Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Black Flagging Rule Infractions - By The Book Or Not?


Last weekend we had a fascinating rule infraction that has the world of NASCAR fans fired up and bringing the discussion to the table at websites and radio stations.

First, generically speaking, the rule says that on restarts the 2nd place car cannot pass the leader of the race until he's passed a specified spot on the track designated as the "go" spot.  Unless the leader has obvious problems.

If the rule is broken, then the perpetrator must give the position back or be black flagged.

The situation:  During a race restart, Elliot Sadler was pushed by Austin Dillon and before the designated "go" spot, both Sadler and Dillon had passed the leader of the race.  Sadler never returned the position and he was subsequently black flagged.  Dillon, though he too was beyond the leader's car on the restart, was not flagged.

To the letter of the law, NASCAR black flagged Sadler.

End story.  Or is it?

I have heard so many different aspects on this scenario and for once, many of them are valid takes.  Why didn't NASCAR wave off the start?  Did NASCAR tel them to back off or else?  Why wasn't Dillon flagged too?  He was the third place car and he too was in front of the lead car at the spot.

And NASCAR has to stick to the rules they have in place.  It's as simple as that.  If they were to be flighty and make judgement calls every time something questionable happened, would, without a shadow of a doubt, put their enforcement of their own rules in question.

They HAVE to adhere to what they've put out in front of the drivers.  And learn from this.  Unfortunately, Elliot Sadler is the victim of this situation. And yes, it's horrid luck to be the recipient of this situation, at no fault of his own.

In other news, poor Austin Dillon is getting some weird luck these days, from infractions to a few on-track oops.  I can't imagine how he feels.

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Frank Stodard Has John Wes Townley Driving His Cup Car???


Wow, when I heard that John Wes Townley was going to be in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono this weekend, I was a bit stunned.  Townley has had a shot at some great equipment under the Roush and Childress garage roofs, but was "allowed" to look for other opportunities after creating a heap load of Ebay sheet metal opportunities.

John Wes Townley will be making his NASCAR Sprint Cup debut driving for Frank Stoddard.

But if you find yourself asking how the hell Townley can land a ride in the Cup Series over and above other, much more talented drivers in many series, well, there's a pretty good... well, reasonable explanation.

Money.

Townley is bringing a sponsor along with him to put on his RAB Racing ride this Sunday, Zaxby's.  And yes, Frank Stoddard is in search of funding.  The math made it happen, definitely not the talent... or I should say his apparent talent as indicated by his mulitple wrecks under multiple series and top-tier teams.

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With that said, I can't imagine wanting something so much but not being quite there, for whatever reason.  Making it happen because one has the bucks, is everyone's dream.  You or I would probably do this if we had the chance.

I've had a chance to play with top-tier athletes in the realm of professional bowling.  I know what it's like to have a dose of reality shoved down your throat, frame after frame, for 16 long games in a long day.  I had the chance, I had the dose of reality.  And yet, I never quit trying while I could muster the money to compete.

So Townley manning up to be brave enough to tackle this, is something to see.  That Stoddard wants to keep his shop doors open is something I think we can all understand.

But...

I also expect to find somewhere on the web, an over/under set of odds on what lap John Wes Townley is going to wreck/exit the race.  I do expect him to do what he's done in the past.  We'll see if that's a vindicated expectation.

And then again, Townley and Stoddard might gel so well and come together and we might all see one huge surprise.  (To quantify, that huge surprise would be to not wreck and finish in the top-20.  And/or.

Just saying.

I wish him luck, but...

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- -

Monday, July 30, 2012

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Official Race Results - Indianapolis

via NASCAR press release:

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES OFFICIAL RACE REPORT No. 20
19TH ANNUAL CROWN ROYAL PRESENTS THE CURTISS SHAVER 400 AT THE BRICKYARD
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Indianapolis, IN - July 29, 2012
2.5-Mile Oval
160 Laps - 400 Miles Purse: $9,169,812

Fin
Str
Car
Series
Bonus
Driver
Leader
Pos
Pos
No
Driver
Team
Laps
Points
Points
Rating
Winnings
Status
Times
Laps
1
6
48
Jimmie Johnson
Lowe's/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet
160
48
5
150.0
$430,461
Running
5
99
2
7
18
Kyle Busch
M&M's Toyota
160
43
1
122.9
362,108
Running
2
3
3
5
16
Greg Biffle
3M Ford
160
42
1
117.4
298,525
Running
1
4
4
20
88
Dale Earnhardt Jr
AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet
160
40
0
107.5
263,750
Running
5
9
24
Jeff Gordon
Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet
160
40
1
118.1
266,961
Running
1
1
6
1
11
Denny Hamlin
FedEx Express Toyota
160
39
1
113.0
250,091
Running
2
27
7
11
39
Ryan Newman
Quicken Loans Chevrolet
160
37
0
95.1
230,058
Running
8
17
56
Martin Truex Jr
NAPA Auto Parts Toyota
160
36
0
100.6
212,539
Running
9
22
2
Brad Keselowski
Miller Lite Dodge
160
36
1
96.1
214,470
Running
3
22
10
28
14
Tony Stewart
Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet
160
34
0
81.7
230,175
Running
11
19
55
Mark Martin
Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota
160
33
0
88.4
170,175
Running
12
15
5
Kasey Kahne
Farmers Insurance Chevrolet
160
32
0
91.2
172,850
Running
13
27
29
Kevin Harvick
Jimmy John's Chevrolet
160
31
0
80.4
205,236
Running
14
8
27
Paul Menard
Menards/Nibco Chevrolet
160
30
0
90.1
167,300
Running
15
33
15
Clint Bowyer
5-hour Energy Toyota
160
29
0
70.9
186,139
Running
16
24
22
Sam Hornish Jr
Shell Pennzoil Dodge
160
0
0
74.0
197,475
Running
17
18
21
Trevor Bayne
Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford
160
0
0
70.9
155,525
Running
18
14
78
Regan Smith
Furniture Row/Farm American Chevrolet
160
26
0
78.6
180,483
Running
19
4
43
Aric Almirola
Eckrich Ford
160
25
0
73.7
191,411
Running
20
23
9
Marcos Ambrose
DeWalt Ford
160
24
0
69.1
181,208
Running
21
12
42
Juan Pablo Montoya
Target Chevrolet
160
23
0
63.1
180,966
Running
22
16
1
Jamie McMurray
Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevrolet
160
22
0
60.4
180,908
Running
23
32
36
Dave Blaney
SealWrap Chevrolet
160
21
0
55.2
148,725
Running
24
26
30
David Stremme
Inception Motorsports Toyota
160
20
0
46.9
163,783
Running
25
38
83
Landon Cassill
Burger King Toyota
160
20
1
55.0
173,395
Running
2
2
26
29
47
Bobby Labonte
Scott Products Toyota
160
19
1
56.1
167,858
Running
1
1
27
31
38
David Gilliland
Big Machine Records Ford
160
17
0
49.5
156,008
Running
28
36
34
David Ragan
Scorpion Coatings/Al's Liners Ford
160
16
0
43.1
152,397
Running
29
2
99
Carl Edwards
Fastenal Ford
156
15
0
54.1
189,591
Running
30
42
32
Ken Schrader
Special Operations For America.org Ford
156
14
0
35.0
148,825
Running
31
37
33
Stephen Leicht #
LittleJoesAuto.com Chevrolet
154
13
0
35.6
148,275
Running
32
21
31
Jeff Burton
Rain-X Chevrolet
151
12
0
66.7
180,350
Running
33
3
20
Joey Logano
Dollar General Toyota
144
11
0
74.1
148,525
Running
34
25
13
Casey Mears
GEICO Ford
137
10
0
45.6
137,725
Running
35
10
17
Matt Kenseth
Fifth Third Bank Ford
132
10
1
82.5
186,011
Accident
1
1
36
13
51
Kurt Busch
Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet
126
8
0
67.3
145,375
Engine
37
30
93
Travis Kvapil
Burger King Toyota
40
7
0
38.7
145,300
Accident
38
34
95
Scott Speed
Leavine Family Racing Ford
23
6
0
37.6
137,170
Brakes
39
41
10
J.J. Yeley
Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet
20
5
0
33.5
133,325
Transmission
40
35
26
Josh Wise #
Taco Bell Chevrolet
19
4
0
30.0
133,245
Brakes
41
40
23
Scott Riggs
North Texas Pipe Chevrolet
14
3
0
28.8
133,070
Rear Gear
42
39
79
Mike Skinner
Koma Unwind Ford
11
2
0
29.9
132,975
Rear Gear
43
43
19
Mike Bliss
Humphrey-Smith Racing LLC Toyota
5
0
0
29.4
133,356
Engine
# Sunoco Rookie of the Year Contender.
Bonus Points: includes winner, lap leader & most laps led points
(i) = Ineligible for driver points in this series

Failed to qualify: (3) #91 Reed Sorenson; #87 Joe Nemechek; #98 Michael McDowell
Race Comments: Before an estimated crowd of 125,000, Jimmie Johnson won the Crown Royal Presents the Curtis Shaver 400 at The Brickyard, his 58th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. To start the race, prior to the green flag no cars dropped to the rear of the field.
TIME OF RACE:2 hours, 54 minutes, 19 seconds AVERAGE SPEED:137.68 mph MARGIN OF VICTORY:4.758 second(s)
COORS LIGHT POLE AWARD: Denny Hamlin (182.763 mph. 49.244 secs.)
3M LAP LEADER: Jimmie Johnson (99 Laps)
AMERICAN ETHANOL GREEN FLAG RESTART AWARD: Jimmie Johnson
DIRECTV CREW CHIEF OF THE RACE: Denny Hamlin (crew chief Darian Grubb)
FREESCALE "WIDE OPEN": Greg Biffle
MAHLE CLEVITE ENGINE BUILDER OF THE RACE: Hendrick Engines (#48)
MOBIL 1 OIL DRIVER OF THE RACE: Kyle Busch
MOOG STEERING AND SUSPENSION PROBLEM SOLVER OF THE RACE: Dale Earnhardt Jr (crew chief Steve Letarte, 0.345 seconds)
NASCAR SPRINT CUP LEADER BONUS: No winner: rolls over to $140,000 at next event++
SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Stephen Leicht
USG IMPROVING THE FINISH: Tony Stewart (18 places)
++Rollover money awarded at year's end, amount not included in race winnings.
Caution Flags: 5 cautions for 25 laps. [Beneficiary in Brackets] 42-45 (Car #93 Accident Turn 2 [83]); 48-51 (Car #15 Accident Turn 2 [13]); 95-100 (Car #13 Accident Turn 2 [83]); 126-129 (Debris Backstretch [36]); 134-140 (Car #17, 20, 21, 47 Accident Turn 1 [34]).
Lap Leaders: 17 lead changes among 9 drivers. Hamlin 1-26, Ky. Busch 27-28, Johnson 29-41, Hamlin 42, Keselowski 43-45, Johnson 46-71, J. Gordon 72, Kenseth 73, B. Labonte 74, Cassill 75, Keselowski 76-89, Johnson 90-95, Keselowski 96-100, Johnson 101-125, Ky. Busch 126, Cassill 127, Biffle 128-131, Johnson 132-160.
NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES TOP 12
Driver
Points
Wins
1 - Dale Earnhardt Jr
731
(1)
2 - Matt Kenseth
717
(1)
3 - Greg Biffle
709
(1)
4 - Jimmie Johnson
704
(3)
5 - Denny Hamlin
667
(2)
6 - Kevin Harvick
653
(0)
7 - Martin Truex Jr
653
(0)
8 - Tony Stewart
652
(3)
9 - Brad Keselowski
649
(3)
10 - Clint Bowyer
643
(1)
11 - Kyle Busch
588
(1)
12 - Carl Edwards
582
(0)


NEXT EVENT: August 5, 2012 - 39th Annual Pennsylvania 400 , Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, PA (400 Miles) (160 Laps)