NASCAR Fans...

[MJ Clemmer]

Wouldnt this be nice to see this Sunday... Its going to be run by Dale Jr (#8) but I changed it to a 3..... :thmbsp:

[Strangeband]

Well, I guess I have mixed feelings about seeing Dale Jr. in the #3. I think it may be best to let this legend live on in memory only. Still, having him drive a black #8 is a cool idea.

[Wornears]

If Teresa Earnhardt has her way you'll never see Dale Jr. in a black #3 -- even though Richard Childress owns the number.

[JDaniel]

Nascar is in my back yard this week - Talladega. Hotel rooms in the area are as rare as tentoze' virginity. If you need a room, I'll give you a place to stay (in exchange for a race ticket of course :yes: :D ).

And if you are a Nascar fan, you must watch "Back in the Day" on Speed Channel. Excellent show, with highlights of races from the 60s and early 70s. Fantastic stuff.

JD

[skippy_ps]

It just isn't the same without 'Ol Ironhead.

Murray

[ekimetsok]

Do you suppose Junior's sponsor will jump on the bandwagon and produce a limited edition Budweiser Black Label? http://www.websmileys.com/sm/drink/trink13.gif


Mike Koste
Gobs of Knobs
Ambler, PA

[bentpencil]

Will black paint make him go faster?

[rickr15]

Will black paint make him go faster?

No. But it will sell a bunch of those die cast cars.

[bentpencil]

No. But it will sell a bunch of those die cast cars.
DAMN !....I usually catch those............................. :thmbsp: :thmbsp:

[SPL db]

We have a new pizza joint opening up here this weekend called "The Pizza Machine"...

Supposed to be a big deal, pizza, video games, bumper cars, indoor rides, etc, etc...

They've been advertising on the radio that Earnhardt Sr's race car is supposed to be
on display at the grand opening.

Scott

[MJ Clemmer]

Do you suppose Junior's sponsor will jump on the bandwagon and produce a limited edition Budweiser Black Label? http://www.websmileys.com/sm/drink/trink13.gif


Mike Koste
Gobs of Knobs
Ambler, PA
Thats an intesting thought...hmmmmmmm :scratch2:

[MJ Clemmer]

It just isn't the same without 'Ol Ironhead.

Murray
I TOTTALLY AGREE with you. Weather you loved or hated him RACING was better WITH him there. I am an Earnhardt Sr. fan from 1979... He was like part of the family. Wouldnt you just love to see him race against TONY S., Jeff G, and so on.... and wonder how hed like the Busch Bros :scratch2: It would be MUCH BETTER WITH HIM .....I have every single DIECAST that were made for Sr. (all the originals) I think 165 of them in all (some differant scales) For some reason, I packed them away after his death, The WIFE wants me to sell them all, but Its hard to part with something that you have collected over so MANY years just for a couple bucks..... know what I mean?...
PS: IF he were alive today he'd kick ole Waltrips ass :bash: for all that "BOGGITY BOGGITY BULLSHIT.... Sry ... Just hate that., every time I hear that, I want to beat someone with my crutches... and he acts like he was mr CLEAN on the track (Darrel Waltrip), Man , how many of you watched HIM race thruout his racing carrear? HES NOT what it looks on TV today for sure... HE WAS WELL HATED in the racing world (then) Good Driver, NOT good at TV..JMHO...LOL..

[Kamakiri]

Go Tony Stewart!!! :D

[ekimetsok]

I'd like to see Nascar establish an off-season Senior Series featuring retired Cup drivers. I think the die-hard fans would pay a few dollars to see Petty, Waltrip, Trickle, Rusty and the rest do it again at some of the older tracks like North Wilkesboro, Rockingham, Nazareth and Darlington. With mo' money to be made, I'm surprised the France family hasn't already considered it. Just think of the sponsorship possibilities!

[Billfort]

I don't know, for some reason I think seeing that paint scheme again on track will kind of bother me.

I know it's just paint and not the number but you almost feel like it's not for anybody else to use, other than possibly his son at Talladega, so maybe I'll be ok. :)

[bentpencil]

I miss the good old days when the deep pockets weren't involved as much as they are today. We used to go to the Stockton 99 Speedway back in the 60s, (which is closing after this season) and watch the "hardtops" on Friday nights. A few of out neighbors had cars, and it was always fun to watch the fans get drunk and start fights in the stands, rooting for their favorites.

There were three or four favorites (?) who always won, and every week was a battle. I don't know the specific rules (I don't know who, if any, was the sanctioning body) back then, but it was something like you could run a 6 cyl. with almost any modification, or a V-8 max 321 cid, with a 2-barrel ONLY, naturally aspirated. You can only get so much fuel through one of the old 2bbls.

We went one night, and one of the regulars rolled his car off the trailer and brought silence to the rest of the racers. Seems he had been scrounging around a local government surplus buyer's yard and came across a 2 barrel carb (actually an injector, I think) off of an 18 cyl radial airplane engine, to the tune of about 1650 cfm. He took it home, went out to the local airport to find someone who could de-tune it for him, and built a manifold and slapped it on. Since the rule said "2-barrel" only, they couldn't stop him that week. He kicked everybody's butt that night, and there were twice as many fights as usual.

The next week, the rules were changed to specify "regular production AUTOMOTIVE carb." But it was fun while it lasted.

Those were the days............................... :thmbsp:

[Wornears]

I work/worked in reporting and covering stock car racing since 1985. NASCAR races are "racetaiment" now, not racing. The black #8 is not about nostalgia, it's about marketing and TV ratings now and "activation" of Budweiser account execs and die cast sales (in the toilet BTW). Basically they are making Big E into the Elvis of racing. He's likely puking in his casket.

If you think Dale Sr. was a badass, I interviewed Cale Yarborough a few years ago. It was a blast. To me, he is the toughest of the tough among his era. Still could probably box the ears off most of the current Cup drivers. Cale said about the only racer he though could have raced back with him and his competitors in their prime was Big E. He meant it as a compliment.

Buddy Baker, David Pearson, Dick Hutcherson, Ned Jarrett, Junior Johnson (who tried to hire Dale Sr. when he was a car owner, but Budweiser nixxed the deal -- notice they didn't screw up twice), Richard Petty, et. al. Those guys raced to eat.

Now it is all marketing and TV ratings. My theory is that TV kills a sport and eventually dilutes it until it can be consumed by the masses. Whatever made it unique and vital becomes sucked dry and you have a husk. A money-making husk to be sure, but with no soul as before. They guys above brought their soul to the track -- Kirk Shelmerdine, god bless him, is still like that.

Not to discount some of the racing talent out there. Jeff Gordon can get up on the wheel, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman -- a monster. But I've seen it go from when there was still racing going on to the current TV spectacle and it's almost unwatchable, except that I know some of the guys/craftsmen/women back at the shops who really work insane hours to make those cars.

"'Ol DW's" boogity boogity makes me puke, too so I turn off the sound and watch the pictures and listen to the radio broadcast of a race. There will likely be a "big one" at Talladega, which is an incredible track and a dinosaur. DW has cleaned up well -- he was a local guy who's wife's daddy had money to buy him out of his contract, and free him up to eventually get with Junior Johnson. IMO one of the most brillant stock car minds ever. I could have probably placed with those cars under me.

You have to give Waltrip his due -- he was the prototype for the modern telegenic driver as corporate spokesman/shill, (Ned Jarrett notwithstanding) and he did have to wheel the cars. Plus, he and Stevie moved mountains of Tide through retail. Blame all the current and future corporate, TV-ready pretty-boy drivers on him.

Now NASCAR has gone upmarket and mainstream and is a slave to the big TV eye. You want to see valid racing, go to your local short track where guys bring a car on an open trailer. Better yet, volunteer on a crew and bust your knuckles helping out for a pit pass and some beer. Way more fun than NASCAR.

[rickr15]

Well spoken Worn Ears. Nascar was here last weekend $100 dollar tickets and $6.00 beers. I had more fun watching Ken Schrader and the local boys mix it up the night before at Manzanita Speedway. Cheaper beer too.

[Strangeband]

"If you think Dale Sr. was a badass, I interviewed Cale Yarborough a few years ago. It was a blast. To me, he is the toughest of the tough among his era. Still could probably box the ears off most of the current Cup drivers. Cale said about the only racer he though could have raced back with him and his competitors in their prime was Big E. He meant it as a compliment."

Man, you are right about him being a tought SOB. Curtis Turner was another roughneck. He called my parents house once, drunk as hell, threatening to fly up and land in the road. One of CT's buds a mutual friend of my Dad's.

"Buddy Baker, David Pearson, Dick Hutcherson, Ned Jarrett, Junior Johnson (who tried to hire Dale Sr. when he was a car owner, but Budweiser nixxed the deal -- notice they didn't screw up twice), Richard Petty, et. al. Those guys raced to eat."

I saw most of them race and also guys like Dave Marcis, Bobby Issacs, Paul Goldsmith, Buddy Arrington, Wendell Scott, and Jabe Thomas. It really is not the same these days.

[Wornears]

Strangeband: You are absolutely right about Curtis Turner. Most drivers couldn't hold his helmet bag. An incredible driver and wild man. Made and lost money for three or four lifetimes. There is a new book out on him that I have to find. Another tough cat was Glen "Fireball" Roberts. He nearly survived the crash at Charlotte that burned almost his entire body -- until infection set in. A decent man, too.

Ralph Earnhardt was of that cut, too. Tough as barb wire. One a dirt track he was just about unequaled; although Curtis Turner was from another planet on dirt, too.

I heard a story about Dale Sr. told by veteran NASCAR journalist Tom Higgins. He had a a brand new station wagon, just off the dealer's lot. Big E was driving it flat out back from Darlington or Rockingham with Higgins and Joe X (can't remember his name -- E's first manager). Higgins and Joe see a big silo and work out this joke between them to tease E -- start talking about how the farmer that owned the big farm had gone insane. Big E is driving 80--90mph-plus, but this got his interest, and they kept jawing about how the guy had actually gone crazy inside the silo. Now E really wants to know about how this could happen and starts quizzing and Joe delivers, "he went crazy trying to find a corner to take a piss in." Much hilarity ensues from Higgins and Joe as they have snookered Big E.

Higgins says what happened next took a couple of years off his life. Big E hits the brakes so hard it flat spots all four brand new tires, throwing the pranksters about in the car, then he does a 360 in the middle of the road at speed. All the while he's yelling at them, "Yeah, you think that's funny!? Huh? That's funny!?" Then, he barrels down the road again at full clip with all four tires hammering the suspension to bits all the way back to Charlotte. Not saying a word. Higgins said when he took it back to the dealer for repairs they couldn't believe it.

Bobby Issacs was something else too. A functional illiterate, yet he could drive like his life depended on it, because it did. Then, he heard that voice that told him to get out of the car because he was going to die.

rickr15: Ah, Manzanita -- one of the scariest neighborhoods to have a race track in. <G> Ever watch the Sprinters there? What a show! I saw the Indy cars race at Phoenix once and that was silly-fast.

Yeah, it ain't the same as it was, but then it never is.

[Mike Bama]

Go Robert Yates Racing!!!

[yamahammer]

and no one mentioned "Dick Trickle"

[SPL db]

and no one mentioned "Dick Trickle"

Sounds like a STD... :para: :D :thmbsp:

Scott