No alcohol cars at divisionals in 2012

[Chad Rhodes]

hearing they will go to a "regional" series next year

[X-TECH MAN]

How many on this forum will miss them at divisionals ? Just asking.

[sammy pizzolato]

not me snif snif.

[C and W Racing]

I just want to know if they are going to do the right thing and lower the entry fee's or raise the payout since they wont have to pay out the purse for the alcohol cars
Chuck

[Alan Roehrich]

Originally Posted by C and W Racing

I just want to know if they are going to do the right thing and lower the entry fee's or raise the payout since they wont have to pay out the purse for the alcohol cars
Chuck

Buhwahahahaha !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Oh, you were serious, weren't you?

[X-TECH MAN]

Originally Posted by C and W Racing

I just want to know if they are going to do the right thing and lower the entry fee's or raise the payout since they wont have to pay out the purse for the alcohol cars
Chuck

I bet that statement blew a lot of coke, Pepsi, or coffee thru some noses this morning.

[Mike Pearson]

They are going to a regional points system but as I understand they will still be running the alky cars at the divisional events that will have them. There will not be a new series of races for them. Division 2 will most likely not have them at many events. Maybe Atlanta, Gainsville and Charlotte. There will no longer be a divisional points champ for the alky classes.

[C and W Racing]

Originally Posted by Alan Roehrich

Buhwahahahaha !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Oh, you were serious, weren't you?

I already know the answer to what I said.
I was seeing what kind of responses people would have. lol.
On a serious note, if they want the racers to increase participation, nhra needs to start thinking about a better return on their investment for the racers. It's gotten to the point that even if you win a divisional race, you probably still lost money, or at best made very little.
I know its not all about the racing, its also about seeing your extended family. But with todays economy, I think that racers are looking a lot harder at what it cost to go versus the possable return.
Chuck

[Alan Roehrich]

Chuck, I was just clowning. Hell you have to laugh.

You are right though, the cost is rapidly becoming excessive. nearly every year, there's a new rule requiring more money spent. Fuel is up, oil is up, tires are up, insurance is up, and yet NHRA continues to raise various fees, and make new requirements. They add "services' you must pay for, such as "waste disposal".

Honestly, we all like to win, but to be honest, "return' doesn't figure into it that much, if it did, we'd go big money bracket racing. The truth is, for sportsman, 10 racers out of maybe 400 at a race are going to win or runner up. That's not even 5%, more like 2.5%. So it's about the cost to do it, not so much the return. Don't get me wrong, we load the car(s) and expect to win, every time we roll out of the driveway. But we also know the reality.

I think Fletcher said two years ago after the big contingency payout crash that his contingency payouts on a win dropped around 65%, from $15K to $5500. That's where the return is anyway. They've killed that and increased the cost every year since.

I've been down there helping a customer fill out the contingency sheet recently. I can say for a fact, NHRA is not spending squat on administering that program. There were maybe 4-5 NHRA staff people who were already there for other duties at the race dealing with contingency sheets. Knowing people who now pay, or did pay, and knowing what it costs, NHRA makes a killing on contingency programs, and it doesn't cost them that much. The racers and the companies who pay both get the shaft.

[sammy pizzolato]

just think of the money nhra will save on oil dry.just think of the down time that will be saved.more space in the pits. win win for everybody.the alcohol cars will save to. those cars are very costly to run and should be run at nationals only they are so close to the nitro cars anyway.