NEXTEL Cup: Dickies 500 (spoilers)

[StuiE]

Texas this week, Qualifying has been run, Vickers on Pole, AJ and Ragan missed out (and not by a small amount, both were last and third last)

http://www.motorsport.com/news/artic...&FS=NASCAR-CUP

Alse will be Terry Labonte's last race ,lots of pre-race celebrations for him.

[muggle not]

I posted this in another topic but will also post it here. This is the car Terry will be driving in his last Nascar race.

[kingfloopy]

Red Bull racing is going to have some fun starting off next season since they have no race experience.

J.D.

[kingfloopy]

Like I said last week I wonder if NASCAR's going to change the points system if Stewart keeps winning races?

Too bad for Terry Labonte. He didn't have too good of a run in his last race. But Kyle Petty finished 11th and Bobby Labonte 16th. Petty Enterprises is getting better and more consistent each race. If not this season yet Labonte is going to win a race for the #43 next year for sure. It's pretty amazing to see that both their cars have turned such a corner and they've started running more like they did in the mid to late 90's again. Let's hope they can keep the momentum up.

I heard an interview on PRN with Ward Burton before the race and he's working on a deal to come back next year if sponsors can be signed (probably to the #4).

J.D.

[kingfloopy]

Here are the standings after Texas 2:
After: Dickies 500
Rank Driver Behind
1. +1 Jimmie Johnson Leader
2. -1 Matt Kenseth -17
3. +1 Dale Earnhardt Jr. -78
4. -1 Denny Hamlin -80
5. +1 Kevin Harvick -105
6. +1 Jeff Gordon -157
7. -2 Jeff Burton -184
8. +2 Kyle Busch -233
9. -1 Mark Martin -253
10. -1 Kasey Kahne -290

Johnson and Kenseth have it the easiest right now. I'd say Hamlin and Junior have a pretty good chance too if either of the top two have problems. Harvick is still possible too, but he's more of a long shot. I'd say everyone else is out of the hunt. I don't like Johnson (more because he drives for Gordon than anything), but he sure is a good driver and has been really impressive after starting off the Chase so bad. It's good to see a driver who has terrible luck not give up and keep pushing to win the championship.

This fourm has been tapering off some now that Montoya-mania has died down. Hopefully it'll pick back up in the spring.

J.D.

[Fish_Flake]

The Chase was a stupid idea to begin with. The cutoff is tenth, but this year the eleventh-place guy (who also happens to be the most popular driver in NASCAR) is lapping the field, while everyone else keeps thinking of ways to lose the championship. Next year, the Chase will be even more contrived, and in a few more, a chink in the armor will again be exposed for us to criticize, and an excuse will be given for NASCAR to "revamp" the format.

[kingfloopy]

Yeah its nice from the excitment and marketing standpoint. But all it seems to do is hurt drivers who have had an excellent season and make a few mistakes here and there. It doesn't reward them for winning multiple races or poles from a points standpoint. It doesn do anything to eliminate the need for consistency which was the original reason it was developed in the first place. Also the previous two years the defending champion has either performed terrible (or lost his ride) or not made the chase. There has also been one driver who has gotten stuck out of the top 10 (McMurray, Stewart, Gordon) and then performed well enough to land in the top 5 even under the old system. This occurs while drivers like Mayfield or Kahne squeak in to the chase and then have substandard performance.

That's my rant on the chase.

J.D.

[Knowlesy]

They should just go back to a traditional points race, I feel so sorry for Tony. He has won three of the eight chase races and yet he can do nothing to improve his position really. Lunacy.

NASCAR should be applauded for their ideas and innovation and they have took NASCAR to incredible levels marketing and exposure wise, but the chase format hasn't worked for me and they should just put it down as a failed experiment.

Yes, it perhaps injects some extra late season excitement by resetting the points but it also confuses some people and is dreadfully unfair.

[Speedworx]

The chase works brilliantly. Tony missed it by a narrow margin in Richmond.

[Hazza]

Well, get this guys:

Kenseth pretty much set up the Chase with his imfamous points run a few years back (Nothing against him, he deserved it cos he had a top 5 car in 50% of the races), but if Kenseth and JJ wreck, Dale could take the title with...

...only one win...

But what ever, man, playoff system is fine by me. Adds drama and excitement, and puts more emphasis on the guys to perform earlier in the year.

[rustyfan]

I'm torn about the Chase. On one hand I like the tight, unpredictable finishes to the Championship opposed to boring, dominant (think Kevin Harvick in this years' Busch Series) Championship runs, and on the other hand I can feel it's a shame drivers like Tony Stewart who has really come on strong towards the end is without a shot at the title.

Then again, would Stewart and the team have been so strong had they been in the Chase? Even Stewart himself has said that most likely isn't the case, seeing as they have taken quite a few gambles in recent victories that they most likely wouldn't have taken had they been in the Chase.

[StuiE]

I'm with rustyfan, the chase has it's good and bad points, but Tony probably wouldn't have won some of those races without gambling, that he wouldn't do if he was in the chase, at least there isn't a runaway leader (though there probably wouldn't be anyway)

Anyway, not a bad race

I heard something on SportsCentre about a member of Riggs' team tripped over Kevin Harvick's wife becuase he got Riggs loose? that's pretty low.

[kingfloopy]

Yeah the #10 crew member knocked down Harvick and his wife both.

http://www.jayski.com/pages/penalties.htm

J.D.

[Hazza]

Thats pretty stupid.