#249980 - 20/02/2005 20:20
What is the appeal of NASCAR?
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addict
Registered: 23/09/2000
Posts: 498
Loc: Virginia, USA
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I don't get it. Can someone explain?
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#249981 - 20/02/2005 21:02
Re: What is the appeal of NASCAR?
[Re: Dylan]
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veteran
Registered: 21/01/2002
Posts: 1380
Loc: Erie, CO
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The wrecks, of course! Being from Virginia you should know this!
Just kidding, I don't really understand it either, but there is some kind of strategy involved in a race, and I've heard being at one is much better than watching it on TV. I'd rather be out doing something however.
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#249982 - 20/02/2005 21:04
Re: What is the appeal of NASCAR?
[Re: Dylan]
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enthusiast
Registered: 27/09/1999
Posts: 200
Loc: Berkeley, CA
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No.
Except...
Two races a year. Watkins Glen and Sears Point. Then you get to watch them try to turn right. All the "Big Name" NASCAR drivers get trashed by the road racers that come to play in those big tanks.
And the idiot announcers don't have a clue about road racing... that can be almost as funny as the race itself. They had a pedal-cam on Ricky Rudd a few years ago. He was balancing the car with left-foot braking through the esses at Sears, and the announcer commented on him "checking to see if the brakes were there."
_________________________
-Zandr
Mk.IIa #010101243 currently getting a 500GB SSD. More spares in the shed.
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#249983 - 20/02/2005 22:40
Re: What is the appeal of NASCAR?
[Re: Dylan]
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old hand
Registered: 15/02/2002
Posts: 1049
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Well, I've never understood it either. A couple of years ago, a friend of mine got me to try EA's Nascar 2003, which is a racing simulation based on the Papyrus simulation engine.
These cars are *extremely* difficult to drive, even on an oval or "tri-oval" track. They have so much power, and relatively little of the aerodynamic assistance of the open-wheeled, winged cars. After driving this simulator for a while, I really appricate the incredible skill of the drivers and the teams. I still prefer road racing, but there is a lot more to Nascar that meets the eye.
Watkins Glen is definitely the best...
Jim
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#249984 - 21/02/2005 01:02
Re: What is the appeal of NASCAR?
[Re: TigerJimmy]
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enthusiast
Registered: 27/09/1999
Posts: 200
Loc: Berkeley, CA
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Quote:
Well, I've never understood it either. A couple of years ago, a friend of mine got me to try EA's Nascar 2003, which is a racing simulation based on the Papyrus simulation engine.
Having gathered a lot of seat time at Thunderhill, Laguna Seca, Sears Point, and Buttonwillow over the last 8 years, I just don't think you can judge anything by a game, no matter how good. It's much, much easier for me to get around Laguna in a real Miata than the Miata in GT3. Never mind an F50.
Quote:
They have so much power, and relatively little of the aerodynamic assistance of the open-wheeled, winged cars.
Did you see the "Tradin' Paint" thing that Speed TV did a couple of years back? They took Jeff Gordon and Juan Pablo Montoya out to the road course at Indy and had them trade cars. Montoya came back laughing, talking about how the car didn't stick worth a damn, but it was fun to slide around. Gordon was barely able to speak when he got out of the Williams/BMW.
Quote:
Watkins Glen is definitely the best...
Since they built the 'chute' at Sears, I agree. Watching the NASCAR boys try to carry speed through the Carousel was a riot. 
-Z
_________________________
-Zandr
Mk.IIa #010101243 currently getting a 500GB SSD. More spares in the shed.
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#249985 - 21/02/2005 01:24
Re: What is the appeal of NASCAR?
[Re: TigerJimmy]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 27/06/1999
Posts: 7058
Loc: Pittsburgh, PA
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Quote:
Well, I've never understood it either. A couple of years ago, a friend of mine got me to try EA's Nascar 2003, which is a racing simulation based on the Papyrus simulation engine.
Hmm. Sounds neat, so I Googled it, and lo and behold, I found the source code to said engine, the main loop of which appears below:
Code:
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
// main racing loop
int miles=0;
while ( miles < 500 )
{
int turn=0;
int place;
while ( turn < 4 )
{
if ( !avoid_wreck() )
{
exit_vehicle();
stop_drop_and_roll();
abort();
}
chew_tobacco();
turn_left();
turn++;
}
miles++;
}
if ( place == 1 )
{
do_victory_lap();
drink_budweiser();
exit(1);
}
else
{
drink_budweiser_and_swear_loudly();
exit(0);
}
}
DMCA be damned!
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#249986 - 21/02/2005 02:41
Re: What is the appeal of NASCAR?
[Re: Dylan]
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old hand
Registered: 14/02/2002
Posts: 804
Loc: Salt Lake City, UT
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I wish I could explain it, but I love it. It is of course best when your favorite driver wins! Today was a good day for me. They say you can't understand it until you go, so maybe thats the solution to your problem?  As to the road races, I disagree about NASCAR's best getting trashed.. Lets see.. Jeff Gordon (3x Daytona winner, 4x Cup Champion) has won at Sears Point 4 times, and at Watkins Glen 4 times, including sweeping both races in 98 and 99. Boris Said, one of the "Road experts" finished 27th today at Daytona, 5 laps down. Everyone behind him was involved in major accidents (he did get very minor damage in one wreck). I was glad to see Boris race in Daytona, trying to broaden his career, but he is not at the level everyone else is yet. Last year the 2 road courses were won by Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, two of NASCAR's best.
_________________________
-Michael
#040103696 on a shelf
Mk2a - 90 GB - Red - Illuminated buttons
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#249987 - 21/02/2005 04:12
Re: What is the appeal of NASCAR?
[Re: tonyc]
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old hand
Registered: 15/02/2002
Posts: 1049
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#249988 - 21/02/2005 14:01
Re: What is the appeal of NASCAR?
[Re: cushman]
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addict
Registered: 23/09/2000
Posts: 498
Loc: Virginia, USA
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Quote:
Being from Virginia you should know this!
Shhhh! Don't tell anyone.
Actually, Virginia is like two states. There's "Northern Virginia" (really NE) which are extended suburbs of Washington DC and then there is the rest of the state which is full of a bunch of rednecks (just kidding!... sorta). There's a red state/blue state type of animosity between the two parts that I didn't fully realize until I went to school at the University of Virginia which drawls about equally from both parts.
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#249989 - 21/02/2005 14:03
Re: What is the appeal of NASCAR?
[Re: Waterman981]
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addict
Registered: 23/09/2000
Posts: 498
Loc: Virginia, USA
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I've noticed a similiarity between NASCAR and pro wrestling and they both mystify me and seem to appeal to the same crowd.
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#249990 - 21/02/2005 15:16
Re: What is the appeal of NASCAR?
[Re: Dylan]
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addict
Registered: 27/12/2001
Posts: 441
Loc: Central, NC, USA
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While working at the bar yesterday in central North Carolina, Carrboro, I had the race on. We were having a discussion on why NASCAR is so popular when all thay do is drive into the corners left all the time and all pit at the same time. Most of everyones opinion during the race was that it is a boring sport with no actual "sporting" merit.
As the race ended everyone was excited about the race. There was a African-american there that was especially critical of the whole NASCAR thing. He said that he would never like this "sport", there is no scoring or and besides you need a ball to play a sport. At the end of the race he was one of the most vocal in praise for the great finish of this race. He never expected the general defensive blocking and offensive bumping that the end of the race brought. I explained to him that 80% of the race is sizing up your opponents, trying to gain an advantage by "saving your car" and not blowing/crashing up your ride while gaining positions on the track. The last 20% of the race is where you finish the race off by all means necessary to get that $1.5million. At the end he said that that he never expected the NASCAR race to be just like any other sport, in basketball you try to do anything you can to get control of the ball back within the limits of the refs giving you a foul, using hands, elbows etc to hit your opponent. He was amazed...
Sean in NC
"Im not really a NASCAR fan..."
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#249991 - 21/02/2005 16:28
Re: What is the appeal of NASCAR?
[Re: Micman2b]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Where do you work? I should drop by for lunch one day and say hey.
But, back on topic, I've lived all my 31 years in Raleigh and I have yet to understand what is interesting about NASCAR. I'm not a big fan of sports in general, but I can understand the appeal of F1, et. al., but watching cars drive in circles for 500 miles is just dull. I also dislike the association of people waiting for someone to get hurt.
I don't doubt the skill of the guys driving the car, but I also wouldn't doubt the skill of someone who could balance a needle upright on his eyeball for 5 hours. Doesn't mean I want to watch it.
_________________________
Bitt Faulk
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