2017 Nascar Thread

Harvick has won more than any other driver in the last 5 years.

 

Nascar going back to green-white-checkered with unlimited attempts, overtime line is gone! yaaaaaas!

 

Yeah, if I want to watch unknowns I'll go to a short track...

 

the problem with this is there is a huge voice from fans about Kyle winning everything in trucks and xfinity, he's good, get over it. Sponsorship follows these guys. It also gives a chance for younger drivers to compete against him(them) and get better. I mean look at Ryan Preece last week, beat Kyle, his name is more out there with teams and drivers than it would be if he beat Justing Allgiaer. Come one nascar, get it together.

 

Exactly how Harvick put it. Yeah another point is that it's not a lower tier, as the 3 are labeled the NASCAR touring series... Meaning they are all the top level

 

That point also points out the whelen modifieds and K&N as the lower tier development leauges

 

We did the trio in Dawsonville:
Lunch at Dawsonville Pool Room, snooped the Ga Racing Hall of Fame, and turned laps at Atlanta Motorsports Park. Let me tell you, it's a great afternoon trip. Grab yourself a Bully Burger and ask Mr. Gordon Pirkle about the good ol' days. We chatted for at least 15 minutes about old stuff. Museum admission is only $6 and has some fantastic memorabilia. They were rearranging some stuff and Bill's '88 Winston Cup trophy was just sitting on the floor. AMP is about 4 miles away. Three karting sessions is $75 and totally worth it, especially if you're in a big group. It's the best karting track I've been on. There are single and two-seater karts. Two-seaters are great to scare the crap out of your partner. They max out at 55mph which is fast as hell when you're 2" off the pavement.

 

Cup drivers have always dabbled in lower series, be it Late Models to Grand National. They don't do it just for love of racing. If this were the case, they'd all be running dirt every week. They get appearance money. They can talk about competition and opportunities all they want. Cut off their "show money" and they won't turn up for lower tier races. That said, I don't have a problem with them racing lower series for show money, it just got too rampant when there was gobs of money on the table in the '90s to the mid-aughts. The other reason why is the move of lower series races to the bigger tracks. It's just more convenient than in previous eras to go out and earn some extra money. Sure, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Bobby Allison and others would run the occasional Grand National, Late Model, or even dirt race during the Cup season back in the '70s and '80s, but it was a different era. It wasn't so prohibitively costly to run a car at the local bullring. I'm not going to listen to a single word these drivers say about codes and honor and competition and opportunity for younger drivers to learn as long as they're taking home HUGE pieces of the pie regardless of finishing position on Saturday. Pro ball players don't get to drop down and play college teams. Ex-presidents don't run for mayor after they've served the nation. Get the Cup guys and their defacto Cup crews out of the lower ranks on a weekly basis and the cost to compete and beat them will diminish somewhat (ideally).

 

The point u mention, which should be addressed across the board is it's too much $$$ to compete period. Cup or no cup guys, any series at all.

 

@thewarriordinghy heres some of the schemes running at Hickory. Really kicking myself for not going. Many of these are better than the Darligton throwback schemes.

 

Do you know where I can get the roster of who is racing, I can't zoom in at the pic on my phone

 

Probably the Hickory page or the CARs page. They're selling these posters at the race too.

 

https://youtu.be/qNVPQgabNBM

 

Salary cap for Nascar reducing from 30 mil/yr. To 20 mil/yr. Don't be surprised if Kenseth or Busch don't get signed in top tier equipment for next year, or if they do it won't be for 8 million a year, they'll have to accept being paid less. Interesting to see how this plays out.

 

This is part of the problem with veteran drivers who peaked during the boom. Their egos won't let them sign smaller contracts. They say they want to race, but it's really all about money. They'd rather walk than drive for a smaller team or a smaller salary. Kurt Busch is an exception. He took his licks driving the 78 and 51 after he lost his Roush and Penske jobs. Purses have been cut time and again over the past eight years. Contracts are built totally differently than before. Memorabilia sales are toast. There are drivers who have driven for free (Allmendinger at Petty, McDowell, and others), and more and more drivers buying seat time (Gaulding, Menard, and others). Older fans hem and haw about drivers not earning their way into top rides. It's always been about who brings the most cash to the table. The Wood Brothers were playing this game in the '50s and '60s. The way to earn your way into a Cup seat is to come to the table with $10-$15 million in your pocket and a sponsor willing to shovel money up NASCAR's butthole like coal in a furnace.

 

You can watch it on carstour.tv in HD for a monthly $25 subscription.

 

Im burning my ass off in the sun at the track right this minute

 

I'd be interested in knowing the source of your information for that statement. I've followed NASCAR since 1962 about as closely as a person can and not be in the garage, and I've never heard of that.

 

Cole Rouse says he has to win since I drove from GA and am the only guy tent camping here..

 

100.1 FM in the area is broadcasting the race if y'all wanna tune in