You know, this has been an interesting thread to read.
I am not saying, but just saying, chumpcar/lemons guys usually only do roadcourses... it would be interesting if a chumpcar "+" class was created (value all chumpcars at a certain amount of money, say $1k) and maybe only allow them to do an additional $1k of power modifications.
Your normal e30 bmw gets a turbocharger slapped on it with some tuning... that'd be fun.
alfadriver wrote:
Adrian_Thompson wrote:
I''ll be there in 2034 when I retire and am no longer constrained by only 5 weeks of vacation. Until then I'll read about it here and in the magazine.
Weak.
I did it 3 years in a row back when I had 2 weeks less of vacation.
You have a car obsessed wife and no kids or grand kids. Family time and vacation is precious when they aren't interested in cars. Its not an excuse, its my reason. Its different from you and your reasoning and that's fine. What's right for one person isn't necessarily right or wrong for another. Given another week and a spare $3-4k I'd still do something else. When I'm retired I want to do it, but right now there are other things to spend my time and money on. That doesn't make me weak or wrong.
DLD
New Reader
2/27/15 12:43 a.m.
Spinout007 wrote:
In reply to DLD:
I've been involved with various cars for 3 or 4 years of the past 7 years I've been to the event. It's a GREAT time even if you don't bring a car. Heck I think my most frustrating years was the year I brought my own car.
We're all competing, but at the same time, you will see people from a dozen teams working on someones car in the parking lot to try and squeeze out that one last run.
Glad to hear that Spinout007. Wes and I hope we can make it this year. We have a lot of work to do to accomplish what we have planned.
Adrian_Thompson wrote:
I''ll be there in 2034 when I retire and am no longer constrained by only 5 weeks of vacation. Until then I'll read about it here and in the magazine.
5 weeks?!?!?! That's an eternity of vacation!! Where do you work and are you hiring? Man, I'm excited just to get 3 weeks, and that's only after I've been employed for 7 years!
Oh, and I'm planning on squeezing 2 of my vacation days out to drive down to the Challenge this year. Can't wait!
sethmeister4 wrote:
Adrian_Thompson wrote:
I''ll be there in 2034 when I retire and am no longer constrained by only 5 weeks of vacation. Until then I'll read about it here and in the magazine.
5 weeks?!?!?! That's an eternity of vacation!! Where do you work and are you hiring? Man, I'm excited just to get 3 weeks, and that's only after I've been employed for 7 years!
Auto Industry. It's actualy 'only' 4 weeks, but we get the week of between PAgenMas and the new year to make it 5.
Pretty standard in the industry is:
0-3 years 10 days
3-5 years 12.5 days
5-10 years 15 days
10-20 years 20 days
20+ Years 25 days
All plus the winter break
If you've got an Engineering degree most of the big companies are still hiring. This is the boom post the 09 bust.
I can't believe how badly most US Workers are treated, especialy with all the studies that show you need a 2 week break to maintain and improve productivity. When I started work in the UK, first job straight out of collage I got 5 weeks, but you had to take the Winter break from that and it didn't go up from there. This stupid rule of earning it as you get more years may have made (may have, I din't think so) sense when people had a single job for life, but with people swapping jobs so frequently these days it's discgusting. If I was stuck with only 2 weeks for life as some people were I wouldn't be this side of the pond.
BAck to the challenge. With the challenge being Friday Saturday it's really a min of 3 days vacation, in reality probably 4-5. I have done the drive to Florida straight through many times, but these days I like to break it up with an overnight in a hotel, even with 2+ drivers. Especialy when limited in speed by a trailer.
I'm sure I could talk Tom Spangler into doing hte challenge and I hope we will some day, but I don't thing he, or my other friends I have in mind want to take that much time off at this point in our lives with kids, or in my case grand kids.
Tommy seems to have the drive, enthusiasm, talent and personality of his parents, so I'm confident that come 2034 the challenge will still be going strong. Heck, Tim will only be about a 150 by then so I'm sure he'll still be part of it all.
In reply to Adrian_Thompson:
For those who are interested in the Job Description Adrian posts, we also get 7 single days, Thansgiving, and then a week for Christmas+New Year break. So ADD a week to his time off for holidays. :)
A few times, I've considered doing the challenge again. Maybe an Alfa, which what I would be allowed to do easily... sort of. Or Maybe a Miata- and I have an idea for a sub $2000 CSP Miata just to piss off the people at the miata forum that think you need $20k to make the top 10.
Not sure about you, but retirement for me is 2023. Well, ideally.