NASCAR

Dogbert said:
I'm in the "I used to think it was a joke, but then I actually started watching it and think it's okay" crowd. I'm going to Daytona for the race tomorrow, as a matter of fact. :D

I'm bringing one of my work gloves for Jamie McMurray to sign.
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i now live about 30 miles from daytona i think. i just stopped watching when the cars really stoped being shaped like cars. it was getting out of hand for a while. the nose of the cars wasnt even lined up with the middle anymore. sad. how can they still call that "stock car racing"
 
I have been a regular, if not consistent, NASCAR viewer since 1998. I'll watch parts of races nowadays, but when it's Jimmie Johnson or Denny Hamlin winning week in and week out, even with all the changes to the points, it gets tedious.

Interesting race at Daytona so far tonight.
 
I'm a fan when there is actual racing, not just following each other around for hours. Tracks like Fontana and Chicagoland are boring more often then not. I am a fan of Juan Pablo, mostly because I like how blunt he is during interviews. If he could run over Kyle Busch, I would be very happy.
 
Road course time!!

They have made some changes to Watkins Glen, all safety-related. There's SAFER barriers in the chicane, the guardrails in turn 9 have been moved back, the "kitty litter" is gone, and the tire barriers featured prominently in last year's race have been replaced by sand barrels.

I'm looking forward to seeing if Marcos Ambrose can redeem himself for his gaffe at Sonoma, if Tony Stewart can add another WG win to his resume, and if Scott Pruett ends up in the #24 car sometime during the race.

Oh, and Nelson Piquet Jr. will be in the Nationwide race along with Jacques F'n Villaneuve. That can only end well.
 
hemoh said:
Interesting race at Daytona so far tonight.
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A bit late with a comment, but interesting indeed! We could feel the heat from Mark Martin's car when it was on fire.

hemoh said:
Oh, and Nelson Piquet Jr. will be in the Nationwide race along with Jacques F'n Villaneuve. That can only end well.
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I really, really want Villaneuve to do well, or at least not be a back-marker, in NASCAR. Jacques Villaneuve, Barrichello, McMurray, and Bourdais are my four favorite living drivers.

Piquet Jr can go to hell, though. IDGAF.
 
So much for the safety improvements...

[video=youtube;QkLy-FA_q24]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkLy-FA_q24[/video]

The Cup race tomorrow will probably top that wreck.

Nationwide heads to Circuit Gilles Villaneuve on August 29 (the Cup guys are off that weekend).
 
hemoh said:
The Cup race tomorrow will probably top that wreck.
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Incorrect! Which surprised me. I think every time I've watched a race this year, Jimmie Johnson's either wrecked or almost wrecked.

That was a good first NASCAR race to watch for someone who turns their nose up at the thought of watching.
 
Dogbert said:
Incorrect! Which surprised me. I think every time I've watched a race this year, Jimmie Johnson's either wrecked or almost wrecked.

That was a good first NASCAR race to watch for someone who turns their nose up at the thought of watching.
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So watch every race! I like the guy, but 4 in a row is enough.
 
Dogbert said:
Incorrect! Which surprised me.
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Count me surprised also; sometimes it's nice to be incorrect.

I think every time I've watched a race this year, Jimmie Johnson's either wrecked or almost wrecked.
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Please make it a point to watch all of the Chase races. ;)
 
hemoh said:
Please make it a point to watch all of the Chase races. ;)
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I will if McMurray makes it. :p

FUN JAMIE MCMURRAY FACT: Right now, only Kurt Busch is beating him in terms of dollar-winnings, and only by $6,000. We're only 3/5 of the way through the season, and he's already made almost $5 million.
 
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I'm not.

I could have a VERY lengthy replay to why, but I'll just leave one. Need MOAR road courses.

However, I did watch the race in Montreal today and I must say it was pretty good. Granted it was a road course. I was sad to see Ambrose's shit luck. But I was really happy when Edwards track bar mount broke and even happier when R. Gordon ran out of gas on the G-W-C. The finish was great.

 
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I watched it as well, most of the race wasn't the best ever, especially early on there were too many cautions (that said, it made it easier to watch MotoGP at the same time). Racing itself, though, was very entertaining and the finish was fab. What a brilliant move by Papis in the last corner, a great example of a brave do-or-die move which did not involve body contact. Of course it wasn't quite enough but how he managed to make it through the chicane after braking so late and also changing his line during braking is beyond me. Shame that Villeneuve more or less took himself out of the fight few corners earlier, could have been a brilliant three-way fight for the win there. Great to see Boris win, though.
 
that was a GREAT race. I was pissed off though when Carl broke his track-bar because i am a huge Roush fan, but i am also a fan of Boris and its always good to see a ford win.

I think they need more road courses in general. NASCAR always says that they want to expand internationally, well i think that if they do more road races they will gain more creditability as a serious racing series. When NASCAR races on a road course, it is always some of the best racing you can watch, so why not do more of them. Bring Sprint cup to Montreal and Road America, which we now know produce great racing, then get rid of a few of the cookie cutter tracks and go to VIR, Laguna Seca, Road Atlanta, and when it is done being built, the new site of the 2012 US Grand Prix in texas. I would love that.
 
Hazardous said:
I watched it as well, most of the race wasn't the best ever, especially early on there were too many cautions (that said, it made it easier to watch MotoGP at the same time). Racing itself, though, was very entertaining and the finish was fab. What a brilliant move by Papis in the last corner, a great example of a brave do-or-die move which did not involve body contact. Of course it wasn't quite enough but how he managed to make it through the chicane after braking so late and also changing his line during braking is beyond me. Shame that Villeneuve more or less took himself out of the fight few corners earlier, could have been a brilliant three-way fight for the win there. Great to see Boris win, though.
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Yeah, all the cautions at the beginning were really starting to get annoying. I almost decided to turn in off and go work on my car. I was really rooting for Ambrose. But after he was pretty much out of the race I was really hoping Villeneuve would take the lead. But I can't be mad since Boris and Papis are great drivers too. Any one of them I was fine with winning the race. Just as long as R. Gordon didn't.

xmurrx said:
that was a GREAT race. I was pissed off though when Carl broke his track-bar because i am a huge Roush fan, but i am also a fan of Boris and its always good to see a ford win.

I think they need more road courses in general. NASCAR always says that they want to expand internationally, well i think that if they do more road races they will gain more creditability as a serious racing series. When NASCAR races on a road course, it is always some of the best racing you can watch, so why not do more of them. Bring Sprint cup to Montreal and Road America, which we now know produce great racing, then get rid of a few of the cookie cutter tracks and go to VIR, Laguna Seca, Road Atlanta, and when it is done being built, the new site of the 2012 US Grand Prix in texas. I would love that.
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Yeah, I would watch a lot more Nascar if it were yesterdays race. Minus all the cautions. They need to realize that Americans are the only that really love the oval races. Everyone else loves the road course.
 
Man, now I'm pissed that I didn't watch the race. I felt bad for Said after Watkins Glen; glad he redeemed himself. And Villeneuve third?! Hope that's enough to convince him to really give this a shot.

I'd be interested to see the draw that road courses are pulling vs. the new ovals. Can anyone find Nielsen ratings or attendance numbers for individual races?

EDIT: Here we go. So if you combine Infineon and Watkins Glen attendance against Kansas and Chicagoland... the road courses have had 180,000 spectators vs. 167,000 (max) for the 2001 oval tracks. So the attendance is definitely there. In fact, only Watkins Glen, Michigan, and Pocono have seen an increase in attendance; everywhere else has seen a decrease.
 
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Polygon said:
Now that's an interesting statistic. I would have never expected that.
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You know what's even more interesting? Martinsville has the smallest draw of any track (~60,000 attendees), and VIR is only 50 miles away.

The only problem with VIR, though, is that it just isn't set up to accommodate a NASCAR crowd. They would have to do a major infield/parking/infrastructure overhaul in order to deal with even that kind of attendance.

Which leads me to a question: what road racing tracks in the US could hold 60,000+ people?

- I don't think Road America could, nevermind it being in the middle of fuck nowhere.
- Sebring obviously can; 160,000 people (myself included :D) were at the 12 Hours of Sebring race this year.
- Laguna Seca could maybe hold the crowds, but I think it would irritate the shit out of drivers.
- Road Atlanta? Should they go back?
 
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well they cant get rid of martinsville, too much history and its such a good track, i have gone there a few times myself and we also need more short tracks too so no sense in cutting this one. The reason Pocono gets such good attendance is because of where it is located, only big track in the Northeast area and also is a great track. i have been going to the summer race there since i was about 8 and have not missed a race there since. Get rid of the extra races at California speedway, kansas, and new hampshire.

Laguna could handle it, and so what if the drivers don't like it.
Road Atlanta. Yes
New Jersey Motorsports Park? ARCA goes there, could work.
New Austin USGP Site. Yes. If it meets the FIA's and F1's amazingly strict standards to race there, i guess NASACR and Brian France could make something happene
 
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