2013 Lucas Oil Divisional Series announced

[chevy620]

Sounds like Orlando Speed World will close permanently.

Carl has given it about half of his life. All assets to run the track are for sale.

Not good that a track closes but congrats and THANKS to Carl Weisinger for running a great facility that was beneficial to the sport in every way.

All we need is some REALLY wealthy guy to buy a bunch of land, get it zoned ( without a doubt the "trickiest part" of the idea) and in about 15 years there could be another track in Central Florida...who is ready to step up to that program.....

Sad to see a quality facility close.

Jok

[Carl Weisinger]

Originally Posted by Myron Piatek

I'll second that!

Despite living about 72 miles from Orlando Speed World, I quit going there, even for testing on regular nights, because traction was not consistent at all. Even with added weight, trying to support the SSSSA (Southern Stock/Super Stock Association) over the last few years, I had issues. One of my pet peeves also is being beat by the track rather than a competitor.

However........Saturday's SSSSA race, along with some great weather, provided THE best runs I've had all season, 60' through 1/4 mile. All 60's were 1.46 except for a first round 1.47, which was because the car sat for too long and lost some heat while we had lunch. The track also had excellent traction at a SSSSA race held a month earlier as well. I took a gamble and dropped my weight from K to J and was happy to see that track prep was done to the same level as last time.

Needless to say, it is possible to maintain "a level playing field". Of course there will be isolated issues and not all cars are created equal. But I heard no complaints at the last 2 races. I'm sure it requires more time, work and traction compound to accomplish this, but that's what it takes to satisfy paying customers and have them coming back. It was said by several people at the race, but we all hope that they continue doing whatever it was that provided the traction at the last 2 SSSSA races. We also hope that there will be many more opportunities for them to do so and for us to experience it.

I started bracket racing there in 1978 and was always impressed by the Stock and SS cars I saw at the Turkey Trots and other events, which is what got me interested in class racing. I hope a deal/compromise can be reaced because I'd hate to see the track disappear.

Myron,... it wasn't the track that beat me last Saturday! It was that darn .000 RT you had
coupled with a "coma start" for me. December 15, I'll probably be early round fodder
for you again.

[Alan Roehrich]

Originally Posted by Carl Weisinger

Alan,.... this year,.... on a scale of 1-10,....how did your car hook at
1. Orlando ?
2. Gainesville?
3. Valdosta?
4. Atlanta?
5. Bristol?
6. Reynolds?

We skipped Orlando this year, we weren't ready.

Gainesville was a 9 or better.

Valdosta was a 9 or better.

Charlotte (you didn't ask) was a 6 at best, maybe a 5.

Atlanta was a 7 or better.

Bristol was an 8 or better.

Reynolds was a 5 at best. It has been like that the last 4 times we've been there. In 09, the G/S car spun hard on every gear change, and it was only an 11.40 car. Every other track it was on that year, with four different drivers, it hooked hard. It's a shame, too, we love going there.

Orlando has been hit or miss. One year it was great. Went back a year later for a Southern Stock and Super Stock race, and to be honest, it was horrible. It was bad the night before for test and tune, and we were told it would be better, track prep would start early the next day. It wasn't, and it didn't.

When our A/SA or CC/SA car spins, it's a bad sign. Ask some of your biggest fans, like Jim Wahl, he'll tell you that's one of the best working stockers in the country. If we spin at Bowling Green, Dallas or Clay will stop everything and work the track. I don't think that's too much to ask of any track, and any event staff.

Not trying to be harsh, but it costs us, mostly Kevin and Scot, a ton to go racing, especially if Kevin and I come from Murfreesboro to southern Georgia or Florida. At least an extra day off of work compared to not going south of Atlanta. An 11 hour drive to your track, for example. Several hundred dollars in diesel. I don't think it is unreasonable of us to expect to hook hard, on every single pass, with a car well known for going as far as 300+ feet on the back wheels, consistently. We've taken to running A/SA a lot more often, because track prep has been questionable in many places.

It does this at Bowling Green about 95 passes out of 100, or better.





Carl, it did this on your track (it did have a broken shock) in the spring, then in the fall, it spun 5 of the first 6 passes.


To be fair, I think Carl and Orlando got a raw deal from NHRA, and I don't think they're the only ones. The traction problems are not always the fault of the track owners/staff. NHRA is to blame quite often. It isn't a matter of one person or group of persons being to blame. I do hate the way things turned out for Carl and Orlando, it was wrong, period. I certainly hate to see any drag strip close, they don't get replaced.

However, Division 2 does not consist only of southern Georgia and Florida. For far too long, the rest of the states, and racers that live in them, have gotten the shaft in Division 2, we had only one race north of Atlanta, or even outside of Georgia and Florida, in Division 2 for years, and that was a national event. Hopefully Rick can help change that. It would be nice to see regular Division 2 races at Bristol, and at Charlotte, if they'll fix that track. NHRA has not done much to get LODRS races in Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, or Alabama, for years.

[SSDA Hemi]

I love Orlando and hope someone steps in to run it…

Besides the obvious reasons, that was the track the first SS/AA (AH) 8 second run happened at and record set! Bucky Hess and Ray Barton. Seems like yesterday...

Thanks for the memories Carl!