Positivity

**FTHurley** · 09-21-2011 09:43 AM

I watch IndyCar racing because I enjoy it. I enjoy oval racing, I enjoy road course racing, and I even enjoy street racing. I love the 500. I enjoy watching NASCAR, F1, and the occasional sports car race (both Grand-Am and ALMS, and the 24). I even watch a bike race now and then.

I have no problem with folks who don't like the same things I do. I'm not a big motocross guy, or an off-road guy. No problem. Lots of people like them. I just get frustrated when people assume that because something isn't to their tastes, it must not be to anybody's tastes. I have a lot of stuff in my life to give me heartburn - work, politics, the news, family, all the usual stuff - and I watch racing for FUN. That's all I want out of it; a chance to watch some fast cars racing while I kick back and enjoy. It ain't always perfect, and sure there are things I'd change, but in general, I just try not to get too worked up over it. I mean geez, there are guys getting shot overseas right now who would LOVE to chill and watch a race. The least I can do is not let little things get me worked up!

So there you go - that's my outlook on racing. This **** is supposed to be FUN, dammit! So this is a place where we can talk about the racing we enjoy, without it turning into a war. You didn't like a street race? No problem! Totally cool. Want to talk about it? Great! The IndyCar forum will I'm sure have three or four threads dedicated to how much the race sucked. In hear, we'll try to keep it to stuff we like.

Now, here's hoping Kentucky ROCKS!

**mdkiel** · 09-21-2011 10:28 AM

Doesn't seem like it should be that hard does it?

I'm fresh off my first live IndyCar race (Baltimore GP) since 2003. The cars seemed faster than a speeding bullet going by on Pratt St, loud and shiny too. There is a video out there somewhere of a guy plastered up against the chain link who had obviously never seen a race before. You could see his eyes open wide and a grin break out as the IndyCars passed by -- then you could clearly see him say "wow!" I don't see how any of that could be bad.

**FTHurley** · 09-21-2011 10:33 AM

Originally Posted by mdkiel

I don't see how any of that could be bad.

That's because it isn't bad; it's great!

**badart** · 09-21-2011 11:41 AM

Too much other crap in our worlds to complain about, and sure not everything in rosy, but I enjoy the heck out of it (most forms of racing). It's entertainment for me, and if it isn't your cup of tea, so be it. Doesn't faze me in the least. Great post Hurley!!

**spanny** · 09-21-2011 11:56 AM

Too bad more of the world didnt have the same outlook at you

**icrackedtheaces** · 09-21-2011 12:48 PM

I like all kinds of Motorsports. I've been to a NASCAR race at Auto Club speeway, Multiple NHRA events at Pomona, and spent every Saturday at my local dirt track from 18 months until I was 11-12. Haven't been to an Indycar race yet but with Long Beach and Auto Club in my neck of the woods this may be the year I get to see them live.

**AFColt** · 09-21-2011 01:18 PM

Excellent post, man. I couldn't agree more. There's so much good stuff out there, and we only get so much time to enjoy. Seems silly to let whatever bad stuff there is get in the way.

I can remember being deployed overseas, wishing I could see ANY sort of IndyCar racing from the comfort of my home in the US. Sorta puts it all in perspective. I'm gonna enjoy every minute I have.

**martyrothrules** · 09-21-2011 01:27 PM

Originally Posted by FTHurley

I watch IndyCar racing because I enjoy it. I enjoy oval racing, I enjoy road course racing, and I even enjoy street racing. I love the 500. I enjoy watching NASCAR, F1, and the occasional sports car race (both Grand-Am and ALMS, and the 24). I even watch a bike race now and then.

I have no problem with folks who don't like the same things I do. I'm not a big motocross guy, or an off-road guy. No problem. Lots of people like them. I just get frustrated when people assume that because something isn't to their tastes, it must not be to anybody's tastes. I have a lot of stuff in my life to give me heartburn - work, politics, the news, family, all the usual stuff - and I watch racing for FUN. That's all I want out of it; a chance to watch some fast cars racing while I kick back and enjoy. It ain't always perfect, and sure there are things I'd change, but in general, I just try not to get too worked up over it. I mean geez, there are guys getting shot overseas right now who would LOVE to chill and watch a race. The least I can do is not let little things get me worked up!

So there you go - that's my outlook on racing. This **** is supposed to be FUN, dammit! So this is a place where we can talk about the racing we enjoy, without it turning into a war. You didn't like a street race? No problem! Totally cool. Want to talk about it? Great! The IndyCar forum will I'm sure have three or four threads dedicated to how much the race sucked. In hear, we'll try to keep it to stuff we like.

Now, here's hoping Kentucky ROCKS!

purely platonic and electronic!

**doitagain** · 09-21-2011 01:47 PM

Electroplatonic?

**cheeseczar** · 09-21-2011 01:52 PM

Motocross sucks.

**mdkiel** · 09-21-2011 01:56 PM

Originally Posted by doitagain

Electroplatonic?

Supersonic!!

**numetalbizkit** · 09-21-2011 04:29 PM

Originally Posted by cheeseczar

Motocross sucks.

I am sorry you feel that way, dude. I for one love it and loved it when I used to race it too.

**midtown** · 09-21-2011 04:49 PM

Originally Posted by numetalbizkit

I am sorry you feel that way, dude. I for one love it and loved it when I used to race it too.

Somehow I think Senior Cheezehead is joking.

**midtown** · 09-21-2011 04:55 PM

Crazy! I mean like so many positive waves maybe we can't lose! You're on!

**mdkiel** · 09-21-2011 04:58 PM

Originally Posted by midtown

Somehow I think Senior Cheezehead is joking.

cheeseczar don't be thinkin' too much...

**cheeseczar** · 09-21-2011 05:13 PM

Well crap. I just re-read Hurley's OP and I thought I read that he IS a big motocross guy. My comment was an direct insult toward him in celebration of his forum. Obviously I failed in an epic way.

**numetalbizkit** · 09-21-2011 10:37 PM

Originally Posted by midtown

Somehow I think Senior Cheezehead is joking.

I wasn't really sure. Sometimes a

or a

would help, you know?

**raskav** · 09-21-2011 11:40 PM

Here is a guy who just became a fan of IndyCar!
http://youtu.be/MtohbQqCi0A

I think sometimes we (as in TF) are guilty of obsessing over minutiae.
Minor things like "roll hoop" cause such intense debate (aka trading insults).
When in reality, the casual fans that IndyCars desperately need think the IndyCars are "unbelievable!"

We just have to get these folks to the track. Once they see IndyCars in person, I'm convinced they will become fans.
Or at the least, come back next year to that event.

Some sports translate well to TV. Unfortunately IndyCars is not one of them. Even with HD, TV can only hint at the sheer excitement and overwhelming rush of IndyCars in full song!

**Luy** · 09-21-2011 11:50 PM

This is a great thread.

**AFColt** · 09-22-2011 06:52 AM

Originally Posted by raskav

We just have to get these folks to the track. Once they see IndyCars in person, I'm convinced they will become fans.
Or at the least, come back next year to that event.

^^^^^This.

You can tell people all you want about IndyCar, but until they make it out to the track, it's not the same. I've done this for Indy quals and the 500, and darn right it works. I'm hoping to get some people on those $35 Kentucky tickets, as well!

**mdkiel** · 09-22-2011 07:37 AM

Originally Posted by raskav

We just have to get these folks to the track. Once they see IndyCars in person, I'm convinced they will become fans.
Or at the least, come back next year to that event.

I have seen this in action, first hand. I saw the scenario below played out over and over during the Baltimore weekend.

Originally Posted by mdkiel

There is a video out there somewhere of a guy plastered up against the chain link who had obviously never seen a race before. You could see his eyes open wide and a grin break out as the IndyCars passed by -- then you could clearly see him say "wow!"

**mdkiel** · 09-22-2011 07:48 AM

OK, I just watched the video and I can say that even though I've been following IndyCar for over 40 years; I stood right where that reporter was and I got just as excited as the first time I ever saw a race.

**FTHurley** · 09-22-2011 10:04 AM

Originally Posted by raskav

I think sometimes we (as in TF) are guilty of obsessing over minutiae.
Minor things like "roll hoop" cause such intense debate (aka trading insults).
When in reality, the casual fans that IndyCars desperately need think the IndyCars are "unbelievable!"

I've said it before and I say it again: new fans don't know that everything is supposed to suck! It's awesome!

**numetalbizkit** · 09-22-2011 10:56 AM

Originally Posted by raskav

Here is a guy who just became a fan of IndyCar!
http://youtu.be/MtohbQqCi0A

I think sometimes we (as in TF) are guilty of obsessing over minutiae.
Minor things like "roll hoop" cause such intense debate (aka trading insults).
When in reality, the casual fans that IndyCars desperately need think the IndyCars are "unbelievable!"

We just have to get these folks to the track. Once they see IndyCars in person, I'm convinced they will become fans.
Or at the least, come back next year to that event.

Some sports translate well to TV. Unfortunately IndyCars is not one of them. Even with HD, TV can only hint at the sheer excitement and overwhelming rush of IndyCars in full song!

That's the formula for a successful venue: Access, Length of the event (doubleheaders/support series), on track action, and affordability

Baltimore did those things very well and that's why it will be back next year...

**Indy-hp** · 09-22-2011 11:25 AM

Great thread. I agree with Hurley. I like to watch racing. It's my down-time. Some I like more than others, some I don't care for much at all, but overall, I like to watch fast vehicles compete against each other.

**The Stickman** · 09-22-2011 12:20 PM

Agreed. Watch enjoy repeat. Well atleast until the dreaded offseason.

**ZUL8TR** · 09-22-2011 04:15 PM

I was never into racing until I got together with my better half. We were living in California at the time. She had grown up in Indiana and with the race and told me what I was missing. To make her happy, she took me to my first race, this thing called the Indy 500. Sure, I had heard about it somewhere, but never followed it.

Well now, we show up at this place called the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and my jaw hit the ground. It was HUGE! I'd had only seen local dirt tracks as I passed them by headed somewhere else. So the scale of this place was mind blowing. So off we wander to cover the grounds and see the sites. They had Turn 1 open for people to wander out onto the turn and front straight. I felt like a giddy school boy being someplace I shouldn't be. Snapping pictures, just feeling the energy of the place. THOUSANDS of people everywhere. Eventually we wandered off to our seats in Turn 3.

The place was electric and you could feel it building as the festivities really got rolling. Finally, the roar of the engines starting and then as they passed by on the warm up laps. How, were those beats load or what? Then the green flag drops and those drivers were accelerating, jocking for position, making passes, all at 200+ mph!

That was the day I got hooked on open wheel racing. When it was time for us to leave Calif, a major part of moving to Indy was to be here for the Month of May. Since then, we've hit other IndyCar races at other tracks and intend to get to more tracks in the future. Its really fun to take someone along for their first race and just watch them get caught up in the excitement and to develop a deep-down love for the sport.

I'm grateful to my better-half for introducing me to IndyCar and we get a kick out of sharing great times together. We watch for the enjoyment and bonding it brings us. Sure, things go wrong that we might disagree with, but still, a bad race day is better than any off-season day. Drivers, Start your Engines...

**#7batmobile** · 09-23-2011 09:03 PM

@Hurley: I've always found your posts to be both entertaining and pretty level-headed. Just like you, my friends and I enjoy following/attending different forms of auto racing. Our Nascar and F-1 friends go with us to Indycar races, and visa-versa. Our Nascar friends took us to our 1st race(Nationwide) @Fontana last Oct. The fans were friendly, enjoyed the race, looked/acted normal, and were very attuned to the tech aspects of the cars. On the other hand, many of the Indycar races that we've attended: many of the fans were rude, hurled insults, booed, etc. just because we were following "you-know-who." Our Nascar and F-1 friends have always been left with the impression that Indycar crowds,( in general,) act like fools. Given the fact that you attend different racing venues, what are some of your observations regarding Indycar vs Nascar vs F-1 crowds?