2025 NASCAR Season

[Westheim]

Winter is over, the pain and boredom are over, the Daytona 500 is here!

Can't wait to ***** and **** on Logano for the next 36 weeks.

[Westheim]

And they turned nine laps in anger before the season's first rain delay.

Gonna be a long night again, huh?

[Westheim]

Four hours in, 20 laps down, most of them under caution, and now the second rain delay.

Your average 500.

Thankfully I am a wise raccoon and routinely take the Monday after the 500 off, because it's always something.

[Westheim]

Joey Logano is still a ****, William Byron is still the reigning Daytona 500 champion, I am somehow still awake at 3:40 in the morning, and someone cue DW squeaking "Where did HE come from??", from Trevor Bayne's marvelous 2012 win.

(falls dead into bed without another word)

[darkcloud4579]

how was wallace leading and then ended up finishing so far behind?

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by darkcloud4579

how was wallace leading and then ended up finishing so far behind?

He had his front torn up in the crash that sent Ryan Preece flipping down the backstraight ... again!

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Westheim

He had his front torn up in the crash that sent Ryan Preece flipping down the backstraight ... again!

I happened to see a headline about this. It's in The Athletic, which I still don't know if you guys can see because there's usually a paywall involved:

Ryan Preece, after Daytona 500 crash, warns NASCAR getting close to tragedy

I know you saw this already but I was rather impressed with this crash. Scary to say the least. Here it is on X. Watch his car no. 60 go barreling along on one tire, then flip completely over.

https://x.com/NASCARONFOX/status/1891319955498402184

Honestly, I don't know how he walked away from this one.

[Westheim]

I have said for a long time that this restrictor plate ("tapered spacer", whatever) thing is the most stupid form of racing.

Yes, I'll watch regardless, but I'm not the main problem for once.

Especially when you have guys like Logano, who gets blocked in admittedly the worst way by Stenhouse, and then doubles down and tries to drive his 13' truck through below the 11'8'' bridge - with a song on his lips. And there are other guys in the field that are just as bad. I wonder when the last time was that there was not a "big one" or "medium one" inside the last ten laps at Daytona and Talladega.

Most. Stupid. Form. Of racing.

No, I'm not gonna do the research. I don't know whether I have *that* much time left.

[Cod]

NASCAR had to do something to curtail the speeds they were seeing at the super speedways in the 70s and 80s. I still remember watching Bobby Allison hit 200+ mph at Talladega, getting airborne, the proceeding to take out half the safety fence on the front stretch. Also, NASCAR is not the only motorsport employing restrictor plates. DTM, F3, LMP, FIA GT, and more utilze them as well.

The problem is physics . The restrictor plate does it's job; however, on tracks like Daytona, groups of cars together nearly eliminates the restrictions brought by restrictor plates because of how physics works. Combine that with the wind streams inside the "bowl" and you have a recipe for disaster.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Westheim

I have said for a long time that this restrictor plate ("tapered spacer", whatever) thing is the most stupid form of racing.

Please forgive a neophyte question. I looked it up and one source says "In NASCAR, restrictor plates slow down cars by reducing the amount of air that can flow into the engine. This makes racing safer and more competitive." Since your post followed mine, I am assuming it was in response to the severity of this crash. How so, then, your vituperation? I am just curious, that's all.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

Please forgive a neophyte question. I looked it up and one source says "In NASCAR, restrictor plates slow down cars by reducing the amount of air that can flow into the engine. This makes racing safer and more competitive." Since your post followed mine, I am assuming it was in response to the severity of this crash. How so, then, your vituperation? I am just curious, that's all.

Basically what Cod already said; because of the restricted air intake, engine power is drastically reduced, to the point that the fastest way to travel around Daytona and Talladega (and since recently, shambolically, Atlanta) is for all 36+ cars to travel in one tight pack with no wiggle room and wait for the first incidental touch to set of the chain reaction.

So in one way restrictor plate (the term old geezers still use; the actual part that is installed is now called a "tapered spacer") racing is safer, since it prevents cars from going 240 miles an hour.

On the other paw, it makes it more dangerous, since you have no way to escape a huge wreck that happens at 180 miles an hour.

In the end, you get a 3 1/2 hour race (plus red flag durations) where being first at any given point matters little, it just means you get a clear view of your own obliteration. The race is inevitably decided on a green-white-checkered finish with just 11 cars still rolling.

No, I have no actual solutions to make these tracks functioning in a modern environment.

My guy Byron, who won his second consecutive Daytona 500 on Sunday, was three times just one car away from destruction in the various wrecks in the race. In the Preece wreck, he's right in front of Preece when Bell's #20 comes back around and careens into the pack.

Also, get Cole Custer (#41) outta there. He's proven to be useless in the past, unless he's trying to pass for Logano/Keselowski. Then that's an A+.

[Déjà Bru]

Thanks for both paws full of explanation.

[Déjà Bru]

Apparently, (or should I say, supposedly), SportsLine has developed an OOTP-like NASCAR simulation model (I bet you would like to get your paws on that!). They ran it 10,000 times for the upcoming Ambetter Health 400 and came up with their picks. Follow the links below for their projections. Unfortunately, I see no evidence that the model is offered for public sale.

https://www.cbssports.com/nascar/new...reveals-picks/

https://www.sportsline.com/insiders/...etterHealth400

[thehef]

I knew what the top three levels of NASCAR racing are, and was aware of other "minor leagues" so to speak. But I was curious about the order from a skill & competition perspective, etc. So I asked AI about it and cobbled together a few responses to come up with this list:

1. NASCAR Cup Series: The premier series with the highest level of competition.
2. NASCAR Xfinity Series: The second-tier series, often seen as a stepping stone to the Cup Series.
3. NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: The third-tier series, featuring pickup trucks and serving as a development ground for drivers.
4. ARCA Menards Series: A feeder series for NASCAR, where many young drivers gain experience before moving up.

a. ARCA Menards Series East: Formerly known as the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, this series features races primarily on the East Coast of the United States.
b. ARCA Menards Series West: Previously the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, this series includes races on the West Coast.

5. NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour: Focuses on modified stock cars at various local tracks and divisions; popular in the northeastern United States. Known for its unique open-wheeled cars and has a long history dating back to the 1940s.
6. NASCAR Pinty's Series: The top stock car racing series in Canada.
7. NASCAR Mexico Series: The premier stock car racing series in Mexico; features late model stock cars.
8. NASCAR Euro Series: The European stock car racing series, featuring races across various countries in Europe.
9. NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series (formerly the Whelen All-American Series): This series features local short track racing across North America and is a crucial part of grassroots racing.
10. NASCAR iRacing Series: An online racing series that has gained popularity; provides a valuable training ground for drivers, helping them develop racecraft, strategy, and familiarity with various tracks, which can be beneficial when transitioning to higher levels of actual racing.

I then asked it to categorize these according to organized baseball's structure:

1. NASCAR Cup Series: Major League Baseball (MLB)
2. NASCAR Xfinity Series: Triple-A (AAA)
3. NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Double-A (AA)
4. ARCA Menards Series: High-A (Advanced A)

ARCA Menards Series East: High-A (Advanced A)
ARCA Menards Series West: High-A (Advanced A)

5. NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour: Single-A (A)
6. NASCAR Pinty's Series: Single-A (A)
7. NASCAR Mexico Series: Single-A (A)
8. NASCAR Euro Series: Single-A (A)
9. NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series: Rookie League/Short-Season A
10. NASCAR iRacing Series / eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series: Developmental League/Instructional League

Just in case anyone else finds this interesting... And feel free to share how little you gained from these few minutes that you'll never get back

[Jason]

The 500 was kind of a letdown for me with the ending.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

Apparently, (or should I say, supposedly), SportsLine has developed an OOTP-like NASCAR simulation model (I bet you would like to get your paws on that!). They ran it 10,000 times for the upcoming Ambetter Health 400 and came up with their picks. Follow the links below for their projections. Unfortunately, I see no evidence that the model is offered for public sale.

https://www.cbssports.com/nascar/new...reveals-picks/

https://www.sportsline.com/insiders/...etterHealth400

Bah. I did not realize when I posted that the SportsLine thingy is behind a paywall. I was going to compare their predictions to results but I'm not paying $$ for the privilege.

CBS was dumb for linking to it and all they did was repeat what SportsLine said on their baited-hook web page:

For the 2025 Ambetter Health 400, we can tell you the model is high on Daniel Suarez, even though he's a longshot at +2200 in the latest 2025 NASCAR at Atlanta odds. He's a target for anyone looking for a huge payday.

And a massive shocker: Joey Logano, one of the top Vegas favorites, stumbles big-time and barely cracks the top five. There are far better values in the 2025 Ambetter Health 400 starting lineup.

Well, Logano did not crack the top five — he came in 12th — so the model gets credit for that, I guess. Unfortunately for Sportsline's HAL 9000, Suzarez did much worse, coming in 33rd.

They also talked up Ryan Blaney, who was the betting market favorite, but he fell to 4th place. You probably know who won already. (Squint at the photo below if you don't and you're going to watch a re-broadcast.)

That's that for any wagering foray that I may have been tempted to embark upon along these lines! SportsLine can keep their simulator.

[Westheim]

If that bloody caution had come out two whiskers later, Carson Hocevar would be a first-time winner and in the damn playoffs with 24 races to spare.

[Cod]

The Atlanta race wasn't bad and the end was great, until...NASCAR ruined it by throwing out the caution flag. How do you let the race guys race one week prior and stop this one?

Hocevar gave the greatest answer ever when asked about his agressiveness at the end: "We're here to win races not be a boy band and love each other and play in the playground together." He was fast the entire race and had the best car. I'm glad Larson finally got a high finish on a super speedway. Those races have been his kryptonite his entire career.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by Cod

The Atlanta race wasn't bad and the end was great, until...NASCAR ruined it by throwing out the caution flag. How do you let the race guy one week prior and stop this one?

Good question...

[Westheim]

Congratulations to Josh Berry, taking the golden #21 to victory lane for his first career W at the crisp young age of 34.