Gentlemen, bury the hatchet - but not in each other's head. Can't we all just get along???? [This message has been edited by Due North (edited 01-15-2001).]
Absolutely NO hard feellings here. Sorry if anyone thought this was getting ugly. Not my (or Tracee's I'm sure as well) intention at all. Hatchet buried.
none here either. well except for that guy i thought was gonna run over me this weekend. some people need to calm down [This message has been edited by stickboy274 (edited 01-15-2001).]
Seem to remember that when that deer got hit at the GNF, there was a sudden influx of good ol' boys on pit road offering there expertise to dispatch said deer. I got the impression: 1- it would have been a bad time for the gun control folks to be passing out literaure. and 2- I now know why there there have been no suprise attacks by Third World countries on Road Atlanta during a race.
Maybe that's why you don't see (many) deer, gun control folks, or Third World countries commando units at Nelson's either!
Getting back to dogs, my precious lab, Porsche, would stay onder my truck untethered until the races stopped. Then she would go pit by pit looking for handouts. I started following her when the Sawyers gave her prime rib... She was the consummate race dog.
Maybe it's time for me to repeat my story about that ugly-ass wheel-humping bulldog that walks around the pits at Loudon and leaves wheels covered with semen. Cute, very cute. Imagine discovering that as you're rushing to have rain tires mounted on your rims. I'm just thankful it wasn't my bike he did his business on.
I personnally don't have a problem with folks bringing their dogs (or kids) to the tracks as long as 1) they don't bark a lot (or at all) 2) they are tethered so they can't wander into other folks pits (road, track, etc, etc) 3) their owners clean up after them 4) if someone wanders within their reach they don't lose any body parts and 5) they are pitted away from the high traffic areas. It may sound tough, but I would have no problem bringing mine (I don't now, I doubt he would really enjoy it that much...) as he would follow 1,2 and 4 and I would do 3 and already do 5 (because I have a kiddo). A little common sense and courtesary goes along way. I know of folks that have brought their dog and have had no problems... If your dog can't hang with you in the yard without a chain, fence, or leash, don't bring 'em... (They would probably be a handful). (Dammit, there are rules for everthing...)
Darn. Oh well, I'm thinking about turning mine into more of a standard style anyway. Why buy new plastic when it's cheaper to throw away the old?
Dutch, I love dogs! Don't mind them being at the track under the optimum conditions listed numerous times in this thread. I cannot bring my lab because he howls like crazy when a sport bike is within a 1-mile radius of our house. It's unnerving!! Anyway, just a thought: Keith Hoogstad has two fabulous boxers. Very well behaved and very social animals. He, his wife, and his daughter were at Roebling near the end of the 2000 season with the dogs. Keith was involved in a serious crash and had to be medi-vac'ed to the hospital. My sister took the wife and daughter to the hospital. Several riders and officials packed their trailer & motor home for them. My sister & I took care of the dogs, walking, watering, feeding, etc, but the hotel st which we were staying did not accept dogs, so we had to leave the dogs in the motor home. Jeff Wright, another WERA official was camping at the track, so he took care of the dogs that night, but none of us knew how the dogs would react to being around strangers for such an extended period of time. Thank God, Keith's injuries were not as serious as first thought; his brother and some friends came to drive back the trailer & motor home the next day. My point is that you can at least take children to the hospital with you if, God forbid, you are in an accident. Your wife may want to consider how she could handle taking care of you with the added stress of caring for the dogs. Again, I love dogs and am sorry that mine is too mentally impaired to come to races with me. I truly did not mind taking care of Keith's dogs; they are exceptional animals. We live close to them and would have brought them home with us if need be. But they had enough on their minds without having to worry about their dogs. Just a thought.
Are we allowed to bring rats to the track? I think mongo has been bringing one this season, no not his sv. I've never actually seen it but every morning of a multi day race he has a rats nest on his head
Better be careful with rat pets at tracks in the South. If the Hamburger/Cheeseburger Debate taught me anything, it's that those folks will eat anything that is not widely recognized as a pet!
