2012 NASCAR thread

http://www.sbnation.com/nascar/2012/7/31/3206483/john-wes-townley-pocono-raceway-nascar-2012

John Wes Townley is now a Cup driver, which is probably a bad thing. I've snipped the pertinent paragraphs from the link that explain why:

"Think about that for a moment. Townley, the Zaxby's-backed driver who has never recorded a top-10 finish in 57 starts between the Nationwide and Truck Series, is getting a chance to drive in Cup. He's entered in the No. 32 FAS Lane Racing car for Pocono, which is already locked into the race.

...

In 41 career Nationwide races, Townley has more DNFs (14) than lead-lap finishes (eight). He recently earned his all-time best NASCAR result, which was a mediocre 14th-place finish in the Chicagoland Truck race.

In no way is John Wes Townley a Cup-caliber race car driver. He does not belong on track in the Sprint Cup Series.

...

While it helps FAS Lane stay in business, this is a bad deal for NASCAR's image because of all the talented young drivers who would love to get in a Cup car but can't because they don't have the money. The list is too long to name here, but consider this: Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne will not be in the Pocono race, but John Wes Townley will be.

...

On the other hand, at least we know Pocono won't be a caution-free race."
 
This is one of my gripes with the lock-in setup - under normal circumstances, if this guy rocked up at a track with a Cup car and attempted to qualify he wouldn't make it into the field. Too much talent around to squeeze him out. But because the #32 is locked in by dint of owners points, he gets to start.

God forbid he takes out a prospective Chaser....
 
Skeeter said:
So in NASCAR the car can qualify for a race regardless of who is driving it?
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If the car is locked into the race because the owner's # is in the top 35 in points, then they can put any driver they want in and they'll be in the field. And since this clown has the required experience to be allowed to race in Cup (despite less than stellar results), he's in. This is a guy who was arrested for DUI earlier this year as well....

Hopefully, the rumours about the upcoming death of the Top-35 rule prove to be true.
 
Well that seems rather odd...

Does it spur from a more secure financial time when chopping and changing drivers was rare during the season?
 
Skeeter said:
Well that seems rather odd...

Does it spur from a more secure financial time when chopping and changing drivers was rare during the season?
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It's happened sometimes at the Indy 500 as well. For example, in 2011 Bruno Junqueira qualified for AJ Foyt Racing but Ryan Hunter-Reay was placed in the seat for the race itself. The operation was so weak that the only cars they got close to racing in the 500 itself were Davey Hamilton's Dreyer & Reinbold entry (a guy who commentates more than he races) and Pippa Mann's Conquest (a rookie with zero experience in Indycar at the time). Hunter-Reay's not a bad driver either, he has multiple oval and road course wins in Champ Car\Indycar.

Then again, Foyt was in need of cash (Bruno's to be exact) and he runs Conway despite his mediocre results...
 
Well, that didn't last long. Townley crashed on an outlap and has been replaced by Camping World Trucks driver Jason White for today's Cup race. Speaking of Trucks, Piquet Jr picked up 3rd at the Pocono race. In Nationwide, Elliott Sadler finally converted a pole to a win and extended his lead in the standings.
 
Cup got going a little later than planned. Kyle Busch's day has already turned to worms (walloped the wall on Lap 19). Junebug is pushing Brad Keselowski hard.
 
JRS said:
Cup got going a little later than planned. Kyle Busch's day has already turned to worms (walloped the wall on Lap 19). Junebug is pushing Brad Keselowski hard.
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He's already taken the points lead from Kenseth, been looking much better this season than most of his past performances. The media attention\hype might actually be justified here :p
 
The hype has always been counter-productive. What's the guy supposed to do? He can't be Dale Earnhardt Sr. God ripped up the blueprints after that guy was built. All he can be is himself. And I notice that these days he's being referred to as 'Earnhardt' more than 'Junior' by the commentary teams and journos.

Fairly odd race compared with the season so far. Jeff Gordon actually had luck on his side for once, and duly took the win. Earnhardt didn't, and his transmission duly broke. Pocono is traditionally hard on gearboxes, so no-ones fault really. Just a bad deal. Both Busch brothers copped it in the end, after Kyle hitting trouble early on. Kurt's crash on lap 86 (I think it was?) looked like something from before the CoT era - lost a tyre, backed into the fence, and trashed the car from there.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand then there was this:

Whoops

It's Pocono. Whaddya expect? ;)
 
It's like what happened with Danica Patrick in Indycar\IRL. When the results weren't forthcoming, the hype\media attention makes the driver the fans' worst enemy. In Jr's case that was delayed by being competitive from 1999-2004/2006.

Status quo at the top of the standings following that eventful finish, but with that win for JG he may still make the chase after a poor first half of the season.

Edit: Word coming in from Nascar reporters on twitter that a spectator at the track was killed by a lightning strike, several others injured, three critically.
 
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Ambrose wins the Cup race at Watkins Glen for the 5th time in his Nascar career. Never finished lower than third at the Glen, very impressive record for the Australian. Jimmie Johnson leads the points standings after his 3rd place. For once Nascar doesn't throw a caution when it was actually necessary (oil on the track) :p
 
Anyway I can watch the races online ? Don't have to be live but I'd like to watch a few races.
 
daveski said:
I'm lucky to be in Vegas when this http://www.lvms.com/tickets/nascar_camping_world_truck_series_race/ is on.

How is this different from other NASCAR races? Just the cars?
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Well yeah, that and it's a feeder series for the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series (it's next step up from ARCA). Occasionally you'll see some of the Cup drivers participating.

daveski said:
What can I expect from going? Sorry but I don't know a lot about the series, just couldn't miss the opportunity to go.
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Vegas is a high-banked oval, so expect a flat-out dance for the lead and some of the usual crashes :p

JRS will know more than me, he's the resident Nascar expert in this forum ;)
 
Just watched some Nationwide highlights from Montreal where Justin Allgaier made a late pass to win ahead of Jacques Villeneuve. Danica Patrick had another eventful race after leading early on, ending just 27th following mechanical problems.

http://www.nascar.com/video/post-race/highlights/120818/nns-mon-high-one/index.html

http://www.nascar.com/video/post-race/highlights/120818/nns-mon-high-three/index.html

http://www.nascar.com/video/post-race/final-laps/120818/nns-mon-high-final/index.html

Meanwhile Nelson Piquet Jr took his first win in Trucks at Michigan after a spin that forced a fightback through the field.

http://www.nascar.com/video/post-race/final-laps/120818/cwts-mic-high-final/index.html

The Sprint Cup race is still in progress, Dave Blaney started from pole.
 
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