Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of nearly all forms of racing. I of course enjoy all the traditional forms, but who doesn’t enjoy some good ole’ lawnmower racing or belt sander racing? Anyway, as a fan, I typically find myself defending NASCAR to people that see it as a ‘they just turn left’ event. I enjoy watching a lot of the strategy that crew chiefs employ to position their driver in a position to win. Either way, the race yesterday at ‘The Brickyard 400′ was an unfortunate let down. For those not in the know, it seems like the combination of the Car of Tomorrow (isn’t it today yet?), the abrasive Indianapolis surface (not designed for NASCAR), and a unproven tire compound made for a less than stellar show. The event was stopped repeatedly so teams could inspect and replace failing rubber.
Well, my weekend fuel burning fun was not going to be put on the line. I decided instead to go back and watch some good ole’ demolition. This demo had actual racing, though…they call it Team Demolition. The goal, one of the team cars has to complete four laps around the mud oval. All the other cars can opt to run ‘offence’ or ‘defense’ however they saw fit. Cars were cutting across the track for massive take out moves. All this to a sold out crowd…and everyone left with a huge smile on their face.
It was brutal, primal…and awesome. Long live racing!
