don't use NASCAR...EVERYONE involved with that is MAKING money...well, maybe not all the fans!LOL

"YOU tell me how Mercury never made a single change which created changes in any of the APBA classes"...i really don't care WHO'S fault it is for rule changes...all the he said she said BS...i have no idea who to believe....but the foundation of all these rules and VERY open to the NEXT BEST deal...that all i am trying to get you to look at gordo....

Joey,

Perhaps you should talk to some people who have been around for a few years. They could tell you how "great" things were in the "good old days" and perhaps give you some useful perspective and background.

We never said we were perfect, just much better than the old ways. There are far fewer classes today than yesterday and more teams racing. We had 88 boats in St. Pete and would have had over 100 for the fifth consecutive year at the Worlds this year but for the boycott.

You think rules change too much today? Do you know how things were before we took control of the sport in 1999? The good old days were when rich team owners and engine builders controlled the rules agenda and guys like you got screwed. You want that again?

Look, we are ending the FActory engine debate right now. The rules will remain the same for the next 5 years. OK? Let's see if it grows.

For teams that want more of a stock class using the 496HO, we will listen. Yes, we know: "No more classes," some people will scream. But frankly, most of you are also demanding more of a club atmosphere than a professional motorsport, which means the club should be responsive to the demand of its members, number one, and should always be looking for ways to increase membership, number two.

Now Joey, allow me to answer a couple of your other questions directly since the clear implication of those questions is that we were doing something corrupt.

1. Why is Nemschoff allowed to use shaft drives?

Answer: Because shaft drives were legal in Super Cat when the class was created originally. Everyone was free to build a shaft dtive boat. He was the only one that did. Most of the owners then laughed at "the diesel, shaft drive A-class, Super V guy who did not know anything. That is until the boat showed up and started running great. So, in response to the majority of racers complaints, we did the #6 deal with Mercury but we allowed the then existing shaft boats: Tommy Bahama, Honker Cut Marine, and Pier 57 to continue racing, although we ultimately added two hundred pounds to them.

2. Why is Nigel Hook allowed to run Weisman's?

Answer: Because the drives are legal and specifically approved for the class. Anyone can run them but Nigel is the only one who opts to do so. #6's are also legal for the class and have been since last year. Not everyone blows drives up either. Most guys who actually throttle their boats are ok, the new breed guys who rely on their rev-limiters for the throttling have problems.

3. Why is nigel allowed to make changes to the bottom of his boat?

Answer: Because several years ago a majority of owners asked us to allow for changes in order to allow them to keep their boats competitive and safe. The compromise we made was to allow it but subject to securing our written approval first. Nigel has received written approval for every change he has ever made. So have many others.

At least one other boat made changes without our approval and they got penalized for it. This same team was caught a few years ago with cheater carbs on his HP500's but we had an amnesty program then to help with the switch to CRE, so no penalty was issued. By the way, this same guy is now the president of the OSS Super V class and is changing rules as we speak to make his new APBA illegal boat, legal in OSS.

Joey, rather than being critical all the time - we get it - please outline for all of us a simple plan to make this better, but please spare us things like:

Do not change the schedule, get more sponsors, cut racers costs, more television, more prize money. TEll all of us how you would accomplish these things and tell us where the money comes from to accomplish these things.

Do it nicely and productively so we can make some real headway, ok?

Mike

...and whats wrong with that? Boat manufacturers come out with better boats every year. The Bravo went from an X to an XZ to an XR. So the rules change to accommodate changes in the industry. The best you can do without specifying 1 engine, 1 hull, 1 drive, and 1 weight is to create buckets (classes). If a product comes along that fits in one of the buckets (classes) and sponsorship is part of the deal, is that a bad thing?. Adjusting the rules within a class simply provides the flexibility to keep the class fresh.

thanks mike...very good responsis to few of my questions.

"Do not change the schedule" PLEASE AND THANK YOU "get more sponsors" NEVER ASKED FOR THAT ONE, MAYBE TRY FOR LESS AND KEEP THEM LONGER?? "cut racers costs" NEVER ASKED FOR THAT ONE EITHER "more television" I LIKE THAT ONE "more prize money" NEVER ASKED FOR THAT...HOW ABOUT JUST PAYING ME WHAT YOU OWE ME AND SAID YOU WOULD??? "TEll all of us how you would accomplish these things and tell us where the money comes from to accomplish these things"...ONE WOULD THINK; IF YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO DELIVER THESE THINGS UP FRONT, YOU HAD THE MONEY TO DO SO?....NOT I COULD HAVE IF ONLY YOU HAD PAID ME MORE! SORRY, COME AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING!!!

jim, i think u mean "bracket"??...did this "sponsorship" do anything for the racer?...if F2-57 or F2-55 were to have changed every year right to this point,, would they have benefited in any way?...NO, they keep winning races and Merc still pays them the same contingency money as i get.

"Adjusting the rules within a class simply provides the flexibility to keep the class fresh."...i agree, "adjusting" should be the key word..."adjusting" does not mean changes that would cost tens of thousands of dollars! "adjusting" should be done to increase reliability, increase safety, increase participation and decrease lap times!...this is WHAT moves a class of racing further!

Thanks Joey.

Mike

"Do not change the schedule" PLEASE AND THANK

So is that your final answer to the question of how YOU would accomplish this and how YOU would pay for it?

YOU "get more sponsors" NEVER ASKED FOR THAT ONE, MAYBE TRY FOR LESS AND KEEP THEM LONGER??

So is that your final answer to the question of how YOU would accomplish this and how YOU would pay for it?


"cut racers costs" NEVER ASKED FOR THAT ONE EITHER

So is that your final answer to the question of how YOU would accomplish this and how YOU would pay for it?


"more television" I LIKE THAT ONE

So is that your final answer to the question of how YOU would accomplish this and how YOU would pay for it?


"more prize money" NEVER ASKED FOR THAT...HOW ABOUT JUST PAYING ME WHAT YOU OWE ME AND SAID YOU WOULD???

So is that your final answer to the question of how YOU would accomplish this and how YOU would pay for it?


"TEll all of us how you would accomplish these things and tell us where the money comes from to accomplish these things"...ONE WOULD THINK; IF YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO DELIVER THESE THINGS UP FRONT, YOU HAD THE MONEY TO DO SO?....NOT I COULD HAVE IF ONLY YOU HAD PAID ME MORE! SORRY, COME AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING!!!

So is that your final answer to the question of how YOU would accomplish this and how YOU would pay for it?

i see you did a lot of cutting and pasting but did you read: "ONE WOULD THINK; IF YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO DELIVER THESE THINGS UP FRONT, YOU HAD THE MONEY TO DO SO?"

my final answer is: you are the suppler...we are the customer...you know, supply and demand...obviously your demand has dropped! and you can not supply either!...O, you can? please send my money and trophies to my home address.PLEASE AND THANK YOU.

"mike did an awesome job with some things, but he started to loose touch"...Joey Grattan PB mag....i could not agree more! you have done some great things for this sport, but every time you hit big in the + column it's offset in the - as well...

So is that your final answer to the question of how YOU would accomplish this and how YOU would pay for it?

"how YOU would accomplish this and how YOU would pay for it?"...do you think Ford would ask this of it's customers???...NO, because their reply would be:"yeah, I know HOW, buy a Toyota!" CYA

...at the end of the day Mike we PAY TO PLAY...at the end of the day what is different about your "professional" series and a regional race?...regionals i get paid my 700ish for the win and no TV...have fun...with you we get; the TV coverage to sell to our sponsors...we also get get broken promises,paid months later, and sometimes get nothing at all... not even a 5 dollar trophy! thank you for shopping...NEXT!dress that PIG up however you want!...could this be why the SC's took off!!!