By Rick Morris
Speed TV is reporting that the long-awaited open-wheel merger is on, with details to be announced this week. This is in line with public speculation that we discussed here almost two weeks ago.
My thoughts are the same now that they were then. As a longtime fan, I'm bitter and I think it's a joke that Tony George and the greedheads who destroyed open-wheel racing think that their 12-years-too-late solution is going to solve anything. With Bourdais, Dario, Hornish, Jacques and Juan Pablo (among others) having bolted to NASCAR and F1, the new "unified" circuit will now be slightly less crappy and watered-down. Congratulations.
With most Champ Car races being dropped (due to inability to assimilate more than a few with the existing IRL schedule), the Cleveland race, one of the most distinctive on the schedule, looks to be a casualty (at least for the 2008 season). Nary a word about it either way on the Cleveland Plain Dealer website as of yet. There's a shock!
Showing posts with label NASCAR. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NASCAR. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Daytona 500 recap
By Rick Morris
The driver with the best car on the track did not win the race today. Instead, his brother ended up giving a bump-draft to the eventual winner.
All day long, commentators and drivers alike commented on "the power of the 18," as Kyle Busch's car allowed him to lead the most laps and put him in position to become the youngest winner in the history of the race in its 50th running. But with utter chaos prevailing after the green flag reemerged in the final four laps, a jammed-up front of the field saw classic restrictor-plate parity at the end. Kyle Busch ended up on the yellow line down low and would have been penalized for making a pass at that point. The ultimate beneficiary ended up being Ryan Newman, who received a push from teammate Kurt Busch as both blew past Tony Stewart to give Roger Penske his first victory at Daytona and a 1-2 finish to boot for the Penske Dodges. Stewart finished third, Kyle Busch fourth and Reed Sorenson a surprising fifth.
After speaking with FantasyDrafthelp.com NASCAR analyst Mike Ptak, some postrace thoughts came into clear focus:
^ In our final Daytona 500 preview on our fantasy sports show last Thursday night, Mike and I agreed that one of the elements that would render an IRL-Champ Car merger five years to late to matter would be the fact that Penske was getting more immersed in the NASCAR side of operations. Today's outcome will only strengthen Penske's attention to NASCAR, likely at the expense of open-wheel.
^ Mike noted the presence of Helio Castroneves at the race as a guest of Penske's. Newman's contract is up at the end of 2008, but now he'll enter negotiations to keep his seat away from Helio as the defending Daytona 500 champion. Interesting ...
^ Lil'E correctly noted in the interviews afterwards that the early departures of his new teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon hurt him in terms of getting the necessary help that other drivers received from their stablemates. We will see more demonstrations of teamwork than ever, as what is now the Car of Today continues to build towards more parity on the track -- much like the restrictor plates already do at Daytona and Talladega.
^ The fact that Kyle Busch had the greatest car by far came as a surprise to everyone. Regardless of the extremely fortuitous circumstances that made Ryan Newman a first-time Daytona 500 winner, Kyle Busch emerges from today as the man who gained the most attention going forward.
The driver with the best car on the track did not win the race today. Instead, his brother ended up giving a bump-draft to the eventual winner.
All day long, commentators and drivers alike commented on "the power of the 18," as Kyle Busch's car allowed him to lead the most laps and put him in position to become the youngest winner in the history of the race in its 50th running. But with utter chaos prevailing after the green flag reemerged in the final four laps, a jammed-up front of the field saw classic restrictor-plate parity at the end. Kyle Busch ended up on the yellow line down low and would have been penalized for making a pass at that point. The ultimate beneficiary ended up being Ryan Newman, who received a push from teammate Kurt Busch as both blew past Tony Stewart to give Roger Penske his first victory at Daytona and a 1-2 finish to boot for the Penske Dodges. Stewart finished third, Kyle Busch fourth and Reed Sorenson a surprising fifth.
After speaking with FantasyDrafthelp.com NASCAR analyst Mike Ptak, some postrace thoughts came into clear focus:
^ In our final Daytona 500 preview on our fantasy sports show last Thursday night, Mike and I agreed that one of the elements that would render an IRL-Champ Car merger five years to late to matter would be the fact that Penske was getting more immersed in the NASCAR side of operations. Today's outcome will only strengthen Penske's attention to NASCAR, likely at the expense of open-wheel.
^ Mike noted the presence of Helio Castroneves at the race as a guest of Penske's. Newman's contract is up at the end of 2008, but now he'll enter negotiations to keep his seat away from Helio as the defending Daytona 500 champion. Interesting ...
^ Lil'E correctly noted in the interviews afterwards that the early departures of his new teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon hurt him in terms of getting the necessary help that other drivers received from their stablemates. We will see more demonstrations of teamwork than ever, as what is now the Car of Today continues to build towards more parity on the track -- much like the restrictor plates already do at Daytona and Talladega.
^ The fact that Kyle Busch had the greatest car by far came as a surprise to everyone. Regardless of the extremely fortuitous circumstances that made Ryan Newman a first-time Daytona 500 winner, Kyle Busch emerges from today as the man who gained the most attention going forward.
Daytona 500 preview
By Rick Morris
As an admitted huge open-wheel fan, I'd love to be able to make a shocking prediction that one of the invaders such as Sam Hornish, Jr. will shock the world today and show just how great these drivers are. But I can't, not yet. Maybe, hopefully, next year.
In previewing the field, I can't find much to argue with in terms of the conventional wisdom regarding projected order of finish. My initial inclination was to go with a straight-chalk Hendrick sweep of win/place/show with Jimmie Johnson, Lil'E and Jeff Gordon.
However, keeping in mind the fact that nothing ever plays out exactly as initially forecast at Daytona, I'm shaking it up a bit in my prognostications:
WIN: Matt Kenseth. I've seen many predictions that were off the beaten track in terms of deviating from the aforementioned bunch and a few others (Tony Stewart, defending champ Kevin Harvick). But EVERYONE is overlooking one of the consensus top five stock car drivers in the world in Kenseth. I know that he generally accrues points from finishing high as opposed to winning, but he's given off some statements this week that indicate that he is especially motivated by feeling overlooked in the whole media Hendrickpolooza. Plus, he's the third-best driver of the past three years on restrictor-plate tracks as determined by our standard deviation from the mean statistic (available in our free 2008 FantasyDrafthelp.com Fantasy NASCAR Draft Guide). If I'm going to go for an overlooked driver, I'll do so with a great one who has a proven track record at Daytona/Talladega.
PLACE: Jamie McMurray. In terms of past finishes, one of these three drivers is likely to be a fairly extreme longshot. McMurray won last summer's NASCAR event at this track and he is 13th over the past three years on our aforementioned standard deviation from the mean stat.
SHOW: Jeff Gordon. This one is kind of a gut instinct. It's easier for me to imagine Gordon finishing behind Kenseth and McMurray than it is The New Number 88 or Jimmie Johnson. Quite simply, if I'm wrong about Double 8 or JJ being out of the running by the end, I'd expect either of them to win. I could see Gordon being in the running but not having enough to finish. Again, I can't defend that scientifically, it's just an educated guess on my part.
As an admitted huge open-wheel fan, I'd love to be able to make a shocking prediction that one of the invaders such as Sam Hornish, Jr. will shock the world today and show just how great these drivers are. But I can't, not yet. Maybe, hopefully, next year.
In previewing the field, I can't find much to argue with in terms of the conventional wisdom regarding projected order of finish. My initial inclination was to go with a straight-chalk Hendrick sweep of win/place/show with Jimmie Johnson, Lil'E and Jeff Gordon.
However, keeping in mind the fact that nothing ever plays out exactly as initially forecast at Daytona, I'm shaking it up a bit in my prognostications:
WIN: Matt Kenseth. I've seen many predictions that were off the beaten track in terms of deviating from the aforementioned bunch and a few others (Tony Stewart, defending champ Kevin Harvick). But EVERYONE is overlooking one of the consensus top five stock car drivers in the world in Kenseth. I know that he generally accrues points from finishing high as opposed to winning, but he's given off some statements this week that indicate that he is especially motivated by feeling overlooked in the whole media Hendrickpolooza. Plus, he's the third-best driver of the past three years on restrictor-plate tracks as determined by our standard deviation from the mean statistic (available in our free 2008 FantasyDrafthelp.com Fantasy NASCAR Draft Guide). If I'm going to go for an overlooked driver, I'll do so with a great one who has a proven track record at Daytona/Talladega.
PLACE: Jamie McMurray. In terms of past finishes, one of these three drivers is likely to be a fairly extreme longshot. McMurray won last summer's NASCAR event at this track and he is 13th over the past three years on our aforementioned standard deviation from the mean stat.
SHOW: Jeff Gordon. This one is kind of a gut instinct. It's easier for me to imagine Gordon finishing behind Kenseth and McMurray than it is The New Number 88 or Jimmie Johnson. Quite simply, if I'm wrong about Double 8 or JJ being out of the running by the end, I'd expect either of them to win. I could see Gordon being in the running but not having enough to finish. Again, I can't defend that scientifically, it's just an educated guess on my part.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
FDH Lounge Show #20: November 11, 2007
By Rick Morris
The Great American Radio Show on Internet television has turned 20! 20 episodes, that is. The program where nothing is off-topic will bring you another sampling of various intriguing content across the board this Sunday night from 8-11 PM EDT on SportsTalkNetwork.com.
For the first time in our history, we will have a segment airing ahead of the Opening Statements of The FDH Lounge Dignitaries. At 8 PM EDT we will feature a roundtable commemorating the 10th anniversary of the WWE's "Montreal Screwjob" with Russ Cohen of the Wrestleology website and wrestling historians Stephen Laroche and SLAM! Wrestling editor Jon Waldman. After that, we will move on to the Opening Statements and then another presidential race roundtable with the Dignitaries. The contest has taken on many wrinkles since we last convened on the subject (Hillary's debate debacle and the pouncing of her rivals, Romney's growing endorsement list, Brownback's McCain endorsement, Rudy's Robertson endorsement, the Bernie Kerik legal problems, the legal problems of one of Fred Thompson's advisers, etc.).
This segment will proceed into Hour Two for an update on the young hockey season with NHL.com editor John Kreiser. Among other topics, we'll delve into the huge January 1 outdoor game to be contested between Pittsburgh and Buffalo on NBC. After that, we give way to another wonderful FDH Lounge News Nuggets feature. Dog The Bounty Hunter and the Joe Torre migration to L.A. are fair game for the Dignitaries.
In Hour Three, we examine the trend in the niche sports world of recent years involving the addition of playoffs to compete with the NFL and World Series for attention in autumn. NASCAR has held its Chase since 2004 and this year the PGA and NHRA followed suit. What are the pluses and minuses of these developments? We will scrutinize this with new FDH NHRA correspondent Jeff Weber. Then our FDH Lounge Pigskin Report recaps another weekend of college and NFL action.
Join us for all the fun of our 20th show Sunday night! If you want to weigh in and mingle with The Dignitaries, you can call in at 216-881-9600 or toll free nationally and internationally at 866-453-4782 or you can email us at studio@sportstalkcleveland.com . Regardless, tune in and join the fun as The Dignitaries of The FDH Lounge explain your world to you!
The Great American Radio Show on Internet television has turned 20! 20 episodes, that is. The program where nothing is off-topic will bring you another sampling of various intriguing content across the board this Sunday night from 8-11 PM EDT on SportsTalkNetwork.com.
For the first time in our history, we will have a segment airing ahead of the Opening Statements of The FDH Lounge Dignitaries. At 8 PM EDT we will feature a roundtable commemorating the 10th anniversary of the WWE's "Montreal Screwjob" with Russ Cohen of the Wrestleology website and wrestling historians Stephen Laroche and SLAM! Wrestling editor Jon Waldman. After that, we will move on to the Opening Statements and then another presidential race roundtable with the Dignitaries. The contest has taken on many wrinkles since we last convened on the subject (Hillary's debate debacle and the pouncing of her rivals, Romney's growing endorsement list, Brownback's McCain endorsement, Rudy's Robertson endorsement, the Bernie Kerik legal problems, the legal problems of one of Fred Thompson's advisers, etc.).
This segment will proceed into Hour Two for an update on the young hockey season with NHL.com editor John Kreiser. Among other topics, we'll delve into the huge January 1 outdoor game to be contested between Pittsburgh and Buffalo on NBC. After that, we give way to another wonderful FDH Lounge News Nuggets feature. Dog The Bounty Hunter and the Joe Torre migration to L.A. are fair game for the Dignitaries.
In Hour Three, we examine the trend in the niche sports world of recent years involving the addition of playoffs to compete with the NFL and World Series for attention in autumn. NASCAR has held its Chase since 2004 and this year the PGA and NHRA followed suit. What are the pluses and minuses of these developments? We will scrutinize this with new FDH NHRA correspondent Jeff Weber. Then our FDH Lounge Pigskin Report recaps another weekend of college and NFL action.
Join us for all the fun of our 20th show Sunday night! If you want to weigh in and mingle with The Dignitaries, you can call in at 216-881-9600 or toll free nationally and internationally at 866-453-4782 or you can email us at studio@sportstalkcleveland.com . Regardless, tune in and join the fun as The Dignitaries of The FDH Lounge explain your world to you!
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