2014 Daytona 500...

[gomick]

Well, the #3 is on pole - good stuff

[The Happy Track Fan]

Nice PR for RCR, but ultimately, means absolutely nothing for this race.

[FordCosworthPanoz]

Austin Dillon on the pole in the #3 and one of Danica Patrick's nipples is finally and inevitably exposed to the world through leaked photos.

Interesting lead-up to say the least...

[rustyfan]

Wow, wild crash during practice which saw the #30 of Parker Kligerman ride on top of the #83 through the tri-oval before eventually flipping over. Everyone involved were ok.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCNUW39rlgY

[fieldodreams79]

Plate "racing" and NASCAR be silly. Running q-ing races at night and putting in primetime only makes good TV sense and I'll watch - beats the 10th straight day of Figure Skating, but is this the first time where it has been planned to qualify for a day race at night? Whomever is quick tonight may not be quick on Sunday. Sunday looks wet, too.

And no offense to Rustyfan, but NASCAR seems to be gloating about crashes in practice. Come one, come all! Don't miss the real deal! Fun for the whole family.

[JHamilton]

Do they actually use plates anymore with this new-fangled "fuel injection". I know the injectors are still located above the manifold (just like Chevy's Misfire, I mean, Crossfire injection from 30 years ago) but wouldn't they just regulate the injection?

[fieldodreams79]

I can't tell you how excited I am to see Chris Myers, Jeff Hammond and Mikey Waltrip.

[rustyfan]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

And no offense to Rustyfan, but NASCAR seems to be gloating about crashes in practice. Come one, come all! Don't miss the real deal! Fun for the whole family.

Well, crashes for the highlight reels and stock car racing have kinda gone hand in hand ever since the early 60's when Daytona started to produce some truly spectacular wrecks. 37-car modified sportsman pileup in 1960? Check. Richard and Lee Petty both punching through the armco barrier during their respective qualifying race in 1961? Check. The list is endless, and you're right - NASCAR doesn't seem to have a problem with crashes being part of the promotional material, so to speak. At least as long as no one is killed of course (an area where NASCAR's track record isn't exactly the best - but that's a discussion for another thread).

And I'm not ashamed to admit I thought Kligerman's crash was pretty cool. As long as everyone involved come out ok I don't mind seeing a stock car turn upsidedown every now and then.

-

On a side note, have you seen the weather for Sunday? Looks like there's a risk of *******' (seriously? "f r i g g i n" is censored? wow... just, wow... Even Jamie McMurray used that very word in a victory lane interview once - it's NOT A BAD WORD) thunderstorms just about when the race is set to start

[fieldodreams79]

While what you say is partially true, I find this type of racing to be ridiculous.

Supposedly, the biggest and best stockcar race in the world, is now a complete game of Russian Roulette where everyone knows a disastrous wreck will happen at some point in every plate race. Take last night's truck race-fabulous finish, with a great big unavoidable mess in the middle of it.

Instead of attempting to create a better product, they tout it like it's something wonderful. When the second duel finished, Fox showed the wreck over and over and over, then pretty much said, "Hamlin won the race. We'll be right back."

Don't get me wrong, I like smoke, flames and fisticuffs with the best of them, but this is becoming rather insulting.

And yes, looks like it's rain, rain, rain and more rain for Daytona. This wouldn't happen in Big Bill's or even Little Bill's day.

[JHamilton]

Is anyone else seeing this? Fox has, what can only be described as, the worst pre-race show ever created. Ever.

[fieldodreams79]

Thankful to have missed it. I was watching the Olympics coverage, I mean ice dancing. <--- is "ice dancing" correct or was it figure skating tonight?

[rustyfan]

So it looks like we'll probably get it started on time (even though there's a chance of showers), but have a pretty big risk of rain a couple of hours into the race.

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

Thankful to have missed it. I was watching the Olympics coverage, I mean ice dancing. <--- is "ice dancing" correct or was it figure skating tonight?

I think I read there would be some sort of exhibition at some point?

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by JHamilton

Is anyone else seeing this? Fox has, what can only be described as, the worst pre-race show ever created. Ever.

Trying to find a video online somewhere for a good laugh....

Originally Posted by rustyfan

So it looks like we'll probably get it started on time (even though there's a chance of showers), but have a pretty big risk of rain a couple of hours into the race.

Looks like it. Chances of rain higher mid to late afternoon. It may be one of "those" days watching speedway racing. Maybe Fox will replay the **** show during the rain delay.

[R.Lee]

Well, I am a very old time, stock car racing fan. I've been a NASCAR (and other stock car series) fan since the days of Lee Petty, Buck Baker, Fireball Roberts, Junior Johnson, Ned Jarrett and others. Saw my first race, in 1959, at the old Lakewood Speedway, located on the old Southeastern Fairgrounds, here in Atlanta. That's 55 years ago, I was 6 years old, that year, when my dad took me to see it. I had started following it, with him, on the radio and in the news papers, the year before, 1958. I have been a hardcore stock car fan, ever since, to the point that aside from an occasional drag race, nothing else, in all of auto racing interests me. I had started to become and follow the Australian V8 Supercar Series, (I'm not sure why, considering the fact that I detest road-racing) maybe because I liked their Ford/GM rivalry, which was very reminiscent of the old days of NASCAR, the era that I came of, where being a Dodge, Chevy, Pontiac, etc., fan and saying something negative about a Ford, amounst a group of Ford fans, (And visa versa) would, wery rapidly, get you a serious ass whipping! Unfortunately, here in the U.S., the demise of SPEED Channel has pretty much put an end to the ability to follow the V8 Supercars, as whatever coverage we now get is two to three weeks old, at the earliest and often times is shown on a channel that is not part of any cable or satellite TV's basic station package. Plus, the V8s did not return to COTA this season. They say that they will be back, in 2015, but I SERIOUSLY doubt it, as once a racing series has left a track, it only VERY rarely returns -- I say the chance that they come back is "slim to none"! All of this is also a topic for another thread and a diffrerent forum. Back on topic, I am not, at all happy with what has been done to stock car racing, by Brian France, or as we call him, "Brainfart Brian!" He has NO understanding about what the teams, drivers and most importantly, the fans want to see. Even though he won a boat load of these things, the late Dale Earnhardt stated and expressed the feelings of most of the drivers and teams, with regards to restrictor plate racing, "This isn't racing! I don't know what it is, but it ain't racing!" The IDIOTIC changes, that "Brainfart Brian" has made and continues to make to the sport, such as the stupid "chase, the "Green, White Checkers, three attempts rule, this TOTALLY idiotic, BORING new qualifying format, just to name a very few, are against practically everything that myself and many other stock car racing fans like and want to see. It appears that "Brainfart Brian, with his senseless, counterproductive, idiotic ideas of change has, once again proven the old business addage to be true -- "The first generation starts and builds the business then turns it over to the second generation. The second generation, builds the business up to it's height, then turns it over to the thrid generation, who promptly goes about tearing down and ruining the business!

All of that being said, I welcome today's Daytona 500. Though I hate restrictor plate racing, this race OFFICIALLY opens racing season. It has been a LONG DRERY off-season and it, though still a couple of weeks away, we are within a couple of weeks, it signals the coming of Spring! It means, to me, the end of boring, little to do weekends, I will now have something that I really enjoy, to watch! So, WELCOME 2014 racing season, you have been a long time getting here, but now that you have arrived, "Let's go racing"! I'm anxiously awaiting THE command, (I will do it the traditional way, since I'm "old school", an old, traditional fan! "With aknowledgement of and to Danica Patrick" or "Danica, and Gentlemen, START YOUR ENGINES!" NOW, let's get this one run/completed, so that we can move on to the start of the actual RACING (as opposed to restrictior plate) part of the season, next week, at Phoenix! To all, enjoy today's race and have an OUTSTANDING Sunday!

[rustyfan]

The weather radar looks pretty damn nasty, ugh.

[R.Lee]

Originally Posted by rustyfan

The weather radar looks pretty damn nasty, ugh.

HOPEFULLY, the rain will hold off, until the race ends! Don't want a rainout, I have to work, tomorrow, won't be able to watch!

[tux]

Single file. Too much fun.

[tux]

Aight, i was wrong, guess they've decided they've got to go now incase it rains and they somehow make it half way.

The sky looks scary

[Lagunaseca_4life]

Red flag.boo!

[Nick Woodbury]

Oh for pete's sake, just race in the rain you bunch of wimps!!!!

[pigs fly]

NASCAR means Needs Another Safety Car Avoids Racing.

[MJ_N_09]

Remember when they ran this whole race at night two years back? That was awesome. I really liked the dark sky with the lights bright on. I just made a more epic setting.

[MJ_N_09]

from MRN, 4:30 EST is now the projected resume time.......

.....

[tux]

Not happening. Raining hard again.

[Salamus]

There is a tornado warning now...