Ortiz Unleashed-Gators-Final NHRA vs IHRA
 

The Gatornationals are over and I have had the opportunity to attend both sanctioning bodies national and divisional races. When I first started 'The Ortiz Unle***hed threads it was for different view of IHRA and NHRA. There were quit a few threads that were going on at the time with people having very verbal disputes about the two. I have posted after every event with my findings and observations, so here are / is what I saw at the Gators and a final view.

Started out early Wednesday and got to drive right on in and get pitted on the inside of the track, yes, the inside, it has been three years since I was pitted on the inside, see what low car counts do. I was parked next to Jim Roberts and the neighborhood looked as if it was a D1 area. The New Yorker, James Perrone, Bubba Linke, and for a little Cajun flavor, the Country Dog and Puppy. If it was'nt for the Dogs I'd probably have a northern accent after this weekend. Perrone was quite protective of all these NY/NJ people as he continually was shouting chants of supremacy. Then I found out that somehow they are all related to each other, what gives with that, must be "family"
I explained that the small canal/ditch next to us had real life alligators that needed to be fed and that a little different foriegn food would be good for them.

I have to say we all had a blast, it was alot of fun. The Imperial Palace was a hot spot. Got to meet alot of people and had them over too. Bryan Phillips, Brad Burton, Mark Faul came over for ribs Friday night, but we got a late start on the grilling. But, Perrone had killer lamb, rice, and green beans. Then it was off to Cajun land for venison stew that was really really good. By the time they got to The Imperial Palace they were getting a little full. The BBQ ribs came out good, but the dry rub slabs got a way overdone. Sorry for that but it was Sean's fault as he could'nt get away from Cajun land. Had alot of different people come over on various nights for dinner and the complete Imperial Palace experience.

The results were awesome. The names are witheld to protect the guilty.
One fun person went back to his motorhome around 2:00 AM. He was awakend the next morning by Jim Roberts who thought that it was someone else sleeping on his floor covered up in the others jacket. After seeing the other working on their car he went back in his motorhome for identification of who was sleeping on his floor. That person thought they actually stayed at the Palace.

Had a birthday party Saturday for Ashley and had a bonfire and Bubba's Beer Pong table. One guy fell into the canal and another person wiped out one of the BBQ grills. Good thing there were plenty of trash cans around, and the Lil Johns right around the corner.

Had alot of great racing coversations with very talented individuals over beverages late in the evenings on different occasions. During daylight hours I got to meet alot of really nice people, David Ficacci, who I lost too, Ken Miele, Joe Santangelo, and all the other racers that I knew previously.

This year they had the Race Of Champions Sportsman event which was great for the representatives of different tracks. Out of the four categories, Bradenton won three and runnered up in the fourth, good job.

There was a car corral there with alot of nice cars and old dragsters parked at the end of the bleachers. When I came into the gate on Wednesday they were going to send me to the corral. I thought that I was going to get an amazing pit spot until I explained that I was a racer. They also had the usual different forms of fan entertainment like the Army area, Harley Davidson section, car displays, ect. I did notice that there seemed to be more attractive young ladies manning some entertainment areas. Both sanctioning bodies have fan entertainment. It is necessary. NHRA is bigger so it has more of a Midway selection. My grand-daughter was able to hold a rifle at the Army place and a pistol with a laser light. That was cool as I may need her in the future to take out any unruly individuals. Hello Kitty.

I was able to get all the decals that I needed in the Midway this year. That was a first time in over 15 years at the Gators that that has happened. Spoke with Merrill Schrimscher at the contingency check off area after he runnered up in SS. His car is clean of decals and stated to the official, "this won't take long" He is doing real good lately and the car is nice looking.

Did not like the idea of running at 8:00 AM. On any day. IHRA has the advantage as their start times are at 10:00, but the fields are lower so they can do it. Still, 8:00 AM sucks, start at least 9:00 AM. It's nice to see more spectators walking around at that time too.

I almost became the #1 qualifier as on my last time trial they mistakenly entered my number as a C/SA car. That pass I picked up but it showed that I was way off the C/SA index. I went to the tower and they knew of the error and were correcting it, but they were entering my time as a 13.26 instead of 14.26 whoa, I do not need HP and a visit to the barn. It got fixed and I was seeded at #57

The tech people were nice as usual, I have no complaints about the people at either NHRA or IHRA. Some are more friendly than others, and it appears that the IHRA people go further in their appreciation of your attendance. But I like all of them. I do not like the fuel check procedure though when eliminations start. There is no need for fuel check unless its a class heads up run. Same thing for the scales. IHRA has the advantage there.

IHRA had the fuel altereds, jet cars, jet truck, monster truck, nitro Harleys, and the ultimate bracket race (monster truck vs jet dragster). And their pro racing started after the Sportsman. That was nice. NHRA mixes in the Sportsman here and there. This creates a much longer day for some of the sportsman as their time shots or eliminations runs sometimes vary greatly time wise. Nothing like running a run at 8:00AM then again at 10:00AM , and then at some time after 6:00PM. Schedule, advantage IHRA.

Lil' Johns toilet paper, tremendous advantage IHRA. Trash cans, draw.

I have had a really fun time at all of the races. From all of the races I have run this year it still comes down to the racers themselves that make it so much fun. Does not matter if it is an NHRA or IHRA race, national or divisional. If you like to race and do not attend another sanctioning bodies race for trivial reasons then you are the one who is missing out. We as racers need to support both bodies, because if one of them goes down it will cut down on our racing options in the future. They both need our support. If your nose is so stuck up in the air for one organization only, then you are missing out in what is fun and may be considered an idiot. Or just a snob.

It was fun, see ya at the races some time, I'll be the one smiling.

Oh yea, I forgot to mention my adventure with Bubba Linke. Wednesday I said to him and a couple of other racers standing there about partying and racing the next morning. I said " if you can't party at night and just pay attention for 10 to 14 seconds the next day then you need to get out of the car and quit racing" Well, Bubba did real good, he was our party guy representative. He won the Gatornationals and held the flag for all of us party people, way to go Bubba. Cheers

Ron Ortiz
U/SA What if they merged. Oh No

Re: Ortiz Unleashed-Gators-Final NHRA vs IHRA
 

Mr Ortiz, you are a breath of fesh air!!

Re: Ortiz Unleashed-Gators-Final NHRA vs IHRA
 

I had a great time .
Food was great .
Last time i tell you a secert ron..

Re: Ortiz Unleashed-Gators-Final NHRA vs IHRA
 

The peanut oil will make it go in very easy!

Re: Ortiz Unleashed-Gators-Final NHRA vs IHRA
 

Great comments Ron. By this post we can tell you truly love racing and living life. Hope to see you again at a circuit race this year.

Re: Ortiz Unleashed-Gators-Final NHRA vs IHRA
 

90% of what you described has NOTHING to do with NHRA or IHRA, its the reason I race and others, the people, and I do it with my boys, yes Jr Dragsters but like I told a buddy of mine, my boys love racing, my 15 year old was putting his motor on his car today while I was working, and as long as I keep them at the racetrack, its cheaper than REHAB.

Racing should be fun, it sounds like you had a good time, didnt really matter what the first letter of the sanction was.

Herb Jr

Re: Ortiz Unleashed-Gators-Final NHRA vs IHRA
 

Ron,
You are atrip. Good Post. We need more like you, and Thanks for the ribs at Immokkolee.
Chip Johnson

Re: Ortiz Unleashed-Gators-Final NHRA vs IHRA
 

There you go....... You can have fun and race at both sanctions...........Just gotta do it !!!!!
Good post Ron.....

Re: Ortiz Unleashed-Gators-Final NHRA vs IHRA
 

Ron you should bring the Imperial palace to the Rock for the division 9 oppener next weekend. I would love to meet you and there would be lots of new people to party with. Enjoy your all your post and keep up the good work. James

Re: Ortiz Unleashed-Gators-Final NHRA vs IHRA
 

Ron,
Thank-you for your synopsis. Every thing in life is what we make of it. Racing, whether local or traveling, Class or Bracket, is about working hard to be the best that you can be, but also about the family and friends that you share that experience with along the way. I any lucky enough to share that feeling with my son and my two grand-daughters. Win, lose or draw, being with them is what it is all about to me.
I hope that you and all of the other racer's always have as much fun as you did the past week-end. Enjoy life, it only happens once.

Tom Sr.

Re: Ortiz Unleashed-Gators-Final NHRA vs IHRA
 

herbjr,
I am reposting some quotes from past post regarding this subject as to comparisions between the two sanctioning bodies. It is less than 90% to do with NOTHING.

First of all it was done for different views that were going on at that time. Here are some of my responses.
FIRST POST:
Last year I took my son in law Sean around the pits at 9:00 PM on Friday. What a dissapointment. Everyone was locked away in their motorhomes and no parties to be found. It was not like that before in the past, but we have been domesticated by the Alan Peters Rule, darn it. But that does not matter because the party will go on at the Imperial Palace. Stop by and become a member of the fortunate people that have been to the Imperial Palace where memories are made and regrets are many.

Since I do not have a laptop my reports on insanity and weird observerances will be on Mondays. There will be truth in reporting with respect when needed. It will be straight foward with no punches pulled. Some individuals will be raised into stardom while others will fall into the pits of despair and anxiety. No one is safe from the observations to be made, you will be seen, and you will be reported on for all the world to see.

You will recieve the real scoop between the sanctioning bodies from an up close personal experience. I am really looking foward to these adventures and communicating them to you out there in Internetland

Well, thats it, hope to see you all, and reporting will be on Mondays.

Ron Ortiz
U/SA I see you.

(Disclaimer: The statements and future reporting are just that, reports and statements. They are not to be confused with any logic or reasoning or intended to be so. Reading these reports may contribute to boredom or over excitment. If detailed attention lasts for more than 30 minutes see a literature expert. Articles not to be read during showering or heated sex. All rights protected by Smith & Wesson.)

THESE POSTS WERE AFTER THE NITRO JAM IN W. PALM BEACH
Right off the bat you can look at the schedule, really nice. Thursday Tech, 4:00-10:00PM That is great considering alot of people get there right around that time coming from off work. The next day the schedule is really getting good. Qualifying at 10:00AM. That is enough time to get up in the morning, eat something, drink a cup of coffee, get your self prepared and whatever. Now for me this is really ideal as I love to race and go down the track, just not at 8:00AM.

I noticed that on your IHRA tech card there is a full line available to put your e-mail address, not some tiny space which forces you to dwarf all the letters, same thing where your membership and license number and expiration dates go.

(NHRA also changed their tech cards in similar fashion at the Bradenton event.)

THIS CAME FROM IHRA ALSO: I just received this e-mail. It says it all.

I just wanted to take a moment and thank you for your support of the IHRA Nitro Jam event at Palm Beach International Raceway.

Part of the process that we use to constantly evaluate Nitro Jam events from the sportsman competitors perspective is to ask for feedback from a select group of competitors that attended the event. You have a chance to throw in your two cents and we will evaluate all feedback so that we can continue to improve the overall IHRA sportsman racing experience.

I’m interested in hearing both what you liked and didn’t like. We can only make improvements or stay on track if we know both good and bad. I want to know things like did you find all the information you needed easily online or in DRM? What were you unsure of coming into the event? Was it easy to park? Did you like the flow of the weekend? Anything you can think of that stood out is of interest to us.

Please let me know via mail or e-mail. We will evaluate each response in order to improve Nitro Jam events for our racers. My contact information is below and I look forward to hearing what you have to say.

Thanks you for taking the time to improve our sport!

Sincerely,

Skooter Peaco
Vice President, Feld Motorsports
IHRA Motorsports Division

Tom Compton ever contact any of you with concerns?

THIS WAS AFTER IMMOKALEE:
The racing was over quickly as the fields were small again. I just don't get it, here was an event that had two races and one of them a qualifying shot at the TOC. The drawback might have been that it was an 1/8 mile track, but still the TOC thing, c'mon

THIS WAS AFTER BRADENTON:
Arrived Thursday night at around 9:30, had to go to a holding cell as the gates were closed. On a Thursday night for a Friday divisional race, guess it is up to the tracks closing times requirements.

After a closer look at everything I see alot of more positive things on the IHRA side.
I like being able to get into the track and tech in after 6:00 PM the day before the race.
I like having my time trials and eliminations starting after 9:00 AM not 8:00 AM
I like having a time trial before eliminations.
I do not see any need for fuel check or scales unless heads up.
Their personel go a little bit further in pleasing you.
They get the Sportsman show done before the Pros so you can see the pros.
They have way cooler shows. ( Fuel Altereds, nitro Harleys, etc)
Two races in one weekend, and ones a TOC race.
Thick toilet paper.
Better race day scheduling.
Head office concened with your views.
Pay at the gate for nationals

NHRA:
Great Midway for entertainment.
Higher quality pros from T/F to Pro Stock
Pro Mods
Car Corral

But still comes down to racers having a place to race and being with friends. Race them both, quit your complaining, or we may not have a place to race.

Ron Ortiz
U/SA I am not logic so therefore I am

Re: Ortiz Unleashed-Gators-Final NHRA vs IHRA
 

Dddwwwaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dwa!

Re: Ortiz Unleashed-Gators-Final NHRA vs IHRA
 

Jeez Mickey,what happened?You get your hand caught in the trailer door?

Re: Ortiz Unleashed-Gators-Final NHRA vs IHRA
 

Ron, it's post like yours that have me greatful that IHRA is now here in Az., and already in place in Salt Lake City, Ut. You've given me more reason(s) to look forward to going to the Nitro Jam race in SLC (that I just started a new post on for primarily Div 7 racers, given we don't have a divisional/national event that weekend). I too have chatted with Skooter Peaco, and for a VP, he's pretty down to earth and a person we can easily chat with. I'm looking forward to that (and another) not-so-far race coming up real soon!

I hope that guy that fell into the canal didn't get greeted by any gators???