The United States of America is, arguably, the best country in the world for sports. There’s something for everyone. We have four gargantuan professional sports leagues, a steadily growing soccer league with a bright future, a thriving college sports organization, motorsports, horse racing and poker. Americans are always a major competitor in the Olympic Games. I’ve even seen a game of chicken foot broadcast on ESPN. The USA sports party is wild. But there are a few guests, some foreign, others local but a little shy, leaning against the wall that we should offer a few drinks.
The second part of this series is dedicated to a sport that actually has a long history in the United States: open-wheel racing. In America today, NASCAR gets all of the auto racing publicity. Frankly, stock car racing wouldn’t be the most popular motor racing product in the US right now were it not for some dysfunction among the people that controlled open-wheel racing in the early 1990’s.
WHAT KIND OF A SPORT IS IT?
Open-wheel racing is, obviously, a motor-racing sport. As you would expect, it features a number of drivers trying to cross the finish line before everyone else. Easy enough.
The top-tier of the open-wheel racing scene in the United States is the IndyCar series. This series divides its circuit evenly between oval (or, left-turn only) tracks and road courses. The premier IndyCar event is the historic Indianapolis 500, which just celebrated its 100th anniversary this past season.
The Formula 1 series is the top division in the world for open-wheel racing. This circuit contains strictly road and street courses from Japan to India to Canada. Most Formula 1’s drivers and television viewers are European. In 2012, the United States will host a Formula 1 grand prix for the first time in four years. The United States Grand Prix will take place in the streets of Austin, Texas next fall.
WHY IS IT SO COOL?
It doesn’t take a lot to figure out that this sport is fast. Open-wheel cars drag the ground like Mad-EyeMoody’s gimp leg and weigh less than Keira Knightley on the red carpet. Take for example the speed records at the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway: The fastest stock car lap at Indianapolis is 48.311 seconds at an average speed of 186 miles per hour, held by Casey Mears. Impressed? The record speed for an open-wheel racer at Indianapolis is held by Arie Luyendyk, who averaged a speed of 239 miles per hour in a lap that took only 37.616 seconds. Imagine driving on the Interstate, at 250 miles per hour, with two cars on either side, just an arm’s stretch away.
Open-wheel racing is dangerous. The sport has injured many, and killed several. Thankfully, the technology is such that drivers can sometimes now walk away from a terrible crash with nothing less than a bruised elbow. But the safety of the driver is nonetheless on the line whenever he sits in his car. The automobiles that these guys handle are a lot like your girlfriend: one wrong move and either you have to hear about it forever, or get slung into a wall.
Sometimes the car will act like Brenda Song’s character in The Social Network:
The sport has a long history in the USA. Open-wheel racing used to be much more popular throughout the States than stock car racing. The top American, and often global, drivers spent time on the CART (IndyCar’s previous form) circuit. Every driver in the world wanted to compete in the Indianapolis 500. This event in particular is filled with fun traditions that any American can fall in love with. For example, the winner of the Indianapolis 500 always has to drink a bottle of milk during the celebration.
Open-wheel racing is probably a bit like porn for anyone who considers himself a car geek. Even Mr. Spock would raise his eyebrows at the technology that goes into a vehicle used in Formula 1 or IndyCar. Obviously I can’t explain it, so here’s Formula 1 youngster Sebastien Vettel talking about the technology in his car:
WHERE CAN I WATCH IT?
The Izod IndyCar series is broadcast on both Versus and ESPN/ABC. There are only two races left in the season, the next being the Kentucky Indy 300. It takes place on October 2 at 2:00 PM ET and will be broadcast on Versus.
Formula 1 grands prix are broadcast on the SPEED Channel and occasionally the FOX network. The Singapore Grand Prix is this Sunday, September 25 at 7:30 AM ET. It will be broadcast on the SPEED Channel, and re-broadcast at 3:00 PM ET.
Michael Allen is a writer at Students of the Game. He is currently attending Auburn University and his major is English.
No comments:
Post a Comment