I am apparently no friend of Dennis Grant. After all he did proclaim me as
the antichrist who was singlehandedly going to destroy SM. I just wish I
really had such powers.
But I gotta say I am strongly disappointed that nobody seems to remember
some details of the creation of SM, in particular his specific drawing of
the initial boundary line in the sand at the exclusion of cars that he
thought could beat his beloved DSM. As time went on this solidified to the
concept of the exclusion of "sports cars" just as it evolved from being his
idea to him being just another participant in "the process", that totally
excluded the SEB which is ostensibly supposed to be making such decisions.
But it didn't start that way and I think it is fair to say that he is still
the "email voice" of SM at least on this list. The intention from the start
was to attract the import drag crowd, particularly DSM and Honda drivers.
Read the archives. I'm sure it is all there particularly for those who
prefer history to spin doctoring. He could very well have taken an OSP
approach and welcomed all comers but it just didn't turn out that way now
did it?
Personally, I think of Camaros and Mustangs as "sports cars" - certainly at
least as much as I would think of a 944-series car as being one, although I
prefer the term "grand touring". When I brought this up on the list a while
ago Dennis responded that Camaros and Mustangs are much larger in dimension.
I along with a couple other people asked him for factual data and he has yet
to respond. I guess that is his perogative. But as most wise people have
now decided, you cannot argue this issue on facts. You have to go with the
"perception argument" of Howard Duncan to really understand what is going
on. I understand all right. Their agenda differs from mine so I lose even
though my argument is based on relative capabilities and overall weight/hp
instead of "growing the club" by trying to attract a group that has never
shown much interest in the sport of autocrossing.
But speaking of which, here is the real danger as I see it. Howard Duncan
has just been promoted by our new CEO (who just so happens to come from the
NHRA) to create even more SM-like classes to attract even more drag racers
out there to "grow the club". So it is no surprise to me that people are
already talking about the dismantling of SP, partricularly if it is to help
attract even more people from these ranks. I'm sure it will be strongly
denied; that this is all the idea of some minor player that was just thrown
out there to see the response, but Oliver Stone and I just love seeing
conspiracy everywhere.
Before all you flamers hit the send key in response, I have some really good
news. I have decided that SM really means Spec Miata. In other words I no
longer care what the SCCA Solo II community does or thinks, and in
particular I have grown tired of all the flamers on this list. So I am going
to devote all my time and effort to racing from now on. At least those
people seem to understand and realize the danger of our sport for what it is
instead of attempting to increase the risk for those too lazy or stupid to
take it somewhere else, like Solo Trials, Solo I, drivers ed, and road
racing where the onboard safety equipment, volunteers, and onsite EMTs
sitting in an onsite ambulance are better suited to keep it safe.
What precipated this sudden departure? Was it the constant flames from the
same people every time I expressed my opinion on this list? No, the video
from the event that was apparently from a CFR Solo II autocross (my local
region) where someone almost got killed was the final straw. What was the
reaction from the list? Not much. I know no big surprise from most of you
since you apparently feel Solo II is simply too safe as it is. Sigh. I just
want to remind you that cars stop much faster on pavement than they do on
grass and dirt. I thought we all learned that lesson with death #3...
I was also very unimpressed with the drag race start that would spell doom
to the drivetrain of most prepared or modified cars as well as those that
were built to be used as road cars instead of drag cars. To me the
difference between Solo II and Pro Solo is very much that element and is the
major reason why you don't see many of these cars at Pro Solos. SFR has had
a 90 degree rule for eons and I have no idea why it is not part of the Solo
II rules. But I cringe when I see it at Solo IIs because I think it is
copping out the this very same import drag crowd who get off on acceleration
instead of handling. To me it is not Solo II anymore. It is dragcross.
Solo II has changed a lot since I started in SFR in 1987. I wish I could say
for the better but I cannot. It has almost completely lost it's grassroots
background at least in the stock classes, and the cars that can win any give
stock class are carefully selected by those in power to do so despite
telling everybody that new cars will be overclassed so the autocrossing
community can have stability. Like the placing of the Audi TT in GS or the
placing of the Honda S2000 in AS for instance? Yeah, they are real overdogs
all righty...
To my friends goodbye and good luck. To my 'enemies', most of whom I have
never even met, get a life. It is only a mailing list and the email is just
so much bench racing. My opinion is just that and it really doesn't matter
too much. A lot of you take this list way too seriously. My New Year's
resolution was to never flame someone again no matter how badly they flamed
me. I made it until April.
Funny my last message to the list almost rivals a DG email in size... :)
Paul Foster
|