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Where's the outrage?

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by rpmmutant, Jun 22, 2008.

Page 3 of 4
  1. playthrough

    playthrough Moderator Staff Member

    Slowing dragsters down would be altering the fabric of the sport too much. No one's up in arms over how NASCAR has slowed speeds over the years with restrictor plates and, now, a new car (well, drivers and fans complain, but not about not missing 240 mph racing around Talladega). The allure there is racin' and rooting for your guy to beat everyone else. The allure of NHRA racing is speed, sound, ground shaking, the pure sensory overload at the track watching a nitro car pushing the limits. Dialing it down would do more harm to the sport than a driver dying. That sounds completely ridiculous, but it's true. Would be akin to legislating less hitting in football because everyone's too big and strong today. Fans would never go for that, they like the sport just as it is even if that means a guy every few years is lost to paralysis.
     
    playthrough, Jun 23, 2008
    #25
  2. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    There are, but it wouldn't help much when the engine blows up and is scattered over a 100-yard radius.
     
    Batman, Jun 23, 2008
    #26
  3. 2muchcoffeeman

    2muchcoffeeman Well-Known Member

    Pea gravel. Sand gets packed down from rain. Pea gravel doesn't get packed down and swallows race cars — ask any F1, Indycar, sports car or NASCAR stock car driver who's gone off-course into a gravel pit if he'd rather get stuck in the gravel pit or go into the retaining wall behind the gravel pit.
     
    2muchcoffeeman, Jun 23, 2008
    #27
  4. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    There definitely would be outrage if horses were driving the cars and getting killed.
     
    Ace, Jun 23, 2008
    #28
  5. markvid

    markvid Guest

    The engine already was killed because it had blown up. Momentum carried him into the wall
     
    markvid, Jun 23, 2008
    #29
  6. Inky_Wretch

    Inky_Wretch Well-Known Member

    If as many people were watching that particular NHRA race as the Kentucky Derby, Kalitta's death might have inspired as much outrage as Eight Belles.
     
    Inky_Wretch, Jun 23, 2008
    #30
  7. markvid

    markvid Guest

    Not really. Remember this - a horse doesn't have a choice to race, a human does.
     
    markvid, Jun 23, 2008
    #31
  8. fishwrapper

    fishwrapper Active Member

    I agree with this. But, to counterpoint, if the horses weren't racing, there wouldn't be much need for thoroughbreds -- at the numbers they're bred -- in today's society. Well, except for foreign cuisine.
     
    fishwrapper, Jun 23, 2008
    #32
  9. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    I would think there isn't much outrage because no one is forcing race car drivers, boxers, MMA fighters or pro wrestlers to do what they do for a living.

    Of course, they always could try a newspaper career. ::)
     
    Baron Scicluna, Jun 23, 2008
    #33
  10. SportsDude

    SportsDude Active Member

    The other motor sports started to slow the cars down, that was the main factor in safety. In drag racing, it would be sacrilegious. The point of the sport is to find a way to go faster than the next guy. It would never happen.
     
    SportsDude, Jun 23, 2008
    #34
  11. 93Devil

    93Devil Well-Known Member

    Then how do you slow the car down?
     
    93Devil, Jun 23, 2008
    #35
  12. imjustagirl

    imjustagirl Active Member

    Generally the chutes, which either burned or malfunctioned somehow.
     
    imjustagirl, Jun 23, 2008
    #36
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