As a Casual NASCAR Fan Explain something to me

[RumRiverRat]

So I was channel hopping today.

Seemed every time I stopped on Fox to watch the Daytona 500 it was under caution.

I watched the final laps and I want to know what the point of watching the entire race is?

Do you watch it for the crashes and the drama or what?

[harvey lee]

Many watch racing to see crashes and blood for some reason.

NASCAR is going down hill fast with all their changes to the racing.

There is no reason to watch any longer.

The record for cautions was 11 and with their new rules, 15. I guess it is a demo now.

[Sifty]

They will have to change this two car racing.

EVERYONE I talk to hated it.

Sifty

[PurpleFloyd]

Yeah the two car racing was one of the worst things that I have ever seen. I have been out of the NASCAR loop for a while- When did this change and what is the reasoning behind it? Is the 2 car racing a mandate or a result of a rule change and will they have it in every race?

[LMITOUT]

When did this change and what is the reasoning behind it?

This is the result of a newly paved Daytona and not something you'll see week to week at other tracks. They would have been doing this long ago at Daytona except that the old surface was rough and handling was key. With the new pavement everything is smooth and it's wide open all the way around, thus leading to this two-car drafting technique.

[Dourque]

have to agree with what LMITOUT said, this is not what one would see on a regular basis this is a product of the new surface at Daytona, next week will be a new animal and the cars will be spread out much more. No 2 car packs in the future until Daytona in july and once the surface gets worked in a bit it will be more traditional racing.

[gregg52]

ya i'm sure there was no way to really predict what was going to happen as far as racin on the new blacktop

i think one reason for the wrecks was the track heated up some and lost just a little of the grip

and they just were off a tic and at those speeds it dont take much

i think that track will age fast down there in the sun

when they go back in july i would bet with rule changes and 85-90 degree temps it will be different racin

[CAMAN]

IMO, NASCAR bases a good race at the Superspeedways on the number of lead-changes during the race. And somebody correct me if I'm wrong but did I hear one of the talking heads say this was the record for number of lead changes? Doubt NASCAR will do much to change the racing if they see fans on their feet the whole race.

[harvey lee]

Yes, there was a record number of lead changes and cautions.

I believe the old record for cautions was 11 and now 15.

The lead changes was at I believe 60, and now a few more. Not 100% sure on this one though.

[SkunkedAgain]

My neighbor hated the two-car drafting as well, but I didn't see any problem with it. Come on, most of us would have agreed (prior to yesterday's race) that seeing two long, single lines racing circles around Daytona was even more boring!

I liked seeing two man teams working together to move around the track. It was exciting. In fact, I was listening on AM 800 for the last 30 laps. Many cars had a chance at the end and that's what made it an exciting race.

The two-car drafting strategy is just that, a strategy. I suspect that the strategy will evolve as the track ages and that the race teams will make modifications for the next Daytona race.

I for one liked the change. It was a breath of fresh air.

[harvey lee]

Yes, I will agree it was somewhat better than the 2 line under one umbrella racing with the big one at the end. Still stinks with all the cautions.

If they want wide open racing to see who is the best, pull the plates and let them go.

Many drivers would rather see the long tracks be dropped as there is so much luck with these tracks as the chance of doing nothing wrong and getting caught in a big crash is so great.

Yes, I know, it's racing but many drivers could let the SSW go.

[SkunkedAgain]

Agreed. I love the short tracks much more. However, NASCAR seems to keep drawing attention to the big tracks at Daytona and Talledega. If they're going to keep hyping these races to the national audience, they need to find a way to make them more competitive. I agree about pulling off the plates, although all sports appear to be going in the direction of increased safety so it's hard to imagine them letting the cars race at top end.

[LightningBG]

Here's a good recap for those that missed the race (myself incl).

[HOF#13]

Yes, I will agree it was somewhat better than the 2 line under one umbrella racing with the big one at the end. Still stinks with all the cautions.

If they want wide open racing to see who is the best, pull the plates and let them go.

Many drivers would rather see the long tracks be dropped as there is so much luck with these tracks as the chance of doing nothing wrong and getting caught in a big crash is so great.

Yes, I know, it's racing but many drivers could let the SSW go.

Get rid of the restrictor plates and make the spoiler much smaller to get rid of some of that downforce. It would be interesting to see how aggressive the driver's would be with the bump-drafting and the 2 car hook-ups then. Guarantee they would have to lift in the corners then.

[spearchucker]

Get rid of the restrictor plates and make the spoiler much smaller to get rid of some of that downforce. It would be interesting to see how aggressive the driver's would be with the bump-drafting and the 2 car hook-ups then. Guarantee they would have to lift in the corners then.

Of course they would or they would be doing the Duke Boys right over the wall. They would be doing 230 by the end of the straightaway so they would have to lift.

I agree, take the plates off and let them go.

[harvey lee]

I doubt many drivers would want to race with no plates. Those type speeds are simply not safe.

[spearchucker]

It would definitely prove who is the best driver instead of who was lucky enough to miss the wrecks.

[Juneau4]

If they want wide open racing to see who is the best, pull the plates and let them go.

Yes, I know, it's racing but many drivers could let the SSW go.

Pull the plates? To many dead people.

Drop the super speedways.

[HOF#13]

Yea, I don't know how realistic it would be or what kind of speed they would be carrying if they could only go through the corners and tri-oval at half-throttle due the smaller spoiler and handling issues.

I would really recommend going to a smaller engine for super speedways and have no restrictor plate, but with the budget crunch can't see that happening any time soon.

[LMITOUT]

I don't think that adjusting the power levels up or down will really change much at the new Daytona or Dega. With the new surface the handling issues have all but disappeared and now it's all about speed. Regardless if their max is 220mph or 180mph when qualifying, it's all relative and they are going use the draft to go even faster when it comes time to race.

The only thing I could see them changing is to have Goodyear bring a tire with less grip or making an adjustment to the rear spoiler. Either that or wait for the surface to weather a little bit and it'll lose grip naturally.

I remember about a 1/2 dozen years ago during the Busch race at Daytona, Dale Jr. and another car (I think it was Truex) hooked up and flat out left the pack. This was back when NASCAR frowned on bump drafting in the corners but they did it all the way around the track in the same two-car fashion as we saw on Sunday. They were a good 1/2 a lap ahead of the field before NASCAR finally told them to knock it off. They probably would have lapped the field in short order if they were allowed to keep at it. Why did it work back then with the same old bumpy and slippery surface? Because you had two guys with good cars that knew how to bump draft down the straights and through the corners and probably most important, trusted each other.

[harvey lee]

Get ride of the ssw's. They are either boring or one watches the last 5 to see who gets in the wrezks. Not good racing at all.

[LMITOUT]

Get rid of Daytona? That'll never happen unless NASCAR wants to cut it's own throat.

[nobody05]

Exactly, it's kinda what nascar is known for in a way. It wouldnt be the same without them heck they've been there for 50 yrs

[harvey lee]

Yes. one could get rid of Daytona. Lets see, Atlanta and others have went and they are not missed at all.

Seems with the loss of fans and some revenue, they may already be cutting their throats.

If things don't chnage soon, you watch the sponsors go.

[Sifty]

I use to enjoy watching the SSW. It was neat to see how some guys would go to the back and then set themselves up for the end of the race.

The chance they took by riding around at the back hoping they would not be involved in the big one. It seemed the guys that would run around up front would use up there cars and when the "train" from the back would come they would'nt be able to keep up with them.

The risk of running in the back and being wrecked but having the the car that comes from the back to win. Back a year ago you had the choice, this year hook up with a car that can push you but take the chance of that guy wrecking you.

Sifty