[disco stu]

Has anyone ever attended this?

I received an e-mail from NASCAR.com about Champions Week yesterday, and I was intrigued by the "Victory Parade" element of it.

So, I watched a few clips of the Victory Parade through Manhattan i 2006 on You Tube yesterday.

It looked brilliant to me.....such a great opportunity to get up close and personal to those cars. And the sound, magnified by the canyon effect of the skyscrapers.

On one of the clips as the 48 goes by you can just hear someone in the background (presumably a fan of another driver) shouting "F**k you Jimmie Johnson, F**k you Jimmie Johnson" over and over, which made me laugh out loud!!!

[disco stu]

Just wondering...

...what with no replies at all, do I take it that there isn't really any appetite or enthusiasm for this event?

I would welcome your views on this.

Kind Regards.

[jks812]

I'll watch the awards on tv. I wouldn't want to go to it since it's in New York. Can you imagine the traffic and people to deal with there?

[Racer Duck]

It's really only a media circus and a chance for France & Co. to strut.

By and large most folks in Manhattan aren't interested in NASCAR. If they were, there wouldn't be so much opposition to a track in the area.

Now if it was the World Champs in Baseball, Basketball, Football or Hockey, it'd be wall to wall...

[3fanforever]

Originally Posted by disco stu

It looked brilliant to me.....such a great opportunity to get up close and personal to those cars. And the sound, magnified by the canyon effect of the skyscrapers.

I agree, that would be pretty cool to see and hear.

I've never liked the awards ceremony being held in NYC. I hear France is thinking about moving it to Las Vegas. Maybe falling flat on his face with his idea of a track up there, finally woke him up that the majority of NYC does not support NASCAR. Maybe one day he'll figure out Hollywood doesn't either.

[wingkey1]

Originally Posted by disco stu

Has anyone ever attended this?

I received an e-mail from NASCAR.com about Champions Week yesterday, and I was intrigued by the "Victory Parade" element of it.

So, I watched a few clips of the Victory Parade through Manhattan i 2006 on You Tube yesterday.

It looked brilliant to me.....such a great opportunity to get up close and personal to those cars. And the sound, magnified by the canyon effect of the skyscrapers.

On one of the clips as the 48 goes by you can just hear someone in the background (presumably a fan of another driver) shouting "F**k you Jimmie Johnson, F**k you Jimmie Johnson" over and over, which made me laugh out loud!!!

It looked brilliant to me - what was truly brilliant was move to celebrate at the Waldorf in NY in the way back when time that stock car racing was viewed as something notably less than the alternative major series in the US (Open wheel / Indy). It was a "stick it in your face" move on the part of stock car racings governing body and we here absolutely reveled in the boldness and gonad-worthiness of the move. Today, it is hard to come up with what we would see to be a true "statement making" location for the event.

Fast forward to today and - shouting "F**k you Jimmie Johnson, F**k you Jimmie Johnson" over and over - pretty much defines the manner, respect, attitudes, lack of consideration, etc., etc., increasing prevalent in the growing body that is the "today fan". It is more the fault of the "voice of the fan" than the governing body for the change in our/any sport.

Gonna be interesting to see what plays out over the next several years. NASCAR is vulnerable, but there's seems nothing out there at the same level with the vision and fortitude to attack.

[SpaceCadet]

I would go if I had planned better. My daughter lives in NYC and works on 52nd and 7th (in a restaurant, don't get any ideas ). I think it could be great fun if you just enjoyed it for what it is and stop worrying about the state of NASCAR, how much one hates HMS, or how much the France family has screwed things up. I'm going to try an make it next year. It'll be a new adventure at the very least. I agree that New Yorker's could care less about NASCAR. But what they do care about is glitz and glamor and celebraties, no matter who they are or what they do.

[Quality88]

I dislike city life very much in Louisville, no way in hell I would go to one of the biggest cities for that event.

[disco stu]

I must say that I was somewhat taken aback when I saw that it was "Champions Week in NYC".

I think even I could have guessed that the average New Yorker would be somewhat underwhelmed by this pageant, as The Big Apple wouldn't be known as a NASCAR stronghold, right? (er...slight understatement there I think).

So, the "stck it in your face" thing makes a lot of sense in light of that perception to me.

(btw, "and we here absolutely reveled in the boldness and gonad-worthiness of the move."....pure genius wingkey!)

What I think I would do if I ran NASCAR is I'd move the "Week Of Champions" to a different city every year.

Some years you could have it in real NASCAR towns and give the true fans a chance to get up close and personal with their idols (both human and mechanical), and some years you could use the event to try and generate more interest in less NASCAR-friendly towns.

Oh, and btw, I hope nobody got the impression that I was laughing at the "F**k you Jimmie Johnson" guy because I agreed with the sentiment.

I was laughing at the absurdity and futility of the idiot shouting abuse at a huge lump of racing car that makes so much noise that the people standing 3 yards away couldn't possibly have heard him....let alone the bold Mr Johnson sat behind the wheel!!!!!

[wingkey1]

What I think I would do if I ran NASCAR is I'd move the "Week Of Champions" to a different city every year.

Some years you could have it in real NASCAR towns and give the true fans a chance to get up close and personal with their idols (both human and mechanical), and some years you could use the event to try and generate more interest in less NASCAR-friendly towns.


Now that might just be the very best suggestion/thought/idea offerred up anytime in the memory retention device active here since, at the very least, the inception of the Consolation Race/Event (aka - The Chase). Wow do we like that thought.

[Racer Duck]

Originally Posted by wingkey1

What I think I would do if I ran NASCAR is I'd move the "Week Of Champions" to a different city every year.

Some years you could have it in real NASCAR towns and give the true fans a chance to get up close and personal with their idols (both human and mechanical), and some years you could use the event to try and generate more interest in less NASCAR-friendly towns.


Now that might just be the very best suggestion/thought/idea offerred up anytime in the memory retention device active here since, at the very least, the inception of the Consolation Race/Event (aka - The Chase). Wow do we like that thought.

DITTO!!!....

[3fanforever]

Lately, I've believed they should move the awards ceremony to Charlotte at the Hall of Fame when it's finished. But the idea of having it in different cities every year is a good one. Tip of the ole ball cap to disco stu for that one.

[NASCAR Gnome]

Bruton Smith wants to take the event in NYC to Las Vegas instead!

I love visiting the city of New York but I'm with Bruton on this one. Vegas would make everyone in NASCAR more accessible to the racing public and I don't think there would be any problem running the cars on the strip!

[LSC9901]

Originally Posted by 3fanforever

Lately, I've believed they should move the awards ceremony to Charlotte at the Hall of Fame when it's finished. But the idea of having it in different cities every year is a good one. Tip of the ole ball cap to disco stu for that one.

Gee ... I wonder when it'll come to my hometown ???

[disco stu]

I've just seen a couple of clips of this year's Manahattan Victory Lap on You Tube.

YouTube - NASCAR Victory Lap NYC November 28, 2007

Hahaha....I guess I must be a big kid at heart, but I think the NYPD cop cars look pretty cool!!!!