C
Captain Coyfish
Guest
According to Jayski, the only cup driver in it is Joey Logano. Hopefully he has a ill handling car like at Loudon and we could have a great race on our hands.
Tennessee Racing
Formerly Stewart Fan
1
#17D500winner
Guest
Logano's going to drive himself into a fulltime NW ride if he's not careful
C
Captain Coyfish
Guest
Nope Joey Coulter is in this weekendNo Kyle????
JimmieGordon2448
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Not sure what the love is for Chicago, wish it was somewhere else on a stand alone weekend, like Iowa.
3wideinturn1
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I'm hoping to see some fireworks between Sadler and Smith, I feel like the series would really benefit from a good rivalry between 2 regulars, particularly ones that are fighting for the championship. I'll say Sadler gets it done this week, seems as though he's been really coming on strong as of late. I can't help but to cheer for Regan though, he's just a good guy really likeable and hard to root against so I hope he has a good showing aswell.
StandOnIt
Farm Truck
bunch of Sadler and Hornish fans on here. I'm not one of them though. Smith has had it in the bag all year until lately. I am not worried, Sadler and Hornish will screw up, worried the most about Hornish, Roger got pissed a couple weeks ago and had a set to with Hornish I heard. He has started driving like he has a brain, listening to his crew chief and he is catching up. Tightest race in the three series and no freakin chase. Less commercial to watch too. all good.
Jeffrey00
Stamos Cozy
after watching last weeks race you can tell Smith is pressing. He has raced like a d#ck, and it probably will get him in trouble.
3wideinturn1
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I'm certainly no Sadler fan either, to me he's just a place holder desperately clinging on to past glory, hoping he can get back to Cup by beating a bunch of kids and half rate drivers. What's this about Roger getting pissed? Please do tell, I'm curious...
Jeffrey00
Stamos Cozy
i dont think rodger talked to Hornish. Other than two races this year Hornish has been a beast. Hornish's two worst finishes were races that Smith won. That was how Smith was able to get out to a 50+ point lead. Since then (Michigan) Hornish has been out performing Smith little by little.
Edit: I take that back he did have a 34th place finish at Texas. The two races Smith won he finished 25th (Talladega) and 32nd (Michigan). Other than those 3 finishes he has a 12th and the rest are no worse than 9th. I don't think Rodger has anything to complain about.
StandOnIt
Farm Truck
It started with his crew chief. Swerving Sammy didn't grasp the concept that they are racing the 7 car and when Regan had a part failure early, I think it was at Kentucky, Sam was taking chances on the track, going three wide etc. So Erwin got after him and the Penske had a talk with him.
3wideinturn1
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Oh okay thanks for that, I didn't hear about that. "Swerving Sammy" lol, that's good stuff. I know Roger is about as loyal as they come (see AJ Adderallmendinger) but its high time the Captain cuts bait on Hornish. I just don't see him ever amounting to anything more than he is now. Is he a decent driver and a top 10 NW guy? Sure. Is he a top 20 Cup driver capable of winning the odd race? So far the answer has been a resounding no.
ted@economy
in the interest of equal time
Great , a weekend with no Nationwide drivers in the cup race . ..oh wait ...no cup race....
StandOnIt
Farm Truck
what are ya going to do if sliced bread keeps falling flat on his ass. ya got a good shoe in N'wide with Sam, and A.J. is pretty hot right now..boot the bread IMO if he doesn't start hooking up.
Jeffrey00
Stamos Cozy
I think Sam is doing just fine proving he can run with the top NW guys. Everyone is ready for guys like Ragan Smith and Vickers to get back in Cup, and he seems to be out running them week to week. Not only that he is the only driver to flat out beat Kyle this year (Vegas). I know other drivers have won races Kyle has entered, but at Vegas it was Hornish vs Kyle for the top car and Hornish just drove away from him. The only issue I see with Hornish is I don't know if he will be able to attract a decent sponsor for a Cup ride, but that is also true for Smith and Vickers. While it is almost certain Vickers is in the 55 next year there have been rumors that Aarons isn't sold on him. Hopefully that has changed.
3wideinturn1
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Honestly I'd like to see AJ in the 12 in NW rather than Sam. Again nothing wrong with Sam but I just think he's plateaued as a driver and not likely to get any better than he is. While I think AJ has still got some untapped potential as he showed at Road America and some good runs in less than decent Cup cars this year. I think AJ would greatly benefit from taking a step back to NW and getting a good ride like the 12. As far as Logano goes, I was never really sold on him. He has racked up a lot of wins in NW so far but I'm not sure he'll ever be an elite Cup driver, time will tell I suppose.
Jeffrey00
Stamos Cozy
StandOnIt
Farm Truck
I'm not everybody. Sam has had 130 cup races? don't lay on me he had a bad car, or wasn't experienced..or too young. Same with Vickers IMO. On the other hand, Regan Smith got footballed all over Cup and never had a stable good ride until he drove Juniors Hendrick car and they were impressed and gave him a good N'wide ride, and he is on top of the series, has been for quite a while. It isn't about Hornish attracting a sponsor. Penske has his own. Logano lost his at Gibbs, that is one reason, lack of performance is the other so he got the boot. I would bet he is on a short rope at Penske. Especially with A.J. who was the 22 driver running well.
3wideinturn1
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I just think AJ has done more with less, not to say he has lit the world on fire or anything. I think that's he's capable of winning a Cup race here and there if he's able to get decent equipment. We all know he screwed up his best chance already, but to me he's shown a lot of talent and hunger to win that I've just never seen from Hornish in a stock car. He was great in open wheel, but he got rushed to Cup and has only recently been able to perform. While AJ was stuck driving junk for years Red Bull crap, RPM when Gillette didnt want to put a dime into it. Maybe I'm out to lunch on this one, but I think AJ would do great in a solid NW program like Penske has.
Jeffrey00
Stamos Cozy
But experience was the key, Penske even said so. He went straight from Indy car to Cup with no one to show him how to drive the heavier stock cars. Now his short time in NNS I think he is proving that he can start being competitive in the heavier cars. Last year in the 22 he had some impressive runs as well.
Jeffrey00
Stamos Cozy
StandOnIt
Farm Truck
yeah you hang on to that buba if it works for ya. filled in for A.J. last year, ran 20 races, crashed out in 3 (swerving Sammy), in 8 of the 20 he wasn't even on the lead lap, and count the three wrecks that makes 11 out of 20 races he wasn't even close to a good finish. Finished 5th once though. This is after 120 something starts...slow learner I guess.
3wideinturn1
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I think he has plateaued based on how many races he's run at this stage in his career, his age as well. He's had lots of seat time and while I do think he has been more consistent as of late, I really expected him to be contending for more wins than he has at this point. I look at guys like Smith and Sadler and when they stepped down to NW they have both won races and been in the mix for more. While Sam doesn't seem to be establishing himself as anything more than an average driver. I'm actually rooting for the guy, as I think he got a raw deal a couple years ago when he had to sit out the whole year basically. However I just haven't seem the kind of progression I expected out if him, especially after that win at Vegas I thought he was going to run off a bunch more wins and top 5's but it just hasn't happened. This leads me to believe he has reached his potential and won't ever been a winner on the Cup level, that's not to say he can't be a winner and champion on the NW side but I haven't seen the kind of consistency that's needed to accomplish that. That's just been my observation and I'm sure there many out there that see things differently but thats just my opinion
Jeffrey00
Stamos Cozy
Sam had 8 top 15s, 11 top 19s, out of 20 races I'd say that is pretty good for a fill in driver. Still only 1 top 5, and 1 top 10, but did get 3 11th place finishes. 19th place average finish compared to Regan Smith's 22nd place average finish last year. Yet Regan is so much better than Hornish right? Oh wait I forgot Regan was in the 78 for most of the year, a car far worse than the 22.....Wait isn't the 78 running better than the 22 this year? Hmmm......
Sam Hornish 2012
Regan Smith 2012
Is Sam the latest and greatest driver? No, but he is getting much much better, and I'd put him up against Smith any day of the week.
Jeffrey00
Stamos Cozy
I think he has plateaued based on how many races he's run at this stage in his career, his age as well. He's had lots of seat time and while I do think he has been more consistent as of late, I really expected him to be contending for more wins than he has at this point. I look at guys like Smith and Sadler and when they stepped down to NW they have both won races and been in the mix for more. While Sam doesn't seem to be establishing himself as anything more than an average driver. I'm actually rooting for the guy, as I think he got a raw deal a couple years ago when he had to sit out the whole year basically. However I just haven't seem the kind of progression I expected out if him, especially after that win at Vegas I thought he was going to run off a bunch more wins and top 5's but it just hasn't happened. This leads me to believe he has reached his potential and won't ever been a winner on the Cup level, that's not to say he can't be a winner and champion on the NW side but I haven't seen the kind of consistency that's needed to accomplish that. That's just been my observation and I'm sure there many out there that see things differently but thats just my opinion
Since moving back to NNS Smith only has 1 more win than Hornish and Sadler 2 more wins(non this year). I wouldn't say they are leaps and bounds better than Hornish...
3wideinturn1
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I would agree with that statement, however hasn't Sadler let a couple wins get away in that time too? (Indy comes to mind) Could be wrong on that, just not sure but i know he's been in the mix. I just think that one could make the case that since coming back to NW Sadler the last couple years and Smith this year have shown to be top of the class and probably still deserving to be in Cup. Perhaps I'm being unreasonable or had unfair expectations but I thought Sam would be a force, especially on road courses but I'm left wanting more every time.
I would put Hornish in the same boat as Vickers this year. Although Vickers just had a great weekend 2nd in NW and a win in Cup, I have been largely unimpressed by him this year. I expected him to being going for wins week in and week out battling with the Cup ringers, but it hasn't really happened up to this point.
FLRacingFan
Team Owner
Vickers actually has the most Top 5 finishes of any Nationwide regular, but he's had some crappy luck to go along with them. He blew an engine at Fontana, got wrecked by Bowman at Iowa, and got wrecked by Logano at Michigan.
3wideinturn1
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True, and although you can't blame him for some of the DNF's I was expecting him to be winning races or contending for the wins more often. Granted I haven't seen all the NW races this year (I'm Canadian and our NASCAR coverage is pitiful at best). Perhaps my expectations were too high for him. Gibbs has an amazing NW program, and if Kyle can go out and dominate races like he has I don't see why Vickers couldn't go out and get some wins too, they should have the same equipment, I don't know if that's the case or not but the 54 is just a beast this year and wasn't it the 18 last year that just went beastmode.
Can you comment on how Vickers has run? Has he been creeping into those top 5's with 5th's and 4th's or has he been leading laps and fading? I just haven't seen the results I expected from him but I know sometimes they don't paint the whole picture.
StandOnIt
Farm Truck
These stats you keep wackin with.looks great I guess somewhere...I have the most top five finishes..oops I don't have any wins though, Vicker's is over a full race behind Smith in points and 22 points out of fifth? Hell, he is almost out of mention at this point of the season IMO. 16 more races to go, so all of them have plenty of time to win or loose.
FLRacingFan
Team Owner
Two 2nds and three 3rds, so he's had chances to win. Third-most laps led of the Nationwide regulars behind Hornish and Dillon. He hasn't had much trouble in the last four races so he's picked up a few spots in the standings and closed the gap a good bit.
HoneyBadger
I love short track racing (Taylor's Version)
I figured Kyle Busch would run Oxford this weekend but he hasn't entered as of yet.
3wideinturn1
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Thanks for the info, I still expect big things from Vickers and it will be interesting to see if he can deliver. It looks like it's shaping up to be a great battle for the NW title.
SlicedBread22
3x!
I wouldn't count on it
Jeffrey00
Stamos Cozy
The only thing with Vickers let's see how moving to cup does for him. Will he really push hard now knowing that he probably won't be in the 20 next year with moving to the 55.
SlicedBread22
3x!
Well he's not in yet. I think he'll push hard to win races and a championship regardless of what hes doing next year... and Im sure a few more NNS wins and another championship would ensure he gets the ride even more. Dont get me wrong I think he's already a lock for it but he still needs to perform week in and week out.