CKSweb

Over the last few decades, the heart of American racing has shifted from Indy to NASCAR. No judgement from me on that, it is what it is, and NASCAR brings in the crowds. It’s really the only widely known “stock” car racing here. We race our Impalas, Malibus, Fuisons, and Camrys, on superspeedways, always turning left…which in some way mimics the essence of the American driving experience of highway cruising, just taken to the extreme.

These cars, either race versions or consumer versions, aren’t really optimized for turning left and right, like most European sedans. Most people who go on about their plush Euro sedan’s “handling” are describing how composed they are going through twists and turns. So are the European engineers just better than Americans at suspensions and handling? No, of course not, we’ve got some great engineers, probably some of the best in the world.

Great handling cars are built into the European racing heritage. They have no NASCAR, no superspeedways. They have touring carsand the touring car race series. Touring cars is their “stock” car series. Their everyday sedans are raced on street circuits and traditional left AND right turning road courses, which requires great handling cars. What is the trickle down result? Great handling cars you and me can buy in America. Years and years of this type of racing has become ingrained in the European brands and products. Wouldn’t it be great to have those same qualities built into an American brand? I’m not suggesting giving up what we have now, or that what we have now is bad, it simply means having more choices and appealing to more buyers.

So am I saying let’s kill NASCAR and go all DTM? (The German touring car series) Nope. Two completely different types of racing, two completely different car setups, and two completely different fan bases. Our American manufacturers should get together and promote a touring car series using their own products. They can’t be SCCA type independent races, this needs factory backed teams whose data can be funneled right back into corporate engineering.

Sure they could take those Malibus, Fusions, and Camrys and race them as touring cars, but racing fans identify them with NASCAR. If Pontiac is really the performance arm of GM, why not dedicate them to this new endeavour? A G6 would work perhaps. For Ford, the Taurus should go back to NASCAR and the Fusion could be a perfect touring car. Or better yet, bring over the Mondeo from Europe, but that may be asking a little too much.

An American touring car series would benefit fans and manufacturers, and go a long way toward changing the perception of the American brands. After all, perception is reality, isn’t it? If the series grew in popularity, perhaps European makes would want to compete. How great would it be to see an American car beating a European car at its own game?! That would certainly shake up some pre-conceived notions. Maybe now’s not the best time for this financially, but it’s never too early (or too late) to re-invent your image.

Posted by Wordmobi