The NASCAR Thread

[Chargen69]

I mainly was focus on denny calling someone else a moron


that is the pot calling the kettle black

[Aero426]

The final days of Speed Channel

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2013/08/05/Media/Speed.aspx?app_data={%22pi%22:%2235762_1375796827_291661577%22,%22pt%22:%22twitter%22}

[Budnicks]

The final days of Speed Channel

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2013/08/05/Media/Speed.aspx?app_data={%22pi%22:%2235762_1375796827_291661577%22,%22pt%22:%22twitter%22}

Thanks, for the info... see ya' SPEED Channel 

[JB400]

There goes another channel that I usually watch.  Guess I'll find something else to do.   Not much on tv worth watching anymore.

[odcics2]

There goes another channel that I usually watch.  Guess I'll find something else to do.   Not much on tv worth watching anymore.

It's all about money.   Less folks going to see Nascar, less watching.   The downward spiral started years ago...

[TruckDriver]

Most of the shows that were on Speed have or are moving to Velocity  channel. Stacy David's "Gear's" is moving there too, although, the announcement has not officially been made yet.

[JB400]

I don't get Velocity, so I can't watch it.


With Penske guys bashing the 48 car in Cup, Penske chose the 48 number for the Nationwide series with Logano driving it this weekend

[TruckDriver]

another reason I drop cable tv, was for Direct tv so I could get Velocity. I follow Stacy David on Facebook, and they are even building a new studio for the show that is bigger. He said they are still going to complete all the current projects, and all the past episodes will be able to be seen on their new website once it is up.

[thedodgeboys]

Good news looks like fox is increasing the amount they want for the new sports channel by 57 cents, that's probably $5.00 by the time I get the bill in my mailbox. Or I'll have to do some bundling crap I order to have the old speed channel.

Cable providers still negotiating with Fox over Fox Sports 1: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice sessions and the Camping World Truck Series race Aug. 17 from Michigan International Speedway will be among the live telecasts on the first day Fox Sports 1 goes on air in place of the Speed cable network. And that could be a problem. Among those still negotiating carriage fees with Fox Sports 1 are DirecTV, Dish and Time Warner Cable. Spokesmen for DirecTV and TWC said Thursday that discussions are ongoing and Dish also has not signed a deal, according to the SportsBusiness Daily. Speed is in nearly 86 million homes, but millions of its current subscribers won't be able to see Fox Sports 1 unless a carriage deal is finalized. According to the SportsBusiness Journal, Speed costs about 23 cents each month per subscriber, and Fox is looking to increase that to 80 cents per month. It's not surprising that these negotiations go down to the wire, but it's enough to make NASCAR fans nervous as the channel they know as Speed will cease to exist when Fox Sports 1 is launched in its place in about a week.(Sporting News)(8-9-2013)

[Aero426]

They want  3 x the current rights fees so I can watch mostly stick and ball and a little racing?     I don't think so.   

[JB400]

Is Gordon washed up, or does he just need a gutsy crew chief like Knauss or even Ray Evernham?  Ever since this Cot car came out, he hasn't really been as competitive as he used to be.  JJ was winning some races, but not as much as with this car.  I know Hendrick shifted some of Gordon's resources over to JJ.


Gordon did take a pretty good lick today at WG.

[JB400]

Sort of a surprise driver in the 14 for Sunday at Michigan.  Austin Dillon will be driving.  It seems that Bass Pro made that decision.

[TruckDriver]

Well, they sponcer him too in Nationwide if I remember right (still half asleep)

[JB400]

Montoya is definitely out of the 42 for next year.


 Also, Brian Vickers will be full time driver of the 55.  Hope it works out for him.

[A383Wing]

I'm not a big fan of Austin Dillon....or his brother for that matter

[Budnicks]

I'm not a big fan of Austin Dillon....or his brother for that matter

Spoiled Golden Spoon Fed Grampa's boys  , wrecker or checkers mentality, it's not their money... 

[Budnicks]

Good news looks like fox is increasing the amount they want for the new sports channel by 57 cents, that's probably $5.00 by the time I get the bill in my mailbox. Or I'll have to do some bundling crap I order to have the old speed channel.

Cable providers still negotiating with Fox over Fox Sports 1: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice sessions and the Camping World Truck Series race Aug. 17 from Michigan International Speedway will be among the live telecasts on the first day Fox Sports 1 goes on air in place of the Speed cable network. And that could be a problem. Among those still negotiating carriage fees with Fox Sports 1 are DirecTV, Dish and Time Warner Cable. Spokesmen for DirecTV and TWC said Thursday that discussions are ongoing and Dish also has not signed a deal, according to the SportsBusiness Daily. Speed is in nearly 86 million homes, but millions of its current subscribers won't be able to see Fox Sports 1 unless a carriage deal is finalized. According to the SportsBusiness Journal, Speed costs about 23 cents each month per subscriber, and Fox is looking to increase that to 80 cents per month. It's not surprising that these negotiations go down to the wire, but it's enough to make NASCAR fans nervous as the channel they know as Speed will cease to exist when Fox Sports 1 is launched in its place in about a week.(Sporting News)(8-9-2013)

What a shocker  I don't think, I would know what to do, if my Comcast Cable bill didn't go up every other damn month, just more freaken' greed 

[thedodgeboys]

This is interesting I wonder what nascar thinks?


Humpy Wheeler: We got too fancy and messed up NASCAR: One of the most recognizable names in NASCAR says the sport is all messed up and in the need of changes and a serious boost. In a video posted on YouTube on Sunday, "Humpy" Wheeler says racing has gotten "too fancy" and left its fans behind. Wheeler is the former President and General Manager of the Lowes Motor Speedway, in Concord, and is known as one of the foremost promoters in NASCAR history. He now runs The Wheeler Company, a consulting management firm focusing on general business, professional sports, and motorsports. He says he's thought long and hard about what is wrong with NASCAR these days. "I think we've messed it up a little, folks. I think we got too fancy," he said in the video. "I think as it soared back in the 90's a lot of people wanted to change it. They didn't like the way it was, they thought it was too country or too unsophisticated or whatever. And those people were dead wrong."
"We need to put the emphasis on winning. And we need to put the emphasis on leading and passing people as the race progresses. Give points for the repass [...] People in the grandstand are gonna go crazy when we do that." He suggests that NASCAR give winners and leaders bigger bonuses. He says that will make races more exciting and that will bring fans back to the track. He says increases in the quality of TV broadcasting has hurt in-person attendance. "You've got to give them a reason to come back to the ballpark - whether the ballpark is a racetrack or whether it's stadium. Gotta give them a reason to come back. Part of that reason is excitement. That's the whole reason!"(in part from WBTV.com and view the video there)(8-14-2013)

I think the cars are to close or equal to create a lot of passing back in the day the fast guys would come through the field now they have to pass on pit road to get the clean air.

[TruckDriver]

I agree with him 

[moparstuart]

I agree with him 

[JB400]

An interesting perspective of Nascar from a post on Yahoo:

Unlike many of the NASCAR fans that comment on various websites, I was actually around during the "Golden Age"? of NASCAR. There was a totally different dynamic going on, with an immense gap between the "factory" cars and the independents. In addition, only a handful of teams actually contended for the championship, especially up until the time when the schedule was reduced and the 100 mile events were eliminated. As you pointed out, many races were won by laps, not seconds or fractions thereof.

This is not to say that it was unexciting in the least. In essence, one watched the race differently, as you watch a formula one race differently than an off-road rally, or a sports car race and a dirt-track sprint.
I believe that a big part of the nostalgia for the "old days" was the makeup of the racers themselves. Most were products of the depression and world war two who would otherwise be farmers or factory workers (yes, Americans made things in those days) and not suburban kids nurtured and developed from childhood in go-carts by parents with the means to do so.

It was, in effect, a grittier sport back then, without cool-suits, power steering, and pit crews comprised of well-trained specialists. It was like football played in the rain on a cold, muddy field as opposed to a game played on AstroTurf inside of a climate-controlled dome.

Differences aside, skill, talent, and chemistry prevail. Without a doubt, racing is a team sport. Most drivers and teams have their greatest successes when circumstances and people combine in a way that "clicks". Richard & Maurice Petty & Dale Inman. The Wood Brothers. Junior Johnson and Herb Nab.

Jeff Gordon and Ray Evernham. Tony and Zippy. Harry Hyde with Bobby Isaac and later with Tim Richmond. Richard Childress and Dale Earnhardt. And high on that list has to be Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus.

Yes, their success has come in the Chase era, but what of it? They have won a tremendous number of races in those years, with no sign of letting up. And while NASCAR has only itself to blame for the perception that they seem to favor some teams over others, I cannot envision a conspiracy massive enough to provide 5 championships to one team that could remain clandestine. They are that good.

This is not a ringing endorsement of NASCAR racing as it is today. It is no longer my favorite form of motorsports; perhaps my tastes have changed. Still, to deny talent and success because of one's dislike of outcomes is absurd and, frankly, immature. I do not have to like Kyle Busch in order to recognize his talent. I am free to take pleasure in his failures - in sports it is as important to have someone to root against as it is to root for. As a youngster in 1969, I cringed every time that LeeRoy Yarbrough and Junior Johnson won a race. And while part of Junior's genius lay in finding the, shall we say, gray areas of the rulebook, their success that year was tremendous. I can today think back about LeeRoy and admire him for that special year when he thrashed all of my favorite drivers, and feel good that, as a human being, he had his moment in the sun before his life unraveled so tragically.

And while I am on the subject of perspective, let's examine the uneven success rate of open-wheel racers who have moved to NASCAR. Sam Hornish, Jr., a big success in Indy Car, has had a terrible time transitioning, only becoming adept in the past year and a half. Dario Franchitti had a miserable run in NASCAR. For every Tony Stewart, there have been dozens of open-wheelers who have been unsuccessful in stock cars. Danica Patrick was not a top-tier driver in Indy Car on level with Franchitti or Dixon, but was a solid top-seven driver most of her career. Her current struggles do not diminish the fact of her accomplishments. Any driver, just to be able to compete at the professional level of motorsports, has to be tremendously skilled. The reflexes and concentration required to run even at the back of the pack are beyond the levels most of us are capable of. Scott Pruett, the most successful racer in the Grand-Am series, never was able to achieve much in NASCAR. How many railbirds out there that claim that they could do better than Patrick think that they could fill in for Pruett as well?

Patrick has used her looks and femininity to advance her career. To establish oneself in any sport, one uses any advantage one might possess. In a sport dependent on huge sponsorships, the manipulation of ones assets to advantage is necessary for survival. Michael Waltrip, not so talented as his elder brother, managed a long career with his sense of humor, looks, and geniality. Today, he is the owner of the fastest rising racing organization in the sport. Should he be ashamed of his success? Patrick has brains, talent, looks, and savvy. Enough to make us ordinary folks jealous and resentful, it seems.
- John

[A383Wing]

Montoya is definitely out of the 42 for next year.


 Also, Brian Vickers will be full time driver of the 55.  Hope it works out for him.

YAY!! (for both....  )

[Budnicks]

I agree with him 

X2 

[Budnicks]

Montoya is definitely out of the 42 for next year.


 Also, Brian Vickers will be full time driver of the 55.  Hope it works out for him.

Never been a fan of Montoya, can't give a good reason just never cared for the guy.... 

[A383Wing]