Nascar 2021

bigjohnsd said:

IMO they need to shorten up their events. What do 500 miles prove?
Events should be run on a time schedule, two hours, and wave the checkered flag.

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That's a great idea.

Also, do away with the moronic fans gathering behind 4 commentators before the race or during rain delays. Not sure what purpose that serves and it takes away from what they have to say. I'll also say that the same thing about football and hockey "shows" during the game. Sorry about the mini-rant.

bigjohnsd said:

IMO they need to shorten up their events. What do 500 miles prove?
Events should be run on a time schedule, two hours, and wave the checkered flag.

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Part of this is who can build the best car that will survive 8,000 rpm’s for 500 miles. Picture what is going on in the valve-train at 8K.
Of course you could always record it and watch it in FF>

BC1100S said:

That's a great idea.

Also, do away with the moronic fans gathering behind 4 commentators before the race or during rain delays. Not sure what purpose that serves and it takes away from what they have to say. I'll also say that the same thing about football and hockey "shows" during the game. Sorry about the mini-rant.

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You could write them a letter and let them know that they are doing it all wrong
Pretty big fan base. You may want to start with one of the smaller spectator sports first.....like practice laps.
OM

Omega Man said:

You could write them a letter and let them know that they are doing it all wrong
Pretty big fan base.

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1. In writing that letter I'd have to limit myself to using only two-syllable words.

2. As I'm sure you're aware, it used to be a much larger fan base. Not sure why they lost so many however NASCAR must recognize it as they're making changes to try to regain what they once had.

I used to be a big fan but started to lose interest when the V8 Camry made an appearance. I went down to the dealer on Monday to place an order for one but they just laughed at me. OK fine, I didn't.

Having said all that, I LOVE the sound of those motors at full chat. And F1 sucks.

The whole point back in the day was the cars were bodies and manufactures you could relate to. Now they are purely custom built race cars with head light decals. Put all that safety equipment in the cars that are actually being made and YeHaw lets race. Big blocks were nice also.

bigjohnsd said:

IMO they need to shorten up their events. What do 500 miles prove?
Events should be run on a time schedule, two hours, and wave the checkered flag.

Click to expand...

The AVERAGE NFL game takes around 3 1/4 hours. During that time there only around 11 MINUTES of actual play between the snap and the whistle. Maybe the NFL should be limited to 30 minutes

IF there would ever be another super speedway race without a major crash or rain delay, the 500 miles would be over in over in 2 hours and 39 min. from flag to flag (Mark Martin Talladega 1997) with 100% of that time being actual competition time.

Watkins Glen had a Cup race that only lasted 2 hours and 7 minutes acouple years ago(no cautions). I'm sure the people in attendance wished it had lasted longer! I know I wanted more watching it on TV (not more cautions, just more great racing).

One thing you must consider is the attending fans. They pay hundreds of dollars ( NASCAR, NFL, NBA, MLB) for their tickets, food, transportation, and lodging. They don't want it to be over before they can finish their hot dog and a beer.

I would imagine that if Indy cars ran the Indianapolis 250 on Memorial day weekend, it wouldn't be well received.


Complaining about commercials (the people that pay so that you can watch for free)? DVR the race and fast forward the parts you don't want to watch.

Or you could always watch golf to satisfy your adrenaline needs.

My suggestion for improving NASCAR; do away with "The Chute" at Sears Point (Sonoma) and send them through the Carousel, like they did the first several years. They changed that so that "the cars would come by the fans more often (shorter lap, more laps), but they eliminated one of the best passing opportunities on the track (there were only two really good ones) and made the race less competative. Passing opportunities makes better racing.

Growing up with interest in sports car and Grand Prix prototype racing I didn't care a flip about Nascar. Roundy round and turn left, good old boys and all that but in 1986 I went to see the Daytona Twin 125s during Speed Week. It was a Wednesday and I had the day off with nothing better to do. That year Rusty Schrader was Rookie of the Year and Bill Elliot was still the fastest Nascar record lap holder with a 212 mph lap at Talladega. The seat I picked was right about at the exit end of pit row so looking down and to the left I could see the drivers' hands working the wheel as they went through the middle of the tri-oval turn marked by the start/finish line. The track is not banked much there. Schrader's car was "tight" or tended to understeer and Elliot's car was set up "loose" or prone to oversteer. Those two battled for nearly every lap for 1 - 2 position and swapped 1 - 2 repeatedly. The pattern was Schrader's faster car caught and passed Elliot on the back straight and when exiting turn 4 headed to the tri-oval turn Elliot would pass Schrader again and two wide they came across the start/finish line. There was a patched spot of racing surface in the apex of the tri-oval and Elliot hit that same spot nearly exactly every lap, the tail of his car about 1 or 2 feet out of line, his hands vigorously holding the car in a slide at uh, 190 mph or so. Schrader had to take the upper line and they went through that turn door handle decal to door handle decal lap after lap the entire race. It changed my opinion of Nascar drivers. The venue and track still held little appeal to me but those guys had to handle 3500 lb. brutes in traffic and that takes a skill and lack of fear I came to appreciate. I went to the July race, the Firecracker 400, for about 10 years straight after that. I respect the drivers and the skill it takes to compete in Cup races.

On a side note I have about 125 miles experience riding the Daytona track itself on my Goldwing. Daytona Speedway hosts a Pro/AM PTO Triathlon on the DIS grounds and surrounding roads. The past two years I two-up'd a cycling judge during the cycling portions of the event. Last year I toted one of two color commentators for the event. They wired me and the other rider with sound so the TV crew got the video footage they wanted. The 125 miles is mostly under 35 mph, boo. Still, we have riding access to the entire grounds and when the producer wants us to get to a shot we ride all over the place, through fenced-off passages in the infield, the pits, and the infield course to get there. During the amateur and professional run portions we rode the sports car course.

Who's "Rusty Schrader"? A long lost relative of mine?? I've given up trying to horn in on the Schrader valve fortune.

If they still use Schrader valves, its the last stock part of Stock-car.

20774 said:

Who's "Rusty Schrader"? A long lost relative of mine?? I've given up trying to horn in on the Schrader valve fortune.

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The illegitament step-child of Rusty Wallace and Ken Schrader?

Rusty was Rookie of the year in 1984, Kenny in 1985. Both incredible drivers!

Great story Dave! After 36 years, getting the minor details crossed up is not the important thing. You really captured the important part, the intensity and the skill that made such an impression.

I started going to the Cup races at Riverside. Went to the last three races '85, '86, '87 (?). Then bought the first view motorhome spot when they moved the race to Sears Point. Went every year for about 10 years until they built a grandstand in front of us. Went back to watching on TV.

Started going to races in the late sixties at Laguna Seca and Sears Point, mostly as a spectator. Sometimes working course security. The Golden Years of CanAm and TransAm! Then got involved with an independant TransAm team. Then decided to run my own cars in SCCA for awhile. So I have a deep appreciation for the skill, dedication, and long hours of work that are involved. That is why I HATE the big wrecks on the super speedways so much!

98lee said:

The illegitament step-child of Rusty Wallace and Ken Schrader?

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That's what I was thinking!

20774 said:

Who's "Rusty Schrader"? A long lost relative of mine?? I've given up trying to horn in on the Schrader valve fortune.

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My bad, his name is Ken Schrader and he was Rookie of the year the year before, in 1985 not '86.

That WOULD make him the reigning Rookie of the Year at Daytona in '86.

The first names of Cup drivers were easy to confuse back then. Schrader went by Kenny back then. Then you had Rusty, Jimmy, Tommy, Johnny, Eddie, Bobby, Davey, Donnie, Robbie, Buddy, Benny, Ricky, Harry, Terry, and more. See a pattern?

98lee said:

That WOULD make him the reigning Rookie of the Year at Daytona in '86.

The first names of Cup drivers were easy to confuse back then. Schrader went by Kenny back then. Then you had Rusty, Jimmy, Tommy, Johnny, Eddie, Bobby, Davey, Donnie, Robbie, Buddy, Benny, Ricky, Harry, Terry, and more. See a pattern?

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I’ll buy a vowel please, Pat.

akbeemer said:

I’ll buy a vowel please, Pat.

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Is it a "y"?

The best, and most accurate, depiction of NASCAR racing is the movie...Talladega Nights.

And Talladega Nights starred...Ricky Bobby!

Y'all are forgetting the importance of Bob. As a middle name! Billy Bob, Jimmy Bob, etc.

I thought everybody in NASCAR was Bubba or Junior.

There was never a better name for a NASCAR driver than "Fireball" Roberts.

I always remembered Jimmy "Smut" Means and Michael "Fatback" McSwain, although Fatback was a crew chief.