'87 Winston Cup 2016 Series - 19 New Hampshire

Officially over halfway through the season and to celebrate, we visit the most boring track on the circuit.  The kind of boring that would make you rather watch curling.  But we did our best to spice things up and still managed to all finish.

Our qualifying efforts sent us all over the field, setting up the powder keg for a boom.

And it didn't take long.  Not even a lap in fact.  Darrel had some trouble holding the outside, mixed with a little tunneling and got turned by his other buddy Darrel Waltrip.

Being up in the top part of the field had him in a nasty position to cascade through the field.

And then others, such as Sandy were caught up in the melee.

He managed to gather himself up only to be gathered into a metalic wad once again. 

On the restart, Zack had managed to shotgun up to the 4th position and was about to make a bold dive up the inside of turn one.  Instead, Terry Labonte ducked out from Earnhardt and it would have been three wide.

Zack wisely backed off but it may have been too much as Jimmy Means got a run on the outside and they rubbed elbows.

Then dumbass Davey Allison decided to try and split a closing gap.

This sent both cars off in non-optional directions.  Zack then started getting tapped...

...banged by Waltrip and Wallace...

...tossed by Gant...

...mashed by Means...

...dented by Darrel...

...and finally smacked by Speed.  Despite being tossed around like a drunk girl in a fraternity, he managed to come up without too many bumps or bruises, more or less like a drunk girl after a night in a fraternity.  Wow, it just went dark, didn't it?

During our next green flag run, everyone was managing their own race and generally moving up in the order or getting in a decent position for the next round of stops.  Chad was working traffic and doing a fairly decent job, especially for being out of the saddle for a bit.

However, he hopped on the throttle a little too hard and brought the back out.

Then he became the frat girl.

But like Zack's frat experience, he also managed to make the most of the situation without getting killed.

Time for some pit stops.

On the restart, I found myself behind Dale Earnhardt who was doing everything he could to battle for position.  Being my mortal enemy in this series, I give him what for.

To his credit, he rolled with it.  See what I did there?

I feel a little bad for Darrel at this point because he nearly got taken out while trying to get through the minefield I was laying.  Fortunately, just a slide job and not much more.

Sandy also had a moment coming back around for the green.  His car just didn't seem to be hooking up right after that first lap nonsense.

Another lengthy green run and then Darrel found himself in the back of Cope.

And around with friends.

The next caution came when Christman had a run in with the wall off of four.

He got spun right in front of Darrel who went extra evasive and just barely managed to avoid damage.  Zack wasn't far behind this and got a good view of several people shitting themselves.  Probably should change out the tearoffs after that one.

Darrel didn't stop there and ran the other Folgers car into a spin.  Sorry Benny.

On this green, Zack found himself at the front.  Not sure what his strategy was but he left me some room and I dove back to first.  Maybe he was going to try and hold them off until the end of the race?

It wasn't over when Darrel also had a run in with the wall out of four.

He tried to save it...

But the field saw to that.

You can see from the couple shots above that Zack had more than a moment trying to whoa up for this thing.  So much for changing out the tear offs...

Then with only about a half dozen laps to go, Chad got mad loose off of turn four.

A hard lick to the inside wall but still moving.

Coming to the end, Chad and Zack had an exciting race for the line and a nonexistent position.

Chad barely beat him.  Or something...

This victory would mark my 10th of the season which I celebrated with Phil Parsons.  Look, he's even smiling!

On to the Brickyard at Indy.

Results

Session: Practice

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	013	T Nadz	30.325
2	061	D Hamilton	30.590
3	023	Z Webster	30.644
4	021	T Bear	30.837
5	17	D Waltrip	30.868
6	5	G Bodine	30.875
7	3	D Earnhardt	30.889
8	11	T Labonte	30.893
9	21	K Petty	30.895
10	90	K Schrader	30.899
11	26	M Shepherd	30.902
12	88	B Baker	30.911
13	67	B Arrington	30.937
14	33	H Gant	30.958
15	27	R Wallace	30.966
16	55	P Parsons	30.978
17	8	B Hillin, Jr.	30.987
18	9	B Elliott	31.001
19	43	R Petty	31.003
20	44	S Marlin	31.006
21	28	D Allison	31.012
22	35	B Parsons	31.014
23	52	J Means	31.017
24	15	R Rudd	31.023
25	75	N Bonnett	31.050
26	4	R Wilson	31.061
27	22	B Allison	31.068
28	71	D Marcis	31.073
29	77	E Bierschwale	31.092
30	7	A Kulwicki	31.097
31	30	M Waltrip	31.113
32	1	B Bodine	31.150
33	25	T Richmond	31.165
34	83	L Speed	31.173
35	29	C Yarborough	31.182
36	50	G Sacks	31.185
37	18	D Jarrett	31.233
38	19	D Cope	31.235
39	62	S Christman	31.262
40	70	J McDuffie	31.281
41	64	R Combs	31.306
42	81	M Potter	31.309
43	20	C Ferguson	31.806

Weather: Clear, 85 °F, Northeast 13 mph

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	013	T Nadz	30.550
2	5	G Bodine	30.574
3	3	D Earnhardt	30.636
4	90	K Schrader	30.734
5	9	B Elliott	30.755
6	26	M Shepherd	30.795
7	4	R Wilson	30.795
8	061	D Hamilton	30.804
9	21	K Petty	30.832
10	17	D Waltrip	30.833
11	11	T Labonte	30.839
12	27	R Wallace	30.863
13	023	Z Webster	30.869
14	7	A Kulwicki	30.937
15	52	J Means	30.938
16	15	R Rudd	30.943
17	8	B Hillin, Jr.	30.964
18	44	S Marlin	30.982
19	70	J McDuffie	31.046
20	33	H Gant	31.050
21	25	T Richmond	31.066
22	021	T Bear	31.070
23	28	D Allison	31.087
24	67	B Arrington	31.127
25	75	N Bonnett	31.135
26	22	B Allison	31.152
27	55	P Parsons	31.154
28	19	D Cope	31.165
29	30	M Waltrip	31.170
30	64	R Combs	31.195
31	18	D Jarrett	31.223
32	1	B Bodine	31.230
33	35	B Parsons	31.231
34	71	D Marcis	31.368
35	43	R Petty	31.369
36	83	L Speed	31.426
37	29	C Yarborough	31.440
38	88	B Baker	31.469
39	62	S Christman	31.496
40	81	M Potter	31.526
41	50	G Sacks	31.703
42	77	E Bierschwale	31.746
43	20	C Ferguson	32.651

Weather: Clear, 85 °F, Northeast 14 mph

Session: Happy Hour

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	013	T Nadz	30.372
2	061	D Hamilton	30.379
3	44	S Marlin	30.507
4	20	C Ferguson	30.542
5	3	D Earnhardt	30.610
6	27	R Wallace	30.612
7	71	D Marcis	30.614
8	023	Z Webster	30.634
9	22	B Allison	30.708
10	30	M Waltrip	30.713
11	26	M Shepherd	30.714
12	21	K Petty	30.723
13	64	R Combs	30.727
14	8	B Hillin, Jr.	30.733
15	35	B Parsons	30.734
16	43	R Petty	30.735
17	11	T Labonte	30.745
18	5	G Bodine	30.752
19	28	D Allison	30.755
20	90	K Schrader	30.773
21	55	P Parsons	30.784
22	7	A Kulwicki	30.800
23	88	B Baker	30.800
24	15	R Rudd	30.813
25	77	E Bierschwale	30.833
26	9	B Elliott	30.845
27	17	D Waltrip	30.851
28	75	N Bonnett	30.865
29	81	M Potter	30.866
30	18	D Jarrett	30.868
31	62	S Christman	30.868
32	021	T Bear	30.917
33	25	T Richmond	30.939
34	67	B Arrington	30.946
35	50	G Sacks	30.956
36	83	L Speed	30.984
37	4	R Wilson	31.011
38	70	J McDuffie	31.025
39	33	H Gant	31.026
40	1	B Bodine	31.034
41	19	D Cope	31.043
42	29	C Yarborough	31.109
43	52	J Means	31.192

Weather: Cloudy, 88 °F, West 12 mph

Session: Race

OFFICIAL STANDINGS

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	1	013	T Nadz	80.770	60	53*	185	Running
2	6	26	M Shepherd	-1.43	60	0	170	Running
3	11	11	T Labonte	-1.87	60	0	165	Running
4	16	15	R Rudd	-2.19	60	0	160	Running
5	23	28	D Allison	-2.52	60	0	155	Running
6	37	29	C Yarborough	-2.69	60	0	150	Running
7	35	43	R Petty	-2.98	60	0	146	Running
8	9	21	K Petty	-3.42	60	0	142	Running
9	33	35	B Parsons	-3.47	60	0	138	Running
10	12	27	R Wallace	-3.62	60	0	134	Running
11	26	22	B Allison	-3.63	60	0	130	Running
12	41	50	G Sacks	-3.83	60	0	127	Running
13	32	1	B Bodine	-4.27	60	0	124	Running
14	7	4	R Wilson	-4.31	60	0	121	Running
15	5	9	B Elliott	-4.42	60	0	118	Running
16	14	7	A Kulwicki	-4.51	60	0	115	Running
17	29	30	M Waltrip	-4.70	60	0	112	Running
18	34	71	D Marcis	-5.04	60	0	109	Running
19	2	5	G Bodine	-5.39	60	0	106	Running
20	17	8	B Hillin, Jr.	-5.64	60	0	103	Running
21	39	62	S Christman	-6.61	60	0	100	Running
22	8	061	D Hamilton	-6.65	60	0	97	Running
23	30	64	R Combs	-6.89	60	0	94	Running
24	36	83	L Speed	-6.91	60	0	91	Running
25	15	52	J Means	-7.24	60	0	88	Running
26	21	25	T Richmond	-7.54	60	0	85	Running
27	22	021	T Bear	-8.07	60	0	82	Running
28	42	77	E Bierschwale	-10.67	60	0	79	Running
29	40	81	M Potter	-12.35	60	0	76	Running
30	13	023	Z Webster	-20.31	60	3	78	Running
31	28	19	D Cope	-33.46	60	0	70	Running
32	19	70	J McDuffie	-1L	59	0	67	Running
33	27	55	P Parsons	-1L	59	0	64	Running
34	10	17	D Waltrip	-1L	59	0	61	Running
35	43	20	C Ferguson	-5L	55	0	58	Running
36	4	90	K Schrader	-40L	20	0	55	Retired
37	18	44	S Marlin	-40L	20	0	52	Retired
38	3	3	D Earnhardt	-41L	19	4	54	Accident
39	31	18	D Jarrett	-42L	18	0	46	Retired
40	24	67	B Arrington	-42L	18	0	43	Accident
41	38	88	B Baker	-54L	6	0	40	Piston
42	20	33	H Gant	-55L	5	0	37	Retired
43	25	75	N Bonnett	-55L	5	0	34	Retired

Caution Flags: 9 (31 laps)

Lead Changes: 4 (3 drivers)

Weather: Cloudy, 88 °F, Southwest 10 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 3x

AI Strength: 90%

PENALTIES

LAP	#	INFRACTION	PENALTY
3	061	Unsafe pit exit	Go to end of longest line
9	023	Passing the leader	Stop and go
15	20	Dropping Fluid	Pit for repairs
15	021	Passing under yellow	Held for 1 seconds
16	023	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
20	061	Passing under yellow	Held for 3 seconds
28	20	Unsafe pit exit	Go to end of longest line
35	20	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
35	20	Unsafe pit exit	Go to end of longest line
42	20	Entering closed pits	Go to end of longest line
43	20	Unsafe pit exit	Go to end of longest line
53	20	Unsafe pit exit	Go to end of longest line

'87 Winston Cup 2016 Series - 18 Kentucky

We reach the halfway point of the series at a good old cookie cutter track here at Kentucky.  Quite a crowd all of a sudden as well as we swell our numbers back up a bit.  And Chad announcing he's out of retirement for a while.

After some technical glitches, we managed to line up, however, Mark disconnected thanks to an internet issue.  Sandy filled in the spot on the pole and humans lead the charge.

Sandy was set loose for the long run and had difficulty keeping the car steady in the opening salvo of laps, allowing me to slip by.

Things continued to be shaky as he slipped back the order and started taking out chunks of the safer barrier as souvenirs.

With only about 5 laps in, Zack's internet issues (which have post-since been resolved) plagued him once more and he found himself inside of Brett Bodine's 1 car.

Chad had no time or room to react as the maelstrom unfolded in front of him.

He almost cleared the 23 of Webster but just caught the front of his car and the engine was done, as was Zack.

Although, in his dying effort, Chad managed a fancy slide job coming to pit road and parked neatly in his pit stall.

Still early in the fuel run and both Darrel and Sandy stayed out to keep in front of the Joneses.

Eventually I worked my way back up to them and put a pass on Sandy...

...when suddenly the caution was out.

Back in the field, Scot was testing the waters and driving in a bit too deep.  This didn't help him or Derrick Cope.

This time, it was pit road for all.  Sandy and Darrel tussled a little over blocking of stalls but all got out OK.

Back under green, Darrel was fighting to get back some of the positions he'd lost on pit road and was pushing his car a little excessively.

The Bear was also struggling with his ride as some of the damage combined with fresher tires was giving him more than a handful.

And then it happened as Darrel came off of turn four.  He started to lose grip jumping on the gas and coming away from the wall when he contacted Rusty Wallace.

Shockingly, the two did little more than careen around the outside wall with little damage and no caution.  But many positions were lost by both drivers.

Sandy's woes only deepened as he started making contact with the turn walls.

Besides myself, many of the humans were dealing with various levels of damage and car problems.  We started into our first green flag lap window and many were on pit road when the dread caution happened.  Ken Schradder and Dale Jarrett couldn't agree on who had the line and Jarrett was knocked wide.

There may not have been a problem if Dale Earnhardt hadn't been there to send him back down the track, almost right into Darrel Hamilton who was making up ground.

While not a big one, there were more cars involved.

Including Mad Max!  Coming off of the corner, he had barely enough time to even register there was a car sitting on the track in his line.  Worn tires and high speed kept him from turning down and out of the way.

And yet more were smashed and out.

Because more than half the field pitted, we came to the green with a ton of cars on the end of the lead lap out in front of us.

It was a harrowing experience but I managed to work my way through them.

Darrel was working on the same thing when he managed to catch up to the rolling wreck-job, Bierschwale.

It wasn't pretty but it could have been worse.

Coming to the green, the lap cars had little concern for my safety, nearly bulling me over as I tucked down to the inside.  I'll point out that I was further back in the pack due to an error on my part.  I didn't come in on the first caution lap of pit stops thinking that the cars behind me were on the lead lap and staying out.  So I came in the second time.  But we were all still about 3-5 laps shy.

Regardless, there were few humans in the back with many lappers in front of us.

Darrel saw his opportunity to push hard to the front and clear the moving wall of cars.  But he couldn't judge the breaking zones of Ken Schradder and the two collided.

Darrel nearly rolled the car but managed to keep things together.  By this point, he was hurt badly and it would take a lot to try and stay on the lead lap.

Sandy picked up some points under caution by leading.

And then slunk to the back as we tore off for the final run of racing.  Once again, I had to deal with lap traffic as well as several cars for position.

This run to the front was almost as scary but I didn't have the 77 to get in the way.  Laps were ticking down and I finally made my way to Phil Parsons to battle for the lead.

He fought hard to hold on but I managed to overtake him with a few laps to go and bring home the win.

Next week is Loudon, New Hampshire.  Get your snoozers on for the most boring race to watch and run.

Results

Session: Practice

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	2	M Riggleman Jr	30.540
2	013	T Nadz	30.934
3	021	T Bear	31.047
4	029	M Max	31.463
5	061	D Hamilton	31.469
6	023	Z Webster	31.544
7	9	B Elliott	31.849
8	35	B Parsons	31.850
9	88	B Baker	31.862
10	3	D Earnhardt	31.864
11	20	C Ferguson	31.882
12	28	D Allison	31.897
13	75	N Bonnett	31.921
14	77	E Bierschwale	31.928
15	71	D Marcis	31.930
16	44	S Marlin	31.979
17	7	A Kulwicki	31.999
18	55	P Parsons	32.001
19	52	J Means	32.007
20	4	R Wilson	32.010
21	15	R Rudd	32.014
22	90	K Schrader	32.026
23	21	K Petty	32.028
24	27	R Wallace	32.034
25	19	D Cope	32.047
26	50	G Sacks	32.049
27	67	B Arrington	32.050
28	17	D Waltrip	32.056
29	8	B Hillin, Jr.	32.062
30	5	G Bodine	32.067
31	11	T Labonte	32.068
32	43	R Petty	32.079
33	33	H Gant	32.084
34	70	J McDuffie	32.091
35	64	R Combs	32.105
36	25	T Richmond	32.124
37	30	M Waltrip	32.128
38	18	D Jarrett	32.134
39	26	M Shepherd	32.161
40	62	S Christman	32.194
41	83	L Speed	32.218
42	22	B Allison	32.274
43	1	B Bodine	32.339

Weather: Cloudy, 74 °F, Northwest 5 mph

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	2	M Riggleman Jr	31.302
2	013	T Nadz	31.655
3	021	T Bear	31.748
4	061	D Hamilton	31.806
5	11	T Labonte	32.028
6	3	D Earnhardt	32.043
7	9	B Elliott	32.130
8	26	M Shepherd	32.146
9	90	K Schrader	32.216
10	75	N Bonnett	32.228
11	27	R Wallace	32.241
12	44	S Marlin	32.243
13	35	B Parsons	32.254
14	33	H Gant	32.255
15	22	B Allison	32.277
16	21	K Petty	32.279
17	43	R Petty	32.311
18	15	R Rudd	32.317
19	8	B Hillin, Jr.	32.332
20	18	D Jarrett	32.352
21	28	D Allison	32.356
22	5	G Bodine	32.378
23	4	R Wilson	32.404
24	55	P Parsons	32.407
25	77	E Bierschwale	32.414
26	88	B Baker	32.415
27	7	A Kulwicki	32.431
28	30	M Waltrip	32.431
29	83	L Speed	32.446
30	67	B Arrington	32.458
31	71	D Marcis	32.462
32	25	T Richmond	32.465
33	50	G Sacks	32.468
34	70	J McDuffie	32.494
35	52	J Means	32.564
36	19	D Cope	32.576
37	64	R Combs	32.600
38	1	B Bodine	32.647
39	62	S Christman	32.655
40	17	D Waltrip	32.709
41	20	C Ferguson	32.859
42	029	M Max	--
43	023	Z Webster	--

Weather: Clear, 74 °F, North 5 mph

Session: Happy Hour

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	013	T Nadz	31.260
2	2	M Riggleman Jr	31.283
3	021	T Bear	31.303
4	061	D Hamilton	31.507
5	30	M Waltrip	31.928
6	43	R Petty	31.937
7	029	M Max	31.942
8	023	Z Webster	31.947
9	28	D Allison	31.975
10	3	D Earnhardt	31.987
11	75	N Bonnett	32.075
12	22	B Allison	32.109
13	90	K Schrader	32.134
14	55	P Parsons	32.145
15	7	A Kulwicki	32.148
16	1	B Bodine	32.195
17	5	G Bodine	32.228
18	50	G Sacks	32.233
19	11	T Labonte	32.238
20	9	B Elliott	32.247
21	18	D Jarrett	32.248
22	67	B Arrington	32.265
23	52	J Means	32.278
24	17	D Waltrip	32.292
25	8	B Hillin, Jr.	32.294
26	15	R Rudd	32.301
27	64	R Combs	32.301
28	70	J McDuffie	32.302
29	71	D Marcis	32.326
30	35	B Parsons	32.333
31	19	D Cope	32.336
32	26	M Shepherd	32.378
33	33	H Gant	32.379
34	25	T Richmond	32.389
35	21	K Petty	32.394
36	62	S Christman	32.399
37	83	L Speed	32.403
38	88	B Baker	32.449
39	44	S Marlin	32.502
40	20	C Ferguson	32.532
41	77	E Bierschwale	32.572
42	27	R Wallace	32.755
43	4	R Wilson	48.704

Weather: Cloudy, 80 °F, Northeast 10 mph

Session: Race

OFFICIAL STANDINGS

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	2	013	T Nadz	122.766	67	40*	185	Running
2	24	55	P Parsons	-2.25	67	3	175	Running
3	6	3	D Earnhardt	-2.39	67	0	165	Running
4	40	17	D Waltrip	-2.53	67	0	160	Running
5	27	7	A Kulwicki	-2.93	67	11	160	Running
6	14	33	H Gant	-3.79	67	2	155	Running
7	26	88	B Baker	-4.02	67	0	146	Running
8	19	8	B Hillin, Jr.	-4.49	67	0	142	Running
9	12	44	S Marlin	-5.14	67	0	138	Running
10	22	5	G Bodine	-6.75	67	0	134	Running
11	21	28	D Allison	-6.87	67	0	130	Running
12	18	15	R Rudd	-7.30	67	0	127	Running
13	39	62	S Christman	-7.37	67	0	124	Running
14	7	9	B Elliott	-7.56	67	1	126	Running
15	16	21	K Petty	-8.07	67	0	118	Running
16	35	52	J Means	-8.42	67	0	115	Running
17	17	43	R Petty	-9.08	67	0	112	Running
18	3	021	T Bear	-25.66	67	1	114	Running
19	23	4	R Wilson	-1L	66	0	106	Running
20	28	30	M Waltrip	-1L	66	0	103	Running
21	29	83	L Speed	-1L	66	0	100	Running
22	11	27	R Wallace	-1L	66	0	97	Running
23	38	1	B Bodine	-1L	66	0	94	Running
24	8	26	M Shepherd	-1L	66	0	91	Running
25	5	11	T Labonte	-1L	66	0	88	Running
26	13	35	B Parsons	-1L	66	0	85	Running
27	30	67	B Arrington	-1L	66	0	82	Running
28	9	90	K Schrader	-1L	66	0	79	Running
29	25	77	E Bierschwale	-1L	66	0	76	Running
30	4	061	D Hamilton	-1L	66	8	78	Running
31	15	22	B Allison	-2L	65	0	70	Running
32	10	75	N Bonnett	-2L	65	1	72	Running
33	31	71	D Marcis	-2L	65	0	64	Running
34	37	64	R Combs	-35L	32	0	61	Accident
35	20	18	D Jarrett	-36L	31	0	58	Accident
36	33	50	G Sacks	-36L	31	0	55	Accident
37	42	029	M Max	-36L	31	0	52	Accident
38	32	25	T Richmond	-36L	31	0	49	Accident
39	36	19	D Cope	-36L	31	0	46	Accident
40	34	70	J McDuffie	-37L	30	0	43	Accident
41	43	023	Z Webster	-63L	4	0	40	Accident
42	41	20	C Ferguson	-63L	4	0	37	Accident

Caution Flags: 5 (18 laps)

Lead Changes: 10 (8 drivers)

Weather: Cloudy, 79 °F, Southwest 3 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 3x

AI Strength: 95%

PENALTIES

LAP	#	INFRACTION	PENALTY
5	20	Entering closed pits	Go to end of longest line
5	023	Entering closed pits	Go to end of longest line
8	029	Unsafe pit exit	Go to end of longest line
34	061	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line