2021 NASCAR thread

That's where the "regular season champion" comes in. I like the playoffs, although I'd tweak some of the races. Although I agree that there's no way Harvick shouldn't be there with 9 wins, I'd also expect to see a penalty assessed for intentionally spinning the 18, which probably won't happen. As someone else mentioned, he also blew a historically large playoff lead. Remember, Kyle Busch got into the final 4 on points alone last year.

 

I was there and I have never seen adult men behave like absolute toddlers in the stands. Absolute tantrum in the grandstands.

 

NASCAR did all they could do yesterday to help the #4 car but when that wasn’t enough, Harvick’s true colors came out AGAIN in the end.

 

This. Why the hell was Kenseth racing him so hard when he had literally nothing on the line?

 

He did what he had to do and I bet Kyle would even agree with that. I only wish he had turned someone sooner. I think it shows he only did it as a last ditch effort.

 

You not see the 2 just running over everyone at the end of the race ??? Hahah

Never heard anything out of the 18 afterwards. He didn't loose any spots tho.

Kenseth just needs to retire again. I dont know how many times this year he just wrecks on purpose out of no where. Its like he is just done for the day, spins out into the wall by himself, and then heads to the RV haha

 

If they are going to do playoffs like other sports, then do the playoffs like other sports. If you don't make the playoffs, you stay home. Otherwise it is just fucktardery. There was nothing wrong with the old points system. The fact that NASCAR thought the reason viewership was down because of the points system just shows how far their heads were up their collective asses.

And this whole discussion just reminds me of how much I detest Brian France. That little fucker always had a look on his face like he was expecting to get his ass kicked at any given moment, and that was when he was in high school. Smarmy little shit.

 

There was quite a bit wrong with the old point system, to be honest. The points were arbitrary, it seemed, and I can't tell you how much I would detest hearing "all Dale Earnhardt has to do is take the green flag and he's the champion" before the last race, or "all Jimmie Johnson has to do is finish 35th or better and he's the champion." Not to mention that fans were tired of hearing the drivers say "it was a good points day" after settling for a 4th place finish and not even seeming to try for the win.

And I completely disagree with having the other cars stay home. They still have sponsorship obligations and provide an extra variable. Quite honestly, the only real things I'd change up are some of the tracks (rotate them every year), and the gentleman's rule of letting the final 4 battle it out at the end. I loved seeing Larson fighting for the win at Homestead last year despite not being in the playoffs.

If you want to change the rounds, maybe change it to 4 races instead of 3, and 2 races for the final round instead of 1. Otherwise, last night was exciting, especially as a Kyle Busch fan who doesn't have a horse in the race right now.

 

Precisely my point. If someone is dominant enough to clinch with three races left, they deserve to be the champion. The whole idea of erasing all of the progress a team made during the year is preposterous. The whole "chase for the cup" concept was asinine from the get-go. Overall it was the broadcasting bullshit and rules packages that made NASCAR unwatchable, not the points system. The networks definitely didn't help by moving races to channels that were only available through special cable bundles (I'm looking at you NBCSN).

 

Any thoughts on the 20 and 19 staying behind the 11 at the end so he could get into the Final 4? Truex pitted got fresh tires, flew through the field then all progress stopped when he got to the 20 and 11. The 20 was all over the 11 at the end but never passed him. Had they passed the 11, he'd be out and the 4 would've been in.

 

For a guy that got let go from a team, you'd think he would have passed him regardless. Im sure papa Joe was on that radio telling him he better not haha

 

Team rules

 

It was meant to stop drivers from just coasting and not competing. People were tired of seeing that. What's more is that you still have to remain consistent to win. Kyle Busch, for example, had 5 wins last season which didn't match the other drivers in the playoff, but he did have the best average finish of them all and showed up when it mattered. This isn't unique to this format. Terry Labonte won the 1996 championship with 2 wins while Jeff Gordon had 10 wins. Alternately, Kyle Busch had 8 wins in 2008 and Carl Edwards had 9, but neither won the championship that season.

 

May have been a gentleman's agreement or something. Joe Gibbs has been pretty adamant that they don't give team orders and each driver is for themselves.

 

I doubt it. Gibbs has been pretty adamant that each of their drivers are for themselves and there's no team rules. Not to mention Jones has no incentive to follow team orders. If them staying back was intentional, then it was likely a gentleman's agreement or simply respect

 

In every other major sport in the playoffs yesterday’s win means nothing and today means everything. If the patriots are the only team to go 16-0 during the regular season does that mean they should be crowned super bowl champions without any playoff games?

The uncertainty of sports and the wild narratives of Cinderella stories are what makes it exciting and gives anyone who makes it to the playoffs a chance to win it all.

 

Again, what NASCAR does is not a real playoff, and it's the only circuit based motorsport that I am aware of that even pretends to have one. If it was a real playoff, anyone that didn't make the cut would be done for the season. And yes, I'm aware of sponsor obligations, blah, blah, but don't call it something it isn't.

To put it in better perspective, when was the last time an NFL team not in the playoffs knocked a team that was in the playoffs out? Exactly. It can't happen.

And don't think for one second that I'm salty about Harvick specifically. NASCAR has made so many fucked up changes over the last decade that I no longer go out of my way to watch a race, whereas I used to tune in every week. I even used to participate in the fan council, but it got to a point where I just couldn't bear to watch anymore.

If NASCAR's was such a good idea, why hasn't it been adopted by any other major sanctioning body? IMSA, F1, IndyCar, WEC, GT WC, WTC, DTM, etc. still crown their champions by cumulative points and all (except for F1) provide better racing.

 

You are not comparing apples to apples. NASCAR has always had all the teams compete until the completion of the season. So to have an issue with that is not logical. As for the system how it stands it is not a big deal however they choose to do it because it is the same for everyone participating. If you win a race you get 5 bonus points that you carry through the round of 8. For every stage win you get a point. Now I do not agree that everyone is set at 0 for the final race and it's one and done. I think they should leave you with the bonus points all the way until the season is over and that the final 4 should be at least a total of three races on different types of tracks but that's just my opinion. It is designed for the hype and that is what they are getting. Guys like Harvick had every opportunity to make it. They had the easiest path, they choked. Sure the JGR cars were told not to pass the 11 but that is why they invest in those cars so they have the ability to control that. Same with why the 6 and the 21 put up a fight on the 4. The 6 has ties to Penske and the 21 is a Penske teammate. It is suspicious that some no name Ford just happened to shut off and not be able to make it off the track when Harvick would benefit. They are all payed to play the strategy better than the next guy. In my opinion the only reason the 4 was eliminated is because they stopped being aggressive. They decided to play the points game and it bit them in the ass. He should have taken it to the 22 when he could. They thought they were good and they came up short. The 11 and 9 belong in that group because they have been strong all year. The 2 & 22 have had waves of success but do not deserve as much as the 4 but they knew the rules and played the game.

NASCAR has higher rating than any of the other forms of racing you mentioned. I mean look at Indy, no hype and no one really cares.

 

I read where nascar is actually looking into how the 20 raced the 11. They are listening to the radio communication to the 20. He was told, what so ever, "DO NOT PASS THE 11". We all know what happened to Michael Waltrip racing that year at Richmond, when they had team orders.

 

The negativity of NASCAR "fans" is about the only thing more toxic than the negativity of Michigan fans and only slightly behind politics.