BrianCunningham

Getting back to looking more like the production cars

http://m.autoblog.com/2013/02/20/che..._river_article



http://m.autoblog.com/2013/02/20/for..._river_article

rithsleeper

Good. I hate the term stock car. I couldn't be farther from the truth. Its like im going to start calling my corvette "horse and buggy" because at one time its ancestor was one....

Gary2KC5

Don't be a hater...back in the day, when the term "stock car" was made they were very much stock race cars. this was before tube frame race cars came to be.

Actually when the term was coined, race cars were pretty much stock except for safety equipment. So don't blame history and tradition for today's "stock car" which is as technical as almost any race car in the world.

the term "champ car" doesn't mean everyone that drives one is one.

F1 cars are percieved to be super advanced in technology...and they are, but don't think NASCAR is just the good ole boys racing "stock cars".

If you ever get a chance to see it up close you will see how technical and engineered NASCAR is. from the engine development programs to the aero engineers, every aspect is engineered from race strategy down to putting liquid teflon and loctite on every wheel lug before each race.

I cracks me up to see people, even racing drivers poo poo NASCAR because they think if you don't make right and left turns you are not racing. Hello, just because you have a racing license in an amateur club does not make you an expert on the racing.

I accept auto racing in all forms...why say "only this is "real" racing"

it's all good. Even SCCA racing which i have enjoyed since my 1st spectator race at MAR.

MarkDFW

They really need to stop calling them stock cars. Talk about a misnomer.

mgg

Yeah those cup cars are real peices of techno advancement. Finally going to fuel injection last year. What an accomplishment! The tire / wheel / brake packages, what a piece of modern architecture. This series is a complete joke. For that hick Darrel Waltrip to make a comment yesterday that these are the greatest race car drivers in the world is beyond ignorant. This trailer trash racing fits right in with monster truck jam and WWF rassling. I am embarassed by the how they try to put on. Went to a Trans-am race at Watkins glen when they were the lead up race to the big CUP race. The Trans am cars were 6 seconds a lap faster. Nascar has its priorities on entertainment value not real racing. Throw the customary debris flag with ten laps to go, bunch the field together and then comment on close the racing is. Are you kidding. NOw I am not going to say the the drivers in this series are not skilled. They are skilled at driving at high speeds turning left and utilizing the draft. Because if they couldn't utilize the draft and did not have someone bump drafting them there would NEVER be a pass for position. Absolutely beyond boring. Listening to these announcers trying to do their best hayseed impersonations to befriend the double wide crowd with their 10 year old "intimidator" T-shirts while they are flyin their own private jets or helicopters, living in multimillion dollar mansions , driving Ferraris is too funny. Oh, trying to renew the win on Sunday by on Monday is just too good. Yeah, I been thinking about going down to my Toyota dealership and pickin up one of them 800 hp camry's. Chrylser left for a reason. This series faces serious issues. It had its heyday. It is heading in the wrong direction.

Shaka

'Bout sums up your post.

rfn026

It's ok to hate NASCAR but keep in mind they're the only racing series where people actually make money. In the old ALMS series the people who put on the show paid to be in the show. At tracks like Sebring and Road Atlanta Don Panoz kept all the gate money. He never shared with the people in the show.

Vintage racing is the same way. Steve Earle would "invite" you to come to Monterey on your own dime. Then he had the nerve to even charge you an entry fee. All the gate money (and it was huge) went directly into his pocket.

NASCAR (and F1) are the only race series I know of where you get money if you bring your car to the show. Sure it might not be enough but it's way more if you ran anyplace else.

Andy Lally (TRG) ran start and park in the Sprint Cup series. He made more money finishing 43rd every weekend than the entire field made in the ALMS series.

Be careful that you don't hate the only people who actually share revenue with the teams.

Richard Newton

argonaut

mgg

Hey shaka, the only ignorant one is you if you think for one momment the Nascar doesn't critique how the races will finish. I am not talking about winners and loser but I am talking about making a 500 mile race be nothing more that a 10 lap shootout. Debris flags are flown to bunch the field for entertainment value. Discussions take place in the drivers meetings to make sure on a road course if anyone has a twenty car length lead or more that there will be a caution to group cars for an exciting finish. Don't believe me , you don't have a clue then. There is no disputing the series makes money. That was never the question. The issue was the technology of the cars in the series. Obviously it is impressive that these motors can generate the power and have the reliabilty to last at that rpm for 500 miles but the cars themselves, are you kidding me. It is basically a spec series. Did you happen to listen to Kyle Petty. I think he knows a thing or two and he basically said the same. WWF and Monster jam makes money to. Consider the audience. All professional racing series face a difficult challenge ahead of them. How to make money. By basically creating a spec series it can help control cost. However at what price. The Jim Halls of the world will never be able to use their creative minds to advance the world of performance due to the stringent rules governing most series today. I find it hard to believe that a car guy can get excited about the GEN 6 car likes it something new and innovative. Comparing these cars to F1 / Daytona Prototypes / ALMS protype and even GT cars is embarrassing. Even Indy cars have made a bit of a resurgence. If you think selling Tide / M&M"s and wrangler jeans makes for a good race series thats great. Am I envious that a major road racing series cannot sell the goods like NASCAR can. You are correct. I much prefer to a watch a World Challenge race / Trans-AM /GT1 but unfortunately these series will remain grass roots without a good TV contract. For crying out loud ALMS can't even get a good TV deal. It seems as every NASCAR team makes unbelievable amounts of money win or lose. Don;t kid yourself, this is a good'ol boy network that is overseen by a ruling family that will control whos in and who's out. It is their right, the France family has worked hard, taken risks and reaped the rewards but in my mind it is more about entertainment than racing. But as far as the cars themselves, whats to like.

bosco022

There is enough technology in a Nascar Cup car that would allow them to outlap a current World Challenge GT car around Sebring.

There are club racers 60 years old running 10 plus year old technology lapping Sebring in the 2:09 to 2:10 range on old Martinsville 10" cup tires. Compare that to World Challenge GT times of recent years.....very similar. I use Sebring for comparison because it is a good combination of heavy braking zones, fast sweepers, tight corners and long straights.

How quick would Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Marcos Ambrose etc be in a current Cup car?
Probably within 3-4 seconds of a 2800 # Trans Am car with 850 hp.

I am no fan of Nascar, but what those engineers do with those pigs is amazing.

The top level drivers in Cup are among the best racers in the world. Don't believe it.....ask Boris Said, Andy Lally, Scott Pruett, Tony Ave etc, they'll tell you the same.

Rob31

Best race ticket last years was Road America with the "Bush Series "(ya I still call it that )and the Grand Am guys .I will never again go to Michigan or Joliet and I can get those for almost nothin . But I will go to Gingerman or Autobahn .
Did Danica have a juiced ride for the pole ? oh hell ya On every news cast on the planet "woman takes Daytona Pole "The stands are far from full , free publicity .

How about that Joanna Long ???

Crepitus

If ya have the skill set then get a ride and become a millionaire, If ya dont Then you can pay for your track time like the rest of us.

jcsperson

I'm a NASCAR fan two races a year. The circle-track events just aren't interesting. Apart from the peloton of cars droning around in circles, the rules have evolved into what's essentially a high-dollar spec series. I actually liked it back when the cars were just modified stock cars. They looked different and sounded different. I remember when the cars still had their vent windows.

I wish the powers that be at NASCAR would spin off a touring car road racing series based on stock bodies like the Aussie V8 Supercar Series. I think that would draw big here. Can you imagine Ford, Chevy, Toyota, Nissan, Acura, BMW, Mercedes, and Audi sedans all on the track at the same time?

Crepitus

I always thought asphalt modifieds on a road course would be interesting.

hellrazr

NASCAR is so easy that even a girl can place in the top ten!

bosco022

The Nascar modifieds use to run at Lime Rock, they ran as fast as Daytona Prototypes.

drivinhard

850+ RWHP cures a lot of ills and covers a lot of sins

bosco022

You're right, it does, but (and I know you know this) they handle and brake far better than most realize. They may look awkward being thrown around a road course but their limits are still very high.

The engineers have to work within the limits of the archaic Nascar rules yet what they have done with the road course versions in the past few years is impressive.

redvetracr

pigs and lots and lots of money

jcsperson

They ran at NJMP a few years ago, but I don't think they were quite that fast.