Many years ago, I decided that I would buy any record on which Pat Metheny played, even if I didn't know anything about the other artists involved. Sometimes the results are solid (Wish), sometimes they are frustrating (Sign Of Four), and sometimes it's a really sexy Eastern European girl singing over what sounds like a chorus of little people from "It's A Small World" (Upojenie). In general, however, the rule has served me well. The same is true for autojourno Alex Nunez; even when he's writing for soul-sucking blackholes like Autoblog, he's still a great read. This past weekend, Alex noticed an interesting story coming out of the Speedvision, er, Speed, er, Pirelli World Challenge race at Miller. Warning: race spoilers ahead if you click the jump.
On the face of it, Sunday's World Challenge race sounds like a cross between a Hollywood script and a LeMons blog. Tristan Herbert's Jetta GLI had suffered an engine failure on Saturday, leaving him with two DFL finishes that day and a back-row qualifying spot for the Sunday main event. Overnight, the team pulled the engine out of a local race fan's Beetle Turbo and tossed it in the GLI. When the flag flew, Herbert stormed to the front of the pack, making a big move on race leader Michael Cooper and taking the overall race win. (As a former Compass360 driver, I am not quite contractually obligated to note that two C360 Civics passed Michael in the final laps and took the other steps on the podium.) I mean, COME ON! This has Hollywood written all over it. The Jetta GLI is new to WC competition. The odds were against them. They pulled an engine from a street car. If somebody made a movie about this, every racing fan in the world would grumble all the way through about it being unrealistic. And yet, here we are. Pirelli World Challenge and its Bizarro World Grand-Am-operated twin series, Continental Tire Challenge, are exactly what everybody always says they want to see in American racing. Real production-based cars going tooth-and-nail, denting fenders, on all the same road courses we use for our untimed lapping days. You can't deny it makes for great storylines and great television. Unfortunately, part of that "great television" is created through ruthless and arbitrary competition adjustment. The reason Herbert's GLI carved so effortlessly through an entire pack of experienced racers in fully-prepped cars? Simple: he's "under-adjusted". The people who run the Pirelli and Continental Challenges are fully aware that new teams need to show results in order to keep their sponsorship intact. Over the course of time, cars are "adjusted" in all sorts of ways. The C360 Civics, for example, have to run stock brakes, which usually require pad changes halfway through the longer races. The "adjustments" can run from the subtle to the bizarre: the original World Challenge CTS-V had a "dropped" unibody which was effectively four inches or so shorter than that of the street cars. It really fixed the tall, tippy look of the CTS and it led to multiple Cadillac victories. It also infuriated all the tax attorneys and orthodontists who had dropped a half-million bucks on a GT3 or Viper ACR only to find themselves repeatedly lapped by a nonchalant John Heinricy. You could say that Herbert was on "easy mode" in that race, but that isn't really a fair way to describe a team that suffered a blown engine and came back to win. The best thing to do would be to watch the race and judge for yourself. Unfortunately, you will have to wait for the air date: NBC Sports, Sunday, May 27th at 11PM-1AM EST. Check it out, and don't forget to check Alex out while you're at it, okay? from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com | |||
| |||
| |||
|
Monday, April 30, 2012
This Weekend’s World Challenge Event Shows What’s Right (And Wrong) With Entry-Level Pro Racing
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Archive
-
▼
2012
(7297)
-
▼
April
(760)
- Ford Focus ST Priced At $23,700
- 2013 Ford F-150 Spy Photos: A Mild Cosmetic Update...
- 41-mpg Dodge Dart Aero: Same Great Taste, Less Fil...
- Volkswagen Golf/Jetta CC Not Destined for U.S.
- 2012 Audi A8L W12 Instrumented Test: 0 to 60 mph i...
- Name That Shifter, No. 74
- This Is The Analysis Of The Video That Jalopnik Al...
- 2013 Ford Focus ST Wagon Spied; Still Not Coming Here
- 2013 Acura ILX vs. 2012 Honda Civic: Which Would Y...
- VW Polo R Line Adds Show Without the Go
- 2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV: Car Seat Check
- Toyota RAV4 EV to Debut May 7
- 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 Crowned World's Most Powerf...
- Daily News Briefs: April 30, 2012
- Next-Gen Toyota Prius Targeted For Stateside Produ...
- There’s a “Huracan” Coming To Your “Urus”
- Cars.com Buzz Index: April 2012
- Morgan 3 Wheeler Being Offered To Eccentric Americ...
- This Weekend’s World Challenge Event Shows What’s ...
- Piston Slap: Crystal Ballin’ the Bling-Free Altima!
- Dodge Dart Gets “Aero” Package To Break 40 MPG
- Junkyard Find: 1990 Ford Escort Pony
- BMW May Takeover Nedcar Plant
- Should the EPA Have Changed the BMW 328's Mileage?
- Trackday Diaries: Two wheels good, four wheels pro...
- At Forbes, Gordon Chang Lacks Adult Supervision
- Gleanings Of The 2010 Beijing Auto Show: Breasts D...
- Review: BMW 335i 6MT Sport Line
- GM And Isuzu Want To Rekindle Old Tie-Up
- What Went Wrong For Peugeot In India?
- GM and Isuzu In Bed Again?
- Hammer Time Rewind: The Seven Deadly Sins
- Most-Read Car Reviews of the Week
- Junkyard Find: Toasty 1965 BMW 700
- Car Collector’s Corner: 1962 Mercury Monterey 4 Do...
- Ed And BS Meet For Cars And Coffee
- Kicking Around The Fisker Football
- This Week's Most-Read Stories
- Mitusbishi Mirage: Yes For Canada, Maybe For America
- Most-Watched Video Reviews of the Week
- Best Selling Cars Around The Globe: Discover Some ...
- 2013 Dodge Dart First Drive: Fiat and Chrysler’s F...
- Cars.com Reviews the 2013 Dodge Dart
- Dodge Dart Aero to Get at Least 41 MPG Highway
- Italian Masterpieces on Display at L.A.’s Petersen...
- Why Torontonians Love The Smart Fortwo
- 2013 Scion FR-S Video
- Capsule Review: Aston Martin V8 Vantage
- Ferrari Plans Hybrid Powertrain
- Biden: “Osama bin Laden Is Dead And General Motors...
- Mercedes Opens First AMG-Only Dealership in Beijing
- Mazda Gives Us Another 1,000 Chances To Buy A Rota...
- Daily News Briefs: April 27, 2012
- Massage-Off: Jag, Mercedes, and Audi Seat Massager...
- Setting Music To Marques
- This Aggression Will Not Stand, Man: Portland Decl...
- Junkyard Find: 1992 Geo Prizm
- For Honda, Next Accord Must be a Hit
- Junkyard Find: 1992 Geo Prizm
- Which Cars Fit Three Car Seats?
- Gleanings Of The 2012 Beijing Auto Show: Seat Intr...
- Confirmed: 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 Rated at...
- Gleanings Of The 2012 Beijing Auto Show: Car Blogg...
- Go-To Car Music Keep Families in Harmony
- Gleanings Of The 2012 Beijing Auto Show: Toyota Op...
- Coda Withdraws DOE Loan Request Worth $334 Million
- 2012 Audi A1 Sportback First Drive: Two More Doors...
- Lamborghini’s Latest Trademark Application: “Huracán”
- 2013 Shelby GT500; 662 Horsepower, 200 MPH. WHY???
- China Gets Its Dual Clutches From The Borg
- The Acura NSX Concept Gets Painted Proper Sports-C...
- Gleanings Of The 2012 Beijing Auto Show: Victimize...
- Aston Martin Will End Current DBS Production with ...
- What's the Most Affordable Compact Crossover?
- MG’s Icon Concept Unveiled in China [Beijing Auto ...
- 2013 Toyota Land Cruiser: Car Seat Check
- Vellum Venom Vignette: 1991 Toyota Camry (emblem)
- 2013 Aston Martin DBS Spied: 550 hp and One-77 Looks
- Toyota Prices Limited-Edition Tacoma TRD T/X Baja ...
- Is Status For The Smart Or Stupid?
- 2012 Ford Focus Electric to Serve as NASCAR’s Firs...
- Daily News Briefs: April 26, 2012
- 2013 Audi Q5: First Look
- BRB Driving Police Cars
- Time Machine Dilemma: It’s 1973 and You Have Enoug...
- Chevrolet Orlando Finally Becomes Top Small Miniva...
- 2012 Buick Regal GS Automatic Tested: That’s Right...
- Automated-Vehicle Cheat Codes: How to Get the Most...
- Cars.com's 2012 Mock Draft: Top Car Prospects
- Junkyard Find: 1981 Toyota Corolla Liftback Coupe
- Cars.com Reviews the 2012 Volvo XC60
- New NHTSA Website Helps Parents Choose Right Seat
- Toyota Dear Qin Sedan and Hatchback: Don’t You Wan...
- Toyota Yundong Shuangqing Concept: What’s Happenin...
- In Hot Pursuit of Cold Milk: A Look at the New Ind...
- The Continental: Nine-Speeds Are Coming, Legalizin...
- 2013 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse Drive...
- Volkswagen Launches China-Only New Lavida [Beijing...
- Jaguar/Land Rover Officially Launches Engineered t...
- Commercial Break: A Quick Example Of A Good “Gen Y...
-
▼
April
(760)
No comments:
Post a Comment