Rockets To Race Over Wisconsin Skies

Iron Condor writes with a reminder that that the first race of the Rocket Racing League (last mentioned here in April, after its 2005 founding) is set to take place later this month at Oshkosh AirVenture 08. This race, says Iron Condor, "is exactly what it sounds like: NASCAR 1000m above ground in rocket-propelled airplanes. Created by X-prize founder/CEO Peter Diamandis, this is 'the next evolution of racing' (at least according to the promo video, which is definitely worth watching)..."

Comments

Wow.

[FlyingSquidStudios]

Amazing how they can make giant glowing polygons float in the sky for the planes to fly through.

Re:Oh yeah!!!

[snowgirl]

Anyhow, they said it was just like NASCAR, so I figured the spectators would be rednecks.

Yeah, when I saw "like NASCAR 1000m in the air", I was all, "oh great... ANOTHER NASCAR."

Seriously, anyone who watches real racecar driving on circuits internationally just shivers when you suggest "NASCAR", because it's boring to watch. "Go fast, turn left," I've heard it described as. And then, Indy and Champcar spun off of F1, to go around in ovals...

I remember playing a Indy race car simulator game back on the Apple ][e (yeah, old school racing sim!) and now I'm surprised looking back on it... the tires on the right-side are larger than the ones on the left... why? To help you turn left better... because SURPRISE! They're only going left!

Compared to GT racing, F1 racing, and hell, even freaking Autocross ("put up cones; instant track! can I drive my civic?") are way cooler and more interesting to watch than a bunch of dumb americans chasing their tail all day long.

Depends on how this works

[jd]

If it's NASCAR-style, then it'll appeal to some folks but it just won't have the kind of hold that other racing leagues get. Formula 1 gets serious money, and world-class rally racing is just that - world-wide, with an audience few sports can compete with. These two are descendants of the old European city-to-city races, where racers where gentlemen first. NASCAR is descended from bootlegger contests where winning was more important than how.

Rocket racing really needs to take the same road as the old-style European racing leagues, perhaps even taking that kind of idealistic "it's not the winning that counts" attitude even further. Anyone can make a fast rocket, but does it have style? Is it fast out of brute-force or because the design is the coolest hack ever? Award points for place, yes, but also for style. Why encourage crap designs and crap driving?