A Manufacturer to Pull Out of NASCAR and Go Elsewhere?

[XB70]

This week's Autoextremist says one of the manufacturers is seriously considering pulling out of NASCAR.

Given the current situation in NASCAR, and this manufacturer's possible future motorsports participation avenues mentioned in the article, who do you think it is?

If you were the corporate Grand Pooba in charge of deciding in which racing series to compete, where would you do it and why?

 

[trailertoad]

I would try to dominate Sportsman racing. Pretty much like Lucas seems to be doing ..BUT...I can't even find a place to buy their oils, just additives.

Local stock car tracks, local drag strips, etc. Have "truckload sales" to get the ptoduct out there. Post points money at local levels to those that have the decals on their cars. Start at the grassroots. These are the guys who buy oil for their cars, work at repair shops, etc. Do you really think any of the NASCAR guys change oil anymore?

It should be interesting to see if a company does it. It is wide-open if thay have the distribution in place.

Trailer Toad guy

 

[dailydriver]

Manufacturer of what? Oils? Parts? Autos??

I don't blame domestic auto manufacturers for pulling out now that the Frances and Co. have allowed the Nippon Giant into the series. They will just keep throwing their Camry/Corolla trillions at their teams until they dominate and kill the series, just as they killed IMSA GTP racing in the early '90s. I still will never forgive Mr. Gurney for selling out, nor for the spit in his county's face audacity of calling the team "All American Eagles"!

 

[pastmaster]

I think it's General Motors Corporation. It's not GM anymore. I'll go back to their old GMC identity. They are looking at everything!!!

They quit Pontiac and I don't see Chevy Monte Carlos, as the top selling car in their market segment. I don't know about if they will quit the Trucks, though. They may be the last to go.

I think they will concentrate on the Corvette Racing Program, it is a very competitive car, and it has a chance of winning LeMans. That is if it can beat AUDI'S R-10 V12 Diesel Monster.

 

[Mitch Alsup]

It is either GM or Ford, both are in terrible shape.

I have long been a fan of NASCAR, and have allways wanted to buy cars that look like NASCAR cars. However, I an totally against the carburetor, restrictor plates, live rear axel, and not a single body pannel of the NASCAR car exists on the production vehicle. But most of all, I am against the every NASCAR car looks like every other NASCAR car (for aerodynamic reasons you understand).

Bring back the NASCAR of (say) mid-1980s through early 1990s. That is, 90% of all major body pannels are shared, the engine displacement, cylinder count, valve count, location, orrientation, and drive wheels are the same as production car, as is the suspension system, pickup points, and geometry. The race cars will weigh the same as the passenger vehicles. Of course all the components are beefed up for the rigors of racing. And everything inside the bodywork is free game, so these are real race cars. So the car I watch racing is still distantly related to the car I can buy and drive. To some this will sound like several of the european series (like DTM).

On the other hand, I welcome Toyoty to the frey and if this displaces another manufacture, so beit.

 

[dailydriver]

quote:

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Originally posted by pastmaster:
I think they will concentrate on the Corvette Racing Program, it is a very competitive car, and it has a chance of winning LeMans.

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Probably not a bad idea, since they won't have to throw away money they don't have on the futile effort of trying to beat the Nippon Giant, which has unlimited funds and resources to spend on it's roundy round program. I guess they feel that they must get those last few remaining "red state" domestic loyalists out of their Fusions/Montes/etc. and into Camrys/Tundras/etc.

Oh well, at least the General can still kick TOYota's a$$ somewhere !

 

[dailydriver]

quote:

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Originally posted by Mitch Alsup:
On the other hand, I welcome Toyoty to the frey and if this displaces another manufacture, so beit.

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So then we will have a two car manufacturer race? How exciting! Or maybe we can welcome in Honduh, and Nissan and make it another "All Japan" series!!

 

[Nick29]

quote:

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I think they will concentrate on the Corvette Racing Program, it is a very competitive car, and it has a chance of winning LeMans. That is if it can beat AUDI'S R-10 V12 Diesel Monster.

[/QB]

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Not gonna happen, and not a goal for a non LMP team. At a track like Daytona that isn't as fast as Le Mans, a very fast GTS car (like the Viper a few years ago) could have a chance of winning overall if something went wrong with the LMP contenders. But as fast as Le Mans is and with the speed differential between LMP and GTS cars and Audi's magic touch when it comes to racing, I'd be pretty surprised if Audi doesn't win this year and can't even imagine that a GTS car would win overall.

 

[pastmaster]

Nick,

I agree with your assessment of the Corvettes winning LeMans, it would be an act of Luck, Hardwork and Providence...something knocking out the favorites, the Audis and Porsches and all the others. Possible but not likely.

But a win is a win! GMC could use one right about now.

 

[slugsgomoo]

quote:

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Originally posted by Mitch Alsup:
It is either GM or Ford, both are in terrible shape.

I have long been a fan of NASCAR, and have allways wanted to buy cars that look like NASCAR cars. However, I an totally against the carburetor, restrictor plates, live rear axel, and not a single body pannel of the NASCAR car exists on the production vehicle. But most of all, I am against the every NASCAR car looks like every other NASCAR car (for aerodynamic reasons you understand).

Bring back the NASCAR of (say) mid-1980s through early 1990s. That is, 90% of all major body pannels are shared, the engine displacement, cylinder count, valve count, location, orrientation, and drive wheels are the same as production car, as is the suspension system, pickup points, and geometry. The race cars will weigh the same as the passenger vehicles. Of course all the components are beefed up for the rigors of racing. And everything inside the bodywork is free game, so these are real race cars. So the car I watch racing is still distantly related to the car I can buy and drive. To some this will sound like several of the european series (like DTM).

On the other hand, I welcome Toyoty to the frey and if this displaces another manufacture, so beit.

---

I agree, but are we going to start seeing GTO's, Mustangs, and Chargers in nascar? I sincerly doubt that anyone is going to want to race the front wheel drive garbage that 90% of cars out there today are...

I would love to see some front wheel drive monte carlo's, and a bunch of OHC v6's with fuel injection, and no limited slip diff trying to race though. Mainly because it would be comical to the point where we could all laugh our asses off.

 

[jsharp]

The guy from Autoextremist was on Wind Tunnel Sunday night telling this same story but of course giving no details and unable to mention which manufacturer it might be. Talk about someone who takes himself far too seriously. He sounded like he was talking about ICBM launch codes and targeting information.

If he's not careful, his 15 minutes may turn into 5...

 

[Mr Nice]

I seriously doubt Chevy or Ford would pull out of Nascar....I'm guessing its Pontiac or Dodge.

When my brother was stationed at Naval Air Station Atlanta, he would sometimes see Nascar trailers with race cars renting the Lockheed Martin wind tunnel for testing.

 

[CMT]

quote:

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Originally posted by LT4 Vette:
I seriously doubt Chevy or Ford would pull out of Nascar....I'm guessing its Pontiac or Dodge.

When my brother was stationed at Naval Air Station Atlanta, he would sometimes see Nascar trailers with race cars renting the Lockheed Martin wind tunnel for testing.

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Not to be smart, but Pontiac's been gone for like 5 years.

 

[Mr Nice]

LOL,

Sorry.....

I guess you can tell I'm really not that big Nascar fan, but I did meet #24 at Homestead last year.

 

[sunruh]

actually slugsgomoo, nascar is considering allowing the gto, mustangs and so forth in the busch series.
basically, different cars than sprint cup.

 

[G-MAN]

quote:

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Originally posted by slugsgomoo:
I would love to see some front wheel drive monte carlo's, and a bunch of OHC v6's with fuel injection, and no limited slip diff trying to race though. Mainly because it would be comical to the point where we could all laugh our asses off.

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I already think NASCAR is laughable. Back when the cars were actually based on "stock cars," i.e., actual production vehicles, NASCAR was interesting. Now you've got purpose built race cars that are hamstrung by artifically imposed restrictions on technology and bear only a superficial resemblence to production cars and which share absolutely ZERO parts with them. What a joke.

 

[rszappa1]

Look at Indy...The Great american race....The top 32 cars so far....All HONDA ENGINES....

 

[robbobster]

quote:

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Originally posted by rszappa1:
Look at Indy...The Great american race....The top 32 cars so far....All HONDA ENGINES....

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According to the Charlotte Observer (that's NASCAR country):

"Street-model versions of the cars that race each week in the Nextel Cup Series now -- Fords, Chevrolets and Dodges -- are all assembled in Mexico and Canada. Camrys are built in Kentucky. In fact, Camrys have more U.S. and Canadian parts than all but one of the cars currently racing in the top series, according to federal statistics."

 

[G-MAN]

quote:

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Originally posted by robbobster:
"Street-model versions of the cars that race each week in the Nextel Cup Series now -- Fords, Chevrolets and Dodges -- are all assembled in Mexico and Canada.

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That is ridiculous. There are no "street-model versions" of the cars that race in NASCAR.

 

[jsharp]

quote:

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Originally posted by G-Man II:

quote:

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Originally posted by robbobster:
"Street-model versions of the cars that race each week in the Nextel Cup Series now -- Fords, Chevrolets and Dodges -- are all assembled in Mexico and Canada.

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That is ridiculous. There are no "street-model versions" of the cars that race in NASCAR.

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You have to give the press some slack. If they knew anything they wouldn't be the press. They probably meant cars of the same name as those which race.