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Well, first of all, if you've never driven a stock car or NASCAR 2003, you have a weird perception of what NASCAR cars drive like. They are very, very touchy and cannot be driven with anywhere near the aggressiveness of an Indycar or Formula I. They are literally (very quickly) babied around the track as you beg them not to bite you.
There was a great TV show where Jeff Gordon and Montoya got to exchange cars for a day at Watkins Glen(this was back when Montoya drove Formula 1). Gordon was floored by how you were required to attack the track with great fury in the Formula 1 car. He was really jazzed about that! Watkins Glen, by the way, is a road course for NASCAR and Indycar. Sports cars race there too.
Montoya learned that he didn't know beans and couldn't get the NASCAR racer up to speed at all. He was bitten bad and quit Formula 1 to learn the trade. He's now one of the best. But it is MUCH harder to go from open wheel to NASCAR than the other way around.
Comparing GTR games to NASCAR 2003 is quite instructive and accurate. GTR drives exactly as Jeff Gordon explained the Formula 1 car between orgasms. Wow! Attack that turn. Floor it! Holy rocket ship! THROW that sucker at the track. I forgot to mention it before. Can you tell that GTR is a blast to drive?
NASCAR 2003 is ballet. Delicate steering and throttle applications, You might see slam bang from the stands, but believe me, in the car any contact is most generally curtains for your chance to finish the race. It takes an unbelievable amount of experience even to get around the track alone. Actual racing seems impossible at first. Once the car gets loose generally you can forget about recovery. Just hope you don't hit anything before you come to a near stop. NASCAR 2003 is to GTR what Silent Hunter is to Ratchet and Clank. Unfortunatly EA's NASCAR is an arcade game. Driving a real simulator gives you muchas respect for these incredible drivers, sports car, open wheel and NASCAR.
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Well everyone to his opinion. Yes they shift, one gear to make the turn. Your point is?You just proved you have NO CLUE what NASCAR is. maybe you should look into it before opening your mouth.. NASCAR guys shift too... but i guess you knew that.
Oh and the Sprint Cup cars, ugly as they are, can go 207, and still slow down to 170 to make turns... again look into it and dont make general assumptions about what you think you know... obviously you have no clue.
F1 *yawn* he who starts on pole wins... or he who spends most wins... how lame *** is that. I wana see talent, i wana see close racing, i wana see action, i could care less the tracks are shorter and have less turns. NASCAR provides more action that you open wheel people know what to do with.
"Sprint cars can go 207 and slow all the way down to 170?" Wow, thats 37 MPH.
Try going from 200+ down to 40 or 50 MPH and gearing up for the straight away, thats shifting.
Like I said, if you like it, you like it.
But I do have some idea of what I am talking about. For instance, look up how many times a Formual One driver has won the championship then got on a plane, come to the US, and won Nascar. I believe it something like 3 or 4 times. Nascar to Formual 1? None.
And I never slammed anybody for not knowing about F1, even you. I simply point out that Americans like Nascar, the rest of the world goes Formual 1.
Don't take it personally when someone dosn't like what you like.
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Actually, as I explained above that doesn't happen. Formula 1 drivers can't drive NASCAR without extensive retraining. Many have tried and never became competitive because stock cars are so different. Every instinct of an open wheel racer works against him. Mostly they're just a menace in a stock car.Originally posted by Blowtanks: For instance, look up how many times a Formua l One driver has won the championship then got on a plane, come to the US, and won Nascar. I believe it something like 3 or 4 times.
Let's take a census of open wheel racers looking to show NASCAR boys how it's done:
Jeff Gordon--most successful of the open wheel racers. He still took two years to get up to speed.
Juan Pablo Montoya--after enjoying immediate rookie year success in Formula 1, IndyCar, CART and sports cars, he came to NASCAR in 1997 and.....became a menace. Bitten hard by the stock car bug and willing to work hard to learn, Montoya has become a VERY respectable stock car racer in his third season. However he's nowhere near a champion yet.
Sam Hornish Jr--Indy 500 winner and dominant in the IndyCar series, he's come to NASCAR and not been a factor. He's so used to being the best it remains to be seen if he's willing to be average for a couple of years to learn the trade. My guess is no.
Jacques Villenueve--Formula 1 champion, CART champion, Indy 500 winner, NASCAR washout. Couldn't hack it.
Dario Franchitti--2007IndyCar champion, Indy 500 winner, lost his ride in NASCAR for non-productivity.
Obviously, the characterizations of "go fast, turn left" are overly simplistic to the point of laughableness. These are some of the greatest of open wheel racers. The ONLY one who could demonstrate an ability to move from one type to the other was AJ Foyt, ok, I'll say Mario Andretti had some limited success also. Stock cars race on some pretty good road courses nowdays and I'd love to see how open wheel racing would handle the Paperclip. That would be fun!
But the fact is that open wheel racers don't take a plane ride to Daytona and do well. However NASCAR racers have done the reverse and come out reasonably decent. In either case, the differences in the types of racing put up very high barriers to success for anyone looking to make the switch. A good open wheel racer is not going to be a good NASCAR driver. He's going to have to learn the trade without a lot of advantages over you. A good NASCAR driver isn't going to strap on a rocket ship F1 car and so well. Learning curve again.
And there is another thing. These guys who make the jump are used to being the best at what they do. Suddenly they find themselves average, or below average. How frustrating is that? Can you see how that transformation encourages bone-headed moves? Like I said above, contrary to popular belief, usually in NASCAR, car to car contact is a wreck. There's a lot less track adhesion in a stock car than there is in a ground effects open wheel racer that produces twice as much downforce as its weight. An IndyCar or F1 car could literally race upside down! Consequently, there is much less skill in cornering an F1 car than there is a NASCAR vehicle.
Another thing: if NASCAR is so bonehead stupid and easy, why are all these top open wheel guys giving it a shot? Let's try that they know something detractors don't and want to challenge themselves with something that is going to be damned difficult. Sam Hornish Jr sure doesn't need to be in a stock car to make a living, does he?
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You may be right about that. I don't know for sure, only repeatng what I have been told by a die hard Nascar fan, who by the way is named Phil C. If thats him I'll kill him!Actually, as I explained above that doesn't happen. Formula 1 drivers can't drive NASCAR without extensive retraining. Many have tried and never became competitive because stock cars are so different. Every instinct of an open wheel racer works against him. Mostly they're just a menace in a stock car.
I'll grant you that a F1 car corners better that a stock car, but then they have to since they make much sharper turns than a stock car. The front cars in Nascar are a little shakey being out front,the others are drafting most of the time, things not that tough for them.An IndyCar or F1 car could literally race upside down! Consequently, there is much less skill in cornering an F1 car than there is a NASCAR vehicle.
Well of course it is, but I believe Nascar came up with that Saying. I've seen it on a bumper sticker of theirs, least I think it was theirs.Obviously, the characterizations of "go fast, turn left" are overly simplistic to the point of laughableness.
Or maybe they do think that where they are coming from it don't look that hard. And Nascar pays pretty well. I mean who ever has enough money?Another thing: if NASCAR is so bonehead stupid and easy, why are all these top open wheel guys giving it a shot? Let's try that they know something detractors don't and want to challenge themselves with something that is going to be damned difficult. Sam Hornish Jr sure doesn't need to be in a stock car to make a living, does he?
And Indy cars, though they look the part are not F1 cars. Indy is Americas answer to F1. Tracks are boring, in my opinion, to the F1 tracks around the world.
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From NASCAR.COM
• NASCAR Diversity: Speaks for itself. If he's successful, this guy could do for NASCAR what Tiger Woods did for golf. He is a champion, a proven, renowned talent. Not a fabrication. If he comes in and has success, it will garner minority fans like no marketing push ever could.
• Driver Pool: The willing addition of a Formula One megastar does away with the shallow driver pool myth. Why? Because Montoya chose NASCAR over Formula One. He said Sunday he had F1 offers, but pushed them aside in favor on NASCAR because he wanted to participate in "real racing."
Moreover, Montoya's arrival gives NASCAR considerable international credibility. Stereotypically, NASCAR is viewed negatively among the Formula One crowd, as if it isn't true racing, more show than substance.
One wonders what the reaction will be in the F1 community that one of its most revered stars made the jump.
"I think a lot of people in Europe haven't seen it, and when you don't know something you try to avoid it," Montoya said. "What's your ultimate goal? For me it's racing. Yes Formula One is very exciting and the cars are very [technological]. But if you pass and touch wheels, you're an animal."
It seems to me he may be making the jump because the money is better? Because Nascar wants to get more "minority fans" as the artical says?
I say hey, anybody can hit the car in front or on the sides of them. Not hitting anyone seems like it would be much more difficult.
Maybe Montoya is more of a hitter?
I say, follow the money. It leads to the truth almost everytime.
To each his own....now start your engines.
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Anyone ever play Falcon 4 "Allied Force"?
Thats a great fighter plane (f16) sim.
It started out buggy as all get out. Many created patches and mods for it but it was a pain. So some guys started a company and redid the whole thing. Now it kicks butt. The cockpit graphics almost take your breath away.
It was the perfect way for open wheel and stock car fans to learn about the other side of the tracks in a non-hostile way. Plenty of great stuff in both.
