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DDDDave · 05-04-2004, 04:01 PM

Wow.

I just came back to this thread. Sorry to see it came to this. You did what you had to do Hal.

Now, where were we.....

Mondrak hit on a lot of the things that make it attractive. The personalities of the drivers of course are a big thing. It always has been. Remember, NASCAR has been around for a long time. Close to 40 years. The drivers stay around for a long time as compared to the three to five year life of your typical athlete. There are guys that have raced at the top level for 20 years. This allows people to follow them year after year. Also, they are known as individuals, not by the 'team they play for'. Only recently have there been 'pretty boys' like Jeff Gordon. Mostly the drivers are self made men who have paid their dues at small race tracks from all over the country. Most Americans can identify with that. (BTW, did you know that auto racing is the number one spectator sport in America? Reason: there is a race track in practically every small town, and they race all the time in all different classes. Not to mention that the superspeedway races that draw 200K - 400K.)

I personally have followed stock car racing for 25 years. My Dad was a local short track racer when I was a little kid, but gave it up when my sisters came along. I really get into the technology of racing. It seems very simple from the outside but everything always does. There is so much technology that goes into racing it is incredible. It is all about thinking of something that the other guy hasn't thought of. Like in baseball, cheating is respected as an acceptable way of getting ahead. The rules that must be followed to make the racing competetive encourage teams to try new and diffent things looking for an edge. Bill France (the father of NASCAR) realized that racing is entertainment and nobody will pay money to come out and watch the same guys win by ten laps every week. I think that is one of the major attractions to the mainstream fan. The ability for any particular driver/team to win on any given Sunday. The unpredictability of it all contributes to it's success. I really don't think it is the wrecks themselves that people causes people to watch. Considering that these guys race fender to fender at 180mph around a circular track that is as wide as a three lane interstate, there are actually very few accidents, and even fewer injuries and deaths. I personally think bull riding is more dangerous. Once again it is the unpredictability. I am a race fan in general, (Gee ya think) but F1 to me is almost boring. The Ferrarri factory teams have the most money and therefore the best technology. They buy the best driver and basically win every race. I really don't want to watch to see who is going to come in second. There is such a large disparity between the first and tenth place teams it is not even funny. There are really only three or four cars that have the technology to win each week.

Well, enough of my racing ramblings. Just thought I would add my two cents.

05-04-2004, 04:01 PM	#23 (permalink)
DDDDave Addict Location: Sarasota	Wow. I just came back to this thread. Sorry to see it came to this. You did what you had to do Hal. Now, where were we..... Mondrak hit on a lot of the things that make it attractive. The personalities of the drivers of course are a big thing. It always has been. Remember, NASCAR has been around for a long time. Close to 40 years. The drivers stay around for a long time as compared to the three to five year life of your typical athlete. There are guys that have raced at the top level for 20 years. This allows people to follow them year after year. Also, they are known as individuals, not by the 'team they play for'. Only recently have there been 'pretty boys' like Jeff Gordon. Mostly the drivers are self made men who have paid their dues at small race tracks from all over the country. Most Americans can identify with that. (BTW, did you know that auto racing is the number one spectator sport in America? Reason: there is a race track in practically every small town, and they race all the time in all different classes. Not to mention that the superspeedway races that draw 200K - 400K.) I personally have followed stock car racing for 25 years. My Dad was a local short track racer when I was a little kid, but gave it up when my sisters came along. I really get into the technology of racing. It seems very simple from the outside but everything always does. There is so much technology that goes into racing it is incredible. It is all about thinking of something that the other guy hasn't thought of. Like in baseball, cheating is respected as an acceptable way of getting ahead. The rules that must be followed to make the racing competetive encourage teams to try new and diffent things looking for an edge. Bill France (the father of NASCAR) realized that racing is entertainment and nobody will pay money to come out and watch the same guys win by ten laps every week. I think that is one of the major attractions to the mainstream fan. The ability for any particular driver/team to win on any given Sunday. The unpredictability of it all contributes to it's success. I really don't think it is the wrecks themselves that people causes people to watch. Considering that these guys race fender to fender at 180mph around a circular track that is as wide as a three lane interstate, there are actually very few accidents, and even fewer injuries and deaths. I personally think bull riding is more dangerous. Once again it is the unpredictability. I am a race fan in general, (Gee ya think) but F1 to me is almost boring. The Ferrarri factory teams have the most money and therefore the best technology. They buy the best driver and basically win every race. I really don't want to watch to see who is going to come in second. There is such a large disparity between the first and tenth place teams it is not even funny. There are really only three or four cars that have the technology to win each week. Well, enough of my racing ramblings. Just thought I would add my two cents. __________________ I am just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe... "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." - Thoreau "Nothing great was ever accomplished without enthusiasm" - Emerson