Anyody here watch the Big daytona 500?? Did you see the guy with the jetpack thingy land on the field towards the end of their tribute to America?

I also thought that it was pretty neat to see airforce one come and go during the broadcast...that is one big aeroplane! Also the military flyby was pretty neat as well...

Air Force One + Daytona International Speedway= AWESOME!
I remember when President Reagan flew in for a race I have a photo somewhere that shows Richard Petty on track and AF1 landing in the back ground pretty cool!
Did you watch the Bush series race Saturday (or what they had of it)?
They had a C5 land, talk about huge!! That thing could barely turn on the taxiway, the had a guy standing out the roof hatch looking around( assume that he was watching wing clearance for the pilot? )
FYI the C5 carries the Presidental vehicles, limos, Secret Service cars and people.
And Hyperion: That wreck (refered to as "The Big One" that happens every race at a restricter plate track) helps prove the saftey features that are installed in those cars!
Amazing that can happen and the driver walk away!
You should become a fan!! It is the only respectable sport in America now.
When was the last time you heard of a race car driver being arrested for drugs, DUI, domestic violence etc?
Nascar drivers are TRUE sports heros for children to look up too. They also have too actually work for thier money!
They earn it every race unlike the "Big Leauges" of MLB, NFL, NBA etc, where a player will threaten quiting if not payed a certain salary!
And I'll say it now before someone even mentions it, NASCAR drivers ARE TRUE ATHLETES!
To prove it take one of your "famed" NFL stars put them in a race car with inside temps hitting 100*+, drive for 500 miles, battling a ill handleing race car with no timeouts, half-times, or commercial time-outs, very few chances at refreshments and see how they fare after the race.
It takes a physically and mentaly fit person to do what these guys(and gals) can do!!!
And racing is a TRUE team sport! Not is it just up too the driver too win a race but the pit crew and the guys at the garage that build these machines, if one person on the team fails the whole team fails! And all of this doesn't just pertain to NASCAR but CART, INDY, Formula1 etc, all forms of auto racing.
So parents should be proud that their are athletes out here that are perfect role models! NASCAR drivers!
Congrats too #8, another Earnhardt added to Daytona 500 history!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yeah, I have a lot more respect for the Nascar drivers than I ever did for the athletes... As said above  doubt that an athlete could do what these drivers do as well...

and Fret, I didn't see the busch race since i was out with friends, but I heard about the C5 and how huge it was...

Hehehe... Yeah, I saw it... I'm so pissed that Nextel started sponsering it... It just dosen't sound right... "The Nextel Cup"... Thank God it wasn't sponsered by Athletic Footwear, Inc... "The Athletic Cup"...

I'm glad that Junior won, though... Same track his father died at...

And the AF1 flyby was neat...

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Very funny flyboy! Actually the reason is that since Nascar has become so huge, you can't have a cigarette company sponsoring such a widely televised and corporate event. It is Nascar's way of "cleaning up" their image.
The sponsor will change each year. It will go to the highest bidder. Thus, everybody gets their name in lights!

Seeing Air Force 1 do the fly by was incredible. For those of you who don't watch Nascar events, at every race, as the national anthem is being sung, there is always a fly by done by the local air force base. It is great. When I go to the Dover race, the B2's do a fly by that is awesome. You can almost feel the heat from the exhaust! Everybody was expecting some F-16s or something and what do you know, this huge 747 comes roaring by!    Then it lands right outside at the Daytona Speedway Airport and the President comes in. Yes it was a PR stunt, and I am sure that Bush got the entire Southern State's voting for him in the next election, but what a scene. Seeing him among the drivers, shaking hands and conversing with everybody, it was pretty wild. The opening to the Daytona was bigger than the Superbowl half time show;...at least Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson weren't there!   

Here is a shot of Air Force 1 on the back stretch while the big wreck unfolds!


I can also see why many people would find cars chasing each other in a circle boring. It is actually much more than that. It is about the drivers, which one is your favorite. The pit teams the strategies. It is about the aerodynamics. That by changing a rear spoiler by 1 degree could cost you the race on a super speedway. We do have 2 tracks on the circuit that are kind of a road coarse, Watkins Glen and Sonoma. This is a very different race.
The best way I can try to explain the "addiction" to Nascar is: You kind of have a favorite driver or team, each Sunday the race is at a different track, the car needs to be set up differently. The race to the cup is all about how many points you acquire and that is how you place in position for the season. You acquire points simply for completing laps, you get bonus points for leading the race, and you get penalized for doing things that are not allowed. The fans, the colors, the sounds and the smell!
I guess you would need to se a race to experience the thrill.
It is funny because here in the states, Nascar is HUGE while Formula 1 is hardly even talked about. The only time is The Indy 500!
To sum this up, the old Nascar used to represent a bunch of beer drinking red necks chasing each other around on Sunday afternoons to a hand full of people who were into fast cars, fast women and fast thrills. Now it has become one of America's biggest, corporate sports event. There is more money involved in Nascar than there is in Football or baseball. You wouldn't think so but there is. I guess since there are not a bunch of guys being "physical", some people do not consider it a sport. But to those of us find it exciting, we know there is allot more to it than a bunch of gear heads chasing each other. Sorry if I am babbling but I just had to get this out! It was great to see Earnhardt Jr. win in memory of his father who was killed on the fianl lap of the Daytona 500 2 years ago.


Dave  8)

been a motorracing fan all my life, just not a huge nascar fan.
As for what they make.
Dale earnhardt JR, has already earned $1,663,682 and thats what, 1 race?
F1 drivers in the top teams are paid unbelievable amounts of money.
Motor racing like most sports, pays very well at the top level, but generally not so much as your working your way to the top

Thanks Fly,
Watkins Glen is about a 6 hour drive up North. It is a great race from what I have heard. The down part is since it is so slow, the cars come by every 2 minutes and then that's it.
Pocono is great. It is so big though that the same thing above happens. 43 cares come flying by at almost 200mph and then they go.

I go to DOVER, Or otherwise known as "The Monster Mile". It is 3 1/2 hours drive South and it is one of the most exciting tracks on the Nascar circuit. It is made fully of concrete, the bank angles on the turns are close to 45 degrees. When I stayed on the in-field over night, we snuck onto the track. Let me tell you, try running up one of those turns,...it is steep! 
Anyway, the best thing about Dover is that it is only one mile but since the turns are designed at such a steep angle, this allows the cars to maintain 180 on the straight away and 120mph in the turns. What eventually winds up happening is the leaders catch up to the losers, thus, when watching the race, it is constantly cars chasing each other and racing for position! The cars are constantly passing by. The leaders are trying to stay out in front so they need to pass the guys in the back of the pack. Now the guys in the back do not want to go a lap down, thus, it is really all out racing throughout the entire field!

Dave  8)

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I had a few buddies of mine that would give me a hard time about "What is so interesting about watching cars go in a circle?"
Then I took them too Bristol! It is unexplainable unless you have been there, the smell, cars and the sound (you body will vibrate foe a few days after:) )
Everyone I have ever taken to the races too watch in person has fell in love with the sport, too most watching racing on TV is as fun as golf but racing is a true spectator sport. And like said above it isn't about just turning left, there is teamwork,  strategy, etc.
There is no playbook your next move is decided at speeds of up too 200 mph, every lap is different. It is a sport where your gameplan can change just because the clouds cover the sun, or the temperature drops 2 degrees all little things can make your car lose the race. It is science for 500 miles. And when you get into F1 and Indy/CART the scientific factors get more extreme!
If you have never been to the Saturday night races at your local track plan on taking the family one weekend I think you'll find it the most fun you have ever had! Or you want the full experiance get tickets to a NASCAR event!! Then come back and tell us it was boring!!
By the way Nextel Cup tickets might be hard too get so grab some Bush series tickets, they are as much fun too watch as the "Big Boys"!! and easier to get.

uh, oh. I think this should be in the autos forum.
If you make the F-1 guys go to Autos, then why let this one stay?