Daytona 500

[afx]

Watched the end of the 500 yesterday, I typically only tune in for the end of NASCAR races anymore if I watch at all.  Don’t like that you can just wreck the leader on the last turn and win the race.   The Xfinity Series race on Saturday, the last 10 laps took 2 hours(!) because they just kept taking each other out.  Not sure I call that racing.

[Codi]

Saw that too JC and completely agree.  The better car/driver did NOT win the race that day and we'll never truly know which driver & team it really was.  I respect what those drivers do even though I'm not a big fan of Nascar..............more a drag and road racing fan personally.  I think Nascar ultimately loses any hope of broadening their viewer base when potential fans witness that entire debacle and just turn it off and their less likely to turn it back on in the future. 

  cheers, tim

[cobraman]

Racing or bumper cars ?

[traditional]

I did not watch the race (I'm a sprintcar fan only) but I read some comments from the post race and here is what the fellow who was blocking and got wrecked at the end said.  His comment is quoted below  (Jeff Gluck was the interviewer)

Jeff Gluck

 

✔@jeff_gluck

 

I asked Aric Almirola if Dillon was being too aggressive with that move: "Ha! He's not driving too aggressively, he's trying to win the Daytona 500 -- just like I was." https://twitter.com/louis_wagner/status/965373811574165505 …

6:57 PM - Feb 18, 2018

[mikemodeler]

The trouble with races at Daytona and Talledega is that one wrong move and the field gets mangled and sometimes a driver is taken out through nothing more than being in the wrong place. I agree that the banging and wrecking might seem like a good thing, but if your driver gets knocked out early in the race, do you continue to watch?

I saw some of the pre-race and caught a few minutes early on in the race but didn't watch it much until the end with 20 laps to go, much like I did the night before with the Xfinity race. Between Darrel Blabbermouth Waltrip and his annoying little brother Mikey Imaidiot Waltrip, I have a hard time listening to the race. Sure wish those two could find employment elsewhere because I think Jeff Gordon brings a better driver's perspective to the table and Darrel is 18 years removed from the driver's seat. Mikey lucked out having the ride he did at DEI and the wins he got were more luck than skill.

[Fat Brian]

Personally, I think it's time to slow the cars down again so they aren't so loose that little bumps send them around. I'd limit engine size to about 4 liters but allow overhead cams so the engines will rev a little higher and respond quicker. Ideally the cars would top out at about 180 or so and the racing would get better, back to the bumping and grinding of the 70s and 80s.

[Ron Hamilton]

I enjoyed it

 I feel that if you're going to block, your car had better be faster than the one behind you. The drivers are taught not to take no prisoners, drive aggressively, and win at all costs. Period.

[restoman]

19 minutes ago, Ron Hamilton said:

I enjoyed it

 I feel that if you're going to block, your car had better be faster than the one behind you. The drivers are taught not to take no prisoners, drive aggressively, and win at all costs. Period.

Yep. I thought it was one of the better races over the last few years. 

The last lap is ALWAYS fair game for whomever is bold enough to take it, no matter what track the race is at.

Lots of new rules this year and some pretty significant changes to the cars. After Jr. and Kenseth stepped away, i thought I might not be watching much anymore. But after what I saw Saturday and Sunday... I've got a whole bunch of new favourite drivers!

[Ron Hamilton]

I'm just glad that they walked away from the carnage. No matter what our opinions are, NASCAR is driven by what the fans want to see.

[Dragline]

NASCAR is full of butthurt babies. It's end cannot come soon enough. Either that or they man up and race properly.

[Force]

4 hours ago, Fat Brian said:

Personally, I think it's time to slow the cars down again so they aren't so loose that little bumps send them around. I'd limit engine size to about 4 liters but allow overhead cams so the engines will rev a little higher and respond quicker. Ideally the cars would top out at about 180 or so and the racing would get better, back to the bumping and grinding of the 70s and 80s.

Don't you think 9500+ rpm from a 358 cui pushrod V8 going flat out for four hours is enough!??!!
The bad responce from the engines they use today on Super Speedways has to do with the restrictor plates.
Personally I don't like the segments as they are today with a caution flag eveyone know will come for several laps between them, I think it's very boring and slows the race down for long periods of time, you can still have segments and segment winners but keep it green if nothing happens and it's not that predictable and more interesting.

Edited February 19, 2018 by Force

[highway]

I'll just leave this right here.......

[martinfan5]

2 hours ago, Ron Hamilton said:

I enjoyed it

 I feel that if you're going to block, your car had better be faster than the one behind you. The drivers are taught not to take no prisoners, drive aggressively, and win at all costs. Period.

It was a very good 500,  there was  a lot good racing.

 

[rel14]

Hmm  its not racing, more like a train, every now & then a couple derail,,  reminds me of watch WWE wrestling,  To much Politics in nascar,,,   rather see some good Saturday night dirt track racing,, dirt modifieds, or Sprint cars,, now will talking,,   They need to put nascar back on dirt tracks, like Eldora... I watch MAV-TV  lucas oil tv,, get to see all the dirt track racing,,,,,,,,,,,,,like the Chili bowel,,,, got to go to that one day.........

[426 pack]

I thought it was a ok move to bump him out of the way to win. I would have done the same thing. 

As they say If you ain’t first your last, rubbings racing And I’m on fire.

 

[bbowser]

I thought it was a great race, but then I like the restrictor tracks, a lot of folks don't.  I was a little disappointed they didn't spend more time on the new pit stop rules, but i guess that will come more into focus in the coming weeks.  Those old dogs better watch their backs, the young guns are coming!  Blaney, Elliott, Bowman, et al are showing they're not afraid to race.

[mikemodeler]

2 hours ago, rel14 said:

Hmm  its not racing, more like a train, every now & then a couple derail,,  reminds me of watch WWE wrestling,  To much Politics in nascar,,,   rather see some good Saturday night dirt track racing,, dirt modifieds, or Sprint cars,, now will talking,,   They need to put nascar back on dirt tracks, like Eldora... I watch MAV-TV  lucas oil tv,, get to see all the dirt track racing,,,,,,,,,,,,,like the Chili bowel,,,, got to go to that one day.........

That's true, local tracks do produce more "real" racing!

 

But a Chili Bowel? That's got to be painful! LOL!

[Codi]

Wow, a lot of replies to JC's original comment & question.  His observation of what constitutes real racing is spot on in my estimation.  Rubbin' ain't racing.  If you're behind, it's YOUR job to get around the driver ahead without hitting or causing an accident.  I've been blessed to have road raced on some of the best tracks in the country and also on an oval, once.............the biggest difference being that if  you make a mistake on an oval, well, typically that's all she wrote because you're more than likely heading up the track into the wall. Trying to save the car is darn near impossible.  Purposely causing or putting yourself and others into a position where an accident might occur is irresponsible at best.  Deadly at worst. So you can simply count me among the group that doesn't subscribe to rubbin' is racing.  In closing, I'm sure this will stir the kettle quite a bit but you might ask yourself the next time you're watching  Indy 500,  do you see them purposely "rubbin" the other guy.........obviously not............and yet it's still great racing......on an oval.  Something to ponder perhaps.  Cheers, Tim

 

[oldcarfan]

Rubbin' is racin', but not at the speeds they are going now. NASCAR is flailing now, trying different gimmicks to get back their fans. They could lower the speeds by 30 or 40 MPH so drivers could actually race not just travel i a pack and hope for the best, and do away with the cookie cutter body style, institute a 'race what you make' rule, i.e. an actual stock body put on the current chassis. They have to reestablish a connection with their fanbase and reach new fans. How better to do that than to race cars that really look like a Fusion, Camry or even a Camaro or Mustang ?

[Bill J]

NASCAR has tweaked their sport into mediocrity. The drivers, cars and races all have gotten less interesting. I watched about a half hour of the 500 and I am officially done for the season. I used to love NASCAR, now it is my least favorite form of racing. 

[Bucky]

I think they may have listened too much to whiny drivers, whiny owners, and whiny manufacturers. I'd like to see it get back to actual Stock car racing, not a front wheel drive car with an axle in the back!

[afx]

They don't allow punting the guy ahead of you out of the way on local short tracks, at least not the ones I've attended.  Don't understand why it's encouraged at the highest level of the sport.

 

Edited February 20, 2018 by afx

[Bucky]

If a driver did that at the dirt track I worked at back in the late 80's, he got sent to the back of the pack, no matter how much money he had. The driver I worked for got sent to the back twice that season! LOL

[Lunajammer]

I thought the race was okay, but I have to agree that viewers knew early on that the winner will not likely be the best car. When the top 20 cars are racing within the same second... all day... then you know it's just a race to a coin toss. I would think that at some level, wins like that would be a little vacant to the winners.

[935k3]

"Rubbing is racing" is fine when racing cheap (relatively speaking) race cars but not when your racing multi million cars like F1 and LMP1 prototypes. I don't understand how drivers can put with all those caution laps.