I am not a car racing guy but my question is whether it would be fun to have an actual stock car racing circuit, where only cars that you could actually go buy from a dealer (for under a certain price and which a manufacturer sells a reasonable minimum number of to the general public) could be used, wirth only a very few safety modifications permitted. It sounds to me like that would be fun to watch.
Now THAT I would be for. There are all kinds of AWD cars that would probably be fine. I can’t stand watching spec cars parading around an oval track with a fake Camry or Fusion front end on them. Gimme a break. What a joke. I will stick with sports car racing, thanks. F1 sucks with no passing, and NASCAR is a shell of its original self — even as it appeals to the masses.
No, very extensive modifications would have to be made to street cars or it would set driver safety back 50 years.
The entire structure/frame of modern race cars are made to protect the drivers. Fuel cells that are made to not rupture, leak or explode are integrated into that frame. The basic contour of the cars has been adjusted to keep the car on the ground dirty side down during accidents. Air damns/air wings/flaps are now utilized to slow the car and create downforce to limit damage and decrease speed when the car is advancing backwards or spinning.
All of these things are built into the car and are not addons. They have been incorporated into the internal and external structure of the cars to protect the drivers of that particular car and the drivers of other cars they may impact in a wreck.