https://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...native-nascar/
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Heck, the whole time I was reading it, all I could think was it just sounds like an IROC series. Then the last paragraph confirmed it. Sounds like nothing new to see here, same program, different tracks.
Smoke is crazy enough to make it happen!
Tony Stewart has won everything he tried at...Something tells me he's onto something here also....Just Saying...?
I think the only draw will be "Smoke" fans and his name associated with the series. There are short tracks all over the country with races every Friday and Saturday night during racing season. "To me", I never was drawn to the IROC style of racing. The premise was always "if you put 12 drivers in 12 identically prepared cars, it will prove who the best driver is". That's b/s. Otherwise, the winner would be the same every race.
I'd probably watch the races only because I like racing and may have a particular driver to root for. But to say this idea is something revolutionary and different ... well, I just don't see it. It's IROC racing IMHO and IROC couldn't even survive with the huge draw it had running on tracks like Daytona. It just fizzled out and died on the vine almost 15 years ago due to lack of interest (they couldn't even secure a sponsor). I just don't see it lasting for the long run once the initial interest dies off.
The old IROC series was cool in the early years before they made it all ovals and the NASCAR drivers started to dominate which would be expected when you’re racing spec cars on ovals and drafting is the key.Quote:
Originally Posted by Thumper
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Yessir, they started out on road courses and morphed into oval track racers ... basically making it a NASCAR driver shoe-in. But, it died out. Tony is starting where they left off ... still running ovals. I don't see where the difference is. He's re-establishing a previous failure. Sure, he's a big-name draw, but heck, the initial series had the Penske name behind it. You can't get much bigger than that.
I will wait and see the finished product. Jesus, Jim its exhibition auto racing, not the Magna Carta.
BKB
Yep, I know what you're saying and I get it. I'm just so fed up with NASCAR, I'm willing to try most anything new. I guess the point is, this isn't anything new and is just a series dredged up from a previous failure. I guess the thing that sticks in my craw is the IROC style series. I guess I grew up in the "whomever was the most innovative and had the ability to turn a beer can into a winning car on the track" era and really miss that. NASCAR started going downhill (IMHO) when they came out with cookie-cutter cars and a rule book that rivaled a set of encyclopedias. I guess I'm just an old dinosaur and really miss people like my hero Smokey Yunick. I couldn't tell you how many times I sat on a stack of racing tires in "The Best Damn Garage in Town" and listened to his stories.Quote:
Originally Posted by BarryBobPosthole
I wonder if Smoke will allow Rebel flags into his events? ;)
I have no idea.
Actually one of the things that caught my eye here is that they’re designing a new car that sounds like more of a stock car from the description.
The ‘Car of Tomorrow’ in NasCar might be safer, but it seems like they’re migrating to more F1 style stuff that they can even dial in remotely.
That’s fine for F1, but it ain’t stock car racing. Of course, neither is NasCar right now. This new circuit reminds me more of the late model class of racing than it does NasCar.
BkB
Ha ha ha! Yeah, as I said, I'm a dinosaur. Here's our late model! (we ran three classes back then, late model, early model and sportsman). These were the days when I'd fit in the front seat of the tow truck (pick-up, not a wrecker) between my dad and Ernie Bass (we kept the car in his garage behind his house). We'd run this car at the Orlando track on Friday nights and the east coast (New Smyrna Beach) on Saturday nights. We'd get home in time to grab a few hours sleep, then my dad and I would take the drag car to the strip on Sunday. We only ran a limited number of NASCAR races then ... Daytona, Atlanta, Darlington ... plus we ran a Corvette at Sebring and a couple other "sporty car" tracks during the year. I'd give anything to be a kid again and repeat some of those adventures. The Finnies car was a '57 Ford, so this pic would have been '64 or '65 maybe. The DK car was a '56 Ford and was probably circa '62-'63? Finnies and DK were junk yards in Orlando. The sponsorship meant we could get all our parts from the wrecked cars on the lot. Ahhhh, the good old days. :)
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Those body types were classic in that era weren’t they. There’s been nothing like it since as far as classic body lines over a four or five year period. You could go to any local track around here in the 70’s-80’s and it would break your heart to see how many classic cars, mainly 55’s, were chopped up to make stock cars.
BKb
Ha ha! Yeah, tell me about it! Of course, they weren't "classic" back then. I can't remember what the year cut-off was to be considered a "late model", but that '57 model was only about 7-8 years old at the time. We always ran the late model class and I remember us running '55, '56 and '57 Fords up through '66 I think. That was about the time my mom put her foot down and told my dad he had a choice .... race cars .... or her. Dad's drag car at the time was a super slick looking '57 Ford with a 312 and a Paxton blower (the supercharger option was available on the '57 T-bird, so he ran the stock class). That car was well known in the area and he'd get paid "show money". Area tracks would pay dad show money just to show up at the race so their radio ads could say he'd be there as it would draw bigger crowds. Heck, they even paid if the engine was blown and he couldn't run, just as long as he had the car there. After my mom's ultimatum, I remember walking outside with my dad and stood there as he started waxing the '57. I finally asked him what he was gonna do? He said he was "thinking". Ha! ;)
At the time, we were running NASCAR (Pontiacs), local "roundy-round" tracks with the late model Ford, drag races with the '57 Ford and "sporty-car" tracks with the Corvette. He also wrenched on an Indy car. The only car my dad actually owned was the blown '57, he was the builder and/or mechanic on the rest of them. So, with all that racing, PLUS his regular job and 6 kids ... I guess mom wanted him home more. Nobody else in the family was into cars, but I was with my dad constantly. He'd get off work, come home, pick me up and we'd head to the shop. I couldn't tell you how many times I spent the night sleeping on a stack of tires. Dad never slept. I miss him.
Now, this is going WAAAAAY back. Dick (driver) was my dad's best friend (I called him Uncle Dick) and they were together constantly. That's me feeling "the heat" in the RR tire after some practice laps (I think I'm wearing my dad's jacket). "Central Florida Speed Parts" on the RR was my dad's business. He opened the first "speed shop" in Orlando back in the day. I remember when Dick rode along with my dad on a trip to California (the only place to get parts back then) to pick up a load of parts for the shop. Dad put a new set of tires on his truck before leaving Florida and he replaced them with another set of new tires to make the trip back!
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Racing ran in the family. That's Uncle Dick on the left and he was the promoter for the Orlando track. He drove the above car and he also ran the Daytona races back in the beach days. The big dude on the right is my Uncle "Rosebud" (married to my mom's sister). He was a race car driver, a stunt driver (did thrill shows) and was also the flagman at the Orlando track. I spent a lot of time with him and remember he took me on a crazy run on some old dirt roads once and I had the time of my life! He actually rolled the car on it's side and we got it back on it's wheels somehow (he was a BIG sumbitch and actually played simi-pro football). As we were headed home, I remember him saying, "Now don't you tell your momma!" He was crazy that way, but luckily, he had good seat belts before anybody ever thought to put seat belts in a "street" car.
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