Motorsports

[khyber]

Anything on 2 wheels or 4. My viewing this past weekend was Supercross, Nascar, Formula One and Indycar. It seemed like Allen Bestwick had done his homework and was trying to fit in well with the Indycar guys. 

[Snowprince]

The movie Grand Prix got me hooked on Formula One back in 1966, been following ever since. All time favorite team is McLaren. 

[ketchuplover]

Go Kenseth!

[Dejana]

Tony Stewart hits, kills driver in sprint car race:

 

A race car driver was killed Saturday night after he was struck on the track by NASCAR star Tony Stewart, according to Ontario County (N.Y.) Sheriff Philip C. Povero.

 

During a sprint car race at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Motorsports Park, driver Kevin Ward Jr. was spun out by Stewart, got out of his car to show his displeasure and then was struck by Stewart's car, sending Ward sliding down the track, fellow sprint car racer Tyler Graves and witness Adam Dulski told USA TODAY Sports.

 

Povero confirmed the driver was taken by ambulance to Thompson Health and was pronounced dead on arrival.

[smittykins]

That happened not even 20 miles from me. :(

[ketchuplover]

Smoke has been cleared.  Mr.Ward Jr. was apparently under the influence of marajuana.

[Artsda]

Well that post-race was the most interesting I've seen in a long time.

 

Brad playing bumper cars with everyone, not caring that Kenseth was slowed and had no safety gear on. Showed what a moron he is and that he learned nothing from the Tony Stewart situation. When Matt Kenseth shows that emotion and jumps you, you know it's really bad and Brad did something really wrong.  He made no friends tonight and just gained more enemies and a list of enemies at the top of the food chain. Matt, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart.  There was already no love lost between him and Denny.

 

Nascar should penalize Brad big time for his antics after the checkered flag.

[Snowprince]

Kurt Busch is under investigation by the Dover (Delaware) PD for a domestic violence incident. The main allegation being that he grabbed his former girlfriend's face and smashed her head against the wall "multiple times". Mr Busch denies the charges and states he is fully cooperating with the investigation.

 

As of yet, there is no video, a la Ray Rice, and I doubt if there will be one that comes to light. In my experience as a police officer, videotaped evidence is extremely rare. That not withstanding, I can't help but wonder if this case will engender a comparable level of media scrutiny, public outrage, condemnation and "guilty until proven innocent" mentality as the above mentioned Ray Rice and other NFL cases did (and before you laser blast your outrage towards me, Mr Rice WAS proven guilty by the aforementioned video when we saw the punch with our own eyes). It will be interesting to see what action NASCAR takes in regards to these allegations, if any.

 

I pose these questions in light of not only these allegations, but also the above mentioned Kenseth/Koslowski incident and the Gordon/Koslowski pit lane brawl. ESPN's Colin Cowert had an interesting rant on this, questioning why it is when NASCAR drivers (rarely) fight, they're just being good ol boys doing what they do but when NBA players (just as rarely) fight, they're "thugs"?

 

The handling of these cases by the media, NASCAR and the public at large may speak volumes regarding the point of Mr Cowert's rant.

[ketchuplover]

Newman

[Moose135]

Well, the Sprint Unlimited hadn't even started and I found myself saying "Shut up, DW" to the TV.  How long until NBC takes over coverage?

[kathyk24]

I think Fox has the first half of the season and NBC has the second. After Jeff Gordon retires I'm never watching another restrictor plate race I hate them.

[Moose135]

Oh,I know, NBC takes over at Daytona in July, it just can't get here soon enough.  I hated DW as a driver, hate him in the booth, and his kid brother gets on my last nerve too.

[kattybiz]

I would have loved to see Jeff Burton and NBC commenting on qualifying today.  That was a clusterfuck beyond all imagining.  Only true thing DW said today was "I just don't get it."  For once, DW.....you're right.  I don't either.

[Artsda]

Clint's rant and dropping the mic was epic. From the start of the first group trying to get off pit road you could tell this format was going to be a disaster. 

[khyber]

That was a horrible wreck for Kyle. So maybe no Busch brothers at all for Daytona.

[khyber]

Kyle out for Daytona. Wonder who will replace him.

[selkie]

Truck series driver Matt Crafton per ESPN.com

[Artsda]

The Fox preshow airing the Jeff Gordon clips with all the drivers honoring him, signing wishes for him and talking about their memories was really great. 

[emma675]

I so wish Fox would get rid of the Waltrip brothers. Between Darryl SCREAMING that awful "boogity" tripe at the start of each race and Michael's terrible voice, my ears were practically bleeding by the time the race started.

[Moose135]

Were we separated at birth, Emma? Because that's exactly how I feel...

[Kip Hackman]

Congrats to Joey Logano. That will probably be the last NASCAR race I watch this year. And I used to go to about 10/year back in the early 90's.

[ennui]

The movie Grand Prix got me hooked on Formula One back in 1966, been following ever since. All time favorite team is McLaren. 

Rush did it for me. I hope to watch a few races this year, and hope I'm not too lost.

 

I feel terrible for Travis Kvapil. I'm glad he got his car back, and not a scratch on it, but sorry that he misses the race in Atlanta.

 

I laughed over the LoJack tweet:

 

LoJack Corporation   @LoJackCorp 

"@NASCAR @TravisKvapil Travis, sorry to hear about the theft of your car. LoJack is a leading provider of theft recovery systems. Let's talk."

[Artsda]

Steve Byrnes, Fox Nascar Announcer, has died of cancer. Just days after they made the Bristol race a tribute to him, how sad and what a loss to his family and the Nascar community.

 

Statement from family - http://www.foxsports.com/nascar/story/steve-byrnes-update-passes-away-age-56-race-hub-042115

Edited April 22, 2015 by Artsda

[greenbean]

The movie Grand Prix got me hooked on Formula One back in 1966, been following ever since. All time favorite team is McLaren. 

 

I used to watch F1 when I was younger, but lost touch. I've been following again since last year. I really don't recall so much drama! I'm loving it though.

[khyber]

This Indycar race has been insane. Best oval racing I've seen in ages. Red Flag now.

[emma675]

Was anyone awake to see the crash at Daytona last night? I saw the replays this morning and holy hell. How Dillon was able to walk away from that, I'll never understand. The entire front engine block was ripped off of his car.

[SugarHigh]

I didn't stay up to watch, but I saw it on replays as well and it was horrifying. My husband stayed up to watch the race and he said it was scarier not knowing if Dillon was alright. I'm just amazed (and glad!) that they've improved safety to the point where a driver can walk away from a crash like that relatively unharmed.

[selkie]

Generally if a modern race car travels a pretty far distance before stopping, it's a survivable crash as long as you can get the driver clear of extended fires- physics and the dissipation of momentum and all, even when it looks as scary as this one did.  I remember Stan Fox surviving an even worse looking crash at Indy back in the 90s. It's the ones that are quickly head on into something where the energy of the crash comes right back to the driver's body (ie. Dale senior) that seem more likely to kill.

[Moose135]

Retired NASCAR driver and broadcaster Buddy Baker announced he has inoperable lung cancer, and is stepping down from his SiriusXM NASCAR Radio show.  He made the announcement on the show Tuesday night.

 

http://www.sbnation.com/nascar/2015/7/8/8910695/buddy-baker-inoperable-cancer-sirius-radio-show

Edited July 8, 2015 by Moose135

[Rick Kitchen]

Jules Bianchi, F1 driver who crashed nine months ago, has died from his injuries.

[Snowprince]

Very sad news. Jules will now take his place on the grid in Heaven with the likes of Jochen Rindt, Francois Cevert, Roland Ratzenberger, Bruce McLaren and Ayrton Senna.

 

Rest pracefully, young lion.  

[khyber]

Sick to my stomach regarding Justin Wilson.

[Moose135]

Sadly, Wilson passed away from his injuries.

[jennifer6973]

As sad as that is, he was an organ donor and has saved six lives so far.

[kattybiz]

I think it's a new record for me.  Hour and a half into the new season......and I'm already sick of DW.   Can NBC's coverage start early?

Edited February 14, 2016 by kattybiz

[Moose135]

You made it that long?  At least I remembered to hit the mute button as the race started, so I didn't have to listen to his booger nonsense.

[Artsda]

I enjoyed the addition of Jeff Gordon. 

[Moose135]

I enjoyed the addition of Jeff Gordon. 

 

He wasn't bad, although I wished he had replaced DW rather than Larry Mac. The "breaking news" video of the 24 car on the LA freeways was silly, and I couldn't help but thing if Bubba Wallace was driving, the cops would have beaten the crap out of him after he stopped...

[mojoween]

Just saw Ricky Craven on ESPN and can't believe it's been 15 years since Dale died.

I had turned the race on with about two laps left and saw the crash live. It was so surreal with Darrell changing from so happy for Michael to deep concern for Dale when so much time passed and he wasn't getting out of the car. I kept refreshing CNN.com over and over and was aghast when the status went from "severely injured at the hospital" to "Dale Earnhardt, dead at 49."

On an unrelated note, I do so love Ricky Craven as a commentator.

[kathyk24]

Ricky Craven is great so are Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte. Jeff Gordon was my favorite driver so I know I'll ike him in the booth I can't stand DW I hope he lets JG talk.

[kattybiz]

I can't believe it's been 15 years either.  I started watching NASCAR later that year with my dad.

 

I watched the Duels tonight and I'm pleasantly surprised with how good Jeff Gordon is in the booth.  I saw him last year for some of the Nationwide races and he wasn't that good, but he seems a lot more comfortable now.  Plus DW shut up a lot.   I still prefer Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte, though.  And Dale Jarrett for pre-race.

[SugarHigh]

I agree that's he's doing a pretty good job, but Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte are my favorites right now. It's a little over halfway through the race. I'm hoping Jr. makes his way back to the front!

[xaxat]

That was a horrific crash today in Australia. I wonder if it will change minds about enclosing cockpits.

 

The Silver Arrows followed by Sebastian Vettel. Sounds familiar.

[ElDosEquis]

Valentino Rossi, MotoGp.

[Artsda]

Jimmie Johnson made history last night with becoming a 7 time. Congrats to him and his team.

That was a classy bunch of drivers left in chase. Carl going over to take responsibility to Joey's team was pure class. Joey congratulating Jimmie, coming to the stage. Kyle also. Shows all the respect that they have for Johnson.

[xaxat]

I can't believe Nico decided to retire. 

But that eliminates some difficult conversations Mercedes was going to have in the off season. 

[Moose135]

I was stunned when I first saw that this morning.  I thought it was some kind of joke until it started popping up on numerous sites.

[ketchuplover]

I have no involvement with the new scoring system

[mojoween]

The newspaper article I saw this morning said the new rules system is very complicated and difficult to explain...but it should be really great for the sport!

Oooookay.  That sounds AWESOME.

[Moose135]

It's a little confusing at first, but in a nutshell, they are breaking the races into three segments.  Points are awarded to the top 10 (I think) at the end of the first two segments, then the full field gets points at the end of the race, similar to the current format.  In addition to those points, the overall winner of the race gets 5 "playoff" points, and the leader of the two segments get 1 playoff point.  Those points are considered a bonus which is added to the driver's total during the entire playoff round (used to be the Chase, but I think they are dropping that name).  The top 10 at the end of the regular season also get playoff points.  In the most recent format, drivers who win during the regular season get bonus points for each win, but they only count in the first round of the playoffs, the new points will carry all the way through.  These changes are in response to the whiners who complain that all they do is "ride around" for 400 miles, and don't really race hard until the end - as if driving at 190mph, 3 inches away from a gaggle of cars and 4 inches from the wall is "riding around".