- 26,911
- Houston, Texas, USA
- JMarine25
GTPlanet, here is a chance to talk about what stock cars bring to the table as a race car. I obviously am tired of seeing 3400 lb. stock cars rule the ovals of Americana. I don't think the racing is serious, no real bragging rights are on the line, it's overexposed and overhyped, and I think people make too much of a deal about the sport when they can't even compare to real racing. However, do they have advantages that set them apart from other race cars?
I still think stock cars are glorified economy cars with power and performance their street car versions can't match even if their lives depended on it. Since when have you heard of a Monte Carlo or Taurus been invited in the same class as the Mustang and Corvette? The engines of the stock cars, however, are pretty powerful if they can be used to go from a minimum of 300 miles to up to double that? The engines can be reliable. The Coca-Cola 600 is next weekend, so it is a test of not only endurance, but engine endurance. Stock cars are also safe. Some of the deaths since 1999 were pretty sad, from Adam Petty to the great Dale Earnhardt Sr. I read in the Houston Chronicle one time, that when it comes to deaths in racing from NASCAR vs. (then) CART, there were more than 2/3 less deaths in CART than in NASCAR. NASCAR's efforts to step up in safety were very impressive no matter what high-banked fury transpires. Stock cars do pretty well on a tough track now known as Infineon Raceway, even if they don't race the original configuration with the drag strip straight and tight hairpin. Not impressive, but well.
The ADVANTAGES of stock cars are welcome to this thread. No NASCAR bashing. It's a bit of a technical topic. So go ahead.
I still think stock cars are glorified economy cars with power and performance their street car versions can't match even if their lives depended on it. Since when have you heard of a Monte Carlo or Taurus been invited in the same class as the Mustang and Corvette? The engines of the stock cars, however, are pretty powerful if they can be used to go from a minimum of 300 miles to up to double that? The engines can be reliable. The Coca-Cola 600 is next weekend, so it is a test of not only endurance, but engine endurance. Stock cars are also safe. Some of the deaths since 1999 were pretty sad, from Adam Petty to the great Dale Earnhardt Sr. I read in the Houston Chronicle one time, that when it comes to deaths in racing from NASCAR vs. (then) CART, there were more than 2/3 less deaths in CART than in NASCAR. NASCAR's efforts to step up in safety were very impressive no matter what high-banked fury transpires. Stock cars do pretty well on a tough track now known as Infineon Raceway, even if they don't race the original configuration with the drag strip straight and tight hairpin. Not impressive, but well.
The ADVANTAGES of stock cars are welcome to this thread. No NASCAR bashing. It's a bit of a technical topic. So go ahead.
It's almost impossable to race in NASCAR as a independent.You need about 8 million min. to compete.But they are real race cars and the "stock" label has got to go.
