more "post results."

1 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 189.394 28.512 Leader
2 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's / Kobalt Tools 188.990 28.573 -0.061
3 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios Racing / Pink for the Cure 188.363 28.668 -0.156
4 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 188.298 28.678 -0.166
5 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Mopar / Dodge Dealers / UAW 188.088 28.710 -0.198
6 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal 188.075 28.712 -0.200
7 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Carhartt for Women 188.016 28.721 -0.209
8 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 187.898 28.739 -0.227
9 25 Casey Mears Chevrolet National Guard / GMAC 187.852 28.746 -0.234
10 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M 187.585 28.787 -0.275
11 11 Denny Hamlin Chevrolet FedEx Kinko's 187.402 28.815 -0.303
12 01 Mark Martin Chevrolet U.S. Army 187.214 28.844 -0.332
13 5 Kyle Busch Chevrolet Kellogg's / CARQUEST 187.188 28.848 -0.336
14 10 Scott Riggs Dodge Stanley Tools / Valvoline 187.078 28.865 -0.353
15 4 Ward Burton Chevrolet Lucas Oil / State Water Heaters 186.916 28.890 -0.378
16 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Dodge Dealers / UAW 186.883 28.895 -0.383
17 15 Paul Menard* Chevrolet Quaker State / Menards 186.883 28.895 -0.383
18 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot 186.819 28.905 -0.393
19 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA Auto Parts 186.761 28.914 -0.402
20 00 David Reutimann* Toyota Dominos.com 186.748 28.916 -0.404
21 38 David Gilliland Ford M&M's / Susan G Komen for the Cure 186.703 28.923 -0.411
22 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet Budweiser 186.516 28.952 -0.440
23 70 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet Yellow Trans. 186.477 28.958 -0.446
24 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 186.419 28.967 -0.455
25 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel's 186.374 28.974 -0.462
26 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Fujifilm 186.322 28.982 -0.470
27 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 186.149 29.009 -0.497
28 40 David Stremme Dodge Target 186.034 29.027 -0.515
29 20 Tony Stewart Chevrolet The Home Depot 185.842 29.057 -0.545
30 84 A.J. Allmendinger* Toyota Red Bull 185.733 29.074 -0.562
31 6 David Ragan* Ford AAA 185.701 29.079 -0.567
32 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 185.637 29.089 -0.577
33 88 Ricky Rudd Ford Snickers 185.490 29.112 -0.600
34 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar / CatUsed.com 185.452 29.118 -0.606
35 21 Bill Elliott Ford Ore-Ida 185.433 29.121 -0.609
36 42 Juan Montoya* Dodge Texaco / Havoline 185.427 29.122 -0.610
37 66 Jeff Green Chevrolet Best Buy 184.887 29.207 -0.695
38 36 Jeremy Mayfield Toyota 360 OTC 184.672 29.241 -0.729
39 18 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet Interstate Batteries 184.628 29.248 -0.736
40 7 Robby Gordon Ford Motorola Digital Audio Players 184.559 29.259 -0.747
41 49 John Andretti Dodge Paralyzed Veterans of America 184.508 29.267 -0.755
42 44 Dale Jarrett Toyota UPS 184.370 29.289 -0.777
43 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row Racing 184.150 29.324 -0.812
44 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 183.911 29.362 -0.850
45 96 Tony Raines Chevrolet DLP HDTV 183.874 29.368 -0.856
46 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Tire Kingdom 183.617 29.409 -0.897
47 06 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge Kenwood 183.505 29.427 -0.915
48 208 Carl Long Dodge E&M Motorsports 181.904 29.686 -1.174
49 27 Kirk Shelmerdine Chevrolet Lilly Trucking of Virginia 174.076 31.021 -2.509

10/12/2007 1:26:41 AM

I was just sharing my experience... And of course, mentioning who I was there to see! I tried to delete it for you, but I was too late.

[Edited on October 12, 2007 at 1:38 AM. Reason : ]

10/12/2007 1:35:52 AM

That's ok, it's just that I was reading for results and seeing "babble babble"

But that might be me at Atlanta next week.

10/12/2007 1:40:25 AM

I did have up the results of three positions... WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME!!!!

10/12/2007 1:46:40 AM

thanks for posting the speeds beardog but you didnt list the stat i always check first....

will make the race
#10-Scott Riggs, 187.078mph
#4-Ward Burton, 186.916mph
#55-Michael Waltrip, 186.761mph
#00-David Reutimann, 186.748mph
#84-A.J. Allmendinger, 185.733mph
#21-Bill Elliott, 185.433mph
#36-Jeremy Mayfield, 184.672mph
#49-John Andretti, 184.508mph

will miss the race:
#44-Dale Jarrett, 184.370mph
#78-Joe Nemechek, 184.150
#83-Brian Vickers, 183.911mph
#06-Sam Hornish Jr., 183.505mph
#08-Carl Long, 181.904mph
#27-Kirk Shelmerdine, 174.076mph

[Edited on October 12, 2007 at 6:49 AM. Reason : m]

10/12/2007 6:47:49 AM

I'll be there tomorrow in the Jewel Box. Yay for corporate perks! You can probably easily spot me. I think I'll be the only black person there. I haven't been to a race since before Sr. passed (I think I was in 9th grade). Think it would be ok to wear his jacket there?

10/12/2007 8:35:36 PM

^ Wear his jacket and you will fit right in... even if you are black!

Believe me, you won't be the only black guy there. There was an old black Mark Martin fan sitting in front of me at the All Star race 2 years ago... he was so funny. He was drunk as shit, by himself, in a sea of drunk, crazy white people. And Mark Martin was in the lead all night. He did this thing with his hands where he followed him all around the track pointing at him and shaking his fingers, and bobbing up and down the whole time. He stood the WHOLE race! When MM won, he went wild! I shook his hand before I left.

10/13/2007 11:54:08 AM

pick 2

Casey Mears 3/9 Chevrolet 9 9 - - - - - 0
Mark Martin 6/9 Chevrolet 12 12 - - - - - 0
Bobby Labonte 0/9 Dodge 3 3 - - 3 - - 3
Denny Hamlin 8/9 Chevrolet 11 11 - - - - - -

10/13/2007 2:23:09 PM

Mark Martin

Denny Hamlin

10/13/2007 3:05:39 PM

who would you pick between Labonte and Mears cause I only have 1 start left with Denny...

10/13/2007 3:13:42 PM

fuck hamlin





but take mears. He's on a roll lately. 4 straight top 10 finishes, and he won here back in May.

10/13/2007 3:28:36 PM

Mears

10/13/2007 4:15:16 PM

Damn, Gordon bumped Jr. right out of the way and Jr. said "you tell the 24 I'm coming for him. I won't forget that shit."

10/13/2007 8:57:56 PM

ahahaha

Gordon's afraid of Jr tonight

10/13/2007 9:23:28 PM

Yeah, that was a dumb thing to do with +250 laps left and Jr has NOTHING left to lose.

10/13/2007 9:42:50 PM

damn Tony got screwed...along with 4 other drivers

10/13/2007 9:47:10 PM

LOL @ Kyle Busch about Gordon "How in the hell does he go that fast"

Sounds like Kyle isn't getting the best Hendrick has to offer anymore.

10/13/2007 9:55:00 PM

FUCK!!!!

10/13/2007 10:32:41 PM

haha. Newman goes from leading to crashed. Now watch gordon run out of gas.

10/13/2007 11:54:26 PM

Wow, Jeff really knows how to finish a race.

I've heard it's better to be lucky than good. He's both.

10/14/2007 12:04:24 AM

HECK YEAH!!!! ANOTHER WIN FOR JEFF GORDON!!!!!

I heard him say on the radio that this was special for him because his sister was in Victory Lane for the first time EVER... in 80+ career wins, she has never been to Victory Lane with him. But baby Ella wasn't there.

Anyways... this puts me in a better mood:
1 -- Jeff Gordon 5880 Leader
2 -- Jimmie Johnson 5812 -68



And I missed the entire dang race AGAIN due to working...

And I think that with 5 races to go, Tony Stewart will start getting dirty and become a force to be reckoned with.

10/14/2007 12:53:17 AM

Man what a great race. Perfect weather, great seats down in turn 1, and a good finish.

I got a little impatient during the red flag, but I was also extremely blackout. I thought Newman was going to roll away with it..I thought he spun out due to that oil slick they had powdered down and blown off but I watched the rewind and saw he actually had a blow out. I kinda wanted to see him take the checkered.

It was so funny to hear the crowd go ballistic when JJ spun out by himself. I mean the cheers were deafening.

10/15/2007 8:37:35 AM

nascar is so absolutely dead to me, I didnt even realize there was a night race this week

I used to clear my schedule for night races

10/15/2007 10:56:09 AM

man the burgers i made were off the chain. and the pasta salad, oh man it was good.

10/15/2007 12:03:22 PM

GREAT RACE!!! My boy Clint Bowyer didn't perform as well as I liked, but he did really well the entire time. I blended right in just like bethaleigh said (thanks Dale Sr.!). Had awesome seats in the Jewel Box and met Jeff Burton (AT&T invited me out there). Free food and free beer all night was awesome! A++++ definitely will attend again!

10/15/2007 6:39:58 PM

^ Awesome! I'm glad you had a good time! And meeting Jeff Burton, he's pretty big time.

10/15/2007 9:21:09 PM

Only 4 races left...I'm about 110 points back in fantasy...need some B and C list advice although for C I'll probably just go with Yeley and Sorenson since I have 2 starts with each of them left

10/23/2007 12:18:39 PM

I KNOW I AM 2 DAYS LATE, BUT :

YAY!!! JIMMIE JOHNSON FOR ANOTHER WIN!!!

He's in second behind Jeff Gordon by 53 points!!!

KEEP IT UP FELLAS!!!

10/23/2007 4:13:36 PM

ttt forAtlanta!!!! I'm there!!!

10/28/2007 6:57:16 AM

Steve Letarte, Jeff Gordon's crew chief, was my chemistry lab partner in hs. Our teacher was constantly calling out our table for disrupting class. We used to hang out a bit, but lost touch after hs. I remember when he first got a job at hendrick motors sweeping the floor and wire brushing lug nuts... that was back in 96 I believe. He was happy as hell just to be in the garage and to get to see the cars. Now in his first full year as crew chief, Gordon has a great chance to win it all. I'm pretty excited for Steve.

[Edited on October 28, 2007 at 8:51 AM. Reason : []

10/28/2007 8:50:44 AM

^the minute something goes wrong with Jeff's car...Steve's out of a job

10/28/2007 9:32:07 AM

i'm pretty sure he'll be around for a while.

10/28/2007 10:19:44 AM

Oh yeah, he'll be around for a while. He's done a great job thus far.


GO TEAM HENDRICK!!

10/28/2007 12:50:53 PM

Dang! Jeff Gordon's car looks really good! I like that paint scheme.

ATTN: BIFFLE - GIT OFF THE TRACK. DUMMY!

10/28/2007 1:34:47 PM

whoops. Jr's whole left rear tire just came off during the green white checker. He has got to have the worse fucking luck ever.

[Edited on October 28, 2007 at 5:09 PM. Reason : ]

10/28/2007 5:07:32 PM

That wasn't just a tire, that was the ENTIRE WHEEL!! Poor guy, that's ok though... DEI can't eff with him much more with three races left. I really think they're messing with him, and its not luck.


WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! GO JIMMIE JOHNSON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3RD TRACK SWEEP THIS YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ONLY BEHIND JEFF BY 9 POINTS IN THE CHASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10/28/2007 6:00:48 PM

Yeah, I've been wondering how much of it is luck, and how much is a big fuck you to Jr. Well, at least we've got to look forward to next year, away from the DEI engines, and apparently wheels.

10/28/2007 8:12:09 PM

lol Yeah, I'm trying to keep an open mind about Jr. coming to Hendrick... right now, I just feel so bad for him being crapped on by his step mom's company.

10/28/2007 9:50:49 PM

It was pretty weird seeing Jr's tire rolling down the backstretch towards us....

Great race!

10/28/2007 10:32:58 PM

ha, I saw him trying to get under edwards then spin and was like "wtf, there goes a tire". lol. If I was him, I'd say fuck it and wouldn't race at any of the remaining tracks.

10/28/2007 10:35:15 PM

ALRIIIIGHT!!!! GO JIMMIE!!!!

Looks like a battle between Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson! Jimmie is leading the chase by 30 points over Jeff. According to NASCAR.com, chasers 7-10 are eliminated.

Once again, I didn't get to see any part of the race, but I heard that Casey Mears spun Tony Stewart out... Speaking of, does anyone on here listen to Tony stewart's morning talk show?

11/4/2007 11:06:36 PM

*bump*

11/6/2007 12:34:29 PM

ok look...


NASCAR needs more that one damn thread.

that would be like saying all of pro football gets one thread.
or all of college basketball
or all of ____________

11/6/2007 1:25:57 PM

31 points out of first place in my fantasy league (as if anybody cared) with 2 races to go

I still have a start with Johnson and a start with Stewart...a start with Kyle, 2 starts with Clint, 1 with Ryan, 1 with Reed and 2 with JJ...overall I'm doing better than Ricky Craven and that dumbass Jerry Bonkowski

11/6/2007 1:30:14 PM

Quote :

"NASCAR needs more that one damn thread."

I'm all about some NASCAR but every time another thread gets made... even a Daytona 500 or Coca-Cola 600 thread it never seems to even make it to two pages. Unfortunately there just isn't enough interest to support a slew of threads so it's better to keep what discussion there is in one thread. If I'm wrong, I'm sorry.

11/6/2007 2:05:41 PM

fair enough.

11/6/2007 2:38:18 PM

*bump* for Phoenix

11/11/2007 3:20:55 PM

where the hell is everyone?

11/11/2007 6:45:44 PM