Racing used to be a sport that required you to be a total f*cking badass. Now it's a buncha rich kids in over-engineered machines. Stock cars? MY ASS. Too many rules, too many whiners... Can someone tell me why 'Stock Cars' Have V8s, while the street versions don't even have a V8 option? Where's our V8 Camrys? lol...

Somehow I managed to watch a fair amount of F1 in the 80s when I was a kid. Haven't really had time to watch much since then. But yeah, it's easy to be nostalgic about the good old days of racing (or almost any sport for that matter).

I never got into open-wheel racing so much. Those cars just seem so alienated from anything I could ever work on or relate to, plus if they so much as touch each other on track, it's all over. I like the beat 'n' bang of the more contact-oriented motorsports, and yes, that includes NASCAR. I don't care that you can't buy a V8 Camry off a showroom floor (and btw, the profit dollars from those few flagship US manufacturing plants still go back to Tokyo and out of the US economy, no matter how much self-congratulating Toyota offers themselves for it); I just love that there's still a racing series or two that gets it done with carbureted pushrod V8s, and I'll be sad when that goes away.

F1 has gotten better and there is some passing involved now. Teams just seem to take turns dominating. I can't comment about the current Moto GP as I don't watch it but man, the 500cc Grand Prix bikes in the 80's were fantastic. Spencer, Rainey, Lawson, Schwantz then Doohan. Good memories.

I have been a huge NASCAR fan from watching it as a child. Mind you I haven't been around that long being born in the later part of the 80's, but I've seen a bunch of the legendary race. It's too bad that more types of auto sports aren't more regularly offered. That's part of the reason I still look forward to watching NASCAR is that I can root my driver on, rather than picking a name that I have never heard of. The best quote I've heard about racing and I may have be too young to experience it is "when sex was safe, and racing was dangerous."

Good Story! I agree with Jen about the Toyotas in NASCAR, the big dollars still go overseas regardless of where they are put together. I also grew up watching Little Al, Emmo, Mears, Rahal and others race. It's not the same today, but then again the same for NASCAR. I love watching and attending the races, but I want the car to look like a car on the street as they used to. Where's the 2 door Impala with a V-8? What happened to "Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday"? All being said, I still get excited, WITH goose-bumps for the first 5 laps, of 43 "carbureted pushrod V8"s racing past me at close to 200 mph. The smell of racing fuel, burnt oil and smoking tires along with the sound of a strong engine screaming hard to move a piece of metal, with a human inside trying to control it, will always be cool to me!!

I have never gotten into NASCAR because, as previously mentioned, there is nothing stock about a "stock car." RWD caged aero body V8 cars with stickers for lights are infrequently sold at dealerships. I used to like WRC, and you can still catch it on HD Theatre (I think thats which channel) every once in a while, but it runs like a highlight video and its hard to follow. V8 supercars are cool, and other assorted road racing is cool, but it gets such limited coverage and press, its hard to keep track of it and know the drivers, etc. I went to the Indy 500 in person last year and was hooked. Never really watched or liked Indy before but now I am INTO it. I watched every race on TV since then. I understand there is nothing I can relate to about an Indy Car. I don't work on carbon fiber open wheel cars with 650 hp 14:1 compression fuel injected v8s but thats why I love it. Indy Cars are purpose built race cars that do nothing but go and stop and turn fast. I really like the variety of tracks, locations, and personalities. Indy Car is where its at.

Speedvision's programing change was inevitable after FOX, who owns the tv rights for NASCAR, took it over and made it into a lifestyle channel (save for the occasional daytime road race).

The only real racing these days is claimer racing, all the cars are... well, just cars, they are cheap and used and the drivers are regular Joe's out for fun. No corporate backing, no sponsors normally, and anyone can do it!

Grassroots racing is comming back in a big way I think because of all the big time b/s in the higher ranks. Go to a local race where the hero's and villans of the town go wheel to wheel in some real action packed racing. I've seen soo many events comming up around me in the southeast that I honestly don't watch racing on tv anymore. If I want the old fashioned adrenaline rush I'd just pay my admission to one of these races. Not just in oval tracks and drag racing or street racing like auto-x or rally, I see a big jump in off road racing too. Ive been to most of the newly founded ECORS (East Coast Offroad Racing Series) events and this is my favorite by far. And if you live in Auburn, AL the race will be in your back yard this Saturday! Check them out at www.ecors.com and watch a live feed like I'll be doing at www.nc4x4.com. your welcome.

In my opinion, the only races worth watching.. or participating in are grassroots races, at the local track, where people build REAL hot rods from junkers and battle it out on the oval, EVERYTHING else is way to commercial and laden with restrictions