Nascars Great American Race 2010: Daytona 500
 

Not that he's my favorite driver. However, I like the chances of the older statesman (Mark Martin) in his Chevy to make that push and finally get the checkered flag at Daytona.

Smoke,JJ and Golden boy will also be in the hunt going down the stretch. Wildcard, will take Jr. to have a strong run.

[url=http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/columns/story?columnist=blount_terry&id=4908485]Some of greatest drivers in NASCAR -- Mark Martin, Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart included -- have never visited Victory Lane at the Daytona 500 - ESPN[/url]

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what is this NASCAR that you speak of?

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[quote=dmek25;663120]what is this NASCAR that you speak of?[/quote]

Seriously. I've tried repeatedly to get into it. I've watched multiple races from start to finish. It's SOOOO boring. My two closest friends are really into it, and go to Dover or Richmond every year. So I want to like it, but it's just not for me. A bunch of left turns. How thrilling. NASCAR could vanish off the face of the earth tomorrow and I wouldn't bat an eye.

I wish Gibbs Racing the best, but that's about it.

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I just read on ESPN.com that a pothole on the track caused 2 1/2 hours of delays in the race. Man, what a thrill.

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I wonder what kind of motors Hendricks is selling Smoke?

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[quote=GMScud;663155]Seriously. I've tried repeatedly to get into it. I've watched multiple races from start to finish. [B][I]It's SOOOO boring[/I][/B]. My two closest friends are really into it, and go to Dover or Richmond every year. So I want to like it, but it's just not for me. A bunch of left turns. How thrilling. NASCAR could vanish off the face of the earth tomorrow and I wouldn't bat an eye.

I wish Gibbs Racing the best, but that's about it.[/quote]

Yep, I agree...or at least I used to feel that way until today. The whole pothole fiasco was a bummer thus [I]forcing[/I] me to consume more adult beverages than originally planned while waiting for the NASCAR "public works" crew to repair the damn thing!

However, I do like the new rules that have allowed the drivers to be more aggresive and toss corporate diplomacy out the hood scoop. And what a finish tonight? That looked like Dale Sr. plowing through the field to come from back in the pack to almost win this marathon. Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I was very pleased to see a very exciting finish after a very long wait.

Re: Nascars Great American Race 2010: Daytona 500
 

[quote=GMScud;663155]Seriously. I've tried repeatedly to get into it. I've watched multiple races from start to finish. It's SOOOO boring. My two closest friends are really into it, and go to Dover or Richmond every year. So I want to like it, but it's just not for me. A bunch of left turns. How thrilling. NASCAR could vanish off the face of the earth tomorrow and I wouldn't bat an eye.

I wish Gibbs Racing the best, but that's about it.[/quote]

Have your friends ever taken you to a race? You should go if you get a chance. Though admittedly, after a few laps it gets a lot mundane. But to hang out with the drivers before hand, and then get right up there on pit row and watch the racing...it's pretty impressive. Best is if you actually get to do a few laps in the car with one of the drivers. Then you won't think it's not thrilling anymore....still, I rarely watch it now that I'm done with it. But I do have a greater appreciation for it than I did just four years ago

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I'm with Scud, this "sport" is a snoozefest. The wrecks appeal to the 10-year-old in me. Other than that, I can think of lots of better ways to spend an afternoon.

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[quote=Dlyne8r;663184]Yep, I agree...or at least I used to feel that way until today. The whole pothole fiasco was a bummer thus [I]forcing[/I] me to consume more adult beverages than originally planned while waiting for the NASCAR "public works" crew to repair the damn thing!

However, I do like the new rules that have allowed the drivers to be more aggresive and toss corporate diplomacy out the hood scoop. And what a finish tonight? That looked like Dale Sr. plowing through the field to come from back in the pack to almost win this marathon. Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I was very pleased to see a very exciting finish after a very long wait.[/quote]
Nice post , I agree with your views . Nascar , is boring to sit through 3 plus hours . However it can have very dramatic endings . For those who have never driven a car with 450 plus horsepower , NASCAR and NHRA Drag Racing would likely seem to be ... left turn... left turn , snooze or " they just drive straight for 5 seconds " . Too each there own , I can't understand the love for golf or even Baseball ... guess it has to do with likes , dislikes and what you did as a kid/teenager .... we need the NFL to start up soon !!!!!

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[quote=SmootSmack;663195]Have your friends ever taken you to a race? You should go if you get a chance. Though admittedly, after a few laps it gets a lot mundane. But to hang out with the drivers before hand, and then get right up there on pit row and watch the racing...it's pretty impressive. Best is if you actually get to do a few laps in the car with one of the drivers. Then you won't think it's not thrilling anymore....still, I rarely watch it now that I'm done with it. But I do have a greater appreciation for it than I did just four years ago[/quote] I'm with Smoot on this , being at the track can be an amazing experience < depending on where you sit ? > . Some friends and I went to a race at Lowes Motorspeedway < N.C. > and sat just before turn 1 , it took me 20 minutes to get used to seeing the cars going towards that " left turn " , at almost 200 mph , then turn the cars at not wreck . As coach Gibbs said , "get in a car , then come see me " . NHRA , ground shaking 100% pure power , I wouldn't go to an event every year , but that is one hell of an experience .

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I enjoy sports like this:

1. Football
2. Basketball
3. Baseball
4. Hockey






5.NASCAR

I too have tried to get into but it just seems boring maybe if more people I knew where into I enjoy it. To add insult to injury Iam huge car nut, I love cars!

If you want to watch real racing in a fun atmosphere check out Sprint Car racing. PA probably has some of the best Sprint Car racing in the country, outside of the Carolinas.

[url=http://www.lincolnspeedway.com/]News & Results[/url]

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[quote=budw38;663203]Nice post , I agree with your views . Nascar , is boring to sit through 3 plus hours . However it can have very dramatic endings . For those who have never driven a car with 450 plus horsepower , NASCAR and NHRA Drag Racing would likely seem to be ... left turn... left turn , snooze or " they just drive straight for 5 seconds " . Too each there own , I can't understand the love for golf or even Baseball ... guess it has to do with likes , dislikes and what you did as a kid/teenager .... we need the NFL to start up soon !!!!![/quote]

That's a good point, too. I hate NASCAR but I love watching golf and sometimes baseball. I think it's because I understand the strategy involved in both those sports because I play/played them. When it comes to cars, I barely know how to change the oil, let alone understand how all the mechanical adjustments come into play.

To many, watching the Masters or US Open probably looks like a schmuck taking forever to smack a ball around a course, just like to me NASCAR just looks like a bunch of left turns. But if I was interested in car mechanics and understood it a bit better, I might have a greater appreciation.

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One great thing about being at a NASCAR race is the level of access the common fan gets to the drivers right up until the start of the race. You don't get that in many other sports.

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[quote=budw38;663203]Nice post , I agree with your views . Nascar , is boring to sit through 3 plus hours . However it can have very dramatic endings . [B]For those who have never driven a car with 450 plus horsepower [/B], NASCAR and NHRA Drag Racing would likely seem to be ... left turn... left turn , snooze or " they just drive straight for 5 seconds " . Too each there own , I can't understand the love for golf or even Baseball ... guess it has to do with likes , dislikes and what you did as a kid/teenager .... we need the NFL to start up soon !!!!![/quote]

To further appreciate this sport, and possibly even begin to actually "like" it, try enrolling in one of the driving schools (i.e.- Petty Driving Experience, etc.). Once you strap on a detuned Cup car with approx. 600 hp and drive [I][B]ALONE[/B][/I] around a superspeedway for about a 1/2-dozen laps...well, let me know what you think of NASCAR then. It took me two full laps for my right foot to stop shaking on the gas pedal as I followed a professional driver around Atlanta Motor Speedway at speeds upward of 150 mph +. Thrill of a lifetime and only second to riding shotgun in an F-15 I would imagine.

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NASCAR is like boxing. Ask a NASCAR fan how was the race and they will say exciting it had a bunch of wrecks. Ask a hockey fan how was the game and they will say exciting it had a bunch of fights. I actually can watch some Nascar as like last night I cut over to it just as they started racing after the second pot hole so I saw the exciting part minus the other 5 hrs.

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[quote=mredskins;663205]
If you want to watch real racing in a fun atmosphere check out Sprint Car racing. PA probably has some of the best Sprint Car racing in the country, outside of the Carolinas.

[URL="http://www.lincolnspeedway.com/"]News & Results[/URL][/quote]

or that Madhouse racing down in north carolina on the history channel.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7NwBqEcMeQ&feature=PlayList&p=FE37DAF08BFBBA67&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=1]YouTube - Burt Myers vs. Junior Miller[/ame]

yeeehhaawww!

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Forgot to mention, and if anyone cares...Jr. is a huge Redskin fan. I was really hoping he would drive for Joe Gibbs when he departed DEI a couple of years ago, just not behind the wheel of a Toyota. Guess those Toyota drivers didn't care last night if [I]their[/I] throttles got stuck!!

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[quote=Schneed10;663206]That's a good point, too. I hate NASCAR but I love watching golf and sometimes baseball. I think it's because I understand the strategy involved in both those sports because I play/played them. When it comes to cars, I barely know how to change the oil, let alone understand how all the mechanical adjustments come into play.

To many, watching the Masters or US Open probably looks like a schmuck taking forever to smack a ball around a course, just like to me NASCAR just looks like a bunch of left turns. But if I was interested in car mechanics and understood it a bit better, I might have a greater appreciation.[/quote] You " hate " NASCAR .... you don't like fast cars , do you Schneed :) . I can't sit for hours on end , truth is the only sports I can actually sit and watch are football and Mixed Martial Arts .... sometimes ... womens beach volleyball ... I just love the bikin... err I mean the competion :) . As far as golf , I appreciate the sport , I just have no patience and get bored easily . Just please do NOT take your daily driver to a NASCAR race and try and " block " them .... they really are moving too fast to stop :)

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[quote=Dlyne8r;663209]To further appreciate this sport, and possibly even begin to actually "like" it, try enrolling in one of the driving schools (i.e.- Petty Driving Experience, etc.). Once you strap on a detuned Cup car with approx. 600 hp and drive [I][B]ALONE[/B][/I] around a superspeedway for about a 1/2-dozen laps...well, let me know what you think of NASCAR then. It took me two full laps for my right foot to stop shaking on the gas pedal as I followed a professional driver around Atlanta Motor Speedway at speeds upward of 150 mph +. Thrill of a lifetime and only second to riding shotgun in an F-15 I would imagine.[/quote] Man , I would love to go up in an F-15 ... that would be an awesome ride !!!

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For the record NASCAR runs around 750 hp.

[url=http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question588.htm]HowStuffWorks "What makes NASCAR engines different from street car engines?"[/url]

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[quote=mredskins;663263]For the record NASCAR runs around 750 hp.

[url=http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question588.htm]HowStuffWorks "What makes NASCAR engines different from street car engines?"[/url][/quote]

True. But for what must be liability concerns, these NASCAR driving schools offer watered-down race cars that have only about 600-650 hp. At least this is what was told to my class before we took the ride of our lives. We were also told that the cars were former "Nationwide" competitors which probably have fewer ponies under the hood among other differences.

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Couple of folks were throwing around hp numbers. I was not sure myself but felt like they were in 800hp range so I looked it up.

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How about .... 8,000 hp cars ....[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzTB0vxprgs]YouTube - NHRA Las Vegas 2007 Top Fuel Funny Car Night Qualifying[/url]. That is some serious HP !!

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[quote=budw38;663272]How about .... 8,000 hp cars ....[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzTB0vxprgs"]YouTube - NHRA Las Vegas 2007 Top Fuel Funny Car Night Qualifying[/URL]. That is some serious HP !![/quote]

I'd love to go for a run in one of those car with some pro driving or fly in a fighter jet.

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[quote=firstdown;663277]I'd love to go for a run in one of those car with some pro driving or fly in a fighter jet.[/quote]
Kill two birds with one stone.................[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo1STWNnThQ[/ame] It's not a fighter jet , but close .

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I'm a fairly casual NASCAR fan, went to Richmond a few years ago for a race. But it's fairly boring to watch a track like Daytona because it's so long. Normally I'll watch the starting 10-20 laps and the last 10-20 laps because anything and everything you need to know will be in those laps.

Nice to see McMurray win a race, nice to see Junior make a charge, and nice to see NASCAR using the three strikes method to end a race under green flag racing. However, I spent most of the afternoon flipping between watching Duval make his charge at Pebble Beach and the Winter Olympics because of the pothole issue(s).

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[quote=budw38;663346]Kill two birds with one stone.................[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo1STWNnThQ]YouTube - Truck jet Vs Plane[/url] It's not a fighter jet , but close .[/quote]

lol I saw that thing a few years ago at an air show in MA and it was insane

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[quote=Mattyk;663430]lol I saw that thing a few years ago at an air show in MA and it was insane[/quote]
One of my friends got some tickets to a drag race at MIR , they had a Jet Truck .... as you said INSANE !!!!