My name is Jason, Crazy Jason. And I was wrong.
There, I’ve done it, my soul is cleansed and I can move on now to
more important issues.
Heard Westie and Clarkie the other day on that new internet radio
thing which Big Hair told me about and, for two blokes without much attitude,
they were giving it out. They’re smarter than I thought, too, but hey guys,
loosen up a bit will ya?
What is important to me as a fan is the racing. I’m not so keen on
the politics because all that seems to do is water down that aspect of the
sport. And, yes, it is still a sport. There was talk of World Championship
Wrestling and how contrived it is, I don’t care. Got Pay TV just to watch more
of it myself, but that doesn’t mean I want my motorsport like that.
Yes, V8 Supercars is entertainment, but it is nothing if it isn’t
sport first and foremost. There is endless and mind numbing debate at the moment
about what is wrong with the
sport – reverse-grid racing, costs of
competing, points, officials, poverty in Africa – instead of what is right.
So, what is right? It is Ford versus Holden; let Toyota or any
other crap car company in and you have ruined it. It is not brain surgery, it is
V8 Supercar Racing, not boring buzz boxes at dawn. The drivers are superstars,
funny as, and talented to boot.
But what is going wrong is that it is all about calculators at the
moment – running costs, damage bills and that complex and ruinous
pointscore. I saw Dick Johnson standing in the TV talking about $28,000 of
damage and blaming the reverse-grid race, and then I saw Junior harp on about
the lack of professionalism of the drivers.
Did his dear old dad not think he could be in front of Steven
Richards unless a reverse-grid scenario was in play? Did Steve really think his
personal space should be protected? Pretty sad because I thought Junior was good
enough to do that and I’ve seen him race before but, hey, what would I
know.
Here’s a news flash. I don’t care about the cost of the damage,
especially when there was a plan to reduce the cost of repairs that was rejected
by the supposedly wise. Get over it, and get racing.
It is the pointscore that is the root of all evil in this world.
Al Qaida are using it to bring down the western world. I can see that bloke with
the beard plotting destruction with his calculator. "We will rip at their
heart," he mutters, "we’re taking down V8 Supercar racing."
As for the other figures discussed in that show, at the end of the
day Westie and Clarkie, I don’t care if there was 25,000 or 125,000, V8 Supercar
racing needs Winton. Yeah, it can be a little cold in winter and, yeah, the
racing was a bit sterile this year – although there was still more action that a
State of Origin clash and certainly tons more than yet another boring soccer
match (is that the world’s worst sport?) – but that all comes back to what
they’ve done with the race formats and the point score.
Fix that and you fix everything. There’ll be passing and there’ll
be biffing and barging if it is worth it, but if I have to hear Cromley or
anyone else rabbit on about the humble calculator, I reckon I’ll puke.
This is motor racing guys, it is gladiatorial. There should be
panel damage, there should be passing and there should be tails of woe that
don’t get preceded by "I was just minding my own business when..." or
"professional drivers should be able to race without hitting anyone..."
That is crap. Rubbing is racing and I pay my money to watch the
drivers fight like hell for each place on the track like their life depended on
it. I pay to watch them hit each other, and I pay for blood... well, not
literally. I’m not a fan of reverse-grid racing and with the calculator driver
of today and a pointscore that rewards the timid, we’ve turned out a pack of
pussies and put them in pyjamas to go racing.
I want The Enforcer back. I don’t care if he doesn’t win the
championship, I’ll still buy a tee shirt.
Oh, why was I wrong? FPR doesn’t need Jeff Grech, it is doing OK on its own.
–
Jason