The NASCAR Thread

[Chargen69]

if it was rigged, there would have been the traditional "debris caution" to tighten up the front

[TruckDriver]

7-time NASCAR champ Jimmie Johnson to retire after 2020 season

https://sports.yahoo.com/7-time-nascar-champ-jimmie-johnson-to-retire-after-2020-season-175642892.html?src=rss

[JB400]

Lost his crew chief, lost his sponsor, losing races, doesn't surprise me.

[Chargen69]

makes sense.  you're a 7 time champ and cant run better than 15th.  that would suck enough to not be fun anymore

[Chargen69]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_bhTqWRh5E

I remember the wreck, hadn't really thought about it until I saw this on youtube

[odcics2]

Why hang around and tarnish your record like other drivers have done?   

Smart move on his part!   

[Mike DC]

           

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_bhTqWRh5E

I remember the wreck, hadn't really thought about it until I saw this on youtube

Wasn't JJ already on a downturn by the time that wreck happened? 


Even so, the video may be onto something.  Those kinds of lateral jolts are pretty bad for causing concussions.

[odcics2]

Jr. called it quits because of multiple concussions.

With the HANS device, it appears that without the head moving as much, the brain does. 

The sudden changes in direction have to be "dissipated".   

[Mike DC]

 
Yep.  They fixed the neck-breaking deaths with the HANS & the big padded wings on the seat to hold the helmet in place.  Now concussions are the next weakest link in the body's chain. 

It's gonna be harder to fix this one.  The only option is to slow down the impact in a bigger sense.  There isn't really a fix in the area of the driver's outfit/helmet/seat. 


Most of these concussions are still rooted in hard hits against the wall.  They still need to pad the wall better, which means more collapsing space on the hard hits.  That means either they bite farther into the top lane on the tracks or they move back the concrete entirely.   

I remember Smokey Yunick bringing up the wall problem back in the 1990s.  He called for softening the walls.   NASCAR didn't act until that rash of neck-break deaths in 2001.   

[odcics2]

Sounds like bumper cars will be the way to go!

[Chargen69]

           

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_bhTqWRh5E

I remember the wreck, hadn't really thought about it until I saw this on youtube

Wasn't JJ already on a downturn by the time that wreck happened? 


Even so, the video may be onto something.  Those kinds of lateral jolts are pretty bad for causing concussions.

he had already won 3 races that season right before this wreck, hasn't won since

[djcarguy]

Sounds like bumper cars will be the way to go!

in a few yrs THEY WILL BE DRIVING ELECTRIC BANDALARO CARS     Now used by 8 to 12 year olds?HAHAHA

[Ponch ®]

Why hang around and tarnish your record like other drivers have done?   

Smart move on his part!   

this.

I started watching in the late 90's. Darrell Waltrip was just some guy that ran 37th and finished 6 laps down every week. I had no idea the guy was a legend.

[Mike DC]

I started watching in the late 90's. Darrell Waltrip was just some guy that ran 37th and finished 6 laps down every week. I had no idea the guy was a legend.

Richard Petty really did that.  He could have retired in the early 1980s and it would have been considered a full-length career.  But he stayed until almost 1993.  


Going by the career paths of many modern drivers, Petty might have retired as early as the mid-1970s.  He was around 40 years old and his driving was on the downslope by then.  

But the 1970s was a fun time to be at the top of the sport.  Popularity meant resources which meant a faster car.  The gap between the 'have' and the 'have-not' teams was pretty wide at that time.  Petty's career was definitely elevated & prolonged by better equipment.  

[Mike DC]

                       

he had already won 3 races that season right before this wreck, hasn't won since

       

[odcics2]

Maybe Petty should have retired after winning number 200?

[Mike DC]

Maybe Petty should have retired after winning number 200?

Yeah.  That was, what, 1983 or '84? 

IIRC even that one was an anomaly.  The president was attending the race and an aging superstar driver suddenly did better than usual & scored a big career benchmark.  Hmm.  It would have been right out of NASCAR's standard playbook to slip him a bigger restrictor plate or play loose with the templates just for that race.   

[odcics2]

Maybe Petty should have retired after winning number 200?

Yeah.  That was, what, 1983 or '84? 

IIRC even that one was an anomaly.  The president was attending the race and an aging superstar driver suddenly did better than usual & scored a big career benchmark.  Hmm.  It would have been right out of NASCAR's standard playbook to slip him a bigger restrictor plate or play loose with the templates just for that race.   

Yeah, Petty was winding down a few years before the July 4th win in 1984.
IIRC, no plates on small blocks until Elliot was blowing it up later in the decade!

[Mike DC]

Yeah, Petty was winding down a few years before the July 4th win in 1984.
IIRC, no plates on small blocks until Elliot was blowing it up later in the decade!

Oops.  Brian fart.  They didn't run plates anywhere in 1984.

Petty already had declining numbers in the later 1970s.  His famous 1979 D500 win (during Cale's title bout with the Allisons) came amidst a serious losing streak.   

[odcics2]

Yeah, Petty was winding down a few years before the July 4th win in 1984.
IIRC, no plates on small blocks until Elliot was blowing it up later in the decade!

Oops.  Brian fart.  They didn't run plates anywhere in 1984.

Petty already had declining numbers in the later 1970s.  His famous 1979 D500 win (during Cale's title bout with the Allisons) came amidst a serious losing streak.   

Yeah, I was there for that.  Sitting near turn 2.   The cars look like they are stuck on a wall when they come by. 
Saw Cale and Donnie zoom by, lots or smoke into 3.   Heard radios telling what was going on!
Saw Richard cruise by with Waltrip behind.     Good Times!   

[Mike DC]

That's something to remember.  I wish I coulda seen that in person. 

[TruckDriver]

NASCAR may add street racing in 2021

https://www.foxnews.com/auto/nascar-street-racing-2021?fbclid=IwAR3T2maXnGE-C2TF-zBDOiovmsw6JgUja_Zb6p5H7xNazjK53wT_-zgCVtI

"The racing series is considering adding temporary tracks in city centers or sports stadium parking lots to the season as soon as 2021, Sports Business Journal reports.

Along with its signature oval tracks, NASCAR currently competes on two road courses (Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International) and a so-called "roval" set up in the infield of Charlotte Motor Speedway. Sources tell SBJ that NASCAR is aiming to add 8 new markets by 2022, which would likely require the elimination of several current events."

[Chargen69]

it's just like WWE, the fans speak and they do the opposite

[TruckDriver]

Well, here is a look at the "Next Gen" car. Looks like road racing type wheels, but the rest doesn't look to bad.

https://sports.yahoo.com/phoenix-test-offers-closer-look-132503532.html?src=rss

[odcics2]

SRT wheels !!