evolu wrote:I think you'll find mechanical failure ended the run of the european rally drivers in the 2002 race of champions.

I'll defer to you, the rally expert, but how is this possible when every team is using the exact same two cars? Aren't the cars assigned at random at the start gate?

Maybe you could explain why the Pikes Peak hill climb has been dominated by european manufacturers and drivers for the last 20 years, and why most of the US rallying events are also dominated by european rally drivers (Mark Higgins, David Higgins, Mike Lovell...until he died).

For the same reason why the United States hasn't won any cricket tests in the last century. Nobody here particularly gives a shit.

Come on, you drive around in bowl for fuck sake......how hard can it be to design a car that only has to turn left on super smooth tarmac??

The banks at Daytona are far from smooth. Superbikes use their entire suspension travel range skating over the bumps. The NASCAR cars bottom out on every lap. Rolex 24 hour endurance cars do as well.

There's two road course tracks in the NASCAR schedule. They turn right.

Lazybones wrote:My uncle drives a Jag. Is that a good engine?

If you think Ford makes a good engine, then, yes, it's a good engine.

Not crap.

Sorry.

I think I like laying on the couch on a Sunday afternoon watching cars go 'round in circles because it means that I honestly couldn't come up with anything better to do. That's pretty relaxing.

Also, I used to live with a dude who was into playing Nascar 4 on computer. We would smoke a bunch of weed and stay up all night racing each other (we had our computers networked together). That was pretty sweet. It made me appreciate the finer details of the stock car racing sport...and the fine weed available in St. Cloud, MN.

I'll defer to you, the rally expert, but how is this possible when every team is using the exact same two cars? Aren't the cars assigned at random at the start gate?

I don't understand you point or question. Mechanical failure - the car stopped working, nothing to do with being a better driver or not. European car stops, US driver finishes...bad luck or super skilled yank?

Quote:
Maybe you could explain why the Pikes Peak hill climb has been dominated by european manufacturers and drivers for the last 20 years, and why most of the US rallying events are also dominated by european rally drivers (Mark Higgins, David Higgins, Mike Lovell...until he died).
For the same reason why the United States hasn't won any cricket tests in the last century. Nobody here particularly gives a shit.

Convenient.

Name a mototsport discipline where a US built, designed machine can compete with any European machine (90 odd % of the time British).
The fact that the US spend all of their time developing sports purely for their own indulgment (then has the balls to call it a 'World Series'....snigger..) plays a big part I guess.

evolu wrote:I don't understand you point or question.
[...]
mototsport
[...]
the US spend all of their time
[...]
indulgment

I don't mean to be a grammar/spelling cop, but shit, man. I got brain damage just trying to read that.

No more jokes about the IQ of the average NASCAR fan, please.

I admire auto racing as a difficult endeavor and its participants as people doing something that is difficult and dangerous.

My personal tastes run more to rally and sprint car racing.

And the NASCAR fan base is a problem.

I will vote NC just to do it.

I don't mean to be a grammar/spelling cop, but shit, man. I got brain damage just trying to read that.

Fair point....

Maybe I should proof read in future? The truth is I hate typing, I have big hands and keyboards are way too small.

Marks out of 10 for the excuse?

evolu wrote:

I'll defer to you, the rally expert, but how is this possible when every team is using the exact same two cars? Aren't the cars assigned at random at the start gate?

I don't understand you point or question. Mechanical failure - the car stopped working, nothing to do with being a better driver or not. European car stops, US driver finishes...bad luck or super skilled yank?

In every single heat the americans just happened to be lucky enough to draw the functioning car? That's pretty exceptional.

Name a mototsport discipline where a US built, designed machine can compete with any European machine (90 odd % of the time British).

Top Fuel drag racing? Flat track?

World Rally Championship?

Also, there's a British owned car company? I'm pretty certain Americans and Germans bought them all.

The fact that the US spend all of their time developing sports purely for their own indulgment (then has the balls to call it a 'World Series'....snigger..) plays a big part I guess.

Why in fuck would anyone develop their leisure activity for anyone but themselves?

There is nothing in the World Rally Championship that is US built or designed.
There may be a Ford badge on the Focus WRC but there is nothing standard and more importantly nothing fitted to the car that is American (other than the water pump).

Ford Focus WRC, built by M-Sport, Cumbria. UK (where I used to work).

Top Fuel Drag - Like the Europeans give a shit about that.

evolu wrote:There is nothing in the World Rally Championship that is US built or designed.
There may be a Ford badge on the Focus WRC but there is nothing standard and more importantly nothing fitted to the car that is American (other than the water pump).

What you have written contradicts what I have read at Paddock Talk.

Regardless, this is a NASCAR thread, not a WRC thread.

If someone finds fault with NASCAR because it attracts supporters of the Confederacy, I've got no argument. But to claim that NASCAR drivers have no talent is willfully ignorant. NASCAR drivers have beaten WRC drivers at their own game. NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon turned a lap time in a Williams-BMW before the 2003 F1 USGP that would have placed him 13th on the starting grid, despite having a grand total of nine laps of experience in an F1 car on what had to be the worst tires at the speedway.

evolu wrote:Mark Higgins, David Higgins, Mike Lovell...

No interest in getting into the argument, but just wanted to mention that seeing these names, on this board, caused a mini freak out... I attended most of the US Rallies during the heyday before the series took a giant dump and disapeared back into relative obscurity. The Higgins-es are super nice guys.

NASCAR? Crap. Boring. Crap. So is drag racing.

I watch Champ Car, and SCCA World Challenge but mostly because I've done work with a couple of teams and it's nice to watch them do well, but otherwise racing in general is unappealing to watch. Kind of like going to see your friend's band play when you're not really that into them - more exciting just because they're friends and you want to see them do well. I do miss going to rallies though.

I would much rather go karting or do a track day on a motorbike.