Seems like Nascar is going the way of baseball. All the long-time fans are being priced out of the stadium while the only people left in the stands are the ultra-rich who have no idea what is going on and need a Jumbo-tron to tell them when to cheer.

/not bitter at all

Seems like Nascar is going the way of baseball

Except nobody hits homeruns during the commercial break. I miss the ESPN broadcasts of the cup series. I long for the days that more than 10 laps were run before the next commercial. Now we miss half of the pitstops, most of the wrecks, and about 1/3 of the green laps to advertising and stupid little "features".

FOX and NBC killed NASCAR. Reactionary rules changes will drive the final nails in the coffin.

S_F_P:
They could do that, but that would result in better racing instead of the "follow the leader until there's 2 laps to go" ordeal at Talledega and Daytona.

Besides, DEI has been winning those races, which is exactly what Nascar wants. It keeeps the "fans" happy. If Stewart or either Gordon was winning the resrictor plate races every time they would have changed the rule by now.

Nascar has gone from being about the racing to being about the entertainment factor. Rules are purely reactionary.

When Kenny Irwin and Adam Petty were killed within weeks of each other at Loudon, Nascar jumped to put restictor plates on the cars at NH. The next race at NH Jeff Burton won the pole and led every lap to win the race. They took off the plates, and left it at that. The issue was dropped. A year later Earnhardt is killed and all of a sudden the HANS device is mandatory, and softwalls are being installed in some tracks. Shouldn't the things have been implemented after Petty and Irwin's deaths instead of restrictor plates for a track that averages 115 mph?

Then there's the "Lucky Dog" rule. That's not racing. If he can't earn his lap back by racing for it, he shouldn't get it back.

But, hey as long as the sponsors are happy...

bargirl24 (or anybody else)

Can you explain the "lucky dog" rule for someone who doesn't avidly follow racing? I tried reading up on it, but I'm not grasping the concept.

wesmills

Last year, when a caution came out, racers on the lead lap would race each other to the start/finish line in order to get credit for leading the laps under caution (a driver gets five points for leading a lap in the race, and the driver who leads the most laps in the race gets an extra five bonus points in the season standings). Meanwhile, the drivers one lap down would also race the leader to the line, because if he beats the leader, he gets back on the lead lap, and back into contention.

Late last year Jarret got spun around coming out of turn four and he ended up stalled on the apron front strech near the line. Nascar got concerned that the five drivers racing to the line might force one of the cars to get too low and hit Jarret. (Nothing happended everyone was okay) The next race they introduced the "Lucky Dog" rule that freezes the field standings the moment the caution flag comes out, and the first car a lap down, automatically gets his lap back.

It's for "safety".

I hope this helps.

Taint possum high in cholestrol?

Somebody needs to tell David Whitley of the Indy Star not to start a new paragraph with every sentence.
Maybe he doen't understand the rules of composition.
Associated comments are grouped together to make for less tedious reading.
Every junior high school writer knows this.

To me, NASCAR and baseball are a lot alike. You have to be there as a spectator to really enjoy it. Watching them on TV is boring.

Cupajo

David Whitley writes for the Orlando Sentinel. It says so at the bottom. That means it's a wired report (since it's obviously syndicated) and it lost it's formatting in transmission. It's the editors dropping the ball on the reformatting.

The " political correctness" is killing the sport. This is a rednecks sport. They are the reason stock car racing has survived the last 25 years. Now all the sponsers spending all the money are so afraid of hurting anyone's feelings that may buy their products, they are white-washing the sport to make it appealing to a broader audience. These are also the people woh's interest is already waning, and the viewership numbers are down. Who's still watching the races? The rednecks! When all the dust settles, and all is said and done, the rednecks will once again rule NASCAR.

[Followup]

Ive been following it since it was called Grand National. It has become less interesting to me. I am not sure why, just seems pretty tame.

Sez Jeff Gordon: "EAT IT, REDNECKS! NASCAR IS MINE! THE NORTH WINS AGAIN!"

This seems pretty sad to me, sponsors are big money, they shouldn't be allowed to do that, unless the sponsor is profane. Maybe we should find a link and fark those ass-hats.

That was a lovely little editorial. The guy brings up some good points.

Racin', Rednecks and 'Roids all seem to go together. To call Nascar a sport is like calling rasslin a sport. Sure, it take a little athletic ability, but it is only for the crowd. Get a grip, grits, it's only another commercial.

"Just let your SOOOOOOOOOOOUL GLO-O-OW!"

While I'm certainly no big fan of the Fox coverage, at least they're showing a lot of the Busch races on Saturdays. I don't know if this was the case with ESPN (I don't get that here in Canada, only TSN), but I welcome any additional coverage.

The Busch Series was covered by ESPN, TNN, TNT,and TBS. Before FOX and NBC bought the contracts to the half seasons, the Cup Series was shown on six different channels throughoutthe season. I remember you HAD to have a promo pcket schedule to find the race, but the coverage was better because there was competetion.

Nascar needs a trash talkin African-American in the Number 3 car... a nubian God straight out of Kenya. One that would make Darth Vader look like an anemic albino. Let him have a pit crew made of girls from a Jay-Z video... remove all sponsorhip but two : AFROSHEEN and CRYSTAL.

Then, and only then , will I watch NASCAR.

I can understand freezing the field when the caution comes out, but was it necessary to throw in giving a lap to the first car a lap down? What if that car is on the verge of being lapped again? It certainly would not have been able to regain a lap racing to the start finish line the way they used to before the rule was implemented. What about a car that's 2 laps down but is about o regain one of those laps when the caution comes out? Why not give him a lap back?

I don't know about other track's ticket prices, but at Loudon, NH I've been paying $90 up to $110 for the same seats over the last 9 years. Those are middle of turn one (teh best turn for wrecks) at the top of the stadium just under the VIP boxes. Those boxes come in handy in july when it hits close to 100 degrees and the sun finally passes over. As for NASCAR at least they aren't fining drivers for bad language over the scanners like the FCC is doing to your radio stations. Much more interesting in person than on tv have to admit. Plus I needed a sport to drink to on sunday while the NFL is offseason.

but was it necessary to throw in giving a lap to the first car a lap down

EXACTLY! if he wants his lap back, he'd better race for it and earn it.

I miss Dick Trickle.

Lil' Johnny, so the penicillan finally started working?

"Nascar needs a trash talkin African-American in the Number 3 car... a nubian God straight out of Kenya. One that would make Darth Vader look like an anemic albino. Let him have a pit crew made of girls from a Jay-Z video... remove all sponsorhip but two : AFROSHEEN and CRYSTAL.

Then, and only then , will I watch NASCAR." - bashturn

Most everything I've read of yours on here I disagree with completely, but here we see 100% eye to eye on. I wouldn't miss a race.

Can't you get leperosy from eating possum? Or was that aardvark? Whatever, fark NASCAR.

I don't get NASCAR at all. It's gotta be the most boring racing ever in the history of motor vehicles.

Want to see edge of your seat racing?

Watch this guy



when he's doing this.

Damn, I go see Hellboy and come home and I've missed a thread just up my alley.

Two things come to mind - Don't sell your mule to buy a plow, and...Don't corner something meaner than you.

Nascar will have on it's backup lights REAL soon.

by the way, Hellboy ROCKED.

Hey onethreeseven
And I think motorcycle racing is boring. I can watch a NASCAR race all the way through. Even funner when you're actually there.

It's about time NASCAR stated to care about it's image. Why would you let a company selling used car parts with a name that maybe/could be considered offensive while upstanding beer and cigarette sponsors are being ignored. It's not like car parts have anything to do with racing anyway...

/doesn't watch NASCAR

And I think motorcycle racing is boring. I can watch a NASCAR race all the way through. Even funner when you're actually there.

That's because you're a toothless hill-billy and don't know any better. NASCAR == Lots of left turns, and an occasional pass.

MotoGP & AMA Superbike == All kinds of turns, lots of passing, four and five wide racing, and better wrecks. Plus, you actually get to see the racers work the machine.

Hell, F1 is better than NASCAR, and there hasn't been an F1 pass for the lead in a decade. It's a friggin parade of cutting edge speed gear.

NASCAR == Rolling bill board parade.

Jeff Gordon sucks.

/obligatory Jeff Gordon sucks comment in Nascar-related discussion