F1 lament-- may I suggest

[racer10]

I am reading more and more now of people lamenting about the present situation of Formula 1. As much as I enjoy the formula, I must say I know where you are coming from. Now, I am not trying to convert anyon but May I suggest a bit of a solution. What I am about to present to you may be a bit too much for some, but please keep an open mind. NASCAR. Thats right the yanks number 1 form of racing. It offers a solution to everything that is wrong with Formula 1. You want overtaking? NASCAR offers tons of it! You want drivers that are extremely accessable? Most of these would love to chat with you and sit down and drink a brewsky depending on the drivers preference to alcohol. You want a sanctioning body that can police activity? Try NASCAR. The cars are so close, at the end of a 500 mile race, many times the 43 car field is still within 3 seconds of each other! Versus a Formula 1 race where 8 cars finish on average and 4 of those are a lap down. (Exaggerated a bit I know) Speedways that are easily accessable, and you can see the whole track, not just a straightaway or chicane. NASCAR offers Superior television coverage. They interview everybody who made noise in the event. NASCAR has Drivers with personality. These guys tell jokes, cut up, and sometimes actually show emotion! Imagine that. THey actually care if they have a bad race! That is limited only to Hakkinnen and Schumi anymore. These are a few of the I like NASCAR. Trust me, their are many, many more.

Anyways, I am sure I will get some feedback, and frankly I feel quite defenseless. But give it a try and I think you will agree with me. Hey, I really like the formula. But its just so.....I dont know, just isnt getting it done sometimes. CIAO

[TimD]

NASCAR has been duly noted, my friend. Indeed, I consider it an essential part of my balanced motor sport diet. But I wouldn't necessarily regard it as an F1 substitute, rather a wonderful different flavour.

One thing I should say, which may startle you though. You mentioned the allround accessibility of NASCAR. This may well be true in the US, but in Britain, the picture is a little different. An average Winston Cup weekend will be noted with a three-inch column in Autosport, including results to tenth. If we are lucky, the Eurosport satellite TV will broadcast edited portions of the race late on Sunday night, or at random times during the following week. This coverage will be narrated by a commentator with little or no background information, let alone an informed stateside pundit. Interviews are highly unlikely, even with the winner. Another channel will show perhaps one in every five Busch GN races.

It's better than nothing. Before 1994, that's precisely what we got. Nothing.

And as for late-model modifieds, which I know are your specialist subject, I have never, ever in my life seen any footage of them racing at all.

Someone tell Eurosport that there are a huge number of American tin-top series which are worthy of coverage - and I'm getting weary of the Swiss Formula 3 Championship...

In the meantime, don't get me wrong. I love NASCAR, but I'm still praying for a renaissance in Formula 1.

[Jared]

racer10, I am a fan of all types of racing, NASCAR included, and have several family members who worked on a Winston Cup championship-winning crew.

(First thing's first: watch out about saying NASCAR frequently around here, it's considered by some as one of those four-letter words.)

NASCAR does things a bit different than other forms of racing. In CART and F1, you get your chassis, you get your engines, you get your drivers, and if you're not good enough or fast enough, you're SOL. The reason NASCAR is so close is that they adjust the rules to make all teams and cars competitive, regardless of how good they really are. (Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying that people in NASCAR don't work hard or aren't good, just that the best have their skill and hard work ruined by an arbitrary rules change, all in the name of parity.) To me, this is not real racing. However, it is entertaining.

NASCAR can and does police the cars very well. However, comparing F1 cars to NASCAR cars is like comparing apples and oranges. NASCAR does not allow the complex electronic systems F1 cars use. And with the increased technology comes the increased chances of cheating via the electronics, such as traction control, active suspension, etc.

And about the accessability of the drivers: True, they are easier to see than trying to peer over walls around the F1 paddocks, but in reality, they are almost as inaccessable. From the early days of the sport, this was true; Richard Petty used to sign autographs for several hours after a race. However, with the current influx of sponsorship money, the increased popularity and the increased demands on a driver's time, they are almost impossible to see. They are either debriefing with their crew, schmoozing with the sponsors in the corporate suites, or hiding out in their million-dollar motorcoaches.

[Liz]

I am not a fan of NASCAR and would rather not watch racing at all than watch them.

But I would recommend Champ Cars (CART) as a viable alternative in the open wheel racing format - the cars are somewhat standardized too, with a limited number of chassis and engine permutations and certain limitations on how the cars can be modified. (They also run on slicks and use turbos.) This has resulted in the closest racing series and is very exciting racing to watch - and in this case the pilots are indeed accessible and friendly to everyone as time permits. There are a mixed number of road and oval courses, super speedways and street courses, and they cover countries all over the world and have a good mix of nationalities in the cars, all of whom are surpassingly good racers (well, except one or two). Anyone who loves open wheel racing the way it used to be should check Champ Cars.