Fans, I asked for it and you delivered. Just a couple of days ago, I suggested market-driven forces (bad economy, declining revenues, falling ratings) might be a catalyst in bringing about the kind of changes disgruntled fans are looking for. I asked for your input.
You did not disappoint.
In the mix of comments (and by the way, look in the archives for the post from April 10 if you missed it) there was quite a mixed bag of familiar refrains, some interesting suggestions, and even some disagreement.
Here are some of the topics that came up:
The “Car of Tomorrow”
For a variety of reasons, this is the most common complaint. We can opine on how ugly the car is (frankly I didn’t think the old car a thing of beauty either), but in my opinion, the real issue is how the car has affected the racing. In far too many races, it seems that all a driver has to do is get out front, and unless the driver’s crew screws up in the pits, it’s lights out. In my opinion, far too many stretches of racing at “down force” tracks are real snoozers. THAT’s a problem because there’s only so may plate tracks, short tracks and road courses to go around.
The car isn’t going to go away. There’s way too much money invested in it, and you can’t argue that the increased safety is a good thing. To think we’ll go back to the “what wins on Sunday sells on Monday” mentality is pure fantasy at this point. It won’t happen.
N0w I am far from a technician, but what has been suggested and what might work is giving teams a little more latitude with the car. If we can put a man on the moon, we can make this car race, can’t we?
If the racing’s good I think a good many fans could get past the looks and the lack of resemblance the car has to anything you will find on the showroom floor. I’ve been to the local tracks and I’ve seen fans get excited over dwarf cars and the junky, old “J” cars- suggesting to me that if it has wheels and that racing’s good, people will watch it.
The Tracks
We had one reader make a comparison between race tracks and baseball parks and it a fitting one. Major League Baseball went through it’s era of bland ballparks, and you know what’s interesting? After a labor dispute pretty well destroyed the 1994 season, parks with character like Camden Yards in Baltimore came along.
Addressing the track issue in a meaningful way seems to be one of the more doable options. I get why NASCAR expanded into Chicago and California. If you’re going to grow, you’ve got to expand into new markets and you won’t grow with over half your schedule concentrated in the southeast. However- there are places where attendance has been lousy and continues to be lousy, and like they say, insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
There are couple of fixes that might make sense: 1) Put Darlington back on the schedule with a Labor Day race, and quite bluntly, take one of the California dates off the schedule. 2) How about reconfiguring one or more of the mile and a half tracks? Yes, it takes money, but what will cost more in the long run? If the fans want more short track racing, give it to them. Do something, ANYTHING to give one of the bland intermediates a little more character.
The Chase
That’s an easy one. If someone out there REALLY loves the Chase, I don’t know who they are. Most fans range from tolerating it to flat-out hating it. Get rid of it. What would it cost? I couldn’t care less.
I mean, I still really don’t get what’s so great about a driver winning a points championship with only one or two wins- but by the same token, Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson (twice) have all won chase championships without being the wins leader.
Brian France
Fans, I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but you can’t fire the owner. It’s not like he’s a commissioner owners can vote to get rid of. About all you can really do here is vote with your wallet and with your remote control.
If enough people stay away, you’ll get his attention. What else would work? A driver walk out? They’re making too much money to do that. Teams pull out and a new racing body starts? Interesting idea, but again, that’s a pipe dream.
Toyota
Now this one mystifies me. In this day and age of a global economy, I still can’t believe fans can get this upset about the presence of a “foreign” auto maker. It’s an argument that may have made sense in 1965, but now, a Chevy isn’t really any more American made than a Toyota or Honda. By way of disclosure, the best vehicles I’ve owned are Toyotas and there’s one manufacturer currently competing in NASCAR whose products I wouldn’t drive if they gave me one.
Now having them be the dominant manufacturer like Honda is in IRL? Now, I wouldn’t want that. The good news is, I don’t think that will ever happen.
This is an interesting discussion. I’ll admit I’m still not sure what to make of a situation where you have fans who’ve soured on NASCAR, but still continue to visit NASCAR websites and talk about it. I’ve got sports I became disenchanted with, and I eventually stopped watching and life went on just fine without it. Furthermore, if declining numbers are the result of disenchantment, you’d think you’d find a fan base developing somewhere else. It isn’t. Local tracks are struggling too.
I profess no expertise on all this, and I certainly have no illusions that Mssrs. France and Helton will be calling me for consultation tomorrow. I’m a fan, but more than that, I am an observer. A chronicler if you will. I like a good conversation and a spirited debate- and as long as we’re not debasing each other’s character or threatening each other’s lives over something as inconsequential as racing, I see no harm in it.
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This article is spot on on the problems some of us have with the current state of Nascar. I totally agree the the teams should have more lattitude on the car. That just makes sense, and if it makes the racing better it is a total win. I can’t understand why Nascar doesn’t see that one. I also agree that if someone has become so unhappy with Nascar they should just move on instead of constantly complaining.(A little complaining is O.K., it shows you care) But if you now HATE the sport move on. As far as Toyota goes, we have had this discussion before and I still am against thier inclussion in Nascar. For me it really has more to do with tradition than anything else. The “stock car” for racing is still an old school “mustle car” that Toyota never built. The curent bodies are just that, bodies like a drag racing funny car. I know people tell me Toyota does build rear drive V8 cars, they are Lexus. That does not hold water with me. We do not race Lexus in Nascar any more than we race Cadillac or Lincoln. Well that is my take. Great read as always Jim.
I’ve been a NASCAR fan since the late ‘50’s and never thought it would become an IROC series. NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint series are now nothing more than the former IROC series….same cars, drivers from different racing series and too much control by the NASCAR Gods.
I would propose an alternative series, where the clock would be turned back to racing a la ‘50’s and ‘60’s racing. It would be refreshing to see the cars brought into the modern age, with overhead cam engines, electronic fuel management systems, electronic suspension control and cars using factory sheet metal so a Ford would look like the street version, Chevy, etc… Factory sheet metal would also reduce sheet metal costs for the teams. The series Gods would only police safety equipment by using all the safety features of the COT. Teams would be able to do some REAL innovation, a la the ‘50’s-‘60’s era and not be stifled by all the NASCAR rules. Let the engineers and mechanics do some tinkering with the engines, drive train and suspensions. Any team that would dare to innovate today is fined and suspended by the almighty. I’m sure you remember when some of the NASCAR innovations of that era actually made it to the factory street cars. I know, some would say some team would have an advantage, either by the aero of a street car or some other innovation. Yup, it happened back then and all the teams survived to race another weekend. Sure, one year Ford was winning, the next year Dodge was winning, etc…. Same might happen today, but it sure would be more exciting racing than watching the same-o IROC cars every weekend, which I don’t do very often any more. Let’s get back to the days of innovation and creativity and get the NASCAR Gods out of micro-manageing the race cars. We all remember what happened to the FORMER IROC series.
Local short tracks are the breeding ground for most all NA$CAR type racing. As fans we’d better support them. NA$CAR will not go away due to the tough economic conditions.
The same can’t be said about the grass roots tracks. The fans, & car owners they depend on are under tremendous pressure also. Many can’t afford to attend or to run their cars.
Every time they run a Cup race on Sat. night the short tracks suffer. Some have chosen to change to Fri. or Sun. nights but they still suffer.
In Cup, if a team goes away, another will take it’s place. If a local track goes away, they very seldom re-open. Even if someone tries the success rate is very low. Due to zoning, & noise regs, almost no tracks are being built. We all need to support the ones we have left.
The Crap of Tomorrow car is here to stay. Let’s just remove the wing and separate the men from the boys with an ill handling car.
Why not take the cookie cutter tracks and make each of them unique and more challenging. Put a bump at one, a dip at another, a funny turn at another, etc. It will make the drivers and crews earn their pay.
Make the Chase meaningful. NA$CAR is one of the very few non auto sports that doesn’t give the championship to the winner. Make the winner of the most races in the chase the Champion and base the rest on points. It would make every driver race harder.
Brian France is in charge until something happens to him. If he dies tomorrow, who takes over? His lifestyle could put him at risk of a short tenure at his position. The person or people who come after him could go a long way in determining the future of NA$CAR.
Toyota is here as it should be. The Camry is the only nameplate made in the USA. The Impala and Fusion are Mexican and the Charger is Canadian.
I think sthe interest in NA$CAR will continue to drop until it reaches a level of sustainability. I think the NA$CAR fad has faded and it will go back to a level for dedicated fans. Forcing a sport on the public did not work for Soccer or Hockey and it will not work with racing. People follow and support the sports they grew up playing or watching.
I know it’s real easy to complain,and not so easy to find solutions to our complaints. You are right on about B FRANCE. Maybe you could send him to me,I would love to talk to him one on one. Oh-yea I’m dreaming here, but he must take a step back and look at the problems that he and his of people have created themselves. The problems with NASCAR are not all related to the economy,but some certainly are. I think B FRANCE is extremely out of touch with the real world in general,and the people around him are obviously just yes people so maybe nothing will ever get done. One thing he does understands(I think) is “MONEY”, and if he keeps losing lots more of it, maybe he will at least listen to people like you and others who have a platform to reach lots of people. This complaining could go on forever here,but really, a little back and forth with common sense people including fans (but not the ones screaming & standing behind the lame TV shows) could have some positive results.
Jim Sullivan
It never ceases to amaze me when Larry Mac exclaims the fact that there’s only a few hundredths of a second between the fastest lap and the slowest lap!! What the H*** does he expect when they are all driving the same darn cars?
Back off, NASCAR! Let some individual thought re-enter racing! Reward it, even!
To improve the Camry of Tomorrow, they need to change the steering points on the car (if you can call it a car). This would allow it to turn better. I agree with getting rid of the wing. Wings belong on airplanes.
If you want to make the races more exciting at the cookie cutter tracks, bring in a circus cannon and have it shoot white elepahnts or clowns at the passing cars. Seriously, they need to change the banking or the angles of the corners. Make each track unique like they were when they first started NASCAR. That will liven things up.
As to Brian France, he can be fired. It just takes the rest of the France family to do it. And at the current rate the stock is plummeting and the financial losses suffered from empty seats and the double digit drops in TV ratings every week, he may need to be looking to move back to California and buying a football team.
I have been a NASCAR fan since the late 1950’s. I agree with most of the above comments. I believe NASCAR’s problems started with their obsession to put a treack in the New York area, and the hiring of people like George Pyne. The people in New York, and California will not support a car race track. Remember Ontario Brian France? Oh well you were too young then. New Yorkers like their horse races, Yankees, Giants, Jets, etc, but could care less about auto racing. You wasted all of the money trying to put a track on Long Island. You should have looked at the Shoreham Nuclear Plant disaster. The issue was the same, traffic. Give the Labor Day date back to Darlington, and make California Auto Club Speedway into a large swimming pool.
I sure don’t expect the media to pick sides, but I sure don’t see the media educating the public on the facts of Brian France. First, I would say that I think the guy is a jerk– the way he acts, not the way he runs NASCAR.
All the clamoring about the loss of the roots of NASCAR tracks and the south need to be cleared up. Bill Sr headed upNASCAR for 23 years. He did certain things for a reason, but bottom line is that he closed 143 tracks–70 of them in the south!!
Then son Bill Jr was in charge for 31 years. He colsed 5 tracks. He moved the Rockingham race to California. During his tenure, NASCAR got tracks in California, Chicago, Kansas, Las Vegas, Ariszona, and Texas.
Brian took over and has just maintained the status quo. His dad and sister were on his board and I think it is safe to say that Brian NEVER did anything his dad did not want done. NASCAR has made billions since Brian took over, and that’s a big part of his job.
I did not initially respond to this inquiry because I had already written similar articles for my website regarding the same subject-matter. However, for the first time in my young fanship of 13 years, I found myself not obsessing about watching the stand alone Nationwide Series race at Nashville this Saturday past. Also, I find myself in the same frame of mind about most cup races recently. If I am home, in front of the television, great, if not, I know I am not missing anything spectacular any longer. I never thought the COT was ugly, it took me a while to get use to I must admit, but it is one of those things that is so ugly it looks tough! I do agree that safety is paramount in any sport. I am a certified high school baseball umpire, and before every game, I have to ensure every player is “properly equipped”, if you know what I mean. However, I think you can eventually “safety” yourself out of business, and I think that is what NASCAR is slowly doing to itself. There is no passing, little bumping, and certainly not the slightest bit of on-track aggression that brought fans to the sport in the first place. When Darrell Waltrip is pleading for bumping and grinding, and a little ol’ school technique, that should be a red flag. Whole-heartedly, Darlington needs to be given back its Labor Day event, and California needs to simply go away, disappear off the face of the earth.
I have heard several interviews with who I call The NASCAR Nazi, Brian France. Unfortunately Jim is right, owners cannot simply vote him out, but he is also correct in stating we can show our disgust with our wallets, and I believe we are doing that as fans…not just because of the economic issues, but because we deserve more bang for our buck! I just received my renewal package for next year’s Daytona 500. If I buy the same package, I will save nearly $200 over last year. NASCAR will say it is the economy, but in reality, they know they have a competition crisis on their hands and they are going to do whatever it takes to get fans in the seats, instead of fixing the problem.
I am so sick of hearing how GM isn’t any more American than a Honda or Toyota. Folks, I live in Ohio, 30 minutes away from the Honda plant. Granted, both Toyota and Honda keep our folks employed by manufacturing cars here, but let’s not forget where the profits end up in the long run, not here. So damn straight, we have a right to be angry. No one bought their way into NASCAR faster than Toyota. However, the one thing they have done is forced the other auto makers racing programs to step up their dance, which, I reluctantly admit, they have not done as of yet. Toyota has got their game plan, the Big Three are farting into the wind right now. My rant.
Folks who say Californians don’t like racing need to check their facts. We have higher attendance at Infineon than they have in Darlington. Maybe fans from the south don’t know where Infineon is located!!
We also get more at Fontana than they got at Rockingham, even after it was announced it was closing.
been watching all forms of racing for many years , nascar is going in the direction as the iroc series also IRL….same evrything . i peronally like the technical side of it . i love the old can-racing where you would see so many different types of cars and engine…..i could not see why other manufactures would come to nascar just to be there with the same car as everybody else…extremly expensive for them they are not stupid as nascar thinks they are.
People have a short memory
COT………… was the racing any better witht he old car?? hell no. “areo push” prevented any lead changes, If the COT is like IROC why is only 4 of the 15 teams win a race?
Ugly? what the hell does that mean? I think Implias are ugly so the COT is an improvement.
The Chase……….. Think back before the chase, The Cup champion was was usally determined with 3 races left, very few time did it really come down to the last race! There have many seasons the the Champ had only 1 win and drivers with 7 wins did not witn the cup!
I agree about the tracks, lets mix it up……………
Global economy or not Toyota is foreign. Foreign owned, pay taxes in Japan, increases foreign ownership in America, all facts. Howeever they are the best thing to happen to NASCAR. They have caused the others to step up their game and that is good.
Ugly cars? gimme a break, I have a die cast of a ‘63 plymouth that Petty drove, it was no thing of beauty either.
Issue here is tracks, too many cookie cutter tracks, mix it up some. Bring back some of the NC tracks, 2 races at darlington, ELIMINATE California, who are we kidding anyway?
Oh and what races on Sunday still sells on Monday, if marketed properly.
The races from the 60’s and 70’s were a lot more exciting than today because there was both more certainty and more uncertainty. Certainty in that there were only about half a dozen drivers that had the equipment to win the race – so you had someone to root for. Uncertaintly because there were more mechanical breakdowns and races weren’t decided by who got out of the pit first. Most of the major races only had one driver or at most a handful of drivers on the same lap at the end. To make races more exciting-put on street width tires, don’t limit the teams on adjustments, do single file restarts, have all cars pit together, and no lucky dawg!
Sorry I missed this the first time around. I’ve been around and involved in racing my entire life and seen a lot of what works and what doesn’t. Here’s a laundry list of some things to help fix NA$CAR:
1. Top 43 fastest every week–everyone else goes home.
2. Drop the top 35 deal—see number 1 above.
3. Drop the past winner provisional—see number 1 above.
4. More short tracks and road courses—love ‘em or hate ‘em they sure do mix things up.
5. Drop the common body template—let’s get back to showroom stock appearing bodies.
6. Race ‘em in the rain—a Monday morning race is sure fire way to lose money and fans.
7. One car teams—but how the heck would you enforce that? Get creative enough with the paperwork and “team” could own the field.
8. Dump Goodyear’s exclusivity–I know that went bad last time NA$CAR allowed Hoosier in, but I blame NA$CAR for setting parameters for tire construction.
9. Dump the past champ provisional–if Carl Long is faster than Awesome Bill then Carl races and Awesome Bill goes home.
10. Put Rockingham back on the schedule. Give the Rock one of Cali’s dates.
11. Put Nashville and Memphis on the Cup schedule–give them cali’s other date and a Michigan date.
I’m sure I could come up with more, but i gotta run.
Why is California always discussed when it comes to taking away a race? We get one race here in Northern California, Infineon, and that is it. It’s a road course, so it isn’t “cookie cutter”.
I don’t think Fontana needs two races, but there should be one in Northern CA and one in Southern CA.
For those of us who don’t have the funds to travel, those “local” races are our only chance to get up close and personal with Nascar. And there are plenty of us here to make the race profitable.
Really stop and look at this! The racing has changed becasue of many of the reason listed here but you have to remember the one common thing is the drivers. What is the most exciting part of the race? The last 15 to 30 laps! And what happens with that? Simple drivers race! I think for that the drivers today have figured out lets just run around until the end then race. This in the Cup series seems to be the way. Look at the Trucks and the Nationwide, when the cup guys are there they drive there A**es off which makes for good racing and fans love it. Racing has become follow the leader in Cup because the drivers choose to do so then show there stuff at the end. Now how do you fix that? Go back to Saturday night short tracks, heat races that set up a feature race, invert the field so the fast cars start back in the pack, hummmmmmmm kind of sounds like the All Star event which is by far the best racing of the year.
The excitement better return, this sport will never die but will suffer.
Mike
DG has some good ideas, but I think you must have some sort of provisional system. What if a top driver happens to crash in qualifying before he gets a lap in? Would you rather see a Jeff Gordon or a Kyle Busch race from 40th to get to the front or a Todd Bodine make the race because the good driver did not get a lap in. Instead of someone really racing from the back of the pack, you would have two laps and park. There is a sound reason for a provisional system, but maybe one different than the top 35. Perhaps more like it used to be before that rule went into effect.
Elena is comparing apples and oranges, and stereotyping the south. I am well aware of where Fontana is (I am from Ohio by the way, think I mentioned that once), and you would think considering Fontana’s proximity to Los Angeles, they would be able to fill the seats. A good friend of mine from high school lives in California now, and admits they are still trying to sell tickets to Fontana ON race day. Kevin Harvick made mention LAST YEAR that it is a shame California can’t fill seats. We can see it on television, duh. Also, it is size…sure Fontana, and Infineon can fill more seats than Darlington and Rockingham. Darlington is what, 1.36 miles compared to the 2 and over miles of Fontana and the road course? Rockingham is a short track. (In case you all don’t know, NASCAR teams have been using Rockingham for testing for short track programs since it is no longer NASCAR sanctioned. ) Anyway, it is easy to put up better numbers in bigger venues simply due to size. So that argument is without merritt. That is like saying, “My Cobalt gets better milage than your Silverado”…really? You don’t say? I am in no way, stating that there are not race fans in California, but racing in Fontana sucks, has always sucked, then NASCAR in their infinite brilliance assigns that perverbial toilet TWO dates a year, and robs one of the longest traditions in the organization’s history, by stealing Darlington’s second Labor Day event??? Even before I was a fan of NASCAR, when I thought of Labor Day, I sure as hell didn’t think of Los Angeles, I always thought of something more down home, country style.
Also, I agree with the fact that the top 43 make the cut, plain and simple. We ALL race to get in…too much babying!
On that note, I need to find a hobby…
btw, I apologize for any spelling errors, I did not edit last post!
I don’t get this bit about “American” cars. If you read any consumer reports and what “Americans” like and want to drive, it is NOT American cars. If you look at the safest and who keeps up their value, the top 10 usually have about 9 cars from Japan. And that’s Americans doing the judging!!!
I’ve belonged to a union for 35 years. At out annual meeting, a few of us counted how many American cars there were in the parking lot. Guess what? There were only about 3 out of 10.
So if Americans are buying, driving, selling Toyotas, why can’t they race. I also notice that they are not getting bailed out by my tax dollars.
Cindy look again at consumer reports on cars. The most recent one sure made FORD look pretty damn good. Ford has not taken any bail out money either. Also, Toyota is looking to it’s government IN JAPAN for bailout money. This has been reported in the news. If you want to watch Toyotas race there are other series where they run, and more power to them. I do not want to see them race in Nascar or the NHRA but we can’t always get what we want. Oh well enough from me today. Everyone have a great week.
The last thing that NASCAR needs to do is go backwards. There’s a reason that it took a long time for NASCAR to make it full time on network television and that reason is because the races were boring. People want to romanticize the past but the reality is that those races were usually between the same handful of drivers every week and even then only a few of them finished on the lead lap. I don’t know about you but I don’t find a North Wilksborough race entertaining when the 4th place car is a lap down at the finish and the 10th place car is 3 laps down. And people complain about the current Bristol yet forget that Cale Yarborough once led all 500 laps in a Bristol race.
The changes that NASCAR has made haven’t all been great. But you can say that about any sport or any business. Not every decision that is made is going to be the right one. But I think that NASCAR has gotten it right for the most part. NASCAR is more competitive and more entertaining than it used to be because of the changes that NASCAR has made. If they listen to the people that are complaining then they’ll just end up making changes that will put them back to being on tape delay every week with the same handful of drivers finishing on the lead lap, let alone competing for the win. Actually they’d probably end up on the Versus network which may be even worse than a network tape delay.
1. No Toyota’s the fans have spoken ,
2. more night races especially when the NFL starts(why compete for sunday when you can own saturday) and have 2 days to get a race in. duh!
3.less commercials ,banner ads instead ,no network koolaid plugs.
4. random drawing of pit box location would be more competitive. 5.Kentucky ,Nashville ,and put Rockingham back on schedule.
6.no off dates before june take them when there more obviously needed. 7.run the schedule more regionally and weather friendly start in the south and finish in the south…uhh there is another track in miami that is great to run on in FEBUARY after Daytona.
8.less starting on points qualify if at all possible
9.all tracks must have lights…uhh point 2,7.8
10.give 5pts for a poll winner
I don’t get why so many people don’t like foreign cars racing in Nascar.. What is a foreign car by the way?? My Honda Civic was produced in Kentucky and my Chevrolet Blazer was produced in Canada.. In a global economy this is just not the right attitude at all.. Come on Honda, join Nascar..
But I will say this.. My wife and I have watched almost every race on tv from 1996 to 2007-08.. Interest starting falling big time in 2008 and now we only “pay attention” verses “watching” the race.. In other words, we are doing other things and just keeping up with the progress..
It has gotten so Boring.. The drivers have no personality except for Kyle and sometimes Tony.. But even Tony, as a new owner, is very quiet now..
The races are mostly at 1.5 mile cookie cutter tracks..
The T.V. coverage is outright annoying from Fox.. That “digger” thing is annoying as can be.. The “lead” people from Fox don’t know much about racing.. Waltrip and the other Nascar guys do.. But the people from Fox do not and are always being corrected..
And, if I may suggest something.. During the last 10% of the race, put the top 10 pylon back on the screen ESPN use to use.. No one gives a darn about someone laps down with 10% of the race left.. Yes, 10% and not a certain numbers of laps since all the races run different numbers of laps..
In regard to toyota racing in Nascar, I have no problem with any manufacturer completing in Nascar, however I think they should bring
Japanese sponsorship. My problem is with American companies sponsoring
foreign manufacturers. I feel that race fans are probably the most brand
loyal fans in the world & if they follow my lead they’ll boycott those companies that sponsor Toyota. ie, Napa, Fedex, Home Depot, etc.
Well. You want NASCAR to mix up the tracks, you want things to stop being the same. Yet, you want to throw out California because it’s not the kind of racing you like. California is a wide, long, fast track that has lots of room for 43 cars. The racing you see is all you gonna get. Sure, you could put more cars on the track (Daytona has run with; what?; 64 cars). The race is like school figures in ice skating…boring to watch, but necessary to show the skills of the drivers. It’s group time trials. What would happen if a driver doesn’t have to dodge other cars, and can run straight to the checkered flag? That’s racing at California
Don’t blame California for NASCAR ripping the Labor Day race away from Darlington. The promoters were given that race at NASCAR’s discretion, they didn’t ask for it (they asked for a race, but not THAT one). The south doesn’t need another race, there’s a Cup race in every corner down there. Out here on the left coast, if you live in Ocean Shores, WA, you are 12 hrs from the nearest race (Infineon), 16 hrs from the nearest oval (Fontana).
I agree with Ken (above). As I said in the earlier referenced article, the racing wasn’t better in the “good ol’ days”. In fact, it was horrid. And all ya’ll was griping about it then, but now you call it racing. If the old car was so good, how come ya ain’t watching the Nationwide and ARCA series? Is the racing better there? They’re using the old car. The races look the same as Cup’s.
If everyone would settle down and watch, they might find the racing is good, these are the “good ol’ days”, and maybe, if ya argue one point at a time, NASCAR might just listen.
Most fans will say that Bill Sr was a smart guy and made NASCAR what it is today. Sure he was smart. He got Winston and the next big thing he did was dump all those awful tracks (70 of them) in the South. I mean races that lasted hour???? He saw the future and it is now.
People go into business to MAKE MONEY. Of course it is nice if it is fun, but you don’t work endless hours just becasue you like it. Look at all the folks that are trying to break into Cup. If it was for the LOVE of racing, there are small tracks alll over the country where they can care FOR FUN. They want glory that comes will millions of dollars.
After making his many millions, Ray Evernham can now have fun. That’s great. I’m glad he’s doing it, but he could not do it if he had not made more money than he could spend in a lifetime. He got 1,500 people to come to the track. Let’s see how long that lasts. Tracks in my state are all just about going out of business.
Ken, you are so right. If you look up some of the old records, you’ll see that Petty, Junior and many of the old guys would sometimes win by as many as 5 laps. In many of Petty’s wins, he was the onlly car in the lead lap. How about only 6 or 7 drivers racing full time?
elen they maybe more peeps at fontana than the rock but aleast at the rock there was racing going on not a boaring ass race ill be at THE ROCK this weekend
The world of boycotters is a tough one. If one is to boycott a company, you have to be true to your ethics and not buy anything imported. Well, life in the USA would be like living in a 3rd world country. First you would not be able to drive. About 50% of the components in American brand cars are imported. Then if you drove, for example a car of the ’60s, you couldn’t because so much of out gas is imported.
Food would be tough if you went to a market. Most processed foods include imported products, like sugar. No coffee, and about 44% of fresh or frozen fruits are imported. About 60-70% of fish and seafood is imported. Most head lettude is imported.
Then there’s clothes. It doesn’t matter where you buy it, most of it is imported.
Then there are the tech stuff. I don’t think there are any phones make in the USA. Forget getting the best computers, cameras, recorders, CDs, etc.
We had a 4th of July party a few years ago and could not find ANY flags made in the USA.
The horse has left the barn. Too late.
If you want Jap cars running, then let them use Jap drivers.
My biggest problem is the fact tha Na$car keeps saying that they level the playing field but they really Don’t. The multi car teams have such a big advantage some of it you can’t police like sharing info or work done away from the track. But at the race track they should limit the number of people associated with each car and allow them to work on their own car and no other cars. While watching a race last season I saw members of all the Roush team working on the 17 car and right next to them at the same time I saw Robbie Gordon’s single car team working on theirs. The Roush team looked like a bunch of ants working on the car their were so many of them and their were 3 working Robbies it was an unfair advantage. They should bring 8 people for each car and it should be the teams choice whether they want engineers , mechanics or a bunch of athletes for a pit crew.
The other problem I have is the fact that Toyota provides Crate engines to all their teams with the exception of the Gibbs team everyone should build their own and they should not be built in a factory. Toyota also provides Crate engines and cars and trucks for the Nationwide and Truck series teams. This should not be allowed period. Toyota said the would do things the way everyone else does when they came into the sport but no other manufacture does this.
Great article and a lot of good comments. I’d have to agree that my biggest complaint is the chase format. It’s hokey, it doesn’t create a close points race any more often than the old format, and it’s basically a contrived ploy to garner media attention and manufacture excitement.
I wouldn’t have a problem with NASCAR not allowing the teams more latitude to mess with the cars if NASCAR had an active R&D developement program to constantly make the cars better. But once they delivered the COT they pretty much were done. How can the racing get better if no one is actively working on making it better? That’s the sin, there is no effort being made to fix the issues.
Racing is good? Have we been watching the same NASCAR? Watch out for the lightning…it is coming!
Hey everyone I agree with you all. I would love to run Nascar and fix it, we all need to write to Nascar or Brian France or the director of compatition. Lets get their attention. It needs to change if the the sport we love is going to survive. Here’s the email link fanfeedback@nascar.com and address, NASCAR
P.O. Box 2875
Daytona Beach, FL 32120
Take 15 minutes and write to them. Lets get this sport back to how we loved it.
I HAVE NEVER WRITEN BEFORE, A FAN FROM THE 50′S ALSO, BEEN TO MANY RACE’S INTIL TOYOTA CAME IN, “NONE SENSE” (UNAMERICAN) OUR MONEY LEAVE’S OUR COUNTRY. BRING CREW IDEA’S BACK AND LET THE BEST WIN. I’M A DODGE FAN, HATE TO SEE THEM GO ?. BUT REAL GLAD THEY WON THE LAST RACE WOULD HAVE LOVED TO SEEN IT. I BELEAVE NACAR NEED’S DODGE MORE THEN TOYOTA. “SIGNED TERRY”
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