Forum Activity for @andy-denardi

Monday Night Racing Discussed by Mike Helton in Phoenix

Current NASCAR

I could see it working with a 150 lap truck race that would draw a local crowd to a short track in the Summer. maybe not a sellout crowd, but enough to look presentable to the TV cameras that would bring in most of the money and audience. They really need to get Nationwide and trucks back to the small tracks and markets. Use it as the headliner for Modified and Sportsman and boost those series a bit. Sprint cup is the fruit. You have to feed the roots if you want the fruit.

CAN BRAD or JIMMIE win the next two races ? ? ?

Current NASCAR

I think Brad needs to win both races. Just Homestead isn't enough, particularly if Jimmy makes it three races in a row. I'm expecting Jimmy to finish in the top three at Phoenix and Brad to be about seventh.

That would leave a lot of positions that Brad would need to gain at Homestead. I think Jimmy's record at Homestead is deceptive. His average finish isn't higher because it hasn't needed to be. He's almost always had a cushion that allowed him to run a cautious race. If Brad wins at Homestead Jimmy will be exactly where he needs to be to clinch. I think Brad will push the car too far at Homestead to make up ground and end up going backward.

I'm sure that NASCAR really wants to call a pit road violation or illegal restart against the #48 so that the chase stays tight all the way down to the wire. Last year's championship run brought a lot of good favor their way and two tight races would seal the deal against those who protest the existence of the chase.

I think the majority of NASCAR fans are hoping that Brad can win the championship. Jimmy's an outstanding driver but fans never warmed up to him. Couple that with the monotony of five straight, and the sentiment leans toward Keselowski. I'm glad I've witnessed Johnson's run, I think he deserves every one of his championships. But I'm not happy to see the same guy at the top of the heap every year and more dsmayed that guy is Johnson. My dream scenario is Gordon & Johnson both at six and running neck and neck for a seventh.

HAPPY and SMOKE in BED TOGETHER???

Current NASCAR

I thought it was firmly established the NASCAR bought Road Atlanta in a package with the ALMS series. They were both owned by Panoz. Where did the rumor get started that Bruton bought it?

I'm hoping that they leave stewardship of Road Atlanta to Jim France. IMO, he's the most rational in that family. The track has been neutered enough in the past decade and I don't want ISC to muck it up further. NASCAR has said in the past that the track isn't suitable for cup. (I'm not sure why, I've run against stock cars there in Vintage races) If that's their attitude, I don't want it remodeled to allow for them.

I think it's good that Tony is putting his money back into the sport, but four cars and another track sounds like he's putting a lot on his plate at once. Looking at his physique, I guess he does that a lot.

I hope it works out for him. People have been complaining here about pampered drivers but I'm certain that Tony could have competed against AJ Foyt, David Pearson and anyone else from the Sixties.

I'm sure that in the Sixties, all the racers from the Thirties complained about how spoiled the modern drivers were; what with their windshields, eight inch wide tires, roll bars and everything.

HAPPY and SMOKE in BED TOGETHER???

Current NASCAR

I'm glad that they stepped in when they did and put a limit on how many cars a team could run. Yeah, I think it would effectively be eight cars for Hendrick but if Roush or Gibbs was that strong then they'd be doing it too. Unlike some conspiracy theorists I read on the web, I don't think that Hendricks is getting any special breaks. It's possible that they occasionally look the other way when Junior's car goes through the tech line at the speedways, but otherwise, no special treatment.

Doesn't mean that I like it though. I'd like to see the limit dropped to two cars. I have no real problems with only one engine builder for each manufacturer but tend to think that it levels the competition to where we have packs of cars with the same horsepower. Double that when the chassis comes from the same source as the engine.

Maybe Newman can go back to running for Penske. A championship this year might open the pocketbooks enough to allow for a three car team over there. Newman can hold Ryan Blaney's seat for him.

HAPPY and SMOKE in BED TOGETHER???

Current NASCAR

I think it's too soon for SHR to run four cars. I don't think three cars is a good idea either, but Danica brings so much money that she can't be ignored. On the other hand, she has so little experience that she wouldn't be useful as a teammate on a two car team. She was clueless about set-ups in Indycar.I like Ryan, although he hasn't been very successful lately. I'd be disappointed if he got the boot. He seems more level-headed and better able to deal with Tony on a bad day as well. I don't like Happy, but I don't have to work with him so it's irrelevant. I had expected Jeff Burton would be the one leaving when Austin moved up but I guess he's willing to be a mentor and Kevin isn't.If SHR does go to four cars, it's about time they built an engine shop.

"Youngsters Can't Tell I'm Old With Helmet On," Says 84 Year Old Hershel McGriff

Stock Car Racing History

Someone needs to set up a twenty lap match race between McGriff and that young punk James Hylton. Loved the story on the race!

Can trucks actually run at Eldora?

Current NASCAR

This is what I was getting at:
1960 Chevy BelAir curb weight 3505-3580, wheelbase 119.0, length 210.8
2013 Honda Accord curb weight 3192-3559, wheelbase 109.3, length 191.4

A 1965 Ford Galaxie runs up to 4000 pounds in stock form so I see your point as well, but a 1969 Torino is back down to 3100. Basically, I was saying that although we think of those cars as huge compared to today's, they were lighter than one might think.

I'd also like to see some dirt races. Both Nationwide and trucks need stronger differentiation from the cup series, and dirt tracks are one way to do so. If I had my druthers, neither of the lower series would run the same track on the same weekend as cup cars but three or four times a year. Also, if I were in charge, I'd dump Nationwide. Too many series dilutes the product. Since the trucks are distinct from cup cars, they'd be the ones that I kept.

Can trucks actually run at Eldora?

Current NASCAR

Leaving aside the soft walls question, can you run thirty-five 3500 pound trucks around a dirt track for three hours without destroying the track? Seems to me that Eldora would only work if you made it a 100 mile race.

I realize that they used to run Sixties stock cars on dirt tracks, but a Sixties full size car weighs about as much as a Honda Accord today. I don't know what the minimum weight was for a Grand National car, and wonder if the dirt tracks weren't built and maintained differently back then.

I'm not a big truck guy, and the idea of racing them seems ludicrous to me. But if you're going to race trucks, it seems like dirt should be the predominate surface. Maybe Detroit can even learn something from racing like they used to.

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

1950 GN Champ Car Owner Julian Buesink Fielded Multi-Car Teams; Gave Cale Yarborough Early Rides

Stock Car Racing History

I actually DID find two interviews with Julian Buesink after I wrote that message. They were on the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame site. Dave had linked to it in another post. I thought the videos were interesting but the interviewer was tentative, the video had a lot of chop cuts and Buesink's thoughts were not well organized. Someone who had done all of the background and is a more skillful interviewer could have steered the conversation more smoothly. On the positive side, it appears that some post production was done to fill in the gaps in Buesink's memory and gather up a large number of photographs.

Few are good at conducting a smooth and informative interview. That's why there are so few Larry Kings and Barbara Walters. Leno is a car guy but maybe not a racing guy. Letterman is loyal to Indycar. Ned Jarrett seems like he would be ideal for the task. Maybe Kyle Petty, but although he has the chops and the deep connection, I'm not convinced that he could handle something longer than 15 minutes.

I'd love to see about four hours with Richard Petty. He's seen a lot, virtually all of NASCAR's history. He had a prime position in the manufacturer wars of the Sixties and knows a lot of inside information. There have been several good interviews but not as in-depth as I'd like. He may not be able to speak his mind freely until he's completely out of racing and I don't know if that will ever happen.

Junior Johnson is another great one that we need a couple of hours on. There's been a good year-by-year account running on one of the blogs but it's too short and leaves too many questions unanswered. Autobiographies always gloss over the difficult issues.

Actually, let me extend this to every Hall of Fame NOMINEE. There are good reasons why they're on that list. A multi-hour oral history should be standard for everyone who gets in, but so many are being pushed to the side that they won't be alive if we wait until then. I think that many of today's fans are visual creatures. Most won't read the many good books that are out there, and acquiring books is an expensive proposition as well. While a dedicated NASCAR channel would be a good place to run these interviews, we can't afford to wait. The sport is losing the fanbase and measures must be taken now.

You're our only hope Obi-Wan-Cody.

1950 GN Champ Car Owner Julian Buesink Fielded Multi-Car Teams; Gave Cale Yarborough Early Rides

Stock Car Racing History

What's the Hall of Fame doing to save the oral histories of folks like this? Books are nice but I prefer to hear it straight from the horse's mouth. They really need someone who's done their homework to interview these guys and get at least an hour of tape on them.

I'll bet that very few New York NASCAR fans know that a champion came from their state and it would help to cement their loyalty. These are the kinds of stories we should have been seeing on Speed and in the pre-race shows instead of the puff pieces that we've been getting.

NASCAR has run on many vanished tracks in many states and none of today's fans know about it. Many states have a stop on the NASCAR circuit today, but not all of them. In particular, the Northeast has a long history of Grand National racing that's not being exploited. fans there may form a tighter connection to the sport if they knew there had been races in Trenton, and Thompson, CT and Oxford, Maine. Ohio doesn't have a NASCAR track, but the article points out that they used to run at Canfield. Stick & ball sports have local teams that build fan loyalty. That doesn't work as well for drivers who used to be from your area but moved South fifteen years ago.