Pic of the Week: NASCAR Daytona 500
NASCAR 2012 kicks off this Saturday, so we thought we'd share this homage to the good ol' boys of oval racing
OK, so purists might be upset that carburettors have this year been replaced with fuel injection, and detractors might say that 500 miles around an oval is a cinch. But as a spectacle, 43 cars barrelling around in the Florida sunshine inches from one another's rumps, it's pretty impressive. And the 150,000 or so Americans who'll be in the Grandstands can't all be wrong, right?
This image from the 2011 race has certainly got us all excited...
If you want to enjoy the Daytona 500 in more than static wallpaper form, the 2012 running (of the Nationwide 300) will be on the haunted fish tank (or haunted picture frame, if you've moved into the LCD/plasma era) this Saturday live from 1730h on Motors TV.
Traditional (4:3)
Computer widescreen (16:10)
TV widescreen (16:9)
Portrait (smartphone etc)
IT IS AMAZING.
Actually, the Daytona 500 is relatively boring as its 'restrictor plate' racing and flat out all the way. Also very commercial, and the race takes ages. Plus a safety lap takes ages and they work them around the commercial breaks (only if there is a crash) so if you are in the stands it is very tedious on such a large track... Our closest affordable camping was 10 miles away as well.
the next race, Rockingham, is polar opposite. Proper hillbilly country in deepest darkest North Carolina. a shorter track that requires breaking etc and our caravan was set up literally in the shadow of the main stand! Moonshine and racing all weekend!!!
I seriously recommend any motorsport fans taking in a full weekend of NASCAR and the camping party that goes with it. Your English accent gets you free beer and food all weekend from fellow campers as well as other perks (we got given pit passes by a fellow race goer who thought we should experience it. at Darlington I think. We then snuck into the drivers briefing and then got chatting to a team manager who put us on the pit wall for the race!!!)
IT IS IMMENSE
Thanks Andy
Watch the racer start times carefully: they have hours of build up, and you can find yourself still at 11pm on a sunday night waiting for the race to start
I love it. A surprising amount of tactics, and the commentators are great: they have a cutaway car to explain what changes the engineers made....
and analysis like this whilst the race is on:
.. and then they do a few laps without commentary, just so you can hear the engine noise..
As racing entertainment, I think its almost perfect
Watch the racer start times carefully: they have hours of build up, and you can find yourself still at 11pm on a sunday night waiting for the race to start
I love it. A surprising amount of tactics, and the commentators are great: they have a cutaway car to explain what changes the engineers made....
and analysis like this whilst the race is on:
.. and then they do a few laps without commentary, just so you can hear the engine noise..
As racing entertainment, I think its almost perfect
Danica Patrick in one of the 'Gatorade Duels' that help to sort out the starting line-up...
http://youtu.be/cSciJqJqdm8
Ouch...
Danica Patrick in one of the 'Gatorade Duels' that help to sort out the starting line-up...
http://youtu.be/cSciJqJqdm8
Ouch...
Luckily it was a safer barrier there, I don't think she'd of been quite as lucky if it was one of the old concrete walls.
Those sudden impacts are often the worse, she didn't really lose any speed (or energy) before the hit.
Luckily it was a safer barrier there, I don't think she'd of been quite as lucky if it was one of the old concrete walls.
Very lucky .
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