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2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season

sportsfan0518

By sportsfan0518
in Sports In General

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pmoehrin

pmoehrin

Posted
Posted

If they want to regain popularity, they need to ditch all of the boring, cookie cutter 1.5 mile tracks and go back to the way things were in the late 90's. Get rid of the stupid Chase, too.

The cookie cutter tracks aren't going anywhere. I'm with you on dropping the chase. Instead of some silly "playoff", why not just make wins more important throughout the season. Award more points for a win or something. Make it tougher to win a season championship by simply being consistent. I'm not saying punish the guys who run well all season but don't win many races. Just make a win worth more than just a few points better than second. I don't know, there just has to be a better way than the chase.

Unlike most of you guys, I hate the road course races. I say get rid of them entirely.

What I would be for is running road courses with speedway elements to them. Something like the road course for the 24 hour Daytona is something I would like to see.

I would be of the agreement that most road courses just wouldn't work in NASCAR, but I think you can design courses that could work.

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epper

epper

Posted
Posted

Can't believe the 500 is less than 2 weeks away! But I'm excited for another great season. After getting parked last year, I think this is the year Kyle Busch finally settles down, puts it together and wins half a dozen races en route to the title. I think AJ Allmendinger is the breakout star of 2012. And I think Dale Jr. disappoints once again, barely cracking the top 20 overall.

The Chase Standings

1. Kyle Busch

2. Carl Edwards

3. Jimmie Johnson

4. Kevin Harvick

5. Jeff Gordon

6. Brad Keslowski

7. Tony Stewart

8. Matt Kenseth

9. Kasey Kahne

11. AJ Allmendinger

12. Ryan Newman (Wildcard)

10. Denny Hamlin (Wildcard)

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jc...

jc...

Posted
Posted

Im thinking it will be the 2014 Impala. The new Malibu will be out in a couple weeks in the showrooms, but my sources have said the Chevrolet will be "a 2014" model. So putting 2 + 2 together thats is what I come up with.

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oddball

oddball

Posted
Posted

Define "Hard Core" fan. Is it someone who's been watching for 30 years? Or is it Jr Nation? Or is it the fans that have made Dale Earnhardt a "god" after his death and refuse to see that everything that Kyle Busch has done is what Earnhardt did? What's a "Hard Core" fan? Is is someone like me who watches the trucks, Nationwide, and Cup races in a weekend 30 times a year and follows that up by watching Nascar Now and Race Hub? If that's the case then us "Hard Core" fans have no problem with Danica, but could care less about how many new viewers she brings to the sport. I could care less about how many people are watching and could care less about attendance numbers at tracks. I want to see good hard racing, and I look at Danica as another driver. I don't expect her to win in Cup or even Nationwide this year. Maybe a Nationwide win next year. The worst thing that could actually happen to Danica, is a victory this year. Look at how one victory ruined the development of Trevor Bayne. It took him 3/4 of the season in Nationwide to realize he wasn't a star and got lucky in the Daytona 500 because he had a 4 time champion helping him. The greatest thing about Danica coming to NASCAR, we can forget about Trevor Bayne who will probably be looking for a ride in May.

In this particular case, it's fan who "could (sic) care less about how many new viewers she (Danica) brings to the sport. Who could (sic) care less about how many people are watching and could (sic) care less about attendance numbers at tracks." In other words, a fan who couldn't care less that the sport is in a little bit of trouble. Someone who can't see the forest for the trees. Sound familiar?

Are you always this angry?

I'm not angry at all. I just could care less about Jr Nation, and the "latest" hot thing. I've been a fan for 30 plus years, the sport will be around long after we all are dead and for all the "problems" people talk about NASCAR it still has a larger fan base than any other sport. 150,000 at Bristol is a bad day and people are talking about a hockey game in Detroit that will sit 110,000 as a good day? If you care about how many fans Danica brings to the sport, good for you. If you care about people telling you how you should feel and what you should like, well then good for you.

 

 

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infrared41

infrared41

Posted
Posted

Define "Hard Core" fan. Is it someone who's been watching for 30 years? Or is it Jr Nation? Or is it the fans that have made Dale Earnhardt a "god" after his death and refuse to see that everything that Kyle Busch has done is what Earnhardt did? What's a "Hard Core" fan? Is is someone like me who watches the trucks, Nationwide, and Cup races in a weekend 30 times a year and follows that up by watching Nascar Now and Race Hub? If that's the case then us "Hard Core" fans have no problem with Danica, but could care less about how many new viewers she brings to the sport. I could care less about how many people are watching and could care less about attendance numbers at tracks. I want to see good hard racing, and I look at Danica as another driver. I don't expect her to win in Cup or even Nationwide this year. Maybe a Nationwide win next year. The worst thing that could actually happen to Danica, is a victory this year. Look at how one victory ruined the development of Trevor Bayne. It took him 3/4 of the season in Nationwide to realize he wasn't a star and got lucky in the Daytona 500 because he had a 4 time champion helping him. The greatest thing about Danica coming to NASCAR, we can forget about Trevor Bayne who will probably be looking for a ride in May.

In this particular case, it's fan who "could (sic) care less about how many new viewers she (Danica) brings to the sport. Who could (sic) care less about how many people are watching and could (sic) care less about attendance numbers at tracks." In other words, a fan who couldn't care less that the sport is in a little bit of trouble. Someone who can't see the forest for the trees. Sound familiar?

Are you always this angry?

I'm not angry at all. I just could care less about Jr Nation, and the "latest" hot thing. I've been a fan for 30 plus years, the sport will be around long after we all are dead and for all the "problems" people talk about NASCAR it still has a larger fan base than any other sport. 150,000 at Bristol is a bad day and people are talking about a hockey game in Detroit that will sit 110,000 as a good day? If you care about how many fans Danica brings to the sport, good for you. If you care about people telling you how you should feel and what you should like, well then good for you.

I've been a fan for 40 years. And no one is telling me how to feel or what to like. I'm basing my opinion on what I see with my own eyes. I went to the Coca-Cola 600 in 2008. There were 160,000 fans inside and probably half as many outside just hanging around at the track. I went again in 2009 and the stands were only about 2/3 full. Then I went to the October race in Charlotte in 2009 and the place was over half empty.

I watch races on TV where the stands are half full. The drop in attendance was sudden and dramatic. My only point is that it's only a good thing if Danica Patrick can help get people back to the track. I know what I'm looking at and what I'm looking at tells me NASCAR can use some help. The day will come where people our age won't be around anymore. If the sport is going to flourish, it needs to cultivate new fans. If you think that concept is silly, well then good for you.

 

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Camden Crazy

Camden Crazy

Posted
Posted

If they want to regain popularity, they need to ditch all of the boring, cookie cutter 1.5 mile tracks and go back to the way things were in the late 90's. Get rid of the stupid Chase, too.

I'm all for more road courses, but the late 90's had just as many road circuit courses as they do now. Sonoma and Watkins Glen have been it for a long time now. You got to back to '87 I think to find the last time NASCAR ran a season with more then two races at road courses and even then that's only because they ran Riverside twice.

It doesn't even have to be road courses, just more unique tracks like Nazareth, North Wilkesboro, Rockingham, etc. Las Vegas was fine as a standalone track, but I'm sick of every new place being just like it.

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oddball

oddball

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Posted

Define "Hard Core" fan. Is it someone who's been watching for 30 years? Or is it Jr Nation? Or is it the fans that have made Dale Earnhardt a "god" after his death and refuse to see that everything that Kyle Busch has done is what Earnhardt did? What's a "Hard Core" fan? Is is someone like me who watches the trucks, Nationwide, and Cup races in a weekend 30 times a year and follows that up by watching Nascar Now and Race Hub? If that's the case then us "Hard Core" fans have no problem with Danica, but could care less about how many new viewers she brings to the sport. I could care less about how many people are watching and could care less about attendance numbers at tracks. I want to see good hard racing, and I look at Danica as another driver. I don't expect her to win in Cup or even Nationwide this year. Maybe a Nationwide win next year. The worst thing that could actually happen to Danica, is a victory this year. Look at how one victory ruined the development of Trevor Bayne. It took him 3/4 of the season in Nationwide to realize he wasn't a star and got lucky in the Daytona 500 because he had a 4 time champion helping him. The greatest thing about Danica coming to NASCAR, we can forget about Trevor Bayne who will probably be looking for a ride in May.

In this particular case, it's fan who "could (sic) care less about how many new viewers she (Danica) brings to the sport. Who could (sic) care less about how many people are watching and could (sic) care less about attendance numbers at tracks." In other words, a fan who couldn't care less that the sport is in a little bit of trouble. Someone who can't see the forest for the trees. Sound familiar?

Are you always this angry?

I'm not angry at all. I just could care less about Jr Nation, and the "latest" hot thing. I've been a fan for 30 plus years, the sport will be around long after we all are dead and for all the "problems" people talk about NASCAR it still has a larger fan base than any other sport. 150,000 at Bristol is a bad day and people are talking about a hockey game in Detroit that will sit 110,000 as a good day? If you care about how many fans Danica brings to the sport, good for you. If you care about people telling you how you should feel and what you should like, well then good for you.

I've been a fan for 40 years. And no one is telling me how to feel or what to like. I'm basing my opinion on what I see with my own eyes. I went to the Coca-Cola 600 in 2008. There were 160,000 fans inside and probably half as many outside just hanging around at the track. I went again in 2009 and the stands were only about 2/3 full. Then I went to the October race in Charlotte in 2009 and the place was over half empty.

I watch races on TV where the stands are half full. The drop in attendance was sudden and dramatic. My only point is that it's only a good thing if Danica Patrick can help get people back to the track. I know what I'm looking at and what I'm looking at tells me NASCAR can use some help. The day will come where people our age won't be around anymore. If the sport is going to flourish, it needs to cultivate new fans. If you think that concept is silly, well then good for you.

And 30 or 40 years ago there weren't so many fans. But you think that the only reason that there aren't fans in the stands is because of the product on the track. You don't think that those fans who had money 10 or so years ago, can't afford to travel to the races? The thing is, NASCAR draws not from the immediate area but from all over. If the cost of a ticket rises along with the cost of gas and we've got people who are struggling just to stay in their house, is that really NASCAR's fault? Sure, they could drop the price of a ticket, but if you can't draw because people aren't traveling to the races, then that's where the problem lies. Do you really think there are 250,000 people in Daytona or the state of Florida that care about NASCAR? I didn't think so. Those 250,000 people that they were getting there years ago, can't afford to travel there any more and it's not the track's or the series' fault. You can be disenchanted with the sport and the supposed increase in fan viewership from whatever Danica-mania is only going to go so far in attendance because people can't afford to go. I don't think the sport is going to "flourish", because it hit it's peak in '98 and is just leveling off to what it was before and where it should be. Basically, it's market correction. What your seeing in the stands is what NASCAR should be. A lot of the tracks overbuilt and now when the market is correcting itself, there are empty stands. It's not going anywhere any time soon.

 

 

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infrared41

infrared41

Posted
Posted

And 30 or 40 years ago there weren't so many fans. But you think that the only reason that there aren't fans in the stands is because of the product on the track. You don't think that those fans who had money 10 or so years ago, can't afford to travel to the races? The thing is, NASCAR draws not from the immediate area but from all over. If the cost of a ticket rises along with the cost of gas and we've got people who are struggling just to stay in their house, is that really NASCAR's fault? Sure, they could drop the price of a ticket, but if you can't draw because people aren't traveling to the races, then that's where the problem lies. Do you really think there are 250,000 people in Daytona or the state of Florida that care about NASCAR? I didn't think so. Those 250,000 people that they were getting there years ago, can't afford to travel there any more and it's not the track's or the series' fault. You can be disenchanted with the sport and the supposed increase in fan viewership from whatever Danica-mania is only going to go so far in attendance because people can't afford to go. I don't think the sport is going to "flourish", because it hit it's peak in '98 and is just leveling off to what it was before and where it should be. Basically, it's market correction. What your seeing in the stands is what NASCAR should be. A lot of the tracks overbuilt and now when the market is correcting itself, there are empty stands. It's not going anywhere any time soon.

Who said NASCAR is "going anywhere?" You're missing my point. Low TV ratings means lower sponsor revenue. Lower sponsor revenue is going to be a problem. No, there weren't as many people 30-40 years ago. What you're leaving out of that equation is how much cheaper it was to put a car on the track back then. Everything was smaller, and cheaper.

Yes, the sport is "leveling off" and ideally, you want to level off to a higher point than where you originally started. Everyone knew the popularity explosion wasn't going to last. Where NASCAR screwed up was when they panicked and started going for gimmicks to try to maintain an impossible level of popularity. Instead of using the "explosion" to build and increase a smaller, but stronger, foundation, they kept chasing the "fashion fans" far longer than they should have. So now they're seeing the effects of that. If you had paid attention to my posts, you would have noticed that I said "ideally, Danica-mania would help the sport 'convert' maybe 5-10 of every 100 new fans and use that to increase the 'base' as it were."

At no point did I ever imply that the NASCAR sky was falling. But as usual, you're more interested in telling everyone how wrong they are and how right you are than you are in actually discussing the issue. NASCAR has some money and ratings issues. Everyone attached to the sport has said so. A new TV contract is on the horizon. Thanks to dropping ratings, it's going to be for less money. Established teams are having a tough time getting sponsors. Are the issues life-threatening? No. But something needs to be done to start getting more sponsorship dollars to roll in. Danica Patrick may provide a small amount of help with that. And if she does, it can only be a good thing.

Anyway, I'm not going to try to debate the issue with you any further. You think everything is fine. I'm not going to change your mind. If you're interested in learning how all the things I've mentioned actually tie together and affect the sport, you should read The 200 MPH Billboard. It might give you a better idea of how all the things you think don't matter, actually matter a great deal.

 

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Chicageaux

Chicageaux

Posted
Posted

The cost to put a car on track today is SO much different than it was 30 years ago. There's a reason why you're seeing these smaller owners leaving Sprint Cup. Sure you have your Roush and Hendrick, but then they're supplying the second-tier owners. The sport isn't the same.

Infrared, you hit the nail on the head. If people stop watching then sponsors have to sit there and say, "Why are we putting money into this?" That affects everything from the rack to the cars. If I build a track that seats 100,000 and I'm only filling it with 40,000, then there's a huge problem with that because I'm losing that much money. Sure, you can say, Nascar's where it should be, but it doesn't look good to sponsors when you have less than half of the stands full.

 

 

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dfwabel

dfwabel

Posted
Posted

Is anyone surprised? How many times has that team been caught the last few years during speedweeks? The thing is, they're not the only ones that do it, they just seem to be the ones that always get caught doing it.

The last time Knaus was "caught" at Daytona, 48 still won the race with Darian Grubb as interim crew chief and it was the first of Johnson's five consecutive titles.

No Chris Myers tomorrow (and possibly next Sunday).

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Chicageaux

Chicageaux

Posted
Posted

The last time Knaus was "caught" at Daytona, 48 still won the race with Darian Grubb as interim crew chief and it was the first of Johnson's five consecutive titles.

Sorry, I got Daytona confused with the times they've gotten busted at Talladega, Sonoma, Dover, and Las Vegas. Am I forgetting any place else?

 

 

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