Mid Season Ramblings

StandOnIt said:
Another twist in, as the races turn, Toyota now focusing on "dependability". Will we not see the front of the qualifying field full of Toyota's anymore. The top four last week at Dover were all Toyota's with two of the four blowing up and not finishing. It will be interesting to see if they loose their speed advantage, and if they do, can they continue to dominate the top qualifying spots, or will they get better finishes. sometimes slower is better. Kenseth without his engine problems, would be higher in the standings maybe. He is the lap leader, and also has three wins at midpoint. Wonder if he will continue to win and lead all those laps in the second part of the season with the motor changes?
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That definitely could happen. If they don't get the problem fixed then I foresee a Chevy winning the Championship this year. And that's not a bad thing.;)
 
It might make the biggest difference if they are slower to Truex. He is the biggest looser so far I believe. He took a dump out of ninth, down to 14th tied with rookie Stenhouse.o_O He hardly ever leads a race or wins. He has a ways to go to get back and without any wins, he needs a top ten or better. He will be interesting to watch the next 13. Menard and Almirola, the other two place racers are ahead of him, with Manard ok for now at tenth and Almirola not in 12th.
 
TexasRaceLady said:
I know that I've quit going to races. I gave up my season tics to Texas because my knees weren't up the to the stairs. Now, I just don't have the desire to attend. The younger demographic, that one NASCAR wants to attract, doesn't have the patience to invest 4 hours to a sport. They've grown up with "instant gratification" and don't understand waiting. They want it in 140 characters or less.
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I feel for you, TRL. It can get pretty tough. I just went to the sprint car races at San Bernardino last weekend and I took a friend of mine that is 73 years old, and even with me having credentials that allows us to drive into the pits and park next to our buddys race trailer which saved him a lot of walking. He still was wore out by the time we left.:(
 
TexasRaceLady said:
ND, it wouldn't have been so bad if my seats hadn't been at the top of the front stretch stands --- row 65. *pant, pant, pant*
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Once I reached 65 they have let me and the wife ride the elevators at the tracks that have them, if they say anything, and they rarely do, I hand them my drivers license smile and ask if they would rather me pass out in the heat and they always smile and say go ahead. :)
 
My midseason thoughts are this... The Logano/Hamiln rivalry was great for the sport if not for Denny getting injured unfortunately.

Gibbs and Hendrick have the dominat teams so far but that hasn't stopped other teams from performing well like RCR with Harvick and basically their satellite team, Furniture row.

RPM has been a pleasant surprise. Although to me, Ford as whole has fallen off speed wise with the Gen 6 car.

SHR took on too much adding a third team and have struggled with the Gen 6 car but that may be turning around. I can maybe give Danica a pass because of SHR's problems but she is way off compared even to her teammates.. The hype of Danica will wear off if she doesn't become more successful.. clock won't start ticking on that until next year though.

One final thing is that there are still too many halfs an half nots in the top series but that's to be expected..
 
John c said:
Personally I doubt they will, but hey you never know! As I've mentioned in another thread...there is only one championship in the Gibbs organization and that was 10 years ago. Don't forget that the worlds best wheel man didn't even make the chase last year! Ill be on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happens.
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Uh, did you forget Bobby Labonte in 2000?
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Uh, did you forget Bobby Labonte in 2000?
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Of course not! I mean employed within the Gibbs organization now. Considering the amount of years Denny, Kyle and Matt have been driving in the cup series and between the 3 of them they only have 1 championship? That's not very impressive to me!
 
John c said:
Of course not! I mean employed within the Gibbs organization now. Considering the amount of years Denny, Kyle and Matt have been driving in the cup series and between the 3 of them they only have 1 championship? That's not very impressive to me!
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Gibbs has had a bit of a dry spell since he switched manufacturers.
 
JGR needs to get some engine reliability. In terms of laps led, Kyle and Matt have each led over 300 more laps than anyone else this season. Unfortunately they each have three DNF's.
 
BobbyFord said:
JGR needs to get some engine reliability. In terms of laps led, Kyle and Matt have each led over 300 more laps than anyone else this season. Unfortunately they each have three DNF's.
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You can call it unfortunate if you wish. Ill call it something completely different. Lol!
 
BobbyFord said:
Something like, Lucky for Jimmie? :D
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I honestly don't think Gibbs cars are that much of a threat to Hendrick cars. If anything I think it's the other way around. How many times has the 18 taken out the 5 this year and why...
 
Well, so far this year JGR cars have more wins, more poles and have led hundreds more laps than HMS cars. JGR cars are certainly a threat for the Cup Championship. Right now they have reliability issues. If they get it under control they will be hard to beat.
 
You forgot more DNF's. more wins, more poles, more laps and more DNF's than the 48 Chevy and the 99Ford and even the #15 Toyota that are all way ahead in points. BTW they aren't doing worth a hoot in Laps Completed..that one tells the story.
 
StandOnIt said:
You forgot more DNF's. more wins, more poles, more laps and more DNF's than the 48 Chevy and the 99Ford and even the #15 Toyota that are all way ahead in points. BTW they aren't doing worth a hoot in Laps Completed..that one tells the story.
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We'll see, the season isn't half over yet ;)
 
FLRacingFan said:
What I have to wonder is how much speed, if any, TRD is going to give up in exchange for improved durability.
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Yeah that is the big one right there. If they are not all perched on the front two rows qualifying this weekend, that will be my first clue anyway. If they do end up there and run away with it, I will puke over in the corner, it is going to be a long season for me.
 
John c said:
Personally I doubt they will, but hey you never know! As I've mentioned in another thread...there is only one championship in the Gibbs organization and that was 10 years ago. Don't forget that the worlds best wheel man didn't even make the chase last year! Ill be on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happens.
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Toyota will get a Cup one day if they stick in Cup long enough. The Japanese always are terrible when they first enter a new form of motorsport and they throw enough time and money at it until they are competitive.
 
some statistician on tv said that 84% of drivers at the midpoint of the season who are in the chase spots will stay there. That leaves 16% that will fall out. If that is based on the top ten, that is 1.6 of a driver? On 12 spots it is 1.9 drivers. So if the statistics are close, there are two drivers who will be out..I have no idea, but I don't think Manard will be there, simply because he never wins. out of the drivers below him, Brad, Jeff or Aric, I have to go with Aric not making it, Brad or Jeff can win on any track. This is not counting bad luck either, a couple of DNF's from about 4th on down in the last 13 races before the cut off, could shake things up too. Stewart knocking on the door with a big win healed him up pretty quick. Same thing would happen if Kurt got a win. I think Logano with a win..and good places, could put himself in place for a knockout. Every race from here on out, can start clearing up the picture.
 
StandOnIt said:
some statistician on tv said that 84% of drivers at the midpoint of the season who are in the chase spots will stay there. That leaves 16% that will fall out. If that is based on the top ten, that is 1.6 of a driver? On 12 spots it is 1.9 drivers. So if the statistics are close, there are two drivers who will be out..I have no idea, but I don't think Manard will be there, simply because he never wins. out of the drivers below him, Brad, Jeff or Aric, I have to go with Aric not making it, Brad or Jeff can win on any track. This is not counting bad luck either, a couple of DNF's from about 4th on down in the last 13 races before the cut off, could shake things up too. Stewart knocking on the door with a big win healed him up pretty quick. Same thing would happen if Kurt got a win. I think Logano with a win..and good places, could put himself in place for a knockout. Every race from here on out, can start clearing up the picture.
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Brad is out of the top 10?
 
BobbyFord said:
Well, so far this year JGR cars have more wins, more poles and have led hundreds more laps than HMS cars. JGR cars are certainly a threat for the Cup Championship. Right now they have reliability issues. If they get it under control they will be hard to beat.
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It's the leading HMS in DNFs that concerns me.
 
StandOnIt said:
Stewart knocking on the door with a big win healed him up pretty quick.
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Tony never gets going until after Memorial Day. Last week was his annual reset. Between Indy and two Pocono races, he'll win at least one of those hot, slick, flat tracks.
 
big deal this year positive with Tony is that he has finished every race. A DNF would have really put him in a deep hole. I think why Tony is so good is that when he stinks, he makes the best out of it. he never was much of a threat at California, and when Joey blocked him, he was trying to make something out of a bad day. I think he was more pissed at the missed opportunity because he was pretty junky. I think he has a good car for pocono, if he didn't, there wouldn't be any TV interviews. He is so much like A.J. Foyt back in the day it is scary.
 
They tested at Pocono and Dover ,I believe , good finishes are essential at tracks where you just tested.
 
Danica has helped our sport, no question about that, but she is in a since like Juan Pablo, lots of experience and talent but can't transform the jump from open wheel to Cup like Tony and some others. Should have stayed in NNS a year or so more.
 
88ForLyfe said:
Danica has helped our sport, no question about that, but she is in a since like Juan Pablo, lots of experience and talent but can't transform the jump from open wheel to Cup like Tony and some others. Should have stayed in NNS a year or so more.
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Welcome to the forum 88forlyfe . Glad to have you aboard . Please don't fall in with the Danica haters , there are enough of them here to keep hate alive a long time . Last week was the first time in her life that she had seen the Pocono racetrack . She ran real well for a rookie , male or female .
 
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