Al--
Your thoughtful contribution to this thread, plus a very polite and gentle
chiding I received offline from Scott Troyer (thanks, Scott, I needed
that!), move me to an apology to those of Corvette persuasion.
My somewhat indelicate reference to "Corvette whiners" referenced an
incident almost a decade ago. And worse, with the time that has passed
since, it seemed to refer to exactly those competitors least deserving of
the epithet.
In use of such a term, I diluted my point.
I am not so much pro-Viper -- "some of my best friends drive Corvettes" --
as I am one who enjoys rooting for the underdog, so when the odds are 41-2
and one of the 2 wins it, I think that's cool. What I saw happen after to
Jim Harnish was the same I saw happen earlier to folks like Stu Rulka and
Russ Wiles, and even Bob Tunnell when he had the temerity to win ESP with a
furrin car. The hue and cry seems to be that the driver only won because the
car was such an overdog -- a complaint that always seems louder when only
one or two copies of said overdog shows up. It's never a similar problem
when a whole bunch of people arrive in the same overdog (e.g. RX7 Turbo one
year later).
The huge irony that has just hit me in all this is that, right now in my own
class, I'm one of the "whiners." I think I (and most of my fellow DP
drivers) have just as valid an argument about the Miata being an overdog in
DP, and potentially driving a lot of the rest of us out. But if I could lay
such a term on some in SS in '94 then I must accept it right back when I
find myself in the same situation.
What goes around, comes around.
Look forward to your return to Nationals in '04.
--Rocky Entriken
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chan, Albert" <Albert.Chan@owenscorning.com>
To: <autox@autox.team.net>; <evolution-discussions@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2003 9:05 AM
Subject: RE: SS & Money
> Out of lurk mode that I've been in for the past few years, as autocrossing
> has taken a back seat to other needs. Apologies for my late contribution.
>
> Some comments as I've looked at various postings on this topic:
> 1) What the SS/Corvette community wasn't happy about was having the Viper
> adopted for SS during the second quarter of the year. Remember the context
> that back then SS was one of most highly subscribed classes at Nationals,
> and the effect could be obsoleting the entire class. One can always debate
> in hindsight about the validity of that opinion.
>
> Also, for the record, the ZR-1 Corvette - similar in price and rated
> horsepower to the Viper - was on the exclusion list for a number of
years -
> far longer than the Viper, and kept on the exclusion list after the Viper
> was allowed to play in SS.
>
> All credit to the SEB and SAC - it seems that there is more discussion and
> better timing as far as classing of vehicles during the competition year
> (the timing of the Integra Type-R classification and the subsequent
> discussion is also relevant here).
>
> 2) For all of those who have discussed that it seems that each model of
> Corvette have had their own class - may it be politely suggested that
other
> vehicles be looked at? From a historical basis (early to mid-90s, same
time
> frame as this Viper discussion, it always amazed me how many classes that
> Honda Civics ran in, with all of their Si/Dx/Hf/CRX variants (1300 cc and
> 1500 cc).
>
> 3) It's true that each generation of Corvette is specifically classed in
the
> SCCA rulebook - but that doesn't guarantee its competitiveness. It should
> also be noted many other vehicles also have each one of their generations
or
> platforms listed as well.
>
> Also, to all the Corvette cynics, please note that SCCA hasn't given class
> breaks to models within a generation of Corvettes (unlike the Honda Civic
> example listed above). C4s of all model years, whether a 405 HP ZR-1, a
250
> HP tuned port, or a 205 HP cross-fire, all play in A-Stock.
>
> 4) While some people may not like that both the C4 and C5 Corvettes have
> performed well at the highest levels, it should be noted that with such a
> large enthusiast and club following, it only accelerates the development
of
> the vehicle for solo/autocross use. The C4 was such a popular vehicle that
> many of the tire companies specifically used Corvettes for the development
> of their competition tires - a nice advantage to have. I would speculate
> that if the Mitsu Evo has such a wide following and different competitors
on
> the west/east/midwest all developing their vehicles, it should trounce the
> C4 in future years.
>
> 5) Finally, for the record, both Bill Rietow and myself recognized that
Jim
> Harnish put in a great second day/third run drive, and congratulated him
> appropriately.
>
> Back to lurk mode. It is certainly a nice diversion at work.
>
>
> Regards,
> Al Chan
> SS/Corvette participant at Nationals - '93 through '95
> (hopefully will be able to return to Nationals in 2004 after a layoff of
> several years - in a Corvette)
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