There was a talk as part of the International Motor Racing Research Center "Conversation" series on Saturday, May 10th about Formula 5000 cars.
I wrote a summary of the 3-hour program for my National Historic Motor Sports page on Examiner.com. NBC Formula 1 commentator, Sam Posey, was the honored guest at the talk.
We are following the 2014 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco!
This is a weekend of racing historic race cars on the same iconic circuit as the Formula 1 series will race in two weeks. The historic race meeting is held every two years in what many consider to be the most glamorous and arguably challenging road course in the world.
This song doesn't have much about cars or driving in the lyrics, but I have a strong, and more recent, car memory that goes merrily along with it. Guess maybe I should call it a "driving song."
After battling traffic driving solo to the Jersey shore from upstate New York the summer of 2013, and after presenting my paper at an academic conference I was there to participate in, the biggest pressures of the trip were off, and I had an afternoon free. The conference didn't meet far from the Springsteen-famed Asbury Park amusement park, and I decided to locate the place for myself and take in the sites and the sights.
Had a wonderful time strolling the boardwalk, taking my shoes off, and putting my toes in the Atlantic Ocean (cold!), watching people. It was a beautiful, warm but not yet hot sunny day -- early to mid-June, when those days can still feel somewhat new to those of us who live in the Northeast and work predominantly inside. Spring had come late, and summer had not yet fully arrived, so the day felt special just for the weather. It didn't matter what else happened at the conference, or if I could make my way back through the traffic to get home in a couple of days. That glorious weather at that particular location on that particular day was enough to make my spirits soar!
Taking it all in, I chatted with the vendors, sat on the benches, took photographs, and just genuinely enjoyed how similar the sight all was to the pictures Springsteen's songs always brought to mind when I listened to them. It was one of those rare experiences when an artist's work is full of place -- and when you visit that place, you feel at home simply because you have enjoyed that artist's work for many years before you got there.
I remember feeling the same way when I first visited the moors of the Bronte sisters in West Yorkshire, England. Charlotte, Emily, and Anne's house. The graveyard. The mossy, ragged, wild moors all around. I knew that place! What I saw in front of me on that gray, misty day was just what their books had created in my imagination so many times for so many years before.
Well, after spending the entire afternoon at Asbury Park, New Jersey, it was time to go back to the conference location to prepare for the banquet a bit later on that evening. I got in my now-hot car, rolled down the windows, and turned on the radio, and there it was -- Bruce Springsteen himself serenading me on the radio with none other than -- "Waitin' on a Sunny Day." How did he know I was there, and how nice of him to greet me to his hometown that way!
I cranked it up, left my windows down, and drove down the shore as far as I could before the song and time ran out. One of those perfect drives combined with the perfect music accompaniment, you know?
The song is actually from Springsteen's post 9/11 album, The Rising, though it was reportedly written before the 9/11 attacks. In the context of that album, the simple pop melody and lyrics recall an earlier, more innocent time and a desire to find happiness and peace of mind yet again. While the lyrics make it clear the day is not yet here, the melody makes it sound like the sunny day is not far away. It is not a deeply poetic song, but its lightheartedness fits its theme.
As, for me, now it's a car song and has joined my favorite driving songs playlist. And, at least for now, until another memory adds to it, whenever I hear it, it will always make me think of that sunny Friday afternoon, driving along Asbury Park and the Jersey shore in June of 2013!
It's rainin' but there ain't a cloud in the sky Musta been a tear from your eye Everything'll be okay Funny thought I felt a sweet summer breeze Musta been you sighin' so deep Don't worry we're gonna find a way
I'm waitin', waitin' on a sunny day Gonna chase the clouds away Waitin' on a sunny day
Without you I'm workin' with the rain fallin' down Half a party in a one dog town I need you to chase the blues away Without you I'm a drummer girl that can't keep a beat And ice cream truck on a deserted street I hope that you're coming to stay
I'm waitin', waitin' on a sunny day Gonna chase the clouds away Waitin' on a sunny day
Hard times baby, well they come to tell us all Sure as the tickin' of the clock on the wall Sure as the turnin' of the night into day Your smile girl, brings the mornin' light to my eyes Lifts away the blues when I rise I hope that you're coming to stay
[Photo: Formula 1 flag. Credit: Internet/Unknown].
The international news and entertainment website, Examiner.com, has just launched a new page for its National edition. Appearing under the Sports --> Motorsports category, a new page will now cover Formula 1 motor racing exclusively.
Guess who the writer is for the new page? Yours truly.
Consider checking out news stories, TV schedules, race results and driver quotes, and season reviews on this new outlet for F1 information. We will also look at the historic Formula 1 scene when and where appropriate, as well as take glimpses at Formula 1 history.
You can subscribe totally for free as well, right at the page where you read an article. Look for the "Subscribe" link on the page, usually right under my name.
Join me!
[NOTE: The page is not officially affiliated with Formula 1 (TM) but rather reports on the motor racing series like any other news or sports outlet].
[Mark Webber of Red Bull Racing-Renault in Formula 1. Credit: Unknown.]
After the race is over in Brazil tomorrow, Mark Webber will be done with Formula 1. In interviews this week leading up to this swansong race, he has indicated that if there were not aspects of the sport that he no longer enjoyed or would be glad to leave behind, he would not be leaving. That makes sense coming from the teammate of a four-time consecutive World Champion who is 11 years younger than he is. It can't be easy being Sebastian Vettel's teammate, no matter when you're in that position, much less at a time when the young champion seems to have a growing momentum in the sport, both literally and figuratively, on his side.
I found myself cheering for Webber as the underdog in this two-man Red Bull race against the rest of the field in the last two seasons. There were scraps between them in some races, but mostly, I think, arguably a Formula 1 racer races against himself. Certainly, an athlete as well-rounded in sports in general as Webber seems to be, must do that. He is testing his own physical limits with those of the race car he is contracted to drive. Who can blame Mr. Webber for wanting to get out of a sport at age 37 before his skills slip below that which he expects of himself. Many long-term observers say that he could have been a World Champion in Formula 1 in a non-Vettel era. How many racers could that be said about who came along at the same time as other multi-year champions? There have to be many of them. Sometimes having unfortunate, bad luck and timing at a sport you love and are exceptional at performing in must be worse in some ways than having no luck at all to get you there in the first place.
It will probably take time for the impact of all that has happened to him in his Formula 1 career sinks in to form a kind of wisdom from experience in Mark Webber. He has his Porsche career to explore starting very soon, and that must play itself out. Other drivers have left F1 and gone back. That could be an option, too; who knows, in the future?
Good luck, Mr. Webber, as you move forward from Formula 1. You can start fresh with new opportunities and challenges, and people will be excited to see how your driving skills transfer to endurance racing.
I think Red Bull and Mr. Vettel will miss you more than they may think. You've been an integral part of that well-organized, unified team that got it to where it is now. Major changes in drivers and cars coming in 2014 could upset the Red Bull/Vettel momentum, or not.
Either way, at least you won't have to drink that Red Bull energy drink -- or pretend to -- any more.
They're a fun sponsor for the sport and its fans and obviously one great team in motorsports, but seriously, did you ever really drink that stuff? <jk> I suspect having the opportunity to drive any Porsche that strikes your fancy on a typical Tuesday night just might be a bit more fun.
Have a good race tomorrow. And the tomorrows after that.
[Photo: Fans on the tower at Circuit of the Americas. Credit: Connie Ann Kirk.].
To my surprise, the week before the event, I heard from the FIA that I was granted media credentials for the Formula 1 2013 United States Grand Prix. Having just returned from COTA in October after covering the inaugural SVRA U.S. Vintage Racing National Championship, this came not only as a surprise but more of a logistical dilemma than one might like. However, preparations were quickly underway so that I could attend at least part of the big weekend in Austin.
Here is an article I wrote based on a press release sent out to media by the track on the Tuesday before the race. The track is highlighting entertainment that is available to the fans over the weekend.
[Photo: Screen capture from "Vettel and Andretti: One on One" -- Mario Andretti, Sebastian Vettel, and Will Buxton in conversation. Broadcast on NBCSN 11/3/13. Credit: NBCSN].
Delighted to have caught the special on NBCSN before the 2013 Abu Dhabi GP where Will Buxton interviews both Mario Andretti and Sebastian Vettel together in one sitting. Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner also joins the conversation later on.
