I was hearing the Supercross tentative plan yesterday on a podcast. They're planning on getting going in mid-May and having the remaining 7 rounds in a row racing Fridays and Mondays at the Cardinals stadium in Arizona. Everyone is going to be staying at one hotel. The factory teams are all gung-ho this will happen (some of them, especially the ones with a rider in the title hunt do not want to finish Supercross in the fall), but there's a lot of holes in this plan which the podcast hosts thought too.

-Baseball was thinking of doing this plan they mention, but they have a players union that the owners collectively bargain with and can then confirm the players' agreement. There's no union in racing, so they can tell all the riders to stay in a hotel and not leave for 4 weeks except to go to the race, but if one of the star riders says "I'm going to Colorado for a couple days", what do they do?

-The hosts didn't mention this at all and it surprised me, there was literally no mention of what happens with the 250s which are 2 split championships.

-I know they don't really care about privateers, but they make up the back third of the main event grid and two-thirds of the heat races, what privateers are staying in a hotel for 4 weeks?

4/22/2020 8:26:50 AM

^i dont know about supercross but the nascar twitter rumor is darlington may 17th and charlotte may 24th with no fans

4/23/2020 6:50:46 AM

38 race teams multiplied by say 10 people (driver and a bare minimum for people to support the car at track) plus 10 for broadcast plus 25 NASCAR officials equals 415.

If they want to open it'll open but if one rear tire changer leaves it on a handle in the infield bathroom, everyone is getting it. I'm kinda doing the same thing at the moment working. At best it's just a calculated risk.

[Edited on April 23, 2020 at 11:46 AM. Reason : .]

4/23/2020 11:41:09 AM

French Grand Prix cancelled. So now the earliest F1 can start is July.

Ganassi have stated Matt Kenseth will finish the season for Kyle Larson's car. If I'm Chastain I have to be disappointed.

4/27/2020 2:36:14 PM

Wtf? Chastain can't catch a break.

4/27/2020 3:10:09 PM

Matt's less likely to tear equipment up and is a better "face" for all but McDonalds. Contracts have probably all been adjusted so there's less money coming in.

But I still don't understand it. Unless Newman's announcement wasn't quick enough and Ross was still spoken for when Matt's deal was signed. I don't think Chip wanted to have seat shuffling going on. Ross has been driving Chevy cars/trucks in the other series so it isn't like there's a manufacturer contract stopping things.

4/27/2020 6:44:46 PM

Chastain is very good at taking care of his equipment. He spent all that time driving for low budget teams where the main goal of each race was to just finish and collect a check without tearing anything up.

4/28/2020 7:02:54 AM

Since I imagine Chastain is a lot cheaper to pay than Kenseth is, my guess is the sponsors didn't approve of Chastain.

4/28/2020 7:35:24 AM

a factor was watermelon man was already committed to running full time busch series and who knows if that will conflict with cup schedule

our overlord cooper said he's in for the 600. cool

4/28/2020 5:27:24 PM

another maybe schedule:

Quote :

" Sunday, May 17 | Darlington 400 Wednesday, May 20 | Darlington 310 Sunday, May 24 | Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Wednesday, May 27 | Charlotte 310 Sunday, May 31 | Martinsville Wednesday, June 3 | Bristol Sunday, June 7 | Atlanta Sunday, June 14 | Miami"

4/29/2020 6:56:14 AM

So what 3 races are gone and being replaced by 2 spring Darlington dates and the Charlotte 310? I can see the All-Star Race is gone but that's not 1 of the 36 races.

^^ Chastain ran full-time in Cup last year minus I think 2 races in the Premium #15 car. He just didn't receive points. Maybe the double dipping or triple dipping into all the national series is going to be impossible with how the schedule gets rearranged. But if that's the case, there's a lot of rides in the Xfinity and Truck Series that are going to lose their drivers and maybe sponsorship in a lot of cases if the sponsor was only on the car for a Cup driver.

(For whatever races are no longer taking place, I'm kind of surprised one of the ones they kept was Homestead.

edit: Nevermind, I forgot the Governor declared WWE an essential business.)

[Edited on April 29, 2020 at 11:39 AM. Reason : /]

4/29/2020 11:24:37 AM

official!

Quote :

" Sun., May 17 Darlington Cup 400 miles FOX 3:30 p.m. Tue., May 19 Darlington Xfinity 200 miles FS1 8 p.m. Wed., May 20 Darlington Cup 500 km FS1 7:30 p.m. Sun., May 24 Charlotte Cup 600 miles FOX 6 p.m. Mon., May 25 Charlotte Xfinity 300 miles FS1 7:30 p.m. Tue., May 26 Charlotte Gander 200 miles FS1 8 p.m. Wed., May 27 Charlotte Cup 500 km FS1 8 p.m."

[Edited on April 30, 2020 at 8:16 PM. Reason : j]

4/30/2020 8:10:05 PM

Not official yet, but Sonoma is reported to be one of the races that will almost certainly not happen.

5/4/2020 2:54:30 PM

Sonoma for a Spring Darlington race is an excellent trade. Just wish it wasn't spectator-less.

5/4/2020 3:53:03 PM

i like sears point

12 days until nascar!

5/5/2020 7:19:38 AM

Me too, but I like darlington a lot more

5/5/2020 11:20:46 AM

richmond, sonoma and chicago lost races so far

5/9/2020 8:32:56 AM

Quote :

"The official entry list for the Darlington 400 scheduled for May 17 has been released. The Darlington Raceway contest marks the first event in the NASCAR Cup Series since the race at Pheonix Raceway nearly two months ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 40 drivers are entered, which means all will qualify, baring any late entry list changes. Ryan Newman returns to the seat of his No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford. Newman missed three NCS events after being injured on the final lap of the 2020 Daytona 500. Ross Chastain, who subbed for Newman, will not compete in any Cup ride this weekend. Also returning to NASCAR competition is 2003 NCS champion Matt Kenseth. Kenseth will wheel the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet following the termination of Kyle Larson due to his use of a racial slur during an iRacing event. Tommy Baldwin Racing is returning to Cup competition after a lengthy absence. Josh Bilicki will pilot TBR’s familiar No. 7 Chevrolet. Brennan Poole will stay in his familiar No. 15 entry, but an ownership change is apparent, as Rick Ware Racing has inherited the Premium Motorsports operation. RWR’s familiar drivers will also swap rides. Joey Gase moves into the No. 51 entry while Garrett Smithley slides into the No. 52. JJ Yeleymoves from the No. 52 to the No. 53. Reed Sorenson will again wheel the No. 77 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports. Sorenson has made three starts in that ride this season. Finally, NASCAR welcomes a new team to the series as BJ McLeod Motorsports expands its operation from the NASCAR Xfinity Series to include a Cup entry. Team owner BJ McLeod is listed as the driver."

5/12/2020 2:14:37 PM

Quote :

"Sun. Cup Darlington 400 Tue. Xfinity Darlington 200 Wed. Cup Darlington 310 May 24 Cup Charlotte 600 May 25 Xfinity Charlotte 300 May 26 Trucks Charlotte 200 May 27 Cup Charlotte 310 May 30 Xfinity Bristol 160 May 31 Cup Bristol 266 June 6 Trucks Atlanta 200 June 6 Xfinity Atlanta 251 June 7 Cup Atlanta 500 June 10 Cup Martinsville 263 June 13 Trucks Homestead 201 June 13 Xfinity Homestead 250 June 14 Cup Homestead 400 June 20 ARCA Talladega 202 June 20 Xfinity Talladega 300 June 21 Cup Talladega 500"

all races with no fans

[Edited on May 14, 2020 at 8:36 PM. Reason : s]

5/14/2020 8:32:06 PM

sucks the first Martinsville night race won't have fans

I wonder if they'll give me any kind of credit for my tickets

5/14/2020 9:45:18 PM

went down a North Wilksboro wormhole last weekend and it’s totally fucked with my youtube algorithm

5/14/2020 9:53:06 PM

just checked my email. 120% credit for any event at a nascar-owned track through the remainder of 2020 and all of 2021 or a full refund. cool.

5/14/2020 10:27:10 PM

https://motorsports.nbcsports.com/2020/05/14/eli-tomac-ken-roczen-supercross-2020-season-salt-lake-city-utah-final-7-races/

5/15/2020 1:52:06 PM

^nice I hope they can get some track variety though

5/15/2020 7:37:24 PM

^they are gonna reconfigure the track after each race i believe



its race day bitches!

5/17/2020 7:16:53 AM

you can reconfigure the track but if it has similar characteristics it still can suck with few passing opportunities without running the guy off the track.

5/17/2020 6:53:20 PM

worst possible weather forecast for busch race tonight and cup tomorrow night

teams could be social distancing (sitting in their personal cars) for 4 days

5/19/2020 6:26:48 AM

primetime NASCAR baby! I hope this becomes a regular thing.

5/20/2020 9:13:25 PM

Does Kyle Busch know how to drive a car? I’ve seen soccer moms pilot a minivan better than that shit

5/20/2020 10:53:08 PM

Xfinity race was great. Glad the rain delayed it long enough that I could catch the 2nd half after work.

5/22/2020 6:53:43 AM

dale yeah, all 3 darlington races were good. ready for the 600

5/22/2020 5:31:24 PM

Ready for 4 straight days of racing

5/24/2020 2:24:47 PM

Probably gonna start raining during the parade laps

5/24/2020 6:11:23 PM

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/article242966241.html

5/24/2020 8:56:42 PM

^ Merica!

the leader had huge clean air advantage all night and eliott pits with a GWC coming. what a big dummy

5/25/2020 6:01:46 PM

High downforce low HP sucks

[Edited on May 26, 2020 at 10:41 AM. Reason : Too hard to pass]

5/26/2020 10:40:01 AM

^yeah they tried to make Charlotte race like Dega but made it Pocono. Hopefully a lesson learned for 2022 car

5/26/2020 2:01:56 PM

I'm ready for some Monday night NASCAR

6/1/2020 12:47:52 PM

I think the Chase has hurt NASCAR but so has the stages.

I think it would be cool if the stages had more value in some way for that immediate race. Maybe make it like a qualifying where you set the field stage one, then invert the starting spots for stage 2, then start stage 3 with your average of your stage 1 and 2 finishes. If want to give some small
Bonus points for winning a stage that is fine too.

I don’t think the CHASE has ultimately encouraged trying to win a lot of races. It really encourages you to try and win a race. I think the CHASE would be better if it was just the top 12 or 16 using more of an old school total points method. Give bonuses for winning but I don’t think one win should get you in automatically. The whole thing is way too complicated. I feel like once a driver wins one or two races early they just focus on maybe winning at a few big name tracks and just get ready for playoffs. It’s hurting the sport, and I think hurting the emergence of new stars that the sport desperately needs.

6/2/2020 8:28:15 AM

I think you're wayyyy off. For one, you complain that the chase is too complicated(its not) but then offer up a proposal to make races in themselves way more complicating than they are.

As for your opinion that guys win a race or two and then start preparing for the chase....no they don't. Winning races is all that matters after you win a race. The more races you win, the more likely you are to move forward in the playoffs. If you can win 3-4 races, you basically have to not even show up in the first round. If you're good enough to win 6, 7, 8 races...as long as you don't just fall flat on your face, you should be in the final 4. Winning more races to garner more playoff points is the goal for every driver once they win 1. Its not, "well, i won 1...lets take our 5 bonus points and prepare for the playoffs". Its more, "Lets win as many as we can and compile as many playoff points as we can so we have a big lead and dont have to worry about a bad race when the playoffs come.

6/2/2020 10:54:12 AM

The rules and setup for nascar points and chase playoffs is like 23 bullet points.

And just because on paper drivers should want to win 7-8 races that isn’t the strategy playing out.

It’s a terrible system all around and it’s hurting the sport especially at a time when they might be able to pull in some people as one of the few things going.

6/2/2020 1:04:11 PM

^ i like the playoffs, manufactured drama is still drama

lol about elliot wreckin logano and making the victim look like a cry baby because elliot didnt apologize

gragson/little gator: would love to be able to watch the JRM drivers zoom call this week

6/3/2020 6:58:13 AM

^^thats not the strategy playing out? Logano was cool with being wrecked out Sunday because he already has 2 wins and didn't really need that 3rd one, right? Hamlin was cool with wrecking himself because he already has 2 wins. Might as well ride in the back until they actually wanna try to win, right? Get outta here with that nonsense. Every driver is out there trying to win races, no matter how many wins they already have. Speak that to a driver and they'll laugh in your face

6/3/2020 8:18:40 AM

got excited for 15 seconds this morning when i saw nashville is coming back to cup in 2021, then realized its 1.3 mile speedway and not nashville fairgrounds

6/3/2020 10:41:40 AM

The superspeedway race is a step in trying to get to the fairgrounds. If people really want the fairgrounds back...this race needs to sell out

6/3/2020 8:57:13 PM

It's concrete. Provides a neat wrinkle. Plus I'm just happy to see a different track that's not a 1.5-mile trioval.

6/3/2020 11:54:46 PM

Think Tomac is finally going to win it this year.

Indycar season opener Saturday night at Texas.

6/5/2020 11:32:34 AM

Dixon domination. Penske cars struggled all night as they would reach the end of their tire run and start getting vibrations. (Firestone mandated 35 green flag laps max on the tires because the cars are ~30 lb heavier due to the aeroscreen and Firestone due to lockdown hadn't had the time to do a full engineering review on these tires, on the bright side it meant fuel conservation wasn't a thing)

Dixon's strongest competition was his teammate Felix Rosenqvist who with about 12 laps to go after the final green flag pit stops went high to pass a lap car, lost control, and went in the fence. That black compound they put up high to help on NASCAR tracks provided no grip at Texas. Firestone said the grip levels were 15% less.

6/6/2020 10:51:58 PM

bring on the woke capitalism, you take a knee, we take a knee, now you all can buy shit from me.

looks like rain for first night race at martinsvile wed, because of course

[Edited on June 8, 2020 at 7:16 PM. Reason : s]

6/8/2020 7:14:07 PM

Bubba Wallace wants confederate flags gone at races. I feel with many fans this is a tough sell

6/9/2020 10:53:09 PM