Racing

Both the people that have visited my little corner of cyberspace may have noticed some links to racing related websites. I am very much a motorsports fan above any other sports. Yes, racing IS a sport. I don't care how talented of a football or baseball player you are. 2 or more hours crammed into the cockpit of a racecar, trying to control that car at 200+ MPH, while 20 to 30 friends are doing the same thing and trying to do it better than you are, will wear your ass out.

I had a limited interest in racing when I was a kid, I watched the Indianapolis 500 almost every year and knew the names Andretti, Foyt, Unser and Mears, and also that Roger Penske was a very successful car owner, especially in the Indianapolis race. I also knew that NASCAR existed and that the big names were Petty and Earnhardt. In the early 90's I was drawn into TV ads that featured the Indy Car and NASCAR stock car sponsored my Miller Genuine Draft (driven by Bobby Rahal and Rusty Wallace respectively, with Rusty driving for renowned Indy Car owner Roger Penske). I was a big MGD fan at the time, and if I happened to catch a snippet of a race I would see how the MGD cars were doing. Not fully bitten by the bug just yet, but he was buzzing around. In 1995 I finally watched my first flag to flag NASCAR telecast, the Daytona 500, and caught a couple other races that year. For no rhyme or reason the bug bit, and in 1996 I threw myself feet first into NASCAR, CART (now Champ Car), Formula One and a new series called the Indy Racing League. I didn't like them at first because the "real drivers" of the CART series were not at the Indy 500 anymore.

This season marks my 10th Anniversary as a full fledged racing nut, and if it has wheels and an engine I'll watch it. Rusty Wallace has now retired, his seat being filled by youngster Kurt Busch, who has million dollar driving talent but a 5 cent head (to borrow a line from "Bull Durham"). I'll give him a chance since "The Captain" has.

In Indy Car news there are still 2 open wheel series, although most of the big names have now fled from Champ Car to the IRL, mainly because that's where the Indy 500 is. Roger Penske continues to win at Indianapolis, having won 4 more 500's under the IRL banner for a total of 14.

Reunification rumors run rampant as always, although now both sides acknowledge that there are indeed negotiations in progress. This split has hurt open wheel racing in the United States, and sent most of the casual fans jumping onto the NASCAR bandwagon, fueling that ever growing juggernaught. Although worldwide Formula One is the real king.

By watching it all it gives me a chance to observe the different types of fans that each series have. NASCAR fans usually trend towards your blue collar "regular guy" type of fan, a guy who likes a little beating and banging and who likes to see a lot of passing and more aggressive driving. Although with NASCAR being the "cool" thing right now the appeal is crossing all sorts of boundaries.

Champ Car and Formula One fans trend towards the upscale a bit more. They want to see technology at work, and how a team will use that technology to create the fastest car. This is especially true in Formula One where team budgets rival those of small countries and the latest in technological advances are a must.

The Indy Racing League creates a bit of a melding between the open wheel world and the stock car world. You have high tech open wheel cars, but the nature of the racing rivals even the most competitive stock car races. I've personally witnessed some truly nail biting moments.

Well that's all the rambling for now.