I love all kinds of racing, but nothing is like F1

The NASCAR coverage in New Zealand is pretty good, it shows on Sky but we don’t get as many ad breaks as there obviously must be in the US, so we get extended periods during yellows where we’re just sitting in one driver’s car with the audio turned almost off. A DVD recorder helps to skip some of these bits.

I would love to watch more NASCAR but I refuse to get pay TV. So watching it on Ten HD appeals.

Details, please?

Obviously I watch F1, being a massive fan have watched it nearly all my life (since 1996).

WELCOME to F1 from one who has watched it all his life
(since 1956). The times they are achangin’.

Just F1 for me – I can’t stand big points systems and safety cars doing ten laps less than the race winner….

NASCAR, in my opinion, is drivin by desires for pairity and equality- hence all the restrictions and lack of technological development. With regards to overtaking, I think that appeals to fans of the series itself, but not to the average race fan who tunes in. Many of you do make a good comment about the races being too long, it dose lead to comments such as “NASCAR is a bunch of guys turning left all day.”

For what i’ve seen, perhaps the toughest hurdle for F1 fans to deal with in attempts to follow NASCAR is that the sport is still deeply rooted in the southern US, where the racing culture is not familiar to fans in many traditional F1 markets. However, this may change a bit with more international drivers such as Montoya coming to the sport. The NASCAR Nationwide Series also visits current and former F1 venues in Montreal and Mexico City on an annual basis now.

It’s kinda like having steak ale pie – I’ll have it if it’s there, but I wouldn’t order it.

The cars are butt ugly with nothing in common to road cars other than name plates and grill shapes. Standardized aero body shapes and limited engine regs. They use carburetors for god’s sake! It’s very difficult to be creative with NASCAR banning most innovations as soon as they are discovered by tech inspections. Sound familiar F1 fans? That’s where Max is pushing F1 for all he’s worth and I oppose it, having witnessed the negative impacts in NASCAR and American OW racing in general.

The cup races are way too long and seem to only server the purpose of allowing more commercials. Even the drivers know to just ride around and keep their nose clean for the first 80% and they’ll have a decent shot at winning. Also, I truly believe that NASCAR officials have thrown caution flags for “debris” that serve only to bunch the field.

For those reading who are seeing NASCAR for the first time, don’t judge it by Daytona and Talledega. At those tracks NASCAR mandates the use of restrictor plates in the engine which artificially limit the amount of oxygen it can suck in, which reduces the maximum horse power and also the pick-up of the car. Since no one can out muscle anyone else, and because the cars are so dependent on aero at those tracks, you get those huge clump of cars. The first 400 miles of the Daytona 500 will be very boring. The next 80 miles will be good, and the last 20 miles will be amazing. I second the opinion that you should skip the middle part of the race. I usually watch the first 20 laps and the last 50.

Stick with it and try one of the other tracks. Well worth watching is the “Bullring” at Bristol (imagine running F1 cars on a go cart track – it’s kind of like that), and Dover and Atlanta usually have great races too.