Why Aren't You Racing?

[X-TECH MAN]

[QUOTE=fredjohnston;195962]

Originally Posted by Michael Beard

It's not worth picking apart point by point, but I could do the same trip for nearly half. I may not be keeping up with the Jones's off the track or in the pits, but I make up for it on the race track


Mr.Beard....how many times a day do you hug yourself??????

If you could drive as well as Mike you could hug yourself to.

[Billy Nees]

Terry, don't encourage him! I've been trying to break him of that for years! You've never seen him stand in front of a mirror and kiss his reflection for hours. It isn't pretty.
That beautiful, blue eyed, blond haired genius!

[Adger Smith]

John DiBartolomeo ask 'What can be done about it" Thanks John with that question I'll step up on my soap box.
I'll take a stab at what I see as from a former track owner. I think what NHRA has done to divisional track operators has had a major shock to the sport. They have imposed quotas. In good times quotas are used to limit participation and take the cream of the crop. That is not so good in bad times. Divisional races are no place for quotas. That is fine that we have to earn some grade points to enter National events. By quotas I'm talking about car counts that earn a track owner money. In a conversation with a gentleman that is very well connected in our sport I learned that the break even point for a divisional track owner is 400 cars. Yet by mandate NHRA has a 32 car comp field and a 32 car Top sportsman field and a 32 car Top dragster field. Add to that an 8 car top alky dragster and an 8 car Top alky flopper classes. "IF" those fields are full you still have only 112 cars at the track. That leaves only 6 other classes to bring in 300 cars to make the magic 400 even money point.
Quotas kill the incentive for teams "On the bubble" to spend time and money traveling to a divisional race. Some well healed guy says"They just need to work on their program"and "Spend more" to be competitive. Ever though they are maxed out as to what they can afford to spend on their program? Don't they deserve to race too?
I'll make my point with the recent Tulsa Divisional race. Here is the Car count:
Here is Tulsa
> Total car count: 342
> TAD 10
> TAFC 5
> T/D 32
> T/S 28
> COMP 24
> SS 44
> STK 32
> SC 74
> SG 38
> SST 46
> BMX 9
If Comp, T/S and T/D had been All Run fields the Tulsa owners might not have taken a bath at the gate. You also have 2 high pay out classes that had only 15 cars. TAFC & TAD. I have heard it said that track owners could "Book A Show" for the same $$ and make more $$ and have a better show.
It doesn't take a math expert to see that NHRA needs to "Fix" this problem for the track owner that wants a divisional race. If something isn't done soon it may be hard for NHRA to get tracks to buy into a Divisional race. Where does that leave us racers? Fewer races farther apart so we have to travel more, spend more.
Make the divisional races "All Run" fields and help the car counts.
The cars are out there. Give them an incentive to go to the races. No one wants to spend $600 to $1000 and get a DNQ.
Another way to help out would be knock off the two most costly classes and spend a little more round money on other classes. Round money "IS " another incentive for racers. When a guy gets ANYTHING back it makes it easier for him to justify the expenses to a spouse or significant other....Yes, a spouse or significant other does figure into the state of the economy and if we race or sit home being the family man.
O.K. these are just my opinions about problems in our sport.
Off the Soap Box..

[X-TECH MAN]

Great points Adger. Im all for getting rid of the Alcohol cars. You all know how I feel about those damn things. They usually dont pay entry fees anyway. They just keep the track from rusting much like the fuel cars. If they are going to have T/D and T/S then yes....make it an all run field as in IHRA but have a min. ET break (dial in) like IHRA does at their points races.

[Alan Roehrich]

Don't get rid of the alcohol cars. Just make them pay their way. A full entry fee for Top Alcohol, plus clean up fees for the oil downs. Not enough entries in Top Alcohol? No purse for them.

[Don Kennedy]

.The two most expensive overhead classes at a divisional meet as everyone knows are the alky classes they take the huge purse and bring in no fans and oil the track the most . I see why some tracks won't take them . The alky classes need to race at select national event races and then only the top 8 .Now after saying this every track owner and NHRA and racers all know this is not a favorable nor profitible class to have yet they still continue to bring them in so What is going on???? Everyone knows the other classes are paying for the alky purse while our purse never goes up ?? still a very strange deal by the decisions makers these days

[Michael Beard]

Mr. Johnston, if you would read the ENTIRE sentence, you would realize that I was talking about simply being able to *compete* with people with more money, on the track, even though I can't (and don't care to) compete with that money off the track. I was not stating "I'm better than you.".

[tim worner]

In answaer to Grape the stock super stock combo is open to all NHRA & IHRA stock&super stock classes. There will be no heads up so all you need to do is run the index either NHRA or IHRA. We are part of the overall show.

[Ed Carpenter]

Originally Posted by Michael Beard

Mr. Johnston, if you would read the ENTIRE sentence, you would realize that I was talking about simply being able to *compete* with people with more money, on the track, even though I can't (and don't care to) compete with that money off the track. I was not stating "I'm better than you.".

Michael I tell my son all the time my car doesn't know what kind of truck it was towed by or what kind of trailer it was in when it's going down the track

I took the year off, to Save some money for my wedding. But the big spring storms we had in the northeast damaged my roof. So I have to put a roof on the house. I don't win enought money to do both. Maybe next year