[QUOTE]Originally posted by waybrig
[B]I would have to say that Honda and Toyota are interested in NASCAR due to it's huge popularity and market penetration.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by OhioRacer
[B]
Why would they be knowledgeable about your form of racing?

 

I'm an F1 fan who doesn't really know that much about the technical end. I know I love the site and sound of the cars at speed, the most beautiful road courses in the world, etc... Yea, the competition at the front isn't often very tight. What I find intriguing is the fight back in the pack for the teams trying to get back to the top, and the young guns trying to be the next stars. I think F1 is something that a person can't just turn on the TV and be immediately drawn to. Many of the stories are hidden beneath the surface.

NASCAR on the other hand is right in your face as soon as you turn it on. It turns me off personally because first I don't like oval racing (even open wheel), and the site, sound of the cars don't excite me. The amount of passing in NASCAR also just doesn't really interest me like it does some people. It just seems too easy to pass when you're getting so many lead changes per race. To me it has the opposite problem that F1 does.

Different strokes for different folks. In the US I'm certainly in the minority. Worldwide it's a tighter race. Of course if NASCAR starts trying to expand worldwide, it may be a whole different story.

 

Brad,

It's exactly like this in NASCAR too. There's alot going on behind the scenes from Jeff Gordons divorce, to sponsorship issues, new rules, body changes, which drivers hate each other, etc. That's why I said it takes at least 3 years of watching to really appreciate the sport. If I turned it on and didn't know alot about what was going on behind the scenes and strategy-wise, I'd probably turn it off too.

 

Now I have found my problem, its kind of like watching a soap opera then there really isn't much substance and you wont understand it if you just turn it on and yeah your probably right it would take 3 years of watching to understand. By then my IQ will drop my beer belly will be in full force and I will fit right in

 

You CLAIM to be a race fan yet you feel free to insult the largest fan base in all of racing. If you were a REAL race fan you would see the similarities of ALL forms of racing. Don't delude yourself into thinking you are some sort of elite because you follow F-1. I follow them ALL and right now F-1 is the WORST racing series of the bunch. It has the potential to be great again but it is going to take a lot of work and rule changes.

One little thing to remember, at least in NASCAR the big teams build their own engines, (based on Approved Blocks and Heads) chassis, bodies, etc... They have their own dyno facilities, aerodynamic experts and lease wind tunnel time . Many F-1 teams just bolt in their factory supplied engines and don't do any engine developement work. Most are not allowed by the engine supplier to open their engines up. I submit that teams like Robert Yates Racing, Rousch Racing, Richard Childress Racing, DEI and Hendrick Racing all have more technological capability and expertise than teams like Minardi and Arrows. Sure Ferrari can do it all and along with Toyota are the only two teams that do everything (Build their own engines, and Car). Point is there is more of a technological gap between the haves and the have nots in F-1 than there is between the Haves in F-1 and the Haves in all the other major forms of racing.

One other thing about NASCAR is that it has the amazing ability to attract an equal amount of female fans as male fans. No other form of racing can say that. They must be doing something right.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Bieg
[B]

You CLAIM to be a race fan yet you feel free to insult the largest fan base in all of racing.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Bieg
[B]

You CLAIM to be a race fan yet you feel free to insult the largest fan base in all of racing.

 

I guess that depends on what you consider racing. Out of these 4 series, F-1, Nascar. CART, and IRL which one would you rather bet the rent on a specific driver winning. I think the safest bet in all of racing is to bet the farm on Schumacher in F-1.

That is my point.

As far as Fan Base, It depends on how you count them. If you are counting number of fans who actually go to races NASCAR has them all beat because they pack every house they play in and they race just about every weekend and it is a very long season. TV viewership is something else again but NASCAR has Major NETWORKS paying big money and they have races on Prime Time in some cases. Bernie Vision has collapsed so that has to tell you something.

 

I for the record have never made fun of anyone for watching any type of racing. It is all good. I am just defending NASCAR fans against some of the assinine comments I have seen others make.