What exactly was better about NASCAR back in the day, and why was that way better?

Skoalbandit33 said:
Nascar used to have a presence in many places it no longer does. In my area it is not uncommon for churches to host super bowl parties as many of the newer buildings have state of the art facilities and are a genuine part of the community. Some used to have get togethers for the Daytona 500 but those are things of the past now.

There were little stores selling Nascar merchandise, pools, games, signs, car tags, decals, shirts, caps and a whole bunch more that no longer exists. In my area if you stop into a tavern on a Sunday afternoon they will be showing baseball games, golf, hoops and other sports but no Nascar. You can get one of the smaller sets turned to Nascar providing it wasn't already showing something that was being watched. When I think back to it I am shocked as Nascar generated a lot of interest and dollars 10-15 years ago but now people in my area are more interested in lawn darts.
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That's something I grip about a lot. Nascar stuff used to be everywhere. Gas stations, grocery stores, big chains like Walmart and Kmart. You couldn't go into one without seeing some kind of Nascar promo. Now it's almost invisible. Kmart still had some merch for the big names like Dale Jr., Kyle B, Kenseth, etc. but my Kmart is now closing. Walmart has nothing Nascar except for 2 or 3 kinds of 1/64. No hats, no shirts, no cards, nothing. The amount of merch declined gradually at first, then it all just pretty much vanished entirely.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
See, I don't think the overall broadcasts were as good in the 90s. I loved Bob, Ned and Benny and I loved Eli Gold on TNN, but I think people still love these for nostalgia.

Ken Squier was getting bad in his later years. One race, the dude talked about Ernie Irvan making passes on the track when he was in a hospital. One race, Dale Earnhardt started 20-something so, at the drop of the green flag, CBS aired nothing but Dale Earnhardt until he ended up crashing. Everything about TBS was terrible except for that epic Edd Kalehoff music. TNN was great because they had so much motorsports coverage.

But when FOX came along in 2001, they raised the bar so high. They introduced the horizontal graphics that didn't obstruct the screen space. I was blown away watching the 2001 Daytona 500. The CBS and TNN telecasts, and even the almighty ESPN broadcasts of the 90s, looked like amateur productions compared to what FOX brought in 2001. And NBC, the trio of Allen Bestwick/Wally Dallenbach/Benny Parsons was my favorite trio. Loved the Bob/Ned/BP trio on ESPN and the Ralph Sheheen/Kyle Petty/Wally Dallenbach trio on TNT as well.



ESPN was pure sh!t when they came back in 2007.

I love FOX's broadcasts now, especially with Jeff Gordon in the booth. NBC has a beautiful graphics package and amazing production and camera work when they're not at commercial. And I'm just not a big fan of Jeff Burton in the booth, but that's just my irrelevant opinion.
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I agree about Ken Squire. He was awful in the mid to late 90s. I remember Bobby Labontes first win, he seemed to forget to call the finish. Ernie Irvan was a guest color man, he called Bobby to the finish line.
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
I have noticed from this and other posts that graphics in NASCAR broadcasts are important to you and I have no issue with that at all. However graphics are just an annoyance to me and take up space on the screen. I don't give a hoot about what place Ricky Stenhouse is in or how many seconds he is in front of Aric Almirola. I don't give a crap about seeing how many seconds the first place car is in front of the third place car as it isn't important to me.

Give me the expert analysis of Ned, the play by play of Bob and everyman commentary of Benny in standard definition any day over the bloated and self serving crap today. How many of you remember hearing Ned's stop watch when it was quiet in the booth? How about the wonderful overhead shots that immediately showed you where you car was and how it was handling? Do you remember the side cam and other worthless camera angles? Of course you don't as ESPN and other broadcasters didn't do stupid sh!t like that back then. Stick and ball sports have adapted and NASCAR has suffered dumbass attack upon dumbass attacks.
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I like how ESPN had just the top 10 car numbers on the left side of the screen back then. That worked fine for me.

I also miss "Winston Cup replay" ESPN did in the late 80s and early 90s. I started watching Nascar in 1990. This recaps helped me to learn a lot about the previous season.
 
Bowtie3 said:
I agree about Ken Squire. He was awful in the mid to late 90s. I remember Bobby Labontes first win, he seemed to forget to call the finish. Ernie Irvan was a guest color man, he called Bobby to the finish line.
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CBS and TBS were so bad, so so so so bad. I couldn't stand when the races were on CBS. Ken Squier was so forgetful and had a man-crush on Earnhardt and I could never understand what Buddy Baker was saying. TBS' coverage was just bad all around except for that epic music.

If the coverage of the 90s existed today, fans would RAGE over the missed wrecks, missed lead changes, focus on one single driver, extremely obstructive graphics and bland commentary.
 
The fact that nascar now has joined the everyone get a trophy team with the new format. Liked the elimination race dont like the new qualifying format but know this?
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
I have noticed from this and other posts that graphics in NASCAR broadcasts are important to you and I have no issue with that at all. However graphics are just an annoyance to me and take up space on the screen. I don't give a hoot about what place Ricky Stenhouse is in or how many seconds he is in front of Aric Almirola. I don't give a crap about seeing how many seconds the first place car is in front of the third place car as it isn't important to me.
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It's nice to know what lap the race is on and who's running where, especially if you turn it on at halfway or something. And NBC's graphics also note things such as pit road penalties, free pass recipients or other announcements coming from race control that don't get mentioned by the announcers. I also like seeing the intervals because you can see from the Fox and NBC tickers when the second place car is closing in on the leaders when they're busy talking about what shoes Kyle Busch put on this morning or what Kevin Harvick ate for dinner last night.

I haven't watched a race from start-to-finish since Sonoma last June so it's nice to tune in on lap 146 and have a pretty good idea what's going on.

Skoalbandit33 said:
Give me the expert analysis of Ned, the play by play of Bob and everyman commentary of Benny in standard definition any day over the bloated and self serving crap today. How many of you remember hearing Ned's stop watch when it was quiet in the booth? How about the wonderful overhead shots that immediately showed you where you car was and how it was handling? Do you remember the side cam and other worthless camera angles? Of course you don't as ESPN and other broadcasters didn't do stupid sh!t like that back then. Stick and ball sports have adapted and NASCAR has suffered dumbass attack upon dumbass attacks.
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How many times did a crash happen and you not know what happened because they only had five cameras at the track and, if one of the cars didn't have an on board camera, you were **** out of luck? How many times did a lead change happen and nobody have a clue what was going on because the cameras were fixated on Dale Earnhardt's car? How many times were there multiple things happening at once but you couldn't see because picture in picture technology didn't make its way to NASCAR until FOX took over in 2001?

I love the 90s and I loved Bob, Ned and Benny. I grew up watching those guys. But I'll take FOX's coverage of today over ESPN's coverage of yesterday. Of course, I'm not a stubborn old prick who is stuck in the past and can't accept the fact that everything evolves over time. You probably also hate the Star Wars "Special Edition" changes too, even though the majority of them actually enhanced the movies, in a positive way.
 
I don't understand all the hate Ken Squier gets. Squier was a throwback to an earlier era of broadcasting where commentators tried to have unique takes rather than be as milquetoast as possible. Squier belongs with guys like Brent Musberger, Keith Jackson, and Harry Caray as being very divisive, but who always made listening to the broadcast more fun. You'd always get a couple "I can't believe he said that!" moments.

Also, don't forget, Squier joined NASCAR in an era where the national public didn't know about it. Building up the drama of the moment on the track was important. If he was overzealous for Earnhardt, it's because Earnhardt was the best thing that NASCAR had going for it.
 
Bowtie3 said:
I like how ESPN had just the top 10 car numbers on the left side of the screen back then. That worked fine for me.
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So did I. But then, they changed it and put a big box at the top of the screen just like TNN and CBS. Actually, IIRC, TNN eventually switched to using a horizontal ticker in the later years.

I still haven't gotten used to the "Fox Box" but at least the crawl has been retired.
 
I really liked when NASCAR had races on TNN in the summer, Eli Gold just had that great voice. I wish he still did NASCAR on TV, he'd be my number 1 guy. I think he might be on the MRN Network if I am not mistaken. Does he still do Alabama football?
 
29-4 said:
I don't understand all the hate Ken Squier gets. Squier was a throwback to an earlier era of broadcasting where commentators tried to have unique takes rather than be as milquetoast as possible. Squier belongs with guys like Brent Musberger, Keith Jackson, and Harry Caray as being very divisive, but who always made listening to the broadcast more fun. You'd always get a couple "I can't believe he said that!" moments.

Also, don't forget, Squier joined NASCAR in an era where the national public didn't know about it. Building up the drama of the moment on the track was important. If he was overzealous for Earnhardt, it's because Earnhardt was the best thing that NASCAR had going for it.
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I don't hate Ken Squier, quite the opposite actually. But he was bad in his final years of calling races. It was a combination of his memory lapses and his man-crush on Earnhardt. This was also happening at the same time that Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett, Rusty Wallace and the Labonte brothers were running ****.

After Earnhardt won his sixth championship in 1994 (yes, I counted that right), in spite of Rusty Wallace ****** DOMINATING that season in the "W" column, he never really did much of anything. Jeff Gordon completely shut Earnhardt down. But the broadcasts still revolved around him.:rolleyes:

Snappy D said:
I think he might be on the MRN Network if I am not mistaken. Does he still do Alabama football?
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He's not with MRN anymore, but he does still do Alabama. ESPN actually had the Alabama radio call synced up with the ESPN TV feed on one of the ESPN networks for the National Championship game. That's what I watched.
 
CamelPowered said:
That's something I grip about a lot. Nascar stuff used to be everywhere. Gas stations, grocery stores, big chains like Walmart and Kmart. You couldn't go into one without seeing some kind of Nascar promo. Now it's almost invisible. Kmart still had some merch for the big names like Dale Jr., Kyle B, Kenseth, etc. but my Kmart is now closing. Walmart has nothing Nascar except for 2 or 3 kinds of 1/64. No hats, no shirts, no cards, nothing. The amount of merch declined gradually at first, then it all just pretty much vanished entirely.
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Even the pop machines had Nascar drivers on them and there were a lot of cardboard cut outs of drivers in different retailers. In a lot of cases you don't really realize how much of a presence Nascar had until you start to think about how things used to be.
 
Matthew2470 said:
Nostalgia is a hell of a drug.
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A good summary of this thread. Over 130 replies, and the vast majority of them pine for a simpler time when men competed with simpler tools. And yet almost nothing is mentioned that is actionable. Sorry, but "Make it 1978 again" is not actionable. We decry the inevitable evolution brought about by the spirit of competition. A task worth doing is worth doing well. Competing in Nascar races is a worthwhile task, and yet we hate that the drivers and teams do their best to be successful.

We liked the suspense created by poor reliability. Blown motors and other broken parts mean races are lost, but we hate that the teams worked and innovated to do a better job. Weird.

We want fewer rules and more room to innovate. But we hate engineers and the innovations they have brought. Also weird.

We love the close finish of the Daytona 24 Hours, but we ignore the wave upon wave of BoP revisions to manipulate it, including literally dozens of adjustments AFTER qualifying last year. And we also ignore the 22 full course cautions that consumed nearly half of this year's race, including two in the final hour.

I fully understand looking over the history of Nascar and having a favorite era from the past. I get that. What I don't get is the next step beyond that, vowing that because that favorite era is gone, everything that came after is crap and deserves nothing but disdain.

To me, Nascar's hook is competition between drivers and teams on the racetrack. Hard edged, brass knuckle competition. It's always been prominent at the front of the grid, and continues unfettered today. The field has never been deeper in quality entrees. And the championship format has never rewarded winning as much as now, so I can live with it despite the needless complexity and the regrettable winner-take-all finale at Homestead.
 
My favorite thing about the 90s and early 2000s wasn't the TV coverage or the Cup Series, it was the Super Truck Series, Winter Heat Series and the Busch Grand National Series. Loved watching those races on the bullrings of North Carolina and Virginia (and all over the country).

I love my short tracks :wub:
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
It's nice to know what lap the race is on and who's running where, especially if you turn it on at halfway or something. And NBC's graphics also note things such as pit road penalties, free pass recipients or other announcements coming from race control that don't get mentioned by the announcers. I also like seeing the intervals because you can see from the Fox and NBC tickers when the second place car is closing in on the leaders when they're busy talking about what shoes Kyle Busch put on this morning or what Kevin Harvick ate for dinner last night.

I haven't watched a race from start-to-finish since Sonoma last June so it's nice to tune in on lap 146 and have a pretty good idea what's going on.



How many times did a crash happen and you not know what happened because they only had five cameras at the track and, if one of the cars didn't have an on board camera, you were sh!t out of luck? How many times did a lead change happen and nobody have a clue what was going on because the cameras were fixated on Dale Earnhardt's car? How many times were there multiple things happening at once but you couldn't see because picture in picture technology didn't make its way to NASCAR until FOX took over in 2001?

I love the 90s and I loved Bob, Ned and Benny. I grew up watching those guys. But I'll take FOX's coverage of today over ESPN's coverage of yesterday. Of course, I'm not a stubborn old prick who is stuck in the past and can't accept the fact that everything evolves over time. You probably also hate the Star Wars "Special Edition" changes too, even though the majority of them actually enhanced the movies, in a positive way.
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I am not saying it never happened but NBC misses more wrecks than I ever recall ESPN missing and I don't recall them missing lead changes either. Sounds like revisionist history to me.

Regarding Star Wars I saw all 3 at the movie theater with the first being in 1977 and disliked them all as I found them as dull as dishwater. I wasn't aware the franchise was still around or that there were special editions.

You need to delete/edit your post and also apologize for essentially calling me a miserable old prick. Just because I enjoyed ESPN coverage in the 80's'/90's and don't care about graphics doesn't make me old, miserable or a prick. It means that I like different things then you do. I don't know you but I am sure you would not care for me to categorize you as some slacker snowflake that is living in mom and dad's basement because you refuse to take responsibility for your life by getting a real job in a real profession making real money.
 
LewTheShoe said:
We love the close finish of the Daytona 24 Hours, but we ignore the wave upon wave of BoP revisions to manipulate it, including literally dozens of adjustments AFTER qualifying last year.
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Le Mans?

I agree with a lot of the that though. It's hard to unlearn engineering innovations. Not a whole lot you can do there.
 
LewTheShoe said:
A good summary of this thread. Over 130 replies, and the vast majority of them pine for a simpler time when men competed with simpler tools. And yet almost nothing is mentioned that is actionable. Sorry, but "Make it 1978 again" is not actionable. We decry the inevitable evolution brought about by the spirit of competition. A task worth doing is worth doing well. Competing in Nascar races is a worthwhile task, and yet we hate that the drivers and teams do their best to be successful.

We liked the suspense created by poor reliability. Blown motors and other broken parts mean races are lost, but we hate that the teams worked and innovated to do a better job. Weird.

We want fewer rules and more room to innovate. But we hate engineers and the innovations they have brought. Also weird.

We love the close finish of the Daytona 24 Hours, but we ignore the wave upon wave of BoP revisions to manipulate it, including literally dozens of adjustments AFTER qualifying last year. And we also ignore the 22 full course cautions that consumed nearly half of this year's race, including two in the final hour.

I fully understand looking over the history of Nascar and having a favorite era from the past. I get that. What I don't get is the next step beyond that, vowing that because that favorite era is gone, everything that came after is crap and deserves nothing but disdain.

To me, Nascar's hook is competition between drivers and teams on the racetrack. Hard edged, brass knuckle competition. It's always been prominent at the front of the grid, and continues unfettered today. The field has never been deeper in quality entrees. And the championship format has never rewarded winning as much as now, so I can live with it despite the needless complexity and the regrettable winner-take-all finale at Homestead.
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I am not so much pining for a simpler time as I am wanting to enjoy the product similarly to what I did years ago. Both football and hockey are much different than when I first started watching and while they are not perfect they weren't perfect years ago either. I absolutely love old cars as in many cases they were rolling pieces of art but I am also glad when I apply the brakes going down a hill I am not depending on 4 wheel drums anymore. I love reading and still like the smell and feel of a book binding but it also great to be able to have thousands and thousands of books available on my iPad. I liked the music I grew up with but as I have got older I have come to like all sorts of genres both older and "newer" than me.

My point is that I have experienced a lot of change over my lifetime and it has been normally seamless and often beneficial. Just because Nascar and its myriad of changes have been less than satisfactory for many people doesn't mean they are somehow backward or cannot adapt. It just means that they liked what they saw at an earlier time than what they see today. If the series was robust and new tracks were being built and seats be added it would be one thing but evidently there are millions of people who preferred the Nascar of yesteryear as each year less and less people follow it.
 
2 Sweet said:
Almost every year you had a surprise winner or two. Hell, Ward Burton won a race in the Bill Davis 22 car the same year he got fired from Al Dillard's team. He won in the same 22 car that failed to qualify for a couple races earlier in the year with Randy Lajoie. You'll never see anything like that nowadays.
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2001 was the pinnacle...nineteen different winners in one season. Such a deep field.
 
LewTheShoe said:
A good summary of this thread. Over 130 replies, and the vast majority of them pine for a simpler time when men competed with simpler tools. And yet almost nothing is mentioned that is actionable. Sorry, but "Make it 1978 again" is not actionable. We decry the inevitable evolution brought about by the spirit of competition. A task worth doing is worth doing well. Competing in Nascar races is a worthwhile task, and yet we hate that the drivers and teams do their best to be successful.

We liked the suspense created by poor reliability. Blown motors and other broken parts mean races are lost, but we hate that the teams worked and innovated to do a better job. Weird.

We want fewer rules and more room to innovate. But we hate engineers and the innovations they have brought. Also weird.

We love the close finish of the Daytona 24 Hours, but we ignore the wave upon wave of BoP revisions to manipulate it, including literally dozens of adjustments AFTER qualifying last year. And we also ignore the 22 full course cautions that consumed nearly half of this year's race, including two in the final hour.

I fully understand looking over the history of Nascar and having a favorite era from the past. I get that. What I don't get is the next step beyond that, vowing that because that favorite era is gone, everything that came after is crap and deserves nothing but disdain.

To me, Nascar's hook is competition between drivers and teams on the racetrack. Hard edged, brass knuckle competition. It's always been prominent at the front of the grid, and continues unfettered today. The field has never been deeper in quality entrees. And the championship format has never rewarded winning as much as now, so I can live with it despite the needless complexity and the regrettable winner-take-all finale at Homestead.
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The real problem is the manufactured drama, be it phantom debris cautions or the yellow coming out for someone barely brushing the wall. The playoff format sucks ass, no matter the version. The BS continues now with scheduled breaks in the action. Taking periodic breaks from racing isn't racing. Also, there is no continuity with regard to imposed penalties. I love that Kyle Busch has a championship and winning seven races after a devastating wreck and horrific injury is nothing short of monumental but missing part of the season should automatically disqualify a driver from competing for the championship. Brian thinks he's fooling the fans into believing that these things are dramatic. Fans don't like to be fooled and manipulated as evidenced by tanking ratings and attendance.
Racing was never simple times with simple tools; everyone has the same opportunity and has access to the same technology regardless of era.
I'm not sure I understand your claim that fans "hate that the drivers and teams do their best to be successful" or "hate engineers and innovation."
Success is what drivers and teams strive for. Engineering and innovation is what makes auto racing safer and more competitive. Goofy convoluted point systems, scheduled breaks in race action and stick and ball playoff formats have zero to do with success, engineering or innovation.
 
sdj said:
Man oh Man (to quote the late BP) does the 2017 race season for ever more need to get started!
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We need to get back to racing. Whatever form that may be segments, new points system, etc). The lack of something worthy to watch and focus on has led me to BMR way too much lately...Bitch, Moan & Repeat. ;)
 
Matthew2470 said:
Nostalgia is a hell of a drug.
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Lack of comprehensive doesn't negate the great racing that happened before your time. And it is obvious from the passion that flows in this thread, that many were inspired.

It was freaking great and many here that saw it obviously agree. It did have some downers, not as many quality cars is most obvious. I dont intentionally deny the fact. It was also much more dangerous and I glad that is better now. Too many died.

But those bad asses on the bias ply tires, with some warts, lack of couth etc, still were better than I can articulate. I got out of bed on Mondays waiting for Saturday night and Sunday. It was beyond my religion, I made people around me sick with my passion. Honestly a friend coached me on how to talk about something besides racing to civilians.

I cant speak for others but I bet I wasn't the only one.
 
I hate when Nostalgia is looked down upon. In my opinion racing was just better back than. In all facets. What does NASCAR really do great now that would make someone new to auto racing want to come back next week and more importantly make them a fan of this series? I seriously can't answer that. Indy Car is about to pass NASCAR and real soon. The racing is bad ass,authentic points format, car kits are about to change to make them look like Indy Cars again, schedule is diverse and Verizon is going in the right direction with promotion. If I was the same age as a kid I was when I discovered NASCAR, not sure I'd be a fan with Indy Car the way it is now. Not trying to make an Indy vs NASCAR thread, just my opinion.
 
If anything, after experiencing it first hand the IMSA Weathertech Series is a sleeping giant. Racing awesome, many different drivers and manufactures. Driver access unparalleled. I had a great time last month at my first race, will watch now on TV and hope to attend in August at Road America.
 
Greg said:
Lack of comprehensive doesn't negate the great racing that happened before your time. And it is obvious from the passion that flows in this thread, that many were inspired.

It was freaking great and many here that saw it obviously agree. It did have some downers, not as many quality cars is most obvious. I dont intentionally deny the fact. It was also much more dangerous and I glad that is better now. Too many died.

But those bad asses on the bias ply tires, with some warts, lack of couth etc, still were better than I can articulate. I got out of bed on Mondays waiting for Saturday night and Sunday. It was beyond my religion, I made people around me sick with my passion. Honestly a friend coached me on how to talk about something besides racing to civilians.

I cant speak for others but I bet I wasn't the only one.
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Good old Harry Gant could do 500 laps at Bristol and look fresh as a daisy and as handsome as ever. He didn't have a cool suit and never needed to have IV's to get re-hydrated after a race. Those old guys were as tough as nails.
 
LewTheShoe said:
A good summary of this thread. Over 130 replies, and the vast majority of them pine for a simpler time when men competed with simpler tools. And yet almost nothing is mentioned that is actionable. Sorry, but "Make it 1978 again" is not actionable. We decry the inevitable evolution brought about by the spirit of competition. A task worth doing is worth doing well. Competing in Nascar races is a worthwhile task, and yet we hate that the drivers and teams do their best to be successful.

We liked the suspense created by poor reliability. Blown motors and other broken parts mean races are lost, but we hate that the teams worked and innovated to do a better job. Weird.

We want fewer rules and more room to innovate. But we hate engineers and the innovations they have brought. Also weird.

We love the close finish of the Daytona 24 Hours, but we ignore the wave upon wave of BoP revisions to manipulate it, including literally dozens of adjustments AFTER qualifying last year. And we also ignore the 22 full course cautions that consumed nearly half of this year's race, including two in the final hour.

I fully understand looking over the history of Nascar and having a favorite era from the past. I get that. What I don't get is the next step beyond that, vowing that because that favorite era is gone, everything that came after is crap and deserves nothing but disdain.

To me, Nascar's hook is competition between drivers and teams on the racetrack. Hard edged, brass knuckle competition. It's always been prominent at the front of the grid, and continues unfettered today. The field has never been deeper in quality entrees. And the championship format has never rewarded winning as much as now, so I can live with it despite the needless complexity and the regrettable winner-take-all finale at Homestead.
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Thread title is :

"What exactly was better about NASCAR back in the day, and why was that way better?"

I would say I am sorry that over an 100 passionate answers didnt satisfy, but that would be untruthful. I actually think the replies have stayed remarkably on target with the original question.
In fact, I feel the point of view has been validated with a lot of passionate energy. Thank you.

And I will try to offer some some actionable thoughts, but not as the expense of the positive recollections. After all that is the thread premise, and I not interested in curbing my enthusiasm.
 
Snappy D said:
I hate when Nostalgia is looked down upon. In my opinion racing was just better back than. In all facets. What does NASCAR really do great now that would make someone new to auto racing want to come back next week and more importantly make them a fan of this series? I seriously can't answer that. Indy Car is about to pass NASCAR and real soon. The racing is bad ass,authentic points format, car kits are about to change to make them look like Indy Cars again, schedule is diverse and Verizon is going in the right direction with promotion. If I was the same age as a kid I was when I discovered NASCAR, not sure I'd be a fan with Indy Car the way it is now. Not trying to make an Indy vs NASCAR thread, just my opinion.
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I haven"t even attended an INDYCAR race yet but made my way up to Pocono last summer to catch practice and qualifying for the ABC Supply 500 and was impressed with the speed and the atmosphere. I will probably return this summer and add a pit pass to my experience. I like dipping my toes in before I leap into the pool.

INDYCAR reached rock bottom years ago and seems to be on an upward trajectory. Perhaps NASCAR needs to hit rock bottom before becoming fan-friendly again. Otherwise, we soon may get electric versions of this on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series:

FPW16D41DIS-3939_0.jpg
 
Two different chevrolet bodies in a single race, and two different....
kYLEANDRICHARD.jpg
1977richardkylenashville.jpg
 
Snappy D said:
I hate when Nostalgia is looked down upon. In my opinion racing was just better back than. In all facets. What does NASCAR really do great now that would make someone new to auto racing want to come back next week and more importantly make them a fan of this series? I seriously can't answer that. Indy Car is about to pass NASCAR and real soon. The racing is bad ass,authentic points format, car kits are about to change to make them look like Indy Cars again, schedule is diverse and Verizon is going in the right direction with promotion. If I was the same age as a kid I was when I discovered NASCAR, not sure I'd be a fan with Indy Car the way it is now. Not trying to make an Indy vs NASCAR thread, just my opinion.
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Snappy D said:
If anything, after experiencing it first hand the IMSA Weathertech Series is a sleeping giant. Racing awesome, many different drivers and manufactures. Driver access unparalleled. I had a great time last month at my first race, will watch now on TV and hope to attend in August at Road America.
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I'm a huge fan of IndyCar and IMSA and they've both certainly gotten their heads on straight and taken a turn for the better recently. But, it would take something catastrophic for one or both to pass NASCAR in the States. Something like a split that would entirely fracture the sport, as both American open wheel and sports car racing have seen before. I don't think we'll see anything like that with NASCAR any time soon.
 
Snappy D said:
I really liked when NASCAR had races on TNN in the summer, Eli Gold just had that great voice. I wish he still did NASCAR on TV, he'd be my number 1 guy. I think he might be on the MRN Network if I am not mistaken. Does he still do Alabama football?
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Touchdown Alabama!!! You bet he does!!!
 
Go back to the 2003 pt system, get rid of phantom cautions and GWCs that would fix a ton for me.
 
FLRacingFan said:
I'm a huge fan of IndyCar and IMSA and they've both certainly gotten their heads on straight and taken a turn for the better recently. But, it would take something catastrophic for one or both to pass NASCAR in the States. Something like a split that would entirely fracture the sport, as both American open wheel and sports car racing have seen before. I don't think we'll see anything like that with NASCAR any time soon.
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I think Nascar will always be top dog but if current trends hold we could see a record number of races this year with less than 3 million viewers and then some fall below 2 million in 2018. The gap between IndyCar and Nascar could get a lot closer.
 
Skoalbandit33 said:
Good old Harry Gant could do 500 laps at Bristol and look fresh as a daisy and as handsome as ever. He didn't have a cool suit and never needed to have IV's to get re-hydrated after a race. Those old guys were as tough as nails.
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I thought it was racing... you know, to compete and win. Sigh. It's all so confusing.
 
Greg said:
Thread title is :

"What exactly was better about NASCAR back in the day, and why was that way better?"

I would say I am sorry that over an 100 passionate answers didnt satisfy, but that would be untruthful. I actually think the replies have stayed remarkably on target with the original question.
In fact, I feel the point of view has been validated with a lot of passionate energy. Thank you.

And I will try to offer some some actionable thoughts, but not as the expense of the positive recollections. After all that is the thread premise, and I not interested in curbing my enthusiasm.
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Good post, Greg. I too appreciate the passion for racing in earlier times (and in current times as well). As I said in my post - that one you quoted - the main hook of Nascar to me has always been its gritty, hard nosed competition between drivers and teams. Real racers really race. And that's as true today as it ever was.
 
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