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Just a typical day/race for NASCAR

Well, everyone who still follows NASCAR expects the 'Big One" to occur during every plate race and this was no exception. It was a mess ... I think 24 cars involved and I never did really determine just how many were able to continue, especially with all the confusion over what constituted a repairable ride and what constituted a wreck? It did shake up the point standings though.
PS: That info may be in the article ... I didn't read it but I did see the race.
 
I don't like to see anyone crash on any race track. There are to many dollars invested . I don't like restrictor plates either but the horse power those cars make these days , they had to do something. Bill Elliot set the NASCAR record at 212.8xx MPH back in 1985.

They would be hitting 250 MPH or more by now without the plates. As seen in this race , when they are stacked up like that at speed , all it takes is a small nudge when someone gets loose and there they go. :(
 
papa said:
I don't like to see anyone crash on any race track. There are to many dollars invested . I don't like restrictor plates either but the horse power those cars make these days , they had to do something. Bill Elliot set the NASCAR record at 212.8xx MPH back in 1985.

They would be hitting 250 MPH or more by now without the plates. As seen in this race , when they are stacked up like that at speed , all it takes is a small nudge when someone gets loose and there they go. :(
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Couldn't agree more papa! I actually wish they would go back to factory bodies and shop built engines with a claimer price on the engine as well as the total car. Standing the windshields back up like they should be and opening up the inside of the cars so the guy in back can see through the car in front of him would be a good start, and most of these 'big ones' could be eliminated.

Would it slow them down to not needing the stupid restrictor plates ... of course it would. So what, that's why they use the plates. So have them run stock bodied cars that us hard core folks could call 'STOCK CARS' that the drivers can see through, let them run as fast as they can with the stock bodies and spec tires, or as fast as the drivers will run, and the whole series could save many millions of dollars. And any real race fan would just as likely enjoy a 500 mile race with all 36+ cars running fairly equally at say 160-180 mph rather than a handful of the big money guys running at 190+ every week in and week out, then another 12-15 cars running at 180+ in a pack, then the also rans at 170 and less bringing up the rear ... week after week.

As NASCAR stands now, it's no longer a real race but more a commercial venture with the speed simply being a matter of dollars. Speed has always been a matter of money, but it can be made a more level playing field and less costly all around with no noticeable decrease in the watching enjoyment. "Claiming" engines and/or cars will put a stop to cheating on money spent as long as the limiting values are reasonable and spec parts apply to everyone total. No one will continue to build illegal cars when as soon as they win they'll lose the car to a claimer.

Back many years ago when I was running some late models and limited late models, a competitive car could be built for the short tracks in the south east for $12-20 thousand dollars total. Today you can't even build a short track motor for $25+. Then you still have the car to build, the suspension systems, tires, fuel, practice times on various tracks, pit crew, travel, and on and on and on. A really competitive late model today can spend in excess of 1 1/2 million dollars for a year of racing and come out on the other end with far less in his pocket than when he started.

Didn't mean to get on my soap box, but the very reason my racing ended was simply cost. And trust me when I say you can't make it up with volume. Two wrecked cars cost twice as much as one wrecked car!!!
 
I was a road-racer but I always wanted to try driving on an oval.

There's an answer for the superspeedway race crashes but if nascar (and the sponsors) was/were honest they WANT the big crashes.

It's all about TV exposure for the brands.

The only time the slower cars get any TV exposure is when they get caught up in the "big one".

Nascar's focus is to keep the cars on the ground, but (I joke that) if the sponsors could put their brand names underneath the cars, nascar would be fine with cars getting in the air as long as they could keep the cars out of the grandstands.

If a car got into the grandstanding it would hurt nascar. Oh, and the people in the grandstands, too
 
papa said:
I don't like to see anyone crash on any race track. There are to many dollars invested . I don't like restrictor plates either but the horse power those cars make these days , they had to do something. Bill Elliot set the NASCAR record at 212.8xx MPH back in 1985.

They would be hitting 250 MPH or more by now without the plates. As seen in this race , when they are stacked up like that at speed , all it takes is a small nudge when someone gets loose and there they go. :(
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Those cars were not as safe as the ones running now. The old school NASCAR drivers were bad$$. I think NASCAR meddling and having everyone on even playing field , like restrictor plates has made these super speedway races more dangerous. Everyone is running right together and the slightest nudge or slide job can set off a chain of events taking out half the field.
 
A "real" race...



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TidalWave said:
NASCAR ? Two hours of left turns ??

I’ll have to pass (no pun intended)
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With all due respect Mr. TidalWave, it's not the left turns that really matter, it's just how close to a 180+mph head on crash are you willing to push it before you lose control during that left turn, and what to do to prevent that crash while coming out the other end of that left turn ahead of the other guy. A good race driver of any kind of racing is one who can feel that car and what it's about to do before it does it. The best drivers are the ones who can feel it first, then has the stones to stay in it the longest even after feeling it. Now I'm not saying the best drivers are the ones who wreck the most ... just the opposite. The best drivers are the ones who can push it closer to the limit than the others without wrecking.
I've never done much drag racing so I can't say what makes a good drag racer other then quick reflexes, but I can tell you from experience that a circle track racer has to have not only super quick reflexes but the capability/ability to feel what the car is about to do but before it does it through his butt in the seat, his feet on the petals, and his hands on the wheel long before the average driver and especially the other racers. And the one who can feel all those things first and react to them quicker than all the others are typically the winners.
In days of old, all that came from years and years of hands on experience in building those cars. Touching each and every part and piece of machinery while making pieces fit together and work in ways the designers never conceived of and primarily being a real world bad ass in most cases to begin with!!! Today's drivers are also bad asses in the fact they'll drive into a corner at speeds most people wouldn't even consider, much less do it, but they're taught what they know (most of them) from video games, 'I'racing, and simulators. It's a different kind of bad ass, but bad ass all the same.
Back in the day, the best top series drivers were in their late, late 20's and up. Today we see top notch Nascar Cup drivers still in their teens. Most of them today can recite the formulas on how to calculate the best toe angle for a 13degree banking, but cannot tell you how to set it or even what wrench/tool is required to set it. The old schoolers could take a sledge hammer and beat the appropriate toe angle into the front end and make it work but had little real understanding why it worked.
So yeh, for many, 2 hrs of left turns seems boring. But generally that's because they have no concept of what's going on during that left turn and not likely that anyone could ever explain it to them. Peace!
 
I kinda like Nascar. I can sit and watch a race. But I don't really keep up with it anymore.
When my wife was going through chemo, she'd have the TV on just for something to focus on. She got hooked on Nascar. It was interesting enough for her to focus on, but didn't have a plot to concentrate on and follow. She became a big fan.
Me, I lost interest when Mark Martin retired. :rolleyes:
 
Talyn said:
If you're not familiar with the core statement (take out the ( **** ) inserts) then it's understandable that it doesn't make sense.
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I get what you"re saying. And I definitely understand the point you're making. But we can't over-generalize. Anti-gun nuts use over-generalization to their "advantage", don't they ?

My point is that the same thing isn't happening over and over again if something changed.

How many two-hour races have you been in ? The track changes. The car changes. Debris gets in the way. Etc. For not just me, but for everybody. Then THEY get in the way

I could go on and on

I imagine it's more significant when racing on "the same" left turn over and over. I've never had the privilege (i'm a road racer), but I've seen races where a one-groove track changes to a multi-groove track over the span of one race.

I could be in the fastest car, but if I don't adapt, someone slower than me might. Say one turn where a car dropped a wheel off and spread sand on the track. A car blew a house and leaked fluid. It's a long list.

When you're running at the limit it doesn't take much.

The trick is adopting to the changes. Kinda like life in general. You don't want to start me on THOSE parallels. I'd go on forever.

I've never been a big nascar fan, but the "same left-turns over and over" are not the same over the span of a race. Look at a dirt-track race to expedite the timeline.
 
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Talyn said:
en.wikipedia.org

Mount Panorama Circuit - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

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I've only seen one race from there. It's a fantastic track. It reminds me of the Old Nurgurgring, but with straightaways. And room to breath. Australia has great race tracks (Bathurst, Phillip Island, etc. for instance....for MotoGP), yet F1 choose not to use them.

Years ago, I tried to watch calendars to find two decent races on those tracks on adjacent weekends. I'd have gone to Australia if they had.
 
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