What we all knew was finally said.

dpkimmel2001

Team Owner
Joined
Apr 1, 2009
Messages
35,987
Points
1,033
Location
Western PA
maybe the new "reward the regular season winner" rules will take some of this away
 
NASCAR might have to rethink "win and in" back to the top 16 in points.

I assumed drivers were wired to win but I forgot that the business side sees 1 win plus prep for 10 races - the new mantra is "1 for 10".
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pat
NASCAR might have to rethink "win and in" back to the top 16 in points.

I assumed drivers were wired to win but I forgot that the business side sees 1 win plus prep for 10 races - the new mantra is "1 for 10".

I thought the drivers were driven to win also. Seems like that passion isn't as great as it used to be.
 
That is such a croc . Imagine Joe Gibbs explaining that statement to Fedex when it comes time to reup . Not trying to win races ? You 've gotta be kidding .
 
Teams with wins under their belt constantly talk about "trying new stuff" during the summer months. I don't know how anybody can deny that some R&D-ing goes on in the regular season by teams that are already locked in. And I doubt the sponsors have too big an issue with it. They'd probably rather win a championship than a single race.
 
Look at Gibbs with four drivers in the Chase. If you don't think they were taking turns being the 'R&D Car of the Week', you're even more gullible than I am. As each one picked up his win, the car number was added to the rotation. Since there are five 1.5-mile tracks in the Chase, I'd have run TWO 'R&D' cars on those tracks during the regular season, and as many as possible for 1.5ers that are also in the Chase.

It may sacrifice some wins, but it greatly increases the odds of all of them advancing and of one of them winning it all.
 
Imagine if Neil, Davey or Dale witnessed this nonsense of a two month season, October and November!
 
raw
 
I hate the Chase, but I don't really see how "R&D" mode equals not trying to win. R&D means testing new things. If the new things work, the team may be competitive.
 
And yet the same drivers continued to win throughout the season and accumulate bonus points... That just shows that JGR's throw-away R&D experiments are faster than 80% of the garage.
 
Not unlike baseball, or any other sport, where once a team clinches a playoff spot it tends to coast until the post-season begins.

It's just that with NASCAR's Chase format a team can clinch a spot in the playoffs on opening day.

go figure . . .
 
Not unlike baseball, or any other sport, where once a team clinches a playoff spot it tends to coast until the post-season begins.

It's just that with NASCAR's Chase format a team can clinch a spot in the playoffs on opening day. . . .
A football team can clinch a playoff spot on opening day ... if its name is Patriots or Packers or Steelers.
 
‘91. Gibbs had nothing to gain in the final game of the regular season. He sat his starters.

HTTR
That's essentially how the Titans made the playoffs in 2007. It was down to Tennessee and Cleveland for the last playoff spot, and the last week of the season the Titans had the good fortune of playing a Colts team that was already locked into their playoff seeding and therefore sat most of their starters.
 
Truex and Harvick didn't get the memo . They may just keep winning while the others stay focused on R&D .
 
I don't think anybody believes they're doing R&D now, but in the regular season I'm sure there was some going on.

Problem is , once you take your eye off the ball , it takes a while to get it back . Harvick and Truex never stopped trying to win .
 
Problem is , once you take your eye off the ball , it takes a while to get it back . Harvick and Truex never stopped trying to win .

Well, maybe the drivers still did, but their pit crews were in full-on dicking around mode.
 
This is part of why ratings continue to tank.
I really don't care who wins the championship anymore. I haven't watched a single lap since Richmond.
 
Every single team tries to win every single race. Teams with wins can take bigger chances with different setups, that's all. In other words, they can afford to strike out by swinging for the fences. It's not like they're just clocking laps in 25th place to research fuel mileage and ****pit temperatures. "R&D" = getting faster.
 
Once you have won a race you are automatically in the lottery so it makes sense to use the other races the best way you see fit. If you can win more races all the better but there is no sense in taking big risks to do so.
 
:D:D
Every single team tries to win every single race. Teams with wins can take bigger chances with different setups, that's all. In other words, they can afford to strike out by swinging for the fences. It's not like they're just clocking laps in 25th place to research fuel mileage and ****pit temperatures. "R&D" = getting faster.
How would you like to have one of your drivers helping like that ? :D
 
Hmmm... you don't suppose that there's any misdirection here do ya? After winning the Daytona 500 you have an extra spotlight on you... could dissipate that somewhat by saying maybe you won't be trying so hard now... won't fool the old pros but it can fool others.

Top teams are always experimenting with something. They need to in order to stay ahead. That's why they have multiple cars and test sessions (and would have more if NASCAR hadn't imposed rules limiting them). The worst thing you can do in racing is get complacent.
 
Back
Top Bottom