NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

Article in Comp Plus today says Sportsman $250 oildown penalties are to be reinstated this year!
see article ,4th paragraph from end.
http://www.competitionplus.com/drag-...op-of-oildowns

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

Hope that also applies to the TD, TS & Alky cars.

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

It applies to all. And everyone gets one for free.

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

Yes.
Alkey and ProMod get a $500 fine for 1st infraction plus points / qualifing loss and $1000 for second infraction.
They will still be oiling regardless of the fine.

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

Art, where does it say that the first one is free?

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

"All teams will receive one oildown credit at the start of the 2011 NHRA national event season, however no further credits will be awarded during the season."

And, as per the NHRA website:

"COMP, SS, STOCK, SC, SG, SST, TD, & TS PENALTIES:
First violation of an event (after use of credit) will result in a two hundred fifty dollar ($250) fine, plus:" bla bla bla...

I guess that's better than it was, but it's still BS IMO to levy oildown fines against the competitors in Stk., S/S, S/C, S/G, and S/St...

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

While it's not common for sportsman cars to oil down the track, fines for index classes is like kicking someone when they're down for the count.

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

Yea, seeing how most of the NHRA's monies seem to come from the Sportsman racers.

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

lets see
you get $250 for final 4?????

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

Thus another reason I hope the racers at S.I.R. in Tucson this weekend will embrace IHRA into their track.....

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

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 ***!

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

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).

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

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.

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

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!!

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

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.

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

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 !!!!

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

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

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

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."

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

good point

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

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!!

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

Does SC, SG, or SST get class eliminations at any of the Nationals?
Just asking what is FAIR about that?
My 2 Cents
Rick Cates

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

?????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????
Care to explain the structure for CLASS eliminations for the super catogories?

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

Ed, my point was why should Stock and Super Stock even get a class eliminations race at a National Event when they get the same Eliminator Race that all the other classes get anyway for the same entry price. The quote I posted in the question was how can it be fair to get part of the entry fee back for not getting class eliminations if they were not run. Please read all the quote and you can see what my question was really about.
Stock and Super Stock get two races for one entry and contingency awards for class and all the other things for that same entry fee.
Should all the other classes get two shots at the eliminator race?
What is FAIR about that to the other categories?
Just Asking?
Rick Cates

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

Rick you must not be a class racer. It's clear you know nothing about it. Must be a box boy.

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

It's just a matter of the way the classes are structured.Take it a little further.We S/SS are lucky if we get 2 time shots (usually all in the same day).The pros usually get 4,spread out over two days.You can argue different scenarios into the night.Any system that is used will always find detractors.
Yo (super classes) and I (S/SS) are at the bottom of the totem pole.
I'll be happy if they remove us from nationals and give us two sports nats in each division.They wouldn't lose any entry fee $$$ either
because our entry fees would go into their pockets anyways.And hopefully we would have a less hassled race.

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

_______________

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

I was probably racing the stock class before you were born or still in diapers.
I have class win trophy's before they were Wally's from the 60's.
So I do know a little more than you might think.
I am retired and I do run SG today because I am old and can just race a car now and not work as hard at it as in the past. Running SG is much less work than Stock so I do know that much.
My quip in the beginning was why would anyone get a partial refund for not running class at a National Event due to time. I have raced at National Events with only one time run and then to eliminations. The Seattle event in 2009 there was 0 time runs for the Super Categories and on to eliminations but I did not go to that race. All of us pay the same entry fees last time I looked so that was the whole point, nothing else.
I enjoyed my time in Stock but I just like to go racing and not work as hard at it as I did in my younger days. NHRA is making it less fun all the time so I am not sure I will continue to spend my Social Security with NHRA.
My 2 Cents
Rick Cates

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

Then Rich you should know why.. If it wasn't for class racing you and your box racing would never be there..

Next year is gonna be great! Anybody that knows me knows that it is very possible that I could leave a National having to pay over 2 grand in fines and have to break a friends golf cart out of jail.

And ha I heard that spectators are gonna have right of way over ALL sportman cars also... I'll be like Dale Sr. driving thru those crowds..

Wait till these dumb f's start charging for your dogs that everyone has to bring to the track.. Why are there so many freaking dogs? and poo poo everywhere!

Bryan the last time Tueton got involved in something with NHRA these under rated DP ( DOUBLE PENATRATION) cars were built.

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

Keith, you may have the wrong mindset here. First I've never met a racer that intended on oiling the track, that's just bad manners, second to intentionally run over a spectator is just plain STUPID!!!! Remeber we are "SPORTSMAN" racers and we are expected to conduct ourselves as such. Next we as many do bring our dogs with us, we walk them and clean up after them, we prefer to have them with us versus boarding them. I have never had anyone ask me to please not bring my dog to their pit area. I believe that the number of sportsman racers affected by this is going to be minimal, not saying I think it's fair or right mainly because I've NEVER heard of a local track fining their racers for oiling the track. Cleaning the track of debris is part of conducting business, I'm sure the track owner would rather not have to do it, however to conduct his business he has to eat the expense. Everyone on here complaining of this does have a choice..... they don't have to race these events. Lack of participation will certainly get their attention. Joe

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

You are a jerk if you think for one moment Jeff's participation in the Sportsman Commitee has had anything but the overall racers best interest at heart.
Maybe be you need some "double penetration". Of some smarts

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

Jeff didn't get those DPs getting approved. That's pretty low.

Re: NHRA reinstates Sportsman oil down penalties
 

x2, and well said, Ed.