varkwso

I had a friend tell me about the "Instructors" at a hotel in Danville (he was there for wedding plans for a kid) being pretty unfriendly and bashing Vettes last weekend. That would have been the Mazda event wouldn't it?

Geez, why can't we all just get along - and I have been trying to get him out on the track with his car (a C5) - guys wearing instructor t- shirts can leave a bad taste for all of us, I guess ...

I remember hazing at some PCA, Ford and Mazda events but most of it was good natured...

wallyman424

get along? what fun is that?

a student overheard me talking with another instructor (who also races with NASA) and says: "arent you guys supposed to be teaching us good track habits?"

John Shiels

yea there happy I'd be happy

96LT1

As an instructor that drives a vette I get both ends of it... the good and the bad...

lets just say that a lot of the 'atitude' towards vettes are brought on by a few vette owners.

A beginner or intermediate student motors through the corners while cars line up behind him. Once he gets to the straights the gas pedal goes down and the driver shows everyone how much car he's got and how little track etiquette he has. Think that is just a cliche? Guess again.

It aggravates everyone and it gets brought up in the instructor meetings. If the car in question is a cadillac, a camaro, or a Turbo RX-8 it gets mentioned and forgotten. If its a vette it gets remembered. The difference is the vette is a lot more 'visible'. (Almost like being an instructor)

...and since a vette is a lot more 'visible', everything that the driver does (good or bad) is remembered. Pass that on to all the vette drivers you see that are 'vette snobs' or have chips on their shoulders and it'll help us all just get along

Cbntmn

I seem to see a lot more "vette haters" than i see "vette snobs"

Most of the guys i run into at the tracks that drive our cars are pretty cool, and even when i was driving Fords i really didnt have any more issues than i did with any other brand.

I will agree though that when a vette driver has an on track issue it never seems to end. I drove at an SVTOA event at Sebring a couple of months ago. I was one of 2 vettes there. There was an incident with a vette and a cobra. Cobra spun out, vette hit his front end. Vette drove away and the front end of the cobra ended up on a flat bed along with the rest of the un drivable ford. All I heard at the bar that night was how "terrible" the "vette" driver was. A month later im at Roebling and a cobra driver reminds me of how the "vette driver should not have been driving so aggresively"

I wonder if the vette driver was in a Honda if he would be labeled that way?

Unfortunetly some bad apples seem to spoil it for some. A couple of instructors with big mouths, no matter what car they drive, can turn some people off.

Jeff tell your bud not to let idiots spoil his fun and get that vette out on the track. Heck you can instruct for him, and from what i hear you have a lap or two around some of the tracks in the southeast...

96LT1

Personally I don't believe so.


...and that was the real intent of my post. It only takes one.

DoingOK

Interesting comment. I've ran with the Mazda Drivers group four times now and hadn't heard anything real negative about the instructors. I try and drive respectfully even with nearly 500rwhp and intermediate experience. I had a blast this past weekend and my instructor drives a vette also. Were the zoom-zoom guys getting upset by the vroom-vroom?

Axelrod

If I drove like you, I'd expect some trash talking to be headed my direction also.

wallyman424

your car is stupid.


i'm just bitter that you didnt wave back to me. i was driving back home friday on 58 and saw you heading towards VIR with your wimpy tow vehicle and that slow track car.

DoingOK

Hey man....where's the love? I didn't see you buddy. My little Tacoma pulled my car suprisingly well. I can't afford all those baller rigs I see.

wallyman424

is that tire still rubbing? looks like you raised the car up a tad.

DoingOK

Yup..........still rubbing. I raised the *** end all the way up with stock bolts. I would rub at the bottom of bitch turn.........no big deal, only have one more weekend on this set. Got one more set to wear out before moving to R6's.

wallyman424

what a chore.

whens yer next event?

DoingOK

PM'ed

Cobra4B

**** 'em... Corvettes dominate most every HPDE they go to... they're amazing cars.

OKsweetrides

The Iron instructors I've had all love 'vettes an whtnot.
however... at the PCA events or multi-marque stuff, there's typically some brandsnobs I've ran into that'll dog every other kind of car but their own.

Mikelly

??? I have to get on a track with you real soon there Jr.

Mike

Mikelly

You're 110% correct...

I sold my Vette and almost immediately after buying another brand of car I had guys who had been my "buddys" no longer give me the time of day. Never mind the fact that I knew and KNOW more about their C5s than they ever will, since most didn't turn a single wrench, but came running to me for guidance and advice every time something was broke.

There's a bad stigma that goes with owning a number of cars... the Mustang "punks" (I owned one once), the "gold chain" wearing mid-life crisis Vette owners, The Porsche Snobs, and the list goes on... Bottom line is how people view the car is dictated a lot by how the person behind the wheel conducts themselves...

Every single time someone flips their lid over my new ride, I tell them "it's just a car" and "You want to sit in it? It's unlocked!"

They're all just hunks of metal and plastic... We give them life... We give them personality, and we can give them the reputation people "think" or break the mold... You choose.

Mike

Allthrottleandsomebottle

Remember Jeff..................my 10% rule?
We will rediscuss in a few weeks

varkwso

You are taking lessons from Aquaman I see I have no problem with people trash talking me - I have kids I am used to it . Heck, I have even been known to talk a little trash myself. Everybody knows how much I love Miata's and some of their drivers. But I am always polite and helpful when "civilians" ask me if we are "racing this weekend" at hotels, restaurants and gas stations. The more people out there - the more people I get to pass .

I have heard the "gold chain" comments, often. But I will track anything given the chance. I also know where vettes stack up in the pecking order at most track events. The "only fast in the straight comment" is the one that sparks the most response from me. The trickle down effect (thanks to the magic of depreciation) is getting C5s into the hands of the people and getting them on track (and in junkyards) more often. There are a few snobs but no more than any other marque.

Mark - I gave him a ride at the NCM event at CMP last year. He had a blast. Since I was chasing Jake down it was quite a ride... I have had a great time at all the SVTOA events I have been too.

I have run with Mazda twice at VIR. They assigned me an instructor both times - it was an interesting experience both times.