NASCAR Has Lost its Goddamn Mind

[tigeraid]

http://blackflag.jalopnik.com/nascar-is-going-full-sportsball-with-races-divided-into-1791524142



NASCAR likes to pretend it’s a ball sport, having gone to the playoff-style “Chase” system to attract more attention to the end of the season. Tonight’s announcement revealed NASCAR will be interrupted after periods of time, like quarters in a football game. Stranger yet, championship points will be awarded after each segment during the race instead of only at the race end in order to encourage on-track action to heat up earlier.

NASCAR races in all three of its national series—the Monster Energy Cup, Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series—will now be divided into three segments at certain intervals with 10-minute breaks in between each segment. The length of the segments will be based on each individual track’s length, which will reportedly be specified later this month. Championship points will be awarded based on the running order at the end of each segment.

Pit road will be closed for five laps, and at then end of the each stage the top 10 drivers will be awarded from 10 points to one point. At the end of the race, the winner will win 40 points, and second-through-35th place will be awarded on a scale of two-to-35 points. All lower positions get one point each.

The winner of each individual stage will be awarded one playoff point. The overall race winner will win five additional playoff points and a spot in the playoffs. Regular season playoffs will determine which drivers make it, and then all points reset, but the regular season points leader, who carries 15 points into playoffs.


One possible scenario, in other words: "Driver X spends the 1st half of the race outside the top 10, but comes on late to win the Daytona 500. That driver will receive 40 championship points for the win and 5 Chase points. Driver Y starts out strong and “wins” segments 1 & 2, but fades late to finish 16th. Driver Y would earn 21 points for finishing 16th, plus 20 bonus points for winning segment 1 & 2 for a total of 41 points. Oh and Driver Y would have 2 Chase points. Anyone see the problem here?"


V8 Supercars looks better and better every day. So glad I stopped watching this shit cold turkey. What a disaster.

[dodint]

True story.

[Kchrpm]

This is what happens when you drink too much Monster Energy.

[tigeraid]

"The MEN Cup!"

[CudaMan]

This all seems like it was designed around sports betting, or something.

[2ndMoparMan]

What. The. Fuck.

[novicius]

Why do they have to stop the race to determine the "winners" of segments? Just track the drivers place/performance during a regular race and derive a score from that. :smh:

You don't need to stop the race to get the tension of winning if the segment is coming to an end on a certain lap to declare a winner unless each heat is also going to have its own mini-coronation and media interview.

[dodint]

This all seems like it was designed around sports betting, or something.

I told Keith that it has a real video game feel to it. Points for segments and other oddities, and the breaks in between to help those with short attention spans. Combine that with the MONSTER ENERGY branding and it looks like they're trying to grab the younger demographic.

[Kchrpm]

You don't need to stop the race to get the tension of winning if the segment is coming to an end on a certain lap to declare a winner unless each heat is also going to have its own mini-coronation and media interview.

But it's a great excuse to bring the field back together, have mid-race interviews with drivers, fit in sponsored segments, etc.

[novicius]

Did you just quote my reasons and then restate them back at me? :lol:

In one way, ideas like this is part of NASCAR's history: brainstorming crazy ideas for advertisers. It's how they got night races formed for RJR Reynolds.

Just more NASCAR scrambling to increase viewership for advertisers, 'nuff said. If it works the way they want, they'll keep it. If it doesn't, they'll drop it.

[Kchrpm]

Yes, but that's what I mean, they *are* going to do those things, and that's why they're going to stop the race instead of just saying "we hit the end of the first segment and Johnson is the winner, but he's getting passed into turn 1!"

[novicius]

I'll accept this as your acknowledgement that you were wrong. Cheers.
:up:

[Kchrpm]

I was wrong because I agreed with your "unless" statement, yes :)

[dodint]

Glad my playful snarkiness is contagious. ;)

[CudaMan]

Why do they have to stop the race to determine the "winners" of segments?
To make room for the Monster Energy Halftime Show Presented by Toyota, of course.

[The359]

They're not stopping the races, they're throwing competition yellows. They'll do 5 laps under caution after each segment to bunch the field back up, and I assume to allow everyone to make pit stops.

So in other words, races will now be automatically longer because of a mandatory 10 laps of caution, besides whatever other cautions they'll throw during the race.

[novicius]

Yeah that makes much more sense. :up: :up:

[Kchrpm]

Oh I thought I read the race would be stopped for 10 minutes, 10 laps of caution makes more sense.

[dodint]

"more sense"

Make sure to remember that it makes more sense, relatively. It's still absolutely stupid.

[Freude am Fahren]

Well, that part of it isn't much different than it's been for a while with the competition and "debris" cautions.

[Drachen596]

Anything to try and make their series exciting eh?

Too bad it wont work. The series lost two big names to retirement this year with Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards leaving. They still have Danica Patrick as a side show act though.

[novicius]

What NASCAR should try is removing weight and restrict or plates based on driver popularity.

Then Danica would be a frontrunner. ;) ♡ #snarf

[FaultyMario]

You mean like Formula E's Fanboost? :assclown:

[novicius]

Exactly! :lol: :up:

"Win the crowd and you’ll win your freedom.”

[dodint]

You mean like Formula E...

Don't give them any ideas or you'll have NASCAR doing a car swap at halftime so they can have 2x the sponsors.

[balki]

Does no one follow NASCAR?
Fan-favorte Kyle Busch bloodied in post-race fight with Joey Logano

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de-7Mp9pxl0

[dodint]

Correct, no one follows NASCAR.

[tigeraid]

Someone needs to blow the dust off of Ricky Rudd and roll him off his porch to teach these punks a thing or two.

[Reynard]

Does no one follow NASCAR?

Once upon a time... I still followed the truck series until about 5 years ago but yeah not anymore. In fact when flipping channels a couiple weeks ago, I saw the last two laps of the (whatever the first rung down is called now) "Busch Grand National" race at Daytona. The leader was swerving left, right, left... blocking any attempt at a last lap pass and whichever Waltrip was in the booth calling the race was praising them for the great blocking job they did out there. :rolleyes:

Not winning me back anytime soon.

[tigeraid]

For any number of bullshit reasons, I stopped. Martin retiring might've had something to do with it, but it was turning into a slog anyway. I hung on with NCATS and the Truck series for a few more years, but now even the Trucks have the retarded playoffs. The racing is a sad joke.

Thankfully, Aussie Supercars eases the pain.

[dodint]

I have been watching Trans Am. Both new and vintage races. It is EXACTLY what I always wanted NASCAR to be. Tube chassis series based on production cars that run on road courses and isn't scared of the rain. It's awesome.

[novicius]

:up: :up:

[dodint]

I also watch the (cut down) V8 Supercars we get here in the states. Wasn't taking anything away from that. Just taking away from NASCAR. ;)

[speedpimp]

Maybe they want things to be all EXTREME and IN YOUR FACE(hello 2004 calling) since Monster is now the series sponsor.
The "franchise" system is another bunch of shit.

[M4FFU]

After falling out of love with Motorsports for the most part, I've got really into this seasons Nascar - specifically the Cup and Truck series. Admittedly, I was into Nascar early 2000s but paid no attention to it since then, and I love it! Is it just me in the entire GTXF that's following it?

[dodint]

I don't follow current NASCAR at all. I'll put it on in the background if I'm doing something and just want some noise, but I haven't sat down and watched a race straight through in years. Certainly not since they started this contrived stage format.

What I have been doing is watching a few retrospective NASCAR channels on Youtube. For some reason it's scratching an incredible itch for me. Stuff like this:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32Yf1EFN1Ao


S1apSh0es who makes those videos is my favorite, Black Flags Matter also has some good ones.

[M4FFU]

Thanks - subbed to those so will make sure I watch them. Given I'm 'new' to this, my first toe dip is stages, which is my norm - I know no different. But, it's certainly a sport - given how much I'm into it - I want to learn more about.

Must say; I think the Trucks are the better ticket for the whole Nascar show.

[tigeraid]

Well, it took longer than I expected, but NASCAR's hilariously bad playoff bullshit finally gave them a winless champion. Yes, that's right, a team won a RACING CHAMPIONSHIP BY WINNING ZERO RACES.

Holy shit does NASCAR suck now.


https://jalopnik.com/matt-crafton-played-nascars-game-and-won-1839957483

[The359]

That was never impossible under any system though.

[tigeraid]

That's exactly the the point. Matt Kenseth won the championship with only one race win, and this was during peak NASCAR, where everyone and their fucking dog was suddenly watching stockcar racing, and all of the stick-n-ball sports fans were whining about that even being possible. So NASCAR lost their mind trying to appeal to average joes, and specifically started The Chase, the playoffs, and all the various bullshit tweaks and systems, to "reward the winners."

And now they have a champion with no wins.

[Blerpa]

Not only with no wins but also with about the worst stats of the four contenders to the championship!
This is so terribly bad I can't even...

https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_scale,f_auto,fl_progressive,q_80,w_1600/bcntazdpjjoo69oqxqha.png

[Crazed_Insanity]

Oh com'on, they staged 3 wins for him... so he's not completely winless! :p

He had the least # of DNFs, so NASCAR rewards consistency...

Anyway, yeah, have to agree this is probably not very good for the sport.

[tigeraid]

It happened in the Truck series, which is the least watched of the tree. So it may not have much immediate impact on "the sport," at least to casuals.

And I'm not blaming the drivers, believe me. It's the bullshit system they're forced to race in.

I have a feeling if this scenario ever happens in the Cup series, they might finally scrap this bullshit.

But then probably not.

[Godson]

Wait, people still watch Nascar?

[Freude am Fahren]

My thoughts exactly. I don't think there are any casual NASCAR fans anymore. You probably have about as many casual fans watch the Daytona 500 now as you did that would watch 10+ races 10 years ago.

I would still watch a race once in a while until the stages started. Haven't sat and watched one since.

[speedpimp]

It's all the same shit. Can't remember the last race I watched(and I used to watch them all) that wasn't Eldora.

[Phil_SS]

I watch the Daytona 500 and about the final 100 laps of the final race of the year. And if and it is a big if, I remember, I will watch the road course races. Otherwise I don't watch a single race. Just too boring. I do give them credit for finally going to a decent car again. I like the Mustang vs Camaro and soon to be Supra battle.

[dodint]

I'd put it on the background while studying because it's easy to not pay attention to. ;)

[Phil_SS]

Exactly! I just need something I can ignore......

[tigeraid]

Working in auto parts, I unfortunately still hear plenty of people talking about it.

Of course, they're usually in a pool. Which is the ultimate way of ensuring you continue to watch boring shit you don't care about, just to see if you're gonna win $200.

[Freude am Fahren]

No way did I think I'd see this image, much less two days later.

Ryan Newman walks out of hospital. (https://jalopnik.com/nascar-driver-ryan-newman-leaves-hospital-after-horrifi-1841792955)

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ERKNcD3XkAA1HIH?format=jpg&name=small

[The359]

Yeah, I'm confused. What was he in serious condition for?

[Freude am Fahren]

My guess would be bad concussion.

[Godson]

Serious head trauma. I'd bet he doesn't race for a while.


Kinda like Cole Trickle.




Except Ryan is currently in divorce court.

[SkylineObsession]

Okay, i'm in the 'never usually watch NASCAR' group, but because of the whole virus thingy i actually found their iRacing race way more interesting than i thought i would. Have watched most of the race so far, which is odd for me.

I think it's the fact that real drivers, commentators and producers/networks are using a virtual platform to hold a 'real' race. I love motorsport, and love videogames, so seeing them merged like this is probably what has piqued my interest.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUuftenhH4s

[Freude am Fahren]

It's pretty interesting (and kinda funny) to see all the different rigs. You got some guys with the desk clamp and single monitor all the way up to $40k rigs and surround monitors. I don't know if anyone did VR.

[Kchrpm]

Now they're going to spec chassis: https://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/news/nascar-next-gen-toyota-change/6503085/


It features a standardized chassis, which means teams will no longer fabricate their own cars from scratch – or buy them from others via technical alliances – but purchase the tubular frame chassis direct from NASCAR’s appointed builder Technique Chassis, which is designed by single-spec car-building specialists Dallara.
...
Wilson explained the previous scenario for its NASCAR Gen-6 car build – where “steel rod tubing goes into one end of Joe Gibbs Racing and racecars come out the other” – will end later this season. Next year, all chassis will be identical and some 30 more single-source companies will supply teams with common components that will require assembly but cannot be modified.

“This new model is a revolutionary change,” he said. “It’s somewhat akin to what IndyCar is today, to use a motorsport-related analogy. It’s a game-changer, no question about that.”
...
“What that does for the organizations is that it eliminates the necessity to have very large fabrication and manufacturing operations.”

[Rare White Ape]

Well that's poo. Homogeny has taken over the top level of stock car racing.

Wasn't NASCAR trying to fight against this sort of blandness with more events like Bristol dirt and a return to short tracks?

[dodint]

With sponsor dollars drying up I imagine this is a survival effort. Ironically, the next gen car looks really good.

[Rare White Ape]

I have just found out that they became available on iRacing this morning.

[Godson]

I'm actually excited for NASCAR....


What is wrong with me?

[dodint]

Don't worry, they still have stage racing and competition cautions to slow your enthusiasm.

[Kchrpm]

NASCAR's road course race at Indy was a shit show. They looked like a bunch of dumb asses.

[Godson]

I'll watch every week if they look that stupid ...

[Kchrpm]

Maybe that was the goal! Dumbest spectacle in racing!™

[dodint]

Removing the curb wasn't a horrible idea. They're professional racers and it's only two laps, they'll figure it out, right?
Leaving the curb/ramp perpendicular to the corner was an interesting choice in this litigious society. But, again, they're pro's, they wouldn't drive over it right?
*First green lap car takes ramp and goes airborne into the pack*
Oh, they must have a talent level similar to IndyCar. A couple of winners and a whole lot of losers.

[Rare White Ape]

Welp, they DO want to have zero minimum ride height, don't they?

[FaultyMario]

I'm thinking they take their helmets off before climbing out of the car because it makes easier to fit thru the window, right?
Still looks odd, though.

[Kchrpm]

Maybe it's easier to take the helmet off than it is to unhook all the stuff it's plugged into? I'd never noticed/thought about it.

[dodint]

I assumed it was so they could put a hat one with a sponsor on it.

[Kchrpm]

Oh yeah, they often come out already wearing the hat, good point.

[Tom Servo]

Nascar are going to run a pre-season exhibition race at the LA Coliseum. It's going to be a total shitshow. You better believe I have tickets.

[Rare White Ape]

I just found out about this. It should be awesome. iRacing is building a version the track too.

[XHawkeye]

What a finish. Bristol never disappoints (https://twitter.com/NASCARonNBC/status/1439047649706102784/video/1) <--- Open for video

[MR2 Fan]

Title of this thread still relevant with ideas like this....NASCAR at the L.A. Coliseum (famous for hosting the 1984 Summer Olympics).

This is gonna be a shitshow

https://i0.wp.com/fox4kc.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/16/2022/02/43c04a08e86a4654b96c962bc60747d7.jpg

[Tom Servo]

I'll be in the lower section just off the right side of this image tomorrow. So looking forward to the shitshow.

[Leon]

So are they running 1/4 scale cars then?

[Rare White Ape]

I'll be in the lower section just off the right side of this image tomorrow. So looking forward to the shitshow.

I am jealous. I'd like to be there. Instead I must settle for live TV coverage at 8am my time.

Have fun!

[Cam]

I am not normally interested in NASCAR, but I look forward to hearing Servo's testimonial about the race.

[dodint]

It's a neat novelty. I glanced at practice and can't see how they will get much passing done.

[Rare White Ape]

They will make good use of the chrome horn

[JoeW]

This “event” looks pretty ridiculous. I can’t really call it a race. A “spectacle” if you will.

I do appreciate the new Next Gen cars. About damn time. Modern wheels and single lugnut is long overdue. Haven’t watched NASCAR in several years. Might watch some this year.

About 30 laps in and this event is pretty boring.

[Phil_SS]

The next gen cars look fantastic!

[JoeW]

Ain’t no party like an LA party cuz an LA party don’t stop…

Best moment so far :)

[Rare White Ape]

That was a bit of fun to watch. I thought Larson was in for the dub before he lost his tyres and got freight-trained into oblivion.

Classic NASCAR though. Big dumb fun. I really thought there'd be more biffo but they all drove really well.

[JoeW]

Just an exhibition race so no real point except show off the new cars.

[Tom Servo]

So that was actually a lot of fun, and the racing was better than I had expected. Of course the Larson incident was when I was in the can, so I missed that.

We went and grabbed lunch, then just drove to the nearby train station to take the train over there. Got off at the station that's next to the rose garden, walked through that (which was weirdly mostly fenced off), then found out they don't let you walk through the Science Center anymore, I guess due to covid. Went around that, then found out that there's this massive "NASCAR fan experience" that extended all the way to Figueroa, so we actually had a pretty extended hike to get to our entrance.

One thing that got me -- it's been over two years since I went to something this big. Crowds of people walking towards something, goofy bike rickshaws taking some of them around, the dudes cooking bacon-wrapped hot dogs on little carts everywhere, all the smells. Friends, I won't lie, I got a little teared up experiencing it again.

That is, until we got to near our gate. An employee of the coliseum told us that my wife's purse (which is pretty small, maybe the size a VHS tape for you old folks) was too big to bring in. She'd have to check it (which would mean a huge line to leave) and pay $20 for a clear purse and use that instead. Now, they did say in the numerous emails we got beforehand that you couldn't bring in a full size purse but you could bring in a "clutch". Now, as far as we know, there is no standardized definition of "clutch" size, but this is pretty small. However, we took our chances with the guys at our gate. The one where the person accosted us was busy as hell, but ours had basically nobody there. Like 15 staff and just us. They basically told her it was too big, but then glanced inside and as we both played really nice (asking how their day is going, if they'd had any adventures with fans so far, etc) they just let us go in. Things weren't shaping up well until this point, but maybe things were looking up.

Found our seats pretty quick. Turns out they had put up advertising tarps over the front rows of seats as a safety precaution, so what I thought was row 17 was actually basically row 2. Pretty great view. Got there earlier than we meant to so we saw all of Pitbull's performance beforehand. It was fine, and it worked out that one of Michele's "first covid crowd" worries was people loudly singing along without masks. Pitbull is not Nascar music, I don't think. Neither was Ice Cube for that matter - there were fans there, but it clearly wasn't what everyone was there for. At any rate, basically almost nobody was singing along so that was a non-issue.

They pushed the cars out and that's when a guy in the next section over started yelling "Let's Go Brandon!!" a couple of times. Then he tried to start a chant. To the crowd's credit, nobody joined him. Later, when Bubba Wallace came out to his car which was basically right in front of us, he just kept screaming "FUCK YOU BUBBA WALLACE" and giving him the finger. Classy bloke. Glad to say he appeared to be the only racist redneck asshole in the area, though. Lots of dyed in the wool Nascar fans there, but most everyone just seemed to be there to watch an entertaining race.

The racing was actually really good, but man did that race go quick. I expected more carnage but there were really only a couple of incidents and most of them were like quick spins. The race at the front was really close, Busch always seemed to get the jump on restarts but Logano seemed to get better the longer they ran under green. Lots of fun watching them chase each other, I got way more into the race than I expected to, which was a great sign.

It was just about as loud as I expected, with this sorta constant undercurrent of a low thrumming sound and the growl of the cars in front of you as they accelerated down what straight there was. I liked it, but it was nothing compared to those 2005 F1 cars I saw back in the day. It also smelled like a 100 gas powered lawn mowers, or, if you're familiar, Autopia at Disneyland. Just reeked of fuel. Also, the celebratory burnout smells like death.

Yellow flags went on longer than I expected, especially for some incidents which basically seemed like a solo spin with little to no wall contact and the driver got going again. I wonder if it was to make time for commercial breaks.

Going back meant getting into a very crowded train car for a little while. Definitely the tightest crowd I've dealt with since the pandemic started. Not the most comfortable thing, but it really was a trip to go to a huge event like this after so long.

Oh, and mask wearing was mandatory at the coliseum unless you're eating or drinking, and I'd say compliance was around 25% at best.

At any rate, it was a lot of fun, way less expensive than an F1 race, and you can see the whole track easily. I don't see myself making the trek to Fontana for a race, but I'd go to this event again if they do it again. I was initially disappointed it wasn't the shitshow that I was hoping for, but now I'm secretly happy it wasn't.

No idea if any pictures came out, but I'll check when I upload 'em.

[Rare White Ape]

Thanks for the report :up:

The yellow flags seemed a bit hair-trigger but the commentary on Fox noted that entering the pits under green is dangerous so they’d throw it to let a car enter without being rear-ended if they’d struck trouble. Probably hard to see from your angle.

[JoeW]

Awesome!

Just unbelievable that people just sit out in the open and yell racist shit. So disappointing.

[Tom Servo]

A couple of panoramas from our seats.

https://i.imgur.com/vcf09VO.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/78DEVkO.jpg

C17 Flyover

https://i.imgur.com/wtIPt7d.jpg

Couple of just random shots

https://i.imgur.com/FhjOlNx.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/akANgB9.jpg

Lots of champing at the bit just before a restart


https://youtu.be/dsj7UEcOlGg

Some side-by-side racing out of turn 4


https://youtu.be/GZsBKWyodNY

[Cam]

Nice, Servo! Great write-up.

[Kchrpm]

Glad to hear that you enjoyed it, I was wondering if it achieved what they wanted.

[Rare White Ape]

Here’s a really good inside peek at a now-gen NASCAR Cup Car.


https://youtu.be/HEfaVUkEwps

[JoeW]

I see nascar doesn’t really care about track limits at Austin :)

[Rare White Ape]

I don’t think they care too much about them at any track. Check out the racing at Phoenix as an example.

Did you see Indy Road last year? There was a sausage kerb causing issues because the cars also have no minimum ride height. It was ripping up front splitters, and eventually the bottom of the engine block. Cars were jumping off it and getting into big accidents.

So race control told marshals to rip it up off the track and remove it. After that the race continued with fewer issues and drivers were just straight-lining the crappy little s-bend that the sausage kerb used to occupy.

[Rare White Ape]

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/538336044215435274/969540905075888139/Screenshot_429.png

[M4FFU]

I'd buy a Tesla if he bought NASCAR and binned the chase/play-off format!

[FaultyMario]

What the hell was that?

Brandon Brown said that part of the track is difficult... that maybe they need to add a general spotter there... he was too nice, NASCAR needs to start dishing out race bans.

[JoeW]

Really gets under my skin that the “nascar racing line” on road courses is 30ft beyond normal track limits for real race cars.

Watching NASCAR at the “short course” weeny version of the Glen because Kimi :)

It’s got to be killing him that you are encouraged to ignore track limits.

[speedpimp]

One of the most iconic Nascar road course moments for me has to be in '05 or so at Sears Point where three cars pirouetted in unison on the last curve before the finish line.

[FaultyMario]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fL6TmpKjws

What kind of shit officiating is this, ARCA?

[FaultyMario]

Really gets under my skin that the “nascar racing line” on road courses is 30ft beyond normal track limits for real race cars.

Watching NASCAR at the “short course” weeny version of the Glen because Kimi :)

It’s got to be killing him that you are encouraged to ignore track limits.

Did it get going? I tuned out after like 15 mins of interviews.

[Tom Servo]

It did, finally started sometime around 2pm PDT.

[JoeW]

Kimi was up to 8th until he got run off the road into the wall after Stage 2 at the bus stop.

[XHawkeye]

Those Cup drivers better watch out, Kimi Raikkonen sounds confident for his debut (https://twitter.com/nascarman_rr/status/1560995477969068034) <--- Open for video

[Phil_SS]

Fuckin wall riders. :assclown:

https://nascar.nbcsports.com/2022/10/31/dr-diandra-explaining-ross-chastains-martinsville-move-ross-chastain/

So fuckin brilliant and the incar videos from the other racers are hysterical. I can't stop laughing at it. :lol: I'm gonna guess that Nascar will outlaw this move because it will become a constant at this and other like tracks. Otherwise I can see a guy doing that to win a race.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Saw this on the news, I'm honestly surprised that it works... especially with those softer kinda wall...

[Tom Servo]

It seems really interesting, because it's not like you can outright ban touching the wall. I'm thinking you probably just have to count on it being too likely to cause too much damage to be useful and that this guy got away with it. Otherwise, it seems like a really hard one to codify.

What bums me out is that now people wallriding in online racing will claim "it's realistic, I can do it"

[Kchrpm]

The fact the car is so busted up (he said at least the brakes and steering were broken afterwards) would prevent people from doing it on anything other than the last corner of the last lap, but I do wonder if someone else will try it.

[Tom Servo]

Yeah, definitely not sustainable for a whole race or anything, but it does make me fear that suddenly we're going to see like 10 drivers try the same thing on the last lap and massive carnage will ensue.

Then again, maybe it'll end up like iRacing and the one guy who doesn't do that just watches everyone else crash and strolls across the line ahead of all of them.

[Phil_SS]

The guy that did it (Ross Chastain), it vaulted him into the Final 4 for the championship. Thus he gained an advantage by doing it. And good for him.

To get into the NASCAR playoffs, I believe that if you win a race you are automatically in no matter where you are in the standings. Thus I could see a lower level team doing it to win a race to then get into the playoffs.

[Rare White Ape]

The move has precedent:

https://youtu.be/oPIi_72bDX4

But as you see it didn’t work too well at Darlington. Martinsville feels like the only place it would work; the high speed and short time against the wall lends itself well, whereas trying to wall ride at a 1.5 miler won’t.


What bums me out is that now people wallriding in online racing will claim "it's realistic, I can do it"

People were giving it a shot in iRacing this week. Apparently in Cup cars it works, but not in Trucks or Xfinity.

[FaultyMario]

Watched highlights of the COTA race... Why is the racing etiquette so darn low?

[Kchrpm]

Because the cars will mostly survive and no one is getting reprimanded by the series.

[Rare White Ape]

NASCAR is the motorsport embodiment of American-style FREEDOM where you can drive anywhere and hit anything, so long as it doesn’t slow you down.

There is no time for etiquette in NASCAR, and one should not expect there to be any. Once this is accepted and understood, then one’s enjoyment of watching it will increase.

NASCAR’s only failure here is going to a track where the modern idea of track limits with luxuriously wide paved runoff areas can be completely ignored. They should stick to old school tracks with unpaved areas right up to the racing surface, like Sonoma and Watkins Glen and Road America.

[Phil_SS]

Would be fun to see them at VIR and Road Atlanta. Kinda surprised they don't have races at those Southern tracks. Even Barber would be good. Or even Sebring.

I think they do run a Daytona in field race where they have to respect the limits.

[Godson]

RAtl would be fucking rad

[JoeW]

Pfft...there would be more cars in the dirt than on the track.

[Godson]

That's what happens when you have rednecks that don't know car spacing....

[Tom Servo]

I finally got around to watching the COTA Nascar race. I did like that one of the announcers balked at them throwing a yellow over all the dirt at T9, I think it was. Something like "well, they keep dragging all that dirt on the track, make 'em deal with it."

I figure eventually they'll end up with a bunch of those big concrete blocks at corner apex like Laguna has. When I went there for Skip Barber, they said they were installed specifically to keep people from cutting the apex and dragging dirt on the track. I know there were a couple of them at COTA as well, but I imagine at some point they'll be at every corner, just waiting to break your suspension if you get too greedy.

[JoeW]

Can you imagine how busy stewards would be if they had to police track limits :)

[Rare White Ape]

North Wilkesboro is back baybeeeee


https://youtu.be/2A956hBRF_Y

[Yobbo NZ]

SVG coming in for a one off drive in Chicago could be interesting.

[JoeW]

I swear NASCAR drivers can’t go 100yds without crashing.

[Rare White Ape]

Yeah the IndyCar drivers are way better than these absolute hacks.

[Kchrpm]

The Chicago track was wider than I expected, so the NASCAR race seemed to go pretty well, especially as the track dried up.

Also:
Great job, SVG, a first race Cup winner for the first time in 60 years!

[Yobbo NZ]

He showed those good ole boys how to use a clutch to his advantage too.

[Rare White Ape]

Fuck that was good to watch. I sat thru the whole thing just now. The cars go well on a street circuit. Now bring them all to Surfers Paradise!

[Tom Servo]

That was a surprisingly enjoyable watch. I was just down in that part of Chicago last weekend. I bet those cars sounded brilliant with the noise echoing off the buildings.

[G'day Mate]

Oh man, I woke up Monday morning and chose F1 replay over live NASCAR

[Yobbo NZ]

SVG and Brodie Kosteki confirmed for the Indy round now. Could be more of a level playing field with the regulars knowing this track.

[Rare White Ape]

Fantastic news :up:

[Rare White Ape]

Not an outstanding qualifying session for the antipodeans, but there is some promise shown right away.

Simulator time is one thing, but Kostecki had a throttle return issue which had to be fixed before he could roll out onto the track, which meant he missed all but two minutes of the first practice session. He finally made it on track for his first lap in the real thing just in time for another driver to beach it into the gravel.

He set good pace in his qualifying group but narrowly missed the top 5 to progress to the final group of 10 quali session. On his last attempt the car bottomed out going up onto the speedway banking just before turn 11 and he nosed it into the wall. He’d literally done 6 laps by that time and was pushing it. He will start 11th.

Van Gisbergen did make it to the qualifying final and set the 8th fastest lap. His team mate Daniel Suarez qualified on pole and managed to be 0.6 seconds faster than Gizzy.

My prediction: top 5 for both drivers is a certainty. Kostecki has had so few laps in the car that his race will see him dropping back a few spots just as SVG did at Chicago, but as long as he has no issues he will get faster and faster every lap and will be one of the fastest guys in the closing 20 laps.

I think SVG will play it safe in the opening stages before rocketing towards the front later on. Perhaps battling for a top three or a win, particularly if the wet weather continues to be a factor. I’m down for a SVG vs BK battle of the ages too. Imagine that!

[Yobbo NZ]

I read somewhere that Brodie is now starting at the back.

"On social media, Kostecki confirmed he will start from the back for Monday’s (AEST race, having been shifted in a back-up chassis by RCR."

Supercars website.