Stage breaks back for ROVAL

[Blaze]

 

[Revman]

WHY?

 

[wi_racefan]

Not really a shock. Personally I could have gone either way on them

 

[Whiskyb]

I was hoping this was the start of getting rid of them everywhere

 

[Speedbowl14]

That's so unfortunate.

 

[Speedbowl14]

WHY?

Probably because the last 3 RC's were green 90%+ of the time and the races ended with over an hour left in the TV window. Gotta sell commercials.

 

[Jorge De Guzman]

Hopefully this won’t be a problem much longer as the oval comes back on next years schedule

 

[Jorge De Guzman]

Bob Pockrass also tweeting, coming to restarts the front stretch chicane will be used.

 

[FLRacingFan]

Probably because the last 3 RC's were green 90%+ of the time and the races ended with over an hour left in the TV window. Gotta sell commercials.

Also because people complained about how “boring” Watkins Glen was, and the immediate interpretation was somehow that the field needed a couple of opportunities to smash each other up for a lap or two before getting strung out again (or causing another re-rack).

 

[AndyMarquisLive]

Bob Pockrass also tweeting, coming to restarts the front stretch chicane will be used.

There weren't any wrecks at Watkins Glen which is unacceptable, so now we've got to do everything we can to have a ton at Charlotte.

 

[hmmm298]

Probably because the last 3 RC's were green 90%+ of the time and the races ended with over an hour left in the TV window. Gotta sell commercials.

Probably definitely a part of it. I also saw they also mentioned that some of the drivers were saying how “tough” it was driving that long under green.
It made me realize even not regarding road courses that it’s getting to the point there are very few drivers left there who have ever driven a 500 mile race etc without breaks during the race (stages etc). Kind of sad.

 

[Ford 222]

Great!

 

[Charlie Spencer]

Bob Pockrass also tweeting, coming to restarts the front stretch chicane will be used.

That should 1) hold speeds down going into turn 1, assuming the field gets through the chicane; and 2) sell more tickets in turn 4 and that end of the front stretch to watch the carnage, since the field isn't getting through the chicane anyway.

 

[kkfan91]

Thank god, they should of never taken them away. Another NASCAR listened to the loudest complainers when there wasn't a problem situation.

 

[The Nature Boy]

Probably definitely a part of it. I also saw they also mentioned that some of the drivers were saying how “tough” it was driving that long under green.
It made me realize even not regarding road courses that it’s getting to the point there are very few drivers left there who have ever driven a 500 mile race etc without breaks during the race (stages etc). Kind of sad.

Road courses are pretty physically intensive so I can imagine that it would be difficult to be "on" for 2 hours straight (with intermediate 10 second breaks). Driving a heavy stock car through tight turns takes more effort than a lighter open wheel car. Back in the day, the field was generally not good at road courses so cautions naturally happened.

 

[FLRacingFan]

Road courses are pretty physically intensive so I can imagine that it would be difficult to be "on" for 2 hours straight (with intermediate 10 second breaks). Driving a heavy stock car through tight turns takes more effort than a lighter open wheel car.

Jimmie Johnson said the biggest change he had to make going to IndyCar was doing more upper body strength workouts compared to his cardio-based NASCAR training. No power steering, more downforce, quicker cornering = really high cornering loads.

 

[The Nature Boy]

Jimmie Johnson said the biggest change he had to make going to IndyCar was doing more upper body strength workouts compared to his cardio-based NASCAR training. No power steering, more downforce, quicker cornering = really high cornering loads.

I didn't hear that - I always thought the open wheel cars were easier to wheel.

 

[Charlie Spencer]

I didn't hear that - I always thought the open wheel cars were easier to wheel.

Open wheelers don't have the design issues that come from trying to make Cup cars look like street cars. Their engineering makes the car help the driver as much as possible to do what it's intended to do, but that doesn't mean it's physically easier on the driver.

Cup cars have to pretend they're production vehicles. A lot of the engineering assistance that's built into open wheelers isn't there. That makes it inherently more difficult to ask the Cup car to do the same tasks, even with power steering.

Different kinds of difficult.

 

[MRM]

BOOOOOOOO!!!

 

[StandOnIt]

I didn't hear that - I always thought the open wheel cars were easier to wheel.

They are easier, Indycars pull more G's because the have tons of downforce and much wider tires for the weight and that is why different muscles are used.

 

[FLRacingFan]

“Ease” is entirely up to a driver’s skill set and background. No one is hopping into an entirely different type of car and being competitive off the bat, short of some freaks like Kyle Larson. Most cars are simply too different and specialized nowadays.

NASCAR has a significant cardio requirement with races regularly going 3+ hours in intensely hot cabins, with some going 4+ hours. IndyCar has no power steering and strong cornering loads, F1 has power steering and the biggest cornering and braking loads of all. You should see how open wheel drivers train their necks.

If you want to read up on open wheel cars on high speed ovals getting a race cancelled because of concerns over G-force induced loss of consciousness, check out the 2001 Firehawk 600.

 

[StandOnIt]

Sounds like they are going back with stage breaks for all of the road courses next year.

 

[Greg]

Man I hate them an additional cautions. They are an unsult to the intelligence and the whole freaking idea of having a race.

 

[StandOnIt]

Man I hate them an additional cautions. They are an unsult to the intelligence and the whole freaking idea of having a race.

I guess I have watched too many dirt races, they don't bother me like they do others. Two heat races and a feature.

 

[AlTerego]

I really liked the races with no stage breaks. It’s disappointing that they are returning.

 

[Daytripper]

Really doesn't bother me, I'm happy either way.

 

[acmerocket]

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

[Charlie Spencer]

You should see how open wheel drivers train their necks.

This. I saw an interview with Helio a few years ago. He watches TV lying on the floor on his right side, holding his head up unsupported. Try that for even a few minutes.

 

[Charlie Spencer]

For crying out loud, at least stop counting the laps during stage breaks.

 

[FLRacingFan]

Sounds like they are going back with stage breaks for all of the road courses next year.

This is such an overreaction to one mediocre, mostly incident-free race. There was a similar mostly green road race the very week before that was pretty well-received!

 

[StandOnIt]

This is such an overreaction to one mediocre, mostly incident-free race. There was a similar mostly green road race the very week before that was pretty well-received!

Using this place and the prevailing attitudes that abound, hardly ever runs parallel to Nascar's direction. Probably be right more than wrong going in the opposite thinking of this place in guessing what Nascar is going to do next.

 

[sdj]

For crying out loud, at least stop counting the laps during stage breaks.

As bad as the breaks are, this would help for sure. But, THE

stage breaks SUCK.

 

[Speedbowl14]

I've been thinking about this all day.

This just sucks. Plain and simple. What sucks is WHY it happened. NASCAR listened to the fans and stopped doing stage cautions on the RC's. We've had stage cautions on RC's for years, fans spoke, NASCAR made a calculated change.

What REALLY sucks... we all know WHY this is changing. TV said Sonoma, WG, and Indy GP all sucked, ended too early, and weren't captivating for the "casual" fans that want to see bumper cars at 100mph rather than strategy. I am appalled at NBC. **** TV for running this sport. I would bet Daytona 500 tickets that NASCAR was fine with not having breaks at the road courses.

 

[Efisher131]

I've been thinking about this all day.

This just sucks. Plain and simple. What sucks is WHY it happened. NASCAR listened to the fans and stopped doing stage cautions on the RC's. We've had stage cautions on RC's for years, fans spoke, NASCAR made a calculated change.

What REALLY sucks... we all know WHY this is changing. TV said Sonoma, WG, and Indy GP all sucked, ended too early, and weren't captivating for the "casual" fans that want to see bumper cars at 100mph rather than strategy. I am appalled at NBC. **** TV for running this sport. I would bet Daytona 500 tickets that NASCAR was fine with not having breaks at the road courses.

I thoroughly enjoyed Indy, and the Glen and Sonoma weren’t bad. Road course racing is about strategy and driving talent. It’s not Daytona or Bristol and it shouldn’t be manipulated to try and make it that way.

My favorite thing about NASCAR is that it’s 5 completely different disciplines of racing in one series. Short track, big oval, superspeedway, road course and now even dirt oval. Most people don’t want COTA every road course race, or every week to be like Daytona. These guys are some of the most well rounded drivers in the world these days.

 

[Spotter22]

WHY?

Because they were boring. Back in the day you could count on a caution due to a part failure, engine failure etc... these cars are basically bullet proof.

 

[StandOnIt]

Because they were boring. Back in the day you could count on a caution due to a part failure, engine failure etc... these cars are basically bullet proof.

Yeah I think that is part of it. Even the backmarkers are pretty dependable these days. The road courses went from one of the more exciting races to so so without the stages.

 

[AndyMarquisLive]

Probably because the last 3 RC's were green 90%+ of the time and the races ended with over an hour left in the TV window. Gotta sell commercials.

Which is frustrating because one of the things holding NASCAR back is the length.

Watkins Glen was a horrible bore but that has more to do with how this car races on short tracks and road courses.

NASCAR might as well make the final stage 10 laps. For the show.

 

[AndyMarquisLive]

Also, are we just going to pretend Chicago wasn’t one of the best races, if not the best race, of the year?

 

[Brentford]

That's a bummer!

Road courses do get spread out pretty quickly which can make them sometimes a bit lackluster, but I'll always be 100% against fake cautions.

 

[Revman]

Because they were boring. Back in the day you could count on a caution due to a part failure, engine failure etc... these cars are basically bullet proof.

Boring...says who?