What Happened to NASCAR? Why No One Cares About Appalachia’s Sport Anymore

[GBsPanhead]

I still enjoy NASCAR, also watch IndyCar and F1. My 2 drivers don't race any more...Dale Jr and Michael Waltrip were my 2 favorites...now I don't have any real favs. Paul Tracy back in the day for Indy.

With F1 and Indy racing gets kinda boring when leader has a huge gap back to 2nd place, with no real chance of 2nd ever catching up. In NASCAR racing seems much tighter and close, with many last lap passes for the win, which is exciting.

 

[cantflip]

I gave up, a while back... it wasn't because the cars got uglier... but the pace car comment was spot on. I cant keep up with the rules, I have little desire to do so when the racing is boring until the last 30-50 laps... so the drivers can keep their car in the running. Last I checked, the easy to follow pit strategies seemed to have given way to just keep it alive and maybe your car will get a lucky break when they line up after the last wreck.

Prior to the COT, they screwed around with spoiler height to keep the cars loose enough to be a challenge to drive, something that anyone could see the results of, even if they didn't understand why. Big wrecks are their bread and butter... that's what gives them the most coverage... but now they seem to be mostly just at the end, with a long and boring build up.

I still have fun at the track, but can't get into it on TV. Daytona, (my local track) got so greedy and screwed around with my tickets so much... I quit buying them a decade ago. At one time, I had purchased 16 seats and organized a big tailgating party.

 

[detmatt]

Regrettably, to me, NASCAR is as boring to watch as baseball can be. No disrespect to baseball, but it can be more of a strategy game than not. Same, to me, with NASCAR.

NASCAR is a much more technology-driven sport than in the past. Rule changes are made for whatever reason, with more kinks and whinks than some board games! Certainly not the same game as in the middle '60s! When it was about HEMI vs. "the world", with speeds a good bit below 200mph. To see who'd find the best way to bend the rules, or find loop holes in them. Definitely more interesting!

Ticket prices are much higher! Buy a ticket to get in, then a seat ticket to sit down once inside the gate. OR rent an RV for the in-field activities!

CBODY67

Baseball, hell golf is more interesting to watch.

 

[70bigblockdodge]

Agree. I'm pretty sure that they are throttle body injection systems, which are very carburetor like IMHO. NASCAR is trying to keep engine cost down and is afraid of bringing much computer control to the engines as it is difficult to police computer program modifications. I'd be in favor of smaller engines or even V6's. I can remember when the pre-Busch now Infinity cars ran V6 engines to keep costs down.

That is the biggest crock of crap they have been trying to push for many years.
First of all in the top of the game why are you regulating checkbooks? Budgets are self policing. If someone spends the most everyone else will leave and then you spend less till someone decides to jump back in and challenge you. You see what micro-managment has gotten them, fans leaving in droves.
Computers are not expensive. A 750-850 quick fuel is $600-700 a FI tech or Holley sniper is 1000-1200. For 2-3000 you can have a full tilt port injection.
What do they need to police in the computer controls, traction control? Anti-lock brakes? All the cars at the dealer already have this stuff and it would end up making the cars safer IMHO. Are they worried about timing maps and fuel maps being manipulated? Gasoline doesn't work that way you need 11.5-12:1 pounds of air to 1 pound of fuel so with a naturally aspirated engine you can only put in a certain amount of fuel. So the limiting factor is the amount of air a engine can move mechanically nothing to do with electronics. The engine does not know or care how the fuel is introduced, best power is still made at a certain air fuel ratio.
Want them to be stuck at a certain level make the engine smaller as you mentioned.
NASCAR has been selling that cost down more competitive line of BS since the wing cars and the Hemi we're King. Now the fans are going the way of wing cars and big hemis, history.

 

[MoPar Maniac]

Agree. I'm pretty sure that they are throttle body injection systems, which are very carburetor like IMHO. NASCAR is trying to keep engine cost down and is afraid of bringing much computer control to the engines as it is difficult to police computer program modifications. I'd be in favor of smaller engines or even V6's. I can remember when the pre-Busch now Infinity cars ran V6 engines to keep costs down.

Those V6 engines ran real high compression and required a lot of machine work and special stuff in order to make power and last. It got to where the V8 was cheaper than the V6.

 

[70bigblockdodge]

If they really want to slow the cars down, cut the compression ratio down. Talk about expensive 14-15:1 CR is hard on parts takes lots of extra steps to get the heads to seal. Even a drag engine is a PITA at those levels.

 

[1978 NYB]

I still record Nascar and fast forward to the crashes and watch the last 20-30 laps.

 

[cantflip]

I was still following when the TBI came out... I had a buddy who was semi inside (continental tire series, and other "also ran" sporty cars). Obama funded E85 and computerized tuning just took the cheating trying digital. Load your illegal tune into volatile memory and your good to run until a key stroke/ battery disconnect event happens. IDK how much everyone else saw this, but in my mind the refueling and tire changes that would sort out a winner seem to have less effect now... maybe they figured they should hire statisticians and stop the crew chief from having to work off guesses and prayers so much, but watching the race to establish what the crew chief was up to used to be a lot of the fun for me. Maybe I'm wrong and it's just the non-car guys in charge of the cameras trying to find "glory shots" while hiding empty chairs that's made the difference.

Gasoline doesn't work that way you need 11.5-12:1 pounds of air to 1 pound of fuel so with a naturally aspirated engine you can only put in a certain amount of fuel.

I'm not paying attention, so maybe the rule book has moved... E85 isn't gasoline... so fatten her up and push the timing past whatever the "approved tune" was did make a difference... at least while I payed attention. Fast cars were thirsty, so fuel economy was an issue for the top contenders. They seemed to get a handle on things pretty quick and I didn't bother to watch to try to figure out what was going on... I quit watching the car right around the time Tony ran over the kid at the dirt track... and quit watching the "fake" drama shortly afterward. Last cheat I remember, offhand, was the shims under the accelerator when they dynoed the cars.

 

[MoPar Maniac]

Na$car uses E15. Its 98 octane unleaded.

 

[Rwc]

If they can flat foot a full lap it's not the drivers skill that gets it done. I would like to see them narrow the tires by 1" make the tires a harder compound that would be capable of last 1/3 of the race. Also the spoiler limited to 2" and mandated 45 degree angle and remove the splitters.
Let them run whatever V8 they want and no electronic traction or ABS. Have at it boys

 

[68PK21 440.6bbl]

There are some drivers who still have personalities. Kyle Busch, Joey Logano

Joey Logano needs to stay the eff outta politics!

 

[Jon O.]

“To put it simply, NASCAR, in my opinion, quit being something real people care about when its drivers ceased being real people. Today, NASCAR oversees every tweet, every interview and every breath breathed by its imagined stars. There’s too much corporate money involved and in our obsessive politically correct day there’s no one willing to let southern boys be southern boys.”

“Instead, we have well-hewed and polished drivers who have gone through public relations school and taught how to speak in the same accent their local news anchor uses so as to be marketable.”

What Happened to NASCAR? Why No One Cares About Appalachia’s Sport Anymore | Appalachian Magazine

My grandfather who used to be a racecar driver himself, used to have his entire basement done up in nascar. Every square inch was nascar memorabilia. He never missed a race on tv. One day, about 5 or so years ago he stuffed it all in 1 room and turned the basement into the Tennessee Titans. No idea why, but i'm sure its related to something like this.

 

[68PK21 440.6bbl]

I believe this has a great deal to do with it. They all look the same. Time to take a nap on the couch.

Yea use to do that, don't anymore, it was a fine skill to time your wake-up 'jist'bout with 10 laps remaining. Now ya can go too YouTube within 2 minutes of race end and catch the last 10 laps in hi-def with the post race reactions & rants.

LOL

 

[68PK21 440.6bbl]

Want them to be stuck at a certain level make the engine smaller as you mentioned.

Gud'gawd no... just to keep with my anti-christmas TV watching theme I downloaded last years 6-hour Bathurst race sort of to replace my 2019 Dakar playlist as sort of electronic 'wallpaper' to get me in racing season mood and avoid all the BS TV has become.

Bloody hell, most of the field is 2-liter shitboxes with only a occasional sound of a V8 or the mention of the 6 liter Mercedes. And wot'da'hell I guess the aussies took some branding advice from (scaredy pants) Darrell Waltrip when he visited, they were using a jackman & lugnuts in the pits! (ala NA$$CAR) IIRC V8 Supercars had built in jacks and knock-offs. sheeech.
Electronic wallpaper I say.

 

[68PK21 440.6bbl]

This past Daytona 500 our local Daytona radio Talk Show Bozo (Yankee transplant) tossed this question out to phone in callers. No one got it right...

Real simple,

#1 Dale Jr. retired, there goes 1/2 if not 2/3 thirds of your track seats & TV viewership.
#2 ISC banned.. er went 'Tobacco Free' at their tracks, no smoking sections, we don't want you smokers anymore. There goes another 1/4. Same thing happened to the restaurant industry. An they're still crying.

And I won't go into the infighting with that family until I leave this God forsaken State.
OK I fibbed, JF's son get's pulled over coming from the strip clubs on Seabreeze with a big baggie of blow in his puke green 'Lambo, get's off on a technicality. Don't know what the outcome was for the other 'Fleeing & Eluding' case (nephew?) in the SUV he was racing.

Then there is the late night bimbo rides in the Lambo 'round the sped'way

Shall I go on?...

 

[Jon O.]

This past Daytona 500 our local Daytona radio Talk Show Bozo (Yankee transplant) tossed this question out to phone in callers. No one got it right...

Real simple,

#1 Dale Jr. retired, there goes 1/2 if not 2/3 thirds of your track seats & TV viewership.
Shall I go on?...

Boogity Boogity Boogity! Even Richard Petty says that Nascar is not as good as it used to be.

 

[1978 NYB]

My local track use to be hard to get tickets for the Dover races. Now you can drive up to the track on race day and pretty much get tickets anywhere you want. If you get bored you can walk across the parking lot to the casino.

 

[68PK21 440.6bbl]

My local track use to be hard to get tickets for the Dover races. Now you can drive up to the track on race day and pretty much get tickets anywhere you want. If you get bored you can walk across the parking lot to the casino.

I can remember getting stuck in that race day traffic one time, even drove right by the track, no more than roll down the window an try to get a scalper ticket, most response was all sold out, didn't feel like parking and getting out to work the crowd for a ticket (had many miles to go to complete my trip).
Have a old friend that was in the Navy that would go to the Dover race and talk it up.

About getting Na$$$car tickets, back when they pretty much had the high price new tower seats done at the spedway here in Daytona, around the 50th Anniversary race when StubHub appeared, the Orlando news went into the hi up stands and interviewed a couple from Michigan in the Earnhardt Tower that were a little miffed that they paid like around the $140ish range for each one of their seats but they were sitting next to a couple who bought their tickets off the street whether from a scalper or StubHub seller for $75.00 each.

The spedway has been known to 'Firesale' and give away (think BoyScouts/students) tickets to the 500 just to make sure it's 'SOLD OUT'. But watch out, lot'a counterfeit tickets floating around too.

Now those seats in the upper (nose bleed) sections last I checked (last year) are $220.00 each with availability (pairs) a week before the 500.

There's a good video blogger from Orlando (fromthecheapseats) on YouTube that did a couple of 20 minute walk & talks (VIP Package) when he went to the 500 a couple of years ago.
Let's just say he wasn't too thrilled 'bout Daytona.

 

[Cazman]

The best race I have seen in a decade was the last race in Cars 3.

 

[68PK21 440.6bbl]

BTW another photo from my 50th Daytona 500 album.

Drove by the speedway as it was filling for the Friday night truck race this year and one thing I noticed was all this crap was gone from the east end frontage lot on the spedway and they were parking cars there (VIP parking?) like in the old days (70's).
Didn't go by the front entrance till after the race, but there was a lack of the hospitality tents of old. This may just because the spedway wants everyone inside to enjoy the new 'Disneyfacation' updates they did.

But this is nothing new to me as a old Obama supporter and Na$car know-it-all (r.i.p.) informed me years ago that Obama had changed the corp. tax laws so the big sponsors couldn't write off the millions they would spend on the 'Lavish' party events as advertising business deductions.
Think I read about it in the local paper too, about drivers loosing sponsor money along that line, didn't pay to much attention to it other than 'bout time I thought.
Pre-race and all the other BS has just gotten 'Over the Top' IMHO.