Exceptionally well said Doug.... Enjoyed reading it.... and all the others
comments.... to include Kris's....
Keith
----- Original Message -----
From: <ARDUNDOUG@aol.com>
To: <land-speed@autox.team.net>
Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2001 1:40 PM
Subject: Re: minimum speed?
> Group,
> This thread reminds me of an incident about 10 years ago at World Of
> Speed. A couple of railbirds (namely a high-ranking NHRA official and a
> certain bespectacled writer) made some comments that later got into a
> national magazine regards the "slower cars". Seems they were both
lamenting
> the number of these "slower than 200MPH" entries that, according to them,
> were benevolently allowed to run at WOS despite his stated opinion that
the
> event was intended for the "faster" 200+ MPH cars.
> If the event promoters were to limit cars to a minimum speed, thus
> excluding a significant portion of the entries, the so-called "faster
cars"
> would see their entry fees significantly inflated. If the "faster cars"
want
> the course all to themselves let them rent it from the BLM and conduct a
> private or "by invitation only" meet.
> The biggest threats to LSR nowadays are: 1. over zealous
> environmentalists, 2. corporate entities that are raping the slat flats
and
> not repleneshing what they take, and 3. a diminishing base of young
> up-and-coming competitors.
> We are all vigilant to protect the hobby from #1 and our Save the Salt
> has hopefully made lasting progress towards #2. #3, however, is the
> responsibility of all of us. Each racer, car or bike, must respect and
honor
> the differences of choice that make some competitors choose Model "A"
> engines, some to choose 50cc motorcycles, some to choose Flatheads, some
to
> choose electric vehicles, turbines, or steam power. Another racers choice
of
> engine, fuel, and chassis class might not make any sense to us, but
remember
> that our class probably doesn't make any sense to him either. If the guy
in
> the 300-400MPH Liner can wait for my Vintage Engine Roadster to struggle
down
> the course, then I can wait for the guy in the 50cc sidecar cyle to clear
the
> course.
> Both Bonneville and El Mirage have procedures to expedite the flow of
> qualifying passes. Bonneville has the long-course and short-course format
> while El Mirage has the 200MPH line to get the faster cars on with their
> business.
> Finally, I can't remember many Bonneville events where there were
> significant waiting lines after the first 2-3 days. At El Mirage, wind and
> weather nonwithstanding there aren't many long lines when the meet is
finally
> called to give the workers time to close the event before
> nightfall....................Ardun Doug King
>
> ///
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