Nitro39

give byes to both the points leader and the winner of the most races at the end of the regular season? By "bye" I mean that, should the driver with a bye finish the lowest of the Chasers in one of the first six to nine events of the Chase, he wouldn't be eliminated, but use up his "bye" on that race? That way, doing very well in the regular season would mean something (this idea also assumes that points wouldn't be used in the Elimination format). Also, this is what it would have meant for 2010 had this elimination format been in place: After Richmond, Denny Hamlin was the winner of the most races (6) and Kevin Harvick was the points leader. They would have been given their respective byes. Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson, who neither led the points nor won the most races, would have been the first driver eliminated after NH because he finished the lowest of the field.

Guy's looking awesome after winning his third race of 2010 and clinching a berth in the Chase! Also congratulations to Mr. Subway Man, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth for posting top 5 finishes to welcome their boss back to the track, and to Sadler for his top ten finish!

I certainly did. First, he calls Kevin Harvick stupid at Pocono, and then he go and insults Ryan Newman and the way he races after HE got loose under him! If he had beef with Ryan racing him that hard, then why didn't Logano back off? Sheesh...

All of a sudden I'm really looking forward to watching this guy race. Omitting Watkins Glen, he ran two excellent races at Indy and Pocono, driving like a hungry man at Indy and then responding with an explosive restart that sealed the deal to break his winless streak. Who sees him racing for the win again on Sunday? Who will be his main competition?

Childress seems to be the blue-collar hard-workin' team, Gibbs the arrogant hotheads (although giving Logano some benefit of the doubt), Roush the cool and collected bunch (is a switch b/w Edwards and Logano in order?), Stewart-Haas the world-class underdogs, MWR the nice guys, Hendrick the big names, RPM the big names with tough luck, and Earnhardt-Ganassi the lovable primadonnas? Maybe I'm reading too much in it, but many of the teammates seem alike, especially at RCR and MWR. What do you think?

Thought of this when Hart gave the 5 he thinks are the best. I decided to respond with my own 5 plus 5 more:

1. Jeff Gordon

2. Tony Stewart

3. Jimmie Johnson

4. Kevin Harvick

5. Jamie McMurray

6. Kyle Busch

7. Jeff Burton

8. Kurt Busch

9. JP Montoya

10. Carl Edwards

Ambrose, Edwards, Montoya and Stewart will all be among the front runners in today's race. Will we see one of these guys or someone else get his first win of the season at this fast NY roadcourse?

I thought it was pretty good. Sure, Todd Bodine dominated the final segment, but congratulations to Austin Dillon for finishing second and to Ken Schrader for scoring a top ten! And how about Brian Ickler and Justin Lofton stirring the pot a bit?

Given that you don't have a Chase. I say increase the value of the marquis events in NASCAR rather than keep on going with a system that will continue to be panned in order to appease both the seasoned fans and new fans. If not 300, what value would you give the 500? Same as the other races? Would you elevate other races as well such as the 600 and the Brickyard race in terms of winner's points?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. for continuing to run outside the Top 12, or Jeff Gordon for almost always coming so close and then losing the win in the closing stretch?

The PGA's star player, Tiger Woods, gets caught up in a massive cheating scandal, players in the NFL are dealing with suspensions and arrests left and right, NBA fans riot after their team WINS the Championship, and yet NASCAR's trying to make its sport more exciting for the fans? Why is NASCAR bearing the brunt of criticism when its drivers don't mess up like the athletes of other sports? I understand most people are concerned with the organization itself, but it's the drivers who make the sport. How can you say NASCAR is dying when its athletes are the most presentable and yet interesting people in the sporting world while you have LeBron James calling that controversial conference to announce where he'll be heading, Ben Rothelisberger and Michael Vick facing jail time at one time or another, and so on?

Ten years ago this guy was a champion. Now, he's unfairly shifted around from bottom tier team to bottom tier team. I think it's time to give this guy a proper shot.

All four drivers are at the end of their contracts after 2010. Kahne's leaving for sure. Allmendinger's not showing Petty the love of a loyal driver. Sadler had to fight to stay in his contract. And Menard can take his sponsor wherever he ends up. Given RPM's economy woes and instabillity, will Petty have a team next year. If not, where would his four drivers go?

This guy is receiving excruciatingly little focus on his 13th place finish. No, he didn't necessarily earn it, and this was after dropping four spots from 9th to 13th on the GWC finish. But still, this bodes well for Park. Could this be the start of Park's re-entrance into the Sprint Cup?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nascar/news;_ylt=AqVksMZ2D...

This got me thinking. That paint scheme is my all-time favorite, yet no one ever uses it. But say they decide to honor the 20th anniversary of the film. What driver and sponsor would the color scheme best work for- and no, the number doesn't have to be 46. My thought was Carl Edwards- he sponsors either Scotts or Subway, which I think would be the best matches.

1990s: Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Harry Gant, Rusty Wallace, Ernie Irvan, Ricky Rudd, Mark Martin, Terry Labonte, Bobby Labonte, Dale Jarrett, Jeff Burton, Geoff Bodine, Davey Allison, Al Kuwicki

Today: Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Carl Edwards

Also, which group overall has more 'character' or personality?

This is how I see it:

Hamlin's gotten better at New Hampshire to the point that I think he'll sweep Cup events at the racetrack. Johnson's looking to conquer problem areas on the circuit, so that means he'll be one to watch at Daytona and Watkins Glen. Chicago's a 1.5 miler, a track where both Hamlin and Johnson run well. Indy's similar to Pocono in terms of flatness and the difference between speed on the straights and in the corners. Also, Johnson will be looking for the threepeat at Indy. Pocono and Michigan are back-to-back dates in the late summer, and guess who won there earlier this year? And then Bristol and Richmond are two of Kyle Busch's best tracks, with the 1.5 miler of Atlanta suiting the speed of Hamlin's cars this year and his and Johnson's tendencies to do well at intermediate tracks. Johnson won four of the Chase races last year, and Hamlin won two. I have a feeling that it might be until Talladega that a non-Johnson/Gibbs driver wins a race. Right now, it's three races since Kurt Busch at Charlotte, and 11 races out of 16 this season.

He beats Jimmie Johnson for ROTY honors in 2002, wins 8 races in 2003, and then goes winless for in 2006, 2007, and 2009. How is it that a guy who won 8 races in one season finds himself winning one race every two years and having to fight hard to make the Chase?