This thread brings to mind one of the most upsetting and STUPID things I ever did in my almost 40 years of competition. As Wayne's Dad "Baldy" would say, "Not only was that not very smart, that's about the biggest case of DUMB *** I ever saw."
To top it off I had some time and other driver congratulations to think I had really accomplished something before I was brought back to earth!
Sometime about the mid-80's (don't remember the exact date as I am still trying to put it out of my mind) I set a record at the annual Lakeland Florida record course on Lake Hollingsworth. They always presented a large traveling trophy that you kept for one year, that your name, class and speed was engraved on, and a smaller one to keep permanently, for the existing record that was broken by the most MPH. It went by the name "The Orange Cup Trophy", and was highly prized and competed for as an annual award for prestigious accomplishment.
My boat and engine was running very well at that time and I knew I had a good shot at the record if I didn't do anything stupid. Long story short, made a good legal start both heats, and broke the record both heats. We ran late in the day, probably because of weather or wind delays which was not unusual that time of year in Florida, so by the time I got done and back in the pits, we hurried to get the stuff packed up as I was racing off the same trailer with Phil Howard at the time, and if any that read this also know Phil, one thing he was very good about was getting on the road headed home ASAP after the last heat of the day he or anyone with him was completed. We put the engine in the box, boat on the trailer, and after a short celebration and good wishes/goodbyes from Phil and Jeannie, they pulled out and headed for Illinois where he had to be to open the doors at his Laundry/Dry Cleaners the next day.
Eileen and I were standing around (we flew down to the race and were flying back that evening) talking with some friends when whoever the inspector was came up to me and said "I'm ready to inspect to certify you are OK for the record". At that point I knew I had really screwed up 1st class, but there was nothing to say or do as Phil was probably 30 miles up the road by then, and cell phones did not exist at that time. No inspection, no record, no Orange Cup Trophy that year, and just as bad was the looks I was getting from my fellow racers, half feeling sorry for me, and half "What a case of DUMB ***"!
There is no excuse for not having your rig inspected, but it was done a little differently there than most of the places in the Midwest I was used to racing. The inspector had an area set aside for the Stock boats but to alleviate congestion in the area, and because PRO was basically bore and stroke, he just would come to the pit area of the PRO drivers involved and do the inspection there. There had been several records set that day, and that fact combined with Phil's need to get on the road and our excitement with setting the record just caused us to forget that the engine had not been inspected before he left.
Completely my (driver's) fault and responsibility as we all know and the rule book states, but it did not make it any easier to take that everything was legal, just an oversight and the additional problem with the inspector getting to my pit area after Phil left.
In the years to follow that case of "DUMB ***" I did manage to redeem myself somewhat, as I ended up winning the Orange Cup Trophy two more times, but I still have a space on there where my name should be, but isn't, because "I got disqualified, but I really wasn't cheating".
ADD: I had managed to somewhat forget this event until last spring while researching some information for Todd Brinkman Sr's obituary which appears on another thread here on BRF. I came across a newspaper article in the Lakeland newspaper about that race and the information in the story about how I had lost the record because of not being inspected before the rig left the course.
I really did not need to be reminded about it again, especially while trying to gather information about something I was already upset about. It just reminded me that some things that at the time seem really important when they are lost, are not so much compared to the loss of a good friend.
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