Your NASCAR Phoenix Vent Page
Have an opinion on the Subway Fresh Fit 500 from Phoenix? Here’s your chance to have your say. Post your thoughts and opinions about Jeff Gordon’s first win in 66 races. Let us know what you think about Dale Jr’s loose wheel. Or what about the way things have turned out for all the new crew chiefs at Hendrick Motorsports. Did Kyle Busch have any chance at the end? This post is all for you. Let your comments fly and post them below.
NASCAR Chairman Brian France Explains 2011 Changes
Brian France talks about the new NASCAR point system and other changes coning in 2011 in this quick video. Watch it and let me know what you think.
Why is NASCAR Changing the Point System Now?
NASCAR’s goal is to have “a more simple points system†according to its President, Mike Helton. He wants a point system that is “Easy to understand. Easy to explain. Easy to be talked about.†Watch this video where Mr. Helton explains the possible changes.
The point system that NASCAR is considering is a 43 to 1 system. The race winner will be awarded 43 points; the 2nd place driver will receive 42 points and so forth.
I haven’t heard any race fans ask for this change. And I haven’t had one race fan who thought this was the most pressing issue for NASCAR to work on. I really just can’t figure out why NASCAR wants to make this change. Can you?
NASCAR testing at Daytona today
A quick note: NASCAR Winter testing at Daytona begins today. SPEED TV coverage begins at 5pm eastern time.
Merry Christmas
I wish you a safe, happy and joyous Christmas for you and your family and
friends.
Merry Christmas!
NBC: NASCAR is Teams of Rednecks Going in Circles
Photo Courtesy NASCAR Media
Is NASCAR really just a bunch of rednecks going fast and turning left for hours on end?
That is what writer Rob Sylvester said in an article posted on the NBC Sports website.
“Look, I’ve never been much for NASCAR, mainly because if I wanted to watch teams of rednecks expel gas while going in circles for hours, I’d turn on FOX News,†said Mr. Sylvester in an article about a renewed interest in putting a NASCAR track in New York City.
Mr. Sylvester even discounted the economic viability of a track in New York. He openly doubted whether race fans would bother attending races there; despite the fact that other tracks in the Northeast like Pocono and New Hampshire have no problems selling tickets.
The article by Mr. Sylvester went on to describe NASCAR drivers as “a few good ol’ boys (and not to mention the occasional California prettyboy).†And his idea of a typical race fan who might visit New York to attend the race is a “tourist… from the Red State region.â€
What’s troubling about the entire article is not Mr. Sylvester’s opinion, however. It is the fact that the story was published on the official NBC Sports website. A company that once made a very good living broadcasting NASCAR races on TV, and likely will again when the current TV contract comes up for renewal.
What do you think about NBC’s view on all this?
Mustang, but not Camaro in Sprint Cup?
Ford wants to race the Mustang in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series according to Edsel B. Ford II. But so far Chevrolet is balking on racing the Camaro.
Chevy needs to get with the program and get the Camaro back into competition. Their reasoning for not racing the Camaro seems a little weak.
“Part of what makes Camaro is the styling and the look of that vehicle,†said Terry Dolan, the head of Chevrolet Racing. “As we look at NASCAR, we wanted to maintain the integrity of the iconic brand and the brands that we race with. We just didn’t feel we could accomplish that vision by adapting the car to the common template format that we have here in this sport. We’ll always look in the future and see what opportunities exist, but within today’s boundaries, it just didn’t feel like it was the right business decision for us to make.”
Yet Ford and Dodge have made it work in the Nationwide series, and Ford is pushing for the Mustang in Sprint Cup.
“The sooner the better,” said Ford’s head of racing and board of directors member Edsel B. Ford II.  “Motorsports enthusiasts are not going to buy Fusions because they see a Fusion win here, are they? It’s not our performance model. Mustang is. To have a Mustang on the track in NASCAR is the right direction. The Nationwide car looks like a Mustang. It meets the criteria.”
So what do you think, would you like to see Camaros, Mustangs and Challengers in Sprint Cup?
A Wild One at Texas
Photo Courtesy NASCAR Media
There was no shortage of drama in the AAA Texas 500 Sunday. Denny Hamlin drove to a late race lead and took a 33 point lead over Jimmie Johnson in the NASCAR Championship standings. This is the first time since 2005 that Jimmie Johnson has not been in the point lead this late in the season.
Greg Biffle had the dominant car for most of the day, leading lap after lap before falling to 5th with a faulty transmission.
Kyle Busch was twice penalized by NASCAR after spinning on lap 159. Â Busch sped off pit road after taking tires as he was trying to beat the pace car and avoid going one lap down. As he was being held for the speeding penalty Busch gave a NASCAR Official the No. 1 sign with his middle finger. That resulted in an additional 2 lap penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Jimmie Johnson made the same gesture to another driver on the race track a few weeks ago – but got no penalty.
Following a crash under caution Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton were involved in the first actual physical fight I have seen in a long time before being separated by NASCAR Officials.
Gordon walked past a waiting ambulance and landed several punches – and Burton returned some of his own — before NASCAR Officials broke it up.
Jimmie Johnson lost his entire pit crew following Gordon’s crash. The No. 48 crew was replaced by the No. 24 crew with Gordon out of the race – with the No. 24 crew giving Johnson several flawless pit stops. Following the race crew chief Chad Knaus said it was his decision to make the switch – seemingly to send a message to the No. 48 crew to get their act together or get out of town.
So what do you think about this wild race with Jimmie Johnson losing the point lead, the penalties, the fight, the pit crew swap mid-race and all the events going on?
NASCAR: The Game 2011
Here is a quick video clip from NASCAR: The Game 2011. It’s coming in February 2011.
Who Won Talladega?
Photo Courtesy NASCAR Media
Who won was a question NASCAR, race teams and fans were asking. There were a few long minutes of confusion at the end of the Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Sunday as NASCAR determined who had won.
The caution flag flew just seconds after race leader Kevin Harvick took the white flag as A. J. Allmendinger’s No. 43 Ford went airborne.
The question was whether Kevin Harvick or Clint Bowyer was in the lead as the caution was put out.
NASCAR rules dictate that during the course of a race when a caution period is called the running order is set by positions at various electronic scoring loops around the track.
But on the Last lap the rules are different. The winner is determined by who is in the lead at the exact moment of caution. It does not revert back to scoring loops. Who led at the start finish line is not even an issue as some crew members seemed to believe.
After analyzing all the evidence NASCAR Officials determined that Clint Bowyer was in the lead at the moment of caution.
It’s a confusing system I know. But other than the old way of racing back to the flag when a caution occurs I don’t know what else NASCAR can do. Do you?