Hi, this is Logan Forler and I can understand why everyone is frustrated with the wings going back on. Also, on the other hand, Deming Speedway did the same thing for the same reason. Putting the wings back on every weekend at Deming did not effect anyone from coming back. The main reason why I am putting up this post is I really don't want to see the Salem racing to go down because it is the only place that anyone can go during the winter to go race. There are a lot of people who sacrifice a lot and put a lot of work into putting on the Salem series. I personally have ran a wing at Salem and it is great racing in my opinion. When we ran wings it calmed the race cars down and kept everyone in control of their cars. Also, if we all come back and put the wing on for this race and stay off each other, maybe they will realize that we are good enough to take them back off. All the races we ran with wings at Salem, one person went over. Just race clean and it wont cost anyone a whole lot of money. Thank You.
In my personally opinion Paul Lemley is the best track promoter in the northwest. Drivers safety is a concern of his and that is exactly what he did when people were getting hurt, he put the wings on. Also people were wrecking way to much equipment. That is exactly what Salem is doing. Heather Boyce is a great person and she is doing this for best of everyone. Non- wing or wing doesn't matter at Salem if your concern is that it will make a driver better it is too small. But the wing will calm the car down and keep people off of each other. Believe me I know from experience.
Logan, Thanks for your words of encouragement, but I can't resist replying to this, as I have to COMPLETELY disagree with a few of your statements. I may not have participated in events at Salem, but as a driver with 15 years of experience, i do have my opinions.
First, wings do not resolve poor/rough driving. There are drivers out there that are going to be out of control or race over-aggressively with or without a wing. The solution for this is a black-flag, not a wing. A wing may (and does) help a car handle better, but limits the opportunity for driver development (which is one of the reasons many people enjoy running non-wing at Salem).
I really don't believe safety is the issue here. The non-wing events at Deming have long-been debated, but they were not nixed because people were getting hurt. Anybody who willingly sets foot in a racecar of any type is accepting the safety hazards / risks / liabilities that come with it.
Take a look around, and I think you will see examples of "businesses" all around us where people are devoting their heart and soul to make things happen, but if they are not providing a service or product that is what the consumer wants, then they will find little success. Nobody is obligated to participate just because of the immense effort that goes into it, if it does not suit their needs.
With that said, I hope that the racing at Salem continues to be a success, and I commend the promoters (Heather) who put an incredible amount of time and effort into providing an opportunity for NW racers to keep busy and enjoy the hobby in the off-season.
Eric Turner
-- Edited by ET92 on Tuesday 1st of December 2009 03:47:18 PM
Hey Logan,The frustration starts with not knowing where Heather is comming from. We have never had our safety gear checked nor have we seen any micro driver hurt at Salem indoor. The overwhelming majority of micro teams want to run the non-winged program advertised at Salem. We wish Heather would have had an open discussion with us all. When she mentioned going to wings in the pit meeting before the racing began, did she already have her mind made up? I really thought you guys put on a good show last year and was looking foward to racing with everyone again. If you believe" Non-wing or wing doesn't matter at Salem "we would like to save the hassel and the possible expence of replacing the wing. We can't see having any added expences (Wings) this year as you may know its been a tough year for alot of us.$$$ We can't change rough drivers, inexperience or bad days from happening by putting on wings. Thats racing!What we love to do. We also believe running without wings is a great teaching tool. Thanks for listening Diana Goetz
I agree, we were all ready to make the trips down to salem to get some good racing in but with the wings added into the picture it's just not going to happen. And I, as a driver, am really disappointed. I look forward to salem every year. I love it. We make the trip down to salem not for the purse but for the track time. It teaches a driver a lot to not have the wing on the car, it teaches how to use throttle control and how to handle the car without that "security blanket" of a wing. With the new rule of wings being added it changes everything, not to mention the possibility of wrecking $500 in wings plus whatever other equipment might get damaged. Money isn't always at everyones finger tips these days. It would have been better if someone would of spoken to everyone about the change before hand and gotten everyone's opinion. Votes are nice. But if you think a wing is going to stop rough driving you're wrong. People drive rough with or without wings; so maybe using, or threating, the black flag might be a little bit more a reasonable idea. Thank you.
I notice there is only one person agreeing with Heather. Is there another agenda? Years of experience tell us that wings are not the answer. Those boycotting the race are doing so with the best of intentions and no one thinks putting on a event of the size is easy. We all need to thank the promoter and Heather and her staff for a job well done. Are there any injuries attributed to this decision?
I'm confused. Wouldn't they want a car count? We bought the micro to race with our friends in the off-season, and to keep our driver in the seat. I'm thinking we may have wasted our money. I'm not going to spend the $$$ to go race with 2 or 3 cars. So sorry it has to go down this way, its a real bummer.
Considering there has only been 1 race so far this season the racing overall was fine. In viewing videos taped from the weekend there were 2 cars that were consistantly causing problems. It seems to me that a black flag would solve the issue at hand versus the hoopla that is going on. There were no complaints from drivers or owners that would constitute putting wings back on the cars. It seems to me that Heather already had her mind made up before the program even started!
