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AMA Racing Reminder

8382 Views 37 Replies 11 Participants Last post by Buzglyd, Mar 5, 2003

obandoj

Discussion Starter · Mar 3, 2003

Thank God for Speed Channel! Now I can lay off the Prozac.

21 - 38 of 38 Posts

Buzglyd

· #21 · Mar 3, 2003

Re: Pass the Grey Poupon there bro

I agree. There is much more technology in NASCAR than those who dislike it think. Plus there is some awesome driving talent. Guys like Stewart and Gordon would be successful no matter where they raced.

I think there is also a bias against anyone with a southern accent who uses home-spun phrases must immediately be classified as stupid.

Are you considering a Harley so you can fit in with the neighbors?

Buzglyd

· #22 · Mar 3, 2003

Re: Pass the Grey Poupon there bro

I was just kidding but I figured as long as he was flinging around insults I could too. Actually the Z-4 looks pretty good in the flesh. I've seen a few cruising around here already.

Does your daughter ask you to borrow the Miata a lot? ;-)

rsheidler

· #23 · Mar 3, 2003

Re: Pass the Grey Poupon there bro

Hell, even on this site, which presumably is mostly frequented by those with at least a passing interest in motorcycles, there is a lot less apparent interest in racing topics than general interest subjects. I'm not complaining, it is just an observation. As an example, today's article on the WSB had fewer than 1/2 as many posts as the article on the Volvo ad.

I'm gonna venture that more than half of the readers on this site did not watch the WSB and will not watch the 200 next weekend. So how in Hell can we expect the general public to watch in sufficient number to support a stand-alone non-NASCAR channel?

Thank God for NASCAR!

Bob

rsheidler

· #24 · Mar 3, 2003

Re: Pass the Grey Poupon there bro

Actually my daughter has never driven the Miata. My wife mostly controls the keys, and she is more immune to batting eyelids than I am! I got the Miata sorta as a peace offering after my wife realized how much money I had spent on the Ducati, only to turn it into a monoposto!

That is where the Dyna Sport comes in -- with our daughter now pretty well grown, my wife once again is interested in spending more time on the pillion. I am also thinking about an R1150R or possibly one of the new naked Japanese bikes. Having formed my motorcycle preferences in the 50s and 60s, I prefer no fairings and the sound and feel of singles, parallel or V-twins. The boxer twin is a little flatulent-sounding for my tastes, but it is a nice ride.

I need to find a Harley dealer who has a Dyna Sport I can demo. Don't know how likely that is. I have demo'd Buells several times, but don't know how they are about offering rides on Harleys.

Cheers

Bob

36219

· #25 · Mar 3, 2003

E mail speedchannel

Instead of arguing among yourselves, why not e mail Speedchannel and request more cycle racing. As we know they are motivated by the almighty dollar. If enough interest is show maybe we will get more cycle racing. Their web site is speedtv.com

Buzglyd

· #26 · Mar 3, 2003

Re: Pass the Grey Poupon there bro

I agree the boxer twin is a little too flatulent for me too. Plus there's not much you can do if you want it to make more power compared to the H-D hopups available.

I'll bet since the Dyna Sport is not a big seller you should be able to demo one if any dealers have one on the sales floor.

I was teasing about the daughter/Miata since you asked if it was a girl's car.

wwalkersd

· #27 · Mar 4, 2003

Re: Pass the Grey Poupon there bro

Well, I'm not in the TV biz, so I don't know about that stuff. But I do get Speed on "Digital Cable", so I'm quite sure my cable company knows what channel I'm tuned to. I've gotta believe they're selling that info to _somebody_.

Buzglyd

· #28 · Mar 4, 2003

Re: Pass the Grey Poupon there bro

They might do that for their own purposes in terms of deciding what channels get viewers since the cable stations sell local spots as well.

But for Nielson ratings you'd have to have a box or a diary.

wwalkersd

· #29 · Mar 4, 2003

Lessee, now. Apply the France formula to AMA road racing, and what do we get? All the bikes would be Harleys, or at least _some_ kind of pushrod V-twin. Though they'd have bodywork that made them look a little like something else, and would be labeled as such. And they'd have really big fairings, all with the same shape, to allow lots of room for sponsor logos.

I dunno, maybe it would make for good racing. But it'd be a lot less interesting than what we've got now. And many of the classes now are so competitive that most forms of auto racing can't even come close.

Buzglyd

· #30 · Mar 4, 2003

I agree. For road racing motorcycles are superior. There is actually on-track passing!

Formula 1 and CART have become long,boring technology parades. I've been going to the Long Beach Grand Prix for several years and haven't seen a pass for position in a long time. CART Laguna Seca last year was the same thing. Qualifying was pretty much the order of finish.

nokneedragin

· #31 · Mar 4, 2003

Yea, and all the bikes would have single side swing arms, with lug nuts, so the pit crew could jump over the wall and do 8 sec. pit stops.

obandoj

Discussion Starter · #32 · Mar 4, 2003

Re: Love it

He does

Z3Coupe

· #33 · Mar 4, 2003

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

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Buzglyd

· #34 · Mar 4, 2003

Re: Pass the Grey Poupon there bro

You obviously don't have a clue what you're talking about with all your "facts."

Michael Andretti raced in NASCAR? He's one of the winningest drivers in CART history. He didn't have succes in F1. You're right about that. No one has success in F1 except for the team with the most money, e.g. Ferrari right now.

You think oval racing isn't real racing? Try telling Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell, AJ Foyt and other drivers too numerous to name.

I can't figure out whether you're snooty or just ignorant.

Z3Coupe

· #35 · Mar 5, 2003

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

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Buzglyd

· #36 · Mar 5, 2003

That was John

I believe you're confusing him with John Andretti. John still races Winston Cup. Michael's biggest success seems to be street courses. Mario actually won the Daytona 500 once and could only win Indy once. Michael has never won Indy.

It may take more skill to be fast on a road course but it takes way more stones to be fast on an oval, especially in open-wheel racing.

I can remember several years ago when Mansell came over to CART and won a race at a 1 mile oval (Loudon or Phoenix), the race was close and intense. He got out of the car and said that was just "incredible, pure racing."

I can appreciate road-racing however there is so little passing now it's just a long parade. That's why I think motorcycles are superior for watching road racing vs. F1 or CART.

For cars the ovals tend to catch my attention more than street courses and most road courses.

Z3Coupe

· #37 · Mar 5, 2003

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

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Buzglyd

· #38 · Mar 5, 2003

Re: So we found some common ground?

I believe we have. IRL is all circle track but CART sure isn't. In fact I think CART has only 3 or 4 ovals on its schedule now. I loved CART because the drivers had to be good at everything, road courses, street courses, small ovals and large ovals. I've been to the Long Beach Grand Prix (total party but no passing), Laguna Seca (again no passing) and the California Speedway at Fontana (240 mph qualifying times!) I've also been to Indianapolis a few times. Ovals are a blast in person.

Motorcycle content- Laguna Seca is awesome for motorcycles (lots of passing) but I was bored at the CART race there last year and the drivers for the most part are total pricks. That's one of the huge reasons for NASCAR popularity is that the drivers are so accessible to the fans.

Unfortunately I will miss the first AMA California race this year due to a business committment. Perhaps I can catch Sonoma or Laguna Seca.

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