Big Blue NASCAR 2013 Racin'!!!!

[teejay]

Thanks Mike . I couldn't find the starting lineup on the " new look " NASCAR site ...had to go to Sporting News . I was sure if Mikey Walltrip made it in .

T

[ngauger]

Thanks Mike . I couldn't find the starting lineup on the " new look " NASCAR site ...had to go to Sporting News . I was sure if Mikey Walltrip made it in .

T

I found it by accident myself... The new site isnt that great!!!

Have you noticed, almost every comment after a story was this site stinks!!! We want the OLD one back!!!!!

Now after a few weeks of that whining.. the comments are "mysteriously" not working

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm Coincidence??? maybe - maybe not!!!!

[teejay]

No , I didn't scroll to the comments section , but I would like the old site back . Seems a lot of sites are making changes for the worse these days .

T

[ngauger]

No , I didn't scroll to the comments section , but I would like the old site back . Seems a lot of sites are making changes for the worse these days .

T

Yeah - they do it in the name of security and progress...

......... and we are still "blue" and ad-free!!!!

[ngauger]

Well.... I tought that my first post that dealt with this weekend would have a positive note, not so this year..........

In case you have not received word as yet, there was a last lap wreck today in the Nationwide series race.

Kyle Larson's car went airborne and hit the catch fence and the front end disintegrated. This resulted in the engine, a tire and numerous other car parts becoming projectiles and flying into the crowd.

Larson climed out of the car and was not hurt, but 28 fans (including 1 minor) were injured, 2 critically. Full story on ESPN: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/nationwide/story/_/id/8978096/horrific-wreck-mars-end-daytona-nwide-race">http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/nation ... nwide-race</a><!-- m -->

Our thoughts and prayers are with them all.........

[teejay]

It's been replayed a gazzilion times on sports shows here ...even ones that usually don't show NASCAR . I didn't see the actual race because I was at work .

It seems the only reason any big business changes things these days is lawsuits . Money talks . Nascar has made racing much safer for drivers , certainly since Earnhardt , Irwin and Petty were fatally injured . But they insist on keeping plate racing the same dangerous race that it is and now fans have been involved at this track and Talledega . Even the top drivers , as skilled as they are , can't sustain 195 mph in a pack for 3 or 4 hours . To put Nationwide drivers , most of them "on the way up " inexperienced drivers , in the same predicament is a recipe for disaster . I find it hard to believe that Nascar can't find a way to keep the cars separated . With , as you say , 28 people injured the legal beagles should have a field day .

T

[ngauger]

They keep revamping and tweaking those issues all the time between Daytona and Talladega. They keep redesigning the cars so they won't "take off" in a wreck... But they can't think of every different scenario.. It is sad.... Either you get somewhat boring run-a-way racing or you keep them relatively close and exciting. It's a really difficult thing to deal with.

But yeah - I thought the same thing (I'm sure NASCAR is too) -- here come the lawsuits.....

[teejay]

It's ironic that the reason they went to restrictor plates in about 1987 was because Bill Elliott ran 212 and Nascar felt that the car was too fast , could leave the track in the event of a collision , and endanger the fans . Now you have multiple cars going just a tad slower , no chance for drivers to react to an on-track problem , and fan endangerment .
First , get rid of restrictor plates !
Second , ask every driver , crew chief , mechanic , tire changer , ....how do we solve the problem .
Third , shut up and listen .

T

[ngauger]

It's ironic that the reason they went to restrictor plates in about 1987 was because Bill Elliott ran 212 and Nascar felt that the car was too fast , could leave the track in the event of a collision , and endanger the fans . Now you have multiple cars going just a tad slower , no chance for drivers to react to an on-track problem , and fan endangerment .
First , get rid of restrictor plates !
Second , ask every driver , crew chief , mechanic , tire changer , ....how do we solve the problem .
Third , shut up and listen .

T

They have been doing that for years.. No one has a better solution as yet. Every suggestion always leads to faster speeds and the possibility of a runaway race car - remember some early races ended with only 1 or 2 cars in the lead pack, that's how much faster some cars will go with the throttle full open all the time like you can do at the super speedways.

They have even tried limiting horsepower (as a few crew chiefs suggested) and it didn't really help spread out the cars evenly. I think this year, the plates have larger holes to give a bit more HP, while still restricting airflow. We'll have to see what happens today. It's unfortunate that the only way to make changes is to make them and see what will happen during the actual race. There's no other way to test any changes...

[Charlie B]

I quit following racing years ago because it has become a sport that requires a deep pocket sponsor.
I remember when stock car races were stock car races. I would like to see a race run with every driver driving the exact same car, right off the assembly line, and 4 cylinders at that. I think that would take everything but the drivers ability out of the race, and speeds would still be over a 100 miles per hour. If you really wanted to have some fun, make them carry a spare tire, and use the jack that comes with the car to change it if needed (keeping the jack and tire in it's proper place ) I would allow them the luxury of calling AAA.
Some of you will remember the Ford add from 1964....A hundred thousand miles at a hundred miles per hour on the banks of the mighty big "D".
We used to go to the local 1/4 mile dirt track races in the 50's and we really enjoyed them.
Charlie

[ngauger]

I quit following racing years ago because it has become a sport that requires a deep pocket sponsor.
I remember when stock car races were stock car races. I would like to see a race run with every driver driving the exact same car, right off the assembly line, and 4 cylinders at that.
Charlie

That's the fun of watching IROC.. All the cars are identical from bumper to bumper. It's only the driver(s) that are different. I'm not sure of the 4 cylinders in Sprint. These are supposed to be the best and the fastest of all the stock cars. Only Indy cars (And NHRA) are faster

[teejay]

I do recall IROC but I wasn't a regular watcher for other reasons . Being a Ford guy , I wasn't interested in watching a sea of Camaros . Having said that , it was interesting to watch racers from another series ( usually much lighter cars ) ply their skills . Even though the IROC cars were set up identically , there was no restrictor plate and drivers weren't bunched up forever ,as I recall . I don't remember big pileups , but then again , the field was much smaller ...maybe 12-15 cars .
With all the talent in the garage , I can't believe they can't come up with a solution . Maybe NASCAR just wants the status quo . They know there will be a big wreck , it's a matter of when . Has there ever been a plate race that didn't have " the big one " ?

T

[Tyson Rayles]

While I have no idea how to play (I did do fantasy football years ago) is it too late to join?

[ngauger]

I do recall IROC but I wasn't a regular watcher for other reasons . Being a Ford guy , I wasn't interested in watching a sea of Camaros . Having said that , it was interesting to watch racers from another series ( usually much lighter cars ) ply their skills . Even though the IROC cars were set up identically , there was no restrictor plate and drivers weren't bunched up forever ,as I recall . I don't remember big pileups , but then again , the field was much smaller ...maybe 12-15 cars .
With all the talent in the garage , I can't believe they can't come up with a solution . Maybe NASCAR just wants the status quo . They know there will be a big wreck , it's a matter of when . Has there ever been a plate race that didn't have " the big one " ?

T

Yeah, I always thought that each IROC race should have had different manufacturer's cars and they could rotate every year as to what order they went in. No - there has NEVER been any restrictor plate race that has not had a "big one".. There was a race at Talledega 2 or 3 years ago that had a wreck that involved about 6 cars, that was the "best" of the Big ones.. All others have always involved about 10 cars...

And no, I can't believe it either that there is no logical solution that would solve all these problems.. it's just that they haven't found it yet, which is why they are continually working by tweaking things.. they aren't leaving it go, they are still "trying".

Now I'm watching Raceday and they are talking about possibly re-designing the fences.. As you have pretty much stated - working on a symptom not on the actual problem of speed vs. catastrophe.. Who knows - in a few years we may have new fencing like we now have the SAFER barriers on all NASCAR tracks.

[Tyson Rayles]

Mikey can you answer my question?