Quote Originally Posted by anthonyvop
Much more exciting than the contrived, show that is oval racing.

The Pantano penalty has a faint odor of NASCAR style controls.

I agree that the penalty is another example of how the rulebook needs to be altered and clarified, and the man interpreting the rules either should be replaced or smacked upside the head.

I enjoy a good road race. When it has PASSING. Competition is the driving force behind motorsports, racing with other drivers, not sitting back and watching a train go by. Left & right hand turns are a good challenge for the drivers, I agree. But, the F1 race in SPA was head & shoulders above this. These cars just can't pass on road courses (no ground effects, cars built for ovals, ect).

That being said, I understand how ovals can be boring sometimes. Anytime you have a parade, no matter the track, that's no fun. Wheel to wheel competition, however, is the essence behind American OW racing - A race like Iowa, Kanaan ahead one lap, Marco the next, then after that they come by side-by-side - I mean, that's RACING. Sometimes the challenge of racing a driver is better than the challenge of racing the track (IMO).

Bottom line, and we all know this, it's the car. A unique challenge of ovals and road racing is what sets AOWR apart from NAPCAR, F1 and the rest. The new car might be ugly, it might take a year for the new engines to come through - but, I think the racing will be fresh and exciting on all circuits (I have faith in turbos), something we all have been needing for too long.