[Z3Coupe]

Thank god for Speed Channel? Hardly. It's just that they're the only ones that broadcast AMA racing... Let's recap what's bad about Speed Channel (still call 'em SpeedVision myself):



The interupted LIVE AMA 600 racing to broadcast a NECKCAR post-race wrap-up show. And the jackass announcer that told you what was happening was smirking the whole time.



They lied about broadcasting the full 24 hours of Le Mans last year. Early ads touted "full 24 hour flag-to-flag coverage" of the entire race. Then come June they dropped overnight coverage to show infomercials of all things. Certainly learning how to lose weight overnight is more important than living up to your promised flag-to-flag coverage!



SpeedVision has really gone down his since Fox took over. It's slowly but surely become the NECKCAR Channel. Probably 80% of airtime is devoted to that brainless drivel. SpeedVision used to be a haven for us non-NECKCAR and non-IRL fans. We could watch our enduracing racing, motorcycle racing, and all other kinds of non-oval racing. Now it's almost exclusively NECKCAR.



Which begs a point - why don't they just make a damned NECKCAR Channel and give all of us our beloved SpeedVision back? I'd bet the hillbillies would prefer to not have to share the station with non-NECKCAR crap...



Gah. Thank god for Speed Channel my ass.



Matthew

 

[Z3Coupe]

Re: Pass the Grey Poupon there bro

Why am I not surprised to see a Harley fan (based on your username and fake email addy) supporting NECKCAR?

SpeedVision was doing fine financially before it was bought by Fox and turned into NECKCAR-TV. Look up the facts.

And yes, while I realize that TV stations don't exist to please me, they exist to make a profit - that doesn't mean that you can't please your audience AND make a profit. Honestly, how many of the faithful SpeedVision viewers were happy to see it turn ito NECKCAR-TV?

Why not make everyone happy... Just have Fox make a NECKCAR-TV channel and let SpeedVision go back to covering real racing?

Matthew

 

[Z3Coupe]

Re: Pass the Grey Poupon there bro

I have to disagree with the "Guys like Stewart and Gordon would be successful no matter where they raced." statement.

Do you remember when IROC was real racing, not a NECKCAR wannabe? I'm talking about back in the days when they used Porsches, or even the first few years of Camaros. They ran on road-racing tracks. Funny thing was, the roundy-round guys got their asses kicked something silly. Couldn't even compete. So they put an end to that quick. But now the roadracing guys are pretty good at this IROC stuff after a couple laps...

Or how about a more recent example? Michaeal Andretti. He won some NECKCAR, was doing well in CART (or whatever it was called back then, not even sure what it's called now), and decided to go to Formula One. Yeah. That worked out well.

Pffft. I would really like to see Gordon or Stewart even try racing in a non-roundy-round league. It would really take them down a few notches, and hopefully some of the NECKCAR fans with them.

Matthew

 

[Z3Coupe]

Re: Pass the Grey Poupon there bro

Didn't Michael Andretti race (and do pretty well in) a few selected NECKCAR events? I thought he did... Might have been another Andretti, seeing as how there's like 30 of them. I admittedly don't follow NECKCAR, so it is likely I am wrong about this, but I could have sworn I thought he did race a few events over the years.

But the point is this - Michael Andretti is a very good oval racer, being one of the winningest racers in CART (or whatever it's called now) history. I understand that CART is not exclusively ovals, that they also run some road courses.

But when Andretti went to Formula one, he got whupped. And it's not because he had an inferior ride (as you seem to hint) - he was teammate to Ayrton Senna at McLaren, probably the best team in F1 at the time.

I do agree that current F1 is pretty boring. The real race is in qualifying - very very difficult to pass on the track with the current rules. But the rules in the early 90s when Andretti was in F1 did allow for a bit more passing.

And yes, if you're not racing for Ferrari, you're not gonna win - for the last few years. But that was not the case when Andretti was in F1. He was on the best team - McLaren - at the time.

And as far as Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell, and AJ Foyt... To me, their performances in Formula One (and other road-racing events) out weigh their performances on ovals.

I am neither snooty nor ingnorant. I just can't figure out what is so great about NECKCAR or oval racing in general. I roadrace. And it seems to me that there is a bunch more skill needed to navigate a roadcourse than there is to just "go fast, turn left."

Matthew

 

[Z3Coupe]

So we found some common ground?

I'll agree that F1 has become a parade. Like I said in my previous post, the real racing goes on in qualifying - 'cause once the race starts, not much passing goes on. And for that reason (and the absolute dominance of Ferrari and Schumacher), my interest is really waning on F1.

I also agree that motorcycle road racing really does have some of the best action. And it is my favorite to watch, too. I'm so psyched about the Daytona 200 this weekend... And MotoGP might not be Honda winning and everyone else racing for second place this year. The Yahama, Ducati, and Aprilia have all been fast in testing. Gonna be a great year for that.

As far as the cars go, like I said above, my interest in F1 is fading by the minute. I was excited a couple years ago by how well BMW/Williams did in their debut season, but they haven't really moved into a position to battle Ferrari.

I do like watching Sports Car and GT racing. The ALMS, Grand-Am, etc. Good stuff. There's some really good racing going on there - evenly matched cars and drivers, and decent passing action. Look up the SpeedVision schedule and tape a race. You'll like it, especially the Grand-Am stuff. ALMS is just Audi dominating like Ferrari does in F1.

I just never got into the circle track stuff. I never could figure out what was so intriguing about watching cars go in a big circle for hours. I'm not saying that it's not popular - NECKCAR is the biggest and fastest growing spectator sport in the country. And CART and IRL are viable open-wheel leagues. I just personally get bored out of my skull watching it. And I have a hunch the real reason so many people watch is for the crashes... And that just ain't right.

Matthew