GR Smith off WoO tour...shocking

[Tireguy17]

1. GR in thin-skinned to let people's comments on a message board affect him to the point that he FB posts about it.

2. If you are driving to Speedweeks solo, you have no business running a national tour.

3. If 2 motors lay down in a week, you again have no business running a national tour, and need a new builder.

4. Do not wear item #2 like it's a badge of honor, people shouldn't criticize you for doing it, and if anything you should be commended for it. All of that is false.

5. DO NOT blame anyone else, including strangers opinions on a message board, for the reason you quit something. That's a cop out.

[adamconners]

There are two types of people in this world: 1.) Those that are humble 2.) Those who are about to be humbled

[fastford]

after reading mr. smiths FB comment , i have lost any respect i had for him , and i agree with Tireguy assessment , i may be a key board jockey at times because i feel for certain i am way less funded than Mr. smith , BUT , i race when i can and help a lot of racers like me , i guess what im saying , when you try to put your self in the spot light and race above your means and fail , then be ready to accept a little bashing from us key board jockeys..........

[kazual]

Reminds of “alligator mouth and a hummingbird butt”. Don’t know the gentleman but if you’re thin skinned about posts to social media in this day and time you best stay out of the limelight. Calling attention to yourself is a dual edged sword.

[GregA12]

Pretty sad that a professional would feel the need to have to acknowledge and try to defend himself about the little that was said about him on here.

People do that all the time in today's age of social media. I don't see a problem in defending yourself if you feel you need to. Pro athletes, celebrities, etc, respond to Twitter criticism all the time. Some people have thicker skin and ignore it, some people don't. As for him dropping off....I also would think you were never truly prepared for the long haul in the first place if you drop off 2 races into the season. Not like it hasn't happened before though. I assume all these guys declare though because maybe they think if everything goes perfect, they could do it... and also the fact they get provisionals. Even Chuck Hummer got a provisional at Screven. I can't imagine he would've had he not declared.

[ZERO25]

My dad always said......don't let your alligator mouth write a check, your canary behind cant cash!

I guess we know what kind of "behind" GR is....I mean, has!

[Clayton_Wetter]

I don't really know anything about GR but was all this stuff really called for?. I would be irritated too.

[Krooser]

Not defending Smith but...

Look at any shop and they display their big checks and trophies everywhere. While JD won the races he would have been pretty far behind the field without a car to drive. Seems to me Smith provided a means for JD to win...

Yeah he's gotten pretty out of whack on FB but he could fix all that by closing his posts to comments. Lots of business folks do that... racers too. I say take it easy and this too will pass.

I used to proudly show anyone my check from my first sportsman win at Hales Corners in 1970... $3.60!!!

[RW57]

3.50 and we racers complain about today's purses.My first win in a hobby car in 1977 netted me 50$ I was a 17 yr old high school kid I was rich my dad was funding the car but they only payed 5 spots 50 40 30 20 10 it also cost 5$ to get in pits good times back then

[Krooser]

3.50 and we racers complain about today's purses.My first win in a hobby car in 1977 netted me 50$ I was a 17 yr old high school kid I was rich my dad was funding the car but they only payed 5 spots 50 40 30 20 10 it also cost 5$ to get in pits good times back then

We always ran for 40% of the purse split between the coupes and sportsman at that time. I think we usually raced for about $600 total with 8 heats, a semi, a consi and the feature. Heats paid four spots, consi about 8... the semi paid all 24 cars and the 18 car feature the same... had a $50.00 Ford Starliner with a $50.00 352.... one season I made $11.00 total in winnings. The rulebook said don't spend more than you can earn!!!!

[EvelB7]

I will defend GR a bit, raced with him for quite a few years. He took his lumps (some earned), but in the end he deserves some respect for what he is trying to do. The piece a few miss is that maybe he is trying to draw up more support by announcing he is going to run WoO; could be he was hoping to land some help that just did not happen.On the other side, GR-quit trying to defend yourself. I learned along time ago it is easier to judge others non-accomplishments than to try and accomplish something yourself. Keep doing the latter.

[Barbecueboy]

I will defend GR a bit, raced with him for quite a few years. He took his lumps (some earned), but in the end he deserves some respect for what he is trying to do. The piece a few miss is that maybe he is trying to draw up more support by announcing he is going to run WoO; could be he was hoping to land some help that just did not happen.On the other side, GR-quit trying to defend yourself. I learned along time ago it is easier to judge others non-accomplishments than to try and accomplish something yourself. Keep doing the latter.

I like what he does....not sure I understand all the gr hate.

He always seems to be pretty fast and does it with less.....hope he pays attention to your advice.

[Zonks32x]

We always ran for 40% of the purse split between the coupes and sportsman at that time. I think we usually raced for about $600 total with 8 heats, a semi, a consi and the feature. Heats paid four spots, consi about 8... the semi paid all 24 cars and the 18 car feature the same... had a $50.00 Ford Starliner with a $50.00 352.... one season I made $11.00 total in winnings. The rulebook said don't spend more than you can earn!!!!

My Dad always tells the story about helping Charlie Weddell at Hales, and how they won $0.50 and a case of beer.

[latemodelfan]

What? Isn't this the fourth or fifth time he has said that he is following a tour and never made it to March?

[Rich down South]

I don't understand why the slam on GR to begin with. So the guy said he was gonna run the WoO tour and dropped off a week in. He had unforseen motor issues. Who cares why the motors failed. Im sure his intention was to run the tour, at least for as long as he could. If success came, he would continue.

He is genuinely proud of the accomplishment with JD 2 years ago. Quite Frankly, JD needed a ride and GR gave him one. The timing was right and it was a very good short lived deal that Jonathan needed and they both benefited from.

I dont know GR from Adam but again, as we see continuously, people will jump on the negative bandwagon to talk (not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word) about someone to make everyone think they are in the know. As if they are so knowledgeable about GR and his personal situation.

For me, I like to watch the guy race. He is another personality in the field and adds to the show. He announced he will now drop off the tour due to motor issues. Ok, so drop off the tour. Its unfortunate but it is what it is. Why start the slamming parade.

[racincowboy02]

I get the whole trying to get more help either it being financial or crew help by announcing that he is running the world of outlaws schedule but come on man if you don't have it by the time you leave then wouldn't it make a little better sense to stay home and try and get that funding before you venture out

[EvelB7]

Say GR goes to Florida, runs good for two nights. Maybe someone says, 'hey, I'd like to help'...Do you think that is going to happen if he is not there? I can tell you, the longer you are away from the track the faster you fall from view... Heck, even this post on here could land him some help. As they say, 'Even bad press is better than no press'. If he needs a hand I'd ride to the track and help out if the timing worked out. Guess I need to stop in and see GR.

[B_K]

I like what he does....not sure I understand all the gr hate.

He always seems to be pretty fast and does it with less.....hope he pays attention to your advice.

We agree on a lot of things. This ain't one of them. The guy's attitude warrants what he gets.

[ZERO25]

Perhaps, he should take Smokey's advice...."if you're gonna be in racing, you BETTER have skin thicker than an alligator"!

[fastford]

I don't understand why the slam on GR to begin with. So the guy said he was gonna run the WoO tour and dropped off a week in. He had unforseen motor issues. Who cares why the motors failed. Im sure his intention was to run the tour, at least for as long as he could. If success came, he would continue.

He is genuinely proud of the accomplishment with JD 2 years ago. Quite Frankly, JD needed a ride and GR gave him one. The timing was right and it was a very good short lived deal that Jonathan needed and they both benefited from.

I dont know GR from Adam but again, as we see continuously, people will jump on the negative bandwagon to talk (not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word)(not a nice word) about someone to make everyone think they are in the know. As if they are so knowledgeable about GR and his personal situation.

For me, I like to watch the guy race. He is another personality in the field and adds to the show. He announced he will now drop off the tour due to motor issues. Ok, so drop off the tour. Its unfortunate but it is what it is. Why start the slamming parade.

i agree , why go on book face and call every one on 4m " classless key board racers" , he dont want to come on here and defend him self against the couple that said something about him , but instead makes a post on his FB about 4m as a whole and then want allow any one to reply , yep , that shows a lot of class......