Autoextremist: The NASCAR Bubble

[Petra]

NOTE: I figured somebody had to pick up the slack from 98's abscence, and post the latest Autoextremist articles. So I did.


Detroit. After wading through yet another glowing article about NASCAR, this time from Fortune magazine (September 5th cover date), it's clear to me that the mainstream media and sports marketing gurus have not only partaken of the NASCAR Kool-Aid, they've had taps installed in their houses for a constant free-flowing dose of it every morning. Members of the media in a kinder, gentler era would refer to Fortune's genuflection to and canonization of NASCAR as a "puff" piece. I'm not going to be that nice. This is 2005 - and the Fortune piece (which was a complete rehash of every single other story written about NASCAR in every major media publication you can think of over the last four years) was the most blatant journalistic "BJ" tossed to NASCAR since Sports Illustrated did their cover story a couple of years ago and entitled it "NASCAR Nation."

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[Satty]

Before BV gets here and says "This isn't a bash NASCAR thread" I'm going to say that this is a bash NASCAR thread. They turn left. I turn left, and I have to do it across traffic with some soccer mom in her Suburban, not paying attention, coming towards me quickly. And they're all white, I dont think any "sport" can be called that legitimately if it is all white guys

[Petra]

I picked up a Duracell battery today, and, in the top right corner of the package, it said, "Offical Sponsor of NASCAR". I think this is the sort of stuff DeLorenzo is talking about.

[Flybrian]

I'm the official Brian Dreggors of NASCAR.

[Satty]

My car has a Saturn badge on it, does that mean I am sponsered by Saturn and should get money from them for every mile I drive?

[balthazar]

And they're all white, I dont think any "sport" can be called that legitimately if it is all white guys

WTF does ethnicity have to do with anything here??
BTW- I have no use for NASCAR after 1970; when manufacturers built all their own race cars & powered them. Edited September 1, 2005 by balthazar

[Satty]

Race factors in because sports are supposed to be universal, and all white drivers, all white crews and all white fans just screams of Alabama in the 50's.

[Flybrian]

Race factors in because sports are supposed to be universal, and all white drivers, all white crews and all white fans just screams of Alabama in the 50's.

[post="7683"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

To be honest, it was better when NASCAR was 'Alabama in the 50s.' Its not a race anymore, its a glorified marketing tool.

[Cory Wolfe]

Satty... :rolleyes: This basically is, actually. Anyways, it's not a sport. It's a Motorsport. It seems most people drop the "motor" when generalizing it. But that's what it is... compare it to other Motorsports. Also, you make it seem as if it's the easiest thing in the world. First of all, skills. I'd like to see you hop in a Nascar car and do what they do. No training. Hop in and [/i]try[/i] to race with the "big boys". Not only is there that, but there's the technical part of it. You know... finding out the handling of it and what to do to make it better. Ooh... and we can't forget the physical part of it. Lasting 3-4 hours in a 140+ degree car while turning, braking, shifting. Ever actually watch a race before? ...And see even the most fit drivers (probably much moreso than you, too) worn out and exhausted after... Bristol, Martinsville, Infineon, etc? Obviously not.

[Variance]

Race factors in because sports are supposed to be universal, and all white drivers, all white crews and all white fans just screams of Alabama in the 50's.

[post="7683"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

It could just be that minorities don't give a damn about NASCAR. I know I don't. :P

Having said that, I wouldn't hesitate to wager some of the fans of NASCAR would be less than pleased to see a minority NASCAR driver.

[Satty]

IRL, Le Mans, etc at least they all drive different cars, different engines, etc. NASCAR uses stickers over a pretty much universal body. Fly is right, it pretty much is a four hour long commercial for Viagra and Home Depot, it doesn't make sense. You want to see physically demanding? Drive from Chicago to Springfield, MO (about 520ish miles) straight through in a snowstorm after getting three hours of sleep the night before.

[Satty]

Having said that, I wouldn't hesitate to wager some of the fans of NASCAR would be less than pleased to see a minority NASCAR driver.

[post="7691"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

I'm sure most of them leave their hoods at home when they go to the racetrack.

[Cory Wolfe]

Yeah, yeah... There are some racist Nascar fans.

IRL, Le Mans, etc at least they all drive different cars, different engines, etc. NASCAR uses stickers over a pretty much universal body. Fly is right, it pretty much is a four hour long commercial for Viagra and Home Depot, it doesn't make sense.

I thought I explained this to you on the old boards? :huh: ....The bodies and engines for each manufacturer are different. DIFFERENT! Got that? Or are you still ignoring this FACT?

As for the sponsers... No shit. I don't like it either. Edited September 1, 2005 by blackviper8891

[Flybrian]

If you ask me, they should formally change the name of the association from NASCAR to Nascar, eliminating the acronym that once stood for 'National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing' because a carburated V8-powered RWD coupe with headlamp stickers is as much a Ford Taurus as a microwave oven.

[Satty]

With gas getting pricey, wouldn't it make more sense to have one lap races where the drivers have to pull the cars? Now that I would watch.

[balthazar]

Ideally, race should be a non-issue. We'll never get past stereotypes like 'leave their hoods at home' until it is. We need to stop counting...

[Satty]

99% of the time, I dont notice race. I learned a long time ago that there are factors far more important than race when trying to understand the viewpoint of another person. At the same time I know that race is part of how a person turns out. The reason I point out race when it comes to NASCAR is that it is so noticeable. Watch five minutes of a race, anytime you see the stands, its full of white people. When a person is used to the more ethnically diverse sports like baseball and football, things like that seem to pop out. I cannot tell you when the last time was I noticed the skin color of a person sitting in the stands at a baseball game, but when I saw some NASCAR highlights of some dude winning a race and climbing up a fence, I sure as hell noticed that the people behind that fence were of the same ethnicity. Maybe I'm just looking for something to bash NASCAR on and I'm playing the race card. Or maybe NASCAR is becoming huge, with millions of fans, hundreds of sponsors and hours of television coverage and I think that it sends the wrong message when everyone related to it is white.

[balthazar]

Maybe I'm just looking for something to bash NASCAR on and I'm playing the race card.

Ahhh....
And since when in recent decades have the cars themselves not been enough ammo against NASCAR?

Or maybe NASCAR is becoming huge, with millions of fans, hundreds of sponsors and hours of television coverage and I think that it sends the wrong message when everyone related to it is white.

It purpose is not to 'send a message', that's ridiculous. Those that read one in this case do so because they are at least somewhat fixated on race. Making stereotypical race-related comments only further supports this. If NASCAR was somehow race-restricted the allegation is legitimate. But it's not and it's not. Trying to make it a legitimate issue doesn't help anyone involved.

Just curious: ever watch any pro basketball teams??

[daves87rs]

Ideally, race should be a non-issue. We'll never get past stereotypes like 'leave their hoods at home' until it is. We need to stop counting...

[post="7731"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

I would have to agree with that. It gets boring to hear that over and over..

It also depends on the track that you go to...around the MIS..you get a good
mix of all different kinds of people...


Also, keep in mind some of that some of those fans have been diehard for like
20 years or more...some of the most loyal fans in any sport...

[torobud]

I can say with confidence that if they were TRULY STOCK cars - I would want to be in the Charger!! :) (And I am a big nascar fan but to say these cars are stock is a joke!)

[quantum110]

Switch back to Stock bodies and Frames, or change the name...thats my opinion. A lot of what I hear people saying is that Nascar is the way it is because of safety issues. IMO, they coould have put restrictions on the engines power instead of switching to thow away bodies and tube frames. Then they could have also made a new class for the cars they used today. IMO, the Grand Am cup is more NASCAR than Nascar is. Nascar really isn't about racing anymore its about politics and making sure your sponsors get mentioned a million times. I really don't care how physicly demanding or trained these drivers are...It took weeks for my dog to figure out how to chase its own tail without running into anything in the living room...doesn't mean I'm going to slap stickers on him and put it on 5 different channels all weekend.

[thegriffon]

Nascar isn't stock, or even "silhouette" racing like the DTM. Although maniufacturers have their own engines, the guidelines don't allow any innovation and very little difference from one to another. The bodies are unique to each "model", but onstead of matching the production car in appearance must confoem to a standard Nascar template with only minor changes allowed. The reason is to make the racing interesting, with near-identical cars leading to lots of passing and lead changes. The Australian V8 Supercar series is heading in this direction, partly to improve the racing, partly to control costs, partly because they view Nascar as the most successful format around and want to emulate it.

[ShadowDog]

The only people referring to stock cars as having-or-not-having anything to do with NASCAR are the ones against NASCAR. In truth, fans have long-since abandoned the notion that NASCAR doesn't run stock cars. Manufacturers are sponsors. What better way to be a sponsor than to have a make-model designation a standard feature on race day? Make the cars all stock and they would be useless on the track. In the end, manufacturers aren't about to absorb the cost of supplying race engines and bodies to teams. They're finding other ways to perform research and development on their engines that's substantially cheaper and efficient than racing them around.

[Robert Hall]

NASCAR today is Disneyfied racertainment...it has become to motorsport what the WWE is to wrestling. It's kind of a joke when they use the name of a FWD, unibody car (Taurus, Fusion, Intrepid, Monte Carlo, Grand Prix, etc) on a shapeless blob with BOF construction and carburated pushrod engines...kind a joke to call them 'stock cars'...'cartoon cars' would be a better name.. Edited November 1, 2005 by moltar

[Robert Hall]

I'm sure most of them leave their hoods at home when they go to the racetrack.

[post="7694"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Well, NASCAR got it's start in the deep south and remains very popular with the scary white southern Republican crowd... Edited November 1, 2005 by moltar

[ChrisPauwels]

IRL, Le Mans, etc at least they all drive different cars, different engines, etc.  NASCAR uses stickers over a pretty much universal body.  Fly is right, it pretty much is a four hour long commercial for Viagra and Home Depot, it doesn't make sense.  You want to see physically demanding?  Drive from Chicago to Springfield, MO (about 520ish miles) straight through in a snowstorm after getting three hours of sleep the night before.

[post="7693"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

I ran a 12 lap race in ARCA's 4 cylinder series on Toledo Speedway's 1/8 mile track and when I was done I was pretty much whipped. I have alot of respect for the guys that can muscle a car around 1/2 mile Bristol for 500 laps. You really have no idea.

Oh and how many non-white drivers are there in those series you mentioned? Edited November 2, 2005 by ChrisPauwels