Why FWR SCCA will never see another dime from me

So... Headed up to the fort for a little fun and as a gift to dad for Father's Day. Took my DD Elantra that I auto-x'd for the last 2+ years as teh swift needs DD tires and we were riding up together. I was buying Dad's way into the Elantra to co-drive his first event. Somethign I've wanted to do for a little while and finally convinced him that it was a good idea! We get to the Coliseum in under 2 hours, see the line at registration with multiple Indy folks already there. Get in line, and wait. And wait and wait and wait.... SO I go unpack the car, get it stickered up and ready, head back over and wait some more. 45 minutes after we got in the line (at 8AM) we finally get checked in.

Ben Stops by and I send him out with Dad and Mom to get dad's first course walk in while I get the car teched in. Still has the '08 Annual in the window. Get over, open the hood, trunk, pull out the helmets with their annual stickers.... and the tech "Dude" comes over, looks at my battery, shakes it, shakes it again and tells me I have a broken tray. I do not. Factory issue tray and hold down still in original condition. I inform Mr intelligence that he is mistaken, and he informs me I must be retarded because it is.... he looks again and says "No, but it's twisted. I can't pass it" TwisteD? WTF? I look at him like he's got 4 heads and 17 arms. "Look, it wiggles, but cannot come out. It's been that way since I bought the car in 02. It's all factory." He now tells me the "battery is too large... must not be original." At this point my patience is gone. I said "Really? Gee, I thought the Duralast battery came stock. OF COURSE it's not the same battery. It can wiggle, but it cannot come out as the factory hold down holds it DOWN and the tray has it locked in all directions."

At this point I am astounded. Why is this guy arguing with me? PAss me or fail me and tell me what you want done. More importantly why would he be making up excuses liek he has so far? Just as I look back down I see he has laid his clipboard down, reaches down deep, braces himself against my bumper and throws his weight into a mighty yank. The plastic tray snapped so loundly I thought he snapped it. No lie. HE's now holding my battery, looks at me with a smirk and says "See?" and drops it into my engine bay!!!!

Battery is now hanging off the cables, laying against my cooling fan and rad hoses at a weird angle and he just leaves it there....Let's say some very unpleasant words were emitted at an increased sound level. An exchange goes on as I'm asking him "Are you going to put the Fing battery back?" a few times and he walks off. HE comes back with some $2 ratchet set and asks flippantly "YOu want mme to install it or not?" HEll no, I don';t want you to TOUCH my car you son of a female K-9. Get the F away from me. Lay the hood down to take it to paddock and hop in the car and there's no power. None. Nada. Zip. Had to push it back to paddock where Ben and Jeremy( local Indy guys, subie lovers) where there (Jeremy saw the entire episode) and a nice guy from FWR offers his mulitmeter. about 45 minutes, a butt connector, lots of sweat and some electrical tape and we have power again.

So, we pack up the car and I head over to the registration tent to get my money back and to get the car home before my temp patch comes apart again. Wait another 35 minutes ( 3 people in front of us,that's it) and explain that their idiot vandalized my car and I want out $60 back as we're getting the berkeley outta Dodge before some other moronic satanic evil twin of Morin #1 decides to make it so we can't get home at all. They fumble around for another 5 minutes, question me if we even paid at all, finally get my cash back and we roll out of there.

Seriously... that was officially the WORST event that I never ran. Sad. Dad and I had been looking forward to this weekend. At least we still had fun up and back and making fun of Mr Moron and his gang of nincompoops

And where were the organizers of this event that dude should have been sent packing. If that were me, I'd have gotten into a physical situation with the guy where he'd be holding my battery while I did my runs with the hood closed, and him inside.

Wow. I am really glad i never had an experience like yours. Thank you fellow Detroit region members. I think if you had talked to the event chair he/she would (should) have made it better.

Well I was also at the Coliseum today in my Challenger on a shake down. While the registration line was long, it moved on through in about 20 minutes. Then I had my car teched, they went over the car and asked me to remove the NoS tank, fair enough, then checked my battery which was loose. I replaced the old one a week or two ago and the new one must have been about 1/4 inch wider causing the hold down to slide off the bolts, they supplied me with some strapping which worked great, helped me secure it and passed me.

Was the tech guy the one with the red beard?

I worked for the 1st group and ran in SM, had 5 runs, they were efficient and I had a blast. Reduced my time from 76 to 69 by the 5th run, car ran great, tires actually gripped to my surprise.

My family joined me and we all had a great time, the organizers get an A from me. Sorry your experience was less than mine though.

In reply to maroon92:

I'm just glad to be Region #13. In 3 years of this I've never seen us with a 45 minute wait at registration. Running our own Tech I've never broken anyone's car either.

I'd believe just about anything negative you could say about SCCA. Here in the DFW area it's always a big CF whether it is tech, getting signed up or just plain lack of seat time.

Spend some quality time with some of your local car clubs and you'll see how much fun it can be.

If nothing else the numbers are lower which all by itself makes things more enjoyable.

Wow. Sorry to hear that. I have to be sorta tough on loose batteries (of course common sense has to come into play) but so far our crew have never broken a car while teching.

You're from Indy? Come to one of the CCSCC events in IL. Little farther drive, but none of that asshatery. www.ccsportscarclub.org

I sent this link to the Solo Chairman from FWRSCCA let us hope that gets some result.

Steve

You're a better man than I. I probably would have cold-cocked him right when when he broke the car.

P71 wrote: You're a better man than I. I probably would have cold-cocked him right when when he broke the car.

Right in that E36 M3 eating grin, just before he dropped the battery in the engine bay. At least I could blame myself for the damage to the battery. . .

Unfortunately, at any all-volunteer event, anyone's enjoyment of that event is directly proportional to the biggest buttlog he or she encounters. Everyone else can be there with foot rubs and freshly picked berries, yet one surly dude brought the whole thing to a screeching halt, fun wise.

I'd say a letter or email to the Solo chair is in order. Don't demand an apology or challenge him to a duel, just let him know what happened in a courteous and professional manner. His response to you will be the determining factor in whether you ever go back again.

And you folks out there working events: Be nice. Even if you have to tell someone something they don't want to hear, be nice. It's no harder than being a dick, really. Being nice makes your hard work that much more recognizable, and makes for a better event for everyone.

And the flip side of that: Competitors: remove the chip from your shoulders. Next week you could be the guy with the clipboard and the guy with the clipboard could be you. It's supposed to be fun, not a contest where everyone stretches their schwingus out on a table and sees who's is bigger. They call that bowling. At least, the guys I bowl with call it that. Maybe we're doing it wrong.

Anyway, be nice. Everyone is there to have a good time,and at the end of the day it's a zero-sum game financially. You're going to leave with less money, you may as well have used it to buy some happiness.

jg

Bobzilla wrote: HE's now holding my battery, looks at me with a smirk and says "See?" and drops it into my engine bay!!!! Battery is now hanging off the cables, laying against my cooling fan and rad hoses at a weird angle and he just leaves it there....Let's say some very unpleasant words were emitted at an increased sound level.

You're a better man than I. Someone that had done that much damage to one of my cars would be wondering how to remove the battery from his colon.

So he was able to pull your battery out by hand?

I think he'd be picking up his teeth right after he dropped that battery. I'd definitely send a letter to the local region chair, and possibly the national office, for that kind of E36 M3.

Making someone spit Chicklets is an answer.

I now thank you gentleman for giving me a new favorite word... buttlog.

The E30 has an equally flabby battery tray in the trunk. The battery (factory size) can be secured quite firmly yet the platic tray flexes enough that you can make the battery move enough that it may appear loose if you wrench it around. With it in the car, it's actually impossible to see what you're dealing with.

The great irony is that my local SCCA tech is so polar opposite of your experience they never even check it because it's under a plastic 'bin' cover in the trunk.

I'd send a bill for the battery tray along with your complaint to the head of the region. The dweeb who broke it should pay for it. It may be small dollars, but it's the principle. The outcome of all this would determine my future of participating with them as well as my eternal flaming of the organization.

Me, I'd go to the stealership, buy a new tray, send the bill to the tech inspector, then laminate the receipt to the hood for future reference.

But that's just me....

way better man than i, after mopping up the ground w/said inspector, the next words out of my mouth would be"and that your honour is when i lost it" dealt w/lots of insp like this on the oval track stuff, when they cant find what makes you fast they go after nonexcistant infringments, guess he was out to be a hero...............what a loser!

$60 for an Autocross??

SCCA here in Dallas only charges $40 and the local clubs are less than that.

$60 was for myself ($25) and my father, a non-member who had just been contemplating a memebership.

The tray is still not broken. It still holds the battery down tight, butit does allow a large 24-F battery to wiggle. Hell, after repairign the wiring at home, I tugged and tugged on the battert and all I got was a car rocking back and forth.

Want to know what's funniest, it's a fricking HYUNDAI. I was on all season tires, running in the Spec Class known as ST and was so outgunned I hoped we finished last and second from last.... we were there for the fun, and to give Dad his first auto-x experience from the drivers seat on fathers day.

maroon92 wrote: Wow. I am really glad i never had an experience like yours. Thank you fellow Detroit region members. I think if you had talked to the event chair he/she would (should) have made it better.

I've autocrossed with Indianapolis and Columbus, IN SCCA, as well as Detroit SCCA. It was the idiots at Detroit SCCA that made me quit my SCCA membership, quit autocrossing, and join NASA. I did four or five Detroit autocrosses, and they all sucked horribly. The people weren't friendly or helpful.

I picked up/hauled back every cone after one very long course at a Detroit event. When I finally pulled up with my trailer full of cones, the organizers told me I'd have to wait until the awards were given if I wanted help unloading my trailer. I drove directly between the crowd and award ceremony and told those d!ckheads that since I shagged all the cones, the least they could do was to unload my trailer so I could load my car and go home. They reluctlantly helped. I loaded my car and drove off without accepting my trophy.

Earlier that day, a few accidents happened that caused bad damage, including a brand-new GM-owned Solstice. I never saw a safety steward, even when they re-designed the course mid-event, due to another accident.

I second what was suggested about running with Columbus, Indiana at their autocrosses. Very friendly people, lots of runs, and a safe venue.

Sounds like you both could have handled things better. He shouldn't have broken your car. You shouldn't have argued with him when he said that it needed to be improved.

Kramer wrote: I've autocrossed with Indianapolis and Columbus, IN SCCA, as well as Detroit SCCA. It was the idiots at Detroit SCCA that made me quit my SCCA membership, quit autocrossing, and join NASA. I did four or five Detroit autocrosses, and they all sucked horribly. The people weren't friendly or helpful.

Just want to point out the alternatives in the Detroit area- Corvette Club, Michigan Sports Car Club, and the Alfa Romeo Owners Club all run events in Metro Detroit. There are choices. blogspot.dcscc.com for details.

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