Strega

[Remo]

Re: Strega

The Godfather Of Air Racing Is WELL Within His Right TO Hold OUT For MORE Money…

Lets Just Clear The Air Here Once Again On This Subject. - If This Causes Me To Be Banned For Life At This Forum So Be It…


This **** Has Been Going On Since The Inception Of The Races…

Not EVEN DURING The GOLDEN Years Of Reno Were The Pilots And Ground Personnel Ever Compensated Properly Let Alone During The Eighties At It's Zenith…


Most Everyone That Supports This Forum, Is Familiar With The Rumors And Speculation As To Where The MONEY GOES And Went..?

You Can't Even Get The Dam Sanctioning BODY To Disclose ANYTHING Regarding Prize Money, Cost Effectiveness Or Even Accurate Attendance Numbers Etc. …


For Pilots And Staff To Be Pissed OFF..? - "It's WAY Beyond Well Deserved"…


Many Of Us Here In This Forum Know The Names, Addresses, & Telephone Numbers… .

Of Those In The Sanctioning Body That Have Lined Their Pockets For Over 50 Years.

Even Passing DOWN Such Inner Workings To Family Members And Friends.

The Incestious Inbreeding Of This Body Throughout The History Of The Races

Is PATHETIC And It's To The Tune Of Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars...


Yet NO One Has Ever Challenged The Carpetbagging Interlopers To A Dual…

Many Of Which Should Be In Jail For Fraud & Tax Evasion...


If That $600,000.00 Figure Is Indeed Accurate For Unlimited's - It's Indicative Of The Mind Set & Attitude Of Those In Charge…

For The BODY To Even Suggest That Such An Amount Be Sufficient Is Wretched…

You Can't Blame The Pilots & Ground Support For Their Frustration…


If It Was Up To Me Entirely -

I'd Let "The Godfather Of Air Racing" Negotiate The Future Of Air Racing In Reno…


"I Can See It NOW - He Walks Into The Negotiations With A Covered Wheel Barrel, And When ASKED What's In The Barrel…

He'll Respond "SHAME On On ALL OF YOU"..!

As He Uncovers The BLOODY HEAD OF A MUSTANG..!

"This Is The LAST Mustang That This Sanctioning Body Takes Advantage Of EVER Again"..!

"This Is For The Individuals That Authorized The Amount Of Prize Money To ALL The Race Pilots And Classes Scheduled To Attend This Years Scheduled Event.


"WE The Pilots Of This Event ARE Reno Championship Air Racing - NOT You Heathens Seated In Your Leather Chairs"…

"This Is The Way It Works - And Their's NO Negotiating"….

[GRNDP51]

Re: Strega

I agree with you Remo, and Neal I know you're a smart guy when it comes to air racing and I agree with you that Tiger's "whining" can get annoying, but the poor guy brings Strega to the races for nobody except the fans YEAR AFTER YEAR and all he gets is the so-called "fame" of winning or placing on the podium (who really cares about that though besides us fans), and walks away with less money then he went into it with. Is it hurting the stockers that he wants more? Of course! And it's really hard but at least for now I think we have to accept the fact that it's either gonna be a couple of hot rods fighting for the trophy at Reno or its gonna be a lot of stockers just coming to race...

Unlimited racing needs MORE money with people that use it properly, that's all there is to it and it really SUCKS.

But all in all, what will really disappoint me is if Rare Bear doesn't come. I don't really like to single out situations but I'm pretty sure the Bear is backed by enough money to justify it racing... Same goes for 232....

[wingman]

Re: Strega

Hey, more money would be great, but where's it going to come from?? How many fans are gonna spend a thousand Dollars to come to Reno to see an Unlimited field of Strega and a Yak-11 or two? All the plastic airplanes in the world are not going to bring in fans enough to support Reno as we've known it. I think a field of 20 relatively stock Mustangs and Sea Furies all running hard would draw a lot more fans than a field of just Strega.

My feelings are influenced by the fact that I don't like Bill Destefani. He's absolutely one of the very greatest Race pilots of all time. No question at all about that. But he's an ass. His time is passed.

It all absolutely has to be about him. He does not care about the Reno Air Races, nor about the audience and fans, nor about the other competitors. I've been around Bill Destefani for 35 years or so now. I first met him when he had an unpainted semistock Mustang with somebody else flying it. I've seen how he treats his crews (badly!). I've seen him cheat his crews and cheat his competitors. He's taken Button for an endless ride, to the tune of many hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Enough said. I just wish he could find an honorable man to buy Strega to come to Reno to have some fun with. We'd all be better off...

End of rant.

Neal

[wadeh]

Re: Strega

...or its gonna be a lot of stockers just coming to race...

Would this be so bad?

As a fan with no other connections to the sport, I go down to Reno every year to see racing. I'd rather see 3 or 4 full fields of unlimiteds with competitive racing each day, than to see what we have now with a reduced field and just a couple of contenders.

-Wade

[GRNDP51]

Re: Strega

Would this be so bad?

As a fan with no other connections to the sport, I go down to Reno every year to see racing. I'd rather see 3 or 4 full fields of unlimiteds with competitive racing each day, than to see what we have now with a reduced field and just a couple of contenders.

-Wade

If it comes down to it and that's all there is left for Reno then no it would be great to still see warbirds race. But for the time being where there still are a handful of full race aircraft around, they should be at Reno. I love to watch the bronze and silver but of course nothing can top the gold races. The gold races are a real race, yes it can get competitive in the lower races but that's not the same competition that is brought out in the gold. And for me, it'll be really sad to never hear mustangs, sea furies, and bearcats right at the 500 mark. I hear a regular mustang at airshows at least a half dozen times a year and that's why Reno is THE BEST! The only place you can hear the best sounding WW2 planes in the world. And I don't want that feeling to go away!

[wingman]

Re: Strega

Despite how it might sound from my last post I very much agree with all you have said.

And I too would like to see Strega there, and I would like to see Tiger there too. He is loved by the fans and his flamboyant in your face style plays well in the media. It certainly doesn't matter what I think of him as a man -- as a racer he has been wonderful.

Having said that I still feel it would be a mistake to let him dictate terms to Reno or to the Unlimited class. Right now he's the only player with a set of balls, and that is not a good thing for the Sport. Reno cannot survive with 4 or 5 racers in attendance -- 500 mph Gold Racers or not. Somebody needs to stand up for the future of Air Racing -- not just for this year. Tiger is the past, not the future.

Set the purse and set the rules, but make it financially workable for a larger group of Unlimiteds to show up rather than give the whole kitty to a couple of guys on the top. If Tiger or anybody else cannot afford to play, let them stay home...

Neal

[Reever]

Re: Strega

Nothing against the "stockers" and in a perfect world we would see a full field with the Strega's, the Voodoo's and the Rare Bear's going full tilt boogie on Sunday. But if it's a choice between the extreme unlimiteds and seeing beautiful stock warbirds going around the pylons, I would prefer to see the really go fasters. And if Rare Bear, Strega and Voodoo aren't in the mix this year, I'll have to take a pass.

As far as the revenue that the races generate and how that money is divided up among the classes for prize money, that is an old discussion. And it goes back to the vision that RARA has had over the years. You are either moving forward or you are going backward. The prize money hasn't kept up with the cost of racers expenses.

I talked with Destefani at a gathering at the MGM sometime back in the '90's. The discussion was about Skyfire and the possibility of ESPN being interested in covering the races. His concern was the lack of visibility of the races and that hindering the ability to attract sponsors. If he was concerned about the races as whole or just concerned about himself, I don't know.

There is only one way to fix this if the races are going to continue, and that's someone that can think out of the box or someone with vision, and I doubt even then if all of us would be happy.

[wingman]

Re: Strega

Of course you are right, but I've been listening to people talk about variations on "someone that can think out of the box or someone with vision" for many, many years now. So far nothing's working. Maybe Warbirds have just gotten too expensive to run to make racing them practical.

When this thing started you could get a good Mustang for 40 grand, a Merlin was less than 10 grand, gas was less than a buck a gallon, and insurance was reasonable. It ain't like that any more.

[Reever]

Re: Strega

One thing for sure we all LOVE air racing and we share that passion. Only something that we really care about can be such a source of frustration.

[fastpace]

Re: Strega

You guys are way a head of me but as I have found out the people with deep pockets always up the anti to win and that is the way Reno is, no more Miss America and many more are missing from the line up that USE to be. The people with deep pockets are business people and they know the business. Re/ Donald trump look where his deep pockets have got him.

[wadeh]

Re: Strega

To add to my previous post, I love the gold unlimiteds as much as anyone and look forward all year to seeing and hearing them round the pylons. My first choice by far would be to see a full field of 500mph competitors.

But right now we are down to 2 unlimited races in the day, and only 3 planes out of 13 turned in a lap over 450mph. Further narrowing the field to satisfy a very small number of owners is not going to help the sport. And while I would miss the really fast planes, I would miss it even more to lose the entire class or the entire event.

I was really encouraged by the event last year. It looked like the crowds were up and there was lots of great racing, but it was mainly in the other classes - and often not at the front of the race.

-Wade

[Big_Jim]

Re: Strega

I have been going to Reno for a long time, and while I have some favorite races amongst the fast movers in the Gold heats, some of the most exciting races I have ever seen were in the Silver. Saturday's heat 2B in 1982 stands out. So does Saturday's Silver heat in 1998 or 1999....the first of the really good IROC Sea Fury races. A great race amongst four or five at 380 mph looks and sounds just as good as two or three at 480 mph.

[jarrodeu]

Re: Strega

A great race amongst four or five at 380 mph looks and sounds just as good as two or three at 480 mph.

Looks, ok, but not the sound.

Jarrod

[Big_Jim]

Re: Strega

Looks, ok, but not the sound.

Jarrod

Different strokes for different strokers, I suppose......

[Remo]

Re: Strega

Once again as USUAL, those that in the know and those that visit here often are SILENT…

I don't mean to beat a DEAD HORSE, but I am HERE to tell say once again it comes down to those running the sanctioning body…

PERIOD END OF STORY…


THERE'S PLENTY OF MONEY being generated at the races, PLENTY - ALWAYS HAS BEEN…

Only The PILOTS Are NOT Being Compensated…

While Those In Leather Chairs Continue To STUFF Their Pockets…

THERE ARE TALES NOT RUMORS OF THOSE STILL OWED MONEY FOR CHRIST'S SAKE...

There In Lies The Problem, And Those Are The Facts…