Todd Green wrote:
>
> I've always found it amusing that there are the "car wins the event" vs
> "driver wins the event" camps.
>
> Personally, I'll stick in the "prep the car *AND* the driver" (to the
> best of my ability) camp.
Exactly. I think a lot of the discussion seems from an Apples and
Oranges point of view. Yes, most likely a novice will not be able to
utilize the car prep items to the extent an expert can, or maybe not
even use 25% of the improvement. But, he will still beat a similar
novice in a non-prepped car. And the expert in a better prepared car
will beat another expert in a less prepared car.
I think everyone agrees that the most important thing to work on is the
driver. But, that is what most of us are doing when we take classes,
attend practices, and try to do as much seat time as we can. In the end,
driver improvement is what we are all working on. That is a given. Now,
will car prep also help? Sure, it will. Each event should be have
improving the driver AND the car as it's goal.
When I was a real novice, I was told by someone I respect a lot, this
sport is 50% driving, and 50% car prep, but when I was new, to look at
it from a 90% driver, 10% car prep point of view, and as I improved, to
skew the numbers.
The idea that improving the driver is the primary goal is noble, but it
does not take away from the fact that car prep, even in stock classes,
is also an important part of this sport. I know. Sometimes, you can
improve more as a driver when you are not fighting some bad habit your
car has also, such as a tendency to spin. :-)
It would be an interesting exercise to see if one of the top elite
drivers could do well in a 91 MR2 without struts, swaybar, alignment,
crashbolts...as an example of a car that benefits greatly from "stock"
allowances.
Randy Chase
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