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The Beginning My inspiration for this article was the (not recommended) movie "Night at the Museum." There is a scene where the night watchman character, played by Ben Stiller, is telling a ...

Racing with Bubba: An F1 Dummy's Intro to NASCAR

by Duncan Scott (Analyst)

29

1815 reads

Sports

November 08, 2008


The Beginning

My inspiration for this article was the (not recommended) movie "Night at the Museum." There is a scene where the night watchman character, played by Ben Stiller, is telling a fictional Southern historical figure from the Civil War that he must stop fighting.

Stiller tells him the outcome of the conflict. "Slavery is wrong. Don't want to burst your bubble, but you guys get The Allman Brothers...(thinks hard )...and...(still thinking)... NASCAR. So just chill!"

It's just a weak gag in a weak movie, yet it seems to encapsulate a smartarse attitude. Racing cars is dumb, therefore watching cars racing is dumb, therefore it is a suitable thing for dumb Bubba in his Southern trailer.

I felt mocked and patronised, for I like my motor racing. As President Kennedy did not quite say, Ich bin einen Bubba.

So it was time to find out a bit more about NASCAR. And I did. And now I have to ask this; if Bubba's as dumb as I've been led to believe, how can he follow NASCAR?

Let me explain my rhetorical question.

I'm an F1 fan of the armchair variety, and have been for many years. F1 has many features I dislike, but it is very simple for a spectator to understand. There is only one way to score points, and that is to cross the finish line.

The winner gets 10 points, second place 8 points, and then it's 6,5,4,3,2,1. Below eighth place scores nothing. He who has scored most points at the end of the season is the World Champion. Ties are settled by who has won the most races.

And that, my chums, is what I call a straightforward sport.

Additionally, it is a straightforward matter to follow a particular driver in F1, for almost invariably each team fields the same two wheelmen for a complete season, and very often for many successive seasons.

The charming simplicity of F1, I have discovered, is in stark contrast to the complexity of the NASCAR world.

 

Which NASCAR?

There is a plethora of NASCAR series. There are regional series, there are truck series, there are modified series, a Canadian series, a Mexican series. It's enough to make a simple man's head spin.

F1 has a paucity of events, NASCAR sanctions well over 1,000 each year. But the question of which series becomes easy for me because I cannot get to any of the races, there being an inconvenient ocean in the way, and only the Sprint and Nationwide events are beamed down from the satellite to my humble home. It's not a trailer, by the way.

The Sprint and Nationwide series are run in parallel, on the same circuits and often on the same weekends, Nationwide on the Saturday and Sprint on the Sunday.

The Sprint series is named after its sponsor, a telecoms company. Similarly, the Nationwide series is named for an insurance company, and has nothing to do with the British bank of that name.

Of the two series, Sprint is the premier one, with slightly faster cars and significantly greater prize money. It's slightly like F1 & GP2, or like Premiership and First Division in UK soccer. There is some driver crossover, with Sprint drivers occasionally racing in Nationwide.

This practice is termed "buschwacking" (sic

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29 comments Last one added 7 months ago — Leave a Comment

  1. L.J. Burgess 7 months ago

    This redneck can find no flaw in this European's view of the sport...well done, well done I say.

    I look forward to more Motorsports work from you.

    Later tater ;0)

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  2. Mike Wilkins 7 months ago

    Hey Duncan ... You must have read my mind! I have watched a few races on TV and have had an interest in it and wanted to find out more. That V8 noise is like a drug to me, even if it isn't quite an F1 engine, it's pretty darned close!
    I would love to have a drive in one sometime, and I mean one of the big ones, not the smaller powered ones we used to see at Rockingham here in England.
    So thanks very much for this article, it does answer a lot of my questions, and as a weekend racer, whet's my appetite to have a go!
    Great stuff!

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    • L.J. Burgess 7 months ago

      Bring your butt over here and I'll stick it in any make you want on Dover's 1 mile highbanks. We'll scrounge up a couple of hundred bucks to get you some laps in eh?

      I live 15 miles/15 minutes away from the track in Dover...you can stay with me.

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    • Duncan Scott 7 months ago

      Thanks Mike. I used to love the burble of the small-block Rover V8, but I never did get one. Is Rockingham gone now?

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    • L.J. Burgess 7 months ago

      I can pick you up at Baltimore or Philadelphia airports, both 90 minutes from me...if Baltimore, we party at my sister's the first night...then run at Dover.

      Do a little research on Dover International Speedway...it's unlike any other in the world and will work you hard.

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    • Saraswathi Siriginia 7 months ago

      Can I come along too for the ride LJ? Would love to see how I would fare alongside a Casey Kahne--of course, if I had a few sponsors then me and Emjay could I bet even beat Danica Patrick hollow or may be win a race :-) what say MJ-game for a race?

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  3. Mike Wilkins 7 months ago

    Oh yeah, My POTD!

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  4. Mike Wilkins 7 months ago

    Hey LJ, I will hold you to that alright! And I'm being serious! I have driven Rockingham in and M5 so want another go on oval in a proper car!
    Will definitely be in touch !! Fantastic!

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  5. Mary Jo Buchanan 7 months ago

    Greetings from New Jersey in the old US of A and welcome to our wild and wooly world that we call NASCAR!! You just about captured it all - especially the sentiment that with NASCAR you just have to go and take it all in - the rest will most surely come to you. Thanks too for sharing the picture - doesn't get much better than that!!

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  6. S M Napier 7 months ago

    Great article, Duncan and love that picture you used. Welcome to NASCAR, great comparises using F1 with NASCAR and it explains alot to the NASCAR fans to understand F1.

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  7. L.J. Burgess 7 months ago

    I found this on Google News under the NASCAR header...interesting.

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  8. M Brian Ladner 7 months ago

    Most excellent article. This is easily one of the best articles I have seen on NASCAR by an "outsider" to the sport (especially one familiar with Formula One) in a long time, if ever. I think the only thing you left out is the fact that there are powerhouse teams that generally hold onto their drivers at least throughout a season. That and, as Juan Pablo Montoya and Scott Speed put it, much more interaction and camaraderie amongst the drivers and with the fans than in F1.

    Keep up the good work, and good find on that picture. It has circulated in NASCAR circles for a while, but really gets the Bubba image thoroughly emblazened in the readers mind.

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  9. Saraswathi Siriginia 7 months ago

    Outstanding effort Duncan, truly a wonderful effort deserving of 5 stars and favorite pick

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  10. D-Boy 7 months ago

    Couldn't have said it better myself.

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  11. einnahs 7 months ago

    Hahaha. I'm still traumatized by the picture of the guy with his shaved back. Good work! You've got me mildly interested in checking out NASCAR now.

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  12. g q 7 months ago

    I still find NASCAR boring to watch...

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  13. Kara Martin 7 months ago

    Absolutely fabulous Duncan! Seriously flawless! You did your homework and did it WELL! Welcome to NASCAR my friend. I'm not far from ol' LJ, we could make an excellent time at Dover showing you the ropes. I have no doubt that it woule be the time of your life! In fact I can pretty much gaurantee it!

    You have done us "Bubbas" proud, it was simply perfect in my eyes, excellent work! Keep it up, I look very forward to reading more from you regardless of the subject, you are a real talent!!

    I must admit that I am a little jealous that you used that picture. Like M Brian said it has been circulating for years, every time that I see it I wish that I could come up with an article to do it justive, but no luck. You my friend have!

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    • Duncan Scott 7 months ago

      Thanks Kara, and it's been a pleasure rubbing shoulders with you on the front page today. Congrats on you 3rd article of the day, you'll have to ammend you bio. Really F1 is my love, and I have been two-timing it, but maybe I can find some crossover topics to write on in the future.

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  14. Mike Wilkins 7 months ago

    Hey Duncan, Rockingham is still going, but with fewer races. BMW had owned part of it and used it for car launches etc, but the they have pulled out.

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  15. Jen Preston 7 months ago

    Duncan, I really enjoyed this! You're a very knowledgeable race fan!!

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    • About the Author Duncan Scott (analyst)

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