Official 2017 NASCAR Thread

[Cowboy Gun Fan]

Yeah, almost a full quarter of the field did not qualify, due to inspection issues, putting a lot of good teams and good drivers at the bottom.

Never remember such a high percentage.

[JEBar]

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Larson, Erik Jones, Chris Buescher, Derrike Cope and Timmy Hill were the drivers whose cars did not pass inspection in time to make a qualifying attempt.

[JEBar]

firing them up at Texas .... new track surface, who knows what to expect ???

[Cowboy Gun Fan]

Just ended Stage #2 and so far Blaney is having a pretty good day winning the first two.

[JEBar]

caution with 34 left to go .... the 22 is up front but the 4 and the 48 look strong

[JEBar]

congrats to the 48, first win for Hendrick this season ... 88 finished 5th, his first top 10 of the season ....my girl roared to a 24 th place finish

[Cowboy Gun Fan]

The 42 would had done it, but ran out of time.

After some minor mishaps, Blaney salvaged a 12th.

Yeah, congrats to the 48.

Glad to see Jr have a good solid run.

[JEBar]

Good news, race fans. It looks like today’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway should start on time or close to it, with live coverage beginning at 1 p.m. ET on FOX.

[JEBar]

135 laps complete at Bristol .... the rain out really hurt, very small crowd ....

[JEBar]

ARRRRRGGGGGGG .... David Ragan in the 38 just put my girl in the wall ...

[JEBar]

congrats to Jimmy and the 48 team for their 82nd cup win .... they ran strong when they had too .... good to see Boyer finish 2nd

[JEBar]

that's Jimmy's second win in a row and 1 win behind Cale Yarborough (83) and 2 behind Darrell Waltrip & Bobby Allison (84) in top NASCAR Cup wins ... that's pretty tall company

[Cowboy Gun Fan]

It was a pretty good race. Kyle Larson was on a mission all day. Truex was also doing pretty good till he got that speeding penalty and still had a respectable finish. Rough day for Dale Jr and Blaney both with mechanical problems.

I really can't believe they got the race in. It's been raining in the whole area like crazy.

[RetiredSeabee]

Bristol, and Martinsville are two tracks I have got to get to. I saw the last Cup race at Rockingham and it was awesome. Damn shame that track was too small to keep the cup race. North Wilkesboro shutdown before I could get there. It is a shame to drive past it and see the grandstands overgrown with vines. Wish I could have gotten there before NASCAR forgot their roots.
I look forward to seeing The 48 team get championship #8 int the history books.

[Cowboy Gun Fan]

You'll like both Martinsville and Bristol.

But the real reason the other two tracks closed was because they were bought up for their Dates to use at other tracks. I would have loved to have seen North Wilkesboro myself, but like you have mentioned, it shut down before I could get there as well. Rockingham as well. I stopped by to look at the track once, but they sure had it closed up tight. They tried getting some races there and believe they had a least one truck race a few years ago, but it never really got going again.

[JEBar]

as mentioned above, in career cup victories Jimmy is now in select company .... I believe he's got an outside shot at passing Jeff but can't see him passing Pearson

Richard Petty ... 200
David Pearson ... 105
Jeff Gordon .... 93
Darrell Waltrip & Bobby Allison .... 84
Cale Yarborough .... 83
Jimmy Johnson .... 82

[Cowboy Gun Fan]

I agree.

I don't believe he will ever pass Pearson.

And no one will ever catch the King, lol.

[RetiredSeabee]

You'll like both Martinsville and Bristol.

But the real reason the other two tracks closed was because they were bought up for their Dates to use at other tracks. I would have loved to have seen North Wilkesboro myself, but like you have mentioned, it shut down before I could get there as well. Rockingham as well. I stopped by to look at the track once, but they sure had it closed up tight. They tried getting some races there and believe they had a least one truck race a few years ago, but it never really got going again.

The Rock was awesome, it was two drag strips connected by a tight left hand turn at each end. The stands were oldstyle bleachers and were close enough to the track to hear, feel, and smell the cars on the track and the pits.
I am so glad that I got that opportunity.
One of the Rockingham dates went to Texas as I recall. And I think one of the Wilkesboro dates went to California. All business deals for sure because the small tracks couldn't compete for ticket sales and television market. Still to me NASCAR sacrificed their roots for profit. Of course they are a business and they have to make a profit but it is a shame to see the condition of the tracks that were their foundation.

[Cowboy Gun Fan]

I believe there are times that Nascar is not crazy about some of the deals and the track owners really have to "lobby" to get them to agree when they buy up some smaller tracks just to get the Dates. As much as I don't like it either, it's the way business goes sometimes as you have mentioned.

[JEBar]

camping at today's race at Bristol Motor Speedway took an unexpected twist when :

"Heavy rain near Bristol Motor Speedway is causing widespread flooding at Earhart Campground.

News 5 had reporters on the scene as campers moved all their belongings to higher ground. We saw people dragging their tents, coolers and other items out of the deep waters. We spoke with a camper who have been to Bristol several years in a row now and they say they've never seen anything like this at Earhart Campground. But despite the inclement weather, they're not letting it ruin their race weekend."

source === http://www.wcyb.com/news/tennessee/b...ound/460009963