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Forums - Sports Discussion - Why Oval/Stock Car Racing is Awesome

I know outside of the US oval racing is considered the shit stain of the motorsports world and I really don't get why. The first complaint is that well... the tracks are just ovals. Many people think that it's boring just watching cars going in a circle and that would be true if every lap was a 200mph parade lap like most F1 races.

See the big draw to oval tracks is the fact that cars actually pass each other... a lot. The record as of 2011 for clean overtakes in a F1 race is 85 at Turkey in NASCAR the record for passes for the lead is 88 at Talladega also in 2011 (on average for 2011 there were 3,666 passes per race). The reason for such a difference between the 2 is the of couse the tracks. On a road course there is typically one narrow groove where drivers need run in order to go fast. On an oval track however the groove ranges from 2-6 car widths therefore seeing cars go 3-4 wide often is a common sight.

This will not only increase passes but also last lap passes/ photo finishes. It's common for a NASCAR and IndyCar season to have say 5 or 6 photo finishes/last lap pass. 

Now in stock car racing's case this is also helped by the fact that the cars re full bodied. This means they can beat, bang, and race side by side without actually crashing. This isn't to say they never crash ohhhhh no they crash alright and they crash BIG. A NASCAR crash can involve close to 30 cars and why is that? Because they actually race close together therefore more cars will be involved. Hell I even think NASCAR does better road course racing than F1.

In all I think all forms of motorsport are fantastic. NASCAR, F1, IndyCar, V8 supercars, Rally, hell even MotoGP, if I see its on I will watch it. I just hate that NASCAR gets all this flack for being "boring" even though it embodies what a motorsport should have, GREAT RACING!

Here are some video's you guy should watch:

Just happen yesterday (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp1klmtsWQA)

 

27 car Pile up in NASCAR (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1VIzm3rwkw)

 

Close finish in NASCAR with my favorite driver (#9) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z1VNK97C-g)

 

2010 at Montreal (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k09O7TTG4o)



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That firestone finish was amazing



I really can't stand nascar, relatively ugly cars (Sorry, my real opinion) driving around full ovals.

Now I have no problems with tracks which are half oval, and half "real" track such as the 24 hours of Daytona (Which I loved) as it shows of the different capabilities of the cars.

Ferari had the speed on the oval, but the Audi smashed the Ferarri on the rest of the track with downforce.



I get bored by NASCAR and IndyCar races because unlike americans I don't have anything to eat during yellow flags.



Proclus said:
I really can't stand nascar, relatively ugly cars (Sorry, my real opinion) driving around full ovals.

Now I have no problems with tracks which are half oval, and half "real" track such as the 24 hours of Daytona (Which I loved) as it shows of the different capabilities of the cars.

Ferari had the speed on the oval, but the Audi smashed the Ferarri on the rest of the track with downforce.


But whats the problem with oval tracks? They allow for side by side racing and encourage passing which is exciting!



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fan of nascar since mid 90s still watch the races every week

i like nascar cause there is contact during races never watched anything open wheel

its a bit boring now cause ive been a fan of the sport for so long and the ledgens are gone Earnhardt Wallace Labonte to name a few



                                                             

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Oval / stock car racing is awesome because of the crashes. 'Nuff said.



On 2/24/13, MB1025 said:
You know I was always wondering why no one ever used the dollar sign for $ony, but then I realized they have no money so it would be pointless.

Boring, I can watch F1 just for the sake of watching. Nascar, like Baseball, ain't fun unless you're drunk.



BHR-3 said:
fan of nascar since mid 90s still watch the races every week

i like nascar cause there is contact during races never watched anything open wheel

its a bit boring now cause ive been a fan of the sport for so long and the ledgens are gone Earnhardt Wallace Labonte to name a few

Yeah I'm only 19 so I can only remember from about 1998 on but it is sad seeing legends like that go and guys that were good from 1998-2002 like jeff burton, bobby labonte, and mark martin not having alot of success now. Who is your favorite driver now?



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benao87 said:
Boring, I can watch F1 just for the sake of watching. Nascar, like Baseball, ain't fun unless you're drunk.


But thats what I don't get WHY is it boring? They actually pass in NASCAR, F1 you see who gets out front on the start of the race and then wait for him to either screw up on pit strategy or led every lap and win by 10 seconds.



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