FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[OzJohnnie]

Any motorheads here?  Anyone who cares about Formula 1?  It's very popular in Australia.  I've tried to pretend I care, but I've never been into motorsports any deeper than the demolition derby at the Itasca fairgrounds.

[art76]

Any motorheads here?  Anyone who cares about Formula 1?  It's very popular in Australia.  I've tried to pretend I care, but I've never been into motorsports any deeper than the demolition derby at the Itasca fairgrounds.

18436572

[OzJohnnie]

Any motorheads here?  Anyone who cares about Formula 1?  It's very popular in Australia.  I've tried to pretend I care, but I've never been into motorsports any deeper than the demolition derby at the Itasca fairgrounds.

18436572

Grok to the rescue. I am still stunned at how good of a search engine it is:

It's the firing order for a classic Chevy (GM) small-block or big-block V8 engine (and many other American V8s like certain Mopars).

The sequence 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2 tells you the order in which the cylinders fire in the engine. It's a very well-known "secret handshake" among car enthusiasts, mechanics, and gearheads—especially those who've worked on Chevy 350s and similar engines. You'll see it printed on intake manifolds, T-shirts, mugs, etc., as an inside joke: "If you know, you know."

[BDB]

Any motorheads here?

The Indianapolis 500 yesterday was awesome. Closest finish in history. Every year I tune in at the beginning of the 2-3 hour pre race show and watch until the bricks are kissed.

Attended the event in 2007 as a guest of a corporate sponsor. 3 days of touring, coach busses to the track which had police escorts each time, concerts at the track and the spectacle of the race itself. Got to meet AJ Foyt and saw a couple other legends up close. The city of Indianapolis really knows how to host these big events.

That night after the race we asked the hotel concierge if there was a sports bar close by to watch the NASCAR race.  There was (she didn't mention the Hooters across the street) and it was packed with race fans all watching a replay of the 500. One small TV behind the bar had the Coca Cola 600 on it. We laughed "should have known." Food was good, fans were great.

Having said all that the demolition derby at the Itasca County fair sounds pretty good too.

[art76]

The sequence 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2 tells you the order in which the cylinders fire in the engine. It's a very well-known "secret handshake" among car enthusiasts, mechanics, and gearheads—especially those who've worked on Chevy 350s and similar engines. You'll see it printed on intake manifolds, T-shirts, mugs, etc., as an inside joke: "If you know, you know."

Yes, in addition to rockets, I am "that guy" with a garage full of "parts I'm going to use some day" surrounding my project car I bought in 1986 - a 62 Ford Falcon.

And yes, I have a black hoody with the "secret handshake" emblazoned on the front. It does generate conversations.