Don't want to go down the political road with this, but what did it for us in Texas was the Jimmy Carter presidency. Just to lay it out for our team and the demise of Lone Star Boat Racing Association I have to lay it down to Washington DC and both parties. In 1978 and 1979 the inflation was growing...it was huge. And the value of the dollar was plunging. Prices for Konig motors doubled as did parts. Not only was inflation increasing the price of food, lodging, rents and even the ability to buy a house or car, but there was a time where you could not even plan on going a long distance because gasoline was either not available, rationed, or stations were closed. New media fed stories about all types of racing wasting fuel they would have otherwise had to go back and forth to work or to go to the beach. That's when the media really started the war on oil companies, and it has continued to this day.
A lot of racers quit during these times because they could not afford to race because of inflated costs of living and not wanting to travel far to races. Then in 1986 President Reagan set out to collapse the Soviet economy with extremely low oil prices ($8 per barrel at its lowest) and a very deflated dollar...the USSR went bankrupt. It was a good thing, but it killed the Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana economies as well as states whose companies built and sold stuff to oilfield companies. That's when Lone Star went down. I had to quit racing in 1981 when my Dad's ex partner started a company to compete with Alice Specialty tapping four of the key officers and personnel to go with him, along with a dozen workers, and records and paperwork that disappeared. So the next couple of decades I had no way to get back in.
Several years ago I explored looking into getting my Son Andrew into racing. I knew there was no Pro racing less than 600 to 800 miles from us. I have no scheduled days off and haven't had for seventeen years. All I can do is hope to catch a weekend every so often, so I thought I could get him interested in OPC in Texas. He enjoyed watching the tri hulls racing in Corpus, and I even talked to John and Mike Schubert. But there was still not anything going on close enough to be able to get him interested. Now he works in the oilfield and has no time to do anything.
It's very hard with all the lakes being closed, families being pressed for time and money, and lesser opportunities. Thank God for USTS keeping the Alkies going.
And Bill is correct....it is the families and friends met during these years that are never forgotten and make up m the formative years for me, and as far as I know, all boat racers.
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