Well,thanks for the insights guys,seems like its all the factors coming together,but if one is really deficient,the others are dragged down.
Does this thread include the NASCAR Welen modifieds?
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I thought it was everything NASCAR
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FYI Salvinos JR is having a 20% off everything in stock - go get your NASCAR models! And one of those nice Dallara Indy cars as well.
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did you get the nascar survay about the FOX coverage?
If it’s raced it belongs here.
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Nice! I’ve never bought directly from them, it’s always been off hobbyclic that had them on sale.
No, I didn’t the survey. There is a YouTube channel dedicated to this topic. The replies were generally not good for FOX.
Read the comments. Not good.
I want ot build a NASCAR, but I have a problem…
I hate curbside builds. I want to be able to remove the hood and show off the engine. But then at the same time, I don’t eant to fall down the rabbit hole and go too far with the detailing.
This is the double edge sword that I am faced with when attempting a NASCAR kit.
I hear yeah, I spent a lot of time detailing the gt I’m working on only to realize it’s a fixed body and literally zero of the detail will be seen, but it really doesn’t bug me much because I had a good time doing it and no one sees my builds anyways except what I post here.
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No FOX did a horrible job this season, I filled the survey out and it wasn’t great. I know the subreddit nascar is constantly bashing FOX and most of those people filled the survey out so I’m hopeful there will be change. Also hopeful Amazon prime coverage will be better.
Pretty good truck race last night, as a Busch fan it’s hard to watch his decline the last two years. I know he’s still got the pep to lead again, maybe next season… Anyways looking forward to the cup on Sunday.
The Salvino’s kits go together really well - you just have to be careful with the fit of the frame subassemblies to the floor and how they align with the body. With the Mustang, I had to elongate the mounting holes in the floor to get the body to fit well.
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The prime coverage is so much better. Like not even comparable.
It was a full day of racing yesterday. Up early to watch the F1 Monaco GP. Later, watched the Indianapolis 500. Indy was a good race overall. Stayed up late to watch the World 600 (Coca Cola 600 today) at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Monaco was exciting as the race always is and ESPN/Sky Sports coverage is still the best race broadcast on TV. FOX coverage of Indy rose from awful to mediocre. Fifteen laps to go and FOX cut to a string of worthless commercials, that took five laps. Prime coverage of Charlotte was top notch! Really over the top. Sixty laps to go with NO COMMERCIAL INTERRUPTIONS. Wow. I hope they keep doing that for future races. Still, though, so-called “side-by-side” advertising is pointless. Great big ad and tiny race picture with no sound. To be truly good, Prime needs to pay attention to how ESPN/Sky Sports broadcasts F1 races. All in all, a fun and exciting day of racing.
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The whole Idea of NASCAR, which they finally have achieved by way of spec-cars, is vehicle parity. Basically, making it about the drivers, crews, and race strategy. In the beginning years it was just a bunch of moonshine runners who were trying to back up their bragging about who had the best car and/or could drive it better to elude revenuers. Then it became an organized sport in 1948. For years, the NASCAR rule book stated that the cars had to fit templates specific to the approved manufacturer body style for each manufacturer. Engines had to be based on a production block 350-358 cu. in. depending on manufacturer (Chevy-350, Ford-351, etc.), and the engines had to be naturally aspirated, and built roughly the same. There was a lot of grey area that many teams “innovated” within to gain advantages, which eventually got caught creating a new rule. A few years ago NASCAR, the sanctioning body, finally developed a car that under the body skin, is the exact same car across all manufacturers, with chassis built by NASCAR approved vendors and sold to the teams. Same with the bodies. Neither is to be modified in even the slightest way. Teams recently have been fined very heavily with crew members having credentials pulled for a specified time as punishment for accidentally forgetting to remove a piece of tape before applying the wrap for the scheme. The car is basically a kit car that the teams assemble. Engines are really the only things that the team actually builds in-house, or buys from a team that does. Even then, the parts have to be supplied by a NASCAR-approved vendor, and not modified in any way. So, parity has been achieved, mostly
That leaves the outcome of the races in the hands of the drivers, pit crews (headed up by a crew chief), and of course NASCAR, who can penalize teams during a race for things like rough driving, speeding on pit lane, crossing through too many stalls when entering or exiting their pit, and removing pit equipment from their pit stall when exiting among many others. The official NASCAR rulebook is revised every year and handed out to all teams, and drivers that hold a NASCAR certification or license. Its a very top secret book, and finding one in the hands of someone outside of NASCAR approved people is a rarity.
Races used to be 500 miles or 500 laps, depending on the track size, which in the past couple decades has been lowered at many of the tracks. Road courses, due to the uniqueness of the track and the fact that for years they only held two road course races each year (I think there’s 6 on the schedule now), have their own individual race lengths for each track. Races are run in stages, for most it’s 3 stages with the first 2 each being 1/4 of the race, with stage 3 being basically the whole second half. In between stages is treated as basically a normal yellow flag (caution) period just like there would be in the case of an on-track incident. Races are long to allow for teams to develop strategies for when to pit for tires and/or gas in order to gain or hold track position. The cars don’t have speedometers or fuel level gauges, so its up to the crew chief to calculate fuel mileage and how long a set of tires is good for, and plan stops accordingly. Due to the cars all being the same aerodynamically, the way the crew chief sets the car up (tire caster & camber, and weight distribution) is vital in how easily the driver can get the car around the track to make the fastest time. Most of that is dependent on each driver’s individual feel for the car, and how they like to drive it at each particular track. Even on the best setup cars, aerodynamics plays a huge role at all tracks now because of the properties of the car and bodies that NASCAR supplies them. The car running up front has the aerodynamic advantage over the cars running behind them (dirty vs. clean air). Cars behind will experience loose (back end wants come around to be front end, called oversteer in other forms of motorsport) or tight (called pushing in NASCAR due to front end not wanting to steer, so it pushes out towards the outside wall, called oversteer elsewhere) conditions making it difficult to be able to pass, and causing tires to wear out faster. Adjustment areas are built into the car for the driver and crew to make adjustments to the car, as needed, throughout the race via weight re-distribution and brake bias (which brakes apply more/less heavily when the pedal is pressed). Sometimes the adjustments can overcome the issues caused by running behind someone else, but then must be adjusted again for clean air. Weather also plays a role in adjustment. Hotter days tend to make the track more slick (loose), whereas cooler can cause it to be tight (pushing). The driver and crew chief are in constant radio communication about how the car feels to the driver so that adjustments can be planned for the next stop. Races also have overtimes to prevent ending a race under a caution flag. If the leader takes the white flag (signifying final lap) the race ends no matter what flag happens during that last lap. If an accident happens to where the scheduled length would be reached during the yellow flag, they will then run a green, white, checkers as soon as the track is suitable for racing again. Meaning, they take the green flag to restart, come around to take the white flag, then the next time by, is the checkered flag to end the race. They will run these as many times as needed to determine a winner under green, or by way of caution flag during the white flag lap). In the event of any caution, the field is frozen according to the running order at the last timing loop that the entire field made it past. Each track has several timing and scoring loops embedded under the asphalt, and each car has a transponder that registers as the car passes over the loops. Transponders are also used to determine the winner in the event of a close finish, as each transponder is placed in the same location on every car. Whichever car was first to pass over the loop at the last loop that the entire field passed over is considered the leader the moment that the button is pushed up in the control tower to bring out the caution. The whole field is frozen in the order that they crossed that last loop, except for the cars involved in the incident. Their order is determined by when they crossed the finish line if they are able to get to it under their own power. If they cannot continue, they are credited with a DNF and placed in order ahead those who dropped out of the race before them for final finishing order.
NASCAR determines a champion for the season based on playoffs. there are 36 races every year. The first 26 races are the regular season. The last 10 are the playoffs. Only 16 drivers are playoff eligible. Eligibility is determined in one of two ways. Win a race in the regular season grants you an automatic playoff spot. Be in the top 16 in regular season points if there weren’t 16 different race winners throughout the regular season. Points are awarded by finishing position. The first-place driver gets 40 points, and the second-place driver gets 35 points. From there, each subsequent driver gets one fewer point — 34 points for third place, 33 points for fourth place, and so on. The drivers in 36th through 40th place, though, get just one point each. Points are also awarded for each of the first 2 stages of a race, since the third stage is the race end, there are no stage points for it. At the Daytona 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 stage points are awarded for the first 3 stages. When each stage comes to a close, the top 10 drivers earn points. The first-place driver earns 10 points, the second-place driver gets nine points, and so on down to the 10th-place driver, who gets one point. At the end of each stage, the first-place driver gets something called a playoff point, and at the end of a race, the winner gets five playoff points. Additionally, at the end of the regular season, the points leader gets 15 playoff points, and each of the top 10 drivers gets bonus playoff points. Playoff points come into effect only in the postseason. When each playoff round begins, all drivers have their points reset, and then their playoff points are re-added. In other words, all that great performance from the regular season gives drivers a buffer in the postseason. That said, once the Championship 4 round is set, playoff points are no longer usable.
As was said before, after the 26-race regular season, 16 drivers qualify for the playoffs. A driver who wins even one of the regular-season races automatically qualifies for the playoffs even if that’s their only win. If 16 or more drivers have won regular-season races. In that case, the 16 drivers with the highest point totals make the playoffs. When fewer than 16 drivers have taken first place in races during the regular season, the open playoff spots go to the drivers with the most points. At this time, the points of each of the 16 drivers is reset to 1000 points each, then playoff points earned during the regular season are added. This reset happens at the beginning of each playoff round for the drivers who advance except for round 4.
There are four playoff rounds, after each of which eliminations occur. Race winners in each round automatically advance:
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Round of 16. This round comprises the first three playoff races, and all 16 playoff contenders compete. The 12 racers with the most points move on to the next round.
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Round of 12. For the fourth through six races, the remaining 12 racers go head to head, and only eight move on.
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Round of 8. The eight racers left after the Round of 12 compete in the seventh through ninth races, with four making it to the finals.
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Championship 4. This is just one race, the playoffs’ 10th and final. Whichever driver scores the most points of the 4 wins the championship.
NASCAR has been using this format since 2017. From 1975 until 2010 they used what most fans will call the “old points system”, and most old-school NASCAR fans prefer it to the stages and playoffs. The old system rewarded consistency throughout the entire year because it only rewarded points for finishing position and bonus points for leading laps and leading the most laps. It was simplistic, but at the end of the season could require a lot of math to determine different scenarios of who was still mathematically able to win, and what they would each have to do in order to do so…Under the old system, The race winner earned 175 points until 2004, when this figure increased to 180 points. In 2007, NASCAR increased this figure to 185 points. (trying to make wins mean a little more than they did) The system otherwise stayed the same, with second-place resulting in 170 points and last place (43rd place at the time) resulting in 34 points. If broken down, the top 4 spots were seperated by 5 points each, then 4th thru 9th- 4 points, then 3, etc. Additionally, any driver who led a lap under a yellow or green flag earned five bonus points, and the driver who led the most laps got five more bonus points. Driver that accumulated the most points by the end of the final race, or that had accumulated enough before the final race that nobody else was mathematically able to surpass them, was crowned the champion. A small but loud contingent of people thought it made the last 2 races boring if the champion had clinched after the 3rd to last race, while also complained that winning wasn’t rewarded enough even after raising the winners’ points twice. They argued that racing is about winning, and it wasn’t fair that someone who never won a race all year could still be champion by running good all season. First year of the playoffs that nearly happened. Ryan Newman nearly won the championship by having an outstanding season of running up front and advancing thru the rounds without winning a single race. He finished 2nd in the final race right behind Kevin Harvick who won the championship, and had led a lot during that race. That’s why NASCAR added the winners automatically advance feature. That rule It wasn’t in place until 2017. Many fans blame these changes, along with the addition of stages to break the momentum of the races up, and then the addition of spec-cars as the reason why NASCAR is declining in popularity.
While the racing isn’t the same, and fan attendance and TV ratings have dropped since the sport’s prime years of the 80’s, 90’s, and early 00’s, its still a great sport to watch. NASCAR fans are probably some of the nicest folks I’ve ever met. I still have friends that I communicate with often that I met while attending NASCAR races as far back as the 80’s. Attending a race is an experience like any other. Most tracks, you can get down right behind the fence as cars roar by at 150-200mph just feet away from you (hold onto any loose articles like hats, it WILL get ripped off of you by the air displacement)
Also, dont ever let anyone tell you that NASCAR drivers aren’t athletes. Those ladies and men have to be in peak condition. They wear a full, thick, fireproof suit over what amounts to long johns underwear made of fireproof nomex while driving a car that can reach cockpit temps up to 140 degrees farenheit for 4 hours. They have to have the reaction times equivalent to fighter pilots in order to avoid crashes which happen unexpectedly and at speeds up to 200mph. They even experience similar amounts of G’s as a fighter pilot, but theirs are sustained throughout the length of a race, vs. a fighter pilot who only feels them when doing maneuvers. They routinely experience impacts that would kill any of us if it were to happen in a street car. They are 100% athletes. They do all of this while travelling at speeds twice of what we travel on the interstate while also being separated by mere inches from the cars around them. Margin of error is mostly zero. Driving a racecar on some of the short tracks, like Bristol, has been equated to flying jets in a gymnasium. The cars are contantly on the edge of control. Its been said that if you could ride in the back of one of the cars during a race, and reach out and use your finger to push the left rear corner of the car beside you, you could make it spin.
I hope this quick primer answers your questions…
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Unfortunately, TV is funded by the sales of commercial spots. Without that money, the coverage wouldn’t even exist. I’ll agree, coverage has gone downhill, but that’s because the ratings dropped significantly from what they were at their peak in the late 90’s-Early 00’s, so commercial sales prices dropped as well. They don’t have the funding to do the same broadcasts as they did back then. Sanctioning body is to blame for that with all their gimmicks like playoffs, stages, the CoT, and now the Next Gen which has made it basically spec racing…add to that, NASCAR cracking down on drivers actually showing emotion by fining them for things they say in interviews or for roughing up another car on the track a little. NASCAR as we came to know and love died with Bill France Jr. when crack-head nephew Brian took over.
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Personally, I’m not a fan of the Next-Gen models. The fit is horrible, and instead of actually fixing the molds, they put out a youtube video explaining the issues and telling you where to shave off a little here and there to make them fit. Otherwise they do go together pretty ok, and the final results look good with decent detail, Theres a few places to get some aftermarket detail stuff, so thats a plus. They’ve tried to go the route of making a model that a kid can buy at the track, and build in the hotel room without paint. Bodies are molded in the primary color and decals are provided to fill in the other colors. Like the 2022 Chase Elliott Primary Napa, body is molded in Reflex Blue C, which is the actual Napa blue color, and the white areas are actually decals. However, for advanced modelers it has the ability built right in to add details, and make it look really good. Personally, I used the white decals as patterns for masks, painted the whole car white, then masked off the parts I wanted to remain so before painting it in Napa Blue (which is actually really hard to find if you want paint that matches the blue decals), which I had to research and found a craft paint that’s a perfect match. Little tip for anyone wanting to paint the Napa cars. Supposedly MCW has the correct color paint, although I havent seen it. Zero Paints does make a set for the Napa NASCAR cars, but they can be hard to get in the US. DecoArt Americana line Ultramarine craft paint that you can get at any Hobby Lobby or Michaels is an exact match as is Golden High Flow Acrylic Ultramarine and DAler-Rowney Aqua-fine Watercolor Ink in Ultramarine Blue Dark. All three are shown in the image below on spoons, and the paint on the car is the DecoArt craft paint with 2K gloss on top. Left is Deco Art, center is Golden, and right is the Watercolor Ink. I’m going to re-build the model using the lessons learned from the first go-round to make it better. I think I’ll use the Golden High Flow as it sprays on better than the craft paint.
As far as the kits of the older cars go, Salvino’s JR bought all of the old Monogram molds that were due to be scrapped. The only ones they didnt get were the tire molds and clear part molds, so they made new ones. Their tires are awesome, and their clear parts are much improved over the old Monogram ones. Othrwise, they’re basically just re-issued Monogram kits.
All of the decals are re-done. Clay Kemp designs them all. I’m not sure if Clay owns Powerslide, or he just submits the designs, but they are printed by cartograph and are Powerslide brand decals. No complaints there.
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Thank you for those insights
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Keavdog, I have been thinking of buying one of Salvinos JR Kits. It would also be my first from them. Let me know what you think of theses kits. They are a bit pricey, so I would like to know if they are worth it.
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