If I remember correctly, there are a few race fans here. Who's your pick in the Great American Race?

I've got to go with the sentimental favorite: Mark Martin (from the Pole)... after a heartbreaking loss a couple of years back while leading going into turn 4, I would really like to see him win one. I think this is his 26th start.

So, who's your Driver?

I'm pulling for Jimmy Johnson to go down in a fiery inferno of a crash in turn 4 on lap 1.

I've been into to NASCAR for 4 years now and JJ has won every year. He had the best year ONCE out of those 4. The other times he was simply the best "Chase" driver. Granted that's like arguing over the BCS in college football or something. Still, I have lots of issues with the "competition" side of the sport.

I'm not a crazy fan who will watch every lap on every Sunday but I certainly follow it. It a nice distraction in the dog days of summer and all we've got is MLB.

I try to go to at least 1 if not 2 races per year (went to Bristol last year). That's what really sold me; going to the tracks. Such an epic drunken good time.


As for my driver...........see just above my avatar.

This is the year.

I'm still a Dick Trickle man, myself.

Mr. Viagra, Mark Martin, from the poll is my man, but he won't win it from that position.

I can basically take anyone but Jimmy Johnson winning again, although I really dislike Tony Stewart and like to see him suck it up as well.

Tiny E and Smoke....who else is there?

Give yourself the weekend off, Bob.

I feel like I need a new driver--I've been rooting for the Smoke-Junior tandem for a decade now, with most of my energy spent on the Failtastic DEJ.

And shit, I like that Mark Martin pick but I'm only 34 years old: Mark Martin is the official driver of guys my dad's age who like to see an old dude kick ass (aka the Favre Demo)

I started tuning in during the MLB strike season of '94. There was nothing else to watch, and to this day I have not returned to baseball. From the Superbowl to mid August when football resumes, many a lazy Sundays are spent watching some racin'.

I agree, going to a race will suck you in. An event which allows you to bring your own cooler of beer/food instead of being gauged by overpriced concessions...now that is a drunken formula I can get behind. I went to the season finale in Homestead, but the night race at Bristol is atop my list.

I'd really like to hit Darlington this year. FemDerris' sister and her husband go every year and are pretty dialed in for that one. Might have to make that happen.

Bloor, yeah, Martin is a sentimental favorite but fuck, Smoke's never won the 500 either!

I could see you getting behind somebody like Truex Jr, Hamlin, or maybe Ryan Newman (keep it in the Stew-Haas family)

My biggest issue with the sport is parity. It'd be nice to think that anyone can win on any Sunday but in reality, out of 40 cars, probably only 20 have a legit shot.

Also, how the hell did Scott Speed keep a ride after last year? He was terrible.

Good to see Travis Kvapil get a new ride too. That guy can drive.

i don't know anything about racing, but my wife's cousin is on richard petty's pit crew.

I'm glad I did the night race in Bristol before I quit drinking.

Derris, what about Logano? If you don't look inside the car its just like pulling for Smoke 1998-2008

Richard Petty has been retired for like 25 years now.

He owns a race team with 4 drivers though (Kasey Kahne, Elliot Sadler, AJ Allmendinger, Paul Menard?)

Solid team actually.

bort, any clue which driver he pits for?

Back in college I had 2 back-to-back Nascar fiend roommates. Daytona was seriously the biggest day of the year. Being in that atmosphere got me into the spirit I guess, and if nailed down, I was a Ward Burton fan. Since then I've been off and on. I dig Hamlin. He's got some serious skill.

Nascar is also something that my dad and I kinda chitchat back and forth on during the summer. We're both O's fans, but its kinda depressing to talk Orioles baseball with them being down so much. At least Nascar lends itself to a "who do you think is going to win" conversation.

When I first started watching NASCAR it was Jimmy Johnson's rookie year, so I latched on to him... he: brash and talented. me: brash and moronic. It was a good pairing. So he is my favorite driver... and being a Philadelphia fan in other sports it seemed like (for a couple of years) that he was my only hope to see a championship. So his first two season championships were sweet, sweet. Then, with baseball as my sport of choice, and the Phillies as the team I've obsessed over I got to taste a TRUE championship. So while I still love Jimmy, I won't be crushed if he has an off year. This year I'm basically rooting AGAINST Tony Stewart. He---ugh. Words cannot express my distaste for his attitude.

see the first part of my statement. i don't know which driver/car he is with. also i'm pretty sure he works in the pit crew, but i also heard that he isn't one of those guys that changes the tires or gasses up the car. i don't know what else there is!

Bloor, what about Harvick? He and Smoke have become buddy-buddy, and everyone needs a friend in these Restrictor Plate races. Harvick has looked good in practice and his plate program has really taken off.

My old man is picking up Brad Keselowski this year. He likes his aggressive style, and the fact he is ruffling a few feathers.

Speaking of restrictor plates, hopefully these larger plates will allow for some better racing.

Well, you are now my mortal enemy.

Brash? Jimmy Johnson is a lot of things; talented, calculating, calm under pressure, but brash is something he isn't even close to being.

He's about as vanilla and boring as it gets and one could argue that his run has actually been bad for NASCAR. He's become a corporate automaton who never wants to rock the boat and at times even appears joyless in what he is doing. That HBO 24/7 thing with him might've been the most boring thing I've ever watched.

I'll never deny how good he is and how impressive winning 4 times in a row has been but pulling for him seems like pulling for Roger Federer or Tiger Woods (pre-sex scandal). Yeah they're great and performing at the highest level but have ZERO personality.

Tony Stewart's attitude? What about it? You mean he shows emotion? Gets pissed at bullshit rulings and dumb rookie drivers? Speaks his mind regardless of the consequences?

I'll take that any day of the week.

I mean, why not just pull for IBM or Microsoft?


GO SMOKE!

Smoke can also get away with a lot of shenanigans in my book because he has two titles. One can be a fluke (Hello Kurt Bush and Matt Kenseth), but two solidifies you.

Agree with your feelings on JJ 100%, Derris--He's an all world driver but so boring he makes Jeff Gordon seem like an outlaw.

Way to fail Daytona.

I like the outcome, with Jaime Mac winning. One of those guys I always rooted for and thought should be better than his standings dictated.

nascar lol

bump.

I was just tossed 8 freebies for the series finale in Homestead. So pumped. We have a great crew going -- half solid race fans/ half going for the spectacle of it all. It's still a 3 car chase at this point, although Denny Hamlin may have broke this thing wide open with a huge points day yesterday.

that jeff gordon post-crash fight with jeff burton was all over the news here in big d, almost trumping coverage of that cowboys abortion last night

That was great. Also this:

It was great to see Gordon take out his frustration on Burton (who I like). I mean, he was dumped during a caution flag.

The FAILS of the 48 pit crew got them benched mid-race, and the 24 crew took over. They will pit the 48 for the final 2 races, as well. Johnson then got stuck behind Bifle (who was without 2nd gear) on the restart, pretty much ending his day.

Kyle Busch gets himself an "unsportsman like conduct" penalty (2 laps) for giving the finger to the NASCAR official while serving a penalty for speeding on pit road. Stay classy Kyle.