Somebody, please clear this up

[PP Mguire]

Ok so we just got a digital converter box and where watching EPSN Indie car racing from Iowa (Its still going, just started). Anyways im watching a guy try and pass another guy and going for first. Im like dude wtf block him!! Keep him from taking your position! Can you not race or what?! My dad was like uhh you cant block. Thats a Dale JR cheat tactic and you get points taken away. WTF??!! Thats the whole point of racing!! Hold your position and win! If somebody trys to pass me ima block em and make sure i hold my position. If you cant block somebody then you might as well hit the breaks and let everybody pass. My dad was like well then dont expect a career in racing if you plan to block because youll never get anywhere. I then proceeded to get up from my chair and if this is true i will not watch official race sports period. :explode:

[Schwarz]

Well I think if you have to resort to blocking then it means you have no skills.
(Though blocking in itself is actually a skill...)
Anyways even in go karts when you get the flag waved at you it means you are too slow for the guy behind you and you have to let him pass .
Maybe its because if you have to resort to blocking, it means the guy behind you is faster then you are and thats why its not legal... I dont know im just assuming...

[PP Mguire]

I consider it a technique rather than a skill. Just another thing to use when racing. Like in GRID i was winning over the B class when i was in a C class car cause i was block lol. the AI had no idea what to do.

I think im gonna get more into street racing. No rules. Im starting to find out pro racing is about as bad as pro sports.

[Schwarz]

Watch hocky !
Everyone cheats trips, block and they often get away with it .... !!! ugh...
I love hockey but its the only sport I have seen that has very blurry rules.
Sometimes they let you go sometimes they dont...

[PP Mguire]

Hehe i love the Dallas Stars man. FIGHTS!! ahaha
Yea i posted on a UK forums i go to and of course over there its F1 which is basicaly the same thing as Indie over here. They where talking about how it would be pretty boring if they allowed you to block constantly cause the guy on pole would keep his position. My deal is it takes skill to get up there in the first place from near last or w/e and it takes more skill to hold that position from people trying to do the same thing you are.

Im gonna go street racing. I used to want to be an Indie driver but not no more. Id be flagged and penaltied alot.

[slugbug]

If you're protecting your position then blocking is totally legal in racing.

[PP Mguire]

Yea i just watched the ending of the race. What i was talking about one of the guys fending for second did. So i like pro Indie again :)

[coxmaster]

1 question.. why did you need a digital converter box?? Do you not have cable? How do you get ESPN OTA?

[PP Mguire]

Everybody with an analog tv (boob tube) needs a digital converter box by fen 2009 becasue all analog airwaves are going digital. Meaning we get all the new spiffy HD channels. And idk how, idk how it works cause i havent played with it yet but everyhwere it said ESPN and we cant afford DirecTV and they dont offer Cable out here.

[coxmaster]

Ahh, nvm i just realized how you watched it. It was an ESPN presentation on ABC.. so you were watching a local ABC station broadcasting it.

Yes, i know about the need for a digital converter box, i just didnt realize you didnt have cable. As for OTA HD.. you have to actually have an HDTV also otherwise it wont be any better quality.

[PP Mguire]

I know that, but we still get all the extra channels. Regular ABC had some boring crap on yet we had like 5 different versions of channel 8. One being with the live showing of the Indie race today.

[coxmaster]

Yep, thats going to be multiple channels on the same broadcast service. I currently recieve ABC, ABCHD, ABC 24/7 Weather, and ABC Infomercials on the same central channel.

As for the race.. i only caught the end of it while i was at work (watching on an antenna) on ABC, so i cant attest to the entirety of the race. Usually Indy (not indie) racing is quite fun to watch as is Nascar..

[PP Mguire]

Lol sorry i have a gamer chick whos tag is "Indie" so i always get the 2 mixed up.

[darkorb]

In F1, you are not allowed to block. If a person is coming up beside you and is going to pass, you cannot cut him off.

As mentioned, if you were aloud to do that it would be relaly bad and mroe dangerous since you are getting cut off.

[PP Mguire]

Yea, and its called racing for a reason. Doing 200+ MPH is dangerous in itself. Just puts more mustard on the sandwhich imo. Called competition.

[Schwarz]

I understand your point in a way PP but I have a hard time with it though.
I mean to me if you are in first and if you got skills enough, the guy behind you shouldnt be able to pass you up since you would be driving better.
If it were that way then the race wouldnt actually be nessesary since you would just have to get first in the qualif. and then block your whole way through the race to keep your spot.
I think but then again its my opinion that if you are that good of a driver you shouldnt need to block the others behind you since if you are worth the number one spot then you should prove it in being perfect on making the best lap.
F1 is all about making the best lap, beating your own time, while blocking would probably slow you down and slow the one behind you down too...

[Goliath182]

Blocking is part of the strategy. There different types of racing. I like both but to me F1 gets boring after awhile.

[PP Mguire]

Im pretty sure everybody is taking what i mean by "blocking" differently so i suppose this conversation is moot :/

[SonicWRX]

PP Have you ever raced a road course?

Its not as easy as you might be thinking if you have. I have Alot of time behind the wheel on a track and they do block, but the cutting off idea is just not possible some times and not really what they are doing. There are many ways to take a corner and when driving at the edge. In a race you can pick only one. If you pick the same as the guy behind you then he can not pass you and thous you blocked him. That is a legal block as you are entitled to the driving line as much as the next guy. However if you pick an outside one and he picks an inside one and there is room for him to pass and he has the speed to do it there is nothing you can do to stop him. If you took the corner the way you should have you can't simple cut him off as you are at the limits of your traction and jerking the wheel to cut him off will only land you in the grass or the wall. If you are racing with all of your skill and your car is set up right the guy behind you should not be able to pass you so there is no need to block him.

Blocking may not be officially legal in racing for safety reasons but it is done. You just have to know how to do it right.

[PP Mguire]

Yea i was by no means talking about cutting somebody off. Like i had previously stated, everybody here is taking what i mean by "blocking" in a totaly different direction. In no way would i cut somebody off doing 200+mph. I dont even like to do that doing 60!

[SonicWRX]

If you want to be a racer don't let what you hear on TV and others say stop you. Give it a try. Be warned though it can be as frustrating as it is rewarding.

I have puled back from racing a bit as life is just getting in the way now.

[PP Mguire]

Oh yea thats right your the guy that races that Subaru! Yea ive always wanted to race Indy cars and drag race muscle cars for fun. Its just with the Indy there are so many rules and regulations with my style id most deff get penalties or something.

[SonicWRX]

Yeah thats me the one with the bright Yellow Subaru.

You'll be fine. As you progress though the levels of racing you will learn what you can get away with and what not. That in itself is another challenge to add to the fun. You will learn to not drive in your rear view mirror cause it makes you slower.

Start with some auto cross first and you may change your mind. With that there is now one to pass on the track and all you are racing is the clock. Even if you are in first in your class you still try to get faster every time and soon you don't even care about what others are doing. You end up racing yourself every lap.

When that translates to Time attack or track days you realize that blocking slows you down (not to mention that it will get you kicked out and not invited back). Then you will not care about it. You sill want that fast lap. Once you get addicted you will not care about blocking as a skill anymore. All you will want is to tick off the fastest laps you can and beat them that way.

Keep in mind that most of the rules are safety based and there for a really good reason. On top of that an Indy car is not cheep and the last thing you want to do is wreck it and end your day of racing.

[PP Mguire]

Lol cept they usualy always end up wrecking even if they are safe.

Yea in games i do alot better with no stupid AI on the track. I hate having to brake with them cause its always to early.

[SonicWRX]

Just imagine what it would be like with no rules. No one would finish the race. May be you should look into demolition derby. :lol:

Game AI is never any good at all either they cheat or suck.

[PP Mguire]

They cheat AND suck.