Racing Thread

Discussion in 'Sports' started by The Dooz, Jan 13, 2015.

  1. JayVols

    JayVols Walleye Catchin' Moderator

    I'm more of an oval track guy, but surprisingly I've enjoyed the majority of the added road courses this year. I'm not a fan of the Charlotte Roval though. I just think Charlotte is one of the iconic staple tracks that shouldn't be messed with. I've never cared for Sonoma either. It's just boring to me while I love Watkins Glen. It's a road course that thinks it's a superspeedway.
     
  2. The Dooz

    The Dooz Super Moderator

    I not saying Bristol is innocent and just a victim of the overall circumstance, as they deserve their own share of the blame, but overall NASCAR’s popularity has peaked and the slow decline is evident everywhere.

    Also, I suppose if you’re not from the area a Bristol ticket, in it’s heyday, was hard to get, but I personally never paid over face for any race at Bristol after the first one I attended in the late 90s. I also never couldn’t get one if I wanted one. It may not have been the best seat, but I always got in.
     
  3. The Dooz

    The Dooz Super Moderator

    I love both disciplines. I think they present their own unique set of challenges and I appreciate NASCAR has added more to their schedule.

    The Roval was fun and I understand why they made the move. They had to do something to draw eyeballs back to that race in the middle of football season in the South.

    I don’t particularly get into Sonoma either, as it’s not visually appealing. I wish they’d move it to the area’s “green season” as the scenery just looks dead when they race there.

    The Glen has always been on my bucket list of races to attend. Would love to get my camper up there one day.

    Road America in another spectacular track for fans and drivers alike, and I would like to go there as well, albeit for IndyCar though.

    COTA was a disaster and they shouldn’t have run that race in the rain this year.

    Indy road course was fun until they tore up the curbing and subsequently their cars.
     
  4. JayVols

    JayVols Walleye Catchin' Moderator

    I agree that Bristol attendance is greatly effected by the overall decline. Being from the area, I also know at least 50 people who had season tickets, some for decades, who have let them go since the progressive banking and the racing it has produced. Started slow at first, then it was a flood of non-renewals. You did well by never paying over face. I'm 25-30 minutes away from Bristol & the racing there has gotten so bad that I won't even drive an hour, round trip, with a free ticket to go watch a race anymore. I wouldn't go even if I were able.
     
  5. JayVols

    JayVols Walleye Catchin' Moderator

    I did like Road America. I'd struggle hearing that Wisconsin nasally accent though. It's like fingernails on a chalkboard for me. *shudders*

    You think the curbing deal was a death knell for the Indy road course for NASCAR? There were lots of pissed off drivers & owners over so many wrecked cars due to a physical track setup issue.
     
  6. The Dooz

    The Dooz Super Moderator

    @JayVols don’t know if you’ve seen it yet but NASCAR announced the dirt race has been moved to a mid April date. I think that give them a better chance to have some good weather.

    They also announced it’s going to be at night, which will help the track provide much better racing and should help it hold up.

    So kudos for those two items.

    Now, onto the date they’ve been given.

    Easter Sunday.
     
  7. The Dooz

    The Dooz Super Moderator

    I don’t think so. I’m far from a an expert in curbing, but I think they should be able to find a solution. I don’t know what solution is, but people far smarter than me are working on it, I have no doubt.
     
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  8. The Dooz

    The Dooz Super Moderator

    Bristol had two of their best races in recent memory, this weekend. Add Spring 2020 and there’s no damn reason to be racing on the [uck fay]ing dirt.

    I also took my camper up there last week, for the whole week, and had quite an enjoyable time for the most part. There were a couple of things I’d do different camping wise, but it didnt take away from the nice time we had. I probably hadn’t spent that much time in the Tri-Cities in 20 years and need to make it a point to get back up for a weekend. I always make a pass through JC to see what has changed since I went to ETSU, but I miss Kingsport and Bristol. Crazy how much they have changed as well.
     
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  9. JayVols

    JayVols Walleye Catchin' Moderator

    I have to agree that this weekend's racing was some of if not the best racing at the track since they added progressive banking. I thoroughly enjoyed all 3 races. That Xfinity Series finish was crazy in a good way. Three drivers fighting it out fender to fender & ending with the winner crossing the finish line sideways on his way to hitting the inside wall was crazy. It isn't often that the winner's interview has to wait until after the driver is released from the mandatory visit to the infield care center.

    Next time you camp at Bristol (and after the pandemic is over) let me know if you don't mind. I'd love to meet up somewhere to grab a bite to eat or something.
     
  10. JayVols

    JayVols Walleye Catchin' Moderator

    Oh, and Dooz, ETSU is almost a totally different place, no? Granted it's been a bit more than 20 years since I attended. *cough* more like 27 years *cough*

    My oldest started there this fall semester. I can't believe how much it's changed. My old dorm, McCord, isn't even there anymore. I always make a point to cruise by A Building Room 101 of Davis Apartments where I lived one year. It's on the back side of the building & right beside University Parkway- the absolute longest on campus distance to where the majority of my classes were in Warf-Pickle College of Education.
     
  11. The Dooz

    The Dooz Super Moderator

    Yes it’s quite impressive. There’s so many changes I don’t even know where to start. I can’t believe that [dadgum]ed dome is still standing though. That thing was a shit hole 20 years ago.

    The baseball field and rec center are both really nice, and I’m very jealous of the latter. They were just putting those plans in place when I left.

    My freshman year dorm is no longer there either - Cooper Hall. I also lived at Buc Ridge and off Seminole Dr, and both those complexes are still there. I’m surprised Davis is still there to be honest.

    And I think I’d like to camp again next year for the fall race, so if that happens I’ll let you know for sure. We went to Yee-Haw one day and ate at White Duck Taco next door. [uck fay]ing amazing. And then we visited the new Michael Waltrip Brewery and I will admit, it wasn’t half bad. I wasn’t blown away and they aren’t doing crazy beers or anything like that, but I sampled them all and I would drink them all with no hesitation.
     
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  12. The Dooz

    The Dooz Super Moderator

    If they (ie FOX) want to insist on a dirt race, then they need to have 3 races up there, because there’s no excuse for not running the concrete twice a year.
     
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  13. JayVols

    JayVols Walleye Catchin' Moderator

    Cool. Gimme a shout & we'll definitely grab a bite somewhere. We could even invite/go see Randy (rbroyles). He's in Bristol & an awesome guy to chat with.

    The dome has always sucked. Was the worst place to watch a football game ever. No a/c & couldn't even see the actual line of the sideline on the side of the field you sat on. The old school turf was just nasty gross. It was nothing but puke stains mostly from visiting teams not accustomed to the heat build up & lack of air flow in that place. I went to watch a former player of mine who was an inside LB for Liberty play there. He was college football's defensive player of the week once- pretty good player & solid dude. He puked all over that field the entire game. I was like a volcano erupting through his facemask.

    They baseball park is nice. That was a shit field when I was there. They played all their home games at Cardinal Park then. My cousin that I grew up & played ball with my entire life was the starting SS, so I watched them often. I watched ETSU & UT play when Helton was at UT. It was the year after he had turned down a big chunk of change signing bonus from MLB & my freshman year. Close game. Terrible umpiring. I literally was nose to nose with the home plate ump in the parking lot after the game. My group naturally made a comment about how pitiful one particular call was. Nothing terrible, honestly. He must have forgot he wasn't in a game anymore & started running his jaw... bad. Totally disproportionate to what was said to him. I took off after him, gave him a shove & was nose to nose ready to throw down when my 2 criminal justice major roommates pulled me away & basically told the ump that if he was too stupid to not run his mouth to a large group while alone in the parking lot after a game, he deserved an ass kicking. Good times.

    Anyway, I lived in North Place Apts in north JC my freshman year (with 2 guys already over 21- really good times) & at Ravenwood Apts on Greenwood the 1st semester of my sophomore year. My roommate at Ravenwood got called up for active duty in the Army Reserves in like November & I couldn't afford rent alone. I stayed in McCord with one of my best friends (from elementary school through today) in McCord the 2nd semester of that year. I lived in Davis my junior year & summer school. I only had classes on campus 2 days/wk 1st semester of my senior year & was student teaching at DB the 2nd semester, so I lived at home that entire year.

    Wasn't Cooper the one directly behind Rogers-Stout Social Sciences building or was it behind McCord? Can't remember.
     
  14. The Dooz

    The Dooz Super Moderator

    Cooper was right in front of Davis, off of University Parkway as well.
     
  15. JayVols

    JayVols Walleye Catchin' Moderator

    This is pure, unadulterated, gospel truth. NASCAR needs more short track races anyway. It's insane to take away one of the few short track races they do have on the best short track (at least it used to be, but as this last weekend showed, can be again) they run on to do a really bad race on dirt. It's even more crazy given the fact that running a dirt race in a series that isn't at all compatible with dirt racing anymore results in shit racing.
     
  16. JayVols

    JayVols Walleye Catchin' Moderator

    Ok. Got it. Pretty sure McCord was one dorm over from Cooper on the campus side. Maybe it was Panhellenic or something in between them. I'm getting old. Memory sucks. McCord was directly across the street from the side of Rogers-Stout.

    I can't remember the name of the dorm behind Rogers-Stout, but I remember it was a shit hole. Pretty sure it was the oldest dorm on campus at the time. They tore it down to build the new library after I was gone.
     
  17. The Dooz

    The Dooz Super Moderator

    In the last three months I:

    - went to the Music City GP
    - went the Grand Prix of Indy
    - went to the Brickyard
    - went to Bristol
    - went the the United States GP

    Easily one of the best runs of racing in my life, and while exhausting, was worth every minute.
     
  18. ptclaus98

    ptclaus98 Contributor

    I heard the USGP was PACKED. I'm looking at Miami, I just don't like Austin enough to justify the prices.
     
  19. The Dooz

    The Dooz Super Moderator

    [uck fay] yeah it was packed. If you had a pulse, they’d sell you a GA ticket. People everywhere.

    Lines for food were pretty ridiculous in our spot in T1. It was hit or miss everywhere else. And it was [uck fay]ing hot. Traffic leaving yesterday was so bad I don’t think there’s words to accurately do it justice. Just a [uck fay]ing horror show.

    It was still a great weekend. A mega experience that I’m glad to have had. I don’t know that we want to go back though.
     
  20. ptclaus98

    ptclaus98 Contributor

    The Americanization of Formula One is complete.
     

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