so apparently the "stage winners" get trophies? a trophy for leading lap 60 of a 250 lap race, right before a competition caution. hot damn.
what thriller today...oh boi. this is nearly done for me. my sundays will once again be productive. no more two hour pre-race drama sessions. #nascarisajoke
I was at the race today. Atlanta has never been a very exciting track, but it was a good way to spend the afternoon. Cant wait for Talladega in a couple months.
Now now now....talk nicely to your mechanic. We can make that crate bloody loose or ungodly tight. Either way we can make it a very looong day for you mate !!!!
Get stuffed! Bugger off! 'Don't want to listen to your tosh any longer! "Float" your arse back to the other side of the pond.....'don't need your bloody lot on this side!!! (yeah...I cheated... ) (edit: btw, when I posted that McL as the fastest on earth, i meant "these" as in Can Am cars in general)
The thing is, they're going through all these gyrations, leaders at certain points during the race all counting towards points, trophies, etc. but in reality, they're also saying that the only thing that gets a driver into the "Chase" is wins. So, at the end of the "regular season", everyone that is in the "Chase" is rolled back to 0 (or whatever) points and so what is the point of all this exactly? The more I think about it, the dizzier I become (not too far of a push, really). They've taken something that is completely convoluted and difficult to follow to begin with and muddied the waters to the point where it makes absolutely no sense. My uncle, a great guy up in Illinois, has been a long time NASCAR fan for years. He'd usually venture down to Florida for the Daytona 500 annually and we'd get a chance to catch up over a few beers before he'd head to Daytona. So, the week leading up to the 500 I called him just to touch base and if we'd see him this year. His reply was interesting, "Oh, nah, all this stuff they're doing with the points and the championship now, its not really interesting to me any more". So, for the first time in I don't know how many years, he didn't come down for the 500. This is the kind of fan NASCAR is losing, guys with a few bucks in their pocket to spend traveling around the country for races and maybe do a little business in the suites, they just don't care any more. How long before the drivers start banding together and speaking out? Or, do they dare? BHW
dafuq? I mean seriously these guys have lost the plot like nobody's business. Quiet the cars? Hell no, crank 'em up! | FOX Sports NASCAR Considers Making Its Cars Quieter, Which Is The Worst Idea Of All Time
I don't know NASCAR well, but your take on Indycar continues to baffle me. Danica got trounced in Indycar in a solid car. Comparing the "old guard" and the attitude of those cars vs today is bizarre - they pull close to 6g's now on the ovals. Assuming that all Indycar drivers drive by specific point reference is also inaccurate. Most of the good ones are using more reference points from their entire field, vs looking to go from one point to another....but the apex is still the apex on a road course, and braking as late as possible simplifies a lot of things.
Also missing it. In addition, wind still exists in Indycar unless they just enclosed all the courses in a dome. ;P
Don't give them any ideas. We have enough control in the sport as it is! Spec cars, engines and transmissions, aerokits, etc is far more than any professional sport can handle.
I did like the McLs (you shoulda seen the Red Leaf Team McLotus's I painted up for a buddy and I whilst interstore slotcar racing...nice job if I said so myself, and so did he...); but that was my point. I just grabbed it as a pic to represent Can Am as the fastest road racing cars on the planet. Not that the McLs alone were (tho', as you know, most of the time they were 'til the 917 came along). I digress. 'T'is a NASCAR thread. Great minds, however, think alike.
I'd gladly give up on the weather conditions if they'd go back to rules for the season; choose your weapon (which has to fit real car template); design, fabricate, and develop as the season progresses and let the best team win. Screw this evening the playing field BS.... Somebody dominates? Hey...they deserve it! (What year was it that Petty won 27 of the races? Mercedes this year in F1. Audi at le Mans, how many? The teams deserved it. Screw newbies that need the "artificial" excitement)
Not only did Petty win 20-sum races, sometimes he'd win by several laps. Seems to me he won at Darlington once by seven or eight laps. Of course, this was all before the teams had orchestrated pit stops and strategies which Petty had worked out with his team well ahead of its time while most of the rest of the teams were fumbling around in the pits and no clear cut strategy. When is the last time we've seen a car win by an entire lap over the rest of the field in NASCAR? My bet is late 70s to early 80s. These days, if a driver romps off to a ten second lead, they'll throw a phantom yellow for some invisible debris to artificially close the field up again. BHW
Floating, is like a boat bobbing in the water. The best example of an opposite would be to think of a driver used to sim racing getting in a real race car, and rigidly fighting the influences that occur in the real world vs a racing simulator. Every snap input will cause the car to lose a little speed, and add a little extra heat and wear to the tires. The sim racer has a path they want the car to follow, irregularities in the real world object. Often, just like a boat bobbing, an irregularity one way, is followed by an irregularity the other way, so rather than an instant correction, a top NASCAR driver guides the car on a "floating" course. They still put in corrections for the bumps and gusts, but they are smaller, finer, and only correct 100% of the motion in instances it really counts. When I drive with Indy car drivers in karts on a rough surface pavement, they tensely try to keep the kart in hand. When I run with NASCAR drivers in a similar situation, they let the bump move the kart a little, favoring keeping it moveing fast. Lots of tiny over corrections rob speed in a big way. Letting the kart breath and bobble on an inconsistent surface is much much faster. This doesn't mean they are drifting, in fact, the Indy car guys tend to get more sideways as they try to fasten themselves down to a line instead of a path. A path doesn't climb every hill and ridge, sometimes it takes a little bend around. Its a lot faster to run a path than try to run a line. So floating, is giving the different pulls on the car a chance to average out, an up bob can be followed by a down bob, if you correct both, you lose speed, if you let them cancel, you end up on path, and did not lose the speed of two corrections. If too many stack up on one side, the amount of correction is gradually increased to bring the car back. Force tries to move car six inches to outside, driver corrects three inches, vs trying to correct the full six inches. Car digs a little extra grip, driver gets the remaining three inches back. Does this make sense? A driver that doesn't float, is constantly trying to force the car to stay where they want it after every irregularity. A driver that doesn't float, also can give up little moments of extra grip, as the extra grip would put them off path. The floating driver gets to take advantage of these, to put them back on path at less expense. The headwind, slower top speed at a given braking point. The increased down force, and increased drag, provide significantly better braking ability. Going into the corner, the increased down force offers better cornering as well. Exiting the corner with a tail wind, less down force is available. Multi sensor wind maps at speed ways are interesting things to look at while watching a NASCAR race. The nature of the bowl shape, original wind direction, stands, and the moving car's themselves mean that whatever the big flag or wind sock is doing at the center, isn't always indicative of what is going on with the track surface.
No professional driver that is being paid is entirely relying on points, but some rely on it more than others. Danica is a "A lot more than others". By road course, I should of said street circuit, I forget that lots of people consider dedicated race tracks as "road courses". Street circuits line both sides with barriers, the track limit isn't a painted line, its a vertical concrete wall that says hello a little too enthusiastically if you decide to ring its door bell. There is a lot less room and time to let the car float in these situations at the speed an Indy car travels these tracks.
The last time I went to the Coca Cola 600, the win by a lap could of happened, but they threw a yellow at (I think) around the 200-300 mile mark when only five or six cars were on the lead lap. Biggest wave around I've ever seen. Kasey Khane was absolutely dominating until that yellow came out. No TV camera could find anything appreciable for the yellow. I suppose the reason for the new format, is to give a reason for the yellow I had at that 600, never let a driver break away and lap a field again. I'd of loved to see that, it could of been possible that night a few years ago, but some one hit the button and spoiled it.
I was working, missed Atlanta, would of liked to watch it. Its on of my preferred tracks, old pavement does that for me. Next one will be new pavement.
