Sixteenth and Georgetown

After the long drive from Kansas City, and a short night of sleep Friday, we arrived at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway early Saturday morning to get our first glimpse at Formula One cars since 1991. It didn't take long to realize this wasn't going to be a repeat of 1990 and 1991 in Phoenix, Arizona when crowds for the race were estimated to be in range of 12,000 to 25,000. There were at least that many people jammed on the sidewalks facing the Speedway. Seating was General Admission, first come, first serve. At 9:00AM sharp, the crowd began roaring, as the cars were rolled out of the garages. It didn't matter where you were at, when these cars fired up, you took notice.

It's hard to describe exactly what a modern Formula One engine sounds like. All engines are V-10s. They are only 3 liters in capacity. But when you hear these motors scream to life, the first thought that comes to mind would be: This ain't NASCAR. NASCAR motors don't rev to 18,000 RPM like a F1 car does. 18,000 RPM. That's twice the revs a stock car motor creates. And when they scream past the grandstands flat out, it's almost painful. A Formula One friend of mine likes to tell people that a F1 engine sounds like a piece of sheet metal going through a table saw. I say, add a PA system next to that table saw, amplify it, then you have some idea how loud these cars are. I don't care if you like racing or not, every sports fan must hear an F1 car in his or her lifetime. It is the greatest sporting thrill I've ever enjoyed.

Bernie The Bizarre

Formula One is run by an egomaniac by the name of Bernie Ecclestone. In this Britishman's world, he is the King. He rules with an iron fist. He controls the finances, and thus, he controls F1. But don't ask him about money. That's top secret stuff. He bristled at the media's attention to the enormous salaries that some of these drivers earn. Michael Schumacher, F1's top star, earns a reported 54 million dollars a year driving for the Ferrari team. Someone in the media asked Ecclestone about the purse for Sunday's Grand Prix, but all he would say was, "Funny thing, because what I was going to ask all of our friends here what their salaries are because it's just as interesting...as what Schumacher earns." Testy fellow, this Ecclestone.

Another controversy around Ecclestone is the way the video highlights are released to the local network stations. Supposedly, the stations must show a highlight clip given to them by Formula One Management, which is an organization under the wide umbrella of Ecclestone, without editing the clip, and the station must give up any video footage they shoot themselves for seven days after the event. The local NBC affiliate refused to go along with FOM's overbearing license agreement, so their photographers and reporters are not allowed to cover the event. News Director of WTHR-13, Jacques Natz reasoned that, "These kind of regulations may work well in Communist countries, it may work well in European countries where the First Amendment doesn't exist, but in America, we should be ashamed of turning over our material." Welcome to America, Bernie.