Machinations from the Michigan Madman
 

E J Potter, builder and driver of fuel injected V8 chevy powered drag bikes, a jet powered one and some allison powered pulling tractors turns out to be an insightful and articulate critic of motorsports in general. These may be writings from his 1999 book "The Michigan Madman". The rest of this dissertation can be viewed at:

http://www.draglist.com/artman2/publ...One_1030.shtml

and:

http://www.draglist.com/artman/publi...cle_1031.shtml

:D Enjoy!

Ok. In the last installment of my ramblings I described the sorry state of motorsports from my own distorted, insane perspective. It will naturally follow that the main evils to be exorcised from a purist mechanic's point of view are:

#1 - Sponsors
#2 - Prize money
#3 - Promoters
#4 - Race track owners
#5 - Sanctioning organizations
#6 - Spectators

At this point you understandably want to know what kind of idiotic nonsense I am babbling. Unless, of course, you have simply tuned me out altogether. If you will bear with me for a couple of minutes it might look different to you.

#1 - Sponsors. The source of the most corrosive form of problems because they always demand, and rightly so, that your machinery look like the kind of equipment that will be worthy of their name, which will be prominently displayed on the machine itself. So you will spend gobs of money to spiff up the iron beyond what you might consider sufficient under normal circumstances. If you are a chrome lover this will not be any inconvenience, but if your stuff looks all that great, why do you want to let somebody else reap the benefits of your efforts instead of having your name there as the centerpiece of this jewel of perfection? I will further submit that most of the successful racers look like a clown car with all the logos and lettering so who can claim it's more dignified to go along with the crowd? And never forget that the sponsors don't reward the guys who need help, only the ones that are already out in front.

#2 - Prize money. It's never enough, in fact it only makes you put more of your own money with it for the next improvement, which again you don't need as bad as the last place guy. Of course it's nice to win money, but nobody wins enough to pay his bills because the nature of competition is that you are bound to spend as much as you can get your hands on anyway, win, lose, or draw. Furthermore, the bigger the pot, the farther competitors will come after it which makes it tougher on the also-ran guys.

#3 - Promoters have their own ambitions, which do not include making the racer's life easier, only making their own pile higher. They are not humanitarians or they would be over in Bombay helping out Mother Teresa. They are businessmen and if their efforts happen to benefit the competition, that's really great but it doesn't happen that much.

#4 - Race track owners are usually pretty good guys, working hard at building up the business, which helps out all racers, of course. They usually have racing experience themselves and can relate to the little guy's problems, but don't forget his problems are his own and not yours. He has to be a businessman or the track will close its gate. He will help you as much as it helps himself but not to the point of sacrifice.

#5 - Sanctioning organizations seem to spring up with the loose alliance of sponsors and promoters, sometimes with the help of track owners and guidance of the top runners of the day. They are of course a necessity given today's legal and insurance climate, and they can do a lot for the sport. They also do a lot for themselves. They have the power to make or break a sport in a given area of the country and they have been known to accidentally step on most of the eggs in the nest while looking out for themselves.

#6 - Spectators are the bread and butter of any motorsport as structured in today's world, and deserve a lot of sympathy for the way they are continually milked by the promoters in cahoots with the sanctioning bodies. I have been in the shoes of the spectator and it gives me the feeling of being a cash cow being led around by the nose.

So now I have got just about everybody in the motorsports world behind the 8 ball and got myself on every hit list there is. How come? The reason, as Art Arfons told me one time, is because I have a big mouth and I'm always running it off at the wrong time.