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I welcome and encourage comments and ideas as long as they are done tastefully. I try to write something each day about a variety of subjects, including Current Events, Politics, Harleys, and Auto Racing, especially our own Race Team and our local track .. Thanks again and welcome to my blog!!

Monday, May 18, 2009

Track Rules?

I haven't posted anything lately, i guess cause things have been crazy around here lately, and my attitude has been poor, to put it mildly.
We haven't exactly had the best of luck lately at the track, and none of it was necessary.
Last week we were running in the top 5 , about midway through the race, someone dropped oil and the leader spun into the wall, as did 2 or 3 cars behind him. and of course, we got the worst of it, causing alot of sheet metal damage and some minor front suspension damage, So we get over it, that's racing..and we take our poor finish and go home.
Before i mention this past weekend's events, i'll try to explain a few simple things, for any non savvy race fans. At Stafford we run 5 classes of race cars..from the entry level (Dare Stocks) which are basically late 80's models with 305 cu in motors and automatic transmissions, they are fairly inexpensive for the beginner. Next are the (Limited Late Models) , the class that we run.
Which are new body types and professionally built motors with standard transmissions, Then there are the (Late Models) the most expensive to run, in the full body types.
Then 2 classes of open wheel cars, the (SK Light Modifieds) and (SK Modifieds), which are very expensive to run. That was pretty simple, right?
Anyway, in our class, they are still experimenting with us, as to motor specs and suspension rules and such..so this year they allowed a (spec) motor and rear wing to be used, (only 2 cars so far are doing it) the motor is just a stock GM with a few modifications. The idea is to make it more affordable, that's all well and good, and i'll admit those 2 cars are very fast on the track, although, 1 of them has always been fast, no matter what he drove, the other was a bag of poop until recently. OK so now we get to track, and the car is tight, but by the time we qualified, we made a few good adjustments, the sun went down, and we got fast as hell.
Around mid race, they get 3 wide on the backstretch, a bit of bumping and pushing, nothing big, but aparantly enough to loosen Charlie's brake duct hose, (just a piece of clothes dryer hose going to the brake rotors for cooling). And it was dangling on the track, sparking. So they Black Flag him, forcing him to park. The rules say that the officials are to assess the damage and determine if the car is safe enough to continue. THEY DID NOT..
One of the (spec) cars, the one that has just recently gotten fast..went on to win the race.
During Tech inspection, the car was disqualified for CHEATING..The win was taken away from him and he was awarded 5th PLACE?? He should have been given no points at all..THAT IS THE RULE...so why did they do that, you ask? Well i can't say for sure, but i know that if that had been our car, the rules would have been enforced. And the fact that those 2 cars are sort of pet projects of theirs, so i can see them bending rules to help them succeed.
We did contact the track owners and voiced our concerns as well as some of the other teams.
By awarding a disqualified car a 5th place, you now take away a position from every car that finished 5th and later, is that fair? Not to me, it isn't.
Now we know that the track's decision is final, and we will have no choice but to deal with it, but i think we will sit out a week or 2 and maybe so will some other teams.. If the number of cars that show up drops enough, maybe they will understand that they need us just as much as we need them, it's unfortunate to have to resort to this political game, but that's the only way to get things done..You have to play their game better than they do..
Long winded as this post is, i do feel better about venting it, even though not many will read it, it doesn't matter..i don't feel as stressed as i did..i think i'll find something to smoke.. :)

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