Since Daytona is coming...

Nice collection!  I've done the #22 Maxell House and #42 Mello Yello cars, myself.

Motorsport are the main sport I follow regularly, but I haven't been into NASCAR since the COT.  While trying to cater to casual fans and new viewers, they made too many rule changes that alienated the old fan base.

I've been in the Daytona Beach/Orlando area since '91, and in the '90's the Daytona 500 was a very difficult ticket to get.  During speedweeks, they would give current ticket holders the opportunity to rollover their seats for next year, and it basically sold out a year ahead of time.  Now, the race is next weekend and they are still running commercials saying tickets are still available.  Part of that is probably due to the grandstand expansions they have done over the years, but at it's peak they had no trouble selling out all that capacity.

If you liked the old style, Winston Cup-era NASCAR, you would probably like V8 Supercars from Australia.  It's what NASCAR would be if it had grown up on European-style road courses instead of ovals.  The World Endurace Championship has also been really good the last few years.

fotofrank

Murphy's Law, thank you for your mention of Tim Richmond. Sadly, there's no way a driver like Tim Richmond could get a ride today. Team owners and sponsors want mayonaise and white bread not hot sauce. That doesn't mean that the sport doesn't need a Richmond-like personality on  the circuit.

 

armornut

I always liked Stewart, he was fun to watch start in the rear and just drive to the front, man whatta ride.

      I'm a Blue Oval,(Ford), guy so Stewart/Haas, and any Ford driver. HOWEVER the right man won the cup last season Martin Truex Jr. Absolutely DOMINATED the season, even if it was a Toyota.

 

I was a Stewart fan from the days he was driving midgets.  Speaking of which, another thing that disappoints me is the poor sales of Revells KK midget a few years ago.  That was a beautiful kit, and Revell was very disappointed in its sales. It is likely they will never do another open wheel race car- no more Indy cars, no more sprints :-(

It is not just NASCAR, it is auto racing in general that is fading in public popularity. It is becoming a real niche sport.

Murphy's Law, thank you for your mention of Tim Richmond. Sadly, there's no way a driver like Tim Richmond could get a ride today. Team owners and sponsors want mayonaise and white bread not hot sauce. That doesn't mean that the sport doesn't need a Richmond-like personality on  the circuit.

CapnMac82

Well, "decline" is a tricky term.

Hard to fill stands when every race is televised--and you get a better view of the race on tv (watching from the infield is cool and all, but you only get maybe a 15º wedge to see, so you are eyeballing a jumbotron or the tv in/next to the RV.

The next generation of drivers is pretty exciting.  I'm really keen to see how Bowman does with his Pole at Daytona.  Chase Elliot is more than due a win (and I was sorry he did not get one in the 24).

I'm also pretty certain some of us "olds" are going to be surprised to see some of these younger kids perfoem.  The Cup cars are a deliberate handful to drive, you have to be committed to fitness and stamina to be in those cars.

Bbut, yeah, the influx of "cheap" asian-made diecast upon which "stickers" can be slapped is slaughtering the plastic model side of this.

 

  On the new drivers, I don’t see them being exciting at all, in fact just the opposite. While I agree yes they are great drivers, none have a personality. I am drawn to the likes of  Earnhardt Sr., Bobby Allison, Petty, Yarborough, Waltrip, Wallace, Richmond. You don’t find ones that came up through the ranks the hard way anymore. All these new kids have had the best equipment since they were a kid. It’s not their fault but I just can’t relate to them like I can the guy at my local dirt track.

 Also one thing that’s killing NASCAR is they have no credibility anymore. They change the championship rules every single year just to “make it exciting” and to draw these ADHD fans that were just too bored with the old format. That has turned many old fans away. They completely abandoned the tracks and fans that got them at the top of the mountain. 

Very impressive collection! Cool...

Well, "decline" is a tricky term.

Hard to fill stands when every race is televised--and you get a better view of the race on tv (watching from the infield is cool and all, but you only get maybe a 15º wedge to see, so you are eyeballing a jumbotron or the tv in/next to the RV.

The next generation of drivers is pretty exciting.  I'm really keen to see how Bowman does with his Pole at Daytona.  Chase Elliot is more than due a win (and I was sorry he did not get one in the 24).

I'm also pretty certain some of us "olds" are going to be surprised to see some of these younger kids perfoem.  The Cup cars are a deliberate handful to drive, you have to be committed to fitness and stamina to be in those cars.

Bbut, yeah, the influx of "cheap" asian-made diecast upon which "stickers" can be slapped is slaughtering the plastic model side of this.

It's a lovely collection of cars, but I would agree with another poster that it is a sport in decline. Empty grandstands, despite how carefully they try to hide them on TV. Races scattered all over TV, to lower ratings. Rule changes that make the 'racing' ever blander and more homogenized...welcome to 'NAP'CAR!

That's part of the reason you haven't seen many kits. Licensing is expensive, too. And I bet before it imploded itself, the diecast fad pretty much killed demand for models, especially in regard to motor sports. 

Don Stauffer

It has been sad to see the few offerings in NASCAR kits lately,  until the new ones that just came out. I have not built one yet, but a couple of my modeling buddies have, and they sound pretty nice.

 

They do look nice, but it's a shame they don't have Goodyear logos for the tires and wheel wells. I have some stull, but hate to go that route.

I always liked Stewart, he was fun to watch start in the rear and just drive to the front, man whatta ride.

      I'm a Blue Oval,(Ford), guy so Stewart/Haas, and any Ford driver. HOWEVER the right man won the cup last season Martin Truex Jr. Absolutely DOMINATED the season, even if it was a Toyota.

I used to be heavy into Nascar not anymore for the most part all the big name driver are retired Gordon JR. STEWART just to name a few kind of lost interest now.

I've been a race fan since AJ Foyt was a rookie! My dad and I would listen to the Indianapolis 500 on my transistor radio. MRN on the radio was the only way to get races live. Yay MRN and Jim Phillips. My first Daytona 500 was in 1970 when Pete Hamilton won driving for Petty Enterprises in a winged Plymouth. I built a few NASCAR kits some years back: Ernie Irvan's number 4 Kodak Chevrolet; Davey Allison's black number 28 Texaco Thunderbird to name two. Today my favorite driver is anyone in the seat of the number 43. Go fast, turn left, Bubba! Your collection is awesome!

Don Stauffer

It has been sad to see the few offerings in NASCAR kits lately,  until the new ones that just came out. I have not built one yet, but a couple of my modeling buddies have, and they sound pretty nice.

 

It has been sad to see the few offerings in NASCAR kits lately,  until the new ones that just came out. I have not built one yet, but a couple of my modeling buddies have, and they sound pretty nice.

Looks sharp.

I can smell the burnt sunoco, lite beer, and caharcoal starter fluid as if I was there

And, a person could spend years just modeling JJ's 1st place and championship rides.  Hard part there would be finding all the generations of car that would be.  That's what now, 4, 5 of the NextGen car?  And you'd need some pre-spoiler versions, too.

Looking again, that looks to be missing a couple verions of #5, and at least one version of the Budweiser #8.

But still way cool.  Next Sunday will see my Sundays back to "normal" again

Thanks, y'all! One of my favorites but not my best is the #75 Valvoline Pontiac in the back. It's Neil Bonnett's car. Original funky late 80s Monogram decals from a fifteen year old kit. Had a warning not to use solvents on them.

Looks like turn 4 at Talladega LOL. I have only been a fan for a few years now but it's a Sunday ritual with me....get my best naps between the green and checkered flags.

I’ve been out to Fontana for the California 500 a few times. Let’s just say that the races are much more impressive in person than on TV. The true sounds and smells just aren’t there any other way.

That is one great collection of car builds that you have there. 

now thats draftin very impressive!!