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The OFFICIAL 2020 NASCAR thread. Yep, they still turn left.

49K views 688 replies 72 participants last post by  CaleDeRoo 
#1 ·
I'm sitting here watching the Duel races and realized we have threads for Sportscar racing, Indy, and F1 but nothing for Murrica's greatest carbureted left hand turning stadium of speed.

Let's fix that with a (possibly?) unpopular opinion. I think the #3 should be retired, or at the very least, not run in a Black, Silver, Red livery again. I don't care who owns the car and who's nephew is driving it, it's kind of disrespectful to see it out there.




That being said, growing up a SR and Rusty Wallace fan, I don't have any real attachment to the #2 car anymore, so I may as well cheer Austin Dillon on
 
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#369 ·
I'm glad that NASCAR and track officials took this seriously, and conducted a real investigation with outside sources, so that nobody could say "There is a coverup". The fact that it was there at all was probably a "Hyuck" moment for some crew member there last year, "Hey, look at the loop I made", not thinking of the ramnifications of a tense week in NASCAR that featured protestors flying the loser flag outside the track, and someone even hiring a plane to fly a message banner featuring it, saying "Defund NASCAR", which doesn't even make sense. Remember, folks, this is Alabama, a State not exactly known for great race relations, even before this massive shift in policy, in a white, Southern dominated sport.
 
#370 ·
via Jeff Gluck

NASCAR just released a photo of the garage pull rope that was fashioned into a noose at Talladega.


NASCAR president Steve Phelps says its own investigation has been completed. "In hindsight, I should have used the word alleged." But says the noose was real and the concern for Bubba Wallace was real. That was the only rope in the garage tied this way.

NASCAR says it investigated how the noose got there in the first place. It was tied sometime during the October 2019 race weekend, but NASCAR was unable to determine who did it. It asked all 29 tracks to look for other nooses this week and this was the only one found.

NASCAR president Steve Phelps says he takes "full responsibility" for the wording being wrong. Felt a driver had been threatened and it was on NASCAR to react and investigate. Says to suggest Bubba Wallace was in any way involved is offensive.

If the noose was there since last October, why didn't anyone report it until now? NASCAR's Phelps says that's a problem. "Odds are someone saw it and didn't react negatively to it. We need to make sure that doesn't happen in the future. We need to do better as an industry."
 
#373 ·
I thought real nooses had 13 wraps?

Considering most people don't know - or care to know - details... it's good that NASCAR isn't pinning anything on Bubba; it isn't his fault. He wasn't even there. If this was originally done as a gag or intimidation factor, it's obviously in poor taste.

When we raced one year, we had a church on the car as a sponsor. At one race track the team to our right in the pits played AC/DC's Hells Bells the entire day. Too bad our entire team basically grew up listening to AC/DC, Metallica, Def Leppard, etc. If you really want to get under our skin, play that sh*tty rap.
 
#371 ·
 
#377 ·
Stay classy, North Carolina:

North Carolina speedway owner offers ‘Bubba Rope’ for sale
DANBURY, N.C. (AP) — The owner of a North Carolina racetrack advertised “Bubba Rope” for sale in a social media marketplace days after NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, who is Black, announced a noose had been found in his garage at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.

Mike Fulp, the owner of the half-mile (0.8 km) 311 Speedway in Stokes County, made the pitch Wednesday on Facebook Marketplace: “Buy your Bubba Rope today for only $9.99 each, they come with a lifetime warranty and work great.”

Fulp’s Facebook followers criticized his ad, with some self-described loyal spectators saying they would stop attending events at the dirt track because of the post. More critical comments appeared on the speedway’s Facebook page Thursday.

No one answered the phone at the speedway Thursday and the inbox couldn’t accept a message seeking comment. The ad had been taken down by midday Thursday.

A Facebook post on Fulp’s page Monday announced the speedway is sponsoring a “Heritage Night” on Saturday. A subsequent post on the event encouraged fans to purchase a variety of items, including Confederate flags and caps, and added, “don’t forget your 2nd Amendment Right, 311 Speedway.”


NASCAR officials released a photo Thursday of the rope found Sunday in Wallace’s garage stall that prompted a federal investigation, which determined it had been there since October.

The incident placed racism front and center for NASCAR, which two weeks ago banned the Confederate flag from its venues and races at Wallace’s urging. It also sparked criticism from some fans that NASCAR had somehow overreacted — criticism the sanctioning body cited in releasing the photo taken by NASCAR security.

NASCAR moved quickly and by Monday, FBI agents were at the Alabama track. On Tuesday, authorities said the rope had been used as a door pull since last fall and thus was not a hate crime targeting the 26-year-old Wallace.
https://apnews.com/16312a353a61a7046d397c14cbe55ba3

:facepalm:
 
#378 ·
NC > NASCAR Country

In NC, the struggle is real, despite a forum member's belief that it doesn't even exist.

So, this just happened. And when you read this below, know thatvitcwas three Wilmington, NC officers. Think about the people they have pulled over and the treatment they received. And, of course, the three officers say they aren't racists :facepalm::

"3 North Carolina Officers Fired After Video Captured ‘Extremely Racist’ Rants in Squad Cars

The Wilmington Police Department took the action on Tuesday against Cpl. Jessie Moore, and officers Kevin Piner and Brian Gilmore.

At the 46-minute mark of the video, Piner and Gilmore began talking from their respective cars, at which time Piner criticized the department, saying its only concern was “kneeling down with the black folks.” About 30 minutes later, Piner received a phone call from Moore, according to the investigation, a segment in which Moore referred to a Black female as a “*****.” He also referred to the woman by using a racial slur. He repeated the use of the slur in describing a Black magistrate, and Moore used a gay slur to describe the magistrate as well.

Later, according to the investigation, Piner told Moore that he feels a civil war is coming and that he is ready. Piner said he was going to buy a new assault rifle, and soon “we are just going to go out and start slaughtering them (expletive)” Blacks. “I can’t wait. God, I can’t wait.” Moore responded that he wouldn’t do that.

Piner then told Moore that he felt a civil war was needed to “wipe them off the (expletive) map. That’ll put them back about four or five generations.”

https://time.com/5859125/wilmington-officers-fired-racist-rants/

It's unfortunate the noose incident happened but the resulting show of unity was as powerful as it was important to see. Again, there's more of us in the middle and we need to stand up and be heard and not let the lesser of us try to be the face of us.

I've honestly had my struggles with NASCAR, my father got me into motorsport, and NASCAR especially. We bonded there and I still watch other forms of racing. Maybe through all of this a cloud will move away from NASCAR and old and new fans won't have the dilemma and stigma to deal with. I hope for brighter, sunnier days for NASCAR :thumbup:
 
#381 ·
I wonder when they changed the pit road rules.

Hamlin's last pitstop the RF tire carrier grabbed the used tire, went to the front of the car, set the tire down, and rolled it to the wall.

What ever happened to the tire had to be within an arm's reach?

But hey, Toyota probably b*tched the weren't winning enough, so...
 
#383 ·
#384 ·
i made off like a bandit this weekend in random fantasy. you got one pick for both races and i was given the 11.
 
#397 ·
no

the xfinity package is the best in the sport right now and cup needs to be following that again.
 
#422 ·
Harvick is looking strong...

From my on again, off again viewing of NASCAR, the whole stages thing just seems so crazy.

Did the playoff format and these stages thing make it better for the fans?
I hate the stages, and I believe most fans agree. IMO it was needed as a band-aid for crappy racing in recent years as an alternate to all the phantom cautions in years passed. They needed something to bunch up the field to promote passing, that with their horrible neutering of the engines and way too much down force takes a lot of skill out of the racing IMO. Even if the next gen car fixes the racing NASCAR will not go back on the stage racing and admit they were wrong in the first place. Watching the F1 and Indy race this weekend just reaffirmed my dislike of the stages format.
 
#425 ·
Great news. JJ has been cleared to race :cool:


Not so great news. Looks Tyler Reddick was told by RCR to delete a tweet supporting Bubba Wallace after POTUS tweet on Monday.

"We don't need an apology. We did what was right and we will do just fine without your support," Tyler Reddick
 
#426 ·
Great news. JJ has been cleared to race :cool:


Not so great news. Looks Tyler Reddick was told by RCR to delete a tweet supporting Bubba Wallace after POTUS tweet on Monday.
Dick is going to dick. Reddick is the lone bright spot for RCR since Harvick left. Well... there are seats available for next year, let's see if Reddick can land somewhere else.
 
#428 ·
Sounds like a good idea.

NASCAR considering ban on political paint schemes, report says

NASCAR is in the early stages of discussing whether to ban political paint schemes.

According to a report by Adam Stern of Sports Business Daily, NASCAR is in the early stages of discussing whether or not to ban political paint schemes in light of recent events.

Within the past few weeks, drivers have taken political stances with their car’s paint jobs including Bubba Wallace who had a “Black Lives Matter” paint scheme.

As well as Corey LaJoie who had a “Trump 2020” paint job for his car courtesy of a partnership between his racing team and a political action committee supporting President Donald Trump.

The polarization has continued in recent days after President Donald Trump on Monday went after Wallace and criticized the sport’s decision to ban the Confederate flag at its races and venues.

Trump accused Bubba Wallace of perpetrating “a hoax” after one of his crew members discovered a rope shaped like a noose in a garage stall they had been assigned to.

Federal authorities ruled last month that the rope had been hanging there since at least last October and was not a hate crime. Wallace has maintained the rope had been fashioned into a noose.

Wallace responded on his Twitter page by saying that “Always deal with the hate being thrown at you with LOVE! Love over hate every day. Love should come naturally as people are TAUGHT to hate. Even when it’s HATE from the POTUS. Love wins.

At this point the timing of a move is currently unclear.
 
#429 ·
Too little too late, they already crapped on their core audience that grew up loving NASCAR, and are trying to appease people that have always thought NASCAR was stupid and aren't going to watch once the 5 minutes of controversy is over. I mean, after alienating their core audience, do they really think they are going to replace them all with younger viewers from San Francisco? C'mon.

Its going to be just like the boyscouts where they pushed so hard to insert progressive politics, as if left-wingers would ever even consider enrolling their kids in boyscouts in the first place. Rapidly their core demographic abandoned them and they filed for bankruptcy, who would have guessed. Ultimately, I think the left will win though, because if NASCAR fails and is shut down thanks to years of ignoring their core conservative audience, they lost nothing because they never watched it anyway, asserted their cancel-culture power, and took something away that the stupid ******** enjoyed.

At least this is hopefully teaching everyone a lesson: Know your core audience and respect their values.
 
#434 ·
It Will Be Fine

It's much about nothing, the sport will be fine. It's a fallacy to say that the majority of NASCAR fans are like the poster above or like the guy that guy that drove his car through a crowd, they are not. Racists are the minority, though they can hold high places and weild power.

I live in NC (which is indeed NASCAR country) and have been to races. The bigger threat to NASCAR and all motorsport is the younger generations love of esports and less love for cars.

Car enthusiasts are still huge in number and motorsport has a place, it has to continue to make it fun and accessible to all. I applaud NASCAR for it's latest moves, they go along way to accomplishing that goal.
 
#436 · (Edited)
It's much about nothing, the sport will be fine. It's a fallacy to say that the majority of NASCAR fans are like the poster above or like the guy that guy that drove his car through a crowd, they are not. Racists are the minority, though they can hold high places and weild power.
Oh, thanks for the stereotypical response "anyone that challenges our agenda is racist", getting a bit tired, don't you think? Especially when the latest narrative is that literally all whites are racist, which is 92% of the NASCAR audience.

Kind of like the faux outrage about the "hate crime" noose that the FBI sent a whopping 15 agents to investigate, determining it had been there at least a year used by other teams at random and "nobody could have known Mr. Wallace would be assigned to garage number 4 last week", yet we saw no apology for another long line of Smollet-like hoaxes to get national attention. NASCAR has lost 50% of its viewers since 2014.

The overwhelming majority of NASCAR fans polled agreed that the confederate flag, long a symbol of the rebellious spirit of the South and its bootlegger roots that founded the sport, should be allowed with only a small minority agreeing with the ban. Likewise, more than any other sport, NASCAR is dominated by Republicans that overwhelmingly agreed with Trump's recent comments on BLM, which many see as a radical terrorist organization with rioters, looters, and anarchists using mob violence to create a culture of fear and silence based on a false narrative (as comical as it is watching the news say "mostly non-violent protests" as you see burning buildings in the background, broken glass, and gunfire ring out with a body count in lost lives, 22 senselessly shot to death so far with so many more hospitalized, they refuse to mention).

The push for these changes is not coming from NASCAR fans, but from outside leftist influencers that are happy to see a sport they hold in disdain (the far-left is generally against planet destroying antiquated greenhouse gas V8 engine glorification to begin with, if not fossil fuel use entirely) decline and its fanbase become demoralized, and who never planned to watch the races after all this controversy and changes take place. They pretend like they were always huge NASCAR fans and that when they are done the sport will thrive, but snicker to each other knowing they enjoy seeing the ratings and attendance tank.
 
#451 ·
NASCAR is boring with spec cars that are all the same basic shape and have virtually no resemblance to what is sold to consumers. That's why NASCAR's ratings have dropped. Maybe if they raced CUVs and SUVs Americans might be interested again and watch races.
 
#452 ·
Truth!



I'm with ya on that. I left NASCAR a long time ago, when some of these weird changes were made. I watch sparingly, certain tracks I like, I catch those races.

On your point about the cars, you touched on a belief I've long held. Formula 1 gets much flack but it's exactly what you propose above. Innovate on your own, bring what you developed and if it dominates it dominates, you're rewarded for it. If you sick, then you suck, everybody doesn't get a trophy or a shot at the podium.

I remember Ford and Bill Elliott having an aero advantage, that was their work, his driving, they rightfully won. It spurred other brands to develop. The car of tomorrow ideology and the gimmick stages and playoffs need to go away. Let them develop independently, it will mean more to the car manufacturer sponsors when they win.
 
#470 ·
Get this crap out of here.

Is there race today or are you guys just going to post bull**** all day??
 
#471 · (Edited)
Race Day, Whoop Whoop!

Dang, Suarez starts 37th! Going to be a long day for our car.


Start time: 2:30 p.m. EST.
Location: Kentucky Speedway
What is the starting lineup for NASCAR's Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart
Pos. Driver Team
1 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing
2 Joey Logano Team Penske
3 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing
4 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing
5 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports
6 Brad Keselowski Team Penske
7 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing
8 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports
9 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing
10 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing
11 Ryan Blaney Team Penske
12 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing
13 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing
14 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing
15 Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing
16 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing
17 Matt Kenseth Chip Ganassi Racing
18 Bubba Wallace Richard Petty Motorsports
19 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing
20 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports
21 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports
22 John Hunter Nemechek Front Row Motorsports
23 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing
24 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing
25 Garrett Smithley Rick Ware Racing
26 Josh Bilicki Spire Motorsports
27 Corey LaJoie Go Fas Racing
28 Quin Houff StarCom Racing
29 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing
30 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports
31 Brennan Poole Premium Motorsports
32 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing
33 Ty Dillon Germain Racing
34 Christopher Bell Leavine Family Racing
35 Joey Gase Petty Ware Racing
36 JJ Yeley Rick Ware Racing
37 Daniel Suarez Gaunt Brothers Racing
38 Timmy Hill
 
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