The 2024 running motorsports thread

Rather like the government of Formula 1.

 

Eh. Whatever. They are absolutely right about the Andretti proposal.

 

RIP, Wally Dallenbach.

I remember a glorious time in the history of open-wheel racing when Indianapolis 500 drivers came from far-off places like Albuquerque, N.M.; Coldwater, Mich.; Nazareth, Pa.; Fort Worth, Texas and even Basalt, Colo.

While the A.J.s and Als, Johnnys, Bobbys and Marios were household names to most fans, there were a number of really very good drivers during the decade of the 1970s who never earned the same amount of acclaim but were mainstays on the circuit: Gary and Tony Bettenhausen, Lloyd Ruby, Joe Leonard, Mel Keynon, Pancho Carter, Johnny Parsons, Mike Mosley, Bill Vukovich Jr., Jim McElreath, Roger McCluskey and Dallenbach among them.

Nothing against today's drivers but there was something special when Indy had a ton of veterans with regional followings, all making the trek to the Speedway in May.

Wally probably is better known for his time as CART's chief steward but he was a damn fine teammate in the STP No. 40 to Gordon Johncock's No. 20. His son was a decent driver but better TV analyst.

 

It's the 30th anniversary of Senna's crash.
There are a ton of good reads available if you go to Google News or somewhere similar.

 

Haas could solve a lot of problems by selling to Andretti-Cadillac.

 

I always wanted to go to Bristol to see a race.

Last weekend I was in Bristol and holy smokes on a lugnut ... where does everyone stay, or did everyone stay, for the races? Did they all shack up in Billy Bob's and Doreen's sheds and stillhouses?

They would get 160K up there, or more. Right? Good gracious.

 

At the peak, every hotel room from Abingdon to Knoxville was booked. There really are several hotels nearby, mostly in Johnson City or on I-81 just north of Bristol. In many cases, hotels were built knowing they'd only be busy two weeks each year. Now, they set empty year round.

 

Blow me, Mario. Maybe I'll get congress to write a letter demanding I be allowed to enter a team in the NFL.

U.S. lawmakers demand answers about Andretti's exclusion from Formula 1

WASHINGTON — Twelve members of Congress sent a letter to Formula 1 owner Liberty Media on Wednesday demanding answers for Andretti Global’s exclusion from the sport, giving the American team powerful new allies in its bid to enter F1.
The bipartisan group of lawmakers said they have “concerns with the apparent anti-competitive actions that could prevent two American companies, Andretti Global and General Motors (GM), from producing and competing in Formula 1.”
They invoked the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 and sought answers about the rationale for rejecting the team, including whether it is designed to unfairly protect the European teams from competition in the U.S., where the fan base has grown dramatically.

 

Paint job looks vaguely familiar.

 

This Kansas race is a fucking joke. Caution after caution after caution after caution after caution.

Drive the fucking car, and don't run over the guy in front if he lets up for something. Jesus.

Drive.