oldracefan....in the begining of the year it was on our schedule....but as you may know...a few..well 3 to be exact tought there were being funny by putting out some e-mails and a phone call to try to discredit me....well....lets just say we know who and were it came from....and out of what camp....
Not to smart on there part.....knowing they would still have to get things done ...and how it would look in other very inportant peoples eye's

The outcome is any OSS race I attend will be on my own...vice the race name #41 Dragon...along with no display or promoting the Coast Guard's campaign at there races....along with no uniforms worn with there logo's at there races...vice the white shirts we wear when we attend...

I'm attending there races becasue I want to race against all SV's and yes while there are a few cowards there....the mojority of the people in OSS are great people and would do anything for you and welcomed me with open arms and were very nice to me...which any race team would want....plus all my equipment fees and 2 races fees have been paid for me to attend 2 races to give the 3 cowards a oppertunity to approch me in person....and which by the way they did not in Ft. Myers....
But like I said a few months ago...there day will come...and one in perticular even got a e-mail from me..."WE" even paid a visit to there neighborhood twice...which they were not around...but it will be handle...

We will be attending the Orange Beach race as our 2nd one...I had a great time in 2003 there for the Worlds...

Earlier in this thread there was mention of the merc truck being there for you. I was told that a team in Toronto had a problem with a #6 drive. They took it to the truck and they could not help them because they did not have the tools. What is the truck there for?

pat W

Over 3600 views 100 plus responses and no answer.

If the Popeyes boat changes their hull are they allowed to run the imco 4x4 drive again or do they have to switch to merc?

pat W

As an engine manufacturer and builder of the now excluded 496 Vortec motor I can kind of see where Shifter - Pat is coming from here. There seems to have developed a very small club of "Black & Blue" team/factory racers who really think they can have parity , cost control, and new technology just by taking hand out, excuse me "contigency money" from one industry controlling manufacturer. You are being a little short sided. Unless you have exact parity, including all the hulls manufactured and used, there really is no such thing as offshore boat racing parity. Make the rules inclusive of more small industry manufacturers and builders and you can also lower some racing costs and maybe, just maybe the prize moneys will overcome the need for contigency money and the sport will be a lot more exciting for the fans, boat owners, sponsors and such! Gentlemen, stop patting yourselves on the back so hard take off the blinders and let the sport step up a notch. Noth'in like a little competetion to level the playing field!

Ray @ Raylar

I've heard good things about your work Ray.

Shifter: OSO is great for banter & rumors & trash talking, but not a reliable source for rules. This thread is called "2006 Rules."

If you would please consult http://www.offshoresuperseries.com/rules.php , then you would find the answers to your questions right there.

Raylar, we've been saying this again and again, and we won't stop saying it: At OSS, these decisions are made in a democratic fashion, racers say yay or nay. If you want to influence their decisions, then you must do what is done in a democracy: Engage your constituency, lobby them, try to make them see the positive in your product.

Accusing your customers of "taking a hand out" or being "a little short sided" ( I assume you mean "short sighted" ) just alienates them more. You rarely get a vote by telling your voters that they are stupid and crooks.

And let's not forget how the Vortec got its 15 minutes of fame. It was based on a somewhat questionable deal between APBA and god-knows-whom, a lease program at obscene prices, and a hand out, excuse me "contigency money" that supposedly went back to the racers. But in SVL, it so happened that the then Technical Director of APBA received the lions share of that hand out, and he wasn't even embarrassed of trumpeting out loud that he got most of the money.

Those days are over, once and for all.

As usual, an incorrect statement by you regarding things that happened way before you ever started kissing Randy's azz.

When the Vortec deal came around, Steve Miklos offered me the engine and sponsorship deal, and I'm pretty sure another team was offered when I declined. I will try to find the letter just to prove that you have no clue what you are talking about. The engine was an unknown in offshore, so the racers passed on Steve's offer. Steve really had no choice but to put it in his boat. Through testing and more testing, he got more out of that engine than any of us could have.

I appreciated the offer, and never had a second thought about him, as Competition Director, running the package. That is because I knew the truth....................

The reason I started this thread was to find out why the rules are against my company. The rules are liquid. At the drop of a hat they change in favor of keeping my products out of competition.

The media has not written one article in ten years about this subject, so I brought it here to the racers section to get answers and hopefully to stop the constant rules manipulation.

I have been over the rules and it is not clear. Send me a pm or call me with the specific rule that is keeping my #6ssm dry-sump drive from competeting. Then we will clarify the other 10 rules that are against my company.

Thanks,
pat W

Bertel,

I don't know if you qualify for Phantom1's assessment or not but the suggestion that the Vortec deal lined anyone's pocket is absolutely wrong. You are dead wrong in this instance. If you don't believe me fine...then you won't believe anyone.

The Vortec leases were cheap when GM needed the testing and in my opinion allowed some folks to race who might otherwise not.

The finances were above board and CRE and Innovation i'm sure benefitted but we are talking hundreds of dollars in CRE's case...not enough to cover the administration of the program which was done for nothing.

Everyone thought Alweiss was walking away with millions. Ask OSS (a well organized sanctioning body...i was one of their turn boats in Toronto) if they have been able to "salt away" millions, thousands or even hundreds. It is not an easy business and anyone in it deserves a great deal of respect.

These old chestnuts of which you speak have reached the level of urban mythology. Just remember, they are myths and you are posting them as if you knew what you are talking about. You don't.

Ted Z