Let's see. No on-track passes for the top 6 (I think) positions, not even any close racing for the points-paying spots, almost half the field out with mechanical problems, all on a track where there's nowhere to pass. I think I'll go out in the yard now and watch the grass grow so I can have <u>some</u> excitement today.

I try to like the current version of F1, but it's just not that entertaining recently. If there's not a crash at the start due to someone's massive dumbness, it's just a parade for a couple of hours as car after multi-million car breaks down. Every 15 minutes or so the commentators get excited because there's a pass for 12th place. Woopee.

I know NASCAR isn't too popular here, but they do seem to grasp that professional motorsport is entertainment. There's always something going on, cars are actually racing, and the coverage doesn't consist mainly of shots of the leader's car driving around with no one else in the picture.

The high-tech stuff in F1 would be great if it made the racing closer, but it doesn't seem to do that was well as the old-school stuff the stock cars run.

Oh, well. Flame away.

 

I agree with you, it is kinda boring... Like qualifying times there are SEVERAL seconds difference in the field, where in NASCAR, is't only about within one second...

Don't worry Jerry, Just watch some H-C races, we'll show you some action...

 

I understand what you are saying about F1. It does leave something to be desired. Even NASSCAR passes a whole lot less on the road courses. The one thing you can look forward to in a NASSCAR road race is the blatant punting of all the SCCA Trans Am drivers who show up to kick the rest of the guy's asses.

Cobra - Who misses the days of the Senna/Prost rivalry

 

I'm a F1 fanatic, and even I was completely bored with this race - but that always happens a few times a year I guess. Can anybody stop Michael Schumacher this year? Damn impressive stuff from Ferrari...

 

I think the NASCAR winston cup road races are good, I am always entertained, and no, the Trans Am drivers dont' get punted, they have very low funded teams with slow pits and bad parts.. Ron Fellows and Boris Said would win every race if they cars would stay together..

I know 99% of the winston cup drives could still woop my *** no problem on a roadcourse.....

 

 

Yeah, pretty boring. Unfortunately, there are a handful of tracks like this where it really needs to rain to make the race exciting. As David Hobbs pointed out (as cars went single-file past the site of Aryton Senna's fatal accident), they sacrificed racing for safety. I dunno, after that track had two deaths and another huge accident in one F1 weekend, I can't blame track management for going above and beyond in the name of safety.

 

Schumacher is such a dominant driver though. I dont think itll make any difference, he will still win. That is, until Ralphs' skills get better. I think the Schumacher brothers are going to be like the Prost/Senna rivaly, or at least i hope so But this weekends race was kinda boring, i think qualifying was more exciting when Michael took the pole in tje last minutes of qualifying.

 

Yeah, that was a pretty dull race. Actually, the pre-race coverage was more interesting than the cars lapping the track. As a McLaren fan I am totally embarassed to see MS lapping DC towards the end of the race.

 

Sears Point, 1999. Ron Fellows was in second place and catching the leader at a sick rate. He had enough time to catch and take the lead until a backmarker came out of nowhere and spun him. Last year Boris Said and Ron Fellows were both taken out of the race within the first 15 minutes. I don't believe for a second that these are not calculated moves on the part WC drivers. The blatant and non-inadvertent nature of all the incidents leads me to believe this.

Remember - every team has an "embassador" on pit road who goes to other team's embassadors to formulate strategies for the drivers while on track.


[Modified by Cobra, 6:07 PM 4/14/2002]

 

Yep those were the days!

Lloyd~ who can now watch Speedchannel and F1 on his satellite

 

Suzuka 1989 - When Team Mates Colide

Suzuka 1990 - When Former Team Mates Colide . . . again:





[Modified by Cobra, 8:29 PM 4/14/2002]

 

its not much wonder that ms is always winning, its all about money. Im not taking anything away from micheal s but if the announcer was right(he stated during the race"micheal shu has at least 500 peeps working on his team while rubens only has a handfull")
that kind of dedication has to help your odds but it really makes watching the race a bore

 

F1 is actually more *real* racing compared to the nascar superspeedway "races". A *real* race is where a driver is awarded by being able to pull away if he/she can drive a faster pace. nascar is such a SHOW oriented sport that on a superspeedway you can put the best driver in nascar in one car and the worst driver in nascar in another car, make them race around Daytona for 500 laps and at the end they will probably still be nose to tail after having passes each other 200 times. The ability of the trailing car to draft so much and basically stick with the leading car takes 90% of the racing away. What's the point of racing if you can't even pull on the guy behind you if you just happen to be better? Why not just have a 5 lap Daytona race instead of a 500 lap (or however many laps they run). The winner will always be the guy who happens to be at the front of the field on the checker flag lap. I see it more as a lottery draw, because in one of these races I think every driver rotates from being in the lead to the back of the pack due to this drafting deal, so how is pure driving skill being awarded here? Oh I forgot, nascar is about show. And unfortunately way more people buy this “show” any day over real racing.

Plus, I just can't understand the oval racing concept. I don’t know what is more ridiculous; racing at WOT for 200 laps on a speedway or going around a 0.5 or 1.0 mile circle 500 times until maybe even some of the fans get dizzy. I think ideally nascar would prefer to race on a 500 mile straight line if they could, so that every driver could draft everyone at WOT. Problem is how to accommodate all the fans? So a nascar organizer one day probably said, “I got it!! Why not make 'em all run around in circles?!”

Also, I will say this again. I only believe about 5-7 out of the 50 or so nascar field are real “good” drivers and it’s easy to name them because they are always among the front runners at all the venues. Those guys have real talent and by “good” I mean up to the level of the top ALMS, German Touring, BTCC, etc.. drivers out there in the world. I also believe the top 10 World Challenge Touring guys are better drivers than the 40 or so other nascar drivers that are basically there more to serve the purpose of “space fillers” to complete the huge nascar fields (and why not? *Last* place in Winston Cup always usually gets about $50 000 in prize money per race anyway!! Not to mention nascar is basically monopolizing all the millions and millions of $$$ in big name sponsorships in this country that the road racing series only sometimes barely get a taste of, if lucky).

Nascar fans please don't mind me, I'm not such a big fan and can talk forever about nascar... I really made an effort to keep it this short.

 

Come on Alex... don't beat around the bush. Tell us what you really think!

 

I'd rather watch a boring F1 race than anything nascar. Let's see, drive around a circle for two hours... BORING. You want to know who will win a nascar race 85% of the time it's the guy in second place coming through turn 3/4. I hate nascar and all Speed channel (speed vision was a better name) seems to show is nascar crap who really wants to see a nascar race from the 60's. Who really gives a rats a$$. Speed has gone down hill and if it wasn't for f1 and fia rally's I would cancel my subscribition. Sorry just had to vent.

 

50 million Americans is who.

 

If this is the case, why wouldn't those NASCAR teams saddled with "filler" drivers be beating a path to Roger Foo's front door? Not that it wouldn't be cool for him to have a shot, but it is VERY easy to mistake "simple" for "easy" when looking at a track with just two turns.

Kirk

 

Some have 3 turns.

 

Simple answer: Nascar is very happy the way it is now, because it is working for them. Why change? How come we don't we see the diversity of drivers like we see in other series like CART or even the IRL. I'm sure if nascar really wanted and tried just a tiny bit harder, we could have a LOT more talent in winston cup than there already is - just like the talent that the great majority of CART drivers bring to that series, or even what some ALMS, or Grand Am top drivers bring to those series. I'm sure drivers like Max Papis and many such other talented drivers would love the financial side of being involved in nascar and also the job security that is relatively very good in nascar. When the last place finishers in nascar are so well off that they can all afford to have their own private jets and the last place teams all have 10+ racecars (some of the top teams have around 20 cars!) Who wouldn't want to be part of that? But maybe for the same reasons (and I'm sure there are plenty) that the nascar community wouldn't care to try to recruit more such talented drivers, maybe for those same reasons/differences/personal preferences drivers like Max Papis don't have too much interest in nascar either. And yes, drivers like Papis also have extensive oval racing experience to add to their portfolio, too.

Again, nascar is very happy with the way things are going right now, and as we saw with the recent safety scandals nascar *hates* change, any kind of change. If it ain't broken and people are still buy it by the millions, why mess with it? Now the addition of Roger Foo in nascar would be very interesting to say the least, and I would be VERY curious to see how he would do after he had enough time to get used to the idea of going roundy round in circles 500 times. But why are we picking on "our man Foo" here! I'm sure he is very happy with what he's doing now.

(Again, I never once said it is simple to circle around those nascar tracks. I'm just saying there are plenty of drivers out there who could do a very good job at it if given the chance.)

 

Question:what's NASCAR's reasoning for having a single road race in a season of superspeedway and short track races? I just wanna' know!

 

So when Schumi in his Benetton placed better than Senna in his McLaren 6 times in 93, that was because of what...money? I think McLaren had a little more of it. Everyone discredits Schumacher since he drives for the team that probably spends the most money in F1, but if driver skill isn't so important, why doesn't Ferrari get a 1-2 at every race? I'm not saying everyone has to love Schumacher, but at least admit the man's a good driver

 

To attract those of us that like to turn both directions. NASCAR thinks that if we watch that one race we will be hooked for the rest of the season.

 

ahem, its 2 road course races, and watch them, they are entertaining....

 

Especially when they start punting the Trans Am guys . . .