NASCAR - what am I missing?

[Melensdad]

OK I don't get it.
Seriously I don't get it.
I watch a few minutes of a NASCAR race and can sum up the entier racing circuit in 7 words
(and only 1 of those is a multi syllable word)


MAKE A LEFT AT THE NEXT CORNER

Seriously what is the big deal about NASCAR?


​

 

[Big Dog]

OK I don't get it.
Seriously I don't get it.
I watch a few minutes of a NASCAR race and can sum up the entier racing circuit in 7 words
(and only 1 of those is a multi syllable word)


MAKE A LEFT AT THE NEXT CORNER

Seriously what is the big deal about NASCAR?


​

You need to go to a race!

Besides............ it's a race, men like competition and big motors and the smell of burning fuel.

I could ask the same of the NBA or anything else

Obviously it ain't you kind of crumpet..................

 

[Melensdad]

I've been to all sorts of races, but I don't think ever a NASCAR race.

Seems to me that F1 is where the real fun is. But some of the endurance races are pretty amazing. Then there are the races at places like Elkhart Lake and Watkins Glen (several classes of cars compete on those tracks) but the thing is the drivers in most races actually turn both ways, not just left.

 

[OkeeDon]

Make a left at the next corner while traveling nearly 200 mph and inches from 42 other cars all doing the same thing using technology that is so critical that 1/2 pound of air pressure can make the difference between winning and losing, and the first cars or so are all traveling within 1/2 second of your lap time. Do it all for 3 to 5 hours with no breaks, making no mistakes, and depending on the split second precision of a crew of men doing being perfect in the pits, changing 4 tires and refueling the car in less than 14 seonds, with no errors. This all after an even larger crew of folks have built the car from scratch, again making no errors.

One mistake and you lose. You cannot miss a tackle, drop a catch, or slice your drive off the tee. If Nascar was golf, par would be 18.

F1 is a parade with the same people winning, very little passing (and almost no racing), using high tech wing tanks with wheels, not cars.

If you want real road racing, find an SCCA race somewhere near you.

 

[DaveNay]

Make a left at the next corner while traveling nearly 200 mph and inches from 42 other cars all doing the same thing using technology that is so critical that 1/2 pound of air pressure can make the difference between winning and losing, and the first cars or so are all traveling within 1/2 second of your lap time. Do it all for 3 to 5 hours with no breaks, making no mistakes, and depending on the split second precision of a crew of men doing being perfect in the pits, changing 4 tires and refueling the car in less than 14 seonds, with no errors. This all after an even larger crew of folks have built the car from scratch, again making no errors.

One mistake and you lose. You cannot miss a tackle, drop a catch, or slice your drive off the tee. If Nascar was golf, par would be 18.

F1 is a parade with the same people winning, very little passing (and almost no racing), using high tech wing tanks with wheels, not cars.

If you want real road racing, find an SCCA race somewhere near you.

You've never driven the Kennedy Expressway into O'hare at 8:30 on a Monday morning, have you?

 

[Melensdad]

If you want real road racing, find an SCCA race somewhere near you.

A lot of the stuff at Elkhart Lake, Watkins Glenn, etc is SCCA. Those are FUN to attend. My neighbor runs two cars in various classes of SCCA. He races in sactioned events in everything from parking lot 'cone' tracks to some of the best tracks in the midwest. Loads of fun to watch.

 

[Big Dog]

Make a left at the next corner while traveling nearly 200 mph and inches from 42 other cars all doing the same thing using technology that is so critical that 1/2 pound of air pressure can make the difference between winning and losing, and the first cars or so are all traveling within 1/2 second of your lap time. Do it all for 3 to 5 hours with no breaks, making no mistakes, and depending on the split second precision of a crew of men doing being perfect in the pits, changing 4 tires and refueling the car in less than 14 seonds, with no errors. This all after an even larger crew of folks have built the car from scratch, again making no errors.

One mistake and you lose. You cannot miss a tackle, drop a catch, or slice your drive off the tee. If Nascar was golf, par would be 18.

F1 is a parade with the same people winning, very little passing (and almost no racing), using high tech wing tanks with wheels, not cars.

If you want real road racing, find an SCCA race somewhere near you.

.....................excellent summation.

BTW Bob ................. I watch all racing except drag cause it's a drag, run'er till she blows and spend another 30 grand ..................

 

[HGM]

Make a left at the next corner while traveling nearly 200 mph and inches from 42 other cars all doing the same thing using technology that is so critical that 1/2 pound of air pressure can make the difference between winning and losing, and the first cars or so are all traveling within 1/2 second of your lap time. Do it all for 3 to 5 hours with no breaks, making no mistakes, and depending on the split second precision of a crew of men doing being perfect in the pits, changing 4 tires and refueling the car in less than 14 seonds, with no errors. This all after an even larger crew of folks have built the car from scratch, again making no errors.

One mistake and you lose. You cannot miss a tackle, drop a catch, or slice your drive off the tee. If Nascar was golf, par would be 18.

F1 is a parade with the same people winning, very little passing (and almost no racing), using high tech wing tanks with wheels, not cars.

If you want real road racing, find an SCCA race somewhere near you.

Don pretty much sums it up here... Its more of the strategy than just driving fast and turning.. If you get into it for a few races, you'll see that while winning the race is important, its the final "chase"(10 races) that everyone is trying for, then it becomes a playoff of the best of the best to the championship.. Its really a fast pased chess match of sorts.. It does take time to get aquainted with it and it eats up a couple of hours every Sunday(or Saturday night), but if you watch it in passing and keep up with it a bit, its cool... I'm not into the other races(or baseball,basketball,golf,etc) much, but its probably more because I dont want to get into it for time reasons..

 

[OkeeDon]

A lot of the stuff at Elkhart Lake, Watkins Glenn, etc is SCCA. Those are FUN to attend. My neighbor runs two cars in various classes of SCCA. He races in sactioned events in everything from parking lot 'cone' tracks to some of the best tracks in the midwest. Loads of fun to watch.

That's what my son and I did until the pressure of our respective businesses caused us to slack off -- and then, just when we were planning to build a new car, that stupid little heart damage thingy disrupted the plans. I don't have the endurance to crew for him, and he isn't motivated enough to do it without me. We had a pristine '80 VW Scirocco, another Scirocco and 5 Rabbits for parts, and all the go fast goodies -- shocks and suspension, close ratio gearbox, engine goodies, roll cage, fuel cell, fire system, harness, racing seat, indpendent pedal assembly and scads more, and I basically gave most of it away when I closed up my shop. I still have some stuff in storage waiting for my barn in order to sort it out and sell it.

If my health improved enough to go back in it, and my retirement budget allowed it, we would start over again with what's known as a "Spec Miata", a Miata built to a closely regulated set of specifications so that all of the cars are as close to equal as they can get. This is SCCA's fastest growing and most popular class, with as many as 40-50 Miatas at a time on the road couse. So far, the registrations for the national championships at the end of this year are over 70 cars.

 

[Melensdad]

I just did a google search typing in my neighbor's name followed by SCCA. I was surprised by the number of valid hits I got. I knew he was good but apparently he is pretty darn good. He does not race in the class you are referring to, at least not this year.

This year he has been using a stock Pontiac Solstice, but it is some special racing edition that was produced in limited quantities. I got to drive it a few times. Fun little car. But I've not seen him compete in it.

For the past few years he's been racing a highly modifed Acura and I know he was also competitive in that vehicle, but I don't know what class that is. He is the friendly machine shop owner who I mooch free steel from on a regular basis, there are always various race cars in his shop in various stages of modification. He seems to also make a lot of custom parts for both amature and profession race teams. Most of what I see him making are suspension and steering parts.

 

[jakki]

You need to go to a race!

Besides............ it's a race, men like competition and big motors and the smell of burning fuel.

I could ask the same of the NBA or anything else

................

OK, what are you trying to say here BD......are you challenging manliness-es ???????

Oh, and are you saying basketball is for ssssisssiiiesss????

 

[Big Dog]

OK, what are you trying to say here BD......are you challenging manliness-es ???????

Oh, and are you saying basketball is for ssssisssiiiesss????

Huh....................

 

[Dargo]

Gees Bob, look at the TV revenue and crowds that NASCAR brings in compared to F1 or Indy Car races. It's like comparing the Super Bowl to a local high school Friday night game. You can pick any of the hundreds of reasons, but NASCAR succeeded in kicking the fenders off of those other cars.

 

[Cityboy]

Gees Bob, look at the TV revenue and crowds that NASCAR brings in compared to F1 or Indy Car races. It's like comparing the Super Bowl to a local high school Friday night game. You can pick any of the hundreds of reasons, but NASCAR succeeded in kicking the fenders off of those other cars.

I'd prefer to watch the high school kids on Friday night who play for nothing more than the pure love of the game than go to a super bowl. Pro athletes today are a bunch of spoiled adult millionaire brats. I get a much bigger thrill watching my 14 YO daughter hurl a softball underhanded at 60 mph. But that's just me swimming upstream.

NASCAR? Never cared for it, especially after I quit drinking. The pit crews are pretty cool, but I can't sit for hours watching engines, transmissions and wheels mounted on steel tubing and covered with a fiberglass body make counter-clockwise circles. Whatever floats yer boat.

 

[OkeeDon]

...watching engines, transmissions and wheels mounted on steel tubing and covered with a fiberglass body make counter-clockwise circles. Whatever floats yer boat.

Nascar Cup cars are steel bodied.

 

[Dargo]

And, on two tracks, they do make right hand turns (on purpose).

 

[jwstewar]

What I like about NASCAR is most of the time there is a close finish. Someone is running away from the field if they have a 2 or 3 second lead. Versus the F1/Indy cars where, "Oh, it is a close race, he is only 30 seconds behind. WTF? Like someone else said, the whole field qualifies (and usually races) within 5 tenths of a second of each other. I don't see that in the other series.

Another item - No team orders. The others, OK, your running 3rd, you can't go for 2nd or 1st because your team mate is ahead of you. Again WTF? In NASCAR, even if you drive for the same team, you usually go for the win if you can - just don't wreck your team mate - though I have seen them do that too. How would you like to be a team owner that had cars running 1st & 2nd and then all of a sudden one wrecks the other. Not only do they finish 40 & 41, you now have 2 150k cars wrecked. So you have 3 items that cost you one - the cars, the race win & money, and the points and money that goes with the series Championship.

 

[daedong]

[FONT=&quot]Bob I am with you on this, Nascar I don’t think exists here but the little I have seen on TV does nothing for me. The big car sport here is the V8 super cars,
http://www.v8supercar.com.au/
We have one race in particular held at Bathurst NSW once a year, which attracts huge crowds and almost stops the nation. But I personally am not a petrol head but I do like to watch occasionally rally style races.[/FONT]

 

[bczoom]

Imagine yourself in rush hour but with some minor adjustments.
All cars are going close to 200 mph.
You're 2-3 cars wide and no white lines to determine lanes.
The car in front and behind you are about 6" away.
The cars beside, in front and behind you can and will hit you.
You can slow down for the sharp corner your approaching (a U-turn) but only to the speed where your back end is is just starting to slide out from under you (and then you have to adjust via steering).
Anyone screws up or if there's a mechanical failure, you're likely going to crash.
Don't worry though, there's a wall to stop you. Too bad you're going to hit it at 150-200 mph... but there's an ambulance nearby to help you.

Is your stress level up just a little? Probably. OK, you just finished the first mile. Please repeat this process for another 499 miles.

Uh-oh, running low on gas. OK, there's a spot for you to get more. Well, everyone else is low as well so we'll all get gas. You cruise towards your spot at a now more reasonable speed of 55 mph. Stress gone? Nope. There's over 300 people running around you filling up the others cars fuel tanks and changing their tires. Don't want to hit them... You have 14 seconds to get tires and gas.

Body/mind is fatigued? Probably... Were you the perfect gentleman during this whole time? If not, you get the benefit of all of you getting together after the race. (Think road-rage here...).

Now, I'll concede there's quiet points in a race where it seems like nothing is going on. But, that's true of most every sport. Heck, when watching a football game for 3 hours, you only saw approx. 7 minutes of actual playing.

 

[HGM]

Imagine yourself in rush hour but with some minor adjustments.
All cars are going close to 200 mph.
You're 2-3 cars wide and no white lines to determine lanes.
The car in front and behind you are about 6" away.
The cars beside, in front and behind you can and will hit you.
You can slow down for the sharp corner your approaching (a U-turn) but only to the speed where your back end is is just starting to slide out from under you (and then you have to adjust via steering).
Anyone screws up or if there's a mechanical failure, you're likely going to crash.
Don't worry though, there's a wall to stop you. Too bad you're going to hit it at 150-200 mph... but there's an ambulance nearby to help you.

Is your stress level up just a little? Probably. OK, you just finished the first mile. Please repeat this process for another 499 miles.

Uh-oh, running low on gas. OK, there's a spot for you to get more. Well, everyone else is low as well so we'll all get gas. You cruise towards your spot at a now more reasonable speed of 55 mph. Stress gone? Nope. There's over 300 people running around you filling up the others cars fuel tanks and changing their tires. Don't want to hit them... You have 14 seconds to get tires and gas.

Body/mind is fatigued? Probably... Were you the perfect gentleman during this whole time? If not, you get the benefit of all of you getting together after the race. (Think road-rage here...).

Now, I'll concede there's quiet points in a race where it seems like nothing is going on. But, that's true of most every sport. Heck, when watching a football game for 3 hours, you only saw approx. 7 minutes of actual playing.

Dont forget the in car temp of somewere in the neighborhood of 130.. and like someone else hinted to the difference between 1 & 30th could be 2sec at Talladega.. I can see how some would be bored with it if they didnt try to get into it, but I'm pretty well hooked for now.. When you get into a couple of races, you just have to tune in to see what happens in the next..

 

[Cityboy]

The difference between NASCAR and rush hour is that the NASCAR drivers are surrounded by 200 other professional drivers....not 2000 distracted workers on the way to and from their jobs. So which is really safer?

 

[bczoom]

The difference between NASCAR and rush hour is that the NASCAR drivers are surrounded by 200 other professional drivers....not 2000 distracted workers on the way to and from their jobs. So which is really safer?

Let's say a total of 43 drivers instead of 200.

You can almost be assured that there will be accidents within those 43 drivers at every race. On a track like Bristol, probably 30 of the 43 will end the race with varying degrees of vehicle damage.

I don't think the same volume/percentage occurs in normal rush-hour traffic.

 

[Cityboy]

You can almost be assured that there will be accidents within those 43 drivers at every race. On a track like Bristol, probably 30 of the 43 will end the race with varying degrees of vehicle damage.

Which leads to the real reason all you rednecks watch NASCAR: The ever-present hope of witnessing a spectacular crash while consuming mass quantities of Budweiser.

 

[Big Dog]

Which leads to the real reason all you rednecks watch NASCAR: The ever-present hope of witnessing a spectacular crash while consuming mass quantities of Budweiser.

I use to like you CB!

 

[Dargo]

I actually have a professional excuse for a NASCAR addiction. I had to learn 'NASCAR speak' or I couldn't talk with about half of my clients. A few years ago when I heard one of my clients talking about a "Dick Trickle", I no longer wanted to shake hands with him!

 

[Big Dog]

I actually have a professional excuse for a NASCAR addiction. I had to learn 'NASCAR speak' or I couldn't talk with about half of my clients. A few years ago when I heard one of my clients talking about a "Dick Trickle", I no longer wanted to shake hands with him!

How could he not be a good driver ................ and he was!

 

[Cityboy]

I use to like you CB!

Sorry BD, but NASCAR fans are just too easy to make fun of; plus they prove the fact that one need not be southern to be a redneck. But, I know you go to the race track to check out the buxom, bouncing, braless, short-short or tight jeans clad babes that frequent the races. Don't blame you one bit there. The race track is an extremely fun and festive atomosphere and I do admit to enjoying myself the times I went to events at Atlanta International Speedway. I've even ridden on the track once with the Georgia State Highway Patrol while they were training for high-speed pursuit. Now, THAT was exciting!

Seriously, nothing wrong with NASCAR, I just don't get excited about it to the extent most folks do. I will say that NASCAR has probably done more for driver safety than any of the auto manufacturers.

But back to the track, given all the booze and barbeque that gets consumed, one can't help but feel for the crews that clean up the restrooms after a big race weekend.

 

[bczoom]

But back to the track, given all the booze and barbeque that gets consumed, one can't help but feel for the crews that clean up the restrooms after a big race weekend.

Agreed but not really much different than football or some other major sporting events.

 

[Gatorboy]

It's hard to get excited about a sport that all it takes is money or be a child of a driver to get into the sport.

Give me the best crew and car plus 4-6 months of practice and I could compete. It's just racing.

 

[Dargo]

It's hard to get excited about a sport that all it takes is money or be a child of a driver to get into the sport.

Give me the best crew and car plus 4-6 months of practice and I could compete. It's just racing.

I'm confident you could beat Kyle Petty with a weekend of practice, but most of the others would put you into the wall when they lap you. I mention Kyle Petty because he is the poster child of the person racing only because of his last name. I'd have to say that he is coming close to passing the 100 million dollar mark of wasted money to satisfy his ego. Taking his statistics into account, I calculate that he has 1/10 of 1% of a chance to win on any given weekend when racing with 42 other people. Any reasonable person would understand that the time to go away was long, long ago.