I've been a fan of American stock car racing since the days of Junior Johnson & Fireball Roberts. One of the best races I ever personally witnessed was at Charlotte Motor Speedway in '63 between those two. I've crewed at short tracks all around my area as a high schooler. I've watched the changes for the good and bad as Stock Car Racing came out ouf the Carolina hills and went to Grand National Racing to NASCAR. Competition is competition in my book. There is excitement and disapointment in a Pinewood Derby for me. That's not my point here. In my time I've watched American round & round go from cars that could be run on the street and brought to the track, to cars modified from cars bought from the show room floor, to factory sponsored cars that could be bought from the show room floor, to factory bodies that couldn't be bought, to factory cars that don't exist. The step next year, will for me, take NASCAR as far from its original roots as possible. That is a common body template and a common engine template.

I'm I correct in what I have understood????

If this is the case I would hope my intellegence would not be obviously insulted by the individual car factories putting their logo on the "Oreo, Purina, Spick & Span, Intel, Bank of America, Sun Drop, Red Dog, Direct TV, Miriacle Grow Fertilizer Special. But I'm sure they will.

My question to this ramble is: Given the current setting of NASCAR leaving tracks that have been on the circut since close to its beginning and no longer actually running cars that have anything to do with factory production; is there room in the future for a new sanctioning body that would go back to the roots of stock car racing and maybe even a "run what you brung" attitude????

There is but there is no money in it and that is what it is all about. And if you found the money in it and it started to take off NASCAR would buy it or crush it.

NASCAR will now = IROC - but safer

nascar is turning into frigging iroc with 36 races and 43 cars. it used to be any joe six-pack could race. now its you need a silver spoon and a rich hertiage too.

Common template cars racing on cookie cutter tracks with drivers who look good in front of a camera.

Count me out. I'll take Elliott vs Earnhardt any day. I wish I had been around for the racing in the '60s and '70s, but I remember what drew me to NASCAR in the first place was the cars looked like real cars! Bill Elliott's Coors Melling Thunderbird still resembled a 1987 Ford Thunderbird. Dale Earnhardt's Monte Carlo still resembled a street legal Monte Carlo.

The last serious attempt to start a new stock car racing series (using Vipers, Mustangs, and Corvettes) was TRAC, and they failed horribly, even with the support of Cale Yarborough. :(

You know what I'd like to see, a legends league. Maybe a 20 race season with all the old drivers. Darrel Waltrip, Bobby Allison, Ned Jarret and of course all the newer retirerees like Rusty. And it would be STOCK cars. Yeah ok so what I really want is a time machine :)

i've always wanted a classics series. where the vets could bring older model stock cars(of course with all the new safety stuff) and race each other, kinda bring back the race on sunday sell on monday races.

So far there ain't too much joy in "Mudville" tonight.

TRAC???? Didn't hear about that one. Was it road racing? How long ago? Maybe then, NASCAR hadn't screwed the pooch and opened the door like they seem to be doing now.

With the track building going on right now, it seems NASCAR is wanting to weed out the older traditional tracks. They may weed out the older traditional race go'ers as well. I don't see how they can keep adding tracks without at least going East Coast & West Coast and then have a run-off at the end of a season. If it doesn't end up like B-Ball and they play ALL FREEKIN' YEAR!!!!! :freak: (B-Ball might be interesting to me if they broke it down to the best 5 out of 7 three minute sets...and if that didn't last long enough maybe you'd have to win by 2 games? :dude: )

Anyway its interesting to hear ya'lls points of view on this debacle. Is there anyone that thinks this will be good for the sport????

TRAC???? Didn't hear about that one. Was it road racing? How long ago? Maybe then, NASCAR hadn't screwed the pooch and opened the door like they seem to be doing now.

They never actually raced. They went bankrupt long before they got to a track. I believe they were going to use ovals, specifically, Bruton Smith's tracks. The format was going to be football/baseball/basketball style with ten three car teams representing ten purchasable franchises.

Like I said, didn't get far, despite having Cale Yarborough endorse them.

I suppose time will tell. But with talk of eleminating races at tracks that have been established in the NASCAR circut since Grand National days; like Charlotte, Bristol, Martinsville and even Darlington it is obvious the promotors have lost sight of what made this sport. They are in a Catch 22 of wanting to expand the reaches of NASCAR. They only have so many week-ends in a year and so many tracks to fill. But I think closing tracks like North Wilksboro and especially Rockingham is the equivilant of amputating the hand for a broken finger. I suppose as the old guard changes again and new blood enters so will ideas of what NASCAR racing is and should become. But I've found that many times if the roots of a tree die it won't be long before the tree falls in the wind. And you can't get that same tree back no matter what.

Yeah NASCAR just does'nt do it for me any more. You cant tell what kind of car it is with out a name on it, soon the Toyotas will be running out there too.
The really colorful drivers are retired or dead. The fun tracks are going away.
I wish someone would make DVDs of the old races form the 60s thru the 80s, like the old Car & Track series that used to be on saturdays long ago.

HAVE YOU FOUND A NEW COOKIE CUTTER TRACK YET, MISTER EXCECUTIVE?!

yes sir! but what track will we get rid of this time?

WHAT'S THE SECOND OLDEST TRACK?!

Smells like Harakiri...There is one bright point in the laws of nature. "It abhores a vacume." ;)

All sports and the players have changed in the past 10 - 20 years and not necessarily for the better. As much as we would like things to stay the same it just doesn't work that way. If you don't like Nascar anymore, move on and someone will take your place.

No one said NASCAR should "stay the same." NASCAR stood for National Association of STOCK CAR Auto Racing. Granted STOCK CAR hasn't been in it for sometime. But to disassociate the sanctioning body with everything that made it popular, including manufacturers, leaves a void and less room for the development of STOCK CARs through the sport of racing. Presently the SCCA does more for the advancement of STOCK CARs than does NASCAR. So down the road, rlyoung1, your staement could be turned around. If NASCAR doesn't appreciate its roots they may move on. And some other sanctioning body could take IT's place. Just food for thought.

NASCAR is more popular than ever. Therefore they must be doing something right.

The old time fans grumble alot but few do what's actually needed- stop watching. Myself, I only watch the races Bill Elliott runs. As he ran Daytona, I watched the 500 for the first time in two years. I still follow Jayski's so I know who goes where, and more importantly, what races Bill's running.

If the old time fans would stop watching, maybe NASCAR would think something is wrong and change things. But if people continue to watch, nothing's going to be done to remedy the situation, as NASCAR will see profits/high ratings and think everything's great. Most newer fans don't know about the history, except for the little blurbs they see during the race telecasts...

NASCAR is more popular than ever. Therefore they must be doing something right.

The old time fans grumble alot but few do what's actually needed- stop watching. Myself, I only watch the races Bill Elliott runs. As he ran Daytona, I watched the 500 for the first time in two years. I still follow Jayski's so I know who goes where, and more importantly, what races Bill's running.

If the old time fans would stop watching, maybe NASCAR would think something is wrong and change things. But if people continue to watch, nothing's going to be done to remedy the situation, as NASCAR will see profits/high ratings and think everything's great. Most newer fans don't know about the history, except for the little blurbs they see during the race telecasts...

It takes time to piss everyone off..... Up until next season NASCAR has at least kept the facade of STOCK CARS by running "factory" blocks. No more. But I doubt that will stop them from insulting my intelligence by putting a bow-tie, blue oval, goat, arrowhead or what ever that thing "Yota" has for a logo now, on the front of the car. I'm not saying that the racing won't improve by equalizing the rides. Now I could pull for a driver and not feel the least bit of patronage to a factory mark!!!! That would be Chevrolet. Lets let the factories think about that one for a minute or two. Even if patronage does wain, the heads at NASCAR won't look at it as something stupid they did. They'll look at it like they need to diversify and close down some of these "old" tracks like: Darlington, Charlotte, Bristol, Martinsville etc. and replace them with new ones out west. This is where the void will open. These "old" tracks won't just sit idle and its doubtful they'll be raized for shopping malls. I maybe wrong but within a decade there will be competition for NASCAR and it'll probably come out of the south if or as NASCAR pushes us out. Hey! We've succeded from stuff before. :thumbsup:

I remember what got me into Nascar. I was 19 and getting beer at a local bar(4/6 pack bottles of Miller genuine draft). As I was walking out I heard a "Hey stop!". Doh! busted? Nope. Instead the owner came up to me and said."Do you like Rusty Wallace?". I said "Yeah?". He gave me a free Nascar Shirt. The rest is History. Some great races that year. I've been a fan ever since. Not a die-hard, but a fan none the less. Can't wait for today's race. :)

There will always be a bright future for Nascar. It my not be what you want it to be. The younger gens will eat it up though. Just as upset I am with Rusty leaving. There are 200,000 younger fans that are happy a younger driver gets a chance. So goes the Cycle of Nascar. :)

Being a historian I've found "always" to be a word with little meaning. It goes along with other sure things ie "1000 year Reich" "Unsinkable Titanic" "War to end all wars" "Earthquake Proof." The only sure bet I've ever found is there ain't a sure one. There were a lot of empty seats at Sanoma last week end. At least in comparison to a race around here. And until the end I caught some gooood NASCAR naps. The naps started with that band that led off. Boy that got the ole adrenaline pumping! Made me want to put down my "Red Dog" and go right to the fridge for a wine spritzer. :freak: There may be changes a'comin' in NASCAR. But they'd better remember which side their breads buttered on. Or in west coastease "On which side their cresant has margerine." :rolleyes:

I know I plan on visiting our local tracks a lot this year. I want some real sat night racing! Look for me hanging with the hometown boys at Eastside speedway, South Boton and New River Valley, might take a trip down to Langley too.

If we get the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte at least we'll have somewhere to recall the "Good ole Days." Not to step on anyone's toes :jest: Where else would you put the dang thing? Daytona? Yeah maybe. If you want it wash out to sea with the next catagory 4.

NASCAR is more popular than ever. Therefore they must be doing something right.

The old time fans grumble alot but few do what's actually needed- stop watching. Myself, I only watch the races Bill Elliott runs. As he ran Daytona, I watched the 500 for the first time in two years. I still follow Jayski's so I know who goes where, and more importantly, what races Bill's running.

If the old time fans would stop watching, maybe NASCAR would think something is wrong and change things. But if people continue to watch, nothing's going to be done to remedy the situation, as NASCAR will see profits/high ratings and think everything's great. Most newer fans don't know about the history, except for the little blurbs they see during the race telecasts...

also dont forget the show back in the day ;)

i heard about north wilkesboro speedway being bought. that used to be a winston cup speedway that got shut down back in 97. maybe its be reopened. i want to go and see some saturday night racing there. :tongue:

There were a lot of empty seats at Sanoma last week end. :rolleyes:

There was not a race in Sonoma last weekend. It was in Fontana. ;)
Sonoma (road course)- Northern CA
Fontana - Southern CA

Oh...Yeah.....When your asleep Fontana and Sonoma sound a lot alike. Wine spritzer anyone :drunk: