Whats wrong with racing today? (drivers, motor, automaker, auto)

[Memphis1979]

Racing isn't what it used to be.

I remember growing up and watching the Indy 500, I remember watching great drivers, driving machines that were state of the art, and breaking down new barriers themselves.

I've heard stories of NASCAR races, and watched films, when the cars were actually stock, and the thing that stood between drivers, was how much speed you could get out of a car anyone could buy.

Why can't we get back to those days? Why does every car have to fit into this tight little specification boxes. Why can't Ford make a BOSS 429 for NASCAR anymore? Why can't we have a yellow sub like we had at Indy? Why can't we have different engines, with different cubic inches?

These are the things that I see are wrong with racing today. This is coming from a life long race fan. I'm tired of seeing all of the cars equal, to me, thats not racing. If someone wants to design a car that goes 300 MPH on Talladega, so be it. If you're driver can't handle the G force, either train them to handle it, or design your car where they can.

What do y'all think is wrong with racing?

I think this is a great debate, and on a day with the Indy 500, and the Coke 600, I think it belongs here. If I'm wrong, so be it and move it.

[GalileoSmith]

Originally Posted by Memphis1979

Racing isn't what it used to be.

I remember growing up and watching the Indy 500, I remember watching great drivers, driving machines that were state of the art, and breaking down new barriers themselves.

I've heard stories of NASCAR races, and watched films, when the cars were actually stock, and the thing that stood between drivers, was how much speed you could get out of a car anyone could buy.

Why can't we get back to those days? Why does every car have to fit into this tight little specification boxes. Why can't Ford make a BOSS 429 for NASCAR anymore? Why can't we have a yellow sub like we had at Indy? Why can't we have different engines, with different cubic inches?

These are the things that I see are wrong with racing today. This is coming from a life long race fan. I'm tired of seeing all of the cars equal, to me, thats not racing. If someone wants to design a car that goes 300 MPH on Talladega, so be it. If you're driver can't handle the G force, either train them to handle it, or design your car where they can.

What do y'all think is wrong with racing?

I think this is a great debate, and on a day with the Indy 500, and the Coke 600, I think it belongs here. If I'm wrong, so be it and move it.

"When cars were really stock" was about fifty years ago. But I'll tell you, I don't know wht it coudn't be done. To keep drivers from being killed, tires would have to be racing tires, and there'd have to be safety equipment such as reinforced roll cages, fuel cells, and so forth. But it could be done, I think. There might have to be some stipulation on what kind of "stock" car could be raced. I mean, a stock Dodge Viper has 650 HP. A Corvette would be tough to beat as a stock car, what with it's handling abilities. There'd probably have to be a list of stock passenger cars acceptable for racing. Or maybe they could have a wheel base, height, and weight standard.

When it comes to Indy racing, back in the day there were almost no limits. Things eventually got out of hand and so they began putting in engine limitations, weight limitations, and more recently, limitations on such things as spoilers. Competitive Indy cars cost a fortune to manufacture, and even more to maintain. The good ol' days may never come back to Indy.

[Green Irish Eyes]

Sorry, but this doesn't qualify as a "Great Debate," so I'm moving the thread to the Auto Racing forum.

[ovcatto]

Originally Posted by Memphis1979

Racing isn't what it used to be.

I remember growing up and watching the Indy 500, I remember watching great drivers, driving machines that were state of the art, and breaking down new barriers themselves...

Why can't we get back to those days?

Because the good old days never existed.

Take a trip back to Indianapolis Speedway, 1967. Andy Granatelli entered a STP sponsored all wheel drive car powered by a Pratt and Whitney turbine that would utterly demolished the competition until it lost its gear box due to a faulty ball bearing. What happened to such an innovative and obviously competitive car, it was outlawed in 1969.

As for NASCAR, it has never been about advancing the technological side of racing for that you need to start watching Formula 1.

[wanneroo]

Everyone is afraid of competition so all we have is "spec" series, with a one make car and likely one engine from one manufacturer. All under the guise of saving money and "leveling the playing field" but all we have now is one boring series after another, all with declining tv figures and attendance.

It's a horrible era in motorsports and the worst offenders of all are the crapwagons of the indy racing league.

The only thing alive in american motorsports with some variety and interest to watch is Rally America and the ALMS, the rest is junk.

[Memphis1979]

Originally Posted by GalileoSmith

"When cars were really stock" was about fifty years ago. But I'll tell you, I don't know wht it coudn't be done. To keep drivers from being killed, tires would have to be racing tires, and there'd have to be safety equipment such as reinforced roll cages, fuel cells, and so forth. But it could be done, I think. There might have to be some stipulation on what kind of "stock" car could be raced. I mean, a stock Dodge Viper has 650 HP. A Corvette would be tough to beat as a stock car, what with it's handling abilities. There'd probably have to be a list of stock passenger cars acceptable for racing. Or maybe they could have a wheel base, height, and weight standard.

When it comes to Indy racing, back in the day there were almost no limits. Things eventually got out of hand and so they began putting in engine limitations, weight limitations, and more recently, limitations on such things as spoilers. Competitive Indy cars cost a fortune to manufacture, and even more to maintain. The good ol' days may never come back to Indy.

Agreed,

I don't expect specialty cars out there. However, Ford can race the Mustang, its got a V8, or do a special series of the Fusion with a V8 in it.

Thats what they did in the 60's. The automakers had to produce 500 cars with the options used on the track. Thats why there are only 500 BOSS 429 Mustangs in 1969, and 500 in 1970. So they could put that engine in the Torino, and race with it.

As far as Indy, its become more about making money. At one point in time, it was more about the title "Indy 500 winner", and then using that to make money. The sponsors on these cars have so much money, they can afford different cars.

As it is now, all of the series have turned into a form of IROC racing, and that disgusts me.

[qsr]

When Indy and NASCAR became spec series, they went downhill fast. Of course Tony George destroyed Indycar racing, and over-promotion killed NASCAR for me. Now I mostly watch Formula 1 because it's not spec and the technical aspects are at least as interesting as the driving. Poor IRL has had the same cars for 10 years now, and they've never been especially attractive.

[wanneroo]

Originally Posted by qsr

When Indy and NASCAR became spec series, they went downhill fast. Of course Tony George destroyed Indycar racing, and over-promotion killed NASCAR for me. Now I mostly watch Formula 1 because it's not spec and the technical aspects are at least as interesting as the driving. Poor IRL has had the same cars for 10 years now, and they've never been especially attractive.

It is pathetic what tony george has done. It was a pointless exercise with indycar being the on the brink of extinction if they don't do something quickly.

[CliffordM]

It’s true that stock car racing has huge fan following. Having said that, the observations regarding the slim presence of the crowd can not be completely written off.

[Memphis1979]

Originally Posted by qsr

When Indy and NASCAR became spec series, they went downhill fast. Of course Tony George destroyed Indycar racing, and over-promotion killed NASCAR for me. Now I mostly watch Formula 1 because it's not spec and the technical aspects are at least as interesting as the driving. Poor IRL has had the same cars for 10 years now, and they've never been especially attractive.

What George did, and I disagree with, was a bad business decision.

He saw the popularity of NASCAR, and how the fans liked it at the time, in the early 90's. So he tried to make it where Indy cars were like NASCAR's, where they were all pretty equal, and even the competitors with the lowest money could win.

It gets boring seeing Penske or Ganassi winning every week.

However, he failed, because Penske and Ganassi are still winning every week. Same thing with NASCAR, its either Hendricks, or JGR, winning week in, week out, most of the time.

I think we should pull the specs out of it, if you can bring a car to the track that can run 300MPH, so be it.