The-Hogs.net - Washington Football Discussion, Redskins to Commanders Era

Going to my 26th Indy 500 tomorrow. Should amount to another awesome race.

Some storylines of the race.

Helio Castroneves could become only the 3rd driver in history to win 4 Indy 500's. Rick Mears and AJ Foyt are the only two that have won 4 times.

Danica Patrick has been horendous this year but she always does fairly well for the race. This is the first year she qualified as low as she did (23rd)...behind TWO other women

4 women start the race this year. The rookie sensation Simona de Silvestro starts right next to Danica in row number 8.

Will this be the year that Michael Andretti finally wins the race as a car owner. He never has as a driver. He is cursed.

Is this the year when the next wave of American drivers break through to fame, including, Danica Patrick, Marco Andretti, Graham Rahal, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Townsend Bell, or Ed Carpenter.

The entire field is only separated by 3 seconds...the closest I ever remember.

Tony Kanaan starts in last place after two wrecks forced his crew to rebuild both cars in a matter of hours. He ended up taking the place from Paul Tracy who was bumped from the field on bump day. Paul was one of the biggest names to be bumped from the field since the early ninties when Al Unser was denied a spot.

Tune in tomorrow at noon on ABC. I'll be in the infield of turn 3 face down by the 150th lap.

I've had no interest in this race since the war with CART began...

Countertrey wrote:I've had no interest in this race since the war with CART began...

It's been over for 2 years now. Did you see the race??? Unbelievable ending with a spectacular crach.

Saw enough to remember how much I miss Andy Granitelli



How does one get excited over a race that ends under yellow? (that, I know, is not new, but it's one of the things that have always driven me nuts) NASCAR finally got that right, by the way...

"push to pass" button????

Repeated penalties for BLOCKING???? Come on, let them race.

Countertrey wrote:Saw enough to remember how much I miss Andy Granitelli



How does one get excited over a race that ends under yellow? (that, I know, is not new, but it's one of the things that have always driven me nuts) NASCAR finally got that right, by the way...

"push to pass" button????

Repeated penalties for BLOCKING???? Come on, let them race.

If the yellow happened with 15 laps to go and it finished that way, I would be bumbed, but it didn't, and the last lap was one of the most memorable in years.

Push to pass is an idea that's been around since the CART days with turbochargers. There were only 12 awarded for the 500 so it becomes a bit of strategy on when you use it. I love it during the road and street races, not sure how I like it yet on the ovals.

Blocking penalties are a must on this course. You don't F(&^ around going 234 mph with open wheels. It could be deadly. I love Graham Rahal to death (the guys going to be a stud), but you can't block on the back straight on someone who has a run on you. He drove him down to the grass.

You can do all this stuff in Nascar, which is why it's an inferior form of racing. You can bump and get away with it, you can block and not have to worry about killing someone, there is very little in the way of technology in the cars (at least compared to F1 or Indycars). It's boring, parade laps that you have to master a draft to win. How about cutting through the streets of Long Beach in front of 250,000 fans going 175MPH down Ocean View Blvd or pulling 4.5 G's into turn one of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (the equivalent of turning into your driveway while going 50 mph). That's why people are coming back. Remember, Indy was racing until the split. That's why ratings this year for Nascar are headed lower for the season and Indycar's are way up. The crowd at Indy was as big as I've seen it in 15 years. Looked like it did when I first started going to the race in 1984. Shoulder to shoulder in the infield.

Before anyone replies to this, please make sure you know what you're talking about before commenting.

Just couldn't get into it... Sorry.

Why is all the power provided by the same manufacturer?

I'll take "inferior" over snob any day, thank you. Must be why so many Indy and F1 drivers try to make the switch... every once in a while, one even succeeds.

For the record, I like NASCAR less as well... since they went to this uniform body rule instead of actual stock sheet metal.

I wouldn't say Indycars are snobbish. Fans that go are typically gearheads that enjoy a better form of racing, but they have been to all forms of racing to make that judgement.

Drivers have been making the switch lately because that's where the money is, and most of them are now the top drivers in Nascar. Some as you point out fail. Jeff Gordan was pounding the doors to let him into Indy and they refused because of the pay for your ride sentiment that has taken over. We know the story of Tony and his move...and his enormous weight gain. The list goes on with Montoya etc. The same happened in the early 90's when all the drivers were coming to Indy from Nascar and F1. They go where the money is.

The power will be provided by multiple companies when the new package comes out in 2012 for the 100 year anniversary.

chiefhog44 wrote:I wouldn't say Indycars are snobbish. Fans that go are typically gearheads that enjoy a better form of racing, but they have been to all forms of racing to make that judgement.

I actually wasn't referring to Indycars...

but to ...

Opinion does not become fact simply because it comes from a fan of that type of racing...

That's what I thought you were talking about. Sorry I wasn't clear. I guess I don't understand why you think indycar fans are snobbish. If being a racing snob means looking down on all other forms of racing, I don't see that at all, because many fans attend many different forms of racing, and enjoy them all. I think that's perception maybe. That's the Nascar "good ole boy" marketing machine, but I don't see that at all.

I think most fans know good racing though and don't get caught up in BS politics like the split. If that makes them snobbish because they feel like it's a superior product, then I geuss your right. It's like the fans that no longer watch baseball because of the strike.. How does this make any sense? Are the current fans of baseball snobbish because they didn't start watching minor league games? That's what I don't get about those (like yourself) that have alienated themselves from the sport. It's better racing then it was.

chiefhog44 wrote:That's what I thought you were talking about. Sorry I wasn't clear. I guess I don't understand why you think indycar fans are snobbish. If being a racing snob means looking down on all other forms of racing, I don't see that at all, because many fans attend many different forms of racing, and enjoy them all. I think that's perception maybe. That's the Nascar "good ole boy" marketing machine, but I don't see that at all.

Who said:

You can do all this stuff in Nascar, which is why it's an inferior form of racing.

?

Who said:

Fans that go (to Indy) are typically gearheads that enjoy a better form of racing

Amazing...

I'll freely admit that I am redneck as hell, and am a fan of NASCAR. Frankly, I feel that a superior form of racing requires the ability to bang doors. Drafting is not a staple of NASCAR with the exception, essentially, of races at 3 tracks. That does not mean that I was never a fan of Indy... I was a big fan, with a goal to go to at least one before I died... I made sure that I could plop in front of a TV on Memorial Day. I was a fan of the Unsers, of AJ Foyt, and of Mario Andretti. Poor Wally Dallenbach, SR never finished a race...

Your analogy with the fans who abandoned basefall following the strike is a good one... I no longer follow that either (though, honestly, I was jaded by baseball's double abandonment of DC at the hands of the scum named Griffith and Short)

Though, frankly, I still think that the racing of the 60's and early 70's was, generally, better. Besides... those Honda race engines sound like friggin chainsaws... maybe it does make me a snob, but I like my race engines to sound like race engines.

Man I wrote out a satisfactory post and it logged me out. So I'll try it again.

As I said, if thinking that an open wheel series and drivers are superior, from the standpoint that they have to master street, road AND ovals (not just ovals), than I am a snob and can be compared with the other fans of the NFL and MLB who returned after their stikes. I'm not going to get caught up in the BS politics of racing. I love all forms of racing and this is the most challaging for a driver, fastest cars, highest degree of technology etc.

You should give it another chance. They are racing in Baltimore next season which would be pretty fun to watch.

The engines sound much better now as well, and will be even more improved by the time they decide on the new engine specs by the end of the month. It will be much like the 60's and 70's when different cars competed against one another. We could see a V-6 competing against an Inline 4 at all events in the future. They will require reference engines as a benchmark in performance while looking at sonic air restrictors, fuel flow restrictions and more as key criteria for competition. It will again be the testing ground for new innovation.

You should check out the road and street courses coming up. The next race under the lights this weekend will be pretty cool as well. http://indycar.com/schedule/

Great set of articles. I attached the last part of it (Coda) because it deals with this decision coming up in a month, but the entire thing is a great read.

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/columns/s ... id=5248640

Indeed... very nice articles... which are a litany of many of the reasons I left.

But... if Indy wants fans like me back... they need to show us... fix it first. Then, we'll talk. BTW, I found the comments about the need to encourage closer racing (as in banging doors... ala NASCAR) very interesting...

and, if NASCAR is smart, they'll pay attention. They have their own crap to fix... you know? A Chevy should have Chevy fenders.

I think both are doomed in their current format to tell you the truth. Indy has a chance to change that soon.

Countertrey wrote:Indeed... very nice articles... which are a litany of many of the reasons I left.

But... if Indy wants fans like me back... they need to show us... fix it first. Then, we'll talk. BTW, I found the comments about the need to encourage closer racing (as in banging doors... ala NASCAR) very interesting...

and, if NASCAR is smart, they'll pay attention. They have their own crap to fix... you know? A Chevy should have Chevy fenders.

What do you need to see to come back?

No gimicks (push to pass)
Multiple powerplants
Take 40 years off of AJ Foyt
I have nothing to gain by coming back. I find the races uninteresting.

I can't describe what's going to be right... but I'll know it when I see it.

I know that the second the "COT" in NASCAR becomes the "COY", I'll be jumping up and down.

with seven years of designing that car, doubt they're going back. It was the first nail in the coffin.