Cup RACE thread --- Loudon

AndyMarquisLive said:
I want this sham farce system exposed now and want to see the 11 and 4 miss the playoffs. Rooting for Chastain, and an upset winner at Daytona.
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Completely agree but NASCAR would just add another gimmicky caveat, like if you're in the top 5 or top 10 in points you automatically get into the playoffs even if you don't have a win. Or something along those lines.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
If Denny Hamlin misses the playoffs due to being P2 in the actual points, NASCAR is gonna have a mess on their hands.
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I'd miss those fireworks because I'd likely die laughing. :laugh:

Congrats to Aric, he certainly earned this one. I'm very happy for him.
 
Snappy D said:
I’m also bummed there isn’t a race for 2 weeks now. Just horrible
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10-4 said:
Sorry guys but if Denny Hamlin fails to make it in on points that's Dennys Hamlin's fault. He was so dominant early in the season but he failed to punch that ticket.
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Dude he’s had the overall points lead for like 18 straight races or something. That’s dominant under any other circumstance. That’s not Denny’s fault, that’s the system’s fault. A guy like Aric Almirola who is 27th in points running for a championship while the points leader won’t? Give me a break. This is not a serious racing series.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
Dude he’s had the overall points lead for like 18 straight races or something. That’s dominant under any other circumstance. That’s not Denny’s fault, that’s the system’s fault. A guy like Aric Almirola who is 27th in points running for a championship while the points leader won’t? Give me a break. This is not a serious racing series.
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Denny knows what he has to do so how is that the system's fault if he doesn't win? The system is what it is but it ain't to blame here. That's the truth.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
The fact that this sport needs two points scoring systems is a testament to the overall joke.
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Yea I’m just confused. I think it would take a hell of a lot for Denny to not make it, but just the fact it’s being discussed when he’s been the most consistent this year is pretty sad.
 
I don't care for the elimination system but the suspense over Hamlin making the "playoffs" is just a mathematical possibility.

So many unusual things would have to happen, he will not get implicateds out.
 
As far as the answer given for the start of the race, this dude is a goddam clown. Be a leader and admit fault when you **** up. The tower miscommunicated with the teams and spotters and started the race in error. They literally did the exact opposite of what the spotters and drivers were saying.

 
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First of all,

There was still daylight here when they called the race. They absolutely 100% could have made it to lap 301. 100%, no issue whatsoever.

It wasn't even dusk at the track.


Also, Almirola was a road block in the top 5 in stage 2. Idk wtf they did, but it was awesome to see.

No one had anything for him.

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The current version of nascar has made me more interested in other racing series. I’ve been viewing so much more content from other types of racing the last couple years. Can’t say I hate that either… but I’m sure that’s not what NASCAR set out to do

there’s nothing authentic about what goes on these days. I’m embarrassed by a lot of this stuff when I’m around dirt or drag racing fans, I just try to not bring nascar up anymore. Sad
 
Greg said:
I don't care for the elimination system but the suspense over Hamlin making the "playoffs" is just a mathematical possibility.

So many unusual things would have to happen, he will not get implicateds out.
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Hamlin should be safe. Harvick missing the playoffs however is definitely possible with two road courses still remaining, not to mention Daytona.
 
Mispeedway15 said:
Guys, it’s time to scrap this system. Go back to regular points and the chase. Enough of this ****. Almirola has been trash all year and does this? Insane
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But....I NEED muh....”PLAYOFFS!!!”
 

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ChexOrWrex said:
As far as the answer given for the start of the race, this dude is a goddam clown. Be a leader and admit fault when you **** up. The tower miscommunicated with the teams and spotters and started the race in error. They literally did the exact opposite of what the spotters and drivers were saying.

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This guy reminds me of the drunken airline pilot in the Dean Martin skit.
 
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Snappy D said:
Hate to be a downer but he won’t be playoff racing long
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I wouldn't count him out so fast. Aric Almirola is one of the streakiest drivers in Cup today. Don't forget last year, when all but one of his 6 top 5s were consecutive. This well-timed win could give him the confidence boost he needs to have a playoff run like he did in 2018.
 
Mile501 said:
I wouldn't count him out so fast. Aric Almirola is one of the streakiest drivers in Cup today. Don't forget last year, when all but one of his 6 top 5s were consecutive. This well-timed win could give him the confidence boost he needs to have a playoff run like he did in 2018.
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I stand by my previous statement: Aric will be making a playoff cameo. SHR as a whole has been pretty unimpressive besides yesterday all year, one race doesn’t change my mind.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
As far as the answer given for the start of the race, this dude is a goddam clown. Be a leader and admit fault when you **** up. The tower miscommunicated with the teams and spotters and started the race in error. They literally did the exact opposite of what the spotters and drivers were saying.

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It's like Nascar doesn't even try anymore. Where did this guy come from anyway?
 
Here are some Monday morning thoughts and stats for you:

This race took me back to the early 2000s in more than one way. There is the obvious similarity between the way this race began and The Winston in 2001, which several people have already noted. In addition, it has been quite some time since a driver so low in points, with so few top 5s and laps led, won a race. It happened on several occasions in the early 2000s, but very rarely since then (not including plate races, rain-shortened races, and that sort of thing).

While our current field depth still doesn't compare to the early 2000s, I felt at the start of the season that we were at least inching closer in that direction, and Almriola's win is further evidence of that. Hopefully, the new car and new teams that will be in Cup next year will deepen the level of competition even further.

- Aric Almirola's win is just his 2nd top-12 finish in the last 13 races.
- Penske Racing's 3 teams finished consecutively in the top 5 (3rd-4th-5th). However, this is not the first time they've finished like that. They finished 2nd-3rd-4th at Martinsville in the spring of 2020. Since expanding to 3 teams, Penske has gotten all 3 teams in the top 5 on 4 occasions.
- Kevin Harvick has finished 4th, 5th, or 6th in nearly half the races this season (10 out of 22), but only has one finish better than 4th.
- In all but 3 of Denny Hamlin's first 10 races, he led 25+ laps and finished 4th or better. In each of his last 12 races, he has led no more than 11 laps and finished no better than 4th.
- Earlier this season, Matt DiBenedetto finished 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th in a 4-race stretch (though not consecutively). In the last 3 races, he finished 9th, 10th, and 11th (though not consecutively).
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is racking up pairs of finishes this season. In the first two races, he finished 18th. In races 5 and 6, he finished 12th. In races 12 and 13, he finished 20th. Then over the last 8 races, he has three non-consecutive pairs of finishes (two 12ths, two 15th, and two 37ths).
- For the 3rd consecutive season, Kurt Busch picked up a somewhat unexpected win at a 1.5-mile track and followed it up with a finish outside the top 15 in the next race.
- Corey LaJoie has quietly turned Spire Motorsports into a consistent top-25 team. In the last 14 races, he has 11 finishes between 15th and 23rd.

RCR's playoff hopes certainly took a turn for the worse with Almirola's win. Instead of Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon holding down the last two spots, they're now fighting for the last spot and hoping there are no more surprise winners. Reddick has come on strong after a rough start to the season, with extremely consistent finishes. He has finished between 6th and 13th in all but three of the last 16 races. Dillon has been consistently a few spots lower than his teammate, finishing between 10th and 17th in all but three of the last 15 races.

Finally, a quick look at who else might upset the playoff picture over the next 4 races:

- Daniel Suarez has a strong record at Watkins Glen. I don't know that Trackhouse could win a race on pure speed, but if some weird strategy comes into play, Suarez is a good road racer and this team has far surpassed expectations already this year.

- The Indy Grand Prix course is difficult to predict since it is new for everyone. In last year's Xfinity race, Chase Briscoe dominated and won, but given the way his rookie year in Cup is going, I don't think it's realistic to expect that he will contend. But we certainly could have a surprise winner here. After all, few would have predicted Bell to win at the Daytona Road Course.

- Michigan could be where Kevin Harvick finally wins, since he's won 4 of the last 5 Michigan races. I wouldn't be surprised to see the RCR cars contend here either. Michigan will probably be the best opportunity for one of the drivers on the bubble to potentially solidify his playoff spot.

- Daytona, of course, is the biggest wild card. I think the biggest chance for an upset would come from Stenhouse or Jones, but certainly, anyone could win and throw Harvick or Hamlin out of the playoffs at the last moment. It's hardly fair and it hardly seems right, but that's where we are in modern-day NASCAR, and this potential scenario is exactly why Daytona has become the cutoff race.
 
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