SEGREGATING THE MICE FROM THE MEN, WITH THE FIASCO OF THE US GRAND PRIX ARE THERE STILL ANY FORMULA 1 FANS OUT THERE WHO THINK F1 HAS A FUTURE IN THE US. ESPECIALLY WITH NASCAR DOING SO WELL AND MANY OF THE DRIVERS COMING FROM AMERICAN GRASS ROOTS RACING, LIKE USAC?
You will have to expand on your post if you want anyone to understand.
Yes. There is a future for it despite this year’s race. Scott Speed will likely have a race seat next season since Red Bull bought the Minardi team. First american in F1 since Michael Andretti in 1993.
F1 is currently a political nightmare, but potential remains for it to reorganize and revitalize. At it’s core it’s still interesting and entertaining, but the racing has just been overshadowed by politics and business lately. It’s all very complicated and annoying stuff.
If the manufacturers make good on their seemingly serious threat to either take over the reins of F1 or form a break-away series then I think things will improve and go back to being a truly non-spec series that just says “everyone build the fastest car you can and let’s see who is fastest.”
Next year will probably not be very interesting for F1 for a number of reasons, but mainly because it is the last season before the rules and agreements that bind all of those teams together expires and everything gets rewritten.
Yes, NASCAR is more “accessable” and popular, but there is absolutely no way on god’s green earth that you can compare circle track spec series like NASCAR to F1. Apples and Oranges. Most road racing fans would sooner watch paint dry than watch NASCAR. There are a number of other series I’d watch first. Most of them involve young , new talent and :GASP: American divers! There’s GP2, A1, ALMS, WRC, hell even DTM or Australian V8 Touring Car.
I GREW UP WATCHING NASCAR, THEN MY RACING PASSIONS TURNED TO FORMULA 1 IN COLLEGE. MOSTLY DUE TO THE TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN OF THE CARS, NOT SO MUCH FOR THE RACING.
NOW THAT I’M OLDER AND WISER I’VE RETURNED TO MY ROOTS… GRASS ROOTS RACING.
FROM THE HIGH BANKS OF BELLEVILLE, KANSAS WITH THE MIDGET NATIONALS TO ELDORA WHERE THE SPRINTS CARS FLY, TO THE BRISTOL MILE. NO WHERE ELSE WILL ONE FIND MORE ACTION PACT RACING THAN HERE IN THE GOOD OL’ USA!
AMERICA IS A MARKET THAT DOESN’T CARE IF F1 EXISTS, ESPECIALLY AFTER THIS YEARS AMERICAN GP FIASCO.
HELL EVEN EUROPEAN JOURNALIST ARE STARTING TO QUESTION FORMULA 1. WITH COMPLAINTS OF DRIVER DOMINATION, CAR IDENTIFICATION, ASTRONOMICAL COST AND TICKET PRICES AND BORING RACING, ALL SIGHTED AS PITFALLS OF F1
I’VE READ WHERE NASCAR IS GOING TO STAGE EXHIBITION RACES IN EUROPE, ON ROAD COURSES!
JUST TO GIVE EM’ A TASTE OF WHAT REAL DRIVERS AND RACINGS ABOUT.
BUT IF YOU WANT TO SEE REAL ACTION PACKED RACING GO TO A SPRINT CAR RACE AND ANYONE WHO’S EVER BEEN TO A SPRINT CAR RACE FROM AMERICA TO AUSTRALIA FROM TONY SWEWART TO MARIO ANDRETTI WILL ATTEST THAT ITS THE BEST!
This isn’t design related, but I’m always up for a good racing talk.
Artimus: they do have stock car racing in Europe amongst many other forms of motorsport. The oval racing is mildly popular, but essentially, grass roots. Touring cars and rally are somewhat closer to nascar in terms of they are very competitive, closer to their fans and share a road-car look. There is also semi-truck racing, rally cross and ice racing that are popular, but unknown stateside.
In motorcycles they have an interesting series where the riders have to go through an obstacle course as fast as they can. The course consists of barrels, ramps and tables at various levels. The speed is very low, but the riders have to hop and pivot their bikes around without putting their feet on the ground. Very different. It’s like gymnastics on a bike.
[quote=“ARTIMUS”]
I’VE READ WHERE NASCAR IS GOING TO STAGE EXHIBITION RACES IN EUROPE, ON ROAD COURSES!
JUST TO GIVE EM’ A TASTE OF WHAT REAL DRIVERS AND RACINGS ABOUT.
[quote]
Now THAT is something I would defintely watch! I always make a point of watching NASCAR when they race at Watkins Glen in NY. Big 'ol grumbling V8 cars drifting through those corners like nobody’s business. More road courses is probably all it would take to get me watching some NASCAR.
I wouldn’t say that American drivers any more or less “real” than European drivers though. They’re just involved with two entirely different entities. I bet DTM and NASCAR guys would switch out pretty well. Imagine Mika Hakkinnen in a Ford Taurus at Charlotte and Terry Labonte in an Audi A4 at the Lausitzring. 
THERE YOU GO MAN, THAT WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA SKINNY PETE!
A RACERS EXCHANGE.
JEFF GORDON DID THAT A FEW YEARS BACK, HE WENT TO EUROPE AND RACED WITH SOME OF THE WRC BOYS, WHO I CONSIDER TO BE SOME OF THE BEST DRIVERS ON THE PLANET AND DID REALLY WELL, HIS BACKGROUND BUY THE WAY WAS IN MIDGETS AND SPRINT CARS.
BEEN GOOD BANTERING WITH YA BOYS, BUT I’VE GOT TO GO RACE MY CATERHAM 7 I JUST BOUGHT ON GT4, WHICH IS THE CLOSEST THING TO A ROAD GOING SPRINT CAR!
I grew up watching a mix of F1 Indy and Road Racing which was more popular in the 1970’s in the USA with the likes of Mario Andretti being popular. NASCAR at the time was not so popular at the time and if anyone can remember F1 races being held in the USA until 1991 in Phoenix up to the latest fiasco in Indy the past few years. The 2005 race was a joke for F1 in the USA and will probably be the last event held in the USA. The good’ole days of Watkins Glen in the 1970’s are history.
With the lack of any American drivers or American sponsors that people can relate to, many will be forced to watch F1 on TV at 7:00 AM in the morning if SpeedTV will even broadcast it in the USA. It’s sad to say but F1 is more popular in China then the USA.
Also add to the mix CanAm and World Sportscar Assoc. which went the way of the Dodo bird as well, the Indy 500 is not such a big deal anymore as it once was either.
NASCAR GO FAST TURN LEFT IS BORING OVAL RACING IN GENERAL IS BORING NASCAR EUROPE I DO NOT SEE IT HAPPENING
LOSE THE GIT R DONE BANJO PICKING MENTALITY AND MAKE IT ALL ROAD RACING THEN MAYBE EUROPE WILL THINK ABOUT IT.
MAN TOUGH CROWD HERE ON CORE 77 AND NOT MANY PATRIOTS OF AMERICAN RACING.
BUT I’LL KEEP PLUGGING AWAY UNTIL I HAVE YA’LL SAYING BOGITY, BOGITY, BOGITY, LETS GO RACING BOYS!
HEY MOE, TALK ABOUT BANJO PICKIN, BROTHER YOU NEED TO LEARN TO WRITE AND SPELL, BUT I HAVE TO CONCURE W/ YA THOUGH NASCAR CAN GET A LITTLE DRAWN OUT ON THE LONG RACES AND I’VE BEEN KNOWN TO TAKE NAPS IN THE MIDDLE AND WAKE UP W/ 30 LAPS TO GO, ITS HEALTHY. IT CAN BE A LITTLE RED NECK, BUT WE ALL HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF THAT IN US.
HELL I’M STARTING TO THINK MOST OF THE WORLDS POPULATION IS RED NECK. THAT’S WHY WALMART AND MCDONALDS ARE DOING SO WELL, OFTEN IN THE SAME LOCATION.
BUT AT 200+ MPH AND INCHES AWAY FROM EACH OTHER, IN THE ROUND SO YOU CAN SEE, SMELL, FEEL ALL THE ACTION. THATS GOOD STUFF.
THATS WHY I’M ADVOCATING YA GO OUT AND SEE A GOOD DIRT TRACK RACE TO GET YA IN THE SPIRIT OF AMERICAN OVAL TRACK RACING
THEY RUN 10 - 20 LAP HEAT RACES OFTEN WITH 3 - 4 DIFFERENT CLASSES OF CARS, SO ITS DIVERS LIKE AMERICA ITS SELF WITH SPRINT CARS TAKING THE TOP BILL.
JUST CHECK OUT THIS LINK AND TELL ME THESE CARS DON’T MAKE YA RANDY
410 HP / 1300 POUNDS THATS IN THE POWER/ WT RATIO OF AN F1 CAR, WITH OUT ALL THE TECHNOLOGICAL EXPENSE.
CAPABLE OF UP TO 130 MPH ON 3/8 TO 1/2 MILE TRACKS WITH 24 CARS IN THE FEATURE RACE ( A MAIN)!
MAN I NEED A TISSUE.
I HAVE TO AGREE WITH SENNA THE 70’S WERE THE SHIT FOR RACING WITH THE LIKES OF MARIO ANDRETTI, AJ FOYT, PARNELLI JONES ALL IN THE USAC CHAMPIONSHIP TRAIL, RUNNING EVERTHING FROM MIDGETS, SPRINTS, DIRT CHAMP CARS, CANAM, LE MANS, FORMULA 1, INDY AND YES KIDS EVEN NASCAR… NOT TOO MANY DRIVERS CAN DO THAT THESE DAYS.
IT WOULD BE NICE TO SEE CANAM COME BACK, BUT THEN WE WOULD NEED THE CARS OF LORE.
FORD HAS THE MUSTANG, WILL CHEVY BRING BACK THE CAMARO, PONTIAC A REAL GTO AND DODGE A REAL TWO DOOR CHARGER, ANYONE IN THE ROOM WITH THAT INSIGHT?
RACE ON SUNDAY, SELL ON MONDAY
Good news for yanks in love with F1. Scott Speed, an Usonian, should be racing for Minardi next year. If he does well, he may get a seat over at Red Bull Cosworth. Also, Indy has negociated to bring F1 back to the Brickyard for 2006.
I used to watch Nascar when I was younger. It just got too full of itself. Specials on “Nascar technology”. Come on! They are tube frame, big block V8, spec racers. I could build one in my shed for $4000. The racing is tight, but it seems like dumb luck has more to do with winning than talent. That’s just me.
Endurance racing is my favorite right now. The paddocks are open to the public. You have high tech racers like Audi and Porsche, plus all the GT cars. Nice.
ARTIMUS IF YOU THINK GOOD’OLE BOY RACING MEASURES UP TO THE LIKES OF F1 THEN I CAN GIVE YOU MULTIPLE INCIDENTS AT MANY NASCAR EVENTS AND SPRINT CAR RACES WHERE DRIVERS GET IN FIST FIGHTS AND THROW THEIR HELMETS AT OTHER DRIVERS RIGHT ON NATIONAL TV. LOOKS MORE LIKE THE WWF THEN RACING TO ME, DO YOU CALL THAT GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP?
WHEN I SEE A F1 DRIVER GET BUMPED AND PUSHED INTO THE WALL DRIVING A CAR THAT IS WAY MORE EXPENSIVE THEN THEN THE TYPICAL NASCAR I RARELY SEE HELMET TOSSING OR UNSPORTSMANSHIP ANTICS LIKE WALKING ONTO THE RACE TRACK AND DOING WHAT ROBBY GORDON DID LAST WEEK.
I JUST READ AND SAW THE PHOTO WHERE SCHUMACHER GOT TURNED AROUND BY SOME CAT, JUMPED OUT OF HIS CAR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TURN AND SLAPED HIM ON THE SIDE OF THE HEAD.
SCHUMACHER’S NOT DOING SO WELL THIS YEAR, MUST BE THE ECCLESTONE POLITICS @ WORK.
ITS CALLED PASSION, ITS GOOD TO HAVE.
GOOD FOR THE FANS,
GREAT TV
GOOD TO SEE YOU HAVE IT TOO
HAVE A GOOD ONE
PASSION MY ASS
GOOD FOR THE FANS? YEAH THE SAME ONES THAT ON A DAILY BASIS WATCH JERRY SPRINGER AND THE WWF.
accidental double post.
Actually it was just a pat on the helmet and the first thing Michael said to Takuma Sato was “Are you alright?” After that he asked “What the hell were you doing?” Sato made a a really really dumb mistake.
I don’t think there is any need to say “my kind of racing is better than yours.” Just give me some interesting races damnit!
For those who don’t know but are interested here is the situation in F1 right now:
So, the latest news is that 5 manufacturers (BMW, Mercedes, Toyota, Honda, and Renault) and seven current F1 teams (McLaren, Williams, Toyota, BAR, Renault, Minardi and the Sauber team which has been bought by BMW) have signed a legally binding agreement to stick together with a plan for a new series of their own design.
Currently F1 is run by non-automotive people that are more interested in making cheap money. Those very people are currently involved in a legal battle over the control of “Formula 1.” The banks that are trying to regain control are prepared to hand over that control to the break-away manufacturers. IF this happens then “Formula 1” will be redefined. If the banks do not regain control then the manufacturers are prepared to create their own series under a new name.
Currently the Jordan and Ferrari teams have sided with the old regime, and team Red-Bull will be using Ferrari engines starting next year which means they are sided with Ferrari. Red-Bull has also announced plans to buy the Minardi team, so Minardi would change sides once the sale is finalized. ALSO the Williams team will no longer have BMW as an engine supplier so they are being seen as a wild card. This all puts the number of cars on both sides of the dispute at a tie.
It is believed that Ferrari, McLaren, and Williams are “THE” prize teams. McLaren is on one side, Ferrari on the other, and Williams is smack in the middle.
Ferrari is good, but Jordan sucks and All four of Red Bull’s cars would be Ferrari’s bitches. They say they’ll fill out the rest of the field with some newbies or something. Does this sound at all interesting? Absolutely not.
Bottom line? There is going to be a new series in 2007 or 2008 no matter what. Ferrari be damned. Whether it is called Formula 1 or not remains to be seen.
After that huge ass post I realized it had absolutely nothing to do with the original question.
Grassroots vs. F1? They both have their place and their appeal frankly. Just like spec vs. non-spec.
Sometimes you just want to see some guys race. Other times you want to see the really big shots race.
Sometimes you want to see a bunch of drivers in identical cars to see who can get the most out of their car. Other times you want to see manufacturers duke it out too.
Variety is a good thing.
Bwaaahahahahaha…that’s great. <<right click, save picture as>>
I saw it on tv a few times. It didn’t look like anything at all. That pic makes it look like Sato’s head is knocked forward, but he was actually shifting around in the cockpit and making to get out (which takes some doing). In the name of good sportsmanship Michael shouldn’t have done it, but it was no big deal. It’s not like he chucked his helmet at him or anything.