The Official "NASCAR 2008" thread

[marinerbc]

100 pages on the original, but here we are just in time for Speedweeks, bigger, better, faster.

NASCAR doesn't Suck at GMi anymore, it's official.

Rocky, drew, Shotgun, Hammer, it's time.

Gentleman, start your....ENGINES!!

[likearock00]

Whoohooo! Glad to start another one- hope we can get some more members on here to make 100 pages for this season!

[drew630]

Umm, I only have 67 pages on the last one....

[BRMike]

I haven't been as active on this site as I had been at the beginning of last season, but I'll be checking this thread out much more in the coming weeks and months. As football draws to a close, I'll be ready and rested for a new NASCAR Sprint Cup season. I've been a fan of Jeff Gordon since 1994 so hopefully that qualifies me as a worthy contributor of this thread.

A few thoughts (predictions) about the upcoming season:

Toyota will win its first Sprint Cup race. In fact, I will be surprised if Toyota fails to win multiple races this season.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will make the 12-man chase. However, I don't believe he'll be in contention to win his first championship as the season draws to a close.

The "open wheel" rookies will struggle through the season. I believe Dario Franchitti will be the most successful of that bunch.

It will be an interesting season for sure!

[marinerbc]

67 pages? That's the Toyota condensed version! You need the full blown one, with no chemicals added.

BRMike, good to see you, and one would have to think the Toyota drought could easily end this year, with Gibbs in house.

And I never thought we'd ever see the Open Wheel drivers coming over as they do now. Forever and ever NASCAR was beneath them, or so it seemed. Hey, I'm not knocking it.

[drew630]

Originally Posted by marinerbc

67 pages? That's the Toyota condensed version! You need the full blown one, with no chemicals added.

What??? lol. How many posts do y'all have set to show on a page?

[marinerbc]

Originally Posted by drew630

What??? lol. How many posts do y'all have set to show on a page?

I leave stuff like that for smart guys like you.

I still remember how to tune a carb, though.

[327]

haha, thats Excellent!

[Shotgun]

A fresh new start to a fresh new year! I look forward to the coming months of racing...

Let's see:

This week it's NHL All-Star game
The next weekend it's the Super Bowl
The following weekend it's the Budweiser Shootout
Then, THE DAYTONA 500!!!!!!!!!!!!

[drew630]

Originally Posted by Shotgun

A fresh new start to a fresh new year! I look forward to the coming months of racing...

Let's see:

This week it's NHL All-Star game
The next weekend it's the Super Bowl
The following weekend it's the Budweiser Shootout
Then, THE DAYTONA 500!!!!!!!!!!!!

This weekend is also the Rolex 24 hours of Daytona.

[Shotgun]

Originally Posted by drew630

This weekend is also the Rolex 24 hours of Daytona.

Absolutely. I usually watch a little of it to see how the Cup guys are doing.

[Mischief007]

Rooting for Juan Pablo Montoya once again and of course I have to root for the Canadian Jacques Villeneuve.

[doh]

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/news/s...d=2&id=3206999

CONCORD, N.C. -- Michael Waltrip suggested last season that drivers outside the top 35 in owners' points should be allowed to qualify together so nobody would have an advantage in track conditions.


NASCAR officials must have listened.

The governing body kicked off its annual media tour by announcing that those outside the top 35 in all three series -- Sprint Cup, Nationwide Series and Craftsman Truck Series -- will qualify at the end of their respective session.

As America's No. 1 auto racing series heads into a new season, chairman Brian France said he wants the attention to return to the competition after several years of tweaks to the 60-year-old series.


"We want the focus to be on the best product in the world," France said. "We want the story lines of the sport to be the focus."


The announcement was immediately embraced by drivers.

"Now we know we aren't going to miss or make the show because of track temperatures or where we draw in the qualifying order," said Patrick Carpentier, a former open-wheel star who will begin his first NASCAR season outside the top 35 in points.


"We are all going out when the track is about the same. NASCAR is trying to make things as fair as it can, and that's something I am always going to support."


It also was announced that teams will be provided tires for testing at non-sanctioned NASCAR tests. Sprint Cup teams will be given 200 tires, Nationwide teams 160 and Craftsman Truck Series teams 120.

There will be a slight tweak to the pit road rules. Over-the-wall crews will be limited to three pit box lengths to push cars off of pit road. Outside tires removed can no longer be free rolled to the pit box wall.

Also, NASCAR will donate all driver fines to the NASCAR foundation as a part of the sport's charitable initiative. The average year's fines amount to about $200,000 while last year's total was nearly $1 million.

[likearock00]

After months of anticipation by NASCAR and chocolate fans alike, "Dale Jr.'s Big Mo' " chocolate bar is now on shelves at most major food retailers nationwide.

The Big Mo' was created specifically for NASCAR's mega star driver through the R.M. Palmer Company. The name Big Mo' is a play off Earnhardt Jr.'s hometown of Mooresville, N.C., and the longtime moniker used for he and his closest friends, the Dirty Mo' Posse.

Weighing in at an impressive 2.5 ounces for only 99 cents, the king-size, quality milk chocolate bar is available with either creamy caramel or peanut butter filling. Creating the exclusive recipe of the Big Mo' bar included numerous taste-tests by Earnhardt Jr., and was tailored to please his palate.

"We went though a few rounds of taste tests with the team at R.M. Palmer, and I was very happy with the final result of the Big Mo'," Earnhardt Jr said. "I'm excited that it's now available so I can finally get the reaction from the race fans."

http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/head....mo/index.html

[DuraMax Hammer]

Originally Posted by drew630

This weekend is also the Rolex 24 hours of Daytona.

First off, good to see the new thread, no more scrolling to the right for a while.

I too am pretty excited about the Daytona 24 hour race. I have watched the past 3 years, and evey year I watch more and more of it. A true endurance race. Makes the Coke 600 look like a run around the block. I think more then endurance of the drivers, I admire the endurance and engineering of the engines and trans of all the racecars.

I also can not wait for the Bud Shootout. One of my favorites all year. Tony going for 2 in a row! (and 3 in a row for JGR)