Grab a Banjo and Pull Up a Log

Reading niche forums loosely based on some form of racing are amusing to read simply for their intrinsic entertainment value. In years past my favorite targets for pointing out hypocrisy, arrogance and outright stupidity have been sites populated primarily by fans of the defunct cart series. These people tend to also like F1 and about anything else that does not race on ovals. They almost universally seem to hate Tony George but many fail to make rational arguments to defend mostly futile attempts at a point and come off looking bitter and hostile. I particularly enjoy allowing them to expose their own brand of immaturity.

Frankly, toying with that ilk has gotten boring, particularly since their preferred series failed. Twice. Now it appears Formula One as we know it is preparing to shoot itself in the head as fans stand helplessly by.

Meanwhile, as NASCAR continues to draw smaller crowds and television ratings, new arrogant hypocrites who really are stupid have begun to emerge. It is beyond the level of comprehension of most rational people to understand why any strong supporter of the 800-pound-gorilla series, the one with the majority of the television audience and money, the most races and the most participants, would waste any bandwidth whatsoever on anything related to Indy Car racing.

General Lee

Here is a prime example of someone so afflicted. The guy appears to be a mid-50’s die-hard NASCAR ‘fan’ who is barely literate (judging by the brutal way he treats both grammar and spelling), does not have much money, lives in the deep south, and claims to enjoy only the NASCAR-style of racing. He is what many picture when someone utters admittedly insensitive words such as ‘ignorant redneck.’ Yet he spends an inordinate amount of time obsessing on the Indy Car Series. He expresses disgust at Big Bill France allegedly being thrown out of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway after the big war but does not offer a peep about any of Big Bill’s behavior, including using a loaded pistol to enforce his rules at some tracks and throwing drivers out who made him mad. Never mind the moonshine running origins of NASCAR.

Let us jokingly refer to that type of stereotypical hill jack as ‘General Lee.’ That description seems appropriate because he appears to fit the redneck persona, enjoys racing boxy cars preferably adorned with the racist confederate flag, is not blessed with a great command of the English language or the use of it and lacks maturity.

One troll features a pointless question of how a NASCAR regular can sit on pole at Infeneon (General Lee spelling) while a former F1 driver teammate has to buy his way into the race at a road course. Then equally obsessed hypocrite sycophants predictably chime in with predictable immaturity. At the end of the day a bunch of the disdained open wheelers ended up in the top 15 after a clown-like display of demolition derbying by slow template cars piloted by many drivers completely out of their element. The Indy Cars did not fare much better in terms of stupid crashing at Iowa, and hopefully next week’s race at Richmond will not be a repeat of either Iowa or Richmond last year.  

Another blatant troll asked: ‘What are you going to do when your league and along with it, your big race fails?’ That was followed by: ‘What would do or would you be willing to accept to save your big race and/or your league? Just curious to see how those here that are fans of that race and that series’

Curious my bulbous rear end. The Indianapolis 500 has twice the history of Daytona and is the most recognized, well attended auto race in the world. It will not fail within the lifetimes of anyone alive today. The Indy Car Series is likely to evolve, just as every other predecessor series has. Any notion the Indianapolis 500 will every need ‘saving’ is indicative of a high degree of abject stupidity combined with obvious immaturity. If I were a NASCAR fan I would be worried about how I could draw more than 100,000 people to a track that can hold three times that many. People who just do not understand the Indianapolis 500 should probably just stop running their yaps. They usually look foolish enough going in.

So why would I bother making light of such emotionally challenged adult children? The answer is obvious. All of those who toss out such trolls are huge fans of Indy Car who lie to themselves about being fans. Many of these NASCAR-centric oddballs generally fit into the category of really liking the Indy Car Series when it went through its shade tree mechanic/journeyman driver phase. They have a point. The racing has rarely been better than the last portion of that evolutionary phase.

As is the case with all things Indy Car, one or more groups of core fans will always be screwed. At Iowa this week the former cart management now operating the Indy Car series let slip that next year will hit the 50% oval/50% non-oval level for the first time. My question would be which oval goes? The ones left are all pretty good. There are quite a few like Michigan and New Hampshire that need to return. The cart fans got alienated early and many still lack the maturity and courage to evolve. The early IRL fans were forgotten when cart slithered back after their pointless boycotts failed. It is not always easy to be a fan of the sport. What people do as fans can say a lot.

I wish fans who disgrace the sport would find another hobby. The best way to be a fan is to work in positive ways to affect future evolution of the sport. Personally, I like most all forms of motorsports and today was a great day to watch many diverse disciplines. Generally there is nothing wrong with any of the racing this weekend. I wish I could say the same about those who have the temerity to refer to themselves as fans.