All photos & video © Travis Snelling, tripatlas.com/new
If your knowledge of auto racing involves Will Ferrell as NASCAR driver Ricky Bobby screaming, “MOMMY I’M GOIN’ FAST!” in the movie Talladega Nights, than consider this a crash course to the real world of motor sports.
As a casual observer I’ve come to realize that to truly appreciate auto racing, you have to do it in person. Watching a race on TV can be incredibly boring but being there is thrilling for any and everybody. If you have the opportunity to see a race live – preferably Formula 1 or IndyCar – do it.
To clear it up a little: Formula 1 cars are the small & quick Ferrari, McLaren, BMW made cars raced by drivers like Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso all over the world. IndyCars are all made by Honda and are slightly larger (and faster in a straight line) than F1 cars and are raced mostly in North America by drivers like Danica Patrick and Helio Castroneves. NASCARs are the big boxy American-made cars that look much more street-like and are raced mostly in the US by drivers like Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
To me, there are two distinct types of racing: boring, oval racing and technical, track racing.
Oval racing is synonymous with NASCAR, but they aren’t the only ones doing loop after loop around a big ring. IndyCars race on ovals sometimes too, which seems silly considering all the technology and engineering that’s gone into making those cars as quick and nimble as possible around tight corners. Not to be left out, NASCAR also race on technical road courses sometimes too.
I realize there’s an understated level of skill involved in oval racing – the whole game-within-a-game and all that – but frankly I can think of literally thousands of other things I’d rather be doing than watching cars driving hundreds of times around in a big circle. Eating peanut butter out of the jar. Bouncing a tennis ball off the floor. Boiling water. All things I’d rather do than watch oval racing.
Technical track racing like Formula 1 and most IndyCar, however, is an entirely different affair. Variations in speed, multiple types of turns requiring different racing lines and a level of interaction between mind and body that demand not just a fast car but somebody who actually knows what to do with it. Here, speed is still king – you can’t win if you don’t go fast – but it’s the precision & mental component that sets it apart. If they had a race at the Olympics that was like a high speed obstacle course with turns and hurdles, people wouldn’t just pay attention to the start & finish line.
The Toronto Honda Indy is the perfect event for die-hard race fans and those who’ve never watched more than 2 minutes of racing in their life. It’s got everything: Speed, noise, action, drama and danger. Instead of being just a big oval where the cars go around and around and around, it’s held on the streets of downtown Toronto, with the city as the backdrop of the race.
The sound of the engines can be heard throughout the city during the race – all the way to the tripatlas.com/new office – in fact, it took just 15 minutes for me door to door to walk to the race. Once you’re at the race and if you’ve had enough spectating, there’s also off-track attractions like live music, beer gardens and people giving out free stuff. What more does a person need to have a great day out in the sun?
For more information about the event and to purchase tickets, visit HondaIndyToronto.com.