From the Seat!

The holiday season is upon us and it is a great time to remember and enjoy our triumphs of this past season and to forget or at least get over our failures.

Overall the 2004 season has to be considered positive with lots of great racing having gone down. This past season has also clearly pointed out to this writer at least that the sport is in a period of change. Shifter kart racing continues to grow despite the fragmenting caused by the Moto vs. ICC debate. TAG is growing faster than anything I have ever seen and would grow at an even faster rate if it weren't for the vague rule structure that is currently ruling this class. The storm clouds on the horizon for TAG are primarily coming from folks that have some rather strange perceptions such as low maintenance meaning no maintenance (Wrong!), and I am still waiting for someone to give me the meaning of stock when the engines vary a significant amount from one to the next due to manufacturing tolerances.

Maybe the real question here is are these classes actually showing growth for the sport or are we slowly killing off the older classes and repopulating the newer classes with the same people? I believe that real growth will come from the emerging classes if for no other reason that they appeal to the newby to motorsports due to the attractiveness of turnkey packages and the lower maintenance afforded by much of the new machinery. Time will tell I guess but I believe we are on the right track. Now if we can just get the various associations to get on the same page. (Groan!)

The weather is turning cold and the nights are getting very long but don't get too comfy in front of the holiday fireplace. Racing in the Midwest will be in full song in less than 14 weeks from the time this is being written. That's not really very long and I don't know about you but we are well into preparations for the challenges of 2005. So after you open your presents that no doubt consist of new engines, mag wheels, and data systems hoist that glass of eggnog or whatever your beverage of choice may be and join me in a toast to this past season and maybe we should have another to celebrate the coming of yet another year of good racing, good friends and good times.

The next time that you log on to the Internet check out our redesigned website at www.rapidracing.com (Shameless plug).

In closing I want to wish all of my friends and competitors a truly Merry Christmas and a successful New Year.

Til' next time Race Hard, Race Safe and God Bless America!