Nascar 2012

[shrineclown]

Originally Posted by Pantah

As far as being a prissy pants, I don't think that kid is afraid of anything, let alone, getting punched in the nose.

Not so sure about Kurt, but Kyle would be glad to spar at just about anything I think. He might get his butt kicked, but he is like a beagle. Heart bigger than his body.

Kurt, I can hardly blame him for not taking on Spencer. I can remember Jimmy squeezing into his mod (which I don't think he could do anymore.) Even back then in his youth it looked like 2 tons in a one ton sock. (It was an awesome spectacle when he Geoff showed up for a race. They had no problems helping each other out. ) He is a pretty sizeable guy and did not earn the moniker "Junkyard Dog" by proxy. Heck, I bet his biceps are as big as Kurt's leg. The only other altercation I can recall him having was with Tony, but it was in the trailer and second hand accounts. I would concur he is not as driven as the younger brother.

An aside, Kurt is not all that bad a guy in person. He came over and signed our Red Sox tickets when he was still at Roush after the little guy kept calling, errr yelling, his name. He finally turned to him and gave him a "just a minute" signal. As soon as he finished the ceremony he came right over and could not have been nicer to him. Must have spent two very pleasant minutes with him. Doesn't seem like much, but with their schedules that is pretty gracious. The boy thought it was the best meeting him. Even though he is a Tony Stewart supporter, which I was glad at 5 that he did not share at the moment.

I still maintain they are good for the sport because they do piss you off MC. That is entertainment. Emotion, it is what keeps em coming back.

[street tracker]

Originally Posted by Motorcyclist

I heartily agree about having a villan, and Dale Sr. was always my guy. But I want villans in the guise of Dirk Dastardly, guys like Pearson, C. Yarborough, B. Allison, B. Baker, Earnhardt and others. Guys who were legitimately tough, and didn't try to softshoe it. Maybe that person can't exist in the new NASCAR, but the Bushes strike me as Polly Prissypants masquerading as a tough guy. I don't buy that they would stand their ground for a minute. If it came to fight or flight.........well let's just say I don't think they have the fight reflex.

Even today, my money would still be on Cale in a bar fight. He was one tough little sumbitch (and I mean little... he's like 5'3")

[larryboy]

Originally Posted by Pantah

When Jeff Gordon first came up, he was a lot like that too. It was almost like his inverted starts as a teenybopper in his midgets. You knew when he was coming to the front, be it a road course or oval. He sort of went soft on us, but he got his share, so who can blame him.

I think Jeff had kids and that freak crash where his car somehow got into the only gap in the inside wall really threw him off his game. What track was that? It was out here, Fontana or Vegas? I forget. It was nasty and at the time Jeff said he wouldn't be driving a car there again if they didn't fix the track.

I think the crash that Jimmy had this year really threw him off his game too. The soft wall safer car generation haven't ever really had bad crashes and I think it scares the hell out of them when they do.


Did you guys see pics of Robby Gordons trophy truck that he rolled at 130 mph in this years Baja 1k? I wish that guy could land a better deal in Nascar as I think he's the only real badass in the field. I mean who else in Nascar has thrown themselves out of a moving Indy car while on fire, done the funky chicken in the grass putting out the human fire, then climbed back in the same car and tried to get the safety crew to bump start him?

[Pantah]

Originally Posted by larryboy

Did you guys see pics of Robby Gordons trophy truck that he rolled at 130 mph in this years Baja 1k? I wish that guy could land a better deal in Nascar as I think he's the only real badass in the field. I mean who else in Nascar has thrown themselves out of a moving Indy car while on fire, done the funky chicken in the grass putting out the human fire, then climbed back in the same car and tried to get the safety crew to bump start him?

Yeah I saw the clips. That guy is too lucky to still be alive. He's badass for sure, but he's always missing that half second/lap. He might have been a force, if he was a little less badass.

You can see the best of him at Sears Point. If he's got a 10th place car, he's going to take it to the front and there won't be any fenders left when he gets there.

[Motorcyclist]

Originally Posted by larryboy

I think Jeff had kids and that freak crash where his car somehow got into the only gap in the inside wall really threw him off his game. What track was that? It was out here, Fontana or Vegas? I forget. It was nasty and at the time Jeff said he wouldn't be driving a car there again if they didn't fix the track.?

I think the crash that Jimmy had this year really threw him off his game too. The soft wall safer car generation haven't ever really had bad crashes and I think it scares the hell out of them when they do.?

I think you have something there. That seems to be the measure of a driver, how they come back after a hard hit. I've heard the old timers say, "that so and so is a good young driver, but let's see what happens after he gets in a bad wreck." The wreck Gordon had was extremely violent, and the Johnson one was eerily reminiscent of Dale, Sr. It is a credit to the cars design, track improvements and their intestinal fortitude that they climb back in, but it does tend to take the starch out of some drivers.

Originally Posted by larryboy

Did you guys see pics of Robby Gordons trophy truck that he rolled at 130 mph in this years Baja 1k? I wish that guy could land a better deal in Nascar as I think he's the only real badass in the field. I mean who else in Nascar has thrown themselves out of a moving Indy car while on fire, done the funky chicken in the grass putting out the human fire, then climbed back in the same car and tried to get the safety crew to bump start him?

Gordon has been in good equipment before. He spent a few years at RCR, but didn't do much with the opportunity. He can drive anything, but it seems that he suffers from the desire to drive everything all the time. He doesn't seem to concentrate on one series and maybe loses focus?

[Motorcyclist]

Originally Posted by shrineclown

I still maintain they are good for the sport because they do piss you off MC. That is entertainment. Emotion, it is what keeps em coming back.

They are good for the sport in that regard.

The nice thing is we've all had a pleasant conversation without a bunch of BS being tossed around. The first guy who comes in here and references flushing skittles, I'm gonna go kick his bike over and then play tonsil hockey with his gf/wife.

[larryboy]

Originally Posted by Motorcyclist

Gordon has been in good equipment before. He spent a few years at RCR, but didn't do much with the opportunity. He can drive anything, but it seems that he suffers from the desire to drive everything all the time. He doesn't seem to concentrate on one series and maybe loses focus?

I hear that comment about RCR a lot and wonder if they really do have good equipment or just lucked into the best stock car driver of all time that probably could have driven any car in the field to the exact same wins?

How many championships in cup for RCR since Earnhardt died? I mean, their last cup championship was in what? 1994? Not a good track record.


Not being a smart ass and we ARE having a good run of stock car discussion here for a change.

[Pantah]

Originally Posted by larryboy

I hear that comment about RCR a lot and wonder if they really do have good equipment or just lucked into the best stock car driver of all time that probably could have driven any car in the field to the exact same wins?

How many championships in cup for RCR since Earnhardt died? I mean, their last cup championship was in what? 1994? Not a good track record.


Not being a smart ass and we ARE having a good run of stock car discussion here for a change.

No question, the quality of the RCR garage has been suspect for a long time. RCR seems to be running closer to empty than full. It's a good theing they have Menards...

On the other hand, how many top tier team garages are there? Three? Two? Maybe one more if Stewart can get a little bigger. Hard to imagine that with the sponsor rotation he does, though.

[BC61]

Originally Posted by Pantah

Maybe one more if Stewart can get a little bigger.

Stewart-Hass is basically a Hendrick team. They get thier cars, engines and tons of technical support from Hendrick. Funny situation at Hendrick right now with chassis development and Stewart's team. The Hendrick team cars were running a "new and improved" chassis this season which none of the teams truly got figured out. Stewart was running last years Hendrick chassis that Johnson won the past five championships with. Hendrick teams are now considering going back to the "old chassis".

[shrineclown]

Harvick has been real close, last year and one other IIRC. Bowyer was right there at least once too. This year not so good. With the exception of Burton, they have been regulars in the chase. As has been seen, that is quite an accomplishment in its' own right. I think, the bigger issue may be, Chevy and RCR used to be like one mind. With the emergence of HMS, with Jeff Gordon, I think that some of the race tipping information may be hitting that shop as least as often or more often than RCR. It takes a fair amount of ingenuity to make that kind of power with the aspiration and exhaust setups they are required to use, and get better on top of that.

Richard is doing ok, and DE was probably a once in our lifetime type of character. Even if another came along, like say Kyle Busch, who can wheel a car every bit as good and maybe better is considered a pretender. (he lacks the character of DE, but if he had that package, he would still be a pretender.) RCR's grandson is on the way, he has a burn that may be quite interesting when he arrives. The competition is a lot more competitive today. DE had to worry about 2 or 3 guys. Now you have 3 or 4 teams of up to 4 cars that are a legitimate threat. Jimmy Johnson may well set all championship records before he is done if he and Chad stay together. If so, that will be the most remarkable feat ever IMO. Richards 200 is safe from him, and I don't consider Kyle amassing 200 wins in three classes the same thing.

[RedRocket]

Originally Posted by Motorcyclist

Gordon has been in good equipment before. He spent a few years at RCR, but didn't do much with the opportunity. He can drive anything, but it seems that he suffers from the desire to drive everything all the time. He doesn't seem to concentrate on one series and maybe loses focus?

Even though he drives the Baja 1000 I wonder if he has the sort of concentration required for 500 miles of tight traffic.
He's also a 'loose ' driver, and the line between in and out of control in Sprint Cup is very thin.

[Pantah]

Originally Posted by shrineclown

Harvick has been real close, last year and one other IIRC. Bowyer was right there at least once too. This year not so good. With the exception of Burton, they have been regulars in the chase. As has been seen, that is quite an accomplishment in its' own right. I think, the bigger issue may be, Chevy and RCR used to be like one mind. With the emergence of HMS, with Jeff Gordon, I think that some of the race tipping information may be hitting that shop as least as often or more often than RCR. It takes a fair amount of ingenuity to make that kind of power with the aspiration and exhaust setups they are required to use, and get better on top of that.

Richard is doing ok, and DE was probably a once in our lifetime type of character. Even if another came along, like say Kyle Busch, who can wheel a car every bit as good and maybe better is considered a pretender. (he lacks the character of DE, but if he had that package, he would still be a pretender.) RCR's grandson is on the way, he has a burn that may be quite interesting when he arrives. The competition is a lot more competitive today. DE had to worry about 2 or 3 guys. Now you have 3 or 4 teams of up to 4 cars that are a legitimate threat. Jimmy Johnson may well set all championship records before he is done if he and Chad stay together. If so, that will be the most remarkable feat ever IMO. Richards 200 is safe from him, and I don't consider Kyle amassing 200 wins in three classes the same thing.

That was a good reminder of the changes going on. I forgot about Childress' Grandson. Seems like his rise has energized Richard. Should be fun to watch it unfold.

[Motorcyclist]

Originally Posted by shrineclown

Harvick has been real close, last year and one other IIRC. Bowyer was right there at least once too. This year not so good. With the exception of Burton, they have been regulars in the chase. As has been seen, that is quite an accomplishment in its' own right. I think, the bigger issue may be, Chevy and RCR used to be like one mind. With the emergence of HMS, with Jeff Gordon, I think that some of the race tipping information may be hitting that shop as least as often or more often than RCR. It takes a fair amount of ingenuity to make that kind of power with the aspiration and exhaust setups they are required to use, and get better on top of that.

Richard is doing ok, and DE was probably a once in our lifetime type of character. Even if another came along, like say Kyle Busch, who can wheel a car every bit as good and maybe better is considered a pretender. (he lacks the character of DE, but if he had that package, he would still be a pretender.) RCR's grandson is on the way, he has a burn that may be quite interesting when he arrives. The competition is a lot more competitive today. DE had to worry about 2 or 3 guys. Now you have 3 or 4 teams of up to 4 cars that are a legitimate threat. Jimmy Johnson may well set all championship records before he is done if he and Chad stay together. If so, that will be the most remarkable feat ever IMO. Richards 200 is safe from him, and I don't consider Kyle amassing 200 wins in three classes the same thing.

Good points. RCR was in a funk from probably '96 to '99. Dale didn't win much, and the cars were definitely not competitive. They seem to have pulled out of it in 2000, and 2001 was going to be a very promising year.

I recall Childress saying that he very nearly closed up shop after Earnhardt's death. And who could blame him? I'm pretty sure he had enough money to live an extremely comfortable retirement, and I think the spark was gone for a few years after that tragedy. Many teams seem to suffer that ebb and flow, with the exception of Hendrick. Even with the loos of all those key people in the plane crash, they still stayed competitive. That is truly remarkable.

I was at Childress' shop/museum in late October, and they have a state of the art facility. It looks like he is committed to going forward, and he has two grandson's who have skills (one was the truck champ, and the other was the ARCA champ this year). I'm guessing that is his reason for keeping things going and remaining competitive. His, like Earnhardt's, is a real rags to riches story, and he is one of the few remaining links to the "old NASCAR" tradition. He gets a lot of respect from me.

PS - plus he manhandled Kyle Busch, so that put him off the chart on my respect-o-meter.

[larryboy]

Didn't know that Stewart was running last years Hendrick chassis...that's a little embarrassing.

I had forgotten about Richard getting Kyle in a headlock.

Maybe they should fire Burton and hire Kurt. I mean Burton did lose a shoving match with Jeff Gordon.

[Pantah]

Originally Posted by larryboy

Didn't know that Stewart was running last years Hendrick chassis...that's a little embarrassing.

I had forgotten about Richard getting Kyle in a headlock.

Maybe they should fire Burton and hire Kurt. I mean Burton did lose a shoving match with Jeff Gordon.

...You guys are tough!!!