Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Have you ever?
Wow. That was awesome. I could argue that was the best Talladega race ever! The wrecks! The finish! The playoff implications! The Blaney! The whole thing! That was amazing! Especially after Blaney spun down pit road the day before in stage 1. Also, we haven't had a Ryan and Ryan show until this past Monday at Talladega. I can't wait until Kansas. I'm sorry this is so short, but I don't want to repeat what others said. Great race, and oh by the way, I'm writing a book, about 30 abandoned race tracks across America. It should be a good one. The perfect schedule post I promised will be posted during the off-season most likely. Until next time, #SavetheSpeedway.
Monday, October 7, 2019
North Wilkesboro Speedway: time to bring it back.
So yesterday, during the Dover race, YouTuber S1apsh0es uploaded a video explaining why it was a bad idea to leave North Wilkesboro Speedway. I agree with most of what he said, but not everything. I have another argument for why NASCAR and SMI should Save the Speedway in Wilkes County, North Carolina.
NASCAR's attendence has stunk since the recession, which started in 2008 and ended sometime between 2015 and 2017. However, it has gotten better at most tracks, even some of the hated 1.5 mile tracks like Kansas and Chicagoland, but some big outliers seem to be Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway, Michigan International Speedway, Dover International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and arguably the most hated track on the circuit, Kentucky Speedway. These tracks are unpopular, and they are for a reason, the racing is good, but not great at best, and absolute sh•t at worst. In my opinion, all of these tracks, except for maybe Auto Club and Kentucky, need to lose a race. Indianapolis was never all that great, New Hampshire was boring until last year, Pocono sucked until this year's July race, Michigan sucked until the August race this year, Dover has severely gone downhill, Auto Club was only a good race in 2014, Las Vegas is usually just a meh race, and every Kentucky race was terrible outside of 2013, 2015, and this year. Some of these races need new spots on the calendar, and some just need to go away. On Wednesday, I'll be proposing a new schedule for every NASCAR/ARCA series. I know, everyone and their brother has done this, but I think my opinion should be heard, even if I'm a nobody high school student with a blog that nobody reads.
Anyway, with that tangent out of the way, how about North Wilkesboro? Well, I'm gonna propose how we can save it, rather than why, that'll wait until the off-season. It's pretty easy actually, do a bit of landscaping, level most of the buildings that are there and build new ones in their place, level the grandstands and replace them. Then get some smaller racing series before getting the big leagues back. By 2030, NASCAR should be back, if we start now. Marcus Smith of SMI is open to new ideas. Adding the Roval to the schedule was his idea. He tried and failed to update Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway so it could host Cup Series races. He only failed because the city of Nashville cares more about soccer than NASCAR, that city needs to get it's priorities straight. But Wilkes County, North Carolina would proudly support the revitalization of their little track. So hit up Marcus Smith on Twitter, remind him that his company still owns North Wilkesboro Speedway, and they can fix it up and get racing back there. I know that many corporate suits would argue that Nashville is a better market for NASCAR, but Wilkes County is struggling without the Speedway. Without Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, Nashville would be fine. Many people also argue that North Wilkesboro Speedway is unsalvageable, I call bullsh•t. I think that any old and abandoned place is salvageable, even if that place has been untouched and rotting for 100 years! North Wilkesboro Speedway has been rotting for only 8 years. We can save it, but it needs some money and work out into it. That's where the track's owner comes in. So spread the word, it's about damn time to #SavetheSpeedway.
Also, the Dover race was miles better than the spring race, but only because of the lapped traffic. Next time I shove my opinions down your throats will be Wednesday, when I propose a new NASCAR and ARCA schedule. Enjoy your Monday and Tuesday, and #SavetheSpeedway, #weeditandtheywillcome.
NASCAR's attendence has stunk since the recession, which started in 2008 and ended sometime between 2015 and 2017. However, it has gotten better at most tracks, even some of the hated 1.5 mile tracks like Kansas and Chicagoland, but some big outliers seem to be Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway, Michigan International Speedway, Dover International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and arguably the most hated track on the circuit, Kentucky Speedway. These tracks are unpopular, and they are for a reason, the racing is good, but not great at best, and absolute sh•t at worst. In my opinion, all of these tracks, except for maybe Auto Club and Kentucky, need to lose a race. Indianapolis was never all that great, New Hampshire was boring until last year, Pocono sucked until this year's July race, Michigan sucked until the August race this year, Dover has severely gone downhill, Auto Club was only a good race in 2014, Las Vegas is usually just a meh race, and every Kentucky race was terrible outside of 2013, 2015, and this year. Some of these races need new spots on the calendar, and some just need to go away. On Wednesday, I'll be proposing a new schedule for every NASCAR/ARCA series. I know, everyone and their brother has done this, but I think my opinion should be heard, even if I'm a nobody high school student with a blog that nobody reads.
Anyway, with that tangent out of the way, how about North Wilkesboro? Well, I'm gonna propose how we can save it, rather than why, that'll wait until the off-season. It's pretty easy actually, do a bit of landscaping, level most of the buildings that are there and build new ones in their place, level the grandstands and replace them. Then get some smaller racing series before getting the big leagues back. By 2030, NASCAR should be back, if we start now. Marcus Smith of SMI is open to new ideas. Adding the Roval to the schedule was his idea. He tried and failed to update Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway so it could host Cup Series races. He only failed because the city of Nashville cares more about soccer than NASCAR, that city needs to get it's priorities straight. But Wilkes County, North Carolina would proudly support the revitalization of their little track. So hit up Marcus Smith on Twitter, remind him that his company still owns North Wilkesboro Speedway, and they can fix it up and get racing back there. I know that many corporate suits would argue that Nashville is a better market for NASCAR, but Wilkes County is struggling without the Speedway. Without Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, Nashville would be fine. Many people also argue that North Wilkesboro Speedway is unsalvageable, I call bullsh•t. I think that any old and abandoned place is salvageable, even if that place has been untouched and rotting for 100 years! North Wilkesboro Speedway has been rotting for only 8 years. We can save it, but it needs some money and work out into it. That's where the track's owner comes in. So spread the word, it's about damn time to #SavetheSpeedway.
Also, the Dover race was miles better than the spring race, but only because of the lapped traffic. Next time I shove my opinions down your throats will be Wednesday, when I propose a new NASCAR and ARCA schedule. Enjoy your Monday and Tuesday, and #SavetheSpeedway, #weeditandtheywillcome.
Monday, September 9, 2019
2019 Brickyard 400 review
This year's Brickyard 400 was entertaining... but the racing sucked. Stages 1 and 2 could've put me to sleep, but I enjoyed the third stage. Kevin Harvick won in dominating fashion, which pisses me off because 1. I don't like Kevin Harvick, and 2. I'm not a fan of when drivers go and dominate (there are some exceptions). I am very happy that Bubba Wallace pulled off that top 3 finish. Also I found out that NBC didn't interview him until an hour after the finish, when normally, they interview the 3rd place driver right after the 2nd place driver. I'm not saying NBC is racist for waiting to interview Bubba, but this is the man's first top 3 finish since last year's Daytona 500, which was on Fox, and NBC doesn't wait this long when other drivers finish 3rd. Anyway, back to the race, the racing was boring, as usual, but I can say that this isn't the worst Brickyard 400 ever, that's 2008. It's not the most boring Brickyard 400 either, that's 2016. However, this one is a stinker. As a former Jimmie Johnson hater, I kinda feel bad for the guy. He just can't catch a break, and now, he's missed the playoffs for the first time ever. Despite the fact that I don't like Ryan Newman, you gotta feel good for the guy and his team. He put Roush Fenway Racing of all teams in the playoffs. If that doesn't prove to you that the official no-necked roadblock that doesn't believe in the moon landing of NASCAR isn't a hell of a wheelman, then nothing will. And that's it. Playoff predictions will be up Wednesday, but until then, have a fantastic evening, and #GuidoGang.
Saturday, September 7, 2019
2019 Bojangles Southern 500 review
This year's running of the Southern 500 was a great race, just as Darlington usually is. However, I hate that it ran so late. It ran so late that I was dozing off during the final stage. I do think that this years package worked well for Darlington, and Erik Jones getting the win by outrunning Kyle Busch was very refreshing from what we saw at Bristol with the veteran passing the young underdog because of a lapped Ryan Newman, who had a really, really bad night. Also Jimmie Johnson, until he got caught in a wreck, had a good shot at a top 5. Kurt Busch had the best car, arguably, but seemed to have dropped like a rock in the late going. I fell asleep so much, that's all I could remember, and that's not saying the race was so boring that I fell asleep, that's just how late it ran. Either way, I hope Newman has a bad day Sunday, and that Jimmie wins both stages and finishes 2nd. I don't want him tying Gordon's Brickyard record. I'm also cheering for Bowyer on Sunday. However, this is different from a prediction, that'll be up later. But for now, have a fantastic afternoon.
Saturday, August 31, 2019
2019 Bojangles Southern 500 Prediction
Disclaimer: Predictions will be short, all I can do is bring up stats.
Kyle Larson will break his winless streak tomorrow. He was 6th in the first practice, 2nd in the final practice, and he qualified 3rd. He also finished 3rd twice at Darlington, in 2016 and 2018.
And that's it. The race review will be up either Sunday night or Monday morning, not sure yet when. But until then, have a fantastic evening, and #GuidoGang.
Kyle Larson will break his winless streak tomorrow. He was 6th in the first practice, 2nd in the final practice, and he qualified 3rd. He also finished 3rd twice at Darlington, in 2016 and 2018.
And that's it. The race review will be up either Sunday night or Monday morning, not sure yet when. But until then, have a fantastic evening, and #GuidoGang.
Friday, August 30, 2019
My opinion on every Darlington Throwback paint scheme
1- Kurt Busch: Don't get me wrong, I love the Camaro, but come on! They could've thrown it back to any scheme throughout NASCAR history, and they throw it back to the '69 Camaro? Also that blob with the Monster logo inside makes it worse. Final Score: 5/10.
2- Brad Keselowski: This is amazing. Roger Penske and Miller always pull off great throwbacks, and this is no exception. I'd even say this is the best one. Final Score: 10/10.
3- Austin Dillon: I like this one, I think it'll look really good under the lights. I'm glad American Ethanol changed their logo for the throwback look. This is also another paint scheme that changed it's number font. Final Score: 9/10.
6- Ryan Newman: The colors are off, but other than that, it's a nice throwback, I like it. Final Score: 8/10.
8- Daniel Hemric: I hate these kinds of throwbacks. You know the ones. The ones that throw back to the sponsor's old logo. HOWEVER, it's not a bad scheme. Final Score: 4/10.
9- Chase Elliott: I like it. The white with that blue looks really nice. Final Score: 8/10.
10- Aric Almirola: I LOVE IT! Tony's schemes almost always look good and any of them could make a good throwback. I'm a sucker for orange schemes. Final Score: 10/10.
11- Denny Hamlin: I love this one. The orange, the chrome numbers, all of it! Way better than Stenhouse's throwback from 2017. Final Score: 9/10.
12- Ryan Blaney: MIKEY! Memes aside, this is a good throwback, however it looks too much like a regular scheme. Final Score: 8/10.
14- Clint Bowyer: This scheme is awesome. It wasn't ran that long ago, but I love red and black. Final Score: 9/10.
18- Kyle Busch: Not bad, white cars always look nice at night. Final Score: 7/10.
19- Martin Truex Jr: I would've preferred the camo version, but this is good. Final Score: 7/10.
20- Erik Jones: I like red and black schemes, so I think this is nice. Final Score: 8/10.
21- Paul Menard: Wow, this works perfectly, like the Keselowski throwback. Final Score: 10/10.
22- Joey Logano: Those words from 9 years ago came back to bite Joey in the butt. Now Joey is married, and his wife wears the firesuit in the family, and tells him what to do, as you can see in the picture. Oh, by the way... I love this paint scheme. Final Score: 10/10.
24- Weeyum Byron: He's dropping the hammer, and hopefully this team doesn't run like a monkey (bleep) a football. I can reference that movie all day. Anyway, good throwback. Final Score: 10/10.
32- Corey Lajoie: I love it when the sponsor changes the logo, everything on this car matches the original as closely as possible. Final Score: 9/10.
34- Michael McDowell: I like it, that color is rare on a race car. Final Score: 6/10.
36- Matt Tifft: Meh, kinda generic. Final Score: 5/10.
38- David Ragan: The hood should not be white. Plus the blue is slightly off, but I heard they changed it. Should've been a Ragan throwback, since he's retiring. Final Score: 2/10.
41- Daniel Suarez: Orange scheme= awesome. Final Score: 10/10.
42- Kyle Larson: Wow, a Craven throwback that isn't the Tide Ride. I'm shocked. Good throwback. Final Score: 10/10.
43- Bubba Wallace: I like this. Especially the meaning behind it. Adam Petty would've been a champion. Final Score: 10/10.
47- Ryan Preece: I like this. The red and blue look nice. Final Score: 9/10.
48- Jimmie Johnson: Glad to see Jimmie remind people that he raced off road trucks. Final Score: 9/10.
51- BJ McLeod: The fastest chicken in the south probably won't be that fast, sadly. Final Score: 10/10.
52- JJ Yeley: It looks like a regular scheme. Final Score: 2/10.
54- Garrett Smithley: Pretty cool that we're getting a Lennie Pond throwback, he's one of NASCAR's forgotten underdogs. Final Score: 9/10.
77- Reed Sorenson: Meh, it's not much of a throwback. Final Score: 2/10.
88- Alex Bowman: It's a little too shiny compared to the original. Final Score: 6/10.
95- Matt "Lightning McQueen" DiBenedetto: Good colors, good tribute to TRD, I like the orange. Final Score: 8/10.
And that's it. I'll have a prediction up tomorrow after qualifying. Until then, have a fantastic evening. #GuidoGang.
Monday, August 19, 2019
Improvements NASCAR should make.
It's been a while, but i'm back, with an update of my last post, as many things have changed with NASCAR as well as my own opinions have changed. Since my last post, I've become a much better writer too. If you keep reading until the end, you'll see a short review of the recent Bristol night race. This is what I think NASCAR should do to improve the sport even further than it has.
1. Lift the ban on testing. Teams wouldn't have to spend as much money as they do on simulators and the wind tunnel. This would allow teams to actually find out what the car would do on the track.
2. Get rid of the charter system, it prevents new teams from joining the sport, and if they got rid of charters, we could possibly see high car counts again.
3. Shuffle the schedule around every year, outside of the obvious weekends like the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, and Southern 500 weekends. Also if they added mid-week races and shortened the schedule to 32 races, the season would be over sooner, and teams would prefer that.
4. Lift the 4 car limit for the same reasons as the charters. It would also make it easier for teams to bring their development drivers to the Cup Series.
5. Only change rules during the offseason. Pretty obvious why, right?
6. This isn't an improvement NASCAR can make, but one for Fox and NBC. Make it so there's less ads during the race coverage.
7. Promote races anywhere and any way possible, not just during other races. That could get a larger amount of people to watch.
8. February should become like IndyCar's month of May. It'd be easier to build hype for the 500.
9. New regular season points system: 1st (100pts) 2nd (75pts) 3rd (50pts) 4th (40pts) 5th (30pts) 6th (25pts) 7th (20pts) 8th (10pts) 9th (9pts) 10th (8pts) 11th (7pts) 12th (6pts) 13th (5pts) 14th (4pts) 15th (3pts) 16th (2pts) 17th-20th (1pt) 21st-onwards (0). This does not include stages. Those stay the same.
10. New ticket prices: $15 for cheap seats, $30 for regular seats (including the infield) $45 for suites.
11. Rename Overtime to Overdrive. It makes more sense and doesn't sound like it's trying to be the NFL.
12. If the playoffs stay, then drop the win and you're in crap, keep the eliminations, and shrink the field to 10-12 drivers. Also rename it back to the Chase for the Cup.
13. Get rid of the yellow line rule. It's pretty obvious why.
14. Replace the splitter with a valence, because a valence wouldn't destroy the car by hitting the grass. Make the bodies symmetrical and more like the production models. Move the grille placement to where it would be on the production model. And finally, raise the side skirts.
15. Allow for 3 practice sessions, 1 hour each.
16. If it rains, wait an hour, if it's not raining spend the next hour drying the track. If it is still raining, wait until the next day.
17. Shorten the races that are always boring like Texas and ISM.
18. NASCAR needs to stop chasing the "casual fan" and focus on the former diehards who quit.
19. Let drivers say what they please and encourage it. Fans would know the personalities of these drivers and who they are and begin to cheer for some of them.
20. Continue to limit Cup drivers racing in the lower series until they're not allowed. Especially Kyle Busch.
21. Simplify the rulebook... or as I've joked for years, write a rulebook!
22. Bring back the slogan: Everything Else is just a Game.
23. Use this slogan for the Truck Series: Racing Right in your Backyard.
24. Allow drivers to communicate over the radio again. For strategy reasons. And because it'd be funny.
25. Tear down North Wilkesboro and Nazareth and rebuild them from the ground up.
26. Stream races live on YouTube and Twitch. This would get more people to watch.
27. Replace the Clash with something in the summer, or at the end of the season, switch it around every other year.
28. Replace the Camry with the Supra.
29. Install a giant TV at every track that doesn't have one.
30. Set a budget for all teams so they don't spend millions and millions per race.
31. Cautions should be camera automated like pit road penalties so fans know why the caution came out.
And that's it. For my review of Bristol, I found it better than many recent Bristol races. I was very disappointed that Denny Hamlin won, but i'm not mad at him. i'm mad at the lapped traffic for not getting out of the way. I'm not naming names, but he doesn't believe in the moon landing, and he's a Roush driver who's name starts with the letter R. I'm glad that Matty D did so well, and that shows that he deserves a top ride. I along with my favorite driver, Chase Elliott, are proud members of the #GuidoGang. Someone needs to hire that man.
1. Lift the ban on testing. Teams wouldn't have to spend as much money as they do on simulators and the wind tunnel. This would allow teams to actually find out what the car would do on the track.
2. Get rid of the charter system, it prevents new teams from joining the sport, and if they got rid of charters, we could possibly see high car counts again.
3. Shuffle the schedule around every year, outside of the obvious weekends like the Daytona 500, Coca-Cola 600, and Southern 500 weekends. Also if they added mid-week races and shortened the schedule to 32 races, the season would be over sooner, and teams would prefer that.
4. Lift the 4 car limit for the same reasons as the charters. It would also make it easier for teams to bring their development drivers to the Cup Series.
5. Only change rules during the offseason. Pretty obvious why, right?
6. This isn't an improvement NASCAR can make, but one for Fox and NBC. Make it so there's less ads during the race coverage.
7. Promote races anywhere and any way possible, not just during other races. That could get a larger amount of people to watch.
8. February should become like IndyCar's month of May. It'd be easier to build hype for the 500.
9. New regular season points system: 1st (100pts) 2nd (75pts) 3rd (50pts) 4th (40pts) 5th (30pts) 6th (25pts) 7th (20pts) 8th (10pts) 9th (9pts) 10th (8pts) 11th (7pts) 12th (6pts) 13th (5pts) 14th (4pts) 15th (3pts) 16th (2pts) 17th-20th (1pt) 21st-onwards (0). This does not include stages. Those stay the same.
10. New ticket prices: $15 for cheap seats, $30 for regular seats (including the infield) $45 for suites.
11. Rename Overtime to Overdrive. It makes more sense and doesn't sound like it's trying to be the NFL.
12. If the playoffs stay, then drop the win and you're in crap, keep the eliminations, and shrink the field to 10-12 drivers. Also rename it back to the Chase for the Cup.
13. Get rid of the yellow line rule. It's pretty obvious why.
14. Replace the splitter with a valence, because a valence wouldn't destroy the car by hitting the grass. Make the bodies symmetrical and more like the production models. Move the grille placement to where it would be on the production model. And finally, raise the side skirts.
15. Allow for 3 practice sessions, 1 hour each.
16. If it rains, wait an hour, if it's not raining spend the next hour drying the track. If it is still raining, wait until the next day.
17. Shorten the races that are always boring like Texas and ISM.
18. NASCAR needs to stop chasing the "casual fan" and focus on the former diehards who quit.
19. Let drivers say what they please and encourage it. Fans would know the personalities of these drivers and who they are and begin to cheer for some of them.
20. Continue to limit Cup drivers racing in the lower series until they're not allowed. Especially Kyle Busch.
21. Simplify the rulebook... or as I've joked for years, write a rulebook!
22. Bring back the slogan: Everything Else is just a Game.
23. Use this slogan for the Truck Series: Racing Right in your Backyard.
24. Allow drivers to communicate over the radio again. For strategy reasons. And because it'd be funny.
25. Tear down North Wilkesboro and Nazareth and rebuild them from the ground up.
26. Stream races live on YouTube and Twitch. This would get more people to watch.
27. Replace the Clash with something in the summer, or at the end of the season, switch it around every other year.
28. Replace the Camry with the Supra.
29. Install a giant TV at every track that doesn't have one.
30. Set a budget for all teams so they don't spend millions and millions per race.
31. Cautions should be camera automated like pit road penalties so fans know why the caution came out.
And that's it. For my review of Bristol, I found it better than many recent Bristol races. I was very disappointed that Denny Hamlin won, but i'm not mad at him. i'm mad at the lapped traffic for not getting out of the way. I'm not naming names, but he doesn't believe in the moon landing, and he's a Roush driver who's name starts with the letter R. I'm glad that Matty D did so well, and that shows that he deserves a top ride. I along with my favorite driver, Chase Elliott, are proud members of the #GuidoGang. Someone needs to hire that man.
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