Nascar Rookie Truck Win

[Sal1950]

IMO, As always the best racing at Daytona Speed Week was last nights Camping World Truck race. Big flying in the air wreck on last lap and 18 year old rookie Kaz Grala wins! Youngest winner ever at Daytona. First he had won the pole starting position, then the race. What a way to start your National Series rookie year!
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-me...sources-250-at-daytona-kaz-grala-results.html

 

[amirm]

Lucky guy. Wonder if that will go to his head thinking he was that good.

 

[Sal1950]

Lucky guy. Wonder if that will go to his head thinking he was that good.

The win was a bit of luck, yes. But winning the pole and running up front all day shows that he is very good. Incredibly young fields in both the NCWT and XFinity series this year. Tonights XFinity race also looks to be a super exciting race with all the youngsters.
Tighten your seatbelts guys.

 

[amirm]

Is it like horse racing where the weight of the person matters or is it not a function given the weight of the vehicle?

 

[Sal1950]

Is it like horse racing where the weight of the person matters or is it not a function given the weight of the vehicle?

Not really a factor in a 3500 lb vehicle.

 

[Thomas savage]

Is it like horse racing where the weight of the person matters or is it not a function given the weight of the vehicle?

Weight is very important in F1, I'm sure I used to watch some motorsports that used weighted bias possibly touring car racing in the U.K.

I hate to see any racing car in the air like that, the consequences can be deverstating .

 

[amirm]

I hate to see any racing car in the air like that, the consequences can be deverstating .

Me too but I suspect it is the key to making money from these events. They create excitement for the crowd like a horror movie would.

 

[Sal1950]

I hate to see any racing car in the air like that, the consequences can be deverstating .

Agreed, but I would never post anything that had resulted in injury.
Stock car racing is a rough and tumble, rubbing is racing, sport. Just like boxing.
That's what folks have always come to see, but no one ever wants to see anyone hurt.
Sadly that is sometimes the outcome in both sports, they are both dangerous, can't change that.

 

[Frank Dernie]

Weight is very important in F1, I'm sure I used to watch some motorsports that used weighted bias possibly touring car racing in the U.K.

I hate to see any racing car in the air like that, the consequences can be deverstating .

I hate weight penalties because it penalises the good to the benefit of the bad, but makes for good racing for fans.
In Formula 1 10kg is about 0.35 secs per lap slower on average.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I hate weight penalties because it penalises the good to the benefit of the bad, but makes for good racing for fans.
In Formula 1 10kg is about 0.35 secs per lap slower on average.

Yes, it is always fascinating how much difference a few pounds makes in F1 lap times.

Oval track racing is less weight concerned I think due to drafting. Often only a small number of up front cars are using all their power. So while weight matters of course it isn't a big factor in laps times in such racing. Nevertheless, they do have minimum weight rules in the car and truck series. Ballast is required to reach those weights. They ignore differences in driver weight as that isn't included.

I have considered the truck series the only good Nascar racing left at least as a fan and viewer. The cup cars are too reliable to make for any interest in most 500 miles races. They considered two years ago going to a dirt track type of race format. Two short races with the upper half of finishers transferring into a final short race. I think that would have been excellent. The sticking point was only with sponsors. They couldn't stomach the idea of shelling out money and their car gets eliminated in the first heat and is off the screen of the TV for the other two thirds of an event. This years bonus points for stage 1 and 2 is a format they hope will do many of the same things to add excitement while not eliminating any cars during the race. I'll wait and see what Atlanta looks like. So far it still smacks of a racing circus.

 

[RayDunzl]

NASCAR needs to change its name.

National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing

There's no 'stock' in a stock car any more.

A Toyota Camry won the 500?

jeez...

I admit they are pretty inventive with those 'detail' stickers that make the amorphous blob of a body look somewhat like a road car.

Cale Yarbrough - 1969 500 winner

It's still got chrome bumpers!

 

[Sal1950]

I have considered the truck series the only good Nascar racing left at least as a fan and viewer.

Far from the "only good racing" but for the true racing fan, as opposed to the driver fan boy viewers, the truck series is the best of the breed. I caulk it up to the diversity of the drivers with the youngest hungry rookies, the mid talent/age drivers, and the fading stars try to prove they still can. They're all very hungry for their own reasons and aggression is high. Love the dirt race at Tony Stewart's Eldora Speedway. If it were up to me I'd dump all the road races in the 3 Nascar series and replace them with dirt trackers.
Only downside I see from the new rule package is that owner costs may raise too far to support from the ruff and tumble racing I expect and hope to see. Time will tell how things shake out.

 

[Sal1950]

A Toyota Camry won the 500?

Not this year, it was a Ford
But Toyatos run with a pushrod motor they don't even build for the street. LOL

 

[RayDunzl]

Not this year, it was a Ford

Really? Shows how much attention I paid to the whole thing. I did watch the 2 minute recap, though.

What made it a Ford? A 'Ford' sticker?

 

[RayDunzl]

Oh, I see my problem.

Interchangeable driver names - Kurt Busch Kyle Busch

I'm even in the wrong thread!

 

[Blumlein 88]

Really? Shows how much attention I paid to the whole thing. I did watch the 2 minute recap, though.

What made it a Ford? A 'Ford' sticker?

Ford stickers, Ford motor, Ford involvement in developing the car. So still sorta Ford. Nothing related to Ford on the street Ford exactly.

BTW, you mixed up Kyle Busch in the Camry while it was his brother Kurt in a Ford who won this year. Kyle was most notable for leading the race when his left rear tire went down without warning and caused a huge crash. More notable he told the interviewer afterwards it was simply that Goodyear can't build a tire that would hold air. My guess is if not for that wreck he might have been the winner.

EDIT: I see you caught the difference while I was posting.

 

[Blumlein 88]

NASCAR needs to change its name.

National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing

There's no 'stock' in a stock car any more.

A Toyota Camry won the 500?

jeez...

I admit they are pretty inventive with those 'detail' stickers that make the amorphous blob of a body look somewhat like a road car.

Cale Yarbrough - 1969 500 winner

It's still got chrome bumpers!

Yeah, in those days the cars still had a dash complete with ash tray and cigarette lighters. A number of those drivers would light up to calm down during late race cautions. Today's hyper healthy corporate robots probably have contracts saying they can't smoke. Heck it used to be the Winston Cup after all.

Here is a short video of Dick Trickle lighting up on in-car camera during a 1990 race. Obviously the location of that lighter was not where a stock one would be. So they must have installed it at his request.

 

[Sal1950]

Here is a short video of Dick Trickle lighting up on in-car camera during a 1990 race. Obviously the location of that lighter was not where a stock one would be. So they must have installed it at his request.

LOL, that's a classic bud.

Yep in these days of political correctness they've forced all the tobacco ad's and sponsorship out of all form of sports. But they don't have the nerve to go after the other big demon, alcohol. No matter the cost to society in violence, health, and auto accidents, it's still OK to portray the consumption as Kool.
Way past time for a change there.

 

[Frank Dernie]

Yeah, in those days the cars still had a dash complete with ash tray and cigarette lighters. A number of those drivers would light up to calm down during late race cautions. Today's hyper healthy corporate robots probably have contracts saying they can't smoke. Heck it used to be the Winston Cup after all.

Here is a short video of Dick Trickle lighting up on in-car camera during a 1990 race. Obviously the location of that lighter was not where a stock one would be. So they must have installed it at his request.

Keke Rosberg used to smoke on the grid up to the last moment so he had a bit of nicotine in his blood for the start. Several times I thought he wouldn't be able to get his helmet on in time...
Nowadays F1 is far too physical for a smoker to have any chance whatever of being competitive. It changed with Schumacher who was able to keep up qualifying pace lap after lap, no driver could do that before, everybody has to be able to now.
My only knowledge of NASCAR goes back to a time as a consultant in CART. One of the crew chiefs worked in both series and what he told me about NASCAR was basically that it was not a level playing field, to say the least.

I got to know Bill France, now long dead, when we used to do Goodyear tyre tests at Daytona road track in the early 80s. Keke and I were invited onto his boat for a barbeque and all the other guests were track managers of his circuits (plus his sons). Great stories, particularly Bill's, some of which were a bit "blue" for the blue-rinse wives of the track managers
My favourite was on guy who told a story about Bill being unhappy about the spread out field at one race and told the race director to hang out the yellow flag. "why sir there is no reason?" "well what about debris on the track?" "there isn't any sir" Bill takes of gold Rolex and chucks it over the wall "there is now"

 

[Blumlein 88]

Keke Rosberg used to smoke on the grid up to the last moment so he had a bit of nicotine in his blood for the start. Several times I thought he wouldn't be able to get his helmet on in time...
Nowadays F1 is far too physical for a smoker to have any chance whatever of being competitive. It changed with Schumacher who was able to keep up qualifying pace lap after lap, no driver could do that before, everybody has to be able to now.
My only knowledge of NASCAR goes back to a time as a consultant in CART. One of the crew chiefs worked in both series and what he told me about NASCAR was basically that it was not a level playing field, to say the least.

I got to know Bill France, now long dead, when we used to do Goodyear tyre tests at Daytona road track in the early 80s. Keke and I were invited onto his boat for a barbeque and all the other guests were track managers of his circuits (plus his sons). Great stories, particularly Bill's, some of which were a bit "blue" for the blue-rinse wives of the track managers
My favourite was on guy who told a story about Bill being unhappy about the spread out field at one race and told the race director to hang out the yellow flag. "why sir there is no reason?" "well what about debris on the track?" "there isn't any sir" Bill takes of gold Rolex and chucks it over the wall "there is now"

I think the truest book I ever read about racing was Phil Donahue's "Unfair Advantage". Forget equal rules and fair competition. All of racing (heck all sporting competition) is getting and maintaining an unfair advantage that gets you the victories. Those who skirt the rules the best will be the winners. I guess the funny thing is Nascar probably does have closer to a level playing field than ever before in its history. And the racing results are suffering because of it. I have been to a few races way back when. Richard Petty had a completely new car all the time. I remember his crew bragging that not even a radiator hose clamp is re-used from race to race. During this time his competitors would crash one week. Bondo the car up and show up with it still in partial bondo to compete the next week. Petty had qualifying engines and race engines tailored to each track when most other racers hoped to get through a season with no more than two engines total. You could see the wear and tear on NASCAR teams at the end of a season in great juxtaposition to the top half dozen well sponsored teams back then.