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[Auto-Racing] If you ain't first, you're last! (F1, Indy, NASCAR, Rally, Drag)
GnomeTank
What the what?Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
What the what?Portland, OregonRegistered User regular
Auto-racing. Vroom vroom. I wanna go fast! This thread will cover the major forms of auto-racing. Please keep it civil. No one cares that you think NASCAR doesn't require skill. First, you're wrong. Second, no one cares. Also, we don't care if you think race car drivers aren't real athletes. Really, we don't.
Major forms of auto-racing:
Formula 1
The creme of the crop when it comes to technology. Formula 1 puts the most technologically advanced race cars in the world on the track. 19,000 RPM V8 engines, carbon fiber bodies, Kevlar carbon blasted breaks, millions spent on aero packages and research to shave tenths of seconds. If you love technology in your racing, Formula 1 is your thing. Formula 1 only races on specifically constructed road courses, and hasn't run a consistent race in the United States for quite some time. There is currently a Formula 1 spec track being built in Austin Texas that will hopefully be the home of a US Grand Prix for years to come. Keep your fingers crossed.
Indy Racing League (Indy, IndyCar)
Very much in a down turn right now, but this is America's home grown open wheel racing series. Not quite as technologically advanced as Formula 1, but still very much on the cutting edge. New body this year that some people love or hate. It seems to be safer, so that's good. Some great drivers in this series. Has lost a ton of it's following to NASCAR in America, but is still chugging along. They are currently putting a heavier emphasis on road and street courses, which is a good thing. NASCAR has ovals on lock down, but America lacks a highly popular road racing series right now.
NASCAR (Stock cars)
As much as people love to make fun of the redneck roots of NASCAR, it's some damn interesting racing at the right tracks. Currently NASCAR has an intermediate track problem: Too many of them, and they are all pretty boring....but when NASCAR heads to it's really interesting tracks (Daytona, Talladega, Darlington, Richmond, Martinsville, Senoma, Watkins Glen) the racing can be heart pounding and amazing. There isn't much in auto-sport like the intensity of a NASCAR restrictor plate race like Daytona. Some of the best road racing I've ever seen is when NASCAR goes to road courses. Big 3000lb stock cars just make for amazing racing when they are being thrown all over the track by world class drivers.
Feeder Series/Sports Cars/Drag Racing/Rally Racing
Of course those aren't the only racing organizations in the world. Many of them have feeder series, such as Formula 3000 for F1, IndyLights for the IRL and NASCAR Nationwide for NASCAR. In addition, there are myriad other auto-racing sports, such as Grand Am Touring and Rolex Sports Car. There is also rally racing and drag racing, represented by various bodies.
If it goes fast, has four wheels, and people compete in it, talk about it here!
Major forms of auto-racing:
Formula 1
The creme of the crop when it comes to technology. Formula 1 puts the most technologically advanced race cars in the world on the track. 19,000 RPM V8 engines, carbon fiber bodies, Kevlar carbon blasted breaks, millions spent on aero packages and research to shave tenths of seconds. If you love technology in your racing, Formula 1 is your thing. Formula 1 only races on specifically constructed road courses, and hasn't run a consistent race in the United States for quite some time. There is currently a Formula 1 spec track being built in Austin Texas that will hopefully be the home of a US Grand Prix for years to come. Keep your fingers crossed.
Indy Racing League (Indy, IndyCar)
Very much in a down turn right now, but this is America's home grown open wheel racing series. Not quite as technologically advanced as Formula 1, but still very much on the cutting edge. New body this year that some people love or hate. It seems to be safer, so that's good. Some great drivers in this series. Has lost a ton of it's following to NASCAR in America, but is still chugging along. They are currently putting a heavier emphasis on road and street courses, which is a good thing. NASCAR has ovals on lock down, but America lacks a highly popular road racing series right now.
NASCAR (Stock cars)
As much as people love to make fun of the redneck roots of NASCAR, it's some damn interesting racing at the right tracks. Currently NASCAR has an intermediate track problem: Too many of them, and they are all pretty boring....but when NASCAR heads to it's really interesting tracks (Daytona, Talladega, Darlington, Richmond, Martinsville, Senoma, Watkins Glen) the racing can be heart pounding and amazing. There isn't much in auto-sport like the intensity of a NASCAR restrictor plate race like Daytona. Some of the best road racing I've ever seen is when NASCAR goes to road courses. Big 3000lb stock cars just make for amazing racing when they are being thrown all over the track by world class drivers.
Feeder Series/Sports Cars/Drag Racing/Rally Racing
Of course those aren't the only racing organizations in the world. Many of them have feeder series, such as Formula 3000 for F1, IndyLights for the IRL and NASCAR Nationwide for NASCAR. In addition, there are myriad other auto-racing sports, such as Grand Am Touring and Rolex Sports Car. There is also rally racing and drag racing, represented by various bodies.
If it goes fast, has four wheels, and people compete in it, talk about it here!
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I would also posit that rally drivers are at least as skilled as any others, the diversity of their driving conditions is just amazing.
I wasn't trying to start an argument about who the better drivers are. We can discuss rally, that's fine, but if I listed every form of auto-sport ever in the OP it would be pages long. I listed the "big three" and the rest is open for discussion.
I haven't been able to keep up with WRC lately, has Mitsubishi stopped being awful yet?
Anyway, I live about an hour from Watkins Glen, and went to the race there a year and a half ago, and it was awesome. I'd like to make it back this summer, but we'll see.
I would love to see them race at the Glen live. I wish NASCAR would use the full Formula 1 course though, and not cut the boot off. I guess the high speed section of the boot is too dangerous for stock cars, but still.
I live close enough to Senoma that I might go see the race at Infenion sometime. In fact, that's the closest Sprint Cup race that happens all year for me...
And there's an F-1 thread around here, in which I've lurked for some time. I can get you a link if you want, Gnome. It's more active than the WRC thread that was around here a while ago in which I don't believe anyone posts any more.
Formula 1: Grand Prix of Spain, May 13, 08:00 EST, 05:00 PST, SPEED Network
IndyCar: None (Lead up to Indy 500)
NASCAR: Southern 500 (Darlington), May 12, 18:30 EST, 15:30 PST, FOX
NHRA: None
WRC: None
Rolex Sports Cars: Global Barter 250, May 12, 13:00 EST, 10:00 PST, SPEED Network
Probably, but the rules package this year has lead to quite a bit more overtaking than usual. Plus there are more competitive teams it seems this year. You're probably right though, it's not normally the best rest on the F1 schedule.
It's like Monaco without charm. And without the oh-shit factor. I'll watch anyways, but I'm not optimistic. I like weekend naps anyways.
No, I think you're thinking of John Britten.
Erik Buell was an engineer at Harley-Davidson who decided to try and make bikes that didn't suck for a change. He started Buell, which was an offshoot of Harley, but the corporate overlords mismanaged it for like twenty years. They cut Buell (the brand and the guy) loose just a couple years after they finally let him use a decent engine instead of a retuned air-cooled Sportster engine, which was a damn shame. Now he doesn't even have the trademark to his own last name, so his company is "EBR". But fuck it, he's making bikes again.
Granted, I haven't actually attended a race since 2005 because of money, but that's okay. I still keep up with it.
I'm also a sim-racer so I think about fast cars quite frequently.
This year, even Bahrain was pretty exciting (not even counting the petrol bombs!), so Barcelona is likely going to be a goddamn thriller.
Like I said, the new rules package this year seems to produce pretty good racing.
With Dragon Racing now actively suing Lotus, and presumably trying to land a deal with Chevy, that will leave only HVM as the sole Lotus customer. (Poor Simona
The good news is that means Sebastian Bourdais might have a stronger car, and given how well he's driven with the weaker Lotus that should produce some interesting results at the front of the field and could even give Power something to worry about.
I'm looking forward to Barcelona in F1, if only to see what kind of changes the teams have made. Ferrari in particular needs to step up if they are to be at all competitive. I'm also going to try and catch the Rolex Sports Car stuff.
I know Speed used to cover WRC, have they dropped that recently? I don't recall running into any ads for it the last couple years, and I certainly haven't caught any coverage on TV.
However, they recently launched SPEED2, but your access depends on your television provider.
Edit - some of it is available on demand; I just discovered that since I'm on DirecTV I can log in at speed2.com and watch episodes online (WRC included, though it's still just a half hour recap show).
I haven't had time to actually watch much (though I'm hoping to catch a few of the ALMS races this year), but anybody here do autocrossing with the SCCA/NASA/etc? Just got back our first local event of the year on Sunday and WOW.
You can't give someone a pirate ship in one game, and then take it back in the next game. It's rude.
I'll be going, and this will be my first ever anything race, so I am quite excite.
Well, you chose a good race to go so
Re: NASCAR - you don't really have to follow a specific driver. My "favorite" retired years ago and now I have a number of guys that I follow, but no real favorite. I just like to see a good race.
The best experience is to spend as much time as you can at the track, tailgating, checking out the souvenir trailers, trying to meet some of the drivers, etc. If you can go with friends, that's ideal.
There are some guys who tend to avoid the public as much as possible, and there are others who would doubtless spend more time meeting fans if they could. But for the most part they're all pretty cool about it.
If you go to a race, I really recommend you get paddock passes...at least the first time you go. It'll cost you more money, but like I said, just walking the paddock is fun. It's the best way to meet drivers and just feel like your part of the race weekend.
It is a lot of setup, and you have to wear earplugs (you'd be an idiot not to), but it's an awesome experience.
The 3-10 second payoff each 10 minutes is well worth it. Just the roaring of the engines and watching the awesome cars fly down the track make up for it.