NASCAR and Indy. Who's the wimps?

NASCAR's Sprint Cup racers are at Michigan International Speedway this week. Though MIS is only 2 miles in length, a half-mile shorter than the famed Indy track, it's much higher banked in the turns, which means race speeds are typically faster than what goes on when they visit the "Brickyard".

(An aside. People watching on TV, or even in attendance, can't fully appreciate the "banking" at MIS. Several years ago, through a Shriner sponsored event, yours truly and a pack of others were able to take their Harleys out on the track to run a few laps. Those turns are much steeper than they appear. By necessity, a minimum speed of 60-70 MPH was required to get through them, or else the sheer slope and gravity might become a problem. Some of us twisted the throttle to kick our speed up well into triple digits -- because we could. No speed limit, no cops, a very wide (for bikers) high banked smooth surface -- and why not? Not sure if that's the coolest thing I was ever able to participate in -- but it's in the Top 5.)

Recently, the folks at MIS resurfaced the whole track, which has made it even faster yet. Some of the cars are turning practice laps at over 200 MPH. Of course, as the "rubber" gets laid down on the surface over time, it will make the track a little slicker -- hence slower -- and speeds during the actual race will likely be considerably less than 200. Nevertheless, somebody blinked.

Greg Biffle, known to be a "hard charger", expressed concerns about the speeds, and how they might be pushing the envelope regarding safety. So far, other drivers seemed to have kept such possible concerns to themselves, but if they feel anything like Biffle -- there's a name for them. Wimps.

Let's not forget that in NASCAR racing, one car side-swiping another in a race is a common occurrence. They call it "swapping paint". No harm, no foul. Faster cars routinely ram into the back of slower cars, to get them out of the way. That's called a "bump". It's just a part of their racing. Scraping the outside wall isn't necessarily a big deal. In fact, at some tracks, the majority of cars will experience exactly that during the course of the race, but it doesn't deter them. There's a reason the phrase "Darlington stripe" has become famous in the NASCAR world.

That's what sets Indy car drivers far apart from their distant NASCAR kinfolk. Indy car drivers don't complain about high speeds. In their world, 200 MPH on an oval means you're going home -- because you weren't fast enough to qualify. If they swap paint -- both cars are gone. They might be able to occasionally "tickle" the outside wall and race on, but any serious contact means their done. I don't have to elaborate on what would happen if a faster Indy car deliberately rammed into the back of a slower one to gain track position.

So let's see if I have this right. Sprint Cup racers can basically play bumper cars. On occasion, one driver can intentionally wreck another due to some sort of feud or "payback", and race on. They're surrounded by hundreds of pounds of reinforced sheet metal in their machines, but when the speeds get up over 200 MPH -- some of them have safety concerns?  Please.

Indy car drivers would scoff at that. If they have contact with another car or a wall -- they're history. They're surrounded by carbon fiber car bodies that obliterate when an accident occurs. Most importantly, you've never heard an Indy car driver whine about having to go too fast. You name the track, and Indy cars will run a whole lot faster than the best NASCAR is capable of. The only concern I ever heard from the Indy folks was at the Texas Speedway a few years ago. Shorter, but similar to MIS regarding high banking, the Indy cars were pushing the envelope to the point where "G-forces" became a problem. Evidently, they were going through the turns so fast the drivers were approaching the point of blacking out. Now THAT was a legitimate concern.

No doubt Sprint Cup racing is infinitely more popular these days than Indy car racing. Certainly many former Indy car drivers have jumped to NASCAR, but I would suspect that all boils down to money, fame and exposure, endorsements -- the usual bag of tricks.

But when it comes to pure racing, and no fear of flat-out going fast -- there's really no comparison.

Whining about going 200 MPH?

So much for the "good ole boys".

They're starting to sound a little wimpy.