Indeed! I guess that's why the aficionados believe it's exciting! "Like watching skittles being flushed down the toilet!" Seriously, a Nascar buddy told me that Jr has won 18 races, and 14 of those came on superspeedways (Restrictor plate races?) - Is that true? I sure hope so as he's in my fantasy lineup today Cheers, Ian
Nope, only 7 on Superspeedways...see http://www.nascar.com/drivers/dps/dearnhar01/cup/#stats Image Unavailable, Please Login
http://www.nascar.com/news/120301/penske-racing-moves-to-ford-2013/index.html Not a good sign for Dodge.
Doesn't surprise me, Ford is spending huge on trying to market itself through NASCAR right now. They've had the best engine design last year, and with that, are also trying to get some of the best teams.
the surprise to me is they're switching to Ford, not Toyota. although Ford only really has one NASCAR team (Roush/Fenway), the rest are midfield teams at best. also remember Penske was with Ford for a long time, from mid 90s to mid 00s. at any rate, good sign for Penske IMO.
I wonder what manufacturer it could be. "It seems that while sponsorship is down, car manufacturer support is strong. That is probably due to the fact that the car companies are all doing significantly better these days than a few years ago. Thus Petty has been approached by several manufacturers recently. What's interesting is that while there are the usual suspects there is one new manufacturer that is trying to break into the sport. RPM's contract with Ford is up at the end of the season. Petty ran Dodges from 1972 to 1978. Petty Enterprises aligned with Dodge again when the manufacturer returned to NASCAR competition in 2001 through most of the 2009 season, then under the RPM banner. " http://www.jayski.com/cupnews.htm
It leap-frogs every couple of years (which manufacturer is 'hot'). Problem Penske has is he has one driver on the fringe of being a solid #1, and he has a low-end #2/high-end #3 driver that will probably stay there.
I wonder if Knaus believes the adage "if you ain't cheating, you ain't trying": http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/7637690/chad-knaus-saddened-suspension-defends-handling-no-48
Yep and I suspect Ford wants to make a big splash with the new Fusion and having a marquee name like Penske involved certainly is a plus.
Nice catch, I didn't realize that and he still won $361K! http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2012/data/standings.html Image Unavailable, Please Login
It appears to be out of print, and I've loaned my copy out and don't remember the author, but David Bull Publishing had a book called "Cheat! The bad things good men do in Nascar".[Or very close to that.] A *fascinating* read and apparently the only time a journo has been allowed in the "sin bin" where all the bad bits go - Some of the stuff these guys did (and continue to do it seems) are outrageous! And damn funny at times..... Dumping lead shot out of the chassis on the warm up lap? Check! 1/2 mile long, 3" diameter fuel feed? Check! But Smokey was da' man - He really did believe that adage! Cheers, Ian
Yep, IIRC I posted an article a year or two ago that described some of the more famous, err infamous cheats. I just did a quick Google search and this came up: Cheatin’s Still Winnin’- The Story of Toyota Racing’s Best Cheat EVER
I haven't found a pic though: http://nascar.speedtv.com/article/cup-t-shirt-honors-juan-pablo-montoyas-daytona-misadventure-sprint-nascar
Sure they can, they did that a couple of years ago at Daytona when Robby Gordon showed up with an 'unapproved' nose on his Dodge - never mind the Dodge folks admitted they sent him the 'wrong nose' - they still hammered on Gordon. I think they appealed and won - so he didn't have to pay the $100,000 fine, but they still kept the 100 points they docked him. Or something like that. Somewhere in 1989-1990, Kenny Shrader owned the restrictor plate qualifying, Richard Broom did his engines, this was when Kenny was with Rick Hendrick. Seems Broom developed something akin to the Toyota turbo springs, and these tubes would get sucked down into the engine somehow, allowing an opening to be larger, and when you let up on the gas, the tubs went back to their proper place.
OMG!!! Danica drinks a bottle of water! We must take pictures! (From her qualifying session today) Image Unavailable, Please Login
Ill post some more photos. But it was quite a scene. 20 plus media photographers plus dozens of others behind the wall all trying to take her photo. See the Sheriff there to keep the peace? And everyone behind the white line?? Oh and get this. Every now and then, the crew would have to push the car forward to the start. As they pushed it forward, the crowd walked along side or walked ahead - all in an effort to get a good picture. So what does Danica do? She walks backwards with her back to everyone. I told some guy in a photovest trying to get a shot that perhaps it would be nice of her to turn around. His response? I kid you not. "Oh, she does that on purpose".
so what's the verdict on no "out of bounds" at Phoenix on the backstretch? I kind of like it, it adds a little character to the track; but it also seems like a disaster waiting to happen.
nice finish danica. congrats on the 21st position...and only 3 laps down! you are a real driver kid!! pcb
I'm glad I got out of it before everyone was forced to wear those numbered vests. When this all started about 12 years ago the vests were 'sponsored', problem was Canon was a big sponsor at events, and I'm a Nikon Pro. She would drive you under the table any day of the week. Why didn't you mention the drivers that finished OVER 3 laps down? Seems to me she did good, I don't think she has driven a stock car at Phoenix before. Guys, I don't think she likes the media CIRCUS any more than you or I would, but the fact is she is bringing in a lot of money to the sport for EVERYONE.
