Will you watch the 500 this weekend?

[Doug Zielke]

I used to look forward to it.
Now, I think the time will be better spent mowing the lawn.

[johnjr]

I'll be there. This will be my first Indy 500, but I went to the inaugural F-1 at Indy a few years ago.

johnjr
78 SC Targa

[Superman]

I'll watch it.

Hey, how 'bout them Calgary men?

[RickC]

Saw an ad in the paper today - kind of excited for the first time in a long time.

[motion]

I'll watch it... just for the morbid fascination of watching a 3 ring circus in self-destruct mode.

My only satisfaction will be if Robby Gordon wins.

And I hope that no one kills themselves in those flying crapwagons.

[nostatic]

F1 is at Nurburgring this weekend. I'll have 4.5 hours of Tivo'd coverage to watch. And with my new HD upgrade, I now have 144hours of capacity. mmmm, capacity.

[Jeff]

A friend of a friend is starting in Pole position (Buddy Rice) so I'll have it on.

[SpeedracerIndy]

I'll be there! I have gone every year for the last 15 years. It is a bit sad to see how diluted it has become, but it is still the "greatest spectical in racing". I get chills when those 33 cars go roaring by for the first lap. I will still go to the 500 every year I can, but I find the USGP more exciting now.

[pwd72s]

Yep, I'll watch. When a mere child, I'd listen on radio...the sound of those offy's sent chills down my spine...Iron men drove back then...

[cegerer]

Been there 6-7 times in the 70's-80's when it was a pretty big deal with some real name drivers and teams. Used to watch it on TV or listen on radio too. Now? I forgot the race was this weekend til I saw this thread! I think I'll be mowing the lawn too ....

[Zeke]

I'll watch. Three of the entrants are kids my stepson used to race agaist in karts in his class. Ritchie Hearn, PJ Jones and Alex Baron. Geo. Mack was in there too, but I see he didn't make it this year. They all took turns in winning. They wera all very good. We just didn't have the budget they did to keep up. Especially PJ.

[Zeke]

Well, our SoCal boys all finished and made a buck or two. That's more than I can say for AJ's nepotistic team. Sad to see a great man embarassed like that.

[motion]

What a friggin joke. The whole thing is disgusting.

[Zeke]

Originally posted by motion
What a friggin joke. The whole thing is disgusting.

Really. Did you watch it?

[motion]

Yep, sure did. Total amateur hour.

[motion]

The SCCA is where racers with no money or sponsorship belong. They don't belong at the Brickyard making a mockery of the traditions and iron men who made the place famous.

[Zeke]

Richard, I know I'd get along with you in person, but you are wrong on this. First of all, the racing was real and it was close. It was a close as Scott Goodyear missing by 3 feet and it was as close as Emmo and Little Al on the last lap. In years past, some people were able to make it back to their cars after the checkers, but before 2nd place came across the line. Sorta like the current F1 races.

There is also an emotional side to Indy that no other race has. This hasn't been as poignant lately as it was when there were 40 cars trying to make a 33 car field. But, hey, NASCAR cup has only 43 show up these days for 43 spots. And, Richard, if you don't think that those boys and the girl don't put forth a huge commitment and effort that is so much more than you or I will ever experience, then you don't know dick about what you are talking about. That whole deal is about something intangible when it comes to an engineer telling a driver to drive the corners flat out. The qualifying alone would separate the real folks from the wannabes and make a much different man out of you and me.

The difference between you and me is that I can see that.

[motion]

Zeke, the race has become no better than restrictor plate racing. 215 mph? I don't have stats handy, but you have to go back 10-15 years to see speeds that slow. All on 2004 technology chassis, tires and electronics. The cars are dog slow and anyone can drive them, including 45 year old rookies, Al Unser Jr. and Sarah Fisher. The close racing is a product of half the race being run under yellow. Sorry, but in my book, that's not racing. I can't believe how many rookie things I saw happening, including the officials not knowing well enough to open the pits when its pouring rain on the track (hello??) and several drivers completely missing their pits.

I know these guys drive their hearts out and spend the whole year trying to get a ride and all of that, but its mostly a big joke at this point. The series is being dominated by ex-CART people. Even Buddy Rice couldn't get a ride in CART. He's subbing for Brack.

And the worst part is that the cars are flawed in their design, and are extremely dangerous for the drivers. I just don't see anything positive in the series. The cars are slow, low-tech and cheap. The stands were half empty. A tornado was touching down in Indy 2 miles away doing damage and they didn't even have the sense to protect the people at the track by warning them.

Its all a farce.

[Zeke]

I will hand it to you........you have facts to back up your opinion. Frankly, I agree with slowing the cars down. You, of course, remember the Texas deal with CART. And CART has taken to adding the areo device at Michigan and CA to bunch the cars. (I don't know what the schedule is this year, so I'm speaking of past events.)

If you want to see real roadsters racing with real men in them, go back to my thread about wingless cars.

One thing I still don't agree on is that the cars are TOO easy to drive as you implied with your AU jr. and 45 year old remark. While I have not driven any open wheeler with anything over 150 hp, I have driven a Busch stock car at Petty. The analogy here is that unless you drive these cars, you don't know. It's not all about what the fans want. It's about racing. People criticize NASCAR, but unless you get in one and see what it takes to run down the track inches apart, stay in the stands and keep quiet. To run consistantly at 215 mph at Indy, which is damn near the qualifying speed, and to run nose to tail as much as the air will let them, is close racing to me. And I know damn well it is close racing to them. As I said, I can count Ritchie and Alex and their parents as my friends, we go back to the 80's when they were sub teens.

I won't say I can count Parnelli as a friend, hes's a jerk and sent his son to race with a mechanic. PJ is also a jerk IMO and I have incidents with him to prove it. I digress. The point is, I respect what even PJ can do. I was at Talladega one test day with Kenny Schrader and Bret Bodine. PJ showed up for a test to see about entering the upcoming race in 1993. He hopped in that Winston car, legged it out of the pits and never let up. He'd never seen the place before. This is a race car driver.

They all are regardless of what you think about the state of the cars, the series, Tony George or any of that. I focus on the drivers and ignore, by and large, the politics. And I still say these guy drove their guts out Sunday, to them it was no farce. I was in the car with them in spirit. No farce for me either.

[singpilot]

C U LATR picked it!