Amen to that.

I fail to see how the Big Three can see that Nascar is selling anything for them. They are spec bodies with carbed V8's that you can't find in any production model. The only way I see them getting anything out of it is by the tremendous amount of viewers that they can capture with their advertising. Otherwise, what's the point?

We used to go to North Wilksboro, NC (the longest running Nascar track at the time) for the Cup races the last four years they ran there and had alot of fun. It was classic old school Nascar. But when Nascar became totally about money and closed our favorite little track in the Smokeys for a superspeedway in Texas, we said that enough was enough and we dumped our annual trip of Nascar for the NHRA, ALMS, and Speed World Challenge.

As for Toyota, Honda, and Nissan, I'd like them to become percieved as heavy, low tech, ill handling beasts because of Nascar. You know, have the whole idea back fire on them. Let them spend the estimated $125 million per year showing their's is the low-tech spec car with fancy stickers of the year.

Despite Nascar's many shortcomings, if they'd just make the cars and series more like the Speed World Challenge, I'd be all over it. Have it be a fusion of driver AND car, rather than 500 miles of high banked oval, pedal to the floor, in a spec car running a non-production carbed V8.

But until that happens (which probably never will), I'll make my trek to Road America for ALMS and Speed World Challenge and to Brainerd for NHRA.

 

THANK YOU!!! NASCAR has so strayed from its roots it is hardly recognizable, except for the superspeedway and the constant barrage of advertising...

Toyota, Nissan and Honda getting involved? Big whoop. Their production cars have just as much in common with today's "stock cars" from Ford and GM...the only thing that changes are the stickers....

 

I think that will be the end of NASCAR's growth

 

I will refrain my commentary because none of it is polite. However, NASCAR has been slipping from my radar as they have catered to the PC/Soccer Mom/NASCAR Dad crap. The introduction of those companies could be the nail in the coffin. They have closed all the fun tracks for boring races in big markets like Las Vegas, California, Homestead, and KC. In a given year I will watch the races from Daytona, Talladega, Charlotte (if I have time), Atlanta, Darlington, the short tracks, and the road courses. I was truly disappointed when they pulled the last Rockingham event. Some of the best racing all year, and a little sentiment as I did The Buck Baker Racing School there.

 

I grew up in NASCAR.
My father made the first restrictor plates for Richard Childress/Dale Earnhardt.
I went to school (Mech. Engineering) at UNC-Charlotte with many guys working for Rick Hendrick and Robert Yates.
I was president of the local chapter of ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) and arranged several lectures and field trips to local race teams and their staff.
Knew Randy Dorton (engine builder for Rick Hendrick's teams) very well (may he RIP), Lou LaRossa, Mike Nelson, Bud Hutchens, Bobby Hutchens, and a bunch of other notables.

My NASCAR passion began to wain after Ernie Irvan hit the wall at Michigan in 1994 and almost died. We had just lost a few drivers recently like Neil Bonnett, and attention was focused on car safety. Mike Nelson (an engine builder for Hendrick's team) came to give a lecture on "engineering and racing" about 2 weeks after Ernie's crash. After I introduced him, he opened the lecture with a few words about Ernie's crash, and what happened at the track that day after the wreck.
In a nut shell, NASCAR officials were immediately at the scene, and just as soon as Ernie was extracated from the car, NASCAR put a cover over the car, cinched with a cable around the bottom and padlocked. The car was hoisted onto a rollback truck and whisked to a garage where it was locked-up for a "NASCAR investigation" to see what went wrong. They wanted to see if a tire blew, suspension part failed, throttle stuck, or whatever. Bottom line is that they (NASCAR) would not let the Yates crew even look at their own car, much less have it back, nor would they allow outside investigator's access to it for their own observation.

Further discussion revealed that a few of the NASCAR teams had been lobbying NASCAR to allow them to change the chassis. They wanted to use 4140 chrome-moly tubing for the main tubular frame and chassis as opposed to the softer and less-strong 12 to 18-point carbon steel that was specified by NASCAR. Race teams claimed that NHRA cars were hitting walls at 300mph and the drivers were walking away, yet wall hits with NASCAR frames were yielding injurys and deaths at under 200mph. They wanted the stronger steel. NASCAR claimed that their chassis designs were well-suited, all the teams were trained to weld this steel, and that no change was allowed. Any team caught with anything other than the standard NASCAR-issued chassis/frame would be banned from competition (meaning no race, no air time, no TV, and eventually no sponsors for the team). So the bottom line was, "Use our stuff, or you will not have a job."

The Nascar teams even got Kenny Bernstein (who fielded a CUP car for several years) to offer to train ALL the teams how to properly weld and stress-relieve the high-carbon steels like 4140 - FREE of charge no less, in the interest of safety and fellowship. NASCAR stuck by their old philosophy, and reiterated their threat to teams who might want to try something new.
(Ever wonder why Bernstein got out of NASCAR? Now you may know...)

From that point forward, I began to loose interest and respect for NASCAR.
They are "liable" for the designs, the machinery, and the function af all the aspects of each car, because NASCAR actually sends out the chassis blueprints and mandates that each team build precisely that design. As others have said already, the cars are now "spec" cars, but the specs are not even specific to each manufacturer or team, they are NASCAR designs.

We may speculate what money Toyota and Honda have to throw at NASCAR, and surely more money will help in recruiting talent and opening doors, but to be competitive... Toyota and Honda don't have doodly-sh1+ to bring to the NASCAR party, because NASCAR has it's own technology and it's own agenda. No amount of historical Honda know-how is going to give them an advantage on how to set-up a NASCAR-designed chassis.

I don't know which makes me sadder... the fact that imports have made it to the cusp of enterring the most American motorsport ever, or the fact that the most American motorsport ever has strayed do far from it's roots.
Either way - it's a bad sign.

 

Dont think so... How many jumped to toyota when then brought their truck? PLENTY.

 

Drivers won't care who's paying them. I think Toyota especially would have little work to do to win the NASCAR crowd over. Their trucks have no problem finding buyers in this audience.

 

The point is that those are the teams that the Big 3 will never let go, and if so, will pour all their money into those teams.

 

Sad but true.

 

I couldn't agree more.

 

I can agree with that.


Oh wait. I just thought of a funny.


IASCAR! LMAO!

 

I just had a scary thought. Now I cant understand why pepole can watch NASCAR, or why Speed Channel has to have 40 shows to cover pre and post race, but the NASCAR name has come up in several big events. I remember they were talking about the NASCAR Dads voting for Bush in the last election. If these Dads see Lil'E getting into his #3 Camry, this could lead to a lost sale. A lot of people stick with there casr becasue of the drivers orientation, even though the car has zero to do with the NASCAR model. How many MC's are sold a year to NASCAR guys who want to be like Lil'E? I know I have seen my fare share of #8 stickers.

Whats even worse if the Koreans enter and then the Chinese. Chevy's next to Toyota next to Kia and Cherys.