NASCAR - Bristol

[GSXR1]

Sorry, I know it's early, but I just saw that four drivers (Kevin Harvick, Robby Gordon, Carl Edwards and Brad Teague) are all going to attempt to run the Craftsman Trucks race, the Busch race and the Cup race this weekend!

I know a lot of guys do double-duty (mainly Busch & Cup) but triple-duty around a place like Bristol would be something else again.

How dizzy do you reckon they will be after this weekend? ;)

[Kenseth17]

These guys really race don't they.I mean they do 36 races a season in Nextel Cup, heaps of them being 500 mile races and 400 mile races and then they do a few Busch races (Biffle does the whole lot) and some truck races.Phew...I get tired thinking about it all.
I do think Harvick should be concentrating on the Nextel Cup racing though with his position in the 10 on the line and RCR's poor season.He is a racer though and contracts and sponsorships are huge.

[Goodwrench3]

Childress reckons Harvick is better off the more racing he does.
The Busch field looks good - Junior on pole and a heap of the Cup guys involved.

[GSXR1]

Just a general NASCAR/model query.

I currently don't have any NASCAR models in my collection, but am thinking of getting one or two.

Can anyone advise on the Action brand? ie quality, value for money etc

I've never seen any of this brand in the model shops I frequent, and only one or two at various Australian online retailers. Can anyone recommend any shops in particular that may stock them?

The only place I've seen with decent range is in the NASCAR site itself.

Drivers I'm particularly interested in are Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart.

Cheers guys

[wayno]

I only have two Action models. A Gordon 'Rainbow Warrior' car in 1/18 and a Montoya Ganassi car in 1/18. Both are beautifully finished models but lack a little in detail.
The NASCAR Chev weighs a bloody ton, so if you're getting it posted from the States make sure you budget for hefty postal charges.
I reccomend them though.

[Goodwrench3]

I'll dig out some info on my supplier in the US for you over the weekend. I've got about 50 Action NASCAR Stock Cars in 1/18 and 1/24, most of them purchased through his shop in Indianapolis.
In the meantime, check out www.ebay.com.au
Enter the driver and scale into search (clicking the 'worldwide' option) and away you go.

[wayno]

Also don't be put off if it says US ship only. A lot of the time if you use paypal they will ship to you here in OZ. Good luck!

[GSXR1]

Thanks for that guys.

My work gets a monthly consignment of books out of the US, so I'm hoping I can possibly sweettalk the boss into letting me get them sent via our freight forwarder...I just wanted to suss out the Aussie stockist situation first though.

Anyone got any idea who distributes Action in Australia?

[wayno]

No one that I kow of. Mine have been OS purchases.

[GSXR1]

Both Gateway and Shopmotorsport list a few on their sites so I thought someone must be bringing them in.

I'm also pretty sure I saw a Jimmie Johnson car here on the Biante site a few months ago, but of course stupid me didn't grab it at the time and it now appears to be no longer listed...

[wayno]

Seems Jeff Gordon has qualified fastest for tomorrows race with Kahne in second. Sterling Marlin had a good run for third place with Ryan Newman in fourth.
Full grid here,
http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/cup/startingGrid?c ategoryId=168&gameId=20040828016
Kenseth in 23rd and Earnhardt Jnr in 30th!

[GSXR1]

Originally posted by wayno
Seems Jeff Gordon has qualified fastest for tomorrows race.

He is showing some good form at the right end of the season, although personally I hope he's not peaking too early... ;)

On the other hand Jimmie Johnson's bad run continues. While he qualified well (11th), he wrecked his primary car in a crash in yesterday's second practice session, so he will swap to a back-up car for the race, and therefore will have to start from the back of the grid.

Being Bristol there's bound to be carnage, so he'll have to be careful when trying to make his way back up through the field.

[wayno]

Gee it's nice to be able to watch a NASCAR race at a reasonable time on a Sunday morning here! That was one of the strangest Bristol races I've ever seen. 200 odd laps without a caution? I was absolutely amazed.
Great win for Junior. Good to see their campaign seems to be back on track now after a few problems over the last few races. Mark Martin made the same mistake pitting that Jeff Gordon did in the previous two races here which cost him an easy top five finish I feel. Gordon also copped a penalty for not restarting at the end of the longest line just after he got the 'lucky dog' pass to finally get back onto the lead lap!
Great to see good finishes to Ryan Newman and to see Jimmie Johnson's engine hold together for a full distance.
I'm a bit worried for Kasey Kahne. Only two races to go for the cut-off and if he's not careful he'll miss out.

[GSXR1]

Top effort by Dale Jnr to pull off the Busch / Cup double in the same weekend. Great recovery from Jimmie Johnson to come from the back to post a top three finish, and these two now join Jeff Gordon as the only ones to have assured themselves a place in the top ten whatever happens from here on.

Kevin Harvick keeps his position even though he had to pull out of the race when he lost feeling in his left arm, with Kyle Petty taking over the drive of the #29 car.

As much as I was against it initially, the Chase for the Championship is making this part of the season really interesting. Ryan Newman is now on the bubble, with a second place finish moving him up three spots to tenth.

But there are now only 45 points back to 15th position, so the next couple of weeks are going to be extremely important but there are going to be a few pretty disappointed drivers in a couple of weeks time.

[Goodwrench3]

Junior!!! Yeehaaaa!!!
Needless to say I was very happy about both of the weekends results. Especially the Cup race.
Will write further about this when in better nick - just back from the pub and an afternoon of celebration!!!

[moxo]

Veering slightly OT - Goodwrench - you wanted to see pix of my DE model? Take a look at the next issue of MRA - out at the end of September.

And Sherriffs have quite a few NASCARs in die-cast.


BM

[Dingo]

Originally posted by GSXR1
Just a general NASCAR/model query.

I currently don't have any NASCAR models in my collection, but am thinking of getting one or two.

Can anyone advise on the Action brand? ie quality, value for money etc

I've never seen any of this brand in the model shops I frequent, and only one or two at various Australian online retailers. Can anyone recommend any shops in particular that may stock them?
Maybe someone can clarify - was/is Biante the Australian distributor for Action Performance? I seem to remember reading somewhere that the Montoya 2000 Indy 500 winner being made by Action but distributed by Biante...?

[Kenseth17]

A real quality win by Junior.He was superb and it showed championship qualities.The chase is heating up but time is running out.......

[Goodwrench3]

This race for the chase is just unbelievable. What is it - 50 odd points cover 8th to 15th? I'm thinking I like the new points system!
Time will tell of course - but who is game to pick a Championship winner from here? You'd have to say Gordon of course, but ANYTHING can happen in those last 10 races. One DNF will be catostrophic.
BRING IT ON!!!!!

[Elvis]

Originally posted by GSXR1 [/i]
Can anyone advise on the Action brand? ie quality, value for money etc

Because Nascar is my favourite motorsport in the world,its the centre piece in my collection and i have a large range,The Action cars are great,but if your fussy,you might say the interior could have a little more detail-ie wires and team sponsors etc but if your not to fussy,for 1/24 its still very good.
I think the value for money is very good,the paint and decals etc are brilliant.
I know this isnt in Aus,but a really good site in the USA is www.winnerscircleinc.com,they ship to Aus,they have real photos of the cars(not computer images),they have a big range including older released models.
Hope this helps,any questions just ask;)

[GSXR1]

Originally posted by Elvis
Hope this helps,any questions just ask

Thanks for that, it does help.

I did get the impression that maybe their (Action) detail was a bit basic, but from what I've seen the finish looks good.

I'm only probably after three or four all up, representing a few of my favourite drivers.

From the little bit of searching I've done there seems to be a huge range available in the States, but I haven't had much luck tracking down too many in Australia, so sourcing from the US might be the way to go. I'll check out the website you mentioned as well.

Thanks for the feedback.

[Elvis]

[i]Originally posted by GSXR1
Thanks for that, it does help.

I'm only probably after three or four all up, representing a few of my favourite drivers.


Not a problem.

If your only after a 3 or 4 there perfect,and if you want 1 of those 3 or 4 to be different an Action raced win version is great,they have extra detail than the normal Actions like simulated race tape on the hood pins,front air intakes a small amount on the windows.
The lug nuts are a different colour than normal,theres a little bit of simulated chalk writing on the tires,black tire marks on the side of the car and general grease and grime.The raced win versions are pretty accurate,there not overdone like people would imagine they are.
And its a good thing you like Chevy drivers,because i personally think the Monte Carlos are the most accurate looking model compared to the Ford and Dodges which are great too,but just not quite 100%.

[Richard Poole]

Originally posted by Dingo
Maybe someone can clarify - was/is Biante the Australian distributor for Action Performance? I seem to remember reading somewhere that the Montoya 2000 Indy 500 winner being made by Action but distributed by Biante...?

At the time Biante were the distributor for Action but for some reason (before my time here so I'm not sure) no Montoya Indy winners came into Aus through Biante. I was hoping to add that one to my collection, and still am. We still get limited shipments of Action models as they are offered to us.

[Dingo]

Originally posted by Richard Poole
At the time Biante were the distributor for Action but for some reason (before my time here so I'm not sure) no Montoya Indy winners came into Aus through Biante. I was hoping to add that one to my collection, and still am. We still get limited shipments of Action models as they are offered to us.
Thanks for the info Richard - it was this auction that made me ask: eBay - Juan Montoya 2000 Indy Winner (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=50094&item=6919348830&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW)
without visiting the link, it does say that 19 were imported by Biante, was only wondering if that was correct :D

[Jack71]

This is a good topic, the Action NASCAR stuff. Should have it's own thread though cause people may miss it under the 'Bristol' race heading.
Great win by Earnhardt by the way. I thought 'here we go again' when he was running 32nd in the opening laps. Superb stuff.

[Kenseth17]

It would be great if more NASCAR stuff was available in Australia.Even if it is not in stock here, maybe it could be ordered from abroad.I suppose pricing might be an issue but it would be great anyway.

[GSXR1]

Originally posted by Jack71
This is a good topic, the Action NASCAR stuff. Should have it's own thread though cause people may miss it under the 'Bristol' race heading.

I did think about doing that when I made my initial post, but to be honest I didn't anticipate there would be much discussion.

I will start a new thread as I have some further things to talk about...

If anyone's interested I'll see you over on the thread titled NASCAR models ;)