[simple simon]

ok........the time has come for changes.......and we are just the people to make those changes

many of us agree NA$CAR is headed down the wrong path under the watchful eyes of the France family

so we need to get it back on track

what are your suggestions ?

we will convene a panel of experts and see that they get enforced

1. no more lucky dog.......if you go a lap down you earned it, and you need to earn your way out of it

2. put a road course in the chase or take them out all-together....any format worthy of being a points race during the season needs to be in the chase

3. lets see rain tires on road courses.....nothing would be more exciting then seeing them race in a down pour

4. lets add a dirt track race to the season.......a one mile dirt track race would be wild....a nice throwback

5. lets hold a road course race on city streets like the open wheels do.....seeing the Fords, Chevys and Dodges race through the streets of Detroit would be great......(Toyota can stay home that week)

6. lets see an F1 type start in a race.......i remember at the start of the Gran Prix races they would start the races and the drivers werent in their cars yet....they had to race to their cars, strap in and take off....would be interesting to say the least

ok, those are a few of my suggestions for now........what are yours ?

we'll fix NASCAR yet by-gum

[wingkey1]

Many of those suggestions are "France-like".

Looks like a covert NA$CAR operation has indfiltrated this forum.

Brian would be proud.

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by simple simon

ok........the time has come for changes.......and we are just the people to make those changes


1. no more lucky dog.......if you go a lap down you earned it, and you need to earn your way out of it

I can find no fault with this one. It's just another way for NA$CAR to manipulate the race outcomes.

Originally Posted by simple simon

2. put a road course in the chase or take them out all-together....any format worthy of being a points race during the season needs to be in the chase

I don't especially like road races but since NASCAR has them...? Can't fault this one either. The major problem here is which Playoff race are you going to cut to make way for a road race?
Here is one solution, which I don't like; it makes my teeth itch and my hair hurt to even think about it, but what the Hell... Swap two ISC races; move the July 4th Firecracker 400 to Miami and run the last race of the season at Daytona, using the road course.
Gawd, that's an awful idea, but it does add a certain symmetry to the schedule, starting and ending at Daytona?

Originally Posted by simple simon

3. lets see rain tires on road courses.....nothing would be more exciting then seeing them race in a down pour

Several problems with rain and NASCAR
(a) They need to add a wiper assembly...no major problem
(b) They need to run venting to eliminate window fog...again, no major problem
(c) They need a much wider tire because...
(d) Mass and inertia. The weight, mass and inertia a stock car would have going into a turn at, at a minimum, 175 MPH would require a rain tire of (taking a SWAG here) 24"-30" in width? MAJOR problem here.
(e) Attendance. Whenever NASCAR doesn't fill almost every seat, ISC sends the track president a "WTFO?" memo, and the track staff dies "the death of a thousand cuts." If you think the stands at Rockingham in Feb were sparse, the stands during a downpour would look like CTS attendance at California.
They tried to qualify in the rain at one of the Japan exhibition races and it worked only kinda well. NASCAR read the tea leaves and the rain tire issue has been off the table for the last three or four years.

Originally Posted by simple simon

4. lets add a dirt track race to the season.......a one mile dirt track race would be wild....a nice throwback

OK, now if someone would either build or refurbish a 1/2- or 3/4-mile dirt tracks in a major metropolitan areawith enough seating and infrastructure (roads, parking, amenities, etc., etc.) to satisfy ISC... We just "might" have a chance at this one. Don't hold your breath.

Originally Posted by simple simon

5. lets hold a road course race on city streets like the open wheels do.....seeing the Fords, Chevys and Dodges race through the streets of Detroit would be great......(Toyota can stay home that week)

I've endured a number of street races (Grand Prix/F1) and while the idea looks good on paper, in actuality it's about as enjoyable as watching Rosie O'Donnell do jumping jacks. Even with arguably the best street race they have, Monte Carlo, about the only actual racing they have is from the tunnel to the left hander where they start up the hill to the casino. ( less than 1/2-mile) The remainder of the course is basically follow-the-leader, and that is the weedwhacker-on-steroids F1 cars. Full-bodied NASCARmobiles would be even worse on streets, IMNSVHO.

Originally Posted by simple simon

6. lets see an F1 type start in a race.......i remember at the start of the Gran Prix races they would start the races and the drivers werent in their cars yet....they had to race to their cars, strap in and take off....would be interesting to say the least

Cute idea but not practical. They did this at some local tracks, back in the 40's and 50's, when all the drivers used was a lap belt, IF they used any restraint at all. (Lap belts weren't mandatory at Indy until 1952 or '53!) Now, with harness assemblies, HANS devices, air lines, water lines, cool suit lines, attaching steering wheels, window nets, to name a few... The fans would be treated to ten minutes or more of watching a driver get ready to fire his car. Not a pretty vision.

Originally Posted by simple simon

we'll fix NASCAR yet by-gum

My additions:
1. Do away with points racing.
(a) Give more points for finishing in the top three or top five. Do completely away with awarding points for finishing 33rd or lower.
(b) Take 80% of all the prize money awarded at season's end and spread it out among all the races that have a winner's purse of less than $750,000. Make EVERY race pay a minimum of $750,000 to win.
(c) Do away with the "Mediocre Drivers Want Bonus Points, Too" five points for leading a lap, thingee. It's just plain laughable.
2. Do away with the Chosen 35. Do away with any provisional starting spot. The fastest 43 cars start. period, end of report. If a car breaks or wrecks during qualifying, give the teams a chance to qualify their back up.
3. Contract out the race officiating. Get NASCAR out of this role. Too much opportunity for "selective rule enforcement." Along with this vein of thought, NASCAR should make its rule book available to the general public.
4. Shorten the race weekends. Have inspection Saturday morning, a short practice Saturday afternoon, qualify raceday morning (afternoon for a night race), then start the race one hour after qualifying. Give the drivers and teams an extra day between races.
5. Have BGN run a completely different car and different tire than Cup does. Stop the damaging Cup Lite Series and return it to BGN!
6. Quit giving fine money back to the drivers at season's end. NASCAR could establish some type of fund to give help to drivers from previous eras who have fallen on hard times. (Former BGN Series champ and record holder, Sam Ard, is a good example) Any fines could be given to this fund for distribution where needed.
7. Do away with the mega teams. Bill France Sr had a rule, which worked well until the late 80's, which decreed that NO TEAM OWNER SHALL HAVE NO MORE THAN TWO TEAMS. That was a fantastic rule. NASCAR doesn't need any more Roushes, or Hendricks. It needs more Bud Moore's, Chuck Rider's, Gary Betchel's, Leo Jackson's, Junie Donlevey's, ad finitum.

Those are my ideas, anyway.

Thanks for bringing up the subject, Simon.

[LSC9901]

Welcome back from a long R.T. Bob. Now I understand your pent up emotions but in this one thread you covered half of the threads in our forum. Spread your wealth Bob !!!

As always your responses are great to read and digest. So much useful info and knowledge.

[Quality88]

The world may have "The Donald"... but here at GTG we have "The Bob"