In my racing career i have:
1. Had my fuel pickups cut 1" from the top of my tanks
2. Raced against countless guys who had "fat" engines (engines modified in ways both detectable....and undetectable during inspection)
3. Had my fuel "sugared"
4. Been deliberately cut off, and, in one case, rammed.
5. Been forced to step up in class, even when fully legal and conformant in the lower class.
6. Witnessed racers use illegal ballast to make weight.
7. Witnessed racers using alcohol based fuel in a gasoline only race
8. etc etc......
In some cases I was angry. In some cases I retaliated in kind. In some cases I was actually impressed by the craftiness of the perpetrator.
But in every case I accepted it as part of racing. I never whined about it, nor ran to the officials like some elementary school hall monitor. I did occasionally confront someone in a less than pleasant manner...and settled it myself. Only when safety was compromised did I escalate an issue.
Today I read an article about Nascar drivers routinely throwing debris on the track to advance their positions under the "lucky dawg" rules...or to protect their positions when a yellow would allow them to pit and correct some minor problem. This would send some offshore racers into positive apoplexy (Life suspension?????)...but ....in the end it's racing. I also noted that Jimmie Johnson's crew chief was suspended for a neat little technical trick early this season........ His true sin was.. that he got caught,....... because with millions of dollars and careers on the line and the competitive nature of some of the finest drivers and technicians in motorsports... you know he's not the only guilty party out there.
I've seen the finest driver in the world, Michael Schumacher. deliberately stall to protect a qualifying lead...... (He was penalised...but it was a nice try
) I also saw a Renault driver, Fischicella, deliberately "nerf" him and in so doing flatten his rear tire in his very last race........ and life as we know it goes on.
It is precisely this colorful, competitive, over the top behaviour that has made racing and racers so popular. If you list the greatest personalities in motorsports, many of them were smugglers, bar room brawlers, and worse..... yet that is what made them fascinating...and bigger than life.
If we insist on politically correct, lily white, vanilla competitors, we will create a politically correct, lily white, vanilla sport... Offshore's biggest failure, in recent years has been its inability to create personalities who resonate with the public consciousness. The rivalries are minor, the "John Force" factor is non-existant, and the racers are basically anonymous in media articles and TV. Compare this to AJ Foyt, Dale Earnhart, even Juan Montoya...and you might see what I mean. There is drama in all of those guys...and so many more. Offshore may have similar stories...but nobody's telling them.... at least not effectively. Sure, in the pits, and in certain web bombasts, it seems exciting and extreme..... but, sadly, it begins and ends there.
Bottom line....get over it. Deal with it for what it is.....racing.
T2x
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