question for Nascar fans + a rant!

Nascar went in the toilet with the whole "Chase" format. If you want good racing - Fire 90% of the Nascar officials, Burn the rule book - create a one page guideline - length/width/height/weight, safety, and those that can will, those that can't will go back to the farm leages.
 
I agree, I've been quite bored this year (except on short tracks) with the racing. Lets go back to the days when the cars looked like cars, could actually pass each other, and the racing was real (no mysterious debris cautions). I tend to record them now, the fast forward through most of the race, better things to watch on the TV (like MotoGP and World Superbike racing)
 
Well then. If so many fans are unhappy... drivers are unhappy... Why is racing taking this type of a course?

It has to have something to do with the money. I don't know how that all works, but some way, money is involved with current trend in NASCAR.
 
I've ventured away from NASCAR as I got older and now prefer Formula 1 and ALMS racing. I need road courses - not boring ovals/tri ovals. I did catch some of the Talladega race with my father in law (huge NASCAR fan) and I was impressed with what looks like a 200MPH freight train inches apart but I can understand your rant in that it's lost it's spectacle.

To me the pinnacle of racing on the planet is F1 but it isn't without it's rules politics and dictatorship governance.
 
I love Nascar's intentions. They are trying to make the cars as close as possible to create the most parity in the series. The more technology in the cars the more difficult they are to police. I love that Nascar uses carburetors, that there are no variable valve timing, no crazy carbon brakes, and even though they use an electronic ignition system they force the teams to mount them on the dash so that they are in plain sight.

In any other series in the world the car that wins is the one that spends the most money on engineering, or cheats... unless the driver is complete moron.

F1 cars are ridiculously amazing. To idle around 9K and then peak at 17k is unbelievable even if they have a short stroke. The downforce they generate and the most impressive aspect of those cars are the brakes in my opinion.
I love the cars but in my opinion the racing is irrelevant even if it is a team sport.

My biggest concerns for Nascar are its obsession with safety and sponsorship. It's getting to the point where drivers are earning spots in the series based on what sponsorship they can bring and not on there talent. And secondly I feel like Nascar has taken safety to far. The danger involved is part of what makes the sport entertaining.

Restrictor plate racing is a nightmare. The only solution I can think of is to used V6's instead in that race. But even then that race turns into an endurance race if the cars aren't bunched up. Personally I would rather Nascar open up the road course at Daytona and look into doing the same at Talladega.. But I doubt it will ever happen because of the history there.
 
Puckman said:
I've ventured away from NASCAR as I got older and now prefer Formula 1 and ALMS racing. I need road courses - not boring ovals/tri ovals. I did catch some of the Talladega race with my father in law (huge NASCAR fan) and I was impressed with what looks like a 200MPH freight train inches apart but I can understand your rant in that it's lost it's spectacle.

To me the pinnacle of racing on the planet is F1 but it isn't without it's rules politics and dictatorship governance.
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Puck you watch the last laguna seca race (ALMS)? That was some driving worth watching. :drool5:
 
Junebug said:
Nascar went in the toilet with the whole "Chase" format. If you want good racing - Fire 90% of the Nascar officials, Burn the rule book - create a one page guideline - length/width/height/weight, safety, and those that can will, those that can't will go back to the farm leages.
Click to expand...

Boy, do I agree with you !!! Looking more like F1 all the time. Pretty soon they'll have "team orders". Just let the guys race each other, whoever has the most points at the end of the season WINS. What a novel idea. I also agree that Dale would be livid!:banghead:
 
Guys, what did you expect from a sport that has it's "Super Bowl" the first race of the season! lol. Just kidding... kind of!
 
thecarter13 said:
Puck you watch the last laguna seca race (ALMS)? That was some driving worth watching. :drool5:
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Unfortunately I missed the last race of the season at LS but have watched that last lap probably 10 times on You Tube!!! Magnuson's gotta reconcile the 'ole live by the sword, die by the sword. He bumps Borgmeister then loses it. Although I would too if driven into the wall.

I like the fact that older guys like me are driving the snot out of those cars - guys like Alan McNish and Gill deFerran.

I'm a big Rahal Letterman fan because they campaign the new M3 in GT2 but they have a lot of work to do. They pulled off a class win in Japan last week and are flirting with a LeMans invite (woohoo!!!!!!!). Maybe things are looking up for Milner.

(Don't mean to threadjack).

Funny comment about NASCAR's Super Bowl being the Daytona 500 - 1st race of the season!
 
F1 is a joke now a days. The race is decided after the race sometimes, some teams skirting the rules where others would get penalized if they had the same setup. Hopefully it gets better as I used to be a huge fan.

ALMS is awesome, bumping, crashing, tons of passes. That is what racing needs to be. I wish they had touring car racing over here, from what i've seen in clips, it looks great (those guys really use the bumpers, doors, rear quarters, whatever it takes to win).
 
Newbie rant!

Ok, I'm a bit of a neanderthal, but is there anywhere we can watch 'classic' nascar races? I haven't watched a complete race since I was a little kid and I remember liking Cale Yarborough (cause he was a guest star on the Dukes of Hazard once, haha).

I just can't stand all the hype, the corporate sponsorship plastered on everything, and all the crazy cgi stuff that pops up on the screen is distracting. I just want to see the cars race. I don't care about what kind of underwear Jeff Gordon wears, or what Dale Jr does on his day off, or how many freaking slide outs the team motor home has!

Oh, and I want real cars! If you asked Richard Petty or Fireball Roberts to race a 4 dr sedan back in the day you'd have been punched...Hell, remember when the Grand National cars were convertibles!? Now they're all the same cars (templates!!??) with essentially the same components. And there are millions spent on aerodynamics, tires and handling but they have to restrict the motors? What's the point?

And who the f**^ decided it was cool to have via*gra sponsor a car? What's next, tampons!?

Historically, I think Nascar started on this trend when they banned the hemi and the winged cars...After that there was a clear message that creativity was out and uniformity was in. After that it was all 70's land barges and not long after that we get the carbon copy cars...

Dammit, now I'm mad....Where's my coffee...
 
Bella Strada - Dale Jr. used to host a show where they would rebroadcast old NASCAR races - forgot the name of the show but I'm talking 60's, 70's races. It was great to see names I've forgotten about over the years and back when they had local car dealers sponsoring the cars! It may still be on Speed channel or maybe SpikeTV.
 
I believe Speed Channel still shows some races. They are however mid afternoonish like 1 to 4 or something along those lines. Its called like NASCAR Classics or something.
 
Puckman said:
Bella Strada - Dale Jr. used to host a show where they would rebroadcast old NASCAR races - forgot the name of the show but I'm talking 60's, 70's races. It was great to see names I've forgotten about over the years and back when they had local car dealers sponsoring the cars! It may still be on Speed channel or maybe SpikeTV.
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That show is called "Back In The Day". Hasn't been on Speed for awhile now, maybe a couple years. I think you can find clips on You Tube.

Almost all his footage came from an automotive show called "Car And Track". Speedvision (later Speed Channel) broadcast those old shows just as they were produced. Sometime later Speed sort of repackaged and edited the shows just to focus on the old school NASCAR footage and got Dale Jr to host it as "Back In The Day".

I think in the future you will see more of that old footage as the new NASCAR Hall Of Fame now has access to NASCAR's inventory of racing footage. Some of it is being restored for use at the new HOF and I would guess it will end up on DVD's for sale.
 
Im with Puckman - the only real "racing" where the fastest car with the best pit strategy wins is Formula-1 or the ALMS Series, run on road racing tracks in Europe and the rest of the world outside of the US.
And as he has already said, even this F-1 racing is not without its own unique set of "drama" and all kinds of crazy stuff, nevertheless, it still appeals to me because its racing, every man for himself, no parades of cars all going the same speed; everyone is paddle shifting the heck out of ther 8-speed transmissions, enduring huge accelaration, cornering and braking G forces, and on and on..
I gave up on the roundy-roundy cars years ago and have not looked back, sorry if this sounds mean, its not intended to.

I just want to see good drivers pit their best driving skills and machines against others on courses that are way more demanding, and running about the same top end speed as our US NASCAR,etc., drivers do. Its the different challenges they have to deal with that keeps me interested, along with a certain amount of drama that exists because these are for the most part, the best drivers in the world that hold a Formula-1 License..

I dont even care much to watch the Indy500 anymore either, but I did a few years ago, attend the next to the last F-1 race there and it was incredible to see and hear those 900-1000hp little V8's go flying by or better still be underneath them in the tunnel and hear them go by over your head!! Even with earplugs, we were slightly deaf for the rest of the day..

I know, we should support our home town guys first and all, and I do, and keep up with them to a certain extent, but like it has been said, you can only watch so much roundy-round, and then you want to get up and go do something more constructive..

DanF
 
The CampingWorld(Craftsman series) Truck races are the way to go, if you like the "Nascar format". Shorter races, so the drivers are active from lap 1.

Another great form of racing is Speedway (motorcycles). Directv is showcasing the FIM Worldchampships. Go Greg Handcock(USA rider). :)

Bottom line for me watching Nascar races, DVR it! Skip to the last 25 laps and enjoy.
 
I agree with the op. It is also the same with drag racing. They call it bracket racing now. Has nothing to do with how fast the car is just who can call their time the closest without breaking out. Run them cars and may the best/fastest car win!!:thumbup:
 
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