Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with racing

Let us drive in circles for a few hours

PuppetMcSockerson — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 09:57:38 -0800

My fiance likes to watch the Daytona 500 every year and likes to make a day of it. NASCAR and racing is all pretty foreign and weird to me. Help me! As per this comment, my fiance has a thing where once a year he wants to watch a bit of NASCAR, the Daytona 500 specifically. It really is a once a year thing, he doesn't watch any racing at all otherwise, apart from the "Duels" that qualify drivers for the race. He likes to make a whole day of it, have it be a bit of an event and he would like me to be a part of this. It is once a year and it matters to him, so I would like to give him that and be able to participate/understand so that it is something we both do.

The problem is tha I have next to no experience with NASCAR. It just isn't something that I was exposed to, and the first time I ever watched a NASCAR race was last year'd Daytona 500 with him. We watched the Sprint Cup last weekend and I more or less enjoyed it. We watched the "Duels" yesterday so I'm getting more familiar with the drivers and am at least recognising some of the cars. I also have been trying to read up on how NASCAR works and a bit of the history etc. but frankly I still feel like I have a huge hole in my understanding of this sport. It feels like there is so much I don't get...

Things I don't understand:
- the whole Gen6 car thing.
- why the different cars even matter since they all have to be made to such specific requirements and shape and everything. There can't be much differnece between them!
- the whole "points" system
- how the hell they get the new tires on but you never see them add nuts on to what I would presume are bolts attaching the tire to the car. My fiance said "They glue the nuts on" but how do they even get it on enough to have the bolts be able to start being threadded by their big drill things? (yes, my use of technical terms is staggering...)
- Why don't more crashes happen? They are going so fast and they are so close to each other, and all the announcers keep talking about is how hard these "new cars" are to control.
- Michael Waltrip is gay... right? I have zero issue with his being gay (if he is) but he stands out to me. I'm just curious since the little bit of NASCAR I have watched seems pretty macho, plus I (possibly incorrectly) always understood NASCAR to be a something enjoyed by a more conservative audience.

So: What can you tell me about NASCAR that will help me enjoy this yearly event? What should I be watching for? What types of things can I do to help me better appreciate this? What are the types of things NASCAR fans do during races that I/we could do to make it more fun?

Racing Game Name needed

InterestedInKnowing — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 06:40:00 -0800

Gaming filter: Does anybody remember a racing game where you controlled human androids that were actually the motorbikes themselves? I believe it could have been for the Playstation. I'm trying to find a name.

How can I watch this years Vuelta a España online?

u17tw — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 07:38:01 -0800

How can I watch this years Vuelta a España online? Watching it live is the ideal but would settle for highlights. Any good websites, twitter accounts, etc also appreciated.

If it makes a difference I'm in the UK.

Cheers

Interesting reusable GPX logs?

sodium lights the horizon — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 23:54:54 -0800

Where can I get hold of an interesting GPX export I can use for testing some code and (maybe) showing the results on my personal website? I'm playing with some code that makes pretty pictures and graphs from GPX files. It's nothing new or exciting, but I'm using it to teach myself about some new libraries I'm interested in and would like to show the results on my website.

The problem is that I live in East Anglia, where the roads are largely flat and level or easy 30/60/70 speed limits.

I'd really like to get my hands on a PGX trail of someone driving a car round a looping (or at least, with significant long/lat changes) path with decent speed and altitude changes. The ideal would probably be something like the Nurburgring / Leguna Seca / etc or a road trip that included slow roads, motorway and some good twisty bits.

Does anyone know where I can get hold of such a GPX log that I can use for building upon (so CC or similar)?

Watch Formula 1 without cable?

lovingkindness — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 09:05:28 -0800

Is it possible to watch Formula 1 in the U.S. (Mass.) without cable? I do have internet + Apple TV + Netflix + Hulu Plus.

Places to race go-karts in/near NYC

5lbauthority — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 04:02:59 -0800

I thought it might be fun to race around like giddy kids with my wife for her birthday. she loves Formula one and has expressed an interest in racing go-karts. We both can drive but do not own a car as we live in brooklyn and have no need. Any ideas on where to race go-karts near nyc? (I found this place: gpny.com, and it seems to fit the bill..but are there other options?) Anyone else had any similar experiences trying to find place to race? Extravagant test-drive a real car on a track option? f1 model kit? (thank you as always) -birthday panic!!

What bike brand begins 'Van~'

sann1657 — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 11:44:38 -0800

I'm in the UK, near Bath. I just saw someone on a bicycle I really want. Silver frame, canti brakes, racer / tourer style. Brand name was approx 11 letters long and I'm pretty sure it began with 'van'. Any ideas anyone? Thanks in advance!

PS3 Driving / Racing Game for 5 Year Old

mtstover — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 05:55:25 -0800

Best PS3 Driving / Racing game for 5 and 6 year old? What steering wheel control to get? I have a PS3, and I wanted to get a steering wheel and racing game for son's birthday and christmas. Any recommendations for very easy racing games (not sims). Split screen would be great so we can play together!

He has not been allowed to play anything yet on PS3, so this will be his first game.

Thanks MeFi!

How to do the Dakar Rally?

reductiondesign — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 15:59:14 -0800

How can I race in the Dakar Rally? The catch: I've never been in a race before, ever, and I have no idea what an FIM license is. I'd like to, at some point in my life, take part in the Dakar Rally. However, their website has a list of things each participant needs, and one of the items is a 2012 FIM or FIA international license. Googling led me down a rabbit hole of racing unions and organizations, so I'm hoping that someone can explain this for me. How do I get involved in the rally world?

Why go to harness races?

brynnwood — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 05:42:05 -0800

Who goes to harness racing (a.k.a. horse buggies, trotters), and why? A friend compared it to speed walking, lots of activity but still pretty darned slow. Is it simply something else to bet on or is there something wonderful or at least interesting about the sport that I'm missing? I have to put myself in the position of people who enjoy this sport and want to understand what they get out of it--see, feel. Is it entertaining in its own way? How? Minus the speed of thoroughbreds, what's the appeal? Does it remind people of ancient Rome? Is it just so unusual that there's an enjoyable weird factor?
ANY light you can shed would be greatly appreciated.

How do you know if your setting yourself up for dissapointment?

Jofecopa — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 02:20:37 -0800

I'm pursuing my dream but have so much pressure that it's not even fun anymore. Is this normal, or am I being unrealistic and setting myself up for disappointment? It's something I really want but when I'm there I get so anxious and stressed I don't even enjoy it. It's a very complicated and competitive field (auto racing) so I have a lot of fear/pressure about being able to and HAVING to perform. It just takes all the fun out of it. I get burnt out easily and start to hate the one thing I most enjoy. I read in a book about anxiety that if your only thinking about the outcome than you are being unrealistic and just setting yourself up for disappointment. Am I tense because i'm aiming so high?
I wish I could just have fun with it, but i'm often just too tense to do so. Or maybe i'm scared of failure/success or whatever else.
I was thought to believe and chase your dreams, but sometimes I wonder if i'm just being delusional and/or setting up goals that are impossible to reach. My general idea is to keep going at it, because despite all the stress, I got to know myself a lot better being under such intense frustration. So some good has come of it, but I would like to know if anyone has been in a similar situation and found a solution.

Not sure if i'm posting in the right section but thanks in advance!

Cycling newbie looking for things to read

wolfr — Sat, 28 May 2011 03:25:21 -0800

I just bought a racing bike. I know next to nothing about cycling. Where do I start? I got bored with running so I decided to try something new. I bought this bike second hand. Specifically I am looking for: guides on gear (besides the bike which I have), tips on posture, training schemes, nutrition... anything handy you might think of.

I am not looking for biking stories or history of races (e.g. Tour de France). Basically I am looking for a good cycling 101 guide.

Best dual use tires for a newly addicted autocross junkie?

empty vessel — Mon, 09 May 2011 18:16:57 -0800

What kind of all-season tires would be best to put on a car that is both a daily driver and used for autocross? I did my first autocross last weekend and am definitely hooked. The car I am using is a 2003 BMW 325i (RWD). I am running stock class for now and the car will be in need of new tires soon. (due to normal ware and tear.) I don't want to invest in separate autocross tires and rims this year. The tires need to be all season as I live in Wisconsin. Any suggestions?

What kind of adrenaline-filled experience can I get as a gift?

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 17:53:23 -0800

Looking for places in the US where you can race a car, sail a boat or do some other adrenaline-filled activity for a weekend. This is for a birthday gift in April. My husband is turning 40 soon and I want to get him an experience rather than a tangible gift. We're in the midwest, but I'm OK with travelling if the total cost is below $1000. It has to be in the US since he doesn't have a passport.

He loves to drive and has expressed interest in racing rally cars. He would love some sort of dangerous driving school or whatever they're called.

He's an experienced sea kayaker and wants to own a sailboat. He's sailed before, so a beginner's class would be boring, but it's been awhile so a more advanced class might be too much.

He loves the outdoors and would be comfortable spending a few days in the middle of nowhere. He's often expressed interest in "Bigfoot hunting" (but not real hunting, he won't kill anything). He's not in the best shape, so a 30 mile hike might not be a good idea.

He will NOT be interested in skydiving, rockclimbing, base jumping or anything else involving heights, including planes and helicopters. He'd also not be interested in firing real guns (paintball, maybe).

Open to any creative ideas!

Speedracer?

Cuspidx — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 18:29:38 -0800

Current daily driver as a future track car? I was a driver in the SoCal 24 of LeMons race this month and I want to further this exhilarating hobby.

Car is an '08 e90 M3. What can I do now and for the foreseeable future (7 years or so) in terms of maintenance? It seems that the suggested BMW schedule is rather Spartan and does nothing more than keep the car going until the warranty runs out. The car is not modified in any way now. I put about 8,000 miles per year on it.

I understand all the safety and performance mods that will have to be completed. Roll cage, stripping for weight reduction, etc.

Zenyatta!

Shike — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 08:08:48 -0800

Tomorrow, Zenyatta will attempt to win her 20th and final race at Churchill Downs. I am not a gambler, but would like to place some bets to make watching the race more fun. Of course, I wouldn't mind winning some money, too. I'm hoping someone here can give me some strategy tips based on these odds. A friend has suggested placing 12 exacta bets on Zenyatta to win and each of the others to place. The assumption I'm making is that she will indeed win.

Faster, lattiboy! Kill! Kill!

lattiboy — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 16:41:49 -0800

I want to go fast in Seattle! I've been watching Top Gear lately and realized I would like to go fast. Much faster (and more safely) than freeway on-ramps and deserted roads would allow.

I'm looking to see if you can either "rent" a track for a few minutes to see what my Malibu is made of or if there was some kind of race driving activity I could do in the area.

Would like to not go bankrupt doing this.

A Racing Game the Allows you to Create Tracks?

zzazazz — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 13:10:44 -0800

Has there been a good racing video game that allows you to build your own tracks? I own an Xbox 360 and a decent laptop and I've been wondering about this and I can't find anything. I've played Avatar Golf on the Xbox 360 and Prostroke Golf on the original Xbox and you could design your own golf courses so somewhere there must be a racing game that allows you to create tracks. Well, there should be.

I'm a little thicker, make me quicker

jdlugo — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 17:55:50 -0800

Decided to run my second marathon--AZ Rock 'n Roll Marathon. Would appreciate some advice about my unique situation... I ran this exact marathon when I was 18 in 4:05--I crashed and burned in the last five miles. Since then, I have remained very active but have significantly bulked up going from ~145 lbs to a lean ~190 over the past four years. Now when I run it feels like I'm wearing a backpack and am a little top heavy.

-What's the best way to lose some bulk in my upper body?
-Will this just happen naturally as I continue to train?
-Will I adapt to this top heavy feeling as I continue to train?

My thicker legs now rub like crazy! My shorts bunch up between my legs and it's really uncomfortable. I have been using loads of Astroglide (whatever that anti-chafing stuff is called)--it's not helping too much. Any recommendation on how to make this less painful? Remove some of the fabric from my shorts with scissors, perhaps?

I really haven't been running for the past year or two, but am in pretty good cardiovascular shape. I realize the longer runs are the most important part of the training. For the shorter runs, should I focus on recovery (just getting more miles in) or speed and push my cardiovascular system?

The most critical part of the whole training will be my ability to recovery quickly and remain injury free. Are there any tricks to help speed-up recovery? Eat while running? Hot tub soak?

Sorry, my questions are all the place. I really appreciate any feedback. I'm still working on my exact workouts and mileages, but would like any input.

*I realize this is the 1,000th Ask MeFi question about marathon training, but I think my situation is a little unique--thanks for humoring me!

I have a need...a need...FOR SPEED

contessa — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:50:18 -0800

Tell me everything you know about rally racing. I'm interested in making rally racing a hobby of mine. Problem is, I've never done it, and don't know anybody who does. What would I as a n00b need to know about pursuing it? Also:

- Is it expensive? What if I don't have a rally-worthy car?
- Generally speaking, is it a women-friendly sport?
- Would I have to be experienced in tuning, modifying or repairing cars?

I would be interested in getting into it for the social aspects, to learn new things, and of course, to drive really really fast. Lazy googling reveals that there are at least 2 rally clubs within 100 miles of where I live.

Online multiplayer Mario Kart clone?

iamisaid — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 19:34:34 -0800

Are there any online multiplayer web/PC racing games in the style of Mario Kart? I remember reading about such a game a couple of years ago, but I can't seem to locate it now.

Broken mower blues

Camofrog — Thu, 27 May 2010 21:15:58 -0800

Why is my lawnmower engine suddenly racing? Can I fix it myself? I was using the mower on some fairly tall weeds. There were sapling stumps in there and I may have bumped one. Anyway, the thing started racing like mad. Shutting it down and restarting didn't fix it, nor did letting it sit for a couple of days. I don't want it to throw a blade through my foot so I'm letting it sit some more (I have a backup).

Is there a governor in there somewhere I popped a spring off or bent? Did I mess the carb up? I took it apart as much as I felt comfortable with (it's a pretty new mower and I'd rather not get into a repair I can't handle and ruin it) and couldn't see any obvious problems. I did pull and clean the air filter; didn't help.

Is there something easy I'm missing, or should I just take it to someone who knows how to fix it? It's a Toro "Recycler" self-propelled mower with a 190cc B&S engine.

LF a spreadsheet to take basic bets for racing.

bryak — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:18:07 -0800

My friends and I want to run a pig race with betting for charity and aren't able to find or make a spreadsheet to do the simple odds for us. Do you know where to find one? We live in a sleepy Nicaraguan fishing village, but we have a good local NGO that we try to come up with new fundraising ideas for. The other night we thought that racing my pigs would work well. Gringoes place simple bets (win... maybe place/show. no trifectas or weirdness), we collect 15% of all bets for the charity, and payout the rest based on odds determined by the bets placed less the NGO's 15%.

i thought it would be easy to find a spreadsheet i could plug four pigs into, 15% takeout for FSD, put in the bets and write the odds until closing on a chalk board, run the pigs and read the payouts. i was dead wrong.

i suck at excel. does anyone know of a simple sheet like this?

thanks!

Learning video game race and rally car driving techniques?

lifeless — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 03:13:43 -0800

I've been bitten by a racing game bug. What resources would you recommend for learning basic-to-intermediate race and rally car driving knowledge, knowing that they will only ever be used in video games? The precise focus is on (semi-)realistic driving games, because the physics modelling of more arcade-style games like Burnout Paradise may be so far off the real thing that applying real world techniques may end up harming the driving performance. The best way to learn is by driving, of course, but I feel a theoretical basis would be useful and make driving more enjoyable.

I want to be able to successfully play the games with maximum realism settings. Some examples of the games I'm interested in: anything done by Papyrus, Richard Burns Rally, iRacing (all of the more hardcore variety AFAIK); Rally Trophy, FlatOut 2 (somewhat more arcade-oriented but still challenging at maximum settings), GTR 2 etc.

I'll be buying a Logitech G25 wheel in the very near future, and want to get my hands on some study materials by then, so all suggestions are welcome.

What can I expect from this bike race?

TurkishGolds — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 06:10:54 -0800

I'm participating in The Top Notch Triathlon tomorrow in Franconia, NH. I've never done an sort of competitive event like this. What can I expect, and are there any essential tips that I should know about? I'm on a relay team, so I'm only responsible for the 6.5 mile bike ride (which is primarily uphill, in the woods). We're basically just doing this for fun, and don't hope to have any sort of spectacular times or anything like that. I'm an experienced recreational road cyclist, but have very little experience with mountain biking, and no experience with racing of any kind.

I scrutinized the results from previous years - times for the ride are usually around 30 minutes to an hour. I'm going to try to pace myself so that I end up somewhere in the lower end of that. I'd be ecstatic with 45 minutes, but could live with "not last."

From what I understand, there are going to be real extreme athletes at the event who are there to win, and there are going to be family teams that are just there for fun. I hope to find a pack of riders who are holding a pace that I'm comfortable with and just stick with them.

Does anyone have inside tips specifically about this race, or this kind of event in general?