Posted on 10/17/2005 5:40:57 AM PDT by Nasty McPhilthy
NASCAR had the opportunity to build on its fan base Saturday night when the UAW-GM 500 roared to life seconds after Southern California's 34-31, come-from-behind victory over Notre Dame.
NBC viewers who were curious about stock-car racing simply needed to stay put following college football's thriller in South Bend, Ind., where the Trojans charged past the Fighting Irish with three seconds remaining. But as the prime-time TV cameras cut to Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., NASCAR failed to seize the moment.
A rash of tire failures sent a succession of cars slamming into the track's concrete retaining wall and scared drivers so witless they barely raced at all. Instead of dicing for position as NASCAR's best do so expertly, racers kept safe distances between one another and didn't push their cars to their limit, many said afterward, for fear of blowing a tire. Despite the precautions, the 500-mile race was halted for a crash roughly every 20 laps. Nearly all of the crashes were caused by blown tires; not necessarily the fault of the tire supplier, Goodyear, most drivers argued, but the result of speeds generating more heat and abuse than the tires could withstand.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
They went fast, and "went to wreckin'."
What's not to like?
One crash every 20 laps? Sounds like pretty good viewin' to me..............
The blown tires were caused PRIMARILY by underinflation. Far too many teams ingnore Goodyear's recommended inflation pressure. Could Goodyear build an indistructible tire? Yes, but it would be slow and not necessarily conducive to good racing either.
Liz Clarke is one ignorant fool. NASCAR doesn't now, nor will it ever need TV to be what it is - NASCAR.
I'm not a NASCAR fan at all, but when I tuned in @ 11:15 i was riveted. Now I need more...
I thought crashes were the main event in NASCAR. Like fights in hockey.
I've been a NASCAR fan for 20 years.
The crashes are fine...the problem is the 20 laps under caution for a blown tire.
Almost all solo wrecks, one guy blows a tire and either spins or slides into the outside wall or (rarely) manages to get it shut down to get into the pits. Almost all the position changes seemed to be on pit road, the drivers were just not willing to risk really racing on the track. At the end of the race, someone said that 42 of the 43 cars had tire problems at one time or another.
I heard it was because the track had been ground down in the turns and that made it erase the rubber?
What condition was the road surface? The Daytona track in the late 70's early 80's was in horrible conditio, and caused the same problems...........
And naturally they can't blame Goodyear, too much bucks at stake. I heard one driver say (can't recall who) it was because the track was resurfaced - this past spring?!?
Earth to Goodyear, where ya been? I thinks its now October.
Nah. I can't imagine even people who only watch for the wrecks getting a charge out of a single car hitting the wall.
NASCAR hasn't been NASCAR since they went to driving caricatures instead of "stock" cars.
Ignorance is all about where you decide to draw the line.
The track had recently been smoothed - made it too fast for the geometry. NASCAR seems to believe that the teams were underinflating the tires in an effort to get more traction, but that was causing the tires to overheat. That caused the blistering and popping problems.
IIRC, the track owner promised to have it resurfaced before the next race to prevent this from happening again.
I was there. It was great. I am a new fan and watching it on TV is nothing compared to being there. The fans in the stands are as much fun as watching the track.
I have been a big NASCAR fan for 8 years (not a bandwagon guy but not one of those fans who has been a fan all of my life. I went to my first race in the 80's in College Station and Texas World Speedway for the NASCAR 400 and Richard Petty was the guy I was rooting for.
I have really been turned off with NASCAR lately and I am wondering if has had its "hey day." FOX and NBC lost money with their TV contract and it looks like ABC and ESPN will be picking it up.
Has NASCAR gotten to big for its britches?
That was probably a complicating factor, but all through the race broadcast the commentators and some teams were commenting on the inflation pressure deal.
Charlotte is notoriously undulating and bumpy, which slowed down the speed and made for good racing. Humpy Wheeler cut down the surface of the track to smooth it out. AAs a result the surface was very rough, with fewer bumps and undulations. The tire Goodyear brought to the track was designed for 5 mph less speed and a smoother surface. Wheeler will resurface the track before they come around again.
NASCAR needs to revisit their aero package. The teams spend so much on tweaking the bodies to increase downforce. Then you get an aero push in dirty air, which makes for less passing. They may as well hire some F1 aerodynamicists.
The best racing is when there's essentially no downforce. They need to bring the front spoilers up about 8 inches, so that it will be all about adjusting the chasis for mechanical grip.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.