Full Version: So what is racing to you?
I read through everyones posts all the time and I come up with mixed feelings about what everyone thinks racing is really all about.
What do you think racing is all about?
C
C
From the California Vehicle Code:
"As used in this section, a motor vehicle speed contest includes a motor vehicle race against another vehicle, a clock, or other timing device. For purposes of this section, an event in which the time to cover a prescribed route of more than 20 miles is measured, but where the vehicle does not exceed the speed limits, is not a speed contest. "
And the punishment includes..
"punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not less than 24 hours nor more than 90 days or by a fine of not less than three hundred fifty-five dollars ($355) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment. That person shall also be required to perform 40 hours of community service. "
As far as sanctioned, off highway racing goes, whatever.
"As used in this section, a motor vehicle speed contest includes a motor vehicle race against another vehicle, a clock, or other timing device. For purposes of this section, an event in which the time to cover a prescribed route of more than 20 miles is measured, but where the vehicle does not exceed the speed limits, is not a speed contest. "
And the punishment includes..
"punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not less than 24 hours nor more than 90 days or by a fine of not less than three hundred fifty-five dollars ($355) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment. That person shall also be required to perform 40 hours of community service. "
As far as sanctioned, off highway racing goes, whatever.
FUN!!!!!!!!
Racing is being competitive enough for a win. Nothing else is quite so exillerating. To me, there's little reason to otherwise be on the track.
Andys
Andys
Well, it's not NASCAR ........................................ The Cap'n
Who can get from point A to point B the quickest?
Hmm, Don't race on the street after getting into Auotcross and lapping days.
I quickly realized that on the street peple might get over tier head trying to keep up to my car.
So racing technicaly is wheel to wheel on a track I am at the point that this is Way over my head.
So settling for Autocross is my thing. and lapping days when I can sneak in on one.
I quickly realized that on the street peple might get over tier head trying to keep up to my car.
So racing technicaly is wheel to wheel on a track I am at the point that this is Way over my head.
So settling for Autocross is my thing. and lapping days when I can sneak in on one.
QUOTE(Brew @ Apr 5 2007, 05:17 PM) 
Who can get from point A to point B the quickest?
that's drag racing (BORING)
i'd like to get from point:
A to B to C to D to E to F to G to H to I to J to K using bezier curves ...
In the words of Steve McQueen in LeMans: "Racing is life, everything else is just waiting."
I used to consider DE and time trialing racing. I guess I still feel that's racing but W2W takes it to another level that's hard to understand until you do it. There's a lot of guys that feel if you race W2W using the 13/13 rule that it's not real racing. They feel that bumpin' is racin'. I totally disagree. If you pass someone clean you beat them, if you bump them out of the way you gave up and get a trophy for being the biggest dick.
I used to consider DE and time trialing racing. I guess I still feel that's racing but W2W takes it to another level that's hard to understand until you do it. There's a lot of guys that feel if you race W2W using the 13/13 rule that it's not real racing. They feel that bumpin' is racin'. I totally disagree. If you pass someone clean you beat them, if you bump them out of the way you gave up and get a trophy for being the biggest dick.
QUOTE(SirAndy @ Apr 5 2007, 06:27 PM)
QUOTE(Brew @ Apr 5 2007, 05:17 PM)
Who can get from point A to point B the quickest?
that's drag racing (BORING)
i'd like to get from point:
A to B to C to D to E to F to G to H to I to J to K using bezier curves ...
It CAN be drag racing, or it can be that point A is the starting line, with the point B being multiple times around a track, or 1000 miles away in Mexico!
Racing is hanging your feet, torso head and arms off the side of a boat trying to counteract the sails. Racing is flying an 1100 square foot kite on a broad reach at the top of its wind tolerance - keeping it on the knife edge to wring out every knot. Feeling the boat shudder as the keel cuts the water. It is trying to grind in a jib with the boat heeled over 30+ degrees, water spraying up over the bow and rails.
Racing is being becalmed in a shipping channel at night, with 2 freighters bearing down. Or baking in the sun willing the wind to blow harder for you, and die for everyone else. Or dropping sails at the last possible moment as a storm races up the chesapeake - day turns into night in an flash, and lightning starts dancing off the water . It is catching the wake of an out going freighter, and using it to push you ahead. It is judging the tides better then your opponents. It is rounding the first mark in a long race, the team is clicking, and KNOWING that you are going to win - whether or not you actually do.
God damn, I do miss it. Has it really been 2 years now.
Or, did you mean cars?
Zach
Racing is being becalmed in a shipping channel at night, with 2 freighters bearing down. Or baking in the sun willing the wind to blow harder for you, and die for everyone else. Or dropping sails at the last possible moment as a storm races up the chesapeake - day turns into night in an flash, and lightning starts dancing off the water . It is catching the wake of an out going freighter, and using it to push you ahead. It is judging the tides better then your opponents. It is rounding the first mark in a long race, the team is clicking, and KNOWING that you are going to win - whether or not you actually do.
God damn, I do miss it. Has it really been 2 years now.
Or, did you mean cars?
Zach
talking trash about driving better than Skline
QUOTE(Cap'n Krusty @ Apr 5 2007, 07:15 PM)
Well, it's not NASCAR ........................................ The Cap'n
okay, you win!
... sometimes it can just be getting to the restroom in time...
..
Racing to me is building something a little better than the others and then
driving well enough to prove it.
driving well enough to prove it.
QUOTE(Aaron Cox @ Apr 5 2007, 07:03 PM)
talking trash about driving better than Skline
That is something you will never do
Spending time with my kids and friends having fun.
When it stops being fun, I stop going.
Rich
When it stops being fun, I stop going.
Rich
Clearly none of you know what real racing is about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mMeyIQdTRc
Racing is something I would do if I had extra $ and more free time. Instead I live vicariously through others here :-)
QUOTE(skline @ Apr 5 2007, 08:26 PM)
QUOTE(Aaron Cox @ Apr 5 2007, 07:03 PM)
talking trash about driving better than Skline
That is something you will never do
When was 'your' last race???
Racing is fast, going so fast you are almost out of control, and having so much of a rush that you stayed in control and made it to the finish line...hopefuly while all your buddies are not quite there yet. If you didn't have fun along the way, ummmm, racing is not for you then.
I enter AX races whenever I can to improve my skills as a driver and course memorizer. It's relatively cheap, but I can barely afford it. I WANT to go to the big track, but am $1-6k from Day 1 and $3-10K from being fast. It's fun, and if I get really hooked I'll probably buy a kart and REALLY go racing.
I've raced a triatholon, used to race "pro" mountainboard boardercross, surf competitively, and am generally kinda competitive.
Imagine being at the top of a mountain, standing on a 4 wheeled board, the gate drops, and you and 3-4 buddies are rolling down a dirt track, launching 10' table jumps, 4-6 berm rollers, MX style for 1-2 minutes with no brakes. The winner had the most luck and the biggest balls, not the most expensive board or best looking outfit. That was racing
I enter AX races whenever I can to improve my skills as a driver and course memorizer. It's relatively cheap, but I can barely afford it. I WANT to go to the big track, but am $1-6k from Day 1 and $3-10K from being fast. It's fun, and if I get really hooked I'll probably buy a kart and REALLY go racing.
I've raced a triatholon, used to race "pro" mountainboard boardercross, surf competitively, and am generally kinda competitive.
Imagine being at the top of a mountain, standing on a 4 wheeled board, the gate drops, and you and 3-4 buddies are rolling down a dirt track, launching 10' table jumps, 4-6 berm rollers, MX style for 1-2 minutes with no brakes. The winner had the most luck and the biggest balls, not the most expensive board or best looking outfit. That was racing
QUOTE(drew365 @ Apr 5 2007, 06:28 PM)
(SNIPPED)
I used to consider DE and time trialing racing. I guess I still feel that's racing but W2W takes it to another level that's hard to understand until you do it.
It's the direct competition, be it golf, business, poker or even chess that gets the juices flowing. Winning is not measured by style points, or against a clock, just by who finished first with the most. No bragging, just results.
Want more? Try W2W racing. You can really hurt yourself trying to win. Still not enough? Try duelling or dogfighting. Win or die.
"Some guys they just give up living
They go down little by little, piece by piece
Some guys come home from work and wash up
Then go racing in the streets" ---Bruce Springsteen
(No I'm not advocating street racing)
I don't really know much about racing. Not even enough to hate Nascar.
I've just always thought that line summed up why amateurs compete at anything..a zeal for life against the stark alternative of boredom and inevitable decline I guess.
...or... cool dudes just dig cars
They go down little by little, piece by piece
Some guys come home from work and wash up
Then go racing in the streets" ---Bruce Springsteen
(No I'm not advocating street racing)
I don't really know much about racing. Not even enough to hate Nascar.
I've just always thought that line summed up why amateurs compete at anything..a zeal for life against the stark alternative of boredom and inevitable decline I guess.
...or... cool dudes just dig cars
If you have to ask .... you ain't racing nor are you a racer.
Racign is that thing that Skline talks alot of crap about. dont make me come up there to school ya
Racing is a speed contest. right now racing to me is AX and TT. some day it will become wheel to wheel
Racing is a speed contest. right now racing to me is AX and TT. some day it will become wheel to wheel
.
and of course more...
QUOTE(skline @ Apr 5 2007, 08:26 PM)
QUOTE(Aaron Cox @ Apr 5 2007, 07:03 PM)
talking trash about driving better than Skline
That is something you will never do
Actually, that's all he ever does. Last time you took a good time at the AX Aaron?
I was turning better times than a Cayman S last time I ran... 
I guess it depends on your perspective.
To some, Racing is getting to the finish line faster than the next guy (or all the rest).
To some, it's testing your limits (and the limits of your machine, and your engineering skiils, whatever it may be) under competition.
To some, it's an oportunity to spend time with like minded nut-jobs (one might even go so far as to call them good friends), to push your skills, get an adrenaline rush, and have fun while doing it.
I like to think it's a bit of all of the above.
I've been involved in motorsports going on 15 years now, certainly less time than some of the like-minded-nut-jobs on this forum, but a good while nonetheless. I've been a driver, an event chair, a corner worker, a safety official, a crew member, and a spectator.
Unless you are one of the extreemly rare people that can actually make a living from racing, I think it has to be more about the fun, and the people, than the trophy at the end. If it's only about the trophy, then spending all that time and money can become very frustrating, very quickly, if you don't win.
just my observations...
-Josh2
To some, Racing is getting to the finish line faster than the next guy (or all the rest).
To some, it's testing your limits (and the limits of your machine, and your engineering skiils, whatever it may be) under competition.
To some, it's an oportunity to spend time with like minded nut-jobs (one might even go so far as to call them good friends), to push your skills, get an adrenaline rush, and have fun while doing it.
I like to think it's a bit of all of the above.
I've been involved in motorsports going on 15 years now, certainly less time than some of the like-minded-nut-jobs on this forum, but a good while nonetheless. I've been a driver, an event chair, a corner worker, a safety official, a crew member, and a spectator.
Unless you are one of the extreemly rare people that can actually make a living from racing, I think it has to be more about the fun, and the people, than the trophy at the end. If it's only about the trophy, then spending all that time and money can become very frustrating, very quickly, if you don't win.
just my observations...
-Josh2
Spending a bunch of money to get up way too early and drive really far away to lay on filthy blacktop in the hot sun and fix my car while eating crappy sandwiches.
QUOTE(sww914 @ Apr 6 2007, 12:54 PM)
Spending a bunch of money to get up way too early and drive really far away to lay on filthy blacktop in the hot sun and fix my car while eating crappy sandwiches.
It's also about being able to turn left and RIGHT!
Hey Scott; I thought this was a good question, but you haven't posted your thoughts. Except that you're faster than Aaron.
"Spending a bunch of money to get up way too early and drive really far away to lay on filthy blacktop in the hot sun and fix my car while eating crappy sandwiches."
Actually, I think Steve nailed it. Based on recent experiences this is much closer to what racing is to me. I'm hoping for more then 20 minutes of track time at the next event. Maybe work up to a full half hour.
"Spending a bunch of money to get up way too early and drive really far away to lay on filthy blacktop in the hot sun and fix my car while eating crappy sandwiches."
Actually, I think Steve nailed it. Based on recent experiences this is much closer to what racing is to me. I'm hoping for more then 20 minutes of track time at the next event. Maybe work up to a full half hour.
It's drag racing for some , NASCAR for others 
, and for me? Endurance racing all the way...there's nothing better!
, NASCAR for others , and for me? Endurance racing all the way...there's nothing better!
I agree with Zach. For me it is riding the bow of a Jboat calling back distance to start. Dropping down in a trough in the Straits taking a reef while trying to clear the shipping lanes at night. It also used to be drag racing. Super Stock class with Ford products during the Glidden years. Now as I age Iam just happy to beat my buddies to the last beer during Pinochle night Larry
Larry
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OL2HF-sFLnc
And, if it's good racing, it's something you can get excited about, no matter how you feel about the outcome. Like any good sporting game.
As for "the rest of us," autocross, track days, DE, etc. -- while wonderful and big fun -- simply cannot compare to the thrill of scheming on how to dive-bomb on the way into corners, or pass on the outside of a corner, or outbrake someone into a turn, or outdrag them out of one...
If you ever get the chance to go W2W, take it.
pete
And, if it's good racing, it's something you can get excited about, no matter how you feel about the outcome. Like any good sporting game.
As for "the rest of us," autocross, track days, DE, etc. -- while wonderful and big fun -- simply cannot compare to the thrill of scheming on how to dive-bomb on the way into corners, or pass on the outside of a corner, or outbrake someone into a turn, or outdrag them out of one...
If you ever get the chance to go W2W, take it.
pete
QUOTE
It's also about being able to turn left and RIGHT!
Well...now...there you go!
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