The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Race cars.

Do you like modern racing cars? like Formula 1 or Indy? the ones with all the wings,the driver totally hidden from view?How about Nascar? they all look the same to me,nothing at all stock.
I like the racers from the 20's to 50's, big spoked wheels,exposed exhaust pipes running down the side,the driver with pudding bowl helmet, goggles and drivng in short sleeves in a leather wrapped cockpit.Images of Jaun Fangio in a 4 wheel drift on skinny hard tires at a 100 mph ,you can see the look in his eyes, the grip of his hands on the wheel,the driver in in control of a dangerous beast. [img]http://www.f1.no/jpg/fangio_mon50.JPG[/img]
I once saw Junior Johnson's 63 Chevy Nascar racer, the first of "mystery engine" big blocks.It's an Impala,got vent windows,chrome grille and bumpers and he sat in a production SS seat with the chrome spears on the sides.The dash is Chevy,except for a row of SW gauges, and the roll bar is kinda skimpy,the stock steering wheel wrapped in electrial tape.An actual stock car,easy identified from a Ford or Mopar.Imagine driving that areodynamic mess at 170 mph in traffic at Daytona, no power steering,no two way radios,no 50 man pit crews.
Sure, the modern race car regulations are for safety and can make all the manafacturers competitive.But to me something is lost in all this speed and technology.

Truck: Its called driving skills. I use to go to Indy 500 late 50's thru mid 60's thought that was cool.

Nascar: early years up to about 70 (I think) had to sell 500 production cars body style and close to production type engines to the public. Every kid waited to see the design and Hp ratings in the fall to see what was being ran for the next year.

Road Racing: The Cobra's, Stingrays, Ferrari's Porshe and such was dedicated to the 24 hr race (60's) if you had enough money as Joe Public you could own one.

Today I like Nascar only because to me its as American as apple pie, if a person had enough money you could build one of those engines at home. Don't give a dang about the body styles.

popcorn The truth is Out There (I guess if I was going to race again it still would be drag racing, did it still love the stock stuff)

like them all but it is hard to beat the local dirt track,,like the trucks also,,got a good one going on right now...later,,,Fred

I would like to see NASCAR open up a nostalgia class where stock cars were actually STOCK cars. Bring back the Hudsons. DeSotos,Nashes etc.etc. Who cares if they only go 90 mph at least they would be stock. It takes a lot of nerve to call any NASCAR event a STOCK car race. Isn't the S in NASCAR supposed mean STOCK? My .02.

I read an article somewhere where the author had a great idea.

What if the only limitation that they gave the racing teams was amount of fuel? Build your car to go as fast as it can... Crank up the HP. Put new tires on it every other lap if you want to. Tweak the suspension all you want. Shave off a couple hundred pounds... Whatever you want. Just know that you've got only 25 gallons to go 500 miles faster than the other guys.

Don't get me wrong. I've been to Knoxville Ia. for the Sprintcar Nationals before, and it's REALLY cool to see those guys essentially strap themselves to an engine and powerslide like maniacs, but anyone can make a car go fast with unlimited resources.

The author went on to point out how companies could "once again use what was learned on the track to better what was produced for the street" and all sorts of Racing Vs. Environmental concerns followed.

Anyway... I thought it was a pretty cool idea.

I've seen more RACING in 10 laps on a 1/4 mile dirt track than happens in the whole parade at Talladega. When I was a part-owner of a Northern California Sportsman car, the 4 fastest qualifiers would run a 4-lap trophy dash to open the night's show. We didn't get to participate very often, because ours was a low-bucks car and didn't get into dash lap times as a matter of routine, but one night, everything hooked up right, and my partner got into the dash. He was running third on the last lap when the two lead cars wrecked each other and ended up nose-to-nose on the front straightaway, with maybe 3 feet between them. My guy couldn't stop or swerve, so he split the middle between them, and tore both front wheels off. He slid across the finish line on the nose, and won the trophy dash!

of course, that ended our racing for the night, but it pleased the crowd!
Jerry

Gotta agree with Joker and Hot Rod Lincoln.I used to go to the local dirt track every Sat nite.That was really racing.Over the years I just got out of the habit of going.

I apologize I was having a melt down yesterday, defiantly dirt track. The local boys and yes a few gals get together and actually race. The track we used to belong to before closing was a great family affair. Johnny Bob, Billy Bob, Snake Pit, and such would race the daylight out of you then back to the pits they would be the first to help you get ready for the feature.

I am hoping the boys get back into it next year! We got 2; one all put together, another sitting in Grandmas barn. But, new marriages, family, have put a damper on racing. If Joker and I could get into the car let alone get out we would do it.

popcorn The Truth is Out There (Everybody have a great day. Ben)

If you can't be first be spectactular. No one remembers who won the race but they will remember the guy that hit the wall.

I used to like roundy rounds when Earhardt and Wallace would beat the crap out of each others fenders on the road courses. But since #3 died, I haven't watched much. I won some tickets to the NHIS event last Sept. Free this, free that-took my 8 y.o. son. We liked it, but I will never pay what those tickets were worth to go and see that again. Some of these people there arre right over the top fanatics. I will say, it was a nice group of people, well heeled, polite. Not bad for 300K people in one place.
My heart has always been with drag racing. I grtew next to New England dragway and worked there for years as a teen. Raced my motorcyles on Wed. nite grudge matches with my friends. Had a blast. Anyone can go. Anyone can have fun. All kinds of cars are there from mild to wild.
I kind of want to see Bonneville. I think that would be a hoot as well. Maybe I'll go out there and catch that and the Reno Air races and see Davis-Monthan AFB at the same time. Yeah right.

Saw USAC midgets race once (at IRP). It was awesome! Never cared for NASCAR. Used to like Indy cars and attended the 500 for many years until everybody's big egos virtually destroyed the sport.

I was big into drag racing, first cars,then cycles cause it was less expensive.
I raced at backwoods strips in NJ, like Vineland and Atco,places that the rest rooms were a hole in the ground behind a plywood fence.It was bare bones machines in the late 60's,no slipper clutches, air shifters,wheelie bars or stagger box electronics in the modified production class I raced in.All Triumphs and Harleys,a small group of Japanese bikes.I was running mid 12's,very competative in the class which required street equipment.You showed up at the track with a handful of jets and R57G spark plugs, ya tuned your ehxaust by hacksawing the pipe length.
Then the guys got the Japanese bikes to run like crazy,racing became far more serious,as in more money.Faster bikes meant more safety rules, wheelie bars,more weight,more power,that was it for budget racers like me.
A local dragstrip here in NY is a throwback to the simplier times,they have top fuel rails a few times a year,but the majority of racing is still "run what ya brung" from local guys.

Don't care much for race cars or racing anymore. I get my fill of both during my daily commute to and from work and when getting into town when it becomes necessary.

I love racing and used to watch all of F1 during Ayrton Senna's reign, all of Indycar through the 80's and 90's until Tony George's ego ruined that. All of Nascar during the Allison and Waltrip era, cried when Kulwicki died etc etc.

I still watch Nascar because it is convenient. But there are many things about it that I hate. I hate it that the established, "older" stars are being pushed out by younger and younger drivers every year. I hate the constant meddling by Nascar themselves. I hate it that a driver can loose points because he accidentally said [censored] on tv.
But, it is still racing. And every 2 or 3 races it actually gets a little exciting.

If you want to see people driving in modified stock cars you need to go watch or get involved in SCCA or something like that.