Feb 5th 06

Hi guys.
Welcome to the first of hopefully many regular updates on what I intend to be the SMRA News Letter.
I will leave the race updates in the capable hands of Lee, and the technical stuff to you guys. I know my place, but I welcome any feedback or contributions either through the website or directly to me at barbkirk@fsmail.net

Firstly I’m sure you would all join me in saying a huge thanks to all the organisers of the Dinner Dance last night. What a superb evening.
I found the occasion a little surreal at first, seeing all those people scrubbed up in their Sunday best. All that glitz and glamour. Some of them were even quite attractive (I said some!). The meal was great, the company entertaining and the whole evening was a huge success.
The only thing that tainted it slightly was the rude and ignorant behaviour of some of the guests during the awards, particularly when Keith Bartlett and Lee Child were speaking. Surely a little more respect could have been shown for the fact that, not only is it extremely difficult to deliver a speech to so many people (as anyone who has done any kind of public speaking will testify), but also what they were trying to say was of huge importance to the past, present and future of Drag Racing. It wouldn’t have been too much to ask for some of the guests to shut up and listen. I thought Keith and Lee coped admirably.
An e-mail will be winging its way to Paula and her team to say how much we all enjoyed the evening, and I’m sure the guy slumped in a pool of his own vomit outside the lift on the 3rd floor of the Ibis hotel would agree too.

Secondly onto more serious matters…..

I have given a great deal of thought to how I intend to develop the role of track rep this year. I’m sure you will all agree that when I took it on last year it was a bit of grey area as to what exactly it entailed. I’m the first to admit that it seemed a little daunting. However, after a seasons experience I feel in a much clearer position now to try and define what my role and responsibilities actually are. I think it benefits everyone if the expectations are laid out clearly on both sides.
So here goes.
I feel that my first responsibility is to always promote a positive image of Super Modified. My intentions are to continue liaising with the tower crew and commentary team so that they always have the latest updates on all our cars. This ensures the commentary stays fresh, interesting and above all accurate for the spectators. However I can only achieve this with the co-operation of you guys, so please send in the info sheets if you haven’t done so already.
I will also do my best to negotiate with the powers that be to ensure optimum amounts of track time, although this is obviously more difficult. Again I need your co-operation. I need you to communicate with me if you need extra time between rounds so that I can relay this to the marshals. I also need to know when you are ready to run as this could also be used to our advantage. They might slot us in early ( we can only hope). Seriously though, we need to show that we are professional and reliable as a class. The key to this has to be communication on all levels.
This also applies to all of us as a team. When we get the call to the fire-up road it looks so much more professional and organised if we go down together. We know we can put on a spectacular show for the spectators with side by side burnouts and consistent 7 second passes. The cars look and sound great and after a year of crowd watching from the start line I know we have something really good that we can build on.
I will be getting in touch with John Price to ask him to play our new signature tune when we come to the line ( Bad To The Bone), after that it’s up to you lot and may the best man win.
I think it’s also very important that we are accessible to spectators, and I know a lot of work was done last season to promote this. There are some exciting things in the pipeline for this year.
I will also provide Saturday night curry to all comers for a small donation when the occasion arises.

So that’s it really in a rather large ranting nutshell. I welcome your thoughts on any improvements or ideas you may have and wish you all a successful season.

Barb X