This is a popular but naive view. The fact remains that any two drivers do not set up and drive the same car the same way, they are not as fast as each other in the same place on the circuit (yes a real circuit not an oval), they think differently about racing and have different styles, their teams are involved and are also pivotal in the success or failure of the car and driver. There is so much involved in getting your team's car across the line these days in real racing. It is not mainly about the machine at all. In F1 we see the pinnacle of racing (and even aerospace) technology, but still there are great differences between drivers and other people important to the drivers. A race is conducted across several days and can be won or lost at any point therein. It is too complex for many to enjoy, but to paint F1 as a simple case of "the fastest car wins" is really wrong. Using Nascar as a comparitive example only lessens the credibilty of the argument since it has nothing in common with F1 at all and is so far apart from F1 as to be considered incomaparable. I agree that if you apply F1 conditions to oval racing it would be even more boring (hard to imagine, I know) than it already is but F1 has variety built in to the racing where Nascar has no variety at all. Perhaps oval racing needs a push to pass button to prevent the drivers from dozing off? Then again, causing half the field to erupt into a blazing ball of flame seems to be a real crowd pleaser for many Nascar fans.