OK, question for you NASCAR fans...

[BG]

Will someone please explain to me whattheheck is happening with NASCAR these days?

I used to be a big fan, growing up near Darlington and all that, but kind of lost touch as the years passed... I Replay-ed the Daytona race this year, watched it and discovered I'm not a fan of restrictor-plate racing. So Sunday I Replay-ed the Busch race from Mexico City, thinking I might find road course racing a little more interesting, and finally finished watching it tonight.

My conclusion is that NASCAR is afraid to let drivers race! Can't pass on the right(or is it left, the officials seem somewhat unclear on that one) after a restart, can't "hold back" on the restart, leader whining about Borris Said doing that during the closing laps of this particular race? Why not? I believe it's called "racing", not "Follow the Leader"... And my favorite, the infamous "Caution" with the pace car out. 6 laps to go, car spins out in a corner, no contact, driver waits for the field to pass and gets back on course, and we have to watch the pace car lead the field around until there's only 2 laps left. And not just this instance... 9 or 10 cautions/w/pace car during the race, some just a car went off track in a non-impact area, got back on track, but still got a pace car for 3 or 4 laps. I guess they pay the pace-car driver by the hour and he has a minimum so they figure they might as well get their money's worth.

Cautions for "debris on the track"! I can understand oil slicks, tires, transmissions, or drivers laying on the race line but little scraps of sheet metal or duct tape?? Drive around them ferCrissakes! Can you imagine the traffic if they put the pace car out for "debris on the track" on 285? I was coming thru Canton the other day passing a truck on 575 and came around the infamous 20W/140 underpass only to be confornted by a 20' aluminum walkboard (kind of like an extension ladder on steroids) in the middle of the left lane. 70+mph, put 2 wheels on the grass, went past and didn't even slow down. In a soccer-mom SUV no less! (that's not to say I didn't suddenly come down with a major case of the tight-a%*). Are you telling me these professional racers need a pace car to let them get by a driver's glove on the track? Gimme a break, PUHLEEZE!

I enjoyed what racing there was, but the joy was overcome by the officials stopping the race to let everyone catch up.... Has Nascar gone the PC route these days? No wonder 31 out of 38 starters finished on the lead lap! I guess the other 7 DNF'd.... And whassup wid dis letting the first lapped car behind the leader "catch up" and get back on the lead lap? If you get lapped you get lapped and you need to stay there unless you go faster! YOU'RE SLOW! That's why you got passed by 38 cars! Maybe next race you'll have some incentive to drive better or you can go back to the Divie Speedway!

I've been following the F1 races for the last 4 years and I thought FIA had a major problem with the TA thing but they're not even close to what Nascar has become! At least they're not afraid to let one manufacturer/team combo prove it's better than another. And it takes a major catastrophe on a F1 circuit to bring out the pace car, otherwise they flag a local caution, which means no passing but run all out everywhere else. Maybe NASCAR should start paying the pace car driver by the lap and then they'd have some incentive to keep his a$@ in the pits until he's really needed.

I really don't mean to cast aspersions on anyone's favorite pastime, but this ain't racing. It's kind of like pro wrestling, I think they call it "Sports Entertainment". Poor Fireball Roberts (yes, Virginia, I used to watch him race..) must be spinning in his grave....

Bill

[Speck]

All due to the France family's effort to expand the fan base. (Read: to move up on that richest Americans list)

Yep NASCAR has changed. I'm no fan of restrictor plate racing either. I understand that something had to be done to slow these guys down after Wild Bill posted his 212 mph at 'Dega, but after all these years with plates I think maybe it's time for some other solution.

Don't like the "Lucky Dog" pass either. I think it was a compromise thing to get the drivers to buy in to the idea of not racing back to the line after the caution, a decision which I think has obviously made it much safer out there. While we're on that subject, how about allowing only the cars 1 lap down on the inside line on the restart? What's the deal with a guy 15 laps down trying to get a lap back?

Cautions are way too long. They keep the pits closed for an extra lap which is stupid most of the time, then they run an extra caution lap so everybody has time to pit. Also stupid.

But as much as I dislike them I'll take Kurt and Kyle Busch over Barry Bonds, Litterell Sprewell and Terrell Owens any day.



Go Pettys and Evernhams !!!

[spinboy]

a pace car on 285...funny. I could've used one on 75 a while back when I very large tire tread destroyed the friend end of a truck I USED to have.

No wonder I don't like NASCAR. Its fans don't even seem to....

[fishinbub]

The only thing I like about restrictor plate racin is the big wrecks.

[BG]

But since the F1 and ALMS seasons have started, I'm gonna have to forego Nascar in favor of some real racing...

Although F1 is getting almost as bad as Nascar... I love their latest "cost-reduction" effort, going from the 3-liter V10 they've been using for the last 10+ years to a 2.4 liter V8. Never mind that the 6 engine manufacturers collectively spent a billion dollars(yes, Virginia, that's $1,000,000,000.00!) developing the V8, or the fact that it revs higher and produces more vibration than the V10... And they kept the rules that requires the teams to use the same engine for 2 consecutive race weekends so the V8's have to be subjected to far stricter QC requirements, resulting in 3 or 4 engine's worth of parts being thrown out for every one that makes it to the track...

And they've really slowed the cars down, too... Another desired consequence of the new rules changes. Why, just 2 weeks ago at Malaysia the fastest race lap was almost a second under the track record set by a V10 in 2004! On a track almost 3 miles long.... If they slow them down much more, I think I'll just go back to watching paint dry on my weekends.....

At least they got rid of the stupid rule mandating one set of tires for qualifying and the race, it's a wonder they didn't kill somebody last year with that!

But, Lordy, Lordy, them boys do go fast! Better than 210mph on a 1-mile straight after coming through a chicane or off a hairpin.... 4+ g's on corners(and they turn right, too!) and 5 g's or better on braking... And none of that sissy "banking" stuff! And they do it on courses with 15-20 turns in a 2-1/2 to 3-mile lap, about an average 250 mile race. You gotta have some mighty big attachments to strap yourself into one of those cars and go out and play with the big boys...

And they start like real racers, too! Everybody stops on the grid, the green flag drops, and off they go! None of this lapped cars to the inside, can't pass on the outside(or is it inside?), rolling start after 2 or 3 warm-up laps, do-it-right or do-it-over stuff...

And they don't look for excuses to bring out the pace car every time somebody gets close to needing a refill... In fact, after the first 2 races this year, umpteen cars retired due to crashes, mechanical failure, or just plain drove off the track, there has yet to be even one lap run under a full-course caution! Imagine that.....

Sorry, Nascar, I'll have to keep on watching real racing until the season's over, then maybe I'l see you again if I don't have to mow the yard or clean the basement or watch some paint dry....

Bill

[mb90535im]

If you like F1 you will get a kick out of this:

http://www.isitcool.com/ferrari/index.html

[Drifter]

I can't wait to get my tickets for next year's race in Malaysia



212.809 mph
Talladega, Alabama 1987

[skibum]

F1??? Ya there's nothing like watching a race where the leader is 15sec ahead of everyone else. The closest passing you'll see there is coming out of the pits.. F1 has'nt been the same since Senna died.. Who cares what motor they use or how fast they go or how much money they spend.. Those cars are so spread out there's no real side by side racing... Then this 1 or 2 or 3 pit stops.. Kinda like watching musical chairs.. When the first three cars are more than 30+ sec apart, thats like watching paint dry.. Wanna watch close racing go watch the Indy cars... They have those cars so close to each other it's a wonder someone does'nt die at every race.. Racing 4-6 cars within .100sec of each other is crazy, but it'll keep you on the edge of your seat.. Only thing F1 does for me is, well, nothing.. I mean come on, after about 3 laps, the excitement is over.. But i got it TiVo'd just in case

[BG]

there's actually quite a lot of passing going on this year, not to mention the safety car came out 4 times last week in Australia. Of course the pole winner is most likely to win the race, but that's true in most cases except for endurance races, right?

IRL? Lem'me see, they all use the Dellara chassis, Honda engines, same Firestone tires.... Wonder why the lead pack stays so tight? Sounds kinda like a spec' car series to me..... Or 'purt near to one, anyways.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching the first 2 IRL races this year and plan to watch the rest, but it is what it is....

For example, last weekend the F1 boys ran at Australia, a 3.3 mile circuit, 58 laps for a total of 191 miles. The winner completed the race in 1hour, 34 minutes for an average speed of about 122 mph. Castronueves won the St. Pete IRL race, 100 laps at 1.8 miles, 180 miles total, in 1 hour, 56 minutes. Average speed, 92 mph. Both street courses, similar conditions and cautions, kind of a big difference in speed...

Of course, you could probably field the whole IRL series for what it costs to fund a F1 team, so I guess you gets what you pays for....

Granted, in the St. Pete race, the first 4 drivers finished within .8 sec, but here's a quote from the winner: ""I drove it like I stole it," Castroneves said.", referring to the fact that he took away Dixon's 15-sec lead when Dixon made his last pit stop. Talk about the best passing coming out of the pits ...But a good race overall, I'll watch it again anyday! And what a finish the week before at Homestead!

At Australia, Alonso in the Renault finished 1.8 sec. ahead of Raikonnen in the Mercedes, 24.8 sec. ahead of Schumacher in the Toyota, and 31 sec. in front of Heidfeld in the BMW. A 31-second spread after 191 miles of street circuit among 4 different chassis/engine manufacturers using 2 different brands of tires on a rain-washed street circuit.... I'll watch this one again, too!

BTW, the Toyota Atlantic cars finish real close, too, same for the Mazda series or any other spec series, that's what they're all about....

Personally, I prefer seeing different manufacturers taking their own individual approach to reaching the state of the art, to me that's what racing's all about.

Bill

P.S. Drifter, you can have Malaysia, I'll be booking my flight to Monaco next year....