Go fast, turn left (and also right): The 2025 Running Motorsports Thread

[2muchcoffeeman]

Can’t put it off any longer, because the IMSA boys are on the track in Daytona Beach … and trying to not hit the curbing in the chicanes.

Drivers React to Daytona’s New Le Mans Chicane Curbing – Sportscar365

 

[Driftwood]

I'm ready.
My wife was somewhere the other night, called and asked me what basketball game I was watching.
"None. I'm watching an IMSA season preview."


I'm more than ready for the NHRA lidl lifter in March.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

I'm ready.
My wife was somewhere the other night, called and asked me what basketball game I was watching.
"None. I'm watching an IMSA season preview."


I'm more than ready for the NHRA lidl lifter in March.

This one!

 

[Driftwood]

Yep, that was it.
GTD should get more love than it does.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Spotter guide for this weekend!

https://spotterguides.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SG_25_DAY_ONLINE_V1.pdf

 

[YMCA B-Baller]

IndyCar. (Just wanted it mentioned on the first page of the thread.)

 

[playthrough]

Wild seeing a full-length Newgarden commercial during the Fox NFL games. If that makes the other drivers hate him even more, great.

 

[YMCA B-Baller]

Wild seeing a full-length Newgarden commercial during the Fox NFL games. If that makes the other drivers hate him even more, great.

If Fox is going to be that committed to promoting the sport, it’s obviously really exciting for IndyCar. The cross-promotional possibilities for Fox are better than they were at NBC … not that NBC did much cross-promotion with IndyCar anyway.

Not a fan of Will Buxton (newly-named Fox PBP guy) at all, but I get why Fox went that direction.

Still a lot of challenges ahead for IndyCar, 2024 was a rough year for them off-track, but there are positive signs.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

The best place to watch the start of the Rolex 24 is at the barbecue place across the street.

 

[maumann]

The best place to watch the start of the Rolex 24 is at the barbecue place across the street.

I'd take Hog Heaven on A1A across from the Hilton, but BBQ is subjective. Getting there for the start of a 24-hour race is never a priority.

 

[Driftwood]

To me, LMP2 is pretty pointless. The entire purpose of the series is to showcase manufacturers, and it's essentially a crate series. GTP honestly doesn't do that. Thus, my earlier post about GTD and GTD Pro. From a manufacturer's standpoint, those should be the premier series in the world.

Ford vs. Ferrari was a **** measuring contest at its finest.

Last year when I bought my new truck, I wanted badly to buy a set of WeatherTech floor liners because I've always tried to support racing sponsors I like. Sadly, all my research drove me to a competitor because they were a better product. I'm super happy with my floor liners, but I wanted to support the series sponsor.

 

[maumann]

One hour remaining at Daytona, two Porsches, BMW and an Acura remain on the lead lap. Fifty of the original 61 are still running? Wow, that's amazing lack of attrition.

 

[TigerVols]

I saw where former racing TV announcer Bill Weber died at age 67. I was shocked to read that he last called a race in 2009; seems like just a season or two ago I was listening to him.

 

[playthrough]

I saw where former racing TV announcer Bill Weber died at age 67. I was shocked to read that he last called a race in 2009; seems like just a season or two ago I was listening to him.

And he died in mid-December but the news is just now getting around? That's rare and unusual nowadays.

 

[dixiehack]

One hour remaining at Daytona, two Porsches, BMW and an Acura remain on the lead lap. Fifty of the original 61 are still running? Wow, that's amazing lack of attrition.

I low key think one of the things that has hurt interest is improved liability. As long as you don’t bend the sheet metal, you have an excellent chance of completing a race now. So you get a turnpike’s worth of back markers making it harder to pass.

 

[maumann]

I saw where former racing TV announcer Bill Weber died at age 67. I was shocked to read that he last called a race in 2009; seems like just a season or two ago I was listening to him.

Crap! I've been off the beat longer than I was on it, as of this season.

Weber had one of those "don't you know who I am!" meltdowns in a hotel that ultimately got him fired but the TNT guys said he was basically daring them to fire him for some time. Very mercurial personality. I never dealt with him personally but unlike Joy and Bestwick, not particularly friendly with anybody he considered "beneath him."

If he ever tried to get back into the sport, I never heard. NASCAR (the France family) has a particularly long memory and if you embarrass the show, you rarely get a second chance. I would actually be proud if my name popped up on a "do not hire per NASCAR" list.

RIP.

 

[brn623cl]

We have us a DQ

 

[wicked]

And he died in mid-December but the news is just now getting around? That's rare and unusual nowadays.

Ryan McGee came out in a tweet and basically said Weber was a douche, without actually saying it. That’s the first time I’ve seen McGee come close to ripping someone.

Someone on a Reddit thread dug up a photo of Bill from a few years back. Time was not kind to him.

 

[maumann]

Ryan McGee came out in a tweet and basically said Weber was a douche, without actually saying it. That’s the first time I’ve seen McGee come close to ripping someone.

Someone on a Reddit thread dug up a photo of Bill from a few years back. Time was not kind to him.

And Ryan's about as friendly and welcoming as anyone in the media center not named Mike Harris/AP. To be honest, I don't believe I ever had a falling out with any other members of the media. Even the famously cranky Ed Hinton would ask me questions about my cabin in north Georgia after he moved to other side of the state.

We're all trying to do the same thing. I don't remember anyone pulling the ego card, which is surprising, given my dealings with the ACC Skywriters and other close-knit writing fraternities.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Ryan McGee came out in a tweet and basically said Weber was a douche, without actually saying it. That’s the first time I’ve seen McGee come close to ripping someone.