Nascar Sprint Cup Championship 2014 - 13 Dover

Big crowd tonight with Rob and Bill coming on board.  Just need Odie and Lee and we'll have quite a riot on our hands.  A quiet riot.  Or not.

Practice ran extra late as we tried to get everyone on board.  Qualifying was good though server crashed and we restarted.

Good start and everyone got away clean.

Until Scot wrecked Harvick on the first lap.

Slowing up, Bill got to see first hand how traffic can really come up fast.  Here he got into the back of Rob quite hard.  Both still kept going though.

Back to green and Scot very quickly found another victim.  This time, Stenhouse Jr.

Further up the track, Chad was having his own issues and slid out.

Racing back to the line, Darrel must have thought I was driving a motorcycle considering the room he left me.  But she kept going and only minor damage after some bouncing around.

Still early on, we got the green flag, only to again have a caution just as fast.  This time, a pack ran over Bill and sent him airborne again.

More cautions, more greens, more cautions.  I believe this one was mostly AI caused.

Under yellow, Rob got frustrated with the change of events and took out his frustrations on Jimmie Johnson (BOOM! Confetti.)  No one complained.

On the restart, Rob anticipated me starting earlier than I actually did.  He tapped the brakes and when the green did fly, Chad gunned it harder than normal sending himself into the outside line.  Amazingly, there wasn't much damage done and he kept going.

So time for some green flag runs right?  Wrong.  Right on the next restart, Dillon plowed into the back of Bill's machine.  Miraculously, Bill kept going like nothing happened while Austin spun around.  Rarely works that way.

We actually did get a few laps in under green this time.  What you're seeing here is after the restart, Darrel ended up falling back a bit where he then got tight heading off into turn one.  Scot then came up on him fairly quickly and let off trying to give him room to recover.  In doing so, he came down onto the lower line and right on top of Gilliand who didn't have the Outlaw's compassion.

More green flag laps and we're about 1/3rd through the race.  Going down the backstretch, this group got caught up on Chad a bit and the accordion effect was in full swing.  The 43 took a dive to the inside of the track without much else going on.

In an effort to make up for his lack of effort on the last wreck,  Reed got jumbled up with a few other no names and caused another rash of cautions.

Yep, there's Reed Sorenson just making us proud.

This latest caution caused some confusion on whether we should race back or slow down.  I slowed down thinking that was correct.  I got instantly corrected for my mistake by Kenseth who blew through my rear bumper and took himself out.  Darrel.  Came flying through the gap narrowly missing us both.

Next yellow was Rob and Dale Jr. mixing it up.  Earnhardt became a true nemesis of Rob's thanks to the constant rear ending.

After that scuffle, Rob's Ford had just about enough and decided to make like an angry skunk and just spray everywhere.  He did this for several laps without a debris caution.

The next caution came from where Darrel got swung out high and got loose (probably from oil) and I too spun in the same spot (probably from oil).

Coming around to take the yellow, Scot narrowly avoided both Darrel and myself only to be turned around by Vickers.  What an ass.

While we did get some good racing in, it would be a short run as the 31 made it three wide out of two and dumped me down the backstretch.

Back to green and Rob was still smoking for skeeters.  Would be several more laps before he would finally have to park it.

Halfway through and Chad got turned going through turn four.  I got caught up on Harvick who threw the e-brake.

Coming to this yellow, we got the kind of group photo you don't want to see.  Cheese!

It was finally Sandy's turn to be in a wreck.  Wouldn't be right to finish a race without some dings.

And it was a doozey.  But he still kept it running and no other teammates were injured.

The final caution after a strong set of green runs came with Darrel and others getting caught in the usual ways.  This race would (surprisingly) end under yellow.

Good first run for Bill who placed 33rd and FINISHED.  Not many can claim that, especially with a controller instead of a wheel and never even racing this sim, much less watching NASCAR.  The rest of us did fairly well with several top 20s.

We go to Pocono next week.

Results

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	013	T Nadz	22.479
2	061	D Hamilton	22.761
3	9	M Ambrose	22.857
4	18	K Busch	22.890
5	24	J Gordon	22.900
6	15	C Bowyer	22.937
7	021	T Bear	22.956
8	88	D Earnhardt Jr	22.969
9	14	T Stewart	22.974
10	11	D Hamlin	22.974
11	78	M Truex Jr	23.015
12	16	G Biffle	23.016
13	2	B Keselowski	23.021
14	5	K Kahne	23.024
15	20	M Kenseth	23.034
16	029	M Max	23.048
17	66	J Burton	23.068
18	99	C Edwards	23.120
19	4	K Harvick	23.156
20	31	R Newman	23.164
21	22	J Logano	23.168
22	27	P Menard	23.198
23	41	K Busch2	23.214
24	1	J McMurray	23.235
25	47	A Allmendinger	23.236
26	48	J Johnson	23.240
27	34	D Ragan	23.247
28	77	D Blaney	23.254
29	55	B Vickers	23.298
30	95	M McDowell	23.309
31	35	E McClure	23.317
32	10	D Patrick	23.343
33	17	R Stenhouse Jr	23.367
34	40	L Cassill	23.378
35	32	T Kvapil	23.397
36	43	A Almirola	23.422
37	13	C Mears	23.439
38	38	D Gilliland	23.460
39	52	B Labonte	23.494
40	3	A Dillon	23.698
41	055	C Ferguson	23.716
42	062	R Cook	24.111
43	063	B Man	25.437

Weather: Clear, 77 °F, North 15 mph

Session: Race

OFFICIAL STANDINGS

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	17	66	J Burton	63.564	80	1	180	Running
2	15	20	M Kenseth	-0.50	80	8	175	Running
3	5	24	J Gordon	-0.80	80	16	170	No Fuel
4	39	52	B Labonte	-3.55	80	0	160	Running
5	8	88	D Earnhardt Jr	-4.61	80	0	155	Running
6	31	35	E McClure	-5.15	80	0	150	Running
7	14	5	K Kahne	-5.69	80	0	146	Running
8	12	16	G Biffle	-6.81	80	0	142	Running
9	6	15	C Bowyer	-7.33	80	1	143	Running
10	1	013	T Nadz	-7.59	80	38*	144	Running
11	35	32	T Kvapil	-8.13	80	0	130	Running
12	41	055	C Ferguson	-9.00	80	0	127	Running
13	25	47	A Allmendinger	-10.85	80	0	124	Running
14	16	029	M Max	-12.44	80	0	121	Running
15	7	021	T Bear	-13.47	80	0	118	Running
16	18	99	C Edwards	-1L	79	0	115	Running
17	28	77	D Blaney	-1L	79	0	112	Running
18	21	22	J Logano	-1L	79	0	109	Running
19	32	10	D Patrick	-1L	79	0	106	Running
20	34	40	L Cassill	-1L	79	0	103	Running
21	40	3	A Dillon	-1L	79	0	100	Running
22	2	061	D Hamilton	-1L	79	16	102	Running
23	19	4	K Harvick	-2L	78	0	94	Running
24	11	78	M Truex Jr	-2L	78	0	91	Running
25	38	38	D Gilliland	-2L	78	0	88	Running
26	37	13	C Mears	-2L	78	0	85	Running
27	20	31	R Newman	-3L	77	0	82	Retired
28	29	55	B Vickers	-4L	76	0	79	Running
29	22	27	P Menard	-4L	76	0	76	Running
30	30	95	M McDowell	-6L	74	0	73	Accident
31	43	063	B Man	-7L	73	0	70	Running
32	13	2	B Keselowski	-9L	71	0	67	Retired
33	42	062	R Cook	-11L	69	0	64	Piston
34	3	9	M Ambrose	-29L	51	0	61	DQ
35	27	34	D Ragan	-40L	40	0	58	Retired
36	36	43	A Almirola	-40L	40	0	55	Retired
37	4	18	K Busch	-58L	22	0	52	DQ
38	26	48	J Johnson	-62L	18	0	49	Accident
39	9	14	T Stewart	-64L	16	0	46	Accident
40	23	41	K Busch2	-65L	15	0	43	Retired
41	10	11	D Hamlin	-69L	11	0	40	Retired
42	33	17	R Stenhouse Jr	-73L	7	0	37	Retired
43	24	1	J McMurray	-75L	5	0	34	Retired

Caution Flags: 14 (58 laps)

Lead Changes: 9 (6 drivers)

Weather: Clear, 76 °F, Northeast 15 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 2x

AI Strength: 97%

PENALTIES

LAP	#	INFRACTION	PENALTY
3	062	Failure to pit	Go to end of longest line
4	062	Passing the pacecar	Held for 27 seconds
3	063	Unsafe pit exit	Go to end of longest line
6	062	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
6	063	Passing under yellow	Held for 5 seconds
7	063	Entering closed pits	Go to end of longest line
12	055	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
8	063	Unsafe pit exit	Go to end of longest line
23	055	Passing the pacecar	Held for 22 seconds
24	062	Entering closed pits	Go to end of longest line
22	063	Unsafe pit exit	Go to end of longest line
24	063	Entering closed pits	Go to end of longest line
25	063	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
27	063	Unsafe pit exit	Go to end of longest line
29	063	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
45	055	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
45	055	Unsafe pit exit	Go to end of longest line
67	061	Unsafe pit exit	Go to end of longest line
70	062	Smoking Engine	Pit for repairs
71	061	Dropping Fluid	Pit for repairs
68	063	Unsafe pit exit	Go to end of longest line

Nascar Sprint Cup Championship 2014 - 12 Lowes

The first third of the series is over and the track that lets few survive until the end did not disappoint.  At least as far as DNFs go.  Sadly not all of us breathing drivers made it to the end but we all fared well with all 5 placing the top 16.

On a quick side note, I'd like to offer my sympathies to Rob and my step mother, Sherry.  Rob lost his grandmother recently which was part of the reason he was out last week and Sherry has lost her aunt which is why Sandy could not make it tonight.  Our thoughts are with them and their families.

A lighter note, the blog has now broken 4000 views!  Congratulations on all your hard work.  I'd like to thank all the Russian brides who tune in for these ridiculous recaps.  On to the recraps.

Practice went well with all of us eventually finding our setups.  Rob managed to eek one out through Chad's tutelage while Scot did the thing Scot does: Dropping in and calling it good.  Qualifying went well with me, Darrel, and Chad top 3.  Scot and Rob hung out at the back and would prove again that starting position means little.

The race started off with just barely a single lap in before...

Ryan Newman and Paul Menard tried to take out the turn 4 wall.  They would not be the last...

The restart went a few more laps before Darrel found himself in traffic and in trouble.  Hot out of two, he tapped the wall and came in on Bowyer.

This ended the day for several AI drivers but the humans kept swinging.

Not long after the restart, Darrel made a move to pass Eric McClure on the outside out of four.  While Darrel did keep it off the wall, McClure didn't leave him jack for room and the two came together.

Scot was on them in a heartbeat and they collided.  Both kept going while more of the cup regulars broke and hit the garage.

Back under green, we started to close in on the first pit window when Blaney decided not to give me room into three.

More competition destroyed.  I got lucky and wasn't slammed by more cars, especially as Chad was not far behind this.  OK, so only about 25% of the race finished and half the field gone.  So far so good.

Green flags go again and I came up on Darrel through turn one.  He gave me plenty of room as seen here but Edwards thought he should have a go through the gap.  This forced Darrel up more and he got caught against the wall.  And we know what happens when you get stuck in that fly trap.

The 61 came down and was missed by all, until Chad came on the scene.

Unable to avoid, the two collided collecting even more victims.  Rob almost crapped himself as he went low thinking it would be safe.  He managed to get away with only a mild scrape with Darrel.  The 170mph T-bone to Darrel's driver door was too much for the old car to take.  He would be the first human victim of the night.

About halfway through and around a dozen cars remaining.  Again, about par for the course and on track to beat the 35 DNF record.  Scot and I were quite racey through this pack until his car kept catching the apron and throwing him up the track.

After too much of that, he bounced it off of four and caused only a small accident.  I think there were more DNFs though.

Things got even more exciting on the restart.  I had gone in for fuel and tires for the rest of the race and started behind Rob who was up the order.  Rob was working traffic when his car kept running up the hill in the corners.  Eventually he over-corrected coming off of two and pounded the outside wall.  Coming back across he collected another car and headed right for me.  Now it was my turn to shit my pants.  Fortunately, no major harm done and another few AI out.

Later, Scot was running with some other cars for top ten places when Edwards tapped his rear panels, sending him up the track.

Chad came up too fast and slammed the poor Crash Dummies car.  Chad would not be able to drive away from this one.  Rob almost was involved but again managed to barely skirt by...

But even then, he wouldn't be free from danger.  After returning to green with about a dozen or so laps remaining, he simply got tangled up with Jamie Mac.

While Rob would hold out to finish 6th, Scot would bring out the final caution with a blown, oil-spewing, engine.  A shame too as he lost two positions from this.  So far but just not quite far enough.

So we sailed into the sunset behind the pace car.  Technically we did make 36 DNFs as Rob's connection dropped him right at the end.  But officially, we'll have to be tied for the record.  While we all could have had better races, I think everyone was at least somewhat satisfied with their places.  Next week is Dover where we stand to have one of the largest racing groups yet.

Results

Session: Practice

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	013	T Nadz	29.982
2	061	D Hamilton	30.585
3	055	C Ferguson	30.613
4	20	M Kenseth	30.863
5	31	R Newman	30.985
6	5	K Kahne	31.132
7	48	J Johnson	31.195
8	15	C Bowyer	31.195
9	78	M Truex Jr	31.255
10	22	J Logano	31.331
11	88	D Earnhardt Jr	31.345
12	24	J Gordon	31.360
13	34	D Ragan	31.370
14	14	T Stewart	31.442
15	18	K Busch	31.570
16	27	P Menard	31.669
17	2	B Keselowski	31.677
18	43	A Almirola	31.795
19	55	B Vickers	31.808
20	17	R Stenhouse Jr	31.843
21	32	T Kvapil	31.869
22	47	A Allmendinger	31.939
23	52	B Labonte	31.948
24	99	C Edwards	31.971
25	3	A Dillon	32.006
26	40	L Cassill	32.076
27	95	M McDowell	32.175
28	10	D Patrick	32.225
29	16	G Biffle	32.529
30	4	K Harvick	32.758
31	062	R Cook	33.654
32	77	D Blaney	35.102
33	029	M Max	40.311
34	9	M Ambrose	44.344
35	11	D Hamlin	45.051
36	1	J McMurray	45.671
37	66	J Burton	47.199
38	13	C Mears	47.245
39	30	D Stremme	47.881
40	35	E McClure	47.897
41	41	K Busch2	47.985
42	38	D Gilliland	2:25.806

Weather: Cloudy, 81 °F, North 6 mph

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	013	T Nadz	29.599
2	061	D Hamilton	30.362
3	055	C Ferguson	30.588
4	27	P Menard	30.833
5	99	C Edwards	30.869
6	31	R Newman	30.901
7	15	C Bowyer	30.908
8	16	G Biffle	30.935
9	48	J Johnson	30.946
10	14	T Stewart	30.954
11	5	K Kahne	30.978
12	18	K Busch	31.005
13	78	M Truex Jr	31.008
14	20	M Kenseth	31.063
15	11	D Hamlin	31.118
16	41	K Busch2	31.122
17	24	J Gordon	31.123
18	9	M Ambrose	31.155
19	1	J McMurray	31.227
20	88	D Earnhardt Jr	31.228
21	22	J Logano	31.237
22	4	K Harvick	31.322
23	2	B Keselowski	31.350
24	66	J Burton	31.378
25	13	C Mears	31.404
26	35	E McClure	31.409
27	77	D Blaney	31.420
28	95	M McDowell	31.447
29	30	D Stremme	31.567
30	98	J Wise	31.588
31	40	L Cassill	31.594
32	32	T Kvapil	31.603
33	47	A Allmendinger	31.618
34	34	D Ragan	31.620
35	52	B Labonte	31.622
36	38	D Gilliland	31.640
37	43	A Almirola	31.699
38	55	B Vickers	31.717
39	17	R Stenhouse Jr	31.736
40	10	D Patrick	31.970
41	3	A Dillon	31.984
42	062	R Cook	32.279
43	029	M Max	41.469

Weather: Cloudy, 81 °F, North 6 mph

Session: Happy Hour

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	013	T Nadz	30.311
2	061	D Hamilton	31.027
3	055	C Ferguson	31.325
4	99	C Edwards	31.530
5	2	B Keselowski	31.728
6	22	J Logano	31.768
7	16	G Biffle	31.852
8	78	M Truex Jr	31.880
9	77	D Blaney	31.914
10	20	M Kenseth	31.946
11	35	E McClure	31.964
12	47	A Allmendinger	31.976
13	15	C Bowyer	31.981
14	27	P Menard	31.989
15	11	D Hamlin	32.020
16	34	D Ragan	32.029
17	18	K Busch	32.032
18	31	R Newman	32.064
19	24	J Gordon	32.097
20	029	M Max	32.131
21	9	M Ambrose	32.159
22	5	K Kahne	32.183
23	40	L Cassill	32.235
24	52	B Labonte	32.282
25	38	D Gilliland	32.367
26	13	C Mears	32.377
27	55	B Vickers	32.407
28	1	J McMurray	32.453
29	10	D Patrick	32.524
30	3	A Dillon	32.737
31	17	R Stenhouse Jr	32.931
32	41	K Busch2	32.943
33	95	M McDowell	33.171
34	48	J Johnson	33.363
35	43	A Almirola	33.665
36	14	T Stewart	41.196
37	4	K Harvick	47.937
38	32	T Kvapil	48.827
39	30	D Stremme	49.502
40	062	R Cook	56.202

Weather: Clear, 84 °F, North 8 mph

Session: Race

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	1	013	T Nadz	101.641	80	54*	185	Running
2	13	78	M Truex Jr	-0.52	80	12	175	Running
3	5	99	C Edwards	-0.78	80	0	165	Running
4	19	1	J McMurray	-1.04	80	0	160	Running
5	17	24	J Gordon	-1.29	80	0	155	Running
6	42	062	R Cook	-2.06	80	0	150	Running
7	23	2	B Keselowski	-1L	79	0	146	Running
8	41	3	A Dillon	-1L	79	0	142	Running
9	16	41	K Busch2	-2L	78	8	143	Camshaft
10	15	11	D Hamlin	-2L	78	0	134	Camshaft
11	7	15	C Bowyer	-2L	78	0	130	Accident
12	43	029	M Max	-4L	76	4	132	Accident
13	3	055	C Ferguson	-23L	57	2	129	Accident
14	14	20	M Kenseth	-34L	46	0	121	Retired
15	36	38	D Gilliland	-45L	35	0	118	Retired
16	2	061	D Hamilton	-46L	34	0	115	Accident
17	9	48	J Johnson	-49L	31	0	112	Accident
18	8	16	G Biffle	-49L	31	0	109	Accident
19	20	88	D Earnhardt Jr	-50L	30	0	106	Accident
20	21	22	J Logano	-50L	30	0	103	Accident
21	22	4	K Harvick	-50L	30	0	100	Accident
22	27	77	D Blaney	-54L	26	0	97	Accident
23	18	9	M Ambrose	-61L	19	0	94	Ignition
24	26	35	E McClure	-62L	18	0	91	Clutch
25	24	66	J Burton	-62L	18	0	88	Retired
26	28	95	M McDowell	-63L	17	0	85	Accident
27	25	13	C Mears	-72L	8	0	82	No Fuel
28	40	10	D Patrick	-72L	8	0	79	Ignition
29	10	14	T Stewart	-72L	8	0	76	Accident
30	12	18	K Busch	-72L	8	0	73	Retired
31	4	27	P Menard	-72L	8	0	70	Accident
32	11	5	K Kahne	-72L	8	0	67	Accident
33	39	17	R Stenhouse Jr	-73L	7	0	64	Accident
34	34	34	D Ragan	-73L	7	0	61	Retired
35	33	47	A Allmendinger	-73L	7	0	58	Retired
36	31	40	L Cassill	-73L	7	0	55	Retired
37	29	30	D Stremme	-77L	3	0	52	Retired
38	35	52	B Labonte	-77L	3	0	49	Retired
39	37	43	A Almirola	-77L	3	0	46	Retired
40	32	32	T Kvapil	-77L	3	0	43	Accident
41	38	55	B Vickers	-77L	3	0	40	Retired
42	6	31	R Newman	-78L	2	0	37	Accident
43	30	98	J Wise	-78L	2	0	34	Accident

Caution Flags: 0 (0 laps)

Lead Changes: 6 (5 drivers)

Weather: Clear, 83 °F, North 7 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 2x

AI Strength: 97%