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Good gawd, car racing is boring as hell and you have to be brain dead to watch it


Randomguy

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My brother put it on.  Talk about wasting your life, there is nothing even remotely interesting about watching a bunch of cars go around a track over and over and over and over and over.  Crashes wouldn't even help, I would be rooting for the cars to crash and fly into the stands and pits and just wipe the whole stupid thing out forever.

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11 minutes ago, Randomguy said:

My brother put it on.  Talk about wasting your life, there is nothing even remotely interesting about watching a bunch of cars go around a track over and over and over and over and over.  Crashes wouldn't even help, I would be rooting for the cars to crash and fly into the stands and pits and just wipe the whole stupid thing out forever.

But GP on the other hand is simply awesome.

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15 minutes ago, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said:

Sports (and motor racing) are much like sex: once in a while, I suppose it’s nice to see how the pros do it, but wouldn’t you want to be a participant and not a spectator? :dontknow:

 

It's always been the case for me that I enjoy being a participant and dislike being a spectator. Short track racing is more interesting as the action is quicker. If you are present, you get more from the experience. The sounds are deafening. Smell the burning rubber and gasoline, ... I was in the stands with an old guy one time. He said he could tell someone was cheating because he could smell the nitrous oxide coming from one of the cars.

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33 minutes ago, sheep_herder said:

So, what culturally stimulating thing are you doing instead of watching the race, reading a book, listening to an opera, listening to the symphony, or watching a classical movie, etc.? I normally listen to the races on the radio and do other things while they are on the air.

I took a shower and then walked over to visit my parents, I couldn't take the noise and the tedium. 

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15 minutes ago, donkpow said:

If you are present, you get more from the experience. The sounds are deafening. Smell the burning rubber and gasoline, ...

Yeah, that's way better than sitting there staring at a screen, watching cars go round and round. "If you don’t have dirt in your beer, it ain’t real racin'" as the saying goes. After having walked down, trackside at the Syracuse Mile dirt motorcycle races and gained an appreciation for just how goddamned fast those guys are going, I understand perspective has a lot to do with it.

Closer to home, for me is that there are certain bands/artists that have to be experienced live, to truly appreciate.

But still, if I was into auto racing, I would get a car and race, not watch someone else do it - even if it was just the shitty half mile dirt oval near me.

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1 hour ago, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said:

Yeah, that's way better than sitting there staring at a screen, watching cars go round and round. "If you don’t have dirt in your beer, it ain’t real racin'" as the saying goes. After having walked down, trackside at the Syracuse Mile dirt motorcycle races and gained an appreciation for just how goddamned fast those guys are going, I understand perspective has a lot to do with it.

Closer to home, for me is that there are certain bands/artists that have to be experienced live, to truly appreciate.

But still, if I was into auto racing, I would get a car and race, not watch someone else do it - even if it was just the shitty half mile dirt oval near me.

On the other hand, if you had raced then you might appreciate what you're watching more than people who never did it.

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37 minutes ago, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said:

That, too, but spectating is still boring.

Depends on whether or not you are just watching cars go round or watching individual cars with a more nuanced eye toward how each is handling the track and how.  NASCAR Dover was very interesting yesterday as the track was changing it's character often and drivers had to adapt to the changes.

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Races on tv not so much.  Racing most anything in person is a fabulous evening of people watching, smells, adrenaline , fear, etc...  Of course, I am a redneck girl so that may factor in.  Dirt Track Date was written for me!

Dirt Track date, elimination starts at 8!

I still can't figure out how to embed

 

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I stopped watching NASCAR a while back. Had a hard time finding anyone to root for after Mark Martin retired. In the meantime, TV coverage has become a mix of too much focus on the leaders even if nothing is happening (ignoring action elsewhere in the field) and too many side stories and other distractions from the race at hand. Indycar has fallen into the same trap though the racing is a bit better. 

Formula 1 is currently some of the best racing coverage on TV. Granted, the passing is limited, but I enjoy watching them try to set up the other car for a pass. Also, the TV coverage just does a better job of focusing on battles in the field. 

I still love to go in person if I can, but it has become very expensive. Our local track closed because it just was just too expensive to go and facilities weren't maintained. I hope to get down to Austin for the F1 race next year. 

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I've never been into auto racing but I guess it's kind of like fireworks in terms of sense stimulation: you get loud noise as the cars whoosh past you, you get the occasional spinout or crash, etc.on

One person's thrill is another person's boredom.

My brother, who will drive out of state to see auto races, says that playing chess is the most boring thing to him - probably because he and my father watched me play to a draw in the 2nd round of U.S. Open in 1976 where each side had 2 1/2 hours on the clock per game. My opponent was rated 300 points higher than me and I was thrilled at the result after over 4 hours of play. He didn't see that the effort was worth the reward.

Right now I have a chess attack going against a guy from Atlanta, my top competitor among the 5-players in my quarterfinal round section (80 players total involved) of the Team USA Southeast 2017 Individual Championships where one of the 5 of us will advance to the semi-finals.  I'm in the middle of a 5-move combination that I think will win me a Rook for Knight - enough of an edge to eventually win if pieces are traded-off afterward.  We're allowed up to 48 hours/move!  Yet it excites me enough that I'll look at the game several times today and, if necessary, tomorrow to see if he moved yet.

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So I have probably told this story before.  

Back in the day, I worked for a friend who owned a boat rental business.   In the winter when it was slow, he did other things.  He got his SCCA license and began to race cars.  He was very good.  SCCA F2000 National champ. Formula Atlantic champ.  Indy lights Champ and finally Indy Racing League Champion.

He and I would work on his F2000 car in this garage and I would go as "pit crew"  of sorts to local races.  It as fun, as the cars were going fast but not crazy fast.

When he went pro and gave me tickets to watch him race in the Indy cars, it was hard for me to enjoy the races as the speeds were so high and the chance of injury seemed so much greater.

I will agree that watching in person is FAR superior to watching on TV and it helps if you have a driver you like.  I could see where watching NASCAR on tv could be mind numbing if one did not follow the sport and a driver and know that back ground between them.

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5 hours ago, maddmaxx said:

Depends on whether or not you are just watching cars go round or watching individual cars with a more nuanced eye toward how each is handling the track and how.  NASCAR Dover was very interesting yesterday as the track was changing it's character often and drivers had to adapt to the changes.

That was the one that my brother tried to kill me from boredom with. 

4 hours ago, Airehead said:

Races on tv not so much.  Racing most anything in person is a fabulous evening of people watching, smells, adrenaline , fear, etc...  Of course, I am a redneck girl so that may factor in.  Dirt Track Date was written for me!

While I will admit that many here have a far better appreciation than I, it was as boring as watching a room full of old ladies knitting, but without the good conversation or nice sweaters.  You would have to take me with you in person and make sure I have some beer and a nacho hat while you describe the nuance, then I might be able to appreciate it slightly better.  You and Max will have to pick one we can all meet at.

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2 minutes ago, jsharr said:

I could see where watching NASCAR on tv could be mind numbing if one did not follow the sport and a driver and know that back ground between them.

Let me assure you, it numbed my mind up far more than normal!  You should come with Max, Airehead, and I to the race they choose.

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Just now, Randomguy said:

Let me assure you, it numbed my mind up far more than normal!  You should come with Max, Airehead, and I to the race they choose.

I would love to.  Texas Motor Speedway is pretty cool.  Come see the IRL run at TMS.  Speeds well over 200!  IRL has smaller crowds than NASCAR and the racing is better as you cannot touch other cars without bad stuff happening most of the time.

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Not into any of the motor sports really but I'll watch those off road racing trucks. Basically trucks on a motocross type track and that type of racing is fun to watch 

But I won't go out of my way to watch it, if I'm channel surfing and come across it I'll watch.  

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5 minutes ago, jsharr said:

I would love to.  Texas Motor Speedway is pretty cool.  Come see the IRL run at TMS.  Speeds well over 200!  IRL has smaller crowds than NASCAR and the racing is better as you cannot touch other cars without bad stuff happening most of the time.

Wait, is this a race where the mind is numbed for hours and hours and hours, or one where they do a few laps and then some car or other wins?  The second would be more fun.

Would there be Shiner?

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Just now, maddmaxx said:

There are some people for whom auto racing is a waste of time.  They require more stimulation than that.  You'd have to shoot something at the white house while subverting democracy to get them excited.

The first beer is on you, btw.  Not some shitty car-racing beer like Budweiser, either.

I would share my nacho hat.

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On Sunday, October 01, 2017 at 4:13 PM, F_in Ray Of Sunshine said:

After having walked down, trackside at the Syracuse Mile dirt motorcycle races and gained an appreciation for just how goddamned fast those guys are going, I understand perspective has a lot to do with it.

I've never been in to Nascar or circle track racing but motorcycle dirt track mile is something to see. 130+ mph with no front brakes. 

I do spend a lot of time at Road America but I also have friends who race at Road America and I have done my share of laps around the track. I think that that is what makes it interesting for me to watch. I still prefer watching motorcycle over car racing. 

My dream house would be on the straight away between corner 3 and 5 at Road America. 

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10 hours ago, BR46 said:

I have done my share of laps around the track. I think that that is what makes it interesting for me to watch.

It’s worse for me, I think because I don’t like watching anything- racing, Sports, movies, TV.....

I can appreciate the intricacies of something and respect the skills and talents of the participants, but that only goes just so far. Then I have to get up and do something.

I think it's gotten worse as I’ve gotten older, too because I can’t even game anymore. I keep thinking I ought to sit down and play some Borderlands on the PlayStation...but just can’t bring myself to do it.

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I’m not much of a watcher of anything, watching on tv is even worse. I have a classmate who thinks of himself as very athletic because of all the watching he does. I guess if there were not people paying to watch there wouldn’t be any professional sports. I would be totally ok with that.

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2 hours ago, Longjohn said:

I guess if there were not people paying to watch there wouldn’t be any professional sports. I would be totally ok with that

You'll get no argument from me there, but before I throw down on college sports, I need to see if any of my paycheck is derived from ticket & merch sales.....:whistle:

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