I was talking with a customer out in California whose kid races those quarter sized nascars or whatever they are... After a little NASCAR banter and repartee, I made the risky remark that my true racing allegiances rest with Formula 1. She said, "oh yeah, they've got the big race this weekend, right? I hope Danica wins." I let it go...
NASCAR people aren't the only one guilty of this. They once asked MS in an interview about NASCAR and he said he couldn't name a single driver. it goes both ways.
What's his name? I'm going to kick his @$$ for you Wasn't Scott Speed from California too, great job he did of making his own state aware of F1
After people hear I'm a fan of racing, F1 in particular, they tell me emphatically they've attended the Canadian GP for several years also. In Toronto.
So one woman who mixes up drivers and leagues somehow demotes all NASCAR fans as "narrow minded"? Some may say your statement is narrow minded or is just bias against NASCAR and this is just another cheap shot towards a racing series that many people {including F1 fans} deem much more exciting and entertaining than F1. If I picked my daughter up at ballet and someone asked me a question about the upcoming colander and I was unable to answer it, would that make me a snotty ballet father? No but if the person who I was speaking with had a narrow mind, they could assume I was elitist. In conclusion, a poor point on which to wage an attack on NASCAR. You would have been better off starting a thread on "poor woman drivers" with this story.
I agree with Neil, you should let it go. If I were to use the term "narrow minded" I would likely target it to my fellow F1 followers that have no concept of the difficulty of driving a tank at 220 mph next to 2-3 other tanks for three hours. You were not talking to a real motor sports fan. You can't call yourself a motor sports fan unless you understand that each form of racing has its own required driver skill sets, in most cases none better or requiring more ability than the other. Doesn't mean a driver call pull an Andretti or Foyt and race successfully in multiple series, just means that driving a road course requires a different driver talent than driving a high speed oval, or driving a sprint car on a clay surface. But for this person to use Danica Patrick's name does help prove that her presence has gone a long way to bring auto racing into the homes of many people that would never tune in an auto race on TV. Like her or not, this is good for all of us. The two most significant events in the last 20 years that have increased motor sports interest in the USA is the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr, and Danica Patrick leading the Indy 500. People that never watched a race before know the name "Earnhardt" and "Danica". The network evening news has made sure of this. I have to believe that a small portion of this interest has spilled over into F1, which is a good thing. Otherwise, we would likely not be watching F1 live on SpeedTV if the viewership wasn't there as TV programming is revenue driven. When I find that a person does not understand the difference between F1, NASCAR, or even IRL, which is most of the women I date, I find it easier to convert them by explaining. I have also discovered the best way to convert a novice female to liking racing is to take her to Daytona for a NASCAR race. The side-by-side competition seals the deal every time, they always want to go back. Road racing takes time for the typical novice to enjoy, so I prefer attending those alone.
Try telling the residents of Bowmanville they're Hogtowners........ PS: telling a guy he is wrong about; 1) cars, or 2) racing, is the equivalent of telling him his prowess lacks.
That's not the guy's fault at all. F1 is marketed in this country HOW ? Not at all. In most markets, F1 is an upper-tier digital channel - most folks I know don't subscribe to those tiers. In ALL markets both nascar and IRL is on normal broadcast tv. Open wheel is open wheel to most folks in the USA.... Stock cars ? Why don't you go ask any stock car racing fan: 'who is leading the points in the ARCA stock car series ?'.... same deal. Unless you are circulating in a KNOWN crowd of F1 fans (and there are not many of those), you deserve any reply you get.
I was taking to a girl in passing who is a friend of a friend and found out she was into F1, we were talking about it for awhile (she seemed to know what she was talking about) and then in closing she said "It'll be a great season but everyone knows Casey Stoner is going to win." I think she was confused.
Well, if she thinks Casey Stoner is in F1, chances are she doesn't know anything about either MotoGP or F1. Apparently she can't even tell a motorbike and a racingcar apart.
sad but it's America. The other comment about MS not knowing any Nascar people doesn't bother me in the least because Nascar is the bottom barrel of racing. Sure they are minting money with the demolition derby attitude they've portrayed, but F1 and Moto GP are the pinnacle of racing, they don't need to concern themselves with the lower tiers. And don't get me wrong as much as I hate Nascar I think driving in the series would be fun as hell, but how anyone can enjoy watching it over F1 is beyond me.
We need to remember Formula One does not directly imply that we are talking about car racing. The term Formula One is used all over the place, and not just where wheels are involved (ie. boat racing, etc.), and I would imagine that MotoGP is referred to by many as the Formula One of m/c racing. I personally would give her some credit, atleast she is interested and watches some form of motorsport. Pete
Very true Pete. I still give her credit and in her defense we had been drinking. I'm quite confident we were speaking about the same F1 though; Words such as "Räikkönen", "Ferrari" and "McLaren" were used. The Last MotoGP race I saw did have FIAT branded machines in the field but the McMerc's were nowhere to be seen. Cool girl regardless.
And a lot of people think 'nascar' is just ONE series, when in reality it is several, including some of your local bullrings. Ask a 'true' nascar fan which family owns the most nascar series championships: the answer is not 'Petty'. Almost nobody knows the answer. And even fewer care, but that goes to serve my point.
To each thier own. I'm sure there are many people that would rather watch Nascar rather than F1. As far as Nascar being the bottom of the barrel, to you maybe. It's bigger in the US than F1 ever was.
However NASCAR is popular in the States, and eclipses F1 there, it's still only a national series and can't compare with a World Championship. NASCAR is a unique US phenonenon, like American football, that doesn't have an audience outside the States. F1, or Grand Prix always had an international connotation, with races organised on all continents (although not permanently, I agree).
True enough, but the US is a huge market that they are missing out on. Ask any of the manufacturers if they'd like the be bigger here.
