As most of you know, I'm an avid NASCAR fan but over the past few years, I've become less and less enchanted but now, I'm just plain frustrated, disgusted, and even bored!
First, Talladega: When is NASCAR going to do something about the "Big One"? Actually, it's not a Big One anymore, but Big OneS, plural, in the last ten laps with cars flipping end over end, drivers deliberately hanging back in 30th place, and 43 cars strung single-file around a 2-1/2 mile track. Is this exciting? Is this the best racing in the world? NO, NO, and NO again. Lives are endangered, the racing is boring, and getting through Talladega is more a question of luck than having a great-handling, fast car with a talented driver. Oh! but I forgot, NASCAR isn't necessarily interested in that - it's more interested in the Money, and lots of it. To hell with the fans and good racing!
Second, Texas: Just another example of the cookie-cutter 1-1/2 tracks across the mid-west and western United States that NASCAR promotes while dismissing the exciting short tracks across the South like Rockingham, Darlington, North Wilkesboro. Maybe I'm old school, but Chicago, Texas, Fontana, Phoenix, Kansas, are YAWN! But who owns these tracks? ISC wouldn't have an interest, would it? And of course, the France Family has an interest in ISC. MO' Money!!!
Third, Phoenix: It's ABC that I'm mad at with this race. With 43 cars in the race, the only two that mattered (at least to ABC and the commentators) were the leader and Jimmie Johnson. Actually, I only think Jimmie Johnson mattered. HEY GUYS!!! Guess what? There are fans out there who's favorite driver is not in the chase, and is not Jimmie Johnson. How about some shots of other drivers? Another YAWN! broadcast focusing on the Chase drivers to the exclusion of the other 31. I'm sure Homestead will bring more of the same.
Well, I've vented - thank you for letting me unload all of that. I've been considering what can I do to resist NASCAR's dictates that lead to boring races and ABC's spectacle-building that lead to a boring broadcast of a boring race. Of course, I can just not watch, but will that make a difference? I think next year, I'm going to patronize my local short tracks for good, old-fashioned Saturday night stock car racing. Racing, bumping, tempers, what it's all suppose to be - not big dollars, big sponsors, and the almighty buck! I understand racing can't operate without money but somewhere down the line, the money's become more important than the fans and guess what, no amount of money can make up for disenchanged fans. Maybe NASCAR is feeling the pinch since attendance is obviously down with all those empty seats I'm seeing every week; will they wake up and do something different? Or better yet, go back to their roots and what made it grow?
So I'm calling on NASCAR fans everywhere to email NASCAR, ESPN, ABC, your favorite driver, the team owner, the sponsors, everyone involved, and let them know how boring racing has become and that WE ARE MAD AS HELL AND AREN'T GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!
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Well said! Of course, I don't watch racing so I don't know what the issues are with it. :) I know this could tie in with the class somehow, but I'm not sure how.
ReplyDeleteOkay I don't watch NASCAR that much, but I do see them flipping over each other on youtube and such. I don't understand why the racers keep doing it. Doesn't many of the drivers get hurt? Also NASCAR should keep in mind that if their races are so boring that more people will street race and that can lead to deaths of innocent people. I guess what I am saying is that NASCAR should find safer ways to race, and I agree that they should find a way to make the races more interesting. I think that I might look for some NASCAR races to watch.
ReplyDeleteSomebody has got to help me out. I just don’t understand the point of NASCAR. What is the appeal of driving around a track 500 times for hours upon hours? How can people watch it for hours upon hours? All it seems to be to me is a waste of time and money.
ReplyDeleteReally, how can people sit for a whole afternoon watching cars go around a track 500 times? I have tried to watch it but half a lap and I am bored. There are no cool facts or anything interesting going on; all the commentators do is bore you. I also have yet to see how a whole season of it can be fun.
I also don’t understand why people are willing to spend so much money on it. Now I understand that people will always spend money on events but it costs so much to put on NASCAR. People complain about oil but think of how much NASCAR uses, and also the tires and when they have to fix their cars.
Also, what constitutes NASCAR as a sport? How hard can it be to push the gas pedal and turn the wheel? It is so much harder to run through ten huge guys with pads on because you have the ball.
NASCAR seems to be a waste of everything.
Funny how with all the venting I've done here, I got the most responses, mostly negative, about NASCAR. All I can say is that trying to watch it without any knowledge of the sport is very boring. It is only when you can watch with someone who can point out what's going on, that it can be interesting . . . it's not quite like football. With football, you may not understand any of the plays, but you understand the object is to get the ball down the field; you don't even have to understand the down system, etc. I guess it all boils down to: to each her own!
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