.

[WooBadger18]

I don't follow racing at all, but I was listening to the Indy 500 on the radio yesterday and they would mention drivers deciding when to make pit stops. I can tell there's strategy there, but I don't know what the strategy is. Is it that all drivers go take a pit stop when they have a certain amount of fuel left, or do they take pit stops at different times and how are they making that decision?

 

[CP44]

I don't follow racing at all, but I was listening to the Indy 500 on the radio yesterday and they would mention drivers deciding when to make pit stops. I can tell there's strategy there, but I don't know what the strategy is. Is it that all drivers go take a pit stop when they have a certain amount of fuel left, or do they take pit stops at different times and how are they making that decision?

Every race varies based on the track but each car has a fuel window where they know they can get an exact number of laps per tank of gas. There are times where you will run all the way to that window before pitting, but other times you might pit a little early if there is a caution so you don't lose as much track position. When you pit under green, everybody else is still going full speed.

Or, like somebody else mentioned above, you can try and conserve gas toward the end of the race and try to avoid pitting. Skipping a stop like that will obviously will put you at the front of the field since everybody else is pitting. This doesn't work except the very last few laps because most are getting tires as well so that car at the front is low on gas and on worse tires.

Stage racing has caused some experimenting with this too. In the first race this year I think the first stage was 50 laps so everybody was going to have to pit at some point. All the Toyota's pitted really early as soon as they knew they could make it to the end of the stage. That didn't work out well so you haven't really seen that since.

Does that make sense? There's more to it at times but that's the brief explanation.

 

[WooBadger18]

Every race varies based on the track but each car has a fuel window where they know they can get an exact number of laps per tank of gas. There are times where you will run all the way to that window before pitting, but other times you might pit a little early if there is a caution so you don't lose as much track position. When you pit under green, everybody else is still going full speed.

Or, like somebody else mentioned above, you can try and conserve gas toward the end of the race and try to avoid pitting. Skipping a stop like that will obviously will put you at the front of the field since everybody else is pitting. This doesn't work except the very last few laps because most are getting tires as well so that car at the front is low on gas and on worse tires.

Stage racing has caused some experimenting with this too. In the first race this year I think the first stage was 50 laps so everybody was going to have to pit at some point. All the Toyota's pitted really early as soon as they knew they could make it to the end of the stage. That didn't work out well so you haven't really seen that since.

Does that make sense? There's more to it at times but that's the brief explanation.

Yeah, that really does, thanks

 

[95CLONE]

I'd much rather see that than see people waving a racist treasonous flag. But to each their own.

In all areas that NASCAR controls on a given race weekend, the flag has no presence," France said. "We have been clear in support of this position throughout our industry and to those across the country who have called for the eradication of the Confederate Flag."

I assume this is the flag you are referring to.

 

[ChrisMWilliams]

I can't explain it in the way that you are wanting, but here goes...

At 5 years old, my dad, uncles and grandpa started taking myself and all of my cousins to the Adams County Speedway in Corning. Half-mile paperclip NASCAR dirt track. I loved the cars. I loved the dirt. Most of all, I love the bonding time with the family.

That's what it always was for us. We were a racing family. Our family vacations for 10 years were trips to Indy to watch the Brickyard (we'd meet my uncle who lives in Pittsburgh there - half way).

From there, it got in my blood. I started announcing a dirt tracks all around the Midwest in my teenage years. I was on a pit crew for a while.

NASCAR isn't what it once was. The cars are all too similar. Passing isn't what it used to be and the mile and a half tracks are killing the sport - IMO. NASCAR needs to come back to its roots, which is difficult to do after the boom in the early to mid 2000s. Downsizing at that scale is never easy.

I just love racing. I love the technology. I love the smells. I love what the sport represents. I love cars. I love my family and this is something that we share together.

 

[GTO]

Cyclone sports >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>NASCAR

 

[clonedude]

I generally don't get into racing of any kind, but I can stomach the Indy cars MUCH more than NASCAR. At least with Indy cars you get a LOT more passing. NASCAR is just painful to watch for me.

 

[Cyfan1965]

I look at NASCAR the same way NASCAR looks at football/soccer I don't get any part of it and the boys who pile in to watch NSCAR after us don't get any part of football but we understand each other perfectly.

 

[isufbcurt]

Not really a Nascar fan because it is boring to me. But racing in general (especially dirt track racing) to me is exciting. The speeds, the maneuvering, the competition, and the side by side racing is all exciting to me. Of course I am biased since I grew up watching 3 -5 dirt track races a week, then was the crew chief for my uncles car and now own/drive my own.

I understand it's not for everyone but being at the race track gets my blood going like running out of the locker room into Jack Trice Stadium did.

Everyone has their own things that get their attention, for example watching soccer, golf or baseball do absolutely nothing for me.

 

[nfrine]

There is a lot of standing around in college football too (the hurry-up offense has helped a bunch). For some reason, it seems we enjoy it.

 

[CP44]

I look at NASCAR the same way NASCAR looks at football/soccer I don't get any part of it and the boys who pile in to watch NSCAR after us don't get any part of football but we understand each other perfectly.

I would venture to say 80% of NASCAR fans are football fans too..... but I get your point

 

[WooBadger18]

In all areas that NASCAR controls on a given race weekend, the flag has no presence," France said. "We have been clear in support of this position throughout our industry and to those across the country who have called for the eradication of the Confederate Flag."

I assume this is the flag you are referring to.

Yeah, but you're still going to see it. But I also have no problem with people knelling during the national anthem

 

[95CLONE]

I cant totally explain it but I'll try.

It started with me when I bought a kart for my son and headed to a local track to compete. I remember thinking, how hard could this be? Its a lawn mower motor with four tires, all "I" have to do is build a better motor. Man, was I wrong! A year latter we won what I call was our first meaningful race. I'll never forget that moment and the look on my son's face, I could see the smile all the way through his full face helmet. We did it together. I set the kart up and he drove it. The air pressure, gear, camber/castor, weight distribution, etc... had to be right and he had to anticipate the green flag, navigate traffic, time his passes and hit his marks. But, we did it, together.

Thats what I see when I watch NASCAR. It's a true team sport. Everyone has to do their part. It is so hard to win a race and you can tell by the teams reactions when they do win. Its a genuine heartfelt reaction. You see these emotions after most every race. Not just after the Super Bowl, the Finals or the World Series. This is the same reason I prefer college sports over most pro sports.

 

[WooBadger18]

NASCAR isn't what it once was. The cars are all too similar.

I have a question about this, and anyone can respond. As an outsider who doesn't follow racing, wouldn't this be a good thing because it means that the race should be won by the best drivers, not the drivers who have the best cars.

 

[jkclone]

I have a question about this, and anyone can respond. As an outsider who doesn't follow racing, wouldn't this be a good thing because it means that the race should be won by the best drivers, not the drivers who have the best cars.

It eliminates the ability for crews to make changes therefore eliminating part of the sport. I have stopped watching because of that and other changes.

 

[95CLONE]

Hey CW, how old is your kid? wanna go Kart racing?

 

[clonedude]

I have a question about this, and anyone can respond. As an outsider who doesn't follow racing, wouldn't this be a good thing because it means that the race should be won by the best drivers, not the drivers who have the best cars.

Very good point, however, with the cars all being similar I don't think you have as much passing either.

 

[BoxsterCy]

I have a question about this, and anyone can respond. As an outsider who doesn't follow racing, wouldn't this be a good thing because it means that the race should be won by the best drivers, not the drivers who have the best cars.

When I was a kid I paid some attention to what we then called stock car racing because we all had our favorite car brands and the cars actually looked like the brands they were. Today the cars are all so custom they are not even remotely related to their "brands" and without big letters on the side telling you, you'd have no idea what kind of "car" it is. Plus there were famous drivers like Gurney and Foyt that raced EVERYTHING; Grand Prix, LeMans, Indy and stock cars. Real ******* driver's drivers.

 

[theshadow]

we all had our favorite car brands and the cars actually looked like the brands they were.

I believe that was laid out in the rules back then -- in order to participate in "stock" car racing, the basic car you started with (before all the modifications) had to be available for Joe Q. Public to buy at the local dealership. When automakers introduced the winged car to NASCAR, they skirted NASCAR's rules by making some production runs of similar-looking models. That way they could call it a "stock" car and be allowed to race it.

 

[Doc]

Honest question: what is the appeal of NASCAR? Pretend you are explaining it to someone who has never seen stock car racing. What would you tell them the appeal is for them, not for you.

Was talking with my dad about this and he said it's great because on Sunday afternoons he can fall asleep after the start and wake up for the last 50 laps. He has a point, IMO.