On Mon, 29 Jul 2002 02:38:13 GMT, "Stuart Becktell"
>I think that is because Texas is a really easy track to drive. At Michigan,
>there were a ton of cautions, and most of the drivers were basically out of
>control. I like the IRL races, but will never pay to see one.
I detest Tony George and prefer road racing to ovals, but you don't
have to *lie* about the IR race. The Michigan race had 5 cautions for
25 laps (out of a 200 lap race). Only two cautions were for crashes
(Ward and Cheever [giggle]). Something like 20 of 25 cars were
running at the end of the race. The last 25 laps were some of the
best racing we've seen lately.
Of course, that sort of "good racing" means taking big chances in
close quarters, like the last 20 laps of a NASCAR restrictor plate
race. :| I had the feeling that Sarah hasn't quite developed the
situational awareness for this, but she didn't cause any trouble.
It's a hallmark of the sort of entertainment-engineered spec-racing
we see in America these days. It's exciting, but it has two
downsides: 1) the potential for large-scale disaster with
long-duration "pack racing" (NASCAR regularly has this now at its
restrictor plate races [aka "the big one"], but participant injuries
are usually kept to a managable level and they've been lucky with no
spectator injuries), 2) the artificial closeness of the racing leads
to unreasonable expectations and boredom with "real racing" (racing
with less spec- & racing action-management, such as F1 or even CART)
-- a bit like raising a kid on a steady diet of MTV and cartoons and
then expecting him to be able to sit quietly and watch PBS. :)
When you think about some of the innovation seen at the Speedway in
the '60s, it really makes you sick looking at the IRL-series-approved-
(but-maybe-not-if-you-build-a-CART-chassis) sort of politcal "stuff"
going on today. Open wheel suffers, Tony fiddles... :(
Ah well, enough ranting for today...
"But in a way, fear is a big part of racing, because if there was
nothing to be frightened of, and no limit, any fool could get into
a motor car and racing would not exist as a sport." -- Jim Clark
