No Comparison

NASCAR, please drop the Kyle Busch-Dale Earnhardt, Sr. comparisons. As far as I know, Kyle has yet to win a championship. Kyle couldn’t carry Big E’s helmet bag.
Dale was a hard-nosed racer who gave as well as received, and I cannot remember him whining about the quality of his car. Dale knew how to find victory lane and didn’t need to put on a drifting exhibition or take a bow beforehand.
Speaking of NASCAR, is there anybody out there who can broadcast a race in understandable English and not remind everyone of how good it used to be? We don’t care. A commentator who does not talk over his broadcast partners for 400-500 laps without yelling would be nice.
Please find something off air for Kenny Wallace and Kyle Petty to do.

Who’s A Menace?

Did Scott Dixon call Danica a “menace?”

In Praise Of Ethanol

In 2007, the IndyCar Series transitioned to 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol. The “greening of racing” was applauded by racing teams and fans for its innovation and continued commitment to performance. These high-tech, multi-million dollar, state-of-the-art vehicles perform to the same high standard they performed at using methanol in the past, and it’s done using ethanol, a clean-burning, 100-percent renewable fuel.
Ethanol reduces harmful tailpipe emissions, grows in the fertile farmlands of American, generates American jobs and is renewable. It was a responsible and forward-thinking decision made by the IndyCar Series to pursue a renewable fuel source.
Ethanol has proven itself week after week in the most demanding motorsports environment. It is a high-performance demonstration of the many benefits ethanol brings to American consumers. Ethanol suppresses gas prices at the pump and supports the drive toward energy independence. And the production of corn ethanol is a bridge to research in other areas like cellulosic ethanol, which uses plant waste and non-grain stocks to produce energy.
By making the transition ethanol, the IndyCar Series has been at the forefront of the drive for a more secure energy future. We applaud the choices of the IndyCar Series and the American Le Mans Series to be the leaders in adopting future fuel technologies and encourage other sanctioning bodies to follow suit.

Another Vote For Ethanol

I’ve been a reader of NSSN and been involved in racing for 30-plus years.
I don’t consider myself an expert on the politics of the prices of fuel, but I have a pretty good idea that politics plays a big part of it. After reading that ethanol isn’t the answer in the public forum recently, I had to write a rebuttle.
I know corn-based ethanol is not 100 percent the answer to America’s energy problems, but it is the beginning of the development of other forms of bio mase-based fuel.
The field grass miscanthis produces three times the alcohol of sweet corn and is in the near future works by American farmer scientists today.
This field grass doesn’t need to be replanted every year, doesn’t need near the water or fertilizer to produce and is a step in the right direction in freeing America from the stranglehold foreign oil has on our great country.
The country of Brazil imports zero oil from OPEC nations, and with the help of Volkswagen supplying the industry for flex-fuel automobiles, they have freed themselves from the economic stranglehold of OPEC.
If the tree huggers and our liberal congressmen would allow the opening of our own oceans and oil-producing lands, let us build and catch up with our much-needed refineries, we could stop the importing of the 30 percent of our oil we get from the Middle Eastern oil-producing countries.
If all of our American racing was done on homegrown alcohol, it would show the world we racers do not need their foreign OPEC oil. We can free ourselves from them.
America was, is and will always be on the forefront of independent grassroots ingenuity on this planet. Our country and Western Europe will scientifically overcome any problems the world will face, always will, if we can just get past the political red tape. For now, we need to drill and refine, and do it now.
That and miscanthis grass and bio-diesel would stop foreign oil from controlling our country’s economic future. If these things aren’t done soon, the future for hard-working American racers is bleak, not to mention the middle-class racing fan.
Bio-mase alcohol is the racers’s answer to freeing us from OPEC. Grassroots racing could be just that — grass (miscanthis) roots racing.

Perfect Pair For WoO

Bobby Gerould and Brad Doty are a perfect fit for Speed’s World of Outlaws sprint-car telecasts. I was pleased to see that the officials at Speed made the right call when they chose Bobby and Brad to handle the play-by-play and color commentary. They provide informative and entertaining insights.
Gerould brings a life-long exposure to sprint-car racing and genuine enthusiasm. Many race fans recall him accompanying his dad, Gary Gerould, as Gary announced at West Coast venues, including Capital Speedway/West Capital Raceway, Silver Dollar Speedway, Calistoga and San Jose among others.
In a Public Forum letter, Jim Schmitt has complaints aplenty about the live Speed WoO sprint-car telecast from the Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway. If Mr. Schmitt is going to be so critical of Bobby and Brad, he should at least show them the respect to spell their names properly. It’s Gerould, not Gerald.

Declining Speed

It’s very disappointing to witness the gradual decline of the racing coverage presented by Speed. The most recent and egregious example of Speed’s decline was the bare-bones coverage of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In year’s past, Speed offered comprehensive coverage of the biggest sports-car race in the world. This year’s coverage ammounted to a glorified highlight show with announcers constantly working to catch viewers up on nine hours worth of developments.
After covering the start of the race, Speed promptly left Le Mans to cover nearly three hours of Sprint Cup practice. After detailing nearly every critical air-pressure change in those crucial final hours of Cup practice, Speed trotted out the standard Craftsman Truck Series pre-race show. The truck broadcast was followed by ARCA, a taped NASCAR performance show, another taped feature and something called the Continental Ice Racing Series.
Speed’s trunchated Le Mans coverage is another example of the network marginalizing any non-NASCAR racing coverage in favor of game shows and reality programs. It also underscores the disturbing trend of networks hurding viewers toward their Web sites to view live events. The Web sites should augment television coverage, not replace it. Speed’s coverage of Le Mans was like ripping the middle 100 pages out of a 300-page book and trying to make sense of it all.
The programming choices made by Speed executives are indefensible. I am puzzled as to why the network refuses to simply give in and re-badge itself “The NASCAR Network.” I guess they are reluctant to completely embrace a diet of only NASCAR coverage for fear of discarding popular programming like “Pinks,” “Living the Low Life,” “Whips” and “Pass Time.” And who among us can’t wait for the July debut of “Wrecked,” a long-overdue show chronicling the daily trials and tribulations of tow-truck drivers.
The bulk of Speed’s “racing” programming is redundant, stale, overly scripted NASCAR propaganda served up by spineless shills who would rather gush about the CoT than report on the discrimination lawsuit NASCAR is facing. Robin Miller, the one true journalist employed by Speed, is woefully under-utilized.
USAC, World of Outlaws, A1GP and other series could all find a niche in the Speed lineup. But fear not, we’ve only got 340 more days until Speed’s live coverage of the NASCAR All Star Race.