[Racer Duck]

you can go to the mountain and ask .. the answer will be:

as explained here at NASCAR.COM

the Duck is seldom wrong, and when I am, it's BIG!

but I'm not this time.

[Menthol Lite]

Hi all, I'm a new poster but have been a lurker for awhile. Great forum! Anyway, please don't think I'm a complete dork but I'm wondering about the difference between a 'racer' and a 'driver.' Is that distinction valid?
Is there a difference, and if there is, please explain.

Thanks in advance for any responses and please be gentle with the newbie!

[Racer Duck]

Originally Posted by Menthol Lite

Hi all, I'm a new poster but have been a lurker for awhile. Great forum! Anyway, please don't think I'm a complete dork but I'm wondering about the difference between a 'racer' and a 'driver.' Is that distinction valid?
Is there a difference, and if there is, please explain.

Thanks in advance for any responses and please be gentle with the newbie!

Hi Menthol Lite, cool name .. welcome to GoTeamsGo and the NASCAR Forum. If you've been lurking "for awhile", then you should be familiar with how we run things around here. And, you know to get your prediction in for the upcoming race.

racer vs driver, huh? normally I guess you'd say they are the same and used interchangeably, but there are times when each is used to signify something different and special. for instance if I were to say "so-and-so is a real racer", I'm saying that person shows all the characteristics of a top notch competitor. on the other hand, if I were to say "so-and-so is a real driver", I'm saying that person shows all the skills of a top notch pilot.

as you can see, racer can be used for other sports than auto racing, swimming for instance, where a vehicle isn't required, while driver can be used outside auto racing such as in rock crawling or sailing where you're talking about the pilot of a vehicle.

I hope this all makes sense. it's one of the ways the English can be so subtly massaged as to give a different meaning than normal. this capacity is one of the reasons English is both a powerful language as well as very hard to learn.

[hank static]

Gday Again.. I'm full of questions

I was just looking at the entry list for this weeks race on the NASCAR.com website and noticed that in the team owner part it says No 48 is owned by a Mr Jeff Gordon is this correct and he has shares in Hendrick or a typo.

\m/\m/

[SpaceCadet]

Originally Posted by Menthol Lite

Hi all, I'm a new poster but have been a lurker for awhile. Great forum! Anyway, please don't think I'm a complete dork but I'm wondering about the difference between a 'racer' and a 'driver.' Is that distinction valid?
Is there a difference, and if there is, please explain.

Thanks in advance for any responses and please be gentle with the newbie!

I think you'll get lots of different answers to this question. For example, to my father and his racing buddies there was a definate difference between a "racer" and a "driver". He felt that any one can drive a car. It doesn't take super talent. But a "racer" is a person with talent, who races hard, passes clean and feels if he or the car is not good enough to make that clean pass, then don't pass. He refers to Tony Stewart as a "racer who drives like a driver when he's got his head up his butt and hasn't figured out he's good enough to be one of the best racers ever without wrecking people just 'cause he can." (How's that for a run-on sentence!) A "driver" spins the race leader out in order to win the race. A "racer" gives the leader a little love tap without spinning him to let the guy know he's there and he's better, and passes him clean. I don't think a lot of people use this distinction for the two terms. It might be a local thing, or just my dad's way of explaining what he felt was the difference between a good and a bad driver.

[SpaceCadet]

Originally Posted by hank static

Gday Again.. I'm full of questions

I was just looking at the entry list for this weeks race on the NASCAR.com website and noticed that in the team owner part it says No 48 is owned by a Mr Jeff Gordon is this correct and he has shares in Hendrick or a typo.

\m/\m/

It's correct. As far as I know he's part owner of the 48 with Hendrick. I don't think he's the sole owner unless something's changed that I don't know about. But yes, you read it right.

[Racer Duck]

Originally Posted by hank static

Gday Again.. I'm full of questions

I was just looking at the entry list for this weeks race on the NASCAR.com website and noticed that in the team owner part it says No 48 is owned by a Mr Jeff Gordon is this correct and he has shares in Hendrick or a typo.

\m/\m/

G'day Hank,

you found the right place to ask questions.

according to a story I personally heard Rick Hendrick tell, Jeff Gordon told Rick about Jimmy Johnson while Jimmy was in Busch, but Rick didn't do anything about it. Jeff came back later and told Rick they ought to bring Jimmy up to Cup, that he'd be a good investment. Rick wasn't really wanting to start a 4th cup team so he told Jeff "if you feel so strongly about this guy, are you willing to put up the money?" According to Rick's story, Jeff decided he was and the rest is history. So Jeff bankrolled Jimmy's promotion to Cup and retains approximately 50% interest in the #48 while Rick own the other half. So, contrary to most people's belief, this is not an "on paper only" ownership. That is if you believe Rick Hendrick.

as far as I know, Jeff is the only owner of a Cup team while driving for a for a different Cup team owner. Harvick has made some noise about starting a cup team, but hasn't. all the rest of the cup drivers who are also cup team owners drive their own car (Robby Gordon and Michael Waltrip are the ones that come to mind.)

[hank static]

Thanks Gang

As a relative newcomer its good to have an outlet for my queries...Thanks again.

\m/\m/

[Menthol Lite]

Racer Duck and SpaceCadet, you two are great. Thank you so much. I'm getting the sense that a 'racer' has more finesse; and when Racer Duck mentioned other sports it made me think of Lafit Pincay, who could guide a longshot through a packed field with an almost surreal talent. Lafit was a 'real racer,' methinks.

I've read articles in magazines like NASCAR Scene (I love Scene mostly because it is very hard to get any NASCAR magazines in BoSox country) where the writer says so-and-so is a "racer's racer," so I guess that's why I was wondering. Thanks again for the education; much appreciated!

[Racer Duck]

Originally Posted by Menthol Lite

Racer Duck and SpaceCadet, you two are great. Thank you so much. I'm getting the sense that a 'racer' has more finesse; and when Racer Duck mentioned other sports it made me think of Lafit Pincay, who could guide a longshot through a packed field with an almost surreal talent. Lafit was a 'real racer,' methinks.

I've read articles in magazines like NASCAR Scene (I love Scene mostly because it is very hard to get any NASCAR magazines in BoSox country) where the writer says so-and-so is a "racer's racer," so I guess that's why I was wondering. Thanks again for the education; much appreciated!

Thanks, we do our best.

Scene's a great mag, but I found I was more on top of things NASCAR hanging out here than waiting for the old news to show up in my mailbox. still, Scene is good reference material and it keeps you up to date on things like the the leaders in the major contingency awards that take a bit of digging to find otherwise, so you picked a good one.

[simple simon]

what happens if a race is rained out ? ..... let's say it rains for a week in Michigan

actually also, how long would they wait to hold the race ..... i know they would do it Monday if they could, but what about Tues. or Wed. ?

[I Flip For Carl]

Originally Posted by simple simon

what happens if a race is rained out ? ..... let's say it rains for a week in Michigan

actually also, how long would they wait to hold the race ..... i know they would do it Monday if they could, but what about Tues. or Wed. ?

They said that if they can't have the race that it will have to be ran after the Homestead race . I think that may be kind of difficult considering it snows in Michigan in November

[PenelopePitStop]

Originally Posted by I Flip For Carl

They said that if they can't have the race that it will have to be ran after the Homestead race . I think that may be kind of difficult considering it snows in Michigan in November

Yup. A few years ago, one of the Loudon races got rained out. They ended up running the day after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving! In New Hampshire! I bet a lot of people had to eat those tickets!

[PenelopePitStop]

What's this "Prelude to a Dream" thing? I happened to stumble on it last night. Bunch of Cup drivers on dirt. Pretty cool.

[tkj24]

Originally Posted by PenelopePitStop

What's this "Prelude to a Dream" thing? I happened to stumble on it last night. Bunch of Cup drivers on dirt. Pretty cool.

It was at Eldora Speedway and was very neat. Most of the money from the race and the pay-per-view went to Victory Junction Gang Camp