I ghost these forums quite often...never really bother to post much...

After reading a few threads about different topics I have noticed that the "NASCAR is stupid" topic comes up a lot. My opinion about this topic may be bias because I am a NASCAR fan, but who cares. It really cooks my noodle (i am being polite about this) when people say "NASCAR IS FOR DUMB AMERICAN REDNECKS WHO WEAR GUNS, DRINK WHISKEY,LIVE IN TEXAS AND TURNING LEFT IS STUPID"...anyone who thinks that gets a big "**** YOU"...everyone on these forums shares one thing in common, the passion of racing (or something along the lines of that)...racing...thats a thing with wheels that competes against other things on wheels...who cares how its done, or what its done in...racing is racing...if you dont like it...then shut up and leave your lame opinion to yourself...every form of racing takes some kind of skill...even drag racing, anyone who thinks it doesnt can go down to their local strip and see how many consistant runs they can make...its not easy...bracket racing takes some skill...it just pisses me off that everyone stereotypes us as a bunch of hicks....hell i can do the same...all french people wear doofy hats, walk around with big loaves of bread, have little mustaches, and sleep all the time...all germans walk around in their leiderhozen, drink lots of beer and yodel or something...all british have messed up teeth, drink tea everyday at 2pm and smoke big sherlock holmes pipes....see, its dumb...there's no point...it pisses me off...just because we have a few stupid people doesnt mean you dont have a few nutcases in your countries either...

I am sorry if i pissed anyone off...this is just MY opinion and thats that....i didnt mean to offend anyone or anything of that type of thing...

i respect that drag racing and circle track racing DO TAKE CONSIDERABLE SKILL.

BUT.... i find that skill is rarely transferable to any other forms of racing because it is so purpose specific.

if you look at road racers (guys that turn both ways) that have moved into circle track racing in the USA, many of them are quite successful. but when you look at the reverse, most guys who have come up through the circle track system can't make that jump to road racing. just look at when nascar goes to sears point. many of the regular circle trackers get sidelined and hired guns like Boris Said get pulled in.

personally, in real life and in video games, i like a good variety of turns. i like a long straight with a tight hairpin where you go from 6th to 1st or 2nd gear. i like chicanes when if you clip the curbs just right you can absolutely RIP through there.

that being said, i've never driven an oval in real life though i've riden my motorcycle on an oval in an industrial complex when they had paved the roads but built no buildings. after about 5 laps i was bored. same goes with video games. the monotony of just 2 or 3 corners just doesn't hold my attention.

speedfreak227

What is the aim of the discussion?
I and a lot other people don't like oval racing because we think it is boring. You and other people like oval racing because you think it is interesting.
So what is there to be discussed? The matter that oval racing is only common in america? Well, that's the case with a lot of things. All cultures are different from other cultures. Is that what you want to discuss?

Vain

You are of course entitled to your opinion, as is everyone else.

I am in no doubt that oval racing takes skill, but man o man is it as dull as ditchwater to watch, it might be a media thing, but whenever I have seen oval racing, the spectators are your usual stereo-typical slack-jawed yokels.

The other American thing I hate is baseball, how you guys can sit there for 3 hours and watch this is beyond me.

While we are on the subject of stereotypes, in my experiance Americans are some of the worse people for lumping different cultures/countries into stereotypes.

Dan,

I think the main reason NASCAR is so popular over there is that it's spectator friendly,,,, it's gotta be cool sitting trackside with 30 or so V8s all humming round at 200mph.... even so,,,, it's all tactics and caution flags,,,, not very exciting racing.....................................

Drag racing is F'ing awesome tho',,,, I love it.... theres not too much that compare with watching a 10,000 Bhp car hit 300mph in 4.5 seconds....

BTW you've just reinforced a few of my own american stereotypes,,,,, although i might offend somebody if I elaborate further

(gotta love the punctuation :P)

Quote from danowat :

The other American thing I hate is baseball, how you guys can sit there for 3 hours and watch this is beyond me.

yall do the same .. but with cricket lol

its like they say, you have to enjoy it to endure it.. its like watching a race.. wait.. i dont do that either hmm.. okay well.. i guess im not helping lol cause i .. really dont see how people can just sit and watch sports.. period

It's the same thing with everything that is little different from the mainstream, may it be drifting, tractor pulling or nascar. They are looked down just because people think there is no skill or it is just boring.

I like nascar in small bits but I couldn't watch it more than 30 min straight. But when it comes to racing! I used to dislike nascars before but when I bought my first nascar game (just because it had good physics lol) I got this enlightened feeling. Driving a nascar is fun! All the action in shorter races is just so overwhelmingly exciting. Driving lap after lap door-to-door with someone trying to make a pass (/ trying not to let him). Take 30 laps in bristol or 20 at some "boring" track and you will have to drive at 100% all the time.

100% support to you, Homeless_Drunk

hehehe, nearly every American I have spoken to says, when asked where I live, (in an American accent) "Is that near London", errrr....no, London is one of many Cities in the UK

Dan,

I do believe that in Homeless_Drunk's stereotyping comments up there is being used as an example.

I myself am getting tired of hearing "Nascar sucks" and "Nascar doesn't take any skill, they only turn left". As well as the america is a bunch of "rednecks" and how the cost of living is so cheap in america. Only way the cost of living in america is cheap is if you walk around with the bosses you-know-what hanging out of your mouth. If you are a regular old manufacturing line worker, then you barely have the money to put gas (petrol, before someone flames on that) in the tank to get to work. Try supporting a wife, kids, home, and have a decent car to drive on my salary. And I'm the highest paid "hourly" employee in our plant right now. I don't have enough cash after taxes, insurance, groceries, utilities, etc. to make it to work for 2 weeks. It's why my credit card bill goes up higher around $50 per month even though I pay $100 on it. Things would be alot easier if everyone wasn't so greedy and didn't send their kids to be brought up by strangers so that both parents can work to afford that ridiculously overpriced SUV and house that's 5 times bigger than they need.

It is ok to have an opinion and say "Nascar isn't my thing, I think it's boring." But to constantly flame it as sucking and taking no skill, then enough is enough. I see many here in this thread who change their comments than what has been posted in the past. Same with the drifting / racing flaming and the "newbie" flaming. Everyone flames, then someone starts a new thread screaming about all the ridiculous flaming and those same who flamed post in it changing their tune.

I can say that all the flaming and piss-poor attitudes lately isn't only this forum. I frequent many other forums and am starting to see the same thing in them as well, especially with the "newbie" flaming.

Nice post here, homeless_drunk. It is beginning to be much needed lately.

Rant mode off.

Who says america's living cheap? When I imagine an american house, it's always wood, indeed, the way expensive SUV in front of the door that burns more gas than two sedans. But I feel sorry for you, paying so many taxes, and you can't even go see a doctor without asking for a credit card first. Here in Belgium there is now running a commercial about x-number of years health care, and it's about an american news guy, that had an accident in Belgium, and he's telling all these great things like: they helped me immediately without even asking for my credit card!

Well, if you pay a lotta taxes for that, and creating wars (cause that's the only thing you actually hear around here about america), I would stop paying and move out.

Personally, it's not oval racing I don't like, it's NASCAR in particular. I don't like the way the series is run, I don't like the hugely money-driven commercial attitude of it now, and I don't like the glamorization of all the bull. I want racing, and NASCAR is forgetting that.

I quite enjoy oval racing, I love going up to the Mosport oval on saturday nights and watching the local weekenders race. Great racing action, great fun. The same thing has happened in Formula 1.

ALL forms of SPORT take skill, not just racing. Some sports may be easier to grasp than another, but they all require skill.

On the topic of stereotypes, quite frankly, don't take it to heart. People have their opinions. If they want to belittle you, your country, your culture, or their past times - let them. It's not that big of a deal. Everytime I go to Florida, me and my family always get the "Did you Canadians have to buy a new wardrobe for your vacation down here?" and the like. We just laugh it off. Fact is, in the middle of summer here in southern Ontario, it actually gets just as hot - and even a little hotter - than Florida at times.

Thats really all I have to say on the matter..

MAGGOT

Some people like apples, and then there are those who prefer oranges! Does liking either or make you a better human being?? I dont think so!

And not ALL American's are behind our oil loving president! His poll #'s are the lowest for any American president in history(i think), so if you want to flame Americans for our leader, just flame the idiots that elected that moron..... TWICE!! :P
For the record, i voted "none of the above"!!

As far as living cheap, I make about $1500 (approx) bi-weekly before taxes, after uncle sam gets his $500(approx), and the mortgage company gets their 700$, as well as all utilities, gas, pampers, food etc etc, im lucky to have enough $$ for cigs for the week!! I think me and m.rodgers are in the same boat!! I cant get these credit card companies to stop calling me!!! Luckily both my cars are paid off and my bike is soon to be, so ill be saving some $$$$!!

I have lost alot of intrest in nascar for the same reasons as maggot!! It has gottem to money driven and they are forgetting where they came from!!! Taking more and more of the good tracks away for places like Texas and California is just plain sad!! At least i still have moto gp!!

You could start saving those $$$$ now if you'd quite smoking. It's weird how many people use smoking to relax, while often they would have an easier financial life if they wouldn't. I'm not sure how much it is, but I know cigs cost a whole lotta money if you count everything together.

Ive done the math...$3.00 a pack, 1 pack a day = approx $1100.00/year cigs are cheap compared to my other relaxing "tool"

if i quit, which i plan to do before my little one turns 3(about 4 months), i will kill my wife which would cost me alot more than $1100 :P

I never said that the cost of living here was either high or low! I cant comment on that as ive never lived anywhere else!! I was just breaking down my personal situation, which in no way speaks for any other Americans!!

Quote from th84 :

At least i still have moto gp!!

Yeah, its real fun watching rossi win every race. Yawn.

If you want the best of tarmac motorcycling, you watch the IOM TT, or the northwest 200. Road racing adds that extra element of danger, which makes it much more fun to watch then any moto GP race, imo.

Then if you want even more really good racing, Supermoto and motocross is where its at.

[edit] Just to keep on topic, i think nascar is boring. The only time its interesting, is when theres a big crash.

Quote :

Supermoto and motocross is where its at

I agree! I watch all forms of motorcycle racing!! It just seems that the moto gp races are the most convient for my time schedule(sundays around lunch time)!!I always seem to miss the supermoto races! Now motocross, I really love watching Ricky Carmichael win over and over... yawn :P
I go to the georgia dome sometimes and watch the motocross boys do there thing!!

I can't see why yer man that posted the first post on this topic went from "Nascar sucks" to "Americans are all rednecks"...I can't see who said that. But anyway, an opinion is an opinion. If someone doesnt agree with your opinion, then so be it, let sleeping dogs lie and all that. I really believe people take life far too seriously at times, if someone stereotypes you because of where you're from, laugh it off! People hear I'm from Ireland and immediately think I have ginger hair, wear a green hat 24hours a day, and am drunk 35hours a day. But it's simply not true! So lighten up!!

And Looney, you're damn right about the Isle Of Man TT and the Northwest 200, unbelievably good entertainment. I go to the Northwest almost every year, and my god is it fun!

Quote from th84 :

I really love watching Ricky Carmichael win over and over... yawn :P

Fair point, ricky does win quite a bit, but he's ALWAYS challenged for it, and the first three places are usually close i think, compared to moto GP. In moto gp it usually goes something like this - Rossi gets the lead, pulls away, and for the rest of the race he's out on his own with a 1 min lead with no chance of anyone catching him, unless his bike blows up or something.

Not bagging his skills, because he is a great rider/racer, but when hes pretty much riding round the track on his own, it becomes really dull.

Still beats nascar though!

Quote from GaryArm :

I go to the Northwest almost every year, and my god is it fun!

I bet it is!

I've only seen videos/tv coverage of this awesome race, watching those bikes fly by at 180+ on real roads in the flesh must be an amazing experience.

Will have to come over there one year to experience it. Same with IOM TT.

anyways, back on topic of stereotypes... i think im gonna have to say that stereotyping stuff, is just how we learn, because all it really is, is just word association; mice:cheese:milk:cows, etc
so we just apply it to one thing and dont look at the other details (smaller or not, the stereotype is just what is most visible)
a mouse may not necesarily eat only cheese, and there are tons of types of cheese, and there are a variety of milks (whole, 2%, 1% etc), and there are several types of cows, some for milking, some for meat, etc

so there it is.. stereotypes are just word associations, and an easy way for the human mind to remembering things

Quote from danowat :

hehehe, nearly every American I have spoken to says, when asked where I live, (in an American accent) "Is that near London", errrr....no, London is one of many Cities in the UK

Dan,

to be fair i think it is probably the same for a lot of us asking an american where they are from! i know i would have trouble!

Its always hard for me when an american asks where im from and i say Jersey.... i havent come across someone (YET) who understands where it is!

But the funniest bit is when you explain that New Jersey is actually named AFTER Jersey in the Channel Islands and NOT the other way around well they always just laugh not believing you saying that you must be from England and that you actually still mean New Jersey!

Although having said that i bet someone will come back saying they have been to Jersey and know where it is!

Quote from andy_bonjon :

Although having said that i bet someone will come back saying they have been to Jersey and know where it is!

I live in Jersey. It's on the east coast, to the east of Pennsylvania, south of New York.

http://www.jersey.com/wij/wij_en.htm

Quote from thisnameistaken :

Apples for teh win, stoopid orange-loving idiots wouldn't know a good fruit if it bit them on the ass.

Oh, come on now! Now you're really pushing me, Kev! You want apples? I'll give you freakin apples! I have about a billion of 'em all over the yard that I have to pick up or mow over every fall. Red delicious, golden delicious, granny smiths, Macintosh, all kinds. Freakin previous owner and his freakin apple trees. I'd die for just one orange tree!

On a positive note, he did plant about 4 peach trees. Now thats something. You need a bib when you eat them, they are that sweet and juicy.

Oh, and I want to specify here before any flaming happens, that I'm only being sarcastic with ole Kev there. It is true though, I have so many freakin apple trees it drives me nuts (er, have two of those too, nut trees).

theres no need to flame other forms of racing just because you dont agree with them ......thats your opinion which you are entitled to but by postin here it will just upset a few people who are big fans of such and such motorsport...

Personally i find watching Nascar a little booring only due to the fact the races are very long and it is just on an oval but there is action! i think the same about f1 sometimes as someraces are absolutely unentertaining!. but thats just me, i also dont enjoy sports like cricket, baseball, basketball drag racing etc....

but i respect that other people will love them... everyone is different and has different opinions about things.

Too often people flame other stuff too quickly......

Just like Truck Racing (Semi racing for the americans without the trailer) which is a sport i enjoy
what a great sport! but many people think its absolutely s***e.. thats fine...

mad....

argh this thread is pointless!!

ohhh its 2.13am damn!!!

I like bananas. Or the occasional kiwi. Or, simply, a nice chocolate chip muffin (not technically a fruit before you doom-mongerers come and try and trick me!)