Re: the disqualification of Larry Shauf and Ron Flier in D Modified
Oh the painful, twisted irony. Please listen to my torrid tale.
It was just a few years ago, when I remember sitting under this tarp, all
these D and E Mod competitors and me, after two days of competition. The big
controversy at that time was Jim Gallagher's Lotus, and its placement of its
engine in the passenger seat. Jim McKamey was our leader, self appointed
probably, as he was not a competitor, as we all sat, with our questions, for
a select panel of SEB members, including Kathleen Barnes, Karen Babb, and
Ron Flier, the latter two, as we know, now strong DM competitors.
Well, the irony is, I remember Chris Bernard, who won D Modified this year
(congratulations to him, should he ever read this, by the way), described
his car to the panelists, asking for a clarification, which was, "Is my car
legal, or is it not?" It was kind of a yes or no question.
You see, the D and E Mod rules are very confusing. You can read and discuss
them forever, and never really figure out what they mean. A car's legality
often times depended on the mood of the year, and possibly the alignment of
the stars. Very little has changed.
The panelists stared into space or were ignoring him or thinking about what
to wear later that night, I don't know. His question was never answered. It
was a very frustrating time, as we were all tired and smelly, and time would
have probably been better spent in a shower.
But under that tarp we sat, with Jim McKamey, our leader, working us into a
frenzy, looking for change, looking for evolution, I mean revolution. I
remember very well Ron Flier's mantra of the evening. "Well, it's an
imperfect world," he said, over and over again, defending the SEB's stance,
or lack thereof.
That's the ironic part, in case you missed it.
Katie K.
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