Nascar Racing Has Started. Hip, Hip, Hooray!

[TheTerrorist_75]

Q has started.

Time for me to finish my fantasy picks for the season.

[Honda_Boy]

I can't wait till next season when toyota starts racing.

[bozodog]

Great win for the Gibbs team! Go rookie!!!!!!

[TheTerrorist_75]

I think Kyle Busch is going to have a sore bottom after MM gets done spanking him. hehehehehe

D.E. Jr. looks like he's back to form and enjoying racing again.

Dale Jarrett still has it.

Tony didn't do bad for having sore ribs.

Look for Earnhardt, Stewart, Martin and Jarrett dueling for the 500 win next Sunday. Waltrip may be with them.

[handplane]

I think Kyle Busch is going to have a sore bottom after MM gets done spanking him. hehehehehe

D.E. Jr. looks like he's back to form and enjoying racing again.

Dale Jarrett still has it.

Tony didn't do bad for having sore ribs.

Look for Earnhardt, Stewart, Martin and Jarrett dueling for the 500 win next Sunday. Waltrip may be with them.

I will be pulling for Jeff Gordon.

[bozodog]

Jeff Gordon is a whinny has been... Even the oldsters have one or two over him.

I'll watch Mikie Waltrip. He seems to have new attitude with the new team and Dodge car.....

[handplane]

Jeff Gordon is a whinny has been... Even the oldsters have one or two over him.

I'll watch Mikie Waltrip. He seems to have new attitude with the new team and Dodge car.....

He wins and whines all the way to the to the bank.

[Bubba Bob]

I think Kyle Busch is going to have a sore bottom after MM gets done spanking him. hehehehehe

D.E. Jr. looks like he's back to form and enjoying racing again.

Dale Jarrett still has it.

Tony didn't do bad for having sore ribs.

Look for Earnhardt, Stewart, Martin and Jarrett dueling for the 500 win next Sunday. Waltrip may be with them.

I will be pulling for Jeff Gordon.

His one and only.

Im pullin for anyone in a Ford

[TheTerrorist_75]

Jimmy Johnson's crew chief Chad Knaus got caught cheating again. Let's see if the NASCAR officials actually punish him this time instead of rescinding his suspension.

[bozodog]

So, the cheater wins the race?? What's wrong with that picture? Is NASCAR afraid to punish the BIG teams and car owners? And I wonder what the sponsers have to say about all this. IMHO the car should have been excluded from the line up. Use a back up and start at the back of the tech inspection line and the back of the pack.

[blim]

How did he cheat? (nope, didn't watch the race....)

Liz

[handplane]

So, the cheater wins the race?? What's wrong with that picture? Is NASCAR afraid to punish the BIG teams and car owners? And I wonder what the sponsers have to say about all this. IMHO the car should have been excluded from the line up. Use a back up and start at the back of the tech inspection line and the back of the pack.

He cheated all the way to the bank!!!!!

[jsbowen]

How did he cheat? (nope, didn't watch the race....)

Liz

His car had a raised rear window.

[Chappy]

So, the cheater wins the race?? What's wrong with that picture? Is NASCAR afraid to punish the BIG teams and car owners? And I wonder what the sponsers have to say about all this. IMHO the car should have been excluded from the line up. Use a back up and start at the back of the tech inspection line and the back of the pack.

Jeez Darlene....don't be a "Hater"..

They were punished, and fairly harshly at that too. The car as it won the race, was perfectly legal and they're not the only ones who have gotten caught trying to "bend" the rules either. MANY teams, (in fact almost all of them), have been caught trying to expand on the limits of the rules at one time or another, so this is nothing new at all. It's happened many times in the past and will happen many times in the future, and by every team out there...that's all a part of racing. In fact, many of the changes allowed over the years have come from ideas that some teams had, and tried to apply to their cars illegally at first. NASCAR has been built almost entirely on this premise over the years.

In fact, I wouldn't doubt there was a car in the field that had an illegal setup, that wasn't caught in inspection. That happens many times before something is caught sometimes.

Now, you & I have been over this "I hate Jeff Gordon" thing before (...sigh...), and really, like most of you "Jeff haters" out there...you don't have a very valid reason for this reaction. If the same reasons all the oldy NASCAR fans hate Jeff were applied to the drivers today, you'ld have to hate Kurt & Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Jeremy Mayfield, Ryan Neuman, Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart,...etc, etc. It just doesn't make sense to hate a guy just because he's new to the sport and starts winning right off the bat, it's just that Jeff was the First one to do this and not be a "Good Ole Boy".

Jeff Gordon is one of the All Time most talented drivers to ever sit behind the wheel of any race car, and he's hated just because he wasn't a good-ol-boy back when thats all there was in the sport. Nowadays, we've had rookies come in and start winning right away, and they're not hated anymore...and the reason for that is Jeff Gordon. He broke the barrier for them a long time ago and now folks are used to it not being the old guard anymore.

But as much as I try, I'll probably NEVER change the minds of the Jeff haters out there, so I let his actions speak for themselves. He's talented, known as a safe driver, well respected by his peers, and he just plain wins races or is right up there every time, and will go down as one of the all time great drivers in NASCAR history. So hate him or not....Jeff Gordon is one HELL of a racer.

Whiney??

Cripes dear....listen to all the other guys whine (Tony...Matt..cough-cough), I've hardly never heard Jeff whine about stuff so I really don't know where you get this one...

/end rant (friendly style...we've been here before eh )

Edited February 21, 2006 by Chappy

[bozodog]

You're right Chappy. Inovation has been the mantra of NASCAR from day one. And I applaude it. Bending the rule to the enth degree has made the cars faster and the crowds standing at their seats. But blatent cheating should be punished. Knaus appealed last years penalty and won... This time I hope it sticks.

Knaus' suspension was the result of rigging a device that pushed the rear window out more than three-quarters of an inch, creating an aerodynamic advantage.

NASCAR officials called the violation a blatant attempt to break the rules.

• NASCAR also penalized the Hall of Fame Racing team driven by Terry Labonte for using an unapproved carburetor for qualifying in the 500.

Crew chief Philippe Lopez was fined $25,000, Labonte was penalized 25 championship points and team owner William Saunder was penalized 25 owner points.

In the old days it was speed, speed, speed. Now it's safety and big bucks. I feel anything can be tried unless there is ALREADY a rule against it. Then it deserves punishment. First place was almost 1.6 mil. 5th, (Tony's Home Depot car) paid shy of 600K and last place was 260+K...

I guess you don't know the shady history of Hendrik himself. Early in the years of Honda's entrance to the American market he was caught and paid dearly for bribing sales reps to give him more than his share of the dearly short supply of cars. He is now being sued for "sharing" info with Toyota, deemed secret by GM. Methinks he is after a Toyota team and wants advantage against the other teams going on-line. A liar will steal from you, and a theif will lie to you... I think the whole team is corupt and should pay the piper.

BTW, where did I knock Jeff this time??? Huh? And, ohhh boy, Tony was a baaad boy this time too. The "young guns" think they are bullet proof. They have come up so fast in the ranks they haven't gained the gentlemans club of working together. I believe it's the big bucks that will taint NASCAR, just like our other sports... Think Kurt Bushes traffic violation last year. Sure he passed the alcohol test. (I wonder how long they waited to give it?) But, back talking to the cops, and only getting a $590 fine with 50 hours of community service? Nope, I don't agree... *Visions of more "bad boy" antics soon..........

[flashh4]

MY man JJ won the race in style !! MY wife is a J Gordon fan, so its on to California. My money is on T Stewart there !!!!

[Chappy]

BTW, where did I knock Jeff this time??? Huh?

"Jeff Gordon is a whinny has been... Even the oldsters have one or two over him."

Uhh...there LOL!

If Jeff is a "has been", I sure would like to be that kind of has been when I grow up! He still wins races and he WILL win another championship before he's thru, but the competition is so much closer now than it used to be, that it is getting harder to dominate like he used to. I don't think we'll ever see another driver dominate a season the way it used to be, like when Jeff won 13 races one year, or Richard Petty or Dale Earnhardt dominated like they did.

I didn't know that about RH, very interesting.

And yes, it may seem that Tony's bad boy side is still bursting to come out at times doesn't it.

NASCAR is going to knock Chad big time for this one, definately a multi-race suspension and a hefty fine in the $40,000 range I think, and yes they do deserve it. It will never stop tho, there is too much money at stake in NASCAR today, and teams will do whatever they think they can get away with to succeed.

With the huge multi car teams nowadays, the smaller teams almost HAVE to try cheating a bit just to try to keep up with the big boys. I agree that the huge popularity the sport is getting now, which brings in the huge $$$ factor, the sport is going to change forever and not really for the good either. The smaller teams are eventually going to be pushed right out of the sport because they just can't compete with these conglomerate multi-car teams anymore. I think NASCAR has to regulate how many cars any one team can field soon, or find itself with 43 car fields owned by 8 or 10 owners. That would kill the sport I think.

I really don't have any driver in the sport that I don't like, or would not want to see win, so I enjoy the outcome no matter who wins. Jeff G and Jimmy J are definately 2 of my faves, but lil E, Mikey W, and all these young-uns coming up are all exciting to watch and I cheer for them all.

I sure hope that Mark Martin can finally win the big trophy before he retires, and it's not the same without Rusty right now. I've also enjoyed all the special reports concerning the 5th anniversary of Dale's passing, he was NASCAR personified and I miss him terribly. Without a doubt, he was the most colorful character the sport had, and love him or hate him, EVERYONE respected him.

Edited February 23, 2006 by Chappy

[bozodog]

Ok, one little jab... Can't help myself.

[Chappy]

Ok, one little jab... Can't help myself.

LOL!!!!

Haha...I know you can't, but you do it without even realizing you do...that's bad!

I hope you haven't poisoned your "Sweet Brit" into thinking the same way you do...I'll bet he's a "closet" Jeff Gordon fan

Well, I can't wait to see how this season plays out. I think it's going to be a real battle for the cup with all these young guns already winning races, and the veterans will have their hands full (and rearview mirrors too) trying to stay ahead of these teams.

It promises to be a record year for NASCAR and with Toyota coming next year, it's going to change forever. Soon we'll see Honda, Hyundai, and maybe even Saturn in NASCAR racing, so it's not a good-ole-boy sport anymore. We may even see points races held outside of the US soon, they're talking Mexico & Canada being added to the circuit full time. It may eventually turn into an F1 kinda thing where instead of going from state to state, they go from country to country....wouldn't that be weird..

Later Luv!

[Honda_Boy]

I say screw the Korean cars they'll fall apart before lap 20. Honda would be an awesome competitor if they let each company use whatever motor they wanted within certain limits of course. They restrict to much though. they can only be carborated V8's. Honda has some gnarly V8's for indy and F1. I only expect to see nissan and honda enter along with toyota, but hey they are american too. My 95 Civic EX Coupe was built in America. The VIN even starts with 1. (1-US, 2-Canada, 3-Mexico ahem* Mom's PT Cruiser*, J-errr DUH, 4-I think also Canada). They also manufacture nissans not too far from here (The Saturn Plant is even closer, a LOT closer) Mine's the only american built in the family. The Tacoma starts with 4 and the Cruiser starts with 3.

according to my brother the real test of nascar is the aerodynamics.

I wonder if European manufacturers are gonna try and get into the game.

I wish they'd come up with a racing division for street legal cars like rally racing only run them on tracks like NASCAR tracks. They already do raod racing like that sort of but I don't see enough of it.

*I have to correct myself if your VIN starts with 4 that is also US. So my dad's "Japanese" Tacoma and my "Japanese" Civic are both made in the US. The "American" Chrysler was Hencho en Mexico.

Edited February 28, 2006 by Honda_Boy

[bozodog]

Here's what I'm talking about. Just a matter of time before the sport gets a bad rap like basketball and others.. Too dang much money involved.

FONTANA, Calif. -- NASCAR officials said Friday that Shane Hmiel has failed his third drug test and was permanently banned from NASCAR competition.

NASCAR termed it a "lifetime ban."

Hmiel was parked by NASCAR last June after failing his second drug test. At the time, Hmiel was driving for Braun Racing in the Busch Series. Hmiel was removed by NASCAR following a practice session at Dover, and he hasn't returned since.