I really shouldn't jump into this off-topic subject, but I feel long
winded tonight so here goesl.
A few points:
1. NASCAR races two road tracks per year: Watkins Glen and Sonoma
(Infineon Raceway). Every year, some teams pull in the "ringers" like
Boris Said and Ron Fellows and every year those guys come up short to
the usual "round-trackers". Would [insert your favorite F1 driver
here] do any better?
2. Much of the difficulty in Winston Cup racing is the fact that the
car is so powerful. Braking though corners while maintaining speed and
without spinning the wheels or getting the car loose (oversteer) can't
be easy. Often, when someone loses a cylinder, they make better time
in the corners than guys with normally running engines, but they do get
blown away in the straights.
3. The pit crews work together as a team with pinpoint precision with
little better than shadetree equipment. They use a floor jack, have
five lug nuts per wheel, fuel the cars manually via handheld tanks, and
can't cross the pit wall until the car reaches the pit stall. They
still manage to often knock off stops in 14 seconds or less, which is
impressive in itself.
Much of the attraction of NASCAR is what I call "High School Football
Appeal". Joe Sikspak played High School football and thus, he can
(somehow) relate the the truly gifted players he sees on TV on Sunday
afternoon. LIkewise, Joe had a HotRod El Camino with Astroturf in the
bed that he used to "race" around town to try and impress Suzy
Freebush. Likewise, he can (somehow) relate to the gifted (and the
ungifted) drivers he sees on Sunday afternoon, and he can definitely
relate to the pit crews. What Joe can't get interested in is guys
stuffed into a wedge looking thing with wheels and a big wing slicing
though the streets of some city he knows he will never see. He knows
they are driving fast and he likes that, but it's very similar to how
he feels when he watches rugby: He likes the "kill the guy with the
ball" aspect, but the mauls and scrums leave him a bit confused.
Personally, I think the open wheel stuff is tougher racing, but the way
it's presented on TV, it isn't compelling to watch. It's also too
international. I find myself pulling for whoever is from North
America. Whereas in NASCAR, I can cheer for a guy from my home state.
On the other hand, NASCAR should lose the "baseball rules" and race in
the rain. Their rain policy is probably the weakest thing about
NASCAR. Goodyear doesn't make treaded racing tires?
Kevin
/// or try http://www.team.net/cgi-bin/majorcool
/// Archives at http://www.team.net/archive
|