*stole idea from HT thread 'giving respect'*
Take a minute or two to reflect upon who has influenced you most or have been an inspiration to you in the sport compact scene. Whether it's friends, mechanics, shop owners, shops, teams, crews, or whoever. Get some pics up if you've got them too.
I know there are not too many members from the central valley of California, but I'd like the pay my dues...
Maybe not known by many, but Vernon Brunges and his wife Patti from RaVer Motorsports are definetly #1 in my life as far as the scene goes. I grew up in the central valley where imports were rare in the clean form. I wouldn't have half as much knowledge of Honda's as I do now, and they've both helped me grow a lot in this life encompassing hobby of mine. From letting me sit in the office for hours pounding them with questions, to letting me watch over Verns shoulder while he worked on my car and others, letting me help on some customer cars, and taking me out for sushi all those times
Since I've moved out to So-Cal, I don't have a 'shop' to go to now where I know the owners on a first name basis. When you leave something that good, you learn to appreciate it more. From the first day I called Patti at RaVer, because I saw them in the phone book and wanted to lower my car, I was hooked on Hondas, and I knew when they re-did my entire drop for free because I didn't think it was low enough, I knew that RaVer was special. When I say Vernon knows his shit, he knows his shit. I can't think of anyone as dedicated to Honda engine mechanics/tuning as Vern was, and still is. I've spent countless hours in the shop talking to Vern about Honda mechanics and likewise with Patti, and many classes were ditched in the process haha. I've met many friends, and had my fair share of drama with the loss of friends in racing, and squabbles at the shop, but all in all I wouldn't trade my experience for anything.
Thanks to the people that have helped me along the way I can call myself a true enthusiast, I try to keep my shit talking to a minimum and encourage people with constructive criticism whenever I can, instead of putting them down. I owe a lot of this to Vernon and Patti, Kirk, Travis, Tim, Ernie, Shawn, and all the others ...I still owe Vern money for tuning though haha.
Unfortunatly, RaVer MS is not in business at the moment, but still open on select days when Vern wants to do the 'fun' stuff - tuning, swaps, and turbo installs. Verns gone back to school to be a nurse, like his wife. RaVer Motorsports was the shop EVERYONE went to to get stuff FIXED because other shops fucked it up. Vernon was the fucking man, and unfortunatly people in the valley don't want to pay the price for profesional, quality work.
Not sure if you guys remember a while ago I posted the WORLDS fastest stock bodied 300zx, well...Vern built that engine and many other excellent ones. He was even featured in an Option Magazine hahaha....He deserves the credit he doesn't get.
And if it wasn't for Bennett (Bzaster) here down south, I don't know who I'd talk to and work on cars with. I'd be a fucking loner and make Anny work with me on everything...
Sorry for the long post - just thought I'd give credit where it was due....post up guys, im sure you have inspiration from somewhere!
heres some old shop pics, and a pic of kirks old b20 race engine
old-school tuning on the lift
my engine during turbo install
Doctor H's '95 4dr w/H22a swap. Before that swap I knew nothing about cars, literally, Ididn't know how to do an oil change or even take off a tire. I hated cars with a passion, but I guess that's because I owned a '90 Olds cutlass POS at the time. But I was over there almost every day helping where I could; pass tools, looking for info online, etc. And he always took the time to answer my questions ("wtf are those pipes coming off the from of the engine?" 
). The more I learned, the more I was hooked. Solds the Olds and bought a EH2 CX.