Happy Hour: More Xfinity Series talk and unlimited lead changes
It’s time for Happy Hour.. As always, tweet us your thoughts or shoot us an email at [email protected] if you want to participate.
There are things that we have a hard time believing fans get outraged about. This week’s entry into that category were the person(s) mad that Brad Keselowski dropped the American flag while celebrating after his win on Sunday.
If you were upset about that, you need to reassess your priorities, and also understand the circumstances surrounding Sunday’s race. If you watched – and given that you saw Keselowski drop the flag, you probably watched – it was hard to miss all the chatter about the wind. You try and go hold a giant flag outside your car while you’re driving in still conditions. Now go do it when it’s windy.
Why are we even talking about this? Let’s get on to the questions.
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Hello Nick, I am a long time NASCAR fan, since 1996-1997 and I am in that beloved 18-34 male demographic. Mark Martin is my favorite driver but after supporting Trump and wanting to build that wall, I think I may be getting out of the sport, it just isn’t worth being viewed as a racist or a racist supporter to watch a sport that has undergone a lot of changes I do not like.
On a less sad note, I was reading your article on the fact that Nationwide is no less dominated by Cup drivers than it was 10 years ago, but the dates you used 2004, 2005 are not the dates people look back on fondly, by then Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick were already running a lot of races in a series below their skill level. I want to know the stats from 2000, the year before Kevin Harvick ran both series and proved it could be done, that is where the real discrepancy will likely lie. You may look at me as a Mark Martin fan and say I am a hypocrite supporting him but being against the so called Busch Whackers, but Mark Martin never finished higher than 21st in Busch points, and never ran more than half the races in a season. – M.
Here’s the article the letter references. We went back and looked at the 2000 season and 221 of a possible 320 top-10 places were scored by non-Cup teams. 16 of the 32 races were won by non-Cup drivers.
Edwards was not dominating the then-Busch Series in 2004 and had five wins in 2005. Both of those titles were won by Martin Truex Jr. We picked those years because at roughly 10 years ago, they’re relatable for most fans and Truex’s 2005 title was the last before Cup drivers won five-straight Xfinity Series titles. Plus, they were also two seasons that were in what can be viewed as NASCAR’s “peak.”
In 2000, Martin had five wins and 13 top-10 finishes in 13 Busch Series starts.
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Hey Nick..been trying to get this opinion out there “in the cloud”…maybe u can help . Most sprint cup races r boring because most of the races r on mile and-a-half tracks…On the start the leader, usually inside guy takes lead and extends it immediately to three or four car lengths..then everyone else falls in line single file two or three car lengths apart…BORING…Cars shoul be side by side for the lead on every lap…pack racing like at Daytona, and small track racin’ like at Bristol r what we wanna see…Thanks – G.
This is the best letter of the year, even if it’s a troll job.
This sounds like a weird take-off on NASCAR CEO Brian France’s publicly stated desire after last year’s Kentucky race that he wanted to see more pack racing.
Without dissecting this bit-by-bit, we’ll just say that there’s no track where cars are side by side for the lead every lap.
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why is it ok for the gas man, the fueler, to kick the rear tire back while engaged, but not place a wrench on the trunk? – Bob
The rule states “The Fueler must be in control of the fuel can at all times when fuel is being added to the vehicle. The Fueler will not be permitted to perform any adjustments or other pit stop procedures while the fuel can coupler is engaged with the vehicle-mounted adapter.”
Have you seen a fueler touching a tire with the gas can engaged this year?
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About Brian France, is there some law in NASCAR that restricts a person from saying who their going to vote for? Shame on NASCAR, for restricting drivers and others from speaking his or her thoughts. – Ed
Wait, what? There were four current/former drivers with France when he endorsed Donald Trump. The scrutiny France has received largely has to do with the contradictions created with the endorsement vs. NASCAR’s business actions. Had NASCAR not made the move it did to sever ties with Trump’s properties for its postseason banquets in July, France’s endorsement is a smaller story.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
