heated seats?

Yeah I'm betting seeing these things hit these speeds up close can't be outdone by video footage. Thanks for the background.

Yeah, visually it's impressive, but I think my favorite sensory part is the sound.

It's kind of a cliche, but nothing beats the sound a Top Fuel car or bike makes going down the track. It's really fun to watch a kid's reaction the first time they see it in person, too. It's a soothing tone for me, kind of similar to how some of the tones that Doom bands occasionally make just kinda resonate with me on a subliminal level.

That being said, I understand how some people can find it boring and by no means do I go to a lot of races these days. I used to live about 15 minutes from Sear's Point in Sonoma County, so it was tough to pass up back then.

It's about twice as fast, just count how long it takes for the cars to get out of sight.
NASCAR is still the best.

I saw a day of qualifying rounds for the Indy 500. and yeah the only compatible sound in terms of how loud those cars are I can think of is a gun. f-1 cars are beyond holy shit loud.

I know you're joking, but I can't help myself... They're limited in the amount of fuel they are allowed to carry, so mileage is actually a concern.

Wiki cites approximately 3.1 MPG (US), during a race, but I don't know how accurate that is since it probably changes pretty dramatically based on the track.

They're actually very efficient, since the rate that they are allowed to consume fuel is also regulated. If you look at it from a displacement vs. horsepower/fuel mileage angle, they're far more efficient per liter than a regular production car.

Not sure what they'd get cruising at 70 mph on I-5, however. Also, they've been hybrids for a few years now, complete with batteries, regenerative braking, etc.

Also, I encourage anyone who is interested in this kind of race car nerdery to check out the documentary that's currently near the top of the hopper.

They've also stepped down over the years from V12's to V10's, to V8's, and now they're V6 Turbos with hybrid systems as was already mentioned.

In addition to a maximum fuel load of 100 KG, there is a maximum rate at which they're allowed to use it. So good joke, but fuel efficiency is actually a concern.

That's a knee-slapper!

gmork: music expert, humor critic, "youth rights activist"

Maybe being Peter North in his prime ejaculating 30mL of semen on a beautiful woman's face and getting paid for it.

to be fair, F1 drivers share most of the benefits of being a porn star, but with mainstream respectability.

and a lot more money.

*if you're a good driver. There are several bad drivers in F1 that have to pay their team to race.