"Thanks for not racing!"

[Y2K5SRT]

\"Thanks for not racing!\"

Well, I can tell you that I am a good boy 97% of the time, but every once in a while I will succumb to the urge to give the ol' GTS a little extra gas in between track events. Tonight I was heading back home and a race bike pulled up next to me - pilot with helmet, wide-eyed rider on the back without any head gear. As I was already moving, the driver kept giving it gas to try and draw me in. Not a chance. There was NO WAY I was going to even blip the throttle and have this guy light up and dump his passenger by accident. At the first red light he got stuck behind a truck and I pulled up next to him. I smiled and told the passenger, "You can thank me later!" He laughed and said, "Dude, I was never so happy to see a Viper going the speed limit in my entire life." The driver just shook his head. At the next red light we both had open lanes and no traffic for as far as you could see in any direction. It was my turn off, so I pulled into the turn lane. The driver looked a bit miffed but the passenger was grinning his head off. "That's TWICE you owe me!", I yelled to him. He started laughing and said, "The most awesome car AND a sane driver! I will remember you probably saved my life tonight." The driver threw up his hands like "go figure?" and the passenger waved good-bye.

I'll tell you what, I love to race as much as anybody out there (and probably more), but I felt pretty dang good that I didn't even think about making a run. It's rare that you get a thumbs up for refusing to race, but this was a good one.

Chris

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Re: \"Thanks for not racing!\"

Good story. I think I would've done the same thing. Friday night, lots of traffic and the roads still wet from a full day of rain, three Mustangs are giving it the gas trying to get me to run. It lasted for several miles. I just grinned at them. I'm crazy but these guys are idiots.

I don't remember so many opportunities at so many inopportune times twenty years ago. Are the kids getting stupider?

 

[Roland L-Ocala FL]

Re: \"Thanks for not racing!\"

Good going Chris & Chuck! I was beginning to think that just about everybody, even here on this board, was beginning to get mush for brains this summer! Street racing is awfully tempting at times, and it is hard not to give in, but it can be done, you guys proved it! Last Wednesday night my wife and I were coming back home from a really nice "Cruise-in" at the Gilmore Museum where we met up with some Vette friends ( the Gilmore museum is one of the most meautiful auto museums in the US), and we're going through a small town at about 25 mph. This clown in a 4WD Ford Ranger PU that was jacked up all around was coming from the other direction, suddenly cuts across traffic right in front of us, about one or two car lengths away. He pulled into the local Ford dealership parking lot, locks 'em up, then is looking straight at me through his passenger window just to see what I am going to do. It was done on purpose to "push my buttons", I'm sure, but after some nifty brake work on the part of the Viper, I thought out loud "****ing Idiot" and just kept on going. It really shook up my wife too, but nobody got hurt, and it wasn't worth stopping to give this guy a piece of my mind, you just never know what might be waiting for you anymore if you do stop! Anyway, we did not let that incident take away from the wonderful evening we had at the museum and the ride to and from there. The road to and from Gilmore is so full of winding two lane, that you soon forget everything except enjoying the ride. This is where the Viper really shines, those curves become fun to navigate, instead of another place to slow you down, you really feel the g-forces acting on you and the car, well, you know what I mean! Enjoy

 

[jimandela]

Re: \"Thanks for not racing!\"

I am sorry to hear stories of idiot drivers and nitwits but atleast i am not the only one... !!!!
it seems like no one has any commonsense anymore!!!!
i had a wonderful 220 drive today from buffalo, ny to erie, pa
just for fun.. and i refused race for the whole trip
even thought i had many offers...

can't we just drive in peace... that is all i want.. no racing,
finger flipping or yelling &*^$#$@# back and forth.

i tell you i am sometimes tense driving because you never know what one of these jerks will or could do???

hopefully we will all comeout unscaled but who knows?????

 

[Acatala7]

Re: \"Thanks for not racing!\"

I'm with you all the way. Gerald you'll know what i mean. Friday night i was cruising around the East Side..near Gano St. (you know how narrow those ancient roads are). I'm at a stoplight when i hear a car gunning to get behind me. It was an 80ish mustang and he was peeling his tires about 5 inches from the rear of my car. (I swear on my mother's soul it couldn't have been much further).I'm shaking because i'm afraid he's going to ram me, so i do an immediate right turn, he then follows me.I move to the side to let him by, and then he stops beside me. All he says is "you have a bad ride, i have a bad ride" then he guns it again, and travels 15 feet to another light...this time there were some bikes stopped there. He spins them again. Usually if it's an open road i'll bite, but his actions were absolutely crazy!

 

[garolittle]

Re: \"Thanks for not racing!\"

I think we are in for a long Summer. The new movie "The Fast and the Furious" has got every kid in town all hyped up about speed.

 

[slaughterj]

Re: \"Thanks for not racing!\"

On my ride back to NC last night, for the last half hour I have an Eclipse riding along with me, gunning it and trying to get me to go. My eyes are drooping from being so tired, and I have no interest in an Eclipse, regardless of the fact that it sounded different so he had something. He kept on for 3 highways gunning it, passing me, letting me pass him about 6 times. In the process we past 2 cops with lights, stopped, and had entered a lower speed zone, which is often a place for a speed trap, not to mention its around the holiday, so enforcement is up. Anyway, I let him keep buzzing around like a gnat, and didn't give him even a mild rev, I just didn't even care

 

[Roland L-Ocala FL]

Re: \"Thanks for not racing!\"

I like that gnat idea, just think of most of these little buggers as gnats and not even worth taking a swipe at! Luckily, I don't get many challenges around here, but I do get crazies that want to cut you off or some stupid thing like that. Now that Michigan has a concealed gun law going into effect, you will never know who's packin what, and you'll just have to ignore almost anything anyone does, or face the potential of being shot at. That does not make me feel safer, I can tell you.