No official NASCAR thread on the MINI forums???

I'm just curious what people's opinions are on the two racing leagues, but I have a feeling that most of the discussion will be that F1 is the BEST racing in the world. I watch NASCAR, but mainly for just a few tracks (for example, Texas last week was just god awful so I'll skip it). I watched about 75% of the F1 races last year and have caught everyone so far this year.

Is the general consensus that NASCAR is just pure crap racing or shouldn't even be considered racing???

Please discuss

 

Yep. It's backwoods hillbillies going around in a circle. That, and it was founded on breaking the law. F1 always has been and always will be the pinnacle of motorsports. If you want to prove yourself to the world, race F1. Formula 1 is NASCAR to the rest of the world.

 

I'm still trying to figure out how much "racing" actually occurred on Sunday in Bahrain. It seemed like follow-the-leader the entire race. Hell, Massa made a pass on the BMW at the first corner and that was it. He's gone.

Were there ANY position changes after lap 2???

 

The NASCAR races on road courses are great fun to watch.

 

I enjoy watching the road races and I wish there were more. There was a poll in NASCAR on whether or not to add one or two more road courses and the response was a resounding no with the fans. It's too bad...the most complete driver will win at a road course. I think the majority of fans know their driver won't win on a road course, unless they're Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart fans who always do well at road courses.

 

NASCRAP is to racing, what McDonalds is to fine cuisine. Flush that bag of Skittles down the toilet and watch the pretty colors go round and round.

 

thats really harsh.




its fun watching Skittles ........

 

How is F1's follow-the-leader considered racing? Doesn't racing entail PASSING?!?! If you're not passing it's just qualifying. Even NASCAR passes on road courses. If I recall, Montoya started 37th (or maybe it was dead last last year) at Sonoma and won the race.

Is F1 the pinnacle of racing?? Sure, the pinnacle of the technology race. The cars are friggin incredible the way they handle, the 0-100-0 times, the amount of money involved, the research and development, etc. That's common sense as well.

F1 is about a technology race...getting the gearbox to get closer and closer to being an automatic. It's about getting Ferrari to the front and winning by 14 seconds one race and then 21 seconds the next race. yaaay....fuuuun!!

 

Because passing in F1 is so difficult, it's extremely important to the result of the race anytime it happens. A good pass in F1 is like a soccer goal, or a 90 yard kick off return. It changes the game.

In NASCRAP, some clown slipstreams with a train of cars from 20th to 1st. Gets bumped into by another car, and goes back to 18th, and does it all over again. Two or more hours of watching Skittles go round and round, when you could chuck it all and watch the last lap (if you only knew when to tune in). There's nothing BUT passing and wrecks. What racing?

 

They are talking about ways to address the lack of passing... although I believe F1 has other issues on the front burner thanks to Mosley.

Part of what separates F1 from NASCAR for me is the discussion that goes on around the racing, whether about the circuits, the technology or, to some extent, the personalities. The BBC's Chequered Flag podcast is really terrific.

I do hate the flappy paddle shifters.

 

I have to say, NASCAR was real racing back before they went to the tube chassis myths that they are now. They aren't at all related to their roots. I'd watch an actual stock car race, that might be good. Those haven't happened in years.

F1's saving grace is it does not pretend to be a road car at all. It still has that purity. It's sure not the most exciting racing in the world. It'd be nice if they found a way to make it more competitive without removing the competition between marques.

That said, if there was involvement in sports car racing like there was in the past, I probably wouldn't watch todays F1 at all. NASCAR would have less of a chance than it even has now. Keep your caviar/beer and *******, and shove your social class up your ***. I want racing.

 

NASCAR bored me years ago. The road courses break the monotony.

F1 has gotten too political, and the regulations are ridiculous.

World Rally Cup, now that's exciting! But there are no stands to sit in and drink beer, so it will never be popular in the USA.

 

WRC is great, and a bit better with beer.

 

+1 These are the only races in that series I can stand to watch. I like F1 because I'm a geek for all the tech, but I can do without all the drama that occurs off the track. Yes, sometimes it is boring to watch the parade, but still more interesting to me than watching the skittles go in a circle (or IRL oval racing for that matter).

I do enjoy ALMS and wish that SPEED would start showing WRC again.

 

It's not Pinks, Drag Race High and it doesn't have Rich Christenson (sp?) in it so don't count on it. I'd be interested to know how much of Speed he owns. For all of his dumbazz shows on there, it has to be a lot. And I'm sure you'll find World Rallye before we see what I'd like to watch again: FIA Truck Racing.

 

I don't know why it has to be one or the other............I like lots of different types of racing.

It was the same thing with the IRL/Champ car argument, I never understood why people would love one and hate the other - it's all racing and it's all good.

I am against the trend in many series to become spec series, with all the cars following such tight rules that they become one chassis race series........I'd love to see Nascar go back to it's roots, where cars right off the showroom floor went at it at 180 mph!

Talk about racing improving the breed!

 

I love to watch racing. I have been to most of the US NASCAR tracks, the US and Canadian F1 races from Watkins Glen, to Detroit, Indy Mosport to Montreal and couple of European races as well. I'll watch anything that goes fast. That said F1 for the last couple of years was simply boring. Last year was different and I am hoping this year is interesting too.

I hate the new Car of Tomorrow but mostly it's the wing that, to me, is out of place. OTOH clearly this new car is safe judging from some of the hits it's taken this year already without significant driver damage.

I am looking forward to good IndyCar races this season and if I can find a WRC race to watch I'll like that too. But the best racing in my opinion these days is the World of Outlaws. I'll drive 5 hours into Penn or NY to watch an outlaw race. There is nothing like a Saturday night dirt Outlaw show. The cars are awesome, the racing real, and the drivers are heros. Some day I'd like to go to the Chili Bowl as I expect that to be great show too. But as for TV watching, anything with two or 4 wheels that runs on gas, alcohol or Nitro works for me. Two or 4-stroke, with or without right turns and on dirt of asphalt. As long as there is passing which F1 has a problem with of late.

Rich

 

That Skittles reference is funny! I had never heard that one.

There are what, 36 races in a NASCAR season? What you describe above happens in four of those races...Daytona 500, Pepsi 400 (at Daytona) and the Talladega Spring and Fall races. What the heck is the difference between watching skittles go round and round than last weeks F1 race when it seemed like no positions changed since lap 2? There was passing in those two or more hours of NASCAR racing compared to F1's follow the leader.

I'm curious...for those who have been watching F1 this season, what has been the most exciting race thus far??

 

It doesn't have to be. I just frequent a lot of automotive forums and it's the same discussion over and over:

F1 is THE BEST racing in the entire world and NASCAR should not even be considered racing.

I'm trying to figure out why. I keep comparing the two and I don't see how F1 is better racing. Again, technology wise...F1 blows everyone away hands down. Everyone knows that. But when it comes to "RACING" I think F1 is far from what racing really is.

 

To me, F1 has a passion that NASCAR doesn't have. The drivers have character. And to anyone who says all F1 drivers are all the same, take a good look at Kovalainen and Kubica. Those 2 alone have done wonders for the image of the Formula 1 driver. The teams have charisma. Yes, NASCAR has competition. But, F1 has driver v. driver, team v. team, marque v. marque. Again, so does NASCAR but I can't tell whose car is whose without seeing a decal on the front. Hell, it pits entire nations against one another. When a race series has the ability to capture the hearts and minds of the residents of an entire town or country for that matter (ie-Brazil, Monza, those places), it has to be good.

 

Very valid points. No argument here. Those elements are definitely what make up F1.

But in your first post you agree with the statement that NASCAR should not even be considered racing. WHY? What makes NASCAR so horrible that it's not even considered racing? That's a VERY bold statement You're not even mentioning the actual racing aspect of F1 compared to NASCAR. So you're saying it's the charisma of the drivers, team vs. team, marque vs. marque, etc. that makes the racing in F1 better than NASCAR.

Yeah...I think that Kimi Raikonnen has the most character I have ever seen out of a racecar driver in any racing league.

 

Yeah, I did contradict myself. I didn't realize it until you mentioned it. To me, I can't seem to find what makes people so fanatical over NASCAR. It's a rainbow (back to the Skittles thing ) of cars going around and around for 3 hours. God forbid they have to turn other than left what, 2 races out of the year? They even turn left leaving the pits! At least drag racing they turn left onto the track and than occasionally make a right onto the return road. I watch a NASCAR race and I see a driver with a wheel straight. Than left. Than straight. Than left. It personally drives me nuts to watch it for more than 10 minutes. Racing to me means turning and fighting a wheel around every turn. Both ways!

 

The announcers on NASCAR will tell you it's all about their strategic pit stops.It's a team effort;one guy in the pits screws up,and it costs track position.Yeah,I watch any kind of racing,if it's got an engine in it.(What ever happened to "run what ya brung"?)And I do like the Skittles comparision.

(My husband told me to write this!)

 

turning left or turning right doesn't matter....you still need someone right behind you or right in front of you to make it a true race, wouldn't you agree?

 

WRC is real racing, races all over the world, every corner is different, different surfaces, tarmac, gravel, snow, definitely the most skillful drivers & the cars provide huge technological advancements for road cars.
True F1 technology is incredible but very little filters down to road cars & once an F1 driver gets a grasp on driving one not much seems to change.
As for Nascar...hahahaha, it doesn't even rate a mention outside the US, in fact it is considered a bit of a joke by many enthusiasts.
Oh & it's World Rally 'Championship' not 'Cup'.