Motorcycle Racing Forum

Racing Discussion => Racing Discussion => Topic started by: Xian_13 on January 17, 2003, 05:43:05 PM

Title: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: Xian_13 on January 17, 2003, 05:43:05 PM
I am failing to understand what the big deal is between being an AM and an EX

Aside form possibly tougher Competition ( buts isn't that why we are all out ther anyways?)
Why would you want to be a Am over being an EX? ???
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: sportbikepete on January 17, 2003, 05:52:15 PM
It's called cherry picking most of the time. Some guys just want wood but others truly are not ready to bump up but have scored tons of points just by doing a lot of weekends.
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: Xian_13 on January 17, 2003, 06:01:10 PM
I figured the cherry picking part... what we won't do for a 3 dollar peice of wood...

But the guys running alot of races, whats the differance if they are running Middle+ to not quite as fast. I mean, these are the guys (like me) that are just out there to have fun and we know were are never going to be superstars.. so why would it matter?
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: sportbikepete on January 17, 2003, 06:13:12 PM
Example. There is a guy in my region that I see at every race and is way off the pace, however he went to tons of races and finished every race and scored lots of points but no way he should be EX.
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: Xian_13 on January 17, 2003, 06:18:06 PM
Understood, but like the GT races, they are run with AMs and EXs...  soh how does that make a differance?
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: sportbikepete on January 17, 2003, 06:38:05 PM
What region are you in? Mid-Atlantic AM and EX GT races are seperate.
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: Xian_13 on January 17, 2003, 06:48:04 PM
Midwest
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: Bernie on January 17, 2003, 07:08:31 PM
This topic has always amazed me.  I never finished higher than second as an amatuer.  I only raced at one track my first season, and didn't even consider I'd score enough point to become an expert.  When I got my license renewal last year and it was preprinted with the words "expert", I turned into a goofy geek (well, goofier than normal).  I couldn't even sleep that night.  Sounds silly maybe, but that was a huge goal of mine, and I really feel honored to display white number plates. :)
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: sdiver68 on January 17, 2003, 07:23:57 PM
The difference can easily be $500-1000 per weekend in contingencies and payouts, that's huge for some.  Not to mention, being bumped "early" means you may no longer be racing with your friends, the whole reason to go racing in the first place for some of us.
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: Super Dave on January 17, 2003, 08:19:16 PM
Yeah, but all the racers are part of a community...(makes it all sound so sweet...)  But you get new friends.  Or racing friends become tuners.

I mean, where can you get anything like this?  And who can you share it with?  Someone that rides on the street?  No.  Mom?  She'll listen.



Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: oldguy on January 18, 2003, 10:44:41 AM
Ohhhh NNooooo, not my Mom. She's really ticked that an old guy my age would be racing. And my wife saw me crash, so she's not goin' to any races wtih me. I have to ride and pit - won't be fun I don't think.
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: EX#996 on January 18, 2003, 01:00:08 PM
QuoteOhhhh NNooooo, not my Mom. She's really ticked that an old guy my age would be racing. And my wife saw me crash, so she's not goin' to any races wtih me. I have to ride and pit - won't be fun I don't think.

From the female point of view...

Mom - give her enough time, she'll get over it.  (you just need to encourage her to come and watch a few races).

Your wife - It sucks to see your husband crash.  We're women, emotional creatures.  We hate to see anyone we care about hurt themselves.  Hopefully when you did crash, you didn't hurt yourself *too* badly.  Share with her the emotions that you feel when racing (we like that when our men share their feelings ya' know  ;)).  Assure her that you will do everything in your power to stay safe with leathers, equipment and racing etiquette and explain it to her if she'll listen.  If she does come to the races, be sure to introduce her to other racing wives.  She may come around.

Dawn   :)
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: Xian_13 on January 19, 2003, 04:01:50 AM
QuoteOhhhh NNooooo, not my Mom. She's really ticked that an old guy my age would be racing. And my wife....

I guess I am lucky, my mother said to me "Well I knew this day would come sometime" (This will be my first Full season @ the young age of 31)

And the wife.... well she left long long ago ;D
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: GSXR RACER MIKE on January 19, 2003, 06:14:02 AM
     As far as the Mom thing goes, she was concerned when I started racing, but I found a way to help calm her nerves. I showed her the crashes in races that I had taped off of TV! I know that may seem backwards showing her the bad part of racing, but now she understands that the absolute majority of the time when someone crashes they get up and go see if the bike is still ridable and get going again if possible. It worked with her and now she also understands why I spend the money on safety equipment that I do (most non-racers think that spending the money on an Aria RX7-RR4 helmet is a waste, to me it's an obvious investment!).
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: tigerblade on January 19, 2003, 08:36:01 AM
My mother rode up to MAM with me for track days this last September.  It was only my second time a track (first being STAR school @ Heartland Park in June).  On the way up she had a concerned look on her face and said "You sure about this...?"  By the end of the day, she was telling me to go faster.  LOL!

I'm going to be an old rookie this year too (29) and my parents have been great about supporting me.  Sure helps!
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: KBOlsen on January 19, 2003, 10:35:27 AM
My Mom was used to me being a very independent sort... she's okay with me racing but I still call her on the way home at the end of the weekend just to let her know we're still in one piece.

My Dad was, to my surprise, a completely different story.  After all the years of me going over to his house, borrowing his tools to work on my bikes and stuff, when I told him what I was now doing, he vehemently and repeatedly went on and on about the fact that I'm "not a spring chicken any more" and that I should be acting my age. ::)
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: Woofentino Pugrossi on January 19, 2003, 12:12:59 PM
QuoteOhhhh NNooooo, not my Mom. She's really ticked that an old guy my age would be racing. And my wife saw me crash, so she's not goin' to any races wtih me. I have to ride and pit - won't be fun I don't think.


Hell the first time my mom came out to the track, I crashed 2 races before she got there.:D:D:D
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: MZGirl on January 19, 2003, 03:44:24 PM
Quoteshe's okay with me racing but I still call her on the way home at the end of the weekend just to let her know we're still in one piece.

He he...yep, I do that too.  This year my parents will get to see me race for the first time, so it should be interesting.  I send them all sorts of photos, and my mom is amazed that it's me in the pics riding the bike.  Still, she drags the pics out and brags to all her friends, so I guess she's not too worried.  We'll see after she sees me race in person  ;)
Title: st another stupid question.....
Post by: K3 Chris Onwiler on January 19, 2003, 05:06:28 PM
All right.  I have to get in on this thread. It's always been my opinion that my parents are the most dysfunctional in the world.  This is probably a universal opinion...
My parents are divorced.  They stayed together until I went to mechanic's school after high school.  This was a great move on my dad's part, because I was out of town for the ugly stuff, and too old for child care payments.
My dad had been racing cars since before I was born.  He stopped  when I was 20, for lack of money.  His all-time best was third at the national runoffs.  
Mom supported dad's racing until he started refusing to take her along.  By then, he was cheating on her with women at the track.  I can pass no judgement about who was wrong or right at this point.
After Dad stopped racing, I still needed my fix.  Being a broke teenage mechanic with a student loan, I had to opt for corner working.  Free gate pass, free lunch, and free beer fit my budget perfectly.
At 35 years old, I decided to race motorcycles.  The battle lines had already been drawn for years.  Dad had never accepted my love of motorcycles.  Ironically, he was the one who bought the Trail 70, the TS 125 Suzuki, and the RM 250 that had been my first rides.  But of course, it was wrong when I bought a KZ 650 and went street riding...
Mom was even worse.  For the first year, I kept my KZ in the garage of the widow-lady next door.  I mowed her lawn for the storage fee. This is called hiding in plain sight.  Mom told me that I couldn't keep my motorcycle on her property, and I knew that she couldn't hold onto the house without my help on groceries, utilities, and rent.  Talk about being in a trick bag!
When I started racing, Mom and Dad both hit the fan.  Dad wouldn't even talk to me racer-to-racer.  How s#itty is that?  All my life, waiting to be just like old Dad, and then when I finally get there, he shuns me!  Mom got all teary-eyed every time I  left for the track.  I work in her town and stop by for lunch, so it was the same scene every weekend.  I felt as if I was going to be the first guy off the boat at Iwo Jima, and stood a less-than-zero chance of surviving the weekend!
Time heals all.  Four years later, Dad has actually been to a few of my races.  He still hates the thought of my body bouncing down the track without a roll cage strapped around it, but the racing scene transported him back 20 years.  Instantly, he was walking the walk and talking the talk.  It was old-school dad.  Boy, had I missed THAT guy!  Mom now packs my cooler before I leave, and listens to my stories when I return.  At this point, they both understand that racing was the missing ingredient that was denying me the ability to be truly happy.  Since I began racing, all the things that I hate about my life (job, death, taxes) suddenly make sense.  I deal with that $hit so I can get free to race.  Finally, I understand why I was put on this earth, and what it takes to satisfy the needs of the me that lives inside my head.  Everyone has a secret self that the rest of the world never gets to meet, and for me, that guy exists only to be a racer.  My days of unsatisfied wandering are over.  The parents may not like what I do, but at least they finally understand that racing is the vital ingredient that makes everything else in my life work.
Wow,  Maybe I got a little too personal...?
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: GSXR RACER MIKE on January 19, 2003, 09:41:46 PM
 :'(  I have to go hug my parents after that one! (Just kidding)


     Not 1 person in my entire family has ever gone to one of my races (even though I live in Rockford, Il. - right by B.H.F.).
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: DRU2 on January 19, 2003, 11:07:31 PM
 Chris, I can't agree with you more. AS I sit here and think I think back to when I was about 22, and told good old Mom and Dad that i wanted to buy a CBR600. dad hit the roof. I think his exact words were not under my roof.If you get hurt and I let you keep that thing here I'll never forgive myself.By the time i was 25 I was ready to buy my first bike, I had enough, I was going to get this bike nomatter what they said. And I did they werent happy as I was still living under there roof for A hole nother set of reasons I could'nt keep it there so I spent the next month and a half at my friends house they finaly let me bring the bike home to work on. Did I happen to mention that the bike was a 1978 KZ650,THAT WAS IN A FLOOD AND COMPLETELY SUBMERGED.Anyways we come to two years ago I already recked a Duc 996 the year befor not bad just a slow low side, but they were not happy the next year I ended up in the ER with a real bad hit on the head lost three hours and the doc said if not for the helmet I be dead.This bike was the almighty GSXR750 two months later at 130 mph standing on the seat I went over and tore up the bike and myself. that brings us to last year and I tell them I'm going to race all hell broke out but now I'm 32 and I don't live at home, they realy can't say much.So through the next couple of months they listen to the stories and I finally  convince them to come to the races. Well, Mom did get dizzy trying to watch the bike's come up the front straight, but they seemed to enjoy themself.They both told me how different it was then they expected it to be. They loved every one they met and my dad is now trying to give me riding tips, and as were walking the track he's telling me where he thinks my entry point to the turn should be and braking points should be and what he thought I was doing wrong! This is coming from a man that could count on one hand how many times hes been on a bike. He talks about coming to the track, and there starting to invite there friends to come with them and all the family too. So "To whom it may concern" just work on them. If my parents can act like this about their son, flying around at top speed around a race track anyones parents can. You can always tell them thats its safer then being on the street doing stupid sh#t. Thats how I  got them to come to the track! I just thought my story could help.   Joe  :-/
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: Super Dave on January 20, 2003, 03:46:51 AM
When I was doing AMA stuff hot and heavy, it was funny to hear all the guys that lived at home...  Dale Quarterley, Steve Crevier, Tom Kipp, etc.  I was the same.  My mom helped me so much.  Kept me going as much as I can.  

She went to a few races.  We even pulled an all nighter going to St Louis (the old Gateway) when I had a wedding to go to.  My bike was there, we just had to drive all night from Omaha.  My mom kind of liked the performance thing.  It was really cool.

My dad is not so enthusiastic about it.  Still not, but I've been doing it for sixteen years, so, it's not really going to go away anymore.

He did come out to Mid-America Motorplex, which was nice.  Too bad the bike was coming apart a bit and I was dizzy.
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: Jeff on January 20, 2003, 05:00:37 AM
Jeeze, I gotta have the best family in the world.

My parents love to see me race.  Win/lose/crash, it doesn't matter to them.  They just enjoy coming out.  I love the fact that my Mom always cooks for us too.  Plus, having Grandma around to round up the kids rocks.

My wife is an absolute star.  She's seen me crash several times.  It doesn't bother her unless I crash and she doesn't know where I'm at  (i.e. she's watching turn 4 at BHF and I crashed in turn 1.), or if there's a red flag she gets nervous until she sees me.

But for the most part, when she sees me crash, she runs back to our pit and starts lining up tools/levers/etc for the repair.  

At a GTU race this last year, I went down in an oil slick on the best lap of my life.  The race was red flagged after 3 more people went down and I limped the bike with a now J shaped clip-on back to the pit.  She swapped that tube and had me back out before the 5 board went back up.  Oh, she was kind enough to put the tire warmers back on first though ;-)

God I love that woman...

Back to the original topic at hand...

I'd love to stay amateur again so I could bag a championship, and continue to reap the benefits of big contingency $$$, but it just isn't right.

If you're a middle runner, stay amateur!  If you're doing well, put on the white plate!
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: SliderPhoto on January 20, 2003, 07:41:10 AM
I lost my brother Mike in a cycle accident in 85, not much hope of convincing the family. But then my mom has been gone now for 25 years.

I wish my wife shared my passion but she worries, says she doesn't want to see me on the track, so she doesn't come to any of the events. Too bad really, since for the first 10 years we've been married I can count the nights we were apart on one hand. She made me promise a long time ago that my addiction of being on the track would never lead to racing and I understand.

But there is hope, I'm a software engineer and for years she hated computers and wouldn't touch them. Now she's geekier than most. :)
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: TZDeSioux on January 20, 2003, 07:58:45 AM
My parents really never gave a crap what I did as long as I took care of business. When I was young, it was the whole education thing. As long as education didn't suffer.. I could do whatever the hell I wanted. My mom even bought me my first 3 bikes.(Suzuki SP125, 89 ZX7, 91 ZX7R) They don't mind that I race and they're pretty much used to the fact that I was always interested in dumb things. As far as my wife goes.. she could care less if I race or not as long as we're not financially effected by it. Maybe I can convince her to come out to one of the races this year... but probably not.  :)
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: Dawn on January 20, 2003, 08:14:39 AM
QuoteI lost my brother Mike in a cycle accident in 85, not much hope of convincing the family. But then my mom has been gone now for 25 years.

I wish my wife shared my passion but she worries, says she doesn't want to see me on the track, so she doesn't come to any of the events. Too bad really, since for the first 10 years we've been married I can count the nights we were apart on one hand. She made me promise a long time ago that my addiction of being on the track would never lead to racing and I understand.

But there is hope, I'm a software engineer and for years she hated computers and wouldn't touch them. Now she's geekier than most. :)

Jack:

Now that you have the travel trailer, and not actually racing...  Do you think she will come to some of the CCS events with you?  

Dawn  
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: Chef on January 20, 2003, 09:06:11 AM
well, first off, i can handle being called a sandbagger cuz as sdiver68 sed, on a budget, $500 is huge to bring back from a weekend that you spend $600 or so for.....along with, I like those 3 dollar woods (they make the story better), and the chance at a championship is KINDA real as an amatuer (i'll take whatever glory i can at this age).  
  now, my mom...........lets start w/dad, he woulda come out for a few hours, but if he didnt find someone to drink with ......asta.......   he taught mechanics to me (the REAL alley mechanics, he didnt touch anything, just pointed and sighed).... let me clear something tho, he woulda only drove beyound 1hr if i added that Fishing is nearby....
   mom is full of it tho!
she has ALLLL the supporting loving kind words as anyone could, but she's too scared to come out???. and YES she braggs....

wait, she hasnt been fishing in a while....dingdingdingdingding (the light's on)

drty
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: SliderPhoto on January 20, 2003, 09:27:20 AM
QuoteJack:

Now that you have the travel trailer, and not actually racing...  Do you think she will come to some of the CCS events with you?  

Dawn  

Not likely. Her idea of fun is shopping for shoes, returning to the mothership (Mall Of America), or taking a vacation in ManHattan to shop. I don't think I could get her to stay in the trailer, I didn't marry a princess, but somewhere along the way... :)

She usually comes with me to St. Louis but she usually gets a rental car or drops me at the track so she can go shop. :) I've been trying to find ways to get her more involved, so we'll see. Her weekends in the summer are busy too though--she's a wedding planner.
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: Jeff on January 20, 2003, 09:34:58 AM
Hey, Road America has a nice gift shop  ;D
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: K3 Chris Onwiler on January 21, 2003, 04:20:30 AM
QuoteHey, Road America has a nice gift shop  ;D

And Ike, Gingerman has a nice lake. ;D
Title: Re: Just another stupid question.....
Post by: Chef on January 21, 2003, 07:24:27 AM
QuoteAnd Ike, Gingerman has a nice lake. ;D

mom's b-day is in may, round the g'man date.... maybe....

k3,
i sent you a personal note, you get it??