2013 NASCAR Rants

So how am I feeling about this years NASCAR season? 

What are my views on the recent controversies?

Strap in, hold on, and here we go...

First lets get the big one out of the way... The idea of anyone manipulating the results of a NASCAR race, other than the odd caution for debris, is appalling. It's probably a good thing my surname is not France as I would have banned all parties involved in the nasty MWR incident, crew chiefs, drivers the lot, for life! NASCAR is about racing plain and simple. F1 may dabble in the team orders debate from time to time but in NASCAR... never... not even debatable... To paraphrase an old Blackadder line, if there's anything bigger than NASCARs ego around here I want it caught and shot now! Spinning on purpose to bring out a yellow and help a team mate... get out and don't come back! Am I surprised their sponsor left them, no not remotely.

Moving on...

JPM out... not surprising but a shame nevertheless.  JPM back to Indycar sounds like a good move. JPM to Penske, wow, that will be fun!

Should Dillon run the 3 in the Cup Series? I can see both sides, but yes I think he should. If NASCAR were going to retire the number for good then why have we had drivers not only running "that" number but also "that" font ever since that tragic day, albeit not in the Cup Series. 3 is Dillons number now, let the kid run it and move NASCAR forward.

Have the new cars really worked? They have cetainly brought the sport back to the manufacturers as the cars now look like the same as those in the showroom., but is the racing better? Erm not sure. They can race closer together now but until the rule makers slow the cars down the racing will never be as good as it could be.

SHR moves to 4  cars!? Pardon... lets face it the move to 3 cars hasn't been a huge success.  I fear the politics behind signing Kurt could overshadow the more important stuff. Don't get me wrong, I hope SHR bounce back next year. Stewart, Harvick, and Kurt is one hell of a lineup, oh and Danica. To be fair she is still a rookie so lets give her time.. not a lot... but a bit...

Trucks on dirt... two words... huge success! Should they do it again... two more words... you bet! The slippin', the slidin', the beatin', the bangin'. Easily my highlight of the year so far!

Speaking of the Trucks, I like the look of next years Toyota Tundra. Looks more like the early Craftsman Trucks, squarer, more "stock". Looking forward to the 2014 Ford and Chevy trucks!

Nationwide Series? Too many races won by Cup regulars. I am glad NASCARs rules now mean  the Championship will won by a Nationwide driver, not a Cup regular, but I still believe more should be done to stop the Cup drivers dominating the feeder Series races. Hornish vs. Dillon sounds good, I hope Hornish gets it!

The 2013 Cup Series looks like it will come down to Johnson vs. Kenseth. Personally I would love Harvick to get it.

2014? I hope NASCAR, sooner or later, makes some changes to the schedule. As always less mile-and-a-half tracks, more short tracks. The Chase should include a, third, road course, finish at a short track, and I still say a lot of races should be shorter. 

The sport of NASCAR is in a good place, a few tweaks and it could be in a great place.

Dodge, Road Racing BS, and AJ

Get the Hell Outta Dodge… Actually… Please Don’t

I am saddened by the news that Dodge is pulling out of NASCAR racing at the end of this season. Ever since Ray Evernham brought the third of Detroit’s big three manufacturers back into the sport I have enjoyed watching the Chevy Vs. Ford Vs. Dodge battles.

As a Mopar fan I may be biased, I drive a Chrysler PTCuiser and also have a Chrysler Voyager (Dodge Caravan in the US) in the family, but the 2012 Nationwide Series Challenger and the 2013 Cup Series Charger are two good looking race cars! The new 2013 Cup Series bodies suited the Charger so well, allowing Dodge to finally race a car that looked like the bold road car. Next years grid will be worse off without the Dodge in the field.

 

AJ – What a Waste

 

I was also saddened to hear what has happened to AJ Allmendinger. I think he was one of the next “stars” of the sport, and was impressed by his performances in some average machinery over the past few years. Remember he qualified for every race while driving for Richard Petty, at a time when the team had no provisionals to fall back on! Regardless of whether what happened was an innocent mistake or something else I am sorry to see such a talented young driver jeopardise his racing career in this way. NASCAR are right to do what they have done, I just hope AJ can sort himself out and do what is necessary to get behind the wheel of a Cup car again.

Road Racing… With An Edge

I am from England, where the average racetrack turns left and right, and an oval is a small, less than quarter mile long short track (Rockingham excepted), and the racing on the ovals is not exactly mainstream. NASCAR however does not race in England. In America a race track is oval shaped and a road course is a track with right hand turns.  

Twice a year, however, NASCAR turn right and at Watkins Glen we got one hell of a finish! Should NSCAR have thrown a caution and cleaned up the oil that was being dropped on the track? The English race fan in me says yes. The oil was dangerous and NASCAR should have put out the yellow, cleaned up the track and then finished with a G-W-C. Had this scenario taken place on an oval, this is what would have happened. Thankfully this did not happen last weekend.

NASCAR let the race finish under green and in doing so gave us one of the seasons most dramatic finishes. Road racing with an edge. Car slipping and sliding, slithering and spinning, on track and off, dust flying, and a last lap lead change. What’s not to like!

Close, hard racing without the “BS” as Keselowski put it!

Well said Brad, and well done Marcos!

 

Plato Vs. Neal… Again…

 

At Watkins Glen we saw racing with no, well you know, from Keselowski and Ambrose, in the BTCC, at Snetterton, we got our fair share of, you know, from Jason Plato and Matt Neal.

Jason Plato in his MG6 was obviously holding up the following cars, including Matt Neals Honda Civic, but he was also teaching a defensive driving master class, until Neal changed the game.

With a couple of laps to go Neal went for a “gap” that was never there and pushed Plato sideways. Plato, giving another master class, this time in front wheel drive car control, gathered it all up and followed Neal to the next, the last, corner. Nobody was surprised by what happened next. Plato used Neal as a brake and shoved the both the Civic and his own MG off the track.

 

 

I must admit I did not blame Plato for retaliating. Neal’s move was stupid and uncalled for; Plato’s was payback! NASCAR would have called it “have at it” and America would have loved it! The BTCC officials may not have loved it, but they did leave it alone. They both gave and they both got, so that makes them even.

On a different note, I was pleased to see the new Motorbase NGTC Ford Focus driven by Matt Jackson doing so well on its debut! Bring on more NGTC cars and the racing can only get better. The challenge for Alan Gow and his staff is to keep the technical specs of the cars close, and to keep costs down! I wish them well!

R.E.S.P.E.C.T... Find out what it means to me...

If there is one thing Tony Stewart, “Smoke”, does not do... it’s blow smoke...

You always know where you stand with Stewart.

You may not like where you stand, you may not agree with where you stand... but you always know.

I like that!

To be successful in NASCAR you need respect, and you need to be respected.

You need to respect your car, and the track. You need to respect other drivers space on track.

I have said this before and I will say this again, I love NASCAR road racing.

Watching the heavy overpowered, under tyred, under braked stock cars racing on the undulating kerbs of Sonoma is one of the highlights of my NASCAR year (next to the Daytona 500 and Bristol and this and that). Maybe it’s because I live on this side of the pond and over here we live on road racing, maybe it’s watching the Cup drivers put on a better road racing show than most of Europe can manage, whatever it is, it makes me smile.

By European standards a NASCAR road race is just not cricket. Do what Vickers or Stewart did over here and the MSA would take away your race licence and never give it back. Most European road racing is delicate, open wheelers that dare not go close to each other let alone touch or touring cars trying to do what the Cup guys do at Sonoma but in cars that are just not right. It’s like comparing American wrestling to Europe’s best ballet dancers. Delicate, I think not. Fun, you betcha!

The issue of blocking is one that is blighting some European racing. I have always liked that NASCAR have maintained oval grooves, spotters and the oval etiquette at the two road courses. The idea that there is more than one racing line, and just because you are on the inside for the first corner does not necessarily mean you are on the inside for the second is a principle that F1 is learning and the BTCC should relearn! With 18 laps to go, Kasey Kahne and Carl Edwards showed us how it’s done!

Am I the only one who thinks it a bit odd that the track that creates the best old fashioned bump-‘n-run racing is... not Martinsville or Bristol but... a road course?

Talk about one extreme to the other, Sonoma last weekend, and Daytona under the lights this!

So from one of the tightest, hardest hitting tracks on the calendar to a restrictor plate track where success relies on working with others...

Dance partners anyone?

NASCAR Sprint Cup Turns Right

One of my favourite NASCAR road racing moments, the closing laps of the 1995 Save Mart 300 from Sears Point, as it was then.

I still miss the original version of the track.



Enjoy todays race!

Coming Soon - NASCAR 2011!!

The 2011 NASCAR season starts this weekend with the Shootout!!

So what are my hopes for the new season?

Let's start at the end with a close points race resulting in a new Sprint Cup Champion! Not that I have anything against Jimmie Johnson, I would just like somebody else to end the year on top. A good points battle would create interest in the Chase, and a new champ would create lots of "Can JJ Regain His Crown?" articles for the following year!

A one-on-one battle from the white flag to end the Daytona 500! With the new surface, and the better looking cars, THE 500 should be a cracker! The last few years has shown that these cars draft better than NASCAR has seen in a long time and a one-on-one slingshot for the win is exactly what NASCAR needs to start the year!

"Boys have at it"... again! Give the drivers the space to race, again! Give the drivers room to express themselves, to get annoyed and do something about it, again! Keep the reigns loose and let the personalities breathe some more, again!

The 88 mans up and starts competing! Junior Nation may hope this is the year Dale wins races and the Championship, but for me just having him look competitive week in, week out, is good enough. If Dale could finally show that he deserves to be there I reckon a lot of fans would go along for the ride with him! Put in that postition he may win, he may not, but to have a shot at winning you have to be competitive in the first place!

RCR keeps its momentum! Childress lead the points last year with Kevin Harvick until the Chase kicked in and were in the hunt to the end, but could not quiet deliver the Championship. I hope they start this year as they ended the last! NASCAR needs a team other than the Hendrick 48 team in the headlines. 

Kyle, stop talking, start driving! I don't want to hear anything from Kyle Busch this year. I want his driving, his performance on track, his wins, to do the talking. I am not much of a Rowdy fan, but the sport would be much better off if he just "shut up and drive!" We all know he can pedal, we all know he can be controversial, don't change anything Kyle, just deliver, on track, this year!

Ford back in the game. Two years ago the Ford of Carl Edwards was winning races. Last year, nothing. This year NASCAR needs a FORD back in the game! NASCAR has always been about Ford vs. Chevy. Recently Dodge and Toyota have joined in but the basis should always be the Blue Oval against the Bowtie!

Richard Petty and the 43 become relevant again, Stewart Haas raises its game and becomes competitive all year and not just late on, Jeff Gordon breaks his winless streak, JPM finally wins an oval race preferably Brickyard, Ambrose finally wins the Nationwide road race that keeps escaping him...

As long as the racing's good, I'm happy!!

 NOT LONG TO WAIT NOW!!

I Love NASCAR Road Racing... part 3...

The Canadian Grand Prix is usually one of the more entertaining GP's as the track always seems to create drama, and good "racing", so it should come as no surprise that a NASCAR race at the same track was full of drama too!

An off week for the Cup Series put the Nationwide Series in the limelight with the road racing specialists having their moment of fame. Names like, Marcos Ambrose, and Robby Gordon, both ex-road course racers and now Cup regulars were joined by other road course ringers with names like Max Papis, Boris Said, and even a Mr Jacques Villeneuve, racing at the Montreal track named after his father.

Not all of the road course "ringers" fared well, with Robby Gordon running out of fuel late on and Ambrose having car problems far too early on, but Said, Papis and Villeneuve were the top three at the flag... and what a run to the flag it was!!

Papis overtakes Said into the last corner on the last lap, runs a bit wide, Said hits the second kerb hard, holds the car tight, gets a run on Papis, and beats him to the line... by 0.012 seconds! Great move!! (http://www.thehotlap.com/2010/08/29/video-what-a-finish/)

I am already looking forward to next years race, as it should be more of the same, but with good looking cars!

 

Other GP circuits that would make for a good NASCAR road race venue?? How about Spa, great piece of tarmac crying out for some decent cars to race on it, would be fun in the rain too!!

For the third time this year, I love NASCAR road racing!!

I Love NASCAR Road Racing... part 2!!

Watkins Glen is home to the second and last NASCAR Sprint Cup road course race of the year and the fast, flowing former Grand Prix circuit is as far away from the large hills and kerbs of Sonoma, as upstate New York is from upstate California.

I am always surprised by how good Cup cars look at Watkins Glen. They look at home on the fast esses, and race well through the inner loop, and over the left / right section ending the lap. The first corner at the Glen is an action point too, with the downhill entry and camber causing havoc.

Its also interesting to see how the oval racing etiquette transfers to a road course. The last two corners are a great example of this, with loads of room for 2 wide racing, and the cross-over overtaking method. The first corner on the other hand can be quite tight if the cars are 2 wide, with the car on the inside having to move over to give the outside car room before they run into the armco, approaching the esses. Unless your name is Boris Said.

To be fair to Said, he obviously didn't mean to run Smoke into the wall, he just assumed that the 14 had slotted in behind him. There was one slight problem with this idea; this is a NASCAR race and in NASCAR if you are an inch alongside then you are given the room to race. Said thought like a road racer, and in road racing the idea of giving another driver room to race is alien. As is listening to a spotter, who in Saids case was telling him that Stewart was still alongside him.

Other drivers caused problems by trying to go round the last corner 3 wide, resulting in JJ spinning, and Hamlin having nowhere to go but into the 48.

So it was left to JPM, and Marcos Ambrose to show us how to drive a stock car through right and left turns, and what a display it was. Montoya dominated the race and was able to pull out a gap on most restarts and keep it. Ambrose had a tougher day, battling with JPM for a while, and with Kurt Busch at the end.

Other road course "experts", like Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon did not have as good a day as the 42, with both struggling. The Busch brothers both showed promise, with Kurt grabbing second from Ambrose late on, and Kyle working his way up from the back to a top 10 finish.

I have said this before but... I love that the Sprint Cup has two road course races, no more, no less.

Should one be in the Chase?? I think so!!

So now its on to Michigan as the season gets closer to the Chase. I hope the Ganassi drivers can keep the momentum up and I hope Harvick can hold on to the top spot.

Will Johnson get his drive for 5 back on track?? Will Jeff Gordon end his winless streak?? Will the 88 ever look like it deserves to be in the show?? Will Stewart get his summer form back on track??

Whatever happens... it will be fun to watch!!

I Love NASCAR Road Racing!!

I love Sonoma!!

I love the roller coaster ride of uphill climbs, downhill runs, camber changes, big kerbs, sweeping turns, tight hairpins, did I mention big kerbs...

I love that the cars have loads of power and not a lot of tire. I love that they are big heavy cars with (by European standards) only average brakes... and I love that they have 3 pedals, and H-pattern boxes!! I love that they roll a bit, jump over big kerbs, lock up, get loose, push, and are a handful.

I love that NASCAR road racing tends to be a bit physical. I also love that NASCAR road racing follows oval etiquette in that the drivers tend to keep to a groove allowing another other driver to use the other groove, if they are 2 wide... at times... if they feel like it... if its early in a race... unless their names are Montoya or Jeff Gordon or... Jeff Gordon or...

I love that NASCAR has 2 road courses each year. I love that one is the undulating bump and grind roller coaster of Sonoma in California, while the other is the fast, flowing track of Watkins Glen in upstate New York.

I love that Sonoma has been developed with oval style site lines for fans, with its large grandstands surrounding the snake-like tarmac. I love the contrast between this and the more European style setting of Watkins Glen.

I love that each year the road race "ringers" are roped in to show the oval regulars how to turn right. I love that each year they fail. I love that the oval regulars have learnt how to turn right and now look good at it.

I love that the Sprint Cup has two road course races, no more, no less. 

Should one be in the Chase?? I think so!!