How To Watch Nascar

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Skoalbandit33

Guest
Recently a couple of race fans have talked about how we watch Nascar and the vibe I am getting is that if we watched it astutely we would enjoy the on track action or at least like it more than we do now. I can't define the preferred method of viewing but it does have to do with noticing subtleties and nuances.

What does everyone think? Would it benefit us to reexamine how we watch Nascar and be open to some new things or would it make no difference at all?
 
Even with all its faults and shortcomings, I enjoy it a lot... Sure, many adjustments have to be made, but still we can choose to see the glass half full or half empty, it's up to each one...

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I think a person's enjoyment of racing can be greatly increased by knowing what to watch for. Unfortunately, watching on television can make it difficult to see beyond passing and wrecks.

I like seeing what different lines around the track the drivers choose; high, low, different at one end from the other, 'diamonding' a turn vs. staying on the bottom, etc. A few laps of this and you can see if the driver is gaining or losing time on the car in front. You can also sometimes tell which drivers are going hell-bent for leather and which ones are saving their stuff for later or getting the most from their gas. But that requires being able to watch the same car or two for several consecutive laps, something that's only possible at the track.

The tube rarely pays much attention to what's going on outside the top 10, except at plate tracks. (Okay, I'll grant the plate tracks that much - most of the field will fit in one camera shot, excluding JGR. :D ) There often some great racing on going back in the pack. Yeah, it may be a few MPH slower but when four cars are under a blanket, can you really tell if they're running 150 vs. 155? And unless it's Kyle Busch in an X race, you usually don't get to see penalized drivers making their way back to the front. Most of Denny Hamlin's charge at M'ville happened off-screen.

New fans of every sport benefit from having a veteran fan explain things to them, but it's tough to point out these aspects of racing when watching on television. That's one reason why non-fans think it's just cars going around in circles. You can explain it, but it may not make much sense if they can't see what your talking about.
 
Javier said:
Even with all its faults and shortcomings, I enjoy it a lot... Sure, many adjustments have to be made, but still we can choose to see the glass half full or half empty, it's up to each one...

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My exact philosophy
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
Recently a couple of race fans have talked about how we watch Nascar and the vibe I am getting is that if we watched it astutely we would enjoy the on track action or at least like it more than we do now. I can't define the preferred method of viewing but it does have to do with noticing subtleties and nuances.

What does everyone think? Would it benefit us to reexamine how we watch Nascar and be open to some new things or would it make no difference at all?
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People like what they like, and they watch according to their interest. If some folks want to fast-forward through a race in an hour with the sound turned off, and hurry on to football games, well it is a free country. But those folks can't expect to get out of it what they didn't put into it.

Others want to understand the ebb and flow of a race, who has found the handle, who has lost it, and how tires and strategy and adjustments are affecting the outcome. Others want to experience the visceral sensation of a 3-wide pack on the high banks of a superspeedway, or beatin' and bangin' on a short track.

I love a battle for position on fast intermediate tracks. With lower downforce this year, most tracks have featured cars able to run close together and fight to pass. It will be even better next year. Cars sliding, on the very limit of adhesion, this is where driver skill pays its largest dividend. This to me is the heart and soul of Nascar Sprint Cup racing. But if you aren't watching closely, you can miss it altogether and just say "not much passing."
 
LewTheShoe said:
People like what they like, and they watch according to their interest. If some folks want to fast-forward through a race in an hour with the sound turned off, and hurry on to football games, well it is a free country. But those folks can't expect to get out of it what they didn't put into it.

Others want to understand the ebb and flow of a race, who has found the handle, who has lost it, and how tires and strategy and adjustments are affecting the outcome. Others want to experience the visceral sensation of a 3-wide pack on the high banks of a superspeedway, or beatin' and bangin' on a short track.

I love a battle for position on fast intermediate tracks. With lower downforce this year, most tracks have featured cars able to run close together and fight to pass. It will be even better next year. Cars sliding, on the very limit of adhesion, this is where driver skill pays its largest dividend. This to me is the heart and soul of Nascar Sprint Cup racing. But if you aren't watching closely, you can miss it altogether and just say "not much passing."
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I agree with Charlie that TV coverage can be the bane of some of the races as you get very selective coverage. One thing I liked about ESPN in the 90's was the use of overhead shots as it gave you a snap shot of the field and showed how each car was attacking each lap and with single sponsorships it was easy to pick out the cars too. I also like dead silence from the announcers and a shots of each car passing the start finish line to get an idea how where the cars are in relation to one another.

It is fairly easy to see which cars are tight or loose or which are just evil handling. At a lot of the tracks it is easy to see the different lines drivers use and also how deep someone drives into a corner and accelerates off. Things like which cars are set up for long runs become apparent as is which teams are making the correct adjustments. I think you pick up on a lot of those sorts of things from the experience of watching over the years.

One thing that I differ from most people on is speed as 140 is as good to me as 185-190 and I enjoy the road courses and short tracks where brakes and the resulting heat are things to be managed and slowing down markedly and speeding up again is something I originally liked when I started following Nascar.

For most of the races I watch most of the green flag laps unless it is just follow the leader stuff as that can get monotonous and you don't really miss anything watching at a faster pace. Things like the 25 minute caution at Martinsville and other yellow or red flag stuff is not important to see as are talking heads yammering on while the race is in progress, commercials and I bypass pit stops as I got sick of hearing about Goodyear Tires and Sunoco fuel. I can't ever remember shodding a car with Goodyear rubber but I never will now nor do I patronize Sunoco gas stations as like eschewing M&M's it is a tiny little protest.
 
Well it sure beats watching golf . One person said on here that Nascar will die when Junior leaves I'm not sure about that , but I do see a trend in North America today , where our preoccupation with celebrity far outstrips everything else . We pay celebrities far too much money , give them far too much of our time and attention , and give them too much power . Back to my point , Junior , Kyle , Tony and Kevin are not bigger than auto racing . They are participants . The race is much more important .
 
The rules, cars, championship format, etc. aside, my main gripe with watching NASCAR races is that the camera operators always seem to be zoomed in on just 1 or 2 cars. With such a close-up shot, it is impossible to get a sense of speed and a sense of how the cars are handling. It also limits the amount of passing & passing attempts that are shown. I love watching races from back in the day where the camera view was almost always in a wide shot where you could see multiple cars at a time. I would be completely content as a TV viewer if at short tracks, a stationary camera was placed at the top of the grandstands and only that view was shown for the entire race.
 
RacerrecaR said:
The rules, cars, championship format, etc. aside, my main gripe with watching NASCAR races is that the camera operators always seem to be zoomed in on just 1 or 2 cars. With such a close-up shot, it is impossible to get a sense of speed and a sense of how the cars are handling. It also limits the amount of passing & passing attempts that are shown. I love watching races from back in the day where the camera view was almost always in a wide shot where you could see multiple cars at a time. I would be completely content as a TV viewer if at short tracks, a stationary camera was placed at the top of the grandstands and only that view was shown for the entire race.
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NBC seems to do a good job showing more racing. But it's becoming very difficult to listen to Rick Allen.
 
be9ak7ts16 said:
My biggest hurdle in watching races is I don't have a driver that I follow like I did Elliott, Kulwicki, and Tim Steele. I find it more enjoyable to listen to it on the radio and putter around in the garage.
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That's exactly what I do....... I make my race picks on the boards Sunday morning when I get back from grocery shopping... go to the garage... where the beer fridge and 3 deep fat fryers are located.... proceed to listen on the radio as I am in and out doing varied things... call my sisters on the cellphone to make my weekly check on them...... heat up the fryers and throw in some wings or what ever we are cooking..... might be the grill....... never get excited if I miss any of the action on the radio...... might go into the house from time to time and catch a few laps.... much different than the years previous when the whole weekend was planned around the race...... No more...... the addiction is gone......
 
Best way to watch a race - go to the track, bring beer, rent a scanner (if you don't own one already), bring beer, tune in to the MRN broadcast, and watch them guys do their thing... Did I mention bring beer?


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I thought this was the best way to watch a NASCAR race..

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ted@economy said:
Well it sure beats watching golf . One person said on here that Nascar will die when Junior leaves I'm not sure about that , but I do see a trend in North America today , where our preoccupation with celebrity far outstrips everything else . We pay celebrities far too much money , give them far too much of our time and attention , and give them too much power . Back to my point , Junior , Kyle , Tony and Kevin are not bigger than auto racing . They are participants . The race is much more important .
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The preoccupation with celebrity bamboozles me. I do admire and respect people with talent that seem like decent folks and do a good job though.
 
be9ak7ts16 said:
My biggest hurdle in watching races is I don't have a driver that I follow like I did Elliott, Kulwicki, and Tim Steele. I find it more enjoyable to listen to it on the radio and putter around in the garage.
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I grew up listening to hockey games on the radio and I will always love it! I get where you are coming from.
 
RacerrecaR said:
The rules, cars, championship format, etc. aside, my main gripe with watching NASCAR races is that the camera operators always seem to be zoomed in on just 1 or 2 cars. With such a close-up shot, it is impossible to get a sense of speed and a sense of how the cars are handling. It also limits the amount of passing & passing attempts that are shown. I love watching races from back in the day where the camera view was almost always in a wide shot where you could see multiple cars at a time. I would be completely content as a TV viewer if at short tracks, a stationary camera was placed at the top of the grandstands and only that view was shown for the entire race.
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You and me both as I think since the 21st century the networks think that just because they have the ability to mount cameras in all kind of places they should. For me it often distorts what I am seeing and they seem to stick with some of the bizarre shots and angles for extended periods.
 
Some things jus has to be intrinsix, organix, or InAtes.
It is like looking at hawt wimmins, nobody has to tell you how. You just do it with great enthusiasm, and next thing you know you spent your whole life in amazement of the greatest show on earth.

Same with watching racing, if you like it, it will be just as easy an natural.
 
Greg said:
Some things jus has to be intrinsix, organix, or InAtes.
It is like looking at hawt wimmins, nobody has to tell you how. You just do it with great enthusiasm, and next thing you know you spent your whole life in amazement of the greatest show on earth.

Same with watching racing, if you like it, it will be just as easy an natural.
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I don't believe you. Someone else on this board has said their way of watching and enjoying races is the only legitimate way and anyone who disagrees is a Muppet baby living in mom's basement. I'm sure you don't want to be a Muppet baby so, I'd suggest you change your opinion right away.
 
My favorite way to watch the race is with a group of other fans. We start a race pool to make it more interesting. That creates natural interest in a race even by the non fan.

If it's just me or just the wife and I, we watch on the big screen with the race scanner feed in the background. Just another thing that adds to the overall experience.

When we're at the track it's a pair of race scanners and headsets. Oh, and a small cooler of adult beverages.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
... If it's just me or just the wife and I, we watch on the big screen with the race scanner feed in the background. ...
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Excuse the ignorant question, but how are you getting the scanner feed, from a paid service? Although I'm usually busy enough keeping up with just the broadcast.
 
aunty dive said:
^ Including a playoff system.
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I at least understand NASCAR's playoff system, even if I don't like it. I've never understood how golf rankings are calculated. Maybe I'll make that an off-season project, when it's too cold for me to be interested in going outdoors (i.e., below 40F).
 
Charlie Spencer said:
I think a person's enjoyment of racing can be greatly increased by knowing what to watch for. Unfortunately, watching on television can make it difficult to see beyond passing and wrecks.

I like seeing what different lines around the track the drivers choose; high, low, different at one end from the other, 'diamonding' a turn vs. staying on the bottom, etc. A few laps of this and you can see if the driver is gaining or losing time on the car in front. You can also sometimes tell which drivers are going hell-bent for leather and which ones are saving their stuff for later or getting the most from their gas. But that requires being able to watch the same car or two for several consecutive laps, something that's only possible at the track.

The tube rarely pays much attention to what's going on outside the top 10, except at plate tracks. (Okay, I'll grant the plate tracks that much - most of the field will fit in one camera shot, excluding JGR. :D ) There often some great racing on going back in the pack. Yeah, it may be a few MPH slower but when four cars are under a blanket, can you really tell if they're running 150 vs. 155? And unless it's Kyle Busch in an X race, you usually don't get to see penalized drivers making their way back to the front. Most of Denny Hamlin's charge at M'ville happened off-screen.

New fans of every sport benefit from having a veteran fan explain things to them, but it's tough to point out these aspects of racing when watching on television. That's one reason why non-fans think it's just cars going around in circles. You can explain it, but it may not make much sense if they can't see what your talking about.
Click to expand...

Video games help the younger crowd understand more about the sport too. It's one thing to just watch, but when you are put in the drivers seat, the details about the sport emerge. Even simple things like tight versus loose race cars, or how good the pit crews really are.
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
Recently a couple of race fans have talked about how we watch Nascar and the vibe I am getting is that if we watched it astutely we would enjoy the on track action or at least like it more than we do now. I can't define the preferred method of viewing but it does have to do with noticing subtleties and nuances.

What does everyone think? Would it benefit us to reexamine how we watch Nascar and be open to some new things or would it make no difference at all?
Click to expand...


I usually watch a movie with nascar in the PIP, switch back and forth.
Mute Jeff Burton whenever I get sick of listening to him.
 
LARRY said:
I usually watch a movie with nascar in the PIP, switch back and forth.
Mute Jeff Burton whenever I get sick of listening to him.
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That sounds like a good way to go about it as you can always see the action but still be entertained during the dull parts of the race.
 
How to watch NASCAR? Go to the track and see it in person. You get ten times the experience than you can get from TV.
Even better: go to a local track. Even if it has car classes sponsored by NASCAR.

If you're limited to the TV, then:
1. Find out when the actual race start time is, and don't turn to the race channel until a few minutes before then. That way you can skip most of the pre-race gossip and drama crap.
2. Watch the start of the race, and until the cars have strung out single file for a few laps.
3. Once the train starts, switch to a different program or get up and do something more interesting. Don't worry that you might miss the wrecks - they will replay them over and over and over so you'll get to see them eventually. You may miss some passing, but chances are the TV program won't show it anyway.
4. Periodically check back with the race to see how it's going, and how many laps are left. But if they are still train racing then go someplace else again.
5. Go back to the race when you estimate that there are thirty or fewer laps left (or about the last 10% of the race distance). This is when most of the manufactured action will occur, and you can see who ends up winning.
6. Turn off the race as soon as the checkered flag falls, unless you're so in love with the winner that you're willing to suffer through his PC after-race speech (along with a bunch of prattle from the TV announcers).
7. Promise yourself that you'll get out of this bad habit soon.
 
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