2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Season

Ok so yeah, there might not be a lot of us posting in this thread but I figured what the hell.

This season is definitely shaping up to be something else. A couple of new things are going on:

- New points system

- Car of Tomorrow gets introduced in several races

- Jaun Montoya debuts in his first full season in stock car racing

- The Dale Earnhardt Jr./Teresa Earnhardt contract dispute

- Toyota debuts into the NASCAR circuit

- Old drivers with new teams, new drivers with old teams (not a big one but still)

It's going to be a fun year I think and it'll be interesting to see how some of these things play out. I'm looking forward to seeing how Casey Mears does at Hendrick Motorsports. Mayhaps he'll finally get his first win.

I know this will probably fall to the side quickly again but with just a few days to go before the Daytona 500 four crew chiefs of some of the top teams have been suspended. Matt Kenseth lost his crew chief for four races and all the Evernham Motorsports cars lost their team directors (crew chiefs) for two races each except Kasey Kahne, who lost his team director for four races. Fines and driver/owner point deductions have also been put in place. The Gatorade 150's on Thursday should be interesting and so will the Daytona 500.

On another note, as much as I dislike Ford, it's nice to see Robert Yates Racing on the front row with both of their drivers for the Daytona 500. Ricky Rudd is back after a year off and looks like he never missed a step.

Toyota didn't fare to well though in 500 qualifying. It seems as though Dale Jarrett and maybe two other Toyota drivers will actually be able to get into the race.

Good times so far!

Well, Jimmie Johnson's crew chief was suspended before the 500 last year and Johnson won the damn thing and took home the Nextel Cup. Maybe everyone else is trying to cash in. Hopefully Scott Riggs comes out on top. He's a cool guy and needs it badly.

Shit. Now Michael Waltrips crew chief has been ejected from Daytona Speedway and fined $100,000. His vice president of competition has been ejected as well. Waltrip will also lose 100 driver and 100 owner points. This is crazy the amount of suspensions that have been happening. Is NASCAR finally laying down the law?

Yeah weren't some sources in the know saying it was a substance belonging to jet engines? I guess we'll have to wait and see. Man, the Twin 150's can't get here fast enough!

Shitty.

Gordon's winning car fails Duels inspection

I didn't even know he won the race until several minutes after. They kept following the race for the transfer spot and didn't even show Gordon's amazing dash for the lead. What a pass. If that was a pass for the Daytona 500 win I would have lost it and probably died from a heart attack.

No fines or suspensions for Gordon's team though. He has to start 42nd in the Daytona 500 on Sunday.

And too bad for the Team Red Bull Toyota's. Both failed to make the show for the 500. I kind of feel bad for Brian Vickers.

Wow. I just finished watching the Craftsman Truck Series and holy shit what a finish! Travis Kvapil dominates, is coming to the line to win and then Johnny Benson pushes Jack Sprague around and they take first and second right before they cross the finish line. Kvapil ends up third. This was better then Jeff Gordon's pass in the second Gatorade 150 on Thursday.

Holy shit.

Aside form the 1998 Daytona 500 that Dale Earnhardt won this was probably the best 500 I've ever seen.

Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart dominate then wreck each other. Jimmie Johnson gets taken out. Mark Martin starts leading and then a big wreck happens with 5 laps to go. They restart and coming out of turn four on the final lap all hell breaks loose and Kevin Harvick and Mark Martin drag race to the finish line. Not too mention Clint Bowyer crosses the finish line on his roof with the car on fire.

Just like last years Chase for the Nextel Cup this thing changed hands so many times. I think I hurt my throat screaming at the TV for Mark Martin to get his ass moving. Mark is probably the best driver to have never won a NASCAR Cup championship and he's probably also the best driver to have never won the Daytona 500.



Harvick beats Martin to the line by 0.123seconds.



Clint Bowyer crosses the finish line to take 18th place.

Unofficial NASCAR Nextel Cup Standing (as Daytona 500):

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Mark Martin
3. Jeff Burton
4. Mike Wallace
5. David Ragan
6. Elliott Sadler
7. David Gilliland
8. Kasey Kahne
9. Joe Nemechek
10. David Stremme

And when the official standings are released Michael Waltrip should in the negatives. A first for NASCAR point standings and some point position might change due to point fines that were set last week. The highest finishing Toyota was Dale Jarrett in 23rd. Looks like it's going to be a tough year for them.

They mentioned that he was awake and in good spirits. Apparently it wasn't too bad of an injury but thats all they said.

I was just watching some of the Daytona 500 commercials and my favourite has to be the Jimmie Johnson/Elliot Salder Nextel Walkie Talkie one.

Sadler: Hey Jimmie I was following your practice and it looks like you're kinda messing up turn three. Now if I were you I would try and work it out a little more.

Johnson: Hold on one second. (Pulls out Nextel Walkie Talkie) I'm gonna need it again.

Crew member walks over with the 2006 Nextel Cup.

Johnson: I'm so sorry what was that?

Sadler: Good talk Jimmie.


The one with Kasey Kahne and Jammie McMurray is great too. "That's magic."

They can be viewed here: http://www.nascar.com/promos/daytona_tvads/index.html and the Johnson/Sadler and McMurray/Kahne ones are one the third page.

One thing the 500 showed was that Richard Childress Racing's resurgence was not a fluke. Harvick wins and Burton comes home third. For a few laps I thought Burton was going sneak by and take the lead and win. I'm loving Burton's comeback. Ever since he was treated like shit by Roush, I've been pulling for the guy. I was so happy when he left Roush and took over the 31 car.

And Jeff Gordon came home tenth! He was originally in 12th.

So the NEW point standings:

As of the Daytona 500:

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Mark Martin
3. Jeff Burton
4. Mike Wallace
5. David Ragan
6. David Gilliland
7. Joe Nemechek
8. Jeff Gordon
9. David Stremme
10. J.J. Yeley

Michael Waltrip is in 43rd at negative 27 points.

Matt Kenseth wins, Jeff Gordon second, Jeff Burton fourth and Mark Martin 5th. Good race. Brian Vickers also gives Toyota it's first top ten coming home tenth.

And Michael Waltrip didn't make the race leaving himself in last place in the standings still negative 27 points. Heh heh.

Holy shit. Toyota needs to get their act together. Only two of them made the race for Sunday and one was due to a provisional so Dale Jarrett didn't even make it on time. The Dodges weren't this bad when they started out a few years ago. Michael Waltrip DNQ'ed again leaving him still in the negative in the overall point standings.

And it looks like the Dodges are liking the newly designed Las Vegas Speedway since seven out of the top ten starters are Dodges.

Two in a row for Jimmie Johnson! Looks like he's doing a good job of defending the title.

And if Clint Bowyer doesn't win a race this year and then season is ass. Same goes with Jeff Burton. Mark Martin better win one too. And it was nice to see Juan Montoya finish 5th. Good for him. That team needs it.

And Michael Waltrip failed to qualify yet again leaving him in last place in the point standings still in the negative. I really hope the Toyotas turn their program around soon. They really missed the ball on hiring capable drivers.

Reutimann crashing? Wait a minute he was hand picked by Michael Waltrip. It all makes sense.

Martin won't be at Bristol this Sunday. He's confirmed it. Too bad since they're busting out the Cars of Tomorrow for this race. I'm definitely making sure I watch this race. Though I don't think Bristol is a good choice for the debut of these cars. Whoever wins the FOX guys will have a hard on for every time they race the COT cars. It's Bristol. Anything can happen and anyone can win just like Daytona and Talladega. It ain't over till it's over. They should have debuted the COT cars at Texas or Pheonix. Somewhere where the aerodynamics would come into play.

Only fitting that Jeff Gordon wins the pole for the first ever Car of Tomorrow race.

Fucking Kyle Busch. One more lap and I think Burton would have had him. Glad to see Jeff Gordon is leading the points. Michael Waltrip failed to make yet another race. And what the hell is with that goatee on Kyle Busch?

I don't think it's a bad idea. I'm giving them the rest of the year. I'm really interested in Talladega, thats where these cars will get their "real" test. Too bad that isn't until October.

The wing is a good idea since it creates the downforce and what not but that clip shit at the front of the car needs to be fixed. The FOX telecast crew pretty much proved it can cut tires down which could cause serious problems at faster tracks like Atlanta and 'Dega. It's no question that these cars needed to be slowed down and made safer. The roof flaps weren't working at Daytona and Talladega.

It's too bad the first race had to be at Bristol since it aerodynamics doesn't come into play there. It'll be great to see the car on a track where aerodynamics are needed. Then we'll see whats what. If it does in fact put everything back into driver and crew skill then thats awesome.

One race isn't good enough to make judgements. Especially Bristol. I'm happy they're running the COT cars at Watkins Glen this year! I'll get see them live! Woo!

Johnson takes it. Four of the last six races have been won by Hendrick Motorsports and three of the last four have been won by Jimmie Johnson. Wicked!

And Michael Waltrip fails to qualify yet again.

Keep in mind Jeff Gordon co-owns Jimmie Johnson's car. So getting rough with him is a little different then getting rough with someone else.

There's an article on NASCAR.com or Yahoo.com about how Jeff was trying to do the "bump and run" but with these new Cars of Tomorrow it's harder to do. I think Jeff was more upset that he didn't win rather then that he couldn't move Jimmie.

Agreed. The look doesn't bother me, though those weird front wire things are odd. I've seen weirder spoilers on street cars. I'm waiting for the "real" test which will be when they hit Talladega with the COT's during the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

As if Waltrip's season couldn't get any worse:

Waltrip charged after rolling car

Yeah, I was listening to it on the radio as I was doing some security work today. I to turn it off close the finish and missed hearing Jeff Burton win. I had told my parents they could stop recording it as well. I was pretty pissed when I found out Burton won. I really wanted to see him in Victory Lane. I hope I don't miss Clint Boyer's first win which I know will happen sometime later this year.

And shitty about Gordon. Johnson and Earnhardt Jr. too. Gordon's never won at Texas. Glad Gordon was able to hold onto fourth though. That team is on a roll! It'd be great if he won at Pheonix since he's never won there either.

EDIT: After watching that video of the finish I'm pissed I stopped the recording. And a lap 1 multi-car accident? Must be Texas! And David Ragan involved in the accident? NO! What a shocker! Does he even know how to drive a car?

I didn't know that Kyle Busch took off after he crashed and Earnhardt Jr. got in the 5 car and helped to finishthe race for them. Giving them three more points and moving that team up one spot in the point standings. Way to go Junior!

Maybe if these contract negotiations with DEI don't pan out, Hendrick Motorsports could kick Busch out and give Earnhardt Jr. the 5 car. Now that would be an amazing team: Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Booyah! Jeff Gordon wins at Phoenix for the first time in his career! He ties Dale Earnhardt's win record of 76 career wins. He also ties Darrell Waltrips most career pole awards record. So God damned happy he won this. And Jimmie Johnson was in the top five as well.

Hendrick Motorsports has won all three Car of Tomorrow races this year so far. They're on a roll! And Chevy... Jesus Christ they've won 7 of the 8 races this season and they had 8 of the top 10 spots in tonights race.

Bobby Labonte came home eighth, good for that team. They needed it.

Anytime the number 3 is shown at a NASCAR race the crowd will go wild. Doesn't matter what it's for. Plus, I think, when it comes down to it the fans realize it's quite an achievement and a milestone in a racers career even if it is Jeff Gordon. I'm so God damned happy he won this race. I haven't felt this excited after a Jeff Gordon win in awhile. I think it's the amazing start to the season. Fuck. I'll go nuts if he brings the Nextel Cup home at the end of the year.

Fucking right! Jeff Gordon wins again! And Jmmie Johnson comes home second.

And because Jeff Gordon wins the fans of course have to toss shit on the track in protest. Fuck those fans. Fuck any fan who throws anything onto a racetrack. I don't care who won the race there's absolutely no need for it. Apparently a many of them have been arrested and will be charged with something or other.

But anyways, Chevy continues it's dominance having won 8 of the past 9 races and Hendrick Motorsports continues their domination having won 6 of the 9 races run this year. Gordon now has a 203 point lead over second place.

Him doing the burnout was the ultimate "rub it your face Earnhardt fans!". I think him being professional about it shows a lot of class and shows the fans that throwing beer cans and such won't phase him. If he got angry they'd probably do it more often.

And Casey Mears's day pretty much sums up his whole career. He'll be doing good and then some bullshit goes down which ruins his day. The guy has had so much rough luck since he entered the Cup series. I was really hoping things would turn around once he came over to Hendrick Motorsports.

This Hendrick domination is wild. I'm really surprised it's lasted this long without fans claiming they're cheating. But if you look at the other teams they're not on the ball.

Robert Yates Racing - been struggling for years and newbie and a semi-retired driver don't help

Roush Racing - lost their number one man to a lesser team and he's kicking ass there. What the hell is going on here?

Evernham Motorsports - What the hell happened? Getting Elliot Sadler on board was supposed to put the fire back in this team. But then again they've never really been competitive.

Ganassi Racing - Much like Evernham in the competitiveness department. The Dodges have never really been contenders and Ganassi just doesn't have any marketable drivers or ones with talent by the looks of it except Montoya. But it will be awhile before he's tearing the track up.

Richard Childress Racing - The only team really who's giving Hendrick a run for their money. But even then they're still lacking.

Dale Earnhardt Inc. - Aside from Jr. they've never really been contenders... for anything. Paul Men-who? Martin Truex Jr made the jump to Cup to early and Jr. is up and down too much.

Of the big teams they're all suffering in one way or another while Hendrick is riding high. They're on the ball with everything and will continue to pull away from every other team. They've won 7 of the 10 races run this year and they've won the last three races. Plus they have won ALL the Car of Tomorrow races this year so far. And like everyone was saying pre-season, which team can adapt to the COT first is the one who will win the Nextel Cup. It's definitely looking like a Hendrick driver will be taking that Cup home.

It's too bad Hendrick can't get the #25 team of Casey Mears to perform better. They've should really start devoting some time and effort to those guys. They made a big stink about getting so how about using him before you kick him out next year?

And on another note.... Dale Jarrett AND Michael Waltrip both failed to qaulify. Haha. Jarrett is pretty much done after 2008 unless that team drastically improves... which they won't. Jarrett should have retired a few years ago. I hate when good drivers hang around to long.

Big news in the world of NASCAR as Dale Earnhardt Jr. is reportedly going to announce tomorrow that he's leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc. to run for his own team, JR Motorsports, next year in the Cup series. He'll take Truex Jr. with him as well and use engines supplied by Hendrick Motorsports.

This will most likely cause some sort of implosion amongst NASCAR fans.