Did anyone see the 2nd 150 mile qualifying race? What a rookie bonehead move...who the hell "bump-drafts" in the middle of an effing turn? It seems like every 4 or 5 months or so, idiot Harvick does something that just blows my mind and makes me wonder why he is even still in NASCAR's premier division...I hope Jimmy Johnson(or hell even mark martin or rusty wallace) gets him back good at some point during the season. :disappoin

Did anyone see the 2nd 150 mile qualifying race? What a rookie bonehead move...who the hell "bump-drafts" in the middle of an effing turn? It seems like every 4 or 5 months or so, idiot Harvick does something that just blows my mind and makes me wonder why he is even still in NASCAR's premier division...I hope Jimmy Johnson(or hell even mark martin or rusty wallace) gets him back good at some point during the season. :disappoin

Man, Harvick may make some bad decisions on the racetrack, and he no doubt has a smart ass attitude, but I don't think he was the cause of that wreck in the 2nd qualifing race. I think that was a classic case of "taking the air off somebody" (Dale Sr. was a pro at this). By him being close to Johnson in the corner, he took the air away from Johnson, and cuased him to get loose. Johnson then lifted, causing Harvick to get into the back of him.

That's my take on it anyways. And my personal opinion: I think its good enough for cry baby Johnson. I'm a diehard Chevrolet fan, and I always pull for the Chevy over the Ford or Dodge, but I would rather see a Ford or a Dodge win if it came down to one of those cars and Johnson. He is such a crybaby, and just comes across to me as a sissy.

And no, Harvick ain't my favorite driver, but the person that used to drive that GM Goodwrench was and is still my favorite driver (so I do pull for Harvick), but my favorite active driver is Dale Jr, but I will always be a Dale Earnhardt Sr. fan first.

Hell, I think if you win 7 races in your 2nd ever full NNC season, you have the right to cry all you want when someone gets into you...

It was just racin' though. There would be a difference if Harvick deliberately hit him, but I told you what I think really happened.

Johnson admitted the other day that he lifted alittle thus causing the bump. Hey i have to Jeff Gordon credit 2 years ago he bitched every time he lost now he has alot of matuity. I know said to say guy been in nascar for awhile just maturing but u have to admit alot less whining from him. Ne way the daytona 500 was a good race. Just think if busch hadn't bailed on jr.

I hadn't seen where Johnson admitted to lifting, but its obvious that's what happened if you just watch the wreck. He was already loose before Harvick touched him, and this was becuase Harvick had took the air away from Johnson's rear end (by being so close, that's what Dale Sr. did so well).

I would have liked to see how the race would have turned out if Waltrip hadn't of blowed up. I think him or Dale Jr. would have won the race.

Even so, you don't take the air off someone's spoiler in the middle of a turn at a restrictor plate track running a buck 90, unless you want to cause a huge accident...at bristol, it's fine, but at the high speed tracks, not such a good idea...I never liked it when Dale Sr. would move people out of the way deliberately, and I still don't like it...it makes for good post-race interviews, but that's about it.

Even so, you don't take the air off someone's spoiler in the middle of a turn at a restrictor plate track running a buck 90, unless you want to cause a huge accident...at bristol, it's fine, but at the high speed tracks, not such a good idea...I never liked it when Dale Sr. would move people out of the way deliberately, and I still don't like it...it makes for good post-race interviews, but that's about it.

Man, that's just racin. If somebody is in front of you, and you're faster, and they want get out of your way, then you get them out of your way. Rubbin' is racin'. Jimmie Johnson knows that, and so does those other 42 drivers on the track and if they can't take it, then they don't need to be out there. Jimmie Johnson cries every time something like that happens to him, but when he is the one doing the rubbing (him and Tony Stewart on the final lap), then "its just racin". He's a crybaby, plain and simple. Maybe he will grow out of it like Gordan is starting to do.

You do things like that (take the air away from the other car--and not just at restrictor plate tracks) in order to get by them. Its all strategy. If those drivers didn't do things like that, then it would be follow the leader all day, and those kinds of races suck.

That's just racin, plain and simple.

If you are faster than someone, you pass them...you don't run into the back of someone, then pass them as they slide up into the wall...if they are a good enough driver, they will find a way past without hitting them...yes, rubbing is racing, when it comes in the form of incidental contact...take a look at mark martin, hasn't driven a dirty race in his life, and he's won 35 times...could he have won 10 to 15 more races by hitting the guy out of the way? of course, but he doesn't, because he has more class than that, and everyone else should, too.

Well, the thing about just being faster then someone is that someone is usually nearly as good as driver as the person trying to get by. On the shorter tracks, or the flat tracks, its really hard to pass. Now I'm not saying bump someone out of the way at lap 110. I'm saying knock them out of the way when you get that white flag, cause that's just racin. If a driver can't/won't do that, then they will always be remembered as the first looser.

Yeah, Mark Martin is a clean driver, but you know what else? He's going to retire after 20+ years of racing with 35 (maybe 36) wins and no Championships.

Hmmm, lets not throw the flag on that just yet, he's retiring too early (IMO) and he will still be at the top of the game this year...also, he got flat-out robbed in 1990, so it's more due to the fact that he's had some bad luck instead of not being good enough to win a championship...it's interesting that you think it's only okay to move someone out of the way on the white flag lap...I think it's a cheap way to get a win...I'm sure you'll remember the night race at bristol in 1999 where Dale Sr. wrecked T. Lab. on the last lap just after he got passed because Terry was on 100 lap fresher tires...definitely NOT a case of dale having the faster car, as Labonte blew by him like he was standing still.

Yeah, I remember that race. I remember Dale Sr. wrecking Rusty Wallace a couple times too. Its racin.

Mark is a good driver, there is no doubt or he couldn't have stayed in it as long as he has. I just don't know that he's good enough to win a championship. Now with this new points system, he may very well win this year, but in the traditional set-up, he wasn't good enough to win.

Its sad to see him and Rusty quit, but I guess no body can race forever. I dont think they would be retiring though if Dale Sr. hadn't of gotten killed. That has really effected the older drivers IMO (its effected everyone, but you know what I mean).

Well if he isn't "good enough" to win the championship, he's definitely good enough for 2nd (4 times)...Dale's death affected ALL drivers in ALL forms of racing (HANS and Hutchin's device anyone?)...Rusty can retire knowing he had at least one championship under his belt, but I can't understand Mark retiring when he his still good enough to win races and he hasn't won a championship OR a Daytona 500...but yeah, I'd go as far to say that Dale's death affected racing even more than Ayrton Senna's.

Yeap. Mark is a good driver, and he did get runner-up 4 times. I'm not saying he's not a good driver, but with the competition he had when he was coming of age so to speak, he wasn't good enough. Its just bad luck for him becuase he came up when Dale Sr. was in his prime.

I think Mark's retiring may have something to do with Jack Rousch as well. Now I don't want to start a conspiracy theory or anything, but Mark's contract does run out this year I think. Since Jeff Burton sort of got "run-off" from Rousch Racing, maybe Mark's gettin the same thing, just in a more suitable form.

Edit: About Rusty, he all but said (actually he did kind of say) that Dale's death was why he was retiring. He sort of let it slip in a press conference, and then came back like a day later or something and said he didnt mean it that way.

Mark Martin is going to "retire" like Terry Labonte or Bill Elliott have "retired". He may very well come back and win a Daytona 500 a few years down the road. One of the players in my fantasy league still has Awesome Bill in his lineup on the days that he races because he usually does pretty well.

Mark will probably run Busch full time or the Truck Series full time.

If you are faster than someone, you pass them...you don't run into the back of someone, then pass them as they slide up into the wall...if they are a good enough driver, they will find a way past without hitting them...yes, rubbing is racing, when it comes in the form of incidental contact...take a look at mark martin, hasn't driven a dirty race in his life, and he's won 35 times...could he have won 10 to 15 more races by hitting the guy out of the way? of course, but he doesn't, because he has more class than that, and everyone else should, too.

On restrictor plate tracks, a guy just can't back off the throttle; he does that, he'll go from 2nd to 35th in three seconds because the engines are restricted and can't make that immediate power that they need; in qualifying, it takes these cars 2 laps to get them up to speed. Is bumping him out of the way ok? Yes and no, if it's intentional, then that's just wrong and he deserves to be black flagged. Also with the backing off of the throttle, if he does that, he runs the risk of someone running in the back of him also, so he's damned if he does, damned if he don't. A competitive driver knows how to get around w/out wrecking himself or the guy in front of him.

On restrictor plate tracks, a guy just can't back off the throttle; he does that, he'll go from 2nd to 35th in three seconds
And if he doesn't, he causes a 20+ car wreck.

And if he doesn't, he causes a 20+ car wreck.

And if he does he causes a 20+ car wreck (not really 20+, but atleast 5-10). This is exactly what happened to Johnson man. HE lifted, and Harvick got into him. It caused a wreck, and what, 6 or 7 cars were involved. If Harvick had of lifted, then whoever was behind him would have gotten into him and the result would have been the same.

Johnson should have took his car up the track when he let up. He would have gotten passed by every care within a second of him, but he wouldn't have gotten his racecar messed up (or the other 6 or how ever many they were).

It goes both ways, and the fact of the matter is, had this been basically any other driver OTHER then Harvick who bumped Johnson, then nothing would have ever been said about it.

i didnt read the whole thing... but i dont like harvick either...

And if he does he causes a 20+ car wreck (not really 20+, but atleast 5-10). This is exactly what happened to Johnson man. HE lifted, and Harvick got into him. It caused a wreck, and what, 6 or 7 cars were involved. If Harvick had of lifted, then whoever was behind him would have gotten into him and the result would have been the same.

Johnson should have took his car up the track when he let up. He would have gotten passed by every care within a second of him, but he wouldn't have gotten his racecar messed up (or the other 6 or how ever many they were).

It goes both ways, and the fact of the matter is, had this been basically any other driver OTHER then Harvick who bumped Johnson, then nothing would have ever been said about it.

I agree w/ you, man. It was just one of them racin' deals. And if Johnson would've gone up the track, so what if he gets passed by the entire field, it was a 150 mile qualifying race. He already qualified second, so he's locked in the field in the first place!

I agree w/ you, man. It was just one of them racin' deals. And if Johnson would've gone up the track, so what if he gets passed by the entire field, it was a 150 mile qualifying race. He already qualified second, so he's locked in the field in the first place!
That's right, its just racin, and by that I mean rubbin's racin.

You're assuming of course, that the drivers behind harvick and johnson had NO IDEA WHATSOVER what was going on in front of them...if they didn't, then yes, harvick would have backed off and they all would have piled into the back of him...if they did, they would have either backed off themselves or taken to different lanes of the track when and if harvick was either gonna pile into the back of johnson, or slow down 10-15 mph suddenly...that's part of restrictor plate racing...knowing what's going to happen before it actually does happen.

Yeah, but when you're running that close to someone, you don't have time to lift when something like that happens. Harvick was almost inside Johnson when that wreck happened.

Same with everyone else behind Harvick. Obvisouly they didn't know what was going to happen next or they wouldn't have got involved in the wreck. In fact, Harvick would have never wrecked had Martin (I think) not gotten into the back of him and I dont hear anyone saying he should be banned from racing.

Johnson was already headed up the track sideways by the time mark got into harvick...it wouldn't have made much of a difference, except maybe for harvick.

Johnson was already headed up the track sideways by the time mark got into harvick...it wouldn't have made much of a difference, except maybe for harvick.

Yeap, that's right and that's what I meant. Johnson would have been the only car involved if Mark would have lifted when he seen what was happening...which was probably next to impossible, and that's what I've been saying for the past few posts.

It's racin', plain and simple.

would it make any difference if it were Rusty Wallace or Sterling Marlin or Joe Nemechek? The point is, and it has been beaten to a bloody pulp, rubbin' is racin'. Harvick didn't intentionally try to wreck Johnson. That's why it's called an accident b/c it happens! I guarantee you if it were Rusty Wallace who got into the back of Johnson, the crowd would've gotten on its feet and praised Rusty as a hero and no one would say a thing about it. Yes Kevin Harvick has rubbed some shoulders in his career, but what driver hasn't? No matter how "clean" a driver races, he has the tendency to overcorrect and loose control of his car and get into a wreck, no matter how experienced or calm he is.

I believe the wreck in the 150 should just be considered a racing deal and left at that. I don't like Harvick's attitude at all. He does and says a lot of really stupid stuff. Then again Jimmie Johnson starts crying like a baby and demanding people be fired then five minutes later he's calmed down and everything is ok.