Stock car racing fans got they're monies worth this weekend as we had the opportunity to witness the thrilling and intense Talladega racing of old.
Over the last few years racing at the Talladega Motor Speedway had become rather hohum to watch; same old race leaders lap after lap, two train lines running side by side .Not a whole lot of significant passing going on for any length of time...sure the running order would get jumbled occasionally due to stock cars making routine pit stops but, after a few laps the race cars would cycle around and end up with the same leaders back out in front of the pack.
The only thing loyal NASCAR racing fans had to concern themselves with was whether or not a driver or his spotter would blunder and cause a big multi car crash ( "The Big One" ) that would eliminate their favorite stock car driver from the race.
That and the last few laps to see which drivers and racing teams would join up and make a move on the backstretch to lead to the checkered flag.
This years first of two opportunities to view stock car racing on the two and five eighths mile Talladega SuperSpeedway was different . I think the intense , edge of your seat, what's going to happen next stock car racing is back !!!
It seems as though the C.O.T. ( car of today ) with its larger overall dimensions has created a significantly different aerodynamic effect on a stock cars ability to slingshot pass another car than in the past few racing seasons.
Time and time again we watched Denny Hamlin's #11 Gibb's Toyota draught and push other race cars and himself to the front of the pack to lead laps. I found it absolutely astounding to see what appeared to be a one hundred horsepower gain as two stock cars would jump to the outside lane of the race track and pass other race cars with relative ease .
We got to see Tony Stewarts' #20 and Dale Earnhardt jr.s' #88 gain huge leads by restrictor plate standards over the rest of the field on numerous occasions .
Top speeds of nearly 210 miles per hour could be reached as one race car would push another
down the backstretch of the Talladega Motor Speedway. Speeds of around 192-193 mph seemed to be about the norm over the past few years for these restrictor plate races with the older car design .
It seems like NASCAR has designed a stock car that is indeed more entertaining to watch for the race fan and gives the drivers some of the gas pedal response and ability to pass other cars they were looking for.
The greatest tribute to the C.O.T.'s ability has to be the fact that Kyle Busch in the #18 Gibbs entry came back from a full lap down to go on and pass the entire racing line-up to win the event.
Personally , I can't wait to see the fall race at Talladega.
What did you think of the race ? Leave a comment.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Did Mark Martin Get Snookered ?
Stock car racing fans got to witness an incredible judgement call on pit road this past weekend at
Phoenix International Raceway by crew chief Chad Knaus which led to the first win for #48 Chevrolet driver Jimmy Johnson this season.
With roughly 40 laps remaining in the Subway 500 , Crew chiefs, FOX television announcers and race car drivers alike speculated as to when and if their respective teams should get to pit road for fuel.
One by one with 10-12 laps to go in the race ,teams got to the pit lane so as not to run out of precious Sunoco fuel and two fresh Goodyear tires on the right side of their stock cars.
Why the tires I'll never understand but, that's another subject.
With all the other NASCAR racing teams electing to pit,that amazing combination of Johnson and Knaus for Hendricks Motorsports stayed on the race track and inevitably gained an insurmountable 10 second lead on the nearest competition ..Second place finisher the #11 Toyota of Denny Hamlin.
Listening to the in car broadcast you could hear the spotter for Jimmy Johnson telling him to back down on the speed of his race car to conserve fuel mileage and gave constant updates as to where the competition was relative to the race track.
Most stock car racing fans witnessing this NASCAR event must have been at the edge of their seats wondering if this could possibly be happening. Mark Martins' #8 Chevrolet which had clearly been the dominant player during the later stages of the race simply had no chance with so few laps remaining to chase down the #48 Chevrolet of Jimmy Johnson.
My question is ...If the race cars are using twenty-two gallon fuel cells and get roughly four miles to the gallon for mileage why would any of the NASCAR stock car teams feel the need to come in to the pits for fuel on a one mile Phoenix International race track when they had all come to the pit lane under a caution with 82 laps to go ?
Why not just a splash and go at most , if some teams felt they might be a bit short ?
And then to add two right side tires besides ,What in the H*ll were these crew chiefs thinking about?
Somehow I have to wonder if these crew chiefs were watching the same stock car race that I was ????
This weeks stock car race was a prime example of how and why the #48 race team has captured the championship for two straight racing seasons .Apparently the team and crew pay attention to all the little details that the rest of the NASCAR teams do not. Did Chad Knaus gamble with the outcome by not bringing Jimmy Johnsons' race car in for fuel ? I don't think so .
What do you think ? Leave a comment !
Phoenix International Raceway by crew chief Chad Knaus which led to the first win for #48 Chevrolet driver Jimmy Johnson this season.
With roughly 40 laps remaining in the Subway 500 , Crew chiefs, FOX television announcers and race car drivers alike speculated as to when and if their respective teams should get to pit road for fuel.
One by one with 10-12 laps to go in the race ,teams got to the pit lane so as not to run out of precious Sunoco fuel and two fresh Goodyear tires on the right side of their stock cars.
Why the tires I'll never understand but, that's another subject.
With all the other NASCAR racing teams electing to pit,that amazing combination of Johnson and Knaus for Hendricks Motorsports stayed on the race track and inevitably gained an insurmountable 10 second lead on the nearest competition ..Second place finisher the #11 Toyota of Denny Hamlin.
Listening to the in car broadcast you could hear the spotter for Jimmy Johnson telling him to back down on the speed of his race car to conserve fuel mileage and gave constant updates as to where the competition was relative to the race track.
Most stock car racing fans witnessing this NASCAR event must have been at the edge of their seats wondering if this could possibly be happening. Mark Martins' #8 Chevrolet which had clearly been the dominant player during the later stages of the race simply had no chance with so few laps remaining to chase down the #48 Chevrolet of Jimmy Johnson.
My question is ...If the race cars are using twenty-two gallon fuel cells and get roughly four miles to the gallon for mileage why would any of the NASCAR stock car teams feel the need to come in to the pits for fuel on a one mile Phoenix International race track when they had all come to the pit lane under a caution with 82 laps to go ?
Why not just a splash and go at most , if some teams felt they might be a bit short ?
And then to add two right side tires besides ,What in the H*ll were these crew chiefs thinking about?
Somehow I have to wonder if these crew chiefs were watching the same stock car race that I was ????
This weeks stock car race was a prime example of how and why the #48 race team has captured the championship for two straight racing seasons .Apparently the team and crew pay attention to all the little details that the rest of the NASCAR teams do not. Did Chad Knaus gamble with the outcome by not bringing Jimmy Johnsons' race car in for fuel ? I don't think so .
What do you think ? Leave a comment !
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Texas Tornado...huh!
This weekends NASCAR race held at what is considered by many as the newest of the really fast tracks was sorely dissappointing.Even with a caution flag thrown for debris with only 10 laps remaining the Stock car race resulted in a real snoozer.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. captured the pole position on Friday which surely had many of the 80,000 Stock car racing fans in attendance excited but, to no avail. Dale Earnhardt Jr's #88 Hendrick car took the green flag at the start but lead very few laps at Texas Motor Speedway's " Samsung 500" on this sunny and warm sunday afternoon.
The dominant drivers throughout the race were Kyle Busch #18 Joe Gibb's owned Toyota , # 99 Rouch/Fenway's Ford stock car driven by Carl Edwards and Jimmy Johnson's #48 carrying the banner for the Rick Hendrick's Chevrolet team .
Each one of the top three drivers took turns leading at various times during the race as track conditions changed throughout the day.
Jeff Gordan and Steve Letarte have work to do on the # 24 race car if they expect to compete at mile and a half race tracks like Texas Motor Speedway.On lap 109 Jeff Gordan's Hendrick owned Chevrolet brought out only the second of four caution flags decided to enter the fourth turn ass-end first and kissed the S.A.F.E.R. barrier wrecking the cars chance for a win and
relegating him to only the second last place finish in his sixteenth season career.
This all the while trying to prevent his loose handling stock car from going two laps down.
What is amazing is how this team that pounded the competition the entire NASCAR racing season last year can completely be so confused about their race car's chassis set-up this season. As good a stock car driver as Jeff Gordan is, I'd say that he simply doesn't get it when it comes to racing on the Texas track.
Teammate Jimmy Johnson ran up front all day long with the same equipment and finished second only to the dominant race car of Carl Edwards.
Carl Edwards has now finished first in three of the six NASCAR races held so far this season.
Do you think that the Rousch/Fenway Fords have figured out the C.O.T. (car of today) ? or has Toyota and Chevrolet simply not had their day in court ?
Let me hear what you think.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. captured the pole position on Friday which surely had many of the 80,000 Stock car racing fans in attendance excited but, to no avail. Dale Earnhardt Jr's #88 Hendrick car took the green flag at the start but lead very few laps at Texas Motor Speedway's " Samsung 500" on this sunny and warm sunday afternoon.
The dominant drivers throughout the race were Kyle Busch #18 Joe Gibb's owned Toyota , # 99 Rouch/Fenway's Ford stock car driven by Carl Edwards and Jimmy Johnson's #48 carrying the banner for the Rick Hendrick's Chevrolet team .
Each one of the top three drivers took turns leading at various times during the race as track conditions changed throughout the day.
Jeff Gordan and Steve Letarte have work to do on the # 24 race car if they expect to compete at mile and a half race tracks like Texas Motor Speedway.On lap 109 Jeff Gordan's Hendrick owned Chevrolet brought out only the second of four caution flags decided to enter the fourth turn ass-end first and kissed the S.A.F.E.R. barrier wrecking the cars chance for a win and
relegating him to only the second last place finish in his sixteenth season career.
This all the while trying to prevent his loose handling stock car from going two laps down.
What is amazing is how this team that pounded the competition the entire NASCAR racing season last year can completely be so confused about their race car's chassis set-up this season. As good a stock car driver as Jeff Gordan is, I'd say that he simply doesn't get it when it comes to racing on the Texas track.
Teammate Jimmy Johnson ran up front all day long with the same equipment and finished second only to the dominant race car of Carl Edwards.
Carl Edwards has now finished first in three of the six NASCAR races held so far this season.
Do you think that the Rousch/Fenway Fords have figured out the C.O.T. (car of today) ? or has Toyota and Chevrolet simply not had their day in court ?
Let me hear what you think.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Give me a Brake !
It was interesting to note that stock car drivers and teams didn't scream about needing brakes at Martinsville's "Goody's Cool Orange 500" this past weekend as so often was the case in previous events held at the distinct little half-mile speedway.
I think that after years of testing ,newer brake pads, added brake ducting and of course race drivers experience has finally curbed the problem that plagued NASCAR races at the track.
But, now it seems a new problem has popped up.
No less than a half dozen stock cars had mechanical failure with either the transmission or rear-end gears of the race car giving up before the conclusion of the 500 lap mark.
Speculation says that wheel hop going into the corners is the cause for the parts to break.
I'd like to add that concrete in the corners may also be creating additional stopping power and added stresses to the rear and transmission parts.
Do you think that the ability of the race car drivers to apply more brake pressure without burning them up has given us NASCAR racing fans something new to expect at the track?
As with anything in life... balance to a stock cars parts and pieces are the key to a successful run at MARTINSVILLE"s unique race track with it's long straight-away's and extremely tight corners.
I think that after years of testing ,newer brake pads, added brake ducting and of course race drivers experience has finally curbed the problem that plagued NASCAR races at the track.
But, now it seems a new problem has popped up.
No less than a half dozen stock cars had mechanical failure with either the transmission or rear-end gears of the race car giving up before the conclusion of the 500 lap mark.
Speculation says that wheel hop going into the corners is the cause for the parts to break.
I'd like to add that concrete in the corners may also be creating additional stopping power and added stresses to the rear and transmission parts.
Do you think that the ability of the race car drivers to apply more brake pressure without burning them up has given us NASCAR racing fans something new to expect at the track?
As with anything in life... balance to a stock cars parts and pieces are the key to a successful run at MARTINSVILLE"s unique race track with it's long straight-away's and extremely tight corners.
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