What's up with Nascar?

[Quiggs]

NASCAR does take a lot of skill and knowledge, as does any form of racing. NASCAR has some great drivers that are very talented. In fact I remember when Speed Channel had the special were Jeff Gordon got to take a spin in the Williams FW25 and the Indy course. His best lap was 3 or 4 seconds off the qualifying times at Indy. That's pretty impressive for someone who's never driven a Grand Prix car.

And JPM could barely keep the 3400 pound stock car going straight.

NASCAR is more close competition than a lot of European series. A four hour, 500 mile race decided by tenths of a second. As opposed to that red Ferrari streaking away from everything in sight. Or a LM race, where the winner is 3 laps ahead of the rest of the field.

As for the cars not being based on their production counterparts; that was done is the interests of safety and competition. The cars are built to certain specs to make keep costs lower. Also, a team doesn't need $400,000,000 to be competitive. It's somewhere closer to $20,000,000 for a 36 race season, including 7 test weeks.

As for the whole 'it's easy to turn left' philosophy. No. It isn't.

K, I'll stop ranting...

[Coventrysucks]

Also NASCAR racers, unlike most of todays F1 drivers, compete in other racing series. Tony Stewart races sprint cars and midgets i think and Jeff Gordon regularly wins rally car races (not WRC of course, but rallies none the less)

I think that comment is a bit naive.

Where do you think F1 drivers come from?
They don't just "hop in", they have to work their way up through the ranks of motorsport.

Many F1 drivers have competed in many different types of motorsport.
Mark Webber, Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard, Johnny Herbert, Alan McNish and many others have all raced in sucessfully in sports cars and at Le Mans, for instance.

The reason that no F1 drivers compete in other motorsports is because they hae exclusive contracts.

Michael Schumacher earned £40 million odd last year, and is worth a lot more to Ferrari if he wins the WDC and MC, and he has value for his sponsors as well.
If he were to break his leg racing on a "weekend off", that would be devastating for Ferrari's F1 campaign. So they don't take the risk, and there are probably a lot of things about that in his contract.

[Ferrari Tifosi]

I think that comment is a bit naive.

Where do you think F1 drivers come from?
They don't just "hop in", they have to work their way up through the ranks of motorsport.

Many F1 drivers have competed in many different types of motorsport.
Mark Webber, Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard, Johnny Herbert, Alan McNish and many others have all raced in sucessfully in sports cars and at Le Mans, for instance.

The reason that no F1 drivers compete in other motorsports is because they hae exclusive contracts.

Michael Schumacher earned £40 million odd last year, and is worth a lot more to Ferrari if he wins the WDC and MC, and he has value for his sponsors as well.
If he were to break his leg racing on a "weekend off", that would be devastating for Ferrari's F1 campaign. So they don't take the risk, and there are probably a lot of things about that in his contract.

Not to mention that F1 drivers all start carting at a young age. I know in the case of the Schumachers, their parents owned a carting track and that's were they got their start in motor racing.

[NAZCA C2]

i would just like to say that CART sucks

and thnx to the internet for making this all possible

up until about 3 years ago CART was the best racing series in the world!!!! now it sucks!

[Matra et Alpine]

up until about 3 years ago CART was the best racing series in the world!!!! now it sucks!

well depends on definition of racing.
I'm not a great fan of controlled engines, chassis, suspension etc.
F1 is heading that way without bothering to learn the lesson

[NAZCA C2]

NASCAR IS JUNK!

They only race 2 road courses all year long. (The Glen and Sonoma)
How many times can u go round a circle?
Everytime I see NASCAR highlights something is on fire.
Drivers throw their helmets at cars on the track. (this would never happen in F1 or any real racing series)
Drivers wreck into everything (why does NASCAR have so many wrecks in the pits?)
Cars have looked the same since the Reagan administration.
Cars are sponsored by some weird companies. (what guy would want to drive a car with Viagra stickers all over it?)
Painted on headlights.
Too many drivers named Dale.

[NAZCA C2]

Hey Matra, in what series does every car in the field have a chance to win?

[Coventrysucks]

I don't understand why so many Americans find it entertaining.

Have they never seen other types of motor racing (drag racing excepted)?

Do they seriously think that NASCAR is more entertaining that say, touring cars of some description?

[NAZCA C2]

I don't understand why so many Americans find it entertaining.

Have they never seen other types of motor racing (drag racing excepted)?

Do they seriously think that NASCAR is more entertaining that say, touring cars of some description?

You are exactly right! NASCAR fans all must have never watched any other type of racing. If you watch a WRC, Moto GP, CART (prior to 2001), F1, or touring car race and still think NASCAR is great then obviously you have suffered some type of head trauma in your life.

[Matra et Alpine]

Hey Matra, in what series does every car in the field have a chance to win?

THAT doesn't make it racing
Could be just random chance - in fact for EVERY driver to win it would almost certainly HAVE to be random !!
Making all the cars the same is OK for lower levels of racing - FF, FormulaRenault, PalmerAudi etc.
Top levels of sport are also about the engineering and the variation which requires diffrent driver skills.
I'm not anti these other forms, they have their place, but like communism, making it all the same doesn't make it better

[sandwich]

worst thread ever.

I believe the idea behind nascar is to pit drivers against each other, whereas in most any other race it is car vs. car. The challenge is to see who can maintain the fastest speeds and therefore win the race. Pit accidents probably happen because more time is lost in the pits than in several laps.

That being said.... I don't want nascar. It appears to me to be more of an excuse to get loaded than to watch serious racing. I would pay good money to see a rally or ALMS race....but you can't really "see" a rally (hey there's a car.......hey there's a car.....hey there's a car.....) and ALMS is a lot less popular. Though I did go to the local sports bar to see last years Canadian event.

Of course...if you want to talk about redneck motorsports, let's talk about monster trucks, which is the best form of racing EVER.

GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVE DIGGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER

[MrVette83]

I don't understand why so many Americans find it entertaining.

Have they never seen other types of motor racing (drag racing excepted)?

Do they seriously think that NASCAR is more entertaining that say, touring cars of some description?

I think its success all boils down to convience. NASCAR races are run on Sunday primarily with the exception of a few Saturday night races "Under the Lights". Sunday is a day that a lot of people in America like to kick back, relax and watch TV. They're mostly aired live as well meaning they're aired that afternoon, they're always on the larger networks(NBC and FOX run a split schedule of 18 races each), this means the races are right there fro the watching. F1 is usually aired on Speed channel on Sunday mornings when many people are asleep, other forms of auto racing that may or may not also be aired on Speed(a channel not everyone has) come on at less convenient times as well. In my oppinion its popularity just boils down to the fact that for those people who don't have cable or satelite it's a program on television that's just there for the watching. I appologize for the length of my explanation.

[MrVette83]

Was is last year that the guy who won 6 out of 18 races, did not win the championship and a guy who only won once did?

Yes, last year Ryan Newman won 5 or 6 of the 36 race season while Matt Kenseth only won one and still won the championship. The key there that many people don't look at is the fact that Matt Kenseth was consistantly near the front of the field with only one DNF the whole season I think it was. Newman on the other hand was either in front or in the back, he was very rarely in between and had several DNFs. It's not that hard to get lucky somewhat throughout the season but to stay consistant and strong through the duration of the season(8 or 9 months) takes talent and teamwork.

[Coventrysucks]

What would happen if a touring car series, GT or F1 races replace NASCAR on the Sunday afternoon TV schedule though?

Would NASCAR fans suddenly become enlightened?
Would there be rioting?

[MrVette83]

What would happen if a touring car series, GT or F1 races replace NASCAR on the Sunday afternoon TV schedule though?

Would NASCAR fans suddenly become enlightened?
Would there be rioting?

Who knows, could be, I also think that the loyalty many Americans have to the sport is that it reminds them of the past, the days before there was a global society with mass media and they would sit down on a Sunday afternoon with their fathers and watch the Pettys, Yarboroughs, and the Foyts.