assistant editor James neilson
MOBIL 1 BACKPAGE
Today’s Continental Tire Challenge is arguably closer in spirit to the NASCAR of old than the Sprint Cup of today.
can we all get along? i’m near- ing 30, young i know, but it still makes me old enough to
quote a specific event, in this case the rodney king beating that ultimately sparked the los angeles riots, and cause younger people to look at me like a weird old man.
I bring that quote up because in my
time spent at Inside Track I have become acutely aware of how specific racing fans’ loyalties are. Drag racing fans often don’t have
much time for anything else. Many stock car fans view road racing fans as tea-sip- ping fancy boys. Meanwhile, a large percentage of road
racing and rally fans look down their noses as if to follow any other form of racing immediately makes one a savage. So to quote the infamous Rodney King
“Take iT from a converTed Tea-sipping fancy boy, you’ll be happy you did.”
one more time, “Can we all just get along?” Last year in this space I championed
the fantastic value local racing provides families in search of entertainment. Compared to going to the movies or any professional sports, local racing offers the most bang for your buck. Having said that, there’s little financial
risk in taking a chance on going to a track featuring a style of racing you may not be currently interested in. I myself have taken my own advice in
the past and was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. Allow me to elaborate. My initial interest in racing was fol-
lowing Formula 1 and CART as a kid. NASCAR or MotoGP, for example, were never in my wheelhouse. Since then I have had a great time at-
tending CASCAR and Parts Canada Su- perbike events at Mosport and was disappointed in myself for not going sooner. Of course now I need to follow just
about every series there is. My regret was not making the effort sooner. Stock car fans might actually have
Photo by ColourteCh South
some fun at a Castrol Canadian Touring Car Championship event. The principle behind both is very similar; production- bodied race cars running different classes with rules packages that encour- age passing and parity. The only difference, of course, is that
you’ve got some right turns thrown in there to spice things up. I think Formula 1 fans could get a kick
out of attending a Sprint Car event like the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals at Ohsweken Speedway. Again, the two series are more alike
than you think. Both feature single-seat open top cars with massive wings and tires and ridiculously overpowered en- gines. Who doesn’t like that formula? So if you took my advice last year, and
I sincerely hope you did, take my advice this year and broaden your horizons by attending a racing event you’ve never been to before. Take it from a converted tea-sipping
fancy boy, you’ll be happy you did and a whole new world of racing will be opened up to enjoy. •
70 •
www.insidetracknews.com
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