Every once in a while, we have a really cool car come into the shop where I work. It's not often we get to work on such classic machinery, like this 1956 Chevy Bel Air (even if it's modified), especially when its factored into the sea of Subaru's, pick-up trucks, Prius's, and 4-door sedans that almost start to look alike after a while. Two trains of thought came about from that 8am appointment a few days back:
- The shop's service manager who just happened to be at 9am that day (and the Chevy was fixed and gone) was,
"Man... I missed the really good stuff again!"
- The 2nd comment was from another customer, also with an 8am appointment, waiting for her car to be finished who said,
"Why would someone spend so much time & money on an old car? It's a dinosaur."
I've heard the second comment so many times over my life, I can't even begin to count. I realized long ago that if someone asked that of me, they will never understand - no matter how I try to explain myself. To me, fixing up an old car is not some statement of a mid-life crises (I'll be 53 next summer). I've been fixing, modifying, restoring, and basically having a blast with "old" cars for over 30 years. Sometimes I really get hit hard with that question, because not only do I work on old cars, but I write about and photograph hot rods from the 20's through the mid-70's, groove on nostalgic drag racing, NASCAR, as well as automotive Americana. I swear some people think I'm stuck in that era from my childhood. To me it's living and engaging in a sense of history. The same thing could be said of someone who is a Civil War buff, or a carpenter who loves fixing up late 1800's Victorian houses, or even the volunteer at your local historical society. I feel we all have some sense of history about something and the drive to preserve it in some way. If you happened to stumble across this blog by pure accident and are still reading at this point, but don't have any sense of any history at all - you need to get one.
As we move forward in our journey together on this Earth, we have to be careful not to loose that sense even when we think we're "making progress" or "improving the breed". The NHRA as well as NASCAR are walking this tightrope. In my humble opinion for what it's worth, I feel that the NHRA may very well implode and kill itself off. Between inner organizational politics, pissed off drivers, lack of manufacturers support, and decreasing attendance at events, the NHRA has been losing money since 2008. What a lot of people, even
fans of the sport, don't realize is that sponsorship money only goes so far - many of the drivers, be it pro-stock or funny car, invest a great deal themselves. It's not uncommon that a yearly budget to campaign a very competitive pro-stock car (that involves at least one back-up car), is around the 2 million dollar mark. Yeah - two million! And NASCAR isn't much better. Many drivers are fed up with the ever-escalating costs of racing. Many feel it's out of control. Ironically, what many fans and drivers feel is missing from these programs is the sense of history - or the way it used to be; when there were rivalries. Competition improves the breed, not having a 300 page laundry list of rules and regulations to follow so everyone is equal to the nth degree. Where's the creativity? Where's the spark of imagination? Where's the drive to be different?
I'm starting to see this
"keep it simple - like it used to be" movement hit more and more car shows; even ones of national significance. Whether it's a small local get-together, or a large event that also involves bracket racing, auto-cross, or nostalgia oval racing, organizers of such events are reconnecting with the past and its deep history. I've been to some major shows across the eastern United States where full-on racing has the simple mantra of
"Keep it safe - Keep it fun." And participants are adhering to it
- most likely because no one wants to see these cool times go by the
wayside. With events like these, big or small, we've got the pot of gold
in the palms of our hands. Let's not get stupid and piss it all away.
Until next time, peace out.
Dave
Every once in a while, we have a really cool car come into the shop where I work. It's not often we get to work on such classic machinery, like this 1956 Chevy Bel Air (even if it's modified), especially when its factored into the sea of Subaru's, pick-up trucks, Prius's, and 4-door sedans that almost start to look alike after a while. Two trains of thought came about from that 8am appointment a few days back:
As we move forward in our journey together on this Earth, we have to be careful not to loose that sense even when we think we're "making progress" or "improving the breed". The NHRA as well as NASCAR are walking this tightrope. In my humble opinion for what it's worth, I feel that the NHRA may very well implode and kill itself off. Between inner organizational politics, pissed off drivers, lack of manufacturers support, and decreasing attendance at events, the NHRA has been losing money since 2008. What a lot of people, even 
I'm starting to see this "keep it simple - like it used to be" movement hit more and more car shows; even ones of national significance. Whether it's a small local get-together, or a large event that also involves bracket racing, auto-cross, or nostalgia oval racing, organizers of such events are reconnecting with the past and its deep history. I've been to some major shows across the eastern United States where full-on racing has the simple mantra of "Keep it safe - Keep it fun." And participants are adhering to it
- most likely because no one wants to see these cool times go by the
wayside. With events like these, big or small, we've got the pot of gold
in the palms of our hands. Let's not get stupid and piss it all away.
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