insouciance

Last year San Jose held its inaugural Champ Car race by setting up a temporary street circuit along its downtown area. Being the race fan that I am, even though I am partial to F1 I really wanted to go and check out the action streetside. So I was pretty disappointed when something at work came up and I couldn't attend.

Well the Champ Car World Series comes back to the streets of San Jose this weekend, with the likes of Sebastien Bourdais, Paul Tracy, and A.J. Allmendinger clashing in the ongoing battle for championship points. I haven't been watching the series this season, but I did watch the televised race from Edmonton last weekend and it did seem pretty intense, with several guys still in close contention for the championship. So you'd think that I am pretty psyched about going to see it this year.

Strangely, though, I'm not. Maybe it's because I've gotten a little bored with open-wheel racing. I still watch F1 races whenever I can, but the races themselves tend to be somewhat undramatic. Very little overtaking seems to actually take place once they all get through the first turn, and position changes only occur when someone breaks down or someone spends a second or two longer than they should in their pit-stop. It's always the same guys up on the podium, Alonso, Schumacher, and either of their #2 drivers Fisichella or Massa. Usually someone is fastest at practice, fastest in qualifying, and when the race starts, they take off and hold their lead for the duration of the race. Yawn. But in Champ Car they're all running the same engine, same chassis, it should be more about the driver or team's abilities, right? So they should have a more exciting race.

Last week I started talking with my coworker about going to the race. He's up for it, and so am I. But then I start looking at tickets online. Yikes, it's been a while since I had to pay full price for a ticket. Usually I know someone or find a decent bargain online. These tickets are $45 for race day, and that's for General Admission which means you don't get a seat -- you stand around and watch the race from the side of the track wherever you can find a spot to see. I heard last year the GA crowds were 3-4 deep around the whole track and you couldn't see squat. Ok, so maybe cough up a little more dough for a grandstand seat? Sorry bub, you have to buy a 3-day pass to get a grandstand seat, and the cheapest ones are $80 for seats near what appears to be one of the least exciting corners on the track, a 90 degree turn from one street to another. Well that kinda stinks. Throw in the fact that you're either springing $15 for parking near the downtown area or we have to take some mass transit to get into the area, and it's getting less and less attractive.

So screw it. I'm going to sit at home and watch the race from my couch. Invite a few friends over, have a beer, and relax in the cool breeze of our luxurious central AC. It's been insanely hot this past weekend, with temps up in the 100s all over the bay area and I'm sure next week won't be much different. So rather than get stuck in traffic, hunt for parking, bake in the sun, get my eardrums pummelled and fight the crowds for a spot to view the racing action, I'll just take it all in on my bigscreen TV. And if the race action gets a little boring, I've got some ALMS and touring car races recorded that will offer up some exciting racing.

http://www.sanjosegrandprix.com/
airs at 12:30pm Pacific on Sunday 7/30, NBC