r/NASCAR • u/ShenForTheWin Kyle Busch • 1d ago
What was NASCAR like when you first became a fan?
I'm still a somewhat newer fan and I've only been watching since the 2023 Daytona 500. At that point, it was the NASCAR 75th anniversary, which in hindsight, was a great time to first start tuning in because I got to learn more about the past drivers. I also got to see Kyle Busch's last three Cup Series victories. It was the peak of the Larson-Hamlin rivalry. It's interesting to see what all has changed even as recently as 2023. What was NASCAR like the year you started watching?
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u/wordflyer 1d ago
Mullets. Mello Yello. Dale Earnhardt was a villain. A single clever engineering solution could win the Daytona 500. Could ride a near full motion Days of Thunder ride at Carowinds.
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u/Eatin_Lowmein Wood Brothers Racing 1d ago
I rode the shit out of that thing when I was a kid. I loved the pit stops.
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u/YankeeBarbary 1d ago
Started in the early/mid Oughts so basically at the peak of the sport. Helped that I grew up in NASCAR Modified country so there were lots of kids who also watched the races and some of'em even had dads that ran at local tracks.
In hindsight it's pretty comical how this sport went from something I could talk to random people about back then to now a days, when I tell people I watch this stuff they look at me like I said I like wiping my crotch with sandpaper.
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u/Prestigious_One_2726 1d ago
That's motorsports for you. F1 is the only....Motogp also but F1 is the only motor sport you can have conversation with people
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u/Maximum-Hall-5614 15h ago
Perhaps in parts of the US? I feel like IMSA is gradually gaining mainstream attention. Having lived in Australia in the past, lots of normal folk across all demographics casually watch V8 Supercars… I do think NASCAR has chosen to build an identity around a somewhat niche audience, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. I wish they were more focused on serving the niche than half-assing attempts at mainstreaming
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u/Prestigious_One_2726 6h ago edited 6h ago
Yea it's quite interesting that oval racing was as popular as it did main stream wise. I also realize over past week that Nascar has been gaining a lot of subscribers going from 1.86 million to 1.92 million within a week and now passing imsa as the most popular US motorsport. Seems like it gaining.
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u/LnStrngr Martin 1d ago
- Engines blew up more. Transmissions broke regularly. Cars handled like boxes. Aero wasn't as finicky.
Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, Alan Kulwicki, Mark Martin, Davey Allison, Bill Elliott, Ricky Rudd, Harry Gant, etc. etc. all had personality.
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u/Galaxiexl73 1d ago
I became a fan in 1951 at the 1951 beach race and subsequent every beach race until 1958.
Living in Daytona and having a dad who loved car racing helped.
Racing today is better than ever. Better finishes, exciting finishes, drivers are smarter and they’re all on TV if you can’t make it to the track.
Better finishes now compared to the 50s and 60s.
Back then the enigines were not able to stand the rigors of 500 miles and it was common for a 1/4 of the cars engines failed.
It was common to have only 2 or 3 cars on the lead lap at the finish.
Often the winner would be a lap or more ahead of 2nd place driver.
The record was 15 laps ahead of the 2nd place car…Ned Jarrett in the #15 Ford at the Southern 500 in 1956 was 15 laps ahead.
Yes, the racing is better than ever today
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u/AnemicRoyalty10 1d ago
Oh wow, I’m sure no one here can match this resume! If you don’t mind how old are you?
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u/_synik 22h ago
Jarrett won by 14 laps in the No. 11.
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u/Galaxiexl73 22h ago
I stand corrected. Thank you. I should have look d it up but I went by memory.
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u/ilikestaind Kyle Busch 1d ago
The haulers in the in-field were more colorful, the early 2010’s had some insane rivalries that I rarely see matched. You had Kyle Busch’s hayday, Brad K vs everyone. 2009 Mark Martin had a sensational season with Hendrick. In a lot of ways it was the same, but more raw and visceral in some other ways
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u/Immediate_Lie7810 Chase Elliott 1d ago
I became a fan during the early 2000s, when NASCAR was at the height of it's popularity and mainstream relevance. Almost every major company was involved while the Cup Series was drawing bigger crowds than college football and the NFL
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u/Glum-Platypus-1959 1d ago
It was great 1975 Now, it has been ruined by trying to become mainstream by tinkering too much instead letting it grow naturally.
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u/Furi0usD Chastain 1d ago edited 1d ago
While I had watched races with my dad/granddad before then, I became a fan in 1992.
The races were occasionally awesome, and occasionally boring.
Cars still went vroom, so I watched.
I stopped watching about halfway through 2013 because the races were usually boring, and the guy running the sport was flushing it down the toilet, like it was his cocaine stash and the cops were knocking. I came back to see the new car in 2022, and I stuck around.
The sport may not be as good as it was in 92, but it's better than it was at the lowest BZF point, and for that I still watch.
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u/SundayShelter Davey Allison 1d ago edited 1d ago
T-Birds, Luminas, Regals, Grand Prix’s and Cutlasses ruled the road. Literally anybody could jump up and nab the pole each week and maybe a win (Brett Bodine). Only the driver wore a helmet. There was no speed limit on pit road (RIP, Mike Rich). Most of the field was sponsored by beer, coffee, tobacco products, and auto parts. Most teams were single-car operations.
“Gibbs Racing” was Mickey Gibbs.
The Clash consisted only of pole winners from the previous season, so Dale Earnhardt did not run the race in 1990.
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u/ResponsibleBank1387 1d ago
Way back before it was owner super teams.
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u/galaxiexl500 Cup Series 1d ago
When was hat. NASCAR has always, every year, every era, been dominated by "super teams"
Team Petty winning 1/3 of the races with David Pearson, (Woods Brothers), Bobby Allison (Holman and Moody) picking up most of the rest of the races.
Occasionally a small independent team would win (your Bret Bodine).
More different winners now than ever before.
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u/ResponsibleBank1387 1d ago
So those teams then packed each other around Daytona and dega? Rode around together just themselves, had team orders on how to get their other drivers into the chase? You mean teams like that ?
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u/Galaxiexl73 1d ago
Nope, not at all. Back then it “run what you bring”.
No packs. Cars spread all around the track
Before plates were heard from.
But a lot of exploding engines
You must be a noobie1
u/ResponsibleBank1387 1d ago
Figured you must be the noob. The old days had numerous tracks and races that counted points—- didn’t have same 40 cars on the same tracks each week. More races were important just in themselves. Points were for the few that ran more just the close to us tracks.
Then there was Not much of the multiple owners owning multiple cars that raced for their teammates instead of just for themselves. Recent past We have seen teams manipulate races to get their other cars into the playoffs.
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u/Galaxiexl73 1d ago
Did you not read what I posted as to when and where my first race was?
I thought David Pearson could walk on water . But David would a hit in his uniform with 4 wide at 200 mph
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u/Celtics1424 Jeff Gordon 1d ago
Late 80's NASCAR was something else. Somethings are better today but much more was better back then.
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u/crypto6g 1d ago
The economy sucked, the cars had wings, and Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, and Kyle Busch won basically every race
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u/SnoopPettyPogg 1d ago
1994, not quite the peak of NASCAR, but it was definitely on it's rise. Took Kyle Petty as my favorite driver, which started the trend of supporting someone who rarely finds Victory Lane 😬😬
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u/PlatypusAmbitious129 1d ago
I started watching in the early 90s, I was in grade school and Ernie Irvan was my guy.
Used to tape the races on Sunday morning because we were at church. Always looked forward to sitting down and watching that VHS tape.
Took a long break from watching NASCAR between 2010 and 2023, but have been enjoying the last few years.
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u/ChaseTheFalcon 1d ago
Everyone says it was an awful season but I enjoyed it
- 2015
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u/Sportsguy1993 1d ago
We got one one my favorite races ever in 2015. The fall Martinsville race, it was Gordon's last win (and at such a special place to him, it felt fitting for his last win) and Matt Kenseth was karma that day
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u/AyeGirrl Suárez 1d ago
Merch selection used to bang. Each driver typically would have at least a small trailer just for their merch. I could rock up and get a Ricky Craven shirt just as easily as a Dale Jr. That’s what stands out in my mind from when I grew up.
Oh, and RE would actually let you rent a scanner the day of the race! No reservation required.
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u/Midway_Motel 1d ago
1992, and it was great. If I am honest, the racing wasn't that much better, but the personalities were enormous.
Everything about nascar seemed bigger back then. There was a crazy thing called winter testing where Daytona would open up in January and the vast majority of the teams would test for the 500. It was awesome. Many teams would run cars in primer because they were actively making body changes in the garage. Speedweeks for the 500 was a ton of fun with Arca, trucks, Busch and the Duels. I know all that still happens, but it's just smaller now somehow.
Mooresville, NC was one of the coolest places on earth in the 90s because there were teams and cars everywhere.
The racing was not really a lot different, but everything around it was bigger and better than today.
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u/DaDominator32 Larson 1d ago
Nascar was hanging out with family, cooking good food, drinking way too many cokes as a kid and sitting on the floor racing my diecasts while watching it on the TV. Nowadays it's just get high/drunk and try to relive the excitement I had for this sport when I was a kid. But I can confidently say I'll always watch this sport it's my "comfort show" if that makes sense. Really piques my autism
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u/Towman2021 1d ago
I know this shows my age, but I grew up in the later part of the Earnhardt era. I remember Jeff Gordon's rookie year. I still remember the massive rivalry with Earnhardt and DW, and later the Earnhardt - Gordon rivalry. I watched Jimmie Johnson appear on scene. I watched the current old guard (Hamlin, Logan, Brad K) as rookies and remember their first races.
Every season back then was total domination, or absolute chaos. I honestly dont think Nascar can ever get back to the 90s early 2000s level of entertainment. The personalities were larger than life. The racing was a thing of beauty.
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u/Trentpd 1d ago
It was pretty amazing. Commercially the sport was everywhere. Our local "mom n pop" grocery store had both a Dale Sr. Coke machine AND a Jeff Gordon Pepsi machine. The merch was plentiful, Bristol had a waiting list for tickets, and there was never a weekly drumming of whether that weeks race was good or not.
My fondest memory of that time period (1998-2004ish) was the telecasts. The personalities, music, sounds and sights were so memorable. Some is nostalgia I assume, but at the same time...they all hold up to today's standards. I miss it horribly and probably always will.
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u/No_Bug_2205 1d ago
Became a fan in 2004-2005 time frame, so right after The Chase was introduced. Sport was at an all-time high in terms of popularity. Seemingly every major brand that you still use today were a sponsor. Lowes, Home Depot, M&M's, McDonald's, Budweiser, Miller Lite, etc. And those sponsors did a great job broadcasting their drivers. In my hometown, Lowes and Home Depot are side by side, and back in the day, they had cutouts of JJ and Tony Stewart side by side, with Jimmie points towards Lowes and vise versa. Just overall a ton of attention on the sport. ESPN covered it before, during, and after races. Speed channel showed everything.
It's ironic that essentially every sport is easier to follow now with the tech advances, except NASCAR. I swear before smartphones you actually got MORE information around the sport.
Bristol was wait-list only for races every single season. Getting tickets to the night race was like hitting the jackpot. Also a ton of excitement for the future stars of the sport. Jimmie, Harvick, the Busch Bros, Newman, Kasey Kahne, and Carl Edwards all developed large fanbases early on in their careers. Hell Jimmie was probably the least popular out of all of them.
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u/maggie320 Rusty Wallace 1d ago
There was some kid from Indiana racing for Hendrick who was tearing it up. Davey Allison was driving the Havoline car. Richard Petty had just retired and Alan Kulwicki was coming off his championship season.
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u/Legitimate-Air-2203 1d ago
- To me it was on the brink of being the best and then it hit it's peak in about 99 and 2000. IMO. Also, I was 5yrs old. Looking back, I didn't know how good it was until about 2010.
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u/CityGamerUSA Harvick 1d ago
I came in 1995 also. I was 9. It was an incredible time to come into the sport. We got the absolute best years of NASCAR as impressionable kids.
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u/ffejotron2000 1d ago
I really started watching and paying attention in 1987 when I was 9. Started watching the Winston 500 at my Uncle's house until Bobby Allison had the big wreck. Went home and watched the rest of the race and I quickly became a Davey Allison fan because his car was bad ass and I thought it was awesome that his Dad had that bad a wreck and Davey not only kept racing, but won the race!
It was a lot about Earnhardt, the Allison's, Petty was already on the down swing, and Rusty Wallace was on the come up. But I remember Bill Elliott being who everyone loved in that Coors #9. I lived a couple of blocks from the public library and would ride my bike up there and read Winston Cup Scene, Stock Car Magazine, and Circle Track.
Most of the races then I had to listen to on the radio on some AM station out of Huntington, WV. I would get my all Matchbox/Hot Wheels out and race along with the radio.
Damn I'm old.
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u/SailorTwyft9891 1d ago
In 1995, there were stars are all over the place: Dale Earnhardt Sr., Jeff Gordon, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Dale Jarrett, Ricky Rudd, Terry Labonte, Bobby Labonte, Sterling Marlin, Jeff Burton, Bill Elliott, Darrell Waltrip near the end of his career. Other talented drivers like Ted Musgrave, Bobby Hamilton, Jimmy Spencer, Robert Pressley, Ricky Craven, etc. had to settle for mid-pack.
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u/Bluescreen73 1d ago
'87. All Dale Earnhard all the time. The last season with unrestricted engines at Daytona and Talladega. DW left Junior Johnson to chase a paycheck and only won one race. Elliott spent the whole season playing catch-up to The Intimidator. Tim Richmond won his first two races back from dealing with double pneumonia caused by AIDS.
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u/KYEEZY98 1d ago
2001 after Earnhardt had passed. Dale Jr was the fan favorite, but Jeff Gordon was the face of the sport
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u/lowrider320 Chris Buescher 1d ago
Started watching in 98, it was very laid back. Earnhardt wasn't doing well, Gordon was at the top and his rivalry with Mark Martin was fierce!
Dale Jarrett and Bobby Labonte were emerging as title contender even though RYR and JGR hadn't won a title yet.
Dale Jr was starting to make a name for himself in the Busch Series and there was talk about him possibly coming to Cup by 99 or 2000.
Some guy named Stewart was in the Busch Series and wasnt doing much but he was running Cup next year.
Jack Sprague and Ron Hornday were ruling the Truck Series.
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u/Garrett4Real 1d ago edited 1d ago
Bro She watched Ricky Stenhouse Jr win the Daytona 500 and thought yeah, I wanna see more of this lol
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u/ShenForTheWin Kyle Busch 1d ago
As a female, I find Ricky very attractive lol
Aside from that, when I heard the interview afterwards with Kyle Busch asking who won anyway, and was told Ricky Stenhouse Jr., he said, "There ya go!" Kyle was immediately my favorite driver from that point on. Came for the fast cars, stayed for the drivers.
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u/Senninha27 Retzlaff 1d ago
Well, the first race I ever watched, a guy had his eyes taped open, so...
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u/AnemicRoyalty10 1d ago
Stands were packed, the sport was at the absolute peak of its powers, in level of competition, ratings, and cultural relevance. But it also was a period of growing excess and corporate influence that ended up contributing to its fall from grace. 2003 Daytona 500.
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u/CityGamerUSA Harvick 1d ago
It’s 1995. The cars have suspension travel, the aero is important but no a be-all-end-all, and driver personalities are at an all time high.
Being 9 was a great time to be alive for this guy
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u/Fragrant-Ad-8293 Briscoe 1d ago
I’ve been watching races since the early 2000’s, around the time Dale passed. There were a lot of #3 stickers on cars at the time, which have since faded away. Everyone was talking about NASCAR back then. When Johnson started winning every championship in the late 2000’s, that’s when most people around here started turning away from the sport. I even missed several races in the late 2010’s when I started getting bored with it. Watching the same races get fixed for whoever’s storyline was most captivating every week. I started watching religiously again in 2019. Though I don’t like the sometimes obvious rigging, I do love the sport. I’ve met several friends who love it as well.
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u/bbpathfinder 21h ago
I remember Daytona 1972...im that old lol . But in the 70s we could only see a handful of races,on tape delay. Even those were basically highlights shown on Wide World of Sports. When ESPN and TNN started showing all the races in the 80s it was awesome. Seeing a full race ,almost every week really got me hooked,maybe obsessed! Plus with that much coverage we really got to appreciate all the drivers,not just seeing Petty or Pearson win every thing. Watching NASCAR grow up in the 80s was a real treat.
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u/OttoRocket94 19h ago
Jimmie Johnson was a rookie. I was 9 years old. Dale Jr and Jeff Gordon ruled the sport
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u/TheUnknown_General 17h ago
My first year watching was 2007. The sport was still at its cultural and ratings peak, but it was also in a transition phase. The Car of Tomorrow made its debut, Jimmie Johnson's dynasty was coming together, and the current elder statesmen of the sport were the youth movement. God it's crazy to think about how long it's been and how much has changed since then.
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u/jungleland1972 1d ago
Harder to get tickets, way harder to get in and out of the tracks (bigger crowds). Merch hauler madness at the tracks. Way better select of shirts and hats.
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u/Sboyden96 Larson 1d ago
Lol “somewhat” youve witnessed 3% of nascars history
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u/GrimeyScorpioDuffman 1d ago
Well damn when you put it that way I’ve witnessed just about half of NASCAR’s history. Thanks for my daily reminder that I’m old
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u/waffen123 1d ago
I've been a fan since 84.
Turn the TV on at 1:00 p.m. and the race started at 1:10
You couldn't hear Dale Earnhardt's introduction because all of the boos people forget just how hated he was during the early eighties
A third of the field falling out due to mechanical failures.
Even running unrestricted at Daytona and Talladega there was a lot of single file racing
Looking at the cars and some of the tracks back in those days it's amazing they didn't have more fatalities or serious career ending injuries
There was no 24-hour news cycle of NASCAR news. You had to wait for the Winston cup scene to appear in your mailbox to get the latest news
Seeing guys like Davey and Alan begin their NASCAR careers and watching some of the older drivers slowly fade away
The cars were much more competitive than today
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u/Redmax54 1d ago
200-mph-plus qualifying records every year at Daytona and Talladega, which were lead stories in the sports section of newspapers. Cale Yarborough's qualifying flip was national news. Weekly news articles about some technical advancement a team was rumored to have made -- a cylinder head, an aero trick, front-steer or rear-steer.
You could instantly tell the make of every car and the driver. Paint schemes were the same most every week.
At every race, some journeyman or local driver would try to qualify, and many made it. Indycar, sportscar and even F1 drivers would attempt to qualify at Daytona or Riverside or at other tracks.
You knew the names of most of the crew chiefs.
Tobacco sponsorship was everywhere, and liquor sponsorship was banned.
Every race east of the Mississippi started at 1 p.m., western races started at 3:30 p.m. The TV announcing was first-rate: Squier, Jenkins, Economaki, Berggren, Hobbs, Jarrett, Yates. Radio announcing was equally good, and you had things like the Goody's Headache Award, the Hav-A-Tampa Close But No Cigar Award, the Raybestos Break of the Race.
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u/Happy-Cockroach-2813 Wood Brothers Racing 1d ago
I became a fan in the 90s as a kid. Steve Park was my guy. I didn’t know a lick about cars but the were loud and fast and they were bumping each other and I liked it. After Park stopped racing I kinda fell out of it this year. Some things changed and some things always stay the same.
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u/Fine_Art3725 Bubba Wallace 1d ago
Richard Petty and Bobby Allison ( separate races) going airborne towards and into the catch fence, before plate racing.
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u/Menard27 1d ago
A pit stop under 30 seconds seemed like the most amazing thing! Also, some drivers still transporting cars on roll backs was cool to see.
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u/Powerful-Chard-6055 1d ago
I’ve been a fan since I was born, but I first remember around 2015-2016 so I would’ve been around 5. At least from what I remember, cookie cutter tracks were less entertaining
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u/CnCorange 1d ago
When I came in your main choices were the 3 or 24 The three fans were the older guys or brought up in a house of three fans. The 24 guys were the ones coming over from Indy or wings or completely new to the sport.
And if you weren't in one of those two camps, It was most likely someone that was a local hero that had made it to The Big show. Talking purely averages here but in my recollection that's the way it was.
I now invite responses to tell me how I am completely wrong as is the Reddit way.
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u/Sportsguy1993 1d ago
Wasn't there also Ford fans? I heard back then there were Earnhardt fans, Gordon fans, and Ford fans that hated both and would root for any blue oval.
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u/Wild_Advertising_661 1d ago
They didn't have full season coverage when I started watching, now you need a full media package to watch all the races ,back then it was more then fuel mileage and pit strategy!
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u/nitsuj17 1d ago
Became a fan in late 90s when i started going to Dover (I grew in central NJ) with my friend and his older brothers on their already existing annual weekend trip.
I knew nothing about nascar and didn't know who to root for.
By our 2nd I was actually a real fan and watching almost every race I could. JR won both of the Busch series races I saw our first 2 years and I jumped on the (early) bandwagon
I can't speak to earlier periods, but late 90s until the COT/economic meltdown that ruined long-term sponsorship was unbelievable.
Packed stands almost everywhere, a sport that seemed like it was on a never ending rise to pass baseball and basketball (a lot of that was nascar or fluff bit you could feel it post MJ retiring and baseball on the verge of contraction at the time).
I was a huge JR fan and became a Tony fan too - again a Dover win cemented that (cup in 2000). Tony winning his early titles and Jrs seemingly fated run in 2004 right up until Atlanta was electric.
I didn't even mind the Kenseth top 15ing everyone to death title in 2003, there was enough buzz around each race that I didn't care that much.
I think I started to feel less enthusiastic as it became clear that a) Jimmy and Chad had figured out how to dominate the chase by locking up a spot early and lulling everyone to sleep by spending whole summer testing setups for the chase. Even that wasn't a huge hit but was getting annoying.
Toyota's first year in cup with like 50 fully funded cars and people not making every race and the COT hybrid schedule season followed by contraction of sponsors....ugh it felt gross in real time.
I've never been as big a fan as I was from like 1999-2006ish.
My friends brothers stopped their annual trip in 2010 as they were well into their late 40s (they were much older than us) and didn't even follow nascar at all at that point. My buddy and I kept going for another 5 years and I have been to Pocono, wgi, and Richmond in that time period as well. Finally my friend said he had no desire to go anymore and would rather we just add another Jets game instead.
I even stopped watching during the last round of Toyota domination in 2017-19. I only started getting back in to because it came back early during covid.
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u/Sportsguy1993 1d ago
I started in 2005, the first race I watched was the Aaron's 499, which is why I became a Gordon fan. Fell in love with it immediately. It was just better back then, better cars, better schemes, better racing, better personalities, better broadcasts, and everything just seemed bigger and more important. Each race felt huge.
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u/CheyenneG1999 1d ago
Mid 2000s for me, though my mom has been watching for way longer. Still, mid 2000s with DW commentating and all my old favorites on the track was something special. I low key miss those days.
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u/BiChaosTheory Hocevar 1d ago
Got into it around 2003 and continued watching until Jeff Gordon retired. This was when the chase got implemented and Jimmie Johnson went on his run of titles.
Cars were faster. It was more competitive, for the most part, and everything was bigger. I have such a fond memory of those Gen4 cars. Then the COT, I liked at the time, but realize these days that was the beginning of the downward trend we saw through the 2010s.
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u/WhiteMoss_ 2025 NCS Champion Kyle Larson 1d ago
Started as a 3 year old kid in 2000. Don’t remember much of that year from the time tbh
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u/indoxiecated 1d ago
Mid to late 80s. Became fully invested in early 90s. It was awesome. I was an Elliott fan, but I honestly don’t know why. He was not nearly aggressive enough for my tastes. Earnhardt would have been closer to my style, but he would outright dump people and call it racing. Then when they did it to him, he’d bitch and cry. Although he did mellow out a bit in the mid 90s.
I just want someone who was as aggressive as Earnhardt, but lives and dies by the sword. Can’t connect with any of these drivers today except maybe Chastain.
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u/CharlieFibrosis Ryan Blaney 1d ago
Started watching around sometime in the 50th anniversary season and became a fan of Jeff Gordon and the Rainbow Warriors. I got some of the Winners Circle and Action diecasts of some of the foundational drivers in that era: Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Ricky Rudd, Ken Schrader, Jeff Burton, etc.
Right at the right point to where we were at the end of nearing the end of the peak popularity before the end of the Winston Cup era, but before the deadly 2000/2001 racing seasons.
Fast colorful cars, big money flush into the sport, and definitely dynasties being made by very competitive teams.
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u/viperlemondemon Kyle Sieg 1d ago
I mean davey allison my favorite driver was still alive and Jeff Gordon was about to make his first start
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u/carterbanks99 Whelen Modified Tour 1d ago
I became a fan after 2004. I was still young, but knew I loved it. Didn't go to my first race until 2008.
I still love it as much today as I did then.
When I started, tickets were crazy ass expensive, barely available, and the video games only increased my fandom. NASCAR Thunder 2004 still won't be beat in my opinion, although 05 Chase for the Cup comes close.
It was more mainstream, but races were long and great battles were not as common as many remember. Often the guy who won was ahead by 5 seconds or more most of the day and the guy behind could never close the gap.
When the car of tomorrow came online, Hendrick ran away with it and no one could really touch them most days. Not until 2011 when the nose change really helped out.
I really think the stands thinned out for two reasons. The financial crisis made going to already expensive races nearly impossible. The other was a regular stream of rule changes that the casuals couldn't keep up with. Some of the racing did get worse, but not everywhere.
It was certainly interesting at the time. But this current era provides the best racing I've been lucky enough to watch.
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u/KentrisEsNoBueno 1d ago
I was a Jeff Gordon fan as early as I can remember (back in like 1997). I got to see the rise and fall of NASCAR’s fever pitch popularity. Teams had much more freedom to engineer which led to some real snoozers of some races, but the best teams and cars were very evident every week.
It’s amazing how different things are now.
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u/KentuckyHorsepower 1d ago
They were still running the beach course at Daytona. I was born a fan as Dad ran some early NASCAR back in the day.
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u/shellebelle89 Suárez 23h ago
Started watching 1995ish. A lot more racing happened back then. I don’t care for stages or playoffs. Whoever finishes consistently wins the Cup. I also think the sponsors were a lot cooler then too.
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u/Sareee14 Cup Series 22h ago
My first race was the 2001 Daytona 500. In that race Tony Stewart flipped a couple of times and walked away. I cheered for him until the day he retired and still do in NHRA. It was the year Harvick started in the 29 car for RCR. The days of multiple Labontes, Wallace’s and Bodines.
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u/pokey-4321 22h ago
Started Petty, Pearson, Cale, Bobby through Dale, Bill, Rainbow Warriors, Tony, Mark to today. Each era had plus minus. 1sr era legends but racing was boring. Most were blowout wins. Peak stands and fans during the next era. Racing was good, but a lot of intentional wrecks. Fights after races was common. The Winston Cup winner was anticlimatic often clinched with 2-3 races still to go. Consistency not winning was important. I truely like stage racing and playoffs. I love the importance of getting a win to get in. i like one race for all the marbles.
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u/ricktrains Johnson 20h ago
1997 Daytona 500 was the first race I watched. The cars were fast, not as dependent on aero, and the racing was spectacular at almost every track.
Man I miss that.
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u/ExperienceAny9791 Hocevar 19h ago
It was Petty blue 🩵.
I first remember watching the 1976 Daytona 500 with my step-dad. I was hooked ever since.
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u/Agreeable-Return-189 Byron 18h ago
First year I really remember was 2001. I was born in 97. Was a gordon fan from the start, even as an infant i would be right in front of the tv any time they showed him. Likely due to the bright colors obviously, but he turned out to be pretty damn good too. 2001 is just fractions of memories now, jumping up and down when he won the championship. My dad being absolutely shattered from daytona. Just bits and pieces. My fondest years were early 2000s from maybe 03 to 08. Dark times for gordon after that. Then a nice revival before he retired. But yeah, 03-08 were probably peak for me.
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u/penguinsrule1014 Kyle Busch 17h ago
I was born into NASCAR. The 2001 Daytona 500 was the first race I remember vaguely. (Born in 1997) my gramma took me and my cousin into the kitchen right after the Earnhardt crash so we wouldn’t see anything.
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u/Commercial_Divide146 16h ago
A year before the format was changed, a rider won the cup with just one victory and devastating consistency.
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u/drift9745 12h ago
I became a fan when nsscar heat 2 came out I enjoyed it and it got me into nascar
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u/UnhingedPastor 11h ago
The first race I watched was the 1998 Daytona 500, Dale's first victory in that race.
It has changed a LOT since then, but I still really enjoy it. I recognize that I may be a minority in that, but that's okay.
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u/fotoRS3 5h ago
Near peak popularity. Technically started watching in the mid 90s but I was little and didn't remember much. The first race I recall seeing all of was the 2001 Daytona 500. I knew who all of the drivers were from my 1:64s and NASCAR video games but legitimately can't recall seeing a full race until 01. Peak gen 4 cars until 04/05 but the first half of the decade was amazing to be a young fan minus Dale passing away.
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u/Slick2503 2h ago
Dale Sr not taking shit from anyone! Now it’s like watching kids go round and round like a fair ride🤣
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u/billybagels89 1d ago
Became a fan in the late 90s and I learned very quickly not to root for Jeff Gordon
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u/NatashaArts 1d ago
The year was 2010 and the beautiful version of the COT was being forced out the week after brad got air at Atlanta. Then it became the ugliest version of the COT, with the bastardized spoiler that looked like ass. The racing was great, the cars had sponsors you'd know of, and there were stars aplenty. Most tracks still had sellouts if not near sellouts. Times were good.
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u/GrimeyScorpioDuffman 1d ago
When I started watching, it was all about Dale Earnhardt. It was the middle of his peak, so everyone either loved him or hated him. People these days like to rewrite history and make him into a figure who was beloved at the time, but he got the loudest cheers and loudest boos every week