Carlos,
Good to hear from you again. I'm not sure who got in with a grade point of 2. I had thought that the last people to get in were with a grade point of 4, but I could be mistaken. Maybe a couple of people dropped out and those grade 2's immediately jumped on the opportunity.
I'm not exactly sure why the quota in S/St was lowered from 80 to 60, but I think the lack of participation is due to the increase in gas prices. I posted a similar message asking what was going on, as in my research I found that through Chicago only 6 sportsman classes had completely filled the quota, and half of those were at the Winternationals.
Somebody else responded that the car counts were down due to people being fed up with the way we're being treated by NHRA, but I don't completely buy that one. Yeah, maybe a racer here or there has decided to stay home because they're sick of being NHRA'd, but the rise in gas prices seems like a more plausible reason.
Interestingly enough, I spoke with the VP of NSCA today (Pat Budd), and he told me that car counts are down in the NSCA as well. He also said that he's had conversations with local track owners, and they're complaining of the same thing, and both Pat and the track owners are attributing it to the rise in gas prices.
Anyway, if you want to be guaranteed that you're going to get in to S/St at Englishtown, you had better have a grade point of 6. The last time I was there for the national event (2005) it took a grade of 6 to get in, and even then it sold out in 24 hours. Without a grade of 6, you're taking a gamble that it won't fill up before you get a chance to register (which would be a pretty safe gamble in most cases this year, but who knows about next year).
I hope this helps, and I hope to see you out at the track again soon!
Jason Oldfield
S/G & S/ST 1838
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