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NASCAR 2014

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wdwfan4ver

Well-Known Member
I actually want Harvick to win the chase out the 4 despite the fact he will not draw a new crowd to NASCAR.

I want Harvick to win it because he's one of the top 5 cup drivers of all time that didn't win a cup championship even before the media mentioned it this week. Right now he's on the list that has Junior Johnson, Mark Martin, and Glen "Fireball" Roberts. The other one has to be Fred Lorenzen. While the first 4 are legends of NASCAR that are retired, it is not a group of drivers you wanted to be part of for not winning a cup championship.

I saw a lot of Mark's prime in the 1990's. Mark's problem was his peak was when Dale Earnhardt Sr and Jeff Gordon were winning championships. Mark's best ever cup season happened in 1998, but Jeff Gordon had his best of season ever with 13 wins.

Junior Johnson was a part time cup driver before he won 6 cup championships as a NASCAR owner in the cup series. Junior Johnson that won 50 times in cup including 15 times in a season despite retiring at the age 35 and missed some time in racing for a 1956 moonshine conviction. A lot of competitors from Junior Johbson's day claimed Junior Johnson was the best dirt track they ever seen race.

Glen "Fireball" Roberts was considered the most popular driver of his era despite being a time time cup driver that almost won the cup championship as a rookie despite starting only 9 out of 19 races. Fireball won 33 cup races in his cup career. Fireball Roberts was going to retire in the year he died.

Fred Lorenzen was another part time driver that retired. He retired early due to multiple reasons including Fireball Roberts death made racing not to fun to him since they were great friends. Fred also had problems with stomach ulcers and got sick of traveling on the road as reason Fred retired early.

Fred Lorenzen won 26 times in his short career. Fred was a great big money driver like Kevin Harvick is. Fred Lorenzen in 1964 was the first cup driver ever to earn 100,000 in just 16 races by winning 8 out of them. What also made that 1964 season so amazing was Fred only entered 16 times out of 62 cup races that season.
 
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MOXOMUMD

MOXOMUMD

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Hmmm, gosh @MinnieM123 tough call. Of course everyone is pulling for Kevin Harvick but I see something that'll happen to take him out of it. I think Jeff Gordon will come in for the race win today to prove he could have been the champ. Call me crazy, ("You're crazy!") but I see Denny Hamlin hoisting the Cup.
 
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wdwfan4ver

Well-Known Member
Before someone asks, Glen" Fireball" Roberts didn't his nickname "Fireball" from his tragic 1964 death. Glen got his nickname from his High School pitching days.

Glen "fireball" Roberts died on July 2nd 1964 from pneumonia and sepsis that he got from recovering from his May 24, 1964 World 600 crash that he tried to avoid a crash from of him that involved NASCAR Legends Junior Johnson and Ned Jarret crashing front of him and his car got engulfed in flames. Glen received 2nd to 3rd degree burns to 80 percent of his body resulted from the crash he was in. The fire Roberts was worse than it would be today since fire-retardant uniforms didn't exist and Fuel cells didn't either when he died.
 
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MinnieM123

MinnieM123

Premium Member
MOXOMUMD said:
Hmmm, gosh @MinnieM123 tough call. Of course everyone is pulling for Kevin Harvick but I see something that'll happen to take him out of it. I think Jeff Gordon will come in for the race win today to prove he could have been the champ. Call me crazy, ("You're crazy!") but I see Denny Hamlin hoisting the Cup.
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You're ON! ;) May the best man win!! (Go Harvick! :happy:)

I'll check back in with all of you race fans in the morning before I head out to work.
 
MOXOMUMD

MOXOMUMD

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
THANK YOU-003.jpeg


THANK YOU EVERYBODY!!!!!

Thank you to each of you for participating in my NASCAR thread! :happy: Please feel free to drop in during the offseason. :)
 
MinnieM123

MinnieM123

Premium Member
MOXOMUMD said:
View attachment 74050

THANK YOU EVERYBODY!!!!!

Thank you to each of you for participating in my NASCAR thread! :happy: Please feel free to drop in during the offseason. :)
Click to expand...

Thank you for creating this thread! :happy: It's been fun, and I've really enjoyed all the contributions from people; I've learned a lot about the current and past history of the sport. Without the input that people have shared, I'd never know so many interesting facts about the individual racers, the teams, and NASCAR in general.

Last and certainly not least: WOO HOO!!!!!!! KEVIN HARVICK IS THE CHASE CHAMPION!!! :happy: :happy: :happy: :happy:
 
artvandelay

artvandelay

Well-Known Member
Now that the 2014 season is over, let's talk about 'silly season' stuff for 2015:

1) rumor is Darian Grubb is out as Hamlin's crew chief, but not fired from Joe Gibbs Racing. Could he be moving to Kyle or Matt's car?

2) where does Chase Eliot wind up when he makes the move to Sprint Cup? I always thought he'd wind up in the 24 car in 2016 after Gordon retired after 2015, but after Gordon's season in 2014 and signing 3M to sponsorship through 2016, I'm not so sure. Maybe Kahne is out after 2015? Look to see Eliot make at least 5 starts in Sprint Cup in 2015, probably in HMS 25 car or another affiliated team.

3) rumor is Kenny Francis is being promoted to a managerial position at HMS and will not be Kahne's crew chief in 2015.

4) how does Dale Jr. do without Steve Letarte?

5) can Rousch Fenway racing bounce back from a horrible year? Even though 2 of their drivers made the Chase, Biffle was not competitive all season and Edwards left to drive the 19 car for JGR. Biffle has been vocal about how weak their cars have been.

97 days to the Daytona 500!
 
W

wdwfan4ver

Well-Known Member
artvandelay said:
Now that the 2014 season is over, let's talk about 'silly season' stuff for 2015:

1) rumor is Darian Grubb is out as Hamlin's crew chief, but not fired from Joe Gibbs Racing. Could he be moving to Kyle or Matt's car?

2) where does Chase Eliot wind up when he makes the move to Sprint Cup? I always thought he'd wind up in the 24 car in 2016 after Gordon retired after 2015, but after Gordon's season in 2014 and signing 3M to sponsorship through 2016, I'm not so sure. Maybe Kahne is out after 2015? Look to see Eliot make at least 5 starts in Sprint Cup in 2015, probably in HMS 25 car or another affiliated team.

3) rumor is Kenny Francis is being promoted to a managerial position at HMS and will not be Kahne's crew chief in 2015.

4) how does Dale Jr. do without Steve Letarte?

5) can Rousch Fenway racing bounce back from a horrible year? Even though 2 of their drivers made the Chase, Biffle was not competitive all season and Edwards left to drive the 19 car for JGR. Biffle has been vocal about how weak their cars have been.

97 days to the Daytona 500!
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1.) I haven't hard anything about Kenseth getting a new crew chief. I know there was a rumor about Kyle getting a new cup crew chief, but it would be Kyle's Nationwide crew chief. I read it in either last month or in September.

2.) I think Kasey's contract is up after next year. You could guess Kasey could be going Stewart-Haas in 2016 unless Tony gets a better season next year.

3.) I did read a rumor last month that Jamie Mcmurray's crew chief would be the crew chief of the 5 car.

4.) I think Dale Jr. will have a learning period next year although the new crew chief and Dale know each other. I expect Dale's win totals to go down next year as a result, but I expect the same thing out of Jeff Gordon. Jeff Gordon this season had his most wins since 2007 when Jeff Gordon had 6 wins.

5.) I think it is very hard for Roush to bounce back because I think all he has is Bayne. I don't like 2 out of the 3 drivers next year. I don't like Stenhouse either from a talent standpoint. Stenhouse is a disappoint as a cup driver. I seen Busch Series/Nationwide series championships drivers that are better in that series than in cup such as Martin Truex Jr. and Brian Vickers as an examples. I also seen drivers that are better in cup than they were in the Busch/Nationwide series such as Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, and Tony Stewart as examples.

What is happening with Biffle is his skills are decline due to his age. Biffle is going to be 45 next month. While Roush has been off for the last 2 seasons at some types of tracks, Greg's skills already started to decline in 2013. The rule of thumb is cup drivers usually slip in their mid 40's and are usually not threats to win a cup title as a result.

I think Bayne could be a better cup driver than a Nationwide driver, but there are some tracks that how doesn't have any cup experience at.
 
MinnieM123

MinnieM123

Premium Member
As usual, I didn't know that even half these things were going on behind the scenes. (However, I was aware of Jr. splitting from Steve Letarte, and wondered how that would work out.)

If nothing else, both of you have raised my interest in the changes ahead for the 2015 season, and I'll be certain to follow the developments in the off-season. I haven't done that so much in the past, but both @artvandelay and @wdwfan4ver have upped the ante here with "food for thought"; I'll definitely pay more attention to details now, even prior to the season start at Daytona. :)
 
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wdwfan4ver

Well-Known Member
The crew chief rumor about Kasey Kahne is about true now since Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates announced that Matt McCall has been named crew chief for Jamie McMurray and the #1 team. Matt MCCall was the lead engineer for Ryan Newman last year.

Keith Rodden was the crew chief for Jammie Mcmurray last season and it is pointed to him going to Kasey's team. Keith Rodden also was the engineer the 5 team for Kasey Kahne before 2014.
 
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artvandelay

artvandelay

Well-Known Member
wdwfan4ver said:
1.)

5.) I think it is very hard for Roush to bounce back because I think all he has is Bayne. I don't like 2 out of the 3 drivers next year. I don't like Stenhouse either from a talent standpoint. Stenhouse is a disappoint as a cup driver. I seen Busch Series/Nationwide series championships drivers that are better in that series than in cup such as Martin Truex Jr. and Brian Vickers as an examples. I also seen drivers that are better in cup than they were in the Busch/Nationwide series such as Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, and Tony Stewart as examples.

What is happening with Biffle is his skills are decline due to his age. Biffle is going to be 45 next month. While Roush has been off for the last 2 seasons at some types of tracks, Greg's skills already started to decline in 2013. The rule of thumb is cup drivers usually slip in their mid 40's and are usually not threats to win a cup title as a result.

I think Bayne could be a better cup driver than a Nationwide driver, but there are some tracks that how doesn't have any cup experience at.
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Totally agree about RFR. They're best driver is leaving (Edwards) and with the new testing rules, Bayne and Stenhouse are not going to get the seat time they need to improve.

I forgot to include in my 2015 questions the possible domestic violence charge against Kurt Busch. After the NFL botched the Ray Rice incident, will NASCAR suspend him if he is charged with punching his ex girlfriend?
 
artvandelay

artvandelay

Well-Known Member
MinnieM123 said:
As usual, I didn't know that even half these things were going on behind the scenes. (However, I was aware of Jr. splitting from Steve Letarte, and wondered how that would work out.)

If nothing else, both of you have raised my interest in the changes ahead for the 2015 season, and I'll be certain to follow the developments in the off-season. I haven't done that so much in the past, but both @artvandelay and @wdwfan4ver have upped the ante here with "food for thought"; I'll definitely pay more attention to details now, even prior to the season start at Daytona. :)
Click to expand...
Thanks! If you're on Twitter or Facebook, following some NASCAR beat writers will give you a lot of info. Here are a couple of writers I like:

Jeff Gluck (USA today)
Jenna Fryer (AP)
Pete Pistone (MRN)
Bob Pockrass (Sporting News)
Jim Utter (Charlotte Observer)
 
MinnieM123

MinnieM123

Premium Member
artvandelay said:
Thanks! If you're on Twitter or Facebook, following some NASCAR beat writers will give you a lot of info. Here are a couple of writers I like:

Jeff Gluck (USA today)
Jenna Fryer (AP)
Pete Pistone (MRN)
Bob Pockrass (Sporting News)
Jim Utter (Charlotte Observer)
Click to expand...

Thank you for the list of writers that you follow. Although I don't use Facebook or Twitter, I just looked up a bunch of these people and they all have a presence on the internet in general, so I can still read their comments. This should be fun and interesting.
 
W

wdwfan4ver

Well-Known Member
artvandelay said:
I forgot to include in my 2015 questions the possible domestic violence charge against Kurt Busch. After the NFL botched the Ray Rice incident, will NASCAR suspend him if he is charged with punching his ex girlfriend?
Click to expand...
I think NASCAR would from a pr standpoint. I am sure Stewart-Haas would be taking an action against Kurt if was charged in terms of releasing him.
 

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