Curated Content Editor

Is Time Attack Racing?
By Christopher Hurst

This op-ed piece is about something that bothers me as a racer. You might ask why it matters and hopefully, this article will clarify that. I remember following drifting in 2005 when you had to go to Little Tokyo in Los Angeles to the back section of a store and buy the videos on VHS. There weren’t even subtitles.

LS_then_Ideal

I would have to agree with your thought process... Racing was invented when the SECOND car was built... not when the first car was driven by the next driver.

Michael Yount

iTrader: (1)

"Lewis Hamilton wins a race because he is physically in front of another driver at the end of a two-hour race."

Well - someone hasn't watched that much F1. They often assess penalties that can and do result in one driver finishing the race physically ahead of another, but behind them in the scoring -- after the time penalty is assessed. That's what I call a TIME ATTACK!

Drifting -- well, that's just entertainment as far as I'm concerned. Subjective judgments influence the scoring. Like figure skating without the Russian judges and with more HP and lots of tire smoke.

Autocross -- like race qualifying, a nice way to determine who can turn one lap the quickest.

But racing is an entirely different animal. You don't have to have the quickest car or be the quickest driver to win the race. SO MANY OTHER elements and strategies involved. A chess match on wheels.

stevieturbo

Generally some can get time penalties, points penalties because they've cheated or broken rules in one way or another.

If there is more than one vehicle on the track, the same track, same finish line then it is "racing" in terms of racing other vehicles.

Racing against the clock, is still racing. Just a different type of racing.

Just the same way many race to achieve better times in any sport either to better your own performance or compare it to others.