When I was a kid, stock car races were actually done in stock cars. Drivers like Junior Johnson were out on the track with vehicles that were actual production cars right off the dealer's showroom. Heavily modified, of course, but they were real cars.
Today, if you actually see "stock cars" at these races, they bear very little resemblance to actual production vehicles. They have very different frames and suspensions, and very light bodies that can be easily opened up in order to get inside.
I recall having seen one race where a car blew a clutch, and they pulled off to the pit, dropped the transmission, changed the clutch and were back on the track in ten minutes. Now, I don't know if you've ever changed a clutch, but there is no production vehicle ever made that will allow any team, even the best mechanics with the best facilities, to be able to change a clutch in ten minutes. These vehicles are not production cars.
I think we should bring back the whole notion of stock car racing to the track. Take actual production cars, put real drivers into them, and race them. I think, though, that since sports cars are such a tiny percentage of the market that we should do what common stock car racers back in the fifties did, and race the most popular production vehicles.
And that means SUVs. I'd like to see races with supercharged Dodge Caravans, with water-injected V-8 engines and high ratio transmissions, tearing at
150 miles an hour down the track, chased by blown Chevy Luminas filled with screaming children. As an added benefit, all drivers should be forced to carry on a conversation on a cellphone as they drive.I feel that this will bring back the spirit and excitement that has been lost in modern stock car racing, because it will allow spectators to identify better with the vehicles and drivers on the track. This identification is something that has been taken away from us, and something we sadly need back.
--scott