Our best friend's daughter graduated high school yesterday. So the wife and I ventured north to the town of my birth for the celebration. We did not attend the ceremony. Who wants to be crammed into a sweaty gym with several thousand people to hear one name called? I will do it for my own kids, or maybe some nieces and nephews, but that is about it. I did not even want to attend my own graduation.
We did go to the open house and ate some smoked pork and drank a few beers (the collective "we" meaning me and not the wife, when it comes to beer).. After the crowd thinned out and the rains came my buddy and I repaired to the front porch and burned some fine Caribbean-born tobacco leaves as lightening flashed and thunder boomed.
Today is the big race, whether you are a IndyCar fan or NASCAR follower. If you love motor sports today is a good day. You can seethe top drivers in oval racing run a combined 1,100 miles. That is a bunch of left turns.
I think Indianapolis could help rebuild the fan base if they would increase the danger a little bit. I propose that after 250 miles, the cars reverse and go clockwise around the famed 2-1/2 mile oval. One half of the race the drivers turn left, the balance they turn right. Here is the kicker -- a car could not make the switch until it has gone the first 250 miles! This would be a great; a combination of racing, demolition derby and figure eight racing -- at 220 miles per hour! I would tune in for that.
Well, no I wouldn't, 'cause the Indy 500 is not shown on TV in the greater Indianapolis area. I have never seen the race live on TV. I have seen it several times in person, but in my 49 years of clean living, the race has never been broadcast live where I could see it. The local ABC station used to carry it a week later, now they show it later in the evening on race day. I associate the Indy 500 with the radio. That is the only way it has been broadcast to me.
So we find ourselves on a Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. I may or may not listen to the race. I may or may not mow the yard. I may or may not do anything today. I am sure you are on the edge of your seat wondering just how I plan to spend my day. Tune in tomorrow and find out. Here is a hint -- my coffee cup is nearly empty, I think I will refill it before I read any more blogs.
Enjoy your day.
I use to love Indy back in the good old days, but TV or not it has turned into the most boring race in the world. The NASCAR 600 race is way to long and I am fast asleep by the time it ends.
ReplyDeleteJOG
They need to get rid of the "one engine, one chassis" BS and go back to letting teams build their own cars. If they can qualify it, they can drive it.
ReplyDeleteToday's race is about as exciting as watching paint dry.
I watched the race on TV at the local tavern with the sound off and the jukebox in the background, the most back asswards way to do it. The Indy 500 and away baseball games to me are always better heard but not seen. But this race was a good one, and hopefully more open wheel races will come about now the CART INDY war is over. I remember there always being a race somewhere on Wide World of Sports after the Indy 500, and knowing Indy was the championship race was special. I like Mr. James' idea of eliminating ground effects, seeing them go back to the bullet cars.
ReplyDeleteI could never get into NASCAR. I'm too young to have appreciated old stock car racing, but they should have to buy a car off the assembly line and race IT, old school style. Pull the glass off and paint numbers on the side, but no more work than the General Lee.
NASCAR and INDY have adopted thesame model -- generic cars. It is about the driver and who can cheat without getting caught.
ReplyDeleteI agree both need to go back to th ebasics. But in that scenario the money will win every race and the lesser teams will not bother to enter.