land-speed
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Re: Big Engine/Small Engine

To: land-speed@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Big Engine/Small Engine
From: Jane McMeekin <jmcmeekin@worldnet.att.net>
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 20:37:45 -0400
The "size of your engine" controversy has prompted some interesting
dialog for us "lurkers" to comtemplate. Funny how we see things so
differently but manage to coexist so peacefully in the world of Land
Speed Racing. One question that has occured to me is: Why do we do this?
What motivates us to build and drive land speed cars?

The "need for speed" explains why some of us do it, but many of us don't
even drive. Fame is a powerful incentive, but we are known only to a
handful of friends and enthusiasts. It could be a great way to make a
buck if there were any money to be made. We spend thousands of dollars,
drive hundreds of miles, put in countless hours of work, and stay in
some pretty shakey places to race fewer than 30 min. a season. Are we
nuts or what?

Well, for me the urge (disease) stems from a silly notion. The idea that
I might be able to do something better than almost anyone else, and do
it on my terms, is way more than I can resist. Its like alchemy - you
know turning a base metal into gold. If I'm clever enough, I can do it.
I'm going for the moon, I say. Then reality sets in and I realize that I
must play the game within certain parameters. Money, time, space,
technical expertise, all that stuff. So I set the stage for my effort by
establishing some reasonable boundaries. My limits are not for everyone,
there're for me. So if I choose to build an elephant or a flea, I do so
because it makes sense to me. Then I give it the gas and hope for the
best. 

And if that isn't enough, just think about how much all of us will miss
those 300 mph blasts down the course that we have experienced while
bench racing with the guys in the pits.
Don McMeekin, E.C.T.A. Racer

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