We are in hot pursuit

I was at the gym this morning without my headphones and saw some NASCAR up on ESPN, with cars crashing into others and into barriers, and started thinking about how one could make the sport more of a realistic depiction of driving. If, for instance, they deployed a police cruiser with siren and flashing lights at the back of the pack, would the drivers slow down or would they speed up? Would they start reaching over for their registration?

Then I thought about how in the Olympics they have pursuit races where competitors individually or in groups circle around trying to lap one another. Seems like a natural thing in an automotive form, and I am a little nonplussed why I have not been able to find anything along these lines on the net. It could be carried out with two cars or teams starting at opposite sides of an oval or otherwise closed track, or for added thrills and realism, in a road racing format with actual hazards (perhaps somewhat mitigated) that the drivers in pursuit would have to negotiate as they go round and round. Instead of seeing cars running into padded walls and bursting into flame, you might see them running into padded buildings, which would be something. That is something I could imagine watching, unlike most motorsports in this country.

Bright lights, big city, Ballard,
originally uploaded by jbrownell.