NASCAR 2019

I wish NASCAR would run a few more road courses, and they could have a separate "championship within a championship" for the driver who scores the most points on the road courses in a season. Considering that the existing road course races are in CA and NY, they really need one here in the southeast. I'd propose Road Atlanta, where historic Cup cars run every year in the Mitty without problem, though a few safety improvements would still probably be necessary.

And for those who contend that NASCAR's heritage is oval tracks, I remind you that the sport originated with cars used on public roads to out-chase revenue agents - upshifting, downshifting, accelerating, braking, turning left and right. Thus the road courses are really closer to the true origins of NASCAR than the oval tracks are!

 

Are they still running the Roval at Charlotte as well?

Yeah, really, I haven't run across a live NASCAR race in Miami for quite a while
now. Seems rather strange that they'd bury it on FOX Sports but whatever. Races
are unwatchable (especially so on road courses) and the level of commentary makes
you want to go run out in traffic.

NBCS were really billboarding that the balance of the season will be with them. Whoopie!

BHW

 

I'd like to see 5 road courses on the cup schedule:

Sears Point
Watkins Glen
Road America
Road Atlanta
COTA

Road Atlanta is owned by NASCAR now so if there was a will, there is a way to get the safety upgrades done.

as it turns out the race was on FS1 as Fox was airing the women's world cup (which earns roughly 2x the ratings as a NASCAR race)

 

That's a good selection, because all five are in different parts of the country, and all are good, respected tracks.

And if anyone complains that the season is too long already, I'd say that most tracks that currently have two races should only have one. To me, the exceptions should be Daytona, the 3 short tracks and maybe Charlotte and Talladega. There is no reason to have two races at places like Dover, Kansas, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Pocono or Texas. Atlanta Motor Speedway had one of its two dates taken away and doesn't seem to have suffered any.

And I feel that with few exceptions, the 500-mile and 500-lap races should be cut back to 400. And on the short tracks the starting field should be cut back to no more than 36 cars, preferably 30.

 

'Last time; 'can't go wrong with www.tvracer.com

 

I didn't say it couldn't find it; just that it was odd. although competing sporting events within the same family of networks explains it.

wonder what ol' Big Bill would say about getting bounced to the cable channel in favor of women's soccer

 

I find it amusing that the safety requirents for faster, more fragile, cars at RA (GTP fer instance...what?...25% quicker I bet at RA) would not be sufficient for the turtle tanks......

 

Cup cars test at Road Atlanta (and VIR) regularly and hit 170+ at the end of the back straight. not particularly quick lap times though (somewhere between Porsche GT3 Cup and GTD/GT3 cars)

I think the concerns are adding safer barriers to the concrete, and thicker supports and cabling for the catch fences, to contain 3400 pound dump trucks with nuclear reactors for a motor, as Andy Lally calls a Cup car. over 2.5 miles that's expensive, but doable.

 

Nuclear reactors? Ha! Not since the real NASC(Stock Car with cage)AR (pre-dropping to 366 C.I. max days. '427s and hemis....yum-yum! )
And this year, neutered even more.....
First dot: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Monster_Energy_NASCAR_Cup_Series#2019_package

 

I've said that today's cars are so far from stock that the sanctioning body should change its name to NAFCAR (....Funny Car....)!

 

they were making 850+ on the non-restrictor plate races through the end of 2014, then in 2015 they started cutting them back

I think some of the intermediate tracks they are at 550 or so now...450 at plate tracks. race cars need more power, not less....

 

Actually, I missed the fact that they'd moved the fall Charlotte race to the road course, so I guess there is one in the south, sort of.

But I've never been a fan of road courses built in the infield of ovals. I never attended the U.S. GP at Indy because of that, and I'm sure glad that COTA was built. I don't even like the road course at Daytona, in spite of its long history. I don't think I'll like the road race at Charlotte, but I'll reserve judgment until I see it.

 

The other issue of NASCAR at tracks is, the heavy cars tear tracks up, especially in the turns.

There was a time, not sure if it's still the case, that they'd have to do major resurfacing to the track at
Homestead after every NASCAR race due to how the cars chewed up the surface.

Something else to worry about from track owner's perspective...

BHW

 

I went to the roval race last year. It was ok, but the road course portions were too narrow.

 

'Not edumacating me. 'Know all that stuff.

What, however, would they/have they been putting out (if allowed of course) with the big blocks of yore....????

I 'member t'inkin' 1,200 HP AA fuelers were impressive 50+ years ago. Now they're pushin' 12,000....

I'm not particularly a drag racin' fan, but, I have respect, and, those are, sir (if anything is), nuclear reactors!

'Sorry for getting OT.....genetics dictate......

 

410 Sprint cars make ~950 hp on methanol, so a 427 should be well over 1,000 hp.

now that would be fun...braking zones at Talladega

 

Heck BW, Morospo got tore up by the T/A guys, (in what was it, '83?) 'member?

 

Correction. 'Just remembered that was due to insufficient curing time for the SCCA's required facility upgrade for the race to take place....'not the contractor's inability.

 

They run the historic stock cars at Road Atlanta every year at the Mitty - generally cars from 1990-2010, and usually about 15-18 at a time - without any pavement issues. Those cars are similar in weight and power to today's Cup cars. But of course the races are fairly short.

(I wish they'd run real historic stock cars, like those from the '60s and '70s, but those rarely show up.)

 

In '76 David (P.) et al ran the Purolator Torino in the Daytona 24 (the 2 Allisons also but in a Nova) I guess for the Bicentennial. 'Sounded like it was runnin' on only 5 or 6 at the end but finished 16th a 100ish laps down in 16th.
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'Same year, Hershel McGriff and Dick Brooks ran a Charger and Torino (respectively) in the 24 of LM. Neither finished.


See my signature.....

 

I remember when they ran the stock cars at Le Mans; in fact, I believe the ACO created a special class just for them, but dropped it due to lack of participation. Since I think that there is more U.S. interest in Le Mans now than there was then - due to the much-improved T.V. coverage - maybe it's time to try that again. It would be interesting for a NASCAR team with Le Mans experience, like Penske or Ganassi, to send over a couple of NASCAR Ford Mustangs.

 

These days NASCAR cars at Le Mans would be little more than rolling chicanes.

They're way to heavy, no brakes and no handling, the modern sports cars would run rings
around them.

Way too dangerous. Will never happen.

BHW

 

The second-rank NASCAR series, called Busch Grand National in 1986 and Xfinity today, has always been a bit more adventurous than the top-line series. They ran this race at Road Atlanta in 1986-87, and even ran the Grand Prix course at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal from 2007-2012!

 

And Mexico City