Earnhardt, Jr.

[Davidson Deac II]

Didn't say the drivers weren't athletes- they are. But the NASCAR event itself is not sport.

No other sport changes its rules from one week to the next.

No other sport changes its rules to allow for a substandard product having a better chance of keeping up.

No other sport dictates one type of competitor (car) can do one thing but another competitor (car) cannot.

NFL changed rules in midstream last year for fines for hits. They also increased fines during the playoffs for uniform violations.

They instituted a salary cap so teams in smaller markets could keep up with the superior teams in bigger markets.

They design special rules to protect the QB over the other competitors. They do it because he is the most marketable player on the team and losing QB's hurts the league.

I don't always agree with NASCAR's rule changes, but understand why many of them are implemented. The technology on these things changes on a regular basis. They have to walk a fine line between competitive and safe. That means they change the rules whenever the need arises. For example, the restrictor plates at Daytona were changed because they found out that the newly paved track allowed the cars to travel at an unsafe speed. So they had to slow them down.

[YoungPanthers89]

lol this thread took a left turn quick

Edit:no pun intended (maybe a little)

[Scrumtrilescent]

Yep, a lot better than Junior does, too.

[Starscream]

lol this thread took a left turn quick

I hate to say it, but I think Jr. took a right turn today. :(

[Davidson Deac II]

Yep, a lot better than Junior does, too.

I don't know, Junior took a pretty sharp left turn in the thursday race. ;)

[YoungPanthers89]

I used to hate jr with a passion because of the overated hype he gets, now he cant buy a race and even the tracks he is usually very good at he cant get a break. I kinda pull for him now if 24 goes out

[Anybodyhome]

But all of the NFL, MLB or whatever rule changes everyone mentioned effect everyone equally.

NASCAR changes rules to the benefit of some and the detriment of others. A bunch of Ford owners get together and say they cannot keep up with the Toyotas, next thing you know NASCAR has made a change to help the Ford owners. How many times has that happened over the years?

Qualifying? What qualifying? NASCAR is so worried about its fan base they tell 75% of the field they have a spot waiting for them. Screw all of that and make them all qualify every week. Tough poo if Jimmy Johnson hits the wall during a Q-lap and doesn't make the race.

My point is NASCAR has made selective rule changes to help only part of the teams while the NFL and MLB rule changes brought up here effect everyone on the field.

[Davidson Deac II]

But all of the NFL, MLB or whatever rule changes everyone mentioned effect everyone equally.

NASCAR changes rules to the benefit of some and the detriment of others. A bunch of Ford owners get together and say they cannot keep up with the Toyotas, next thing you know NASCAR has made a change to help the Ford owners. How many times has that happened over the years?

Qualifying? What qualifying? NASCAR is so worried about its fan base they tell 75% of the field they have a spot waiting for them. Screw all of that and make them all qualify every week. Tough poo if Jimmy Johnson hits the wall during a Q-lap and doesn't make the race.

My point is NASCAR has made selective rule changes to help only part of the teams while the NFL and MLB rule changes brought up here effect everyone on the field.

The NFL makes rules that protect certain players at the expense of others. They make rules to favor offense over defense, in order to make fans happy. They make rules that allow small market teams to compete on a somewhat level playing fields with the big market teams. They do that last one to keep things even, just as Nascar makes rule changes to keep things even between the different teams.

[Starscream]

The NFL makes rules that protect certain players at the expense of others. They make rules to favor offense over defense, in order to make fans happy. They make rules that allow small market teams to compete on a somewhat level playing fields with the big market teams. They do that last one to keep things even, just as Nascar makes rule changes to keep things even between the different teams.

Rule changes like these make sense b/c no one wants to watch a blowout. It's not entertaining. Richard Petty used to win races by a margin of three laps between him and second place. Who really wants to see that?

MLB could learn a lesson from this and become a bit more competitive (and I'm talking about much more than revenue sharing).

[Happy Panther]

Qualifying? What qualifying? NASCAR is so worried about its fan base they tell 75% of the field they have a spot waiting for them. Screw all of that and make them all qualify every week. Tough poo if Jimmy Johnson hits the wall during a Q-lap and doesn't make the race.

This could be devastating to the sport. Imagine the Daytona 500 without 3-4 top names.

[Dilla]

Not to mention that many start-and-parkers setup their cars strictly to qualify with no intention of running the full race. . .

[Anybodyhome]

The NFL makes rules that protect certain players at the expense of others. They make rules to favor offense over defense, in order to make fans happy. They make rules that allow small market teams to compete on a somewhat level playing fields with the big market teams. They do that last one to keep things even, just as Nascar makes rule changes to keep things even between the different teams.

Again, you're using polar opposites to illustrate your case, but it still is not apples to apples. Offense over defense are polar opposite on the playing field. What NASCAR does to help Ford compete with Chevrolet, for example, is kind of like the NFL saying since the Steelers are so much better than the Panthers, when they play a Steeler TD is only 4 points while a Panther TD will be 6 points.

And as far as big market versus small market- the last example you want to use is NASCAR. There are what, a handful of team owners controlling the entire thing? The Wood brothers 21 car, part owned by Richard Petty with a Roush engine, yeah, there's equality.

[Starscream]

So close yesterday...

[pantherfan49]

So close yesterday...

You know that a racer has fallen off their pedestal when someone bumps a several month old thread to discuss that racer's second place finish.