The Daytona 500

Is this real racing or just a damn NASCAR spectacle? This is the first time I've watched in a long time. To me, it wasn't "racing." There was a lot of driving skill, but no "racing." I suspect that's the way it is with the entire NASCAR season. (And what's up with this "overtime" in a car race?) Bring back the 1970s. Harumph.

Yeah, it's a complete E36 M3 show. Between the cluster berk tonight and how the road course races end in blatantly wrecking folks in ways that you'd get banned on Iracing, it's just hard to watch and take seriously as a sporting event. 

Restrictor plate racing is horseE36 M3.  Pointless and unnecessarily dangerous.

The last complete Daytona 500 I watched was 1980. I was bummed because I wanted Richard Petty to win and some guy I'd never heard of (Buddy Baker) dominated. I've watched bits and pieces of others but it hasn't held my interest.  Maybe I'll watch when Cleetus makes it. :)

Daytona and Talledega have not been proper races for 30 years.

Ryan Preeces catwalk down the back straight was spectacular, though.  Worth finding the video, just to watch the power of air.

The race was pretty clean overall with only a few wrecks (2 coming right at the end) but somehow there wasn't a single green flag pitstop of note. Two stage cautions and in between two very timely "debris" cautions where no debris was ever shown (the first coming right as last years cup series champ was about to be lapped letting him stay on the lead lap).

I mean IMSA is no better with how quickly they'll throw a full course yellow and fully reset the field so they can have close "racing".

In reply to adam525i :

Uh, you know who owns IMSA don't you?

I use to be a huge fan. I did not even know it was this weekend. 

To me, Daytona and Talladega are a game of high-speed chess, with quite a bit of chance mixed in. For some reason, I don't recall such catastrophic big ones back in the 1990s or maybe it's just me? I mean you'd get a dozen cars or so collected, but I don't recall most of the field involved. They reported last night just two cars made it through the last big wreck without being part of it. That's crazy.

To me, the  it's reflective of the style of racing these days - no respect for other racers' equipment, let alone their own. Whatever it takes to win, even if it means putting you - and others - in serious peril.

I got bored of the high-speed conga line after a few laps. Checked in a bit later in the race, got bored again. Switched over to King of Hammers reruns on MavTV instead.

In reply to J.A. Ackley :

The cars are so safe there is no fear of crashing. The spectators probably stand a better chance of getting injured in a wreck than the drivers do.

They sure put a lot of emphasis on the different brands of cars even though it is a spec car.

10 hours of TV to cover a 500 mile race.   

Purple Frog said:

10 hours of TV to cover a 500 mile race.   

So, a 50mph average?    I can do better than that on state highways.

Purple Frog said:

10 hours of TV to cover a 500 mile race.   

I have no idea why they started the race when they did. Do they not have access to weather radar?

I just happened to tune back in just as they where getting ready to go back to green some many hours later and watched until just past the 1/2 point. Boring.

I have always wondered how that LeMans Camaro would do on the 24 hours Rolex road course? Maybe without the back straight chicane? Maybe without a restrictor plate? Anything other than what I saw yesterday.

In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :

Because the president was there.

Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:

Purple Frog said:

10 hours of TV to cover a 500 mile race.   

I have no idea why they started the race when they did. Do they not have access to weather radar?

They actually moved up the start time because of the threat of weather. Sometimes I wonder if NASCAR prefers the delays because it increases exposure. It's a very NASCAR-like marketing tactic ... and I kinda can't blame then.

alfadriver said:

They sure put a lot of emphasis on the different brands of cars even though it is a spec car.

that got me about cleetus' car. Had a mustang nose on it, and unless i'm an idiot that was an LS with a hi rise and a carb. That math don't math. 

jgrewe said:

In reply to adam525i :

Uh, you know who owns IMSA don't you?

I'm well aware as an ALMS fan that watched Grand-am take over.

J.A. Ackley said:

To me, Daytona and Talladega are a game of high-speed chess, with quite a bit of chance mixed in. For some reason, I don't recall such catastrophic big ones back in the 1990s or maybe it's just me? I mean you'd get a dozen cars or so collected, but I don't recall most of the field involved. They reported last night just two cars made it through the last big wreck without being part of it. That's crazy.

To me, the  it's reflective of the style of racing these days - no respect for other racers' equipment, let alone their own. Whatever it takes to win, even if it means putting you - and others - in serious peril.

Yes, just like chess when someone right at the end rage sweeps the board off leaving just one king standing lol

adam525i said:

J.A. Ackley said:

To me, Daytona and Talladega are a game of high-speed chess, with quite a bit of chance mixed in. For some reason, I don't recall such catastrophic big ones back in the 1990s or maybe it's just me? I mean you'd get a dozen cars or so collected, but I don't recall most of the field involved. They reported last night just two cars made it through the last big wreck without being part of it. That's crazy.

To me, the  it's reflective of the style of racing these days - no respect for other racers' equipment, let alone their own. Whatever it takes to win, even if it means putting you - and others - in serious peril.

Yes, just like chess when someone right at the end rage sweeps the board off leaving just one king standing lol

If it bleeds, it leads, even in NASCAR. 

stuart in mn said:

Purple Frog said:

10 hours of TV to cover a 500 mile race.   

So, a 50mph average?    I can do better than that on state highways.

As always, your average depends greatly on how long you spend stopped for snacks. 

Mndsm said:

alfadriver said:

They sure put a lot of emphasis on the different brands of cars even though it is a spec car.

that got me about cleetus' car. Had a mustang nose on it, and unless i'm an idiot that was an LS with a hi rise and a carb. That math don't math. 

The OEMs essentially use NASCAR as a branding opportunity rather than a place to showcase technologies. It's worth noting that on the Cup level, they do use manufacturer-created engines - so a Chevy is a Chevy, a Ford a Ford and a Toyota a Toyota. 

In ARCA, yes, 99% of the field uses the Ilmor engine. Same goes for the Truck Series.

I was flipping back and forth between Daytona and the golf tournament. That says a lot about how exciting I find NASCAR racing anymore.