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re: Vintage Racing Rules and rose colored glasses

To: "vintage-race@autox.team.net" <vintage-race@autox.team.net>
Subject: re: Vintage Racing Rules and rose colored glasses
From: Dick Waite <dwaite@reboxx.com>
Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2001 10:50:11 -0500
All this talk about various rules and organizations that attempt to keep 
vintage racing 'legal'
to a particular time frame got me to dig into the old memory bank.

I went to a lot of SCCA races back in the 1950's and was even on a pit crew 
or two.  From what I saw 'cheating' was just as prevalent as it seems to be 
now. Sure, some folks drove to the track, raced and then drove home but 
there were plenty of purpose built cars as well as modified cars. I know 
from personal experience that some guys just had to have an 'edge' and 
often times that took the form of  bending the rule or out and out 
cheating. Tech inspection was a joke compared to what it is today.

The Formula Jr class was know as the 'car of the month' class because no 
sooner did one guy have an advantage then someone else came up with 
something new. And don't for a minute
think that $$$ didn't play a big part in who's car was faster. There were 
sponsors then and paid drivers too.

I certainly don't disagree with having rules and trying to keep things in 
check but all was not kosher in the good old days and I think folks should 
understand that.

Le plus change, la meme chose (or something like that)

Dick, happly racing a TD circa 1955 (well, almost)

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