Listers-
I'm sure many of you know Tim Smith of the Illinois Sports Owners
Association, if not by name, then by his pristine yellow 250. Tim's official
ISOA nickname is "The Yacker" for his willingness to speak at length about
Triumphs, among other things. Tim received the 1st place VTR Concours award at
Breckenridge, to which he drove, not tailored, his car from suburban Chicago
and is a frequent sight at Midwestern as well as national Triumph events. He
drove to Mid-Ohio in 2002 where he received an award from none other than Kas
Kastner. Kas was gracious enough to sign the right side bulkhead of Tim's car
and I believe he was prouder of that signature than he was of the Concours
awards he has earned.
This past weekend at Champaign Illinois, Tim entered his car in
the annual Champaign British Car Show. Sometime overnight between Saturday and
Sunday, someone opened the bonnet of Tim's car and eradicated the Kastner
autograph. This act of vandalism was deliberate and was done by someone within
the Triumph fraternity familiar with the meaning of Kastner's signature to
Tim. Yellow striped hoses that get punctured and Goodyear Redlines that get
slashed by vandals can be replaced, but the sentimental value of that Kastner
artifact to Tim in particular and to all of his friends in ISOA was
immeasurable. Like all of us, Tim may have his detractors, although I do not
know of any, but nothing he has ever said or done could possibly begin to
justify such a cowardly action.
It is unlikely that the perpetrator of this act will be caught and
even if that takes place, I suspect that a judge and/or jury, unless they own
Triumphs would not be as sympathetic to Tim's plight as we are. [If they did
turn out to be Triumph owners, I would remind them that Illinois still has
capital punishment on the books.] It's highly unlikely, but if anyone on the
list has any information that would help us find out who did this, please
contact me off list.
Bob Streepy ISOA
CC58409 Lucille [Loose Seal] The Wonder Car I wonder if anybody would give 20
cents on the dollar for what I've spent on this thing?
TS 78649L Casper [Midwestern version] not the world's nicest TR$, just the
most expensive
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