To understand what rasn, rasnm, and rasners are, you must first understand what USENET is. USENET is a worldwide network of computers (referred to as news servers) tied together via phone lines. This network exists for the sole purpose of permitting the public exchange of typed posted messages via a multitude of electronic bulletin boards called newsgroups. There are currently over 30,000 newsgroups on USENET and more are being created all the time. Each newsgroup has a unique name that gives an indication of the topic of discussion.
Prior to 1994 all racing discussions were held in the newsgroup rec.autos.sport. If your interest was CART, that was where you posted your messages. If your interest was NASCAR or any other racing series, that was also where you posted. However with the explosive growth of Internet access that occured in those days, general topic newsgroups such as rec.autos.sport began to break up into several more specific topic newsgroups.
On April 1, 1994, rec.autos.sport was divided into several racing-related groups - one of which was rec.autos.sport.nascar, or "rasn" as it became known to it's participants. As participation continued to grow, actual discussion of NASCAR on rasn often times took a backseat to posts that were commercial in nature (spam) or were intended to distract from the friendly exchange of messages by bashing/attacking other posters, NASCAR personalities and even their families.
Therefore, on August 13, 1998 a second NASCAR-related USENET newsgroup was voted into existence: rec.autos.sport.nascar.moderated or "rasnm". Although USENET has rules of etiquette for posting to newsgroups, they are more like recommendations since there is no way to enforce them in an unmoderated group such as rasn. However in a moderated group such as rasnm, the tools exist - via a combination of software and a team of moderators - to filter out unwanted commercial posts as well as ensure that a degree of civility and decorum is maintained in all discussions.
In addition to rasn and rasnm, a number of e-mail lists have come into existence as a direct result of participation on the rasn newsgroup. Collectively the participants of both newsgroups, as well as the participants of related mailing lists, are known as "rasners". rasners have come together in ways other than just newsgroup posting, such as participating in rasner reunions and the actual sponsorship of race teams.
A rasner Reunion is a meeting of rasners prior to a Nascar race at a pre-appointed time and place; usually somewhere at the track on raceday. The main purpose is to meet all those people you've been agreeing/arguing/doing both with on the two Usenet newsgroups, but it's also to "share the common bond of the love of motorsport," as Ken Squier would say. A reunion allows you to put faces with the names of your fellow posters which in turn helps make the newsgroups more civil and friendly. Many friendships have developed as a direct result of rasner reunions, as well as at least two marriages. You also get to view "The Sacred Scroll(tm)" and add your name to history.
Mark Breland posted this response to the question, asked by a person who would be attending the race for the first time at Dover, Delaware:
Well, first you walk up and think to yourself "Should I be doing this? What if these folks are...are...WEIRD nerds or somethin'?" But then you suck in a deep breath and do it anyway, "Well, they don't look *that* bad..." After you introduce yourself, you stand (or sit) around and look at each other kinda nervously (after all...you *are* having a "reunion" with people you've never met before...). Then you check out the banner, look for names you recognize, oooooh and ahhhhhhh over the driver signatures you'll find there, and finally make your own mark.
After a while of sipping your favorite beverage, you'll debate how r.a.s.n should be pronounced, whether a period should follow the 'n', and what the name is for that foam thingie you put your beverage can in to keep it cool. Then there'll be further discussion about candidates for the Mr./Ms. RASN for that particular weekend (you'll know him/her when you see him/her...). Some of the talk will get downright nerdy, some will dwell on where the different workplaces are, and some will actually touch on NASCAR-related stuff. Lies will be exchanged, much holding forth will occur (particularly from the more prolific RASN regulars, if any are in attendance), and on occasion someone will finally remember, "Hey...we oughta take a picture of all us with the banner!"
Sometime during the whole deal you'll be reminded of the requirement for you to post a
UCAP (Up Close And Personal account) of your experiences for that race weekend, since you
touched and signed The Sacred Scroll. Finally, folks will start drifting off to do their
own thing, or the day's racing will start to get near, and the reunion will dwindle down.
You'll walk off going, "Well that wasn't so bad after all...sure was nice putting
faces to names...but I had NO IDEA that
Each reunion must have a volunteer host. The rasner Reunion Host is simply someone who has volunteered to (at a minimum):
The host is generally expected to post a UCAP (up close and personal) to the Newsgroup
afterwards, detailing the weekend's events. (Note: you don't have to be the host to post a
UCAP.) This is the minumum expected, but it can be handled more elaborately. For instance:
for the New Hampshire Reunion an e-mail list was put together ahead of time by the
attendees and details about area events, driver appearances, local races etc... were sent
to each other as they became available. This helped everyone plan their race weekend to
the max.
The Sacred Scroll(tm) is a banner that was originally created by Scott Decatur for the "reunion" at the 1995 Daytona 500. At each race, the members of r.a.s.n who attend the "reunion" sign their name to the banner. R.A.S.N'er Michelle Burns scored a coup when she managed to get Morgan Shepherd, Rusty Wallace, Bobby Labonte, Sterling Marlin, and Dale Jarrett at an autograph session before the race at Loudon. This was after Dave Marcis and Jeremy Mayfield signed the banner at Michigan in June (thanks to Alan Grossmeier). This is one well-traveled banner!
On Saturday, 16 September 1995, during the TNN broadcast of the BGN race at Dover Downs International Speedway, The Sacred Scroll made its first confirmed (and easily readable) appearance on national television. During a caution around lap 93 of the race caused by a fire in the pits, TNN showed an ambulance leaving the track. There above the ambulance, hanging from the stands above the gate, was the Banner!
At the end of the 1995 season, the original Sacred Scroll(tm) attended its last race.
However, thanks to Bob Paxton and those who contributed to the cost, there have been new,
professionally produced Sacred Scrolls created for each new racing season. Scott Decatur,
the man who created the banner that is now known as "The Sacred Scroll", gives
this brief comment about his creation:
"The banner (now come to be known as "The Sacred Scroll") was created on a
whim for the first (annual?) RASN 1995 reunion at Daytona. It was designed to be a focal
point, a "welcome mat" of sorts for RASNers to gather, meet and talk about
racing and how it affects our lives. It served its purpose successfully in February, and
from then on I've read and received "UCAP's", and "____visions", and
"we were there's" from so many of you who helped to carry on the
tradition...it's been quite overwhelming!
Sure, we did the work to create the thing (not that it was very skillful!), but each one of you who took the time to carry it to a race, and those of you who fought to sign it (and those who are still fighting!) are all a part of the heritage of the SS. The SS was never about money, or who gets to keep it in the end, although I've seen some wonderful suggestions to help portray RASN as a group that cares about *all* the aspects of racing. It was, from the night of the reunion on, about signatures and friends with a common bond, regardless of physical distance.
I think it's that down-home spirit that makes this banner so special. Everyone treated it like it was theirs, because it was something that everyone could have done. I mean no offense to Bob P and Co., I caught a glimpse of the 1996 SS at Roger's homepage and it was obvious that the new banner will publicize RASN to a much greater degree. It's just so commercial!! I know that it will be a much better (durable, colorful, precise, etc.) "icon" in the end, and will continue to gather RASNers for a long time to come!"
Scott was right and Bob Paxton's new banner continued to gather rasners during 1996. At that time rasner John Martin was working on the WC circuit running a subscription stand for Winston Cup Scene and Winston Cup Illustrated. He served as the "Official Bearer of the Banner" throughout the '96 season and transported the Sacred Scroll(tm) to each race where the reunion host would pick it up at John's stand prior to the reunion and return it afterwards for transport to the next race. During the the '97 season, rasner Tom Duwe transported the banner as part of his retirement-party-major-road-trip-to-the-races across America.
Today, the reunion host is responsible for getting the banner for the reunion as well as arranging for it's transport to the next reunion host. However, 1998 saw another first in the history of the Sacred Scroll(tm) when a member of the management at Watkins Glen International (who was lurking on rasn), volunteered to handle the receiving of the banner and shipping it on to it's next destination. This was the first time a track took an active role in a rasner reunion.
Finally, in what has become a yearly tradition, the Sacred Scroll(tm) is "retired" at the end of each racing season and auctioned off to a lucky rasner who provides it with a final resting place. The proceeds from the banner raffle go towards the purchase of a new Sacred Scroll(tm), with any leftover funds contributed to the rasner Sponsorship Fund (but that's another story).
Scott gave Bob the Original Banner while at the '98 Daytona Speedweeks. Jerry Kyte aka..Tinadog won the Raffle of the '96 TSS and Linda Kochanski won the '97 TSS. Reunions with the Banner are a great tradition!
Mr. Breland (again):
Never fails, everyone always wants to know what the deal is with the ICE thing on R.A.S.N.
Here's the low-down... (at the request of the masses, a condensed explanation)
Once upon a time, an excited (yet somewhat naive) NASCAR fan (Troy Bull) respectfully requested some help in logistical details for attending a race at Talladega.
>I am headding to Talledega in July. I have never been there or to any >WCrace. I would like suggestions and warnings, basically, what should I >go see? Do? (I am planning on time trials already). >I am staying in birmingham, how early do I need to leave???? >Anything helpful would be great...
The following exchange ensued...
(Mark A. Breland) writes:
>It's gonna be hot!...last year in July it hit 103F on Sunday, with 90%+
>humidity. I assume you have seats in the grandstands. Make sure you
>have light clothes, sunscreen, a hat, a cooler with lots of ice, and
>(my personal lifesaver) a bandanna. The bandanna can be dipped in the
>icewater in your cooler periodically to swab down with. About 1:30 or
>so you're gonna be soaking the bandanna, putting it on your head under
>your hat, tucking it into the back of your shirt, and filling it up
>with ice (which then melts down your back). That's the only way I
>survived last year.
[lots more deleted]
(Mark A. Breland) writes:
>Here's the deal...those of y'all headed to Talladega this weekend, we're
>planning on meeting by the ticket booth (just outside the fence)
>immediately behind the O.V. Hill South Tower on SATURDAY at 8:00 AM.
>Look for the dinky little R.A.S.N sign hung on the fence. We'll figure
>everything else out from there. If you miss us, give me a holler at
>(205) 956-8211 leave a message and we'll try to hook up with you
>sometime Sunday.
>Barrey wants to get thrown in the pool, Danno wants to drink beer, John
>wants Rusty to win *reeeeeaaaaaaalllll* bad, and I just want y'all to
>bring ice...lots of ice...got that? Ice....bags, blocks, sacks, chunks
>of ice.
>Don't forget...ice. ICE.
>BTW, bring ice.
>P.S. Did you remember the ice?
>Up close and personal reports will abound next week...as long as someone
>brings ice.
(Roger L Smith) writes:
>In a strange weather incident, a freak ice storm hit Talladega Alabama
>today. Officials said that so much ice hit the OV Hill towers at the
>speedway that even Mark Breland would be happy.
>(For those of you who are humor impaired, the above statement is a joke,
>but wouldn't it be funny if it were true? :-))
(Daniel Banyas) writes:
>A nice breeze took some of the edge off of the day - and we didn't
>need all the ice we brought (Breland - the Ice King) but still it
>was a roaster!
(Barrey Jewall) writes:
>Got a styro cooler and some beer and uhhh.. ICE! that's it, ice...
("flintj4359@cobra.uni.edu") writes:
>We drank a ton of beer, and sweat every ounce of it out. For all of you
>ragging on Breland for his ice comments-get off his back. It's
>sunburnt, and he's right. No ice, no live through race. I had a
>cooler packed with ice and my beer was STILL warm by the end of the
>race. Not cool at all. (no pun intended.)
It would also be fitting to include the most generous contribution of Ron K. "stealer of quote lines from Brain THEE France":
>Unfortunately I have lots of ice but I won't be at the track.
>I'll look for you guys on T.V. though and wave. BTW my T.V. is
>next to the air conditioner which is next to the ice chest. If I
>see you, I'll throw you some ice. Oh and if you need beer just hold
>up a sign saying hey Ron toss us some beer and I'll throw you some
>along with some more ice. I drink MGD so I know you won't complain
>about the beer choice.
>Ron K. who's stocking up ice now for next year.
And that, folks, is the story of R.A.S.N and ice...
P.S. The moral of the story? Next time you go racin'.........
Don't forget the ICE! ;)
UCAP = Up Close And Personal
This is a 'requirement' of those who attend a r.a.s.n reunion for the first time (although
it's not limited to first timers, of course). It's just a rundown of interesting things
that happened to the poster over the race weekend, and impressions of what it was like to
finally meet other rasners!<\b>
The rasner Sponsorship Fund provides financial support to race teams via money rasied by rasners. Until 1997, the sponsorships provided were all primarily the work of an individual or several individuals. Craig Witkowski worked out a deal with Andy Hillenberg in the final ARCA race of the season in 1995. Dale Evans slapped r.a.s.n. bumber stickers on the Dash car of Dave Stacy whenever he got a chance. Mark Breland got Dave to run the sticker in a Craftsman Truck Series race at IRP. Kathy Ward had slapped the sticker on the late model car of Steve Hatley.
In 1997, however, the rasn membership joined together in a concerted effort to provide rasn sponsorship to race teams. A rasn Sponsorship Committee was established consisting of rasners Mark Breland, Dale Evans, Bob Paxton, and Craig Witkowski. Mark Breland was named Treasurer. Bob Paxton was named Spokesperson.
The goal for '97 sponsorship was to provide rasn sponsorship funds in a couple of arenas:
The logic behind these choices was:
The rasn Sponsorship committee announced the who/where/when of rasn Sponsorship for
1997 on Feb. 1.
(Click here for the full text of that announcement.)
The committment was made for a full season sponsorship of Steve Hatley Racing who competed in the Late Model Stock division at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, NC. Our $1200 sponsorship bought us the filler panel across the back of the car. (That's the spot between the rear bumper and the spoiler.) A recounting of the exploits of this team can be found on the Steve Hatley Racing site.
It was also announced that $1500 was being given to Dave Stacy's Dash Series effort. This sponsorship got us the rear deck lid of his Goody's Dash car. Dave's original plans were to run the televised Dash races in 1997. Dave finished 16th at Daytona during Speedweeks. A second place finish at Homestead however, was marred by a disqualification due to a mixup in tires during the race. Unfortunately, Dave soon after had to abandon his Dash Series effort. Dave is currently trying to break into the Craftsman Truck Series.
Bob Paxton kicked off the '97 fundraising effort toward the end of the '96 NASCAR season by conducting a raffle for 'The Sacred Scroll - 96' - the rasn banner that is displayed at each rasn reunion (held at all Winston Cup races) and which is signed by all the rasners in attendance. After covering the cost of a new 'Sacred Scroll -97', the balance of the proceeds from this raffle went into a rasn Sponsorship Fund.
Earlier in the '96 season, Mark Breland had been contacted about entering a website contest in which the person who refered the most people to this site would win $1000. Mark posted an article to rec.autos.sport nascar explaining the contest and promising the rasn membership that if they would visit the site and put him down as the person who referred them to it, he would use the $1000 towards rasn sponsorship if he happened to win. Not long after the end of the season, word came to Mark that he had indeed won the $1000 and true to his word (as always) he immediately donated it all to the Sponsorship fund. Since then there have been further contributions made by a number of rasners. This got the fund up to around $1400. This obviously didn't cover the $2700 paid for the Hatley and Stacy sponsorships. Mark Breland advanced the fund the additional cash necessary to cover these expenses.
To help cover the shortfall in funds, John Martin organized a rasn raffle which raised another $420 towards retiring the debt. Then Jerry Kyte (a.k.a. Tinadog) came up with a brainstorm. rasners could pledge a certain amount of money to be paid based on their favorite driver's performance or their least-favorite driver's lack of performance etc... Thanks to the rasn '97 Pledge Fund and the generosity of all rasners, the Sponsorship Fund was 'back in black' before too deep into the season.
Then on August 16, 1997, Orange County Speedway and Steve Hatley Racing held rasn Appreciation Night. rasners Greg and Kathy Ward (Steve's crew chief and publicist, respectively) opened their home to any and all rasners from around the country. Orange County Speedway reserved a prime section of seats for this crazy bunch of internet race fans. The reunion was a resounding success and a good time was reported by all in attendance.
However, a huge pileup near the beginning of the Late Model Race left the rasn-sponsored car of Steve Hatley with major, major damage and unable to continue. As the rasn Sponsorship Fund was now in the black by around $1300, the decision was made to donate $1000 to the team to help them recover from this disaster. In addition, another $475 was sent directly from various rasners to the team. I think it is fair to say that SHR was astounded by this unsolicited support from their rasn sponsors. So much so that they movied the rasn logo from the back filler-panel to the hood of the car for the remainder of the season
A new rasn Sponsorship Committee for 1998 was elected/volunteered/coerced consisting of Craig Witkowski, Diane Genthner, Tom Duwe, Jeff Oswald, Bob Paxton, and John Martin. Bob was the Fund Treasurer for '98 and also assumed responsibility for tracking the rasn Pledge Fund. Diane Genthner was Spokesperson for the committee.
A rasn Raffle '98 was held at the first of the year and raised several hundred dollars. Added to the money raised through the Pledge Fund and the raffle of the '97 TSS, the Sponsorship Committee was able to start the year with money to spend. The '98 Sponsorship Committee decided that the most good would come from contributing to teams that run at local tracks. Teams involved in touring series would be helped too, as funds permitted, but the main emphasis was to be on local teams.
During 1998, the following teams were awarded funding:
Steve Hatley Racing, Orange County
Speedway - $1500
HRW Motorsports, Wake County Speedway -
$500
Andy Hillenburg, Charlotte ARCA race - $500
(Ned) Combs Racing, Goodies Dash Series - $500
The 1999 Sponsorship Committee consists of Ellen Siska, Brian Merriman, Bob Paxton,
Craig Witkowski, and John Martin.
Thus far, the following teams have been awarded funding:
Steve Hatley Racing, Orange County
Speedway - $500
(Ned) Combs Racing, Goodies Dash Series -
$1000
All money raised for the rasn Sponsorship Fund, goes directly to sponsoring race teams. Everyone involved in the Fund contributes their time and resources on a volunteer basis. But it is the generosity of the rasners who contribute to the fund that make this project a succcess.
This page was last updated on June 11, 1999.
