Daytona 500 Kicks Off 2017 And Nothing Is Changed

[GA_Boater]

Welcome back Nascar fans!

A new season begins with new everything for the three national series. I hesitate to try to explain all the changes, so I enlisted the help of Autoweek and I was sent this simple explanation.

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This works for me, but if you have any questions, I suggest contacting NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Bear in mind, this is only explaining the new points system. Still waiting for the crash rules, pit road rules and anything else all Nascar.

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Here is the schedule, which kicks off later today with the first ARCA practice. As usual, this is from the good folks at MRN;




As normal, rain may disrupt the planned events. The non-points Clash race Saturday evening has a good chance of rain and again during the Duels on Thursday. It's too early for any forecast for the 500 Sunday, the 26th

The entry list is 42 drivers long, with 6 non-charter teams trying to make the field.

News and Notes

• Missing faces. Retired driver Tony Stewart is missing for the 1st time since 1999 and in a surprise announcement a month ago, Carl Edwards hung up his helmet. Jeff Gordan may be retired, but after filling in 8 times for Dale Jr. last year and as the presumed Designated Drive for Hendrick - Will he or won't he drive in the Cup series this year?
• New faces. Erik Jone is running full time as a rookie after winning the Truck Championship last year, Daniel Suarez is also full time after winning the X-Men series last year and finally, Ty Dillon joins his brother Austin in Cup. Each have Charter rides and will compete for Rookie Of The Year honors.
• Speaking of Jr. - He is healthy again and is raring to go. Hoping he is able to retire on his own terms and the concussions are behind him.
• Speaking of Gordon - He has 1 win this year when his team won the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Rolex 24 in January.
• This is the last Daytona 500 for Mikey Waltrip, retiring at the end of the 500. Fox Sports will never be the same!
• Daytona is the 1st segmented race, with points awarded after lap 60, lap 120 and the final 140 lap stage.
• Expanded sponsorship for Danica - Aspen Dental is biting off more sponsorship for her after primary Nature's Bakery had money woes and stopped paying the fees and was sued by SHR.
• Breaking this week is a flip-flop on reduced practice time for Cup races. Nascar had announced a cut in practice minutes after mandating a slew of car mods. On Valentines Day the reduction was walked back and no change in the amount of practice. Business as normal - Change, change, change!
• Rumor has that Edwards is being paid $15M to sit out this year and switch to Penske in 2018. DENIED - Or is it true?
• Finally - Has Nascar sold out? For the first time ever, the Cup sponsor's name is the first and predominate name of the series. Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and even the logo minimizes Nascar. Compare
  Nascar Cup series is buried on the bottom. The closest I can find of another racing series remotely close is for NHRA. is similar to X-Men and Trucks with the sponsor Mello Yello under NHRA.

iBoats Fantasy Live

• Join the iBoats Fantasy Live league on http://fantasygames.nascar.com/ and share in the heartbreak of losing every race. We love to spread our misery. Have fun.

If any breaking news develops, like new rules :facepalm: - Stay tuned.

Humpty_Boater, Esq.

 

[GA_Boater]

Missed one other missing face. Greg Biffle is has no ride after he and Roush split the sheets following the 2016 season. The Biff will be a commentator/analyst on one of NBC's Nascar shows while a free agent.

Also Kurt Busch is being sued by a former agent for monies owed, reportedly $1M+. This one shouldn't be blamed on Nascar, he's just a Busch leaguer.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Good write-up, Dude!

No ride for the Biff? Crazy...........

 

[MTboatguy]

I am really surprised to see Biff out this year, I am pretty sure, someone will tap him when they need a driver, I have known Greg since we were in High school many years ago, he is a few years younger than I am, but he was always on the cruise scene on Friday nights along with the rest of us car geeks!

 

[GA_Boater]

Roush cut back to only 2 Cup teams and dropped the #16 ride for Biffle. The #16 was having sponsor issues, as in no primary.

 

[GA_Boater]

Something good from Nascar;

Drivers who are involved in a wreck that sends their car to the garage will now be required to report to the infield care center for an evaluation. Under the old rule, a driver went to the care center only if their car had to be towed from the track.

NASCAR's standards will also require infield care center physicians to use the SCAT-3 diagnostic tool in screening for head injuries. NASCAR has already announced plans to use a traveling safety crew and a rotating roster of physicians. The new program will provide on-site support for neurological evaluations.


The safety crew will come from American Medical Response and ensure that a physician and paramedics are in the safety vehicle at all Monster Energy Cup events. AMR will also provide a small group that will travel to each race, and a physician who will serve as NASCAR's primary doctor

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This so much better than using local medical crews and is along the lines of IndyCar and the NHRA. Wrecking cars at the speeds these things go and the injuries incurred aren't the same as on public roads.

So Nascar whiner me gives a :thumb:

 

[GA_Boater]

Gonna get those cheaters! I saw something about this a few days ago and just ran across this on Jayski's.

NASCAR cracks down on inspection "games": It's a given that a smart NASCAR crew chief will push the limits of the rules - and find loopholes in existing legislation wherever they're available. Between seasons, however, NASCAR has gone a long way to close a loophole in the inspection process. This year, if a car fails at any stage of pre-qualifying or pre-race inspection, the team must take the car back to the garage, return to specifications and start the entire process over again. Last year, a car simply had to repeat the station it failed, the Laser Inspection Station (LIS), for example. "Teams would go across the LIS, and purposely fail, so they would go off to the side and 'em up on jack stands," said Elton Sawyer, NASCAR vice president, officiating and technical inspection. "Not only would they fix the LIS issue, then they'd completely rebuild the top of the car and aerodynamics. So we'd only send them back through the LIS. OK, as a competitor, you do that, and we have to react this way." Even with the new procedures in place Sawyer thinks crew chiefs will continue to push the envelope - at least initially. "I think they will," Sawyer said. "They will have to see how much teeth we're going to put into it. If we do what we've said - which I know we will - then we'll see."(NASCAR Wire Service)(2-18-2017)

We are going to see more penalties for failed inspections.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Crew chiefs will always find loop holes. If you aint cheatin', you aint winnin'..........

 

[MTboatguy]

Boy this is going to be a long season, I am sitting here listening to the ARCA race start and the TV announcer is talking about a couple of newer drivers and his statement was "They are 17 right now because they are not old enough to be 18"

My wife and I just looked at each other and started laughing!

 

[GA_Boater]

Musta been Mikey or Darrell. :doh:

I will try that on my next birthday - Why not!

 

[WIMUSKY]

GA, settling in to watch the Clash on FS1? O'yeah, sorry........:behindsofa:

 

[GA_Boater]

Caught the end of the ARCA race. Well, almost the end after the #33 went for a roof ride with 5 laps to go and the race was called.

Driver intros for the Clash and it's sprinkling.

 

[WIMUSKY]

Just turned the channel. Interviewing Harvick.

Streaming UMD basketball right now.......

11min to go....

 

[GA_Boater]

First rain delay of the season. Watching Mecum.

 

[WIMUSKY]

That map doesn't look good... 1st race, figures...

 

[WIMUSKY]

UMD lost by 6 to the #1 team in the conference......

Think there will be any racing tonite?

 

[GA_Boater]

MRN went off the air until 9:30 and will update then. Mikey and Darrel haven't run out of words, so there is still a chance. LOL

 

[sam60]

Jimmy means into the wall...:watermelon: Kyle Petty fighting for the lead.

 

[sam60]

Harry Gant leads as Davey Allison pits.

 

[WIMUSKY]

MRN went off the air until 9:30 and will update then. Mikey and Darrel haven't run out of words, so there is still a chance. LOL

I'm going out on the limb that it's not happening tonite. More rain to the west......

Penn State with a 5 on 3 advantage against MN. 1min left in the 2nd..... PSU 2 - 0