Sports

[VaBelle35]

I'm out of racing now.

There's not one left I'm even remotely interested in following.

[adamlambert]

He put a pic of a "stork" on his Instagram a few weeks ago.  Not surprised. I'm a JJ fan but he's second. Danica is on hsn right now!!!

[deepwaterdotter]

Not totally unexpected given his health complications last year.  What a wonderful new adventure for the Earnhardt's! 

Now who will be the next permanent driver of the #88 car?  I vote for Alex Bowman.

[sim2222]

Sorry to see Jr go. He was racing. There is no one to follow. Not a JJ fan! NASCAR will go more downhill now!  Which is too bad! Its not like it was in the good ole days of "cheat and eat".

[PINKdogWOOD]

@VaBelle35  You could switch over to evjoying Indy Cars and/or Formula 1 Racing.  Beautiful cars, handsome drivers, faster speeds on more exciting circuits.

[VaBelle35]

Well, I do love me some John Force.  He is like the cat with 9 lives.  Although he is on life number 72 at this point.

I think Nascar is going to really take a ratings hit.

Unless someone can lock him up for broadcasting.  

[adamlambert]

Lol broadcasting..I have to translate for my DH when Jr talks. He can't understand southern.  

[hckynut]

@VaBelle35,

Been a Nascar fan since Tiny Lund, a driver from a local track from my area, won the Daytona 500 in 1963 driving in place of the injured Marvin Panch, the Woods Brothers #21 Ford.

Have seen many drivers come and go, many died racing, and others could no longer race because of $$$ factors. If you couldn't compete with Factory sponsored "teams of cars", your chances of winning, or even making a good showing, got to be less likely.

I quit my 17+ years of Drag Racing around the whole Midwest, for that very reason. Racing was my hobby and my passion, but it was not going to be my whole life, so I quit and sold my cars and everything connected to being a winning participant.

Once again, Nascar is letting the BIG $$$ control the sport. Rest stops/participation trophies (stage points), and insufferable delays in more numerous restarts.  The France family, in my opinion, is ruining auto racing for this fan, and probably thousands of others.

Their wanting only bigger "cookie cutter tracks", that seat more people, thus forgetting many of the small tracks that WERE NASCAR. Money revenue is their only goal, not the drivers or the fans. Why did Carl Edwards quit driving? Not sure, but I have my suspicions.

Never an Earnhardt Junior fan, but did like his father, just not his "win at all costs" driving style. When he died, many fans, my opinion, left the sport. Some because of the way he died, others because they lost a friend and favorite driver.

I have not heard or read about Earnhardt Junior retiring. I missed the Bristol Race because I messed up our DVR of the Monday Race, so I am a bit behind. Don't follow Nascsr shows as I did in the past, just not as interested.

Losing Dale will not ruin Nascar, the France's are doing a good job of that on their own. I am and have always been a Manufacturers fan, and participant during my long Drag Racing career. I drove only Ford products, Ford/Mercury and a 1948 Ford Anglia.

So my favorites have always been those drivers. Even though some of them left Ford for Chevy/Pontiac or Chrysler, they were still my favorites. But all began because they were driving Ford product cars. In Drag Racing, Ford was the "dark horse" back in the 1950's. Not until 1960 did they come out with a car capable of competing with the small and big block GM cars.

Still rooting for the Penske Drivers, along with the Woods Brothers #21, with Ryan Blany(sp) as their driver. Kevin Harvick, not so much. Anyways, will have to catch up on the Earnhardt saga.

hckynut(john) 

Spoiler

[VaBelle35]

MLB is going the same way.

[gardenman]

Nascar really seems to be trying to be a new IROC series with the absolutely identical cars. There's just something missing in the sport these days. Maybe I've outgrown it, but it's just not the same any longer. I don't really think it's the drivers as we've got some heroes, some villains and others, but the whole sport just feels bland these days. Adding the breaks for stages sure hasn't helped matters. I'd think it was just me, but then you see the attendance and realize it's not just me.