Running 2023 Motorsports thread

My grandfather’s Chevy truck had three on the tree, which was my introduction to driving. Then my dad bought a Beetle, for some reason, so, more clutch training. I miss those, sometimes.

 

It has been fascinating to see just how much vitriol has lined up against the Vegas GP, including it might seem, from the locals. Do I think it'll be a great race? Probably not. Do I think the timing is stupid. Absolutely, but I recognize you can't have a race on the Strip in the daytime and you can't have a race in the early evening in the Western U.S. and not piss off the vast core of the sport since 8 p.m. Vegas time is 4 a.m. in London. And if it's as cold as they say it might be, all the better. Might be chance to see who can handle the lack of grip.

 

I will listen to old MRN broadcasts while drifting off to sleep because Barney’s voice is just that soothing. He knew when to go higher, but it wasn’t often.

 

I completely forgot I got a chance to ask Barney Hall ten questions until I went to his wiki page! He praised Ken Squier as well.

NASCAR.COM - 10 Questions: Barney Hall - Apr 24, 2007

 

My only knock on Ken Squier is he kept referring to drivers as "hot shoes"or simply "shoe" about 50 years after he should have never started!

 

It was 1970 or 1971, I think, when Sid all but apologized for the overdose of interviews the year before. And 1974 brought the multiple-pit stop era with the limitation to 35 gallons of fuel. The really modern 500 broadcast began then; Page added an intercom system for turn announcers when he took over in 1977, and the bunch-up rule in 1979 made every race close.

Loved when Barney said “close racing all through the pack,” and you know it wasn’t. Theater of the mind.

 

I'm in Las Vegas. The hotel left in the room two pages describing how the race was going to disrupt the area. The roads will be closed for 11 hours overnight starting at 5 PM for Thursday through Saturday.

I was talking to a bartender in the hotel. He said a few guys from Perilli were in the night before and talked about the race. Those guys apparently said the temperature won't be s big problem. I think the guy told me the issue will be in turns.

 

Too bad. One of the better races of recent vintage was Turkey in 2020. Rain and a recent repave at Istanbul Park, one of the fetishists' favorite Tilke F1 tracks, made for a very low grip environment and a race weekend so fucked up Lance Stroll was on pole. Granted, Lewis won the race, but once you've determined who has the best car, which Red Bull basically iced by the second race, the only way you're going to get different results is to introduce some sort of adversity. We know it's not gonna rain and nobody ever has mechanicals in F1 anymore. Oh well. I'm just glad Danny Ricc found a drive in time.

 

A great life lived. Amazing that both he and Mike Joy came from northeastern modified racing roots to cover what was still a predominantly Southern sport. RIP.

 

Squier was The Voice of NASCAR for me when I first noticed it on CBS. He made races exciting.