Jump to content

2021 NASCAR thread


Prepuce of Doom

Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, cabowabo said:

Just heard them mention that 5 of the next 11 races are road courses. That is unbelievable and is one reason why NASCAR is dead.

People enjoy watching cars just go round and round?? 

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Prepuce of Doom said:

Well, everything but tech inspection and practice... 

I thought they did pretty well, esp in this weather. I've seen series out there that couldn't come close to staying on schedule in perfect weather.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

46 minutes ago, clapclapclap said:

National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning.

I figured that's what we were headed for & we went ahead and left. Tired of being cold & wet & sitting those fucking long-ass yellows for the stage endings. What lap did they stop it on?

Edited by wood
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fun weekend, I wished for the drivers (and fans) there was less wet. 

Waking up Saturday morning to the sound of the Lambos running around at 7 AM was new and interesting.

Man the die-hard NASCAR fans around us all really seem to hate Kyle Busch.  I don't follow well enough to know why, but multiple people would stand up and flip him off EVERY.SINGLE.LAP.   That takes dedication. :)

 

 

  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This was my first attempt at watching a NASCAR race in well over a decade, so I am far from a knowledgeable fan or the target audience.  That said...this was an unwatchable product due to all of the commercials.  I turned it off and back on twice and abandoned it entirely with maybe 20 laps to go.  Were the insane amount of commercials because of all the yellow/red flags?  Or are NASCAR races just filled with commercials?  Coming from just having watched the F1 race a few hours earlier...the production gap between the two events was jarring.  Not that I am a huge F1 fan either, but I have watched it off and on over the past two seasons...outside of football season I am always hurting for sports to watch.  F1 races have amazing cameras seemingly everywhere...this race, not so much.  For half of it it seemed like I was watching water on glass.

As for the rain...I was surprised the race was not halted because for a while there were cars going off track or into each other lap after lap.  Again as someone who just happened upon the broadcast, it seemed almost farcical.  Does that always happen in NASCAR when it's wet?  F1 handles wet weather much better based on my limited sample size.  And maybe that's just the nature of the differences between the cars but if so you'd think they'd have rain delays or something like that.

All that said, commercials aside this was more entertaining than the F1 race earlier in the day where there were exactly two exciting moments and both of them were caused by equipment failure.  Counting the days until September...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I haven't really followed NASCAR since Dale Earnhardt died, but back then they didn't do that "stage" thing.   I found the "stages" confusing and annoying.  Do they do that for all NASCAR races now, or was it just for a road course, or was it just for COTA?

All three races did it, the trucks, Xfinity, and Cup, and I really didn't like it.  With all the yellows (and reds) it was super annoying to see them intentionally halt the action and reform.  Especially the end of stage 2 in the Cup race, when they'd already halted for almost an hour for a red flag, then got a handful of decent laps in, and then halted some of the best action of the entire weekend, to reform for Stage 3.  I really just don't get it.

Edited by utee94
Link to comment
Share on other sites

NBC's coverage sucks ass. None of the alternatives are any good either, but NBC is the worst in terms of commercials, clueless camera angles, incompetent production decisions, and "side by side coverage" where there's a commercial taking up 60% of the screen while the accompanying "race footage" is just a closeup of a tire or tight footage of a single car (usually bearing the same sponsor as the adjacent commercial) or some shit. 

Stage racing isn't perfect, but it's better than the previous system relying on phantom debris cautions to bunch up the field at the end of a race in order to manufacture a more exciting ending. At least everyone knows when it's coming, and the stage points do seem to spice up the racing near the end of stages, plus they often make a big difference in the playoffs in the current system. 

I personally think that stage racing gets more grief than it should just because it's obviously different than "the way things have always been done" and it's more conspicuous (and therefore easier to blame) than things like the aero package, tire compounds, and of course, inherently boring tracks. I get why people don't care for it, and I think that's a perfectly valid viewpoint, but I don't personally mind it too much.

Edited by Prepuce of Doom
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Hozz said:

This was my first attempt at watching a NASCAR race in well over a decade, so I am far from a knowledgeable fan or the target audience.  That said...this was an unwatchable product due to all of the commercials.  I turned it off and back on twice and abandoned it entirely with maybe 20 laps to go.  Were the insane amount of commercials because of all the yellow/red flags?  Or are NASCAR races just filled with commercials?  Coming from just having watched the F1 race a few hours earlier...the production gap between the two events was jarring.  Not that I am a huge F1 fan either, but I have watched it off and on over the past two seasons...outside of football season I am always hurting for sports to watch.  F1 races have amazing cameras seemingly everywhere...this race, not so much.  For half of it it seemed like I was watching water on glass.

As for the rain...I was surprised the race was not halted because for a while there were cars going off track or into each other lap after lap.  Again as someone who just happened upon the broadcast, it seemed almost farcical.  Does that always happen in NASCAR when it's wet?  F1 handles wet weather much better based on my limited sample size.  And maybe that's just the nature of the differences between the cars but if so you'd think they'd have rain delays or something like that.

All that said, commercials aside this was more entertaining than the F1 race earlier in the day where there were exactly two exciting moments and both of them were caused by equipment failure.  Counting the days until September...

COTA in the rain with heavy cars vs Monaco in great weather with F1 cars is pretty much apples & oranges. You just can't pass at Monaco with the current, very wide F1 cars. Both series offer exciting races and dull ones. 

37 minutes ago, utee94 said:

I haven't really followed NASCAR since Dale Earnhardt died, but back then they didn't do that "stage" thing.   I found the "stages" confusing and annoying.  Do they do that for all NASCAR races now, or was it just for a road course, or was it just for COTA?

All three races did it, the trucks, Xfinity, and Cup, and I really didn't like it.  With all the yellows (and reds) it was super annoying to see them intentionally halt the action and reform.  Especially the end of stage 2 in the Cup race, when they'd already halted for almost an hour for a red flag, then got a handful of decent laps in, and then halted some of the best action of the entire weekend, to reform for Stage 3.  I really just don't get it.

Yeah, I agree with both of y'all re: the stage racing. It just sucks imho. I mean I have no problem with the concept of awarding points for winning the stage. Just don't throw a long yellow and do a restart for them. It just kills the race flow completely imho.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, Prepuce of Doom said:

NBC's coverage sucks ass. None of the alternatives are any good either, but NBC is the worst in terms of commercials, clueless camera angles, incompetent production decisions, and "side by side coverage" where there's a commercial taking up 60% of the screen while the accompanying "race footage" is just a closeup of a tire or tight footage of a single car (usually bearing the same sponsor as the adjacent commercial) or some shit. 

Any sports league that cares at all about how their product is presented to the public should never, ever let the soulless NBC hacks anywhere near it, no matter how much money the Peacock throws at them. They are just absolutely the worst, in numerous ways, and the next worst network is not even remotely close. Fuck Bob Costas.

  • Rage+1 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, wood said:

Yeah, I agree with both of y'all re: the stage racing. It just sucks imho. I mean I have no problem with the concept of awarding points for winning the stage. Just don't throw a long yellow and do a restart for them. It just kills the race flow completely imho.

Ah is this why they did it?  If so, I understand, but halting the race and running multiple laps of pace car for a restart after each stage, was an absolute beating.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, utee94 said:

Ah is this why they did it?  If so, I understand, but halting the race and running multiple laps of pace car for a restart after each stage, was an absolute beating.  

I dunno their motivation, but yep, total beating. One of the reasons we just got up & left early.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/21/2021 at 9:42 PM, rvm96 said:

Anybody been by the Goodnight Loving Vodka garden around turn 15? 

We have a friend (SMOKING HOT) that was working that one Sunday. Apparently that was the vodka of COTA because it's what they had up in the club level, too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My review.

Worked like a dog to get my info in to get garage/pit passes. Had to do a couple of online forms. Wife got her second one the day before, I didn't, so had to ping my contact at the team and they resent immediately, filled it out, sent in. Got to Lot T about 9:30 on Sunday and was suprised to see how many cars had beaten me there, 9:30 was when Nascar said they were opening prescreening so that's technicall the earliest we could get there. Found the white tent, they tried to shuffle us away, I explained we were a guest of a team and oh yes, got your qr code, scan, temperature check, verified no health issues, good to go. Texted my contact and he met us at the tunnel. Stuck our health sticker onto guest pass and away we went.

Found suite. Found drinks and some packaged scones and found a seat to watch qualifying.

Eventually got bored and hopped my happy ass downstairs and roamed the pits a bit. Was down there for the start of the Italian tractor race and saw Daniel Suarez's car in bits in the garage. Went back up, grabbed some lunch, let the guy know we wanted to tour the garage, see Daniel again and be on pit road for the opening festivities (Due to the Rona, only drivers and team members are allowed on the hot side. This was only the second race that guests have been allowed). Went down, met Daniel at his trailer, walked around talking about Nascar and our contact's various employers, found the pit wall garage opening which happened to be by Daniel's car and hung out there for national anthem and start. Oh yeah, met Justin Marks down there. Saw Bubba come out of his trailer. Also blacksimiled another guy that I thought was Bubba. Wife wanted to go back up so we found a spot to light up there inside, grabbed more drinks and I went down once more to roam and see what I could.

For F1 and MotoGP, I'm usually on the back straight at an RV. We can see part of the esses, some of the stuff after it, and 11 if on top of the stand and down to 12. I think I like that view of Cota better than the front straight. Watching them go by and then up the hill is nice. Having pit passes is always nice and I do like that they are RIGHT below Cota Club. I like a good suite, but you just can't see shit from there. If I'm being wined and dined like that, I like Texas Motor Speedway better. You can easily see the entire track from the suites. The difference at TMS is there is no outdoor part unless you go down to the main grandstand level or walk over to the pits. Just doesn't make for good race watching on the front at Cota. Overall, we had fun. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, and hope that for F1 I'm back at the back straight because I don't know any vendors that sponsor F1.

OH, Cota parking still run by crackheads. We left a little before the race was over in the monsoon and I was glad we did. They had nobody directing you out of T except the cops at 812. After the race, that would have been a disaster. Never change Cota, Never change.

Edited by relapse98
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, I didn't mention before, but there were a LOT more RVs in Lot N than there are for F1.  I pretty much expected that, but it was still cool to see.  Lots of partying going on late into the evening, I partook on Friday night but on Saturday night we just watched Monaco P3 and Qualy, watched a movie on the outside TV, and then turned in early.

 

Edited by utee94
Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, relapse98 said:

My review.

Worked like a dog to get my info in to get garage/pit passes. Had to do a couple of online forms. Wife got her second one the day before, I didn't, so had to ping my contact at the team and they resent immediately, filled it out, sent in. Got to Lot T about 9:30 on Sunday and was suprised to see how many cars had beaten me there, 9:30 was when Nascar said they were opening prescreening so that's technicall the earliest we could get there. Found the white tent, they tried to shuffle us away, I explained we were a guest of a team and oh yes, got your qr code, scan, temperature check, verified no health issues, good to go. Texted my contact and he met us at the tunnel. Stuck our health sticker onto guest pass and away we went.

Found suite. Found drinks and some packaged scones and found a seat to watch qualifying.

Eventually got bored and hopped my happy ass downstairs and roamed the pits a bit. Was down there for the start of the Italian tractor race and saw Daniel Suarez's car in bits in the garage. Went back up, grabbed some lunch, let the guy know we wanted to tour the garage, see Daniel again and be on pit road for the opening festivities (Due to the Rona, only drivers and team members are allowed on the hot side. This was only the second race that guests have been allowed). Went down, met Daniel at his trailer, walked around talking about Nascar and our contact's various employers, found the pit wall garage opening which happened to be by Daniel's car and hung out there for national anthem and start. Oh yeah, met Justin Marks down there. Saw Bubba come out of his trailer. Also blacksimiled another guy that I thought was Bubba. Wife wanted to go back up so we found a spot to light up there inside, grabbed more drinks and I went down once more to roam and see what I could.

For F1 and MotoGP, I'm usually on the back straight at an RV. We can see part of the esses, some of the stuff after it, and 11 if on top of the stand and down to 12. I think I like that view of Cota better than the front straight. Watching them go by and then up the hill is nice. Having pit passes is always nice and I do like that they are RIGHT below Cota Club. I like a good suite, but you just can't see shit from there. If I'm being wined and dined like that, I like Texas Motor Speedway better. You can easily see the entire track from the suites. The difference at TMS is there is no outdoor part unless you go down to the main grandstand level or walk over to the pits. Just doesn't make for good race watching on the front at Cota. Overall, we had fun. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, and hope that for F1 I'm back at the back straight because I don't know any vendors that sponsor F1.

OH, Cota parking still run by crackheads. We left a little before the race was over in the monsoon and I was glad we did. They had nobody directing you out of T except the cops at 812. After the race, that would have been a disaster. Never change Cota, Never change.

Yeah we left early in anticipation of the Lot F fuckery. It wasn't busy yet as the race was still going on. As we were leaving, one of the guys directed us into the middle lane (the right lane of two lanes that each turned left onto COTA Blvd toward Elroy Road).  We complied, and the next guy 50 feet farther up is immediately screaming at us "NO. Get out of that lane! Use the other one!". That would have required backing up, as we were already in the lane. And there were zero cars ahead of us in either lane, so I said 'Fuck that, Hillbilly. We're coming on out.' As we passed, Mrs. Wood (no pics) told the guy to fuck off and go talk to the much more reasonable guy who told us to use that lane, and get on the same page with him. 

It was pretty bizarre, as both lanes went to exactly the same place, and the one the asshole told us to use was actually blocked at the exit onto COTA Blvd.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/23/2021 at 6:10 PM, wood said:

How so?

No clowns, elephants, or trapeze artists.  I didn't see 1 ring, much less 3.

Anyways, as for the TV broadcasts on Fox/FS1, Clint Bowyer is terrible.  I guess he got the job by being willing to let the producers turn him into a screaming idiot.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, relapse98 said:

We have a friend (SMOKING HOT) that was working that one Sunday. Apparently that was the vodka of COTA because it's what they had up in the club level, too.

It is the vodka of COTA. It started around last F1. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, clapclapclap said:

No clowns, elephants, or trapeze artists.  I didn't see 1 ring, much less 3.

Anyways, as for the TV broadcasts on Fox/FS1, Clint Bowyer is terrible.  I guess he got the job by being willing to let the producers turn him into a screaming idiot.  

To be fair, the "Clint Bowyer is a Wild and Crazy Guy because he Drinks Beer" schtick predates his retirement, but it's become too much of a crutch for Mike Joy and the rest of the Fox team. I feel like it really became "a thing" around the time he joined SHR, but it's since evolved into a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. 

Every so often (maybe once a race or so?) you can hear his tone of voice change and then he's usually got something insightful and legitimately interesting to share. He's not the most articulate guy, but in explaining something from a drivers' perspective (and for the NASCAR audience) it doesn't really matter. 

I don't always watch the Xfinity races, but when I do, I am usually impressed by the guest driver announcers. Logano, Krut Busch, Harvick, and especially Brad Keselowski are all really solid and informative in my opinion. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/25/2021 at 8:54 AM, Prepuce of Doom said:

 

I don't always watch the Xfinity races, but when I do, I am usually impressed by the guest driver announcers. Logano, Krut Busch, Harvick, and especially Brad Keselowski are all really solid and informative in my opinion. 

Today's Xfinity race (starting momentarily on FS1 - engines are fired) has an all-driver broadcast. 

Edited by Prepuce of Doom
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, VirginiaLonghorn said:

I strongly dislike Joe's smarmy piousness, and I'm sure that there's an advantage in the quality of equipment that Ty is running relative to other "up and coming" drivers, but the kid has won twice in only a handful of starts, so I'm not so sure if these easy criticisms are valid. 

Plus, he seemed very gracious, appreciative, and aware of the tremendous opportunity that he's lucked into when he was giving his post-race interview - but only after making what seemed like a very genuine apology to Briscoe. 

Edited by Prepuce of Doom
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

The All Star race is this weekend at TMS and it is going to royally fuck my drive to work. I'm going to have to detour 15+ miles to miss the forced traffic flow. The worst part is they will have less than half the people projected attending and there will be no traffic problems, but will put everyone through the paces.

 

Edited by RPM
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/11/2021 at 3:17 AM, RPM said:

The All Star race is this weekend at TMS and it is going to royally fuck my drive to work. I'm going to have to detour 15+ miles to miss the forced traffic flow. The worst part is they will have less than half the people projected attending and there will be no traffic problems, but will put everyone through the paces.

 

Man you really still have such a big a grudge against TMS for not letting you ride your ATV that you go to the NASCAR thread and post this? You think anyone cares about your detour?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Jim Krivacs said:

Man you really still have such a big a grudge against TMS for not letting you ride your ATV that you go to the NASCAR thread and post this? You think anyone cares about your detour?

idgaf

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Crashes and calamity are the only things that can make Pocono into a fun race. Between the suckitude of NBC's coverage, the impotence of the 550hp package, and the shitfulness of the track, that race was about as entertaining as it could have been, but that's a fairly low bar... 

Edited by Prepuce of Doom
Fuck Rick Allen in the goatass.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Never understood why nascar goes to pocono its not a exciting track. Dont care it has 3 unique turns. Larson is on a roll. Hope he can continue it in the playoffs. Next to Kyle Busch he is my favorite driver.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agreed. They could make it more exciting by upping the HP. Drivers used to have to shift, now they don't.  You'd always get one or two that shifted down instead of up and tear up the transmission. Also agree that NBC coverage sucks. Junior is the only one any good. Fox is much better, although we'll see what they do  next year with Jeff leaving. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...