2014 NASCAR running thread - Brian France idiot edition

Throwing this out to the old-time NASCAR folks, has the schedule always been this way? Was there a time when they had Daytona and then took a few weeks off until Spring actually sprung?

 

Not that I'm aware. There were times when Rockingham and Atlanta were early in the schedule and got snowed out. Daytona hasn't always been the first race. There were times when they started at Riverside before going to Daytona.

 

So there really hasn't been any NASCAR talk since March? Wow.

 

Saw a story that 72-year-old (!!) Morgan Shepherd wrecked second place Logano today. I remember watching Morgan when he was a top tier driver. Of course, that was in the early 1990s.

 

Moderately interesting Brickyard 400 today. Jeff Gordon had the best car all day, but you weren't sure until late whether he'd be able to get back to the front. Wins his 5th at Indy, and increases his lead in the points.

Crowd looked small for IMS.

 

When that last caution flew (given Gordon's piss poor restarts for oh, say the last five years) I thought he'd have his work cut for him. He nailed it.

 

Was there for the first.

Big deal, it was.

 

That article spells it out fairly well, and it's fairly consistent with what everyone else is writing regarding not only the Brickyard decline, but NASCAR attendance declines in general. The one thing often not mentioned -- younger people aren't as into cars as previous generations (though often that's because they can't afford them, and the insurance required).

http://www.fastcoexist.com/3027876/millennials-dont-care-about-owning-cars-and-car-makers-cant-figure-out-why

 

I've watched IndyCar and NASCAR at the same tracks, in the same years, multiple times.

I understand that at some of the smaller ovals, there is a lot of passing in NASCAR, and more racin' going on than in IndyCar. But to watch both at the same venue, NASCAR seems like the minor leagues. The difference in speed makes it look like a Sunday stroll.

 

On top of all the other factors affecting NASCAR, stock-car racing at Indy is horrible. The track simply isn't built for it. It probably would be more interesting to put NASCAR on the road course.

 

Perhaps you need to keep in mind how difficult, relatively speaking, NASCAR cars are to drive. Those drivers are fighting those cars almost non-stop.