Tony finishes fourth time for a championship

[michaeljohn]

Well, I'm just throwing this out there and i know it won't be popular, but I'm a realist. What Tony did last year was phenomenal. That said, I think it's a one in a lifetime statement he made. It's never been done and I think it's highly unlikely we'll see anything like that again. Not that he doesn't have the talent, we all know better than that. He just doesn't have any consistency. I'm not saying he won't repeat, but there are 11 others that have a say in it. The media is a Jr lover, as is half the nation, we all know that so they'll be throwing him in there till it's mathematically impossible. But that's only if he doesn't contend for the title. There are 10 races to decide this and I'm in no position to predict a winner. Tony has never repeated a championship back to back like JJ. No, I'm not jumping on the JJ band wagon, but, to he honest, I'd kind of like to see somebody new. That's my outlook and I'm prepared to be blasted for it

id like to see someone new too, its been a year since JJ won, so it will be nice to see him win, i noticed the new avatar, just havent thought of anything witty to say.......

[Rochelle]

haha, don't you mean "anything nice to say"

[wolfgang]

I'm leaning on the #48 for his sixth out of the HMS organization and if not,one of the others with four teams in.The outsider i'd go with #11,course i'd rather see #29 or #2 against all odds of winning it,but #16 would be ok by me too. The #24 crew acted like they already won it by the statement made"we're gonna kick all their -sses",which made me lmao because they got lucky at Richmond.There's no way in ---- Tony can repeat 5wins and do the same thing he did last year,or can he?

[midwesternsmoke]

ANYBODY...and I mean ANYBODY but Joooooonyer. I'm SO F*CKING sick of hearing about him in EVERY sentence or discussion that I could puke. He'll NEVER win a Championship. The media is SO far up his A$$ that its TRULY disturbing. He'll NEVER and I repeat, NEVER be his daddy. So people, PLEASE stop acting like he's the 2nd coming.......Thank you.

[ndunn]

ANYBODY...and I mean ANYBODY but Joooooonyer. I'm SO F*CKING sick of hearing about him in EVERY sentence or discussion that I could puke. He'll NEVER win a Championship. The media is SO far up his A$$ that its TRULY disturbing. He'll NEVER and I repeat, NEVER be his daddy. So people, PLEASE stop acting like he's the 2nd coming.......Thank you.

Your welcome mws. I'm glad to see there is someone else besides myself that isn't a Junior Nation groupie. I remember when he was driving what now is Nationwide and grabbing all the races and was acting so superior to Matt Kenseth. Matt never would say anything but he showed it big time when he came to cup and got a championship and Juneyour doesn't have one. How many years did he go without a win and the media went berzerk when he finally did win?

[HRR]

we all know that winning races in the chase, will be what wins the CUP.. Being consistent like Jr or Jimmie will not cut the mustard. Smoke and 14 team and 39 all hit on some new geometry on the front of the cars last year in the chase which propelled them to the championship.. now this year, seems to me, that Hendrick teams had found a new way of doing the same thing, but only using the rear end housing to do the rotating in the corners, that is why they have been the team to beat at the 1.5 mile tracks. Steve needs to look at last years notes, and do some comparing to this years earlier races, and find that they are not the same, cars geometry is different with the new rules for this year. That is why the 48 team, had found something that worked, and was within the rules package. But, as of this week, those advantages, are now gone.. so maybe, just maybe, driving the car.. the way it is supposed to be driven... will separate the men from the boys in this chase.. Smoke has a good chance to repeat..but, he will need to out perform the other drivers at Chicago,Charlotte,Texas and Kansas. We all know that for the last 5 years, Smoke is not doing well at CMS.. Steve needs to get his notes out from the 18, and putting them to good use when it comes to the 1.5's.. or Tony doesn't stand a chance. Honestly, I would love to see Smoke repeat, but it is a long shot. Nascar Race Hub has him finishing in 9th in the points this year.. that was an insult! But, if it is coming down to the 11 and 14, and which Crew Chief makes the right calls.. that is what will determine the championship this year. GOOD LUCK 14.. we are going to need that golden horseshoe this year!

[Rochelle]

Shortening the side skirts has been the problem. The rear end travel they gained with the bushings helped that. That is gone. Last years notes may help with the initial set up, but that's only the starting point since they're still left with a lack of rear down force. The 1.5's are the handling nightmares coming up. It's up in the air for now, it's anyone's game and no one should be counted out. Whoever gets the handling down this week will have an edge, for the short term. Let the games begin!

[wolfgang]

ANYBODY...and I mean ANYBODY but Joooooonyer. I'm SO F*CKING sick of hearing about him in EVERY sentence or discussion that I could puke. He'll NEVER win a Championship. The media is SO far up his A$$ that its TRULY disturbing. He'll NEVER and I repeat, NEVER be his daddy. So people, PLEASE stop acting like he's the 2nd coming.......Thank you.

Take it you don't like Junior. BTW,i believe BK is the second coming,i just wish sometimes he wouldn't speak. Personally,i don't have a thing against Jr.but i agree about the media and they seem a bit much on Danica as well.Honestly,since Snr.passed on and has been given God racing lessons,Jr.kinda lost his way around the track as so did M.Waltrip.

[gkbacb]

How very true Wolfgang. I personally don't care for Jr. either, but what i really can't stand are his interviews. Either spit it out, or stop rambling, the boy at times can give a good interview, but when he does he's longwinded, and other times it seems like he needs the marbles in his head rattled.

[HiddenHollow]

How very true Wolfgang. I personally don't care for Jr. either, but what i really can't stand are his interviews. Either spit it out, or stop rambling, the boy at times can give a good interview, but when he does he's longwinded, and other times it seems like he needs the marbles in his head rattled.

Totally agree. He can't collect his thoughts and express himself unless he is reading from a script to make a commercial.

[austin024]

Well its time to be critical of the idot hosts and anylists on Nascar shows .

Funny how when Tony won last yr winning half the races in the chase it stunned them and while they still admit he is one of the best drivers ever, NOW this yr despite seeing his wins this yr and his abilitys despite bad cars to maintain his top 10 in points and be seeded 3rd, suddenly he isnt a favorite anymore this yr to win it all. Now they are suggesting what happenned last yr will never repeat again. For that reason alone i would love to see Tony do similar to shut them up although winning half the chase races may not happen again, but winning enough to take the chase is possible. Now Jeff has a shot--wow--because he got lucky and won a race earlier and Kyles CC made a bad call and the crew messed up which allowed Jeff to out point him to get in the chase so now Jeff can win the Chase--NOT likely, but no offense to Jeff as yes--I know what a great career he has had, but he isnt the same driver he once was. Facts are Tony doesnt get alot of respect unless he does something amazing despite his great career. I do know though its the Tv guys job to try and put a different story in the headlines to create interest but ignoring Tony and his ability to win --regardless-- is something NOT to be ignored. Guess we'll see? Hamlin is looking good and so is the 48 and a few others, but saying even Jr can win it all, but Tony cant--Lookout.

Jeff's had 3 straight top 3. He didn't just get lucky at pocono. Trust me, if it was tony, then no one on here would have said anything. Jeff has a real shot at the championship. He's had cars to beat all year long, but bad luck, real bad luck...If you watched Richmond race then you would have seen his desire to not only make the chase but win it all. Besides, he only has 86 wins and 4 championships. Something tony wouldn't know about

[ndunn]

This time I have to challenge the remark about Tony not knowing about 86 wins. I think he knows very well what wins are. He has championships in several different venues going back to when he was a youngster. But I suppose when your a dyed in the wool Gordon fan then it's fun to go on someone elses site (since Gordon doesn't have one) and berate the man who pays for this site. Is Tony going to go for 4? Oh great heavens I hope so as it might just shut some people up. By the way Mr. Gordon praised Tony last night in the showing of the Blues show in Chicago and put him in the catagory of AJ Foyt, Andretti and a few others. That has to account for something.

[smoke14rulez]

This time I have to challenge the remark about Tony not knowing about 86 wins. I think he knows very well what wins are. He has championships in several different venues going back to when he was a youngster. But I suppose when your a dyed in the wool Gordon fan then it's fun to go on someone elses site (since Gordon doesn't have one) and berate the man who pays for this site. Is Tony going to go for 4? Oh great heavens I hope so as it might just shut some people up. By the way Mr. Gordon praised Tony last night in the showing of the Blues show in Chicago and put him in the catagory of AJ Foyt, Andretti and a few others. That has to account for something.

...him jus' trollin'......don' pay no mind...

[palino_s]

Well its time to be critical of the idot hosts and anylists on Nascar shows .

Funny how when Tony won last yr winning half the races in the chase it stunned them and while they still admit he is one of the best drivers ever, NOW this yr despite seeing his wins this yr and his abilitys despite bad cars to maintain his top 10 in points and be seeded 3rd, suddenly he isnt a favorite anymore this yr to win it all. Now they are suggesting what happenned last yr will never repeat again. For that reason alone i would love to see Tony do similar to shut them up although winning half the chase races may not happen again, but winning enough to take the chase is possible. Now Jeff has a shot--wow--because he got lucky and won a race earlier and Kyles CC made a bad call and the crew messed up which allowed Jeff to out point him to get in the chase so now Jeff can win the Chase--NOT likely, but no offense to Jeff as yes--I know what a great career he has had, but he isnt the same driver he once was. Facts are Tony doesnt get alot of respect unless he does something amazing despite his great career. I do know though its the Tv guys job to try and put a different story in the headlines to create interest but ignoring Tony and his ability to win --regardless-- is something NOT to be ignored. Guess we'll see? Hamlin is looking good and so is the 48 and a few others, but saying even Jr can win it all, but Tony cant--Lookout.

Jeff's had 3 straight top 3. He didn't just get lucky at pocono. Trust me, if it was tony, then no one on here would have said anything. Jeff has a real shot at the championship. He's had cars to beat all year long, but bad luck, real bad luck...If you watched Richmond race then you would have seen his desire to not only make the chase but win it all. Besides, he only has 86 wins and 4 championships. Something tony wouldn't know about

Jeff has 9 top6 from last 12 races..

Jeff is racing for best team.. JGR and SHR never was/is best team.. Great teams, but never dominate team..

Statistics sometimes dont say whole story.. Great example is Terry Labonte. He hadnt chance, like Jeff or Dale sr. or Mark Martin has/had.. They was/is racing for best teams whole career. Terry hadnt.. Hagan and Jackson were average teams. Junior Johnson's team was right choise, but wrong time.. Hendrick was right team, right time, but he was old.. But he still won 2 titles - first with average team and second when he beats Jeff+Ray..

[Schmoopy1000]

For those saying winning is what it takes to win the Chase.
I would like to play devils advocate.
Consistency will always win when points are the goal.
1st off Tony won 5 times in 10 races. That is pretty dam consistent!!!
& before you say see it is because of the wins. Lets point out if he won 4 times he would have lost the championship to a guy that won zero times. See Consistency wins.
Now I will give a better example even though I think that should be plain as day.
What I considered the most important pass of Tony's Chase. The week before the finale Tony passed Burton on the very last lap to gain one extra point (& it wasnt for the win) To me this was his most impressive pass too, because I didnt think he could get him. to me this pass was what won him the championship.
So to the point. If he doesnt make that last laap pass, he would have had 5 wins & lost the title to a guy with zero wins. & then Nascar & everyone else would be searching for a way to adjust the chase again.
Point being everyone trys to win, but in the end Consistency wins titles. Smoke just consistently was winning!!! He did both last year.
I remember Kyle busch having 4 wins & didnt even make the chase. Why? Because he wasnt consistent.
Anytime points is used as the system to crown a Champion, Consistency trumps all.

Just some food for thought to anyone that solely listens to the TV guys saying Winning will win the championship. It certainly helps (most points) but without consistency it doesnt mean squat.