2021 NASCAR thread

Well, looks like you are holding checkers man. I bid you good day!

 

NextGen Camry

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CU5A8B_DZK7/

 

Saturday was fun. AJ ran off with it but the battle for 2nd-8th place was incredible to watch play out on track.

Sunday was much warmer. The race was pretty calm for the most part. I think they've finally dialed the cars in for this circuit as their braking points were different than in years past. Far fewer errors and body slams into T1 and out of the final chicane. Man- that deal with Harvick and Elliott was pretty blatant and uncalled for and the crowd was not pleased. Watching Chase not give up and just hone in on one goal was incredible to see. He was driving the wheels off that car, smoking the tires through the turns in an effort to catch up with the field, which he did until pit cycles. When they went green late in the race, Chase passed nearly ten cars in two laps and was gunning for Harvick down the straight. Everyone was point and watching as Truex got out of the way. it's wild when tens of thousands of people know what's about to happen and then ~BOOM~, Harvick just cooked it into the turn. I imagine his spotter was telling him to get out of the way because Chase was coming. The crowd went nuts and I was living for it. That is the electricity NASCAR badly needs in the stands. Judging by the convo here, it played out equally well on TV. I didn't really want to see Larson win another one. Man- how about Reddick? Looking really good there and certainly getting more out of that Childress equipment than Dillon can muster. Same for Beuscher. I was really hoping either of those guys could make a move and score and upset. Matty D drove his Penske prepped equipment to a quality finish. It was a fun day at the speedway.

 

What a race to see in person! It did play out very well on TV. NBC knew exactly what was going on as well and it made for an exciting broadcast.

Tough break for the 8 early in the playoffs. He's been exceptional. Hopefully he can put a win together before the end of the year.

The beef between the 4 and 9 is over, I truly believe. Harvick sealed his own fate after almost costing both of them a chance in the playoffs.

 

So this is how it went down for me. I busted my ass on Sat and Sunday morning to be free for the race. I replaced a fence post and two panels of fencing at my in laws, turned there irrigation system off and winterized it. Did the same at my house and my parents. Replaced a portion of the dryer vent system at my house and cleaned that out. Helped my son with a couple small projects and washed my wife's car. Then I adjusted the carb on my old truck and made sure it was ready for the cold weather. I set down and watch the 9 do well through stages 1 and 2 and am feeling pretty good other than the shot the 4 tried to take on the 9 at the end of stage 2. My mom calls me and says "hey, sorry to bother you while you are watching the race but could you come over here. I am pretty sure your father might have set the house on fire". So I run out of the house and speed the .3 of a mile to my parents. I arrive to my mom holding her 18 year old crypt keeper looking dog in the driveway with all the doors open, smoke coming out of every hole in the house and the alarms going off saying "FIRE, FIRE, FIRE". I run past my mom asking if she is okay and asking where my dad is. She says in the house and I find him in the closet staring at the opening to the attic. I chokingly said what happened. He said I don't know, I just started the furnace for the first time this year and I think its burning the dust out of the vents. I was like well, I doubt that's the case and asked him to turn the furnace off. Meanwhile I get a ladder and go up in the attic which is filled with smoke to see if I could find flames or a hot spot. I find a fault light on the furnace and some melted wires and so on. I turn off the gas and unplug the unit then search around in the attic for a while trying not to breath to much smoke. After about 15 min the smoke is clearing and the alarms quite going off. I come down from the attic and find my dad sitting back in the living room with all the windows and doors open and the fans on. The house is still smoky but it is clearing.

I tell my dad I think it is in the furnace and as this house is only 9 months old tell him he should call the people who installed it and have them come figure it out. I grab a glass of tea and set beside the crypt keeper little dickhead of a dog and see that Chase is now out of the playoffs running in the back and the car is torn to fuck. I was like WTF happened to the 9. My dad who is a diehard Harvick fan says oh, yeah so one of the SHR cars might have punted him. Figured I would wait to see if the house was on fire or not before I told you that. I responded "one of the SHR cars? Did it happen to have a 4 on the side of it with a dickhead behind the wheel?" He responds yes but the 41 turned him too. Let's just say it was a tense 45 min while I waited to see if the 9 would make it and/or if my parents house was going to burn. Even my dad being a 4 fan said yeah he probably should not have done that. My dad is retired and works for me part time so I told him that if Chase fell out of the playoffs before I got back to my house he probably should not show up for work tomorrow (today). For my troubles I took the fresh gallon of sweet tea my mom had just made with me, insulted her dickhead dog and told mom she could come stay at my house if it got cold. I told my dad he could burn all his Harvick shit to stay warm if he got cold. He said "wait, are you taking the tea?" I said, "yes and I never liked you!"

The conclusion to the smoke was apparently when they installed the new unit they did not remove the owners manual that is secured above the heating coils inside a plastic sleeve. Sometime over the summer that came loose and got on the heating coil and melted and caught fire inside the unit. The company who made the mistake is addressing the issue today.

Update: The company who installed the furnace will be installing a new unit tomorrow. Hopefully it gets cold enough tonight that my dad will have to burn some #4 shit!

 

Holy hell. Glad it turned out not to be a bad thing! But it sure does add to the excitement of NASCAR Sunday. As I mentioned before, probably the best race of the season. I hope the remaining elimination races are the same. I'll be in Phoenix for the Championship and look forward to how it all plays out en route.

Good stuff, Jay!

 

Up Next: TEXAS
My least favorite playoff race. Bias Alert I've never liked Texas. Well- maybe the time Bill Elliott set a new track record that stood for a couple of years, but that's about it. With two wins in the past six Texas races, Harvick looks to be a favorite but I think last week's wreck most certainly rattled him, as his vulnerability is now in the open for all to see. He's always played head games but he got played. Kyle Busch is the second recent multi-time Texas winner with 2 of the last 6 events. Coincidentally, these two have the highest average finishes at TMS, 5.5 and 6.6, respectively. The big teams are all dialed into playoff mode now so I doubt we see a surprise winner jump up and grab a win from here on out.

My Picks: 4, 11, 18
Dark Horse: 22

Wins by Manufacturer*:

• Chevy 8
• Toyota 7
• Ford 6

* Over the past ten years. source: https://www.racing-reference.info/tracks/Texas_Motor_Speedway/

Wins by Active Driver*:

• Ky Busch 4
• Harvick 3
• Hamlin 2
• Logano 1
• Dillon 1

* Over the past ten years. source: https://www.racing-reference.info/tracks/Texas_Motor_Speedway/

Average Finish*:

• Harvick 5.5
• Ky Busch 6.6
• Logano 7
• Ku Busch 7.8
• Jones 8
• Reddick 8.5
• Blaney 10.5
• Bell 12**
• Dillon 12.5
• Almirola 13.6

* Over the past 6 events. Source: https://www.driveraverages.com/nascar/track_avg.php?trk_id=21#recent
** Only run two events at TMS

 

I feel like it’s either the #5 or #11 at every track now. Mostly the#5. But since Matt Kenseth is done I find myself pulling for the #9,Kinda the #12 also..

 

I doubt the 9 will make it out of this round. Gonna have to win at the paperclip. I am pulling for him though.

 

LOL. You are a persistent person man! He just might. LOL....

 

18, 11, 12

 

this! I really think it's time for the 11.

However, as mentioned several pages back, I don't believe anyone wouldn't be happy for the 12 if he could somehow pull out the Championship!

 

The best thing Chase can do it put that behind him and move on. Harvick got the last word so let him have it and try and keep your distance for at least the next couple of races. Chase typically does not do well at Texas. He is good at Martinsville though. He is going to have to win one.

 

Nobody betting on the 21?!

He will start top 10 and this is a good track for him. And he's the most motivated of all the drivers... he's fighting for his career.

 

Not the biggest fan of Texas but I'll take it over the Charlotte Roval.

 

Hate to say it, Matty D is a lame duck, I would be shocked if he gets a win, in the 21. Cindric drove the next gen 21 at the roval test yesterday. They don't won't Matty D to have any insight on the new car, much less give him everything he needs to win, in the next 4 races. It sucks, but Penske is a prick and the 21 is basically a 4th Penske car.

 

I saw this play out firsthand at Talladega. He took the exact same car he damn near'd in the spring and couldn't barely get into the top 20.

I'm not a conspiracy theorist.. but I'm starting to think that Dex Imaging paid Penske to allow their boy to get the 100th win for WBR going forward. But my boy has had shitty equipment throughout his career and still managed to put it high atop the scoreboard. Last year when they actually cared and gave him good equipment you seen what he can do with it.

All that being said... I'm still betting on my boy to win this weekend. Because what better way to say eff you on the way out is to to screw up some well-laid plans.

 

I think this is his last shot for a win this year.