My main man Ward

Jpshostr · February 17, 2002

This is great!

silverado man · February 17, 2002

yeah what a finish. that was funny how stewart tried to fix his car.

Jpshostr · February 17, 2002

yeah what a finish. that was funny how stewart tried to fix his car.

No, make that Sterling.

silverado man · February 17, 2002

sorry got them mixed up meant to put that

Shaners · February 17, 2002

The last 50 laps were crazy!!!

General Lee 01 · February 17, 2002

That was the best damn 500 I've seen yet.

Gordon gets spun with 5 laps to go.

No shortage of action at all.

And best of all, Mark Martin finshed 5th and was in contention for the win.

Trash Talk Mode:

WHO'S THE "HAS BEEN" NOW! WHAT! WHAT!

ekonk · February 17, 2002

I really didn't care for the race, as in the past few years. How many green flag lead changes were there? 4?

They need to eliminate the restrictor plates. If they need to slow down the cars, do it aerodynamically or force the race teams to use stock engine configurations (I don't really want to see that, I just want a rwd v8 monte, and anything to encourage that is good).

Ever seen any of the old races from daytona or talledega? High speed slingshot passes? I think there was a race at talladega with around 76 lead changes. And they call restrictor plate racing competitive?

Kansas Kid · February 17, 2002

I agree ekonk. I thought the whole race was pretty much a joke. Did these guys forget how to driver over the summer? More then the usual amount of stupid moves today. Sure there was lots of side by side racing, but there were very few actual passes for the lead. Its not racing in my opinion when the drivers are more concerned about blocking another drivers run then they are about their car going fast. And that blocking ended up taking about half the field out it one shot, plus Gordon and DJ got it towards the end. And as usual with restrictor plate racing, one of the 5 cars left running at the finish won.

Not to mention the fact that they never onced inforced the yellow line rule (both Gordon and Marlin should have got that one). I personally am fed up with restrictor plate racing in general, and the crap like today that comes as a result. Can't wait until next weekend when we can watch some good racing....

antig24 · February 18, 2002

That race was awesome up until the harvick/gordon inccident, It went sour right after that. It was a good win for ward. Jr's come back was awesome until he popped his other tire and went for a ride through the infield.

MountaineerTom · February 18, 2002

There were more than 4 green flag lead changes. There were 12 different leaders, I can only think of about 4 of them getting the lead because of pitting.

I thought it was pretty good race, but I hated to see the big wreck. Definately exciting. I think until the plates are gone, that's the kind of racing we're stuck with. Blocking is just a part of it, and everyone of them are guilty of it at some point in the race. Some just end up being in a wreck, some don't. ??? I was wondering what kind of comment Gordon was going to have after being on both ends of the blocking situations.

NewbieZ71 · February 18, 2002

Anybody notice Waltrip going across the grass all the way into pit row? Almost hit the pace car. That was a LONG trip!

sincityZ71 · February 18, 2002

Anybody notice Waltrip going across the grass all the way into pit row? Almost hit the pace car. That was a LONG trip!

Yeah, I saw that. Pace car driver was probably looked in his mirror and was like:

OH $HIT!!!!!!!, then gassed it.

Elwood · February 18, 2002

Well, I'm glad to seee that Gordon didn't try to blame Marlin. He said it was his fault for blocking.

All in all I thought it was a pretty good race, for a plate race. But I agree with what Jr. said last week. He wanted to know "why they had plates. If it was to make it safer, who decides what is a safe speed and what si not, because 180mph seems pretty damn dnagerous to me." Or something to that affect.

quadrunner500 · February 19, 2002

I'm in total agreement with Kansas-Kid and Ekonk. I'm not sure what this restrictor plate product is, but it's not racing. Follow the leader, get blocked by the leader, take out the leader, because you can't pass the leader.

But that's not my only grudge...What's up with the red flag at the end? You had 18 cars in a crash earlier, no red flag then. Then 3 laps from the end when only Gordon spins (or gets spun), they stop the race. B.S.! The Nascar product is little more than careful manipulation of the packaging, to insure the dough rises in the oven.

I wonder how much comfort and security D.J. took in those moments after the red flag, as he careened sideways through the infield at 180 mph? I bet he would think afterwards, better to have stayed green, let natural selection take care of Marlin's rubbing fender, or (GASP) let the race finish under yellow!

As it was, the image of fat boy Mike Helton and other nascar bureacrats huddling together to sort out in the booth, what rightfully deserved to be sorted out on the track, just made me realize I don't want to be anymore, buying into a racing product that's as close to being FIXED as possible.

The only thing more laughable than this farce would have been the pace car official chasing Marlin back into his car with a raised stick!

In the glory days, the pace car didn't automaticaly go out every time the course went yellow. Cars didn't bunch up for a restart, because the race kept going. You couldn't pass, the leader set a responsible pace, and followers weren't allowed to close the gap on the leader until the race went green again.

Off my soapbox...

MountaineerTom · February 20, 2002

That's restrictor plate racing. Been that way since 1987. Some years, the racing is pretty good, some years it's not. Blocking is just part of it, whether you have a restrictor plate or not. There's plenty of blocking done on the short tracks, but it's not made into such a big deal. I'd like to see the plates go myself, but not at the risk of safety of the drivers and fans.

If the 18 car wreck would have been near the end of the race, like the one mentioned, it would have been red flagged. This isn't really anything new. Over the last several years NASCAR has red flagged several races so the fans will see a race end under green. A good move in my opinion. I wish they would adopt the same rule in Winston Cup and the Busch Series as they have in the Craftsman Truck Series: The Green/White/Checkered flag rule.

As far as races being fixed, or close to it, I don't believe that for one minute.