It’s the difference between a marathon and an obstacle course.
Nascar has some really crazy shit, like building a twisted car to turn left, canting the engines to perform better in turns, making the car as flat as possible on the right to get better aero when up against the wall. They do some wild stuff with the cars, and stretching the rules or “cheating” was, and probably is, a huge part of the sport.
When it comes to the racing itself, the track layout is usually designed with top sustained speed in mind, which means that a lot of the driver’s finishing position is determined by their ability to battle it out with the other drivers, instead of their ability to optimize the course. Not to mention, that simple “left turn” is deceptively complex. Drivers account for track conditions, like foreign debris, rubber “marbles”, bank angle, and temperature, atmospheric conditions like air density, car conditions like damage, fuel, tire wear and tire temp, and race conditions like remaining laps, position and proximity to other drivers, when they make that “simple left”. Throw in make-or-break pitstops, where the car gets fuel, tires and repairs in less than 10 seconds, and the fact that almost all of this is happening at 170+ MPH, and you realize that oval racing isn’t just a bunch of hilljacks turning left, but a modern gladiator-style chariot race.
No hard feelings. I’m not a big Nascar guy either, but I went to ~10 Brickyard 400s when I was younger. Totally agree with your sentiment about mild left turn and car shuffling. If that was all I could see, it would be pretty boring. I have the same feeling about horse racing. Just zero appreciation for the Kentucky derby. Just a bunch of multi-millionaires’ horses running around with some other dude on their backs in my opinion. I’m sure there is a complexity that I’m missing, but I’m happy just not knowing.
It’s the difference between a marathon and an obstacle course.
Nascar has some really crazy shit, like building a twisted car to turn left, canting the engines to perform better in turns, making the car as flat as possible on the right to get better aero when up against the wall. They do some wild stuff with the cars, and stretching the rules or “cheating” was, and probably is, a huge part of the sport.
When it comes to the racing itself, the track layout is usually designed with top sustained speed in mind, which means that a lot of the driver’s finishing position is determined by their ability to battle it out with the other drivers, instead of their ability to optimize the course. Not to mention, that simple “left turn” is deceptively complex. Drivers account for track conditions, like foreign debris, rubber “marbles”, bank angle, and temperature, atmospheric conditions like air density, car conditions like damage, fuel, tire wear and tire temp, and race conditions like remaining laps, position and proximity to other drivers, when they make that “simple left”. Throw in make-or-break pitstops, where the car gets fuel, tires and repairs in less than 10 seconds, and the fact that almost all of this is happening at 170+ MPH, and you realize that oval racing isn’t just a bunch of hilljacks turning left, but a modern gladiator-style chariot race.
Removed by mod
No hard feelings. I’m not a big Nascar guy either, but I went to ~10 Brickyard 400s when I was younger. Totally agree with your sentiment about mild left turn and car shuffling. If that was all I could see, it would be pretty boring. I have the same feeling about horse racing. Just zero appreciation for the Kentucky derby. Just a bunch of multi-millionaires’ horses running around with some other dude on their backs in my opinion. I’m sure there is a complexity that I’m missing, but I’m happy just not knowing.
Removed by mod