Any comments on the Daytona race(July 7 2001)???

[Bud Fox]

Cant believe there is not a thread on this yet. Is NASCAR turning into the WWF with predicting the winners.

P. S. I know who is going to win in Chicago this weekend (just kidding)

I was curious if you watched the and thought it seemed a little funny that E. jr led about 90% of a restictor plate race with no drafting partners and no one could pass him even when others were drafting and he was by himself Was this the shot in the arm NASCAR needed to get people interested again who stopped watching after DALE sr died?? And if Michael Waltrip could get to second why not first?? He said he was not going to win ,he wanted Earnhardt jr to win. Now the drivers pick the winners?? I know what happened at Daytona the first time but Earnhardt jr had no chance to pass Waltrip at the first race so he was content with second but could Waltrip pass at this last race and go the front?? Who knows?? I am not bashing the sport but having a discussion with any body out there who is a fan. And yes i have been watching for years and this is not my first race I ever watched(in case you are wondering) One side note:: I like the 20 car and he was forced down below the yellow line

 

[claymike]

Come on I hope you are not falling for that one. Fixed NASCAR racing, ya right! On any given race there will be one car that runs and handles better then the rest. You do not always need the draft when you are running in clean air and your car is handling like you want it to. Could Waltrip, Sadler, Burton or Labonte who is in 7th in the points race have won it? Evidently not or they would have. I feel the individual sponsors have too much invested into this sport to turn it into a soap opera. Just my opion.

 

[Archive]

I'm more interested in reading the report Nascar is preparing to release next month about Dale Sr. 's final lap at Daytona.



*******************************************

Was it FIXED... ..... ??????



Little E. 's car DID run up front all night. If I had been in second place with a slightly faster car, I don't know if I could bring myself to pass him or not. I don't think I could do it. Obviously I can't speak for the racers who were actually on the track with him.



Also, one critical aspect of the win well worth remembering is the fact that no other race car driver in history has taken the green flag with more prayers for victory and safety riding with him that Little E. had last Saturday night. Mine was one of them.

 

[John Berger]

That race wasn't fixed. There is no way the other 42 drivers are going to go along with that while risking their lives in the suicide dance known as restrictor plate racing. To many people have to be involved to orchestrate something like that. That equates to to many people that would have to keep their mouths shut. The odds of that happening are probably pretty high against such a thing. I said this in another post and I'll say it here. Anybody that has more than a casual knowledge of NASCAR and restrictor plate racing will know that Daytona is a handling track, especially in the summer race. Dale, Jr. was able to put his car wherever he wanted to put it and on a plate track that spells success. If you watched the way he broke up the draft, not allowing anyone to get a run on him out of the trioval or down the backstretch it became plain that he had an outstanding car. I remember the 1996 Firecracker 400 which Sterling Marlin won. There were three Hendricks cars (Gordon, Labonte and Craven) lined up behind him and they couldn't do anything with him because his car was that good. Give credit where credit is due - to DEI. Their restrictor plate program has been good all season. Combined with Jr's determination to win this race, it was lights out. Everybody else was running for 2nd place.





TopFuel -- Well said!!!

 

[Bud Fox]

ClayMike,

I guess Waltrip should lose his sponsor then because he flat out said on national television he was letting Jr. win the race.



I also agree that on any given day a car can be dominant and it does happen except at Daytona and Talladega.



Lets just use Tony Stewart as an example. Joe Gibbs said before the race his cars were staying in the back for the whole race then move to the front at the end of the race because all the cars are bunched together in the front and that is were all the wrecks happen. With about 30 laps left he got on the radio with Labonte and they went to the front but... . well you know what happened. This is classic Earnhardt Sr, using the draft to get to the front,not staying out in front for almost the whole race because you cant in restrictor plate. I am not saying the race was fixed by all the drivers but if everyone else is running 1 5/8 holes in their restrictor plates and Earnhardt is running say... . 2 1/8 well, you get the point. And you think it cant be done by NASCAR, this is an organization that is investigating, by itself with no outside help, the death of Earnhardt. I mean come on, there is already been rumors that someone physically cut Earnhardts seatbelt from NASCAR to try to blame SIMPSON. This company makes belts for every single auto event out there and they never broke in a 300 mph IHRA event or in any event ,you think they ripped in that accident?? NO WAY



For the sake of the sport hopefully I am wrong



One more thing go to NASCAR. COM

Daytona in Feb-49 lead changes/ Daytona in July-15 lead changes

 

[BCFAST]

I believe the mistake you all are making is thinking that NASCAR is racing... it is not. It is entertainment, just like the WWF is entertainment. Would you be hurt or killed getting in the ring with those big guys? Absolutely, but it is correographed and the outcome is made so that the fans MUST tune in next week to find out what happens in the soap opera they've created. NASCAR has done the same thing with cars... it's marketing genious! Now, there is 'racing luck'; one can cut a tire, or get involved in someone else's wreck, and in that case I would immagine NASCAR has a 'Plan B' for a secondary winner. Dont misunderstand me, I like NASCAR for what it is, and being a racer myself I greatly admire thier driving talents, but, would a racer throw a race for another driver? No friggin' way! But, as an entertainer in a huge cast, you sure wouldnt want to admit it was all staged and be thrown out of the 'club'... after-all, even the back marker drivers make big money! It is a tight-lipped fraturnity that has most of America on the edge of it's seat. I applaude the creators of this great spectacle!

 

[John Berger]

You guys are funny

RedNuts98 - You imply that the 8 car had a bigger plate? What happens when it goes through tech inspection after the race? And rival owners and manufacturers are there to witness tech inspection? Now I guess you will say that the owners all must be involved in this conspiracy. There is a straightforward but highly supervised procedure for issuing the plates that are used on the cars. It is impossible to cheat with a bigger plate and get away with it. The reason the Gibbs cars ran at the back is because it's safer there. The conspiracy here is not that Dale, Jr. dominated the race, it's that NASCAR has conspired to keep the cars closer together at Daytona and Talladega, thereby causing teams to sandbag to avoid the big wreck that inevitably happens at those tracks. After what happened in February, can you blame some of the drivers?!? I don't think anybody would have ever thought that Dale Earnhardt would die in a race car, especially the other drivers. Did you listen to the comments of the drivers and the attitude they have about plate racing? If Michael Waltrip did not want to pass Dale, Jr. , so be it, but how that is an indication of a conspiracy, is beyond my ability to understand. I have seen dominating cars at Daytona: Sterling Marlin in the 1995 Daytona 500 and the 1996 Firecracker 400. Dale Earnhardt in the 1991, 1993 and 1998 Daytona 500. I know conspiracies are fun to talk about and it's easy to see why someone would think that the fix was in Saturday night, but it's a big jump to say that the circumstances are the proof that the fix was in.



BCFAST - If you don't think these guys really race, go to Bristol sometime. If you have been there, there is no way in the world I will ever be able to understand how you could make the statement you did.

 

[Bud Fox]

Hey John

John the way I made that statement about the plate was more or less intended to mean like a "could of" staement. There are different ways they could of made his car different than the other cars. OK,for arguement sake, lets say his car was the same, you have some of his OWN fellow drivers saying they "knew"all week Earnhardt was going to win(I think Jimmy Spencer said it). I am not a "conspiracy"person and I dont care what the outcome is,it just bothered me after the race and I wanted to see if anybody else agrees with what I saw.



BTW Bristol at night is one of the best races of the year i think(for short track) I think the way that track is built and how high the stands are is awesome





I also think NBC did a shiity job. Sound was messed up and they "tried" to make Earnhardt cry at the end by talking about his father. Give the guy a break,like it is not hard enough for him already. Bring back DW in the press box

 

[BigUgly]

Come on gang!

There is no physical way that NASCAR could have fixed the race, 42+ drivers (don't forget thoes that didn't qualify), that many pit crews, dozens of owners, a whole army of tech inspectors and the Media not sniffing it out while they were looking all week at Dale Jr. and his Late Father? Come on, no way they could all keep quite! The #8 won because it was driven by a great driver who knows the track, had a good pit crew, great Team/Owner with years experience in restrictor plate racing at Daytona. Some people that I know were saying that the #8 couldn't have rocketed up from where he was with 7 laps left to win. Do ya think the 4 fresh tires he had on vs. only 2 that the others he passed might have something to do with it? Nah. Could it be that he obviously had the best car (led the most laps)? Nah. Had a team mate right there with him (M. Waltrip)? Nah, must have been fixed.

Why didn't Micheal Waltrip pass Dale at the end? 2 reasons, Dale Jr. was faster and M. Waltrip wanted to help out his teammate and friend to win at the first race where his friend's dad died.

I say, "Good driving Lil' Dale. "

Josiah

 

[tntway]

my .02

i'm basically gonna stay outta this one 'cuz i think the right man ain't running NASCAR... but, NO WAY should TONY STEWART get

black-flagged...

 

[BigUgly]

Yeah, I'm gonna have to agree with yall on that one. Even a blind man could have seen that #20 was forced below the yellow line. However, while fliping through the TV, I hit Headline news, they had a blurb on the bottom of the screen saying Tony Stewart was fined $10k and on probation for the rest of the year... . anyone know why?

Josiah

 

[Ram4Sam]

Big Ugly, Tony Stewart was allready on probation from the pit road incident a few races ago when he rammed Jeff Gordon after the race. They extended it further in the season.



He really stepped in it at Daytona. After the race he was storming his way over to the Nascar trailer when a well respected beat writer held up a cassette recorder and asked him some questions. Tony knocked the recorder from the writer's hand, stomped it and kicked it under a transporter. Then, at the Nascar trailer, he went after Gary Nelson and had to be restrained by Joe Gibbs and Greg Zipadelli. Cost him 10 grand in fines and more probation.



You can find all the latest poop on Nascar at



www.jayski.com



Sam

 

[tntway]

Read another take on it...

if ya really wanna stir it up, go to ESPN. COM and read Robin Miller's column. he tells why he thinks Stewart was REALLY

black-flagged...

 

[John Berger]

RedNuts98 - Dittos on Bristol. I sit in the Waltrip section in turn 3. That place is wound up for that night race.



To all who think Tony Stewart got screwed - I agree. What happened to Tony is the kind of behavior that NASCAR needs to get away from. They tend to make the rules up as they go and Tony seems to be the guy that they want to pick on right now. He has brought some of it upon himself, but I think NASCAR crossed the line with this one. Imagine what the stink would have been had he been able to get by the 8 car and win. Man, talk about a big mess.

 

[John Berger]

Robin Miller article

I just read that article and I see what you mean. If the boy thinks thats what happened, then he needs to prove it. As far as Johnny Benson's and Jimmy Spencer's comments go, does anybody remember Dale Earnhardt's unbelievable charge from 18th to 1st in 5 laps last fall at Talladega. I have a lot of opinions about NASCAR and their secretive ways, but I refuse to believe that they would script an event of this magnitude, knowing full well that if/when Dale, Jr. wins these charges are going to be made. There are alot of people (ESPN is at the top of the list) that have an axe to grind with NASCAR over the new TV contract because they are on the outside looking in. I don't trust the media because they have a knack for playing both sides against the middle in order to bump their ratings up. Hell, I guess Cal Ripken's home run in the All-Star game on Tuesday night was fixed also. I don't know who the pitcher was, but it's obvious he got "The Call"

 

[Archive]

No Fix....................

Rumor has it that Mike Helton was seen holding a large electronic black box that had 42 toggle switches on it. The strangest thing about it was only switch #8 was flipped up to the "ON" position.



Conspiracy Therorists: Please, Please, ... . Let it go. Your synergy would be better served if it were redirected back to the grassy knoll.

 

[Bud Fox]

Hey TopFuel

The best is when the 8 car called in to the pit crew to say he was only running 3/4 throttle because he did not want to pull away too far from the draft



He could of probably turned on the A/C and engaged the cruise control

 

[Archive]

Red,

Glad none of the other crews were monitoring his radio frequency to hear this tidbit of unscrambled telecast telemetry. Of course they would never do such a thing, and besides, Little E. would Never transmit misleading information for Everyone to hear. BTDT. I'm loving this.

 

[Ram4Sam]

"The Call"

This bit of Nascar folklore has been around for years. It surfaces on a regular basis. The last time was at the Daytona 500 in Jan of 1998. That time all the hubub was about Dale Sr never having won the Daytona 500. Various drivers said basically the same thing, that Dale seemed destined to win, it was his turn, the rest of us don't have a chance, etc. Then he goes out and wins it and the legend of "The Call" lives on. Miller's article reads pretty much the same as the one's from two years ago, except it mentions Dale Jr instead of Dale Sr.



Sam

 

[Bud Fox]

RAM4SAM

You can't compare the 2. Dale sr. came close almost every year to winning the Daytona 500 , missing by inches sometimes. I mean eventually he was going to win ,it was the only race he never won. After X amount of times you kind of narrow down the possibilites and percentages.