Forum Activity for @ernest-sutton

Listen to what the man says (remember the song)

Stock Car Racing History

As I stated in answer to the other question, I was happy to see Hamlin win today & I wish Harvick had been 2nd. It wouldn't bother me at all if they finished the season in that order. I hate the "Chase" format, and I believe it is one of the absolute worst decisions NASCAR has ever made. As I have stated before, I don't believe it represents a season-long championship, and the sooner they get rid of it, the better off the sport will be. However, since I understand the "Chase" to be one of the "brainstorms" of his highness, Sir Brian, I'm not holding my breath on that one.

WONDER IF JR WOULD HAVE 3 WINS IF HE HAD STAYED AT DEI

Stock Car Racing History

Whether or not Dale, Jr. would be better off if he had stayed with Earnhardt/Ganassi Racing is just speculation at this point, but I don't believe he would be worse off if he had made that decision. Of course, it was DEI when he was faced with the decision, not EGR. My thinking at the time was that he had made the wrong decision because I felt he had received some bad business advice from his sister, Kelley. I believe that Dale & Teresa Earnhardt intended for DEI to provide a good lifestyle for all 4 of their children and that Dale, Jr. & Kelley were making unreasonable demands before his decision to move to Hendrick Motorsports. At this point, that dcision does not seem to have been a positive one........at least not as far as his performance is concerned. I suspect that part of the reason for this has to do with the different culture at HMS compared to DEI & EGR. I'm happy to see Jamie doing well.........I think he is a good driver and was fortunate to get a good break when he certainly needed one.

that # 22

Current NASCAR

The stars & stripes was awesome, Johnny, but one of my fondest memories of the #22 car was when a guy named Fireball Roberts was wheeling that machine...............seems like such a long time ago.

What I Heard about Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards last night

General

I really like reading things like this, Tim, because I, too, have grandchildren that I'm kind of crazy about........as I'm sure you know, grandchildren can do no wrong. As I have told my son many times when he has told me that I would never have let him get away with that, 'grandchildren are not like real children'. Your comments have caused me to realize that there are celebrities out there who put on a particular face for the general public but who put on a completely different face "behind the scenes". One definition of that I have heard is, "Character is defined not by what a person does but by what a person does when no one is looking". I have heard many stories about generous things that Dale Earnhardt did but insisted on anonimity, I suspect because he didn't want to compromise his reputation as "The Intimidator". I especially like it when I hear stories about celebrities doing good things for the benefit of children & shunning any recognition for such..........this tells me they are doing those things for the right reasons, rather than for the publicity. Although I am not familiar with a lot of the details, I understand that other drivers also do things to benefit children, such as Kyle Petty (who is pretty well known for the Victory Junction facility), but also Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, and maybe others.

The Nascar Hall of Fame

General

The brilliant masterminds at NASCAR think that by limiting the inductees to 5 per year, they can continue to stretch out the money stream from fans for years & years. It's all about the money & their plan to extract the maximum number of dollars from race fans over the long term. It would appear from the number of empty seats at NASCAR races & the declining TV ratings that NASCAR might be well-served to hire themselves a new group of masterminds.

The Nascar Hall of Fame

General

There was one more thing I forgot to mention............I believe the NASCAR HoF should (or should have) consider creating two categories for nominees & inductees - a DRIVER category & a NON-DRIVER category. Both are equally important regarding NASCAR history, but it might make future selections a little easier and more defining.

The Nascar Hall of Fame

General

I agree with you, Jimmy............it appears to me that NASCAR stopped caring about the fans a long time ago, especially since Bill, Jr. relinquished the reins. I believe they pay these marketing "experts" big bucks to come up with more ideas on how to extract more dollars from the fans' pockets - I think this is one of the reasons we see more empty seats & declining TV ratings. It might behoove them to hire some real race fans as marketing experts - but we probably won't see that. I know this discussion is about the HOF, and as I said earlier, the electees are all deserving, but my concerns are that NASCAR has not built much of a credible track record in recent years and I fear they will eventually screw up this latest attempt at attracting more dollars.

The Nascar Hall of Fame

General

I don't have any problem with any of last year's inductees & this year's electees as NASCAR Hall of Famers. I do have a problem with the order in which some of them are going into the Hall. I, too, believe that Raymond Parks should have been in the 1st class, and if not the 1st, then most assuredly the 2nd. However, the 1st & 2nd class choices really doesn't surprise me considering the quality of choices NASCAR is making these days............the problem here is that many of the people chosen for the HofF have been and are going to be those who are freshest & most recent in people's memories.............or those who have managed to be a part of NASCAR for a long period of time. There are too many people out there who don't have a clue who Raymond Parks was or are aware of his many contributions to the foundation of what NASCAR has become. I believe it is a real shame & an injustice that so many people who have voted or influenced the HofF choices in any way apparently have not bothered to research or educate themselves on the full history of NASCAR. Please don't misunderstand me here............they are all very deserving, but I believe that many of the 1st inductees should have been more of the pioneers of the sport, because I fear that the more times they are overlooked, the more likely it is that they will continue to be overlooked in the future.

NASCAR "Chase" Questions/Implications

General

One question: If the season championship is going to be determined by the performance of 12 drivers/race cars, then why does NASCAR allow all those other cars on the track??? That kind of makes it a crap shoot, doesn't it? In that format, how much credibility does the season "champion" really have? More than one question, sorry about that.

NASCAR "Chase" Questions/Implications

General

Thanks, PattyKay, for your response. You and I have many of the same opinions. I, too, would rather see NASCAR racing the way it used to be...............but the reason for my question was to see if others consider the "Chase" to be as much of a joke as I do. The incident between Kyle & David just emphasizes the phoniness of a 10-race "playoff" to determine the season Champion. As you said, Kevin Harvick should legitimately be leading the standings at this point of the season. The Kyle/David incident would have been just one of those occurances in one race............but now it is being blown all out of proportion because of its potential implications on the season championship. When you boil the season championship down to performance in 10 races, everything gets a lot more concentrated..........and every occurance carries a lot more weight than it should. As I said, it just magnifies the ludicrousness of the whole picture. And I especially like the way you described NASCAR's brand of racing as no longer a big deal..........you are so right. In my opinion, there's no way that any "Chase champion" will ever compare to those drivers who won Championships legitimately.