NBC poll on potential changes

The article is mostly Eddie Gossage discussing changes he'd find acceptable. Poll options include:

Timed races
Scheduled cautions
Halftime
Heat races
Halfway bonus money
No changes

http://nascar.nbcsports.com/2017/01/06/is-it-time-for-nascar-to-make-format-changes/
'Timed race' to me mean shorter races. That I don't like. It would not make for a better race.

'Scheduled cautions'. I'm not so sure we don't already have those.

'Halftime'. This isn't the NFL.

'Heat Races'. Already shown not to work.

'Halfway bonus money' Been there, done that. Didn't mean a thing.

No changes. Yes, I agree with that.
 
'Timed race' to me mean shorter races. That I don't like. It would not make for a better race.

'Scheduled cautions'. I'm not so sure we don't already have those.

'Halftime'. This isn't the NFL.

'Heat Races'. Already shown not to work.

'Halfway bonus money' Been there, done that. Didn't mean a thing.

No changes. Yes, I agree with that.
I second your notions.
 
'Timed race' to me mean shorter races. That I don't like. It would not make for a better race.

'Scheduled cautions'. I'm not so sure we don't already have those.

'Halftime'. This isn't the NFL.

'Heat Races'. Already shown not to work.

'Halfway bonus money' Been there, done that. Didn't mean a thing.

No changes. Yes, I agree with that.
I second your notions.
Triple
 
For the record, I voted for returning the halfway money. I thought it might encourage some up-front racing at the mid-point, and it would let NASCAR say they were making changes without doing any damage.

Last time I looked, 'No change' was about 45%. 'No change' and 'Halfway bonus' combined were about 70%. The comments could have come from any similar discussion in this forum.
 
I am afraid all of this BS will happen. They have their syndicates flooding the media to whip a false sense of demand for the changes, to justify their whims.

No need to try and express my contempt for France and Gossage. Words do not suffice for the low lifes. I hope they burn.
 
I am afraid all of this BS will happen. They have their syndicates flooding the media to whip a false sense of demand for the changes, to justify their whims.

No need to try and express my contempt for France and Gossage. Words do not suffice for the low lifes. I hope they burn.
I definitely agree with this - by now we know this sanctioning body well enough to be sure that at least 3 of the 5 potential changes will become reality. Heck two of them already exist in the lower series.
 
I have no problem with a halfway bonus, I think it could promote competition in the middle stages of the race. The rest of it is terrible and should never be considered by a legitimate racing series. The Bill Frances are rolling over in their graves with what Brian is to the sport they spent their lifetimes building.
 
Heat races are about the only thing that could work, but definitely not in the way the Xfinity series uses them. Say you have 4 heat races of 10 cars, only take the top 5 from each race for a 20 car main. The other 20 cars rin a consolation race where the winner gets only a third of the money the guy finishing last in the main gets. This would have no provisionals or anything dumb like that. So if you want to get paid that week you better bust your ass to get in the main.
 
Heat races are about the only thing that could work, but definitely not in the way the Xfinity series uses them. Say you have 4 heat races of 10 cars, only take the top 5 from each race for a 20 car main. The other 20 cars rin a consolation race where the winner gets only a third of the money the guy finishing last in the main gets. This would have no provisionals or anything dumb like that. So if you want to get paid that week you better bust your ass to get in the main.
But this isn't a Saturday night @ the local track with little invested other than time. I'd have to wonder how that Driver X fan that just shelled out $1,000's of dollars in tickets, travel, & lodging feels about seeing their driver only run a shortened 'heat race'.
 
But this isn't a Saturday night @ the local track with little invested other than time. I'd have to wonder how that Driver X fan that just shelled out $1,000's of dollars in tickets, travel, & lodging feels about seeing their driver only run a shortened 'heat race'.
The consolation race will be the same length as the main. So all drivers run the same amount, for the teams the unsentimental is to get in the main because of the cash payout difference as they would still have the expense of running a full race weekend.
 
The consolation race will be the same length as the main. So all drivers run the same amount, for the teams the unsentimental is to get in the main because of the cash payout difference as they would still have the expense of running a full race weekend.
I see problems.

One is that some teams may not hang around to run in the consolation race if it doesn't pay enough to cover the costs of participation. They may cut their losses and go home after qualifying.

Two is how you plan to jam all this racing into a 3-day weekend. It won't fit on Saturday, assuming people would be willing to hang around after the supporting race to watch backmarkers. Sunday? As much as I love racing, I can't see staying in the bleachers at Bristol for 1000 laps.

Three is that you now have a 20-car main event, not a 40-car one. For me, part of the enjoyment is watching cars work through traffic, esp. at the short tracks. You've taken that out.
 
The absolutely sad thing is that these next 5 or so years have enormous potential for the sport to take off, if only the idiots would get out of the way. Almost all of the meta-factors which hurt car culture (and thus NASCAR) over the last decade are starting to reverse.

That great big millennial generation which doesn't like driving hugs trees and would rather live in a cubbyhole and walk to work? Biology happened. Now they are older, getting married and having kids and that means moving to a house in the 'burbs and *gasp* driving a car! Vehicle Miles traveled (VMT) per capita is finally increasing again, just like it has for forever. Ya don't think that maybe, just maybe, those that spend more time behind the wheel might be more interested in a sport centered around driving?

How about the fact that auto manufacturing jobs are finally starting to return to the US? Thousands more families' livelihoods are going to be tied directly to the performance of fords, chevys, and dodges (and Toyotas) both on the showroom floor and hopefully on the track as well.

Finally we have an administration in charge that (at least for now) doesn't see ICE cars as an enemy. That bodes well for anyone not driving a prius-like slush bug. CAFE standards are likely to be relaxed and revised soon as well which could provide a long-term break for car enthusiasts or anyone wanting to buy a performance car like they see on TV.

Instead of kowtowing to NBC and Monster Energy trying to make NASCAR an extreme sport (Radicle brah!), NASCAR should stand pat, play up it's tradition and culture to the hilt and keep the sport free of gimmicks. The sport didn't need them in the 90's when these same social factors were last happening, and we don't need them now. Take the long view for once Brian. Monster will be gone in 2 years and NBC is just going to flood the broadcast with ads regardless of how many breaks you have.
 
problem is none of this addresses the issue of one, or two, teams figuring out the optimal setup, and running away with the race before the first commercial break ends. All these schemes will do is continue alienating those that are sticking around, and eventually the money will dry up, and the series will be based solely around one race and the schedule will look like Indy cars.

Less downforce, more hp, slicker tires, boost, gear changing, will lead to better racing.
 
I am afraid all of this BS will happen. They have their syndicates flooding the media to whip a false sense of demand for the changes, to justify their whims.

No need to try and express my contempt for France and Gossage. Words do not suffice for the low lifes. I hope they burn.
Agreed. No one was asking for this **** before they started talking about. "Consumers don't know what they want" nonsense; soon they'll point to the 10% of people who voted for halftimes in a non-scientific poll and say "Hey! The fan base wants this!"
 
That great big millennial generation which doesn't like driving hugs trees and would rather live in a cubbyhole and walk to work? Biology happened. Now they are older, getting married and having kids and that means moving to a house in the 'burbs and *gasp* driving a car! Vehicle Miles traveled (VMT) per capita is finally increasing again, just like it has for forever. Ya don't think that maybe, just maybe, those that spend more time behind the wheel might be more interested in a sport centered around driving?
Funniest_Memes_complains-about-next-generation_2620.jpeg
 
problem is none of this addresses the issue of one, or two, teams figuring out the optimal setup, and running away with the race before the first commercial break ends. All these schemes will do is continue alienating those that are sticking around, and eventually the money will dry up, and the series will be based solely around one race and the schedule will look like Indy cars.
In racing there are always one or two teams that dominate. In NASCAR there are more teams that can win any given race than other race series.
 
problem is none of this addresses the issue of one, or two, teams figuring out the optimal setup, and running away with the race before the first commercial break ends.

On a race by race by race basis ... yes ... there are usually a couple of cars that are better than the rest. This issue first reared its ugly head in 1902.
 
Not like today, the cars would change, the track would change, drivers had bad pit stops, motors blew, other drivers adjusted their setup. Today, it is one car jumping out in the lead, and only losing it if NASCAR plays their throw a debris caution with 5 laps left.
 
Not like today, the cars would change, the track would change, drivers had bad pit stops, motors blew, other drivers adjusted their setup. Today, it is one car jumping out in the lead, and only losing it if NASCAR plays their throw a debris caution with 5 laps left.
We're not watching the same races.
 
One of the suggestions in the comments was to add points for the race leader at each quarter, i.e. 4 periods.
I could get onboard with this idea. Awarding a point to the race leader for 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, and the finish. The problem is NASCAR would just automatically throw cautions immediately following each segment.
 
The absolutely sad thing is that these next 5 or so years have enormous potential for the sport to take off, if only the idiots would get out of the way. Almost all of the meta-factors which hurt car culture (and thus NASCAR) over the last decade are starting to reverse.

That great big millennial generation which doesn't like driving hugs trees and would rather live in a cubbyhole and walk to work? Biology happened. Now they are older, getting married and having kids and that means moving to a house in the 'burbs and *gasp* driving a car! Vehicle Miles traveled (VMT) per capita is finally increasing again, just like it has for forever. Ya don't think that maybe, just maybe, those that spend more time behind the wheel might be more interested in a sport centered around driving?

How about the fact that auto manufacturing jobs are finally starting to return to the US? Thousands more families' livelihoods are going to be tied directly to the performance of fords, chevys, and dodges (and Toyotas) both on the showroom floor and hopefully on the track as well.

Finally we have an administration in charge that (at least for now) doesn't see ICE cars as an enemy. That bodes well for anyone not driving a prius-like slush bug. CAFE standards are likely to be relaxed and revised soon as well which could provide a long-term break for car enthusiasts or anyone wanting to buy a performance car like they see on TV.

Instead of kowtowing to NBC and Monster Energy trying to make NASCAR an extreme sport (Radicle brah!), NASCAR should stand pat, play up it's tradition and culture to the hilt and keep the sport free of gimmicks. The sport didn't need them in the 90's when these same social factors were last happening, and we don't need them now. Take the long view for once Brian. Monster will be gone in 2 years and NBC is just going to flood the broadcast with ads regardless of how many breaks you have.

I see where you are coming from but just because someone drives a car doesn't turn them into a car person or make them interested in auto racing. I gave all 385 horses in my TRD Tundra a workout today and loved every minute of it as I was in snow, slush mud and all sorts of other fun. I have always liked that sort of thing even when I didn't have the horse to take me but I don't see someone becoming interested in cars, racing or off roading just because they moved to the sticks and have a VW Jetta to drive around. JMO.
 
Also, within 15 years no one will be regularly driving a car. I know I bring this up alot, but it is the biggest problem autoracing will have ever encountered.
 
Regarding timed races the assumption we all seem to be making is that means shorter races. Have the talking heads actually floated the idea of how long most races would be? Has there been any discussion as to the impetus for timed races?
 
Also, within 15 years no one will be regularly driving a car. I know I bring this up alot, but it is the biggest problem autoracing will have ever encountered.

I just talked to a young person who works part of the year in DC and the rest in another part of the country and she is done with owning a vehicle as she uses an app called Lift (I believe) plus Uber, car pooling (you don't have to have a car to participate) and some other service if you need a car in order to go to the sticks or something like that.
 
I just talked to a young person who works part of the year in DC and the rest in another part of the country and she is done with owning a vehicle as she uses an app called Lift (I believe) plus Uber, car pooling (you don't have to have a car to participate) and some other service if you need a car in order to go to the sticks or something like that.

Donald Trump's election showed us just how many people still live in rural areas though. You can't live without a personal vehicle in many of these rural places. Imagine living somewhere where the closest grocery store to you is 20 miles away.
 
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