My motorsports viewing has been limited the past few years. I do have some thoughts on 2018. I always let you all go post your thoughts before I chime in with mine. Often times, there are things I tend to forget. Having said all of this, here are some of my thoughts on 2018 in motorsports...
Best Moments
* Salute to all champions
I want to congratulate all champions of series and all winners of major races.
* Toyota's Le Mans outright win
many people play it down since there weren't as many heavy hitters in their division. But even still, Toyota could have just floundered, disappointed, not really care... but they cashed in on their best chance to win Le Mans outright. Toyota is now the only other Japanese manufacturer to win Le Mans outright besides Mazda.
* Scott Dixon's 5th IndyCar Series Title
A lot of times, we tend not to really appreciate pure talent or how good someone really is. Scott Dixon is quite a talent winning in the insane realm of IndyCar Series racing. You win one championship, and you're pretty good. Win five, and you are a certified modern legend. There is no denying Scott Dixon is one of the best today in IndyCar Racing.
* Lewis Hamilton's 5th Formula 1 World Championship
I don't follow Formula 1 much. I am no true fanatic of any real driver. But despite how disliked he can be for his personality and countless other things, one man simply gets it done on the race track. So in the words of Will Smith, "that's how you do it, baby!" Lewis Hamilton knocks down title No. 5. At this pace, he may even get to seven World Championships (Michael Schumacher territory) or maybe even go north of seven.
Worst Moments
I can't really think of anything too depressing or any bad performances from this season. No matter what bad teams, drivers, races, or whatever have happened, let me begin with the worst of all:
* All motorsports personalities whom have passed away
Tragedy is always tough. I surely mourn the passing of all motorsports personalities whom have died this year. Maybe the one that hits the hardest for me was Don Panoz. I grew up a road racing fan and always loved GT/Sportscar/Endurance racing. It was Don Panoz who helped bring top-level sportscar racing back when I didn't have (then) Speedvision. I was learning about racing in 1998 and was humbled seeing the advent of the (then) American Le Mans Series. I do kind of remember the old USRRC (United States Road Racing Championship). Don Panoz has done a lot to bring sportscar racing to more people here in the United States while also having some very solid Panoz racing cars. He really left a mark on me as a sportscar racing fan.
Besides Don Panoz, the only other motorsports tragedy that hit me hardest was Dan Gurney.
* Extreme Speed Motorsports shutting down
Staying on the subject of sportscar racing, the past few days on Facebook, I learned of Extreme Speed Motorsports shutting down. Extreme Speed Motorsports was surely one of the better North American sportscar teams.
* Brian France's DUI
For a motorsports series whose roots consist of transporting moonshine in tuned-up cars, it was surely a low moment in NASCAR for Brian France to get a DUI. This has contributed to the decline of NASCAR of late.
* F1 Coverage on ESPN
The ESPN/Sky Sports deal was more hit-and-miss for me. If judging from the very first race covered, it was met with lukewarm reception on Facebook, Twitter, message boards, and more. Let's just say the coverage of F1 wasn't like in the late 1980s or early 1990s when the likes of Bob Varsha calling the action when he used to be with ESPN. I did see various F1 telecasts this season on ESPN, but not too much for someone who doesn't really follow Formula 1 much.
Indifferent Moments
Can't think of any moments I am not as liking or disliking. So this is probably my most indifferent moment:
* The formula car halo introduction
Even though I dislike the halo on formula cars (not just F1), I do like it as a safety measure.
Memorable Moments
Moments I will remember for sure...
* "Pink Pig" Porsche winning Le Mans in class
It was so fun following the Pink Pig Porsche as one of the retro liveried Porsches from this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans.
* The Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo's incredible lap record smashing
That Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo is a beast of a race car, eh? 1:41.7 around legendary Spa-Francorchamps isn't too shabby. That time was faster than Lewis Hamilton's 1:42.533 time around the same course in an F1 car.
* Score one for the old guys!
Herschel McGriff competed in a NASCAR K&N series race that I saw on TV earlier this year. Herschel became the oldest competitor in a NASCAR race at the age of 90 years old.
* NASCAR Cup's Charlotte "Roval" Finish
I usually refer to it as the Charlotte road course, not so much as a "roval," but that final lap of the Cup race at Charlotte's road course was nuts! I kept saying that I wanted to see that race succeed. All the relative unknowns and stuff helped make this race intriguing. It was a crazy finish for sure.
* Seeing my first streams of NASCAR Europe and Super GT
I got my first idea of NASCAR Whelen Euro Series on YouTube when the series raced at Zolder- and it was live! I mostly only saw a qualifying session from NASCAR Europe. I didn't get to see a lot of the proper racing. My first live look at Super GT was with the series racing at Sugo. I have always been a fan of Super GT, even in the JGTC days. It was even cool seeing some of the different names and teams still racing in the series. In the modern Super GT, it was fun to follow the Hoppy team. Hoppy is that Toyota GT86 team in GT300 with the white car with pink accents. And of course, it was cool seeing Goodsmile Racing and their eccentric anime-type liveries.
Looking Ahead...
There are things I wonder about next year or a few years from now...
* Can NASCAR sustain itself as a sport?
NASCAR isn't going the way of the dinosaur. All I wonder is if NASCAR- the 800 lb. gorilla of American motorsport- will remain relevant and successful. Or... could it be overtaken in popularity by series like the IndyCar Series, NHRA, or maybe even IMSA sportscar racing?
* How will the new Formula E cars fare?
I wished I followed Formula E closer, but I do think the newer Formula E cars are beautiful. I'll be interested seeing how the new cars will perform.
* Will the new IndyCar windshield catch on?
I wonder how the newer and bigger windshield will impact IndyCar performance, especially in the aerodynamics and safety departments.
I wish I knew more about the 2018 season to passionately chat about it. But... that's it for now. Any more thoughts on 2018 you'd like to share?