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800 lefts turns... and a victory for the fat guy from Seinfeld...... right????
Yawn....
Yawn....
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Hello Newman
- Thread starter mikebike
- Start date
4fun
Member #1360
Thanks for the update, i got a cramp in my neck after the first 200 left turns, then fell asleep.
must be talking about nascar correct?
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yes..... tongue in cheek....
:thumbup:
:thumbup:
Sigh, i dread the twice a year that Nascar comes to NH, they shut down our highways, divert us around our roads, all for a sporting event that is a bunch of left turns around an oval...
It took me a few minutes to work out what you guys were on about.:Lurking:
But I found this to cheer you all up...:ban:
But I found this to cheer you all up...:ban:
H
HavBlue
Oh, if you only knew what was involved in all those left turns and then to be there at the end.
4fun
Member #1360
My son says that all you need to race NASCAR is a bungeee cord to keep the steering wheel turned to the left. I would not say that though.
My son says that all you need to race NASCAR is a bungeee cord to keep the steering wheel turned to the left. I would not say that though.
Oh, i know about the technology involved, i just dread trying to go to the grocery store for milk those weekends...
It will only be once a year coming soon, as we picked up another race from your loss. Anyway, they're heading west and we are ready for the crazy onslaught. This has become one of the busiest weekends of the year, contending with Super Bowl weekend and the beginning of March madness (1st weekend of college basketball tourney)
Would you pay $375, $400 including a limo ride from your hotel, for a roundtrip helicopter ride out to the races from the Las Vegas airport to avoid the traffic? The prices does not include the race ticket! Well about 300 fans think it's a great idea, as we are sold out There's another company charging $400, no limo. They might be sold out too. There will be so many helicopters shuttling people out to the races, the FAA has set up a temporary control tower at the track to coordinate the landings and take offs. I'm starting to wonder how much I would be able to charge for a ride back from the races on my bike.
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HavBlue
No doubt.... My son lives out there in Las Vegas and he's always got stories to tell. His company sets up all the security doors and such for the hotels, PD and anybody that has the money to be sure unwanted guests stay out. Let me know how you make out on your new tour guide business.
I used to watch NASCAR, when it was less popular (late '80s early '90s), and actually liked the sport. Then the cars in the track started looking less like the street variety. Then the Lumina (Monte Carlo) became front wheel drive, the track car was still rear wheel drive. The street cars advanced, the NASCAR ones started looking alike, and the brand that won meant less and less. Except for Dodge, the street versions of the cars are all front wheel drive.
The technology NASCAR uses is primitive. I mean if you were going to build a race car, would you use a live axle located by trailing arms? I would if I was building a rock hopper, but not for track use. NASCAR is the only sport still using carburetors. Restrictor plates kind of ruined it too. In an effort to slow the ever increasing speeds, restrictor plates bunched them all together on the track, causing the huge crashes (which the audience seems to love). Instead of NASCAR using talent to separate the winners, they made the cars slow, so all types of drivers are running similar speeds.
There now I feel better.
The technology NASCAR uses is primitive. I mean if you were going to build a race car, would you use a live axle located by trailing arms? I would if I was building a rock hopper, but not for track use. NASCAR is the only sport still using carburetors. Restrictor plates kind of ruined it too. In an effort to slow the ever increasing speeds, restrictor plates bunched them all together on the track, causing the huge crashes (which the audience seems to love). Instead of NASCAR using talent to separate the winners, they made the cars slow, so all types of drivers are running similar speeds.
There now I feel better.
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you mean this guy did not win
..... SHUCKS
..... SHUCKS
Despite having three degrees, no family and no police record, there is a whole class of Americans who just seem to have money to burn that I'll never be a part of...
Even if I don't pass thru the Pearly Gates, I hope at least St. Peter will send me an email that starts off "Hey Doofus, here's what you did wrong the whole time..."
H
HavBlue
It's interesting that you bring up the technology side of things. Back in the era you refer to the folks at Porsche felt the same way and they attempted to back it up at an open head to head competition between their world class bad boy Gulf 917 and the Darrell Waltrip Tide car. The track used was none other than Talladega and the Tide car was unrestricted. Each vehicle ran on their own in an anything goes set up. The Porsche couldn't keep up so they switched from the short tail to the long Le Mans tail but it wasn't enough to catch the not so stock "stock car." More than any other automotive sport I know, NASCAR is about everything from the driver, to the pit crew, to the engine builder to the finish which is now getting tighter and tighter.
In the first race at Daytona it took three days to actually figure out who won after Lee Petty filed a protest. Last year 2007, Harvick beat Martin by less than a fender. This year there was no doubt Kyle Busch had the fastest car on the track however, Newman had a friend that gave him a push which shoved him right by Stewart because Busch (the younger) still hasn't figured it out and the rest is now history. NASCAR is about team work and calculated aggression. Leave either out of the equation and you will find it very difficult to win.
One thing is for certain, even the open wheel champs have figured out it's the hottest ticket in racing.
The fact that the racing is so close is to to the fact that NASCAR wants them close. I still feel that the restrictor plates ruined NASCAR. If drivers have the balls to run 230mph let them, it is part of the risk, and that is what racing is about. These photo finishes are great to watch, but if all cars go the same speed, driver talent has less to do with it. A truly talented driver with a unrestriced and properly set up car will go faster than a rookie with a poorly set up car, it racing basics, and what NASCAR built upon. Look back to the early years of the sport. The Grand National series was basically stock cars, which gave the addage of "win on Sunday, sell on Monday". Some cars had clear advantages, as did some drivers (Curtis Turner comes to mind) had talent, and could win in any car they drove, that is talent. The cars back then varied wildly, to run an Oldsmobile one race, then to switch to Ford the next was how the sport grew.
I just feel that NASCAR keeps moving away form their roots that made them a down and dirty form of racing, heck, AMERICAN racing. Now all the cars look alike, have basically the same motor and tranny, and are not used and set up to there full potential. If I hear of one more driver say that they like the new safer barriers I think I will puke. Isn't the danger and risk and daring feats of drivers that make a sport exciting? Just like if one more tree is taken down or a improved barrier is put up at Road America, I swear that I will lose interest of that track. Ok, probably not, but making the course safer seems to take some of the romance away. And that is what NASCAR did, they lost the passion of racing, and look only at the Dollar signs.
Well, yes and no.
Having roadraced motorcycles for four season I don't think there can be enough safety. By that I mean tracks with good and safe run off area, personal protective equipment improvements, (I saw that Dianese has a neck air bag!). Racers love to go fast and dice, but no one wants to take undo risk. At the old Aspen Colo. race course (RIP), they had BOULDERS (BFRs) on the outside of a couple of the corners. One racer was paralized when he low sided and slid into a boulder.
When a racer feels safer they will ride harder. I remember when I first got my back protector, 1986. I felt much less exposed and I rode a bit harder. There were also some tracks and some corners that I always backed off a bit, I simply didn't feel like I could go 100% there.
NASCAR is a whole different story. I'll be the first to admit I don't watch it, had a co-worker who would never shut up about it however...osmosis. The format has changed to allow a wider range of drives to compete for the lead. The older scoring format had it locked up by half way through the season. Now with the new points scoring system it now takes the entire season to determine the winner. This also allows a wider variety of sponsors to get air time. Remember NASCAR is not about racing but sponsorship. The restictor plates do two things 1) keep the cars together, for the most part. 2) as you stated, keep the fastest drivers, whose team's have the most money, from totally blowing away the lesser skilled guys in slower cars.
If you want to see how this is supposed to work, for the most part, check out an SCCA Ford SPEC Racer race. Same car, from the same builder. The better driver will quickly emerge.
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madmanmaigret
Mad like crazy not angry
or SPEC Miata....... because it takes balls to drive that little 2-seater like they do!
never been a fan of NASCAR but i will watch when they go on road courses and the daytona just 'cause. But i am a true gearhead ie: watch F1, Indy, LeMans, Motogp, WRC, AMA and any other racing on TV i can set my eyeballs on. but NASCAR has never appealed to me. Guess im just un-American, or i like left turns? :rockon:
I used to watch NASCAR but it got boring. Im a Motogp guy now. :Sport:
H
HavBlue
Pete has brought up some great points. With the cars going at relative speeds (read as +-3mph) tactics become more and more a part of the overall
package required to win. No doubt there is always the chance for a "big one) but this commonly falls back on the drivers and not necessarily the cars. I don't watch the races to see wrecks, Rather, I watch NASCAR races (cup series) to see those who have mastered the draft, specific set-up, pit strategy and outright performance of man and machine.
The run what you brung days are over and it has actually made racing better because it gives more teams a chance as they all have to play by the exact same rules. The new car is in a learning mode but one thing is certain, the car is clearly safer. Once these folks get a handle on what they can and can't do with it the show given to the fans will be over the top.
In terms of riding hard I also agree with Pete in that I wouldn't think of doing what I do with minimal gear simply because that safety factor goes down and quick. Things like quality boots, gloves, armored pants and jacket as well as the proverbial brain bucket are a fundamental necessity if you are ever to push your own limits on two wheels. To me, anyone without good gear that does push the limit is simply waiting for disaster to strike. When my grandkids hit the track it's with full gear and their dad is of the opinion he doesn't need a helmet. One day he was taking the kids through the trail system in the woods and he was standing on the pegs with no helmet going about 10mph. he was looking back at the kids and when he turned around a branch hit him square in the nose breaking it and causing bleeding. Yup, took him right off that bike. He now wears a helmet. Now we can work on the gear aspect as the kids have yet to let him forget it. Me, I'm LMAO because them kids have been trained right and they know.......
