NASCAR....Question
Discussion
Lordbenny said:
Has any body actually been to a NASCAR/ARCA race? I cant imagine anything more boring than watching these cars going round & round & round & round all afternoon apart from, maybe, the World Paint Drying Watching Championships!
What am I missing here?
There are numerous reasons to watch an oval track race.What am I missing here?
- On most oval tracks, you can see the whole track and all the action. I have always found it impossible to grasp the appeal of sitting at one bend of a "road" circuit and seeing 10 seconds of action, followed by 80 seconds of nothing whilst the cars are out of sight on another part of the circuit.
- In NASCAR, any one of 15-20 drivers has a legitimate chance of winning a race. How many in F1 - 5? Often in F1, one can be sure of the winner of Sunday's race on Saturday, immediately after qualifying.
- Someone on another forum calculated that, in the average F1 race of the last few years, there were something like 14 overtakes - all together. The typical NASCAR race will have hundreds of overtakes.
- The officiating in NASCAR - at least in relation to F1 - is unbiased, logical and consistent. For a NASCAR result to be determined days or weeks later is unheard of.
- The NASCAR drivers themselves are vastly more accessible to the fans. They are required to make themselves available to the public for a certain amount of time every year. When was the last time that Jenson Button or Lewis Hamilton was seen in public and was approachable - when he was still in karting?
- There is a fallacy that because an oval track is a simple, regular geometric shape, therefore it is easy to drive. I think that the struggles of Montoya and Hornish have belied that notion. If you've ever seen in-car from Daytona, for example - which is unbelievably bumpy notwithstanding the 185 mph laps - you'll appreciate that it's a bit more complicated than "just driving around in circles".
- The oval track rules, which close up the gaps during yellow flags, ensure that the races are tight. Very often the winner of a 500-lap race is decided only within the final 10 laps, and not infrequently on literally the last lap. How recently had that happened in F1, apart from the rigged finish in Austria a few years ago?
When i lived in Atlanta, going to watch Nascar was all about knocking back a load of beers with your mates or having a family day out, it's far more a social thing that watching racing in Europe, the racing is almost irrelevant with you paying attention when something happens, not constantly watching the cars.
The best ones to watch weren't the big events, the local 1/4 mile ovals were the most fun, sat on the back tail gate of a pickup with a 6 pack watching the local nutters.
The best ones to watch weren't the big events, the local 1/4 mile ovals were the most fun, sat on the back tail gate of a pickup with a 6 pack watching the local nutters.
Lordbenny said:
Has any body actually been to a NASCAR/ARCA race? I cant imagine anything more boring than watching these cars going round & round & round & round all afternoon apart from, maybe, the World Paint Drying Watching Championships!
What am I missing here?
Having raced in the UK's attempt at a proper Oval series, I've seen it from the driver's perspective, and from a spectators point of view I can say that you have to see it to believe it to enjoy it. Television often doesn't do it any favours, perhaps with the exception of Talledega or Daytona.What am I missing here?
Think about going to watch the GP. You get your grandstand seat on the start/finish straight, so you see the cars come out of Woodcote, and disappear at Copse, then say bye bye to them for about a minute.
You might, if you're lucky, see someone overtake on the track heading into Copse, but you probably won't.
Go to Daytona, or Talledega for some Superspeedway action. If you have a reasonable granstand seat, you'll see ALL of the circuit, you'll see a pack of cars running 3 maybe 4 abreast, drafting, where there can be two or three lead changes every lap, and some spectacular moves at 200mph. That whole lap takes about 40 seconds.
Go to Bristol to see 43 cars on a 1/2 mile banked oval, it's manic, it is rough and tumble, and it's awesome.
It's a sub-20second lap, you see it all.
It is about "the event" as much as the race too. It's a different way of life to what we're used to in "Flying Hats & Goggles" racing, and you either get it, or you don't.
This coming March, I'm off to Bristol for the weekend!
I've been offered a free trip to San Francisco in March in exchange for spending a few days there ferrying people about in a hire car and was praying there'd be a race on while I was there, regardless of where I'd have to fly to, but it seems I'm going in the only 2 week period during the season that there isn't a single race. I'm gutted. The dream would be to go in October and go to Martinsville and then Talladega in the one trip. I couldn't think of a week or so away anywhere, doing anything I'd rather have.
I've been Googling to see if I can find some local short track racing within driving distance, but having trouble there too.
I've been Googling to see if I can find some local short track racing within driving distance, but having trouble there too.
Lordbenny said:
Has any body actually been to a NASCAR/ARCA race? I cant imagine anything more boring than watching these cars going round & round & round & round all afternoon apart from, maybe, the World Paint Drying Watching Championships!
What am I missing here?
1st contender for idiot post of the year... What am I missing here?
uriel said:
I've been offered a free trip to San Francisco in March in exchange for spending a few days there ferrying people about in a hire car and was praying there'd be a race on while I was there, regardless of where I'd have to fly to, but it seems I'm going in the only 2 week period during the season that there isn't a single race. I'm gutted. The dream would be to go in October and go to Martinsville and then Talladega in the one trip. I couldn't think of a week or so away anywhere, doing anything I'd rather have.
I've been Googling to see if I can find some local short track racing within driving distance, but having trouble there too.
When will you be there, and are you saying that you would be willing to fly to another part of the States to see a race, or that you'd be willing to drive a reasonable distance from SF?I've been Googling to see if I can find some local short track racing within driving distance, but having trouble there too.
My free days will be 8-18th March, I think. I figured that if there was a race on anywhere during my stay, I would be able to get a cheap enough flight from California to wherever the race was, spend a couple of nights and fly back to California, just like a big excursion. It seemed like a fairly convenient and economical way of getting to see a live race.
Now that that can't happen and I've had to give up on seeing a Nascar race, I thought I'd hunt out some local, short track racing. Being born and raised in the UK by folks with no interest in motorsport at all, I'm pretty ignorant of the lower level forms of US oval racing...mainly torrents of odd races captured from SpeedTV, some late model dirt racing, sprint cars etc. Anything one step up from banger racing would do me. I'll have a car for the duration of my trip and thought there would be a good chance of some form of racing happening within driving distance of SF. Not sure I'd go to the lengths of flying to see it, but I'd be happy to undertake a decent drive to get to see it, make a road trip out of it.
It may well be that I've been given the wrong impression and racing isn't as widespread, frequent and accessible as I'd thought/hoped.
Now that that can't happen and I've had to give up on seeing a Nascar race, I thought I'd hunt out some local, short track racing. Being born and raised in the UK by folks with no interest in motorsport at all, I'm pretty ignorant of the lower level forms of US oval racing...mainly torrents of odd races captured from SpeedTV, some late model dirt racing, sprint cars etc. Anything one step up from banger racing would do me. I'll have a car for the duration of my trip and thought there would be a good chance of some form of racing happening within driving distance of SF. Not sure I'd go to the lengths of flying to see it, but I'd be happy to undertake a decent drive to get to see it, make a road trip out of it.
It may well be that I've been given the wrong impression and racing isn't as widespread, frequent and accessible as I'd thought/hoped.
I am over in Florida at the moment and have over the years worked with a couple of NASCAR outfits up in Charlotte NC. Europeans have to appeciate how the US automotive industry has developed and how motorspot has been designed to feed the domestic market.
NASCAR attendance figures dwarf F1, many of the races are sell outs with crowds well over 120,000 per race with a massive calendar. TV ratings are high but the cars, the teams nd drivers are accessible to the fans. Sponsors too (my area) like to open their doors to the public and there is no deying that NASCAR sponsorship works.
Motorsport in the US is somewhat less technological than in Europe, single seater racing is not so popular and manufacturer backing is massive. Compare NASCAR to DTM not F1.
Finally unless you have been to a superspeedway and seen these cars flying past at well over 200 mph nose to tail and heard the noise you have no idea of what is involved and why the fans are so into their teams and sports.
Different strokes for different folks and the F1 people need to learn from NASCAR how to entertain fans throughout the weekend.
Having done 42 GP's working on the inside with one of the biggest teams I can tell you NASCAR is a much more tactile sport for sponsors and fans.
NASCAR attendance figures dwarf F1, many of the races are sell outs with crowds well over 120,000 per race with a massive calendar. TV ratings are high but the cars, the teams nd drivers are accessible to the fans. Sponsors too (my area) like to open their doors to the public and there is no deying that NASCAR sponsorship works.
Motorsport in the US is somewhat less technological than in Europe, single seater racing is not so popular and manufacturer backing is massive. Compare NASCAR to DTM not F1.
Finally unless you have been to a superspeedway and seen these cars flying past at well over 200 mph nose to tail and heard the noise you have no idea of what is involved and why the fans are so into their teams and sports.
Different strokes for different folks and the F1 people need to learn from NASCAR how to entertain fans throughout the weekend.
Having done 42 GP's working on the inside with one of the biggest teams I can tell you NASCAR is a much more tactile sport for sponsors and fans.
uriel said:
My free days will be 8-18th March, I think. I figured that if there was a race on anywhere during my stay, I would be able to get a cheap enough flight from California to wherever the race was, spend a couple of nights and fly back to California, just like a big excursion. It seemed like a fairly convenient and economical way of getting to see a live race.
Now that that can't happen and I've had to give up on seeing a Nascar race, I thought I'd hunt out some local, short track racing. Being born and raised in the UK by folks with no interest in motorsport at all, I'm pretty ignorant of the lower level forms of US oval racing...mainly torrents of odd races captured from SpeedTV, some late model dirt racing, sprint cars etc. Anything one step up from banger racing would do me. I'll have a car for the duration of my trip and thought there would be a good chance of some form of racing happening within driving distance of SF. Not sure I'd go to the lengths of flying to see it, but I'd be happy to undertake a decent drive to get to see it, make a road trip out of it.
It may well be that I've been given the wrong impression and racing isn't as widespread, frequent and accessible as I'd thought/hoped.
Apart from its being the wrong time of year and, as you say, precisely the wrong week, the US is a big place, you know!Now that that can't happen and I've had to give up on seeing a Nascar race, I thought I'd hunt out some local, short track racing. Being born and raised in the UK by folks with no interest in motorsport at all, I'm pretty ignorant of the lower level forms of US oval racing...mainly torrents of odd races captured from SpeedTV, some late model dirt racing, sprint cars etc. Anything one step up from banger racing would do me. I'll have a car for the duration of my trip and thought there would be a good chance of some form of racing happening within driving distance of SF. Not sure I'd go to the lengths of flying to see it, but I'd be happy to undertake a decent drive to get to see it, make a road trip out of it.
It may well be that I've been given the wrong impression and racing isn't as widespread, frequent and accessible as I'd thought/hoped.
Some possibilities:
http://www.allamericanspeedway.com/
About 150 mi from SF. Had races in late March last year. 2010 schedule not up yet.
http://www.silverdollarspeedway.com/
Your free weekend looks like a big one for the small dirt oval, about 4 hrs drive time from SF.
http://www.placervillespeedway.com/
This place is running a typical event on the 20th: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGosL3bYm1o
http://www.petaluma-speedway.com/images/PDFFiles/P...
Also on the 20th, and a bit closer to SF.
http://www.oceanspeedway.com/
These cars are a bit crappy, but this is about 2 hrs S of SF, in some absolutely gorgeous country (just above Monterey). Holding races on your weekend.
http://www.nascarlocalracing.com/node/128
In NC - on the other side of the country. There will be a NASCAR Whelen Southern Modifieds race here on 14-03. On this length of circuit, the Modifieds are faster than Sprint Cup cars. It could be a really good show. Of any of the races listed here, this would be my recommendation, but that is partly because I can't stand those bloody hideous wings atop the "Outlaw" sprint cars. If you can get past that, sprint car racing on dirt is, in general, about as good as it gets.
http://www.infineonraceway.com/raceway/race/wednes...
A bit different, and amateur, but an hour's drive north of SF, and on your two free Wednesday evenings.
HTH.
flemke said:
Info
That's exactly what I was looking for, thank you so much! 
I'll definitely make it to Infineon on the Wednesday nights, Ocean Speedway on the 12th, and I'll be looking into getting a flight to NC for the Whelen Tour (never seen modifieds, but always wanted to), or if there are problems with that a weekend pass for Silver Dollar Speedway, win-win!
Checked and I'll definitely be back in the UK by 20th, which is a shame. Still, that's a good amount of motorsport for one trip. I'm excited now!
Lordbenny said:
Ummmm, I think I'll have to check a race out for myself next time I'm State side. You have made me re-think my pre-conceived ideas and now I want to see one of these oval battles (especially as it involves beer!) first hand. 
I've booked to go to the Bristol Round with "RaceWay", and in the hospitality is FREE BEER!Their deals look as good as anyones in the game.
You must go!!
Charlotte Speed Week in June is also very good. With the AllStar race one weekend, a week full of stuff, including a dirt race that many top NASCAR drivers run in, finishing with the CocaCola 600.
thunderbelmont said:
Charlotte Speed Week in June is also very good. With the AllStar race one weekend, a week full of stuff, including a dirt race that many top NASCAR drivers run in, finishing with the CocaCola 600.
May. the coke 600 is always the same day as the Indy 500.Edited by eastlmark on Friday 8th January 22:36
I went to the all star race (when it was called the Winston) some years back. It was scheduled to start in the early evening, which it did, but there was a sprinkling of rain on the first lap and Jeff Gordon crashed out and the race red flagged for a couple of hours. The long and short of it was that I was still in my seat at 1.30 am and that cheating scumbag Gordon had changed to a spare car and won the race. By the time I was out of the car park it was 3.30am and I arrived at my hotel at 4am. A long day indeed.
One tip I always give to brits going to a NASCAR race: make sure your return flight is not on the Monday after as if there is a rain delay they will run the race on Monday instead. Its a great shame to be sitting on a plane going home just as the green flag drops for the race you went all that way to see.
One tip I always give to brits going to a NASCAR race: make sure your return flight is not on the Monday after as if there is a rain delay they will run the race on Monday instead. Its a great shame to be sitting on a plane going home just as the green flag drops for the race you went all that way to see.
Edited by eastlmark on Saturday 9th January 08:48
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