Vitriol on NASCAR

actually, i think that if there was a big enough fan base for road racing in America, there could be a separate channel for them that coexisted alongside Speed. but the fact of the matter is that America loves oval track stock car racing, so that's the market that gets the most coverage.

i remember about 20 years ago when i had a hard time on Sunday deciding if i wanted to watch NASCAR, NHRA drag racing, or the Trans Am series. ultimately, i usually picked NASCAR because it gave me the best entertainment for the time invested.

and that's also where Dale Earnhardt Sr was. he was just so damned cool and fun to watch.

it wasn't that the other racing wasn't as good, but the NHRA coverage always had a 30 minute delay after John Force blew up and oiled down the track in a fiery glaze of glory (again), and the Trans Am race always had a bunch of people from other countries that had names i couldn't pronounce and spoke in funny accents- well, funnier than the good ol boys of NASCAR, anyways..

Road racing will never be the dominant kind of racing in the U.S. because bumpig and rubbing is frowned upon and crashes are not spectacular. Americans want a spectacle.

novaderrik wrote: .......and the Trans Am race always had a bunch of people from other countries that had names i couldn't pronounce and spoke in funny accents- well, funnier than the good ol boys of NASCAR, anyways..

You really don't know much about Trans-Am, so you may want to do some research before hoisting yourself on your own petard.

oldsaw wrote:

novaderrik wrote: .......and the Trans Am race always had a bunch of people from other countries that had names i couldn't pronounce and spoke in funny accents- well, funnier than the good ol boys of NASCAR, anyways..

You really don't know much about Trans-Am, so you may want to do some research before hoisting yourself on your own petard.

Well said sir. Very appropriate.

But I don't think he'll know what that means. With some folks, more pedestrian amorisms are called for, such as "crapping in your own feedbag".

Never argue with an idiot, they will drag you to their own level, then beat you with home field advantage.

oldsaw wrote:

novaderrik wrote: .......and the Trans Am race always had a bunch of people from other countries that had names i couldn't pronounce and spoke in funny accents- well, funnier than the good ol boys of NASCAR, anyways..

You really don't know much about Trans-Am, so you may want to do some research before hoisting yourself on your own petard.

i know what i saw 20 years ago. but honestly, i wasn't really looking for a new race series to watch. i was just a bored 15 year old kid looking for something to watch on a sunday afternoon. all i remember is the foreign names, even if they weren't the most common ones.

Boris Said, Tommy Kendall, Dorsey Shrader, Paul Gentilozzi, Scott Pruett, Hurley Haywood, Wally Dallanbach, Scott Sharp, Jack Baldwin, Ron Fellows are forgieners? (ok, some are Cannuks, but close enough)

You could say that about the Auid and Walter Rohrl/ Hans Stuch, but the rest sound forgien since America is a melting pot.

Sure you were watching Trans Am?

Eric

Trans Am was my favorite series at one time. I liked the mix of cars and drivers.

The first Nascar race I attended was about 1971. The local track was a 1/2 mile oval in Byron (site of the famous Atlanta Pop Festival). Somehow the track promoter had come up with the money to bring in some big names, and the stands were packed

I spent most of the pre-race time in the infelid, meeting the drivers and checking out the cars. I recall being very disappointed that Petty hadn't brought his winged Superbird, but that was for superspeedways, and this was a mighty short track for these guys. They were driving the previous year's short track cars, and they all showed scars of it. I shook hands with Petty, Issacs, and Pearson, among others that I don't remember as well. I was 16 at the time.

The driver that impressed me most was David Pearson. Whereas Petty had brought his team with about 3 support vehicles, Pearson came in one car carrier, and just one guy to help him wrench. He unloaded the car, lifted the hood, put his final tune on it, drove the race, came in 3rd behind Issacs and Petty, put the car back on the truck, washed his hands in the public bathroom, and drove away. All the time he was never too busy to shake hands/sign autographs for 16 year-old-kids. He had very calloused hands, with plenty of grease under his fingernails.

Next time you get up close enough to shake the hand of one of the current drivers, check out his fingernails..

Betcha see more manicure than grease.

Yeah, I still watch Nascar, but it ain't what it used to be.. sigh.

The following year, a friend took me to a new place called Road Atlanta for the weekend. I haven't really looked back since..