[QUOTE=bbladesprops;2151425]Empire, well maybe.

No direspect intended. I have mucho respect for the man! He was a great racer and a good business man. The ups and downs with Mercury were fun to be part of. The whole Labbed Bravo 1 vs. Hydro deal was played in my sand box. Reggie walked away like a scorned child. And Mercury acted like the big brother holding the basketball.

What was the Merc Bravo 1 vs. Hydro deal? I was talking to Tom at Hydromotive and evidently brought up the wrong thing, and he went off on a Tangent about Reggie Fountain politics.. I was, and am now, clueless.

In a nut shell. Reggie wanted Labbed Bravo 1's at a certain price as standard equp. delivered on all Lightnings etc. in the late 90's. Dennis and I said yes, Merc bean counters said no. Reggie said, "I'm calling Hydromotive". There are deep roots good and bad between Merc and Fountain.

I don't think it is apropriate to discuss this any more. I explained the whole story a year ago in this forum. As I said earlier, Reggie deserves alot of respect for various reasons.

Thanks for the insight... at least I can avoid pushing Tom's buttons again.
Carder

His bark is louder than his bite!

Julie