The Other Big Race in San Jose

As rumors and accusations heat up the mayoral race, San Jose has forgotten about the other big race coming up this weekend. It’s time to put on our umbrella hats, eat some greasy food, and try and catch a glimpse as some of the fastest drivers in the world tear through the streets of Downtown San Jose. That’s right, the Grand Prix is back and has everyone up in arms.

Whether it’s the scorching heat or the fact that San Jose hasn’t seen a good brawl since Beavers Bar and Grill closed down, people seem ready to fight over this weekend’s main event. While some race enthusiasts eagerly await the thrilling entertainment, there are many who consider the Grand Prix to be a wasteful expenditure that creates more traffic in the downtown streets. To solve this debate, we’ve decided to create a little race of our own, pitting the biggest advocate for the Grand Prix, Cindy Chavez, against the biggest opponent, Chuck Reed (What a coincidence! They’re both running against each other for Mayor as well!).

The race begins, and immediately off the line Chuck Reed smokes Cindy Chavez as she pays $4 million to Grand Prix organizers to put on this extravagant event. But Cindy is looking to close in on Chuck as he stops to grab a bite to eat from a vendor which brought over a million dollars to San Jose at last year’s Grand Prix. Both drivers are now neck and neck and just as Cindy tries to pull ahead of Chuck, she ends up stuck in traffic behind a road barrier set up to line the Grand Prix track. Cindy pushes through the traffic with the support of the 54 different countries viewing the Grand Prix and she can see Chuck tearing down the final stretch. Just as Chuck gets ready to greet David Lee Roth at the finish line, a blur blasts by him and rips the red tape. The most amazing comeback in the history of racing, Cindy Chavez wins thanks to a $41.6 million gain for the city of San Jose!

There you have it, when all is said and done, the Grand Prix will end up boosting the San Jose city budget and will help business within the city thrive. This $4 million investment is projected to bring in $400 million over the next ten years. Now I’m no mathematician, but spending $4 million to get $41.6 million in one year seems like a pretty good deal for San Jose. So if you want to help San Jose, or if you just want to rock out to some David Lee Roth, be sure to come out to the city’s biggest sporting event of the year this weekend.

-SJ Rookie