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There are tons of racing series all across the country and across the world for people who want to get their motorsports fix. NASCAR may be the most popular in the United States, but IMSA and IndyCar also have their place. In Europe, there is not only Formula One, but there is the World Endurance Championship and even Rally racing.
The Motorsport Story looked into different disciplines of motorsports. He highlighted what makes each motorsport unique, and who it may appeal to, while also going into what may turn off the series for other viewers.
The Motorsport Story calls Formula 1 the “Ubiquitous pop star of the motorsports world.” It’s hard to argue with the branding and the spectacle of F1. Every race feels like an event, and the amount of celebrities and high-end brands at each event means the series oozes with glamour.
The Motorsport Story also talks about the engineering side of F1, and about how the sport is mainly about who can engineer the best car. He calls F1 a “chess match” that pits the best engineers against each other with some of the best drivers in the world driving the car. That is always going to be a legitimate and enthralling selling point for F1.
However, the problem, as The Motorsport Story points out, stems from the racing product. While he does point out that F1 has its share of great battles and moments, the engineering competition means that teams tend to dominate. On top of that, he notes that the DRS system may turn off some racing fans.
That being said, I would agree with The Motorsport Story on pretty much all accounts. Formula One has the edge when it comes to branding and spectacle. However, if you are coming from a pure racing fan perspective, Formula One may leave something to be desired solely because there is not as much parity as other motorsports.
The Motorsport Story starts out by talking about the advancements NASCAR has made in recent years particularly with the next-gen car. He compared the current car to an Australian V8 Supercar or a GT road racer. With that he notes that NASCAR has also made changes to the schedule, and how the current spot NASCAR is in allows for greater parity.
The emphasis, as The Motorsport Story points out, it more so on driver skill and setup rather than equipment. Here I disagree somewhat as while what he says is true to a very large extent, equipment still does matter in NASCAR. There still are haves and have nots even though it may not be quite as extreme at Formula One.
The main issue The Motorsport Story points out is the playoff system and stage racing, which he says does create great moments, but does feel manufactured. Overall, I can see the merit of stage racing when it comes to giving points out in the middle of the race, but the scheduled caution I could do without.
When it comes to the playoffs, I can go either way in all honesty. I can see where the issue of purity comes in with the playoffs, but moments like the Hail Melon came about because of the playoffs. Either way, I feel the racing product of NASCAR is good enough to allow the sport to stand on its’ own no matter the system.
Overall, I generally agree with what The Motorsport Story said. NASCAR has a lot going for it when it comes to parity and overall racing product. However, it does sometimes feel a bit manufactured and staged, but it does create for some amazing entertainment.
From there, The Motorsport Story talks about IndyCar. He first points out the diverse schedule. IndyCar races on street circuits, road courses, superspeedways, and short ovals. He also points out the great parity of IndyCar thanks to the spec chassis, and he talks about the push to pass system which can be used to defend and attack.
He does point out that IndyCar races can be a bit processional at times. This is a point I generally have to disagree with. The IndyCar racing product is very fun thing to watch solely because the parity of IndyCar is as good if not better than NASCAR.
However, I generally agree with his points on IndyCar. He calls IndyCar “overlooked” which is very accurate particularly when looking at the worldwide motorsports landscape. Let’s also not forget that IndyCar holds the greatest motor racing event in the world being the Indianapolis 500.
The Motorsport Story elected to group all road racing series such as IMSA, WEC, and V8 Supercars all into one category. This makes sense as all of these series are generally cut from the same cloth, but have their own little nuances to make them unique. As The Motorsport Story points out, that is part of what makes road racing so special.
There truly is a little something for everybody when it comes to road racing depending on whether you want to watch 24 hour endurance races featuring the most cutting edge technology, or a spec series such as Mazda MX-5. The Motorsport Story does point out that this does mean that media coverage is generally less prevalent for these series because of the sheer amount of them.
I would definitely say road racing truly has something for everyone depending on what type of motorsport you are looking for. However, what The Motorsport Story does not point out is that some series such as WEC and IMSA do not have as many races as other racing series. Therefore, it does make these series hard to follow.
That being said, road racing is certainly something that any motorsports fan should at least dip their toes into. There is something for everyone.
When it comes to rally, The Motorsport Story focuses less on what rally is about and more about why it has not caught on in the US. He points out that it is primarily because of rally not getting much media coverage or U.S. starpower. Alongside with rally being tougher to watch from a spectator perspective at the track with only seeing one car on track at a time.
Rally does not have much presence in American motorsport, even though it does have a presence in other parts of the world. Quite frankly, I do not see it gaining much traction anytime soon. It will always be a niche following.
That being said, I can definitely appreciate the skill it takes. The Motorsport Story says it is potentially the hardest motorsport out there. I cannot make a definitive statement on that, but it is definitely up there.
KneYka says that people should give Rally a try.
@nothinghere7391 talking about NASCAR’s own diverse schedule
@affermanis talking about his love for NASCAR
@aojracing4885 talking about how he has diversified his motorsport viewership.
When it comes to motorsports, there truly is something for everyone. If you love cars that go fast, you have plenty of places to go.
