Forum Activity for @andy-denardi

MWR

Current NASCAR

There are black boxes in all of the cars. NASCAR can use that data after the race to prove dumped the clutch and blew the engine or was simply sandbagging. I imagine that without too much effort they can have it monitor tire temperatures which would tell them if a car spun because the tire went down.

They could cut out a lot of the race manipulation, and NASCAR does a fair bit of that as well with caution flags. If they keep using the 'actions detrimental' rule instead of more specific guidelines, it will bite them. I can't say whether it will be the fans or the car owners that riot first, but both sides are getting tired of it.

On the positive side, I see that their high-falutin' track dryer will be at every race next year. That's a step forward. But there are no track changes for the chase, so they back up a step.

MWR

Current NASCAR

I think the team owner sets the tone for the team and Waltrip has been caught cheating on several occasions. I do place some blame on him. I agree that it was Truex that put himself in a position where these escapades had to go on so that he could make the chase. It's too bad that he's the one that has to go, but he's been with the team awhile and hasn't proven himself a star.

I don't like Bowyer at all but he is hard charger and deserves a good seat. Vickers hasn't proven himself to me and my impression is that he'll turn out to be another Kasey Kahne; someone who is often hyped and rarely delivers. He's one of the young guns that were supposed to attract the 18-24 year olds. but he's a better prospect than the already-tested Truex.

I also take issue with "You can find every team that follows the rules at the tail end of the field". That was then, this is now, and you better learn to accept it. Cheating is not allowed in any sport at the national level. If you get caught manipulating the game, shaving points, using a corked bat, you will be punished. If NASCAR wants to play in the big leagues, they have to put a stop to the attitude that cheating is part of racing. It won't stop cheating but it will make it clear that this is not just a bunch of good old boys out having fun on a Sunday afternoon.

Every team needs an advantage, so experimentation will continue. The way for NASCAR to stop cheating is to write an actual rule book instead of relying on "actions detrimental to the sport of stock car racing". Spell out exactly what can be done and what can't. If you catch someone after the race, tell them not to bring that part to the next race. The suspensions and probation are ridiculous in today's inter-connected age and aren't enforced anyway. Dump them. In most cases, you can dump the fines too, they're only making sure the France family has spending money no matter how badly they run the sport. Get the cars right at the start and check them again at the end. If you can't enforce a rule effectively, then don't make it. The body height rule was a perfect example.

NASCAR needs an effective leader badly. Brian France is not that leader. NASCAR is not a public company, so the only way we can apply pressure is through ISC. This has to be done and soon. it took sixty-four years to build NASCAR but it can tumble in as quickly as two. 2013 has come very close to being the first despite the claims of higher attendance and bigger TV fees. They seriously HAVE to make 2014 an outstanding year and I have seen no changes so far that indicate they are making an attempt. Moving Darlington to Labor Day would have been a good sign. Changing up the chase tracks would be a good sign. More points to winners would be a good sign.

NAPA Leaving MWR

Current NASCAR

NAPA no way, no how.This is at least the third high visibility controversy that MWR has been involved in. In addition to the jet fuel violation in their first race ever, they were part of the scandal over illegal nose pieces.The Waltrip brothers have a large number of people who dislike them because they are over-exposed. Sponsors may have sensed that and want to bail out. I actually like Michael as a commentator, but he doesn't belong in the booth for any series as an active owner. Daugherty either. I strongly dislike Darrell as a commentator although I was neutral about him as a driver.In my opinion, 5 Hour Energy and Aaron's deal in shady products and both can probably tolerate shady behavior from MWR. But not NAPA. And I still contend that Toyota will leave them before the 2015 Daytona 500.Cheating may have been a significant part of historical NASCAR but it has no place in modern sports.Part of the blame has to fall on NASCAR, whose rulebook is intentionally vague. If they lay out the equipment specifications precisely and some team finds a gray area, I have no problem with that. I believe that NASCAR has the black box data to show Bowyer spun intentionally, but doesn't want to publicize it for reasons of their own.

Jeff Gordon... In

Current NASCAR

I'm not certain that he deserves it. I think he was only one point out which is unfortunate, but he had a lousy season and wasn't in the top ten in points. But I'm happy that NASCAR let him in because we're that much closer to the old days when the championship ran all year and everyone was eligible.I don't have a problem with Gilliland letting Logano by, that happens all the time. I do find fault with intentional spins or creating debris to bring out a caution. That kind of race manipulation is what makes the sport look like wrestling sometimes. NASCAR has a history of cheating and they're proud of it. I think it's time for that to stop.This isn't the Fifties, we're not racing for a hundred bucks so that we can make the mortgage payment. This is a major professional sport and cheating is not encouraged in any other top level sport. Sports have become more and more corrupt over the last hundred years as more money is poured into them. We've raised kids to think that it's OK to bend the rules and to lie about it. The goal is now to win at any cost and that attitude has spread to Washington and Wall Street.These shenanigans may have always been occurring in NASCAr but I'm glad that Brian France is at least paying lip service to creating a level playing field. Maybe he'll take it far enough that independents actually have a chance for a top five finish again. Maybe it will force Daytona to abandon this stupid playoff idea and go back to a season long championship.Ryan Newman doesn't have much of a chance. He's a lame duck who's never won a championship. But we know that Hendrick has good cars. We know that Gordon knows how to get the big prize. He's only got a year or two left before he retires and he has the fire in his belly to go out on top. Stewart pulled it off just two years ago and it would bring a lot of positive feelings to NASCAR if he and Kenseth (or a Busch) took it down to the wire

and the winner for the spinner is Ryan Newman

Current NASCAR

2010 Clint Bowyer penalized in the first race of the chase for rules violation of rear body height (different team).

2012 Clint Bowyer involved in a controversial accident with Jeff Gordon during the penultimate race in the chase.

2013 Clint Bowyer spins in the last race of the regular season, allowing his teammate to make the chase.

This guy sure is good at generating negative publicity at the end of the year! Couple this with MWR's penalty at Daytona in their first race ever, and you've got a lot of bad vibes coming down on them. The Japanese have a different sense of honor and fair play, and they aren't going to like this one bit.

Michael Waltrip Racing has been doing well for them and Michael is very good at pulling in sponsors, so they'll probably stay with him. But they'll be pushing real hard for him to clean up his act. They may also start looking for another team for 2015. I believe that Clint Bowyer will be let go before Daytona and they will run the car similar to this year's Martin/Vickers/Waltrip setup.

I don't believe that Gordon should be in the chase instead of Bowyer, he just wasn't very good this year. Especially in comparison to Bowyer. But I do think that Bowyer should be dropped to 12th place in the chase. An intentional spin during a regular race is one thing; that kind of manipulation goes on all the time. But doing it to gain a spot for your teammate in the chase something else. That's not the kind of integrity we want in our athletes.

June 28, 1959 - Preview of 1st Firecracker 250

Stock Car Racing History

Elmer's son Tony George founded the Indy Racing League and facilitated the Brickyard 400 after a decades-long commitment by the track to run only one race a year. Elmer's wife Mari gives the call to "Start your engines" at the 500 each May.

According to Wikipedia:

On May 3, 1976, Mari filed for divorce. On the day of the 1976 Indianapolis 500 (May 30, 1976), Elmer George argued by telephone with Guy Trolinger, a horse trainer at the family farm near Terre Haute, and Mari's alleged boyfriend. After the race, George drove to the farm and confronted Trolinger. At around 1 a.m., gunfire broke out, and George was shot and killed of multiple gunshot wounds. A grand jury ruled that Trollinger killed George in self-defense, and charges were dropped.

Kyle Petty and Paula Deen related?

Current NASCAR

I've followed Danica's career since she began in Indycar and I agree with Kyle's statements. But I don't think it was fair to make the pronouncement this year. Stewart-Haas hasn't been doing well this year. Maybe that's holding her back, maybe she's the cause.

She did well on Indycar ovals, didn't win but certainly among the top third among oval racers. You could apply that description to several NASCAR drivers who get more respect. She was mediocre in Nationwide despite a very good car, but Tony Stewart's best finish in nine races was 16th in his first year of Busch.

Tony also only won three races in his IRL career, against a weak field. He garnered a championship with only one win. Other Indycar converts have performed much worse. It appears to be difficult to transition from open-wheel to stock cars and with all of the media attention, it is even harder for Danica to focus on the task.

There are and have been NBA, NFL and MLB athletes who are more famous than their stats would dictate. It's not a new phenomenon, media likes to build hype so they have something to write about. It's a win-win to build them up and tear them down. I think Junior is a mediocre driver, and he's been at it long enough, and had good enough cars that I can make that statement confidently. Danica has been and is currently a mediocre driver. But I would have waited until next year at this time to make that announcement.

Was Kyle's statement sexist? I'm not sure, but you can be damn sure that he wouldn't say the same about Junior even though their driving talent and marketability are equal. I think he's rebelling more against the scripts he's being given than anything pertaining to her gender. I think that a lot of the Danica-hate by the fans is because she's an outsider. Southerners can be an isolationist group of folks. Racing fans in general are tired of nine years of her taking attention from their favorites.

I'm not against diversity in all fields, I just want people to earn their positions with ability instead of their race/sex/religion/sexual orientation. The positive thing is that Danica is strong and from the beginning has positioned herself to take all of heat for women in racing. Other female racers can go about their business and be judged more on their ability. Even the more successful Force women in NHRA can do their job with less hassle because of Danica.

Danica's got millions. I doubt that she'll be driving any race car past 2015. She's too smart to start a race team on her own but might be the figurehead for some investor group like Richard Petty. She could get a cushy job at General Motors as a consultant for women's issues. She and Mark Martin can team up to address the problems of midget race drivers. She'll do alright for someone who's won only one race in fifteen years.

I only wish that she had used her powers for the forces of good, like getting a job at FAS Lane and allowing them benefits of having their own ATM to pull the team up by their bootstraps. At least then she'd be able to say that it was the team that held her back from winning 201 races.

Victory Celebrations

Stock Car Racing History

All those people sitting on the car are going to throw the ride height off by a thousandth of an inch. Not to mention the possibility of a crew member bending the fenders or spoiler back into a legal position. Victory celebrations have been going downhill since race queens stopped giving congratulatory kisses to the victor.

Race Driver Deaths...a must read for drivers and fans

Stock Car Racing History

That was a great article. Informative and easy to understand; without the general alarm and hand-wringing that often applies to these types of articles. It emphasizes the fact that drivers bear some of the responsibility of maintaining their safety. The primary danger for race drivers is to those on the low end of the ladder. The track with a 40 year old guardrail set-up, the guy who scrimps on the best safety equipment so that he can spend more money on the motor. What happened to Jason Leffler is less likely to happen to Tony Stewart. He can afford the safest and best-maintained equipment and to run the most modern tracks.

Racing History Minute - June 22, 1957

Stock Car Racing History

I'm confused. Sacramento is the capitol of California. Capitol with an O, and that's the name that Tim gives in his report. Regardless of why they felt they needed to add "West" to the name, I'm curious why would they change to Capital with an A. My guess is that the printer made a mistake on the new tickets and they just rolled with it.

As to NASCAR's record keeping talents, maybe it would be easier if they weren't always changing the name of the various series. Leaving aside the various "Cups", the top series has had at least three names. Nationwide has had at least four names, hasn't it? I'm disgusted that every time I see the "(now Sprint Cup)" footnote. Sprint didn't do diddly to develop NASCAR in the 50s and 60s, they don't deserve credit for anything that happened before their watch. It's Grand National dammit!