Gone Racin��on politics in motor racing

Hot rodders and motor racing fans often pucker up their nose and squint their eyes whenever the word politics and religion are mentioned. �We don�t like to discuss such issues because they cause arguments,� they say. Then, a few moments later the conversation changes to, isn�t it sad that they�re closing another oval track or dragstrip to build more homes or shopping malls? The answer to the question is no, it isn�t sad that they are building something on the wreck and ruin of a great racing facility, but what is sad is that hot rodders, racers and fans are so na�ve. The truth is that we are losing tracks in the more populated areas not because builders are so greedy to build homes but because racers are unwilling to fight to keep them open. I have visited with racing groups in vain efforts to keep our racing facilities alive. Most of the time it is only a feel good effort of the organizers who have a need to vent. They know the task is daunting and they are looking for a scapegoat to hang the coat of despair and blame on before they retreat to their garages and dream of the glories of the past. If that is what you want to do, then be my guest. Wallowing in self-pity and blaming others will get you through that cold wintry day and ease that worthless feeling in the pit of your stomach that you failed.

But if you are not into a narcissistic urge to pity yourself and your sport, what can you do? Politics. That�s right, good old fashioned, down in the mud, filthy politics. You�ve got to use the very techniques and means that others are using to close your tracks, in order to save them from destruction. You can�t hide from the concept. Wherever you get two or more people together you have political intrigue going, or haven�t you discovered that when dealing with the wife, kids, friends, neighbors and boss. Everybody has their own special needs, and cannot readily see the needs of others. We are convinced that we are right, and if the other person could only see what we see then they would change their opinion and agree with us. That, in a nutshell, is politics. It is the constant urge in us that tries to manipulate others to agree with our opinion, and when we opt not to continue the fight, we surrender what we believe in. We have lost racetracks because we have let others, with their ideas, prevail in the public fight over motor racing. But the question is what can we do? I will present a solution that has been mentioned before.

The first concept to grasp is that everyone is right. You are right to want a racetrack to race on or watch your favorite sport. The land developer is right to want to make a profit by building homes or shopping malls. The homeowner is right to want a place to live. The second concept is that politics is mainly about power. We can�t get away from this nasty word. Everything we do is based on power; that is, one side will always prevail over the other side in a dispute. Power can be used for good or evil, and conversely, the person that refuses to use power concedes it to others to be used for good or evil. Therefore you cannot say that the opposition did an evil thing, for you conceded the power to him to do that evil deed. You did not contest him. You did not defeat the councilman, or the land developer, or the neighbor who always complained of noise and traffic. You let them prevail, and then you blamed them, and not yourself. If everyone is right and power should be attained and used, then the question is, why didn�t you defend your views, and seek to use your power to keep what you wanted? Why did you withdraw and give up what you desired? Perhaps the answer lies more with ignorance than with cowering in the face of opposition. All right, if we have the will and the drive to keep our tracks open, then what can we do?

The next thing to understand is how our system of laws and politics work. We have a system that is simple enough. Fifty percent of the votes of the electorate plus an extra vote will ensure that we will get what we want. But it is more complex than that, because our system of governing has many layers, from the Federal government on down to the local level. Then the courts weigh in with their views on whether the laws and the elections pass the test of Constitutionality. They can override the local will of the people. Lobbyists infuse money into the political landscape and it is hard to know what that will do to your project. To keep a racetrack open you have to convince the local zoning boards, the City, County, State and sometimes the Federal government. Then there are groups who are not part of the governing process, but who are powerful enough to exert a great pressure on government, such as the environmentalists. But contrary to what people believe, you do not have to corral 50 percent plus 1 vote to win your argument. You only have to control 5% or less. Let�s look at some examples. A typical city where our racetracks are located might have 50,000 residents, of which half are eligible voters. They will elect a mayor and 4 or 6 council members. It is always an uneven number. Usually, only about 25% of the residents, who are eligible to vote, will actually cast a ballot. That means that out of the 50,000 residents, 1/4 of the 25,000 voters will cast a ballot, or roughly 6000. Three or four spots are up for re-election every 2 years, and you usually see about 8 to 10 people running for a seat. The range of votes will be from 3500 down to just a handful of votes. We can�t do much to stop candidate A who has those 3500 votes in his pocket, or candidate B with his 2500, but candidate C with 1500 and candidate D with 1000 votes are very vulnerable to losing and need every vote available.

Now, can you overcome your aversion and hatred of politics long enough to see that if you combine with your fellow racers, friends and family members, that you can exert enough power to affect the outcome of a political race and therefore your chances of keeping your favorite racetrack? What do you need? 100 allies is the number at this level, in this city, to effect change. Your buddies have wives, husbands, sons, fathers, neighbors and friends in the city, and if each can find 4 more supporters you can bring the numbers into play. 500 votes taken away from candidate C or D and given to E or F can make all the difference. When your group talks to the candidates in the race you must never overtly threaten someone. It is always posed in the positive. We would love to support you in your bid, because we feel that you would support us in keeping our racetrack alive and well in our community, isn�t that right? The threat or punishment is that you are seen talking to ALL of the candidates, and your votes will be voted in a bloc, and not broken up. The really wonderful part of politics is that there is a vote going on every two years, somewhere close to where we are, and we are invited to attend. If someone goes back on their word, they have to pay for that by the loss of our support.

It�s even sweeter on a larger scale. A typical House of Representative�s seat is usually decided on a vote count that rarely exceeds 200,000 voters. The two parties split 90% of the total, and the victor is lucky if he get 46% of the total amount of the votes in his district, to 44% for his major opponent. That means that winning candidate A received 92,000 votes to losing candidate B with 88,000 votes. Not all races are this close, but a surprising number are decided by such a margin. With 4000 votes separating the winner from the loser, let�s look at our formula of 4 voters tagging along for every member of our group. In this case, we have organized from many cities and we have found 1000 car racing zealots who will stick together and vote as a block, even though that means that we will have to put aside our feelings and literally vote for the devil. Each of our 1000 allies in the SAVE THE RACETRACK COMMITTEE has committed to convincing their wives, husbands, family, friends and neighbors to vote with them. The leaders of STRC have visited with the two top candidates to express their views and to sound out the parties on their willingness to support the idea of racetracks in their areas. The STRC leaders have also made a demand on the candidates for financial support from the government to help continue and support motorsport racing in their districts. With 1000 members, and 4000 supporters, the STRC has changed the dynamics of the election. It doesn�t take 100,000 rabid electors to get your way. You can do it with a fraction of the total number of voters. In fact, any number can have an effect on the candidates who are within such a close range, that defeat and victory will be determined by little things, such as those fighting to keep open a racetrack. Organize your committees today and fight back against the interests opposed to your favorite hobby, or withdraw to the sofa and the remote and watch the professional races thousands of miles away. It�s your choice, but whatever you decide to do, stop bellyaching about it being someone else�s fault.

Gone Racin� is at www.oilstick.com

Copyright 1999 - 2006 Hot Rod Hot Line All Rights Reserved
No Portion May Be Used Without Our Written Permission
Contact Us Toll Free (877) 700-2468 (US) or (208) 562-0470 (Outside US)
230 S. Cole Rd, Boise, ID 83709