Short-Throw

The universal racers pledge

I solemnly swear no matter what my annual income amounts to, I will spend every last dollar of it with exception to life sustaining staples like food and water, and when necessary, ‘fast’ some days in order to spend more money. Furthermore, I commit to frequently replacing performance parts that are in perfectly good working order for no good rhyme or reason. Every car I ever track will be a perpetual project.

Feel free to add to the pledge as there's probably no end to it either.

With my race season about to expire as Autobahn shuts down for the year this weekend, I still feel it’s my duty to act like a moron and spend money off season too. I dropped my trailer off today for maintenance/repairs/upgrades. I have no regrets with my trailer set up as many of you have seen how nice it is but, as time has elapsed I have found more crap to stuff in my trailer for each race/event. As a result, I am upgrading to heavier axles/wheels and bigger tires to offset all the weight. I just want to give a heads up to first time trailer shoppers to opt for a larger accommodating weight load from day one.

The Beast is also getting a few upgrades this winter as like many of you, I simply can’t leave well enough alone.

Are there any supporting vendors that are psychiatrists? I think a group buy could be in order!



Mike

Everett Ogilvie

Why don't you just break down and get a semi?

To add to the pledge;

I solemnly swear to put a sequential racing trans in my car, even though Mike recommends against it!

WNeal

I solemly swear to continue looking for loose change in the FireHouse couches etc. so I can spend every last possible penny on the car and this addiction.

Give me racing or give me death

0Randy@DRM

I pledge that everything will be in tire price terms.

My wife's trip to CA to visit her sister (1 set of tires)
Root canal and cap (5 tires)
new transmission (7 tires)
Parts for the trailer (1 set)

I can play psychiatrists!!!
"yep....how do you feel.......your childhood........take these pills........pay up sucker" Sorry it was kinda funny, I hope that didn't offend anyone.

Randy

SLandstra_Z06

Since my car is undergoing repairs from my "incident" anyway, I pledge to take every available dollar I will not be spending during the off-season for track costs and put them toward upgrading my car.

I have to replace much of the suspension on the left side of the car anyway, so I might as well take the opportunity to upgrade some things while it's all apart....

Steve

0RAAMaudio

I may be an extreme case, I have three great cars that would be so much fun on the track, only one runs and will be further under the knife this winter when I should be getting the others going.

In the past 3 years I have spent well over half of my income and thousands of hours on them but have less than 10 hours of track time, the highest cost car less than an hour.

BUT, I am making changes, really, one is for sale, then I can get the expensive one on the lift and back to building it. The other car is our sunshine car, it only goes under the knife on occasion so we can use it on sunny days, I am making progress even if only in my mind

Rick

worldsaway

I swear to be at every event early. Twice this year I got there late and never recovered. I spent the whole day scrambling around trying to recover, and it even carried over into the next day and I NEVER got my head in the game. Ed

flycastinguy

Anything can be rationalized. I know .... when it comes to the car, I'm a master at it.

JDIllon

You guys should move to Florida, where you can spend money on your car 12 months a year. There is no break to this insanity!!!!!!!!!!
OH!!! Well!!! it could be golf. For those that want to get started early Chin 2-3 January Sebring JD
Note: Mike got many of us started down this path, I don't know about you guys but I'm not going to any doctor of his for help.

flycastinguy

Jim, I need the 3 month winter break to put stuff on the car that has collected on the garage shelves for the last 9 months. That way I have room to "restock" the shelves during the season for next winter .....

BTW, my new bride just asked me what I want for Christmas this year. I guess I set the tone for our lifetime of marital bliss ... I told her I want a new Sparco steering wheel.

Radguy

I solemnly swear never to divulge to my significant other, the true cost of any planned, current or past automotive modifications.

Lying, begging, borrowing, and stealing are perfectly acceptable practices in order to obtain justification and/or funding for any current or planned automotive modifications.


This Sunday, "The Bear" is being put into winter hibernation. As with Mike, I too am planning some significant mods to "The Bear" over this upcoming winter culminating in a likely visit to Kateck ( I can see bringing along a suitcase full of money--my significant other will think it's full of clothes). As is becoming the norm, 10% of the project planning is choosing which mods--the other 90% is the lying, begging, borrowing and stealing part.

Jonathan

66IISS

Its easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission.

yakisoba

I swear to make the phrase "While we're in there..." part of my process for all car repair.

TmillerC5

I believe this man has come upon what should be the credo for all racers He is a right thinking person.
Tim

Tom03Z06

AtomicZ

Always budget 50% more that you think it will cost. I have been caught too many times when the bill ends up significantly higher than what I told the wife. Just once I would like it to actually be less than I said it was going to be.

AU N EGL

A few years back there was some guy down GA way that robbed a bank or two to get his racing fixed financed.

Lets see. Now which Cart team out of South Florida ran drug boats to finance their team? 4-5 years ago

and which ALMS GT2 team out of Las Vagus had a Commercial real estate investment operation* to pay for there GT2 team?

* Laundered money for the "families" was suspected.

and a GT1 team out of Germany, race Saleens IIRC, use German Government Grant money for youth education development to pay for their Team.

drivinhard

I pledge to continue to buy parts/upgrades for the car, and storing them alongside the other 13 boxes of parts/upgrades, that have yet to make it on the car. I will do this until there is a newer/better version of said parts (and then purchase the new one, to keep the old version company). I will continue this process until the car is 2 decades old, and /or long since destroyed at the track.

kentz06

I pledge to justify to myself (and the wife) that ALL modifications are improving the ultimate safety of the car. That way the answer can never be no.

"But hunny, do you really want me to drive a car that is less safe?" :o

Dean

worldsaway

I hide the receipts for a month and then burn them, and hope the fire dept doesn't come out for the bonfire
Oh, and UPS doesn't deliver my goodies to the house, I ship it all to the office. Ed