NASCAR FANS - Pick Your Top 5 for Darlington

[2bemarried]

Congrats Fire 14!!

 

[NC Belle]

Congrats Fire 14! Just about all of my picks had trouble--its time for me to call my Dad for his advice for next week.

 

[Gette88]

Congrats Fire14

I enjoyed the race, it was definitely better then the last 2. DH was bummed about Gordon. I would of liked to of seen Bobby Labonte take it today but I like Johnson too and sorry Tori I agree that Busch has gotten alot better this year but my motto is still "Anyone but Busch". I was happy that Elliott Sadler did so good but he still dropped 2 spots in the points and Stewart didn't have a great day
Oh well, onto to BRISTOL
Tori, thanks for a job well done.

 

[Brer_Papa]

A job well done <b><u>AGAIN!</u></b>

 

[gdulaney]

Congrats Fire14!!

Ginny

 

[ValerieK]

Congrats Fire 14!

Well I didn't do as bad as I thought. I was watching the race and couldn't remember who all my picks were.

 

[Big Dude]

Congrats FIRE 14. Nice Picks. On a more personal note. There was no need for Smoke to punt Hillinburg into the Darlington wall. I'm a little pissed at him for that manuver and I'm not even a Gordon fan! Smoke just registered a few notches below where I thought he should be. He will be my pick to finish last on the next race!

Adam aka Big Dude

 

[momof2OH]

Congrats Fire14!!

 

[Gette88]

Originally posted by ValerieK


Well I didn't do as bad as I thought. I was watching the race and couldn't remember who all my picks were.

I almost always forget who I picked or where I picked them.

 

[ToriLammy]

Originally posted by Big Dude
On a more personal note. There was no need for Smoke to punt Hillinburg into the Darlington wall. I'm a little pissed at him for that manuver and I'm not even a Gordon fan! Smoke just registered a few notches below where I thought he should be. He will be my pick to finish last on the next race!

Adam aka Big Dude

I posted something about that on AOL last night cause folks there are angry with Tony too, more so about hitting Kasey Kahne twice. (A lot of Gordon Haters on AOL and they blame Gordon for the Hillenberg incident ) They saw no reason for that and are accussing Smoke of being too aggressive. I'm wondering if the new "Chase for the Championship" isn't affecting drivers a little early. Not just Tony either, Gordon appears to be making stupid, rookie-like mistakes (hitting walls during qualifying, missing a shift, etc). Same for Jr being a little more aggressive than normal, putting the bumper to Newman, drifting up into Tony, etc. Every time you see a list of drivers "expected" to be in the top 10 come race 26 there are 5 drivers - Stewart, Gordon, Jr, Newman and Kenseth. I'm thinking that the pressure of performing is affecting both the drivers and their teams. There is now so much emphasis on getting in the top 10 and staying there so they'll be in the chase. Tony is having the best start to a season he has ever had but the pressure to stay there has got to be hard. I'm just thinking that even if they won't acknowledge it, subconsiously they are feeling the pressure and it is affecting their driving.

Then again I could be completely off and Tony may have just be sending a signal to the field fillers to stay the heck out of his way and Gordon just got caught up in it Strange thing is right before that incident Gordon was complaining on his radio about the slow cars and that the 72 was too slow, in the way and basically a weapon. Guess he was watching the 72 instead of the 80. That still doesn't explain the Stewart/Kahne incident though.

All I really know is that I'm hoping Gordon can recover from this streak of bad luck (the walls, the shift, the accident etc.) and get his butt back in the top 10. He's sitting in 13th now so I figure 3 weeks but only if the bad luck goes away. But no pressure

 

[gdulaney]

We were listening to XM on the way to work this morning... it appears that J Gordon doesn't think Tony did anything wrong....and if Gordon isn't ticked at Tony, then I'm not sure anybody should be? Just my opinion...

Claire B also had an interview with Jim Hunter and he said that Tony came over (wasn't called over) to the Trailer. He wanted to let NASCAR know that he didn't intentionally hit Hillenburg to tell him to get out of the way. I'm not a professional driver, but it's got to be difficult to be doing 180 or so and come up on a driver doing 160 and try to move around the slower car...especially with the tracks being smaller. Oh well, that's just my opinion. I'm just glad that nobody was hurt!!!

On a related note...in an interview with Hillenburg he mentioned that when his team pitted they had to put old tires on because he couldn't afford new ones. Does anybody else think that if a driver can't bring the needed equipment to the race that maybe they should skip that race? I mean tires are a basic piece of equipment. I know that drivers who don't have sponsors have it tough, but shucks...could the old tires be one reason that Hillenburg couldn't maintain speed?

Off the soapbox and on to work. Hope everybody has a great Monday!!!

Ginny

ps... I hope Gordon has better luck next week!!! But not too much better luck. Sorry Tori...had to throw in the last part.

 

[WendyZ]

Congrats Fire 14!! Way to go!!

 

[ToriLammy]

Old tires? It was lap 27 for goodness sake. I can see having to use older tires later in the race but if he didn't have that many sets of tires maybe he should not be racing....

Now to get your blood really boiling, check this out from Jayski.com

Too Much Military at the Races? [not in my book]: NASCAR's pre-race shows are impressively and colorfully patriotic, with flags waving and race crews, including drivers, standing crisply at attention on pit road, and with glorious vocals and spectacular military flyovers. However, according to sources, some Nextel officials are uneasy with the image that might be seen by some as too staunchly militaristic and pro-war and might prefer a more middle-of-the-road approach to that and other sensitive political issues. And it is being suggested, according to these sources, that since Republican George Bush was invited to Daytona, a similar invitation should be extended to John Kerry, a Democratic presidential candidate, at another Nextel Cup race later this season.(Winston Salem Journal)(3-21-2004)

That (the italic part) really tees me off. I'm ready to email by NASCAR.com and Nextel and tell them where they can go. I would be very disappointed if they changed anything about NASCAR's relationship with the military.

 

[gdulaney]

Tori -

First of all...I agree with you...Nextel officials can't be gray about the patriotic thing. NASCAR and the Armed Forces have historically enjoyed a close relationship. Members of the Armed Forces (who protect our country!!!) have visited races, acted as "Honorary Starters" and even sponsor a race car. The military fan sites are among some of the most popular!!! If the commander-in-chief wants to visit the race, well, I've got no problem with that (other than it did slightly inconvenience those of us who were parked in the superstretch parking lots). If Kerry or anybody else wants to visit a race, why doesn't that person just ask..."duh, can I come to the race?" Wait a minute...I must calm down...this is a friendly NASCAR thread, not a debate thread. Anyway.........some folks really do need to get a life, 'cause they seem to way too much time to meddle with stuff.

Also, on the old tires thing. YEP!!! I was surprised that he was using old tires so early in the race. That was one of the reasons that I felt that maybe he was going so much slower that the other folks.

See ya later!
Ginny

 

[Lanshark]

Although I hated to see Gordon's day end so early I don't think that was Stewarts fault. I agree, Tori, the Kasey Kahne incident looked to be intentional. I heard someone say last week that each of these teams probably have 1 mulligan (bad race) allowed with this shortened season. Any more that that will make it difficult to make it into the top 10. Jeffs and Jr have both used theirs. Hopefully Jeff will refocus and rebound next week.

I agree that Gordon is making a lot of mental errors. I don't know if he has lost focus or it's just taking some time to get everything moving in the right direction this year. I sometimes wonder about Robby Lumis also. They seem to miss the race setup more frequently than the 48 car. Jeff seems to have a lot of confidence in him though.

I'm always glad to see Johnson win but, besides Gordon, Bobby Labonte is probably my favorite driver. He had a great race yesterday.

I think NASCAR will have to address the "filler" cars. If they can't stay at speed and don't have the equipment (tires) to run a safe race I don't think they should be racing. Just my opinion.

 

[ToriLammy]

Originally posted by gdulaney
Tori -

If Kerry or anybody else wants to visit a race, why doesn't that person just ask..."duh, can I come to the race?" Wait a minute...I must calm down...this is a friendly NASCAR thread, not a debate thread. Anyway.........some folks really do need to get a life, 'cause they seem to way too much time to meddle with stuff.

I've got no problem with NASCAR/NEXTEL inviting Kerry. Someone in Kerry's camp or in the Democratic party probably complained that it is an election year and the rules are "equal-time" for candidates. I've heard rumors of when Bill Clinton went to a NASCAR race and was booed so if Kerry wants to subject himself to that, well, more power to him I just object to the idea that military displays or fly overs are pro-war. You can support the military and be anti-war (heck Kerry says he does). It just really bothers me when some idiot says that supporting military is some kind of political action and needs to be lessened. The Military, it's people should not be used by politicians. It is one of the few things the Government provides that actually is in the Constitution! NEXTEL should be proud that the military still wants to continue it's relationship with NASCAR despite the change in sponsorship

The military actually sponsors a lot of vehicles - three in cup alone - the 21 (AF), the 01 (Army) and the 16 (National Guard). In the Busch series there is the Marine car (Bobby Hamilton Jr's car) and in the truck you've got another AF and a NAVY sponsorship. I even think the Coast Guard sponsors a vehicle. That's a lot of vehicles and a lot of recruiting dollars.

 

[gdulaney]

Tori -
I had "cars" in there first, but then I couldn't remember...haven't had my morning cola (Coke, never Pepsi) yet.

Ginny

 

[xABearx]

Here's Kasey's version of what he thought happened with him and Tony:

"The second spin was the result of a tap from Tony Stewart with nine laps to go.

"I kind of pinched him a little bit," Kahne said. "Everybody checked up off Turn 2, and I didn't see him, but he was on the outside of me. I pinched him a little bit, and he lifted and let me in, and then spun me when we got to the corner. I think I made him mad when I pinched him."

 

[vald1977]

Congrats Fire 14 !

We had not one but two birthday parties to go to this Sunday so I missed most of the race. Why can't people learn not to plan things on Sunday afternoons ? I missed the action on lap 27 and also missed Tony Stewart and Kahne as well. Came home right after that, actually.

I think I've said it before, but I like Kurt Busch. I know he can be mouthy and he's done some STUPID things out on the track but I think he's a good racer so I was happy to see him do well. I was also happy to see Jr. make it into the top 10 at the end. From what I hear, he had a lot of problems during the race.

You can support the military and be anti-war (heck Kerry says he does). It just really bothers me when some idiot says that supporting military is some kind of political action and needs to be lessened.

ITA .

 

[gdulaney]

Valerie,

Trust me....anybody who knows us, knows not to plan anything on Sunday (or Saturday night if it's a night race). Well, I take that back...they can plan, but they need to have a TV nearby.

Ginny