http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=c07ac775-6038-44ef-8efe-e15095a3ba30&from=IV2_en-us_foxsports_articles (give link a little time to work)
wreck happened right in front of me and another FChat user. actually, that was the only real wreck in the entire race. I was a little disappointed, I haven't been to NASCAR in 8 years, the late 90's TMS races were wrecks every 20 laps. Montoya took a hard hit into the wall, but he wasn't touched or didn't touch anyone else. He diverted to the inside 4 off and after a weekend of rain he couldn't keep it straight in the grass and shot up the bank. it was a fun day, better than Baseball or Football, but still sucks compared to F1 and road racing. Image Unavailable, Please Login
true, first few years at TMS were pretty rough. it just seems like every race this year has had an accident right at the end leading to a "close finish". looks like you had great seats. how was the crowd? did you get your tickets from someone who couldn't use them b/c of the rain delay?
92,000 in attendance. Normal is 172,000.....Pretty open seating from what I understand...... How about those poor NASCAR followers who take a week of vacation to come to the track and camp for a week in their trailer, tent or RV and then have to leave to get back to work on Monday after being rained out for the weekend. I think I would be calling in sick or taking a few more days vacation time......
Good racing, something F1 sorely lacks. F1's still my favorite form of racing, but nothing beats side by side and on track lead changes.
Tillman has season tickets and couldnt go Monday, but I couldnt make it over to Dallas for them. We just bought tickets outside the gates, $30 each. Not complaining when they are 3 digit tickets, but Im sure a little more work we could have found free ones. Crowd seemed a little more tame, I think less partying on a Monday. You cant really judge anything from a Monday race or from the weekend when it rained the entire time. Attendance in NASCAR is down overall everywhere, I remember when they sold it out. It looked really full, but thats because everyone spread out with the open seating, maybe 60% of seats were full in our prime location. There is a bunch of passing, but I wouldnt call it racing. Only the last few laps do racers take defensive lines or work the track up and down. 99% of the race is a boring procession and when a car has a run it just takes the grove the car ahead isnt on.
Regarding NASCAR, just substitute the words "manufactured drama" (Bruton Smith's words) for "racing". This rather changes one's perspective. To TMS, any event where there isn't gun fire in the parking lot after the "manufactured drama" must be considered a success, no? RM
you are right, there may have been gun fire because in Texas you aren't allowed to carry concealed handgun at racetrack. so the criminals know this and will bring their guns as they don't care about the law, they just care about getting shot back by law abiding citizens.
You are right, what goes on during the race is generally testing the waters, finding out what your competition has compared to you, how your car is handling in all the grooves on the track, all of this is preparation for the 15-20 laps, and finally for the last 5 laps. It is still fun to watch, at least at places like Daytona, Atlanta, I can't speak for Texas MS. But that describes most racing when the competition is very close. Grid times for F1 are incredibly close, but then after the first few laps, that boring procession you mentioned starts up. Unlikely you will have that last few laps drama, except maybe for some backmarkers. That is reality. The aero package on current F1 cars do not allow for continual drafting and close racing, one reason the diffusers which create this "dirty" air, are being eliminated in 2011. Slicks were reintroduced, smaller tire widths, etc, all in the effort to put on a better show. One can love F1, but admit the show is normally boring. Thankfully there is that effort by the F1 powers to find a way that F1 cars can do more than look poetic on the track, and actually pass each other on circuit. A winner can cross the finish line for reasons other than a bad pit stop by a competitor. In all the years of attending all forms of racing, I have yet to see a finish in F1 as I have in NASCAR, even Indy when Fittipaldi beat Unser Jr. The original TransAm offered exciting finishes, and I will never forget the days of Oliver/Follmer dirt tracking and banging around with their Shadows in the CanAm. Close racing, on track passing is possible in road racing.
Shame the 24 car was taken out, he was driving a great race. I wonder if I will ever see a thread on this forum not comparing F1 to Nascar. Since I am a car guy and love racing I watch it and enjoy all of it.
