A Grass Roots Editorial

by: Wayne Sagar
Editor- AAFO.COM
12-06-2000

We spoke with Button about the listing at the time and he gave us a glimmer of hope that the airplane would indeed, be at Reno for R2k+1. According to Button, "Our plans are to have the airplane at Reno next year," who added: "I’d just like to see it there without Bob Button’s name on the checks!"

No further details of his plans were discussed, however it was apparent that Bob did not want to part with his dream. Said Button: "It's a contender now we've done a lot of stuff to it and it's ready to run at the front.. I'd hope that anybody who bought it would want to take it to Reno for a couple of years and play with it...the airplane is just like brand new, we rebuilt nearly everything on it. "

Updating this story, we spoke with Button again today and that glimmer of hope is much brighter. Though the airplane is still listed for sale, Bob told us that the team will continue with their plans toward taking the airplane to Reno this coming September.

In a telephone interview Button said that "We’re going to go ahead as planned. We’ll start working on the airplane next month...we’re going to make a few changes and that’s it. We’ll take the airplane to Reno, not push it too hard and try to get to the front of the pack."

Bob’s hope is to find a buyer for the airplane who would like to race it...at least for a few years...

"I’ve got a dollar in my pocket that says it will be at Reno this year," said Button, who added this comment: "whether I’m there as crew (member) or owner."

Most realize that Air Racing is an incredibly expensive sport, particularly at the level of support given to hybrid airplanes such as "Voodoo," "Dago Red," or "Strega." For that matter, when it comes to any of the top contenders in the Unlimited Division racing at Reno...the expense to prepare and campaign these airplanes is downright astronomical.

In reality, the same goes for each and every airplane raced, from the slowest Sport Biplane to the fastest of the Unlimiteds. Relatively speaking, the inordinate amount of dollars spent by the people signing the checks has an undeniably detrimental impact on their checking accounts – accounts with which they support themselves and their families.

For many outside the "World's Fastest Motorsport," it’s all too easy to assume that the people bringing the sport to life have vast wealth; that essentially, this is a sport of the "very rich;" and that the very life of this sport is ultimately dependant on the mere whim of those who appear so wealthy, that they seemingly have no other arena in which they could spend their money.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

In most cases, the Motorsport of Air Racing is fueled by dreams, ambition, dedication and sacrifice, all of which lead to the cost being irrelevant in the mind of the true competitor. At least until the costs become so great that continuing becomes impossible.

As fans, we can repay the dedicated owners, pilots and crews of these airplanes, by supporting the sponsors we see displayed on their racing planes. If we are to continue to see this sport flourish and grow...if we are to continue to see examples of personal and professional sacrifice, as displayed by Bob Button, Tiger Destefani, Lyle Shelton, Tom Dwelle, Bill Rheinschild, and ALL of the people who bring this dream sport to reality...

...major sponsorship will have to also become a reality.

How can we help?

Other racing venues perform studies on fan/sponsor loyalty, albeit, we are absent this process here in our end of the "Motorsport World." Purchasing the products and services of companies currently involved in racing would likely help.

Buy a Taco at Taco Bell and make sure that you e-mail the owners of the company (www.tacobell.com "Contact Us" and/or 1-800-Taco-Bell) telling them why you bought that Taco there, instead of up the street at the "other" drive-thru. Mention the Taco Bell-sponsored Critical Mass Air Racing Team, of Auburn, California.

Stay at a Candlewood Inn and make sure you fill out the comment card and tell them who you heard about Candlewood Inn from (The Strega Air Racing Team). If you buy a Tivo setup for your home theater, make sure you let the salesperson know where you heard about it. Also, contact Tivo by clicking on one of the Tivo links on our World of Wings sponsored pages. Tell them you saw Tivo at the Reno National Championship Air Races, both on the Pace Plane flown by Steve Hinton, and as a sponsor of The Voodoo Air Racing Team.

Any time you are asked to fill out a response card, even for products and services not currently sponsoring Air Racing, make sure you mention that you would be more likely to buy their product or use their service if they were supporting your favorite sport.

If you fly an airline and they have a response card – usually at the airline ticket counter or within the inflight magazine – ask them if the airliners in their fleet utilize the products of PRC DeSoto. Tell the airline that you heard about that company at the Reno National Championship Air Races, where they sponsor the Hawker Sea Fury racer, "Furias." Tell them that you know that both Boeing and Southwest Airlines sure use their products, and that both are supporters of Air Racing!

Let every airline know that you'd be more likely to fly them more often if they supported Air Racing, too!

Mention Air Racing to anyone who will listen...

Spread the excitement! Most of us reading this article have been to Reno; we know that this is no ordinary "air show" that we're attending; nor, as Motorsports go, are the Reno National Championship Air Races just another ordinary racing event!

As fans, we can write to the Discovery Channel, we can write letters to editors of newspapers, same goes for television stations, magazines cable companies.. any media. We are consumers, we drive the market when we let those responsible for providing products and services know what we want from them...

Can we make a difference? Will doing any of this help?

In the end, it can’t hurt...

We all agree that we hate to see racing planes like Voodoo, Riff Raff, Stiletto, et al, all wind up on the selling block.

We must ask ourselves: would this be less likely to happen if the racing plane owner had his share of sponsorships that are awarded annually within the field of Motorsports?

The answer would be a resounding "Yes!"

This is a grass roots effort that could help all of the teams in Air Racing.

photos used in this article © 2000
Dominique Thirot -
Wayne Sagar -
all rights reserved