When the Chase was first introduced, one thing caught my eye. Notice the 2 short tracks, in the last three races. I actually called in to a local radio show, to voice my concerns.
The Question went something like this. What if the guy in 13 (then 11th) happened to "move" the guy in 12 (then 9th) causing him to crash, thus enabling the guy on the outside to move into the Chase? The radio pundits, after much deliberation, decided they really didn't know what would happen.
This has never really become an issue. Especially last year. The big 4, HMS, Roush, Gibbs, and Childress. Had the Chase field covered last year. Each team with most, if not all their drivers making the Show.
This year is a entirely different story. With seven different owners taking up the 12 spots. I will for this blog denote Stewart/Haas and a seperate entity from HMS.
Where am I going with this, you may ask?
Picture this on Sat. night. The 33 is close to making the Chase. His teammate, the 29 who is way outside the Chase, runs up behind the 17. Harvick , not known for patience, boots the 17, who backs it into the fence and has finishes back in the pack. Up moves the 33, one step closer to keeping Childress from being shut out of the Chase.
Voila, instant Chase conspiracy.
Example 2. The 20, with a rookie driver, gets loose and takes out the 5. Helping the 18 inch his way back into contention.
Rookie mistake or team orders? You be the judge.
I'm not saying that teams are sitting in the haulers and Richard is telling Harvick and Burton to dump the guys in front of Clint in the standings, but who knows. In fact, how could you tell at all? Isn't Bristol known for beating and banging.
I guess I must just have a warped mind, but if I was Childress, looking to be shut out of the Chase, I promise its something that would run through my thoughts.
Just something to think about. Of course, we will probably be sitting in front of the TV waiting for the rain to stop. I hope not.
Anyway, just a little food for thought. I am thinking of bringing back the Incident Report, for atleast the next 3 races. That way I can analyze the cautions, and see if I can throw a little gas on the fire for us Nascar conspiracy theorists.
Let me know what you think of my little Conspiracy theory.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Random Thoughts from Michigan!!
Another weekend in Michigan has come and gone. Before we all get to pumped up and excited for Bristol, I thought I would take a few moments to look back at what happened the last two days.
* Jimmie Johnson and I finally have something in common. We both want to be weatherman. What other job can you get, where you can be wrong 50% of the time and still not be fired. o% percent chance of rain, yet still two delays. Atleast they ran it on Sunday eventually.
* Kyle Busch and Brian Vickers- Man I hate when two of my guys have a problem. You would think they would get along, both being HMS leftovers, but I digress. Although I freely admit Kyle acted rashly by running the 32 down on pit lane. But,I do see his point. Had Vickers run the line that he had been using all day, it would have come down to those 2 cars. By pulling down and running Kyle along the bottom, he did slow both cars down. Don't ask me how, its one of those aero deals. If Vickers spotter had kept him aware that the 88 was coming on the high side, he would have ran high, and he and Busch would have dueled for the win. The fastest two cars were Vickers and Busch, those two battling for a win would have been classic. Instead we got Bucky in the 88 playing the opportunist for a second time this season. I won't say Brad was lucky, he had his car in the right position to take advantage and when the time came he pounced.
* The pre-race both days included stories about Keselowski, being from Michigan, and donating tickets to 40-50 area workers, that have been laid off. It was a nice story.
What doesn't get reported, Kyle Busch donated 60 tickets to MIS for them to distribute. Maybe the public wouldn't think he was such an a-hole, if the media would report some things like this about the guy.
* Jimmy Johnson's driving ability called into question once again. Two HMS cars pitted on the same lap. Both had pressure from other cars. One managed to finish and the other didn't. Saving fuel is directly related to a drivers ability to maximize performance while not mashing the gas. Floating the car in, and pedaling off allow a driver to maintain some speed, while saving fuel. Some masters of this include Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Brian Vickers.
*While we are on the subject of JJ. He should have never been out front to begin with. He clearly jumped that last restart and should have recieved a penalty from Nascar. I think jumping the start is a pass through. I only heard Jarrett mention it once on the broadcast and have yet to see anyone talk about it anywhere else. I guess rules don't apply when JJ is gunning for a win.
* Kudos to the Red Bull team and Brian Vickers. I hope this allows them to finalize Brian's contract and get him a teammate that can provide some feedback and help. I like Speed, but he is not helping provide any info that would enable Red Bull to contend seriously for the title.
*Once again we are foiled by too much pre-race and not enough post-race. I raised the same issue during Fox's coverage. Please TV people, less pre, more post.
Well enough whining and crying. (HMMM maybe thats why I like Kyle, we both like to complain)
Hope everyone has a good week, I can't wait till Fri and Sat. I love me some Bristol night racing.
Thats just my opinion, I could be wrong. But probably not!
* Jimmie Johnson and I finally have something in common. We both want to be weatherman. What other job can you get, where you can be wrong 50% of the time and still not be fired. o% percent chance of rain, yet still two delays. Atleast they ran it on Sunday eventually.
* Kyle Busch and Brian Vickers- Man I hate when two of my guys have a problem. You would think they would get along, both being HMS leftovers, but I digress. Although I freely admit Kyle acted rashly by running the 32 down on pit lane. But,I do see his point. Had Vickers run the line that he had been using all day, it would have come down to those 2 cars. By pulling down and running Kyle along the bottom, he did slow both cars down. Don't ask me how, its one of those aero deals. If Vickers spotter had kept him aware that the 88 was coming on the high side, he would have ran high, and he and Busch would have dueled for the win. The fastest two cars were Vickers and Busch, those two battling for a win would have been classic. Instead we got Bucky in the 88 playing the opportunist for a second time this season. I won't say Brad was lucky, he had his car in the right position to take advantage and when the time came he pounced.
* The pre-race both days included stories about Keselowski, being from Michigan, and donating tickets to 40-50 area workers, that have been laid off. It was a nice story.
What doesn't get reported, Kyle Busch donated 60 tickets to MIS for them to distribute. Maybe the public wouldn't think he was such an a-hole, if the media would report some things like this about the guy.
* Jimmy Johnson's driving ability called into question once again. Two HMS cars pitted on the same lap. Both had pressure from other cars. One managed to finish and the other didn't. Saving fuel is directly related to a drivers ability to maximize performance while not mashing the gas. Floating the car in, and pedaling off allow a driver to maintain some speed, while saving fuel. Some masters of this include Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Brian Vickers.
*While we are on the subject of JJ. He should have never been out front to begin with. He clearly jumped that last restart and should have recieved a penalty from Nascar. I think jumping the start is a pass through. I only heard Jarrett mention it once on the broadcast and have yet to see anyone talk about it anywhere else. I guess rules don't apply when JJ is gunning for a win.
* Kudos to the Red Bull team and Brian Vickers. I hope this allows them to finalize Brian's contract and get him a teammate that can provide some feedback and help. I like Speed, but he is not helping provide any info that would enable Red Bull to contend seriously for the title.
*Once again we are foiled by too much pre-race and not enough post-race. I raised the same issue during Fox's coverage. Please TV people, less pre, more post.
Well enough whining and crying. (HMMM maybe thats why I like Kyle, we both like to complain)
Hope everyone has a good week, I can't wait till Fri and Sat. I love me some Bristol night racing.
Thats just my opinion, I could be wrong. But probably not!
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