NASCAR 2008, The second half has begun Options

[SmokeChaser]

It's been quiet in this thread for a long while, time to wake it up. Who do you thik will win in Indy this week? Your thoughts on Smoke and who will be driving with/for him? Does anybody else dislike Kyle Busch? These topics and any others you may have, go a head and let us know what you think.

[Mcgee]

I`ve been a race fan for a long time. That race was no dought the worst race I have ever watch.
Good Year should be made to return at least 1/2 the cost of the tires back to the car owners. 25 laps of a 160 lap race is all they really raced.

[SmokeChaser]

Indeed that was NO RACE. I've seen better heat races on dirt tracks then that. NASCAR did what they had to do to keep the drivers safe but Goodyear should repay at least half of the rubber cost for that mess,a dn IMO repay half of the ticket cost to the fans that had to sit throught that. IMO, NASCAR needs to look at Hoosier again.

[Udmas]

I thought it was a good deal instead of watching one race we got to see what, five races. (IMG:http://www.herald-mail.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

[Tony Campello]

I thought it was a good deal instead of watching one race we got to see what, five races. (IMG:http://www.herald-mail.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

they actually had races? I guess Tony's assesment of Goodyear earlier in the year was on the mark. How can NASCAR be this stupid. They are worried that viewership is down. Well hello maybe if you want more viewers you should put out an exciting product and at teh very least before one of your biggest events make sure everything will work like it should. I still think they screwed Toyota also. They were in the rules but we are taking horsepower from you anyway. Gee a Japanese company having a better product than American company or companies. Surprise surprise surprise.

[SmokeChaser]

IMO NASCAR needs to look at Firestone and Hoosier for tires; Goodyear is just an embarrassment to the sport. Heck if I was Gibbs, Childress, etc. for that kind of money, I would want to pick who puts tires on my car. Regardless of who the tire supplier is, IMO the rubber manufacturer needs to hire the Rusty Wallace's, Terry Labonte's and Dale Jarrett's of the retired racing world, buy a couple of makes of each car, and do their own tire testing at EVERY TRACK. The veteran drivers know their stuff; I don't think a team test here and there is providing enough info for Goodyear.

[Ithlilian]

I'm curious as to why the tires were so bad this year. Did they repave the track or did goodyear just bring a new tire this year? I didn't watch the race, I haven't watched a race for a few years, just wondering.

[SmokeChaser]

Pocono Picks:

Hamlin gets the win

Kahne, JJ, and Shrub get Top 10's

Dark horse for a good run, my boy Harvick (and he needs it).

[momof3]

Dark horse for a good run, my boy Harvick (and he needs it).
[/quote]

Your not kidding. It's been a long while for even a top ten finish. I thought he was capable last week of coming in 10th but everyone got past him. He does better in the bush series.

My pick..I would like to see Harvick win but it would be more realistic to say Jeff Gordon-first and Kurt Bush-second -yuck! Harvick I think will have a top ten finish.

I see JJ is going to make his truck racing debut by driving the #81 owned by Randy Moss.

[samy0]

I see JJ is going to make his truck racing debut by driving the #81 owned by Randy Moss.

And he'll win that race too!

My picks for Pocono this week....

Denny Hamlin!

rounding out the top 5 JJ, Stewart,Shrub, and my darkhorse for the week bobby labonte

[SmokeChaser]

It didn't help that he got caught up in Kurt's mess. (IMG:http://www.herald-mail.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

[momof3]

I'm talking Harvick and then writing about Jr. Kurt wrecked Harvick early on in the race and I knew that but my fingers kept going. So Sorry, right info on wrong driver....I was cheering little "E" on but everyone kept getting past him. Since Harvick could'nt win, I was definitely happy with JJ winning. I'm surprised I didnt hear anything about a donny brook of some sorts between Kevin & Kurt. Kevin definitely has the Tony Stewart approach to things. AGRESSION......

[SmokeChaser]

Nah, Kev has really mellowed, besides Kurt spun, nothing intentional there.

[Biggins]

Indy is a tough place for which to build a tire as evidenced by the 2005 Formula One debacle for which I'm soooo glad I sold my ticket. Michelin's tires were deemed not safe to race, so all F1 teams equipped with Michelin tires boycotted the race and led to F1's departure from the USA. Only cars with Bridgestone tires actually raced that year (Ferrari, Minardi, Jordan).

Bridgestone/Firestone are the same company. Bridgestone supplies all F1 teams and each team has to run two different compounds for each race. Firestone supplies all IndyCar teams. I cannot think of any particular incident related solely to tire failure ALL season for any team in F1 and in IndyCar this year (I'm sure there were a couple though). Granted, it's "easier" to make tires for cars with as much technology and much lighter weight as the open-wheelers. (IMG:http://www.herald-mail.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

I've run Hoosiers on my car for a couple years for multiple events and would LOVE to see them back in NASCAR. They seem to work fine in ARCA and EVERY road racing series in the USA. I could see Kumho, Dunlop, and Pirelli also stepping into the ring if NASCAR would let them, but NASCAR is now a spec series, so I couldn't imagine them allowing more than one tire manufacturer into the series.

Also, I'm really angry about the Busch Series NOT running in Mexico next year... I really hope they replace it with another road course (Road Atlanta or the new New Jersey Motorsports Park).

Picks for Pocono:
Winner will be Jeff Gordon, with another strong run for Red Bull
Darkhorse: Casey Mears

[momof3]

I did not see much of the race yesterday ...bits and pieces and the ending, what happened to Waltrip? Congrats to Carl Edwards he had a strong car but werent they having some sort of problems with the car right before the rain delay? I remember a crew chief being interviewed during the rain delay and I thought it was Carl Edwards team but I could be wrong. I was hoping Kasey Kahne was going to pull it out though. I like how JJ ran out of gas as he was crossing the finish line. They did a great job estimating that.

[SmokeChaser]

For getting loose and spinning on the first lap, my boy did good salvaging a 4th place finish, and getting back in the Top 12. On to The Glen.