NASCAR News & Discussion

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NWbyNW

Discussion Starter · Jun 1, 2021 (Edited)

NASCAR News & Discussion

It's been awhile since a dedicated topic existed for NASCAR discussion on Allpar. This topic is purely for news and discussion! 2021 has been an admittedly exciting year for NASCAR with a ton of changes and a lot of great storylines. So let's have some fun, strap up, and have some good-natured discussion on the sport.

This isn't the topic to bemoan and decry the sport. So hopefully we have some good NASCAR fans here ready to talk.

The topic is for the Cup Series, Xfinity Series, Camping World Truck Series and any local racing. Pretty much anything NASCAR related you want to talk about.

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Doug D

· #661 · 7 mo ago

Interesting year with the new car. It did even the playing field to some degree. It does have problems - it's too stiff in the rear - no real crumple if backed into the wall. The rear toe link seems to be very weak. It doesn't take much to break or damage the link. It is able to handle wall scrapes better than the old car - Chastain's unforgettable move at Martinsville is evidence of that. The old car would have never made it. And let's not forget the single lug nut wheel problems - but that seems to be more a learning curve for the pit crews.

Trackhouse made a statement they are a team to contend with. Remains to be seen if Brad can turn around RFK. They made progress, but weren't quite there yet. Otherwise, Penske, JGR and HMS were the juggernauts.

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Glenn81

· #662 · 7 mo ago

Doug D said:
Interesting year with the new car. It did even the playing field to some degree. It does have problems - it's too stiff in the rear - no real crumple if backed into the wall. The rear toe link seems to be very weak. It doesn't take much to break or damage the link. It is able to handle wall scrapes better than the old car - Chastain's unforgettable move at Martinsville is evidence of that. The old car would have never made it. And let's not forget the single lug nut wheel problems - but that seems to be more a learning curve for the pit crews.

Trackhouse made a statement they are a team to contend with. Remains to be seen if Brad can turn around RFK. They made progress, but weren't quite there yet. Otherwise, Penske, JGR and HMS were the juggernauts.

I agree with everything that you said but I'd also add RCR to the making a statement category with their wins as well as signing Kyle.

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NWbyNW

Discussion Starter · #663 · 7 mo ago

I recently made a graph showing the life-long career average finish of many NASCAR drivers from the past and current drivers today. The results are surprising to me. Dale Earnhardt I know was good, but wow, I had no idea he was THAT good. Same with David Pearson!! Wow.

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Doug D

· #664 · 7 mo ago

I knew Pearson had a better win ratio than Petty, but I had no idea Earnhardt surpassed Pearson.

Petty would have had a better ratio if he had retired earlier. His last win (if memory serves) was the 1984 Daytona 500 and he didn't hang up his helmet until the end of the 1992 season. That's 288 races with 0 wins.

Dale was probably the first driver to "feel" air. Ever notice he raced with an open-faced helmet? He more or less discovered the side drafting though they didn't call it that back then.

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DC-93

· #665 · 7 mo ago

Doug D said:
I knew Pearson had a better win ratio than Petty, but I had no idea Earnhardt surpassed Pearson.

Petty would have had a better ratio if he had retired earlier. His last win (if memory serves) was the 1984 Daytona 500 and he didn't hang up his helmet until the end of the 1992 season. That's 288 races with 0 wins.

Dale was probably the first driver to "feel" air. Ever notice he raced with an open-faced helmet? He more or less discovered the side drafting though they didn't call it that back then.

The "feel air" statement was made about Petty in the 60s.
And he was the guy driving near the wall first, too, for those benefits.

Yeah, Petty should have retired at victory 200. His stats would have been MUCH better!

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WXman

· #666 · 7 mo ago

Biggest issue I saw with the new car is the wheel/tire package. The single lug nut caused massive issues all season long. And the lower profile sidewalls on the 18" wheels can't grip as well so there were numerous crashes. That new package really screwed a lot of teams this year.

I read that NASCAR is looking at how to handle the EV future. I personally think it'll take all the excitement out of the sport. All the mechanics and moving parts of the engines and cars now is what makes it a fun motorsport. And what about charging? Are they going to shorten the race lengths so the cars can complete a race?

Doug D

· #667 · 7 mo ago

WXman said:
Biggest issue I saw with the new car is the wheel/tire package. The single lug nut caused massive issues all season long. And the lower profile sidewalls on the 18" wheels can't grip as well so there were numerous crashes. That new package really screwed a lot of teams this year.

I don't know if it was the tires themselves or not. The single lug nut was an issue for some teams.

The spinouts seemed to be from a combination of things. Several drivers commented it was hard to find the edge of the envelope when it came to grip in the turns. The old car would, more or less, give a warning as it lost grip. The new car doesn't - it just snaps loose, and you are long for the ride.

I don't see EV's in racing (at least in NASCAR) for a while. Too many issues to work out. Do you recharge the batteries? Change them out? Run shorter races?

NWbyNW

Discussion Starter · #668 · 7 mo ago

NASCAR News Blurbs

Lots of drivers moving around today! Also note, we will now be switching title text tags to properly match the series colors/sponsor. Now with Camping World gone, the title text will now switch to Craftsman Colors.

#18 Is Replaced by #54, Ty Gibbs To Go Full-Time Cup For JGR [CUP]

In a widely expected and anticipated move, Joe Gibbs Racing announced Tuesday Nov 15, that Ty Gibbs will move to the NASCAR Cup Series full-time in 2023. The 20-year old grandson of NASCAR Hall of Fame car owner Joe Gibbs will drive the No. 54 Toyota, replacing Kyle Busch following his departure to Richard Childress Racing. The historic No. 18 will disappear and become the No. 54. Article

Ryan Preece To Replace Cole Custer In The 41 [CUP]

Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) has promoted Ryan Preece from his reserve driver role with the organization to the NASCAR Cup Series where the 32-year-old racer from Berlin, Connecticut, will drive the team’s No. 41 Ford Mustang beginning in 2023. In 2022, Preece ran a mix of races across each of NASCAR’s top-three national touring series and had considerable success. Preece reportedly has new sponsors for the Cup Series ride as well.

Trackhouse Racing Looking To Expand It's Reach Outside of NASCAR [CUP]

Founded in 2020 and debuting with the 2021 Cup Series season, Trackhouse is owner Justin Marks’ vision of the future of NASCAR, and it’s had a fast track to success. The son of Silicon Valley private equity baron and former Golden State Warriors investor Michael Marks, Justin Marks has entrepreneurialism in his blood. Marks has said he’d like to run a Trackhouse entry in the Indianapolis 500 one day, and he told SBJ he’s looking at the sports car/hypercar space.

Cole Custer Moving Full-Time To Xfinity Series [XFINITY]

Ryan Preece will take Cole Custer's spot in the No. 41 Cup Series Car. Cole Custer is moving full-time to the Xfinity Series in 2023. Custer, who has driven the No. 41 Ford Mustang since his rookie year in 2020, delivered a victory at Kentucky Speedway in just his 20th career Cup Series start. In the Xfinity Series, Custer won 10 races. He will be joining teammate Riley Herbst, who returns to SHR for a third straight season and his fourth fulltime year in the Xfinity Series. It is unknown which number Custer will drive, but it is expected to be the No. 00.

Riley Herbst Returning To SHR In 2023 [XFINITY]

Riley Herbst, will return to SHR for a third straight season and his fourth full-time year in the Xfinity Series. He will again return to the No. 98 car. 2022 saw great improvement to the driver's consistency who is still searching for his first career victory. Herbst will now also have a successful Xfinity Series driver as his teammate in Cole Custer.

Truck Series Saw Significant TV Ratings Growth In 2022 [TRUCKS]

The NASCAR Trucks Series averaged 627,000 viewers for 23 races across FOX and FS1 in 2022, +5% from 599,000 viewers for 22 races in 2021. On FS1 alone Trucks races posted a +4% gain over 2021 (624,000 vs. 599,000).

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NWbyNW

Discussion Starter · #669 · 6 mo ago

And I am back with more statistics and graphs I have made. Who doesn't like random stuff like this? Hopefully someone will enjoy them and find some interesting things. First is the number of Cup Series wins by decade the driver was born.

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NWbyNW

Discussion Starter · #670 · 6 mo ago

This second chart/graph shows the number of Cup Series Championships by decade the driver was born! Happy exploring.

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NWbyNW

Discussion Starter · #671 · 5 mo ago

It has been an extremely active off-season. I hope everyone has enjoyed it and has somewhat been following all the driver/sponsor changes. I see one Allpar member has been posting a lot, but none of them to the NASCAR thread... go figure. lol.

If I have time, I may try to make a silly season document for everyone here to monitor and see all the new driver changes quickly.

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NWbyNW

Discussion Starter · #672 · 4 mo ago

The 2023 Clash at the Coliseum starts today, Feb 5 at 5pm Pacific Time, or 8pm Eastern. Should be fun!

NWbyNW

Discussion Starter · #673 · 4 mo ago

Parts of the race were pretty good, but that stretch of nonstop cautions were unbearable. I think the big takeaways for me was how consistent Austin Dillon was. He looked like a whole new guy out there and legitamately looked racy. His new teammate Kyle Busch looked pretty strong, but not as good as Dillon there. It was neat to see them seem pretty close already post-race.

Martin Truex seemed very relieved to grab that win. After his down-season in 2022, I was happy he got a win. He looked pretty strong out there today, having by far one of the fastest cars.

Ryan Preece shocked me. I know he runs these kind of short tracks all the time, but I didn't expect him to take that 41 car through the field, to lead laps, and only lose the lead due to an electrical issue. He looked really impressive out there. Did SHR finally pump more money into the 41? I am curious as to how Preece will run at more traditional tracks.

The biggest losers for me was RFK. Neither of the drivers made it into the Clash. Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski sat it out.

For drivers running that didn't impress, easily by far it was Chase Elliott. He started in the back and remained in the back the entire time. He started in the back and only finished ahead of the drivers who wrecked and were off the track. Only Bubba Wallace finished worse and was still running. I am sure it is a one-off, but it was a very weak showing for the 9 bunch.

Another one who didn't impress out there was Ryan Blaney. He did nothing except get involved in two brush ups. He did manage a 17th place finish at least, but overall was a non-factor.

So there ya go. Looking forward to Daytona in two weeks!

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Doug D

· #674 · 4 mo ago

NWbyNW said:
For drivers running that didn't impress, easily by far it was Chase Elliott. He started in the back and remained in the back the entire time. He started in the back and only finished ahead of the drivers who wrecked and were off the track.

I knew Chase was in for a tough weekend with his qualifying time. He was worse in the heat race and barely made it in the main feature winning the Last Chance #2 Qualifying race.

NWbyNW said:
Only Bubba Wallace finished worse and was still running.

Bubba did lead for quite a few laps before getting bumped though.

NWbyNW said:
The biggest losers for me was RFK. Neither of the drivers made it into the Clash. Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski sat it out.

I'm sure Brad is not happy about that. Look out for them at Daytona.

Gerry G

· #675 · 4 mo ago

Shoot, they drive faster on the side streets in Chicago than this.

Doug D

· #676 · 4 mo ago

Gerry G said:
Shoot, they drive faster on the side streets in Chicago than this.

Yeah, top speed was about 83 mph and only for a milli-second. 40 mph in the turns.

Gerry G

· #677 · 4 mo ago

Gerry G said:
Shoot, they drive faster on the side streets in Chicago than this

Oh wait... They will in July

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NWbyNW

Discussion Starter · #678 · 4 mo ago

Gerry G said:
Shoot, they drive faster on the side streets in Chicago than this.

My gut feeling is the racing in Chicago will be pretty poor. But it's more or less to draw in a new audience. I don't expect it to be a good race from a racing standpoint, but I hope I am completely wrong and it's great.

Doug D

· #679 · 4 mo ago

Road courses are not great for viewing as the fan usually cannot see the entire track - only portions of it.

Sonoma, and the Daytona road course may be the exceptions, but the entire course at COTA and Watkins Glen cannot be viewed from any one spot.

Racing the streets of Chicago may be interesting to say the least.

Gerry G

· #680 · 4 mo ago

I am not certain they will draw in a new audience. Chicagoland Speedway is just down the road and did NASCAR last in 2019. NASCAR went from 2 races a year and a playoff race to a single race to zip. NASCAR simply lost interest in Chicagoland.

I do see brakes being an unknown due to the 7 90 degree turns with only a short straight to cool off the brakes. If NASCAR were looser on allowable gear ratios it would be a more interesting race in my opinion.

As you note, need to wait and see. One thing I can say is I will not be attending and will avoid the area in the weeks before and after the race. It will put a major crimp on anyone thinking about traveling downtown for the July 4th (3rd?) fireworks.

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