[starion887]

HI Greg,

>yes i like nascar and yes it bothers me to see it bashed
>incessantly here. thay like us. why cant we like them?
>racing is racing!

Well, the truth is that the bashing of NASCAR on this site is really comong from just a few individuals; take a good look at the negative comments and the number of sources......Some of it is just not caring for a certain form of racing, some of it is sectionalism (Who said the Civil War is over?), and some of it is prejudice against the types of folks who like to hang around one form of racing or another. I am sure we can find adherents of each form of racing who hold these types of ideas.

Most of us DO like just about all racing no matter what the type, and for most folks, it's just a matter of degree of preference. E.g., I used to street race a lot but never had any real interest in NHRA; go figure!

So don't take the NASCAR bashing on the SSForum too seriously. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool southerner and grew up on it; my dad started carrying the NASCAR races on his radio station back in 1960 and I grew up listening to it nearly every Sunday. So, I have good reasons to like NASCAR that others may not share. But, rallying is what I want to particiatpe in; one good, long rally is worth half a season's seat time at the local 0.4 mi oval track.

Mark B.

 

[starion887]

>What I dont like is when stock car fans and racers
>describe them as "the best drivers in the world", which is
>just utter delusional hogwash. Yes, even the worst Winston
>Cup driver is 200% better than I can ever dream of being,
>but they are starting to buy into their own propaganda.

Kinda like the kid's story about the King's new clothes, eh?? Welcome to the world of race marketing. I think that is part of what we are revolting against with SCCA's NWO. Marketing can take the best thing in the world and totally dehumainze the people involved and turn it into just one big commercial. NASCAR HAD such a strong traditional following for so long becasue those involved were human and reachable. Sadly, that is being lost to a greater and greater degree. With the big business of advertising involved more and more, the propaganda and the loss of the true personal touch with the rest of us working schmucks will be the norm.

I can see how some folks don't like it; in some ways, NASCAR is more and more the advertisement racing that most folks on this forum do not like. Just remember, it was not that way at all in the past. I can show you some great slides and tell you great stories from races at Charlotte, Bristol, Martinsville, Darlington, and Asheville-Weaverville from the 60's, that everyone involved in US sport rallying would recognize as 'real racing by real people'.

Let's hope we can avoid this fate. We won't get rich, but we'll have a great time, and have something wonderful to pass on to our children and those coming along.....like I am trying to do with my son.

Regards,
Mark B.