NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties

[keith ohanesian]

Who pays us when water is coming up thru there tracks? I can just see it now.. "Racers we need you to donate $50 more so we can make up for what we a losing today"

To all the NHRA Officials that are on here. Kiss my f ing ***!

[jmcarter]

Originally Posted by keith ohanesian

Who pays us when water is coming up thru there tracks? I can just see it now.. "Racers we need you to donate $50 more so we can make up for what we a losing today"

To all the NHRA Officials that are on here. Kiss my f ing ***!

The NHRA guys on here are NOT the problem. Realize you were firing for effect but all the NHRA guys I know deserve a raise (preferably out of the Pro and Compton's pockets).

[X-TECH MAN]

Originally Posted by jmcarter

The NHRA guys on here are NOT the problem. Realize you were firing for effect but all the NHRA guys I know deserve a raise (preferably out of the Pro and Compton's pockets).

10-4.....Travis Miller and Dave Ley are great guys who work hard and try to better the sporstman racers but they can only do so much.

[Bryan Worner]

I agree Travis and Dave aren't the problem........but someone needs to send a loud and clear message to whoever makes up these policies that enough is enough!

Damn, we pay $300 now to enter these dog and pony shows, aren't allowed to sneeze without having an official warn us not to do it again, only get down the track maybe once before eliminations start and get ushered off the track very quickly when we do get the chance to run!

We are not allowed in certain areas of the pits and/or track when the "big show" is going on while the "pros" get free reign of the facility! Hell, they even get police escorts, blairing their horns and sirens so they don't get held up for a second! If we fart too loud, an NHRA official will be telling us to keep the noise down or we will get thrown out of the event and suspended!

My desire to run NHRA is dwindling very quickly every second! Unless we (the sportsman racers) band together and take a stand, it will continue to get worse!

I think someone who is very smooth with tongue, maybe a Tueton or someone similar, should draft up a letter to Compton or whoever may be in charge now, and have as many of us endorse it as possible, just to show how serious we are!

I know I'm dreaming here, but that is the first step that needs to happen!! Most of NHRA's money comes from entry fees and other fees charged to the sportsman racers! They need to start making the "pros" pay!!!

Oh, I almost forgot.......the prize money keeps decreasing too! It's just not worth it anymore!!

[Pedigo Perf]

I don't think the fine would affect me. It would probably take me at least a year to get the car running again after the first oildown.

[Dave Ribeiro]

Bryan
The message is stop attending , money controls everything ... This is just another way of sticking it to sportsmen racers, who already pay way too much ? Just compare what the entry fees were & what they are today , and what the Payouts are ?? It's a real joke and they keep milking the Sportsmen Cow to death ... I wonder if John Force is paying for Pit passes & Bikes etc...

Keith,
had a great point about the water , we aren't getting anything for our money but BS..... You racers better remember all this when you are picking where you Race , it's getting Worse not Better ...
It will only stop when you make it STOP .....

Tech guys ,
Are the only guys who do care about Sportsmen Racing & they have their own problems with NHRA ... I think they are still wondering Why we keep coming Back ??? LOL in 2011.... You will need it !!!!

" Remember ", while you still have Choices , support the people who support you !!!!

[SStockDart]

It is understood that the spectator experience is enhanced with no "oil downs". Spectators do no pay to watch the track being cleaned up, they want to watch racing.

At issue here are the questions; "Do racers oil the track deliberately?", "Do racers gain a competitive advantage by building engines that fail more frequently?", "Does the racer have anything to gain by blowing an engine and oiling the track?" I believe that the answers are a resounding "NO" to these questions. Placing a financial penalty on someone the oils the track will not get the desired results if their is no desire to do so. In fact, hasn't the racer already penalized himself/herself enough if they oil the track? They probably lost the race, in which they need to win in order to get money. And they obviously have a financial loss with any engine failure. Probably, at minimum several thousands of dollars. Therefore, I believe that this "oil down penalty" is a misguided attempt to minimize oil downs.

Respectfully, I believe that this penalty should be rescinded for Sportsman Racers.

On the other hand, something needs to be done that will get the desired results and make for a better experience for the spectators by minimizing the "down time" for oil downs. Perhaps something could be worked out regarding racers that "oil the whole track" This is not to say that racers would deliberately oil the entire track. However, a case could be made that oiling the whole track is "possibly" intentional in order to win a race. We have all seen it. The guy/gal that looses oil and runs it all the way down the track instead of pulling to the side. How long does it take to clean up fifty feet of oil versus the entire track? I would support an "oil down penalty" for someone oiling the track "unnecessarily" based on an officials' decision that the driver "should have known" and pulled to the side, thus minimizing the oil down.

Gary Hansen
Poison Dart Racing

[Michael Beard]

Originally Posted by SStockDart

I would support an "oil down penalty" for someone oiling the track "unnecessarily" based on an officials' decision that the driver "should have known" and pulled to the side, thus minimizing the oil down.

Gotta be careful with that stuff, too... I lunched a motor many year ago, in high gear. When you're already going 80+ mph, and there's potentially oil coming out of the motor and maybe getting under your tires, the last thing you want to do is jam on the brakes. I certainly moved out of the groove and slowed down as quickly as I felt I could do safely... and you'd be surprised at how far you travel before you get stopped.

Really what they're saying is, "You didn't want us to mandate diapers, so we'll find a way to make you WANT to put a diaper on the car."

[Chad Rhodes]

Originally Posted by Michael Beard

Gotta be careful with that stuff, too... I lunched a motor many year ago, in high gear. When you're already going 80+ mph, and there's potentially oil coming out of the motor and maybe getting under your tires, the last thing you want to do is jam on the brakes. I certainly moved out of the groove and slowed down as quickly as I felt I could do safely... and you'd be surprised at how far you travel before you get stopped.

Really what they're saying is, "You didn't want us to mandate diapers, so we'll find a way to make you WANT to put a diaper on the car."

good point

[Bryan Worner]

Dave, what we should do is go to the competition committee with this proposal:

If a race is shortened due to problems with the facility and runs are taken away from the sportsman classes, those classes should be given some of their entry fee back if they don't get a minimum of at least 2 qualifying/time runs! Also, if class eliminations are scheduled and are not run off, money should be refunded!

I would say $100 of the $300, or 1/3 of the entry fee, should be refunded in this event! That sounds fair to me! If their complaint is having to pay extra for people to clean up the mess of an oil down, and it delays the racing or costs racers their run, it's only fair if we have our track time taken away by problems that occur because the facility is not properly constructed, that we get some of our money back!!!

Heck, they would still be getting $200 out of us!!! More than Force pays!!