I
don’t like to write about bad news,
I’ve never liked it, I never will.
This year, I find myself in the
uncomfortable position of having to write
about a subject I wish I did not. In the
process of covering the grand sport of
Air Racing, those of us who call
ourselves "journalists" or
"media" become directly
involved with many of the parties about
whom we report news, or create feature
stories. In the news I’m finding
myself reporting this morning, I must
clarify my involvement with both parties
in this issue.
For the
past seven years, I have reported on the
activities involved with Air Racing, and
I’ve done this as an invited guest
of the Reno Air Racing Association.
I’ve used their electricity, eaten
their food, and connected to the Internet
via their phone lines. I’ve done
this as one of the "credentialed
media" whom they feel represent them
in a supportive way, and I’ve always
tried to do just that. Report on the
sport in a positive way, bringing greater
knowledge of it to the world via the
electronic media known as the Internet,
and whenever available, in print as well.
I’ve
also been involved with John Parker and
American Air Racing. For the past three
years, my associates and myself, involved
with AAFO.COM, have been invited guests
of Mr. Parker and his organization. We
have used their electricity,
eaten their food, and connected to the
Internet via their phone lines, in order
that we might bring the results of the
racing to the world in a very immediate
fashion directly from one of the
participant's pit or, in this case, from
their hangar at the Reno Stead Airport.
The above
being stated, I now find myself in the
uncomfortable position of seeing two
parties with whom I’m involved and
have admiration for, locked in a
disagreement that has had the unfortunate
result of causing the removal of one of
the top competitors in one of the racing
divisions. I am in the uncomfortable
position of having the responsibility of
reporting, objectively, to the best of my
ability, what has happened and what will
come of it.
I feel the
only way I can do this is to state the
above involvement, and then publish the
story from both involved parties, in
their own words, exactly as stated or
supplied to me, inject no opinion,
inflect no approval or blame or otherwise
appear to do anything other than, in the
words of the great Jack Web… report
"Just the facts Ma’am"..
So we
shall…
What
follows is the text of a brief interview
with Mike Houghton, CEO of the Reno Air
Racing Association regarding the removal
of John Parker and all American Air
Racing owned aircraft from competition
this year, and then the text of a press
release, as supplied to AAFO.COM by John
Parker of American Air Racing…
Mike
Hougton: "It was the unanimous
decision of the executive committee to
not invite John Parker to race this year.
Their reasons are that they feel that
people need to be supportive of the
efforts of Air Racing to enjoy the
benefits of it. Our communication to John
is strictly that, based on how this plays
out, between you and the organization,
then that will determine where it goes in
the future."
AAFO.COM:
Could you comment on what it is that the
board feels that John did?
Mike
Houghton: "No, I’m not
going to get involved, it is what it is,
they made a decision based on what they
feel is in the best interest of Air
Racing and that’s what their job
is."
John
Parker’s American Air Racing Press
Release:
John
Parker: "John Parker and
American Air Racing (AAR), The Reno Air
Racing Association (RARA) and many others
here at the Reno Stead Airport (4SD) are
all tenants of this airport. There are
and have always been issues between the
tenants here at the airport involving the
ten day period during which the National
Championship Air Races are held each
year.
Without
going into complete detail, I will say
that, as a tenant of this airport, we
raised some of those issues with the
airport authority. As a result of these
inquiries, the Reno Air Race Association
(RARA) has decided to remove our entry
after initially accepting our check and
completed forms. They also
"uninvited" a customer, who is
leasing an airplane from American Air
Racing, preventing his competition this
year.
We are
very disappointed with the manner in
which this has been handled by RARA. As a
business, we stand to lose much because
our business is significantly hampered
for a good ten-day period. As an air
racer, an entire year of preparation on
our racing aircraft, the Thunder Mustang,
as well as the Glasair that has been
leased, money and labor spent, will all
be for nothing. This is financially a
high risk business with which to be
involved, so being notified at the last
minute that we were being
"uninvited" from competition,
after expending much of our resources to
prepare for the 2003 air races at Reno
will be a great blow to our business
plan. It also jeopardizes our future
involvement with the Reno Air Racing
Association.
We are
also very disappointed by the decision of
the RARA Board of Directors and the
Executive Committee regarding the tenant
problems of the airport, that not only
involves American Air Racing, because
they will still be issues whether we race
or not. Instead of focusing on attracting
more air racers and fans, this decision
is eliminating one champion competitor
out of the event, likely for good.
We have
asked what we might be able to do to
resolve this with RARA Board of Directors
and Executive Committee, and it was
answered with, "pretty much
nothing." We sincerely hope that the
decision will be reversed, and that we
will be able to continue racing with a
professional performance for as many
years as the sport continues."
In conclusion, I will say,
as an objective observer, someone who
does not know any details beyond what has
been reported in this story, I wish that
a different decision could have been
reached by The Reno Air Racing
Association. As it stands, it is an
unfortunate one for everyone involved.
Unfortunate in that it creates a
situation that I don't think any racer
would like. Unfortunate that it has
created a situation whereby the results
of a race have been decided in a meeting,
not on the race course. In the heart of
all racers lives the desire to win
against all comers, not against a field
that is missing one of the toughest
competitors.
I sincerely hope that this
can all be brought to an agreeable end
where all parties involved can come to an
understanding and we can get on with what
we all love about this sport. The World's
Fastest Motorsport... AIR RACING and the
toughest competition anywhere in any
branch of motorsport!
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