This event was discussed in an earlier thread. Well, it occurred on Monday and was broadcast last night.
For those who missed it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqO4GnkoMK4&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsrYLNRn-MY&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dz70wOHim4&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc6rmTSVQ1I&feature=youtu.be
It's actually one of the better productions from SpeedTV in a long time. Both drivers were obviously having a lot of fun.
Michael Andretti has a lot to answer for.
His debacle in 1993 cost us getting to watch Stewart and Robby Gordon in Formula One for a decade.
In reply to chaparral:
Don't get me started on that debacle.............
But, F1 teams rarely hire any new driver unless he brings a few tons of money. American drivers (the ones who are obviously good) get paid to join a team.
Thanks for the links. It ran longer than scheduled and so I didn't catch it all on the DVR.
-Rob
What I thought was most interesting... Hamilton was out on a drying track in the cup car and his fastest lap was 2.11.xx... now, I know he never drove one before but damn... my E30 gets around there in the 2.09s with 230wHP and Nitto NT01s. James Clay's WC car is down in the 1.50s. I guess I thought an 800hp cup car set up for road racing would tear that place up at least well enough to make the 1:50s look easy for a noob with an FIA Super License.
^I loved that quotes were nearly verbatim for your predictions.
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: What I thought was most interesting... Hamilton was out on a drying track in the cup car and his fastest lap was 2.11.xx... now, I know he never drove one before but damn... my E30 gets around there in the 2.09s with 230wHP and Nitto NT01s. James Clay's WC car is down in the 1.50s. I guess I thought an 800hp cup car set up for road racing would tear that place up at least well enough to make the 1:50s look easy for a noob with an FIA Super License.
You have to remember both men are under strict instructions not to drive 10/10ths. This is purely a stunt, and it would look really bad if a crash occurred. Im sure both men were not anywhere near a competition mind set. Im not a nascar fan but I do respect the speed a stock car can achieve on a non-oval track.
I drove a late model stock car for the first time last night on a local short track. I'm used to performance street cars on street rubber and had a hard time acclimating to a car on twelve inch Goodyear qualifying slicks. Even with pushing pretty hard, the chassis and tires give up so little feedback that it was really hard to feel where the limits were. That, and the total lack of run-off area, had me taking things at no more than 8 or 9/10 ths, and I didn't have a camera crew on site to broadcast any boneheaded mistakes I might make.
Wow, they only swapped one short session? I suppose you have to restrain the racers' competitive nature. But I assumed they would get more seat time.
David
nderwater wrote: .... and I didn't have a camera crew on site to broadcast any boneheaded mistakes I might make.
You are not a formula one champion, 24hrs of LeMons winner, or multiple time Winston Cup, USAAC, and IRL champ. When the pros are on the track I wanna see somebody going ballz out. I have high expectations of guys who don't just do it for a living - they do it really, really well. Who wants to watch parade laps at cool down speed? I am not fooled by smokey burnouts and intentional oversteer for no good reason. I saw guys leaving 6' of road on exit... I heard coasting before the bus stop... COASTING DAMMIT. I heard them lifting in turn 2. Even I don't do that in anything but heavy rain and I suck.
Pffft on wrecking last year's road race stock car or a three year old McClaren too. They smash better than that in practice more than a few times a year.
Still... it must have been awesome to hear F1 cars at the Glen again. I'd have stayed just for that if I could have.
In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker:
Jaded much!
Stupid job keeping me at work monday
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:nderwater wrote: .... and I didn't have a camera crew on site to broadcast any boneheaded mistakes I might make....a formula one champion, 24hrs of LeMons winner, or multiple time Winston Cup, USAAC, and IRL champ.
I didn't know LeMons was that big of a deal these days...maybe I should try harder... 
Maroon92 wrote:Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:I didn't know LeMons was that big of a deal these days...maybe I should try harder...nderwater wrote: .... and I didn't have a camera crew on site to broadcast any boneheaded mistakes I might make....a formula one champion, 24hrs of LeMons winner, or multiple time Winston Cup, USAAC, and IRL champ.
Chumpcar is also catching on- they already had Tony Stewart run a race last year..
rwdsport wrote: You have to remember both men are under strict instructions not to drive 10/10ths. This is purely a stunt, and it would look really bad if a crash occurred. Im sure both men were not anywhere near a competition mind set. Im not a nascar fan but I do respect the speed a stock car can achieve on a non-oval track.
Although, when Jeff Gordon and JPM swapped rides at Indy, Gordon was within 1 second of qualifying for the USGP.
This was a big test for F1, McLaren, etc. With F1 back in the US next year everyone is curious to test the marketing waters. This is all well and good, and some of you may disagree with me but...
If F1 wants a better audience in the US, the commentator Steve Matchett has got to go. Hear me out...
When NASCAR has a technical feature, it's usually before the race, a brief, short segment that is explained in simple terms. Rarely do the live commentators get that deep in anything technical during the race. If they do, it's a pre-produced segment they can cut to when nothing is happening on track.
ESPECIALLY during the four F1 races broadcast on Fox, Matchett will launch into these tangents about this gizmo or that wing, and it distracts from the broadcast in my opinion. He gushes about how high tech these cars are to an audience that could care less if they run on unicorn tears as fuel.
You don't have to explain every detail of the sport to every dang moron who happened to stumble onto the race! His voice gets annoying and nasally and none of the general public out there could give a rat's ass what a diffuser does. Most people wouldn't realize that F1 cars aren't all the same.
Now, I'm a HUGE F1 geek, I search forums for details about the latest updates to the cars, the rumors, etc. I LOVE F1, but Matchett is like nails on chalkboard every time I watch now!
But watching Matchett and the NASCAR commentator try to find things to talk about while Hammi and Stewart paraded around a damp track was just PAINFUL.
Varsha is awesome, Windsor is great, Buxton is okay simply because you rarely hear from him and he gets some funny comments from teams/drivers.
uuugh... end rant.
^ yup. They need to focus more on the racing. If they really want a tech section, go back to the RPM thing they did last year. Matchett gets his tech talk in at the beginning and after that it's all about the racing.
The seat swap was awesome. I didn't care about the times they ran, it was just cool to see the drivers enjoying a different ride and having a good time. It was probably a good break for them since there was zero pressure and they could enjoy themselves
Steven
Those are some interesting comments about Matchett's analyses.
Yes, it may be time for FOX to re-examine how they present the technical bits. In their defense, I can only observe that (until this season) there have been points where the actual racing was processional and a tad boring. Matchett's real-time commentary helped break-up the monotony (for casual viewers).
This year might be a good time to experiment with a different format. What do they have to lose?
Good thing they didn't need the windshield wiper on the Cup car. Go back and look at how little time the wiper actually stays in contact with the glass.
I'm not picking on Matchett personally, I think it is fantastic that there is a championship winning chief mechanic as a commentator, and if F1 was targeted at geeks like me I would love even MORE technical analysis during the race, but F1 in America needs to be targeted at the average viewer, and constant references to the "technical regs" and "blown diffusers" just muddy the waters. Nomenclature should be "American-ized."
And I know this is a weird one, but I just don't think a British accented commentator (Windsor included) helps F1's case in America. British accents on American TV are used for two things: selling me stuff on infomercials, and judging reality TV talent shows (American Idol etc.). I'm not saying this as a xenophobic American, just someone who wishes to see F1 gain more popularity in the states. It doesn't help the sport's perceived image as being elitist and aloof.
It's little things that the broadcaster and producer need to fix. I understand F1 uses the same feed for every market, but come on, the little HUDs they use to show RPMs, gear, DRS, etc. should be in MPH not KPH for the USA market. It can't be that hard.
Also, don't renumber the drivers each year. Let them pick a number and stick with it. Otherwise, just do away with the numbers entirely. The timing and scoring systems already use the 3 letter abbreviations for the drivers instead of their number, so what does their number matter besides bragging rights among the drivers?
I really like Steve Matchett and think is commentry sets F1 apart from other forms of motorsports. F1 is about the cars as much as drivers. They are the very top of techological advancement and progress at an astonishing rate. Simply put technogly and F1 are linked and you can't properly understand why a driver is fast or slow without touching the surface on technical aspects of the racing.
Kramer wrote:rwdsport wrote: You have to remember both men are under strict instructions not to drive 10/10ths. This is purely a stunt, and it would look really bad if a crash occurred. Im sure both men were not anywhere near a competition mind set. Im not a nascar fan but I do respect the speed a stock car can achieve on a non-oval track.Although, when Jeff Gordon and JPM swapped rides at Indy, Gordon was within 1 second of qualifying for the USGP.
hmmmmm I am obviously remembering it differently ... and can't find anything to back me up... my memory was that Jeff would have qualified mid-pack in that yrs Indy F1
joepaluch wrote: I really like Steve Matchett and think is commentry sets F1 apart from other forms of motorsports. F1 is about the cars as much as drivers. They are the very top of techological advancement and progress at an astonishing rate. Simply put technogly and F1 are linked and you can't properly understand why a driver is fast or slow without touching the surface on technical aspects of the racing.
I completely agree, I love the technical side of the sport, and Matchett is a very valuable and rare commentator in motorsports, but if F1 as a brand wishes to gain viewership in America I just think they need to spend less time explaining every last difference between F1 and NASCAR.
And back to the subject of the thread, the driver swap is a marketing experiment for everyone involved, and I'm just sharing my opinion on what could really help F1's accessibility and popularity in America. The driver swap is a great idea and a good first step, but I think there's so much that can be done on the basic user-experience level of watching F1 itself that would improve the show.
I secretly love when Matchett says "GO ON!" to a driver when everything's on the line.
Matchett is the only good part about SPEED's coverage of F1. If losing him on the coverage makes F1 more popular in the US then I would rather having it not popular.
There is a reason I DL the BBC broadcast.
The coverage is better, don't know where everyone else stands but I do like the Brundle/Coultard team in the booth. EJ is kinda crazy, but it's interesting to hear his opinion.
I like that the BBC is actually AT THE RACE, as opposed to being in a studio halfway around the world.
It also seems like the Speed broadcast, like they aren't even paying attention to the race half the time and the commentary isn't on point.
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