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Embarrassing Blowout for NASCAR
Washington Post ^ | October 17, 2005 | By Liz Clarke

Posted on 10/17/2005 5:40:57 AM PDT by Nasty McPhilthy

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To: Nasty McPhilthy
"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."

Sounds like a cop-out to me. The track has been in it's current state since the spring. They held a 600-mile race there at the end of May and what, nobody has been out there testing? All I can say is "BuschSh!t" Goodyear engineering failed.... again.

41 posted on 10/17/2005 6:48:08 AM PDT by Hatteras
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To: RckyRaCoCo
NASCAR is a hollow, commercialized, woosified shell of it's former self.
I remember when cars didn't have power steering and were actually production cars.
I remember when cars had big blocks and drivers had big...
I remember when drivers & crews didn't whine about having to drive fast to win races.
I remember when teams would innovate and overcome, now they run to NASCAR and demand rules changes.
I remember when if you wanted to check or change your tires you did it under a green flag or waited until someone (hopefully not you) brought out a yellow. Now NASCAR has preplanned scheduled yellow flags.
I remeber when I enjoyed NASCAR...
42 posted on 10/17/2005 6:49:45 AM PDT by Semper Vigilantis (Peace comes from having superior firepower, the will to use it, and a very short fuse.)
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To: Nasty McPhilthy; tubebender
FR Live thread of last Saturday's UAW-GM 500

The Cup race started about post 525.

43 posted on 10/17/2005 6:52:11 AM PDT by glock rocks (A computer beat me at chess once. It lost at close range handguns.)
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To: frithguild
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.

I read somewhere that NASCAR intends to introduce a car with reduced aero. The code name for the basic car is "the Brick". I think that they intend to introduce it either this year or next, but I'm not sure how this effort dovetails with that of the manufacturers...

44 posted on 10/17/2005 6:52:58 AM PDT by Tallguy
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To: Quilla

I love the taste of calcium chloride on a Saturday night. Nothing better than 1/2 mile dirt tracks!


45 posted on 10/17/2005 6:54:23 AM PDT by Fierce Allegiance (Want to be on my Civil Engineers ping list? Say the word!)
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To: Nasty McPhilthy

The important part of this article?

"Southern California's 34-31, come-from-behind victory over Notre Dame. "

All the rest is filler.


46 posted on 10/17/2005 6:57:21 AM PDT by SoCal Pubbie
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To: pageonetoo
(speaking of which, wasn't the interview with Michael Waltrip funny. During an interview during a red flag stop, hee named every sponsor, with a decal on his car, then said, "now what can I do for you?" I just spewed...

He had his coke can prominently displayed after his crash, too. NAPA loves him, as do the rest of his sponsors. His brother taught him well. How else do you explain grown men to wearing a Tide jacket around town.

47 posted on 10/17/2005 6:57:23 AM PDT by Fierce Allegiance (Want to be on my Civil Engineers ping list? Say the word!)
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To: harpu

I think you are wrong on that. The reason NASCAR is so big IS because of TV.


48 posted on 10/17/2005 7:00:56 AM PDT by KC_Conspirator (This space outsourced to India)
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To: Nasty McPhilthy

Incompetent half-a$$ed engineering. Cars should not fall apart for any reason except accidents.


49 posted on 10/17/2005 7:02:54 AM PDT by ex-snook (Vote gridlock for the most conservative government)
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To: Nasty McPhilthy

I don't know what race they are talking about here, but the one on Saturday night was a waste... at least the part of it that I saw, on the one screen in the bar... was watching the baseball playoffs.. and frankly if they got 20 laps between wrecks during that race I'd call it a miracle.

Admittedly in spite of being born and raised in NC, I have never cared for stock car.... and with the concept that allows an "overall champion" who could in theory have never actually won a race I find it even more of a joke then when I was groing up.


50 posted on 10/17/2005 7:04:06 AM PDT by HamiltonJay
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To: proudofthesouth

BEST WAY to watch NASCAR.

Record the whole race. Stay away from the news so you don't hear the name of the winner.

Then, play the tape of the race. You can fast-forward through the routine laps. Stop and re-play the exciting parts, especially the close calls and the smash-ups.

Great entertainment!


51 posted on 10/17/2005 7:05:05 AM PDT by i_dont_chat (Houston, TX)
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To: KC_Conspirator

NO, NASCAR is because of it's FANS. TV is just exploiting the fan popularity.


52 posted on 10/17/2005 7:05:33 AM PDT by harpu
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To: KC_Conspirator

That must be true because I do not have tv, the ONLY time I hear about nascar is on this forum. Secondly NEVER in 15 years have any of my friends mentioned, car racing, or nascar in any conversation.


53 posted on 10/17/2005 7:05:38 AM PDT by Walkingfeather
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To: Fierce Allegiance

It's been decades since I've been to a dirt track. Amazingly, when I went to the site to steal the photo, the same ol' boy (Dana Eiland - #K9) is still giving the competition a run for their money. I swear, I think we beat him only once in a hundred races.


54 posted on 10/17/2005 7:06:08 AM PDT by Quilla
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To: Semper Vigilantis
Now NASCAR has preplanned scheduled yellow flags.

WTF??? The DH comes to Auto Racing.

55 posted on 10/17/2005 7:07:20 AM PDT by HamiltonJay
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To: KC_Conspirator
I think you are wrong on that. The reason NASCAR is so big IS because of TV.

Sorry, sompetative bocci ball is more exciting to watch than NASCAR.

56 posted on 10/17/2005 7:08:02 AM PDT by HamiltonJay
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To: HamiltonJay

Well, someone said that NASCAR does not need TV. My answer is that if they want to keep making money hand over fist, then they need TV. NASCAR went from a southern interest to a nationwide phenomenon. No longer are the companies kung fu fighting for ad space just beer, cigarettes, and oil.


57 posted on 10/17/2005 7:11:16 AM PDT by KC_Conspirator (This space outsourced to India)
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To: Hatteras
The easy answer to the tire problems(complaints) would be to allow several manufactures to furnish tires. The competition would be good for the sport and good for consumers as well.
58 posted on 10/17/2005 7:13:40 AM PDT by River_Wrangler (You can't be lost if you don't care where you're at !)
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To: Quilla

Funny how that works. At my favorite dirt track, Lebanon Valley, NY, it's the same names, but in most cases the next generation as when I started going in the 70's as a yung pup.

Back then, if you wanted to see racing, you went to the track and got lucky to catch Wide World of Sports do a 20 minute piece. Even indy was tape delayed, and went late, so I missed it. Damn 8:00 bedtime. Noe it's speed channel, VCR, DVR & Tivo. It just doesn't taste the same, though.


59 posted on 10/17/2005 7:14:03 AM PDT by Fierce Allegiance (Want to be on my Civil Engineers ping list? Say the word!)
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To: Ben Hecks

Remember that no one liked the flip side of the coin either. When one team had an ideal setup on hard tires, they took a huge lead for the entire race and it was boring. Indestructable tires = boring racing too dependant on engineering and not enough on drivers skill.

Now they have a softer tire that forces teams to manage their available grip. That encourages smarter racing and showcases drivers talent, not car set-ups. Too many teams are putting excessive downforce and using ultra aggressive suspension set-ups that abuse the tires down to nothing in short order.

Collective temptation to use setups that maximize grip and handling is not the fault of the tire engineers. With soft tires you only get so much grip so it's on the crew chief to put in place a thought out set-up and it's on the driver to either care for his tires to extend their grip, or choose to use it up in carefully chosen battles for position.


60 posted on 10/17/2005 7:15:56 AM PDT by Sax
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