NASCAR gets back to its roots tonight

I was there last night and the last 40 laps were some of the best NASCAR racing I've seen in years. If NASCAR wants to attract more fans they need to take the emphasis off of points and back to winning races.

wow I had no idea they did this

I've said it before, Ill say it again, if someone does some kind of nascar vintage racing with actual cars instead of the stickered jellybeans they drive now, it would be a sure winner regardless of the surface

Mustang50 wrote: I was there last night and the last 40 laps were some of the best NASCAR racing I've seen in years. If NASCAR wants to attract more fans they need to take the emphasis off of points and back to winning races.

no one in the Cup garage is racing for points- they all want the wins that assure them a spot in the travesty known as "The Chase"..

That was great to watch. And also short enough that you dont fall asleep halfway through. But with all that action how could you.

plance1 wrote: I've said it before, Ill say it again, if someone does some kind of nascar vintage racing with actual cars instead of the stickered jellybeans they drive now, it would be a sure winner regardless of the surface

I agree with this, but I also think NASCAR needs some kind of senior circuit like the PGA. I'd rather watch Terry Labonte, Harry Gant, and Ricky Rudd than the current crop of Cup drivers. Make it like the IROC series--identical cars, but have them race on ovals, road courses, dirt, street circuits, whatever. Hour length or less for the races.

For those that missed it, I won't pass judgement if you wanted to check out this here. And maybe this for those who have no experience with torrents.

Many a kneejerk anti-piracy crusader has softened his tone when he discovered you can get Sky/BBC F1 coverage so easily...

Will wrote:

plance1 wrote: I've said it before, Ill say it again, if someone does some kind of nascar vintage racing with actual cars instead of the stickered jellybeans they drive now, it would be a sure winner regardless of the surface

I agree with this, but I also think NASCAR needs some kind of senior circuit like the PGA. I'd rather watch Terry Labonte, Harry Gant, and Ricky Rudd than the current crop of Cup drivers. Make it like the IROC series--identical cars, but have them race on ovals, road courses, dirt, street circuits, whatever. Hour length or less for the races.

find a way to make it viable and profitable and go for it..

they can still run in Cup or any of the lower series if they choose to do so and can make the field.. Terry Labonte still races in Cup and is actually in the mix from time to time on the restrictor plate tracks.. Morgan Shepherd just made headlines for having the nerve to not just pull over and get out of Joey Logano's way a couple of weeks ago.. but for the most part, anyone over 50 or so that has been racing their whole lives either don't want to or physically can't do it like they used to any more so they are busy doing other stuff and helping their kids and grand kids in their racing endeavors..

novaderrik wrote:

Zomby Woof wrote: I watched it last year and thought it was boring. It seemed like everybody was being way too careful, and didn't look like real dirt racing. It almost looked choreographed.

you must have seen a different race than everyone else.. they were out of their element, and it was a paying points race with a bunch of people that weren't worried about points getting in the way of the people that were, and they were all driving trucks that weren't very well set up for dirt..

They probably were out of their element, and indeed the trucks may not have been well set up for what they were doing, although I see no reason why that should be the case. It was like watching a race on a slippery paved track. That, for me, a life long fan of dirt track, made for some pretty bad, pretty boring dirt racing. Perhaps there was some excitement later on, but I didn't watch long enough to see.

The last 50 laps were awesome. You missed out.

Hmm... I see two opposing views on this:

1) "Too heavy and slow to put on a good race"

2) "Better than the rest of NASCAR's oval races"

I am in the #2 mindset. I actually think that the heavier slower vehicles put on better races than light and quick. Trucks IMO put on a better race at Eldora than Late Models. For one, no late model car could withstand the constant abuse Larson's Truck (almost) endured. and surely, if it were a sprint car race, half would have rolled from wall contact.

And this isn't the only form of raing where slower cars equal a better race: Spec Miata ALWAYS puts on a better race than whatever the headliner is for that race weekend, and GP2 does the same for F1... and Porsche Supercup is usually a better show than either open wheel class.

yes, slow cars put on "boring" single car qualifying runs, and 6 or 7 car heat races tend not to be all that riveting... but that 150 lap Truck race at Eldora is THE best circle track racing that NASCAR currently has to offer.

Appleseed wrote: The last 50 laps were awesome. You missed out.

How long was the race?

150 laps, seperated into three segments of 60, 50 and 40 laps.

Sitting through 100 boring laps to see 50 laps of (supposedly) good racing? Sounds like I made the right decision.

novaderrik wrote:

Will wrote:

plance1 wrote: I've said it before, Ill say it again, if someone does some kind of nascar vintage racing with actual cars instead of the stickered jellybeans they drive now, it would be a sure winner regardless of the surface

I agree with this, but I also think NASCAR needs some kind of senior circuit like the PGA. I'd rather watch Terry Labonte, Harry Gant, and Ricky Rudd than the current crop of Cup drivers. Make it like the IROC series--identical cars, but have them race on ovals, road courses, dirt, street circuits, whatever. Hour length or less for the races.

find a way to make it viable and profitable and go for it.. they can still run in Cup or any of the lower series if they choose to do so and can make the field.. Terry Labonte still races in Cup and is actually in the mix from time to time on the restrictor plate tracks.. Morgan Shepherd just made headlines for having the nerve to not just pull over and get out of Joey Logano's way a couple of weeks ago.. but for the most part, anyone over 50 or so that has been racing their whole lives either don't want to or physically can't do it like they used to any more so they are busy doing other stuff and helping their kids and grand kids in their racing endeavors..

All true, but I'm wondering if a very limited schedule (4-8 races) and the chance to actually win instead of just be a field filler and make some money might not bring some of these guys back to the track.

And no reason to limit it to NASCAR, either. Remember the old Fast Masters series in the Jag XJ220s? That's pretty much what I'm thinking, but maybe in something a bit cheaper to repair.

Fast Masters Concept: look at that list of participants!

Race footage: green flag at about 2:30

Look up the GASS series here on the West Coast. Essentially NASCAR cars on road courses with people of all skill levels driving them.

Also. You've basically described most vintage road racing organizations. Only difference is you'll have to get off your ass and go watch the races in person because there's not enough money to be made from it here in the US. In France they have things like LeMans Classic because those cheese-eating surrender monkeys somehow figured that part out at least :/

Zomby Woof wrote: Sitting through 100 boring laps to see 50 laps of (supposedly) good racing? Sounds like I made the right decision.

there weren't 100 boring laps... there was something going on the whole time on every part of the track and they couldn't keep the cameras on all of the action..

I enjoyed the hell outta that race. If only the cars were still based on production models it would be badass.

Lancer007 wrote: I enjoyed the hell outta that race. If only the cars were still based on production models it would be badass.

Imagine Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge cars racing at Eldora!

etifosi wrote:

Lancer007 wrote: I enjoyed the hell outta that race. If only the cars were still based on production models it would be badass.

Imagine Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge cars racing at Eldora!

does that series have it's roots in (and a derive a good chunk of it's fan base from) the dirt ovals of the American south?

turboswede wrote: Look up the GASS series here on the West Coast. Essentially NASCAR cars on road courses with people of all skill levels driving them.

ALL skill levels? Notsomuch. Series rules state (or used to) that if you are overcompetitive looking to move up the ladder system, you have no place in this series.

GASSCar, rich old men pretending to be NASCAR drivers.

novaderrik wrote:

etifosi wrote:

Lancer007 wrote: I enjoyed the hell outta that race. If only the cars were still based on production models it would be badass.

Imagine Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge cars racing at Eldora!

does that series have it's roots in (and a derive a good chunk of it's fan base from) the dirt ovals of the American south?

I'd like to see NASCAR have a series based on Continental Challenge's GS rulebook for Camaro/Mustang/Challenger, and throw in Chevy SS, Cadillac CTS Coupe and Dodge Charger. Production based stock cars for short tracks and road courses... keep off the high speed big ovals to minimize aero inequalities.

Zomby Woof wrote: Sitting through 100 boring laps to see 50 laps of (supposedly) good racing? Sounds like I made the right decision.

If you found THAT "boring", I strongly suggest that you skip the rest of NASCAR's season, save for Watkins glen and maybe Bristol... heck, skip Bristol as well, as Eldora's Truck race was much better than that too.

Here's a thought. Next year, why not run the NASCAR all-star race (I'm gonna go ahead and just call it The Winston because I have no idea what its real name is these days) on the Charlotte dirt track instead of the big track?

How do we make this happen?