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Tag: NBCSN

  • The View from my Recliner — Just before the Brickyard

    The View from my Recliner — Just before the Brickyard

    I am writing this in anticipation of missing the Brickyard 400 live because I will be returning home from a wedding. My DVR better not let me down.

    Some thoughts before the green is dropped tomorrow.

    The piece on NBCSN with Tony Stewart reading letters from Robin Miller, Greg Zippadelli, Eddie Jarvis and his dad should be a great piece to watch. If the preview of the story is just a touch of what you will see, it should be a great five minutes on the pre-race show.

    You would think by watching promos for the Brickyard that Jeff Gordon was the only person running at Indy. Smart move on NBCSN to use a Fox Sports commentator as your promo. It should be interesting to see how Gordon fares in the 88 car.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s concussion-like symptoms kept him out of the car at New Hampshire and will keep him out at Indy and Pocono; the future is still to be determined. I think the decision on Earnhardt’s part to skip races to get healthy is the right move. He has a life to live and if he isn’t 100 percent physically in a race car, going 200 mph can cause further issues as he moves forward in life, possibly hurt another driver and cost him more than a chance at a championship. Smart move Jr.

    Richard Childress said this week that he is getting closer to solidifying his driver line-up for next year. My prediction is that he brings the charter that belongs to Circle Sport-Levine Family racing back to RCR and puts Ty Dillon into a fourth RCR entry. I think Childress values what Ryan Newman brings to the team and will keep him in a car. The RCR ride for Paul Menard is the best ride that he and his family can buy and Austin Dillon is going nowhere.

    It is nice to see Roush Fenway Racing getting back to where they were during the days of when Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards ran for them. Jack Roush is a legend of the sport and you weren’t going to keep him and his team down forever. He went young with drivers and will continue to improve as his drivers grow with experience.

    The truck race at Eldora was the best race all season in all three NASCAR national touring series. Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and Bobby Pierce put on a great show in the front of the field and throughout the race, you could see three and four wide at times trying to get a position. It was the most exciting race of the season and I am already looking forward to next year’s truck race.

    Five predictions going forward:

    1. Tony Stewart wins the Brickyard 400 to solidify his spot in the Chase and add to his final season.
    2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will not make the Chase and because of that, he might not run for an extended period of time.
    3. Ryan Blaney will make the Chase.
    4. William Byron will be announced as a Joe Gibbs Racing XFINITY Driver in 2017.
    5. Kevin Harvick’s pit crew will be outstanding going forward. Last week’s public tongue lashing will solidify the over the wall guys because they know their jobs are on the line.

    Enjoy the Brickyard and we’ll talk next time with the View from My Recliner.

  • Hot 20 – Atlanta’s Final Fall Race as it Springs to the Spring…er…Winter…in 2015

    Hot 20 – Atlanta’s Final Fall Race as it Springs to the Spring…er…Winter…in 2015

    In 2015, the Atlanta 500 makes its return. Well, sort of. That was the name of the early season race in Atlanta before they pimped out the brand to the sponsors. In 2010, they lost that date, while what once was the season finale in Cup got moved to where we find it today. Next year, it shall be the second race of the season, immediately following the Daytona 500. That would be good news for anyone seeking a southern racing holiday to start the year.

    Kasey Kahne won the early race there in 2006 and the late one of 2009. He could sure use another one this weekend. Among those seeking a Chase place, he is one of two former Atlanta winners who have yet to win in 2014. Tony Stewart is the other.

    Like all fans, I sure wish the Stewart situation will be soon resolved. I know that it never will be for the Ward family and for Stewart the emotional trauma will be felt for a long time. It is good to hear he will return to racing this weekend.

    After a dozen years, NASCAR has done good and returned the Southern 500 to its traditional Labor Day weekend at Darlington. You do not mess with tradition, especially when it involves one of your signature races. Maybe they learned their lesson, though I doubt it. If we ever, ever see a Chick-fil-A 500 at Daytona, I am so gone. Maybe there is a BaseballDiamond.com site that could use a writer.

    Of course, they did manage to turf another tradition, if only for a season, in moving the Firecracker 400, or whatever they want to call it now, from Saturday night to Sunday in 2015. Not 2016, just for next year. It would make NBC happy, we are told. Well, if it makes NBC happy. Maybe they are not that big on fireworks over there. As for those fans who will have one less day to get home from the track, too damn bad, I guess.

    I think, in looking at these standings, that the days of the season’s best being awarded the championship are long over. Twenty-four races in and it is a two driver race at present. Sure, with a win or two others might be able to challenge, but there is not much drama here. Now, a 31 race regular season and a five race playoff, featuring only the best 20, might be a possibility. Still, I would not hold my breathe on it, especially if you supercharged the winner’s bonus from 3 to 25, as I have done here. Win two, especially the first two in the playoff, and it might wind up being a coronation.

    Maybe the best method might be to keep things as they are, with winners getting a free pass, but reducing it to a five race Chase and eliminating the eliminations. Only the 20 best, those with a playoff spot earned during the regular season, hitting the track those five events. Just like the playoffs in all those other sports.

    In seeking out a method of determining a champion, combining a valid winner with the drama of a close race, is NASCAR’s new elimination series the way to go, my alternative, or is there a better method? What are your thoughts?

    *Winners awarded a bonus of 25 points, rather than 3

    Hot 20
    1 – Jeff Gordon – 3 Wins – 881 Points
    2 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 3 – 879
    3 – Brad Keselowski – 3 – 799
    4 – Joey Logano – 3 – 780
    5 – Jimmie Johnson – 3 – 752
    6 – Kevin Harvick – 2 – 731
    7 – Carl Edwards – 2 – 723
    8 – Matt Kenseth – 0 – 709
    9 – Ryan Newman – 0 – 679
    10 – Clint Bowyer – 0 – 672
    11 – Greg Biffle – 0 – 660
    12 – Kasey Kahne – 0 – 651
    13 – Kyle Busch – 1 – 642
    14 – Austin Dillon – 0 – 638
    15 – Kyle Larson – 0 – 636
    16 – Marcos Ambrose – 0 – 616
    17 – Paul Menard – 0 – 614
    18 – Denny Hamlin – 1 – 611
    19 – Brian Vickers – 0 – 598
    20 – Jamie McMurray – 0 – 596

    The Not So Hot
    21 – Aric Almirola – 1 Wins – 578 Points
    22 – A.J. Allmendinger – 1 – 578
    23 – Kurt Busch – 1 – 575
    24 – Casey Mears – 0 – 543
    25 – Tony Stewart – 0 – 537
    26 – Martin Truex, Jr. – 0 – 516
    27 – Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. – 0 – 476
    28 – Danica Patrick – 0 – 445
    29 – Justin Allgaier – 0 – 400
    30 – Michael Annett – 0 – 364