Forum Activity for @ernest-sutton

More Petty News

General

I, for one, will be happy to see that. ALL race teams need to get away from perceived "big money" sources who are only there to bleed as much as they can from the sport............in this case, Gillette, but there are others, as well. The Petty cars did very well at Homestead and are obviously competitive. Those team members are doing a good job, and it will be refreshing & rekindle many pleasant memories to see the rebirth of Petty Enterprises. The NASCAR hierchy has certainly shot itself in the foot numerous times with so many ill-advised decisions, but a major objective should be to keep the con men out of the sport. That would certainly be a step in the right direction and possibly put them back on the road to regaining some lost credibility & integrity. It just occurred to me that those sure do sound like noble thoughts, but it might be asking too much of the current "in charge" group.

Now you know why Racers Reunion Will survive if you watched sundays parade in Homestead

Current NASCAR

I absolutely agree that it isn't the drivers, crew chiefs, and race teams (they are products of the environment) who have created the current state of NASCAR racing............it is the ruling body of NASCAR, both past and present, who have made it what it is. I compare it to the U.S. Congress whose members I believe are responsible for many of the serious problems which the country is dealing with today. The groundwork for the current environment in NASCAR, just as our country's problems. was laid many years ago. The positives are that many fans are speaking up now (through sites such as Racers Reunion & others) and identifying the problem areas. Hopefully, NASCAR will pay attention and begin to take the necessary actions to correct the missteps. As disgusted as I am with the current state of affairs, I'm sure I will continue to watch & follow NASCAR racing in the hopes that I can witness some positive changes in the sport. We all love the sport of stock car racing (otherwise, we wouldn't be on this site), but if we abandon the highest rung of the sport, we could be killing off the proverbial goose. I am absolutely opposed to simply continuing to stuff more money into the pockets of the France family, but I sincerely hope that there is someone in that circle of influence who will exercise some fiscal responsibility regarding the future health of the sport.

Now you know why Racers Reunion Will survive if you watched sundays parade in Homestead

Current NASCAR

Well stated............and I can see the feelings coming out. I suspect there are many, many of us who could have written this message.

RANDY GILBERT said:

JOHNNY, THE OLD NASCAR IS DEAD. I HAVEN'T FOUND A SINGLE PERSON THAT WAS GLAD TO SEE JIMMY JOHNSON AND THE BIG MONEY TEAM WIN OR BUY?... THE 5TH CHAMPIONSHIP. JIMMY RAN WELL, BUT DID NOT "RACE" MUCH IN THE RACES LEADING UP TO THE "BIG 10 FOR THE 12"..........EVEN AFTER THE BIG 12 GOT TO RUNNING IN THE LAST 10 RACES JOHNSON DID NOT RACE LIKE DRIVERS OF OLD DID. AN EXAMPLE IS TALLADEGA...IF I HAD (WHICH I'LL NEVER DO AGAIN) PAID A HUGH PRICE TO SEE THE RACE AT TALLADEGA....I'D HAVE GOTTEN UP AND LEFT. JOHNSON AND THE SO CALLED BIG GUYS RUNNING FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP..........WHAT DO THEY DO?...THEY DROP TO THE REAR OF THE FIELD AND JUST DRIVE...NOT RACE....JUST DRIVE AROUND AND AROUND...WHY SHOULD I, AS A FAN, EVEN WATCH SUCH JUNK ON TV MUCH LESS PAY TO SEE IT. JOHNSON MAY BE CALLED A CHAMPION, BUT HE DOSENT HOLD A CANDLE TO PAST CHAMPIONS LIKE HERB THOMAS, LEE PETTY, REX WHITE, JOE WEATHERLY, RICHARD PETTY, DAVID PEARSON, TIM FLOCK, DALE EARNHARDT...THESE GUYS RACED EVERY LAP OF EVERY RACE THEY RAN....NO MATTER WHERE I SAW THEM RUN, I GOT MY MONEY'S WORTH........MY, HOW I DO MISS NASCAR OF THE PAST AND THE DRIVRS THAT RAN FOR THE LOVE OF IT....AND DIDN'T JUST WIN BECAUSE THEY BOUGHT THEIR WAY TO THE TOP AND THEN JUST DRIVE ROUND AND ROUND...THIS ISN'T RACING...AND WHEN NASCAR WAKES UP AND REALIZES THIS ISN'T RACING AND RETURNS TO YESTERYEAR THE STANDS WILL AGAIN BEGIN TO FILL UP BECAUSE THEN THE FANS WILL BE SEEING RACING AND NOT JUST A BUNCH OF LITTLE RICH KIDS PLAYING THE POINTS GAME...I TURNED THE RACE OFF SUNDAY AFTER BEING A FAN FROM THE EARLY 50'S.....I DO NOT PLAN TO EVEN TURN IT BACK ON NEXT YEAR....I'VE HAD MY FILL LIKE A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE....WE, THE PEOPLE THAT BUY THE TICKETS AND PRODUCTS ARE FED UP OF BEING RIPPED OFF WITH THE HIGH PRICES WE HAVE TO PAY TO SEE RICH KIDS PUT ON AN ACT.......NOT A RACE....NASCAR, I LOVE YOU, BUT NOT WHAT YOU ARE SELLING TO THE PUBLIC..........AND UP TILL LAST SUNDAY I KEPT BUYING , HOPING THINGS WOULD CHANGE...........I'M BROKE AND TIRED...I THINK I'LL RETURN TO MY LOCAL TRACKS WHERE I GREW UP....AT LEAST AFTER 60 YEARS, THEY STILL RACE JUST LIKE THEY DID WHEN I WAS A KID....SEE YA FRIEND...IT'S BEEN A GOOD RIDE UP UNTIL NOW...RANDY

PS...TO BE A CHAMPION IN NASCAR NO LONGER HAS THE SAME MEANING THAT IT USED TO HAVE....THE SHINE HAS FINALLY GONE.

Now you know why Racers Reunion Will survive if you watched sundays parade in Homestead

Current NASCAR

I absolutely agree, ......as you & I have done many times - I guess great minds think alike LOL.
I don't even want to get started again about my opinions, impressions, and thoughts about the joke they're calling NASCAR racing & "championships" these days. I can only say that I suspect that both Bill France, Sr. and Bill France. Jr. are turning over in their graves about the state of NASCAR racing today. I cannot believe either of them would have allowed some of the idiotic decisions which have been made in recent years. RIP NASCAR.

Pkl said:

No dissent here. I watched only segments of the race, and every time I managed to find the race instead of an ad, it seemed that Denny had more problems. Snake bit is what they call that around here. In the end, it was another replay, and I've seen that movie too many times already, so I went back to watching my Falcons.

As to the canned speech that the "Chairman and Chief Officer" gave, I had to turn it off. It also was a repeat, and we've all read it on the Internet from about three days ago. Besides, it's gotten to the point that the very sight of that puffy-faced wimp makes me physically ill. Dang, Big Bill must be so proud...not!

Congratulations to Carl for winning the final fiasco of 2010. Isn't it strange how no one ever finds time to care about who wins that last race? They only seem to care about who won the big bucks in a phony point system that means next to nothing to the fans. I haven't checked, but I'm quite sure that no matter what they engrave on that awful thing they call a "cup", that Kevin Harvick is the true winner this year.

I saw the conversation about Volkswagen coming in, but it didn't seem worth talking about. They (NASCAR) will do whatever they care to do, and the fans count for nothing, so I no longer offer my opinions to them.

This was a wasted season, in my humble opinion. "Another" wasted season.

I miss Dale... SO much!

ATTENTION: Your FedEx Delivery will be delayed tomorrow.

General

If we had seen a "legitimate" season-long representation of the "champonship", Harvick would have won going away............as it should have been. The "Chase" is a joke.

One down and Two more to go

Current NASCAR

Regardless of what people think of Kyle Busch's personality, that guy is a racer. Watching him take that truck from 22nd to 1st in about 20 laps was an art show on the race track. Everyone already recognizes his talent level and he will continue to be a contender in every race he enters. Because he is such a consistent contender, he will also continue to attract the attention of the cameras and the media. I believe he will learn to keep some of his emotions in check as he achieves more successes under the mentorship of Joe Gibbs, but I hope his competitiveness and winning desire will never wane.

Being as the chase is coming to an end another bond is tightening

Stock Car Racing History

I believe he's good enough to continue the legacy at RCR. I first noticed Harvick when he was driving a blue (#2 I think) AC Delco Nationwide Chevy at Texas Motor Speedway for RCR. I remember thinking then that this kid looked really good and even commented to my son that we would be hearing a lot more about this young driver in the future. I don't remember the exact date, but we were in the Dallas/Fort Worth area for the races that weekend (I think '99 or '00) and I believe it was the same weekend when Dale Earnhardt, Jr. got his first Cup win. Obviously, lots of things have happened in the world of NASCAR racing since that weekend, but I believe Kevin Harvick has represented himself well & has represented Richard Childress Racing well since he was so suddenly thrust into one of the most famous seats in the history of NASCAR racing. I also believe that this year is a great example of what is so bad about the joke they call the "Chase". If not for the Chase format, I think Kevin Harvick would be running away with the championship this year............as he should be. As I have said many times before, the championship should be representative of the best season-long performances on the tracks............not whoever does best in a 10-race runoff at the end of the season. That just isn't right. As Jeff (or maybe someone else) once said, the old rules, the old format, the old cars, etc. were all working just fine before Sir Brian & his henchmen started screwing around with a sport that wasn't broken. Now we have the COT, the "Chase", the "lucky dog", the top 35 and many other brilliant brainstorms that, in my opinion, are ruining the sport. I believe these things have a lot to do with the declining attendance & declining TV ratings. I didn't intend to go off on a tangent, but I do believe that, under the old format, Harvick would most likely be the Cup champion this year. I believe that, under the old format, Jeff Gordon would probably have one more championship.........and does anyone remember the year Ryan Newman had 9 Cup wins? Harvick is doing well, and although he is not likely to get the Cup championship this year, I certainly think he will be a strong contender to do so in future years............unless NASCAR's masterminds figure out a new way to screw him out of one.

Dale was a legend -- he was one of us

Stock Car Racing History

I was never fortunate enough, and/or lucky enough, to be able to compete with Dale Earnhardt on the track......but I was an absolute fan of "the man". As you said, in the early days, he was a "diamond in the rough". As time went by & he gained more experience, he became an absolute "diamond" as far as stock car racing is concerned. I was a witness once to a Richard Petty quote in the garage area at Daytona when he said, as Dale was practicing on the track, that "there was the best there ever was" (in NASCAR). I always considered that gospel (considering the source). There have been many great racers in NASCAR racing, but I believe that any of the "greats" would be honored to be included in a group with Dale Earnhardt.

Do you know the meaning of being Humilated in public

Current NASCAR

I didn't even think about the corporate viewpoint..........I was just thinking about the morale-killing aspect of that decision. I think Lowe's pays that team a lot of money for the advertising - instead of all the Lowe's logos around that car, now you have a bunch of DuPont logos there. It seems to me that DuPont owes Lowe's some of their advertising dollars.

Do you know the meaning of being Humilated in public

Current NASCAR

There were several things that happened in today's race which fall into the questionable category. The firing of the #48 pit crew during the race is something I've never seen happen before & I believe it has the potential to demoralize that crew with two races to go in the season. I don't know specifically what the problems were today, but Johnson finished 9th & I doubt if he would have done much worse if that change had not occurred. In my opinion, that pit crew change certainly detracts from the character of the team and has the potential to do much more harm than good. In fact, I believe NASCAR should consider instituting a rule preventing that from happening.The other occurrance which I find very questionable involved Kyle Busch. Although there wasn't good quality replay video available, the announcers implied that he was spun by Aric Almirola. The first thing that crossed my mind was that if this was possible payback for Busch beating Almirola last week in the truck series in a manner in which Almirola didn't think was legal.............although NASCAR didn't see it that way and, frankly, I didn't see it that way either. Then, when he went to the pits for a tire change, NASCAR penalized him a lap for speeding on pit road as he was trying to beat the pace car back out. That's pretty cut & dry as they have speed devices clocking the speeds, but when he came back in to serve the penalty & get two more tires, he signaled to the NASCAR official that he was #1 in his book with the 1-finger salute............NASCAR promptly penalized him 2 more laps. In the first place, that is a severe penalty. Secondly, I have witnessed many drivers using the 1-finger salute many, many times during the heat of a race, and I have never seen a 2-lap penalty for that. There have been lesser penalties for far more dangerous things. This is one of those situations where the penalty doesn't fit the crime & one of which NASCAR has already received much criticizm for. It seems as if NASCAR has it's favorites & it's non-favorites. I don't believe that call would have been made against certain other drivers. Frankly, if I were Kyle Busch, I would be mad as hell.........not only at NASCAR, but Almirola as well.
The other occurance was the Gordon/Burton incident............and I'm really not quite sure what to make of that. Burton took full responsibility for causing it, but they are two of the last drivers I would have expected to see going at it trackside ala Cale Yarbrough/Donnie & Bobby Allison. That was a real surprise.
As much as I disagree with the "Chase" format, at least it's coming down to a close finish............and I was happy to see Hamlin win. I only wish Harvick had been 2nd.