[Don Eckel 111]

Originally Posted by Charlie Yannetti

Well Don, when the Tech official was asked if a legitimate protest was lodged, and the appropriate fees put up, we were told "NO, NOT YET".. it was then a word of mouth complaint, and actually held no validity, in my opinion, at that point.. and yes, we were then allowed to make a quick adjustment, probably because the protest was not valid at that point, and we were placed back on the ladder, instead of at the bottom of the sheet, or DQ'd, as requested by the whiners..

I believe that an apology was necessary for the inconvenience to a team that was a mainstay in Comp Eliminator for better than 30 years, whether the hood scoop height was correct or not.. that simple jesture may have kept that team around for a while longer.. like I said, that's when who you are, and who you know kicks in.. we were apparently not a part of the right clique at that venue..

While I will not argue whether the car was actually legal, or not, a 1/2 inch height discrepancy on a hood scoop could easily have been someone misreading a ruler.. maybe the crew guy from another team who actually compelled the whiners to complain.. maybe even the Tech guy.. and I don't even believe that those particular whiners even had the funds to lodge a legitimate protest, without help.. maybe the Tech guy knew that they were trying to raise the funds, and told us to fix it while he waited.. in the end, the Tech guy may have actually helped everyone (RIP RC).. we took care of the problem, and the whiners saved their money.. and then the whiners went red in the 1st rnd.. maybe KARMA??

The bigger fact in this matter, is probably the part about people not wanting the owner, or the driver, of said team to win another championship, and that race happened to be important toward that goal.. just like the guy in the original post didn't want another racer to win his race.. but that's a whole different cliquish kinda story..

My original point is that there are rules pertaining to protests, and those rules, more often than not, are not even followed by the governing body (NHRA).. how can you accept a protest via text or phone call??.. and reportedly, the person was not even at the venue at the time.. how are the protest fees then collected.. and in the case I referred to, how do you send your wife to complain with NO MONEY in her pocketbook, and on an *** Clown's say so??.. I will say that that wife had more balls than all the men involved in that particular scenario though..

You say no validity in your opinion but obviously, NHRA felt differently to take the time to check AND make you change it. So did anyone ever go back and ask if the money was put up following the "no, not yet" comment? I don't see this as being any different than an NHRA spot check and honestly, if you have nothing to hide or it's an honest mistake, what's the difference? I find it funny that you call those who protested whiners, when in fact, their issue with the car turned out to be 100% true. If someone on the offending team misread a ruler, well that's on them to go back and make up that day from 1st grade. In fact, it's pretty impressive that whoever protested could determine visually that there was an issue without actually measuring it. Or maybe it was more than a 1/2" as you claim, and obvious?

That said, why would someone apologize for being right? Because your team had to correct something that was wrong? And last time I checked, longevity in the class isn't a waiver from making sure your car is legal. By that logic, maybe financial standing should be a waiver for those who can't afford to put up the money for a protest. Maybe I get to throw an extra 1" of overhang on the nose for my 30 years? On top of that, perhaps you WERE afforded a "30 years in the class" favor by being allowed to continue by NHRA, did anyone think of that? There sure have been S/SS guys bounced for far less. I don't necessarily agree with someone not at the race calling in a protest, but your protester was.