Posted on 08/13/2014 6:01:44 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
I drove race cars for three years. I know race cars and race car drivers. It's time to lay off Tony Stewart.
Don't get me wrong. Whatever should be said about him as a human being, Stewart is a phenomenally talented race car driver, likely one of the all-time greats of motorsports.
By comparison, my racing was infinitely more humble, including three years of competition in the Sports Car Club of America and the International Motorsports Association — i.e. club and semi-pro — levels.
I raced on asphalt road courses like Watkins Glen and Summit Point with left and right turns, never on super-speedways or dirt tracks with only left turns.
But here's the thing: The physics of driving a race car are the same whether you are going 130 mph in a Formula Ford in the rain on a road course, 190 mph in a NASCAR stocker on a bright sunny day at Daytona's superspeedway or 100 mph at night on a little dirt track bullring in Canandaigua, New York.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
“get a clue..”
Wow! Such an informative post. ;-)
See post #20 and maybe you will ‘get-a-clue’.
It should have read ‘lay off of’ him
Racing in general, but definitely racing Sprint cars, is for a select few and I hope Stewart continues racing, pro and hobby.
Speaking of fatalities, you should have seen it before seatbelts became mandatory! Seat belts add weight! - whaddaya need thems fer?
Why he was not banned forever for that incident is beyond my comprehension.
I'll bet alot of things are.
And 100% correct.
From what I saw on the video, Stewart was trapped by the circumstances and the position of Ward on the track.
Sprint cars do not like turning right even in the best of circumstances and Ward was positioned directly in Stewarts path but slightly to the upper right.
No way Stewart could have swerved right to miss Ward an if he tried to he would run directly into Wards crashed car.
Instead, Stewart tried to turn left but by the time he saw Ward it was too late .
One issue the article neglects to mention is that the viewpoint of the driver in an open wheeled race car is very different than from a street car. You sit very low in open wheel car and the viewing perspective is very restricted.
To get an idea of what the driver sees in a sprint car, get a couple of bricks and a board and set them up so you are in a semi reclining position with your eye level about 18-20 inches off the ground.
Even a normal 8” curb looks like a wall from that perspective
Yes they do - saw it on a NASCAR truck series team at Texas Motor Speedway when the entire crew almost came to blows. The funny thing was they were all Yankees rather than the deep south good ole boys that most think of when thinking of motorsports. Those accents, along with the expletives and insults, made for interesting post-race entertainment.
I’ve also driven race cars for a hell of a lot longer than three years, as did my uncle, and my grandfather. In a nutshell, if anyone’s temper was to blame, it would be the spoiled brat who jumped out of his car on a racetrack. If you have an urge to get run over, I can’t think of a better place to be running around than on a racetrack. You have a 20-yr old kid whose parents spent $100000 on a play toy for their boy, who behaves like a spoiled kid on the track. Wonder why? It was an accident, but would never have happened if Ward had stayed put in his car, instead of grandstanding and taunting another driver. I don’t watch NASCAR, so have no feelings for Stewart, positive or negative, but have no sympathy for people who make dumb decisions. Ward made a dumb decision, and paid the fee.
I don’t think a jury could convict Stewart after see just a few minutes of that video.
The shorter the track the shorter the tempers.
And left side visibility is considerably better. You also might notice how loose the steering is.
“Fat Boy?
Why he was not banned forever for that incident is beyond my comprehension.
I’ll bet alot of things are.”
I have noticed since joining FR that when people do not have valid arguments/responses then they immediately resort to insults. I always dismiss those kinds of posts and assume that the posters are Dumbocraps. ;-)
You need to get edumacated boy, start with post #4
“Speaking of fatalities, you should have seen it before seatbelts became mandatory! Seat belts add weight! - whaddaya need thems fer?”
That was also at a time when race cars used a lot of magnesium (which also saves weight). A lot of them preferred being thrown from the car to being trapped in a car that might burst into flames any second.
“You need to get edumacated boy, start with post #4”
“Edumacated boy”? I suggest a remedial class in English spelling for you. ;-)
Boy? I am 70 years old. ;-)
YOU should read Post # 20. ;-)
Oh, and the insults reflect upon you, not I. ;-)
I’m still trying to figure out what his temper in bed has to do with his attitude on the track.
“I’m still trying to figure out what his temper in bed has to do with his attitude on the track.”
Oops! “Bed” should be “bad”. ;-)
Well, the first words in your first post were "Fat Boy".
Now, I may be a little thin-skinned, but I would consider that an insult.
Therefore, your entire argument/response is invalid, by your own criteria.
I do hope this is not beyond your comprehension.
“”Fat Boy”.””
Ah, but that insult was not directed at YOU, was it? Besides, he IS fat, is he not? Some posters keep me laughing all day! ;-)
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