[rememberfireball#22]

I loved NASCAR back in the 60's. Then Fireball,Joe Weatherly got killed,Flonty Flock was injured so bad he had to quit. Then Curtis Turner was killed and I didn't want to hear anything about NASCAR. But ever now and then, I would hear about something Smokey Yumick had done and I would get back interested until Big Bill France would outlaw whatever Smokey had come up with and would'nt let him run it. Smokey actually came up with a usable fuel cell in 1964 and Big Bill disallowed it. Bye,bye Fireball. I have read a couple of books written by Smokey. It appears that he and Big Bill were serious enemies. Don't even watch NASCAR anymore. The pretty boys and the stupid Bush brothers just don't interest me. I will admit that Kyle can drive a race car, but I would love to see him and Tiny Lund locked in a room for about 15 minutes if Tiny were still alive.

[Simple Man]

Originally Posted by Gulliver

Nascar is nothing more than a "parade of sponsors" nowadays.

Qualifying speeds were faster 30 years ago than they are now. Daytona 500 pole sitters ran 200mph+ in the early 80's.

Surely safety and technology has come further than this in the last 30 years?

No doubt, especially when you almost NEVER see a driver without his billboard uniform on, or without mentioning the "sponsors" at least twice in every interview.

The mid 80's Thunderbirds were also designed with NASCAR in mind. Not any more......

[fiedlerh]

They should have a "NASCAR Vintage" series.
Stock bodies from 1959 to 1977 or so.
427 cubic inch limit
Cast iron block and heads
Camshaft in block
Flat tappet cam
10" wide tires
Intermediates or full-size only
1" max rear spoiler
3" max chin spoiler
Weight factored according to actual coefficient of drag.
All modern safety equipment required

I know there are some historic NASCAR races, but they seem to be geared to road racing. Nothing wrong with that.

[The Champ]

Coming next year to NASCAR to replace the FWD Impala???

Chevy to replace Impala in 2013 with another Chevy brand: Chevrolet is developing a new car with a new name for its 2013 NASCAR entry, replacing the Impala used by Team Chevy, and plans to eventually market and sell the new model to consumers.

The dealership and racing versions of the car will be unveiled this year, after the New York auto show in April, spokesman Monte Doran said. The new car will use a nameplate not currently in Chevy's lineup. Neither the car nor its name will be a derivative of an existing one, such as the new Malibu or the upcoming redesigned Impala, Doran said.

General Motors wouldn't reveal details. "We are keeping the wraps on the new car for now and will continue to prepare for next season by testing camouflaged vehicles," Jim Campbell, vice president of Chevrolet performance vehicles and motorsports, said in a statement.

"We know that Chevrolet fans are eager to see the new race car, and we hope that the prospect of being able to own one just like it will make the wait a little more bearable."

[Mr_GTO]

Originally Posted by The Champ

Coming next year to NASCAR to replace the FWD Impala???

Malibu.

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by Mr_GTO

Malibu.

RWD???

And, once again...

The new car will use a nameplate not currently in Chevy's lineup. Neither the car nor its name will be a derivative of an existing one, such as the new Malibu or the upcoming redesigned Impala, Doran said.

[Mr_GTO]

Originally Posted by The Champ

RWD???

And, once again...

Helps to read the whole thing. Duh....so that's interesting.

[Mr_GTO]

Chevy to replace Impala in 2013 with another Chevy brand: Chevrolet is developing a new car with a new name for its 2013 NASCAR entry, replacing the Impala used by Team Chevy, and plans to eventually market and sell the new model to consumers. The dealership and racing versions of the car will be unveiled this year, after the New York auto show in April, spokesman Monte Doran said. The new car will use a nameplate not currently in Chevy's lineup. Neither the car nor its name will be a derivative of an existing one, such as the new Malibu or the upcoming redesigned Impala, Doran said. General Motors wouldn't reveal details. "We are keeping the wraps on the new car for now and will continue to prepare for next season by testing camouflaged vehicles," Jim Campbell, vice president of Chevrolet performance vehicles and motorsports, said in a statement. "We know that Chevrolet fans are eager to see the new race car, and we hope that the prospect of being able to own one just like it will make the wait a little more bearable."
The new car may be a version of the Chevy Caprice currently imported from Australia for U.S. police forces. Inside GM, a plan to develop a Chevy performance sedan like the Caprice for consumers was on-and-off in recent years because of concerns that it wasn't a high-profit vehicle, people familiar with the situation said. Australia's Holden brand currently offers consumers a variation on the U.S. Caprice. Along with developing the new performance sedan, GM is redesigning the current Impala, which will be built at the Detroit-Hamtramck plant and is expected to hit showrooms by spring 2013. The automaker is also rolling out a redesigned Malibu.(Detroit Free Press, more at MotorTrend and a past post at AutoWeek)(3-13-2013)

[hurryinhoosier62]

I could definitely support a Vintage NASCAR series!! I've always said IF NASCAR wanted to slow down the cars and improve the "show", you lower the c/r to no higher than 10:1,set max engine size @ 400ci and limit the number of aerodynamic aids. The average fan can't tell the difference between 170mph and 200mph anyway.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by hurryinhoosier62

I could definitely support a Vintage NASCAR series!! I've always said IF NASCAR wanted to slow down the cars and improve the "show", you lower the c/r to no higher than 10:1,set max engine size @ 400ci and limit the number of aerodynamic aids. The average fan can't tell the difference between 170mph and 200mph anyway.

Aren't they already limited to 355 cu in?

K

[Stuart]

There are already vintage racing organizations for stock cars; although they mostly are for cars from the 1980s and early 1990s, I've seen photos of people racing earlier cars at some events as well.

[Gulliver]

Originally Posted by hurryinhoosier62

.......The average fan can't tell the difference between 170mph and 200mph anyway......

I'm apparently not the "average fan". Probably wouldn't be as noticeable from the couch.. but watching Nascar races on TV is one thing, sitting trackside is an altogether different experience..

[hurryinhoosier62]

Keith,

Yes, they are; however, every engine setup is different. NASCAR is constantly playing with rod c-to-c, stroke and compression height. My plan would limit c/r to 10:1 MAX(current c/r is 14:1) and set a displacement limit of 400ci. No more jacking around with internal specs. As long as it doesn't exceed 400ci, the governing body wouldn't care.

[hurryinhoosier62]

Gulliver,

I,too, prefer to watch races in person, but I'll make a bet with you. A six-pack of your favorite beer says you can't guess the speed within 5mph or laptime within 5secs WITHOUT a stop watch.

[John V.]

Keith, I think it is actually 358.

I only attended one Nascar race, the last Daytona 500 before the resurfacing. I was very disappointed and went home early enough to see the finish on TV. We've discussed the live vs. TV before but I still have no interest to go back. Whereas I would do the SpeedTech Auto Racing School at Atlanta again in a heartbeat.

Since the vast majority of cars today are V6, I have often wondered why Nascar doesn't switch to V6s and require stock engines with few if any mods, at least add some semblance of "stock" to the format.

The problem as I see it for most racing lies in the old adage, racing is expensive, how fast do you want to go.

With virtually unlimited budgets, we now know that you can more or less take the mystery out of racing. I think I liked it better when there was some doubt whether an engine or trans might fail. In the interest of safety (never a bad thing) we've kinda reached a point where the machinery is about bullet-proof. It still is dangerous no doubt, but if there was some doubt whether the car would hold up to the end, it would add excitement. The closest we get to that now is wondering if they'll run out of gas.

I don't watch much drag racing, but even there, equipment failure rarely seems to be an issue, tire traction issues are common but that is rarely entertaining.

I don't know how to "fix" it, but I think it would be more entertaining if the engines were more prone to failure and same engines we run on the street.

After all, as beautiful as the old Pontiacs were, the intrigue was who had the best engines. So keep the COT, but I would like to see stock engines duking it out. Make them run at the ragged edge although I'm sure the sponsors would hate all the DNFs.

Just a thought.

[arbys]

Inrteresting thought on the V6's. About 10-12 years ago the Busch/Nationwide series allowed V6's and V8's but the V6's got a weight break. Nationwide recently had a sealed engine rule so the motors had to be run in more than one race. You could do that in Sprint Cup and have them run 3-4 races------now that would prove interesting.

[cambirdracing]

When ESPN aired qualifying for the NHRA Arizona Nat's and there was a commercial on, wife and I would flip over to the NASCAR 75 lap race. Every time we did, there was a crash. I told my wife we should do this more often.

[Brian Baker]

A view I became familiar with as a kid in the 70's on many a Friday and Saturday night with my Dad...sitting in the stands at Beltsville Speedway, watching guys like Bobby Ballantine and Jack Bland go at it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25797947@N02/2447491920/

[60man]

Originally Posted by Gulliver

I'm apparently not the "average fan". Probably wouldn't be as noticeable from the couch.. but watching Nascar races on TV is one thing, sitting trackside is an altogether different experience..

X2 on that....Sit on front row of short track....watch the drag race off the corners ...carring the front wheel...

About the same as watching a 12 second car and then watch a 9 second car...big difference..but on TV....not much difference...

[tikler]

It's difficult for me to put an exact date for when i threw my hands up and said "forget it!". I believe it started with the passing of a local boy Davey Allison and accelerated with NASCAR decisions since. I can say I am totally disinterested in watching 20+ clones drive around in circles, trying to avoid each other and at the end what gets out of the cars seem like, to me, effeminate corporate spokes "people"(not men) desperately trying to sell something or not offend someone. Now, before my fellow capitalist chime in I am as aware as anyone of the importance of sponsorship money. But honestly, you've seen how overboard it can be, right? I probably am an old dinosaur spouting cliches but I'll make no apologies. I just miss the different flavors we used to have in racing. It seems watered down now. Oh my God. Did I just accuse NASCAR of lack of "diversity"?! LOL.