Terrible Daytona 500

02/18/2020 | Tnoldman

[TNoldman]

DAYTONA 500 IS OVER....

I watched the Daytona 500 on Monday. It was the worst Race I have ever seen. I have seen many since the late 1960's or so. The pushing by direct contact caused most major wrecks - of which there were many. Somehow the Front and Rear Bumpers were latching together and caused spinouts. In the 1950 -60's it was common for the 2nd place car on the last lap to touch the rear quarter of the lead car - spin-out and go on to Win. Think Richard Petty. The multiple attempts for an non- Caution finish also made things worse. As they took out many of the faster lead cars the slower inexperienced Drivers got into the mix. Without change I would not watch or attend again.

[humblegunner]

Without change I would not watch or attend again.

So unless they put you in charge you'll sit home and pout.

Man, I bet that has the bosses in a tizzy.

Way to tizzy up them bosses.

[Lib-Lickers 2]

I remember when they were called “stock” cars

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

Plate racing needs to go

[Red Badger]

I went to a Daytona 500 and a Hockey Game broke out:

1979:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mucSyo9yLLQ

[relictele]

Going two abreast (wide) all the way around the track was once considered risky and counterproductive in terms of wind resistance but advances in aerodynamics and the drudgery of restrictor plates made two-wide either necessary or advantageous depending on your viewpoint.

This became three-wide on a rather narrow and steeply-banked track - which obviously leaves little and in many cases zero space between the cars. It’s essentially one big jigsaw puzzle with the pieces loosely connected and when one goes they all go.

I’m a recent adopter of YouTubeTV and while giving Google more cash up front and sacrificing some privacy is not high on my wishlist it’s certainly cheaper, better and more useful than AT&T/DirecTV.

YouTubeTV’s DVR is unlimited (I’m whispering that in case they start moving goalposts) so I’m able to record any and all sporting events for later viewing - which I did with the 500 due to the rain delays and the Monday finish.

Fast-forwarding provides little thumbnails above the timeline. What was most shocking and dismaying to me, even as a longtime NASCAR viewer (albeit a casual one) was the staggering number of ads. Every time I moved my mouse and stopped it seemed a commercial was on the screen. Full screen. Half screen. And then there were Fox’s own inane interruptions. Shots involving the cameras on the cars and the track in full screen view seemed to be a rarity rather than the bulk of the broadcast (which is what they should have been). A comparison with any Formula One race will be an even more sobering reminder that NASCAR races should precious little of the actual race.

Sports leagues and broadcasters complain that short audience attention spans are hurting their live gate and ratings. But who fired the first shot? I would say it’s the broadcasters, especially Fox on all sports, who produce their events like they’re on a combination of crack cocaine and double espresso. Noise, lights, graphics, whiz-bang sound FX, shouty announcers, cheesy 90s heavy metal music. Shots of the announcer booth at the track. Shots of the studio analysts - DURING THE DAMNED RACE. If you don’tt have ADHD before a Fox broadcast you probably have it after. They can’t pay attention to the event they have paid handsomely to air - the audience has no prayer.

[Ouderkirk]

I gave up on NASCAR 20 years ago because the rule changes made it boring. Now, I don’t even recognize it... it has become more spectacle than race. I liked that it started (green flag dropped) at noon eastern sharp back i the day and the cars were all different and the pits were not the exclusive domain of the lead lap. Now, you go a lap down and you might as well take it behind the wall because you have no chance to win

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

When the car behind gets close enough the high air pressure of the nose pushes the air off the spoiler on the car in front. The rear end gets squirrelly because the weight is gone and it spins.

Every change they make is geared to bunch up the cars so they will crash 20 at a time.

[Drago]

NASCAR bosses already in a tizzy...have you seen their TV ratings/attendance lately?!?

[Conserv]

I’m a sports fan, but I can’t watch racing.

It’s slower than SH!T.

I tuned in to watch Trump and then thought I would catch the start of the race...

and then I waited and I waited and I waited. DAMN.

It takes a fricking hour just to get the damn thing started. FORGET IT.

By luck, I turned to it yesterday just in time to catch the finish. Such a close race, but Fox showed exactly ONE replay of the finish. ONE. WHAT IN THE HELL?!

I was screaming at the TV. Can you kindly show us the slow mo finish of the race. Yes, there was a horrible accident, but does that mean they don’t show us various shots of the 2 cars that raced across the finish line?

The entire experience was aggravating as hell. I simply don’t know how race fans stand it.

I got better things to do than turn into an old lady while trying to watch a damn race.

[glasseye]

Check out IMSA.
4 classes running together so constant passing(unlike F1).
All the major car companies out there with their newest super sport cars.
The best racing available, IMHO.

[TNoldman]

You have a way ridiculing an opinion you disagree with. Time will tell!

The Current Equipment and Rule have created an unnecessarily dangerous condition on the 2 Super Speedways.

Also high cost equipment damage will a problem for most Teams. Racing delays will upset the Fans and Ticket Sales.

Drivers, Team Owners, Track Owners, Sponsors and Fans will set the pace.

[humblegunner]

You have a way ridiculing an opinion you disagree with.

What should I do with such opinions?

[TNoldman]

“What should I do with such opinions?”

It’s your choice. Have a Blessed day.

[HenpeckedCon]

The 2000 Daytona 500 was such a snooze fest that NASCAR changed the aero package on the cars for 2001 that ended up getting Dale Earnhardt killed.

[Alberta's Child]

I'm not a NASCAR fan but I know the history of the sport and I actually understand what they're trying to do.

Check out this link below to the last lap of the 1979 Daytona 500 -- a race that is generally regarded as the turning point in the history of NASCAR, when it changed from a regional sport to a national spectacle.

1979 Daytona 500 Ending

There were several factors that made this an epic race:

1. It was the first Daytona 500 televised nationally in its entirety. CBS signed the contract to televise the race as an afterthought. February is usually a "dead" time in the sports calendar, and they were just looking for something to broadcast during the period between the Super Bowl and the start of the NCAA basketball tournament and Major League Baseball.

2. The race featured the epic brawl alongside the track between the two drivers leading the race at the end: Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison. They crashed just before the end, and the driver then running in third place (Richard Petty) passed them both to win.

3. The story made the front page of the New York Times, which was highly unusual for ANY sports story -- let alone an auto race in a league that had been regarded as a "redneck sport" up until then.

I bring all of this up to make a point:

Notice how far behind the leaders Richard Petty was before he passed them on the last lap. The reports I saw on this race indicated that he was at least half a lap -- about a mile and a half -- behind the two leaders when the crash occurred.

NASCAR had seen too many races like this over the years, where a few cars dominate the field and there isn't much doubt about the outcome. A lot of the rule changes in recent years like restrictor plates and the elimination of races ending under yellow flags were simply intended to make these races more interesting to the spectators.

[snoringbear]

“ I remember when they were called “stock” cars.”
****

Yeh, me too. And fans could tell a Ford, Chevy, Plymouth, Mercury, Pontiac, etc from each other. Now, everyone runs the same engine, gears, sheet metal all has the exact same coefficient of drag which forces string racing. I hate string racing.

[Svartalfiar]

I remember when they were called “stock” cars

Yup, I've been drifting away since they started with the "Car of Tomorrow" crap. They've ruined all the RnD that goes into these cars from the companies. There are so many restrictions and regulations that every car is now physically the same. A Ford, Chevy, Toyota, etc. NASCAR vehicle are impossible to tell apart. Every bolt is the same size in the same spot. Every pipe comes from the same place and goes to the same place. The only restrictions they should have is overall size, engine compartment size, and safety requirements. Let the manufacturers ave fun with the rest!

[Paul R.]

Bobby Allison’s side of it:

https://altdriver.com/racing/nascar-daytona-500-bobby-allison-cale-yarborough/

Pretty funny (given that no one was seriously hurt.)

But, yeah, I understand what you are saying.

[AzNASCARfan]

Yeah it got boring years ago... They took the racing out of the sport with all the new rules and changing things continually, stage racing killed it for good.
I rarely even watch anymore, Probably should change my screen name. I watched President Trump’s appearance and then caught the last lap yesterday and saw Ryan Newman almost die. Restricter plate racing causes all those wrecks, they don’t have enough power to get away from the other cars.
Yes the bump and run was used a lot in the past, but it was not something drivers ever did on purpose at the super speedways because of the speeds they are running... It used to be a short track thing, at Bristol or Martinsville. There certainly have been some nasty ones since they added in the restricter plates though, this one looked much worse to me than the one that killed Dale Earnhardt.