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[elmono311]

Here's an interesting article about the inaugural Busch Series race in Mexico City. I hope no drivers get shot...

http://forums.prospero.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=kr-thatsracin&msg=58522.1&ctx=1

[RichN]

Makes you wonder if any tequila bottles will end up on the track.  If this turns out to be a mess, I really hope they don't try again.

[Supermercado]

Tell me again why they're doing this in Mexico instead of Canada? Are there not tracks in Toronto or Montreal or Vancouver or something?

I wonder how NASCAR would do over in Europe...

[elmono311]

NASCAR is looking at road courses in Toronto and Montreal to possibly replace Watkins Glen. There's also rumors that Watkins Glen will be replaced by Mexico City next year. I hope not. They'll have a race with no drivers when nobody wants to go down there.

I also don't think we'll see NASCAR in Europe. The race schedule is long enough as it is and a trip over to Europe would just make it more exhausting for the drivers and crew. Plus the expenses would be astronomical.

[RichN]

You'd need quite a few C-5s to get them over the pond.

[Supermercado]

Ah, that's true. Silly logistics I guess I forgot about the several thousand miles of ocean, hehe.

[LostArtofRolando]

ahhhh Mexico City isnt that bad.  We have races in all sorts of places that are fundamentally unsafe (try most of the south) and not too many people die.  So there are worse places than Mexico City, though if NASCAR was soccer there might be problems.

[RichN]

The south is unsafe?  What do you call New York City?  Paradise?  OK, too many questions for you to answer.  Yeah, there are some rednecks down here, but mostly everybody is too damn nice.

[disnut8]

Oh man, after the Atlanta race I went to last year, I have to say you are very wrong about the south and NASCAR.  At least here.  People were tripping over themselves being nice.  OK, maybe they were loud but they were nice.  Why do you think the traffic is so bad here?  "Oh, I have two miles of backup but I'll wave this guy through even though he just came up to the stop sign."

[Vengeance]

I do have one question about the races in the South. I've never been to one and I'm not being accusatory, but just curious? How many minorities are represented in the race fans(not that there are that many minority fans yet) and how are they treated by the other fans.

I would expect people that appeared caucasian to have a different answer than a black or hispanic person, but I'm just wondering. I haven't had to face a lot of prejudice growing up because it wasn't obvious that I was Mexican, but my sisters have had a harder time with that. So...did you see many minorities at the Atlanta track or did you see it as threatening to minorities in any way?

[LostArtofRolando]

i aint saying that new york city aint crazy and stuff too.  I have family there, so i know ALL bout driving there and in chicago.  I guess its just a craziness im used to.  I guess im thinking of crazy drivers in atlanta (which we already discussed in a thread haha) BUT can you imagine a mexican soccer player or racer walking around on the SOUTH SIDE of chicago OR EAST ST LOUIS?  YIKES.  We all look at the bad side of Mexico City, but im sure most people in other countries do the same with our cities.  I just look at it like this, we think NYC, Chitown, and LA are awesome because theyre our 3 biggest cities and We're the good ol USA. 
     Mexico City in 1900 was less than the size of Bellevue (50,000) today.  It is now over 20,000,000 strong (fastest growing city in the world), and while most live in squalor, how many of those racers do you think would even go to the bad parts of town anyways?  The NASCAR folks have more to worry about from an earthquake (Mexico CIty is built on an old lake bed, and is sinking roughly a 1/2 inch a year); if a quake hits, most of the city will topple as theres no room for deep foundation on skyscrapers with the water table RIGHT underneath. 
     I'm biased towards Mexico City being of Mexican descent; dont get a name like Rolando w/o having part of that ingrained in you.  If anything the Mexican people will get overenthusiastic about it all.  American superstars (even NASCAR) are treated like royalty there.

[disnut8]

I do have one question about the races in the South. I've never been to one and I'm not being accusatory, but just curious? How many minorities are represented in the race fans(not that there are that many minority fans yet) and how are they treated by the other fans.

I would expect people that appeared caucasian to have a different answer than a black or hispanic person, but I'm just wondering. I haven't had to face a lot of prejudice growing up because it wasn't obvious that I was Mexican, but my sisters have had a harder time with that. So...did you see many minorities at the Atlanta track or did you see it as threatening to minorities in any way?

I will respond in another post in the Off Topic forum.

[RichN]

I actually think people in the north and midwest are more openly racist than people in the south.  And, I'm not trying to defend this area, as I've lived all over the US.  Arizona, Mississippi, Nebraska, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.  By openly, I mean more overt.  Yeah, you will hear the grumblings about lazy this and that, but not really out loud, if you know what I mean.  We had a large black family a few rows in front of us.  Are you trying to ask me if they were taunted or anything like that?  If you are, then you have a misunderstanding of the south.  The number of "people of color" at the race was very small, but that's the way it is all over with KneckCar.  Not threatening to minorities at all.  The problem is in getting minorities to actually watch racing.  And, maybe it shouldn't be an issue.  It would be like forcing me to go to a pro basketball game, when I don't like the sport.

[Supermercado]

I've only been to one NASCAR event and it was several years ago, so I don't really remember the racial makeup of the crowd, but I don't remember there being very many minorities there. The few that were there, though, no, it wasn't threatening. As RichN pointed out, racism isn't really very prominent (at least, openly) around here. Everyone pretty much gets along as far as I can tell.

[elmono311]

Just want to let you guys know that the haulers made it to the track safely with no incident

[RichN]

Now, if Jr was entered in the race, I'm sure he would have said "shit" and gotten thrown into a Mexican jail.

[disnut8]

I do have one question about the races in the South. I've never been to one and I'm not being accusatory, but just curious? How many minorities are represented in the race fans(not that there are that many minority fans yet) and how are they treated by the other fans.

I would expect people that appeared caucasian to have a different answer than a black or hispanic person, but I'm just wondering. I haven't had to face a lot of prejudice growing up because it wasn't obvious that I was Mexican, but my sisters have had a harder time with that. So...did you see many minorities at the Atlanta track or did you see it as threatening to minorities in any way?

As Super and RichN have pointed out, there's not a lot of outward racism in this area.  Atlanta is just too diverse for things like that.  There's so many transplants here.  Very, very few natives.  My supervisor is a native and you'd never know it.  She was born and raised here.  No drawl at all.

There's a big Mexican population here too.  As well as a ton of Asians.  As far as I can tell, no one really cares.  In my last job, our president was black, the other accountant was from Peru, there was a guy from China, and another one from Mexico.  Currently, we have just about every color in the rainbow at work.

That's not to say we don't have those die hard rebels that refuse to believe the war is really over.  But those people are few and far between.

Atlanta has reinvented herself more times than Madonna.  When the times change, so does the city.  Have Sherman burn it down?  No big deal, it got rebuilt within a few years.  Have the civil rights movement?  No big deal, we'll embrace it and honor Martin Luther King, Jr. as much as we can.  Atlanta's current mayor is a black female.

Now, cut to the good ole boy in my office from Alabama.  Didn't even know there was a NASCAR track here.

[elmono311]

But he does know there's a track in Alabama, right?

[disnut8]

But he does know there's a track in Alabama, right?

I honestly don't know if he does.

[elmono311]

You should ask

[elmono311]

The race in Mexico City went well. Martin Truex, Jr. won and the drivers seemed to have done better racing on that track than I thought. It was weird watching the beginning of the race since everything was in Spanish. The best parts were the dog running out onto the track (during a caution) and sponsor slogans on the cars in Spanish (I noticed this on the Lowe's and McDonald's [Me Encanta!] cars).

[disnut8]

We wondered how the national anthems were going to be handled.  Hanson, though?  Oh lord, I thought we as a country could give Mexico something better than that.  Talk about white bread.

No fly over, bummer.

Take notice Happy's car had the Hershey candy made in Mexico?

And where was Junior to congratulate, err,  Junior (Truex) on the win?  Safe at home.  Could you imagine Dale, Jr. in Mexico City?

I was worried about the dog, though.  And what was up with DW's voice?  Too much tequila?

[elmono311]

Mexico probably doesn't have any planes to do a flyover with. They're probably so old they'd fall apart over the track

[RichN]

I was waiting to hear Harvick thank his sponsors.  He must have practiced that for some time.  Must be why Mikey Waltrip stayed away.  Not sure he could stumble through all his sponsors if the names were in Spanish.

[Catfish]

I'm amazed at how well it went...

minus the whole random dog on the track thing