I'm not sure I've ever seen a single-class racing event with as much driving talent as what NASCAR has lined up for this weekends race at the Indianapolis Road Course:
F1 and Super GT Champion Jenson Button.
2-time World Endurance Champion and LeMans 24 winner Kamui Kobayaski.
3-time Supercars Champion Shane vanGisbergen.
Supercars Championship leader Brodie Kostecki.
DTM Champion, LeMans 24 winner, and Daytona 24 winner Mike Rockenfeller.
5-time Daytona 24 winner Andy Lally.
5-time Champ Car winner and Daytona 24 winner A.J. Allmendinger.
NASCAR Cup Series Champion, Daytona 24 winner, and 2-time Chili Bowl winner Kyle Larson.
3-time Chili Bowl winner Christopher Bell.
2-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kyle Busch.
2-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Joey Logano.
NASCAR Cup Series Champion Chase Elliott.
NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kevin Harvick.
NASCAR Cup Series Champion Brad Keseloswki.
NASCAR Cup Series Champion Martin Truex Jr.
Will
UberDork
8/10/23 8:55 a.m.
Trackhouse's Project 91 deal has been fantastic for the sport. I love that drivers from other series are looking at NASCAR and saying "Hey, that looks like fun" and giving it a try, even if it's just a one-time deal.
That said, back in the late 90s/early 2000s the ringers often included Boris Said, Ron Fellows, Scott Pruett, etc.
Wish they had saved this ridiculously good lineup for Watkins Glen next week, but I get why everyone wants to run Indy. It's Indy. I'm really looking forward to this race.
In reply to Puddy46 :
I'd love to see it every week! Rockenfeller and Lally should be back for the Glen along with Allmendinger, Larson, Bell and the rest of the NASCAR regulars.
NASCAB has come quite a ways from the Hills of NC
YRMV
johndej
SuperDork
8/10/23 11:00 a.m.
Yup,I agree, they are pissing off the old purists but NASCAR is doing a hell of a job of putting on a show this year, I'm enjoying it.
johndej said:
Yup,I agree, they are pissing off the old purists but NASCAR is doing a hell of a job of putting on a show this year, I'm enjoying it.
Your statement is open to a lot of interpretation, so I'll wait for more explanation of what you mean by it.
Puddy46 said:
Wish they had saved this ridiculously good lineup for Watkins Glen next week, but I get why everyone wants to run Indy. It's Indy. I'm really looking forward to this race.
More than likely, it's because of it's an open weekend for them, and Watkins Glen isn't. I know that's the case for Kostecki and Van Gisbergen. As far as road courses go, Watkins Glen has far more history.
Excited for the race Sunday, but I am more interested in seeing how SVG does in the trucks at IRP on Friday.
jmabarone said:
Excited for the race Sunday, but I am more interested in seeing how SVG does in the trucks at IRP on Friday.
Kimi ran a one-off truck oval race back in 2011 and finished 15th. He potentially had a better truck than SVG but SVG is probably taking it more seriously since he (appears to) want to make a career in NASCAR. Marcos Ambrose didn't crack the Top 20 until his 8th truck series start, although I believe that was with a brand new team as well. I think 15th is a reasonable expectation. A top 10 on his oval debut would be mighty impressive. A top 5 would be more surprising than his Cup win in Chicago, even though the trucks are the 3rd tier series.
BlueInGreen - Jon said:
Go get 'em, Andy Lally!
Did you know that he is a Vegan? If not, he'll be sure to tell you.
That is quite the line up for this event. I feel like nascar is doing a lot of neat stuff to draw in new fans and viewers but every time I tune in, I find it to be a very hard product to watch most of the time. The last few laps of Chicago were the most exciting that I've watched in years.
johndej
SuperDork
8/10/23 3:47 p.m.
In reply to racerfink :
Maybe purist is the wrong term, but there is a faction of their fandom with a lot of racists/sexists/political rhetoric that surrounds the sport. This also might be amplified because I'm in RVA, which while up and coming, still has a lot of "good ol' boy"/"south will ride again" presence.
The comments on every news article about racing in Chicago or LA turned people off (along with SVG winning), moving Richmond to an afternoon race, lots about Bubba Wallace/Hailie Deegan/"Foreigners" (drivers and manufactures - they'd quit watching if Hyundai joined), complaints about the new cars, won't watch till Noah Gragson can drive again, and "The sport died with Dale died" types,
In person for RIR they’ve struggled to sell seats and keep taking down sections to claim a higher % of capacity filled. They're down to 51k this year which is less than in 1992 when they first added lights, highest ever attendance sold out 112k seats in 2008 (2 races/year might be too much currently). I've gone to probably 5 or 6 races over the past 10 years. Last year there were still confederate flags all around even though they are "banned", chanting "Let's go Brandon" randomly and "FJB" flags around, audible booing of Bubba and the N-word yelled, some drunk climbed the fence during the race and forced a caution (surprised that didn't go red-flagged now that I think about it). They were giving out free dip and cigarettes at a couple of the vendors if they could scan your ID and also you could walk into the race with a cooler full of booze no questions.
johndej said:
In reply to racerfink :
Maybe purist is the wrong term, but there is a faction of their fandom with a lot of racists/sexists/political rhetoric that surrounds the sport. This also might be amplified because I'm in RVA, which while up and coming, still has a lot of "good ol' boy"/"south will ride again" presence.
The comments on every news article about racing in Chicago or LA turned people off (along with SVG winning), moving Richmond to an afternoon race, lots about Bubba Wallace/Hailie Deegan/"Foreigners" (drivers and manufactures - they'd quit watching if Hyundai joined), complaints about the new cars, won't watch till Noah Gragson can drive again, and "The sport died with Dale died" types,
In person for RIR they’ve struggled to sell seats and keep taking down sections to claim a higher % of capacity filled. They're down to 51k this year which is less than in 1992 when they first added lights, highest ever attendance sold out 112k seats in 2008 (2 races/year might be too much currently). I've gone to probably 5 or 6 races over the past 10 years. Last year there were still confederate flags all around even though they are "banned", chanting "Let's go Brandon" randomly and "FJB" flags around, audible booing of Bubba and the N-word yelled, some drunk climbed the fence during the race and forced a caution (surprised that didn't go red-flagged now that I think about it). They were giving out free dip and cigarettes at a couple of the vendors if they could scan your ID and also you could walk into the race with a cooler full of booze no questions.
If you think that type of behavior is only occuring in the US, I challenge you to travel the world. Go to a soccer game in Poland and I assure you you'll hear worse.
johndej
SuperDork
8/10/23 4:40 p.m.
In reply to DirtyBird222 :
Oh I've seen athletic and other events in Europe, Asia, and South America, in no instance does that behavior add to the sport. I do appreciate some soccer hooligans and college football rivalries but thats mostly berk the other team and the horse their mother rode in on.
IROC races of the 70s and 80s.
