QUOTE #1:
"It's to (sic) bad that most all the so call (sic) Buick Turbo guys that signed up at $100 to race at an event which means absolutely nothing to the out come (sic), oh well these guys no (sic) where their loyalty is."
QUOTE #2:
"Gary the post was met (sic) for the so called Buick racing group which does not support true Buick race events but will go out and cough up a $100 (sic) to race at a mean nothing event."
I am astounded by these remarks, and I can't decide which is worse: the level of arrogance, the magnitude of the presumptuousness, or the terrible grammar contained within them. Perhaps it is all three.
I usually don't enter debates of this nature, but this time I feel compelled to respond. First, let's briefly recap current events, "bullet-style":
(1) It rained Friday night April 22nd, which usually doesn't bode well for the following day from a traction standpoint.
(2) According to the National Weather Service's website, conditions at Palmdale on Saturday were as follows: temperature in the 70's, winds were out of the west anywhere from 10 to 35 MPH, and the density altitude was over 3700 feet...AS USUAL. This would easily knock 4 tenths & 4 MPH off my car.
(3) A couple of the folks you mention (by virtue of lumping us all together) trailer their vehicles to the track. For example, it's a long way from Temecula to Palmdale, and a tow rig consuming $2.60/gal diesel at 12 mpg or less (it is uphill, after all) is going to create a dent in someone's pocketbook. It is also a significant chunk of travel time on the road, and people have outside schedules.
(4) With taxes and so on, good race gas now costs $9.50 a gallon. That's Nine-fifty. Per. Gallon. Multiply that by 10 gallons, and you tally up a quick $95. You may not have been aware of this pricing change,
because you haven't bought any race gas for your WE4 in the 5 years since I've been back from Washington state, and likely longer.
I choose not to tow my vehicle, mainly because I don't have the space to store a car trailer. That being the case, I drive my car to the track. One reason I choose not to race at Palmdale is because I want
options should the unthinkable happen: quite simply, it's easier to get rescued by AAA at Fontana, plus it's a shorter ride home. To anticipate the next question, yes, I'll drive to events at Las Vegas. Why? Because "broken car" options are still available, and/or I'd at least be able to work something out with one of the local guys. Secondly, I have entered past BGNRA racing events (or BGNA, when I resided in the Pacific Northwest) and one thing I've learned is that
I really don't enjoy bracket racing at all. My wife is much better at it, and, even though it was years ago, she almost wiped out at Palmdale when a cross-track wind gust blew her sideways out of the groove in the left hand lane and very nearly into the wall during a low 12-second pass. She hasn't forgotten that experience.
Let us now address the issue of cost: yes, it's $100 to participate in the track rental event. To compare, the admission price to race at Palmdale is (I think) $20. Then we have the additional $25 or whatever the amount was to enter the BGNRA event this past Saturday. Your bracket winner netted about $50. For the $50-$55 difference, I'd much rather take part in being able to get a virtually unlimited number of
heads-up runs on a decent track that has a lighted pit area without gravel in it, and still be able to get home at a reasonable hour to relieve the babysitter. With regard to a "mean nothing event", my wife and I enjoy racing at these venues to spend quality time together and have fun, not to showcase another individual's talent as an event organizer. In other words, it means something to
us. Did Pope Benedict anoint you as an official
de facto Buick racing sanctioning body while none of us were watching CNN? And, what do you mean by "...an event which means absolutely nothing to the out come (sic)"? What "outcome"?? We had five TRs at the March 25th gathering, and all five of us ran solid 10's. Had Tim Lee not changed his mind and brought his GN-powered Skylark instead of his '04 GTO, we would have had
six Turbo Buicks running 10's. My wife and I switched off driving, and she ended up with a best of 12.20 at 123.5 MPH. Overall, our group made a huge impression on the Viper club guys that were there; you should have seen it. Jeff Rand posted a topic about the March 25th deal, and you even replied to it! We had a number of TR owners in attendance (including Jason Cramer & Len Freeman) acting as moral support, and they dove in and lent a hand whenever and wherever they were needed. Oh wait, did I just use the word "support" in the previous sentence...? Yes, I did.
Finally, what
really chaps my hide is that, if you follow the web link fellow board member smokin'6 provided in his "LACR Event Pix" topic (see
http://smokin610.tripod.com/) and check out his photos, you fill find the following image second from the top:
This photo speaks volumes. For readers that are unfamiliar, the white '88 Regal coupe with the magnetic sign affixed to its passenger door is Steve's. Nowhere is his clean, running WE4 to be found, because it was at home, holding down the garage floor. I'm told it has high mileage, something like 140K. Well, a lot of TRs do nowadays, mine included (I'm closing in on 170K). Steve, I for one find the juxtaposition of your scathing "so called Buick racing group" remarks highlighted in boldface at the top of this post, the photo above, and the complete absence of "7LTRETR" (the vanity plate on Steve's WE4) from any racing venue (and by that I mean the actual track, not just the surrounding parking area) for the last 5 or 6 years, totally at odds with one another. I have gone to BGNRA/Bates Nut Farm shows to both display my cars and/or just attend, and attended one of the shows at Westminster Buick (in fact, you can see the corner of my car in the very last photo on smokin6's website.) The last June meeting at El Torito Grill I attended was back in 2002 or '03, if memory serves. I loved going to the tech sessions at Lou's Auto, particularly the one where the late racing great/Indy 500 winner Rodger Ward addressed our group. I mean, c'mon, it was the Lou and Elizabeth the Amazing Inflatable Sheep Show, the group, the guys, etc.; overall, a can't-miss program. But I digress…
I now support the Buick community in a different way. Are you currently mentoring a young local whose dream it is to own a Turbo Buick? Have you taken time out of your Saturdays this past month to go look at various TRs with him, and given your input? I'll answer both of those for you: NO. Do you get the periodic phone call at home requesting tech help, and
can you provide it? NO. Have you met other Buick owners at local car hangouts like Donut Derelicts in HB or Main Street Garden Grove, been questioned about your combo and asked for tips and info, and provided an email address to the other person if they asked? In all likelihood, NO.
Steve, I appreciate the fact you are the glue that has held a "band of TR brothers" together for as long as you have and congratulate you on the BGNRA's steady membership, but your remarks were uncalled for.
