It's not NASCAR anymore...it's the wannabe squad.
Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Junior Johnson, Benny Parsons, Bill Elliot, Richard Petty...they were NASCAR
What he said.
On that note, I go with Kasay Kahne in the #9, since he replaced Bill Elliot. 212.809 mph will never ever be beaten again at Talladega as long as restrictor plates are involved.
Decent (not the best) driver, but seems to be getting better aside from the turmoil that Evernham has been going through. I've been a fan since his first Cup race EVER in which he almost beat Junior at Daytona.
I've gotten his autograph on a few incarnations of his cars over the past few years.
Anxious to see what happens with him at Hendricks.
Jeff Gordon is a good driver that has raced with the old regime and the new and I have a lot of respect for him but he is, without a doubt, a whiner.
Jimmy Johnson is simply a spoiled sweetheartbag. One whom, I may add, would not have half the success he has achieved if he had to make his mark with old school drivers such as the ones mentioned above by Gyrene. I think he would piss himself if he had to deal with to old heads blasting the ole "chrome horn" I think he also has ridden the coattails of, and benefited greatly from the Hendricks/Gordon combination. I honestly do not think he would have achieved as much with another team.
Comparing NASCAR to F1, Indy, or any other motorsports is silly.
F1, Indy, Grand Prix, LeMans are what they are which is a (not to offend NASCAR fans) more "pure" form of racing. Understandably bumping with open-wheel cars is inherently more dangerous. To me at least, NASCAR has always been about drafting, trading paint, pushing the slow guy out of the way, and getting put into the wall by someone if you don't mind your manners on the track.
NASCAR has come a long way from it's roots. Junior Johnson was one of the last of a dying breed. It is a sport created by redneck moonshiners out of the necessity to maintain that weekly adrenaline rush that one was used to getting from delivering 'shine and running from the cops in a VERY fast car designed and created by the driver out of a need to stay one step ahead of the law. Nowadays the cars are far from "stock" as the NASCAR acronym alludes to. There used to be a day when the cars that were being raced were driven to and from the track.
I have hardly watched any NASCAR for the past few years as the rules and cars have changed. Now that a little more "touchy-feeley" is allowed on the track, I have watched more races this year than I have in the past 4 or 5.
