2017 Nascar Thread

Check out the end of this race. The last few laps were awesome. Good, hard racing, and no punches thrown after the checkered flag.

https://youtu.be/eHAQe6f5FYc

 

Monday news roundup:

Brad Keselowski failed post-race inspection for ride height & weight

Las Vegas, while gaining a second race, is removing seating

Xfinity cars will run restrictor plates at Indy (ugh, just send them back to IRP, MUCH better racing)

Charlotte removing even more seating (already tore down T2 & backstretch seats)

 

Thoughts on those potential new manufacturers:

DODGE:
Sergio Marchionne is full of it, so Dodge could return or could not. He's been looking to boost Chrysler's nameplate in hopes of selling it off to someone. GM balked at the opportunity, but VW called his bluff last week. Who knows what Dodge will do, but I honestly wouldn't count on them returning based solely on Marchionne's history. Still, it would be cool to see them return. They killed the Viper and the Viper racing program, so perhaps they might be looking to drop some cash in NASCAR again. Outside of the Marchionne variable, what team would become the Dodge factory team? They made a play for Childress back in '12, but Childress declined.

VW/Audi:
VW was looking to get into NASCAR back in '10, going so far as repeated meetings with NASCAR brass and visits to several races. They walked away and later announced plans to return to F1, which was axed by Dieselgate. Dieselgate also took down Audi's motorsports program. It would make for good public relations if Audi/VW made a push into NASCAR. Still, it's a long shot.

Buick:
This one makes a lot of sense. They could benefit from the exposure, as they've quietly been making a comeback in the industry. 1: They have a checkered history in NASCAR, winning three championships in a row in the early '80s. 2: They could bring back the Grand National nameplate to much fanfare from the Old Guard. 3: A Buick program would have immediate access to Chevy's R&D, chassis, and engine. It would be pretty easy for Buick to slide back in and be accepted into the sport.
The question is, which currently floundering team would Buick sink it's $ into as their flagship? Answer: Roush-Fenway. Jack wants out, but he's not going to go cheap or quietly. Buick could make him an offer he can't refuse.

Nissan:
They could dip their toes into NASCAR by running the Titan. Titan sales have been lagging, and the standard Titan is no slouch. If the program went well, they could expand into Xfinity and Cup with the Altima and Maxima to combat rival Toyota on American soil. I can't see longtime fans accepting Nissan any easier than they did Toyota, so it probably wouldn't go over too well.


Thoughts?

 

Gotta remove seats until they sell out...

 

Yep. You nailed it.

Last year's sellouts: Watkins Glen, Martinsville, Daytona, and Homestead. Watkins Glen is actually out-pacing nearly every other track (besides Daytona) for attendance numbers. They had 95,000 people last year (compared to an estimated 35-50,000 at Indy). I read a number last year that ISC (The France family), has removed some 475,000 seats at their track over the past decade. That's CRAZY.

 

Good Info!

 

I heard Watkins Glen is one of the best fan experiences available...

 

Okay, all this discussion about who's going to come to NASCAR and what cars they should run has got my creative juices flowing. I call this "HOW I WOULD FIX NASCAR." So, along with a little historical perspective, here's what I'd like to see.

First, why are the top two divisions running the same car? Well, I realize they're not the same car, since Xfinity runs Camaros, Mustangs, etc, but for years the cars looked identical. Let's move those cars, along with the Challenger (if Dodge indeed returns) up to Winston/Nextel/Sprint/Monster Cup and run them on Sundays.

Interesting thing is that for years NASCAR's top series was called Grand National. Then when Winston came along they were simply called Cup cars and the Grand National name went down to the second tier. Back in the mid 70s the Grand National series was for midsize cars like the Chevy Nova, driven by guys like Randy LaJoie, Sam Ard, Jack Ingram, and they ran mostly the short tracks. Don't remember what models Ford, Dodge and Plymouth boys drove. Sometime in the 80s Grand National went began to use the same models as the Cup cars, albeit with a slightly shorter wheelbase, V6 (and later lower compression V8s), and running on the same tracks and the same weekends as the Cup cars. I seem to remember that it was at this time that the Cup drivers started coming down and poaching all the wins.

Anyway, let's move the pony cars up to the top level. Chevy has the Camaro, Ford has the Mustang, Dodge has the Challenger, Toyota could either go ahead and run the Camry, like they do now, or the could develop a sport coupe based on the Camry. Use the same mechanicals that they have now.

And then, let's move the trucks up to the Xfinity series, except, let's make them trucks and not just rebodied Cup cars. Lets base the truck on the average (between the various makes competing) wheelbase for production short wheelbase trucks, so they look like trucks. Use a slightly milder engine so theyre not blowing up all the time. Make them set slightly higher. Let the fan identify their daily driver with the truck on the track.

What I'd really like is for the truck to be based on a set of factory frame rails and even use a production cab. And then, with the Dodge 1/2 ton already having a diesel, and Ford bringing one out (will Chevy/GMC be far behind?) how bout running diesels?

Okay, so we've basically eliminated one level of racing, and that's not gonna fly, so how bout we replace the truck class with another truck class, based on mid-sized trucks. Obviously we have Tacomas, The Chevy/GMC twins, and the Ranger is coming, so let's let 'em race. Base the truck on a wheelbase for an Access Cab sized truck. Toyota has one, and the Chevy/GMC has one, and I'm betting that The new Ranger will have one. Have a 4.0 liter V6 engine. I don't know, but I think that since there is a lot of competition in the midsize market, you might have luck getting the manufacturers on board.

And there you have my wish list. Any thoughts?

 

Everything is great. Rather just run the cars they do now...

 

Yeah, everything's great...that's why they're taking seats out at the various tracks.

 

I know I'm in a minority, but other than like a handful of tracks on the schedule right now, the racing at most of the tracks has been outstanding this year/part of last year, better than I ever remember it. What NASCAR lacks imo is personality in drivers, they don't relate to the fans of the sport anymore to an extent, thats the biggest change ive felt personally. NASCAR has let sponsors run this sport, and I'm really hoping Monster can do a good job, I think they've been great so far. There are some things I would change for sure mechanically/track wise, but I think it's been a positive turn around this year and the end of last year.

 

NAILED IT. Cup will eventually go V6. They wanted to in the early '90s, hence the Busch series running those V6s. The problem with the V6 Busch era is the engines kept blowing up, and they sounded like a pack of killer bees. Ugh. I recall sitting behind Earnhardt's pitbox at the '94 Goody's 500. It sounded TERRIBLE. I have a NASCAR book from the late '80s documenting their intent to switch to unleaded fuels, EFI, smaller wheelbase, and V6 engines in the '90s. It never happened because 1) The V6 engines were prone to grenading, and 2) Jeff Gordon happened and the great '90s TV ratings boom. They drug their feet and rode it out for far too long before making changes, the first being a MASSIVE step in the wrong direction with the COT.

I agree with making Pony cars the premier division, calling it "Grand National" again, bring in a lower-tier truck series running mid-size access cabs. There are a couple of regional truck series running short tracks with S-10 style bodies.

 

I agree. The competition level has been incredible the past year or two. It's been so good in fact that even Auto Club Speedway has put on several good races. Another thing is the hyper-tight TV coverage. In filling the screen with the team sponsors, they've forgotten about the tracks. They should zoom out and show some pans of the whole track. Focus on one section of track and show how ALL the cars work through the turn. Each track has tons of individual personality, be it bumps, cracks, dips, proximity to the setting sun, turn radius, degree of banking, and history. Tell these stories. Show how the guys in the back are making changes to their cars and using pit strategy to pick up 5-7 spots for a much-needed $30k to pay the boys and get the hauler home. These are stories that will sell the sport, not "Kyle/Jimmy/Denny/Joey dominates again."

 

Exactly, people can relate more to the little guy bumping up a few positions to earn a decent paycheck to race next weekend, all those ideas are great.

I love the ideas that @BKill had as well.

 

Ryan Newman (age 22) and Kyle Larson (age 7) in 1999:




https://twitter.com/Kenny_Wallace/status/843619503871328261/photo/1

 

Yep. This is what I want to see more of. He wrecked right in front of us at Atlanta. I was all "who in the heck is this guy?" Turns out we have mutual friends, and after reading this Very Relatable story, I'm a fan:

http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-me...nascar-camping-world-truck-series-career.html

JORDAN ANDERSON: THE PEOPLE'S RACER WITH GRASS-ROOTS TIES

 

I feel like a lot of people related to the car/driver more back in the day. I remember Folgers, skoal, Winston, Busch, Coors, Budweiser, havoline, wrangler, bandit, goodwrench, valvoline, kelloggs, etc. People relate to that shit and want to see it succeed. I know times have changed but shit, let's at least try to get drivers and sponsors together to relate to the common fan, ratings would go up for sure. I don't want to see trevor bayne riding around in a Viagra car when the dude is 21, talks like a fruitcake, and drives like shit.

 

This is some astute damn observing. A+
In spite of my underlying problems with capitalism, advertising, and human behaviorism, I still buy Tide detergent, Shell gasoline, Mobil 1 synthetic oil, buy Purolator filters, eat Snickers, and use Heinz ketchup because I liked those race cars as a kid. I tried eating Spam out of loyalty to Lake Speed and Melling Racing, but I couldn't stick with it. Hell, I even stole Winston and Camel cigarettes as a kid because of NASCAR.

 

Same.

 

I was hoping that the new "three races in a race" format would make things more exciting. But now we have two short boring races and a slightly longer boring race. It is interesting to me that Watkins Glen had the largest crowd (95,000). Personally I think the road courses are the most exciting races and the most competitive. Just look at the bent up sheet metal on all of the cars after a road course race, and you know the drivers were bangin' around having a good time (along with the fans). I think NASCAR should add a few more road course races to the schedule. Indy has a road course, and so does Daytona. Maybe the July Daytona race should be run on the road course. Then it could be a non-plate race, and a hell of a lot of fun to watch. Indy isn't suited to the big Nascar rigs, so maybe using the old Formula 1 road course there would liven that place up too.
Trouble with all of these suggestions is that the NASCAR bigwigs are too focused on the $$$, and only make small tweaks that really don't matter. Who knows ... maybe they'll read this thread and actually do something. I'm not holding my breath though.

- JAMES