2018 NASCAR Thread

I think the 42 had a better than average year last year. CGR has never had a season where they were really a championship contender. With HMS having the worst season they have had in decades I would say they are on the upswing and I think Jones will be fine at JGR. Chevy designed this car to work with more than a 2" rear spoiler so I expect with the 19 rule package that will play into them a little better. I think Toyota might have some work to do for next years rule package and I doubt the Mustang will come out of the gate strong. Time will tell, I hope Chase is not a flash in the pan. I expect to see the 24 car win some races next year with CK on the box and a driver that does not have a huge ego.

 

I saw ive just been really busy lately...

 

I think it's taken HMS a little while to figure out where they were lacking in performance this year and just haven't been on the cutting edge like JGR and RPR have been. If they get their stuff together, they may be a force to be reckoned with next year. I really don't know what Jimmy's deal is. I think fate has just landed him at 7 along with the other greats of the sport who have 7 titles. 7 is enough and a good place to be tied.

 

I agree, I think Jimmy will hang it up after the 2020 season. Without Chad I do not see him being very successful in the future. Hell his new crew chief can't even win a race in Xfinity. I have never been impressed with anything Jimmy did in a car. You think back to the greats and there was always moments where they did something in a car that demonstrated they were superior to the competition. The closest we have to that today is the 18. I have never seen Jimmy do anything other than execute Chads strategy and drive a car that was vastly superior to the competition. In my opinion he has never got more out of a car than any other driver in his seat could have.

 

I think a lot of that was the timing in which he came into the sport as well. Nobody was really driving with a lot of determination, maybe Newman. I think that's just a product of the cars they were running during the time. Most of Jimmy's wins came from the cars that were aero dependant. I used to think he was a pretty good wheel man driving a loose car and then Kyle Busch showed up and showed us what wheeling a loose race car was all about, and getting it done in competing fashion. The guys that were racing with him in those early days were Kenseth, Newman, Biffle, Kurt, Gordon, Edwards, Kahne, Hamlin, etc. Nobody was dominating more than HMS in those days and the points systems guys with performance and consistency that Jimmy/Knaus had going on and worked the points to their favor. With the exception of stage racing, we're basically in Ricky Bobby territory with the points now. If you're not 1st, you're last. I'd prefer a system that favors hard work and determination to finish top 5 or 10 and keep bonus points for winning.

 

Just gonna commemorate the passing of one of my favorite drivers:

 

Coincidentally, I finally dropped $ on these cars last month:

 

^^^Very cool!

 

With no constant sponsors or job lined up for next year, your truck champion is Brett Moffit!

 

Pay to play nowadays. NASCAR is dead. We've seen the last of the drivers earning their way into top rides. Dirt tracks and Sprint cars is where the future of motorsports lies.

 

Glad he won to stick to the daddy money era. Shame Crafton had a bad year. Hate it for him

 

Here we go!

 

Very convenient for Busch’s teammate to spin out.

 

After the xfinity champion Reddick and now Logano they need to rid the play off format...... Xfinity series Bell with 7 wins and Allgaier with 5 or 6...nope a guy with 2 wins is champion. Cup series Harvick and Busch with 8 a piece... Nope a guy with 3 is champion.... I hope they wake up and see the playoffs are a joke...no one but the 18 or 4 should have even been considered in cup. When the participation trophy aero package next year I wonder what the backlash will be...

 

Yep, Nascar is dead.

 

• I wouldn't consider myself a Logano fan, but I'm not upset with his win. He went out and won the championship outright. They set up for short runs in cool temps and it worked. Sure, I would've liked to see Truex and FRR go out with a second championship, but Joey's never won one, and IMO, he was robbed by Gibbs and Kenseth back in 2015 or whatever. He hit a slump after that dump and never recovered until he snuck into the playoffs this year. He was quiet and consistent with his finishes and defeated his demons at Martinsville, which I think did a lot psychologically for him.
• I'll give Truex credit, he tried to play head games with Joey just like Kenseth did, but it didn't work.
• Harvick just got beat, plain and simple. He even put it into similar words.
• Last, I feel Logano's championship is valid. The only championship in the current points system I feel should have an asterisk is Kyle Busch's, due to his missing 1/3 of the season. I hope Joey uses some of that money for hair plugs. Yeah, he initially got into the sport with daddy's money, but most modern drivers did, and ALL of them got seats because of somebody's money somewhere. Like the Olympic games, NASCAR is not and has not been a merit-based sport for decades (#capitalism).

 

What sucks is the 78 had that in the bag had that caution not come out. It is a little suspicious that a Penske and Gibbs car caused it going four wide with a handful of laps remaining and nothing to gain. It is the fault of NASCAR for allowing these organisations to modify how these races end. Both the 19 and the 2 knew one of those cars was not coming out of that turn and the 19 needed to impress the blue oval guys as that is where he is expected to land. That is why you have the 22 touted as a champ when he ran mediocre all season and you have three cars that dominated the season falling short. To top it off you go an completely destroy the car after the race. Tell me how a team that has been mediocre at best all season pulls a car out of the hauler and dominated all the lap times in practice then wins at a track he has never won at. I give it to them, they played the game but it is BS the whole seasons work goes out the window for that one race. That's like picking two super bowl teams out of a hat. If you want to have a playoff then make it a cut line 2/3 into the season and the champ is the team with the most points over the last 3rd. In this format if you suck at Miami then you are pretty well fucked for your career.

At least the points for wins should rollover into that final race. NASCAR can't have that because they want drama down to the final lap. Sorry but that is not NASCAR and not how the sport is designed. You can't call yourself a champion if you were out performed in wins and consistently by several other teams throughout 95% of the season. Yeah the 22 is a champ, give me a break. Like when Newman came up one position short in 2015 I think it was and he didn't win a race or finish consistently all season. The format is BS!

 

Problem is, we didnt need the chase drama... Or the playoffs.... There was a close fight between Harvick amd Busch all season... And the NXS had a tight fight as well...

 

Hey, we doing a new on of these or what?

 

New thread has been made guys
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2019-nascar-thread.585366/