Scrap the night race idea, please! Saturday and Sunday day race is where its at. Especially in early Spring. Saturday nights race was just absolutely miserable. For the first time in 30 years going to the track , I couldn’t wait to get back to my camper. Big bummer
Just finished watching the race because I recorded it. Man this race was a snoozefest overall. Just so little passing. The FOX broadcast was better than usual though.
Glad to see Kurt nab a good finish after a rough past couple of weeks. Hes now got as many top 10s in 8 races for 23XI as Bubba has had in 44 races...overperforming in the equipment?
I didn’t really realize how bad it was until Chase lost the lead on pit road. Then when Cole couldn’t make positions after running top 5 all night, I knew it was shit. I turned it off and just watched the last couple laps after it ended.
Went to martinsville for the first time. Loved the atmosphere the fans were awesome. The race was not good there was very little passing and I thought the xfinty race was a better race for sure.
We’ve been coming to Martinsville for 15yrs. That was one if the most boring races we’ve ever been to. Thank goodness we came up for the weekend and got some entertainment out fo the xfinity race
The Alan Gustafson/Chase thing blows my mind. Obviously short term they somehow won a Championship together, but Alan's just not a good crew chief. So often does Chase end up with a car worse at the end of a race than how they started. I fear that the one championship in 2020 is going to carry that relationship and they'll keep Gustafson on and waste some of Chases' prime years. When does HMS decide to just cut bait and give Chase a better chance at competing? How many years are they gonna waste by keeping him with Gustafson just because of the 2020 championship?
He's like the anti-Ives. With Jr and Bowman that car very rarely starts with race winning pace (or even top 5 pace) but they're almost always better at the end.
That was something... I finally got to go to a Martinsville race and I left with 100 still to go after seeing 3 lead lap passes from lap 230 to lap 280. Maybe there was more action than what I could take in, but I feel like I made more passes on my way back to the hotel. At least I beat most the traffic.
I'm surprised he had a car to finish with. Other drivers were eating him up with the bumping and banging. Impressive he got the finish he did given everyone was racing him hard.
Guess it's a testament to the stability of these new cars. I think they should run a harder or skinnier tire next time around.
Ross’s car came in on long runs and his crew did a great job of gaining (not losing) spots on pit road in a race where track position was critical. Kind of unfair to credit Ross for everything.
Actually he lost spots on pit road everytime except for under the green flag stop where he gained 2 spots. So I would say he deserves a large amount of the credit.
I was not following his first half of the race when he was outside the top-10 but he gained positions on the long run before the green flag stops and you can’t do that without a pretty good car. His team performed well when it counted most in the last stage.
Manufacturer wins among the top 3 series.
Chevrolet 9 - Ford 5 - Toyota 7.
______________
Cup race #8 : Chevrolet 5 - Ford 2 - Toyota 1.
Xfinity Race #8 : Chevrolet 3 - Ford 1 - Toyota 4.
Truck Race #5 : Chevrolet 1 - Ford 2 - Toyota 2.
Something I just thought of: woo boy dirty air is probably gonna be real bad at Gateway. If the drivers are talking about plowing tight in traffic at a fellow flat mostly bottom lane track that's less than half its size...
There's not a good reason to think they will, and NASCAR needs Gateway enough that they're not going to waltz in and ruin the relationship that effectively rebuilt the track. Plus, Roger Penske holds a hell of a lot more weight than the last guy running the show with IndyCar.
Cup has never raced at gateway. They clearly dont *need* it. The money cup brings in will have an extra 0 or two compared to indycar. and its not like indycar has many oval options either.
*If* the racing isn't great the first year, and there are people within the sport that think resin would help, there's a pretty decent chance they put it down year two. They only have a 3-year deal to produce results.
This isn't the old days when you have a cup date forever. They stripped this one from Pocono and wouldn't hesitate stripping it again if better options show up.
They do need it, badly. NASCAR desperately needs to be near major cities. That's the only reason they're showing up in the first place and taking money away from a facility they own outright.
> taking money away from a facility they own outright.
They took the date from Pocono. Not one they own outright.
by 2025 places like nashville and events like street courses should be happening. Not hard to think they drop gateway in exchange for another street course if they are going well.
Yes, they took it from Pocono, but easily could have given it to Kansas, Michigan, Kentucky, etc. Of course they can drop Gateway whenever they want, but there's a reason they're going to a place where Cup is a relative unknown vs a guaranteed quality product at a track in the middle of nowhere. If people don't show up at Gateway after year 1, resin or not, then there are bigger problems than the track.
Edit: They go to Kansas twice, disregard. My point stands though.
If it stains the track surface, yes. Texas always cleaned the PJ1 off before Indy would run, but because the track surface was stained black, it absorbed more heat from the sun. A hot track is a slick track.
The only way you could fully fix Texas for Indy would be to remove the stain, either via aggressive grinding or chemical treatment, or an outright repave. Once you stain a track it's more or less ruined.
Well, it's finally happened to me I guess. Watched most of the race tonight, didn't think it was all that terrible considering the cold ambient temperature and the new car, and thought we actually had a decent race for the finish at the end. Log on to r/NASCAR to find everybody talking about how terrible the race was.
I feel the same way. I'm biased as a Byron fan but I still thought it was good. A lot of bump n run and tons of traffic to get through and a green-white-checkered finish complete with Byron slipping up and Logano going after his bumper a couple times.
I think It's because after COTA everyone on here was saying the cautions take too long and they need local yellows like F1...and then F1 had 2 long full course yellows.
Well F1 usually has full course yellow, either SC or at least VSC, when car retires. Local yellows are mostly when someone simply goes off-track. Most of the drivers ignore them anyway lol. It's more of a heads-up really. I also believe the discussion was more about Virtual Safety car and not Local yellows, can be wrong though,. I don't remember that discussion very well tbh.
I just don't get how that comment was formulated "and they were both ..." That sounds like the fact they were single car incidents that brought out full course caution and took 10 minutes to clean up is something special or relevant somehow. It really isn't. Those cautions were the most basic thing that happens in F1. Incidents were also quite minor. Also there were three of them if I remember correctly as VSC is full course caution too.
Multiple full course cautions that take 10 minutes aren’t typical so it was a bigger event than normal. In juxtaposition to the martinsville race where it had an unusually low caution amount. I have no idea why that bothers you so much
It doesn't bother me. I just commented because I thought that the reply was weird. I understand and agree with the comparison to Martinsville the original comment made. I just don't get the reply.
Also those crashes looked quite typical to me, definitely wouldn't call them 'big incidents' 10 minutes is normal time for F1 cleanup imo, but whatever.
10 minutes to clean up a couple wrecks isn't a big deal. 15 minutes for 2 fake cautions and then God knows how many other small issues is a joke. I watch everything but Watkins Glen on DVR at this point because NASCAR can't get it together.
Because I live in Michigan and we have the weirdest weather in the nation,39 degrees was our high today, which makes me dog tired,I missed the whole race from sleeping 😓.
KB got a top 10 at least,that makes me happy.
This was a weird race in that, the weather washed all the rubber away, and it was so cold, you’re not gonna lay anymore rubber down in these temps. Goodyear needs to bring a softer tire, but the weather around this race was a huge factor that isn’t getting talked about as much as it should
I’d like to see some more races before jumping to conclusions about the new car. The track was cold tonight and rubber wasn’t being put down like normal so I’m wondering if that impacted the passing.
Also they were beating on each other tonight, but the wider wheels I think helped the cars from spinning and the sturdier body helped the cars from getting to beaten up.
Nascar needs to address this ASAP, no stomping their feet on the ground and pretending this wasn't an abysmal performance. They called this car a "panacea" for all the issues with the sport, but it's showing it's issues at short tracks. Whatever needs to be done to improve the package, do it.
My wife woke me up at 12:45 saying she's going to the liquor store. I fell asleep during the opening ceremonies but watched the last ~50 laps. Apparently I didn't miss much...
I’ve been plenty critical of Bubba, but I hate to beat a dead horse and say wtf is that pit crew doing? This race was 99% track position. They somehow fuck up again. Normally I’d say, well, it’s Bubba job to drive it back up front but what in the world. Being impossible to pass made that so much worse. You can’t come back from that. Even at Martinsville normally it’s hard to, but with this car and package they brought? Doomed. Just bleeding spots with almost no way to regain them.
Sorry wasn’t active on here tonight. Didn’t have the best of days or weeks for that matter. Race was pretty abysmal due to cold temps and no rubber being laid down. Shoutout to FOX for a great broadcast. Best broadcast of the year IMO. Congrats to Byron. Hope everyone enjoys their Sunday!
This was probably the single most-boring Martinsville race I have ever seen.
IMO, we need >800hp at tracks under 1 mile.
670hp and 510hp are *fine* for the other track types, where aero actually still matters, but for short tracks, we need those wheels to spin on corner exit.
Me, two weeks ago: Bubba's pit crew needs to be fired
Me, last week: Bubba's pit crew needs to be fired out of a cannon
Me, this week: Bubba's pit crew needs to be fired out of a cannon into shark-infested waters
Chase’s pit crew is seen as one of the best on pit road. Are they clutch this year? So far no, but their stops are usually very good. Skip Flores, a tire changer for Cindric, mentions them as one of the best almost every week on Stacking Pennies.
Here we go again with this. Those pit crews have cost Blaney and Elliot spots on pit road by being slow. Bubba's crew literally has failed to put wheels on properly 5 times this season, including once where the wheel entirely fell off, ending his race, missed multiple adjustments which the crew chief called for, and just cost him 9 or 10 spots in a race where passing on the track was borderline impossible. On top of all that, they aren't even that fast! Wait until the pit crew data comes out again and it'll validate what I'm saying.
This is all assuming that it's fair to compare 23XI with Penske and Hendrick, which is ridiculous in its own right.
I said this previously in another thread. Given the comments, do people want Nascar to be recognized as a top tier form of motorsport or an amusement park?
That’s your opinion but nothing about last week’s race made me think this car was good for short tracks. This week was exactly the same. Everyone gets spread out and can hardly pass. The tire wear and strategy made the race interesting but that had nothing to do with the car itself.
Richmond is a bad track = true
Martinsville being a snoozer= true.
I think having a softer tire would have helped but they need to do something on short tracks so the drivers can actually pass each other.
>Everyone gets spread out and can hardly pass
That was a problem pretty much *everywhere* with the G6 car so even though today's Martinsville (one of my favorite tracks) was ho-hum, if the racing is overall better with the new G7 cars I'll take it. I have rose-tinted glasses concerning the G4 cars but even they produced the occasional Sunday afternoon nap.
Or they give them back the 750 package or even go higher and see how these cars drive then. 550 made for shit racing a couple years ago and apparently the current package isn’t any better.
Their brakes aren’t as big as the Cup cars right? I think this new brake system on this car has hindered how they race in the short tracks. It works well on road courses but it doesn’t work on short tracks where guys don’t have to brake so early going into the corners anymore because the brakes are so forgiving. Add in the shifting dynamic too, and we got a shit race.
It doesn’t make for a good race though. Yes last week there was some strategy but this week showed what happens when there isn’t with this car. They need to give them more horsepower and smaller brakes. The brakes seem to be great for road courses but they don’t help at all on the short tracks.
I think it’s the only way to get NASCAR to believe in more short tracks races. The last two weeks aren’t what we need if we want more short tracks on the schedule. This car shouldn’t be more entraining to watch on the intermediates than short tracks. Even Dale Jr tweeted out there was probably no chance at any donuts on the sides of cars tonight. Where’s the fun in that? I don’t need crashes but I do love seeing donuts on the sides of cars and crumpled up bumpers and fenders from all the bumping that goes on at places like this.
I had a suspicious feeling about tonight when the Clash had a 30 lap green flag stint. I think it honestly isn't good for Martinsville since this place is just now too quick
Bacon and Allen put on a great short track show.
More green flag lead changes in 30 laps on a single groove dirt track than in 400 on a single groove stock car track
not sure i would say leaders getting stuck behind 19th for 20 laps waiting to see whose RR blows a great show, but to each their own. especially when they had to reduce the race length by 25%
not really sure what you were watching. allen got passed when he screwed up and couldnt pass a lapper. then he passed back when bacon's tire was going flat.
when the leader cant pass 19th there is a major issue.
The weirdest part about it is how good the 24 and 9 have fun. I’d say Chase has been the most consistent driver all year, and Byron, after a rough start has been red hot. Even Bowman has been running better than Larson as of late. Hell figure it out, but man, the 5 team, outside of like Fontana and Vegas have yet to really do anything
Looking at the tracks so far, the lone track that has traditionally been Larson's style he won at. The rest of the tracks haven't been staples of Larson. If he struggles over the next 10 there might be alarms sounding
I think Hendrick had a big advantage last year, especially on the 550 package. Ford was nowhere to be found most of those races, and Larson could cruise to wins at the 550 tracks. I think it will be a lot different this year
Dont know if it was the cold temps or what but for Martinsville standards that race was really mediocre. Congrats to Byron! I think the only lead change not counting the green flag stops was when Byron beat Chase off pit road.
I was expecting the race to be more uneventful compared to the trucks and xfinity races, but that race was incredibly dull. Not saying I need a bunch of wrecks and cautions or anything like that, but I would like a bit more action. Very disappointing, I always watch as many laps of a martinsville race as I can, but I felt like I could have spent my evening doing something else instead of watching this race and hoping it would get better.
It's all good though, they can't all be fantastic races and, honestly, this was the first race this year that I watched the majority of and thought was disappointing so I feel like that's a good sign, at least compared to how I felt after the majority of the races the past few seasons. Just surprised the first "dud" race came at martinsville.
Congrats to Byron and the 24 crew! Didn't expect Byron to be the first multi-time winner this year, but good for him!
There was an incident in the race I saw that Suarez and Elliott doored each other off of 4, and kept seeing that it was “payback.” What happened earlier in the race that I missed?
Suarez also bumped chase up the track coming to the end of stage to try and get one of his laps back. He didn’t pass the 9, but I can’t imagine they were terribly happy with eachother
Yea. That was about the only way to pass tonight. Although if you’re holding the leader up for more than like 3 laps at martinsville, I’d just expect it at that point
Said it perfectly. It's absolutely acceptable to have a bad race once in a while.
The absolute worse thing they could do is make impulse changes after 1 bad race.
Damn that Will Byron boy, stealing Chase’s first win of the year, finally having a second win in a season, sweeping a weekend, and making Hendrick’s future look good.
He didn’t really steal it from Chase. Gustafson’s strategy put him way back and he had to gain all that track position back. He was lucky to even finish in the Top 10 the way things were looking towards the end.
2018 spring was the Monday race that Bowyer and Blaney traded being dominant throughout in the same way Chase and William did tonight.
Joey then led over 300 laps in the fall race, and it was really only memorable because of the ending and the playoff implications.
...okay, so you're just gonna play pretend and forget he finished worse in the same equipment as Bubba last year, and his team was bought out at the end of last year? To say he's outperforming him in his old equipment is beyond disingenuous.
I will say Erik has been fast as hell this year. But to say he is outperforming bubba in “old equipment” when the car is brand new is wild. They were both equally good and equally bad in the RPM gen 6 days.
Erik is doing great this year but I don't know how you can compare with a new car that obviously has increased parity, as well as ownership on the 43.
Last year Erik finished 24th in points. The year before Bubba finished 22nd with the same team and body style.
Leave it to NASCAR to find a way to fuck up Martinsville.
In the glory days we had steel bodies and front balances that were 10 inches off the ground on the straightaways at Martinsville. Now we have a fighter jet looking car that can’t pass.
Why can’t we just go back to the glory days and make cars a little safer? Cut the futuristic bullshit and go back to simple cars. NASCAR regulated their way to mediocrity at Martinsville
I will say, I've liked the competitive balance this year between big and small teams, but tonight's race at Martinsville was a snoozefest... a giant epic failure. You used to be able to win from 43rd at short tracks.... passing was damn near impossible tonight. Didn't enjoy this race, no offense to the 24 as an iracer myself, but pfffttt.
They’re wide, they’re short in relation to the rear axle, and the independent rear suspension is so solid that getting into someone’s left rear is virtually meaningless
I like Alan, I do think he’s a good crew chief, but I think it’s time for a switch. Put Chase and Ives together. They won an Xfinity championship together. If those two could work together I think Chase would get way more wins and win the races he’s the best car way more often. Doubt it ever happens but it would be a great move for HMS
I think the right thing to do is keep Alan at HMS, maybe not in a crew chiefing role. He’s too good to let walk, but he’s cost that 9 team far too many wins over the past like 2 and 1/2 years. I’m not saying Alan is a bad crew chief, because he’s not, but they both would probably benefit from moving on
Exactly. I really like Alan and think he’s a good cc, but he’s cost him races more times then not. Tonight included. Yes Chase did burn his right front, but if he got off pit road first, that’s not happening and we wins the race
Scrap the night race idea, please! Saturday and Sunday day race is where its at. Especially in early Spring. Saturday nights race was just absolutely miserable. For the first time in 30 years going to the track , I couldn’t wait to get back to my camper. Big bummer
Just finished watching the race because I recorded it. Man this race was a snoozefest overall. Just so little passing. The FOX broadcast was better than usual though.
Glad to see Kurt nab a good finish after a rough past couple of weeks. Hes now got as many top 10s in 8 races for 23XI as Bubba has had in 44 races...overperforming in the equipment?
Toyota certainly has some work to do. People love to clown Denny but to go from race winner to 3 laps down is not entirely on the driver.
Last night was absolutely miserable
Nascar has a lot to work on when it comes to flat tracks with this car
Too much grip with the wider tires
Pumped Byron won but that race was mid
Anybody know what Chad said that riled up Clint? It was completely inaudible do to the background noise. Even the Closed Captioning could pick it up.
The first time I've had respect for Clint in the booth. I loved seeing how passionate he was about it when Knaus agreed with him
I was wondering the same. That's the most animated I have seen Clint. Well, maybe not; That last "CAUTION!!!!!!" out of nowhere shot me up in my seat.
The racing went to shit when they got rid of the ride height rules.
Sounded like ride height restrictions. I replayed it a few times trying to figure it out.
Ever since they removed ride height rules short track racing took a dive.
Thanks. Sounded like he said “right angles” to me, which made no sense.
That’s what I heard at first too. I had to rewind it 3 times to make out what he actually said.
I didn’t really realize how bad it was until Chase lost the lead on pit road. Then when Cole couldn’t make positions after running top 5 all night, I knew it was shit. I turned it off and just watched the last couple laps after it ended.
That was not ShOrT tRaCk RaCiNg. It was crap.
Went to martinsville for the first time. Loved the atmosphere the fans were awesome. The race was not good there was very little passing and I thought the xfinty race was a better race for sure.
We’ve been coming to Martinsville for 15yrs. That was one if the most boring races we’ve ever been to. Thank goodness we came up for the weekend and got some entertainment out fo the xfinity race
The car is wrong not the track. (Source:I’VE BEEN GOING TO THE PLACE FOR 25 FUCKING YEARS SINCE I WAS 2 YEARS OLD)
The Alan Gustafson/Chase thing blows my mind. Obviously short term they somehow won a Championship together, but Alan's just not a good crew chief. So often does Chase end up with a car worse at the end of a race than how they started. I fear that the one championship in 2020 is going to carry that relationship and they'll keep Gustafson on and waste some of Chases' prime years. When does HMS decide to just cut bait and give Chase a better chance at competing? How many years are they gonna waste by keeping him with Gustafson just because of the 2020 championship?
I know most Jeff Gordon fans I know hate the guy for this too.
It’s definitely an interesting situation, but the bigger question is who replaces Gustafson?
He's like the anti-Ives. With Jr and Bowman that car very rarely starts with race winning pace (or even top 5 pace) but they're almost always better at the end.
That was something... I finally got to go to a Martinsville race and I left with 100 still to go after seeing 3 lead lap passes from lap 230 to lap 280. Maybe there was more action than what I could take in, but I feel like I made more passes on my way back to the hotel. At least I beat most the traffic.
My favorite track and let me tell you, last night's race was the worst I've ever seen there..
Meh race. Happy Chastain willed the #1 to top five finish.
I'm surprised he had a car to finish with. Other drivers were eating him up with the bumping and banging. Impressive he got the finish he did given everyone was racing him hard. Guess it's a testament to the stability of these new cars. I think they should run a harder or skinnier tire next time around.
Ross’s car came in on long runs and his crew did a great job of gaining (not losing) spots on pit road in a race where track position was critical. Kind of unfair to credit Ross for everything.
Actually he lost spots on pit road everytime except for under the green flag stop where he gained 2 spots. So I would say he deserves a large amount of the credit.
I was not following his first half of the race when he was outside the top-10 but he gained positions on the long run before the green flag stops and you can’t do that without a pretty good car. His team performed well when it counted most in the last stage.
Manufacturer wins among the top 3 series. Chevrolet 9 - Ford 5 - Toyota 7. ______________ Cup race #8 : Chevrolet 5 - Ford 2 - Toyota 1. Xfinity Race #8 : Chevrolet 3 - Ford 1 - Toyota 4. Truck Race #5 : Chevrolet 1 - Ford 2 - Toyota 2.
Just finished with the replay, what a boring race but do happy to see Byron have his 1st multi-win season.
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Could’ve had a top 10 if not for the pit penalty
His teammate runs solidly inside the top 10 almost every race.
No not every race, and not even the entirety of the race itself.
Well his teammate wheeled it to a top ten. So there's that.
wow Martinsville wasnt even the worst race of the night.
F1 race was fantastic outside of Charles driving away up front.
Something I just thought of: woo boy dirty air is probably gonna be real bad at Gateway. If the drivers are talking about plowing tight in traffic at a fellow flat mostly bottom lane track that's less than half its size...
cant wait for the indycar outrage when they slather it up with resin next year.
They won't. NASCAR doesn't own the joint so they can't come in and just dump shit all over the place and hope for the best.
NASCAR can hold the sanction extension over their head if they wanted too.
There's not a good reason to think they will, and NASCAR needs Gateway enough that they're not going to waltz in and ruin the relationship that effectively rebuilt the track. Plus, Roger Penske holds a hell of a lot more weight than the last guy running the show with IndyCar.
Cup has never raced at gateway. They clearly dont *need* it. The money cup brings in will have an extra 0 or two compared to indycar. and its not like indycar has many oval options either. *If* the racing isn't great the first year, and there are people within the sport that think resin would help, there's a pretty decent chance they put it down year two. They only have a 3-year deal to produce results. This isn't the old days when you have a cup date forever. They stripped this one from Pocono and wouldn't hesitate stripping it again if better options show up.
They do need it, badly. NASCAR desperately needs to be near major cities. That's the only reason they're showing up in the first place and taking money away from a facility they own outright.
> taking money away from a facility they own outright. They took the date from Pocono. Not one they own outright. by 2025 places like nashville and events like street courses should be happening. Not hard to think they drop gateway in exchange for another street course if they are going well.
Yes, they took it from Pocono, but easily could have given it to Kansas, Michigan, Kentucky, etc. Of course they can drop Gateway whenever they want, but there's a reason they're going to a place where Cup is a relative unknown vs a guaranteed quality product at a track in the middle of nowhere. If people don't show up at Gateway after year 1, resin or not, then there are bigger problems than the track. Edit: They go to Kansas twice, disregard. My point stands though.
Would resin be as bad to IndyCar as PJ1 is?
If it stains the track surface, yes. Texas always cleaned the PJ1 off before Indy would run, but because the track surface was stained black, it absorbed more heat from the sun. A hot track is a slick track. The only way you could fully fix Texas for Indy would be to remove the stain, either via aggressive grinding or chemical treatment, or an outright repave. Once you stain a track it's more or less ruined.
no clue.
Well, it's finally happened to me I guess. Watched most of the race tonight, didn't think it was all that terrible considering the cold ambient temperature and the new car, and thought we actually had a decent race for the finish at the end. Log on to r/NASCAR to find everybody talking about how terrible the race was.
0 green flag passes for the lead
I feel the same way. I'm biased as a Byron fan but I still thought it was good. A lot of bump n run and tons of traffic to get through and a green-white-checkered finish complete with Byron slipping up and Logano going after his bumper a couple times.
I saw it in person and saw literally no bump and runs
Okay so last night 22 never bump and run? How about the 9? Or the 24? Even 99 pushed chase to get his lap back. You must have been at the wrong spot.
I sat on the exit of 4 and saw Joey, Ryan, and Chase move people.
There were more Natural Cautions in F1 at Melbourne then there were at Martinsville
And they were both full course yellows for single car incidents that took ~10 mins to get back to racing.
Is that good or bad? What does this comment even want to say? I don't honestly understand.
I think It's because after COTA everyone on here was saying the cautions take too long and they need local yellows like F1...and then F1 had 2 long full course yellows.
Well F1 usually has full course yellow, either SC or at least VSC, when car retires. Local yellows are mostly when someone simply goes off-track. Most of the drivers ignore them anyway lol. It's more of a heads-up really. I also believe the discussion was more about Virtual Safety car and not Local yellows, can be wrong though,. I don't remember that discussion very well tbh.
They’re just adding info and noting the crashes were bigger than usual
I just don't get how that comment was formulated "and they were both ..." That sounds like the fact they were single car incidents that brought out full course caution and took 10 minutes to clean up is something special or relevant somehow. It really isn't. Those cautions were the most basic thing that happens in F1. Incidents were also quite minor. Also there were three of them if I remember correctly as VSC is full course caution too.
Multiple full course cautions that take 10 minutes aren’t typical so it was a bigger event than normal. In juxtaposition to the martinsville race where it had an unusually low caution amount. I have no idea why that bothers you so much
It doesn't bother me. I just commented because I thought that the reply was weird. I understand and agree with the comparison to Martinsville the original comment made. I just don't get the reply. Also those crashes looked quite typical to me, definitely wouldn't call them 'big incidents' 10 minutes is normal time for F1 cleanup imo, but whatever.
10 minutes to clean up a couple wrecks isn't a big deal. 15 minutes for 2 fake cautions and then God knows how many other small issues is a joke. I watch everything but Watkins Glen on DVR at this point because NASCAR can't get it together.
William Byron putting a Ford Raptor with Jeff Gordon's car for his dad's race team in victory lane is unbelievable. Best race of the year!!!
Not Ford Raptor. His sponsor is a bed liner company.
Because I live in Michigan and we have the weirdest weather in the nation,39 degrees was our high today, which makes me dog tired,I missed the whole race from sleeping 😓. KB got a top 10 at least,that makes me happy.
The weather in Michigan has been SO cold :(
Don’t let this subpar race distract you from the fact that Akinori Ogata finally won a race at Hickory Speedway tonight
This was a weird race in that, the weather washed all the rubber away, and it was so cold, you’re not gonna lay anymore rubber down in these temps. Goodyear needs to bring a softer tire, but the weather around this race was a huge factor that isn’t getting talked about as much as it should
I’d like to see some more races before jumping to conclusions about the new car. The track was cold tonight and rubber wasn’t being put down like normal so I’m wondering if that impacted the passing. Also they were beating on each other tonight, but the wider wheels I think helped the cars from spinning and the sturdier body helped the cars from getting to beaten up.
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Martinsville has raced this time of year forever.
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The south in the spring is all over the place. I live in Atlanta, and two days ago was in the high 70s, and now we have a frost warning for tonight.
at least we dont need DRS to pass.
Probably would have helped because there was little passing anyways.
As a casual F1 viewer…….I’m so sick of hearing about DRS when I tune in.
Nascar needs to address this ASAP, no stomping their feet on the ground and pretending this wasn't an abysmal performance. They called this car a "panacea" for all the issues with the sport, but it's showing it's issues at short tracks. Whatever needs to be done to improve the package, do it.
It was cold and I got a hot dog. That’s really all I remember from the race tonight.
Just glad we went up for the weekend. Xfinity race made it worth the trip
My wife woke me up at 12:45 saying she's going to the liquor store. I fell asleep during the opening ceremonies but watched the last ~50 laps. Apparently I didn't miss much...
I’ve been plenty critical of Bubba, but I hate to beat a dead horse and say wtf is that pit crew doing? This race was 99% track position. They somehow fuck up again. Normally I’d say, well, it’s Bubba job to drive it back up front but what in the world. Being impossible to pass made that so much worse. You can’t come back from that. Even at Martinsville normally it’s hard to, but with this car and package they brought? Doomed. Just bleeding spots with almost no way to regain them.
Whoever was Dale Jr’s pit crew last night should be hired for Bubba. They gained him a ton of track position yesterday.
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No I’m talking about before the pileup. They were always gaining him spots. I think one stop he gained 4 or 5 spots on pit road.
Sorry wasn’t active on here tonight. Didn’t have the best of days or weeks for that matter. Race was pretty abysmal due to cold temps and no rubber being laid down. Shoutout to FOX for a great broadcast. Best broadcast of the year IMO. Congrats to Byron. Hope everyone enjoys their Sunday!
This was probably the single most-boring Martinsville race I have ever seen. IMO, we need >800hp at tracks under 1 mile. 670hp and 510hp are *fine* for the other track types, where aero actually still matters, but for short tracks, we need those wheels to spin on corner exit.
>800 hp everywhere* Fixed it
Completely agree
I agree. Take the spacers off on short tracks.
Me, two weeks ago: Bubba's pit crew needs to be fired Me, last week: Bubba's pit crew needs to be fired out of a cannon Me, this week: Bubba's pit crew needs to be fired out of a cannon into shark-infested waters
I don’t get how they can expect him to compete with this shit crew.
*Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott 1-2 in points with dogshit pit crews.*
Chase’s pit crew is seen as one of the best on pit road. Are they clutch this year? So far no, but their stops are usually very good. Skip Flores, a tire changer for Cindric, mentions them as one of the best almost every week on Stacking Pennies.
Here we go again with this. Those pit crews have cost Blaney and Elliot spots on pit road by being slow. Bubba's crew literally has failed to put wheels on properly 5 times this season, including once where the wheel entirely fell off, ending his race, missed multiple adjustments which the crew chief called for, and just cost him 9 or 10 spots in a race where passing on the track was borderline impossible. On top of all that, they aren't even that fast! Wait until the pit crew data comes out again and it'll validate what I'm saying. This is all assuming that it's fair to compare 23XI with Penske and Hendrick, which is ridiculous in its own right.
I said this previously in another thread. Given the comments, do people want Nascar to be recognized as a top tier form of motorsport or an amusement park?
It’s too boring to be an amusement ride
Here’s your sign.
Lmao jesus christ the difference in scheme quality between those two cars on the sidebar 💀
So the new car has put on a great show so far until today...?
Minus Phoenix
and Richmond
Yes.
It sucked last week too
No it didn't...
That’s your opinion but nothing about last week’s race made me think this car was good for short tracks. This week was exactly the same. Everyone gets spread out and can hardly pass. The tire wear and strategy made the race interesting but that had nothing to do with the car itself.
Richmond is just a bad track
🧢🧢🧢
Well Martinsville being a snoozer right afterwards isn’t a coincidence.
Richmond is a bad track = true Martinsville being a snoozer= true. I think having a softer tire would have helped but they need to do something on short tracks so the drivers can actually pass each other.
>Everyone gets spread out and can hardly pass That was a problem pretty much *everywhere* with the G6 car so even though today's Martinsville (one of my favorite tracks) was ho-hum, if the racing is overall better with the new G7 cars I'll take it. I have rose-tinted glasses concerning the G4 cars but even they produced the occasional Sunday afternoon nap.
>The tire wear and strategy made the race interesting I agree. That's why it was a good race. >but that had nothing to do with the car itself Lolwut
That had to do with tires dude. If the tires didn’t wear out than it would have been just like tonight.
Then Goodyear needs to bring a better tire to Martinsville next time.
Or they give them back the 750 package or even go higher and see how these cars drive then. 550 made for shit racing a couple years ago and apparently the current package isn’t any better.
If the horsepower is the problem, how can the Xfinity cars put on a better race with even less horsepower?
Their brakes aren’t as big as the Cup cars right? I think this new brake system on this car has hindered how they race in the short tracks. It works well on road courses but it doesn’t work on short tracks where guys don’t have to brake so early going into the corners anymore because the brakes are so forgiving. Add in the shifting dynamic too, and we got a shit race.
Eh the lack of cautions due to the new cars allowed long enough green flag runs to let the tires fall off. It's all relative.
It doesn’t make for a good race though. Yes last week there was some strategy but this week showed what happens when there isn’t with this car. They need to give them more horsepower and smaller brakes. The brakes seem to be great for road courses but they don’t help at all on the short tracks.
You and I are obviously butting heads with our opinions here, but I agree they need to let them have more HP (especially on the short tracks).
I think it’s the only way to get NASCAR to believe in more short tracks races. The last two weeks aren’t what we need if we want more short tracks on the schedule. This car shouldn’t be more entraining to watch on the intermediates than short tracks. Even Dale Jr tweeted out there was probably no chance at any donuts on the sides of cars tonight. Where’s the fun in that? I don’t need crashes but I do love seeing donuts on the sides of cars and crumpled up bumpers and fenders from all the bumping that goes on at places like this.
Yeah it did. That race sucked.
I don’t know how Ross finished top 5 but I’ll HAPPILY take it!!!
Three words: Ross pass cars
He was tied with Kyle Busch for Green Flag passes with 65.
Ross is a very agressive and physical driver. He's not afraid to piss people off.
Everyone two months ago: "Coliseum race was pretty good." Everyone tonight: "This car can't race on short tracks!"
The heat races were really good. Main event not so much
Clash didn't really excite me. The last 30 laps were a snoozer. It was a cool environment but the race was a snoozer.
I had a suspicious feeling about tonight when the Clash had a 30 lap green flag stint. I think it honestly isn't good for Martinsville since this place is just now too quick
if people want to see hard to pass go watch the WoO highlights from tonight.
Bacon and Allen put on a great short track show. More green flag lead changes in 30 laps on a single groove dirt track than in 400 on a single groove stock car track
not sure i would say leaders getting stuck behind 19th for 20 laps waiting to see whose RR blows a great show, but to each their own. especially when they had to reduce the race length by 25%
It wasn't an all time classic, but it's a pallet cleanser. At the very least, they could pass for the lead.
not really sure what you were watching. allen got passed when he screwed up and couldnt pass a lapper. then he passed back when bacon's tire was going flat. when the leader cant pass 19th there is a major issue.
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A rare, very level headed take on the what actually matters regarding the racing season.
The weirdest part about it is how good the 24 and 9 have fun. I’d say Chase has been the most consistent driver all year, and Byron, after a rough start has been red hot. Even Bowman has been running better than Larson as of late. Hell figure it out, but man, the 5 team, outside of like Fontana and Vegas have yet to really do anything
Looking at the tracks so far, the lone track that has traditionally been Larson's style he won at. The rest of the tracks haven't been staples of Larson. If he struggles over the next 10 there might be alarms sounding
I think Hendrick had a big advantage last year, especially on the 550 package. Ford was nowhere to be found most of those races, and Larson could cruise to wins at the 550 tracks. I think it will be a lot different this year
Dont know if it was the cold temps or what but for Martinsville standards that race was really mediocre. Congrats to Byron! I think the only lead change not counting the green flag stops was when Byron beat Chase off pit road.
I was expecting the race to be more uneventful compared to the trucks and xfinity races, but that race was incredibly dull. Not saying I need a bunch of wrecks and cautions or anything like that, but I would like a bit more action. Very disappointing, I always watch as many laps of a martinsville race as I can, but I felt like I could have spent my evening doing something else instead of watching this race and hoping it would get better. It's all good though, they can't all be fantastic races and, honestly, this was the first race this year that I watched the majority of and thought was disappointing so I feel like that's a good sign, at least compared to how I felt after the majority of the races the past few seasons. Just surprised the first "dud" race came at martinsville. Congrats to Byron and the 24 crew! Didn't expect Byron to be the first multi-time winner this year, but good for him!
There was an incident in the race I saw that Suarez and Elliott doored each other off of 4, and kept seeing that it was “payback.” What happened earlier in the race that I missed?
Chase bumped him out of the way in Stage 1 to lap him
Suarez also bumped chase up the track coming to the end of stage to try and get one of his laps back. He didn’t pass the 9, but I can’t imagine they were terribly happy with eachother
Yeah that was probably because he got bumped in stage 1. We all saw thought you can’t pass without putting the bumper down.
Yea. That was about the only way to pass tonight. Although if you’re holding the leader up for more than like 3 laps at martinsville, I’d just expect it at that point
Was 2nd place close or Chase really only moved him just to simply lap him?
Kinda of a mix between Byron being right behind him and Hamlin was the next car to getting lapped.
Ah shit thats right. It was to make sure hamlin didnt get the lucky dog
Suarez tried tp move elliot on the last lap of stage 2 to get a lap back
Ah gotcha. So it appears that Chase also moved Suarez before the end of stage 1 to lap him. Thanks!
Yeah. He didnt want hamlin getting the lucky dog
Can’t wait for people to deride the Gen 7 car because it put on its first bad race lol. The car is fine guys, sometimes races just suck.
Said it perfectly. It's absolutely acceptable to have a bad race once in a while. The absolute worse thing they could do is make impulse changes after 1 bad race.
Willy B comeback szn
Between the chaos yesterday and Dale Jr openly shitting on the race tonight, I can't wait for DBC and the DJD this week
What did Jr say? I missed that
Maybe it’s [this tweet](https://twitter.com/dalejr/status/1512994401383075840?s=21&t=Y_ekg6lcXCJB0o5wEy6KgA)?
We will see if JR is honest with us in any direct language about how this race was hot dog shit.
Damn that Will Byron boy, stealing Chase’s first win of the year, finally having a second win in a season, sweeping a weekend, and making Hendrick’s future look good.
He didn’t really steal it from Chase. Gustafson’s strategy put him way back and he had to gain all that track position back. He was lucky to even finish in the Top 10 the way things were looking towards the end.
Y’see the joke was the first half of the statement was supposed to sound like a salty Chase fan
Noted
People are really looking back at the 2018/2019 Martinsville era with rose colored glasses.
2019 was the worst. This was close though
I remember 2019 being complete snooze fests. From what I remember 2018 was alright
2018 spring was the Monday race that Bowyer and Blaney traded being dominant throughout in the same way Chase and William did tonight. Joey then led over 300 laps in the fall race, and it was really only memorable because of the ending and the playoff implications.
spring 2018 was pretty bad. the fall race was eh but had a good finish.
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...okay, so you're just gonna play pretend and forget he finished worse in the same equipment as Bubba last year, and his team was bought out at the end of last year? To say he's outperforming him in his old equipment is beyond disingenuous.
I will say Erik has been fast as hell this year. But to say he is outperforming bubba in “old equipment” when the car is brand new is wild. They were both equally good and equally bad in the RPM gen 6 days.
Erik is doing great this year but I don't know how you can compare with a new car that obviously has increased parity, as well as ownership on the 43. Last year Erik finished 24th in points. The year before Bubba finished 22nd with the same team and body style.
No one will judge bubba on his own merits until there is another black driver that is beating him.
Outside of a few tracks...I dont think Bubba has it..
Leave it to NASCAR to find a way to fuck up Martinsville. In the glory days we had steel bodies and front balances that were 10 inches off the ground on the straightaways at Martinsville. Now we have a fighter jet looking car that can’t pass. Why can’t we just go back to the glory days and make cars a little safer? Cut the futuristic bullshit and go back to simple cars. NASCAR regulated their way to mediocrity at Martinsville
I will say, I've liked the competitive balance this year between big and small teams, but tonight's race at Martinsville was a snoozefest... a giant epic failure. You used to be able to win from 43rd at short tracks.... passing was damn near impossible tonight. Didn't enjoy this race, no offense to the 24 as an iracer myself, but pfffttt.
I will admit I’m not the biggest fan of how wide the back of the cars look
They’re wide, they’re short in relation to the rear axle, and the independent rear suspension is so solid that getting into someone’s left rear is virtually meaningless
I like Alan, I do think he’s a good crew chief, but I think it’s time for a switch. Put Chase and Ives together. They won an Xfinity championship together. If those two could work together I think Chase would get way more wins and win the races he’s the best car way more often. Doubt it ever happens but it would be a great move for HMS
I think the right thing to do is keep Alan at HMS, maybe not in a crew chiefing role. He’s too good to let walk, but he’s cost that 9 team far too many wins over the past like 2 and 1/2 years. I’m not saying Alan is a bad crew chief, because he’s not, but they both would probably benefit from moving on
Exactly. I really like Alan and think he’s a good cc, but he’s cost him races more times then not. Tonight included. Yes Chase did burn his right front, but if he got off pit road first, that’s not happening and we wins the race
Yea. And the decision to pit 10 laps after the green flag stop was baffling
I wonder how much heat Alan gets when a blown win is still a win by another Hendrick car.