On Sat, 19 Jul 1997, Susan wrote:
> Anyone who has any results/stories/gossip/lies about the weekend's two
> big events, Elkhart and Pittsburgh...
'Just back from Elkhart and a few extra days touring in Wisconsin before
zooming back home.
The event, of course, was wonderful; how else could it be with such a pretty
track and such friendly people and such hearty food. Even cool weather.
Elkhart is, of course, a track which favors motors. Lynn loves the baritone
sound of the Scarab [who doesn't] but hates the loud high pitch of the
--what, 8500rpm?-- stock car motors...
In some ways Elkhart was worse than I feared. Hundreds [it seemed] of brand
new Trans Am cars leading just a few historic race cars. It's as though
the world had flipped overnight. The kind of gas station cars which once
just filled the field now run the show. The meek shall inherit the earth?
But the deal isn't some sort of Star Trek time warp, but instead just a
lot of very expensive, very new stock car motors. 20k+ each. So much for
building cheap fun race cars.
[Does whats-his-name still require stamped steel rocker arms?]
[Why are all the factory cars so slow, Daddy?]
The Ferraris were mostly slow and mostly fake. The real 512 which pulled
the hill at Laguna looked sad and dull in Wisconsin. I -loved- the FIA
Safari Comet, including its original-type radiator and stuff.
In the smaller and larger classes, history was again rewritten, or jumbled
up or something. This event sure disproves the notion that a loose rule
structure favors the little guys. You could smell the money, everywhere.
The food -was- wonderful. The people -were- friendly. There's a new filly
on the farm where we always stay...
There's also this new class for Elkhart. Lynn says its like Malibu Grand
Prix for rich guys. Last year's stock cars side-by-side on the skinny
[skinny?] track. Honest. They should be banging into each other, now that
would be fun, but oh yeah I forgot this is a vintage weekend.
I hope, hope, hope that the new guys* spend a weekend somewhere nice
[like our place with the horses] looking at some old Elkhart Lake
programs, and remembering the Can Am events, and the Trans Ams, and
especially the June Sprints.
How far is it from St Louis to Pittsburgh?
--Carter
* I did miss Marchetti's school bus full of bored maybe-models.
|