NASCAR from a Brit

[Kbrick]

British tv show "Fifth Gear" sent their race car driver reporter to Florida to drive a Cup car...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfCjk...eature=related

Nice job Tiff.

[johnpeter]

I saw the last NASCAR race at Riverside Raceway on the road course, prolly in '87. It was called East Meets West. I must say that was fun to watch.

On an asphalt/concrete oval NASCAR is boring...to the point of wanting to suck on a gun boring, only the spectacular crashes are note worthy and most of those are posted on U-Tube in a few days anywho.
In short, NASCAR sucks!

Now night racing, on a dirt oval, under the lights, be it sprints, midgets, AMA class C, Jalopies, destruction derby, figure 8 or whatever, is THE true Americana of racing.

Next!

[bunkyone]

Johnpeter: I agree with you, NASCAR as it races today, is boring!! You can't tell one car from the others, they all look alike, other then the nose piece, and they stopped being "stock cars" twenty years ago or more!! Racing on dirt, day or night, cars or bikes is wasy more intertaining!! Vaya con Dios, Dutch

[mdillon3]

the best comparison I've ever heard is that NASCAR is like watching skittles get flused down the toilet.

[535IS]

they stopped being "stock cars" twenty years ago or more!!

More like forty. It was 1967 when NASCAR first allowed a major deviation from stock when they let full-size front subframes get shoe-horned into the first intermediate body cars they allowed to race. Then, they froze the drivetrain rules to outlaw the big blocks and require solid axles and carburetors forever. You could no longer go into a showroom, buy a car, strip out the interior, add a roll cage and an extra set of heavy-duty shocks and go racing - at least not if you wanted to be competitive. Within about three years, the cars were completely tube-framed silhouette racers with nearly indistinguishable small blocks - and I'd lost interest.

[bunkyone]

535; Your right, of course, how time flies... I remember Smoky Yunics Chevelle back in (I believe) '67. How about the "bannana" fords of around the same time? For those of you who are younger then dirt, Yunics was accused of building a 3/4 scale Chevelle that was somewhat narrower than stock, reducing frontal area. The bananna fords where Galaxies with their rear deck sloped upwards, forming a spoiler of sorts... Oh for the good ole' days of open cheating!!! Those were the days!! (Yep, I AM older then dirt!!) Vaya con Dios, Dutch

[20774]

British tv show "Fifth Gear" sent their race car driver reporter to Florida to drive a Cup car...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfCjk...eature=related

Is this link dead or moved? It doesn't look right to me...

[mfifer]

Well , sorry guys , I still like NASCAR and the majority of the drivers.
I am glad I didn't give up on motorcycles when the 2 strokes stopped being made.
I thought THAT was the end of the world. Now we have F1 drivers in NASCAR!
I am liking WRC racing a lot



, just wish they had more of it on TV. Hate Drifting!
Nothing like a good old figure 8 trailer race though!!

Mike

[bunkyone]

Mike; Rally racing is pretty cool. There are several held here in Michigan each year and they make great spectator sports. Of course we learn to drive like this up here anyway!! You haven't lived until you've banked your pick-up off a five foot snow bank at 45 MPH to make a corner!! Great fun!! (For real excitment, you should try ice racing... Vaya con Dios, Dutch

[535IS]

535; Your right, of course, how time flies... I remember Smoky Yunics Chevelle back in (I believe) '67.

Smokey Yunick's Chevelle was a '67 - and it was ~7/8 scale; otherwise it would have been too noticeable.

How about the "bannana" fords of around the same time?

1966. Junior Johnson's "Holly Farms" Galaxie, driven by Fred Lorenzen. Only got to run once before banned. Called 'banana' because, among other things, it was yellow.




Smokey was also known for getting fed up with NASCAR tech inspectors one day as they looked for an irregular fuel source. After they removed the fuel tank and couldn't find anything, Smokey got into the car and drove off - leaving the fuel tank behind.

[johnpeter]

Smokey got into the car and drove off - leaving the fuel tank behind.

I seem to recall that part of the frame was filled with fuel. YIKES!

<3 Smokey read his books.

[mfifer]

I seem to recall that part of the frame was filled with fuel. YIKES!

<3 Smokey read his books.

AJ Foyt was commenting , in his autobiography , on someone accusing him of having a gallon of fuel in his fire extinguisher. He responded " That would be crazy , but if I did , it would be more like 2 gallons"

Mike