Racing for relevancy

摘要

The topic of racing's relevance dominated discussions during the 2004 SAE Motorsports Engineering Conference & Exhibition, held in early December in Dearborn, MI. Panelists repeatedly talked about the need to cut costs, as well as the possible negative repercussions of technology adoption. Even in drag racing where "there's a winner every one or two minutes," quipped NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) President Tom Compton, it is important that technical advancements not create a wedge between the have and have not teams. "Fans want to see close, side-by-side racing. They don't want to see performance advantages solely based on technical advance- ments," said Compton. "We don't need to be going 400 mph to have a great race."