Nascar

[Bonz]

Absolutely agree, more Saturday nights but not all Saturday nights. I should have been more clear on that. There are enough Saturday night races it would be interesting to see if there is a dip in local track attendance. It's been going on enough years there should be some data somewhere that could show a correlation or not.

In post 59 on the previous page, all but one of the spectacular wrecks are night race pictures if I remember correctly. NASCAR is about the show, we all know stage racing is only to bring the pack back together instead of having everybody go two laps down to leader and four cars on the lead lap to finish the race. I remember those days.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

I could not believe how it took them so long to design those "anti-flying" flaps that have pretty much stopped the air from putting some of those cars lifting off like Harrier jets as they used to do in certain types of wrecks. Anyone interested in wreck survivals needs to look up some of the wild and dangerous twirling rides that Rusty Wallace took in the 1990s. Even D.E. survived some very scary crashes that I have often thought made him feel not just an intimidator but indestructible. I think the day he left us was just like a pin popping a balloon to me as far as any passion left for NASCAR. I still TRY to watch but it is not really there for me anymore.

 

[JoeDirt41]

Absolutely agree, more Saturday nights but not all Saturday nights. I should have been more clear on that. There are enough Saturday night races it would be interesting to see if there is a dip in local track attendance. It's been going on enough years there should be some data somewhere that could show a correlation or not.

In post 59 on the previous page, all but one of the spectacular wrecks are night race pictures if I remember correctly. NASCAR is about the show, we all know stage racing is only to bring the pack back together instead of having everybody go two laps down to leader and four cars on the lead lap to finish the race. I remember those days.

Yes those are all night races, except Michael McDowell’s wreck, which was during qualifying at Texas.

 

[Bonz]

Earnhardt dying left a hole. Dale Jr and Gordon kept people interested. When Earnhardt Jr and Jeff Gordon retired that's when it started becoming cookie cutter. It was mildly interesting again when Gordon subbed for Earnhardt Jr while Junior was dealing with the concussion.

Are you kidding me that Richard Childress Racing can only find his son-in-law Austin Dillon to Pilot that car? Austin Dillon won the Daytona 500 on a whim, anybody can have a shot at a two lap Dash in overtime, which is another Nascar fan pleaser but gives guys multi-year contracts because they're not good but lucky.

Connor Zilisch running Xfinity is the real deal. He beat Van Gisbergen one on one at a road course. One of the best road course finishes that I've seen in recent years. He's 19 years old. It's kids like that who get it done against the best that are going to keep NASCAR relevant.

For what it's worth, no one has won three road course races in a row from the pole like Van Gisbergan since Jeff Gordon did it. If SVG could get his oval game going, he's got a shot this year at the title. I say that tongue-in-cheek as he might win the road course during the playoffs but it'll only get him to the next round.

I watched the first Brickyard 400 in 1994 and every one since. It was sold out, whatever the capacity of Indianapolis Motor Speedway was at the time was filled to the last person and then some. NASCAR messed up royally when they went to the road course for the years they did until they brought it back to the oval.

I'm going to get some heat on this, however the Daytona 500 is not the Great American race or the Super Bowl of stock car racing as Ken Squier so eloquently said years before Indy was even a twinkle on the schedule. It is not where NASCAR should put their eggs in a basket or where NASCAR should put their marketing. They would be well served to make Indy their crown jewel. Holds twice the people of daytona, do the same thing they did for Helio Castroneves this year at Daytona and encourage Indy drivers to take part in the Brickyard 400. Coordinate with Indy car and make it an off week for indycar, if you got three or four of the top Indy car drivers to participate you'd sell it out again. NASCAR used to have 43 cars in the starting field, it could happen at Indy and be amazing.

 

[JoeDirt41]

I could not believe how it took them so long to design those "anti-flying" flaps that have pretty much stopped the air from putting some of those cars lifting off like Harrier jets as they used to do in certain types of wrecks. Anyone interested in wreck survivals needs to look up some of the wild and dangerous twirling rides that Rusty Wallace took in the 1990s. Even D.E. survived some very scary crashes that I have often thought made him feel not just an intimidator but indestructible. I think the day he left us was just like a pin popping a balloon to me as far as any passion left for NASCAR. I still TRY to watch but it is not really there for me anymore.

The problem now is that the underside of the cars is completely smooth because most of the downforce is created by the rear diffuser under the car, so if air gets under the car just right, the cars are like kites. That’s what happened to Ryan Preece, not once, but twice at Daytona. The first time, I could not believe he walked from that car.

I loved the racing when Dale Sr. was alive and I think the time he passed away was at the pinnacle of NASCAR, but I love stock car racing too much to not follow it. I was not a Jimmy Johnson fan and for that reason I stopped following for a good while, but after his retirement and with some new young blood in the sport as well as the completely new Gen 7 cars which teams had no idea how to approach or setup, I’m interested again.

Connor Zilisch running Xfinity is the real deal. He beat Van Gisbergen one on one at a road course. One of the best road course finishes that I've seen in recent years. He's 19 years old. It's kids like that who get it done against the best that are going to keep NASCAR relevant. For what it's worth, no one has won three road course races in a row from the pole like Van Gisbergan since Jeff Gordon did it. If SVG could get his oval game going, he's got a shot this year at the title. I say that tongue-in-cheek as he might win the road course during the playoffs but it'll only get him to the next round.

Zilisch is unbelievable and I’m super excited to see how he progresses through the Xfinity series and certainly he’ll have a Cup ride in the next year or so. He’s an unbelievable talent. I really enjoy seeing the new young blood in the sport. As much as I like some veterans like Brad Keselowski, I’m glad to see Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, and Kevin Harvick retired.

 

[Bonz]

Jeff Gordon would be eternal, even once Earnhardt passed, Gordon carried the sport and would still be carrying it and could continue to carry it. Obviously he won't but that's the truth in my eyes.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

Jeff Gordon would be eternal, even once Earnhardt passed, Gordon carried the sport and would still be carrying it and could continue to carry it. Obviously he won't but that's the truth in my eyes.

Don't think Gordon gets near the credit for his achievements / wins and the fans he brought along with him to NASCAR. He got my boys into it like never before. I was just thinking the other day it is already so long ago. My sons and I were jumping up and down , watching NASCAR for Jeff Gordon's very first win (Coke 600 of course after we watched the Indy 500). He then went on to win the Brickyard only a month later! So many years ago! Yet it feels like in the blink of an eye --------- boom! He won near 100 races and is already retired and gone..... TIME marches on! To me the times of the #3 Goodwrench and the DuPont #24 fighting it out was the next (maybe last?) greatest era in racing after the Petty / Alison / Yarborough days.