"Live" from our Southwestern Swing - Page 14

Dave Casey · 10-11-2011, 07:47 AM

Wonderful photo picture book, when our family raced west in 2001, we toured the painted desert/petrified forest, then went up the mountain thru Payson and then down into Phoenix, great memories. Thanks Larry and Patsy for the reminder of the desert beauty.

CBS · 10-11-2011, 09:02 AM

Thanks Larry and Patsy......wish we were there.....

Rock Haas

Larry Hill · 10-11-2011, 09:55 AM

Rock for you it would be so simple. Hook your trailer to one of the many "Official Trucks" of NHRA and tag along.

John Leichtamer Jr · 10-11-2011, 10:31 AM

Thanks for all the time and effort you put into your trips to show us this great country and drag racing experience you have with each other.

Hammer

Jody Lang · 10-11-2011, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobUnkefer

With the amount of rain that fell Sat night the track got substantially soaked & water got under the rubber and caused blisters in the rubber on the track. BOTH lanes were going to need to be completely scraped, be treated with resin and then dragged repeatedly after the resin was worked in to restore the racing surface, obviously a process that takes a considerable amount of time & labor. With the amount of work that needed to be done it was felt that it would be Wednesday mid-day before the possibility of sending a car down track could even be considered.
There was considerable discussion with numerous in & out of division racers and the track owners & management before a final decision was made. Several options were put on the table & each was thoroughly reviewed & disected before the call was made to run on Thursday morning at 9 am. There was even a mapquest search done to determine how far from Noble to Reynolds & Phoenix (just about the same actually) in trying to address those who needed to travel.
Yes, it does put a strain on those that were heading east to Reynolds or west to Phoenix, and those events played heavily on the final decision. Being able to assemble the needed personel to work the track, and then staff the event had to be handled too, because like most who race, they have weekday jobs too.
Over the last 22 years being invloved in the sport I've had the opportunity to watch & listen as unfortunate situations have been dealt with, and in my opinion everyone involved deserves a huge ATTA BOY for the way this one got handled, to me it was diagnosed and thought out about as well as it could be.
Nobody likes to get rained out, nobody, but track Manager Marcia Crook, owner Todd Stephens & Division director Craig Hutchinson all worked / are working very hard to make the best out of a bad situation.
Everyone can grumble, bitch and moan all they want, but until you've walked a mile in the shoes of the people that made the call this weekend, you really have no idea the anguish involved in trying to make the best of the situation, ....FROM WHERE I SAT THEY ALL DID A HELL OF A JOB!

That's my .02

Unk
See ya in Phoenix this weekend

Thanks Bob! It's nice to hear that side of the story. I didn't know if it was all a pit problem or not.

Thanks to the Hills for all the pictures!

Ed Wright · 10-11-2011, 11:00 AM

I agree with Unk, I don't think any rational person could fault the effort made by the people running things. Blame the weather man. LOL

Dyno · 10-11-2011, 01:33 PM

I have heard that as of noon today they are still working on the track at Noble.

Richard Grant · 10-11-2011, 01:34 PM

Unk, having raced Div. 4 for many years. I am not suprised by the amount of brain work that was put into the decision. Craig has made many excellent decisions over the years. In my opinion I cannot remember (although I am sure someone will) his ever making a bad decision. I have always felt that his decisions were well thought out and considered what was best for all the racers. Good job, guys.

rod butcher · 10-11-2011, 02:29 PM

Noble update

Still scraping the track as of 1:20 today. Weather is sunny and 70's and there is a chance of showers tomorrow in the am. The pits are drying out and the red mud is tightening up. We should be good to go wednsday for test and tune and the weather looks good for thursday to finish the race. Its going to be a tough haul to Reynolds but thats what we racers do.

CBS · 10-11-2011, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larry Hill

Rock for you it would be so simple. Hook your trailer to one of the many "Official Trucks" of NHRA and tag along.

Ouch!

With the weather being so nice up here....I still have the itch to race....

Rock

10-11-2011, 07:47 AM	#131
Dave Casey VIP Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Hampden, MA Posts: 1,155 Likes: 205 Liked 614 Times in 131 Posts	Re: "Live" from our Southwestern Swing Wonderful photo picture book, when our family raced west in 2001, we toured the painted desert/petrified forest, then went up the mountain thru Payson and then down into Phoenix, great memories. Thanks Larry and Patsy for the reminder of the desert beauty. __________________ Dave Casey 1330 STK

10-11-2011, 09:02 AM	#132
CBS VIP Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Commerce, Mi Posts: 1,387 Likes: 1 Liked 4 Times in 2 Posts	Re: "Live" from our Southwestern Swing Thanks Larry and Patsy......wish we were there..... Rock Haas

10-11-2011, 09:55 AM	#133
Larry Hill Live Reporter Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Hickory, Ky Posts: 10,317 Likes: 1,675 Liked 9,557 Times in 1,987 Posts	Re: "Live" from our Southwestern Swing Rock for you it would be so simple. Hook your trailer to one of the many "Official Trucks" of NHRA and tag along. __________________ IHM Used Parts https://ihmusedparts.com 888-821-1817

10-11-2011, 10:31 AM	#134
John Leichtamer Jr Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Orange City Fl Posts: 764 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: "Live" from our Southwestern Swing Thanks for all the time and effort you put into your trips to show us this great country and drag racing experience you have with each other. Hammer

10-11-2011, 11:00 AM	#136
Ed Wright Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Sand Springs, OK Posts: 8,132 Likes: 896 Liked 389 Times in 168 Posts	Re: "Live" from our Southwestern Swing I agree with Unk, I don't think any rational person could fault the effort made by the people running things. Blame the weather man. LOL __________________ Ed Wright 4156 SS/JA

10-11-2011, 01:33 PM	#137
Dyno Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 878 Likes: 934 Liked 609 Times in 180 Posts	Re: "Live" from our Southwestern Swing I have heard that as of noon today they are still working on the track at Noble.

10-11-2011, 01:34 PM	#138
Richard Grant Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: West Monroe, La. Posts: 301 Likes: 9 Liked 13 Times in 7 Posts	Re: "Live" from our Southwestern Swing Unk, having raced Div. 4 for many years. I am not suprised by the amount of brain work that was put into the decision. Craig has made many excellent decisions over the years. In my opinion I cannot remember (although I am sure someone will) his ever making a bad decision. I have always felt that his decisions were well thought out and considered what was best for all the racers. Good job, guys. __________________ Richard Grant 4988 STK

10-11-2011, 02:29 PM	#139
rod butcher Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 248 Likes: 292 Liked 129 Times in 24 Posts	Re: "Live" from our Southwestern Swing Noble update Still scraping the track as of 1:20 today. Weather is sunny and 70's and there is a chance of showers tomorrow in the am. The pits are drying out and the red mud is tightening up. We should be good to go wednsday for test and tune and the weather looks good for thursday to finish the race. Its going to be a tough haul to Reynolds but thats what we racers do.