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Post by thermite_917 on Nov 23, 2015 17:51:43 GMT
Erik Jones is the 2015 Camping World Truck Series champion! Chris Buescher is the 2015 Xfinity Series champion! And finally, Kyle Busch is the 2015 Sprint Cup Series champion! Let's discuss! Trucks: I'm not a huge Erik Jones fan, but the kid can really drive and it's cool to see a rookie win the championship in that series for the first time! It was awesome to watch him and Crafton fight till the end. Xfinity: We might have a new Mr. Consistency! Chris did everything he was supposed to do. It's great to see how mature he is for only his second year in that series. He might have gone under the radar compared to stars like Chase Elliott, but Chris has just as bright of a future ahead! This race was also the best of the weekend in my opinion. That battle with Kyle and Kyle was great! Cup: Fans' opinions on Kyle winning seem to be polar opposites. I'm on the side that is really happy for him! He's been through so much this year. To see him make an amazing comeback is one of the coolest things I've seen in sports. If you don't like how he missed races and still won, blame NASCAR's rules, not Kyle. And hey, if you win a race in the regular season, none of those other races matter anyway  Oh! And let's all be thankful that each race went the full distance, even though the weather forecast looked pretty bad each day! |
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Post by imjustarandomdude on Nov 23, 2015 18:05:35 GMT
Well I'm really excited to see what Erik Jones can bring to the table in the future. Especially since he'll be running some cup races (supposedly through Furniture Row) and running the full Xfinity schedule next year. I have a nice replacement once Matt retires.
With that being said that would leave Jones' truck spot open, should KBM chose to replace it. I know William Byron will be running for KBM next year and I'm also hearing that Ross Kenseth may run some races with KBM.
Chris Buescher this year showed a ton of consistency. It seemed like at every race, he would be in or around the top 10. Once he moves up to cup I feel like he could help turn Roush around in the right direction.
And Kyle Busch performed one of the, if not the greatest comeback in motorsports history. I mean the guy had an engine crush his leg at the beginning of the season, comes back before anyone could have imagined and flat out kicked -Blam-. He deserves the championship because of all he went through. A great comeback story for sure. But I don't think Kyle should've won the race last night, that should've gone to a different Kyle.
I can't wait for next year
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Post by Leadfoot530 on Nov 23, 2015 23:40:11 GMT
People have heard me say it here before, and I'll say it again: Erik Jones is going places! I don't really have a reason to like him other than the fact that he's just a year over my age, so I guess he's somewhat relatable to me, kinda like Ben Rhodes in the #88 in Xfinity. Really happy to see him win the truck title, and do it by winning a few races. No doubt the kid has talent.
Didn't really pay attention much to Xfinity this year. I kinda wanted to see Elliot go back-to-back, but it's nice to see Rousch still has speed somewhere in NASCAR. Benice to see Bubba get a win, aswell as Biffle in the Cup series.
Now for th big one. For those of you that were on the NTG Forums, I'll do my best not to channel my inner O'Toole, lol. When I first saw that wreck at Daytona, I had written 2015 off. I would have been happy to see him get back in the car and run a few laps, let alone get five wins this year. I was elated at Charlotte upon his return, and Sonoma was a dream come true. The Championship just blew me away. We've definetly got a new Kyle Busch on the track, nowadays. I think he's settled down quite a bit, and really charished how good he is in this sport. He's almost a brand new person, filled wifh more passion than ever. The wreck and the birth of baby Busch definetly opened his eyes, in my opinion. What a comeback. Can't forget about all the struggles the guys on the #18 team fought through this year, too. Adam Stevens, the pit crew, Crafton, Ragan, and Jones. What a group.
I still hate this Chase format, and the Chase altogether, but if it wasn't for it, we wouldn't be talking about this.
I can't wait for next season, the low downforce package is going to be a blast to watch, not to mention help Kyle, most likely.
P.S. As long as Busch stayed ahead of Harvick last night, I wanted Larson to win that darned race so bad!
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Post by thermite_917 on Nov 24, 2015 1:15:37 GMT
Yeah Larson had that race won if they didn't throw that last caution. I was really pulling for him as well!
I'm really looking forward to 2016. This season, mainly talking about Cup, was kind of a dud in my opinion. It only got interesting in the Chase, which was pretty much designed to create forced/unnecessary drama, and the racing itself was by far the worst between the three top series. So... is it February yet?? I'm ready for a fresh start!
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Post by Kane88DaleJr on Nov 24, 2015 6:10:41 GMT
I guess I'll get in on this discussion.
Like I've said before, Erik Jones is basically Kyle Busch Jr. He has amazing talent behind the wheel (mostly due to the equipment given to him by KBM), but when stuff doesn't go his way he acts like a complete spoiled jack@$$. Maybe Kyle can mellow him out and teach him that it's not worth blowing your temper when stupid $#!+ happens.
As you would expect, I was really pulling for GOAT (Chase Elliott) to win the title, but Chris Buescher was just so consistent, ala Matt Kenseth in 2003. If the rumors are true that NASCAR is considering a postseason format for the Trucks and Xfinity Series, this could be very interesting to watch, even with the Cup guys in the field.
As someone who absolutely LOATHES Kyle Busch, I was extremely upset and pissed that he won the title. It just shows that NASCAR changed the rules solely for Toyota's and JGR's benefit because of the bad year they had in 2014. Well, NASCAR finally got what they wanted and Kyle won, and many fans are upset because of the fact that he missed 11 races due to his leg injury.
I'm not afraid to admit this, but I was so upset last night that I said to my dad that that wreck in Daytona should've ended his career, his life would've been even better. Go ahead, destroy me on here. I deserve it. Then today I realized, what if it was, say, Dale Jr., that had been injured in that crash? Fans would be begging that he get a medical waiver to still compete in the Chase, and we would all be celebrating instead of being split on the matter. Basically put, the whole entire second half of the season after Jr.'s win at Daytona in July was one huge nightmare for someone like me. Chevy wouldn't win another race until Dover in October, Hendrick Motorsports wouldn't win until Martinsville. JGR and Penske winning every -Blam- week. And to top it all off, Kyle winning the title. When will it stop?
As much as I hate to say it, Kyle deserved this title. He did more in less time than the rest of the field did with a full season. And if you ask me, I think the crash and subsequent injuries were probably the best thing that could ever happen to him. It really humbled him, he became a more mature person, and I think being there to spend more time with Samantha and Brexton really taught him the value of life and that the good Lord works in mysterious ways. I just hope he doesn't revert back to his old ways now that he's a Sprint Cup Champion (and maybe JGR will switch back to Chevy -- hey I can dream can't I?).
Well, if I had to make any predictions about next year, it would be that the low downforce package would benefit JGR and JGR only, as shown this year at Kensucky and Darlington. So in other words the racing will be awesome, but the winners will all suck.
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Post by imjustarandomdude on Nov 24, 2015 9:13:43 GMT
In response to Kane, which surprisingly isn't me whining about your JGR hate, there are rumors that there might be a ban or limited amount of races cup drivers can run in the lower series. Anybody think there could be any truth there? And if you'd like/care for it?
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Post by not azspud00 on Nov 24, 2015 16:22:54 GMT
Alot like Kane, I 100% hate Kyle Busch. Have for years, it's not some random new thing for me. But, Trucks first, shall we?
I've been a Crafton fan for a while, since he was still in a Chevy. And honestly, I only started to like him for 88 reasons. Get the reference? Being a Jr fan for as long as I can remember, and I have no idea why, I just started liking Crafton because he was in the 88. Only once Jr was in that number, of course. Though I will admit, as much as I despise almost every Toyota driver (with the exceptions of Suarez, Koch, Edwards, Kenseth, and a couple more), I've been watching Erik Jones get better and better and almost (not quite) root for him. It'll be interesting to see where Jones goes as he moves up through the ranks, and how he holds up.
As for Xfinity... I'm plenty happy to see Buescher win, especially because a Chevy or Toyota actually showed some strength for once, but being the Jr fan I am, I quickly became a Chase Elliott and Regan Smith fan once they joined JRM and I paid attention. So, needless to say, it was pretty disappointing for both of them to come up short. (But I did just realize that this year in Xfinity I pulled for the #7, #8, and #9. Weird.)
And now to Cup, of course! As I said above, I despise the guy who won it, along with 2nd place this year and 1st place last year. I've hated Busch for years, and I've hated Harvick since 'Dega (not going into a new conversation about that though...). So, yeah I was pissed when the #18 ended up winning it on Sunday night and it just capped off a pretty lackluster season for Earnhardt, and really HMS as a whole. Had they pulled their recent speed (until Homestead, atleast) out of their asses just a bit sooner, they could've had more than just Jeff in the Championship Round, and maybe the #18 wouldn't be Champion. Who knows. But I do know that this Championship is probably good for the sport, as much as it kills me to admit that.
"I will admit ONE thing about the Championship this year. Kyle, being an entirely different driver than Earnhardt, Stewart, or otherwise, is probably one of the most important to the sport. He, Hamlin, and a few other drivers are what I would call the prime example of the next generation of NASCAR drivers. Just look at Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, and Kyle Larson and you should see what I mean. Completely different than the drivers most fans are used to. They help usher in all kinds of new fans and help the sport grow. Since NASCAR seems to be trying to "modernize" itself to reach out to an entirely new type of race fan, Kyle Busch's title is key to that initiative of theirs. So, as much as I hate the guy, he's good for the sport and his title is good for the sport and it's growth."
That's about all I'll give Busch. Sorry, hate on me now, but there's just a few drivers I'll NEVER warm up to.
As far as what randomdude mentioned, I'd love to see something to tone down the Cup Series driver presence in the sport. Atleast for wins. They bring in the money, but NASCAR could decide to find a way to limit the equipment these Cup drivers get from their big teams. So, rather than Kyle having all the JGR power he has in Cup, limit the power that engine puts out so that he can't necessarily go out there and lead from flag to flag. They're Cup drivers racing against less-experienced and younger drivers in many cases, for zero points. Let's see these guys actually struggle for some way to still win one of these races. But, since that'll never happen, let's just see a limit as to how many races they can run.
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