Smoke Sets Them Straight At Speedweek

I liked the answer, but he's wrong. People like to watch crashes.

I agree with pat1.

Atta boy, Tony!

Thanks, Ed! Smoke is left-handed like you and me! So is Dale Jr.

Oops. I just realized Josh posted this. My bad!

Dumb answer to a legitimate question, albeit asked maybe in the wrong context. The question should have been: "Do you think NASCAR has become too boring and irrelevant?" Because, evidenced by falling race attendance (despite lowered ticket prices in response to the economy) and falling TV audiences, the answer to that question is probably "yes."

The cars, the drivers, the tracks, the races, and the incessant NASCAR marketing hype machine are all boring. NASCAR has succeeded in homogenizing the series into one big over-marketed, plain vanilla snooze fest.

The "cars of tomorrow" are dreadfully boring, homogenous spec-racers running ancient engine technology, with absolutely no relevance whatsoever to anything you can buy off a Ford, Chevy, Dodge, or Toyota showroom floor. COT, in the name of "equalizing the competition", has succeeded in turning NASCAR into a glorified spec series. They're a joke!

The drivers, many of whom are superbly talented racers, are expected to tow the NASCAR and sponsor line, and are nothing more than plain-vanilla "golly/shucks/darn" marketing shills for their sponsors and for NASCAR. Any semblance of personality or emotion (except for a few like Stewart) is buried under a wet corporate marketing blanket. Boring!

Even the tracks are boring. Too many 1-to-1.5 mile tri-ovals, not enough road courses. The super speedways are neutered by the arbitrary speed restrictions imposed by carb restrictor plates, making for ultra-boring pack racing the whole race, punctuated occasionally by the excitement of the a big wreck by half the pack. Ok, that part can be exciting (admit it because it's true), but otherwise the racing in just plain boring.

And the season. My god, is there a more tedious season in sports than NASCAR? Maybe the presidential campaign season is the only "season" that's more tedious. By the time the last race rolls around in November, all except the most rapid NASCAR fans have ceased to care, focusing instead on football, deer hunting and turkey.

Until NASCAR reintroduces some semblance of real competition, production-based cars running modern engine technology and more varied tracks, allows the drivers to be themselves, and shortens the season considerably, it will continue to lose fan interest both at the track and on the couch. Fans simply want more for their race ticket dollar and/or couch time, and clearly are voting with their wallets.

It's sad but people do like to see crashes. Why? Because without them NASCAR is just a lot of cars driving round and round for a couple hours.

He has to face it, as a form of racing it's just not that interesting. A good excuse to drink beer and hang out with friends but that's about it.

The thing is if you have a buddy whose house has a view of a freeway, you can do the same thing for free.

andersendl, Dude,

Don't write a freaking book. Go to a forum for those kinds of posts. It says comment not small novel.

I think what Tony said was his valid opinion and he was respectful. I mean honestly who wants to make their job exponentially more dangerous.