There are no manufacturers in NASCAR the teams are simply sponsered by a make, and they have to build thier engine to that makes specs.

Driver, but i also love Chevy. But i'm a Dale Jr fan to the end no matter what.

- Earnh8rdt

whip2 - 05 July 2008 02:06 PM

There are no manufacturers in NASCAR the teams are simply sponsered by a make, and they have to build thier engine to that makes specs.

Pretty much. If the manufacturers were still involved in the cars themselves more than they are now, I'd probably be more likely to pull for a specific one.

I don't have a problem pulling for the RX-8s in Grand-Am's GT Class or certain constructors in F1 or the Corvettes in ALMS GT1 (okay that last one's a stretch), but in today's NASCAR I just think of the manufacturers as another sponsor.

I originally picked my driver because of the car he drove, Ford. I have had a Ford product since 74 and now am only working on my 3rd vehicle. My first 2 vehicles (a Pinto and a Ranger) both lasted well over 10 years and way over 175,000 miles. I guess I have been lucky but I feel I got quality so I will stick with Fords until I get a bad one and then try something else. I know there is no manufacturer really in NASCAR anymore so mostly I got for the driver. My favorite is and has been Mark Martin but I do root for the Ford drivers, Kenseth, Biffle, Edwards and Ragan. Before Martin got in with Roush I mainly just went with the Fords.

Hitokiri2 - 05 July 2008 08:30 AM

I was reading the NASCAR article where France said he was worried about the future of the Big 3 in NASCAR with each facing huge financial woes as of late. One fan wrote a response that said that the fans love the drivers and not manufacturers which I disagree. I come from Central Wisconsin the home of such NASCAR drivers like ol' Dave Marcis and now Scott Wimmer. People love NASCAR here and they hated Toyota when they entered NASCAR (even though they did welcome the overall competition) and they were disgusted when Martin left Ford for a Chevy team. So I do feel drivers do play a bigger role for the fans but to say the fans don't care about the manufacturers is false from what I see.

So what matters to you more as a fan? Drivers, manufacturer, or both?

Please tell me, in a racing series world where there really is no vehicle that bears the slightest resemblance to a production car made by a 'manufaturer', how can anyone be loyal to a manufacturer based on the FACT that what's on the track has nothing to do with what is in the showroom -- and vice versa?

I guess that it is the old: 'Win on Sunday, sell on Monday!' syndrome -- something that wasn't rational after about the 1965 (or so) year.

Well, I root for Ford. Maybe because they are the underdogs, I don't know.

My husband has been buying Ford trucks for years and has NEVER had a bad one. The 2003 Ranger we traded in for
the Focus (gas mileage adavantage) was the best truck he ever had.(No plastic on this truck). I, on the other hand, have had 2 chevy lemons in a row and living in the Detroit area at the time, GM sent someone from their tech center to look at the last lemon and he could'nt figure what was wrong with it. Hence, no more GM products. I now drive a Honda and have since 1990.

I will never root for a Toyota, most people from Michigan probably won't, especially if they ever have been to a race at MIS where the Toyotas are consistently booed.

Oh by the way, I root for Carl Edwards and Matt Kennseth first on raceday. I also like some chevy drivers (Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, and Jeff Burton, but they're in the majority, so I stick with my underdogs.

earnh8rdt - 05 July 2008 02:08 PM

Driver, but i also love Chevy. But i'm a Dale Jr fan to the end no matter what.

- Earnh8rdt

+1

I prefer the Ford(part #)powered SpecCars.. I dont care who drives the Ford powered cars, and the minute "said driver" leaves, my cheering silences for him.

FordCosworth - 06 July 2008 12:25 PM

I prefer the Ford(part #)powered SpecCars.. I dont care who drives the Ford powered cars, and the minute "said driver" leaves, my cheering silences for him.

+1 I am a Ford backer and therefore I follow Ford drivers. Once Martin left Roush I was done with him.

I bleed FORD blue, and there was a day when I cared about the manufacturer in NASCAR, but that's a good 20 yrs ago when it mattered.
Bottom line is the good teams will be good teams, and the ones that aren't so good, won't be, regardless of vehicle.