Casey Mears won his first Nextel Cup race at the Coca-Cola 600 when he stayed out while the leaders came in for a quick splash of fuel. It's no secret Mears didn't have the best car that night, but his team managed the fuel situation better than the others. The question is, should winners be determined because they have nothing to lose and can gamble on fuel?
I don't know about the rest of you, but after five-plus hours of racing in Charlotte, I was actually standing in front of my TV for the final laps of the Coca-Cola 600. Aside from the Daytona 500, I don't think we've had a better finish to a race then what we saw this weekend, and yes that includes Martinsville.
Complaints are at an all-time high about NASCAR staging races, throwing phantom debris cautions to benefit guys like Jeff Gordon and Johnson. Well for once we didn't have that. It was great to see the final 50 laps run under green, not interfered with by the dreaded yellow flag.
Take absolutely nothing away from Casey Mears in Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600. He drove his butt off, the team made some great decisions on pit road and he deserves a trip to Victory Lane more than nearly anyone in Nextel Cup. There's something right about a Mears winning a race on the Memorial Day weekend. Plus, who would have expected names like Yeley, Petty, Sorenson and Vickers to pop up in the top five? All five of those cars ran well all night and deserved to be on the lead lap. But top-five finishes? Get real.
Do you really want to see cars coasting around the track well off race pace, trying to conserve an extra gallon of fuel? Remember Phoenix, when nobody would get out of line because they were so worried about not having enough fuel to make it to the end? I wouldn't call that exciting racing.
I'm with Bill. I love the possibility of gas mileage coming into play. It is a part of motorsport. It is a very big part of racing in other sanctions such as F1 where the whole field is very seldom bunched up by a full course caution. It gives young guns their furst shot and old dogs with good long run set ups another shot at glory.
The question is not who is fastest? If you like that go drag racing. The question is who can cover a set distance in the least amount of time with pit stops, tire wear and gas mileage included?
I don't like fuel mileage races, but they are apart of racing. I would prefer to see the best cars racing each other at the end for the win. But it is a known fact that the best car doesn't always win. Because if that was the case, Gibbs would be 6 wins to Hendricks 3.
i'm sayin' like ya, for sure. there is more than 1 way to win a race it is the job of the competitors to figure out which way that is. actually i like variety. i don't mind a blow out, i don't mind a fuel mileage finish, i don't mind a green, white, checkered. what i don't like though is outside factors meddling with the out come. things like debris cautions, rain shortening, or unneeded restrictor plates (ie. new hampshire a few years ago). once all the cars have passed inspection and are on the track a race becomes its own organism. i like it unfolding naturally. that did make for a great race on sunday night but if it had been a run away leaving 3 cars on the lead lap (like the f1 race) that would have been interesting to me too.
Last edited by williamwilman on May 30th at 6:38 PM.
as i look at your pictures again i'm reminded that the most interesting part of the race to me was how well brian vickers ran. this marks the first time in my mind that a toyota was a cup contender. they have not had much to be excited about but for them that had to be terrific
I agree. To me the purity of F1 is a beautiful sight. If someone wins by a mile, then they win by a mile. We asked tehm to give us their best didn't we? This constant tinkering with rules NASCAR does in the sake of equality gets annoying. NASCAR has not always been that way and it doesn't have to be that way now either.
Yes Toyota had a good run. I recently heard on SPEED's Wind Tunnel the real reason they are struggling so. When they came into trucks their engine wound up more powerful than NASCAR had intended. So when they came into Cup NASCAR had them develop another engine which generates less horses. Keep in mind that Toyota therefore, has had to develop two naturally aspirated engines just to race in NASCAR when none of their vehicles are powered by this type of engine. Toyota trucks get to run the old engine one more year, but must use the new engine there as well in 2009.
i missed the race i was attending an observed trials event on the mountain i live on but WW is right it dont matter how you skin the cat as long as you skin it and you got it too toyota will get it right and when they do look for the cat in the hat to have a cow!!!
Unbelievable.. Falcons bashing NASCAR a bit.. Hey I just finished reading an article by #### Trickle that he said about NASCAR in the late 80s and early 90s on manipulating the out come of the races. He also mentioned a bit about the changes taking place in NASCAR way back then. When I get a chance will post it on the blogs to see. Found it in the book " My greatest day in NASCAR". A must have for NASCAR fans.
As with any race it is based on driver skill, team work, fast pit stops, fuel strategy,and good judgement calls by the crew chief. A few missed that call Sunday thus the ones with enough fuel to go the distance and stay out finished better. The ones that decided to come in for a splash and go were the loosers.
I don't think that NASCAR is perfect. I would like to see a lot of changes. I don't think they are idiots though.
Take for example, Robin Pemberton, current director of competition. He crew chiefed for Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace. He knows his stuff.
I just think they were embarassed by the domination of the Toyota trucks and made sure it didn't happen in Cup. Did they go overboard? I think so. Did they want to make sure a "foreign" make didn't dominate? I think so.
Was it racist? I think so.
Does Jack Roush know that there is very little difference between "American" made and "foreign" made? I think so. Did he play the race card anyway? Yes.
Will it be fun to watch NASCAR and Roush stew a little way down the road here? Hell yes!
Just a little point that I saw. Stewart was PO'd in his interview and Jr was trying not to be disappointed. Jr thought pit stops had cycled thru and he had finished 2nd behind Stewart. Kind of took the wind out of his sails when they told him 8th. I don't know if Stewart knew what was up or not because I never caught another interview or article yet. He wasn't happy(LOL)-I luv that ol' boys attitude.
He has a way of making u #### your head sideways and pop your neck to release pressure. I put a little answer to you about the quotes on my blog. I'm open for suggestions.
I just wanted to echo the sentiments of people who said they were just happy to see a race end without a questionable debris-caution at the end. I know I wasn't alone in expecting one once the cars were going to have to start pitting, and I know I'm not alone in wondering if one would have come out if different cars would have been up front (so we wouldn't have been set up for a feel-good Mears, Yeley, or even Petty win).
The thing NASCAR doesn't seem to get is that it's OK to have a blowout occassionally. The NBA doesn't restart a game at 0-0 if a team goes up by 20 points, but NASCAR gives the impression that they do that when they throw a questionable caution flag. Even the Super Bowl is a blow-out most years, but somehow the NFL lives with it and they don't tinker with the rules to make a 21-point touchdown possible to create a good finish every time.
amen j.j. even when i'm root against kurt busch or robby gordon and they are stinking it up, it doesn't bother me about NASCAR's product. sure i'm yellin' and screamin' at the t.v. and sayin' wait till next week. but its part of the deal. if the guy i don't like is winning or dominating i stay tuned to see him get beat the next time, hopefully.
poor ole' tricky richard trickle got bleeped too.
Last edited by williamwilman on May 31st at 10:06 AM.
I have no problem with the outcome of the race. Fuel mileage plays an important role. The leaders knew the situation and made their own decisions. I personaly thought a caution was gonna fly, and Im sure the leaders thought that also. (legitamate or not lol). But no caution and fuel being an issue made it interesting. Perhaps that is the reason there was no "debree" caution. Regardless, Mears won fair and square. Congrads to the top 5 for hanging in there and making it to the line first.
The question is not who is the fastest. !wrong! Being the fastest is the way you qualify and being the fastest wins majority of the race. Winning a fuel mileage race is a gift when there are five to six car faster than you are
I disagree, unless you couch that by saying being fastest as defined by average speed for the whole race, then yes.
Qualifying is almost a joke now. It is a totally different contest with almost no relation to the race set up or speeds. I would like to see NASCAR have qualifying on Sunday morning right before the race, then impound the cars with the tires, on them as they are, the tape on the grill, the fuel, or lack thereof, in the tank, the springs set up as they are as well as the shocks, rubbers in or out and etc.,. Then, and only then, would qualifying reflect an actual race condition.
if you want to go to a race where the fastest car wins...go to a drag race. You can't always expect the actual fastest car to win during a 500 mile race. There are too many other variables that take place...cautions, pit stops, strategies...etc. but the winner is always the first to the finish line, no matter if they were the fastest, smartest, or luckiest. They've obviously made wiser decisions and have maybe even had better luck. Otherwise, if you want to see the fastest car win everytime...go to a drag race!!
falcons...yes I do. Unfortunately there are those who don't read. I was simply "steering them in the right direction". We definitely agree on that one.
Fatmaw1 and Falcons: On the Drag race issue on fast cars, that depends on what class you are in.
Top fuel, Pro Stock, or Rails. Yep the fastest car wins if he doe not red light ( leave too soon) or blows up before going through the traps ( finish line). In super stock, Stock, super gas, brackets, or pro comp. You have the break out rule ( going too fast) in effect.If you go faster than the dial in for that class, you loose even if you win the race. So theoretically speaking, the fastest car does not always win in drag racing.Just depends on reaction time and dial ins for the Xmas tree as well as going slower than the dial in..Now you can run faster than the dial in for that class if you are qualifying and set the new record for that class but will have to be sure you do not go over that time in eliminations though.
Good to see ya fatmaw-thanx for the help, now when I get smart enough I'll try some new stuff.
Falcon-Gotta luv your comment about Sunday mornin' quals. That would be awe sum! What kind of chance of that ever happening? Snowball's chance in Hades huh.
Qualifying would be ####ier if they awarded bonus points for winning the pole, especially since with the top-35 rule there isn't much incentive for being the fastest qualifier and with the Lucky Dog there is less incentive for qualifying at the front.
Let's take the new F1 qualifying wystem, modify it, and use it while we are at it. 43 cars go out for 15 minutes. Then set the places 30 to 43 and send the slower cars home with the exception of keeping the top 35 rule for the sake of this argument. Then have another 15 minute session and set places 20 to 30. Repeat the process two more times to set the field.
No, it isn't. The two aren't mutually exclusive. I think a ten-point bonus for winning the pole wouldn't be crazy. You'd certainly have the top teams trying a lot harder for the pole as the season wound down, AND you would reward a guy (and team) for bringing a good car to the track. So many things can lead to a poor finish (like a bad tire from Goodyear, which a team has ZERO control over), and I think it wouldn't be inappropriate to award a bonus to the team and driver who has the most speed in qualifying.
EDIT: You think offering bonus points for the pole is too confusing, yet you'd be OK with them running an F1-style knockout qualifying session, as though that wouldn't be confusing? I don't think that would work on an oval and especially on a superspeedway where you need the draft. (I agree it would be entertaining, though.)
after watching the qualifying for the monaco gp i was thinking this would be a great format for the all star race. of course this would look better in a post before the all star race but i'll never remember next year. but segments with elimination really create 2 races. one for the lead and one for the transfer spot. i watched both the f1 race and qualifying and have to say the qualifying was way more entertaining. in fact it dawned on me that it is almost always the most entertaining part of the f1 weekend. i would love to see some form of that adopted into nascar's realm.
im not talking qualifying . i mean the actual race should be formated that way. start with a 25 lap segment, eliminate the last five cars. then 20 laps and the next five, then 15 and the next five. that leaves your fastest 7 to 10 cars to duke it out for the big money in the last 10 laps. in f1 it is just a time trial, but this elimination would be under race conditions.
You know what else that could work for? The Bud Shootout. Right now it's a almost exactly like a qualifying race, and there are already two of those for actual qualifying. A knockout format on a restrictor plate track could be pretty cool, becase getting shuffled out of line would hurt less with fewer cars on track.
Falcon-Heck yeah-go for it-But here is my problem: I think the fans just want to see a change, almost to the point that they don't care what, just change something. Fans also want to feel like they mean something and NASCAR should listen to their input more. It doesn't matter what anyone thinks if NASCAR doesn't agree with it. Once NASCAR makes up their mind, we all know that's the bottom line, take it or leave it. Just a few of my thoughts.
"But all this must be suffered by those who profess the stern order of chivalry" Most Interesting Blog, June 16, 2008 and six other occasions. Lisa awarded him Best "breaking news" blogger March 31, 2008. Blog of The Day, Christmas Day, 2007. edhardiman wrote, "Falco's tribute to Rocket Richard reminds us all the stars of today stand on the shoulders of giants..." October 23, 2007. Three Golden Swirrly p00p Awards (Hockey, NASCAR and Use of Graphics), FlyingPig, July 18, 2007. 2007 Memorial Day Weekend Trifecta sponsored by williamwilman . Featured on WFORacingFans April, 2007. "Stylin'" award, Dusty, February 07. "One of ten new bloggers to watch" Dudski, January 2007.
