Time for a change NASCAR!!

[Wythefan]

I'm no Nascar fan but it's time to change up the points chase format.....five years with new format and five years Jimmie Johnson winning...has anyone thought the last 10 tracks my be some of his better tracks? Need to add Bristol to the points chase.

[ROCKET7]

As far as I'm concerned, Kevin Harvick is this years champ just like Tony Stewart should have been last year. Harvick led the points going into the chase and would have been leading after the race today and would have been the Champion. This chase crap is a bunch of BS. When Earnhardt and Petty won their 7 championships it was the right way by having the most points at the end of the season the way it should be!

[LITE-INN]

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Ryan Newman qualified 23rd for the Ford 400, but he won't know what getting to run in the first 20 minutes of Friday's only Sprint Cup practice would mean until race day, because thanks to an apparent miscommunication, Newman broke the transmission in his Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet while still in the garage and missed almost the first quarter of practice.

The incident occurred when about half a dozen cars, including Newman's, were misdirected to the wrong gate to get from the Sprint Cup garage to pit road. Newman declined to discuss the issue, but his crew chief, Tony Gibson, explained.

Ford 400

Lineup

Pos. Driver Make 1. Kasey Kahne Toyota 2. Carl Edwards Ford 3. Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 4. Bill Elliott Ford 5. A.J. Allmendinger Ford Complete Lineup

"When the race track sends everybody out, normally that gate [at the start/finish end of the garage] is open," Gibson said. "Well, they had it blocked, so they were shipping everybody down between the garages [to a gate further up the back of pit road], where they were lined up. But then they locked that gate and made us go back [through the garage to the original gate]."

Greg Biffle explained there were no NASCAR officials at the usual gate when he got there, and a track security guard waved him up to the other gate, where he lined up behind Jamie McMurray, Kevin Harvick and in front of Newman.

A NASCAR official then let McMurray onto pit road but stopped Harvick. Biffle drove around Harvick and did a "three-point turn" to make the right-hand shift into the opening under the pit suites to get back into the garage -- and back in line for practice. Harvick then put his car into reverse and abruptly backed up, almost hitting Newman, who had started to pull up behind him.

"Trying to get everybody to come around and through that hole wasn't going to happen," Gibson said. "Guys were backing-up into other guys, so we put it in reverse to back-up in a hurry to keep Harvick from hitting us and it broke the transmission. We don't use reverse a lot and it's a lot thinner than our primary gears."

Newman immediately took his car to its garage stall, where the crew spent about the first 20 minutes of practice changing the transmission. However, the lower qualifying position aside, Newman will not be penalized for the transmission change -- which, if it occurred at the wrong point of the weekend, would have sent his car to the rear for the start.

"NASCAR was good about it, [Sprint Cup director John] Darby and them, and they let us change it without a penalty," Gibson said. "Darby said it wouldn't have been a penalty because it was before practice, but he said under the circumstances it was their fault -- not NASCAR but the race track kind of screwed up -- so NASCAR was nice enough to work with us."

But they couldn't get the lost practice time back.

"Missing that 20 minutes hurt," Gibson said. "Because we try to spend our first half-hour in race trim and then switch over, so it just threw us out of whack for a little

[TS FAN]

i admit I am a Nascar fan, not as much as dirt track racing though. But here is the thing. Jimmie wins because Jimmie's team gives him a top 5 car every week. No other team can do that. The 11 and 29 came closer than many teams in past years, but the 48 has been the only team that can do that. You put a good driver in a top 5 car, with a better team than anyone else has and over a ten race period he is going to win every time. There is really no great analysis needed. Jimmie Fans will say he is the best driver, non Jimmie fans will say that he is a good driver with a great team. You give Kyle Busch the cars that Jimmie gets every week and he will destroy the field and probably win 12-15 races every year. Championships are won by teams that can give a driver a winning car every week, pure and simple. I know most people despise Kyle Busch, but he is far and away the best driver in Nascar. You give him and equal car, he will kick butt every time. Stewart would too.

[Highside Hustler25]

Consistency is the word for sure. Also patience. Jimmy has it, Kyle does not. Period. Is Busch a great racer, yes. Just can't pace himself for a Nascar race.

[44-19-21-39]

Jimmie is the champ because Denny Hamlin pulled a bonehead move ( as usual) early in the race by running over Greg Biffle. Harvick lost because he was more worried about Kyle running him too hard, and a pit road penalty. Of the 3 the best race car driver with the best crew with the best crew chief won again. They will continue to win until these hot heads learn to be consistant. I think now people are going to be worried that Jimmie will be the greatest ever and not someone named Sr or Jr.

[dirtfan2757]

Would all of you be upset had Hamlin had enough fuel @ Phoenix? The chase was lost in Arizona, not Miami. Hamlin lost the chase and Johnson was there to capitalize. Arizona will haunt the Gibbs team the rest of the off season.

[Clayton_Wetter]

i admit I am a Nascar fan, not as much as dirt track racing though. But here is the thing. Jimmie wins because Jimmie's team gives him a top 5 car every week. No other team can do that. The 11 and 29 came closer than many teams in past years, but the 48 has been the only team that can do that. You put a good driver in a top 5 car, with a better team than anyone else has and over a ten race period he is going to win every time. There is really no great analysis needed. Jimmie Fans will say he is the best driver, non Jimmie fans will say that he is a good driver with a great team. You give Kyle Busch the cars that Jimmie gets every week and he will destroy the field and probably win 12-15 races every year. Championships are won by teams that can give a driver a winning car every week, pure and simple. I know most people despise Kyle Busch, but he is far and away the best driver in Nascar. You give him and equal car, he will kick butt every time. Stewart would too.

A guy wins five championships in a row and you can't deal with it. There is a point where talent applies and luck ends. Nobody has ever won five in a row. So please accept that Tony got punked and schooled once again this year. lol

[LITE-INN]

no clayton tony is real racer while your lil boy jj is nothing but a point chased

[Clayton_Wetter]

no clayton tony is real racer while your lil boy jj is nothing but a point chased

Then where are all of his championships and who has won far more races? Tysk tysk, Litey, you really need to clean that tarry bong of yours once in a while!!

[kidrock]

Under this points system the 48 crew is hard to beat but, under the old system they would still be hard to beat they just would not have won 5 in a row as a matter of fact they would not have won the last 2 years for sure under the old points system but, make no mistake about it they are by far the best driver crew combo going right now. Like someone said when you finish in the top 5 consistently you are bound to win a lot of races and a few championships on the way.

[mudslinger47]

Would all of you be upset had Hamlin had enough fuel @ Phoenix? The chase was lost in Arizona, not Miami. Hamlin lost the chase and Johnson was there to capitalize. Arizona will haunt the Gibbs team the rest of the off season.

The race in PIR was lost by Ford, he blew it by not pitting early enough to give his driver a chance. No one will say it publicly from the race shop, but thats the way it is. It was a long green race all day, Ford screwed up. Hamlin would have went in to Florida with a seventy point lead and would have won the champ slot. JJ and Chad know the deal and played it perfectly.

Duane

[Returning to Dirt]

The Chase is junk. Deciding a racing champion based on 10 races out of a 36 race schedule is a foolish attempt to manufacture excitement that isn't there. The TV networks are more interested in points battles than races for the win, which is why the Chase was born in the first place.

That said, Johnson/Knaus are playing with the hand they have been dealt and are doing it better than anyone else. They have to be given credit for that.

[petesvoice]

everyone of them are in the business of making money,,, from the top to the bottom,,,and because they wont put real racing on tv we watch it ,,,,thats the jest of it,,,,the goofey think is that some of those who race nascar think they it is them thats really good and that the whole thing isnt manipulated thru fines, penalties, yellow flags for imaginary stuff on the track and probably just for the hell of it,,,,throw in a couple ingnorant announcers like the walthrip brothers and lary the mouth and you have a 3rd rate comedy hour,,,,it used to be a neat thing to watch before it became another iroc series .... but what can ya do,,, either watch or not watch,, heres a tip,, its better with the sound off and the pic blurred just a tad,,,,,

[racenut]

The reason nascrap has the Chase in the top three series, Cup, Truck and Nationwide is because it has been proven to work SO well!!!!




















































oh....what's that you say? Sprint Cup cars are NOT really Sprint cars and they are the ONLY series with this silly Chase? Can that really be true?

[TS FAN]

Well now the other pretty boy is favored to win this year. He has a new crew chief, and the chant begins. Put Johnson in another situation and see how he does. He hasn't accomplished anything other than with Chad. Gordon was the greatest ever. Whoops, don't hear that anymore. Well that is until he wins the championship this year. LOL what a joke. Nascar teams win championships, not the drivers. The drivers get all the credit, but its the team. Look at Gordon. Can't even win a race.

[TS FAN]

His team won five. Anyone good driver getting the best cars every week can win Points championships. Look no further than Gordon. what happened to him, did he lose his skill or is it he doesn't winning cars every week? Clayton, I know you like Bloomquist, and I can't stand him. But he is the best ever in Dirt LM. But in 500 mile races and long seasons it requires getting top cars every week. Most teams can't do that. Evernham and Knaus managed to get it done. Gordon and Johnson were in the right place at the right time. Neither has excelled in anything other than with those two. Bet Gordon wishes he never heard of Johnson, giving up key members of his championship team. Never to get it back.

[LITE-INN]

[QUOTE=Clayton_Wetter;1300454]Then where are all of his championships and who has won far more races? Tysk tysk, Litey, you really need to clean that tarry bong of yours once in a while!![/QUOTE NO Mr Wetter a real racer doesn't point chase stewartvs johnson Moyer versus bloomer get it Nascrap point system sucks how comes up with this crap Old man France is probably spinning in his grave right now

[dirtbozz10]

*snif*snif*
jimmy won again
*snif*snif*

[CIRF]

Don't know much about Johnson's background prior to coming to NASCAR but I watched Gordon win a lot of races back in his USAC & All Star days. He won in USAC midgets, USAC non-winged sprints and USAC Silver Crown cars along with a few victories in winged sprinters. Gordon won the National USAC midget championship along with the USAC Silver Crown championship. So, the statement about Gordon never winning anywhere else driving anything else is not quite accurate.