It also made Fernando flirt with IndyCar a little. A fan of emojis, the Spaniard tweeted out a simple emoji with a GIF. To break it down for the Robin Miller old guys of the world, he essentially said “that’s cool”, then “maybe I’ll do that. ” What Alonso didn’t say was “NO.” Instead he fueled the speculation that he might come to America to run the domestic series in this country.

IndyCar doesn’t need anyone to provide validity to it being a proper championship. It’s a hard series to win in and we’ve seen some really talented drivers get in cars and struggle. Rubens Barrichello joined the series in 2012 and it took him all season to finally earn a Top 5 finish at Sonoma in the third to final race of the season. IndyCar gets a bad rep outside of the states but it’s a super challenging series.

Alonso is naturally a more talented driver than than Rubens but the struggles are real. Without a doubt Alonso would find the top step of the podium in his rookie season. Hell he could be such a great driver that he just dominates the season. There’s no doubt about his talent, it comes down to where does he actually want to race.

Formula One

Fernando has said this season that Formula One is his main focus. However, without a proper winning seat available could he consider leaving the highest echelon of open wheel racing for IndyCar? Possibly.

McLaren is the best place for Alonso. After giving up last weekend at Spa when the car was just so slow down the straights it’s hard imagine he will want to keep racing there. Unless there is a massive engine upgrade for next year it’s going to much of the same. So McLaren could farm him out to IndyCar for a season to keep him happy until the car is ready to compete in 2019.

Fernando Alonso IndyCar diecast

Bring Alonso to us for a season, we’ll take care of him. If the Spanish want to stage a new Spanish inquisition to promote the good word of Fernando Alonso in the states bring it on. Not like we have much to look up to in this country. Just don’t build any statues, we’re very triggered by statues at the moment.

IndyCar could use a huge international name joining the series. No offense to Max Chilton and Esteban Gutierrez but they aren’t getting anyone outside of their families excited. Get Alonso, dominate the world. Simple game plan for Indycar.

The post How Hard Can Fernando Alonso And IndyCar Flirt? appeared first on Apex Off.

Motorsport– I (Roger Penske) talked about if we could get a privateer [effort] with some of those cars. But under the current situation with Audi, all the things they’re going through, they just said they’ve got enough eyeballs on them, they don’t need to be showing up at Le Mans.

I’d love to run at Le Mans, but if I did I’d love to run at the front.

Why can’t Germans have any fun?

Outside of leather and whips they seem the be the driest, dullest group of individuals on the planet. Audi said a few months ago they were open to a privateer outfit running the Audi R18 at Le Mans. Today, apparently they decided to be a bunch of lames because no one can run them.

Roger Penske wanted to run them at Le Mans as a private team. Audi and Roger Penske are a match made in heaven. Clean cut, sharp, measured, engineered in a lab in an effort to take over the automotive industry. They’re the same person if Roger Penske is even a person.

Audi has enjoyed 18 competitive and usually dominating years in endurance racing and at Le Mans specifically moreover, they dominated for years, they introduced diesel power plants to the world of racing. Then all of a sudden a little (massive) diesel emissions cover up becomes public and they have to quit racing in every series they are in. A few Golf’s puts out a little more CO2 in the air and we can’t have nice things anymore. Those damn Germans, always being sneaky.

So now no one can see Audi at Le Mans anymore. Roger Penske wants to run Le Mans but only if he can be at the front. He’s rumored to be teaming up with Honda for an IMSA DPi program in 2018. Might want to rethink that after their debacle with McLaren again this pre season in F1 testing.

Audi get your asses back to Le Mans. No one cares about your emission problems. 10% of the world does, and they’ve all forgotten by now. Forget about Savannah and Brenton from Portland who love the environment. We deserve a three way battle at Le Mans.

The post Audi Decides To Be No Fun, No One Can Race The Audi Le Mans Car appeared first on Apex Off.

Zane Smith has been fined $5,000, and he and team owner Doug Fuller have been penalized with the loss of 100 championship points (Driver, Owner, Short Track Challenge) as well as corresponding special awards points.

The penalty

That 100 point penalty sets Zane 405 points behind leader Sheldon Creed with 2 races to go. Assuming Creed starts that race at Lucas Oil Raceway on October 6th he will be the 2018 ARCA champion. The race winner in ARCA earns 200 points, even with bonus points assuming Creed starts the race he will have enough points to be crowned champ following the race.

A suspension is what most people were expecting for Zane. With two races left in the season and the championship all but decided a 1-2 race suspension would have been logical. You can’t have drivers deliberately waiting on other drivers.

What Led Up To This

After Smith and Michael Self, both wrecked each other and the retaliation seemed equal the #41 car went back on track and ended the #55’s night. A blatant move that you would see every Saturday night at Bowman Gray Stadium. Essentially Zane went all Matt Kenseth/Scott Speed on Michael Self.

After the race, we talked to Michael Self on the podcast who explained his side of the story. Give it a listen here.  Self said he thought they were even after he turned Zane off turn 2 earlier in the race. Obviously, Zane had a different idea.

It’s an unceremonious way for Zane Smith to end his championship battle but if you’re going to go out you might as well go out in a blaze of retaliation glory.

The post ARCA Hands Zane Smith A Light Penalty appeared first on Apex Off.

Excuse me, the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard presented by Florida Georgia Line doesn’t matter anymore.

In fact, it hasn’t mattered for the better part of a decade. NASCAR and its media partners have tried relentlessly to convince drivers and fans alike that this race remains a Crown Jewel race on the calendar. All while completely ignoring the putrid racing and atrocious attendance.

When NASCAR came to the speedway for a test in 1992 some 20-25k spectators showed up to watch them turn pointless laps. A Goodyear tire test boosted the excitement that NASCAR was coming to the crossroads of America.

A success for NASCAR

Just two years late in 1994 the first Brickyard 400 was held in from of 350,000 fans. An astronomical amount of fans, more fans than any other NASCAR race. The Daytona 500 hosted about 130,000 fans at its peak and currently still hosts 100,000 fans each February. It was a resounding success for NASCAR and it was only amplified by the fact a Hoosier in Jeff Gordon won.

The Brickyard 400 carried some massive weight for the better part of a decade. Every driver wanted to win there, fans wanted to watch a race there. If there is a cathedral for racing, it’s Indianapolis Motor Speedway. NASCAR was so popular the race was only 400 miles so it wouldn’t take away from the prestige of the 500. Things have certainly changed back since 1994 but at the time this was the biggest race in NASCAR next to the Daytona 500.

Flashforward to 2019 and the Brickyard 400 isn’t even a shell of its former self. Moved from it’s traditional August date to the cut-off race for the playoffs last season in hopes of boosting attendance didn’t help. Indy 500 qualifying likely had more fans in the stands than the Cup race last season. In 2020 the race will once again move dates this time to the Fourth of July weekend taking Daytona’s traditional summer spot. It once again will not help ticket sales. Indy in July is abysmal and the Cup race at the speedway isn’t a vacation destination for many.

Indianapolis track

Some folks in Indianapolis have mentioned that the track has sold less than 20k tickets for the Brickyard 400 this season. The tire debacle of 2008 combined with the sports incessant need for more downforce has killed fans interest at the track. If fans wanted to watch a parade there’s a lovely one every Thanksgiving morning.

The fans no longer care.

In the lead up to this race, some of the sports media personalities have done everything but beg fans to come out to the speedway. “We need people in the stands, we don’t need to see empty seats” is what one member said.

Outside of 2017, there hasn’t been a memorable race at the speedway since 2008. Both of the races named here were chaotic completely abnormal races. For the most part since the introduction of the CoT and Gen 6 cars, the racing has been sleep-inducing and the fans responded.

The greatest race in the world

NASCAR would be better served to visit the short track 7 miles away in Brownsburg. Or maybe take some turns on the IMS road course. The Indy 500 is the greatest race in the world, let them have the oval. NASCAR needs to lick their wounds and move on or debut the Gen 7 car with less front downforce. One thing we do know is the stands this Sunday will be baren.

The post The Brickyard 400 Doesn’t Matter Anymore appeared first on Apex Off.

Power played the strategy game and while others like Rossi were stretching their fuel mileage the Indy 500 winner pitted for fuel with 18 laps to go. With enough fuel on board Power literally put the power down and caught Rossi immediately. Rossi pulled over to let Power through thinking of the championship.

With Rossi out of the way, Power cruised to the victory. For a guy that was once terrible on ovals, the Aussie is now an oval savant, winning at another oval. Certainly a complete 180 from how he used to feel/perform on ovals.

What About The Championship Battle?

The battle between points leader Scott Dixon and pursuer Alexander Rossi is down to just 26 points.

Dixon led 145 laps Saturday night and still salvaged third behind some poor strategy calls. That wasn’t good enough though with Rossi finishing second.

Rossi won the two races prior to Saturday Night’s race at Gateway. The third-year driver has found his stride in the second half of the season and has asserted himself as a clear and present threat to Dixon. With Sonoma being a double points race in the finale Rossi could swipe this championship away like Dixon did to Montoya in 2015.

There was one moment Saturday night where the championship battle nearly came to an end. Rossi drove out of some massive oversteer thanks to a nice oppo-lock and phenomenal throttle management.

Portland will be an interesting race next weekend as the circuit should fit both Rossi and Dixon. A fast road course that requires precision, a Mid-Ohio at one end with a simple section at the other.

How Was The Gateway Race?

Once again a super solid race that was intriguing from multiple angles. From the strategy to the championship, to the mid-pack battles Gateway provided again. IndyCar on flat tracks is something we need more of, looking at you people in Milwaukee.

Zach Veach continues to impress as the season winds down. The rookie recorded a 5th place finish on the heels of a 6th place finish last week at Pocono. Veach now has four Top-10 finishes in a row. Spencer Pigot also impressed on the short oval again, after a second at Iowa he came home 6th tonight.

A definitive second lane never fully developed but passing was certainly possible. Gateway should be a mainstay on the IndyCar calendar, the crowd was little lighter than 2017 but still stronger than every oval not named Indianapolis.

IndyCar is back in action in Portland.

The post Will Power Wins At Gateway? appeared first on Apex Off.

Adam Stern tweeted out a snippet this weekend that once again indicates Dodge is looking to rejoin NASCAR. Will they team up with Andretti Autosport this time only to have the deal squashed two days later? One other manufacturer is also interested in joining NASCAR as well.

NISSAN. NISSAN wants to join NASCAR? Nissan couldn’t succeed in V8 Supercars, they tried to revolutionize the WEC LMP1 class, they pulled out of IMSA. Now they might want to go NASCAR racing. A Nissan Altima would infuriate the diehard fan base, it’d draw in the inner city crowds. A Nissan Altima Cup car would do more for the sport than NASCAR could ever have imagined.

One thing NASCAR should mandate if both of these manufacturers want to join the Cup series they must also field truck series teams as well. Nissan Titan’s and Ram Ram’s (stupid Dodge spun off Ram into its own brand and just calls their trucks Ram, very confusing) those would look phenomenal fighting with Ford, Toyota, and Chevy.

Will either of these OEM’s join the series? Right now there’s a 70% chance Dodge rejoins and a 45% chance Nissan joins. Dodge knows what it takes and would likely have an easier time convincing an established team to switch manufacturers.

Hybrid Technology and NASCAR?

Fewer things will trigger a deep southern NASCAR fan than the words hybrid or electric in reference to race cars. That could be the future however for NASCAR and their competitors. Manufacturers are pushing for more uses for their hybrid technology despite how many threatening emails Jimmy Spencer sends them. Applicable road applications are big for OEM’s. It’s hard to look at the technology on a cup car and but that in a Camry. V8 Camry sedans simply don’t exist, hybrid Camry sedans do, however.

Formula 1 currently uses a hybrid engine system and while Mercedes has dominated the fight for reliability at the beginning was exciting and infuriating. Ultimately one manufacturer (Honda) won’t figure it out and be the storyline for the better part of three years. F1 is the perfect place for hybrid technology, NASCAR might not be.

Unless of course, they want to use the ARCA series as a hybrid series or an electric series. Imagine a world of Chevy Volts, Nissan Leafs, Ford whatever they make, and Toyota Prius pounding around short tracks across America. People in the sport are talking about it, the plans might not be in place yet but in the not so distant future electric tech will be in NASCAR. Goodyear is going to have nightmares trying to build slicks for electric stock cars.

The post Dodge & Nissan Interested in Joining NASCAR, Hybrid Tech Coming? appeared first on Apex Off.

It’s a story of ruthless cutthroat capitalism. Out price the competition until they can’t sustain that business model anymore and go out of business. Joe Gibbs Racing did just that to Furniture Row Racing.

Furniture Row Racing cited “the rising costs of continuing a team alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing.” Joe Gibbs Racing reportedly DOUBLED the cost of the alliance FRR had with the team.

Financials in NASCAR are impossible to come by unless someone forgets to pay their bills and goes to court so we don’t know what FRR was paying. However, doubling the cost of anything will almost always have ramifications.

Back Story 2016-2018

Furniture Row Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing entered an alliance starting in 2016. The #78 car was viewed as a 5th JGR entry. FRR used cars built by JGR and over the wall guys provided by JGR. In return, FRR paid handsomely for this alliance and increase in on-track performance.

Combine the performance of JGR Toyota’s with Cole Pearn’s mastermind brain and you have a championship winning team, literally. The combo of journeyman Martin Truex Jr. and Pearn resulted in 17 wins over the last three seasons and a NASCAR Cup Series Championship. Beating JGR’s Kyle Busch for the title last season.

As FRR continued to outrun JGR the relationship seemed to strain. Last summer at the Brickyard 400 the tension rose to an all-time high as the #78 and #18 tangled on a restart and both cars slammed the wall (the 45 person crowd erupted, it was magical). Instead of having an easy 1-2 finish the teams were left exchanging words in the #78 pit box. Adam Stevens was still in the wrong there and JGR dropped the ball. That was the first visible sign of strain in the relationship.

Around late spring of this season, rumblings started in the garage area that FRR had not re-signed Truex for 2019. Not only that but the team also didn’t have a new deal in place with JGR or TRD. That was the beginning of the end combined with 5-Hour Energy leaving the team after the 2018 season and taking half a season of funding with them.

If You Can’t Beat Them, Put Them Out of Business

Joe Gibbs Racing ultimately wanted Furniture Row Racing to go away. Being embarrassed in 2017 by the satellite team wasn’t in the cards when this alliance was born. So doubling the cost of their alliance deal was the easiest way to dispose of FRR.

Furniture Row Racing could have formed an alliance with another team. Barney Visser ultimately decided he didn’t want to take a step back and that’s his prerogative. The notion that the state of NASCAR put FRR out of business is a bit overblown. FRR could have survived with an RCR alliance and asking for less from a potential sponsor. It comes back to not wanting to take a step down.

Gibbs took a no discretion, cutthroat approach. TRD’s flagship team wanted Truex and Cole Pearn in-house. A combination of Pearn and the resources at JGR should terrify the rest of the garage. JGR bolstered their lineup and their engineering staff with this move.

The fallout from this could be damaging for JGR and TRD in the future. Not only with potential teams that want to form an alliance but also with fans. NASCAR fans are a fickle bunch and if they feel someone was wronged they’ll be vocal. Thankfully JGR employs Kyle Busch so being booed is nothing new.

The post Joe Gibbs Racing Ultimately Killed Furniture Row Racing appeared first on Apex Off.

Take a look at what the grid COULD look like for the 2021 season;

Hendrick Motorsports

#9 Chase Elliott – The present and the future, he’s not going anywhere.

#24 William Byron – Byron is on thin ice but HMS doesn’t want to replace two drivers in one year.

#48 Tyler Reddick – Rick Hendrick wants talent, and wants the future of HMS secure. Reddick gets bought.

#88 Alex Bowman – 1-year deal for Bowman, he needs a stellar 2021 to attract sponsors.

Gibbs

#11 Denny Hamlin – Ole’ runner up isn’t going anywhere, he’s never been better.

#18 Kyle Busch – This is like the Chiefs letting Patrick Mahomes go, KB is here forever.

#19 Martin Truex Jr. – 2021 could be Martin’s last at JGR.

#20 Christopher Bell – Bell has a three-year deal with JGR, he moves to the big team in 2021.

Penske/Wood Brothers

#2 Ryan Blaney – Brad K. is out at Penske, Blaney moves to the Captain’s marquee ride.

#12 Matt DiBenedetto – Matty D. did so well with The Wood Brothers he moves to big Penske.

#21 Chase Briscoe – Briscoe is asserting himself as a force in the Xfinity Series. People are pointing at Austin Cindric for this ride but he has to beat Chase Briscoe first. Briscoe’s Ford connections put him in the #21.

#22 Joey Logano – Joey Slowgano isn’t going anywhere.

Stewart-Haas Racing

#4 Kevin Harvick – SHR can’t afford to lose Harvick so he’s signed for three more years.

#10 Brad Keselowski – Brad K. stays in the Ford camp but he’s over at Tony Stewart’s team now and the SHR looks to secure their competitiveness outside of Harvick.

#14 Kyle Larson – Rusty Rush won’t have a problem with Larson taking over for Clint Bowyer. Larson and SHR is a match made in heaven.

#41 Cole Custer – Custer is the future of SHR.

Chip Ganassi Racing

#1 Kurt Busch – Kurt is on the last year of his deal in 2021, he remains competitive and CGR may try to keep him another year.

#42 Ross Chastain – Ross has a deal with CGR, he moves up to Cup in 2021.

Richard Childress Racing

#3 Austin Dillon – AD is keeping his seat warm for Ace in 18 years.

#8 Noah Gragson – Gragson replaces the departed Reddick with help from Bass Pro and others.

Roush Fenway Racing

#6 John Hunter Nemechek – Newman retires and JHN moves up to a more competitive ride.

#17 Chris Buescher – Buescher is being held hostage at RFR.

Front Row Motorsports

#34 Michael McDowell – Don’t think he’s ever going to leave. At least not until he tweets “fake news” at a rumor and then actually gets replaced.

#38 Corey LaJoie – LaJoie wanted the #48 car, he got the #38.

Richard Petty Motorsports

#43 Bubba Wallace – Bubba would like a more competitive car but will be back with RPM.

Leavine Family Racing

#95 Erik Jones – That Jones boy moves to LFR in 2021 but remains in the Toyota camp.

JTG-Daugherty Racing

#37 Daniel Hemric – Hemric returns to a full time ride replacing the struggling Ryan Preece.

#47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – He and Brian Pattie will find a way to victory lane.

And just like that the competitive grid for the 2021 season is set.

Let us know what we got wrong and where your sources say people are going.

The post Let’s Get Crazy: Here Is What The 2021 NASCAR Grid Could Look Like appeared first on Apex Off.

Per Adam Stern, because why wouldn’t he have the news, Mothers car products will return to present all 21 rounds commercial free.

ESPN’s F1 coverage debuted in 2018 with a disastrous Australian Grand Prix. No sound, no picture, commercial breaks randomly thrown in at the most awkard times. ESPN said they’d make it right, and they did.

The rest of the 2018 season was presented commercial free. At first ESPN didn’t announce the change and fans took to social media asking others if they had a seen a commercial yet. It was like we all saw Birdbox and were looking for answers just we could see and Sandy Bullock wasn’t screaming at a child.

ESPN sticking with this commercial free concept is fantastic. They pay nothing for the rights to broadcast Sky Sports telecast of the race. Meaning any money from advertisers is straight profit. Why not make a little cash from Mothers while also using the race to lead into other shows on the network? It’s fantastic.

FOX and NBC

Now if we could just get FOX and NBC to revolutionize the way they present races we might actually get to see some action. Obviously they’re locked into contracts but you don’t miss a minute of a soccer game. Why is it ok to miss 30% of a race?

In the meantime go out and buy some Mothers car products and watch commercial free F1!

The post REJOICE! F1 Broadcasts On ESPN To Remain Commercial Free appeared first on Apex Off.

Turns out while I was wondering what the hell the 95’s sponsor “Darkmatter” this weekend is the Leavine Family Racing team might have some plans up their sleeve for 2019. They fired crew chief Travis Mack three races ago due to differences between himself and ownership. They hired Kasey Kahne this year and they’re looking to take the #95 to the next level. What’s the best and easiest way to do that?

Follow the Furniture Row Racing mold.

LFR could easily become a Toyota team next year with a Joe Gibbs racing alliance. Currently, Furniture Row Racing has an alliance with JGR. However, there is speculation surrounding that arrangement considering the two sides haven’t agreed on anything for 2019 and the future. Could the LFR rumors be linked that that? There is certainly a possibility of that.

Will LFR continue to field on or two cars?

There are a number of questions that arise if this switch in manufacturers does in fact happen. Will LFR continue to be a one-car team or will they field two cars? Is Kasey Kahne going to be a one and done destined to follow the World of Outlaws across the country in 2019? Or is Christopher Bell not ready yet? A lot of questions and no real answers outside of Stern saying JGR expects Bell back in the Xfinity Series in 2019.

Joe gibbs racing drivers

For now, though Silly Season is ramping up in July. There is an empty grandstand worth of questions that need to be answered for 2019 and we should start to get some answers over the next few weeks and months. For now though, we’re all here for the rumors.

The post Leavine Family Racing Exploring A Switch To Toyota W/Joe Gibbs Racing appeared first on Apex Off.