Slightly OT, IHRA Nationals

[mk1mark at gmail.com (Mark F.)]

On 9/9/07, C Boyko <roccit_53@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> yesterday I decided to go up to the IHRA Nationals. Here's what you miss on
> TV....


You're right, TV really doesn't do motorsports justice.  I have yet to
witness F1 cars firsthand, but I've felt the hairs on my neck stand
straight up on end as a turbo powered Champ car powered out of a
corner a few feet from vantage point at the edge of the track at the
Molson Indy.  It was as close to a religious experience as I've had...


> The smells. Imagine a lot of burning rubber, race gas, alcohol and
> nitromethane. It smells like a cross between formaldehyde and antifreeze.
> Much of it's delivered in a fog that partially obscures the track.


I love the smell of race fuel.  I drove behind a bunch of 60's muscle
cars the other night as they left the mall parking lot friday night
"car show", and had my head out the window breathing in the fumes...
Mmmmmm race fuel....  I'm glad I'm not the one buying that shit though
- it's gotta cost those guys $20 just to fire the things up!


> The sounds. Yeah, your TV just does not go this loud, and earplugs aren't
> optional. It's just deafening, and if you think your car doesn't sound
> happy at idle, you should hear these ones. OTOH, if you have some stubborn
> earwax, this will rattle it loose. Yeah, I'm serious.
>
> The sandblasting: You do not want to be anywhere near the back end of a jet
> dragster.


I've witnessed the sandblasting effect first hand, and it scared the
living crap out of me.  I was in the old rickety over-the-track
walkway at your hometown raceway, standing behind a plexiglass window
as a jet car was doing it's show directly in front of us.  It felt
like the walkway was going to come crashing down as the afterburner
blast washed over it and violently shook the windows and plywood
walls.  We shouldn't have been allowed to stand where we were, but it
was a very cool experience...

Later,

Mark.
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