| Author | Message | ||
     Etennuly |
I had the good fortune to go to Charlotte for NASCAR'S All-star race Saturday evening. I've been a fan since the 60s. I started loosing interest a little at a time as things started to change most notably from the nineties and on. Winston went away. The key sponsor and the face of NASCAR for decades. I don't smoke and for many reasons I hated it, but did not mind them being the anchor of NASCAR. You knew who they were. The changing of the guard in drivers and crew are inevitable, even announcers. They grew out of the rough hillbilly red neck drinking, smoking, tough guy image when college boys started showing up, stealing their ideas, expounding on them, and using them against the old guard. Along came the changes within the rules formulations and enforcement. Some sucked. It kind of sterilized the fun out of the sport, as had to happen when TV money could allow all involved to be mechanical engineers. Then came the next inevitable change allowing import car manufacturers into America's motorsport. But the World automotive production advances made this unstoppable. Oh, and the introduction of hip hop, rap music to a 95% white loyal country music block had a big effect. So many changes had my love for the sport falling off to about 30% of what I felt before. Last year through my Corvette Club visit to Charlotte, I got to do a ride along Richard Petty Experience. 165 mph. Was fun, exciting, but mostly educational as to grip and cornering forces. All of that said, one race I had always wanted to see was this All-star race. It did not disappoint. They run 185 to 200 mph. Flat out all of the way around. Some how at the end of the last segment the last five laps were amazing. Running flat out the entire race some how these guys find a little more, throw it in deeper, run closer, use each other. My point is the cars are safer, the people involved even the tire changers, are smarter, they are in pro athletic physical condition, with a five year engineering degree, and they play a lot of that music loudly, but still know how to put on a great show. Of course the $ million to win and $250,000 for second. That is a $375,000 incentive. Not going to be a groupie but I will go see a race like that one any time I can. | ||
| 86129squids |
I'm with ya man. Never got to see a good dirt track race, MC or car. NASCAR to me is just hauling ass in a counter-clockwise circle, waiting for someone to clip a fender. Meh. Maybe I'm wrong. | ||
| Etennuly |
At Daytona, or any track where 3500 pound missiles are bumping into each other at 200 mph, it is a bad idea to be near the catch fence at the bottom of the grand stands. But walking back to your seat it can happen as a group of thirty or so go by in a flash of ground shaking noise. The noise vibrates everything from your ribs and teeth along with every bone in your body. And it is so cool to see as they approach the dance of the 55 gallon drum garbage cans. The sound makes them literally float and spin on the tarmac. To be that close, less than fifteen feet from the roof of the 200 mph cars, and have twenty of them spinning and sliding, crashing into each other and this wall and fence that are now your best friend ever, is quite a rush. The things you hear are amazing. 9000 rpm engines locking at 0 when they get stuffed, tires howling and popping, just so many of them like stepping on bubble wrap, crunching after crunching of sheet metal. Then the smells and the smoke. Burnt tire rubber and racing gas.followed by a minor but very fast moving cloud of little balls of tire rubber. Guess I was lucky no one got into that catch fence. Kind of like riding a bike on that knife edge, the one you don't want to step over.... It is cool to know some guys who made that colossal effort to try to be one of those drivers out there. One of my friends made a three year run at it in 69, 70, 71 in the Busch Grand National series. A man with no known fear of speed telling stories of getting bumped and spun mid corner at 180 mph, the sliding over a quarter mile with no control. These guys make it look easy. It never will be. | ||
| Tootal |
NASCAR is nothing but an endurance race with a drag race at the end!  | ||
| Etennuly |
Ha ha! Ricky Bobby "go fast turn left!" If not for racing some of us old rednecks would have had to get legitimate jobs, go to college, or maybe even NOT have consumed cases and kegs of Budweiser products. Lol ! My ten years of racing dirt back when, building cars, cutting fitting welding, designing re engineering, studies of handling suspension design and modification, springs shocks tires engine building, advancing designs, aerodynamic studies, paint color and chemist,race and truck driver, truck and hauler advancement all of this carried into to my career in collision repair of everything. I aspired to be on a NASCAR race team. A race buddy of mine did it for many years. I got invited several months too late. My new wife was pregnant and I had a good job where the race job was a cut in pay and doubling of hours with travel, lots of travel. Of late I have been playing with the Corvettes on road courses. I suck at it. You paved road course guys can turn right going up and down hills all you want. My brain is set to "go fast turn left". I felt so natural and comfortable going around Bristol in my car and Charlotte in a R Petty car. Although I'm not turning down any invitation to drive on any kind of track. I love to go fast and turn left! I don't care who knows it! Lol ! | ||
| Tootal |
 Racing is racing! But I do prefer not to make three lefts to make a right! |
