By: Joe Mirone

Joe Mirone — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 16:23:42 +0000

,Hey Joey, you’re right and i feel the same way. i remember Bill Elliott’s first win at Riverside, Ca. and the race at Hickory , N.C.and Rockingham. Two race at Darlington, S.C. How about the 16 races won by Wild Bill in 1985 and being a one car team. After Bobby Allison wrecked all the changes came. Speed limit on pit row, Carb
restrictions and anything else to slow the cars down. And here i always thought racing was about how fast you can go. I guess i was wrong. And along came all these 3, 4 and 5 car teams. And the top 35. Again i always thought who the fastest car would qualify on Sunday, not who had acummlated points from other races. I can understand a couple of places for past champions , all the rest is BS. you either qualify or you go home, period end of story. OH YES, and the lucky dog, what a crock. Race to the flag. If it wasn’t for the dog Gordon and Johnson wouldn,t have won that many races and Johnson wouldn’t have won the championship. Yeah, I know safety safety safety. Who ever said racing was safe. Hello, it’s not. If you can’t stand the heat get out of the fire. WE didn’t hear anything about the cars are going to fast until Bobby’s be wreck and the young guns came on the scene. Bill Elliott set the record at Daytona and Talladega at 212 mph and i still don’t remember him complaining it was to fast. Do you really believe all the equipment they put in these cars today is really for safety? I don’t. It’s Nascars way of protecting themselves from lawsuits bottom line. Think about it back in the ’80′s they were running faster with less accidents, less caution flags. Yes drivers got hurt and a few have died in crashes but that happens off the track too, but was it because the car were going to fast, no someones bad judgement most likely. they don’t speeding on pit row, why????? You still have wrecks, people still get hurt. It’s a sport, a dangerous sport and if you don’t understand that, then go home. An d the car of tomorrow, there’s another joke. If i was one of the manufacture’s i wouldn’t let them put my name on that car. Where is it in racing that says all cars have to be equal. thats why we have different brand. Lets go back to taking the off the showroom floor and racing it. And Mr. France Jr. the biggest mistake you’re making is going International with Nascar. This our sport and it should stay our sport. I’m sorry but it seems like there is no more American sports. It wasn’t the Canadians, or South Americans or the Italians that started this sport it was Americans the good ole’ boys from down south. Look at baseball, basketball, football, they all use to be America’s past time. Not anymore. And now Nascar. Isn’t there anything that we can call ours anymore? You can’t fix what you have broken Mr. France, you made your bed now you can sleep in it as the saying goes. You just couldn’t leave well enough alone. I loved Nascar, watching it on tv or going to the track. Iwll always remember the Elliotts. Bakers, Jarrett’s Grants, Earnhadts, Roberts and all the others that helped make this sport great and i feel sorry for all those who weren’t around to see it as it was. Yeah you can change your time schedule and your announcers and some of the other things you’re talking about but it’s not going to help. you will NEVER regain the fans from Hickory, Rockingham and Darlington. All the people you betrayed, all the jobs you took away and all because the venues weren’t big enough, they weren’t bringing in enough money to suit Nascar. You have forced people into selling tracks so they can get a second race at another track that them operate. And thats what you call good business. It’s what i tune into watch on tv. well not me. so take your Nascar to Mexico, Canada, Japan and probably South America and try to impress those people there Nascar i justturned the channel.

By: Joey Randazzo

Joey Randazzo — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 16:46:55 +0000

Do you remember back in “92″ at Phoenix (not sure of date or Track).It may have been “91″.I don’t have stat’s,just a memory.It was towards the end of the race and the laps were winding down.Caution comes out.Everyone pit’s for tires and fuel etc..Dale Sr. was called by NASCAR to pit for loose lugnut’s.The Winston Cup Championship is drawing near and is on the line.Earnhardt’s crew and Earnhardt tells NASCAR there are no lugnut’s loose.In short,NASCAR makes a deal with Earnhardt.IF Earnhardt pits,and NASCAR finds there are no loose lugnut’s,NASCAR will give him his position back on the track!I’ll never forget the NASCAR offical throwing up his arms,more or less saying,”they’re good”.Not only did they give him his position back,they keep the race under caution till the the pit inspection was complete.Being a Earnhardt fan for 12 years or so up to that point,I practically cried for joy,and was stunned that NASCAR made such of a incredable last minute decision.
Now let’s go the other direction.Do you remember when Earnhardt died.People across the world were caught with their pants down over the greif they seen from race fans.It played right into NASCAR’S hand’s.The sport exploded!Everyone was going to races or watching it on t.v..NASCAR catered to these new fans who realistically new nothing about racing.At that point I loved NASCAR Racing.I grew up with it watching the few races televised in the “70′s”.So many times at work or where ever,someone would say to me,what did you do this week-end?I watched the NASCAR Race.They would usually say,what’s NASCAR?And my response would be,you know,it’s American cars,Stock Cars and so on.They were clueless!So the bottom-line,NASCAR drew these new fans to the sport.It surpassed just about all sports in this country with “it’s new fan base”.The changes made to NASCAR for the “new fans” were never ending.How’s the saying go “Mo-Money”.So now that ticket sales and t.v. ratings are down,and these typical American people that follow something only because their friend’s or a neighbor did so,are bored or done with NASCAR.So.Let’s “re-energize our bonds with the core fans”.I usually don’t respond at all to any comments,articles or so on.I am (or was) just an old school die-hard race fan,that lost interest in NASCAR after Earnhardt died,and eventually over the changes implemented and the way NASCAR catered to “the new fan base”,the new “Young Guns”,etc.,etc..The sport was shot to hell for ticket sales and t.v. ratings!After decades of continual dedication to NASCAR,I couldn’t deal with it anylonger.The love of it was gone,and the passion no where to be found!And now it seems the new short timers of the sport are leaving too!Do what you have too,to give NASCAR new life.Oh,we’ll bring D.J. in and relace Rusty Wallace in the booth!That’ll help,huh?That’s what the fans complained about on a survey.Screw em Rusty.What the hell is a “core fan” France Jr.???Would that be some one like me?The one who remembers going to Riverside Raceway in the late 50′s and never forgeting these cars blowing by me at age 4-5 years when i actually was there for a Drag race event.The one who watched the Coca-Cola 600 or Daytona,the only races televised on t.v. during the 70′s?The one who sat down on Sunday,and couldn’t wait thru the week to see a race from 1979 on when it was televised on a regular sch.?The one that learned about set-ups on the cars,what they did going into the turns,the middle and coming out of the turns,and the adjustments that were made,and learned little taught by an announcer,but by watching and learning?
You know,it seems i could go on and on,but i’ll stop.But i will never forget what was once the best part of my life,Sunday’s!!!NASCAR!Winston Cup!The good ole boys,and the good ole days.
It’s just too bad NASCAR will never be re-vived back to the “Hard-Core fan(s)”!Tell me Mr. France Jr.,how do you expect to get people like me or others like me to become fans again.How do you restore the Passion and the love we had for so long,huh!Hey,maybe you could replace D.J. with me in the booth if it doesn’t work-out.
Let me know….
Joey

Comments on: TV Times – NASCAR To “re-energize the bonds with our core fans”?

By: Joe Mirone

By: Joey Randazzo