Ladies & Gentlemen. Start Your Engines!!!

[Bruce Wayne]

Is anyone else excited for today's Indy 500 race?

Thanx!!!
Charlie

 

[Touchofevil]

It used to be a big event around the household when I was a child, but not anymore.

 

[MarkJohn]

It was also the Monaco Grand Prix today - its generally rubbish as a race, but the glitz and glamour of the occasion is noteworthy... I used to love motor sport in all its forms [esp. F1 and WRC], but I can't muster any enthusiasm these days.

 

[tonyb]

Count me also among those who just can't quite muster the enthusiasm for motor sports that I once did. There was something magical in it when I was a kid. Perhaps that something still exists for some folks, and for newer generations. But if it is indeed still there, it's largely lost on me.

But then, that's true of many things. Fresh eyes versus old, jaded ones, maybe.

And maybe, like many things that once captivated me, it's gotten too good. You know, the machinery has never been more impressive, but it lacks the soul it once had.

Hydroplane racing is among the clearer examples of this. The boats are wonders. They get around a course much faster than the old-school ones did, and they're a helluva lot safer. But the crowds aren't what they once were, and the drivers aren't the household names they once were (or, more accurately, as they once were in places such as Seattle, where hydroplane racing thoroughly permeated the local culture).

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Tony Kanaan won under a caution.

 

[tonyb]

Yes, so I see. Your post prompted me to switch on the TV and catch the last 10 laps.

What's the deal with the Chevrolet engines? They powered the top -- what? -- five finishers?

 

[Dan Allen]

It was also the Monaco Grand Prix today - its generally rubbish as a race, but the glitz and glamour of the occasion is noteworthy... I used to love motor sport in all its forms [esp. F1 and WRC], but I can't muster any enthusiasm these days.

It's the Qualifying that I enjoy. If they awarded the trophy on Saturday and sent every one home I'd be satisfied. the race is usually a let down.

 

[Touchofevil]

Count me also among those who just can't quite muster the enthusiasm for motor sports that I once did. There was something magical in it when I was a kid. Perhaps that something still exists for some folks, and for newer generations. But if it is indeed still there, it's largely lost on me.

But then, that's true of many things. Fresh eyes versus old, jaded ones, maybe.

And maybe, like many things that once captivated me, it's gotten too good. You know, the machinery has never been more impressive, but it lacks the soul it once had.

Hydroplane racing is among the clearer examples of this. The boats are wonders. They get around a course much faster than the old-school ones did, and they're a helluva lot safer. But the crowds aren't what they once were, and the drivers aren't the household names they once were (or, more accurately, as they once were in places such as Seattle, where hydroplane racing thoroughly permeated the local culture).

I think that the lack of interest comes from that there much more out there catch our attention then there was when I was a kid. Much of what once was is less special now that our attention has been diluted with 24 hour 300 channel coverage. Wonderment/excitement used to be easier to find. Maybe I have become somewhat jaded.

 

[vitanola]

I lost interest in the "500" shortly after Hunt, Moss and Harder drove the three Barber Warnock Special "Fronty-Fords" on the old brickyard. The Flivvers only came in 14th, 16th and 17th, but then they were only T Models, competing against the likes of Mercedes, Hispanio-Suiza, Dusenberg, and the earliest variants of the Offenhauser. Not a bad showing for Ford Cars built by the Chevrolet brothers, actually.