Labor Day In Sonoma....

[Marcus Miller]

To close the loop, he did return to racing, late last year or this year. Has run up front and won since then.

[lateapex911]

If you guys are talking about the guy who was the subject of "A Protest Story", yes, he's in the same car and racing, presumably clean. He's a good driver. Very good. But I'll stop short of great, LOL.

As for the Paris bound protestee, it is not uncommon for the tools, the physical space, and or the conditions at the track to be inappropriate for a teardown, and arrangements have been made in the past to perform such work at other locations and at a later date. Clearly, the car gets towed to a neutral third party that both parties agree on.

It's a real shame that option wasn't presented to the protestee. In the NE, there is a Steward that is called in to act as a liason and adviser to those involved in a protest. In our case, he, I felt, spent significant time with the protestee and was presumably explaining the options available.

If I were the guy who needed to be in Paris, I'd seriously look at lodging some form of complaint that the matter wasn't handled in a manner that allowed me to defend himself.

One thing I don't like about the protest process is that it is a very shocking thing to have happen, and the clock is ticking; your answers and actions are needed quickly, and the wrong answer can prove lethal.

It's also interesting that the protester didn't list a variety of other easy to check items. He clearly felt the protestee was of a cheating mind, and there are a lot of cheap things he could have done that are far more likely to hit pay dirt than the items he listed. Some would have been obvious in the disassembly.

[Z3_GoCar]

Part of the reason I'm asking because putting my motor togeather, I'm aware of the cost of dissassembly. Pulling the head, $30 for a new set of head bolts and $180 for a top end gasket set. Pull the pistions and I need a new set of rod bolts, pull the crank and it's flywheel bolts and main bearing bolts, plus the cost of a bottom end gasket set. Pull the head requires pulling the cams that involves a $1400 special tool made by an 80 year old machinist in Bavaria. Otherwise the loads on the hollow cams will break them. So you can see a rather large bond may be required to see some of these parts.

[Marcus Miller]

Sounds like a good deterent to protesting

[Z3_GoCar]

Sounds like a good deterent to protesting

That and the driver runs at the front of the ITA field in an 'R car

Seriously, though the only protest I've been witness to involved a "factory" Mazda spoiler on the rear of a first gen Rx-7. No tear down bond required for something out in the open like that. All the impounds I've been witness too just involve the drivers talking to each other, we didn't even have weights taken.

[lateapex911]

. All the impounds I've been witness too just involve the drivers talking to each other, we didn't even have weights taken.

That's not good. I'd want some ride height measurements, some airdam measurements and some weighing. And a mandatory open hood. Simple easy and cheap.

[Z3_GoCar]

That's not good. I'd want some ride height measurements, some airdam measurements and some weighing. And a mandatory open hood. Simple easy and cheap.

That's what I got when I ran with the ground pounders. ITE's only "rule" was run DOT rubber, no minimum weight, height, or limit to mods. Still there were other classes that did have some rules, and I don't remember any of them even being weighed either....