NASCAR - "Gentlemen, Start Your Engines"

    • Moderator
    • 16870 posts
    May 12, 2013 6:06 PM PDT
    It totally sucks and everybody is telling them, you would think with them wanting new fans and to keep old fans they would fix that mess.
    • 5420 posts
    May 27, 2013 3:49 AM PDT
    Well pretty anti-climatic finish in the Indy 500 yesterday! I can't believe they let them finish under yellow... come on that's no fun!

    I missed most of the Coca-Cola 600 because we had a bunch of people over and were all out back. I did see the finish though. I am just wondering how Brad Keselowski got from Indy to Charlotte - I know I saw him hanging out at the Penske pit during the 500
    • Moderator
    • 16870 posts
    May 27, 2013 4:29 AM PDT
    I got home from my niece's place just before the first "red flag".
    I fell asleep sometime before the end of the race, when I woke up it was over so I changed channels to SPEED to see who won.
    Denny Hamlin is back on track to the "Chase", if he starts winning a few races he should be in it.

    They moved Keselowski with a Star Trec style transporter. :-)
    • Moderator
    • 16870 posts
    May 29, 2013 4:36 PM PDT
    Stolen Cars Recovered From NASCAR Driver Mike Harmon's Garage.

    Cars may have been stolen from fellow driver Jennifer Jo Cobb

    A strange story from the world of NASCAR racing has one driver accused of stealing vehicles from another driver. Police recovered two cars and five trucks from two of NASCAR driver Mike Harmon's garages. WBTV reports that the cars were stolen from fellow racer Jennifer Jo Cobb at the end of last year.

    They are both drivers in NASCAR's truck series. Cobb is competing this year in the Camping World Truck Series for her own team, the Jennifer Jo Cobb Racing Team. Harmon used to be the team manager for when Cobb raced for the Nationwide team, and has said in public tweets that he is involved in litigation with Cobb.

    These stolen vehicles came to light only after Harmon was arrested two weeks ago on a separate charge of theft. He was charged with breaking into Cobb's headquarters and stealing the hauler she used to transport cars and trucks. Harmon is denying the allegations.

    "I've never stolen as much as a piece of bubble gum. To be arrested for a felony is ridiculous," Harmon told WBTV.

    Harmon is keeping his distance from Cobb under judge's orders. Harmon has not been charged with stealing the seven vehicles. Cobb's hauler has not been recovered.

    At the crux of the matter is an ongoing dispute between Cobb and her former business partner at JJC Racing, David Novak, over rightful ownership of the trailer and other racing equipment. They parted ways last December and remain in litigation.

    In February, Novak made news when he had a team van confiscated from Cobb in Daytona Beach, Fla., while she was making a public appearance with her race team, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal. According the report, Novak claimed he was the rightful owner to the van and supplied police with documents showing he had made payments and held the insurance on the van.

    Harmon said he is in the middle of the quarrel because he helped set up the joint venture between Cobb and Novak in 2010. Harmon said he helped Novak retrieve the trailer from Cobb last December and it was taken to a site in Denver, N.C.

    In January, Cobb said she took the trailer back and brought it to her shop because she was the rightful owner. She's been using it ever since.

    In an interview with the Associated Press, Harmon called Cobb "pure evil. Evil. She doesn't care about anybody but Jennifer." Harmon vowed to restore his name, saying he plans to "go for the jugular" when it comes to pursuing his legal options down the road.

    Neither driver has had much success on the track.

    Cobb has one top-10 finish in 85 combined starts in the Nationwide and Truck Series. That came in the 2011 season-opening Truck Series race at Daytona, where she finished sixth. Cobb has led only one lap in her career and her best finish in the points was a 17th in 2010, the only year she ran a full Truck Series schedule.

    Cobb ran 12 Truck races last year and made two Nationwide starts. She's run all four Truck races this year, but failed to finish the first two.

    Harmon, a journeyman in the Nationwide and Truck Series, has never notched a top 10 finish and is probably best known for a horrific crash during practice at Bristol in 2002. His car was demolished when it hit Bristol's crossover gate in the fencing, and the gate swung open on impact. Harmon's car was nearly split in half, and as he sat in the wreckage on the track, Johnny Sauter hit the car.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.
    • 5420 posts
    May 30, 2013 1:48 AM PDT
    Wow, I never heard about this... or either of those drivers for that matter. They finally have what they need for a NASCAR reality show :-)
    • 9 posts
    May 30, 2013 4:46 AM PDT
    Wow...as the wrench turns, eh? Sheesh. Personally, I think there's a "higher power" involved, as to the reason, neither driver has had much success. You reap, what you sow...huh?

    Ride Free
    Tweek
    • Moderator
    • 16870 posts
    May 30, 2013 5:44 AM PDT
    Jennifer Jo Cobb has been racing for awhile in different series' and levels.
    I think most of her problem is:
    A. she's not "Danika" so no big money, cubic dollars = cubic horsepower.
    B. because of "A" she gets herself into shady deals.

    To her credit, a few years ago in the Nationwide series while lined up on pit row the car owner let her know she was a "start and park" when the cars started following the pace car onto the track she drove to the garage.
    She gathered her stuff and was leaving when a reporter caught up with her.
    Her statement was something like "I'm a racer not a start and parker, I signed the contract to race the car".
    • 719 posts
    May 30, 2013 11:28 AM PDT
    ur so right lucky...........cobb runs her own truck team harmon was her team manager they have had these issues for months now harmon was arrested 2 or 3 months ago he said he didnt have any of her trucks or cars back then i guess he is a liar and a theif
    • Moderator
    • 16870 posts
    June 4, 2013 5:28 AM PDT
    Two polls in a row was cool, but that flat tire and hitting the wall put Denny Hamlin back two steps.
    • 834 posts
    June 28, 2013 2:51 AM PDT
    Alright lets get back to oval racing. The road race at Sonoma last week was fun, but I would much rather watch NASCAR drivers and cars on the oval. The road race was kind of what it would be like if you put touring bikes on a road track. Just don't look right out there.

    And I agree with others who have said the new NASCAR.com website sucks and is really hard to find what you want.
    • Moderator
    • 16870 posts
    June 28, 2013 10:27 AM PDT
    I like watching the Daytona Prototypes run the road courses, but not the Cup Cars.
    I'm kinda looking forward to see the Trucks race at Eldora Speedway. :-)
    • 5420 posts
    July 3, 2013 3:12 AM PDT
    Racing under the lights in Daytona on Saturday... always a fun race!!!
    • 834 posts
    July 18, 2013 12:14 PM PDT
    Back to Indy this week. Should be another good one.

    Did anyone happen to see Danika on Jay Leno the other night? To me she came across a little bit like she felt that she was MUCH greater than anyone gives her credit for.
    • Moderator
    • 16870 posts
    July 19, 2013 3:17 AM PDT
    Sunday, July 28
    • 5420 posts
    August 24, 2013 9:41 AM PDT
    Bristol TONIGHT under the lights. Gonna head out to Sporties in Corona to watch it with some friends!
    • Moderator
    • 16870 posts
    August 24, 2013 4:23 PM PDT
    Kevin Harvick is clueless!
    • 5420 posts
    August 26, 2013 10:01 AM PDT
    Yes he is. Would have liked to see Denny or Brad win it. But as always Bristol provided an entertains race!
    • 5420 posts
    August 26, 2013 10:03 AM PDT
    Do you think Jaun Pueblo is really going back to open wheel to race for Andretti? If so that is the best NASCAR news I heard all year!!!
    • 844 posts
    August 26, 2013 7:53 PM PDT
    Was a great race at Bristol.

    I am hoping that Juan Pablo heads back to Indy car too. Just seems to suit his personality better - nuff said :-)
    • Moderator
    • 16870 posts
    September 7, 2013 4:56 AM PDT
    I like how NASCAR let Keselowski jump the start twice in the Nationwide race last night.
    • 5420 posts
    September 7, 2013 5:33 PM PDT
    Didn't see the Nationwide on friday but I did see tonight with Carl Edwards beating Paul Menard to the line on the last restart of the race... You know the one that was caused after Bowyer intentionally spun out to bring out the yellow!

    I will say that it did look like Menard had some problems getting going on the restart and probably would have had to hit the brakes to stay behind him, so I can maybe go with the judgement call by NASCAR officials.

    But the intentional spin out by Bowyer to help a team mate, the is inexcusable and there is no way to call that an accident.
    • Moderator
    • 16870 posts
    September 7, 2013 6:19 PM PDT
    NASCAR's rulings have sucked as bad as it's web site.
    You saw that too? The announcers were looking for a B.S. excuse for Bowyer wreaking.
    At the end I was rooting for Ryan Newman to win so "pee pee pants" Logano wouldn't make the chase. ;-)
    • 5420 posts
    September 8, 2013 4:43 PM PDT
    RevBigJohn wrote...
    NASCAR's rulings have sucked as bad as it's web site.
    You saw that too? The announcers were looking for a B.S. excuse for Bowyer wreaking.
    At the end I was rooting for Ryan Newman to win so "pee pee pants" Logano wouldn't make the chase. ;-)


    Except for Michael Waltrip... he called it exactly as he saw it and said it was intentional - plain and simple.

    • Moderator
    • 16870 posts
    September 8, 2013 5:03 PM PDT
    NASCAR probing Clint Bowyer spin

    CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With one suspicious snap of the steering wheel, Clint Bowyer changed the outcome of a race and maybe the championship, too.

    Accidental or intentional, his spin in the closing laps at Richmond International Raceway set in motion a chain of events that has shrouded the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship and raised many questions about the potential for a race team to manipulate pivotal moments of a race.

    Now NASCAR is reviewing evidence to determine if Michael Waltrip Racing deliberately altered Saturday night's race, potentially costing both Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon spots in the Chase, to benefit MWR driver Martin Truex Jr.

    NASCAR president Mike Helton told The Associated Press before Sunday's Truck Series race at Iowa that officials in the scoring tower did not immediately see anything to believe Bowyer's spin with seven laps remaining at Richmond was suspicious. The spin came while Newman was leading and brought out the caution that set in motion a chain of events that cost Newman both the race and a berth in the 12-driver Chase field. He was battling Truex for the final spot.

    "We didn't see anything that indicated that anything like that was taking place. And it's natural when everything was as close as it was between who was going to get in and not go in to scratch your heads and try to figure out and wonder why," Helton said. "But we didn't see anything initially (Saturday) night that indicated that, but certainly we'll go back through all the video and everything to be sure, because we take the responsibility very serious to be sure that it's -- that everybody has had a fair chance."

    But an ESPN replay that included communication between Bowyer and his team implied the spin was deliberate. Bowyer was shown the video after the race and denied he spun intentionally, a claim he repeated throughout the post-race activities.

    "We had a flat tire or something. It just snapped around," Bowyer said, later adding, "I know it's a lot of fun for you guys to write a lot of wacky things. Go ahead if you want to, get creative. But don't look too much into it."

    In-car audio framed the situation as his crew goading him into spinning his car to bring out the yellow in an effort to prevent Newman from winning the race.

    "Thirty-nine is going to win the race," Bowyer was told over his radio.

    Bowyer's car then spun.

    NASCAR did not have access to that footage until well after the race, and it is presumably among the materials Helton was reviewing Sunday.

    Also, it became apparent early Sunday morning that Bowyer and teammate Brian Vickers further aided Truex by taking a dive over the final three laps.

    When the race resumed with three laps to go, four-time series champion Jeff Gordon was poised to claim the 10th spot in the Chase, and Joey Logano was ahead of Truex in position to claim the second wild-card.

    But Bowyer and Vickers both made pit stops in the final three laps that allowed Logano to improve his finishing position and move ahead of Gordon to claim the 10th Chase berth. That bumped Gordon from contention and freed the wild card for Truex. Gordon was not eligible for the wild card.

    The AP reviewed team communications for both Bowyer and Vickers on Sunday, and Vickers was told by MWR general manager Ty Norris to pit because "we need that 1 point."

    "We're probably going to pit here on green," Norris says.

    "Are you talking to me?" a surprised Vickers asks.

    Vickers continued to question the call, at one point asking, "I don't understand, pit right now?"

    "You've got to pit this time. We need that 1 point," Norris replies.

    "10-4. Do I got a tire going down?" Vickers asked.

    Vickers then pitted as the field went green. When he asked after if his crew found anything with the tire, Norris replied, "I'll see you after the race, Brian, I owe you a kiss."

    Bowyer's radio communication was not as verbose, but he had already pitted twice after his spin, once to change the tire and once for Pattie to double-check for any damage. The team then called him down pit road a third time with no explanation just as the field went green.

    It's not uncommon in NASCAR for teammates to help each other with track position, so on its face, the calls for the two MWR drivers to pit aren't that egregious. But added with Bowyer's spin, fans were crying foul over MWR's actions, especially since it cost both Gordon and Newman spots in the 10-race Chase that begins Sunday at Chicago.

    Waltrip, calling the Truck race Sunday at Iowa for Fox Sports 1, declined to comment to AP.

    Gordon posted on Twitter that he felt bad for both drivers.

    Newman downplayed the significance of Bowyer's spin on Saturday night because he said he still had a chance to win the race if his pit crew had delivered after the caution.

    "They are teammates. I don't know if (Bowyer) looked at the scoring pylon, knew I was leading, it doesn't matter," Newman said. "If that was the case, I'll find out one way or the other. At the same time, we still had the opportunity to make our own destiny and win it on pit road, and we didn't."


    • Moderator
    • 16870 posts
    September 8, 2013 5:08 PM PDT
    Lucky wrote...
    RevBigJohn wrote...
    NASCAR's rulings have sucked as bad as it's web site.
    You saw that too? The announcers were looking for a B.S. excuse for Bowyer wreaking.
    At the end I was rooting for Ryan Newman to win so "pee pee pants" Logano wouldn't make the chase. ;-)


    Except for Michael Waltrip... he called it exactly as he saw it and said it was intentional - plain and simple.







    Michael Waltrip admitted his guy cheated?

    Rusty Walace and Ray Everham told it as they saw it, cheating.