A question for people who are Nascar fans and think they know something about motorsport...?

Question

I'm not saying that fans of stock cars are "rednecks", I have absolutely no idea what that means. But I have this dilemma. What is it that makes you like stock cars and hate other motorsports, like Formula 1 for example?
What is it that you hate about Formula 1? I have been watching it for 10 years and I haven't seen anything that you saw as wrong. And I know a lot about F1.


And how come any driver can be greater than someone who won a title 5 times, in 4 different teams, in cars that could kill you in any second? I don't get it.

I never said that stock car racing fans are "rednecks". I said I have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what that word means.

And in F1 there hasn't been a death in the drivers' circle, on the track, for 12 years now. I heard that in Nascar there was someone who died 4 or 5 years ago.

And please don't give me stuff like "F1 is boring". This season has been the closest season I can remember. It kept your heart in your throat up to the last race.

Answer 1

The fundamental answer to your question is that F1 actually involves sport, and NASCAR is contrived.

Build a better car in F1? Good on you. Build a better car in NASCAR? Nope, we can't have that. NASCAR will find some way to penalize you, to make it "fair."

Can't get around the guy in front of you in F1? Try outbraking him. Try hounding him into a mistake. Try saving fuel while keeping pace with him and catch him on pit stops. Can't get around the guy in front of you in NASCAR? Run over him. No penalty. In fact, NASCAR encourages it.

NASCAR fans are simpletons. They don't care about technology, and they don't care about sport. They just want to see shiny, noisy things go by all blurry, and maybe the occasional fireball or barrell roll.

F1 fans like, well, *racing*.

That should clear it up.

And if you think the subtle nuances of F1 are present in NASCAR, you must be hopelessly addicted to some astoundingly mind-altering drug.

Answer 2

Being a NASCAR fan I read these questions from fans of other forms of motor sport.I watch othere forms and have gone to other forms events.
I first saw a NASCAR race in 1960 on a 1/4 mile track I was hooked on racing.
And since then I have been to the 24 hours at Daytona,The Gator nations,Molsen GP in Canada,I watched the BAJA 1000 in the 70's as part of an emergency team,heck I've even been to a monster truck jam and a moto cross evenr.I've seen indoor midget races amd stood the ground at Indy.
But where ever I go I still like my full body stock cars.
It is not which is better it is which form of racing the individual enjoys.
And a little fact is football was nearly banned in the early 20th century because there were more deaths during the games than any othe sport.
Yes ANY driver in any form of racing can be killed or seriously injured at any time.

Answer 3

I'm not a redneck, I am African-American and a woman so you can throw the lil Nascar fans are only rednecks theory out the window, burn & bury it!!

Anywho...what Nascar fans have said that they hate F1? You cannot place all Nascar fans in the same category. Just because some Nascar fans dislike F1, that does not mean that they speak for every single Nascar fan. F1 doesn't get as much exposure here in the US as IRL and Nascar does so that plays into why F1 isn't liked as much by Americans.

Besides...a lot of Nascar fans do watch other motorsports other than Nascar they just prefer Nascar more! I myself have watched a couple of IRL races and a couple of F1 races.

Answer 4

I recently began watching motorsports about, well, 2 weeks ago. I took a liking to NASCAR. I like NASCAR because it's standardized. Because all the vehicles are virtually the same the winner comes down to one thing, skill. It's all about mastering the small strategies. Easy to learn, difficult to master I'd say. Also, there is way more passing in NASCAR than most other series. No one can deny passing is exciting. As for why we prefer ovals, NASCAR vehicles aren't exactly designed to perform on road courses. I managed to see one in the nationwide series a week ago, and it just wasn't as fast or exciting. (Although the rain made it rather entertaining to watch) And personally, to me the choice is watch the cars go in circles for hours or watch them take the same couple turns for hours. Looking at it like that I consider them equal. EDIT: Forgot one thing someone else brought up, the ovals are also there so everyone at the race can see everything. NASCAR is one of the most spectator friendly motorsports in the world

Answer 5

Because they're "stock cars" (like stock cars you can buy at the dealers). There's more excitement around local men, driving modified local cars, with no open wheels. Yes, NASCAR was (and I mean was) a dangerous sport, and it lost it's biggest driver in 2001, Dale Earnhardt, but it is making leaps and bounds to make racing safer.
If it is a "redneck" sport, then every American, some Canadian, and Mexican is a redneck. It is growing in popularity fast.
F1 is a great form of racing, but there isn't much exposure in the US to it. If you had more Americans in it with more coverage, F01 might take off here, but until then, NASCAR is king.
The all mighty dollar rules the US, and a company will put it's name on a car getting the exposure. Liek I said, not enough exposure to F1 to get backing from many US companies, so again NASCAR rules.

Answer 6

I have been watching nascar since was a kid and it is what caught my attention.If I was raised in a place that f1 was dominant then I would probably be a f1 fan . I think the fact that it happens mostly in other countries and limited chances to see it live add to it's lack of appeal in this country

Answer 7

I am an avid motor sports fan, NASCAR, F1, Boats of all typed. The greatest thrill is watching someone you are watching win the race. The thrill of competition and the winning of the race. Some people watch for the wrecks, not a good reason. Accidents can take a life in an instant and it is not fun to watch somebody die.

Answer 8

I started watching NASCAR 3 years ago becuase Kasey Kahne, a big name in racing (he has 6 wins this year-- more than any other driver) is from my home town and i went to school with him. Now that i have someone to 'root for' i just LOVE watching...and now I know LOTS about the sport.

F1 is not regularly televised on standard cable channels, for one. SPEED channel, maybe. They dont have tracks in tons of different states that garner as much hoopala as the Nascar ones do.

Answer 9

If you like sitting in the stands at a nascrap race,watching gap toothed,mullet headed trailer trash with a '3' or a '8' tatoo on his back,then by all means go watch the idiots.(the fans are idiots,not all the drivers are).NASCAR fans are not race fans-they're NASCAR fans.A full set of teeth is more RARE than a high school diploma at a nascar race.

Answer 10

I'm not saying that fans of F1are "elitist snobs", I have absolutely no idea what that means. But I have this dilemma. What is it that makes you like F1 and hate other motorsports, like Nascar for example?
What is it that you hate about Nascar? I have been watching it for 30 years and I haven't seen anything that you saw as wrong. And I know a lot about Nascar

On this thread, I've seen FAR FAR more uninformed HATRED thrown toward Nascar than the other way around. I love all motorsports (except maybe truck & tractor pulls).

Answer 11

I think you have a good question; matter of fact I have asked myself this question. Personally, I like both of them.
But, just in the last year I have gotten hooked on Nascar. It is kind of like drinking coffee you watch one Sunday afternoon and then you just have to watch again the next weekend and pretty soon you give up other activities so you can see who will win the next race.

Formula 1; is harder to get hooked on because; one the don't have the marketing that makes you feel as if you really know the drivers, that they are a part of your family, so to speak. I think Danika Patrick came closest in a while to make us want to watch, but now she too seems to have lost that personal appeal.

Plus, they don't seem to televise the Fl races on a regular basis.

I don't watch for the crashes especially, I watch for the ones who are running in the top ten and then are trying to win. In F1, the one who starts out in first will normally stay there and no one really seems to try really hard to beat them out. There just doesn't seem to be the hustle you see in Nascar.

If 6 years ago you would have told me I would be a Nascar fan, I would have laughed in your face. But, here I am caught and enjoying myself.

Granny