Watching most car racing in person is nearly impossible, which is why most of us watch it on a TV... when the events are televised. These are the best racing moments we saw that almost no one else did.
Now, since we've already covered the greatest saves of 2012, we'll skip all of that malarkey. If you want to see drivers dodging imminent death at 150 miles an hour, in the fog, in the rain, and on the grass all in one clip, go there. Actually, just go there anyway, there is some crazy shit in those videos.
We've also covered the craziest nutjobs of the year and even given out our year-end awards, "The Hoonies." If you want to see a guy do a burnout next to a chasm of death, that's the place for you.
There were also "The Dashies," celebrating (?) the shit that happens on the road in the former Soviet republics, all captured on ubiquitous dash cams. If you're hoping to find people survive completely unbelievable crashes, that's the place for you.
These eight videos, however, cover the kinds of motorsports you never see unless you spend way too many hours peering into grimy corners of YouTube, looking for things like eight-wheel-drive offroad championships and ice drags.
We'll start off with our gnarliest clip and we'll work our way towards something heartwarming.
Photo Credit: Theis Lützen
Ukrainian Tractor Racing Will Mess You Up
We first detailed Ukrainian tractor racing back in February, but the mystique of the form of racing hasn't worn off. Where other nations might be content with straight- line tractor pulls, Ukranians are built of sturdier stuff, and race on full offroad courses. You don't need to speak the language to understand.
Hovercraft Racing Might Be Our New Favorite Sport
The European Hovercraft Championship is not only a real thing, it's also as close as we've come to F-Zero, but in real life.
No, Formula Offroad Is Still The Craziest Racing In The World
Up in Scandinavia they take 800+ horsepower Jeeps and drive them up sheer cliffs. The drivers are unhinged.
The Best Drift Of The Year
Drifting is getting close to overplayed in car enthusiast circles but how many people do you think saw the glory of jump drifting at Ebisu? Not enough.
Driving The Nürburgring In The Snow
This technically wasn't a moment in motorsports, but it was definitely within the confines of the racing world. You don't take a single seater on the Nordschleife and not get a nod for craziness.
The World's Cutest Drag Racer
It's the Postman Pat van and it set a record at 17.4 seconds at 84.28 miles an hour. And it's adorable!
This 60-Year-Old Woman Tore Up The Drag Strip
Even cooler than a cute little enclosed kart running the drag strip is Kathy Countiss getting a C63 AMG into the 11s while she gets into her 60s. Badass.
Drifting With No Hands
The coolest guy in racing this year was, without question, Bartek Ostalowski getting back into motorsports after losing both of his arms in an accident. If that doesn't get to the heart of the automotive experience, we don't know what does.