What I find most objectionable here is the 'tude.
Why must there be this animosity? What purpose does it serve? How does it
advance the sport or anyone's enjoyment of it?
We are SCCA. Bottom line, that is what we are.
To say "road race talks down to solo" as a flat statement is as false as to
say "solo hates road racing." Neither is true as a flat statement and seems
to reflect the speaker's paranoia than any provable fact. Both are true as
individual incidents, and you seem to have just been another such individual
incident. I'm a racer when I can afford it, but I've been an autocrosser
steadily for 37 years and have always been able to walk among both
autocrossers and racers with my head held high. Maybe the fact I don't carry
any attitude, or any assumption of what "they" think, has something to do
with that.
To me, it is no different than Chevy people hating Ford people, sprint car
fans hating stock car racing, oval and road race fans dissing each other and
both factions demeaning drag racing. It is all stupidity and prejudice. Its
ultimate effect is usually to tear down what others are trying to build up.
I teach at racing driver schools, and I do it from my autocross background
because I believe autocross has given me good skills and a superior
understanding of what happens at speed. I encourage my racing students to
autocross for the skills it imparts. I tell no one driving on the race track
they are better (or not) than those driving the paddock autocross. "Better"
has everything to do with experience and skill and nothing to do with venue.
There are SOME of us out here who feel quite comfortable with ALL aspects of
SCCA, who enjoy participating in ALL aspects of SCCA, and I take umbrage at
those who would force me to choose one over the other. I refuse to do so.
Each faction has value to offer the other. Only stupid people stick their
heads in the sand and refuse to listen.
I accept that there are differences. I do not accept that differences must
exist just to be different, especially when doing so forces choice and
limits opportunities. Any time a rule change is offered, one question that
must be posed is does it harm some among the competitors? If you do it just
to be different from racing rules, that hurts me. If you do it just to go
faster, thus forcing me to spend money to keep up, that hurts me. The former
is just stupid and both are arrogant. Just because it is an expensive sport
does not mean we all have unlimited budgets, or that we have to limit the
uses to which we can put our cars.
I care about your needs because I am an autocrosser. That does not mean I
care about your wants that are not needs. I expect you to care about my
needs as well, not just dismiss them because I am also a road racer. I am
100 pounds more overweight for autox than I am for racing. Autox did not do
that to me, racing did, and there were good reasons for it. The same reasons
do not exist in Solo. I have written no letters asking for higher solo
weights (nor for mandatory rollcages). I do not mind the differences that
MUST exist, only those that some would impose because they CHOOSE them to
exist. Basically, as long as my GCR-legal car is solo-legal, and not
rendered totally uncompetitive by solo rules that are imposed just to be
different, I am happy.
I just object to this anti-racing antagonism. It is pure prejudice and I
have no patience for that.
--Rocky Entriken (I can't stand intolerance :-)
----- Original Message -----
From: "James Rogerson" <jrogerson@Houston.rr.com>
To: <autox@autox.team.net>; <fpspitfire37@msn.com>
Sent: Friday, October 18, 2002 11:05 PM
Subject: prepared rules and roadrace
> Solo 2 is for Solo 2. If you want to bring your road race car to Solo 2
> then you sometimes must pay a penalty, sometimes not. We weigh without
> driver. I'll care about your cross over needs when road race cares about
mine.
>
> That's pretty harsh, but its the way some of us feel. Road race talks
down
> to Solo, it's evident in the video that is produced and distributed by the
> National Office. Many of us have a reciprocal "attitude" back at you.
>
> Build your car for the discipline that you want to excel in. Drive it
> where you can for seat time. There aren't many cars that can be
> competitive in multiple disciplines. DP isn't one that will allow much
> fudging, at least from my somewhat casual observance. CP and FP are a
> little looser. But mostly within the Solo community.
>
> Insert or remove smiley faces as you see fit. 8^)
>
> James Rogerson
> FP # 125 - 1983ish RX-7 [Built by SawsAll] -
> "Nails are glue!" - Lou Fertle
> "The advantage of emotions is that they lead us astray." - Oscar Wilde
>
> 1970 914/6, 1973 914 2.0, 1952 Studebaker P/U, 1971 240Z, 1972 240Z, 67.5
> SPL1600R just to name a few. 8^)
> Houston Region SCCA Solo Safety Steward
> Rennlist # 011205-3123
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