It's not a big secret that I'm not much of a sports fan... football, soccer, basketball... pro, college, whatever. I like baseball alright because I actually know most of the rules and can follow it.
However, if someone asks me what I really like, the answer is racing. If you're one of those who don't consider racing a "sport" because anyone can drive a car and that it doesn't require any sort of fitness, let me know if you feel the same way after you put a few 10-minute sessions in at a true karting track (not just your average mini-golf go-cart track) in a helmet and racing suit... until then, stuff it.
One might inquire, "Oh, NASCAR? IndyCar?" These, unfortunately, seem to be the only types of racing that get TV coverage in this country, which is sad. I've probably worn out the adage, "Real racers turn left AND right." The next step seems to be, "Oh, so F1?" While more interesting to me, still no. F1 cars verge on driving themselves in some respects and open-wheel racing does pretty much guarantee you're out of the race if you make much contact with anything.
When I tell someone what kind of racing I do like, I think they tend to glaze over a little bit, perhaps because it's something they've never seen or heard of before. My answer is usually Rally car racing, which involves some truly amazing driving... but rarely with any other cars on the course at the same time.
But just now, watching an episode of Top Gear, I had a moment of "oh, man, THAT'S the stuff!!!" I was literally on the edge of my seat watching the little homage they had going, pulse rate up, riveted. I had forgotten how much it pulls me in simply because it's never shown here. It was a piece on Touring Car racing. This bit was on the British Touring Car Championship, but I think there's also European Touring and Australian Touring as well. The cars driven have roll cages and other safety features and have the interiors removed and a souped up motor, but they're a good bit more stock than "Stock-car" NASCAR. And just watch... American cars did make their mark!
So, without rambling on further, here's the Top Gear clip... this is what will get me yelling at a TV screen because I'm THAT into it:
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