2023 NASCAR Season

[Vaquero]

Never was a fan of the road course races as a fan, but if I were a driver.
Then it would be more fun than the ovals and tri-ovals.

RP

[JEBar]

Not a fan of Road Courses either but in my opinion, they are better than nothing and today's race was somewhat enjoyable.

AGREE

I really like the difference in handling Stage Points ..... historically at the end of each of the first two stages they throw a caution and ride around for a few laps as the field makes pit stops and the top ten are awarded stage points .... to day the still awarded the points but there wasn't a caution .... the race just kept on going .... I have no problem with awarding points for performance during the race but have never liked the cautions which interrupt the racing .... don't know if what they did today was a one time thing or not .... sure hope it becomes the norm

[JEBar]

Green-White-Checker double overtime for the trucks today at Texas Motor Speedway .... Hailie Deegan finished 6th which tied her career best finish

[JEBar]

the Cup drivers are on the track for pre green flag warmup laps at Richmond .... the lady soldier who sang the National Anthem isn't the most talented singer I've heard but she nailed it .... I'm totally unapologetic when I say I believe some songs should only be performed as written and the National Anthem is at the top of that short list ..... I hate it when the singer or musician "personalizes it" which in my book equals butchering it

[cooperhawk]

I also follow NASCAR but I mostly keep quiet. I hate when the haters start in.
She did a nice job with the anthem and I agree it should be sung as written.

[Cowboy Gun Fan]

Not on TV today. But that means I got more afternoon chores done, lol. I'll check the results and clips later on at YouTube. There are 2 or 3 posters there that do a pretty good job of covering the highlights.

[JEBar]

congrats to Kyle Larson in the #5 Camaro for taking the win (his first of this season) at Richmond .... Josh Berry who is substituting for Chase Elliot finished 2nd

[JEBar]

NASCAR officials have canceled Friday’s on-track activity at Bristol Motor Speedway’s dirt track because of excessive rain.

Two practice sessions were scheduled for each the NASCAR Cup Series and Craftsman Truck Series, starting at 5:35 p.m. ET. But showers at the .533-mile track and the forecast for more precipitation through the day forced the full cancellation.
​
A revised schedule for the weekend was released later Friday, with Saturday’s schedule of qualifying heats for both series left intact. The Cup Series garage is set to open at noon ET Saturday, and the draw for qualifying heat lineups was moved to early Saturday afternoon.

The Cup Series is scheduled for its only event of the season on a dirt track in Sunday’s Food City Dirt Race (7 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM). The Craftsman Trucks are scheduled for a Saturday show with the Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM).
​

[JEBar]

after rain falling all day yesterday, Bristol's dirt track was slick and muddy ..... some of the trucks finished with mud caked grills that had to cut down their cooling efficiency .... in the first 15 lap truck qualifying heat race Hailie started 6th and finished 2nd

[JEBar]

Logano dominated the truck race and took the checker .... 36 trucks in tonight's race, Hailie finished 13th

[JEBar]

the Green Flag for this year's dirt track race at Bristol is scheduled to drop in about 15 minutes (7PM Eastern) .... no rain to contend with today, the track is reported to be in excellent condition .... looking forward to seeing how 37 Cup drivers handle driving on dirt

[JEBar]

Christopher Bell took 1st ---- Tyler Reddick 2nd in their Toyotas ---- Austin Dillon 3rd in the #3 Chevy .....the track dried out to where dust made it hard to see

[Vaquero]

What did the crowd look like?

RP

[JEBar]

they didn't show it in detail but it appeared to be pretty large but not full ..... lots of cars in the parking lot .... this was the 3rd one on dirt and for my money, I hope its the last .... it was hard to see though the dirt cloud on TV and had to be even worse for the drivers .... I'd like to see them go back racing on Bristol's pavement

[Vaquero]

Jim, I went there the first time they covered it in dirt, but that was for the World of Outlaws cars.
Those races were much shorter so it never turned to a dust bowl.
Oh, and thanks on the crowd report.

RP

[JEBar]

the first cup race there on dirt proved to be a wildly popular novelty but that seems to me to have worn off considerably .... I enjoyed watching the cup qualifying heat races but for the race itself, simply tooooo many very powerful cars on the track ..... for my money, the cup drivers are the most talented out there but the track was simply to crowded for them to put on a really entertaining race

[Cowboy Gun Fan]

What did the crowd look like?

RP

I always make it a point to study the crowd and in my opinion it was about half full. In defense though, it was Easter, in my opinion a mistake to run a race on Easter, and it was cold. I'm sure a lot of people who figured to just buy a ticket at the gate, decided not to go.

[Cowboy Gun Fan]

the first cup race there on dirt proved to be a wildly popular novelty but that seems to me to have worn off considerably .... I enjoyed watching the cup qualifying heat races but for the race itself, simply tooooo many very powerful cars on the track ..... for my money, the cup drivers are the most talented out there but the track was simply to crowded for them to put on a really entertaining race

I dis-agree. Myself as well as many out there thought it was a good race. Even Eric Estepp on YouTube is now convinced!! He wants 2 or 3 more dirt tracks. The drivers themselves seemed to really enjoy it too as many commented on how much fun they had racing on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6_PebP4crU&t=73s (back it up to the beginning if necessary)

It also was nice to see some of the shoestring guys have good finishes as well.

[220]

I see another of our old V8 supercars from down under has found a home in the USA.
RCR now have one sitting in the workshop, Penske have been running one for a few seasons. Different but similar and seems to be a way to get around Nascar testing restrictions and give drivers more seat time.

[JEBar]

the Cup drivers are due to fire'um up at Martinville in about an hour, abut 3PM Eastern