What if your Driver Said This About the Daytona 500?

DIDIT

DIDIT

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Maybe I am too out of touch with F1...

“Monaco is the biggest race of the calendar in Formula One and the event is amazing, not only the race on Sunday but the whole weekend is amazing but the best result that we achieved was last year, fifth,” Alonso said. “Thinking that we are a little bit less competitive this year, you know and maybe you had a possibility to do another top five or seven or six or wherever, it’s great to have some points but I’ve won a couple of times there already and two times World Champion so to have fifth, seventh or ninth in Monaco will not change my life."
 
Formula 1 is so bad parity-wise that for years on end you could guess the podium for every race at the beginning of a season and be mostly right. It's maybe getting better this year but I get Alonso's point. Everybody knows just how fast their car is ahead of the season and there's really nothing you can do on race weekend to change that. You could put God himself behind the wheel of the Sauber and they are still going to finish 18th.

Thankfully NASCAR, and especially the Daytona 500 is nothing like that. Things change and speed is gained and lost throughout a weekend. A driver really can make a difference. And if things fall the right way, a smaller team can come from behind and win on the biggest stage of the year.
 
I feel that the plate races are almost a lottery. Obviously, the top teams will produce faster cars and driver skill is important but the enormous variable at Daytona and Talladega is the high probability of the BIG ONE taking out a large chunk of the field and lots of fast cars and skilled drivers get caught up through no fault of their own. I watch for the spectacle but I'm thankful those are only 4 of the 36 points paying races.
 
NJJammer said:
I feel that the plate races are almost a lottery. Obviously, the top teams will produce faster cars and driver skill is important but the enormous variable at Daytona and Talladega is the high probability of the BIG ONE taking out a large chunk of the field and lots of fast cars and skilled drivers get caught up through no fault of their own. I watch for the spectacle but I'm thankful those are only 4 of the 36 points paying races.
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I feel the same way. I almost even hate paying the cost of admission when going because I can't tell you how many times I saw Gordon knocked out early growing up. Even Chase last July. Spend all day tailgating and sit thru a rain delay just to see your guy turn half of the laps when it's all said and done.
 
I'll take nascars lottery system over f1s crown a champion before the first practice session. Both are a farce, but watching a f1 race and hoping for a different result is a foolish waste of time. Indy has a good mix right now, but they're the red headed stepchild of the racing world.
 
Oh look another aggrandising and self serving "my sport is better than that sport" thread.
 
AdoubleU24 said:
I feel the same way. I almost even hate paying the cost of admission when going because I can't tell you how many times I saw Gordon knocked out early growing up. Even Chase last July. Spend all day tailgating and sit thru a rain delay just to see your guy turn half of the laps when it's all said and done.
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I saw him win the 125 back in '02 (my first Cup race ever) and the '05 500 and it was just about all downhill from there lol.
 
What surprised me, and maybe that is reality in F1, is the attitude that we can't and will not win. Must be an interesting perspective for a driver/racer. Heck, two of my favorite drivers never won a cup race (Ted Musgrave and Dave Blaney) but I have to believe they felt they had a chance.
 
DIDIT said:
What surprised me, and maybe that is reality in F1, is the attitude that we can't and will not win. Must be an interesting perspective for a driver/racer. Heck, two of my favorite drivers never won a cup race (Ted Musgrave and Dave Blaney) but I have to believe they felt they had a chance.
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The irony is that this race actually produces surprising outcomes. Specially when you throw in rain.

You would often see guys who are backmarkers run up front. A race can make or break you in F1.
 
DIDIT said:
What surprised me, and maybe that is reality in F1, is the attitude that we can't and will not win. Must be an interesting perspective for a driver/racer. Heck, two of my favorite drivers never won a cup race (Ted Musgrave and Dave Blaney) but I have to believe they felt they had a chance.
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Alonso is a two time world champion and by any knowledgeable opinion still one of the best drivers in F1. He's not a journeyman hanging on like the drivers you mentioned, both of whom were fine wheelmen and likeable in their own right. The reality is that Alonso is a superstar but has no chance with his current team's equipment. There is no comparison to NASCAR. The disparity is even greater than say Penske to BK Racing, both mechanically and because F1 doesn't feature a bunch of gimmicks during the race to create closer competition.

I'm glad Alonso gets a week off from dutifully toiling mid- to rear-pack in Honda's pathetic F1 effort , and glad the Indy 500 is getting a boost from his presence. If a legendary NASCAR driver were somehow stuck with a crap team and had a chance to race elsewhere for a weekend, I'd be glad for him too.
 
kkfan91 said:
So plates at Monaco should work right?
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Yup, but remember, those would be Formula 1 "plates" so they would be ten times the cost (in Euros), weigh less than a sip of champagne, and would be 5 times more delicate. :D
 
DIDIT said:
What surprised me, and maybe that is reality in F1, is the attitude that we can't and will not win. Must be an interesting perspective for a driver/racer. Heck, two of my favorite drivers never won a cup race (Ted Musgrave and Dave Blaney) but I have to believe they felt they had a chance.
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Realistically there are three teams (Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull) that have a real chance at winning on a given weekend, with the first two being pretty equal. And while the driver may not make as much of a difference as they do in NASCAR they're certainly still a part of the equation. This year Bottas will prove that Rosberg was criminally underrated and Raikkonen can't hold a candle to Vettel. Likewise, I don't think anyone could wring as many points out of the McLaren last year as Alonso did. Realistically, it's better to try to focus on beating your teammate and trying to come out on top of your "tier", and I would put Force India/Williams/Toro Rosso/Haas in the midfield and then Sauber/Renault/McLaren in the bottom tier.
 
FLRacingFan said:
Realistically there are three teams (Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull) that have a real chance at winning on a given weekend, with the first two being pretty equal.
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And Haas if he had the sense to move Patrick to his open wheel thing.
 
Race car drivers used to drive anything they could, mostly because it was hard to make a living in just one type of car. Some of the greatest drivers won in multiple series. But it is hard to do that these days. Sponsors have a say, team owners have a say. I think things changed when Jr got injured in a sports car race. I like it when drivers from other series try another type of car. Even if it is just Trading Paint like Gordon and Montoya did with a NASCAR and a F1 car. As far as Alonso goes, I think he has a unique opportunity and he is taking it. Congrats to him. (I expect to see Gordon in LeMans someday).
 
Haas isn't going to burn F1 amounts of money for the Danica experiment. Right now she's paying the NASCAR bill as a sports personality and 20th-something competitor in America's motorsport.
 
DIDIT said:
What surprised me, and maybe that is reality in F1, is the attitude that we can't and will not win. Must be an interesting perspective for a driver/racer. Heck, two of my favorite drivers never won a cup race (Ted Musgrave and Dave Blaney) but I have to believe they felt they had a chance.
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Attempting to draw parallels between F1 and NASCAR is futile.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Fifth or sixth or ninth at Daytona? Preach it, brother. I'm happy when Kenseth finishes a plate race without getting caught up in a wreck.
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Anything less than a win in the Daytona 500 is an utter failure in my opinion.
 
Matthew2470 said:
Attempting to draw parallels between F1 and NASCAR is futile.
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Agreed, Alonzo and Honda are more than a second off the pace.. Might as well take a shot at Indy.
Hamilton, Vettel and Max V are are very good in the rain, not enough of an equalizer to help Alonso, imo. It would take something incredibly unusual for him to get a Poduim.

Indianapolis is a better race too.
I love Monoco, the in car camera shots are breath taking, great enough alone to keep my intetest, the glamour is unmatched. But the assurance of the winner of the first turn of lap one could not be greater than it is Monoco. If you lead past the first turn, you must screw up something us to lose.

Really glad to see Alonso doing this.
 
Matthew2470 said:
What makes you think American's aren't watching F1? I doubt I am not the only one waking up at crazy hours to watch F1. I even utilize commercial free streams. It's awesome.
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I have tried watching f1 but the racing is bad. It's the same person winning every week end. There's hardly any passing. What do you like about f1?
 
Clutch said:
What's great about it is that Alonso is going to at the Indy500 instead...Racing!
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Fernando has been with McLaren for three years... The team has showed almost no progress. At least with AA in IndyCar, he can be competitive.

As historic as Monaco is, it's usually boring. I love F1, but damn it's a huge processional race. 2008 and 09 were the best years that I can remember, 09 actually involved some great overtakes. Then, the pure unpredictable nature of rain on the track made '08 great. (EVEN THOUGH MASSA ****** UP, GOD DAMMIT!)
 
Musrat#2 said:
I have tried watching f1 but the racing is bad. It's the same person winning every week end. There's hardly any passing. What do you like about f1?
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Many races are won and lost at the start of the race. It happens more often than one thinks.

The strategies are more engaging and interesting in my opinion. You only have one shot at it and if you get it wrong by even a mili-second your day is ruined.

In NASCAR strategy rarely plays a major role because you have so many chances to ractify your mistakes.

One of the major reasons why I am now a full time F1 fan is because of the pure racing that goes on there. There are no random cautions. Races play out naturally which is the main reason why NASCAR lost me.

There is also the fact that F1 races are super short and sweet. You never feel like your time was robbed in one of these.

You didn't ask me but that's my take on the matter.
 
Zerkfitting said:
Race car drivers used to drive anything they could, mostly because it was hard to make a living in just one type of car. Some of the greatest drivers won in multiple series. But it is hard to do that these days. Sponsors have a say, team owners have a say. I think things changed when Jr got injured in a sports car race.
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Speaking of this, Marshall Pruett was a guest on the Midweek Motorsport podcast earlier in the week and said that IMS/IndyCar reached out to Jimmie Johnson to see if he wanted to run Indy this year and, while he was interested in doing it, GM/Chevy said no.
 
DIDIT said:
Maybe I am too out of touch with F1...

“Monaco is the biggest race of the calendar in Formula One and the event is amazing, not only the race on Sunday but the whole weekend is amazing but the best result that we achieved was last year, fifth,” Alonso said. “Thinking that we are a little bit less competitive this year, you know and maybe you had a possibility to do another top five or seven or six or wherever, it’s great to have some points but I’ve won a couple of times there already and two times World Champion so to have fifth, seventh or ninth in Monaco will not change my life."
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I'd have no problem with it really. Being a Gordon fan my whole life the years of 09-12 were a bit rough, he won only once in that time I believe. If he had said at the time "I'm skipping the Coke 600 for a run at Indy with Target/Chip Ganassi Racing" I'd be super excited. Fernando has done it all in F1 and frankly deserves better than running mid pack at Mclaren as he still has World Champion skill. So if he wants to opt out of a frustrating weekend at Monaco for a Go at the Indy 500, I tip my cap to him. Can't wait for the 500 hopes this opens the flood gates over the next few years for Larson, Kyle Busch, return of Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Jordan and Ricky Taylor and my personal hope, Kimi Raikkonen to try the 500
 
FLRacingFan said:
Speaking of this, Marshall Pruett was a guest on the Midweek Motorsport podcast earlier in the week and said that IMS/IndyCar reached out to Jimmie Johnson to see if he wanted to run Indy this year and, while he was interested in doing it, GM/Chevy said no.
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Really? This has to be the first time that Chevy has put their thumb on the scale when it comes to what drivers do outside of their series. Per my account anyways.
 
Reck said:
2009-2010.

He won quite a few races in 2011 and a couple more in 2012.
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Sorry didn't have Racing reference in front of me, I knew the last part of the decade was a bit rough. I'll blame it on the COT
 
Reck said:
Really? This has to be the first time that Chevy has put their thumb on the scale when it comes to what drivers do outside of their series. Per my account anyways.
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I think that's part of why the Earnhardt/Rahal seat swap never happened either, but because it'd be putting Jr. in a Honda and Graham in a Chevy. In Jimmie's case I would understand how they'd want to protect the face of their NASCAR program. And even if they were about it I don't think Rick would be considering he didn't even want Kasey running several years back.
 
If Alonso was on any other power plant other than
Honda,this would not be happening, which I understand
but at the same time is a shame.

Really excited to see how this plays out. My guess is
Alonso gets a top 10 and not a win like Clark did.
 
Matthew2470 said:
What makes you think American's aren't watching F1? I doubt I am not the only one waking up at crazy hours to watch F1. I even utilize commercial free streams. It's awesome.
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I'm sorry, let me rephrase:

Having a US-based F1 team isn't enough to attract any more Americans than were watching before Haas entered the series.
 
darlingtonfan said:
I like how F1 race doesn't take up an entire afternoon and they don't use gimmicks trying to create game 7 moments.
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Nobody passes anyone. It may be short and gimmick-free, but it's a parade. Great hardware, crappy entertainment.

I remember a guy on an F1 forum telling I didn't understand that F1 is all about the QUALIFYING! Geez, then why even run the race?

And what the heck is this topic doing on the NASCAR forum in the first place??? o_O
 
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