> There was a lot
> of talent in SS, driving Corvettes. (Rietow, Thomason, Kotzian, Johnson,
> Fordahl to mention a few...)
>
And this supposedly means what?
That they can't be beat? That someone who drove something else could not be
allowed to beat them?
Rietow, who finished 2nd that 1994 year, has never done as well before or
since. So should we dismiss him because that year he was also able to beat
Thomason, Kotzian, Johnson and Fordahl? Rietow's record, BTW, is six
trophies in nine Nationals.
It is not easy, I know, but one thing the SEB must always strive to do is to
class CARS, not drivers. If Ron Hill (finished 39th) had been the only Viper
driver at Nationals in '94, the car probably would still have been in SS in
the following years. Thing is, Jim Harnish -- as well as Bill Rietow --
surprised a lot of people that year. Give them credit for that.
They did not dominate. Thomason, Kotzian and Al Chan were 1-2-3 after the
first day, but none could go quicker than 58 on the second day. Rietow took
the lead with a 57 on his second run on the second day. Harnish had a higher
57, but scored the only 56 on his final run. He pulled it out on the last
run with a superb drive. Quit dissing the driver just because he wasn't
driving what everyone else was.
--Rocky
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