Man am I glad the 2013 NASCAR is finally done for the year. It was just painful to watch the Ford drivers struggle to get a good finish. I hope the Ford teams have enough resources to get some good running racecars for next year. Penske and Roush racing have to get together and find what they need to be competitive. Today at Homestead, the Penske drivers had to work to get into the top ten and the Roush drivers struggled to get into the top twenty. Just too painful to watch.

 

I don't know about anyone else but once Labor Day comes and football season starts I find it hard to even watch a single race. This year I didn't.

 

I'm a college football fan more than NFL, so I can typically watch my rooting interest on Saturday as well as the race that weekend.

I don't have a fave driver, but my wife is a big 48 fan so she is feeling good today. She actually 'picked' Jimmie as her driver during speed weeks 2006, so she isn't a late-coming frontrunner.

I just root for my fantasy picks each week. We met Barney Hall last year at a race and he asked who my driver was. When I explained my nearly 15 year free agency, he said that it was a good plan.

I did enjoy watching the Mustang lead the field around as the pace car. At least a Ford had some time in front of the pack in Homestead.

 

Yeah, Jimmie!

 

I have completely lost interest in NASCAR. I started watching in 2002 because I bought a Daytona Pace Car and figured I'd watch the races for something to do. Congrats to JJ. He and Chad are doing something right.

 

You still did better than me, I didn't watch a whole race after Daytona. I tried to sit down and watch the whole PHX Chase race but got fed up about halfway through. The sport's a shadow of what it was when I got hooked in the 90s.

 

Agree!!!

 

so ford is pulling out of drag racing where this year they finally win the manufactor`s cup for the first time in forever but they still waste money in nascar where they cant make the top ten ....

 

I don't buy any of what goes on in NASCAR. I believe Hendrick cheats, they have in the past and the way the 48 car powers away from the entire field including their own team mates just isn't right. They have ruined this racing series with this whole COT etc. Chevy has and always will be favored by the France family and until that quits this series of racing will be unfair in my mind. And it sucks bad to watch for Ford fans.

 

They all cheat. It just depends on who gets caught.

 

Sometimes i 'might' watch the last ten laps

 

If Hendrick cheats so blatantly, why not cheat up all 4 cars to keep all sponsors equally happy? Has Lowes paid for the ultimate cheater package while the other sponsors went for the cheaper option?

Why not cheat up the 88 since he has the biggest following and their collective delirium would be more profitable for everyone involved?

With fans complaining about 6 titles in 8 years, what is the France family motivation to look the other way while Hendrick cheats up the 48 cars?

Was the Cup title in '12 by a lame duck non GM manufacturer part of the fix to throw people off of the France/GM partnership or did someone in the season fixing team go rogue?

Have they found his body yet?

 

the TV coverage is killing it. They try and make every race like the Super Bowl with a one hour pre-race.

NFL has figured it out. The game starts like 5 minutes after coverage starts. The national anthem is rarely aired. NASCAR Coverage should start at "Gentleman, Start your engines." Get any storylines out of the way during the parade then Green flag it 5 mins into the broadcast.

And as always, shorter races.... FEWER races.

 

I don't mind the lengths of the races, but I do think the sport would benefit from fewer races throughout the year.

That said, I like the superspeedway runs and the short tracks. Everything else has just gotten...well, boring. It's just not as entertaining as it used to be, and whether that's because of the new cars, the tv coverage, the drivers, whatever it is, it really doesn't matter. It's just not what it was in the 80's and 90's.

 

More short and road courses please.

 

That would be a good start. Do away with a Michigan race and a Pocono race and replace them with one at Road America and maybe one at that road course in Canada where the Nationwide series used to race.

Edit: Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Quebec.

 

Michigan yes, Pocono no! :-)

 

You really think Pocono needs 2 races?

 

What is not to like about Pocono ? Pocono is a track where the drivers can get up to some real speed. I like Pocono.

 

Pocono is much more tolerable at 400 miles than it was at 500.

NASCAR needs to find a magic bullet to take away the aero advantage of clean air on the intermediate tracks. Cars were very racy at Homestead, but the rest of the 1.5 mile tracks suffer due to this, IMO.

Cup cars poke a huge hole in the air and the weight to contact patch difference makes mechanical grip tougher to come by.

Kill the aero beast and bring back exciting racing!