Random musings: RaceCam and in-race reporters

I've been struggling for a week or two trying to figure out a great topic to write about here at SpecRacing without sounding incessantly whiny. I've very frequently accused my fellow race fans of whining about the most trivial of topics, so I try not to do the same myself. You know, the whole "do as I say, not as I do" thing.

Recently, I've been watching a lot of footage from Australia. I don't know why, but I've been drawn to Australian motorsport, particularly the world of touring cars over there.

It was there that the on-board camera, known as RaceCam (or, to me, the greatest invention in the history of television) was originated and perfected. It made its first appearance in the Toyota Celica of Peter Williamson in the 1979 Bathurst 1000, while CBS was fumbling with their own attempt at an onboard camera (RaceVision, which appeared in Benny Parsons' car in the 1979 and 1980 Daytona 500s). It enabled the fan to watch the driver hard at work around the circuit, and RaceCam shots around the Mount Panorama circuit in Bathurst made the telecast worth the price of admission, and that's before the live commentary between driver and commentary team.

This, by the way, is while the race is in progress, and the driver is trying to race his tail off, trying to run the best lap he can. It would have been more than entertaining to see this emulated stateside, but NASCAR kiboshed this idea not long after RaceCam made its first appearance in the States. Rather than hearing an entertaining conversation about the head of a state or province being a member of a particular driver's fan club, we heard Cale Yarborough grunting and moaning as he tried to swing his car through a corner. Oh well.

And, by the way, I'm not entirely joking with the fan club comment.

The stars of the show here are Dick Johnson, the driver, and Mike Raymond, the Peter Griffin-lookalike who was the voice of Australian motorsport back in those days. Also watch out for Johnson admitting that, yes, his lap times do drop off when he's talking to the commentary team, and yes, journalists have a problem thinking before they speak. Maybe true.

Wouldn't it have been fun to hear Ken Squier carrying on a conversation with Richard Petty or Cale Yarborough while they were in the middle of a 25-car freight-train draft at Talladega?

Maybe they were concerned about foul language, which was a very real concern. Imagine what would have happened if Richard Petty shouted the "f" word while he was talking on live TV, and the backlash that would have followed.

Either way, it was tried, by ESPN, and I don't think it lasted long, thanks to that usage of the "f" word. The culprit, surprisingly, was Johnson, who had come stateside to ply his trade in the Winston Cup series.

Worse, the usage of the word happened in a replay, not unlike Kyle Petty's offense in 2007.

Oh well.

ESPN, of course, utilizes the "In-Race Reporter" for their NASCAR telecasts, but it doesn't quite have the same impact. In my opinion, if they ever wanted to spice up the broadcasts, all they would need to do would be to actually talk to the drivers in the middle of green-flag conditions. It'd be entertaining as hell, too.

NASCAR fans will tell you that there's a period during almost every race where nothing happens. Drivers are lapping the track, not a lot of action is going on, and not a lot of battles are going on. This is the perfect time for a live conversation between driver and commentary team. Some drivers, of course, would probably have to be looked over for live conversations (like Kurt Busch), but others would probably be more than entertaining to listen to.

For example, I sense Dale Earnhardt Jr would be a blast to listen to over the radio. One could say that he is, in one way, somewhat goofy over team radio.

Just a thought. It might spice up race broadcasts, that's for sure.

Stock Car Road Racing

This weekend is one of the most exciting NASCAR races of the season, the annual stop to Watkins Glen, the 2.45 mile road course in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. However, the very idea of road courses on the NASCAR calendar put some off from watching that weekend. But why?

Unfortunately, there is a sizable contingent of fans who believe that NASCAR should run only on the oval tracks of America. They say it's not very exciting. They call it boring. There's not a lot of passing, they say. Too much single-file action and too slow. I'd quote one NASCAR.com writer with his argument, but it made my head hurt. THESE ARE NOT GOOD ARGUMENTS.

By not watching these races, you are turning yourself off from the two most exciting races on the calendar. There. I said it. The two road races that the NASCAR Cup series run every year are the most exciting races that are run every year. I'll also say that NASCAR needs to run more than just two races. Thirty-four races on ovals, and just two on roadies? Give me a break. Let's drop some of those ovals and bring in some more road courses. Montreal, Road America, the new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and Lime Rock Park in Connecticut are four examples of road courses that would likely provide an interesting show with the NASCAR Cup cars. All of these circuits could provide a vastly different challenge to the cars and stars of the Cup series (and even the Nationwide and Truck series).

It's not just go fast and turn left. It's not just put the car in the top gear and try to outduel the other car, something that is pretty lacking in NASCAR races these days anyway. It's about braking, shifting, outbraking, outshifting, and outdragging the other driver. It's about the perfect lap, the perfect lines, and the perfect way around the circuit. It's much more than what an oval can provide, and it's much more exciting. In fact, anybody who calls himself or herself a NASCAR fan should probably watch Watkins Glen this weekend. You'll see things you don't normally see during a NASCAR race, and you'll see a lot more passing than you think.

But you could just choose to not watch, and that's your loss.

Don't you just wish Riverside still existed?

Video of the week: "AND IT'S A NEW TRACK RECORD!"

So, I missed the entire weekend of racing last weekend, with the exception of the last few laps of the Brazilian IndyCar race, which appeared to be rather entertaining. Consequently, I honestly have nothing to say regarding the weekend of racing. Oh, the things you miss when you've got stuff to do.

Either way, there are two videos of the week, but they both follow the same subject. With this being the Month of May, the most wonderful month of the year, thought goes back to track records at Indianapolis. The last time the track records were broken was 1996, when people such as Tony Stewart, Scott Brayton, and Arie Luyendyk went for broke in an attempt to be the fastest man ever at Indianapolis. May this drama come back, and may the records fall soon.

It should be worth noting that Arie still holds almost all of the meaningful track records (1-lap, 4-lap, 500-mile) at Indianapolis. For "Tator Day Thoughts", I'll discuss track records at Indy tomorrow.

'Tator Day Thoughts: Short Tracks

PREFACE: Every week, on Thursday, or "'Tator Day", I will try to give my thoughts on a particular idea or thing. This week is short track racing. However, one may wonder, What is 'Tator Day? 

For those who attend VSU and regularly read The Spectator, as you should anyway if you do go to VSU, 'Tator Day is the day that the Spectator is released every week, Thursday. You will see, from time to time, the phrase "Happy 'Tator Day!" on a specific page of The Spectator. This is a device for whenever there's space that needs to be filled on a specific page. Ask the outgoing managing editor, Chad Stone, about this. I bet he hates it. It probably brings evil memories of trying to get a page ready for human consumption while we get The Spectator prepared for you on Wednesday nights.

This week, NASCAR's Cup and Nationwide Series race at the Richmond International Raceway, a three-quarter mile oval, one of three short tracks on the NASCAR calendar. In my eye, that's not enough, and in today's world of 1.5 mile ovals filling the NASCAR schedule these days, they are truly a breath of fresh air.

Why? Well, the answer is quite simple. Action on what I call the "one-fivers" is a little less entertaining than what you'd see elsewhere. Fans will attest that the last few races at places like Kansas and Texas have not really been the most entertaining races they've ever seen. Drivers run around in their own lanes - low, high, middle, whatever, and run around for 400 or 500 miles. Sometimes, these races produce some entertaining moments, such as Martin Truex's hilariously botched attempt at a slidejob pass late in the race at Kansas, or some of Tony Stewart's crossover maneuvers at California, but these moments are rather rare compared to the relative monotony of the races on these one-fivers.

If you want action, you want to watch a race on a short track. Here, the action is a tad bit more physical. The best way to get around a driver isn't always to take a different lane, but rather to knock the guy ahead of you out of the way. Bumpers will be frayed, and so will tempers, at times. You may recall Jeff Gordon having some words with Clint Bowyer after the race at Martinsville. You may also recall about two dozen drivers being angry with Brian Vickers after his catastrophically bad performance at the same track last October. Or Kevin Harvick shirt-collaring Greg Biffle after a Busch race at Bristol ten years ago. Or maybe the near-riot that occured at Richmond four years ago when Kyle Busch booted Dale Earnhardt Jr out of a sure victory.

The point is, you don't get that sort of action at most tracks. Due to the speeds being lower, drivers can more ably exact revenge on another driver for a wrong committed either during that race, or in a past situation, or whatever. It's safer to exact this sort of revenge at a place such as Richmond than at a place like Texas or Atlanta, where speeds near 200 mph, and drivers can fly through the air like a matchbox in a wind gust. All a driver needs to do is hook the rear quarter-panel of his target, and revenge has been exacted. Yes, this leads to frayed tempers, but a wrong has been righted in the eyes of a driver.

Unfortunately, there's not enough of these tracks and races on the NASCAR schedule. Richmond, a .75 mile track, along with the two half-miles at Bristol and Martinsville, are the only three tracks on the calendar. There are other circuits that could provide some incredible racing for a NASCAR Cup race, but unfortunately are not being used.

The most glaring is not far from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It's called Indianapolis Raceway Park, in the suburb of Clermont, and it might be the very best short track in the country. Yes, the track is banked progressively, and yes, there are a multitude of lanes to use, but this multitude of lanes actually helps make the racing more entertaining in this situation.

Check out this wild battle to decide the '94 Busch race at IRP:

A Cup race here at IRP would be infinitely more entertaining than the fare at the Speedway, which is awesome as hell as a IndyCar track, but hasn't been known for an entertaining Cup track. I've long said that it is physically impossible to have a bad race at this track, but I wish those with more powers than me would understand this.

Another good short track is Irwindale Speedway, a track that is either in limbo, closed, or open for business, depending on the day. The track, a half-mile, is another progressively-banked track, but because the action is more close-quarters than the one-fivers, the action tends to be more entertaining. Check out action from the 2011 All-Star Showdown:

You can't tell me that the racing isn't awesome here. There are other tracks, of course, such as North Wilkesboro (which appears to be sadly closed, again), the Nashville Fairgrounds (which is enjoying a bit of a resurgence after almost being on the chopping block for a few years), Iowa Speedway (which isn't half-bad of a track, Rusty Wallace designed it, which might say something), and the like. But what do you think?

BTW, here's what I plan to do with SPECRacing:
Monday: Post-weekend analysis and thoughts
Wednesday: Video of the week (and a little blurb with it)
Thursday: 'Tator Day Thoughts
Race Weekend: Some random thoughts during the races

Insanity, thy name is Group B rallying

Going to the topic of "there's more to racing than NASCAR", I present you with insanity personified, Group B rallying from the 1980s. The driver is Walter Rohrl, the car is an Audi Quattro, and I suggest you check out a number of things here. Come for Rohrl's insane car control, stay for the ridiculous (lack of) crowd control. I think I'd be scared of flying down a dirt road at 130 mph with thousands of people just inches off the road and trying to jump off the road as I went past.

Wow. That is all.

Welcome and a preview

And a good good afternoon to you, and welcome to SPECRacing, the VSU Spectator's blog about the world of motorsport, written by the Spectator's motorsport guru, Joe Adgie. Here, you'll see information, and my opinions on everything that I find interesting in the world of motorsport. One day, you might see a topic about pack racing at Talladega, while on another day, you might find an update about the ineptitude committed by the United States Auto Club during their days of sanctioning the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar National Championship Trail, and how that ineptitude led to the formation of CART.

Half of you might not know what I'm talking about, but that's fine. You'll hopefully find out through SPECRacing. Now, while the Spectator is not in session during the summer, this blog will still be updated, as the world of motorsport reaches its peak during the summer.

After all, we've got the best of racing coming up from the time the semester ends to the time we all return to VSU in August. The weekend after finals, for starters, is one of the most exciting races of the season, the spring Talladega 500, while the month ends with three very exciting and legendary races: The Monaco Grand Prix around the streets of Monte Carlo, the legendary "Grand Prix Around the Houses"; The Coca-Cola World 600 at Charlotte, NASCAR's longest race; and of course, my favorite race of the year, the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race.

June will be highlighted by the great 24 Hours of Le Mans, and SPECRacing will likely feature my likely futile attempt at staying awake for the entire event. More often than not, I fail, oftentimes hilariously. Friends of mine will attest to this.

In July, the big race is at Daytona, the Firecracker 400, and before long, we'll be back at VSU ready for another great semester, and a great wind-down to a fantastic racing season.

One thing I hope to do here is to show the readers that there is more to racing than NASCAR. There is more to racing than "the guys that make left-hand turns all the time". I hope to show you motorsport clips from around the world. One day, you might find an insane Rally on-board clip, where you see a driver avoiding a tree by mere inches while his co-driver screams in utter fear. Or maybe a driver flying around the California Speedway at over 240 mph, or maybe even an onboard clip featuring the legendary Formula One driver Ayrton Senna.

Either way, SPECRacing is not your typical blog written by a college student. It's a blog about motorsport written by a man who has lived and loved the sport his entire life, and has a thing or two to share about it. I truly do hope you enjoy.
-Joe Adgie
VSU Spectator staff writer, April 25th