Way Way OT

consys

Member
C
Join Date
Jul 2006
Location
melbourne
Posts
208
I was watching cable last night (yes, we do have it in the southern hemisphere, only a hanful of channels though) and I caught some "giddy-giddy" racing (possibly what some of you call nascar) I really couldn't get into it. I was hoping for an explanation, from the outside it looks as if the winner is the last one that gets dizzy and falls down. For me the high point was the guy that coasted accross the finish line (i assume out of fuel). Do these cars actually have steering wheels ? or are they just welded in position ?
:oops:
 
Believe it or not... and I guarantee that this is going to get a lot of flames... MOST Americans don't give a hang about NASCAR.

The only point of the whole exercise, regardless of what "they", the fans, say, it's all about going to the track and hoping that someone crashes right in front of you!

I can only say this because, I am a former 1/4-mile, Oval-Track, 6-Cylinder, Driver at Raceway Park in Blue Island, Illinois.

It's all about the crash! And the "Oooohh, Oooohh... I was thereI! I saw him get killed! Doesn't that make me special?"

I've seen a lot of drivers, a lot of friends, get killed, and many others crippled for life.

What a waste.
 
Terry Woods said:
What a waste.
Click to expand...

I have to agree, your reply was a waste



Now to Nascar...
They are the largest fan based sporting event with a average of 125,000 per race, there are a few other that hold up in Europe, but they are by far the largest in the US. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_league_attendances

EDIT: Scroll down to the bottom of the link that I provided
Indy 500 is the largest single-day sporting event in the world, drawing 270,000 spectators annually. NASCAR: United States 6,700,000 at 36 events (Average 186,000) (2003)
Click to expand...
So to say that no one gives? come on.

Now that they have one race in Mexico and another in Canada (next year) it will soon be world wide, like it or not.

If you ever get to see one in person do it, its great

consys, what part did you not get?
 
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it's popularity /appeal I guess. Ok, I know they (drivers) must be very skilled, you can't get to that level at anything without being very good at what you do. But it's a small circular track, once you've seen one lap you've seen them all, so to speak. They tried to get it going here (auscar) but it didn't seem to catch on as much as "V8 supercars" they race on more of a grandprix style track with a couple of street circuits thrown in. lots of chicanes (did I spell that right ?) uphill climbs, long downhilss etc. In fact probably the biggest race in the v8 supercars is on this weekend (Oct 5 to 8) at Mt. Panorama, near Bathurst in NSW. 1,000 km's first one accross the line wins. approx 6 hours of big v8's chaisng each other and down a mountain (well a small hill really but a mountain by oz standards). When this race first started many years ago any car entered had to able to be purchased by general public so it was a real show of "my car is faster/better than yours".
🍺
 
I was a Nascar virgin till 2 years ago..went to my first race..down in the pocconos..(Sorry for the spelling!!) I had a blast!! Yes it does get mundane when everyone is spread out but fairly exiting when they are bunched up..now i grew up with formula 1 and my in law races open wheel road track (at least untill last week when a stabaliser bar ripped thru the ****pit and ripped his hip out with it..should be back to work in about 2 or 3 months..) so i am a road course fan..but the oval does have some good things about it..try passing a car on the inside of a turn at 100MPH..its not easy..

I will take my hats off to the yanks for this..they know how to do it..you go to a race or any kind of event like that here and you pay 50-100$ a ticket..then you will pay around $5.00 a beer about the same for a hot dog..(Look at the NHL..i pay $11.00 for a draught beer at a Sens game!!!???) at a nascar race..Bring the beer and food with you..you are alowed to bring coolers..as long as they meat a certain size...

anyway aside from that i had a damn good time and met lots of people who were there for the same thing....

I do se terrys side of things..(more so in the last 2 weeks).but it is still fun to watch and yes..you always get the sick people who just go for the accidents..
 
One of the problems I see with NASCAR is that pesky "S". Meaning STOCK.
Somehow or another "Stock" has been defined to mean a V8 pushrod engine, carb, mechanical distributor. Like they had in the 70's but much better built.

Except that this does not mirror what most Americans drive.
There are mechanics, highly skilled ones actually, that have never worked on a carb. The auto has evolved, and I think what they allow-disallow in NASCAR should evolve too.

Other than that, it is a great race.
 
Snore....

Nothing puts me to sleep faster than the sound of NASCAR coming from the TV. My roommates love it. I guess the first 5 and last 5 minutes are okay. The naps in between are great though!
 
Is NASCAR really a sport?

I've asked more than one person, 'is NASCAR really a sport?', just to see their reaction. In southern Michigan where I lived we were just 30 miles from MIS and I remember going to or coming from work any Monday or Friday of a race weekend was a special kind of thrill. Add to the fact of driving on US12 through the Irish Hills...now that is driving!!! Although there are other sports I enjoy more, NASCAR was something I could watch a few minutes of. The real treat for me, and I'm surprised none of the guys mentioned this, was driving home from work on a Monday to see the ladies that had over indulged all weekend on Bud showing off and bazooming for the people passing bye on '12'. NOW THAT was entertainment.

Bob
 
Terry Woods said:
I can only say this because, I am a former 1/4-mile, Oval-Track, 6-Cylinder, Driver at Raceway Park in Blue Island, Illinois.
Click to expand...

Blue Island, my old stompin grounds. Raceway Park is no more. A mini-mall now stands in its place.
 
Dont knock NASCAR if you dont know what it is really all about. It is a sport because it is one of the most demanding TEAM sports there is.
Yes on the outside it looks like cars go around a circle track for 250 laps, but there is so much more to it than that. The drivers are athletes because I can bet not one person on this board could just jump into a car and do what they do 30 weeks out of the year.
 
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