Jon Prevo wrote:
> What
>happens when two equal drivers meet, one with a buttload of cash with
>which he can prepare his car, one a young poor college student (a
concept
>I have yet to hear mentioned on this thread but which I submit happens
on
>a regular basis), both driving the same model of the same car?
In answer to that, here are some other questions I have:
1. What happpens when a poor kid who's got lots of talent but had to
learn to play his sport on the street plays tennis or soccer or
basketball or almost any other sport against a kid with equal talent, but
whose parents had enough money to send him to camps, buy him the best
shoes, take him to practices, pay for personal trainers, tutors, etc.? Is
the Olympic team they're both trying out for obligated to level the
playing field by providing additional training for the poor kid, or are
they just gonna go with the one who has the best chance of winning?
2. Is life inherently fair?
The real answer to your question is that some college students will do
just fine, thank you very much, regardless of finances. Brian Priebe,
Erik Strelnieks, and John Thomas come immediately to mind, all of them
having done pretty well autoxing while they were in college (or medical
school). ;<)
Money can't buy a win, and car setup skills are _not_ just about having
money to throw at a car. I actually had one competitor tell me years ago
that my ability to do my own alignments was an unfair advantage over him
because he had to _pay_ for his alignments and he couldn't afford to
experiment with different setups the way I could. I could only respond
that "life's a bitch, and then you die." If you want to do well badly
enough, there's a way, and you won't let financial obstacles stop you. If
you're not sufficiently motivated, you may just have to accept that
others may gain an advantage because they're willing to test, practice,
compete, and, yes, _spend_ more than you are.
Like it or not, the car _is_ a factor in any form of motorsports
competition. That's not the same thing as saying that spending money on
allowed Stock modifications constitutes an overwhelming competitive
advantage. Car modifications are less important in Solo II Stock
Category than in almost any other form of motorsports competition. This
whole idea that there's something magically different in custom-valved
shocks is incredibly misinformed. If you have this done, you're paying
for the labor to dyno the shocks and install different valving. AND you
have to know what you're looking for (once again, money alone won't buy
the win). Once you've got your custom-valved shocks back, they're no
different than the garden-variety ones, except that you've got 'em set to
your preferences. Which may be wrong anyway.
If there's anybody who can name a Stock class that was won or lost at any
major event - preferably a Nationals - because of modifications that were
prohibitively expensive for the other competitors in the class
(recognizing that what's acceptable in SS may well be over the top for a
Neon owner), I encourage you to provide us with this information. So far,
I haven't heard any specifics.
Jay
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