I didnt delete it....

i didnt lock the thread. at one point i unlocked it and then locked it back since i didnt know who locked it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AI#97

Here is my answer and the same rational answer I have given Todd, Mr. Love, Donovan and anyone that has had the same issues. Apparently, YOU Glenn have too many ASSumptions about me and they are all wrong. Apparently there are a lot of people that think I’m a raging lunatic that just can’t be happy….again, you are wrong. I'm merely the only person it seems that doesn't talk behind people's backs and has no fear of telling it how it is...

So here it goes since you asked.

1. I have a serious problem with the wishy washy enforcement of the rules. We have them to keep order and that is my expectation. I also feel it is the expectation nationally which is going to be difficult for Todd in the coming months.

Examples... directors threatening to DQ a car because of a cowl panel, when a previous racer had a similar panel for two years.

I think your time frame is a little off, but fine. once it was pointed out to me that the 17 car was still that way, i pointed it out to the new owner the corrections that need to be made. once i get paid as an employee of NASA for performing car inspections is the day i'm in the wrong for missing an illegal part on the car. untill then, all the direcotrs do the best they can w/ the time they have. trust me, i'm all for 100% rules compliance. when Jerry owned the car, i dont think i was involved in the allowance of the part and didnt have knowlege of it till it was pointed out to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AI#97

Another example would be not enforcing illegal modifications on cars because they were bought from former directors, regionally and nationally, so as not to ruffle feathers of the car owner.

i havent acted in this manner in any way. it has been pointed out to me that cars were bought from other regions w/ illegal parts on them. i will not fault a new car owner for having an illegal part (to some degree) when the car was purchased as a 100% compliant car. i will not hesitate to point out those issues and set a timeline for correction. not everyone is as mechanically savy as yourself. it would be different if a guy built the car himself and showed up. i'm forced to give the benifit of the doubt even when i dont want to.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AI#97

How about the 23 other people fielding LEGAL cars? Seems to be a Cali thing that has migrated to TX? e-cams anyone?

to my knowlege none of the Texas car were running E-cams untill they became legal. other regions were and it was delt w/ amoung the directors. each region has the ability to run thier region anyway they see fit. off all the regions, Texas is known amoung other directors as the 100% by the book region. its seen as a negative thing from the POV of other regions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AI#97

So, to save one person a couple bucks or keep ONE person around, you piss off 23 others?....not smart or good for the series.

100% agree w/ this. are you refering to a particulare case?

Quote:

Originally Posted by AI#97

Or, not enforcing a pass under double yellow at a national event when 2/3 of the field was penalized for it in 2008 nationals.

i 100% agree'ed w/ you at Nats. you decided to not file the paperwork. regardless of the reason, you didnt do it. you should have, and then you should have appealed if that failed. as much as the race director has the responsibility to do whats right, you as a racer should too. the right thing to do would be to file the paperwork. you didnt, so drop it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AI#97

My point is that I have no certainty WHAT rule will be enforced or when or for what reason. That is my rub with the current 3 directors and I have no faith any rule will be enforced. Contact rules being enforced is a joke in my mind because it really is a crap shoot what penalty will be given especially when two of the directors appear to have MOST of the contact. I might even question what actually gets turned into Clifton sometimes.

we are not required to involve Clifton. only if there is an appeal does it go to Clifton. also, if there is no director available who wasnt involved in the contact. once again, if there is a ruling that someone doesnt like, appeal. you have every right to quit over those feelings. and if i felt like you, i would quit too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AI#97

I’d probably even have to ask Todd how he is expected to enforce rules in the Rolex series? If he did what he did here over there, Penske would have him hanging from the nearest tree. So, is this a race series or a special type of HPDE in TX….? Best I can see it is a “ let’s get as many people to spend money here and make it LOOK like a race series.” So in essence, I feel cheated out of my money as I was sold that this is Racing with real racing rules, and it's apparently not.

2. Rules release date issue. I wanted the car for sale back in September while it's performance was fresh on everyone's mind and had a higher value. The unclear direction of rules changes and a terribly late release date had nearly ALL potential buyers holding onto their wallets as they were afraid to buy anything at all worried that it might be deemed illegal just after the sale. This was a poorly thought out effort with too little communication by Todd and the AI board and the length that it took to accomplish shows that there is a serious RIFT in what the AI group wants compared to what other think it should be. I still don’t believe Todd is the guy to save that situation and miss JWL’s strong, Tenured hand in that scenario. I wish you luck, you are going to need it.

3. What has caused grief in my life over the last 4 years? Well, I asked myself this question and thought about it for 3 full days. All my answers came back to the way Todd, Glenn and now AL choose to "interpret" the rules and run this region. Too many times have I gotten the explanation of "it's out of your control so don't worry about it." Well, that isn't an acceptable option when it comes to rules. You either enforce them or you don't. You can't call this a RACING series and pick and choose how to enforce the rules we should be living and dying by.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AI#97

Tech in our region for AI is the laughing stock nationally.

look to your 200x-2009 AI Series Director to answer that. I am only officially appointed as a CMC Series Director. changes have been made, so it could get better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AI#97

You can't have it both ways because you can't keep track of what you ruled last time and it starts appearing VERY unfair to rest of the racers. As much as Adam and I always butted heads, he at least had the sack and the Will to enforce the rules as written. Jeremiah's DQ at nationals is a perfect example of Adam's dedication to enforce the written rule regardless of what others might think. While this made Adam out to be the bad guy, it kept the racers from having to drop $100 and ruin a relationship with their fellow racers to make sure the rules were enforced and were consistant.

in a perfect world, your right. but the appeals and protest portion of the rules was put there for a reason, its not a perfect world. guess what? all racing series have this in place, even those who pay the officials to be there to do their job. your right, Adam has done a great job regionally and nationally.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AI#97

Todd, Glenn and AL choose to enforce the rules to increase car count and make the drivers feel warm and fuzzy. To me, that is a spit in the face to the guys that show up and do it right and that just doesn't sit well with me.

i came into this series in 2005 w/ the same mindset. but like it or not, this is "for fun racing". so untill your the person looked at for the lack of increase in car count, you dont judge those who are. there are plenty of folks who do show up and do it right and are pretty happy w/ the car count to date. i was once opposed to inverts. i felt like i was getting penalized for running a good race. later i came to understand how important it was to do this. the point is, this isnt Profesional Racing. but thats OK, cause i'll take the BBQ's and parties and such that come along w/ the "for fun racing" as a fair trade to the "warm and fuzzy" actions of the directors. i'm sure i'm in the majority in that regard.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AI#97

So, after those 3 days of "figuring it all out" and listening to Todd make his statement at the beginning of rookie day, I finally get it. This isn't run as a RACE series in TX. It's run as a group of guys allowed to pass in the corners and collect points for the fun of it. I'm here as a serious racer that expects events to be run like a RACE event. The fun factor that is AI/CMC TX happens off the track because of the people that are here and has NOTHING to do with the choices of how this series is run by our current management team.

sure it does! i bet you money that the Suntrust team does not hang out in the pits of the Gainsco team in the evening hours. sure, i bet both teams are really great folks, not unlike out guys here, but they dont party together. they dont glad hand after a race like we do either. they dont share in-car vids w/ one another on-line and they dont make Year in Review Vids for one another. i bet they never have a Rookie Day either. am i responsible for that? no. but if i ran things like you wanted, it would likely be a less relaxed atmosphere off track than it is now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AI#97

Until they realize that enforcing the rules correctly will bring more racers in or back than selective enforcment, we will be doomed to lose more racers and deal with "internet grief" for years to come.

once again, i agree w/ you. but thats not what got us to where we are today. Adam and Todd used the selective enforcement to get things going. there is a transition point. i like to think we have made that transition already. RM Region is still doing it, as is the GL region. the Mid Atlantic region also. i see a trend here of it working for so many regions. they all know here will be a period of transition coming.
for now, i feel pretty safe in saying the Texas has the highest level of rules enforcement/compliance than any region in NASA (AI/CMC).

Quote:

Originally Posted by AI#97

So, I either choose to spend money in this series or I don't. I have chosen NOT to support something I can't count on. That being said, I have no reason to own an AI car anymore and it's for sale. I am exploring the possibility of ST2 and ST3 as they run a RACE series and enforce the rules….just don’t know if the car will be competitive there or not.

and thats great. i wish you luck in feeling you are on a more level playing field w/ ST2/3 cars than AI cars.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AI#97

My parting thoughts to the directors:

Glenn, step back and quit being so full of yourself and learn to admit you are wrong and likely driving over your head in many situations.

your right. i'm not the best driver. i have made mistakes and i never claimed otherwise.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AI#97

Maybe even take a lesson or two in Tact and work on your delivery…you aren’t in the Marines anymore man and you really offend a lot of people with your “style”.

i'll act as i see fit. if your feelings get hurt by the way i talk to you, sorry. tell me. its likely a misunderstanding. everyone is different, even me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AI#97

Seems EVERY issue you get involved in becomes an act of conflict as you have no ability to see if from the other side of the table. I can’t count on both hands or feet the number of times I have heard people express concern when driving door to door with you as they fear you are going to barge in and hit them. Try taking your car out of the trailer more often and look at the damage on it, then compare it to someone’s car like Wirtz or Burch and ask yourself, “why does my car look like this” and their cars look so good?

well its likely due to me not being able to afford to have body work done and the lack of ability on my part to do it myself. but as i recall, JB is responsible for some of my damage. he fixed his, i didnt. Wirtz had some pretty serious damage once too from hitting Rob. i have also had some nice damage from Adam. i'm not upset at all, dont read into it, but i've dished out alot less than i have recieved. i choose to follow the 50/50 rule from the CCR. i can count on one hand the number of contacts that are my fault. i've been hit at least 3 times that much.
so in short, i dont have a body man in the family, i dont have the funds to fix each and every issue, i dont have the time to learn a new trade, and it really doesnt bother me that my car is all banged up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AI#97

Rob’s post one time of “most of Glenn’s passes on me have been with the tires locked up…” should have been a wake up call for you that people don’t trust your driving.

i've had lots of wake-up calls. if folks dont trust me, they really need to talk to me. i'm open minded, i'll listen.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AI#97

Please don’t use your position as “director” to manipulate the other racers in NOT calling you out as a questionable driver. Defending yourself for being involved in ANY contact whether fault or not is in direct difference to the CCR’s which frown on ANY contact whatsoever. Whether it was your fault or not, you put yourself in that situation and should be humble about damaging someone else's investment.

i'll never use my position as a director to do that. i have never done it, and i never will.
i have always been that way when its my fault. and i've never had anyone act otherwise to me when it was their fault. this comment has not merit at all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AI#97

oh, and if you are going to be a director, learn to act more professional by using spell check and proper grammar. It's sometimes difficult to take anyone seriously if they come across as a half-wit. Just sayin'.

yep, i suck at speelin and stuff. :wink: its been a lifelong problem of mine. i dont hide it and i'm long over being worried what anal people like you think about it. sorry if your offended, and sorry to anyone here who is too. i'll try harder to do better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AI#97

Todd/AL: Enforce the rules. Record Contact per the CCR’s and please take into account that situational rules enforcement while making one or two people feel better, in the long run pisses of far more people that built this series to the competitive region it is today. If you selectively enforce the rules, someday, racers are going to look at you and laugh when you do FINALLY try to enforce a trivial rule….like requiring a dash in an AI car for example.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AI#97

It's comical that a director would enforce a cowl panel, but would NOT enforce a pass under yellow or notched frame rails on an AI car. How you expect someone to NOT be angry with that type of enforcement is honestly beyond me.

that is not me. so i'm sure you will agree it does not apply to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AI#97

The lazy enforcement of the rules created the situation at Hallett with Wayne/Corey a few years ago and we lost a couple of VERY fast competitors because of it.

once again, before my time.

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Originally Posted by AI#97

Same thing now with me, probably Burch, John, Skip and any serious racer making the significant investment to race here.

Skip quit over a penalty he was given. Burch sayd its due to money issues.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AI#97

Please make it clear up front to anyone you lure into this series to NOT expect it to be run like a Pro Racing event. If you also haven’t figured it out, it seems like the folks that go to a National event have been treated to a significantly different level of expectations that TX doesn’t comply with…again, big problems with consistency. What you two constantly think is “no big deal” is actually a REALLY big deal to most RACERS and you make them feel as though you don’t take them seriously.

each region is run differntly, but they all agrre that Nats is the best run event, even over thier own. so Texas is really no differnt that others int he way in which we are run. but you wouldnt know that as you havent run at any event but Nationals and Texas.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AI#97

I was dead serious when I pointed out that ½ of the racers listed on the 2006 AI/CMC Texas regional shirt no longer race with us. ½ of those missing racers have the same issues I have with management here so while I would commend you 3, just a little, for building the series to “potentially 57 points collecting drivers this year”, I would have to fault you for not KEEPING the 12 to 15 racers that gave up or choose NOT to race here anymore. It really appears to come down to “we don’t want them anyway because this is just all for fun”. Well, there are those that don’t see it that way and they were your customers. Think about that.

That’s about it. Good luck to you all.

please list the 12-15 racers who dont race w/ us now. i dont have those lists here w/ me in AZ. i bet most are not due to "managment issues.

I did the editing. Line by line going back and forth between two immovable opinions is pointless.

Matt, you've stated your opinion very clearly: you refuse to run with Texas AICMC as long as myself, Todd, and Glenn are on the officials roster. You think we as a collective are wishy washy with regards to rules enforcement and you cant play in this game any longer because you want absolute black and white enforcement as well as dramatically stepped up inspections. Thank you for your feedback.

Re: I didnt delete it....

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlennCMC70

i dont have a body man in the family

Hey, how did I get drug into this? :wink:

Re: I didnt delete it....

Quote:

Originally Posted by michaelmosty

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlennCMC70

i dont have a body man in the family

Hey, how did I get drug into this? :wink:

because i wish i did.

BTW - Matt, i've called. i want to talk w/ you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Al Fernandez

I did the editing. Line by line going back and forth between two immovable opinions is pointless.

Al, thanks for the editing and putting it back up. I was more pissed about having the family fight taken down than the issue itself.

However, I'm not sure the gross discourse does us any good but I'd rather we err on the side of transparency and let the boys and girls make up their own minds.

** Remember what the impact to potential new racers can be **

Personally, I understand to a small degree where Matt is coming from; I personally believe we have a couple cars not in compliance with the simple reading of the rules. I'm not convinced I'm not one of them, nor do I necessarily believe there's a performance advantage.

The biggest problem with gray is keeping it all the same shade.

Regardless, I like this sandbox.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fbody383

I'd rather we err on the side of transparency

8)

Re: I didnt delete it....

Quote:

Originally Posted by michaelmosty

Hey, how did I get drugs into this?

DRUGS??... who ELSE is on drugs??

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlennCMC70

BTW - Matt, i've called. i want to talk w/ you.

The feeling isn't mutual. as of 3 days ago, I was a happy puppy and just leaving quietly and you opened old wounds in my for sale thread. Too little too late...enjoy your sandbox. Probably best to leave things be dude.

I only wish I got the insight I got from Todd's statement at the rookie's day prior to November 2005. It would have changed my expectations from day one. My overly high expectations resulted in 4 years of brain ache and in reality, I should have been running A-sedan or rented 4 weekends in a grand am car. I just got sucked into the wrong sandbox. Live and learn.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fbody383

** Remember what the impact to potential new racers can be **

I get an eye-full and ear-full of this routinely.

I seriously doubt that internet banter and rhetoric keeps folks away from the series.

I've been on these boards for 10+ years and moderated in some form or fashion for most of them.

No one will EVER be able to sanitize these forums. If you really think its possible, well, rookies ... :roll:

Everyone here has heard me say, here and in person, this is just the internet ... not real life. Treat it as such and your life will be a lot less stressful.