Texas Cup Race Thread

[Jonesi]

Entry list: Same 47 cars as last race:
"Top 35"
31 JEFF BURTON
29 KEVIN HARVICK
16 GREG BIFFLE
88 DALE EARNHARDT JR
18 KYLE BUSCH
20 TONY STEWART
9 KASEY KAHNE
11 DENNY HAMLIN
24 JEFF GORDON
48 JIMMIE JOHNSON
--
12 RYAN NEWMAN
07 CLINT BOWYER
1 MARTIN TRUEX JR
99 CARL EDWARDS
17 MATT KENSETH
2 KURT BUSCH
42 JUAN MONTOYA
83 BRIAN VICKERS
6 DAVID RAGAN
19 ELLIOTT SADLER
--
43 BOBBY LABONTE
38 DAVID GILLILAND
15 PAUL MENARD
28 TRAVIS KVAPIL
7 ROBBY GORDON
41 REED SORENSON
5 CASEY MEARS
66 SCOTT RIGGS
26 JAMIE McMURRAY (Back in Top 35)
96 J.J. YELEY
--
55 MICHAEL WALTRIP
70 JEREMY MAYFIELD
01 REGAN SMITH (Back in Top 35)
00 MICHAEL McDOWELL
8 MARK MARTIN (Back in car)
--
GOGH
21 BILL ELLIOTT (Has Championship Provisional)
44 DAVID REUTIMANN (Now out of Top 35)
77 SAM HORNISH JR (Now out of Top 35)
40 DARIO FRANCHITTI
22 DAVE BLANEY
45 KYLE PETTY
84 MIKE SKINNER
78 JOE NEMECHEK
49 KEN SCHRADER
10 PATRICK CARPENTIER
34 JOHN ANDRETTI
08 BURNEY LAMAR (Back in car)

[Jonesi]

Kyle Petty out, Chad McCumbee in #45.
http://www.thatsracin.com/247/story/12560.html

[Jonesi]

Kenny & BAM out at Texas:
http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/cup/04/01/kschrader.bam.withdraws.entry/index.html

[Jonesi]

Thunder storms predicted 50% through about mid morning tomorrow, then about 20% friday afternoon. If qualifing is washed out, missing the race will be #10 Carpentier, #34 Andretti, & #08 Lamar. #78 Nemechek would make race due to #49 withdrawing.

[RaikkonenRules]

Nationwide qualifying washed out so Harvick is on pole for Saturday

[DazzlaF1]

When is cup qualifying?

[Jonesi]

When is cup qualifying?

It's scheduled for 4:30 pm Eastern Daylight Time, about 90 minutes from now.

[DazzlaF1]

It's scheduled for 4:30 pm Eastern Daylight Time, about 90 minutes from now.

Ah right thanks

[RaikkonenRules]

Holy crap who just saw Michael McDowell crash just now during his run. :eek: That's the biggest crash I've seen since I started watching NASCAR in 2004. :eek:

[MD24]

Holy crap who just saw Michael McDowell crash just now during his run. :eek: That's the biggest crash I've seen since I started watching NASCAR in 2004. :eek:

Same here

[DazzlaF1]

Holy crap who just saw Michael McDowell crash just now during his run. :eek: That's the biggest crash I've seen since I started watching NASCAR in 2004. :eek:

How'd it happen, im only following the live leaderboard

[Vez]

Here's a video of it from NASCAR.com

http://www.nascar.com/video/cup/2008/04/04/cup.tex.quals.mcdowell.nascar/index.html?MostPopular :eek:

That's one sickening hit, I'm glad he was able to get out and walk away.

[Jonesi]

ESPN just showed it, wow that was hard! Luckily it wasn't really head on, the car was moving about 45 degrees to the wall hit nose first which caused the car to spin and flip. CoT, HANS, SAFER & better seats all earned credit for preventing injury there.

[DazzlaF1]

Here's a video of it from NASCAR.com

http://www.nascar.com/video/cup/2008/04/04/cup.tex.quals.mcdowell.nascar/index.html?MostPopular :eek:

That's one sickening hit, I'm glad he was able to get out and walk away.

Sickening's an understatement, he is one very lucky man.

Even though he looks fine, that car's going straight into the skip so i presume thats the end of his weekend

[Jonesi]

Sickening's an understatement, he is one very lucky man.

Even though he looks fine, that car's heading going straight into the skip so i presume thats the end of his weekend

I'm sure MWR has backups (3) there, but he may have taken a hard enough hit that the Doctors may not let him race.

[DazzlaF1]

ESPN just showed it, wow that was hard! Luckily it wasn't really head on, the car was moving about 45 degrees to the wall hit nose first which caused the car to spin and flip. CoT, HANS, SAFER & better seats all earned credit for preventing injury there.

I was just going to say that, the angle he went in looked nearly identical to what happened to Dale Earnhardt, but all the safety precautions used did their job to the letter, him walking out unharmed is a testament to those safety methods.

[DazzlaF1]

I'm sure MWR has backups (3) there, but he may have taken a hard enough hit that the Doctors may not let him race.

I know, it would'nt suprise me one jot if McDowell was slightly concussed after that, then again im just thankful he walked away from that

[gripex]

Yo, you can find that mcdowell crash at http://www.nascapper.com right on the front page at the top. That car just came apart! I was holding my breathe for quite some time when i saw this happen.

[DazzlaF1]

Franchitti, McCumbee and Lamar all DNQ'd

Franchitti though might still get in depending if McDowell's cleared to race which looking at this interview makes me think he will be OK

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=EBSrN-EZYMY

[Jonesi]

This should be the grid:
88 DALE EARNHARDT JR
99 CARL EDWARDS
18 KYLE BUSCH
12 RYAN NEWMAN
48 JIMMIE JOHNSON
44 DAVID REUTIMANN
6 DAVID RAGAN
17 MATT KENSETH
84 MIKE SKINNER
9 KASEY KAHNE
--
42 JUAN MONTOYA
1 MARTIN TRUEX JR
66 SCOTT RIGGS
11 DENNY HAMLIN
7 ROBBY GORDON
16 GREG BIFFLE
77 SAM HORNISH JR
24 JEFF GORDON
15 PAUL MENARD
55 MICHAEL WALTRIP
--
29 KEVIN HARVICK
5 CASEY MEARS
2 KURT BUSCH
20 TONY STEWART
07 CLINT BOWYER
19 ELLIOTT SADLER
10 PATRICK CARPENTIER
21 BILL ELLIOTT
22 DAVE BLANEY
43 BOBBY LABONTE
--
8 MARK MARTIN
26 JAMIE McMURRAY
96 J.J. YELEY
01 REGAN SMITH
31 JEFF BURTON
83 BRIAN VICKERS
34 JOHN ANDRETTI
28 TRAVIS KVAPIL
70 JEREMY MAYFIELD
00 MICHAEL McDOWELL
--
38 DAVID GILLILAND
41 REED SORENSON
78 JOE NEMECHEK

DNQ:
40 DARIO FRANCHITTI
45 CHAD McCUMBEE
08 BURNEY LAMAR

[RaikkonenRules]

Lineup

1. 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2. 99 Carl Edwards
3. 18 Kyle Busch
4. 12 Ryan Newman
5. 48 Jimmie Johnson
6. 44 David Reutimann
7. 6 David Ragan
8. 17 Matt Kenseth
9. 84 Mike Skinner
10. 9 Kasey Kahne
11. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya
12. 1 Martin Truex Jr.
13. 66 Scott Riggs
14. 11 Denny Hamlin
15. 7 Robby Gordon
16. 16 Greg Biffle
17. 77 Sam Hornish Jr.
18. 24 Jeff Gordon
19. 15 Paul Menard
20. 55 Michael Waltrip
21. 29 Kevin Harvick
22. 5 Casey Mears
23. 2 Kurt Busch
24. 20 Tony Stewart
25. 07 Clint Bowyer
26. 19 Elliott Sadler
27. 10 Patrick Carpentier
28. 21 Bill Elliott
29. 22 Dave Blaney
30. 43 Bobby Labonte
31. 8 Mark Martin
32. 26 Jamie McMurray
33. 96 JJ Yeley
34. 01 Regan Smith
35. 31 Jeff Burton
36. 83 Brian Vickers
37. 34 John Andretti
38. 28 Travis Kvapil
39. 70 Jeremy Mayfield
40. 00 Michael McDowell
41. 38 David Gilliland
42. 41 Reed Sorenson
43. 78 Joe Nemechek

DNQ
44. 40 Dario Franchitti
45. 45 Chad McCumbee
46. 08 Burney Lamar

[RaikkonenRules]

Damn Jonesi you beat me by seconds.

[DazzlaF1]

According to this Lamar's in :erm:

http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2008/7/data/lineup.html

odd, since when do 44 cars start a cup race

[BobbyC]

McDowell should be cleared to drive, and the backup Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota will be ready for tomorrow. Unlike F1, each individual team (not "group" team) can have a race-ready spare car in the hauler (but they pay a "fine" to NASCAR in the form of an entry "fee" for the spare car if it's used) in case it crashes in practice or qualifying.

The spare has been rolled out and McDowell will drive it tomorrow. MWR also has enough "race wrap" to wrap another spare car if needed in the Aaron's (NYSE : RNT) Lucky Dog livery.

The other thing I noted in the videos: It didn't even take 30 seconds from the car resting until marshals were saying, "Mr. McDowell, let's get you out of the car," and he walked. Once he walked and waved (an unwritten rule that once there's a bad crash the driver should wave upon exiting the car) the fans just cheered with reckless abandon for McDowell.

The oil from the #38 was an issue.

[harvick#1]

I can't believe he's ok to drive, that was a very hard hit, the was the first major hit the car has taken and it passed the test I must say

[Vez]

Found an interesting article on Jayski.

http://www.jayski.com/cupnews.htm#news45

Petty, Loomis differ on who made call for McCumbee; Petty Would Consider Driving for Another Team: Kyle Petty isn't happy about the decision to replace him with rookie Chad McCumbee at Texas. He made it clear on Friday that it was not his decision to step aside even though Robbie Loomis, the vice president of competition at Petty Enterprises, said it was. "I don't care what he said,'' Petty said. "I said it wasn't. Why would I get out of a car?'' Petty would not say who made the decision, whether it was Loomis or his father, seven-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty. He referred to the decision-maker only as "they.'' "Quite frankly, Kyle is the one that came up with the idea,'' said Loomis, adding Petty will be back in the car next week at Phoenix. "On Monday, Kyle and Richard came to the shop and talked to me and said, 'Hey, I know you're trying to strengthening this team up. Let's try to leave as much as that intact as you can right now and let's put Chad in there and give him a chance.''' That didn't mesh with Petty's story. "I told them I'll do whatever it takes to make this team better,'' he said. "They felt in order to make this team better was me being out of the car and somebody else being in it. If that's the way they feel then that's their option because they run the place. "Do I think I'm the problem?'' he said. "No, I don't think I'm the problem, but I'm pretty arrogant on that side…I think we have problems, but I don't think Kyle Petty is the problem.''(ESPN.com)
AND: Kyle Petty said he would consider driving for a different organization if "there's not a place for me here" at Petty Enterprises. The 47-year-old veteran replied "Oh, yeah" without hesitation when asked Friday afternoon whether a new race team could be in his future if it is determined that Petty Enterprises wants to go in a different direction. "Even though you think I make a living running my mouth, I try to make a living driving," he said. "And if there's no place for me here, then you'd have to go someplace else." Petty emphasized that such a move would not be made until his current team has chosen the direction it will take. Therefore, a change is not imminent. (SceneDaily.com)(4-5-2008)

[Vez]

Mike Skinner did a great job (9th) Dragon did well (7th)

Reutimann seems to be likely the #44 car as he's qualified well for the last two races (15th Martinsville and 6th Texas).

Riggs has qualified well again (13th).

A bit of a lowly start again for Vickers (36th) but hopefully he will have another good finish.

What happened to Reed and Gilliland as neither set a time?

Michael McDowell will be going to the back in the back-up car.
If Michael is not allowed to race wouldn't the team replace him with another driver, if so who would that be?

[Jonesi]

Michael McDowell will be going to the back in the back-up car.
If Michael is not allowed to race wouldn't the team replace him with another driver, if so who would that be?

At this point it has to be someone who already has time on the track this weekend. So there's 3 Dodge DNQs or someone in the NW race who doesn't have a Cup ride. With extra points for being with Toyota, I'd say it looks Jason Leffler or Mike Wallace are probably at the top of the list.

[DazzlaF1]

Michael McDowell will be going to the back in the back-up car.
If Michael is not allowed to race wouldn't the team replace him with another driver, if so who would that be?

If he's not permitted to race dont they go down to the fastest non-qualifier or does it not work like that in NASCAR?

[Jonesi]

If he's not permitted to race dont they go down to the fastest non-qualifier or does it not work like that in NASCAR?

No, MWR has a qualified #00 car (well a replacement one anyway) for the race. Driver and/or chassis substitution is only penalized to back of the grid for the start. Last place purse should be about $85k, so you know they will put a car in.

[RaikkonenRules]

[quote="Vez"]

What happened to Reed and Gilliland as neither set a time?

QUOTE]

Sorenson smacked the wall and Gilliland's engine blew up.

[BobbyC]

Gilliland's engine failure is being suspected in the slipping in the #00 crash.

[dont_be_jack]

I was just going to say that, the angle he went in looked nearly identical to what happened to Dale Earnhardt, but all the safety precautions used did their job to the letter, him walking out unharmed is a testament to those safety methods.
The angle appears to be nearly the same as Dale's. Seeing how well the SAFER barrier took the energy - I've never seen the seams pop like they did - and the car retain it's shape through the greenhouse was phenomenal. I think that if this was the CoY that he wouldn't have turned out so well...

[DazzlaF1]

No, MWR has a qualified #00 car (well a replacement one anyway) for the race. Driver and/or chassis substitution is only penalized to back of the grid for the start. Last place purse should be about $85k, so you know they will put a car in.

Ah i see, would it be different though if the #00 car was'nt in the top 35 owners points but achieved the qualifying standard?

[Jonesi]

Ah i see, would it be different though if the #00 car was'nt in the top 35 owners points but achieved the qualifying standard?

It would have been the same, if he had been fast enough.

[Vez]

Unofficial Results

FIN ST CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR PTS/BNS LAPS STATUS
1 2 99 Carl Edwards Ford Aflac 195/10 339 Running
2 5 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's 175/5 339 Running
3 3 18 Kyle Busch Toyota Interstate Batteries 170/5 339 Running
4 4 12 Ryan Newman Dodge Samsung HDTV / ALLTEL 160/0 339 Running
5 14 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Ground 155/0 339 Running
6 35 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Prilosec OTC 150/0 339 Running
7 24 20 Tony Stewart Toyota The Home Depot 146/0 339 Running
8 31 8 Mark Martin Chevrolet U.S. Army 142/0 339 Running
9 8 17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT 143/5 339 Running
10 25 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel's 134/0 339 Running
11 21 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 130/0 338 Running
12 1 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet National Guard / AMP Energy 132/5 338 Running
13 7 6 David Ragan Ford AAA Insurance 124/0 338 Running
14 32 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal Cask No. 16 121/0 338 Running
15 41 38 David Gilliland Ford Yates Racing 118/0 338 Running
16 36 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 115/0 338 Running
17 19 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Quaker State / Menards 112/0 338 Running
18 38 28 Travis Kvapil Ford Yates Racing 109/0 338 Running
19 11 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Texaco / Havoline 106/0 337 Running
20 30 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios Racing / Sam's Club 103/0 337 Running
21 29 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 100/0 337 Running
22 22 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet Cheez-It / CARQUEST 97/0 337 Running
23 23 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 94/0 337 Running
24 42 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target 91/0 337 Running
25 10 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 88/0 336 Running
26 26 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Best Buy / Garmin 85/0 336 Running
27 13 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet State Water Heaters 82/0 336 Running
28 27 10 Patrick Carpentier * Dodge Valvoline 79/0 335 Running
29 9 84 Mike Skinner Toyota Red Bull 76/0 334 Running
30 15 7 Robby Gordon Dodge Jim Beam 73/0 334 Running
31 20 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 70/0 333 Running
32 17 77 Sam Hornish Jr. * Dodge Mobil 1 67/0 333 Running
33 40 00 Michael McDowell * Toyota Aaron's Dream Machine 64/0 332 Running
34 28 21 Bill Elliott Ford Motorcraft 61/0 332 Running
35 34 01 Regan Smith * Chevrolet DEI / Principal Financial Group 58/0 331 Running
36 12 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 60/5 330 Off Track
37 43 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row / DenverMattress.com 52/0 330 Running
38 39 70 Jeremy Mayfield Chevrolet Haas Automation 49/0 329 Running
39 16 16 Greg Biffle Ford DISH Network / DishDVRs 46/0 312 Running
40 37 34 John Andretti Chevrolet Front Row Motorsports 43/0 263 Off Track
41 6 44 David Reutimann Toyota UPS 40/0 253 Out of Race
42 33 96 J.J. Yeley Toyota DLP HDTV 37/0 173 Out of Race
43 18 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 34/0 124 Out of Race

* Denotes Rookie

Carl Edwards wins in a green-white-checkered finish.

Newman in 4th
Dragon in 13th (doing well, running pretty consistently now) :up:
Vickers in 16th (very cool, he may not qualify well but he finishes well - which is what counts) :bounce:
Mears in 22nd

Shame for JJ Yeley and Reutimann

Top Rookie Patrick Carpentier in 28th

[Jonesi]

#77 Hornish moves into 'top 35', #70 Mayfield drops out, down to 36th -6 points behind #01 Smith car.

[harvick#1]

I heard Ryan Newmans car failed Post Race Inspection, we'll have to see what will come of that

[MD24]

Penske Racing's #12-Ryan Newman finished fourth in Sunday's Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, but his Dodge did not clear postrace inspection. According to Sprint Cup Series Director John Darby, the right rear of the car was too high following the Sprint Cup Series race. The car was one-eighth of an inch beyond the allotted half-inch tolerance. Any potential penalties will be announced Tuesday.

[muggle not]

I will rate the race 4 on a scale of 1 to 10, boring race.

[blown50stang]

Roush fenway back on track like 05, the biff and kenseth will hopefully pick things up , no hendrick win yet .

[RaikkonenRules]

That really was a boring races. Barely any crashes so everyone got strung out, I blame raised standards :p

Plus Reutimann blew up again digging himself further outside the Top 35 where he DOES NOT DESERVE TO BE. He should get himself out at Phoenix though along with Blaney and Sauter.