On the other hand, I tuned in to the F-1 race held at The Circuit of the Americas and I fell asleep waking up in time to see the final half dozen laps, which was essentially a parade, the first place car doing a horizon job on the second place car.
When I saw drag racing in person, the next guys up were already starting their engines when the cars were across the finish line, and while the sportsman classes were racing, you could walk to the pits and watch them rebuild the top fuel cars.
Not at all like horse racing where they make five races take all afternoon.
All sports are kind of boring if you donāt care who wins. When thereās a soccer game on the TV, I mostly just see people in shorts running around and kicking a ball. I love participating in offhand rifle matches and shotgun trap matches, but these are gawd-awful spectator sports.
A restrictor plate isnāt a governor per 'se. It doesnāt limit engine speed via mechanical means. They are a necessary evil, without the plates, todayās NASCAR Cup cars would be averaging 240+ MPH, which is just inviting a catastrophe would make the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans incident look like a minor skirmish in terms of lives lost. The other options to reduce speed are to change the areo so that they make much more drag, which is something that has been tried in the past with little success. Use smaller engines, which isnāt happened due to the R&D costs that would kill off the smaller teams and knock down the banking at Daytona and Talladega, in order to make the drivers have to slow down in order to make it around the turns, which also isnāt happening as those are the crown jewels of Big Bill Franceās legacy,
Yeah, Iām not saying theyāre not necessary, but when the result is that everyone goes around the track in a long parade with only the occasional passā¦ Thatās not exactly compelling television. And since I donāt care about the personalities and the shades of reality TV theyāre trying to introduce, the whole thing got uninteresting.
Yeah, that got uninteresting too, even though they make a habit of turning both directions unlike NASCAR. Maybe theyāll shake things up a bit now that Ecclestone got the boot. As much as I respect the incredible skill the F1 guys have, Rally drivers have just as much skill and itās much more interesting to watch, which makes it annoying that it can be hard to find on American TV.
All else being equal, it comes down to whoās the better driver, has the better pit crew, some luck and a little stretching of the rules
The idea was to make it more competitive without breaking the bank any more than necessary. I think they accomplished that goal; they are packed up jockying for the lead versus one dude a lap aheadā¦
You realize that there are more lead changes in typical race at Talladega or Daytona than there are in an entire season (or two) of F1 right? In a 2010 race at Talladega they had 88 lead changes among 29 different drivers. If anything restrictor plates have made the racing on the superspeedways much more competitive.
To my knowledge, Pro Stock never used a blower.
I was thinking tunnel ram dual quads. As hard to see around as a blower.
Like golf or bowling? Great to play, stupid to watch.
Even more stupid to commentate;
āSo Bob, what do think heās going for here? I gotta say, Jim, you must be an idiot to even ask that questionā¦ā
A mid-level NASCAR team spends $20 million per car and there are dozens of passes per race and has a chance to win
A mid-level Formula 1 car costs $100 million per car of a 2 car team. We would be lucky to see 12 passes the entire race and has NO chance to win, Zero, NADA.
I still like F1 betterā¦
I like ALMS races. They have a lot of action in each class, and having more than one class on the track makes it more difficult for the drivers to take care of business. I also have a favorite in NHRA, the John Force team. I even liked them when Force drove for Ford. Now that he drives for Chevy, Iām all in.
I used to live a few miles from a mud sprint car track, I enjoyed watching them race, but then again I was in Grand Forks ND! Cabins are near BIR (Brainerd International Raceway) ticket prices and traffic have not inspired me to go, but they do have quite a draw.
Iāve always like Force as well, heās a great driver, and Iāve always liked his enthusiasm for what he does. He conducts all interviews like heās 20 feet away from the person whoās holding the mic. Even though they are polar opposites, I also like Kimi RƤikkƶnen in the F1 realm. His curt, almost deadpan delivery when giving an interview or when communicating with his team is always good for a laugh.
I have never attended an F1 race. When I lived in Motorsports nirvana (Southern California) from January 1974 to November 1976 I started with the Winston Western (locally known as the Riverside 500)
The first cup race I attended was the Winston Western 500 at Riverside, CA Jan 27 1974. A 3 1/4 mile very challenging road course. On Friday the 25th you paid $12 per head drove to the infield and parked. Since my buddy and I were early we were able to have a good view of the start finish line. Huge party Friday night. Saturday morning IROC race. Saturday afternoon late model race which was 2+ year old cup cars. Saturday night huger party. Sunday, cup race with childhood hero drivers. Petty, Pearson, Yarborough, and the Allison Brothers! Cars that were recognizable as to make and model. You were free to walk to every corner. Lots of walking but at 21 years old not a problem. Of course the real estate became more valuable for tract houses and strip malls. So sad. I spent 3 years in Southern California motorsports heaven. NASCAR, USAC (Indy car), NHRA, SCCA, and more. Ahhā¦ The good old days. Big smile! now you have the privilege of paying $200 for a NASCAR nosebleed seat.
Could this explain the empty seats at NASCAR races? I noticed empty seats at Bristol which used to be sold out months in advance. About 20 years ago F1 became a parade with the pole sitter winning the race with no passing. Those behind only advanced with wrecks. Boring! 12 passes per race is an improvement.
I got hooked on Force when I saw an interview that Dave DeSpain did on Windtunnel. Dave asked a question and Force went off on a 5 minute answer. His enthusiasm was amazing. Occasionally, the camera would go back to DeSpain, and he had a huge grin. I could tell he loved interviewing Force. At one point, Force said he forgot what Dave asked, and wondered if he answered the question. Dave said no problem! He was thrilled to have a guest that he didnāt have to dig at to get answers, and knew his business.
make sure you make it fast enough to outrun the cops and their radio.
With John Forceās racing credentials and his 3 Daughterās racing success and other Daughter Adria Hight who is the brains of the team. I would not interrupt him. Or them.
I attended every F1 race at Indianapolis and one in Montreal during the normally aspirated V10 and V12 eras. Iām planning on attending this years race at COTA. Indy was cheap, like $85 for the weekend. Montreal was $250 with a grandstand weekend pass. COTA will be about $375 a weekend seat. It is quite the experience. Different than Indycars, NASCAR and IMSA and Iāve been to all those as well a few times
I live about 30 minutes away from COTA and drive by it all the time. I just donāt want to see F1 $375 bad.
They also race Moto GP there and the admission is much lower, plus itās like a huge motorcycle fair with every maker known displaying their newest bikes.
Also, Willie Nelson will have his annual 4th of July picnic at COTA if youāre into that sort of thing.
Hey they gotta use that place for something when they donāt have a F1 race there.
I personally think all the 5K footraces should be moved there. One lap around that track is pretty close to 5K and having all those fund raising 5K runs there would mean the downtown streets wouldnāt have to be closed for those events.