Jack W Drews wrote:
>
> I wonder if there is some middle ground approach that would involve
> education or signing a statement or something like that. How about some
> more comprehensve written guidelines addressing both preparation and
> driving practice?. They could be a part of some set of rules like the
> SCCA GCR (General Competition Rules) but far simpler, that could be the
> subject of a written drivers' school test. This could include some
> safety issues that I'm afraid if left unaddressed will eventually
> contribute to a major inident, damaging both participants and the sport.
>
> I realize that this is a less-than-half-thought-out idea, but that's
> never stopped me from expresssing myself in the past. Comments?
Jack:
Overall, it's a good idea but the problem is still IMHO in
implementation.
As opposed to SCCA in the States or CASC/ASN FIA up here in Canada,
Vintage racing doesn't have a controlling body. Every club and
organization runs to different regs than the others (check the back
pages of Victory Lane or VMC's net page to see just how many clubs there
are - it's HUGE) and even if the regs. are similar, how they interpret
them and enforce them limit how seriously they're taken.
For example, the 1275 Bugeye that sort of started this whole discussion
can't exist by the rules of its home club -- if you read the rules they
post on their home page -- but obviously, the will or the interest isn't
present to stop this type of violation, who knows why.
Signing a form or oath won't help all the racers who just don't seem to
understand the ethics or concept of vintage racing, or when an
organization doesn't police the rules they've put in place.
I think that probably, everyone is just going to have to accept how the
sport has changed in the past 10 years. And not for the better.
My biggest fear is that I'm eventually going to be driven out by all the
new guys who only want to go faster in the newest old car possible --
I've already had one person say they were worried that my car was too
slow for the speed of his!
There's a strong chance that in the future, VSCCA may be the only place
I can race a car like mine and find similar speed cars to compete with.
Mike
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