Idle Thoughts by Pat Childs
Hmmmmm, what to write about... Let's see...
Maybe I could write
a piece about my Peugeot and how much fun it was having the right front strut break, taking
out one low mileage RE71R
(CHA CHING!!!!); the right front tie rod end break (CHA-CHING!!!!); the left front strut break, taking
out another low mileage
RE71R (CHA CHING!!!!); the number two plug wire burn through (CHA-CHING!!!!),
the porcelain electrode insulation on the brand new number three plug breaking (AH
HA!!!! Never throw away
those old plugs.); and the alternator going
south (CHA CHING!!!! CHING!!!!
CHING!!!!). Now all this might sound pretty awful, but
I look at it as the price you pay for a
"sedan with an attitude". nd, of course, all this stuff will be in good
shape for a while. Naw...
Maybe I'll save that for a book.
Maybe I could write about how at the Michigan International Speedway Regional I tried to mount one of Tom VanCamp's customer tires with my finger stuck in the bead. I could write about how helpful the Medical personnel were and how so many friendly people just dropped by to see how I was doing. A couple even called the shop. Hmmmm... I wish would have written down some of their names, but then writing was something I wasn't able to do with a smashed finger.
I suppose I could write about what a blast it was watching John Slack battling it out with Mike Galati and Gary Fratianne in the rain at the last Blackhawk National. He finally passed Galati and barely got edged out by less than a car length by Fratianne. Dang!!! I should have submitted something to Steve on that one. Too late.
Then there was the National at Texas World Speedway, where Gary Phillips used nitrous oxide in his SSC Miata and was able to hold his own against some of the SSGT cars, much to the chagrin of the Tech folks. They were so upset that they spanked his hand and said he couldn't race for thirty days. Unfortunately for Gary, the severity of his fine caught the eye of some SCCA higher-ups, so instead he gets six months to figure out how to get his little Mazda to go faster, with $1,000 less in his racing budget. Gee... maybe Gary should have used that money for a driving school.
I had been
considering maybe doing some sort of in depth interview
with John Freeman. You know, to get
his side of the story in relation
to the suspension of one of Indy Region's more colorful drivers. Better not. Too
controversial (and possibly litigious).
Maybe I could poke fun at how the National Speedsport News article on the RunOffs included a line about how Randy Pobst led "a rotary parade" of Mazda Miatas, which should have made Tech a really interesting place to be, considering the Miata's are supposed to have four cylinders. Even the Official Program for the RunOffs was filled with interesting tales of Cosworth powered Formula Fords and Sports 2000s.
Oh well, maybe I'll think of something.