On Thu, 7 Oct 1999 WHEELSPNR@aol.com wrote:
> Let me weigh in on the Vette\SCCA chat here ...I've found lots of animosity
> in the local vette club here (st louis) to the point where several vette
> drivers absolutely will not attend an SCCA event. Main reason I'm given is
> small, tight courses (WRONG !! the vette courses are much tighter than
> SCCA's), and they don't want to work ! Biggest reason - but not openly
> mentioned, is their ego's are damaged when a great neon or miata driver
> smokes them !!
This is what I find to also be the case among the "typical" Corvette
driver. I was hesitant to buy one because I didn't want to be associated
with them. I've found there are three types of Corvette driver, generally
speaking:
1. They buy a Corvette as an extension of their manhood or as part of the
male midlife crisis. These types drive the speed limit in the left lane,
and would never dream of racing the car, or even driving in the rain.
2. These people buy it because they recognize it as THE sports car, and
think that it is above all else. To get beat by anything else is
unacceptable. They either won't race, or when they do, they get mad and
leave if they lose. Since they own a Corvette, they MUST be the best.
Come on, now!!
3. These people race their Corvettes because they love racing, and they
love the car (or it just happens to be what they have). They like
competition, and realize that IT'S JUST A CAR.
Naturally, this is a very broad generalization. I could go on for hours,
but that's really more the topic of a Corvette-specific list.
I think most of us are of type #3, but it sounds like you've run into a
lot of type #2. I have too. Summer of '97 I was in Omaha, and there were
only two Corvette drivers at local SCCA events (myself in my 86, and a
girl in her 88). All the others only went to the ones put on by the NCCC
or local groups. I attended one of their meetings, and walked out halfway
through because I couldn't stand the attitude.
> Maybe something happened when I wasn't around to cause this ... but the fact
> I race both venues makes me "undesirable" to some vette club members.
> Neither club is "my life", but i enjoy both.
It's a snob thing. Since you're willing to race both, they look down on
you. They think you should ONLY go to their events. Screw 'em.
Out here in SFR, there are a lot of SS competitors, and most of them are
Corvettes. Probably 1/2 are C4s, 3/8 are C5s, and the remainder are
RX-7s. Yet I haven't seen an RX-7 win SS locally in the year I've been
back in California. It's being dominated by a certain '89 Z51, or a '96
Grand Sport Z51, or a certain C5.
BSP has very few players here. Of them, I count eight, and of those, two
of 'em have broken motors as of the past couple of months, and one isn't a
Corvette (Vic's 240Z). The average attendence in BSP is two, maybe three.
Part of the problem there, I have to say, is American AutoX Series'
invention of BSP Vintage. Now all the pre-C4 cars all run their spec
slick on 15" wheels, rather than competing in BSP where they belong. At
the risk of offending those people, it strikes me as being snobbish,
because they're excluding newer cars, perhaps thinking that they can't be
competitive. Yet look what won BSP this year. Maybe that isn't the
intention with BSPv, but it's how it APPEARS to some. I like AAS, don't
get me wrong. I like their events a lot, and I like the people that run
it. I just don't understand the point of BSPv. It'd be a lot more fun if
we all ran in the same group.
I'm looking forward to attending a SoCal event at Buttonwillow over
Halloween weekend, where it appears (from looking at their website at
least) there are a lot more BSP people.
But in my opinion the Corvette is doing just fine in SS and BSP.
Rob
'86 Corvette Z51
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