so why did nascar seem cooler in the 80's? broadcast was way better!!

Team Penske said:
Must be something with how your screen is set up. I don't get to see any of the ticker tape except the second behind and I am talking the 2 numbers right of the decimal point. Doesn't show driver at all. :mad:
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Sounds like a problem with how YOUR screen is set up. Check your remote for a button labeled 'Aspect'. If you don't see one, look for a 'Setup' button and then a Picture option.
 
Zerkfitting said:
In the early days they were experimenting with putting a camera anywhere they could think of. One race it would be on top of a car, the next might have it in the rear bumper or inside a wheel well watching the brakes go red, I remember one time they put a camera on the tire changer. It was all new and exciting then and somewhat unreliable.

“Nothing’s more responsible for the good old days than a bad memory.”
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I used to love the undercar shots where you could see the suspension travel and brake glow, but I think that the teams have a lot more tricks now that they do to the bottom and they might not want a camera there anymore.
 
sdj said:
Me to! :punkrocke
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Me three!

Was cool to see all what was going on, especially the sidewall flex. I don’t recall ever seeing it, but if that was still an option for cameras what it would look like when a tire let go.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Sounds like a problem with how YOUR screen is set up. Check your remote for a button labeled 'Aspect'. If you don't see one, look for a 'Setup' button and then a Picture option.
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I did the "Setup" but didn't find a way to slide things sideways or Zoom out.
It is an older 55 inch. I am pretty sure my son needs a new TV so I can have his present one. :D
 
Ol Smokie said:
I used to love the undercar shots where you could see the suspension travel and brake glow, but I think that the teams have a lot more tricks now that they do to the bottom and they might not want a camera there anymore.
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Some of the teams wouldn't allow a camera to be installed on the roof, they felt the protrusion would affect the aero of the car. I think NASCAR eventually required all cars to include the housing.
 
Zerkfitting said:
Some of the teams wouldn't allow a camera to be installed on the roof, they felt the protrusion would affect the aero of the car. I think NASCAR eventually required all cars to include the housing.
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If I recall, in the late '90s or so, somebody noticed the #6 had the camera housing on the roof all the time, even when they didn't have a camera that week.. I think it turned out they'd run one in the wind tunnel and found it actually helped the aero. That's when NASCAR made it mandatory.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
If I recall, in the late '90s or so, somebody noticed the #6 had the camera housing on the roof all the time, even when they didn't have a camera that week.. I think it turned out they'd run one in the wind tunnel and found it actually helped the aero. That's when NASCAR made it mandatory.
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Interesting....

Was it those big round puck looking jobs, smack in the middle towards the front of the roof?

I wonder if WT tests showed it disturbed the air over the roof enough that it took some air off the spoiler?
 
Charlie Spencer said:
If I recall, in the late '90s or so, somebody noticed the #6 had the camera housing on the roof all the time, even when they didn't have a camera that week.. I think it turned out they'd run one in the wind tunnel and found it actually helped the aero. That's when NASCAR made it mandatory.
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This is 100% true! I remember that as well!!
 
Funny how everyone loves CBS and ESPN from the 1980s and 1990s yet it's those two networks that gave birth to all the bad habits in broadcasting today.

I remember watching a Martinsville race on ESPN as a kid and the last 30 laps or show were broadcast almost exclusively from Rusty Wallace's rear bumper.

Nostalgia is a hell of a drug.
 
KodiakRusty89 said:
This is 100% true! I remember that as well!!
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We old people appreciate corroboration!
Big John Kordic said:
Was it those big round puck looking jobs, smack in the middle towards the front of the roof? I wonder if WT tests showed it disturbed the air over the roof enough that it took some air off the spoiler?
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Sorry, I don't remember the shape and I'm sure I never knew how it helped. I haven't thought of that little piece of chicanery for years.
 
I'm not as quick to dismiss the past as some. Wouldn't consider myself a victim of nostalgia, though. Not everything improves simply because time has elapsed.
 
ReturnTrip said:
I'm not as quick to dismiss the past as some. Wouldn't consider myself a victim of nostalgia, though. Not everything improves simply because time has elapsed.
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It seems many of the ones that tend to dismiss the past are ones that didn't actually experience it. Well, outside of maybe some old Youtube highlights. It is entertaining though that I see many describing today as being the best time in NASCAR. Having actually lived though the growth of this sport, I remember waiting lists for tickets, parking lot gridlock, full stands, standing in line for the rest room or concession stand. Not saying that those were good things in of themselves but they were certainly an indicator of the popularity of this sport and fans desire to be entertained by it. There's a reason I no longer plan my Sunday's around these events when I once did.
 
I really enjoyed Nascar of the 80’s and 90’s at the time and have happy memories of that time today. I don’t feel I should be slagged or bashed over it anymore than a fan of today’s Nascar should.
 
IanMcVittie said:
I really enjoyed Nascar of the 80’s and 90’s at the time and have happy memories of that time today. I don’t feel I should be slagged or bashed over it anymore than a fan of today’s Nascar should.
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I going to go out on a limb and predict that the current generation of fans will look back favorably on this time period. And there's not a thing wrong with that but the next generation will not agree.
 
IanMcVittie said:
I really enjoyed Nascar of the 80’s and 90’s at the time and have happy memories of that time today. I don’t feel I should be slagged or bashed over it anymore than a fan of today’s Nascar should.
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And that's great but the original topic was the TV broadcasts of that era, not the sport in general. Those are what I can't get warm fuzzies over, mostly because there was so much less coverage. The booth crews can be debated but as far as the sheer amount of programming available, this does indeed strike me as the Golden Age.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
And that's great but the original topic was the TV broadcasts of that era, not the sport in general. Those are what I can't get warm fuzzies over, mostly because there was so much less coverage. The booth crews can be debated but as far as the sheer amount of programming available, this does indeed strike me as the Golden Age.
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Not to disagree so much as to point out that when things get over exposed they lose their value.
That may or may not be part of Nascar's decline. When new things were happening and Nascar didn't have control ( thinking of the trailers selling goods) the sport expanded. nascar takes over and blows things out of the water. JMO
 
Charlie Spencer said:
And that's great but the original topic was the TV broadcasts of that era, not the sport in general. Those are what I can't get warm fuzzies over, mostly because there was so much less coverage. The booth crews can be debated but as far as the sheer amount of programming available, this does indeed strike me as the Golden Age.
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No question that the picture and sound quality is better. Way back when I would watch the BGN and Winston cup races and that was good enough for me. I’ve never been one to watch practice or qualifying or other Nascar programming as it just didn’t resonate with me. I know it does with others and I’m glad they have the opportunity to watch it all.
 
Team Penske said:
Not to disagree so much as to point out that when things get over exposed they lose their value.
That may or may not be part of Nascar's decline. When new things were happening and Nascar didn't have control ( thinking of the trailers selling goods) the sport expanded. nascar takes over and blows things out of the water. JMO
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Nascar has a fine line to walk right now as most of the fans that are left are diehards and they don’t want less events and shorter races. I get that so Nascar needs to find a way to attract new blood but also not alienate the current fan base. Glad they have to figure that out instead of me.

I don’t think Nascar is overexposed due to televising things like practice or qualifying or even having other programming. Those sort of things are for the diehard fans. IMO Nascar needs to get back some sort of exclusivity and change the how it is is perceived by prospective fans.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Sometimes less is more.
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I agree with this. The current format is great for hardcores, but tuning in at noon and the race starts 5 to 10 minutes later is probably best for the general audience. A lot of the pre-race is just stage-managed filler.
 
Joker said:
As someone born in the late 90s, I feel so cheated reading this thread...
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Racing is just different and changes. For however long you've been watching, if you go back and watch races from when you started watching, you'll be amazed at how different the actual racing of the cars and the drivers have changed from when you started. Only 20 of this year's Daytona 500 starters were in the race 4 years ago for example.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
If I recall, in the late '90s or so, somebody noticed the #6 had the camera housing on the roof all the time, even when they didn't have a camera that week.. I think it turned out they'd run one in the wind tunnel and found it actually helped the aero. That's when NASCAR made it mandatory.
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What happened was NASCAR noticed that teams were running those even without cameras in them. They temporarily banned all on-roof cameras while they investigated it, and then brought them back.
 
Privateer said:
Racing is just different and changes. For however long you've been watching, if you go back and watch races from when you started watching, you'll be amazed at how different the actual racing of the cars and the drivers have changed from when you started. Only 20 of this year's Daytona 500 starters were in the race 4 years ago for example.
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Yeah I'm still enough to remember the Gen 4 cars.

As for drivers, the only ones left from when I started following are Kurt, Kevin, Jimmie and Newman.
 
In 1985 I went to the Bristol night race, first Nascar race ever. We purchased general admission tickets which gave us access to pit road, we walked down pit lane, cars were being worked on pre race. We were 3 feet from the cars, hoods up, no security in sight just crew members working on the cars.

We set on the turn two hill when the race started and I coaght poison ivy. This stuff won’t happen again.
 
IanMcVittie said:
Nascar has a fine line to walk right now as most of the fans that are left are diehards and they don’t want less events and shorter races. I get that so Nascar needs to find a way to attract new blood but also not alienate the current fan base. Glad they have to figure that out instead of me.

I don’t think Nascar is overexposed due to televising things like practice or qualifying or even having other programming. Those sort of things are for the diehard fans. IMO Nascar needs to get back some sort of exclusivity and change the how it is is perceived by prospective fans.
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I was referencing all the talk shows that popped up.
 
CalTenn said:
In 1985 I went to the Bristol night race, first Nascar race ever. We purchased general admission tickets which gave us access to pit road, we walked down pit lane, cars were being worked on pre race. We were 3 feet from the cars, hoods up, no security in sight just crew members working on the cars.

We set on the turn two hill when the race started and I coaght poison ivy. This stuff won’t happen again.
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Reminds of our first trip to Dover in 1990. After the race to pass the time we found either the track channel or a local police channel on the scanner. One of the "issues" I clearly remember were fans sliding down the banking on their cooler lids. Just a different time...
 
Charlie Spencer said:
And that's great but the original topic was the TV broadcasts of that era, not the sport in general. Those are what I can't get warm fuzzies over, mostly because there was so much less coverage. The booth crews can be debated but as far as the sheer amount of programming available, this does indeed strike me as the Golden Age.
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I think the 90s and 2000s were the Golden Age for television. Between ESPN Speedworld, TNN Motorsports and Speedvision in the 90s, and SPEED in the early 2000s, you got NASCAR Winston Cup, Busch Grand National, Craftsman Truck Series, ASA, ARCA, Goody's Dash, Winston West, Busch North, Slim Jim All Pro, NHRA, IndyCar, Champ Kart, three different types of sports car, boat racing, bike racing, swamp buggy racing and so on. There was almost always something on, whether it was ESPN, TNN, Sunshine Network, The Family Channel, or so on. You also had shows like RPM 2Night which covered a wide array of motorsports and Inside Winston Cup.

The 2000s brought the blockbuster Fox/NBC deal which led to expanded television coverage of practice, qualifying, NASCAR TV on Speed Channel, daily NASCAR programming, more coverage of ARCA.

Things aren't that bad today though. We've got racing on FS1, NBCSN, MAVTV and CBS Sports Network quite frequently. And then the internet's opened up a whole new world of possibilities with dirt racing and pavement short track racing. Every NASCAR K&N and Modified race is being broadcast live for free on FansChoice. Every CARS Tour race is broadcast live. World of Outlaws and the Lucas Oil series are live online and often on television. Speed51 airs CRA, Southern Super Series and big events such as Winchester and the Snowball.
 
Damn but I miss swamp buggy and snowmobile races. Those were a stone cold hoot. Also some of that nonsense TNN would show from local tracks, the stuff they'd run between heats - car soccer, relay races pushing an engineless car, etc. Oh, and school bus races; nuff said!
 
One thing that was better was that they were actual real races where the space driver earned by being faster on the track and in the pits wasn’t taken away by unnecessary yellows or the ridiculous stage system.

Check the results back then and earlier and see how many cars finished on the same lap as the winner, not many.

When someone was having a great day back then it meant more at the end. You kept more of what you earned instead of late free-for-alls which are common now.
 
because you would never, ever, hear, "BOOGITY BOOGITY BOOGITY, LETS GO RACING BOYSSSSS, AND GIRLS" or anything near that annoying.
 
Joker said:
Yeah I'm still enough to remember the Gen 4 cars.

As for drivers, the only ones left from when I started following are Kurt, Kevin, Jimmie and Newman.
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A couple years ago when ESPN would show old Indy 500s in May, I caught some of the '96 race (first post-Split 500) which was the first time I'd seen it since 1996. 40 laps in and looking at the cars and how they were racing, I was amazed looking at it, because I certainly remember racing in 1996, but at some point you went from then and end up at now, you never notice the change in the middle in auto racing because it's so gradual, but when you do an abrupt look at it you kind of go "wow, when did the change occur?" It'd be like a football fan going back 30 years to watch a game and what was smashmouth now became spread offense throw downfield all the time.

NASCAR now is compared to previous times in a very change-heavy era. In the '90s and '00s to get the amount of change in the drivers in the grid we've had the past 4 years would seemingly take more than a decade. The tracks are all incredibly stagnant with no change, and you can see that's having effects on the sport. The team makeup in the sport is pretty stagnant in comparison to the change in the past (charter system). The change we've had from last season was the BK car became the 3rd Front Row car, and the Furniture Row car became a hopeless backmarker. Go back to the '00s and we have the likes of Yates, DEI, Petty Enterprises (RPM has no relationship to this team other than the figurehead), Evernham, MB2, Ginn, MWR, etc. all gone.

The one comparison I can pull that might make sense is Indycar racing in say 1995 for example was almost a completely different sport to what it was in 1985.
 
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