Someone explain Nascar to this immigrant please

Rob Keeble

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GTA Ontario Canada
So i have never watched Nascar and given my status i thought Bill is watching i will take a look and see what its all about.
Sorry all I dont get it. Formula 1 yeah i can understand and their tracks have some challenges for the drivers but one big round and round i dont get.

Is it an endurace race???
Looks like it has a huge following but i cant fathom out why.

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To me, it's the same difference as American Football compared to Soccer.

Brute force, horsepower, full on contact sport versus a lot of running around with very little scoring.
 
To me, it's the same difference as American Football compared to Soccer.

Brute force, horsepower, full on contact sport versus a lot of running around with very little scoring.

don't leave out some of the driving aspects such as drafting, side drafting, bump drafting getting you opponent loose at 180 MPH, and then there is the pit strategy. There is actually a lot too it.
 
Oh yeah, There's a lot more too it, but it takes a while to catch on to the nuances. It's much more than just driving in circles.
 
So Rob,
your mistake was watching you first race alone. Nascar is best learned in the company of others preferably folks who understand the nuances and also best with some cold liquid refreshments (beer). I am sure that Tom or Brent would be willing to tutor you on the finer aspects of the sport and I also would be a willing teacher if you should find your self down this far south. I would even furnish the liquid refreshments.
 
These are entirely different styles of racing. Each of the tracks poses different obstacles for the way they set the cars up. Only two tracks are road courses, the others are mainly ovals. Obviously some tracks are smaller around than others, but the degree of banking and the radius of the turns makes a big difference from track to track....some tracks have different turn radii at each end, with different banking, making it tough to setup the car to perform well on both ends of the track. These are fairly big 3400 pound cars that don't behave the way purebred race cars do. There's a lot of sliding around with relatively large ill handling machines. The Bristol track is about 1/2 mile around, but they average sub 16 second laps due to the high banked turns. The Martinsville track isn't much bigger, but it has longer straight aways, and tighter turns that are nearly flat, which not only slows down the speeds, it emphasizes different setup requirements and different driving techniques. Then they have the super speedways like Daytona and Talladega where drafting and working in groups is more important. Each track has unique challenges for the crew chiefs and drivers, and on any given day, several different cars are capable of winning. Add 43 cars to the fray, and all he!! can break lose. The racing is often very close, and it's not unusual to see several different cars take the lead for a stint. NASCAR changes the rules often and sometimes actually slows the cars down to keep all the teams scrambling to make their cars perform well within the new rules....it's intended to be more about the close competitive racing than the technology of the cars. It's often very close racing that's not dominated by one team. I like both types, and I think the Indy and F1 cars are very cool, but I find that actual racing is more interesting in NASCAR. I think if you understood more of the subtleties of the challenges the teams face each week at each track, you might like it better. The history of it's origins is interesting too...the orignal cars were literally hotrodded American sedans made to be driven by outlaws trying to outrun the authorities years ago.

Indy racing and F1 are undoubtedly faster more capable purebred race cars with more horsepower, lighter bodies, better aerodynamics, and a lot more advanced engineering, but passing on the track is more rare, and the cars aren't as close together....the fastest car usually takes the poll, and often wins from the poll....it's not unusual to the see the same car dominate an entire season.

It's largely subjective, and I like some tracks more than others, but if you like racing give it a couple more tries before giving up on it.
 
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I don't watch a lot of it, but appreciate the idea. I've enjoyed it when I picked a driver and cheered for them. Basically as others have explained, it comes down to the nuances, every car is regulated to certain specs, so winning comes down to who can push the cars to their limits at the right moment in the right places, as those little gains help them get ahead. Drinking and being lazy watching cars go around and round are a bonus. :D
 
...Drinking and being lazy watching cars go around and round are a bonus. :D

NASCAR:

Non
Active
Sport
Centered
Around
Rednecks

:D:D:D

"Nuances" or not, it's pretty boring. They'd never admit it, but most of the spectators are there hoping to see a big wreck.

In the old, original days of 'run what you brung,' it was a lot more interesting and exciting. It was truly competitive, with each car company/racer trying to out-engineer its rivals. Now its just a bunch of identical cars with different paint jobs..
 
Rob,
A lot has to do with the different heritages of Formula 1 and NASCAR. Formula 1 has always been a rich man's game. NASCAR was born during Prohibition when moonshiners became bootleggers and ran homemade whiskey to thirsty northerners. This was such a lucrative endeavor they could afford cars that ran faster than the police could afford. Outrunning police on gravel back roads in cars they'd personally modified to run faster became not only a living, but a thrill and a mystique developed around them and the cars. It was only natural that they moved to the track when Prohibition ended. It's an "everyman" sport that (in the beginning) anyone with a car and a dream could get into. It's kept that feeling still today.

In 1969, I met a guy in the military who was driving a bus. I asked him what he'd done before he came in and he said he ran moonshine from North Carolina to Washington, D.C. (mostly to Congressmen). He said he joined the Air Force because he got too old to run liquor, when he turned 19.

I'm not a fan but can appreciate the heritage.

Steve
 
It's mostly just a good excuse to drink beer. :rofl::rofl::rofl:
F-1 and Indy style folks drink champagne and wine...NASCAR is all beer baby...and a good excuse to yell "Yeeeeeehaaaaa" here and there.

Terry...what the heck is a Blue line and why does it matter? Is it like the yellow line on a street? :huh:;)
 
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