Saturday Series Tire Cleaning

Hey wait a minute....NOBODY is going to castrate me!

Okay, soapbox time. I was first in the troublesome yellow lane. Advantage to going first, not in my opinion. I watched Victoria pass me after only a couple laps. I slowed down and drove it like a t-jet and got 9 laps. Tracy was one of the last through and got 8 laps so the car didn't change much, just the drivers. If driving early was an advantage then I got the worst of it as I sat down after one heat and came back in after almost everyone had driven all the cars. I didn't clean any tires as that was already a standard rule at our races in that it is decided beforehand if tire cleaning was allowed. These races are for fun, at least to me. That's why you don't see me at the Thursday races. These are frickin' toys. When grown men whine and pout and act childish when their car doesn't work well or they get nerfed or the corner marshall isn't fast enough I have no desire to be around them. From the beginning I have said I am a player, not a racer, and I still stand by that. If it ain't fun, I ain't doing it!

OK enough is enough! I'm not trying to cause trouble here, but I have heard enough of this. I race at the Odd Thursday Night races and I resent the inference that the Thursday night races are not fun and it's just "grown men whine and pout and act childish when their car doesn't work well or they get nerfed or the corner marshall isn't fast enough". That statement is not fair and does not reflect the activities of the Thursday Night races. There are approximately 20 racers involved with the racing going on Thursday Nights and I am sure everyone of them would disagree with that opinion. A higher level of competition and car construction IS fun for many slot car enthusiasts and NASTE has always promoted and encouraged all types of involvement in the hobby. I myself might lose interest in one type of activity in the hobby for awhile and move to another type but I always have fun, and I surely do not berate other groups or individuals for how they enjoy the hobby. Some racers do take it more seriously than others but like you said if that bothers you just don't race at those venues. Just because they enjoy building and tinkering with their cars and enjoy a little more serious competition doesn't mean they are doing anything wrong. Actual RACING is like that whether it is toy cars or real cars! The other side of that coin is some people just really don't care at all, or at least say they don't, which if you think about that it's fine but; why even have a "race"? If that is seriously your interest just put cars on the track and run them around without a lap counter or timer. And if that is truly the desired format, why score points and have a champion at all? If you are in a "race" where half the field doesn't care and isn't even trying, what the hell are you winning anyway? When I first started promoting and holding races, at the end of the session I would mail out questionnaires to gauge interest and see how people felt about how the season was run. I would use that feedback to plan for the next season. Up until a few years ago I would do the same with NASTE but in an open verbal format at the year's end meetings. It got to the point where people did not even have enough interest to participate in any discussions concerning the next season. It might be interesting to use a questionnaire before planning next season's IROC series just to see where everyone stands. One thing I can tell you for sure is the Odd Thursday Night group has already provided me with plenty of feedback which includes some rules updates and the introduction of some new classes. Sure sounds like they're having fun to me?

I'm glad your open track day went well and everyone had a good time, but Terry you send mixed messages. When you talk about the "grown men whine and pout and act childish when their car doesn't work well or they get nerfed or the corner marshall isn't fast enough" we can only assume you are talking about something you witness when racing at the venues you declare you no longer race at because you don't like it. At the same time you comment about "racers" that take it too serious but now you say "IROC is "serious" and real competition". I really don't understand exactly what you're trying to say. I've seen you during a race and I can see you are trying hard to win and you take it just as serious as anybody else on the track. When you say the only races where the cars are truly equal is in the IROC races I must say you are wrong. The cars are not equal there, the only difference is all the drivers use the same cars. For some racers trying to make their cars better for the next race is part of the fun. It's true that some cars are better in some races, but if you look at the results of the races at Rippin' Ridin' Raceway and at Rapid Raceway you would see that the margins of victory are just as close or even closer than those of the NASTE IROC races. For me it would just be nice to see you quit beatin' your drum about fairness, who's cheating, and what your version of slot car racing fun is. We all have our own version and our own ways of having fun in this hobby. You race and play with slot cars however you want but you should let other racers do the same. And don't kid yourself Terry, the best drivers emerge at ALL the races.

Well......obviously I am confused...............

Yes, I apologize, this must be all my fault.

I should have stopped the race at Howie's as soon as the problem became apparent and dealt with it.  We should have cleaned tires at every heat.

Things need to be fair or at least perceived as fair.  And I'm not the only one that thought there was an issue watching their lap totals plummet as the tires on some of the cars became glazed.  And not all the cars, just some.  Rotation order had little to do with it.  It was not gradual, it was not consistent.  Once they glazed, that was it.  That's not racing and not what this series was supposed to be about.

We can debate complaint vs. opinion some other time.

But just to refresh here's your opinion that got the race thrown out completely:

Maybe we should throw out the results of the second race entirely since we didn't count one lane and somebody cleaned their tires before a heat which was a no-no.

No-no?  Must be some unwritten law.