[GTOGEORGE]

Elarson,
I'm not judging Armie, he's been racing a hell of a lot longer then me, I'm just brought up an incident that happened at Milan. He is over 80 and a car with that much power is a handful..........reflexes, reactions all slow down when a person gets older. I have no idea if Arnie is capable of driving or not, I'm just hoping the people that do know him will talk to him if there is a problem. No one needs to get hurt and Arnie doesn't need to go out that way, after all he is Arnie ( the Farmer) Beseick a Racing HERO!


GTO George

[twooldgoats]

Originally Posted by GTOGEORGE

....reflexes, reactions all slow down when a person gets older......


GTO George

I just change the number in my delay box!

Jim

[Elarson]

At Milan, I was standing at the left rear quarter of the car when he did the burnout. From my really excellent vantage point, I saw the burnout start out normally, then the car makes a sudden, hard move to the left and Arnie reeled it back in without hitting anything. The sudden violent move is typical of a traction problem; not a driver input problem.

FWIW,
Eric

[GTOGEORGE]

Region warrior,
You really need to read my post better. I have said NOTHING bad or incorrect about Arnie, now there were at least 4 to 5 other members that have said worse about him (don't make me out to be the bad guy). Basically I said if its time it's time ..........only his friends and he would know and YES at 80 his reactions & reflexes are not as good as someone half his age, sorry to disappoint you. Arnie is a GREAT Pontiac icon BUT he is not a God, he is only HUMAN! I have changed my trans brake button position twice in the last few years because of age and I played sports all my life...... It's called getting old, damn I hate that word!!


GTO George

[rodneybutler]

Many times when doing long exhibition burnouts the back end washes out to one side, especially if the track is less than perfect. When you lift off the throttle, the tire hooks up an shoots you in the direction you are pointed. Eric, Arnie, myself, and many others have had this happen. The Huntsville, AL track used to have a slope to the left lane. More than once it has shot me to the center line when I rolled off the throttle. That's what happened in Arnie's burnout. Can happen to anyone.

[mgarblik]

Speaking to skill level, over the past 3 years match racing Arnie, he has had consistent reaction times of .440 or better. Probably 25% of the runs .420 or better. He recently put a .407 on us. This is a clutch car, no electronics. I would say his reactions and ability to control the race car still damn good. As far as backing-up very fast, most Arnie followers know that is his signature move. In the Super Chevy days match racing Dyno Don, Arnie was clocked on hand held radar at over 100 mph in reverse. That's the LENCO in third gear backing to the line. It's all part of the match racing show and track personnel, especially at Cordova know the drill well. It is nice that so many here and on other boards are so concerned for Arnie, that shows how much he is loved in the drag racing world. But this little dust-off on the wall is really not much of an issue. Think of it this way, if he was 40 years old, nothing would have been said or worried about. A little body work and back to the races!

[Region Warrior]

Originally Posted by GTOGEORGE

Region warrior,
You really need to read my post better. I have said NOTHING bad or incorrect about Arnie, now there were at least 4 to 5 other members that have said worse about him (don't make me out to be the bad guy). Basically I said if its time it's time ..........only his friends and he would know and YES at 80 his reactions & reflexes are not as good as someone half his age, sorry to disappoint you. Arnie is a GREAT Pontiac icon BUT he is not a God, he is only HUMAN! I have changed my trans brake button position twice in the last few years because of age and I played sports all my life...... It's called getting old, damn I hate that word!!


GTO George

Got me mixed up with someone else?....

[Tom Vaught]

Originally Posted by Elarson

At Milan, I was standing at the left rear quarter of the car when he did the burnout. From my really excellent vantage point, I saw the burnout start out normally, then the car makes a sudden, hard move to the left and Arnie reeled it back in without hitting anything. The sudden violent move is typical of a traction problem; not a driver input problem.

FWIW,
Eric

Like I said earlier in a post, Steve Grebeck was killed due to a TRACTION PROBLEM.
Like Rodney and others have said, the car moves around when traction goes away or is returned. Milan has never been known for outstanding track prep, period. Even at the high dollar Super Ford events. So blame it on something else, GEORGE, vs Arnie being over 80 years old and unable in your opinion to drive a car safely at Milan.

Tom Vaught

[mgarblik]

I choose to believe George and others are genuinely concerned about Arnie and just don't want him or anyone else to get hurt....... But there is no evidence in watching Arnie in person or on video to suggest he has any type of diminished ability. We all know as well as Arnie that some day he will have to stop driving. We all will face that some day. I can only say again that he has "cat like" reflexes, to the point of being almost surreal. When he has a great run even today, he climbs out of the car at the end of the track like a 20 year old and bounces around like it was his first run ever. It is still an amazing thing to see. If there is anyone on this board who hasn't seen him run in person, or it has been a long time, do yourself a favor and go see the master in action this year.

[GTOGEORGE]

Tom,
You are an idiot I never said Arnie couldn't drive. Read my post before you run your key board!


GTP George