Nascar Cup at the Indy Oval Pre-Race Thread

Top 10 qualifiers

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Format is weird. 9/5 got hosed. But it is what it is.

9 team is moving in the right direct at the right time and is taking advantage of putting races together while the 5 has gotten sloppy after winning Sonoma.

What I'll say is this: If Larson loses the regular season championship by any amount of points less than 37 (his points per race last I checked), missing the 600 will be be hauntinggggg. In hindsight, Iowa and Chicago were shaping up to be points days strong enough to effectively end the regular season points battle, if not for unnecessary driver error. Playing with fire too much at this point in the season after missing the 600. Was having a smooth, fairly error free season up to that point

I'd say Elliott and Larson have Reddick looming, but I have ZERO confidence in that kid being able to execute during a clutch time of the season. Nond whatsoever.
 
kkfan91 said:
The wanting it to fail reaction is the response to people who want to act like this race is more important than it is. It's beaten in that this is a "crown jewel" I'm sorry it's not the race is younger than I am people talk themselves into the hype of Indy but it's an illusion.
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It is important…according to drivers, crews and team owners through multiple interviews I’ve seen this week saying how it just feels bigger they’re racing on the oval again. If it’s important to them, it’s important to me as a fan. I’m from and live in the Midwest, there is no place bigger for motorsports than Indianapolis.
 
StandOnIt said:
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Looks like it’s going to be a TRD-JGR-23XI vs HMS title fight. It’s insanely wild how bad RCR and Kyle Busch have been this year, yeesh 34th starting position….KDB has a tough, miserable, hot afternoon ahead of him. Maybe he’ll drown his sorrows in a Shrimp Co*ktail at St. Elmo’s tonight.
 
Whiskyb said:
Does anyone know how to get Indianapolis radio network to hear practice. IMS radio only shows indy nxt broadcast in its schedule
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This is all I could find. There isn't any Nascar races on their schedule on their web site.
 
StandOnIt said:
This is all I could find. There isn't any Nascar races on their schedule on their web site.
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Thanks, had to settle for raw feed data, not the same. nascar is going all out to move into new countries and forgetting those already addicted. Fox may have issues but up here they have all p&q covered as well as good race and pre race
 
Was that there for qualifying?If it was getting old sucks, I listened to the officials releasing cars. Not very exciting
 
kkfan91 said:
The wanting it to fail reaction is the response to people who want to act like this race is more important than it is. It's beaten in that this is a "crown jewel" I'm sorry it's not the race is younger than I am people talk themselves into the hype of Indy but it's an illusion.
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You bring up a great point (not that I agree with it), but the question must be asked....How do you define a "Crown Jewel?" I say that if you are racing at the greatest track in the world, and you win it, you have won yourself a Crown Jewel. HOWEVER, the road course is not the greatest track in the world.....so I think that what has harmed the perception of this race is considering it a Crown Jewel because of the venue (which is different than the track). That road course anywhere else is less than interesting,
 
jaqua19 said:
Format is weird. 9/5 got hosed. But it is what it is.

9 team is moving in the right direct at the right time and is taking advantage of putting races together while the 5 has gotten sloppy after winning Sonoma.

What I'll say is this: If Larson loses the regular season championship by any amount of points less than 37 (his points per race last I checked), missing the 600 will be be hauntinggggg. In hindsight, Iowa and Chicago were shaping up to be points days strong enough to effectively end the regular season points battle, if not for unnecessary driver error. Playing with fire too much at this point in the season after missing the 600. Was having a smooth, fairly error free season up to that point

I'd say Elliott and Larson have Reddick looming, but I have ZERO confidence in that kid being able to execute during a clutch time of the season. Nond whatsoever.
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Dude, we don't talk about Larson missing the 600. He was a victim....and now he has the paint scheme he would have run. I got emotional hearing that. Larson is the best driver in the field. They ****** with fire. If he loses the championship (particularly if he doesn't make it to the final four), he will have screwed himself, but the Felon Narrative will bail them out.

Reddick is the fastest car, but the 11 is on a mission. Chasey and Larsony (see what I did there?) are not as fast IMO, so execution will be key for them. It's going to be a hell of a battle, and I am here for it. Enjoy it my friend, and best of luck to you.
 
Revman said:
Dude, we don't talk about Larson missing the 600. He was a victim....and now he has the paint scheme he would have run. I got emotional hearing that. Larson is the best driver in the field. They ****** with fire. If he loses the championship (particularly if he doesn't make it to the final four), he will have screwed himself, but the Felon Narrative will bail them out.

Reddick is the fastest car, but the 11 is on a mission. Chasey and Larsony (see what I did there?) are not as fast IMO, so execution will be key for them. It's going to be a hell of a battle, and I am here for it. Enjoy it my friend, and best of luck to you.
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According to the data over at autoracinganalytics, 5/11 are the two fastest cars on pure speed this season, followed by the 45/20.

If Larson misses out, it's on him. My point really is that outside of the last 2 weeks, Larson has had a fairly dominant season thus far. Things are tightening up at the top of the standings though. It's awesome.
 
Jorge De Guzman said:
It is important…according to drivers, crews and team owners through multiple interviews I’ve seen this week saying how it just feels bigger they’re racing on the oval again. If it’s important to them, it’s important to me as a fan. I’m from and live in the Midwest, there is no place bigger for motorsports than Indianapolis.
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I've never thought of the Brickyard 400 as particularly prestigious in the NASCAR context. The Daytona 500, Southern 500, and Coke 600 are all bigger in the history of NASCAR. Most of the Brickyard's prestige comes from IndyCar's history at the track. If you grew up an IndyCar fan, winning at Indy would be pretty cool though.

However, I would place the Indy 500, Daytona 500, 24 Hours of Le Mans, and Grand Prix of Monaco on the same level of prestige. Whichever one you find more prestigious depends on what brand of racing you prefer. But the Brickyard 400 isn't the Indy 500.
 
Jorge De Guzman said:
I see a segment of fans on social media rooting for this race to fail, confused as to why.
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Does it count as wanting it to fail if I wish this race wasn't on the schedule?

Prestige and visuals don't matter much if the racing isn't entertaining me. I enjoyed the racing on the road course layout more than I did the last several on the oval. If this race didn't award points, I'd probably skip it like I do the All-Star and Clash.

Hopefully the new car will result in oval races that are more competitive and less parade than I remember them being.
 
The Nature Boy said:
I've never thought of the Brickyard 400 as particularly prestigious in the NASCAR context. The Daytona 500, Southern 500, and Coke 600 are all bigger in the history of NASCAR. Most of the Brickyard's prestige comes from IndyCar's history at the track. If you grew up an IndyCar fan, winning at Indy would be pretty cool though.

However, I would place the Indy 500, Daytona 500, 24 Hours of Le Mans, and Grand Prix of Monaco on the same level of prestige. Whichever one you find more prestigious depends on what brand of racing you prefer. But the Brickyard 400 isn't the Indy 500.
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Well yes, the Brickyard 400 isn’t close to the Indy 500, but NASCAR has been racing at Indianapolis now for 30 years. That’s a long time. Granted not as long as Daytona 500, Southern 500 and Coke 600, but nascar at Indianapolis has a large enough historical reference now. When drivers, crew and owners say “hey it’s important to race here, this is one of our biggest races”, why are fans disregarding this? I see in interviews that drivers want to win here because so many greats have won here in the past…does it translate to nascar maybe not but when a Jeff Gordon says hey it’s important to win here because my hero’s did and then he goes out to win 5 of them to carve his own place in history I guess I’m a sucker for that kind of stuff.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Does it count as wanting it to fail if I wish this race wasn't on the schedule?

Prestige and visuals don't matter much if the racing isn't entertaining me. I enjoyed the racing on the road course layout more than I did the last several on the oval. If this race didn't award points, I'd probably skip it like I do the All-Star and Clash.

Hopefully the new car will result in oval races that are more competitive and less parade than I remember them being.
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Yea hopefully the new car puts on a show today and everyone will feel entertained. I thought Pocono was good last week, but it’ll be two weeks before the next race so if this race bombs today the stench will last extra long.
 
Jorge De Guzman said:
When drivers, crew and owners say “hey it’s important to race here, this is one of our biggest races”, why are fans disregarding this?
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Just because it's important to them doesn't make it entertaining to me. Ditto Monaco and Long Beach, although I've enjoyed a couple of recent LB races more than most previous ones.

Pretend the last 5 races on the Indy oval had been run on a newly built 2.5-mile rectangle in Des Moines. Would anyone want NASCAR to continue going there? Mediocre racing is mediocre racing, regardless of venue. Remember why they switched to the road course in the first place?

Hopefully we'll get better stuff today.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Just because it's important to them doesn't make it entertaining to me. Ditto Monaco and Long Beach, although I've enjoyed a couple of recent LB races more than most previous ones.

Pretend the last 5 races on the Indy oval had been run on a newly built 2.5-mile rectangle in Des Moines. Would anyone want NASCAR to continue going there? Mediocre racing is mediocre racing, regardless of venue. Remember why they switched to the road course in the first place?

Hopefully we'll get better stuff today.
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Cup racing at Indy because it’s mega important to those in involved has made it always feel like a high stakes race to me. Glad it’s going to be run on the oval, if folks don’t like it and it’s not their preferred layout that’s fine too.
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Chase Fan 79 said:
I have to agree. I am not sure what has happened but the racing at the oval just got worse and worse. I'd rather they were on the road course. Growing up a Bill Elliott fan and getting to see him win this race during his resurgence and then getting to see Kasey Kahne get his last win there was great. Would be really fitting to see Chase pull it off this weekend and have he and Bill become the first father-son duo to win the Brickyard 400. Would be a special win. I am cautiously optimistic with the speed they showed at Pocono but either way I don't expect the racing to be great. Go back and look at video of Kasey's win there and it's shocking how empty the place was. Very embarrassing for a crown-jewel race. When Bill won there in 2002, the place was FULL from one end to the other.
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No air under the cars and a splitter really changed things for the worst in my opinion there
 
Jorge De Guzman said:
Cup racing at Indy because it’s mega important to those in involved has made it always feel like a high stakes race to me. Glad it’s going to be run on the oval, if folks don’t like it and it’s not their preferred layout that’s fine too.
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I don't think you are considering that for some, any race farther away than the Eastern time zone is an insufferable hardship and should be avoided if possible.
 
Stenhouse starting that high up in the field is a potential wrecking ball. He possibly could take out some good cars if they don't watch him. I'm not a fan of this qualifying format either. I know what they were trying to do, but good cars will get to the front regardless IMO.
 
StandOnIt said:
Stenhouse starting that high up in the field is a potential wrecking ball. He possibly could take out some good cars if they don't watch him. I'm not a fan of this qualifying format either. I know what they were trying to do, but good cars will get to the front regardless IMO.
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The times are all over the map with fast guys behind slower guys. It's completely retarded.
 
Revman said:
Dude, we don't talk about Larson missing the 600. He was a victim....and now he has the paint scheme he would have run. I got emotional hearing that. Larson is the best driver in the field. They ****** with fire. If he loses the championship (particularly if he doesn't make it to the final four), he will have screwed himself, but the Felon Narrative will bail them out.

Reddick is the fastest car, but the 11 is on a mission. Chasey and Larsony (see what I did there?) are not as fast IMO, so execution will be key for them. It's going to be a hell of a battle, and I am here for it. Enjoy it my friend, and best of luck to you.
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That didn't end too well. #cleaningEggoffofFace
 
OK....First just want to say congrats to the Larson contingent out there. No matter what - it's always cool to see your driver win a crown jewel and even though I am not a fan, I always prefer a big name at the top of the board in a big race. Good for the sport. I was not a Dale Earnhardt fan in the least but even as a young kid, I understood that him winning the 500 and The Brickyard were big for NASCAR. But.........

....That whole race sucked and to me, the more I reflect on it, it's a microcosm of everything wrong with NASCAR today and why so many fans have said "peace, I'm out." The biggest issue - can't pass for the lead. Hell, when JH Nemecheck was able to run and hide with clean air like he did that is a huge problem. Chase was able to pass the 11 on the first run and the car was fast but could not close the gap on the leader to less that 0.4-0.5 seconds. He would close to 0.4, go back 0.6 then close back to 0.4 again. We can't have this where the leader is at such an advantage. What is a race without passing for the race lead?

Now as a fan of Chase's obviously my opinion will be discounted here but NASCAR also can't seem to get out of their own way with penalties and understanding how to clearly explain rules and understand when there may be an issue of their making. Last week at Pocono, 4 guys all get nailed for speeding the same section where there were clearly issues in gaging pit road speed earlier. Then comes Indy this week where Chase and one other get nailed for a violation that I am still not sure I completely understand in doing something that (a) apparently drivers have always done and (b) did not really seem to be any noticeable advantage. I guess NASCAR emailed everyone and the email said not to come on the "racing surface" until after turn 2? Does not sound like it clarified what the "racing surface" was in that you needed to stay below both of the lines but some like Chase thought it meant the grey area of the track where they clearly don't race. I have to say some of it is on him but if NASCAR did not reference these lines in their communication that's just inexcusable - even if most drivers understood it. Also - why do this via email? Why not bring it up at the driver's meeting? Either way, I am feeling like pit road penalties cost Chase a chance to win 2 races and getting at least one of those would have catapulted him into championship contention. Did he really gain such an advantage there that a warning would not have sufficed with clarification of what he did wrong? One of Chase's strengths is that he does not get pit road penalties - almost 100 races prior to this and then 2 weeks in a row? He's had a great season and the last couple of weeks seems to have closed the gap on the 11 and the 5 and has a much speed as them but he needed those playoff points to have a real shot.

Now onto the finish - This format in all these overtimes and cars running out of gas is a joke and reeks of WWE to me. Larson did a great job and I am not saying he is not deserving of the win, but there is a problem in NASCAR when the winner of the race is not the fastest car or the car that pulled the best strategy but rather the car that was in the right place at the right time and all the cards fell their way. Especially when winning is everything in this format. I think it's fun and interesting when it happens on occasion but it's more the rule than the exception lately.

I know the Larson wave here will say I am wrong about all this and just "crying" or whatever but it's out there people - If NASCAR can't fix this stuff they will keep losing fans I want to see racing - not politics. I remember a few years back when Chase and Larson were still coming up they had a great battle someplace and a friend of mine was texting me about how cool it was to see Larson and Elliott go at it and we talked about how this was the future of the sport and how cool it was - now they are both in their prime, running well and we should be seeing it more but it never seems to happen because there is always some BS going on. All this talk of Larson being the best is fine but I know as a Chase fan he can more than hold his own and now that he seems to finally be figuring this car out he is more than capable of beating Larson on speed - I just wish I could see it play out for once.
 
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