a new series needs to be started altogether.

There is no fun at all in watching a driver only competition. Put cars and the manufacturers back into it. We should be using factory unibodies with roll cages, even if it is slower.

I would watch a series like that every race if it existed. Hell, ive watched more NASCAR on "ESPN classic" than i have live.

 

The last things that came out of NASCAR that we saw on the street was the bodywork of the '95 Monte Carlo.

Once upon a time, NASCAR had a big influence on cars we can buy. In the last of it's real heyday, the nose on the late 80s Monte Carlo SS, the limited edition (and relatively rare) '86 & '87 GM G-body "Aerocoupes", and the serodynamics of the MN12 Thunderbird. It's also realistic to believe the LTx and Vortec engines tapped alot of ideas that were found on NASCAR engines. But we're talking items that were in development 20 years ago plus.

NASCAR is useless as far as car technology & a joke as far as a marketing tool for car makers. Before, it was nothing more than stickers or a roof profile that separated one brand from another. The Car Of Tomorrow has eliminated that last, weak, final link with any relation to any "stock" car. There hasn't been any reason for an automaker to be involved in NASCAR in years, and today there's even less.

Pontiac pulled out some years ago, and they were dead right. They cited the lack of any usefulness of showcasing Pontiac brands or performance, & Pontiac is the brand that owes it's whole performance image to NASCAR. When GM pulled out of NASCAR in the first half of the 1960s, all those performance pieces became available as "dealer installed" options that made relatively mild Bonnevilles run 3.0 seconds to 60 mph in a Car & Driver magazine, power Pontiac General Manager John Z Delorean's "ringers" he supplied to car testers that got unrealistic numbers when compared to "stock" off the showroom floor GTOs, Bonnevilles, and early Grand Prixs. Later Pontiac Ram Air and Super Duty engines were essentially NASCAR engines with 60's era smog controls and street driveability.

NASCAR is a waste, and I don't watch it. I prefer SCCA races & the Aussie's Supercar series. Even "Drifting" is more interesting to me than NASCAR. At least they still use real cars.

 

That number HAS to be a typo... 3.0 seconds 0-60mph is super rare even today.

 

Back in the 60's and early 70's, NASCAR speeds were almost the equal of Indy cars- 180-190 MPH on a car that weighed twice as much, with a lot larger frontal area- they were pushing some serious HP- The old mantra, back in the day, was "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday"

That is where the 429 Ford Tallendagas and Cyclones, the Road Runner Super Bird and lots of others came from- People could see their car manufacturer race, see who could produce the most power, who's engines were the most durable- and buy a car that looked very similar to what was racing and winning on the track-

I would hazard a guess that we still get some racing trickle down- maybe instrumentation, traction control, paddle shifting- maybe even ceramic brakes- some people buy the latest technology not because they need it, just because it is the latest or best- but NASCAR has even less to do with stock cars than it used to-

 

Nascar = WWE with cars...

it's basically just a drama show

 

As you're probably aware, none of those technologies have come from stock-car racing - or from F1, for that matter. It's the series that use production-based equipment that provide the biggest bang-for-the-buck for enthusiasts.

If I were running a car company, I'd run far, far away from circle-track and open-wheel racing and dump the same money into sports car racing. Look just at the LeMans racing series for an example of the impact that the right rulebook can have on mass-production vehicles.