I never understood what the hell was so great about NASCAR racing.  Watching a bunch of stupid cars go in circles.  Surrounded by drunk rednecks.

So on Friday night, I decided to go to the Busch Series race at Richmond International Raceway.  [b]Why the hell didn't anybody tell me what I was missing????[/b]  Unfortunately, I couldn't go to the Winston Cup race on Saturday, but I will next time.  Also, I'm going to the Indy race in June.  Man, what a blast it was!!

For those of you who haven't gone, go if you get a chance.  And BTW, if you go, wear hearing protection.  Seriously, its loud!

Another convert!!
I haven't BEEN to a race, but I watch them on TV.
Harvick is having a bad year, but Little E is moving up.
Waltrip has taken his brothers place as court jester.

I like F1 but, is hard to follow and I never get to see them live.

I used to follow CART closely. If fun to watch drivers bounch from CART to F1.

Road courses RULE!!!!!!!!

You have to goto a Nascar race to appreciate it.

I have been a huge NASCAR fan since '94.  I am going to my first race the Pepsi 400 in Daytona.

But its just not the same with out Earnhardt!
In fact it does get very boreing sometimes with out him.  Its just not the same.

RIP #3

If it's got 2 wheels, 4 wheels or goes fast on water, I'll watch it.  I went to my first Richmond race (1/2 mile dirt then) and Southern 500 in 1961 - 'been hooked ever since.

Jim

Chimborazo,

The Brickyard 400 at Indy is on the 4th of August.  I may or may not be there.  It's not one of the most exciting races in NASCAR, but ya gotta go just because it's Indy.  I recommend seats in turn one or three.  

Enjoy,

Eddie

I went to the Phoenix Az. Nascar race in 1999. I think it was the K-Mart 400 or something. It was unbelievable! I was most impressed by the amount of noise and the fact that there is sooo much air being moved by these cars at 150 to 190 mph! Every time the lead pack passed me, it was like a big wall of warm air pushing at my chest! The next coolest thing was the little rubber balls that the tires sluff off. They go all over the place and can be hurled into the stands when a cars tires kick some up. It gives meaning to 'getting out of shape in the ball bearings' on the outsides of corners! I would love to go see another.
BTW - Dale Sr. was unable to qualify due to car problems and had to drive his back-up car from dead last. He worked his way up to 3rd when they called the race due to rain at about lap 135 out of 200. He would have won that day if the rain wold have stayed away. Best race I have ever seen!!

only in america would a 3500 lb., 4-speed, 2 valves-per-cylinder pushrod actuated v-8, 4-barrel carburated, steel wheeled vehicle be called a "race" car.

pass the spudweiser, please.

Wait a second there Captain. Over the pond they race similar cars in a "tourist trophy" series. And....they also race the BIG RIGS!

Actually it's called a "stock" car not a "race" car.

I used to have Season Tickets to both of Richmond's Winston Cup races.  Stopped renewing them about 2 years ago.  It was getting too expensive.  Tickets were something like 75-85 each and you had to buy a block of 4.  Twice a year.  Traffic sucked big time, even though I found a perfect place to park.  (About 1 mile away)  In and out very quickly.  I don't miss the people, I don't miss the piss lines.  I don't miss the expensive food and drink.   I do miss the sound, the scanner traffic and the vibrations of the cars.

TV is better. [:D]

Only in America do they call 850 horsepower naturally aspirated, pushrod actuated, two valve motor turning 9K RPM a 'decent amount of power.'  

Speaking of 2 valve power, anyone hear that naturally aspirated TNT motorsports King Snake Viper doing 217mph?  Is that not the sweetest sound you have ever heard?

I do watch NASCAR but that is about it.  I would like to go to a race just to experience it.  I am really interested in road racing however it is hard to follow since there is a general lack of interest in it and the TV coverage is so sparse. It makes it difficult to follow.

NASCAR rocks!!! It is the best form of auto racing out there bar none. I have talked to quite a few people who think that F1 is the shit but none of them knew what they were talking about. Consider this. In Nascar, there is a field of forty-three cars, FORTY-THREE. Those pansies at indy and F1 have roughly half that size so there are times when drivers will be all alone in single file for several laps. This is especially true at longer tracks that are over 1.5 miles. At NASCAR they are trading paint and decals for the entire race no matter what the position.

In F1 it amazes me that anyone would want to watch that crap. I followed it for three races but found it unbearable. The starting order was the same as the finishing order in almost every race. The only time I saw significant lead changes was in the pits. You will never see someone come back from a lap down and finish in the top ten in F1 or indy whereas it is a weekly occurance in NASCAR.

Oh yea, for the people who want to critisize 2 valves per cylinder and pushrods, think back to 1996 when the Inlmore/Mercedes went to indy and finished 1,2,3,5. Pushrods kick ass.

"Wait a second there Captain. Over the pond they race similar cars in a "tourist trophy" series. And....they also race the BIG RIGS!"


i was just yanking chains, green furn!!! although, i do enjoy watching the dtm cars race more, nascar is cool! takes the same guts no matter what the venue/vehicle is.

________________________________________

"Actually it's called a "stock" car not a "race" car."

wally, show me a "stock" tube chassis, rear wheel drive, 4-gear, ford rearend'ed, carburated grand prix and i'll agree with ya!!! just funnin'!

GC456 if you do go make sure you can find a scanner and a good set of muffs with speakers in them. You can buy the earmuffs at most of the tracks for around $30. Listening to the drivers and crew chiefs talk is half the fun. They aint shy thats for sure. The earmuffs are great after the races to use while your mowing the lawn. A great way to justify the purchase.

Guys,another great "OH MY GOD" motorsport is drag boat racing. Take a AA fuel dragster motor, put it in a v-bottom fiberglass or carbon fiber boat and watch the water and pieces fly. Boats are running the quarter mile in the 230/240mph range and are just flat out wicked.

Cool! I hate Nascar! Dale Earnhardt is dead to no ones regret. Its nice to see Nascar going away a little bit at a time.

Talk about not knowing what they are talking about, those Ilmors were overhead cam, 4 valve engines.  The only pushrods that have been at the Indy 500 the last 15 years have been the Buick stock block V6 turbos and none since the IRL.

As for your slams against those that follow road racing, they know a hell of a lot more about driving than someone like you.  Plus, many NASCAR fans think those things out there are representative of their street counterpart and the Pontiac and Chevrolet commercials further that illusion.

Rally for me.

ARH

Don't knock NASCAR until you've tried it...

I've been dragracing for over 10 years, and never had much interest in NASCAR...

UNTIL...
I went to a race...

Several years ago, myself, and 3 buddies drove to NC to see the Coca-Cola 600 race...
Had a great time, but had to sit in the nose-bleed seats for the whole race...

About 3 years ago, my brother was hired on a NASCAR team as a shock builder...(RYR/Rudd#28)

Now I see the races 4 feet from the pit wall...(For free of course)[:D]
Also, I have full freedom ANYWHERE in or on the track...
I can wander around in the garage area too...

BIG DIFFERENCE !!!

Makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck...

Last year, my Dad and I had lunch with my brother and Mike "Fatback" McSwain in the race trailer...
Later that day, Ricky Rudd won the race...
(Too bad we left early to beat the traffic)
I'll be at the June Pocono race this year...

Look for me in the #28 pit stall...

Kind of blew it there LarryG, sort of.
1994 season Penske racing used a loophole in the rules that allowed push rod engines to run more boost than the turbo engines.  At Indy that year Al Unser Jr. and Emerson Fittipaldi qualified Penskes "Mercedes" in the front row with Al finishing first and Emerson third.  The next day the rules were changed to take away this loophole.

[url]http://www.penskeracing.com/history.html[/url]

Damnit Atencio, ya beat me to it. I had the right facts (sort of), just the wrong year, and I kind of screwed up the finishing order. My memory betrayed me. Anyway, my main point point ws that pushrods were used at indy and did extremely well. Pushrods still kick ass. I will however concede that the ilmors had an unfair advantage due to favorable rules.  

Actually, NASCAR is getting [i]more[/i] popular.


Just got tickets and pit passes to the IRL race in Richmond June 29th.

Why is that?

Less sheet metal = less logo area = fewer sponsors?