I haven't posted much in here, but I'm a long time NASCAR fan (the only one amongst anyone I know in my personal life, so my fandom involves me and my 8 year old watching races together), and I just have to chime in on the restrictor plate stuff. I fucking love it. I think the two Daytona and Talladega races each year are the only two truly "must-see" events on the racing calendar. It doesn't happen as much as it used to, but I'm all set with watching a couple of teams with more money and resources put together cars that are simply better than the competition, and dominate races that have very little passing or even man-to-man racing. If I want to watch the same few folks run away with the race every week, I'll start watching F-1 again.
When these guys get behind the wheels of cars that are essentially identical, and are forced to drive, the cream usually rises to the top. Due to the close racing, yes, there are more cautions, and yes, the results don't often end up being deserved because guys get knocked out, but that's all a part of it. However, if you watch these races closely, you notice the same guys, the great drivers, Junior, Harvick, Busch 1 and 111, Kenseth, etc. are generally right there in front throughout most of it, and if they happen to find themselves in the middle of the pack, and don't get taken out, watching them use the draft to work the traffic and get back to the front is some of the most incredible driving you'll see over the course of a season. I'm not a mechanic, and don't know the first thing about taking a tool to a chassis, but I can understand the strategy involved in drafting, and pairing up with a teammate or working better with a certain driver vs. someone else. I don't know shit about what's being done under the hood resulting in a guy basically dominating a race from start to finish on a cookie cutter oval where the only real excitement happens when they finally get together after a rare caution. Give me races won on the track, vs. ones won in the pits any day of the week. Sure, sometimes the "fastest" car doesn't win, or even finish, at Talladega or Daytona, but damn, how anyone who loves racing can't watch those races and be entertained is crazy to me. Shit, those are probably the four races per year where you might have a chance to convert the average "I'm not going to watch a bunch of guys drive in circles for 3 hours" non-NASCAR fan, into fans of the sport. I vaguely remember that year where they went away from the restrictor plates, or did something resulting in two man drafting, and it was awful. Last weekend at Talladega (both races) were absolutely riveting, edge of the seat, sports awesomeness and I can't wait for the next one.
Anyway, them's my two cents (Dale Earnhardt is my favorite athlete of all time, and I say all this knowing that if not for restrictor plates, he's probably still alive).