The Nascar Thread

[auramaster]

It's the 2nd most watched sport in America, behind only Football. I can't be the only one who likes it :)

This is for serious discussions about Nascar. Not a place to complain about how "turning left for 4 hours is boring". Not a place to complain about new rule changes, or Kyle Busch's attitude, or JJ winning 5 championships in a row.


Anyway, a new year is about to begin! Kasey Kahne's with a new team, Hendrick changed Crew Chiefs for everyone except Jimmie, Kyle Busch claims he's more mature, Roush Fenway is back to fight for the title, and Jimmie Johnson is going for an unbelievable 6 championships in a row. Can anyone stop him? Who will make the Chase? What rivalries will develop or reignite after last years near-constant feuding? Discuss!

 

[Flamestrike]

I've watched both and enjoy both, though I haven't seen F1 in a while (not since Schumacher retired anyway). That being said, there's no chance in hell F1 has more crashes, and while I'll admit it takes a very different set of skills (and arguably more skill in general) to succeed in F1, you can't honestly believe that just anyone can race around a track at 180+ MPH with other cars often mere inches away from you. Not to mention that F1 races are usually decided halfway through because the cars get so spaced out. Real fun watching cars do laps with a pass every 3 or 4 laps. At least in NASCAR there's always action somewhere.

It's hard for me to talk about NASCAR without complaining about either Johnson being hailed as a racing god for his 5 championships or the Chase which has almost singlehandedly resulted in those 5 championships. I'm curious to see how the new points system works out; I never understood why they felt the need to make it so confusing originally. This will make it a lot easier for more casual fans to follow along. As for contenders, Edwards was looking good at the end of last year, Kyle Busch looks ready to bounce back, and of course Hamiln, Harvick and especially Johnson have to be considered front-runners.

That all being said as a Jeff Gordon fan here's hoping he can finally win a Chase championship and make up for the fact that without it he'd be a 6-time champ instead of a 4-time champ -_-

 

[Flamestrike]

Yeah, he's driving now, but he retired in 2007 before coming back in 2009. Clearly you haven't been watching very long.

 

[J-man]

Nascar is dead to me... I've lost interest because Mr. Brian France has royally screwed with Nascar's core fanbase and they ain't happy. I don't personally like being told that we like all this garbage they throw at us (the chase, Drivers speaking out on problems we core fans have been talking about for longer than they first said them). A good example are the "Phantom Debris Cautions" that they throw out (i still hold it personal against them for robbing Jeff Gordon of a race he deserved to win at Martinsville last spring), or the idiotic attempt to make the sport "safe" by making restrictor plate racing boring... It reminds me of dictatorships....

 

[DM]

Not a place to complain about new rule changes, or Kyle Busch's attitude, or JJ winning 5 championships in a row.

Then where am I supposed to complain about that stuff? :cloud:

 

[Kurtrill]

nascar is great, i chill with my good friend cleavis at his trailer park and we all gather around and have a nice barbaque. one guy owns a 42 inch plasma screen TV which is a good 3 ft and 6 inch screen. sucker weighs about 250 lbs but we bring it outside and hook it up and gather around

anyway, hendrick might have trouble with them there crew cheif changes but you seriously never know, change might be better, and he might do better this time around compared to jimmie

 

[DM]

I really want to hate JJ for repeatedly winning, but he's just so damned likable. I mean, rather him than Jeff Douchenozzle Gordon.

 

[Every1XplodeNOW]

I'm really looking forward to this season, I'm hoping Harvick can beat JJ this year. But something I'm looking foward to the most is Paul Menard. Now that he's with a pretty good team, I wonder how well he will do...

 

[Veedrock]

The key to watching Nascar is to multitask. I don't know anybody to sit there focusing their entire attention on the race.

I haven't actually watched Nascar in awhile (Johnson bugs me -.\\), but I find the games to be the best of simulator racers. The problem with Forza, GT, and PGR is that the tracks demand an inhuman management of breaking and accelerating to make such consecutive turns, since the tracks are pretty inconsistent. You never really get to go fast. It's more frustrating than fun; I'd much rather hold the accelerator and go, which is why kart games are pretty enjoyable (despite crazy turns the physics makes them manageable).

Nascar games may just be going in a circle but it's pretty intense when the slightest error can send you smashing into the wall or another car; there's a lot of pressure when trying to pass the guy in front of you, because such an error can effectively cost you the entire race. Of course this is only really nice when you play with a wheel, joysticks don't have the necessary precision to handle such subtle steering tweaks. I'm not going to deny that it gets stale after a while but it's not as if other simulator racers stay fresh with time either. Nascar 07 was my favorite game in the series.

A bit off topic since it doesn't directly relate to the real life Nascar :x Go Gordon!

 

[Flamestrike]

The key to watching Nascar is to multitask. I don't know anybody to sit there focusing their entire attention on the race.

I haven't actually watched Nascar in awhile (Johnson bugs me -.\\), but I find the games to be the best of simulator racers. The problem with Forza, GT, and PGR is that the tracks demand an inhuman management of breaking and accelerating to make such consecutive turns, since the tracks are pretty inconsistent. You never really get to go fast. It's more frustrating than fun; I'd much rather hold the accelerator and go, which is why kart games are pretty enjoyable (despite crazy turns the physics makes them manageable).

Nascar games may just be going in a circle but it's pretty intense when the slightest error can send you smashing into the wall or another car; there's a lot of pressure when trying to pass the guy in front of you, because such an error can effectively cost you the entire race. Of course this is only really nice when you play with a wheel, joysticks don't have the necessary precision to handle such subtle steering tweaks. I'm not going to deny that it gets stale after a while but it's not as if other simulator racers stay fresh with time either. Nascar 07 was my favorite game in the series.

A bit off topic since it doesn't directly relate to the real life Nascar :x Go Gordon!

I grew up on racing games and NASCAR ones were always my favourites. I was disappointed when I found out they hadn't made one for 2010, so I'm anxiously waiting for the new one coming out. Should be interesting to see a non-EA game for a change. /off-topic

Anyone have predictions for Daytona? Shootout Saturday night, should be fun. Here's hoping Gordon can start off the season strong, though I can't help but feel we're in for another winless season :/

 

[auramaster]

For Daytona, I think Harvick and McMurray are the favorites. However, given the unpredictable nature of restrictor-plate tracks, almost anyone could win. I'm also hoping Gordon will come back, though it may take a while for him and Gustafson to get their chemistry right. Expecting them to go on a hot streak around late April and start winning some races.

Also, is anyone interested in having a Smogon Fantasy league? I could host a group on Yahoo! or another site, if you want.

 

[Steamroll]

Major bump but whatever.

Chase predictions?

It's about the time of year where people can start making more accurate predictions on who is likely to get into the chase or not.

Here's mine in no particular order for the top 10:
-Kyle Busch
-Brad Keselowski
-Carl Edwards
-Jimmie Johnson
-Ryan Newman
-Kurt Busch
-Jeff Gordon
-Matt Kenseth
-Kevin Harvick
-Tony Stewart

and the wild cards:
First: Denny Hamlin
Second: Paul Menard

I just think everyone ahead of 7th in the points is pretty much set but 8-10 and WC1 and 2 are still unknown. For how hot Keselowski is now he'll earn is way into the chase by points and not wins.