There is a definite trend reversal of the out of control spiral Vintage
Racing was on several years ago. This does not mean that all
organizations
will ever have exactly the same standards, but I do see a new level of
desire for the various groups to seek common and reasonable acceptance
criterion.
Jack Woehrle
SVRA
________________________________________
Jack and all,
The trend ultimately had to reverse. In the beginning, God created the
concept of period rules. And it was good. It was an elegant approach.
Kind of like a car show in motion. Kind of like spec-racing, wherein
the cars are approximately equal and the driver is the most significant
part of the competition equation. It took some fortitude though, since
most of the raw material had already been updated to more modern times.
Organizers varied considerably in the application of the concept.
Personal philosophies tempered by financial realities resulted in
compromises which when multiplied by 30 or 40 different organizers
yielded a wide spectrum of choices.
Then along came serious competitors. Like Bob Fergus, Bob Akin or Brian
Redman. The guys that played mostly by the old rules but were very hard
to beat. Lesser drivers might sometimes resort to cubic-inch dynamics
to finish within sight. Then came organizers who figured out that this
evolutionary process had produced enough "run what you brung"
enthusiasts to populate entire series built around the concept. Handy,
especially if you have a bone to pick with the keepers of the
status-quo. Short-term magnetic, but long-term self defeating; it can
be summed up in the following equation:
(LT+CID)LE/CD=SAS
Limited Talent plus Cubic Inch Displacement multiplied by Large Ego
divided by Cubic Dollars generally equals a Short Attention Span.
With emphasis on how we will always be divided by cubic dollars, here we
are now, broadly approaching those attention span limits and reversing
the tide. As zeal diminishes with time and the vintage racing bubble
slowly recedes we will trend back to the original motivation.
Thank you Jack, for never letting SVRA Group 6 get too far off the
track.
Pat Ryan
Vintage (cracker-barrel)Philosopher
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