1
00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:01,680
Speaker 1: Guess what, Well, what's that? Mango?

2
00:00:01,880 --> 00:00:04,640
Speaker 2: So I'm not really into car racing, you know this?

3
00:00:04,920 --> 00:00:08,280
Speaker 2: I mean I have watched Talladega Nights. I'm also familiar

4
00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:11,760
Speaker 2: with Pixar's Cars movie and Cars two. So actually not

5
00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:13,920
Speaker 2: how I say that. Basically, I'm an expert, but.

6
00:00:14,400 --> 00:00:16,200
Speaker 1: I think you are an expert. That's fair to say.

7
00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:18,479
Speaker 2: But as we were looking into the strange origins of

8
00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:20,960
Speaker 2: NASCAR and F one this week, I actually stumbled into

9
00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:23,960
Speaker 2: this story about TLC's Nascar Wives reality show.

10
00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:26,200
Speaker 1: Have you heard about this? I haven't. Was this like

11
00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:28,960
Speaker 1: Jersey Shore or Real Housewives or what? Yeah?

12
00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:30,880
Speaker 2: I mean that was kind of the idea. But they

13
00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:33,520
Speaker 2: wanted to play on stereotypes and have all the usual

14
00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:36,160
Speaker 2: drama you have baked into these things, and the hope

15
00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:38,720
Speaker 2: was that would appeal to all the NASCAR fans out there.

16
00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:40,839
Speaker 2: But they actually had to cancel the show because the

17
00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:42,440
Speaker 2: wives gone along too well.

18
00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:45,240
Speaker 1: Isn't that great? That actually kind of makes me like

19
00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:46,200
Speaker 1: NASCAR even more.

20
00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:49,160
Speaker 2: I know, but today's show is really for outsiders like us,

21
00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:52,040
Speaker 2: Like what makes NASCAR and F one racing so appealing?

22
00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:54,520
Speaker 2: And why do people bring their yachts to one type

23
00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:57,400
Speaker 2: of car race? While family's caravan to the other. And

24
00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:13,280
Speaker 2: that's what today's show is all about. So let's dive in.

25
00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:23,399
Speaker 1: Hey, their podcast listeners, welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm

26
00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:25,440
Speaker 1: Will Pearson and as always I'm joined by my good

27
00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:27,760
Speaker 1: friend Mangesh hot Ticketter and on the other side of

28
00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:31,119
Speaker 1: the soundproof glass, he's the only guy who wears driving

29
00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:33,800
Speaker 1: gloves while seated at a soundboard. Now that's our friend

30
00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:35,200
Speaker 1: and producer Tristan McNeil.

31
00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:37,920
Speaker 2: I mean, in all fairness to Tristan, his chair does

32
00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:38,680
Speaker 2: have wheels on it.

33
00:01:39,319 --> 00:01:41,120
Speaker 1: That's a good point. I didn't think about that well

34
00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:43,759
Speaker 1: either way. It's nice when he gets into the spirit

35
00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:45,920
Speaker 1: of the day's topic. And you know, as you might

36
00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:48,120
Speaker 1: have guessed, for this episode, we're headed off to the

37
00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:50,160
Speaker 1: races and we're going to take a look at two

38
00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:52,480
Speaker 1: of the world's most popular motor sports. Now we're talking

39
00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:55,840
Speaker 1: NASCAR and Formula One. But even though those sports may

40
00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:58,520
Speaker 1: seem similar on the surface, each one has its own

41
00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:02,400
Speaker 1: very distinct style, history and fan base. So today we're

42
00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:04,560
Speaker 1: going to break down the differences. And I really tried

43
00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:06,960
Speaker 1: to get a sense of how these vastly different racing

44
00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:10,040
Speaker 1: institutions have managed to share the road for I guess

45
00:02:10,080 --> 00:02:11,640
Speaker 1: it's about seven decades now.

46
00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:13,959
Speaker 2: So you know, a few years back, I was chatting

47
00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:16,800
Speaker 2: with our friend Dan Riley, who's written some amazing stories

48
00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:19,640
Speaker 2: on F one for GQ, and one of the things

49
00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:22,000
Speaker 2: he told me was that when this F one champ

50
00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:24,320
Speaker 2: came to the US, he was actually taking selfies of

51
00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:27,200
Speaker 2: himself in Penn Station in New York City and no

52
00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:30,840
Speaker 2: one recognized him. He's like this insane superstar. And apparently

53
00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:33,560
Speaker 2: the TV audience for the races there is like five

54
00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:37,160
Speaker 2: hundred million viewers, which is like five Super Bowls. I mean,

55
00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:41,880
Speaker 2: it's incredible. But in the US he's totally anonymous. Actually,

56
00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:43,640
Speaker 2: the other thing he told me was that Dan actually

57
00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:45,360
Speaker 2: got to sit in the passenger seat as the driver

58
00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:47,680
Speaker 2: drove on an F one test course in Jersey City,

59
00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:51,440
Speaker 2: but he was driving a mini van, and he said

60
00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:54,000
Speaker 2: he was terrified, Like the driver knew exactly how to

61
00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:57,840
Speaker 2: handle all the curves and corners and straightaways, but he

62
00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:02,080
Speaker 2: was in total control. But still, minivans shouldn't go that fast.

63
00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:04,840
Speaker 1: Oh, that is terrifying. I can't say that I've ever

64
00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:07,720
Speaker 1: driven my minivan as fast as he was probably driving.

65
00:03:07,760 --> 00:03:11,359
Speaker 1: But you're right, I mean, they have such different audiences.

66
00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:13,440
Speaker 1: I actually remember going to Austin one year. I think

67
00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:15,639
Speaker 1: we were presenting it south By Southwest that year, and

68
00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:17,760
Speaker 1: I was talking to the clerk at the rental car

69
00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:20,480
Speaker 1: place and just made a comment just in passing that

70
00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:22,360
Speaker 1: south By has to be one of the worst times

71
00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:24,919
Speaker 1: of year for you, right, And he actually said, it's

72
00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:27,560
Speaker 1: nothing compared to when they have the F one races,

73
00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:30,840
Speaker 1: because you know, not only is there this insane crowd there,

74
00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:33,280
Speaker 1: but all these rich people just come in and buy

75
00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:35,520
Speaker 1: up all the houses so they have a place to party.

76
00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:37,280
Speaker 1: I was like, so what do they do with them

77
00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:39,520
Speaker 1: after that? And he said they actually just sell them

78
00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:42,920
Speaker 1: a couple months later. Like the audience is just that rich.

79
00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:46,160
Speaker 1: It's kind of insane. But that's what makes the comparison

80
00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:49,840
Speaker 1: between the two sports so interesting. And I didn't realize

81
00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:52,920
Speaker 1: before this episode that NASCAR and F one they actually

82
00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:56,200
Speaker 1: pretty much came up together mid century. And you know,

83
00:03:56,280 --> 00:03:59,240
Speaker 1: NASCAR was officially incorporated in the US in nineteen forty eight,

84
00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:01,760
Speaker 1: and then Formula one was just a couple of years

85
00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:03,000
Speaker 1: later than that in Europe.

86
00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:05,400
Speaker 2: That's crazy, Like I never would have imagined that NASCAR

87
00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,360
Speaker 2: was older than Formula One. But yeah, it is interesting

88
00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:10,880
Speaker 2: to think about those like early post war years and

89
00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:13,920
Speaker 2: how I guess like the whole world was just itching

90
00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:16,880
Speaker 2: to get back to friendlier competitions, and I'm sure they

91
00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:18,840
Speaker 2: were also curious to see what some of the new

92
00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:21,240
Speaker 2: technology could do when it was put to more fun uses.

93
00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:24,160
Speaker 1: Well, you know, there's a lot of obvious stuff that's

94
00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:26,279
Speaker 1: similar between the two. But I do think we should

95
00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:28,840
Speaker 1: probably talk about, you know, what sets NASCAR and F

96
00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:31,280
Speaker 1: one apart from each other before we get too deep

97
00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:34,320
Speaker 1: into their history. So for starters, we definitely need to

98
00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:37,360
Speaker 1: take a look at the cars themselves, since that's ultimately

99
00:04:37,360 --> 00:04:40,240
Speaker 1: where the biggest differences lie. So, you know, right off

100
00:04:40,279 --> 00:04:42,320
Speaker 1: the bat, it's easy to tell an F one car

101
00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:44,400
Speaker 1: from a NASCAR just by the shape of the car.

102
00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:47,080
Speaker 1: You've got these nascars that look a little bit more

103
00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:48,680
Speaker 1: like the kind of car you see on the road

104
00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:51,599
Speaker 1: every day, you know, the boxy, more enclosed kind of

105
00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:54,880
Speaker 1: sedan type vehicle. And you know, I actually think your

106
00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:57,120
Speaker 1: car may even have the Giant Tide logo on the front.

107
00:04:58,000 --> 00:04:59,720
Speaker 2: I mean, how great would it be if like Giant

108
00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:02,760
Speaker 2: Cup and these starts sponsoring people's daily commutes like if

109
00:05:02,839 --> 00:05:04,880
Speaker 2: teachers didn't have to pay for the gas to go

110
00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:07,200
Speaker 2: to work because it was all covered by folgers or something,

111
00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:07,560
Speaker 2: it'd be.

112
00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:08,360
Speaker 1: Great, nice idea.

113
00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:10,600
Speaker 2: In fact, to the car design. You know, I love

114
00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:13,800
Speaker 2: boxy cars as a former Volvo station Wagon driver, but

115
00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:16,920
Speaker 2: F one racers are the ones that look completely different

116
00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:19,480
Speaker 2: than what you or I would drive, right, Yeah.

117
00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:21,040
Speaker 1: I mean there may be what most people would think

118
00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:23,279
Speaker 1: of when you're trying to picture a race car, and

119
00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:26,479
Speaker 1: they have that kind of that narrow, open cockpit design

120
00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:29,200
Speaker 1: and the wheels that stick out to the sides and

121
00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:32,160
Speaker 1: the big spoiler on the back, and overall they tend

122
00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:34,920
Speaker 1: to just look more sleek than their NASCAR counterparts. And

123
00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:38,400
Speaker 1: that sleek design is actually crucial because in F one racing,

124
00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:41,680
Speaker 1: the aerodynamics that's really of equal importance to the power

125
00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:45,760
Speaker 1: of the engine. So everything about the car is designed

126
00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:49,320
Speaker 1: to minimize the drag and maximize the speed. And this

127
00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:52,000
Speaker 1: also means that Formula one cars tend to be much lighter.

128
00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:55,240
Speaker 1: So looking at it's about fifteen hundred pounds on average

129
00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:57,600
Speaker 1: for an F one car, and that's compared to over

130
00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:00,359
Speaker 1: three thousand pounds for a typical NASCAR so it's twice

131
00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:02,360
Speaker 1: as heavy when you're talking about a NASCAR.

132
00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:04,280
Speaker 2: That's funny, And I've actually read that like F one

133
00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:06,880
Speaker 2: drivers tend to be lighter, like they're like five eight

134
00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:10,080
Speaker 2: in size and on the lighter side. But like looking

135
00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:12,520
Speaker 2: at that weight comparison, like my expectation would be the

136
00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:13,880
Speaker 2: F one cars would be faster than.

137
00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:16,880
Speaker 1: NASCAR cars, right, well not really. I mean the lighter

138
00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:19,359
Speaker 1: weight and sleeker design of the F one racers means,

139
00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:21,560
Speaker 1: you know, they can actually achieve these high speeds with

140
00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:24,520
Speaker 1: less powerful engines, but they do tend to be a

141
00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:27,919
Speaker 1: little bit faster than nascars, and both kinds of vehicles

142
00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:30,920
Speaker 1: top out in the range or around two hundred miles

143
00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:33,120
Speaker 1: an hour. But you can actually push an F one

144
00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:34,919
Speaker 1: to two hundred and five or even as high as

145
00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:38,440
Speaker 1: two hundred and fifteen miles an hour without as much trouble.

146
00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:41,080
Speaker 2: Well, that's crazy, and that is terrifying to me, like

147
00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:43,440
Speaker 2: those sorts of speeds. But you know what's funny is

148
00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:45,920
Speaker 2: like I was thinking about the cars cars to actually

149
00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:49,479
Speaker 2: a Pixar, and I just assumed that they made the

150
00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:51,520
Speaker 2: F one cars in the NASCAR cars about the same

151
00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:53,599
Speaker 2: speed because it would appeal to American audiences. I didn't

152
00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:56,240
Speaker 2: realize that it would be like factually accurate that they're

153
00:06:56,279 --> 00:06:56,800
Speaker 2: the same.

154
00:06:57,240 --> 00:07:00,840
Speaker 1: But cars too is very factually accurate them credit well,

155
00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:01,320
Speaker 1: Vixar is.

156
00:07:01,279 --> 00:07:03,520
Speaker 2: Great at that, Like even up like that movie, they

157
00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:06,000
Speaker 2: actually used the number of balloons that would lift that

158
00:07:06,080 --> 00:07:08,640
Speaker 2: house like they oh circulated with engineers.

159
00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:10,120
Speaker 1: But that's pretty cool.

160
00:07:10,200 --> 00:07:14,080
Speaker 2: But I do think there's something that's like exponentially more

161
00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:17,240
Speaker 2: dangerous about driving than anything else we do in our day.

162
00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:20,600
Speaker 2: And I can't imagine like driving at two hundred or

163
00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:23,160
Speaker 2: two hundred five miles per hour. It just seems insane.

164
00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:26,240
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know, an F one racing in particular,

165
00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:29,040
Speaker 1: it was actually a pretty deadly sport when it first started.

166
00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:31,720
Speaker 1: In fact, just looking at the numbers, there were thirteen

167
00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:34,200
Speaker 1: drivers that were killed in the first decade of Formula

168
00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:37,800
Speaker 1: one races alone. But thankfully, you know, these safety standards

169
00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:40,960
Speaker 1: have been greatly improved over the years. And actually no

170
00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:42,800
Speaker 1: one has died behind the wheel of an F one

171
00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:45,920
Speaker 1: car since nineteen ninety four, so we're talking decades now

172
00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:47,120
Speaker 1: since there's been a fatality.

173
00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:49,920
Speaker 2: That's pretty impressive. I wouldn't have imagined that. And of course,

174
00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:51,760
Speaker 2: if we're going to talk about the danger aspect of

175
00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:54,520
Speaker 2: high speed motorsports, we should also talk about something that

176
00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:57,080
Speaker 2: goes hand in hand with it, which is the spectacle

177
00:07:57,080 --> 00:07:59,640
Speaker 2: it provides, right, because, like you said at the top

178
00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:01,600
Speaker 2: of the show, so these are two of the biggest

179
00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:04,240
Speaker 2: motorsports in the world, both in terms of revenue and

180
00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:05,080
Speaker 2: in fan bases.

181
00:08:05,880 --> 00:08:07,960
Speaker 1: All right, So I looked at this on the Formula

182
00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:10,520
Speaker 1: one side, and it really is an international sport in

183
00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:13,600
Speaker 1: terms of its audience. So you've got twenty or so

184
00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:16,200
Speaker 1: annual races that make up the Grand Prix series and

185
00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:19,600
Speaker 1: those actually take place in nineteen different countries, which is

186
00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:22,520
Speaker 1: pretty remarkable, and you got up to three hundred thousand

187
00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:25,800
Speaker 1: people gathering for a single event. Now, in terms of

188
00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:28,320
Speaker 1: overall viewership, you know, it's what you mentioned earlier. You've

189
00:08:28,320 --> 00:08:31,240
Speaker 1: got nearly half a billion people that watch at least

190
00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:33,920
Speaker 1: fifteen minutes of F one racing at some point during

191
00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:37,040
Speaker 1: any given season, and that's according to BBC's top Gear.

192
00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:39,079
Speaker 1: But you know, when you add up all the revenue

193
00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:42,600
Speaker 1: from ticket sales and advertising, that F one industry makes

194
00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:45,640
Speaker 1: roughly about one and a half billion dollars a year.

195
00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:48,600
Speaker 2: Which isn't too shabby. And okay, so F one racing

196
00:08:48,679 --> 00:08:51,560
Speaker 2: definitely has global appeal on its side, but here in

197
00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:55,120
Speaker 2: the US, there's no question that NASCAR reigns supreme. In fact,

198
00:08:55,320 --> 00:08:58,960
Speaker 2: about seventy five million American adults consider themselves NASCAR fans,

199
00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:02,520
Speaker 2: which is one in every three people. And wow, of

200
00:09:02,559 --> 00:09:05,800
Speaker 2: that huge pool of fans, about three point five million

201
00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:09,240
Speaker 2: cran the cells into speedways around the country every year. Meanwhile,

202
00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:12,560
Speaker 2: NASCAR races are also broadcast to one hundred and fifty countries,

203
00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:16,160
Speaker 2: which helps drum up about three billion dollars in sponsorship money.

204
00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:18,400
Speaker 1: Well, I'm curious, like, did you get a sense for

205
00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:21,200
Speaker 1: who these fans are? I mean, and NASCAR fans tend

206
00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:23,800
Speaker 1: to be stereotyped pretty hard. I mean, you know, as

207
00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:26,960
Speaker 1: people from the rural South or Middle America who are

208
00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:29,440
Speaker 1: white and lower income. But I'm kind of hoping there's

209
00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:32,000
Speaker 1: a little more nuance there than most people might guess.

210
00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:34,160
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's kind of interesting, and we'll talk about the

211
00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:37,240
Speaker 2: statistics in a second. But I know we've both driven

212
00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:39,400
Speaker 2: to the brickyard because we ended up on work trips

213
00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:42,520
Speaker 2: in Indianapolis. But you know, you're so close to Talladega

214
00:09:42,559 --> 00:09:44,160
Speaker 2: and Birmingham. Have you ever actually gone to a.

215
00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:47,439
Speaker 1: Race I've never actually been to a race, and I've

216
00:09:47,559 --> 00:09:51,040
Speaker 1: driven past Talladega so many times. It's right in between

217
00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:52,640
Speaker 1: the two cities that I spend a lot of time

218
00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:55,160
Speaker 1: in between, you know, Birmingham where I'm from, in Atlanta,

219
00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:58,160
Speaker 1: where our offices are, and every time I go by,

220
00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:00,960
Speaker 1: they have these massive flags that are flying nearby, and

221
00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:04,120
Speaker 1: it's just such an interesting place and have always wanted

222
00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:06,240
Speaker 1: to go to a race. But there is one thing

223
00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:08,640
Speaker 1: that I observe every single time I go by there,

224
00:10:08,679 --> 00:10:10,920
Speaker 1: and I'm really curious to look this up, but I

225
00:10:11,120 --> 00:10:13,440
Speaker 1: think they might be in the running for the largest

226
00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:16,560
Speaker 1: gathering of porta pottis in the world. I mean, it

227
00:10:16,679 --> 00:10:21,200
Speaker 1: is unbelievable. If you drive by there on a race week,

228
00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:24,720
Speaker 1: I swear it seems like there are just thousands of

229
00:10:24,760 --> 00:10:26,800
Speaker 1: these things out there. So I kind of want to

230
00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:28,440
Speaker 1: look into this at some point, just to see if

231
00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:29,920
Speaker 1: they might have that claim to fame.

232
00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:32,640
Speaker 2: I like that NASCAR, you know, followers are just like

233
00:10:32,679 --> 00:10:35,200
Speaker 2: you and me. They also use the bathroom they too.

234
00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:37,880
Speaker 1: You know, we're all alike, Mango. There's so much that

235
00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:39,440
Speaker 1: makes us in common.

236
00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:42,680
Speaker 2: So I didn't find any statistics about that toilet situation.

237
00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:43,280
Speaker 1: You're talking about.

238
00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:46,200
Speaker 2: But I did find some statistics on NASCAR fans in

239
00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:49,040
Speaker 2: an Atlantic article, And while some of the stereotypes we

240
00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:51,840
Speaker 2: commonly associate with NASCAR are born out by the numbers,

241
00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:56,120
Speaker 2: some definitely aren't. So for instance, two political pulling groups

242
00:10:56,120 --> 00:11:00,000
Speaker 2: found that nineteen percent of all American voters identified themselves

243
00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:03,600
Speaker 2: NASCAR fans, and sixty percent of those fans live outside

244
00:11:03,679 --> 00:11:04,720
Speaker 2: the southeast US.

245
00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:08,360
Speaker 1: I definitely wouldn't have predicted that. So, like, nineteen percent

246
00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:11,920
Speaker 1: of all American voters are NASCAR fans. That is unbelievable.

247
00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:14,920
Speaker 1: All right, so it's maybe more geographically diverse than we

248
00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:17,600
Speaker 1: might have thought. But what about other stuff like income

249
00:11:17,679 --> 00:11:20,880
Speaker 1: and gender and ethnicity, Like, are NASCAR fans more diverse

250
00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:21,960
Speaker 1: than those areas too?

251
00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:25,480
Speaker 2: Well? Yes and no. So the stereotype about most NASCAR

252
00:11:25,559 --> 00:11:28,560
Speaker 2: fans being white is certainly true, and in fact, according

253
00:11:28,559 --> 00:11:31,960
Speaker 2: to Nielsen's data, NASCAR's audience actually has the highest share

254
00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:35,440
Speaker 2: of white people among all broadcast sports. It's a whopping

255
00:11:35,679 --> 00:11:36,760
Speaker 2: ninety four percent.

256
00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:37,920
Speaker 1: Like I couldn't believe. Wow.

257
00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:41,320
Speaker 2: But that said, NASCAR also boasts the highest share of

258
00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:44,280
Speaker 2: female viewers. Thirty seven percent of its audience is made

259
00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:46,920
Speaker 2: up of women and even in terms of finance, like

260
00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:50,000
Speaker 2: there's a greater degree of variety than we've been told. So,

261
00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:53,800
Speaker 2: for example, of the voters who self identify as NASCAR fans,

262
00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:57,439
Speaker 2: forty two percent earned between forty thousand and one hundred

263
00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:00,160
Speaker 2: thousand a year, which means like a good chunk of

264
00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:02,400
Speaker 2: NASCAR fans are wealthier than the average American.

265
00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:04,280
Speaker 1: And to be frank like f.

266
00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:06,840
Speaker 2: One drivers have actually talked about it. They claim they're

267
00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:09,520
Speaker 2: envious of some of the NASCAR audience because it's more

268
00:12:09,559 --> 00:12:13,240
Speaker 2: of a sport that families can watch together and instead

269
00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:15,200
Speaker 2: of something that feels like a little colder and just

270
00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:18,119
Speaker 2: about status. And even the drivers like they're more approachable.

271
00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:21,680
Speaker 1: M well, all right, So so public opinion maybe a

272
00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:24,520
Speaker 1: little off base about NASCAR fans and in some ways,

273
00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:27,200
Speaker 1: and I guess pretty accurate in others. And I do

274
00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:29,280
Speaker 1: like that the sports styles itself is something made by

275
00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:32,199
Speaker 1: and for ordinary people. I mean, you think about it,

276
00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:35,520
Speaker 1: they're no Lamborghinis or Ferraris in the sport and said,

277
00:12:35,559 --> 00:12:38,160
Speaker 1: you're gonna find these cars by like Ford and General Motors,

278
00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:40,560
Speaker 1: And of course they've been modified after the fact so

279
00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:43,000
Speaker 1: they can hold their own on these races. But there's

280
00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:45,760
Speaker 1: still somewhat of a level of familiarity there, and I

281
00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:48,959
Speaker 1: guess it does make the sport feel more approachable.

282
00:12:48,679 --> 00:12:50,760
Speaker 2: No kidding. You know, I've never been to either a

283
00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:53,240
Speaker 2: NASCAR or F one race, and I'd actually love to

284
00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:55,720
Speaker 2: go to both. But my friend Jeremy once told me

285
00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:58,360
Speaker 2: that you'd actually see Amish families come to Dover Downs

286
00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:01,280
Speaker 2: to watch races, and I think that's kind of amazing, right,

287
00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:03,839
Speaker 2: like something I never would have guessed. But I also

288
00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:06,240
Speaker 2: don't think you'd find the homage going to F one races,

289
00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:09,000
Speaker 2: right right. I knew you were talking about the wealth

290
00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:11,040
Speaker 2: that would fly into Austin, but I read this one

291
00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:14,040
Speaker 2: article that said the yachts people bring to Monaco or

292
00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:17,520
Speaker 2: Belgium or wherever are one hundred and fifty million dollar boats,

293
00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:21,520
Speaker 2: which is insanity, and you wonder, like why they're dropping

294
00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:24,760
Speaker 2: so much on a boat, and the author's answer was, well,

295
00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:27,079
Speaker 2: you need something to take to your private islands.

296
00:13:27,480 --> 00:13:28,920
Speaker 1: Yeah. I mean it makes a good point. You got

297
00:13:28,960 --> 00:13:30,640
Speaker 1: you got to get there somehow.

298
00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:32,840
Speaker 2: I know. But like that audience feels like such a

299
00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:35,559
Speaker 2: barrier of entry to me. I mean, like formula one

300
00:13:35,679 --> 00:13:37,240
Speaker 2: just feels as elitist as it.

301
00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:40,240
Speaker 1: Gets Yeah, I mean that that sounds pretty accurate. And

302
00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:42,760
Speaker 1: I've heard the sports compared, like you know, like hot

303
00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:46,400
Speaker 1: dogs versus or dervs or sometimes you know beer versus

304
00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:48,880
Speaker 1: champagne when you're thinking about the difference between the two.

305
00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:51,680
Speaker 2: So obviously I get the connection between beer and Nascar,

306
00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:56,839
Speaker 2: but like champagne actually has a connection with Formula one, right, oh, definitely.

307
00:13:56,880 --> 00:13:59,120
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, the idea of popping champagne bottles

308
00:13:59,160 --> 00:14:02,600
Speaker 1: has long been asssociated with huge wins or winning championships

309
00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:05,880
Speaker 1: in sports, and actually that active celebration got it start

310
00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:09,040
Speaker 1: from F one racing. So this goes back to nineteen fifty.

311
00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:11,160
Speaker 1: This is when the first French Grand Prix was held

312
00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:14,480
Speaker 1: in the country's Champagne region, and naturally, because of where

313
00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:16,680
Speaker 1: it was held, the winner of that year's race was

314
00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:20,280
Speaker 1: presented with this bottle of the region's trademark beverage. And

315
00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:22,280
Speaker 1: actually that's a custom that's still around today.

316
00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:24,560
Speaker 2: I mean, that's a little like how Federer won a

317
00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:27,200
Speaker 2: milking cow for winning a tennis tournament in Switzerland.

318
00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:29,560
Speaker 1: I think, did that really happen? Yeah, you didn't know

319
00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:32,680
Speaker 1: what to do with it. I can imagine like you're

320
00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:34,480
Speaker 1: gonna pack it and take it on the plane or what.

321
00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:38,160
Speaker 2: But so so the winner just emptied the bottle into

322
00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:40,280
Speaker 2: the crowds or something like that. Seems like something that

323
00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:41,840
Speaker 2: would have really ticked off the audience.

324
00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:44,600
Speaker 1: Well not really. I mean, the first time an F

325
00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:47,280
Speaker 1: one racer sprayed the crowd with the champagne happened. It

326
00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:49,000
Speaker 1: was really more like a decade later. I think it

327
00:14:49,040 --> 00:14:51,560
Speaker 1: was in the sixties, and the locals were okay with

328
00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:54,200
Speaker 1: it because you know, this was actually a mistake. And

329
00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:56,960
Speaker 1: so Nick Carvel had this great article on it in GQ,

330
00:14:57,120 --> 00:15:00,360
Speaker 1: and he described the event this way, says, upon winning

331
00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:03,120
Speaker 1: the twenty four Hours of Laman in nineteen sixty six,

332
00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:06,240
Speaker 1: Joe Sipherd accidentally sprayed the crowd as the bottle of

333
00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:09,080
Speaker 1: champagne had been sitting out in the sun, causing pressure

334
00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:12,360
Speaker 1: to build up inside the magnum. The next year, Californian

335
00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:16,160
Speaker 1: racer Dan Gurney deliberately copied Stiffer's gesture when he won

336
00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:18,880
Speaker 1: the same race, and a tradition was born, which is.

337
00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:23,080
Speaker 2: Awesome, but like a magnum, like that's two wine bottles, right.

338
00:15:23,360 --> 00:15:25,800
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, actually it's even more nowadays. So currently F

339
00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:28,840
Speaker 1: one winners receive a full Jeroboama champagne for the big win.

340
00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:32,400
Speaker 1: So wait, what's a jeroboe. Well, it's actually the equivalent

341
00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:35,560
Speaker 1: of four standard wine bottles, So all the better to

342
00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:37,960
Speaker 1: soak the crowd with, I guess. But if for anyone

343
00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:40,720
Speaker 1: who wants to re enact their favorite F one victories,

344
00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:43,840
Speaker 1: the official champagne of the league is the gh Mom

345
00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:46,520
Speaker 1: cordon Rouge, so you can score your own Jeroboama of

346
00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:48,640
Speaker 1: it for about, yeah, like four hundred bucks.

347
00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:51,560
Speaker 2: Okay, so I can definitely see why the NFL just

348
00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:55,040
Speaker 2: sticks with buckets of Gatorade. But you know, Formula one

349
00:15:55,120 --> 00:15:57,720
Speaker 2: isn't the only motorsport with boozy roots, and in fact,

350
00:15:57,800 --> 00:15:59,960
Speaker 2: it is actually a strong case for thinking of NASA

351
00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:02,760
Speaker 2: car as an unintended product of the prohibition era.

352
00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:05,880
Speaker 1: You know, I've read something about this before, but I

353
00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:08,160
Speaker 1: didn't really get the full story. So do you mind

354
00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:09,440
Speaker 1: just kind of walking us through this?

355
00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:24,360
Speaker 2: Definitely, But first let's take a quick break.

356
00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:27,160
Speaker 1: You're listening to Part Time Genius and we're talking about

357
00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:30,120
Speaker 1: the ins and outs of NASCAR, So mango drinking and

358
00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:32,240
Speaker 1: driving definitely don't go well together. But you were actually

359
00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:34,560
Speaker 1: saying there's a connection between the two that somehow gave

360
00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:35,560
Speaker 1: rise to NASCAR.

361
00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:40,080
Speaker 2: Yeah, so, decades before NASCAR came along, Apple Ashian bootleggers

362
00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:42,560
Speaker 2: began running homemade whiskey up and down the East Coast

363
00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:45,760
Speaker 2: during Prohibition. And many of these guys were family farmers

364
00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:48,640
Speaker 2: who'd fallen on hard times and turned to moonshine as

365
00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:51,280
Speaker 2: a way to keep their heads above water. And of course,

366
00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:54,360
Speaker 2: desperate or not, what they were doing was very, very illegal,

367
00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:56,600
Speaker 2: so it helped to have a car that could make

368
00:16:56,640 --> 00:16:59,520
Speaker 2: some serious tracks whenever they cross paths with Federal Asians.

369
00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,040
Speaker 2: And so the biggest godsend for these bootleggers actually came

370
00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:05,879
Speaker 2: from Henry Ford in nineteen thirty two, and that's because

371
00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:08,320
Speaker 2: that's the year he debuted the V eight engine.

372
00:17:09,119 --> 00:17:10,960
Speaker 1: This is kind of a weird connection though, because it

373
00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:13,920
Speaker 1: wasn't Ford a teetotaler. I mean, I actually think I'd

374
00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:16,160
Speaker 1: read that he made all his employees take a temperance

375
00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:18,240
Speaker 1: pledge just to work in his factories.

376
00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:20,879
Speaker 2: Right, Yeah, so he wouldn't have been too pleased to

377
00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:24,440
Speaker 2: learn that his flagship engine was basically driving the bootleging business.

378
00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:27,040
Speaker 1: But yeah, the V eight was perfect for it.

379
00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:29,280
Speaker 2: Like it was fast enough to evade the law and

380
00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:32,399
Speaker 2: tough enough to withstand the strain of all those mountain roads.

381
00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:36,200
Speaker 2: And of course bootleggers didn't stop there for added security.

382
00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:38,320
Speaker 2: They actually started souping up their cars with all these

383
00:17:38,359 --> 00:17:40,840
Speaker 2: features straight out of like a speed racer cartoon.

384
00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:44,280
Speaker 1: What I mean, like, I'm imagining the ability to like

385
00:17:44,320 --> 00:17:46,639
Speaker 1: press a button and spray oil all over the road

386
00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:47,480
Speaker 1: or stuff like that.

387
00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:51,200
Speaker 2: Yeah, so I know you're joking, but I mean oil, slicks,

388
00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:53,480
Speaker 2: smoke screens, you name it. Like they even rigged up

389
00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:55,679
Speaker 2: that classic gag where like a bucket of tax is

390
00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:58,440
Speaker 2: spilled out onto the road. Now way straight out of

391
00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:01,680
Speaker 2: Super Mario cars. Seriously, except like they were high tailing

392
00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:04,840
Speaker 2: away from the cops. And also, this is a little aside,

393
00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:07,320
Speaker 2: but I remember this from mental Floss that when like

394
00:18:07,359 --> 00:18:09,320
Speaker 2: bootleggers would be on the run and have to flee

395
00:18:09,359 --> 00:18:11,960
Speaker 2: their cars, they actually had these shoes made that had

396
00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:15,240
Speaker 2: hoofprints on them, So basically they'd leave these deer tracks

397
00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:17,040
Speaker 2: in the mud instead of shoe prints. Isn't that like

398
00:18:17,119 --> 00:18:17,920
Speaker 2: super crafty?

399
00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:20,560
Speaker 1: It is crafty, But I think we've got a little

400
00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:22,359
Speaker 1: off track here, Like, so what does this have to

401
00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:23,280
Speaker 1: do with NASCAR?

402
00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:26,880
Speaker 2: Well, before prohibsion even ended, some of the bootleggers had

403
00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:28,880
Speaker 2: started having these informal races, you know.

404
00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:31,239
Speaker 1: Just for kicks. That does make sense. I mean, you've

405
00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:33,480
Speaker 1: got all these tricked out cars, it does seem like

406
00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:36,320
Speaker 1: it'd be pretty tempting to have some fun with them, exactly.

407
00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:39,440
Speaker 2: And then in the nineteen thirties, like bootleggers started taking

408
00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:43,320
Speaker 2: their moonshine mobiles to local race tracks and even county fairgrounds,

409
00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:45,440
Speaker 2: and that's where they really started to build an audience

410
00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:48,440
Speaker 2: and eventually like tens of thousands of people would show

411
00:18:48,480 --> 00:18:49,480
Speaker 2: up to some of these races.

412
00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:52,040
Speaker 1: All right, so this is kind of like the birth

413
00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:55,280
Speaker 1: of stock car racing in America. But the actual formalized

414
00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:58,840
Speaker 1: NASCAR league does it also have its ties with bootleggers.

415
00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:01,879
Speaker 2: It does, so, so racing had become an organized sport

416
00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:04,480
Speaker 2: by the nineteen forties, and most of the people involved

417
00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:07,200
Speaker 2: in it had connections to bootlegging in one form and another.

418
00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:10,120
Speaker 2: There's actually a great book about this called Real Nascar,

419
00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:12,440
Speaker 2: and it talks about just how much of the sport

420
00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:16,800
Speaker 2: owes to moonshiner's. So the author rights quote what most

421
00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:19,639
Speaker 2: chroniclers of stock car racing and NASCAR have failed to

422
00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:22,600
Speaker 2: note is that a large percentage of the early mechanics,

423
00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:26,280
Speaker 2: car owners, promoters, and track owners had deep ties to

424
00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:29,800
Speaker 2: the illegal alcohol business. It would not be an exaggeration

425
00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:32,200
Speaker 2: to say that the sport was built on the proceeds

426
00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:36,000
Speaker 2: of the manufacturer transport and sales of hundreds of thousands,

427
00:19:36,359 --> 00:19:39,040
Speaker 2: if not millions, of cases of liquor, right, I mean,

428
00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:42,399
Speaker 2: that's amazing. So even if they weren't bootleggers themselves, like

429
00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:45,119
Speaker 2: the mechanics definitely knew they were working on bootleggers cars,

430
00:19:45,119 --> 00:19:48,119
Speaker 2: and similarly, all these track owners they were taking cuts

431
00:19:48,119 --> 00:19:50,600
Speaker 2: from illegal sales in exchange for use of their track.

432
00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:55,000
Speaker 1: That connection definitely goes much deeper than I would have expected.

433
00:19:55,040 --> 00:19:57,359
Speaker 1: So what about the drivers though, Like, did any bootleggers

434
00:19:57,359 --> 00:19:59,760
Speaker 1: go on to become NASCAR drivers? Absolutely?

435
00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:02,400
Speaker 2: And one of the most famous is Junior Johnson, who

436
00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:05,000
Speaker 2: came from a long line of North Carolina bootleggers and

437
00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:07,280
Speaker 2: went on to become a NASCAR Hall of Famer and

438
00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:09,919
Speaker 2: team owner. There's actually a great old story about him

439
00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:13,000
Speaker 2: in Esquire, and he and plenty of other former Moonshiners

440
00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:15,359
Speaker 2: were recruited as drivers in the late forties by a

441
00:20:15,359 --> 00:20:18,000
Speaker 2: fellow stock car driver, this guy named Bill Franz Senior,

442
00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:20,919
Speaker 2: and France actually became an important figure in all this.

443
00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:23,600
Speaker 2: He started promoting his drivers at different races in the

444
00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:26,560
Speaker 2: Daytona Beach area, but he was soon annoyed by how

445
00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:28,960
Speaker 2: much the racing rules varied from one event to another.

446
00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:32,320
Speaker 2: So in December of nineteen forty seven, France actually called

447
00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:34,560
Speaker 2: a meeting of all the top stock car drivers and

448
00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:36,840
Speaker 2: he got the mechanics and owners to come in as well,

449
00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:40,119
Speaker 2: and they all discussed how to standardize the rules, and

450
00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:42,160
Speaker 2: by the end of the meeting they agreed to form

451
00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:45,800
Speaker 2: the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, which is NASCAR.

452
00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:49,359
Speaker 1: So that's what it stands for. Okay, yeah, definitely.

453
00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:52,080
Speaker 2: And and Bill Franz Senior became the first president of

454
00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:55,000
Speaker 2: NASCAR once the league was officially incorporated, this is in

455
00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:58,560
Speaker 2: February nineteen forty eight. Under his leadership, the sport began

456
00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:01,200
Speaker 2: to distance itself from its boot like roots, and they

457
00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:04,439
Speaker 2: started going after corporate sponsorships and you know, building a

458
00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:07,320
Speaker 2: wider audience. And by the time his son, Bill Franz

459
00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:10,480
Speaker 2: Junior took over the presidency in nineteen seventy two, NASCAR

460
00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:13,680
Speaker 2: had become this incredibly popular regional sport in the South.

461
00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:16,920
Speaker 2: But it was Bill Junior who really made the sport huge.

462
00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:19,960
Speaker 2: He had this three decade run as president, and that's

463
00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:23,480
Speaker 2: when the sport transformed into a multi billion dollar global industry.

464
00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:24,959
Speaker 2: That's what you know of it today.

465
00:21:26,119 --> 00:21:29,160
Speaker 1: And I'm guessing like sponsorship probably played the biggest role

466
00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:30,639
Speaker 1: in this transition. Huh.

467
00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:33,000
Speaker 2: Yeah. So the turning point of that actually came in

468
00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:36,000
Speaker 2: nineteen seventy and that's when Junior Johnson approached the RJ.

469
00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:39,520
Speaker 2: Reynolds Tobacco Company. So Johnson had retired as a driver

470
00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:41,480
Speaker 2: by at this point, but he stayed in the league

471
00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:43,960
Speaker 2: as an owner, and he hoped that the cigarette company

472
00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:46,199
Speaker 2: might want to sponsor his car in the upcoming season.

473
00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:50,120
Speaker 1: So, I mean, why would this be an unprecedented move?

474
00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:52,400
Speaker 1: Was it just that it was a tobacco company or what.

475
00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:54,680
Speaker 2: So I looked into this because I was confused about

476
00:21:54,680 --> 00:21:57,320
Speaker 2: it too. But the thing is, like President Nixon had

477
00:21:57,400 --> 00:22:00,479
Speaker 2: actually signed a bill in April nineteen seventy they had

478
00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:04,160
Speaker 2: banned all cigarette advertising on TV beginning of the following year,

479
00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:06,760
Speaker 2: so Johnson knew the company would be looking for new

480
00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:09,520
Speaker 2: ways to spend its advertising budget the next year. And

481
00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:12,040
Speaker 2: of course Johnson liked to live dangerously, you know, like

482
00:22:12,119 --> 00:22:14,080
Speaker 2: cigarette advertising didn't bother him at all.

483
00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:15,000
Speaker 1: But RJ.

484
00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:18,040
Speaker 2: Reynolds was a long shot. Like until that point, most

485
00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:21,320
Speaker 2: of NASCAR's sponsorships were limited to local or regional businesses,

486
00:22:21,680 --> 00:22:24,240
Speaker 2: and a company as big as RJ. Reynolds would that'd

487
00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:27,119
Speaker 2: be like a huge win for the sport. But instead

488
00:22:27,119 --> 00:22:30,360
Speaker 2: of just sponsoring like one car, Reynolds decided to turn

489
00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:32,159
Speaker 2: down that offer and they put their money behind one

490
00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:35,720
Speaker 2: hundred thousand dollars championship series called the Winston Cup. It

491
00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:38,400
Speaker 2: was this super smart marketing move for them, and until

492
00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:40,320
Speaker 2: two thousand and three it remained the top series in

493
00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:43,200
Speaker 2: NASCAR until it took on a new sponsor. It became

494
00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:45,440
Speaker 2: the next Tel Cup, and then like it changed hands

495
00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:47,760
Speaker 2: to the Sprint Cup. And I think it's now like

496
00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:49,640
Speaker 2: the Monster Energy Cup.

497
00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:52,959
Speaker 1: The Monster Energy Cup. All right, Well, you know, if

498
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:56,119
Speaker 1: boos and cigarettes acted as NASCAR's backbone for the first

499
00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:58,800
Speaker 1: what three or four decades of its existence, like, how

500
00:22:58,800 --> 00:23:02,040
Speaker 1: do we eventually get from this to Tide and Monster

501
00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:02,960
Speaker 1: Energy drinks?

502
00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:05,840
Speaker 2: So that change actually happened in the mid eighties, and

503
00:23:06,119 --> 00:23:08,399
Speaker 2: this is when Procter and Gamble decided to sponsor a

504
00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:12,560
Speaker 2: few cars with brands like UH, Crisco and Folgers. And

505
00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:14,400
Speaker 2: this is when Tide comes into the mix as well.

506
00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:17,359
Speaker 2: And once other companies had heard how the logo branded

507
00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:19,960
Speaker 2: cars had boosted P andng's sales, they all decided to

508
00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:22,080
Speaker 2: throw their hats in the ring as well. So, you know,

509
00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:25,639
Speaker 2: you fast forward thirty years and everything from like Cheerios

510
00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:29,120
Speaker 2: to Spam to even the cartoon Network is out a car.

511
00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:33,040
Speaker 2: It's amazing, and they've paid pretty handsomely for that honor.

512
00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:36,080
Speaker 2: Like I think a primary sponsorship, which is when the

513
00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:37,840
Speaker 2: logo is on the hood of a car and it's

514
00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:40,680
Speaker 2: also on the racing team's uniforms, that runs between ten

515
00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:42,600
Speaker 2: and twenty five million dollars.

516
00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:45,199
Speaker 1: Oh wow, I mean, And so is it worth it

517
00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:47,080
Speaker 1: for these companies to spend that much money?

518
00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:50,240
Speaker 2: You know, you always ask these things, and I looked

519
00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:53,560
Speaker 2: into it. But the market research bears out like NASCAR

520
00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:56,560
Speaker 2: fans are apparently three times more likely as non fans

521
00:23:56,600 --> 00:24:00,159
Speaker 2: to buy products from companies that sponsored their sport of choice.

522
00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:02,080
Speaker 2: Part of the reason is that they're so attached to

523
00:24:02,119 --> 00:24:05,119
Speaker 2: the drivers that they're also attrached to the driver sponsors.

524
00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:08,240
Speaker 2: But another big part is just how much exposure these

525
00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:11,600
Speaker 2: brands get. So like the Las Vegas Review Journal reported

526
00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:14,280
Speaker 2: that the average screen time for a car's primary sponsor

527
00:24:14,359 --> 00:24:17,679
Speaker 2: during a race is about twelve and a half minutes. Like,

528
00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:20,000
Speaker 2: imagine how many millions of dollars it would cost to

529
00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:23,119
Speaker 2: eric commercial that long. And that exposure only goes up

530
00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:26,879
Speaker 2: if a sponsor's driver wins or sadly Rex's car like

531
00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:29,720
Speaker 2: In fact, a pr man for the Richard Childress Racing

532
00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:34,000
Speaker 2: team once told a reporter quote, if you crash, crash fabulously,

533
00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:36,359
Speaker 2: and make sure your logo is not wrinkled up.

534
00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:40,680
Speaker 1: So class. All right, well speaking which we should probably

535
00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:42,320
Speaker 1: take some time now to talk about the history of

536
00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:45,359
Speaker 1: NASCAR is more posh counterpart, But before we do that,

537
00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:46,399
Speaker 1: let's take a quick break.

538
00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:02,320
Speaker 2: Welcome back to parton genius. All right, will, So, what's

539
00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:05,000
Speaker 2: the story behind Formula One? Like? Was it started by

540
00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:07,040
Speaker 2: smugglers or maybe some jewel thieves?

541
00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:09,520
Speaker 1: You know, that might be a nice story, but there's

542
00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:12,359
Speaker 1: actually no criminal component for this one. And instead what

543
00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:14,920
Speaker 1: we get with Formula One is a professional racing league

544
00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:18,520
Speaker 1: that really gradually grew from those pioneering car races in France,

545
00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:22,000
Speaker 1: that these were taking place back before nineteen hundred. I mean,

546
00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:25,040
Speaker 1: think about that, these were the earliest days of motor racing.

547
00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:27,800
Speaker 2: So explain this to me, Like, if racing was that

548
00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:29,920
Speaker 2: popular from the start over there, why did it takes

549
00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:31,760
Speaker 2: so long for F one to be formalized.

550
00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:34,680
Speaker 1: Well, it's actually because the beginning of World War two.

551
00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:37,480
Speaker 1: You know, you had European racing that had continued growing

552
00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:40,240
Speaker 1: in popularity through the early decades of the twentieth century,

553
00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:42,720
Speaker 1: and this was right up until the Germans began to

554
00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:46,320
Speaker 1: dominate in the nineteen thirties. So although there were plans

555
00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:48,800
Speaker 1: for an official Formula one championship, and they'd already been

556
00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:50,720
Speaker 1: discussed by this point, they had to be set aside

557
00:25:50,760 --> 00:25:51,800
Speaker 1: until after the war.

558
00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:54,719
Speaker 2: So once again there's a pesky world war that spoils

559
00:25:54,760 --> 00:25:55,400
Speaker 2: our fun.

560
00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:58,720
Speaker 1: Spoils all the fun. But you know, by nineteen forty six,

561
00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:02,040
Speaker 1: the term Formula one was formally defined and these plans

562
00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:05,160
Speaker 1: were put in motion for the Sports owned Drivers Championship. Now,

563
00:26:05,359 --> 00:26:06,800
Speaker 1: it did take a few years to figure out all

564
00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:09,360
Speaker 1: the details, but it was in nineteen fifty that's when

565
00:26:09,359 --> 00:26:12,080
Speaker 1: the very first F one World Championship was finally held

566
00:26:12,119 --> 00:26:14,560
Speaker 1: and this was at the Silverstone Circuit in England.

567
00:26:15,359 --> 00:26:17,959
Speaker 2: Okay, so don't laugh, but you just mentioned that Formula

568
00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:21,040
Speaker 2: one was officially defined at one point, and it occurs

569
00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:22,880
Speaker 2: to me that I have no idea what the term

570
00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:25,120
Speaker 2: really means, Like, does it refer to a certain kind

571
00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:27,320
Speaker 2: of fuel the cars use or maybe a certain kind

572
00:26:27,359 --> 00:26:28,240
Speaker 2: of motor oil?

573
00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:32,159
Speaker 1: Oh, good guesses, but actually not accurate on that. And

574
00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:33,919
Speaker 1: I can't laugh at you because I didn't know this

575
00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:35,919
Speaker 1: either until I looked it up. But you know, the

576
00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:38,720
Speaker 1: formula and Formula one racing actually refers to the rules

577
00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:41,560
Speaker 1: that govern the car's design. So you go back to

578
00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:44,080
Speaker 1: the beginning on this. That formula was taken from the

579
00:26:44,119 --> 00:26:48,320
Speaker 1: pre war regulations that really pertained the engine's capacity, and

580
00:26:48,359 --> 00:26:51,280
Speaker 1: it was first known as Formula A. Now, over the years,

581
00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:53,280
Speaker 1: the formula's been tweaked a good bit and now it

582
00:26:53,359 --> 00:26:57,080
Speaker 1: counts for both like new technology and environmental concerns, but

583
00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:00,639
Speaker 1: it's still based on the car's engine. So, for example,

584
00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:03,440
Speaker 1: the current formula is built around this hybrid power unit

585
00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:06,480
Speaker 1: that actually includes the turbocharge V six engine, but it's

586
00:27:06,480 --> 00:27:10,280
Speaker 1: electrically assisted by this power generated from kinetic energy as well.

587
00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:11,040
Speaker 1: Oh wow.

588
00:27:11,119 --> 00:27:13,199
Speaker 2: And do most F one teams build and modify their

589
00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:16,159
Speaker 2: own engines like NASCAR teams. Also, this isn't aside, but

590
00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:18,800
Speaker 2: I think it's funny that F one is so fancy,

591
00:27:18,920 --> 00:27:21,680
Speaker 2: like partially because I remember that in that documentary about

592
00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:25,000
Speaker 2: Senna the driver, which is honestly so good, the way

593
00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:26,920
Speaker 2: he came up in F one was by raising go

594
00:27:27,119 --> 00:27:29,879
Speaker 2: karts like go cars feel so everyk in the world.

595
00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:32,480
Speaker 1: I know, I love that. It definitely feels that way.

596
00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:35,080
Speaker 1: But you know what's funny is that unlike NASCAR, there

597
00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:38,080
Speaker 1: there really isn't much room for improvisation in F one,

598
00:27:38,119 --> 00:27:41,119
Speaker 1: and I kind of wonder if the improv part is

599
00:27:41,119 --> 00:27:44,480
Speaker 1: is maybe that American influence on the sport. But instead

600
00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:46,960
Speaker 1: you've got these eleven official F one teams and they

601
00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:50,520
Speaker 1: all get their power trains from one of four engine manufacturers.

602
00:27:50,560 --> 00:27:54,199
Speaker 1: So you've got Ferrari, Honda, Mercedes, Benz, and Renault. And

603
00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:57,480
Speaker 1: even if an F one team doesn't build their own engine,

604
00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:00,760
Speaker 1: they're still responsible for much of the does of the car.

605
00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:03,159
Speaker 1: And honestly, I mean that's the part that seems to

606
00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:06,280
Speaker 1: count for the most and Formula one. Yeah, so one thing.

607
00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:08,440
Speaker 2: I've always heard about f one is the huge emphasis

608
00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:10,800
Speaker 2: that plays on like top of the line tech and

609
00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:14,480
Speaker 2: this efficient design. Like some people swear that the whole

610
00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:17,520
Speaker 2: thing is just this elaborate pet project of technicians and

611
00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:21,400
Speaker 2: engineers masquerading as a sport. It's almost like the racing

612
00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:24,000
Speaker 2: is secondary to these design teams getting to experiment and

613
00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:24,639
Speaker 2: mess around.

614
00:28:25,520 --> 00:28:27,600
Speaker 1: Well, I mean, I think for some there's probably a

615
00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:29,800
Speaker 1: lot of truth to that. You know, many longtime fans

616
00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:32,400
Speaker 1: really think the focus on the car itself has long

617
00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:35,720
Speaker 1: since eclipse the actual drivers. And huh, this is something

618
00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:38,640
Speaker 1: that first started happening back as early as the seventies,

619
00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:41,880
Speaker 1: and these cars had steadily grown faster and more sleek

620
00:28:41,960 --> 00:28:45,160
Speaker 1: since those very early days of the sport and all

621
00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:47,680
Speaker 1: the r and D for this constant quest to reduce

622
00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:50,480
Speaker 1: drag and increase cornering speeds. It was starting to get

623
00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:53,040
Speaker 1: super expensive, you know, so much so that by the

624
00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:56,440
Speaker 1: seventies there were really no private entries in this sport

625
00:28:56,480 --> 00:28:58,360
Speaker 1: because it was just so expensive.

626
00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:00,920
Speaker 2: I mean, that's almost a shame. Yeah, I'm curious though,

627
00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:03,080
Speaker 2: like how much do these cars actually cost?

628
00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:05,960
Speaker 1: So it varies, of course, but a good rule of

629
00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:09,040
Speaker 1: thumb is to take a team's entire racing budget for

630
00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:11,640
Speaker 1: a year and then cut that in half. So for

631
00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:13,840
Speaker 1: the top teams, we're talking about spending upwards of two

632
00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:17,400
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty million dollars on the sport each year. Yeah,

633
00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:19,880
Speaker 1: so that's about one hundred and twenty five million of

634
00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:22,680
Speaker 1: that that goes toward the car for that season. And

635
00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:25,880
Speaker 1: even the bottom teams are dropping huge dollars on this,

636
00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:30,200
Speaker 1: anywhere from like twenty to fifty million dollars on average.

637
00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:33,200
Speaker 1: I mean, that's insanity to me. So why are these expensive?

638
00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:35,160
Speaker 2: Like are the materials just that pricey?

639
00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:38,200
Speaker 1: Well, it's not so much the individual parts that cost

640
00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:40,680
Speaker 1: so much. It's actually, you know, the entire labor force

641
00:29:40,760 --> 00:29:44,200
Speaker 1: needed to design and develop and build, and then even

642
00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:47,760
Speaker 1: beyond that, just to constantly modify the product, and this

643
00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:50,080
Speaker 1: massive amount of cash needed to keep pace with the

644
00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:53,200
Speaker 1: wealthier teams. It's actually really starting to affect the outcomes

645
00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:54,800
Speaker 1: of the races. I mean, if you look at the

646
00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:57,720
Speaker 1: highest ranking teams in the league, they also happen to

647
00:29:57,720 --> 00:29:59,680
Speaker 1: be the ones with the most money. And then on

648
00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:02,040
Speaker 1: the other end of the spectrum, the last place finishers

649
00:30:02,040 --> 00:30:05,680
Speaker 1: are typically the poorest teams. And there's no coincidence to that.

650
00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:08,960
Speaker 2: So I remember hearing that the cash prizes in Formula

651
00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:11,360
Speaker 2: one are among the highest in all of organized sports.

652
00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:13,320
Speaker 2: So couldn't it just be that the winning teams are

653
00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:15,320
Speaker 2: the richest because they're the ones that just keep getting

654
00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:16,160
Speaker 2: all the prize money.

655
00:30:16,640 --> 00:30:19,080
Speaker 1: Well, you know, if all the teams were starting on

656
00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:22,000
Speaker 1: even footing, that might be the case. But in reality,

657
00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:24,840
Speaker 1: I mean, they're different deals for different teams, and some

658
00:30:24,920 --> 00:30:27,240
Speaker 1: of the longest running ones get tens of millions of

659
00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:29,600
Speaker 1: dollars just for showing up to the race. It doesn't

660
00:30:29,600 --> 00:30:31,120
Speaker 1: even matter if they win, huh.

661
00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:31,600
Speaker 2: You know.

662
00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:34,120
Speaker 1: And if you go back from like nineteen eighty one

663
00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:37,200
Speaker 1: all the way up to say twenty thirteen, all the

664
00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:40,880
Speaker 1: teams competed under the same financial deal. But then once

665
00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:43,760
Speaker 1: you started to see happening like these car manufacturers and

666
00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:47,480
Speaker 1: long running legacy teams, they started angling for these special

667
00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:51,280
Speaker 1: privileges and unique deals. And so the league finally cave

668
00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:53,560
Speaker 1: to this pressure because it was actually afraid these big

669
00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:56,320
Speaker 1: names would just walk away from the sport. So there

670
00:30:56,360 --> 00:30:58,640
Speaker 1: was this really interesting article in the New York Times,

671
00:30:58,640 --> 00:31:00,440
Speaker 1: and it was pretty insightful on the way that it

672
00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:03,360
Speaker 1: looked at this. This was back in twenty sixteen, and

673
00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:06,120
Speaker 1: there's one part that sums up the problem pretty nicely,

674
00:31:06,120 --> 00:31:08,360
Speaker 1: and I'll just read this to you. It says today,

675
00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:12,280
Speaker 1: even among the top teams, financial success does not correspond

676
00:31:12,320 --> 00:31:15,960
Speaker 1: directly with success on the track. Mercedes does not receive

677
00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:18,400
Speaker 1: as much money as Ferrari, the Italian team that's been

678
00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:21,360
Speaker 1: around since Formula One start in nineteen fifty and that

679
00:31:21,440 --> 00:31:25,160
Speaker 1: received seventy million dollars a year because of that legacy.

680
00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:28,719
Speaker 1: Ferrari's special payment just for taking part is more than

681
00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:32,000
Speaker 1: the total earnings of the bottom five teams and last year.

682
00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:34,600
Speaker 2: Oh man, I mean, that's a little discouraging, And I

683
00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:36,920
Speaker 2: do wonder if the average F one fan knows about

684
00:31:36,920 --> 00:31:39,480
Speaker 2: these dealings, right like, it seems like the kind of

685
00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:41,360
Speaker 2: thing that could really turn people off the sport.

686
00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:44,320
Speaker 1: Well definitely, And it all goes back to that sense

687
00:31:44,360 --> 00:31:46,680
Speaker 1: that the cars are the true stars in F one,

688
00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:49,400
Speaker 1: not really the drivers. And it's kind of a tough

689
00:31:49,440 --> 00:31:51,400
Speaker 1: pill to swallow for a lot of sports fans because

690
00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:54,000
Speaker 1: there's so much of their enjoyment that comes from reveling

691
00:31:54,040 --> 00:31:56,880
Speaker 1: in human ability. So it is kind of tough when

692
00:31:56,880 --> 00:32:00,160
Speaker 1: they're treated as almost interchangeable in the car itself is

693
00:32:00,640 --> 00:32:04,440
Speaker 1: really the only constant, So I guess that makes sense.

694
00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:06,960
Speaker 2: And I'd say that's only partially true, right, Like there

695
00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:09,680
Speaker 2: are obvious stars of the sport, and you read about

696
00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:11,800
Speaker 2: the seven minute pit stops where humans are making all

697
00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:15,040
Speaker 2: these like microscopic changes to tire pressure and alignment to

698
00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:18,680
Speaker 2: like corner a specific turn better. But I do get

699
00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:20,920
Speaker 2: your point, right, Like nobody watches tennis to see their

700
00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:22,080
Speaker 2: favorite racket in action.

701
00:32:23,120 --> 00:32:25,560
Speaker 1: I don't know, there's nothing more beautiful than a really

702
00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:28,320
Speaker 1: elegant racket anyway.

703
00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:31,480
Speaker 2: You know what's funny, as Andy Roddick actually used to

704
00:32:31,640 --> 00:32:34,680
Speaker 2: play with an old babbel At racket, but the company

705
00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:36,880
Speaker 2: used to paint it to look like a new model.

706
00:32:36,840 --> 00:32:39,239
Speaker 1: Which is oh really, it's so crazy playing with an

707
00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:40,680
Speaker 1: old racket. That's pretty weird.

708
00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:42,720
Speaker 2: Yeah, because you just got accustomed to it, all.

709
00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:44,080
Speaker 1: Right, Well, back to what we were talking about here,

710
00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:45,880
Speaker 1: so that there is something I hope that the F

711
00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:48,160
Speaker 1: one League does take note of. And this is for

712
00:32:48,240 --> 00:32:50,720
Speaker 1: the fans sake, because there's really a lot of skill

713
00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:53,600
Speaker 1: that goes into being a professional racer, and I don't

714
00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:56,080
Speaker 1: think most of us recognize that half as much as

715
00:32:56,120 --> 00:32:56,560
Speaker 1: we should.

716
00:32:56,600 --> 00:32:59,600
Speaker 2: Really, Yeah, I found an Atlantic article that was kind

717
00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:02,640
Speaker 2: of written in defense of motorsports, and there was one.

718
00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:04,040
Speaker 1: Quote that really stuck with me.

719
00:33:04,440 --> 00:33:06,920
Speaker 2: It was about stock car racing, but I really think

720
00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:09,680
Speaker 2: it applies to all forms of motorsport, so I'm gonna

721
00:33:09,680 --> 00:33:13,160
Speaker 2: pull it up. It goes quote, The athletes who drive

722
00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:16,240
Speaker 2: these cars, and yes they are athletes, even though they

723
00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:20,560
Speaker 2: are sitting down, must possess steel nerves, quick reflexes, highly

724
00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:23,840
Speaker 2: developed small motor skills, and the mental acuity to develop

725
00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:27,080
Speaker 2: elaborate plans for dominating a track crowded with cars that

726
00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:30,440
Speaker 2: could kill them. And true fans understand the complexity of

727
00:33:30,440 --> 00:33:33,920
Speaker 2: the sport and can discuss in great detail the combination

728
00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:35,600
Speaker 2: of skills crucial for success.

729
00:33:35,840 --> 00:33:37,760
Speaker 1: Well, that kind of feels like the perfect place to

730
00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:39,640
Speaker 1: leave our discussion. But I do have a few more

731
00:33:39,720 --> 00:33:42,240
Speaker 1: racing facts dying to share these, So what do you say?

732
00:33:42,240 --> 00:33:43,560
Speaker 1: We had to the factop.

733
00:33:51,440 --> 00:33:53,720
Speaker 2: So, I know people love to debate whether things like

734
00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:56,240
Speaker 2: NASCAR are actually sports, but I don't think there's any

735
00:33:56,280 --> 00:33:58,080
Speaker 2: debating that you have to be in good shape to

736
00:33:58,080 --> 00:34:01,200
Speaker 2: withstand some of what your body's experienced. So I was

737
00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:03,240
Speaker 2: looking into some of the numbers, and first of all,

738
00:34:03,360 --> 00:34:05,400
Speaker 2: the temperature in the car, and a NASCAR race is

739
00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:08,600
Speaker 2: often over one hundred degrees and on turns, the drivers

740
00:34:08,640 --> 00:34:11,080
Speaker 2: are feeling up to three g's of force on them.

741
00:34:11,400 --> 00:34:13,960
Speaker 2: That means three times the force of gravity. And also

742
00:34:14,200 --> 00:34:16,600
Speaker 2: drivers are losing up to ten pounds in sweat over

743
00:34:16,600 --> 00:34:17,439
Speaker 2: the course of a race.

744
00:34:18,280 --> 00:34:20,760
Speaker 1: Ten pounds in sweat, Yeah, that's crazy. I was actually

745
00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:23,080
Speaker 1: looking in Ato some of this too, And it's not only

746
00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:25,920
Speaker 1: these things, but like a driver's heart rate typically stays

747
00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:28,680
Speaker 1: between like one hundred and twenty and one hundred and

748
00:34:28,760 --> 00:34:31,400
Speaker 1: fifty beats per minute throughout the race. Now we're talking

749
00:34:31,520 --> 00:34:34,400
Speaker 1: three hours from all these races, and so that's actually

750
00:34:34,440 --> 00:34:37,319
Speaker 1: about the same as a serious marathon runner over that

751
00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:40,200
Speaker 1: period of time. And I realized this is about f one.

752
00:34:40,239 --> 00:34:42,560
Speaker 1: But some of the drivers can actually go two minutes

753
00:34:42,640 --> 00:34:45,759
Speaker 1: without blinking, that's how intense their concentration is.

754
00:34:45,960 --> 00:34:48,279
Speaker 2: That's amazing. So here's a funny one. I saw a

755
00:34:48,320 --> 00:34:50,960
Speaker 2: fact that drivers in the major NASCAR races all have

756
00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:53,439
Speaker 2: to pass physicals and a drug test, and I guess

757
00:34:53,440 --> 00:34:55,879
Speaker 2: there's some sort of vetting process, but one thing they're

758
00:34:55,920 --> 00:35:00,000
Speaker 2: not required to show is a driver's license. So technically

759
00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:01,759
Speaker 2: you can have someone like tearing off the tracks and

760
00:35:01,800 --> 00:35:04,040
Speaker 2: nearly like two hundred miles per hour, who actually wouldn't

761
00:35:04,040 --> 00:35:06,240
Speaker 2: be able to drive to the grocery store after the race.

762
00:35:06,800 --> 00:35:09,560
Speaker 1: I love the idea that that could possibly happen. Well,

763
00:35:09,840 --> 00:35:11,880
Speaker 1: so I've often wondered about the beating that the car

764
00:35:11,960 --> 00:35:15,360
Speaker 1: parts take during the races and how long these parts last.

765
00:35:15,719 --> 00:35:17,839
Speaker 1: Did you know the F one car engines actually only

766
00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:21,279
Speaker 1: last a couple of hours before they just blow entirely, Like,

767
00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:23,879
Speaker 1: that's a little bit shorter than the fifteen to twenty

768
00:35:23,920 --> 00:35:26,360
Speaker 1: years most of us expect that of our own car engines.

769
00:35:26,800 --> 00:35:29,920
Speaker 1: And also, not surprisingly, the tires only last about sixty

770
00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:32,239
Speaker 1: or so miles in each race. That's incredible.

771
00:35:32,440 --> 00:35:34,440
Speaker 2: Did you know there are actually no air bags in Formula

772
00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:34,920
Speaker 2: one cars?

773
00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:37,680
Speaker 1: Wait? What is this just like to add an extra

774
00:35:37,719 --> 00:35:38,880
Speaker 1: element of danger or what?

775
00:35:39,880 --> 00:35:41,960
Speaker 2: No, it just turns out that there's so many other

776
00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:45,480
Speaker 2: safety mechanisms that are more effective at keeping the driver safe. So,

777
00:35:46,040 --> 00:35:47,879
Speaker 2: I mean, it would be nearly impossible for a driver

778
00:35:47,920 --> 00:35:49,920
Speaker 2: to be ejected from the car because of how well

779
00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:53,279
Speaker 2: they're strapped in, like the crazy protective helmets and the

780
00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:56,239
Speaker 2: five point harnesses which keep the drivers from slamming into

781
00:35:56,239 --> 00:35:58,239
Speaker 2: the front of the car, which is really the main

782
00:35:58,280 --> 00:36:00,719
Speaker 2: point of an airbag. And all this on top of

783
00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:03,120
Speaker 2: the fact that the drivers inside is survival cell that's

784
00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:05,200
Speaker 2: designed to protect them in the vent of a crash.

785
00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:07,279
Speaker 1: All right, well, here's another one I found. So there

786
00:36:07,320 --> 00:36:10,200
Speaker 1: are small planes that take off at slower speeds than

787
00:36:10,239 --> 00:36:13,000
Speaker 1: you'd find an F one car traveling during a race.

788
00:36:13,440 --> 00:36:16,840
Speaker 1: The aerodynamic science involved in creating that downward force, you know,

789
00:36:16,920 --> 00:36:19,520
Speaker 1: to keep them on the track. It's actually pretty amazing.

790
00:36:19,880 --> 00:36:21,560
Speaker 1: And by the way, F one cars can go from

791
00:36:21,680 --> 00:36:24,719
Speaker 1: zero to one hundred miles per hour back to zero

792
00:36:24,920 --> 00:36:27,480
Speaker 1: in about four seconds. WI is it? That's ridiculous.

793
00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:30,120
Speaker 2: Yeah, So, as I heads up, one thing you do

794
00:36:30,160 --> 00:36:31,560
Speaker 2: not want to take with you to a race if

795
00:36:31,600 --> 00:36:33,319
Speaker 2: you get a chance to sit on the infield is

796
00:36:33,360 --> 00:36:37,160
Speaker 2: shelled peanuts. And there are many superstitions in racing, like

797
00:36:37,200 --> 00:36:39,560
Speaker 2: a friendly green cars are bad luck, But one of

798
00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:42,359
Speaker 2: the weirdest is this one around peanut halls. So there's

799
00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:45,080
Speaker 2: an article in Snopes that claims that the tradition possibly

800
00:36:45,160 --> 00:36:47,959
Speaker 2: dates back to a race in nineteen thirty seven where

801
00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:50,279
Speaker 2: peanut shells were found in a few cars that all

802
00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:52,239
Speaker 2: happen to crash in the race, and there are a

803
00:36:52,239 --> 00:36:55,160
Speaker 2: few other stories that have contributed to this, but trust me,

804
00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:57,440
Speaker 2: don't bring those shelled peanuts. I know you love to

805
00:36:57,440 --> 00:36:58,880
Speaker 2: crack over at baseball games.

806
00:36:59,239 --> 00:37:01,160
Speaker 1: Oh wow, right, well, I've got to tell you about

807
00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:04,840
Speaker 1: my favorite NASCAR driver of all time, and that's Dick Trickle.

808
00:37:04,920 --> 00:37:08,040
Speaker 1: I mean, his name alone is pretty great and horrible

809
00:37:08,120 --> 00:37:10,960
Speaker 1: at the same time, but so Dick loves smoking so

810
00:37:11,120 --> 00:37:13,680
Speaker 1: much that he drilled a hole in his helmet so

811
00:37:13,719 --> 00:37:16,560
Speaker 1: that he could smoke through his headgear. And he even

812
00:37:16,600 --> 00:37:19,279
Speaker 1: had a cigarette lighter installed into his car because he

813
00:37:19,280 --> 00:37:21,560
Speaker 1: didn't want to bother his pit crew every time for

814
00:37:21,640 --> 00:37:22,000
Speaker 1: a light.

815
00:37:22,560 --> 00:37:24,600
Speaker 2: That's pretty great. So I think you have to take

816
00:37:24,640 --> 00:37:25,800
Speaker 2: home the prize with that one.

817
00:37:26,120 --> 00:37:27,640
Speaker 1: Thank you know. I think we did a pretty good

818
00:37:27,719 --> 00:37:30,279
Speaker 1: job in this episode of like debunking some of the

819
00:37:30,320 --> 00:37:32,960
Speaker 1: stereotypes and then we just came right back to it

820
00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:36,760
Speaker 1: with that last fact. But I'll take the victory either way.

821
00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:39,200
Speaker 1: I know we're both that much more excited to try

822
00:37:39,239 --> 00:37:40,879
Speaker 1: to get to a race. You know, we probably should

823
00:37:40,920 --> 00:37:43,320
Speaker 1: have come up with a contest like the listener that

824
00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:46,360
Speaker 1: gives us the best fact we would actually come to

825
00:37:46,480 --> 00:37:48,320
Speaker 1: visit them and then they could pay for us to

826
00:37:48,360 --> 00:37:51,040
Speaker 1: go to a NASCAR race, doesn't it seem great reasonable

827
00:37:51,080 --> 00:37:52,920
Speaker 1: to me? Or let us get on your yacht and

828
00:37:52,960 --> 00:37:55,279
Speaker 1: then we'll go to a Formula one race together. But

829
00:37:55,719 --> 00:37:57,719
Speaker 1: either way, if we forgot some great facts, and I

830
00:37:57,800 --> 00:38:00,200
Speaker 1: know we did, about either NASCAR or Formula one one

831
00:38:00,640 --> 00:38:02,719
Speaker 1: or any other type of racing, we'd love to hear

832
00:38:02,760 --> 00:38:05,080
Speaker 1: from you. As always, you can email us part Time

833
00:38:05,120 --> 00:38:07,920
Speaker 1: Genius at HowStuffWorks dot com. You can also call us

834
00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:10,520
Speaker 1: on our twenty four to seven fact hotline that's one

835
00:38:10,600 --> 00:38:13,360
Speaker 1: eight four four pt Genius, or hit us up on

836
00:38:13,400 --> 00:38:15,920
Speaker 1: Facebook or Twitter. We always love hearing from you, but

837
00:38:15,920 --> 00:38:32,000
Speaker 1: thanks so much for listening. Thanks again for listening. Part

838
00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:34,040
Speaker 1: Time Genius is a production of How Stuff Works and

839
00:38:34,040 --> 00:38:36,680
Speaker 1: wouldn't be possible without several brilliant people who do the

840
00:38:36,719 --> 00:38:39,160
Speaker 1: important things we couldn't even begin to understand.

841
00:38:39,440 --> 00:38:41,040
Speaker 2: CHRISTA McNeil does the editing thing.

842
00:38:41,239 --> 00:38:43,240
Speaker 1: Noel Brown made the theme song and does the mixy

843
00:38:43,280 --> 00:38:44,080
Speaker 1: mixy sound thing.

844
00:38:44,600 --> 00:38:46,719
Speaker 2: Jerry Roland does the exact producer thing.

845
00:38:46,960 --> 00:38:49,760
Speaker 1: Gabeluzier is our lead researcher, with support from the Research

846
00:38:49,840 --> 00:38:53,120
Speaker 1: Army including Austin Thompson, Nolan Brown and Lucas Adams and Eves.

847
00:38:53,160 --> 00:38:55,560
Speaker 2: Jeffcok gets the show to your ears. Good job, Eves.

848
00:38:55,719 --> 00:38:57,640
Speaker 1: If you like what you heard, we hope you'll subscribe,

849
00:38:57,640 --> 00:38:59,480
Speaker 1: And if you really really like what you've heard, maybe

850
00:38:59,480 --> 00:39:01,440
Speaker 1: you could leave a good review for us. Do we

851
00:39:01,560 --> 00:39:03,319
Speaker 1: do we forget Jason? Jason who

852
00:39:11,760 --> 00:39:11,800
Speaker 2: M