Na$car Today ?

uncle Alan

uncle Alan

Joined
Jul 11, 2004
Messages
1,830
I have watched racing since the '40's & have seen almost a complete metamorphisis .Initally cars looked & were mostly stock. crudely numbered & lettered & mostly the original factory colors ,they were still very exciting to see thundering by.

Tune-ups,large thrust wheels [ right front ] crude headers, exotic home brewed fuels [& beverages ] ,fights during, on & off the track were the norm. Officials were as effective as those on the wrestling shows.

Mom & Pop ,gas stations,small town dealerships were the sponsors. Our car bore the name of a machine shop that did crankshaft work in exchange for used Ford heads.Our paint job went from white to cream because it was drying on the way to the track on a dusty,windy day .

We all tried but a lucky,talented few made it .Tracks sprang up all over the South & drivers were similar to lemmings in their march to fame & glory.The many tracks of various lengths ,surfaces & bankings were a blessing to those who could not afford the newly introduced Franklin quick-change rear-ends.You found a track friendly to your setup & raced there.You were blessed if you found a four-speed transmission compatible with your ring & pinon gears.

Fast-forward to today. A Rip-Van Winkle would not recognize the present form of glitz & glamor .Cars look like clones. Drivers go from strollers to go-carts & up through all stages of basic racing . Somewhere along the way they must take diction lessons,learn a script of sponsors to recite & NOT utter any off-color language.The only profanity I heard in the recent past was by king Richard. He got battered around & wound up in the infield. Smoke & small flames were coming from the engine compartment & a fireman was taking his sweet own time jogging up with the C02 . Richard told him loudly," Get that effing extinguisher over here ! "

Through the past years I have been collecting scale model cars. Snap-On Tools had them out & our son started getting them for me. They are serial numbered & limited in production. Several of Earnhardt's are worth many hundreds of dollars. I believe the most valuable one is the "Pass on [ in ? ] the grass" at Charlotte.

Santa brought me"Thunder & Glory " ,a book about the ten best NA$CAR races. I know I was at one for sure. Gott'a read it & see if we agree on them
Santa also brought my favorite; a scale model of Ironhead's first race car,a ' 56 Ford he raced hobby class in the Kanapolis ,N.C. area of his home ..


www.daleearnhardt.net/history/k2/index.htm If this won't get it,google it. Short story & photos.

Countdown to Daytona........

Safe racing !
Uncle [ dayum ,I'm old ] Alan :confused: ;) :D
 
Na$car is following other sports in mass commercialization. Shoe companies can't seem to sell shoes without a sports star's endorsement. College sports coaches seem to consider sponsorships a part of their salary.

The local little leagues and Pee Wee football seem to still have a little bit of the original sports ethic but, with young kids worrying about college scholarships and early drafts, even they are subject to the big business aspects of sports.

Myself, I can't seem to go back to lazy afternoons fishing with a simple pole or shooting turtles dining on my catch. Times have changed. The local hardware store doesn't sell cane poles any more and buying ammunition for the .22 gets me the third degree from some kid behind the counter that's half my age.

The simple things of life are still around with good friends and simple recreation at the local park, shooting range, bowling alley, etc. but, they can be hard to find at times in today's busy lifestyles and mass commercialization.
 
The commercialism of NASCAR may eventually be their downfall. There are other motorsports that are no commercial such as the growing interest in rallys www.rallynewyork. They'll be racing in the snow here next month .
 
i dont think NASCAR is falling any time soon, for every person who doesnt like the glitz/etc there are 10 others who do, maybe 100. the family who owns NASCAR say what ya will about them they know the biz.

i have never been than "into" NASCAR but used to go to lots of NHRA events, in the last 15 yrs it too has changed dramatically, ya used to could talk to the drivers, even john force, not anymore, tickets are 2-3X what they used to be, the last one i went to mcdonalds was the food sponser and a std mcdonalds burger &a small drink & fries was $5.95, 2X what it normally sells for, not to mention the crowds etc. just isnt worth it to me anymore.

but the times are faster, speed costs money and they intend to make a lot of it lol.

do sometimes wish for the old days when it was more laid back.
 
To my understanding, NASCAR is growing in popularity if anything. I don't really have any interest in it myself, but Robbie Gordon maintains the traditions of profanity and fights :D.

Edit: Perhaps you could get involved in oval track racing at an amateur level uncle Alan. It might be the closest thing to the NASCAR you knew and loved, as the saying goes.
 
uncle Alan said:
The only profanity I heard in the recent past was by king Richard. He got battered around & wound up in the infield. Smoke & small flames were coming from the engine compartment & a fireman was taking his sweet own time jogging up with the C02 . Richard told him loudly," Get that effing extinguisher over here ! "

Countdown to Daytona........

Safe racing !
Uncle [ dayum ,I'm old ] Alan :confused: ;) :D
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JR said "it don't mean sh*t now",he lost points for that one. :eek:
Glad Michael's gone from DEI and wish him well! :D
 
Sid Post said:
Myself, I can't seem to go back to lazy afternoons fishing with a simple pole or shooting turtles dining on my catch. Times have changed. The local hardware store doesn't sell cane poles any more and buying ammunition for the .22 gets me the third degree from some kid behind the counter that's half my age.
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I'm going to second an amen to that Mr. Sid, cane poles started to get harder to find 10 years ago! Want to brim or crappie fish with one? Good luck if you roll into an old bait and tackle shop and find some. The kid behind the counter asking questions about ammo...even if I were deer hunting I don't need his advice on what grain a bullet I need and I'm sure you don't either so "Shut Up kid". My experience too with flap heads in sporting goods and thank God it's a countdown to Daytona Uncle Alan. And yes, some people are still using lead shot for duck and goose hunting-not me now because I don't hunt duck and Turkey Season is coming up right soon too. Got to get a few Primos mouth calls!;)
 
Cup hasn't been the same since February, 2001. :(

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I wish I could see more Arca or ASA races, but I can't seem to find them on my basic cable which doesn't include Speedvision.
 
its a dangerous sport am suprised more bad accidents dont happen.


same w/the NHRA, i remember in the old days ('90 or so) a blower blew off a funny car probably 50 ft in the air and only by luck came down on the edge of the track vs the stands, they have straps now to hold them on,

did suck about 3 though.........he was my man in NASCAR.
 
SIFU1A said:
its a dangerous sport am suprised more bad accidents dont happen.


same w/the NHRA, i remember in the old days ('90 or so) a blower blew off a funny car probably 50 ft in the air and only by luck came down on the edge of the track vs the stands, they have straps now to hold them on,

did suck about 3 though.........he was my man in NASCAR.
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I think hard crashes still happen but they don't result in serious injury and death as much as they used to. There has been amazing advances in safety in recent years and I think the HANS devices are one of the better ones (even though they aren't loved by the drivers). HANS might have saved Earnhardt or maybe not since it was reported that part of his restraint system failed. It might have saved some of the other drivers who died from basal skull fractures too, like Adam Petty and (I think) Kenny Irwin.
 
nascar has lost its soul-first they stopped going to the "roots tracks"one body for all company's,just different paint-
a japanese car will soon arrive-

the small guy owner doesnt exist anymore-
they might be going in the right direction with team car limits,but it wont bring me back-

north east dirt track cars with big blocks are whats hot for me
 
rosconey said:
nascar has lost its soul-first they stopped going to the "roots tracks"one body for all company's,just different paint-
a japanese car will soon arrive-

the small guy owner doesnt exist anymore-
they might be going in the right direction with team car limits,but it wont bring me back-

north east dirt track cars with big blocks are whats hot for me
Click to expand...







Big block modifieds & open wheels ,the smell of clutch facings,exotic fuel mixtures & a fine rain of tire rubber falling . Dayum ! Now that's real racing !


Uncle Alan
 
if you ever get up syracuse way on a friday night- brewerton speedway is the place to be-its a short d shape sorta track that runs big block against small blocks-10-15 rows up on turn 4 is as good a place to watch a race as any in america-

its a tight turn that they try to run 4 wide-man its wild-rain of dust dirt rubber and fuel in the air is intoxicating
 
Virginia was one of my sales territories . I was staying over in Richmond to see a large account. Felt lousy all day & lay in my motel bed ,too sick to eat. Looking at the newspaper an item on the sports page caught my eye , " Racing at the Fairgrounds tonight !"
What the heck !
I dressed & drove to the nearby track.

This was the old track & a track it was ! Oiled clay surface, almost zero banking & I believe,3/8 mile in length .
When the green fell ,beating & banging started but for some reason the old coupes seemed more durable & caution causing wrecks were very few.
After getting a dose of noise & smells I settled down & enjoyed a great race. I enjoyed it so much I got hungry enough to consume 2 race track hot dogs. [ brave man ]
The track would actually squioggle in the turns like rubber & as the cars cleared you could see it resume it's shape. Sounds strange but I'm sure some old-timers can remember it. No more oiled tracks said the EPA.

Uncle Alan ;)
 
i was told that brewerton is one of the oldest tracks in america,and it looks it-
race tracks shouldnt look preppy-they should have some scars and show some soul-

we have super dirt week at the ny state fairgrounds also near me-biggest dirt race there is-one week of fun and fumes-

i dont think i will ever give two flying figgs about nascar again-not the same without some good ole boys,and 3 was the last of them-
 
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