2013 NASCAR Season

The Budweiser Duel races are today. (I still think of them as the Gatorade Twin 125s). For the first time a female is on the pole. (No pun intended). Looks like this could be shaping up to be an historical 500. I'm excited to get this season started.

i was just about t start a new thread but i think my question will fit nicely in this one.

my friend is having a party sunday for the 500 and were both trying to figure out the best way to make a pool for the race,

any ides for interesting pools are appreciated

i was just about t start a new thread but i think my question will fit nicely in this one.

my friend is having a party sunday for the 500 and were both trying to figure out the best way to make a pool for the race,

any ides for interesting pools are appreciated

Could always just put numbers 1-43 in a hat and have people choose the numbers. Whoever is starting at those positions is who they are rooting for.

I almost missed last Saturday night's race because it's no longer called the Bud Shootout.

First lap Danica panicks soon as someone tries to pass her and boom entire field gets wrecked. :evilg:

First lap Danica panicks soon as someone tries to pass her and boom entire field gets wrecked. :evilg:

And she blames it all on someone else.

Stewart~Haas racing off to a good start this year.

Unfortunately, for the first time in 27 years I'll not be able to watch the 500.

I'm DVRing the 500 this year. First time in a loooong time I haven't watched it live.

Question about the bud shoot out. If danica wrecks here pole sitting car in this race, will she start the dayton 500 at the last spot with a replacement car?

Question about the bud shoot out. If danica wrecks here pole sitting car in this race, will she start the dayton 500 at the last spot with a replacement car?

Yes she would have to start at the back of the field if she had to bring in a backup car.

The 125's were tough to watch. The bottom line just wouldn't work. Anyone who dared going down their paid the price and almost always would get shuffled back. Hopefully that changes Sunday.

Any guess how how many laps down Danica finishes? My guess is 11 laps.

Wow, what a wreck in the Nationwide wreck was insane.

i was just about t start a new thread but i think my question will fit nicely in this one.

my friend is having a party sunday for the 500 and were both trying to figure out the best way to make a pool for the race,

any ides for interesting pools are appreciated

Might be a little late for you for tomorrow, but one fun pool I was in a few years back worked this way:

You need 10 people. Everyone draws a number from 0-9. Then your number equates with the qualifying positions. So if you draw a 3, your drivers are the one's that qualified in 3rd, 13th, 23rd, 33rd, and 43rd. It's a bit of an advantage for people drawing 1,2, or 3 because they'll have one additional driver in the race but that's also part of the fun. I'd say I had moderate to low interest in Nascar until I got into that pool. It made every race completely interesting to me because I'd usually have at least one driver with a shot at the end. Pretty fun.

Might be a little late for you for tomorrow, but one fun pool I was in a few years back worked this way:

You need 10 people. Everyone draws a number from 0-9. Then your number equates with the qualifying positions. So if you draw a 3, your drivers are the one's that qualified in 3rd, 13th, 23rd, 33rd, and 43rd. It's a bit of an advantage for people drawing 1,2, or 3 because they'll have one additional driver in the race but that's also part of the fun. I'd say I had moderate to low interest in Nascar until I got into that pool. It made every race completely interesting to me because I'd usually have at least one driver with a shot at the end. Pretty fun.

I was in a pool like that once a long time ago. Like you said, it's a little unfair.

I would just put all the car numbers in a hat (or whatever) and let each person draw. With 43 being an odd number, you're still gonna have someone that has more drivers than someone else. Or if you had, say, 14 people in the pool, you could make it fair by eliminating a driver who has no chance to win (Danica Patrick) the race. Therefore, each person would have 3 drivers each.

http://twitter.com/richarddeitsch/statuses/305471789474136064

Per @jeff_gluck and @JeffPassan: One of the Daytona patrons in critical condition is a minor.

Saw that while I was at the gym. God, why do they have spectators in such potentially vulnerable positions?

Saw that while I was at the gym. God, why do they have spectators in such potentially vulnerable positions?

Nascar has done a great job over the years at improving safety for the fans. Some things are just unavoidable. You are inevitably gonna have something like this happen when you have cars approaching 200 mph that wreck with fans just feet away. You can make the fences higher (which they've done) and take other measures for safety, but you can't really prevent what happened today. When cars crash, at that speed, there are gonna be parts of the car that will make it into the stands. That's just reality.

And I've never been to Daytona before, but I can almost bet that those tickets at the start-finish line come with special writing on the back. They would almost have to, in order to prevent Nascar from being sued. It's sort of risky (obviously) to sit that close in that area of the track.

I just hope for a speedy recovery to all those fans involved. Terrible.

There is a fan video out there near where a tire landed in the stand. Nascar keeps taking it down but it is a bit scary.

I think there is a disclaimer on the back of the tickets about getting injured.

There is a fan video out there near where a tire landed in the stand. Nascar keeps taking it down but it is a bit scary.

I think there is a disclaimer on the back of the tickets about getting injured.

Yep, I saw it, the tire landed about 10 feet from the guy shooting the video, debris and smoke fills the screen and then when the video turns around you hear someone scream out as they realize what happened.

A friend of mine was there (on the opposite side of the flag stand) he said that the engine was on the fan side of the fence too.

Here's a link, some brief NSFW language, I doubt the link will be up long.

http://youtu.be/LPp33gUvFQU

They are reporting that some of the debris traveled into the upper deck (2nd level). That's insane. And an article I read said that there was a buffer between the fence and some of the fans. Could have been a LOT worse, had some fans been standing right at the fence. And also, where Larson's car hit the catchfence, there is a door which they open to allow people down on the track before the race for concerts or whatnot. They said that is likely why it was as bad as it was.

They are reporting that some of the debris traveled into the upper deck (2nd level). That's insane. And an article I read said that there was a buffer between the fence and some of the fans. Could have been a LOT worse, had some fans been standing right at the fence. And also, where Larson's car hit the catchfence, there is a door which they open to allow people down on the track before the race for concerts or whatnot. They said that is likely why it was as bad as it was.

None of the tracks allow fans to stand right at the fence, the ushers move everyone away during the race.

My friend said that Larson's car shredded the catch fence.

This is twice in the last couple years that a car has "intruded" through the catch fence at the finish.

I love Daytona, but something has to be done about the super-speedways.

This is twice in the last couple years that a car has "intruded" through the catch fence at the finish.

I love Daytona, but something has to be done about the super-speedways.

Considering that combined with Dan Wheldon's fatal crash into the catch fence, American racing series as a whole need to look at what they can do to improve their barriers. Spectator injuries are absolutely unacceptable. Very much wish those injured a speedy recovery and I know everyone involved with the speedway has to feel very bad about this. Sure hope they learn from it and put their heads together to come up with with something to keep the fans and drivers safer; no matter how good they get at protecting them both, they can always do better.

None of the tracks allow fans to stand right at the fence, the ushers move everyone away during the race.

My friend said that Larson's car shredded the catch fence.

This is twice in the last couple years that a car has "intruded" through the catch fence at the finish.

I love Daytona, but something has to be done about the super-speedways.

Yeah, I know they don't allow fans to stand right next to the fence. I was just saying, imagine if they DID allow them to. And there are already several inaccurate stories floating out there. One story I read said that Larson's car went "into the stands". And I know parts of it did, including a tire, and the engine came to rest right inside where the catch fence once stood. But leave it to the media to sensationlize parts of the story..:doh:

Just curious, why are you relying on what your friend said. You didn't watch the race? They showed up close shots of the fence shredded, the engine on fire just inside the catch fence, etc You didn't even have to be there to know those things.

---------- Post added February-23rd-2013 at 10:24 PM ----------

Considering that combined with Dan Wheldon's fatal crash into the catch fence, American racing series as a whole need to look at what they can do to improve their barriers. Spectator injuries are absolutely unacceptable. Very much wish those injured a speedy recovery and I know everyone involved with the speedway has to feel very bad about this. Sure hope they learn from it and put their heads together to come up with with something to keep the fans and drivers safer; no matter how good they get at protecting them both, they can always do better.

I agree there is always room for improvement. And I'm sure Nascar will take every measure to ensure safety, as they always do. But, honestly, there wasn't anything that could have prevented what happened today. They have already put roof flaps on the cars. They still get airborne all the time, and like today, they sometimes get into the catch fence. Once that happens, it's inevitable that parts of the car will be thrown into the stands.

They've raised the fences, too. And curved them at the top. I really don't see much else they can do. People's first inclination, especially non-Nascar fans, is to point the finger at Nascar. They aren't to blame.