There is no way she brings in enough dollars through commercials and swim suit adds to pay for a torn up $200,000 race care and a entire race team each week does she ?
Can someone remind me again why other than looks Danica has a NASCAR ride ?
- Thread starter TNJunkyardDawg
- Start date
ND but she is a PR piece in an almost all white, all male sport, she was a decent Indy driver, she sells a ton of merch, and because Stewart Haas wants her to.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and the France family wants her in a car for $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. Remember NASCAR is just like wrestling. It's not really racing. ... it's entertainment.
Holly Springs Dawg 3
Pillar of the DawgVent
Cracks me up when people say this. Since Big E. died, my interest in nascar has dropped to almost zero...but. The drivers aren't required to be in top physical condition,(although most nowadays are). But if you don't think it requires skill to do what they do, then your just wrong. It is a sport, maybe not the most thrilling of sports anymore,(I mean, I can only watch about 30 minutes of them making left hand turns). But it takes balls of steel, and extreme mental and physical skills to drive 200 mph for 3 to 4 hours inches apart from other cars going 200mph. While wrestling is entertainment, and there has been a few deaths in the ring, they don't risk their lives every week, and every lap. And like the sport or not, they do risk their lives every lap, and it's not enough for them to be great drivers to lower their risk of bodily harm or death, but they have to rely on 40 other people being somewhat skilled enough to not cause their demise week in and week out. NASCAR has regulated the competition out of their sport as everyone basically drives the exact same cars now, which in turn has taken all the competition and fun out of the sport. I still have a ton of respect for the drivers and the skill and nerves it takes to do what the do. And in the end, they are athletes, whether you like their sport or not. But as far as Danica goes, she makes money because she is the only woman in the sport, and because she looks like she does, but she also does have the talent to be out there even if she is no real threat to win.
Been there done it. Happened to have been in the sport for 15 years as an engine builder, mechanic, fabricator, pit crewman, anything. Road raced my own formula car later. NASCAR is entertainment brought to you by the France clan, proud owners of Speedway Corporation of America. You are aware that they get a cut of every sponsor dollar right? The more cars / sponsor name is on the TV screen the more owners can bargain for? The bigger NASCAR's end? Danica is an Ok driver; not great. She can run in a pack and stay out of trouble. She isn't likely going to make the stupid mistake and wreck a bunch of cars. (You could prolly do equally as well if motivated and confident enough to learn.) France Clan loves having a female driver in the field. Helps their political correctness / social justice appearances and that boosts TV dollars. They would really kill to have a black driver! Next best thing is having an "Intimidator" or good v evil on the track just like wrestling. Lots of the same fans are in the stands. (Remember the Allison's v Yarbrough fisticuffs at Daytona? Put NASCAR on the map.) What most don't realize is driving along at 190 is not much different than whipping down i-75... as long as everybody is going the same relative speed. One just has to anticipate farther down the asphalt. Do things happen quickly? Sure but the mind acclimates well. Can you get hurt seriously or killed? Yes. Though pretty unlikely with the chassis of today plus other safety stuff v back when. The driver who can make a car competitive when it's inferior is extremely, extremely, rare. Kyle Bush is one. He's very, very, good. Maybe the best of this generation. There's few others. Sir Jackie Stewart or Ayrton Senna were incredible. Racer's racers. Danica ain't in the same league as the names.
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Holly Springs Dawg 3
Pillar of the DawgVent
No where and I repeat no where, did I ever try and put Danica in the same league as anyone that is a full time driver, much less the same class of drivers that you mentioned. And from the sound of it, you and I feel exactly the same about the sport. Yes the changes that nascar has made in the safety area since Dales death are incredible. With the HANS device and full face helmets being mandatory, and all of the improvements that have been made to the cars, and the tracks (catch fences, pit road speed limit, out of bounds areas for driving) and the biggest change is the safer barrier walls that have been made mandatory at all tracks (and almost every wall, not just the outside wall of the track). NASCAR is a lot safer for drivers and fans. But even with all that, there are certain tracks (Daytona, Talladega, Atlanta, Pocono, and a few other 1&1/2 tracks) that the speeds are so great that they will never be 100 % safe. As I said the sport has changed so much since dale died that the sport isn't the same anymore. A lot of the changes had to be made, but they have made the sport so cookie cutter that it doesn't reward the drivers who have better skills than others anymore. Granted the best still shine some times but for the most part, a lot is out of the divers hands anymore.
I have to think you had a lot of fun working in the sport when you did. And back then a top notch engine builder made all the difference in the world. Nowadays all the engines come from one of three builders and are pretty much the same for everyone. It's a shame.
As an old Road Racer....NASCAR is the most boring form of motorsports you can find....That said, they have some of the absolute best drivers in the World, NASCAR is about $$$$ more than anything. Its one of the very few motor sports that actually turns a profit. The old saying in the sport is " how do you make a million dollars racing?" " Start with 10million"
Danica is $$$$ I've been in the paddocks with her around. She is a huge draw. She's full of fire and rage on the track. With the main stars getting older and retiring the sport needs her.
Danica is $$$$ I've been in the paddocks with her around. She is a huge draw. She's full of fire and rage on the track. With the main stars getting older and retiring the sport needs her.
There will always be inherent dangers but it's vastly safer today v my era. Yeah, it was fun...sorta... but for me it was more about the technical challenges than on-track stuff. The man-hours are enormous. The money required is outrageous. Today the fuel injection system (and engine output) is controlled by a NASCAR ECU & chip. There are ways to "defeat"
the carburetor restrictor plate; very difficult with a computer chip. If it were me I'd be experimenting with fuel additives right now. We used them and they work. Also finding some additional fuel storage is never a bad thing. Seen roll bars and fire extinguishers used and other tricks. Just gotta get it by the post-race inspection. With certain teams getting factory parts today before others it's cost prohibitive to develop your own motor I suspect. Factories have more bodies and brains to throw at the challenge; you can't keep up. In my time we cast allot of things like intakes and crafted our own headers/exhaust tubes to suit our specific dyno testing data. That's a lost art. Being less than trusting when it comes to racing, I sure wouldn't want to rent a motor but not knowledgeable enough today to truly judge if you lose anything by doing so. I'd want to see the dyno data before I put one in the car. As for DE he had a very, very, bad habit of loosening his shoulder harness during caution laps. He didn't synch them up before he crashed and it killed him. The Hans apparatus has saved allot of racers since being made mandatory. So have the soft walls. Great inventions. I watch maybe two NASCAR races a year but I love watching F-1. Incredible machines. Don't miss being in racing one bit. Maybe I'm just getting old, jaded, after seeing so many things first hand and how different it truly is v what casual fans believe.
I raced a formula car for a couple of years after NASCAR. Hung out at Road Atlanta a good bit too. But what I really want to know is if Danica looks as good in person as in her photo shoots and/or is she a beyotch? Thoughts?
Oh she's hot!! F1? WOW, impressed. It takes a bad ass to drive one of those. I've driven about everything you can imagine from Sports cars, NASCAR's, Rally cars..DP's etc...never had the pleasure to get into one of those things. I'm told that there is no such thing as slow in them, that you have to have them as a certain speed to keep aero working so they stay on the track?
Holly Springs Dawg 3
Pillar of the DawgVent
Holly Springs Dawg 3
Pillar of the DawgVent
I understand what you mean about being different than what most think. And as far as the old tricks being a lost art, to me that is when nascar was at its best. Yeah yeah, people called it cheating, but to me it wasn't cheating if you didn't get caught. I love hearing about the tricks the old drivers and crew chiefs used to gain the advantage. Today it's damn near impossible, although a few still try where they can (Chad Knause mainly, lol). But as far as additives go, not sure how they could get away with it now. I mean nascar holds and distributes all the fuel at the track, and they only give them enough to fill the car up once, you see them during the race after pit stops going and refilling the fuel cans. I guess they could add something nice they get back to the pit stalls, but I am sure nascar checks their fuel left over after the race. But if there is a way then I am sure someone is trying it.There will always be inherent dangers but it's vastly safer today v my era. Yeah, it was fun...sorta... but for me it was more about the technical challenges than on-track stuff. The man-hours are enormous. The money required is outrageous. Today the fuel injection system (and engine output) is controlled by a NASCAR ECU & chip. There are ways to "defeat"
Build a gas can with a chamber containing the additive so when the can is inverted it mixes. OR you leave a full can mixed in the garage that you just swap with an empty one on race day. Or just swing by the hauler, pour a little Sunoco in the truck gas tank then top off the fuel can with whatever. OR dtash it in the car fire extinguisher and plumb it to a fuel line somewhere. (This is what AJ Four did at Indy one year with laughing gas.... nitros oxide.) Or hide a canister in the roll cage and plumb it to a fuel line or the cell bladder. Anything with a free oxygen radical (nitro in the name) will burn hotter in a cylinder thus deliver faster expansion thus more power. Not that I ever did anything like these ideas. Just suggestions and rumors.
NASCAR only tested for fuel sample specific gravity. I've heard there's some obscure liquid chemical compounds that require a full blown lab to detect. Odorless & colorless too. Some have to be kept cool or kabooom. Anything will change the exhaust note pitch so you want to use as little as possible to get the job done which is only 10-15 extra hp preferably at race end. Bill Elliot's Melling Ford sounded odd at times. Wonder why?
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Holly Springs Dawg 3
Pillar of the DawgVent
Now that you mention it, yeah I have noticed cars that had an odd or different sounding lope to them. From 96' to 2000, we prolly went to 30 races, and I had a friend who worked the company that owned AMS, CMS, and several other tracks. He got us pit and garage passes for all the Atlanta and Charlotte races. We would always go on Fridays for qualifying, and Saturday for the Busch races and final practice for the cup cars, and hang out in the garage area. It was a blast watching those guys work up close like that. But I also remember how some cars sounded a lot different than others. Almost sounded like some were running on seven cylinders or something, but they definitely had a different sound to them.
Some of what you heard was prolly exhaust plumbing or tubing shape / size or cam/valve timing. But listen real close to a car wide open at the end of a race v the start. Or in qualifying v race. Nitro additives cause a sharper / crisper / more resonant note. Watch for a car that suddenly begins to pull away from others when it didn't before. Or suddenly closes gaps quickly. If you've a stopwatch you can time splits...straights and corners alone to see if there's a sudden increase in pace... especially down straights. These are all tips-offs a secret could be lurking. Then again sometimes a car is just a better chassis, a better built motor, better bodywork, better decisions by a crew chief, more money. It happens. You just have to tip your hat and move on to the next event.
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Ol' Awesome Bill's Ford must've REALLY been sounding odd when he set the pole sitter's qualifying record back in Feb. of 1987. His lap speed of 210.364 mph was a major reason why NASCAR has required restrictor plates at Daytona ever since.
That car was a rocket using an unrestricted, tricked out, qualifying motor, prepped front end bodywork, and all the openings taped off. Would have liked to have been there as fastest car I ever worked on lapped in 199's. The plate was mandatory to slow everyone down after Allison went into the stands at Talledega. However, the cars were unstable in spins long before that. If you get one going backwards it's shaped like an airplane wing and wants to fly. The nifty "flaps" in the roofs and along the hood/cowl help dissipate the high pressure air beneath the car. Slick idea. 210 is definitely hauling ass so when I see Indy cars lapping at 225 I can't imagine.
Marketing dollars. The only reason for anything done in sports/entertainment.
