The NASCAR bashing thread...

After the USGP, Kitty Fishsticks switched to Nascar. Uro is supporting Kitty through counseling, but it's not working yet. I think it is going to take a real Ferrari win to snap Kitty out of it.

 

The Brickyard is usually an awful race to watch if you're not a fan. It's a one groove track for the cup cars so it's 'follow the leader' around an oval.

Ken

 

Wasn't in Jeff Gordon and Jimmy Johnson(not sure) who went over the rally cars for some kind of world challenge of various drivers (and motorbike racers) to compete against the WRC guys and they won?! I think Jeff consistantly beat the WRC champ guys. (edit) The article below corrects the questions/statements above. (end edit)


I remember reading a quote from a WRC guy that said something to the effect that people commonly think Nascar drivers can't drive and it just wasn't true.

Anyway, I no longer see the point of Nascars short track ovals. Those are just a throwback to Nascars earlier days and it's only a matter of time before they retire the last of those tracks.

 

Found the link to the Race of Champions.

http://www.gordonline.com/archive/120202.html

 

Hey Jon, or anyone else that watches NASCAR reguarly. Why the heck do so many fans hate Jeff Gordon? I always hear lots of boos when he wins or something to less of that extent.

 

This has always been my view:

I see nothing in NASCAR that is at all appealing nor what I would consider to be motor sport. Sure, it may be automobile racing, and I do believe the drivers possess a certain talent. However making left hand turns for 2 hours every Sunday morning has alway seemed moronic to me. Moreover, the drivers do not seem to be anywhere near the athletic level of Formula 1 or WRC drivers. I remember reading something a couple years ago about the average F1 driver's health and these points always stuck out:

- On average, their hearts beat at a rate of about 190-210 for the duration of the race.

- They have a body fat percentage equal to or less than long distance runners.

- During an average race they lose 5-8 pounds due to the heat/sweat.

Of course I don't need to go into the G-Forces that they endure.

Anyone else have anything to add?

- Chris

 

Cause he wins too much. people like an underdog.

 

Yeah he also came along at a time when the difference between the old school and new corporate type drivers was pretty stark. Now you've got a bunch of young guys in there but when he was a rookie there was just Dale and everyone else....and he had the bad manners to beat Dale. That didn't go over too well.

Also, as far as making left turns all day long on Sunday, go try it. I myself have gone into the banking at around 110mph, and I didn't have anything except a car in front of me by about 20 car lengths. The degree of concentration to maintain this for two hours at 200mph with 33 other cars around you would be the same as hitting your braking and turn in points in Formula 1.

Jack Roush said in an interview that a stock car is the worst race car in the world and any teams job is to make this awful thing go fast.

 

I'd like to, but I can't.

To me, NASCAR is like the WWE's (World Wrestling) version of racing.

 

I second that.

 

Um, yeah, Ken, I don't think so. You're way off base, dude. For one thing, Jon's right, there are more than a few accomplished racers here.

Plus, half of these guys don't know the difference between their butts and a hole in the ground when it comes to road course racing. How many of these guys get 'tutored' by the so-called road course ringers?

I'll gladly race Jimmy Spencer on any day on any road course. Ken, you can officiate that one.

 

Because he's not from the south. I'm a Gordaon fan because he's hated so much. I have my prjudices too! But I like Jr. too so I'm not that bad.

Ken

 

Well, you have every right to find NASCAR boring, but if you compare body fat, weight loss etc. you'll likely find the same in NASCAR drivers. They have huge G forces too, like at Bristol or Michigan.

Ken

 

If I offended any real racers here I apologise. I do think the vast majority of racers here aren't nearly as good as they think they are. If you are as good as Spencer my hat's off to you!

I conceed road racing is way different than ovals. Schumi would need coaching to race on ovals until he got used to it.

Ken

 

Ah any one can drive on a road coarse but the challange is dirt. Stewart can do both well. If youve ever been to a dirt track race there awesome and you see just as many big trailers at a F1 race. I like F1 but i mean how many years has Schumi won the championship. Its not because hes the best driver. Heck a 19 year old kid beat him driving a ferrari 360 saw it on speed. Nascar has more people that come to the races then any other racing event in the world. Ive personally been around mis my dad has drove there what a race track. Those cars can run for 400 miles but how many miles do the F1 cars run?

 

Any day of the week, but it's OK, you can keep your hat on.

 

They're racing, which is a sport, and the cars have motors. Mathematically that would be sport + motor = motorsport! Jon said it perfectly. If there's something about the sport in particular you don't like, then what is it? I'm not a fan, but rather I pretty much like all forms of racing. Oval racing is probably my least favorite, although I do like the larger ovals. Post a list of your interests and I'm sure some of them could be picked apart.

Now, as far as baseball...Here's the funny situation in Chicago: with the Cubs and the White Sox, there's the natural rivalry between fans. Sox fans hate Cub fans, Cub fans ignore Sox fans. Sox fans stick to the claim that all Cub fans do is go to the games to drink and socialize, and that they're not real baseball fans. To hear them tell it (OK, I'm a Cubs fan) you'd think every game at US Cellular Field would be packed to the rafters, dead silent, all 40,000 fans deeply analyzing the game in a professorial manner. Bull$hit. The reality is that only 15,000 Sox fans show up to the games to watch their 1st place team, getting drunk and brawling with each other. It's popular to criticize Cub fans for engaging in what I believe is the purpose of sporting events, and that is to attend the game and enjoy yourself. It's entertainment. My circuitous point is that in our part of the city, going to a baseball game is fun, and if you give something a try, you just might enjoy yourself.

 

I hate nastycar so much, Speed channel wastes time on it and makes me wait longer for a real race on F1. There isn't a thing about nascar I like. In an all boys school of 700 in Arkansas, I still haven't met a guy there that likes it.

 

Wow lets put ol schumi on a super speedway see if he can stay with tony stewart. Or have schumi race at el dora tony's own personal dirt track. These guys have cars that are equal in preformance not like F1 were ferrari wins for 8 years in a row.

 

Indeed, but for a true test of a driver, you could put Schumacher and Stewart in each other's cars, but how would Stewart fit in an F1 car?

No disrespect to Tony.

 

Well, he USED to fit in an open-wheeler...

 

Spell it right! It's nA$$crap!

 

Tonys a good driver. Currently winning the race for the chase but im going for biffle. If he wins he gets a Ford GT. Tony has really been getting fatter these days but by all means hes still a sweet driver. He does have some open wheel experiance so he might do pretty good in a F1 car.

 

Stewart raced sprints and the IRL. Personally, what is so exciting about F1? I like the series, but it's just too damn boring. I want to watch people race, not about the technology.

 

All very well said.

At least in Nascar all the cars start and unless they put them in a wall they will almost certainly finish.

There are 30 or more driver/car combinations that can win on any given day and you don't know which one that is until the checkered flag drops, 500 miles later, a distance an F1 car won't even go.

F1 has gotten about as interesting as watching bumpers rust, once upon a time it was a good series.