What about NASCAR?

[Lindacooks]

During the energy crisis of the 1970s, I was always skeptical that there was a 'real' crisis because stock car racing and NASCAR didn't miss a beat. Do you think that peak oil is going to bring a halt to car racing? Or will NASCAR switch to hybrid cars and hydrogen powered cars? Or is that even possible?

[ElsewheresDaughter]

1. it is NOT a sport! ......might as well watch paint dry...just my $0.02

[Squatch]

3. Did Lindacooks say, ANYWHERE in the original post, that it was?

[ElsewheresDaughter]

4. i didn't say "ANYWHERE" that she did...gessssh

[Squatch]

5. So, your reply to her question was a patent non sequitur

edited for spelling

[ElsewheresDaughter]

14. my bad

[Lindacooks]

39. Oh, believe me, I don't like it.

This is an issue I've been curious about for awhile.

Thanks to everybody who replied - I learned a lot.

[Squatch]

2. Like any professional sport, they'll just charge the fans more

for tickets to cover increasing expenses.

[ret5hd]

6. Slot Car racing will see a resurgence of popularity.

As will that football game...the one with the buzzing vibratring table with the little plastic men that always went the wrong way.

I'm buying stock in both TODAY!

[KansDem]

16. Hey, I remember those!!!

Those slotcar places where there were huge, multi-lane tracks. You brought your own slot car and raced it; I believe you paid by the hour, like those "family center" pool parlors.

I always wanted to get involved in slot-car racing but the industry dried up before I could get started.

I did have an HO-size slot car set, but HO size is not really true slot car size...

[ProfessorGAC]

19. Those Were Cool

My dad & i had 1/32nd and 1/24th scale cars. There was a huge place about 8 blocks or so from our house that had 2 tracks at each scale. An oval and a road course. The ovals were 2 mile equivalent and the road course was 6 mile equivalent.

We used to go at least once every week.
The Professor

[Webster Green]

7. Nascar racers burn alcohol...

Not gasoline.

[ClintonTyree]

9. No, it's 120 octane racing fuel................

not alcohol. I think you've got drag racing and stock car racing mixed up.

[Clark2008]

12. Basically, it's jet fuel

Actually - it IS jet fuel.

[B3Nut]

21. Not jet fuel.

Jet fuel is basically kerosene. Gasoline engines can't burn it, but diesels can, with a reduction in performance. Racing gasoline is a different animal altogether, 110 to 120 octane as another poster noted.

Todd in Beerbratistan

[MousePlayingDaffodil]

10. No, that's not true.

NASCAR cars use a specialty-blend 110 octane leaded gasoline.

[ptolle]

34. nascar gasoline

Sorry-Nascar currently uses gasoline as fuel, matter of fact they changed "official" brands this past off season.Indy cars however do burn methyl alcohol(methanol)- supposedly switching shortly to ethyl alcohol(ethanol same as currently used as an additive in gasoline) and nascar could as well.

[Chemical Bill]

35. Indy cars use ethanol this year

I understand they will play up the "American farmers grew this fuel" angle. I don't think they will mention that corn is an inefficient crop for ethanol.

Bill

[Rockholm]

38. Welcome Ptolle.

[mr_hat]

37. Champ cars (CART) burn methanol. You may be thinking of that.

[lectrobyte]

8. The amount of gas used by the race cars is probably insignificant

compared to the amount used by the attendees of the race to go there and back. Also, the cost of the fuel is probably one of the lesser expenses for a race team as well.

[ohio_liberal]

17. It's no expense at all

The gasoline is given away for free to the teams by the gasoline sponsor.

[BiggJawn]

22. Bingo!

All those THOUSANDS of SUV's and F-350's and Dodge RAMS (with haemrhoids) and oil-belching minivans....

"Hey Zeke! Wanna dubble-up fer th' ride to th' race track an saves some gas?"

"HAY-ell NO! I ain't riding in nuttin' whats got them Jeff Gordon stickers onnit!"

[HereSince1628]

11. I think that NASCAR racing teams can absorb the price of gas

Let me say I am blindly plowing ahead and know nothing about the fuels used by NASCAR...

In a single race a team seems to regularly wear out tires and parts (transmissions, clutches) whose analogs on the street have a greater value than fuel.

The frequency of major damage and outright destruction of vehicles worth astronomically more than the fuel they consume suggests that the cost of fuel isn't a significant factor.

Consequently, I have no doubt that racing of some type will continue even if expensive synthetic fuels were used...

But its also my impression that NASCAR is about "stock cars" which implies in some sort of way the racing cars are like cars driven on the street.

If the cars on the street go to hybrids or fuel cells it would seem likely that people would begin racing these as stock cars somewhere.

[ohio_liberal]

15. Nothing like cars on the street

There used to be a common template between the cars on the track and the cars on the street. There are no similarities now, with the exception perhaps that they are still using a internal combustion engine. The cars now are so alike in chassis design and shape that the only way to differentiate them is with cosmetic body changes.

I can't imagine the teams will be affected at all by gasoline prices. Gasoline is given to teams free of charge by NASCARs new gas sponsor, Sunoco. FWIW, the gas costs about $5 per gallon, in 22 gallon fuel tanks, for 43 teams in the field. The cost is around $15,000 per race.

[DemocracyInaction]

13. Oh, the oil cost will indeed affect the sport.........in another way

I know this 'sport' attracts all sorts of people from all sorts of income levels. But, I think I'm relatively safe in saying it's biggest, huge fan base is Mr. Joe Six Pack Blue Collar Guy and Gal. This oil mess will mean they will be swimming in financial troubles. They will not be able to afford tickets to this sport nor buy the jackets and junk that go with it; nor be able to afford the extensive cable or dish in order to watch it, etc. It will also mean that a number of them will be too busy trying to find a job as one business after another starts falling due to energy costs. Perhaps when they stop being lulled by "round and rounds", they will wake up and see the little, whimpy drunken coke head and his friends for the real enemy of the people that they are.

[One_Life_To_Give]

26. That will also be true for Baseball, Basketball. etc. NT

[frylock]

18. there were changes made in the 70s during the energy crisis..

as the auto manufacturers backed away from the large 427-429 CI engine displacement and started to use smaller motors, NASCAR also had to adapt to those changes.

I would imagine that as peak oil comes to fruition that there will be changes within motorsports, be it hybrid or alternative fuel powered cars. It will most likely start within F1, or one of the other sports car series. Consumers always benefit from the extensive R&D that is done by the engineers of race cars.

[Blue_Tires]

20. but 'neckcar is only one race series

there's still NHRA, F1, Trans-Am, Grand-Am, IRL, CART, WRC, ALMS, and all the lower niche racing leagues....There is actually a proposal on the table in IRL to switch to clean engines by 2010, iirc

[truebrit71]

23. ASSCAR uses petrol.....

During the last fuel crisis what used to be known as Indycars switched to Methanol...

The amount of fuel consumed in an entire Formula One season is LESS than that used by a 747 flying from JFK to London.

ASSCAR sucks by the way, PROPER Indycars no longer race at Indy, and Formula One ROCKS!!!

[jakefrep]

25. Legend has it...

...that the head of NASCAR told President Nixon that flying the Washington Redskins to an NFL game uses more fuel than a NASCAR race. This was well before NASCAR was on anybody's radar screen.

[Blue_Tires]

28. a flight to a game in Japan, maybe

[ohio_liberal]

24. ARCA, CHAMP, ASCS, IROC, WoO, ALMS, ASA, SCCA

It's quite a list ;)

[DrGonzoLives]

27. But those are liberal-approved leagues

NASCAR, on the other hand, as we all know, is only liked by worthless red-state inbred bigoted hicks and therefore must be destroyed.

[ohio_liberal]

30. Heh

must be destroyed

I don't know why people think there are no liberals/progressives interested in NASCAR. I've run into fans on dKos and Eschaton many times and I'm pretty sure there were no inbred racist crackers there.

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

32. I like NASCAR

and I'm no inbred redneck hick!

:hi:

[ohio_liberal]

33. Well that is good to hear

:hi:

I was feeling pretty lonely ;)

[he lied us into war]

29. America needs to de-emphasize fast driving

Apart from all the people killed and maimed by speeders, speeding also wastes gas. It is truly sick that pro-speed nascar even exists while wars are being waged over oil.

[cynatnite]

31. I wish, but

it won't. Besides, even if they ran on regular gas like the rest of us schmos, they would NEVER shut down Nascar. Too many rabid fans.

My hubby's one. I for one find it boring.

[Cleita]

36. I always thought the energy crisis of the 1970s was bogus.

Apparently the oil industry knows how to manipulate the populace in the most devious ways. Having lived in a country where there were real shortages at various times, there wasn't this here today and gone tomorrow shortage. Shortages were gradual as things perhaps like maybe fish slowly disappeared from the market and rose in prices because it was a bad year for fishing.

This is what happens with real shortages.