What if there was a "real" NASCAR again?

[b5blue]

  Who would win? Just like "back in the day" real honest to God factory cars...stock only. You could have classes like Mini Van, SUV, Econo, Sedan ect. or whatever. I'd pay to see that! Heck they do it on the roads here every morning and evening going to and coming from work!    Why not on a track?

[Indygenerallee]

They have school bus races at our local dirt track, I would not call it racing though! like lumbering, banging mess!! 

[Highbanked Hauler]

  I agree, NASCAR is slipping slow but sure. I'd like to see them race road trucks again,CANADA still does it I think.

[404NOTFOUND]

Agreed. Bring out the stone stock Challengers, Mustangs and Camaros and let em go. Make sure the 500 minimum car public sales rule is kept in place. Next year, Dodge can cheat and bring out a Hemi Daytona and we will all get a fresh round of winged cars we can buy. Yes, it could happen all over again.

[A383Wing]

I miss watching the Semi-Trucks race....that was fun to watch

Bryan

[Aero426]

How far back do you have to go for cars in NASCAR to have been stock? 

[A383Wing]

How far back do you have to go for cars in NASCAR to have been stock? 

probably a lot further back than most on here have been alive

Bryan

[Chryco Psycho]

I have no clue who would win , I don't even know the name of 90% of the drivers anymore !!
But I can bet that I would actually pay attention to the races & care who won again !!
I did care for a few weeks when Dodge re-entered Nascar but with cookie cutter cars , Restrictor plates & allowing Toyoda in I lose interest real fast .

[RallyeMike]

You could have classes like Mini Van, SUV, Econo, Sedan ect. or whatever.

What would happen? Viewers would be bored out of their minds and bitching even louder than they do now.

I think the golden age of Nascar was in the 80's, when the car still looked stock, and competition was close, but not so over-regulated that it has become bland.

[Mike DC]

      
In general, I think modern high-gripping tires & heavy aero downforce took the fun out of auto racing.  At least on pavement.  

Modern race cars grip, grip, grip, grip . . . and then catastrophically let go.  The cars always look like they have either full traction or none at all.  Now they always must be either wrecking or passing to give people anything to see at all.    



My prescription for making NASCAR fun again?  Recreate the physics the cars used to have when they moved around more.  Much longer wheelbase, much less downforce, and somewhat less vehicle weight.

[Drache]

Coolest picture I know of back in the day racing that I wish was still around

[Aero426]

You could have classes like Mini Van, SUV, Econo, Sedan ect. or whatever.

What would happen? Viewers would be bored out of their minds and bitching even louder than they do now.

This is the truth.  People throw out that "Ya, I wish they raced stock cars" line all the time.    Well, they would be so slow and slow weak that nobody would want to watch it.   Cars haven't been "stock" in forever.   If you look at a photo of a '62 Pontiac race frame, there ain't nothin stock about it.   It might have a stock looking body bolted to it, but that is where it ends.     Cars were a lot more "stock based" back then, but looks can be deceiving.   

[41husk]

I think it comes down more to the way they raced back then.  I remember talking to Niel Castles and he said more than once that stuff they do now ain't racing.  I don't know how racing then compares to now but I think the guys who were actually in the cars can give us alot of input and that knowledge won't be around forever.  I know talking to guys like that make me want to be able to witness some of the the things there stories portray

[Dino]

I would watch a race with totally stock cars of any class on a track that has more than one left turn.  You can make any race exciting if the track suits the cars.  Heck I would probably participate!

[Cooter]

Stock car racing (Although I think it's a joke and too much money like Pro Drag Racing today), died in 1974...

[rlsbee]

I keep thinking that a 'retro' series would be cool. Let 'em use the modern, safe chassis and fit 'em with real stock bodies and motors typical of the period. Maybe the years from '65 to '71. I remember that Dave DeSpain once referred to NASCAR as 'WWF' like. I was upset, at the time, but I think he might have been closer to the truth than I thought.

[RallyeMike]

I would watch a race with totally stock cars of any class on a track that has more than one left turn.  You can make any race exciting if the track suits the cars.  Heck I would probably participate!

Yep. Your own $500 Claimer / Hobby Stock / Bumble Bee / Lemons / what-have-you is 100x more fun that watching any race of any kind.

[bull]

Good idea. Go out and get the most powerful stock models of car used in Nascar (a Chevrolet Impala, a Dodge Charger, a Ford Fusion and a Toyota Camry) and see who wins a 500 mile race. The Fusion and Camry would probably lose though because they'd have to have their timing belts changed halfway through.

[Indygenerallee]

If you wanna see REAL stock car racing go visit your nearest dirt track! I love going and I love watching modifieds!! But the Sprint cars are the real thriller!! Nothing like dirt racing sideways through the corners, asphalt is for wimps!!! 

[mauve66]

i think SCCA racing would be more interesting if they would have 2 tracks side by side so you can race the clock and someone else at the same time.  still, when i was at the MATS it was alot more fun doing it than it looked like from the stands

[CharcoalCharger]

I agree with some on here that NASCAR is now too over regulated.  I started watching NASCAR in 1984 and went to my first race at Darlington in 1985.  The racing in the 80's was some of the most exciting.   Dale Earnhardt had a lot to do with that.  The way the guys 'rubbed' back then was awesome.  Some of the things I saw Earnhardt do were unbelievable.  Kyle Busch is a bit like Earnhardt, but then this year I have only watch a few laps of 2 races.  Not really into it anymore.

A couple fond memories I have of going to Darlington in the mid 80's:
  At that time is was neat to see the street car versions of cars that they raced at the time.  The Monte Carlo SS is still a beautiful car.
  The other thing was a T-shirt I wish I would have gotten.  It was of a big, blue and yellow circle made to look like a tire mark.  A quote above it, "Guess who bumped into me?"   Earnhardt did a lot of that back then.   

[RallyeMike]

Some of the things I saw Earnhardt do were unbelievable.

Some of the things I saw Earnhardt do get away with were unbelievable.

[hatersaurusrex]

I have no clue who would win , I don't even know the name of 90% of the drivers anymore !!
But I can bet that I would actually pay attention to the races & care who won again !!
I did care for a few weeks when Dodge re-entered Nascar but with cookie cutter cars , Restrictor plates & allowing Toyoda in I lose interest real fast .

Oh Lord.  Toyota even being in NASCAR is bad enough, but they race a Camry?   If you Google 'Cars Without Balls' a picture of a Toyota Camry comes up with a cute little old Asian lady driving it.    That's like AC/DC allowing Richard Simmons to play an accordion which he pelvic thrusts the whole show.  I'd stop listening fast.   Way to go NASCAR.  You just allowed Toyota to dry hump your metaphorical accordion into the ground.

[Mike DC]

                                            
100% stock cars wouldn't even finish a decent length race.  NASCAR quit trying to be totally stock as soon as that became apparent in the 1940s.  

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I'd love to see a series with stock body panels (even if they're mostly tube-frames underneath) and minimal sponsor logos on the cars.  Maybe demand that the cars be painted with assembly-line color shades, and just allow the door numbers and some small fender stickers.  

IMHO the appearance of "we just pulled it out of the parking lot and raced it" would go a long way towards restoring credibility to the sport.  Even if people know the cars are still purpose-built, the visual would be very powerful.

[Aero426]

  The other thing was a T-shirt I wish I would have gotten.  It was of a big, blue and yellow circle made to look like a tire mark.  A quote above it, "Guess who bumped into me?"   Earnhardt did a lot of that back then.   

Those shirts were only around for a couple of weeks.    They came out after the Richmond race in 1986 when DE put DW into the wall taking them both out.     

The actual quote was, "Guess who ran into me at the track today".     That was a great shirt.