Sunday, February 14, 2010
Silence!
So, apparently the Silent Pagoda is getting flack from criticizing the DeltaWing. With all due respect to its creators, Hobbson makes a point, albeit a humorous and rather fantastical point. In typical fashion, Hobbson poked fun at the personalities of the IICS using the medium of the DeltaWing design that all but invites a bit of humor. Do your sense of humor and the Silent Pagoda a favor and leave a comment on the most recent entry. You can do so HERE!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
The re-emergence of Danica Mania.
Let the Danica-mania ensue! Or not.
Twitter-sphere was alive and well since, of course, it is race day. Great comments all around from bloggers and fans.
Important news items:
1. Milka was true to form; she managed to race full speed into a smoke cloud, crash, and finish last.
2. Nelson Piquet Jr. will now know the wrath of Nascar nation; he got into Danica.
3. Danica finishes 6th.
4. DW is swooning over Danica.
So, what does all this mean? One thing that surprised me was the feistiness that Danica displayed while racing. I was also surprised by her car control. Do not glean from these comments that I thought poorly of her driving ability previously. You're wrong. Danica has displayed talent before, but never this aggressive style. She did seem to lack a little discipline, but that will be learned.
Steph (@99forever) from planet-IRL.com tweeted this, "Okay, kids.. the end of that was actually pretty good. And you gotta hand it to Danica. She looked good at the end. But what does that mean?" She has a point and a good one at that. There are a couple ways to interpret this. First, indycar skeptics can claim that she hasn't made a display like this in indycars. Point taken. The other point is more relevant, though. Danica achieved a top-10 finish in her first ARCA start. That, readers, is good work. The best thing I see is that she won't be the latest laughing-stock in the string of crossovers. Sure, she hasn't run a Busch, err, Nationwide Series race yet, but this result should shut up the Nascar skeptics for the first few races. Now, if we could get the over-zealous commentators to mention more IICS statistics.
The commentators annoyed the crap out of me. If you didn't know better, you'd think Danica had never driven a car before the way they talked. WRONG! That would be yet another reason I was glad to see that save of hers; DW freaked out because she controlled her car like an indycar driver. Hmm, that's probably because she is one. Who knew?
Recall the Piquet Jr. reference? I have a theory on this one. One indycar fan, Brandon (@bmnehls) had this to say, "Poor Piquet is going to be hated forever now..." He's got it right, you know. Danica is driving for JR, the beloved of Nascar Nation. Combine that with her popularity and plenty of fans will get on the Danica bandwagon. I pity the driver who wrecks her and arouses the wrath of Nascar Nation. Hey look, that former F1 driver, Piquet Jr, wrecked her. That should inspire a bit of fear. If not, just remember that Nascar Nation is much bigger than IndyCar Nation, tends to be much less illogical in its arguments and is just as unforgiving. I wouldn't touch that with a ten foot pole. Note to Piquet: Quit now before you piss off anyone else. Just do it.
That's all I've got for now. It hasn't been a surprising day for IndyCar Nation. The way I see it, we got some good publicity today. Thanks, Danica.
Oh wait, one last question: how long do we have to wait for an IndyCar race?
Twitter-sphere was alive and well since, of course, it is race day. Great comments all around from bloggers and fans.
Important news items:
1. Milka was true to form; she managed to race full speed into a smoke cloud, crash, and finish last.
2. Nelson Piquet Jr. will now know the wrath of Nascar nation; he got into Danica.
3. Danica finishes 6th.
4. DW is swooning over Danica.
So, what does all this mean? One thing that surprised me was the feistiness that Danica displayed while racing. I was also surprised by her car control. Do not glean from these comments that I thought poorly of her driving ability previously. You're wrong. Danica has displayed talent before, but never this aggressive style. She did seem to lack a little discipline, but that will be learned.
Steph (@99forever) from planet-IRL.com tweeted this, "Okay, kids.. the end of that was actually pretty good. And you gotta hand it to Danica. She looked good at the end. But what does that mean?" She has a point and a good one at that. There are a couple ways to interpret this. First, indycar skeptics can claim that she hasn't made a display like this in indycars. Point taken. The other point is more relevant, though. Danica achieved a top-10 finish in her first ARCA start. That, readers, is good work. The best thing I see is that she won't be the latest laughing-stock in the string of crossovers. Sure, she hasn't run a Busch, err, Nationwide Series race yet, but this result should shut up the Nascar skeptics for the first few races. Now, if we could get the over-zealous commentators to mention more IICS statistics.
The commentators annoyed the crap out of me. If you didn't know better, you'd think Danica had never driven a car before the way they talked. WRONG! That would be yet another reason I was glad to see that save of hers; DW freaked out because she controlled her car like an indycar driver. Hmm, that's probably because she is one. Who knew?
Recall the Piquet Jr. reference? I have a theory on this one. One indycar fan, Brandon (@bmnehls) had this to say, "Poor Piquet is going to be hated forever now..." He's got it right, you know. Danica is driving for JR, the beloved of Nascar Nation. Combine that with her popularity and plenty of fans will get on the Danica bandwagon. I pity the driver who wrecks her and arouses the wrath of Nascar Nation. Hey look, that former F1 driver, Piquet Jr, wrecked her. That should inspire a bit of fear. If not, just remember that Nascar Nation is much bigger than IndyCar Nation, tends to be much less illogical in its arguments and is just as unforgiving. I wouldn't touch that with a ten foot pole. Note to Piquet: Quit now before you piss off anyone else. Just do it.
That's all I've got for now. It hasn't been a surprising day for IndyCar Nation. The way I see it, we got some good publicity today. Thanks, Danica.
Oh wait, one last question: how long do we have to wait for an IndyCar race?
Friday, February 5, 2010
Change is a good thing.
With a title like that, one would think I was a really bad Lutheran. Ha. :)
The IICS Series world has been turned on its ear since I last blogged. Here's a recap:
1. Tony George stepped down from his remaining official positions. Like him or hate him, this was and will be a big deal. He was a force in the American Open Wheel Racing and had a tremendous impact on it. I don't care where that infamous event from 14 years past hit you... that's a moot point now. He served as a figure-head and has become the scape-goat for the division that deprived young fans like me of growing up with a strong open-wheel racing series of which I could be proud. No, this is not a stab at TG. Rather, think of it as a blunt delivery of uncomfortable facts.
2. Vision Racing suspends operations due to lack of sponsorship. I'll probably catch hell for this, but I wasn't ever a fan of Vision Racing. That being said, I'm saddened that the team and its employees are in this position. You know all those posts and tweets about the letter-writing campaign? Go do it.
3. The IICS has a new CEO. You know, arguing about whether or not he's qualified is rather senseless at this point: he hasn't had time to get anything going yet. Let's do ourselves a favor and pass judgment after he has time to set things in motion. His resume looks good. Besides, the IICS is looking for the casual fan; it seems to me that a CEO that is currently in that category would best understand that fan's mindset.
4. Silly season keeps getting sillier and sillier. Justin Wilson to D&R Racing, Coyne to field two cars, NHL possibly down to one car (with Hideki driving)? What is the world coming to? We don't have long to wait for answers; they'll come with the the season opener. With all these announcements, I have my concerns especially given the fact that I'm a Rahal fan. Let's hang tight, though, until we have our answers.
5. The Dallara concepts are posted. Let the debate ensue. I advocate waiting until we see all options before forming an opinion. Why? I'm not an engineer-y type and as such, I don't know what is best. I'll be cheering anyway.
As I look at this list, there are some big happenings. We've had quite a bit of drama over the course of the offseason. Honestly, I can't wait for the real buzz to begin. All the change has given birth to a heightened sense of anticipation in me. Let's get this party started!
The IICS Series world has been turned on its ear since I last blogged. Here's a recap:
1. Tony George stepped down from his remaining official positions. Like him or hate him, this was and will be a big deal. He was a force in the American Open Wheel Racing and had a tremendous impact on it. I don't care where that infamous event from 14 years past hit you... that's a moot point now. He served as a figure-head and has become the scape-goat for the division that deprived young fans like me of growing up with a strong open-wheel racing series of which I could be proud. No, this is not a stab at TG. Rather, think of it as a blunt delivery of uncomfortable facts.
2. Vision Racing suspends operations due to lack of sponsorship. I'll probably catch hell for this, but I wasn't ever a fan of Vision Racing. That being said, I'm saddened that the team and its employees are in this position. You know all those posts and tweets about the letter-writing campaign? Go do it.
3. The IICS has a new CEO. You know, arguing about whether or not he's qualified is rather senseless at this point: he hasn't had time to get anything going yet. Let's do ourselves a favor and pass judgment after he has time to set things in motion. His resume looks good. Besides, the IICS is looking for the casual fan; it seems to me that a CEO that is currently in that category would best understand that fan's mindset.
4. Silly season keeps getting sillier and sillier. Justin Wilson to D&R Racing, Coyne to field two cars, NHL possibly down to one car (with Hideki driving)? What is the world coming to? We don't have long to wait for answers; they'll come with the the season opener. With all these announcements, I have my concerns especially given the fact that I'm a Rahal fan. Let's hang tight, though, until we have our answers.
5. The Dallara concepts are posted. Let the debate ensue. I advocate waiting until we see all options before forming an opinion. Why? I'm not an engineer-y type and as such, I don't know what is best. I'll be cheering anyway.
As I look at this list, there are some big happenings. We've had quite a bit of drama over the course of the offseason. Honestly, I can't wait for the real buzz to begin. All the change has given birth to a heightened sense of anticipation in me. Let's get this party started!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)