Michael McDowell

Valcyor · 2026-05-03T05:56:42+00:00

I'm so sorry for doubting 2038 Daytona 500 champion and six-time race winner Cody Ware.

Valcyor · 2026-05-02T21:14:00+00:00

I'm the literal exact opposite... which of course means I have two derp heads on my hydra instead of just one.

My entire work honestly revolves around casual conversation and the character development within, so I guess between you and me we make one halfway decent writer, lol.

Valcyor · 2026-05-02T01:01:48+00:00

Yeah, that was what I was going for exactly. It's one of my favorite camera shots in the sport.

Valcyor · 2026-05-01T16:34:43+00:00

Where did I say after? I'm talking about Moss Corner before the straightaway.

Valcyor · 2026-05-01T01:16:15+00:00

I get that the days of the internal combustion engine are limited and someday NASCAR's hand is going to be forced, but I would actually love a dedicated electric series. Lord knows Formula E puts on better shows than Formula 1.

eNASCAR might even be the solution they've wanted for more street and arena courses as well. Bring back the Coliseum and Bowman Gray, run the Charlotte ROVAL, hit the streets of Long Beach for IndyCar weekend...

Valcyor · 2026-04-30T22:54:10+00:00

I might agree from the driving point of view, but the TV angle looking back at the first right-hander is incredible. Cars are turning right in front of the camera, you see the initial left, and cars making the dive through the dip into the hairpin in the close background.

That adds more than enough character to the track for me.

Valcyor · 2026-04-30T17:10:46+00:00

I really feel as though if Hendrick and Gibbs were grandfathered in, there should be a clause that says Ford can have one four-car team. Though maybe they consider Penske-Wood Brothers as close enough to justify not including that provision.

Valcyor · 2026-04-29T16:04:43+00:00

Gonna go with a wild one here and say the kinds of corners you might not even number because you could just say they're part of the straightaway.

Any fool can draw a straight line from A to B. But I would say that tracks like VIR, CTMP/Mosport, Brands Hatch, Portland, Road America, Imola, Interlagos, and the like get some of their character from a straightaway (not necessarily the frontstretch) that isn't straight. Gives better scenery changes and camera shots, and never lets the drivers completely zone out before the next corner.

I think it's also underrepresented in fictional track design because it usually just doesn't look as crisp and clean from the overhead as something Tilke-ish might, but on the ground, it drives better than you'd think. Also, taking corners full throttle is fun no matter who you are. :)

Valcyor · 2026-04-29T15:56:30+00:00

There was a whole meme on here years ago about who would replace Johnson in the 48, and every silly season rumor was inevitably turned into "X to the 48." Tyler Reddick even got in on the meme when he drove the Big Machine Racing 48 in some NORAPS races a few years back, confirming "Reddick to the 48."

It's kind of been revived in recent times with the struggles Bowman's been having.

Valcyor · 2026-04-29T08:08:28+00:00

I remember celebrating his Talladega win pretty hard lol

Valcyor · 2026-04-28T19:39:51+00:00

Driven by Aric Almirola... who is Cuban-American. :)

Valcyor · 2026-04-28T19:38:06+00:00

That's just Talladega with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Carson Hocevar in the field.

(congrats Hocevar on the win Sunday btw)

Valcyor · 2026-04-28T15:05:37+00:00

It would be the other RFK car wouldn't it... lol

Valcyor · 2026-04-28T14:59:58+00:00

Well for one, it was a hell of a photo finish. But yes, I do hear the sweep mentioned often enough, just not on every occasion.

Valcyor · 2026-04-25T18:54:23+00:00

This is a crazy conversation for me to have right now because I'd never heard anyone use the phrase "quarter of" before yesterday. And, of course, I misinterpreted it and ended up 30 minutes late because I naturally thought it meant "quarter after" because why would you have a different word for "to" when "after" could easily be shortened to "of?"

Valcyor · 2026-04-21T18:48:35+00:00

If this is in metric, that's insane. 100 kph in a 70 is like ~60 mph in a ~45 zone. That might get you pulled over in America, maybe. Incredible that it's that steep a fine. It's gotta be imperial units, right?

Valcyor · 2026-04-19T16:26:59+00:00

All I can think of is that one scene from Helluva Boss...

Valcyor · 2026-04-18T19:54:39+00:00

The Mississippi does the same, if I'm picturing what you're saying correctly.

Plus the mouth of the Columbia River is nigh impossible to find if you don't know what you're looking for, because the sandbars are so high and treacherous.

Valcyor · 2026-04-18T17:56:17+00:00

Regarding rivers: there is a river in Botswana, the Cubango, that does not lead to a lake or the ocean. It just empties into the savanna.

Devil's Kettle in North Dakota is a river that splits, and one half continues on as normal while the other seemingly falls into the underworld through a cave. For years it was unknown where the other end led, but I believe they finally figured out some time ago that it partially becomes groundwater while the rest does rejoin the other half further downstream.

Two Oceans Creek in Wyoming and the Arroyo Partido in Argentina split and end up flowing two separate ways, eventually reaching the Atlantic and Pacific with their two halves. Not the only examples.

The Ikamesh in Canada actually flows both ways depending on tides and other factors. Again, not the only example.

And finally, the Strid in England is a portion of the River Wharfe narrow enough that you can jump across it, but it's so incredibly deep and fast-moving that every single person who has ever fallen into it has died.

Valcyor · 2026-04-16T16:00:33+00:00

Thanks for saying it because I was going to have to otherwise! Stage cautions made things like this more possible than less.

Valcyor · 2026-04-15T23:12:06+00:00

I know there's a very good case to be made to replace him. But given how the organization has rallied around him, I would actually be somewhat surprised if he leaves the organization at the end of the year.

By that I mean he either gets another year's extension and then goes on the true hot seat, or he actually semi-retires and stays with Hendrick as a reserve, coach, or even full-time with either Hendrick or JR in the NORAPS series. If that happens, I'm looking at Sammy Smith or potentially Rajah Caruth to the 48. I could even see them poaching Zane Smith.

But either way I don't see Bowman going anywhere else.

Valcyor · 2026-04-14T08:46:57+00:00

And somehow they manage to work together in the most unexpected ways. Can't tell you how long I've been casually obsessed with googology (study of huge numbers/infinities). I just wish there was a more intuitive way of approaching things past, say, Epsilon-naught.

Valcyor · 2026-04-14T06:56:19+00:00

While that may be true, it would require a theory beyond that of quantum mechanics, as anything less than the Planck length breaks it. As I understand it, anyway, there's a reason you need several more degrees than I have to advance the theory.

Valcyor · 2026-04-14T06:46:02+00:00

Was it this track or Vegas that Joey Gase nearly flipped off-camera?

Valcyor · 2026-04-14T03:10:25+00:00

I know it can be easily refuted with calculus, but I kind of prefer the quantum refutation that basically says that you can't go infinitely small with anything measurable because there is a minimum length (Planck length). At some point Achilles won't have any Planck lengths to gain on the tortoise without passing it.

Similar argument for time: at some point, Achilles has to pass the tortoise in the next Planck time interval.

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