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Car Forum / Mazda / Mazda Miata / May 2007

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Indy 500?

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XS11E - 27 May 2007 18:48 GMT
For the 91st time the Indianapolis 500 is being run w/o one single
Miata being entered!  Obviously the promoters of the race are being
very unfair, next year I think I'll put a cold air intake and racing
tires on my 1992 and enter.

Meanwhile, I'm rooting for Danica Patrick, she's a local girl and she's
got far and away the best pair of legs in the race...

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pws - 27 May 2007 19:52 GMT
> For the 91st time the Indianapolis 500 is being run w/o one single
> Miata being entered!  Obviously the promoters of the race are being
> very unfair, next year I think I'll put a cold air intake and racing
> tires on my 1992 and enter.

Be sure to advance your timing 4 degrees as well, they won't stand a chance.

> Meanwhile, I'm rooting for Danica Patrick, she's a local girl and she's
> got far and away the best pair of legs in the race...

Not to mention a fantastic last name. She gets my vote for just about
anything......Did you say she races cars? ;-)

http://www.indymotorspeedway.com/images/peak13.jpg

Pat
Chris D'Agnolo - 27 May 2007 19:55 GMT
That's what it takes in a long race! I'll root for her.

Chris
99BBB

> For the 91st time the Indianapolis 500 is being run w/o one single
> Miata being entered!  Obviously the promoters of the race are being
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> Meanwhile, I'm rooting for Danica Patrick, she's a local girl and she's
> got far and away the best pair of legs in the race...
Grant Edwards - 28 May 2007 00:35 GMT
> For the 91st time the Indianapolis 500 is being run w/o one single
> Miata being entered!  Obviously the promoters of the race are being
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> Meanwhile, I'm rooting for Danica Patrick, she's a local girl and she's
> got far and away the best pair of legs in the race...

Shes cute, but I'm going to have to cheer for the Linux
sponsored car.  Though I don't remember off the top of my head
which one that is...

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Lanny Chambers - 28 May 2007 01:23 GMT
> Shes cute, but I'm going to have to cheer for the Linux
> sponsored car.

Is that the one at which the starter kept waving the "Get A Life" flag?  
:-)

It was a freaky race, but fast, competitive, and excellent overall. The
most fun Indy to watch in recent memory. No more Indy Rookie League
follies. I tried watching the NASCAR race afterward, but in comparison
they looked like drunk hillbilly geezers in golf carts.
XS11E - 28 May 2007 01:32 GMT
>> Shes cute, but I'm going to have to cheer for the Linux sponsored
>> car.
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> It was a freaky race, but fast, competitive, and excellent
> overall. The most fun Indy to watch in recent memory.

And probably the most controversial.  

Questions: Should it have been restarted knowing it would start raining
again?  Should it have been run in the first place, given the weather
report?

Should the interest of the spectators and TV audience be given
precedence over the safety of the drivers?  We all know it is, question
is should it be?  They could easily have killed a couple of people on
that track, only pure luck and some pretty amazing car design prevented
multiple tragedies....

Personally, I watched the Arizona Diamondbacks complete their 3 game
sweep of the Houston Astros, to me it was much more interesting.

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Lanny Chambers - 28 May 2007 05:52 GMT
> Questions: Should it have been restarted knowing it would start raining
> again?  Should it have been run in the first place, given the weather
> report?

Of course. It was uncertain when the rain would resume, and the more
laps completed, the more valid and less controversial the results. The
fans, almost none of whom seemed to have left early, wanted to see
racing. Only one driver would have been content to quit at the first
rain. IMHO, the decisions, both restart and checker, were appropriate.
This is Indy, not some SCCA regional amateur event. Everyone's job was
to produce a world-class race. And they did.

> Should the interest of the spectators and TV audience be given
> precedence over the safety of the drivers?  We all know it is, question
> is should it be?  They could easily have killed a couple of people on
> that track, only pure luck and some pretty amazing car design prevented
> multiple tragedies....

I assume you mean racing in general, since the rain had nothing to do
with your point. When racing is too dangerous, professional drivers walk
out, spectators be damned. They're adults, they know the risks, and
drivers have voted with their feet in the past when the risks were
unacceptable. They came to race, not to whine (even Michael Andretti
this time). If they didn't get off on going fast, they'd be florists or
something.
XS11E - 28 May 2007 06:52 GMT
>> Questions: Should it have been restarted knowing it would start
>> raining again?  Should it have been run in the first place, given
>> the weather report?

> This is Indy, not some SCCA regional amateur event. Everyone's job
> was to produce a world-class race. And they did.

That's open to argument, to me it seemed totally bush league.

>> Should the interest of the spectators and TV audience be given
>> precedence over the safety of the drivers?  We all know it is,
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> I assume you mean racing in general, since the rain had nothing to
> do with your point.

Actually it did in this case.

> When racing is too dangerous, professional drivers walk out,
> spectators be damned. They're adults, they know the risks, and
> drivers have voted with their feet in the past when the risks were
> unacceptable.

That's happened before a race, I've never seen or heard of it happening
after the race is started.

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Bubbamike_01@yahoo.com - 28 May 2007 23:01 GMT
>Should the interest of the spectators and TV audience be given
>precedence over the safety of the drivers?  We all know it is, question
>is should it be?  They could easily have killed a couple of people on
>that track, only pure luck and some pretty amazing car design prevented
>multiple tragedies....

Yeah like that sissy F-1 where they just keep racing rain or shine.
Let me see the cars are more advanced, the drivers better and the
courses more difficult and they just keep going only not around in
circles.

Oh and they had a little race in Europe as well, called the Monaco
Grand Prix. A tad more interesting than what happened on that old
brick track in Indiana.
XS11E - 28 May 2007 23:15 GMT
>>Should the interest of the spectators and TV audience be given
>>precedence over the safety of the drivers?  We all know it is,
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> and the courses more difficult and they just keep going only not
> around in circles.

Wrong, they race on tracks designed for wet.  Indy is not, the asphalt
is slick when wet.

> Oh and they had a little race in Europe as well, called the Monaco
> Grand Prix. A tad more interesting than what happened on that old
> brick track in Indiana.

Not really, Monaco, Indy, Nascar are about as interesting to me as
watching golf on TV or watching the TV set turned off, which it usually
is....

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pltrgyst - 29 May 2007 03:11 GMT
>Wrong, they race on tracks designed for wet.  Indy is not, the asphalt
>is slick when wet.

Tracks "designed for the wet"? What are you smoking?

-- Larry
XS11E - 29 May 2007 03:38 GMT
>>Wrong, they race on tracks designed for wet.  Indy is not, the
>>asphalt is slick when wet.
>
> Tracks "designed for the wet"? What are you smoking?

Tracks designed for the wet, what's hard to understand about that?  
Roads designed with drainage (Indy doesn't have much, water puddles on
the track), asphalt that's not slick like Indy, etc. etc. etc.

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pws - 29 May 2007 16:38 GMT
> Not really, Monaco, Indy, Nascar are about as interesting to me as
> watching golf on TV or watching the TV set turned off, which it usually
> is....

Gotta agree with you there.

I saw the Indy 500 live one time, the year that Steve Tyler from
Aerosmith butchered the National Anthem.
That was pretty cool, (the race, not the singing), but even with good
seats it became boring to me after a while. It's not something I want to
do again.

I can't imagine watching anything but highlights of the race, (basically
wrecks), on TV, but then, I haven't watched a Superbowl in over 20 years
either, so to each their own....

Pat
XS11E - 29 May 2007 17:03 GMT
> I can't imagine watching anything but highlights of the race,
> (basically wrecks), on TV, but then, I haven't watched a Superbowl
> in over 20 years either, so to each their own....

I never miss a Superbowl, a friend hosts a big Superbowl party every
year, lots of people some of whom I see only that once a year, lots of
really GREAT food and a big screen TV so we don't miss any of the
commercials.  Sometimes we watch the game, too...

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Grant Edwards - 29 May 2007 18:27 GMT
>> I can't imagine watching anything but highlights of the race,
>> (basically wrecks), on TV, but then, I haven't watched a Superbowl
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> really GREAT food and a big screen TV so we don't miss any of the
> commercials.

That's pretty much my view of the Superbowl.

> Sometimes we watch the game, too...

I don't pay much attention to the game, but some of the
commercial are great.  The half-time shows are usually so bad
that they're somewhat amusing.  

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BRUCE HASKIN - 29 May 2007 01:12 GMT
I just love it when an expert driver joins in on a subject.

If the drivers are so "much better", why don't they do better when they
come and "try" to drive at Indy ?  If they are "that good", they should
win on the first run at it and then go back and grin when ever Indy
comes up ( if ever ) at a party ?  

Have YOU ever driven an open wheel race car at 200 MPH + in the dry, let
alone in the rain ?  I would like to see YOU even do a perfect run on an
autocross course in the rain, at 45 to 60 MPH.
If you can, YOU must be the International Champion.  I look forward to
seeing YOU driving at Indy next year.

Yes, I have tryed it. AND NO I can't do it worth a crap. ( wet or dry )

     Bruce     Bing    '03  LS
pltrgyst - 29 May 2007 03:16 GMT
>If the drivers are so "much better", why don't they do better when they
>come and "try" to drive at Indy ?  If they are "that good", they should
>win on the first run at it and then go back and grin when ever Indy
>comes up ( if ever ) at a party ?  

Driving Indy cars on ovals, like driving NASCAR, requires a highly
developed *subset* of general driving skills. Pro Rally, prototype
racing, and F1 require the full set of skills.

Jim Clark, Graham Hill, and Emerson Fittipaldi demonstrated just the
general superiority you question.

Remember when the Indy 500 mattered enough to be part of the F1
calendar? I do.

-- Larry
BRUCE HASKIN - 29 May 2007 04:57 GMT
Hi Larry,  I am 72 and I can remember back a lot longer than that !  Can
you remember what the cars at Indy were like before the went to F-1
looking cars ? The " Uprights " were a real hand full. Can you remember
what the wheels and tires looked like ? ( and the tires even had tread
on them ! :-)  )

     Bruce     Bing    '03  LS
XS11E - 29 May 2007 05:51 GMT
> I am 72

Damn, it's nice to know there are people older than I am, I won't be 72
for a VERY long time..... two weeks is a very long time, isn't it? ;-)

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mike@bubbamike.com - 29 May 2007 17:06 GMT
>If the drivers are so "much better", why don't they do better when they
>come and "try" to drive at Indy ?  If they are "that good", they should
>win on the first run at it and then go back and grin when ever Indy
>comes up ( if ever ) at a party ?  

The main reason they go to champ cars is that they aren't good enough
anymore to drive F-1. And when drivers like Montoya move to F-1 they
don't last long.

In any case cross-pollination is difficult. Very few are able to
successfully make the move either way. Clark, Hill, Fitipalldi,
Andretti; only the very best can do it. They are few and far between.

For the gentleman who stated that Indy wasn't designed for drainage,
guess where they hold the U.S. Grand Prix and it isn't Watkins Glen.

My post was trollish and I apologize for it.
XS11E - 29 May 2007 18:16 GMT
> For the gentleman who stated that Indy wasn't designed for
> drainage, guess where they hold the U.S. Grand Prix and it isn't
> Watkins Glen.

I know where they hold the U. S. Grand Prix but that has nothing to do
with the subject, does it?

Indy has very poor drainage and if you'd watched the race you'd have
seen just how badly water puddles on the track, it's strictly a dry
weather track and, as Sunday showed, very slippery when wet.

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pltrgyst - 29 May 2007 03:10 GMT
>Yeah like that sissy F-1 where they just keep racing rain or shine.
>Let me see the cars are more advanced, the drivers better and the
>courses more difficult and they just keep going only not around in
>circles.

Well, that's true.

>Oh and they had a little race in Europe as well, called the Monaco
>Grand Prix. A tad more interesting than what happened on that old
>brick track in Indiana.

But that's not. Monaco was the usual 1-2-3-4 parade. Dullest race of
the year, as always, unlees there's also a race at the Hungaroring.

--nLarry
earache@spymac.com - 29 May 2007 07:44 GMT
> >Yeah like that sissy F-1 where they just keep racing rain or shine.
> >Let me see the cars are more advanced, the drivers better and the
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> --nLarry

Monaco is about the spectacle and glamour of it, I guess.  It is kind
of cool to have F1 cars zooming through city streets, scraping the
barriers - even on that relatively tight and slow course, the fast
laps are averaging around 98 mph.  But as far as it being a
competition, the qualifying might be more critical than the actual
race.

They should put the old Nurburgring back on the schedule.  That would
be something.
Chris D'Agnolo - 30 May 2007 03:12 GMT
They should put the old Nurburgring back on the schedule.  That would
be something.

NOW you're talking! THAT would get me watching!

Chris
99BBB
XS11E - 30 May 2007 03:24 GMT
> They should put the old Nurburgring back on the schedule.  That would
> be something.

Nah, I want to see street racing but instead of closing the streets,  
do it at Sun City here.  I can see the F1 cars mixing it up with the
old ladies in golf carts driving the wrong way, crossing the street
against the light, making U turns in the middle of an intersection....

Or move it to East Mesa with the snowbirds and their 45 foot
motorhomes..... watch some old person try to make a U turn with one of
those across the center divider, he blocked traffic in both directions
until they could get the motorhome dragged off the divider...

BTW, you know every such race would be won by an old Toyota with a
Domino's Pizza sign on the top, none of the F1 cars can match them for
speed or driving ability, on the track, on the road, on the sidewalk,
whatever it takes to not have to pay the $2 charge if the pizza isn't
there in 10 minutes!

I like EXCITING racing, like watching Phoenix traffic, not the slow,
boring, fatal accidents rarely happen racing such as NASCAR, Indy or
F1.

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pltrgyst - 30 May 2007 04:49 GMT
>I like EXCITING racing, like watching Phoenix traffic, not the slow,
>boring, fatal accidents rarely happen racing such as NASCAR, Indy or
>F1.

Then the obvious answer is Figure 8 F1. Or, better yet, Figure 8 Indy.

Or still better yet, Figure 8 NASCAR.

-- Larry
BRUCE HASKIN - 30 May 2007 06:11 GMT
Now you have it Larry !  It is fun to watch and to drive, but I stopped
doing that before they started chaining 3 school buses together and
runing them.

Location, location, location !!!! :-)

     Bruce     Bing    '03  LS
Grant Edwards - 28 May 2007 02:52 GMT
>> Shes cute, but I'm going to have to cheer for the Linux
>> sponsored car.
>
> Is that the one at which the starter kept waving the "Get A
> Life" flag?  :-)

I don't know, I don't watch sports on TV.  The weather was
nice, so I was out doing stuff.

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Chris D'Agnolo - 28 May 2007 14:13 GMT
I tried watching the NASCAR race afterward, but in comparison
> they looked like drunk hillbilly geezers in golf carts.

Oh, nobody told you?      ..............IT WAS!

Chris
99BBB
 
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