Forum Activity for @andy-denardi

Kyle Larson: I've had a theory

Current NASCAR

Larson is definitely the real deal. He's a bit reckless, but that's to be expected for a young racer. He'll make a lot of enemies and that's good for NASCAR. he's on a lousy team, but I've always suspected that Ganassi was doing the minimum necessary to stay in the points and was funneling the prize money to his Indycar operation. He's never had the best of drivers and there was little reason to try hard. But Ganassi is competitive in sports cars and dominant in Indycar. He's notoriously cheap, but he has the experience and money make a push with Larson.

Ultimately, I don't think Ganassi is going to bring game, and Penske will steal him to replace Logano. But Keslowski supposedly has a say in who his teammate is, and he's not going to want to give up any of the spotlight. Maybe Larson will replace Gordon.

A REDUCTION COMING FROM NASCAR

Current NASCAR

They can't restrict the cars to the point that they are less powerful than a street car. There are about 75 cars sold in the US that have over 500 horsepower, but only six are American. Assuming that my research is correct, they are:Chevrolet Corvette Z06, 505 hpCadillac CTS-V 556 hpChevrolet Camaro ZL1, 580 hpChevrolet Corvette ZR1, 638 hpSRT Viper, 640 hpFord Mustang Shelby GT500 662 hpI think that all except the Viper have at least one supercharger. Toyota is not on the list. Not surprising, as they've only made two performance cars in their 75+ year history.I've said this many times before, but they need to bring power down to the 600-650hp range. 305 cubic inches, Your choice of six or eight cylinders. Heck, put in a V12 if you want to. That wouldn't make them easy to drive because I'd also raise the cars up and limit spoilers to 1968 limits. I'd take an inch of tire away too.They need to get rid of aero-push and restrictor plates. Since lower horsepower would put less strain on the engines, I'd want to find a way to make them blow up more often. Part of the excitement in the fifties and Sixties was the suspense of whether the frontrunners would last the whole race. We need more attrition.

Racing History Minute - March 5, 1972

Stock Car Racing History

I saw this article and thought of you guys. I've seen many photos here (like the one above) that came from Getty Images. Hopefully this will allow you to post pictures that don't have that big gray box covering some details.

Getty Images makes much of its photo portfolio free to use

my thoughts on the 500

Current NASCAR

I didn't like the box that Fox had up for the shootout. I appreciated that it took up less room and it didn't block my view, but it was always bouncing up and down and distracting me. The one they used for the 500, but again, it updated too often for my taste. I always had to look twice to see if they were showing the next ten positions or updating the ones they'd just shown me. I was fine with what they had been using up until now, it was all of the extra ones for promos and sports scores that I objected to. I think they'll improve upon the new one as the season goes by.

I can recognize Indycars because their livery doesn't change that often and the same sponsor is usually featured even if the design changes. Nobody can read the numbers, but there are fewer cars so it's easier for me to keep track. The splashy paint jobs are an annoyance to me in all forms of motorsports. It's hard to get an idea of speed when the color pattern breaks up the outline of the car.

As to Perry. You're as big a blowhard as I am. I've had it out with you before and it seems that we just disagree on everything. I've said my piece, you've said yours, so be it.

my thoughts on the 500

Current NASCAR

I'm often suspicious of NASCAR pulling strings in order to make an outcome more likely, but I agree that Junior legitimately won that race. Every driver is happy to win the 500 but I sensed a humbleness in Dale that I don't often see in other drivers. He's said before that he's embarrassed that he can't quite live up to his role as face of NASCAR. I think this was a redemption for him.

My primary complaint is that packs of cars they have wherever they run. NASCAR seems to like having all the cars run together because it gives them big crashes for the highlight reels. I like the crashes as much as anyone, but there are too many and for stupid reasons. I put the blame entirely on Dale Earnhardt for creating this style of racing where you knock people out of the way instead of passing them through superior skill and technique. I didn't like finishes under the caution and thought G-W_C would be great. Instead it just shows that these guys can't run two laps without hitting each other. The 1976 Daytona 500 is famous because of how rarely the best drivers ran into each other while battling for the finish. I had great hopes that yesterday's 500 would be caution-free, or at least the last fifty laps.

I actually like Mikey's goofy style and he seems fairly genuine. DW is a scheming shill for whoever slips him a check under the table. He knows what he's talking about but will lie if it suits the agenda for that day. And he talks way too much. I don't think McReynolds adds much to the conversation. Mike Joy used to be good but he just wants to limp along until retirement now. I know how he feels and give him the benefit of the doubt. Rusty, Hammond and Brad Dougherty and all those others in the remote booth are a waste. You only need two people to call any sports event, and if they're good, only one.

I've tried listening to the races on radio, and those guys are good. But I'm always tempted to turn on the TV and see what they're talking about. In doing so, I increase ratings and feed the machine. MRN is also NASCAR owned, and by tuning in I'm silently agreeing that I'll still follow the sport no matter what they do. No, I'm not throwing out false threats. I'm cutting my participation in what NASCAR has become.

I know almost nothing about baseball, but there's a minor league team nearby. It's a pleasant sport to watch, played on warm, sunny days, and it's easy for a novice to get the basic concept. I may go to a few more short tracks nearby, although I never really warmed up to Modifieds. On TV there's Indycar. They have fewer races so I won't waste so many weekends on the couch. They usually race in the rain too.

It took just two people to ruin NASCAR for me. Brian France and Darrell Waltrip.

my thoughts on the 500

Current NASCAR

As someone on another forum said "Earnhardt wins, and the 3 car wrecked half the field. Just like old times!"

Seemed to me that the #3 was front and center every time they showed a big one. I'm not saying he's no good but I do think he was trying too hard.

I'm happy that Junior won (as I predicted). I don't like him as a driver, but he seemed genuinely pleased and it looked like he took the time to thank every one of his crew members. This means he won't win another race until 2016, but he picked a good one to be in front of.

The video clips that Chase and Tim have been putting up made it very obvious to me what is wrong with the modern Daytona 500. Two, three, four cars running together on the last lap is exciting. Twenty is not. You knew there would be a crash that would reduce two hundred laps of racing to only two.

That's it for me for awhile. I don't like listening to DW. I think the new rules are ridiculous. I'm tired of not knowing who's who because the paint job changes every week. I've been watching every possible race since 1968 but I've decided that this is no longer the sport I loved. I'll tune back in sometime during the chase. The rest of the regular season doesn't mean anything so why should I devote any time to it? I'll be watching Indycar this year.

updated by @andy-denardi: 12/05/16 04:04:08PM

Think about this--COULD THIS REALLY HAPPEN ? ?

Current NASCAR

IT COULD HAPPEN

The Richard Petty-Danica Patrick-Tony Stewart saga just won't stop. Goaded by "Fox & Friends" hosts on Friday morning, Petty accepted Stewart's offer to set up a head-to-head race between Patrick and the NASCAR Hall of Famer. "I'm 76 years old, OK?" Petty said, grinning, during a live spot from Daytona International Speedway. "It's been 25 years since I've been in a race car. But I'll take that challenge." When pressed, he reaffirmed, "Oh, yeah. When is this going to happen?" When asked by Fox hosts about his critique of Patrick's career, he stated, "I judge by results."

Think about this--COULD THIS REALLY HAPPEN ? ?

Current NASCAR

Danica is already racing Richard Petty. Except now his name is Jimmy Johnson. And she is running (supposedly) the same engine as Johnson. So if she's not beating him, either she's not as good or Tony's team isn't as good. Since I know that Tony has won races against Jimmy, and even a championship, I have to conclude that Danica is the problem.

Like I said before, she's a better racer than she gets credit for. She consistently ran in the front half of the field in Indycar. She's always run best on superspeedways. In another year, she can be a solid top ten finisher and may even win a race or two. But she's not Petty/Earhardt/Johnson caliber. If she sticks with i for another two years she'll be Greg Biffle caliber.

Petty was right that if she were a man nobody would pay attention to her. Dario Franchitti was a better Indycar driver in every way and his NASCAR career was about as good as Danica's (blame Ganassi Racing). He didn't get this level of publicity. And that's what people don't like. If they'd stop pumping up the story, people would stop trying to knock her down. But that's always been part of her game, she knows she's not a superstar, but she's trying to make a political point and encourages the media.

The Indycar fans are moaning this year because one of their women drivers, Simona DiSilvestro, left for a job in Formula One. In contrast to Danica, she was loved and will be missed. Simona worked hard on an inferior team and didn't try to be conspicuous. It probably also helped that she was only average looking and didn't pose in swimsuits. Today's race fans aren't against women racers, they're against having women racers shoved in their face.

NASCAR should remember this when they make their push with a black or Latino driver. They thought they would get the same results that they did by pushing Junior in our faces. That we would love the driver no matter what the results. But Junior's story was different, and Junior may be a better person. Equal as a driver, but a better human being.

Think about this--COULD THIS REALLY HAPPEN ? ?

Current NASCAR

Richard is twice her age, so he needs a handicap. Race cars have evolved, and Petty needs something he would be familiar with. Put them both in 1971 Plymouths with Hemis, manual steering and bias-ply tires. Tell Danica that she can't wear a cool suit.

FLYING LESSONS --FUEL MILEAGE -- REBIRTH OF SPECIAL NUMBERS and more

Current NASCAR

Two different engines wouldn't put a strain on smaller teams because nobody builds their own engines anymore. They're all supplied from four or five shops. The little guy doesn't have to invest hours of development in order to make his motor as good as the big teams.

I don't think heavier cars will help. It's a matter of aerodynmics. The older cars were higher off the ground, had shorter front spoilers and no right-side windows. When they got sideways, the air had a lot more escape routes and lift the car up as often.

I think stock body contours would slow the cars down and make them less likely to fly. I think higher ride height would make it easier to draft and also slow the cars. NASCAR has fifty years of data telling them how to make a good race, and they continue to ignore it in favor of increasingly ludicrous gimmicks. They know the path they followed to get here. Figure out where it started to go downhill and back up.

And speaking of the health of the sport, when you could buy a 427 Galaxie fastback or a Charger 500, it made the racing relevant and exciting. It also sold more cars which made the manufacturer's input worth it. Who cares if a Fusion wins the race if you can't buy a car that looks just the same and has the same motor? There is nothing that even slightly looks like a sporty Camry, no matter how many have rear wings on then. And I've yet to see a Chevy SS, even in dealer's lots. Americans are losing interest in cars. Detroit makes hot Camaros and Corvettes but those are impractical for most people. They need hot mid-size cars like their NASCAR counterparts. Germany understands this; there are many large and fast Mercedes & BMWs. Run V6s in NASCAR if that's what it takes to be relevant. Sure, fans will complain that they don't sound as good. Tough. NASCAR is already bleeding fans and wants to dump old ones for new ones. Here's their chance.