NASCAR Rant

[ccm911]

Let's face it, a chimp in a suit could drive in circles at high speeds.  And to top it off, he would probably have much better diction skills.

We watched Daytona the other day while working on my house.  And you know what?  The guys on the track looked like thay had a more boring time than I did scraping paint.

It embarrases me to be an American when I see that junk on TV.  Do folks in Europe think we all talk like like a bunch of Cletus', while driving our rusted out pickups with worn out couches in the beds?

At least Pro wrestling requires some dexterity and talent, regardless of the scripting.

It is interesting to watch the early Winston Cup races from the sixties and seventies.  Guess what?  It really was "Stock Car Racing".  They ran road courses in big American cars and it was a thing of beauty.  I mean, Junior Johnson was actually young once!  And they all looked like criminals, but they drove with a skill level right up there with the F1 and Indy guys.

What happened?  "Money changes everything...."

Am I the only one out there that feels this way?

[catchacab]

Chris,

"Stock Car" racing has changed.  I remember fondly watching the races on TV, when the cars on the track were or at least resembled what you can buy in the Showroom.  Driving in circles can be boring, where the excitement comes in is from the passing, and you don't even need a point by.  This is one of the reasons F1 hasn't been popular recently in the US.  The lack of passing is a major issue in F1 (and there are many reasons for this issue, too lengthy to be discussed in this post).  We can't deny the skills of the NASCAR drivers and the level of competition.  Many NASCAR drivers drove various dirt/asphalt/midgets/carts etc, and many drive Rolex/GA (Vive la France).  If the F1 drivers are so far superior to NASCAR, why is Montoya doing so poorly?

Road Racing is a tough sell in the US, the crowd at the race only get to see a small portion of the race (unlike the ovals), the manufacturers involved in RR generally don't cater to racing fans.  The majority of Porsche owners (note, I did not say PCA members) would more likely be more comfortable going to the ballet than to the Glen.  Also, many of those who drive cars from manufacturers who compete in RR, aren't interested in spending 38 Sundays watching the sport, they are busy living their life, or in Philadelphia watchin the IGGLES during a dozen of the races.  If the BIG THREE would heavily participate, support and market RR, it would increase interest.

NASCAR has gone corporate.  Every commercial during a race has at least one driver as a spokesman.  It is important to the racing teams to develop a good spokesman or face as well as a driver.

RR has generally not developed or promoted the drivers marketability well enough to make the drivers house hold names.  How many NASCAR drivers can your next door neighbor name?  It is all marketing.  But then, what happens when RR becomes corporate? Do you really want what you wish for?

It can be dangerous when you go corporate.  Work for some Bahamian Insurance Company, wear a suit (or at least own one, or maybe be able to borrow one from a friend).  One never knows what will come forth from the corporate mouth piece.

[Wellardmac]

Yeah, I'd take F1 over NASCAR anyday. The cars are so far from "stock" that they're as big a joke as their painted on headlights.

Racing around an oval just doesn't do it for me. Excitement in overtaking? I guess I'm not easily excited.

In my limited experience it seems to me that he leaderboard is more dictated by the skill of the pit crew (in getting cars in and out quickly) and luck (rather than driving skill). In the few races I've watched, I walked away pretty much convinced that like wrestling the performance was fixed. How else can it be that some cars can go into the pits and move up and down the ranking by 15 places and others don't move. I can suspend reality only so long.

...and a nice quote I heard a week or so ago, "you're not trying hard enough if you're not cheating." Nice.

[Marty Kocse]

There was a time when the having a Ford vs Chevy vs Plymouth meant something.  My first race was at Darlington in the 70's over Labor Day weekend - man it was HOT!  I remember distinctly how Cale Yarborough and David Pearson were so much faster than the other cars that day.  It was pretty cool watching them go around at super sonic speeds while the others still messed with their setups. 

Now, all the cars are almost identical.  They use a single tire, have restrictor plates, have aerodynamic tolerances, and even suspension setups mandated at some tracks.  As far as the cars go, what do they have today that can distinguish one from another?  Nothing.  They want them all to be exactly the same and put in place guidelines to keep them that way.  They might as well change the name from NASCAR to IROC. 

What they need is for some more differences to exist between the cars and let the drivers/crew chiefs have more freedom to make changes that will distinguish their car from the others.

Oh yeah, I stood next to the KING, "Richard Petty", and believe it or not, got to shake Jackie Stewart's hand as he crossed through the infield (he was reporting on the race).  It was a great day.

[Wellardmac]

To me the best racing I've ever seen was the RAC Rally in the UK.

...early morning forest stage, started before dawn... pitch dark, damned cold (early spring)... cars roaring through the dirt tracks of the Yorkshire forests at high speed... spectators right at the side of the track as cars scream by.

I was soooo cold, but the driving was the best I've ever seen.... negotiating trees at faster than road speeds in the dark is just amazing... being able to wander around the cars as they assemble before and after the race.. seeing the crews working on them... now that's a racing experience and requires skill.

...that was back in the days when the Audi Quattro dominated rallies.

[ccm911]

Wellardmac wrote:

...that was back in the days when the Audi Quattro dominated rallies.

Ahhh.... A Michele Mouton fan!

"Those were the days my friends, we thought they'd never end, we'd sing and dance forever and a day...."

Rally rocks!! Maybe even more so than F1. I have seen them drive in t-shirts!

[bobt993]

You guys crack me up.  Driving W2W in Nascar is alot more challenging than you think.  Chris, I hope this is just one of your paper filling rants.   It's hard enough to circle a track on a rolling start 3 wide at 120mph let alone 185 on a banked oval in a car that wants to turn, not go straight.  Ask Larry, he had his hands full at Daytona just holding a line around the oval at 150. 

[Wellardmac]

ccm911 wrote:

[Ahhh.... A Michele Mouton fan!

She rocked!

I wish I could remember more of the big names from then... but that was around 25-30 years ago - my father used to take me to lots of rallies, he was and still is a rally/F1 freak.

bobt993 wrote:

You guys crack me up. Driving W2W in Nascar is alot more challenging than you think.

I don't doubt how challenging it is, but it's about as exciting as watching the Texas Rangers play baseball.

[APXD 30]

Wellardmac wrote:

ccm911 wrote:

[Ahhh.... A Michele Mouton fan!

She rocked!

I wish I could remember more of the big names from then... but that was around 25-30 years ago - my father used to take me to lots of rallies, he was and still is a rally/F1 freak.

I wasn't alive or in diapers then, but even know about Michele oh la la!

bobt993 wrote:

You guys crack me up. Driving W2W in Nascar is alot more challenging than you think.

It is incredibly difficult to run three wide at 185mph...the whole time knowing that its really about high speed bumper cars. I watched the D500 and my father loves this stuff....didn't 18 out of 43 cars finish? They build a safe car and design it so the pack is too close together. 6 seconds shouldn't separate first from last place in my opinion.

[Brian Minkin]

It may not be exciting to watch but I do believe that it takes a lot of skill and talent.  I know that even on the banking at Pocono doing 135 its"s a lot of work to keep my car from driving towards the wall.  Doing that for 500 miles and running close and 2 or 3 wide.  I would be in a coma.