Help me enjoy NASCAR.

L

l00p

10,000+ Posts
I appreciate it as a race form but it is just not among my favorites to watch. I find it boring compared to what I enjoy most. I like Rally and then Formula 1 type racing.

I see where oval racing is grueling, dangerous and a talented driver, crew and team is a must to go along with calculated luck. This is with any racing. But I guess I don't follow story lines enough or the nuances.

I am open to advice on what to watch for today that will enhance my enjoyment of it. I have heard radio people say the tv announcers do a good job. Why is this and what should I listen to them talking about in particular?

I know that Dale Jr. is poised to do something never done before and that is to win a race earlier in the week and the main race today if he wins. I know he is now 88 and not 8 and that it seems most don't like his car colors now.

Who is a douche, who is cool, who is nice and who is a fan favorite that really does not have a chance but is fun to watch and hope for?

I want to give this a fair chance as it cannot suck and be so popular, can it? So I defer to those of you who love it. Share your passion with a novice who is opening his mind and tv.
 
I'm with ya, loop.

I grew up a HUGE NASCAR fan, and remained one well into my late 30s. I went to several Cup races at TMS. I get the spectacle, the noise, the smell. I get all that...but that's just part of racing in general.

Then I started branching out, and NASCAR, with the endless left turn, just became really boring to me.

I understand the racing is very difficult. I also understand that the bubba factor, at least among the drivers, is relenting, with most of the talent coming from the carting ranks these days. Still doesn't help me enjoy the roundy-round nature of it all on race-day.

I still love to go to the short tracks, especially dirts in Waco, Bellmeade, and asphalt at ThunderHill...but NASCAR...nope.
 
It helps when you have a horse in the race. (as well as a top driver to pull against)

Having a vested interest in things can make even baseball interesting.

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I like the Spaniard that was in NASCAR last year, I think. Also, most true NASCAR fans seemed not to like him which made him more appealing to me...well, being Spanish too helps. He was Spanish, right?

It takes balls to be going that fast and be that close to one another. Again, I see where it is grueling. Oh well, gonna give it a go and try again. I just wish more Rally would be on tv. I think a lot who like NASCAR would really enjoy it.

Thanks fellas.
 
Juan Pablo Montoya is Colombian. He had a helluva year last year. It's going to be interesting to see how well the other IRL guys like Hornish cross over.

Have fun!
 
Juan Pablo Montoya is Colombian.

As for your question, just watch and listen to DW and the announcing crew...they'll be educated a bunch of newbies today.
 
ha! DW and education. that's classic.

hey did anyone see whatshisface, Chris I think, talk about about DW being on "speed" and then said ackwardly "the network". funny stuff
 
Just a heads up for those with Directv...the Hotpass (channels 790-793 in SD and 795-798 in HD) is free this week so you can pick one of Tony Stewart, DE Jr, Jeff Gordon or Kevin Harvick and listen in on their radio transmissions and stuff. You can also switch over to them during the commercials and you don't miss any of the racing.
 
Experiment failed.

I went and watched some Rally I have recorded and it throttles my Sunday experience by light years. I tried again. Oh well, enjoy. Not everything is for everybody.
 
It's just the US one and the road to the X Games weird format for the actual X's but it is still Rally. Sometimes they will have recaps of the Euro and world circuits so those gems are worth keeping around too. I go back from time to time adn watch what is on the DVR.

I have been told that Speed will be carrying more of the international races though. I hope this happens. I would record every single one.
 
OK, I admit, I used to think NASCAR was stupid. Then I had friends who were really into it. At first, I resisted. Then I watched it with them and it was fun. They enticed me into it with drinking. I was sucked in so fast I couldn't turn back. Now I'm hooked.

So... NASCAR is like drugs. (I guess.)
 
I think that if maybe I had not been exposed to other forms of racing beforehand I would maybe find it interesting. But it isn't because I compare it to other forms.

Again, different strokes for different fokes, er, folks.
 
I grew up really int IndyCar and then got F-1 and Grand Prix type bikes. I've gotten into Cup the last couple of years. I mainly follow the Hendrick Drivers, and now Hornish, Franchitti and JPM. I still find the racing itself boring as an on track product. I always DVR the races and skip many laps. What IS interesting and what brought me into watching the races is the dynamic performance range for one car during a race. In F-1 of even IndyCar or Champ Car, the cars are very static in performance. Even if the setup is initially bad, the car's performance doesn't change much. As well as the cars being really fast and dispensing of races quickly. Cup races are longer and the performance of an individual car can change dramatically from pit stop to pit stop. Those are the times it really catches me as a race fan. You really get to see and respect who is good at these times. You find some battlers, some guys who can really handle a bad car and who understand a championship season as a whole. But I HATE the finishes, which almost always come down to a late caution But that's my suggestion. Screw all the other crap.

That raises the question, why are Cup cars so finnicky? Are they engineered to be loose systems that change a lot or are they simply so heavy and banging into each other a lot that they simply knock parts loose.
 
I like racing, but NASCAR has only limited appeal to me. The part that is so frustrating is they cruise around for 4/5 of the race, then get serious. But when they get serious, they run into each other every few laps, and half the last segment will be run under various cautions, which are supremely boring.
They legislate the cars to be almost identical in every way, so they can all stay on the same lap, which undeniably makes it close, but it is very hard to say who is really good and who isn't in such a series.
The main way one car gets ahead of another is by adjusting the chassis so it handles a little better, and this is where the real racing lies (most any other performance advantage involves cheating). Some teams and drivers are better at setting the car up for the changing conditions during a race, and this will often determine the winner. It's OK, but give me Formula 1 any day.
 
I just don't see the appeal of driving in a circle for hours when almost all the cars are the same. To me it just seems like luck to finish up front.
I bet the atmosphere is fun, but who doesn't have fun at a big outdoor party.
 
It has more to do with evening the playing field so the best drivers with the best crews get to the front.

And every time I hear someone say, "just driving in circles," I roll my eyes. It's like people constantly saying "the Spurs play boring basketball." It's just a mantra.

But as loop said, everyone has different tastes.
 
Well, Al, I think most people realize the drivers are highly skilled to be able to maintain the high speeds and such close proximities as they do in those big, heavy, technologically stifled spec racers, even if they're doing so in a gigantic left turn. It's just that, for a lot of folks, it's generally about as much fun to watch as a submarine race.

I mean, I know Olympic Men's Ice Dancing is incredibly technical, requiring amazing strength, endurance, balance, athleticism, and on and on...but there ain't a ******* reason in the whole mfing world for me to watch that gay-*** ****.

Women's Ice Dancing...now that's a whole 'nother ballgame.

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Don't get me wrong...I can understand why some people like NASCAR, 'cause I used to be a huge fan. I used to be the guy who defended it, like you. Then I started watching Rally, F1, ALMS, LeMans, Dakar, Baja, Moto GP, Aussie V8s, the Rolex Series, etc, and NASCAR not-so-gradually lost it's appeal for me.

The drivers in NASCAR didn't stop being able to drive. On the contrary, they may be more technically proficient now than they ever were. It's just that the end product, the big parade of cars I see on the screen lined up two by two, is boring in comparison to what I can see elsewhere.
 
This is what I love and prefer. Now, they are not next to one another on the course but there is no way they could be. I love this ****!
The Link

The Link

I love in the one above how you get the feel of the cockpit and see what they see as they see it.

And now some wicked jumps and drifts.
The Link
 
LOOP, search youtube for "rally crashes".

Your jaw will drop right off your face.


There's one in there somewhere in which a car hits a jump on a bad line and ends up taking a tree broadside about 15 or 20 feet up the tree. Let's just say the tree won. It was a big tree.
 
Yeah, I tinker around many variations of Rally there. Amazing. I love watching the men in the car get tussled about by the vibrations and turns of the car.

Correct me if I am wrong, Mandingo but Rally and F1 races in the rain. Rain for sure does not stop rally...hmmm.
 
They're 1800 lbs. Nascar rides are 3450 lbs. That's why they are closer to "stock" cars. The power is similar. Put Nascar power in a car that weighs 1600+ lbs less and it'll easily run 240. It's just 2 different kinds of racing.

I never really hear anyone putting down IRL or w/e. I constantly hear people putting down Nascar. It gets tiresome.
 
How is mentioning that the two other forms of racing don't let rain get in the way? It is a fact. I don't think rain delays many oval races, does it? Has this race started yet? It was supposed to start at midnight eastern time last I heard. TV is not on.
 
LOL, OW is always bashed and criticized all over the net by NASCAR fans. I've been defending "boring" F1 races for years.
 
They end up bashing it because of all the redneck comments and whatnot. I've been guilty of that. I don't even think about F1 enough to bash it, but I've done so after hearing tons of **** talked about Nascar.
 
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