But judging by the reaction of certain members of various Internet “coffee klatches” that monitor such things, you’d be forgiven for thinking Weisinger must have determined the winners based on who had the shiniest wheels or parked their rig straightest in the pits. There were cries of favoritism (huh?), lack of precedence (debatable), and denigration of Weisinger’s overall intelligence. But the greatest consternation revolved about his decision not only to proclaim the winners and class runners-up, but also award each of them the advertised purse.

Critics argued the money should have been divvied up between all remaining entrants in each class—which actually did happen in Outlaw 10.5 after Sexton’s team owner, Gil Mobley, voluntarily split the cash equally with his rivals after receiving the payout for boththe winner and runner-up since Sexton edged teammate and defending Orlando champ Chuck Ulsch by just five thousandths for the “win”—but Weisinger left that up to the racers.

Again, offering a split would have required consensual agreement from those remaining and undoubtedly would’ve led to lengthy, contentious negotiations and accusations of indecision by Weisinger. I often hear racers complain that sanctioning bodies and race promoters show a lack of leadership and willingness to make a decision, but here they were vociferously complaining because Weisinger demonstrated exactly those traits.

If Weisinger did anything wrong it was not having the policy already in place to address the situation when it came up. Any promoter of any annual outdoor event could predict that some day, some year, his show will be precluded by forces beyond his control—otherwise known as rain.

If everyone arrived at the track knowing wet weather could result in winners being named based on E.T. and would be paid in kind, they could race accordingly. There could be no accusations that such a system penalizes drivers with a bye round that may want to save their parts for later (an argument, by the way, that doesn’t hold up for the event in question since Summer earned her low E.T. win with a solo pass). If racers know rain may fall, they can choose to hedge their bets with a banzai run—or not.

No doubt the 2007 titles won’t bestow the same bragging rights to Summer, Sexton, Gottier and Wolfe that surviving a full day of racing at Orlando would have, but the fact remains that the race organizer and promoter determined them to be the winners and paid them their money. Imagine the vitriol he would have faced if he’d shortchanged any of them based on the percentage of expected runs they completed. Now, that would’ve created a firestorm!    

Race safe,

PS. Immediate reaction to Weisinger’s perceived Orlando slight included several observers calling for the establishment of a rival event scheduled on top of his race next year. Sure, that would give competitors an option and it could pay just as well or even better, but it wouldn’t be “Orlando.” It takes time and dedication to develop an event that racers really want to win and will travel great distances just to be a part of. Weisinger’s created such a phenomenon with the Real World Street Nats and in my opinion it would be a real shame to see an isolated foul-weather problem affect its future. 

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