Ban NASCAR Now!

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blueblood

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Ban NASCAR Now!

By John Galt
April 28, 2008

The culmination of another superstar weekend of NASCAR racing at Talladega, AL, one of their ?Super speedways? which dot the U.S. landscape, makes me realize what a waste of precious resources we witness each week when these vehicles make left turns for three hours, consuming nature?s gift and providing nothing more than a PBR inspired buzz for the millions of fans who watch it. Thankfully no animals were killed, nor were any drivers or spectators, so from a safety standpoint the improvements in this ?sport? are the only benefit I can see and the idea of putting helmets and HANS devices into the new economy cars on the market might be something to analyze. The display, otherwise, was a horrid show which destroys valuable natural resources which could be used to keep the lower class Americans in affordable gasoline for quite some time and be of great assistance for the poor children of the nation.

Per NASCAR statistics, all of the cars consume about 6000 gallons of fuel during the race. This does not include diesel fuel consumed by the numerous rigs the racing teams drive nor the media circus which follows the teams around the circuit. Add in the waste of aviation fuel for helicopters and blimps which circle the event from above and you can deduce that hundreds of thousands of dollars of our valuable resources are wasted so Bubba can get a buzz on and watch a bunch of rednecks make left turns all day. The fuel consumed by the racing vehicles is also high in lead content which when burned in a confined area like many of these race tracks, might explain the deteriorating ability of some drivers to enunciate properly when interviewed after the race. If you think about the average household which earns less than $50,000 per year, they probably consume about 40 gallons of gasoline on average per week. While that number might seem high, if you add in the transportation to and from work for two adults and the various trips around the community for the children, it?s not that extreme. So based on that, each NASCAR event could provide gasoline, if the racing fuel were refined differently, for up to 150 weeks for that one household! That means almost 3 families would have 1 years worth of fuel and prevent the children from having to walk, hitchhike or take dangerous school buses to and from their public education Mecca. Think of the savings! Think of the children!

Also the skills of the truck drivers would be better utilized to haul food and clothing to keep costs down for our poor and middle class by better allocating the diesel fuel in this nation for things that matter. This would reduce our dependence on Mexican trucking companies to haul goods cross country and keep America strong. The aviation fuel would be better utilized for our military and of course hospital emergency helicopters which are in need for lower fuel costs to keep hospital bills down for the children when they are seriously injured. Thus grounding this aerial circus we see every Saturday and Sunday for the Busch Series and Sprint Cup races would immediately provide an economic benefit for the children.

Another consideration that everyone should understand is the increased dependency on government hearing aid programs as a result of the hostile environment inside a NASCAR event. They use no mufflers or sound reducing technology which with repeated exposure, especially in the infield and seats closer to the track. If this continues, the expansion of the Medicare/Medicaid roles to accommodate the drivers and fans could be a huge burden on our society. Adding to the hazardous nightmare is the lack of catalytic converters and pollution control devices which pollute the atmosphere and enhance global warming effects over the various tracks. The limitations of the ability for many plants to grow in such an area of polluted air only contributes to the rapid decline of our world?s atmosphere and the polar bears inability to swim to safety and areas where food is readily available. Alas, this sad state of affairs is neglected by the average NASCAR fan, as their only concern is swilling beer, spitting tobacco, and of course keeping their female partners enslaved as bare footed baby factories inside their homes. America must act and act fast to force NASCAR to modify their cars and the racing environment, if not outright banning the sport, for the good of our health care system, endangered birds and the children.

Finally, there is the social impact. No, not the drunk husband coming home yelling at his wife and kids after the race because number 88 choked again. It is the waste of talent and resources within the vehicular construction itself. These engineers are brilliant and probably all drive cars that average 100 mpg in the city as they know all of the top secret engine manufacturing techniques which should be shared with the world to prevent the Armageddon we all fear is coming. If these engineers were forced to work within the private enterprise system for the auto makers and maybe even a special U.N. project, the threat of global war and radical terrorist activity would be greatly reduced as the oil resources would be extended for another fifty years as a result of their work. We must encourage NASCAR to not hoard these engineers and their mechanics and to share them immediately to prevent war and protect the children.

It is my sincere hope that each and every one of you pick up a pen, a phone, or email your representatives in the House and Senate and urge action now. It is time to ban NASCAR and the affiliated races. It is time to start conserving and allocating our resources. It is time to give the powers to the government to do what is necessary for the Ashy Storm-Petrel to survive and come off the Endangered Species List so it does not fly over lead laden airways nor choke on non-catalytic converter cleaned exhaust. It is time for all Americans to act.

For the children.


If you believe one word of what you just read above, you are a victim of the disease which impairs your ability to take a joke and enjoy the sarcastic side of life. Seek profession help immediately if that is the case.
 
;D  Had me going there for a minute.  I sorta figured it was all that drafting yesterday that got you all riled up.
 
Think of all the electrons that gave their lives to generate that post.

Oh, the humanity.
 
Well,  The OP makes some good points... However there is another side to NASCAR and INDY racing. And one has to look at the balance sheet.

First: The drunk husband who smacks his wife because his favorite race car chocked again, is the same drunken husband who will smack his wife because the wrong football team scored, or because his car got a flat tire, or because he got busted for drunk driving or because__________ well, you fill in the blank.

Now, I've often heard "food" arguments,  (in this case the skills of the truck drivers ---delivering food) usually in regards to NASA but question.. Is it better to hand a poor man the cost of a meal, Or to give him a job so he can EARN his next meal(s)

And as for the fuel "Wasted"  True, there is a lot of fuel "Wasted" however .... Ever hear of a Detroit Diesel Series 60,  That engine,and the semi's that are powered by it (And the motor homes) have a tendency to pass gas stations about 2x what other engines do.. Why is this?    Well... Those cars only can carry so much fuel, plus every pound of fuel they carry is a pound that needs to be carried.. So if you can make an engine that delivers 2x the MPG of anyone else on the track you can either re-fuel less often or carry less weight,,, Either way,  You now have an EDGE over the other drivers. Penskie knew this, so did his engineers and programmers.  Of course Detroit Diesel was already working on what became the series 60 before he bought into the company.. But it is interesting that since he sold out they have not been able to make much improvement.  This alone saves thousands and thousands and thousands of gallons of oil every day here in the US as people like my brother fire up their DD Series 60 and pass fueling stations. (Poor brother George.. had to drive a tractor with a different engine in it for a couple of months.  Dang near decided to park it and vacation,  The cost of fuel plus rental like to ruin him.... He normally turns a profit on the fuel surcharge the company gives him)

And then we get to driver safety.. Several innovations have come out of racing.. These include the use of seat belts  Which save lives.. One can argue that saving a life increases consumption, however I'll let you do that.. LIVES are #1 in my book.  The REAR VIEW MIRROR is also an invention that came out of, in this case, Indy racing.  There are several other innovations that come outof Indy and NASCAR type racing... I'm afraid I don't know them all.

However I very strongly suspect that if you look at it fairly... As I have tried to do.. You may well find that on the balance sheet,  NASCAR and INDY racing is a good thing.

Now Football... That's a total waste of time and teaches nothing but "He who butts heads best wins"

Wonder if G.W.Bush played football.. Or Osamma or Saddam or .. Well I hope you get the idea
 
Now Football... That's a total waste of time and teaches nothing but "He who butts heads best wins"

John, there are many different types of 'football' in the world. There's American football, association football (aka soccer), rugby football - several flavors, including rugby union, rugby league, and Australian rugby. They don't all have the kind of thugs or violence you're talking about.
 
And sometimes the violence is in the stands, not on the field.  At least American Football is generally treated for what it is, entertainment.
 
That's true Ned, but limited to Association football. I've been watching rugby for almost 60 years and have yet to see violence in the stands.

A rugby game lasts for 40 minutes each way, plus a 10-15 minute half time break. No timeouts and no stoppages for TV ads. The rules are set up to keep the ball moving, so you won't find another 'football' game with more entertainment crammed into such a short time.
 
Tom.. I seem to recall reading news reports of a rugby match where the crowd needed controlling but I do admit it's been a few years.

I do apologize.  I was speaking of AMERICAN style football... Where 11 people line up across from 11 other people and when the ball moves they all butt shoulders (Heads sounds better but it is really shoulders that they butt)

It is not without reason that the military officer who accompanies  the President of the United States is carrying a package called "The nuclear football"

A device which, if used, will put an end to the world.
 
Robert,

For many years rugby union was amateur, although it's been pro for some time now. But they don't earn the kind of money that soccer players or American football players make.

There's obviously sponsorship and gate fees, as well as TV rights for the games that are televised. The TV stations are limited to pre and post game ads in addition to some half time ads.
 
John,

Crowd control is a necessity at almost all soccer games.
 
Tom said:
Crowd control is a necessity at almost all soccer games.
Including, occassionally, my son's. Some of those soccer moms can get pretty excitable. As can the dads.
 
Yeah, I'd seen the NASCAR thing before and got a chuckle out of it....( Go #24!!  ;D ).  Yep, I'm a Gordon fan.

A guy at work actually did ask me about it being a tremendous waste of fuel.  We sat down and put the numbers to it one day.  Now, this is nowhere near scientific, but a close enough Bubba estimate.  If each car gets about 4 mpg, and travels an average of 500 miles ( or laps, depending on track size and configuration), let's say each car uses an aggregate average of 125 gallons per race....and in the Nextel series, that means 5250 gallons per race.  The Busch races (Nationwide) are shorter, so figure about 4000 gallons for them.  The Craftsman truck series the same, but they don't run a full 36 week season.

Soooo....for arguments sake, the 3 major divisions of NASCAR use somewhere in the neighborhood of 12K gallons per week.  Or about the same as ONE Boeing 767 uses in 7 hours of flight.

Source

At any given hour of any given day, there are as many as 6300 flights traversing the country.  I'm sure a substantial number of them are 767's.  Kinda makes Jeff Gordon and Dale Jr. seem rather inconsequential, huh?  Even factoring in the car haulers and motorcoaches.

So sit back, pop open a cold beverage of your choice.....oh...and BOOGITY BOOGITY BOOGITY....LET'S GO RACIN' BOYS!!!




 
Kinda makes Jeff Gordon and Dale Jr. seem rather inconsequential, huh?
Sure, but at least the people on the 767's are getting somewhere rather than just going around in circles. Heck, they can't even make it from one track to the next on their own - throw in a right turn or two and they'd find a wall to crash into... or get lost.  ;D ;D
 
Karl said:
Sure, but at least the people on the 767's are getting somewhere rather than just going around in circles. Heck, they can't even make it from one track to the next on their own - throw in a right turn or two and they'd find a wall to crash into... or get lost.  ;D ;D

Ahhhh....not true.  I give you Watkins Glen & Sonoma...  And just TRY bump drafting in a jumbo jet and see how it works out  ;D
 
Karl - other than the road races, they may only circle to the left but man, what outstanding circles.

I do have to admit to a little chuckle of glee to see Denny Hamlin forget to circle today (kissed the wall and not qualify for tonights race).  The stunt he pulled last week did not sit well with me.
 
Newt & Jan said:
The stunt he pulled last week did not sit well with me.

Nor I....nor most of the fan base.  The only thing that saved Hamlin from a litany of criticism was that NASCAR fans are too busy fixated on crucifying Kyle Busch at the moment. 

The truth of the matter is that if Hamlin hadn't INTENTIONALLY stopped on the track to bring out a caution, Earnhardt would have won easily.  Helton should have parked him for the next race just to send a message that this isn't acceptable.  But I'm sure there were some "Team Orders" given out by JGR. 

But I digress....NASCAR is a phenomenal waste of fossil fuels and should be banned.  ;)
 
Kyle Busch was just being himself and anyone racing him for a win knows going in exactly who they are racing and what he might do.  Bummer for Jr. but it was at least racing which you can't say about the nonsense that Hamlin pulled. I'd love to have seen him hit with a major penalty.

As to the other, I agree.  They should immediately put a halt to all that driving around and around and aro........

I think I'll have to watch the Saturday race just so I can remember how bad a thing it is and spend the time saying nasty things about them and the waste.  Probably have to do the same the next couple of weekends when they are in town and causing traffic jams.
 

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