"Live" from our Southwestern Swing

[BobUnkefer]

Originally Posted by Jody Lang

Thanks for reporting guys.

Larry & Patsy did they say why they were waiting until Thursday to run the race? It sounds like they were doing everyone a favor by doing it on Thursday. Still seems like a long tow to Georgia for those that might stay.

With the amount of rain that fell Sat night the track got substantially soaked & water got under the rubber and caused blisters in the rubber on the track. BOTH lanes were going to need to be completely scraped, be treated with resin and then dragged repeatedly after the resin was worked in to restore the racing surface, obviously a process that takes a considerable amount of time & labor. With the amount of work that needed to be done it was felt that it would be Wednesday mid-day before the possibility of sending a car down track could even be considered.
There was considerable discussion with numerous in & out of division racers and the track owners & management before a final decision was made. Several options were put on the table & each was thoroughly reviewed & disected before the call was made to run on Thursday morning at 9 am. There was even a mapquest search done to determine how far from Noble to Reynolds & Phoenix (just about the same actually) in trying to address those who needed to travel.
Yes, it does put a strain on those that were heading east to Reynolds or west to Phoenix, and those events played heavily on the final decision. Being able to assemble the needed personel to work the track, and then staff the event had to be handled too, because like most who race, they have weekday jobs too.
Over the last 22 years being invloved in the sport I've had the opportunity to watch & listen as unfortunate situations have been dealt with, and in my opinion everyone involved deserves a huge ATTA BOY for the way this one got handled, to me it was diagnosed and thought out about as well as it could be.
Nobody likes to get rained out, nobody, but track Manager Marcia Crook, owner Todd Stephens & Division director Craig Hutchinson all worked / are working very hard to make the best out of a bad situation.
Everyone can grumble, bitch and moan all they want, but until you've walked a mile in the shoes of the people that made the call this weekend, you really have no idea the anguish involved in trying to make the best of the situation, ....FROM WHERE I SAT THEY ALL DID A HELL OF A JOB!

That's my .02

Unk
See ya in Phoenix this weekend

[Larry Hill]

Well, I guess you wonder where we have been all day since we haven't been posting. We have been too busy watching the scenery go by to post. I took 165 pictures today, so after I weed thru them I will be posting a little later tonight.

[Jody Lang]

Originally Posted by BobUnkefer

With the amount of rain that fell Sat night the track got substantially soaked & water got under the rubber and caused blisters in the rubber on the track. BOTH lanes were going to need to be completely scraped, be treated with resin and then dragged repeatedly after the resin was worked in to restore the racing surface, obviously a process that takes a considerable amount of time & labor. With the amount of work that needed to be done it was felt that it would be Wednesday mid-day before the possibility of sending a car down track could even be considered.
There was considerable discussion with numerous in & out of division racers and the track owners & management before a final decision was made. Several options were put on the table & each was thoroughly reviewed & disected before the call was made to run on Thursday morning at 9 am. There was even a mapquest search done to determine how far from Noble to Reynolds & Phoenix (just about the same actually) in trying to address those who needed to travel.
Yes, it does put a strain on those that were heading east to Reynolds or west to Phoenix, and those events played heavily on the final decision. Being able to assemble the needed personel to work the track, and then staff the event had to be handled too, because like most who race, they have weekday jobs too.
Over the last 22 years being invloved in the sport I've had the opportunity to watch & listen as unfortunate situations have been dealt with, and in my opinion everyone involved deserves a huge ATTA BOY for the way this one got handled, to me it was diagnosed and thought out about as well as it could be.
Nobody likes to get rained out, nobody, but track Manager Marcia Crook, owner Todd Stephens & Division director Craig Hutchinson all worked / are working very hard to make the best out of a bad situation.
Everyone can grumble, bitch and moan all they want, but until you've walked a mile in the shoes of the people that made the call this weekend, you really have no idea the anguish involved in trying to make the best of the situation, ....FROM WHERE I SAT THEY ALL DID A HELL OF A JOB!

That's my .02

Unk
See ya in Phoenix this weekend

Thanks Bob! It's nice to hear that side of the story. I didn't know if it was all a pit problem or not.

Thanks to the Hills for all the pictures!

[Ed Wright]

I agree with Unk, I don't think any rational person could fault the effort made by the people running things. Blame the weather man. LOL

[Dyno]

I have heard that as of noon today they are still working on the track at Noble.

[Richard Grant]

Unk, having raced Div. 4 for many years. I am not suprised by the amount of brain work that was put into the decision. Craig has made many excellent decisions over the years. In my opinion I cannot remember (although I am sure someone will) his ever making a bad decision. I have always felt that his decisions were well thought out and considered what was best for all the racers. Good job, guys.

[Jim Kaekel]

Originally Posted by C and W Racing

I was told in Charlotte that there would be a 6, 6.5, and 7 pound class. Didn't hear anything about the rest of the stuff though
Chuck

If so, I wonder how NHRA will designate them?

[Dave Casey]

7lb class WTF/S (way too fast)
6.5 lb class OMGWTF/S
6lb class DOUBLEOMGWTF/S

[Ed Fernandez]

Originally Posted by Dave Casey

7lb class WTF/S (way too fast)
6.5 lb class OMGWTF/S
6lb class DOUBLEOMGWTF/S

If they keep it up I might get to run WJ in eliminations someday.Way to go NHRA covering your ***** with Ford and Fiat Motors.

[Larry Hill]

Hey Don, thanks for the info. We are in Holbrook, AZ tonight at a KOA. We should be to the track tomorrow sometime. See ya then!

A few pics from today:
These start out in West Texas, thru New Mexico and into Arizona.


This is west of Amarillo. All of those black and white spots are cows! I have never seen so many cows in my life. "Hamburgers on the Hoof"


The bottom left corner of the Garmin shows the elevation. Do you remember the movie "High Plains Drifter"? We felt like Clint Eastwood all day. We came across the high plains. I have shots ever so often of the elevation. We just kept going up but you could see forever!


Just looking out!