Listening to NPR, I just heard that NASCAR still uses leaded gasoline to fuel their races, burning an estimated 100,000 gallons of the stuff in a given season. There are countless scientific studies available on the hazards of lead that indicate not only just how toxic it is, but also how damaging it can be to the brain - actually decreasing IQ.
Studies have shown that lead particles hover in the air for hours after being burned in automobiles. With the number of cars in a race, and the attendance of these huge NASCAR events, I think we can all see the conclusion I'm drawing from this. One may speculate all one wants regarding the intelligence of those that go to watch NASCAR, but one thing is for sure:
they certainly aren't any smarter when they leave.
The amusing thing about hearing the story on NPR is that they covered the story they way they would cover anything else - by capturing the ambient sounds associated with whatever they happen to be reporting. While at a race, they recorded at least a dozen "yeeeeehaaaaaaa" and "wooooooooohoooooooooo" exclamations from various race fans (the fans may have been named Jim-Bob, Bobby-Joe, Billy-Joe, Billy-Ray, or some other combination - but we know it could be hyphenated, and that's what counts).
2 comments:
Haha that does explain a lot...I wonder why they don't use unleaded though? Because of the specific engine? Thom where are you on this one...
They talked a little bit about this on the program. An interview was conducted with driver Rusty Wallace's pit crew chief, and he said that they used unleaded fuel once and broke quite a few parts, specifically valves. He estimated that it would cost every race team between one and three million dollars to convert to unleaded fuel.
As Thom says, the competition aspect would not be affected if everyone was subject to the same standards. Talk to a race fan about reducing the speed of the cars though - you may encounter significant opposition and/or hostility.
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