Class Nationals event planning

[Randall Klein]

Easy, your starting to overthink this. IMHO

Remember the K.I.S.S. method

[Michael Beard]

Understood. It was a 'just for fun' idea. We'll concentrate on the primary programs and getting a successful first year under our belt.

[cambria]

Like that heads up stuff

[Jeff Teuton]

CIC at No Problem is anything over 7 under gets hit the next round by the amount over.

[Michael Beard]

Haven't been posting about the event lately, as we've been concentrating on our St. Patrick's Classic ($10K Top ET and Footbrake races) coming up this weekend at Coastal Plains Dragway in Jacksonville, NC, but after we've got that one in the books and post-race coverage done, I can turn my attention back to the Northern Class Nationals.

In related news...
National Trail Raceway has been putting some money back into the facility. The track worked great at last year, and hopefully these updates will make things even better yet!

[Michael Beard]

I'm not a Farmer's Almanac subscriber, but when we were discussing different locations in the early stages of this event, we talked about weather history. While 'past results are no guarantee of future weather', historically, the first weekend in May has been a rainy one in Bowling Green, Edgewater, and points west, and that held true again this year. We are now just shy of one year away from the Northern Class Nationals. While it may mean absolutely nothing, it's encouraging to note that the weather followed its historical trend this past weekend in Hebron, OH, and it would've been three perfect days of racing weather! We'll happily take more of the same next year!

[Jack McCarthy]

that should jinx us !

jack

[Michael Beard]

You've got a 'boat', you'll be fine. ;-)

The other plus is with having just three classes on the grounds, everyone will have a better selection of pit area.

[Jeremy1374]

Now you're starting to sound like a lawyer-caster lol

[Michael Beard]

The feedback I've been receiving on the Northern Class Nationals has been absolutely huge. Based on this feedback, the car count potential, and studying the amount of time required to run various types of races on a given day, we have decided to make the event a Stock & Super Stock only event. You have always been the showcase, and we feel that we need to concentrate on giving S/SS racers the best experience possible. That means having the pits dedicated to you, and time schedules that give you ample track time and racing opportunities without running you late into the night. With a strong turnout of S, SS, *and* No-Box, we could quickly get into a time crunch.

The No-Box E.T. Bracket races will be replaced with one day featuring two Qualifying runs, an optional $3,000 S/SS Combo, and Racer Appreciation Party, and one day dedicated to performance, with two Qualifying runs, Class Eliminations (Q2 will be first round of Class), and then after the completion of Class, roll into the Quick 32 CIC shootouts. This will also alleviate the extra work of having to keep swapping back and forth between 'bracket mode' and 'go fast' setups. Keeping the Sunday schedule of going straight into eliminations of the $5K main events will enable us to complete the event in a timely fashion, allow folks a decent amount of time to travel home, and give us some time to fall back on should we need it for any reason.

My initial thought is to do the "Performance Day" (Qualifying, Class, & Quick 32 CIC races) on Friday, and then the remainder of Qualifying, the S/SS Combo, and Racer Appreciation Party on Saturday -- that way your last setup is 'bracket mode', and you don't have to dial off of Friday's runs on Sunday. But, if you'd rather do the Combo on Friday, Class & Q32's Saturday, I'm open to your feedback.

I have contacted Mark Walter at DragStory.com and MotorManiaTV.com and reserved our date to have the entire weekend broadcast live online. If you haven't seen their work before, Walter and crew provide a 4-camera, fully produced live video feed -- exactly what the S/SS community has been begging for! Here's a sample of the kind of work they do:



For sponsors, they have the ability to cut in TV commercials as well as display banner ads.




I have been working on a preliminary flyer, and have started talking with potential sponsors. We have everything available from individuals putting up cash or prizes for awards or specific Class shootouts, gift certificates or products, support for the Quick 32 CIC purses, and contingency postings, up to presenting and title sponsor positions. There are no administration fees. For example, Jack McCarthy & Terry Bell have started pooling money for a U/SA Shootout. Any individual Class funds or prizes/awards you want to organize, we will be happy to publish on the event flyer, and it all goes right to the racers.