Which Racetrack Would DRIVERS Want Off The Schedule?

Tumbleweed

Tumbleweed

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OK. There’s now a thread on which track fans here would want to see off the schedule so I thought of a hypothetical one with a slightly different angle, drivers’ preferences. If cup drivers each got a vote on which track they would like to see COMPLETELY off the schedule, which track do you think would get the most votes?

I admit to not having a really good idea but my best guess would be Dega.
 
My guess would be either road course. Half the drivers don't know what they're doing out there. Half of the remaining ones don't have a lot of success on those tracks. The remaining ten are 'bad ass' road course racers that put on a helluva show that most all of us tune in to see.
 
Any track currently with a smooth surface and/or a lot of grip. I constantly hear drivers complaining when tracks get repaved because the track loses its "character". Talladega is probably going to be the most popular answer in this topic but drivers do not hate the track, but rather they hate the restrictor plates. I'm sure most drivers would love to run there unrestricted so long as it was relatively safe; safe meaning no more dangerous than the average cookie-cutter track.
 
RacerrecaR said:
Any track currently with a smooth surface and/or a lot of grip. I constantly hear drivers complaining when tracks get repaved because the track loses its "character". Talladega is probably going to be the most popular answer in this topic but drivers do not hate the track, but rather they hate the restrictor plates. I'm sure most drivers would love to run there unrestricted so long as it was relatively safe; safe meaning no more dangerous than the average cookie-cutter track.
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I wonder what difference the lower HP and grip will do to RP racing this year. Will they have to lift to get through the corner or will it be a slower version of what we have had ?
 
Ditto with road courses, which is a shame. Look at Jamie Mac during the Rolex 24 this year. He had no idea what he was doing and lost time every stint he was driving. Like DP said, there's a select few that know how to drive em, the rest don't have a clue. Drivers have adopted the plate track mentality of "just survive" and get a top 15. There's a reason the part-time teams bring in "ringers" for those events- they don't care about points and know their regular driver would suck. If it weren't for driver points, most teams would bring in ringers.
 
Team Penske said:
I wonder what difference the lower HP and grip will do to RP racing this year. Will they have to lift to get through the corner or will it be a slower version of what we have had ?
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With the recent repaves of both plate tracks, I doubt grip will be an issue. The less horsepower will barely slow down these cars. The difference will be virtually unnoticed.
 
Dega would be my first choice. For me plate races are only a high speed demolition derby. I would love to see another road course race added. To compare the driving at the rolex 24 to a nascar road course isn't apples to apples. Completely different types of cars and format. Actually most of the top tier drivers are taking road courses a lot more seriously like either having experts coach them or taking lessons. The cars are now special built instead of leftovers.
 
Talladega:

http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/...tewart-restrictor-plate-racing-dale-earnhardt

http://www.givemesport.com/513789-matt-crafton-likes-talladega-odds-but-hates-waiting-for-the-wreck

"Restrictor-plate racing for the fans is exciting, but as a driver, you're just stuck," Crafton said. "It doesn't matter how hard you push the pedal or what you do as a driver, you can't do anything - you are just stuck in the middle of a pack of trucks."

"At a mile-and-a-half track a driver can make a difference, but at a place like Talladega, it is what it is," Crafton said. "You are just waiting for someone to make a mistake that you are going to get caught up in - you have zero control. Racing at Talladega is just like going out and buying a lottery ticket -- you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. There's just no telling -- but you've got to play the game."
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Dale Earnhardt Jr., who used to love restrictor-plate racing, was in a foul mood after the accident, which occurred with drivers bunched up three- and four-wide with practically all of them pushing the car in front of them. Stewart tried to block Michael Waltrip, a move that usually causes an accident and leaves heaps of sheet metal and crumpled cars littering the garage.

“It’s really not racing,” Earnhardt said. “It’s a little disappointing how that all went down. … Really, that was all right?

“It’s not safe. Wrecking like that is ridiculous. It’s bloodthirsty if that’s what people want.”
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And that wasn’t just the opinion of the ticked-off 20th-place driver. Second-place Jeff Gordon agreed.

“You put a lot of faith in your safety equipment and you kind of white-knuckle, hold on tight,” Gordon said. “I remember when coming to Talladega was fun.

“I really do, and I haven't experienced that in a long, long time. I don't like coming here. I don't like the type of racing that I have to do.”
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Everybody hates having restrictor plates because it makes everybody equal – drivers, engine builders, and teams. Even after his big wreck, Bobby had the best saying about restrictor plates I ever heard.

He said in a press conference at Talladega one time that he didn’t like the plates because it made other drivers as good as him when they weren’t as good as him. He was right.

Restrictor-plate racing bunches up the field and gives drivers who may not have the skill or the experience and teams that may not have the best equipment to run with the big boys on any given day, and that’s not right. It’s also dangerous because it makes drivers hold it wide open all the time, and that’s why there’s often a “big one” at Talladega and Daytona.

A driver running a restrictor plate simply cannot back off the throttle for fear of losing the draft. In that respect, they take away a driver’s control of his racecar and, for the most part, dictate his race strategy for him.
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- Donnie Allison
 
I heard the Fox commentators saying one time that if they didn't have restrictor plates at Daytona and Talladega, that they'd be going at around 230 MPH, and that the cars would be "undrivable".
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
My guess would be either road course. Half the drivers don't know what they're doing out there. Half of the remaining ones don't have a lot of success on those tracks. The remaining ten are 'bad ass' road course racers that put on a helluva show that most all of us tune in to see.
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I've only heard two drivers complain about racing road courses and both of them are retired now (Jimmy Spencer and Morgan Sheppard). A lot of them are so bored with the cookie cutters they look forward to road courses even if they may not be that good at them.
 
Nathan_259 said:
I heard the Fox commentators saying one time that if they didn't have restrictor plates at Daytona and Talladega, that they'd be going at around 230 MPH, and that the cars would be "undrivable".
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Didn't Rusty Wallace test there immediately after Talladega was repaved and hit 225mph average speed by himself? I would imagine with much more testing and drafting that the cars could reach 250mph if they handled somewhat decently.
 
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