In a message dated 02/15/2009 11:48:34 AM Central Standard Time,
Billb@bnj.com writes:
> In general what people are talking about here is getting rid of the
> people that want to run at the far reaches of the rulebook and beyond
> to let the purists run without them. I wonder why that is so
> important? If it's really "all about the cars" then why is this even
> an issue? I maintain that you need to be careful what you wish for.
> Twenty racers can't rent a racetrack these days.
>
Amici...
I follow and appreciate the points Babcock makes here. I can't speak for all
'people' and what they are doing, nor even just the VSCDA for that matter,
but I can tell you that the VSCDA's 'era correct' program was started because a
significant number of our members complained that we were ignoring our own
long standing 'vintage' rules. As a matter of fact, an outgrowth of the 'era
correct' program was actually a loosening of the rules via allowing Mod 1 and
Mod
2 classifications in our production based Race Groups 2 and 8. Clearly those
changes were liberal not conservative. But a problem always comes up
whenever anyone decides to 'draw a line'. "We're going to draw the line HERE."
When
you do that...immediately someone asks, "Why did you draw it HERE? Why not
draw it THERE?"
As the long time Treasurer of the VSCDA (soon to step down, I might add), no
one knows better than I the importance of filling out grids in order to make
events financially successful. It is a must. But that doesn't have to be a
problem. I have always felt that vintage racing is blessed because it does try
to find a way to accommodate different levels of both preparation and even
skill. And I would hasten to add that those folks dicing in the back of the
pack
are having just as much fun as those in the front. I often think about when
I raced in the vintage sessions of the 12 Hours of Sebring a few years back.
Because all the vintage cars run in one race group you can imagine there was a
vast difference in performance through out the field. At one of the Driver's
Meetings, Pendergast was chastising two Saab Sonnet racers for being two
abreast on the track. He said, "No one wants to see two Saab Sonnets dicing at
Sebring." I knew what he meant, and why he said it, but as a matter of fact,
from a strict racing point of view those two Saabs may have been the closest
dicing in the entire field. And while the front runners get most of the
attention, such disparity is traditional in sports car road racing. The first
overall
winner at Sebring was a Crosley Hot Shot (a handicap'd race).
Bill Dentinger
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