Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

[Greg Langelius *]

Maybe it's me, but after enduring both the Friday Nationwide Race and the Saturday Sprint Cup Race, I'm wondering whether the NASCAR management has micromanaged the sport into the ground.

It seems that there's another new rule change each week, messing/tweaking car performance to make them more closely competitive through across-the-board performance impairment. This weekend, it's apparent to me that the cars have become sucessively uncontrollable and undriveable just as they reach the point where somebody might have a chance at winning, and that this is a direct and deliberate result of NASCAR management's misjudgement of what the fans want.

The fans must want a 200mph destruction derby, because that's what they got in both races.

One might believe the intention is to reduce the key question to one of drivering prowess, but that's not what I believe I'm seeing. It's luck and death defiance, in equal parts, and the drivers with the most with skill, judgement, and patience are the net losers in the mix.

This weekend's NASCAR events were an outright debacle.

If were a NASCAR driver, I'd be quietly looking for another means of employment or even considering outright retirement. As a NASCAR fan, I'm pretty much done wasting my time searching out NASCAR programming.

IMHO it's not NASCAR anymore, it's just BASHCAR.

Greg

PS Almendinger suspended for failing drug testing? Really? Ordinarily, I'd be mindful; but honestly, drugs are not NASCAR's problem. It's really just another disappointing footnote after the rest of this past weekend's debacle.

 

[mclevela]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

I have a very similar opinion Greg.
I think Tony Stewart nailed it when he referred to making the Daytona race a figure 8 race in regards to the wrecking.

In my opinion the super speedway racing was much better 10 - 12 years ago.
This latest gimmick of restricting the bump draft by limiting air flow to the cooling system and as you reference making the cars nearly unmanageable in the draft makes for a poor race.

 

[Paladin4Christ]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

I used to be a huge fan (my boys room was painted in flag colors) and would watch every race broadcast.

A few years ago, I noticed all the changes (about the time they came out with the new wing) and then I noticed the drivers turning into whiners. "So and so bumped me and it wasn't fair...."

Now I don't watch. Painted over the walls and sold or gave away my memorabilia.

I agree, NASCAR management ruined a sport that was about talent (both behind pit wall and on the track) and turned it into a bash fest.

 

[Maggot]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

Back to running moonshine outta the mountains....

 

[Ol' RD]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: maggot</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Back to running moonshine outta the mountains.... </div></div>


Some never quit! LOL!

 

[Twisted .308]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

+1 against all the restrictions , the are simply too evenly matched to make passes or pull away ... used to be whoever had the best setup and most HP per CI would battle it out ...now if they find a way to go 1/2mph faster or make more HP than someone else they get fined or its cheating ??? thought that was what racing was all about ...gotta save sumptin fer the end ?? Right ??

 

[TOP PREDATOR]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

my opinion too is that it peaked, and is now on the downslope.

plus now that they charge for every morsel they can get, the grass roots fans can't afford it anymore.

lots of empty seats at these tracks these days.

i too say the heck with the restrictions, but on the side of liability, i'm sure insurance is alot cheaper to put on a race with the restrictions on the cars / trucks.

now that it's "safer" than ever, it's possible the drivers are more willing to take a chance, which usually causes a wreck, with the notion that the chance of getting severly hurt is diminished.

i use to watch it religously, every single lap, all season long. if i couldn't i'd record it then watch it.

now i don't even know what the next race is, or really need to know who won.

plus it seems the characters are gone. if it wasn't for kyle busch, i don't think there would be anyone to "watch" these days.

watching something for 397 or 497 laps, only to have a wreck and a green white checkered is getting pretty predictable.

 

[dmg308]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

It stopped being cool when all the cars became the same.The Chevy Ford rivalry was a huge part of the pie.

 

[Guest]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

When Rusty walked, (and many rules changed), the "New Kids" were not all that to me. If they went back to days of old it might return, but with the advent of all the rules changes, it's a money/lawyer race anymore.

It started and endured all the years with less money, more ability an guts in an out of the garage, now it's 100% about selling an hype. They Fucked up a good thing, but so goes everything when it's only about money. Money will come if it's appealing to the target crowd. When its about money only to those running the show, slowly the folks who supply it, just fade away.

 

[knockemdown]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

For all intents and purposes, NASCAR died the same day Dale Earnhardt did...

 

[okrebel92]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

I still watch it from time to time, but it's not nearly as good as it used to be. Like many other sports, it has been micromanaged and over hyped. I grew up watching NASCAR with my dad and flying or driving to Texas speedway. I think it died quite a bit when the COT started. New wing, less competition, less exciting.

I was a Johnson fan back when I saw him in a Busch series race, I was there for his first race with Hendrick and have been a fan ever since.

 

[Maggot]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: knockemdown</div><div class="ubbcode-body">For all <span style="color: #CC0000">intents and </span> purposes, NASCAR died the same day Dale Earnhardt did... </div></div>

And though never a Nascar fan, I agree, when Ironhead went, the sport went with him.

 

[ShootsBlanks]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

I used to be a big NASCAR fan. I would go to races with my buddies and have a great time. Richmond, Martinsville, Wilkesboro, Rockingham, Bristol, and Charlotte. We had tickets for all of them. Spring, Fall and the All Star race. Ticket prices got crazy.

NASCAR sucked up all the big money sponsors with the "Official _______ of NASCAR" and prevented owners from attracting new sponsors that compete with the "Official _______." 43 cars was always too many, but now they have cars that start and park just for the minimum prize money of showing up.

The TV coverage dumbed the race down to a point they became unwatchable.

Bad racing and a bad economy emptied the seats at the same time the Speedway Motorsports and International Speedway Corp (NASCAR) were expanding tracks and capacity.

The Frances have always played both sides of the fence in being the sanctioning body and the track operator. When they jumped into controlling the media aspect they crossed the line.

It is sad to say that the best race last weekend was the Formula 1 race.

 

[Guest]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ShootsBlanks</div><div class="ubbcode-body">It is sad to say that the best race last weekend was the Formula 1 race. </div></div>

NHRA still gets my vote, but money is slowly hosing that up as well. Nothing beats the smell of Nitro, an the ability to meet an greet the players, an their backups. Only place I know of, you can watch a rotating bomb being built that may or may not detonate around the 1000 ft mark, if not much sooner.

 

[Twisted .308]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Gunfighter14e2</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ShootsBlanks</div><div class="ubbcode-body">It is sad to say that the best race last weekend was the Formula 1 race. </div></div>

NHRA still gets my vote, but money is slowly hosing that up as well. Nothing beats the smell of Nitro, an the ability to meet an greet the players, an their backups. Only place I know of, you can watch a rotating bomb being built that may or may not detonate around the 1000 ft mark, if not much sooner.

</div></div>

NHRA or IHBA get my vote nowdays ....I only ran my boat once at Marble Falls Tx. in the 10sec bracket > Blown Gas Jet ..but have attended many races wrenching in the pits for several racing friends ..Boat races are one of the few deals where you can still walk the pits and bullshit with all the Big name guys and not feel out of place ..and most teams even competing against each other will lend a hand if needed ..we had alot of the Top Fuel guys come over and help out a friend when he was having tuning issues with his Pro-Mod ...you don't see that in Indy Cars or NASCAR

 

[jasonk]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

 

[W54/XM-388]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

Formula 1 racing got way dumbed down as well, the stupid guys that run the place decided that they could get more TV watchers if they messed up the cars so they were slower, less stable and all ran together in a pack and smashed into each other a lot more.

 

[Turk]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: dmg308</div><div class="ubbcode-body">It stopped being cool when all the cars became the same.The Chevy Ford rivalry was a huge part of the pie. </div></div>

Damn, showing my age!

 

[ShootsBlanks]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Gunfighter14e2</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ShootsBlanks</div><div class="ubbcode-body">It is sad to say that the best race last weekend was the Formula 1 race. </div></div>

NHRA still gets my vote, but money is slowly hosing that up as well. Nothing beats the smell of Nitro, an the ability to meet an greet the players, an their backups. Only place I know of, you can watch a rotating bomb being built that may or may not detonate around the 1000 ft mark, if not much sooner.

</div></div>

Generally, I would agree with you. This past weekend, if you ended up in the left lane, your day was almost certainly over. I understand you win lane choice, but both lanes should be fairly equal. This week, they were not. It started with qualifying and luck of the draw for when you drew the right lane.

Formula 1 is not my first choice in racing, but they were driving their asses off and PASSING. Not much passing at Daytona. If the Roush cars hadn't gotten split up by the caution when they were going into the pits, that race was over for everyone else.

 

[ShootsBlanks]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: W54/XM-388</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Formula 1 racing got way dumbed down as well, the stupid guys that run the place decided that they could get more TV watchers if they messed up the cars so they were slower, less stable and all ran together in a pack and smashed into each other a lot more. </div></div>

You could replace "Formula 1" with "NASCAR" and still be right.

 

[dlklamfo]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

I think NASCAR is going the wayside of most, straight down the tubes!!

 

[Raven 6]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

NASCAR....R.I.P....soon.

 

[Mike_in_FL]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Turk</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: dmg308</div><div class="ubbcode-body">It stopped being cool when all the cars became the same.The Chevy Ford rivalry was a huge part of the pie. </div></div>

Damn, showing my age!

</div></div>

It's not the age that's the problem. It's that those of us who knew the racing back in those days know the young of today will never see it again. They're not going to see factories building cars to win on Sunday, so they can sell on Monday.

Mopar? Hell, how about AMC?

They're not going to see anything like Cale and Donnie fist fighting after a wreck.

If I can't tell the difference between what's supposed to be a Chevy?/Ford?/Toyota Camry, then it's not STOCK CAR racing to me.

Where else could you have a privateer named Dick Trickle? LOL

 

[Guest]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: fngmike</div><div class="ubbcode-body">They're not going to see anything like Cale and Donnie fist fighting after a wreck.</div></div>
Or hearing Jr. Johnson say, "I just bummed a ride most of the day" an "Boys it was fun but I got a run to make". I remember when Smokie Y. went to cut the sheet metal out of the fender wells to change the tires, and the officials said, you can't do that! His logic, an reply was outstanding, it also held up.

 

[Maggot]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

Many of us like watching races in the company of other NASCAR fans, but Linda Chase of Jackson, Mich., might have taken that just a bit too far.

For the past 10 years, she lived together with Charles Zigler. And when Zigler passed away, they continued to live and watch NASCAR together for approximately 18 months until authorities found Zigler's body on Friday.

We'll let the Jackson Citizen Patriot take it from here:

Zigler, known as Charlie, died naturally, Linda Chase said. "He just fell asleep." She kept him in his chair after he died, keeping him dressed and cleaned. His body did not stink, she said. She would talk to him and watch NASCAR races on television with him.

Jackson officials believe that Zigler, who would have been 67 or 68, died around Christmas of 2010. That was 18 months ago. When Zigler's family members went to check on him after not hearing from him for a while, they went to the police, who found Zigler's body in his chair.

Chase kept Zigler's body around for more than NASCAR races, however. She's admitted to cashing his social security checks, saying "I'm probably going to prison." She's currently being investigated. When family members, with whom Zigler did not have a close relationship, tried to contact him, Chase would tell them that he was gone. She told the paper that "It's not that I'm heartless. It's just that after so many bad things happen to you, I don't know."

"I didn't want to be alone. He was the only guy who was ever nice to me."

So, next time you have friends over for a race, check on them every once in a while. Yeah, they could be just taking a nap because it's Pocono, but you never know.

 

[Farmallsh]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: knockemdown</div><div class="ubbcode-body">For all intents and purposes, NASCAR died the same day Dale Earnhardt did... </div></div>

This.


It has never been the same. We were once hard core fans attending both races at Texas and traveling the country to other tracks. Now we dont even watch the Daytona 500 on tv anymore.
Yes, its a sport in decline and NASCAR knows it.

 

[leprechaun]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

NASCAR pussified the sport when they had their huge growth several years ago.Tried to go PC and now it sucks to watch. Let the drivers drive and be them selves and police their own sport.

I also agree it died with Dale SR

 

[Fred_C_Dobbs]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

I think NASCAR and F1 both have deteriorated into socialized spec racing. As their sports got ung-dly HUGE, the promoters got ung-dly greedy. So they tweaked the rules ostensibly to reduce the levels of funding needed to be competitive (COT in NASCAR, RRA in F1).

That might have been their stated motive but what it really does is reduce the dominance of teams with the deepest pockets. Except the successful teams didn't win life's lottery to be the best-funded, they got there by on-track success, which attracted big money sponsors.

In the aftermath of these changes, by and large, the cellar dwellars are still in the basement but the new rules have altered both sports' essential character. And especially with the NASCAR fans, they want what they want, and you don't go serving them salisbury steak and trying to convince them it's a double bacon cheeseburger. Just look what a pickle Bruton Smith has got himself into at Bristol for proof.

In the case of F1, I'm convinced the sport is trading on past glories and it's the social aspect that continues to bring fans to the tracks. It certainly isn't the compelling level of competition, and I don't care what the talking heads are saying about what a fantastic F1 season 2012 is playing out to be. The old school race fans know that the disinte-Pirellis and the trick wings and the hybridized electric motors are nothing but bread and circuses to stupefy the masses, and are not reflective of the longstanding traditions of sportsmanship and competitive motor sports that made them what they are today. Whether you're talking drivers or cars, "Survival of the Fastest" simply no longer is the order of the day.

And I think it all comes back to promoters wanting an increasingly bigger slice of the pie. They figure the more evenly distributed the race results are (even though it might mean no more dynasties, like a Richard Petty or a Dale Earnhardt), the more fans they can attract to the sport. So they've traded their sport's birthright for a coat of many colors. They sold its soul for higher advertising valuation and better market penetration.

 

[shoot4fun]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

NASCAR has more going for it than NFL or (especially) NBA. And the MLB (I call it MBL "Most Boring League") is just a joke.
NASCAR racing did not die with Dale Earnhardt. It actually enjoyed very high popularity numbers for quite a while after.
I think it all boils down to the fan's attention span. Maybe a little shorter race on Sunday and a lot less blah, blah from the experts on the networks.

 

[ShootsBlanks]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

Died-
Dale Sr
David Poole
Benny Parsons
Bill France, Sr
Bill France, Jr

Retired
Humpy Wheeler
Rusty Wallace
Etc.
An era

Now the Frances want all the golden geese and to eat them.

I knew that when Jerry Glanville could be a driver, the end was near.

I knew that when Waltrips became expert commentators, the end was near.

I knew that when they started referring to a driver as "sliced bread", the end was near.

Racing has turned to free agency and will suffer the same fate as other sports. A lack of interest from the fans. You shouldn't need a program to know who is driving what.

Kirby Puckett, Cal Ripken, and Dale Sr.

 

[Strykervet]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: knockemdown</div><div class="ubbcode-body">For all intents and purposes, NASCAR died the same day Dale Earnhardt did...</div></div>

I saw him win the Diehard 500 at Talladega Apr. 25 1999. I was in the infield, we camped there for three days in the rain with like ten cases of beer and two lawn chairs between the two of us.

The race was cool, but I'll never forget the "titty checkpoints" at night and the mud races in the infield. The shit they do and get away with in the infield...

 

[Jayman_10X]

Re: Has NASCAR bitten the dust?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Fred_C_Dobbs</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I think NASCAR and F1 both have deteriorated into socialized spec racing. As their sports got ung-dly HUGE, the promoters got ung-dly greedy. So they tweaked the rules ostensibly to reduce the levels of funding needed to be competitive (COT in NASCAR, RRA in F1).

That might have been their stated motive but what it really does is reduce the dominance of teams with the deepest pockets. Except the successful teams didn't win life's lottery to be the best-funded, they got there by on-track success, which attracted big money sponsors.

In the aftermath of these changes, by and large, the cellar dwellars are still in the basement but the new rules have altered both sports' essential character. And especially with the NASCAR fans, they want what they want, and you don't go serving them salisbury steak and trying to convince them it's a double bacon cheeseburger. Just look what a pickle Bruton Smith has got himself into at Bristol for proof.

In the case of F1, I'm convinced the sport is trading on past glories and it's the social aspect that continues to bring fans to the tracks. It certainly isn't the compelling level of competition, and I don't care what the talking heads are saying about what a fantastic F1 season 2012 is playing out to be. The old school race fans know that the disinte-Pirellis and the trick wings and the hybridized electric motors are nothing but bread and circuses to stupefy the masses, and are not reflective of the longstanding traditions of sportsmanship and competitive motor sports that made them what they are today. Whether you're talking drivers or cars, "Survival of the Fastest" simply no longer is the order of the day.

And I think it all comes back to promoters wanting an increasingly bigger slice of the pie. They figure the more evenly distributed the race results are (even though it might mean no more dynasties, like a Richard Petty or a Dale Earnhardt), the more fans they can attract to the sport. So they've traded their sport's birthright for a coat of many colors. They sold its soul for higher advertising valuation and better market penetration. </div></div>

Doobsie - You are spot on. Very well said.

thanks,
Jayman