NASCAR: How to Prevent Boring Races
Written by Hopper, Wednesday February 11 2009
With the start of NASCAR season just around the corner, the excitment of Daytona has captured us all. But once Daytona has passed, we are probably in for another season of snoozefests.
Well, today I thought of a way to prevent some of these from occuring, and it doesn't even involve relocating any of the venues. It really only applies to tracks like Texas Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway right now. But, in time, it's something that can be introduced to all "cookie cutter" tracks as an alternative to the typical snoozers.
This alternative is quite simple. Just use the 1/4 mile tracks in the infield. This would create much more exciting races, bringing in fans. And, not only would they begin showing up at the track, but more fans would tune in via television, as well.
The races could be run on Saturday nights, bringing back that old feeling of racing at the local short tracks. The cars would be in close proximity of one another, making for some really exciting racing(not to mention wrecks). The racing would be even more exciting during the summer, as the temperatures would be high, and the drivers would be short-tempered. These races would be just like the August Bristol race, only there would be more of them.
Now, I know tracks out west like California, Kansas, and Michigan don't have these 1/4 mile tracks in the infield. But, they wouldn't be that hard to build. Just tear down the pit wall(at Michigan and California), pave a section of the infield, and boom, you've got yourself a 1/4 miler. This would allow NASCAR to hold events in bigger markets, while keeping that small-town, short-track feel.
Now, I know there are skeptics out there who will try to contradict the idea. But, don't worry, I've thought this through. A car-of-tomorrow is roughly 16 feet long. Stack 43 of them nose-to-tail, and they take up less than 700 feet. 1/4 of a mile is over 1,300 feet, so it's not like they'd be starting right on top of each other.
Pit stops may be another issue. But, the drivers who qualify at the back would just have to share pit stalls with each other until enough cars exit the race, like at Dover. It probably wouldn't take that long for enough cars to exit the race, and even if it did, 500 laps(each race's length) is a long time. Certainly, enough cars would have dropped out by then. If not, oh well.
On short tracks, anything can and will happen. Since the races would be so unpredictible, nobody would be safe. And if nobody's safe, the points' race is going to be very close at the end of the season, making things very interesting in that department.
Of course, some tracks are not fit to have a 1/4 miler, such as Homestead, Pocono, and Phoenix. These tracks would just have to remain on the NASCAR schedule as they are. But at least, with my idea, some of the boring races would be replaced by exciting, door-to-door wreckfests, and NASCAR wouldn't even have to change the schedule.
So, what do you think?
Tags:
Leave a comment
Not So Fast! To publish your comment, you have to login
Not Registered? Register now as it only take 20 seconds!
Click here to browse
10 comments
Please sign in to rate!
Stripes. Nice...nice.
Please sign in to rate!
A "troll" reference Patterson? Really? What are you 12 years old? Why not try reading my stuff so you can see what this strange thing called "HUMOR" is that everybody keeps talking about. "Lighten up Francis". There's another one for you Benn.
Please sign in to rate!
NASCAR really gets a bad rap for being boring. I tend to agree if you're not a fan of the sport but if you are it's a totally different experience. The best thing is to actually go to a race. If you see it live you may fall in love with it. Don't get me wrong I love NFL and MLB better but during this Spring time when nothing else is on, I can get into NASCAR. Crack open some beers and check out the Daytona 500 on Sunday, nothing else is on during the day...
Please sign in to rate!
I'm not a NASCAR guy, but to each his own. That National Lampoon reference sent me into a violent giggle fit, though. HA!
Please sign in to rate!
Thanks guys. B-Dub, I won't disagree that the NFL is in a class of its own. But if NASCAR didn't run any races at all, wouldn't that be even more boring?
Please sign in to rate!
Congrats, Hopper! You wrote something that brought a grown man out to be a troll. It had to happen sometime.
Please sign in to rate!
Maybe you should check the ratings. 9 of the top 10 rated shows of all-time are Super Bowls. I don't see any Nascar races on that list. Just Super Bowls and the final episode of M*A*S*H. Nice comback Hopper, but nothing is in the same class as the NFL these days. There is a reason you don't hear about any financial troubles in the NFL. It rules everything. Jay, I've heard that Nascar races are fun in person because it is a complete booze-fest. Sounds like an Eagles tailgate, which is always fun.
Please sign in to rate!
Hey B-Dub, If you went to an actual race you may have a different view. I used to feel that NASCAR was boring but then I went to the Daytona 500 and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. it may be boring on TV but it's totally different live. Great comeboack, Mr. Hopper!
Please sign in to rate!
Yeah, that would solve our problems. Just like the Eagles' perpetual losing could be stopped if they simply folded their whole program. LOL
Please sign in to rate!
The way to prevent boring Nascar races is to not have any. The whole thing is just a bunch of "Rednecks" making left turns. If I want to see repeated left turns I'll watch National Lampoon's European Vacation. "Look kids. Big Ben, Parliment".