Since I shared my "Secret Plan" with you a while back, I figured I should share this new change. Also, telling you all about it helps me with my closure.

I've decided to abandon my plan to race World Challenge Touring Car at Portland this summer.

The decision is based mostly on financial considerations. The additional expenses associated with this one race would make a decent operating budget for a full summers worth of club racing all by itself.

The tipping point was reached when it became clear that I would have to buy a new wing to meet spec. It was "just" another $600 to $1200, but I decided that that was going to be the straw that broke the camels back.

All told the WC weekend would have cost me somewhere between $4000 and $6000 that I otherwise wouldn't spend for the seasons racing. I have budgeted for it, but I'm not gonna carry thru with it.

I go on a bit in my writing about motivation and perception, and of course these reflections bear upon decisions like this one. I WANT to play with the big(ger) boys, I want to measure myself, and I want to taste another flavor of fun. But when it's all over and done, and I'm straining to recover, what will it have profited me? Not enough.

Is this some failure of the competitive spirit? Am I resigning myself to some failure of will and drive? Or is it just one choice among many? Since I don't have any ghosts whispering to me about "Destiny", I'm gonna go with Door-C.

You know what will help me live with this choice? Being able to run the whole season, and maybe even travel out of region this year. Being able to take my time developing and testing this year - without racing against the calendar and my bank account, as well as the competition (well, any more than normal).

2004 is going to be different than planned. Different, but Excellent.

Scott, who will satisfy himself with comparing lap times - just for casual reference, cause I already know who and what I am, and the good life can't be measured in lap times and race wins anyway.

 

You must run the wchc vs. echc event taking place later this year now.

 

Hmm....

You'll have to git your azz over to PR then this year, and try to come to Norcal with us.

 

Not sure who gets attribution for saying "common sense is the better part of valor," but it seems appropos of your decision, which I'm guessing was also tinged a bit with disappointment. Totally understandable to me that there's a point at which $4-6k is not worth measuring yourself against the big boyz.

Casey, who selfishly was looking forward to watching the Speed channel this summer and saying "see that nice white Type R, I know the guy who drives it, well I sort of know him....

 

You could always rent a ride at any number of WC races, couldn't you?

Haven't looked into it, myself, but you should be able to get in for less than your 4-6k budget, if you aren't picky about what kind of car you run.

 

Get some goddamn sponsorship and get out there, *****!!

C'mon Scott, you have been talking about geting out there with WC for a couple of years... If I were in your shoes and had your driving skills, I'd do whatever it would take to make that race happen.

Talk to Mugen. Talk to Acura. Talk to King. Talk to Tonkin...

 

Nothing worth doing comes easy, and everything has a cost. If this is something that you feel is worth skipping out on because there is racing to be done elsewhere, then I think you've had a (to borrow the alcoholic's term) "moment of clarity".
This is supposed to be fun. If you are going to have fun running at the WC level, then I think you should re-reevaluate. If you are going to have fun running at the regional level, then I think you are making the right decision.
Good luck.

 

Sponsorship.
Its TV coverage man. Work that angle.

I know its not on the same level, but last August I didn't think I'd have enough money to run my car in the ARRC. All it took was help from connections and a few decals and we were there... New tires, new final drive, new motor.

It can be done and its a long way off.
Polish up those marketing shoes and get to work.

Scott, who says its too early to give up on something I still think you're crazy for doing in the first place.

 

Have you noticed how much there is in this world that isn't worth doing and yet carries a steep price tag?

Maturity, as I understand it from a distance, consists in part of the ability to control ourselves.

I've "biffed" in life a few times reaching for things that were just within or just beyond my grasp.

One of the few things in this life that I can determine is truly worth doing is reaching out for Love.

Scott, who doesn't have the ***** to claim that his racing would commercially benefit anyone else...they're big, just not that big...

 

Famous words by someone who has succeded in this whole racing thing (quoted by memory which is not that great because I suffer from bulemic memory)

"If you go race, do it first class. Racing is expensive, so get a car you can afford to race." Roger Penske to Mark Donohue

How is this applicable? Aww, I dunno. But if you truly want to race with the big boys, save a bit. It's not like they're going anywhere.

 

$4-6k will get you a crappy ride/uncompetitive ride in World-Challenge, not to mention the damage insurance you'll have to put up. a good car will run you $8-10k/race easily.

life is definitely full of choices. i applaud Scott in his maturity of knowing when to sit it out.

hopefully, one day i'll figure out when to say enough and not chase that world-challenge dream.

 

Scott,

I am sooooo disappointed. I can't imagine that the new wing is the straw that broke the camel's back since I'd already offered to buy your existing Mugen wing. It has to be something else than the wing. I was truly looking forward to your result. There are some guys here running in the Ontario Touring Car Challenge and they set the class lap record at Mosport last year in their ITR, and won 6 of 9 races entered. They beat Kleinubing's time in his ITR by about 1/2 second (they were on Toyo RA-1's though). These guys are planning to do a few of the East Coast WC races. I was hoping to see th other ITR guy do a West Coast race and see how the amateurs compare to the pros. Surely it wasn't the wing. Say it ain't so.

 

Reality is a bitter pill to swallow sometimes but bottom line is that World Challenge is a tough place to race right now. When guys like Roger Foo and Taz Harvey are hurting for sponsorship not to mention countless others it means the money is getting outrageous. Some of the top touring cars cost as much as some of the GT cars now for crying out loud (i.e. Viper Comp Coupe. Although in all fairness its pretty much a factory built racecar).

I've been saying this for almost 2 years now but the cost to run the series is outrunning the sponsor value in Touring by a good margin and that is not good for the series. Luckily its getting more popular so maybe they'll even out sooner than later.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by descartesfool &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">There are some guys here running in the Ontario Touring Car Challenge and they set the class lap record at Mosport last year in their ITR, and won 6 of 9 races entered. They beat Kleinubing's time in his ITR by about 1/2 second (they were on Toyo RA-1's though). These guys are planning to do a few of the East Coast WC races. I was hoping to see th other ITR guy do a West Coast race and see how the amateurs compare to the pros.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Wow... where to start on that comment.

Those guys on RA-1s who beat Kleinubing's ITR on T1-S 2002 time by 1/2 second, will be probably 7-10 seconds off the pole if they decide to go at it in WCTC. 2003 track times shattered on average 5-10 seconds versus the 2002 year times. That tells you how much these cars advanced from 2002 to 2003. Imagine how much faster they'll get on RA-1s and the new improvement they make on the car for 2004. I take nothing away from the guys who beat Kleinubing's time, but there in for a rude awakening when/if they step up to WC.

As JMU R1 mentioned... guys like Roger and Taz and even Will Turner are struggling to cope with the burden of finding sponsorships to run. The costs associated to run are now astronomical. It doesn't matter if you got the talent, you need the money.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sleedawg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Wow... where to start on that comment.

Those guys on RA-1s who beat Kleinubing's ITR on T1-S 2002 time by 1/2 second, will be probably 7-10 seconds off the pole if they decide to go at it in WCTC. 2003 track times shattered on average 5-10 seconds versus the 2002 year times. That tells you how much these cars advanced from 2002 to 2003. Imagine how much faster they'll get on RA-1s and the new improvement they make on the car for 2004. I take nothing away from the guys who beat Kleinubing's time, but there in for a rude awakening when/if they step up to WC.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

You may be right about the rude awakening, but you are way off on your 5-10 second per lap concept. From a previous post I made, here are some of Pierre's ITR lap times at Mosport, some on T1-S and some on BFG' R compounds.

Pierre Kleinubing ran a race best lap of 1:35.461 at Mosport in 2002 in his ITR, see:
http://www.speedvisionwc.com/2....html

In practice, he ran a best lap of 1:36.166 and in qualifying he ran a best time of 1:35.611, slower than his best race lap, see:
http://www.speedvisionwc.com/2002/mos/tc-grid.html

In 2001, PK ran a best race lap of 1:35.574 at Mosport, see:
http://www.speedvisionwc.com/2....html

In 2000, PK ran a best race lap of 1:34.715 at Mosport on BFG-R1 tires, see:
http://www.world-challenge.com/00/tc-results.html

As for Pierre's times in his RSX in 2003 at Mosport on those T1-S's, he had a qualifying time of 1:33.462 and a best race time (he won the race) of 1:34.311, see:
http://www.world-challenge.com....html

So the change from an ITR to an RSX at Mosport with all the extra development on the RSX was worth about 2 seconds on the same tires (T1-S). In the same ITR, the change from BFG's R compounds to street tires only lost him 0.8 seconds.

I don't know on what track they could have gotten a change of 5-10 seconds, but it wasn't anywhere close to here.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ponyboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">But if you truly want to race with the big boys, save a bit. It's not like they're going anywhere.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Heh.. the big boys may not be going anywhere, but the costs sure seem to be. It's sad to me to hear it, and I have a strange selfish desire to try to goad Scott into reaching for it, even though somehow it would feel like offering a refreshing, frothy beer to a struggling alcoholic..

Live the life you want to live, Scott. The Scott from ten or twenty years in the future ought to know what the right answer is.. mmm.. beer.... *slaps self* Stop it!

James, who's strangely conflicted, and a little surprised at his own selfishness..

 

what about sponsorships for the one race? surely a televised race should attract more and higher paying sponsors, at least enough to cover your wing?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by descartesfool &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
You may be right about the rude awakening, but you are way off on your 5-10 second per lap concept. From a previous post I made, here are some of Pierre's ITR lap times at Mosport, some on T1-S and some on BFG' R compounds.

I don't know on what track they could have gotten a change of 5-10 seconds, but it wasn't anywhere close to here.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Maybe you misunderstood the comparisons. I'm not comparing PK 2002 vs. PK 2003. I'm making comparisons of the complete field's qualifying times per race which were on the order of 3-5 seconds (revised from my earlier 5-10) faster from 2002 to 2003.

Examples of what I'm talking about...

Sebring 2003 pole qualifying time 2:26.701 (Bill Auberlin)
Sebring 2002 pole qualifying time 2:30.288 (Pierre Kleinubing)

Mosport 2003 pole qualifying time 1:33.432 (Mike Fitzgerald)
Mosport 2002 pole qualifying time 1:35.522 (Scott Bradley)

etc... on through the rest of the races in 2003

So if your friends beat a 2002 time, factor that the cars got faster in 2003, and then assume that they'll get even faster again in 2004. Then factor in the field is no longer on T1-Ss and now RA-1s. Your friends times are easily going to be 7-10 seconds back from the pole. I think many people in the WC community will agree with the logic.

Several WC racers and crews have told me that if I really want to be serious, I need to beat last years pole during a test day to really think about running a race for the next time they swing around. I BELIEVE THEM!!! I still dream of starting at Sears, Laguna, and Portland in '04... if I ever decide to finish my WC Honda Civic SI racecar - which by the way is still for sale. (cage by Roger Foo... engines by Comptech) But for now, I'm staying in my small end of the pond until I can swim.

Good luck to all that are willing to jump into WC. Notice a lot of guys (successful ones) are jumping out in 04.

ps. even single race sponsorship is hard to get!!!


Modified by sleedawg at 1:58 AM 2/7/2004

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by william wallace &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">"fight, and you may die. run, and you may live...
at least a while. and dying in your beds,
many years from now, would you be willing to trade
all the days from this day to that, for one chance,
just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies,
that they may take our lives, but they will never take - our freedom"</TD></TR></TABLE>

scott, i don't know you from adam, but i can't truly believe that you would let this one (expensive) thing separate you from your goal. if you are half the driver and competitor h-t makes you out to be, i have to believe that not doing this race will haunt you till the end of your days. i remember reading a post or two about a big race last year that you did race in, and came in 2nd if memory serves - and remember how you agonized over that. years from now, when $1200 is not as much of a big deal, will you not wonder what could have been?

best of luck with your decision either way.

-chuck, who knows enough about regret to know he wants none of it.

 

Chuck,

The pic in your post makes me laugh.

Have you ever seen those Capital One credit card ads on TV? One of them has a hoard of barbarians that are turned away at the last minute when confronted by "the right card".

THAT'S what I'm talking about.

It's not just the cost of the wing. There will be the next cost, the next surprise. This is about looking far enough ahead to avoid an all to common racer scenario - "Flat Busted".

But you're right. I'm a really super big "competitor". Thing is I've turned that asset/liability toward a new and important race.

Think Road Runner vs Wiley Coyote. I'm not sure how far to carry the analogy - but that damnable Scott Giles (Catch22), with his infuriating financial-ness, is now my Nemesis in the Grand Prix of Common Sense as applied to racing.

I'll NOT have him gloating while the Barbarians have me cornered without a good answer to the question: "What's in YOUR wallet?!"

Scott, who's got to agonize over something every so often, so it's gotta be something...I can agonize over this one on the beach at Puerto Vallarta.