It’s a circus, literally. A traveling band of gypsies. I know – my dad traveled/worked with a team for parts of two seasons after he retired, just for fun.

this is 100% true. I had some neighbors growing up that seemed level-headed…until they removed their two kids from school, sold everything (house, cars, possesions), and bought a big truck and 5th wheel camper to travel the NASCAR curcuit and sell concessions for income.

UPDATE: their plan failed and they ended up living with the paternal grandparents.

It’s a circus, literally. A traveling band of gypsies. I know – my dad traveled/worked with a team for parts of two seasons after he retired, just for fun.

They took races away from traditional tracks and moved to markets like Kentucky, Arizona, Missouri, and other places that they had no business going.

I have been to PIR the last couple of years and it is packed.

well, then FOX and their announcers are morons.

agreed.

/mentions Tweeter for the eleventy threveth time

Its problem is that the France family decided to jump at the chance to expand to the casual fan

Sounds what the sports media is trying to do with college football: expand a postseason for the sake of Joe Q. Lovesbrackets while trying to delegitimize the earlier part of the season.

this. stop trying to fix shit that isn’t broken!

well, then FOX and their announcers are morons.

Its problem is that the France family decided to jump at the chance to expand to the casual fan

Sounds what the sports media is trying to do with college football: expand a postseason for the sake of Joe Q. Lovesbrackets while trying to delegitimize the earlier part of the season.

I don’t know.. I heard “super bowl of racing” about 15 times last night. I get what you’re saying though.

anyone calling the 500 the “Super Bowl of NASCAR” is a fucking moron. even if it’s the announcers. it’s the Great American Race and doesn’t need to be compared to any other sports’ milestone events. it’s tradition stands alone. calling it the Super Bowl of NASCAR serves no purpose other than to distort the race.

2011 attendance figures for NASCAR disagree with you.

Correct me if I’m wrong miz… but Trevor Baine? Bayne? winning last year would have been akin to the Browns winning the super bowl, yes? That’s not happening in the NFL.

Bayne = a talented rookie driver that had been preparing for the big leagues full time for half of his life.

he didn’t get lucky last year. he had an awesome car and was driving up front the entire week. he qualified himself, he raced up front during the qualifiyng races, and he had guys like Jeff Gordon, Jimmy Johnson, Carl Edwards, and Tony Stewart talking BEFORE the 500 about how fast and calm he was and he was a target for a tandem drafting partner.

I guess your analogy to the Browns works if, say, the Browns brought in a new owner, GM, and coach with decades of winning experience and then they had a dynamite draft and free agency period to build a solid team that competed all year long and earned a playoff spot.

in short, your analogy is awful because the sports are completely different animals and the Browns are an awful franchise from top to bottom.

I think NASCAR’s biggest problem is that once football starts everyone forgets it exists… having a season that spans Feb-Nov. is pretty crazy.

Nah. Its problem is that the France family decided to jump at the chance to expand to the casual fan and in doing so took the sport away from the fans who would be watching on the Sundays when there is football on (like my family). They took races away from traditional tracks and moved to markets like Kentucky, Arizona, Missouri, and other places that they had no business going. They overextended and when the casual fans went away due to the economy tanking, they didn’t have as many diehards to fall back on.

I don’t know.. I heard “super bowl of racing” about 15 times last night. I get what you’re saying though.

but Trevor Baine? Bayne? winning last year would have been akin to the Browns winning the super bowl, yes? That’s not happening in the NFL.

Trevor Bayne isn’t going to win the cup anytime soon either.

Correct me if I’m wrong miz… but Trevor Baine? Bayne? winning last year would have been akin to the Browns winning the super bowl, yes? That’s not happening in the NFL.

Horrible analogy. If he had won the Sprint Cup, then yes. It would be more like had the Dolphins beat the Patriots in week one last season.

Just seems like it’s all luck. I was half watching last night, and I really didn’t seem much passing at all. Just don’t crash, and you might end up winning.

I know you’re goal is to trash NASCAR cause it’s the popular thing to do, but you’re correct, there’s a lot of luck involved. incredibly, there’s a lot of skill and preparation involved too. that skill and preparation allows the best drivers to take advantage of lucky situations and turn them into opportunity. what’s most shocking is that the previous two sentences also describe every type of sporting event and competition.