Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Purist
I really don't find it that hard to figure out who is who when watching a race. I find that making the proper mental associations to identify cars, teams, and drivers isn't that hard if you want to know, and I'm blind in one eye to boot. Also, I don't mind if the driver isn't American if he/she has the ability to compete. I mean I'm all for seeing Americans in the cockpit, but the slots should go to the best drivers period. I just don't go for the whole ethnocentrism thing.
BTW, Mario Andretti is Italian, not American, and that hasn't seemed to stop millions over here and world-wide from becoming avid fans of his.
|
Maybe the point of this thread has just whizzed past your other eye. Mario (and all the other greats people have affection for) were racing in the US in reguional championships long before they reached Indy car racing. Knowing the (unpronouncable?) name of the (unknown?) driver in a car with a sponsor you've neve rheard of and wuill never come across day-by-day is a poor substitute for watching guys you already know and vcan have followed for years. I used to see thigns the same way as you, but now I realise that familiarity and loyalty are important as well. When a series has 10-12 potential race winners, it needs at least 4-5 of those to be ladder-series guys.
Most of the biggest racing stars in the US are in NASCAR, and any of them could've reached IRL or ChampCar and done well, but they weren't given the chance. The idea of having a couple of dirt-track races could be a good one - it'd cerytainly be a new spectacle for someone like myself.