2017 Talladega - Alabama 500 - Pre Race Thread

Formerjackman said:
Oh goodie.......:owquitit: 480 miles of meaningless half-hearted competition followed by 20 miles of random luck and carnage....
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I'm not a fan of plate racing, and it is my least favorite form of stock car racing by a large margin. But in the interest of fairness, it has been a long time since the initial 480 miles was meaningless, half-hearted riding around, at least by those who plan to contend for the win. All plate races for the last three or four years have featured a constant struggle for track position at the front that begins on lap 1 and never lets up. I suspect we'll see that again next Sunday. I hope so.

Oh, and one more thing... the random luck and carnage can happen *any* time, not just at the end... :D That is one reason why plate races are compelling, must-watch TV. You just can't look away, or at least I can't... even though I don't respect this as good skill-based automobile racing. There is skill required, just not traditional racing skills. Just my $0.02.
 
LewTheShoe said:
I'm not a fan of plate racing, and it is my least favorite form of stock car racing by a large margin. But in the interest of fairness, it has been a long time since the initial 480 miles was meaningless, half-hearted riding around, at least by those who plan to contend for the win. All plate races for the last three or four years have featured a constant struggle for track position at the front that begins on lap 1 and never lets up. I suspect we'll see that again next Sunday. I hope so.

Oh, and one more thing... the random luck and carnage can happen *any* time, not just at the end... :D That is one reason why plate races are compelling, must-watch TV. You just can't look away, or at least I can't... even though I don't respect this as good skill-based automobile racing. There is skill required, just not traditional racing skills. Just my $0.02.
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Skills like Stenhouse, Jimmy Spencer, David Ragan, Trevor Bayne and John Andretti possess for sure.
 
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Formerjackman said:
Oh goodie.......:owquitit: 480 miles of meaningless half-hearted competition followed by 20 miles of random luck and carnage. I watch only so I can answer questions from people smart enough to do something more exciting four Sundays a year, like grout the bathtub, or change the air in their car tires......
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Don't forget to tell those smart folks to clean the gutters, sweep out behind the refrigerator, and change the litter in the cat's box. :D
 
I dont care what anyone says I love me some plate racing. ITs what stock car racing needs. TO be honest, its dangerous but this sport is supposed to be! Cars are as safe as possible, but this track is dangerous and the speeds are very high. Our heroes do battle here.
 
OK, tell me ONE REASON any driver with something on the line should go up front and try to race anybody before say, 50 miles to go? What is there to be gained when one false move will put you right back where you started? The stage points may change that a LITTLE bit, but the stage points won't make up for a DNF. As for the danger, I'm not so concerned about that (although that is a real concern), but I AM concerned about all the torn up equipment. More than once, I have seen a four car team drag all four of their cars onto the haulers because they will no longer roll. Back when good cars and drivers could get out front and separate themselves from the pack it wasn't as bad, but now it's just a bunch of cars in a wad. The list of winners listed above tells you how random this type of race can be. As far as I'm concerned, it's a contrived form of racing that is every bit as goofy as how we determine the series champion now.
 
Formerjackman said:
OK, tell me ONE REASON any driver with something on the line should go up front and try to race anybody before say, 50 miles to go? What is there to be gained when one false move will put you right back where you started? The stage points may change that a LITTLE bit, but the stage points won't make up for a DNF. As for the danger, I'm not so concerned about that (although that is a real concern), but I AM concerned about all the torn up equipment. More than once, I have seen a four car team drag all four of their cars onto the haulers because they will no longer roll. Back when good cars and drivers could get out front and separate themselves from the pack it wasn't as bad, but now it's just a bunch of cars in a wad. The list of winners listed above tells you how random this type of race can be. As far as I'm concerned, it's a contrived form of racing that is every bit as goofy as how we determine the series champion now.
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STAGE POINTS.
 
I'll take a top 5 and no stage points over a bunch of stage points and a DNF. Also, isn't it sad that NASCAR had to come up with a new gimmick just so drivers could be coerced into doing something not in their best interest?
 
If you're in the top five, you are USUALLY fairly safe, but beyond that, I'd rather be out back until it counts. Even if you ARE in the top five, usually at least once or twice you will get booted back into the snarling pack. I think that equalizing factor mentioned above just causes people to drive over their head and cause problems too.
 
Alabama 500: Sunday, Oct. 15. 1 pm CDT Start
• Grand Marshal: As previously announced, Governor Kay Ivey (R), the 54th Governor of Alabama, will give the command "Drivers, Start Your Engines," before the start of the "Wildcard" second race in the Round of 12 of the MENCS playoffs.
• National Anthem: Tradition returns to NASCAR's Biggest and Baddest track for the seventh consecutive MENCS race, as the 313th United States Army Band will delight the crowd with its rendition of the National Anthem. The instrumental version of the Star-Spangled Banner is performed by a group of citizen-soldiers from neighboring Birmingham who train and perform as Army musicians.
• Johnny Ray's Big Rig Drive By: Another Talladega tradition since 2001 will be in full force with Johnny Ray's iconic diesel big-rig, zooming down the frontstretch during the National Anthem, flying a giant American flag.
• Military Flyover - First of its Kind: Talladega Superspeedway will host the first ever NASCAR Air Force Heritage Flight flyover at the conclusion of the National Anthem. It will feature a P-51 Mustang, recognized as one of the most dominant fighter planes in the World War II era, along with a modern-day F-16 Fighting Falcon, a compact, multi-role fighter jet. The U.S. Air Force Heritage Flight (HF) program presents the evolution of USAF air power by flying today's state-of-the-art fighter aircraft in close formation with vintage fighter aircraft.
• Invocation: Buster Taylor, of Alabama Raceway Ministries, will give the invocation.

http://www.espn.com/jayski/cup/2017...e-dignitaries-announce-talladega-race-weekend
 
DanicaFreak said:
I dont care what anyone says I love me some plate racing. ITs what stock car racing needs. TO be honest, its dangerous but this sport is supposed to be! Cars are as safe as possible, but this track is dangerous and the speeds are very high. Our heroes do battle here.
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Here Here! :cheers:
 
Plate racing, where dreams of a championship can turn into a nightmare in the blink of an eye..
Nothing against plate racing aka crash festing, but don't believe it should be in the chase elimination rounds.
 
Formerjackman said:
OK, tell me ONE REASON any driver with something on the line should go up front and try to race anybody before say, 50 miles to go? What is there to be gained when one false move will put you right back where you started? The stage points may change that a LITTLE bit, but the stage points won't make up for a DNF. As for the danger, I'm not so concerned about that (although that is a real concern), but I AM concerned about all the torn up equipment. More than once, I have seen a four car team drag all four of their cars onto the haulers because they will no longer roll. Back when good cars and drivers could get out front and separate themselves from the pack it wasn't as bad, but now it's just a bunch of cars in a wad. The list of winners listed above tells you how random this type of race can be. As far as I'm concerned, it's a contrived form of racing that is every bit as goofy as how we determine the series champion now.
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OK, tell me ONE REASON any driver with something on the line should go up front and try to race anybody before say, 50 miles to go? Jr could write a book on how well that works out.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
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The first time alcohol, beer, will be sold in the track or just in the stores around the area, I wonder. It has been years,10-12 since I was able to attend a race at Talladega and I don't recall if you could buy a beer in the stands or not.
 
TIRE CODES

Tire: Goodyear Eagle Superspeedway Radials

Set limits:
Cup: 2 sets for practice, 1 set for qualifying and 6 sets for the race;
Truck: 4 sets for the event

Tire Codes:
Left-side -- D-4596; Right-side -- D-4630

Tire Circumference:
Left-side -- 87.91 in. (2,233 mm);
Right-side -- 88.39 in. (2,245 mm)

Minimum Recommended Inflation:
Left Front -- 27 psi; Left Rear - 27 psi;
Right Front -- 50 psi; Right Rear -- 50 psi

Storyline - Path of Least Resistance: Most times putting camber in a race car's set-up is designed to increase the footprint of the tires and increase grip through the corners. At Talladega Superspeedway, there is another benefit and it involves performance on the straightaways. By increasing the camber - or the amount the top of tires are tilted -- the car will run only on the inboard portion of the right-front tire (and outboard of the left-front) down the flatter straightaways, thus reducing the rolling resistance on the car and increasing the potential for speed. This comes most into play at Talladega on the right-front corner of the car, primarily because the camber rules are a little more liberal for the front tires and there has been known to be some right-side wear at this track over the past several seasons.

"NASCAR teams look for any and all advantages to gain speed, and influencing the rolling resistance through suspension settings, like camber, is one way they can do that at Talladega," said Greg Stucker, Goodyear's director of racing. "Since the track was repaved back in 2010, the amount of tire wear has increased over the years, leading to us bringing a more wear-resistant right-side tread compound starting in 2014. With the right-front normally seeing a significant amount of camber, teams will wear that inboard inch or two pretty heavily this weekend."

Notes: Teams in both the NASCAR Cup and Camping World Truck Series will run the same tire set-up at Talladega this weekend . . . for Cup teams, this combination of left- and right-side tires dates back to October 2014 . . . Truck teams began running this left-side tire code (D-4596) in 2014 and this right-side tire code (D-4630) in 2015 . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams are required to run inner liners in all four tire positions at Talladega . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.
 
Formerjackman said:
Oh goodie.......:owquitit: 480 miles of meaningless half-hearted competition followed by 20 miles of random luck and carnage. I watch only so I can answer questions from people smart enough to do something more exciting four Sundays a year, like grout the bathtub, or change the air in their car tires......
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Dude, if you don't like, don't watch it.

I don't like it either, but I'm not going to offer a load of El Toro Caca excuses in a feeble attempt to justify watching it. I'll watch it as another race on the schedule.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Dude, if you don't like, don't watch it.

I don't like it either, but I'm not going to offer a load of El Toro Caca excuses in a feeble attempt to justify watching it. I'll watch it as another race on the schedule.
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I watch restrictor plate races for the same reason I read the newspaper. The need to know what happened even if I draw no personal enjoyment from it.
 
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