Nascar Nextel Cup 2005

[Malcolm]

Fuck this season is gonna be amazing..There is 2 laps left in the Daytona 500 and Earnhardt Jr is in second place...fuck that was amazing racing with 6 laps left..Jr has been running in 20-25 all day and then out of nowhere takes 1st place...2 laps left Jeff Gordon is in 1st and Jr is in second..this year is gonna fucking rock ...


DALE EARNHARDT JR #1 THIS SEASON BABY

[Drew]

Dale Jr. was right up there, but that last caution screwed everything up. I wish there would've been a few more laps from re-start to the end of the race. Still a good racer though.

[Malcolm]

Sry i copyed it as best i can..This is what the standings look like now


Rank     +/-     Driver     Points     Behind     Starts     Poles     Wins     Top 5     Top 10     Winnings
1   +1   Jimmie Johnson   525   Leader   3   0   1   3   3   $1,409,630
2   -1   Kurt Busch   510   -15   3   0   0   3   3   $1,611,780
3   +2   Greg Biffle   428   -97   3   0   1   1   2   $748,308
4   +6   Jeff Gordon   418   -107   3   0   1   2   2   $1,884,450
5   -1   Carl Edwards   408   -117   3   0   0   1   1   $508,588
6   +1   Tony Stewart   402   -123   3   0   0   0   2   $776,057
7   +1   Rusty Wallace   395   -130   3   0   0   0   2   $622,757
8   +5   Kevin Harvick   394   -131   3   0   0   1   2   $617,096
9   +3   Ryan Newman   389   -136   3   1   0   0   2   $716,051
10   -7   Mark Martin   374   -151   3   0   0   0   2   $653,533
11   --   Dale Jarrett   357   -168   3   1   0   0   0   $601,182
12   +3   Mike Bliss   351   -174   3   0   0   0   0   $447,963
13   -7   Elliott Sadler   348   -177   3   0   0   0   1   $577,611
14   +3   Jamie McMurray   345   -180   3   0   0   1   1   $506,763
15   +13   Casey Mears   328   -197   3   0   0   0   1   $556,482
16   --   Kyle Petty   324   -201   3   0   0   0   0   $473,212
17   -8   Sterling Marlin   323   -202   3   0   0   0   1   $566,082
18   +14   Kyle Busch*   318   -207   3   1   0   1   1   $607,088
19   +8   Dave Blaney   311   -214   3   0   0   0   0   $461,363
20   +1   Jeff Green   301   -224   3   0   0   0   0   $514,746
21   +2   Jeff Burton   299   -226   3   0   0   0   0   $526,998
22   -4   Scott Riggs   294   -231   3   0   0   1   1   $824,743
23   +7   Bobby Hamilton Jr.   291   -234   3   0   0   0   0   $465,959
24   --   Joe Nemechek   291   -234   3   0   0   0   0   $543,854
25   -3   Travis Kvapil*   287   -238   3   0   0   0   0   $450,238
26   --   Jeremy Mayfield   286   -239   3   0   0   0   0   $539,318
27   -13   Dale Earnhardt Jr.   274   -251   3   0   0   1   1   $1,122,400
28   +8   Matt Kenseth   269   -256   3   0   0   0   1   $575,621
29   -4   Scott Wimmer   266   -259   3   0   0   0   0   $479,290
30   -10   Brian Vickers   239   -286   3   0   0   0   0   $477,024
31   -2   Ken Schrader   228   -297   3   0   0   0   0   $446,958
32   +1   John Andretti   225   -300   3   0   0   0   0   $403,388
33   +2   Mike Wallace   224   -301   3   0   0   0   0   $411,688
34   -15   Kevin Lepage   208   -317   2   0   0   0   1   $384,663
35   +4   Michael Waltrip   206   -319   3   0   0   0   0   $523,291
36   +1   Jason Leffler   204   -321   3   0   0   0   0   $405,738
37   -6   Bobby Labonte   198   -327   3   0   0   0   0   $556,894
38   -4   Kasey Kahne   194   -331   3   0   0   0   0   $548,613
39   -1   Ricky Rudd   158   -367   3   0   0   0   0   $533,580
40   +3   Robby Gordon   104   -421   2   0   0   0   0   $175,013
41   +5   Randy LaJoie   97   -428   2   0   0   0   0   $172,963
42   -2   Boris Said   82   -443   1   0   0   0   0   $249,838
43   -2   Mike Skinner   73   -452   1   0   0   0   0   $260,113
44   --   Eric McClure*   67   -458   1   0   0   0   0   $98,513
45   --   Hermie Sadler   64   -461   1   0   0   0   0   $98,988
46   -4   Martin Truex Jr.   61   -464   1   0   0   0   0   $252,593
47   -3   Terry Labonte   55   -470   1   0   0   0   0   $76,550
48   --   Morgan Shepherd   48   -477   1   0   0   0   0   $96,513
49   -4   Kenny Wallace   43   -482   1   0   0   0   0   $243,038
50   -3   Bill Elliott   34   -491   1   0   0   0   0   $111,233
* Denotes Rookie

      
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[49er99]

GO JIMMIE #48

[Drew]

GO JIMMIE #48

Did you hear where Chad Knaus was suspended for two weeks and fined $35,000 when Johnson's race-winning car failed to meet the minimum height requirement in Sunday's post-race inspection? Not sure if it's in the appeals process right now and not sure if Chad will be crew chief in Atlanta this weekend. But NASCAR showed their no pushover.

[Drew]

TV travesty: Coverage needs to improve

TV timeout
By Jerry Bonkowski, Yahoo! Sports
April 27, 2005

Week after week, the emails kept coming in droves.

At first, I thought it was just a few disgruntled NASCAR fans that didn't have anything else better to complain about.

But then, the trickle became a stream and then a deluge: fans were sick and tired of the constant commercials and the resulting huge chunks of on-track action that were being missed while NBC, Fox or TNT tried to squeeze out a few more dollars with an extra commercial minute here or a 30-second spot there.

Then came Saturday's Subway Fresh 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. As luck would have it, I found myself seated in the infield media center with a TV directly above my head, tuned to the Fox telecast of the race.

The more I watched the tube, the more I began to empathize with all the Yahoo! readers.

Frankly, Fox's telecast was horrible ? and that's putting it mildly. I lost count of the number of crucial laps viewers failed to see, forced to sit through one commercial break after another. I lost count of how many restarts were missed. I also lost count of how many pit stops, wrecks and other assorted key elements were lost to revenue generating, with Fox failing to come back early from commercial breaks when something of consequence happened, like some networks have done in the past.

Once I took off my reporter's hat and watched the telecast from the same standpoint a fan would, I was beside myself with frustration.

To be fair, televising a NASCAR event is quite expensive. The typical weekly production runs well into the six-figure range, sometimes stretching into seven figures for more high-profile events like the Daytona 500.

Between the high costs associated with production and the multimillions of dollars Fox, NBC and TNT must pony up each year for broadcast rights fees, it becomes an extremely costly undertaking. The only way the TV networks can recoup much of the cost outlay is to run commercials. I understand that.

But Saturday's telecast set a new standard for how much action Fox missed in an attempt to keep its cash registers open.

I'm not just singling out Fox, either. NBC and TNT can also be accused of several similar infractions since they began broadcasting Cup events under the current contract in 2001 ? and fans have pointed those out as well.

Yahoo! readers also have complained about the frequent cutaways from who is leading the race. Instead of watching the battle for the top three or four spots, we were continually inundated Saturday with the battle for ninth- or 10th-place or worse.

Really, who cares who's battling whom for ninth or 10th?

Another element of this televised travesty is, at least in Saturday's case, Fox's incessant focus on certain drivers. For example, Carl Edwards arguably is the driver du jour for Fox.

Granted, Edwards is a nice guy and has had some great runs this season ? including his Atlanta sweep last month ? and he did stage a nice comeback Saturday. But to constantly see him and the No. 99 Ford when he's not doing anything significant at a particular time, like challenging for the lead, leaves me with yet another question.

Why?

Not only is Edwards a Fox favorite, so too are other drivers like Kasey Kahne, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (no surprise there), Dave Blaney (could it be because he keeps getting caught up in trouble?) and Casey Mears.

If their performance is not significant as a particular race is playing out ? how many times have we seen the cameras continually focusing on Junior, even if he's running around in 28th ? then give attention where it's due: to the guys fighting it out for the lead.

Officials at Fox, NBC or TNT need to look hard for some solutions or alternatives. Maybe have rights fees of their own by courting just one company to "sponsor" the entire telecast ? at a high premium fee, of course.

It would definitely cut down on the number of TV commercials in the course of a race ? and the resulting action that the current system invariably is missing.

Or maybe the answer is to raise the price on commercials to reduce the number that have to be run.

Either way, NASCAR and its broadcast partners need to realize that fans tune in to see the race, not the commercials.

[Malcolm]

1   --   Jimmie Johnson   2672   Leader   19   1   2   8   13   $4,192,450
2   --   Greg Biffle   2595   -77   19   0   5   7   11   $3,361,920
3   --   Tony Stewart   2587   -85   19   1   3   8   11   $3,792,470
4   --   Rusty Wallace   2442   -230   19   0   0   4   10   $2,700,170
5   +5   Kurt Busch   2347   -325   19   0   1   6   10   $4,096,300
6   +1   Ryan Newman   2347   -325   19   5   0   4   9   $3,159,990
7   -1   Mark Martin   2320   -352   19   0   0   5   9   $3,468,150
8   +1   Jeremy Mayfield   2285   -387   19   0   0   2   4   $2,520,470
9   -4   Elliott Sadler   2276   -396   19   1   0   1   9   $2,859,960
10   +1   Dale Jarrett   2254   -418   19   1   0   3   5   $2,641,260
11   -3   Jamie McMurray   2233   -439   19   0   0   4   7   $2,331,410
12   --   Carl Edwards   2200   -472   19   0   2   5   7   $2,372,190
13   --   Dale Earnhardt Jr.   2195   -477   19   0   1   5   8   $3,532,150
14   --   Kevin Harvick   2149   -523   19   1   1   3   5   $2,782,120
15   --   Jeff Gordon   2134   -538   19   2   3   5   7   $4,410,880
16   --   Matt Kenseth   2104   -568   19   0   0   2   6   $2,833,540
17   --   Jeff Burton   2085   -587   19   0   0   1   2   $2,329,700
18   --   Joe Nemechek   2067   -605   19   0   0   1   4   $2,355,560
19   +1   Kyle Busch*   2046   -626   19   1   0   5   7   $2,279,020
20   -1   Michael Waltrip   2037   -635   19   1   0   3   7   $2,572,110
21   --   Kasey Kahne   1955   -717   19   2   1   4   5   $2,763,640
22   --   Brian Vickers   1916   -756   19   1   0   3   5   $2,241,550
23   +1   Bobby Labonte   1854   -818   19   0   0   2   4   $2,643,760
24   +3   Ricky Rudd   1774   -898   19   0   0   1   4   $2,384,140
25   -2   Sterling Marlin   1754   -918   19   0   0   1   3   $2,311,670
26   --   Scott Riggs   1748   -924   19   1   0   1   3   $2,439,530
27   -2   Casey Mears   1747   -925   19   0   0   1   3   $2,218,270
28   --   Ken Schrader   1729   -943   19   0   0   0   3   $1,743,660
29   --   Dave Blaney   1700   -972   19   0   0   0   1   $1,828,230
30   --   Kyle Petty   1675   -997   19   0   0   0   1   $1,881,490
31   +1   Mike Bliss   1657   -1015   19   0   0   0   0   $1,706,450
32   -1   Jeff Green   1636   -1036   19   0   0   0   0   $2,207,840
33   --   Travis Kvapil*   1623   -1049   19   0   0   0   1   $1,826,490
34   --   Scott Wimmer   1539   -1133   19   0   0   0   0   $1,989,940
35   --   Mike Wallace   1440   -1232   18   0   0   0   1   $1,588,400
36   --   Jason Leffler   1383   -1289   17   0   0   0   0   $1,466,120
37   --   Bobby Hamilton Jr.   1201   -1471   17   0   0   0   0   $1,615,920
38   +1   Robby Gordon   1038   -1634   15   0   0   0   0   $1,132,870
39   -1   Kevin Lepage   1027   -1645   13   0   0   0   1   $1,203,070
40   --   Terry Labonte   557   -2115   7   0   0   0   0   $612,605
41   --   Hermie Sadler   540   -2132   9   0   0   0   0   $716,263
42   --   Johnny Sauter   528   -2144   7   0   0   0   1   $557,028
43   --   Boris Said   413   -2259   5   0   0   0   0   $597,618
44   --   Bill Elliott   361   -2311   5   0   0   0   0   $422,888
45   --   Martin Truex Jr.   312   -2360   3   0   0   0   1   $554,163
46   --   Mike Garvey*   311   -2361   6   0   0   0   0   $387,117
47   --   Stanton Barrett*   244   -2428   4   0   0   0   0   $297,538
48   --   John Andretti   225   -2447   3   0   0   0   0   $403,388
49   --   Jimmy Spencer   213   -2459   3   0   0   0   0   $260,710
50   --   Mike Skinner   211   -2461   4   0   0   0   0   $480,873
51   --   Carl Long   185   -2487   6   0   0   0   0   $412,156
52   +4   Morgan Shepherd   162   -2510   4   0   0   0   0   $311,093
53   -1   Kerry Earnhardt   149   -2523   2   0   0   0   0   $183,228
54   -1   Ron Fellows   142   -2530   1   0   0   0   1   $107,673
55   -1   Brian Simo   134   -2538   1   0   0   0   1   $83,085
56   -1   Randy LaJoie   134   -2538   3   0   0   0   0   $236,603
57   --   David Stremme   115   -2557   1   0   0   0   0   $84,800
58   --   Stuart Kirby   107   -2565   2   0   0   0   0   $144,165
59   --   Kenny Wallace   100   -2572   2   0   0   0   0   $311,038
60   --   Clint Bowyer   97   -2575   1   0   0   0   0   $61,700
61   --   Chris Cook   79   -2593   1   0   0   0   0   $67,680
62   --   Shane Hmiel   77   -2595   2   0   0   0   0   $140,348
63   --   Scott Pruett   70   -2602   1   0   0   0   0   $67,275
64   --   Jeff Fuller   68   -2604   2   0   0   0   0   $136,650
65   --   Eric McClure*   67   -2605   1   0   0   0   0   $128,288
66   --   P.J. Jones   67   -2605   1   0   0   0   0   $67,125
67   --   Tony Raines   58   -2614   1   0   0   0   0   $61,775
68   --   Ted Christopher   37   -2635   1   0   0   0   0   $65,385
69   -1   Greg Sacks   34   -2638   1   0   0   0   0   $79,507
70   -1   Tom Hubert   34   -2638   1   0   0   0   0   $66,203