Okay, I know that I'm dating myself.
To some of us, motorsports does not mean NASCAR it means hydros. In Seattle, hydroplane racing harkens back to 1950 when surplus aircraft engines were plentiful and the best possible speedway was Lake Washington. For one weekend a year the sound of turbocharged V12 engines shook the air for miles around. It was a dangerous sport. It was dangerous to begin with, but adding things like nitrous oxide injection and surface piercing propellors made it nearly insane.
Fortunately, technological improvements were made and the sport became safer. Unfortunately, technology also took away the thunder. Modern turbine engines (from helicopters) were lighter and produced more power than the old RollsRoyce and Allison piston engines. The trouble is that they whisper their way around the course and so the best city wide advertisement for the races was lost. The new races are also sprint like affairs with multiple heats, instead of the grueling test of endurance for man and machine that they once were.
I guess it's symptomatic of aging to wax nostalgic, but trying to explain to a youngster how your sternum would shake when the boats rounded the last turn and how your whole body would shake at the finish line, will produce either a polite nod, or a just blank stare. It's something that you had to experience, and sadly is gone forever.
If you would like a small taste of what it was like back then, I suggest the movie, "Madison". You might want to turn up the volume for best effect.
Cheers,
Tom
_________________
"There is no path to peace, peace is the path."
Mohandas K. Ghandi