SCCA Auto-X 10-24-04 TMS Infield

[altiain]

We had the usual poor numbering (in particular, a co-driven Merlot NB Miata, that was allowed to run with it's numbers turned upside-down -- and no other markings -- as FM199...

That's Greg Ward's car. I saw the upside-down numbers as he pulled to the line at one point, and wondered what the hell was going on. I don't know who told him he could do that, but I can make some guesses.

Don't blame Tech for that - Spokes annual Tech stickers (Greg is the VP of Spokes) are honored at our events, so that car never came through Tech.

I can't believe you guys are making such a stink about this but since you are then maybe you need to hear the *real* story instead of jumping to conclusions.

I ran the car with legal numbers.

Tom Holt's car broke when his co-driver was on his first run.

I let Tom use my car for his last two runs.

We were running in the same heat so there was no time to track down any tape. I don't have tape because I have mags. Tom didn't have tape because his numbers are permanent. There was NO TIME to go looking for tape.

The only thing I could think of was to flip the numbers so the starter and trailer would know it was not me. Not only that but I went up to the starter and explained the situation and made sure he passed on to the trailer what was going on.

This did not affect scoring or present an advantage or disadvantage to anyone .... I'm not sure I'm clear on what the beef really is.

Tom drove 3 hours, leaving early Sunday morning for this event. A far greater travesty would have been that he did not get three runs in because of time wasted looking for other numbers or tape.

If you know anything about Spokes then you know we run tight events and are sticklers on the rules. But by the same token we recognize unique situations that are exceptions to the rule and try not to penalize folks for unfortunate circumstances.

I suspect any one of you would be none too happy if you drove three hours for a Spokes event but missed runs because of strict adherence to the rules. Yeah ... we need rules, but this is supposed to be fun, and there can be exceptions to rules ... this is a perfect case in point.

If any of you lost a place in the standings because of this then I suggest you file a protest. I'll even support you in that protest.

But if you are complaining because rules were bent to accommodate an unfortunate circumstance with no bearing on final results then I cannot support that.

Greg, thanks for the heads up. Looks like you guys did what you could given the circumstances, and kudos for offering up your car for a last minute co-drive. Some of us probably shouldn't be that quick to judge - myself included.

[Thorage327]

i'm thinking that the 700lb springs up front and the 350 lb springs in back would make for a rather crappy autocross car- that and the sway bars that are thicker than hell. i think we'd have to look for tires that would stick better than 205/50-15 toyo ra-1's.

i'm kinda thinking it would just be more fun to autocross my other cars, and leave the spec cars on a road course....but who knows- we might get some spare time and tires on a autocross weekend.

[altiain]

Tell you what - if you're interested in trekking out to Mineral Wells for the final North Texas S2000 Owner's Club autocross on Saturday, November 20th, I'll be happy to supply some wheels & tires (205/50-15 Kumho V710s on OEM '99 15"x6" wheels) in exchange for a co-drive. I've always wanted to try a Spec Miata.

besides, NTS2kOC events tend to be more like mini-road courses, with ~90 second laps on 1.5 mile courses.

[sammm]

Get it? It's not about who [specifically] was allowed to pass. It's about unequal application of the rules. Or put another way, it's about the unequal amount of "leeway/kindness/understanding" that is shown to different groups of autocrossers.

Well said Kestrel. Thank you.

Just as an FYI to those who don't know us MME folks. We have at least 3 members (that I know of) who are SCCA volunteer workers. They go to the board meetings. We show up to most all SCCA events. We pay our money. We do our work assignments. We follow the rules.

[altiain]

OK - techinical difficulties aside, this thread is now locked. If anyone would like to start a new thread to continue an amicable discussion of Texas Region events, feel free to do so, but let's all learn to play nice.

Thank you, please drive through.