Why do we race?

[BRICKMAN]

Is this thread about Why we race ' or why we get stood up. I was dating this girl once, oh never mind not on my birthday very painfull. I got ran into going down the chute at Summit on Sat and I was a little pissed about it but I am trying to get back in the swing of things after 7 year layoff.

[Morph]

I guess Morph is supposed to be the voice of reason amongst all of us.  ::)

Someone ought to be.

You said it Morph, you've never raced 

Never raced motorbikes.  I raced karts for 3 years and sportscars for 4.  

Unbiased, opinion.

This is honestly the first form of motorsport (or competition, really) that I've witnessed such a sense of entitlement on the part of back markers for 'thier line'.  When did people start expecting manners during a race?It's a RACE.  People are going to do whatever they can to WIN.  Mannerly or not.  As long as they aren't blatently torpeedoing or brake checking people, all's fair.  

Wreckless riders will be punished with sanctions, crashes, or DNFs.  Wreckless doesn't win anyhow, so it's a bit of a self policing process.  Ask Paul Tracy.

[Court Jester]

Sportsmanship.  It's an intangible.  Left to people other than the competitors to define.

Does a boxer pull punches in the name of sportsmanship?  Is a pitcher unsportsmanly because he throws a fastball that's too difficult to hit?

No.  That's competition.

I think the primary difference of sportsmanship and unsportsman in the comparison of the two cases of boxing and racing would be an expectation of being punched in the nose as the rules imply will happen and then being kicked in the nuts.
There's no question in the competition but rather in the limits a person may push in respect to "right/wrong" and "safe/life threatening".  But to hit the track as you explain "it is" would lead to blood, and carnage, and broken stuff, and all kinds of other undesirable shit that only a truly psychologically dysfunction freak would find enjoyment in.

... unless I misunderstood your point.

[Ducmarc]

We need to realize this is the most dangers form of motorsport there is a constent flow of safety enhancements for the likes of Paul Tracy  and Dale Jr I'm not saying all motorsports totally safe but when someone is injured or dies there is an investigation and maybe some changes ,soft walls, Hans device etc. and what happens with us except air fence which unfortunately has only limited use.The last thing we got was a back brace. I remember my boss touting it back in 1982 . oh yeah they may move a wall 10 feet after persistant complaints and few chopper rides. so we are left with only ourselves.we are racing for a cup .I ride as hard as I can and I do win but I'm not going to crash someone to win I know everybody I race with after 2 years running every event I know almost everybody there they are my friends I could not imagine killing one of the for a cup. you all need to grow up ! if your that bad ass go ride with barney or Jeff May I'll see on TV

[HAWK]

+1 Ducmarc

[K3 Chris Onwiler]

I've really been thinking about this thread almost non-stop.  I don't just post to cause controversy.  I really write what I feel, and generally don't cause a fuss unless I believe that I'm trying to stand up for what I believe about the sport that I love more than anything else I've ever done.

That said, maybe I've been wrong.

I'm just a few weeks short of 44 years old.  My Dad was racing when I was born, and I've never not spent a summer at the track.  Between when he stopped racing and when I started, I spent about 15 years cornerworking for both cars and bikes.  When I started, club racing was a lot less aggressive than it is now.  It was more gentlemanly.  The guys who mentored me were mostly older, well established, and very much known for their sportsmanship.  Chief among them was Ed Key.  Although it wasn't my plan to do so, my novel Highside ended up doing a fair job of documenting that era, those people, and my feelings on what racing is about.

The world has changed pretty drastically since I was born.  People fly airplanes into skyscrapers or strap dynamite to themselves to make their point.  Drive-by shooters kill half the neighborhood without a thought.  Football players cream the QB after the whistle, willing to take the penalty and maybe finish the QB's career in hopes of eliminating him.  People drive like they're out of their minds, sawing each other off like it's war instead of commuting.  There is no longer any stigma to a girl becoming a stripper.  The morals and behavior that were the examples of my youth are old fashioned now.  People play by a different set of rules.

As much as the moral ethic of the population has changed in that period of time, it's no surprise that the same ethos has found its way to racing.  If the perception of what is and is not acceptably aggressive has mirrored the embracing of violence seen in every other aspect of culture in the last two decades, then maybe it's unrealistic for me to expect racers to race each other like gentlemen.  Maybe that era is long gone, and I need to accept the fact.  When racers raced each other cleanly, the fast guys still won and the slow guys still lost.  But if the perception of what is fair play and what is dirty pool shifts, I guess the fast racers must either adapt or be left behind.

So maybe I'm wrong.  Either way, I mourn for what's been lost.

[Ducmarc]

K3 your beating yourself and us up I will be fortyfour in Sept so we are the same age I grew up in the most dangerous city in the south Miami you know go back there know and it's not near as bad as it was Half the murder rate as in 1982 my dad raced hydroplanes and we cornerworked at Palm beach for scca.  I as a teen Iworked for John Long as mechanic Alot of people don't like him but he was and he still is my friend and mentor He raced all over the planet.[his son Barrett races formula extreme 7th at fontana] When John talks about the old days they were bitter tough they fought on the track and in the pits it was nothing to run someone in the dirt especially if money is involved they would kick and elbow anybody in the way they rode the most dangerous tracks just ask Henry degow. what I'm trying to say is yes we have a few rough riders but they get weeded out the rest of us love to race each other the same people every race every weekend. there my friends I'm there friend where all here together if it isn't like where you ride then come down and ride with us.Like Paul Harvey said there was no good old days marc

[funsizeracing]

All is not lost!
There are still plenty of racers out there who are competitive and show great sportsmanship.  Maybe it's the region (GP) but every time I go racing, the people are great.  There may be one to two out there willing to "win at all cost"  but certainly not the majority!    I'm young and inexpirienced but the racing you described as past times is still alive today, at least in the Great Plains region.
Just my two.

[tstruyk]

as you knock down Probst to make the pass... 

[funsizeracing]

You're next on my list!

[tstruyk]

 

[Super Dave]

From a sportsmanship standpoint, no.

From a competition standpoint, absolutely.  I was a Senna fan at the time, so I stood up and cheered.  Truth be told, if I were in that situation, I probably would have done exactly what Senna did.

There's a difference between competition and sportsmanship?