Jim, thank you for the response. You and Naz are right about the NHRA just replacing Gary's explosion with somebody else's.
Doc, good points all.
First off, welcome to the 'mater, 'Blood. Always liked your work.
Second, I can honestly say your statement above is wrong when it comes to me. I hate crashes and explosions. Why watch motorsports then? Easy - to see someone control the uncontrollable. Forget wrecks. Give me a driver than can make an incredible save instead. For example:
- on dirt, give me Brett "The Jet" Hearn entering turn one at OCF sideways in fourth and coming out with the lead.
- for NASCAR, give me Earnhardt flying through the grass at Charlotte and never lifting. Give me Tim Richmond dive-bombing the turns at the Glen. Give me Steve Park in an asphalt modified slicing though traffic at Stafford.
- in the NHRA, give me Tommy Johnson running nearly a tenth slower than his opponent and winning at Reading in '02. Give me Dick LaHaie tuning Larry to mid-4.50s on hot race tracks when everybody else is smoking the tires. Give me Melanie Troxel running a 4.5 at Reading last year, have the chutes not come out and have her bring the car to stop so smoothly that nobody - the track announcers, the ESPN crew, or the fans in the stands - even notice that the 'chutes never came out.
Anybody can stick a car in the fence. Anybody can blow up a nitro motor. Very few people can keep control of their car, go fast and win. That's special. That's why I like racing.
Charles, while I see where your coming from, I am with most everyone esle. Being a marketing kinda guy, you HAVE to include crashes, fires, confrontations, etc. Matter of fact, if I was NHRA and my marketing guy/company didnt include it, they would be fired. Its just the game. Personally, do I like it when they crash, absolutely not. But do I like seeing it when they do? Absolutely. I think crashes are fascinating. Doesnt mean I want them to happen, but they are always going to happen. Plus by watching them, people in the know about of the cars can learn things. One crash can turn into many people lives being saved down the road.
