Phoenix Drivers - HarvickFest

I hope most of you are right... 

Daytona Jr.

And we're back!  What an awesome race and a cool victory for Dale Jr.!  The only issue that I have is the fact that I've started Jr. in the last 4 Daytona 500s... except for this one.  It's going to be one of those years I can tell already.  Not that I'm complaining about a second place Hamlin finish... I'm just saying.

Congrats to Skidmarks (finished 3rd last season and looks like he's up to his old tricks again this year), Rusty (11th last year), and Kiss (13th last year) for the Dale Jr. pick.  

4 teams took Hamlin: Penguin (2nd last year), Graziano (6th last year), Piston (5th last year), and Empty (8th last year). 

High Speed (12th last year) chose 6th place finisher Kenseth, Chonk (14th last year) took 7th place Stenhouse Jr., and Beef (4th last year) took rookie Austin Dillon who finished 9th to round out the top 10 picks for Daytona.

Shepard took Harvick (13th).  Dust (who probably woke up Monday afternoon nude on a hotel room floor in a completely different Casino covered in glitter and Sweet Tarts... standard Vegas or is that just me?) and new/old team A-Game took McMurray (14th).

Ideal and 2013 Champion Rasta took Kurt Busch who had a disappointing 21st place finish, but the BSOTW goes to 2013 Chase winner Asleep and Rowdy with their 32nd place Menard pick.

Lots of different strategies for this race and this year...

• Do we save our best drivers as long as we can and pick the scrubs early?  That only works if they don't BSOTW... 
• At what point in the season do we just go for broke and try to get our 3 wins to make the Chase?  What drivers will we have left to compete in the Chase if we have to do that?  
• Rock, Paper, Scissors?  I'm sticking with this one.  
• Do we just try to stay steady and qualify in the top 7... maybe pick up the 3 wins along the way just in case?  This seems like it is more like the old league rules strategy, but those bonus points could make the difference in who wins this year.  Remember last year?  One f*&king point was the difference... my therapist says I'm doing better.  
• What else?  I'm interested in hearing from you... if you're not afraid to show your cards.

A very long way to go, but it will be an exciting season for sure.  Get those payments in amigos... send me a confirmation that it is on the way and we'll count it as in prior to Sunday's race.  

  

Welcome Race Fans!!!! 2014 NASCAR Season Rules

Welcome back Race Fans to the 2014 NASCAR FANTASSY CUP!!! 

It looks like we'll have 17 teams this year.  Everyone get your "chips" in before the next race.    If that holds and everyone pays, the number of teams that will qualify for the Chase will move from 6-7.  Our incredible Rules Committee has updated the rules to reflect this change.  Thanks Chonk!!!  

I am looking forward to another awesome season and wish all of the teams the best of luck... especially Fat Penguin.  :)

Summary for ease of review:

Rule #3 - added the 17 team chip distribution
Rule #5 - NEW - Auto pick rules to avoid DQ's, but it isn't a cake walk to the end... but it will give you hope to                 be able to get back into the mix with some solid consecutive picks.

Rule #9 - cleaned up the wording and based it on a definitive 14-16 teams as opposed to approximate

Rule #10 - wrote rule for 17 teams and seven Wild Cards

RULES FOR THE 2014 NASCAR FANTASSY CUP

1) The preferred way to submit your pick is an email to larry.laviolette@gmail.com

• If you don’t have access to email, call or text my mobile number at (210) 862 2976 and leave a message if I don’t answer

 2)     Entry fee for the 2014 NASCAR Fantassy Cup (NFC) season is 200 chips per team

• Send chips to: Larry Laviolette, 1187 Skyline Drive, Canyon Lake, TX  78133 or PayPal Larry.Laviolette@gmail.com (please be sure to go to the ‘Personal’ tab and select ‘Gift’ so I don't get charged)
• Teams who do not send their chips by the scheduled drop of the green flag for the second race of the season, March 2^nd in Phoenix, will not be allowed into the league

 3)     Prize distribution (final number of teams is TBD)

• The Commissioner's fee is waived
• Let's do some winners’ math with both 16 and 17 teams as examples:

(16 x 200) - 200 = 3000 chips

Winners’ breakdown would be:

1st place: 1800 chips

2nd place: 800 chips

3rd place: 400 chips

(Awards will be based on this percentage pending final number of teams)

(17 x 200) - 200 = 3200 chips

Winners’ breakdown would be:

1st place: 1900 chips

2nd place: 850 chips

3rd place: 450 chips

(Awards will be based on this percentage pending final number of teams)

4)     Each week, pick a driver

• You cannot pick the same driver more than twice in a season
• If you're a jackass (no offense) and start the same driver more than twice, you get a big fat zero points and get penalized your top remaining driver (see rule #5 below for explanation of how this works)

 5)     Your pick must be submitted before the scheduled green flag

• “Scheduled” is defined as the time when the green flag is supposed to drop (e.g., the 2014 Daytona 500 has a 1:19 pm EST green flag drop time) and not when the green flag actually drops

i)       If the race is delayed and NASCAR moves the green flag drop back, you do not get more time to submit your pick

ii)     In the unlikely event that NASCAR moves the scheduled green flag drop time up, that will be the new deadline for pick submissions

iii)   If you do not submit your pick in time or pick the same driver more than twice, you get a big fat zero points and you will lose your top available driver remaining according to the NASCAR Sprint Cup (NSC) points system standings prior to the race

(1)  E.g., if you forget to submit a pick for a race, and Jimmie Johnson is leading the NSC points prior to the race, and you have at least one J.J. pick remaining, you will lose that pick.  If you have already used both of your J.J. picks, we will go to the second place driver in the NSC standings and if you have at least one of those picks left, you will lose that pick…and so on until we get to your top remaining driver

(2)  If there is a tie in the NSC standings between your remaining drivers, we will go back in the NSC standings to see which driver was ahead last and you will lose that driver

iv)   Let's say your traveling and you don't have access to email or my cell number, please call one of your racing cronies and have them email, call, or text me your pick

v)     Picks submitted to other players will not be accepted unless they are forwarded to me in time so get confirmation from your crony that he/she submitted your pick

• Proof of submission (if needed) will be in the form of:

i)       Email - Screen shot or picture of email in “Sent” folder

ii)     Text - Screen shot or picture of time-stamped text in conversation string

iii)   Phone - Screen shot or picture of call log with my mobile number

• After the end of each week’s race, you have nearly seven days to submit your pick for the next race…just get it in

6)     Total points awarded for each race will be the same as total points awarded by the NSC point system

7)     If NASCAR penalizes a team or driver and takes away points due to an infraction that affected the car's performance, than any team that started that driver will have the same points deducted from his total for that race

• If NASCAR takes away points from a driver due to an infraction that did not affect the car's performance (e.g., cursing, bumping another driver in the pit, etc.), any team that started that driver will not have points deducted

 8)     The top three teams with the most points at the end of the season as per the new NFC Chase rules (below) wins the chip amounts posted above

9)     Eligibility for the NFC Chase and new Chase format will be as follows based on 14-16 teams:

    Ø  The top six teams in points after the first 26 races will qualify for the NFC Chase

    Ø  Any team with three or more wins during the first 26 races will automatically qualify for the NFC Chase

o   If a team is outside of the top six in points after 26 races but has three or more wins, they will be added to the Chase as a Wild Card

    Ø  Points for the eligible teams entering the NFC Chase will be reset as follows to start the ten race playoff and then bonus points for wins accumulated during the 26 race regular season will be added:

o   1^st place team after 26 races - 1012 points

o   2^nd place team - 1010 points

o   3^rd place team - 1008 points

o   4^th place team -1006 points

o   5^th place team - 1004 points

o   6^th place team - 1002 points

o   Each Chase team will receive three bonus points for each win accumulated during the 26 race regular season to start the Chase

o   Wild Card teams are not eligible for bonus points to start the Chase and will start with 1000 points

    Ø  The NFC Chase is a four round format starting at Chicagoland (race 27)

o   A win in any round automatically advances that team to the next round (in theory)

o   One team will be eliminated after the first round

o   One team will be eliminated after the second round

o   One team will be eliminated after the third round

o   Only three teams will enter the fourth and final round for the NASCAR Fantassy Cup

    Ø  First round (races 27-29) - “The Flirter”

o   The top five teams based on points accumulated during races 27-29 will advance to the next round

o   Wins automatically advance a team; the balance of the five teams will be filled in according to points accumulated in the three race Teaser Round

§  The first tiebreaker is number of wins in the current round

§  Second tiebreaker is number of wins during the regular season

§  Third tiebreaker is number of points during the regular season

§  Fourth tiebreaker is whoever got their first win first

§  Fifth tiebreaker is biggest penis or vagina

    Ø  Second round (races 30-32) - “The Teaser”

o   The top four teams based on points accumulated during races 27-32 will advance to the next round

o   Wins automatically advance teams; same format for filling in the balance of teams and tiebreakers applies

    Ø  Third round (races 33 & 34) - “The Fluffer”

o   The top three teams based on points accumulated during races 27-34 will advance to the final round

o   Wins automatically advance teams; same format for balance of filling in the teams and tiebreakers applies

    Ø         Fourth round - (races 35 & 36) - “The Finisher” or “The Load Dropper” or “The Rope Spitter” or “The Nut Buster” or “The Wad Blower” or “The Pie Creamer” or "The Spooge Shooter”

o   The three teams entering the Finisher Round will have their points reset to 2000; no bonus points, each team is tied to start the final round

o   The team with the most points after races 35 and 36 is the NASCAR Fantassy Cup winner; same format for tiebreakers applies

10) Eligibility for the NFC Chase and new Chase format will be as follows based on 17-19 teams:

    Ø  The top seven teams in points after the first 26 races will qualify for the NFC Chase

    Ø  Same Wild Card rules apply (see rule #9)

    Ø  Points for the eligible teams entering the NFC Chase will be reset as follows to start the ten race playoff:

o   1^st place team after 26 races - 1014 points

o   2^nd place team - 1012 points

o   3^rd place team - 1010 points

o   4^th place team -1008 points

o   5^th place team - 1006 points

o   6^th place team - 1004 points

o   7^th place team - 1002 points

o   Same bonus points and Wild Card points structure (see rule #9)

o   The only difference in this 17-team Chase format is that two teams will be eliminated in the first round (Flirter)

o   Same Chase format from the second round (Teaser) through the fourth round (Finisher) (see rule #9)

11) The Rules Committee (RC) has final say on any league issues

• In the event of a discrepancy, the RC will hear arguments from all parties involved including the Commissioner
• The RC might have to make up rules as we go but will always act with fairness and the best interests of the league in mind

 12) All future communications will be handled through this site:            

       http://9monthsoffrustration.blogspot.com/

• I will try to get each week’s picks posted as soon as possible to the above web site
• I will track each team’s picks, finishing places, points earned, current NFC standings, and try to be witty in a charming yet unassuming way on the web site, but you are ultimately responsible for keeping track of your picks and points; please check my information regularly to ensure accuracy (I’m just a redneck…this isn't my day job…the only reason I’m doing this is because you wouldn't…there are a lot of chips at stake so keep an eye on me)

 13) The Commissioner will submit his pick to Scott Goodman each week

14) K-10 off-suit is a sucker bet…it only leads to trouble

2014 NASCAR Fantassy League Leadership

Commissioner:

Larry Laviolette

Rules Committee:

George Bunca: hoganshero206@hotmail.com

Chris Nealon: docbeef@hotmail.com

Scott Goodman: rustytruckrules@yahoo.com

Boogidee, boogidee, boogidee…let's go raycin' boys (and girl)!!!

Here We Go!!! Daytona Drivers!!!!

Any bold predictions this year???

Dust is in Vegas... probably getting a face tattoo at the moment.  Out to an early lead for the most interesting pick submitter of the season.

Chonk has an interesting theory on why Stenhouse is the way to go today... we'll see.

I'm going with Rowdy's idea of the Daytona 500 Crap Shoot... Rock Paper Scissors Strategy is already my implemented strategy.  

I'll be posting the rules and teams, etc. soon, but I wanted to get the drivers out to you guys!  Good Luck to all!!!  Especially Fat Penguin.

2013 NASCAR League Final Results: Rasta Racing is Champion!!!

Congratulations to 2013 NASCAR League Champion Rasta Racing!  Fat Penguin takes 2nd and Skidmarks is 3rd.  The Chase goes to Asleep at the Wheel!

I must apologize once more for my late post, but I have an excuse that is not work/travel related this time.... I have been on an alcohol induced bender since Sunday after watching Greg f***ing Biffle (who I normally like) fall to 24th while Clint f****ing Bowyer (who I also normally like) steadily gain spots to finish 5th at Homestead.  

I wish that were true... I am actually happy I held on to 2nd for the second year in a row.  

The League:

What a great comeback and season by Rasta.  Remember the Tony Stewart pick in week 1?  Rasta has been as low as 12th place this year and as many as 60 points out of 1st place.  Starting after the second Daytona race, Rasta flexed his muscles as a top contender steadily climbing up the leaderboard.  All in all, he spent 19 of the 36 races in the top three spots including 14 of the last 15 races.  He also spent 4 weeks at number 1.  Of the top 3 teams this was the least number of weeks at number 1 (Penguin 12 and Skidmarks 11), but he was there for the most important one... by one point.  Well done Rasta!  You are now 1600 Chips richer!

Penguin's season has been well documented as I have most likely bored you guys with my random thoughts and rants throughout the season.  As I said earlier, I am proud to have finished 2nd two years in a row.  I have had an awesome year as commissioner and have been happy to have been a top contender this year...  17 of 36 races in one of the top 3 spots, and 12 weeks at number 1 (including 9 of the last 11 races).  I was able to come back from dropping to 10th place and as much as 75 points back... so that was pretty cool.  12 weeks at number 1 and missing the trophy by one point is a little disappointing, but as my wife told me when I was trying to gain "special condolence favors" from her after losing my grip on the title, "All you are doing is picking a driver and hoping for luck, so get over it..."  Gotta love those Jersey girls.  I am now 800 chips richer.  

Skidmarks had an incredible season.  Our most consistent team by far spending 30 of 36 races in one of the top 3 spots!  He had an amazing 11 weeks at number one, he was never lower than 5th place, and he was never more than 46 points out of 1st place all year.  Although his reign at the top was during the middle of the season, he was always within striking distance of the lead and finished just 8 points out of 1st.  Great job Skidmarks and congratulations for an awesome season!  You are now 350 chips richer.      

The Chase:

Our Chase winner, Asleep at the Wheel, dominated the Chase.  The nearest contender was Piston Pumpin' Racing by 27 points.  Other than the second week of the Chase (Kiss the Wall and Fat Penguin led him by 6 points), he led every week of the Chase.  1st, 17th, 1st, 1st, 5th, 2nd, 4th, 4th, 9th, 4th were his finishes.   That was an impressive finish for sure... he actually jumped up from 15th place to 9th in the overall standings as well.  Congratulations Asleep!  You are now 250 chips richer.

Honorable Mentions:

Could Have Been a Contender Award(s): for those spent a little time at number one, but ultimately finished out of the chips:

• 4th place team, Dr. Beef Motorsports, just missed finishing in the chips by 18 points and was only 26 points from finishing 1st.  Beef spent 8 weeks in one of the top 2 spots (he was never in 3rd); including 3 consecutive weeks at number 1.  The Chase was not his friend however.  He fell out of the top spots starting in Chicago and never came back.
• 6th Place team, Graziano Motorsports, had a strong year as well.  10 weeks in one of the top spots including the 3rd Place Spot for two consecutive weeks of the Chase with 3 races to go.  His two weeks at number one were prior to the Chase and were 10 weeks apart.  Although finishing 6th, he was a top 5 team for 29 of the last 30 races.
• 11th place team, Rusty Truck, started strong.  He spent the first 11 weeks in the top 3; including an impressive 7 weeks at number 1.  A series of BSOTWs and Paul Menard took the ex-commissioner down.

The Dos Equis Most Interesting Team Owner in the World Award:

• Shepard Racing - Although he finished in 16th, Shepard submitted pics from Races and Vacation Spots it seemed almost every week.  

Best Pick Submission Award:

• Chonk Motorsports - Although there were many contenders for this award, Chonk wins running away.   Email subjects like: Chonkianapolis, Chonktins Glen, Chonkstol, Chonklanta, Chonkagoland, New Chonkshire, Chonker, Chonksas, Chonklotte, Chonkinsville, Chonknix, Chonkstead... were always amusing.  He guaranteed a BSOTW with his Kurt Busch submission in the 1st Texas race... 37th BTW.  I could go on, but the award winning submission came last week with his Homestead pick.  I never replied, but I definitely changed my mind regarding the BSOTW in Phoenix:  (George, I hope I have permission to post this...)

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Chonkstead

Martin Truex, #56

I have to disagree with the BSOTW last race.  Clearly, if your chosen driver won the spring race and is leading with two laps to go in the fall race and then runs out of gas, he is the instant poster child for bed sh*tting.

So, with all due respect to Denny who started on the front row and slowly leaked feces onto the mattress the entire race which culminated in his 28th place finish, that has been his year since his accident.  When I think of bed sh*tting, I think of an all out instant and unexpected exiting of bowels which both shocks and disgusts.  Carl Edwards accomplished that feat and to not acknowledge those efforts is both a travesty and an insult to all of the BSers that xame before him.

By the way, I'm really impressed with your level of Nascar acumen.  You're a true redneck...you finding this sport is like an eskimo discovering skiing.

Thanks for running the league...loved all the comments, pictures, insights, and you were really funny (no offense Goodman).

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Until Next Year, CHEERS!!!!!

Home Sweet Homestead

Here we go!!!!

For the League:

Biffle vs. Kurt Busch vs. Bowyer vs. Kahne... possibly Kenseth if those guys hit the wall early.

For the Chase:

Truex vs. Kenseth

Good luck to all today!

Phoenix Results... Harvick Rules Hamlin Fools...

Well, well, well... while the NASCAR Chase and our Chase may be a foregone conclusion... the League is still very much up in the air.  Skidmarks, with his 1st place Harvick pick is back in hunt for the top spot!  Skid moves from 3rd to 2nd and more importantly only 11 points back; Skid has been at or near the top all season long and still a strong favorite to take this thing.  Kurt Busch, Newman, Burton, ??? Who will be the right pick for this Sunday?  

Asleep continues an impressive Chase run with the 9th place Logano pick.  Asleep has only one pick outside the top 10 for the entire Chase thus far... Piston took 20th place Bowyer giving Asleep a 31 point lead in the Chase.  Piston has an outside chance for the Chase but it is slim.  Skidmarks and Penguin are still alive but only in theory.

Rusty had a nice top 5 pick of Kurt Busch taking over the 13th spot from neighbor Chonk by 4 points... which leads me to question if there might be a little side action going on at this point.  Can I get in on that one fellas???   Anyone else have side action??? 

BSOTW honors go to Penguin, Rasta, Graziano, and Empty with the 28th Hamlin pick.  This has definitely made things more interesting at the top.  Dropping Rasta from 2nd to 3rd and bringing Skidmarks 11 points closer as previously mentioned... and possibly taking Graziano out of the money barring a huge points swing at Homestead.  Piston is still not eliminated from the overall competition, but the chance is slim at this point.  

So, Homestead this week... I tried to get my wife to head down to Miami to watch the race and sun the ta tas down on South Beach, but she gave me the GFY look... even though I mentioned we could hit Doral for a nice 18 holes and possibly Scarlette's, Cheetah's, Tootsie's, etc. which is really entertainment for the whole family.  This would actually be a nice League Road Trip next year if someone wants to pull that together.  Why wouldn't we do that?????? 

Sooooo... how will our league play out???

I'm pretty much limited to Newman or Biffle ... maybe Martin, McMurray, Menard... WhoTF knows at this point???

Skidmarks has Kurt Busch, Newman, Burton, ??? 

Rasta has Bowyer or Newman... maybe McMurray or Menard... He's still very much in this thing as well. 

I'm thinking we should all take Newman which would give Beef a chance to take Kahne and sneak back in the money...  

Anyway... whatever the scenario; good luck to all!

Cheers!