I hear lots of ridicule on this forum of oval track NASCAR racing, despite the intense level of competition displayed weekly.

My oldest friend, with whom I attended races (Can-Am, IMSA GT, SCCA runoffs, etc.) at Road Atlanta for years, refuses to this day to watch a NASCAR race. The only exceptions are the 2 road races at Sears Point and Watkins Glen.

Tomorow (Sunday 6/26) at 1400 EDT, 42 of the world's heaviest race cars will assault a 1.99 mile road course at Sears Point CA for 110 laps (350 KM). It may (snicker) get nasty, but it will not be dull. This one separates the circle jerks from the racers.

Any young/pedestrian/techie snob/alledged race fans need to stuff their attitude in their back pocket for this one.

A dozen years ago, Ernie Irvan (#28 Robert Yates Havoline Ford/ex-late Davey Allison) was black flagged (stop-and-go penalty) for jumping the start at Sears Point. He won the race. That was the single most virtuoso performance by a driver I have ever seen. Remember, these are all near-spec cars. Any car/driver that finished had their ass handed to them by Ernie.

i dont fidn too much intrest in circle racing. i like to see race cars get pushed beyond limits, not just how fast you can go in a circle. the nascar series just doesnt appeal to me whatsoever, and i dont think anything could change my mind about it. go fast, turn left. thats basic philosophy.

as far as intense competition, it looks like its just a matter of who gets pole postition and performs the fastest most efficient pit stops. sorry i dont see too much competition in a race that invloves cars going in circles for 250-300 laps.

I've actually watched one of these races, on TV obviously, and it wasn't bad. I just can't watch circle racing, that's all.

I am talking about a ROAD RACE here, dingbats!

I think there is, what, two road courses on the whole circuit?

i dont fidn too much intrest in circle racing. i like to see race cars get pushed beyond limits, not just how fast you can go in a circle. the nascar series just doesnt appeal to me whatsoever, and i dont think anything could change my mind about it. go fast, turn left. thats basic philosophy.

as far as intense competition, it looks like its just a matter of who gets pole postition and performs the fastest most efficient pit stops. sorry i dont see too much competition in a race that invloves cars going in circles for 250-300 laps.

Sorry to have to bust out a fellow Saleen fan, but the above comments are friggin rediculous. NASCAR is probably the MOST competetive major racing series out there. Even with as good as Roush has been this year, NASCAR isn't like Formula One where there's typically not more than 4 cars on a race weekend with a snowball's chance in hell of winning.
Nor is it like the IRL, where the difference between a competeive set-up and a bad one is about 20 MPH at Indy...20 MPH!!! Nor is it like Champ Car, where you have no chance if you don't drive for Paul Newman, or your name isn't Paul Tracy. Every Sunday, NASCAR puts 43 of the best drivers in the world on the track in machines built to run more or less equal. That, plus the fact that the cars work better in traffic than any other race series, results in more passing than any other sereies, and the best show in racing. As far as your assertion that pole position/pit stops determine the race, that makes me wonder if you've ever seen a NASCAR race. Ryan Newman wins the pole damn near every week, and hasn't won a race this year. Just like any other series, car set-up and driving wins NASCAR races. I have a good way settle it once and for all. Let a team of NASCAR guys go against a team of Formula One guys, a team of IRL guys, and a team of Champ Car drivers in an ALMS race where they're in cars different from what they drive every day, (so as to take away any advantage). I'll put Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle up against anyone in the world.
PS-I'm a major fan of all 4 series.

I'd love to see those three go up against Tracy, Schumacher, older one's like Stewart, Phil Hill, and Prost at the 'ring. Bring in Hans Stuck and everyone's dead though. Or Boris Said, who's driven a Nascar racer at Laguna Seca...

nascar sucks.THE END

If you think that NASCAR sucks then your wrong. They are some of the best drivers in the world. All of them. If you think that the so-called road race experts (Ron Fellows, Boris Said, and the rest) are better racers than your wrong. In the last 66 NASCAR road races the "ringers" as the are called have won none of the, and yes they are in good equipment. Fellows usually drives for DEI (Dale Earnheadt Inc.) on of the best teams in NASCAR. Also not to long ago did Jeff Gordon not put up some very good lap times at Indy driving an F1 car. So before you say it "sucks" take a look at the drivers.

Does Nascar run in the rain? End.

They well only practice in the rain but never race or qualify

Some info of the engine in these beasts(stock cars) would be appreciated!

5.9L V8
16 valve pushrod
carberated
Making between 800 and 850 BHP and can spin to about 10000 rpms depending on the track

About 750+ hp and 9500 rpm would be the limits on a Nascar motor, this pushing a 3600 lb. car on 9 inch tires.

Before the 2004 USGP, Montoya (Williams/BMW) and Jeff Gordon (#24 DuPUNK/Hendrick/Chevy) swapped cars. Jeffie complained that he couldn't believe or use the amount of braking power the Williams/BMW F1 car had. In 20 laps he was fast enough to have made the field for the 2003 race.

A couple of years ago, the Nascar Winston drivers qualified at Watkins Glen on rain tires, but raced in the dry.

In 1987 Nascar held a 300 mile Busch series race at Road Atlanta. It was staffed by SCCA volunteers, who didn't call a caution when a light rain started. Patty Moise pitted for rain tires (half the field had never heard of rain tires) and smoked the field until the rain stopped/track dried and she blew her engine. Those guys found places to push one another off course that had been previously unexplored.

They well only practice in the rain but never race or qualify
They don't race in the wet?!?
That kind of sucks..

Some teams have had there engines turn 10000rpm. Also when the drivers turn to there second ignition box there is no rev limiter and they will get above 10 grand. Most drivers do this in the last few laps of a race to get as much speed as posible. The last race at Phoenix there were a few cars that would turn 10 grand on fresh tires. They also run on 12 inch tires not nine inch. Also I did not know that the Busch cars ever raced at Road Atlanta.

Sure the cars are great and the drivers skilled. Unfortuantly It still doesn't make up for the fact that driving around in a circle is as boring as hell. The only reason to watch nascar would be to laugh at the mullets in the crowd and see the crashes, which you can see on the highlights anyways. If i wanted to see people trying to jockey for position in a mess of cars, I'd go on the freeway.

LS ONE, you are correct about the tire size. Mybad. Roush Fords do turn high 9000's at Martinsville and Bristol, but most drivers that see 10 see smoke long before 400-500 laps/miles.

Brettzilla, I tend to notice full halter tops in the crowd shots. I haven't been to the Talladega infield (Snakepit) in ages. The last time I went, the average race fan was a shirtless, semi-longhair, sunburned beerbelly redneck wearing cutoffs and a #3 cap drinking the last 3 fingers of a half gallon of Jack Daniels standing on the hood of a Jeep or Blazer with a plywood sign in front crudely spraycanned "Show us your TITS".

RB, Nascar is prepared to race in the wet on the 2 road courses.

Enough said...hahaha:D


http://www.bustedtees.com/images/boringnascar.artwork.2.product_artwork.j pg (http://www.bustedtees.com/product.gallery.php?image[id]=117)

Enough said... IGNORANT + picture skills.

Just how many races have you attended, speedracer04? Inquiring minds want to know. Where on this planet are you from, anyway?

Im with SteveFX on this one. It may just be turning left but it still fun to watch. THere have be races won and lost in the last 50 ft of the track. and thats after 500miles. So how is tha boring.

Its not 500 miles of track, its 1 1/4 mile track circulated 500 times.

Sorry haha, I really do respect anyones position if they like nascar, its your opinion and you have a rite to that but I am also entitled (sp?) to mine.

Honestly though, I just wanted an excuse to post that picture which is off of a t-shirt I saw because I thought it was funny.

I hate nascar. sorry.

I watched not one minute of the NASCAR race at Loudon NH USA.

I did watch (1st hour cropped) CBS coverage of the ALMS race at Sears Point. Good stuff.

I also watched some of the CART Champ Car race from Edmonton AB CN. Great racing.

....I just can imagine what the drivers looks on their faces were when they raced their first "Road race"...When they hit that right corner you know they were thinking
"I trained my whole life to do this"

Im not a big nascar fan But I would not knock the racing.. Better yet why not have all the haters get behind the wheel of a 200 mph car and make those left turns...lol . Then come back and report how well you did...hahaha

To every stick/ball sport fan that I hear say,"racers aren't real athletes", I reply, "hang 7 lbs off the side of your head, lift 1000 times in the next 4 hours." Call me back.