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He was NOT told including AIX on grid....that is a total lie! We were told everyone must weigh after qual.Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Ginsberg
So how do you explain the screw up at the end when you were holding a sign that said everyone must weigh? And when David showed up you said no just AI/CMC top 5 and your board didn't say anything about just AI/CMC????????
what the reason for AIX to hit the scales? no HP:wieght. no minimum wieght. i'm a little confused here.
Glenn,
Yeah, there is a minimum race weight. 2650 with driver. My car is no where near this minimum.
It was my fault for missing the scales at MSRH. I was told at the grid by someone just before qualifying. And it is my fault for forgetting about it after the session was over. I will not make that mistake again. I apologized to Adam for getting upset at that event.
J.G.,
Please let that issue go. I am not upset about it anymore. Lesson learned.
Sincerely,
David Armstrong
FYI: I thought it was going to happen again at Hallett. I came off the track and went straight to impound. There was no one at impound. So I drove over to my pit, only to look back and see NASA officials running toward impound. If I had been DQ'd for that, I would have lost my temper and never found it again. :?
Not a problem I will drop it DA.
I would have never made a remark if the instigator didn't bring it up! ;-)
Understood.
Sincerely,
DA
I think that radios in our cars would solve a bunch of those problems. Once the qualifying/race is over, NASA could brodcast AND have a sign (belt and suspenders) on who is going to impound.
Now, we just need to find a way for NASA and Boudy to work out the radio thing...
Whoa..."Adam the Terrible" really jumped out there with his dictator outfit on, didn't he?!?!?! :lol:
You guys are coming in at a "10" and I need you at a "2". Let's kick it down a few notches and try to talk rationally because I think it's obvious there are some raw nerves exposed right now.
David, I don't mean to make an example of you...but I'm going to use your quote to try and explain something.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Garbage
In a nutshell, this is a prime example of some of the frustration on the part of the directors. Let's all put our reasonable hats on now and think about the "AIX cars to the scales" order by the Dictator.
1) There IS a minimum weight for AIX.
2) Everyone knew DA's car was no-where near 2650 last year (when there weren't any other AIX cars running) and he was never req'd to scale his car. It didn't make sense to.
3) This year there looks to be some great competition in AIX and car count is picking up.
4) DA's car had an extreme make-over and showed up to the event with bad-ass carbon-fiber nose, doors and decklid for his first event of the season.
5) DA knows his car isn't anywhere near the limit (because he's checked) and many are frustrated why an AIX car should be made to go to impound....OK, but his competitors and the series dictators don't know if he is anywhere near the limit of the rules now....until he reports to the scales!
#5 is what I want to make my point. We are having a number of issues right now because individuals (all of us) are of the belief that "I" know what is right and why can't everyone else see that as clearly as I can?!?! "The sooner you come around to my way of thinking the better this series will be." This is leading to a lot of frustration on the part of racers AND directors. We're not COMMUNICATING and we're not COMPROMISING....and we're going to fix it.
In order to fix it, we will need to all put our baggage down and look forward with a clean slate and big picture perspective such as was the case with #1-5 above. Directors need to consider racer's needs....and racers need to consider Director's needs...for the general interest of the series.
We'll get there...
-=- Todd
Todd/Adam:
Sounds like things are getting closer to resolution via communications but I also still see some of the examples where the info gets lost or confused and some angst sets in.
Example from AG's post above:
It's not "irrelevant" to the participant. It's a change that may have been unexpected or not understood. Either way, calling it irrelevant is not the best word choice IMHO. Taking an extra 5 seconds to explain that "Hey, it's the start of the season and your AIX car hasn't been on the official NASA TX scales to ensure you are above the AIX min weight" would have probably handled the issue and helped the competitor understand the reason for the change.Quote:
Using the argument "We've never done that before!' is irrelevant.
Todd, your post is excellent as usual but you also say:
Seems to me that the very thing that causes frustration for the competitors is causing frustration for the directors - COMMUNICATION ABOUT CHANGE.Quote:
In a nutshell, this is a prime example of some of the frustration on the part of the directors.
Now we've picked up on a new buzzword, CONSISTENCY. I too like the sounds of it and I'm sure you do as well. But we can't be perfectly consistent when there are variables like car count, missing equipment, short staffing etc. which I'm sure all the competitors understand. So, that causes the need for change. I think we need to focus on the COMMUNICATION ABOUT CHANGE in addition to our efforts to find CONSISTENCY and most of these bumps should smooth out IMHO.
Now, given that, I'd like to broach a few more topics that I'd like to see resolved with NASA TX on race weekends:
1.) Mixing Group 5 and 8 - I like racing with Mr. Rierson but TBH I thought we had achieved a level of car count that enabled AIX/AI/AIV/CMC to run alone. Has that CHANGED? I very much do not want to race with ASC/Corvette/Porsche/Honda. Just my preference.
2.) Inverted starts - Did something CHANGE? Does it need to CHANGE? AIX behind AI or not - I never saw an official answer? TBH, I dislike inverted starts, and it seems to me that most of our incidents happen during them.
3.) Scales - Maybe we can go over again a CONSISTENT plan for weighing cars? Top 5 in each class after race 1 and 3 every race weekend? Something easily remembered by the competitors and directors? Also, can we get a commitment from NASA TX that the scales will be at every event? They are very important to CMC/AI rules.
4.) Race Schedule - Here's my biggie. I think we need a consistent date for release of the schedule (4 days prior, 5 days, pick a time) and not have it CHANGE so much? Also, time between rounds should be 1.5 hours IMHO, is that possible?
5.) VOTE or POLL - Personal again, seems we get "asked" to take a poll and then, regardless of the results, NASA TX makes a decision. Either don't bother with the poll and tell us you'd like some "input" before you make your decision or stick with the results of the vote.
I'm still pretty steamed that I voted for 4 x 20 but AFTER NASA TX decided to do 3 races at Hallett (based upon the poll results) I looked at the schedule and decided to quit wrenching on my car only to find out a day later they flip-flopped back to 4 x 20 due to possible temp issues in OK in June. When did Heat become a revelation or surprise?
Again, CONSISTENT vs. CHANGE vs. COMMUNICATIONS helps folks understand the who/what/why of the decisions made. OK, I'm off my soap box.
As usual, excellent points, Mike
On this point I thought it was crystal clear ...Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Bell
We had voted and it was decided that we would do a 40 minute race on Sunday in order to get everyone out by a reasonable time.
The weekend prior, the heat caused a LOT of car and driver issues with 30 minute sessions. That same heat was forcast for NASA weekend.
So, in the eyes of safety, it was decided to make it 2 20s on Sunday.
A couple days later, a front comes barrelling through and cooled everything off. Changing AGAIN would have made a bad situation even worse.
I agree that consistency or the lack of surprises should be paramount. But I also realize that some flexibility ON BOTH SIDES has to be factored in to account for unforseen circumstances.
As far as Rierson and the gang running with us ....
Car count at Hallett was disturbingly low. Only 3 run groups. The Group 8 cars run about the same times as the faster CMC cars. And they have too much mass to put on track with the Legends. There was only 2 or 3 of them. I think it was a logical move. I don't see this single incident as a trend, rather a case by case decision.
I recall Rierson coming up to Glenn and letting him know that he wouldn't be factor in his race with Jeff or Corey. He was aware of potential and adequately communicated that.
Of course, from your position, on the couch drinking a Corona, you couldn't have known that. So, on paper, it might not be such a grand thing. But the reality of it was it was a non-factor.
JMHO
Mitch, it was Bud-Light but you nailed it. :)
We like the flexibility of NASA TX yet yearn for consistency. That's got to be fun for those running the show, lol.