Cup RACE thread --- Darlington

AuzGrams said:
Not every driver is like Brad Keselowski at closing out races. Brad is honestly the best closer in NASCAR aside from Harvick.

Larson vs Elliott is a solid battle worth watching once Larson gets in 1st rate equipment, though I'm OK with Ganassi winning a title.
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First rate race equipment?

He’s consistently been the fastest Chevy all season and is the favorite to be in the final race with ThE bIG tHrEe.

Where do you want him to go, HMS so he can struggle to finish top 10? Why would he leave. He’s been win competitive every season with CGR.

Maybe find a way to keep up with the track parameters instead of changing teams.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
First rate race equipment?

He’s consistently been the fastest Chevy all season and is the favorite to be in the final race with ThE bIG tHrEe.

Where do you want him to go, HMS so he can struggle to finish top 10? Why would he leave. He’s been win competitive every season with CGR.

Maybe find a way to keep up with the track parameters instead of changing teams.
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^^This. Tired of the lazy “Larson needs better equipment” narrative. His cars are fast. They’ve been as fast as anyone for the past 2 years. He needs to figure out how to close out a race. Period.
 
Larson is fine. Huge aero race. He was 2 tenths (at least) clear of the field in clean air. In traffic, he became vulnerable. He lost the race on pit road. He became vulnerable. Fabulous performance, really. He is the TRD one that got away. Would kill to have him back if he can fit it in around his dirt schedule. ;)
 
ChexOrWrex said:
First rate race equipment?

He’s consistently been the fastest Chevy all season and is the favorite to be in the final race with ThE bIG tHrEe.

Where do you want him to go, HMS so he can struggle to finish top 10? Why would he leave. He’s been win competitive every season with CGR.

Maybe find a way to keep up with the track parameters instead of changing teams.
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Larson is a perfect fit for Stewart-Haas Racing.

But I agree, it's good to see Chip's cars running well mainly because of Larson.
 
JBone88 said:
^^This. Tired of the lazy “Larson needs better equipment” narrative. His cars are fast. They’ve been as fast as anyone for the past 2 years. He needs to figure out how to close out a race. Period.
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His team lost the car and flubbed in the pits. Larson dominated and the boys behind the wall ruined it. Cant blame Larson IMO. Team sport.
 
gnomesayin said:
I get why Larson is developing this reputation. And it's always fun to go to the Skip Bayless Hot Take School of Sports Analysis and talk in easily digestible terms like choking and closing. In reality, the #42 was demonstrably very loose on the last run. It wasn't "the pressure" that slowed Larson by three to five tenths a lap at the end.
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Air. He would have won if he had controlled the start. That's all. Was going on all night.
 
One point separates Toyota from Ford in the Manufacturers Standings.
 
Larson has had better cars then Brad and Chase most of the season, but guess who has won races. Larson is popular so fans will constantly make excuses for him but if it was any other driver winless by this point he’d be getting crapped on. He has 5 wins in 5 years. He’d have to magically learn how to stop choking and win races at an astronomically high rate to even come close to the win totals of the elite drivers in the sport. Good luck with that. Like I said, 18 wins and Kasey Kahne territory is the most realistic. Also, we’re going to ignore that CGR has been giving him fast cars since summer 2016?
 
ChexOrWrex said:
His team lost the car and flubbed in the pits. Larson dominated and the boys behind the wall ruined it. Cant blame Larson IMO. Team sport.
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Last night yes. Not the first time it’s happened. They also gave Kyle a dominant piece that led 205 laps. The narrative that the 42 has no speed is false.

Also plenty of other instances where Larson makes mistakes at the wrong times. Doesn’t matter if you drive for CGR or HMS, gotta perform when it’s money time.
 
StandOnIt said:
Very important finding that kind of speed going into the playoffs, can't count Larson out.
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Only a fool would count Larson out. Simply saying they need to start getting W’s.
 
Larson didn’t choke, the 42 bunch lost the race on pit road. The 2 team are former Cup Champions and they showed why on pit road when it mattered. Larson should be frustrated, I’d be in tears too with frustration after kicking everyone’s ass all night and losing it on pit road with 20 to go.
 
StandOnIt said:
Very important finding that kind of speed going into the playoffs, can't count Larson out.
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“We had a good test at Richmond (last week). We learned some things with some different components, and I felt like it really helped our car there. “Chad (Johnston, crew chief) called back to the shop to get the primary (car) for here swapped over to kind of how we had it for Richmond, and was hoping that it was going to show some speed here, which it did.

https://www.motorsport.com/nascar-c...n-but-there-is-a-bright-spot/3170373/?nrt=119
 
Larson restarted on the front row...easily could've gotten the lead back, Brad had a bad restart and Logano wasn't on his bumper. But hurdy dur Gannassi sucks larsons the goat
 
DaBiff1618 said:
Larson restarted on the front row...easily could've gotten the lead back, Brad had a bad restart and Logano wasn't on his bumper. But hurdy dur Gannassi sucks larsons the goat
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Brad had a bad restart? I could have sworn he came out of turn one in the lead and drove off in clean air of course. The last time I looked that is what ya call a good restart.
 
The NBC Front stretch interview after the winner gets the checkered flag was awkward with NBC idiots in their pick up truck while Kez burned it down. I’d be fine with just the VL interview instead of the manufactured drama NBC tries to create.
 
Snappy D said:
The NBC Front stretch interview after the winner gets the checkered flag was awkward with NBC idiots in their pick up truck while Kez burned it down. I’d be fine with just the VL interview instead of the manufactured drama NBC tries to create.
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I'm hoping Kez makes them rethink their bright idea to have an interview at the track. He did an even better job of scaring the hell out of em after he won an Xfinity race, did a smoking burnout around the truck that time. :D
 
ChexOrWrex said:
Maybe find a way to keep up with the track parameters instead of changing teams.
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This.

The driver and CC need to optimize the car for the situation and then the driver needs to get there first.
 
harkin said:
This.

The driver and CC need to optimize the car for the situation and then the driver needs to get there first.
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the crew chief asked Larson if he needed any changes when he came into the pits the last pit stop and he said no, can't do anymore than that IMO. On the other hand the crew not having to make any changes and coming out second after the last pit stop didn't help matters. Nascar's over the top anal safety rules this year is another story, way too anal, too much about the pit stop instead of the racing. With the stages the five lap to go caution has pretty much gone by the wayside so the lug nut thing needs to go, and the constant holding hands with the tire rule is some kind of stupid. I think one of them got the idea from a Twister game.
 
AuzGrams said:
Larson is a perfect fit for Stewart-Haas Racing.

But I agree, it's good to see Chip's cars running well mainly because of Larson.
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Yeah, but who would you replace?
All 4 SHR drivers are in the chase
 
StandOnIt said:
the crew chief asked Larson if he needed any changes when he came into the pits the last pit stop and he said no, can't do anymore than that IMO.
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Besides understand the conditions and situation and prepare accordingly I agree.

The guys who finished ahead of him had something he didn’t at Crunch Time, find it and apply.
 
Snappy D said:
The NBC Front stretch interview after the winner gets the checkered flag was awkward with NBC idiots in their pick up truck while Kez burned it down. I’d be fine with just the VL interview instead of the manufactured drama NBC tries to create.
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Initially I felt the same way about the front stretch interview and thought it was a waste of time considering that they would do it all over again in Victory Lane.

Last night, however, the front stretch interview with Keselowski reminded me of how the Victory Lane interviews once were.

Back in the day, the race winning driver would exit his car almost immediately upon getting to Victory Lane and, in an often exhausted state, would provide spontaneous comments regarding the race.

In Victory Lane now, the driver waits in his car while all of the props get set up, the TV commercials run their course, and everyone is shown the proper place to stand.

imo, the manufactured drama occurs in Victory Lane . . .
 
StandOnIt said:
I have no idea about the stick n ball B.S. but Larson can win on any track. I do think he is a slow learner, there was no reason to run that hard for both of the stages. He did show some savvy when he let Truex and Harvick burn their tires off fighting for the lead and drove around them. His team asked him if he needed anything the last stop and he said no. If he doesn't learn to keep up with the track while others do, he will continue to be a top five/ten driver. Kez and Joey go when the pay window is open
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Exactly what I am talking about, and I am talking basketball. Two elite players, super talented, fill up the stat sheet and can win you games, but there is something keeping them from being able to win you a playoff series

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
JBone88 said:
^^This. Tired of the lazy “Larson needs better equipment” narrative. His cars are fast. They’ve been as fast as anyone for the past 2 years. He needs to figure out how to close out a race. Period.
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These cup champs always save a bit. Especially when racing youth. I feel in these late short runs, guys like Brad, KB, JJ, Harv, even Kenseth could just find an extra 3 tenths..against Larson, who has had trouble closing, and in a car that seemingly isnt keeping up with the track..thats enough to take a kid to school.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
I think part of Larson's problem last night was that his car got better the longer the run. That last yellow came with too few laps for
his car to really start working well. The race ended just as his car let his really catch up to Kez.
 
Snappy D said:
I actually wouldn’t hate this.....Jobbers get out of the way and don’t impact the end of the race like they usually do. Late rate cautions for stupidity would go down I imagine.
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I wouldn’t mind seeing a 20 car field if it keeps guys like Gase, Hill and Cope from getting near a Cup car.
 
Backmarkers never have bothered me, many weekends they provide excitement when the leaders get to them. Back in the day on short tracks they were almost all of the excitement in mixing up the field. I thought Dillion smacking Stenhouse and then doing his fish tail thing to Larson after Ricky didn't jerk it right nailing Larson was a typical Dillion move that almost worked. Harvick trying to pass Chastain involved a backmarker in the middle of it.
 
pjmolo said:
Initially I felt the same way about the front stretch interview and thought it was a waste of time considering that they would do it all over again in Victory Lane.

Last night, however, the front stretch interview with Keselowski reminded me of how the Victory Lane interviews once were.

Back in the day, the race winning driver would exit his car almost immediately upon getting to Victory Lane and, in an often exhausted state, would provide spontaneous comments regarding the race.

In Victory Lane now, the driver waits in his car while all of the props get set up, the TV commercials run their course, and everyone is shown the proper place to stand.

imo, the manufactured drama occurs in Victory Lane . . .
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I remember a time that Dale Earnhardt doing the VL interview's in his car and then getting out after...... same sort of with Elliott, Waltrip and others from that era. Then I grew up watching Jeff Gordon jump on the roof of his car all the while waiting for the network to get back from commercial, then waiting some more as they set up whatever product was sponsoring the race was set up on his roof and then he'd get out and jump on the roof. So in a way Molo you're right, its all drama just feels super staged when I see the NBC pickup almost get hit while Kez is doing his burnouts and then after a commercial we are in VL and he's being interviewed again. I agree 100% what you are saying though.
 
StandOnIt said:
I'm hoping Kez makes them rethink their bright idea to have an interview at the track. He did an even better job of scaring the hell out of em after he won an Xfinity race, did a smoking burnout around the truck that time. :D
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I rewatched the last 25 or so laps of the Southern 500 this morning ( fully awake this time) and kept thing..... " uhhh they should think about moving, wow hes getting close to them." Sweet Burnouts though.
 
That one left a bad taste in my mouth.


Lol at people ****ting on Kyle Larson at the end of that race. Willful ignorance on full display.



What a race though. The pit cycles in this race were truly old school. Wish we had more 500 milers with less intermission breaks.
 
Snappy D said:
I rewatched the last 25 or so laps of the Southern 500 this morning ( fully awake this time) and kept thing..... " uhhh they should think about moving, wow hes getting close to them." Sweet Burnouts though.
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I wish I could remember the Xfinity race where Kez had them jumping around in the bed of the truck, I can remember he was driving a green Fitzgerald trucks sponsored car, he was super close.
 
DUN24 said:
That one left a bad taste in my mouth.


Lol at people ****ting on Kyle Larson at the end of that race. Willful ignorance on full display.
What a race though. The pit cycles in this race were truly old school. Wish we had more 500 milers without the silly stages.
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:fixed:
 
DUN24 said:
That one left a bad taste in my mouth.


Lol at people ****ting on Kyle Larson at the end of that race. Willful ignorance on full display.



What a race though. The pit cycles in this race were truly old school. Wish we had more 500 milers with less intermission breaks.
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I don't think it is ignorance at all. They blew it. I don't know how many times Kez said the 2 team blew it in 2015 when Carl got out first after Kez dominated. speaking of sheet? it happens.
 
DUN24 said:
Lol at people ****ting on Kyle Larson at the end of that race. Willful ignorance on full display.
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People don't like him because he doesn't bow to their older favorite drivers. I dig him because he's the real deal, doesn't bow to the older drivers, and doesn't come off as a pouting 3 year old when things don't go his way during a post-race interview. He isn't my favorite driver but I like him. Oh, and one last thing he wasn't manufactured and forced on the fans like some other drivers. He has true talent.
 
If there’s any “ignorance” it’s to counterbalance the over the top hero worship other fans give Larson. Certain people on here have never criticized or blamed him, ever. Ditto for Chase Elliott. It’s always the car, tires, crew chief, etc., etc. we all know if it was Kyle Busch in the same scenario as Larson last night this board would be trolling and making fun of him. But since it’s larson and everybody likes him it’s not his fault. I also could care less what dirt race he won on a Tuesday night. We’re taking about the sprint cup series.
 
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