2008 NASCAR running thread

It wasn't "because" of the weather. It's because it is the spitting image of what happened to Rockingham, and NASCAR couldn't haul its ass out of there soon enough. NASCAR doesn't sell in L.A. Sorry. And it's a joke that they keep trying to force it to, when it's talking about getting back to its roots.

 

So NASCAR decided to finish the race today?

 

Yeah: 1 P.M. EST.

 

I've read the thread and I still don't understand why NASCAR would try to re-start the race at midnight EST. How many East Coast and Midwest papers would have held just for the race? How many viewers would have waited up for the re-start?

 

Nobody, but it's clear they didn't care about that.

 

I gave up at 11 p.m. Now, because of fever/chills/sinus congestion/dizzy spells, I get to sleep through it this afternoon instead.

Nothing but failure on ISC and NASCAR's parts here. The fans there weren't going to stay, the TV audience was gone, the network was pissed ... and they were going to try to run anyway? Dumbassery at its finest.

Long past time for heads to roll in Fontana.

52 and clear in Rockingham right now. 45 and mostly cloudy in Fail-tana.

 

Ultimately it's NASCAR's decision to run, right?

Shouldn't John Darby take a large amount of heat for this?

Track officials don't really play a role in deciding they will race or not, do they?

 

I was waiting for the 11 P.M. Seinfeld and Scrubs re-runs on my Fox affiliate when Chris Myers popped on my screen to explain that the decision had been made to re-start the race at midnight. I was baffled. There was no point to re-start the race when most of the nation wasn't going to be able to watch. I thought it was NASCAR being stubborn just for the sake of being stubborn. It wouldn't have hurt anything to have announced that they were going to postpone the remainder of the race until today and honor all the ticket holder's ducats.

 

You really think NASCAR lets local track officials decide whether to delay, postpone, whatever? Not a chance. NASCAR officials are on site. Can't put this one on Fontana.

And if NASCAR wants to play in the LA market, it should listen to, oh, I don't know ... the local track officials dispatched there by NASCAR?

You don't run a race on Oscar night, when one of your stated purposes in racing at Fontana is to widen NASCAR's popularity by luring Hollywood stars to the track.

You don't run a race on Labor Day, when anyone with computer access can tell you it's going to be 100 degrees.

You listen to the track president when she tells you the races need to be in March or April and in October or November. If California is a priority for NASCAR, you don't sabotage your chances for success. You don't just sit on your high horse in Florida and say, we're NASCAR, everyone loves us, people will come see us just because we say they will ... and then wonder what happened.

 

So, maybe some of you racing types can help me out here.

Anybody who could look up in the sky could tell that rain was coming. From my seat on the front stretch in the fifth row you could see those weepers. I'm amazed they thought they could get this in.Why not reschedule for an open weekend?

I really enjoyed the racing I saw. I could get into this. But are bonehead moves by the governing body ruining things? Because that's Major League Baseball's domain.