so, NASCAR this weekend?

[northzax]

during gas shortages? is there a race?

[AX10]

1. NASKAR are a bunch of Repugs, I asure...

you that they will be pissing away TONS of gas on their stupid races.
Maybe Richard Petty will show us the 'proper way' to kiss Bush's ass too. :eyes:

[kenny blankenship]

2. Yes there's a race. It's the Bush Cup series NOLA 200

About 75 laps around Lake George.
First prize is a Snicker's bar and a box of Juicy-juice.
Second prize is at least you're still alive.
Third prize is there is no third prize. Pirhañas eat you.

[rinsd]

3. Here;s a recent article...

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/motorsports/12547004.htm

"CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The good news for NASCAR Nextel Cup teams when they line up for gas at the track is they don't need a second mortgage to pay the bill.
It's free. Sunoco provides the fuel in exchange for the advertising it gets as the fuel of NASCAR.

The bad news for those worried about a gas shortage is approximately 6,000 gallons of gasoline is used during a Cup weekend, including practice, qualifying and a 500-mile race.

Throw a Busch Series and truck series race into the mix and the total rises to more than 9,000 gallons."

[Telly Savalas]

4. Americans consume more than 300,000,000 gallons of gasoline a day

Given how 9,000 is a tiny fraction of 300 million, I find the anti-NASCAR sanctimony to be baffling.

If you don't like it, don't watch. That's what I do.

[SuperWonk]

5. Last race for the chase...

on the best track (IMHO) on the circuit.

Good stuff.

[hugo_from_TN]

6. I agree - this is a non-issue

A Michigan football game will draw about 110,000 fans. Assume 3 fans per car and an average drive of 30 miles one-way (all very conservative estimates). At a rate of 25 mi/ga that equals 88,000 gallons of gasoline to watch the Wolverines play ball. About 10x what the Nascar cars use in a race weekend.

[ridgerunner]

7. Ya'll know what this really about

it ain't about NASCAR, it's about Southerners. There are a lot of individuals here at DU that hate the South and its' people. NASCAR is linked to the South, so they hate it. All one has to do is read one of the many anti-Southerner threads that has disgraced the General board to understand what these folks are up to.

[northzax]

8. the amount isn't the point

the point is that the President had asked people to conserve gasoline over the weekend following a national disaster. This would have been fantastic symbolism, right?

Each individual taking a long shower in a drought is meaningless, but when there is a shortage, however temporary, for the local golf courses to water the greens sends the wrong message, right? same idea. It may be a drop in the bucket, but it's a high profile drop in the bucket.

[hugo_from_TN]

9. So why not cancel all sports

Plenty of gas used by folks attending MLB, NFL, College Football, Soccer, High School Football, etc. Maybe we can all stay inside and watch ESPN Classic.

[northzax]

10. those other sports do not revolve around the use

of a commodity that the President of the United States had asked people to conserve. If the President announced, on national television, that there was a shortage of golf balls, and we desperatly needed them for the war effort, then I would hope the PGA would cancel a tournament.

I would expect the same from F1 or Indycar. The difference being that NASCAR draws 10 times as many fans.

It's symbolism, see?

[Telly Savalas]

12. The point however is that when you consider the total fuel consumption

involved in a sporting event, the gas burned on the track at a NASCAR event is insignificant compared to the fuel used getting the fans there and back. Hence a NASCAR event uses only a marginally greater amount of gas per person than do other sporting events (or rock concerts, etc. for that matter). So it's irrational to pick on NASCAR and give other large spectacles a free pass.

I don't even like NASCAR, but I find it really disturbing that due to its "symbolism" it gets scapegoated around here. There's about a 20 to 1 ratio at DU for posts bashing NASCAR to posts advocating the expansion of public transportation. The NASCAR threads seem to have little to do with concern over finite oil resources, and more to do with establishing a smug sense of superiority over fans of the motorsport.

[muffin_man]

11. Also have to consider

the outrageous amount of revenue these races generate for the local economies. I think that alone outweighs the minute benefit of sybolism. Even if they were to cancel the rest of the Nascar season, it would still not save as much fuel as is used in one SEC football weekend. Not even counting the other conferences. The financial hit to the areas hosting those races would be significant though. Just simple hate of the south is all it is. Symbolism indeed.