that I now am aware of these things, makes life a little more bitter

jesusluvspegging wrote:

NASCAR cars are bullshit and NASCAR fans are drooling degenerates.  Real men watch F1.

Uh huh; F1: a sport led by a racist perv...

I've got news for you, real men go SCCA road racing.  There's nothing like it, except perhaps F1, and F1's way too regulated and $$$$$.

My racing school instructor at Laguna Seca was Danny Sullivan... he had one of the most spectacular finishes at the Indy 500 *ever*.

Driving a March 85C Cosworth, in his second race for the team Sullivan etched his name into American motor racing folklore by taking his 'Spin and Win' Indianapolis 500 victory. Having started in the middle of the third row in 8th spot, by lap 120 of 200 he had clawed his way up to 2nd, and was challenging Mario Andretti for the lead. He pulled alongside going into turn one and went in front, only for his car's back end to immediately go lose, pitching Sullivan into a lurid spin.

In Danny's own words: "For some reason, I thought there were only 12 laps left. That's why I was anxious to get by Mario. I thought that's all she wrote, but it spun around and I didn't hit anything. And all of a sudden the smoke cleared and I was facing Turn 2. So I just stuck it down and took off." His amazing 370-degree spin and save had brought out the yellows, and he took the opportunity to put on fresh tyres before chasing down Andretti once again.

On lap 139 he was back on Mario's tail, and went for the turn one pass yet again. This time he pulled it off, and held on for the remaining laps to take the Borg-Warner Trophy, ahead of Mario, Roberto Guerrero, Al Unser Sr, Johnny Parsons, Johnny Rutherford, Arie Luyendyk and Michael Andretti, in what must surely rank as one of the most talented finishing orders in the history of the Indy 500. For his efforts, Danny pocketed a cool US$517,662.

Last edited by whosasailorthen (2009-07-08 00:58:19)

square wrote:

Slightly changing the subject, what's the deal with Top Gear?  I've been hearing people talk it up for some time, but after catching a few episodes while visiting the folks, don't see what all the hullabaloo is about.  Sure, it has its moments, but they often fail to be interesting and they tack on interviews with vacuous TV/movie stars I've never heard of or wish I'd never heard of (Mark Wahlberg).  Aside from the race across Japan it didn't really succeed in holding my interest for any length of time.

It's a great show for generating youtube clips, but not so great for watching religiously.

whosasailorthen wrote:

Watch the videos on the caravan trip, or the ones where they go on a road trip of some sort. They're hilarious.

Yeah, that stuff is gold.

AladdinSane wrote:

[blah blah blah]

Another fag on the board.

whosasailorthen wrote:

jesusluvspegging wrote:

square wrote:

Slightly changing the subject, what's the deal with Top Gear?  I've been hearing people talk it up for some time, but after catching a few episodes while visiting the folks, don't see what all the hullabaloo is about.  Sure, it has its moments, but they often fail to be interesting and they tack on interviews with vacuous TV/movie stars I've never heard of or wish I'd never heard of (Mark Wahlberg).  Aside from the race across Japan it didn't really succeed in holding my interest for any length of time.

It's a great show for generating youtube clips, but not so great for watching religiously.

Eh.  I like it a lot, but then I used to live in the UK.  I think it's a cultural thing.

I like some of the stuff they do, but they sure hate American cars, they completely butchered the vette and then admitted it was $ for $ faster than anything they'd ever driven.

Edit:  I've run at Moroso - nice track.

Last edited by Emmeran (2009-07-08 11:53:50)

My complaint centers around their qualification of the same trait's as 'eccentric' and 'fun' in Euro cars.  The Z-series Vette is what it is - wonderful and awful at the same time, reminds me of the GTX.

They flat refused to eval my little SRT - too fast and cheap for their tastes.



I dream of a road course car...    ...just a few more years and the kids will be done - then I get to go racing again.

whosasailorthen wrote:

Emmeran wrote:

whosasailorthen wrote:

Eh.  I like it a lot, but then I used to live in the UK.  I think it's a cultural thing.

I like some of the stuff they do, but they sure hate American cars, they completely butchered the vette and then admitted it was $ for $ faster than anything they'd ever driven.

And I'd similarly shoot down the Corvette, when compared against far more sophisticated cars.  Yeah, it was fast.  Hell, I can build you a rocket car that would blister the paint off everything that tries to match it - but would you actually want to *drive* the damn thing?  Hardly.  And that's the point.  Fast isn't everything - it's the whole package; fit, finish, comfort, handling, style, feel, emotion... rating cars is very esoteric, and I agree with nearly all their choices. 

That being said, here's another hilarious episode:

Link to YouTube page

Edit: Bridgehampton and The Glen were my favourites around these parts, but my life's desire is to *live* at Laguna.

You and I agree, completely, when it comes to Top Gear.

Sometimes the show is a little dull, but they sure have some hilarious moments. The episode where they almost get killed by a bunch of rednecks is my favorite.

As far as the 'vette goes. Sure, it is fast as hell, breaks really well and handles great, for an AMERICAN car. But to compare it to a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Koenigsegg, Saleen, McLaren, .etc, is laughable. It isn't in the same league. It is like comparing a Disney vacation with going to your local state fair.