Today is the last Thursday we’ve got before the circus comes to town, so I’m going to cut straight to the heart of the matter with this, the final Thursday Poll of the year.  Who do you think is going to go home with a trophy from this year’s races?

When it comes to raceday predictions, picking the winners is the more obvious game, but it’s not nearly as interesting.  Over the past 10 years, we’ve only seen 3 teams win the men’s or women’s races.  It’s the same three teams in each contest, and I don’t think you’d find many people betting on anyone else to win either of this year’s races.

Picking the trophy winners (1st-3rd for the Women and 1st-6th for the Men) on the other hand, requires a more nuanced and sophisticated look at the field.  8 different women’s teams and 13 men’s teams have taken a trip on stage to claim hardware in the last 10 years.  3 of last year’s 9 winners were not on stage the year before.  So, with that historical context, pick which teams you think will have something to drink from this year.

Keep in mind, DQs and spins are part of the equation.  Look at that 2004 column if you don’t believe me.  Teams on the ballot have either won a trophy in the last 5 years, or made it to day 2 last year.


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As we announced recently, we are very excited to be helping to bring not one, but two jumbotrons to buggy this year.  The first will be at the top of hill to next to the leaderboard just as it was last year.  The second will be down in the chute so fans in either of the primary viewing areas will be able to follow the entire race for the first time.

After the general idea was announced, we were happy to facilitate a spirited discussion about which particular location in the chute area would be best for the new jumbotron.  If you haven’t been following, you can catch up here in the forums.  There are pros and cons to almost any location, but the some of the things to consider include:

• Placing the optimum viewing area somewhere that a large number of people can see it.
• Not using up too much prime space on the ground that people like to stand in with the unit itself .
• Not creating a tempting hazard by putting too much of the prime viewing area in the road.
• Staying “outside” the course because it is not possible to get cables over the road this year.

The black rectangles are the actual size of the jumbotron’s footprint.  The beige rectangle is the rough size and location of the cmuTV scaffolding.  The actual viewing area is a bit larger and wider than depicted.  Let it be said that this can not be a purely democratic decision.  In the end, sweepstakes is responsible for this decision, and they are responsible to more concerns than us fans.  Getting a sense of the popular opinion is important to them though, hence this poll.  So, if you were in charge, where would you put it?

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