Welcome to the latest Happy Hour mailbag! You know how these work: you write us at nascarmail@yahoogroups.com or on Twitter at @jaybusbee, we respond to your messages, everyone goes away with a smile on their face. Today, we're talking series-jumping, standings quirks, and reader photos. Away we go!
When NASCAR announced that drivers had to commit to a series, you commented in a MARBLES post that it made no difference. [Ed. note: that was Hart, but close enough.] Maybe not, but a later Marbles post by Bromberg noted that the season had not started and Lally was the defacto NASCAR 2011 Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year because he was the only rookie signed up for Sprint Cup.
Enter, the Woods Brothers team and another young kid. Problem is that the kid is not eligible for ROTY because be is "signed" for the Nationwide series. Yet another example of a dumb unneeded rule by NASCAR that may have been well-intended, but causes more issues than it fixes.
See, I think it does make a difference. When NASCAR promulgates rules it does so in a vacuum. Without input form fans or usually, teams, owners or sponsors. NASCAR always assumes it has the best interests of all those parties at heart. And then it generates some dumb rule that bites them in the [back end]. Sadly it ends up biting all the fans, sponsors, owners, etc. in the [back end] as well.
—Jill Joachim
Indiana
I'm inclined to give NASCAR a pass on this one, simply because there is no way possible they could have conceived of the possibility that a rookie in his second Cup ride ever would win the Daytona 500. I think the reasoning behind the rule is sound--we need to develop the next level of younger stars--and I also stand behind the decision to not award any retroactive points. It's done, and opening more doors to accommodate popular opinion would cause even more problems.
Can you tell I'm a parent? 'Cause before I had kids, I'd totally be storming the tower to get Bayne his points. Anyway, that led to this little quirk:
There are plenty of story lines from this year's Daytona 500, and I have enjoyed reading them. But there is a bit of information I find interesting, and I would assume that it's a NASCAR first (although I have done no research to back up that claim!).
With Trevor Bayne likely choosing to go for the Nationwide championship, that leaves Carl Edwards as the current Sprint Cup points leader. What I find interesting is that not only did Edwards not win, but he didn't even lead a lap. To make that more interesting, Kevin Harvick, 42nd in points, has led 5 laps which happens to be a greater number than his Sprint Cup points.
—Tyler R
Cannot imagine how this would have been possible before. NASCAR 2011, everybody! It's rule-tastic!
Next, this week's reader photo:
Shawnee, KS
He's thinking "restraining order." Want to see your photos here? Send in your track pics to nascarmail@yahoogroups.com!
First off, big fan of the race day chat, it makes the middle parts of races bearable. On to my gripe, isn't it ironic that in order for the leader to pull away from the field, (s)he must slow down so that the car behind him/her must be able to bump draft? In order to lead the race by a larger margin, you must slow down so that 2nd place can get closer. It just seems like these Restrictor Plate races are dumb now. I would advise putting horns on the rear bumper or completely scrapping the rear bumper so bump drafting wouldn't happen.
—Craig M
Avon, IN
Thanks for the chat praise; if you don't come hang with us on race day at nascar.yahoo.com, you're missing out. I don't mind the bump-drafting, and I may be one of the few people who actually enjoyed the 2x2 racing--I liked the fact that nobody was out of the race, as long as they could play nice, and the strategy in plotting for the finish was fascinating. But if they put horns on the front of the cars — that would be your cue, Photoshop wizards — I'd be far happier.
I'm 60% sure NASCAR fixed it so Trevor Bayne would win. Evidence:
1. Had Mikey, Trevor's former boss, take out 25% of the field.
2. Took out a late charging Junior.
3. Black flagged David Ragan.
4. Had Juan drop off of Kurt to ensure they wouldn't pass Trevor.
5. Left Tony out to dry, fading to dismal 13th.
That, as I've heard from several people who cover the sport, demonstrates a 60% likelihood NASCAR fixed the Daytona 500.
—Tony Manns
Tony's joking — oh, I hope he's joking — but you wouldn't believe how many emails I got that were dead freaking serious. NASCAR is apparently run by a consortium of secretive covert geniuses capable of JFK assassination-coverup-level scheming. Which is pretty cool, when you think about it.
Do you think Jim Gray and Tony Stewart would make for some interesting postrace interviews, especially if Stewart had a bad day? And how did the combination of Mark Martin-Lance McGree manage to come from 3 laps down to finish 10th, while Dale never could manage that last year?
—Stevie Dale
Now, now. Remember that Dale just barely finished second at Daytona last year. But yes, Jim Gray vs. Tony Stewart would be epic. But Gray wouldn't wait till the end of the race; he'd just climb right in the car during a pit stop. (Joke explanation: Gray confronted a golfer during a round last week, and got booted from the tournament.)
And finally, today in misdirected spam:
Hi, My name is [fake name deleted] and I'm an SEO consultant, nice to meet you. I'm contacting you concerning an eventual partnership with your website that I just visited. What I'd like to propose you is to help you to get higher rankings in the search engines like Yahoo...
Yahoo, Yahoo ... name sounds familiar, but I just can't place it. Pass.
Thanks to all our writers this week. You want in? Fire up the computer and hit us with whatever's on your mind, NASCAR-wise, at nascarmail@yahoogroups.com, or hit us up on Twitter at @jaybusbee. We'll make you famous!
Charisma Carpenter Hilarie Burton Kelly Carlson Sara Foster Natassia Malthe
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