Live from Epping,NH - NHRA Lucas Oil Series

[Gmirza]

Congratulations to the finalist, the racing conditions were nothing short of brutal, very warm and humidity like I’ve never seen. A tip of the hat to the D1 staff and New England Dragway track crew, they worked their butts off scraping nearly the entire track on Friday and getting us all two shots and nearly finishing the event so everybody could get out of there. I wouldn’t be able to stand out there all day long working the starting line in those conditions. It was a fun fast paced weekend, the two day format worked out well with the low turnout.

[1347]

One thing that impressed me was the amount of spectators that were there. There was a more than normal amount of Friday, but Saturday was very full. There were families walking around the pits, the stands were full, and the spectator parking lot seemed to me at full capacity. They had a 50/50 with half the proceeds going the a police k9 foundation which went off with over 2000.00 to the winner.
It would be nice to see this at other tracks for divisionals.

[Frank Castros]

Epping is a great place to race and in my humble opinion always has been.

[Frank Castros]

Who was the track manager in the eighties, his name escapes me.

[slingshot]

Ron Champaign if my memory serves me

[Frank Castros]

Originally Posted by slingshot

Ron Champaign if my memory serves me

Smiley Smullins?

[Ray Gottry]

Yup, that's it! Knew it was Smiley something. Raced there a lot 82 -86, and 90-93 during my Navy years stationed in Brunswick, Maine.

[Bob Don]

Originally Posted by Frank Castros

Who was the track manager in the eighties, his name escapes me.

Jack Doyle, and former Top Fuel pilot Don Roberts was his number 2. I talked to Jack at the LODRS race. He's still hanging in there.

[BillyAnderson]

Originally Posted by 1347

One thing that impressed me was the amount of spectators that were there. There was a more than normal amount of Friday, but Saturday was very full. There were families walking around the pits, the stands were full, and the spectator parking lot seemed to me at full capacity. They had a 50/50 with half the proceeds going the a police k9 foundation which went off with over 2000.00 to the winner.
It would be nice to see this at other tracks for divisionals.

Was wonderful to see a great crowd taking in NHRA Division One Sportsman action. I can only imagine the racers enjoyed racing in front of a crowd? As stated in my last post, I really liked the idea of finishing all Sportsman eliminations on Saturday. Made for a VERY exciting day in my opinion!

[BillyAnderson]

Originally Posted by Gmirza

Congratulations to the finalist, the racing conditions were nothing short of brutal, very warm and humidity like I’ve never seen. A tip of the hat to the D1 staff and New England Dragway track crew, they worked their butts off scraping nearly the entire track on Friday and getting us all two shots and nearly finishing the event so everybody could get out of there. I wouldn’t be able to stand out there all day long working the starting line in those conditions. It was a fun fast paced weekend, the two day format worked out well with the low turnout.

I LOVED the 2-day format! If the weather had held, it would have been a really sensational racing day! I had always previously skipped the Sunday of the divisional, but last year with COVID, wanted to get to as many races as possible, so attended the Sundays of the June Divisional and the JEG'S Sportsnationals in August, and thoroughly enjoyed all the racing action. I specifically made sure I was staying for Sunday of this year, but ultimately, I really like the idea of 2-day divisionals if they could conceivably be done (other car counts at other venues may not work, understandably, but I liked all the Eliminations being done and completed the same day).