re: 2024 NASCAR Season Thread

Bowman complaining doesn't surprise me.

Larson did. He's usually above this.

It sounded like he was saying that teams should soften up the suspension, much as they do in the rain, and that would help tire wear.

Chase Elliott on the type of race Sunday’s event at Bristol was …

“It was a lot of fun.”

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That race was fricking awesome! At first I wasn’t sure what to think other than when Nascar had the Charlotte tire disaster and couldn’t make 10 laps. But as it went on I enjoyed it more and more.

It took me back to when drivers were mostly in control not engineers. I think they may have worn out too fast but all they need is small tweaks nothing major.

This relates to what I posted the days prior about engines. Today, tires did what engines could do. If you increase HP then drivers have to manage that HP vice just stay wide open all the time. More HP can mean spinning tires too much and wear them out.

So in a way, this illustrates what adding HP could do for racing by putting more control in the drivers hands.

Notice how Bubba did poorly today he was worst of the Toyotas throughout the race. He’s not a good driver but has great equipment that masks his poor driving. Today highlights that.

On the other hand, Chase had a not so good setup for tire wear but adjusted all day and finished 8th. He had one really bad stint where his tires fell off and almost got lapped but someone else wrecked and saved him. Spent rest of race pacing himself and not overdriving the tires. He figured out the limits and how to drive and get most out of car and tires and got that high finish. I think thats a way to compare how 2 different drivers handled today.

Anything Nascar can do to limit aero and put control in drivers hands I’m for. Every driver had to make decisions all day on what to do and how hard to push especially as being passed and having restraint to let them go.

About the booth. I like Harvick he adds a lot of expertise. One thing they failed though was letting viewers know as we got down to last 200 laps is how many new or scub sets of tires each team had. It would have been good info.

Another point - Nascar just proved they don’t need to throw yellow so fast. Majority of races they look for excuses due to shiity racing. Today, racers were banging off walls, having flats, going 20-40mph slower and rolling roadblocks - and Nascar did not throw cautions for a lot of them. It was pretty awesome to see it play out for a change! A rare Kudos to Nascar!

Results


Points standings

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Chase Elliott on the type of race Sunday’s event at Bristol was …

“It was a lot of fun.”

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That's my boy. He's old school though so I'm not shocked that he enjoyed the racing. Great tire conservation also on his part.

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That race was fricking awesome! At first I wasn’t sure what to think other than when Nascar had the Charlotte tire disaster and couldn’t make 10 laps. But as it went on I enjoyed it more and more.

It took me back to when drivers were mostly in control not engineers. I think they may have worn out too fast but all they need is small tweaks nothing major.

This relates to what I posted the days prior about engines. Today, tires did what engines could do. If you increase HP then drivers have to manage that HP vice just stay wide open all the time. More HP can mean spinning tires too much and wear them out.

So in a way, this illustrates what adding HP could do for racing by putting more control in the drivers hands.

Notice how Bubba did poorly today he was worst of the Toyotas throughout the race. He’s not a good driver but has great equipment that masks his poor driving. Today highlights that.

On the other hand, Chase had a not so good setup for tire wear but adjusted all day and finished 8th. He had one really bad stint where his tires fell off and almost got lapped but someone else wrecked and saved him. Spent rest of race pacing himself and not overdriving the tires. He figured out the limits and how to drive and get most out of car and tires and got that high finish. I think thats a way to compare how 2 different drivers handled today.

Anything Nascar can do to limit aero and put control in drivers hands I’m for. Every driver had to make decisions all day on what to do and how hard to push especially as being passed and having restraint to let them go.

About the booth. I like Harvick he adds a lot of expertise. One thing they failed though was letting viewers know as we got down to last 200 laps is how many new or scub sets of tires each team had. It would have been good info.

Another point - Nascar just proved they don’t need to throw yellow so fast. Majority of races they look for excuses due to shiity racing. Today, racers were banging off walls, having flats, going 20-40mph slower and rolling roadblocks - and Nascar did not throw cautions for a lot of them. It was pretty awesome to see it play out for a change! A rare Kudos to Nascar!

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Good post.

I've gotten on you(maybe too harshly) in the past for I feel being too negative but we all want what's best for a sport that we love.

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Points standings

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Truex is just so consistent, only one in the top 5 without a race or stage win.

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That race was fricking awesome! At first I wasn’t sure what to think other than when Nascar had the Charlotte tire disaster and couldn’t make 10 laps. But as it went on I enjoyed it more and more.

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I think NASCAR (correctly) believes that pit stops aren't really fun/enjoyable for the audience... for a casual fan I bet its frustrating for your driver to have a huge lead but then need to pit under green. But they are missing the fact that the situations those stops create are great in terms of the racing they create. And like you said, make the drivers have to be good at actual driving.

No he ain't. That felt like watching a race in the 70s. 5 cars on the lead lap is incredible.

Shoutout to Josh Berry. Did a great job yesterday.

I really enjoyed the race today and would consider attending the night race later this year.

Does the dirt cars that Larson drive not wear tires similar to what we saw at Bristol? I was under the impression that they did so was surprised by his negativity.

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I really enjoyed the race today and would consider attending the night race later this year.

Does the dirt cars that Larson drive not wear tires similar to what we saw at Bristol? I was under the impression that they did so was surprised by his negativity.

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It’s not about the dirt, rather on dirt the surface matters most.

My guess is this. Nascar has been all about mash the pedal and hold it, and get tons of engineers to find any aero advantage. Racers go from racing styles to Nascar knowing it’s all about team/equipment. So it's likely Larson wasn’t expecting this type race. He probably thought it would rubber in too, so gambled and raced harder earlier in tire cycles.

A lot of great racers in junior racing series never get a chance to show their real racing skills. Too much is now based on “can you pimp your sponsors with ease” and “can you bring a sponsor our team” and “did you do anything in your prior life that might be viewed as bad by 5% of our followers”. It’s mot really about skills - the engine makers and aero folks make sure you get a great car. Then its a matter of some luck and having a good crew chief and pit crew. Except yesterday, it was about skill and decision making. And each driver had to make choices all day long.

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Not correctly at all.
Pitting used to be a bigger strategy. These idiotic stages have ruined a big part of what made racing great

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Exactly - plus "competition cautions"

NASCAR was entertaining when you started the race and had a "plan" for pitting that went to shite as soon as the first wreck happened.