Junior Criticizes NASCAR/State of NASCAR

[fieldodreams79]

Junior's Comments and Reactions

i must say i agree, that the only good finishes since the COTerrible are mostly manufactured.
when his daddy spoke, nascar and everyone listiened....
JR doesn't have the cred that Pops had and granted, if it was coming from Tony S or JJ, maybe it would carry more wait, but....
Robin P and nascar are full of it on this one, IMO.

Mikey H's reaction

"Helton doesn't think springing major technical changes on cash-strapped racing teams is a good idea"

what? like the COT?

me myself....i like the double file restarts; they've been great.
i've got to go with Smoke on this....i'm not smart enough to fix the problem (if there is one), but over the last couple of years, most races are a bore, have been lengthened by unnecessary cautions and are only good if nascar throws the BS late caution(s) to "give someone else a shot"; it's all they got.....late cautions with the double file restarts.

myself and other "lifelong" nascar fans are sick of the BS and found better racing and smarter management among other fendered car racing series (too bad some of the best recieve no coverage in america...use to).

so what do we think boys and girls??

[Knowlesy]

Genuinely don't think it's that bad.

I do agre that the CoT has had an adverse effect on the racing, however it is still enjoyable. And the BS cautions aren't that prevalent surely?

There is work to do to improve things, and the double file restarts have helped a lot, but it's not the disaster people make out.

[fieldodreams79]

the cautions have gotten out of hand, IMO.

it may not be a "disaster", but i have found more interest and enjoyment out of watching 3 month old ASA races replayed on late night cable. it's just better racing.

i should be baffled at why and how a series that has done so well for 60 years is starting to lose fans, but its plain to see.

[Dutton]

The mystery cautions are quite prevalent, in my opinion. A closely related caution issue is the inconsistency of what seems to merit cautions. Things appear to vary depending on the race scenario. It may be I am being overly cynical and seeing things where, in fact, they are not present, but , for me, it far from always adds up.

As for the racing in general, I have no problem with it. The aspect of the COT that has irked me a bit is that it has made everything so much more stringent from the technical stand-point (not that there was much freedom to start with!).

I'd prioritise increasing track variety over fiddling with the car, myself. How many 1.5-mile cookie cutters do we need?

[fieldodreams79]

cautions are dictated by NASCAR take on circumstance, you are right.

the COTerrible is what broke the camel's back for me after the move towards the cookie cutters. i was excited about the COT; it looked like a proper saloon racecar..... well, OK....more so than the old windtunneled stocker did. but it has made the race bland everywhere, not just at the bland tracks.

i agree that if they change some of the tracks they go to, that the racing will improve.....unfortunately, that is NOT going to happen.

[MJ_N_09]

If JR of all people, one of Nascar's biggest lapdogs, says this....well I guess that's enough proof to me that the new car sucks.


If JR isn't happy to be here, then neither will his fans. Afterall, the will follow him no matter what. That's the biggest part of the fanbase right now.

[Matt]

Junior is prepared for total failure now anyways. Anyone else notice that he had a baseball cap already on after he wrecked last week?

[fieldodreams79]

so if anyone else (say JPM or Jeffey G.) made these comments, it would be different then, right?

and i guess the two of you love nascar just the way it is, right?

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by Matt

Junior is prepared for total failure now anyways. Anyone else notice that he had a baseball cap already on after he wrecked last week?

Yes

Why the heck do you take a cap in your car?

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by FIRE

Yes

Why the heck do you take a cap in your car?

sponser's orders maybe, but i think just about everyone has their caps stowed in the car these days...and yes, most of them grab at the end of the race instead at the end of their day.

where do they keep it, i wonder?

[gttouring]

how hard can it be to fix the COT?
and what is the main complaint? i would for starter drop that wing, and give them a spoiler, i don't think the wing works like they want it to.
and that shouldn't cost much. and as far as the bump stops complaints go, just take them out, or cut them in half and see what happens

[R59]

You notice the big complaints come from people who haven't been able to make the car work for them.

Overall, it appears that the CoT has been easier to make *fairly* competitive by most teams, compared to the old car (with 457 different variations on their chassis/body to cover each track).

Now they have one car for all, which *must* be a major cost saving. No more short track cars, no more super-speedway cars, no more road course cars, no more Charlotte cars, no more Pocono cars - just one car - IIRC they have reduced to three or four cars per team on average, from as many as nine cars for top teams previously.

The CoT seems much more stable than the old car, which means they can run closer together, and race more - not less.

However, there does seem to be a few people who have mastered the setup better than others, and they have been running away more.

Perhaps the obvious extra cautions are a product of that, and hopefully, as more teams get to fully grips with the CoT, then the perceived (by NASCAR) need for those "debris in turn 4" (M&M wrapper, or similar) cautions will disappear.

Jr needs to stop *****ing and get his setup right before the race starts, not on the last tank of gas or set of boots when he's two laps down. If he's still working on last year's setup data, then he's not going to be competitive until next year. When he's in victory lane, he'll stop throwing his teddy out of his pram.

[Cynic]

This thread could just as easily be called 'Earnhardt *****es about the fact that he's not winning'. As far as I can see from the article all he's actually said is that the racing isn't good and he thinks the car needs improving, but he curiously fails to go into specifics.

For sure the COT isn't perfect - for a start it's still fugly, and they definitely need to do something about the front splitter cutting tyres, but I agree that the problem is that some teams have got a better handle on it than others. For example, if three drivers on a team can make it work and the fourth can't - even after trying a different crew chief - what would you say the logical conclusion is?

[gomick]

Originally Posted by FIRE

Yes

Why the heck do you take a cap in your car?

There hair, thats it - the drivers are worried about having a bad hair day once they take there helmets off

[fieldodreams79]

the COT hasn't brought close racing at all...has there been a door banging finish since they introduced it?

sure JR is just like his daddy; complains about something in the series when he ain't winning...can we look past that?
his comments are merely a lead into what i myself find as a series that is becoming a completely bland and boring.

the CoT is only one of the issues i see with the series, but it seems to be the main one. nascar feels that it needs gimics to make it interesting, no?

[MJ_N_09]

I just wish that Debris cautions weren't thrown at all, or at every oppertunity. Michigan was just fine without them.

[Dutton]

Originally Posted by R59

Overall, it appears that the CoT has been easier to make *fairly* competitive by most teams, compared to the old car (with 457 different variations on their chassis/body to cover each track).

Now they have one car for all[.] No more short track cars, no more super-speedway cars, no more road course cars, no more Charlotte cars, no more Pocono cars - just one car - IIRC they have reduced to three or four cars per team on average, from as many as nine cars for top teams previously.

Perhaps the obvious extra cautions are a product of that, and hopefully, as more teams get to fully grips with the CoT, then the perceived (by NASCAR) need for those "debris in turn 4" (M&M wrapper, or similar) cautions will disappear.

It is the loss of variation (limited as it was before the COT [which it was]!) which has been the negative aspect of the COT, for me.

Additional cautions? I would say a few could be accounted to the double-file restarts in very recent times (and am absolutely ecstatic this has been introduced, and wish other series around would take note), but that will reduce as times goes on. From an overall COT perspective? I'm not sure you could account yellows directly to the COT. Putting on the cynical hat, it could be suggested stringing out increases the chance of mystery cautions.

Originally Posted by MJ_N_09

I just wish that Debris cautions weren't thrown at all, or at every oppertunity. Michigan was just fine without them.

Well, yes, I agree (although genuine debris on-track does need cautions). There is nothing more irritating than a seemingly mystery caution, or else one with a very flimsy base (and inconsistency with previously ignored things suddenly needing a caution being particularly aggravating).

The problem is that which purists like is not the Lowest Common Racing Denominator (compared to your average NASCAR follower, I would imagine all of us here would be described as purists). By LCRD, I mean the cars being right next each other on-track being the absolute be all and end all: the very definition of whether a race is worthwhile or not (especially towards the end). The Lowest Common Denominator (LCD) would be crashes: as far as I am concerned, a person whom identifies crashes as a highlight cannot be considered a race fan at all. They just watch to satisfy blood-lust, with the fact it is a motor race being quite the by-product.

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

[T]he CoT is only one of the issues i see with the series, but it seems to be the main one. nascar feels that it needs gimics to make it interesting, no?

Well, this is one of those circular, self-fulfilling prophecy type deals. Gimmicks and standardisation are brought in in order to draw in more "caual" fans, which starts to alienate traditional bases, which means more new fans are needed, which means more appeals to the new/masses is needed, which means more gimmicks and standardisation are seen as needed.

And so on.

Slippery slope, it is.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by Dutton

Well, this is one of those circular, self-fulfilling prophecy type deals. Gimmicks and standardisation are brought in in order to draw in more "caual" fans, which starts to alienate traditional bases, which means more new fans are needed, which means more appeals to the new/masses is needed, which means more gimmicks and standardisation are seen as needed.

And so on.

Slippery slope, it is.

tis...
and i see the why nascar wants masses involved; has become more mainstream than any other motorsport in the US.

but F the casual fans! nothing was too much wrong before the chase and the CoT. it wasn't broke but nascar tried to fix it, and ratings have began to plummet.

[Jacko44]

Overall Nascar is still nascar and if you don't like it then change the channel?????? There are some people who just take Nascar as it is and watch it without having the need to complain about what they think is wrong with it.
Additional cautions... Who cares???? Better off to have a bunched field every once in a while than long green runs an entire race.
And I'm not completely sure Jr would be saying everything wrong with the COT if he were higher in the points standings.... Barely heard a peep out of him this time last year when he was running third.

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by Jacko44

Overall Nascar is still nascar and if you don't like it then change the channel??????

we are changing the channel, my friend. that's the problem.
you follow something your entire life and then slowly watch go down the drain; hard not to complain.
where's Big Bill when you need him the most?

[fieldodreams79]

besides the other sillyness of nascar cup series, i find it hard to believe how some people can be so blind to not see the vast difference in the racing since the CoT was introduced. i'm no engineer and have no racing experience what so ever...i don't understand the ins and the outs of the differences in the CoT and the old car and i don't really care...all i care about is good racing, which i haven't seen in quite some time in the cup series (richmond was OK and maybe tonight's will be the best this year), but i do have eyes and can see the lack of sidebyside racing as compared to years past. most door to door action was (besides richmond/bristol) seemed to be the glen and plate tracks...plate racing is a another world of it's own, however...

forgive me as i am very annoyed that the only major US racing series (besides drag racing) that we can get standard, consistant TV coverage of is turning into crap. it either says something about average americans, broadcasters or international motorsports or all of the above. maybe tonight will change my mind....won't hold my breath.

i'll stop now....which i'm sure will make some happy, but you don't have to read it either as i don't have to watch nascar. baseball is on and college football season is fast approaching.....

[MJ_N_09]

Wow fieldy, you're really mad about this...

[fieldodreams79]

if every race was saturday nite at bristol, i would be happier.

[Matt]

Yeah, NASCAR definitely needs about 15 more short track races. Nothing better, imo.

[MJ_N_09]

Even better than RP's and RC's?



Personally I'd like nothing but Short Tracks, Restrictor Plates, and Road courses.