Full Throttle

First the headline that sparked my leadoff - “Spanish siesta given wake-up call by Nascar.”

That headline could refer to a lot of things, the road course haters after the Mexico City NNS event comes to mind. Not to mention those that show a certain disdain for what they call an “American sport” heading for the border and outsourcing their favorite drivers. (Hell hath no fury like a woman xenophobe scorned - ed)

It might be a obtuse reference to Juan “Don’t Call Me Pablo” Montoya’s second place finish at Talladega that woke a few people up to the fact he may be a real contender in his second full season at the Cup level.

The reality is the article will set two types of tongues wagging.

The F1 aficionados who would stand mouth agape at any mention of F1 and NASCAR within the same time zone and a special breed of NASCAR fan who do nothing but complain about the current style of NASCAR competition and long for the days when 43 cars all crossed the finish line abreast in a photo finish of epic proportions. Really, some seem to think that way.

So, the question at hand is who gets more pissed when one of the U. K’s. motorsports writers has the audacity to compare NASCAR with F1 and come down wholeheartedly on the side of taxi cabs going in circles?

I tend to believe the F1 prima-donas, but you can judge for yourself.

You can read the entire article at the link above but here is an excerpt quoting Nascar crew chief Roy McCauley:

‘Nascar is the most challenging series in the world,’ McCauley said. ‘There are a bunch of rules in F1, but that doesn’t mean they don’t develop new stuff. We’ve had guys from F1 come here and say, “Well, let’s do this and let’s do that”. And you say, “All right, but what are you going to do when Nascar says you can’t do that?” I’ve seen manufacturers come in and build a gearbox that’s 15 pounds lighter, but Nascar has said, “Sorry, you can’t run that”. The Nascar formula works because they regulate it and the challenge is working within those rules to gain an edge.’

Just the phrase “they regulate it” will send a significant portion of NASCAR Nation into apoplectic fits because they long for the days of Smokey Yunick and the backyard mechanic.

The writer describes Talladega’s 52 lead changes last week “a 188-lap epic,” which will send more than a few to Dr. Phil’s waiting room.

Which come to think of it, may not be such a bad thing, it sure would clean up a couple unnamed comment threads infested with far too many whiners, complainers and not so few delusional who confuse fact with fiction.

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