[TR] Trophys & TR's

[MMoore8425 at aol.com]

I have attended car shows since 1986. It took me a while to figure out how  
they work. I have judged,I have won a few,and I have lost a lot more! I have  
shown Triumphs, Chrysler letter cars, and Stags.I have enjoyed car shows.
 
Judging any car show is tough if you do it fairly, and you   have to go out 
of your way to be fair. 
 
Some of my pet peeves as an attendee:
 
1. Listening to people at car shows who complain about their scores.
 
2. Listening to people at car shows who claim their car is better than some  
other car that won.
 
3. Listening to people at car shows who complain that its unfair for  amateur 
restorations to compete with professional   restorations-or  trailered etc.
 
I once drove my 63 300H  to Victoria BC from LA.. I spent Friday night  
cleaning it up for a national competition. I lost Best of Class by several  points 
although I thought clearly I had the best car. I did not complain or  protest. 
I requested and later got copies of all my judging sheets. They had  failed 
to judge my engine compartmen!  I wrote the sponsoring national club  a nice 
letter suggesting that perhaps they ought to have a step on the  process to 
verify all judging had been done. I volunteered to do that at the  next show. 
 
I also lost once to a car just like mine. The owner had complained that it  
was necessary to make a lot of mods to keep his car reliable.He didn't drive  
his-I drove mine (dead stock) a lot. Inside, I really resented that he  won , 
but my wife suggested that I should be the very first to congratulate  
him-which I did and I found myself assuring him that his was truly the best  car 
there. I think it made his day, and that made me very happy. 
 
I have noticed in the past 22 years of participating, that usually  nice 
people who are good to be around tend to win more. People who chronically  
complain about something usually don't come back or find another  hobby. 
 
I long ago concluded that the shows are not about the cars, but about  the 
people. Some of the nicest people I meet are at the Pebble Beach  Concours where 
I work every year. You would think they were real snobs, but not  so.
 
Best, Mike Moore 



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