Dale Jr's Brew Crew Site |
Nascareese Erin Sluder |
Do you speak the language? You know the one. You know, how NASCAR has to "go to the next level" while "staying on the cutting edge" all the while"expanding our vision" with the "young guns" in this "new era". We must strive to "improve competition" with "common template parity". Then there is the catchphrase laden world of the non conformists speaking of "cookie cutter mile and half tracks" and "racing what you brung". How about race interviews that always contain the terms "aeropush", "dirty air" and "downforce". Cars can be "loose" or "tight", "squirrely" or "turkey trottin". Qualifying at Atlanta seems to always bring reference to the dreaded, "pucker factor". Wrecks are often described as, "the car just came around" or"he took the air off and there was nothing I could do" or "he came up into me" or "we ran out of room" or "I had nowhere else to go". Mechanical failure is called by announcers, drivers and team members alike, "she just blew" or "something let go in the motor" or "I heard a noise and then, pow!" There is the ever dreaded, "there's a vibration coming from somewhere"and "Loose, Loose, Loose.....BAM!!!" Newcomers have no clue about, "crankin in a round of wedge" or "takin a half pound out of the right front". It's easier to understand, "gas and go" or"left sides only and a splash of gas". Physical gestures such as the single finger salute, thrown personal racing equipment( helmets, booties or whatever), and the pointing to one's flank are universally understood with no translation necessary. Drivers over 35 or 40 are referred to as "cagey or wiley veterans". While the 20 something crowd are the aforementioned "young guns" or "pampers posse". We know that a well prepared car is "ridin on rails" and the opposite is "a hand full". A leader clearing lapped cars has "smooth sailing ahead" and when he extends his lead over"the Pack" he is "checkin out". Drivers are told to "get down on the wheel" or "crank hard on that thang". Some tracks have no"grip" and the tires cant seem to "get a bite". Then there's DW's boogity, boogity, boogity, and Larry Mac's engine that "blowed up". Even tracks get catchy monikers, "The track to tough to Tame" or "The Lady in Black" or "Thunder Valley" or "The Monster Mile" or "The Rock" to name a few. Show me a track without a nickname and I'll show you a boring track. If you understood all of the above references, congratulations!, you are probably already far beyond help in your addiction. You, like me, try to catch qualifying, happy hour, and the weekly races. Read Jayski's gaggle of articles faithfully and live by the schedule on SPEED. If most of these at least seem vaguely familiar, you are not quite hooked...may I recommend higher doses of the above referenced programming. If this all sounds silly to you...what are you doing on this site anyway? It's racing's language of love and it sounds great to us. |
