Quote :

"NASCAR will overhaul its points system for the first time since 1975 as it will use a 43-to-1 structure under which the winner gets 43 points and each spot is separated by one point. The winner also will get three bonus points for winning. There also will be one bonus point awarded for a lap led and one bonus point for the driver who leads the most laps. The 12-driver field for the Chase For The Sprint Cup will consist of the top 10 drivers in points after 26 races plus the two other drivers with the most victories as long as those drivers are in the top 20 with any ties broken by points position."

i like the win to get in the chase rule. rest of it looks like they just divided the old system by 5 to make it appear closer.

1/26/2011 8:04:37 PM

the pairs racing in the shoot out was the greatest plate racing i have ever seen. the guys werent just riding around waiting on the last few laps like a typical plate race, so of course the first thing nascar does is change the rules to try to stop it.

2/15/2011 10:23:42 AM

its not like they sat down and said "how do we make our product less popular?" they did it to protect the drivers and the fans. the physics of what happens to a car going 203+ mph that gets turned around has already been proven...it gets airborne and has the possibility of going into the stands (maybe not the whole car but debris for sure). its no different than the NFL and their concussion rules/studies and not letting games take place in a dome with a roof half collapsed. if the other major sports lost as many athletes as nascar they would be just as proactive in their decisions.

as far as restrictor plate racing, and the big packs of cars, they are a necessary evil. the cars are too fast to just let go wide open. the only way to slow them down is the restrictor plate...but the side effect is everybody goes the same speed. the only way to fix the problem is to do away with those 4 races entirely (yea right) or make changes to the aerodynamics packages, yellow-line rules, bump drafting, etc. i don't think there is a "solution." the plate isn't going away unless they change the motors for those 4 races to something slower but still gives the teams some gray area to play with and get more speed so they can run away from the slower cars. but there will still be drafting and groups of cars. its just the nature of the beast.

2/15/2011 10:45:44 AM

^nascar was not trying to slow the cars down, if they wanted to do that all they had to do it reduce the size of the plate. their intent of the less air flow over the radiator rule change was to stop the 2 car draft and go back to the big packs. the reason being that the pack is more popular yet its shitty racing imo

2/15/2011 11:44:02 AM

when they announced the aero change they said the plate was the right size and that the speeds with those plates under normal circumstances were fine. the problem they have is with the cars being able to stay hooked up for SO long and being able to draft to those speeds. that was not anticipated. they made the change so that the cars would have to duck out and get air to cool the engine.

the 2 car drafts from everything i've read and heard both from drivers and announcers was popular. they were just too fast.

it was just a perfect storm for the shootout with the aero package and the cool air temperature letting th cars get so fast. they didn't anticipate that and don't anticipate it for the 500 but they have to make sure so they changed the aero package.

changing the plate would bunch up the field big time. at least this change will still allow for 2 car drafts and breakaways, they just won' be able to push SO hard for SO long like in the shootout. this is not going to bunch up the field. you'll just see more movement among the 2 car groups.

2/15/2011 1:15:37 PM

They need to try opening the holes up, but change the gearing to get down to the 8000 rpm range instead of 9600 for 200mph. This could let people not get the big pulling away in groups of 2 but avoid the tight pack riding around we've seen in the past when available hp was lower.


I still think the biggest thing they can do is, when they get the tire changes made in a year or two, is use skinnier tires to limit cornering speed and make them let off at some tracks but give them wider and stickier tires to use at short tracks. This could also give the car a good bit of grip at the start of a run and make things fall off some by using a softer compound. They can do full fuel runs at Daytona and Talladega and be running the same speeds the whole time, and it is looking like teams may do two tires or no tires on some stops this year because the tires aren't wearing out.

[Edited on February 15, 2011 at 1:25 PM. Reason : ]

2/15/2011 1:25:15 PM

seems like for the first time in a few years there is positive news coming out of nascar

2/15/2011 10:25:18 PM

^^ yea some solid ideas there

^ its not like nascar is the bastard child of sports (in reality, not opinion), people just like to bash it cause "it's redneck" and they only turn left...

people can always nitpick shit and get upset over little things but its just the nature of nascar. people love conspiracy theories about jimmie winning 5 in a row, and junior not winning anything but w/e.

people need to quit comparing nascr to nfl, nba, mlb, etc. and even F1 and indycar. it is its own beast with its own issues. no other sport has so many individual components to manage and oversee. 43+ individual teams competing for 1 victory a week.

for those who truly love the sport its always enjoyable, no matter what changes they make. yea it can get frustrating and hindsight is always 20/20 but if you appreciate what they do then it doesn't matter. thats why most people hate it and say its not a sport rawr rawr rawr.

2/15/2011 11:26:58 PM

Quote :

"people just like to bash it cause "it's redneck""

and rednecks like to bash it because over the last 5 years its gotten farther and farther away from redneck

2/15/2011 11:34:18 PM

^ ding ding

2/15/2011 11:34:38 PM

If you haven't seen or heard a race or anything about this season, I ts gonna be a good one.
Jimmy will still be in the top 5 but this is lucky harvicks year.

This thread need pictures of the new cot. Like the f1 thread in the garage. It also needs a dates and times.
In other news:

Mayfield out for another year and a half
Kevin harvick in the bud car
Kasey kahne,one year deal with red bull(#4) untill the kid retires
Brian vickers back with an almost new heart
Brad keselowski in the blue duece
Kurtbusch to the 22 shell penzoil car(from what I've gathered and may be wrong they switched equiptment)
Jrs crew chief-latart
Paul menard with RCR(chance to win 2 or 3 races)

Underdog of the year has got to be Regan Smith

Other things I've noticed
Less sponsors on cars
Ugly paint jobs

Who wants in on fantasyh this year. We have till the 20th at 1pm to gather and make teams.
Even though jr and gordon are already locked in there is still time

The 500 winner with be rocket man,tony stewart or harvick.

Posted from my droid

2/15/2011 11:35:41 PM

Jr. gets the pole at the 500 then gets wrecked into in practice...now starts from the back...shitty luck

2/17/2011 9:46:33 AM

i have a feelin the drivers are going to give the ole middle finger to helton and the gang for messing with their cooling system by lining up single file for many laps and refusing to race like they did at dega when nascar tried to tell them how to drive their cars.

2/17/2011 9:52:20 AM

Imo they madde toomany rule changes this week. They should redo qualifying

2/17/2011 10:08:41 AM

they should have left the plate alone...now they are going to bunch up the field in a big pack and they took cooling hoses from them....so they are going to all be running hot and ducking out to get air and they'll be touching and then boom the big one....

2/17/2011 11:02:02 AM

Yay kurt. Winner of duel one.

Sorry if you've dvrd the race. I did too and just heard it on the radio. Fml.

2/17/2011 4:27:19 PM

Jr is the Nc state of nascar...except I guess he has a giant following

2/17/2011 6:04:02 PM

Lol and two championships in a different league.

2/17/2011 7:14:41 PM

were the duels really that bad?

heard some bad reviews, esp race #1

2/17/2011 8:36:07 PM

I heard some stupid bitch at the bar tonight say "I just watch for the wrecks". I looked at her and said "that's a terrible reason to watch" she got real quiet after that.

2/17/2011 8:46:24 PM

Idk. I still want to see em.

Anybody know how the "dancing partner" shit was going. Did they have more than two cars in. A group

Also fuck robby gordon and carl edwards this year

I have looked and watched kurts car all week and it wouldn't suprise me to see him win it this year. Never won a points race at daytona

2/17/2011 8:47:28 PM

Quote :

"they should have left the plate alone...now they are going to bunch up the field in a big pack and they took cooling hoses from them....so they are going to all be running hot and ducking out to get air and they'll be touching and then boom the big one...."

If you haven't noticed, that is what Nascar wants. Anytime they figure out a way to break up the pack, Nascar does something to put them back together, in the interest of "safety."

It's better that they run 206 MPH in a 2 car draft than 199 MPH in 43 car draft.

The Bud Shootout was probably the best one I've seen in a LONG time.

And if you go back to the reason why NASCAR put the restrictor plates on the cars in the first place (cars flipping), that didn't actually fix the reason as to why the cars were flipping.

2/17/2011 8:55:48 PM

So what is the over/under for blown engines in this race?

2/17/2011 9:23:14 PM

Well kasey didn't make it very long soim thinking the toyotas will be junk.

How bout regan smith and furniture row showing how you don't need $california$ to be competitive. He's a decent driver tbat just needs more seat time and might end up with a decent sponsor by the end of the year. He finished the season strong last year.

2/17/2011 10:37:00 PM

don't forget regan smith beat tony stewart back to the line at talladega in '08...he just went below the line. he's going to be one to watch.

from watching the duels, the fords have a clear advantage as the second car in line. they don't overheat nearly as much as the rest. if you want to win the 500 you better make a deal with a ford...or an RCR chevy to push you till the tri-oval on the last lap.

there will be a big one... and it will happen when one of two things happen, 1) a car peeking out to cool off can't get back down in time to block another pair or 2) somebody loses their partner and stacks up the field and the 2 car groups haulin ass behind them either run over everybody or have to start checking up.

i think the duels sucked just because everybody was pretty much locked in with who they paired with. there were only so many good cars in each field...with them all on the track i think guys will be more willing to swap partners more often

2/18/2011 12:29:02 AM

Helll yea to 2 sponsorless car making it to the big show. I listened to the interveiw with brian keselowski and he seems to think he's got a legit chance to be a contender at this race.

Poor guy can't even qualify for half the busch races.

2/18/2011 6:40:55 PM

Quote :

"i think the duels sucked just because everybody was pretty much locked in with who they paired with."

The duels sucked ass because of the changes NASCAR implemented. They killed ability for drivers to draft together for extended periods. It ruined it by forcing a pair to have to work together for the ENTIRE race. In the shootout, the drivers could swap partners and REALLY work together.

Nascar made some changes and it back fired on them. They were trying to get everyone back into a pack, and it simply didn't work.

2/18/2011 7:20:05 PM

yaaaaaaaay, more rednecks turning left

2/18/2011 7:23:31 PM

^i'd say that a majority of the drivers now days are anything BUT redneck

2/18/2011 7:30:37 PM

Quote :

"They killed ability for drivers to draft together for extended periods. It ruined it by forcing a pair to have to work together for the ENTIRE race. In the shootout, the drivers could swap partners and REALLY work together."

There WERE pairs that could draft for a very long time: The RCR team, Gordon/Bayne, and anybody with a ford behind them. I don't think the rules changes necessarily forced them to keep the pairs together, it was a matter of numbers and other strong cars. They basically talked to the guy they lined up in front/behind and made a deal. If Gordon had skipped on Bayne, the next best guy was who?!? Brian Keselowski? Robby Gordon?? I know thats assuming no other drivers would have ditched their running mate but you never know. The Shootout had the best of the best so if somebody wanted a new partner, there were others to choose from.

2/18/2011 11:11:17 PM

Danica has a real shot at proving herself today by qualifying so well (4th)

2/19/2011 1:09:04 PM

^perhaps, what she needs to do is get a top 10 on a non plate track which is not very likely

2/19/2011 1:28:40 PM

this two car break away shit has really killed todays race

2/19/2011 3:07:00 PM

yay there was a wreck!

2/19/2011 3:21:53 PM

^^ heck nah man, racing is back

it may not be as good as the worn out pavement but its is better than the big pack where your car is trapped.

my solution would be take the plates off but give them tires so freaking hard they can only run a sub 200mph lap in qualifying


[Edited on February 20, 2011 at 8:14 AM. Reason : m]

2/20/2011 8:11:34 AM

just because the finish was spectactular doesnt mean it was a great race

when the front two packs were on pace to lap the entire field, it was pretty damn boring actually

2/20/2011 9:24:11 AM

Hard Tires, low downforce, no restrictor plates. I just fixed Daytona and Talledega. This race will be a snooze athon.

2/20/2011 10:32:07 AM

is there another race today?

2/20/2011 10:35:06 AM

Just a really expensive game of bumper cars

2/20/2011 10:44:18 AM

time for mikey to get his ass out of the car for good

thats two wrecks he caused in the first 50 laps

2/20/2011 2:13:16 PM

haha he wrecked his own car

2/20/2011 2:14:38 PM

15th caution

Should be an interesting finish

2/20/2011 5:15:26 PM

jr is a piece of shit

2/20/2011 5:22:33 PM

Buh Bye Jr.

2/20/2011 5:22:34 PM

aaaaaaaaand out goes little e


ummm, if he went too soon, then he didn't time it perfectly. dumbass

[Edited on February 20, 2011 at 5:23 PM. Reason : ]

2/20/2011 5:22:42 PM

So... Why did Robby start moving into the middle of the track when he's 40 MPH slower than everyone else?

2/20/2011 5:26:45 PM

i think a better question is why watch the first 3 hours of the race when all that really matters is the last 30 minutes. at least at a superspeedway

2/20/2011 5:27:47 PM

The ROOKIE takes it

2/20/2011 5:30:43 PM

Did Bayne really just win...????

2/20/2011 5:30:55 PM

nuts

2/20/2011 5:31:33 PM