NASCAR 2011

Ego much?

 

Where were you a week ago?

 

We are going to have a lot of lead changes, I think.

 

Hi 4re Nut. You've got the video that so cool to watch! Thumbs up for findings.

 

Good for her!

Now nascar needs to develop some cajongas and go after the team owner for doing this.

 

I still haven't figured out this fantasy league deal...I picked the winner but still didn't win the league this week.

ah well, at least I moved up two spots.

btw, I only caught the last half of the race and most of that I was switching back and forth between that and the MotoGP race...but it didn't seem like a particularly interesting race, especially for Bristol. did I miss all the good stuff or is NASCAR really starting to suck?

 

NASCAR is contractually obligated to both the track and their TV partners to start 43 cars; in many cases NASCAR helps the start and park guys get to the track.

 

Then they shot themselves in the ass when they said teams are limited to fielding four cars.

They may be contractually obligated to field X cars, but they do themselves little good when they hand out BS penalties to lesser teams, and also allow folks to figure out the 'start and park' scheme, which does them both a disservice when it comes to the discussion of the quality of the field.

I cannot tell you the last time Joe Nemechek finished a race, or even raced to the halfway point.
I'm not so sure I could put in the effort or even expect my team to be very enthusiastic if I parked 20 laps into every single race.

 

Because it counts the four guys you picked, not just the winner, plus qualifying bonus points, plus points for leading laps, I think.

 

I'm not so sure you are #1, I don't think the points are 'real time'.

And do not worry about what you coulda or shoulda done - I've been playing this game long enough to know you can switch the WRONG way more often than you will the RIGHT way.

 

The "four cars per team" rule was done by NASCAR so that they aren't reliant on their teams. otherwise RCR, Hendrick and Roush could dictate terms to NASCAR b/c they are the whole field. however, that rule was passed when NASCAR was at its peak (mid-00's), and has had some unintended consequences.

I can't imagine being excited about going to a race knowing you're going to "start and park", but it does keep some of the smaller guys in the game, and in the black, through lean times.

see? nobody knows.....

I guess you "win" not by picking the winner but by having the most points that week?

not the best laid-out fantasy league.

 

NASCAR has excess capacity.

it needs to:

-eliminate one major touring series (preferably the truck series). currently there are over 100 "major" NASCAR events a year.

-reduce the season. have it end the weekend before Halloween, not the weekend before thanksgiving.

-reduce each race (except for the Daytona 500) to 300 miles. make the Coke 600 a two-race event.

-don't visit any track twice. spread around dates to tracks that don't have a Cup race currently. currently they're relying on the same fans to visit a lot of the tracks twice. for example, Fontana had no problem selling out once, but I don't think either race has sold out since they went to two dates.

-and for the love of God and all things holy, eliminate the two hour (weekly!) pre-race and one hour post-race shows.

 

I was looking at TOTAL points - even the ones not counting the guys we 'start'. My bad, as they say.

I know exactly why they put a 4 car limit on, thank you.

What is the point of being 'in the game' when you are NOT 'in the game' because you started and parked EVERY week?

I think the fantasy game is fine, but I think they should allow TWO 'tier one' drivers to start as they do for tier two, and a couple of tier two guys should be in tier three.

1) I just about could not disagree more. The NW series and the Truck series are valuable events to the venues they go to, a lot of them are the smaller tracks that do not have the capacity to hold a cup-sized grandstand audience of 125,000.

2) I don't disagree with a shorter season, I do disagree with less races*.

3) WHY? Because you can't sit for 4-5 hours? While we are at it, let's cut baseball to 7 innings, football to 48 minutes, and basketball: who cares? For that matter, let's make Golf 16 holes, not 18.
The World 600 needs to stay exactly as-is, this is not F1 where they 'race' for a measily 2 hrs or 200 miles, whatever comes first.

4) There has been heavy discussion about dropping one of the Fontana dates, they know full-well it's an issue, a few other tracks are dying to pick up the date. But you cannot compare Fontana fans to Bristol fans, Daytona fans, Charlotte fans.
I have no problems with visiting the same track twice. You really know nothing about race promotion, do you? If some tracks don't have two races, they fold, pure and simple.
There are not enough tracks with the capacity (or facilities) to pick up races IF they were to allow only one race per venue. Charlotte has three.

5) Pre and Post-races shows - don't watch them.

 

Cup races aren't selling 125k tickets anymore, with rare exceptions. and most tracks that have truck/NW only have them under the promise of a Cup date. most of them never materialized (KY had to sue for theirs; others had to buy Rockingham, North Wilkesboro, etc). most of those tracks break even/lose $$ on trucks/NW. they make money (maybe) on lower series, schools, etc.

how would that be achieved? interesting concept, but the logistics might be difficult. the westward expansion (LA/LV/PHX) is a big part of the stretching the series. plus, NASCAR now has to compete with the MLB playoffs, NFL, and worst college football, where there's the most crossover amongst its fan base. knocking the last 4-6 weeks off the schedule eliminates that problem.

Dale Sr said the best way to watch a NASCAR race was to watch the first 20 laps, go mow the lawn, then watch the last 20 laps. I agree. the middle 2/3rds of a NASCAR race is inconsequential, and boring to most casual fans. A shorter race has all the same action (sometimes more so), without all the "logging laps". much like the difference between endurance and sprint races in sports car racing.

now yes, you can make similar arguments with other sports (like the recent study that said there's only 11 minutes of actual plays in an NFL game).

I've probably come closer to buying a racetrack than you have, and therefore have spent more time studying the financials than you most tracks don't make money (or, very little money) on Trucks/NW. that's why Kentucky sued for a Cup date. the simple facts are, since the NASCAR bubble burst in ~2006, most tracks are doing poorly. I would imagine some tracks with 2 Cup dates lose money on one, if not both (the sanctioning fee for any NASCAR touring race is huge, and fixed, regardless of how many seats you sell). look at the financials for ISCA and Speedway motorsports. and ISCA is controlled by the France family!

btw, Bristol fans are, by and large, Charlotte and Daytona fans. lots of races in the Southeast, lots of die-hard fans who attend multiple tracks (or both races at one track, or all of the above). that has for the most part not been replicated anywhere else in the country...look at the attendance at Vegas (2 races), PHX (2 races), Fontana (2 races). even Michigan can't sell out two dates anymore. Loudon NH is one notable exception.

I say, let the tracks that want a Cup date have them-Kentucky (they get one this year), go back to Rockingham, Milwaukee or Road America, Nashville, etc. spread the wealth, as they say

me neither*. but it's still a problem of too much exposure/hype and not enough substance.

*not entirely true, usually I just watch the 1 hour "victory lane" recap show on SPEED and skip the pre/race/post shows altogether.