Trouble in Turn2

This week I sat down for an exclusive interview (Turn 2’s travel budget took a big hit, but it was worth it.) with the always insightful, sometimes inciting, Marc Boland of Full Throttle. It’s very rare that topics like Japanese tin-top racing series, tin foil hats and Pacific Island piracy get broached on this blog. But it’s now a better blog for it.

How long have you blogged?
I started 5 years ago with a political blog and four years ago this past February Full Throttle first hit the interwebs.

Why do you blog? Or what made you start blogging?
Full Throttle was born out of frustration. My choice of retirement home being the Philippines it became slightly easier to get a copy of NASCAR’s Mythical Rulebook than attending the race track on a regular basis.

Where do you blog from?
A few would say the toilet, but really, the homestead is located about 50 miles south of Manila, Philippines smack in the middle of 20 hectors of banana, coconut and mango trees. And the occasional goat, sheep, chicken, a few cats, a couple dogs and ducks.

Does that pose challenges that North America-based bloggers don’t face?
Not at all, not with today’s environment of global access to the Internet and satellite TV, not to mention 24/7 NASCAR news coverage on so many media outlets. Fact is, there is one very pleasant advantage to my location. (Jealous types skip to the next question please)

With the Philippines being a central spot in Asia for pirated material and, shall we say “work-arounds,” to the technological marvels of today it only takes a couple bucks, a change in computer chips and the satellite feed you get stateside containing 2/3’s race coverage and 1/3 advertisements is turned into something resembling normalcy, a show that replaces the commercials and airs in-car camera shots complete with driver audio instead of the latest ad for “that no so fresh feeling.”

What do you enjoy about your blog and the NASCAR blogging community?
Simple, the exchange of ideas and meeting some truly outstanding people, even if it is from afar. Blogging works as a type of checks and balances system also. Generate an idea toss it out there and see what others have to say. If the idea is viable or something born out of a night sipping Junior Johnson’s Shine, either way you get immediate feedback.

Is there anything you don’t enjoy about blogging, or the NASCAR online community?
It’s not enjoyable having to blog online. In a perfect world I could just think it and presto change-o there is my latest blog post. In the real world I have to put up with a soon to be fired hosting service and a DSL line that acts as if it’s fed through a clogged sewer pipe at times.

The occasional unsolicited email via my contact form kind of gets the juices flowing. For example, Friday this week someone wanted to exchange links after “reading my blog” and somehow coming to the conclusion a racing blog would be the perfect spot for a link to a “hot date for you” slash “singles dating” website. Needless to say he received a “terse” reply of not only no but… well you get the idea, his scheme to piggy-back onto a reasonably ranked website fell on deaf ears.

How much time per day do you spend blogging?
If you’re asking me, not enough considering I cover all major forms of motorsports not just NASCAR. On average I’d say about 6 hours a day. Keep in mind that’s not just pounding on a keyboard, it includes filtering through over 150 news and blog RSS feeds several times a day. It’s good to be “King,” or rather good to be retired and have the time to dedicate to an enjoyable pastime.

Of course if you were to ask my family the question they’d just roll their eyes and point at the dummy in the corner hovered over a keyboard.

Is there one thing that was key to your blog’s success?
The quote “If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance then baffle them with bullshit” sums it up, that and punching out 2-3 posts a day and a whole lot of help from around the ’sphere.

Mike you fall into that category along with Jerry at Restrictor Plate This, Charlie of Steve and Charlie’s Bench Racing and a few others. And it certainly didn’t hurt to be named as one of the ten top rated NASCAR blogs by the Sports Media Group.

Covering the entire motorsports world, do you have a favorite series?
Define favorite. If it means numbers of competitive teams on a starting grid capable of winning and a series that provides a wholesome atmosphere for every member of the family it has to be NASCAR hands down. There’s none like it with the exception of a couple of the lower classes British sports car series’ that generally have large fields of entrants and attendance boosted by family gatherings.

If defined as the pinnacle of technological progress it has to be Formula One in open wheel and to a certain extent the German DTM Series and Japanese Super GT Series for tin top vehicles.

Do you feel this knowledge allows for a more well-rounded approach when looking at NASCAR issues?

Definitely, in particular from a competitiveness stand point. There are NASCAR fans that truly believe what they watch each week is bad, that so many cars on a lead lap is not the best it can be. How they come to their conclusion is beyond me, but it’s out there.

The CoT, or Car of Right Now (CORN) as Kurt Busch called it last year, is another example. The Aussie V8’s have been running with a wing and front splitter for several years. I have no idea whether the Daytona Suits looked at the V8’s as a model but they sure didn’t cast a new mold when the first and last drawings of the CORN were printed out in blueprint form.

Interestingly enough, the recent tragic death of Ashley Cooper in the V8 development series has the powers that be looking at a redesign. One driver Craig Lowndes has called for a more central location for the driver as in the CORN and additional crush zones be added. It may take time but sooner or later the potential for the Aussie V8’s to mimic NASCAR’s new car is there.

Is NASCAR better now or back in the day?

Better, no. Just different. I’ve started an on again off again series of posts comparing todays events as NASCAR rolls into certain venues with what occurred at the same track back in NASCAR’s formative years and in some cases as little as 15-20 years ago.

The largest difference is how a winner wins. Once upon a time only 2-3 cars finished on the lead lap. Today half the field of 43 is within 20 seconds of less or behind the winner. Richard Petty once crossed under the checkers 7 laps ahead of second and at one point was 3 laps down to the leaders. If A Hendrick car did that today there wouldn’t be enough Mafia controlled trash trucks to haul away all the bottles tossed on the tarmac.

If you could change one thing about NASCAR what would it be?
Funny you should ask, what most everyone wants, a copy of the Mythical NASCAR Rulebook posted online in PDF format so everyone can play their own home game version of the “National Stock Car Racing Commission.”

Just what is under the leather cover of that tome? For NASCAR Nation passport holders it would probably surpass Monopoly in popularity.

Occasionally you will brave the comment waters at David Poole’s blog to stir things up. Is this enjoyable or frustrating?

Neither one, it’s funny truth be told. The level of misinformation, that gets passed along as fact is astounding. And if the subject in any way relates to Toyota or one of its drivers it’s a near certainty the thread will contain at least one racist/xenophobic rant by someone who can’t possibly get any form NASCAR entertainment, short of going to the track, without utilizing Japanese or Asian products to access it. I’d hazard a guess some of them go to the track in the newest model Camry, but for them the brand doesn’t belong in the “American” sport of NASCAR. It’s sad really and doesn’t speak very well for a small percentage of NASCAR’s fan base.

What brand makes the best tin foil hat?
I’ve found all brands to be alike in fending off obscure mind rays and more practical thought processes. The most important factor discovered is the Kevlar inner liner I use with all my foil haberdashery. The odd rock tossed my way tends to bounce off and never gets past the Kevlar.

What is something your readers wouldn’t otherwise know about you or your blog?
I was once a Figure 8 driver, a “career” that lasted less the a good pair of jeans and was cut short by an intersection T-bone crash, a flip on my lid, a broken collar bone and a new found desire to attend college.