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NASCAR and MotorSports – From a Queer Perspective

Monthly Archives: October 2011

Interview with Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. came to Las Vegas on Monday night to speak to guests of Chevrolet who are gathering in town this week for the annual SEMA Show.  Queers4Gears had a chance to catch up with Dale Junior at this event hosted at the Wynn Hotel and Casino. 

Dale Jr. Speaks at SEMA Chevy Preview at the Wynn in Las Vegas

 Q4G:  You said on Sunday (after Martinsville) how much fun you had on the short track,  and that you wished NASCAR raced more of them… what old short track do you miss the most?

JR:  I loved racing at Myrtle Beach, but the best one of all, my all time favorite would be the old fairgrounds at Nashville, TN.  That place was amazing and I wish we still raced there.

Q4G:  You also said that if NASCAR raced on more short tracks you might get a reputation as a dirty driver.  What kind of reputation with the other drivers do you think you have now?

JR:  Oh, I guess I’m kinda always around, (laughs) I don’t know…. I race pretty clean, especially on the bigger tracks where you’re pretty much just racing one guy… that’s a different style of racing.  Human nature and my personality and tendencies kinda got the best of me on Sunday (in Martinsville) But if we ran more short tracks I think that would come out more often.

Q4G:  What’s the mindset as a driver when someone gets you back.  Do you somehow say to yourself “I had that coming” or does it make you angrier?  

JR:   You gotta know when you did somebody wrong, and you KNOW when you have – so you gotta expect it, you have to take it as well as you can dish it out.  Some people can’t, wether it’s in racing or whatever, some people can’t take it as well as they dish it out.  On Sunday I had a few guys turned around and ran over a few guys but I think I got back everything I deserved. (laughing)  I might have gotten off on the good end on a few of those deals but I had a blast. I was smiling from the drop of the green to the checkered.

Q4G:  How ready are you for 2012 to get going?  You seem to be having so much more fun this year and really like the cars that Steve has been putting under you… how much are you looking forward to carrying this momentum into next year?

JR:  I really am, I hoping we continue to improve… we’ve improved all year.  Steve’s done a great job and a lot of the credit goes to him and guys in the shop.  You learn you can’t have a good run without a good race car, even more so with the aero on the COT.  The car you bring the the track sets guys apart and Steve’s done a great job.

Q4G:  This banquet hall (in the Wynn) where we are speaking now is the same room that NASCAR will use for the Championship Banquet in December… how important is it to you to stay in the Top-10, so you can bring your team into this banquet hall?

Well, its important to be able to get up on that stage and speak.  Because you don’t get that opportunity that often, to get the floor and thank your entire crew – it gives them some recognition.  That’s why its important to be in the Top-10, to be on that big stage where everyone can hear you.  That’s all I’m racing for at this point (in the season.)

Q4G:  Earlier tonight your team owner (Rick Hendrick) was involved in a place crash in Florida,  the latest news is that everyone’s OK.  (Dale Jr. cut in)

JR:  Yeah, it was a real big scare…very frightening to hear. I’m very glad that he and everybody appear to be OK.

Q4G:  Bruton Smith has stated he wants to see the last race of the year held in Vegas,  would you like to see that happen – so you can roll right into the banquet?

JR:   I think that would be perfect, have the race then take a few days off and have the banquet.

Q4G:  Lastly, let’s take things off track, and play a game we like to call, “Get to know your Driver through his stomach.”

Question Dale Earnhardt Junior
Orange Juice…. Pulp or No-Pulp? No Pulp
Grilled Cheese: White Bread or Wheat Bread Wheat Bread
Chocolate Milk Shake: Chocolate Ice Cream OR Vanilla Ice Cream w/ Chocolate Syrup? Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate Syrup
BBQ: Dry Rub or Sauce? Dry Rub
When you’re at a cookout – hotdog or hamburger? hamburger
How do you like your eggs? scrambled
What’s your favorite Pizza topping? Pepperoni
What’s your favorite Junk Food? Sweet Tarts
What’s your favorite Health Food? Salad

Indycar: Twitter Tells the Tales

All numbers below were as of the morning of October 31, 2011.

Credit Chris Jones/IZOD Indycar Media Site

I’m about to expose how nerdy I can be.  I love math.  Yes, we Mississippians are taught math and a few of us happen to be pretty good at it.  Luckily for me, my job requires a lot of math, data, and analysis.  Because I often times work with a LOT of important data, I started creating a couple of spreadsheets with “useless” data to experiment with.  If I wanted to try something new, I could use one of the “useless” sheets with no worry of screwing anything up.  One spreadsheet is the daily number of Twitter followers for each Indycar driver.  When I started, it just seemed like easy data to dump into a file that I could track daily and could be manipulated easily.  However, over the course of a few weeks the data started to become more interesting to follow.

I love Twitter and think it is an amazing way to keep up with small bleeps of information.  Instead of taking 5/10 minutes to read some article about Wall Street, I can read the same basic information in 140 characters or less.  Also, the amount of followers someone or something has can be a great indication of relative popularity and how visible someone is on the radar screen of the world.  For instance, Snooki (you know who she is) has almost 3.6 million followers.  The official White House Twitter has just over 2.4 million followers.  Heck, Snooki has more followers than the official Twitter of the NBA, NFL, and MLB.  People are more interested in knowing what a drunk girl from New Jersey is doing than what is going on in their country.  Think about that.

So, who do you think has the most Twitter followers in Indycar?  Well, if you guessed Danica Patrick you would be correct.  With 425,815 followers, Danica has 40,401 more followers than Tony Kanaan, the 2nd most followed driver.  But, TK adds about 595 new followers each day on average versus the 270 average of Danica.  It is also important to note than Danica’s average would be a good bit lower, but she experienced a huge spike in follows the day of her big announcement that she would be moving to NASCAR full-time in 2012.  In the span of a week, Danica added 5,447 followers.

Have I lost you yet or peaked your interest?  Numbers are fun!

More than 340,029 followers BEHIND Kannan in 3rd is Helio Castroneves with 45,385 followers.  This brings up an interesting thing…the strength of the Brazilian drivers.  2011 rookie Ana Beatriz is the 6th most followed driver in Indycar with 23,647 followers (this is omitting Dan Wheldon’s Twitter).  That is a very interesting statistic considering her lackluster results and 21st place in final points.  She has more followers than Ryan Briscoe, Paul Tracy, Will Power, and Graham Rahal among others.  When we see those numbers, it makes a little more sense as to why Indycar races in Brazil and is exploring a second race.

One thing is for certain, any news coverage increases follower counts for a driver whether the news is good or bad.  For example, after the New Hampshire flying fingers incident, Will Power gained 1,831 followers over the course of a week.  His daily average for August, the month of the incident, was 88.74, but his average for September was 38.14.  Before the race at Kentucky, Ed Carpenter had added just over 300 new followers since the end of July, a 2 month span.  Immediately after the Kentucky race, Carpenter added over 350 new followers in a day.  When Justin Wilson was injured at Mid-Ohio, he experienced a 519 follower jump.  However, neither Ryan Hunter-Reay nor Scott Dixon saw those kinds of jumps in followers after their respective wins.  Dixon added 212 the day after his win and Hunter-Reay added only 238 even while his win was mired in controversy.  Are these 2 guys less interesting?  Were those wins not as important to fans?  It is interesting to think that Justin Wilson’s broken back at Mid-Ohio stirred up more interest than Scott Dixon winning the race.

Sadly, after the tragic incident at Las Vegas, drivers had huge jumps in followers easily eclipsing any previous daily totals.  Indycar drivers that were not even participating in the race experienced large jumps in the number of additional daily followers.  Martin Plowman, for example, had previously averaged 4.34 followers per day.  For the 2 weeks following Las Vegas, Martin added an average of 19.14 followers a day.  The number of followers of Dan Wheldon’s official Twitter more than double in a single day after his death going from 15,699 followers to 31,856.  Drivers directly involved in the 15 car pile-up had even more dramatic increases.  Pippa Mann had added only 201 followers in the month of September, but after her injury at Las Vegas, Pippa added 2,296 followers in October.

There are also many other interesting facts.  Pippa, with only 3 starts under her belt, has 8,860 followers.  This is more than full-time rookies James Hinchcliffe (7,960) and Charlie Kimball (4,178) and more than Takuma Sato (7,804), and Kentucky race winner Ed Carpenter (7,862).  Even Katherine Legge, who didn’t even started a race in 2011 has more followers at 2,047 than full-time rookie James Jakes (1,892) and part-timer Wade Cunningham (1,905) who are the 2 least followed of the drivers tracked.

Had enough numbers yet?

In the end, why is any of this important?  Well, at a time when marketing budgets are tight and funding is hard to come by, Twitter can be a gauge to see how much “reach” a driver has for a sponsor.  Just look at Ana Beatriz.  Although on-track performance may not be stellar at this point, she can connect with over 3x more fans than Oriol Servia (7,617 vs. 23,647) who finished 4th in points.  Sadly, popularity in racing isn’t just about results anymore.  I will dub this the Junior/Patrick Syndrome.

Even though when you click “Follow” on someone’s Twitter it may not seem very important, who you follow speaks volumes about yourself and others like you.  It gives a peek into what is popular, what is interesting, and what catches the attention of people.  I’ll continue to track the trends in followers through the offseason and see what else I can unearth. So, get on Twitter and follow away!  Oh, and remember…numbers can be fun and Mississippians can do math!

Ross (@driverswanted07)

Top 15 in followers:

  • Danica Patrick – 425,815
  • Tony Kanaan – 385,414
  • Helio Castroneves – 45,385
  • Dario Franchitti – 36,826
  • Marco Andretti – 31,313
  • Ana Beatriz – 23,647
  • Will Power – 19,122
  • Graham Rahal – 19,106
  • Paul Tracy – 18,851
  • Ryan Briscoe – 17,256
  • Ryan Hunter-Reay – 17,012
  • Scott Dixon – 16,842
  • Simona de Silvestro – 13,639
  • E.J. Viso – 13,593
  • Tomas Scheckter – 12,838

Stewart Nips Johnson in Shootout at Martinsville

[ credit Reid Spencer - The Sporting News Wire Service for NASCAR ]

Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

Tony Stewart passed Jimmie Johnson on a restart with three laps left in Sunday’s Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway and held off Johnson’s desperate bid for the win on the final lap.

The victory was Stewart’s third in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and vaulted him into second place in the standings, eight points behind leader Carl Edwards. Stewart won for the 42nd time in his career.

“He’d better be worried,” Stewart said of Edwards after the race. “That’s all I can say. He’s not going to have an easy three weeks.”

There are three races left in the Sprint Cup season—at Texas, Phoenix and Homestead. Stewart has four Cup wins at those tracks, Edwards six.

Miraculously, after twice being lapped on the racetrack, Edwards salvaged a decent run and retained his lead in the Chase standings with a ninth-place finish, as his two closest pursuers entering the race, Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski, both experienced late trouble and finished 31st and 17th, respectively.

Edwards also brushed out Stewart’s trash talk.

“He’s wound up—he won the race,” Edwards said. “We’ll see what happens at Texas. I feel like we’re going to go there and we’re going to have as good a shot to win as anyone. This track (Martinsville) has been really, really tough for me.

“Tony and those guys have obviously won three Chase races. When I sat in here on Friday (in the media center), I told you guys that I thought he was one of the guys that could win this race and be a guy that you have to beat for the championship, and he’s proven that. We’ll have fun. We’ll go race hard. They’re going to have to race us, too. I’m excited about the next three races.”

Stewart’s response? “I don’t care what he says. We’re going to go after him for the next three weeks.”

Jeff Gordon ran third, followed by Kevin Harvick, who climbed to third in the standings, 21 points behind Edwards. Denny Hamlin came home fifth, with Jeff Burton sixth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. seventh.

Stewart brought his car to the pits under caution on Lap 416, thinking he might have a flat tire from contact with Harvick’s Chevrolet after a Lap 413 restart. Stewart was 21st when the field took the green flag on Lap 420, but a two-tire call during a caution on Lap 459 got the No. 14 Chevrolet off pit road in the fifth position for a restart on Lap 463.

By the time Brian Vickers wrecked for the fifth time to bring out the 18th and final caution—three short of the track record—Stewart had worked his way to second in time for the three-lap run to the finish.

Johnson led the field to the restart on Lap 498 of 500, but Stewart managed to beat him from the outside. Johnson said he thought about leaning on Stewart through the first corner but thought better of it.

“When I was inside of Tony, I went down in the corner and thought that eight tires would be a lot better than four,” said Johnson, who trimmed seven points off his deficit to Edwards and is now 43 behind. “I changed my mind. With where he is in the points, what’s going on, the fact we raced throughout the day today, (and) he never touched me, I had a hard time doing that.”

“I think it would have been great,” interjected Gordon.

“Jeff probably would have won the race if I would have done it,” Johnson said. “I couldn’t bring myself to do that. He got by. I tried to be smart. That’s typically how I race guys. I don’t run over people to get positions.”

After a wild first half of the race had settled into a 97-lap green-flag run after the midpoint, Hamlin squeezed past Gordon on Lap 320 and stayed out front in traffic until David Gilliland’s spin caused the 10th caution of the race.

That started a spate of cautions that gave Harvick and Stewart a chance to move to the front with two-tire calls—and allowed Edwards to return to the lead lap under the 12th caution with a free pass for the highest-scored car one lap down.

Note: At the drivers’ meeting before the race, NASCAR announced that any driver intentionally causing a caution by stopping on the racetrack will be penalized three laps. The rule is in effect for at least the rest of the season, though the number of laps could vary according to the size of the racetrack.

The Strip at LVMS Goes Pink

credit Las Vegas Motor Speedway

The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will turn pink this weekend in order to promote breast cancer awareness. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and professional teams and fans will be doing their part during this weekend’s NHRA Big O Tires Nationals to raise funds for research and promote the cause.

The starting-line area received a coat of bright pink paint for the event, which starts Thursday morning.

“Breast cancer is a devastating disease that has affected so many women who are near and dear to us,” said LVMS president Chris Powell. “We are proud to do our part to help find a cure.”

At least three NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series Top Fuel Dragster teams and two Pro Stock Motorcycle riders are promoting breast cancer awareness at this weekend’s race.

With National Breast Cancer Awareness Month ending on Monday, the Al-Anabi Racing Top Fuel dragsters driven by 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon and his teammate, Del Worsham, will sport a special pink paint scheme and the familiar pink ribbon.  The spill plates on both cars will be painted pink for this weekend’s race.  The spill plate is the end cap for the front and rear wings.   In addition, the Al-Anabi Racing autograph handout cards will be pink this weekend.

The disease hits close to home with the Al-Anabi Racing team and team manager Alan Johnson. His sister, Pam, was treated for breast cancer in 2007 and is currently fighting a recurrence of the disease.

“Breast cancer awareness is celebrated in October with hope for the survivors’ journey and commitment to a cure for the disease,” Pam Johnson said.  “I can’t think of anything more bold and exciting, in the spirit of breast cancer awareness, than what we are all about to experience this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as the track operators, the racing community and race fans ‘go pink’ and blow the doors off of the monthlong awareness campaign!  I want to personally thank (LVMS President) Chris Powell and his outstanding staff at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for making a difference by bringing focus and attention to breast cancer while celebrating the awareness that will positively impact the lives of so many.”

Top Fuel Dragster driver Terry McMillen unveiled a pink breast cancer awareness car on Oct. 1 after participating in a dirt Modified race with NASCAR veteran Kenny Wallace to benefit cancer research in Lima, Ohio. His car’s body panels carry the names of breast cancer survivors, including that of Kari Neely, LVMS’s human resources manager and part-time drag strip clock operator. Neely has helped to raise more than $20,000 over the past four years for the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer charity.

The idea for placing breast cancer survivor names on McMillen’s car began in honor of 70-year-old Rosalee Noble, board member of Drag Racing Association of Women (DRAW). The list of names on the car grew to include family and friends who also are fighting the disease. McMillen’s team’s matching pink uniform shirts will be placed at auction to raise money for She4Life (Survive, Hope, Empowerment), a new charity which offers support for breast cancer patients and their families.

Shawn Gann and Justin Finley will ride bikes featuring pink graphics in the Pro Stock Motorcycle class.

All drivers and riders participating in the NHRA Big O Tires Nationals will be invited to affix a pink ribbon breast cancer awareness decal to their helmets and well as their cars and motorcycles.

Volunteers will sell pink ribbons to the fans, who are invited to write the names of a person they know is affected by breast cancer. The ribbons will be prominently displayed at the track and all proceeds will be donated to Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.

To purchase tickets for the NHRA Big O Tires Nationals or obtain additional information, please call LVMS at (702) 644-4444 or visit www.LVMS.com.

Interview: Katherine Legge

I had a chance to chat with former Champ Car standout, DTM driver, and IZOD Indycar Series hopeful Katherine Legge.  Although she was unable to put together a ride for 2011, Katherine has been hard at work to get back in an open-wheel car.  Follow Katherine at @katherinelegge on Twitter to stay up to date on news and notes from this lovely lady.  Queers4Gears wishes Ms. Legge the best of luck in 2012!

Credit Katherine Legge PR

The past couple of weeks have been very hard for Indycar and the racing community.  Can you give some feedback on your thoughts about the incident in Vegas and Dan Wheldon?

KL:  I mean…it was tragic.  It was difficult to actually believe it happened in the way it did.  It was such a huge accident…the way it happened was unbelievable.  It was awful, and obviously all the thoughts and prayers are to the Wheldons.  I knew him since I was 9.  We raced go-karts together.  He was older, and I followed his footsteps so to speak.  I regret I didn’t know him better.  From all the lovely things people have said about him he sounded like a fantastic guy.  You realize as a driver things like that can happen, you take those risks knowingly and you prepare yourself and your friends and family for those risks…and how they would react if that happened.  It’s a selfish sport in that respect.

You had a spectacular crash at Road America in 2006 in a Champ Car that you were uninjured in.  Do you think something like a closed cockpit is needed?

KL:  Gosh, I really don’t know.  I’m not qualified to say.  All of the drivers and officials are getting together to decide.  Not having driven this current Indycar, I can’t really say.  At the end of the day, there are things that can be done to increase the safety, but it is racing and will always be dangerous.  But, I am for anything that will make it safer whether that be a closed cockpit or Plexi-glass over the catch fence or whatever.

You have been trying to pull together sponsorship to get back in the car, has 2011 been frustrating or has it motivated you to work even harder?

KL:  It’s been really tough actually.  I made the decision to come back here quite late and didn’t really start until January.  I did think I would have gotten the occasional 1 off race, but it has been really tough.  It has been a very long very difficult year.  I cannot wait to get back in the car.  One thing it has done, it has made me learn a lot about myself, my strengths and weaknesses, and I will be a better driver for it when I get back in a car.

Have you had any movement on the sponsorship front for 2012?

KL:  Yeah, we are in talks with a number different people and teams.  It is looking positive, but no contracts have been signed yet.  It is hard to get the bits and pieces in place.  You have to put together the primary sponsor, then associate sponsors, but you can’t sign associate sponsors until the primary has been signed and a team in place.  There is a lot of positive interest though. Right now out of respect of Dan everything has been laying low the past couple of weeks. Hopefully before the teams take delivery of the new car (December 15th) we may have something in place.

How much do you think your experience in the higher-horsepower Champ Car cars would or will help you in the new 2012 Indycar?

KL:  I am hoping it helps.  I remember when we first got the new Panoz chassis and had to develop it. I hope that experience will come in handy.  It has been a while since I’ve been in an open wheel car, but after a day or so I will be up to speed.

How would you sum up your DTM experience?

KL:  Haha…hmm…good question!  I learned a lot from going back over to Europe and doing DTM and learned a lot about myself, what drives me, racing, and driving different kinds of cars.  It was a difficult experience, but everything that is difficult makes you stronger and more positive.  It made me an all around better driver.

Credit Katherine Legge PR

What do you have playing on your iPod these days?

KL:  Oh goodness, actually I need to update it because I am going to Paris for an FIA meeting and to visit my Dad, so I need to get that sorted.  But actually, I just switched phones; I had an iPhone in England, and need to transfer everything over.

What is your perfect “girl’s night out”?

KL:  Haha, would probably be a good restaurant, a few good friends, some drinks…just laughing and not having to think about racing, which I do 24/7.  It would be nice to relax and find out what goes on in the normal world!

Who do you think is the most underrated Indycar driver?

KL:  Me? (laughs)…I’m not sure.  I’m just going to say me to be politically correct and not make anyone mad.  I’m not on the outside and I think from the outside is where drivers get underrated.  The people inside Indycar know that the drivers are talented.

I ask that question because a lot has been said in the media about Dario Franchitti being highly underrated by people despite all of his success.

KL:  The people in Indycar know how incredibly talented he is.  There’s no question about that.

What is your favorite road car of all time?

KL:  The old Ford F40…definitely…and the gull-wing Mercedes.  I had a poster of it on my wall as a kid.  That’s kind of embarrassing to admit!  Those are 2 very iconic cars.  I like old American muscle cars as well.  Anything from the 60′s and 70′s.

Credit Katherine Legge PR

Who is someone that inspires you? 

KL:  I get inspiration from a bunch of different people.  My parents are obviously an inspiration for me.  I run stuff by them and they haven’t had it easy in any way shape or form.  My friends as well.  It’s difficult to say there is any one person I aspire to be like, but growing up it was Aryton Senna for sure.

Is there anything you’d like to say or talk about that you are never asked about in interviews?

KL:  No not really.  I’m quite private, and I’m very careful about what I say on Facebook and Twitter because I don’t want to be taken the wrong way.  I don’t want to put everything out there and leave nothing to the imagination.  I like to have an air of mystery about me so to speak.

Ross (@driverswanted07)

The Q4G Radio Hour – Season 1 / Show 32

On this week’s show we welcome new Q4G F1 and V8 Contributor Cody Globig and talk about the upcoming F1 and V8 races in the US.  Jeff Gluck from SB Nation called in to talk about the story he broke reporting the Chad Knaus instructed Jimmie Johnson to wreck the rear of the #48 if they won the race.  We also have an interview with Truck Series driver Jen Jo Cobb and Troy and I make our Martinsville picks…. listen here:

 

Listen to internet radio with Queers4Gears on Blog Talk Radio

Formula One Comes to New Jersey in 2013

by Cody Globig – Q4G F1 Contributor

credit The Daily Mail

Over the weekend I began hearing (well, reading on Twitter…) rumors about how Bernie Ecclestone’s dream-come-true race in New York City was a reality and that it would be announced on Tuesday.  Now, I’m the biggest Formula One fan (read, techy nerd) there is, but I’m always a skeptic when it comes to rumors about a race in the US.  I went to the USGP at IMS in ’06 and ’07 (so sad I missed the great days of the V10s) and I know much about what went down between Tony George and Bernie and how the deal to run a USGP at the Brickyard fell apart.  My hopes and dreams (and 2-hour drive access) were shattered when Indy lost the Grand Prix.  Now I’ve allegedly got something to be excited about once again…

The glitz and glamour (yes, it’s even classy in the stands and spectator areas in the infield at IMS for the most part too!) of the F1 circus is coming back to our shores next year. The Circuit of the Americas will be hosting a Formula One race that I may actually be able to go to, and now, lo and behold, today we get an announcement that the US will be getting a second race in 2013!

Yes, my pessimism was proven wrong while I was at work today. Luckily I sell electronics for a living at a major department store and I had my one TV that has a satellite connection on the SPEED Channel at 2 p.m. to see the press conference from – wait for it – Weehawken, NJ.

I guess I should have noticed the signs of the imminent announcement today. You know, those gay-boy signs we get every so often… In this case, it was my latest obsession of listening to Ellie Goulding’s “Lights” over and over again on YouTube while I did homework last night (and as I write this). I should have noticed that I was compulsively listening to a song about shiny lights on the eve of a major announcement by a major metropolitan area in the US talking about coming to a 10 year deal with FOM to stage a street race with Manhattan as a backdrop.

The circuit looks absolutely fantastic. No streets will have to be redone, no part of the course will go through a parking lot (i.e. the Dallas GP in the ‘80s), and the pit complex will be permanent and is already being built. This means that the track will be cheap to setup, only requiring barriers/fencing and temporary stands to be erected. This is great news for the promoters (Humpy Wheeler apparently) because every person was adamant at the press conference that, “No taxpayer subsidies will be used for this event. It is 100% privately funded by the promoters.”

Now herein lies my skepticism… Formula One is continuing to lose their races at the storied circuits of the world because all of these new races in the Middle and Far-East are paid for almost entirely with government money. It really has to be that way in today’s F1 race market because of Bernie’s astronomical (read $25m) sanctioning fee (with a +10% hike each year), and how FOM garners all of the profits from the sale of anything at the race except ticket sales. That is the only revenue stream the promoters have at their disposal. I will be perfectly honest with you guys, gals, and everything in between: I don’t think a privately funded F1 race will last more than its first year. COTA has the Major Events Fund in Texas to help pay the bills, but their bills are also astronomical because of the cost of creating the circuit in the first place. Hopefully their revenue from other racing series (like my baby: the V8 Supercar Series in 2013, and also MotoGP, among others to be added) and rent for the industrial park they’re building on site will be enough to let the facility survive.

So here’s a synopsis of the feasibility of the two American Formula One events we have to look forward to:

COTA, Permanent Circuit
Pros

  • Mildly exciting Tilkedrome circuit design
  • Massive industrial park on the grounds
  • Basis of technology and automotive education initiatives
  • Green technology and sustainability (apparently)
  • Multiple racing series
  • Can hold events year round
  • Has confirmed government subsidy

Cons

  • Mildly exciting Tilkedrome circuit design
  • Freakishly expensive to build
  • Must be maintained year round
  • Massive sanctioning fee for F1

Weehawken, NJ, Street Circuit
Pros

  • Very exciting circuit design
  • Reasonably cheap to erect b/c of no street modifications
  • Great metro location near Manhattan
  • Green transportation (all access to circuit is by public transport)

Cons

  • Massive sanctioning fee for the only event it will have
  • No government subsidy (Where the hell is all that money coming from?!)

Lastly, The Odds of the US keeping either or both races?   COTA = 50% NJ  = 50%
I’m waiting with baited breath!

Meet Cody Globig – Q4G F1 and V8 Contributor

Queers4Gears is excited to announce we continue our expansion into covering other forms of motorsports.  I started it all in 2009 with a primary focus on NASCAR – we now have a few folks covering stock cars and in the past year we have added Indy Car and NHRA contributors to the site.  Now we add Formula 1 and V8 Super Cars to the site.  Both series have announced plans to race in the US in the coming years – so the timing could not be better.  Join me in welcome Cody Globig.  You can follow Cody on Twitter: @theSAABwriter or email him: globigcy AT mail.uc.edu

I’m Cody Globig. I’m a 21 year old English and Journalism student at the University of Cincinnati, I’m gay, and I am obsessed (which is putting it very lightly) with cars and motor racing.

I’m just a lil’ (and at 5’3” I mean that very literally) old country boy from Hamilton, OH (about a half-hour  North of Cincinnati) but with a particular proclivity to non-US motoring.  Many of my family members have worked in the auto industry – most for Ford, hence I have a distinct bias toward the boys from Dearborn – so naturally I was immersed in all-things-automobile from a very young age. Most of the credit would have to go to my grandfather, bless his 91 year old heart! An insatiable tinkerer to this day, he gave me the foundations of my mechanical knowledge and fascination which I’ve grown and refined my entire life.  These days, I actually teach my own father about cars more than he teaches me anything (except life lessons; he’s good at that – love you Mom and Dad!), but we still have a tight hobby-bond over our family’s other pastime: hunting.  I’m not an obsessive white tailed deer hunter like my father, but I do have two bucks mounted in my bedroom from my pre-college days as a family venison provider.

Compared to my long-standing passion for road cars, my interest in racing is somewhat new.  When I was younger, I always loved cars, yet I never got the point of racing.  February 18, 2001 changed that though.  The ’01 Daytona 500 was the first race I ever watched (nothing else good was on, and I liked cars, so I figured, “What the hell… Why not?!”).  Over that 5 or so hours, I saw the power, speed, and excitement of motor racing.  I saw the highest of highs in Michael Waltrip, then racing’s lowest of lows just minutes later.  I’ve always been a fearless soul, and I suppose the realization of watching the most dangerous moments of a race sealed that passion into my heart. Ever since, I have been fascinated with the men and women who participate in one of the most dangerous sports in the world; their courage, tenacity, and undying will to win.  Moreso, I am a massive nerd, and my obsessive fascination with the machinery involved is an absolute illness.

For that first year of my NASCAR fandom, I either didn’t realize or didn’t care that other racing series existed (that turned left and right!).  During the ’01 off-season, though, I discovered the wonders of touring car racing from across the globe each weekend when Speedvision (God bless that long-forgotten channel format) showed the British Touring car Championship, European (now World) Touring Car Championship, Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, and my favorite: the Australian V8 Supercar series.  Road racing tin-tops became my life’s passion that winter, and come March, I discovered the (at the time) 19,000rpm wonder that was the FIA Formula One World Championship. Oh yeah, and I’m also quite big into rallying (which is why my first car was a 1967 SAAB 96 two-stroke).

Now don’t get me wrong, I like all forms of racing, but at heart I’m a road racing guy, though I still follow NASCAR fairly closely.  My specialties these days are my very close following of the Aussie V8s and Formula One, which is why I reached out to the great Michael Myers and asked if he’d like a contributor for F1 and the V8s since (respectively) one is returning to the US in 2012, and the other coming to our shores for the first time in 2013, both to Austin, TX and the magnificent Tavo Hellmund and Hermann Tilke lovechild: Circuit of the Americas.  NOTE: Ross and Michael, you lucky b******s… Living so close and all…