The Chase for The Cup has Begun!

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

Nascars Race for The Cup !!! 10 weeks, 10 races. Who is gonna take the cup?
The chase starts at Ludon today with The Sylvania 300. Watch for the first few laps and see which teams get knocked out first.

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

Busch into the Wall!

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

Not too much fire works as of yet. Hope the Rousch stable gets knocked out today. GO 48!

[Dutch]

I like auto-racing, don't get me wrong, but I like NFL Football a whole lot better.

As a matter of fact, if it's the last NASCAR race of the season and 4 drivers are fighting for the points championship and there are 20 laps left and on channel 4 the Browns are playing the Ravens? No contest, I'm watching football.

They should really just MOVE the entire racing season/schedule away from football. All racing leagues want to compete with football and they will always lose that battle.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Dutch, I don't believe there's any realistic way to do that (move it away from) without dramatically shortening the season ... and there's too much money being made at too many sold out tracks for that to happen.

As for the racing vs ravens thing ... you're just not a race fan, but I won't hold it against you

[JonInMiddleGA]

Y'know, if today is a preview of the rest of the Chase, it's gonna look like Bristol every week.

Riggs gets loose early, takes out Kurt Busch ... Kurt has a bit of a hissy fit.
Kyle Busch takes out Kasey Kahne ... a short time later Kahne manages to narrowly miss the 48 car en route to slamming Kyle in the drivers door.

Kahne has now been parked for the day, meanwhile Benny Parsons is in "NASCAR has to do something" mode, in spite of the rough & rowdy history that he was a part of (by era moreso than personally).

edit to add: And now Robby Gordon takes the lead in the Chase for the Helmet Tossing event, walking into the middle of the track to fire his headgear at Michael Waltrip.

Meanwhile, the solution to the whole cars-as-instruments-of-retaliation situation stares NASCAR right in the face: Take their hands off the off-track "resolutions" that prevented the use of the cars as weapons. But the marketing department can't let that happen, so the best & most realistic solution doesn't stand a chance.

[RebelMan]

Heh, the only guy I have in the chase is Tony Stewart.

Just flipped it back on, looks like Robby Gordon threw his helmet at the #15. Looks like the guys brought all of their Bristol stuff today.

[Cards4ever]

Just tuned in, what's the story behind the helmet tossing?

[RebelMan]

I'm wondering the same thing, Cards.

[RebelMan]

YOU GUYS JUST HEAR THAT?! LOL

[JonInMiddleGA]

LMAO, that's gonna be a nice contribution from Robby to the NASCAR fine fund.
(He just called Mikey "a piece of shit" on live TV)

[JonInMiddleGA]

C4E -- not sure if you mean the specifics of this helmet tossing or the history of it in general.

In this case, Robby felt like Waltrip turned him around with a tap in the rear quarter while under caution.

Overall, the history of helmet tossing goes back a number of years, as finding something to throw at your rival evolved from heat shields (the things they wear over their shoes) to helmets. It's sort of the racing equivalent to Lou Pinella tossing bases.

[Cards4ever]

Just saw that interview, but, is what he said correct about Waltrip unjustifiably wrecking during the caution? The POS comment is up for debate I guess.

[Cards4ever]

Yeah, the specifics about this crash is what I'm curious about, was Gordon correct?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Cards4ever

Yeah, the specifics about this crash is what I'm curious about, was Gordon correct?

I dunno, I still haven't caught the replay of the incident itself. Just guessing, based on Waltrip's in-car audio comment about "I finally had to stand my ground", I think there's probably at least some legit upset on Gordon's part.

edit to add: Waltrip just admitted that he basically hooked Gordon, because he says Gordon had been forcing him up high for several laps.

[Cards4ever]

Sure makes for good TV.

[Cards4ever]

Do you think Gordon will be suspended for that post crash behavior(backing the car up, etc)?

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

It's nice to see that there's some passion back in Auto Racing. About time the rivalries came back!

[Galaxy]

Originally Posted by Dutch

I like auto-racing, don't get me wrong, but I like NFL Football a whole lot better.

As a matter of fact, if it's the last NASCAR race of the season and 4 drivers are fighting for the points championship and there are 20 laps left and on channel 4 the Browns are playing the Ravens? No contest, I'm watching football.

They should really just MOVE the entire racing season/schedule away from football. All racing leagues want to compete with football and they will always lose that battle.

What's the point of this post? As for NASCAR, they are doing very well against the NFL with the ratings since the introduction of the new Chase for the Cup.

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

Originally Posted by Galaxy

What's the point of this post? As for NASCAR, they are doing very well against the NFL with the ratings since the introduction of the new Chase for the Cup.

If I recall correctly last years Nascar Playoffs beat the NFL in Viewers / TV ratings.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by CHEMICAL SOLDIER

If I recall correctly last years Nascar Playoffs beat the NFL in Viewers / TV ratings.

I honestly don't recall one way or the other, but I will point out that the NASCAR audience is one of the most attractive for advertisers due to the incredible fan loyalty in the niche. Although it applies most strongly to actual car/team sponsors, there's still a carryover even to just regular TV advertisers.

[Draft Dodger]

what a fun race to watch - lots of crazy retaliation, pit strategies, and some great racing.

NASCAR has itself to blame for the retaliation stuff - if they had given Jarrett a proper punishment for his attack on Newman, maybe some of this other stuff wouldn't happen (although I agree it's good telelvision...but it would have been a different story if one of the chase drivers got caught up in it like Stewart last year with Robby the Asshat Gordon).

The funny part is I don't think any of the three incidents (Bush/Riggs Waltrip/Asshat Kahne/Bush) looked intentional. Heck, Gordon looked like he caused his accident himself, and yet he goes off and blames someone else. I enjoy watching Gordon bomb out of every single race.

[TLK]

For anyone that hasn't seen this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Robby-Gordon-rac...QQcmdZViewItem

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by TheLionKing

For anyone that hasn't seen this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Robby-Gordon-rac...QQcmdZViewItem

$8,000,000 and counting...
methinks those bids aren't very sincere.

[Cards4ever]

No matter what you think of the guy, to just go on there and fool around like that is sad.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by Galaxy

What's the point of this post? As for NASCAR, they are doing very well against the NFL with the ratings since the introduction of the new Chase for the Cup.

The point is that I would watch NASCAR if it didn't conflict with football. Once football season starts, perhaps they could run the races on Friday night or tuesday night or whatever. Then I would watch it. I watch it before football season starts. Same problem I have with CART/IRL.

I didn't realize that NASCAR was doing better than the NFL, so with that being known, my suggestions don't hold much water.

[Buzzbee]

Originally Posted by Dutch

The point is that I would watch NASCAR if it didn't conflict with football. Once football season starts, perhaps they could run the races on Friday night or tuesday night or whatever. Then I would watch it. I watch it before football season starts. Same problem I have with CART/IRL.

I didn't realize that NASCAR was doing better than the NFL, so with that being known, my suggestions don't hold much water.

NASCAR has actually made an effort to move races to Saturday night for that very reason. Granted, they are still competing with football, but it is college rather than pro.

There has been a little pushback from the local dirt tracks and speedways because saturday night is the big night for local races. They are afraid NASCAR running on Saturday nights will pull away the core local dirt track fans.

However, I wouldn't be suprised to see NASCAR shift most of its races to Saturday later in the year.

EDIT: Another concern with moving the Cup races to Saturday is that it would force the Busch race to be run on Friday night. That would most likely hurt attendance, as many fans make a weekend out of going to the Busch race on Saturday and the Cup race on Sunday. A Friday night race would hurt that as people who work on Friday may not be able to make it to a race.

[Draft Dodger]

looks like Gordon bought a pretty cool car this summer
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...&category=6146

[RebelMan]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

$8,000,000 and counting...
methinks those bids aren't very sincere.

Helmet auction was just pulled by ebay. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9410095/

[kingfc22]

Big turn of events tonight especially with Stewart just backing into the wall.

[RebelMan]

Hah, what's going on tonight is freeking ridiculous. And people actually thought Talladega was bad?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Since this thread came back up ...
http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news;...v=ap&type=lgns

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- NBC won't extend its contract with NASCAR beyond the 2006 season, a person involved in the negotiations told The Associated Press on Friday.

ABC/ESPN are expected to replace NBC as one of NASCAR's television partners, according to a television executive who declined to be identified because the deal wasn't complete.

NBC currently splits half of NASCAR's 36-race schedule with Fox as part of a six-year, $2.8 billion deal that began in 2001. The contract expires at the end of next season and NBC informed NASCAR last week that it didn't want to extend the relationship because the value the network put on the package was far less than the asking price.

Alana Russo, a spokesperson for NBC Sports, said the network had no comment.

Fox Sports is negotiating to retain its rights to the first half of the season, and ABC/ESPN are also in contract talks. TNT, which airs a portion of races during NBC's share of the schedule, also wants to remain involved.

``We are in the middle of contract negotiations right now and we have nothing to announce at this time,'' NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said. ``But it is no secret that ABC/ESPN has expressed a strong interest in being a part of the television negotiations and we are continuing those talks.''

NASCAR's current television package was a landmark deal for the stock-car series. Before reaching the agreement with NBC and Fox in late 1999, NASCAR had received just $3 million for the TV rights to 28 races.

ABC/ESPN and CBS were left out of the last deal after decades of being the lone networks to broadcast any NASCAR events. CBS televised the Daytona 500 from 1979 until 2000, while ESPN broadcast many races and magazine-style shows.

Not long after losing the rights, ESPN folded ``RPM Tonight,'' one of the network's longtime staples. The network then became embroiled in a battle with NASCAR over filming footage on track property.

Prohibited from bringing cameras into the track, ESPN reporters had to scramble to get drivers at airports and helipads after races from 2001 through 2003, when the dispute was resolved.

Now the network will be back with full access to a sport that tinkered with its rules partly to generate increased television ratings. NASCAR is in the second year of its Chase for the championship, a 10-race shootout that decides the Nextel Cup winner.

The playoff system was created to raise interest in the title hunt and boost TV numbers during the second-half of the season, when NASCAR is up against NFL football every Sunday.

Now, what this article doesn't mention is something that was in several other pieces, the speculation about how the deal would work. Several sources have indicated that ESPN would get 100% of the BGN races, while ESPN2 would take 100% of the CTS races, AND the biggie, that ABC would begin shifting Cup races to weeknight primetime, in an effort to create something a franchise akin to Monday Night Football.

[Galaxy]

Man,
I fell asleep for a half a hour, and wake up and see Stewart and Wallace strugglin. What happen?

[RebelMan]

Originally Posted by Galaxy

Man,
I fell asleep for a half a hour, and wake up and see Stewart and Wallace strugglin. What happen?

Stewart incurred tire problems and crashed. He is six laps down and has lost the points lead to Ryan Newman. I don't know what happened to Wallace.

[JonInMiddleGA]

So, two races left, basically a three man race for the title.

Meanwhile ... Roush release Busch to go to Penske, Ganassi released Mayfield to go to Roush, Rudd leaves the Wood Bros. but isn't quite "retired", Schrader will take over that seat w/ a rookie to take over the Schwan's car, B.LaBonte leaves Gibbs to take over the #43 for Petty with J.J. Yeley moving into the #18.

And ... then today we get this:
http://www.nascar.com/2005/news/head....ap/index.html
PHOENIX -- Kurt Busch was detained on suspicion of drunken driving and cited for reckless driving after a confrontation with police near the track where the NASCAR champion is to race Sunday.

Busch was stopped Friday night after trying to avoid another car and running a stop sign about two miles from Phoenix International Raceway, said Lt. Paul Chagolla

"As a result of the roadside investigation the deputy did take Mr. Busch into custody for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol," said Chagolla, a Maricopa County sheriff's spokesman.

Chagolla said the deputy smelled alcohol on Busch, but the driver refused to perform standard field sobriety tests. Busch did submit to a field breath alcohol test, disclosing the presence of alcohol.

The deputy drove Busch to the raceway, where a sheriff's facility is located, to administer another breath test but the machine there failed. The deputy then decided to cite Busch for reckless driving and he was released, Chagolla said.

Busch was spotted driving about 60 mph in a 45 mph zone, Chagolla said. A deputy tried to pull Busch over but there was some delay, Chagolla said. When he did stop, Busch was argumentative and uncooperative, Chagolla said. The deputy then called for a supervisor.

"This is Maricopa County and our streets are not to be used as raceways," sheriff Joe Arpaio said. "He ought to confine his speeding to the racetrack. And I don't like anybody being abusive to my deputies -- I don't care who they are."

Busch, the reigning Nextel Cup champion, is in Phoenix to race in Sunday's Checker Auto Parts 500. Busch, eighth in points for the season, qualified 17th for the race. His team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The driver got his release from Roush Racing earlier this week and plans to join Penske Racing South next season, taking over the No. 2 Dodge from retiring Rusty Wallace.

Neither Busch, his representatives nor the Penske team could be reached for comment.

Jack Roush, Busch's current car owner, said he doesn't plan to take punitive action against the driver.

"I don't plan to take any action myself," he said. "I'm not looking down the road with Kurt, based on the fact that he has his release and he'll be doing something else. He'll be under new management and new oversight next year and I'll just stand aside and watch and see how that works out for him."

Roush said he had not talked with Busch or any of his representatives and did not know the facts of the incident. Asked how this situation might impact Crown Royal, a distilled Canadian whisky that is Busch's current sponsor, Roush said, "It would be an issue for Crown Royal, I'm sure, if that proves to be a fact, and going down the road with that relationship.

"But, happily, I feel we that we can stand aside of it now and say it's none of my affair."

NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said: "It's a traffic ticket as far as we know."

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

I think its just favoratism and, the good ole boy system. Nascar tries to portray the Busch brothers as the ''quinessential all american boys,'' in truth they're assholes.

[Craptacular]

I just lost a lot of respect for Jack Roush. His driver gets pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving, refuses a field sobriety test (which is pretty much an admission of guilt), and he won't take action? He's still your fuckin' driver! Suspend him for the last two races. To say he's not your problem anymore and let him off the hook is a disgrace.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Craptacular

I just lost a lot of respect for Jack Roush. His driver gets pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving, refuses a field sobriety test (which is pretty much an admission of guilt), and he won't take action? He's still your fuckin' driver! Suspend him for the last two races. To say he's not your problem anymore and let him off the hook is a disgrace.

Under the circumstances, I don't have much problem with Roush's decision -- he can't win if he suspends the whiz kid, too many people will play it off as "he's just mad 'cause Kurt is leaving".

It's been increasingly clear that Roush can't wait to see the little brat gone (how much of that is sour grapes & how much is being fed up with him... who knows), if anything, I wouldn't be surprised if he's not suspending him in order for the subject to get more play & be a bigger issue in hopes that it does as much damage as possible to Busch.

[JonInMiddleGA]

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/s...=wc&id=2222901

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Kurt Busch was suspended by his team Sunday for the last two races of the NASCAR season after police cited the reigning Nextel Cup champion for reckless driving.

Busch will be replaced in Sunday's race at Phoenix International Raceway by Kenny Wallace. Busch will not drive in next week's season finale at Homestead.

"The team has elected to suspend Kurt Busch for the rest of the season," said Geoff Smith, president of Rousch Racing. "We took this action following an evaluation of the circumstances surrounding Kurt's Friday night altercation with the Arizona sheriff's office."

[Galaxy]

Glad to see Kenny get a shot.

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

Nice to see ''the cat in the hat'' suspended him. Make an example that such shenanegans will not be tolerated.

[Ryan S]

This all seems like a massive overreaction.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Let me see here ...

I just lost a lot of respect for Jack Roush. His driver gets pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving, refuses a field sobriety test (which is pretty much an admission of guilt), and he won't take action? He's still your fuckin' driver! Suspend him for the last two races. To say he's not your problem anymore and let him off the hook is a disgrace.

And then ...

This all seems like a massive overreaction.

Lemme see here, what did I say about this yesterday?

he can't win

Yep, human nature rarely lets me down

[Craptacular]

I don't think it's an overreaction at all.

[Donnie Baker]

Stewart incurred tire problems and crashed. He is six laps down and has lost the points lead to Ryan Newman.

This whole race for the cup crap is stupid. Stewart would have wrapped up the Cup by now if they stayed with the old rules.

If you're having 10 drivers race for the cup then either have just a 10 car race for the final 10 races or only count the points based on where they finish in relation to each other. It's stupid to allow people not involved in the 'Chase' to have an much impact on it as they do. In no actual sport are the participants who are already eliminated from 'post season' competition allowed to actually be involved in potentially deciding the winner. Until they can figure that out, it will scream nothing more than Red Neck.

Before you jump all over me about the whole: If you don't like NA$CAR than stay out of the thread crap. Let me say thihs, I am a casual fan of it, but have lost interest since they decided to change the format to something so stupid. I still watch an ocasional race or pieces of them, but nowhere near what I did a few years back.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by Donnie Baker

This whole race for the cup crap is stupid. Stewart would have wrapped up the Cup by now if they stayed with the old rules.

this would be my exact argument in FAVOR of the playoff system. I love it; every race has so many added levels of interesting plotlines now.

Originally Posted by Donnie Baker

If you're having 10 drivers race for the cup then either have just a 10 car race for the final 10 races or only count the points based on where they finish in relation to each other. It's stupid to allow people not involved in the 'Chase' to have an much impact on it as they do.

well, I have about as much interest in watching a 10-car race as I do in having the Super Bowl settled by a big old game of 7 on 7 flag football. It would just be a different race. as for points being relative to just the 10 guys, that would be even less fair - if Stewart wins the race, Johnson finished 10 th, behind 8 non-contending cars, it'd count the same as if he'd finished 2nd?

It's cool that you don't like it, but I definitely don't share your view.

[Galaxy]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

this would be my exact argument in FAVOR of the playoff system. I love it; every race has so many added levels of interesting plotlines now.



well, I have about as much interest in watching a 10-car race as I do in having the Super Bowl settled by a big old game of 7 on 7 flag football. It would just be a different race. as for points being relative to just the 10 guys, that would be even less fair - if Stewart wins the race, Johnson finished 10 th, behind 8 non-contending cars, it'd count the same as if he'd finished 2nd?

It's cool that you don't like it, but I definitely don't share your view.

Agree, plus if Stewart won the championship already, why race anymore?

[WrongWay]

Originally Posted by CHEMICAL SOLDIER

Nascars Race for The Cup !!! 10 weeks, 10 races. Who is gonna take the cup?
The chase starts at Ludon today with The Sylvania 300. Watch for the first few laps and see which teams get knocked out first.

When did Nascar steal this slogan from America's Cup?

Sorry, but when I read the headline I immediately started thinking about yacht racing.

When does the chase for the cup begin? Is the big black boat of New Zeland still dominating the course? Is Dennis Connor still racing?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Galaxy

Agree, plus if Stewart won the championship already, why race anymore?

Umm ... same reason they race every week? $$$

[Donnie Baker]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

as for points being relative to just the 10 guys, that would be even less fair - if Stewart wins the race, Johnson finished 10 th, behind 8 non-contending cars, it'd count the same as if he'd finished 2nd?

How would it be less fair? The idea is to beat the other 9 drivers that are in the 'race for the cup'. Joe Blow who is not in the final points race should have no affect on the standings of the playoff system. A team-mate from one of those 10 can now have more impact on the standings than they have the right to. Say Stewart is winning the race and just to pick a driver, let's say Martin is in 8th (but 2nd among the 10) and needs to be 7th based on these current rules to pass Stewart. Why give that current 7th place car a chance to ruin Martin's chances?

Again, your goal is notw to beat the other 9 drivers, the others in the field should have no impact on THIS standings.


Oh, and back to the other point. Why are you punishing a driver who has the best season? It's a seasonal award so why pretend to create drama. Using this format a driver would in theory have the best season ever (winning all 26 previous races) and still not win because he was only 2nd best in the final 10 races. Shouldn't the idea be to reward extended domination?


Oh well, I guess we'll agree to disagree.