Nascar press conference
Eric Fletcher S.O.C.
Steadi at swbell.net
Wed Feb 21 17:49:10 EST 2001
> I'm not a NASCAR fan, please no flames, but it's mostly because I cannot
> understand the announcers. (Jeff Foxworthy can explain it better than I
> can).
Neither am I but I do respect what they do. I certainly wouldn't want to
drive stock cars... Hell I got very very bored on the high banks at Daytona
when I ran in the 24 hour race there.
> You've got the temerity to say this and think you don't deserve to be
> flamed? Why can't you understand them? They speak pretty plain
> American-English.
> I've attended Nascar races, F1 races and IndyCar races. The reason Nascar
> is the most popular is because it's the most user friendly of the three.
> The people involved are more accessible, the tracks are better setup to
> watch racing and the spectators can actually see the entire race.
Times are changing and NASBARGE is loosing it's draw, Fox only sold 82% of
the scheduled advertising time and it's not looking like the advertisers are
beating on NASBARGES door
> - The obsolete concrete barriers you mention are # 1.
>
> What do you suggest? You certainly can't put runoff areas at the top of
> the banked turns. You'd launch the cars.
Actually putting deformable walls up would cause MORE accidents in my
experience. There are many times that drivers have kissed the wall but not
crashed, some have even kissed the wall and won. If you put up "Soft" walls
there is a very real chance that instead of being able to kiss the wall the
wall will grab you and suck you in.
> - Similarly noted by you are the non-deforming chassis.
> - I don't know but I can't help but wonder why collapsible steering
> columns / air bags and other common safety items couldn't be adapted in some
> form and would have helped last Sunday.
I personally don't want to race with a bomb in the car. That's what chassis
crush structure, harness's and race seats are for.
> The man was killed because his neck/spine snapped because of the the
> forward motion of his head when the seat belt stopped his body. It's
> unlikely that anything you mentioned would've helped. The hans device
> maybe. Better design of the front end maybe.
>
> (even F 1 runs in the rain).
>
> They use special tires. No one else runs in the rain. What would Winston
> Cup cars do on the high banked turns?
Actually MOST race series run in the rain, It's only Cart, IRL and NASCAR
that prohibit running in the rain...
> The lack of AWD provides minimal protection traction and virtually
> no hope of saving the car once it become loose.
>
> No body races with AWD
Yeah.. They keep banning it...
> - There is little or no resemblance between the actual "stock car" and
> the car on the show room floor.
> - And finally, I actually heard the announcers discussing carburetors -
> talk about living in the past.
That's part of the NASBARGE appeal, so they say.
> They don't seem to have much trouble making horsepower. Nascars
> continually slows the cars down.
That's true of all racing.
I've raced professionally since 1984, Dying is a risk that you take as a
driver and once that you must accept in order to win. If you can't then
it's time to get out. Jackie Stewart made that choice, Emmo made that
choice. The only people that are going to get the NASCAR Rules changed are
the Drivers and team owners. 4 years ago they had a driver killed the same
way at Watkins Glen. Car went off the track and into the tire wall that
protected the guard rail, the driver was killed when his neck snapped from
his spin. The accident was so violent that his carotid artery was ripped and
he bled out in the car. This was a accident into a "Soft" wall, Did it
cause them to change the rules? Nope. Maybe Dale would be alive if Nascar
thought that it was important to make the car safe...
Eric Fletcher
'00 S4tt
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