Saw something in another thread that made me think of this. When you were a
little boy (or girl, not that you’ve changed along the way … well … you know
what I mean) and you "air raced" around the living room, you held the wheel
tight and vroomed all over the place.
VRRRRooooommmmm (you jerk the wheel left)
Vvrrrrrooooom (and you jerked the wheel right)
VROOM VROOM VROOM (and you jerked the wheel left and right through the esses)
Kids fantasy race on road courses, not ovals. No one vroom (left) vroom (left)
vroom (left) …
Not sure there’s a point, other than I like road courses and could see another
one or two on the cup schedule, and now I know why – instinct.
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
WildWeasel wrote:
> Saw something in another thread that made me think of this. When you
were a
> little boy (or girl, not that you’ve changed along the way … well
.. you know
> what I mean) and you "air raced" around the living room, you held the
wheel
> tight and vroomed all over the place.
> VRRRRooooommmmm (you jerk the wheel left)
> Vvrrrrrooooom (and you jerked the wheel right)
> VROOM VROOM VROOM (and you jerked the wheel left and right through
the esses)
> Kids fantasy race on road courses, not ovals. No one vroom (left)
vroom (left)
> vroom (left) …
Not this kid. I air raced doing just left turns. Guess it’s just my
instinct to hate road courses.
"WildWeasel" <wweasel…@HooYah.com> wrote in message
news:zjednViSV6KSY9_fUSdV9g@ptd.net…
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
> Saw something in another thread that made me think of this. When you were
> a little boy (or girl, not that you’ve changed along the way … well …
> you know what I mean) and you "air raced" around the living room, you held
> the wheel tight and vroomed all over the place.
> VRRRRooooommmmm (you jerk the wheel left)
> Vvrrrrrooooom (and you jerked the wheel right)
> VROOM VROOM VROOM (and you jerked the wheel left and right through the
> esses)
> Kids fantasy race on road courses, not ovals. No one vroom (left) vroom
> (left) vroom (left) …
> Not sure there’s a point, other than I like road courses and could see
> another one or two on the cup schedule, and now I know why – instinct.
The presumed advantage of road course racing is that it requires more skill
from the driver.
The real advantage of oval racing is that the fans can actually see most or
all of the race.
There seem to be enough adherents to NHRA, WRC, F1, WoO, IRL, NASCAR, CART,
and others to keep them all viable for the forseeable future.
It is simply a matter of neener, neener, neener to say that may favorite
form of motorsport is superior to your favorite form or forms.
F1 claims billions and billions and even more billions of fans. I claim
that one American family with a NASCAR decal on their car or truck is worth
about 180,000 F1 imaginary fans.
By coincidence I saw a cool car yesterday. Red Monte Carlo SS. High gloss
wax job, dressed tires, dark tinted windows. The Nevada plate was "3 CAR".
"Steve Scott" wrote …
> You didn’t VRRRRooooommmmm around the dining room table? :)
Sure, once in a while. Ran figure 8′s through the L/D rooms with my brother
too, but that doesn’t make it right for racing! ;)
"WildWeasel" <wweasel…@HooYah.com> wrote in
news:7UKdnUoJr4mF0d7fUSdV9g@ptd.net:
> Ran figure 8′s through the L/D rooms with my
> brother too, but that doesn’t make it right for racing! ;)
What, pray tell, is wrong with figure 8 racing? It can be a darn
entertaining thing to watch. Specially when they do it with
school buses.
John
"WildWeasel" <wweasel…@HooYah.com> wrote in
news:zjednViSV6KSY9_fUSdV9g@ptd.net:
> Not sure there’s a point, other than I like road courses and could see
> another one or two on the cup schedule, and now I know why – instinct.
I like road courses too – I watch F1 on em, ALMS, WSB, MotoGp, and
the occasional SCCA or Toyota Atlantic event.
I also think they should drop the Sonoma and Glen Cup races. I don’t
like Cup races on road courses, I want to see Cup races on ovals.
With all the other series than run on road courses, why do folk
insist on forcing Cup cars to be there, where they don’t belong?
John
"John McCoy" <igop…@ix.netcom.com> wrote in message
news:Xns9623C50BC6DD1pogosupernews@216.168.3.30…
> "WildWeasel" <wweasel…@HooYah.com> wrote in
> news:7UKdnUoJr4mF0d7fUSdV9g@ptd.net:
> > Ran figure 8′s through the L/D rooms with my
> > brother too, but that doesn’t make it right for racing! ;)
> What, pray tell, is wrong with figure 8 racing? It can be a darn
> entertaining thing to watch. Specially when they do it with
> school buses.
> John
I have always thought a 1.5 to 2 mile figure 8 with an overpass and 18 to 20
degree banking would make a very interesting track.
—
-v-
solamente ocho !
In article <Xns9623C4CB04306pogosupern…@216.168.3.30>,
John McCoy <igop…@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>I also think they should drop the Sonoma and Glen Cup races. I don’t
>like Cup races on road courses, I want to see Cup races on ovals.
>With all the other series than run on road courses, why do folk
>insist on forcing Cup cars to be there, where they don’t belong?
>John
Same question for Tony George…
why, Tony… why??
Dan
———————————————-
I got a new toolbox for my wife.
Best trade I ever made.
"Steve Scott" <ssco…@twcny.rr.com> wrote in message
news:6da641hb1ilu6dqcbl23ge6t07on3cvqbg@4ax.com…
> You didn’t VRRRRooooommmmm around the dining room table? :)
My dad says we vroomed around the basement with old hard-tired trikes,
dragging noisy wagons behind us filled with clattering objects.
He has his revenge now as groups of kids go tearing around my house. :-)
-Russ.
"WildWeasel" <wweasel…@HooYah.com> wrote in message
news:zjednViSV6KSY9_fUSdV9g@ptd.net…
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
> Saw something in another thread that made me think of this. When you were
a
> little boy (or girl, not that you’ve changed along the way … well …
you know
> what I mean) and you "air raced" around the living room, you held the
wheel
> tight and vroomed all over the place.
> VRRRRooooommmmm (you jerk the wheel left)
> Vvrrrrrooooom (and you jerked the wheel right)
> VROOM VROOM VROOM (and you jerked the wheel left and right through the
esses)
> Kids fantasy race on road courses, not ovals. No one vroom (left) vroom
(left)
> vroom (left) …
> Not sure there’s a point, other than I like road courses and could see
another
> one or two on the cup schedule, and now I know why – instinct.
Have you ever thought about what kind of racing you might like to do?
Me, when I think of that, I think of something somewhat like my street
driving activities. Acceleration, braking, turning, all different types of
corners. Not going around and around in circle.
I’ve been on road courses, running flat out, and it is just an incredible
amount of fun. Ovals, surely are also fun, but not the same kind of
challenge. And there is no translation to street driving.
My ultimate ambition is to complete in the targa class of something like
http://www.targnewfoundland.com and similar events. Racing on unmodified
public roads, what is cooler than that?
-Russ.
On Thu, 24 Mar 2005 17:02:05 CST, "galloping.moron" <nasca…@cox.net> wrote:
> … The real advantage of oval racing is that the fans can actually see most or
>all of the race.
That’s A #1 for me.
It takes a lot of work to keep track of what’s happening on the road
courses. The TV guys do the best they can, but it’s a lot of cuts
and different angles all race long.
Please note: I am criticizing myself as a fan. I am not criticizing
fans of road races.
>There seem to be enough adherents to NHRA, WRC, F1, WoO, IRL, NASCAR, CART,
>and others to keep them all viable for the forseeable future.
CART seems vulnerable (to me). And I hate to see the IRL win.
>It is simply a matter of neener, neener, neener to say that may favorite
>form of motorsport is superior to your favorite form or forms.
Agreed. <neener, neener, neener!>
>F1 claims billions and billions and even more billions of fans. I claim
>that one American family with a NASCAR decal on their car or truck is worth
>about 180,000 F1 imaginary fans.
I think F1 is fer real. They couldn’t get all of that money for the teams
without some real fans out there somewhere.
Marty
I had an oval shaped rug in my room. I set up my matchbox cars (this
was the days before the replica diecast, unfortunately) and ran the
races with all left turns. For some reason, the guy whose car I had
magic-markered up to look like Cale’s car always won =)
–
http://www.lasportsblog.com
"Somebody" <someb…@nospam.russdoucet.com> wrote in message
news:LxH0e.95450$vO1.589553@nnrp1.uunet.ca…
> "WildWeasel" <wweasel…@HooYah.com> wrote in message
> news:zjednViSV6KSY9_fUSdV9g@ptd.net…
> > Kids fantasy race on road courses, not ovals. No one vroom (left)
vroom> (left)> > vroom (left) …
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
> Have you ever thought about what kind of racing you might like to do?
> Me, when I think of that, I think of something somewhat like my street
> driving activities. Acceleration, braking, turning, all different types of
> corners. Not going around and around in circle.
> I’ve been on road courses, running flat out, and it is just an incredible
> amount of fun. Ovals, surely are also fun, but not the same kind of
> challenge. And there is no translation to street driving.
> My ultimate ambition is to complete in the targa class of something like
> http://www.targnewfoundland.com and similar events. Racing on unmodified
> public roads, what is cooler than that?
> -Russ.
> Have you ever thought about what kind of racing you might like to do?
I’m sure Russ, that u & i never had much of a chance to vroom around
an oval at >200mph. Probably never drove a vehicle capable of >130MPH,
therefore, it is all speculation as to whether u wouldn’t appreciate
oval racing more than road / street racing, eh?
CRU
Somebody wrote:
> Me, when I think of that, I think of something somewhat like my
street
> driving activities. Acceleration, braking, turning, all different
types of
> corners. Not going around and around in circle.
Three words for you my friend:
"Petty Driving Experience". Done it twice. It’s an absolutely
incredible (albeit rather expensive) experience.
I guarantee you that driving a car in a circle at 160 MPH beats
anything you’ll ever do on a road course where you’re always braking
and turning.
"Somebody" <someb…@nospam.russdoucet.com> wrote in
news:aZJ0e.95459$vO1.589623@nnrp1.uunet.ca:
> My dad says we vroomed around the basement with old hard-tired trikes,
> dragging noisy wagons behind us filled with clattering objects.
In NZ they race trikes (nominally motorcycles with sidecars). As
far as I know, that’s the only oval track series which routinely
runs clockwise (a race meet also usually includes bikes and ATVs,
which race anticlockwise like normal, so running the 3-wheelers in
the opposite direction helps even out the ruts. Sensible folks,
those kiwis).
John
"WildWeasel" <wweasel…@HooYah.com> wrote in message
news:zjednViSV6KSY9_fUSdV9g@ptd.net…
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
> Saw something in another thread that made me think of this. When you were
> a little boy (or girl, not that you’ve changed along the way … well …
> you know what I mean) and you "air raced" around the living room, you held
> the wheel tight and vroomed all over the place.
> VRRRRooooommmmm (you jerk the wheel left)
> Vvrrrrrooooom (and you jerked the wheel right)
> VROOM VROOM VROOM (and you jerked the wheel left and right through the
> esses)
> Kids fantasy race on road courses, not ovals. No one vroom (left) vroom
> (left) vroom (left) …
> Not sure there’s a point, other than I like road courses and could see
> another one or two on the cup schedule, and now I know why – instinct.
Me?
I definately "air raced" left turns!! Only difference is that I’d roll into
a 90 degree bank around each corner. Might explain why I love the Reno Air
Races so much and why I became a pilot (just wish I’d done it 20+ years
sooner…I might actually be racing at Reno.)
Jay Beckman
Chandler, AZ
"Bob Paxton" <redgree…@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1111791935.013298.10690@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com…
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
> Somebody wrote:
> > Me, when I think of that, I think of something somewhat like my
> street
> > driving activities. Acceleration, braking, turning, all different
> types of
> > corners. Not going around and around in circle.
> Three words for you my friend:
> "Petty Driving Experience". Done it twice. It’s an absolutely
> incredible (albeit rather expensive) experience.
> I guarantee you that driving a car in a circle at 160 MPH beats
> anything you’ll ever do on a road course where you’re always braking
> and turning.
I will try that some day and test your hypothesis.
I imagine my 5 hours of track time in a day will leave me more satisfied
than a few dozen laps at 160MPH. Further, those laps won’t translate to
street. My road course laps have translated directly to street driving.
Not having done it yet though, I admit that I can’t be sure.
A BMWCCA driving school costs about $250. You ought to try it if you have
or can borrow a car that is appropriate.
-Russ.
Somebody wrote:
> I will try that some day and test your hypothesis.
You won’t be sorry.
> I imagine my 5 hours of track time in a day will leave me more
satisfied
> than a few dozen laps at 160MPH.
I’ll actually agree with that. The Petty thing takes 3-4 hours to
complete from start to finish, but of course you don’t spend anywhere
near that much time in the car.
It just stands to reason that five hours of seat time will beat 20
minutes or so of seat time.
> Further, those laps won’t translate to
> street. My road course laps have translated directly to street
driving.
> Not having done it yet though, I admit that I can’t be sure.
Were you driving your street car on the race track? That’s the only
way I can see much carryover from the two environments.
I know there’a no way in h*** my street car is capable of sticking in a
corner the way a race car on fat tires can.
> A BMWCCA driving school costs about $250. You ought to try it if you
have
> or can borrow a car that is appropriate.
Are you saying you get five hours of track time for your $250? Of
course I don’t think my little Honda Insight would make a very good
race car. :)
"Bob Paxton" <redgree…@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1111839040.546686.198480@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com…
> Somebody wrote:
> Were you driving your street car on the race track? That’s the only
> way I can see much carryover from the two environments.
> I know there’a no way in h*** my street car is capable of sticking in a
> corner the way a race car on fat tires can.
Yes sir, my bimmer was in top form those days. I probably scrubbed a
quarter of my tires’ life off each time and I cracked my front brake pads
the second time out, but it was worth it. Some guys bring differerent tires
and pads for track days and swap in the morning. A couple of the
instructors trailered their rides in for the day. Higher temp compound pads
will stand up fine — I was also missing a brake duct I found out later.
Here’s me on the track:
http://www.russdoucet.com/track/iX-1.jpg
http://www.russdoucet.com/track/iX-2.jpg
> > A BMWCCA driving school costs about $250. You ought to try it if you
> have
> > or can borrow a car that is appropriate.
> Are you saying you get five hours of track time for your $250? Of
> course I don’t think my little Honda Insight would make a very good
> race car. :)
Yes, I am. $250 is about the cost for a day — I used a non-BMW accredited
school run locally… used the same instructors and basic format, but cost
less and gave you a bit more track time. So basically the day alternates
half hour track runs with half hour classroom sessions… also half an hour
riding shotgun for your instructor in one session, plus lunch of course.
There are also two periods of exercises in the parking lot — slalom,
threshold braking, high speed lane change, etc. The day is split up into
classroom time, skidpad time, and lapping time. While the students are in
the classroom the instructors lap — that’s their pay for the day, all the
lap sessions. But every school runs slightly differently I imagine.
Everyone brings their own car.. BMWCCA schools have insurance in force,
private ones like the one I was in don’t. There are passing zones and a
passing protocol, so you never have to worry about someone else wrinkling
your ride — everything from a 1972 BMW 2002ti to heavily modified M3′s with
full roll cages and R-compound tires were out there, so you will both pass
and be passed in the day. No timing gear is allowed. Otherwise, it’s full
out 10/10ths lapping with a very, very experienced instructor in the
passenger seat. The track I was at you spend a lot of time in 3rd gear,
with a few second gear corners, 4th on the back straight, and 5th on the
front straight — 14 corners in all over about 2.25 miles. A homemade
diagram: http://www.russdoucet.com/track/diagram.htm
I shared the track with 7 other students the second day I went, the first
day was more like a dozen.
An Insight is not a particularly good racer BUT you could still learn it’s
limits if you took it. You’d just need new brakes and tires afterwards. I
feel I know the limits of my car intimately now, I’m very comfortable with
them. It’s an extension of me when I drive. I heel-and-toe with ease,
habitually. I’m infinately glad I went.
I’m sure running a V8 stock car around an oval a few dozen times is a big
thrill, one I hope to experience — kind of like skydiving or bungie
jumping. But road racing speaks to my soul. The thrill is in feeling your
skills and car control increase, and you carry every ounce of that out the
gate when it’ time to head home.
-Russ.
Reno.. The ultimate "Oval" course
"Jay Beckman" <jnsbeck…@cox.net> wrote in message
news:T7O0e.1250$Mt5.195@fed1read01…
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -
> "WildWeasel" <wweasel…@HooYah.com> wrote in message
> news:zjednViSV6KSY9_fUSdV9g@ptd.net…
>> Saw something in another thread that made me think of this. When you
>> were a little boy (or girl, not that you’ve changed along the way …
>> well … you know what I mean) and you "air raced" around the living
>> room, you held the wheel tight and vroomed all over the place.
>> VRRRRooooommmmm (you jerk the wheel left)
>> Vvrrrrrooooom (and you jerked the wheel right)
>> VROOM VROOM VROOM (and you jerked the wheel left and right through the
>> esses)
>> Kids fantasy race on road courses, not ovals. No one vroom (left) vroom
>> (left) vroom (left) …
>> Not sure there’s a point, other than I like road courses and could see
>> another one or two on the cup schedule, and now I know why – instinct.
> Me?
> I definately "air raced" left turns!! Only difference is that I’d roll
> into a 90 degree bank around each corner. Might explain why I love the
> Reno Air Races so much and why I became a pilot (just wish I’d done it 20+
> years sooner…I might actually be racing at Reno.)
> Jay Beckman
> Chandler, AZ
On Thu, 31 Mar 2005 19:27:32 CST, "Max Altara" <valkryi…@hotmail.com> wrote:
>Reno.. The ultimate "Oval" course
Talk about "high banking"! :o)
Marty