Roger Diez
Saturday is the night that the fastest driver of all time makes his yearly run. Yes, I'm talking about Santa, "Big Bubba" Claus, who puts every race driver in the world to shame. I mean, who else could drive all the way around the world in 24 hours, while making 427,913,877 pit stops to deliver toys? Although his fantastic pit crew can change two Goodyear sled runners and dump in 22 bushels of Purina Reindeer Chow in 12.9 seconds, "Big Bubba" does most of the work himself. This year, his primary sponsors are Amazon, eBay, Walmart.com, and Etsy. With eight Rick Hendrick-prepped reindeer power at the front of his Next-Gen sleigh, "Big Bubba" is likely to set yet another new record this Christmas Eve.
If you’re looking for a last-minute gift that shows you really care, I have a late addition to last week’s gift guide. Wynn’s Las Vegas has a fantastic Formula 1 package for six people that includes a four-night stay in a 5,829 square foot three-bedroom duplex, VIP access to the opening ceremonies and lots of other events, a limo between the airport and F1 paddock (private jet not included) and much more. And it’s, all for the low, low price of $1 million (only $166,666.66 per person).
I also have some Christmas gift wishes for race organizations and their fans.
For NASCAR drivers: modifications to the Next Gen car to reduce or eliminate concussion injuries and cars catching fire. For the fans: no more dumb ideas like stage racing. I’m sure Bill France Sr. is spinning in his grave to see what the last 20 years have done to the sport he founded 75 years ago. OK, the playoff system prevents the loss of interest that occurred when somebody clinched the championship with 10 races to go, so I’ll give them that one.
For the IndyCar series: parity with Formula 2 in the granting of superlicenses. Colton Herta had an impressive test in a McLaren Formula 1 car but won’t be joining the series. That’s because the FIA sanctioning body prefers to dole superlicenses out to drivers coming up in their own farm system, denying the best American drivers a chance. Of course, IndyCar is happy that superstar Herta is staying with them, but a lot of fans would have loved to see him in F1. And there’s no shortage of movement in the other direction, with ex-F1 pilots migrating to IndyCar in ever-increasing numbers.
And speaking of Formula 1, I hope they find more competition at the sharp end of the grid next year. There was some movement in that direction last season, and Red Bull’s penalty of reduced wind tunnel time for exceeding the spending cap may even the playing field a bit. Even with Mercedes’ awful season, they were still in the top three finishers along with Red Bull and Ferrari at most races. I would like to see additional refinements to the 2022 regulations that helped McLaren, Alpine, and others to be more competitive with the usual suspects. The new car design has greatly improved the racing with less turbulence behind the cars and more passing. Perhaps it’s finally time to retire the DRS (drag reduction system) gimmick.
Finally, for racers and race fans everywhere, party hearty for the holidays, but don’t get behind the wheel if you’ve had a little too much Christmas cheer. The best drivers in the world can’t handle drinking and driving, so don’t think that you can. Don’t ruin your holiday and someone else’s. Have a designated driver or take a taxi home.