Be careful what you say on the diamondback forum

[JFootin]

I took a leave and spent the month of May, 1965 as a minor member of Team Lotus at Indy. Jim Clark was my hero, and of course, that was the year he won. I even got to drive his car 2 or 3 times to scuff in tires. I was larger and didn't fit too well, but it was still a thrill. I was also a huge F1 fan then [Team Lotus of course], and hated that we only got one race, so Indy was a bonus. I even bought an ex-factory Lotus 48 F2 car a few years later and raced it in SCCA's Formula B. Even though those old F1 cars only had about 400 hp, they were a bear to drive well, because they had no aerodynamic aids. Clark, Hill, Stewart, Gurney, and the rest were real drivers. I don't follow F1 today, because it so hard to pass with all the air management, the races are more like parades than races.

Oh, O'Dell, you need to take a fresh look at F1! They have made changes to the cars so that there is LOTS of thrilling wheel to wheel racing and passing! And there are a great group of drivers who know how to mix it up with incredible precision. The Belgian Grand Prix airs live tomorrow at 7:30am on Speed Channel, and is replayed at 3:30pm. Check it out. Spa is one of the greatest "driver tracks" and it is going to be exciting!

[BEARDOG]

No interest in NASCAR here, even if I do live in Georgia. Being an ex-motorcycle racer after sports cars got too expensive, I do follow MotoGP. I was a Honda rider and am impressed with Stoner. He reminds me a lot of Spencer back in my day.

You're right about the coverage - thank heaven for Speed Channel. It's like following F1 back in the sixties and seventies. I had to call the newspaper and talk to the right reporter on Sunday night to find out won won that day.

Very cool O'Dell... I am surprised to see some motorcycle racing fans here.
What level did you race at?

I have been riding since I was about 8 yrs old. I never got to the track but should have, I misbehaved a lot on the roads over the years. I have had um all Honda's, gixxer, ninja's, and still have my pride and joy 99' R1.

Rossi is my guy,no matter what he's riding, never will the world see another like him IMO. Of coarse I gotta root for Nicky and the other Americans at home!

[JFootin]

I took a leave and spent the month of May, 1965 as a minor member of Team Lotus at Indy. Jim Clark was my hero, and of course, that was the year he won. I even got to drive his car 2 or 3 times to scuff in tires. I was larger and didn't fit too well, but it was still a thrill. I was also a huge F1 fan then [Team Lotus of course], and hated that we only got one race, so Indy was a bonus. I even bought an ex-factory Lotus 48 F2 car a few years later and raced it in SCCA's Formula B. Even though those old F1 cars only had about 400 hp, they were a bear to drive well, because they had no aerodynamic aids. Clark, Hill, Stewart, Gurney, and the rest were real drivers. I don't follow F1 today, because it so hard to pass with all the air management, the races are more like parades than races.

WOW, O'Dell! You've done some exciting things in you life! The only racing I ever did was autocross racing with a local sports car club back in the 70s. I also have enjoyed doing some very sporty (read crazy fast) driving here in the mountains of Western NC ever since I got my driver's license. I used to attend and watch the Chimney Rock Hillclimb - one of my favorite events. And I drove my '65 Mustang GT up the course at racing speed one weekday when visitation was slack. Did you ever attend?

[O'Dell]

Very cool O'Dell... I am surprised to see some motorcycle racing fans here.
What level did you race at?

I have been riding since I was about 8 yrs old. I never got to the track but should have, I misbehaved a lot on the roads over the years. I have had um all Honda's, gixxer, ninja's, and still have my pride and joy 99' R1.

Rossi is my guy,no matter what he's riding, never will the world see another like him IMO. Of coarse I gotta root for Nicky and the other Americans at home!

Mostly amateur, WERA, but I did ride in three superbike races on a factory Honda when they were stuck for a second rider. My last racebike was a CBR when they first came out and were pretty much unbeatable. After four years, I converted it back to the street and still have it. It's over twenty-four years old and looks like it just rolled off the showroom. In fact I rode it last night to meet Vickie for dinner. I guess my greatest accomplishment was falling off at over 110 at turn 11 of Road Atlanta and not getting a scratch. I can't say the same for the CBR, but as I said, it's all better now.

[O'Dell]

WOW, O'Dell! You've done some exciting things in you life! The only racing I ever did was autocross racing with a local sports car club back in the 70s. I also have enjoyed doing some very sporty (read crazy fast) driving here in the mountains of Western NC ever since I got my driver's license. I used to attend and watch the Chimney Rock Hillclimb - one of my favorite events. And I drove my '65 Mustang GT up the course at racing speed one weekday when visitation was slack. Did you ever attend?

Yeah, it's hard for me to believe now too, since now I sit in front of a computer 4 or 5 hours a day and drive a Prius during the week.

I was living in Louisville so I ran mostly in the mid west in SCCA. A lot of the tracks don't even exist today. I never got down to Chimney Rock, but if you remember it, you must be nearly as old as I am. I raced as much as I could when I could get away from the Navy, but it got very expensive on a Navy Lieutenant's pay even with some sponsorship. I did make the national runoffs at Riverside one year in a Lotus Elan. My last two races were for BMW at the Daytona 24 hour and Sebring in the seventies. After that I just could no longer afford to drive cars. I switched to bikes in the early eighties, because they were much cheaper to race.

I'll look into F1, if it's changed that much. I have to teach a Sunday School class tomorrow morning, but maybe I can catch the afternoon replay. SPA was one of my favorite courses in Europe because it was so fast.

BTW, don't knock autocross or gymkhana's as we used to call them. I did my share, and there were some pretty good drivers there.

[BEARDOG]

Mostly amateur, WERA, but I did ride in three superbike races on a factory Honda when they were stuck for a second rider. My last racebike was a CBR when they first came out and were pretty much unbeatable. After four years, I converted it back to the street and still have it. It's over twenty-four years old and looks like it just rolled off the showroom. In fact I rode it last night to meet Vickie for dinner. I guess my greatest accomplishment was falling off at over 110 at turn 11 of Road Atlanta and not getting a scratch. I can't say the same for the CBR, but as I said, it's all better now.

Awesome! Even if you fell off, You rode in freaking Superbike races! Who was the Honda Factory rider then Duhammel?(one of my favorites)... I bet you know a bunch of riders. Being as you are down in Georgia how bout Scott Russell? I was at the Daytona 200 in 01' and was excited to watch "Mr Daytona" @ Daytona on his new Ducati, instead I sadly watched as he stalled at the start and got hit hard from behind...Looked like a bomb went off in his bike, and messed him up bad...
Any pics of the old CBR? I thought my 99 R1 was getting long in the tooth It's still a beast to me though, and I'm getting a bit more mellow these day's...Till I twist the throttle

[JFootin]

Yeah, it's hard for me to believe now too, since now I sit in front of a computer 4 or 5 hours a day and drive a Prius during the week.

I was living in Louisville so I ran mostly in the mid west in SCCA. A lot of the tracks don't even exist today. I never got down to Chimney Rock, but if you remember it, you must be nearly as old as I am. I raced as much as I could when I could get away from the Navy, but it got very expensive on a Navy Lieutenant's pay even with some sponsorship. I did make the national runoffs at Riverside one year in a Lotus Elan. My last two races were for BMW at the Daytona 24 hour and Sebring in the seventies. After that I just could no longer afford to drive cars. I switched to bikes in the early eighties, because they were much cheaper to race.

I'll look into F1, if it's changed that much. I have to teach a Sunday School class tomorrow morning, but maybe I can catch the afternoon replay. SPA was one of my favorite courses in Europe because it was so fast.

BTW, don't knock autocross or gymkhana's as we used to call them. I did my share, and there were some pretty good drivers there.

Yeah, I am coming up on my 61st birthday next Saturday. I used to do ramp jumps and other dangerous stuff on my bicycle as a kid, started getting interested in cars and racing in my early teens, and owned several interesting high performance cars in my youth. But a major crippling hereditary disease prevented me from pursuit such as yours. But I enjoyed my youth, enjoying the hundreds of miles of smooth asphalt roads here in the mountains, many of them loops encircling little mountain valleys, others climbing mountains with very tight hairpin curves. Not as many people then, so the roads were not crowded.

I enjoyed several visits to the Hillclimb over the years, and Chimney Rock was one of my favorite natural attractions when I could still handle all of the stairs. They had been doing that race for about 40 years. But then the original owner died and family inherited it. A grand nephew took over the operation about 20 years ago. He turned out to be a bed wetting liberal tree hugger, thought the race was damaging the environment, so he shut it down! The park was beautiful and no damage had been done to the flora and fauna over 40 years of having the race once a year. But there was no talking reason to him.

I'm surprised somebody didn't end up killing him, because that race was THE most important event for the tourism business in the Chimney Rock/Lake Lure area, and he made many of his neighbors poor or bankrupt with with his unilateral decision. As if we don't have enough of this kind of insanity from the EPA, here we have it from a less than sterling heir who got a god complex and behaved like the little terd that he actually is!

[Bawanna]

Goodness gracious Jfooting, you kiss your momma with that mouth? Sound like a gosh darn longshoreman or a jocko without sensors.

You make me so proud!

[nmkahrshooter]

Lets just face it Kahr owners are just smarter than the others!

[JFootin]

Goodness gracious Jfooting, you kiss your momma with that mouth? Sound like a gosh darn longshoreman or a jocko without sensors.

You make me so proud!

Well, my mama is at rest, but she would have scolded me real good if she heard that. But, hey, I call them like I see them. That guy's decision just makes me want to

[Bawanna]

Go ahead and call em as you see em. While not always socially acceptable it really makes things easier. I'm a call em like I see em kind of guy myself.

Has anyone noticed?

[yqtszhj]

I never care about being socially acceptable any more. I find that if you make someone raise an eyebrow in the beginning and they think "I'm not too sure about this guy" then they may think twice about making some stupid comment, trying to take advantage of you, or feed you a line of crap.

On a side note about being careful what you say. Seeing how someone was good enough to start a "Bawanna's vacation thread", who's going to start one for Jocko?

[Bawanna]

I never care about being socially acceptable any more. I find that if you make someone raise an eyebrow in the beginning and they think "I'm not too sure about this guy" then they may think twice about making some stupid comment, trying to take advantage of you, or feed you a line of crap.

On a side note about being careful what you say. Seeing how someone was good enough to start a "Bawanna's vacation thread", who's going to start one for Jocko?

I've already got 7 horse heads, why don't somebody else give it a go.

Speaking of which wheres Frank Drebin. I think he was in on that.

[O'Dell]

Awesome! Even if you fell off, You rode in freaking Superbike races! Who was the Honda Factory rider then Duhammel?(one of my favorites)... I bet you know a bunch of riders. Being as you are down in Georgia how bout Scott Russell? I was at the Daytona 200 in 01' and was excited to watch "Mr Daytona" @ Daytona on his new Ducati, instead I sadly watched as he stalled at the start and got hit hard from behind...Looked like a bomb went off in his bike, and messed him up bad...
Any pics of the old CBR? I thought my 99 R1 was getting long in the tooth It's still a beast to me though, and I'm getting a bit more mellow these day's...Till I twist the throttle

Duhammel was pretty much a rookie at that time. Fred merkel was the #1 Honda driver. Yes, I know or at least knew Scott, but I haven't seen him in years.

Here are a couple of pictures of my CBR600f and a couple of me on a factory RC30 at the old Road Atlanta track.

[JFootin]

Dang! I'm juggling feelings of awe and envy, O'Dell.