Dear Lee, I know your posting was to Peter, but since I too am at the VMC
meeting in Denver and since I was VMC President in 1998 and 1999, I thought I
would respond to your e-mail. As for back-ground, I have been the SOVREN
representative to the VMC since 1991 and have served as VP as well as
President. During that time, I have only missed two meetings out of probably
18. I believe that the VMC is an invaluable "clearing house" to us all. If you
are not getting information about the VMC, it is because your member club
(VSCCA) and its representative (Don Nattress) aren't disseminating it. to its
membership, or they are disseminating it, but you are missing it. It is up to
the individual representatives of the member organizations (22 in number) to
carry back to their own organization what they have learned at the VMC.
You never were a member of the VMC. Individuals aren't members! Per the VMC
bylaws, only organizations putting on vintage events can apply for membership.
I assume that you had a VMC license and that is what you mean by membership.
The purpose of that license is to allow you to race with any member
organization. If your raced with anyone besides VSCCA, then I presume your VMC
license was acceptable and did what it is supposed to do. There is no
publication of the VMC. Approximately six times in the last eight years, there
has been a VMC newsletter which contained a license application, mechanical
failures report, a schedule of member organization events, and a list of
members. The only reason that we have had the newsletter was to up the
awareness of the VMC--obviously, it didn't work in your case. The VMC is not
for the individual racer but rather a forum for the exchange of information by
those that put on vintage races.
As for the VMC being an excuse for a social function, I don't think that could
be further from the truth. We do socialize at the meetings, but I don't think
there is a single representative who would show up for that reason alone. All
of the representatives that I have worked with in the past 10 years have been
dedicated to making vintage racing safer and more fun for the participants. The
workings of the VMC center around solving common problems: insurance,
conflicting dates, track relations, dealing with aggressive and dangerous
driving, school programs, licensing, medical issues, recognition of
contributions to the sport, etc. I can tell you that there are no things that
all VMC members agree on, but the getting together to discuss mutual problems
benefits us all, and I never fail to take home something that I don't try to
incorporate in the way SOVREN runs its events.
I hope this information is of use to you ad that Peter won't be upset that I
jumped in.
Dick Buckingham, Jr., MD
Race Chairman - SOVREN
Past President - VMC
LMR356@aol.com wrote:
> In a message dated 3/31/01 9:31:50 AM Eastern Standard Time,
> pkrause@attglobal.net writes:
>
> > Hello all from beautiful, cold and snowy Denver, where the Vintage
> > Motorsport Council is meeting. Film at 11...
> >
> >
>
> I for one would like to see the film at 11! The VMC could be invaluable
> "clearing house" to us all..but seems like just an excuse to have a social
> gathering on someone else's dime once a year. I gave up my VMC membership
> after 5 years....when I got maybe one or two mailings...which said very
> little... except that everyone was having a great time together...discussing
> 10/10th driving and why cheating has escalated in the vintage ranks. What
> else is new?
>
> I was a VMC member affiliated through the VSCCA, the oldest of the vintage
> racing groups....a racing group that has yet to recognize the need for 1)
> any type of required medical exam for a driver 2) updated Snell helmets (
> still sanctions a Snell 85 SA), 3) no date checks on safety belts/harnesses (
> could be from 6-15 years old) 4) no requirement for arm restraints in an
> open wheel car. 5) No mandatory roll bars..only recommended). 6) no
> mandatory fuel cells...only recommended. Yikes.....when is their luck
> going to run out?
>
> When I first started vintage racing in 1984...perhaps some of the above might
> have been acceptable for the period...but time has certainly marched on ( 15
> years plus) and one would have to be an absolute fool to actually go wheel
> to wheel with those standards. Fortunately most drivers have a medical, have
> a roll bar, have a fuel cell and race in other organizations which require
> belts to be replace every 5 years.
>
> Too bad...I really like the VSCCA...but worry about the liability issues and
> who/what I am actually racing against. For that reason, I have limited my
> racing with the VSCCA to just a few selected low keyed events.
>
> Peter...I am also a VDCA member, so why not open your mouth as my
> representative (I know you are not a shy individual) and read my letter to
> the group ...for a response? Perhaps there are others out there that feel
> the way I do too? BTW: I'm a big boy...and can take a rebuttal!
>
> Peter, have a nice time....and enjoy!
>
> Lee Raskin, Esquire
> Brooklandville, MD
> Arnolt-Bristol and 356ers
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