May 2004 REmarks
April Showers Bring May…… showers. And it seems, rumors.
So, I thought I would take this opportunity to address some of the rumors floating around out there (since I can’t address the rain):
The first and biggest is a multi part beauty seemingly called Chiwaukee, or, sometimes, Milcago. Wow, a conspiracy by Chicago and Milwaukee to take over area 5, and the division, re-absorb BVR, and eliminate LOL. I always knew I was good, but never once thought I could take over the world. (if I could, there are a LOT of things I would address first) The other version of this has Milwaukee somehow taking over Chicago Region, taking over the June Sprints, and pushing us out of Road America.
Last time I looked, there were no Milwaukee members on the Chicago BOD, We own the trademark for the June Sprints, and we are the 3rd largest stockholder in Road America, coupled with the fact that there are several Chicago Region members on RA’s Board of Directors.
Folks, this whole train of thought is laughable. Milwaukee and Chicago regions work very well together and share some assets for mutual benefit. Chicago and BVR work very well together as well. We, as regions, have enough on our plates without plotting to take each other over.
An offshoot of this rumor is the “Milwaukee wants total control of RA”. Again, pure fiction. Road America owns itself, and sets any and all dates. The track dictates who runs what, and where, despite anything the GCR might say about geographic areas. Both Chicago and Milwaukee realize this, and neither group wants to, or is capable of, running more events there. There will never be a fight over “ownership” of RA, as both Regions will lose. The same thing can be said about Blackhawk farms. 3 regions share that track, and it is a share. The track will not permit anything else.
And finally, in this mess, is the June Sprints: We own this event. We have the trademark, we created it, and it is never going to be put on by anyone else.
The second big rumor is that the regions in Area 5 created the Area 5 Regional Championship series to replace the Cendiv Regional Championship Series. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The series was created as a combining of the regions individual championships, and was intended to increase driver participation and turnout, and commonize the rules the area 5 regions operated under. It accomplished this very nicely. Had the Cendiv series remained viable, the two would have worked hand in hand. I hope that we will be able to recreate a viable, Division wide series in the future.
So, that’s it for May. If there are any other persistent rumors I can address, please don’t tell me!
See you all at the Sprints!
Scott Sanda
RE, Chicago Region SCCA
