2018 NASCAR Discussion threadNASCAR

[EngieDiesel]

Some talking points discussed with NASCAR president Brent Dewar on MRN last night:

- Monster still hasn't yet decided whether they will remain the title sponsor beyond this year. The decision was supposed to be made at the end of 2017 but Monster has been given an extension to further evaluate.

- The earliest a new manufacturer could enter is 2020. They would like to eventually have four or five, and are aiming for the more mainstream names as the luxury marques will likely prefer to go to IMSA.

- Stage racing is not going away, but the number of caution laps between stages may be adjusted.

- Pit crews are being reduced from six men over the wall to five "so we can accentuate really what is happening. It’s almost too fast in some respects to capture it. We’re excited about this and what the athletes are going to be able to demonstrate because it makes a difference." (so not for safety reasons, but to slow pitstops down to make for better TV, I guess?)

 

[AMPMROCKETFANN]

I do hope Ford go with the Mustang. This is too cool.

Still looks like a SS with most of a Camaro front end. Something needs to be done about the slab sides.

 

[05XR8]

Still looks like a SS with most of a Camaro front end. Something needs to be done about the slab sides.

I overlook that. The Challenger and Mustang are the same. It's all about the "face" really.

 

[JohnBM01]

To further my point from earlier, I wonder how NASCAR will try to adjust while also trying to promote this new NASCAR. NASCAR is much different now than when I first followed NASCAR (1999). I am concerned more about maintaining this new style while also keeping up a decent fan base. More of the purists miss NASCAR of old, even those still opposed to the Chase format. But you have to remember- NASCAR is a sport, and sports evolve. Names like Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr.- all moved on. It's about growing and expanding NASCAR for the forseeable future. That, to me, is what I will mostly follow with NASCAR more than who the best teams and drivers are.

That said, can't wait for the (can you believe it?) 60th Daytona 500 on February 18, 2018.

 

[BKGlover]

I actually have no interest in the 500. Evolution is critical, but most changes feel like they are driven by money to attract the bandwagoneers. If it is working as some have said, have fun. After the uninspired racing last season I'm out.

 

[Northstar]

I actually have no interest in the 500. Evolution is critical, but most changes feel like they are driven by money to attract the bandwagoneers. If it is working as some have said, have fun. After the uninspired racing last season I'm out.

Same here, although I do still like driving the cars in Forza.

 

[AMPMROCKETFANN]

I overlook that. The Challenger and Mustang are the same. It's all about the "face" really.

I think potential fans who might be interested in the series care about the slab sides. That's one of the things sportscar racing has going for it now. Curvy, relatable cars that are aerodynamically efficient.

 

[flip55]

- The earliest a new manufacturer could enter is 2020. They would like to eventually have four or five, and are aiming for the more mainstream names as the luxury marques will likely prefer to go to IMSA.

Not very hopeful on this one. For starters, I really don't think Dodge, who has a Gen 6 car stashed in a warehouse somewhere, is coming back in that time frame. Aside from that, well... It's hard enough to make the case for racing to the heads upstairs, and I'm not sure how you can justify racing in a national series with spec everything that shares absolutely nothing with your production models, or your other racing programs. My best guess is that NASCAR is looking at either Honda or Nissan. Both produce trucks, both have cars that are direct competitors to the Fusion and Camry. And besides, who doesn't want to see a Honda Accord on the track...

- Stage racing is not going away, but the number of caution laps between stages may be adjusted.

I thought they had mentioned this at some point last season, that they were looking to adjust the format instead of doing what they should do, which is bin the idea, and then set the bin on fire.

- Pit crews are being reduced from six men over the wall to five "so we can accentuate really what is happening. It’s almost too fast in some respects to capture it. We’re excited about this and what the athletes are going to be able to demonstrate because it makes a difference." (so not for safety reasons, but to slow pitstops down to make for better TV, I guess?)

Knowing NASCAR, your guess is probably more accurate than you think.

 

[raven214]

I've been watching/following Nascar since I was a boy in the 80's. In the 90's, Dale Earnhardt Sr was my man.. the man in black. When he passed (a day/race I will never forget), it was natural for Jr to pick up the torch, and so I followed. I've kind of been put off by the direction of Nascar in recent years, especially the segment racing, and to some extent the playoff format.

Now that Jr is retired, I will root for Chase Elliot. My very first favorite driver was Bill Elliot so it seems only right to follow Chase now. But the cars are so far removed from their street counterparts, it just doesn't feel the same. Sports car racing has really pulled me in in recent years.

I'll probably watch the superspeedways and road courses (edit: and the 600, Indy, and Darlington), and maybe the occasional Michigan or Bristol, but that's about it.

 

[EngieDiesel]

Not very hopeful on this one. For starters, I really don't think Dodge, who has a Gen 6 car stashed in a warehouse somewhere, is coming back in that time frame. Aside from that, well... It's hard enough to make the case for racing to the heads upstairs, and I'm not sure how you can justify racing in a national series with spec everything that shares absolutely nothing with your production models, or your other racing programs. My best guess is that NASCAR is looking at either Honda or Nissan. Both produce trucks, both have cars that are direct competitors to the Fusion and Camry. And besides, who doesn't want to see a Honda Accord on the track...

Given this was stuff brought up on MRN and the answers given were all typically vague responses from an authority figure, I doubt anyone has any concrete plans of coming in and they were just paying lip service to the topic that always comes up. NASCAR's own approval processes aside, I bet Ford, GM and Toyota will give a fair amount of pushback to another manufacturer coming in despite their claims of "the more the merrier", if only because they'd be worried of a high-profile team jumping ship and taking a lot of valuable aero and engine data with them.

I thought they had mentioned this at some point last season, that they were looking to adjust the format instead of doing what they should do, which is bin the idea, and then set the bin on fire.

So they can go back to throwing three or four "competition cautions" every race that did basically the same thing as stage racing, create more confusion and draw loads of criticism for flip-flopping on the rules at the same time? Personally I'd rather they just commit to minimizing the downtime of the current format so everyone has a clear understanding of how it's supposed to work.

Knowing NASCAR, your guess is probably more accurate than you think.

Oh, it definitely is. Especially when every other racing series has been doing things to make pit stops go much faster. I could understand if there were a string of incidents where pit crew members were being injured, but otherwise there's no real reason to reduce crew sizes and hamstring pit stops like that other than ~storylines~.

 

[RACECAR]

Once again, they put more emphasis on the sport being a "Show" and less of a sport. Its as if they can't stand the thought of natural selection.

 

[flip55]

Given this was stuff brought up on MRN and the answers given were all typically vague responses from an authority figure, I doubt anyone has any concrete plans of coming in and they were just paying lip service to the topic that always comes up. NASCAR's own approval processes aside, I bet Ford, GM and Toyota will give a fair amount of pushback to another manufacturer coming in despite their claims of "the more the merrier", if only because they'd be worried of a high-profile team jumping ship and taking a lot of valuable aero and engine data with them.

My tinfoil hat doesn't quite take me that far. NASCAR picking up a new manufacturer is not outside of the realm of possibility. I just give very, very low odds, because I can't see anyone interested enough. Last time I heard anything was around 2009 when Volkswagen considered joining. Sadly, that went quite fairly quickly, and now with dieselgate, it's definitely not happening.

So they can go back to throwing three or four "competition cautions" every race that did basically the same thing as stage racing, create more confusion and draw loads of criticism for flip-flopping on the rules at the same time? Personally I'd rather they just commit to minimizing the downtime of the current format so everyone has a clear understanding of how it's supposed to work.

IMO, after watching most of 2017, the stages didn't really improve anything. I felt that the teams were smart enough to realize the handful of points and the mid-race interview with TV didn't mean that much in the long run, so it wasn't worth the extra energy. I guarantee I'm not the first person in this forum to say this, but I believe NASCAR should take a page from the Aussie Supercars' book: Multiple, shorter races throughout the weekend, longest race on Sunday or Saturday night. NASCAR doesn't have to do it every weekend (like for the Daytona 500, Coca Cola 600, Southern 500, etc.), but this way, a team is winning a race that has some kind of meaning, not a sort of made up, mid-race stage.

 

[Northstar]

Jr is doing more than just NASCAR with NBC.

http://www.racer.com/nascar/item/146783-earnhardt-joins-nbc-s-super-bowl-and-olympic-coverage

 

[AMPMROCKETFANN]

Jr is doing more than just NASCAR with NBC.

http://www.racer.com/nascar/item/146783-earnhardt-joins-nbc-s-super-bowl-and-olympic-coverage

Well this is gonna be Winter Olympics of the century here

 

[Dylan]

http://www.racer.com/indycar/item/146825-godaddy-to-back-patrick-s-daytona-indy-entries

 

[Gerarghini]

Honest question but is GoDaddy still relevant?

I haven't heard of them since they left Danica

 

[MustangRyan]

Is the RCR 27 car the only semi-competitive car available that could run for Danica, now that she has sponsorship?

Hendrick, SHR, and Gibbs already have four cars running in the Daytona 500.

Ganassi already said he won't field a car for her.

I'm assuming Roush won't add a car, since she and Stenhouse just broke up.

I don't see Furniture Row or Penske running a car for her.

Does that leave anyone else?

 

[Kingofweasles]

Is the RCR 27 car the only semi-competitive car available that could run for Danica, now that she has sponsorship?

Hendrick, SHR, and Gibbs already have four cars running in the Daytona 500.

Ganassi already said he won't field a car for her.

I'm assuming Roush won't add a car, since she and Stenhouse just broke up.

I don't see Furniture Row or Penske running a car for her.

Does that leave anyone else?

Racer.com wrote an article that debunked Patrick driving the #27 RCR car at Daytona.

 

[MustangRyan]

Racer.com wrote an article that debunked Patrick driving the #27 RCR car at Daytona.

She's in real trouble if she wants a car that can be semi-competitive.

 

[yellosnake]

Having been away for the past week, I caught up on the thread tonight. The Danica ride: Like I stated earlier, I think she will be in a third car for Front Row. NASCAR being more show than sport: It has been going that way the past few years. The phantom debris cautions and the supposed penalties for a variety of infractions, whether in race or post race have become a circus. I remember the phrase "WWE on Wheels" being used in the past and it hasn't changed any this past season. On a different note, how on earth is Ron Hornaday in the Hall of Fame? Sure he won a bunch of races in the third tier division, but you don't go into the Hall of Fame based on being good in the minor leagues of baseball or the "D" league in basketball. That pretty much shows that the NASCAR HOF is a joke in the world of sports.

 

[AMPMROCKETFANN]

Having been away for the past week, I caught up on the thread tonight. The Danica ride: Like I stated earlier, I think she will be in a third car for Front Row. NASCAR being more show than sport: It has been going that way the past few years. The phantom debris cautions and the supposed penalties for a variety of infractions, whether in race or post race have become a circus. I remember the phrase "WWE on Wheels" being used in the past and it hasn't changed any this past season. On a different note, how on earth is Ron Hornaday in the Hall of Fame? Sure he won a bunch of races in the third tier division, but you don't go into the Hall of Fame based on being good in the minor leagues of baseball or the "D" league in basketball. That pretty much shows that the NASCAR HOF is a joke in the world of sports.

I guess being respected around the paddock counts for something?

 

[Dylan]

So this is the final road course layout at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Bank of America 500.
This is what will be run.

 

[Blood Eagle]

Danica is going to run the #7 for Premium Motorsports which is old Tommy Baldwin Racing equipment. Watch out competition!

 

[Leadfoot530]

Danica is going to run the #7 for Premium Motorsports which is old Tommy Baldwin Racing equipment. Watch out competition!

Watch out for what? Her sliding sideways off the track about halfway down the backstretch?

 

[Blood Eagle]

Watch out for what? Her sliding sideways off the track about halfway down the backstretch?

In this artist's rendering, Danica Patrick celebrates in victory lane with boyfriend Aaron Rodgers at the 60th running of The Great American Race.

 

[flip55]

So this is the final road course layout at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Bank of America 500.
This is what will be run.
View attachment 708437

Took me a minute to realize they removed an entire section. I guess with the other 2 chicanes added, there's no longer a need to that part of the infield...?

 

[Dylan]

Took me a minute to realize they removed an entire section. I guess with the other 2 chicanes added, there's no longer a need to that part of the infield...?

My guess is that the track was just to long.

Here's a quick look of the layout;

 

[yellosnake]

Looks like we may have a full field for Daytona in a few weeks

 

[flip55]

My guess is that the track was just to long.

Here's a quick look of the layout;

That, or they realized, even for NASCAR, that section was a bit too slow.

The Special Stage Route 11 - style chicane on the backstretch is a nice addition. That totally won't be a cluster... you know what.

 

[raven214]

The Special Stage Route 11 - style chicane on the backstretch is a nice addition. That totally won't be a cluster... you know what.

That chicane looks pretty hard to pick up visually from the video. Hopefully it's easier in-person...