The death of bracket racing........

[Webster]

Kinda veered off course with all of the talk about "EARNING" a wally and how to make stock and super stock more spectator friendly...NEVER gonna make bracket or "class" racing a spectator sport......NEVER!!!!!!!

I'll beat the "class" racing drum for a moment........we've got a legal SS, albeit only 6-7 tenths under on a good day, sitting in the garage. Also have the finacial means, on clock puncher wages, to show up and participate. However, Freddie hit the nail on the head..."fianancial pi$$ing" contests....IMO equal BUYING a wally as oposed to "EARNING" it.

How bought this for leveling the playing field........dial in formats across the board......to include "class"and the "eliminator"....no more heads up??? Drive, back or luck your way(or as all of us will attest, usually a combination of all of the aforementioned) into the winners circle, at the end of the day.......any way you slice it......wally "EARNED" as opposed to wally purchased!!!!!

My mini goals or rewards..................win lights!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dick Butler]

Webster,
If only dialing in to race what would be the reason for having "rules". Thats what bracket racing is about. No set of regulations to show you can use to win. No other people running your combination. No one to set as a goal to work toward beating. Just dial it in and bracket race.
Not everyone feels that is enough. Not downing it as a "form" of dragracing but your original comments were how it is dying at local tracks. Others commented how their track has a heads up format which brings spectators(MONEY for track to stay open so you have a place to dial in race) Doesnt it appear both can exit? Couldnt letting Heads up who can afford have the race that draws in the spectators to pay and the others have a place to run their cars too.
Disclaimer: It isnt all about MONEY but some would like to claim it is.Most winners are skilled drivers, mechanics and happen to have a good job too.

[7820]

There are far more Stock and Super Stock racers at Divisonal and National Events that have shoe polish on their windows that don't and that is a fact....even when you count the few events that have heads up class racing. I know guys that have raced for 15-20 years that have never had a heads up race...never. Yes they have their class designation on their windows and like to call themselves "class racers" but the shoe polish says different.

If you go back and read some of the threads you will see a change in attitude on Class Racing. A lot of racers don't want to race heads up anymore. They want to build a car that will be at or under their class index and then put shoe polish on the windows.

Heck I can remember the day if you had the wrong badges on the car you were out or had to replace them.

All that said....I don't believe you should be able to race at the World Finals unless you have won at a Divisonal, National, or Sports National. Just because you have grade points should not allow you to enter the World Finals. The World Finals should be an event where only the best of the best race...but that is only my opinion.

Ron

[goinbroke2]

AAAAHHHH!!!!
Mike, please,please,PLEASE do not use that worn out line "too hard to understand"
If my 6 and 10 year olds can figure it out....well I'll leave it at that.
I get so tired of hearing that mostly from "pro heads up" guys. An (old) stock car racer lived across the road from me at my old place, he thought of trying dragracing. All he wanted to do was go fast/first one there. I explained that was heads up and most tracks around here "bracket" race. 5 minutes later he understood it, but wanted heads up anyway. It's not hard, some (mostly people who watch the pros on tv) are comfortable with what they've seen/used to. First guy wins...simple. Yeah and so is my $70,000 will beat your 20,000 car EVERYTIME.
Anyone in the maritimes can attest to what has happened to the Noonan nationals. Heads up format for a few years until it was obvious the same guys won each class year after year. Now there are both heads up and bracket classes there.

The death of bracket racing? Well my new local track is growing every year and it's not uncommon to see 2000-3000 people in the stands/on their own lawnchairs watching bracket racing.
http://www.nsdra.ca/index.php?option...d=62&Itemid=52

"This last race of 2007 was an absolute hoot !!! Total vehicle count (actual) was 259 with approx 3000 spectators for the weekend."

I'd love to run a stocker, but will have to run a bracket car until the kids are gone...

[Jim Young]

This is copied from a post of mine on Bracketracecentral.com on a similar topic: I was asked to give a suggestion on what could be done to save bracket racing.

"For starters, I challenge everyone reading this to do one thing this season: Bring one person to the track who's never made a pass. Get them down the track in something. Even someone who's been to the track but never made a run. Do that, come back here, and write about it whether just telling who you brought or telling the whole story about how the day went or how you convinced the person to try it. Even if it's the only pass they will ever make, you will have made a difference. All I needed was a taste and I came back for more with no convincing. What kind of list could we have by the end of this season? How hard could it be to get just one person to try it? The hidden payoff here is that if your person takes to it and becomes successful, you know that you started it all. It might sound a little gay, but think how easily bracket racers can double in number..."
I would even add that you don't have to try and explain bracket racing initially. If you get someone to go down the track in their car or yours, and they like it, they'll ask you in due time what kind of racing you're doing.

[Johnny Claridge]

It sure needs help today

[Freddie]

If anything lately I have seen a growth in car count at our local track, which is very encouraging...

Even though our S/P count may not be what is used to be there are more than ever sportsman cars, and for some insane reason Jr. Dragsters...

Another thing to help drag racing along is as a seasoned racer take some time to encourage these kids racing thier hearts out for little to no money each week... some of these Jr's can cost upwards of 10K or more, and most race for a trophy or maybe $100. At our local track each week someone has been putting up extra $$$ for the kids, but not for a win... for best RT in time runs, or closest loosing rd in 1st rd... someting to reward kids that dont usually get anything..

And I like the other comment about take someone to the track who has never been down the track in a car... dont need to be a real fast car, but let them stage and drive down the track ... they will be back...

[Bill Baer]

Top 10 Things Killing Bracketc. Independent Series

I don't know why tracks let these independent series in their gates, because they're there for one thing, and that's to convert the racers at the track to chase his series, thus more loss of revenue for the local track once the circus goes to the next town.
Johnny, don't knock it till you try it, I've been active in an independent series for more that 20 years. Since we pay the tracks their money up front and controll our own payout and to some extent police our members responses to on track problems they appreciate us.
Since we control our pay out we pay first round winners and have a points fund that pays the top ten at the end of the year. When the last time you got paid for winning the first round? or got cash for finishing 10th. in the points? We also usually have two races per weekend for one tow.
It true that we do try to convert other racers to our series because we offer a better deal than the race tracks and scantion bodies do and were also trying to up our car count and our payout.
We go to different race tracks to support those racers who support us If we just raced at the convient local track our car counts would suffer and our pay outs would stink plus, If a racer can't afford to travel and want to race with us when were at his or her track thats fine(many do)

I was once a bracket racer but I'll tell you some of the reasons why I don't bracket race much.
#1 Greed buy backs, multiple car entries, mutliple driver entries and lack of round monies are all based in greed, everyone wants to race for $10000 and they don't care if everyone else gets little or nothing.
#2 Lack of sportsman ship I have very rarely had a bracket racer shake my hand when I beat them and I have had some look at me like I had somthing growing out of my head when I congratulate the for defeating me.
#3 Racing someone who's total investment is $100 to race their Mom's station wagon, I have been in some gamblers races where I had to spot such people 9-10 seconds.

If you don't like the way things are going you can either take steps to change it for the better, quit and take your money to the casino or just bitch on line.

Sincerely

[Brister]

I've been hearing about the death of bracket racing since I started hanging around this sport some thirty years ago. For that matter, according to many folks, ALL drag racing has been on the verge of death for quite some time. The invention of the internet has further compounded the predictions of it's demise. I still see some of the same people today that were at the track thirty years ago. If not them, I see their kids or someone that hung around with them. Sure some people have quit, but I'd be willing to bet there are more bracket racers today than there were in years past. Maybe not at your track,but if you total the tracks all across the country, there are more racers than ever.

I'll even go out on a limb and predict that most of us are dead and gone before bracket racing draws it's last breath.

Let's call it evolution. Yep, that's it. Bracket Racing is evolving.

[bobby]

I dont' know outside of Texas, but in the houston area there are 5 tracks within 2 hour drive. The valley has 1, San Antonio has 1, Dallas area has at least a dozen. In the Houston area, most of the tracks waits until HRP sets their schedule before anyone else makes theirs. I can't speak for the Dallas area, but with that many tracks, the operators need to get together and schedule bracket racing on NOT the same weekends, or at least days. The valley has no problems and S.A. should not have any problems with scheduleing. HRP sucks when it comes toscheduling. They have 2 day racing, 1/4 mile on sat and 1/8 on sunday. Then they start timetrials after 3 on sundays. They have the slowest program around. Angleton is a 1/8 mile track,usually 8-10 jrs, 30-40 footbrake and 15-20 electronic cars show up on anygiven saturday. They start tt at 5, round 1 at 7 and are done by 11.

So my rant goes as the more tracks in the area gives more racers an option to go elsewhere. If the tracks would get their scheduling act together, more racers could show up at one track one weekend and another the next. One track having a bracket race on weekend gives another a chance to do something else.