NASCAR/Auto Racing Discussion

[LeafFerret 3,382]

2 hours ago, Tacodidra said:

It's not that popular in the US, I'm afraid... Due to various factors, I would say. While the United States Grand Prix is back in the calendar, and there's an American constructor (Haas), the fact that there's no American driver on the grid really harms its chances... Along with the disaster that was the 2005 United States Grand Prix, with six cars starting the race – that was one of the worst things that could have happened to F1's attempts to get popular stateside.

As for the Senna question, hard to say... After his death, many improvements were made to the safety in F1. If the crash had never happened, we might have seen other fatal crashes which didn't happen (it's unfortunate that the safety improvements are often made only in reaction to tragedies that already happened, rather than earlier to prevent them from happening).

The career of his nephew Bruno Senna might have been really different, as well. He had to stop karting at the age of 10 after his uncle's fatal crash. It took seven years for him to return to karting – in spite of missing many crucial years in his junior career, he came close to winning the GP2 championship and made it to F1 – I can't help but wonder what could have been with different circumstances...

I always love cheering on the American teams even though I have no affiliation with them, I just like them more than any other country, so it's no surprise that I became a Haas and Magnussen fan when he joined the team.

The fact that there was no F1 video game released over there for 4 years and no race between 2008-11 didn't help with the popularity.

[Tacodidra 59,796]

12 minutes ago, shyabetes3939 said:

Does anyone here have driver lineup predictions for the 2019 F1 season? These are mine at the moment:

Mercedes: Hamilton & Bottas (both confirmed)

Ferrari: Vettel (confirmed) & Leclerc

Red Bull: Verstappen (confirmed) & Gasly

Renault: Ricciardo & Hulkenberg (both confirmed)

Haas: Magnussen & Perez

Force India: Ocon & Stroll

McLaren: Vandoorne & Sainz

Toro Rosso: Hartley & Norris

Sauber: Ericsson & Giovinazzi

Williams: Sirotkin & Kubica

According to the most recent rumors, Räikkönen would stay at Ferrari... but would Leclerc stay at Sauber then? I could see him moving to Haas to replace Grosjean (I can't imagine him staying there after the way most of his season has gone). McLaren could go with either Norris or Vandoorne... Kubica at Williams would be amazing (it would be incredible if he came back to race after the injury)! I have no idea about Toro Rosso... George Russell should get a seat somewhere, though I wouldn't be surprised if Mercedes placed him in DTM for a year (like they did with Ocon).

9 minutes ago, Chrysalis14 said:

I always love cheering on the American teams even though I have no affiliation with them, I just like them more than any other country, so it's no surprise that I became a Haas and Magnussen fan when he joined the team.

The fact that there was no F1 video game released over there for 4 years and no race between 2008-11 didn't help with the popularity.

Haas is one of my favorite teams too! I'm not American, but I think they're similar to what Force India was in the last couple of years – an underdog team that can get great results on their day. Those kinds of teams always appeal to me. And Magnussen has done a great job this year!

[Octavia Heartstrings 28,407]

34 minutes ago, Tacodidra said:

And Magnussen has done a great job this year!

Yeah... it's too bad Grosjean hasn't. Haas ought to be best of the rest given their car.

[Tacodidra 59,796]

13 minutes ago, shyabetes3939 said:

Yeah... it's too bad Grosjean hasn't. Haas ought to be best of the rest given their car.

I hope they can fight Renault for fourth place in the remaining races – it would be amazing for them to be the best of the rest behind the big three. But yeah, Grosjean's performance is actually quite a mystery to me – on some weekends, he drives amazingly, but too often he makes silly mistakes that shouldn't happen to a driver with that much experience...

[Patty Thundersnow 4,129]

Kasey Kahne has announced that he will be stepping away from full time NASCAR competition at the conclusion of the 2018 season.

http://www.espn.com/jayski/cup/2018/story/_/id/24389651/kahne-step-away-full-competition

[Patty Thundersnow 4,129]

Longtime Nascar driver Elliott Sadler will be retiring from full time competition following the conclusion of the 2018 Xfinity Series Season.

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/08/nascar-elliott-sadler-retire-announcement-dale-earnhardt-jr-motorsports-xfinity-series

[Octavia Heartstrings 28,407]

Jean-Eric Vergne, the 2017-18 Formula E champion, has been approached over an F1 seat for 2019:

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/903485/1/vergne-approached-over-f1-race-seat-2019

It would be so great to have JEV back on the grid!

[Tacodidra 59,796]

Just now, shyabetes3939 said:

Jean-Eric Vergne, the 2017-18 Formula E champion, has been approached over an F1 seat for 2019:

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/903485/1/vergne-approached-over-f1-race-seat-2019

It would be so great to have JEV back on the grid!

Definitely! He pretty much matched Ricciardo at Toro Rosso, and he went on to become one of the top drivers...

I wonder where he would go – back to Toro Rosso maybe? As Gasly looks likely to get the Red Bull seat and Sainz has been confirmed at McLaren, their drivers remain a mystery. Hartley's season hasn't been the best, though he's been extremely unlucky, so they might give him another chance...

[Octavia Heartstrings 28,407]

Just now, Tacodidra said:

Definitely! He pretty much matched Ricciardo at Toro Rosso, and he went on to become one of the top drivers...

I wonder where he would go – back to Toro Rosso maybe? As Gasly looks likely to get the Red Bull seat and Sainz has been confirmed at McLaren, their drivers remain a mystery. Hartley's season hasn't been the best, though he's been extremely unlucky, so they might give him another chance...

Maybe Red Bull and Toro Rosso could swap roles for next season, with Red Bull running the young guys (Verstappen & Gasly), and Toro Rosso running the veterans (Hartley & Vergne).

Also, doesn't Hartley make you think of Lyra? I mean, Hartley, Heartstrings, you see what I mean?

[Tacodidra 59,796]

2 minutes ago, shyabetes3939 said:

Maybe Red Bull and Toro Rosso could swap roles for next season, with Red Bull running the young guys (Verstappen & Gasly), and Toro Rosso running the veterans (Hartley & Vergne).

Also, doesn't Hartley make you think of Lyra? I mean, Hartley, Heartstrings, you see what I mean?

I guess that could happen. Though it would be pretty surprising, they might not have a better choice – their most promising junior driver Ticktum can't get enough super license points to make it next year. And the best young drivers eligible for super licenses (Russell and Norris) are already associated with other teams – maybe they could consider Albon who used to be in the Red Bull program...

I've never actually thought of that. The only connection I've made between MLP and F1 is that the pink Force India cars remind me of Pinkie.

[Octavia Heartstrings 28,407]

Just now, Tacodidra said:

I guess that could happen. Though it would be pretty surprising, they might not have a better choice – their most promising junior driver Ticktum can't get enough super license points to make it next year. And the best young drivers eligible for super licenses (Russell and Norris) are already associated with other teams – maybe they could consider Albon who used to be in the Red Bull program...

I've never actually thought of that. The only connection I've made between MLP and F1 is that the pink Force India cars remind me of Pinkie.

Yeah, maybe they could go with Albon, or Markelov if they want a rookie.

Also, Maud Pie is basically Kimi Raikkonen ponified. There are a couple of Maud & Kimi memes on Derpibooru.

[Scrubbed user 3,415]

The real question about Williams is how long they'll survive, especially if Stroll goes to Force India.

[Octavia Heartstrings 28,407]

6 minutes ago, LegsKolles said:

The real question about Williams is how long they'll survive, especially if Stroll goes to Force India.

You know what I say? Fuck Lance Stroll, and fuck his dad too! They're a couple of jack-offs that I can do without!

Edited August 18, 2018 by shyabetes3939

[LeafFerret 3,382]

1 hour ago, shyabetes3939 said:

Jean-Eric Vergne, the 2017-18 Formula E champion, has been approached over an F1 seat for 2019:

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/903485/1/vergne-approached-over-f1-race-seat-2019

It would be so great to have JEV back on the grid!

He did pretty good in his last season in F1, not sure why Red Bull promoted Kvyat over him which proved to be a disaster.

[Patty Thundersnow 4,129]

With the Monster Energy NASCAR cup series taking their final offweekend of the season, the Xfinity and Truck Series will be allowed to shine.

The Xfinity series will make their annual visit on Saturday to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for the Johnsonville 180 at Road America. NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott is in the field.

THe Camping World Truck Series goes north of the border on Sunday, heading to Mosport (Also known as Canadian Tire Motorsports Park) for the Truck series annual road course race the Chevy Silverado 150. This race is the opening race of the playoffs for the Truck Series.

In related news, NASCAR annouced some rule changes for the Xfinity and Truck series for 2019. You can see these changes at the link below
http://www.espn.com/jayski/nxs/2018/story/_/id/24453792/nascar-announces-2019-changes-xfinity-trucks

[LeafFerret 3,382]

Looks like there's going to be a minor change to my career once I get F1 2018, I was originally going to start out with Williams, but now I'm thinking of now starting with Force India or whatever it's new name is since I always start with the team that comes last in the constructors standings.

[Tacodidra 59,796]

20 minutes ago, Chrysalis89 said:

Looks like there's going to be a minor change to my career once I get F1 2018, I was originally going to start out with Williams, but now I'm thinking of now starting with Force India or whatever it's new name is since I always start with the team that comes last in the constructors standings.

Though looking at Williams' performance this season, I wouldn't be surprised if Racing Point Force India (one of the weirdest team names ever) took 9th place from them very soon (possibly already this weekend)...

I'm glad Force India has been saved, though it's a shame to see them lose all the points they had scored. And now there are rumors of Stroll already switching teams this season...

Edited August 24, 2018 by Tacodidra

[LeafFerret 3,382]

10 minutes ago, Tacodidra said:

Though looking at Williams' performance this season, I wouldn't be surprised if Racing Point Force India (one of the weirdest team names ever) took 9th place from them very soon (possibly already this weekend)...

I'm glad Force India has been saved, though it's a shame to see them lose all the points they had scored. And now there are rumors of Stroll already switching teams this season...

Guess that's why nobody can take him seriously when he has his dad who can buy out a team and is often referred to as a rich kid.

[Patty Thundersnow 4,129]

A look at the week in auto racing

After a wild weekend in the Xfinity and Camping World Trucks, the Monster Energy NCS reconviences this week and it's for one of the most fun weekends of the NASCAR season. It is Throwback weekend at Darlington, with Xfinity Series running Saturday Afternoon, and the NCS running Sunday Night. The Camping World Truck series have the next few weeks off.

Formula 1 heads to Monza, Italy this weekend for the Italian Grand Prix at Autodromo Nazionale Monza on Sunday.

The Indycar series heads up to Portland International Raceway for the Grand Prix of Portland Sunday Afternoon.

The Arca series heads to the Du Quoin State fairgrounds clay mile for their annual Labor Day race there, happening next Monday. 

This weekend will be a very busy weekend in racing from the looks of it.

 

[Patty Thundersnow 4,129]

The silly season rumors continue to fly in the NASCAR Xfinity series right now, with a report that current Truck Series Driver Noah Gragson signing on with Jr Motorsports to drive the #1 Chevy Camero in the Xfinity series.This is a very intreging move to me, seeing how much talent that the Xfinity series currently has.

 

http://www.espn.com/jayski/trucks/2018/story/_/id/24512500/gragson-potentially-moving-xfinity-series-jrm

[Patty Thundersnow 4,129]

Here's your Labor Day Weekend race recaps.

In the Italian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton picked up win number 6 of the season, continuing his dominance. Kimi Räikkönen and Valtteri Bottas joined him on the podium. Next race for F1 is the Singapore Grand Prix on September 16th.

In one of the best races of the season in the Indycar series, Takuma Sato picked up his first win since winning the Indy 500 a couple of years ago. The next race for the series is the season finale at Sonoma on September 16th. 
In other Indycar news, Circuit of the Americas has been added to the schedule. Returning to their schedule are Laguna Seca and the night race at Iowa Speedway

In Arca Action, Logan Seavey picked up his first win of his career down at the Du Quoin clay mile in Du Quoin, IL. Next race for them is at the Lucas Oil Raceway Friday night.

In NASCAR Xfinity series action, Brad Keslowski picked up the win at Darlington. Some controversy occured when Kevin Harvick wrecked the leader at the time Ross Chastain. Next race for the series is next Saturday at Indianapolis.

And In Monster Energy Cup series action, Brad Keslowski picked up the win, the first win for him at Darlington and the first since 1975 for Roger Penske. Jimmie Johnson ran into engine troubles causing him to finish 39th. The next race, the regular season finale, is the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this upcoming Sunday.
In other news, Rockingham Speedway was bought by a group of investors. They stated that racing is in the future of the track.

[Patty Thundersnow 4,129]

Breaking news out of the Monster Energy NCS today

Furniture Row Racing will be ceasing operations following the conclusion of the 2018 season, citing financial and sponsorship issues.

http://www.espn.com/jayski/cup/2018/story/_/id/24576869/furniture-row-racing-cease-operations-2018-season

 

With this bit of news, this makes 2017 Cup series champion Martin Truex Jr a free agent, with rumors stating he will be heading to Joe Gibbs, replacing Daniel Suarez in the 19.

[Octavia Heartstrings 28,407]

This weekend's IndyCar race was awesome! Go Sato!!!

[Patty Thundersnow 4,129]

28 minutes ago, shyabetes3939 said:

This weekend's IndyCar race was awesome! Go Sato!!!

I'll agree with that. That was a great race past weekend.

[Patty Thundersnow 4,129]

Breaking news from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series

Kasey Kahne will miss the Brickyard 400 this upcoming Sunday, due to lingering effects of extreme heat exhaustion following last weekend's race at Darlington. Regan Smith will fill in for him.

 

http://www.espn.com/jayski/cup/2018/story/_/id/24599228/kasey-kahne-not-driving-indianapolis