At 09:01 PM 5/19/2002 -0700, Herman Ip wrote:
>This was my first year running the event...and probably my last. The rain
>and long wait times didn't help.
>
>These are the times it makes me happy to be able to go to SCCA and NASA
>events before the but crack of dawn and not having to stand in line for 2
>hrs. Then wait another hour so to get to tech, 1hr to get through tech, 2hrs
>sitting on grid.
Ah - the problem is, you're thinking of the Duel at De Anza as an
autocross. It's not. As an autocross, it's pretty lousy - long lines,
lots of waiting, lots of pushing your car around, short tight course,
slippery lot, only one run.
Instead, think of it as a spectacle. An EVENT. A chance to see and be
seen. Kind of like the Academy Awards or the Grammies. Break out your old
crusty tires and put them on the back of your car, so you can drift every
turn. Put on all the stickers you've acquired over the years, so you get
people peeking in the window of your "race car". Replace the muffler with
a Kragan Cherry Bomb, so you make lots of noise. Go out there and drive as
loose as possible, to the cheers and applause of the crowd. Sit on the
grass with your buddies and eat burgers and dogs, while cheering the wild
antics of the drifters, and the slow runs of the people driving their
grocery getters on their first autox.
That's the fun of the Duel at De Anza...
Jim
|