[Vukie]

Another wild one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGk9sSK6lwM

[Kirk Spridgeon]

I have never had a problem with the Memmers, but facts are, this is not the first time he's had an unbelievable hissy fit at the track. I saw him throw another one at Danville once before, and I've been told he's done similar things at North Vernon and maybe Haubstadt? It doesn't seem like he learns his lesson...he's only gotten worse!

[ThrottleHead]

Originally Posted by nonwingnit No flames throttle - I see where you're coming from. But maybe the memmers are GOOD people as you say - they just can't be good at the track perhaps? You have a post from sandy Lowe on the updates thread saying they have had problems with him. Vcs officials saying he has caused problems there this year causing an earlier suspension. His dad was the one on the 4 wheeler doing donuts on the back stretch in the video screaming at people in the pits - not discouraging his son when he pulled out a tortion bar on security and threatened to go get his 9mm.... Maybe they are GOOD...just racing brings out the worst? In which case they should take up golf maybe. They clearly (father and son) have a problem acting in a sensible manner not just last night but several times at different tracks and with different series. I'm sure they're not terrible people - but they can't put on a display like that and not expect people to think otherwise. Perception is reality these days - regardless of the truth. And a lot of people just got the perception that the memmers will act crazy and threaten bodily harm if things don't go their way. Case in point - none of us *know* oj Simpson but most of us perceive he was guilty and we don't *know* Michael Jackson but most perceive him as a weirdo that possibly messed with kids bleached his skin and loved some plastic surgery. I'm just saying maybe they are good - but its hard to overcome a first impression or second or third depending on the track they're at. Greg Posted via Mobile Device

I am certainly not condoning what happened.... that should be said first. I will say that recreational activities do bring things out in people that normally would not happen. That was said as neither a shot nor defending.......

Your post is well thought out and well said Greg. Thanks for wording it the way you did. Its too bad not all are like that. We can all agree that we will disagree with some things. Taking the time to think about what you say before saying it is the way to go about it.... as I have learned the hard way on numerous occasions. And yes unfortunately perceptions are reality.... something I have always had an issue with.

Discussion is what message boards are all about and I am all for that. Cheap shots and blind accusations are spineless IMO.

[Mud Packer]

I was at VCS last night and witnessed the multiple incidents involving Mr. Memmer. I don't know the young man and I am not trying to throw him under the bus. I will say that from a fans perspective however, it was inappropriate, childish, immature, stupid and low class. The show he put on was right out of the WWF and Jerry Springer show type performances. I saw a few kids around us and they were really getting into it. A great time to teach a youngster that this is totally inappropriate behavior and shouldn't be tolerated. Hopefully the parents were able to get this accomplished.

As a former track official, I will say that scoring a race is one of the toughest jobs ever. I applaud the folks that week in week out "enjoy" doing this. It certainly wasn't a job I ever wanted to tackle. I realize that MSCS has had some challenges with scoring a race but I have also seen USAC,IRL, NASCAR, ARCA, ASA, CRA, and various other sanctioning bodies have less than stellar results in that department at times. I recall a NASCAR race a number of years ago where it took almost 20 laps to get the lineup sorted out. And technically they have top of the the line scoring equipment. The fans in the stands were not impressed and neither were the drivers. That of course is another story.

Being a former track official I realized the danger that we were all in under "normal" racing circumstances and we accepted that as part of the job. I always felt safe because of the people we worked with and their safety practices. It has to be a clear understanding between officials and competitors as to the safety concerns and understanding the policies in order to provide a safe atmosphere. Knowing what was acceptable and what wasn't. The line has to be clearly drawn by the track or sanctioning body and the offenders punished accordingly. With that being said however, we still had some close calls and thankfully I can only recall one person getting seriously injured and it was an accident.

I don't know exactly what caused the whole thing from the start last night, but if it was over his place in the lineup, he should have taken what was given to him and moved on. I have seen very few instances where arguing with an official has gotten your spot back. I could have even understood him stopping on the track to get an explanation and letting the official know that he didn't agree and then move on. However, to endanger another persons life by swerving toward them is totally unacceptable and inexcuseable behavior and he deserves to be suspended in my opinion. And then to perform his tirade on the front stretch was way out of bounds and borders on the insane. If I was a competitor, I am not sure I would feel real comfortable racing with this guy.

As to what happened in the pit area, I didn't see and certainly can't comment on that directly. I am sure that the ones who were in the pits can and probably have give a description of what transpired in their opinion. For the police to be called, I am sure it wasn't for exemplary behavior.

In the coming days and weeks we will undoubtably hear more about this incident. For this young man's sake I hope he can get some help in managing his anger. IF, and I say IF, some of the posting on here are correct, then this certainly isn't his first time of having anger issues. If this is a reoccurring pattern, I doubt that it will be tolerated much longer and it could adversely affect his racing career if it hasn't done so already. These are my opinions only adn I don't expect everyone to agree. I have also signed my name, so I am not hiding behind a screen name.

Mike Padfield

MSCS needs transponders. It's been an evident fact since they're formed that scoring is an issue. Two restarts at Terre Haute, they went extra laps to line me up in front of cars that had passed me 3-4 laps prior, I knew this, knew it was wrong, but the repeated the action not once, but twice. And on top of that, they stopped for a red flag fuel stop, then it still took another 5-6 laps on the half mile to get everyone lined back up where they belonged..

I enjoy racing with MSCS, enjoy the tracks, everyone is friendly.. but the scoring needs help. No offense to the scorers that work really hard trying to keep track of so much going on around them, but somewhere the system is flawed.

Vennard

[wildman92]

Watching last night's saga unfold, I was disappointed that John's Dad, who came out on the 4-wheeler, did not do anything (seemingly) to restrain his son. I thought the tirade was over with until the race was over and here comes John running back out onto the track with Dad watching. I just kept thinking "Don't do it John, walk away John, don't make it worse." Then to hear that John and his Dad were "laughing" about it afterwards is disappointing.

I understand that it's a teaching moment for young kids, but I'm glad my son wasn't there to see it. We had such a positive experience with the Memmers at Lawrenceburg earlier this year that I would've hated my son to have seen John act the way he did.

Hopefully John will learn from this and understand what true sportsmanship is.

Funny how Jon Stanbrough was chastised earlier in the year for openly saying he was pissed off about the outcome of a race (because of a mistake HE made, no less, not because of a scoring issue) and that he didn't want to talk about it. I believe some called him a 'sore loser'? If he gets called a sore loser for that, what do we call Mr. Memmer, who did far worse than I've ever seen the likes of Jon Stanbrough do?

[illiniopenwheel]

Well I just watched the full heat race that D.O just posted that Memmer was in. After watching it several times, I would say that the MSCS scoring and officials blew the order of the line up. However, although this is an obvious mistake in hindsight....Mr. Memmer himself would have to admit that he acted like a completely childish moron in public and in front of a lot of impressionable young children.

As the old saying goes...."Two wrongs don't make one right!"

[Tim]

While viewing the VCS update posts last night and hearing of this episode, I misunderstood. I thought he had performed the act at officials, not the fans. I just viewed the video. Young Mr. Memmer, in my opinion, showed absolute, incontrovertible, and 100% total lack of respect for the folks who decided to use their hard-earned dollars to come out and watch him race rather than spend them on another form of entertainment. The fans came out to give him some of their money to watch him race. There are just no words to express my disappointment. I'm a pretty forgiving person, but this one's gonna take some time.

Tim Simmons

[ClaytonYeley]

Originally Posted by D.O. As far as MSCS and it's officals and rules, sure they could be better and make mistakes. BUT MSCS provides the racers a good payout and a title to claim. I don't care what the letters are USAC, NASCAR, WoO or F-1 they all have problems at times.

I like what you said here DO. I’ve gone to many races in a lot of different series and believe that there is no perfect system. It is easy to criticize a call after watching replays. I just know that I appreciate all the officials out there for putting themselves in danger to make sure the show runs smoothly for all of us. I also know I would NOT want that responsibility.

[SpfldMile]

I'm sure the Memmers are completely nice people 95% of the time. The true measure of an individual is how they handle adversity, and young Mr. Memmer totally flunked that test. To put an official in danger deserves some painful punishment.