[The ultimate point of this post is autocross-related, I promise. I would
not post something this tangential except that we're apparently entering the
"silly season" of post-Nationals team.net postings. I will return to lurk
mode hereafter, I swear.]
We happened to be sitting next to Lloyd and "Marco" Wilson in the
aforementioned kick-a$$ seats at the USGP last Sunday. (Thanks again,
Wilsons!) About 10 laps from the end, a family packed up and shuffled right
in front of us as we tried to spectate. The well-lubricated guys behind us
yelled/slurred, "Hey, there's a race goin' on here...this ain't NASCAR, you
know!"
To which the father of the family replied, "No, it isn't--and that's why
we're leaving." Call NASCAR the WWF of motorsports if you like. But they
have found a formula for competition that keeps (American) spectators' eyes
glued to the rolling billboards that ultimately pay the bills. As a result,
a hundred million dollars worth of carbon-fiber chassis and screaming V-10s
spaced 30 seconds apart on a track isn't the formula for long-term success
in this country (yes, include "IMHO", "FWIW", "JMTCW" and any other
flame-retardants I've forgotten to cloak this in).
I truly enjoyed the F1 race--for the sheer aural beauty and prodigious
driver skill (Schumi repeatedly dirt-tracking his Ferrari on the infield
twisties was truly an impressive sight). But by lap 20 the race followed,
for the most part, the usual F1 script: a 200mph parade and a race of
attrition.
[The Autocross Part!] Regardless of which camp in the F1-vs-NASCAR debate I
might fall (step?) into, the bottom line is that *no* race as a spectator
will ever be as thrilling for me as burying the GO pedal in an AMod while
sweeping into the huge back slalom on the South course this year. Not
NASCAR. Not F1. Our little sport of
cones-and-parking-lots-at-normal-highway-speeds has ruined my life as a
formerly fervent spectator of "real" motorsports. And you know, I don't
think I mind at all.
Ross Fortini
CMod "re-newbie"
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