Woo-Hoo: Ryan Newman wins The Brickyard 400

[BobPalma]

Woo-hoo indeed: South Bend Native and Purdue University Engineering Graduate Ryan Newman won the Brickyard 400 here in Indianapolis Sunday! Well-played, Ryan.

Those of you who may cringe listening to celebrities conduct an interview after an event like this would have appreciated Ryan's refreshing, well-executed command of The Mother Tongue during the after-race media interviews. (IIRC, he didn't utter a single "you know" the entire time, much less every other phrase!)

But with South Bend upbringing and a Purdue University Engineering Education, what else would you expect? BP

[jclary]

Morning Bob...I had thought about posting about this yesterday. I hadn't thought about the school connection, but now, I'm glad I held off. You have better credentials and grasp of his regional significance than I do. My thoughts have always been positive regarding Ryan. I have never been what you consider a narrowly focused "personality" fan (probably too self-centered), but Ryan is one who seems to be well grounded and genuine.

I thought the win couldn't have come at a better time for him. I hope he finds a good ride in the future. I have a feeling that regardless...he'll be OK and will adjust to whatever the future holds. As far as the future of NASCAR...seeing all the empty seats...?????

[t walgamuth]

I like Ryan too. he is a class act and a very good driver. Clean too.

[Packard53]

Bob: In all the years that you have been in the automotive hobby and writing of articles have you used the word hood. Like I lifted the hood of the car. The correct word to use would be the word bonnet if referring to correct command of the MOTHER TONGUE which came to us from England.

I am glad to see Ryan win at Indy.

John S.

[lark55]

Glad to see a guy with sprint car roots do well. I have always liked Ryan Newman.

[benaslopoke]

All I can say is "RICHARD, GET OFF THEM ROCKS AND HIRE THAT BOY"!!

[JBOYLE]

As long as Jimmy Johnson is a contender (not to mention the phony cautions, selective rule enforcement, Soviet-like media control and identical cars that are no longer anywhere near stock)...NASCAR is no longer relevant to me.

[jclary]

As long as Jimmy Johnson is a contender (not to mention the phony cautions, selective rule enforcement, Soviet-like media control and identical cars that are no longer anywhere near stock)...NASCAR is no longer relevant to me.

Well...I hope your problem with Jimmie isn't personal. If so, you know something I don't. I've seen nothing to indicate that he and his team are no more than a hard working crew going about their business. I am certainly no GM fan, but, to me, these are exceptionally talented people caught up in an enterprise much bigger than one individual. If anything, I suspect they have been targeted and so closely scrutinized BECAUSE of their success. The penalties they have been charged with seem to be nothing more than any of the others have attempted. It seems that every great driver has his time. I recall when the Elliot brothers were under similar close watch.

To a man...the whole of NASCAR is made up of "characters." Some are much harder to like than others. My wife can't stand Keven Harvick. (Excuse me if I misspell the names) However, I have to point out that these people are involved in an activity that few of us would dare. Hurling themselves around a track at over 200mph with millions of dollars of investment at risk of being done in by something as tiny and worthless as a hot dog wrapper! That alone...if not sometimes grudgingly, gets my respect.

As far as NASCAR management...I understand, given the liability, the need for safety and the "sameness" of car design to achieve that...but the rather "thin-skinned" reaction to criticism and seemingly contrived cautions, create an atmosphere of suspicion and distrust.

[studegary]

I have been a Ryan Newman fan since he got into NASCAR. I think that it was the facts that he is an engineering graduate and seems like a nice guy.

I noticed a couple of unnecessary yellows placed to help Ralph Dale (Junior) Earnhart. Both times, there was no real need for a yellow. For one, a car didn't hit anything and had not even stopped on the track. For the other one, the offending car was on pit lane. They could have just closed the pits until the pit lane was clear (a couple of minutes). One yellow got Jr. back on the lead lap and the second yellow got Jr. the pit stop that he needed to get his pit stops back into sync with the leaders. Jr. ended up in the top ten. He would have been outside those on the lead lap if those phony cautions had not been called.

I noticed something that I did not hear during or after the broadcast. All 43 cars were running on the track at the conclusion. I can not remember the last time that this has happened. There has been drop off due to start-and-park, accidents and mechanical failures. Does anyone here know when the last time was that all of the starters in a Cup Race were running at the end?

[JBOYLE]

Well...I hope your problem with Jimmie isn't personal.

No, it's not personal. It's just that he's 100% charisma free...almost as bad a Jeff (insert sponsor's name her before answering any question) Gordon. Having said that, I'm not a GM fan and I don't like Hendricks...a convicted (but pardoned) felon. I understand he went to prison for bribing Handa execs....no doubt costing a bunch of middle class people a bunch of money...since I'm sure the bribe costs were passed onto consumers.
The official NASCAR line is "We have no trouble with a guy winning the championship five times in a row"...then they point to the Lakers and Bulls. Trouble is, a basketball team is made up of many people and doesn't rely on one person to sell the team.

[DEEPNHOCK]

All cars finished the race at Indianapolis, first time since 2008 for the third time . (Jayski)

<snip>
I noticed something that I did not hear during or after the broadcast. All 43 cars were running on the track at the conclusion. I can not remember the last time that this has happened. There has been drop off due to start-and-park, accidents and mechanical failures. Does anyone here know when the last time was that all of the starters in a Cup Race were running at the end?

[Warren Webb]

Even the camera angles couldn't hide the empty seats. True, I.M.S. holds 250,000 or so people. Much more than any other venue on the circuit, but it does indicate the lack of support given by the public to management. Ryan is a class act & I'm happy for his success and hope he enjoys it more next year.

[shifter4]

Here is an interesting article from the AP.
Stewart's and Jr's comments especially .

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CAR_NASCAR_BORING_BRICKYARD?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-07-29-13-56-59

[BobPalma]

And another follow-up in today's (July 30) Indianapolis Star:

http://www.indystar.com/article/2013...excitement-IMS-

[jclary]

One additional element that I think is missing (the huge elephant in the corner of the room). It is a subject, that if improperly discussed here, could easily cause us to degrade the thread into "locked" status. But...it is another one of what I call my "Bubba Economic Indicators." Despite the star-struck suck-up media's attempt to convince us that the economy is recovering, and the middle class is being supported and protected...it ain't happening! The well paying jobs that once allowed ol' Bubba to buy a motor home and drive every weekend from Alabama to wherever for "this weekend's race" are few and far between. Cost of gas is at record high prices, and even if you did manage to get the behemoth rolling down the road, chances are, the falling apart bridges and huge potholes in the roads would cause an "unplanned pit-stop" along the way.

The old "die-hard" NASCAR weekend warrior fans are retiring, dying off, and fading away, while the younger ones living in their basements are sitting around playing racing games on their computers. The pudgy pasty kids and grand-kids get all the excitement without leaving the couch, spending money, or risking hearing loss. With endless hours of eyes riveted to a computer monitor...The barometer of character and personality development is falling with very little turnaround in sight.

Until the highways are once again clogged with an endless convoy of 18 wheelers, factories return to full parking lots, and we begin to, once again, make our own stuff...Ol' Bubba is going to stay close to home.