NASCAR

[WillWeaverRVA]

Closest three-way finish in NASCAR history at Atlanta tonight.

It may have been the greatest finish of all time. The margin from first to third place was 0.007 seconds.

[epzik8]

If only Joey had finished where he started the past two weeks...

[74/171FAN]

Sam Mayer beat Ryan Sieg by 0.002 seconds in the XFinity Race at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this afternoon.

[NWI_Irish96]

Sam Mayer beat Ryan Sieg by 0.002 seconds in the XFinity Race at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this afternoon.

Has to be absolutely gut-wrenching for a guy who's been in the series over a decade missing his first win by that much.

[epzik8]

Sam Mayer beat Ryan Sieg by 0.002 seconds in the XFinity Race at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this afternoon.

Has to be absolutely gut-wrenching for a guy who's been in the series over a decade missing his first win by that much.

Surely he'll see his luck turn one of these days.

[epzik8]

LOL Steve O'Donnell is a complete clown. Says a new charter deal is close, then multiple insiders dispute his claim.

[epzik8]

In spite of the horsepower issue, NASCAR has been pretty fun to watch this year at times. Photo finishes, tempers, and now Brad and Ford have broken through today.

[Max Rockatansky]

Pretty boring All-Star race until Ricky Stenhouse tried to punch Kyle Busch.

[epzik8]

Pretty boring All-Star race until Ricky Stenhouse tried to punch Kyle Busch.

Agree with the boring part, even though my guy won.

[hbelkins]

I wonder if NASCAR will start giving the teams the option to use the softer/faster "red" tire at more tracks in the future?

[NWI_Irish96]

I wonder if NASCAR will start giving the teams the option to use the softer/faster "red" tire at more tracks in the future?

I hope so. The planned stage break cautions have taken a lot of the strategy out of races. Having multiple tire options puts some back in. Both IndyCar and F1 have multiple tire options.

[epzik8]

All-around disappointment yesterday with the rain, especially for Kyle Larson.

[Max Rockatansky]

The Indy 500 turned out be a pretty good watch when it got started. 

[NWI_Irish96]

All-around disappointment yesterday with the rain, especially for Kyle Larson.

Especially disappointed that one of the cheaters won.

[SP Cook]

Especially disappointed that one of the cheaters won.

This is what you should expect in Indy Car until Penske leaves the scene.  It is a total contradiction for a car own the sanctioning body, the tracks, and compete as an owner.  This is why CART was so unwatchable, and why it eventually went bankrupt.  It really wasn't a competition, it was a hybrid; a handful of owners who competed between themselves but kept everyone else out and who set the rules to suit themselves.  A controlled competition/exhibition.

I wish Mr. Penske a long life, a long retired life.  It is time to sell IMS and Indy Car to neutral ventures who do not enter cars.

[Max Rockatansky]

Ironic you guys are on about an Indy Car team cheating when it was just an expected thing in NASCAR until recent times.

[epzik8]

All-around disappointment yesterday with the rain, especially for Kyle Larson.

Especially disappointed that one of the cheaters won.

Newgarden?

[74/171FAN]

Ironic you guys are up about an Indy Car cheating when it was just an expected thing in NASCAR until recent times.

Don't worry.  I am sure plenty of people that hate Toyota are out saying that NASCAR rigged the calling of the race for Bell.

[Max Rockatansky]

Ironic you guys are up about an Indy Car cheating when it was just an expected thing in NASCAR until recent times.

Don't worry.  I am sure plenty of people that hate Toyota are out saying that NASCAR rigged the calling of the race for Bell.

I've seen that along with NASCAR was supposedly not wanting Kyle Larson in the race on social media already.

[SP Cook]

Ironic you guys are up about an Indy Car cheating when it was just an expected thing in NASCAR until recent times.

Of course, the saying in NASCAR, back before the idiot grandson ran it into the ground (first generation starts a business, second generation grows a business, third generation destroys a business) was if you are not cheating, you are not trying. 

Different sport.  In NASCAR, even today with idiots in charge, there is actual competition.  Car owners own cars.  Track owners own tracks.  Sanctioning bodies sanction. 

CART, which existed from 1979 - 1996 as the (de facto) sanctioning body for the Indy 500, when it was kicked out and limped along, unwatchable and unwatched, until finally going bankrupt in 2007, was repugnant.  It was a handful of owners who were at the same time the track owners (excepting Indy, which their power play to control IMS led to their needed downfall), sanctioning body, and team owners. 

They made up the rules to exclude everyone else, and they spent so much money they could only fund their unloved series by selling rides to rich foreigners who lacked the talent to make it in the Formula One series they aped.  It almost destroyed the Indy 500, until leadership was shown and they were kicked out.

Sadly, the IMS family fell on, by rich people standards, hard times after defeating CART.  Rumor is they invested with Madoff.  They sold off the family foods business to a big company and sold IMS to Penske, and now live the life of the idle rich somewhere.  Fine.

But Penske must be watched.  He was the ringleader of CART, and is trying to put this circus back on the road.  Controlled competition/exhibition with him winning 80 to 90% of the time.  Has beens, never weres, and wanna be drivers with no talent. 

Fortunately Penske is getting up there, as are his fellow CARTers.  The next era at Indy will, hopefully, see a return to what Indy was before and after CART. Merit based driver selection, equal access to technology, and fair racing.

[epzik8]

Perhaps Stewart-Haas Racing should have left their logo alone.

[NWI_Irish96]

Perhaps Stewart-Haas Racing should have left their logo alone.

Tony's interest in the sport clearly deteriorated once he retired as a driver.

Ford is building an F1 program, so it's unlikely that there is a new Ford team, or any of the existing Ford teams buying any of those charters.

The environment is ripe for a new manufacturer. McLaren has been building up their racing program all over the globe recently, but their brand really isn't a fit for NASCAR.

With the increase in road courses, now might be the time to court a European manufacturer in an attempt to build a market there.

[SP Cook]

Tony's interest in the sport clearly deteriorated once he retired as a driver.

I agree that TS is less interested, and he is now involved with a female and is into drag racing, but there is a lot more to this than that. 

The sport is just far less popular than it once was.  Really, a NASCAR "charter" is nothing more than a free pass from qualifying.  Charter teams are going to be in the show, every week. 

But its just impossible to make money as a team owner in NASCAR.  You have to have a sponsor.  Sponsorship is just advertising.  And Madison Ave. is walking away from NASCAR.  Its just business.  Smart business.  You can buy ads on this or that other form of media, and get a better return, as NASCAR is losing viewers by the day.

Just search YouTube for an old race, and count the mass market consumer products and contrast to today.

The owners want more %age of the last revenue source left.  The TV money.  The Frances want to keep it all for themselves. 

What S-H is doing, IMHO, is getting out while the getting is good.  You either have to be a rich guy on an ego trip who doesn't care about losing money; or be really dumb to own a NASCAR team today, let alone in 3 or 5 years.

Ford is building an F1 program, so it's unlikely that there is a new Ford team, or any of the existing Ford teams buying any of those charters.

While there is a market for general family CAR, neither Ford nor GM can compete with their better made competitions, and they have left the market.  At the standard end, Toyota, VW, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, etc. still make CARS, as, at the higher end, so do the luxury marks of those brands plus M-B and BMW.  Ford and GM have given up, Ford's only CAR will be the Mustang, GM's the Corvette.  No mass market standard CARS. 

One has to question racing either a "Mustang" that is just some stickers stuck on a generic body, or a vestigial "Ford".  Same, yet more so, for a Corvette.

The environment is ripe for a new manufacturer. McLaren has been building up their racing program all over the globe recently, but their brand really isn't a fit for NASCAR.

The NASCAR car is a spec-mobile.  Change the stickers and its whatever.  No relationship to an actual product.  Easy for someone to come in, but what is the return? 

With the increase in road courses, now might be the time to court a European manufacturer in an attempt to build a market there.

Road courses (parking lot and city street races) are mostly borne of the Frances' greed.  A way to get city officials to subsidize the event.  They don't work on TV or at the live gate.

As to "European" (worldwide makers of cars founded in Europe) the only really mass market one is VW, and they are not interested.  BMW and M-B probably are not either.

[epzik8]

Fox's broadcast today was downright horrible, but one bright spot was Rajah Caruth crashing the booth and showing how much technical knowledge of the sport he has.

[hbelkins]

You either have to be a rich guy on an ego trip who doesn't care about losing money; or be really dumb to own a NASCAR team today, let alone in 3 or 5 years.

What's the best way to make a small fortune in racing? Start out with a large fortune.

Also, it sucks to be Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney after yesterday's race results.