I know, I know, “ask the” threads are so 2003, and the idea of a Doper who’s also a NASCAR fan seems… odd, but it’s true. So here’s your chance to ask all those burning questions that have haunted you at night. Some starter answers:
Yes, I have all my teeth. (Actually, no, I don’t. I had to have 4 adult teeth pulled when I got braces because my mouth is too small.)
I hate shopping at Wal-Mart, and in fact prefer Meijer (or Kroger for just groceries.)
I have never voted Republican.
No, the correct term is not “a Nascar.” There is no such thing as a “Nascar.” The correct generic term is “stock car.” If you want to be specific, say “Nextel Cup car” or “Busch car.” And “Craftsman Truck” is proper as well.
Back before 2003, drivers raced back to the caution. That meant if the yellow flew and you could beat the leader back to the start-finish line, you could get a lap back. Well, NASCAR decided in the middle of 2003 after a couple of near-wrecks racing back to the flag that instead, the running order would be “frozen” at the moment of caution.
To make up for the inability to race back to the line, the first car one lap down gets a lap back. This has been unofficially termed the “lucky dog pass” because Wally Dallenbach is an idiot and should not be paid to talk about anything on television.
If you’ve been a NASCAR fan for a long time (just asking), do you think there’s a lot more deliberate wrecking of competitors than there was, say back in the 1970s or 1980s?
I just don’t remember all of this stuff going on back then, but as I am not a true blue “watch it every opportunity” type fan, I was wondering about your take on it.
My question was about the “lucky dog” thing, and that has already been handled.
So, I guess my only other question is “How the hell is NASCAR even remotely worth watching?” Jesus! I was flipping back to the commercials on the other channel I was watching cause I was bored! And that was a race where they had to turn RIGHT AND LEFT!
Heh. I’m probably not the best person to ask, since “a long time ago” for me is the Earnhardt-Rudd-Davey Allison-Geoff Bodine days.
That said, I think what you’re seeing now is a bunch of guys who grew up watching Earnhardt and therefore aren’t afraid to lay the chrome horn to guys if they need to. It’s a fine line to walk when you lean on a guy, because the cars are so aero-sensitive that if you crease a fender in the wrong spot, you’re gonna lose a lot more than the guy you tagged. It’s cyclical in a way, but at the same time you’ve got a lot of young hot shoes who want to run fast and don’t have any patience.
The real problem is that there’s no one guy in the garage area that can go up to some of these young guys and say “calm down out there.” That’s where they miss Earnhardt, Rusty, Terry Labonte and even Bill Elliott: the “old guard” of NASCAR is either retired or retiring (Martin) and the “leadership” is now guys like Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton. Dale Jarrett’s got the chops to be that voice of reason, but he hasn’t stepped up for some reason.
I think a couple more short track races would be fun, though, and might help instill a little patience in some people. Too bad North Wilkesboro is gone.
I’ll watch just about anything with a motor at least once. I’ve watched swamp buggy racing, for Og’s sake.
That said, NASCAR has to be my favorite form of motorsports, because even though I know there’s nothing “stock” about them at this point, it’s still fun to watch cars that look like the ones you see on the street. Add in the fact that it’s competitive, unlike some formulas where if you don’t have the one best car, you’re gonna get your ass handed to you (and no one will make a pass on the track all day.) As for the oval vs. road course debate, I think it takes more courage to strap into a Cup car at Talladega for 500 miles than it does to get in an F1 car, because if you blow a tire at Dega, you’re gonna knock the wall down at 200 mph and probably take a few more cars with you, not to mention the 3+ hours of concentration it takes to drive that fast in a pack of cars that are closer than most people park.
Also, it’s what I grew up watching. Heck, we got a satellite dish just so we could get ESPN and see more than the 500 and whatever other races CBS got stuck with so they could show the 500. (Here’s where I diverge from my open-wheel brethren: “the 500” for me always means Daytona. For them, it’s always Indy.) Some kids grew up watching the Andrettis and the Unsers, I grew up watching the Allisons and the Pettys.
On a more philosophical level: motorsports in general are incredible competition. There’s drama in every turn, it’s a battle of wills to see who can drive it just a little bit deeper into the corner, and NASCAR is a prime example of that.
The major professional sports have leagues made up of teams, whose owners arrive at mutually beneficial compromises more or less democratically. NASCAR tries to pass itself off as a sports league; but it’s a monopoly business owned and operated by one family, the Frances. Would NASCAR be any different if it were open, like the other leagues, instead of being a closed, family business?
Something else I’ve wondered; approximately how many pounds of carbon dioxide does the average-sized, average-length NASCAR race pump into the atmosphere we all share?
Do you have a favorite driver? If so, how did he become your favorite? In team sports, people usually follow a team based on where they grew up or where they went to college, but there’s no obvious angle for auto racing.
This is going to sound really dumb, but what to you watch when you watch a race? I mean, in sports that I watch, the ball tends to be the focus of attention. But there are 43 cars in an auto race, and no obvious focus. Do you follow the leader, or watch your favorite driver, or just watch the pack as a whole, or what?
Do you often attend races? How does the experience of a race in person differ from watching it on TV?
I think it’s probably a good thing that the teams don’t have more control: witness what happened with CART. As it stands, teams have enough power to influence rule changes, but not enough to demand them.
As for CO2, while I don’t have hard data handy, I’ve been told that it’s a tiny amount compared to the overall daily emissions.
Sorry, brianjedi, I’m a NASCAR fan myself. Allow me to step on your toes.
The average team needs about 50 million a year to field a competitive car. A few hundred in gas won’t make a difference.
Oh, and about the cars and polution…these cars are extremely well tuned autos. Designed to get the most fuel economy and HP out of the engine as possible, plus they’re aerodynamically designed for best economy. On the grand scale of things, the pollution from a Sunday race is about one Kajillionth of the overall, plus there’s enough air scrubbers on hand at every race to ensure that none of the pollution gets out of the infield.
I resemble Brad Pitt more than these cars resemble their street counterparts. If this is the reason NASCAR is your favorite, perhaps you would be more interested in the SCCA World Challenge Touring Car Championship series?
Dale Jr., because he’s got talent and he’s fun to watch and listen to.
When watching a race on TV, you’re pretty much at the mercy of what the director wants to watch.
At the track, I tended to switch between following the leader and checking to see how other cars are getting through the corners. Just try to keep an eye on who’s running strong, who’s lost the handle on the car, who’s possibly got a problem, things like that.
Hey, I’m not saying they’re exact duplicates. The Monte Carlo is the only one that even HAS a real street version these days, since you can’t buy a 2-door Fusion or Charger. The roofline is the same on both, though and the roof panel, hood skin and rear decklid are production pieces.
I can watch sports car racing, but I don’t care for it because of all the different classes on the track at the same time. Makes it impossible to tell who the leader is without looking at the leaderboard.
That bar that scrolls across the top of the screen during the race, the race order, is what I watch. I’ve got a handful of favorite drivers that I like because of their personalities (Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin) and some I really dislike (Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon) and I watch their positions throughout the race.
Before the race I know the standings for the season, who’s where in the top 10.
Everyone’s finishing position gets them a certain amount of points and after the race you can see which drivers moved up spots or fell spots.
Right now everyone is trying to lock themselves up a spot in the top 10 over the next 4 races. After that the points are wiped clean (for the most part) and the top 10 guys race against eachother for the last 10 races of the season for the cup. Everyone else is just along for the ride.
So for me I like watching the stats side of it, like watching baseball standings to see who’s making the playoffs and who’s how many games back.
Going to a race, (I’ve been to Daytona and Chicagoland), is different than watching it on tv. You kind of go for the spectacle of it and the whole circus environment. Really, really loud fast cars, crowds, beer, parties.
Part of the intrigue in watching a race is following how the performance of cars develop during a race. That and pit strategy, very important. Also, on larger tracks you will have to work with other drivers to draft and that is always interesting to see who teams up with who to pass who. With the new rule change this year the qualifying car has to have the same setup that you start the race with (you used to be able to change suspension parts, rear-end, gear ratios in the trans, etc.) so the whole week-long strategy regarding practices, qualifying, and the set-up you think will win the race is more interesting to follow.
It ain’t just watching the cars go in circles all day, the leadup prep is very interesting to anyone who wants to follow the stuff.
Also, watching a car get settled in after a pit and then running the tires down again on a long run is fun to follow (providing there is no caution). Even caution strategy is interesting. You may choose to take two tires, four tires, or none depending on how far in front you want to restart and if you think new tires will make that much of a difference.
The points system is another aspect. A driver gets points for just leading a lap so you have guys fight to start in the front of the race hoping to lead a lap and you have guys gamble during cautions by staying on the track long enough to lead a lap. Track and tire heat buildup is a common concern and so is the air temp for cooling the engines. Mechanical issues crop up all the time, so if you’re the least bit mechanically inclined you can follow that too.
Drivers have interacions with each other during the race too. You’ll have guys who don’t care much for each other bump one another during the race and you might have the same two guys draft each other to get towards the front of the pack late in the race.
