2014 Nascar Cup Series pre-season

[NaBUru38]

Knockout qualifying is great, it's a smart move.

But having 43 cars quaifying at the same time is bad idea (too much traffic), and doing 25-30 minute sessions is a bad idea too (drivers will wait until the last few minutes).

They should do two sessions of 12-15 minutes each, like the IndyCar road/street format.

[MJ_N_09]

But either way, it sounds like it'll be exciting to watch as opposed to the single car runs we've known for so long.

[PabloTeK]

And LMP1 drivers thought they had their work cut-out, Bristol is going to be hilarious...

[FIRE]

A season without big changes isn't a season.

[MJ_N_09]

Now, for non rookie news, we "lose" a Start and Park:

McDowell, Leavine Racing have sponsor: Leavine Family Racing is looking to make headway in 2014. The team enters its fourth season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with a new driver, Michael McDowell, and a renewed focus on ensuring strong qualifying sessions to make it into the 43-car Sprint Cup Series field in all 20 of its scheduled races this season. "I'm not even sure I'm allowed to say this, but I'm glad I don't have to start and park anymore," said McDowell. "We really need to find out what works best for us in qualifying and we'll get that figured out. But running 20 races will allow us to really manage our program and build to the future." As will its alignment with K-Love, a contemporary Christian music radio programming service that can be heard by over 12 million listeners over 440 FM stations and 47 states. K-Love will sponsor all 20 races for the #95 Ford this season. "To be able to have that kind of fan base and the values of their programming really speaks to me on a personal level," said McDowell. "Not only does it fit into my beliefs, but that connection is important to building existing and future partnerships, too."(Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour Notes)(1-28-2014)

[gomick]

How many "start & parks" are we expecting this season?

[FordCosworthPanoz]

http://www.dailynews.com/sports/2014...-chase-changes

The CEO of NASCAR: Worldwide acclaimed Writer, Philanthropist, Mathematician and Intellectual Dr. Brian Z. France to announce major changes to 2014 NASCAR Sprint Chase for the Cup powered by Coca Cola available only on ESPN and ESPNHD.

It’s widely been reported the changes will increase the field from 12 to 16 with a series of eliminations that will culminate in a winner-take-all showdown among the four drivers in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Wonderful, just wonderful. Thanks for saving the sport Brian.

[MJ_N_09]

Since none of the teams will probably announce they will S&P, I will make a tentative list myself. Also, many teams who did Start and Parking ran the full distance in a majority of their races:

#33 and 40: Was a 2 car team last year and ran on a very small budget. Dunno if the 40 will run all the races. The #33 will be fielded by Circle Sport when not being run by RCR.

#35: Start and parked from the summer onward, Minus Daytona, Infinion, The Glen, Brickyard, and 'Dega. I'm probably forgetting a few.

#36: Start and parked for some of the races. If this team continues, there is no sponsorship announced, so I would write it in for more chance of doing that this year.

#77 (was last year's 19): Team S&Ped all its races except Infinion (DNFed though after an accident, DNQed the Daytona 500). Dave Blaney may be driving for this team, but I don't see them changing their plans to finish any races.

#87: I have an article coming up. Something major changed with the team.

From the article I liked, we can cross off the #95. Was big on doing it otherwise, unless if it was Daytona or Talladega (actually ran very well during those trips).

#98: The team that is the most notorious for doing it, so yeah. IMO, they're the most certain of S&Ping out of anyone.

If the 37, 44, 52, and 92 return, they will for sure S&P.

That will be as many as 10 teams that will start and park, whether a few races or all of them.

[MJ_N_09]

Hmm....

Nemechek partners up to form new team UPDATE, with MWR: Veteran NASCAR team owners Jay Robinson and Joe Nemechek of NEMCO-JRR have partnered with a group of five business leaders including Atlanta based, Nat Hardwick, managing partner of Morris|Hardwick|Schneider and CEO and Chairman of The Board of LandCastle Title, to form Identity Ventures Racing. Identity Ventures Racing will be led by managing partner, Jay Robinson, crew chief, Scott Eggleston and driver, Joe Nemechek. The team will be fielding Toyotas with engines supplied by Race Engines Plus. "I am very confident about the future of our race team. We have a very accomplished group of partners, with vast experience in business and marketing which will bring new opportunities to our sponsors and the team." stated managing member, Jay Robinson. Hardwick stated, "As both an entrepreneur and sports fan at heart, I am excited about the opportunity to step out into an entirely new arena on both fronts. The team at Identity Racing has a winning combination of experience, business sense, and passion for the sport; I look forward to being a part of the team."(Identity Ventures Racing)(1-30-2014)
UPDATE: Michael Waltrip Racing announced a partnership with Jay Robinson Racing enabling the #66 Toyota Camry to race in all 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup events. Waltrip will drive the #66 in the Daytona 500 and again in the May Talladega race. Jeff Burton will race the #66 in six to eight races during the season, including his first race on March 9 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Robinson has named Joe Nemechek as the primary driver for the remainder of the races.(MWR), not sure if this deal has anything to do with Identity Ventures Racing or if the #87 team will run in 2014.(1-30-2014)

[MJ_N_09]

Um, at this point, we don't even need the Chase if it's going to be like this.

[NaBUru38]

People want to watch races, not championships.

[FordCosworthPanoz]

NASCAR Sprint Cup: Where you can win 35/36 races in a season and not win the Championship.

http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-med...up-format.html






Why? Just why?

[Clive Brown]

You don't actually even need a season if it's going to be determined this way. Why not just run a 35 race non-Championship series, followed by a one-off race at the end to determine the Champion?

[Adam43]

Oh that's silly.

[Clive Brown]

So the current thinking (ha!) at NASCAR is not equally ridiculous?

[fieldodreams79]

Just when I thought they couldn't make it any worse....

[Salamus]

Wow. I thought they couldn't make the chase any worse but clearly I was wrong.

Do drivers, crew members, team managers/bosses have any say in this farce?

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by Clive Brown

So the current thinking (ha!) at NASCAR is not equally ridiculous?

I was referring to the NASCAR rule, your post just got in the way. Sorry.

[NaBUru38]

Wow.

To win the championship, now you just have to win one of the first 26 races, avoid knckout in the three rounds, and beat the other three rivals in the final race. That doesn't sound like a proper champion for a 36-race championship.

As FCP said, you can lose the championship by having a bad day in the final race. You crash, get spun or have trouble in the pits, and your hopes are vanished.

- o -

Winning a race almost gets you in the Chase. Which means, David Ragan would have qualified in 2013, since less than 16 drivers won in the regular season. His next best results were 12th, 19th and 20th.

In 2011, Regan Smith and David Ragan would have qualified for the Chase. Smith ended with a win, 4 top 5s and 8 top 10s. Ragan ended with a win, 2 top 5s and 5 top 10s.

Oh, and Tony Stewart would have barely qualified for the 2011 Chase, just because there weren't 16 winning drivers. He had collected 3 top 5s and 11 top 10s in 26 races, but no wins.

[Salamus]

They probably increased it to 16 to avoid what happened last year in BK and Gordon (technically) not making the chase.

[MJ_N_09]

How about to just put everyone who runs all the races into the chase? Problem solved.

[FordCosworthPanoz]

How about a revolutionary system where the driver with the most points amassed over 36 races in a 36 race season wins the championship?

Oh...

[MJ_N_09]

Originally Posted by FordCosworthPanoz

How about a revolutionary system where the driver with the most points amassed over 36 races in a 36 race season wins the championship?

Oh...

Kenseth in 2003 did that and completely dominated by like, over 260 points (old format). Nascar didn't like that because he already clinched it with 2 races to go. In a way, blame him.

Thankfully, only Sprint Cup has a chase. Not even any other Nascar series has this.

[gomick]

And he only won 1 race? in the season... Seems they are messing around & probably should've just kept the original points system, the chase was only half interesting last year because Kenseth won early & Double J dnf'd... I don't like the new system either, unless Ambrose is 2014 champion

[TimRTC]

At.least all the drivers seem to be onside. Better than F1 where they all spend the time complaining about new regs.