Monday, May 15, 2006

Roger Edmonson for President!

Screw Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, or Russ Feingold - I've found the next President of the United States! Roger Edmonson is currently presdient of the Grand American Road Racing Association, which sanctions the Rolex Sports Car Series and the showroom stock Grand Am Cup series. Earlier this year, Grand Am instituted "qualifying races" at several circuits for the Rolex series. They were short sprints (no pitstops or driver changes, as is traditional in sports car racing) which, in addition to setting the starting lineup for the feature race, paid full points towards the series championship. Lots of drivers were unhappy about this arrangement, as the aggressive nature of the short races led to bumping, banging, and wrecking. Which, in turn, led to some front runners taking nose dives in the points.

What was Edmonson's response to all this? After only three of the five events where the qualifying races were to be used, he admitted he was wrong and changed course:

I announced last year that select 2006 race weekends would include qualifying races. After seeing these races at three events, I have concluded that the critics of this plan were right and I was wrong. What sounded positive in theory did not meet expectations in reality.
Imagine Dubya - hell, any politician - admitting such a thing and changing course. You know, 'cause sometimes the critics are right! I dunno what his position is on the vital issues of the day, but if Edmonson is man enough to admit when he's wrong, that may be enough to get my vote.

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