Div 2 a 2 stater once again? FL GA

[Joe Pinkston]

Originally Posted by jmcarter

I am a bit curious as to how they convinced SGMP to fund the alcohol purse...they'll have to draw a boat load of cars and spectators to break even.

James, SGMP now has the best date on the calendar for Dv. 2, the week before the Gators. This was the date Orlando had for many years and always had a successful race without alcohol cars.




Hey Dan Moore, you're #1.

RIP Mark Graham

[Alan Roehrich]

Originally Posted by jmcarter

One of our tech officials at Reynolds told me he seems a very reasonable guy but it may be a while before he has the true latitude to make his mark.

That's not what I heard from some people I know. Here's the deal. The guy took over a poorly run Division with an extremely unpopular director. He had the Division 3 director there to run the show. He took ZERO time to meet and greet his new customers (outside of some alcohol, Top Sportsman, and maybe Comp racers), when one of the very first things he SHOULD have been doing is to get out there and present himself as the future of the division. Taking ten minutes with every class as they were called to the lanes, with a handful of business cars, shaking the hand of every racer he could get to, introducing himself, thanking them for being there, and giving them a business card while asking them to come to him with their needs, wants, and suggestions. Anything less is just not doing the job, plain and simple. And all he did was meet a few of the people in classes that DON'T pay the bills. He's in a big hole just taking the job over, and needed to get started digging out of it immediately. He had three days of good weather to get the job done and he never even got started.

Originally Posted by jmcarter

But if I lived in TN, MS, AL I'd run D3 or 4, only makes logistical sense. The D2 schedule fits snowbirds to a tee but I also hoped for Bristol (or Charlotte) Divisional to make it more geographical representative. It's almost like NHRA concedes NC,SC, and VA to IHRA or D1....

Division 2 DOES concede it to IHRA and Division 1, that's been the problem for years. We have fewer races in the Division than in any other Division, and fewer than we've had in a long time.

Originally Posted by jmcarter

I am a bit curious as to how they convinced SGMP to fund the alcohol purse...they'll have to draw a boat load of cars and spectators to break even.

They gave them a race earlier in the season, with one less race before them, and one less race over all in the Division. So they have a better opportunity to draw more cars. Especially since they're the race BEFORE the Gators, instead of two or more weeks AFTER the Gators. They'll get the crowd coming down and tuning up for the Gators, instead of the left overs after most of the Division 1 cars have gone home after the Gators, and everyone is out of vacation time.

[art leong]

Alan I disagree with you. He was not hired soley to be a public relations guru, or a liason between racers and NHRA he is the top guy in the division.
I raced division one for years and never remember Darwin Doll coming around and greeting racers

[jmcarter]

All good points Alan, with the new director having a marketing background I would have thought the same as you about getting off to a good start....my only thought is that everybody goes into a new situation differently, some go in slow and easy to make sure they understand the lay of the land while others might charge in a bit more aggressively. But think we all want the guy to succeed ultimately and I'm trying to maintain a postive outlook. I think Art was correct in suggesting the schedule was handed to him without any real chance to alter it...the current D2 schedule sucks, there is no sugar coating that one. It works good for snowbirds and a few others and largely ignores most of the racers within D2, I can't defend that one. A D2 racer really going after the points is going to log a ton of miles but doubt the D6, D7, etc racers have much sympathy for us given what they do to chase points. It is what it is and we wait for the other shoe to drop out of Glendora concerning rules/classes.

As to SGMP, I knew that with Carl not conceding on the Alcohol deal then his attractive early year date being 'open' would entice but just didn't think it would convince them. Sincerely hope you're right about them having a good car count. 2011 could very well be a 'make or break' year for NHRA class racing.

[Alan Roehrich]

Originally Posted by Jack Matyas

True Alan but the Las Vegas LODRS event usually gets between 8 and 9 hundred entries - they have classes most of us haven't yet heard of .........

Jack, if our Division Director had been worth a damn, there could have been more than enough cars to support LODRS races at Bristol, as well as Charlotte, as both tracks can easily draw from at least one or two other Divisions. Bristol can easily draw from both 1 and 3, and Charlotte can draw from 1 easily, and there are plenty of racers from 3 that would go to Charlotte as well.

The Division management has to want it badly enough to go get it done, and they didn't, and probably still don't.

We have 5 races, all in two states, in a Division that serves seven states. There is ZERO excuse for that. Division 2 racers have been begging for a 7 race schedule for years, along with some races outside of Florida and Georgia (Atlanta or further south). We've had extra classes at our division races, too.

Honestly, they just made our schedule twice as bad as it was. More conflicts with other divisions, and more races stacked on top of each other, requiring either a lot more driving, or a lot more time off from work, or both. In this economy, they have you racing two weekends in a row, three times in eight weeks. They done nothing but kill off more potential car count, making the races less profitable for the track owners, and making it even harder to run for the racers. They've done more of exactly what most racers asked them to do less of. That's a real slap in the face for paying customers.

[THE LEGEND]

They could get more done if they did'nt do 6 TT like they did at Atlanta.

I say give the new guy a chance.
Chip Johnson
SST 2011

[Jack Matyas]

Alan -- Very interesting point that you have races in two states in a division that serves seven - first thing I would do is ask your new director why and why not more -- but you must remember that Rome wasn't built in a day - it may take him a while to get his sea legs but you never know - there are some good directors out there - we here in D1 have Director Lang and for the most part are very happy with him .Another point is in my opinion you'll never have an eight hundred car field in your division - but that's just my opinion and i've been wrong many times before .

Start off but sending the new director a line or two and see what happens ........and be nice - why get off on the wrong foot with him ! ! !

[Alan Roehrich]

Originally Posted by Jack Matyas

Alan -- Very interesting point that you have races in two states in a division that serves seven - first thing I would do is ask your new director why and why not more -- but you must remember that Rome wasn't built in a day - it may take him a while to get his sea legs but you never know - there are some good directors out there - we here in D1 have Director Lang and for the most part are very happy with him .Another point is in my opinion you'll never have an eight hundred car field in your division - but that's just my opinion and i've been wrong many times before .

Start off but sending the new director a line or two and see what happens ........and be nice - why get off on the wrong foot with him ! ! !

Jack,
I don't know if we can get an 800 car field at a Division 2 race or not. But I also don't believe that you need 800 cars to generate a profit. Although I do fully understand the drain on profits that Slop Alcohol causes. Without counting Slop Alcohol, we now have about 8 classes, so we probably could generate a 600 car field. With one car/driver + 1 crew being the average, a 600 car field generates around $120K in entry fees alone. That's if you never sell a hot dog, hamburger, coke, bag of ice, or spectator ticket. That's also figuring you don't have any "gambler's races" or anything of that sort.

[Just A Fan]

Originally Posted by Jack Matyas

they have classes most of us haven't yet heard of .........

They must be in that West Coast Rule Book, too.