Grapefruit/Citrus Circuit??
Humm!! I "thought" I remembered correctly. But then I've had a "setback" over the last 10 years or so. It's called "CRAFT" disease!
So take your choice. Most likely, from all the comments, NONE of us old timers knew the correct name! hehe!!! :rolleyes:
As far as the "blowouts" comment --- well ---
You had a choice in most cases -- sit in the pits because you were a "pussy", or install your large "gonads" and go racing. What can I say! In my time there were very few cancelled events in the Citrus/Grapefruit Circuit series.
For me, being in my teens, I pulled out my "brassballs" and continued on. The prize money was way too tempting!
Oh MY, What GREAT memory's I have of those days!!
To enjoy eating grapefruit you have to understand how to eat it. First off, for me, you NEVER drink grapefruit juice! That is a HUGE NoNo!!
What you do is you only buy "pink" grapefruit. Then you cut them in half. Then you slice all the sections with a sharp knife.
Then you sprinkle sugar on top of the halves, dig out the sections and ENJOY!
Happy New Year Everyone!!!
EZ
regards the post about "sitting in the pits"
I was not trying to indicate in my post about the "blow outs" of the Citrus or Grapefruit Circuit races, that there was anything wrong with a drivers attitude about running in rough water. Exactly the opposite. The problem in driving that far was you ran the risk of sitting on the bank because of the race being blown out and NOBODY getting to run because of cancellation or postponement by the sponsor or officials that made a determination the water was too rough. There is also some difference in the time frame from the 50's to the 70's and beyond when speeds of the normal PRO category boats were regularly approaching and exceeding the 100 MPH mark with even an "A" (now 250CC) approaching 75-80 MPH in the early 70's. Lower speeds earlier (40's/50's) would make it a little easier to run in rough water, even though the boats were a little smaller. I raced some then (50's) also, so had that experience with a Big Bee Swift and a 20H and 30H.
The main point I was making was a 24 hour/1200 mile drive was a long way to go for one race weekend and put all your eggs in one basket, and if you got blown out, you had basically spent all that time and money for nothing. Going for a two race weekend made your odds a little better to get a boat ride, especially if you lived up north where you did not have the opportunity to test during the winter/early spring months.
Regards the "brass balls": as Ralph Donald says, the throttle works both ways, especially if the officials decide to go on with the race and not cancel it because of wind/rough water. The decision to run, and how hard to compete if rough, I always thought was a personal one, with a lot of factors entering into it. When you get a little older, and have made several trips to the hospital, and have trouble getting thru the metal detector at the airport, your perspective changes somewhat from when you are young, brave, and stupid.
Neither was I George.........
but after reading it again several times I can see how my reply might be taken that way.
What I was trying to get across, and I know you understand, is sometimes you did not have any choice about "sitting in the pits' because you had no input into the decision to race or not. It was made for you by others if deemed too rough to carry on with the races. That's why I mentioned we always tried to go for two race weekends instead of one.
Hope to maybe see you at the Bike Museum during the shindig this year. I sure do want to get to the basement so I can see those outboards close up.
That reminds me of the story about........
the Anacin or some other kind of pain reliever commercial. Not sure now just what it was and it doesn't make any difference.
Scene opens with an old guy crawling out of bed complaining about how stiff and sore he is. His wife says "why don't you try some of that Anacin or whatever, supposed to work wonders and relieve your problem".
The scene fades out and then fades back in again, and it is the next morning and the old fart bounces right out of bed, jumping around the bedroom, telling everybody that wants to listen how great he feels, all the while proclaiming " My morning stiffness is gone, I don't have it anymore, what a great product that is".
Eileen was reading the paper when this commercial came on, and when it was over she turned to me and very calmly said, "You take any of that, your'e dead and out of here".
True Story!