2017 NASCAR Cup Series

[NaBUru38]

2017 Nascar Cup Series drivers:

Chevrolet

Hendrick: Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, Kasey Kahne, Chase Elliott.
Childress: Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman, Paul Menard.
Ganassi: Jamie McMurray, Kyle Larson.
JTG Daugherty: Chris Buescher, AJ Allmendinger.
Germain: Ty Dillon (R).
Leavine: Michael McDowell.
Circle: TBD.

Ford

Stewart-Haas: Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Danica Patrick.
Penske: Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano.
Roush: Trevor Bayne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Front Row: Landon Cassill, David Ragan.
Go Fas: Matt DiBenedetto.
Richard Petty: Aric Almirola.

Toyota

Joe Gibbs: Kylee Busch, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin.
Furniture Row: Martin Truex Jr, Erik Jones (R).
BK: TBD, TBD.
Premium: TBD.

- o -

Greg Biffle and Brian Scott are out.

[NaBUru38]

2017 Nascar Cup Series television calendar:

Fox (10): Daytona 500, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Fontana, Texas, Bristol, Richmond, Talladega, Charlotte 600.

FS1 (9): Daytona Clash, Daytona Duel, Martinsville, Kansas, All-Star, Dover, Pocono, Michigan, Sonoma.

NBC (7): Daytona 400, Indianapolis, Bristol, Talladega, Texas, Phoxenix, Homestead.

NBCSN (13): Kentucky, New Hampshire, Pocono, Watkins Glen, Michigan, Darlington, Richmond, Chicagoland, New Hampshire, Dover, Charlotte, Kansas, Martinsville.

- o -

Night races (Saturday except where noted):

Daytona Clash, Daytona Duel (Thursday), Kansas, All-Star, Charlotte 600 (Sunday), Daytona 400, Kentucky, Bristol, Darlington (Sunday), Richmond, Charlotte 500.

[R.Lee]

Thank you for posting this information. It is going to be an interesting start to the year. Allot of drivers in different brands of cars than they have been driving. Chevrolet seems to have lost the most, Ford seems to have gained and Toyota seems to have stayed pretty much the same. Wonder who will "hit the ground running" and who will have "growing pains"? By the 3rd or 4th race of the season, it will be back to normal. The teams that always win, will be winning, with just a couple of different teams that don't normally win, able to grab a win occasionally and as usual, the "also ran's" will always make up the majority of the field, run in the back of the pack, with slim to no chance of winning. That is the way it is and the way it has always been -- "That's racin!"

[FIRE]

Stewart-Haas racin Fords...still have to get used to that.

[NaBUru38]

Toyota still has too few drivers with chance of collecting top 5s.

[R.Lee]

Originally Posted by FIRE

Stewart-Haas racin Fords...still have to get used to that.

Yep, because they have been in Chevys for so long. It's kind of like back in the old days. A driver/team would become so associated with one manufacturer, that it would be unthinkable, almost heresy, to think of that team/driver in another manufacturer's car. Some examples, Richard Petty is associated with Plymouth though he drove practically every brand of General Motors car before he drove a Plymouth. In 1969, he shocked the racing world, when he drove a Ford in NASCAR Grand National Division competition. That so shook up Chrysler, that they developed the Plymouth "Superbird" for the sole reason of bring Petty back into the Chrysler fold! Since then, he ran GM products, until his retirement from driving, His team has run Fords, for the last several years and currently runs that manufacturer's car. Throughout that whole time, Richard Petty is still most associated with Plymouth and he has even outlived that manufacturer, as Plymouth was eliminated from the Chrysler line-up, several years ago.

Another, the late Glen "Fireball" Roberts. "Fireball" Roberts, ran several different manufacturer's cars, but he became a household name driving Pontiacs for the legendary "Smokey Yunick. In 1963, he left Yunick's team to drive for the Hollman & Moody Ford team. That send a shock through the racing world, especially through Roberts and Pontiac fans. Roberts recalled a letter he got from one disgruntled fan what was particularly upset - ""Fireball, you son of a *****, I told everybody that there is no way that you would ever swap your trusty Pontiac for a stinking Ford. You have made me the laughing stock of my entire town!" Roberts drove the H&M Ford until he had the wreck at Charlotte, during the 1964 "World 600". The burns suffered from that accident cost him his life, on July 2, 1964.

Stewart-Haas Racing is the same, they have been associated with Chevrolets since the formation of the team. It will take some getting use too, them being in Fords. This is particularly true with regards to Kevin Harvick, who had driven nothing but Chevrolets since he took over the late Dale Earnhardt's Richard Childress Chevrolet in 2001.

[R.Lee]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

Toyota still has too few drivers with chance of collecting top 5s.

Maybe true, outside of JGR and Furniture Row teams, but Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Rookie, Eric Jones are more than capable of getting top 5s. Six drivers, that ain't too shabby!

[NaBUru38]

Correct, but Toyota is outnumbered.

[fieldodreams79]

Slightly OT but I just heard on the news this morning that AMS (Atlanta) will be repaving after this "spring" race.

We've stated this numerous times here, but they are rolling the dice with a March 5th date in North Georgia.

[R.Lee]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

Slightly OT but I just heard on the news this morning that AMS (Atlanta) will be repaving after this "spring" race.

We've stated this numerous times here, but they are rolling the dice with a March 5th date in North Georgia.

They really could be. This winter is likely going to be more harsh, that originally forecasted. Heck, we're looking at a fairly big snow/winter weather event this weekend and we normally do not get this until Feb. If that happens several times, allot of frozen precip, and some colder than normal temps., that could be a problem for paving. Asphalt has to have a certain temp., to be put down and also the OAT cannot be too cold, or it won't laydown/set up properly. If they REALLY wanted to do something to improve AMS, return it to it's ORIGINAL configuration! Of course, that will never happen -- smith prefers BORING Charlotte-clone tracks to better configurations, that were unique and provided more charter than his clones!

[fieldodreams79]

Carl sounds like he may be hanging up the helmet and Danial Suarez to replace him.

http://www.espn.com/racing/nascar/cu...diately-nascar

[NaBUru38]

A competitive Nascar driver retires at age 37? That's odd.

[R.Lee]

Have to say that Carl's announcement was a shock. No one saw it coming. After reading all that has been said of it, it appears that the reason is simple, he is just simply ready to retire and spend more time with his family, watch his kids grow up, etc. His wife is a doctor and I'm sure they have discussed, at length, the various risks, especially, the concussion issues, brought to the forefront by the problems that Dale Earnhardt Jr. had. From what I have heard, the wreck at Homestead HURT -- he REALLY felt it. That could also have giving him something to think about, kind of a warning of what could come. He has not been one to have allot of DNFs, due to accidents, but suddenly, this past season, he had four! The NASCAR schedule is GRULING for drivers and especially for team and shop workers. At 37 years old, Carl Edwards really has nothing left to prove. True, he didn't win the Daytona 500 or a Cup Championship, but he very easily could have, had the breaks gone his way. He has had, by all accounts, a very successful career, far more so that most that compete. If he feels it's time to retire, spend more time with family, with his health intact, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. My guess is eventually, he will wind up working in the sport, team owner, fitness trainer for a team, or some other capability. Whatever he chooses to do, he's earned it. I wish him good luck and good health!

[Paradise City]

Ward Burton retired quickly like that as well.

[R.Lee]

Originally Posted by Paradise City

Ward Burton retired quickly like that as well.

True, though outside of winning the Daytona 500, he really never established himself like Edwards has. His win was popular with the fans. Ward was a talented driver, but I really believe his slow, drawling, Virginia accent is ultimately what cost him in the sport. It happened to him, right as the big money, corporate sponsors were beginning to exert more control than the team owners and fans with who would drive the cars and turning drivers, from the colorful characters that they had been, where driving talent mattered, far more than what Corporate America has turned them into today, where driving talent takes a back seat to "good looks", the ability to hawk the corporate sponsor's product in a robotic, "I'm from nowhere accent and a dry, dull, almost nonexistent personality. Another way that Big Corporate money has RUINED the sport!

[fieldodreams79]

Possible wholesale changes to race formats and points system. I know many here have lobbied for segmented races, but 400 plus mile straight up races is what separates big time racing verses the lower tiers. So IMHO, this is NASCAR tinkering once again with their lineup because they've alienated just about all of their loyal fans.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/re...023027860.html

This is going to go over like a lead balloon. They already have the formula for a good series and simply need to see 2003 points system / format to find a successful, appealing game plan. But they won't and I won't watch again. Shame.

[broadrun96]

They're back in all their delightfully tacky yet unrefined manner. Two races in 2017 and associate sponsor in 2018, that needs to be the Darlington 90s car next year in all its original glory, the new scheme is too dayglo. Even if it was the car that beat his dad to the 92 title.

[Nick Woodbury]

I will refrain from typing an utter diatribe on what I just witnessed at 6:00 PM on January 23rd, 2017. However, I will say this from the bottom of my heart as a former nascar fan.

Back when I discovered nascar back in 2000 and subsequently started following it obsessively in 2001, I thought it was the most tremendous and exciting thing since *insert cliche analogy here*____. I had a favorite driver, I was within the locale of a nearby track on the calendar (Loudon), I loved the simple and easy to follow nature of it all; a season long battle of the top stock car drivers in North America leading up to the final race at Homestead to determine a champion.

After watching the first ten minutes of that press conference on TV...all that came to mind was; My god, what on earth has happened to this series?

[canamman]

Originally Posted by Nick Woodbury

I will refrain from typing an utter diatribe on what I just witnessed at 6:00 PM on January 23rd, 2017. However, I will say this from the bottom of my heart as a former nascar fan.

Back when I discovered nascar back in 2000 and subsequently started following it obsessively in 2001, I thought it was the most tremendous and exciting thing since *insert cliche analogy here*____. I had a favorite driver, I was within the locale of a nearby track on the calendar (Loudon), I loved the simple and easy to follow nature of it all; a season long battle of the top stock car drivers in North America leading up to the final race at Homestead to determine a champion.

After watching the first ten minutes of that press conference on TV...all that came to mind was; My god, what on earth has happened to this series?

That's ok Nick, you are in good company here . This thread is used
is used pretty much as a NASCAR whipping post more than
anything - so whip away.

Today on the Nascar Sirius/XM channel, one of the journalists
who has covered the sanction called in and did the research on how
many times the points rules have changed since the beginning.
That number was 14 times. He concluded that the sport has continually
evolved with rules along with the technology even way before
the internet, twitter, etc.

What amazes me is : what other major racing sanction in the world
(other than club) brings in drivers and officers of racing teams to be a part of
the solution? They need to be credited for that if nothing else.

Nascar has been apart of my racing appetite since 1975, and personally ,
I find it interesting all the different strategies of survival they come up with.

[fieldodreams79]

Well, here it is: http://www.jayski.com/cupnews.htm#20170123g

NASCAR, in collaboration with industry stakeholders, announced today an enhanced competition format that will be implemented in all three of its national series - the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR XFINITY Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Increasing the sense of urgency and emphasizing aggressive racing and strategy, the race format will deliver more dramatic moments over the course of an entire race and season, with playoff point incentives on the line throughout.
The enhanced format consists of the following:

• Races will now consist of three stages, with championship implications in each stage.
• The top-10 finishers of the first two stages will be awarded additional championship points.
• The winner of the first two stages of each race will receive one playoff point, and the race winner will receive five playoff points. Each playoff point will be added to his or her reset total following race No. 26, if that competitor makes the playoffs.
• All playoff points will carry through to the end of the third round of the playoffs (Round of 8), with the Championship 4 racing straight-up at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the title.
• Championship points following the first two stages will be awarded on a descending scale, with the stage winner receiving 10 points, second receiving 9 points, and so on.
• The race winner following the final stage will now receive 40 points, second-place will receive 35, third-place 34, fourth-place 33, and so on. At the end of the race, the winner will get 40 points, and then second through 35th will be awarded points on a 35-to-2 scale. Those finishing 36th to 40th will be awarded one point. There will be no bonus points for leading a lap or leading the most laps.
• NASCAR will award points 10-to-1 to the top-10 drivers at the end of each of the first two segments. The number of laps of each of the first two segments will be the same in a race (and won't change if the caution comes out), and the end of the second stage will be approximately at the halfway point of the race. A race would be official after the second stage if it rains.
• Drivers will now carry bonus points -- called "playoff points" -- throughout the entire playoffs (instead of just the first round) when the points get reset. Drivers will earn five playoff points for every race win and one playoff point for every segment win. The top-10 drivers in the standings in the regular season also earn additional playoff points on a 15-10-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale. Drivers will continue to accumulate points throughout the playoffs and carry all the points earned during the year into each of the first three playoff rounds.
• Qualifying for the playoffs remains the same -- the regular-season champion plus 15 drivers based on wins with ties broken by points will get into the playoffs, as long as they are in the top 30 in the standings.
• The playoffs will remain divided into three three-race rounds with four drivers eliminated after each round to set up four finalists for the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Drivers automatically qualify into the next round with a win in that playoff round, and the remaining spots filled by the point standings. At Homestead, the top-finishing driver among the four finalists at the end of the race wins the title.
• The race purse will be paid at the final stage.
• The 150-mile qualifying races at Daytona will be worth points to the top-10 drivers on a 10-to-1 scale (just like a race segment), but the winners do not get bonus points for the playoffs.
• NASCAR won't allow teams to replace body panels during a race, and teams will have additional limitations on crash repair that likely will mean most drivers who have to go to the garage won't return for the remainder of the race.

NASCAR also announced a playoff bonus structure that will see the regular season points leader honored as the regular season champion, earning 15 playoff points that will be added to the driver's playoff reset of 2,000. In addition, the top-10 drivers in points leading into the playoffs will receive playoff points, with second place receiving 10 playoff points, third place will earn 8 points, fourth place will receive 7 points, and so on. All playoff points will carry through to the end of the Round of 8.

From man behind the curtain:
"Simply put, this will make our great racing even better," said Brian France, NASCAR chairman and CEO. "I'm proud of the unprecedented collaboration from our industry stakeholders, each of whom had a common goal - strengthening the sport for our fans. This is an enhancement fully rooted in teamwork, and the result will be an even better product every single week."

"These are enhancements that the NASCAR fan has long sought, and the entire industry has worked hard to develop a better racing format for our fans," said Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer. "This format puts a premium on every victory and every in-race position over the course of the season. Each point can eventually result in winning or losing a championship.


I can't even start to follow this.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by canamman

That's ok Nick, you are in good company here . This thread is used
is used pretty much as a NASCAR whipping post more than
anything - so whip away.

Today on the Nascar Sirius/XM channel, one of the journalists
who has covered the sanction called in and did the research on how
many times the points rules have changed since the beginning.
That number was 14 times. He concluded that the sport has continually
evolved with rules along with the technology even way before
the internet, twitter, etc.

What amazes me is : what other major racing sanction in the world
(other than club) brings in drivers and officers of racing teams to be a part of
the solution? They need to be credited for that if nothing else.

Nascar has been apart of my racing appetite since 1975, and personally ,
I find it interesting all the different strategies of survival they come up with.

CAM, as always, I respect your dedication and steadfastness to the sport, but I don't see where they've really listened to anyone but the voices in Brian France's head. The sport died with Dale, the last person willing to call them out and have them listen. I just didn't realize it until the last 5 years.

14 times the rules / points system has changed.? Most of those must have been in the last 14 years and they keep making it more wrong.

I hope you can still find some interest in it. I just can't for the life of me determine why'd I want to even try to understand the formula that was concocted above, let alone have DW, Larry Mac and MRN explain it to me every 5 laps of a broadcast.

Originally Posted by Nick Woodbury

I will refrain from typing an utter diatribe on what I just witnessed at 6:00 PM on January 23rd, 2017. However, I will say this from the bottom of my heart as a former nascar fan.

Back when I discovered nascar back in 2000 and subsequently started following it obsessively in 2001, I thought it was the most tremendous and exciting thing since *insert cliche analogy here*____. I had a favorite driver, I was within the locale of a nearby track on the calendar (Loudon), I loved the simple and easy to follow nature of it all; a season long battle of the top stock car drivers in North America leading up to the final race at Homestead to determine a champion.

After watching the first ten minutes of that press conference on TV...all that came to mind was; My god, what on earth has happened to this series?

I didn't think they could make it worse. Congrats for them going above and beyond.

They've lost it. They've really completely lost it.

Originally Posted by broadrun96

They're back in all their delightfully tacky yet unrefined manner. Two races in 2017 and associate sponsor in 2018, that needs to be the Darlington 90s car next year in all its original glory, the new scheme is too dayglo. Even if it was the car that beat his dad to the 92 title.

Good stuff. Even though the "eyes" are "offensive" to some, I've always thought the Hooters Livery is great and Hooters food is awful.

[canamman]

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

CAM, as always, I respect your dedication and steadfastness to the sport, but I don't see where they've really listened to anyone but the voices in Brian France's head. The sport died with Dale, the last person willing to call them out and have them listen. I just didn't realize it until the last 5 years.

14 times the rules / points system has changed.? Most of those must have been in the last 14 years and they keep making it more wrong.

I hope you can still find some interest in it. I just can't for the life of me determine why'd I want to even try to understand the formula that was concocted above, let alone have DW, Larry Mac and MRN explain it to me every 5 laps of a broadcast.


I didn't think they could make it worse. Congrats for them going above and beyond.

They've lost it. They've really completely lost it

You did not see the stage full of drivers and team personnel?

A lot of good input came from those guys. They also
got input from the fans. What the fans are telling them is what
I experienced at the Cup races in Atlanta. 80% boring show. Atlanta
is an intermediate cookie cutter which are the tracks that are having
the most boredom problem. If the race is boring at the track that
means sleeping fans in front of the tv. And since the cars hardly
break anymore, they are being forced to change things and I couldn't
agree with them more.

DW or Larry Mac? I changed over to turning down the tv volume
and log in the workstation computer to the scanners and in car cameras
3 years ago. With this system my interest really has never waned. I still
watch it every Sunday as I have since the mid 70's. I still make it to
1 or 2 races a year. Seriously, since Chase Elliott came on the scene, its
impossible not to watch. It was amazing watching him as a 15 year old
beating the day lights out of grown men at Lanier in a Late Model.

I could go on and on but its cool. I realize I am in the complete
dark corner of the minority when it comes to Nascar in this forum.
Yep , Lone Wolf McQuade. No big deal, Neckcar ain't fur everwon.

[rustyfan]

Hahahahaha oh man, I can't stop laughing and what's up with the 10-minute breaks between each 'segment'? Calling it a mess doesn't even begin to describe it.

I do think the fact that they are limiting the teams' ability to send out damaged cars is a good thing though, so there's that I suppose.

Originally Posted by canamman

I could go on and on but its cool. I realize I am in the complete
dark corner of the minority when it comes to Nascar in this forum.
Yep , Lone Wolf McQuade. No big deal, Neckcar ain't fur everwon.

Nah you're not alone, I'll still be watching every race as well. Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott are a treat to watch and even though the championship format is a mess, probably beyond repair at this point, the races should hopefully offer some good action

[Mystery]

What an absolute shambles! I think I've come to tolerate the chase for the thing, but this will see me stop my subscription for the taxes here in the UK. Maybe halving the number of subscribers at a stroke....

My favourite is this one though

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

• The race purse will be paid at the final stage.

Oooh thanks for confirming, NASCAR. We're shocked.

Then

• NASCAR won't allow teams to replace body panels during a race, and teams will have additional limitations on crash repair that likely will mean most drivers who have to go to the garage won't return for the remainder of the race.

Seriously? They're all about the action and the immediacy of it, except now at their flagship race they're going to have maybe 5 competitive cars at the end because the rest will have either been taken out in the Big One with no ability to repair, have minor crash damage they can't do a lot with and just be the standard field-filler that every racing series has. Well done Nascar. You've outdone yourselves.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by canamman

You did not see the stage full of drivers and team personnel?

A lot of good input came from those guys. They also
got input from the fans. What the fans are telling them is what
I experienced at the Cup races in Atlanta. 80% boring show. Atlanta
is an intermediate cookie cutter which are the tracks that are having
the most boredom problem. If the race is boring at the track that
means sleeping fans in front of the tv. And since the cars hardly
break anymore, they are being forced to change things and I couldn't
agree with them more.

DW or Larry Mac? I changed over to turning down the tv volume
and log in the workstation computer to the scanners and in car cameras
3 years ago. With this system my interest really has never waned. I still
watch it every Sunday as I have since the mid 70's. I still make it to
1 or 2 races a year. Seriously, since Chase Elliott came on the scene, its
impossible not to watch. It was amazing watching him as a 15 year old
beating the day lights out of grown men at Lanier in a Late Model.

I could go on and on but its cool. I realize I am in the complete
dark corner of the minority when it comes to Nascar in this forum.
Yep , Lone Wolf McQuade. No big deal, Neckcar ain't fur everwon.

Comments from fans regarding drivers / team reaction.
https://twitter.com/NASCAR/status/823719513720025088
I don't buy for a second the input given from drivers or teams had any influence.

My older son's soccer team got smoked 12-0 every game last season. I just about stopped watching but I didn't so get why you want to watch Chase.

I seriously do hope you find enjoyment from the new format.