Through a Child's Eyes

I didn't want to do it.  I get so sick of the hateful speech that goes on around forums about that uncomfortable era.  And yet, I also feel like a lot of fans forget that young fans like me had a perspective then, too.  The idea for this post originated when I read a blog post by respected blogger, George Phillips at Oilpressure.com on The Lost Years of the Indianapolis 500.  As I read, while in complete agreement, I saw the need for a post on these years from my perspective and how the 500 brought us to our present state.

The first 500 I ever watched was in '98.  I was a seven-year-old and just getting into open-wheel racing.  At that time, though, I was much more concerned about the Coca Cola 600 that would be on that night.  Also, watching a race back then meant that I also was probably messing around with legos or tinker toys at the same time and paying minimal attention.  Needless to say, all I remember is that Eddie Cheever won.  The 1999 race was different; I was excited.  Still more of a Nascar fan than an open wheel one, the selling point for this race was that Tony Stewart was doing double duty that day.  He finished 9th and 3 laps down in the 500 and 4th in the Coke 600.  In 2000, the nearly unthinkable happened: Chip Ganassi's team qualified two cars for the 500.  I didn't have a grasp for what that meant when I was a kid.  Instead, I was excited that my favorite CART driver at that time was going to be racing: Juan Montoya.  Not only did he race, he won.  Needless to say, I was happy.  2001 was Helio Castroneves first 500 victory and the first time he climbed the fence.

By 2002, though, something was up.  Penske was racing in the IRL.  What???  I'd ask my dad questions because he understood the political climate of open-wheel racing.  I think he honestly always preferred CART over IRL, but at the core, he was a race fan and would watch whatever went fast.  One of my many questions was, "Why did they leave?  They missed the 500, didn't they?"  Yes, that was it.  People could tell you otherwise, but the 500 is the the real deal.  It's... the 500 (duh).  I had it figured out as an eleven-year-old.  The power and lure of the speedway did it.  By 2004, most of the CART powerhouse teams were back at the speedway.  I would watch races and think to myself, "this kinda looks like the old CART."  After that, the rest is history.

To this day, I fail to see how adult people cannot see or comprehend what I did as a child.  I wasn't and still am not that intelligent about IndyCar racing when compared to a lot of fans.  My technical knowledge is all but non-existent and my memory is limited by my years.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to sort this out and maybe, that's why I could see.  A child looks at things simply, sees them as they are, and responds simply.  Perhaps that is what we need.  The future of Indycar Nation are young adults like me.  On forums, I see many of us crying for our predecessors to let go.  I've even tried that!  It doesn't work.  And yet, the child-like perspective sees to the heart of the matter and looks in wonder.  As I go forward and continue to grow-up, I hope I take in each and every race with the wonder of a child and see through the ever-present dissension with the clarity of a child's eyes.

______________________________

Playlist for this post:

1.  Ordinary (Rock Version)- Train

2.  Handlebars- Flobots

3.  Bad Romance- Lady Gaga

4.  Lips of an Angel- Hinder

5.  Indy 500 practice

Common Sense

While perusing the IndyCar Nation fan forums, I came across one of the dime a dozen posts that the point is something like this, "The IRL is dying and not listening to fans.  Ovals are what we need.  This is an all oval series" and continues on, usually spiraling downward into the depths of incoherence.  The one I read tonight was so different.  And finally, something in me snapped- and I replied.  As I typed, I realized I had to be careful because a forum is not the place for a rant, a blog is!

My answer to the complainers and their rants (that I would never direct at anyone specifically because it's too rude):
1.  SHUT UP!  After several topics of similar content every two months or so, nobody pays attention anymore.  Deal with it.  Also, people are less likely to agree with you.
2.  Know your facts.  If you're set on posting, express your ideas and facts with proper grammar.  Misusing words while putting emphasis on them by typing in caps hurts your credibility.  There's an edit button for a reason.  By demonstrating your knowledge, people have a reason to seriously consider your position.
3.  COMPLAINING ABOUT THE PAST DOESN'T SOLVE THE PROBLEM!  Direct quote of what I said on the forum:

Let it go. Focus on the future, but respect the past. Fans that can't let their fascination with the past go hinder the growth of the future. Focusing on making this series something unique that drivers from all over the world should be the goal. Please, let the younger and new fans enjoy the direction this series is going without tainting it with bitterness... it's getting tiresome.

Ever heard of common sense?  Remember what worked and use it.  Seriously, people.

Will It Really Be a New Beginning?

So... Sao Paulo race weekend is next weekend.  At this point, I (along with all of you) should be jumping for joy because we'll actually have something to talk about after spending months grasping at straws of conversational topics.  There's one hitch in this scenario:  I'm not jumping for joy.  It's not because I don't have the energy.  On the contrary, I rarely lack it.  No, dear readers, a legitimate reason exists.  As one who follows multiple racing blogs, hangs around on the IndyCar Nation forum, and keeps up with the twittersphere, I have kept tabs over the off-season.  Here's my list of reasons to not be excited:

1.  Graham Rahal doesn't have a ride.  Before I get cyber rotten tomatoes thrown at me for mentioning this again, hear me out.  As a fan, I'm incredibly disappointed that he doesn't have a ride.  However, I refuse to jump on the bandwagon that blames teams for not picking him up.  He did have an offer and decided it wasn't in his best interests.  As much as I'd like to see him race, he knows his situation and the climate of the IICS better than we do.  Remember, he's on the inside and we're not.  Also, I won't join in with the crowd that deems him the savior of the IICS.  He's not.  I will, however, contend that he is the future because he is young and feasibly has a long racing career in front of him.  At this point, I reside in the "let's wait and see what will happen" camp.

Now, for the most pronounced reason.  2.  Fans won't let this be a new season.  What, you may ask me? Have you lost your mind, Catie?  That post-tonal analysis (music theory concept that I'm NOT a fan of) must be impairing your reasoning skills!  Well, not quite.  Here's the thing: season predictions are made and complaint after complaint about how things were last year surface.  You know, the usual, "red cars will dominate again" and "it'll be between two teams again."  To be honest, that's a terrible outlook. I don't care whether or not it's true; it's still terrible.  Yes, with spec cars, everything is likely to be a repeat performance.  If that's how you think, you might as well call this IICS 2009, part 2.  Well, it's not. We have new drivers, different rides, many personnel changes, and while the overall outcome might not look too different, a whole new set up possibilities awaits.  Consider all the positive announcements that were made over the off-season.  Fresh faces are becoming involved in the series, whether as drivers or leadership.  Changes like that are exciting.  In spite of that, the way fans talk, the IICS is dead and we may as well give up hope that we'll ever be something special.  The real problem is that the IndyCar Nation is a very skeptical core fan base.  It's knowledgeable in the history of the sport and understands the role politics between owners and the sanctioning body has played in changing the course of the sport.  

It's time to let each season grow to its best potential without piling the ghosts of past seasons on it.  2010 is its own season.  Sure, the past has its influence and should.  I can't say this well, but a quote from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" does.  In a bit of advice given to Toula by her brother, Nick, he says, "Don't let the past dictate who you are, but let it be part of who you will become."  We have a rich history that should be celebrated (and usually is quite eloquently by George Philips at Oilpressure) and keep things in perspective (with a lot of help and humor courtesy of Roy Hobbson at The Silent Pagoda).  At the same time, we need to let the future be itself.  The past will continue to be a part of the IICS, but it needs to grow and change too.  That's where the fans come in.  We tend to hold on to the past so much that we hinder the progress of the future.  So cut it out, will ya?

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!

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?  

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!

A thought (or two)

Just like the title indicates, I've been toying with a few ideas.  First, I don't really get too personal (exact location, minute by minute account of my day, etc.) on here because
1) that's rather ridiculous
2) I don't want to be stalked
3) I think Jenni's the only one who reads this and she can call me if she really wants the whole story
4) I keep a journal.  You know, that book with the blank pages in it where you write stuff.
5) There's probably something else that I can think of later...

Basically, I'm fishing for ideas about stuff to write because I like the idea of expressing myself, but want to shy away from becoming stalker material.  What to do?  Here's my thought:  write about things that interest me.  I've established that I'm a music nerd and into indy car racing.  (Lost yet?  No?  Good.)  It occurred to me that I could blog about a bunch of indy car and/or music related crap.  Thing is, regarding indy car crap, I don't have much to say that isn't said by any other of the many fantastic indy car bloggers.  I suppose I have a unique perspective because I'm a female college student, but there are female bloggers out there.  Not so unique, I guess.  Would anybody actually read my ramblings?

Hmm...  musically, I could go crazy and come up with things to write about easily.  Music has always been my passion and I am versed in it to write about it well enough.

So, what do you think?  Yes?  No?  Maybe so?  Leave a comment and let me know.

Thanks!

Racing Memories

In between all my musical sensibilities, I managed to inherit the "car" gene from my dad. This has blossomed into a love of auto-racing. My primary focus has been on Nascar and CART/IRL/IndyCar series. Through my years of watching races and even attending a handful, I've witnessed many things. As I was IndyCar Nation forum surfing, I caught a topic that brought to light one of my most poignant memories. Maybe they stick in my mind because I was so young. Perhaps because there is something to be learned. But this will not be forgotten. I was an eight year watching this live.

If you ever want the whole story, just let me know...

99 forever.