It all depends on where you want to draw the line. Some people consider
drivers a nuisance who just tell you what you want to hear, thats the only
reason I drive my funny car (Billy Williams, 1987). On the other end of the
spectrum are the drivers say that the technocrats will only be happy when
they can run the car from the hospitality suite and do away with all these
pesky human variables. Most of us are somewhere in between. In circuit
racing, allowing traction control eliminates one of many driver inputs, it
does not create traction when none is available just as electronic gear
boxes do not select the right gear only the next one. The driver still has
to know when to turn, when to brake and when to give it the gas and as
speeds go up and lap times go down making these decisions increasingly take
up all the pilots CPU capacity. Controlling wheel spin in land speed racing
however, eliminates one of the MAJOR driver inputs, watching a 300 MPH pass
on a dirt road or a spin at 230 on wet salt will bring that home to any of
us. Dont get me wrong, I am a technocrat, I like building them as much as I
like racing them perhaps even more. I used computers to get my job done
since 1967 and they dont intimidate me. There is a difference however
between being a machinist and operating a CNC machine, choosing the right
speed, feed, coolant flow and sharpening the tool bit yourself gives a lot
of satisfaction and takes a lot of skill that isnt there for the operator.
If you want to be a driver perhaps you wont want traction control, if you
want your driver to be an operator perhaps you will.
Where does all this ranting leave me? I think that being the acme of
our sport streamliners should be allowed to run what they brung but not the
rest of the classes. Electronic vehicle management will however make
enforcement of any rule prohibiting it unenforceable. When we eventually get
down to dyno racing for maximum numbers all the soul will finally be
squeezed out of what was a really neat deal.
I sure did admire the skill that allowed Jerry to go 240 MPH in a 112
car with the numbers on the side visible from the starting line.
Hoka hey honez
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