OT - Thank you, Marcus Gronholm

Mr. Pockets · #1 11-18-2002, 04:34 PM

A few of you may have caught the Rally of Great Britain this weekend on Speed Network. For the rest of you, I'm going to recap, briefly, just how exciting it was.

I missed Day One, but it seems that Marcus Gronholm (Peugeot) was running away from everybody, as he has been doing all season. On day two, the 206's 'fancy hydraulics' were letting him down and he was forced to use the floor shifter. This distracted him slightly and he rolled the 206 a few times, retiring from the rally. Marcus was quick to accept responsibility, saying that the shifter problem distracted him but, 'I could also have slowed down.'

This left Petter Solberg (Subaru) in the lead. Sweet!!! The day actually finished with Solberg 1.6 seconds behind Markko Martin (Ford) - that's friggin' close.

The first stage of the day was covered in a thick blanket of fog, so everybody was understandably cautious. Everybody except Petter. Driving his car like it had said bad things about his mother, he pulled out a 20 second advantage in that one stage that Martin never clawed back from. That first stage, seeing Solberg thrash the Impreza through the forest, in the fog, was awe-inspiring. What a drive. At the end of the stage, when reporters were trying to question him, Petter had to stretch his jaw - apparently he was gritting his teeth pretty severely.

In his attempt to catch up to Solberg, Martin pulled out an almost equally-astounding drive in the second stage. The second the Focus flew through the finish, Martin's codriver looked at him and yelled, 'you broke my teeth!' He wasn't kidding.

What a finish to the season - Petter Solberg's first win and second in the driver's championship. Luckily the off-season isn't as long as F1's and we only have to wait about two months until the 2003 WRC.

Ron Mummert · #2 11-18-2002, 09:06 PM

I can't understand why anyone would watch a NASCAR event after watching these wild men race little cars through the woods & NOT on the way to grandmother's house.

Ron.

Landshark · #3 11-19-2002, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ron Mummert
I can't understand why anyone would watch a NASCAR event after watching these wild men race little cars through the woods & NOT on the way to grandmother's house.

Ron.

i don't understand the NASCAR popularity either. a L O N G, boring left turn

Beav · #4 11-19-2002, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Landshark

i don't understand the NASCAR popularity either. a L O N G, boring left turn

It's also known as toilet bowl racing.

#5 11-19-2002, 07:56 AM

I agree nascar is not a good race. Best in my view are: Rally, touring, F1, and a bit of drag racing.
I think it was a great rally in Britian and Australia this year, missed most of the year though...

benebob · #6 11-19-2002, 08:08 AM

He was just so estatic when he won! It was great. I have nothing against NASCRAP. It gives the rednecks something constructive to do on the weekends

. I just miss Speedvision. The Speed channel is nothing more than NASCRAP TV. The regular shows no longer seem to be on a regular schedule and if you want to watch anything but NASCRAP you have to stay up til all hours of the night. I mean really how many NASCAR fans are watching a repeat of the race at 11am, 2pm and 5pm on Wed. They should all be waiting l in the welfare line getting their checks, spending 5 hours trying to figure out how to sign the check and make it to happy hour to drink their check.

AutoTchr · #7 11-19-2002, 10:57 AM

I have Co-drivin and I can vouch that rally IS as exciting as it looks. I have also completed 3 seasons worth of stock car racing on the 1/4 mile oval. Stock cars are more fun than they look.

but I think that everyone would agree that 1/4 mile is more fun for everyone (drivers/ spectators)than the superspeedway.

Mr. Pockets · #8 11-19-2002, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by AutoTchr
but I think that everyone would agree that 1/4 mile is more fun for everyone (drivers/ spectators)than the superspeedway.

Feh...

mohrds · #9 11-19-2002, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by benebob
He was just so estatic when he won! It was great. I have nothing against NASCRAP. It gives the rednecks something constructive to do on the weekends. I just miss Speedvision. The Speed channel is nothing more than NASCRAP TV. The regular shows no longer seem to be on a regular schedule and if you want to watch anything but NASCRAP you have to stay up til all hours of the night. I mean really how many NASCAR fans are watching a repeat of the race at 11am, 2pm and 5pm on Wed. They should all be waiting l in the welfare line getting their checks, spending 5 hours trying to figure out how to sign the check and make it to happy hour to drink their check.

Tell us how you really feel about rednecks and NASCAR fans

Doug

rally · #10 11-19-2002, 11:40 AM

Yeah, I like rally the best.

<--

Aredubjay · #11 11-19-2002, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by benebob
He was just so estatic when he won! It was great. I have nothing against NASCRAP. It gives the rednecks something constructive to do on the weekends. I just miss Speedvision. The Speed channel is nothing more than NASCRAP TV. The regular shows no longer seem to be on a regular schedule and if you want to watch anything but NASCRAP you have to stay up til all hours of the night. I mean really how many NASCAR fans are watching a repeat of the race at 11am, 2pm and 5pm on Wed. They should all be waiting l in the welfare line getting their checks, spending 5 hours trying to figure out how to sign the check and make it to happy hour to drink their check.

I was watching a "classic" RAC rally from '79 a few weeks ago. Great run! Ford took 1, 2 and 4 (all Fiestas, if I'm not mistaken), with a Datsun 160 J splitting the Fords in 3rd. My favorite came in 5th: The Lancia Stratos. The US guys were driving TR-7's, they didn't place, and, amazingly, not a Subaru in sight. And absolutely none of them running with Mop . . . never mind.

As for watching a repeat of a race at 11 am, 2am, and 5pm, that's for those "poor rednecks" that work swingshift. Although I'm not a NASCAR fan, I was spawned from a long line of "rednecks," most of who would rather do a hard days work digging ditches than to go on the dole. Unlike much of today's society who would consider nothing less than a corporate vice presidency as an entry level position and know nothing of what the term "paying one's dues" means.

Beav · #12 11-19-2002, 12:07 PM

I agree with ya Randy. However Nascar is about as exciting, believable and honest as the WWF (which will probably have it's own 24 hour, 'premium' channel all too soon.)

benebob · #13 11-19-2002, 02:03 PM

Didnt mean to offend any rednecks or nascar fans

. Just passing along my warped sense of individuality. You must forgive the hippie child! I think it was the fact that I lived 10 minutes from Charlotte Motor Speedway that turned me off on the circle driving. As for the welfare line comment. Nothing meant by it either aside from the desire to have a little more diverse programing for the Speed Channel. Not that Speedvision was that much better sometimes but I kinda miss the Riding mower races. Those things rock!!! 60 mph on a lawnmower. WOO HOO. Again sorry if I stepped on anyone's tires it was nothing personal

.

Aredubjay · #14 11-19-2002, 02:20 PM

Sorry, benebob. I'm slightly oversensitive. I live in and was Raised in Kentucky. I work in Indiana, where they think that all Kentuckians are toothless, redneck rubes. Case in point: we were showing the final product to a client (from Indiana). It was full of employee interviews. We commented that we had trouble getting a suitable "sound bite" from one of the employees. The client commented, "It's a wonder you can understand any of them, most of them are from Kentucky." Obviously, she was not aware of the fact that I was from the Bluegrass State. Of course, in the back of my mind, I was thinking, "Too damned bad you had to come to Kentucky to find people with the wooworking skills to hand carve your 60,000.00 entertainment centers and your 30,000.00 tables." So, yes, I apologize for being oversensitive.

As far as "hippies" go, I was born a redneck, became a hippy by choice, evolved into a yuppy and have, in my latter years, settled on just being a person. No harm. No foul.

mohrds · #15 11-19-2002, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Aredubjay
I was born a redneck, became a hippy by choice, evolved into a yuppy and have, in my latter years, settled on just being a person.

Wow, that's deep. You should add that to your signature

Doug