The 2022 running NASCAR, IMSA & other racing things thread

[2muchcoffeeman]

We’re kicking it off now? Yes. Yes, we are.

Because the 2022 Rolex 24 at Daytona field is out, and not only is it full at 60 teams (up from 49 in 2021) but the new GT Daytona Pro class has more than twice the GT3 entries than the GT Le Mans class it replaces, and the original GT Daytona pro-am class’s entry list is also up. There’s a waiting list for entries in case any of those 60 teams drop out for some reason. LMP2 has 10 cars (more than DPi’s 7) and LMP3 comes in with 8 cars.

https://racer.com/2021/12/20/rolex-24-entry-list-fills-to-capacity/

So, yeah … green flag for next year’s thread.

 

[TigerVols]

I hate ampersands in general but the one on thread titles on this site can DIAF ASAP!!!

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

I hate ampersands in general but the one on thread titles on this site can DIAF ASAP!!!

Blame Microsoft. The typeface is Trebuchet.

 

[Driftwood]

24-hour racing is about like 500-mile NASCAR races in that they are pointless in this day and age. In years past, they were tests of and showcases for equipment. Now, the cars rarely just give up the ghost.

 

[playthrough]

I didn’t realize “Let’s go Brandon” was birthed from an XFinity race at Talladega.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/19/business/brandon-brown-lets-go-brandon.html

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

24-hour racing is about like 500-mile NASCAR races in that they are pointless in this day and age. In years past, they were tests of and showcases for equipment. Now, the cars rarely just give up the ghost.

And that makes it even more enjoyable.

 

[Neutral Corner]

I hate ampersands in general but the one on thread titles on this site can DIAF ASAP!!!

This sounds so like my wife. She did QC on book publishing, typesetting, and copy editing for many years, and stuff like this can make her crazy very quickly.

 

[wicked]

I didn’t realize “Let’s go Brandon” was birthed from an XFinity race at Talladega.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/19/business/brandon-brown-lets-go-brandon.html

Brandon Brown doesn't want to be known as the "Let's go Brandon" guy, but he doesn't exactly do a good job of separating himself from the "Let's go Brandon" crowd.

 

[Driftwood]

And that makes it even more enjoyable.

Nope. That’s part of racing. I’m perfectly fine with someone lapping the field, too.

 

[wicked]

NASCAR conflates close racing with what the fans call good racing. The fans don’t care about seeing close racing every week. Guys were regularly finishing a lap up on the competition in the “good ol’ days.”

 

[maumann]

Just like everything else, I hate what the Frances have done to the flow of the 24 Hours. Full-course cautions with lead lap cars pitting, and then everyone down a lap or more gets an entire lap back while they dilly-dally and pack up the field for the restarts.

"Hey, look! There are seven Prototypes within five seconds on the lead lap with 10 minutes to go!"

I'm stunned and shocked they haven't chopped the damn thing up into six "stage races."

At least the idea of an actual commonality to allow North American and European sports cars to race against each other is a huge step in the right direction.

 

[Driftwood]

Heck, Cale once lapped the field at Bristol… freakin Bristol.

 

[maumann]

Heck, Cale once lapped the field at Bristol… freakin Bristol.

The idea of watching the leaders deal with lapped traffic -- and keeping them lapped -- seems to be completely foreign to the people running auto racing at this moment. Obviously, it's the input of a bunch of Madison Avenue/TV network execs -- "We can't have our audience not know who's leading! And every sponsor should get air time!" -- but dang, that's part of going to a sprint car race or a dirt track. How they work traffic is more interesting than how they pit under caution.

If I had my way, I'd take away the rule allowing pitting under caution, not only just for safety concerns. You shouldn't not only get the advantage of closing back up on your competition but the chance to pass them because of an arbitrary pit stop.

 

[Driftwood]

The idea of watching the leaders deal with lapped traffic -- and keeping them lapped -- seems to be completely foreign to the people running auto racing at this moment. Obviously, it's the input of a bunch of Madison Avenue/TV network execs -- "We can't have our audience not know who's leading! And every sponsor should get air time!" -- but dang, that's part of going to a sprint car race or a dirt track. How they work traffic is more interesting than how they pit under caution.

If I had my way, I'd take away the rule allowing pitting under caution, not only just for safety concerns. You shouldn't not only get the advantage of closing back up on your competition but the chance to pass them because of an arbitrary pit stop.

And if you don’t want to get lapped, build a better car and bring it to the track. That’s why it’s called a race.
Of course, today’s NASCAR spec cars have pretty much made that moot.

 

[wicked]

My dislike for removing backstretch pit roads has slowly grown. If you don’t want to pit on the backstretch, qualify better.

 

[Driftwood]

I got into a big but friendly argument with David Poole once (shocker, I know).
John Force failed to qualify for a national event. Poole was beside himself: “You can’t have the sport’s biggest name not racing.”
I responded that if he wanted to race on Sunday, either he or Austin Coil should have done a better job this weekend. They had the same four chances as every other qualifier. If your car’s a POS, put it on the trailer.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Kudos to Rick Ware Racing. This is the way.

 

[playthrough]

I got into a big but friendly argument with David Poole once (shocker, I know).
John Force failed to qualify for a national event. Poole was beside himself: “You can’t have the sport’s biggest name not racing.”
I responded that if he wanted to race on Sunday, either he or Austin Coil should have done a better job this weekend. They had the same four chances as every other qualifier. If your car’s a POS, put it on the trailer.

Amen. The only series that does qualifying right at every event.

 

[maumann]

Tough day. We lost Bob Keselowski (Brad's father) to cancer and PRN broadcaster Steve Richards to COVID. Both very well-liked guys in the garage. RIP.

 

[wicked]

RIP indeed.

I remember Bob when he was in ARCA and the trucks and trying to make a go of it. I admired a guy like that. They live in Rochester Hills so perhaps they’re not crying poverty, but he also seemed like an up-by-the-bootstraps type.