|
Fast But Far From Furious
After Years of Working Weekends, A Chance to Really Enjoy
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
Tour guide
Rick and friend Bob know where to see the cars up close.
Call it a lightbulb moment. A realization
of reality. An awakening.
For 15 years, I have traveled to historic Laguna Seca Raceway in the
beautiful soft rolling hills of Monterey, CA, for sports cars and Championship
Auto Racing Teams (CART) Champ Car and sports car events. I've seen
Geoff Brabham guide an exotic GTP car around the technical turns like
a composer directing a symphony. Was there when Gil de Ferran got his
first CART victory as a rookie in 1995. Witnessed "The Pass,"
Alex Zanardi's dramatic last-lap overtake of Bryan Herta for the win
in 1996, what many consider the most famous pass in auto racing history
(certainly, it was the most unexpected).
Yet, until recently, I had never really actually seen Laguna
Seca.
The reason is simple: I'm usually there to work. In addition to writing
this column, I do public relations, primarily in racing – sports
cars, CART (which eventually became Champ Car) My time at the track
has had me primarily stationed in the Laguna Seca media center, assisting
the press with weekend features, hustling drivers to press conferences,
bonding with writers and broadcasters covering the race, and so forth.
But one year, due to a new policy at CART, I was released from such
activities after Friday.
So with a weekend pass to play, I called a buddy who lives in nearby
Capitola Beach, stuck a ticket in his hand and went walking around with
him and a few more friends. Rick Kaufman is a veteran Laguna spectator
and knows all the best viewing spots.
 We
hoofed it all over the place. Leaned against the fences. Went to the
back straight. Caught the start from above the Andretti Haripin. Made
our way up to the Corkscrew, a downhill twisting turn that's the most
unusual and famous in all of motor racing. Had a beer. Actually had
a beer in the daytime when normally I'm sitting in a meeting or trying
to get the media to attend a press conference announcement of some sort.
It was the first time I had ever done such a thing. All those trips
to the track and I had never once walked around the place. Never been
to the Corkscrew! The most famous turn in all of motor racing and I
had yet to see it up close. That's when the light bulb went on over
my head."Oh," I exclaimed to myself. "THAT'S what everybody
is talking about when they speak of loving Laguna!"
As the crowd watches, Champ Cars turn down the famous Corkscrew.
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, for those who don't know, is a rare race
track. It's not a sit-in-the-seat-and-have-the-cars come-to-you kind
of place. Not a big street party like the Toyota
Grand Prix of Long Beach or the Molson
Indy. In fact, there few grandstands because the thrill here
is to seek out the cars by walking around to the different areas of
the course.
Access to those places is unbelievable – you can get so close
to the cars you can feel the ground vibrate as they roar past. The race
course is built so naturally into the terrain, with elevation changes
and quirky turns, that it seems God himself created the place instead
of men with bulldozers. It's the perfect track at the perfect place.
Races usually last two hours and that's how long it took us to take
a lap, taking it at the typical California casual pace (the racers do
ther laps in little more than a minute). Along the way there are stations
selling oilcan-sized beers, a delightful amenity because it enables
fans to spend ample amounts of time watching the action without having
to worry about going dry every few laps. I do, however, suggest the
track invest in more big-screen TVs so it's possible to keep track of
what's happening elsewhere on the track.
Framed by a rugged hillside, Adrian Fernandez roars past hilltop campers.
The scenery – breathtaking hills looking down into valleys with
the coast just a few miles away – is spectacular and the race cars
are just plain studly.
These are true power machines – multi-colored blurs whizzing by
at the speed of a World War II fighter plane with ear-piercing Ford
Cosworth engines and sounds of upshifting and downshifting transmissions.
They whip around Turn 4, a quick right-hander at 90-degrees, almost
as if it doesn't exist. A passenger car simply can't do that and it
takes a few cars and a few laps for it to visually sink in. Any fan
with a $40 GA ticket can enjoy this up-close experience.
This is where the media often misses the point. It focuses far too
much on what's happening on the track and who is doing it, when in fact
it should be paying attention to what a great experience this is for
the fans. The press talks and writes that the track is too narrow, that
there's no passing, that it's boring to watch because it's a follow-the-leader
parade.
Yeah, from the press box. But down among the fans it's a totally different
perspective. There IS passing, it's just not always among the leaders.
The fans don't seem to care. They see one car closing in on another
and wait for that precise moment when the driver makes a sudden move
to blow by the other car, then they cheer. It doesn't matter if it's
for first or 15th place, a pass is a pass and it's exciting to watch.
I was incredibly impressed with the tremendous amount of knowledge
many of the fans have about the sport. I overhead conversations about
a particular driver's history at the track, suspension settings, engine
technology, rules, etc. Several had scanners, which enabled them to
listen in on conversations between the pit crews and the drivers. Still
more rented a device called the Kangaroo, a small computer with a spilt-video
screen, timing and scoring, scanner and who knows what else. Imagine
being able to do this at a football game, hearing the plays being called
by coaches in the press box to the head coach and quarterback.
Bob and Rick stand by a car after the race.
In fact, racing is the most accessible of all sports. In PR, we brag
about how one can see the drivers walking around the paddock and perhaps
even get an autograph. But there's more. After the race, we walked down
to the paddock and saw the cars that were just on the track. Rick and
the others actually peered inside Herta's cockpit, touched suspension
pieces and marveled at all the technology. Imagine being able to feel
the sweat off Alex Smith's jersey after a Niner's game.
We also wandered over to the merchandise area. We stopped at the Champ
Car trailer where, in addition to drooling over some of the shirts and
sweatshirts I kind of wish the company would give me to wear while on
duty, I chatted it up with the girl selling the goods. I was curious
to know what was selling, what people liked, etc. The top seller turned
out to be an orange hat, while anything with Corona on it was flying
over the counter (not just to Hispanics, either, but to people of all
nationalities).
I also learned business was brisk throughout the weekend, a good thing
to be sure. My friends contributed to the trailer's take, purchasing
a couple of hats and shirts. I marveled at how much they enjoyed getting
this new stuff.
As if this, my best lap of Laguna Seca of all time with an expert tour
guide, were not over the top enough, the weekend was all the more special
because of the accommodations I was able to secure. After departing
the hotel CART paid for earlier in the week, I got a place right on
the water.
This was not some fancy hotel with a great view, but a place on Monterey
Bay. Literally right on Monterey Bay.
Some months ago, I met a blonde – "a blonde," as Raymond
Chandler wrote in 'Farewell My Lovely' "to make a bishop kick a
hole through a stained glass window" – whose way-cool father
has a sailboat here. On Thursday, he slipped it into a slip for me and
I spent nights aboard the boat.
It's named "Gary's Island" – there's even a song about
it by the same title – and it was a dream. The blonde wasn't there,
but I had the "island" well stocked with provisions and for
this particular weekend, that was enough.
After the races, it was back to paradise aboard Gary's Island.
The Bartender can be reached at bartender@pubclub.com
PubClub Home Page
|