NASCAR NASCAR

[soccerman17]

For context's sake:

I think the craziest part about this is that he walked away from it. Also bizarre that it came after the checkered flag.

Anyways, for those who wonder what it would be like if NASCAR raced in the wet, this race was supposed to be a 7:00 P.M. start, but rain got in the way. Sunday night races are very uncommon in NASCAR (most night races are on a Saturday), and organizers didn't want to run the race the next day because crowds are very low when races are rescheduled for Monday. People have to work, you know. So they started it very late, and the finish (and crash) occurred at 2:30 A.M. local time. Ridiculous.

 

[Kewee]

Very lucky he hit the catch fencing floor first, I have no doubt had he hit roof first he would have died instantly. He's a good driver, started on pole alongside Dale Junior after winning the supporting Infinity race. Thank God he was able to walk away. Wonder what the G-forces were he endured.

 

[Dash Racing]

I bet he's feeling like he went ten rounds with a grizzly bear.

In all honesty, I actually do respect most of the drivers, even if I do joke about a lack of common sense, but if they had the sense Indy drivers do, they'd tell their sporting body that pack racing is dangerous, and "the big one" isn't something to be proud of. It's a pretty grim thing, to have your audience wishing you to get into a wreck that just might kill you, and believe me, I'm familiar with that experience, I did jousting.

 

[Kewee]

Dash Racing .... I guessed you were having a joke when you mentioned common sense.

To be honest NASCAR is what it is and pack racing on the Super Speedways has been a part of it for many years now. Before restrictor plates the cars were reaching 220mph, restrictor plates reduced the speed but led to the very tight packs we see today. At almost any motorsport event there's an element among the spectators that hope for a huge crash, in fairness to NASCAR fans most understand oval track racing and the skills involved and don't want to see anyone hurt. When any of the well known drivers have been been killed the grief we've witnessed has been as deep as we feel when we loose an F1 driver. The scenes we saw among the fans when NASCAR lost Dale Earnhardt were terribly sad.

 

[soccerman17]

Not saying that pack racing is safe, but stock cars are inherently safer than IndyCars. And the cars are a lot better at taking bumps without losing control.

 

[Dash Racing]

I used to watch NASCAR in the UK, but I can't stand the commentators in the US, so I've since stopped watching, so I'm more than passingly familiar with the sport.

I'm aware that it's safe-ish at the higher levels, but research showed that at the lower levels, stock car racing is one of the most dangerous motorsports to be involved in. Without a push toward safety that starts at the top, there likely won't be much change at the grass roots level. People like to emulate their heroes, and if their heroes have a devil may care, you done me wrong kind of attitude, that's what you'll see at the lower levels among people who don't have the skill or knowledge to keep themselves out of trouble.

 

[soccerman17]

A very good point, Dash Racing. As far as the pack racing is concerned, the lower levels often don't see that kind of racing because they generally run shorter tracks and have a larger speed differential between cars. But just because they don't race in packs doesn't make them safe, the issue may be with the driving standards as you suggested, or just in the lack of proper safety features at the facilities, from retaining walls to response teams. NASCAR has done an incredible job to make the racing safe at the top level through engineering and response teams, but stock car racing as a whole would definitely benefit from less crashes at all levels.

As for the commentators in the US, I'm not a big fan either, and while I follow NASCAR very closely I don't watch too much of it anymore. I really like the road course races and will try to catch the ends of the others if I can, but I don't even go to the Brickyard 400 anymore even though I live 30 minutes away and can easily get tickets. At some tracks the racing in NASCAR is awful. At Indianapolis its like the Monaco GP with less interesting cars, less interesting corners, and less interesting scenery. I've fallen asleep watching on TV before.

 

[Kewee]

Only 12 hours or so and Sky Sports coverage of the Daytona 500 starts. Fantastic!!!!!!!! Take it in if your able, it will be well worth the effort. Earnhardt was fastest in final practice, you can almost guarantee he'll be in the lead pack with five laps remaining providing he stays out of trouble.

 

[FB]

Just put the race on. The pre-race bollocks is even more bollocks than the bollocks we have before an F1 race.

 

[Kewee]

Yes FB but they know how to let the fans connect and have contact with the drivers. Its something the Americans do so well, the drivers are the stars, not the technology. They achieve the same in IRL with meet the drivers events at shopping centres the day before a race. It may be US hype but F1 could learn lots from them. Where else would you see wives and kids in pit lane moments before the drivers get in their cars. Vettel said they other day he feels F1 should be more focused on the drivers rather than technology.

 

[FB]

It was so sugary Kewee, I developed diabetes.

 

[FB]

I've given up at half distance, it's like watching a video of a motorway traffic on fast forward.

 

[Kewee]

It was so sugary Kewee, I developed diabetes.

I'm pre-diabetic so didn't notice. Hahahaha.....gimme more popcorn

Make sure your there for the last 10 laps FB

 

[soccerman17]

My TV stopped receiving FOX yesterday and the FoxSportsGo app won't work on my laptop. I guess I could find a stream online but I have better things to be doing right now, otherwise I would discuss it with you Kewee

 

[Kewee]

Cheers soccerman17 .... this popcorns great. Hahahaha

 

[Kewee]

BUGGER!!!!!!! Junior's out.

 

[Kewee]

I know a lot of people don't like the oval track scene but racing doesn't get closer. Denny Hamlin by 100th of a second after 500 miles. The closest in history.

 

[soccerman17]

I wish Truex would've gotten it, amazing guy and has always been one of my favorites. But that's Daytona for ya right there, no matter how boring the first 150 laps or so can be, the end always delivers. I still miss the two man drafts that NASCAR broke up. Those races were some of the craziest I have ever seen, and literally everyone was competitive, regardless of budget.

 

[siffert_fan]

Once again a single race points up how boring F1 has become. A single NASCAR race, which many decry as hokey, has more honest-to-God wheel-to-wheel racing and genuine passes for the lead than occurs in an entire F1 SEASON!!

IMO, it is no wonder that spectators, both in-person and via television, are abandoning F1 in droves.

People watch racing to see genuine driver vs driver battles. When the outcome is pre-determined and based solely on which car someone is driving, people (who have ever-increasingly short attention spans) will seek their entertainment elsewhere.

 

[Kewee]

siffert_fan ...... How true siffert, everything you say is so true. The American scene has always been wonderful, full of danger, bravery, swagger and bravado. Technology has always been there, but all their motorsport has been regulated enough to create an equal playing field so the hero's are the drivers, not the cars, they still connect with brands such as Chevrolet but true love is reserved for the drivers. Wonderful. I said in a previous posting Vettel has said he would like to see more focus on the drivers rather than the technology. Sadly this has always been F1's problem and it's become worse in recent years. For the drivers to become the hero's in F1, the way they used to be back in the 50's and 60's, the technology would need to be regulated to a large enough degree to create a more level playing field, such as they've done in America, sadly then F1 would risk loosing its gloss as the cutting edge of motorsport technology. I personally believe if the technology was simplified and made more understandable and the drivers more accessible, fans would flock back to the sport. I'd love to see F1 a little less sanitised and tracks that are less forgiving to make the drivers the hero's again. Risk and consequences for errors have always been a part of motorsport.