NASCAR thread

[blown03Mach1]

Originally Posted by 311-420

Guys- sponsors pay for all of the races at the beginning of each year, not on a week by week basis.

Not 100% true. Ask Jr. where his Mt. Dew sponsorship is for the remaining 10 races?

More to my point, future contracts 26 races long and then chase dependent after that. If I was a sponsor that is what I would put into my contract.

[falcongtho3]

Originally Posted by Thunderbolt

Edwards jumped the restart. Nascar says they're reviewing the race, but it clearly shows him ahead before the start/finsh line.

I think they called it right as the lead car either held back or spun his tires and dropped back when the flag was thrown. It was pretty obvious on replay that if Carl had dropped back to accomidate him he probably would have caused a big wreck.

[Rice_slayer]

The reason why edwards was not black flagged was because menard had made physical contact with edwards car before the start finish line. If that happens, doesn't matter who makes it to the line first...

[blown03Mach1]

The more I am reading about how the race ended, I am calling NASCAR rigged if NASCAR does not respond to why Bowyers crew chief asked him "if his arm hurt?" and then moments later asked "if it was hot in the car?". Followed by "if your arms itches, scratch it". All the while Bowyer said NOTHING about his arm or the heat. Code words for a fix? I think so!

Then as the field gets ready to go green for the last time Vickers crew chief tells him he needs to pit, which he did. Vickers asked if he had a tire going down and his crew chief said "we will talk after the race and i owe you a kiss". Oh BTW this action allowed both Lagano and Truex in the chase. Fixed or not?

Not sure how NASCAR will be able to turn a blind eye to these two events as it was obvious what they were doing and that was not for the betterment of the sport!

IMHO NASCAR needs to step back an reevaluate the chase if teams are allowed to fix the outcome for other team members or under table deals between teams. In baseball, the players got banned for life when betting on the sport for fear of fixing the outcome, how do you think this will end for NASCAR?



CNN today

[url]http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1766433-was-clint-bowyers-late-spinout-in-nascars-richmond-finale-fair-or-foul?



Was Clint Bowyer's late spinout at Richmond in Saturday night's final qualifying race for the Chase for the Sprint Cup fair or foul?

That's the question that countless NASCAR fans have been asking, further prodded by allegations of intentional cheating and conspiracy theories on social media.

NASCAR said Sunday that it will review all video related to the incident to determine if there indeed was subterfuge and impropriety.

NASCAR president Mike Helton told the Associated Press (via ESPN) before the Camping World Truck Series race in Iowa:

We didn't see anything that indicated that anything like that was taking place. And it's natural when everything was as close as it was between who was going to get in and not go in to scratch your heads and try to figure out and wonder why.

But we didn't see anything initially (Saturday) night that indicated that, but certainly we'll go back through all the video and everything to be sure, because we take the responsibility very serious to be sure that it's -- that everybody has had a fair chance.

Let's break things down—and then you decide what's fair or foul.

What should NASCAR do?
Kick Truex and Logano out of the Chase and reinstate Gordon and Newman.
Heavily fine MWR, take points away from Bowyer and have him start the Chase with a negative balance.
Do nothing and run the risk that it may face a huge fan fallout.
Expand this year's edition of the Chase to 14 drivers (adding Newman and Gordon) as a best compromise.
Submit Vote vote to see results


Fair: Bowyer insists he had a tire going down, and indeed, his tire ultimately blew out and shredded as he made his way back to pit road.

"We had a flat tire or something. It just snapped around," Bowyer said (via the Associated Press), later adding, "I know it's a lot of fun for you guys to write a lot of wacky things. Go ahead if you want to, get creative. But don't look too much into it."



Foul: In-car audio between Bowyer and his team gave the impression that a type of code may have been used to prompt Bowyer to intentionally spin.

"Thirty-nine (Ryan Newman) is going to win the race," Bowyer was told over his radio, according to AP.

Then, Bowyer's crew chief, Brian Pattie, made a couple of rather odd statements just before Bowyer's car spun: "Is your arm starting to hurt?"

Shortly after, he said, "I bet it's hot in there. Itch it."



Foul: When the race restarted with three laps to go, another peculiar exchange came over the Michael Waltrip Racing team radio, this time involving part-time teammate Brian Vickers.

As the AP reported:

Vickers was told by MWR general manager Ty Norris to pit because "we need that 1 point."

"We're probably going to pit here on green," Norris says.

"Are you talking to me?" a surprised Vickers asks.

Vickers continued to question the call, at one point asking, "I don't understand, pit right now?"

"You've got to pit this time. We need that 1 point," Norris replies.

"10-4. Do I got a tire going down?" Vickers asked.

Vickers then pitted as the field went green. When he asked after if his crew found anything with the tire, Norris replied, "I'll see you after the race, Brian, I owe you a kiss."

That allowed Joey Logano to move into 10th place in the live in-race Sprint Cup season standings. With Logano earning a guaranteed berth reserved for the top 10 finishing drivers and knocking out Jeff Gordon in the process, it opened up a wild-card spot that ultimately went to Martin Truex Jr. to make the Chase.

Gordon has no wins this season, while Truex has one. As a result, Truex moved up into the wild-card spot while Gordon missed the Chase by one point by being unable to maintain a spot in the top 10. It was the only way he would have been guaranteed to make the playoffs.



Fair: Ryan Newman pitted after Bowyer spun, entering with the lead but leaving in fifth place. Try as he might to get back to the front of the field and win the race, which would have guaranteed him a spot in the Chase, Newman finished third and ultimately missed the Chase.

If Newman had any inkling that Bowyer intentionally spun to bring out the caution, don't you think he would have confronted Bowyer for any alleged shenanigans?

Instead, Newman blamed his pit crew, according to Tom Jensen of Fox Sports:

We came down pit road first. Carl (Edwards) came off pit road second. We should have been at least second at that point. We didn't do our job on pit road. Four tires won the race. We were the first car to be in position on four tires and we didn't get the job done.

We did everything we needed to up until the last caution. I'm not sure exactly what unfolded there. We still had the opportunity to win it on pit road and we didn't.

To his credit, Newman battled back from leaving pit road fifth, but it wasn't enough. He needed a win to become the lone representative of Stewart-Haas Racing in the Chase.


Unfortunately, Newman came up short. He even said so, per Jensen:

Coming from (fifth) to third in a couple laps is not bad, but we had to win, so it's disappointing.

Didn't expect to make up for everything we didn't get in the first 25 (races) in the last race, but we were in position. We did everything we needed to with the exception of the (final) pit stop... Obviously, we were in a position to take that second wild card with two wins. Nevertheless, I still feel like we lost it on pit road. It's disappointing. We'll go on.



Foul: The rush to judgment was immediate. ABC's chief NASCAR analysts all vehemently claimed Bowyer pulled a fast one.

Fans lit up social media, including Twitter and Facebook, crying foul.

While NASCAR did nothing after the race, there has been enough of a hue and cry from fans and media alike that officials are indeed reviewing all sources of video from both in-house and ABC cameras to determine if something is truly fishy.



Conclusion: If, after checking out the video, in-car audio and other evidence, NASCAR agrees with incensed fans and media alike, it has perhaps one of the biggest scandals on its hands in both the 10-year history of the Chase and the organization's 65 years.

Penalties and fines may still be assessed if NASCAR does an about-face and decides that there were rules violations, if not complete disregard of fair play and good sportsmanship.

While the Chase begins Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway, the next several days could become some of the most important in the sport's annals.

If NASCAR finds violations and doesn't do anything, it will indirectly give tacit approval of teams continuing to game the system, not to mention run the risk of losing a lot of fans.

And if it does try to dish out penalties and fines, whom does it penalize? Vickers, who wasn't even eligible for the Chase? MWR? Bowyer? Pattie? How do you penalize against something that, at least on the surface, could potentially have been what it appeared, a blown-out tire?

No matter what it does, NASCAR is sitting in a damned if it does and damned if it doesn't conundrum. It can't change the outcome of the race or the Chase and allow Newman and Gordon entry while kicking out Logano (who did nothing at all) and Truex. If it did that, it would only muck things up even more in a situation that has gotten too murky already.

What will NASCAR do? Better yet, what would you do if you had any say in all?

[not a gt]

Very well put post above!!! The whole Chase thing is not going the way NASCAR thought (or maybe it is), plus the "True "We know Danica can't drive stop pushing her down our throat" NASCAR fan" that REALLY follows the sport can see PLAINLY what is going on

I want a "Debris on the track" cam, maybe we can play it backward in slow mo and finally find out where the hot dog wrappers are coming from, lol!!

[blown03Mach1]

NASCAR has spoken.

Trues out, Newmann in. MWR a while lot lighter in the wallet!

http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-med...mwr-chase.html


NASCAR PENALIZES MICHAEL WALTRIP RACING
September 09, 2013, NASCAR official news release, NASCAR.com

Pins Share

Following event at Richmond International Raceway

UPDATED CHASE FOR THE NASCAR SPRINT CUP STANDINGS

Pos. Driver Points Behind
1 Matt Kenseth 2015 --
2 Jimmie Johnson 2012 -3
3 Kyle Busch 2012 -3
4 Kevin Harvick 2006 -9
5 Carl Edwards 2006 -9
6 Joey Logano 2003 -12
7 Greg Biffle 2003 -12
8 Clint Bowyer 2000 -15
9 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2000 -15
10 Kurt Busch 2000 -15
11 Kasey Kahne 2000 -15
12 Ryan Newman 2000 -15


DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 9, 2013) – NASCAR has issued penalties to Michael Waltrip Racing following the sanctioning body’s review of Saturday’s race at Richmond International Raceway.

MWR was found to have violated Section 12-4 (Actions detrimental to stock car racing). As a result, MWR’s three teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (No. 15, 55, 56) have been penalized with the loss of 50 championship driver and 50 championship owner points, respectively.These point penalties are assessed following the season’s 26th regular season race and not after the seeding for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Therefore, the point total for the No. 56 car driven by Martin Truex Jr. is reduced to 691, putting him in 17th position and eliminating him from the second Wild Card berth for the Chase field. Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 car, now moves up into the Chase as the second Wild Card participant.

NASCAR has also fined the MWR organization $300,000 and indefinitely suspended Ty Norris, MWR Executive Vice President/General Manager and spotter for the No. 55 car, for violating Section 12-4. The three crew chiefs – Brian Pattie (No. 15), Scott Miller (No. 55) and Chad Johnston (No. 56) – have all been placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31.

“Based upon our review of Saturday night’s race at Richmond, it is our determination that the MWR organization attempted to manipulate the outcome of the race,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. “As the sport’s sanctioning body, it is our responsibility to ensure there is a fair and level playing field for all of our competitors and this action today reflects our commitment to that.”

[mach18604]

Crazy isnt it

[gvervoren]

GOOD! I'm glad they got booted out. They deserve it!!!

[blown03Mach1]

Originally Posted by gvervoren

GOOD! I'm glad they got booted out. They deserve it!!!

Agree!

Not that they can do anything about Bowyer unless someone from the team admits they wrecked on purpose.

[ar15topgun]

NAPA will probably pull their sponsorship from MWR.

[gvervoren]

Originally Posted by ar15topgun

NAPA will probably pull their sponsorship from MWR.

It's possible.

From what I have heard through in-car radio conversations and interviews, I really don't think Vickers or Truex Jr. had any clue what was going on. I think this was all done through crew chiefs and MWR managers. Vickers was totally confused on why he had to pit. It seems to me that Bowyer was the only driver that knew what was going on.

[falcongtho3]

NAPA has made a statement, and they ain't happy!

[blown03Mach1]

Now it is being reported that Penske Racing cut a deal with Front Row Motorsports to let Lagano pass Gilliland in the final laps of the race. Oh by the way, that just happened to allow Lagano to secure a chase birth.

Not sure how more crap like this NASCAR needs to see and hear before they wake up to the smell of burning rubber and see the only answer to fix all this is eliminate that STUPID chase!

[Thunderbolt]

Originally Posted by falcongtho3

NAPA has made a statement, and they ain't happy!

Is NAPA gonna open their can of whoop-azz?

[not a gt]

Originally Posted by Thunderbolt

Is NAPA gonna open their can of whoop-azz?

[ar15topgun]

Joey Logano's pass is now being questioned.

[blown03Mach1]

As a result of the Penske racing and front row motor sports issue Jeff Gordon has been added into the chase as he was the one who was affected by the deal between the two teams.

I am a Gordon fan and glad to see him, but not off the current circumstances. Granted had every team played on the up and up he would have been in without NASCAR intervening.

[not a gt]

13 cars in the Chase, and of course Gordon feels he should be in...my question, is it 13 for this year or will it now be 13 from henceforth??

http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/stor...-091313#!jhND0

[bris09]

If it were any other car then a Hendrick car Nascar would not have added a 13th car. The only reason they added cars 11 and 12 was because Jr couldn't finish in the top ten. Nascar has gotten exactly what they deserve. They have been playing favorites for years. Jimmy Johnson owes several champoinships to the chase otherwise he would have never won.

As far as teams making deals and holding cars back to improve the finishing position of another. That has been going on for years and is a part of racing. When Nascar allowed teams to become so big and turning a blind eye to Jeff Gordon (just to name one) being named the owner of a car knowing **** well it was a Hendrick car what did they expect. Of course a team is going to work together, that is why it is called a team.

Sorry, but nascar is reaping what it has sewn and adding a 13th car this year has just opened the door for future problems as the first car out will cry foul now that they know the rules are not set in stone.

[blown03Mach1]

I disagree about opening the door for larger fields as well as just because it was a Hendrick car they let it in, but agree totally about the wheeling a dealing between teams has ways been going on as well as toolboy owes NASCAR for developing the stupid chase crap.

IMHO If anything all this controversy has enlightened everyone to just how dump 72% of a race season is if only the last 28% counts for anything.

Check my post, for years I have said it before and will say it again, the chase is bad for NASCAR!

[bris09]

The chase is one of Nascars dumbest ideas. The first was allowing teams to become too big. It put a samll team at a serious disadvantage. To fix this Nascar started developing the COT and dictating gears and springs, well that just further helped the bigger teams as they have the resources to do more testing. They need to go back to "Run what ya brung" and let the best combo of car and driver win.

Sorry but Nascar does play favorites and Hendrick is their favorite right now. Do you honestly believe Hendrick would have gotten the same penalty Gibbs did for one connecting rod that clearly gave no competitive advantage. Before you answer, remember what happened to Hendrick when Knaus told Johnson to back the car into the wall if he won the race.

Jeff Gordon not making it into the chase had way more to do with his season than a deal made on the track in the closing laps of last weeks race. If you don't wanna get bumped from the chase because one car passed another then don't put yourself in that position.

[blown03Mach1]

bris09,

Clearly we have a difference of opinion and that is cool. Life would be boring if we all agreed on stuff. But if you look back at toolboys history of rule infractions you will see Hendrick Racing is not exempt. Infact I believe toolboy had a race taken from him for "jumping a start" when the leader spun his tires.

I agree the deals are made all season long not only within a team but with other teams. NASCAR said they took this weeks action becuase if affected the outcome of the chase. My question would be what about the deals that are made the other 26 races that regardless of what the governing body thinks, DOES affect the chase. In other words what if in the first race of the season a team cuts a deal for a position and then they make the chase by one point. That single deal affected the chase.

Bottom line is that in my opinion the chase has been bad for NASCAR and it needs to disappear! Let the driver drive to where the entire 36 races season matters for everyone!

That's all I got to say about that.....

[Big Ron]

Kinda' what I was thinking





Big Ron

[gvervoren]

Originally Posted by blown03Mach1

bris09,

Clearly we have a difference of opinion and that is cool. Life would be boring if we all agreed on stuff. But if you look back at toolboys history of rule infractions you will see Hendrick Racing is not exempt. Infact I believe toolboy had a race taken from him for "jumping a start" when the leader spun his tires.

I agree the deals are made all season long not only within a team but with other teams. NASCAR said they took this weeks action becuase if affected the outcome of the chase. My question would be what about the deals that are made the other 26 races that regardless of what the governing body thinks, DOES affect the chase. In other words what if in the first race of the season a team cuts a deal for a position and then they make the chase by one point. That single deal affected the chase.

Bottom line is that in my opinion the chase has been bad for NASCAR and it needs to disappear! Let the driver drive to where the entire 36 races season matters for everyone!

That's all I got to say about that.....

I agree with you too. In fact, Johnson got nailed two races in a row with penalties that probably cost him the race this year. As for the chase, I think it needs to disappear too but if I remember right, it was not created to "help" certain teams win championships but this was Brian France's idea to try to get more people to watch NASCAR instead of football. Which we all new wouldn't happen. NASCAR ratings always drop when football starts and this was his idea to soften the ratings blow.

[falcongtho3]

I have mixed feeling about the chase, but I do feel if NASCAR felt stronger about it's success (or lack thereof) it would have found its way into the Nationwide and truck series. That it hasn't is very telling.


Still wondering about the Chevy 'SS' thing, though....