Hi Paul nd All,
The Reno Racer:
cut ........
Just shows you there are people out there with way more money than brains :) I think the shear romance of racing clouds the brain and disconnects the
logic process :)
Paul Lamar
cut.......
Any other racing class with big publicity where the Rotary could run?
Thomas J. :)
Yep! They are scared out of their wits that a cheap Japanese car engine could beat their $50,000 aircraft engines. Well there is the Sun 100 and the Jackpot
races. If they outlaw us there we will just have to start our own race series.
Paul Lamar
You know Paul, you have touched on several things here that are so true about racing ... if one has never been "infected with racing fever", they have no way
of knowing how all consuming it can become! Although I only ever participated in SCCA club events, I parted with a lot of money and had some great times.
Club racing still exists, but open wheel pro racing has splintered so with F1, IRL, & CART all competing for pretty much the same audience.
Now, however, what used to be a sport, has deteriorated into a spectacle. Billboards on parade. Astronomical costs. Reams of rules. Obsolete engines.
Re: "we will just have to start our own race series" ... I second the motion. But why not start with just one ... signature event, and work up from there? I
proposed this race once before a long time ago if anybody remembers ...
The first annual "Rings Around Indy" Homebuilt 500 mile race. (At least 2 circles of the track) Drop the flag simultaneously with the auto race.
Open to any homebuilt, kit or plans built. (No big $$ ex-mil iron please)
Any engine
Consider classes but avoid them if possible
It's probably impossible now with all the TRAs, but it would have been nice to have had one turn point in sight of the track. This would give bored
spectators there something else to watch other than clean up crews during one of the many "breaks in the action".
I am willing to bet that the winner will: 1. Be a grandfather and a crew of one (if you don't count his wife) 2. Have less than $60,000 invested in his
craft (this is "pocket change" to F1 crews) 3. Get better than 8 miles per gallon (CART is lucky to get 4 mpg) & 4. Significantly beat his ground based
racing counterpart whose car costs in the millions and requires 25 crewmen to maintain.
Higher, faster, cheaper. (to steal from NASA) Maybe we should handicap ourselves and go 500 NM. The extra distance would make the call ... Further, Faster,
Cheaper.
It would drive the IRL nuts!
How expensive can it be to contract with a small Indiana airport to host such an event? Even minimal prize money would attract a lot of competition, if for
no other reason than "bragging rights" over the respective IRL winner. If we could get ESPN, Discovery Channel, or the like interested , any TV payments
could be used to pay fees and prize money. I doubt if a rotary would win the first one ... but give us time!
The worst that could happen is that we got bought out so as not to compete ... hold it somewhere else, some other time, if they don't want to be shown up and
are willing to sweeten the pot, why not?
Make the event the kickoff of the HAA .... Homebuilt Aircraft Association .... the EAA doesn't really care that much about them anyway.
Just some thoughts,
Dale Smith
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