The COT is bouncing all over the track in qualifying.Looks like race
will be a crash test.The few that have the handle with the COT will
set a pace with many cars going laps down.Looks to be exciting race
with rain looming in background.

On May 11, 4:03 pm, Kim <krolra... (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote:
OH JOY!!!! Just what we need: a track that is already difficult to
drive with a car that won't turn. Oh well, lots of Darlington stripes
to discuss over the coming week right? ;-)

Does anyone else get the irony that the COT was supposed to even out
the playing field so the teams WITHOUT the big resources would be able
to compete on an even level? Hmm. HMS has won every one of the COT
races and the Gibbs cars have led a bunch of laps. Yup, NASCAR really
leveled the playing field with this one! ;-)
Sandy, THT

Huh? When/who/where did NASCAR say that was the purpose of the COT. I don't
recall that...

On May 11, 8:32 pm, "J H" <j-e-hillatcomc... (AT) figureitout (DOT) net> wrote:
They've been saying it since day one of introducing the CoT.

On May 11, 6:58 pm, Ron <BigELil... (AT) msn (DOT) com> wrote:

On May 11, 5:11 pm, "Sandy, THT" <sandrabrown_... (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote:

Well it did one thing they wanted. The new fans seem to want more
wrecks. At least that part is working.

On May 13, 12:43 am, Mark <mblackwell1... (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote:
What do you consider a "new" fan?

On May 13, 12:16 am, Ron <BigELil... (AT) msn (DOT) com> wrote:

Im an old timer and freely admit it. Im the fan Nascar does not want
anymore. When I see clips of the fight, to me it isn't a history
lesson but a memory. I watch "Back in the Day" on speed, and it makes
me think of those races where you hated when Wide World of Sports
spent a few minutes covering a hunt or fishing somewhere so they could
get back to the race. I saw just how good Richard Petty really was,
and my wife got to see just how nice he was first hand. She met him
because she used to work a company that made one of the products that
sponsors them and was the engineer on that product. A fine man.

Nascar seems to create a changing of the guard at the time Richard
Petty retired and Jeff Gordon debuted. Jeff brought in a whole
different demographic of people. That's not necessarily bad, but it
isn't necessarily good either. Nascar and the networks did a very
poor job of educating these new fans about Nascar history and there is
one simple reason for it. Money or the lack of it involved in doing
so. They never saw a race at Daytona with no plates. They have no
idea what North Wilksboro is other than the headquarters for the
company that sponsors the 48 car. Nascar is perfectly willing however
to dub Jeff Gordon as the greatest driver ever, because he is still
around to cash in on. He is a very good driver, but greatest ever?
Come on no way to ever know, but he is one of the most marketable
drivers ever and they are perfectly willing to cash in.

Though safety has made big progress, many have no idea how dangerous
this sport can be. I see torn up race cars and think, "Are they ok?"
Looking at the grandstands I see cheering and booing based on who they
thought caused the wreck and who their driver was, but not even a hint
that one of them might be injured. Thankfully its rare. Bill France
Sr. refused to race on Mothers Day. It was a very long tradition and
for a good reason. He didn't want any drivers mother to have to
remember Mothers day as the day their son died. Some where along the
way someone forgot that. I hope the money is worth it to them. It
wasn't for Bill Sr and he didn't have nearly as much then as Brian has
now.

There has always been a group of folks that showed up for the wrecks,
and likely always will be. The percentage today seems much much
higher. Yet it used to be far more about competition than
entertainment and their is a big difference. With entertainment you
just let things happen in front of you, but to enjoy the competition
you have to become an actively participate. Will the Silver Fox be
able to draft by on the last lap at Daytona? Can Petty run the high
line any higher? When is someone finally going to beat Jaws at
Bristol? Notice I said beat Jaws, not wreck him on the last lap to
win.

Even Nascar isn't hiding the fact they are in the entertainment
business. How many of todays fans would not turn on a race if DE Jr.
or Jeff Gordon wasn't in it? Nascar made the drivers the driving
force of their marketing and its those faces that sell tickets, not
the racing itself. Just as if you put HHH on a wreslin card, it is
going to sell tickets, yet is the competition that brings out the
crowd or is it the media personality of HHH? The passion driver feuds
creates sells tickets, but there is a price to pay.

I must be the exception today. I have no favorite driver. Not sure I
ever really did. You see when I went to a race track I understood you
NEVER know what is going to happen and thats part of the appeal. The
race might end under yellow, it may have a winner running so well they
may be lapping the field, or it could be decided by a pass off 4 and
the winner win by inches. It didn't matter to me if it was Neil
Bonnett, or Hansom Harry Gant in victory lane. Harry always seemed to
have to go roof a house Monday after a win. The greats of the past
were instinct in many ways. People forget just how creative Jr.
(Johnson not DE Jr) was or how inventive Smokey could be.

The price to pay for the cash is the soul of the sport itself. The
fact that its so blantant now makes it even more apparent that the
racing means very little to them these days. Just throw a yellow and
its all good, but what's new is that Nascar is actually being called
on it.

I watched DE Jr.'s press conference this week and had a totally
different perspective. When Richard Petty left Petty enterprises,
there MIGHT have been a blip in the racing section if the paper had
one. Today its live tv on ESPN news, constant talk about where he is
going, interviews out the ying ying, specualation thats constant and
almost nothing about a race at Darlington which should be on Labor Day
to begin with.

On May 12, 11:43 pm, Mark <mblackwell1... (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote:
Nearly all the Darlington stripes did NOT cause accidents. Most of
the cars had stripes by the end of the day, but brushing the wall -
hard or soft - didn't collapse the right side of the car. Like the
BBs said, the COT is a tough car, and it can take a lot of banging.

N.