Forum Activity for @andy-denardi

Dale, Jr. : "I Dont Even Want to go to Daytona and Talladega Next Year"

Current NASCAR

I came over here to start this thread. I'm glad that Junior made these remarks because people will listen to him. Not only is he the most popular and the face of NASCAR, but he has the added baggage that his father was killed at a plate track.I find plate racing boring and the possibility of a win is too random. I don't enjoy massive pile-ups that take out half the field, usually with five to go. I seem to be one of the minority that preferred the tandem racing that they had a year or two ago, but that was still inferior to a regular race.In Indycars, Mike Conway shocked everyone at the season finale by refusing to run that race or any other oval races because they were too dangerous. Can you imagine the reaction in the heaqd offices if Junior refused to run the Daytona 500? Rick Hendrick would probably play along because if nothing else, plate races often require a lot of body repair afterward.I don't care for Junior as a driver. I think he's over-hyped. But I've paid a lot more attention to him in the last year or two because I like who he is off the track. He doesn't flaunt his popularity or sell his image to every company in order to rake in big cash. I know he's got a lot of acreage and a Western town on his property, but that seems less ostentatious than the new Kyle Busch house. Junior has been speaking out on a lot of issues lately, and his arguments sound well thought-out. To me, he sounds less self-centered and boastful than say, Brad Keselowski. He reminds me a bit of Ned or Dale Jarrett.

Don't Bring Kids To Race ~ per ~ Rusty Wallace

Current NASCAR

Dan Wheldon's two year old son was at Las Vegas. My guess is that he was too young to absorb the full trauma of what he witnessed. I think that there's a higher probability that any given child is exposed to carnage on the highway than on the racetrack. If the child is left at home, would it be more likely to be watching the race than playing in the infield dirt? At home, they'd see the wreck replayed multiple times in slow motion. At the track, things would flash by more quickly.I don't have kids, I can't say what the "correct" answer is. But I feel that kids are overprotected today and I'm reluctant to endorse an off-the-cuff remark.I'm satisfied with the safety systems on the cars now, for the speeds that they are running. Easy for me to say, since I'm not driving one. But I've driven many races with far less to protect me (up through my 40s, so old enough to know better).But I am worried about spectators. That's where the sanctioning bodies will be caught by surprise next. It's been a while since we've had a serious fan injury caused by flying debris. Parts can go pretty far, but I think it's time to take out the first ten rows at any track over a mile. Races aren't selling out any more and track owners can distract the media from constantly mentioning it by taking out some seats and bunching folks closer together.From my perspective at Martinsville, the fence distorts and blocks a lot of the view for those sitting close to it. I see that tickets for seats down low sell for less, so I'm assuming my experience matches others. People are more or less sheltered from the most gruesome views when a driver is hurt. Sheetmetal and roll cages block a lot of the view. But a tire in the crowd could be easily viewed by anyone.

Pack the Schaefer - IndyCar returns to Pocono in 2013 - UPDATE: Fans Mad @ Indycar; Complain to Pocono

General

I know I won't be able to make the 2013 race but hope I can attend several of those that follow. I've run the all of the road courses at Pocono and have fond memories of the track. I've always found the facilities in excellent condition and admire the Mattioli family for remaining independent (and solvent) in the face of great pressures. As one of my home tracks, it always hurt me to hear NASCAR fans talk about the boring races there. I held hopes that Indycar would make it back and find more satisfaction with things. The repave has even reduced some of the whining from stock car fans.

Kyle Busch's New $7.5 Million, 13,000 Sq.Ft. Home on the Redneck Riviera

Stock Car Racing History

I think that ALL athletes are overpaid, but some of that is petty jealousy and my opinion won't change things anyway. As long as things remain this way, then yes, auto racing salaries should equal those of other professional sports. Kyle is definitely working harder than some football player who's called upon for fifteen minutes work over a three hour period.

I don't think I would want a house that big. 5,000 square feet would do me fine. That's the garage, the house could be half that size. I remember visiting the neighborhood where Duke Snider of the Brooklyn Dodgers used to live, and it was a simple working class house where everyone sat on the porch at dusk and chatted with one another. They said that Duke and all the ball players that visited were just normal guys that worried about when they'd find time to cut the lawn. On the other hand, Jackie Robinson had a huge estate in Connecticut and held an annual Summer party that had several hundred attendees. He had died a few years before I had my opportunity to pry a fence slat loose and take in the scene.

I agree that the swipe at Kyle's driving record was uncalled for. Much like the swipe at the political bent of the newspaper that carried it. I'm not overly familiar with Jim Utter but there are a lot of bitter newspaper folk hoping that the business doesn't collapse before they make it to retirement.

A QUESTION ABOUT 2013 season

Current NASCAR

I can't see it happening. They have a lot of development work in the new Charger but aren't doing any of the 2013 tests. Nobody has stepped up to buy Penske's engine business and even if they had Arrington build the engines, none of the independents appear able to build the chassis. I think Dodge should have tried to work with Robby Gordon.

But I'm curious about CASCAR and the Mexican division. Although I have zero knowledge of those divisions, it seems like it would be easier to put something together outside Sprint Cup and would keep them from falling too far behind. If they showed some success it would make them more attractive to US teams.

I think Andretti will be running stock cars in 2014 and Dodge is hoping to hook up with them.

Toyota Brass Dissed With Kyle Busch Over Dover Comments

Current NASCAR

I don't have a problem with foreign manufacturers in NASCAR but Toyota has a poor history in the USA for hi-performance cars. Aside from the overweight but quick Supra, I have to go all the way back to the 50 or so 2000GTs that they brought over in 1968. The Camry is and has always been a brick of vanilla ice cream and has no pedigree for stock car racing.

If you let any of the Germans in, they'll likely double the cost of racing overnight and also present extremely formidable competition. I suspect that NASCAR will come up with a formula that will allow manufacturers to run the same engine or block in both Grand-Am and Cup. That will attract new companies and give them some cushion if another manufacturer drops out.

Toyota Brass Dissed With Kyle Busch Over Dover Comments

Current NASCAR

I think Kyle is headed out the door after next season, by his choice. With this, and his recent indecision about whether or not he wants to be interviewed after a race, I think the failure to make the chase has affected him deeply.

He isn't jumping at the chance to renew his contract and if Hamlin wins the chase (or comes 2nd) it will be difficult for him to find a place among Hamlin and Kenseth. I feel that he gives up too easily if his car isn't perfect and blames the team for his lack of championships.

Kyle's an excellent driver; in fact I think he's the most talented in the series today. Maybe he should take his millions and start the Busch Brothers team. I think he'll be less successful when he and his brother have the additional pressure of trying to run a business, but he does have some experience running a Nationwide team.

He and Kurt may have trouble attracting one of the current sponsors but their name recognition makes them excellent candidates for a new manufacturer to enter the series. If not for the previous difficulty with Kurt, they'd be a good leadoff for Dodge to return.

Hey Dennis Quaid, What ever happen to the motion picture movie on NASCAR's race driver Richard Petty that you was producing.

Stock Car Racing History

There's nobody left in America that's skinny enough to play Richard. You just know the movie would have been horrible anyway. If they made it today, Michael Bay would direct and there'd be dozens of cars flying into the grandstands on fire. No matter how good CGI is, they can never make Richard's 1970 Darlington crash look as scary as it was in real life.

On the positive side, there would be a lot of old race footage that we haven't seen in decades. On the negative side, they'd hire Justin Bieber to play Kyle Petty.

Bad Boy Kyle in #43 at Martinsville

Stock Car Racing History

Heck, I've watched Annette & Frankie Avalon in Fireball 500 just so I could see the old race footage. I haven't seen Last American Hero in a long time but I must admit that I got very confused during the clip provided. I was positive nobody named Junior was driving the Coke Machine and was annoyed that they kept telling me he was.

THEM DODGES DID IT AGAIN

Current NASCAR

I cancelled my cable and can't find illegal streams on the web anymore, so I'm stick with MRN for half the season. Considering the state of TV race calling today, I may have an advantage.I wanted more drivers with personality, but Brad's big mouth annoys me. I can't forgive him for tossing Allmendinger to the sharks. Teammates are supposed to act like their concerned about each other. Then he inserted himself into the driver selection process to make sure that he wouldn't be upstaged by the new driver. I think it's fair to say that he's the modern Bobby Allison. He's definitely got talent but he can be darn annoying. At the very least he's the new DW; self-absorbed and not afraid to show it.Folks say that Penske will regret his switch to Ford because they just aren't performing. I would feel that way too, except the Dodges haven't been performing well before this year. That's one reason why nobody else was using them. Penske is a wizard in Indycars but I've never felt that he knew how to run a NASCAR team. I'm not expecting him to improve Ford's situation.As I've said on other sites, I feel Kyle is the best driver in cup today. But if I were Joe Gibbs, I'd toss him out the door next year when his contract is up. He doesn't have the stamina, ambition and patience to make a decent run at the championship. If his car is just slightly off, he's likely to coast for the rest of the day instead of hunching down and driving the heck out of it. I see that Kyle is stalling Gibbs on a contract extension, it may be that he wants out. With Hamlin in the Chase and Kenseth coming next year, he could look like the new Joey Logano very quickly. Childress seems to be grooming Kurt Busch for a ride in 2014. He should be sidling up to Kyle instead. But Childress has had enough run-ins with the Busch brothers that I can't see him actually hiring either.I hate Talladega. With restrictor plates and pack racing, the results are more or less random. They have a great track museum though.