I’m very bored with F1 in its present form, and as much as I like the scenery and history of Monoco (I’ve been there for the Grand Prix), it’s always a boring race. Modern Grand Prix cars are certainly fast and safe, but I’ll take the days of Stirling Moss, Jimmy Clark and Graham Hill (not forgetting that 1-2 F1 drivers were killed every year.

Now regarding NASCAR, I really know these teams pretty well as both Hendricks and Penske used to be customers and I’ve been to their facilities a number of times. This is BIG time professional racing. 3 story buildings - one for crew training, one for engine development, one of chassis assembly , etc. and absolutely spotless. Half a dozen immaculate 18 wheelers out back as transporters with machine shops inside. A heliport, a landing strip, half a hundred golf carts outside and everybody wearing the company shirts - BIG $. Just down the road near the track is a full scale wind tunnel for aero testing that NASA would be proud of - this is professional racing at its best. BUT, speaking as an ex SCCA driver and IMSA team member, I am just put off by the crazy aggressive and dangerous driving that results in half the field DNFing due to crashes. The only reason the drivers survive this idiocy is the strength of the cars. This would never be tolerated in sports car or formula racing. Some may find crashes exciting, but it just puts me off - dangerous and a waste of finely built machines. Just my opinion and ready for the flames from NASCAR fans.

Cheers.

I was privileged to see him and sit in the first row of the Paramount in NYC in the early 50's. We were so close he was actually spitting saliva as he sang. Went with three friends and stayed in NYC for 4 days. It was our gift to ourselves after working 60 - 70 hours a week at our summer jobs. I was 15. We had a blast! Probably unheard of nowadays. We also made it to Birdland twice. I sure would like to relive that.

Here are two albums:
https://youtu.be/aTNK2fOjywo
https://youtu.be/ItWacG6do8E

Enjoy,
Mark