The 2024 running motorsports thread

Hey, Gym, I got your probe right here.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/u...s-probe-into-f1s-andretti-rejection/10608199/

Just days after Mario Andretti appeared on Capitol Hill, Republican Jim Jordan has written to F1’s owners demanding explanations for the decision-making process that has blocked Andretti’s hopes.

In a bid to help the Committee’s investigation into the matter, Jordan has demanded documents and a staff-level briefing from F1 over what happened.

He has asked for all documents and communications referring or relating to the process for evaluating the new team entries and Andretti, plus anything related to F1's decision to reject its entry on January 31.

Furthermore, he has requested all documents and communications between F1 and the ten current teams relating to new team entries, and any communications related to the new team entry or anti-dilution fees in the Concorde Agreement.

 

This might be a dumb question, but how the hell is NASCAR still able to finance the Xfinity and Trucks series? Is it all TV and sponsor money? Nobody shows up to these at all anymore. It's a perfect day in Darlington - Darlington! - and it looks like a Covid crowd.

 

Based on the camera angles and overhead shots, I'd venture to say there are more bodies on pit lane than in the stands today.

I don't know if the percentages have changed since I was involved, but it used to be 25 of the total rights revenue went to the tracks. Since Darlington is an International Speedway Corporation property, the Frances are double-dipping because the sanctioning body steals something like 65 percent off the top. Anybody who shows up and buys a ticket for a Friday or Saturday race is just a rounding error on the corporate ledger.

At the same time, the long-term health of the sport is in pretty serious jeopardy. I saw a story this week where NASCAR may finally be willing to scrap the "must have a pushrod V-8 engine to run the Cup Series" rule because Honda, for example, might want to get into NASCAR but has no interest in wasting millions on obsolete technology.

Ford, Chevy and Toyota already have sunk cost there but everybody really wants to follow the lead of F1 and IndyCar and look at turbo hybrids. The problem for NASCAR is that they only know V8s but anything more complicated is out of their area of expertise. And that would cost money.

However, IMSA has somehow figured it out. In a perfect world, all the major U.S. racing series sit down at a table and come up with a one-size-fits-all engine block size and configuration that allows every manufacturer to run anywhere. Or at least something that can fit in an IndyCar and be modified for NASCAR as well.

But perfect worlds make sense, and racing is run by very imperfect people.

 

Elton Sawyer said any new manufacturer won't want to create a V8 pushrod starting from scratch. Makes sense.

One solution to not scrapping the V8 pushrod would be to go to crate motors, which shouldn't bother anyone, they already run a kit car.

I thought NASCAR got 25 percent of the TV money and the tracks got 65 percent. Your point holds, of course, 90 percent is going to the company that owns Darlington. And that's how the tracks survive. The math I saw said each track gets $15 million per race. Note that the other 10 percent is going toward the purse or however they're allocating the prize money now with the charters.

 

Amazingly, about 800,000 estimated on average for Xfinity races on FS1, more like 1.1-1.5M when they're on FOX, while the Trucks average about 500,000. That's still favorably comparable to NBC's coverage of IndyCar (not counting the 500) or ESPN's F1.

NASCAR is nowhere near the ratings juggernaut it was 25 years ago but good enough outside of the NFL and college football, particularly in spring and summer when there's no competition outside of NCAA and NBA hoops.

Watched some of the race from Darlington today because of the throwback paint schemes. Larson's No. 5 Terry Labonte/Kellogg's was especially well-done, but got me to thinking. What drivers/cars of this generation are going to be interesting enough to become "vintage/retro" in the future? NASCAR's still living on past glory despite some great finishes and crazy moments.

Then again, when Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt die, IndyCar loses its two most well-known stars. Scott Dixon is perhaps the greatest driver of his generation but he could walk down the middle of any town in America -- and probably New Zealand -- and not get stopped by a fan. That's how the racing landscape has changed.

 

Sliced Brad beat!

Dumbass move at the end of the race, taken right out of Tim Richmond’s playbook.

 

Reddick looked like he had it. I swear it looked like more than a car length for a couple beats there. Then he lost it in a hurry.

We all got to hear him apologize and admit he “fucked up.”

 

I respect him for wearing it at least. I can think of some who’d redass their way into a shoving match/punches thrown.

 

The answer to your one question is none.
1. Nobody has a signature paint scheme/sponsor because they change week to week.
2. None of the drivers resonate with the fans.