On Sat, 5 Jul 2003 21:29:36 -0700, "Hugh Barber" <tr6nut@sbcglobal.net> said:
>If you folks are happy to go to a "National Championship" where any bozo
>can compete, then more power to you. I think it destroys some of the
>prestige of the event. Would the Olympics have the prestige they
>currently enjoy if anybody could just show up and compete?
Digest-delayed response (also because I was spent yesterday evening dodging
severe thunderstorms all the way home from the Peru Tour).
Speaking as one of the "bozos" -- your term, not mine -- yes, I'm perfectly
happy with a National Championship event that basically takes on all comers.
What that means, Hugh, is that without arbitrary and artificial restrictions on
entry, the you truly are competing against the best there is, not just the ones
with the funding to buy all the latest, gee-whiz,
supercalifragilisticexpialidocious kit and refresh it several times a year,
plus the funding to get to X number of events to gather enough points to
qualify, not just the ones who caught a break on an iffy-weather weekend (how
many times have we seen situations where half a class gets dry runs and the
skies open up, basically hosing the rest of the class's chances even though
they're regarded as among the best drivers in the land? This isn't Club Racing
where everyone's on the track at the same time in the same conditions).
Have I ever trophied at Nats? Not yet. Could I? Why certainly. I came damn
close during my to-date "Elvis Year" - 1996. The Solo2 National Championships
are about the competition, sure. But it's also our sport's National
Convention, as it were. Where the North, East, South, West, and Center all
meet, swap lies, sell and buy cars and parts, raise a fair number of glasses,
and generally have one hell of a great time.
This is NOT Club Racing. It's not *supposed* to be Club Racing. Club Racing
is great, don't get me wrong. I met my wife when we were both working F&C at
Turn Station 5 at Grattan Raceway, and if I could afford it, I'd also be Club
Racing. If I suddenly won Lotto and could afford Club Racing, would I stop
running Solo? Not just no, but HELL NO! Not only is it a challenging mental
exercise -- those of you who played in the high school band or orchestra might
have been through will recognize a lot of similarities to the sight-reading
part of many band competitions -- that's considerably different than Club
Racing, Solo is where I met a great many of my circle of friends. It's *fun*.
It's fun at the local level. It's fun at the Divisional level. It's fun at
the National Tour level. It's a different sort of fun at ProSolos. It's also
a ton of fun at the Solo2 National Championships. What was it Carroll Smith
said last year? "It reminds me of what Phil Hill said at a vintage race: 'It's
like the early days of SCCA when we all liked each other.'"
Hugh, I submit to you that the Solo2 National Championships, in their current
state of entry open-to-nearly-anyone, is a prestigious even for precisely that
reason. By removing artificial barriers to entry, the competition comes closer
to finding the best drivers in the sport than any other motorsports format
where access to large amounts of funding is a greater contributor to success
than driving ability (cf: Tora Takagi, Hiro Matsushita, and a number of
ride-buying backmarkers in CART, Atlantics, F3000, and even F1).
As someone else on the list stated, I think you've confused the entry situation
for the ProSolo Finale and the Solo2 National Championships. Two completely
different events running on the same site within a week of each other. Two
completely different situations.
You want to run a bunch of events to gather enough points to "qualify" for the
National Championship? Club Racing's right over there. The TR6 runs in E
Production or GT-3. Bring your checkbook, every credit card you carry, and the
complete home equity line for your house, and have at it. *This* bozo will be
having fun in Topeka while you're watching the Miatas blow you into the toolies
at Mid-O.
Jim Crider
ESP #65 '99 Mustang Cobra
autojim@despammed.com
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