Wonderfully well stated Jerry! Hope I have the pleasure of meeting and
racing with you someday! Sadly Florida is a long way from the CSRG or
VARA crowd.
I heartily endorse your comments on close racing by experienced
competitors. Some folks that I now consider among my closest personal
friends are those that I met at the race track and have shared corners
with. Some of them are on this list but stay pretty quiet, maybe they
will come out of hiding to give Michael some additional encouragement to
give it a chance.
mike jackson
vinracer@ix.netcom.com wrote:
>
>
> Michael;
>
> I don't know if it was a full moon, Hale-Bob or what, but this past weekend
> just seemed to be a bad one for vintage racing in general, what with the
> death and the incidents at WCC. I attended vintage races for two years
> before I started racing and have been involved with CSRG for four years. I
> have attended WCC every year for the past six years. This was by far WCC's
> worst year as far as accidents and/or incidents were concerned since I've
> been going.
>
> I've vintage raced with CSRG, VARA and SCCA. The most aggressive driving
> was in SCCA; the least in CSRG and VARA in between. CSRG has a driver
> observer program where headphones are manned by drivers and notes are taken
> about any incidents of bad driving reported by the corner workers and those
> drivers are called aside for a consultation. If the same names keep coming
> up over and over than further action is taken. VARA requires an immediate
> trip to the black flag station for any spins, two wheels off for a
> consultation and determination as to whether the driver will be allowed back
> out in that session or have to sit out for a while. SCCA requires a
> consultation with the stewards after the session for any spins, off course
> excursions, etc.
>
> Change your plans?? Please don't; next to sex, racing is the most fun you
> can have. Yes, auto racing, whether it is professional or vintage, is
> dangerous and things are going to happen; parts are going to break, drivers
> are going to make mistakes, some drivers are going to be overly aggressive.
> And, unfortunately there may be a death. Talk about your feelings with the
> people who organize and oversee the club races of the club you are
> considering joining . If you don't like what you hear; then join another
> club. I like CSRG and think we do a good job of policing our own as our
> incidents are minimal, but they do happen. Like I said, things happen.
>
> Did you talk to the drivers involved in the side by side racing in the
> chicane? This might have been a group of very experienced drivers who had
> raced together many times and they were having a blast. If you are on the
> track and don't want to mix it up like that, then don't. Nobody is going to
> care. I've gone side by side with people through many turns in close
> quarters front and back especially at the start of a race and consider it a
> blast. This was after I had some experience; when I started racing I would
> kind of hang back till I saw where everybody was going, then I just followed
> along. That's not chicken, its being smart.
>
> Have you complete any driver training courses? If not, do so. One of the
> first things you need to decide on is: Having experienced driving on the
> track at high speed; do I like it? You might find that once you've tried it
> you don't like it. If you decide you like it then attend many more driver
> education events or courses to bring you confidence level up. I did three
> before I entered my first event.
>
> Good luck and let me know how things work out.
>
> Note: Heh racer@aub.com; what do you think?? Let Michael have some
> comments from you.
>
> Jerry Slaten
> vinracer@ix.netcom.com
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