NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
  • Peg It on GarageMonkey
GURSS: Danger?
Here’s a series of musings about danger, and why it must exist for racing to be compelling as a spectator sport...
Jade Gurss  |  Posted December 16, 2008   Mooresville, North Carolina
'199 Lives, The Travis Pastrana Story,' now on DVD, examines Travis Pastrana’s seemingly never-ending death-defying, bone-crushing stunts, as well as the impact his lifestyle has on himself, his family and friends. (Image: NCM Fathom)

Here’s a series of near-nonsensical musings about danger, and why it must exist for racing to be compelling as a spectator sport.

I’ve become enthralled with the documentary film called “199 Lives, The Travis Pastrana Story,” which has just been released on DVD. The film examines Pastrana’s seemingly never-ending death-defying, bone-crushing stunts, as well as the impact his lifestyle has on himself, his family and friends. It’s a well-crafted look at a family dynamic around a young man who thrives on constant adrenaline and danger.

Early in the film, Pastrana calmly narrates a bulls#&* theory of his mathematical approach to danger: a numerical equation for assessing the danger versus risk divided (or was it multiplied?) by the reward. I can only say his definition of danger, such as jumping out of a plane without a parachute, is different than nearly anyone else on earth. He’s crazy. He’s insane. Yet, I can’t take my eyes from the screen, and Pastrana is perhaps the most famous X Gamer on earth. His stunts are simply exhilarating.

In Chris Economaki’s autobiography, “Let ‘em All Go!” (Perhaps the worst book title known to man), he describes the colorful early days of racing where the dangers and frequent deaths were hyped and promoted with great glee. While the blood lust isn’t as overt these days, is it still a key reason motorsports is so popular today?

Certainly.

Do we love to cheer for our favorites to prevail against evil – or cheer louder when they walk away from a horrific crash? Why do we love daredevils so much? Is it the same reason horror and gore movies continue to make money? For the vicarious thrill we get sitting on our couch or in the stands as these men and women hurtle past at speeds of more than a football field per second?

Why is the first lap at Indy so frightening, exciting and spine tingling? Is it because of the imminent danger of 33 modern-day kamikaze pilots, lined-up 11-deep and three-wide, barreling into a narrow turn one at breakneck speeds?

Of course it is.


Page 1 of 2
Prev
12
Next
jade_gurss's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jade Gurss

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2013

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.