Top Ten things wrong with NASCAR.

[97forever]

Ok, I really hate to be a buzz kill here, but lets get serious.


The sport from a competition standpoint sucks.





Now, I get it, the way these boards work is that everyone has a different opinion, a different view.

So here are my personal views on why the current state of the sport is at its lowest, blandest, most boring point in the 28 years I've been a fan. You can agree, disagree, give your views, whatever.

From the top, and in no real order:

1. The emergence of the mega-teams.

Im not talking about Junior Johnson from back in the day here, either. Im talking about the new-york-yankee-ish way certain teams have literally taken over. Change the outfit to fit the year, but HMS, JGR and Roush know who they are.

2.The prime-time TV move and network switching chaos.

Why in the hell NASCAR has chosen to cut the throats of local tracks all over the country would be beyond me.
That is, if I were too stupid to recognize a greed driven desire for higher tv ratings.

Friday or Saturday nights are for local tracks. Sunday afternoon is where the top Nascar series belongs. Plus, I never can keep up with when a race is on or what station anymore.

3.The contrived false drama vs actual competition aspect.

C'mon...this is obvious. From phantom cautions to green-white-checker finishes to the new(and idiotic) double file restarts. Remember, what works on a hot summer night at a bullring in person is one thing--what works at the top level is different.

4. The incredible way NASCAR has managed to find about 30 of the blandest, most cookie-cutter , drab, lifeless robotic individuals on the planet to drive the blandest, most cookie cutter, drab , regressive shoebox cars on the planet. And speaking of cookie cutter....

5.The blandest, most cookie cutter, drab, personality free tracks on the planet with a few, very few, exceptions. Kansas? Chicago? Vegas? What?

6. A simply stupid , false drama building made-for-tv 'chase' format to decide the champion. WTH is up with that? Its the same old generic pretty-boy drivers in the same old indistinguiable cars.

7. The introduction of Japanese cars. And yeah, I know they might be made by Uncle Jimmy Earl down on main street, but if you think Toyota is an American car, you were dropped on your head as a kid. Its bad enough we have Government Motors now after all. And Toyota makes a fine vehicle, dont misunderstand. Its just simply a break from tradition that was purely yet another greed driven ratings move.

8. Touched upon above, the COT has simply single handedly struck a huge blow to competition. Its a backward thinking shoebox that erases years of automotive design evolution.

9. Chic terms and big-mouthed ex drivers as announcers.

"Dirty air" might be real trendy, but we get it already. And about those big mouthed ex drivers? Ha...he deserves his own number on this list.

10. Darrell Waltrip. The most biased and ridiculous creature to ever sit in a broadcast booth. He is grating, irritating, usually inaccurate and obviously has a huge man-crush on certain Hendrick drivers....and reminds us of that about every 12.5 seconds.


The above all add up, sadly, to dropping ratings and empty seats. The sport seems in a grimmer state than at any since the break-out boom occurred about 15 or so years ago. Bet your Earnhardt Jr. T-shirts it passed its peek about 4 years ago.

Now Im going to conclude with two phrases I never , ever thought I would say.

Damn, I miss Earnhardt.

And thank God for Kyle Busch.

 

[PettyBlue]

2.The prime-time TV move and network switching chaos.
How does that affect competition? I'm happy to be able to watch every NASCAR on TV now instead of the 'good old days" when there were two tape delayed races on ABC each year.
Things change, get used to it.

 

[97forever]

2.The prime-time TV move and network switching chaos.
How does that affect competition? I'm happy to be able to watch every NASCAR on TV now instead of the 'good old days" when there were two tape delayed races on ABC each year.
Things change, get used to it.

It detracts from the competition because its tailor-made,starting time wise, to suit each networks schedule.

Remember those rain shortened races that would have been completed if not for delayed network dictated starting times?

And the only thing we are 'getting used to' is mediocrity.

 

[Digger]

Ok, I really hate to be a buzz kill here, but lets get serious.


The sport from a competition standpoint sucks.





Now, I get it, the way these boards work is that everyone has a different opinion, a different view.

So here are my personal views on why the current state of the sport is at its lowest, blandest, most boring point in the 28 years I've been a fan. You can agree, disagree, give your views, whatever.

From the top, and in no real order:

1. The emergence of the mega-teams.

Im not talking about Junior Johnson from back in the day here, either. Im talking about the new-york-yankee-ish way certain teams have literally taken over. Change the outfit to fit the year, but HMS, JGR and Roush know who they are.

2.The prime-time TV move and network switching chaos.

Why in the hell NASCAR has chosen to cut the throats of local tracks all over the country would be beyond me.
That is, if I were too stupid to recognize a greed driven desire for higher tv ratings.

Friday or Saturday nights are for local tracks. Sunday afternoon is where the top Nascar series belongs. Plus, I never can keep up with when a race is on or what station anymore.

3.The contrived false drama vs actual competition aspect.

C'mon...this is obvious. From phantom cautions to green-white-checker finishes to the new(and idiotic) double file restarts. Remember, what works on a hot summer night at a bullring in person is one thing--what works at the top level is different.

4. The incredible way NASCAR has managed to find about 30 of the blandest, most cookie-cutter , drab, lifeless robotic individuals on the planet to drive the blandest, most cookie cutter, drab , regressive shoebox cars on the planet. And speaking of cookie cutter....

5.The blandest, most cookie cutter, drab, personality free tracks on the planet with a few, very few, exceptions. Kansas? Chicago? Vegas? What?

6. A simply stupid , false drama building made-for-tv 'chase' format to decide the champion. WTH is up with that? Its the same old generic pretty-boy drivers in the same old indistinguiable cars.

7. The introduction of Japanese cars. And yeah, I know they might be made by Uncle Jimmy Earl down on main street, but if you think Toyota is an American car, you were dropped on your head as a kid. Its bad enough we have Government Motors now after all. And Toyota makes a fine vehicle, dont misunderstand. Its just simply a break from tradition that was purely yet another greed driven ratings move.

8. Touched upon above, the COT has simply single handedly struck a huge blow to competition. Its a backward thinking shoebox that erases years of automotive design evolution.

9. Chic terms and big-mouthed ex drivers as announcers.

"Dirty air" might be real trendy, but we get it already. And about those big mouthed ex drivers? Ha...he deserves his own number on this list.

10. Darrell Waltrip. The most biased and ridiculous creature to ever sit in a broadcast booth. He is grating, irritating, usually inaccurate and obviously has a huge man-crush on certain Hendrick drivers....and reminds us of that about every 12.5 seconds.


The above all add up, sadly, to dropping ratings and empty seats. The sport seems in a grimmer state than at any since the break-out boom occurred about 15 or so years ago. Bet your Earnhardt Jr. T-shirts it passed its peek about 4 years ago.

Now Im going to conclude with two phrases I never , ever thought I would say.

Damn, I miss Earnhardt.

And thank God for Kyle Busch.

if a local track can't compete with a tv program, there's something wrong with the track. i've been to tracks that will sell out no matter what. and ive beem to tracks that just plain suck.

if you hate nascar so much, turn on golf.

go schrub!

 

[97forever]

if a local track can't compete with a tv program, there's something wrong with the track. i've been to tracks that will sell out no matter what. and ive beem to tracks that just plain suck.

if you hate nascar so much, turn on golf.

go schrub!

I dont hate Nascar, Jr.

In fact, I love it.

 

[Digger]

It detracts from the competition because its tailor-made,starting time wise, to suit each networks schedule.

Remember those rain shortened races that would have been completed if not for delayed network dictated starting times?

And the only thing we are 'getting used to' is mediocrity.

really? this has been the best season of nascar in a while. nobody has 5 wins already (though it sure is nice to see mark whooping ass) and the championship is in the air whereas every other year you knew jimmie would pull it out.

might want to go tell your local track to do some better promotion because langley sold out every single seat up against big bad nascar.

 

[Digger]

did you say "idiotic double file restarts"?

 

[97forever]

really? this has been the best season of nascar in a while. nobody has 5 wins already (though it sure is nice to see mark whooping ass) and the championship is in the air whereas every other year you knew jimmie would pull it out.

might want to go tell your local track to do some better promotion because langley sold out every single seat up against big bad nascar.

It IS good to see Martin doing well, no doubt about it.

But Im thinking your 'in a while' and mine might be two different things.

 

[97forever]

did you say "idiotic double file restarts"?

Yeah. I should have said REAL idiotic double file restarts.

But I hate to edit.

 

[Spike]

1. It was bound to happen, with the way the American economy works. Small mom and pop operations were already on their way out a decade ago if not earlier than that.

2. You get every race on TV, live, so whats the big deal? You obviously have a computer, you can always go on NASCAR.com or even Wikipedia and find start times/channel listings for all 3 of NASCAR's top divisions. People who want to go to their local tracks always have the option of TiVo or other DVRs which are pretty much standard equipment nowadays.

3. I think this is more an aspect of being overly cautious(something NASCAR has been since the passing of Dale Earnhardt) then trying to create drama.

4. It is a corporate entity that is incredibly corporate driven, the companies that pay alot of money to sponsor have an image to uphold, sorry that the drivers dont want to be nonstop douchebags.

5. There are very few tracks that NASCAR can/will race on due to capacity requirements, and they have hit pretty much all of them besides Gateway, Kentucky, and Nashville at the Cup level. I happen to like Chicago, it is a very interesting track(and is one of the few tracks that so far has produced a different winner almost every time). I enjoy watching races at Vegas as well.

6. The format was needed after what happened with Matt Kenseth. Could it be tweaked? Yea probably, but its not a bad format at all.

7. Toyota cars are about the most American cars on the road and they have been a very competitive brand in all series. Yay xenophobia!

8. The COT hasnt dampened racing at all this season, its been very exciting and keeps the drivers incredibly safe.

9. You have to have someone that knows whats going on. Overall the announcers do a very respectable job.

10. Seriously? Waltrip's feelings about Hendrick pale in comparison to the awkward man love he expresses for Kyle Busch for the entirety of most Fox broadcasts.

 

[97forever]

1. It was bound to happen, with the way the American economy works. Small mom and pop operations were already on their way out a decade ago if not earlier than that.

2. You get every race on TV, live, so whats the big deal? You obviously have a computer, you can always go on NASCAR.com or even Wikipedia and find start times/channel listings for all 3 of NASCAR's top divisions. People who want to go to their local tracks always have the option of TiVo or other DVRs which are pretty much standard equipment nowadays.

3. I think this is more an aspect of being overly cautious(something NASCAR has been since the passing of Dale Earnhardt) then trying to create drama.

4. It is a corporate entity that is incredibly corporate driven, the companies that pay alot of money to sponsor have an image to uphold, sorry that the drivers dont want to be nonstop douchebags.

5. There are very few tracks that NASCAR can/will race on due to capacity requirements, and they have hit pretty much all of them besides Gateway, Kentucky, and Nashville at the Cup level. I happen to like Chicago, it is a very interesting track(and is one of the few tracks that so far has produced a different winner almost every time). I enjoy watching races at Vegas as well.

6. The format was needed after what happened with Matt Kenseth. Could it be tweaked? Yea probably, but its not a bad format at all.

7. Toyota cars are about the most American cars on the road and they have been a very competitive brand in all series. Yay xenophobia!

8. The COT hasnt dampened racing at all this season, its been very exciting and keeps the drivers incredibly safe.

9. You have to have someone that knows whats going on. Overall the announcers do a very respectable job.

10. Seriously? You get the impression that Waltrip has ***** firmly in hand whenever he is talking about Kyle Busch and you say he gushes over Hendrick? lol

Well, nice to hear your opinions.

And your spelling was pretty good.

 

[Spike]

Thats all you got? Seriously?

 

[97forever]

Thats all you got? Seriously?

Nah, but I figure you were wanting a bit more and no need for me to slice you up just yet.

I figure we will chat again at some point on here.

 

[97forever]

Nah, but I figure you were wanting a bit more and no need for me to slice you up just yet.

I figure we will chat again at some point on here.

Let me note that 'slice you up' was figurative. I should have said 'humble you'.

My bad.

 

[Spike]

Slice me up? I just dont really follow your logic?

How do you expect small operations to survive, which would put a dent in the super teams?
Where do you want NASCAR to race that they currently arent?

What exactly is wrong with the Chase?

The COT hasnt made racing any less exciting this year. Hell, a kid won in just his 5th cup race, a 50 year old has 4 wins(Ensure would do well to sponsor the #5 next year), a 19 year old won this year, etc and there have been monster crashes since the car was introduced and the drivers have by and large walked away without a scratch.

Toyota has been an awesome addition to the sport, your logic for disliking them is ignorant. Do you also have a problem with Juan Pablo Montoya, Max Papis, Patrick Carpentier, etc. running in the series? They arent American.

I could go on.

 

[blue92]

Ok, I really hate to be a buzz kill here, but lets get serious.


The sport from a competition standpoint sucks.





Now, I get it, the way these boards work is that everyone has a different opinion, a different view.

So here are my personal views on why the current state of the sport is at its lowest, blandest, most boring point in the 28 years I've been a fan. You can agree, disagree, give your views, whatever.

From the top, and in no real order:

1. The emergence of the mega-teams.

Im not talking about Junior Johnson from back in the day here, either. Im talking about the new-york-yankee-ish way certain teams have literally taken over. Change the outfit to fit the year, but HMS, JGR and Roush know who they are.

2.The prime-time TV move and network switching chaos.

Why in the hell NASCAR has chosen to cut the throats of local tracks all over the country would be beyond me.
That is, if I were too stupid to recognize a greed driven desire for higher tv ratings.

Friday or Saturday nights are for local tracks. Sunday afternoon is where the top Nascar series belongs. Plus, I never can keep up with when a race is on or what station anymore.

3.The contrived false drama vs actual competition aspect.

C'mon...this is obvious. From phantom cautions to green-white-checker finishes to the new(and idiotic) double file restarts. Remember, what works on a hot summer night at a bullring in person is one thing--what works at the top level is different.

4. The incredible way NASCAR has managed to find about 30 of the blandest, most cookie-cutter , drab, lifeless robotic individuals on the planet to drive the blandest, most cookie cutter, drab , regressive shoebox cars on the planet. And speaking of cookie cutter....

5.The blandest, most cookie cutter, drab, personality free tracks on the planet with a few, very few, exceptions. Kansas? Chicago? Vegas? What?

6. A simply stupid , false drama building made-for-tv 'chase' format to decide the champion. WTH is up with that? Its the same old generic pretty-boy drivers in the same old indistinguiable cars.

7. The introduction of Japanese cars. And yeah, I know they might be made by Uncle Jimmy Earl down on main street, but if you think Toyota is an American car, you were dropped on your head as a kid. Its bad enough we have Government Motors now after all. And Toyota makes a fine vehicle, dont misunderstand. Its just simply a break from tradition that was purely yet another greed driven ratings move.

8. Touched upon above, the COT has simply single handedly struck a huge blow to competition. Its a backward thinking shoebox that erases years of automotive design evolution.

9. Chic terms and big-mouthed ex drivers as announcers.

"Dirty air" might be real trendy, but we get it already. And about those big mouthed ex drivers? Ha...he deserves his own number on this list.

10. Darrell Waltrip. The most biased and ridiculous creature to ever sit in a broadcast booth. He is grating, irritating, usually inaccurate and obviously has a huge man-crush on certain Hendrick drivers....and reminds us of that about every 12.5 seconds.


The above all add up, sadly, to dropping ratings and empty seats. The sport seems in a grimmer state than at any since the break-out boom occurred about 15 or so years ago. Bet your Earnhardt Jr. T-shirts it passed its peek about 4 years ago.

Now Im going to conclude with two phrases I never , ever thought I would say.

Damn, I miss Earnhardt.

And thank God for Kyle Busch.

1. mega teams you mean like F1, IRL, Rolex GT series? No one complaining about that in those race leagues.

2. http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2009/data/schedule.html
bookmark it. About Sat. night nascar races it's all about the summer heat. The cars run cooler after dark and the fans in the seats aren't passing out from the heat.

3. You need to check your history on double file restarts I think you'll find this isn't a new idea.

It's not the double file restarts that's the problem. jmo btw. I think there's too many cars on the track in the 1st place and the races are way too long. 300 miles would be better, everyone racing every lap no one just riding around waiting to the last 20 laps to get with it. If you want to do away with mega teams less cars on the track would fix that one. 30 cars would be less wrecks and faster races. Oh yea if you f*ck up your car wrecking it your wrecked your out of the race, no slow ****s riding around for points in the way of the faster cars.

7. The way GM is running now there soon will be no GM, so no Chevys will be raced. If the big 3 go down the tubes and you don't let foreign cars in then there will be no nascar period. These cars are not stock cars nothing on them are on todays passenger cars, so lets call them what they really are modified coupes. I say let any foreign car in that builds a V8 engine and puts them in their passenger cars.

10. I like DW and ex race car driver announcers. Nothin' worse than some announcer that doesn't know what it's like diving one of these cars much less a race car at all. I like my announcers informed.

I liked the days when the schedule said the race time is noon then the race starts at noon. I watch to see racing not some country/rock band put on a mini concert and the air time for the network is 5 hours. If the network wants to schedule the race time for 5 hours then lets have heat races and narrow the field down to 30 cars 20 would be even better and have more shoot out kind of races. I bet if nascar did heat races of 20 laps a piece and narrowed the field to 20 with a 250 or 300 mile race at the end the ratings would jump way up and the stands would be full at every race.

 

[chromehorn]

Dodge Charger RT - built in Canada

Chevy Impala SS- built in Canada

Ford Fusion - built in Mexico (explains alot)

Toyota Camry - built in the United States or Japan depending on the model.

 

[97forever]

Slice me up? I just dont really follow your logic?

How do you expect small operations to survive, which would put a dent in the super teams?
Where do you want NASCAR to race that they currently arent?

What exactly is wrong with the Chase?

The COT hasnt made racing any less exciting this year. Hell, a kid won in just his 5th cup race, a 50 year old has 4 wins(Ensure would do well to sponsor the #5 next year), a 19 year old won this year, etc and there have been monster crashes since the car was introduced and the drivers have by and large walked away without a scratch.

Toyota has been an awesome addition to the sport, your logic for disliking them is ignorant. Do you also have a problem with Juan Pablo Montoya, Max Papis, Patrick Carpentier, etc. running in the series? They arent American.

I could go on.

Ohh, I'm sure you could.


Your entire opinion is based on point of reference. Which is really my fault for not making it clearer.

My list was meant in a comparative manner. To by-gone eras of the sport to which Im sure,with no rudeness implied, you cant relate. The sense of excitement in earlier---from say the early 80's until just a few years ago--eras was much more tangible. There was a true passion then. The drivers had more character(or were bigger 'douchbags' to use your lingo), the cars could actually pass one another, the roar of the engines was wild, the speeds incredible. Drama didnt feel so scripted. Cautions were actually for reasons, etc.

All, admittedly, subjective views but views nonetheless with a basis in numbers and fact. Go to youtube, watch Earnhardt vs Elliott in '85 for instance.

You can see the difference.


And if you cant, then all your clever debating skills aren't really helping you understand the point I'm trying to make at any rate.

 

[Spike]

You think I have clever debating skills?

You are right, I dont remember NASCAR in the 80s. Hell, I didnt start school until 1989, all I remember from the 80s is Transformers, GI Joe, Ninja Turtles, and my grandmas peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

I do know, however, and you admit to this, is that your views are quite subjective. I happen to enjoy the current state of racing and find logical falacy with your points of view, especilly concerning the way teams are structured, where the races are held, how a champion is crowned, and what manufacturers are represented.

The rest of your post boils down to personal preference.

 

[97forever]

Dodge Charger RT - built in Canada

Chevy Impala SS- built in Canada

Ford Fusion - built in Mexico (explains alot)

Toyota Camry - built in the United States or Japan depending on the model.

Yeah, thanks. Bet that took five minutes or so to figure out online, eh?


I don't give a damn, though, where Dodges or Fords or Chevrolets are now bolted together.

They are, or were until recently, American Car makers and makes.

Toyota, and yeah, I own one made here in the states, is still a Japanese car company.

And despite the opinion of the debate coach above, my anti-toyota(as relates to the sport) stance has nothing to do with xenophobia. Its the tradition of the sport, the integrity, that interests me personally. Now, do some more research, point out Jag way back in the day or whatever, thats cool. But we all know what Im talking about is valid even if in a sheer technical sense assembly location is at odds with my view.

 

[chromehorn]

Yeah, thanks. Bet that took five minutes or so to figure out online, eh?


I don't give a damn, though, where Dodges or Fords or Chevrolets are now bolted together.

They are, or were until recently, American Car makers and makes.

Toyota, and yeah, I own one made here in the states, is still a Japanese car company.

And despite the opinion of the debate coach above, my anti-toyota(as relates to the sport) stance has nothing to do with xenophobia. Its the tradition of the sport, the integrity, that interests me personally. Now, do some more research, point out Jag way back in the day or whatever, thats cool. But we all know what Im talking about is valid even if in a sheer technical sense assembly location is at odds with my view.

Why are you being a jerk to me? I was just giving you some facts to help keep yourself from looking like more of a jackass.

 

[97forever]

You think I have clever debating skills?

You are right, I dont remember NASCAR in the 80s. Hell, I didnt start school until 1989, all I remember from the 80s is Transformers, GI Joe, Ninja Turtles, and my grandmas peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

I do know, however, and you admit to this, is that your views are quite subjective. I happen to enjoy the current state of racing and find logical falacy with your points of view, especilly concerning the way teams are structured, where the races are held, how a champion is crowned, and what manufacturers are represented.

The rest of your post boils down to personal preference.

To answer your question, first: not really, but Im sure you think so.

And arguably, all personal views are subjective.

I think my fondness or devotion to the sport has been lost in tone somewhere frankly. I love the sport, I always have.

Its a concern for the sport and the current leadership of the sanctioning body that gives me pause and fosters that concern.

 

[97forever]

Why are you being a jerk to me? I was just giving you some facts to help keep yourself from looking like more of a jackass.

Dude, I am comfortable looking like a jackass.


I already was aware of those facts, though, but thanks for the intended help.

 

[chromehorn]

Just wanted to point that stuff out before anyone else chimed in who might not have known. Both you guys make valid points but the "American Made" argument always gets blown way out of proportion when it comes to NASCAR, so before it got started I wanted to throw out a reference point in the thread.

 

[97forever]

Just wanted to point that stuff out before anyone else chimed in who might not have known. Both you guys make valid points but the "American Made" argument always gets blown way out of proportion when it comes to NASCAR, so before it got started I wanted to throw out a reference point in the thread.

Thank you. And no offense was really meant.

We are all fans here, we just sometimes disagree on the details.

 

[Spike]

I happen to think I am a master debator.

 

[97forever]

I happen to think I am a master debator.

Yeah, I know. Actually, that's why I like you. I used to think the same about myself.

Of course, in my case, it was pretty damned true.

 

[wilson89]

3.The contrived false drama vs actual competition aspect.

C'mon...this is obvious. From phantom cautions QUOTE]

The phantom cautions are getting as ridiciouls as nascar playing off the field filler crap. Tonights race could of easily gone caution free had Nascar not thrown out a "debree" caution once every hundred laps. Seems like everytime we hear theres a caution for debree it gets played off and convently we never actualy see the debree on the track. Only reason i can see them doing it was because Mark Martin was blowing everyone away and there wasnt going to be anyone left on the lead lap if they didnt do anything.

 

[97forever]

3.The contrived false drama vs actual competition aspect.

C'mon...this is obvious. From phantom cautions QUOTE]

The phantom cautions are getting as ridiciouls as nascar playing off the field filler crap. Tonights race could of easily gone caution free had Nascar not thrown out a "debree" caution once every hundred laps. Seems like everytime we hear theres a caution for debree it gets played off and convently we never actualy see the debree on the track. Only reason i can see them doing it was because Mark Martin was blowing everyone away and there wasnt going to be anyone left on the lead lap if they didnt do anything.

I agree. Fake cautions to instill a feeling of drama.


Btw, Biffle is one of my favorite drivers, nice avatar.

 

[Spike]

Yeah, I know. Actually, that's why I like you. I used to think the same about myself.

Of course, in my case, it was pretty damned true.

Air Force One was a great movie. Counterpoint?

 

[Mopardh9]

Well interesting points but I have to disagree 97 on quite a few.
1. The tracks outside of California and sometimes Pocono are just fine. Vegas puts on an awesome race, should check it out live one day, the entire area is all Nascar when race week rolls around.
2. The Cot is a great idea, it needs a little tweaking as far as what they can do to the cars, but other than that a great idea.
3. I do agree on the Chase thing, an idea that IMO has ran it's course, go back to the old format.
4. I think Nascar should get more makes involved like Honda, Nissan, Hyundai....ect, the more the better as far as I'm concerned. GM is no longer King of the Hill and more competition just might make them a better company.
5.www.Racefantv.com there is a link on here for it, gives you all the starting times for any kind of racing and what channel it is on.

The sport is going thrrough a down period due mostly to the economy, there were a lot of empty seats in Chicago last night. Costs way too much for a family of four to attend a race these days, bring the ticket prices down, the concession prices should be cut in half.....$4 for a a hot dog, $8 for a beer, totally out of line. The sport will survive and be better, in the meantime we have to endure "fake cautions" now and again, but I still love the sport, still love the sound of the cars, and still love to hate Kyle Busch.

 

[dpkimmel2001]

Ok, I really hate to be a buzz kill here, but lets get serious.

The sport from a competition standpoint sucks.

Now, I get it, the way these boards work is that everyone has a different opinion, a different view.

So here are my personal views on why the current state of the sport is at its lowest, blandest, most boring point in the 28 years I've been a fan. You can agree, disagree, give your views, whatever.

From the top, and in no real order:

1. The emergence of the mega-teams.

Im not talking about Junior Johnson from back in the day here, either. Im talking about the new-york-yankee-ish way certain teams have literally taken over. Change the outfit to fit the year, but HMS, JGR and Roush know who they are.

2.The prime-time TV move and network switching chaos.

Why in the hell NASCAR has chosen to cut the throats of local tracks all over the country would be beyond me.
That is, if I were too stupid to recognize a greed driven desire for higher tv ratings.

Friday or Saturday nights are for local tracks. Sunday afternoon is where the top Nascar series belongs. Plus, I never can keep up with when a race is on or what station anymore.

3.The contrived false drama vs actual competition aspect.

C'mon...this is obvious. From phantom cautions to green-white-checker finishes to the new(and idiotic) double file restarts. Remember, what works on a hot summer night at a bullring in person is one thing--what works at the top level is different.

4. The incredible way NASCAR has managed to find about 30 of the blandest, most cookie-cutter , drab, lifeless robotic individuals on the planet to drive the blandest, most cookie cutter, drab , regressive shoebox cars on the planet. And speaking of cookie cutter....

5.The blandest, most cookie cutter, drab, personality free tracks on the planet with a few, very few, exceptions. Kansas? Chicago? Vegas? What?

6. A simply stupid , false drama building made-for-tv 'chase' format to decide the champion. WTH is up with that? Its the same old generic pretty-boy drivers in the same old indistinguiable cars.

7. The introduction of Japanese cars. And yeah, I know they might be made by Uncle Jimmy Earl down on main street, but if you think Toyota is an American car, you were dropped on your head as a kid. Its bad enough we have Government Motors now after all. And Toyota makes a fine vehicle, dont misunderstand. Its just simply a break from tradition that was purely yet another greed driven ratings move.

8. Touched upon above, the COT has simply single handedly struck a huge blow to competition. Its a backward thinking shoebox that erases years of automotive design evolution.

9. Chic terms and big-mouthed ex drivers as announcers.

"Dirty air" might be real trendy, but we get it already. And about those big mouthed ex drivers? Ha...he deserves his own number on this list.

10. Darrell Waltrip. The most biased and ridiculous creature to ever sit in a broadcast booth. He is grating, irritating, usually inaccurate and obviously has a huge man-crush on certain Hendrick drivers....and reminds us of that about every 12.5 seconds.


The above all add up, sadly, to dropping ratings and empty seats. The sport seems in a grimmer state than at any since the break-out boom occurred about 15 or so years ago. Bet your Earnhardt Jr. T-shirts it passed its peek about 4 years ago.

Now Im going to conclude with two phrases I never , ever thought I would say.

Damn, I miss Earnhardt.

And thank God for Kyle Busch.

I'm surprised that you spend any time watching/following a sport that has so many problems in your opinion. It must really suck to sit there on a Saturday night or Sunday afternoon subjecting yourself to 4 hours of this blandest, boring, idiotic, lifeless, regressive, stupid, & backward thinking sport. Pardon me if I forgot a few. It's a good thing NASCAR has Kyle Busch to get you through the weekend. You stated many things that you dislike about the sport. Is there anything at all that you do like?

 

[TexasRaceLady]

There are a lot of things I don't like right now about my chosen sport, but that doesn't negate my interest in it.

I'm not a huge fan of new car --- but I must admit it has made racing safer. I do think it needs tweaking and more areas that CCs can work on.

I'm not a fan of the Chase. When Matt won the Cup with only one win, I didn't really like it, but that's the rules. Maybe the point system could be tweaked just a little.

I love DW, but wish he'd quit trying to sell me on Digger, KyleB, etc. Just call the race, DW, just call the race --- leave the "buy this" out.

Tracks --- Personally, no track should have more than one race. To fill out the season, set up a rotating system where tracks would get a 2nd race every couple of years.

Mega Teams --- Since this is a business, I think big teams are here to stay. Don't like them, but in this economy, it makes financial sense.

Vanilla drivers --- with so much sponsor money on the line, drivers have to be PC. These days people get their noses out of joint if you so much as look at them wrong. Again, it comes down to money. Don't like it, but what can I do about it.

As far as me NOT watching races, I don't think so. As bad as some telecasts are, it is still better than 30 years ago when we were lucky to see highlights on Wide World of Sports.

 

[97forever]

I'm surprised that you spend any time watching/following a sport that has so many problems in your opinion. It must really suck to sit there on a Saturday night or Sunday afternoon subjecting yourself to 4 hours of this blandest, boring, idiotic, lifeless, regressive, stupid, & backward thinking sport. Pardon me if I forgot a few. It's a good thing NASCAR has Kyle Busch to get you through the weekend. You stated many things that you dislike about the sport. Is there anything at all that you do like?

Sure. And when I post the 'ten things right about NASCAR' we can discuss them then. If you would read the whole post you could see I addressed how I have always felt about the sport. I just do not agree with the state of the sport at this point in time.

Thanks to you folks that actually recognized this was a critique of what, in my sole opinion, were areas that the sanctioning body needs to address.

Btw, Mopardh9, good points.


(And Spike, Air Force One sucked because that over rated hack Harry Ford was in it. He acts about like Mikey Waltrip drives: not.very.damned.good.

In fact, Mikey might actually be a better actor.)

 

[97forever]

There are a lot of things I don't like right now about my chosen sport, but that doesn't negate my interest in it.

I'm not a huge fan of new car --- but I must admit it has made racing safer. I do think it needs tweaking and more areas that CCs can work on.

I'm not a fan of the Chase. When Matt won the Cup with only one win, I didn't really like it, but that's the rules. Maybe the point system could be tweaked just a little.

I love DW, but wish he'd quit trying to sell me on Digger, KyleB, etc. Just call the race, DW, just call the race --- leave the "buy this" out.

Tracks --- Personally, no track should have more than one race. To fill out the season, set up a rotating system where tracks would get a 2nd race every couple of years.

Mega Teams --- Since this is a business, I think big teams are here to stay. Don't like them, but in this economy, it makes financial sense.

Vanilla drivers --- with so much sponsor money on the line, drivers have to be PC. These days people get their noses out of joint if you so much as look at them wrong. Again, it comes down to money. Don't like it, but what can I do about it.

As far as me NOT watching races, I don't think so. As bad as some telecasts are, it is still better than 30 years ago when we were lucky to see highlights on Wide World of Sports.

Hiya, TRL. Always good to see you again.

And yep, Im a bit disillusioned with the sport these days, lol.

 

[Restrictor Plate King!]

as for myself in no order:

i hate the new COT car, it's ugly & a drag. i think they should only race it at cookie cutter tracks & road courses. restrictor plate tracks should be reserved for the old car. either that or get rid of the restrictor plate. i also disliked the common template, i liked the fact that you could tell what kind of car a driver was in by looking at it's contours not the stickers on it's head & tailights.

the yellow line rule. it kills racing at the plate tracks & will probably seriously or fatally injure someone before NASCAR decides to scrap it.

change the rules so that teams can only field a maximum of two cars, period. now it seems like there's only 3 teams out there competing with Tony Stewart the lone independent.

get rid of one of the new hampshire races & one of the Fontana races & bring back North Wilkesboro & then move the Southern 500 back to Labor Day weekend. Man this is just how it's supposed to be.

shorten the damn schedule back down to 30 races. geez man, this current schedule is just too doggone long, if they shorten it back to 30, they could also dump the chase.

cooperate fully the next time EA or whomever wants to make a NASCAR game for PS3/Xbox360. I hate the fact the only 5 or 6 Craftsman Truck & Nationwide teams are ever on the game & triple digit fake idiot cars are made to fill the field. maybe this is more EA Sports fault for not sending someone who gives a damn about NASCAR to get all the information needed to create the ultimate experience. if they can pack all that information into Madden year after year then they should be able to do the same for Americas fastest growing sport.

force Teresa to give Jr back the #8. the number 88 worked great for the older Dale, son of Ned that is, but it wasn't soo kind to Dale Sr passing him to steal the 96 Daytona 500. Dale Jr should have thought of that before wanting to put it on his doors. change the number.

just my opinion...

 

[97forever]

as for myself in no order:

i hate the new COT car, it's ugly & a drag. i think they should only race it at cookie cutter tracks & road courses. restrictor plate tracks should be reserved for the old car. either that or get rid of the restrictor plate. i also disliked the common template, i liked the fact that you could tell what kind of car a driver was in by looking at it's contours not the stickers on it's head & tailights.

the yellow line rule. it kills racing at the plate tracks & will probably seriously or fatally injure someone before NASCAR decides to scrap it.

change the rules so that teams can only field a maximum of two cars, period. now it seems like there's only 3 teams out there competing with Tony Stewart the lone independent.

get rid of one of the new hampshire races & one of the Fontana races & bring back North Wilkesboro & then move the Southern 500 back to Labor Day weekend. Man this is just how it's supposed to be.

shorten the damn schedule back down to 30 races. geez man, this current schedule is just too doggone long, if they shorten it back to 30, they could also dump the chase.

cooperate fully the next time EA or whomever wants to make a NASCAR game for PS3/Xbox360. I hate the fact the only 5 or 6 Craftsman Truck & Nationwide teams are ever on the game & triple digit fake idiot cars are made to fill the field. maybe this is more EA Sports fault for not sending someone who gives a damn about NASCAR to get all the information needed to create the ultimate experience. if they can pack all that information into Madden year after year then they should be able to do the same for Americas fastest growing sport.

force Teresa to give Jr back the #8. the number 88 worked great for the older Dale, son of Ned that is, but it wasn't soo kind to Dale Sr passing him to steal the 96 Daytona 500. Dale Jr should have thought of that before wanting to put it on his doors. change the number.

just my opinion...

I feel the same on the schedule reduction.

Also, another thing I started to add but didnt are those 'start-n'park' cars. My opinion is if they cant get 43 quality cars, go with the 38 or 36. Granted, the sport has always had 'field fillers' but at least they used to try to fake it. Now those guys dont even hide the fact. And sooner or later a Skinner or Blaney is going to factor in to a wreck that takes out a contender.

 

[VaDirt]

The only thing I'm going to add to this is that 97forever sure seem to think highly of himself, and seems to disragard other's opinions if they differ from his. "humble you" ?? Damn, just because his opinion opposes yours? I mean seriosly, every single oposing post in this thread, you basically just slammed as being wrong...

I guess we should all bow before thee?

 

[97forever]

The only thing I'm going to add to this is that 97forever sure seem to think highly of himself, and seems to disragard other's opinions if they differ from his. "humble you" ?? Damn, just because his opinion opposes yours? I mean seriosly, every single oposing post in this thread, you basically just slammed as being wrong...

I guess we should all bow before thee?

No dude, what you should do is lighten the hell up and learn to recognize lame-ass attempts at humor when you hear it. The kid asked if that was the best I could do; that was mildly provocative. I responded in kind. If you will read closely, each of my responses dealt out exactly the same tone I was given.


Opinions are what the places are about, have any you want. I said that at the offset. Opinions are what we should all want to hear---same or different. But if you snipe at me, Im sniping back.

 

[kelloggs5TLfan]

The only thing I'm going to add to this is that 97forever sure seem to think highly of himself, and seems to disragard other's opinions if they differ from his. "humble you" ?? Damn, just because his opinion opposes yours? I mean seriosly, every single oposing post in this thread, you basically just slammed as being wrong...

I guess we should all bow before thee?

He's not as bad as the other one that's not posted here in a few days. LOL