He used to race in the Speed World Touring Car series.. but I haven't seen him in years

such an entertaining driver

 

He was an independent, and never had a large budget. As the costs to compete in that series went up, my guess is that he just said enough is enough.

/knows how it feels...

 

Hawking cars and beer last I heard

Taz =

 

I heard he ran at the 13 hr VIR enduro recently. Haven't seen him in the WC though either.

 

As I understand it, the reason at the time for leaving was because he became too busy running a new dealership that opened. This was a few years ago and I excepted him to make a return after that settled down, but still no #8.

 

he just seemed really talented... I thought maybe he was in another series

he had attitude and *****!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BigC-ivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">he just seemed really talented... I thought maybe he was in another series

he had attitude and *****!</TD></TR></TABLE>

And there you go.

You need 3 things to make it in Pro Racing

1) Talent - to get to the top
2) Attitude - to stay on top
3) Money - to stay

Taz, apparently, had #1 and #2. I miss him too. And oddly enough I was just thinking about him yesterday.

regards,
Alan

 

Taz was abducted by aliens. A replicoid is filling in for him at the dealership - identical in almost every respect, but one, he doesn't race cars. Nobody is supposed to know, so don't tell anybody. I'm only telling you so that if they get me others will know the truth.

Scott, who doesn't have what it takes to make it in Pro racing either...but I do have what it takes to make it in Po racing....


Modified by RR98ITR at 3:57 PM 11/11/2004

 

I hear Taz will be at the 25 Hour.

 

I loved watching him drive.

I, of course, idolized him at the time he was driving the Skunk2 Red Si. Back when I had my envisions of making my 99 Si an H3 competitor before they were taken from me.

Good to hear he's doing ok for himself if he's running a dealership.

Is the dealer still in Tracy, CA? And is he still a "Czech beer importer"?

Speaking of which, anyone remember the other driver Mark Mitchell? What's he doing now?

 

I'm waiting for Roger Foo to come back. I too have heard Taz has been busy running the dealership and it doesn't seem like a return is coming. Roger on the other hand is always trying to get back in and I think it's possible. He just needs someone to back him. He's got the time and the desire to and has been working trying to secure some money/sponsorship. Last year was a bad year for him as far as time and the rest of life it seems when I talked to him all so briefly. Maybe this year he'll be able to do it. We'll see what happens.

s

 

I'm always amozed at what Foo could pull off with some very minor sponsorship

Imagine if he had a big company behind him

 

it takes a lot just to stay in WC (do a full season). there are many good drivers from sfbay. Taz Harvey, Roger Foo, Marc Kirberg, Ken Dobson... and if i recall correctly Kirberg was rookie of the year and had poles and wins. Dobson was like 2nd in points... they are well known in sfbay and all have done well in WC. but last i checked they aren't doing WC right now. WC is ultra competitive and now days you have to have just about everything to do well... not just a good driver, but funding, putting together a team that stays together and works well together. it takes SO much.

Most of us would be/wanna be pro racers are inspired by Paul Mumford (RIP) because of what he accomplished. Showing it is still very possisble to come out of nowhere and leave a lasting impression in the pro race world.

i'm sure Taz is pretty tied up in the family dealership... as much as he would like to race, he just don't have the time.

last i heard Roger was about to get married.

 

Roger will also be at the 25.
Rumored to be building a TSX for next year.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RR98ITR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Taz was abducted by aliens. A replicoid is filling in for him at the dealership - identical in almost every respect, but one, he doesn't race cars. Nobody is supposed to know, so don't tell anybody. I'm only telling you so that if they get me others will know the truth.

Scott, who doesn't have what it takes to make it in Pro racing either...but I do have what it takes to make it in Po racing....


Modified by RR98ITR at 3:57 PM 11/11/2004</TD></TR></TABLE> lol, and dont you giuys find it strange that the above post was "modified"...? by who? I mean really? the ALIENS... there everywhere!

 

The budgets and the level of prep in Touring has pretty much pushed out the independents.

 

hey soyboy wassup. so your rx7 is done? what's total cost?

 

Good thread started here....Taz, Kirberg, Peter Schwartzott, shoot just last year, Bob Endicott won Mid Ohio with King Motorsports backing the deal, they're gone too.
The price of poker in WC has really been on schedule I believe. If you look at the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), they have a pro class, then and "independents" class of non factory blokes. So the Foos, Harveys, and others like them could join the fight, but just not in the top class like cunningham, the head poker player. Peter brings more money than anyone else in the series, so everyone else tries to catch up with his teams to beat them....In order for a series to be successful, it needs to show growth, an influx of drivers is just a casulty of motor racing here in the states. If they re-enter a race and do well, they become an instant hero...I love it.

Here's hoping SCCA will get a class structure similar to the BTCC and allow a similar format of 2 groups....hell most of us are raised in SCCA with a grouping of ITA/ITB so why not have that same format at WC? There needs to be a ladder like nascar has, yes it is tough to admit they have a working successful formula, but by goodness, they elevate drivers to the next level. So if WC would have 2 classes, maybe our heros like Taz and others would have a shot to get back into the series for a full season in the production ranks, then get picked up by a factory effort to run in the "A" class, so we get to enjoy their "sheet metal scraps" for a full season on t.v.

 

You're right it may be time for an Independent's Cup in World Challenge. However I think either way cost control is going to have to kick in. BTCC costs were spiralling out of control before they really cut back the rules in 2002 and now the series is doing a lot better. I think World Challenge should:

&lt;broken record&gt;
*Dial back the engine spec. Pushing some of these cars past 280 hp is costing cubic boatloads of money
*No relocating suspension mounting points
*Spec brake supplier (i.e. Brembo at a discount for all)
*Limit aero (I think they've already done this)
*No MoTEC maybe?
&lt;/broken record&gt;

I think the engine spec thing hurts the independents most because some cars out of the box are gonna have a hard time getting up to the HP of the BMW's and Acuras. The Mazda Protege was a perfect example.

Another big issue for World Challenge is they need to keep working on that sponsor value. They need to take better advantage of all advertising opportunities available to them rather than complaining that they don't have the money. Have they ever tried advertising on the webboards of the very customers they're trying to attract (i.e. bimmerforums, honda-tech, vtec.net)? Do they sell/give-away marketing materials like apparel, posters, videos? Do they advertise at import events?

Maybe I have a naive view but I think there are a few things SCCA Pro could take advantage of to help them build the fanbase.

 

I prefer a "Production" class with IT-esque rules coupled with the current TC class rules to trying to say "hey, you can't afford to go fast enough so here's an also-rans class!"

 

I saw Endicott is racing an RSX this year in Grand-Am cup events. Saw him win at mid-ohio I believe on Speed.

Are the costs of competition in GAC better than WC?

 

Grand-Am Cup is cheap compared to WC. Operations cost is much higher needing a pit crew/rigs/more tires/travel expenses for 10 people ect but the cost of the car is about 1/4 the cost. I think I could build a top 3 car for 50,000.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CRXSiR71777@aol.com &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Grand-Am Cup is cheap compared to WC. Operations cost is much higher needing a pit crew/rigs/more tires/travel expenses for 10 people ect but the cost of the car is about 1/4 the cost. I think I could build a top 3 car for 50,000. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Don't forget that the cost is split between two drivers. I've heard $50-60k can rent you a top ride. The only price I've ever seen on car costs was 80k for a SpeedSource RX-8 that is for sale in SportsCar for 56k I believe.

 

Well, I won't be a broken record about what SCCA needs to do, that is for the SCCA people to determine. I do however feel that we could certainly colaborate our voices so the SCCA Pro orginization can get a clear, educated voice on what we expect for our ticket prices.

I do believe the BTCC has a great format. They of course, don't have the runoffs, they just have several "feeder" spec series, similar to our Spec Miata class.

I would like to see WC get toned down a bit and make it more interesting to watch. No, not oval racing, but rather class realignments.
Such as the BTCC is set up...you have works teams running, and independants on track at the same time, along with the production class.

I would love to have a 5 minute conversation with Peter Cunningham, Sylvan Tremblay, Will Turner, T.C. Kline and ask them how they search for talent, and where they get their drivers from.....I'd bet it is the same answer, "Who ever calls me and offers me 13-16k for a weekend." Is this how we grow a series and help promote drivers up the sports car ladder??? Yes it is, and that just sucks.
In the BTCC, the teams are funded by marketing partners, and drivers are contracted based on performance of last season no matter what class they were in.

In WC talent doesn't matter near as much as "Can you pay me to field a car." So I see the WC series as "The Hertz, or Enterprise Rental Car championship." It is a joke. If you have big bucks, you can get in a car. Talent needs to be promoted, the drivers need to be promoted, and thus the series would prosper.
All too often on a WC broadcast, the car, team owner get tons of coverage, unless your at the front, or have a nice huge wreck, you don't stand a chance of getting your sponsor's logo on t.v. to leverage the cost of the marketing package.

What SCCA might want to consider is taking a very very hard look at the BTCC. They promote from with in, they have a great feeder class in the production class, and the big budget teams are there to see the young drivers come through the season. Why can't SCCA have a support race like the ITA or ITS group on a pro weekend? Amature drivers want to move up, we all want to be on the move up the racing ladder and race against the best.....but if you can't afford the 750K plus it takes to run WC and compete against the "cunningham dynasty" or the "turner dynasty", we are forced to go to grand am, or switch to a nascar series where we have a ladder in place and we can get a return on our investment.

So SCCA if your listening, give us local I.T. drivers a chance, start scheduling a local ITA/ ITS race with the WC series so we can showcase our talents. Keep the costs down for the entry, and help us get the opportunity to get some marketing partners in place so we can make WC better. There is nothing more appealing to motorsport fans, than seeing an underdog driver come from now where and do well in a race where he would have never had a chance. I think it is time SCCA took a serious look at using the grassroots guys as a marketing tool is all, and they are totally missing the boat.

 

maybe it's just me. but one reason i feel WC is hard is just doing the logistics. USA is so damn big that just showing up to every event is pretty expensive. not exactly the fault of SCCA...

there ARE already lot of talents in WC. look through the bio's. at least 15-20 guys are all very accomplished before they did WC. but i fully agree with you anybody (including me) can buy a seat in WC if we had the money. but..., that is life right?