Now first off, I'm not really a big Indycar sports fan. I watched this film Born Racer on Netflix this afternoon. What an interesting surprise. This film is about a racer Scott Dixon and his team and the type of driving and challenges that make an Indycar winner. The good, the bad, and least of all the ugly.

Many things I learned such as just 3-4/10th's of a second lapse in the pit can put a driver up to 4 car lengths behind in the race. Thats just a fraction in time but makes all the difference in a possible win or lose, and the stress it puts on the driver to make up for the loss of time. Additionally, the daily cars setup, the weather controls a completely different and massive amount of gear and changes to adapt, more work than I've ever even considered goes into it.

Then there's the speed of those Indycars, in excess of 230mph. The amazing camera angles shot from a birdseye camera view on the car shows the incredible speed these cars travel in the packs, and the split second decisions needed or necessary to maneuver thru or avoid collision and/or debris. Some of the filmed accidents that occurred during a race, heart and gut-wrenching, you may find yourself like me, flinching or leaning to avoid the debris flying at you at breakneck speeds.

The mental and visual training methods alone are so intense and require almost superhuman responses on some of the computer simulations and tests.

I did have one question I wondered about. As I saw many Honda stickers and labels on the drivers uniforms and especially the cars. What % of the engines or parts are required to be Honda to get that sponsorship? I know in the past all the stickers on race cars of different classes had stickers like Valveoline, or STP, etc. I'd assume that these Indycars have Honda engines or parts to get that sponsorship. Lots of Honda advertisements on the track, cars, and clothing.

Anyway, it was a pleasant surprise for a Sports Documentary about Indycars and races. Very informative, good photography, and a range of sport emotion. I liked it!

EDITED***GGggrrr the auto correct got me again lose/loose

This message has been edited. Last edited by: just1tym,

RE: Honda

IIRC Honda & Chevrolet are the engine suppliers for IndyCar, so that is why you see it so prominently.

There are some things everyone should do in their life and attending a major league racing event like Indy is one of them.
TV and movies just don’t capture the sensual aspects of speed as much as they try.

Dixon's primary sponsor is PNC Bank, so his color scheme is mainly orange and blue, but regardless of who your sponsor is, if you have a Honda engine, you're going to have Honda branding all over your car. Same thing with Chevy.

I will have to check this out sometime. Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
There are some things everyone should do in their life and attending a major league racing event like Indy is one of them.
TV and movies just don’t capture the sensual aspects of speed as much as they try.

Very true. I watched NASCAR on TV for years but really never got the full experience until I went to Talladega for a race. All of your senses get involved. The sound alone is worth the money it takes to go.

Jim

I just finished watching this and I can say it is well worth the time to watch. The videos of Dixons wreck at Indy were amazing with many camera angles.

Jim

As just a spectator in a few races here in Florida like Daytona 500 and more recently at the Homestead Motor Complex I did enjoy the excitement and atmosphere of being there. Though these days it's not so convenient as it once was, the great thing about watching it on video is catching some of the camera angles that would otherwise never be captured and experienced. Watching a race from the track is exciting because of the excitement of the crowds and sounds being live, plus browsing the cars up close before the race, just being that close and taking photographs and talking to the drivers and spectators is undeniably cool.

I'm just settling for home theatre experience these days which is obviously the next best thing. It is interesting still because I learn a lot and see otherwise the birdseye views that I would never experience at the track.

Thanks for the Honda answers. More a question of curiosity because I purchased my first Honda a few years back an Accord with the V6, and having grown up in the 60-70's muscle cars plus owning a couple vettes in more recent years, I was really pleasantly surprised at Hondas V6 performance. My purchase was basically my retirement car being my last likely and more practical, my experience was impressive. They can put an engine together well, even for an ole timer like myself who still enjoys pushing on the pedal once in awhile

Thanks for the post. Added this to our watchlist!

quote:

Very true. I watched NASCAR on TV for years but really never got the full experience until I went to Talladega for a race. All of your senses get involved. The sound alone is worth the money it takes to go.

This used to be even more so in F1 where the sound of the cars in pre-turbo/EV era was impossible to duplicate.

Also NHRA. Simply no way to adequately describe or recreate the sonic impact on your whole body, not just ears, of top fuel and funny car launch. Our first time, it took me a few instances of even knowing what was coming again next not to be shocked and overwhelmed each time. Crazy.

For me, that was seeing IndyCar at Kansas Speedway. Even though it's "only" a 1.5 mile track, you have to reset your brain at the scope of the place. I'd been to baseball/football stadiums before, and it looked like the same view when you're back at the concession stands looking through one of the entrances. It's not until you step towards the bleachers that you realize you're about 10 stories higher than the track itself, there's seats and the broadcast booth another 10-15 stories ABOVE you, and you realize that the diagrams were no joke and that you can fit the entire Truman Sports Complex (Kaufman Stadium and Arrowhead Stadium) inside the track limits.

I guess it's like being on top of the Empire State building or being on the deck of an Aircraft Carrier. You've seen both on TV, but you can't comprehend how 'small' you are compared to those behemoths.

As an aside. I live north of our Homestead Motor Complex by about 20mi as the crow flies and even at that distance when it's racing season I can hear the cars running at night.

Nothing compares to being in the stands when the pack is flashing by, intoxicating. When I worked for the power company the track is on the way to our nuclear plant and we'd often stop by the roadside at lunch when they'd be running practice laps. The fans love it here and draws a good crowd when in season. As DanH mentioned, the magnitude of some of these tracks, you really have to be there to appreciate the scope of some of them.

Thanks for the heads up, Will, this wasn't on my radar.

I'm not sure there's a more professional driver in any series than Dixon. He just gets the job done with great competence and little drama. He never seems to shoot himself in the foot and pushes an issue only when he can. I think of him losing to Pagenaud last year at the Indy road course in the rain. Dixon had a good lead but Simon reeled him in. Scott's car was worn out by the end, he could have made it wider but knew the risks, settled for the points and made Simon earn it. It was amazing Scott kept his car between the lines to the finish.

That all said, I've never warmed to Scott, as great as he is. Why? He showed up in CART and became the series' youngest winner to date. He knocked Greg Moore off the record book. Moore was my favorite driver without question, excelling in CART when, in my opinion, CART was the most entertaining series in the world. That was through the 1990's.

In 1999 Moore died at Fontana, California, had just inked a deal with Penske and his future couldn't be brighter. I'd followed him through the feeder series, his death hit me harder than any other non-family death ever. Not fair to fault Dixon for topping Greg but it just seemed like an exclamation point to Moore's death.

For all else good about IndyCar, the fans get great access to the teams. Last year at Gateway, they had a tent with the drivers giving autographs. They were out there for some time on a hot Saturday.

Mike, looks like a great day at the track. Any photo's of the cars? Would love to see em if you've got any.

^^^^
No, Will, I purposely hamstrung my self that day by only bringing a super-wide lens.