[Fot] State of Vintage Racing

[RACER BUD]

I think I have figured it out...but have not found an answer that will not
bang up cars....Having begun SCCA racing in 1968 at 21 years old, and
currently vintage racing at 61 years old.....

Now about the driving....Well, It's a Catch-22....In order to race our vintage
cars the way we raced them when they were not vintage, we have to drive to
that slightly more aggressive edge(SCCA Style)...That 'slight' edge is a HUGE
difference...possibly described by the feeling one gets in a vintage race when
we pass inside, smoke our tires, and say "Oh Oh", am i gonna get him in the
door?..I know, at that point, that I am overdriving for a vintage event, even
though my racing experience naturally wants me to drive at that level....
What I do to keep myself reined in is to remind myself that vintage is not
about agressive driving....This is very difficult for me to do, because Truly
Period Correct Racing would be very agressive...
So there you have it...It just won't work!....sometimes I feel like my little
Spitfire is stretching out it's bonnet like a race horse extends it's neck,,
and is saying "Please Racer Bud...will you please let me 'Kick It In, I know
We can do this'....In vintage events we just can't drive these old friends of
ours like they want to be driven..
Racer Bud..Spitfire #21
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: dos_gusanos at msn.com
  To: RACER BUD ; Jerry Barr ; Barr, Scott
  Cc: Friends of Triumph
  Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2008 12:22 PM
  Subject: RE: [Fot] State of Vintage Racing


  Here's my five cents, Vintage racing exists because people wanted to get
away from the SCCA model as it existed in the late seventies/early eighties
and get back to the way racing was in the fifties and early sixties.  I
believe a "dual purpose" car can be driven on the road and on the track, not
bounce between vintage and SCCA.  I left the SCCA when they canned D
production in the eighties, I roll my eyes at the guys who want to take their
HP cars vintage racing now due to the SCCA's current revision of HP.  I agree
with the folks who were there, and have told me that in 1960 racing was fun
and by 1966 it was darn near professional.  I frown on folks who remove their
headlights, gut their interiors and generally modify their cars beyond the '67
GCR.  I also disagree with the notion that a U-2 Trans-AM 510 or 2002 is a
significant vintage car.  This doesn't leave me with many choices of places to
race so many times I bite my lip and go race with cars I consider overprepared
and out of period.  I have pretty much sworn off any SCCA sponsered "vintage
event" and anything put on by HSR.  I leave when cars with flares and slicks
come out on the track.  My most enjoyable events have been with organizations
that encourage period preparation in groups of cars that are like mine.  Long
live the '67 GCR...........................Henry Morrison, Albuquerque, NM