Running 2023 Motorsports thread

Definitely R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris, along with smaller players like U.S. Tobacco and Swisher, had a huge impact on motorsports when tobacco advertising was banned on television and radio. They not only provided massive amounts of revenue but PR resources as well. NASCAR and Indycar don't become anything close to what they are today without tobacco money.

If you look at how few full-time teams NASCAR had in the early '70s -- and almost no direct manufacturer involvement -- it's a wonder the dang thing survived the first Oil Crisis. Most of that was because of the behind-the-scenes work of Ralph Seagraves and T. Wayne Robertson, who were tireless promoters with almost unlimited budgets.

But you still need ROI, which the Madison Avenue guys have decided means closer competition and fewer advances in technology. Nobody watches when someone "f---s up the show," as Big Bill France used to put it. So NASCAR and open-wheel racing have evolved into basically spec chassis with tightly controlled engine rules. Nobody can pass anybody because they're all racing the same cars that are designed to easily complete 500 miles. And as soon as anyone gets a big lead, they throw a phantom caution (or make up stages) to keep everybody's sponsor happy.

While I love the Indy 500, I was disappointed in the crash-bang NASCAR-like finish. But it's unfortunately a result of the leader having no way to defend his position without trying to create dirty air, while the cars farther back can't move up because of that same situation. In an effort to win or even advance a position on a restart, drivers are now willing to put their cars -- and personal safety -- in places no one would have dared in a less-safe environment. They expect to walk away from a boneheaded move.

The racing was better in some ways when it was dangerous and difficult, and I miss not being able to tell any of the makes apart except for decals. But a lot of races back then were all about the leader not blowing up with a two-lap lead. Look at the top 10 for races 50 years ago and see how many laps behind even the top-10 cars were. Probably 90 percent or more of Richard Petty's 200 victories were after lapping the field.

 

I’ve gotten into watching/listening to old races recently and what struck me was there’d be two guys on the lead lap, three guys a lap down and 10th would be four laps down. Once the sponsors evolved from South Lakes Citgo to Pennzoil, there would be no more of that.

Re: cautions, NASCAR has been way too slow in calling them in recent years. There have been a couple times guys wrecked because race control was slow throwing the flag when the track was wet. I’ve heard it’s booth-by-committee instead of David Hoots making a call then and there. There needs to be one person running the show.

 

These two things are directly connected.

 

IMS gives car to woman whose car was hit by Indy 500 tire | wthr.com

The lady whose car that free tire landed on at Indy got to take home an event car from the track, though I'm not going to lie, it's a Chevy, and I'd think an Indiana woman who looks that much like Donna Meagle would much rather have a Mercedes.

 

Keeping innovation within a narrow, defined box should limit costs. But big-money teams are spending massive amounts of cash trying to find incremental improvements.

I don't have a great answer. Letting them run unlimited budgets has made F1 nearly unwatchable.

NASCAR? I'd love to see a minimum height clearance, narrower tires and more stuff added to the bodies to add some coefficient of drag. But Goodyear already builds the most conservative tire compounds possible. They're the TopFlite of racing tires. If you eliminate bump stops, engineers will just find another way to drop the car down on the ground. And dirty air is already an issue on cookie-cutter tracks. The product is shiite now.

Indy? I don't know what can be done to force drivers to have to lift in the corners. If you take away more downforce, the aero wash gets worse. If you add more horsepower, the calculus stays the same. And please, for God's sake, no "push to pass."

Going backwards in time isn't the solution. Even though the idea of seeing 33 roadsters running there has great appeal.

 

Don't know if this has been discussed up-thread or not, but the Chicago Tribune has had some recent reporting on how NASCAR's upcoming lakefront road race may end up an economic flop.
That and how it's going to disrupt traffic. I'm not educated enough about any particulars to comment but thought it might touch off some discussion here.

 

Apparently Ross Chastain can win a NASCAR race on shitty worn-out tires when his handling goes away, not just one when he induces a wreck.

 

Saw the map. Good God. It's going to be hell on Earth traffic-wise.

 

I was there last week and saw them building the grandstands and such. I don't know how it won't be a disaster in that location -- especially for people who have no clue it's coming because they don't care.

 

I’m really surprised they’re allowed to use the Lake Shore as part of this. Though it’s not an interstate, it is a U.S. Highway (41), and it is the best alternate route to at least get you moving when the Dan Ryan/Eisenhower interchange is bumper-to-bumper (which is … all the time), and it’s one (wildly imperfect) route to get north-south when the Kennedy and/or Edens is backed up (which is … frequent, at least on the Kennedy).

Coming down from Wisconsin* or Chicago’s north side (where I’ve had a beat stop for a decade), I often take the Lake Shore by choice. It’s a pain to get to it, but once you do, it’s generally smooth sailing (by Chicago standards anyway) to a quick hop on I-55 near Soldier Field to the Dan Ryan and I’m on my way to points south.

* I’m a giant cheapskate and refuse to use the Tollway the vast majority of the time.

Closing both the Lake Shore and Michigan Avenue is madness. That’s just taking into account day-to-day normal traffic.

Add on the race day traffic trying to park for all of this? Including a decent amount of NASCAR fans that won’t be familiar with downtown Chicago? Jesus jumping Christ. Glad I won’t be in Chicago when this is going on.