For as long as I can remember NASCAR has always had its share of critics, saying the drivers can only turn left.
But I like racing in general. It's been a long time but I used to watch super modifieds race on the local 1/4 mile dirt track. I've taken victory laps as a crew member at Laguna Seca, Sears Point, Portland, and Riverside (RIP) - as well as taking podium finishes at the SCCA National Championships at Road Atlanta. I've been to a dozen F1 races in the '70s and '80s, a picture of me talking to James Hunt published in Road and Track magazine! And we weren't even talking cars or racing. We were talking about his dog, Oscar. I was at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1983, the closest finish in history. Won by an Australian and two AMERICANS! Wait, I thought Americans could only turn left?!
I'm a road racer at heart but let me tell you, those dirt track modified drivers (who had regular jobs for a living) had some serious talent. Anyone who straps themselves into a race car of any type works for me. I actually saw a modified driver die one night. He was trapped in his car and burned to death. **** Zwemke. We could smell him. But, yes, he could only turn left in a 600 horsepower opposite lock power slide. So he was talentless trash. A hillbilly. Hogwash!
I had VIP access to the NASCAR Clash at the Coliseum. This new generation Cup car is a serious racing machine, similar to an Australian Supercar. I had unfettered access to the pits. The team owners, drivers, and crew members could not have been nicer to me. Try doing that in F1! F1 access seems to be limited to the "rich and famous" - the likes of Serena Williams and her thug bodyguards. Shove it, F1. F1 has morphed into something I no longer enjoy. But they can turn right! Yeah, yeah...
I posted pictures of some of the people I met at the Clash earlier in this tread. Here are some pictures of the cars. Do you still think they can only turn left and can't stop?
And look a the sponsorship on those Cup cars. Stuff you, the "poor and unwashed", can actually buy. F1 proudly displays their fufu sponsors, the likes of Rolex and such. Does that impress you like their ability to turn right?
Scott