[Donno]

we have a weekend race ahead with a whole new car... does no-one have an opinion tonight?

[Nevadastars]

Originally Posted by Donno

does no-one have an opinion tonight?

I do.........

[Souporscotty]

Originally Posted by Nevadastars

I do.........

I tried to say "Ditto" and "I agree", but they were too short.

[Nevadastars]

Originally Posted by Souporscotty

I tried to say "Ditto" and "I agree", but they were too short.

Yea, I'm sitting here watching a replay of qualifying, and that is one butt-ugly car. They dont even look like racecars. Race cars should look fast, not like winged out breadboxes with corporate logos. What the hell is Na$car thinking?

[Donno]

Butt ugly... the damn cars go faster in reverse gear!! watch for the boys the bump, bump... and not draft!!

[Souporscotty]

Originally Posted by Nevadastars

What the hell is Na$car thinking?

I've been trying to figure this out myself. It can't be a strictly finacial thing. If it's all about safety, then I'm 100% for it. But I think it goes beyond that...... Boy am I stupid. As I'm sitting here typing, it dawns on me; "PARITY". "Level the playing field", "Make it fair for everybody". In other words, "Make sure all the big $$$$$$$$ sponsors get EQUAL exposure". If ya stop and think about it, the only differance between those cars is the big expensive graphics on them. So once again, it IS all about the MONEY.

[Donno]

Money...? true enough... but since when would a driver want a level playing field..? NASCAR started out with 'put up or shut up'... putting a hand behind the drivers back isnt 'fair'... you got it, you have a fast car... you dont? bump/draft and play chicken on the finishing line or wherever... true grit!!

[Souporscotty]

Originally Posted by Donno

Money...? true enough... but since when would a driver want a level playing field..? NASCAR started out with 'put up or shut up'... putting a hand behind the drivers back isnt 'fair'... you got it, you have a fast car... you dont? bump/draft and play chicken on the finishing line or wherever... true grit!!

I'm afraid you misunderstood me. The drivers don't want to level the playingfield. NA$CAR/Sponsors do. I don't remember Brian ever telling any DRIVER to "Put up or shut up" His Dad probably did.

[Donno]

I totally agree.... look at Mark, change teams, and find sucess... is Ford so inferior..? No, dont think so... dont change the specifications of the cars, change the drivers....

[Racer Duck]

all the drivers in Cup are talented and at the top of their profession. what sets them apart are things like leadership, loyalty (team player), marketing abilities, technical expertise, communication and emotional stability .. and sometimes, daddy's $$$.

but to the point of this thread: Yes! I have an opinion!!!! check out the "prediction" thread and you can see what it is for the Bristol race.

[Mike24]

I think there is no problem with the COT, it's just a matter of if people can accept change.

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by Donno

we have a weekend race ahead with a whole new car... does no-one have an opinion tonight?

As always the cream will rise to the top. The teams that normally do well will again do well. A new style car will not make a great team of a normally poor team. Take Michael waltrip as an example.

[Bob Tanner]

The more things change, the more they remain the same. If you've followed NASCAR long enough, you've have seen this basic same scenario play out at least twice before.

The last time was in 1981, when they downsized the cars from 116" wheelbase to 110" wheelbase. The teams complained and predicted it would be the ruination of stock car racing; the drivers whined, as drivers are always prone to do it their normal routine is, in any way disrupted, and predicted that the speedways would be awash in blood and gore.

The same thing happened then as will happen with the NASCARmobile.v2; the better financed teams and the drivers best able to adapt will prevail

Back in 1981 eight of the top ten finishers in points were the teams with the biggest bankrolls; Junior Johnson, Harry Ranier, Billy Hagen, Junie Donlevey, Petty Enterprises, Digard and Bud Moore. (Petty would have won it going away if NASCAR hadn't made MOPAR run a Mirada the first half of the season and the Mirada was a total disaster when it came to competition.)

The same thing will happen this season; the megateams will continue to dominate and the drivers best able to adapt quickly to radical conditions(my guess is that the open-wheeled dirt drivers and guys with a solid late model dirt background) will be in front.

As far as the NASCARmobile.v2 being an "equalizer," and will put the lesser teams more on a par with the megateam... Hey, Kid. Wanta buy some beautiful lake front property just outside of Edwardsville, CA, in the Mojave Desert? It didn't make Cal Wells equal. He saw the handwriting on the wall and got out before racing totally broke him. I've also heard reported and Kenny Wallace's team, Robby Gordon and Morgan McClure all showed up at Bristol with NO backup. They just didn't have the personnel, the resources and the money to build two NASCARmobile.v2's AND put the needed amount of effort into just getting into the race.

Don;t look for a lot of Bristol-type agressive driving tomorrow, either. Remember, most of the teams have only a primary and a back up NASCARmobile.v2, and they have to run it again at Martinsville next week. I would imagine the word is out to all but the seriously-funded megateam, which have probably a stockpile of the things, to DRIVE CAUTIOUSLY!

It's a brave, new world we live in today. Just like it was 26 years ago.

[Mike24]

Originally Posted by Bob Tanner

The more things change, the more they remain the same. If you've followed NASCAR long enough, you've have seen this basic same scenario play out at least twice before.

The last time was in 1981, when they downsized the cars from 116" wheelbase to 110" wheelbase. The teams complained and predicted it would be the ruination of stock car racing; the drivers whined, as drivers are always prone to do it their normal routine is, in any way disrupted, and predicted that the speedways would be awash in blood and gore.

The same thing happened then as will happen with the NASCARmobile.v2; the better financed teams and the drivers best able to adapt will prevail

Back in 1981 eight of the top ten finishers in points were the teams with the biggest bankrolls; Junior Johnson, Harry Ranier, Billy Hagen, Junie Donlevey, Petty Enterprises, Digard and Bud Moore. (Petty would have won it going away if NASCAR hadn't made MOPAR run a Mirada the first half of the season and the Mirada was a total disaster when it came to competition.)

The same thing will happen this season; the megateams will continue to dominate and the drivers best able to adapt quickly to radical conditions(my guess is that the open-wheeled dirt drivers and guys with a solid late model dirt background) will be in front.

As far as the NASCARmobile.v2 being an "equalizer," and will put the lesser teams more on a par with the megateam... Hey, Kid. Wanta buy some beautiful lake front property just outside of Edwardsville, CA, in the Mojave Desert? It didn't make Cal Wells equal. He saw the handwriting on the wall and got out before racing totally broke him. I've also heard reported and Kenny Wallace's team, Robby Gordon and Morgan McClure all showed up at Bristol with NO backup. They just didn't have the personnel, the resources and the money to build two NASCARmobile.v2's AND put the needed amount of effort into just getting into the race.

Don;t look for a lot of Bristol-type agressive driving tomorrow, either. Remember, most of the teams have only a primary and a back up NASCARmobile.v2, and they have to run it again at Martinsville next week. I would imagine the word is out to all but the seriously-funded megateam, which have probably a stockpile of the things, to DRIVE CAUTIOUSLY!

It's a brave, new world we live in today. Just like it was 26 years ago.

Agreed 110%.

[Bob Tanner]

Originally Posted by Bob Tanner

Back in 1981 eight of the top ten finishers in points were the teams with the biggest bankrolls; Junior Johnson, Harry Ranier, Billy Hagen, Junie Donlevey, Petty Enterprises, Digard and Bud Moore. (Petty would have won it going away if NASCAR hadn't made MOPAR run a Mirada the first half of the season and the Mirada was a total disaster when it came to competition.)

In re-reading this, I see I made a statement which might confuse some of you. It looks as though I said Richard drove a Mirada for half a season.

This was a typical case of Tanner getting his tongue wrapped around his eye teeth and not seeing what he was saying.

What actually happened, as I remember it, was that Richard tested the Mirada before Daytona but couldn't get it within yelling distance of a competitive speed. '81 was the year that he was supposed to return to MOPAR but since NASCAR mandated the Mirada and the Mirada was a brick, Richard showed up at Daytona Speed Weeks with a Cutlass, as I remember it.

The ONLY person whom I remember actually trying to race a Mirada was Buddy Arrington and to say that he was less than successful is an understatement. I seem to remember that, around May NASCAR and MOPAR met and MOPAR, thinking NASCAR was sticking it to them, bowed out of factory assistance to NASCAR teams. Arrington was the sole MOPAR driver for the next two years, I believe, then he gave it up and switched to Ford, as I remember it.