Was the 2017 NASCAR season a good season?

What I watched of the races this year I saw the same issues rear their ugly heads, but yeh there were decent races, but not enough of them for me to say this was in any means a great season. Truex should of wrapped up the Championship before Phoenix, but because of the stupid playoff structured points he didn't. I think there would of been hell to pay if he didn't win the championship, that being said I'm not expecting much change for next year in the terms of quality racing, but I hops Nascar surprises me.
 
StandOnIt said:
Harvick and Kez after getting hamstringed early fought a brilliant end game to make it to the final four.
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Stunning how Harvick outperformed Kez in the same hamstrung car. There must have been potential somewhere in that brick. I would have never thought that SHR would out-engineer Penske. Never.
 
Also, I definitely feel like the first half of the season was better than the second half, and I'm 100% convinced that I feel this way solely due to the NBC broadcast team. It sucks that their presentation has such a negative effect on my enjoyment of a race, but it is what it is.
 
2 Sweet said:
Also, I definitely feel like the first half of the season was better than the second half, and I'm 100% convinced that I feel this way solely due to the NBC broadcast team. It sucks that their presentation has such a negative effect on my enjoyment of a race, but it is what it is.
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Eh better tracks as well though. Get some snoozers in the second half
 
LewTheShoe said:
To me, 2017 was an outstanding year of racing, even better than 2016 which was also outstanding. The substantial reduction of downforce was a key ingredient, adding to the degree of difficulty and reducing (but not eliminating) the aero benefit of clean air. There were still several races that were real stinkers, mostly due to single-groove tracks such as Charlotte and repaved Kentucky.

Also, the points system was much better than 2014-16, and this was an important improvement to me. I also thought stage racing worked very well, better than I expected. The biggest negative to me was the sizable speed advantage held by the Toyotas. I'm hoping for a more level playing field in 2018.
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Since others take issue with it, I will agree with you. I thought that after years of tinkering with it, they finally have the playoffs exactly right. The leaders get an advantage but they still have to perform to advance - and sometimes high seeds lose. It's the way it is in every other American sports format and they finally have it where you get that elimination game drama in Nascar.

I also think the downforce package was a substantial improvement and the racing was outstanding through most of the season (of course there are always exceptions).

To be fair, it was true that the Toyotas seemed to have an advantage. Of course, they had their next generation car out this year. Chevy's is next year and Ford was supposed to be in 2019, but perhaps they'll move it up. But when it comes to the format of the racing itself, I enjoyed stage racing more than I thought I would - and, again, I think they finally have it right in the playoffs.

I don't expect that they're going to change anything for next year. This year was a big success when it comes to format and car package (downforce).
 
Mopardh9 said:
What I watched of the races this year I saw the same issues rear their ugly heads, but yeh there were decent races, but not enough of them for me to say this was in any means a great season. Truex should of wrapped up the Championship before Phoenix, but because of the stupid playoff structured points he didn't. I think there would of been hell to pay if he didn't win the championship, that being said I'm not expecting much change for next year in the terms of quality racing, but I hops Nascar surprises me.
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I think this comes down to a fundamental question of how the Cup should be awarded. You (and others) seem to think that the totality of the season should dictate who wins the Cup. Nascar used to be that way but they deliberately chose to go away from that - and the main reason is that if you have a format that comes down to the final event, you can manufacture more drama and intrigue. It's certainly the way most other sports are setup. The 2007 Patriots went 16-0 and then lost the Super Bowl. They weren't the NFL champions. In college, it's not uncommon for undefeated, higher-seeded teams to lose the National Championship game.

Nascar has chosen to go away from cumulative winner in favor of a "championship game" format. I can't blame them - it's more dramatic and makes for a better finish to the season (in my opinion), but I also recognize that others still want points racing. But you can't do it both ways, if someone can wrap up the season before the final event, that's not a "championship game" - and Nascar isn't going to reverse this philosophy any time soon.
 
superchuck500 said:
I think this comes down to a fundamental question of how the Cup should be awarded. You (and others) seem to think that the totality of the season should dictate who wins the Cup. Nascar used to be that way but they deliberately chose to go away from that - and the main reason is that if you have a format that comes down to the final event, you can manufacture more drama and intrigue. It's certainly the way most other sports are setup. The 2007 Patriots went 16-0 and then lost the Super Bowl. They weren't the NFL champions. In college, it's not uncommon for undefeated, higher-seeded teams to lose the National Championship game.

Nascar has chosen to go away from cumulative winner in favor of a "championship game" format. I can't blame them - it's more dramatic and makes for a better finish to the season (in my opinion), but I also recognize that others still want points racing. But you can't do it both ways, if someone can wrap up the season before the final event, that's not a "championship game" - and Nascar isn't going to reverse this philosophy any time soon.
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You mentioned " manufactured drama", is that what you truly want or do you actually want the real thing?;)
 
superchuck500 said:
I think this comes down to a fundamental question of how the Cup should be awarded. You (and others) seem to think that the totality of the season should dictate who wins the Cup. Nascar used to be that way but they deliberately chose to go away from that - and the main reason is that if you have a format that comes down to the final event, you can manufacture more drama and intrigue. It's certainly the way most other sports are setup. The 2007 Patriots went 16-0 and then lost the Super Bowl. They weren't the NFL champions. In college, it's not uncommon for undefeated, higher-seeded teams to lose the National Championship game.

Nascar has chosen to go away from cumulative winner in favor of a "championship game" format. I can't blame them - it's more dramatic and makes for a better finish to the season (in my opinion), but I also recognize that others still want points racing. But you can't do it both ways, if someone can wrap up the season before the final event, that's not a "championship game" - and Nascar isn't going to reverse this philosophy any time soon.
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I really don't care how other Sports are set up....... that the Patriots went 16-0 and lost the Championship,,,,,,, when Nascar had the most viewership and attendance...... they went with consistency...... not a lottery system.... they also had folks in charge that understood racing..... I disagree that if someone wraps up the season before the final race that it's not a Championship...... they earned it fair and square...... or.... as you said..... ''not a Championship game''........ to hell with a ''Championship game''..... I'd rather see that than a manufactured last race..... I was never a fan of the WWF or the WWE.....
 
Mopardh9 said:
You mentioned " manufactured drama", is that what you truly want or do you actually want the real thing?;)
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Ha - well, that's semantic. I think some formats tend to more drama than others, so they do "manufacture" it by design. The English Premier League has no playoffs, it's just points in the regular season. Sometimes it comes down to the final game of the season - but often it doesn't. The NFL, on other other hand, has a very dramatic playoff format with single-elimination games.

It's really just what philosophy you want to take on how to award your championship.
 
superchuck500 said:
Ha - well, that's semantic. I think some formats tend to more drama than others, so they do "manufacture" it by design. The English Premier League has no playoffs, it's just points in the regular season. Sometimes it comes down to the final game of the season - but often it doesn't. The NFL, on other other hand, has a very dramatic playoff format with single-elimination games.

It's really just what philosophy you want to take on how to award your championship.
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There is no semantics here at all, either fake or real...pretty simple.
 
superchuck500 said:
I think this comes down to a fundamental question of how the Cup should be awarded. You (and others) seem to think that the totality of the season should dictate who wins the Cup. Nascar used to be that way but they deliberately chose to go away from that - and the main reason is that if you have a format that comes down to the final event, you can manufacture more drama and intrigue. It's certainly the way most other sports are setup. The 2007 Patriots went 16-0 and then lost the Super Bowl. They weren't the NFL champions. In college, it's not uncommon for undefeated, higher-seeded teams to lose the National Championship game.

Nascar has chosen to go away from cumulative winner in favor of a "championship game" format. I can't blame them - it's more dramatic and makes for a better finish to the season (in my opinion), but I also recognize that others still want points racing. But you can't do it both ways, if someone can wrap up the season before the final event, that's not a "championship game" - and Nascar isn't going to reverse this philosophy any time soon.
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Your post begs the question that if Nascar is providing pretty good racing and pretty good championship formula why were the last 10 races the least watched since 2004 and why was they last race the least watch finale ever? I am not trying to be argumentative but just trying to figure out that if things are better why is attendance and viewership so poor?
 
kymartin6 said:
I really don't care how other Sports are set up....... that the Patriots went 16-0 and lost the Championship,,,,,,, when Nascar had the most viewership and attendance...... they went with consistency...... not a lottery system.... they also had folks in charge that understood racing..... I disagree that if someone wraps up the season before the final race that it's not a Championship...... they earned it fair and square...... or.... as you said..... ''not a Championship game''........ to hell with a ''Championship game''..... I'd rather see that than a manufactured last race..... I was never a fan of the WWF or the WWE.....
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I don't think that's a fair comparison (to wresting). The racing is still real, come on.

You obviously disagree with the championship game format. That's fine - I get the argument. But Nascar has chosen to go with a championship game format.
 
superchuck500 said:
I don't think that's a fair comparison (to wresting). The racing is still real, come on.

You obviously disagree with the championship game format. That's fine - I get the argument. But Nascar has chosen to go with a championship game format.
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You were the one that mentioned''manufactured''...... that sure resembles WWF or WWE.......
 
superchuck500 said:
I don't think that's a fair comparison (to wresting). The racing is still real, come on.

You obviously disagree with the championship game format. That's fine - I get the argument. But Nascar has chosen to go with a championship game format.
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I don't think that Nascar is full on WWE but it certainly has elements of it in the way they manage races.
 
Just watched the end of the Phoenix race on my DVR.....absolutely loved how Chase took out Hamlin with surgical precision, made it look like “one of them racing deals”and loved even more how the crowd went wild when Denny wrecked. I feel like this race was my favorite of the year, more so than Martinsville. As for the year itself...I give it a B- really cool to see the youth movement ascend but troubling to see guys who have something left in the tank like Matt Kenseth and a certain exten Kurt Busch maybe pushed out.
 
Mopardh9 said:
What I watched of the races this year I saw the same issues rear their ugly heads, but yeh there were decent races, but not enough of them for me to say this was in any means a great season. Truex should of wrapped up the Championship before Phoenix, but because of the stupid playoff structured points he didn't. I think there would of been hell to pay if he didn't win the championship, that being said I'm not expecting much change for next year in the terms of quality racing, but I hops Nascar surprises me.
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In another thread you mentioned watching single digit races...
 
Michfan said:
In another thread you mentioned watching single digit races...
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Yes correct...I watched a total of 3 ...start to finish, but saw quite a few of the last 20 laps of many races. Iowa, Daytona, and Homestead I watched start to finish.
 
I was entertained by the racing this year. Really enjoyed seeing the younger guys mix it up. Hopefully next year TNT will cover the races.
 
I've enjoyed this season. I'm always reluctant to embrace changes but the segments have added to the intensity of the race - basically, three times during the race the drivers get up on the wheel and go for a reward. I was impressed with Truex this season, you could see him upping his game last year. I was surprised to see Hendricks performance fall off like it did but I've seen top teams fall off before. Chase showed up the veterans at Hendricks. The Gibbs team has replaced Hendricks as the dominate team; they have been developing their organization for some time and having top drivers made a difference. I was happy to see the young guns come in and succeed. Larson was my biggest surprise, I thought for sure that Larson and Truex would be to two favorites coming down to the last race - it almost came down to those two for the last lap of the season. I am bummed to see Kenseth without a ride; Kenseth and Jr represent an era for me.
 
superchuck500 said:
I don't think that's a fair comparison (to wresting). The racing is still real, come on.

You obviously disagree with the championship game format. That's fine - I get the argument. But Nascar has chosen to go with a championship game format.
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Which is failing, so why stick with it?
 
superchuck500 said:
I think this comes down to a fundamental question of how the Cup should be awarded. You (and others) seem to think that the totality of the season should dictate who wins the Cup. Nascar used to be that way but they deliberately chose to go away from that - and the main reason is that if you have a format that comes down to the final event, you can manufacture more drama and intrigue. It's certainly the way most other sports are setup. The 2007 Patriots went 16-0 and then lost the Super Bowl. They weren't the NFL champions. In college, it's not uncommon for undefeated, higher-seeded teams to lose the National Championship game.

Nascar has chosen to go away from cumulative winner in favor of a "championship game" format. I can't blame them - it's more dramatic and makes for a better finish to the season (in my opinion), but I also recognize that others still want points racing. But you can't do it both ways, if someone can wrap up the season before the final event, that's not a "championship game" - and Nascar isn't going to reverse this philosophy any time soon.
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Excellent assessment.
 
I'm sorry to see all the racing series seasons end from F1 to NHRA to local short tracks.I'll be watching Street Outlaws new season on Monday.Any racing is better than no racing
 
Jeff Gluck has 76% of respondents saying that this was a good season. Thoughts regarding the accuracy of such an assessment.....This would mean that three in every four posts here would say that this wasn't a good season. Seems generous to me. Do the members here have a problem, or is Jeff's data BS? Discuss.
 
formula racer said:
I'm sorry to see all the racing series seasons end from F1 to NHRA to local short tracks.I'll be watching Street Outlaws new season on Monday.Any racing is better than no racing
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me too..I call it the dark days.:D Street Outlaws has made some changes that I like. Going to steel bodies only instead of running full on pro mods is a good move. They were starting to lose me as a fan.
 
Revman said:
Jeff Gluck has 76% of respondents saying that this was a good season. Thoughts regarding the accuracy of such an assessment.....This would mean that three in every four posts here would say that this wasn't a good season. Seems generous to me. Do the members here have a problem, or is Jeff's data BS? Discuss.
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Biased
 
Revman said:
Jeff Gluck has 76% of respondents saying that this was a good season. Thoughts regarding the accuracy of such an assessment.....This would mean that three in every four posts here would say that this wasn't a good season. Seems generous to me. Do the members here have a problem, or is Jeff's data BS? Discuss.
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I follow Gluck's surveys and fan opinions closely. Much broader audience, wider age group, geography, you name it. Having said that, his track rating surveys that he takes are very close to our own ToyYota's. 76% I think is a good number.
 
StandOnIt said:
I follow Gluck's surveys and fan opinions closely. Much broader audience, wider age group, geography, you name it. Having said that, his track rating surveys that he takes are very close to our own ToyYota's. 76% I think is a good number.
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Not bad?
 
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