For Love or Money?
As Yogi Berra once said "it's de-ja-vu' all over again....." coupe racing is so old, it's brand new. Vintage racing: the new rage. Just google 'um.........there's vintage racing clubs, groups, unions, federations and confederations galore. And in our spill-a-cup-of-coffee-and-win-a-million-dollars-society, all of these groups have more rules than a cracker-jack Philadelphia lawyer could sort through. The irony, in all of that, is THIS: it's all in the name of "fun". Not too surprisingly, this new-age "fun" begins with the removal of all the screw-ups that NASCAR and CASCAR, and USAR, and Joe Blow's Stock Car Racing Association (JBSCRA) have added over the last 60 years. Now that leagalism is the only politically correct, and legal, Amercian God and Savior, there's absolutley no better place and no better way to "save" racing than to compile another set of rules and hog-tie some more sponsors..........LOL!! Excuse me while I laugh! "...............well the Ban-de-Sole' '37 ford coupe was running real good today, and I want to thank everybody back in the shop working hard........but that last set of Joe's Junkyard used tires just did not match up like my last set, Joe's been helping us a lot and we want to thank Joe of Joe's Junkyard in Dothan, Alabama.............right off state road 23 on the frontage road.............."See, the problems with NASCAR and CASCAR, and USAR and ASA, and the JBSCRA...........can easily be distilled to a one word problem...........and you all know what I'm talking about. That's right the BIG "M"....scripture teaches the LOVE of which is the route of all evil. Come to find out...........they are right. Just look out your window, at the late great American economy.Everybody in EVERY form of motorsports WANTS TO GET RICH. Hell-OOOOWE! It's down right difficult to get rich PLAYING, a few have been fortunate with timing and ability, but, that's NOT true for society at large. Folks will fish, and bowl, and golf, and play tennis, and spend 100 grand in a street rod to win a trophy at a car show, yet get madder-than-PETA memeber-at-a-pig-pickin' if they can't win a million dollars at the local dirt track! "That a'int right"......as Mad Max would holler. They'll simply refuse to participate............."I CAN'T run for THAT..................." (duh).See, that's the problem that our almighty sanctioning bodies have created. Money, Money and more Money. It's taken a-while, since the 1940's (really) to boondoggle what started as a bunch of boys runnin' around a cow pasture.....but they've just about done it! So, simply super-imposing all the 60-year-evolved crud over vintage racing sorely misses the mark, and changes nothing. One might as well joing up with an established racing venue,and just "race". You won't know the difference.......all the frustrations and anger, and anxieties will be right there, riding right along with you.Led by Jim Wilmore, a fledgling vintage racing series, the Cape Fear Classic Auto Racing Show (C-A-R-S) has kicked off this summer at teeny-weeny Hammerdown Speedway in Red Springs, NC. We have no class structure, no rules, except for safety, and no purse! That's CORRECT........the last place guy wins just as much as the winner. But, you have never seen a more excited and happy bunch of geezers. We are RACING, old coupes and coaches on a dirt track, we broadsliding, and 'mixing it up' and having an absolute BLAST! Last Friday night a flathead powered '34 Ford coupe won...........just how cool is THAT?? And you know what else? The reality and beauty of the concept is self-evident..........The word is slowing spreding through the Caolinas.....more and more comments and inquiries are coming in: " You guys look like you are having fun...........!" is the common denominator, and our gospel. You can have love or you can have money, it's as rare as hen's teeth to have both. I rest my case.If one wants to "help" vintage racing.............keep it fun........money won't do it.
Bobby, you hit the nail smack on the head. Keep purses and stiff rule books out of Vintage/Historic racing. It should be a SOCIAL affair with everyone, on and off the track, having fun.I did this for 10 years with the Sportscar vintage groups and had so much fun off the track I actually let other drivers in my car why I socialized. And, the rules were so very simple.First, lets figure out a way to keep all the groups from stepping on each other (Jeff and others are working on this) by having numerous events on the same weekend. Lets gets a schedule together before 2010 so the different groups can have their events and the rest of us crazy motorsport fans are able to go to ALL the events. It does no good for your group and our group to try and out do each other on the same weekend. In a few weeks AIRPS will announce next year's event date so perhaps we can coordinate all the activities here at RacersReunion to start a kind of "Vintage/Historic Schedule" in 2010 so we all benefit.
Not all of us "old cronies" are flush with money. Building an old modified or an old flathead powered coupe does take a little money to build much less maintain,i know, im trying to build an old chevelle now to play in the past--no no thats in the present with old toys--oh heck to have fun again in my second childhood ---but there are guys out there that only wish for the day of yesterday .i have the feeling if this is played right we could draw more more cars and folks galore than old Brian could conceive we could on a given weekend at a neat site like the rock or at speedway park or at talladega short track--the list just goes on ---i dont know that i could drag my trailer with a car on all over the country now. the economy is the culprit there but i bet we could hit the ones within a modest radius . the idea i think is to have S A F E T Y as the golden rule then if enough come to divide into classes then the more the merrier but make it family oriented At the end of the season have a reunion in a central area and give out trophy's for different things---we raced for far less back in the day, or at least i did . That i think would draw the public which would draw car clubs which in turn draws "vendors", thats what pays the way--look at NOPI in atlanta which evolved from a little import show to what it is now and all they hand out is----trophys my opinion,everbodys got one,some set on theirs ,some express theirs-----------------remenber back in the day-----------------------memories
When you understand the last word of our clubs name; Cape Fear Classic Auto Racing "Show" you'll understand why we are having so much fun; The reason the word "Show" is there is so no one gets the idea that we are "racing" for money, trophy or points, we race to put on a "show" so the pressure is off to "Win" and that thing we call "fun" can be taken full advantage of. Sure, the name "Classic Auto Racing" is present but it is summed up with the word "Show." When we take to the track we have one goal in mind, to race safely, to race clean, to move over for faster cars, and run at your car's and driver's ability. We don't care if we win or come 2nd to last (no one likes to be the last over the finish line). But in the end the 1st place and last place car have accomplished the same goal...to have fun, finish safely, and be able to return to the pits with the same excitement and enthusiasm as if we ALL won and the bottom line is we ALL WIN. At the end of the night the "show" was a success, the fans loved it, the track loved it, and the drivers loved it and not one red cent is paid out. All the pressure of competition is off, what is left is pure fun and entertainment and we all win; fans, track, and drivers.
I grew up going to Bowman Gray Stadium on Saturday nites. Watching my heroes in the old coupes and coaches. I used to dream of the day I'd drive a modified. Eventually I did race tho not in a mod. I started in a Street Stock then a Limited Sportsman. Problem was I got into racing when the price started to go up. Now I couldn't afford it with a growing family so the car and equipment was sold. That was 1982. Fast forward to 2008. I found RacersReunion and a couple of other sites about my passion, old race cars. Then I started chatting with a couple of good ol' boys (one is really a yankee) and a Legend. Man it's been a heck of a year. Them two good ol' boys done flung a cravin' on me to build my dream car, a 37 Chevy coupe modified. I still don't have a boatload of money to spend but I think I can beg , borrow and steal (not really) enough to get it together by next year. And when I do I'll be havin' fun !!!!!!!!! Fun buildin' it and fun racin' it. Now just what more can an old man wish for ?