Agreed
First to answer Shane's question. If you long track it, then its not stock. The stock class is designed to be just that, the same thing that the average sled comes out of the box as. Depending on the race and the officials, they may dictate if you can run screws in your track or any other minor change. But as stated, stock is the key.
220
I can say after 5 tours to the war, I know exactly what you speak of. The question isn't whether it’s worth it, but what it would take to get more people to step up. I believe your first point is the current key, the economy. Until those changes, not much hope for any groups to step up.
Second, if it were just saving up some cash and go racing, more folks would have been part of this. As most pros can agree, this is $100,000 +, not the mere $10,000 sled. Big difference. Remember back when you started, because if you look at your sled, it has a maze of support stickers. That’s not unsupported. You might have made an honest run of it, but just the fuel to each race is $1000’s depending on the outfit. Besides, you had either the lottery, rich wife or grandmother that helped get your start. It wasn't you holding a menial job, eating rumen noodles for a year or so and deciding to go racing. Do the math, impossible. The key is (not which form of) you had help whether it was a sum of money you were given or whatever. Not to diss on your wife, grandmother or whomever gave you the start.
I ask, are you speaking to fortunate riders that have a great job to allow them all the add-ons and so they should race with the factory-sponsored or the average guy who is trying to do just as you did? Big difference.
This is also speaking to the above-average guy who has a descent sled to begin with and will throw his little bit of savings at the chance to ride Jackson, not the season. Your aren’t even talking to the below-average guy who is struggling to ride a home-build masterpiece (to them) that can ride.
Even Kirk Williamson, who is famous for doing just that showing up with something different and making it run, had help, a lot of it.
Again, it’s not the ride that is addressed here but the reason why no one is making the attempt at RMSHA. Money and the oppurtunity.
Throttle.
You make a great point about your sled. If you remember the year before, we did catch your sled and we are the guys you expressed your gratitude to afterward. One point you need to remember is the amount of ice and the 20 guys that went down that hill with your sled. I speak this because I was almost to the catch net with it. And here we are, a rider wants to say, not good job for saving any sleds today, but you lost mine. We truly tried and did our best to save all sleds, but failed on yours. It isn’t that we didn’t save yours, it’s we damn near got our a$$es handed to us in the process of trying to save your sled on a very icy hill. If this isn’t what you remember, pull it up on YouTube since I have watched it a hundred times wondering what I should have done different. And I have spoken to Cody (Mr Yamaha at Jackson) no less than 4 times to say we tried.
This resembles the bad attitude the famous Dennis Dumas displays on the hill, the point made earlier. He is wide open, as he should be, getting out of control and finding a hole. And yelling at the hill crew to not touch his sled, he’s got it, try some stupid move and lose it. This is what racing is all about, agreed? Now the part I complain about comes into play. He wants to yell, scream and cuss at the hillcrew for not saving his sled. That is why he has the bad attitude label.
No matter what anyone says, we as hill crew truly bust out butts to save all sleds. You have the competition of going up the hill and we have the competition of saving sleds. We have winners and losers, too. If you think otherwise, come join me and my crew on the 3rd (ask for John). You will get a nice workout. And bring spikes or something for traction, it will probably be needed.
What frosts my cuttookus is when a rider says, risk your neck to save my sled and when you don’t save my sled, I have the right to yell at you for it. Oh’ and who gives a crap about the next 8 sleds/riders, there’re not mine. What right does the rider have to yell at the hillcrew? Let’s refer back to the original comment where I compared Dennis to Rick. Any similarity here?
I also want to remind all, the beginning of this comment is just to enjoy the racing. What part of the racing is being enjoyed here by the racer or the volunteer to help him out?
My original comment spoke of this problem. And yet somehow we are back on to it. The factory-supported pros (not all) think they can do as they want even if it’s make an a$$ of themselves at the volunteers expense. And you say it’s part of racing. Ego’s are killing RMSHA.
The Rick Ward, Darren Gould, David Sheppard, Brett Rasmussen, Chris Brandt or even Kirk Williamson-Polaris Zollingers (Nathan, Ryan and Anthony) crew (the list goes on) has never spoken one word poorly to hillcrew. The aspect of their anger is not the hillcrew but of their misfortune of hitting a hole or rut wrong. They are just as fierce competitors as anyone and yet they see we as hillcrew are not the problem, but the help out of a bad spot even if we didn’t save their sled. I was ran over by one of the Sheppard boys on his mod sled (screws) and before the sled came to a stop, he was off the sled, pulled me out from under it and was apologizing to me. I didn’t know whether to say thanks for pulling me out or for the experience. I was having a ball. This has been my vacation every year for 16 years. But I knew he appreciated my efforts and believed there isn’t a sled worth getting someone hurt.
I say again, the poorest apple makes the loudest noise and therefore makes the worst representation for the whole group. Dennis has the power to prove to all involved he can change to make RMSHA better as with anyone else who finds himself falling into this bad attitude category. You may think you are allowed or don’t care but in the end, you lose.
syko
