NASCAR 2011 season thread

[JRS]

The countdown to Daytona is well under way now, so I figured it was time to get this thread up here.

Last season, I said the following:

Honestly, who's going to stop Jimmie Johnson? Who? Seriously. For the love of God, he's won four titles on the trot now. I wouldn't be betting against a 5th. I'd love to see his Hendrick Motorsports team-mates get right up with him (Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Mark Martin), and I'd love to see Earnhardt Ganassi Racing give Juan Montoya a car that can challenge for the title. Oh, and it'd be nice to see one of the few remaining Dodges get the odd decent result. But being realistic, JJ has to be favourite. By a looooooooooooooooooooooong way.

Aaaaand of course, we all know what happened. Denny Hamlin pushed him, Kevin Harvick pushed him, but Jimmie Johnson simply pushed back. Bish bash bosh, fifth title secured, job done. Party in Vegas.

So, number six. How likely is it? Could this finally be the year that someone mounts a successful challenge on JJ's dominance on the Cup title? The Hendrick cars last year were not bullet-proof, and even speed wasn't there at times. Operationally, there were some 'interesting' (in the fictional Chinese sense of the word) moments - swapping the #48 and #24 pitcrews at Texas being the prime example. That being said....I still think he can take the title this year. The #48 team have spent some time this winter ironing out issues. The other Hendrick teams have made some changes as well (especially the #88 team of Dale Earnhardt Jr, who have under-performed for a while now).

And who's going to challenge him? Denny Hamlin blew a brilliant chance last season, and that has to affect him (though he seemed to be pretty happy at the last test). Kyle "Petulant Tit™" Busch is still a petulant tit. Carl "Braindead Moron™" Edwards? Don't make me laugh. Tony Stewart has a bit of a distraction in the background. Sure, it'd be fantastic if someone from out of left-field mounted a title challenge. Juan Montoya in particular - though I'd settle for seeing him win an oval race.

There are a few unknowns going into the new season. The fuel has changed again - from high octane unleaded to an E15 ethanol/petrol blend. With it has come a new fuelling system for pitroad - which has brought along a few difficulties. Expect that to be a bit of a story point in the first few races this year. The calendar has changed a bit - the bore-fest at Fontana is no longer the second race of the season, instead the teams head to Phoenix after Daytona - a very different track to Fontana with different challenges. Indeed, Fontana has lost its second date in the season as well - as you can imagine, I'm utterly distraught at this news (). Oh, and they've completely altered the points system as well, marking the end of a points setup that has been in place since 1975. Now it's 43 points for a win, 42 for second place, 41 for third and so on down to 1 point for 43rd. You get 3 bonus points for the victory as well, a point for leading a lap, and another point for leading the most laps. Not convinced that it needed to change, myself. NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France thinks it's an improvement....we'll see.

The Cup schedule is here. The first race is the non-championship Shootout event on Saturday, followed by the Duels on Thursday to determine the grid. Here's to hoping for a good season!

 

[JRS]

Good stuff

I really want to see Montoya do well again this year. 2009 was great for him - IIRC he made the chase? Last year he was disappointing.

He did indeed make the Chase in '09, first driver not born in the US to do so. As for his 2010 season - he did win a race (Watkins Glen), and got pole three times. But yeah, 17th in the final standings is not where anyone thought he'd end up.

Do you know of a UK TV schedule available anywhere? I keep missing the races, or joining them at the end after Top Gear.

Like MissChief says, Premier are showing it this season. I'll post race start times in this thread in advance of the action starting.

 

[JRS]

So, anyway. Daytona!

Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach
FL

Completed : 1959
Distance : 2.5 miles
Shape : Tri-oval
Banking : 31° turns, 3° straights
Frontstretch : 3,800 feet
Backstretch : 3,000 feet
Seating : 147,000

Daytona International Speedway opened in 1959, but the history of auto racing at Daytona goes back much farther than that.

In 1936, the precursor to today's Daytona 500 was born on a course that went down 1.5 miles of highway, then turned and came the same distance back up the beach.

William H.G. France, a mechanic and racer who'd moved south from Washington, D.C., eventually took over the job of running the beach races on the second of two courses used for those events. In 1947, he presided over a meeting at Daytona's Streamline Hotel where NASCAR was born.

A decade later, France began working on his showplace.

"Big Bill" France was building it, and he insisted on 31-degree banking in the corners. That's as steep as he could make the turns and still keep the machines putting down the asphalt from tipping over.

When drivers gathered for the first Daytona 500, it was an eye-popping experience. Drivers were more accustomed to half-mile dirt tracks and saw the 1.366-mile paved track at Darlington as vast. A trip around Daytona International Speedway was 2.5 miles -- nearly twice that.

Bob Welborn ran 140.121 mph to win the pole for the first Daytona 500, and Lee Petty won in a photo finish over Johnny Beauchamp.

It was at Daytona International Speedway where Junior Johnson discovered that if he tucked his car right behind another one, he could go faster than he could run by himself. And drafting became a part of the sport.

It was also at Daytona where Cale Yarborough topped 200 mph on his first qualifying lap in 1983 and then, as he went even faster on a second lap, his car took off and flew, turning upside down before crashing.

Bill Elliott set the Daytona track record in 1987, running 210.364 mph, just before restrictor plates were introduced to the sport.

The Daytona 500, considered NASCAR's biggest event, has hosted some of NASCAR's greatest moments -- and maybe its greatest tragedy.

Many considered the 1976 Daytona 500 as the greatest race of all time.
Richard Petty won seven Daytona 500s on his way to becoming "The King," but lost in '76 to rival David Pearson after they wrecked coming to the finish line and Pearson puttered across the stripe bumping his car along with his ignition.

In 1998, in his 20th try, seven-time Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt finally won the Daytona 500. Sadly, three years later, Earnhardt died in a Turn 4 crash in the 2001 running. It was a moment that changed the sport forever.

In addition to the Daytona 500, the track hosts the Pepsi 400 each July along with the Rolex 24, America's premier endurance race, and annual motorcycle races that are the centerpiece of Daytona's Bike Week.

This race will mark ten years since one of the greatest drivers the sport has ever seen lost his life. A lot of stuff came out of the crash that claimed Dale Earnhardt - some of it bad, a lot of it good. I expect that a lot will be said about it on the race broadcast. Certainly much has already been said.

As with the Imola '94 death of Ayrton Senna, I have pretty vivid memories of that '01 Daytona 500 and the aftermath. The crash looked like nothing, really. There had been a much bigger accident in the race that had bent up half the field and sent Tony Stewart flipping (indeed, he landed on more than one car including team-mate Bobby Labonte in the melée!). But when Earnhardt got loose, his car bobbled up into the car of Ken Schrader outside of him and just turned hard right into the outside wall. And the sport hasn't been the same since.

 

[JRS]

Snippet from the Mclaren F1 website:

Yep, it's in the works.

It has always fascinated me how basic the cars in NASCAR are.

But they really aren't all that basic Well, depending on your idea of the term of course. Sure, they're still using a single 4bbl carb - but it works. Sure, they're still using a Detroit locker diff' - but it will take the abuse. And as far as the body goes, there is a fantastic amount of science and testing that went into the decision that said "yep, this is what we want to see, go build 'em".

Not sure how the US public will react if the cars become too "technical".

They won't give a **** if the on-track action is good

 

[JRS]

The grid for the 33rd Budweiser Shootout exhibition race has been drawn. Junebug has the pole.

The full grid:

Row 1 - Dale Earnhardt Jr - Tony Stewart
Row 2 - Carl Edwards - Denny Hamlin
Row 3 - Kasey Kahne - Bobby Labonte
Row 4 - Clint Bowyer - Ryan Newman
Row 5 - Derrike Cope - Michael Waltrip
Row 6 - Greg Biffle - Jeff Gordon
Row 7 - Juan Montoya - Jamie McMurray
Row 8 - Jeff Burton - Kevin Conway
Row 9 - Kurt Busch - Kevin Harvick
Row 10 - Matt Kenseth - Mark Martin
Row 11 - Kyle Busch - Joey Logano
Row 12 - Jimme Johnson - Regan Smith

The field needs a bit of explaining. The cars eligible for the race are the following:

The 12 from last year's Chase
Previous Bud Shootout winners
Previous winners at a points-paying Daytona race (the Daytona 500 or what is now the Coke Zero 400)
Previous Cup champions
The last 10 Rookies Of The Year

The race doesn't count for the championship, the guys are just racing for the prize money (about $200k IIRC). First part is a 25 lap sprint, followed by a 10 minute break, and then the second part which is 50 laps. Caution laps count to the total, if a caution occurs late on then the Green-White-Checkered procedure may lengthen the race by a couple of laps.

The race starts around 8pm ET tonight (1am for us), doubt very much that it'll be shown on UK television at all. There may be some internet streams of dubious legality showing it - if so then this link may be of some help. And you didn't see me post that

 

[JRS]

Just watching Cup practice - the new asphalt makes this place look and act like Talladega. A hell of a lot smoother than the old surface. I kind of hope that this changes quickly and we get some of the old Daytona bumps back.

 

[JRS]

Heh....sat here watching the practice #2 broadcast. They've just shown a team struggling with the new fuelling system. That's going to ball someone up here, no doubt.

Also talking about this new fuel blend. The engines are making more power, but getting worse fuel mileage. That 50 lap sprint in part 2 of the Budweiser Shootout tonight is going to see some fuel stops if it stays green.

 

[JRS]

Figured they'd be doing something about it.

Command to fire up has just been given to the ARCA gang. Race will be getting going soon.

 

[JRS]

They say that in a two-car draft they will go over 200mph

Yeah. They're certainly a bit concerned by the speeds we've seen so far.

ARCA race is underway. Looks so different with the new track surface.

 

[JRS]

Oh crap...the #58 is all torn up. Looks like he's okay, but that car is a mess.

 

[JRS]

Milka missed getting wrecked two times. Third time was the charm!


***edit***

Shame for Maryeve Dufault. She deserved a bit more luck.

 

[JRS]

New record set for the Shootout I believe - 28 lead changes among 9 drivers. Feel kind of sorry for Hamlin - he chose the safer option with that pass and just dipped under the yellow line, if he'd tapped Newman at that speed Ryan would have gone for a seriously wild ride. But his loss is Kurt Busch's gain, and it's always nice to see a Dodge win

Also feel sorry for the guys who got collected when Regan Smith and Braindead Moron™ got into each other. That didn't need to happen.

deko - yeah, I see a plate change looming on the horizon. They've got to get these cars slowed down a little bit, otherwise the first big accident is going to put someone through the catch fencing and into the crowd.

 

[JRS]

So, moving back to the 500. Qualifying is on later today (about 6pm our time I believe). This session determines the front row of the starting line-up. After that, we get the Duels on Thursday to determine a) the order and b) who actually gets to race in the 500.

Qualifying is unique at Daytona for the 500. Some teams must race their way into the Daytona 500 field. The first row is set by one round of qualifying, held one week before the race. The remainder of the field is set by a pair of qualifying races (150 miles, with two-lap overtime if necessary). The top two drivers from the qualifying races that are not in the top 35 in owner points are given spots on the field, and the rest is set by the finishing order of the duels, with guaranteed spots to those in the top 35. The remaining spots, 40 to 43 are filled by top qualifying times of those not already in the field from the qualifying race. If there is a previous NASCAR Champion without a spot, he will get one of those four spots, otherwise, the fourth fastest car is added to the field.

The Top 35 lock-in lasts for five races using 2010 points, after that it's based on 2011 points so far.

 

[JRS]

I've not really watched any NASCAR before, is there likely to be anywhere streaming it this evening? I don't have sky, let alone any intention of paying per view.

See the link in post #12.

 

[JRS]

Jeff Gordon on pole atm

Yep, last (and so far only) time he was on pole for the 500 was 1999. He won that race, incidentally.

 

[JRS]

Forgive me guys, is the 500 today (the 13th) and what UK time does it start and what is the best live feed. I can see the feeds above, JRS's is excellent quality too but wondered what the timings are as all I can see is half empty stands so I assume I am watching highlights.

500 is next week mate. Next Cup action after today will be the Duels on Thursday night to determine the grid from row 2 back.

Times for this qually session are here, BTW.

I'll post up the start times later in the week, along with times for the Truck and Nationwide races.

 

[JRS]

Ugh, just realised Tinypic isn't loading the track picture again. Will sort that in a bit. Frappin' useless, going to have to go back to Imageshack if it keeps this up.

 

[JRS]

Pole for Dale Earnhardt Jr
And a well done to Jeff Gordon as well. Roll on next week.

Yep, the Hendrick organisation has to be pleased with that. Junior the only guy to top 186mph average as well.

Surprises of the session for me:

1) Trevor Bayne - that kid is fast.
2) Denny Hamlin - 44th is not where he would have wanted to be, even if he is locked into the field by dint of owner points. He'll certainly be hoping for a better time of things in the Duel on Thursday, get up the order a bit. I missed seeing his run, internet has been fuzzy here due to the rain, anything particular happen to him?
3) Marcos Ambrose was the fastest Toyota. Marcos ******* Ambrose. What kind of bizarre parallel universe did I wake up in this morning?

 

[JRS]

If Earnhardt and Gordon work together to do some drafting I can see one of them winning the race(hope it's Earnhardt).

Provided the two-car draft stays just as good no matter what NASCAR changes in the run up to the 500, then if Junebug and Gordon have anything about them they'll get line astern right from the off. No sense running side-by-side in that situation.

Side-by-side with three to go on the other hand....that would be good to see

Finally got around to seeing what happened to Hamlin. Just bizarre, I can't remember ever seeing that. Closest I guess would be before the start of a race one year, a driver was weaving to get some heat into the tyres and the car locked left, he ended up slamming into the car next to him.

 

[JRS]

One of the theories I heard mentioned was the quick release for the steering wheel was not properly installed.

Yeah, I heard that on the NASCAR.com recap. Seems plausible. Doesn't say much for JGR preparation, mind.

I will say the new front end looks like it will take more abuse. The old splitter would have been destroyed when he plowed into the grass.

Absolutely. That front end would have been pretty much annihilated if they were still running a splitter on there. Probably wouldn't have held up too well in the pre-COT days either.