immoral. This travesty is a direct result of the top thirty five rule which is an abomination in and of itself.
What few articles that were written over the holiday period seemed to focus on one main point. That point was the top thirty five rule which is, as I said, a travesty. I hate to beat a dead horse but the damage this ill advised rule has wrought is overwhelming. Teams are folding and sponsors leaving because they don’t have a chance to race and racing is what we are supposed to be about. Most of the most passionate responses to my articles have focused on this foolishness.
As one of the few writers not on the Bash Robby Gordon band wagon I can only imagine his disappointment at finding out the Dakar Rally has been cancelled due to terrorism threats. Robby has spent a ton of money preparing for this once a year event. He has the expense of the Hummers themselves as well as the cost of the support vehicles, shipping costs, spare parts and so on. Robby deserves your respect if not admiration and, in this case, sympathy.
This brings up another point. I’ve had some write me about my usual closing statements at the end of my articles. Some are offended by my references to terrorists and terrorism not having a place in a race related column. What say you now? I’ve also been hammered about my belief in God and wonder how any supposed fan can be one when every race is preceded by an invocation, most of which I find offensive in their asking God to ensure a safe race instead of offering thanks for a day of life and our blessings. By the way, do you know the origin of the term holiday? It originates from holy days.
Mad Mikie’s latest article is primarily responsible for my decision to put fingers to keyboard as excerpted here: You’ve got professionals, like John Daly at The Daly Planet, giving his opinions based on his years of experiences within the broadcast industry and allowing fans to give their opinions on the articles and on what‘s happening. You’ve got the folks at AutoExtremist who have been inside the auto industry for years giving their view points. So these guys are like the National Perspirer? Then you have folks like my fellow curmudgeon Don Hamm, who has been somewhat intimate with the racing industry. You’ve got the folks like Matt McLaughlin, who’s been an advocate for driver safety and a thorn in the side of NA$CAR. Jeff Meyer, who has poked fun at some of the things going on, doesn’t exactly write stuff that you’d find in the Perspirer. So I think these Official Mouthpieces are way off base. www.laidbackracing.com/Articles2008/MM.html
I was pleasantly surprised and pleased to be included with such notable writers and thank Mike for his ongoing support. We are 99% in agreement about the ills of NA$CAR with the exception of the COT.
Speaking of the COT and the old days of racing, while the COT has its problems I applaud the problems it has eliminated. First and foremost, the need for ridiculously exorbitant cost and need for wind tunnel testing. The old cars relied way too much on the needless R&D experimentation, on cars that were supposedly stock, to try to gain that aero advantage. I’m not one to use four letter words in my rants but, to me, AERO, is one of the dirtiest of dirty words. (I can’t figure out how to make engineer four letters but it’s dirty in NA$CAR racing terms.) Its second biggest advantage is the elimination for the need for teams to build stables of fifteen plus cars. All factors being equal and with a semblance of common sense, teams should be able to get buy with four or five cars max. In the end, that should save them a ton of money in not reskinning numerous cars after every wind tunnel test. Many call it ugly but, to me, the twisted sister sheet metal freaks of old was far uglier with the Taurus leading the pack.
Speaking of the old days, I well remember those days when the race winner won by one, two, three or more laps over second place. Many races ended with three cars on the lead lap. In the old days of Petty, Pearson, Yarborough, etc. there were only four or five cars with a reasonable chance of winning. The balance of the field was the dearly departed independent drivers like J. D. McDuffie, Richard Childress, Ronnie Thomas, and Buddy Arrington and so on. They, for the most part, weren’t there to win but simply to race for the highest finish and purse possible. Excepting Richard Petty few teams had a major sponsor or full time sponsor and they towed to the races on open trailers and slept in the tow truck. At any given race the chance of having half the field finish the race was slim to none.
Today we have most races finishing with thirtyfive
or forty cars still running and fifteen, twenty or
more cars still on the lead lap. The engines are
more reliable and, for the most part, the tires are
better. Today’s pit crews are better and
professionals where many of the teams of old
used pick up crews and volunteers. The Woods
Brothers brought professionalism to pit crews but it took years for it to become common. Ray Evernham developed the Rainbow Warriors with a
training regimen that focused on fitness as well
as speed. Therein lies part of the problem with
today’s form of racing which I’ve espoused on
before. Too much emphasis is placed on caution
flag pit stops and racing has been taken off the
track and placed on pit road. Simply put, this is totally wrong and, too often, dangerous. Trust me, we are only one race away from the next pit road fatality, be it a crew member or NASCAR official. Before you knock today’s racing by blaming the sissified drivers, COT, the tracks or whatever else, look at where the racing actually occurs. It ain’t on the track where it rightfully belongs. Think about it.
Now, as I close this missive, to the bad part as some see it. You may disagree but never be disagreeable.
May we never forget that on 911 Islamic radical terrorists attacked us without provocation and killed nearly 3,000 of our fellow Americans. Their ongoing battle with civilization is now responsible for the cancellation of the Dakar race. Dare we ignore this insanity? Now that it’s had a definite impact on racing, have I been wrong in remembering?
May a loving God bless you and yours, our great nation, all who serve to protect and defend and all victims of terrorism.
Never forget: We are the land of the FREE because of the BRAVE.
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