It happens every year so I don't know why I'm always surprised when it comes on. The "it" I'm referring to is the post-racing season blahs. I stop short of saying depression because that would be a little dramatic and I'm not one for a lot of emotional drama. Just sayin'
Mid-November. The weather has changed (even in California), and it's cold. We've just turned the clocks forward so it gets dark before 6:00 pm...ugh; and no more nitro until the Spring. This year was especially cruel because up until Thursday night, we thought we were racing in January. I was already in count down mode (56 days) and then found out that the track in Arizona postponed the race until.....next November. Reason? The concrete they poured won't be cured in time. Really? Who was the project manager assigned to this enterprise? Might want to include concrete curing time in the next SOW. Just sayin'
So instead of 56 days, we have......It's too early to do the math. Oh, well! There's still plenty of winter maintenance to perform before March in Bakersfield....
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Sunday, November 10, 2013
We're Sunk if We Think the Current NHRA Leadership is Leading
Earlier last month, the NHRA conducted a sample survey of about 1,000
of its members. Apparently all the complaining about dwindling
attendance at races began to reach the upper echelons of the majestic
NHRA board. Obviously, they don't get it because the only question
asked had to do with running the 1320 v 1000 feet. Really? 320 feet is
causing a decline in the greatest motorsport of them all? I think not.
They missed the point by not asking an open-ended question. What they should have asked is, "Why do you enjoy coming to the races?" I'm sure more than a few would have answered, "jet cars", but an equal number would have answered, "Because it's only $20 to get in and the kids are free"; "The prices are reasonable at the concession stand"; "There were 20 nitro funny cars!"; "Free posters that all the drivers will sign and the crew members talk to you between rounds"; best of all..."My dad took me as a kid and I want my kids to experience the excitement of drag racing like I did as a child". Of course this would have only happened if they were asking fans attending one of the NHRA Heritage Series races this past season.
In 2013, the price of a general admission ticket (that's a non-reserved seat) for the final day of QUALIFYING at a NHRA Mello Yellow national event was $55....That's right; Fifty-five bucks and this isn't even RACE DAY! Granted, at many events kids 12 and under get in free, but that cost is quickly unrealized what with $8.00 hot dogs, $10.00 parking, $12.00 beers and $30.00 t-shirts. A day at the races for a family of four can easily add up to close to $175 - $200; and this isn't even with good seats. Throw in a couple of lengthy oil downs and the droning of the all-day, GEICO ass-clowns and I don't blame them for not coming back; the value just isn't there.
In the quest to grow the fan base of the NHRA; the most important element of doing so was left out - entertainment value. Gone are the brash personalities of drivers - spouting off whatever comes to mind; even John Force is PR scrubbed clean these days. Gone are the long smokey burnouts and warm-up throttle blips. They've been eliminated because of equipment costs and alternative car set ups. Dry hops? Dead for decades. Nothing for kids to do; unless they intend to be recruited by the Army or want to buy a $300 RC car. Drop a couple of bounce houses in the midway - hell, make one an adult-only and clothing optional!
Here's one that baffles the heck out me...night qualifying that doesn't begin later at night. I understand when you're qualifying at a track that has a curfew - don't like it, but I understand it. But why for the love of God, do you finish Friday night qualifying in Las Vegas at 7:00 pm? Are you kidding me? We don't run our first qualifying lap at any of the Saturday Night Nitro shows until well after 8:00 pm. Three words - flames from headers......
So there's no showmanship, shows end too early, costs too much to take a family....I dunno NHRA; maybe it really has something to do with that missing 320 feet, but I doubt it. Since this is my blog and no one will read it anyway; here is my plan to bring the NHRA national events back from the brink:
- Slow down the nitro cars. The costs are too high to run them and the average fan doesn't know the difference between 260 and 300 mph anyway. Lower costs allow smaller-budget teams the opportunity to compete with the DSR, JFR juggernaut teams.
- Bring back the 1320. The quarter mile is drag racing; anything else is something else and we'll get used to it; just like we got used to running the 1000 ft.
-Move the nitro pits to the other side of the track and line up the top teams along the track so that fans don't necessarily have to leave the stands to see the crews at work between rounds. Set up crew competitions, similar to NASCAR based on total turn around times and have time clocks visible to the stands. Should an oil down happen; you have another show going on right in front of them. Really emphasize the team work involved; you'd be surprised how many additional sponsorship opportunities can come of this.
- Nicknames for drivers. Snake and Mongoose...... God, the drivers today are these sanitized, corporate, PR robots. Bring back the personalities like Scelzi and "Flaming" Frank Pedregon. I know for a fact that there are some personalities there, but everyone is so afraid of saying the wrong thing that interviews have become boring little sound-bites to keep sponsors and team/car owners happy. Sunshine and rainbows...bullshit! Why not go off on a rant about the snakey bastard you're facing in the first round? Talk shit about his crew chief or mama....choose a side racing fans!
- Night qualifying - mandatory. Almost every race we ran this season had a Friday night under the lights qualifier. It wasn't until we ran the CHRR (NHRA Museum operated) event that we finished the day before 7:00pm. Fans come out to see the header flames and experience the horsepower; plus, what a great first-time date night!
- Put a Bowser, a New, and a Bader on the NHRA board. These SHOWS need to be SHOWS again and these families that own/operate their respective tracks know how to do it and do it WELL!
- Revise the sportsman classes at national events - quit screwing the base of the membership by shuffling their run times around based on the pro car schedules; these folks work at other jobs for a living and to pay for their hobby/passion. Roll back the price of their entry fees, too. They're sportmen, not sponsors!
- Stop and I mean stop - Parading the stupid season championship trophies around with police escorts at the last races of the season. It's ridiculous. While we're on the topic; why are we giving the trophies to the winners in the shut down area where no fans are? Awarding them again in the winner's circle after they've been broadcast to the fans via monstervision in the stands is beyond anti-climatic; there's no excitement and it's yet another round of sponsor-babble. (Only exception - Rickie Jones - do his twice; or three times as needed. Love that kid!!!)
- Do the live round coverage again. Personally, I loved watching the crews turning the car around during that change to the format in Houston. I thought it was something that was going to be continued and haven't heard anything about it since.
- Replace the bikes with fuel altered cars. More nitro! Besides, why does a bike need 10 people on the starting line? (counted that many in Vegas) 4 wheels - mandatory.
-Kids area in the midway. As mentioned in an earlier blog; unless your kid is going to be recruited by the Army or is planning on purchasing a $300+ RC car, there is nothing for them to do except sit in the stands or vie for driver autographs. Parents need a little break, so throw a couple of bounce houses and climbing structures on the midway - free to use. Have them sponsored if need be and then parents waiting outside of these play areas can be solicited by the bounce house sponsor reps.
-Long, smokey burnouts - bring 'em back! Along with these; bring back the warm-up blip, and dry hops.
-Hold the TRAXXAS shoot out, or whatever it's being called now, at another race besides Indy. Yes, I know that Indy gets the most TV coverage and that's why sponsors want to be a part of it, but if you only have one race that anyone is willing to view, you've screwed yourself on that one NHRA. Change it up so that it becomes a race within a race season and spread it out among more venues. Better yet; make one a crew challenge.
-Shitcan ESPN2. I want a gig where I can charge a sanctioning body millions of dollars a year to broadcast their events - at my discretion with the ability to disregard published schedules in favor of NCAA division III girls college softball consolation loser rounds - in Spanish. This wasn't the worst of it though - we endured a pre-emption of a late season national event broadcast with championship implications, so our "partners" over at ESPN could bring a 10+ hour, rain delayed NASCAR race to it's mighty minions. I get it, more people who watch translates to more advertising dollars to ESPN, who pays NASCAR for the privilege of airing their races. Yep, this all makes sense to me; do I at least get kissed first?
-Hire Chad, Brian and the fellas from BangShift to do the broadcasts. Yes, I realize that they only appeal to drag racing fans......and your point is?
-Do something, anything, to make Pro Stock more fan friendly. Maybe start with opening up the pit areas; when did their pits become these overly tented, secret societies? You can't see anything when you go over to their pits; everything is covered up - including the cars. Nevermind, ProStock doesn't matter anyway....
-Cut back on the boring, sponsor-driveled interviews on the broadcasts. Perfect example of how it killed some great racing was today's finals at Pomona. One of the talking heads was interviewing Morgan Lucas on his move out of the seat. No disrespect to Morgan, but while this was going on, Gary Densham won his second round of racing in nitro funny car; which we got to see on the other side of the screen while Morgan went on about what a great opportunity it's been to drive, etc. I was totally pissed watching it - primarily because it was a great, lower-budget, old-school racer winning a SECOND round and it was missed in favor of an interview. Again, no disrespect to the kid because if it weren't for his family's involvement, lots of racing wouldn't be happening and enjoyed. Props to the Lucas family! You get my point, right?
-Unload Kernan and Howe - No offense, but they aren't racers - they're entertainment reporters and come across as such. If I wanted celebrity gossip, I'd log on to Yahoo OMG! Instead, upload a former crew member with some personality to do pieces with current crew members on pit work or tales from the road if you must interject with entertainment. The "tech talk" pieces that were sprinkled throughout the season were great, but too few. One more saga of this PSM team hates that PSM team and I'm done watching......
-Run 2 pair of Nostalgia Funny Car at every National event. Every. Single. One. - The history of the sport is essential to the growth. An organization or sport that fails to observe and revere its past is doomed to fade away.
- Pro teams - mandatory back up girls. None of the slutty-dressed ho's either. Look no further than Leeza Diehl or Alice Bode for great examples. Guys love a pretty gal; bouncing along, backing up a car and no other motorsports has the unique ability to integrate them into the actual competition.
-Post race concerts/party bands. Hell, if you're going to finish racing for the day at 7:00 pm, at least do something to create more opportunities to sell more nachos and beer. If racing starts later, live music ahead of time - get the excitement going!
-Concession costs - Either bring down the costs or let people bring food in. Holding people hostage to non-competitive rapes at the chow hall isn't very American and decreases attendance because of costs. $5.00 for a bottle of tap water borders on ridiculous, too.
-Ticket prices - As I complained earlier, it's senseless for an organization to expect to grow the attendance when the prices for a non-reserved seat on a qualifying day exceeds $50. The Bowers charge $100 - for a FOUR day ticket at the March Meet. You can't get a seat at Famoso in the grandstands on a Friday afternoon when they run the nitro cars....whereas you can shoot a cannon through the grandstands on Sunday at a national meet during Pro-Stock and not hit a soul.
Enough out of me - back to your regularly scheduled porn.....
They missed the point by not asking an open-ended question. What they should have asked is, "Why do you enjoy coming to the races?" I'm sure more than a few would have answered, "jet cars", but an equal number would have answered, "Because it's only $20 to get in and the kids are free"; "The prices are reasonable at the concession stand"; "There were 20 nitro funny cars!"; "Free posters that all the drivers will sign and the crew members talk to you between rounds"; best of all..."My dad took me as a kid and I want my kids to experience the excitement of drag racing like I did as a child". Of course this would have only happened if they were asking fans attending one of the NHRA Heritage Series races this past season.
In 2013, the price of a general admission ticket (that's a non-reserved seat) for the final day of QUALIFYING at a NHRA Mello Yellow national event was $55....That's right; Fifty-five bucks and this isn't even RACE DAY! Granted, at many events kids 12 and under get in free, but that cost is quickly unrealized what with $8.00 hot dogs, $10.00 parking, $12.00 beers and $30.00 t-shirts. A day at the races for a family of four can easily add up to close to $175 - $200; and this isn't even with good seats. Throw in a couple of lengthy oil downs and the droning of the all-day, GEICO ass-clowns and I don't blame them for not coming back; the value just isn't there.
In the quest to grow the fan base of the NHRA; the most important element of doing so was left out - entertainment value. Gone are the brash personalities of drivers - spouting off whatever comes to mind; even John Force is PR scrubbed clean these days. Gone are the long smokey burnouts and warm-up throttle blips. They've been eliminated because of equipment costs and alternative car set ups. Dry hops? Dead for decades. Nothing for kids to do; unless they intend to be recruited by the Army or want to buy a $300 RC car. Drop a couple of bounce houses in the midway - hell, make one an adult-only and clothing optional!
Here's one that baffles the heck out me...night qualifying that doesn't begin later at night. I understand when you're qualifying at a track that has a curfew - don't like it, but I understand it. But why for the love of God, do you finish Friday night qualifying in Las Vegas at 7:00 pm? Are you kidding me? We don't run our first qualifying lap at any of the Saturday Night Nitro shows until well after 8:00 pm. Three words - flames from headers......
So there's no showmanship, shows end too early, costs too much to take a family....I dunno NHRA; maybe it really has something to do with that missing 320 feet, but I doubt it. Since this is my blog and no one will read it anyway; here is my plan to bring the NHRA national events back from the brink:
- Slow down the nitro cars. The costs are too high to run them and the average fan doesn't know the difference between 260 and 300 mph anyway. Lower costs allow smaller-budget teams the opportunity to compete with the DSR, JFR juggernaut teams.
- Bring back the 1320. The quarter mile is drag racing; anything else is something else and we'll get used to it; just like we got used to running the 1000 ft.
-Move the nitro pits to the other side of the track and line up the top teams along the track so that fans don't necessarily have to leave the stands to see the crews at work between rounds. Set up crew competitions, similar to NASCAR based on total turn around times and have time clocks visible to the stands. Should an oil down happen; you have another show going on right in front of them. Really emphasize the team work involved; you'd be surprised how many additional sponsorship opportunities can come of this.
- Nicknames for drivers. Snake and Mongoose...... God, the drivers today are these sanitized, corporate, PR robots. Bring back the personalities like Scelzi and "Flaming" Frank Pedregon. I know for a fact that there are some personalities there, but everyone is so afraid of saying the wrong thing that interviews have become boring little sound-bites to keep sponsors and team/car owners happy. Sunshine and rainbows...bullshit! Why not go off on a rant about the snakey bastard you're facing in the first round? Talk shit about his crew chief or mama....choose a side racing fans!
- Night qualifying - mandatory. Almost every race we ran this season had a Friday night under the lights qualifier. It wasn't until we ran the CHRR (NHRA Museum operated) event that we finished the day before 7:00pm. Fans come out to see the header flames and experience the horsepower; plus, what a great first-time date night!
- Put a Bowser, a New, and a Bader on the NHRA board. These SHOWS need to be SHOWS again and these families that own/operate their respective tracks know how to do it and do it WELL!
- Revise the sportsman classes at national events - quit screwing the base of the membership by shuffling their run times around based on the pro car schedules; these folks work at other jobs for a living and to pay for their hobby/passion. Roll back the price of their entry fees, too. They're sportmen, not sponsors!
- Stop and I mean stop - Parading the stupid season championship trophies around with police escorts at the last races of the season. It's ridiculous. While we're on the topic; why are we giving the trophies to the winners in the shut down area where no fans are? Awarding them again in the winner's circle after they've been broadcast to the fans via monstervision in the stands is beyond anti-climatic; there's no excitement and it's yet another round of sponsor-babble. (Only exception - Rickie Jones - do his twice; or three times as needed. Love that kid!!!)
- Do the live round coverage again. Personally, I loved watching the crews turning the car around during that change to the format in Houston. I thought it was something that was going to be continued and haven't heard anything about it since.
- Replace the bikes with fuel altered cars. More nitro! Besides, why does a bike need 10 people on the starting line? (counted that many in Vegas) 4 wheels - mandatory.
-Kids area in the midway. As mentioned in an earlier blog; unless your kid is going to be recruited by the Army or is planning on purchasing a $300+ RC car, there is nothing for them to do except sit in the stands or vie for driver autographs. Parents need a little break, so throw a couple of bounce houses and climbing structures on the midway - free to use. Have them sponsored if need be and then parents waiting outside of these play areas can be solicited by the bounce house sponsor reps.
-Long, smokey burnouts - bring 'em back! Along with these; bring back the warm-up blip, and dry hops.
-Hold the TRAXXAS shoot out, or whatever it's being called now, at another race besides Indy. Yes, I know that Indy gets the most TV coverage and that's why sponsors want to be a part of it, but if you only have one race that anyone is willing to view, you've screwed yourself on that one NHRA. Change it up so that it becomes a race within a race season and spread it out among more venues. Better yet; make one a crew challenge.
-Shitcan ESPN2. I want a gig where I can charge a sanctioning body millions of dollars a year to broadcast their events - at my discretion with the ability to disregard published schedules in favor of NCAA division III girls college softball consolation loser rounds - in Spanish. This wasn't the worst of it though - we endured a pre-emption of a late season national event broadcast with championship implications, so our "partners" over at ESPN could bring a 10+ hour, rain delayed NASCAR race to it's mighty minions. I get it, more people who watch translates to more advertising dollars to ESPN, who pays NASCAR for the privilege of airing their races. Yep, this all makes sense to me; do I at least get kissed first?
-Hire Chad, Brian and the fellas from BangShift to do the broadcasts. Yes, I realize that they only appeal to drag racing fans......and your point is?
-Do something, anything, to make Pro Stock more fan friendly. Maybe start with opening up the pit areas; when did their pits become these overly tented, secret societies? You can't see anything when you go over to their pits; everything is covered up - including the cars. Nevermind, ProStock doesn't matter anyway....
-Cut back on the boring, sponsor-driveled interviews on the broadcasts. Perfect example of how it killed some great racing was today's finals at Pomona. One of the talking heads was interviewing Morgan Lucas on his move out of the seat. No disrespect to Morgan, but while this was going on, Gary Densham won his second round of racing in nitro funny car; which we got to see on the other side of the screen while Morgan went on about what a great opportunity it's been to drive, etc. I was totally pissed watching it - primarily because it was a great, lower-budget, old-school racer winning a SECOND round and it was missed in favor of an interview. Again, no disrespect to the kid because if it weren't for his family's involvement, lots of racing wouldn't be happening and enjoyed. Props to the Lucas family! You get my point, right?
-Unload Kernan and Howe - No offense, but they aren't racers - they're entertainment reporters and come across as such. If I wanted celebrity gossip, I'd log on to Yahoo OMG! Instead, upload a former crew member with some personality to do pieces with current crew members on pit work or tales from the road if you must interject with entertainment. The "tech talk" pieces that were sprinkled throughout the season were great, but too few. One more saga of this PSM team hates that PSM team and I'm done watching......
-Run 2 pair of Nostalgia Funny Car at every National event. Every. Single. One. - The history of the sport is essential to the growth. An organization or sport that fails to observe and revere its past is doomed to fade away.
- Pro teams - mandatory back up girls. None of the slutty-dressed ho's either. Look no further than Leeza Diehl or Alice Bode for great examples. Guys love a pretty gal; bouncing along, backing up a car and no other motorsports has the unique ability to integrate them into the actual competition.
-Post race concerts/party bands. Hell, if you're going to finish racing for the day at 7:00 pm, at least do something to create more opportunities to sell more nachos and beer. If racing starts later, live music ahead of time - get the excitement going!
-Concession costs - Either bring down the costs or let people bring food in. Holding people hostage to non-competitive rapes at the chow hall isn't very American and decreases attendance because of costs. $5.00 for a bottle of tap water borders on ridiculous, too.
-Ticket prices - As I complained earlier, it's senseless for an organization to expect to grow the attendance when the prices for a non-reserved seat on a qualifying day exceeds $50. The Bowers charge $100 - for a FOUR day ticket at the March Meet. You can't get a seat at Famoso in the grandstands on a Friday afternoon when they run the nitro cars....whereas you can shoot a cannon through the grandstands on Sunday at a national meet during Pro-Stock and not hit a soul.
Enough out of me - back to your regularly scheduled porn.....
Why the Weiny Roasters are Odd, but Important
Weiny roasters; rocket cars; B1rd's; the nicknames are endless for what we know as jet cars. As a kid in the pits in the 1960's - they scared the crap out of me. Puff, BANG, puff, puff, puff, BANG, BANG...that was the sound I recall them making as they came up to stage at the tree. Then off with a swoosh they would zoom down the track like a jet; well, because they are a jet. They just don't have wings.
While I'm not sure why he had so much contempt for these cars; my dad was a very vocal opponent of these cars at the track. I suspect it had something to do with the condition of the starting line following a lap made by these cylindrical tubes o' jet fuel. Regardless of what it was, I picked up the same attitude toward them because they weren't racing. I think I may have secretly felt that anyone outside of the sport would view us as "rednecks" or "stupid" for running such ridiculous show cars.
To most racers in the pits they were an odd-ball machine not a "real" race car; because they aren't. They really don't race and have no champion to crown at the end of the season. They are booked in by the track promotors/owners and paid to run...because they put butts in seats. More than most types of motorsports, drag racing relies on the entertainment factor to bring in fans. Entertainment is king and the empty seat doesn't buy a hot dog. (Thank you Raconteur, for this great tag line)
Up through this past year I refused to watch them, unlike my teammates that always hustled to the chain link at the first "puff, puff, BOOM" following the last round. I'm not sure when it was, but I began to understand what appeals to the casual race fan is a complete polar opposite to what I think makes a good race. Joe race fan wants flames and noise; he really doesn't care what's making it. He loves the nitro cars and enjoys the side-by-side racing they perform, but he also loves those jet cars. It's all entertainment to him and the more the better.
While I'm not sure why he had so much contempt for these cars; my dad was a very vocal opponent of these cars at the track. I suspect it had something to do with the condition of the starting line following a lap made by these cylindrical tubes o' jet fuel. Regardless of what it was, I picked up the same attitude toward them because they weren't racing. I think I may have secretly felt that anyone outside of the sport would view us as "rednecks" or "stupid" for running such ridiculous show cars.
To most racers in the pits they were an odd-ball machine not a "real" race car; because they aren't. They really don't race and have no champion to crown at the end of the season. They are booked in by the track promotors/owners and paid to run...because they put butts in seats. More than most types of motorsports, drag racing relies on the entertainment factor to bring in fans. Entertainment is king and the empty seat doesn't buy a hot dog. (Thank you Raconteur, for this great tag line)
Up through this past year I refused to watch them, unlike my teammates that always hustled to the chain link at the first "puff, puff, BOOM" following the last round. I'm not sure when it was, but I began to understand what appeals to the casual race fan is a complete polar opposite to what I think makes a good race. Joe race fan wants flames and noise; he really doesn't care what's making it. He loves the nitro cars and enjoys the side-by-side racing they perform, but he also loves those jet cars. It's all entertainment to him and the more the better.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
My Gawd...It's Odd Again
A play on words - it's odd again; it's on again. Can you tell I'm running out of ways to use "odd" in every blog entry? Well, since it's not affecting my paycheck I can pretty much write what I want whenever I want, too. Since I don't know when I'll have another chance to do another entry, I thought I'd post our upcoming schedule. Mind you, this too is subject to change:
January 10 - 12, Wildhorse Pass (former Firebird Int'l Raceway) Phoenix
March 6 - 9, March Meet Bakersfield
April 25 - 27, Napa Ignitors, Boise
June 6 -7, Summer Send Off, Salt Lake City
July 18 - 20, Canadian National Open, Mission BC
August 7 - 10, Nightfire Nationals, Boise
October 17 - 19, California Hot Rod Reunion
This doesn't include any of the Saturday Night Nitro races that will likely be over a Fri/Sat in June, July and September. The official schedule for these isn't out yet, but always works around the NHRA Heritage points races.
I wish we had a couple of races outside of our Heritage schedule; there's a couple of awesome shows where the opportunity to win some good money could be had. One in particular is the Norwalk Night of Fire. It typically is over the same weekend as the Boise Nightfires, but is only 2 days.
The Nightfires are a tough weekend. It's usually pretty warm and we run Friday, Saturday and all day/night Sunday. The crowds are insane for this meet too. The place is absolutely packed each day and the fans are enthusiastic and appreciative. Looks like I'm getting sidetracked again.....
So, as far as I know - this is our schedule. I mentioned the Norwalk show, but didn't mention the IHRA races that were announced for 2014. They are offering big money and are showcasing nitro funny cars in an invitation-only format where 10 cars are selected for the series. They are running most of the meets east of Colorado and Texas, so the additional costs for transportation would be probably be prohibitive.
I get a little crazy behind all of this because all I want to do is race. I think about racing all the time and have tried not liking it many times. Like an alcoholic to his bottle though....I'm driven back to it time and time again. Sometimes against my will - always against fiscal responsibility. There's nothing I can do about it except hopefully plan ahead for it. I estimated my costs for the 2014 season to be about $6,500 for the 10 races we have. It's bedtime for me now...................goodnight
January 10 - 12, Wildhorse Pass (former Firebird Int'l Raceway) Phoenix
March 6 - 9, March Meet Bakersfield
April 25 - 27, Napa Ignitors, Boise
June 6 -7, Summer Send Off, Salt Lake City
July 18 - 20, Canadian National Open, Mission BC
August 7 - 10, Nightfire Nationals, Boise
October 17 - 19, California Hot Rod Reunion
This doesn't include any of the Saturday Night Nitro races that will likely be over a Fri/Sat in June, July and September. The official schedule for these isn't out yet, but always works around the NHRA Heritage points races.
I wish we had a couple of races outside of our Heritage schedule; there's a couple of awesome shows where the opportunity to win some good money could be had. One in particular is the Norwalk Night of Fire. It typically is over the same weekend as the Boise Nightfires, but is only 2 days.
The Nightfires are a tough weekend. It's usually pretty warm and we run Friday, Saturday and all day/night Sunday. The crowds are insane for this meet too. The place is absolutely packed each day and the fans are enthusiastic and appreciative. Looks like I'm getting sidetracked again.....
So, as far as I know - this is our schedule. I mentioned the Norwalk show, but didn't mention the IHRA races that were announced for 2014. They are offering big money and are showcasing nitro funny cars in an invitation-only format where 10 cars are selected for the series. They are running most of the meets east of Colorado and Texas, so the additional costs for transportation would be probably be prohibitive.
I get a little crazy behind all of this because all I want to do is race. I think about racing all the time and have tried not liking it many times. Like an alcoholic to his bottle though....I'm driven back to it time and time again. Sometimes against my will - always against fiscal responsibility. There's nothing I can do about it except hopefully plan ahead for it. I estimated my costs for the 2014 season to be about $6,500 for the 10 races we have. It's bedtime for me now...................goodnight
Against the Odds
It's been a couple of weeks since the race took place. I've had plenty of time to post in this blog, but have avoided it for some unconscious, deep seated reason. Yeah, we lost. It wasn't as bad to lose as I thought it might be; it was an epic battle and I'm blessed to have been a part of it.
The Rupert team claimed victory; not by their hand, but by the blocker out of Texas...Hale. It came down to the last race of the last day of the championship for the championship - and we were in it. Going to the Final and hearing the cheers from the other lane was deflating, but I'll never forget it. That is what is going to drive me to do better next season.
I mentioned epic weekend - I'm not kidding; it was absolutely amazing. The car performed perfectly; Ronnie was in a great space and was surrounded by tons of his old racing friends; our driver, Dan, was on the ball and hit his lights and drove the shit out of that machine; as a team, we hit our marks and flowed effortlessly. We gave our crew chief and driver an amazing car to tune and drive and the numbers proved it. Our laps:
Q1 - 5.776 ET 254.09 MPH
Q2 - 5.774 ET 254.09 MPH
R1 - 5.772 ET 245.40 MPH
R2 - 5.768 ET 255.24 MPH
SF - 5.713 ET 257.24 MPH
F - 5.744 ET 256.65 MPH
So, we didn't win the championship, we didn't win the meet, but this is what we did as a team. None of us had anything to be ashamed of - there wasn't another car on the property that ran 5.70's all weekend like we did - Huggy referred to the car as, "That 70's car".... Hale and company had to throw everything they had at their heap to beat us and it took a 5.68 to do it too. My hat's off to them - they did what they needed to do to beat us; but they didn't put out the fire. I think they poured a little nitro on it instead.... :)
The Rupert team claimed victory; not by their hand, but by the blocker out of Texas...Hale. It came down to the last race of the last day of the championship for the championship - and we were in it. Going to the Final and hearing the cheers from the other lane was deflating, but I'll never forget it. That is what is going to drive me to do better next season.
I mentioned epic weekend - I'm not kidding; it was absolutely amazing. The car performed perfectly; Ronnie was in a great space and was surrounded by tons of his old racing friends; our driver, Dan, was on the ball and hit his lights and drove the shit out of that machine; as a team, we hit our marks and flowed effortlessly. We gave our crew chief and driver an amazing car to tune and drive and the numbers proved it. Our laps:
Q1 - 5.776 ET 254.09 MPH
Q2 - 5.774 ET 254.09 MPH
R1 - 5.772 ET 245.40 MPH
R2 - 5.768 ET 255.24 MPH
SF - 5.713 ET 257.24 MPH
F - 5.744 ET 256.65 MPH
So, we didn't win the championship, we didn't win the meet, but this is what we did as a team. None of us had anything to be ashamed of - there wasn't another car on the property that ran 5.70's all weekend like we did - Huggy referred to the car as, "That 70's car".... Hale and company had to throw everything they had at their heap to beat us and it took a 5.68 to do it too. My hat's off to them - they did what they needed to do to beat us; but they didn't put out the fire. I think they poured a little nitro on it instead.... :)
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Here are the Odds
Interesting coincidence that the odds were posted today for the CHRR championship. From the Tricky Tipster:
Horan 2-1
Rupert 2-1
Krabill 2-1
Not surprising; considering all three of us are contending. We tested yesterday and there were 10 funny cars that showed up along with a handful of oil spreaders. Beautiful weather-wise; low 80's and a decent breeze.
We made three hits and were very pleased with the results:
Lap one - 5.83 @ 233 mph
Lap two - 5.76 @ 250 mph - in the heat of the day
Lap three - 5.75 @ 252 mph - at 4:00 pm, clicked it EARLY.
No smoke, consistent, bracket-like nitro funny car!
Personally, it was a very challenging day because I only had 2 hours of sleep and then drove 4 hours before any work was done. The chutes were a mess and took forever to straighten out. Ronnie had purchased new chutes and two, new sets of pilot chutes. I decided to use the old chutes, but went with one set of the new pilots. Bad idea. The first pass one of the chutes didn't deploy; it looked like the cable didn't completely clear the loop and I can't help but think the pilot had something to do with that. The second pass - the pilot chute shot straight down into the wheelie bar and tangled up. That did it....the last thing I need is my driver not having confidence in my work and my ability to keep him safe. I pulled the new pilots and put back on the ones I know will do the job - and they did.
Today we serviced the car and still have more to do tomorrow; plenty tired and ready for bed. Tomorrow the Cleveland Boys come into town and I won't be surprised if the car is in the pit when we get there. They'll be pitted next to us (like the March Meet), but this time I'm on the other side of the hauler. It'll be great to see them and catch up. Hopefully, both teams will qualify for the show on Sunday!
Horan 2-1
Rupert 2-1
Krabill 2-1
Not surprising; considering all three of us are contending. We tested yesterday and there were 10 funny cars that showed up along with a handful of oil spreaders. Beautiful weather-wise; low 80's and a decent breeze.
Lap one - 5.83 @ 233 mph
Lap two - 5.76 @ 250 mph - in the heat of the day
Lap three - 5.75 @ 252 mph - at 4:00 pm, clicked it EARLY.
No smoke, consistent, bracket-like nitro funny car!
Personally, it was a very challenging day because I only had 2 hours of sleep and then drove 4 hours before any work was done. The chutes were a mess and took forever to straighten out. Ronnie had purchased new chutes and two, new sets of pilot chutes. I decided to use the old chutes, but went with one set of the new pilots. Bad idea. The first pass one of the chutes didn't deploy; it looked like the cable didn't completely clear the loop and I can't help but think the pilot had something to do with that. The second pass - the pilot chute shot straight down into the wheelie bar and tangled up. That did it....the last thing I need is my driver not having confidence in my work and my ability to keep him safe. I pulled the new pilots and put back on the ones I know will do the job - and they did.
Today we serviced the car and still have more to do tomorrow; plenty tired and ready for bed. Tomorrow the Cleveland Boys come into town and I won't be surprised if the car is in the pit when we get there. They'll be pitted next to us (like the March Meet), but this time I'm on the other side of the hauler. It'll be great to see them and catch up. Hopefully, both teams will qualify for the show on Sunday!
Monday, October 14, 2013
Odd Timing - Six Seconds
I'm pretty sure I couldn't have taken on one more task today. Primarily because I'm lazy, but also because I only have one more day until we test in Bakersfield. Since it's an 8 hour round trip, I'm staying through the CHRR and have tons of things to take care of before then. I won't bore you with any details, but planning and handing over the execution of a 200-person event to someone else was down below laundry and a trip to the "Kitten and Puppy Expo" with my 11 year-old daughter today.
The best part of going to any big race is the actual anticipation of it. No, that's bullshit...it's being there.... that's the best. Anyway, we're finally at the end of the season and everyone is getting pumped up and ready to rock it this coming weekend. First is testing this Tuesday ---but before I forget; I need to go back and correct an early blog post regarding the points. Since I'm too damn lazy to go back and edit the actual post; I'll just do it here for those of you smart enough to have read ahead.
In a nutshell, I miscalculated the points race between us and the Rupert boys. I thought we were tied, but in actuality, there are 4 points separating us right now. After the one race out of six is thrown out, we are then 27 whole points back behind them and 1 point behind Buckey's team in the Northwest Hitter. 4 points is a helluva lot more than 23; because it means we have to go at least two additional rounds of racing; which is no mean feat against these guys. Rupert is the 2 time, nostalgia funny car champ in the Heritage Series and those boys know how to make horsepower and speed. They qualified no less than 2nd at four of the five races this year; having DNQ'd in Boise/April.
However, drag racing is the great equalizer. It's a sport, much like gymnastics at the Olympics. You can be the best there is, but one slip on the beam and you're going home with the silver or less. One actual drag race takes less than 6 seconds to complete; here I need to be careful, so as to not discourage everyone including myself. All of the work that is performed on the car, traveling to the location, money, hotel, food, work, work, work, sweat and work....comes down to less than six seconds. That span of time is endless when you're on the starting line, eyes fixated on the scoreboards at the end of the quarter mile. Focused on that win light, ET and MPH readings. In eliminations; no win light...you're on the trailer. Six seconds -- that's it.
Where the hell was I? Oh yeah, equalizer.....so my point is; statistics can point to a higher likelihood of an outcome based upon a sizable sample of data. Case in point, Rupert's team. Solid performers; consistently high MPH and low ET's. They know the car and how to get the most out of it. The data suggests that they will outperform our team and car at the CHRR. There's not a lot of margin for error within six seconds; miss your set up, miss your light (happened to us in Salt Lake - friggin' .400 light) and you miss your opportunity to be a champion.
I wish I hated those guys, but I don't and my team doesn't either. They're fun, witty and love drag racing as much as we do. Their pit resembles part rock concert; part family reunion, with people, lawn chairs, food, kids, dogs and an old-school trailer. Sometimes they have more people in their pit than are in the stands because they have a lot of friends and anyone can come and hang out. However, looks can be misleading; behind the Jerry Garcia-esque facade of their pit is a deadly, track-eating funny car that more times than not, wins.
Time to salvage this post and my position on the team. We aren't playing this race. We have dotted our "i's" and crossed (as Huggy would say), our motherf'ing "t's". We are burning to win - all of us - right now- we want to win; badly. I guess it's all going to come down to who has that burning desire more - them or us? No one else figures into this race at all - the hell with the statistics - and forget any other teams, including Bucky's. This race comes down to two teams - them and us. I've already decided I'm not going home without standing in that winner's circle on Sunday evening. We will win and fuck anyone that gets in the way.
The best part of going to any big race is the actual anticipation of it. No, that's bullshit...it's being there.... that's the best. Anyway, we're finally at the end of the season and everyone is getting pumped up and ready to rock it this coming weekend. First is testing this Tuesday ---but before I forget; I need to go back and correct an early blog post regarding the points. Since I'm too damn lazy to go back and edit the actual post; I'll just do it here for those of you smart enough to have read ahead.
In a nutshell, I miscalculated the points race between us and the Rupert boys. I thought we were tied, but in actuality, there are 4 points separating us right now. After the one race out of six is thrown out, we are then 27 whole points back behind them and 1 point behind Buckey's team in the Northwest Hitter. 4 points is a helluva lot more than 23; because it means we have to go at least two additional rounds of racing; which is no mean feat against these guys. Rupert is the 2 time, nostalgia funny car champ in the Heritage Series and those boys know how to make horsepower and speed. They qualified no less than 2nd at four of the five races this year; having DNQ'd in Boise/April.
However, drag racing is the great equalizer. It's a sport, much like gymnastics at the Olympics. You can be the best there is, but one slip on the beam and you're going home with the silver or less. One actual drag race takes less than 6 seconds to complete; here I need to be careful, so as to not discourage everyone including myself. All of the work that is performed on the car, traveling to the location, money, hotel, food, work, work, work, sweat and work....comes down to less than six seconds. That span of time is endless when you're on the starting line, eyes fixated on the scoreboards at the end of the quarter mile. Focused on that win light, ET and MPH readings. In eliminations; no win light...you're on the trailer. Six seconds -- that's it.
Where the hell was I? Oh yeah, equalizer.....so my point is; statistics can point to a higher likelihood of an outcome based upon a sizable sample of data. Case in point, Rupert's team. Solid performers; consistently high MPH and low ET's. They know the car and how to get the most out of it. The data suggests that they will outperform our team and car at the CHRR. There's not a lot of margin for error within six seconds; miss your set up, miss your light (happened to us in Salt Lake - friggin' .400 light) and you miss your opportunity to be a champion.
I wish I hated those guys, but I don't and my team doesn't either. They're fun, witty and love drag racing as much as we do. Their pit resembles part rock concert; part family reunion, with people, lawn chairs, food, kids, dogs and an old-school trailer. Sometimes they have more people in their pit than are in the stands because they have a lot of friends and anyone can come and hang out. However, looks can be misleading; behind the Jerry Garcia-esque facade of their pit is a deadly, track-eating funny car that more times than not, wins.
Time to salvage this post and my position on the team. We aren't playing this race. We have dotted our "i's" and crossed (as Huggy would say), our motherf'ing "t's". We are burning to win - all of us - right now- we want to win; badly. I guess it's all going to come down to who has that burning desire more - them or us? No one else figures into this race at all - the hell with the statistics - and forget any other teams, including Bucky's. This race comes down to two teams - them and us. I've already decided I'm not going home without standing in that winner's circle on Sunday evening. We will win and fuck anyone that gets in the way.
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Odd Bits
Another Saturday with lots of choices as far as racing goes. There's the Nostalgia Finals down at the Patch and they're running the NE1 and NE2 groups this weekend. There's a couple of Nostalgia funnies doing some testing today and I believe one of the Oakdale boys is testing his big show car out there too.
I thought about going down, but an eight hour round trip drive just doesn't sound appealing.
Closer to home, but still a couple of hours' drive, are the Fuel Altereds running at Eagle Field in Firebaugh - also in the SJ Valley. I thought about heading out for this too, but couldn't get a confirmed car count and certainly wouldn't go if there were less than four - which may very well be the case. Also, going to a show and not being able to do anything in the pits...sounds pretty boring to me. Maybe if I'd planned ahead and found someone to go with me, but alas, I didn't. I'll look for posts on it later to see how it turned out.
I did watch the NASCAR Nationwide race today and I'm so glad that I love drag racing instead. No disrespect, but I'm usually at a loss for the appeal. I understand the strategy involved and appreciate how that factors into the whole race, but it reminds me somewhat of a pro-basketball game. There's usually a lot of activity that means nothing until the end of the game - same thing in roundy - round racing. I'm sure there's people that totally disagree with me and I don't care. It's just that I'm not interesting in learning all the nuances surrounding it. There's much more to study in drag racing that will serve me better. Anyway, my purpose in scribing today wasn't to beat up NASCAR; because if it was down to watching NASCAR or some sit com on TV, you better bet I'm watching the race.
So we're down to less than 2 weeks before the end of the series and things are definitely heating up amongst the competition and in our own camp as well. I talked to Huggy yesterday and Shawn today. Both gave me an update status on the car. The blower has been refreshed and is ready to start huffing again. We had the cylinder heads re-bored and racks built. Over the next week the clutch packs are going to be built and we're hoping to get at least 3 or 4 runs on test day. Also found out that besides Krabill, Rupert is supposed to be testing too. There was one other car that was mentioned, but I can't recall who it was right now. I contacted my buddy, Les, who produces the most wicked-sick racing videos, to tell him about the test session too. Hopefully he can make it and will film the precursor to the championship for everyone.
Saturday, September 28, 2013
What Are The Odds?
I think I should have made a blog about being obsessed with numbers because this is where I'm headed on this one. If it were really about racing, I wouldn't have time to do it, so number obsessing it is. This excerpt involves the run time analysis of our closest competitors going into the last race at Famoso in 19 days.
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As I've gone on about for what seems like a million years; the top three fuel funny car teams are within 24 points, or just over round apart. For me, this means - examine the data! I'm pretty certain that I've diced, sliced and dissected the numbers every way you possibly can. This results are the same and that's why we don't race 'em on paper....
While I'm doing this, I'm also watching the Lambrecht auto auction on television. Fascinating! I wish the man who put all of these treasures away could be here to see this event; it's pretty amazing. There are estimates of 10,000 people there to bid. The challenge is to understand why it was that he wouldn't sell any used cars. There are a ton of cars out there that will make beautiful restorations and even prettier race cars.
There's not much more to say about the number crunching...I think I'll check out this auto auction!
As I've gone on about for what seems like a million years; the top three fuel funny car teams are within 24 points, or just over round apart. For me, this means - examine the data! I'm pretty certain that I've diced, sliced and dissected the numbers every way you possibly can. This results are the same and that's why we don't race 'em on paper....While I'm doing this, I'm also watching the Lambrecht auto auction on television. Fascinating! I wish the man who put all of these treasures away could be here to see this event; it's pretty amazing. There are estimates of 10,000 people there to bid. The challenge is to understand why it was that he wouldn't sell any used cars. There are a ton of cars out there that will make beautiful restorations and even prettier race cars.
There's not much more to say about the number crunching...I think I'll check out this auto auction!
Odd Fellows
There have been a couple of other folks that have lent a hand for a
race or two this year, but none as memorable as John. John is Richard's
brother and somewhat resembles a Hell's Angel member, but has a heart
of gold. Nicknames can strike at any time and John earned his in Salt
Lake City. The last points race was held for the first time at Rocky
Mountain Raceways and the weather was not cooperating. Thunderstorms
had plagued racing all day Friday, with the result being cancellation of
our qualifying pass on Friday night. We knew we'd be going rounds on
Saturday, but had no idea the day would be as long as it turned out to
be.
We arrived at the track pretty early on Saturday morning; crew call was 8:30 am and after stopping for supplies and whatnot, we arrived about 10:00 am. The skies were still threatening and a strong breeze blew most of the morning, but we were able to get a qualifying pass in and did fairly well, posting a 6.06 elapsed time at 240 mph. The fairly regular pace of the day halted to a stop when we started getting some light rain late in the morning. Racing was postponed for about an hour due to the precip, which further delayed qualifying. The challenge with this race is that it was only scheduled for Saturday; whereas the previous race in Boise was spread out over three. This meant that we had to qualify and hopefully go rounds - all on Saturday.
So back to John and the story behind the story. So John helped to get the hauler out from LA and is now helping out with between round servicing. Mid way through Saturday, one of us spotted him asleep on top of one of the pit tables. Not only was he asleep - he was sound asleep and snoring. I wish I had taken a picture or a video because it was a pretty funny sight. We got him awake and went on with the rest of this 18 hour day, but he earned his nickname there. Yep, he's Sleeping Beauty, or Beauty for short. Again, I wish I had a picture of him, because then you'd understand the humor of a guy who looks like a HA being called Beauty around the pits. I love drag racing....
We arrived at the track pretty early on Saturday morning; crew call was 8:30 am and after stopping for supplies and whatnot, we arrived about 10:00 am. The skies were still threatening and a strong breeze blew most of the morning, but we were able to get a qualifying pass in and did fairly well, posting a 6.06 elapsed time at 240 mph. The fairly regular pace of the day halted to a stop when we started getting some light rain late in the morning. Racing was postponed for about an hour due to the precip, which further delayed qualifying. The challenge with this race is that it was only scheduled for Saturday; whereas the previous race in Boise was spread out over three. This meant that we had to qualify and hopefully go rounds - all on Saturday.
So back to John and the story behind the story. So John helped to get the hauler out from LA and is now helping out with between round servicing. Mid way through Saturday, one of us spotted him asleep on top of one of the pit tables. Not only was he asleep - he was sound asleep and snoring. I wish I had taken a picture or a video because it was a pretty funny sight. We got him awake and went on with the rest of this 18 hour day, but he earned his nickname there. Yep, he's Sleeping Beauty, or Beauty for short. Again, I wish I had a picture of him, because then you'd understand the humor of a guy who looks like a HA being called Beauty around the pits. I love drag racing....
Oddly Enough...
Not sure if I'm going to be able to come up with something that includes "odd" or a derivative of the word in every post, but I'll give it shot. The reason why I started including each is vague now, but since I've started it; I guess I'll do it until it's dead....
No racing this weekend for me. I talked to our Car Chief yesterday and I understand that the car needs some servicing. The team is based out of LA and the crew is somewhat spread out - so I guess this would probably be a great time to tell you about the crew.
There are five other crew members, including the Crew Chief, that make up the team. Our Car Chief is David, but goes by the nickname, Huggy Bear, or Huggy, for short. I don't think I've ever called him by his given name and I can't recall anyone using anything other than Huggy when referring to him. Hugg lives in Indianapolis and was a professional crew member for a number of NHRA fuel funny car teams. He has an incredible work ethic and absolutely loves drag racing. He knows how to operate a race car better than most people I know and I appreciate the time he's spent teaching me the various jobs I perform on the car. He's a funny dude and continually points out that no matter what we do, someone is watching us, so be aware of what you do - especially at the track.
Carl is our clutch guy and lives down in the Los Angeles area. He jumps out of airplanes for fun and responds with, "Out-fucking-standing", when he agrees with something you said or a job performed well. He taught me how to pack parachutes and doesn't settle for incomplete or half-ass performance on tasks related to the car. He also drives the tow-car (which would drive me bananas) and is hell on the horn when we have a tight turn around coming. Funniest moment so far - before going to the staging lanes, he asked me if he had anything on his face. I responded with, "Well of course you do! You're the clutch guy - you're supposed to look like you just climbed out of a West Virginia coal mine!" Carl busts his butt to give our driver the best car he can for the upcoming lap.
On the right bank cylinders is Shaun. Shaun is from the SF Bay Area and has been on the team for a number of years. He's capable of working very quickly, under pretty intense pressure and producing exceptional results. He takes a lot of pride in our crew's ability to service the car quickly and efficiently and likes to push everyone to do better each time. He also knows where to find everything for the car in the hauler. He recognizes and appreciates hard work and loves to win.
Richard is on the left bank cylinders and lives in the Los Angeles area too. He's been a good friend of the owner/driver of the car since they were kids and is very calm and steady. I don't think I've ever seen Richard upset - I have seen everyone else upset at one point or another, but not Richard. He takes everything in stride, but is one of the fastest workers when it comes to servicing the car between rounds. I enjoy working with him and appreciate his steady demeanor.
The responsibility for the car set up on each run falls to Ronnie, our Crew Chief. It's a bit of a misnomer to call Ronnie the Crew Chief and Huggy, the Car Chief because Ronnie sets the car and Huggy oversees the crew. Ronnie examines the data from past runs and sets the car's timing according to his best estimate of what it can do in the given situation. Ronnie now lives in the Los Angeles area and has worked as a professional tuner for many years. He's been with this car for a number of years as well and is very talented. It's his job to translate the air temperature, humidity, and track surface into a fast, clean lap. Tied for first place in the series is a good place to be sitting going into the last race and much of that is due to Ronnie's race translation.
No racing this weekend for me. I talked to our Car Chief yesterday and I understand that the car needs some servicing. The team is based out of LA and the crew is somewhat spread out - so I guess this would probably be a great time to tell you about the crew.
There are five other crew members, including the Crew Chief, that make up the team. Our Car Chief is David, but goes by the nickname, Huggy Bear, or Huggy, for short. I don't think I've ever called him by his given name and I can't recall anyone using anything other than Huggy when referring to him. Hugg lives in Indianapolis and was a professional crew member for a number of NHRA fuel funny car teams. He has an incredible work ethic and absolutely loves drag racing. He knows how to operate a race car better than most people I know and I appreciate the time he's spent teaching me the various jobs I perform on the car. He's a funny dude and continually points out that no matter what we do, someone is watching us, so be aware of what you do - especially at the track.
Carl is our clutch guy and lives down in the Los Angeles area. He jumps out of airplanes for fun and responds with, "Out-fucking-standing", when he agrees with something you said or a job performed well. He taught me how to pack parachutes and doesn't settle for incomplete or half-ass performance on tasks related to the car. He also drives the tow-car (which would drive me bananas) and is hell on the horn when we have a tight turn around coming. Funniest moment so far - before going to the staging lanes, he asked me if he had anything on his face. I responded with, "Well of course you do! You're the clutch guy - you're supposed to look like you just climbed out of a West Virginia coal mine!" Carl busts his butt to give our driver the best car he can for the upcoming lap.
On the right bank cylinders is Shaun. Shaun is from the SF Bay Area and has been on the team for a number of years. He's capable of working very quickly, under pretty intense pressure and producing exceptional results. He takes a lot of pride in our crew's ability to service the car quickly and efficiently and likes to push everyone to do better each time. He also knows where to find everything for the car in the hauler. He recognizes and appreciates hard work and loves to win.
Richard is on the left bank cylinders and lives in the Los Angeles area too. He's been a good friend of the owner/driver of the car since they were kids and is very calm and steady. I don't think I've ever seen Richard upset - I have seen everyone else upset at one point or another, but not Richard. He takes everything in stride, but is one of the fastest workers when it comes to servicing the car between rounds. I enjoy working with him and appreciate his steady demeanor.
The responsibility for the car set up on each run falls to Ronnie, our Crew Chief. It's a bit of a misnomer to call Ronnie the Crew Chief and Huggy, the Car Chief because Ronnie sets the car and Huggy oversees the crew. Ronnie examines the data from past runs and sets the car's timing according to his best estimate of what it can do in the given situation. Ronnie now lives in the Los Angeles area and has worked as a professional tuner for many years. He's been with this car for a number of years as well and is very talented. It's his job to translate the air temperature, humidity, and track surface into a fast, clean lap. Tied for first place in the series is a good place to be sitting going into the last race and much of that is due to Ronnie's race translation.
Friday, September 27, 2013
Mathematics and Being Odd
Oddly enough; I enjoy math. If you saw my high school and college transcripts you'd find that hard to believe - I find it hard to believe, but I do like it. Numbers fascinate me; I love analyzing them and reanalyzing them, resorting them...but I guess that isn't really math - it's just sorting. Anyway, that's what I was doing yesterday afternoon and this evening. What type of numbers? Racing numbers; points tallies to be specific.
Right now, the three top fuel funny car teams running for the NHRA Heritage Series championship, are all within 25 points of each other. This equates to one round and less than five qualifying positions between the three cars. What's even more bitchen is we are one of the three contenders. Since we can't race until next month - I have to be content with sorting and analyzing numbers. It wouldn't be any fun if the powers that be up in Glendora made calculating the points easy. SO, it looks like this:
You earn points in a couple of different ways. The first way is by showing up at the meet, car in tow with someone willing to mash the fun pedal in a firesuit. The points are awarded to drivers, not to the car, team or owner; although any combination of these are fine as long as the same guy (or gal) plants their fanny in the seat for points races. So you show up, fill out a tech card and try like hell to qualify. For your efforts; good or bad, NHRA awards you 10 points. You receive these even if you don't qualify for the show. It's almost like "everyone gets a trophy", but comes into play later on down the road. The next way you earn points is through qualifying. Points are awarded for how you qualify in the field; keep in mind that for the Heritage series, there are two types of fields run. There is a 16- car field and an 8- car field...this is where it can get confusing.
A 16-car field awards qualifying points like this:
Qualifying Position Points
1st 8
2nd 7
3rd 6
4th 5
5th & 6th 4
7th & 8th 3
9th through 12th 2
13th through 16th 1
Seems logical, right? Well it is until you look at the way an 8-car field awards Q points:
Qualifying Position Points
1st 8
2nd 7
3rd 6
4th 5
5th 4
6th 3
7th 2
8th 1
Try keeping this all straight in your head. Then the last and most heavily weighted portion of the points are awarded based on --winning! More rounds - more points; exactly as it should be. Once again, the size of the class field determines points. See how it breaks down:
16-car field
Winner 100 points
Runner Up 80 points
Semi-Finals 60 points
Round 2 40 points
Round 1 20 points
8-car field
Winner 100 points
Runner Up 80 points
Round 2 60 points
Round 1 40 points
So, the calculation of your event points goes something like this:
Showed up, filled out tech card, made at least one Q run = 10 points
Ran a good enough (or awesome lap) qualified second in an eight-car field = 7 points
Car was like jellied lightning; you couldn't be beat on the tree, runnered - up = 80 points
Take the total of those 3 areas and voila, you have your meet total = 97 points
If you have enough money and/or luck to make each of the six meets, you'll be throwing one of those races out in calculating your final points because you can only count five. For us it went something like this:
Bakersfield MM - 33 points
Boise 1 - 90-something points (too lazy to get up and look it up in my book)
Mission - 80-something points (see above excuse)
Boise 2 - 90-something points (yep...again)
SLC - 70-something points (duh)
The max points we'll be giving up going into the last race this year will be 33. The other two teams in the top three didn't even qualify at one of the five races we have listed above. Their points loss is far less; only 10 points each. They have similar points as us because they each won at least one of the meets.
Having said all of that - here's how it looks going into the CHRR next month:
Team one - 378 points After throwing out 33 points = 345
Team two - 378 points After throwing out 10 points = 368
Team three - 364 points After throwing out 10 points = 344
With each round being worth 20 points and the total point separation only 24 points between the three teams; every qualifying position and each round is beyondcritical.com
Right now, the three top fuel funny car teams running for the NHRA Heritage Series championship, are all within 25 points of each other. This equates to one round and less than five qualifying positions between the three cars. What's even more bitchen is we are one of the three contenders. Since we can't race until next month - I have to be content with sorting and analyzing numbers. It wouldn't be any fun if the powers that be up in Glendora made calculating the points easy. SO, it looks like this:
You earn points in a couple of different ways. The first way is by showing up at the meet, car in tow with someone willing to mash the fun pedal in a firesuit. The points are awarded to drivers, not to the car, team or owner; although any combination of these are fine as long as the same guy (or gal) plants their fanny in the seat for points races. So you show up, fill out a tech card and try like hell to qualify. For your efforts; good or bad, NHRA awards you 10 points. You receive these even if you don't qualify for the show. It's almost like "everyone gets a trophy", but comes into play later on down the road. The next way you earn points is through qualifying. Points are awarded for how you qualify in the field; keep in mind that for the Heritage series, there are two types of fields run. There is a 16- car field and an 8- car field...this is where it can get confusing.
A 16-car field awards qualifying points like this:
Qualifying Position Points
1st 8
2nd 7
3rd 6
4th 5
5th & 6th 4
7th & 8th 3
9th through 12th 2
13th through 16th 1
Seems logical, right? Well it is until you look at the way an 8-car field awards Q points:
Qualifying Position Points
1st 8
2nd 7
3rd 6
4th 5
5th 4
6th 3
7th 2
8th 1
Try keeping this all straight in your head. Then the last and most heavily weighted portion of the points are awarded based on --winning! More rounds - more points; exactly as it should be. Once again, the size of the class field determines points. See how it breaks down:
16-car field
Winner 100 points
Runner Up 80 points
Semi-Finals 60 points
Round 2 40 points
Round 1 20 points
8-car field
Winner 100 points
Runner Up 80 points
Round 2 60 points
Round 1 40 points
So, the calculation of your event points goes something like this:
Showed up, filled out tech card, made at least one Q run = 10 points
Ran a good enough (or awesome lap) qualified second in an eight-car field = 7 points
Car was like jellied lightning; you couldn't be beat on the tree, runnered - up = 80 points
Take the total of those 3 areas and voila, you have your meet total = 97 points
If you have enough money and/or luck to make each of the six meets, you'll be throwing one of those races out in calculating your final points because you can only count five. For us it went something like this:
Bakersfield MM - 33 points
Boise 1 - 90-something points (too lazy to get up and look it up in my book)
Mission - 80-something points (see above excuse)
Boise 2 - 90-something points (yep...again)
SLC - 70-something points (duh)
The max points we'll be giving up going into the last race this year will be 33. The other two teams in the top three didn't even qualify at one of the five races we have listed above. Their points loss is far less; only 10 points each. They have similar points as us because they each won at least one of the meets.
Having said all of that - here's how it looks going into the CHRR next month:
Team one - 378 points After throwing out 33 points = 345
Team two - 378 points After throwing out 10 points = 368
Team three - 364 points After throwing out 10 points = 344
With each round being worth 20 points and the total point separation only 24 points between the three teams; every qualifying position and each round is beyondcritical.com
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Odd Man Out
My name is Toni and I'm the odd man
out. I'm the only female crew member on our NHRA Nitro Nostalgia Funny Car team which is pretty unique in drag racing. Girls drive, girls date or are married to drivers/crew; but very few are involved in the dirty, hard-work of the pit crew because they want to do it. I'm connected to the car only out of a love for racing and loyalty to my guys. They are amazingly talented and bust ass every round, every meet, every time.
I'm responsible for the back half of the car, which means; the chutes, wheelie bar, body between runs, fresh air bottle, driver's compartment, puke tank, in-pit tire pressure, and of course; fetch refreshments and make sandwiches. I also help with potential sponsors, dump used oil, keep track of qualifying ladders and points, run to the store, research services in new cities, find auto parts stores, hold flashlights, maintain peace, am sympathetic to bullshit, listen to stories, make hotel reservations, cancel hotel reservations, make more hotel reservations; whatever is needed to help the team be successful and win. If I could do this every day, I would.
Nostalgia cars differ from their "big show" counterparts significantly and only slightly resemble the actual cars they represent from the heyday of the sport. Body styles are limited to pre-1980 makes; fuel pumps are restricted to about 20 gals p/min; we run only one generator and are limited to a specific type of blower atop the motor. These fuel funny cars run elapsed times of somewhere between 5.70 and 6.20 seconds in the quarter mile at speeds averaging/topping out in the mid-250, mile an hour range.
I grew up in the epicenter of drag racing; Southern California during the 1960's and 70's. My dad was a racer and Famoso Raceway, outside of Bakersfield, was his home track. Currently known as Auto Club Famoso Raceway, it's the home of the annual March Meet race and kicks off the nostalgia nitro drag racing season. He and his buddies campaigned a top fuel dragster for a number of years and we spent many weekends at the famous dragstrips of the day; like Lions, Fremont, Fresno, OCIR, Irwindale, Pomona, Sonoma and Famoso.
Back then, all classes of drag racing was a family sport. There's nothing like waking up at 2:30 am and having a bowl of Cheerios while it's still dark outside and the Chaparral is being loaded; but you can't eat because you're so excited about the trip. At the track, Dad and his buddies worked on the car while our moms made lunch, drove the push car and kept track of us "pit rats". Racers kids were often referred to as pit-rats and you could spot us a mile away. Usually covered in dirt of some sort, we'd be playing with other pit rats and avoiding our moms as best possible.
I love the one second of silence before the starter spins the motor to life; when the cadence of lifters, valves, connectors and pistons, wrap me up in a comforting blanket of childhood memories. This is what I chase I suppose; that excited feeling I had as a kid, when nothing else mattered and all was right with the world. It's race day, baby; let's go rounds!!!
I'm responsible for the back half of the car, which means; the chutes, wheelie bar, body between runs, fresh air bottle, driver's compartment, puke tank, in-pit tire pressure, and of course; fetch refreshments and make sandwiches. I also help with potential sponsors, dump used oil, keep track of qualifying ladders and points, run to the store, research services in new cities, find auto parts stores, hold flashlights, maintain peace, am sympathetic to bullshit, listen to stories, make hotel reservations, cancel hotel reservations, make more hotel reservations; whatever is needed to help the team be successful and win. If I could do this every day, I would. Nostalgia cars differ from their "big show" counterparts significantly and only slightly resemble the actual cars they represent from the heyday of the sport. Body styles are limited to pre-1980 makes; fuel pumps are restricted to about 20 gals p/min; we run only one generator and are limited to a specific type of blower atop the motor. These fuel funny cars run elapsed times of somewhere between 5.70 and 6.20 seconds in the quarter mile at speeds averaging/topping out in the mid-250, mile an hour range.
I grew up in the epicenter of drag racing; Southern California during the 1960's and 70's. My dad was a racer and Famoso Raceway, outside of Bakersfield, was his home track. Currently known as Auto Club Famoso Raceway, it's the home of the annual March Meet race and kicks off the nostalgia nitro drag racing season. He and his buddies campaigned a top fuel dragster for a number of years and we spent many weekends at the famous dragstrips of the day; like Lions, Fremont, Fresno, OCIR, Irwindale, Pomona, Sonoma and Famoso.
Back then, all classes of drag racing was a family sport. There's nothing like waking up at 2:30 am and having a bowl of Cheerios while it's still dark outside and the Chaparral is being loaded; but you can't eat because you're so excited about the trip. At the track, Dad and his buddies worked on the car while our moms made lunch, drove the push car and kept track of us "pit rats". Racers kids were often referred to as pit-rats and you could spot us a mile away. Usually covered in dirt of some sort, we'd be playing with other pit rats and avoiding our moms as best possible.
I love the one second of silence before the starter spins the motor to life; when the cadence of lifters, valves, connectors and pistons, wrap me up in a comforting blanket of childhood memories. This is what I chase I suppose; that excited feeling I had as a kid, when nothing else mattered and all was right with the world. It's race day, baby; let's go rounds!!!
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