The 2021 Running NASCAR/IMSA/other racing things thread

I was by that way a couple of months ago. It would probably be cheaper to tear the whole place down and start over based on the state of disrepair.

 

Anyone else ever seriously cover NHRA? I was enough of a regular that I could walk into any pit unannounced and talk to the biggest names in the sport... drivers, crew chiefs, owners. I wouldn't say everyone knew my name, but they knew my face. I've been out of the loop for a decade now but have been trying to catch up.
Drag racers were some of the most intense racers I've ever been around, but it seems funny to me how so many of these people retire, hang it up, and just walk away.
It's curious. People involved in other forms of motorsports don't seem to be that way. They keep turning up.
NHRA guys literally go from running 330 mph, being on fire, shoving their finger in someone's face at the top end of the race track, and winning championships one day to being totally devoid of sport the next.
Odd.

 

Yeah, if Marcus is floating rumors, it's because he's hoping to stir up a buyer for the land, not the track. The only thing he's spent on the place since they moved the Cup races might be a new lock for the front gate.

 

And yet Force is still out there, running his mouth faster than his car some weekends. I'm not sure if his voice or his body will stop working first. Great interview, but have second-hand experience that he's not the greatest guy for which to work.

 

I'm talking Snake, Amato, Big (he hung around), Bernstein, Scelzi, Dixon, Coil, others... it's crazy how they just walk away.

 

Marcus picked up the check last year when iRacing came in and laser-mapped the track, and the cleanup was significant. Bruton wouldn’t even have unlocked the gates for the iRacing folks.

 

I didn't know that. That's more than I expected him to do.

It was a sorry sight in 2006 when I snuck in and took photos for a "10 years later" story to piss off NASCAR. There were good-sized pine trees growing through the wooden backstretch grandstands, the scoreboards had fallen down, the catch fencing was rusted and bent and the walls were crumbling.

I couldn't get close, but it appeared the infield buildings all had broken windows and torn curtains. The concession areas and bathrooms were missing doors and fixtures.

Cool thing was to see the "Winston Cup" red still there despite years of weathering away.

EDIT: I had completely forgotten about them running "The Race" in 2010. They definitely fixed up that side of the track, based on the photo.

LOOKING BACK: The Last Race At North Wilkesboro - SPEED SPORT

 

I wonder if that's due to the intensity of drag racing. 300 mph, over in seconds, lots of risk if your driving inputs are off even a little. If you're aging and your reflexes are not what they once were, you get eaten up off the line. Experience helps, but not as much as simply executing quickly. If an athlete in a ball sport loses a step it isn't as obvious as it is in a sport where victory is a matter of hundredths of a second.

 

Ouch. Not a good look for Camping World guy (who has wrecked Camping World, BTW).

 

I know nothing about Camping World, other than they sponsor the series and that the CEO seems to be an attention whore.

Also Sheldon Creed needs to realize he isn’t worth more than $15k, because folks are paying $0 right now. It’s an open marketplace. I understand the desire to make more, but it’s easier to get a sponsor when you have a sponsor.

 

Neither Camping World nor the Good Sam Club for RVers are winning a lot of fans for their terrible customer service since Lemonis bought them.