Things you miss and things you don't miss about "old NASCAR"

NC HillBilly

NC HillBilly

Back home where I belong
Joined
Mar 3, 2011
Messages
275
Points
203
Location
NC
Everyone always goes on and on about how things were better "back in the day" in my experience with fellow NASCAR fans. So since I'm new I thought it'd be fun to ask you guys what you liked and what you hated about the old days of NASCAR.

I'll start (note, I ain't that old ;));

Thing I liked: Commercial free broadcasts of the races on my Dad's C-band satellite system before the days of encryption.

Thing I hated: When the Martinsville race was blacked out on TV every year because we lived so close to the track (we can hear the cars >)). That always sucked considering it was my favorite race and listening to the radio just isn't the same.
 
NC HillBilly said:
Everyone always goes on and on about how things were better "back in the day" in my experience with fellow NASCAR fans. So since I'm new I thought it'd be fun to ask you guys what you liked and what you hated about the old days of NASCAR.

I'll start (note, I ain't that old ;));

Thing I liked: Commercial free broadcasts of the races on my Dad's C-band satellite system before the days of encryption.

Thing I hated: When the Martinsville race was blacked out on TV every year because we lived so close to the track (we can hear the cars >)). That always sucked considering it was my favorite race and listening to the radio just isn't the same.
Click to expand...

I am old.

I too had the BUD, (Big Ugly Dish), that allowed me to pick up the unedited broadcast from the track. Those were the days!

As far as better 'back in the day'. Not in my opinion. Overall, I like the racing far more today than I ever did back then. There are far more competitive teams than there ever where back in the day. Many will disagree with my opinion because they only have the selected highlights from that era to base their opinion on. If they remember things correctly, they'll remember many cars dropping out of events due to part failures, few cars actually finishing on the lead lap and blah, blah, blah. Most are going to remember the scenes that we see over and over again of the 79' D500 and the battle on the backstretch. Those were highlights, not the norm.
 
Hey , I used to sell and install those dishes . They were beautiful and I miss them .What I don't miss is lapped traffic .Saw one or two lappers last night ,only due to accidents.Used to be most of the field was laps down.
 
ted@economy said:
Hey , I used to sell and install those dishes . They were beautiful and I miss them .What I don't miss is lapped traffic .Saw one or two lappers last night ,only due to accidents.Used to be most of the field was laps down.
Click to expand...
Don't get me wrong, I loved that thing too. It's just that thing was huge. The shadow alone off of the thing could kill the grass. :p
 
AH! YESSSS! The good old days! There sure were part failures, and for sure, cars were lapS (that's laps with a capital "s") down and yes, at times, the racing was boring. But there was always something going on somewhere on the track that would catch your attention. There was far more bias and interference by NASCAR (and you think it is bad today?) But the sport was far more "pure" than exists today. "Pure' in the respect drivers were regualr guys who raced, drank and partied hard. Back then, drivers had no major allegiance to corporate sponsors. I think one thing I miss more than anything is the stock appearance (factory bodies and parts) and different brands raced. I miss when "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" was the chant of NASCAR. I miss when racing and opportunity for a local guy to participate, a "once in a lifetime opportunity" without investing hundreds of thousands of dollars, and I miss races held on large and small tracks scattered around the country.

I vividly recall when a NASCAR team attempting to qualify, prior to the mid- nineteen- eighties was determined by one second and evolved to a one-tenth second, then one-hundredth and now, one- one thousandth. I miss the way drivers messed with one another on track not out of anger but for fun. Things were much more simple then.

Here's what I don't miss; I don't miss waiting a week for my subscription of National Speed Sport News, to get results of NASCAR races. I don't miss media coverage of races except in towns where the races were held. I don't miss the complete lack of television coverage or the few radio stations broadcasting races. I don't miss pot hole filled dirt tracks. I don't miss open face helmets and lack of safety barriers, coveralls or leather gloves, safety glass windshields or low backed seats and single strap seat belts. But mostly, despite the memories of NASCAR racing and the way things used to be "back in the day," I've come to the conclusion, they were fun to have been a part of and fun at the time, but I really prefer the racing of today.

Now, if we could just get rid of restrictor plates......................................
 
I miss the not racing back to the yellow. I know it's safer and all but I don't like the field freezing, scoring loops and lucky dogs. What I don't like today is these cookie cutter 1.5 mile tracks, and the new Bristol. Bring back the Rock and North Wilksboro and let's have some racing. And while I am at it....I love the OLD points system. The Chase is good but, I'm still on the fence about it.
 
Thegroundpounder99 said:
I miss the not racing back to the yellow. I know it's safer and all but I don't like the field freezing, scoring loops and lucky dogs. What I don't like today is these cookie cutter 1.5 mile tracks, and the new Bristol. Bring back the Rock and North Wilksboro and let's have some racing. And while I am at it....I love the OLD points system. The Chase is good but, I'm still on the fence about it.
Click to expand...

Since you listed some of my thoughts I will go off your post.

I truly do miss racing back to the yellow. Nascar should bring it back for at least the last 5 to 10 laps of each race. I don't really miss going down below the yellow line, since it wasn't like drivers used it to win races, but I don't like it. Think it boxes them in too much and holds them back. I too miss tracks like the Rock and North Wilksboro, but sadly they are built in areas that the fans don't travel too. Maybe certain tracks that get the fans to reconfigure their tracks to that style. That wont happen, because it would cost too much. However Nascar should have never given Kansas that second date, and just given it to Iowa. I like the new points system, but could do without the Chase. I don't mind the Chase, but I think with the new points system you really don't need it.
 
StewartHaas-Gibbs Racing said:
I miss not having any Waltrips in the broadcast booth.
Click to expand...

robbybee said:
I do NOT miss having to mourn the loss of several drivers every year.

Auto Racing overall has made great strides to insure that racing is as safe as possible. It's still dangerous, no doubt. But it's far safer than in the Good Ol' Days!
Click to expand...

Why isn't it possible to triple like these posts?
 
Things I don't miss about the old days are how spread out most races were on big tracks and how many cars would routinely be a lap or more down. What I do miss is having cars that looked like something a person could go buy at the dealership.
 
I miss the days when a driver had to come up the hard way. With few exceptions, driver were more of the shade tree mechanic types and just wanted to get a foot in the door of NASCAR and that meant pretty much a second or tier car. I miss the times when one manufacturer out did the others and put a car on the track that was dominant. I miss having only a hand full of drivers who cold win the race, making for some bigger rivalries.

What I liked was the top 42 fastest in qualifying made the race and if there were a former champ out there who didn't make it, he was given the last spot. Only one provisional.

What I liked was I could get the Busch race on the radio, even when I didn't live in race country. Now I don't know if any of the stations around here even carry the Nationwide series.
 
MRM said:
Things I don't miss about the old days are how spread out most races were on big tracks and how many cars would routinely be a lap or more down. What I do miss is having cars that looked like something a person could go buy at the dealership.
Click to expand...

They do look like what is in the showrooms of today, they all look alike.

Loved the cars HAD to look like what was in the showroom, hated having to wait a week to see the races on Wide World Of sports.
 
robbybee said:
I do NOT miss having to mourn the loss of several drivers every year.

Auto Racing overall has made great strides to insure that racing is as safe as possible. It's still dangerous, no doubt. But it's far safer than in the Good Ol' Days!
Click to expand...

racer8 said:
I miss Sundays watching my all time favorite Dale Earnhardt.
Click to expand...

Two of the best posts in the this thread IMO.
 
Yeah, we need a WOW button. Good idea. Like in SPACE BALLS, where they have that big lever for the speed control.
 
I miss sitting on the porch with Granpa listening to the race on a scratchy static filled radio broadcast.

I don't miss listening the next week and finding out who died or was severely injured in the wrecks the week before.
 
The cars are aero sensitive because they are so aero dependant. NASCAR made a choice, and we have what we have.
 
FenderBumper said:
The cars are aero sensitive because they are so aero dependant. NASCAR made a choice, and we have what we have.
Click to expand...
Nascar made the choice to move to a safer vehicle to protect the drivers and a common template to appease the fans who complained about inequities between brands. Don't see any problem there . They can be painted any colour.
 
ted@economy said:
Nascar made the choice to move to a safer vehicle to protect the drivers and a common template to appease the fans who complained about inequities between brands. Don't see any problem there . They can be painted any colour.
Click to expand...
+1
 
ted@economy said:
Nascar made the choice to move to a safer vehicle to protect the drivers and a common template to appease the fans who complained about inequities between brands. Don't see any problem there . They can be painted any colour.
Click to expand...

That wasn't the choice I was talking about. They considered going to a larger tire to increase mechanical grip for the heavier car. They decided to use aero instead, and now you see the problem.

You can't seperate aero sensitivity from aero dependance when the cars run so close to each other. It's physics.
 
well,i wasnt into NASCAR TIL 87,if someonehas a pic of cars 90's-2011's on backstrech at talladega please post em npick ford r chevy,cot's you cant
 
getadietdew said:
well,i wasnt into NASCAR TIL 87,if someonehas a pic of cars 90's-2011's on backstrech at talladega please post em npick ford r chevy,cot's you cant
Click to expand...

Just Google NASCAR Twisted Sister Car and you will see the monstrocity that was passed off as a Stock Car....

I have no idea if that will work, btw... :D
 
I miss my father relying on me to keep up with who was in what car every year, what happened during the race while he was passed out in his lazy-e-boy snoring so loud that I could barely hear the TV, and of course getting pulled out of school on race weeks to watch practice and qualifying at the track. I also miss drivers begin ultra nice to me and letting me sit in their cars because I was a little squirt walking around pit road. :D

My Dad was awesome and I have NASCAR to thank for us spending so much time together. We never could work together, or go fishing, or do anything else without us butting heads. For some reason we could always watch a race together though!

I don't miss finding a place to park at Martinsville in the muddy fields. >)
 
NC HillBilly said:
I miss my father relying on me to keep up with who was in what car every year, what happened during the race while he was passed out in his lazy-e-boy snoring so loud that I could barely hear the TV, and of course getting pulled out of school on race weeks to watch practice and qualifying at the track. I also miss drivers begin ultra nice to me and letting me sit in their cars because I was a little squirt walking around pit road. :D

My Dad was awesome and I have NASCAR to thank for us spending so much time together. We never could work together, or go fishing, or do anything else without us butting heads. For some reason we could always watch a race together though!

I don't miss finding a place to park at Martinsville in the muddy fields. >)
Click to expand...
did they redo parking?
 
Yea they did, it used to be pretty horrible. They've done a lot to that track since I started going to it in the early 90s (turn 3-4 seating comes to mind).

Honestly the parking wasn't THAT bad before they re-did the place, but the fact that it rained every year just turned the place into a big mud hole. When we were going your best bet was parking on the other side of the train tracks or making arrangements with one of the lucky folks that owned a house right next to the track.
 
NC HillBilly said:
I miss my father relying on me to keep up with who was in what car every year, what happened during the race while he was passed out in his lazy-e-boy snoring so loud that I could barely hear the TV, and of course getting pulled out of school on race weeks to watch practice and qualifying at the track. I also miss drivers begin ultra nice to me and letting me sit in their cars because I was a little squirt walking around pit road. :D

My Dad was awesome and I have NASCAR to thank for us spending so much time together. We never could work together, or go fishing, or do anything else without us butting heads. For some reason we could always watch a race together though!

I don't miss finding a place to park at Martinsville in the muddy fields. >)
Click to expand...

That's a great story and reminds me of my father so much. He also would fall asleep and snore when I was younger when we would watch races on tv haha

Since he's the one who got me into NASCAR I take my dad down to Dover for at least one of the race weekends, if not both every year and it's a great way to spend the weekend together.
 
Yea I plan on taking Dad to Bristol one year soon, he's always wanted to go but he won't go if he doesn't get good seats. He's funny about where he wants to sit. >.>

I've heard Bristol has some pretty awful seating now, is that true? I've never been to a race there in person.

Maybe Dover would be a good compromise ;), we've always liked that track too.
 
I miss the "good old days" to some extent, especially at Dega and Daytona. I miss some of the tracks, NW, The Rock and Riverside. I miss the days when things weren't sugar coated, when a driver like Earnhardt Sr. would speak his mind in front of the camera and Nascar would LISTEN. I too miss the different makes, not what we have now, "decal cars". I do like all the racing on TV, but sometimes it becomes over saturated. I used to mark down on the calendar when I was a kid when their would be a Winston Cup race televised on Wide World of Sports, no matter that it was 3 or 4 weeks old already. Some times less is better, but I do like most of the racing these days. Now if the geniuses of Nascar could just figure out plate racing .....:D
 
NC HillBilly said:
Yea I plan on taking Dad to Bristol one year soon, he's always wanted to go but he won't go if he doesn't get good seats. He's funny about where he wants to sit. >.>

I've heard Bristol has some pretty awful seating now, is that true? I've never been to a race there in person.

Maybe Dover would be a good compromise ;), we've always liked that track too.
Click to expand...
At Bristol, I've sat all over that place throughout the years and haven't had a bad seat in the house. That's a great place to watch a race, either from the side or the end, the top or the bottom.

My son talked me into sitting just behind the flag stand last fall for the truck race as that's a general admission area for that race only. I kept thinking as we were walking down to the seats that it was going to be horrible watching a race from there. I've always been under the impression, the higher, the better. While that's true at most venues as far as Bristol goes, I couldn't have been more wrong. We had a great time and will do the same for this falls truck race.

Dover is also a good choice but the higher the better there IMO. For many years we had four isle seats in the top row of the original seating just coming on to the front stretch. Miles the Monster stood behind us over my right shoulder to give you a form of reference. We could see the whole track and pit road from there pretty good. If they hadn't moved that spring race earlier in the year a few years ago we'd still be going there. That still burns me. I liked that track.

You'll have a great time @ either of those venues as far as the race goes. Bristol, by far, is the best race experience from beginning to end. Especially if you camp. If you want any more information on either of these two places, PM me and I'll help you out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom