Anyone else think NASCAR has a little to much WWE in it?

[Fluid Power]

Dale Jr wins the pole for the 500 on the 10 yr anniversary of his old mans death? One win since 2006 and only 3 poles since 2006? Seems like a media thing to me.

Darren

[Moose]

Ive wondered about certain story lines myself. Does remind me of wrestling.

You have the busch brothers as the bad guys, tony stewart as a bad guy..

All of Hendricks cars as good guys. The Champ for 5 years in a row..

makes you wonder lol

[JKnight]

It is awfully convenient isn't it? Kinda like when he won the race driving the Wrangler painted car patterned off his old man's car after not having any success in god knows how long.

That said, most will admit that Daytona has always been a track where Jr. performs well, even when it isn't a 10th anniversary.

[Shmoov69]

Yes I would agree. But the JR thing could be legit since he usually does run well there and talledega
You would think that they could make him win tho, I mean he is the most popular driver out there!

[ChrisRZ28]

Originally Posted by Fluid Power

Dale Jr wins the pole for the 500 on the 10 yr anniversary of his old mans death? One win since 2006 and only 3 poles since 2006? Seems like a media thing to me.

Darren

This. He hasn't done much of anything in how long? If his last name wasn't Earnhardt he'd be back in the truck series or back on some short track somewhere. Nascar teams go through drivers like a baby goes through diapers, at least the lesser named/talented drivers. He's also a merchandisers wet dream. There's lots of money to be made off his name. IMO, if he wins this Sunday, ASSuming he isn't in a wreck, it's fixed. Nascars ticket sells are down, their TV ratings are down (so I've read), so what better way to boost viewership then have Nascars goldenboy win on the 10th anniversary of his old mans death? How would Nascar fix the race? Jr gets the slightly bigger restrictor plate...(tin foil hat off)...

[Fluid Power]

Originally Posted by ChrisRZ28

This. He hasn't done much of anything in how long? If his last name wasn't Earnhardt he'd be back in the truck series or back on some short track somewhere. Nascar teams go through drivers like a baby goes through diapers, at least the lesser named/talented drivers. He's also a merchandisers wet dream. There's lots of money to be made off his name. IMO, if he wins this Sunday, ASSuming he isn't in a wreck, it's fixed. Nascars ticket sells are down, their TV ratings are down (so I've read), so what better way to boost viewership then have Nascars goldenboy win on the 10th anniversary of his old mans death? How would Nascar fix the race? Jr gets the slightly bigger restrictor plate...(tin foil hat off)...

I know it is impossible to "fix" a race, (a predetermined winner that is) but it is possible to have someone qualify a little faster with a bigger plate. He might have the advantage with a bigger plate during the race as well. They try and manipulate the outcome with "debris" cautions etc. We will see.

Darren

[GregWeld]

Maybe.... since this is a big FRAT HOUSE where everybody knows everybody or has worked for the other team.... the teams got together in a way that we all know can happen -- and decided to just back off a bit if they were running faster than DEjr... to LET him have the pole? It would be a nice gesture and an honoring of a great champion. Doesn't have to be a "conspiracy" -- just a nice headline and honor granted to a racing dynasty.

PS -- I've never watched a NASCAR event... don't plan to - not my thing... but I know that we all helped each other out when it counted back in my AA/FC days.

[PTAddict]

These Dale Jr. conspiracy theories have been popular for a long time, although they're not as prominent these days since Jr. hasn't exactly appeared to benefit from any special favors the last few seasons. But I don't buy it, either in this specific case or in general.

Jr. has always been good at plate tracks - he qualified second last year. He had a late spot in qualifying this year, which means all of those previous guys would have had to guess how fast Jr. would run and then run just an infinitesimal bit slower. Guys trying to make a name for themselves like Trevor Bayne and Paul Menard would have had to willingly give up their shot at a little bit of publicity.

Beyond that, there's just too much money and ego and competitive drive for sentimentality like this to just fly below the radar. You think Jack Roush would willingly let a Hendrick car beat him for the pole? You think the Busch brothers, Hamlin, Biffle, Happy Harvick wouldn't speak their minds if they had even an inkling of such a thing?

And as for NASCAR themselves, the very last thing they need in a time of sinking ratings is to risk a huge scandal over deliberate competitive favoritism. They're not going to gamble their multi-billion dollar brand on a group of probably underpaid tech inspectors going along with cheating and permanently keeping their mouths shut. And anyway, if they really wanted to do something to boost ratings, they'd fill Jimmy Johnson's frame rails with lead

As for the race itself, I could see Jeff Gordon maybe trying to help Jr. lead lap 3, but that's about all the favors he might get. I'm sure if you asked the other 42 drivers who they'd want to win besides themselves, Jr. would be a popular choice, but they'd all 100 times rather it be them.

[Vegas69]

Funny Greg, I had you pegged for a huge Nascar fan.

Motivation is a big factor in life. Couldn't be that....

[XcYZ]

Have you ever heard Danica Patrick on the radio while she's "racing"? I can't even begin to describe it...