<SNIP> The whole thing scares me. Ed seems to handle it just fine but I
respect
his skills and common sense. There have been people killed during these races.
Tech inspection leaves me with questions about the degree of scrutiny and skill
of
the inspectors.
Actually Wes, there are MANY aspects about that "sport" that make me
nervous....Yes
is is fun running 180 mph down a public highway without fear of arrest, but
THINGS
do happen. Two people have been killed - one was my driving instructor at a
course
at Las Vegas Motor Speedway- and the othe was the wife of a jerk that bullied
his
way through tech with unsafe tires. He won the argument, but when one of his
cheap
H-rated tires blew at 200 mph in his brand new Testerosa, his wife/navigator
died in
the crash & he spent several years recovering. Now he is sueing the promoter
claiming the accident was the promoter's fault because they let him run the
race....... One of my friends & his wife are in the Las Vegas hospital right now
recovering from a crash in the September race. One of his tires blew at 190 and
his
Porsche rolled through the desert. The tech inspection is a joke performed by
volenteers with little or no training. I suggested the logbook requirement (ala
SCTA) several years ago & they couldn't see the usefulness (even when I
pointed out
that they could sell the books for a profit). They are beginning to toughen up
the
rule on harnesses after the Earnhardt incident, but they are still crazy to
tech my
stock ZR-1 to 165 mph without a roll bar. (About as crazy as me for driving it
at
that speed without a roll bar)
<SNIP> Racers who average 145 for the ninety miles have a hard time getting
over
130 on the salt.
The first time I raced on the salt was 9 years ago in my red '85 Vette I built
specifically to run Open Road Races.. The Silver State Race was on Sunday, and
WOS
started on Tuesday, so I just drove up the road after the SS event.... I
averaged
just under 160 for the 90 miles with 180 showing on the speedometer on the 11
mile
downhill. The fastest I could go on the salt was 143 mph. Bill Ward must have
felt
sorry for me and he and Gary Allen gave me a few pointers on WHY I wasn't going
fast
and more important, HOW to go fast. Next year I came back & got in the 150 Club
:-)
and was hooked forever......
Ed
> I've been over there three times to be a "gatekeeper" course watcher for
> their May event. After seeing how they handle communications (with the
> little radios you use to keep track of your kids on the ski slopes or in the
> mall) I'm not going back. It doesn't get better from year to year. They
> have someone in an airplane cruising the course and three ham operators
> along the course who are supposed to be the radio relay for the safety
> people. The whole thing scares me. Ed seems to handle it just fine but I
> respect his skills and common sense. There have been people killed during
> these races. Tech inspection leaves me with questions about the degree of
> scrutiny and skill of the inspectors. The "gatekeepers" as the safety
> people are called are responsible for putting light chains and small
> padlocks on three or four gates at each station (a mile or so apart) along
> the totally fenced distance of the race, about ninety miles. Often the
> radios don't work and the messages about problems have to be relayed down
> the length of the course to the next ham operator. You're not supposed to
> touch an injured driver, just report the problem. Cars are flagged off
> every thirty seconds and you are racing against a target speed which you and
> the tech people agree on. It's exciting to watch because of the volume of
> traffic that is flagged off over three hours of the race. Other than that,
> it scares me.
>
> Racers who average 145 for the ninety miles have a hard time getting over
> 130 on the salt.
>
> Wes
>
> on 10/17/01 6:32 PM, Ed Van Scoy at edvs@uswest.net wrote:
>
> > Mike;
> > I run this race (at least I have 12 times) and I must say, it was
>responsible
> > in
> > part for my getting into LSR 10 years ago (it's a long story). SCTA/BNI
> > doesn't
> > have a copyright on "land speed racing" so I guess they can call it what
>they
> > want - even though it is blatantly incorrect. What they are doing is
>Open-Road
> > Racing, plain & simple. It would be no different if NASCAR suddenly decided
>to
> > call Daytona the site of the "NASCAR Land Speed Record" It's BS, you and I
> > know
> > it, but it is a marketing tool for them. There is another "great sin" here:
> > They
> > have a 200 MPH club for anybody averaging over 200 MPH in their race
>(complete
> > with shirts, hats etc.) As a "Red Hat Holder" myself, I am a bit peeved
>about
> > this but again, without a copyright, there is no infringement on the
> > Bonneville,
> > El Mirage, Muroc, ECTA 200 Clubs they can call their club whatever they
>want.
> > Personally, I haven't lost any sleep over it, I just grin knowingly when one
> > of
> > them brags about hitting 200 mph, downhill, on pavement, with a tail wind
>and
> > 30
> > mile start.....................
> > Ed
> >
> > Mike D MEIERLE wrote:
> >
> >> I came across this in my surfing of the net.
> >> http://www.silverstateclassic.com/results-record.htm
> >> I can understand the claim for a public highway speed record, and I
> >> respect the form of racing, but calling it a LAND SPEED record is
> >> redundant. if not wholly incorrect, it's not LSR as it's defined to
> >> me...
> >> I know some on this list run in these races... thoughts...comments....
> >>
> >> --
> >> Michael Meierle
> >> SCTA-BNI/Sidewinders
> >> #300 D/STR
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