Stans Posted May 29, 2005 Report Share Posted May 29, 2005 Well, 10 laps into the race and two cautions, this may be a looooooong night. Seems the track surface had some cracks that were patched with a polymer material. This seemed to wreak havoc in last night's Bush race, looks like a repeat tonight, just twice as many laps to complete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stans Posted May 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2005 Well, the patches on the track are coming off the track and damaging the cars. This is interesting. Now the management at the Lowe's Motor Speedway wants to put up money to make the NASCAR Hall of Fame come to Charlotte, yet the track is in poor condition. Priorities I guess? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geg Posted May 30, 2005 Report Share Posted May 30, 2005 Man that race was something else. After the first corner I was slumped back in my seat after JPM and Webber had their clash (and 'alf the field) causing Webber to be the first retirement . I actually switched over and watched another show for half an hour. Turned back and things were about as I predicted. Raikkonen, Alonso, Heidfeld floating around the top 3. But whats this?! Woah Coulthard! Good sh*t man! Pity about his drive through penalty but he still managed to finish fourth after starting at 14th and leading for a time. As the race progressed and they showed tire wear, I started to get towards the edge of my seat. I thought Heidfeld would fade to at best a third, and Alonso wouldn't catch Raikkonen. But as they showed Raikkonen's tyre bobbing around like that and Alonso catching quick, I was indeed on the edge of my seat. A commentator from England's ITV that we get (we only have Aussie commentators when we have the race here or in America IIRC, everything else we just play every Sunday night..) said he should pit and be safe, get the probable third and secure points and try and catch up some ground, while Martin brundle (the other commentator) said he should go for the win. He went for the win. And second last lap..damn man..bang! If I was Jenson Button I'd go and buy myself a lottery ticket! Missed him by what must've been a few centimetres.. All in all, I was very pleased with Heidfeld's second for BMW-Williams Roll on Canada! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JClark Posted May 30, 2005 Report Share Posted May 30, 2005 I think DW hit the nail on the head, when he said that Charlotte is suddenly turned into a 2.5 mile long, very high speed Bristol. Sad to say, Bumpy did a real lousy job of re-surfacing the track, based on all the problems tonight, not the least, the huge chunk of crack filler that ended up in Gordons grille. My guy, Rocket Ryan Newman, is hanging onto 3 place by the skin of his teeth. I'm just hoping he gets a top five out of it, and advances into the Chase points. Boats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfrancisco Posted May 30, 2005 Report Share Posted May 30, 2005 BAH! none of those races compares to the Baghdad 500 cautions everywhere road hazards HUMMERS doing 60mph through crowded markets .. hmmm when i get home i think im going semi pro .. I understand the ARMY National Guard has a car LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stans Posted May 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2005 Heck of a finish with Jimmy Johnson making the last lap pass on the outside and winning. I don't think the track problems are the resurfacing as much as it was the crack sealers. The epoxy sealer seemed fair, but the liquid asphalt sealer started popping out during the race and took out the radiation grill on Jeff Gordon's car. It seems a lot of the spins occured in the areas where the various patches had been applied. Lots of twisted cars tonight. I think the management at Lowe's Motor Speedway should shelve spending $50 Million on a monorail system between the track and the proposed NASCAR Hall of Fame and spend the money repaving the whole track. That thing looks almost as bad as the highways in Virginia! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JClark Posted May 30, 2005 Report Share Posted May 30, 2005 I guess it depends on the car's setup...several cars, notably Ryan Newmans, could navigate the course at very high speeds, without mishap. You had to have your chassis set up right, and you had to pick your line going to and coming off the turns. And CFran, there are Navy cars, Coast Guard cars, Air Force cars, and Army cars. NASCAR has to be the most patriotic sport in the USA, and does an outstanding job of highlighting the military at every race. Hats off to NASCAR, for recognizing the importance of our people serving and protecting our nation, and putting them front and center of every race! Boats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shepherd Posted May 30, 2005 Report Share Posted May 30, 2005 AND MARINE CARS TOO! Cheap shot by Jr to take out the 15. I am an 8 fan, but what he did was wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JClark Posted May 30, 2005 Report Share Posted May 30, 2005 AND MARINE CARS TOO! Cheap shot by Jr to take out the 15. I am an 8 fan, but what he did was wrong. Sorry, forgot about the Marine car And I don't really think Junior meant to bump Mikey's car. Drivers unconsciously check up a bit at Charlotte, especially after seeing how easy it is to spin out in certain places. I'll be generous to Dale Jr., and say that Mike checked up a hair, as he was tapping a bit of gas. I really hope that he wasn't trying to do a bump pass on Mike, and don't truly think he was. Come to think of it, doing a bump pass would have been stupid, since there were cars on the inside, and a bump pass only works if you have the inside clear to go around. Boats, who is REALLY glad that Ryan Newman made it back to the front, and finished fifth with a bunch of ugly tape on the nose, and ended up fourth in Cup points after the night was over Boats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stans Posted May 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2005 If Junior did intentionally bump Mikey it was a dumb thing to do as Junior spun out as well. You just could not make any mistakes last night as the track was completely unforgiving. Once again, Mark Martin did well until the last big pile up which got him too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted May 31, 2005 Report Share Posted May 31, 2005 That was a looooooong race. I cut the lawn, had a nap, made dinner, ate dinner, did a crossword, had another nap, and still managed to watch the last hour. What was up with Bobby Labonte when DW tried to interview him? Concentration is one thing, but his demeanor was downright creepy. The finish was pretty damn spectacular. Despite his creepy moment, Bobby Labonte is still a class act and the race to the finish proved that. Last observation: when are them thar NASCAR boys gonna figure out that they need a piece of curved tubing welded up under the wheel-well to prevent blown-out tires from ripping the entire quarter panel off the car? It might add ten pounds to the entire car for all four wheels. Seems silly to allow a car to be completely taken out of a race for a shredded tire. Just my thirteen-and-a-half cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stans Posted May 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2005 What was up with Bobby Labonte when DW tried to interview him? Concentration is one thing, but his demeanor was downright creepy. I dunno, maybe Bobby was just having a little fun with DW, the pit crew seemed to think it was hilarious. Last observation: when are them thar NASCAR boys gonna figure out that they need a piece of curved tubing welded up under the wheel-well to prevent blown-out tires from ripping the entire quarter panel off the car? When NASCAR says they can do it. I think the lack of tubing is for safety so the drivers can't use a fender as a tool to bump other cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted May 31, 2005 Report Share Posted May 31, 2005 When NASCAR says they can do it. I think the lack of tubing is for safety so the drivers can't use a fender as a tool to bump other cars. Good point, Stans. However, the boys use their cars' noses as battering rams already, so I'm still dubious about that explanation. I think shredded tires are a huge safety concern when they tear cars up like that since not only tire debris goes flying but huge chunks of sheet metal too. Ah well, this is what makes NASCAR so fun to watch...we all get to be armchair drivers, crew chiefs, and officials Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted May 31, 2005 Report Share Posted May 31, 2005 Me, I root for Fords because I'm stubborn. Gutsy move by Johnson, though. Kid reminds me of a young Darrel Waltrip. Anybody see the Indy 500? Interesting race, that. One of the best 500s I've seen for awhile. Danica Patrick is no Janet Guthrie -- thank goodness! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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