2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season

[rugbyLEAGUEfan]

Well done Marcus Ambrose . After 105 starts and nearly 3 years trying , finally gets a win . He seems like a good guy too . Obviously years of road racing in Australia helped as I noticed he has a very strong record at the circuit .

Gotta say at the risk of sounding overly patriotic , with Stoner , Evans and now Ambrose , it seems you can stick any type of wheels under an australian at the moment and they'll do well .

 

[Formaldehyde]

And don't forget Will Power in Indycar. If there were no ovals he would likely win the championship this year by a huge margin.

When Kyle Busch screwed up the restart, I knew Marcus was finally going to win his first race. It couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

And how about Boris Said nearly killing two other drivers at the end of the race and then going after Greg Biffle after the race? The big wreck is at 2:45 of the first video:


Link to video.


Link to video.

I think it is only a matter of time before a driver gets killed at a NASCAR road racing venue, if not some fans as well. You can't leave it up to the drivers because they will just get more and more aggressive without proper officiating. I'm just surprised it wasn't Tony Stewart who intentionally caused it, as it was during the last 2 road races.

I'm a big Boris Said fan, but Tony Stewart ruined his race last year at the same spot doing essentially the same thing. You simply can't run into people instead of lifting. This sport is far too dangerous to intentionally do stuff like this by being so stupid. They both would be visiting with the stewards for their acts with any legitimate road racing sanctioning body.

And Allmendinger would have been competing for the win if someone hadn't taken him out earlier at the inner loop. That contact forced him to make a pit stop to clean his radiator intake.

If you adversely affect the race of another driver like that, it is only fair if you get at least a drive-through penalty. If NASCAR did so, most of this nonsense would end immediately.

 

[NickyJ]

How long do you think Boris' suspension will be? I'm sure he's going to get one.

 

[SouthernKing]

I like to see people bump into each other, but that was really uncalled for, especially Saids comments about Biffle post race.

 

[rugbyLEAGUEfan]

I don't watch a heap of NASCAR , and when I saw Boris Said interviewed I wasn't sure if he was being for real . It was like WWF . Awesome

 

[Formaldehyde]

How long do you think Boris' suspension will be? I'm sure he's going to get one.

Are you kidding? This is NASCAR, the WWF of motor racing as rugby just pointed out. He'll probably get an atta boy for boosting their ratings.

 

[NickyJ]

Are you kidding? This is NASCAR, the WWF of motor racing as rugby just pointed out. He'll probably get an atta boy for boosting their ratings.

Tell that to Jimmy Spencer.

 

[Formaldehyde]

When was the last time NASCAR suspended any driver for a similar reason?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NASCAR_drivers

Suspended drivers

Aaron Fike _ Heroin.

Shane Hmiel (First driver to be suspended for life from NASCAR) - Heroin

Randy LaJoie (Reinstated as of August 25, 2010) - Marijuana.

Jeremy Mayfield - Methamphetamine.

Brian Rose (Suspension Lifted as of 2010 - Marijuana.

Jack Smith (Suspension Lifted as of 2011) - “fraudulently attempting to obtain a controlled substance”.

Tyler Walker - Failed a random drug test.

What gets you suspended in NASCAR?

So, team owner Richard Childress assaults driver Kyle Busch in the garage area, repeatedly striking him with his fist, and doesn't get suspended. He received a $150,000 fine and placed on probation through the end of the year.

What exactly does get you suspended in NASCAR? Here's a list of some recent suspensions and another list of things for which NASCAR participants did not receive a suspension.

NASCAR suspends people for:
-Violation of its substance abuse policy (numerous examples).
-Using an engine which is too big (Carl Long)
-Rigging a fuel tank to appear full when it wasn't during qualifying (Crew chief Todd Berrier)
-Using a racial slur (crew chief Bryan Berry)
-Using an unapproved additive in fuel (Crew chief David Hyder)
-Having a car chassis that does not meet specifications (Crew chief Shane Wilson)
-Having air improperly ducted into the car for qualifying at Daytona (Crew chiefs Kenny Francis and Robbie Reiser)

NASCAR will not suspend you for:
-Physically assaulting a driver (Team owner Richard Childress)
-Convictions for driving while intoxicated (drivers AJ Allmendinger, Scott Wimmer)
-Reckless driving; speeding (128 mph in 45 mph zone) (driver Kyle Busch)
-Repairing a wrecked car to return to the track to intentionally wreck another competitor (driver Carl Edwards)
-Physically assaulting another competitor in the presence of NASCAR officials (Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman)
-Physically assaulting a member of the media (driver Tony Stewart)


Make sense?

Read more: http://thatsracinluckydog.blogspot.com/2011/06/what-gets-you-suspended-in-nascar.html#ixzz1VM1cKSI8

 

[NickyJ]

So why was Jimmy Spencer suspended for punching Kurt Busch if it's fine to do so?

 

[Formaldehyde]

That was one occasion back in 2003, and Jimmy Spencer has always been a rabble-rousing troublemaker. The incident was even investigated by the police, which is probably why NASCAR decided to suspend him.

There have been dozens of fist fights that never got any sort of penalty, much less a suspension. And in this particular case it appears that Boris didn't even hit Greg Biffle, but Biffle did hit him before he could even get out of the car.

Biffle also has quite a reputation for being an acknowledged "idiot" in the past.

The best NASCAR fights: Biffle/Harvick in The Brawl At Bristol

So, to begin. It's March 2002, and we're at Bristol. Greg Biffle and Kevin Harvick had a stormy 2001, with some dustups and accusations thrown back and forth. And it didn't take long for things to get ugly in '02:

Link to video.

"The Idiot" moniker hung around Biffle's neck for awhile, though you don't hear it as much these days. So whose side do you take in this feud? And if you've got suggestions for future spotlight posts, put 'em in the comments or hit me up at nascarmarbles@yahoo.com.

And remember -- helmets are no good in a fight ... unless you're throwing 'em.

In fact, the very NASCAR first race on ESPN ended in a fist fight that is lauded as being one of the major reasons why NASCAR racing even got popular in the first place.


Link to video.

That is what made me want to be a race car driver.

Like it or not, that is what put NASCAR racing on the map.

People started going, wow, is it going to be like this every week?

NASCAR has always been about drivers losing their tempers and getting into fights to resolve their differences. It is due to the fact that NASCAR won't properly police this pretend sport, because it is what many of their fans want to see.

 

[SouthernKing]

I like to see rivalries and people getting into little fistfights, but Said just went a bit too far.

 

[Formaldehyde]

So the distinction is whether the drivers have a fist fight in front of TV cameras for the enjoyment of the fans, or claim they will track the other driver down later when his crew isn't there to protect him and the TV cameras aren't present?

Don't you think people deliberately wrecking others, which could easily seriously injure or kill the other drivers, or even fans, is far more serious?

 

[SouthernKing]

So the distinction is whether the drivers have a fist fight in front of TV cameras for the enjoyment of the fans, or claim they will track the other driver down later when his crew isn't there to protect him and the TV cameras aren't present?

Don't you think people deliberately wrecking others, which could easily seriously injure or kill the other drivers, or even fans, is far more serious?

Yes. Light pushing and bumping is fine, but shoving cars off-track is going a bit far.

Verbal threats should be taken seriously, but yeah I agree that deliberately caused wrecks are more serious.

 

[Formaldehyde]

Then why does NASCAR almost never do anything about it?

The only time I think any contact should be allowed is when they race on a handful of ovals where it is nearly impossible to pass without making any contact. And the NASCAR officials are actually at fault for even thinking about trying to race on such absurd tracks in the first place.

Deliberate rubbing isn't racing. Any other sanctioning body on the planet calls it unsportsmanlike conduct and even cheating. And they consequently penalize the drivers for intentionally doing it. Of course, legitimate "racing incidents" don't count. There will inevitably be some contact when you are racing wheel-to-wheel. But if you intentionally do it to get an advantage, it is no longer a fair sport, especially if the sanctioning body deliberately looks the other way. Then it become no better that WWF wrestling where the referee intentionally looks someplace else while the competitors cheat.

And deliberately wrecking someone on a superspeedway should result in criminal charges. But I think they should be banned anyway.

 

[rugbyLEAGUEfan]

I see that Ambrose won again . But maybe someone could explain to me , I believe the Nationwide event he won is second tier to the Sprint Cup ?

If so , is it due to him being a lesser driver that he sometimes appears in the Nationwide ? Like a golfer who plays Nationwide and PGA events ?

 

[Formaldehyde]

Nationwide is the second tier. Sprint Cup is the main series. Frequently both races happen at the same venue so the Nationwide race is on Saturday and the Sprint Cup event is on Sunday. Many the Sprint Cup drivers drive both and gain a considerable advantage by getting far more on track practice and running both races.They are called Buschwackers because the series used to be sponsored by Busch Beer instead of Nationwide Insurance. Sprint Cup drives actually won the series title for the past 5 years, so NASCAR changed it so they are now only eligible for the championship in one series of their choosing.

This weekend, the events were close enough so some of the the drivers still managed to compete in both races by flying back and forth. Ambrose competed in both.

Some drivers also compete in the third tier, the trucks, if they are at the same track or on a different weekend. Kyle Busch even won all three races on the same weekend at Bristol last year.

The Nationwide cars were essentially the same as the Sprint Cup cars until the advent of the Car of Tomorrow cars. But the engines aren't nearly as powerful, so it costs quite a bit less to run the events. Even now, they still share a lot of the same components.

Here's a Wiki with more details about the difference in the cars:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationwide_Series#Comparison_with_a_Sprint_Cup_Car

I haven't watched the Trois-Rivières race yet. I'll comment on it once I have. But grats again to Marcus Ambrose. This is really going to solidify his standing as a NASCAR driver. Now if he can only win on an oval...

 

[Formaldehyde]

What a weird race. Villeneuve clearly had the fastest car all day long. But he accidently got into Ambrose at a restart when he went into T1 too hot, and then he lost control on the grass instead of slowing and regaining control of his car. So Ambrose punted the hell out of him when he caught back up after thinking Villeneuve did it intentionally, which put Villeneuve 2 laps out of contention.


Link to video.

Then Ambrose had the best car and dominated the rest of the way.

Canadian Patrick Carpentier suffered a simiar fate. Someone contacted him and took him out of the lead group. So he started playing road warrior himself, and he eventually damaged his car too badly to continue. So he ended his career on a sour note.

The same thing happened to another Canadian, perennial hard luck story Robbie Gordon. He was a front-runner all day long until he tried to punt someone out of the way at T2 and screwed up his own radiator.

At least it wasn't quite as crazy as last year's race, despite so many stupid maneuvers. Check out the intro to this year's event:


Link to video.

It's really too bad that so much incredible racing talent has to act so stupidly, instead of road racing like it should be done. I wish I could say that Ambrose deserved this victory after screwing the pooch 2 years ago and losing it on the last turn due to his own fault.

(3:30 in)


Link to video.

But I can't. Ambrose should have been penalized for deliberately taking out Villeneuve after he thought Villeneuve deliberately did it to him.

What makes the race even worse is that the front runners in the Nationwide points chase got punted out of the way as well, which was quite likely no accident. NASCAR road racing is nothing but a big joke. You simply can't leave it up to the competitors to be vigilantes and assorted cheaters.

 

[NickyJ]

Atlanta is having its parade rained on. How long until ESPN starts interviewing the start-and-parks?