Maybe some older fans can help this dilemma

ChexOrWrex

ChexOrWrex

Ya gotta wanna
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I'm only 21 years old and been watching this great sport since I can remember. Now, after so many years :D I am watching the guys I grew up watching like, Jeff Burton, Mark Martin, Sterling Marlin, Dale Jarrett, Joe Nemecheck, Ted Musgrave, Ricky Rudd, Rusty Wallace retire and others such as Tony Stewart, Dale Jr. and unfortunately Jeff Gordon all be mentioned in the same sentence as the word "retirement". A whole new generation is coming into the series. For the life of me I cannot foresee the likes of Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Trevor Bayne and David Reagan becoming the whiley old veterans of NASCAR. I think I'm reaching a mid racing crises :cuckoo::bleh:

How to cope? :cool:
 
Just stick it out, man. Its still awesome racing, just different rules. Be happy that your veteran heroes have been spared in the form of HANS devices, softer-barriers, Earnhardt bars, etc.
Some of my heroes were forced to retire in the form of antiquated safety.
The sport has a future. You may not agree with the coming changes but it beats TF out of watching golf.
 
I had Fireball Roberts. When he passed away I took Richard Petty. When he retired at Atlanta there was a young man named Jeff Gordon there that caught my eye because he was sliding around that place sideways right on the edge. When he retires if I'm still on top of the dirt I'll replace him with an up and comer like Chase Elliot or Austin Dillon. Whichever youngster catches my eye at the time. I love racing so I aint goin nowhere.
 
I like how Larson drives...hes got it on the floor all the time and hes not afraid to drive it side ways...reminds me of some of the older drivers you mentioned maybe tony stewart without the attitude.
 
Johali said:
I had Fireball Roberts. When he passed away I took Richard Petty. When he retired at Atlanta there was a young man named Jeff Gordon there that caught my eye because he was sliding around that place sideways right on the edge. When he retires if I'm still on top of the dirt I'll replace him with an up and comer like Chase Elliot or Austin Dillon. Whichever youngster catches my eye at the time. I love racing so I aint goin nowhere.
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Hell yes.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
I'm only 21 years old and been watching this great sport since I can remember. Now, after so many years :D I am watching the guys I grew up watching like, Jeff Burton, Mark Martin, Sterling Marlin, Dale Jarrett, Joe Nemecheck, Ted Musgrave, Ricky Rudd, Rusty Wallace retire and others such as Tony Stewart, Dale Jr. and unfortunately Jeff Gordon all be mentioned in the same sentence as the word "retirement". A whole new generation is coming into the series. For the life of me I cannot foresee the likes of Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Trevor Bayne and David Reagan becoming the whiley old veterans of NASCAR. I think I'm reaching a mid racing crises :cuckoo::bleh:

How to cope? :cool:
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Omg welcome to my world. I feel your pain. I'm just gonna keep watching. I don't know any better.
 
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None of us veteran fans are happy with all of the changes. All of us would have liked to have had some input, especially since, ultimately, we're paying the bills. Rules change in every sport. Pisses us off but what are we gonna do?
Pick a driver, support your driver (no matter what), bag on all other drivers, bitch and piss about the rule changes, support another driver when your driver retires, bitch and piss about the rule changes, bag on all other drivers....
 
I'm
ChexOrWrex said:
I'm only 21 years old and been watching this great sport since I can remember. Now, after so many years :D I am watching the guys I grew up watching like, Jeff Burton, Mark Martin, Sterling Marlin, Dale Jarrett, Joe Nemecheck, Ted Musgrave, Ricky Rudd, Rusty Wallace retire and others such as Tony Stewart, Dale Jr. and unfortunately Jeff Gordon all be mentioned in the same sentence as the word "retirement". A whole new generation is coming into the series. For the life of me I cannot foresee the likes of Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Trevor Bayne and David Reagan becoming the whiley old veterans of NASCAR. I think I'm reaching a mid racing crises :cuckoo::bleh:

How to cope? :cool:
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I'm with you I'm a 20 year old fan and my first memories are watching the 24 crew in victory lane it's gonna be REALLY weird without Jeff Gordon in the field. Just Imagine what it'll be like when JOOONYER retires. Besides Daytona would we ever see 100k plus spectators again?
 
I don't think there is any shortage of talent today . There are a dozen drivers like Larson and Logano who are willing and able to fill the role of hero . In fact , most of those old heros likely wouldn't have made it in today's Nascar . Today , you have to be more than talented . You have to be top notch in a board room , in front of the media , and dealing with engineers . You have to be great looking and well spoken . In most cases , you even have to bring your own sponsors with you . Much , much harder today .
 
sky said:
I'm


I'm with you I'm a 20 year old fan and my first memories are watching the 24 crew in victory lane it's gonna be REALLY weird without Jeff Gordon in the field. Just Imagine what it'll be like when JOOONYER retires. Besides Daytona would we ever see 100k plus spectators again?
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It'll be the first time there is not an Earnhardt and a Gordon behind the wheel in NASCAR for a very long time. I think fans of the sport will always attend races, along as they are affordable, just to see some good racing and enjoy the atmosphere. Although it is interesting to think about how many fans will not show up to a race because Gordon and Earnhardt Jr. are gone. I still see people walking around with Sr, Rusty and Bill Elliott gear on. I'll always sport a 24 hat on sunny days but I think I'll soon don a Larson or Elliott hat when the time comes.
 
be9ak7ts16 said:
So was King Richard, Dale Sr and Daryll. I'm thinking the sport will survive.
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How can NASCAR survive without Jeff Gordon?!?!?!

This is partly why I have like 10-15 guys I cheer for in everything other than just one guy. Some guys come and some guys go from my favorites roster as time goes on.
 
ChexOrWrex said:
I'm only 21 years old and been watching this great sport since I can remember. Now, after so many years :D I am watching the guys I grew up watching, Jeff Burton, Mark Martin, Sterling Marlin, Dale Jarrett, Joe Nemecheck, Ted Musgrave, Ricky Rudd, Rusty Wallace retire and others such as Tony Stewart, Dale Jr. and unfortunately Jeff Gordon all be mentioned in the same sentence as the word "retirement". A whole new generation is coming into the series. For the life of me I cannot foresee the likes of Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Trevor Bayne and David Reagan becoming the whiley old veterans of NASCAR. I think I'm reaching a mid racing crises :cuckoo::bleh:

How to cope? :cool:
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I cant add to much to what has been said. Racing is like women, always good and evolving enjoy the sweet memories, and just when you think you have seen it all, a new wow comes along. Live in the moment and savor the present (even after Jeff is done).
 
be9ak7ts16 said:
The one thing you younger fans will never get to see is a ragtag bunch of guys come to a race with some second or third rate equipment and a car and end up eventually becoming a Cup champ. Two examples, Bill Elliott and Alan Kulwicki.
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True. Those were special times in the sport and will not be duplicated in present times.
 
I just remembered watching an ARCA race in the early 90's and the pit crew was changing tires with X wrenches.
 
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ChexOrWrex said:
I'm only 21 years old and been watching this great sport since I can remember. Now, after so many years :D I am watching the guys I grew up watching like, Jeff Burton, Mark Martin, Sterling Marlin, Dale Jarrett, Joe Nemecheck, Ted Musgrave, Ricky Rudd, Rusty Wallace retire and others such as Tony Stewart, Dale Jr. and unfortunately Jeff Gordon all be mentioned in the same sentence as the word "retirement". A whole new generation is coming into the series. For the life of me I cannot foresee the likes of Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Trevor Bayne and David Reagan becoming the whiley old veterans of NASCAR. I think I'm reaching a mid racing crises :cuckoo::bleh:

How to cope? :cool:
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I started following Nascar with drivers like Ned Jarrett, Fred Lorenzen, and Tiny Lund,and Fireball Roberts who both died racing. F-1 and Indy were even worse. So after 4 or 5 of "my drivers" died I guess I didn't get too attached to drivers. So glad racing has over the years gotten safer and better so you can expect to see long driving careers. It has been good thru the years to be a motorsport fan, don't expect to have many people at work or at large who will know much about motorsports. I try to like as many drivers as I can, some are harder than others. Guess what I am saying is if you live long enough, you will see many racers slow down and retire as time goes on. Remember their heydays and don't be too hard on them when they start slowing down. Be a good fan.
 
I'm in the same boat as you, except there are a few of the younger guys who I'm excited for. I'm not sure what made me a Gordon fan, but growing up, I've started to become a fan of the nice guys, one of those guys being Trevor Bayne. He's had a short, but tough career, so to see him get a full time ride couldn't make me any more happy. I'm more concerned about what "team" to pull for. Not a fan of any Roush drivers and not a big fan of any Hendrick drivers.
 
be9ak7ts16 said:
The one thing you younger fans will never get to see is a ragtag bunch of guys come to a race with some second or third rate equipment and a car and end up eventually becoming a Cup champ. Two examples, Bill Elliott and Alan Kulwicki.
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gone are days when :
driver wears wing tipped shoes durin race----dave marcus.
driver has cigarette lighter in car..... lights up a smoke durin caution .....an on tv ! ha! ---dick trickle
no cup champs....but great guys / racers.
 
BobbyFord said:
True. Those were special times in the sport and will not be duplicated in present times.
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And the independents. Those guys who didn't have a snowballs chance in hell of winning but we're there every week. Jimmy Means, Junie Donleavy, Delma Cowart,and the list goes on. You rooted for them too.
 
be9ak7ts16 said:
And the independents. Those guys who didn't have a snowballs chance in hell of winning but we're there every week. Jimmy Means, Junie Donleavy, Delma Cowart,and the list goes on. You rooted for them too.
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I rooted for them too . Sad to say that in today's culture where winning is the only thing that matters , those guys would likely be laughed at and ridiculed . We thought of them as the heart of Nascar . Often times the big teams would help them out because they were respected .
 
Before television brought NASCAR to life on a weekly basis with the birth of ESPN, it was tough to keep up as there was no internet with all the information one needed at the flip of a switch. Petty was bigger than life to race fans of every discipline but no one knew of Ivan "Ironman" Stewart who is the original American Toyota driver.

I just love good racing and know that it's more than a bunch of cars going round and round.
 
I've been following racing since the 1st time my dad took me to Bowman Gray Stadium in the 60's to see a NASCAR race. Drivers were a lot bigger then (literally) and cars were heavier and didn't have power steering. Most drivers today would probably struggle to finish 500 miles in one of those tanks. Most teams hauled their cars to the track with a pick up truck pulling a trailer. Many of the drivers even had to work on their own cars.Their teams consisted of their buddies who had the same love for racing as the driver. Sponsors were more local than big industries.
But even though the cars have changed and money has driven the sport to higher levels, I think for the most part the desire of the drivers to win has continued to keep the sport at the level of competitiveness that keeps fans tuning in to watch their favorite drivers each week.Though the names have changed, you still see that burning desire to win and the frustration in their eyes when they fail to win. Most of these drivers came through the sport working their way up from the small tracks to get where they are and have paid their dues to be among the best. So I think the sport will always be great as long as the drivers can compete on a fair playing field. And for the most part I think Nascar has attempted to keep the playing field level and the racing exciting so that when the Pearsons,Pettys , Allisons etc. are replaced by the Larsons, Dillons, Pacticks or whoever, that same level of competition and excitement will still remain.
 
Back then a driver had years of driving experience and was in his mid 20's, more than likely his late 20's with several track championships under his belt in a stock car before he got a shot at the big leagues. Not on a minibike, a quarter midget, a legends car..
They didn't have to wait until they were 18 to get a nascar license. They knew their cars, in many cases not only did they work on them they had a big part in building them.
They didn't say "something broke" they knew what broke.
 
Bobw said:
Back then a driver had years of driving experience and was in his mid 20's, more than likely his late 20's with several track championships under his belt in a stock car before he got a shot at the big leagues. Not on a minibike, a quarter midget, a legends car..
They didn't have to wait until they were 18 to get a nascar license. They knew their cars, in many cases not only did they work on them they had a big part in building them.
They didn't say "something broke" they knew what broke.
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Good point...I wonder if any fans miss hearing a driver say "We just dropped a rod, or the shock tower is broke" on the radio. I just can't think of one of the newer drivers that know cars like this guys from the past did...I know I do. I became a fan in late 80s when you would still hear that kind of discussion on occasion.
 
I wasn't a Rusty fan but I give him credit. He was one of, if not the first, who knew how to "tune' his car with minute changes in shocks. His was one of the first teams, again if not the first, with a shock dyno in the hauler.
Today it's a "little tight, little loose. it plows or drives like a dump truck" from most of the drivers.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Rusty would have been a whole helluva lot better had he left the crew chiefin' to the crew chief. He knew too much for his own good.
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except for that stint of having billy wilburn as crew chief.
 
I think part of the reason that drivers don't work on or have to know about the cars has to to with the big money that is now involved in Nascar racing. With multi-car teams and big sponsors, drivers don't have to work on their cars. Owners like Roush, Penske, Hendrick, Childress, etc. have a group of engineers and people at the shop to take care of the cars while the sponsors and media require more of the drivers time in public appearances and doing commercials as such. But I don't think that desire to win is any less today than it has been in years past. There maybe some who actually do hands on work on the cars but most owners because they may have a different driver next season might not want the drivers to know too many details about their competitive edges.
 
Those days are long gone, If you want to see drivers working on cars, that happens in the smaller venues like it has for ages. As far as gettin back on topic, as you continue to be a fan, the Logano's and Larson's.. Elliott's will become the oldtimers and if there is still a posting board around, you get to read posts from the newer first generation fans excited and all about "their" driver. It is cool seeing some new blood in the lower ranks, the old timers are looking over their shoulders and trying to step up their game, some are looking to get out of it soon, some like Bobby Labonte and Mark Martin and Nemo hang on as long as possible. That's racing.
 
some people dont like change stand...lol and I am one of them for some things. I will get used to it I guess. :)

I liked hearing Patrick talk about her mom working on the snowmobiles they used to race ...

It could be likened to singer/songwriters...there are more and more people that just do one not the other.
 
Over the years I've had several favorites. That's what's nice about racing, you're not locked into the local team. I've been saddened when a favorite driver leaves the sport whether it be through retirement, declining performance, or death. Every year I look forward to seeing how the rookies do. I currently have three drivers I stick with for the good, bad and ugly. I follow several more drivers but that group oscillates depending on a lot of things (performance, personality, etc.). Each year I pick one of the drivers from a smaller team to follow (it's Allgaier this year).
 
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