2019 Nascar - Playoff Race #1 - Let The Gambling Begin At Vegas.

[GA_Boater]

The first Cup playoff race is on Sunday at Las Vegas along with the regular season final X-Race and the third Truck playoff race. This whole thing is so stupid with the way Nascar has two seasons.

No rain at Las Vegas. Saturday is forecast to be 100[SUP]o[/SUP] and Sunday 103[SUP]o[/SUP] . Today will be a frigid 97[SUP]o [/SUP]. Dig out the woolies!

From MRN, the weekend schedule;


[h=1]Las Vegas Schedule of Events[/h]
All Times Eastern (Local Time 3-Hours Behind)

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Friday, September 13
Gander Outdoors Truck Series Final Practice Speeds: 11:05 a.m.-12:55 p.m.
Xfinity Series First Practice: 3:35 p.m.-4:25 p.m. (NBCSN)
Monster Energy Cup Series First Practice: 4:35 p.m.-5:25 p.m. (NBCSN)
Gander Outdoors Truck Series Qualifying: 5:35 p.m. (FS1)
Xfinity Series Final Practice: 6:35 p.m.-7:25 p.m. (NBCSN)
Monster Energy Cup Series Final Practice: 7:30 p.m.-8:20 p.m. (NBCSN)
Radio Pre-Race: 8:30 p.m. (MRN)
TV Pre-Race: 8:30 p.m. (FS1)
Gander Outdoors Truck Series World of Westgate 200: 9:00 p.m. (MRN/FS1) Entry List

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Saturday, September 14
Xfinity Series Qualifying: 2:35 p.m. (NBCSN)
Monster Energy Cup Series 4:05 p.m. (PRN/NBCSN)
Radio Pre-Race: 7:00 p.m. (PRN)
TV Pre-Race: 7:00 p.m. (NBCSN)
Xfinity Series Rhino Pro Truck Outfitters 300: 7:30 p.m. (PRN/NBCSN) Entry List

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Sunday, September 15
Radio Pre-Race: 6:00 p.m. (PRN)
TV Pre-Race: 5:00 (NBCSN)
Monster Energy Cup Series South Point 400: 7:00 p.m. (PRN/NBCSN) Entry List

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News and Notes

• Silly Season News for 2020;
  • Gibbs X-Driver Christopher Bell is moving to the #95 after Matt D was released who is moving to the Wood Bros. #21 after Paul Menard announced his retirement.
  • X-Teams and Truck teams are doing some shaking up with teams dropping out or cutting back.
  • 2021 or 2022 - Pocono already has the double Sat./Sun. race, but Indy? Maybe a Cup/Indy car doubleheader?
• Nascar is launching it's betting product at Vegas - The right venue, I guess. For now race and heat winners with more choices to come. Don't think I like this idea at all.
• TV ratings - Indy got a 1.9 with no comparison to last year as the race was rain delayed to Monday. But in 2017 with the race in July and no NFL games, the rating was 3.3.

iBoats Fantasy Live

• justkiddin 5 won the battle, but FlaCowboy won the war. The regular season war, that is. Congrats on your 4th win, JK5. :first:
• FlaCowboy is the regular season Champ with 5 wins, an empty rib bone box and outta BBQ sauce. Congrats! :first: Wanna bet Casa de Cowboy is shrouded in smoldering hickory smoke and the air reeks of cooking molasses, brown sugar, ketchup and secret ingredients as he preps for the playoffs?
• iFL format change as we switch to playoff mode;
  • 4 drivers and a garage driver.
  • 2 playoff drivers and 2 non-playoff drivers.
  • 60 point bonus for picking the champion.
  • FL has the details.
• The pole locks at 4PM tomorrow.

Keep an eye peeled for Dem Bones!

Humpty_Boater

 

[GA_Boater]

1st Cup practice finished a few minutes ago. Playoff drivers had speeds from 1st to 23rd.

Ten fastest were Bowyer (P), Bryron (P), Johnson, Stenhouse, Keso (P), Hamlin (P), TDillon, Suarez and Elliott (P). Big Bro (P) was the slowest in 23rd.

One more practice today (7:30-8:20) before qualifying tomorrow at 4:05.

 

[GA_Boater]

2nd and final Cup practice results - The least shall be first. Big Bro went from being the slowest playoff driver in the 1st practice to being the fastest in the final practice. The rest of the ten fastest are Joey (P), Keso (P), Elliott (P), Blaney (P), TWT (P), Harvick (P), Suarez, Truex (P) and Newman(P).

The slowest Cup playoff driver this time is Almirola in 22nd.

Pole locks tomorrow at 4 PM. Next up is the Truck race at 9 o'clock on FS1. This is a cut race and some Truck drivers will eliminated from the playoffs.

 

[GA_Boater]

Racing on Friday the 13th - Who thought that was a good idea? Not Grant Enfinger, one of the Truck playoff drivers. He is the first driver cut when his motor went up in smoke.

Chastain takes heat 1.

 

[GA_Boater]

5 wide on the restart!

 

[GA_Boater]

Friday the 13th strikes again. Two playoff drivers up in flames after engines blow at the same time. Sauter was followed by Crafton and sparks under Sauter's truck and seconds later Crafton was afire. They are working on Sauter's truck on pit road and Crafton was towed away. Freisen also had trouble, so half the playoff drivers are not having a good night.

Right now it looks like Enfinger and Crafton are the two cut drivers.

Crafton said he and Sauter hit something on the track.

 

[GA_Boater]

Chastain wins heat 2 as the forum goes up in smoke like Sauter and Crafton.

 

[GA_Boater]

Another caution for another truck up in smoke - Dippel's motor this time.

 

[GA_Boater]

About 15 laps from the end, Austin Hill took the lead from Watermelon man and held it to the end.

The two cut drivers ended up being Enfinger and Sauter. 6 Truck playoff drivers left - Moffitt, Hill, Chastain, Friesen, Crafton and Ankrum. Ankrum made the cut by 2 points.

It was a good race in my opinion.

 

[GA_Boater]

Cole Custer took the pole for tonight's X-Race.

For the iFL'ers out there, 4 o'clock is when the pole locks.

 

[GA_Boater]

Bowyer wins the Cup pole. Suarez will start second, then Harvick, Almirola, BigBro, Hemric, ADIllon, Elliott, Johnson and McDowell.

The 16 playoff drivers qualified;

1st Bowyer, 3rd Harvick, 4th Almirola, 5th BigBro, 8th Elliott, 13th Hamlin, 14th Byron, 15th Larson, 17th Newman, 18th Keselowski, 19th Bowman, 20th TWT, 22nd Joey, 23rd Blaney, 24th Truex, Jr. and in 26th Jones.

The race locks at 7:10 PM tomorrow. Get those picks in and get some fresh tear-offs for splattered BBQ sauce from you know who!

 

[GA_Boater]

No yellows during the first heat and Christopher Bell led them all. A 5 second lead over 2nd place Allgaier and only 14 cars still on the lead lap.

 

[GA_Boater]

Bell wins the 2nd heat, again caution free. 15 cars on the lead lap this time cuz Sadler was the Lucky Dawg from heat 1 and he finished the heat right ahead of Bell. Bell had a 5.4 second lead. I hope the Cup race isn't like this.

Reddick clinched the regular season championship during heat 2.

 

[GA_Boater]

Finally a caution. Martin spins.

 

[GA_Boater]

And a 2nd caution for McLaughlin into the wall. Playing catch up on yellows?

 

[GA_Boater]

Reddick wins using pit stop strategy. He stretched his gas by staying out during the final caution. Bell hit the pits and worked from over 15 seconds down to 7 tenths on the last lap. one more lap and Bell might have won.

Laps 1 - 170 were boring and the last 30 laps weren't bad.

Set your iFL roster by 7:10PM tomorrow.

 

[GA_Boater]

This is the end of the X-Men regular season. Drivers making the playoffs: Bell Custer Reddick Cindric Briscoe Annett Allgaier Gragson Haley Jones Nemechek Sieg.

 

[GA_Boater]

Another DQ from post-race inspection. Ryan Seig's car height was out of tolerance. Went from a 14th place finish to last. He still made the X-Playoffs.

iFL rosters lock at 7:11PM.

 

[GA_Boater]

Warm up for the 80 lap 1st heat.

 

[GA_Boater]

Green flag. Sure hope it isn't a runaway for the leader like the X-Race last night - Until the final laps, anyway.