So I went to the Vintage Races Yesterday...-Page 2| Grassroots Motorsports forum |

oldtin SuperDork
6/25/12 6:10 p.m.

aeronca65t wrote: By the way, I wouldn't say a lot of us "cruise" in vintage. I club raced as a mid-pack amateur for years. Now, in vintage, I'm still mid-pack, and I'm racing just as hard.

No intent to bash on vintage racers. I'm building a TR4 myself and will flog it properly - as do many in vintage - my comment was more about the prewar cars - and they may have been running hard - but with 8 cars spread out over a 4-mile track I wasn't seeing much of the red mist... That was an early season run - the Brian Redman challenge later in the year is a very full grid and a different experience. That particular weekend seemed really laid back although the 60s-70s 2-3 liter groups were full grids and charging hard.

shadetree30 Reader
6/25/12 6:29 p.m.

In reply to oldtin:

All of these are way pretty...is #34 an old Indy car?

forzav12 Reader
6/25/12 6:48 p.m.

I have owned all of the above mentioned cars(except the Grif). I've raced most and I'd say that an early 911 is very tough to beat for simple on-track entertainment, reliability, size, appearance and speed. Fairly economical as well. For pure sex appeal, thunderous noise and heroics-well, the Vette, of course.

oldtin SuperDork
6/25/12 8:14 p.m.

In reply to shadetree30:

misidentified earlier as a miller - it's a studebaker indy car - ran in the 1932 and 1933 Indy - finished 7th in 1933. There were 3 Bugatti 35s and one I couldn't pin down the model with low, faired-in lights. The bugs were fascinating and so cool to be up close with them.

In reply to mguar:

I have an odd attraction to Amilcars - will own a C6 someday. You are correct on the safety front - the Bugatti 35s have an exposed chain drive right next to the throttle pedal. The early cars don't suffer fools.

Basil Exposition Reader
6/25/12 8:28 p.m.

I run a Spridget in vintage as well. Most thrills per $ available in vintage racing, with the possible exception of FV. We have a big group of them in Texas and we race really hard. Sometimes too hard.

Unlimited budget? Lotus 23, without question. Those things are just wicked fast and cool.

Jaynen Reader
6/25/12 9:24 p.m.

Is a Spridget a sprite or a midget or actually some sort of combination

Basil Exposition Reader
6/25/12 9:50 p.m.

Jaynen wrote: Is a Spridget a sprite or a midget or actually some sort of combination

Refers to the MG Midget and post-bugeye Austin-Healey Sprite. They were the same car with different badges. They are generally indistinguishable from a distance, especially on the track. Besides the badges and slight differences in trim and interior, they are most easily distinguished by the grills. And often not even then, as racers tend to modify and paint the grills. It is easier just to call them all Spridgets.

Even the Bugeye Sprite is basically the same chassis under the skin, though engine displacement and rear suspension varies over the years.

Mine is a 1974 MG Midget, FWIW.

Jaynen Reader
6/25/12 10:12 p.m.

There's a very fast one locally but it's hardly a sprite anymore. Think its rotary powered.

Rusted_Busted_Spit GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
6/26/12 10:29 a.m.

Basil Exposition wrote: Unlimited budget? Lotus 23, without question. Those things are just wicked fast and cool.

It was fun to watch Doc Bundy chase people down at Mid Ohio last weekend in his 23, very cool.

skrzastek Reader
6/26/12 11:33 p.m.

aeronca65t wrote: And yes, I know that Miata are "almost" eligible age-wise. But I really hope the clubs keep them out of vintage racing (my daily driver is an NB). .

Why is that? I ran my Spec Miata at the VIR Gold Cup races last year and had a blast doing it. It was a lot less stressful and I was less worried about getting damage than the average SCCA/NASA race.....

Maroon92 MegaDork
6/27/12 5:33 a.m.

I was there, too!

aeronca65t Dork
6/27/12 8:05 a.m.

skrzastek wrote: Why is that? I ran my Spec Miata at the VIR Gold Cup races last year and had a blast doing it. It was a lot less stressful and I was less worried about getting damage than the average SCCA/NASA race.....

For exactly the reason you have just given.
SpecMiata racing is stressful and often involves damage.

To be honest, I enjoy watching SpecMiata races. But I have no interest in racing with them.

When I club-raced my Spridget, I was frequently in mixed races with SpecMiatas (mostly enduros). As a result my car was hit on all four corners, by impatient, agressive Miata drivers.
It's not the cars themselves (although I hope they are kept out too). But it is the aggressive attitude of many of the SpecMiata drivers. This has no place in vintage racing.
I race just as hard in vintage as I ever did, but if I am overtaking a slower pre-war car, I am patient and give them lots of space. In a recent race, I was duking it out with a friend in a similar car. We caught up with a pair of slower, older cars, so we just sat behind them for a while, watching them dice back and forth. When we reached the main-straight and there was lots of room, we passed and went on with our battle.
I'm not confident that the typical SpecMiata driver gets this type of subtle point about vintage racing.

You sound like you understand the notion that road racing doesn't have to a kamakazee sport. And I'm glad you had a good time at VIR.
But I'm sorry; I've seen enough SpecMiata races to believe that a large portion of Miata racers would bring in their agressive driving methods to vintage.
Obviously, there's lot of opinions on this, but I would prefer to keep Miatas out of vintage racing.