Burton: ‘Fans were cheated’ when Jimmie Johnson chose not to qualify at Fontana

Every driver should have to "try" to qualify for a race, Now either Nascar will make a rule or others that don't have to qualify may start doing this
 
ToyYoda said:
No offense meant here, but that's kind of where I was in the late 90's when Jeff Gordon was winning just about every week. 1998 was extra difficult to watch as two drivers (Gordon and Martin) won 20 of 33 races that year.
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I made it to eight races in '98, the most I've attended in one season. Gordo won every stinkin' one of 'em. :mad:
 
Pat said:
Oh gosh yes. I have gone through a few Jimmie Johnson voo-doo dolls. But I put them in storage a long time ago. There is no denying his greatness. I would even like to see him get one more Championship before he retires.
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Horseshoes trump voodoo dolls.
 
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Charlie Spencer said:
Horseshoes trump voodoo dolls.
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It did. Many times.
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They should be able to take a break during qualifying. Sort of like another stage...or another break in competition.
 
Bucky Badger said:
Every driver should have to "try" to qualify for a race, Now either Nascar will make a rule or others that don't have to qualify may start doing this
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Why would teams want to skip qualifying? They would start in the back and lose choice of pit positions.
 
kymartin6 said:
Like what was mentioned earlier........ already in a backup car...... why take the chance of wrecking it and go home because of no ride?
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He could've borrowed one of his teammates' backup cars but I agree in that situation they made the smart choice. It was a special circumstance.
 
-^^ I couldn't come up with anything else ... which is why it won't become a thing.

Maybe on the roadies.
 
I am not sure I can agree with Burton 100% on this one, and dont think there was anything wrong with the 48 team skipping qualifying, they did what they thought would be best for Sunday. I dont feel NASCAR should make a knee jerk reaction right now, there is no reason , this isnt something that a lot of teams are doing, and I dont think it will become a issue, like already pointed out, there is no benefit to skipping qualifying .
 
jws926 said:
I am not sure I can agree with Burton 100% on this one, and dont think there was anything wrong with the 48 team skipping qualifying, they did what they thought would be best for Sunday. I dont feel NASCAR should make a knee jerk reaction right now, there is no reason , this isnt something that a lot of teams are doing, and I dont think it will become a issue, like already pointed out, there is no benefit to skipping qualifying .
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I agree that NASCAR should stay out of this unless it becomes some kind of a trend at larger tracks although I can't see that happening. But if you told me 5 years ago that NASCAR would alter the inherent format of the sport and the Chase into a season of 36 3-stage based race weekends and a final race consisting of the final four competing for the Championship, I would not have believed you either.
 
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kyle18fan said:
This fan feels fine ..... no matter what the 48 does
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I found it intriguing that a seven time championship team couldn't prepare a back up. The whole time I was intrigued, I felt fine as well. Remember 2011 when Kyle spun on the first lap of practice, and tore his car to **** on the grass at Fontana. Back up was prepared in plenty of time. Think he may have had enough time to eat a pack of Skittles before qualifying even.
 
Pat said:
There were very solid reasons for not putting a car on the track for qualifying. The obvious being they are 3000 miles from Charlotte and they don't have a backup car.
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I call crap on that. This is the seven time champion. They could prepare the car just fine. Additionally, I call crap on worrying about wrecking the thing in qualifying when he went out for practice the next day. Don't get me wrong, I love what they did, but the explanations are bull****--but they did make me laugh.
 
Revman said:
I found it intriguing that a seven time championship team couldn't prepare a back up. The whole time I was intrigued, I felt fine as well. Remember 2011 when Kyle spun on the first lap of practice, and tore his car to sh!t on the grass at Fontana. Back up was prepared in plenty of time. Think he may have had enough time to eat a pack of Skittles before qualifying even.
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I think Chad has a life now ( other than the 48) :idunno:
 
Burton is correct.

These "entitled" lazy drivers think they should get automatic entries into the race.

That is BS -- if you don't qualify, you don't race.
 
Well, I’m not keen on the 48 team skipping qualifying too.

Yeah, it didn’t really matter since pit selection isn’t critical at Fontana, and neither is starting position, and not many people watch qualifying. But if you’re the reigning champion (and active driver with the most championships, supposedly trying to break that record) then I feel you owe it to NASCAR and your fans to support the whole show. Especially when NASCAR is trying to revive its popularity. Yeah you didn’t want to risk your backup car… but isn’t racing risky anyway? Isn’t it just as risky to start with the squirrels?

You wouldn’t act so blasé about qualifying if you didn’t have a franchise (guaranteed starting spot), or a champion’s provisional in case more than 40 cars showed up. But how do I reasonably explain to casual or new fans that a car that didn’t qualify still makes the race? Those rules don’t make sense to them, and smells like favoritism. Good thing a 41st team wasn’t there that qualified but got sent home anyway, while you got his starting spot after appearing to do nothing… that really hurts the sport’s credibility.

Now we’ve got a precedent, and unless NASCAR makes a new rule or starts giving qualifying points it won’t surprise me to see more teams skip qualifying. Why spend the effort and money? If you’ve got a guaranteed starting spot why not just work on your race setup? That’s what can win the race. The diehard fans will fully understand… hopefully your sponsors won’t mind missing this exposure.

Did you come to race and put on a good show? Or is your convenience more important? You crashed your primary car – it wasn’t NASCAR’s or the fans’ fault. And it’s not like you’re out of resources or money. I thought the rewards for winning a race and maybe a championship would attract your hardest efforts. If not, why are you here?


I’ve witnessed similar attitudes hurt local racing. Big teams deciding to skip the heat races because they know they’ll get to start the feature anyway, and also know they’ll probably fare well because they’ve got a lot of the field beat in resources and experience. I can’t keep new fans interested when fast cars disgrace half the show. But if you haven’t noticed that many fans think you’re bland and boring, this apparent snub just feeds their opinion. Good luck doing stuff like this and then learning how history remembers you.
 
And if a 41st car had been there and there were no charter guarantees, Knaus would have made a different decision.

They came to race. Qualifying isn't the race.

Don't blame teams for taking advantage of the rules. That's what they get paid to do. If you don't like it, blame the rule-makers.
 
For those that don't like this (it doesn't really bother me), blame the stages in addition to the tires. When you know a fake caution is coming after 60 laps, the chance of a top team getting lapped is very low. Under the old full race system, I'd wager JJ would have made it out to qualify.
 
Stacy said:
Burton is correct.

These "entitled" lazy drivers think they should get automatic entries into the race.

That is BS -- if you don't qualify, you don't race.
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I don't know if Burton is right or not...... but..... I agree with you wholeheartedly when you say if you don't qualify.... you don't race.... I never liked the ''35'' rule...... I don't care for the charter rule. I don't think anyone should be given a guaranteed entry into a race . This all started with the Champions provisional when Petty missed a race..... then was used almost every week by Darrel Waltrip..... and it just ballooned into the top 35 don't really have to worry ......... They get their welfare check every week whether they run hard or not...... Most of the teams running now were ''given'' a charter which is worth several million dollars if they want to lease or sell it....

I really don't care if Johnson or all of the whole charter field doesn't attempt qualifying...... they are locked in..... let the other 5 teams battle it out for their positions.
 
Jimmie Chad are not good for NASCAR.

I have no respect for Jimmie Johnson...
 
aunty dive said:
Goodness. That's a lot of righteous indignation.

He started at the back. Did you notice that?
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It's not righteous indignation - it's not my race or series. Just pointing out that if you expect to be considered a top professional then you grit out the whole deal instead of slacking off.
And yeah I noticed he started last - it was part of my point. He shouldn't have started at all.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
And if a 41st car had been there and there were no charter guarantees, Knaus would have made a different decision.

They came to race. Qualifying isn't the race.

Don't blame teams for taking advantage of the rules. That's what they get paid to do. If you don't like it, blame the rule-makers.
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No duh if a 41st car had been there and there were no charter guarantees, Knaus would have made a different decision. But that's not how it played out.
Qualifying is certainly a part of the race. Every team is expected to do so, even if the rules don't mandate it. That's how it is done every time except if weather rains it out.
Yeah, it's the series' fault of rules are porous enough that racers can take bad advantage of them. But that doesn't justify them doing so. It adds to why many former fans become former fans, and why newer fans don't stick around.
 
JJ should have gone out and done a lap at idle speed just to keep everyone happy. Or he could have come out and pretended that the car died and wouldn't re-fire. There are several ways to skin a cat.
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
JJ should have gone out and done a lap at idle speed just to keep everyone happy. Or he could have come out and pretended that the car died and wouldn't re-fire. There are several ways to skin a cat.
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There's no requirement that he do either, so why bother?

If a team makes the tactical decision to change 2 tires, would some of y'all argue it should be required to take 4? It's not in the rules, but still...
 
gone said:
... Qualifying is certainly a part of the race. Every team is expected to do so, even if the rules don't mandate it. ... Yeah, it's the series' fault of rules are porous enough that racers can take bad advantage of them. But that doesn't justify them doing so. ...
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Yes, it does justify it. Expect whatever you want, but teams in all sports are going to do whatever they think best improves their chances to win races, games, or events; and will sacrifice individual races or if they think that will winning a championship. Do you expect a starting quarterback to remain in the game when the team is up by six touchdowns, or to even start the last game when the team has locked up all playoff advantages?

Do you expect a race team to not try anything new, since whatever they're trying isn't specifically banned in the rules? Crew chiefs have been doing the unexpected from Day One. If NASCAR has heartburn, it usually responds, sometimes as soon as the next race.

The sport has a history of celebrating those who best exploited the 'gray areas' in the rule book. Heck, this one isn't even a gray area. If it isn't required or banned in the rules, it's fair game. This is just another example of Knaus demonstrating why he's the top chief of the last decade.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Yes, it does justify it. Expect whatever you want, but teams in all sports are going to do whatever they think best improves their chances to win races, games, or events; and will sacrifice individual races or if they think that will winning a championship. Do you expect a starting quarterback to remain in the game when the team is up by six touchdowns, or to even start the last game when the team has locked up all playoff advantages?

Do you expect a race team to not try anything new, since whatever they're trying isn't specifically banned in the rules? Crew chiefs have been doing the unexpected from Day One. If NASCAR has heartburn, it usually responds, sometimes as soon as the next race.

The sport has a history of celebrating those who best exploited the 'gray areas' in the rule book. Heck, this one isn't even a gray area. If it isn't required or banned in the rules, it's fair game. This is just another example of Knaus demonstrating why he's the top chief of the last decade.
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It's one thing to try new things, and to exploit gray areas in the rules. But this is not the case here - as even you admit. Traditional racing procedure is quite simple: you qualify and then you race. If you don't qualify you go home. My complaint boils down to: when the sanctioning body allows a team to violate that long-standing procedure - particularly its defending series champion - it makes people think something smells. I don't think that NASCAR can afford that when already its popularity is falling, and a lot of the reason it is falling is because of driver behavior and convoluted changing rules and NASCAR appearing to let too many transgressions slide.

But if you're okay with teams doing whatever they think best improves their chances to win, then with today's mix of Monster Energy Series rules and politics here's what I would do if I were a car owner with a franchise. If pit selection and starting position is not critical at the track we're at (which is a lot of them) then:
> Run the first practice or two, along with everybody else, and get lap times so I can see if we have a car fast enough to go for the pole (probably within the top five practice times).
> If not, forget about the pole and start working on our racing setup.
> Skip qualifying. Take the automatic starting spot, and convince the sponsor that race performance is much more important and will get him more exposure anyway.
BTW, if I was a multiple team owner all with franchises then I'd do this with all of my teams. At the same time at the same race.

After all, there can be significant differences in optimum setup for the race segments vs. a few jacked-up qualifying laps. And I get to sandbag other teams.
I don't have to waste time and money chasing a pole I'm not going to win, and instead spend more time than the other teams preparing for the race (which counts more anyway).
Fans might wonder if I think qualifying is a joke, and they'd be right. If NASCAR complained I'd use your excuse "If it isn't required or banned in the rules, it's fair game."
I suspect that if this works and my cars are strong in the race then other teams would copy. Qualifying might end up with only a dozen or so participants (mostly non-franchised teams and the fastest few in the opening practices). But I wouldn't expect people like you to complain...

You don't think that a lot of others would complain? Well, to use your football example have you ever noticed people complaining when teams who have made the playoffs sit out their stars for the last one or two regular season games? But I don't know, maybe you don't mind shelling out full price for tickets to events where you don't get to see the stars play.
 
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