Cup RACE thread ---- Atlanta


Denny to his social media team
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I was moving today so I could only pop in here and there on my phone and didn't have the volume up, but was the Chase stuff really that bad? I mean he did start on the pole in his home town as the sport's most popular driver, dominated the race and won everything there was to win today and made a killer move to do it at the end. That's pretty compelling television if you take a step back and look at it from an honest point of view. There's a lot of story line there. And by the way, every league has players that they do this for, it's not exclusive to NASCAR.
 
@4_tire_17gals is that you????

If anyone wants a whacko throwback look for that guys posts from years ago!

Indeed :XXROFL:

I decided to glance at this thread to see what everyone though of the race, and I'm glad I saw this gem. A couple of my favorite 4tires17gals/rainbowplates36 moments......


-Claiming he enjoyed watching pileups during a race, and comparing that to the thrilling sensation when he's driving a car on the freeway and slams on the brakes and watches as everyone behind him tries to avoid hitting him

-Stating that drivers with long legs, such as Kyle Busch and Brian Scott(!) have an unfair advantage in the race car
 
Lots of bad takes in this thread, though. Yikes.

I still prefer old Atlanta (and definitely prefer old old Atlanta) but I thought the race today was great. I was really pulling for Lajoie, it's a shame he couldn't pull it off.
 
Indeed :XXROFL:

I decided to glance at this thread to see what everyone though of the race, and I'm glad I saw this gem. A couple of my favorite 4tires17gals/rainbowplates36 moments......


-Claiming he enjoyed watching pileups during a race, and comparing that to the thrilling sensation when he's driving a car on the freeway and slams on the brakes and watches as everyone behind him tries to avoid hitting him

-Stating that drivers with long legs, such as Kyle Busch and Brian Scott(!) have an unfair advantage in the race car

He thought all the fans were paid actors. And NASCAR fixed every single thing down to the number of worms in the infield grass.
 
I was moving today so I could only pop in here and there on my phone and didn't have the volume up, but was the Chase stuff really that bad? I mean he did start on the pole in his home town as the sport's most popular driver, dominated the race and won everything there was to win today and made a killer move to do it at the end. That's pretty compelling television if you take a step back and look at it from an honest point of view. There's a lot of story line there. And by the way, every league has players that they do this for, it's not exclusive to NASCAR.

It was absolutely that bad and then some.


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I was moving today so I could only pop in here and there on my phone and didn't have the volume up, but was the Chase stuff really that bad? I mean he did start on the pole in his home town as the sport's most popular driver, dominated the race and won everything there was to win today and made a killer move to do it at the end. That's pretty compelling television if you take a step back and look at it from an honest point of view. There's a lot of story line there. And by the way, every league has players that they do this for, it's not exclusive to NASCAR.
The whole having Rutledge Wood at the Dawsonville Pool Room to check in occasionally was over the top. Way too much. Other than that, it's the typical Elliott haters doing what they do.
 
Look, the Rutledge on location deal is what they are doing this year. I don't really get it, but nobody asked me. At Nashville, he was at Tootsies, which is a Trackhouse sponsor, so what would have happened if Ross or Daniel would have won that race? The Dawsonville Pool Room has been a deal for about 1985, so it's not like this was out of left field. Was it REALLY any worse than Truex's nine home tracks? If they do it again next year, then it really is too much, but otherwise it just looks like the typical anti-Elliott crowd doing what they do.
 
Look, the Rutledge on location deal is what they are doing this year. I don't really get it, but nobody asked me. At Nashville, he was at Tootsies, which is a Trackhouse sponsor, so what would have happened if Ross or Daniel would have won that race? The Dawsonville Pool Room has been a deal for about 1985, so it's not like this was out of left field. Was it REALLY any worse than Truex's nine home tracks? If they do it again next year, then it really is too much, but otherwise it just looks like the typical anti-Elliott crowd doing what they do.
Will NBC send Rut to one of the Pocono honeymoon suites complete with the heart shaped hot tub when that stop hits the calendar in a few weeks? “Let’s go to Rut live from the NBC Honeymoon Suite...Rut you found some Kyle Busch fans celebrating their newly announced nuptials?”
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Many of his fans don’t do him any favors.
How many of you lived through the whole Dale Earnhardt era? The ONLY trouble I have EVER had with fans at the track were INCREDIBLY obnoxious Earnhardt fans. I'm pretty sure the worst Chase Elliott fans couldn't hold a candle to some of those guys AND gals. That is not meant to indict the entire group, but by sheer numbers, the obnoxious Earnhardt fans were overwhelming.
 
7 races before the cutoff. I'm not worried. Until three races ago Elliott had one win
Frankly, I was worried about the 9 too, but they seem to have hit their stride, at least for now. The other three teams may also, but the clock is ticking, and as I said, the 24 and 48 haven't done diddly squat for a couple of months. The 5 may be fine, but they just don't look like championship contenders to me. As far as HMS as a whole, I am still seeing see way too many unforced errors, and weeks like Gateway where the entire organization just flat out stunk.
 
How many of you lived through the whole Dale Earnhardt era? The ONLY trouble I have EVER had with fans at the track were INCREDIBLY obnoxious Earnhardt fans.
I did, and they were.

And as for the favorability that NBC/USA showed to Chase Elliott yesterday, CBS would make entire telecasts about Dale Earnhardt. I liked Ken Squier, but the guy wouldn’t shut up about Earnhardt on any telecast he did.
 
Look, the Rutledge on location deal is what they are doing this year. I don't really get it, but nobody asked me. At Nashville, he was at Tootsies, which is a Trackhouse sponsor, so what would have happened if Ross or Daniel would have won that race? The Dawsonville Pool Room has been a deal for about 1985, so it's not like this was out of left field. Was it REALLY any worse than Truex's nine home tracks? If they do it again next year, then it really is too much, but otherwise it just looks like the typical anti-Elliott crowd doing what they do.
Pretty sure Dawsonville is the only city in America that shuts down on Sundays for their driver too. It's like a Texas high school football town on a Friday night. It's unique, and worth talking about. Idk, I really don't understand the sour grapes but if Chase's fans are the only thing to hate about Chase then what are we really arguing about. If his fans were all great it'd be some other lame excuse. "He has a mustache, screw him!"
 
here are some of my quick thoughts

1. I hate artificially close racing, so no I'm not a fan of the current Atlanta configuration and the engine hp and downforce package they are "racing" with. I'd rate the race as a 4
2. Was pulling for Lajoie to pull it off at the end, good run by him and that team.
3. crowd looked better then I thought it'd be
4. Rutledge Wood is an idiot and I hate seeing him on TV
5. I actually really enjoyed the booth though for this race.
6. Yes I know Chase is from the state of Georgia, my God.... enough of the reminders
7. Chastain is racing like a complete ass. He needs to get his ass kicked, but something tells me Denny is going to wait until it matters for Ross and ruin his day and championship hopes.
8. Welcome to NASCAR in the year 2022 where it's more about WWE type hyping up future wrecks then it is celebrating actual racing. That's the byproduct of this insanely dumbass playoff points system. But I gotta admit, I'm going to tune in to see what Denny does.
9. Continuing on the Ross theme, after the race what a great job the NBC pit reporter did by not asking anything to Ross about the Hamlin wreck.... bravo girl
10. Finally, Ross was asked by a Youtuber about the wreck and he said something along the lines of "well this is different, I had this damage and drifted up into him".... okay, well why is that Denny's problem? I agree with Burton in the booth, you have a gas pedal, if you can't hold your car down, then you need to lift
 
How many of you lived through the whole Dale Earnhardt era? The ONLY trouble I have EVER had with fans at the track were INCREDIBLY obnoxious Earnhardt fans. I'm pretty sure the worst Chase Elliott fans couldn't hold a candle to some of those guys AND gals. That is not meant to indict the entire group, but by sheer numbers, the obnoxious Earnhardt fans were overwhelming.
I concur. But anyone that is a winner is going to get them. Except Johnson.....for some reason the he never garnered the following winners such as Gordon and Earnhardt garnered. Even driving a Chevy....
 
How many of you lived through the whole Dale Earnhardt era? The ONLY trouble I have EVER had with fans at the track were INCREDIBLY obnoxious Earnhardt fans. I'm pretty sure the worst Chase Elliott fans couldn't hold a candle to some of those guys AND gals. That is not meant to indict the entire group, but by sheer numbers, the obnoxious Earnhardt fans were overwhelming.
Only trouble I ever had at a race was a Coke 600 when I was like 14 or so. I made mistake of wearing a Bill Elliott shirt. Sr fan dumped his Bud tall boy on me and the program I had just bought with my allowance from mowing yards. He just said "oops." What made it worse was Earnhardt won that day, overcoming a NASCAR penalty on the way. E fans were literally climbing the fence near finish line as he took checkers. It was rough. Beer dumper was screaming "even NASCAR couldn't beat him today mfer!!!!!"
 
Frankly, I was worried about the 9 too, but they seem to have hit their stride, at least for now. The other three teams may also, but the clock is ticking, and as I said, the 24 and 48 haven't done diddly squat for a couple of months. The 5 may be fine, but they just don't look like championship contenders to me. As far as HMS as a whole, I am still seeing see way too many unforced errors, and weeks like Gateway where the entire organization just flat out stunk.

24 was good enough to win yesterday until he got caught up in a wreck


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Look, the Rutledge on location deal is what they are doing this year. I don't really get it, but nobody asked me. At Nashville, he was at Tootsies, which is a Trackhouse sponsor, so what would have happened if Ross or Daniel would have won that race? The Dawsonville Pool Room has been a deal for about 1985, so it's not like this was out of left field. Was it REALLY any worse than Truex's nine home tracks? If they do it again next year, then it really is too much, but otherwise it just looks like the typical anti-Elliott crowd doing what they do.

Truex's 9 home tracks lol


I remember from 2017-2019 I was a legit Truex hater. That's gone though.

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I concur. But anyone that is a winner is going to get them. Except Johnson.....for some reason the he never garnered the following winners such as Gordon and Earnhardt garnered. Even driving a Chevy....
He got loads of outrageous hate on the contrary.

And I think Jimmie's NASCAR persona was so calculatedly neutral, he never really attracted overly emotional fans.

Gordon attracted a new demographic but also fans who hated Dale. Dale was Dale. Jimmie just whipped ****, listed off his sponsors...there wasn't anything about him to draw in passionate fans unless people followed him prior to NASCAR

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Only trouble I ever had at a race was a Coke 600 when I was like 14 or so. I made mistake of wearing a Bill Elliott shirt. Sr fan dumped his Bud tall boy on me and the program I had just bought with my allowance from mowing yards. He just said "oops." What made it worse was Earnhardt won that day, overcoming a NASCAR penalty on the way. E fans were literally climbing the fence near finish line as he took checkers. It was rough. Beer dumper was screaming "even NASCAR couldn't beat him today mfer!!!!!"
I had a similar experience with an Earnhardt fan at the 03 Brickyard. I was 11.

Dude was just an obnoxious senior fan who accidentally spilled his beer on me as well, flipped off Gordon, etc. It didn't get weird until the end, after he was obviously in the tank.

He was wearing overalls and somehow got my attention. He says, and I kid you not, "it's crazy. Did you know I was abducted by aliens?". He went on to explain that he has a scar to prove it and then begin to unstrap his overalls and turned around to show me, my mother got on his ass. It was really freaking weird.

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I concur. But anyone that is a winner is going to get them. Except Johnson.....for some reason the he never garnered the following winners such as Gordon and Earnhardt garnered. Even driving a Chevy....
I think Jimmie got the hate because he stole a lot of Gordon’s thunder. Jimmie’s career was ascending as Gordon’s was descending a bit, and Gordon never won a championship again after Jimmie came to Cup full-time. Jimmie winning 5 of them consecutively probably gave a lot of people Jimmie fatigue as well. Plus there was the perception that his personality was too vanilla.
 
Nascar is a publicity machine by any means possible. Still its the best racing series by far (to me).
 
I think Jimmie got the hate because he stole a lot of Gordon’s thunder. Jimmie’s career was ascending as Gordon’s was descending a bit, and Gordon never won a championship again after Jimmie came to Cup full-time. Jimmie winning 5 of them consecutively probably gave a lot of people Jimmie fatigue as well. Plus there was the perception that his personality was too vanilla.
it's a tough thing to process when another dude comes in that races for the same team as your favorite driver and immediately beings kicking his ass. Signed.....a bitter Jeff Gordon fan.
 
I think Jimmie got the hate because he stole a lot of Gordon’s thunder. Jimmie’s career was ascending as Gordon’s was descending a bit, and Gordon never won a championship again after Jimmie came to Cup full-time. Jimmie winning 5 of them consecutively probably gave a lot of people Jimmie fatigue as well. Plus there was the perception that his personality was too vanilla.
It really wasn't just Jimmie though, Gordon's reign was short lived. 2001 at the latest. That 1999-2005 era boomed so much young talent in elite equipment, a path Gordon paved. I know his fans like to attribute his decline due to not having Evernham. But no thanks. In 1999, 2000, and 2001 alone you had three new young drivers in Busch, Stewart and Kenseth who would win a championship in the next few years. Race winners in Harvick, Newman, Jr, Biffle, Johnson emerging. The cup field got LOADED with young championship caliber talent in championship caliber equipment in about a 4 year span, and they were all capable of winning. And that's why Gordon's decline happened. He raced a field of VASTLY more talented drivers between 2002-2014 than he did from 1992-1999.

I looked up the race winners from 2004, and what really blew my mind was that outside of Gordon's 5 wins, 25/31 races that year were won by drivers who entered the sport between 1999-2003. 81% of the races Gordon didn't win were won by young new stars. I'm not saying Gordon's numbers are inflated, as outside of Johnson, I do think Gordon was the best.

Tony Stewart statistically outperformed Gordon from 1999-2005 culmatively. Johnson outperformed Gordon from 2002-2005. So while Tony and Jimmie stole Jeff's thunder, it really was the entire boom of talent that brought Gordon back down to earth. Up until 2000, it had been a good 6 or 7 years since a driver put together 2-3 consecutive years as good as Gordon, and now you have two guys doing it.

Then Johnson comes in, hits his prime, and dominates AGAINST a field that ended Gordon's reign, and did so for quite a bit longer than Gordon ever did - he dominated Gordon for twice as long Gordon dominated the 90s and his fans hate it.

But it wasn't just Jimmie who stole his thunder.

It was NASCAR'S new millennium

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24 was good enough to win yesterday until he got caught up in a wreck


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Which illustrates my point that they are showing speed, but not getting anything to show for it. 11 straight weeks of not much to show for it. Showing speed alone will not carry you deep in the playoffs.
 
It really wasn't just Jimmie though, Gordon's reign was short lived. 2001 at the latest. That 1999-2005 era boomed so much young talent in elite equipment, a path Gordon paved. I know his fans like to attribute his decline due to not having Evernham. But no thanks. In 1999, 2000, and 2001 alone you had three new young drivers in Busch, Stewart and Kenseth who would win a championship in the next few years. Race winners in Harvick, Newman, Jr, Biffle, Johnson emerging. The cup field got LOADED with young championship caliber talent in championship caliber equipment in about a 4 year span, and they were all capable of winning. And that's why Gordon's decline happened. He raced a field of VASTLY more talented drivers between 2002-2014 than he did from 1992-1999.

I looked up the race winners from 2004, and what really blew my mind was that outside of Gordon's 5 wins, 25/31 races that year were won by drivers who entered the sport between 1999-2003. 81% of the races Gordon didn't win were won by young new stars. I'm not saying Gordon's numbers are inflated, as outside of Johnson, I do think Gordon was the best.

Tony Stewart statistically outperformed Gordon from 1999-2005 culmatively. Johnson outperformed Gordon from 2002-2005. So while Tony and Jimmie stole Jeff's thunder, it really was the entire boom of talent that brought Gordon back down to earth. Up until 2000, it had been a good 6 or 7 years since a driver put together 2-3 consecutive years as good as Gordon, and now you have two guys doing it.

Then Johnson comes in, hits his prime, and dominates AGAINST a field that ended Gordon's reign, and did so for quite a bit longer than Gordon ever did - he dominated Gordon for twice as long Gordon dominated the 90s and his fans hate it.

But it wasn't just Jimmie who stole his thunder.

It was NASCAR'S new millennium

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Don't really disagree with anything you've stated, but I'll just say that if Gordon had won the 2004 and 2007 titles, which he absolutely SHOULD have, the narrative changes a little bit. Of course could have, would have and should have gets you nothing, I'm just pointing out that Gordon was THAT CLOSE to rewriting the story little bit. I think the biggest disappointment of my entire Jeff Gordon fandom was that he was never able to close the deal just ONE more time after his historic run of 1995-2001, and I will say I think things INSIDE the 24 camp probably played as much a part in that as who he was competing against.
 
It really wasn't just Jimmie though, Gordon's reign was short lived. 2001 at the latest. That 1999-2005 era boomed so much young talent in elite equipment, a path Gordon paved. I know his fans like to attribute his decline due to not having Evernham. But no thanks. In 1999, 2000, and 2001 alone you had three new young drivers in Busch, Stewart and Kenseth who would win a championship in the next few years. Race winners in Harvick, Newman, Jr, Biffle, Johnson emerging. The cup field got LOADED with young championship caliber talent in championship caliber equipment in about a 4 year span, and they were all capable of winning. And that's why Gordon's decline happened. He raced a field of VASTLY more talented drivers between 2002-2014 than he did from 1992-1999.

I looked up the race winners from 2004, and what really blew my mind was that outside of Gordon's 5 wins, 25/31 races that year were won by drivers who entered the sport between 1999-2003. 81% of the races Gordon didn't win were won by young new stars. I'm not saying Gordon's numbers are inflated, as outside of Johnson, I do think Gordon was the best.

Tony Stewart statistically outperformed Gordon from 1999-2005 culmatively. Johnson outperformed Gordon from 2002-2005. So while Tony and Jimmie stole Jeff's thunder, it really was the entire boom of talent that brought Gordon back down to earth. Up until 2000, it had been a good 6 or 7 years since a driver put together 2-3 consecutive years as good as Gordon, and now you have two guys doing it.

Then Johnson comes in, hits his prime, and dominates AGAINST a field that ended Gordon's reign, and did so for quite a bit longer than Gordon ever did - he dominated Gordon for twice as long Gordon dominated the 90s and his fans hate it.

But it wasn't just Jimmie who stole his thunder.

It was NASCAR'S new millennium

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You and I have discussed this before but I Think your narrative would be different if The Chase wasnt implemented. Jeff absolutely had title teams in 04, 07 and 14. Those drivers you mentioned all adjusted to the Chase and the Playoffs better than the 24 did for some reason. I also think those hard crashes at Vegas and Pocono took some steam out of JG in his later career. I think Jimmie Johnson is the best Chase/Playoff era driver ever..... but Jeff's talent didnt fall off a cliff like Jimmie's did in his later years. Jeff was still making Chases/Playoffs in his late 30's and early 40's and while I wouldnt say contending (outside of 14) he had a puncher's chance. Which is more than I can say for what JJ had after his 7th in 16.
 
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Don't really disagree with anything you've stated, but I'll just say that if Gordon had won the 2004 and 2007 titles, which he absolutely SHOULD have, the narrative changes a little bit. Of course could have, would have and should have gets you nothing, I'm just pointing out that Gordon was THAT CLOSE to rewriting the story little bit. I think the biggest disappointment of my entire Jeff Gordon fandom was that he was never able to close the deal just ONE more time after his historic run of 1995-2001, and I will say I think things INSIDE the 24 camp probably played as much a part in that as who he was competing against.
what was going on in the 24 camp? Insider info that you care to share??
 
what was going on in the 24 camp? Insider info that you care to share??
I just think the talent drain after Ray left hurt the team going forward, even though they won again in 01, then starting over with Robbie and then having him bow out and you end up with a rookie crew chief who probably wasn’t quite ready, Jeff’s divorce and the mess surrounding it, Jeff reordering his life where maybe it wasn’t 100% racing 24/7 anymore, marriage again, kids, yet another crew chief, I think it all adds up and when you have a pair of machines in Jimmie & Chad right under your own roof upstaging you at every term, it’s not hard for me to see how team 24 probably lost focus a little bit. I also don’t know how much help the 24 was getting from the 48. I really don’t know what the relationship was between Robbie and Chad, but you probably couldn’t find too more different people, especially Chad version 1.0. I like Latarte, but he was basically Chad’s little brother following him around, and Chad and Alan were not close at all during that time period. Nothing huge, but it all adds up when you are trying to beat some of the best young talent to come along in years.
 
Don't really disagree with anything you've stated, but I'll just say that if Gordon had won the 2004 and 2007 titles, which he absolutely SHOULD have, the narrative changes a little bit. Of course could have, would have and should have gets you nothing, I'm just pointing out that Gordon was THAT CLOSE to rewriting the story little bit. I think the biggest disappointment of my entire Jeff Gordon fandom was that he was never able to close the deal just ONE more time after his historic run of 1995-2001, and I will say I think things INSIDE the 24 camp probably played as much a part in that as who he was competing against.
2004 I disagree.

But it still wouldn't have changed the narrative, only because I'm referencing the head to head stats, wins, top 5s, top 10s, avg finish, laps lead etc all were significantly in favor of Johnson, even if the championship count was 2 to 4, or 1 to 5

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