Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

I don't care for F1 and probably never will.  However, I do like their point system.  Seems to be the best at crowning an actual champion.   To me, crowning a champion should be simple.  Each driver shows up at the track on Thursday, Friday, whatever.  When they look around the pits, they single out the guy they have to beat to win this race.  Maybe early in the year it's 3 or 4 guys on the radar.  By the end of the year, you know who the 1 or 2 guys are you have to beat if you want to win the race you are at.  At the end of the year, the guy who was the one you knew you had to beat the most times, should be your champion.  Nascar has either gotten this wrong, or left the door open to getting it wrong for its entire existence.  

Notable examples:

In 1973, Richard Petty won 6 races.  David Pearson won 11.  Benny Parsons wins the Cup with 1 win.  I know Pearson rarely ran an entire season.  Neither did Kyle Busch in 2015----so pick a side. 

In 1984 and 1996, Terry Labonte won the Cup with 2 wins each season.  Meanwhile Darrel Waltrip wins 7 races in 1984.  Also, when you showed up at the track in 1996, did you say "boy, we need to figure out how to beat the 5" or did you say "boy, we need to figure out how to beat the 10-time winner in 1996, Jeff Gordon?"  The educated race fan says the latter.

2003 Matt Kenseth wins the championship with 1 victory.  Ryan Newman finishes 6th with 8 wins.  WTF??  Who did you show up to beat in 2003?  Kenseth and his barrage of 6th-9th place finishes, or Newman who won 1/4 of the races? 

Speaking of Nemwan.  How about that gem of a 2014 season?  Ryan Newman, who had 5 top 5 finishes ALL SEASON, is one corner away from being your Cup champion.  Meanwhile, the guy who led the series in wins (6) and racked up 17 top-5's during the season?  Brad Kesolowski?   He isn't eligible to race for the championship in week 36. 

No matter what Nascar's format has been in the past, they have either screwed it up, or left the door wide open for it to be screwed up.  F1, in my opinion, is horrible entertainment.  it's the British golf version of racing to me.  However, they don't mess the points up it appears.  Heavy weight put on winning.  You finish in the back half of the field----no points.  Where would Newman have been in 2014 without points for 15th-30th?  I would love to take the time and plug all of the finishes in Nascar history into the F1 points system and calculate the real champions from each year.  I think it would be the best indication of who the true champion was.   

I actually really like what Larson is doing by racing what ever he can when he can.  I honestly think he is making NASCAR guys realize that it might help them in some way shape or form.  How many guys from NASCAR ever did dirt racing before Kyle.  Kahne, Stewart, and I dont know who else.  Now who has Elliot, Bowman and I am sure soon to be many more.  I use to watch NASCAR all the time and go to a bunch of races. Now, we go to Sprint car tracks and watch races in Hoogies Garage with 3 50" TVs and have All Stars on WoO on and what ever other race is on.  Sprint Car races on most tracks are fast and not terriblely long.  One of the few good things COVID has brought to the world is there is a Sprint car race on TV  on almost 4 or 5 days a week during the Spring and Summer and Fall.  

You cannot be serious.  Who in their right mind would give up a 7 possibly 8 figure annual income, paved garages, private jets for a mid six fiuge income, dirt/mud pit areas and driving overnight to the next race in a motorhome.  Money talks, pipedreams walk. 

Schrader, Gordon, Yeley, Newman, Irwin, Bell, Briscoe, Whitt, Allgaier,  to name a few. Blaney grew up on dirt tracks. 

Within hearing distance of Tri City Speedway

1.  there was a good discussion here about points systems and manufacturing the type of ending f1 had on sunday.

2.  larson was there with his wife.  could f1 be a target of his one day?  it doesn't seem like it right now...but being there could change things for him.

3.  i don't know.  we only had one of the greatest finishes in f1 and possibly racing history.  it seemed like something worth talking about.  there is life outside of central pa.

i just hope f1 doesn't get into the business of making new rules to replicate what happened.  it does seem like they need to be more clear about how they handle restarts.  safety cars are a relatively new thing for them...at least at the frequency that we see them now ever since jules bianchi was ultimately killed a suzuka.  

You are correct, they grew up on dirt tracks.  However, the biggest difference is Larson continues to race on dirt and asphalt and wins on both........

Let's go Sprint Car Racing!

Knoxville - Best Track In the USA!
Eldora - 2nd Best Track in the USA!

Ok.  I watched the replay of this race.  I've tried in the past to watch F1 on Sunday mornings when there is nothing else on---and I can't do it.  After watching this replay, I will say your assessment that it was the greatest finish in F1 history could be accurate.  I've never seen any excitement before while watching an F1 race, so you could be correct.  However, let's really pull back from "greatest finishes in racing history."  I can think of dozens of midget, USAC, and winged races with better finishes in the past 18 months.  Nascar---as much of a snoozer as many of use complain about it being--has literally produced 100 races with more exciting finishes than this F1 race.  I don't know what it is that turns me off about F1, but when they started doing battle, the way this race ending was talked up, I thought we were going to see it happen more than 2 corners.  If it was the most exciting finish ever, this is why I don't watch it.  I hope Kyle doesn't even consider getting into one of these video game simulators on steroids.  Snoozefest.  Sorry.  JMO 

I record all the races, and (when I am not doing anything else, like painting ) and then get to the start, watch it as that is when there is ANY action, and watch another 5 laps or so, and then fast forward to about 5 laps left.  Then I look for race standings, and I see who the winner will be, and keep the rest of the race on for background noise.  15, 20 minutes tops

I can't say for sure that I have ever watched an F1 race but I have always said that if we all liked the same thing it would be really crowded when we  get there.

I get it, this is a Larson thread that has morphed into an F1 discussion. I laugh at the "Johnny come lately" F1 fans touting the 2021 finalie as the best finish ever...I've been watching F1 (and sprints & midgets) for well over 50 years and let me tell you, it would be hard to top the 2008 finalie in Brazil (when Hamilton won his first championship). No gimmicky DRS, no comms with race control...Only REAL pit stops (with fueling) and incredible strategy. See for yourself... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pKsxtzfVbQ

Member of this message board since 1997

DRS.  Push to Pass.  Both gimmicks that water down open wheel pavement racing for me.  

I just watched it.  Drama?  Yes.  Strategy?  Appears so.  Racing?  I just saw guys making laps real fast and playing follow the leader.  It looks like the winner of the race was over 30 seconds ahead of 5th, is that correct?  If this, and the 2021 finale are the pinnacle of F1, no wonder I can't watch it.  I don't want to ever hear an F1 fan complain about how boring a WoO race is.  

OK, thanks

F1 would be another world to conquer for Kyle

If he succeeds in that, DEFINITELY way up on All Time Great list!