Nascar Fans?

[JayByrd]

The finish at Daytona this week showed exactly why they shouldn't, and won't, ease up on the restrictions.

The absolute worst-case scenario for NASCAR is a car going airborne and entering the stands. This very nearly happened with Carl Edwards at Talladega a few years ago, and a similar incident occurred this week. In both cases, fans were injured. The Cup series is already pushing the edge of this worst-case scenario occurring, IMO they can't afford to go even an inch further.

Stock car racing is polarizing. People are either right into it, or they think it's garbage. The day a fan gets killed by a flying car, is the day a bunch of people who don't care a whit about NASCAR will develop a hate-on for the sport.

[GordonH]

^^^ I seen the crash on sports hilights, reminding of Richard Petty's crash in 1988 at Daytona (because of the rolling along protective cage between track & stands).
Just youtube it

[driveangry]

The finish at Daytona this week showed exactly why they shouldn't, and won't, ease up on the restrictions.

The absolute worst-case scenario for NASCAR is a car going airborne and entering the stands. This very nearly happened with Carl Edwards at Talladega a few years ago, and a similar incident occurred this week. In both cases, fans were injured. The Cup series is already pushing the edge of this worst-case scenario occurring, IMO they can't afford to go even an inch further.

Stock car racing is polarizing. People are either right into it, or they think it's garbage. The day a fan gets killed by a flying car, is the day a bunch of people who don't care a whit about NASCAR will develop a hate-on for the sport.

What happened is a symptom of "pack racing". It's what the fans want. The fans don't like the single file or cars spread out all over the track, they want close, tight racing. It does make it exciting to watch.

Removing the bottom two row of seats would have prevented any injuries. Those injured were very minor injuries, 3 treated at track, 3 refused any treatment and only 1 went to hospital as precautionary.

People that don't like racing don't understand it, so I don't see a group of people developing a "hate" for the sport, people have been getting killed in Auto Sports since the beginning.

Rally racing seems to kill and injure more spectators than any other Auto sport.

[WRG]

For the Daytona 500, Earnhardt qualified at 202 MPH. At least two drivers ran over 200 MPH in 1970. Maybe they could ease up on the restrictions just a little ?

More speed isn't needed for better racing. 200 plus mph is more than enough as witnessed this past race. The accident is almost identical to the crash at Daytona during the spring race in 2013 when the #32 car was launched into the catch fence. That accident injured 28 fans, two critically. Somehow the drivers of these accidents walked away from what was left of their cars.

NASCAR could do a lot to eliminate the dangers of pack racing by changing rules for downforce and not throwing another yellow flag for a hot dog wrapper on the track. It's done for only one reason, to bunch the cars up again to keep the pack from spreading out, which means more cars on the lead lap at the end of the race. If the race was not manipulated then the field would spread out there would be fewer of the "big ones" that happen now. But tv fans know there will be the "big one" at super speedways, and that knowledge makes them watch. Tv viewership means lots of dollars for NASCAR and right now, they need all they can get.

[driveangry]

More speed isn't needed for better racing. 200 plus mph is more than enough as witnessed this past race. The accident is almost identical to the crash at Daytona during the spring race in 2013 when the #32 car was launched into the catch fence. That accident injured 28 fans, two critically. Somehow the drivers of these accidents walked away from what was left of their cars.

NASCAR could do a lot to eliminate the dangers of pack racing by changing rules for downforce and not throwing another yellow flag for a hot dog wrapper on the track. It's done for only one reason, to bunch the cars up again to keep the pack from spreading out, which means more cars on the lead lap at the end of the race. If the race was not manipulated then the field would spread out there would be fewer of the "big ones" that happen now. But tv fans know there will be the "big one" at super speedways, and that knowledge makes them watch. Tv viewership means lots of dollars for NASCAR and right now, they need all they can get.

I'm not a believer that changing downforce will make for better racing at a restrictor plate track. Lessen or increase downforce won't do much if anything for breaking up the pack. I'm all for lessening downforce at the intermediate tracks.

Removing the restrictor plate would increase speeds on the straight a ways but it will also force them to brake entering the corners, no more flat footing it around the entire track. This should brake up the pack enough but still put on a good show.

just my opinion

[LoneWolf_53]

I find team (hockey, football etc... etc) & individual sports like golf, more entertaining than a car going around a track couple hundred times.
To each their own, I guess.

Did you accidentally forget the part about upwards of 200mph or was it an intentional omission?

Golf yeah that's really entertaining. Half the spectators haven't a clue where the ball is and the other half couldn't care less.
I'd rather watch paint dry and that's from a golfer.

To me it's a game you play, not watch.

Watch the last lap of Sunday's NASCAR race and you might see why people like to watch it.

[LoneWolf_53]

Now that the whole world has seen through NASCAR's attempt to boast tv ratings and seat sales by putting one of least talented drivers ever into the series because of gender only, these two are perfect to create the next big drama sideshow.

I can see these two getting their own NASCAR approved reality series to air right along with all the others on the History Channel. That should help sell some tickets this season now that the #10 car is no longer the novelty it once was.

A least talented driver that can no doubt drive circles around you with her eyes shut.

Clearly you don't pay much attention to where she finishes and what males she finishes ahead of.

One of the biggest challenges facing teams in NASCAR is that especially in this economy not every team has deep pockets like Rick Hendrick or Jack Rousch.

There's some fairly talented males doing worse than Danica mostly because of financial constraints.

Putting her in a seat is actually a prudent move, as it caters a bit to the female demographic, and helps the team get sponsorship dollars.

[WRG]

Clearly you don't pay much attention to where she finishes and what males she finishes ahead of.

Clearly I do know where the #10 car finished. At the end of the 2014 season the #10 car finished 28th. Only finishing ahead of 7 drivers who ran the full schedule. All of those drivers were on underfunded teams and cannot compete in the top 20 never mind for wins.

You are right about why she was given the ride though. The money brought into the team by the Go Daddy sponsorship allowed the SHR to hire a top driver and win the championship. Smart move by the team, but sad times for the sport. The #10 is an equal car to the winning #4 but that is where it ends.

Curious to know if you become a fan and started watching NASCAR because of the driver of the #10 or did you watch the races with your husband before that?

[LoneWolf_53]

Curious to know if you become a fan and started watching NASCAR because of the driver of the #10 or did you watch the races with your husband before that?

I've been watching for decades and was a Dale Sr. fan, after his death switching to Dale Jr.

I just think there's room in NASCAR for a female and she does have talent. She's had two top 10 finishes this year and is ahead of Austin Dillon in the standings, and his grandpa has deep pockets so you'd expect him to be ahead of her.

I don't believe Danica has the level of talent of say Jimmie Johnson or Dale Jr., but even Dale Jr. has had his share of struggles driving for an elite team.

I enjoy rooting for underdogs and would love to see Danica win at least one race.

[driveangry]

It's very likely she won't have a ride next season, GoDaddy is leaving. There was a rumor that she would be going to Roush but I can't see Jack giving her a ride unless he has a sponsor lined up that is asking for her.

If she did go to Roush, would she be "top dog" ??? She is ahead of all the Roush drivers in points, even her bf Ricky, LOL

[LoneWolf_53]

It's very likely she won't have a ride next season, GoDaddy is leaving. There was a rumor that she would be going to Roush but I can't see Jack giving her a ride unless he has a sponsor lined up that is asking for her.

If she did go to Roush, would she be "top dog" ??? She is ahead of all the Roush drivers in points, even her bf Ricky, LOL

Hard to say.

Roush has deep enough pockets, and there's worse things to have in NASCAR right now than a young woman with a level of talent, that's also not too hard on the eyes as a bonus.

For sure there's a demographic that she appeals to, and ever since the recession it's been much harder to find good sponsors.

I think if she just had the right combination of owner and crew chief, she has the ability to perform better than she has been.

I've watched enough years of racing, to note that more often than not, it just takes that team that clicks to get the wins.

Look at even Jeff Gordon, he's not really been all that much of a threat since his partnership with Ray Evernham ended. Gordon and Evernham were a force to be reckoned with, and Evernham never repeated his success without Gordon either.

Dale Jr. has been similar, in that he clicked with some people like Tony Eury, but not with other crew chiefs so much, thus I'm hoping he's found the right one now.

You know what my biggest regret is in NASCAR? That Dale Sr. missed winning an 8th championship by a measly 5 points, not to mention that they were 5 points he was penalized for something petty.

I sooooo wanted him to beat Richard Petty's record, as I always felt the comparison was more than a tad unfair, given that during most of Petty's wins it was still much easier to flat out cheat, plus the competition wasn't even remotely close to the number, and calibre, of competitors that Dale Sr. had to beat, to win his championships.

I never saw Petty start from the back of a 40 car field with 7 laps to go, then drive practically all of the laps up the middle three wide for the win.