[rickc]

Destertdude has a point. For people who have never seen a race in person,tv does not do the sport justice. I grew up in the southern United States. Nascar was a way of life for us. Most of the rest of the States thought we were a bunch of dumbass hicks for watching Nascar. The camera tends to follow the cars in the very lead of the race. There is a lot of action going on in the rest of the pack that the camera does not catch, people jockying for position,paybacks for previous transgessions,etc. T.V does not give you the actual FEEL of the sport. When you actually attend a race in person,you can FEEL the race. The second that the engines start is like a slap across your face. The camera cannot translate that feeling. When a pack of cars passes by you at 200 MPH, you suddenly realize just how fast 200 MPH really is.You are never the same again. Most people who attend a race in person become hooked on the sport.Then they can enjoy the race on t.v. People attending races and new tracks being built have led to the exponential growth of the sport.

Some sports are more television friendly than others. Growing up in the south hockey was never played in person,and rarely on T.V.Hockey was a sport played in the Northeast. Television did not do justice to that sport for the person who had never seen a live game either. The camera tends to follow the puck. As a result the viewer misses a lot of the game as well.A camera following a puck does not give an appreciation of the speed of the game. A moving object has to pass stationary points for the spectator to gauge the actual speed of the object. You can't feel someone being slammed into the boards on T.V. When you go in person,you can FEEL the check.I never had an interest in hockey from television. When I moved to New England I went to an AHL game with some friends. I was blown away by the speed of the game! I never had any idea from watching the game on t.v how fast the game actually was. I could feel the checks on the ice almost if I was being hit myself. A few days later I had season tickets,and I was hooked. Then I could appreciate the game on television. I firmly believe that people from the northeast moving to the south started the interest in hockey in the south. People from the south actually attending a game in person,has taken on a life all its own. Same with Nascar. Now that my New England Patriots are out of contention, lets go Bruins,and bring on the Daytona 500! Lets go racing boys!

[Gunnair]

"martin14" wrote:

Gunnair Gunnair:

Frankly, the local short track is the way to go. Saturday night racing under the lights is it!

$1:

is Western Speedway still open Gunnair

?

It is and doing well. I didn't get out there last summer as I had a lot of time at sea, but I'm planning to this summer.

Current odds list from Vegas for Daytona....

$1:

Kyle Busch 8/1
Jimmie Johnson 12/1
Mark Martin 12/1
Jeff Gordon 12/1
Denny Hamlin 12/1
Dale Earnhardt Jr 12/1
Tony Stewart 12/1
Kurt Busch 12/1
Juan Pablo Montoya 15/1
Carl Edwards 15/1
Kevin Harvick 20/1
Matt Kenseth 25/1
Clint Bowyer 25/1
Ryan Newman 25/1
Jamie McMurray 25/1
David Ragan 25/1
Kasey Kahne 30/1
Jeff Burton 30/1
Brian Vickers 30/1
Joey Logano 30/1
Martin Truex Jr 30/1
David Reutimann 30/1
Greg Biffle 40/1
Brad Keselowski 40/1
Marcos Ambrose 50/1
Sam Hornish Jr 50/1
AJ Allmenindinger 50/1
Michael Waltrip 50/1
Casey Mears 60/1
Elliott Sadler 60/1
Bobby Labonte 60/1
Paul Menard 60/1
Scott Speed 100/1

They gave Jr the same odds as Gordon and Johnson?

I like Allmendinger - he's going to get one this year!

[CDN_PATRIOT]

What I hope happens in the 2011 NASCAR season:

1) Carl Edwards wins the Daytona 500
2) Carl Edwards wins the Sprint Cup
3) Ford dominates the 2011 season

I can think of no better outcome because I'M REALLY FREAKING TIRED
OF JIMMIE JOHNSON!!!

And I also think that it's great that Cup drivers will stay out of
the Nationwide series, Denny Hamlin is overrated, and Kyle Busch will
forever be the chubby, whiny little bitch that will never win a title.

Can't wait 'til February.

-J.

[Gunnair]

"CDN_PATRIOT" What I hope happens in the 2011 NASCAR season:

$1:

1) Carl Edwards wins the Daytona 500

Boo-urns!

$1:

2) Carl Edwards wins the Sprint Cup

Boo-urns!

$1:

3) Ford dominates the 2011 season

Oh that's rich!

$1:

I can think of no better outcome because I'M REALLY FREAKING TIRED
OF JIMMIE JOHNSON!!!

Me too so everybody else better stop sucking.

$1:

And I also think that it's great that Cup drivers will stay out of
the Nationwide series, Denny Hamlin is overrated, and Kyle Busch will
forever be the chubby, whiny little bitch that will never win a title.

Kyle ain't chubby, but he is a whiney bitch.

$1:

Can't wait 'til February.

Agreed.

[Hyack]

I guess it's time for my worth in this thread. I used to be a great NASCAR fan, never missing a race, even taping the races I'd miss when making a weekend road trip. However, with all the good ol' boys either retiring or dying off the sport has just lost it's appeal for me. I'd say the biggest reason was the loss of Earnhardt, the races just weren't the same without his spectacular driving ability. But also....they now got Toyotas running in the series... ...blasphemy.....But, all said, I'll probably still watch the Daytona 500, even if the only good old boy still driving will be Mark Martin.

[ShepherdsDog]

The Toyota likely has more North American parts than the others.

[Gunnair]

Hyack Hyack:

I guess it's time for my worth in this thread. I used to be a great NASCAR fan, never missing a race, even taping the races I'd miss when making a weekend road trip. However, with all the good ol' boys either retiring or dying off the sport has just lost it's appeal for me. I'd say the biggest reason was the loss of Earnhardt, the races just weren't the same without his spectacular driving ability. But also....they now got Toyotas running in the series... ...blasphemy.....But, all said, I'll probably still watch the Daytona 500, even if the only good old boy still driving will be Mark Martin.

That happens in any sport though. Sure, Earnhardt, Wallace, Allison, Gant, Yarborough are gone and Martin will be gone next season, but the racing is good and some of the drivers have some extraordinary talent. Toyotas - yeah, I know, but NA car companies can't afford the sport like they used to because their sales are down because their cars suck.

[Gunnair]

$1:

10 Tough Questions
10 Tough Questions
posted on Jan 17, 2011
Part 1 in a five-day series that chronicles the issues facing NASCAR
As the 2011 NASCAR season approaches, Athlon Sports examines 10 controversial issues alive within the sport in the annual five-part, 10 Tough Questions feature, running throughout the week.

1. What’s to blame for NASCAR’s sagging television ratings and attendance?

A confluence of events. No one action could account for such a dramatic dip in interest, both at the track and on television.

The continued economic downswing certainly has hurt attendance figures, despite track operators slashing ticket prices and promoters pulling out all the stops. Three- and four-night minimums at hotels where rates are already jacked up 100 percent or more continue to keep fans away. Factor in gas or airfare as well as food and drinks and a souvenir for little Timmy, and suddenly the ticket to get in the gate is the least of the expense — particularly for the largely blue-collar diehard who can blow an entire mortgage payment on a three-day getaway to the track.

A continued refusal on the sanctioning body’s part to acknowledge the NFL’s Sunday superiority doesn’t help, either. As ol’ DW stated on the matter, if there’s an 800-pound gorilla in the room, run away from it. Since NASCAR has shown it has no qualms with shucking tradition, maybe moving away from Sunday afternoons should be considered — particularly during the Chase.

Outside factors aren’t the only issue, though. During NASCAR’s ascension in the public consciousness in the early part of the decade, speedway magnates International Speedway Corp. and Speedway Motorsports, Inc. built monstrous temples for the racing pilgrims, the idea being that 1.5- and 2-mile tracks would not only seat more, but also facilitate both stock cars and open wheel machines. Aerodynamics, and its effects on the fendered set, weren’t considered. What resulted was a shift from beating and banging (a major stock car draw) to aero-sensitive parades. And with the economy (and SMI’s and ISC’s portfolios) a mess, there will be no capital projects to rein in the speedways in favor of popular half- or three-quarter-mile bullrings.

At the same time, a cancerous greed grew from within the sport. The more attention NASCAR garnered, the more it wanted. With that attention came sponsorship and television dollars. Billions of them.

A new generation of driver was molded to attract the funding teams needed to outspend, and thus outperform, the competition. The sanctioning body was no different. It neutered the rough and tumble aspect of the sport — an aspect that drew so many fans initially — to bring in more corporate suits to the garage, the boardroom, and the suites.

Left was a sport that answered to corporate America. Clean. P.C. Friendly. Safe. As is so often the case, NASCAR realized only when it was too late that it had strayed down the wrong path, that it had alienated and disenfranchised its true base.

It’s trying to bring back those unique traits through a series of fundamental on-track changes, but as the wise racing scribe Ed Hinton noted last season, “Greed is never retrogressive.”

2. What became of Brian France’s promised “impactful changes” to the schedule?

When Brian France suggested last July that the 2011 schedule would “have some pretty impactful changes ... that I think will be good for NASCAR fans,” the prayers of many were thought to be answered. The lumbering 36-race slate of dates was a logistical nightmare that needed some streamlining and common sense injected to re-energize and captivate a fan base that had seemed to tire of the oversaturation of cookie cutter tracks and stale Chase venues.

Instead, NASCAR gave the fans more of the same. The “impactful changes” France spoke of ultimately manifested themselves in an additional race date for Kansas Speedway at the expense of Auto Club Speedway, and Kentucky Speedway getting a date to the detriment of Atlanta, while Chicagoland Speedway was awarded the Chase’s first date. No radical realignment to freshen things up and, specifically, to give the Chase its much-needed facelift, was implemented.

Auto Club Speedway was mercifully put out of its two-date misery so ISC could bring more people to its new casino just outside of the Kansas Speedway track, essentially trading one cookie cutter for another. And make no mistake; Kansas does not present thrilling enough racing to earn a second date without the casino. SMI CEO Bruton Smith bought Kentucky for one reason: to host a Cup date. As a result, a struggling Atlanta lost one stop.

Perhaps the most disappointing decision was to award Chicago the first Chase date. This move was made, again, not on the merits of the racing, but to maximize a slumping track’s earnings potential. Imagine kicking off the Chase with the Bristol Night Race. Imagine the hype, the attention, the crossover appeal. Instead, a track with no unique characteristics whatsoever, one that is basically a clone of the aforementioned Kansas Speedway, will host what should be one of the sport’s most important and visible dates.

The common theme this answer shares with most others throught this preseason series of articles is that NASCAR’s final verdict wasn’t made in the best interest of the fans or in the spirit of competitiveness. It was made with the France family’s bank account in mind. Fair enough, you may say — after all, they own the sport. True, but at what point do the short-term objectives cancel out any potential long-term gains?


Follow Matt on Twitter at @MattTaliaferro

Both great points. With the tracks, the 1.5 mile cookie cutter gets way too many races, and often provide the same low quality of racing with little passing and little action. The Talledegas, Daytonas, Bristols, and Martinvilles are the real quality tracks with the road courses coming up behind them. I'm not sure there is one cookie cutter track that really provides good racing save for maybe Pheonix or Vegas. California, Chicagoland, Kansas - dull.

[martin14]

Gunnair Gunnair:

Both great points. With the tracks, the 1.5 mile cookie cutter gets way too many races, and often provide the same low quality of racing with little passing and little action. The Talledegas, Daytonas, Bristols, and Martinvilles are the real quality tracks with the road courses coming up behind them. I'm not sure there is one cookie cutter track that really provides good racing save for maybe Pheonix or Vegas. California, Chicagoland, Kansas - dull.

I'll agree the cookie cutter tracks are f*(%ing boring.
Worst thing they ever did was cancel .. oh hell I cant remember the track, Southeast, gimme coffee and I'll get it.

Financial crisis yes, not sure about NFL though.
A corporate NASCAR has definitely hurt, JJ and 5 championships has hurt,
those 'arbritrary' yellows with 10 laps to go has hurt,
Cup drivers in Nationwide and Truck has hurt, but maybe that gets fixed,
clean PC cant tell which driver it is has hurt.

Dont know about scheduling either.. Seems these days with digital TV, and
West Coast people able to choose East Coast games to PPV,
and internet streaming has changed a lot of things.
Saturday night racing is good, but internationally forget it, Sunday afternoon
equals Sunday evening in Europe, still ok.. I think you have to play to your base
these days though.

[martin14]

Rockingham.

[ShepherdsDog]

I've only ever been to one NASCAR event, but when it comes to racing I prefer F1 or WRC. I used to go to the Langford speedway in ic during the summer to watch, and visited the speedway at the old Gimli Airbase quite a few times.

[PublicAnimalNo9]

Love NASCAR. HATE TSN when they show something lame like poker instead of Sprint Cup racing.
Big fan of rally and endurance races.
Wish they'd bring back the Paris-Moscow-Beijing rally.

[CDN_PATRIOT]

Gunnair.....being a huge Ford fan, it's really been a big downer watching them get their asses kicked in the last bunch of seasons. They even touted a new engine just before last year's Daytona that was supposed to "help Ford return to dominance".

Needless to say, we all know what happened. The new engines did nothing, until Carl Edward's two-streak at the end of the season. If Ford won Daytona, I would be happy. If they won a few or more races this year, I would be estatic.

I miss the likes of Dale Jarrett, Alan Kulwicki, Davey Allison, Rusty Wallace, etc. back when Ford was kicking serious ass with the Thunderbirds and whatnot. The glory days need to return. Soon.

-J.

[Gunnair]

martin14 martin14:

:oops:


Rockingham.

Good track and you're right.

[Gunnair]

"CDN_PATRIOT" wrote

$1:

Gunnair.....being a huge Ford fan, it's really been a big downer watching them get their asses kicked in the last bunch of seasons. They even touted a new engine just before last year's Daytona that was supposed to "help Ford return to dominance".

The engine package didn't do too much. That being said, we'll see in Feb.

$1:

Needless to say, we all know what happened. The new engines did nothing, until Carl Edward's two-streak at the end of the season. If Ford won Daytona, I would be happy. If they won a few or more races this year, I would be estatic.

Aagain, we'll see. If Edwards can take his two wins into Feb, I'd be impressed, but I'm not holding my beath.

$1:

I miss the likes of Dale Jarrett, Alan Kulwicki, Davey Allison, Rusty Wallace, etc. back when Ford was kicking serious ass with the Thunderbirds and whatnot. The glory days need to return. Soon.

Yeah, Ford doesn't have a punch of powerhouse drivers. Edwards and to a lesser extent Kennseth. Ragan has been sucking and if he has another season like 2010, he'll be out of a job. Though I'm no Ford fan, I am eagerly waiting to see if RPM finally... finally gets it shit together and wins one.