| GO TO A RACE!!! |
|
I had an interesting discussion with a guy the other day over racing. It went something like this:
Bob: Hey Rob, I hear you are going to Homestead for the race this weekend? Rob: Yup, We are leaving Saturday morning, I can't wait! Bob: I don't understand what you guys see in that. I have tried watching it a few times and they just drive around in circles. It's boring. Unless, of course, they crash. Ever had this conversation?? I can't tell you how many times I have heard the same old crap. Ok, I agree, at times, to the untrained eye, racing can appear to be guys going in circles, but if you really pay attention, there is so much more. I heard a bunch of people complaining during the Busch race of how boring it was. "I can't even tell who is on the lead lap and who isn't." Heard that a lot. Now, in their defense, ISC, BUY SOME SCOREBOARDS OR SCORING PYLONS THAT GO BEYOND 5 PLACES!! You have a beautiful facility there, spend a couple more bucks and put up some fan-friendly paraphernalia. With no coolers allowed and $4 a beer, I half financed that new scoreboard myself this weekend. Back to my point. My buddies kept asking me what the running order was. I knew what position each driver was in through the lead lap and even back through the guys a lap down. I get so involved that I follow every move, every pit stop, every slip and slide. At any given time if the scoring computers went down, I could have reset the field from memory. From home you get to see one part of the race at any given time. In between 90+ commercials per race, they try to show you a battle here or there for position and any contact that may be made. There is always something going on at all times at any point during the race. If you have never been to a race, GO!!! Whenever someone tells me that racing is boring, I ask, "How many races have you been to?" and the answer is always "None." You can not appreciate the full intensity of the sport from behind the TV, especially when TNT is showing it. Drama is being there, smelling the racing fuel and tire smoke and watching these cars go by in a blur. They aren't driving in circles. They are driving full speed in a straight line towards a concrete wall as fast as they can. They are playing a game of chicken with the wall knowing it won't move. At the last possible moment they turn the wheel and at some tracks slam the brakes. They slide through the corners on the verge of spinning out and just as they catch their breath, they mash the gas and do it all over again. This is good stuff. When we were younger, my friends and I would cruise across parking lots at 50 MPH cut the wheel and jack the brakes and spin the car out. It was fun. These are guys are doing it at 180 MPH and somehow they don't spin out. There is so much more involved during the race. There is pit strategy, the choreographed dance called "4 tires and fuel in 13.5", and there is always a little rubbin' and bangin'. Race weekend involves so many things. There are displays from the sponsors with activities and games. Think you can change tires as fast as the big boys? Try your luck at the Home Depot trailer with their pit stop challenge. Rubbermaid had a display this weekend where they gave you a baseball bat and challenged you to break their products. Pfizer had free health screenings. Pontiac was giving away a Limited Edition Pace Car. Drivers were signing autographs and there were more free items up for grabs. The souvenir trucks were in full bloom, allowing you to sport your favorite driver's colors as a hat, a shirt, a license plate, a sticker, an inflatable car, a flag, a blanket, underwear... anything. Although I wouldn't recommend the UPS underwear. Hard to tell if they are clean or not. So, tell your boss you are taking a half day one Friday afternoon. Tell him you have a doctor's appointment, tell him you have to pick up relatives at the airport, tell him your dog has hemorrhoids. Do whatever it takes and get to a race. Do not tell me how boring it is until you go. And if you spend a race weekend at the track and your heart doesn't pound when they fire the engines, and if your breath isn't taken as they battle 3 wide into the turns, then go to the Pfizer tent and get a check up. Better yet, just go home. Even Viagra can't help you then. I probably didn't do a great job explaining the rush I get at the track and how that carries over to watching it on TV. But, that is my point. It is a feeling that can't be explained. It needs to be experienced. Are you experienced? GO TO A RACE!!!!!! And if all goes well this off season, I'll see you there. |