All I can say, as I wasn't there and haven't been there, is: does it
really matter? They came, they ran, they spent way more money than
anyone else and they got A record. One record that can be beaten. If
it's not, there's how many other classes? And if you don't get a
record, is your trip really a waste? I thought land-speed was more
about the process of building a car and going fast than the record
that is associated with it. I'm sure that everyone wants to set the
record, but if you don't set the record, is that going to stop you
from trying something different next year? Are you going to feel that
you've failed? Is that rush (and associated grins of stupidity) not
going to be felt? I don't know about you, but every time I even fire
up the challenger and feel that lumpy cam idling through the whole
car, it makes me grin like a fool. I can't imagine that seeing a well
financed run would make me feel any different about what I'm doing.
The reason sports like nascar don't appeal to me is because
everything is the same. Land-speed is designed for that not to
happen. There's dozens of classes for dozens of different types of cars.
Bottom line, let the big money come in and make the track better,
infuse more money into the sport and allow us to enjoy what we enjoy.
By very design, land-speed can't possibly be overwhelmed by corporate
sponsorship, and if there comes a time when there are that many
corporate sponsors, a class will emerge called dollar per mile or
something that promotes low-buck speed.
~Jon
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