As a racing fan who watches Rally Car Racing whenever its on television including at the X-Games, I was excited about this new 2012 Global RallyCross Championship Series having five events throughout the year (Charlotte, Texas, X-Games, New Hampshire and Las Vegas) especially with one of my favorite drivers Tanner Foust being in the field in his Ford Fiesta.
But what concerned me was each track layout. I mean how does the front straightaway, turn 1, a dogleg or tri-oval of a 1 mile to 1.5 mile NASCAR racetrack make for a good rally cross course anyway? Well in the case of Charlotte Motor Speedway, the course and race was a disaster especially with the damage the cars did to the NASCAR track before NASCAR's longest race, the Coca-Cola 600. By the way, Marcus Gronholm held off Tanner Foust to win round 1.
However the Texas Motor Speedway event track layout was a little bit better to say the least especially with the introduction of the larger jump and tight corner under the jump. Of course dirt would be better. In the Texas event, it would once again be Marcus Gronholm taking round 2 over Tanner Foust after a 3-times a charm final segment run.
You see unlike in NASCAR where yellow flags are part of the racing, there is only a red flag when an incident happens and that also means the drivers have to lineup and start all over again for that segment. I know this is meant be to fair for the short cut and lead deal, but that was just ridiculous, something needs to be updated for these types of events.
My thoughts on Rally Car Racing or RallyCross is, I think it would be a hit in the United States once the racing got on television on a regular basis and the format was easy to understand. Personally I like the racing, its different, fun to watch, plenty of beating and banging on each other and you don't know what to expect from one lap to another depending upon the track layout. Hopefully more fans and more networks tune in and start getting these types of series the exposure it deserves.
But what concerned me was each track layout. I mean how does the front straightaway, turn 1, a dogleg or tri-oval of a 1 mile to 1.5 mile NASCAR racetrack make for a good rally cross course anyway? Well in the case of Charlotte Motor Speedway, the course and race was a disaster especially with the damage the cars did to the NASCAR track before NASCAR's longest race, the Coca-Cola 600. By the way, Marcus Gronholm held off Tanner Foust to win round 1.
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| Marcus Grönholm Wins at Texas Motor Speedway in 2012 Global RallyCross Championship event. (Photo Credit: Vivacity via PR Email I received) |
You see unlike in NASCAR where yellow flags are part of the racing, there is only a red flag when an incident happens and that also means the drivers have to lineup and start all over again for that segment. I know this is meant be to fair for the short cut and lead deal, but that was just ridiculous, something needs to be updated for these types of events.
My thoughts on Rally Car Racing or RallyCross is, I think it would be a hit in the United States once the racing got on television on a regular basis and the format was easy to understand. Personally I like the racing, its different, fun to watch, plenty of beating and banging on each other and you don't know what to expect from one lap to another depending upon the track layout. Hopefully more fans and more networks tune in and start getting these types of series the exposure it deserves.
