In Saturday’s Nationwide race there was an incident between Jason Leffler and Steven Wallace. NASCAR officials determined that Leffler had retaliated and gave him a five lap rough driving penalty.
Then in Sunday’s Daytona 500 Dale Jr. got into an incident with Brian Vickers. Both incident were very similar the only exception being that Dale Jr. retaliation seemed more blatant that the one of Leffler. As Predicted NASCAR officials levied no penalty on Dale Jr.
I know give all NASCA fans a look at both instances and will let each of them decide for themselves, which is rough driving and which is just one of them racing deals?
First the Jason leffler accident:
And now the Dale Jr. Accident:
Comments
If you care to watch, Leffler was in complete control on the track when he hung a right turn into Wallace's left rear quarter. Brian Vickers on the other hand thinks he's superman by shoving someone down into the grass to protect his ass at 200 mph. What did he think was going to happen?? When Earnhardt came back up on the track after driving sideways, He barely clipped the rear bumper, not the rear quarter like in Saturday's race. If you want to look at some of Vicker's "talent", just go on youtube and watch him in action at the fall Talledega race in 2006.
Have a nice day
Reminds me of his old man. Many people talked about his car control and how he could drive through someone else's mess without getting a scratch on his car. But it was always interesting how he could not have his car under "control" when it was to his benefit. He could dodge a 10 car wreck but couldn't seem to miss one car that was racing him hard. Looks like this gene got passed on to Jr. Just glad to see that some in the media have the nads to call it what it is.
Mike says: "Brian Vickers on the other hand thinks he's superman by shoving someone down into the grass to protect his ass at 200 mph. What did he think was going to happen?? When Earnhardt came back up on the track after driving sideways, He barely clipped the rear bumper, not the rear quarter like in Saturday's race."
Mike, take off your Junior hat and watch the clip again, please. Dale Jr. never got anywhere near the grass, and he was never sideways. Even the best drivers sometimes misjudge things and make a mistake. Add to that Junior's frustrations earlier in the race and you have a boneheaded move taking out some very good cars - but not his.
Please look at this 2 videos and make your own decision on nascar cry baby ann please show it to bob Nascar is getting ridiculous
SAY WHAT YOU WANT BUT IM PROUD TO SEE JR. DRIVING WITH SOME INTENSITY. IM SO SICK OF HIM BEING SO PASSIVE ON THE RACETRACK WHILE EVERYONE RACING AROUND HIM DRIVES WITH MORE INTENSITY. THREE CHEERS FOR JR.
THERE IS ONLY ONE THING TO DO. YOU MUST BE ONE CAR LENGTH AND ONE CAR WIDTH AWAY FROM THE OTHER CARS OR BE BLACK FLAGGED, AND WE KNOW THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. WRECKS SEL TICKETS AND NASCAR IS NOT GOING TO EVER SOLVE THIS PROBLEM. I MISS THE OLD DAYS! ANOTHER THING, IF THEY WOULD HAVE STARTED THE RACE AT A NORMAL TIME, THEY WOULD HAVE GOTTEN A FULL RACE. THEY KNEW THE STORMS WERE COMING!
I find it very amazing that the "Jr." fans can never admit when something is Jr.'s fault.
It's called blind allegiance.
Jr's bonehead move, not to mention his rookie mistakes, took out half dozen cars that were contending for the lead.
if you watched the replay u can hear jr lift not once but twice befor when vickers block him so vickers needs to cry somewhere else
Did anyone consider that fact that vickers may not have prayed to his buddha statue before the race because he was painting scott speed's toes while bemoaning "man-made global warming"? This lack of buddha-time cost him big time.
Well, NASCAR certainly couldn't hide the fact that it's all about the Earnhardt name, could they? Guess they are afraid to upset his fans. He was clearly WRONG with the way he handled the whole incident on and off the track. I do believe Vickers was blocking, however Jr could've "let up" instead of turning right - right into the #83 quarter panel. There is no doubt in my mind that Jr should've have been penalized and parked. He took out 9-10 cars capable of winning the Daytona 500. Just because he was having a bad day, he took his frustrations out on the field. Shame on NASCAR for allowing this to happen and shame on DW (on Dave Despain's shows) for saying "well we had rain here, the apron could've been wet". At that point in the race? What a joke! That's just another excuse to cover up for Jr who blatantly caused a wreck in the front of the pack and got away with it. I can't wait for Kyle to retaliate and he will....deservingly!
Oh and rules are rules! Jr pitted on the line and was held one lap...now he thinks they should change the rule. How long has he been racing? Does he attend the drivers meeting? But he'll probably win cause NASCAR will change the rules just for Jr, his name and his fans.
OK. 2 things. Too many pre-race shows, this didn't have to be a rain out. Second, I've watched Kyle Busch take others out over and over last year without being penalized. I've seen David Ragan and David Reutimann wreck cars time after time and not get any flap. Dale Jr. said it was his fault, he took the blame. I do not like these COT cars, but it looks like I have no choice if I want to watch. I watched Brian Vickers take out Jr. and Jimmie Johnson at Talladega in 2006, intentionally, to win the race but that was fine. And tell those 3 wishy washy announcers up in the booth to watch the replay before they comment.
I dont think Dale Jr. would intentually take out the entire feild just to get a lap back,maybe a "Pass in the grass"if they would get rid of the yellow lines on the straightaways.
is there any doubt in anybodys mind little e's move wasn't paybakc for blocking him from a chance at the lucky dog? Well anybody but nascar i mean? Nascar penalized the 38 saturday and the guy who was his teammate get's wrecked the next day and of course no reprisal. I'd bet anything vickers' will get penalized for his comments though. if he does i'll send him some money to pa the fine. This is one of these instances i'd be in the nascar hauler as soon as the race ended and be demanding na explanation.
I watched both races and thought that leffler was cheated and JR was not at fault.Vickers shouldn't have been blocking as a lap down car on the restart. I have noticed that Vickers has been very aggresive because he can't win so he drives like a idiot by taking risks without any care of all the other racers!
leffler came up into wallace plain and simple. Vickers blocked Jr. Serves him right! Its about time Jr got aggressive! kyle recked people countless times and was never penalized. And Brian Vickers payback is a bitch; whine to someone else
I am a BIG Earnhardt fan but I was very ashamed of his retaliation yesterday. it was blatant and he should have been parked. Getting tired of his whining and crying and yesterday just further turned me off.
I'm a JR fan but he made a big mistake plain and simple. Vickers was protecting his spot as the Lucky Dog and JR was trying to get that spot. He made a mistake or he intentionally bumped Vickers. I'm not going to debate which happened but since you can easily see that once Vickers pulled down to block, JR lifted and then shot into him.
DEJR needs to become a man and stop blaming his own failures on other people. yesterday was a disgusting display by him and by NASCAR.
first kyle remember richmond last year with 3 laps to go jr leading fresher tires you didnt lift,vickers talladega 06 last lap u didnt lift either quite crying i thank both of youll reason it was just racing, well kyle, brian it was just racing
The guys on sirius this morning said it best -- Junior was not intentionally trying to wreck the field or hurt anybody -- BUT he DID make a mistake and was probably driving more aggressively than he should have because he was angry at himself for being a lap down due to his OWN mistake in the pits. For those of you commenting that Vickers shouldn't have been blocking becaue he was a lap down, get a clue -- so was Junior! Vickers was properly trying to stay in lucky dog position and had every right to the space to his left. Junior screwed up and in the process wrecked a bunch of guys that should've had a chance to win the 500.
How can the "greatest driver on a super speedway" make a mistake that takes out the top ten cars in the Daytona 500? Junior knew exactly what he was doing. He wrecked Vickers purposely because he had the gall to block"Junior". He should have at least gotten the same penalty as Leffler, if not more. Nascar needs to get it together and stop the partiality showing that has become so obvious.
Folks, JR. is probably one of the cleanest drivers in the field! It's got nothing to do with liking him or not. If you have been watching Nascar for several years you would know this. Kyle Busch complaining about getting taken out is an absolute joke! Kyle has taken many drivers out in all three series including many who were running for the championship in the truck and nationwide series and for him to complain is pathetic. Remember, Busch took Jr. out last year at Richmond and cost Jr. the win and Busches actions last year were a lot more blatent than Jrs. was yesterday. Again, week end and week out, Jr. is probably the cleanest driver in the field and personally I don't think he intentionally wrecked Vickers knowing it was in front of the field and would take out many drivers. Some of ya'll have stated that you are Jr. Fans and then criticize him. Personally, I don't think you are Jr. fans because if you were you would know very well that he is one of the cleanest drivers on the track. Not saying he is perfect, even Mark Martin caused a wreck last year in the Busch Series and won the race so even the cleanest driver in Nascar occasionally makes a mistake. No doubt Jr. along with a lot of other cars were racing hard with the rain coming and the race winding down but I'll never believe he intentionally wreck vickers. Maybe a little over agressive but not intentionally wrecking anybody. As far as Nascar and their calls, when have they ever been consistant? Truck Race was won by a pass below the yellow line a year or two ago but look what they did to Regan Smith at Talledega when he passed Tony for the win. He got penalized and the win taken away and drop numerous spots. I'm more upset with Nascar for calling the race early. They have lights at Daytona and they ran a race at Charlotte several years ago that went way after midnight. So why couldn't they have finished the race late last night or even finished the race today? This was no race, the best racing was going to be the last fifty laps or so. The biggest race of the year and Nascar calls it early. If I had paid to see this race I would be highly disappointed the way it finished. With the lights, there was no excuse for calling the race that early. They basically gave the race to Kenseth. Not taking anything away from him, he very well could have won it if the race had gone the full distance but to call the race that early after they have ran other races way later than this makes me more upset than anything that happened yesterday. In the past, Nascar has made the excuse of it getting dark and no lights but that wasn't the case yesterday. Also, why doesn't the race start at one or two o'clock instead of nearly four o'clock? That race would have been over before the rain came if they had started it at a decent hour. Again, if I had paid to see that race I would want my money back because Nascar robbed the fans of a great finish to the race!
Blocking is legal however some good judgement must be utilized. If a driver or a pack of drivers are approaching too fast and you cause them to take evasive action so as to avoid hitting you, there is a good possibility a wreck will happen. Jr got pushed below the line as a result of Vickers action. Jr would never intentionally cause a wreck in front of the pack...he's lucky he made it out of that unscathed.. Wake Up.
How can you penalize " The Company Car?" Nascar cant make it anymore obvious!!! Then Jr. cries the pit road penatly was to strong of a penalty! Hello Jr. it's written in the rule book! thats it i'm done with Nascar! It's like watching WWF!!! Shame on you NASCAR!!! I wonder how Jason Leffler feels about it??
LOL @ Larry...some of us have been watching Nascar decades longer than your "several years"...Joonyer will never be championship material. What a loser he is, complaining about the harshness of the 1-lap penalty for pitting outside his box. It's the same rule for every driver, apparently he didn't know that. Nascar f'ed that up, can't believe he didn't get penalized for the blatant retaliation on Vickers.
I have a hard time believing by reading some of the comments that you people know anything about racing at all. Brian Vickers didn't have to block anyone, there was 77 laps to go lots of time to get your lap back, a little common sense would have prevailed on his part, he was the one that made the bad decision. The car behind him could very well have been Kyle Busch and the outcome would have been the same, a wreck would have happened. A lap down or not...he had no reason to block the 88 with that many laps to go. I also believe the folks in the booth shouldn't comment of those situations until they see all the replays and different angles, then let Nascar make the judgement, the announcers are there to call the race, not pass judgement.
All you need is the name Earnhardt to get a way with anything!! His Daddy did it all the time just ask Terry Labonte!! It should be little "A..hole" instead of little"e"
Hello, I have been following Nascar for over forty years so that is a few more years than several. And, where did I say that Jr. was going to win a championship? Anyway, he already has won two busch championships. That's way more than most drivers will ever win. Jr. is not a great driver right now but he is a good driver. I wouldn't compare him to Tony Steward, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, or Jimmey Johnson but he is a good driver.
I think people who say Jr. is whining need to look at all of the crap he has taken without making a big deal out of it. Most of NASCAR drivers have apparently turned into a bunch of babies. What is up with Burton complaining of Jr. They all need to look at their own history of mistakes, quit bitchin and drive. I am a Jr. fan but why does everyone look at Kyle Busch when something happens. He has taken out more good cars than anyone else lately. This sport use to be fun to watch, but apparently these guys just want the money the easy way instead of driving for it. Blocking is a joke.. Kyle Bush blocked all day. 200 lap race Kyle was blocking in the first 25. Don't call Jr. the Nascar Kid, I think that is moving to Kyle.
Lap down or not JR would have been in contention to win that race. Come on people - you know at these races you can be in last place with 2 laps to go and end up winning a race with the right drafting help. So with that said, why shouldn't the lap cars drive aggressively? Rain in the forecast or not that race should have been run to conclusion - hours later or the next day. Get rid of the half way rule - run the whole race. Now to the "big one" - IT IS A RACING DEAL! Simple. Thats what racing is all about - trying to pass a car! I've watched the replay more than a dozen times and I don't see anything other than that. Blocking, making a run on another car, passing....It's racing folks! Sometimes you aren't "clear" and you tap another car - it sucks, yes, but it was not intentional. Sorry everyone - now you can blast me.
Well, I started Sunday pre-race feeling ill about the race and nothing throughout the day diminished it any!
So here are my thoughts (rants, raves, whatever you call it)....
#1. The pre-race is WAY YONDER TOO LONG! This race should have started at 1:30 (at the latest).
#2. NASCAR needs an in-house meteorologist. I'm sitting there at 1:00 looking at radar knowing that the rain would hit before the end of the race.
#3. I'm sick of the Digger thing...and that cartoon during pre-race was brutal!
#4. O.K. It's the first race of the year. It's the Daytona 500. The biggest race in NASCAR...and you get someone like they got for the National Anthem...it was pitiful! Didn't know who he was, and he flat out couldn't sing!
#5. The race was super boring...just 8 cars lined up running around for what seemed like forever (if not for Junior's mistakes...Eury and Earnhardt...this race would have been the flattest that I've ever seen)
#6. It's funny how they celebrated the 1979 race as the one that put NASCAR in the forefront and the event that triggered it was......drum roll......Donnie Allison running Cale Yarborough off the track and Cale coming back up into Donnie and both wrecking, but somehow what happened with Vickers running Junior off the track and Junior coming back up on him was somehow the most reprehensible thing ever done by both drivers. I say great job by both drivers for racing like it's supposed to be, rough, tough, and don't give an inch. If you wreck, so what? It ain't bumper cars! Seems like NASCAR stands for the "National Association of Sugar-Coated Racing" nowadays! (oh and for DW & Jimmy Spencer to act like it was so terrible, after what I've seen from both of them over the years is laughable)
#7. I said it last year...I'll say it again, Tony Eury Jr has got to go! Every other pit boss is counting his driver down to the pits and Eury says "Here it is" about the time Jr got there! Of course, the media is saying how lame Jr is for talking about all those confusing signs on pit road, but conveniently fail to mention that all the drivers need some help in the form of a countdown to know where everything is.
#8. Bad start for Jimmie. His car never stood a chance all day. Don't know where they put all their energy, but it wasn't in the right place!
#9. How are people are praising Le"tard" for having Jeff a good car????? He had the setup so screwed up that it ate the tires up all day..he needs to join Eury out the door.
#10. Kyle got wrecked.....that alone gives Junior and Vickers a free pass for the way they raced! Probably the best thing that happened all day!
#11. Right before the race was called, the TV race crew was saying, "rain is not so bad, we're going to get it going again, we'll be back right after these commercials"....what a shameless way to keep the audience! I know they are not weathermen, but one look at radar and the fact that rain extended 200 miles out into the gulf should tell you something. Ol' DW even said "the way radar looks, this should pass over and we should get it in".....unbelievable!!!!!
#12. Saddest statement made in our house Sunday....."Well, maybe California will be better than this".
I feel better now!
If JR meant to do that he would not have hooked him on the right side of the car which will ALWAYS turn a car to the right which it did right in front of JR.Now if he came up 3 lanes and clipped him in the left AWAY from himself i might believe it but not likely cause like him or not JR is as clean as they come OBTW 18 all tore up LOL LOL GREAT
Those two wrecks are in no way the same. Leffler intentional punted lil Wallace out of the way. Jr. was just trying to get back in line and barely brushed Vickers on his bumper. Vickers should of maned up on the wheel and been able to hold on to his car because it was that hard of hit.
No question it was intentional and like you said it is a shame that NASCAR is so partial to one driver that he can get away wiht anything just like his daddy.The Earnhardts aren't great,NASCAR has made them great in the eyes of ignorant people.Also found it strang that chevy could use a bigger restrictor plate if they run the old engine.Isn't that unfair to the other auto makes??but then the bailout money went to NASCAR from the Govt.by chevy.I believe they said since 1970.
I've never liked Jr.'s attitude, but my wife is a big fan. But she was clearly dissapointed with him yesterday. He probably hurt his image more than it was worth in the most watched race of the year, and that will be punishment enough. Let's see, he doesn't ever win, AND he has a nasty temper? Goodbye sponsors!
Nicky...How did you see anything? Your head is obviously up your a**. And to even compare Jr to Leffler...Give me a break...Leffler wrecks in 85% of the races he enters
it was in no way intentional. That is not jr's style in any way. I do not ever recall him intentioanlly hitting someone ever! i do admit as a big Jr. fan that he was way off his game yesterday and probably not thinking clearly, he was rushed because of the coming rain and falling behind in the pits and all. his lack of focus yesterday and frustration caused him to misjudge! so what, it happens. leave him alone!
Sam...your wife is obviously much smarter than you are. I promise you Jr will not lose any sponsors. When it comes to marketing, he's the most coveted man in Racing. He did not do anything intentional. Maybe you should take out the trash and do as your wife says.Admit it, you are not really a Nascar fan at all and you really don't know anything about it....Right???
Sam...your wife is obviously much smarter than you are. I promise you Jr will not lose any sponsors. When it comes to marketing, he's the most coveted man in Racing. He did not do anything intentional. Maybe you should take out the trash and do as your wife says.Admit it, you are not really a Nascar fan at all and you really don't know anything about it....Right???
Bucko: Anybody remember the 2001 Daytona 500? The old man in the #3 was blocking the entire field on the last lap so that two of his DEI cars could finish 1-2. Anybody remember that??? It's OK for the Earnhardts to block in restrictor plate races... but not OK that Vickers was trying to protect his position in a restrictor plate race? Face it people... like it or not... blocking is a product of restrictor plate racing and Jr. just isn't as good in a Cup car as his fans want to believe he is. He complained about NASCAR penalizing him for being an inch over the line in the pit box. Well... a rule is a rule, and ironically, it's the same inch that he mis-judged when he pulled his bone-headed move on Vickers. Kyle Busch said it best in his post race comments.
Bucko: Anybody remember the 2001 Daytona 500? The old man in the #3 was blocking the entire field on the last lap so that two of his DEI cars could finish 1-2. Anybody remember that??? It's OK for the Earnhardts to block in restrictor plate races... but not OK that Vickers was trying to protect his position in a restrictor plate race? Face it people... like it or not... blocking is a product of restrictor plate racing and Jr. just isn't as good in a Cup car as his fans want to believe he is. He complained about NASCAR penalizing him for being an inch over the line in the pit box. Well... a rule is a rule, and ironically, it's the same inch that he mis-judged when he pulled his bone-headed move on Vickers. Kyle Busch said it best in his post race comments.
Bucko: Anybody remember the 2001 Daytona 500? The old man in the #3 was blocking the entire field on the last lap so that two of his DEI cars could finish 1-2. Anybody remember that??? It's OK for the Earnhardts to block in restrictor plate races... but not OK that Vickers was trying to protect his position in a restrictor plate race? Face it people... like it or not... blocking is a product of restrictor plate racing and Jr. just isn't as good in a Cup car as his fans want to believe he is. He complained about NASCAR penalizing him for being an inch over the line in the pit box. Well... a rule is a rule, and ironically, it's the same inch that he mis-judged when he pulled his bone-headed move on Vickers. Kyle Busch said it best in his post race comments.
Bucko...sounds like you are a Kyle Busch fan. He's wrecked so many drivers trying to win a race in ALL 3 series. Ask Junior or Hornaday or a cast of others...Jr makes one mistake and you want to chastise him.And as for his Dad blocking....I believe he recieved THE PENALTY..he died that day. Vickers knocked Jr into the grass to hold his position and you call Jr a bonehead. Check your mirror....you'll see a real bonehead.
Bucko...sounds like you are a Kyle Busch fan. He's wrecked so many drivers trying to win a race in ALL 3 series. Ask Junior or Hornaday or a cast of others...Jr makes one mistake and you want to chastise him.And as for his Dad blocking....I believe he recieved THE PENALTY..he died that day. Vickers knocked Jr into the grass to hold his position and you call Jr a bonehead. Check your mirror....you'll see a real bonehead.
Bucko: Anybody remember the 2001 Daytona 500? The old man in the #3 was blocking the entire field on the last lap so that two of his DEI cars could finish 1-2. Anybody remember that??? It's OK for the Earnhardts to block in restrictor plate races... but not OK that Vickers was trying to protect his position in a restrictor plate race? Face it people... like it or not... blocking is a product of restrictor plate racing and Jr. just isn't as good in a Cup car as his fans want to believe he is. He complained about NASCAR penalizing him for being an inch over the line in the pit box. Well... a rule is a rule, and ironically, it's the same inch that he mis-judged when he pulled his bone-headed move on Vickers. Kyle Busch said it best in his post race comments.
Jr obviously didn't hit Vickers on purpose. You just have to understand that a driver that can't control his car on pit road at pit road speed will not be able to control his car in traffic at full throttle.
Bucko: Anybody remember the 2001 Daytona 500? The old man in the #3 was blocking the entire field on the last lap so that two of his DEI cars could finish 1-2. Anybody remember that??? It's OK for the Earnhardts to block in restrictor plate races... but not OK that Vickers was trying to protect his position in a restrictor plate race? Face it people... like it or not... blocking is a product of restrictor plate racing and Jr. just isn't as good in a Cup car as his fans want to believe he is. He complained about NASCAR penalizing him for being an inch over the line in the pit box. Well... a rule is a rule, and ironically, it's the same inch that he mis-judged when he pulled his bone-headed move on Vickers. Kyle Busch said it best in his post race comments.
I'm a Big Big Earnhardt Sr Fan. But in this case you have to call it like it is! Jr messed up big time. I believe 100% in my heart that he meant to turn Vickers toward the infield. That fact that Vickers’s car hooked and took out the field was a surprise to everyone, INCLUDING Jr. Did Jr want to take out all those cars? I think not! Did he? Hell Yes! If it was anyone other than Jr or Jimmy Johnson, NASCAR would have parked him for 5 laps!!! Sham on you NASCAR !!!
Bucko...sounds like you are a Kyle Busch fan. He's wrecked so many drivers trying to win a race in ALL 3 series. Ask Junior or Hornaday or a cast of others...Jr makes one mistake and you want to chastise him.And as for his Dad blocking....I believe he recieved THE PENALTY..he died that day. Vickers knocked Jr into the grass to hold his position and you call Jr a bonehead. Check your mirror....you'll see a real bonehead.
For starters, if you block accept the fact you could get wrecked. BUCKO...2001 Daytona was the same situation...Sr. blocked and got wrecked, and unfortunately lost his life doing so. Difference is it was the last lap and a risk he was willing to take. Vickers had it comming to him. I don not believe Jr. intentionaly wrecked Vickers. If you watch the in car camera, not the hood cam Fox showed, you would have to have Direct TV to see in in-car cam. you can tell he did not wreck Vickers on purpose, unlike Leffler. Had the roles been reversed, I would defend Vickers. Anyone blocking is taking that risk. If Nascar was smart they would penalize the blockers. Every singl wreck, outside of blown tires, through speedweek was a result of blocking. Blocking causes more problems than any. The double yellow line is the stupid. Just like Talledega...Stewart should not have won. And by the way....I LIKE STEWART!
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