In a message dated 1/17/00 10:25:42 AM, acace@juno.com writes:
<<Last year attendance was down at the festival
and although that may have prompted the decision, it should be noted that
the weather was a major factor.>>
In fact, the last two years. Labor day 1998 was miserable with strong
thunderstorms. I was there competing in 1998 and my race group was decimated
by no-shows -- I moved from 17th on the grid to 7th due to no-shows. Two
consecutive years of bad weather is very hard for an event to recover from.
I have to say that I very much enjoyed the event and the style in which
it was run. I don't know how HSR plans to handle the event but their
involvement will tend to discourage me from returning because I'd rather not
race against heavily modified cars covered in vintage bodies. I would also
be a bit leery of racing on the tight confines of Lime Rock when the 13/13
rule will be given much less (if any) emphasis by the new sanctioning body.
That being said, we may be a bit premature to say that HSR taking over
the Fall Festival is bad for the sport of vintage racing. The clear
downside, to me, is that the primier vintage racing event on the East coast
will become much more 'racing' than 'vintage'. Personally, I would prefer to
have the vintage aspect glorified rather than the racing aspect. But I think
that this development is an inevitable byproduct of the growth of vintage
racing.
The increasing popularity of vintage racing over the last 5-10 years has
resulted in a general shift toward looser rules and faster cars that are less
and less vintage. The racing has become more intense with more 'incidents'.
Sanctioning bodies and sponsors have become more concerned with increased
entry lists and paying spectators than the desires of the average entrant.
For the average guy on the couch in front of his TV or sitting in the stands,
these may all be improvements. Like it or not, I believe that this psuedo
vintage type of racing is here to stay. It might even produce a pretty good
show for the fans.
While these changes have altered the nature of vintage racing, there
remains a great number of fans and competitors alike that want to see and
drive real vintage cars just the way they were seen and driven in their day.
This kind of "backlash" to the changes in vintage racing is just now
beginning to really gather some momentum and take some recognizeable form. A
prime example is the formation of the Vintage Drivers Club of America (VDCA).
VDCA provides the East coast with a new venue for period authentic vintage
racing. VDCA will demand that the cars be prepared in a form true to their
original specification as they were raced.
VDCA will also demand that competitors participate in the 'proper vintage
spirit'. While defining that term is not easy, cooperation with your fellow
racers is an important key to 'proper vintage spirit'. Two or more closely
matched cars dicing together is a cooperative excercise and sometimes your
part is the passer and other times it is the passee. If you are racing in
the 'proper vintage spirit', successfully executing the part of being the
passee is just as satisfying as being the passer.
The 'proper vintage spirit', both in terms of car preparation and driver
behaviour is something that has become all too rare in vintage racing today.
I am clearly not the only one that feels that way and I believe that others
who share that view will drive the resurgence of vintage racing that
emphasizes 'vintage' more than 'racing'. I don't expect this movement will
displace the competitive, modernized form of vintage racing that HSR seems to
represent. Again, I don't see that form of racing as either good or bad.
What I do see is that vintage racing seems to be evolving with these two
polar opposites. I think there is room for both forms of vintage racing and
I expect that the sport will continue to 'polarize' with these two distinct
forms: vintage based but heavily modified and updated racing on one side and
tightly regulated period authentic vintage racing on the other.
Currently the form of vintage racing represented by HSR is the juggernaut
with all the momentum and consequently has taken over one of the primier
events on the East coast. But I think the form of vintage racing represented
by VDCA has a bright future and will continue to gain popularity.
If you have read this far, I thank you for your patience.
Doug Meis
1967 Honda S800 Coupe
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