2017 Talladega - GEICO 500 - Pre Race Thread

dadair6 said:
I took my wife to her first race at Darlington in 2015. She grew up loving jet fighters and air shows and went to Michigan for Aerospace Engineering. The first time the field came by under green she was hooked.

She's always wanted to go the Kentucky Derby when it fell on her birthday, this Saturday is the first time it's happened since we met. I had arrangements made to go, then she asked if we could go to Talladega instead.

We'll be there Saturday and Sunday.
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We all need a woman like that!
 
I have a love-hate relationship with this track. It requires no physical skill but it pushes every driver's mental toughness to the brink. A lot of luck is involved in winning but yet this track provides the small teams with a realistic chance to win. You can play the "normal" non-plate strategy of running hard and trying to lead as much as possible, or you can hang back until the final few laps in hopes to avoid being involved a big wreck (the latter not being "racing" in my opinion). You can tune your car to focus on either speed or handling, both of which are effective here (unlike most tracks where handling is paramount).

At the end of the day whether or not this is "real" racing, it is exciting as heck. The final 5 laps at Talladega are the most exciting 5 minutes in sports. Period.
 
dadair6 said:
I took my wife to her first race at Darlington in 2015. She grew up loving jet fighters and air shows and went to Michigan for Aerospace Engineering. The first time the field came by under green she was hooked.

She's always wanted to go the Kentucky Derby when it fell on her birthday, this Saturday is the first time it's happened since we met. I had arrangements made to go, then she asked if we could go to Talladega instead.

We'll be there Saturday and Sunday.
Click to expand...
I've been trying to get the woman to agree to attend a race. She HAAAATES NASCAR (is a drag racing fan only)....was your wife completely against the sport prior to her going to Darlington, or did she keep an open mind? Any suggestions of how I can convince my wife to go to a race would be greatly appreciated.
 
I absolutely love the stages at plate races so far. Really provides some serious mid race aggressiveness
 
RacerrecaR said:
I've been trying to get the woman to agree to attend a race. She HAAAATES NASCAR (is a drag racing fan only)....was your wife completely against the sport prior to her going to Darlington, or did she keep an open mind? Any suggestions of how I can convince my wife to go to a race would be greatly appreciated.
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My Darling Bride has tagged along on occasion, mostly on rain-delay dates when I'd otherwise be by myself. She usually does crosswords with her headphones set to a music station. She will admit that it's a much better experience at the track than on the tube. She still hates the old #18 souvenir hauler for not having any actual M&M's
 
Stewart-Haas Racing‏Verified account @StewartHaasRcng 2h2 hours ago
Our trucks get scrubbed every week before they hit the road. Hmm... something tells us it's time for a 6 mo check-up at @AspenDental.
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RacerrecaR said:
I've been trying to get the woman to agree to attend a race. She HAAAATES NASCAR (is a drag racing fan only)....was your wife completely against the sport prior to her going to Darlington, or did she keep an open mind? Any suggestions of how I can convince my wife to go to a race would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

I was lucky I'm that she's a huge sports fan. I half joke that I married her for her memorabilia collection. She enjoyed her first race, but she really got hooked when we rented intercoms and a scanner for the second one.
 
dadair6 said:
I was lucky in that she's a huge sports fan. I half joke that I married her for her memorabilia collection. She enjoyed her first race, but she really got hooked when we rented intercoms and a scanner for the second one.
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Jr Memory # 2 = Talladega 2015
Even though it's only happened two years ago, Jr winning at Dega two years ago is a favorite memory of mine because of all the heartbreak and close calls he had there in the past 10 years there, he then finally came though and won there again.
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Note: All times are ET



FRIDAY, MAY 5:
ON TRACK
-- 11:30 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, FS1 (Follow live)
-- 1:30-2:25 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, FS1 (Follow live)
-- 2:30-3:25 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice, FS1 (Follow live)
-- 4:30-5:25 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series final practice, FS1 (Follow live)

GARAGECAM (Watch live)
-- 1 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series
-- 2 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

PRESS PASS (Watch live)
-- 10 a.m.: Brendan Gaughan and Ben Kennedy
-- 10:15 a.m.: Erik Jones
-- 10:30 a.m.: Brennan Poole
-- 10:45 a.m.: Joey Logano
-- 11 a.m.: Elliott Sadler
-- 1:30 p.m.: Kyle Larson
-- 1:50 p.m.: Chase Elliott
-- 3:50 p.m.: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
 
Geico 500 odds to win...

Dale Earnhardt Jr. 8/1
Brad Keselowski 9/1
Joey Logano 9/1
Jimmie Johnson 10/1
Kevin Harvick 10/1
Chase Elliott 12/1
Denny Hamlin 12/1
Kyle Busch 12/1
Kyle Larson 12/1
Martin Truex Jr. 12/1
Matt Kenseth 15/1
Clint Bowyer 18/1
Kurt Busch 20/1
Ryan Blaney 20/1
Erik Jones 22/1
Kasey Kahne 25/1
Jamie McMurray 28/1
Austin Dillon 30/1
Trevor Bayne 30/1
Daniel Suarez 35/1
Ryan Newman 35/1
AJ Allmendinger 40/1
Danica Patrick 40/1
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 40/1
Paul Menard 50/1
Ty Dillon 50/1
Aric Almirola 55/1
Chris Buescher 90/1
 
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Whoah, Austin Dillon at 30/1 and McMurray at 28/1? Those are some of the better plate racers in the field.
 
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