I completely agree with you being a very influential and positive person, aspect, and character in this sport but the constant degradation of specific individuals in these threads comes off in a way of you saying “I’m better than you” and is specifically written in your post about mental disorders. To imply that this “mental disorder” never applies to certain men, including yourself, is why I used the word “elitism.” I used elitism because you came off acting that way, but from what I have seen on RDC you yourself are not an “elitist.” As males WE ALL make this elitism mistake during times. What I have watched most on RDC lately is ego driven responses by just about everyone because we are now predominantly run by the “me” generation. It’s very prevalent in this industry, website, and society in general. I’m not dissolved of the behavior neither, also myself falling into the tendencies to be selfish and need the attention too. Grace and forgiveness have been lost just as much as the opportunity to make a mistake on this forum. We now have to post in a “get it right the first time or be prepared to be stoned to death and eaten” lord of the flies style for opinions we state on this public forum. We have never met in person but I have only ever heard great things about you, but what I’m starting to see is a trend where you attack certain members and screen names personally instead of correcting things with factual information like you used too.
Mr. Pyle states that “buggy dorks” all have a complex and have to prove their worth, but most of this thread is him replying back insistent that 6100 trucks should get their way because they are big and mean and can hurt someone (paraphrasing and a generality.) His reasonings to me are more a lack of knowledge and driving ability(not directly related to him or his kids, but again a general statement applying to others in his class) in passing through the dust more so than safety related, but the factor of safety of a 6-7 thousand pound truck crushing a stopped or slowly moving lighter, smaller vehicle in the dust does serve some merit, but not so much that classes need to be relegated to becoming back markers. Class 10 quit whining about being behind slow 6100 trucks a while ago because reality is, when they start in front of 6100 they now have to deal with slow trophy trucks so what’s the difference? It’s no different for 6100. A few complain about being stuck behind the slow class 1 cars, but in reality it’s not the ones winning because they know how to pass. In my opinion, if you want to race through the least amount of dust you need to pay to play and when the beast is unleashed prepare for the consequences from behind. Mike is the loudest and most vocal one on the topic, even more so now than MG. If BITD is going to put the time and effort into qualifying 6100 then mix them into the starting order with the other classes as well, not just alone. The argument of “it’s scary to race through the dust not knowing how small the car ahead of us is” doesn’t carry merit to it inhibiting a class from running because of that car started in front of that whole class then every driver in that class has had to deal with said slow small vehicle, and if Mike (when he’s driving, not the kids) can’t pass that small car successfully then he doesn’t deserve to be running for the podium against the others in his class that had to deal with the exact same scenario. To me it’s coming off as Mike won’t be happy until there is a TT and Spec TT series so there is no worry of any other safety risks involved, but the reality is that the big money teams and entries are all so volatile that you have to bow to them to keep them around because they can take their money wherever they want. You crew for Honda and corporate decides what races you guys do. Honda has the ability to race wherever they want whenever they want. This is true of UTV’s sponsored by manufacturers and worldwide corporations as well. The volatility of being able to go where the sanctioning body will cater to your desires is what has brought this discussion up to begin with, because let’s face it… except for safety, rules changes are driven by product manufacturers and the top financial racers, not by what is best for the sport long term.
We cannot eliminate risk, and even small cars on small cars ends in horrible consequences. Unfortunately we saw that earlier this year with amazing people and it still saddens me knowing it happened at all let alone to great people in this sport, but at a certain point we need to assume responsibility for our decisions as well whether that be racing through the dust and hitting another car or entering into an upper class in a car not built to withstand the punishment of racing with the big dogs.
i voted mix it up, but I don’t think this is without negative consequences to the sport. I think BITD needs to essentially eliminate all classes except TT, class 1, 6100, class 10, class 5, 4100, unlimited UTV, Pro turbo, and Pro NA. They shouldn’t be A series for “the little guy.” That’s what MORE and SNORE are for and they do a better job of taking care of the limited class racers. It also comes down to education and experience. I don’t think someone with 4 years experience is a “veteran” in this sport by any means unless they lived in the sport and were under the tutelage of multiple SME’s. The guys winning in 6100 and UTV all started in limited classes, so why stifle that growth by imposing unnecessary rules to constrain them into rules and standards to serve only the top one or two classes. 6100 and TT aren’t paying the bills for BITD, MM, or SCORE. UTV’s are and if you alienate them you lose the luster of being the “top” series because the lack of funding eliminates the “fluff” around the series and spectators won’t show up.
This is all opinion and I fully expect to be burned at the stake for it. We are all humans, no one of us anymore special than the other in this sport because at the end of the day we all need one another to make these races happen, differences in opinions and attitudes and all. This isn’t a perfect reply and unfortunately the forums don’t portray emotions (or lack thereof) very well. I’m far from perfect but I’m an outsider looking in on the conversation so I’m not emotionally invested in my point of view. I’ll also never race anything faster than a 1600 car because I can’t afford it so my opinion carries very little relevance unless I somehow came up with a lucky idea that no one else has yet.
@dan200 i dont think you are an elitist, but I do think that post was an example of elitism towards one individual you dislike on the internet and have never met in person by degrading their opinion and input to the topic because of your opinion of that person.
