This weekend traveling home from Durham through the Fifth District of Virginia, very little could be found on the radio dial except for racing. I had heard all about the Car of Tomorrow, first road race, and this newcomer Juan Pablo Montoya driving from my obsessive newspaper reading. Montoya is the real news- first he is Columbian and he has won a bunch of races in other cars (Formula One, Indy I dont know these may be the same, but he is an impressive racer apparently).
As you know I love sports and racing is growing on me as a sport. I value baseball for the slow pace- as a pastime. I can see how racing would be similar- an afternoon of drinking, relaxing with earphones on as cars crash, pit, refuel ("did they get new tires, 4 or 2- how fast?"), and pitcrews strategize. I can see how it would be fun.
Having said that, this weeks race was only 110 laps (as a road course, the track was over a mile long), but it seemed like forever. The last five laps were absolutely decisive and exciting (cars RAN OUT OF GAS on the course- it was pretty funny- although the commentators felt bad for the drivers). I think watching it on TV would be more interesting because I could not visualize the road course.
I enjoyed it- I was glad to have anything to listen to and I appreciate some outsiders (Montoya) coming into the sport/cars/race.
OH another thing- remember how it was the WInston Cup series for a hundred years or something crazy long? It has been Nextel for about a minute- next year it will be Sprint. Change is not overly welcome in this sport, but with COT, Montoya and the like perhaps it will be more open (and maybe I will be too).
1 comment:
I actually watched the last 3/4 of the race! Remember where I was Sunday. I like the road race track better. there were left AND right turns!
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