Is Anyone Watching the Daytona 500?

[BarryBobPosthole]

No Earnhardts, no Waltrips, no Pettys = no Posthole

BKB

[DeputyDog]

Not me.


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[Thumper]

I've talked about it, thought about it ... still don't know if I will. I will most likely watch the start and possibly the finish, but I'm not sure about that even. I was 1-month old when I attended my first race on the beach at Daytona (don't remember it) and have been a fan all my life ... until my interest slowly started fading over the past 10 years or so. I don't ever remember such a drastic transition as the "old guys" left and the "new guys" came in over the years ... until recently. The new crowd has never been able to garner my interest and it's hard to be a fan when you really don't have anyone to root for. I have to relate it to hunting in a way. I loved hunting all my life and slowly got away from it. I never thought that would happen, but like my interest in NASCAR, it happened. I don't know if it's just part of getting older and changing interests or what. I guess it's kind of like music ... I hear the music I listened to in my "formative" years and find myself wishing they made music "like they used to". CRAP!! I'm starting to sound like my PARENTS!! Maybe it just sucks getting old. I don't know.

[Chicken Dinner]

No interest in a motorized soap opera.


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[Arty]

I’ve Never watched it before, so why start now.

[Thumper]

Geeeeze! I just walked into the room and found that Lynn has the tv tuned into the race for me. I sat on the end of the bed and started watching interviews with the drivers and EVERY SWINGING DICK they interviewed, had to take a swig of a frigging Coke! I know Coke contributes $$$ to a driver’s favorite charity every time they’re shown on tv drinking a Coke, but good cause or not, it sure gets tiring. Maybe I really am getting to be an old curmudgeon. GET OFF MY DAMN GRASS!!! ;)

[BarryBobPosthole]

I’m right there with you, Thumper.

BKB

[johnboy]

Nope. Curling - Tournament of Hearts is on. Much rather watch ladies in tight pants slide down the ice than a buncha cars that all look the same go round and round.

[Thumper]

I ended up watching anyway. It’s now 10 laps to go and we just had the “Big One”! 18 pieces of junk in a matter of seconds. Typical Daytona restrictor plate race.

[Thumper]

Whoa Nellie! Three “big ones” in the last 10 laps! Only a few cars left on the track for a green/white/checker. ‘Course there’s still time for another one with 2 laps. Dang!

[Arty]

Didn’t watch. I committed to a Bob seger concert in May. I’m my household that means playing every song he ever sung through all 3 Alexa’s the rest of the night.
Good thing I’m not listening.

[Thumper]

Wow! Toyota finished 1, 2 & 3. :)

[Arty]

Wow! Toyota finished 1, 2 & 3. :)

Obviously rigged then.

[Thumper]

They pretty much dominated all day.

[Penguin]

Yeah it was a sad scene. I watched a few laps at the beginning. Saw they were red flagged after dark hours later. Then I saw Hamlin on TV a few minutes later smiling so I guess he won...

NASCAR has changed.

It had already changed too much when I went to work down there in 2003. Trouble is the die was cast and there isn't any simple way to bring it back. Be honest, the racing is terribly boring. They built way too many tracks that are just like Charlotte, and the only reason people went to see a race at Charlotte was that the digs were nice and they got to see them go really fast. But the racing was almost always poor. After the switch from bias ply to radial tires even the racing on the short tracks was much more tame and boring.

And the presentation stinks to high heaven. Hell it used to be the only caution flags were when it was actually hazardous to continue racing. NASCAR didn't care whether you had time to make an adjustment or needed gas badly. That was your problem not theirs. And this stage racing foolishness? How drunk do you have to be to conceive of something so idiotic? If you were going to do it at least take a page from the old truck series or the dirt tracks and park the cars for 10 minutes and let the drivers and crew chiefs tell you how it is going and work on their cars.

Problem is that all of these problems take a lot of skill (which the current bunch of France's don't seem to have) and money (which NASCAR is definitely short of now). They were a fad sport 15 years ago and they made decisions which only made sense if all of those fad fans were permanent. In doing so they ran off the most rabid fan base in all of sports. Those guys don't watch anymore. They've migrated to college football or fishing. They are gone. Now the "Casual Race Fan" that NASCAR built its future around is gone as well. Now you've got empty grandstands, overpriced spec cars, pampered mama's boys for drivers, clowns like the Waltrips calling your sport on TV, and a sport that borders on unwatchable.

It makes me sad but there ain't no Harry Gants, or David Pearsons, or Cale Yarbroughs, or Bobby Allisons, or Dale Earnhardts on the horizon. I don't even know if NASCAR will be around in 10 years. I really don't.

Will

[BarryBobPosthole]

I had never really thought of its overall effect on NASCAR’s following, but I am also a hater of cookie cutter 1.5 mile tracks. Texas is a boring ass race, KCisa boring ass race, Charlotte, Chicago, LasVegas, ditto.
The exceptions I’d make is Atlanta and Darlington. Those two have had some really entertaining races.
I’ll take watching a race at Bristol or Martinsville (or the old flat Rockingham) any day to one of those ‘Jeff Gordon’ tracks.

BKb

[Penguin]

That was a HUGE mistake Posty. And I'm not the only one who said so at the time. Hell I can remember Rusty Wallace begging the NASCAR people to scrap the plans for these 1.5 ovals and build a bunch of Richmond or Martinsville type tracks instead. A handful of Billion USD later and you're stuck with tracks that simply cannot produce good racing with these types of cars. The IRL can. And they put on a good show at many different types of tracks. A solid body race car cannot.

They were told so. They ignored everyone. Now they are stuck.

Will

[BarryBobPosthole]

Now here’s a NASCAR question.

Will they ever allow an electric car on a NASCAR track? Andwill they ever jettison this ‘Car of Tomorrow’ bullshit and go back to more ‘stock’ equipment with the appropriate safety improvments of course.

I thinkthe rebirth of auto racing might be the Chili Bowls of the world. And on Friday nights you can see a car hauler on most any of the highways around here, some grease monkey headed to the local track.

Its still alive. It just doesn’t in any way resemble what the ‘pros’ do.

BKB

[Penguin]

I don't think so. Could be wrong but they wouldn't even switch to 6 cylinders because they didn't like the sound. I can't imagine them switching to electric cars that don't make much of anything but a hum.

I think those smaller series are great. Can't imagine actually doing it myself though! WAY too much work. And most of it on a budget that would make a monk cry.

Will

[DeputyDog]

Barry, have you ever watched a Formula E race? Open wheel electric cars racing on street circuits all around the world. The European manufacturers are pouring money into it right now developing technology for street cars.




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[airbud7]

Yeah it was a sad scene. I watched a few laps at the beginning. Saw they were red flagged after dark hours later. Then I saw Hamlin on TV a few minutes later smiling so I guess he won...

NASCAR has changed.

It had already changed too much when I went to work down there in 2003. Trouble is the die was cast and there isn't any simple way to bring it back. Be honest, the racing is terribly boring. They built way too many tracks that are just like Charlotte, and the only reason people went to see a race at Charlotte was that the digs were nice and they got to see them go really fast. But the racing was almost always poor. After the switch from bias ply to radial tires even the racing on the short tracks was much more tame and boring.

And the presentation stinks to high heaven. Hell it used to be the only caution flags were when it was actually hazardous to continue racing. NASCAR didn't care whether you had time to make an adjustment or needed gas badly. That was your problem not theirs. And this stage racing foolishness? How drunk do you have to be to conceive of something so idiotic? If you were going to do it at least take a page from the old truck series or the dirt tracks and park the cars for 10 minutes and let the drivers and crew chiefs tell you how it is going and work on their cars.

Problem is that all of these problems take a lot of skill (which the current bunch of France's don't seem to have) and money (which NASCAR is definitely short of now). They were a fad sport 15 years ago and they made decisions which only made sense if all of those fad fans were permanent. In doing so they ran off the most rabid fan base in all of sports. Those guys don't watch anymore. They've migrated to college football or fishing. They are gone. Now the "Casual Race Fan" that NASCAR built its future around is gone as well. Now you've got empty grandstands, overpriced spec cars, pampered mama's boys for drivers, clowns like the Waltrips calling your sport on TV, and a sport that borders on unwatchable.

It makes me sad but there ain't no Harry Gants, or David Pearsons, or Cale Yarbroughs, or Bobby Allisons, or Dale Earnhardts on the horizon. I don't even know if NASCAR will be around in 10 years. I really don't.

Will

This^....This^....and This^.....

Well said Will.

[johnboy]

All cars, including race cars, are gonna have to be electric within 12 years according to the Green New Deal. :stirthepot

[DeputyDog]

Here is the link to the Formula E website.

https://www.fiaformulae.com/

Jaguar, Audi, BMW, and Nissan are really dumping money into this series.


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[airbud7]

the death of Dale was the death of nascar for me


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHs5LF3NEa0



Watch this for truth about father and son!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPuvIo3e0Xo

[Captain]

Nope not a lap.