Ft. Myers Race cancelled?

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03-19-2004, 03:04 PM

#91

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Quote:

Originally posted by T2x
Okay....many fair questions...and deserving of answers...

1. While there is nothing to deny new LLC owners a "chance"....... there is nothing that makes them deserving of one either. Nothing has been earned....nothing has been accomplished...and nothing has been done to offset the for profit aspect of the LLC. If "ownership" of a basically bankrupt enterprize has been purchased... what gives the purchasing entity any more rights to represent disenfranchised racers or gain their support than any other entity?

2. APBA Detroit is a member based organization with elected officials...While not perfect (yes there have been questions about money management) eventually there is accountability in the charter (especially after the recent lawsuits and court appointed oversight)...There is still no elected representation in the remnant of the LLC...no accountability and nothing to prevent a recurrence of the same old tired propaganda of the past few years. In fact many of its current staunch supporters are the same voices who backed the previous LLC administration..... and remember...most importantly..... What can be sold...can also be repurchased. Why take that chance? It's time to eliminate the "purchased rights" formula....and give it the burial that it has earned. Lots of us need the closure.

3.The APBA does, in fact, oversee the rules and structure of a number of its divisions, Inboard, stock outboard, OPC etc. Recently it has been the for profit divisions (leased out "rights"), Unlimited, Offshore and Champ/Prop tunnel tours that have experienced the most difficulty. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to realize that the bigger a membership base and the more unified all classes of boat racing can become...the stronger the sport will be.

4. I don't care who invested what money or for what purpose....Simply having the ability to write checks does not qualify anyone as either being a leader, having a vision, nor worthy of trust.

I am proposing a simple alternative to blind loyalty...and a blind loyalist will obviously struggle with the concept.

T2x

I am not trying to be argumentative here however in some of the aspects of your above post:

Point # 1) this seems to be of the "which came first, the chicken or the egg" question. You state that while there is nothing to deny the new owners a chance, there is nothing that makes them deserving of one either. Maybe I'm just stupid but this certainly seems like a classic example of "straddling the fence". In my simplistic mind if they haven't done anything not to deserve a chance then it seems to reason, that by that very reason, they do in fact deserve the chance. They have not done anything wrong yet they are not being given the opportunity to do something right. In my opinion, that is wrong.

Point # 2) I am under the impression that the LLC no longer exists. There were some very good people involved in LLC who do not deserve to be lumped in with those who some people may consider "the bad apples". And again, they should not be required to pay the piper for a tune that someone else wrote. I won't deny that what can be sold can be repurchased, but that certainly does not automatically mean that's bad.
Bob Bull has made it clear that his is a "not for profit" organization. How much farther in the opposite direction can you possibly be from the APBA-Offshore LLC concept? If the current (new) owner of Cigarette had not purchased the brand, where would Cigarette be going? Certainly not in the direction that it presently is.

Point # 3) While remembering that the new APBA Offshore is a not for profit group, I agree with what you say.

Point # 4) I agree with you. Is it not important to judge who has bought APBA by what his actions to date have been? Of course it is. He has aligned himself with the best out there.

I am not pro/anti any particular sanctioning body. It appears that the new APBA Offshore group is trying to demonstrate by action that they are serious about trying to turn this mess around. To arbitrarily not give them that chance is discrimination against them, plain and simple. I'm sorry, I just don't think that is right.