Thread: Championship weekend for NASCAR

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I would like to see the race today,also,,but the powers that be at TVNZ must have decided that golf and netball is more important than NASCAR..Its advertised in one publication as starting at 6.ooam,(NZ time)..but golf is on,so after a quick surf,,no NASCAR..Will have another look at 8.00AM,by which time,I have work to do..Oh well,I suppose the highlights will have to do...AGAIN..(like last week)

Robin, have you checked out the NASCAR online site to see if they are having any live feeds on the net???

Thanks Dave for the link.

O well.I guess I'll depend on you guys for the race results.It's not on the rabbit ears TV.

Try to find it on your radio.....................it could be a barn burner by the end. On rain caution now, but I can't imagine NASCAR will let weather determine it..........if they have a choice.

What a race!!!!! Smoke was as far back as 40th place at one time after running over some junk and knocking in the front lower screen covering the air intake then came back to win the race. He tied Edwards for the Championship, but because Smoke won 5 out of the 10 chase races the big trophy goes to Smoke!!!!!!

Can't believe, my man Smoke!!! What a race, what a Championship!!!

I guess old fashioned hard working racers who say what's on their mind and have the ability to back it up still have a place in racing!!!



PS---Only 98 more days til the Daytona 500!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

Robin, have you checked out the NASCAR online site to see if they are having any live feeds on the net???

Yeah,Dave..I think they mucked up the times in the magazine..The coverage started at about 8am,,so I had a half hour coffee break at 10am and watched some,then saw some more at lunch,,and reluctantly went back to work with about 65 laps left to run..Will catch the highlights over the next day or two,and watch the happy ending...Dunno what happened to Ambrose..Was left well out of the pack..Thats motor racing...

Just about a perfect metaphor for life.

Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

Just about a perfect metaphor for life.

Yeah, "Nice guys finish second"????

Seriously, thought it was a great race, especially when the championship is settled between a couple guys who are real racers and not just somebody who bought themselves a good ride!!! I also enjoyed all the interviews after the race, both Smoke and Carl were quick to congratulate each other with sincerity and not the "politically correct" manner that we see with so many other racers. Been a fan of NASCAR and USAC for many years, plus all our local racing since the 60's------ got to say this was by far the best Championship race I've ever witnessed...

BTW, Smoke looks and acts a bit more like AJ Foyt every year!!! In one interview Smoke said he was sure AJ would be calling him to give him hell for all the mistakes he made in the race!!!! Just to see that red #14 winning a race brings back a lot of memories for me!!!!

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

Yeah, "Nice guys finish second"????

That would explain why Busch brothers were further back...............

No, I was thinking more of the positive aspects of someone having had a disappointing season for the most part making the commitment to win.....to apply himself with whatever skill he's got to achieve the highest he can.......which also goes for Crew Chief Grubb who's been led to believe he is/was out of a job when the final flag flew. But he kept at it and made the most of the opportunity. One way or the other he'll be rewarded for that too.

Just a nice counterpoint to the idiotic blather of the past couple months of media focus on a bunch of needy whiners who, in the bottom line analysis, want others to do for them instead of just making life happen for themselves. I'm tired of self pitying jerks.

Terrific race and story book season ender!

Not the guy I wanted to win, but both are class acts.

I did see a rundown of the years performance for both, and with the exception of the "chase" wins and top 5's, Tony was not much of a factor through 26 races

Congratulations - points wise, they tied - and were the top of the field.

Well here's my two cents.. I am struggling to not be ticked off that the guy who leads the points almost all season ends up as the runner up!

Stewart did all he said he would and kudos to him and his crew for stepping it up!

The rain delays killed it for me and I switched channels as the "analysts" repeat themselves every day and I was tired of listening to'em. I got back in time to see the last 20 laps. Oh well, wait for next year!

I enjoyed the race and for me the worst part about the rain was when with 60 or so laps to go, they are in single file under the yellow and Kyle was leading and might of been able to go the distance if the rain continued----

At least Tony shaved for this one!!!!

I noticed this on the NASCAR sight. Seems there are still a few of us that aren't thrilled with the "chase"... 8-) Don't mean much really, just a different viewpoint is all.

Without the Chase the #99 beat the #29 by 78 points & clinched the title last week at Phoenix. The #14 was 3rd, 87 points behind and eliminated last week also. The #99 had as many top 5's as the #14 had top 10's. He led the points for 21 weeks to 3 for the #14, which would have been 1 wihtout the Chase. The #14 had 3 top 5's in the 1st 26 races. Edwards has now finished 2nd 3 times in his 1st 7 seasons, the last 2 of which the Chase cost him the title. He's the 1st driver in history to have the most points in the same season in both the Cup and Nationwide series. Thanks to Nascar's new rules, he won neither. His 19 top 5's, over half the races are more then double the 9 of Stewart.

Well, when NASCAR did the new points system for the season and the chase their statement was that "the fans" wanted to give more points for wins then consistency....Guess they got what they wanted, huh?? I understand the logic behind the chase system, when a car would have things clinched with XX races to go interest and attendance would drop drastically as we've seen over the years....Heck, they were probably down to only the real race fans left in the seats!!!!!!

So this year's "Race to the Chase", the chase itself, and of course the final race had a huge audience which is good for sponsor's and everybody's pocket book. ( ie Smoke's $5.6 mil check from Sprint plus the regular purse and contingencies. ) I'm not defending the system, I think it sucks!!! As a racer I know that consistency is the key to success in racing, but I suppose it's boring for the casual observer. Smoke's organization took full advantage of the new system and got the big trophy and the big $$$$$.

I suppose it's like most everything these days, the money is the only thing that counts.... Costs a ton of money to put a team together and cover expenses. I guess the alternative being the original points system and trash the chase format wouldn't generate the revenue that NASCAR and the teams need and we'd be back to smaller teams, smaller paydays, fewer fans in the stands, less TV revenue, and back to the old fashioned thing of letting racers be racers....

Which is better??? Who knows. I doubt Smoke and the gang will say it publicly, but I'd bet they have an occasional snicker about their mediocre season turning into a Cup Championship!!! They used the system to beat the system!!!! ---and me being a Smoke fan way back to his days in a USAC midget driving for Bob East all I can say is way to go Smoke!!!!!