Running 2018 NASCAR thread

Go black guy!

 

Truly shows where this sport is right now that Dick was the first to start a thread -- during the Daytona 500. (Not that anything at all was interesting during the offseason.)

 

NASCAR Nation would melt down like never before.

 

I'm not sure NASCAR even qualifies as a Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area now.

Consider this: Daytona announced a sellout of its grandstand tickets yesterday, less than 24 hours before the biggest race of the year. Sounds impressive, doesn't it? Except the speedway has eliminated so many seats that the entire place -- including luxury boxes -- only seats 101,000. Smaller than Neyland, Michigan and the Rose Bowl, for starters.

Ten years ago, there were nearly twice that (a figure of about 180,000 seems to come to mind).

 

I don’t watch NASCAR except for Daytona for the tradition. What is this stage nonsense? Looks like races within the race.

 

It’s a points thing.

It’s annoying that it’s all that’s on the broadcast.

 

The Boston PD will credit Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough for popularizing Daytona so the black guy has a place to race.

 

They started it last year. Races are broken up into three segments now. Each ends with a caution flag (except the last, obviously), and the leader at the time gets a bonus point for the season standings. I think the number of stage wins also factors into tiebreakers somehow, so there is some importance to them.
The idea was to generate some excitement in the middle of the race, when guys would otherwise be mindlessly turning laps. It's contrived, but hasn't been as bad as the idea seemed at first. It creates some checkpoints in the race, gives fans a chance to get a bathroom break, and does break things up a bit.

 

One time I got a flat tire and Wendell Scott’s son gave me a ride. I don’t have five interesting things about me, so I’ll just put that one here.

 

Danica wrecks out one last time, for old time's sake.

 

See ya at Indy.

 

Congrats to Austin Dillon winning the Daytona 517.5

(I hate green-white-checker finishes)