Some people will never get "it". (Page 2 of 2)

While I was packing up and leaving the SCCA autocross today (Worked first heat, drove second, didn't place (I am a horrible driver))

I pointed out that a guy parked nearby had a screw in his tire."Damn Lemons cars! Dropping parts everywhere! I don't know why they let them in!" The only Lemons car present had, to that point, driven the distance from its paddock space to the grid, which did not intersect with the path from Track Out to this guy's parking space. We'd both just come off our runs, and the tire was audibly losing air, so he'd clearly picked it up recently.

I didn't correct his assumptions because he runs in my class and therefore remaining civil is in my interests, but he'd been interested in my "Road Racing stories" earlier. It's always interesting to see how seriously people take you when you talk about traveling the country to drive at famous tracks (Sebring and Sonoma in particular. Talk about WINNING at Sebring....). Maybe later in the year I'll drop the Lemons bomb on him.

Funny thing is, he probably picked up that screw on course. Hell, the chances are infinitely higher it fell off my car than the lemon. A BMW punched out a fog light on a cone earlier in the day. Could have come from that. Or there was a Gopro mount that failed yesterday and nobody spotted the debris during today's walks. Or the guy who completely obliterated the timing system at the finish.

The SCCA is currently attempting to "get it." Maybe they will, maybe they won't. I don't see anything in the rules to keep a team with a Fox Mustang painted as a giant pig from showing up:

That bolded clause is likely the "buzzkill" clause.

Anyway, the idea and rules are basically lifted straight from another budget endurance series so it's not like there's any creativity at play from them. They simply want/need the dollars that they only just realized they've been losing to The Heathens.

Well said Greg, and you're welcome.

To the OP (Mike), who cares if Bruce doesn't 'get it'?  Not everybody has to get it, you'll drive yourself crazy trying to convert the masses, and quite frankly I wish a few less people out here in CA 'got it'.  These damn races are pretty crowded!

As an aside, I've got a couple of team mates that have driven at some pretty high levels (one of them held world records in NHRA a few decades ago).  These guys are pretty funny, especially the former world record holder.  To him, Lemons is one of the purest forms of racing, people (mostly) building their own sh*t, fixing their own sh*t, and racing their own sh*t.  He left 'real' racing years ago because to him it turned into something that was dominated by big $$$, and people were showing up, driving, then leaving.  Not much fun anymore if you didn't have any of the big $$$ sponsors, and for him not much fun even with one.

Bruce probably pays somebody else to change his oil.  Good for him.

bs

It was meant to be more an observation than a complaint. What I though was most interesting it that seems it was something of a shock when he finally realized what kind of racing this was (earnest, not serious). I guess up to that point every photo, every post, made it look like we were "serious" racers.

He's a DIY kind of guy, but I figure pristine, all original, all that stuff is what he values.

When I first let on, back in 2010, that I was going to LeMonize this car there were quite a few objections, such as "Don't do it. They'll weld shit to your car." They got over it pretty quickly and we've got a pretty good following now. Bruce must be new to the scene.

There is a certain mystique to racing. I'm glad Lemons is here to round that out a bit.

I'm really racing... to the beat of a drummer that no one else can even hear.

that only happened one time...

twice.

Here's the thing. You could make that same set of bolded statements about EVERY form of motorsports. When you get right down to it auto racing is just another form of pecker measuring. Some people just think you need to spend a lot of money on a prosthetic while others just see it as a fun hobby.

In my mind, it doesn't matter if folks see it as junk measuring, driver practice, cheap track time, a reason to drink beer and talk/lie about cars, an excuse to own a plasma cutter that cost more than the car.  It can be different things to different folks as long as everyone understands that the values and goals of others may not align perfectly with their own.

My wife and I both race, usually ours, but almost always in the same car, and we have very different goals, attitudes, and mindsets. 

That said, my junk is bigger.

Been pondering the nature of my "inner Bruce" this evening. I think there are two Bruces. The scenario - New team, a month out from entry due date, 3 of 5 members said today they are probably out due to lack of money, all expensive stuff still left to do. Bruce number one begins internal moping and logical, defeatist dialogue. Then, out of nowhere, Bruce two shows up mental martial artsing  all over Bruce one.  !$&?ing Bruce LEE!  Says "Aw... Hells no on the quit'n. You were born for crazy $--t like this! You just need a little time to hatch hair brained plan D. "

On the topic of summitpoint, I was just there yesterday with a 70hp geo.  The group is called trackdaze, they didn't seem to care at all in regards to my speed (87mph front straight on summit main) as long as I gave proper point-bys.  I plan on going back again with some other Lemons hooptie July 5th.  it's $250 bucks all in for: 4 30 minute sessions and a 2 hour mega session, open passing anywhere with point by.

Wow, I missed that on the schedule.  I will have to look closer next time.  That is more time then you get with FATT, but Fatt offers instructors.

I wasn't complaining about the fact that they said I was too slow.  I agreed.  Your 87 mph top end was probably 30-40 mph better than what I could get the way the engine was running.  I knew it wasn't running right once I got out on the track.  It was supposed to be a shakedown for the replacement engine.

What got to me was the "craptastic crapcan" remarks.  I wonder if he makes the same kind of remarks about any of the "good" cars that are not running right.