Exactly, actually he could have pulled it off with one win ..... He just had to finish today ahead of the other 3.
I caught the last 40 laps and decided to stick with it to the end. Interesting to see how much the cars were sliding around pretty much all over the place. Race to the end was interesting, the way Truex was catching and passing guys near the end had me convinced he'd walk away with it but obviously his tires went off and Logano overtook him easily. Said it earlier in the year and restating it now, the color schemes on the cars really look great. The cars are colorful and bright for the TV cameras obviously but have to say they really looked great under the lights tonight. BHW
I really wish Newman had won the championship under this (or roughly similar) format with zero wins when he had the chance a few years ago; that would have put an end to this nonsense.
If NASCAR kept to a regular championship format forgoing this "Chase" stuff, who would have been champion on points, Truex? BHW
With all that can happen in a Cup race, it's rather remarkable that coming down to the finish, the four championship contenders occupied the first four places. And now, all four have won championships. I hear Logano is the 33rd driver to have won NASCAR's top series, and it is Roger Penske's 33rd series championship. Numerologists may have fun with that.
Didn't you notice that Keselowski bumped Suarez who then spun and cause the yellow? When Logano came out of the pits all of a sudden he was way faster than Turex and Harvick. And who is Keselowski's team mate? Logana drove the wheels off the 22, but it makes you wonder. If it hadn't been for that yellow I think Truex would be champ.
well...another season over and I managed to watch not even one race. I wonder how many other fans of the Winston cup and nascar...when it was still nascar...have similarly lost all interest? my home on the east coast is in Cornelius/lake norman. I see joey often at the harris teeter. I will give him an atta boy and let him know I was glued to the tube this season
Likewise, the Homestead event Saturday and Sunday was the first time I've watched NASCAR for any length of time in I don't know how long, several years. Usually, its at the end of the races where they goof things up with all the "Green-White-Checker" nonsense and was waiting for this to happen again and thankfully didn't. If NASCAR would keep their mitts off the racing action, stop with all the manufactured drama nonsense, put cars on the track that are relevant to their road-going counterparts, they'd likely see more people returning to the fold. But, in a state of the series article, the new NASCAR president more or less doubled down on the nonsense factor and so their ratings and and attendance figures will continue to drop. That said, the grandstands at Homestead looked pretty full Sunday. Of course, that's a Ford sponsored race and who know how many of those tickets were comp'd by local Ford dealers and they were advertising heavily in Miami (TV, billboard, radio, etc.) right up until Friday. My guess is, a good number of those there were on free tickets. BHW
you're a car guy/racing fan in the heart of NASCAR country and can't be bothered to watch. that's pretty telling.
My uncle is in North-Central Illinois, within driving distance to Iowa, Chicagoland, Indianapolis and regularly ventured to Talledega and Daytona to see NASCAR races. In other words, a loyal NASCAR fan who'd think nothing of dropping a couple thousand bucks on a race weekend, watch some racing and do some business. Last time I spoke with him back in the summer, he told me that he doesn't even follow NASCAR anymore due to all the crazy rules and nonsense. These are the kinds of guys NASCAR may ill afford to lose in this mad dash to find new fans, they're ignoring the guys who got them where they are today. Pity. BHW
Ouch indeed. A lot of the ratings decline has to be put at the feet of the host broadcast networks which continue to employ these motor mouth jack-ass commentators whom are obviously told to fill every available second with endless blather. As a viewer, if you're watching the two hour pre-race hype with eleven teen hundred commentators, the during in-race with three guys in the booth and half a dozen patrolling the pit lane, it's exhausting to listen to. The whole thing needs to go back to a square one rethink. There's an old marketing adage which applies here, if the product is weak overhype. If the broadcast networks cut the pre-race to 10 or 15 minutes, setting the scene, who's on pole, about the track, then green flag, it would be a whole lot easier to swallow. Not sure if anyone noticed it but at Homestead the sound of the cars on track was drowning out the commentators so it was almost palatable, not sure is this was intentional but it made it a bit more enjoyable to watch. Haven't seen any comments yet from NASCAR officialdom addressing the ratings decline, all we ever see is how rosy everything is. They have to figure the retirement of Jr. Jr. Jr. plays a big role in some of it. BHW
I stopped watching when this playoff/chase started. Apparently Gordon would have 3 more titles if the old points systems was in place rather than the chase. I know strategies would have been different so maybe not, but whatever.
Are there any sports that are actually up? It seems like sports as a whole tend to be declining...maybe they should all start getting participation trophies to bring the new millennials in. Yeah, big picture maybe but I would be disgusted if that idiot was handed a championship.
This, I was never a die hard fan but I've been to dozen races over the year. I have a better chance explaining how a cricket match works than how a NASCAR race is regulated.
The concerning thing is, NASCAR has implemented a lot of these arcane rules changes and format restructuring as a result of fans suggestions. Fans suggest this or that and NASCAR actually considers them which is likely how they ended up "Green-White-Checker" and this "Chase" thing. So, NASCAR gives their fans what they want and the fans respond by leaving the sport by the droves. With this in mind, Liberty is doing much the same thing now with F-1. They're actually considering restructuring F-1 qualifying format, expanding to four sessions rather than three per the suggestion of fans. Liberty better wake up and see that NASCAR went down this path and have painted themselves into a corner with all the nonsense. BHW
NBA, maybe. NFL and MLB are down, but not to the degree NASCAR is. IndyCar has had some rating increases here and there. why is Newman an idiot? not sure about that...g/w/c was brought about to keep races from ending under yellow when the stopped racing back to the yellow. then they realized it was a great opportunity to wreck cars, so it became more common. not sure if fans asked for that. Chase was brought about by Brian France's attempt to a) make NASCAR a stick and ball sport, and b) boost ratings at the end of the season when they're going head to head with the NFL. again, I don't know any long time NASCAR fan who really enjoys the Chase. agree about Liberty, they're trying to figure out how to get that ROI. they're going about it the wrong way IMO.
NFL ratings are up in 2018 over 2017. NBA ratings have been steadily climbing over a few years, but this season is only a month old and too soon to tell, but Thursday night TNT ratings are down thus far. They are putting out a better product so viewers will watch. Unlike NASCRAP.
A lot of it comes down to time. With so much to take people's time with entertainment these days, a four to five hour NASCAR race doesn't fit with busy schedules and waning attention spans. Likewise, NFL games creeping towards five hours is in the same bracket. NBA, NHL, both fun to watch and games are done within two hours. Far friendlier for TV viewers and paying fans. With every NASCAR race (and I do mean every NASCAR race) getting what amounts to Super Bowl like hype with all the pre-race build up, the long races and post-race analysis where they begin to hype the next race, meaning the average NASCAR event is on TV for eight hours. Who's got the time? The Frances aren't going to abandon this approach and an article appeared somewhere earlier this week that the move is afoot to have NASCAR buy the ISC making thing easier for an eventual sell-off. The only way this course will change is under new ownership but this will be a long, slow process and by the time it happens, it could be that no one cares any more. BHW