Could any of the current nascar drivers today even race, in the early days of daytona. I would like to see it . I think it would be a good race to watch, what do you think.
NONE ... The first race at the paved 2 and 1/2 mile speedway was 1959 ... 50 years ago. Factor in you have to be at least 21 ... and that makes the youngest eligible driver ... to be 71 years old now ... Richard Petty ... was at the first Daytona 500 at the speedway ... and he has been retired from driving since the mid 1990's.
LOl Deuce! Remember when Dave Marcus was still racing in his 60s? I always liked to hear his interviews. He knew he wasn't competitive but was so happy to still be out there.
It was a different time. That's like asking if any of us could make a cross country trip in a production '51 Plymouth on the roads of the time - cars with no air, no power windows, seats, but with manual trans, manual steering and no CD player....or few freeways & conveniences like today's roads. Most of us could do it if that's what we had to do it with. Todays race drivers have evolved just like the equipment they drive. Sure they could do it. The spirit hasn't changed, the equipment has, along with many of the inane rules they now have to abide by. Just imagine - Dale Jr, Tony Stewart or Jimmie Johnson in a Hudson Hornet, competing with Herb Thomas, Junior Johnson or Lee Petty on Daytona Beach. I'd love to see that!
Guys like Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, and Ryan Newman can drive anything, then or now. Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and sorry to say, Dale Earnhardt Jr. , no way.
today, watching NASCAR is about equivalent to watching paint dry. Fred Lorenzen, Fireball Roberts, Darrel Derrenger, Richard Petty, Tiny Lund, Joe Weatherly, Junior Johnson, and all the rest, drove basically STOCK CARS at over 150 mph with practically NO safety equipment. there were no "pretty boys" smiling for the cameras while mentioning the sponsor. there were no recrutement programs. there were no motorhomes. there were no HUGE purses. and there were NO F$#%@#G TOYOTAS, or any of the other BS that NASCAR has come up with in an effort to appeal to the masses. that great suckin' sound isn't NAFTA... it's Bill France Sr. spinning over in his grave. could todays drivers be competetive back then? maybe, but would they want to race under the conditions that prevailed...i doubt it.
I own a 59 Plymouth with manual steering. Be interesting to see how many of these "media darlings" today have what it takes to handle one of those big heavy cars for hours.
Didn't they originally race on the sand beaches of Daytona? Was that Nascar or some other sanctioned event?
Sure , these guys today have it easier.......Doesn't make them any less competitive.......Its just different. BTW.......Richard Petty was the 1st "Pretty Boy"........Sure he worked hard and was a great driver.....but, it was his pretty big smile that made Nascar what it is today.....so, if you have to blame someone for the degeneration of the sport, blame him......but remember....he also put NASCAR on the map. Without him, and a few others that thought like him, it would likely have fizzled out by now and the Frances would be living in a trailer somewhere.
It's not goin' to be long until there's a "Nas-Car". The bodies are the same now and it won't be long until the engine is a "Nascar-engine". They will all be the same too. They will just put a sticker on it saying what it is (for a fee from the manufacture). Will be like Funny Car now. There's not a manufacture piece on any of them. (Although Force's engines may have been developed by Ford just as Keith Black's were origanilly developed by Chrysler).
What do you mean there were no pretty boys back then? Just look at this good lookin' group of guys. Benny, Darrell and Buddy.
I heard some news that kinda makes me optomistic about NASCAR's future driver-pool. A freind of my brother's used to work at Ganassi Racing as fabricator before the merger. He said that when Ganassi was cleaning out the shop, nearly-complete (minus engine mostly), COT race cars were being sold as cheaply as $5500. He said lots of locals were buying these cars, assembling them out of a two car garage and are hoping to try to qualify for a few races this year. I know it sounds far-fetched, but think about it, you could buy the car, lease a decent motor from someone, get an unemployed driver, and with a little help from somewhere (local business who wants a little exposure) actually field a car, even if for only one race. Maybe this could be the return of the little guy to racing.
i have to disagree with you jeff gordon grew up driving sprint cars and jimmy johnson started driving off road trucks.and i think if dale earnhart jr. had a different last name he would be recognized as a better driver.
you're right...good lookin' fellows, but they were hired to drive, not to look good on TV OR A CEREAL BOX! research it, and i think you will find that certain drivers, talented ones, were passed over because of looks or stage presence...did not fit the "CORPORATE IMAGE". don't follow NASCAR anymore, don't watch AMERICAN IDOL, and don't drink the KOOL AID.
I think we're trying to compare apples to oranges. Early cars were modified production cars. Rarely was power steering used. Took a set of arms to muscle those beasts around. Areo-dynamics weren't even thought of or certainly not understood as today. Today's drivers are much better at knowing todays cars and yesterdays driver were much better in their cars. Why not just like them for when they were. What I miss are the drivers that were lost before their times. Alan Kulwicki, Davey Allison. Wonder where they would have fit into the mix?
You got that right. Drivers today are NOT hired to win, they are hired to project a good image for corporate America. It's not just NASCAR, either. John Force had to fire his buddy, Gary Densham because the sponsor didn't feel old people fit AAA/ Castrol's image. Whit Bazemore was tossed out of his F/C ride at DSR because Jack Beckman brought Mail Terminal Service (read: $$$$) to the team. Sammy Swindell was passed over for an Indy 500 ride years ago because rich kid Howdy Holmes bought the ride out from under him. Phil Burkhart won as many races in F/C as anyone a few years back, and was fired to make room for less expensive (and less talented) Jeff Arend. Look at nearly any from of pro racing and it's the same. Nobody who owns a team cares about winning as much as they care about pocketing the highest amount of sponsor dollars. Sure they talk about winning on camera, but in reality it's a business, and businesses need to make money. Wanna see some real racing? Go find a "Pinks All-Out" race near you. I was at the one that came to Sears Point and I gotta say, we were there from 8 am to 11 pm and it was THE BEST racing I've ever seen. I'll be back next year as well.
Not a chance, Todays NASCAR is all about the $$ has nothing to do with Talent. If the team things they can pimp you out for sponsor dollars thats about the only way your going to get a ride. Iam sure most of the guys today would be back markers and the it you put the guys of yesterday in todays cars they would call these guys pussys. In fact Ned Jarrett and Dale Switched cars a few years back. Dig up that story its pretty funny.
Driving on the edge is driving on the edge! Anyone who thinks the current cars aren't ill handling is fooling themselves. Just think about the shock package that holds the cars down against the bump stops... There's just more cars now that are compettitive. and part of that is that there are more cars with great sponsorships. Just a different world. Not better or worse.
Todays drivers may be "pretty boys", but if you think they couldn't compete back then, you are smokin' too much funny stuff! Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman....yeah even Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, all have "dirt" experience. What the hell, it is a stupid argument anyway.
Who cares, NASCAR sucks, I like real cars that can at the very least turn in 2 directions. But, to each his own.
Some of the older drivers like juniour johnson, darrell waltrip, and the allisons are going to run the bristol race in modern cars for something similar to a seniors league this year. Kind of turns the table. Can the drivers of yesterday survive in todays race cars/ environment? Should be awesome to see. Many of todays drivers have publicly stated they would like to add a dirt track race to NASCAR's schedule.
The BBSS (big bar soft spring set up) set-ups or bump stops is like driving a gocart compared to the traditional set up. You just have to take care of the tires a little more. And the front end bounces a little more down the straights. The first time I drove that set up I thought something was seriously wrong.But it was fast so I dealt with it.
Slightly off-topic, but why is everyone today (Including myself, and all of us to some extent) so spoiled? Our High School Auto-Shop has a drag car with manual rack and pinion in it, BBC in a Berreta. One of the "Master Mechanics/Car Guys", mom is the Vice Principle, was talking about how hard the steering was to turn around the parking lot, he kept on bitching about it. I'm just thinking to myself, go drive a dump truck.
how do you figure? jeff came from sprint car racing,jimmie came from off road racing, really tough on ya,jr .............. well he did come from late model
A sprint car from 10 or 20 years ago is still light years ahead of a cup car from say 40 years ago. So its not apples to apples. Not even close. Jimmy and Dale can't drive and Tony might be able to start a race if he did not get his ass beat up before it started. Let me put it in perspective how many guys bitch when they can't find the remote?? Back in the day you had to get your Lazy ass off the couch to change the channel. Not the same type of men today.
Right now, I'm watching the 1979 Daytona 500. The racers then, in cars that still looked liked what you drove on the streets (Cutlass, Regal, Monte Carlo, Thunderbird), did a phenomenal job in cars that had the safety basics, and still they hit concrete walls while doing 180 - 200 mph, rolled 8 - 10 times, and lived! I remember watching that race live on CBS in 1979! To answer that question, today's drivers aren't near the quality of the racers of days past. Yeah, they can drive a race car, but it isn't the same these days. The "pre-modern era" (1982-earlier) had so much more character. The cars were real "stock" cars, not the cookie-cutter COT pieces of crap of today. The drivers then could hold an intelligent interview without product placement and mentioning their sponsors seven times before actually saying anything about the race. I'd love to see a race, with a bunch of NA$CAR cars and drivers from the '50s to today. Since they all do around 190 mph anyway, why not? It'll never happen, but it's a nice dream.
Remember Johnny Mantz, who won the first Southern 500 at Darlington in 1950, had only one arm. Don't know how a one-armed man could drive a race car but he did.
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