How important is qualifying???????????????

[J.R. Haddad]

I saw Anthony and Labbous 2 years ago in Brainerd. The final session of
T/D qualifying. Anthony's car was so far back in the lanes you couldn't
see it. The 2 of them were up by the start line watching every car make
its final hit. Anthony was purposely qualified last. If I remember correctly,
he ended up with a bye 1st round & another one in the semi's. Make no
mistake, in between he had to do the job, and he did. But, most of his competitors had to win 5 rounds, Anthony had to win 3. Anthony had
to do 60% of the work of his final round competitor. So, smart, good,
and a hell of a chef. Unbeatable combo at any race!

J.R.

[jmcarter]

Have seen lot of folks with ladder books?example here. Seem to remember Sacramento Raceway use to have a link to ladders but don?t know of free ladders these days. Anyone else?

http://store.raceamerica.com/3199S-S...OAD_p_197.html

[otnipecar]

Still there. I downloaded them years ago and made my own book.

http://sacramentoraceway.com/?page_id=277

[GTX JOHN]

We do have a ladder book in the Trailer and use it!

Jim is right = for us the sweet spot is right dead in the middle
of the field.

However, sometimes easier said than done in practice, due to
the unpredictability of everyone else on the final qualifier for the
ladder.

[james schaechter]

This all presupposes that any car can at least run the index.

That isn?t always easy or a given. Especially when starting out in class racing.

Sarge, I would say qualifying must be kind of important to you. The 302 2bbl is super soft and you have a good car as well. You can qualify with ease at any race on the schedule. If it wasn?t kind of important why change from your last car?
( and Sarge not knocking why you would do this, but it certainly changes one?s perspective on qualifying when the car is that far under)


As far as going fast, it means less when the field isn?t full and or not many heads up runs,.

Good point about AHFS, if you plan ahead for races that may require you to let it out, it is prudent to keep your avg low prior to that so that hp hits are avoided at the end of the year.

Keep in mind, the stock and Superstock classes are a blend of bracket and heads up to keep the cost somewhat reasonable.

It is a decent compromise, but I do think more incentives for heads up and performance improvements would improve the classes.

[GTS340]

Important to qualify from family members first. Points races at the season ending races is a blast to watch. Qualifying at its best usually.

Paul

[CMcAllister]

If it's nothing more than bracket racing, why on Earth would you spend all the money, source the good/fancy parts, do all the work, all the travel, all the long weekends, deal with all the rules, restrictions and all the people with a lot more resources than you?

Why not just put something together out of a catalog, save all the other crap, get a bottle of shoe polish and just go bracket racing? They have footbrake classes if you don't like electronics.

[Paul Precht]

Originally Posted by CMcAllister

If it's nothing more than bracket racing, why on Earth would you spend all the money, source the good/fancy parts, do all the work, all the travel, all the long weekends, deal with all the rules, restrictions and all the people with a lot more resources than you?

Why not just put something together out of a catalog, save all the other crap, get a bottle of shoe polish and just go bracket racing? They have footbrake classes if you don't like electronics.

A lot of us entered Stock to move up from the local junk box bracket cars 30,40,50 years ago when they weren't just glorified bracket cars and many of us as I still do built everything or as much as possible ourselves. I started bracket racing on Long Island in 71 and am hoping to have my junk 62 4dr Dodge ready for some local brackets this spring while at the same time I'm finally building a new shortblock for my 63 Stocker which I hope to make some races with this year. As a person who enjoys and has done both local brackets and Stock I still feel they are two different worlds even with Stock being watered down severely in the last 20 years or so and many people no longer building their own stuff. There's really no need to argue IMO, do whatever makes you happy and as many have stated, be happy we can still race.

[1320racer]

Originally Posted by CMcAllister

If it's nothing more than bracket racing, why on Earth would you spend all the money, source the good/fancy parts, do all the work, all the travel, all the long weekends, deal with all the people with a lot more resources than you?

Checked all those boxes too bracket racing!

Originally Posted by CMcAllister

Why not just put something together out of a catalog, save all the other crap, get a bottle of shoe polish and just go bracket racing?

Right, like ordering a COPO, Cobra Jet or Drag Pak out of a catalog/online order form as thousands of racers have since 2008.

Meanwhile bracket cars today cost around $40k on the low end to $175k on the high end to build and my 2 cars would cost about $125K each to replace. Nothing cheap about bracket racing today either. Oh fyi, most today don't use shoe polish, electronic dial in boards have been all the rage for at least 15 years.